>> now! >> they are running towards base... >>...explosions going off we're not quite sure... >> fault lines al jazeera america's emmy winning, investigative, documentary, series... >> the u.n. says i.s.i.l. could massacre 12,000 people if kobani falls. plus, kim jong-un, nowhere to be off the top of your head. and the nobel peace prize sends a strong message. >> i.s.i.l. now controls at least 40% of >> isil now controls 40% of kobane. fears that kurds will be massacred if isil takes over kobane. >> we know what isil is capable of doing. >> ebola is an unseen threat. it's only a plane flight away from our shores.

>> really, this is too little too late. >> we want to tell other children all around the world that they should stand up for their rights. >> mystery surrounding the leader of the most exclusive nation. >> if you want to invite jesus in your life, pray this prayer with me. >> no the death of another black teenager at the hands of police. one officer hurt. eight people arrested, and one american flag torched. >> we begin with isil's advances in syria and iraq and a warning that some 12,000 kurds could be massacred if isil finally succeeds in taking the syrian kurdish town of kobane. the u.s.-led coalition has launched in support of the

kurdish fighters trying to hold the town. but on friday u.s. deputy national security adviser admitted isil now controls 40% of kobane. they also said that there are other kobanes in iraq and iraq on a daily basis. that includes iraq's anbar province and now they control from syrian's border to baghda baghdad's suburbs. they called for action to save kobane and prepare the impending disaster there where 8,000 bosnian muslims were killed by surgeo. >> we could no, we should not be silent. >> for more i'm joined by colonel derek harvey who served

as special advise for general david petraeus in iraq and in u.s. central command. he's director of civil society of conflict at the university of south florida. a real pleasure to have you with us. the u.n. special envoy to syria suggests that 12,000 people could be killed if kobane falls. he's comparing it to the certificat serbiaen war. does it appear to be too little too late. >> clearly it's too little too late. at this point i really do worry about the situation there and the impact on the people there in that town. the strikes that we've conducted to date have been very minimal. there has really been no effort, no intensity in the kobane area. for that point throughout the rest of syria. it's been a minimalist campaign

to date. >> i know you predicted a couple of days ago that kobane would fall in less than a week. do you think if we did intensify, maybe it's too late now, but if we had intensified, that it would have made a difference? >> it dearly would have made a difference if we changed our operational profile and brought in the right types of aircraft and air assets to include unmanned aerial vehicles as well as improving the intelligence by maintaining a cap over that area, continuous surveillance. the targets were readily identififul, mostly in open tanks, artillery, technical vehicles driving in the area. the right type of posture would have allowed for effective targeting. keep in mind that we did have partners on the ground there. there is a force defending kobane. >> to those two points you just made, i brought up exactly what you just said, open area around

kobane, and easily visible targets, but when when i've asked that question of military experts they say well, without having the ground troops really giving us exact coordinates we really can't do much. is that the case? because as you mentioned we certainly have surveillance from the sky. >> well, we can continue to conduct strikes in places like yemen, in wizeristan, somalia, places like that without troops on the ground pinpointing those targets. it is doable. it's the commitment to do it, aligning your resources and operational profile to doing that. there is deflection and generally no interest in doing what is needed in this part of syria. >> well why? >> well, it brings us to the point of what is really going on here. the air campaign hasn't been really that effective in iraq

either. the operations in syria are only meant to degrade and disrupt a little bit. we don't see the real impact. it's a degrade in my adjustment at this point in time. >> i want to talk about iraq in a moment, but again, if we're seeing the possible massacre of these people as we're hearing from the u.n. envoy to syria we intervened aggressively when it was necessary--well, i don't know if it was necessary but at one point in the yazidi humanitarian crisis in northern iraq, here the pentagon keeps saying that the u.s. lax a willing and effective capable partner in syria to help save kobane. but a syrian kurdish leader told reporters that we've provided isil targets on the ground and

will continue to provide any help that they request. do you think that they can help pinpoint the targets, but beyond pinpointing the targets, we need ground forces in syria. here we've got some kurds who managed to fight off isil for weeks now. why not help these guys? >> well, i think kobane has become a pawn in this debate between president erdogan and the government of turkey and the united states over the direction of the campaign and the coalition fight against the islamic state. turkey clearly wants the effort to be two-pronged, to go after the islamic state as well as bashar al-assad. that is a view that is held strongly not only there but in the gulf countries, too. senator mccain made that point in a wall street journal editorial this week. the administration is trying to

use this kobane to leverage and push the turks to come on side and use their military. so we're a at a stalemate between the two at this point. >> we see picks from turkey just overlooking what is happening in kobane and doing nothing. president obama's plan of attack is spending a year to train up up to 5,000 moderate syrian rebels to combat troops against isil. given what you are seeing, do we have a year? >> well, i've said that the islamic state forces are gobbling up territory and coercing or co-opting other groups rather quickly. they're like a pac-man in the game, the video game, gobbling up territory and groups in iraq and syria. a year or more is what being said by the pentagon and the state department. 5,000 is a drop in the bucket to what is needed on the ground.

there is not the intensity in building, training and equipping these forces nor with the iraqi security forces. >> let's talk about--right, the iraqi security forces. there you have combat troops who are available, but isil fighters are close toove to over running iraq and anbar provinces. that may give them control of bases and weapons and continue to apply pressure on baghdad. u.s. air power has struck 40 targets since the campaign began but is it just a drop in the bucket? >> it is. the air campaign in iraq has been a drizzle. and what we've needed is a thunder storm there. the iraqi security forces are not up to the task, and they need more support. but the mission there is, again, under resourced. there is not the intensity there. you need a real effort, and

taking a year or more is i think questionable. >> yes, and of course increased intervention brings increased risks and increased costs. a lot to think about, but certainly a lot of danger for these kurds in kobane. colonel, a pleasure to have you with us. thank you. >> thank you. >> moving on to more disturbing news on the ebola outbreak the worl "world health organization" reported over 4,000 people have died from ebola in the past seven months including thomas erik duncan, the first person who died from ebola in this country. medical reports given to the associated press showed that he suffered 103-degree temperature and in veers pain when he was sent home. donor nations have contributed a quarter of the $1 billion the u.n. requested to fight only and warned that time was short.

>> this outbreak is advancing quite rapidly ahead of the control effort. and the rest of us are having to work really hard to catch up and overtake it. >> for more i'm joined from philadelphia by senior associate at the university of pittsburgh medical center for health security, a think tank that studies the effects of catastrophic health threats. the fears are really growing. we've seen video of flights to the dominican republic where they detained a planeload of passengers for two years. a man who sneezed said he had ebola, apparently he was joking. they said there would be a stampede to the u.s. if ebola makes it to the caribbean. people have been tested to

australia and various countries. we're seeing a panic that is disproportionate to what is really happening outside of the three african nations. >> the panic is more contagious than ebola in this situation, and you're seeing heightened awareness all over the world. that's good in one sense because people are testing, people are aware of it, and hopefully we won't have a repeat in dallas where people are sent home without travel ascertained. >> you reviewed all 1200 pages of duncan's records from the associated press. we learned he had a fever of 103, he was flagged with an exclamation point. he had admitted coming from liberia, and still he was released by this dallas hospital with just antibiotics. the more we hear about this case the more incredible it seems that the hospital let him go. >> right, the first visit to the

emergency department ended in him being discharged. it was unclear to the treating physician a that patient had come from africa and was having symptoms consistent with ebola. he got a comprehensive work up, and the fact that the travel history was not part of it may have merited the doctor discharging the patient. especially with the temperature tear of 103 that could not be related to the discharge notice given. >> did you learn this could be possible in these records. >> when mr. duncan came back the second time he was treated i am peculiarcally and care was state of the art. it's clear from the records that the medical staff spared--it was no-holds-barred trying to save his hard using the most advanced modalities in the care. and i was impressed with the care he received. >> do you think americans have

learned from the initial handling of duncan's case. we've done reporting here and talked to the biggest nurse's union and nurses reporting that they haven't gotten the right training, they have not been informed of the policies that they need to adhere to if someone walks in with only or something that could be ebola. >> i deaf believe that more training needs to be done. but i do believe that people have learned from mr. duncan's experience and travel history. his travel history is now emphasized electronic medical records are regreered to make travel history pop up just as an allergy pops up. but this will be the linchpin to make sure that travel histories are retained, not just ebola but we have a whole host of infectious disease threats in which travel history is going to be key. >> the u.n. has asked donor

nations for $1 billion to respond to the ebola outbreak in west africa on friday u.s. senator james inhoffa approved $750 million to fight ebola in west africa. and we're told on nurse that america's overall commitment to fight the outbreak will exceed $1 billion over the next six months. we've got troops who have been arriving there. what are the spending priorities now, and now critical is it to get all the funding in place now rather than in a more or two? >> the real critical action that needs to be taken is we have to expand the number of ebola treatment units. we have to have beds for these patients to be taken care of in a safe manner so they're not infecting other people and healthcare providers can care for them in a safe environment. that's the number one priority for the united states spending and as well as the united nations is requesting. that's key to turning the tide on this outbreak, getting ahead

of it by having places for people to be taken care of. >> estimates are that it's doubling every 20 days or so. an experimental vaccination has been tested on three healthcare workers in mali. oh more are expected to get the vaccine in a few weeks. more he tests scheduled in gambia, too. how soon, assuming that this proves effective, and i'm not sure how they determine that, are they trying to determine the safety at this point? how soon could we have a vacci vaccine? >> those attest risk ocase

finding, isolation, protective equipment. >> let's hope they work and we can have a more positive outlook in the future. doctor, always a pleasure to have you with us. thank you. now for more stories from around the world. >> with begin in hong kong where 10,000 protesters again packed the streets as government officials called off talks. protests began two weeks ago but they waned earlier this week. government called off the meeting after student protests continue. they were seen bringing in tents and other supplies seemingly

preparing for the long haul. hong kong police have not ruled out taking appropriate actions to clear the protesters when necessary. next we head to missouri where thousands will march in ferguson this weekend in what is being called the weekend ever resistence. thousands will descend on ferguson to demand justice for mike brown. the demonstration follow a week of violent protests in nearby st. louis. a police officer was injured. eight people were arrested all on thursday when protesters lit an american flag on fire. police responded with pepper spray. the protesters were upset over the shooting on wednesday over allegedly armed teenager when the police officers say he shot at him. they're preparing for large crowds this weekend, and they're preparing for possible violence with protesters using wednesday's shooting as what he called a rallying cry to do bad

things. we end on wall street after a volatile week the dow ended friday down 115 points fully washing away all the gains it had made this year. the rollercoaster began on tuesday when the dow lost 273 points on fears of global growth slowdown. wednesday stocks surged 275 points but then plummeted nearly 335 points on thursday. losing 2% just that one day. a silver lining for your pocketbook. oil prices have been falling with the dow. a barrel of crude is down to its lowest price in two years. and that is some of what is happening around the world. coming up, kim jong-un skips another major public event. is the ruling family losing it's grip on power? also the nobel peace prize makes strong political statements. and our social media producer

hermela argowi will join us. >> what stories would you like to see discussed on the show. our facebook page. >> tonight, a horrific outbreak. >> the death toll from this epidemic could be much higher than anyone knows. >> the search for answers. >> 8000 people are already dead, mr. president. who should answer for those people? >> who brought cholera to haiti? >> so you don't have to explain yourselves? >> no. >> "faultlines". al jazeera america's hard-hitting, >> today, they will be arrested. >> groundbreaking, >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> investigative documentary series. watch the emmy award winning episode: "haiti in a time of cholera". tonight, 7:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> who is in charge of nuclear north korea? >> who is in charge of nuclear north korea. kim jong-un did not attend celebrations of the workers party celebration. north korea and south korea exchanged fire, and some of north korea's anti-aircraft fire landed across the border and south korea fired back. governor change contributor to the daily beast and

forbes.com and author of "north korea takes on the world." gordon, good to have you with us. he has not appeared in more than a month in public, now he misses these very important events. what do you think is going on? >> this is really alarming. i thought they would wheel him out for this because you know, the level of conversation today because he didn't show up, i think damages the regime. i just assumed that he was going in some way or another to appear. the fact that he did suggests a number of troublesome scenarios. you know, people in the south korean and american government say this is no big deal. he is just sick. i don't think that's the case. we have seen in the last several weeks while he has been pulling this disappearing act we've seen rumors of the lockdown of pyongyang, the promotion of number two just a couple of weeks ago, and also state media warning of a potential repel i don't knowrebellan, this is a

very bad situation. . >> you bring up a whole host of situations in that one answer. first wheeling him out for these events. let's assume that it's what people think it is, gout, some problem with the leg. maybe they didn't want him to wheel out and see the supreme leader in a wheelchair, but could he not have sat behind a desk and give a taped speech. >> or he's being held against his will, and he's just not cooperating with his can't fors. you would have thought that north korea would have done what a lot of other regimes do when their leader is sick, take still photographs and release them to the public. they have not done that. and since november 3rd they have not talked about him much in the state media. >> the state media did reference flowers sent, wishing good health to kim jong-un. could it be that he is sick and

they're some how looking for sympathy for kim jong-un. >> possible, but i think ultimately that's not the most likely scenario. there is also a report that he is being held with his wife and his sister. now his wife being at his bedside, that makes a lot of sense. why would his sister be there? and it looks like somebody in the regime is trying to corral all the kim family members and keep them in one place. i think that's a very bad sign. >> you've written that the regime depends on the kim bloodline for its legitimacy, but can the government that has been so focused for so long on this the personality around the three kims, his grandfather, his father, and now him, survive if there is no kim there? >> i think that would be very difficult. if they are not relying on the kim bloodline then they are just another korean republic, and they're not as successful as the

other korean republic, south korea. that's why there have been some mention today. the 69th anniversary of the founding of the workers' party. that's significant that they're going to rely on him, but they have not produced him. >> and you bring up his sister. she has been talked about over the last few days, maybe they're grooming her to be in charge. this is a male-dominated society even though there are some. some positions of power. >> she's 27. it's pretty unlikely. she is the most capable of the acknowledged children of kim jong-il, but because it is a male-dominated regime she is not going to be given that position. she's even younger than kim jong-un. this is a system which venerates elderly people. you're not going to have some 70-year-old general taking orders from a 27-year-old female. >> i know you're alarmed that

this unease could be problematic for the world. but let's put a more pollyanna side to it. you mentioned to the number two. he went to south korea for meetings last week. they acknowledge for the first time that they have these labor detention camps. could it be that this is a move towards mother openness to the rest of the world? >> well, it could be. and if it were, because they have new leadership in charge, that should tell us that not only are there new people involved in running north korea, but you got a new regime. you no longer have the one-man system. you might have more collective leadership. that's a lot of uncertainty. you got to rememberrel there are a lot of adult who is have been trying to kill each other over the last each other for the last four years and many have access to nuclear, biological and chemical agents. >> how long until we know what is going on? >> i wish i knew, but i think they got to produce him sometime in the next two or three weeks. if not everyone is going to really understand that there is a serious problem in the regime

that can't be papered over. >> gordon chang, it's always good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> the nobel peace awards were given to pakistan's malala yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the prize since it's creation in 1901. she gam became world fay famous after being shot in the head by the taliban. >> i'this is a big honor for me. >> less well-known is kailash satyarthi who works to protect the rights of children, and never expected to win the prize. >> i never thought about it, but people told me since you started this task in india it has become a worldwide movement.

one day you'll get this kind of an honor, but i never gave it much thought since it's a very difficult one. >> for more we're joined from oslo, another way, by christianberg the director of the nobel peace prize watcher. thank you for joining us. pope francis was the favorite, but mala la had been on the short list for a couple of years. and satyarthi more of a surprise. >> i have to confess, i never had much faith with pope franc francis, mahlah la was on my list. it was obvious that satyarthi

had to be included, and in fact, he had been considered multiple times before. not something that had been public, but he has been on the short list before. >> important to highlight the plight of children around the world these days, and there were 278 nominations, that's a record number. u.n. general secretary ban ki-moon said that with her courage and determination malala has shown what terrorists fear most, a girl with a book. do you agree? the nobel committee, given all that is going on in the middle east and around the world, sending an important message? >> absolutely. no doubt that exactly what goes on in the middle east with the rise of militant extremism there has been one of the many reasons that the committee has looked in malala's direction.

she has spoken for the importance of education in order to tackle extremism, and she is somebody that has looked the militant in the eye and been directly injured by them, and i think the committee has been looking high and low throughout middle east to find good candidates, but ended up with something at the very fringes, even the extended middle east, mainly malala yousfzai in northeast pakistan. >> there have been crits by the noble committee, but was this decision on novel level? was it political because of all the tension between pakistan and india, they selected a muslim from pakistan and a hindu from india. >> absolutely. it was quite moving today when we heard both of the two laureates in their first commence on winning the prize. they did reach out to the state

leaders of both nations, and invited them to come to oslo f . and it is interesting to see how although these two have not had a relationship before, and there is nothing in what they do that directly binds pakistan and india together, at the pressure of the moment they're able to turn that around and create an opportunity for the two state leaders to talk in a situation where tensions are higher between the two countries than they have been for quite a long time. >> well, let's hope they manage to achieve some of what they obviously would like to achieve. and now the nobel committee is mostly formed of norwegian politicians. one concern is that it makes choices based on norwegian politician. there has been talks that it should be made more international.

will there be change? >> i don't think there will be any change immediately. right now we have a very difficult debate here in norway about the appointments to the committee. i have been one of several who have spoken out for a different way of composing the committee. currently the committee is appointed by the parliament, but the seats on the committee are distributed to the parties in the parliament on the basis of their relative representation there. i don't think that is necessary. i think the parliament should take the onerous task that has been given them, and appoint the committee of whoever it is that they think are best suited to award the prize. but right now we have a much more trivial sort of domestic norwegian discussion between the parties, which is not really living up to the standards that was set in 1895.

>> who are the worst choices that you have seen in the past? because it was interesting, satyarthi was described as a maintaining gandhi's tradition, but gandhi himself never wan the nobel prize. >> well, absolutely. i think we should understand the reference to gandhi in the committee's announcement in exactly that light. there is nobody who will contest the fact that not giving the prize to gandhi was the most serious omission in the history of the nobel peace prize. so much so, in fact, that the nobel institute itself has devoted an article on its web pages to how it is that that omission should have happened. i don't think they can really rectify that mistake, but at least there is a nod to the gandhien interest and the way that satyarthi has furthered

gandhi's use of non-violence. >> an important day on many levels. christian berg ha akviken. thank you for joining us. >> microsoft's ceo is backing off his opinion that women should ask for a raise but that karma should give it to them. >> it's not really asking for the raise but knowing and having faith in the system that it will give you the right raises as it goes along. that might be one of the superpowers quite frankly women who don't ask for a raise have. that's good karma. it will come back. somebody will know that that's the kind of person i want to trust. that's the kind of person i want to give more responsibility to. >> to make matters worse, nadella made those comments at a

women's tech conference. the backlash on twitter was almost instant. one person said it should be bad karma and wildly sexist by telling women it's good karma not to ask for a raise. and another says it shows how little the tech industry cares about solving the gender gap issues: another says dear karma, we have a list of women you missed. nadella e-mailed an apologize to microsoft employees, 29% are women, he wrote this: was inarticulate re how women should ask for a raise. our industry must close gender pay gap so a raise ga raise is

not biased. >> he walked into that. birth and the controversy it's causing. and namelater from creationism to school prayer we'll look at battles of place of religion in our public schools. humanity only on al jazeera america

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>> the controversial new recommendation from the american >> controversial new recommendation from the american academy of pediatrics is calling for a big change in the way we control birth control for adolescent girls. they discussed a prod range of bird control options with sexually active teens and for the fires time they're telling doctors to encourage those patients to choose long-lasting contraceptives like iuds instead of popular forms of birth control. we go to the doctor who wrote the recommendations. the report says that teenagers should use iuds that are much more effective than birth

control pills, patches and condoms. >> correct. and the reason for that recommendation you've already hit right on the head the effectiveness of these methods compared to the other hormonal methods that teens were using and have been using in the past. >> in fact, the study published in the journal of new england looked at 1400 sexually active girls and they were counseled on that option and 72% chose iud implants and the pregnancier rate is 3.5% and it' 16% to sexually active teens. >> it decreased pregnancy birth and abortions for those who used

an iud or hormonal implant. it's those results that has driven the recommendation of these first behind options for adolescents who have made the decision to be sexually activity. >> that drop of abortion should please everyone especially conservatives, but those who call for abstinence is that having permanent birth control encourages sexual activity. the president of that group is saying that this ignores the dire consequences that early sexual activity can have for young people. how do you respond to that? >> i think those of us who work with adolescents know that the decision that adolescents make to become sexually active is not dependent upon whether or not they have a birth control method in place.

in fact, we know from the data that adolescents are often sexually active for several months before using any method of birth control at all. the american academy obviously supports abstinence as a way of avoiding pregnancy among adolescents but we know from the data approximately half of high school students in this country are sexually active, and for those patients our first priority is keeping them safe from unintended pregnancy. >> now the recommendation is still to use con domes because an iud or implant won't prevent stds. now any concerns that teens might be less inclined to use con domes if they have this kind of long-lasting birth control? >> it's an excellent question, and one that researchers that the community has started to ask. there is no reason to think that

adolescents are less like to use condemns with an iud than they already are to use condemns when using other birth control when those same issues arise. i think when i have found in my own clinical work is that they understand the distinction between pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted inspection prevention and they're motivated to prevent transmitted infecti infections particularly when they have a foreign objects in the uterus like an iud. >> let's talk about safety. implants were controversial, but early iuds had major issues. in the 70's it was pulled off the market because of infection, sterility and even death. now there are no concerns about the safety of iuds?

>> i think its important to note that you speak specifically about the shields, which had an unique string that transported micro organisms from the vagina into the uterus. iuds have been used globally in much greater numbers than they have in the u.s. for years, decades now, and the largest group using iuds in this country for many years were female obgyn doctors who were aware of their effectiveness and safety profile. yes, the iuds currently available in our country have been well-studied and do not carry the same risk that was carried in the 70's. >> thank you for explaining these new recommendations. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> coming up, a holy war in our public schools. the fight over the separation of

church and state. but first do you know if you're a millennial or part of generation x? why those labels don't mean much. our data dive is next. "on the edge of eighteen". don't miss the class reunion. were the right paths chosen? >> it was absolutely devastating. >> have family wounds begun to heal? >> our relationship still is harsh. >> are their dreams coming true? >> it wasn't my first choice, but i'm glad i made a choice. >> the edge of eighteen class reunion. immediately after the final episode. only on al jazeera america.

>> today's data dive finds that many of us have no idea which generation we belong to. and it may not matter. >> many of us have no idea which generation we belong to, and it may not matter. most generational labels

including gen-x and gen-y are difficult to define. one problem the bureau does not recognize millennials. baby boomers are the only group they officially track as a defined group. boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 and brought major societal shifts. the exploding birth rate, the increase of nuclear families and the improving living standards that ended in a specific year. 1964. most generation don't fall into such neat categories. generations often get labeled in jen studies or news reports that frequently conflict with each other. take a look at this graphic and it clearly shows how three groups, gen-x, gen-y, and millennials overlap.

and what about the generation born in the past 10 years. the white house is calling them the homeland generation. they were born in 9/11, and they were described as kids subjected to crushing surveillance by overly protective parents but that will end up being meaningless, too. coming up, the battle over religion and school from creationism to school prayer.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america

the. >> separation of church and state has been a divisive issue since it's infancy. the supreme court ruled that there is not allowed school prayer since 1962. but people still try to push the boundaries. edge of 18-point follows a student who trying to convince his principal he should be able to give a religious graduation speech. >> every brad ways speech is the same. smart people throw in quotes that they hear from other people. it's repetitive. this will add a different perspective to graduation, for me personally what i would want to talk about would be how we're

basically not living up to our potential. and yes i would talk about jesus and my religion because he has impacted me the most. >> that silent reception was probably not what he hoped for. you can see the rest of that exchange in the new episode of edge of 18-point premieres. let's bring in douglas laycock, a constitutional professor who teaches religious studies one of the countries' leading authorities on religious liberty. thank you for joining us. this is still debated passionately and the cases keep coming up, and virginia and your state vetoed a bill on publicly held prayers. this student that we showed from edge of 18-point regularly leads bible study in school, and the two more extreme sides of the issue are far apart on what

should be allowed in schools. but you say schools are more straightforward than most people believe. >> the rules are more straightforward than most people believe. they don't resolve every dispute but they resolve most of them. the school cannot sponsor religion in the school. just can't, period. it can teach about religion. what different religions believe, but it can't tell you which religion is true or lead worship or encourage prayer. so when your student leads a bible study for a group of students on their own time, that's perfectly legal and protected by an act of congress. >> the first amendment, the words actually say "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of reason or prohibiting free exercise there

of. ". courts are still divided in the pledge of allegiance and saying the words "under god." >> under god is clearly religious, asking school children every morning to affirm that the nation is under god is like asking for short affirmation of faith. but it's so universally popular and offends few that they're going to uphold it. >> in an article in slate describes how charter schools in texas are teaching creationism and how a workbook starts by saying in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth. charter schools are public schools. >> yes, they're a funny kind of public school. the ideas that they don't have to be like other public schools. they can do things differently, but technically they're public schools and they're publicly

funded. >> what do you think about that case? >> well, that's hard and it's hard to explain what's wrong with it. the supreme court has said public schools cannot teach creationism. i thinteaching religion explicitly is probably different than teaching religious in a science class. >> religious studies courses are okay as long as they're not saying that one religion is the true religion. how widespread is it these days? >> there's pretty general come appliance. student prayer groups for

students who want to be there usually in an empty class after school, those are common. >> is there big variance from one locality to another? >> there is a lot of variance. education is localized in the united states, and in parts of the country school boards are very secular, they don't want religion in schools. other parts of the country they're pushing th to get prayer in events that are school sponsored, and are not just attended by volunteers. they're attended with students who have secular reasons for being there. huge difference in rural, northwest and the south northeast and the south and

everywhere in between. >> thank you. >> you can catch the new episode of "edge of 18". that's all for new. the scandal obsession and the way that media covers politics. a new book looks at why things change. and the future of cars is coming sooner than you would think. the vehicle-to-vehicle technology that let's cars talk to each other and could save your life. the conversation continues on our website at www.aljazeera.com/consider this. we're also on facebook and facebook and you can tweet me at amora tv. we'll see you next time.

>> welcome to the al jazeera news hour. coming up in the next 60 minutes the battle for kobane. kurdish forces warn isil is stepping up as it takes a key syrian town. and anbar province said that it, too, could fall to isil rebels within days. and funeral of haiti's controversial former leader jean-claude duvalier takes place in the capitol