on "america tonight", doubling down on democracy, al jazeera demonstrates whether a controversial campaign against voter fraud may suppress legitimate voters. >> we know they exist. >> with midterms around the corner - are some states protecting or vote? also - equality under water. we dive into the issue of women

taking on a mu role in the -- a new role in the navy. >> the first reaction is women could be in trouble. he could be at high risk of sexual assault. >> "america tonight" on the risks and rewards of being with the silent service. and the war on ebola. encouraging reports out of west africa as a nurse fights a guarantees een, and the white house in the middle.

encouraging reports out of west

>> the death toll could be much higher than anyone known. >> posing as a buyer... >> ...people ready then... >> mr. president >> who should answer for those people

>> weekday mornings on al jazeera america >> we do have breaking news this morning... >> start your day with in depth coverage from around the world. first hand reporting

from across the country and real news keeping you up to date. the big stories of the day, from around the world... >> these people need help, this is were the worst of the attack took place... >> and throughout the morning, get a global perspective on the news... >> the life of doha... >> this is the international news hour... >> an informed look on the night's events, a smarter start to your day. mornings on al jazeera america >> the u.s. navy makes a big announcement regarding women female sailtor sailors can serve on submarines, with males. some female veterans are raising concerns. they cite the exceptionally close quarters and long months at sea, risk factors for sexual harassment, possibly even assault. al jazeera's tanya moseley has that story.

>> traveling the depths of the ocean, they call themselves the silent service. for 110 years a dedicated brotherhood of mariners, no women's allowed. >> this is a popular place? >> this is a popular place. >> until four years ago, when the u.s. navy allowed women board a submarine. >> we asked her whether that concerned her? >> we are all professional sailors, i'm respected as a sailor -- lieutenant in the united states navy. >> 560 feet long, the submarine space is at a premium. every room here serves more than one purpose. this officer's rec room doubles as an emergency surge karl center. >> this is what we call the

supply shack, this is where our logistical supplies people manage their supplies. we have up to four people, i like to keep it to two or three. for obvious reasons. i'm probably in here a solid ten hours a day. >> long hours in tight spaces are the reality of submarine life. ten months at sea with no windows and no privacy. here is an example of the living quarters, the hallways are about two feet wide. around the corner here is a stateroom. this is where the officers often sleep and spend personal time. here is one of their beds. they're often three of them to a room. now when enlisted women are allowed on board there will be nine to a room slightly bigger. the navy recently made the announcement it will now allow enlisted women not just officers

as an effort to fully integrate the force by 2020. but when women are welcomed board they will not have the same amount of privacy as officers and that has females worried. >> what was your first reaction about hearing that women would serve on submarines? >> first reaction was whoa, they will probably in trouble, they will be in an enclosed space for a really long time with men. women can be at high risk for sexual assault. >> sarah blum is the author of a book of abuse in the military. >> we spoke with a captain who said she has had no problems. >> that's really good. but i interviewed 60 women, women vets, world war ii all the way up to current day and i know that officers have a very different experience than enlisted. in fact as an officer i had a

enlisted. from the officer level there is more respect. >> the most recent report on swawl assault found that the majority of sexual assault was enlisted women. becky wilson enlisted in the navy at 24. she wanted to see the world. >> i thought it would be exciting. my brother was navy, my cousin was navy. i loved the stories they told. >> but surrounded by men she found herself fighting them off. >> i had a chief that talked stalked me, he said if i didn't have sex with him, he would give

me low evals. i was pretty naive so i accepted it. >> and she said it got much worse. >> i was raped a couple of times. and i never told anyone. it's like women are fighting two wars. and they're fighting one war with the men that are supposed to be there side by side and they're fighting the war over there, too. >> so when we talk about women serving on submarines, you have very strong feelings about it? >> yes, i do. i feel that if they're going to be aboard submarines then it needs to be all female because a submarine is close. you're walking through a passageway, you're brushing against each other, i feel they're asking for a problem . >> does the fact that you're a

woman ever cross your mind? >> there are moments where you remember that. i think when you're at work in the day in and the day outs of what i do, it's really general neutral. it's about a skill set, it's about training, it's about being a professional sailor. >> lieutenant commander eric lundberg is reilly's commanding officer. he agrees having women on board is no big deal. >> i come to believe it is a nonevent, a nonissue. there has been none of the concerns that there's going to be a rash of frat earnization, fr fraternization. >> another 53 in the training pipeline, a fraction of the more than 22,000 sailors who serve.

blum says the military track record is cause for concern. >> we know that there are 26,000 sexual assaults per year and that that's probably only a fraction of them. >> because those are the ones that are reported? >> those are the ones that are reported. we know that in 2012 there was a 35% increase in the numbers and in 2013 there was a 50% increase in the numbers. it's a cultural problem. it's in the can culture in the military about. . >> is navy says it is aware of the problem. >> sexual assault and sexual problems is, we are a component of society and that's where we come from and it's an issue we take seriously and we are dealing with. >> we talked to a navy veteran who had grave concerns with the safety of women on submarines. with sexual assault, what will the navy tell you about that? >> they are used to the

continuous drum beat of treating people with respect and integrity. putting sexual assault and harassment in the past is what we're after. >> the navy has said it integrates female officers first. as lieutenant reilly wears her dolphins, she is forging a path. >> when this opportunity opened up it was a chance to continue to improve myself professionally but then also to share my experience, my professional development, the time i've had in the navy with junior women who are going to make careers with submarines. >> for those who follow her joining the brother leod of silent warriers is both an opportunity and a risk. tanya moseley, al jazeera, washington. >> with mid term elections less than a week away, allegations of double dipping at the polls.

>> i got into this stuff. bush won by 52007 vote 527 votes and it's a decade later and i'm hearing the characterize voter fraud. there's a million people committing voter fraud. is there this big crime wave? >> are millions of people voting more than once? we'll separate fact from friction. also, defrokd defrocked . there's a lot road ahead when it comes to equality in the united >> a brutal drug war >> this here were the remains of 31 people that were found... >> thousands disappearing >> the cost of kidnapping and killing a human being is almost zero >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas

at us... emmy award winning investigative series... new episode the disappeared only on al jazeera america

>> and welcome back. now a snapshot of other stories

making history here on "america tonight." a river of lava on the big island of hawaii, getting closer to dozens of homes. residents have evicted, but plenty have decided to stay, they want to see the lava cross through the town of pahoa. the second anniversary of the superstorm sandy. sandy crashed into the east coast, blamed for 165 deaths. the police chief in ferguson, missouri is expected to step down at least according to some officials. in an effort of reforming the district

in the aftermath of the killing of michael brown. the police chief is denying the allegation thousand, very much uncertain. electoral efers in 27 states have launched a massive campaign against voter fraud. they are using a computer name matching system to claim that more than 3 million citizens may be registered to vote in more than one state. the lists are based on common names, john jackson or david lee, and could stop voters from taking part in next week's elections, no one has seen these lists directly but in a special investigation by al jazeera america, joie chen has more on the outrage developing in several key states. >> so you are talking about probably over a million people that voted twice in this election. the first concrete evidence

we've ever had of massive voter fraud. we've talked about it ad nauseam. this proves it. >> greg palace is a private investigator turned journalist, who has voted in every election since 2000. >> when bush won by 527 votes now it's a decade and a half later and i'm hearing the cry of voter fraud. there's a million people committing voter fraud. is there really this big crime wave? >> the journey begins here in kansas where republican secretary of state chris kobakh has launched a nationwide campaign over voter fraud. >> he has voted in kansas and colorado. the obama administration is not

interested in prosecuting surprise surprise so we have to do it. >> flag anyone whose name appears in the voter rolls in more than one state. it's called cross-check and across the country 27 states are using it to investigate possible voter fraud. among them, 22 have an election board controlled by republicans. >> otherwise you've heard from. >> palace and his team contacted every state and only three complied and now al jazeera is making them public for the first time. >> it took us months of harassing these officers until they finally gave up the list from washington and virginia and georgia. and i looked at these millions of names. jorge rodriguez, david lee, joe black, common names. that's the only identifier. then i say who are these

guys? >> palace went to north carolina where electoral officials have taken the unusual step of hiring a former fbi investigator. he's been given a list of more than 190,000 names flagged by cross check to determine if any of them should be prosecuted for voter fraud . >> hi, how are you? good to see you, welcome. >> josh lawson is a spokesperson for the north carolina border of elections. >> have you busted anyone because of cross check? >> we have not referred anyone, there hasn't been a presentation. >> not even a referral? >> we have had referrals, whether the d.a.s have made prosecutions, we don't know. crime. >> of the 3 million names identified by cross check in the

last two years not one has been convicted of voter fraud. but virginia, another state using cross check, has already struck more than 41,000 voters off the rolls, admitting that some of them may have moved out of state. other states like north carolina have been reaching out to voters on the cross checklist by mail. those who failed to confirm their identity will be denied the right to vote on election day. >> but you have this whole like hysteria over the fraudulent voters but do they exist? >> we know that -- >> you know that you can't find them even though you have the address? >> is there a question? >> if you can't find them, addresses social security numbers, signatures? >> i never said we couldn't find them. i said we had not prosecuted. >> the problem is identification, there are millions of names that are mismatched.

james elmer barnes junior is supposed to be as the same guy as james cross barnes iii. >> james ratcliff barns junior is the same as james anthony barnes, the barnes is nothing, senior. >> georgia's cross checklist has half a million names on it. palace went there to find out what was going on and few knew that it was even going on. >> vincent hardy williams voted in georgia. vincent h. williams vote in virginia, so they say that's same guy. >> and how do they know that's the same person? >> stacy abrams is the top ranking democrat in the georgia state assembly. palace went to see her.

>> i sit as the minority in the howpts, i certainly intend, to investigate and request information from the secretary of state about this program, about the nature of the program, about the origin of it about the resources and about whether or not we are systematically attempting to disenfranchise half of our georgia voters. >> for someone to vote in three places is kind of odd because we have a hard time to get them to vote one place. >> helen butler is the director of get out the vote initiative. >> according to voting protection groups that we've met with in carolina, according to dick morris on fox tv that the obama campaign for example may have had a million people voting twice and that he stole the election. >> oh, that's crazy. that's totally crazy. there was not people voting twice in any election.

and if they're basing it off of this they are crazy as well. because that tales you that that is not good information. >> in a lead-up to mid terms georgia has begun to send post cards to anyone suspected of being a double voter, asking them to verify their registration. but butler says they're they're easy to miss. >> do you think if somebody got this their vote would be safe? >> no, more than likely they would throw it out. that's the way junk mail comes, like me i go whoop, i don't know who that is, whoop. >> tomorrow night. what's behind the double-voting lists? >> i didn't know that you guys were going to give us this bombshell, my god. >> immigrants and minorities are being

focused on more than ever. >> first off any evidence right now of real people that are being affected by this? >> very real people. virginia has told us that they have already removed over 41,000 voters, about 10% of their cross-checklist. that's just one out of 27 states. the other states won't tell us how many they've removed so far. >> so do we know in the state of virginia, were these names cross checked with birthdates? the did they use social security numbers? isn't that how cross check markets itself? >> yes, there's a great wonderful powerpoint presentation by the secretary of state of kansas saying we use birthdates they use social security numbers but in fact they are not used. indeed in the instructions, we got our hands on the cross check instructions, if they get social security numbers and they don't get many they ignore that.

>> how can you possibly ignore that? do we have any explanation for that? >> they want to get the widest group of what they consider suspects of double voting. if you use birthdates, if you use social security numbers you wouldn't have a half million double voting suspects in the state of georgia alone. it just wouldn't happen. >> do you have any idea how many we would have if they actually did that, if they used birthdates, social numbers? >> about 1%, you would have basically a few thousand people who once lived in georgia and moved away or moved into georgia never notified the state that they are no longer voting there. you don't have -- you don't have people voting twice. >> you're saying it's evident of voter registration in two states but not evidence of double dipping. >> no, there's nothing wrong with having two registrations, as long as you don't vote in two states. >> right. what are the implications of the mid terms and what about 2016?

>> in the mid terms it's going to have some effect because the races are so darn tight in north carolina, in georgia, where they're removing tens of thousands of people. but the real, real impact will be felt in 2016. because some states are taking a long time to remove people from lists and that's when we're going to feel it hundreds of thousands of people if we go by the virginia numbers. we're going to see several hundred thousand people mostly minorities lose their vote for the presidential election. >> purging of rolls is nothing new, it is highly controversial. how does this number compare to what we've seen over the last few decades? >> i did a story where i uncovered that in florida before the presidential election people were removed because they were marked as felons criminals not allowed to vote. but not one of them that were

removed was a fell on not entitled to vote. that shifted the presidency of the united states where george bush won by just 500 votes. this is much more sophisticated and is going to roll into the voter rolls over a long time so the big impact won't be felt until the presidential elections of 2016. >> more about that, al jazeera investigative journalist greg palast. thank you. >> you're welcome . >> you too can funded out if you've -- you too can find out if you have been accused of double voting that and a whole lot more about double voters on aljazeera.com. well, the campaigners are out there stumping. send a message to lawmakers, calling it dear congress.

make up your sign there and tweet us the picture of it, use the hashtag, #dear congress. don't forget to join al jazeera america next tuesday november the 4th, a complete roundup of election results, we'll also have analysis, our special election night coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. a power struggle at the pull pet over same sex marriage. >> my evolution from being a silent supporter to becoming a advocate for the lgbt community is very similar to an outing process of a gay person. so i started talking about my beliefs, that i did not think that homosexuality was a sin. >> defrocked for officiating at his gay son's wedding.

a methodist minister, and hi gay son, join us to talk about same sex marriage. >> america votes 2014 midterms it's all come down to this... >> you are going to determine whether i'm going to be the next senator from iowa >> the candidates last chance to convince voters they're the one... they will stop at nothing to get your vote >> david young, how are you? >> run for congress >> it's important to be out here talking to voters >> director aj schnack's unprecedented series concludes >> it's certainly something that doesn't exist in politics on television >> america votes 2014 midterms only on al jazeera america

>> the most important money stories of the day might affect your savings, your job or your retirement. whether its bail-outs or bond rates this stuff get complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down confusing financial speak and make it real. >> now a follow up to a story we

have been facing very a story we closely on "america tonight." officiating the wedding of his gay son, a methodist minlts into the spominister into the gay rights movement. now there is more to it. the church this week ruled that schaefer can remain a minister. "america tonight" first introduced you to schaeffer last year when he was waiting to learn his fate from the methodist church. [♪ singing ]

is >> the very beginning would be myself receiving a phone call from a lady that wanted to remain anonymous and this lady said, i need you to know that your son is considering suicide and it's because he's gay. and i remember thinking, my son is not gay! and we talked to him that day, we asked him straightforward, are you gay? maybe secretly i hoped for a different answer than yes, because even though i embraced him when he came out, i still had to struggle with it. i asked myself did i do something wrong, did i raise him wrong and this was in 2000. that was a different world back then. he prayed to god, he said he cried himself to sleep many times and he prayed to god that he would make him normal. we just couldn't hold back our tears. my wife and i just embraced him and told him we love you son, we

affirmed him, it doesn't matter, you're still our son, we love you. tim meets a guy in college, and fell in love. they had been dating for two and a half years, and one day he breaks the news to us that we just got engaged. i was ecstatic. the next thing out of his mouth, dad would you do the wedding. and i reacted from the heart and said absolutely son. >> in 2013, almost seven years later someone from his church found out about the wedding. >> i received a phone call from my district superintendent back in late march saying that somebody in my congregation had obtained the license of my gay son's wedding that i performed, the complainant was invited to tell his concerns and share with the bishop.

she appointed a clergy person a colleague of mine to conduct the investigation at the end of which he proclaims there needs to be a trial. >> "america tonight" was there when schaeffer delivered his final sermon before the trial. >> as i'm addressing all those out there who consider me an enemy, who consider me their enemy i want to say to them, i love you. and i will never harm you. >> the jury deliberated on the second day and came back much quicker than i expected them to. they suspended me for 30 days and they said at the end of those 30 days you need to make a decision. we want you to surrender your credentials if you cannot uphold the united methodist book of discipline in its entirety. >> schaeffer never wa

wavered, he said he would continue to perform same sex marriages. we followed schaeffer when he went to norris town to receive his fate. >> i've been a minister for 20 years, i can't understand why they would take my credentials for doing this one thing that was against the rules but that was clearly an act of love. >> reverend schaeffer met with the board of ministry conditioned, when asked to surrender his credentials he refused to do so. the jury was compelled to deem his credentials surrendered. >> she had tears in her eyes because she anticipated of what was going to happen. there were about 40, 45 of my colleagues. i made it pretty clear in my statement, i will not voluntarily surrender my

credentials. and i hope you understand that. and she said yes we do. we will have to take them from you . >> we're very fortunate to have reverend schaeffer and his son tim from opposite coasts tonight. when we last checked in with you we heard you in the car you were telling us you were extremely nervous. now the new news, you are refrocked, how are you feeling tonight? >> i'm on cloud 9. it's not only great for myself, my family, you know we've better than through quite a story in the last year and a half but it is also big time great news for lgbtq community, who have been watching this carefully, closely. the highest message out of the united methodist church is there

is room for you to minister to the new united methodist church. >> tim would you weigh in on this? your dad really went to bat for you, didn't he? >> yes, absolutely. it's been a roller coaster for the whole family. we are so proud of our dad to stick with his message for what was right in the entire process. >> tim i have to ask you, your story of coming out, the story of your marriage, all of this rather private and suddenly you are thrust into the spotlight like this. how have you handled this attention? >> i am a very private person. and in the beginning it was very difficult. but i felt that i owed it to my dad and i owed it to other people, other teens in particular, who are christians and who are in churches hearing the same message and going through the same struggles and that i think that sharing my story will help. and obviously it supported my

father, and he took a big risk. and so i had to kind of jump in with both feet and take a risk myself and share my story and be more open than i would is ordinarily be. >> you see how this story impacts people, do you hope we're seeing a change now? >> yes, i think that this decision by our highest church court definitely signals that the message is being received. i think people are starting to listen, and they're starting to realize, oh, wait a minute, you know, i can understand that this kind of message from the church that if you are a homosexual you can't go to heaven, how that would have a terrible impact on a person of faith. i think united mefsd methodistse good folks. they don't want to harm anybody that didn't know how much of a

negative impact this doctrine of ours has so they're starting to see that. we're taking another look at the doctrine and the dialogue is in full force and hopefully at the next general council in 2016, we will come to a resolution and change this doctrine. >> what's your reaction to those who say that the church here has made a mistake? is there any changing their mind, reverend? >> i believe so. because just seven jeerings the years ago the same judicial council, the same body has actually defrocked a colleague of mine again after she was reinstated. this is a new day, this is giving us so much hope for the future. and i truly believe that it's remarkable that they went with a lot of my language in their decision, in their argumentation. >> tim, what is your message to

other lgbt youth in the country right now that may be struggling on how to reconcile their faith and their sexuality? >> first of all i want to say there's nothing wrong with you. god created you just the way you are. gay, straight, you know, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, doesn't matter. and you need to find somebody that you can talk to about this. it may be difficult to come out to parents. i know for me it was easier to come out to friends at school who were very supportive but you need to find somebody to talk about these things and don't be ashamed of who you are, who god created you to be. >> on that note isn't it amazing when you started on that point here you are together with the success in the battle that you have waged. reverend slaifer an schaeffer a, thank you very much. >> thank you,

adam. >> apparently if you got what it takes you can actually get a free ride to college! that story is coming up next. >> on techknow... >> these are some of the amazing spider goats >> small creatures, big impact >> how strong is it? >> almost as strong as steel >> inspiring discoveries changing lives >> this could go in a human body... >> right >> this is for an achilles tendon >> techknow every saturday go where science meets humanity >> this is some of the best driving i've ever done, even though i can't see techknow >> we're here in the vortex >> only on al jazeera america

check this out a university in chicago is offering a new sports scholarship. they sporting a team that plays not on the field, but a video monitor. more from chicago, where it's game on for

gamers. >> reporter: college athletics scholarships are awarded to the cream of the crop. robert morris in chicago is no different. for the first time they awarded varsity letters and funny to video game players. >> a keyboard, mouse and headset is all that needs. 35 competitors, 33 men and women are some top-ranked players. they play league of legends, on online game, with 27 million players logging on each day. >> like counterparts on the soccer field. they practice 16 hours a week in a custom built arena, with coaches monitoring technique and strategy. freshman derek was ranked 163rd in north america when the university recruited him to play

league of ledge ents on a 50% scholarship. >> i was recruited. >> when he first approached me i was like what are you talking about? this is a video game. he explained the thing, show my parents. it was a good school. >> some scoff at the idea of calling video game play a varsity support, the coordinator says these players bring some of the same skill sets he looks for in players of traditional sport. you can hear the girls saying "i'm open", same thing in that game. that clicked with me at that. it's a team game. why can't we do the same as we would for any other sport, trying to get the best players to the school. for universities, having teams means publicity, sponsorship and a way to get in at the ground level.

rmu may be the first to or scholarships, 130 colleges have teams, including princeton, cornell and m.i.t. like other scholarship athletes, derek wears an eagle on his sleeve and needs to have a practice. >> it's a good thing to practice, but not to get too wrapped up in it. >> so far he's maintaining a 4.0. after school there's the possibility of going pro. >> that's great. tomorrow on the programme - the molten menace on the hawaiian island threatening to destroy everything. i'll take you to the crater's edge, the epicentre. if you would like to comment on the stories you have seen tonight. log on to the website. join the conversation on twitter or facebook page. goodnight. we'll have more "america tonight" tomorrow, right here.

>> funding terrorism. where does the money come from? who can america trust? i'm in washington with a man in charge of destroying terrorist organizations without firing a single shot. we'll lay waste to the rumors and follow where the money leads. this is "real money with ali velshi." tonight i'm in washington for a special show focusing on the role that money is playing in america's newest war in the middle east. the fight against the islamic state of iraq and the lavan or isil.