♪ ♪ her, everyone, this is al jazerra america, i am john seeing en thought never new york. state of emergency, missouri's governor action have a states the national guard before a grand jury i decision on ferguson. isil beheads another american, reaction to the brutal video. clashes in east gentleman ruus legal after a palestinian is found hangs. why his death is causing so much anger think of. a second ebola death on u.s. soil as health officials warn the out break is not over. and keystone, the house approves, the senate could be

next. big science of big money and big impact on our special report. ♪ ♪ tonight missouri is under a state of emergency, governor jay nixon has activated the national guard. he says he's worried about the possibility of what he calls expanded unrest after a grand jury hands down a decision in the michael brown case, that decision is expected soon. jonathan martin? ferguson. jonathan, what's the reaction there tonight? >> reporter: well, good evening, john. this decision by the governor to issue the state of emergency has certainly fueled a lot of speculation that the grand jury i decision could be imminent and concerns fears about how bad the violence could be. in a phone call a few moment ago the governors it's part of a con tip jensie plan to make sure law

enforcement are prepared the st. louis counts and i city police departments were working with the highway patrol and the national guard are prepared for the worst, even though we don't know what day the grand jury will announce their decision, some previous test tests in fern and other communities are already underway. organizers call this a preview of their plans to protest if ferguson police officer darren wilson is not indicted. several run people rallyed in clayton missouri promising to shutdown the st. louis suburb if there is no justice. [ chanting ] >> reporter: unlike ferguson, the 15,000 residents of clayton, the saint lewis county seat are mostly white and effluent. >> clay con ton is thclayton isb of count and i houses some of the biggest businesses like the olin corporation that merchandises bullets.

it's significant to be here. northern an hour they blocked trafficked and confronted cars. >> reporter: some protesters shouted at police officers who mostly stood back not engaging the crowd. the protesters here say they have little faith officer wilson will be indicted. regardless of the decision they say their message will be nonviolent and focused. >> we have been peaceful for 101 days, these protesters will continue to be peace. we are fighting for the preservation of life, so we will never endanger people for the cause. >> this is as a systemic issue that goes beyond just this case and we have goals that go beyond just this case see there is no reason for us to just wait for this one decision in order to make our voices heard. >> reporter: the clayton chamber of commerce tells al jazerra it received a warning from clayton officials about the protests, but so far unlike many businesses ferguson that are boarded up in case there is violence businesses remain open.

and we spoke to several protesters out there today and all of them say that they will be nonviolent but they certainly will be direct with their message, but the fbi did issue a bulletin tonight to law enforcement across the country warn that go there could be agitators coming in and perhaps exploiting the situation turning otherwise peaceful demonstrations in to much more. the governor has issued a state of emergency here, john, and that will be in effect for the next 30 days but he has the option tokes tends it depending on what happens here in the community. john. >> all right, jonathan, thank you. al jazerra's legal contributor jamie floyd joins us now. and, jamie, is this justified, state of emergency? >> it certainly sun precedented despite the fbi issuing that notice, the issue youing of a preemptive state of emergency, i can't find anything like that before. >> as far as i can tell there is no state of emergency right now. >> that's right. and the law requires there to be an emergency for there to be a state of emergency.

and usually we see this when there is a flood or, you know, some natural disaster, although the law does provide for it in the case of civil unrest or riot, but we don't have a civil unrest or riot, do we? >> so is this legal? >> well, i guess, if you look at the letter of the law -- >> he is the governor. >> he is the governor. i don't know that it is. you know, when you read up on, and i did some quick reading up on states of emergency, one of the great concerns is pretext for the suspension of civil rights. and that is written about quite a bit. not just in the united states. but across the world you don't want states of emergencies to be used, states of emergency to be used as a pretext for the suspension of civil rights, i am not suggest is that's what's happening here. >> or to shutdown protests. >> you don't want to shutdown protests. you want there to be free protests and you don't what want to unduly ex-asker is bait orin

site violence before it has happened. >> talk to me about the grant jury process. is it possible the governor is told by the grand jury -- >> not supposed to happen. it's suppose to be entirely confidence sham. i heard speculation this must have happened because the governor or mirror somebody has some inclination this thing is coming down. seems you wouldn't impose a state of emergency if you didn't think something was happening. but we just heard this is imposed for 30 days and we have long heard that the grand jury is supposed to come down before the end of the month. so it could be purely coincidental. >> attorney benjamin crump said last week this will be a defining moment in history. what do you say to that? >> honestly, we have a long arc of history as dr. king said. and it's supposed to bend towards justice. and the question is whether or not we are bending towards justice especially when it comes to the lives of black men in the face of law enforcement.

i found it very interesting this comments about class. we talk a lot about race in the country, the class issue in st. louis is critical. one in four people unemployed and when you look at black men, john, in the percentage, 50% of black men, young black men are unemployed in st. louis. and that really leads to social unrest. >> the response to this, though, is -- [speaking at the same time] >> that has nothing to do with the details of this case. all of those things are true. and the police department is white. and. [speaking at the same time] >> it has everything to do with tension in a society. >> right. >> it really does. and i think until we start to talk about race and class in an honest way in a society we don't get to the route causes of the tensions on the street. >> no matter whether the police officer should be charged or not. >> well, that is a separate conversation. but a related conversation. >> james j.a jamie floyd, thanks

very much. >> my flesh. >> you are new. new reaction to the latest murder carried by isil. the beheading off perso another american. this afternoon his ference said they need time for forgive. our jamie macintyre joins us now live from washington with more on that. jamie. >> reporter: john, the us is denouncing another beheading and vowing not to be intimidated by the group's brutal tactics, but the family is striking a district tone talking about healing and forgiveness. the parents of abdul rahmen kassig are grievin grieving. >> our hearts are battered but they will mend. the world is broken but it will be healed in the end. and goodwill prevail as the one god of many names will prevail.

>> reporter: the beheading of their son a 26-year-old former army ranger who changed his name from peter when he convert to the i says lamb, brings to three the number of americans executed by isil. after serving in iraq in 2007, kassig returned to the region creating a relief organization to help the syrian people. >> please allow our small family the time and privacy to mourn, cry, and, yes, forgive, and begin to heal. >> reporter: al jazerra has chosen not to air the new video from isil, it shows more than a dozen other execution victims, including a group of men dressed in blue jump suits said to be syrian military officers and pilots. authorities in france also identified one of the fighters as a french national. in a speech secretary of state john kerry argued isil's actions are unintentionally becoming a recruiting tool for the u.s. in his words a coalition

multiplier, galvanizing support for increased military action. >> isil's leaders assume that the world would be too intimidate today oppose them. well, let us be clear, we are not intimidated, you are not intimidated. our friends and partners are not intimidated. isil is very, very wrong. >> reporter: in a statement president obama denounced the killings as an act of pure evil by a group that only words on death and destruction, he rejected any connection to islam, saying isil's reactions represent no faith least of all the muslim faith when abdul raw map adopted as his own. the tie tide was starting to tun against sizal, chuck hagel indicated that he's willing to deploy your honor troops on the front line as forward air controllers certainly eyes on the ground to better target isil fighters.

a couple of things different about the latest video released by iceism it did not show the actual beheading just the aftermath and it did not threaten the potential next victim by name. which is something that has happened before. isil holds only one other american hostage a 26-year-old female aid worker, whose name is being withheld to try to lower her profile. isil has executed women and children in the past. but it has never beheaded a western woman on camera. john. >> jamie macintyre on washington. thank you. robert mcfadden is a very vice president and former special agent in charge at ncis. and in our studio tonight. robert, why unmask this time? why are the fighters not masked? >> isil is trying to get the message out there that, look, we are ant an international organi, it's in not young guys from syria and iraq, we are the vanguard of the worldwide

movement. you see the young men with physical features from different places outside the middle east. >> does that help the u.s. track these people down? >> yes. the short answer for that. isis leadership, isil leadership has a cast-benefit analysis. do we have our guys on their unmask and risk them being identified versus what kind of propaganda message do we get out there by having this international look. so with it being out there, we know from so-called crowd sourcing, when images like that are out there it's usually not days or weeks but minutes before there is an indication of these guys. >> you and i have talked about it before and you talk about recruiting, but still i think most of us have a very difficult time trying to understand how this is really useful in recruiting. >> it is amazing and completely counterintuitive. but here is what you have. the leadership knows that it's not going to appeal to a broad mass of young men, say a group of 100. particularly outside that

region. however, it is going to get that necessary percentage that are attracted by that kind of activity. and it recipient relies on that. it needs it. >> how do they do it? >> just going after those that would be attracted and motivated by the kind of men of activity, men of action. >> that's the part. that's the disconnect i don't get. >> i know. >> you say that, but i don't know who those people are. who are those people in. >> the behavior assists have a much, much better characterization and explanation as to how that is. but putting it in to some perspective, though, okay, it doesn't take very many to be lethal. look at the percentage of the united states population, for example, where the department of justice estimates 12 american citizens or visa holders are with the group. 12 out of a population of over 300 million. >> so general dempsey said last week that sending small groups of troops to this area is still on the table. does that help? would that help? >> from what we are hearing,

without having further detail from the chairman, what the talk is, that these types of experts will help with ground intelligence and tapping h targd helping the indigenous forces get up to speed and get in to fight faster and more effectively. >> but if small groups of -- small units that go in of u.s. troops why wouldn't larger units help? >> i can only say what the administration is saying, seguin fan tri type element will not be going to iraq or syria. >> i guess based on your knowledge, is -- the u.s. has been saying no boots on the ground yet there are lots of boots on the ground. >> that's right. >> there are plenty of so-called advisers. >> and myself i flew reconnaissance missions over hostile territory back in the day when i was in the air force, so we certainly called that combat missions. >> may not be boots on the ground but you are putting your life at risk.

>> that's right. >> is it just semantics? >> it is in a way. and in some ways it is a bit of splitting the hairs. but the u.s. and, agree with this completely now, say, look, it's i to-prong approach that will be the most effective. political part of it and the forces that have the most at stake in the region. that's the whole effort when it's intelligent, logistics and air strikes helping those forces get no th in to the fight. >> robbest mcfadden. new flash point and tensions in jerusalem. protesters clashing with israeli police after a palestinian bus driver was found hanged inside his vehicle. israel officials say he committed suicide. some palestinians say he was killed. nick schifrin has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: john, good evening the driver's lawyer and the palestinian coroner who was present during his autopsy insists there is no doubt that he was killed. the israeli police insists that there is no doubt that he killed

himself. and in this city right now, when it comes to he said he said, tension fills the streets and grief fills a home. in a palestinian house in the occupied west bank, a hundred women gather to grieve. they surround each other for support. family members shaping the loss of a relative at the center a wife inconsolable. >> translator: he didn't do nipping. he was a good man. they love him at work. they love him a lot. what else do you want me to say? what else can i say about my main? >> reporter: her husband, 32-year-old was a bus driver, the israeli police say he hanged himself inside his vehicle. there is no evidence of foul play, according to a police statement. but his family says this photo shows signs of abuse. they say jewish extremists murdered him. thousands of palestinians filled his neighborhood to show solidarity. and to show strength.

they carried his body to his family home. his cass at the time surrounded by flags of palestinian faction that his usually fight, his death united them. they called him a martyr and vowed to redeem his death. about a while away they tried to -- mile way they tried to redeem it with rocks, in six locations palestinians clashed with israel i forces, throwing whatever they can. the israelis respond by firing above protesters heads or disbursing them with tear gas, there has been a identify dozen protesters here for over an hour, they take big stones and break them on the ground and throw rocks about that size at the israeli soldiers who are about three or 400 feet down that way. a lot of protesters are keeping their distance because the israeli police are using live fire. violence is increasing and using cars with weapons and knives pal

palestinians have killed six israeli in the past month, more than in the past two years, israel blames the palestinian leadership. >> translator: they must halt the leadership that leads to acts of violence. >> reporter: on average, it really forces kill a pal palestn every five days. each funeral leads to another and to calls for revenge, neither side trusts the other. the israeli police say that he committed suicide, do you believe that? >> translator: no, i don't believe them. the law is on their side. they do what they want. >> reporter: they filled his grave by hand. in this city today, there is a lot of prayer, but very little peace. palestinian authority today was largely silent even though it had the opportunity to refute the israeli police narrative and even though the family came out and accused jewish extremists of killing you seven.

it's a stein that they don't want the tension to pred and that's a goal that at least right now, they share with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. that's nick schifrin reported. still ahead a second ebola death in the united states. >> the ebola virus infection is obviously an extreme did deadly disease. >> what doctors are saying about the effort to say live. and the senate ready to vote on ski stone. but is it safe? and is it worth it? an in-depth look at our debate in a special report coming up. of

the european union pledged 30 sit million dollars to fight the spread of ebola in west africa. today a surgeon who contracted the disease working in sierra leone and died early this morning. dr. martin salia was a permanent resident of the united states. he was flown home to nebraska on saturday for emergency treatment. robert ray has more from atlanta. >> reporter: as the centers for

disease control and prevention here in atlanta georgia, are sending more workers and officials over to west africa, specifically the country of mali to help stop any sort of epidemic in the works of ebola folks here in the state of nebraska, are mourning the loss of dr. martin salia, who passed way this morning, 44 years olds, at 4:00 a.m. at the university of nebraska medical center in omaha. he was there for just 36 hours. a surgeon who flew from see siea leone just this past saturday in extremely critical condition. dr. phil smith who treated him made comments early today. >> the ebola virus infection is obviously an extremely deadly disease. we are reminded today that even though this was the best possible place for a patient with this virus to be, that in the very advanced stages, even the most modern techniques that we have at our disposal are not

enough to help these patients once they reach a critical threshold. the focus needs to remain with the global emphasis on prevention as well as early diagnosis. >> reporter: and when dr. salia arrived in the u.s. this past saturday, his kidneys were not functioning properly, his respiratory system white sox breaking do you believe, and he unfortunately was unresponsive. doctors did all they did but without success, he's the second patients to die in the united states from ebola. the united states president's press secretary put out a statement this morning: >> reporter: and while over 5,000 people have already died to ebola in west africa, officials here in the u.s. are

still monitoring closely folks coming in from west africa in to the u.s. airports. and recently as of just this morning, monitoring people coming in from the country of mali as seven people have become infected there and the cdc is trying to stop and prevent an epidemic in that country. robert ray, al jazerra, atlanta. some of the biggest names in pop music are trying to raise money to fight bola. they have updated a song used to help feed the hungry in africa in 1984. julie mcdonald has more from london. ♪ it's christmastime ♪ there is no need to be afraid >> reporter: same studio, same tune, just slightly different lyric this is time. 30 years after the original do they know it's christmas, the band-aid team are resurrecting the christmas anthem. ♪ we can spread our joy

>> reporter: it's called band 830, and most of the artists boy bands one direction, singer elie golding. weren't even born when the original was released in 1984 to raise funds to fight hung never ethiopia. you two's bono and bob geldof organized the original group and they are still the ring leaders exempt this time they want to raise money not for famine but the fight against ebola. ♪ to west africa >> this morning at 8:00 before we even played the track, it was number one. so once again they are dieing, yes, of this filthy little playing, yes, but they are dieing because they are poor. and this country seems to understand that. >> reporter: the original band eight single spent three weeks at number one and the music charts and raised a mass of $24 million worldwide. the smash hit inspired live aid concerts which were broadcast in over 165 countries raising about

$150 million for famine relief in ethiopia. but is using an old song to fight a new killer outdated? yes, says one of the men behind the song africa stop ebola. who is helping african musicians to use their influence. >> the main issue is the narrative of the song. a narrative that portrays africa as a dark continent. it continues to recreate and reband this idea that africa is an isolated place where the rivers don't flow, where there is no water, where there is no sun, where there is no snow. ♪ >> reporter: a regardless, though, both groupings want the same thing, to raise awareness and badly-needed cash to fight this killer disease. julie mcdonald, al jazerra. ♪ ♪ a court-appointed trustee says he's now recovered

$10.3 billion for the victims of bernie madoff's upon see scheme. the most recent settlement involves half a billion dollars from funds in the cayman islands, investigators lost 17 1/2 billion dollars in at that scheme. madoff plead i guilty to fraud in two number nine, he's serving a 150 year sentence. still ahead, boom or bust. at year old of de los debate the senate prepares to vote. we look at the facts behind the keystone xl pine pipeline. plus is it safe? the proposed pipeline runs through some delicate territory. we'll look at the impact on the environment coming up thin.

the republican-led house approved it. the democratic-led zip at votes tomorrow. the keystone xl oil pipeline could soon head to the president's desk are but the controversy concerns much more than politics. the extension could stretch for more than 1100 miles carrying more oil over a direct route than the existing pipeline from canada to the gulf of mexico. supporters say keystone will create jobs and keep gas prices low. critics say the jobs will be few and the strain on the environment huge. jonathan betz is here with more, jonathan.

>> this goes a delicate issue especially for the president. after six years congress is indeed close to approving keystone xl. >> protesters hoping to block the chances of keystone x elephant's success stretched an inflatable pipeline across senator mary landrieu's lawn in washington, d.c. >> if she wants the pipe a line owe ahead badly it can go through her front yard. >> it's been stalled for years but they are pushing for quick approval of the project hoping it might help her hold onto her senate seat. she supported keystone xl for years but now face a mid turn rumidtermrunoff election. >> more than me the public wants the vote and have wanted it for a long time. >> upping the ante, her opponents, louisiana representative bill cassidy has his own keystone bill. >> the bill has passed. >> which passed the house on friday. >> join me in approving the keystone xl pipeline to finally

provide 40,000 promised jobs to the american people. >> the number of jobs is actually open for debate. but the stage is set if a show down and a dilemma for president obama who, may be forced to decide between vetoing the bill and standing with environments assists or helping democratic senator land rue by signing it in to law. >> it is providing the ability of canada to pump their oil, sends it through our land down to the gulf where it will be sold everywhere else. >> the house has approved xl9 times. but now that republicans control the senate, it's very close to passing. helping clear the way for the 1700-mile pipeline to carry canadian oilsands crude from albert at that to the gulf coast. supporters say it within generated jobs and further cut america's dependence on middle eastern oil. >> you have to ask what will happen if we don't do did? if we do the get that oil we'll import more from other countries. >> but environmental assists

worry the pipeline will further encouraging the mining of oilsands and point out it will pump thick, tar-like oil across the u.s. and under major sources of fresh water. >> one spill in to our talk if you are, you know, can can spread mails, if our water is contaminated we have no water for the cat. >> for now the pipeline is stuck at the canadian border and as the senate debates, it's the president who may ultimately decide. >> all signs are that the president will veto the bill but if he does, a nerve court is also reviewing the controversial pipeline. >> jonathan betz, thank you. for in the debate over the mine is either boost the u.s. economy now or save the climate for the future. science and technology correspondent jake ward is in richmond, carle an california as it's not that simple, right, jake? >> reporter: that's correct, john, i am here in the san francisco bay area which is home

to at least a half dozen refineries, which is sort of strange to think at such a venter of enviornmental politics. but the truth is this is really a hub of the oil industry. behind me is the terminus of the chevron refinery, a 200900-acre facility that boils crude oil like what will be going through the keystone pipeline and turns it in to mostly transportation fuels, diesel fuel, jet fuel and moves it out to to market via the tanker ships you see out here behind me in in the san francisco bay. all of it moves through pipes and pipes are really the great trouble of oil. this is really a sort of a microcosm of sort of the essence of the oil industry. get oil out of often very difficult remote land locked places and move it to the end of the continent via pipes. the prop is oil is pipes corrode it's not because of oil is corrosive it's the stuff that comes up out of the ground with it. the organic acids and carbon dioxides and the other improve at this that his come with tar

stands and nobody knows that better than chevron. thethey have had major fire and explosions every 10 years since 19 giant. since 2012. over 15,000 people had to go to the hospital. investigators looking at it afterwards determined that the pipes were not being adequately inspected and maintained. and they had corroded because of the same kind of heavy sulfur content that the keystone pipeline is also going to be carrying. now, just a small leak can set off that kind of five, noxious fumes, can contaminate groundwater, so the mine will be a national test of whether the u.s. and american pipeline companies can maintain such a massive pipeline without doing any sort of environmental or personal harm to the acres and acres and community after community that it will pass through on its way from canada down to the gulf of mexico, john. >> all right, jake ward, we'll get back to you in a while. keystone xl has been stalled in

controversy for years in the u.s. but in canada where the pipeline begins many have a more favorable view. daniel lak has more. >> reporter: john, there hasn't about this sort of high-profile, wide-spread opposition to keystone here than you have seen in the united states over the past several years, a number of reasons for that. the main one in albert at that, the western province of albert at that. the petroleum industry is the mainstay of the economy. it's no exaggeration to stay that this, canada's most prosperous province owes what it has to the oil industries, whether it's oil stands, tar sands in the north or more conventioning source of oil throughout. so keystone is strongly supported here. a cross country, political parties almost all of them are behind the project. even parties on the left side of the political spectrum that have more environment the concerns, they say that would pipeline construction brings good jobs, union jobs to the country. and this is a time when the country needs those. of course there are environmental groups that raise concerns just like their your

honor counterparts and they point out that canada's not yet meeting its greenhouse gas emission target agreed to a couple of years ago in copenhagen, that climate change is not being taken seriously by the current government of the canada and keystone could ex-attar bait that. but you hear on both sides. spectrum people want a decision the uncertainty should be removed. it's been seven years since the application do approval was made. no decision yet l it comes from this congress, the next one, from president obama, people here would just like to see this thing decided and concluded. john. >> that's daniel lak reported. the debate over keystone has moved from campaign trail to the halls of congress the senate votes tomorrow. mike viqueira? washington tonight. democratic leaders have blocked the vote on keystone so why are they allowing one now? >> reporter: well, it's fascinating, john it's simply internal senate leadership dynamics within the senate democratic caucus on capital heal.

h*er they took a thumping in the midterm elect he's few week ago, democratic leaders wanted to puck buck up the troops, stood behind mary landrieu and her effort to win the run off on december 6th. it looks lake a lost cause now. in the process they are doing exactly what the white house doesn't want them to do they look at the relate of the elections and say the democratic base was disenfranchised, they were down, they were unmotivated. we need to ignite them to get a fire under them in order to win further lexes going down the road coming in to 2016 and the presidential election. this is something that ironically while it may help senate democrats and their internal fights does not help the largers democratic party nationwide, john. >> and the chances of passes? >> the chances of passing are middling at this point. it seems that mary landrieu has been working on capitol hill and in louisiana from her home state over the week end trying to twist arms trying to get some democrats they need fine of

them, all 45 republicans are going to vote for this thing tomorrow night. she needs 15 to go along. she has 14, apparently they are stuck at 59 now, john. and the issue really is evening approximate if it does pass, the senate tomorrow and they pass the house bill. they will not have the number of votes to override the veto in the senate. it's more a question of when the republicans come in can they muster a 67 vote majority to override a presidential veto. john. >> mike viqueira, thank you. diana was the chief economist for the labor department under press george w. bush, she's now a senior fellow at the man hat an institute in washington tonight. diana, welcome. how would the keystone pipeline improve job growth in the u.s.? >> well, it would create jobs just for building it. we have president obama who says, again and again, that we need more infrastructure construction. the keystone xl pipeline is one

of the biggest infra structure projects that we have. plus it would create jobs with fly supplies to the pipeline, building supplies to build the pipeline and technology. third it would create jobs because oil would come down to canada to our refineries along the gulf of mexico and get refined yes indicating jobs for the refiners. >> the stats i see from the state department say the pipeline would create 42,000 temporary jobs but once it's running only employ about 50 people. so is 50 people worth the environmental risk here? >> it would also create a lot of jobs in the refineries. we have these refineries which are the best in the world. right now they are refining oil from venezuela and mexico. but that is going down in supply. so we need other sources of oil to keep the refineries running at the capacity that they are running now. and that employs more people,

plus it generates gross domestic product for us here in the united states. we want to be the ones doing that refining. not refineries elsewhere. >> i believe a major oil ceo said that the pipeline is no longer needed to bring crude oil from the fields due to fracking and other pipelines. is keystone really still necessary? >> it certainly is necessary to bring oil from canada down to here. now, we do expect oil from the back an to continue to increase and will carry some in time. people are always saying these infrastructure projects won't be any good right right, they could have been studied -- started five years ago. people keep saying that. if keystone xl isn't built and i firmly believe it will, then in five years people would say, well, it's not worth it now we should have started five years ago. well, five years from now, that is when we need to start building. >> but the oil isn't going to the united states, is it?

>> well, the oil would come to it the united states and be refined, it would be -- >> then it would be sold -- >> it would being mixed with our light crude and some might be used here some would be exported. if we export it, we still make money from exporting it. we make more money in the oil comes here and is refined and he can ported than if it goes somewhere else. and it is refined and exported elsewhere. and some of it we would use here and some we would export but get a lot of, you know, get a lot economic growth from our exports. ex-porting is not bad. >> the sense of making the oil independent. motorcycle of thimost of this oe exported, correct? >> i am not sure of the exact figures how much will be exported how much won't be but in any case it helps make the united states oil independent by importing oil from a friendly country, canada, rather than countries that are less friendly to us in the middle east.

canada is our friend and ally, it is a abysmal behavior to them that we have not built this pipeline yet. they are our allies they are our friend, we should have built the pipeline. we have many, many thousands of miles of pipeline in the united states. it is not a new technology, it is the safest form of travel for oil that there is. because the containers does not move. the product moves through the pipeline. as opposed to rail cars and trucks where the actual container is moving and can hit other vehicles. or it can kill pimas in like in canada where 47 people were killed. now, our state department estimates that if keystone xl is not built, and the oil travels by rail, there will be an additional six deaths and 49 fatalities per year. >> so to the residents that live long the pipeline and depends on the land, you say that there is

no environmental risk? >> i say that there is very little environmental risk and i would say that we need to place the value of people's lives very high and this is the safest in terms of human safety, this is what all the statistics say, this is what the state department says, people's lives are most important. and the amounts that might be spilled are minuscule in terms of the percentage of product that is carried think so tiny fraction of product that is carried. >> diane, i know we have been trying to get you on the program several times and we appreciate you joining us tonight. thank you very much. >> great to be with you. some residents of steel city, nebraska hopes the mine brings life to their town. we have more on the village of just 50 people. >> reporter: steel city, nebraska, the sign says 84 residents. the actual number is closer to

50. the elementary school is closed. only three kids live in town. the baptist church, closed. this used to be a grocery store. a bank was here. >> that building there is the old town hall, that was built about 1915. that beer garden fence there, there was a hospital in there. i was born in the hospital. >> reporter: that was 70 years ago. bill is now steele city's mayor and runs the post office. >> there was a barber shop over here. there was a little cafe over here. there was two hotels. and it's just gradually people moving out. >> reporter: trains roll through every 15 minutes or so, but they don't stop. not anymore. steele city near the nebraska-kansas state line was founded in 1873 after decades of decline the tiny village is now back on the map.

trans canada's proposed keystone xl pipeline would pump 830,000-gallons a day here, to a facility just outside of town. >> i hope they pass it, yeah. and everybody in town does. >> and you can see spikal's report report from steele city on "american tonight" at the top of the hour. still ahead on this broadcast. sacred land, native american describes speaking out against the proposed pipeline. crude oil's potential impact on wildlife. what a spill could mean for hundreds of miles of wilderness.

>> an al jazerra special report. key between boom or bust. some of the toughest opposition to the keystone xl has come from the great northern plains as it snakes from canada to the gulf of mexico it cuts through sacred made neat i have american tribal land family that have lived there no hundreds of years say they don't want it, a report from black hills. in the black hills of sa south dakota. tribe members burn sage. >> we come and stand in the footsteps of our ancestor to his make offerings to protect the sacred without earth. >> reporter: to the lakota, water is nature's medicine, but some fear it could become poisoned if the ski tone xl

pipeline is built. the project begins in the canadian tar sands running 1100 miles from montana to nebraska. in south dakota it would skirt seven native american reservations including the cheyenne river reservation. >> the pipeline will be approximately four miles to the right here to the west. >> reporter: that's too close for 60-year-old steve vance who lives on the reservation. he worries if the pipeline ruptured it could pollute the cheyenne river and the aquifer which are both in the pipeline's path. >> it's not oil, it's chemicals, solvents to make it fluid. so when the pipe breaks, which i know it will, it's not going to leak just oil. it's going to leak other chemicals. >> reporter: for the lakota, this isn't just a battle over water. it's also a battle overland. the tribe says the pipeline violates 19th century treaties it negotiated with the u.s. government for territory rights in the black hills.

treaties the u.s. government abolished more than a century ago, but treaties the tribes say are still valid. the lakota fear construction of the pipeline through those territories could also unearth sacred native american artifacts. trans canada has met with the tribes and says it has protections in place to we serve both the environment and cultural sites. in a statement the company says, trans canada has a deep level of cultural awareness and encourage the involvement of inning doubling us cultures and strives to build long-term trust and respect with tribal groups grou. >> 830,000-barrels a day. >> reporter: at this meeting tribe members prepared for a fight. some even threatening to physically block the pipeline's construction. >> we will stand in front of transcanada. they are going to have to run over us or put us in jail to lay their pipeline. >> reporter: a threat the lakota hope they won't have to carry

out. diane estebrook, al jazerra, lack hills, san diego sa south . now the critics say a leak anywhere along the keystone could say catastrophic impact on the environment. jake ward is back with us, jake, what makes crude oil so dangerous? >> reporter: well, crude oil itself is very. >> very difficult to transport, john, because of the impurities that it carry with his it. it corrodes pipes and other things can leak out of it. it's just very difficult stuff. but even oil in it's a purist refined form is just brutal, brutal stuff. it's one of the most horrible contaminants that we as human beings can encounter, just a single drop of oil can contaminate not just this beaker but another five besides. there are in fact the ratio is one drop of royal contaminants a million drops of water that's not just a you faism. that's the universal ratio. one gallon of oil, 1 million-gallons of water. now, the problem as we are

seeing with so much of our reporting tonight, is that a lot of this pipeline is going to be crossing lands where it's really a life that depends on the land. cattle and agriculture. now, oil say terrible contaminant for human beings it leads to increased morbidity and mortality. pregnancy complications the research suggests increased cancer rates can consult. but also can have a terrible effect on agriculture and livestock. all that have is because oil makes its way in to organisms and organisms cannot expel it. it's not like other stuff. the body absorbs it and hangs onto it for all time. it builds up, builds up to carson genic levels is and can passed to smaller organisms it moves up the food chain and when bodies breakdown it can sort of move down, did he grate grade in to plant and funningal life. so just the incredible contamination potential of oil

is one of the sort of great ironies of it. our life depends on oil right now for so many things and yet oil is one of the greatest threats to human life that we really ever devised, john. >> all right, jake ward, thank you. and lena moore at is th moffattr of federal policy for national wide life federation and she's in washington dc. welcome lean a what are you hearing from landowners in states like south dakota and arkansas. >> reporter: i would say that environmental groups like the national wide life federation we got in to this fight many, many years ago because of the climate impacts of expanding the development of tar sands. but the fight really exploded when ranchers and farmers in nebraska saw the transcanada had chosen the shortest, quick he felt, dirtiest route to the gulf coast to get their products down there no export and they same plea said, no, the route cuts directly through the talk officer whicaquiferwhich is ther providing drinking water for

millions of people and real sit heart of what we call the bread basket of america. as you were saying, this is providing critical agricultural water for irrigation and for providing food for much of america. >> but we also heard that if this pipeline doesn't go through, that the crude oil can be transported on rail and that's very dangerous. so why is -- why is the pipeline better than train tracks? >> sure. well, i just want to take issue with the supposition that if keystone xl doesn't go through tar sands will find their way one way or another another to the gulf coast. the state department if their final environmental impact statement in january did, we think, erroneously make that conclusion with their primary scenario that they looked at. but they looked at a number of scenarios and one of them in which they looked at low oil prices, and continued con straight of other pipelines in

that case oil could actually be shut in in canada like we are seeing right now. and we believe that it's that scenario in which that will have a huge impact on the environment is actually coming to pass. we don't think that oil will make its way onto rail in the way that some proponents have said. like within of your previous guests. the facts have born that out the statement department estimated 200,000-barrels of tar sands oil with make it to the gulf by now. and that actually hasn't come to pass it's much less than 50,000-barrels per day. >> lean, a there is also a pipe line there now, right? there is the keystone pipeline. >> the southern half, yes. unfortunately we weren't able to stop that. that has gone go ahead. >> right. and there hasn't been a major disaster related to that, has there? >> not yet. but what we have seen in the past is that it's only a matter of time for these pipelines to leak. the landowners that we work with and the families that have seen the disastrous impacts of tar sands spills know it's a matter

of when, not if with these pipelines, for instance, in kalamazoo, michigan in 2010, which we saw a million barrels of tar sands oil spill in to the cal that sue river there and it took four years and over a billion dollars to clean up that spill because after one of your previous guests mentioned this isn't regular oil it's energy intensive it get out of the ground once they do it's so heavy and vice cuss that when it spills in to rivers it sinks. or aquifers making it nearly impossible to clean up which is why we have seen such vociferous opposition in nebraska. >> lena, good t to have you on e program. >> thank you so much. tomorrow senate votes on that pipeline, the vote in favor sets up what could be the first of many show downs between congress and the white house, we'll keep you posted. that's our special report. i am john siegenthaler in new york, thanks for watching. have a great night.

>> at the height of the cold war >> we're spies... intercepting messages from

>> on "america tonight": as the city prays for an all important grand jury decision, the mayor of ferguson, missouri, one on one with "america tonight's" lori jane gliha. >> the characterization that ferguson was somehow just a powder keg ready to explode and it's a ferguson problem was what i was trying to take reception n with. the. >> an in depth look at the mayor's take on what