ruling against him stands, the community may gain a quiet estuary, but some of their cultural history will be lost. >> ski hi everyone, i'm john seigenthaler, and this is al jazeera america cycle of violence... >> it's a war zone in israel five dead in a jerusalem attack in a jerusalem synagogue. israelis response. the rash of domestic abuse cases in the n.f.l. >> we'll get our house in order first the new cold war. our money is used as a weapon in the fight twine russia and the west and the wicked whit of

sandra bernhard. my conversation with the outspoken comedian it is wednesday morning in jerusalem. the day begins with the ancient city on edge, following the deadliest attack in the city. it happened in an ultimata orthodox synagogue. two palestinians armed with axes, knives and a gun killed five, including a police officer. nick schifrin has the latest. >> reporter: tonight in jerusalem, a prayer for departed souls. 3,000 people, all of them men, mourned an attack they feared could trigger a cycle of violence impossible to stop. they carried the bodies of jewish worshippers through the streets, towards a synagogue that a few hours before was the scene of a shoot-out. police fired multiple shots.

inside signs of a massacre, pools of blood where victims were stabbed or shot. a ritual object for observant jews, once worn, an atora once held by a victim. this was not just any attack. it was on a place in a usually quiet community, committed by two cousins yielding butcher knives and a gun. the two attackers went into the synagogue, the doors behinds there. it was designed to inflict as much damage as possible. it was during the morning prayer, more than 30 people were inside. >> we wake up every day and open the news. there's terrorism. it's a war zone in israel. >> more than a kek aid ago this -- decade ago this man moved back to israel. during the attack he took this photo of a victim who was

stabbed. >> this is an ultra orthodox neighbourhood. one resident wails a prayer asking god to protect israel. others chant calls for revenge. police blame the attack on palestinian leadership. >> we see incitement by the palestinian authority and media. it's been going on for weeks. it's something that is driving and giving those terrorists a wake-up call to carry out terrorist attacks. >> at the same time, five miles away in a palestinian neighbourhood, police charge protesters. israeli officials say the attackers lived here. they flooded the neighbourhood, and raided one attackers home. >> his cousin picks through a ransacked bedroom. officials bulldozed the house. his uncle said the violence began when others restricted young men praying at the

al-aqsa. >> we are asking them to take their hands off the al-aqsa. >> every day they raid neighbourhoods and beat us. >> reporter: and every day there's death and grief. last night a members pflp, the same group that said its members carried out today's attack. last night they filled his grave with dirt. tonight jewish mourners filled the graves of today's victims with dirt. last night palestinians prayed. tonight jewish mourners prayed in their cemetery. the fear is these days will become common. >> and since the synagogue attacked, there has been six other attacks around jerusalem, and the outlined west bank. the last few weeks have been

tense, but dispute that, that number, six, is a high number, and that's an indication that the violence will increase. >> the president, the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, condemned the attack, and the israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu responded and spoke earlier today. tell us - talk about the tough words he had for palestinian leaders? >> yes, he said that he did acknowledge that mahmoud abbas condemned the attack, but said it was not enough. he was responding to a question about how his own security service said that mahmoud abbas was not inciting violence, even though it was consistently said that he was. that goes to what is the source of the violence. the israeli leadership believes the palestinian leadership is inciting this and talking about the al-aqsa, known as the temple nowed to jews -- mount to jews.

the holiest site. israelis, police, have been restricting muslims from praying there by age. it was eliminated on friday, the restrictions. there's no trust among the palestinians in east jerusalem at those restrictions, and they'll stay away. there's no trust that right wingers will be allowed into the of course mo. that happened a lot more, fuelling the fire. there has been a lot of lone wolf attacks. people citing the restrictions, but the israeli prime minister liking to blame the palestinian leadership. >> binyamin netanyahu is threatening quick action. they've been ordered to tear down the assailant's homes. what else can israel do. it's a crackdown on the families of these suspects. so you see their homes destroyed. there's a bill passing through the israeli parliament that

would send rock throwers to prison and fine their parents, and expands what police can do not only to people protesting, but to extended families. the violence spread whi the police tried to crack down harder and while the parliament tried to expand laws. there's a question of whether you can really stop this violence without ultimately a political solution. it's difficult, if not impossible to stop lone wolf attacks. that's the majority of what we are seeing. >> we have seen violence between palestinians over the past year. what sets this apart? >> it's the momentum. israeli and palestinians had tensions longer than i have been alive. this is part of app historic trend. what is happening in the last month is a momentum. you get palestinian grievances like the gaza war, like the

occupation and increased settlements in east jerusalem, and you add to that the al-aqsa mosque. the israeli police shut down the mosque for a day, the first time in more than a decade. we are still reeling from that. you'll hear palestinian leadership condemning and urging calm. at the end of the day it's difficult to stop a cycle of violence when a lot of the attacks are lone wolf and are taken in revenge. police tell me there's no way to stop a palestinian who is angry. there's little chance for israeli authorities to stop settler action. that cycle will continue. that is why we are seeing an increase, that is why it's different from the last few years. >> nick schifrin in jerusalem.

i spoke with the u.s. editor for the israeli newspaper. listen to what he said about the attack and the cycle of violence engulfing the middle east. i asked what happened at the synagogue and how defining it may be. >> i don't know if it will be a game changer. it looks different to before. the images that we saw resonate between the israeli psyche, the jewish psyche, involuntarily. this was, right now, we are dealing with the shock of this attack, but i'm concerned that tomorrow will deal with the anger that it will no doubt park spark among many israelis. >> you wrote a piece for herets about this. the title was "my fading hopes for a happy ending."

this is a powerful piece. talk about it if you would. >> i think we've been on a slippery slope, especially since april when the peace collapsed. i don't think we are heading in the right directions. both sides are led by leaderships that don't seem to be able to take the steps needed to get closer to each other. the two sides believe the worst, and there's enough extremists on both sides fanning the flames, and we are heading - you know, we are going from bad to worse. after this, last summer's operations, many people in israel would used to be supporters of peace are no longer believers in the possibility of peace, and no longer believers that the palestinians are partners, or that israel is capable of making the steps necessary.

it's a depressing situation. and the incident approves that things are getting worse and worse. one can't see what will happen that will make it better. given the fact that the united states administration doesn't seem to be enthusiastic to intervene in the process. >> you lost confidence in both leaders to fix this. >> if one judges by the performance in the past few years, one can reach the conclusion that they are either not interested or capable of reaching out to each other, treating each other with respect. if you hear what they say about each other. i don't think it leaves room for optimism. even if you take into account that politicians are civil by nature. >> these rabies, does it make a

difference when you talk about u.s. involvement. is there more of a chance that they may be more involved as a result of attacks. >> it resonates more in the united states. it increases sympathy for israel. the fbi is launching an investigation, which it rarely does. but i don't think it matters much. i think the united states has its eyes set on the iranian deal. this is - that is a real game changer. perhaps when, you know, once we are able to judge the fall out, perhaps we'll talk about new opportunities, all they want is peace and quiet. that's what the secretary of state john kerry, when he talked to binyamin netanyahu - both - i don't think they are interested in war. it's possible there's no possibility of achieving war because the sides are not ready for that, they are going in the opposite direction. >> we ask this question - what

happens next. based on what happens in the last seven months, there's increasing tension, right. >> the situation is more and more incendiary. the israelis are worried tomorrow there may be an attempt at retaliation. i don't see exactly how be get out of the spiralling cycle of violence now. and the only thing is that there's an ebb and flow. the sides are tired and they go back to sulking in the corner, awaiting the next round. >> i want to recommend to the viewers the piece in herets written, a powerful and personal piece. thank you for talking to us. home, a big set back in the push for the keystone xl. tonight the senate voted against building it. leaving the future uncertain as

ever. >> the 60 vote threshold has not been achieved. the bill is not passed. >> reporter: after debating she in the end was short. louisiana democrat mary landrieu's bid to go around president obama and get senate approval of the keystone pipeline filed. [ chanting ] >> it was a pitched political battle. mary landrieu pleaded with colleagues for support. >> the added benefits are these - we don't have to be dictated to by russia and china, hora. we can create jobs in the u.s. and mexico. hoorah. >> before the vote, opponents took over capital officers of some democrats voting with mary landrieu, like michael bennett. >> in trip county 625 are affected. >> the proposed keystone

pipeline would carry oil from the tar sands of alberta canada. some under and above major sources of fresh water, to nebraska, and then carried to the gulf coast. it's been stuck for six years. mary landrieu needed 15 democrats on her side. she got 14. many fellow democrats called the project an environmental nightmare. >> don't unleash the dirtiest oil known to mankind. >> supporters, including transcanada, a company that wants to build key stone say it will be a boon to the american comedy. >> proponents would like to us believe there's no economic benefits. if that's the case, this will be the first $8 billion infrastructure project that didn't create massive jobs and

benefits. >> with this defeat, supporters will fight another day. republicans take over the senate in january. then they'd likely have the votes to send the vote to keystone. >> this is an early item. i'm very confident. >> now to a developing story. the takata airbag recall affecting millions is expected to expand significantly. federal regulators want the recall to cover the country, until now gulf states from affected. safety officials suspected high humidity caused the air bags to explode. missouri's governor appointed a ferguson commission, charged with finding the root causes of unrest this summer and offering solutions.

it comes a day after governor jay nixon declared a state of emergency. >> patricia has been activity involved in the protest and is in ferguson. first of all, we are expecting the indictment any day. what reaction do you expect? >> i am not sure what reaction to expect. there's a lot of mixed emotions and different things going on. based on the past history of indictment of police officers, past ps say we will not get an indictment. this is an unusual case, it's different. it was done in broad daylight. we have different stories, not sure what to expect here. >> civil rights leader and congressman john lewis spoke out this week and talked about hoping for nonviolent protests

and planning none violent protests including ferguson. what is the attempt to control what happens after the announcement. >> there's one thing i learnt since i was on the ground since august 9th, and you have to do a lot of prep work now. i'm definitely sending out the message that we know that there are people who are hell bent on trying to hit the streets for destruction. that will take away from the movement and our pursuit for truth and justice. and i have been asking people to be peaceful, but stay home. with the announcement of a national guard, there's an expectation that there's going to be violent behaviour. i'm not interested in playing into it. >> what was the reaction to the governor's announcement of a state of emergency? >> first of all, i think it was an over-reaction. there's no immediate threat here

on the ground. and a better reaction would have been months ago if the government had actually put in a special prosecutor into this case. we seem to be overreacting and not reacting, what the public seems to think may have been the right thing to do. i think this was a wake up call. we have been out over 100 days and it's time to change the tactics, because just protesting will not be enough. we have to change it up. i don't want people ta play into the riot. we can fill the streets in a different way. not just the streets. we need to reach elected officials. it's time to come to the table and see what truth and justice looks like. >> thank you patricia bynes. if you are not reeling from record lows or snow, consider yourself lucky.

winter is arriving early in a big way. 5 feet of snow has found in buffalo, new york, with more expected. the governor of the state declared a state of emergency, and our meteorologist rebecca steven son joins us. 5 feet of snow in buffalo, talk about the storm that dropped this. >> we had the very perfect set up. warm, cold arctic air moving in, and set up a wall of snow as it moved inland. the interesting part is that the morne part of the city of buffalo maybe got 3-4 inches of snowfall, and six miles south where the heaviest band of snow set up. that's where we saw 51 inches, wind gusts, 45 miles per hour, and windchill factors making it feel like 0 degrees. >> the roads must have been totally impassable. you say they'll get more. >> yes, we have a second arctic

blast coming in as we get into tomorrow evening. snow will pick up again. still heavy. it's in place. it tapers off slightly into tomorrow afternoon as the second round comes in, bringing 1-2 feet of snow. to the north-east portion of lake erie. 7 feet of snow in a matter of days? >> yes, we could break a u.s. record snowfall set in 1921, colorado, as 76 inches. >> it's only november. >> yes. >> next on this broadcast, a new so-called cold war between the u.s., europe and russia. russia - it's not just about politics, but money. billions. >> plus... >> came along and turned it on its ear. >> comedian sandra bernhard reflects on her earlier years in the business.

pass tonight a special report from ali velshi, about the so-called new cold war. billions is at stake, and the fight is not arms, but goods and fuel. >> reporter: these apple grows are at the front line of a war between russia and the urks sparked by the real war in ukraine. polish apples became a casualties after moscow slammed the door on most imports from the european union. a tit for tat response. russia is inflicting pain in this farming community, an hour is drive south of warsaw. orchards for as far as the eye can see grow this famous apple. it's delicious. polls love these, and as do others. poland exported 677,000 tonnes of apples to russia.

56% of all its apple exports. that ended on august 1st z. there's no one to buy the apples, that will cost polish apple growes 659 million this year. that panic over apples is a symbol of bigger fears spreading across the continent whose economic health was turning rotten. on the other side of the equation, sanctions are taking a toll on russia's stagnating economy. lower oil prices put the country on the brink of recession. it was projected that investors would rank $128 billion out of the economy. more than double the amount taken out the year before. vladimir putin holds a huge weapon in the war against the west. during the 1980s, moscow built a web of pipelines linking the gas

fields to households and industries in europe using ukraine as a transit state. europe is vulnerable. if a bold attempt to fix the problem. poland is taking aggressive action. poland expect lng terminals to be built by 2015, hoping poland wean off $10 billion in gas. half that amount of natural gas comes into the new terminal by ship. i sat to discuss it with former polish president and cold war icon. >> poland had an experience where the gas from russia, from gazprom starts to flow a little less. do you think that will happen this year in poland and other countries? >> just a few

more months, years, and we'll be completely independent of russia. russia will lose out. we and others will not buy. now we are not able to do it. we will be in the future. >> it's part of an economic war planting seeds of discontent in boardrooms and berlin, to apple orchards in poland. coming up tomorrow. russian roots run deep in the new cold war. that airs at 7:00p.m. eastern, and 4 pacific on this network. >> the u.s. military is tracking a mysterious russian object in space. launched in may, it was described as space debris. now it's manoeuvring around the earth, randa viewing with other russian vessels. space experts say they don't know what it is. it could be a device to collect space drunk, or a weapon

next, israel vowing to respond to the attack on a synagogue. there's mixed rehabilitations from the palestinians plus n.f.l. star adrian peterson will be sitting out the rest of the n.f.l. season for assaulting a son. wives are speaking out as well. we look at whether the league encourages a culture of violence.

>> we begin with the escalating violence in israel. the region is on edge after two palestinian men attacked people in a synagogue in an ultra orthodox district in jerusalem. four men inside the sunna going were killed, and an israeli police officer died outside. we have this report. >> these are confrontations

between palestinian protesters and israeli police in occupied east jerusalem. hours earlier attackers walked into a synagogue in west jerusalem and killed four people. palestinian president mahmoud abbas condemned the attack saying violence against civilians is unacceptable. >> translation: we call for the end of such acts to allow for political protests that will lead to peace in the middle east. >> it's been gds that udayy jamal and ghassan abu jamal, two cousins, carried out the attack. they were shot dead by police. members of the family were re-elected. after an emergency meeting prime minister binyamin netanyahu ordered the demolition of their homes. >> we will not accept this. we will win. we'll maintain law and order on the streets of jerusalem. >> the houses of the terrorists who carry out the attacks will be destroyed. i decided to strengthen the

security of jerusalem against attacks. >> a statement from a group known as the popular front of the liberation of palestine said they belonged to the ranks, they stopped short of saying they organised t >> translation: we see this attack as part of palp. we are proud. >> this violence will provoke anger. there has been a surge of attacks in areas of israel and the occupied palestinian territories. at the heart of the dispute is the al-aqsa compound, sacred to muslims and jews. far right israeli groups want the rights to pray within the walls of the holy site, known as temple mount, something they cannot do. israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu said his government will use a heavy hand in

response to tuesday's attack. it's difficult to say what that will look like, what is clear is the cycle of violence doesn't appear to be ending the popular front for the liberation of palestine said the attackers were members of their organization. the group's roots date back 50 years. morgan radford has the story. >> the attack happened in an orthodox neighbourhood in west jerusalem, but the attackers were from an eastern neighbourhood. >> the popular front for the liberation of palestine was formed after israel's victory in the 19676-day wore -- 1967, 6-day war. it provided ideology with arab nationalism. it saw the destruction of the jewish state as part of a vision

of a revolution. it had support from the soviet union and china at one time. it came to prominence in the 1970s with a string of spectacular high jackings, including this. in which passenger jets from pan am, swiss air and boac were emptied and bone up in front of the world media in jordan. >> it teamed with other groups, like the japanese red army and a german group. its association with the bataminehoff group resulted in a hijacking of air france flight 139. a commando raid rescued most passengers. in the 1970s, the pslp was the plos second-largest faction. its influence began to slip in the 1990s. with the decline of the soviet union, the rejection of the peace process, known as the oslo

accord, and the ruse of groups like hamas. it is still a force. in 2001, during the palestinian infat arta, it assassinate a minister. it carried out a dozen attacks in israel and occupied territories. nothing as high profile as this latest attack. >> a spokesman for the group called the attack heroic, but didn't address responsibility for it. the mayor is urging residents not to take matters into their own hands. >> a grand jury decision into the killing of michael brown in ferguson expected almost every day. at issue is whether officer darren wilson should be charged in the shooting of an unarmed teen, michael brown.

"america tonight"s lori jane gliha spoke to a former ferguson officer who said he felt targeted. >> reporter: john bowman spent 15 of 28 years in the police department in ferguson. bowman knew darren wilson, a white police officer who shot and killed michael brown, an unarmed black teen. >> i can't remember going on a call with him. i talked to him in the hallways, at role call. that was pretty much it. i wasn't assigned to a squad. i never went on a call with them. >> did you see this coming. what was the first reaction? >> i was sad that it came down to that. you never want to see anyone lose their life. >> over the past three month, bowman watched his former department and colleagues come under pressure and criticism.

first for the shooting and the after math for leaving brown's body in the street for several hours. >> if the police picked up the body and ran with it and did a shoddy investigation. or a quick investigation, people would not be happy about that. >> activists say the shooting of the 18-year-old was a symptom of a racist and corrupt police department. in response the federal government launched two investigations. a civil rights inquiry into the shooting, and a probe into whether police in ferguson have a history of discrimination or misuse of force. >> a 2013 report by the andrej meszaros attorney-general showed ferguson police pulled over blacks 86% of the time, even though they made up 67% of the population. despite the numbers, bowman says the ferguson police department

does good work. >> 12 years ago, ferguson was heavily involved in community policing, and that went away 7-8 years ago. >> why? >> manpower issues. >> reporter: while bowman and the rest of the community awaits news, he knows the stress of the situation is wearing on his friends at the tushes are -- at the ferguson police department. >> they are a tough group of guys. they'll be stronger in the long run. >> you can watch the rest of lori jane gliha's story after this broadcast on "america tonight". . >> two weeks ago adrian peterson pleaded no contest to hitting his 4-year-old son.

it's the latest in a season full of off the field abuse situation. leaving many to wonder if the n.f.l. cult vates such a society. >> reporter: after video of ray rice pulling an unconscious wife out of an elevator. the n.f.l. commissioner was under security. 2 week suspension seemed weak. video of rice striking his wife led him to be suspended indefinitely. >> i got it wrong in the ray rice matter. i'm sorry for that. i got it wrong on a number of levels - from the process that i led to the decision that i reached but the rice situation was just the beginning of an avalanche of negative publicity for the n.f.l. 49ers defensive liner ray mcdonald. greg hardy and cardinals running

back missed games due to domestic abuse allegations, leading the lead to beef up protocols and create a female panel of experts shaping policies and pty ltds on domestic -- programs on domestic violence and sexual assault. >> we'll do what is necessary to make sure we are thorough in our processes and that conclusions are reliable. we'll get our house in order first. >> when you add st. peter's square -- adrian peterson, it adds to whether a culture of violence has been cultured. it was said that nfl teams covered up hundreds of domestic issues. angelo backed off claims of such but the cloud of doubt remains. we have a domestic violence activist and executive director

of truth and reality, and she joins us in our studio. welcome, good to have you on the programme. talk about, if you wood, do you think the n.f.l. is taking a stand? >> i think they are trying to take a stand. to dismantle decades of an approach will not happen overnight. what we see here with these first high-profile cases which put their practices into the public eye, we are seeing them start to slowly cole together. >> what does it take. we've seen a number of cases over the last year, and a number of cases before that. why did it take this long, do you think? >> because people don't want to see. it's a health issue. it's prevalent in our society. people turn deaf eyes or deaf

ear on it. >> is the n.f.l. a reflection of society or is something at work that is beyond what goes on normally. >> i think that it is a reflection, but the n.f.l. is like our society on steroids, because of the fact that it's so patriarchial, there's so much funny at take. there's these players who are so valuable, and the league is going to protect their assets. the victims will fall by the wayside. if, in fact, a player is convicted they lose a cash cow. >> you talk about the wives of the players. the focus of a great deal of this is on the abuse of the wives of some of the players. that what is it like for those

women. >> i can't speak personally about what it's like to be the wife of an n.f.l. player. i've been in relationships with a high profile individual, and there's a lot of pressure. i was in a relationship with a former player several years ago. what i can say to any woman in a relationship with anyone with power, prestige, influence, money, that has been coddled, there's a lot of pressure put on you to be silent. >> go ahead. as i read the "new york times" piece, it was clear there was interventions put into place to prevent the victims from being able to go to the police because they wanted to keep it within the family. >> there was a lot of talk after the last couple of occasions, including adrian peterson, about ratings and stop source, and whether or not if ratings went

down and sponsor abandoned the n.f.l. they'd be in trouble. and they'd have to pay for that. is that the right reason to do this. >> i don't think it's a question of what is right. as an activist i'm thrilled at the fact that this is compelled. it's been propelled into public consciousness. if it wasn't for the fact that these were high profile, high paid players, would this have received notoriety and press coverage? it's doubtful. we are talking about the lose of millions in revenue. that is something the league will look at. >> this was a gross miscalculation on the part. n.f.l. that over recent years they cultivated viewership of women, they have a huge fan base of

women. that played a huge role in the outrage of the ray rice and adrian peterson case. >> you say it goes beyond n.f.l. >> yes, and immediately other groups started to make changes within their policies. >> good to have you back on the programme. thank you for sharing your story. appreciate it. >> uber is saying sorry for an executive's outburst. the c.e.o. apologised after a senior vp threatened to spend millions to dig up dirt on journalists who criticized the company. the c.e.o. said threats were terrible and did not represent uber pod casts reviewediate, unfriend and one time tore another have been the word of the year. now it's time to unveil the winner for 2014.

what is it - phil lavelle has the answer. >> would you scribe yourself as a slackivist. >> what does that mean. >> good question. surely you know what. >> ndireff means. third time lucky. do you know what a foottender is. you do. surely it has to be a start. the english language is about to get a lick of paint. time to make the already pretty thick dictionary thicker. the annual update. intriguing traditions. did you take part in the ice bucket challenge. if you did, you are a slack-tivist. you like to take part in activism, but not too sure of active effort. >> and here is a seller of

cannabis, strictly where it is leader and indi-ref, an independence referendum. scotland had one, catalonia wants one, the english dictionary wants one. >> experts scan 150 million words every month. they look at conversations people are having in the street. things that are said online and form a list of commonly used words. the winner is picked using specific criteria. here it is in your finest english language. it has to reflect the ethos, move or preoccupations at that year, and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance. and this year's is a real page turner. are you ready for this? this is 2014's word of the year. vaip. yes. vape. stumped. okay, here is a visual

translation. to vaip is to use an electronic cigarette because you exhale vapour, not smoke. a common site in many countries, and a word that comes with its own set much complications. >> i did a story about electronic cigarettes, and we had a man in who vapes, we wondered do we call him a vapor, a vipist. >> vapor, i think is the usual term, go to vape shots, emporiums, smoking ejuice. there are so many words associated with it. >> last year's word of the year as selfie, needing to explanation. angela merkel is in on them. vape may not be as obviously, but it's as official. >> coming up, the pictures of the day. plus... >> i think people get lazy in this country. >> comedian sandra bernhard gets serious. the rest of our conversation is

coming up next.

sandra bernhard is known for an in-your-face comedian. she has done it all, playing a gay character, from comedy specials to movies. she looks back on her surprising, multi-faceted career. i started by asking how she's seen the change? >> in every way possible.

when i started there was a small handful of people doing comedy, really. back in the mid '70s, i moved to l.a. to pursue a dream of being an entertainer. there was a handful of women, joan rivers, and people that had been around for a while, phyllis dillerment the vibe was self-deprecating. women making fun of their bodies, their dating, and i kind of came along and turned it on its ear. post-modern, post feminist, uber confident, feeling, you know, very like sort of mary tyler moore. >> what is your biggest influence. mary tyler moore - when i think of you i don't think of mary tyler moore? >> yet she is. mary was - she left, you know, left the big city, moved to

minneapolis, and was independent. i patterned my life after her. >> did you have an idea when you started that you'd do all this stuff, beyond comedy. >> i ultimately wanted to be a singer, a broad way musical performer. i went from arizona to l.a. when i was 18, turning 19 and fell into the comedy scene. you can sing, get up at comedy clubs. ♪ it's all right... . >> when you came on tv in the early days, as a viewer, i never knew what you would say. that was a cool thing. they talked about in your face comedy. how do you cat forrize yourself. that was my jumping off face, i developed as an artist and performer, i fine tuned my material. i work at a lot of different levels. i can be up there, intro

spective. >> you talked about breaking barriers in comedy with some of the material that you did, and you broke barriers with rowan. >> right. i met rowan and tom arnold at a party at sue manbles house. she was an agent, she had parties and would introduce people. i didn't know rozzan. we talked and shmoosed and she and tom said will you come on the show and play tom's wife, fiancee. i said "yes, great, fun." and the whole thing was, you know, arnie, tom arnold's character was so ab noxious, that he drove me into the arms much morgan fairchild. that was the joke. it was bigger, because no one played a bisexual gay character. >> all right. her name is marler, i'm seeing a

woman. we kept it fun, upbeat, sophisticated. we weren't trying to do anything. it just happened. >> what do you remember about the reaction? >> i think the audience was - you know, they were, "oh", but they loved it, it was fun, it was a surprise. it opened people up to a different way of looking at it. >> before ellen came out. no one was trying to be a hierro. it was within the realm of great col ab ration. when i think about your character, there has been a lot of change when it came to the issue of gay marriage. >> it was unfolding. >> how did you know it would? >> it's a snowball effect.

anyone under 30, if they brought up the gay issue, busy living, whatever, who cares. it's a non-starter, no one gives a hoot. can i ask you about politics. what was the rehabilitation. >> if people are burned out. politics lost its glamour and veneer and excitement. i think people are tired, and i think that people get lazy in this country. they complain, bitch and moan. when there's an opportunity to go out and make a difference, sometimes they don't do it. >> as an entertainer, performer, artist, do you felt the need to get involved in political stuff? >> not as much as i did when the election happened for obama. i maybe went a little deeper

into it than i normally did. >> here is some little freaked out intimidated frightened right wing republican... >> occasionally in my shows when it's my audience, i touch on something. people are beaten to death. there's you at al jazeera, jon stewart, steven colbert, rachel - people ta spend their lies picking apart politics. it's not my first love. >> you joined the cast of "brooklyn 99", can you talk about your character. >> it's starting. i'm chelsea's mother, the other policeman she's having the affair with, his father and i start to hook up. the two of them are horrified at the two of us getting together. again, it's sort of she's a little cookie and out there. it's fun. i like playing characters who

are not all who i am, sophisticated, tongue in cheek, but a little more grounded in reality, like a reality of the world we live in, and play a bit more of a loose canon. >> thank you for entertaining all of us for a long time. we hope you do it for many years. >> i hope i can do it for as long as i can get up and kick it out. >> good, great to meet you. appreciate it. sandra will perform in new york city from december 27th through december 31st. now to our picture of the day. this is not your normal rock formation, it's from mars. n.a.s.a.'s curiosityie. examining material at the base of a mountain. that's your broadcast. thanks for watching, i'm john seigenthaler. "america tonight" is next. see you back here tomorrow

intercepting messages from embassies, military bases... >> one of the america's closest allies... >> we were not targeting israelis... >> suddenly attacked >> bullet holes... ...just red with blood... >> 34 killed... we had no way to defend ourselves >> high level coverups... never before heard audio... a shocking investigation >> a conscience decision was made to sweep it under the rug... >> the day israel attacked america only on al jazeera america

on "america tonight", on high alert. a new warning from the f.b.i. the possibility of violence when the grand jury hands down a decision. tonight, a look at a scrutinised police department in the county. >> do you think the ferguson corrupt? >> a former ferguson police officer speaks to lori jane gliha. what is it like to protect and serve in the city of ferguson also, indepth - a single exam aimed at lifting kids out