to get that first person hi everyone, i'm john seigenthaler, this is al jazeera america. [ chanting ] executive decision - what we are learning about the president's plan to sidestep congress on immigration reform. >> washington has allowed the problem to fester for too long cancelling cosby - fallout from the sexual assault accusations. >> i said, "that's enough, i will not sit in silence any longer." fracking ban - why the small

texas city transformed by the practice is fighting to end it. >> there's a gas rig on fire in my backyard. [ singing ] and fits and tantrums on songwriter, success and making the most of inspiration. >> tomorrow night president obama will address the nation to outline his immigration form plan - it will be sweeping, polarizing and he'll try to carry it out without congress. the president is expected to use an executive order to shield millions of undocumented people from deportation. we begin with senior washington correspondent mike viqueira. >> good evening. at this hour the president is inside the white house. he's hosting a dinner for congressional democrats, laying out the details of an immigration plan sure to ignite a political fire storm.

>> reporter: after months of promises president obama took to facebook to set the stage for action on immigration. >> what i'll lay out are the things i can do with my lawful authority as president to make the system work better, even as i work with congress and encourage them to get a bipartisan comprehensive bill to solve the problem with republicans in congress unwilling to move on reforming immigration, president obama will cut them out, going to alone. with a goal of allowing five of 11 million undocumented immigrants in the united states to stay, by instructing federal agencies to put off deportations. the president has come under fire from reform advocates who point to an increase in deportations. in the face of the protest, president obama repeatedly said his hands are tied. >> if, in fact, i can solve the

problems without passing laws in congress, i would do so. we are a nation of law, it's part of the tradition. >> reporter: now the president is poised to do what he did in 2012, young people brought to the u.s. through no fault of their own. the president halted their deportations and is considering doing the same for their parents. republicans reacted with fury and disdain. >> the message given is "we give up. we are not going to do our job as legislatures, we are going to let the president with a stroke of the pen provide an executive amnesty to millions of people. and create an awful lot of harm in the process." >> reporter: because this is executive action, not law, the next president could undo president obama's order, and there would be no path to citizenship or legality, a

sought-after feature for advocates. an n.b.c. poll suggests: >> he should follow the democratic process as reflected in the recent election. a bedrock principle of our nation is the rule of law. >> there's talk on the right of the i word, impeachment against president obama. some g.o.p. feel the president is laying a trap, baiting conservatives to going too far and doing something unpopular with the american public after the midterms. some latinos have come out against what they think the president will announce, saying it doesn't go far enough. >> that's mike viqueira at the white house. i talked to the founder of the dream action coalition, saying the president's actions are long

overdue. >> our families now need the release to act. many people have been deported, families separated. at this point we need the president to react. he's embraces that, and taking executive action to bring the families together. >> he will act for some, but won't some of this split families and have the potential to. absolutely, we were imploring the administration to go as far as he can. he can go beyond what the media reports, 5 million people. at least protect the people from the senate. with the support of republicans and democrats to cover 9 million people. i think we need to recognise that the president can do more to bring more families out of the saddle. >> talk about what is at stake for people like you? >> for me it's my mother. she is undocumented. she's a 70-year-old lady, a

grandmother. she worked all her life, collecting can, never asks for anything from the government. she wanted this, and a better life for myself, a better dream for my family. i was able to graduate college and lawful, and for me to make her proud. that is why my mum remains here, to be with her family. >> it's a political battle. it's personal to many people. can you explain that feeling? >> we have the debate in congress on the hill, republicans pointing fingers to democrats. when it comes to our families, it's about families, veterans that have been deported. husbands, spouses this is not just about political talking points, but the family, who sometimes we don't see, or sometimes we see them. this issue now is a personal issue that the president must take action immediately. >> i saw a poll suggesting that

latino even though they may favour is, are not united on the issue when it comes to the president taking action. >> it's controversial. >> why is it? >> it's less about the president's authority, and more about the president's delay and the ambivalence of the administration to say we have the power, not the power. the reality is congress failed, it did not do its job. now it's the president. when we do come together, whether you are latino or any ethnicity, we need reforms, because the one we have now does not work. >> you have heard the critics say it will take away american jobs and lower wages. what do you say to that? >> absolutely not. we pay taxes, my mum, the whole family. this literally, in 2011, undocumented paid $11 billion. when we are talking about numbers, we are really coming and we are undocumented, where we are paying taxes, and

sometimes they'll never see their money. >> we'll have coverage of the president's speech tomorrow night. and a special report on the border crisis, immigration action at 11 eastern, 8:00 pacific. the buffalo area is used to getting heavy snow. what is happening to the city and the region is hard to comprehend. in days six feet of snow is falling, a state of emergency has been declared, several deaths have been reported and it appears there's no let-up in site. kevin corriveau has more. >> i have never seen anything like this. four or five feet in a day is crazy. officials in new york state say some towns were hit wh a season of snow -- hit with a season of snow in two days. due to lake effect. arctic air moving over the water. buffalo was hit harders by snow fall. other towns, north, saw inches.

more than 100 miles of interstate 90 has been closed. >> the snow is so heavy, packed, plentiful, that you can't plough it in a traditional way. >> more than 150 ploughs have been brought in to south buffalo to clear the roads. the national guard has been acted. the storms caused governments to order travel bans, and authorities advising resident to be patient. >> please do not be fooled by the beautiful sunshine. there is still tremendous amounts of snow on the ground in south buffalo. the limited state of emergency in south buffalo is in effect. >> members of the niagra university women's basketball team was among those trapped. they were stranded in a bus for 24 hours before emergency crews got them out. while the snow eased, the

governor said it could get worse before it gets better. >> the rate of snow fall, the weight of the snow conspired to make this difficult. all of this to say it will get worse before it gets better. >> emergency crews and volunteers are doing what they can to reach those in need. many residents are trying to stock up on supplies. head of another round of intense lake effect snow due on thursday. >> and that snow will continue. we are noticing another band pushing through. looking at the radar, you can see over the last 12-24 hours we have more snow. tonight where that radarened, you see a big blue area over buffalo. we are just getting reports from the national weather service that the warnings are out for this event, and they are saying 2-3 more feet by thursday evening. >> can you talk about the storm that brought this, and is it all lake effect. is that the cause? >> most of this was lake effect.

on the radar, there was a bit of a disturbance on how the snow is moving, it was a short way moving through the atmosphere. that disrupted where the snow was going to go. now it kicked back in. you see the line just across the lake, that is lake effect classic lake effect there. look at what happened in buffalo, see the time laps in this area of how it came in. buffalo was on the edge of the snow. at the international airport they had six inches of snow. to the south, that's when we saw 65 inches, and unofficially 75 inches in some locations. >> the first concern is the snow. if it begins to melt... >> that's another problem. yes, we'll see the snow melting as we go towards sunday and monday. the temperatures come to the 50s, and monday we'll add rain on top. >> a horrible combination. >> absolutely. >> major flooding.

>> we don't expect the flooding. but the snow on the roof, if you add the rain to it, gets heavy tomorrow congress holds a hearing on takata, the airbag maker. five people, including four in the u.s. have died. millions have been affected. >> reporter: this is what the airbag op cory's civic was supposed to do, protect him in a crash. this is what he said it did. >> all i remember was a big explosion. it sounded like a shotgun. my right side went black, pitch-black. >> his car was damaged in the collation with another vehicle in may, near orlando florida. when the airbag deployed, a 3 inch shard of metal, flew out and sliced into his face and eye. >> and i realised i was bleeding out of my face. i went down to sit on the kerb,

and i thought i was going to die on the kerb. >> reporter: he survived. he is blind in his right eye. the recalled air bags are made by takada, whose executives apologised to customers. >> this is one of the most lethal defects we have seen. if the air bag explodes, you are likely to be killed or injured. >> clarence who runs the autofoundation for safety says takata has differing stories. >> we believe it's the propellant, ammonium nitrate, an unstable chemical. >> federal regulators ordered takata to provide detailled information on the propellant mix, which takata says it changed. the government demanded an expanded recall.

cory's air bag was recalled, but the recall notices did not show up. not until after he was blinded. >> if there is a rule requiring circumstances when there is a deadly recall, that there be a phone call or a piece of registered mail, we can save lives. >> reporter: they say the recall system should be strengthened. as for cory, he's seeing honda and takata. >> as far as recovery, i'm still doing that. you have to adapt and do things over again. >> reporter: now he's adapting to a different life to what he suspected. >> in a statement to al jazeera, honda said:

matthew is the transportation editor at "business insider", and is in our studio. welcome. all right, so the n.t.s.b. called for the recall and said takata had shown an unwillingness to move forward. what does that many? >> well, what that means is that the national traffic highway safety administration is about had it with takada at this point. they are announcing they want to move forward and expand the recall nationwide and want action. the government is through messing around. >> they put business ahead of safety. >> that looks to be the accusation, and if you look at the history of the recall, it's been ongoing for some time now. it's an enormous number of vehicles, it's terrifying, scary, one of the scariest i have ever seen. so, you know, you could accuse the government at this point of dragging its feet a bit.

they should have learnt something from toyota and the g.m. recalls. there's a bit of political theatre. >> the recall should have come sooner. >> absolutely, yes. there were indications that there were problems with the air bags as far back as 2008. >> we heard it was caused by humidity and regional terms. >> the new expansion covers national, not regional. it's outside of human regions, we are seeing a strong indication that the humidity argument doesn't hold water, and we may have problems with the propellant or the casing outside of places where it's hot. >> how do you place the blame on something like this, is it takata, is the companies that use takata's air bags. >> the blame falls with takata. they have 25% of the global air bag business. they have air bags in everyone's vehicles not just honda. the car-makers bear culpability.

they have been using the compoints and have been a -- components and have been aware of the event in the past. takata is taking the hit and they'll be on capitol hill. >> you covered the stuff, how does something like this happen. how could - i mean obviously we have had recalls in recent months. this one is so terrifying, how could it happen? >> recalls happen all the time. we have seen recalls going to the issue of safety. when people think their cars are not safe, they get concerned. the auto industry made a big concern in safety. they are not as safe as they used to be. when you have a situation with the air bags, it's not that they are not functioning, they can

explode. >> it's terrifying to think that that bag that is supposed to keep you safe, is a device that could take your sight away or do damage. it's completely terrifying, scary. it's up there in my book with the pinto issues from the '70s, that ford faced with the exploding gas tanks. it's a lot more intense. the consumer, republic. they are starting to become aware. we saw the response from g.m., substantial. how will this change the game. the auto industry will have to police itself more aggressively, especially recalls at safety. this is a safety oriented recall. it affect the safety of the driver, the passenger, something that the auto industry is going to have to get more aggressive about. in terms of the way the recall works, they'll have to get more

aggressive and going after these things, going national sooner. these issues are in the air. we have seen three recalls, all safety recalls, safety oriented, all in a row. there's a strong possibility that this could be something that the government gets completely fed up with and we haven't overhauled the system. >> good to have you on the programme, matthew next - it's no laughing matter for bill cosby, the ground-breaking comedian faces accusations of sexual assault from decades ago.

the modern u.s. fracking movement got its start in the small town of denton texas. residents upset over environmental concerns voted to ban it for good. heidi zhou-castro has more. >> motion passes unanimously. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: as den tonne city council ratifies the passage of

the fracking ban scheduled to take effect december 2nd. 275 gas wells continue to operate in the town north of dallas. you can find them behind a hospital, next to a stadium, across from a park, and just behind edwin g win's backyard. when the couple bought the house, the field behind it was quiet. >> they were just tanks back there, and they said - they told us they were water tanks. >> then 100 foot tower went up. workers pumped millions of gallons of water into the ground. >> fracking had arrived. day and night? >> i may be an old silly lady. this is scary to go to bed knowing that there's a gas rig on fire in my backyard. i guess i can only go to bed and know that if it explodes i'll

never feel anything. >> reporter: in denton three wells exist for every square mile of land. the risk to human health is under study. residents believe their nose bleeds and cancer in some cases are related to fracking. she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer two years ago. within months two neighbours developed breast cancer and a third have leukaemia, and all live within a mile of wells. >> there's too many of us in cancer in our 30s, too many animals getting cancer. >> reporter: coincidence or not - there's too little evidence. the perceived threat that 90% of the ownership owned by outer towners turned in widespread support for the ban.

the industry group and the state of texas sued denton arguing the state's law trumps ordinance and the ban should be invalidated. we have been using fracturing for oil and gas for more than 60 years. there's no evidence of rising morbidity or higher mortality rates. >> reporter: the state continues to issue new drilling permits. edwin says it leaves him to think it leaves him to think no matter what people say at the polls, oil and gas will win. >> you cannot stop these people. they have more money, time and lawyers. you don't amount to anything and coming up next on this proceed cast seattle, voting to raise the minimum wage. why airlines are fighting back.

plus... [ singing ] ..they call them one of the hardest working bands in the business. now it's paying off for fits and the tantrum. [ singing ]

this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler. coming up, women are coming forward to accuse bill cosby of sexual assault after decades of near silence. why they may have waited so

long. will the ferguson commission help to bridge the racial difficult eyed. we talk -- divide. we talk to a coach. and why some airlines are fighting back against a wage for some workers. we begin in the west bank where israeli troops demolished the home of a palestinian man accused of a deadly attack last month, a day after the ambush at a jerusalem synagogue leaving five israelis dead. shi has more. >> in a congregation brutally attached yesterday, today they celebrate a newborn. upstairs they complete the prayers in the same place that 24 hours ago was covered in

blood. four worshippers died here, including 43-year-old aryeh kopinsky, born in rhode island. tell me about your brother. >> we loved him so much, we all did. he was a loving father and husband and truly cared about everywhere around him. >> aryeh's brother and family buried him to a city the family moved to 30 years ago. >> i'll miss learning from him of how to be so special towards your family, kids, community. >> reporter: the attackers were not foreign to the neighbourhood. they worked in the supermarket, say residents, across the street from the rest of the community, a few blocks from the synagogue. they were from cross town in east jerusalem. compared to the mood in west jerusalem, this is a tale of two cities. in the neighbourhood where the

attacker lived. the israeli police cracked down. yesterday police crashed with protesters. the government says increasing government increases security. a month after a man drove his car into a crowd, today police destroyed his family apartment. at 5am, explosives were placed in the living room. they blew the walls out. the debris destroyed a car next door. >> translation: when we entered the hour, it didn't seem like ours. we have nowhere go. >> reporter: palestinians argue that home demolitions, check points and neighbours occupied in israel, unprecedented arrests fuel the violence. >> translation: all of the destruction. this is not dissolution. >> outside the synagogue they appealed for a solution of tolerance. local religious leaders denounced the violence -

christian, jewish and a muslim sheikh. under no circumstances will we allow either side. we will not let them harm and kill. the request for restraint, and search for solidarity is rare, as the cycle of violence keeps jerusalem as violent as ever. >> reporter: after the attack. binyamin netanyahu urged everyone not to take the law into their hands. contrast that after three israeli teenagers were abducted and murdered. he said "may god avenge their blood. >> jewish extremists burnt alive a palestinian extremist. binyamin netanyahu and leaders hope that the cycle of violence does not spiral further out of control. tension in the city is running

high. >> that's nick schifrin in jerusalem. alan pinkess served as the consule general in new york, and woke up early to join us from tel aviv. we have a long satellite delay. thank you for joining us. let me ask you off the top - how does this violence of the synagogue, this brutal attack, compared to other incidents of violence? >> every brutal attack, john, has, you know, its unique characteristics. on the one hand it's no worse than slaughtering children in a pizza parlour or exploding in a bus. on the other hand images of people praying or being slaughtered with knives and guns in the synagogue is disturbing. every attack, every terror incident has its own unique

negative imaging and perceptions that result from it. there's a bigger story here, john, and that is if i may in 20 seconds kind of some out - the israeli palestinian conflict has been a conflict between two liberation movements. i'm not going into the middle east conflict 101. it's been about too mutually exclusive or reconciling movements. if this becomes, turns into, deteriorates into a religious, into an interfaith, some kind of war of civilizations then there's no political solution, and in that respect, going back to your question, the fact that it was conducted or carried out this murder inside a synagogue adds a religious dimension to it on top of tensions mounting on temple mount. >> binyamin netanyahu responded

by saying that he will win this battle for jerusalem. what does that mean? it means two things, that elections are nearing. and that jerusalem, and security and the might against terrorism is always a winning agenda, and particularly in his case which he feels is his comfort zone. he understands that jerusalem has become in the last weeks and months a focal point of tensions. there's a proceeder issue. the president of the palestinian authority in order to justify domestically and internationally. why there is no peace process,

why they haven't come to terms and negotiated a peace process. have constituencies that there is something bigger. for binyamin netanyahu, turning this into a war on jerusalem sort of justifies politically intellectually why there's no peace process, it's about jerusalem, and a core interest and issue, rather than just on core issues. this serves nothing but impasse in the best scenario, and further violence in the worst scenario. >> just to follow-up, we had her ates journalist who wrote a piece saying, "it's hard to imagine anyone that can inspire less confidence than mahmoud abbas and binyamin netanyahu to

lead us out of this." do you agree that the leadership can't find a solution? unfortunately we've had difficulty with the satellite. we'll try to get him back. thank you, alain pinkus now, to the fallout that's been caused by bill cosby. television networks are distancing themselves from that comedian. after yet another woman accused him of sexual assault. the question some are asking is why has this taken so long. jonathan betz is here with more. >> the number of accusers has grown. it stands pat 15. the accusations have not been proven. some are decades old. it's taken them this long to cause serious harm to his career. [ laughs ] >> reporter: for now, at least, bill cosby will not be returning to the television network that made him a superstar.

n.b.c. says it's stopping development of his new show, joining tv land and netflix in suddenly dropping the comedian. over decades cosby faced and denied allegations that he sexual assaulted women. it re-emerged when a comedians issue went viral. >> pull your pants up people, i was on the tv in the '80s. >> reporter: more women came forward with accusations against a high paid and beloved comedian. >> i had one glass of wine. the next thing i knew, i was coming tox. >> the next thing i remember was waking up in bed naked next to cosby. >> reporter: the latest allegations this week from model and actress janice dickinson. >> i had been sexually assaulted by this man. >> she told "entertainment tonight" it happened more than 30 years ago. >> he had given me wine and a

pill. the next morning i woke up, and i wasn't wearing my pyjamas. >> reporter: cosby's lawyer called the claims a lie. he has been investigate but never charged. a new biography of the star made no mention of the accusations. in footage of an associate press interview this month, it's clear that cosby felt there was an agreement from the media not to bring up the rape accusations. >> reporter: can i ask you if - with the personae that people know about bill cosby, should they believe anything differently about... >> there is no comment about that. and we thought, by the way, because it was an a.p., that it wouldn't be necessary to go over that question with you. >> reporter: the cancelled network contracts is the first time he has suffered. his tour is going ahead.

>> don't expect to hear from cosby soon, he cancelled talk show appearances and will not dignify the accusations with a comment. >> thank you. lesley, morgan steiner is a leading advocate for victims of domestic violence. her memoire relates her time with an abusive husband. let me ask about what happened to you. you say your husband punched you, threw you down the stairs, held a gun to your head many times, and it took five years for you to speak out about it. can't you help us understand why? >> well, the first thing to do is put yourself in the victim's shoes. domestic violence and rape - especially rape by someone you know and trust are among the worst physical and psychological betrails you can go. the natural response is to deny that it had happened.

deny it to yourself, to pretend that it wasn't as bad as it was, or to say that you had something to do with it. maybe it was consensual. it is normal psychologically for it to take days, weeks, years, decades for a victim to understand that she was assaulted. it was really hard for people who were not victims, but it's the truth. it's normal to report rape. >> how do victims figure into had. in this case, we don't know and may never no. the common things to do is to minimise what happened, and tell the victim that he or she enjoyed it, and was seductive in it and asked for it in some way,

and the most common thing to tell a victim is that no one will believe you. if you are an extremely powerful celebrity with an image of being kind and evungular and beloved, it's convincing when you say that no one will believe a victim, especially when we have so many victims out there who are not believed. you know, rape is a vastly under-reported crime. victims are understandably really worried that no one is going to believe them. >> so when society stereotypes people who speak out, the impact on all of this is that victims don't speak out, right. >> you have to think about it. who would want to speak out about it? part of what happens psychologically is you think if you deny that it happens, you'll minimise the damage. by speaking out to anybody, you are reliving the rape, reliving the assault, and it's

excruciatingly painful. when you think that no one will believe you, it makes it worse, because in some ways you don't believe yourself. there's a lot of evidence that the most important factor, or one of the most important factors in a rape victim's recovering is the first person they tell believes them, validates them. it is terrifying to come forward to tell anyone that they were raped, or to tell the world that a famous entertainer assaulted you, or in this case, allegedly assaulted you. it's really, really an incredibly huge hurdle. i'm amazed that these women are coming forward at all, even 30 years later. it is tempting psychologically to convince yourself that it didn't happen, it wasn't that bad, that you weren't damaged by it. the truth is some rape victims say they are never able to enjoy

sex again, never able to sleep in a bed alone. it's a damaging betrayal. i was just going to ask you - what about the incidents where the person who is making those accusations is lying? >> rope is a vastly under-reported crime, not overly reported for all the reasons discussed. it is very difficult to make a credible follows using of rape. people who work in the rape crisis field and other experts are good at uncovering the false accusations and they fall apart quickly, it's rare for a false using to stand up to scrutiny over any period of time. >> we appreciate you coming on and helping us understand the

stereotypes and the issue that has been brought up again. >> thank you. >> ferguson, missouri awaits a grand jury decision in the michael brown shooting, the state governor swore to look into a social and economic factors leading to the unrest after brown's death. reverend stars ki wilson is a co-chair and joins us from st louis. >> we gather the commission now to begin the work of exploring the challenges that led us to the difficult circumstances and the shooting of michael brown on august 9th, and perhaps we can grow and learn something from the difficult moment that we found ourselves in for the last 100 plus games. we have to study socioeconomic circumstances that led us to this place. we have to study and be thoughtful about police communications. we have to assess government structures that lead to a certain kind of policing that

increases contact between low income and minority population, because those are the things that led us to this place and beyond what happened with this case, we have to make sure we reduce the capacity for this to happen again. >> i don't want to quibble about timing, it comes before the government makes his announcement, before the grand jury makes a decision. isn't it too little, too late? >> there's a couple of things going on. first we know that it's been a month since we tried to find and put out the call for commissioners, and that process took a bit of time. that could have happened before. perhaps it could. no matter what time this took to call the commission together. ultimately it's going to be more time to do it's work. it's going to require us to spend time in reflection, and the reality is we didn't get

here on august 9th. we didn't get here over the last 100 days. this has been a long time coming. it will take us a while to think about how we considered the long term going forward. >> how can this improve relations with the community? >> first and foremost it can model the way the communities should get along. as you know, within the commission group, we have protesters and police. we have clergy folks, business people, and these are folks that in many ways may not have gotten together, may not have been in extended conversation with one another in our community. we have to take the diverse opinions, look at real and critical issues, and be thoughtful about structural changes so we can come up with policy solutions. that is first, how to relate to one another how to connect around serious matters. >> second, we have to come out with specific recommendations, solutions, not just at the end

of a report term, but in the interim, while we have opportunities and fully vetted ideas. we have to go to legislature and talk to officials, and take advantage of built public will and grassroots organising this to get change in some systems leading to what we saw with michael brown and darren wilson. >> was it good for the governor to declare a state of emergency before the grand jury issues its report? >> there are those that say the governor needed to issue the state of emergency to deploy the national guard. i'm not sure about that. what i am sure about is no matter what happened over the last 48 hours, we got to focus on what will happen for the next 48 years. that's the work of the commission. what the answer is, and the state of emergency is, and how the national guard are deployed and used, frankly, will be legislated over the course of

the next couple of weeks when there's an announcement. what i'm concerned about is what the future will be for the community, its children and my own in the next generation. that's what the commission has the focus on. >> we wish you the best with that. thank you for joining us reverend. we appreciate it. >> thank you for your time. >> we shift gears and talk about the minimum wage. the debate has heated up in washington state. protesters showed up at the alaska airline headquarters outside of seattle. it is one of several businesses fighting seattle's plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. more from allen schauffler, who is in seattle. allen? >> john, it was a year ago that people in the city of see tag, a suburb south of seattle where the international airport is voted to raise the minimum wage for airport workers for $15 an hour and for workers around the airport. it's been a year, and a legal

challenge by alaska airlines and others to the vote. they said that the port of seattle which runs the airport and city of seatac are two different political entities, and a vote in one shouldn't have an impact on wages in another. that has not sat well with organised labour, the challenge has been successful so far. it brought out protesters at the world headquarters, right near the airport. 70 protesters. among them, the socialist city council member from seattle, who has been pushing for a $15 minimum wage. she said she had to be here to support the action tonight, even though it's not her city. >> i think actions like this definitely make a difference. it is important, especially for elected officials to be in solidarity with workers, when workers are putting their lives on the line, how can i stay behind. it is a question of providing the real kind of political

leadership, not hob nobbing with lobbyists. >> she was one of four arrested in a peaceful and carefully choreographed action, taken away by police. organizers said everything went as planned. this gets a little more complicated. this is another thing that the protesters are frustrated with. there has been a lawsuit brought in federal court by an airlines industry umbrella group challenging who has the right to raise wages at the airport, whether the port of seattle does. that lawsuit ongoing now at the federal level - there's the lawsuit at the state level. both of those things hanging fire. protesters not happy about it. >> all right, allen schauffler in seattle our picture of the day is next. plus... [ singing ] ..fit and the tantrums talk

about the secret to their success.

fits and the tantrums is a new band resurrecting an old sound. from humble beginnings in california, they explode on to the pop scene. they talk to me tonight about struggles, on the way to fame. i asked how they got their start. >> it started in 2008. i was heart broken. wrote a song to get over that heart break. and it turned out to be a really

special song and set the compass for the band. we started working on the songs, and we said this stuff is begging to be played live. i said we need an amazing female vocalist to be the counterpoint. to be the other side of the he said she said story of love. he said "i worked with this amazing talent. it's the only one you should call. call her. six of us met in a room. it was magic. [ singing ] how is it that you can work for several hours and know this is it? >> you know, it's interesting because walking into a room with someone - i had never met fits

before. i thought is this going work, will our voices blend and we started singing. >> it's magic. >> we had a lot of artists through the studio, but the buzz about you coming in is incredible. everyone is exited. >> it's true. >> "money grabber" was the song. did you know it would be a hit? >> that was the thing, we cut our teeth on the road playing live. what we loved to do is to road test our songs. every night people are like what's that money song. we knew it was special. we had a different bridge, but we knew that that song was a special song. [ singing ] we wrote three or four different versions to make sure it was as good as the rest of the song.

>> how do you describe the sound. >> it's film music. i call it pop. what we are doing is initially the breaking of what pop music became. >> people are compared to other. does it bother you if people compare you to hall and oats. >> not at all. especially with his voice, i like it. >> we tried to mix our genres. on the first it was subtle, on the latest album "it was just a dream", we thought we would take chances and push the envelope. there's six of us with diverse angles. we wanted to make a brazen statement saying, "this is us, this is our sound and you won't be able to use one adjective to describe us". >> we are influenced by our performance. our fan base had a huge part in the way we approached the record from the choruses.

>> how does that work? >> when you have a crowd singing to a certain part. >> you know. >> yes, that's what our experience was with money grabber - people learning significantly after, like... >> where they are watching on the computer at home. >> yes. and you sing, and you're yelling out, and finish the line. >> talk about the experience of exchanging the energy with the fans uch. >> it's intense. >> it keeps us going. >> there's times where we, five minutes before the show, are exhausted and looking at each other. and the only thing this gets us to find the energy is the crowd. >> yes. it's incredible the adrenaline that you get when you hop on a stage. you know. when you have - you know, and just anybody singing to your music at that point. it's so gratifying. it's a hard thing to do. that's what you hope for as an

artist, is that you can translate your message. >> what suggestions can you make young people who are interested in getting into business who want to do what you're doing. >> the thing is not to look at the exceptions, a person who posts a youtube clip of them playing and they have 10 million views. that's great for one person, but it's not one person's story. what we advocate is work ethic. work ethic. believing in yourself. >> dream. >> fight for it. >> you really have to know that going into a year of music is like any other career that you pursue, in the way that if you want to accomplish something, you have to take the footsteps to make it happen. you can't just go on the fact that you may be talented. when you enter a business, you can have that spark, you know, but you have to work for it, and

you have to prove to other people that's what you are. we weren't handed anything. we got amazing opportunities, and we took them. we knew what it was going to be. we had to work for it. we were poor, you know. i couldn't pay my own rent, like that kind of thing, and we went for it. we are in a situation, and we are sitting in this. we didn't know that was going to happen. >> i know. >> we worked hard. before this band, worked hard. >> it's emotional. you get emotional when you talk about it. >> yes. >> absolutely. >> it comes with a lot of sacrifice. i don't think people understand what it's like to be a touring musician. it's a nomadic lifestyle. >> we love your music and love to hear you talk about it. congratulations on your success. you are making a big-time connection to so many. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you. >> fun conversation. tonight's picture of the day is a word, celestial.

a star trail seen from the wave in arizona. it's pulled from more than 10,000 stills used to recreate a stunning time lapse video. "america tonight" with joie chen is next. we'll see you back here tomorrow night. picture. >> the world renowned artist joins al jazeera america for an exclusive interview. >> i look back at my work, i can't pick a favorite picture. >> primetime news. friday. 8:00 and 11:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. sts .

>> on "america tonight": sts . ferguson waits with the nation for the grand jury's answer. will anyone be prosecuted for the death of michael brown? and will a new commission help the community find a way to move forward? >> i represent the folks that are out there in ferguson. i am the folks that have been out there, i am mike brown so i don't want to make it seem like i'm aligning myself with the governor. >> and the echoes of ferguson from a crime from another time.