united states and nato mean for the situation in the world. i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. good evening, this is al jazeera america, i'm michael eaves, john siegenthaler is off. easing tensions, a much calmer scene in ferguson, missouri, protestors find new ways to get their message across. oil bust. crude oil price take a nose dive. will the big decline mean lower

costs at the pump? and john stewart talks about his directing debut. that conversation and many more in tonight's special spotlight, arts. we begin tonight in northern nigeria where bombings at a mosque today killed more than 100 people and that number is expected to rise. the attack hemmed in nigeria's second largest city kano. no one is taking responsibility but the lead suspect is boko haram, the same group involved in the kidnapping of over 200 girls this spring. >> they are describing a scene of absolute pandemonium. running in every direction, bodies were scattered across the

area, that in fact there was a stampede as a result of people trying flee the scene and that caused a lot of fatalities particularly among little children. there were also reports of gun shots being heard after the explosions and up until now it's still unclear what the source of that gun fire whether it was police or whether there were gunmen at the scene, that's not clear until now. there was a momentary outbreak of anger youth took to the street in accusing the government of failing to stop boko haram. all of this comes just one week after the traditional ruler of this specific city kano urged people the defend themselves and he was clearly referring the boko haram and clearly taking a swipe against the government and its inability to contain the violence. >> boko haram became the focus of international attention in april when its fighters kidnapped nearly 300 nigerian school girls. since then the group has shown

little sign of slowing down. >> this is believed to be a boko haram training camp in northern nigeria where members and recruits learn how to use automatic weapons. boko haram was founded more than ten years ago. its goal is to create an islamic state inside nigeria, impose a harsh version of nigerian law. >> we are boko haram. >> boko haram has become extremely violent, mainly in the north of the country. loosely translated, the name boko haram means western education is forbidden. in the last few years the group has stepped autopsy tacks on schools. abducting more than 300 girls from chibok, most of those girls remain missing. one 32 student were killed at a boarding school. every building on that campus was burned down.

last year nigerian president goodluck jonathan declared a state of emergency, in three states, borno, yabe and adamawa. escaping the kidnappings and bombings and boko haram now appears to be recruiting young women. this week two female suicide bombers blew themselves up killing dozens of nearby people. many fear that death toll will only continue to grow. in turkey pope francis called on muslim leaders to condemn the barbaric violence of i.s.i.l. struggling to care for more than 1.5 million syrian refugees. bernard smith has more from istanbul. >> pope francis was welcomed by turkey president recep tayyip

erdogan. the head of the roman catholic church is flown into a region wrestling without counter the rising of groups. while acknowledging that military force is justified to stop groups like i.s.i.l, the pope says there was also need for more dlieg between christians and muslims. >> not just muslim and fundamentalism, need to be counted by solidarity of all believers. >> his host, turkey's president spoke out against what he sees is rising islam phobia. >> it's sounding that in the west racism discrimination and hatred towards those who are different and islamophobia is rapidly and seriously on the rise, including extremism even

in the west. >> the pope said that the international community had a moral obligation to help turkey take care of these refugees. on saturday, the pope moves here to istanbul to tackle another tough issue, the near thousand-year split between cliquism and orthodoxy. he'll be meeting his old friend bartholomew 1. there's hope that both those men will continue efforts being made to bring those who branches of christianity closer together. bernard smith, al jazeera, istanbul. group's tactics and recent slayings, what to do when its citizens are kid snapped. jamie mcintire has more from washington. >> the u.s. says flatly it will never pay ransom to secure release of american hostages in

the hands of i.s.i.l. fighters. but earlier this year, it did pay for american prisoner beau bergdahl. the best way to respond when americans are threatened. >> he watched one by one as fellow captives were freed after it appeared ransoms were paid for their release. after foley's murder two other american captives met the same fate as foley. american law not only prevents its government from paying ransom, it prevents its citizens from paying ransom too. >> the united states has set a heartrending but absolutely necessary example by refusing to pay ransom for captured americans. and all the evidence shows that where and if a country is paid a ransom there are many more people who are taken hostage.

>> according to the u.n. security council's counte counterterrorism committee, including between 35 and $45 million to i.s.i.l. republican representative duncan hunter has accused the u.n. joint special operations command of leaving a botched effort to capture beau bergdahl, held by the hakani organization, designated a terrorism group by the u.s., quoted sources as saying a payment was made to an afghan medi media intermediary. >> there was no ransom offered, there was no ransom paid. >> but kirby acknowledged there is a gray area in u.s. policy, the pentagon or cia will pay sources for information about

the whereabouts and condition of u.s. captives. >> on occasion to obtain information sometimes in the field there are such schaingts. exchanges. that's a fact. >> in britain the government is seeking to stop, tree hostages to terrorists, review of its hostage will not change, families of hostages want other changes. >> i'm so delighted that it's being revisited. all i would ask is that families be invited to the discussion. >> diane foley, mother of james foley says while her son was being held she faced a bewildering bureaucracy where no one seemed to be accountable. >> there appeared to be no one who could share information for us or advocate for jim's jim's situation so it was a very lonely experience.

>> the white house says how the u.s. government manages itself in hostage situations and how the many agencies communicate with the families of the victims, many of whom say they feel abandoned by the government and left with agonizingly few options. the oil price, follows the opec decision to not reduce production. 30 million barrels per day. while some countries were against that decision, it may bode well for u.s. a decrease of 30% since june. the average price of a gallon of gas in the u.s. is now $2.79. police in hong kong has dismantled a pro-address camp. the past week has brought nightly clashes to a popular district, thousands continue to show up. protesters are calling for

democratic reform. a dangerous scene in downtown austin, texas early this morning. police say larry steven mcwilliams fired nearly 100 rounds at government buildings, including a federal courthouse and the mexican consulate. the 41-year-old died after exchanging gun fire with officers. it's unclear if he took his own life or was hit by police bullets. the u.s. should be concerned with, quote, frequent police shootings. ensures all instance he of brutality and excessive force are investigated promptly effectively and impartially. prosecute persons suspected of torture or ill treatment and provide remedies and rehabilitation to the victims. the report comes days after the grand jury decision not to indict a ferguson, missouri

police officer in shooting the unarmed teen michael brown. diane eastabrook has more from the neighboring community of delwood. >> michael, many of the citizens in delwood are frustrated, the government didn't do enough to protect them from rioters. juanita morris gazes over the rubble of her being store. she compares the destruction of her business monday night as a bad dream. >> is it really happening? are you sleeping? >> morris's buz technique was -- morris's boutique was destroyed, rioters cut a path of destruction from ferguson to delwood burning and destroying about 60 businesses. four days after the violence

delwood's mayor says he can't get a meeting with governor jay nixon and he's frustrated. >> personally i've not heard from the governor. >> some business owners are frustrated too. a tire warehouse owner vetted. for the first time since monday the road connectferguson and delwood was open to traffic. on lookers gawk lookers gawked t destruction. late friday afternoon, governor jay nixon announced another $625,000 in zero-interest loans would be available. but state senator gina walsh demands the state do more. >> we have to come up with some kind of loan forgiveness some kind of incentive to have these folks want to keep their businesses here and want to stay here. >> juanita morris is trying to

be patient and says she will rebuild. >> it's nothing wrong with falling. the problem is when you don't get up. >> and morris is trying to be patient. she's hopeful that maybe the state will come through with some kind of grant money that these businesses won't have to pay back. michael. >> refned diereverend dien ah ta minister from the nearby town of fawfontaine. maybe you could update us on the condition of the businesses after the holiday. >> it was a cloud of despair but still a glimmer of hope. the people made it to the streets of ferguson to exercise their first amendment right to protest and to show how we felt once again let down by the

judicial system. and those in government and law enforcement, number one law enforcement, who took an oath to serve and protect, and for our government officials that we thought would stand in a fair and impartial posture. but with the decision of the grand jury that wasn't so. >> is there a concern that these protests could start to lose a little momentum? >> well, the momentum has never been lost, mike. because the cameras left, the people never left the streets. for 108 days, there has been protests throughout the city, mostly concentrated here in this community. but after we didn't receive the justice that the whole world laid bare to see, we decided to expand the protest community to different areas of the st. louis

metropolitan area. like on today, we have protesters that are in west county, we have them that are in south county. and also, still in the neighboring community. we want the people to know that there is another avenue since our governmental officials have let us down, judicial systems have let us down. we decided to show that the power of the people has a voice as well. >> reverend chapman. you mentioned the expansion of the protests. we've also seen the protests spread throughout the country. right here in new york city there were protests tonight, there were incidents at seattle in a mall. what does that say to you and others involved in the protests in ferguson that this message is continuing nationwide? >> well, it says humanity that has been disenfranchised is tired, michael. it started not only with the

death of michael, it has always been past that. and so, to see once again when the blatant evidence show that officer darren wilson should have been indicted that those that have been disenfranchised, those that have been dehumanized all over these united states, as have said that we're tired. and so since we have no other avenue but to take to the streets, but to express our first amendment rights, still, with the glim ar glimmer of hopt our judicial system, our department of justice, even our president even eric holder, local government and law enforcement would come together and join with us and make our union a more perfect union for all humanity. because we haven't had that opportunity to live in that type of atmosphere, michael.

>> reverend dinah tapman, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you michael. >> the town of ferguson, staying often when other public place he closed down. tonight's first person report we speak with peter bo bonn bonner. >> lots of bad things happened monday night. tuesday morning, we were open. we had scores of volunteers here, lots of teachers who were running an ad hoc school here. and on that day we saw a really phenomenal mix of emotions. >> we had a couple of patrons who came up to me and held my hands and cried for a while. because they had to process this. so tuesday, pretty complicated. we have a pretty pleasant

vibrant environment here. and i want people to know it's pleasant here. it's a good place to come, good place to regroup. sometimes i just want to remind people we need to be good to each other, especially when things are rough. the unrest in ferguson is series anserious issues, that all the country needs to wrestle with. but what doesn't often come through on the videos from the news media is that there is a strong sense of community here. there is a serious sense of, we are fergusonites, we come from ferguson we care about ferguson. in the end, because we're able to wrestle with these problems seriously, we can and we will come together. one last note i want to leave is that our doors are wide open to

every human being in ferguson. we want you to come in, tell us what you need. and see if we can help you. >> the library is currently making healing kits for the children of ferguson. you can donate to them at the library's official website. up next here on al jazeera. suspended for knocking out his wife. now nfl running back ray rice has won an appeal. but it might not be that simple. plus, it's back, the excite and speculation around the first new star wars movie. >> the dark side.

>> former baltimore ravens star ray rice is free to return to football. suspended for two games in july for assaulting his fiancee. the suspension was made indefinite. today an arbitrator threw that

decision out. more from richelle carey. >> ray rice never denied he struck his then fiancee jenae palmer in february. rice was first interviewed by the nfl after surveillance video showed what happened outside the elevator. in september a second video surfaced showing what happened inside the elevator. the media backlash proved too much for goodell. on september 28th, goodell suspended rice indefinitely. >> we hadn't seen that tape that became public roughly ten days ago and that was not consistent with what he said. >> the athlete with the backing of the nfl players association appealed the ruling and barbara jones was hired to arbitrate the hearing. the. >> this case once the penalty

was announced it was imposed and the nfl without a real change in circumstance or change if facts other than the outcry from the public went and revisited made it far more severe even in their own guidelines of such a first offense penalty. there was no way back other than the judge to vacate it. >> the arbitrator also said it wasn't rice's fault the league failed to understand the impact of dmesk violence. also speaks to their admit failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely. >> it is domestic violence that swamped the league in all of this. not that they could solve it but that they needed to show empathy and greater concern for it. >> an nfl spokesperson says the league accepts the arbitrator's ruling. richelle carey, al jazeera. >> one of the world's biggest volcanoes has erupted in southern japan. it is first eruption of mt. oso in 22 years.

japan's meteorological agency, authorities say they are not expecting increased activity. of course it is a holiday week and travel is of great concern. meteorologist rebecca stevenson. >> lake effect snow off of lake huron. temperatures are a focus, as cold as it's getting around the northern portion of the states, we are going to have problems with ice on the roads, especially the potential for black ice. tonight and tomorrow morning, interstate 8190 and 80. even in the northeast we've got the snow on the ground. now as we look at our forecast for the travel across the board, it's pretty good again except for northern areas. the reason we have a poor travel forecast for parts of the northwest is because we've got

incoming storm system, a blast of arctic air plus that moisture, we're going to get a lot of snow tracking from idaho down into parts of california we're going to get good amounts of rain. but right now, we are tracking a potential for snow to accumulate in part of wesh tonight. it's a big concern because it's going to get dramatically colder for the west side of the cascades. michael. >> thank you so much rebecca. today the world got a sneak peek of the latest star wars movie. >> the dark side. >> disney released a trailer for star wars the force awaysens this morning. the itunes website crashed temporarily. the next chapter in the saga won't be released until december 2015. up next, john siegenthaler's conversation with john stewart, taking on the serious issue of

press freedom in his new movie. other inspiring artists in our special spot light, art.

>> jon stewart moving from punch lines to the director's chair. >> the definition of journalistic spans, these regimes are arresting more and

more people. >> nobody had played a bisexual gay character. >> from performers to painters. >> i wake up inspired, i go to sleep snider. >> we'll take you inside the studio of peter max and are reveal how a sopranos actor uncovered a masterpiece. >> i couldn't believe it. >> and lucy lawless. >> not everyone is going to agree to yo with you but harden. >> i'm john siegenthaler, art can be anything, tonight we look back at some of the most unforgettable conversations beginning with peter max. a pioneer in the world of pop art, his psychedelic shapes and groovy colors defined the 60s. and five decades later he is still creating iconic masterpieces.

i spoke to max in new york where he gave me a glimpse into his world. >> bold colors and signatures of peter max. >> you're known for brightness, the color. >> i love brightness of colors. i've always had that, i grew up in shanghai, china so maybe that was an influence on me. i have always wanted to be an astronomer, i love astronomy. aa lot of the stars come up i'm always contemplating, how big is the university, and it's getting big are and bigger as we talk. >> max in the 60's was a pop icon. he helped define a generation. >> so many things people think of when they think of the name peter max but for the child of the '60s the first thing to come to mind is this psychedelic era. you sort of represent that in your art right?

>> there was a period in the '60s in the middle-late '60s right, is when all that psychedelia started happening. >> love peace and the paint strokes of peter max. this is his poster from 1967, the summer of love. it catapulted him to fame and made him a last being symbol of the era. >> this was a sketchy made. after a year or so of doing things and being with the swami, the idea was we've got to love everybody, love people, love animals, love the planet, love the people you don't even like. one day i decided to do l-o-v-e and draw my love lady, and it became a very famous image. >> and every young person probably had a peter max poafer in thei -- poster in their bedr.

>> yes, they sold for about two, $3 each, and now it's $10,000 per poster. anywhere i would go, people would point, peter max, i didn't know how to say yes all the time. >> graphic artist peter max has been coloring our world for decades. touching everything you can imagine, from posters to sneakers to would you believe it, cruise ships and pianos. >> we walked by a piano you gave to ringo. >> he asked me to paint a piano. the day i finished painting it by total coincidence, ringo thangd me for what i had -- thanked me and he said peter, can i have a paintbrush?

he said to peter, thanks dot dot dot ringo star. >> an ocean liner. >> the biggest ship in the world, couldn't believe it, when i painted this ship when it was this big, a little bit bigger, i painted it and they've loved it. >> you've been the official painter for the olympics. >> ten times at least. >> you have painted for the world series, for the world cup the super bowl, the u.s. open, the indy 500, the kentucky derby, that's just to start. >> and you know every time i did one of those i thought to myself, hmm, maybe i shouldn't do this, i should just paint regular paintings but then they begged me, begged me, well it's a nice thing i got odo all those nice things. >> here in his new york studio the 76-year-old doesn't stop working with his art and growing brand attached to his name.

>> you have people working for you, this amazing gallery and you're churning out art constantly. >> i paint every day, all piecee do is assist me. they take my paintings, they the make photographs of them. i'm in the arts you know i just love it. >> how do you see your place in history? >> you know, i don't look at it from that point of view very much. and it's like hard, you know it's like hard to sometimes think about things that sort of like please the ego, you know? but i know that i became popular, i know that i always want to bring beautiful things to the planet and i hope it continues. >> we hope it continues for a very long time. peter max it's been a pleasure to meet you and spend time with you. thank you very much. >> nice to really have you in my studio. >> from an artist to an art

collector, fredericko carlucio, findinfinding 14th century masterpiece. >> i can't believe i was standing in front of a masterpiece. >> you knew it right away. >> it was like a lightning bolt that hit me right away. it was that immediate. there were several paintings stacked up on a landing before i went to the second floor to find out what else was in this auction house. i just pulled the two paintings that were in front of this painting. i looked at it and i was like oh my god, this is by migraccino. this was my first thought. i had to try acquire it. >> they didn't realize what they had.

i talked to yvonne, my better half, and i said, don't say a word, and i asked what can you tell me about this painting? >> he said it's an 18th illustrate italian holy painting, st. sebastian and it's probably been cut down. you see it's probably -- >> and i said really, you know what you're probably right. and i said you know would you like to sell it? and he says yes, it will be in our sale in about two weeks for now. >> you cut a deal for what, $60,000? >> it came out close to $70,000. >> you spent a little more money researching and taking care of it. >> i did. i actually brought in a partner. i was afraid if someone else knew who this painting was done by, that -- >> guacino. >> the squinter. if someone else knew then i would probably not be able to acquire it. >> do you have any idea how much money it might be worth?

>> you know what, i know what guachino paintings were going for that's why i never bought one. >> which was? >> they go for -- i've seen a large kind of array of prices. starting over a million to $14 million. so you know -- >> all right so drum roll. to what it's now worth? >> it's now worth i don't know. people are saying it's worth in the millions. i don't know. >> $7 million? >> maybe. >> you bought it for 60, $70,000, and it's worth $7 million. you and your partner could make a tidy sum. how did you acquire the painting? >> after i won the painting in the auction, i -- you know what? getting it over to the states was a little tricky because you can't ensure it for -- assur int for what it's worth.

hoping it would come to the states in one piece, and it did, in the original frame and everything. and so i contacted robert simon and he said what you need to do is you need to contact the experts. >> i mean you must have worried that it might be a fake. >> yes. >> with all the talk of fakes lately. >> fake, no. i've been collecting too long to -- and believe me there are some really great fakeers from the 19th century that with our technology today now you can identify a fake. but prior to that, you know you would have to right on connoisseurship and for centuries, people just looked at paintings they compared it to other paintings and drawings and they realized that this is by this painter. but this to me was -- it was the technique, the hand, i knew guachino's work very well because i studied, i did a paper on his work when i was in school. every museum in the world anyplace i am in the world i'll

go and find a guachino just to look at. and having a photographic memory and being a painter knowing brush strokes you know i was able to see that this was an original thing. >> fredrico, it's nice to meet you, and thank you or your many careers. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for coming. >> i appreciate it. good to see you. >> my conversation with lucy lawleslawless about her life af. and my interview with jon stuart, the comedian's new movie and his passion project. >> i wanted something that melded into the city so seamlessly, that people could almost take it or leave it but hopefully take it and run with it. >> a conflict that started 100 year ago, some say, never ended...

revealing... untold stories of the valor... >> they opened fire on the english officers... >> sacrifice... >> i order you to die... >> and ultimate betrayal... drawing lines in the sand that would shape the middle east and frame the conflict today >> world war one: through arab eyes only on al jazeera america

>> just hearing the story of harvey milk when i was a young closeted kid in the bay area, in california. hearing about someone who was openly gay, was a big shock to me. i didn't know there was such a thing. >> comedian jon stewart now his new film is no laughing matter. rosewater is a story about a man

wrongly held in an iranian prison. why they felt the story needed to be told. >> i was struck at the end of the film that you really wanted to make a statement about adjournmenjournalism around the. can you state what that is? >> i think it was more -- if i would say it's a statement of the unsustainability of the apparatus ues that these regimes build, we are building towards a strange security status that nsa and other statuses, that these exist to keep information that they don't want getting out, getting out are more damaging to the state than any piece of information that that could arise. and it's about the sustainability of it, and that think of how hard, how much money, how much time, how much effort how much human capital is exposed in trying okeep someone

like maziar from just filming something. he didn't do anything. he filmed something. >> i mean give us your reaction to what's going on with journalists around the world, especially our friends from al jazeera. >> we have a friend basam youssef who does a satir satiril show, this is the government that came in and said we're going to listen to the will of the people yet it won't allow the people to speak up about they've arrested three of your colleagues. the trial, the evidence they submit is footage of asian horses and bits and pieces, it has no bearing on anything. there's no accountability for what's going to happen to them. they have families that don't know, they are powerless to get

them out. this is an ally of the united states, we give them 1.5 billion a year aid and there has to be a method that we can get these political prisoners that are being held in these countries get them some visibility and hopefully enough pressure on these regimes to get them released. there's just no purpose in it. no purpose in it. these people have done nothing. >> what did you think of the film when you first saw it? >> i mean i was involved in writing this, it was on the set and i saw the rough cut. and i think going back to your question, the film is about democratization of the information. and i think that's what is scaring these authoritarian regimes. these are 20th century regimes that can arrest people, they can shut down newspapers, can send interference with short wave radios. but when it comes to digital

technology, social media, they don't know what to do. we cannot work the dvd player and show you the evidence that we have for the trial. so -- and as a result they look ridiculous and that's where the human from ththehumor from the . >> i watched how it happened to you and the impression i get you seem joyful you seem positive you seem nrse energized that yoe out. there's no vindictiveness -- >> there is no point of vindictiveness. when it happened i was angry but when you put a distance between that, you have to sublimb eighth your experiences into something more positive. >> you did that in the book? >> with the book, the film, we're talking to you, we're talk ugh about the plight of many of

my friends and colleagues who are going through same thing. >> he did it even with the interrogators, they are humans, they have vulnerabilities. he never portrays them as monsters. >> but they were. >> they were not monsters. they were doing awful acts, they were torturing people. >> torturing you. >> torturing me, putting me in front of cameras for forced confessions. those are bad acts that are done by a human being. >> is rosewater still alive, is he still around? >> i'm sure he is and i'm sure he's going to watch this interview, he's going to watch the film. he must have read the book. >> it's a powerful film, congratulations. >> thank you. >> lucy lawless is famous for her tv show, zena warrior

princess spm. >> i'm lucy lawless, i'm best known for playing zena warrior prince says. since them i have gone on to play battle star glact ca galac. in 2012 i joined together with a greenpeace team to scale an oil rig or a ship that was heading to the arctic, which shell was going to drill and we occupied it for four days. to try to slow it and bring a bit of attention to the fact that they were doing this. >> it started seven of us, seven of us went up the rig but 133,000 people came down it with us. >> the reason that oil companies are starting to rub their hands

about going into the arctic is because it's melting. so it seems much more accessible for them. so they're like, kaching, let's go carve up the aracataca. the problem is that we're digging up more of the stuff which caused the melting of the arctic in the first place. do you know what the world's going to look like if the arctic is content to allow to melt and then antarctica, we're going to be standing on the highest peaks. >> it is not of if, it's a question of when. >> i think climate change is almost boring to people because it's a specter that seems far off that things like ebola and i.s.i.l. are hot topics. but climate change is going to affect everything. you need to take that, your government,-take back your

government wherever you are and make sure they're working for you. i'm amazed how many few celebrities get involved in conflicts, you get this in blow-back from anybody who stands up and says what they believe in because inevitably not everyone's going to agree with you. but you know harden up. >> coming up next. one of the funniest women in show business. i asked sandra bernehard how comedy has changed in her career. >> it's nothing like it, the live performance, you never forget th the play you saw. >> robert kennedy jr., >> american democracy is rooted in wilderness... >> his fathers lasting influence >> my father considered this part of our heritage... >> coping with tradgedy >> the enemy of any productive life is self pity...

>> defending the environment >> global warming is gravest threat... >> every saturday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera, only on al jazeera america >> my dad was working in brooklyn at the time we were shooting. it was a closed set.

he went over there and said i'm the star's father. of course i only had three lines in the movie but the security person said, "right this way mr. travolta." >> sandra bernhard, in your face kind of comedy. in the business for 40 years. even one of the first gay persons on tv. how she sees the comedy world change. >> in every way possible. when i started off there was just a small handful of people doing comedy, really. it was back in the '70s i moved to l.a. trying to pursue my dream of being an entertainer. there were a handful of people doing comedy, john rivers, phyllis diller. the vibe was very self

deprecating. women were making fun of their bodies and dating. and i came along and turned it on its ear, post modern, post feminist, uber confident. sort of mary tyler moore. that was my biggest role model. >> who was your biggest influence? >> in terms of being -- >> mary tyler moore, when i think of you i don't think of mary tyler moore. >> she is. mary left the big city, she moved to minneapolis, she was independent and i patterned my life after her. >> did you have an idea when you started that you would do all this stuff? i mean beyond comedy? >> i ultimately wanted to be a singer, i wanted to be a broadway musical performer. i went from arizona where i was growing up to l.a. when i was 18 turning 19 and i just fell into the comedy scene and people

said, you can sing too, get up at comedy clubs ♪ >> when you came on tv as a viewer i never knew exactly what you were going to say and that was the cool thing. they talked about you as in your face comedy. how do you characterize yourself now? >> i've developed a lot as an artist, performer, i've fine tuned my material. i think i work at a lot of different levels emotionally. i way up there and introspective. >> you talk about breaking barriers in comedy, with some of the material you did. but you also broke barriers with rose ann. >> sue mengers was my agent in the 1990s. i didn't really know roastanne.

wroast --roseanne. will you come on the show and play tom's wife, fiancee? i said great, fun. the whole thing was that arnie tom arnold's character was so obnoxious, he drove me into the arms of morgan fairchild. that was the joke. it was the issue of nobody had played the part of a bisexual, single woman. we kept it upbead, we weren't trying to do anything but it just happened. >> what do you remember about the reaction? >> well, i think the audience was a little -- they were like oh, ooh but they loved it and it was fun and it was a surprise and it just sort of you know opened people up to a different way of looking -- >> it was before ellen came out.

>> yeah. it was just -- but like i said, it wasn't like -- nobody was like trying to be like a hero. it was all within the realm of great collaboration which roseanne is so great at. >> when i think about your character on roseanne it really was groundbreaking. this year there is a lot of issues about gay marriage. >> we all knew it would. >> how did you know it would? >> it's the snowball effect. anybody under 30, if you brought up the gay issue, they're like what issue? everybody is busy, living, nobody cares, gives a hoot. >> i talk to you about politics? >> of course. >> what was your reaction to the results in this election year? >> i think that people are burned out. i think they've been burned out

since the bush administration and nixon and everything before. you know politics has lost its glamor and its veneer and excitement. i think people are tired, people get very lazy in this cub. they chain, they bitch, they moan. yet when there's an opportunity to make a difference sometimes they just don't do it. >> as an entertainer as operformer as an artist do you feel the need to get involved in political stuff? >> not as much as i did you know when the election was happening initially for obama. you know, i maybe you know, went a little deeper into it than i normally did. >> if you're some little freaked out intimidated frightened right wing republican -- >> occasionally on my shows when it's my audience i'll touch on something. the topics have been beaten to death. there's people like you on al jazeera, jon stewart, rachel

madow, people who spend their time pick apart politics. that's not what i love. >> and this your recent role -- >> his father and i start hook up so it's just sort of this funny, the two of them are sort of horrified at the two of us getting together and you know again it's you know it's sort of a -- you know she's a little bit kookie, a little bit out there. who i am, sophisticated tongue in cheek but a little more grounded in reality, like the reality of the world we're living in and play a little bit more, you know, of a loose cannon. >> thank you for entertaining us all of us for such a long time. we hope you do it for many, many years. >> i foresee doing it for as long as i can get up and kick it

out. >> thank you for joining us. >> very nice to be here. thank you. >> it's been quite a year in art. i'm john siegenthaler in new york. that's our program. thanks for watching.

>> let's take a look at china. >> china overtakes us.