the web site at aljazeera.com/considerthis. we are on facebook and twitter. good evening, everyone, this is al jazeera america. i'm paul beban in new york. john seigenthaler is off. showtime - you want us to kill the leader of north korea. >> despite threats against new york theatres, sony says it will release "the interview", the controversial film about north korea. >> on the rebound. economic growth faster than it's been in a decade. for men americans, it's not fast enough. >> beat down, the battle between the music industry and youtube. why a billion dollar lawsuit could be in the works.

>> and photo finish. national geographic upveils the photo of the year. . >> a big about-face to sony, the studio giving a limited release to "the interview", it was pulled after a series of cyber attacks, and they were followed by threats of violence at u.s. theatres. the u.s. blames north korea for the hacking. roxana saberi has more. >> the announcement has lit up social media. a lot of people are applauding, including president obama. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea. >> yes. >> the plot surrounding the release of the movie is taking a twist, with independent theatres from alabama to georgia declaring they'll show the comedy starting christmas day. a texas based chain is one of the first to announce it was taking online reservations.

two screenings were full in 2.5 hours. >> i was looking for a bootleg copy. i don't have to. i'll stand up for free speech and creativity. sony's entertainment confirmed the news in a statement saying they have never given up. >> they were the first step of the films release. they said: following an online showing, it prompted criticism that it was not doing enough to stand up for free speech, criticism from president barack obama. >> yes, i think they made a mistake. we cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can impose censorship in the

united states. >> after president obama vowed to respond, the country suffered sweeping internet outages. a state department spokes declined to comment. ask the north korea if their internet was working, i can't say why it was or wasn't. seth rogan tweeted:. >> some twitter releases is happy. one defeated excellent news, congratulations on her win. >> the west coast coast associate editor coming soon. it's an entertainment review. great to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> james franco is calling this a victory. why did sony have a change of heart? >> it's not necessarily a change

of heart. i think there was a lot of misreading of their comment that there were no plans to release the film. it's bus this has unfolded quickly. the intention was to release it, it reached a point where they know how. >> maybe this was the plan. will this movie be a box office success, why will people see it. because of the all the hype. >> it's controversial. it's a funny movie. >> it's a lot of fun. he's a director, he co-directed. it's an embrace, it embraces the real controversy.

i don't think they were looking for this response. now that it's here, it's something we need to talk about. >> interesting. >> okay. >> sony will let this go into independent smaller theatres, are the big chains going to come on board now? >> it's something that has never happened in the history of entertainment. it seems like a vod plan makes sense. if all the theatres turned around and said it was a patriotic thing, we'll show it because of free speech i could see it becoming a selling point. >> vod, video on command. >>y, absolutely. >> how does it figure into a theatre chain release. that would blow that. >> it's impossible to say, it's a new front ear. netflix is getting ready to release some of the first movies. it's unchartered territory. there's no predicting how it could work. >> so you saw the film, you lined it. what do you think of it has a political satire.

regardless of what we think about north korea, is it appropriate to have a film that satarrizes - spoiler alert - killing the leader of a foreign nation? >> yes and no. you can say it's not a nice thing to do. at the same it's a movie. it's not necessarily something that is uniquely political. citizen kane was, sony released social network about mats zuccarello. it wasn't something that he -- mark zuckerberg. wasn't something he necessarily enjoyed the depiction on, but it's wrong to say you can't tell the stories. >> we'll see, we'll get a chance to see it. thank you. >> north korea's limited web access went down again. it was out for much of the day on monday before being partially restored. a web-tracking company said access went down two more times. last week president obama promised to respond to north

korea's cyber attack. american officials said the u.s. was not responsibility for monday's outing. the new york city scoi line went dark in honour of the two police officers executed over the weekend. the mayor requested a landmark such as the christmas tree dimmed their lights. protesters did not honour the mayor's request out of respect for the fallen officers. jonathan betz is here with more on that. >> tensions are growing aday. activists are ignoring the pleas. if anything, the request from the major re-energized movement. >> anger returned to new york city streets. protesters defined the plea to stay home. >> a lot of people want to make sure that it's known that the movement will not be silenced, we will not be intimidated. >> reporter: dozens marched

through demanding justice for unarmed teenagers. part of the movement some think led to the deaths of two fers. -- officers. >> it's an ipp sult that people -- insult this people exercising their rights led to the murder of someone. >> we have to getterb to move away from anger and hatred. after days of pain, a brief pause. the mayor led a moment of silence. the moment that officers were gunned down on saturday. >> it's a time of pain for our city. it's a time of mourning. for two good families. >> earlier the mayor visited the growing memorial in brooklyn, where officers lost their lives. >> you see how much it touched people. >> flags are flying at half

mast. >> the victims share their pain. >> this is a difficult time for both of our families. we stand together. >> police are trying to peace together the last hours before he cam pushed the two officers. he had a long history. family members say he was mentally troubled. >> if you have issues and you go in and out of gaol, prison, clearly something is wrong. he should have been offered help. >> he should have been offered help in the system. he wasn't. >> he appeared driven by the recent protest against police. >> a crime many here denounce. also insisting the movement must continue. >> we can't stop. this is not possible. >> vice president joe biden announced he'll accident officer rafael ramos's funeral.

services begin the day after christmas. wow. jonathan betz, thank you very much. a new york o congressman pleaded guilty to tax fraud. michael grim entered a plea but said he will not step down. the charges follow an investigation into campaign finances. the republican was accused of hiding $1 million. he'll be sentenced in june. deadly tornadoes ripped through the south destroying towns in georgia and louisiana. causing four fatalities meteorologist kevin corriveau has been following the storm. >> it continues. we'll see a lot of activity with the storm. look at the radar and the satellite. we have been watching since this afternoon. i want to go in a bit more. let go back about four hours. take a look at the dams across mississippi. this is columbia mississippi,

where several tornadoes pushed through. be saw powerlines down, destruction with the - some of the structural damage as well, and towards louisiana, we saw similar damage as well here. power out to thousands across the region. and unfortunately they don't expect it to come back before christmas. let's put this into motion. we can see what we are expecting. atlanta, georgia, you saw a ban of rain showers causing delays at the airport. we are seeing a bit of rain. flooding it a problem. rain reported, most in mississippi. one towards florida as well as done here to georgia. tornado watches in effect. downgraded from tornado warns. in parts of alabama we are looking at flash floods and into parts of florida as well.

eight inches of rain has fallen so far. >> thank you. >> a record day on wall street after big news on economic growth, the u.s. economy picking up the most steam in over a decade. tom ackerman has the details. >> on wall street a measure of christmas cheer as the dow jones index passed the 18,000 march. what triggered investors enthusiasm an annual rate jump from july through september. it was seep for more than a decade of several positive factor. consumer sentiment is at its highest point in eight jeers. much of the cash provided by a drop in petrol prices, equivalent to a 75 billion tax cut. >> employment gains were a major factor. >> over the past four years we

put more people back to work than other advanced economies. >> more offer wage increases are outpacing inflation. the outlook for 2015 is upbeat. there's room for improvement on the job front. >> too many people wanting jobs unable to find them. too many working part time but would prefer full of time work, and too many giving up searching for a job, but would do so if the labour market were stronger. >> analysts warn that the oil price benefit is unlikely to last. growth in military spending will be slowing. >> what we saw on the third quarter doesn't offset or undermine or reverse the long-term condition of glocial capitalism in jrm, or the leader -- in jrm, or the leader of the united states in particular. >> as the old year rings out, the numbers give americans

reason to believe they are hooking up business and political strategist is the found are of the tarra dowld, ll group. the dow breaking record. is this good news for mainstream and wall street finally. >> yes, and no. so on balance, given everything that we have been through as a country, the great recession, on balance yes it's good news. but we have structural issues that need to be addressed if we want to tep the any moving forward and making sure everywhere has equal access. we have a significant number of long-term unemployed people who have been out of the jobs market that they don't have the skills for the new economy because wear transitioning into a new economy. the ad industry, you look at the industry. seven years ago it didn't exist.

now it comes close to a million jobs. that is a long-term prn, if you have a pension or a 401k, fantastic news. if you are a job seeker with skills. great time for you. >> so there are signs of a strong recovery. is this a recovery with a fouption built to last. will we see this sustained. >> it can be, but there's a role that government and policy makers need to play in making sure it's sustained. there's a lot of risk, not just structural issues. you see what is happening in the euro zen. you see a cop straction. -- contraction. you see record high unemployment at a time when we thought things would get better. japan continues to struggle. this is their fourth recession. china - which don't know, they play with numbers a bit, we are

not sure. the economy is slowing. >> you mentioned the role of policy makers and officials. how much benefit cap president obama claim for the numbers that we are seeing. >> the president should and could claim credit for the numbers. he does not have as much influence over the chi - i came back from ethiopia, where the chinese are building light rail. you look at the light rail and this is what happens. the chinese government says you'll go to ethiopia, you'll finance the right rail project at 1% and construction company b you'll send over 10,000 workers. our president can't do that. but he can influence the economy. i think the stimulus which was really subjected to a lot of partisan attacks and degraded. it helps. if he - if the government under his leadership had not stepped

in and tape the action which every economist said should have been bigger, we wouldn't be where we are. everybody else went to austerity. we went to - china is doing well, despite the contraction. we went to a big action. >> right. big extra. some time of improvement, a long way to go. thank you. >> thank you. >> former president george h.w. bush was tape to hospital after experiencing shortness of breath. in a statement his office said he is under observation at the hospital. the move is described as precautionary. the former president is 90 years old. the state department official in charge of transferring detainees is stepping down. this resignation is seen as a setback for president obama in his efforts to close that prison. we have the details. >> secretary of state john kerry

praised cliff sloane as a skilled negotiator, a big reason why three dozen detainees were travelled. the state department denied he resigned because of the slow removal. >> i'll do everything i can to close guantanamo bay. it is something that continues to inspire jihadists and extremists, the fact that the folks are held. it's contrary to values and wildly expifference. the major credit for the fact that 34 detainees have been released is given to the diplomatic skills of cliff sloane. a close conified apt, stepping down to return to the private practice of law. it's denied that the departure

was a surprise or result of a disagreement or pleasure. >> he said he'd give us 12-18 months. he gave us 18. there has been reports that are totally ipp accurate. that he left. the opposite is true. >> reporter: the white house was thwarted by slow approval processes. chuck hagel seemed out of step with his boss, the president on the case of transfers, something confirmed to reporters travelling with him last may. >> according to a pentagon tran script he said: with the latest transfer of four afghans, the number of prisoners healed has dwindled from 132 to 18 countries.

64 are slated for release, the u.s. has nowhere to send them. there are three dozen that are forever prisoners, facing indefinite captivity with no prospect of the due process. the ob-obama administration says more -- the obama administration says more transfers are in the mix. and hopes it lift the ban so they can be held in american prisons. >> next, how fracking is hurting california's farm economy, it's bad for the big business of almonds. plus... ♪ because i'll happy ♪ clap along if you feel... . >> ferrell williams is not happy with youtube, and may team up with other musicians for a billion dollar legal action.

lady saying she just wanted her voice to get out there. >> by the thousands, they're sending their government a message. >> ahead of 'em is a humanitarian crisis where tens of thousands of people are without food, water, shelter. >> a special one hour look at global attacks on free press. monday 9:00 eastern. on al jazeera america.

in california the devastating drought is heating up the debate of fracking. at the heat of the debate is the billions of litres of oil that is used. here is jennifer london. >> california is the fourth largest producer of oil and gas, fracking is increasingly important in the states, especially in the central valley, the nation's bread basket. as the state suffers through the worst drought on record, fracking and farming are on a collision course. >> from up here i see the orchard and the mound apes. -- mountains. >> beyond the farm, there's something else. >> today there's fracking going

on. four miles this way, three miles to the east, seven miles to the north, and six miles to the west. >> reporter: you are basically surrounded by oil fields where fracking is happening. >> we are surrounding. this is new. we have been invaded. >> this country has more than 80% of oil and gas. 600 new wells are fracked each year, using millions of gallons of water, water that farmers say they need to irrigate their crops. the trees will die if they go two months without water. >> in 2012, he video taped the illegal dumping of water into an onlined pit near his orchard. >> as a farmer i know and have seen what is happening in this area. whatever chemicals we use on the surface, a lot of those made their way into the groundwater

already. almond farming is an $11 billion industry in the central valley, every single almond is dependent on what is in the soil and the trees. if the water and oil are contaminated, so are the almonds. this summer the state shut down nine wells for illegally dumping 3 billion gallons of waste water. jason marshall is the chief deputy director in charge of regulati regulating oil and gas. >> who is protecting the people? >> there's a multitude of agencies they are looking at for that. there's a multitude of jurisdiction. >> one of those is the californian water resources control board. john heads groundwater monitoring and assessment. >> is big oil poisoning millions of gallons of water each day?

>> so you're asking me to give you a yes or no answer on something that i don't know. so the right answer is i don't know. >> do you think you should know the answer to that question. a lot of people are asking that question, a lot of californians are saying wait, fracking is happening, and we are worried. >> that's a reasonable concern that people have. as the president of california, you should be. do you think farmers have a friend in sacramento. >> they had friends, but when it's against big oil, the game changes. they are more powerful. it always god in their way. >> for formers, the saying oil

and water don't mix has taken on new meaning. >> it's important to note that farming is water intensive. almonds use 10%. water supply each year, and are not the most water intensive crop. that said, farmers say their primary concern is with the underground aquifers. form night we have a third part informant series where we take the viewers back and introduce them to one father who says fracking is making his daughter sick. >> great reporting from jennifer london in london. a major recall of millions of coffee makers over concerns they could spray people with hot water. the problem effects the mini plus machine. more than 7 million produced before july 2014 are being recalled after 90 reports of injuries. next - the fta's new rules for gay blood donors. it's the end of the road for

a holiday tradition after a 50 year run.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm paul beban, coming up, the justice department is investigating another police shooting involving an unarmed black man, this time in milwaukee. youtube could face a billion dollar lawsuit from some of the biggest names in the music business. and a look at some of the best pictures from around the world. protests returned to new york city despite a plea from the mayor of new york. [ chanting ] >> demonstrators flooded the streets once again calling for an end to racism and police violence. it comes in the wake of the killing of two police officers in brooklyn on saturday, shot by

a deranged man who claims he was getting justice for michael brown and eric garner. mayor bill de blasio arrived for a cause in protest until after the police funerals were over. now to milwaukee, where an officer will not be charged in the shooting death of a mentally ill suspect. the move sparks protest. "america tonight"s christopher putzel spoke with the family of the shooting victim. >> maria hamilton moved her sons to flee the gang violence. >> i decided i didn't want them to be a statistic. i made a choice to bring them here so they could get the education, be involved in the community sports like they weren't there. that dream of a new beginning and a safer life for her children ended.

>> he was laying down here. >> that afternoon maria's youngest son was sleeping in red arrow park, when an officer wrote and padded him down. he suffered schizophrenia and his family says he often slept outside. they began to argue. >> i met with dantr,'s family. the officer pulled his baton out. they took the baton. and witnesses are saying that dantre never struck the officer. he was standing in a defensive manner with a baton. they must have got frustrated and unloaded his weapon. >> why would an officer shoot someone 14 times? >> we feel like it was a hatred, an emotion from getting his bat job taken. >> christopher putzel joins us. you spoke to the victim's family today. what was their rehabilitation to

the decision not to file any charges against the officer. >> they were angry and disappointed. their lawyer prepped for a response. they said they want to keep on the fight. they are clad that the meds are involved. >> why aren't charges being brought against them. he was fired not for shooting the guy 14 times. he didn't follow procedure. he identified he was disfriendic. it agitated hamilton, and as a result it looked like he got his bat job, and the officer

proceeded to shoot him 14 times. what he is punished for is approaching him inappropriately, not for shooting him. speaking of that baton. here is something from the milwaukee police department. it's pa quote. . >> that's from the lieutenant. did the baton figure into the decision about the charges is there a decision about proportionality. he did have a baton, but the officer shot him 14 times. >> the baton played a role in the decision. the question that the family and a lot of people had is how could he have got the baton. why? >> two other officers came to remove him and decided he wasn't a threat or disturbing anyone.

the other officer was a little more aggressive. approached him. patted him down. looks like the officer was squared, and the family was upset. >> you can watch christoph's report. a grand jury in houston voted not to indict a police officer who shot an unarmed man. the family of jordan baker continues their fight. baker was looking in a store. they struggled. baker reached into the waistband. he opened fire. baber did not have a weapon. >> the f.d.a. banned blood donations from gay and bisexual men for 30 years. the agency announced a caping to the policy. there's a big and controversial decision. morgan radford has more. >> the f.d.a. is proposing a

change in the policy to allow gay and bisexual me to give blood, but they must sustain from sex with men for a year. in a statement released on tuesday the f.d.a. said: . >> in other words, it present gay or bisexual men. be celebrate for a year or don't donate blood. a chaise that many gay right's activists say is uncare. >> i interviewed an openly gay marriage therapist a position and researcher, when a panel met to change the ban. >> why would i be forced to wait a year not to give sex, when a

heterosexual man have been a sex with a woman, as long as he's not paying them, he can give blood, they'd be happy to take it. >> it makes sense to look at people's behaviour in terms of had someone paid money to a profit attitude or other things that put them at risk. >> the fg an is standing by the decision, implementing them in 1893, during the early days of the aids crisis, when they decided that no man could donate blood that this sex with another man since 1977. even if it happened just once. >> many of the doctors say the f.d.a. hasn't taken the medical events fully into act. they believe it's a step in the right direction. >> a year might be too long. if you thing of it in term of data. according to the institute on sexual orientation, eliminating

the ban would mean adding 600,000 pints. this one year ban would add 300,000 pints. the changes could boost the blood supply by 4%. the red cross weighed in on the proposal and said it is consistent with the red cross position that the current life-time deferral is unwarranted. >> it's a top hospital. the goal is not just to save lives, but to save energy. diane eastabrook has that. >> i'll grab your temperature. >> reporter: medical workers rely on sophisticated technology from cat scan machines to heart rate monitors to guying nose and treat patients. they rely on something low tech to power it. that's right, dairy cows. besides milk the animals produce

35,000 gallons a day. all goes into the three digestors converting mooethan gas from the man u into the electricity. it is called home grown energy. >> we'll improve the health of the community and be god for the fingerprints, lowering the cost of health care. >> the hospital taps power sources like win, sun and trees. >> we have hard woodchips from wisconsin and south-east ryan macinnis. >> 100 tonnes of woodchips are fed into the boiler. it burns the wood, creating steam. it's called envision. >> this feeds the number back into the clinic on the campus for this project. other projects sell the utilities. snow in the past six years they

have invested 40 million in green energy. energy comprises a small perm of the overall budget. less than 1% to keep the lights on, computers running. are the sustainability projects worth the investment? >> gunder son's think so. it uses a lot of power, especially in areas like the kitchen and the laundry. it spent 2 million on energy. last year a million left. >> it helps our region, because it lowers the cost of care. >> so far the energy sayings have it lower. it's hoped one day it night. diane eastabrook, al jazeera, wisconsin crash ratings for passenger vehicles are improving. the insurance institute for

highway safety your reports that 71 models earn top two ratings, even though requirements were tougher. last year fewer than 40 cars received the highest ratings. auto makers in the u.s. game under fire. 2014 saw many recalled because of faulty ignition and dangerous air bags. >> reporter: if february general motors issues a switch recall of small cars. weeks later, in a stunning administration, it says some employees were aware of the problem more than a decade ago. >> we have apologised. that is one step in the journey. >> an apology falling short of families that suffered harm and deaths. >> we know gn knew and did

nothing. >> prompting members of congress to take action. in april the new c.e.o. mary burra was on capitol hill in the hot site. the failure to acts sooner. potentially switching off, triggering the air bags. >> we now the difference between the switch and one that would have worked was the difference between life and death. do you know the other difference? the other thing that we now know that is would cost $2 to repair. >> reporter: g.m. was fined $235 by the highway traffic safety administration facing criticism. >> by june, the automaker released the results of internal

investigation. for years g.m. fostered a dysfunctional culture. 15 employees were fired. five were disciplined. >> amber died. >> laura hopes someone is held criminally responsible. her daughter was killed in 2005, driving a chevy cobb alt. >> others died at the hands of g.m. it was admitted she is one of 13. i'm here to say it was wrong. she is one of hun greds. the death toll more than tripled. g.m.'s victims compensation fund linked 42 deaths and dozens of injuries. it's a number that will rise. a recall by japanese air bag manufacturer takata is showing no signs of slowing down. >> all i remember is a big explosion. my right side wept pitch-black.

>> cory was hurt when the air bags exploded. sending chards of metal flying. he is blind in his right eye. the air bags, spanning 10 automakers, limed to five deaths. they apologised but fought demands to expand the recall nationwide. several auto makers have taken action. new safety reforms are likely in the coming i don't remember. gily it will be -- coming i can't remember. >> definitely it will be more active in the future. >> the road ahead could get rough as g.m. and takata head into 2015. the focus of a criminal investigation. youtube is facing a billion dollar legal threat over some of

the music videos on the site, coming from high-powered lawyer who represents music biz heavy hitters, including ferrel williams. he told youtube he'll take action if his client's videos are not taken down. he manages 20,000 songs. john joins us from washington. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. first thing here. does this guy have a case? >> well, at this point i think the lawyers are posturing. obviously if he does own the licence to the works, youtube is ufght works without his permission, he has a case. at this point he has not laid out with specificity the songs purportedly infringed. youtube can't respond. they don't know the songs he's referring to. >> you mentioned the specificitiment we are talking as much as 20,000 songs, if

that's what he decides to go after. walk us through how the process begins to happen. >> yes, in essence it's simple. if you claim infringement or claiming that someone uses your works without your permission, and the performance rights area, we have what we call licences. you would give a licence to youtube, and you would have ability to use the works and play them on the website. at this point no licence has been given. youtube is responding saying we do have a licence, but it doesn't belong to you. there's a lack of clarity. if you look at the law, congress passed the copyright act to deal with the issues because there are more infringement cases. they require more different things, they require specificity. you have to claim what the song is, and you have to provide the

url where it can be located. you have to, if you are a third party representing a party holder, you have to claim that you have the right to represent the individual, and finally, from a copyright holder's stand point that has to maintain that his or her work is infringed. >> gotcha. ultimately, putting the legalese aside possessing is what it's all about. this is how musicians face money. >> that's pretty: licensing is the number one thing enabling musicians to make money. it's critical that they make sure they reap whatever benefits they can from the licensing agreements. >> john burns, it's a big deal. thank you for helping us see our way through it. thank you. >> all right. thank you. >> coming up next. christmas from behinds bars. one of our gaoled al jazeera colleagues tells us what he's

thankful for plus, picture perfect - national geographic unveils the top pictures of the year.

. >> three of our colleagues have been in gaol in egypt for 360 days. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy were sentenced to 7 years in prison. balme was given a 10-year sentence, all three accused of helping the muslim brotherhood, and spreading false news. al jazeera rejects the charges and continues to demand our colleagues immediate release. peter greste spent greetings to his supporters in cairo saying that while their situation is dire:

peter's brother andrew tells us that the family is grateful from any messages from peter. >> it's good to hear from him. seems like it's been well received. it's a bit of an indication of how peter feels, and wanting to thank all the work that people have been doing to get his release. >> australia's foreign minister optimistic that peter greste could be released soon, possibly before christmas. >> national geographic is gown for taunting and stunning photography and announced the winners of its photo contest. >> illuminated and illuminating. this is the winner, capturing a bomban at the center of a

crowded train in hong kong. focused on her phone. she was described as a node-flocking on the social web, roping the earth, free as a butter ply. >> -- butterfly. >> from people to place, a storm-swept landscape in turkey, the photographer capturing this, the little boy's umbrella swept up. it was called a beautiful moment. beauty and beast - both on display here. this was chosen as the best nature picture, a willeder beast jumping into a river in tanzania. beneath the ocean off australia's great barrier reef. sea life, a school of fish around a giant. >> a dirpt view that of the spars in budapest. we see what the photographers call a mystical experience.

>> and a view from above. a young girl in the throws of an interpreter tantrum. it turns routine stresses of a family into a word of art. >> temper tantrum and our picture of the day next. plus, a toy truck is back. you won't be able to by them at the local gases station any more.

a holiday tradition is coming to an end. it lasted for decades, and it travelled a long road. >> having a hess truck under the tree was the norm. you couldn't have christmas without hess. >> reporter: not just at frank's home, but upped the tree in millions of american homes in the 1960s to today. you could say it's just a toy truck, but for generations it's always arrived with a little

magic. >> there was nothing that really i enjoyed for for being in a dark room with the headlights on and driving the truck around the floor, because it was real, having headlights. it was a real toy that looked and behaved like a real truck. >> reporter: a real truck, one you could only get at the gas station that only sold out when santa arrived. back in the day the thrill of christmas morning was the discovery of blinking lights, working horns. in recent years maybe something even more fantastic. like a space shuttle or a jet. for 50 years every year an original incredible vehicle under the tree. that is where the collection started for me. seven a collector like frank has not been act put together a

complete set. >> we have about 40. >> and now you have a little boy. >> i do. >> how many do you have. >> 10 or 12. >> what you are saying is that you, the dad, have more toy trucks than your little boy. >> that is it correct, yes. he looks at them. he knows these are dad's, and he can't play with them. >> dad has toys, and he has toys. >> absolutely. >> a lot of daddies have days. the trucks were the braip child of a man bhos name -- brainchild of a man whose name appears on all, william hess. he brought his passions together, requiring that each toy be tough enough to withstand the stox of a 300 pound linebacker. sturdy for a five-year-old, and created in the spirit of sanda's magic workshop. each year the design is a closely guarded secret. fans that gained the

possibilities can only guess at what each year's model will be. >> you kind of - you kind of obsess. >> to a degree, yes. this is the room as i'm leaving to go to work, that i pass through. i just stop. i look at them, make minor adjustments and feel the blood pressure going down, it relaxes me and i go up to the rat race. >> a tradition he hopes to hand down to the next generation, it's a sharp term for the truck. >> it's the last year they'll be selling their truck. >> earlier this year it sold off gas stations but in a nod to collectors, they'll sell the trucks, but only online.

>> frank set his alarm to wake up 5 minutes before it starts, to be among the first. he admits it's a hard way to hang on to tradition. >> they realise what the collector feels about them, keeping it going. it's a heart break. >> it's tough. >> it's hard. >> if you have a little boy you'll find him a hess truck. if you don't, an uncle, a grandparent will by it every year. >> it's christmas. that's what you do. tradition keeps rolling in cyber space. now to our picture of the day, celebrating the holidays in poland, people stopping to admire the christmas lights. i'm paul beban on a rainy night in new york. "america tonight" is next.

>> on "america tonight", a policeman, a street clash and a difficult suspect. did the officer go too far to control. >> at that point the officer must have got frustrated and unloaded his weapon 14 times. why would an officer shoot someone 14 times. >> "america tonight"s christopher putzel on the hard question. police?