in new york. these stories and more at 11:00 eastern. and the now our picture of the day. our tribute to the fallen police officers in france. this is the hat of the muslim police officer who died. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. >> on "america tonight" liberty, fraternity and inequality. heroes and villains in the french massacre share the same fate. why france's muslims fear they have become the targets. >> reporter: are you worried people will look at you and be afraid? >> more and more i think i'll be afraid to walk in the streets because they will think i'm muslim and maybe a terrorist our few from paris. sheila macvicar is there, with

the fragile relationship between france and the muslim community, and the wider worries throughout europe. the world demands that they bring back our girls. they didn't. the nigeria militants known as boko haram stepped up their campaign of violence. a wave of death forcing small children to become human bombs. and the law against the law. four decades after being marked for speaking out against his own colleagues what his experience tell us us about ferguson and other flashpoints between communities and the police. >> you don't talk about your own kind. you don't expose your own kind or maybe we'll expose you. >> franc serpico on police brutality and the thin blue

and thanks for joining us. i'm joie chen it is wednesday now in paris. it's mourning and the defiance against violent attackers entering a new day. the satirical magazine targeted last week "charlie hebdo" rushed to put out 3 million copies of its new edition. the cover features a drawing of the new mohammed a dear in his eye, the captions "i am charlie" and "all forgiven." there's another image emerging a video showing the gun me after the attack -- gunmen after the attack. you see them as they reload and try to escape down a narrow street. the police officers back down the street. the gunmen reload their rifles. the brothers feed by firing

again at them france's prime minister tried to make clear that his nation stands as one with radical islam, not to islam. to many that distinction between faith and extremism is lost. in the muslim community there's growing concern that they are seen for their faith ahead of their loyalty to france. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar is in paris where there is fear the heroes of the day could quickly be forgotten. >> reporter: shocking violence on a paris street. gunmen fresh from the murder of 11 people at the offices of "charlie hebdo" target a french police officer wounded on the ground begging for his life. north of paris the family and the community of that murdered officer mourn.

ahmed merabet, proud police officer, proud frenchman, proud muslim. remembered and honoured this weekend as a hero who died doing his job. protecting france and protecting the values of france. of all the heroes of last week - and there are many - the stories of ahmed merabet and that of another very ordinary young man stand out. at the kosher grocery where a gunman targeted jews a 24-year-old worker named lassana bathily, a muslim from mali, ushered people downstairs. he escaped to give police invaluable information. information that helped the police plan and execute the end of the seem. freeing the hidden hostages.

in paris's grand synagogue on sunday israeli's prime minister binyamin netanyahu led applause for lassana bathily, thanking him for saving the lives of seven jews. >> translation: i'd like to express my admiration and thanks to a muslim malian citizen. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: france said he'll get the nation's highest civilian award, the legion of honour. france has two great examples of heroism in the faces of two muslims. this is also the country where the prime minister declared war on radical islam. and many french hear the words war and islam and don't hear the word radical, creating an amalgam, a judge bling together of extremists with those seeking to live normal peaceful and heroic lives. suspecting all, and blaming

everyone. >> many french muslims say they feel that hostility and that fare. do you feel that people look at you differently? >> yes, definitely. definitely since this event, as a muslim i think - i feel like people do not look at me like before it's totally different. it's like accusation. look he's muslim. maybe he's terrorist. they do like amalgam and think every muslim is a terrorist. >> reporter: do you really feel that? >> definitely definitely. i feel that my - a lot of people, my family woman wearing the hijab are afraid to go out. >> on sunday more than a minute came into the streets of paris, in protest, in solidarity, with journalists, police jews all

victims of attacks. >> every five years there's a problem. we need to fight that. >> reporter: how do you think it should be fought? how to fight it? >> translation: we need to keep a level head we need to be mature responsible, modest citizens. >> reporter: they came in defense of freedom of expression and to say, above all, we are not afraid. on their way to the march we met mohammed a muslim community organiser, and a member of the french council of imams. >> translation: we took the decision immediately, as soon as we heard about the first attack last wednesday, that if there was something organised by the government or civil society,

that muslims must absolutely be present. >> reporter: why did you make the decision it was imperative? . >> translation: we could not merely by bystander or passive. it's impossible to say no that's not islam, it's not us and to stay home. we had to be with the french people to share the shock and say we understand the rage. to say that we are not guilty. if we had stayed at home they would not listen to us. they would say you weren't with us, so we were with the attackers. >> reporter: the suburbs of paris - grey and gritty home to those marginalized on the periphery of french life. france's muslim population 5 million strong is the product of french colonialism - al jazeera -- al jazeera, morocco,

most have been in french for decades. most are tagged charlie, people identifying with the victims, not the perpetrators of the attack. "jes suis charlie," i am charlie. tension has been growing between muslim and others. in december a well-known french journalists argued all muslims in france should be deported even those born here. on the days since the attacks, there has been 50 anti-muslim attacks. in one week doubling the number of anti-muslim actions for all of 2014. none of the undercurrent of rate red and discrimination on display from the rally. the french rarely presented an image of fraternity. all ages all raises. one of the values important to the french is tolerance. on a missive, this amazing display of solidarity, the underlying question is what does

tolerance mean. that is something that france will have to wrestle with in the months and years to cox. -- years to come. >> translation: before the women who wore the veil were from north africa and the guys that prayed at work were africans. that didn't bother the french. they'd shrug and say that's the foreigners with their foreign religion. now our children play like their children did, and it disturbs the french they say, "no, that's the religion of your parents. you should be like us no religion or anything." >> reporter: it's those with an idealized few of what french is one state, no religion. >> translation: the french present this contradiction. on the one hand they say tolerance is what we are b but

islam is invisible. morphingses -- mosques, but no minor et cetera. what is the meaning of tolerance, if that means i should be like you, that is not tolerance. >> reporter: what does it mean when they say young muslims need to integrate. what does it mean for those born and educated in france. even professionals like this banker? >> we feel like injured area here in france. >> but you are french. >> we are french before but we are muslim. we are also muslims, and this is the problem for the people make that they cannot make a differentiation between french and muslim. for them we are french or muslim. we cannot be the same you know. >> reporter: back in the quiet

suburb home to the slain police officer ahmed merabet and his grief-stricken family there's pain and a denunsiation of the gunmen and anyone using their faith to justify such barbaric acts. ahmed merabet's voice is the voice that french muslims hope the world will hear. >> translation: do not steal islam this way. islam is truly a religion of peace, sharing, love. it's not the terrorists the crazeies who want to set off bombs. we have nothing to do with them or it. my brother was muslim. he was killed. that's it "america tonight"s sheila macvicar joins us from paris. this notion of false muslims and the rest of the muslim community painted with the same brush - it is not a concern only in france but throughout western europe. >> it is a big concern, it is a concern in france and equally

especially in germany where the muslim population is about the same size 5 million people. there are plans for anti-muslim demonstrations in the coming days. the german government tried to put a stop to it saying it's not helpful, but it underlines the tension that it exists. that is what the extremists want. they want to create more tension in society, creating backlash and violence in western europe. that's a goal. the challenge now is for the different communities of secular society, for government to put an end to that and keep a lid on. >> what can the frex securities do to keep from playing into the hands of extremists who would like things to go that way? >> we heard a number of things first off there'll be a bigger effort on the part of the muslim community to figure out how to deal with alienated youth. there's a big problem.

the head of euro poll said 3,000 to 5,000 people throughout europe made the journey to syria and identical. that's a huge number. in terms of population not big. the french government is taking action. one of the things they are going to do is strengthen security which is woefully inadequate for the threats faced. >> a big concern. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar reporting from paris. in a moment - ferguson and other flashpoints between communities and those sworn to protect them. a familiar voice from the past speaks again, against the law. >> you know it's this blue wall that they talk of. it's like the mafias of america. you just don't talk about what other cops do. >> frank serpico - he's back and he's talking. later this hour - making money on marijuana. and not just at the retail level. we look again to the colorado experience with pot.

and how a new industry took route to go up in smoke.

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>> don't try this at home >> techknow... where technology meets humanity... only on al jazeera america against the law - in recent times it comes down to communities ferguson new york cleveland, at odds with law en

enforce. ment ment communities that have spoken out. before the deaths of michael brown or eric garner the most famous voice to come out was frank serpico, blowing the whistle against his open, and it nearly cost his life. christopher putzel spoke to the outspoken frank serpico, who says even today police are out of control. >> my name is frank serpico, i'm a retired new york city police detective. >> reporter: 42 years after leaving the force frank serpico never thought he would still be fighting for police reform. but the legendary whistleblower says little changed over the years. >> i say this in all sympathy and brotherhood and camaraderie, that maybe all these people that are protesting are not really

wrong. [ chants ] >> reporter: from ferguson, missouri to new york city protests about police have brought people to the streets fuelled by the death of black civilians, most at the hands of the police officers who protesters say rarely face consequences. in ferguson the night officer darren wilson was cleared of charges for shooting and killing 18-year-old michael brown, frustration turned to fury. do you expect to you know gape the respect and the hearts and minds of the people that you are killing their children and their families? >> reporter: we caught up with frank serpico, 78 years old, in upstate new york.

these days he tends to stay out of the limelight, speaking on camera for the first time in years, a far cry from 1973 when his story was made into an oscar nominated film portrayed by al-patch eeno -- al pacino. in the 1960s, frank serpico was behind one of the biggest scandals n.y.p.d. faced. >> i testified before a grand jury exposing widespread corruption throughout the department. eventually leading to permission and they exposed, you know police officers selling drugs, guns shields, favors murders. it was a nightmare. >> reporter: when frank serpico spoke out he was shut out by the police force and was even left

for dead by a fellow officer after being shot in the line of duty. >> i still have a bullet in my head and was lucky to come out with my life. you don't talk about your own kind or expose your own kind or maybe we'll expose you. >> reporter: he said the insular culture is responsible for what we see today. >> when an honest self-respecting police officer finds something wrong within the ranks of the department and tries to expose it. instead of being supported and rewarded he gets shunned. and somehow, you know it's the blue wall that they talk of it's like the mafias that you just don't talk about what other cops do. >> reporter: the new york native says the closed off culture plagues police departments and can only be cracked if officers can be held accountable for

people outside the circle. >> the district attorney works with the police. they work hand in hand every day, and that is why you need an outside investigator. >> reporter: frank serpico joined an effort to do that in josh wesley wisconsin, where the governor signed a law requiring that police be investigated by anti-dependent agency. it is a fight taken up by mr bell. his son was shot and killed by police. tell us about your son. >> 21-year-old kid. he ha flaws, but promise. >> reporter: michael bell was in front of his mother's house when his car was stopped by ken observe owe police. it was captured on camera.

>> reporter: police say bell's son was going for an officer's weapon. an internal investigation cleared officers of wrongdoing. michael bell said the investigation was a sham. he researched how police shootings was handled in wisconsin, and was disturbed by what he found. >> in 125 years since 1885 we could not find a police department inquest jury or fire commission that said that any shooting was unjustified. he vowed to fight for a simple change. >> if a police officer takes the life let's make sure the department involved in the shooting doesn't investigate itself. >> reporter: with the help of a group of parents that lost loved ones at the hands of police bell pressed for reform. after winning over the police union he saw the bill signed by the governor last april. >> the whole team was there,

mothers of other boys were standing behind the governor as he signed the bill. >> when frank serpico heard about bell's campaign he volunteered to act as an advisor. >> mr bell has been working at it for 10 years, legislature in new jersey is interested. i spoke to a legislature in new york is centered. interested. >> reporter: for bell and frank serpico, it was a good step. it was put to the fest in the case of dontre hamilton. an independent investigation was launched. hamilton's lawyers said the probe was not truly independent as the investigators were former police officers. frank serpico says there's a long way to go. >> some officers with i have to say, a low mentality, think that

i'm the law, this is me. i am the law. no you are not the law. you were sworn to protect and serve and respect that law and enforce that law on all equally. >> let us rededicate ourselves... >> frank serpico sees that in new york. rows of officers turning their back on a mayor at the funeral of one of two police men gunned down. police rank and file were angry at the mayor for statements made that seemed critical of police. >> if i was the commissioner i'd fire them. that's setting a bad precedent not only to the society, other police officers it's just that they have too much power. they have too much power and they don't want to give up that

power. >> frank serpico says the protests across the nation should not fall on deaf ears and it's time for former brothers in uniform to listen. >> no one could afford to turn their backs on this vital issue at this crucial people in our nation's history. we are all in this together. the sooner we realise that the better joined now by michael tobin, a former police officer, a commissioner who conducted investigations into police misconduct. he is now executive director of washington d.c.'s office of police complaints. just to clarify because we talked about this on the programme. there's a number of communities around the country with forced complaints in their departments. is that why you exist in d.c.? >> no washington d.c. was organised under a different

prerogative. >> let's talk about the situations that came up and made news. you know some of these things are under investigation. we are not directly involved. look is it ever possible for a police department to investigate itself and be viewed as fair and credible. even a state department to look at an individual community within the state. look at it credibly. will there be that legitimacy with the community? >> without the ability to have an outside agency looking at the police department. it will threaten the police department's legitimacy. we have a crisis in police legitimacy and it's occurring for - partly occurring for that reason, is that legitimacy is lost because there's not an outside agency watching what the police are doing. what is an outside agency. does it have to be civilians who don't know about police work is it the federal government.

who can do that? >> i think there's different models that exist that working depending on the locality. some a state-wide system might work. other places we may have to look at a local system particularly to any individual city. the whole idea is that it's important to understand that we do indeed, a police agency outside of the regular police chain of command looking at officer involved shootings and major cases. for no other reason than to enforce the police legitimacy. and in turn foster accountability of the police depp. when you foster accountability a lot of police appear legitimate in all segments of the community and will be able to do their job best. >> you are a former officer, you did not work in the metro police department you came from outside into it. it's an important factor as well. i have to think there are those

officers on the street who would look at you and say man, you are going to throw me upped the bus here. -- under the bus here. >> this is what i emphasise when talking to officers. our job in civilian oversight of police departments is not to find problems. our job is to find solutions. when we do our job rite the police officer's job will be easier to do. >> mike tobin, thank you. executive director of washington d.c.'s office of police complaints looking ahead to another crime against community. >> we see a lot of people who make $5 an hour. $3 an hour. $2 an hour. it's so easy for employers to get away with robbing workers that they continue doing it wednesday on "america tonight", what is the value of a minimum wage if no one enforces it. >> i'm from al jazeera...

>> christopher putzel goes looking for answers from a new york boss accused of stealing from his workers. after the break, the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls, an impossible attack. now nigeria's boko haram struck again. with an even more audacious awful sort of violence. why can't they be stopped?

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only on al jazeera america. now a snapshot of stories making headlines on "america tonight". the new york city bored of corrections ordered to end solidary confinement for nose under 21. prosecutors sued for civil rights violations at rikers ixed the report found up to 25% of the teenage population was held in solitary on any given day the n.t.s.b. is investigating an incident leaving one dead and injured dozens more at at washington d.c. subway station. investigators say an electrical arcing involving a high voltage caused a train to stop and filled a tunnel with smoke. it's the first fatality on the rail system since 2009 ill-fated airasia, the black

boxes are in indonesia. divers recovered the boxes from the bottom of the java sea. they were found on monday. the plane disappeared from radar on december 28, 162 were on board. again now we are hearing about violence in nigeria. you'll remember the bring back our girls attack last year when hundreds of schoolgirls were kidnapped from their beds by the boko haram group. now the group is accused of more horrific new violence. the nearby village and in surrounding towns. a chilling development that raised concerns. insurgency entered a more ruthless phase. >> reporter: on the run they arrive at the border - tired, hungry and bearing horrific tales of boko haram's latest attacks. forced out by the violence they say they stepped over bodies that littered the streets for miles as they fled.

in its latest attacks boko haram focused on a military outpost called bogga on the chadian border. a frequent target. this time they attacked with heavy force, armoured vehicles raising villages to the ground. local police gave up counting the dead. early estimates put the tally in the thousands, which officials deny, but the government as reason to downplay the threat. >> we have done more convictions within the city. >> just ahead of the national election president jonathan goodluck avoids mentioning the bogga attack by has not gone unnoticed in the nigerian media. critics have dean to calling him badluck jonathan for ineffectiveness in dealing with boko haram. >> he's five weeks from a reelection campaign. his dismal performance addressing boko haram has to be

one of issues in the campaign. since he took office in 2011 there are probably more than 10,000 dead from boko haram. >> it seems there's no limit to what the group will do. the latest weapon - little girls - maybe 10 years old - probably kidnapped - strapped with explosives and forced into local markets as suicide bombers. >> it tells us that they are entering a phase where there is is - where the total use of children as means to their ends. i think the things that young girls can not be seen as a threat in therefore, able to go undetected. >> make no mistake, the outrageous assaults are meant to draw more attention to the group. >> in northern nigeria, killing

people has become somewhat ordinary. i think there's a sense in which the boko haram story doesn't surprise us and if it's not surprising, if it's not unexpected it isn't news. >> after all, it was international news coverage and social media that gave boko haram a worldwide platform after the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls for the dormitory. bring back our girls made us aware of boko haram. but what can be done now to stop the group? >> i don't think the response to this unfortunately, is the hashtag. what i do think has to be the response is having a conversation about how they deal with boko haram, what can the international community do to help. this is a more complicated situation. i don't know that anyone in

nigeria or elsewhere have the right answer helping us to understand more is alex perry, a journalist and thorough of a book "the hunt for boko haram, investigating the terror tearing nigeria apart" you spent a good deal of time there in the last few months. when we think about this that last report we heard from a gentleman who said "look, it's not about raising awareness, it's not another mash tag campaign that is needed here. it's a matter of figuring out what is effective in stopping the group. help us to understand how we get away with it much the attacks get more and more fantastic and horrible at the same time. >> they do. there's two issues there. you know the classic sort of humanitarian response of raising awareness, the bring back our girls campaign.

you know there's a very uncomfortable truth to that. it gave boko haram what they were looking for. they were looking for global attention. and, boy, did they get it. if you are asking why would they - why would they continue why did the attacks get worse and worse. attention faded and they had to do another one to get it back abaun. -- back again. >> the bring back our girls evoked interest in the united states which did lead the u.s. to offer assistance in that. what became of that? >> so guys from europe the u.s. i think israel china - a few others you know, immediately offered help under kind of responding to the public outcry. and very quickly turned around and reported back to their capitals that it would be difficult for them to work with the nigerian military who to

some people's interpretation are one of the biggest criminal organization in nigeria. the corruption is so high that it's possibly illegal for, you know western soldiers to work with an organization like that. i'm not saying anyone is corrupt. there are courageous officers trying to save their country, really. but they are continually frustrated by the rot inside the state. this is a story at its crux about a country that is basically almost disintegrating at the moment where it seems to be arriving on the world stage, because of a government that is indifferent and apparently incapable of doing anything about a massive insurgency across a large swath of its own territory. >> we appreciate you being with us author and journalists alex

perry. >> sure thank you when we return - rolling papers. the buzz about this new critic's blog. >> right now you feel good about this one. >> yes, this is a well-done. >> weed wealth. how a new industry built on colorado's recreational pot law has quickly taken root.

a new industry is growing up amongst the weeds. as we follow the year in pot. lori jane gliha finds others making the most of the rocky mountain high. >> i have managed to talk to people about a book deal and television show and all these things that come along because i have this job. >> reporter: the job is smoking pot. jake brown is a pot critic and for the past year the 32-year-old cannabis connoisseur has been getting a lot of buzz for his willingness to be buzzed. >> reporter: off the bat you pull through the orange sometimes it has a smell, it doesn't come through, this is the opposite. you feel good about this one.

>> yes, it's a well done. it was as good as the first set. >> reporter: is there a way of building it in that you perfect to taste the flavours? >> it's pretty much inhaling. >> reporter: brown has been inhaling since high school. and it's this experience that helps secure him a freelance gig at the denver post where he's a pot reviewer for a new online blog called "the cannabis." >> there are so many coming here. you can have a bad experience with marijuana, for me to be a guide through that i thought it was a real honour. for them to be in my shoes as i do a review makes it more personal. the sight featuring brown's buildings is getting hundreds of clicks. the cannabis launched over a year ago after the rollout of colorado's recreation law,

making it legal for people like brown to light up. >> how many of these have you sampled and reviewed. >> i have stride grape stomper, skywalker, girl scout cookize and others but not the alien dog. i haven't reviewed mob boss number four. >> reporter: what do you know what you are smelling for? >> you'll get a bit of rubber diesel and gas. >> reporter: this smells like a christmas tree. do you think people will take you seriously by coming up with words for pot? >> it's the same for most types of food or drink criticism. if you crack open a microbrew and it's a stout you may smell coffee or chocolate. it's comparable. it's a different and new arena. people are skeptical. when you come and see it first hand they are unique strains.

a year ago making a living sampling pot for a newspaper like the denver post may have been unthinkable, even ludicrous. the bosses of denver post thought otherwise. they appointed a pot editor to bring pot reviews and coverage together in one place. >> what did you think when this job opportunity came to be? >> i at first was a little nervous. immediately i knew i wanted it. it was brand new to me. i had written on marijuana, but i was not the most knowledgeable person about marijuana within the newsroom or the biggest stoner in the news room. i made sure they knew that they said that was part of the reason they wanted me. >> reporter: he was a music blogger and former entertainment editor hiring a small staff to manage a big goal making marijuana journalism mainstream

and interesting. were you skeptical being a marijuana editor? >> i wasn't. if you'd been in colorado you recognise that this is becoming big business and it's also becoming normal. normalisation is real. this is paradigm shifting, and there's a reason why people from all over the world, uruguay, spain and portugal and the people from washington who came here before their sales factoring in july. the people in nevada and california and maine, trying to legalize it in 2016. this is the epicentre right now. it's important that it be covered from a legitimate perspective. >> one of his first challenges is hitting the people to write about weed. he got a little help with the hiring process by appearing on "the colbert report." >> what were your responsibilities as the pot

denver of the post be. >> i'm hiring a pot critics if you know a few people. >> i know a few people but i need them in my editing room. >> suddenly i had 500 applications. these people are experts and i'm happy to leave it to experts. most started "i saw you on stephen colbert, and now i'm writing." >> it goes in here. pipe ash tray. britney driver was one of the first people to apply. it's a child proof container. i was watching the colbert report and looked for a pot critic and my husband said "maybe you should write in itself. -- write in." i thought i would give it an industry. it's surreal to be paid to smoke and talk about smoking. driver's blogs evolve into something a bit more personal.

pot and parenting. >> i think you're right. oh good job. >> reporter: 2-year-old elliott is her son. >> we discussed who other articles i could write. one was let's write about what it's like to be a mum who spokes. my first column was just a call to hey, where the weed smoking mums are at. i can see two mums connect and say "hey we'll have wine around the corner", it's not as usual to say "do you want to smoke a joint after the kids go to bed?" people don't talk like that >> reporter: how much did you think about putting this out there, that this was your life. >> didn't put that much thought into it. i'm kind of an open book for the most part. so knowing that there weren't a tonne of mums females in general kind of stepping out

saying "hey i smoke weed i'm fine, i'm intelligent, nothing is wrong with me", i thought if i have the opportunity to do that i should. >> reporter: driver's column share son seriousness about marijuana-laced candy and bread feeding and what to do if someone calls child protective services on a pot-smoking mum like her. >> reporter: you felt comfortable to talk and write about this. what did you learn and are you nervous about what could happen as a result. >> i expect cps to show up at my door for the first six months of writing this. why not. i'm throwing out there, i'm a mum and writing about a different strain every week. they are in as much of a grey area as everyoneless. they say they liken it to alcohol, but if i'm in here drinking people outside are not going to smell that necessarily. if someone, a neighbour calls

and say i smell marijuana, that's enough for cps to come out and talk to me. >> you what? >> that's like the wrapper. >> reporter: driver says she doesn't smoke pot around elliott. only after he goes bed. it's part of her life and she's glad it's part of her job. one she never imagined could be possible. >> it's awesome. it's great to have people know who i am. i go where people say "you're britney from "cannabis ". "that's weird, but cool. >> things are looking up for a handful of staff at cannabis specially as the interest in pot grows outside of colorado. we have seen growth in readership. that is something i'm proud of. i was concerned it would be a flash in the pan and i wasn't sure we'd see a fall off.

i wasn't sure if we'd see a minor fall off. we saw nothing but increases. >> reporter: he knows there'll be a time when pot journalism will no longer be exceptional and his status will come to an end. until then he's numbering the trip. >> reporter: meantime some other unique individuals are under threat. in our final segment - a marine mystery in the pacific. why the stars of the ocean may be dimming. dimming.

>> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america

>> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... finally this hour a mysterious illness killing tens of thousands on the pacific coast. researchers dubbed it sea star

wasting syndrome but don't know what they have to do to stop it. sea stars are a telltale sign of a healthy ocean. as rob reynolds found a mass die-off could spell trouble. >> reporter: in this rocky wave-washed corridor of the california coast researchers are gathering evidence in a marine mystery. they are searching rock by rock and crevice by crevice for starfish. >> this guy looks healthy. >> reporter: normally many species thrive in the tide pools, an important part of a complex ecological system. today the researchers could find hardly any of them. >> we saw two sea stars, in the past we saw 145. a year ago at the same exact location to go from 145 down to two is drastic. >> divers began to notice large numbers of dead and diseased sea stars in alaska and british

columbia in 2013. they dubbed the condition sea star wasting syndrome. in november scientists at connell university and the university of california santa cruz published research that a virus called sea star associated d denso virus is killing the sea stars. >> it's massive event. >> it kills in matter of hours. >> it starts with a white lesion and they get deflated and the arms come off and creep away from them. at the worst state you'll see four or five arms that have obviously spread away from the center of the body. >> reporter: scientists say the finding that a virus is responsible will help to better understand what triggered the outbreak and why they suddenly became more susceptible to a path gen that existed in the

oceans for millions of years. there is however, no effort under way to develop a cure and any anti-viral medication would be essential impossible to administer to the starfish in their natural environment. sea stars are important predators, eating shell fish lava and other animals, what biologists call a foundational organism. the virus that kills the sea stars may change the echo system with unpredictable results that is "america tonight". if you would like to comment on any stories you have seen log on to the website aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or at our facebook page. we will have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

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