years a jewish owned factory is closing the doors and the last of an enclave is finally moving out. that is it for this edition of al jazeera international hour. >> see you in an hour and america tonight is up next. >> on "america tonight" - these center dragged in many elements of argentine society, at the center of it all is the home of president cristina fernandez de kirchner. what does she know what did she order, is she covering anything up? >> in county after county across alabama, many court officials are refusing to issue same-sex marriage because of direct orders from the chief justice.

>> i support the constate occupation of -- constitution of alabama, which says marriage will be between a man and woman. >> reporter: what was the last week like for you? >> it was sort of sure reel, i never thought i'd see gay couples coming out of the courthouse. i'm joie chen. a state of confusion surrounds same-sex marriage in alabama. the 37th state to allow gay marriage, in a fight that pits the supreme court against a federal judge. there has been a back and forth over the last few address. the bottom line is alabama's chief justice is determined to hold the ground against same-sex marriages despite the full court's innocencesistence that it's not a state row to do so.

pulitzer prize travels to alabama to see the show down on the court steps. >> anything that could happen. >> reporter: these women say they've been spiritually married, but like many they wanted more. to be legally we'd. they spent a cold night camping out on the courthouse. not knowing what the day would bring. >> gay marriage will happen. it will happen some time you can't kick and scream. i don't think anyone can answer why not. >> reporter: with hopeful supporters looking on montgomery probate officials opened the doors to the courthouse and stamped the preliminary paperwork for shonta and tory. in alabama, this was the exception. in county after county many

court officials refuse to issue same-sex marriage because of a directive from their boss chief justice. >> i'm not trying to restrict it but a court cannot determine otherwise. >> reporter: despite the ruling declaring the ban on state marriage unconstitutional. sunday night chief justice moore instructed probe ail judges to uphold the alabama law and not issue marriage licences. >> do i have a problem. i support the constitution of alabama, which says marriage will be between one man and one woman. i see no power in the federal government or the united states supreme court for that matter to redefine marriage. >> reporter: this is the only court in the south to provide the law on gay marriage. it's a similar stance.

50 years ago george wallace defied the court, blocking doors in a stand against immigration. >> george wallace whacked himself in the race issue, pandered to some of the worst elements in the society. roy more is taking a page out of his book by using the religion issue to further his political career. >> richard is the president of the southern poverty law area. it's not the first time the center and the judge had a run in. >> back in 2001, judge moor was elected the first time to be the chief justice of alabama. in the dead of night he brought a giant monument of the 10 commonments into the alabama supreme court courthouse to symbolize that god's law needed to rein supreme in alabama. >> reporter: the southern law center fired a lawsuit to have the stop removed, calling it a violation of separation of church and state when moore was

refused, he was removed from office along with the monument. most thought his career was finished. many in this state awe him as a martyr. -- saw him as a martyr. >> interestingly, justice moore ran for the chief justice in 2012, and unexpectedly won. now he seems hell bent determined to defy federal law again. >> on monday 51 of 67 countries were refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples. many found signs posted on doors - closed due to business per the order of chief justice moore. >> if they redefine marriage what will it be one man and two women, one woman, three many - you can define it however you want. >> he was an embarrassment to the state. he was the first time he was on the bench. he's doing it again. i hope they'll learn their lesson that this guy is not meant to be in public office.

if he wants to be a preacher, go be a preacher. you kont use the bible to interpret constitutional law. >> patricia todd is the first openly gay legislator in the state of alabama. >> reporter: what has the past week been like for you? >> it's been an emotional roller-coaster. it was sort of sur reem. i never thought i'd see gay couples coming out of the courthouse after being married. it was a joyous occasion. >> did chief justice moore take away any of that. >> yes, yes. the protestors said - well you can imagine how hurtful it is for people to hear that they are an abomination, or they are going to hell. just because of who they are. you know anybody's wedding day should be a happy occasion and fortunately they took away from that. >> representative todd has a defiant streak herself, and began a facebook campaign

calling out her colleagues in the state legislature for an opposition to gay values. she threatened to oppose hypocrisy by naming those that are having affairs. why have you threatened to expose extra marital affairs of federal local politicians. >> i have seen a lot of stuff. it was like wait a minute you are not going to condemn gay families and making yourself holier than thou as you are toting family values when i know stuff that you have been doing. >> i want you to know you can repent. >> in the state where 7 and 10 citizen oppose gay marriage,ed to is in the min yore city. justice moore says they will not be recognised in alabama. >> it's recognised in this state, according to the constitution. it's not difficult. it's a social policy of our state. >> does judge moore have an authority to say that the

marriages are not legitimate? >> well here is the thing. he is - his position he is the head of all of our judicial system in president obama, from that perspective he could say that. he will draw so much heat in lawsuits from different people if he does. it will cost the state a lot of money. and they'll lose. >> moore is not backing down. >> maybe not for the spurt itself if it makes same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. >> i make the decision at the time. >> cowan says the spirit of the u.s. constitution demands more. >> junls have an obligation to not undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of the judicialcm. but when you suggest you might demy federal chords that are binding on you, it can't do

anything except undermine the public's confidence in the judiciary. >> if i was the probate judge and the u.s. supreme court made a decision versus my chief justice of my supreme court, i think i would go with the u.s. supreme court decision. >> by the state of alabama i pronounce you married and this love. >> however this plays out. for these newlyweds life got sweeter. >> it's hard to argue with that. >> christopher putzel is here. >> the probal judge in mobile has to go ahead and issue the licence, even though they've been holding off. now they say they have to go ahead and do this. >> for justice moore, this is not necessarily the negative

that you quay imagine. if the federal courts are going against him, you'd think that he would shy away from it but he's not. >> no he's not. this is a guy that loves the limelight, loves the audiences, was kicked out and got reelected. you have to remember 70% of people in alabama don't support gay marriage. they like this guy. he has political aspirations. the more that he stays in the shot light the more he shows that he is standing up to the supreme court. >> he didn't shy away from being interviewed by you. he knows there's national attention. >> he wants to get the word out there and know that i have a strong conviction i believe god's work trumps all. >> "america tonight"s luke putkonen. thank you.

>> thank you friday an "america tonight" special report - making babies. >> some of your former clients have called you a scam artist. >> yes. >> i'm sorry they feel that way, if i was them i'd think of myself that way too. >> would be parent holding nothing but debt. a special report - making babies friday on "america tonight". . >> burn pits that put u.s. servicemen at risk when a safer option was available. we fast-forward to a new report and why it may not prevent them being used again. hot on the website, a cold war legacy. nuclear waste buried in your backyard. follow one woman's fight to dig it up. at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

icatonight.

>> america's first climate refugees >> this is probably a hurricane away from it being gone. >> who's to blame? >> 36% of land lost was caused by oil and gas industry...

>> ...and a fight to save america's coastline. >> we have kinda made a deal with the devil >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... award winning investigative documentary series... the disappearing delta only on al jazeera america >> start with one issue. education, gun control, the gap between rich and poor, job creation, climate change, tax policies, the economy, iran, health care... it goes on and on. add guests from all sides of the debate and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get the inside story. these are straight forward conversations. no agenda, just hard hitting debate on the issues that matter to you. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights at 11:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

fast-forward to a follow up on a "america tonight" investigation. tens of thousands of veterans return from iraq and afghanistan with physical injuries, and p.t.s.d. less immediately apparent are those that suffer injuries on their own basis - from trash burnt there. sheila macvicar vettedinvestigated the growing evidence into why they got sick. >> i've lost a lot and i don't like being like this. >> reporter: 35-year-old antony suffers a rare and aggressive cancer. >> i could not tell you my wife's middle name or my daughter's. i don't remember everybody's name. >> reporter: doctors had to take out part of his brain, his left

temporal lobe and part of his hippocompass. he has trouble speaking can't read and has trouble keeping up with his 3-year-old daughter. he believes he got sick from toxins he was exposed to while serving his country. >> there it goes. >> massive open-air burn pits operated on u.s. military bases across iraq and afghanistan. at the height of the wars morp than 250 bases burnt their trash. releasing large plumes of plaque smoke into the air. >> all the burning was done wrong. and everybody knows that. >> with years of loving from advocates like burnpit 360, they started a group of people that felt sick. >> a lot of people feel like it's our generation agent

orange. >> reporter: thornton's wife jamie says her husbands feels betrayed after serving his country for more than 10 years. >> here these people go risking so much and so much for our country, and then our country doesn't stand... ..you know fast-forward to the outcome of a special investigators report on the burn pit concluding that the pentagon wasted more $20 million on incinerators never used in afghanistan, and banned its like tyres and batteries were burnt as recently as 2013. the watchdog says the dod needs to do a better job holding contractors accountable. veterans may be doing that. hundreds are suing kbr, military contractor for negligence. the military department says there's no proven link between burn pits and long term problems.

30,000 veterans have signed up on the v.a.'s byrne pit registry. >> next a glamorous leader and a mysterious death. who is the leading lady. could she be connected to what looks like a murder?

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it is a stunning scandal that echos a tumultuous time in argentina it said history with the president caught up in the web. it is involved in an unsolved bombing, and what looks like a cover up at the heart of it a woman, the leader a legendary figure in argentina's history. daniel schweimler brings us a story from buenos aires. >> supporters showed the icon of glamour, the former first lady. praising her for boosting the economy. opponents blame her for rampant inflation, accusing her of undermining democracy. cristina fernandez de kirchner served many years as a congress

woman, before becoming first lady when her husband was elected in 2003. she succeeded her husband as president in 2007 and was stunned by his death three years later. many expected him to follow her. a fire storm over deaths follows cristina fernandez de kirchner. if you blef in the cover up it is that she tried to cover up the bombing of a jewish community in buenos aires, that killed 85 people. if you support her, you go with the line that she wants to get to the bottom of who was behind the attack and reform the divisive conspiratorial and dangerous intelligence service. >> translation: the problem with the argentine intelligence

agency is it was not properly connected to the transition. from military rule to democracy. they didn't deal with it as they should have done. they didn't open the files they should have. and they have problems today with the way the political and democratic system works in argentina. >> reporter: prosecutor alberto nisman rocked the argentine political establishment by accusing the president, and the foreign minister of trying to cover up iranian involvement in the bombing attack in exchange for cheap oil. a few days later he was found dead in his bath in his well-guarded apartment. a pistol shock to the head. she was one of the last people to talk to him. >> it's difficult to say he was murdered. i don't have evidence. but i heard on a very alive

person thinking about the next day. >> confused - most argentine's are. the media is filled with a daily diet of resume our, speculation and theory which does little to clear the air. what is known is that a bomb exploded outside the armia building on 18 july 1994, ripping the heart out of argentina's jewish community. early accusations are that the syrians are behind it. senior investigators revealed that they were ordered under pressure of the united states to follow the iranian lead when that country was identified as part of the axis of evil. >> a reason we distrust the judiciary, police officers et cetera one of the main reasons is because of a huge terrorist

attack was the first in argentina. >> the first investigating judge made no progress and was thrown off the case. charged with bribing police officials into implicating the wrong suspects. last december frustrated by lack of progress in the investigation, president cristina fernandez de kirchner ordered a fundamental reform of the intelligence agency making it answerable to the federal government. >> congress is debating the changes. she removed this man, and one of argentina's leading spies for 40 years, from office. >> the whereabouts are unknown. he and his colleagues are unhappy. president cristina fernandez de kirchner is unable to run in elections. the scandal rocked argentina.

>> there has been an earthquake. this is the first time we had a high profile figure killed. we don't know yet. >> reporter: after initially saying in a random facebook post that alberto nisman committed suicide, cristina fernandez de kirchner blamed mafia elements in the intelligence agency. >> translation: no one is going to blackmail me. no one is going to intimidate me. i'm not afraid of them. >> this dragged in many elements of society. at the center of it all is the home of president cristina fernandez de kirchner. what does she know what did she order, is she covering anything up. they cannot stand in the presidential elections.

how she responds will have an effect on this scandal. she is currently in china at the head of a group securing billion dollar deals to help her country's ailing economy. she ended up in controversy, mocking pronunciation of some of their pronouncements. and tweets against mart eacha navratilova and others. >> translation: from what we know and see they'll never clear anything up. they'll get impunity. >> the judd system in this country, i say i was a lawyer with 25 years in the profession. i lost faith in the system.

>> not in this government. the one that comes, the next one will clear that up. it seems that many feel they'll never know who killed alberto nisman, or that those responsibility for the 1994 bomb attack will stand trial. what this crisis revealed is that many institutions on which argentine democracy is built, the police force, the judiciary and the intelligence agency need to be reformed. >> we have a divide. things will eventually get out of control. which is what happened. i think it's good for many reasons. society is reacting properly. >> we believe there's a willingness to change. this was shown last december by the president to change the leadership change the director the subdirector who she desired to retire. the head of the agency. we have to change the way they

work. >> after several presidents and 20 years of failed investigations scandal. accusation false leads and speculation, argentina is no closer to finding out who detonated the bomb or how alberto nisman died. the story continues with cristina fernandez de kirchner very much at center stage argentina and all of us will see the next step of protests coming wps. prosecutors plan a silent march to mark a month since alberto nisman's death. we'll keep an eye on that. that's "america tonight". tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook, and come back. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow.

>> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. iraqi forces are finally gaining ground on i.s.i.l. not without help from america, and with iraq going broke as the oil business goes bust. how much more blood and treasure can the u.s. afford to provide. i'm talking about a man who had his own boots on the ground and trained its army plus one of the influential women attempting to shape the future of this region at war.