eastern. [ ♪♪ ] just when you thought we were done with cuba not cheese. rum wars are heating up as the wars with cuba are starting to thaw. that is the show. thank you for joining us. guilty. a former marine convicted of killing american sniper chris kyle. why it took the jury less than two thours reach a verdict. british schoolgirls termed to join i.s.i.l. evidence that the three teens are in syria after an international effort to bring them home fails. a california train yarn. another accident involving a commutier rail line and vehicles on the tracks.

why the driver of a pick-up truck is facing charges. a keystone veto. president obama says no to building the controversial oil pipeline. it's not the end of the debate good evening, i'm antonio mora this is al jazeera america. the verdict is in in a case that captivated the nation. eddie ray routh was found guilty of shooting author and former american snipe rer chris kyle. john terrett joins us with a late verdict. >> it is it just unfolded extremely quickly it came down. at the end of a 2-week trial, the 10 me and two women deliberated for less than two hours, having to decide whether eddie ray routh was guilty of killing chris kyle and chad littlefield. this is the moment the verdict

was red out. >> we, the jury find the deft eddie ray routh guilty of the offense of capital murder as charged in the indictment. signed by the foreperson of the jury. >> the judge went on to impose a sentence of life without parole. earlier defense and prosecution were given two hours to present arguments. they were there earlier. when a final witness took the stand, the forensic expert that reconstructed the scene saying kyle never saw it coming. the defense didn't dispute that eddie ray routh killed kyle and littlefield but argued that he was insane. in the closing argument the prosecution called the insanity defense hog wash. suggesting that eddie ray routh knew right from wrong, and it

took less than two hours. >> there has been a reaction from the families. >> again, this happened within the last 60 minutes or so. judy littlefield, the mother of chad littlefield, she came out of the courthouse a few moments ago and was extremely emotional, understandably. >> we just want to say that we have waited two years for god to get justice for us on behalf of our son, and as always god has proved faithful and we are so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have together. thank you guys for being compassionate. and treating us with respect and honouring us. thank you very much so now her son's killer eddie ray routh will spend the rest of his life in gaol with no

parole. thank you very much. for more we are joined by legal analyst areva martin on the phone in los angeles. as we heard from john the facts were not in question. eddie ray routh admittedly killed kyle and chad littlefiedl the only thing the jury had to decide was whether he was insane. there was evidence that he was mentally ill. but that's not enough under the law. >> absolutely. under texas law, being mentally ill is not the equivalent of being legally insane. the question is whether eddie ray routh knew what he was doing was right or wrong. the prosecution put on a persuavive case that he did appreciate the fact that killing chris kyle and his friend was wrong, and he was high on marijuana and alcohol on the day of the shooting.

>> he could be mentally ill but sane under the law. are you surprised it took the jury so little time to make the decision? >> not really. moment of us legal experts, those of us watching the case knew that the insanity defense is difficult. it's used in less than 5% of criminal cases, and rarely rarely is it successful. going into the trial, the chances of roth and his defense team being successful was already, you know pretty minimal in terms of probability of success. so we knew there was a substantial hurdle for them to overcome, and, you know the prosecution's expert witnesses were persuasive. in fact, said that eddie ray routh was feigning mental illness and not to be believed with respect to some of the erratic behaviour. >> a quick final question - was

it appropriate in your opinion - this is a big issue that has been talked about. for the trial to take place, where they were killed with all the publicity it got, and while the film "american sniper", was in theatres and was a national phenomena. >> there are motions made by the defense to change the venue, going to a place where the prospective jur jurors don't have -- jurorors department have personal stake in the case. after the motion was filed by the defense, the judge denied it and held the trial in the community, he determined the jurors despite knowledge of chris kyle and the popularity that they could put it aside and come to the case with on open mind follow the jury instructions provided follow the evidence presented and render a verdict based on what

was happening during the trial, versus what they may have thought about chris kyle based on the movie and book and the life that we learnt about over the last couple of years. >> eddie ray routh will spend life in prison without parole. areva martin in los angeles the state department is condemning the latest atrocities by i.s.i.l. kidnapping dozens of christians, and they believe three teenage girls made it to syria to join the fight. paul beban joins us with their story. the parents are understandably distraught. >> yes, it's horrifying. the worst fears, the families of the girls - they may be realised. they are described as normal girls, straight a students. david cameron said they were radicalized and dubed by extremism, and it appears to be too late to stop them joining

i.s.i.l. >> we cannot stop them. please think twice. >> a plea from a father. desperate for his teenage daughter to come home. last week three girls left their homes in east london heading for turkey. authorities believed they could have been planning to join i.s.i.l. at gatwick airport they caught a flight to istanbul. the families had no idea the girls were leaving. >> there was nothing different about her. there were no changes in her behaviour, in anything. she was just our baby. >> tuesday authorities announced they believed the three girls crossed to syria, coming a day after the turkish prime minister accused britain of tracking the girls and taking too long to track them. european nations have been on high alert as i.s.i.l. recruited

10,000 fighters. >> we have a role to play in stopping people having their minds poisoned by this death cult. >> reporter: views morning in spain, four men were arrested for their alleged involvement in an online network. a neighbour says his friend is incident. not connected with i.s.i.l. >> those people that cut people's heads is not islam. you have to help do the right thing. on top of that this guy was born here. >> in under a year i.s.i.l. cop kerred territory across syria and iraq. it spent millions fleeing into countries. i.s.i.l. kidnapped 90 christians in syria. the campaign is working, but will take time. monday u.s. forces carried out more than a dozen air strikes,

and five more in iraq. how effective they are is an another matter entirely. due to lack of troops on the ground it's difficult to know how many i.s.i.l. fighters are killed in the strikes. as for the missing british teenagers, they are far from alone. the bbc reported as many as 50 win ep went to the syria and iraq to become jihadi brides. >> worry some. an american methodist preacher has been kidnapped in nigeria. the reverend is with the free methodist surgeon in seattle. is and was abducted in kogy state. the state department officials heard the reports but cannot comment. the u.s. military is sending a small number of troops to ukraine to provide medical training. between 5 and 10 service members have made the tripe to next

week. they have trained forces. russia continues to deny it has crops and cipt in ukraine. on capitol hill secretary of state john kerry called it a lie. >> they have been persisting in their misrepresentations, lie, whatever you call them about their activities. to may face, and the ways of others on different occasions. >> today it was announced that it was a response to russian backed aggression. >> president obama used his veto pen, saying no to a controversial bill to force construction of the keystone pipeline. the republicans say it's the president on the wrong side of the issue. mike viqueira has more from the white house. >> good evening, it's the third veto for president obama's time in office. coming on a political hot potato and will continue indefinitely.

it's been going on six years of the the approval process has stretched on that long. republicans being elected to control, and promise to circumvent and allow the construction. pipeline. it will go over the border through montreal down the midwest to oklahoma, and hooking up with existing pipelines bringing it to refineries on the american gulf coast. the president vetoed the effort to push it through. it passed the house and senate. it was the first bill that the senate took up. the spokesman, president's spokesman said it was about the process. >> it merely says that the benefits and consequences of building the pipeline should be evaluated by experts, and through this intrif process that exist -- administrative process that existed for decades.

that's the proper path moving forward, but does not represent a time disposition of the keystone projected. >> still in the administration's court. prosecutors reacted as you might expect. john boehner put out a written statement reading the president's vetoed the job's bill is an improvement. we will not give up our efforts to get the pipe line built. not close. republicans promise a vote to override the president's veto requiring two-thirds of the house and the senate. they do not have the supermajority. the ball is in the administration court. after six years the process continues. >> mike viqueira at the white house. thank you. a potential solution is in the works to keep the department of homeland security operating. senate is saying they are willing to vote on a clean funding bill but want a separate vote to undue the

president's executive actions on administration. the current funding bill has the provisions attached. if the approved the bill faces an uncertain future in the house. >> the race for major in chicago is heading for a run off. they got the most votes, but couldn't secure the 50% necessary to avoid a run off. the chicago board of elections says turn out was low and estimate well under hast the people eligible to vote bothered to show up coming um. three years after zimbabwe killed tony martin the justice department will not pursue charges. we'll look at the civil rights case and the fall out. new information on a strain crash in california injuring dozens of people. tonight place make an arrest.

felony charms for a truck

driver involved if a train crash. 28 hurt, four critic lick. a truck slammed into a truck if los angeles. the driver left the scope. the crash was not likely deliberate. a similar crash in new york left six dead. as lisa stark tells us both incidents are leading to questions about train safety. >> reporter: the force of the accident tossed three commuter railcars off the track, on to their side. one other car derailed but did not turn over. the train slammed. >> a truck, stopped on the rails. >> there was a total of 51 people that were victims of this incident. 28 were transported to various hospitals. we did have four critical. the train travelled at 75 miles per hour. after the collision, the truck

caught fire the driver fled the scope. he was spotted by police a mile away. the national transportation safety board launched a team. >> we are concerned with crossing accidents. there's over 2,000 in this country, 250 are fatal. >> reporter: this is the second grade crossing accident in three weeks. earlier this month a commuter train in new york smashed into an s.u.v. stopped on the tracks. the driver died so did five people on the train. >> every three hours a person or car is hit by a train, that's an alarming statistic that we want people to know how large a problem this is. this operation runs road safety campaigns. efforts like this and safety campaigns made a difference. >> stay focussed and alive.

>> in 1978 there were more than 13,000, and it dropped in 2013 to 2,000. an 85% decrease. the number of deaths from over 1,000 in 1956 to 2001 in 251 in 2013. a 70% decline. there were more crossings. the californians metro link trin had positive train control, designed to stop a train if there's another crane on the track or the engineer blows through a red track light. it doesn't help in cases like today's accident. according to metro link they were the latest safety designs, the cars designed to absorb the crash forces and they say that may have been the reason there

were not more people seriously injured. the justice department will not bring civil rights charges against trayvon martin. there was insufficient evidence to bring hate crime charges against the shooter george zimmerman. a jury acquitted george zimmerman of manslaughter in 2013. an apology from ron ald mc mcdonald veteran affairs, saying there was no excuse for saying he served. jamie mcintyre has more from washington. >> reporter: robert mcdonald's problem began with an exchange with a homeless veteran. >> army what unit? >> special forces. >> what years. i was in special forces. >> that mcdonald has been

forced to admit it wasn't true. i incorrectly stated i, too, was in special forces. >> the former c.e.o. of proctor and gamble served but not in special force, the elite green berets. his explanation was he was trying to find common ground with a homeless man. >> with veterans my common ground is my veteran experience. as i said i made a misstatement. i apologise, i have no execution for it. if you look at my 61 years, you'll never find in my biographies that i claimed it be part of special forces. >> the wows was quick to accept the mea culpa. >> there's no need to think that his comment will stop him leading the fight for the veterans.

>> there's no calls for resignation. even among his critics. >> i'm more concerned with a failure to implement the legislation that we have passed. >> reporter: some had harsh words. it was said: in a statement he said:. >> monday's ability to survive the claim rests on the perception he was able to help a homeless man, not puff up his service record. unlike brian williams he doesn't claim to have misremembered the parks and bill o'reilly he's not disputing what happened in a war zone. mcdonald, for now, is holding on to his job. >> jamie mcintyre in washington four university students are

under arrest accused in relation to drug overdoses. the victims took m.d.m. a, known as molly, at three locations on campus. they are charged with drug possession. and were suspended from school. >> recreational marijuana is legal in nebraska they can grow up to six plants for personal ice. boying and selling is banned. alaska is the third state to make the move coming up the children of law will look at how the youngest survivors are suffering, and how some are trying to help them. and maintaining hope. >> austin tice is alive.

>> find him and get him home. >> a special "talk to al jazeera". sunday, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

this weeks marks six months since the conflict in gaza came to an end. the impact is felt especially by the children there. u.n.i.c.e.f. says 370,000 of them show signs of psychological

trauma. nick shiffrin looks at what is being done to help the children of gaza. >> reporter: in this summer's wore these children did not lose their lives. in their shock, they lost their words. >> can you tell me today what you like to do? >> reporter: he was once kind today he's violent. his outbursts targetting friends and family. all vouched by poverty. in this neighbourhood little girls climb up walls marked by shrapnel. he's been like this since one of the war's notorious moments. on july 16th two israeli strikes destroy a beach hut. a group of boys playing nearby run. they can't outrun the bombardment.

four died, including his brother. he suffers head arm and back wound. today his wounds are invisible. he tried to kill his cousin and himself. >> what do you remember from july? >> the cost of conflict a trauma. dozens lost their childhood. do you remember what happened? this 8-year-old's favourite place is her uncle's garden. she lived here for six months. ever since she survived the horror. more gazans died here than anywhere else. today her home is in ruins, a green hamas flag hanging outside. for three days she was buried

alive under the damage. her mother father four brothers and sisters were killed creating 1500 orphans. can you tell me about school what do you like about school? this is imagery and scores impacting scores of children. it's not something that kids can recover from ever. >> reporter: this woman and u.n.i.c.e.f. sponsors therapy for children who lost a parent or home. this child lost both. balloons allow them to release anxiety. and the sound is benign. he receives group counselling and individual counselling and

walks home with a counsellor. the war surrounds him. his neighbourhood is destroyed. sewerage runs through the street. the whom is a thin cold caravan. >> children are on the edge of losing hope. their entire future looks bleak. >> thanks to the exercises, he can tell me what happened during the war and look forward. >> ibrahim, can you tell me what you want to be when you grow up? >> doctor. >> why do you want to be a doctor? 370,000 children are mentally injured. pron to violence. shocked and speechless and only one out of three is getting any help. >> nick schifrin al jazeera the horrors of war. i'm antonio mora.

thanks for joining us. for the latest news any time head to aljazeera.com. "inside story" is next. have a good night hello, i'm ray suarez it's been 20 years since oregon voters approved the death with dignity act, making it legal to end life. it survived years of efforts to tear it down. now other states notably california are taking a look. how does the law look and how does it look. what