ur kids... >> they're mine >> al jazeera america presents camp last resort on al jazeera america >> this is the true definition of tough love this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm thomas tony harris has the night off. the growing battle of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. the problem with pot. law enforcement officials in and around colorado challenge the constitutionality of legalized marijuana. and the right to work wisconsin decides whether private sector workers can be forced to join a union. we'll tackle both sides of this debate. ♪

great to have you with us. it is day four of iraq's largest offensive yet against isil. tens of thousands of iraqi troops are working alongside shia militias to take back tikrit. now there's hope a unified force can loosen isil's grip on the city. >> reporter: the battle cry of this fighter. this is near the base of operations for iraq's shia militias on the eastern front of the battle for tikrit. the key players are iranian backed hezbollah. at a command center nearby the interior minister a leader of the militia confirms with the man given drol of the hezbollah

brigades. they have combined with iraqi police, special forces and army units, for the biggest offensive since isil seized parts of iraq last june. the troops are backed by iraqi air strikes, but it has been a slow advance to tikrit. this is a trip wire for a roadside bomb laid by isil. an explosives team detonates this one, one of hundreds they found along the road. 30 kilometers southeast, iraqi security forces make their way across abandoned fields. >> translator: we have reached 50 kilometers in depth through the rough tar -- terrain. as you can see behind me there's farmland and desert we have expelled isil from these villages. >> reporter: houses and schools

are empty here. most civilians fled months ago. security forces here too have detonated more than 200 roadside bombs, sometimes by shooting at them. isil built sand berms to block an advance by security forces. the bulldozers are dismantling them. it has been four days since the start of the offensive, and fighters are still clearing villages along the way. it's clear that isil is on the defensive, but the main battle won't begin until troops reach the city. >> the central role played by shia militias has some of the pentagon worried. the u.s. suspects that iran may be funding those offenses. >> have we seated most of the governance of iraq to iranians? >> reporter: no sooner had ash

carter finished his opening statement before the house appropriations committee, did the chairman launching into a grilling. they >> they have trained, equipped and motivated thousands of people and there's a strong likelihood as they move forward, that you could have a total dissent gags of the entire country. >> i absolutely share your concern about the role of iran in iraq and the wider region. >> reporter: the pentagon has been forced to admit there is not much it can do as iran at the invitation of the iraqi government provides aircraft power and advise to the iraqis. the day before it was administration critic john

mccain who was outraged by the lead role played by the iranians. >> the majority of that effort with a couple of thousand iraqis are being undertaken by the shia militia. the same militia that we fought against in the surge, the same militia that according to estimates manufactured the ied's which directly resulted in the deaths of some thousand or two young americans. are you concerned that -- that iran is basically taking over the fight? [ gunfire ] >> reporter: while the u.s. wants isil out of tikrit it is worried that the shia militia backed by iran may simply enflame the sunni shia tensions that helped fuel the rise of isil in the first place. >> sectarianism is what brought us to the point where we are. so i do look at it with concern.

we're watching it very closely. >> reporter: watching is about all the u.s. can do because the iraqi government has pointedly not invited the u.s. to help in tikrit. the top u.s. commander battling isil denied that the pentagon was out of the loop. >> we have good overhead imagery and those types of things so, you know the activity in tikrit was no surprise. we -- i saw this coming many days leading up to this. >> reporter: pentagon officials privately say iran has some advantages over the u.s. when it offers assistance. it has no self imposed limit on boots on the ground. pentagon officials are watching to see what happens in tikrit. will the offensive be successful, and if it is will control of the area be returned to iraq's sunni minority. while the u.s. is trying to

slowly move forward, the iranians are moving more nimbly and increasing their influence on the iraq of the future. we're joined by an iraq analyst on skype tonight from maryland. great to have you with us. how concerned should the u.s. be over any role iran is playing? >> clearly the u.s. should be concerned. the sunni arabs, some of the gulf states have criticized u.s. policy in iraq since 2003. they believe the united states handed iraq over to what they consider to be proiranian forces, and so there is that concern. this is why, i think this battle for tikrit is very tonight. on the one hand, it's psychologically important to see whether or not the iraqi forces

as you mentioned in your report they tried several times to take capture tikrit but it didn't work. so now this is going to be a new test of their capability especially now that they have iranian support. but they do not have apparently u.s. support at this time. the second test that is going to be very important in this campaign is whether or not the population is going to be treated fairly the sunni population. how the iraqi forces are going to deal with the sunni population especially since tikrit is psychologically important. it is the hometown of saddam hussein. >> sure. >> that's also a center where many iraqi officers fought during the iran iraq war. and the third reason where this is going to be important is that this could pave the way towards

the next major campaign which will be the most important campaign to try to retake mosul. >> it's a psychological importance as you mentioned. how much influence long term will iran have in the future of iraq? okay, we understand we lost mr. grooeb. okay. mr. greeb, can you hear me? >> yes. >> how much influence will iran have on iraq in the future. >> iran is next door neighbor. and is likely to continue to play a major role in iraq. however, i think -- and this is the challenge, because one of the problems that prime minister maliki had was that he was accused of polarizing the country. so right now if we see efforts by the new prime minister to try to be inclusive, to include the sunnis to bring them in then i think the chances of reuniting iraq despite the presence of the iranians will be very

significant and could be accomplished, but i think this is going to be the challenge for the prime minister and to a certain extent even the u.s. as well. >> and how will it affect u.s. relations with arab partners if iran has greater influence in iraq. >> many arab partners especially partners in the gulf and other areas were concerned about what they saw as the rise of pro-iranian forces in iraq in the government in the military, et cetera. i think now there is a little bit more willingness to deal with the new prime minister and they are waiting to see how that is going to work. if that appears to be successful, if we begin to see sunnis being included i think this would help the u.s. relationship with the arab countries, but if it does not, then i think there are likely to be negative consequences. >> do you think the offensive will be successful? >> i think this campaign apparently is much better

preparation than we have seen so far, but it's a going to be a very tough battle because apparently isil is going to fight for it and they have booby trapped cars they have laid mines. they have snipers, and they are also fighters in their own way. but i think the chances may be much better than they were before. >> we certainly appreciate your time. >> thank you. isil fighters have bulldozed one of the world's oldest archaeological sites. the arm group destroyed the 3,000-year-old site just south of mosul. last week they destroyed artifacts of the museum. north korea tonight is praising yesterday's attack on the u.s. ambassador to south korea saying he deserved punishment. police in seoul displayed the 10-inch knife used in that

attack. they said the assault was retaliation for military exercises between the south and the u.s. it has also put a pot light on security or american diplomats. >> reporter: the u.s. ambassador to south korea has taken to life in seoul with gusto, meeting local residents at the market. walking his dog. giving his son a korean name. so the image of him being rushed to the hospital on thursday after he was slashed at a public event is shocking. u.s. officials condemned the attack, and his boss told reporters he was recovering. >> he is doing as good as can be expected, and his spirit is strong. >> reporter: but the attack is renewing questions about whether the u.s. is doing enough to protect its diplomats. in politically unstable countries, that can be difficult. after chris stephens was killed

in libya in 20 -- 2012, evidence arose on problems. in countries such as libya and iraq, their freedom is restricted. but he was slashed in a city known for its safety. secretary of state john kerry always travels with a fuel security team. experts say the solution isn't an easy one. >> it's a double-edged sword between you are protecting diplomats abroad. they need to get out and mix and mingle, and attend events and give speeches and trying to evaluate on a daily basis the level of security needs, requires adequate resources to do that. >> reporter: he was slashed allegedly by this man. it's not the first time he has tried to harm a diplomat.

back in 2010 he was convicted of throwing a concrete block at the japanese ambassador to south korea. it's not yet clear what charges he will face this time. the ambassador has undergone surgery, but it's not clear if he will return to work with the same gusto that he displayed in the first few months on the job. turning to ferguson missouri, where michael brown's family says it intends to sue the police officer and the officer who shot and killed the teen. the justice department cleared darren wilson of charges, but it did find that the police department has a history of racial violence. what was the family's reaction to these reports. >> reporter: thomas today the parents appeared at a news conference lead by their attorneys who said that the state's case and the department

of justice's case while they admit were exhaustive they disagreed with the outcome. in both cases the grand jury did not indict darren wilson and in the department of justice case they were not able to find prosecutable charges. so they will file a civil lawsuit against the police department and wilson. we understand part of what they will discuss arguably is this pattern and practice of discrimination that the department of justice issued a report about just yesterday, they said that was the atmosphere under which their son was shot and killed on august 9th. >> officer darren wilson did not have to shoot and kill mike brown, jr. in brood daylight. he had other options available to him. and he chose deadly force as his option and we plan to demonstrate in a court of law to reasonable minded people that

the choice to use deadly force was unreasonable and unnecessary. >> reporter: and thomas clearly the courts will play a big role moving forward on this. we have gotten through the phase of the grand jury and through the department of justice's investigation, and now we move on to the civil case and darren wilson still will be scrutinized whether or noting his actions were justified. >> let's talk about the process with both the grand jury and federal investigations closed without charging wilson could this be a lost case for the family? >> reporter: well they seem to think it is not a lost cause. in the state's case they were hoping for a different outcome in the department of justice case. a very high burden of proof. and of course the burden of proofs they say is lower in the civil case, it is a preponderance of evidence and they would like to take their

argument to a jury and chose that darren wilson could have done something else and did not have to shoot michael brown back in august. >> usher, thank you. there was disturbing testimony during day two of the boston marathon bombing trial. witnesses and victims of the attack described gruesome scenes of badly wounded people. dzhokher is facing 30 counts in the trial. his lawyers have admitted his involvement. hillary clinton calls on the statement department to release her emails why this could mean months of scrutiny and criticism. plus -- >> you are vampires. you suck the blood out of working people. >> the debate over the right to work law in wisconsin. will it bring more jobs or destroy labor unions?

we'll hear from both sides. ♪

♪ in today's power politics more fallout from hillary clinton's email practices. several democrats including top lawyers of the white house has started distancing themselves from the former secretary of state. as david shuster tells us clinton's tweet about her emails is only sparking more questions. >> reporter: the white house lawyers said on thursday they were not aware that hillary clinton relied on her personal email account as secretary of state, and that contradicted the guidance the white house counsel's office had given every cabinet member. >> every senior official here at the white house was interested in making sure that secretary clinton and every other employee in the obama administration was acting in compliance and consistent with the federal records act. >> reporter: amidst the accusation that she acted on her

own, the former secretary of state took her first step. she wrote on twitter: but a republican-lead congressional committee who's benghazi investigation first exposed her reliance on think email was not convinced. they said quote: and the current u.s. secretary of state john kerry said the process of making clinton's emails public will take time. >> we're dealing with the sheer volume of this in a responsible way, and we'll conclude it as soon as we can, and get those released publicly. >> reporter: two months ago clinton and her advisors provided the agency with 55,000

pages of emails. but it was selected by clinton's team not the state department. her political problems are mounting. house lawmakers investigating the benghazi attacks have now issued subpoenas in search of more information about clinton's email accounts. the associated press is considering a lawsuit over delays of freedom of information act, and likely republican presidential candidates are piling on. >> find her policies practices, and frankly now her personal behavior extremely troubling and damaging for this nation. >> reporter: on the democratic side several former colleagues of clinton have been turning away from the cameras, refusing to offer any public support. some democratic party donors are calling the clinton developments alarming. and reprimanded are showing up

in editorial papers: hillary clinton's stronger reporter insist this controversy is much adu about nothing, and the media's focus on it will eventually burn out. her response so far, a 26-world tweet is only adding more fuel to the fire. david shuster, al jazeera, new york. ♪ on "real money" tonight, ali velshi continues his look into gender bias in the workplace. so what is the story here. >> tom you and i are prejudice according to various studies. that doesn't mean we mean to be or we are even aware of the bias. this has also caught the attention of corporate america, and tonight we're talking with

sylvia ann hulett who has authored 20 books on workplace issues. she is also an economist. one of her big points is the so-called unconscious bias affects how people get promoted in the workplace. and she says it plays out in who people choose to sponsor in a company. who do they go to bat for? who do they help and nurture? she says that women really come out at the losing end of that because people don't put their neck for them to see them promoted. >> so how does this play out in certain industries? >> well, one of the industries we're looking at is silicon valley. google has come under fire for revealing that 70% of its work force is men, 83% of its engineers are men. you heard [ inaudible ] when

asked about how to get raises he told women to have faith when it comes to raises from their bosses. advertising has come under fire for his male-dominated culture. we're taking a look at all of these industries. >> is there a wage gap between men and women, does anybody debate that? >> you would be surprised how many people debate it. for every dollar a male worker earns, it is estimated that a woman gets paid just $0.77 on the dollar. some people say it's a myth. taking it at large level like that, doesn't make sense. you have to look at it from the perspective of lawyers or engineers, and we do that. study after study shows in virtually every industry women makeless than men. critics say once you adjust for

the choices that men and women make accounts for the difference. our reporting shows that is just not true. even when you control for factors like college major, occupation hours worked and having children about 7% of the wage gap continues to exist. >> what else do you have on the show tonight? >> we're looking at the pressure pressures freedom of speech and the government's ability to protect that information. >> thank you my friend. you can watch "real money with ali velshi" every weeknight. in liberia doctors say they have released the last ebola patient. the 58-year-old teacher thanked healthcare workers at her treatment center. if there are no new confirmed cases for 42 days liberia will be declared ebola free by the world health organization. wrongly convicted and fighting for compensation, why

the state of louisiana is refusing to pay a form death row inmate for lost time. plus a plane skids off of the runway and nearly ends up in the water, and that's just one of the problems caused by this latest winter storm. ♪

welcome back. the wisconsin assembly is close to approving a bill that could -- could have a major impact on the state's work force. it would ban private sector employees from being forced to join a union or pay union dues. dianest tobruk is joining us press release chicago. great to see you. how is this different from collective bargaining rights? >> reporter: it's not as contentious. last time around they had more time to prepare for the debate on this. this time the legislation was fast tracked, and this was the second time in four years that

governor scott walker has taken on organized labor. in the past week demonstrators have been desending on wisconsin's capitol, denouncing right to work legislation as an assault on worker rights. >> we're not going anywhere. >> reporter: iraq war veteran has been among them. he is making $33 an hour as a steam fitter. the married father of three fears if his union can't keep members, it could have a harder time bargaining for wages. >> reporter: do you worry you will be still be able to support your family? >> i'm sure i will still be able to support my family but my wife is already talking about going to school to try to find a career for herself so we have a dual income. >> reporter: republican governor scott walker turned up the heat on unions four years ago, when

he successfully spearheaded limits on public bargaining for public employees. currently wisconsin workers can opt out, but still have to pay fair-share dues. right to work would eliminate those fees for non-union members. >> your are vampires. >> yeah. >> you suck the blood out of working people. >> reporter: earlier this week more than 100 people packed a hearing on the right to work bill. most condemned the legislation. >> you want my union that supports me to be weaker? that's disgusting. it's despicable, and it's disrespectful >> operator: . >> reporter: but some applauded it. the state says they need it to compete. >> we're competing against our

neighboring states and globally for business, and we have to step up and match that competition, and that's part of what this is about. >> reporter: but the local 601 argues the law will cost unions money and members, because workers will get union benefits without having to pay for representation. and eventually the union might nol be able to fund training programs like the one michael johnson is taking. johnson isn't sure he could pay for classes himself at a local community college or if they would be worth it. is it harder than you thought? >> it's much harder than i thought. >> reporter: unions say if wisconsin becomes even chillier to organized labor, it could lose workers to neighboring states where unions still enjoy a warmer reception. they have been debating this bill all afternoon and are expected to do so into tomorrow

morning. it is expected to pass and the governor would sign it as early as monday. >> diane thank you. christy has been fighting the right to work bill, she is a former public school teacher, and joining us from milwaukee, wisconsin. great to you with us. why is the right to work bill the right choice for the state? >> well you said it right there. it's the choice. certainly i was a union member for 15 years and, you know, during that time i never had a choice to belong to a union, i never had a choice to go out and search for a professional trade association that offered professional insurance and all of the bells and whistles i wanted. my contract stated that i had to be a member of my local union and a local of the state and the national, so i did hear earlier in the report that people could be a fair share payer. and i did become a fair share

member. but it's funny language. because the truth is a fair share member really only equates to saving about $2 a month. so that meant i was still paying 106 in union dues. as opposed to 108 as a full member -- >> some worry that there won't be safeguards in place in protecting women and minorities who don't have equal representation. who would stand up for those workers? >> i don't think anything state that have right to work have any less representation for minorities or women. there are state and federal laws that protect women and ensure that employees are treating their employees fair. >> these are certainly the arguments from the union, of

course it's identify research. how do you see this bill affecting the economy of wisconsin should it pass? >> if people want to join a union, they can join a union. they can effectively bargain. and economically all that is going to happen is we have businesses that are looking to move doirnt states, and they are looking at wisconsin and saying this is a lot of closed shops, this is not a place that i want to do business, i don't want to deal with the unions and not all unions are bad, but not all unions are good. and there are a lot of back door deals that take place. . and businesses don't want to deal with that. the idea that businesses are not going to care about employees or not care about safety is really just as just ridiculous. because it puts them out of business. in the long run, and we have seen this in the other 24 right

to work states most recently michigan, i think it will be beneficial to wisconsin. >> what about the argument that this will destroy the union? are they not weaker than they were ten, 15 years ago? >> you know i don't know. every state is different. in some respects i think this could strengthen the union, because you do have people that don't want to belong to the union and are going to take adz vantage of jumping ship. by law they should only be asking me for money for collective bargaining and administrative fees but they were using that money to funnel to different political causes and different candidates i can't agree with. so it is going to force reform on union. and unions are going to have to compel workers to join. and i think in the end it will be beneficial to unions because they are going to have to listen to their members and function in a way that supports their members in a way that they want. so i think it's a good thing.

>> christy lackroi, certainly appreciate your time. >> thank you tom palace. now to the other side of this right to work argument. heath is a paperworker and a member of the united steal workers union. joining us from madison, wisconsin. great to have you with us. you heard the previous guest saying it is all about choice. why is this a bad fit for the state if you will? >> because it suppresses the middle class. wisconsin is very strong in the manufacturing sector today, and it's not something that we need. unions today protect workers. workers rights. as christy talked about, you know there's minorities and women that do not receive equal pay. if you are black, white, brown, we should all make equal pay for the equal work we do. and one of the things that the union does is protect worker's rights. and if we're going to be fairly represented we should offer to

pay for that service. there's no other organization in america that you get the -- the eventation you get and not pay for. >> the argument is this is about matching competition. will businesses not simply go elsewhere? >> we have some of the best workers arguably in wisconsin, and i -- i -- there's no proof that right to work brings jobs to other states. i know that oklahoma in 2001 that's the first state after nafta was the first right to work state and they claimed that they were going to have eight to tenfold increase in jobs and in manufacturing jobs and the ultimate truth since then they lost one third of their manufacturing jobs because the good work force are going to the states that pay better, and pay their good workers a fair wage. >> let's say this does pass what is the future for you and your fellow union members? >> it's a way to weaken unions.

what it is going to do is chip away at our bargaining power, and right to work states unions have 10% less participation, and ultimately it's going to chip away at our opportunity to bargain for fair wages, requirement, safety every aspect of what the middle class deserves and expects to receive if they go into work every day and work hard. that's what they should get. >> where do we stand with unions? are they weaker now than they were ten, 15 years ago? >> they are. they are with all of the right to work passages. in indiana, michigan it's just a way to chip away at -- at our wages, and ultimately what is going to happen is we're going to make less wages. we're going to pay less taxes. our roads are going to go to hell. we're going to have all kinds of

education issues. right now when the act went through about four years ago, what it did is -- it's going to weaken our -- our education system and ultimately in the future we're going to pay for the mistakes we make today. >> heath appreciate your time this evening. i want to talk about glenn ford. shent three decades on louisiana's death row for a murder he did not commit. he now wants the state to compensate him for state spent behind bars. >> that's how i feel most time. prayed out. hopeless sometime. >> reporter: after 30 years on death row, wrongly convicted of murder, glenn ford is fighting the state of louisiana to pay for its mistake. >> we want more fight. one more change. one more something i have got to

go through. >> reporter: he has been exonerated but the state said ford should not be compensated because he cannot prove he is blameless. >> i see an innocent man on death row, and the state is saying they agree he is innocent. i was stunned to hear that the state was going to oppose. >> reporter: in 1984 an all-white jury convicted ford in the shooting death of a jewelry store owner. there was no evidence he pulled the trigger or even been at the crime scene. detectived linked him to the crime after police found he pawned items from his home. >> my trial was a somewhat lengthy one, and there was not one thing proven against me. >> reporter: but it took three decades. in 2013, the da said a

confidential inform actantant identified somebody else. a judge ordered his release. he left prison last year with an apology and $20. >> which would equal a chicken box, some doughnuts and a cold drink. that was it. >> reporter: he was certain he would also get $330,000 from the state. but the state attorney general's office opposed any payment, saying ford wasn't factually dent since he quote, took items he had a good reason to believe were stolen and sold them at a pawnshop within hours of the murder and kept at least some of the proceeds. so why should you be entitled to this money if it is designed for people who are completely not involved or innocent of the crimes. >> if the state said i was involved with it. i still disagree.

>> reporter: but you did pawn items. >> yes, i did. i had pawned items for months. >> now they are alleging these new crimes and saying because he pawned some items that may have been stolen from the store, not entirely proven at trial, that he's not entitled to compensation for the 30 years he spent on death row after being convicted of a murder that they agree he didn't commit. >> reporter: you have how many children? >> five. >> reporter: he was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. that's why he says there is a greater urgency to see justice. if a judge agrees to award him compensation he plans to set money aside for his grandchildren. he says no amount of money will ever account for the 30 years he has lost. >> there's no retribution. there's no payment. you can't pay for that. >> reporter: jonathan martin al

jazeera, new orleans. gun violence kills tens of thousands of americans every year. "new york times" gun researcher made it her mission to tell the stories of those victims. as sheila macvicar reports, she was spurred on by a dark secret from her own past. >> the gun report was my climbing mountain every day. >> reporter: for 16 months in an online blog of the "new york times," jennifer documented every shooting in america, or at least every shooting publicly reported. the inspiration? the horrific shootings at sandy hook elementary school. over the course that you reported all of these shootings, how many were there? >> over 16 months i estimate around 50,000 deaths. >> reporter: she wanted to personalize the carnage. to give faces to the numbers.

>> these were fathers, daughters, brothers friends, they had toe be people. and i wanted to get that across. >> reporter: the secret from her own past helped keep her going. a family history of gun violence that began here in owl's head park brooklyn years before she was born. it was here that my father took his first life. >> reporter: she would discover later in life that her father had been a mob enforcer. after he passed away she learned an even darker secret from her mother. >> she said you know how you always asked me if he shot more than one person? well he did. >> reporter: her mother confessed that he had killed up to six other people over drug deals after he got out of prison. the weight of her father's sins helped drive her work at the gun report. >> i really feel that the gun

report is my way of atoning for his crimes or giving back in some way. >> reporter: the gun report was canceled on june 10th of last year. >> people need to know this happens every day. and i want this drum beat to continue. >> reporter: she may get the chance to continue that drum beat. she was recently hired by the gun-control organization every town for gun safety. in the next few months the group will launch a digital news room devoted solely to tracking gun violence in america. >> this will hopefully keep the conversation going. it will be a steady drum beat. we're not going to let this fall out of the media. >> reporter: sheila macvicar al jazeera. you can watch the rest of sheila's report on "america tonight" at 10:00 eastern, 7 pacific. harrison ford has been injured in a small plane crash

in california. the 72-year-old actor's plane went down. the pilot suffered trauma, and there were macechanical problems that caused the problems. a delta plane slid into a fence feet from the water. the snow was part of a huge winter storm that shut down the nation's capitol and stranded drivers on a major kentucky highway. this was a large, intense system. >> widespread covering almost off of the country. from the initial frames to what we have now, not much left. but law gaudia where they had

that skidding off of the runway i'm going to guess that was due to the snow. in kentucky cars some reporting they were stranded for up to 14 hours, because the snow came down so heavy, and back there was a corridor where some places got close to two feet of snow. for kentucky that is very impress impress impressive. you can see it's still coming down in places like dc. baltimore has had 8 inches. probably about 10:00 is when a lot of these different advisories go. and once that moves out, look at how quiet that forecast becomes for the next couple of days. that is going to be nice to see. in the meantime the front has brought in cooler air. below average tomorrow, but over the next few days the temperatures will nudge up getting at least closer to average as we get to the weekend. it will be nice drier, milder a lot of people will be happy. >> you know what they say, wait

a minute the weather will change. nicole thank you. another challenge from legal issues over marijuana in colorado. plus a circus tradition is coming to an end. why ringling brothers is fazing out the elephant.

a new twist in the fight against legalizing marijuana today. law enforce authorities challenging the authority of states versus the federal government. paul beban is here. good evening. >> good evening. this will be a very interesting story. in colorado recreational pot became legal on january 1st of 2014. in almost every other state it is still illegal, and illegal under federal law. but what is interesting is who

is suing whom. a dozen sheriffs in three states including colorado say it's time to change course of legal weed. even though marijuana is legal in colorado it's not legal next door. and six sheriffs in nebraska and kansas say a green river of pot is flow going their states and that law enforcement costs are soaring. and in colorado six other sheriffs say legal pot is creating a crisis of conscious, forcing them to choose between state and federal law. justin smith, sheriff of larimer county colorado is the lead plaintiff, he says: the suit reads in part:

in non-legalese what that means is the sheriffs are making the case that this is a constitutional showdown, but propot lawyers argue for state law enforce officials, state law is the number one priority. >> at their core they are state-law officers or county law officers, and according to accept rations of powers in this country, this is how the country is set up under the constitution, they are not to be doing the bidding of the federal government. >> reporter: it's not the first time colorado's legal weed faced a legal challenge. nebraska and oklahoma asked the supreme court to strike down colorado's law. other lawsuits on behalf of several colorado residents are working their way through the legal system. regardless of the outcome, this new case could clear up some of the hazy questions regarding

state versus federal law. the governor has said he is seeking legal guidance from the federal government. sheriff smith from colorado goes on to say: and this may be the one area where both sides of this issue can agree. >> so here is the thing, states so rarely sue other states that legal analysts say it will be very difficult to predict how any of these cases could play out. but eventually the supreme court could shut colorado down or leave the law in place. but either way, thomas it's still going to be legal and buy and smoke pot in colorado while

these cases play out john siegenthaler is joining us. good evening. >> thomas thank you. coming up at 8:00, ferguson missouri is dealing with a report showing abuses of the police force. but it's not the only city facing that problem. and we sat down with philip breedlove, he talks about u.s. involvement in ukraine. >> nations of the west are considering giving -- lending aid to ukraine to accomplish those objectives. >> what are those objectives? and his thoughts on russian president vladimir putin. plus sitting empty, why the airport in san bernardino has problems attracting business. >> one word to describe the airport. >> boondoggle. >> curb side check-in departure gates, all empty. the problems county leaders say

they are having and why airlines won't operate there. and turning a rock and roll classic into a whole new generation. ♪ >> how this young band started playing led zeppelin and the reaction they got from the legendary rockers. all of those stories and a lot more coming up in about four minutes. >> john, thank you. the greatest show on earth is getting rid of its elephants. they say the decision comes after grows concern over how the animals are treated. tom akerman has more. >> reporter: for more than a century in america, the elephant parade is the sign that the circus has come to town. their star attraction for the ringling brother's circus which performss one thousand shows across the country. but elephants will no longer be part of the act by 2018. their permanent home will be the

breeding conservation center in florida, where they will join 40 others who are either too old or too resistant to the travel. that's not what animal rights champions say about ringling. in these undercover videos from 2009, the organization peta says handlers can be seen beating the animals, and sinking bull hook into the sensitive skin of babiel facts which cry out in pain. this video of an elderly elephant being beaten prompted the british government to bannel facts from circuses. but russia has no animal protection laws to elephants there will continue to be big circus draws. ringling says its decision was partly the result of more local laws restricting animal actings, but its critics say they have

been losing popularity as their treatment becomes more controversial. and the $65,000 a year maintenance cost per animal which is not exactly peanuts. >> thanks for watching. john siegenthaler is coming up next.

hi, everyone this is al jazeera america i'm john seigenthaler. beyond ferguson nationwide the big picture of police bias against blacks tonight the facts and what is needed to end the discrimination. shot to death, inside a police station, the troubled teen killed, the officers back on the job and the growing calls for accountability. delayed, brand new state of the art and empty, california's $200