>> oh my god. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. tomorrow, 6:30 eastern only on al jazeera america. [ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight" - what's to a neighbourhood when you close its schools. children. >> the mayor's administration closes dozens of schools, the largest closure in u.s. history. many residents rallied around this man known as chewie. >> they are looking for a mayor who will sit at a table and listen to people also tonight ...

>> the f-35 is the most expensive weapons programme in american history. so far the pentagon has bought 150 f-35s. with more on the assembly line. even though the plane is not cleared for combat. >> it can blow up. >> absolutely. >> there goes the airplane and the pilot i'm, aime adam may sitting in for joie chen. despite the talk in washington. there's one programme that has been spared repeatedly. congress expected to spend more than one trillion on the f-35 fighter plane. even though that programme has experienced setback after setback. and now there is another concern. safety. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar investigates speaking with former pentagon insiders who raised alarm

wells. here is where american pilots earn the art of combat. here the full array of power is on display. like proven workhorses to modern aircraft like the f-22. parked along side the runway, you'll find the latest edition to america's military arsenal. the f-35 is the most expensive weapons programme in american history. according to one pentagon report, it has a price tag of 1.4 trillion. so for the pentagon bought 150 f-35, with more on the assembly line, even though the plane is not cleared for combat. eventually the care force is

expected to buy more than 1700 f-35s, with the navy and marines purchasing more - ones modified for them. why buy so many when they are not cleared for battle. >> congress and the military believe the plane can be refined. it's more being built. >> from the futuristic shape to the millions of lines of computer code, it's a complicated beast. >> like getting into a racing car. >> you don't get in it. you strap it on. >> this is a place the f-35 is being tested. the lieutenant colonel is one of the test units commanders. >> how do you compare the f-35 to the f-15 e - you are licensed on both. >> the f-35 is a mon oumental leap in capability. it is something our air force needs to secure defense.

>> reporter: from a military map, that may be what you expect to hear. others are less positive. the plane is so plagued by design and technical setbacks rarely a week goes by. the latest news came weeks ago. courtesy of this report. it was written by jay michael gilmore, the own director of operational test and evaluation. that's the dot&e. a pentagon watchdog. it's a hot mess. >> let's look at why it's dangerous to the pilot. >> the doe report sunday make for easy reading. an engineer who once evaluated planes spray was part of the team which designed the f-16 in the early

1970s. he has flown with pilots, chief among their returns. >> it says live fire test and evaluation confirms the structure. what does that mean. >> they implemented tests where they took pieces of the air airplane. they found it was bad. >> they catch fire. >> there's too much flammable stuff located in poor locations. thing of the engine was a blow torch surrounded by fuel. that's what it is. >> the plane's propensity to catch fire - perhaps the biggest concern in combat is the beginning. the report lifts many others, including the potential for arcing and shorts in the wiring

that powers the plane's flight controls. problems protecting the plane from lightening, requiring it to stay 25 miles away from bad weather. and trouble with so-called transonic roll off, wing drop, forcing the plane to roll to the turns. >> when had report uses the words catastrophic and cascading - what does that many. >> literally what it says. you start with a small problem, then you get leaking fuel. >> reporter: the safety concerns are not just all. last year an f-35 burst flames taxiing for take off because an ng part cracked. the air force refuses to release pictures of the incident.

>> one of the sets of fans inside the engine rubbed against the casing and the cracks caused a fan blade to break off. the whole fan explodes like shrapnel. runway. >> reporter: afterwards the fleet was grounded for three weeks, and the plane missed a heralded international debut. despite that, general mark we'll rn, the air force chief of -- welsh, the air force chief of staff cell. track. >> reporter: when you read the dot evaluation, what do you see? >> i see a programme that should have been held up. >> from 2001 to 2005 tom christy was the director of operational test and evaluation. he spent more than 30 years at official. >> they are producing what 40,

50 airplanes a year. for me, that's full-scale production. that's a tragedy. god nose what we'll do it fix the aircraft. >> to this day, test pilots are operating under severe restrictions. unable to fly the plane at high speeds, or manoeuvre aggressively, fearing the engine problem could happen again. a final design to fix the problem was not complete at the time the report was written. major general commands the air force warfare center. his unit is testing the air force's version of the f-35. >> can i ask what your reaction was when you heard about the engine fire? >> well, i mean, we all have to be concerned. we have a long history of a sound safety programme. i have no safety concerns, and since i have to fly it, i have

concerns. >> he is the highest ranking officer to qualify. >> i have about 50 hours in it. >> he was returning from a test flight when we met him. >> the dot report highlighted there are some concerns with the plane as it exists. how does that impede your ability to advance the aircraft? >> certainly there are limitations that the fleet is working through from the engine incident that happened. so we are slowly working through expanding the operational envelope of the airplanes. >> is it likely that as you expand the envelope you find more issues. >> it's certainly likely. it's because of what we do. we take it and put it in operationally representative conditions. when i put it in those conditions i learn how it acts in a combat scenario. >> reporter: we wanted to ask the pentagon why it's continuing to purchase the plane with so

many problems. this lieutenant is the officer-in-charge. the office told us the schedule didn't allow for an interview. in a statement he says this is the optimal time to discover issues through testing so we can provide solutions early, and the dot and effort report contained no surprises and that his officers addressed concerns before the report was drafted. it despite the problems those discovered and those unknown, the marine corp is expected to declare whether the operational force is operationally capable. the air force plans to follow suit in 2016, the navy in 2019. >> reporter: what does it mean 2015. >> it's a sham. the programme has been embarrassing, and they are just at the point to say they are

going to take what they can get. >> do you think the plane is combat ready? >> absolutely not. away. >> >> reporter: so how is it taxpayers have bought 150 f 25s with more in the pipeline. christy has seen the play book before. pentagon officials team up with the defense contractor promising lots of jobs, tempted members of congress vote for the weapons to keep coming. lockheed martin has a website boasting about the enormity of the economic footprint claiming the plane benefits 49 states in puerto rico. >> you don't stop one of these things once it comes this far. >> reporter: literally the plane has left the tarmac. >> yes. >> reporter: one final thought courtesy of the dot report. it says the pentagon has been massaging the numbers when it comes to the performance.

according to the report recent pentagon claims about the improved reliability are not because it is getting better, but not all failures are counted. in other words - the bad news about the f-35 could be a whole lot worse. next on "america tonight" - a tox irkic work place, workers at a nuclear plant fear their lives were put at risk. new deal tails on a -- detailled on a "america tonight" investigation. next week... >> do you feel the company was date day. >> ripping me off. >> an investigation. growing complaints against electric companies fighting for your business. and hot right now on the website. she was a recognisable singer from the late '80s.

now we take you beyond the beehive and discover there's more to the b-52s kate pearson. find out at aljazeera.com/"america tonight".

welcome back, in our fast-forward - this is the most contaminated nuclear site. for decades workers were exposed to toxic chemicals and raidia active waste cree -- radioactive waste created by a world war ii bomb programme. exposure is still happening today, some say. lori jane gliha with more on ill examination. >> it was on this 586 square mile site where workers developed a nuclear reactor, producing plutonium for a bomb in world war ii.

the site generated millions in waste, and hundreds of billions in liquid waste until the last reactor shut down in the '80s. thousands of workers were hired to help with the clean-up - still going on today. dale worked at hamford for 30 years nearly. how often did you walk around with no mask? >> most of the time. almost all of the time. >> reporter: gear worked in the tank farms, his job including making sure the storage units filled with radioactive waste functioned properly. now retired and suffering from lung disease co p.d., his priority is his health. air. i'm okay if i don't do a bunch of exertion. i can't mow the lawn without fear of collapsing or going up and downstairs.

>> he suffers long-term effect of his decades at hamford, current workers say health problems exist. many have been sickened by vapours escaping fast-forward and relief for ilworkers. an advise your board voted to expand workers eligible for compensation. employees that worked at the site up until 1990 will get 150,000. before that only workers on site up to 1983 were compensated after proving illnesses were linked to radiation. >> coming up, the fight for chicago. high murder and unemployment rates not to mention the shutting of dozens of schools. this will be children walking

through the hallways. children waving to you. >> can the incumbent mayor get the city on track, or will the people put their faith in a challenger. "america tonight"s christopher putzel returns to a city

next. now to the fight for chicago, where the president's former right-hand man is in the midst of a political battle. incumbent mayor ron emanuel has been forced into a battle by another. he can toured the hearts and -- captured the hearts and minds of many residents the the mayor's policies left them out. christopher putzel chronicled the fight to combat deadly gun violence returned to chicago and filed this report. >> closing 50 schools and not having a plan for children. remember, chin are the fewer, the -- children are the future. the innocent people in the world. that was an attack to me children. >> reporter: jeanette lived her side on the right side.

a place with ron emanuel's school reforms go not sit well. the mayor's administration in 2015 closed lots of schools. the largest closure. most were in latino and black neighbourhoods, some of the poorest communities. >> a school is the foundation. it used to be what the black church was to the black community. now schools are the only stable institutions they are left. and they are corrupt. they are in chaos. >> the mayor facing debt. shut down underused and performing schools. what he said were failing schools. in the process emanuel failed her community. >> what happens to a schools. >> you kill the essence of a children. a neighbourhood with no laughter, nowhere for the kids to cop greg out.

play -- congregate. playgrounds used to be the place to go. me and the kids are struggling. we are in the house. we have every electronic thing available to keep me from letting the kids go outside because they are unsafe. >> the 40-year-old mother of six has two school aged children. >> my schools are at a school overcrowded. my baby, he is autistic. he gets speech therapy and services in the hallway. >> wait downstairs. >> reporter: they go to molison, a school on the receiving end when others were shut down. >> there was a merger obvious, it was like throwing a grenade. we'll give them a few dollars and let them figure it out. you cannot do that. >> g 2 brown is the organizers of the community organization, where jen et works. it's one of the oldest groups on

the south side. >> we are anthony overton school. >> he took us to one of chicago's closed schools. >> i want to take a look up here. these schools were named after history. >> by closing the schools, you are losing more than the school, you lose a legacy. >> you lose a legacy and history of what happens in the community. and again, you lose hope. so what has been the result of this school closing. now what they don't tell you is for two straight years already they closed the school you had a scores. >> what is the biggest cost to a local community when you shut a school like this. >> look. right now there should be children. a child waving to you out the window.

maybe seeing a parent walking life. >> reporter: where are they now? >> they are displaced. they are displaced. they can live there, and don't have the choice to go to a good school in their own neighbourhood. chin in other parts of chicago enjoy a world-class education. >> reporter: the mayor has a good record. >> we used to have four out of 10 kids dropping out. we'll have more going to college and graduating. >> reporter: he said reforms are paying off. graduation rates are up, suspensions down, and african american students are taking advance classes. the school closures are a lightening rod, a rallying point against a mayor. >> i think that parents and people in the community see that this mayor does not represent

our interests. >> thank you. appreciate it. thank you, sir. >> many rallied around this man. also known as chewy. the 58-year-old city commissioner forced president obama's chief of staff into a run off for the mayor's seat, despite the high profile endorsements and money behind emanuel's campaign. the outcome shocked the public. >> they are exited. they are like we got your back. i got the family voted for you. i've never seen it in politics. i've never seen kids shouting a politicians name. that. >> garcia, who spent 30 years in local and state politics. he didn't have much money, but not strong support from the teacher's union. >> people have seen

canada come and go. why should someone in the neighbourhood that you are fro different. >> people, of course, have expectations and would like to see something dramatic happen. they understand that what - those things don't come overnight. what they are looking for is something basic. they are looking for a mayor, who will come around. they are looking for a mayor whole sit at a table and listen to people. >> emanuel has been called unapproachable and out of touch, an image addressed in the latest campaign adds. >> they say your greatest strength it your greatest weakness. i'm living prove of that. i can rub people the wrong way or talk when i should listen. i own that. >> the

major can put on all the sweaters he want. it's not his still. his policies hurt people. >> marcin matkowski reached out to the mayor but no no response. we sat with andrea, a member of supporter. >> were you surprised when mayor emanuel was forced into an election with chewie in. >> i was a little surprised, to be honest with you. i think - look, the school issue is emotional. the teacher's union is well organised. and i think people - you know, i think people were trying to send him a message that we are not us. >> like all schoolboard members. zach was appointed by mayor emanuel and was one of those behind the decision to shut down the school. >> between two and 2010 in chicago we lost about 200,000 people.

the overwhelming majority, 180,000 were african-americans, and that means in our schools we have way more seats than we have kids to fill them. so we close the schools because we didn't need the seats and thought we could give the kids a better chance at a better resourced school much >> reporter: do you understand why for someone living on the communities with the school shut swallow? >> yes. i think people are impatient and they have every right to be. i think they don't trust the board of education, because we have not always been acting in a way that is consistent. i get that. you know, if you look at the broader statistics, our kids are doing better. >> but gepp et says the -- jeanette says the statistics don't tell the story for a community that feels broken. >> how do you kill the

community? you close the things they need. you close the schools, take away department stores. you make a decision based on the 1%. those decisions are cutting the people that you are supposed to help. they are cop state units too -- contight units too. chewie. >> that i will be a fair mayor, someone that won't exclude peep. someone who is a good listener and someone sitting at a table stakeholders. >> for all the disillusionment garcia doesn't have widespread support. he hasn't convinced enough in chicago that ha has what it takes to deal with financial troubles. he carries the hopes of the city's disenfranchised and has given the president's right-hand man a run for his money. >> we'll keep you posted on the results. that's it for us here on "america tonight".

tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/"america tonight". talk to us on twitter or facebook. come back, we'll have more "america tonight" on tuesday. >> if we don't have a verdict by one o'clock it's gonna be another day. >> well it's either gonna be before noon, or they get to come back at one thirty. >> the waiting is what will knock you for a loop. if she goes to jail again i think she'll come out in a body bag. >> are they out? we are sitting right there in my office on pins and needles.