aniversaire. give us feedback what you feel about the program. follow me and get in touch @ray @raysuareznews. we'll see you next time. i'm ray suarez. on "america tonight", degrees of debt. dreams of a ledge education, and how it is draining the future for hundreds of thousands of american students. >> i have 12 different loans by three different servesers, and i hold $33,000 of loans that i never signed for or know where they came from. i have nothing to show from it. high hopes and predatory

lenders. a look at the schemes that don't make the grade also, vegas, baby, the power strip. >> they have control over that just because they have so many connections over the period of time. families have been in charge for generations. michael oku takes a ride and gets an insider's view of los angeles's latest showdown. will it bring travellers to a standstill? parse pass thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. we begin on a popular way to get around. it's called uber, a ride-sharing service you have on your mobile phone. it's valued at $40 billion and is rolling into new cities.

in a place where a slow cruise is part of the scene, michael oku found a fierce effort to put on the brakes. >> reporter: sin city, where the strip is lined with invitations for gambling, guns and girls. just about anything goes in vegas. one thing not going anywhere is uber. the ride sharing technology it is not feeling the love from this silver state, where it has no permit to operate. there's a $400 million taxi turf war in vegas. a hand full of companies own the strip and everywhere else. uber wants in on the action. and briefly set up shop last october in nevada, before a judge ordered them to shut down. swinging.

>> almost a sting organised by a cab company. >> reporter: rick is a reporter at the "las vegas review journal", and we talked. >> one of the technology guys decided we are going to get a ride. we'll hire them and call the taxi cab authority and let them know where we are going so the taxi cab authority can be ready for them as soon as they got out of the car. that is what happened. >> reporter: these photos of the incident were taken by the "las vegas review journal." officers wearing city masks, bulletproof masks and guns. on the face of it it looks like you are deploying groups to handle a cartel, rather than folks that shuffle people one place to the next. >> that was one of the things that the taxi cab authority realised afterwards, that it looked over the top. >> reporter: call it a sting or stunt, the taxi cab industry

flexed its muscle. people talk about the taxi cab industry. they refer to it as a car tell. >> yes, they do. >> reporter: why is that? >> they have so much control industry. they have control because they have so many connections over the period of time. families have been in charge of some of these companies for years and years. for generations, or at least three generations in some cases. >> reporter: nevada has been the crack. >> it's the place they want to be the most because of the tourism economy. 41 million visitors to los angeles. imagine how many already an uber app and know who they are. this is perfect for them. uber is used to getting its way, legal or not. it's rolled into 41 states and 300 cities worldwide. arguing current laws don't apply to them. why. they say they are a technology company, not a transportation company.

we try to find out what the difference is from the uber spokesperson. >> a common person on the street asks what is the difference between a car company that gets requests from perspective consumers via telephone, and uber which essentially processes requests through picking up the cell phone. >> there's technology that licences the software to drivers, and connected for different riders - whether it be for a connection to, you know, the strip from summerland or in some parts of country, connecting people to food, to delivery services. >> reporter: what i'm not hearing is what is the difference, what is the difference between taking a taxi cab and an uber. why wouldn't the laws that any taxi cab company has to abide by, apply to uber? >> here it's people using personal vehicles, using an

application to connect with people, and only 10 hours a week they are using it to give you or someone else a ride. >> reporter: this bar tender doesn't care about the difference. again. town. >> yes, i think it's a great idea. sometimes it's difficult in the strip to find a taxi. >> reporter: you can't find a cabs. >> well, if you walk up to valla areas, yes, they rotate in and out. as far as being off the strip or away from the hotels, it's more complicated. i personally waited over an hour to get picked restaurant. >> a poll by the los angeles review journal showed more than 60% of respondents would prefer to take uber in vegas. so far the taxi cartel has kept them out. .

>> it's the way things are done in the town. at the same time it's frustrating for someone trying to enter the market. >> reporter: not one new taxi cab company has been allowed to >> >> we have about 1,000 vehicles. >> reporter: if jonathan swarts has his way, uber will not open up. >> uber is unsafe operator, in our opinion. >> reporter: swarts owns three cab companies in vegas, about 20% of the market share. he says uber doesn't have to comply with the same rules he must, involving things like car checks. >> uber likes to say that they are a technology company, rather than a transportation company do you buy it? >> i don't buy it at all. they are a transportation company, and should comply with the same rules we do. they came into the state. net violated the war.

and that's their model throughout the company. >> reporter: if uber is allowed to do business in vegas, swarts said he may have to lay off 2,000 employees. >> my wife, we got her through college. my oldest son graduated with a degree of economics. my son second graduated from unr and i have two in college. >> reporter: and he did it on his taxi cab salary. in clark county, including las vegas. taxi drivers are employees, and receive benefits like health insurance and 401ks, something they won't get driving with uber. >> cab companies are concerned. they believe if uber is successful, that they may lose their jobs at the cab companies and will be compelled to work for uber. which does not provide the hard benefits they are accustomed to.

is that a ridge mate concern on the part of hundreds of drives this. >> we are opening up the transport eco system and creating more opportunity. >> the transportation system will pay for things like trips visits. >> the vast majority of drivers are worried they'll come into the market and ruin the good thing we have. >> the fight over uber moved from the strip to carson city, the capital, where two bills allowing uber to operate unleashed armies of lobbyists from both sides. >> how many lobbyists and consultants do you have working on the issue now? >> it's about 10. we have to compete with uber. they have 16. >> uber may need the lobbyists given the long-standing connections between the taxi cab companies and legislature. how

far-reaching does the power extend. capital. >> you are talking about people in the industry, having relationships and passing on. >> do we have situations where there are former industry types who go on to become politicians in carson city. >> and the other way around. there's a couple of places where we had people who have been in the legislature are now top officers in transportation companies. so it goes both directions. >> reporter: the taxi cap companies don't aist $750,000 in the past year to various officials in carson city. it may have paid off. the uber bill was killed this week. the company will have to wait two years to get another bill introduced. . >> we are not going to be like everybody else, meaning we'll put the brakes on progress, we

don't accept things accepted every place else. that's the way nevada is. while the rest of the country phenomenon nevada is going its own way "america tonight"s michael oku tells us that uber could get rolling in nevada soon. lawmakers vote on one bill next week. if that doesn't work out. the service has options. los angeles wants uber to move more riders. the l.a. mayor trying to clear the way for pick ups at los angeles. nearly 70,000 use l.a. x, and they made a ride. next - priced out. sky rocketing rents, and not just in america's biggest cities. could your neighbourhood be next? and later, a pricey education. hundreds of college grads and

the expensive lesson they had about for-profit legislation. and the gangs of baltimore gaol. drugs, women, a leader who proclaimed i am the law and just about was. the shocking story behind bars, and where else he might be running the institution. at aljazeera.com/americatonight. >> monday on "techknow". >> we should not be having earthquakes in texas. >> the true cost of energy hits home. >> my yard is gone. >> are we destroying our way of life? >> contaminated water from the fracking activities come here. >> they stick it into the core of the earth. >> but this cutting-edge technology could be the answer. >> the further of fracking is about the water. >> protecting the planet saving lives. >> how do you convince a big oil company to use this? >> "techknow". monday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> part of al jazeera america's

>> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet

>> sunday. >> we're pioneers. >> the head of america's space agency charles bolden. >> we take science fiction and turn it into science fact. >> addressing nasa's critics. >> we are the best nation in the world when it comes to exploration. >> and mankind's next giant leap. >> we can become multi-planet species. >> every sunday night... >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. "talk to al jazeera". sunday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. if our fast forward segment. forced out. need a place to live in new york city? so do other folks. that's great for developers. the property premium in the city is putting more new yorkers at risk of losing their homes. >> a recent survey showed brooklyn is now the least affordable housing market in the country hitting some of the most

fragile members of the community. at this prime corner of brooklyn stands the prospect park residence, a building that's a home for seniors since 1962. for the last decade an assisted living facility. back in march the facility's operator announced it was closing down. the building had been sold for $76.5 million, nearly double the sale price of 2006. more than 120 residents, including some holocaust survivors, were told to find another place to live. the elderly residents, some of who had just moved in, were outraged. they took to the streets in protest. in the end more than 100 were forced out. 92-year-old ann marie mogle is one of eight residents that refused to leave. >> i'm not ready to go. the place is advertised from the beginning as a place where you come to age in place.

aging in place means that this is your final residence. >> ann marie moved in only two months before the building's owner sold it to a developer of luxury condos. >> what it feels like to be possibly pushed out of your home? >> it's a devastating feeling, and i wouldn't wish it on anyone. >> the battle has now shifted to the courts, and in november ann marie and her neighbors won a preliminary injunction to allow them to stay in their apartments at least for now. you're not going anywhere? >> no. >> you're not intimidated? >> not at all. no. >> the property owner did not respond to our request for an interview but did refer us to a press statement from the initial announcement in march saying that rising costs and tax obligations made it no longer viable to operate an elder care residence. fast forward to more troubling signs. we expect sky-high rents in san francisco and new york city.

now real estate trackers say rents are spiking even in places where the housing market has struggled. smaller cities like denver, kansas city, portland, real estate database zillow says on average renters spent a quarter of income on housing but now it's to about 30%. after the break, lessons learned. dreams of a college diploma and why it may cost hundreds of thousands of americans their future. what lies ahead for young americans living with autism? our special report friday on "america tonight" on what works. >> by 15 months noah was just -- he just started to engage. his language started coming, and i remember just thinking, i think he's getting this. >> is noah showing any signs of autism today? >> none. >> breaking the silence and changing the lis of people living with autism. friday, a special report on "america tonight."

>> monday. >> it's crazy money that you can make here. >> behind america's oil boom. >> it's a ticking time bomb. >> uncovering shocking working conditions. >> do you know what chemicals have been in that tank? >> and the deadly human cost. >> my big brother didn't wake up the next day. >> "faultlines". al jazeera america's hard-hitting... >> today they will be arrested. >> ground-breaking... >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> emmy award-winning investigative series. "faultlines": death on the bakken shale. monday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

now a lesson learned about higher education in america and the crippling debt that can come with it. student debt in this country has already reached more than $1 trillion. that can be especially painful to low-income americans who sometimes hope that a for-profit education can pave the way to new futures for them. instead, some have found their dreams deferred. now a group calling itself the corinthian 100 where they incur the debt is fighting back, refusing to pay back loans that some authorities call predatory. "america tonight" heard the story of one of the debt strikers. >> you say you wanted an orange.

i went back to school in 2007. i'll split you an orange. i want some stability. this college offered a nine-month medical assistant program. as a single parent i was told you will basically go to school for free. you get all the grants and stuff like that from the government, federal aid. i was like, okay, i'm on with it. i was so excited to do something and help people. i love you. see you later on, okay? being able to network with doctors at the hospital and then being able to establish a future and to see potential in our life. you guys want an appetizer tonight. instead of being stagnant and waiting tables and bartendering doing the same thing you do out of high school. i wanted that career that, you know, long-term longevity of receiving benefits, retirement, all of that. it was exciting, but it's not

exciting anymore. i have 12 different loans by three different servicers, different amounts, different times, different days. now i owe over 33$33 now,000 in loans i never signed for or came from. i could have gone to a four-year university and have a real degree, and i have nothing to show for it now. i never got a job in the medical assistant field. i still have not received a job in the medical assistant field. in fact, i had doctors tell me straight up that because i got my -- i went to evers college that it's basically laughable. >> what happened to jessica king is fairly typical. it happens to thousands of other students. the students sign loan documents they did not understand that were not explained properly, and those documents -- one is a promissory note. students sign that document, and the school can take out any amount of debt in student's name. they were defrauded and lied to. there are approximately half a million students who have

potentially been affected by this predatory lending scheme. >> for english, press 1 now. to speak with a representative, press zero. please hold while your call is being transferred. >> this is jessica king, and i would appreciate it if this call is recorded, please. hold on one second. you just said that because my loan is -- >> the client is -- >> a client disputes that you can't discuss this with me? do you have like a supervisor or somebody? do you have a supervisor or somebody that -- >> one moment. >> thank you. every day i make the same phone calls. sometimes i'm getting answers. it's just like i call one person to lead me to another person to lead me to another person. there's no answers. still no paperwork. it's all over my credit report.

everest college is a sub sid tear of corinthian network. it was based on recruiting students who were very vulnerable. most students were low-income. the first in their families to go to college. they were a lot of single parents, people who didn't know much about higher education, what it was supposed to be like when you enroll in a school, how much it was supposed to cost. >> my name is jessica king. are you a supervisor? i never signed for this loans and i am disputing these loans, but i don't think it's fair i cannot talk to somebody about the income based payment because i filed a complaint. i cannot move on with my life. >> it is what it is. if you -- if you set up a program, then you're admitting to the debt. >> right, okay. so basically i'm just at a standstill until we figure it out? thank you very much for your help. have a great day. >> absolutely.

>> i owe thousands of dollars to everest college and can't even get a job i was promised, can't even go back to college like i was promised. it was lies. it was all lies.

we're stuck. that's where we're at. we're stuck. >> this is all really exhausting, to just be able to want the american dream, to think that's what you were going to have. all i got was a big scheme. a big financial scheme and mess. >> we're in a situation where

going to college in america can actually make you worse off. that's what's happened to thousands of these students. they're worse off than before they went to college, and the department of education's job is to regulate higher education and to prevent colleges from taking advantage of students and from stealing from them. they did not do their job, and students strikers are demanding that they finally do their job. >> twinkle twingele lle lle -- twinkle little star. >> my family definitely keeps me grounded and keeps me hopeful that, you know, there will be some resolution to all of this. i don't think without them that i would be at the place that i am or even come as far as i have to where i'm at today. i mean, you see your cousin, and you want them to do better, obviously, better than you've done in your life. just looking at my children and

their future goals and their hopes, i'm going to be there. i'm going to figure one way or another to make sure their dreams come true. >> the federal education department fined corinthian colleges $30 million for misrepresentation. nine state attorneys general have called for the loans to be canceled and the consumer and financial protection bureau put in place $480 million for debt relief to corinthian students months ago, but jessica says so far she's not seen a difference in her credit report. that's "america tonight." tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to you on twitter or facebook and come back. we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> fall of saigon, forty years later. >> we have no idea how many were killed. >> unanswered questions, a botched withdrawal lives lost.

examining the impact that still resonates today. a special report starts tuesday, 10:00 eastern. on al jazeera america. european leaders triple the budge feed search and rescue operations in an effort to stop people dieing at sea. ♪ ♪ hole womenhole owe and welcome to al jazerra. armenians remember the masses killed by the on the man forces. u.s. president barack obama apologizes for the death of two prisoners. and the magnificent images from the far side of the solar system. the rubble's space telescope celebrates