into the stories that are making our world what it is.

it has been a stunning few days in japan where the search now continues for people missing after freak flooding swamped the eastern half of the main island not far from tokyo. and the fear isn't over yet. a new wave of concern about the crippled fukushima nuclear plant is

rising. causing it to breach its banks. hundreds of thousands were forced from their homes. more than a dozen still missing. officials issued an emergency rainfall warning friday in northern japan . ironically, thursday a nuclear power plant shut down as a result of the fukushima crisis came online again for the first time in two years. at the crippled plant in fukushima, contaminated water from the site spilled into the pacific wednesday. according to japanese

newspapers, the seventh such incident this year. today the owners of the fukushima nuclear power plant started pumping con tap nated water -- >> water has leaked -- >> this is as far as you can go before entering the power plant. inside, the tokyo electric power company is struggling to contain the ongoing nuclear disaster. the japanese government says the situation is under control. david mckneel has been covering the disaster since it started years ago.

>> well, i think this is an ongoing crisis. what you've had is a series of ad hoc strategies designed to deal with the crisis right in front of you. did desperate attempts to keep fuel rods from overheating. and then radio active water leaking into the pacific ocean. now the rods are stored in the damaged and unstable reactor four. >> they have thousands of these fuel rods which they have to extract one by one. >> they began the delicate and dangerous year-long task of transferring those fuel rods. more than 1,300 in all.

some 400 tons of uranium to a safer location. a constant flow of water is necessary to keep the melted down uranium cool. they have built thousands of tanks to store the daily flood of contaminated

water. it's this deluge of radio active water that worries many americans. he's a scientist at the institute of japan who has spent his career studying the spread of radiation from nuclear attacks. now he's studying fukushima. >> what people in the united states will want to know is when that water is going to reach u.s. soil. okay. and what would you say? based on your calculations? >> the heavy leak, major leak, may. may. but professor calculates that

the radiation will slow, sink, and harmlessly decay over decades. and because they capture most of the contaminated ground water, few areas outside of fukushima are affected. so i eat the seafood every day. >> it's reassuring but all bets are off if they don't come up with a long-term strategy to plug the leaking

plant. more than 260 people have ben rescued in japan but at least 100 people are still in need. very important in need of help. japanese officials have reopened a small town about ten miles south of the fukushima plant. the town had been evacuated since the nuclear disaster next, a heartbreak to remember. the tragic and enduring legacy of 9/11. later, biting back. the shark, a fascinating subject for scientists and sport.

>> i think we're into something that's bigger than us >> that's the pain your mother feels when you disrespect her son... >> me being here is defying all odds >> they were patriots, they wanted their country back >> al jazeera america presents the passion.. >> onward! pain... >> it's too much though... >> and triumph... >> inspirational real life stories... >> all these labels the world throws at you, that's what drives me to push... >> of ordinary people >> i tasted the american dream. i liked it...

>> living extraordinary lives... >> if we could multiply this program, we could change the world... >> from the best filmmakers of our time, >> i give al jazeera tremendous credit, because it's not traditionally what broadcast journalism does... >> the new home for original documentaries al jazeera america presents only on al jazeera america >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. >> ...as if there were no cameras here, would be the best solution. >> this goes to the heart of the argument >> to tell you the stories that others won't cover. how big do you see this getting? getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> we're here to provide the analysis... the context... and the reporting that allows you to make sense of your world. >> ali velshi on target only on al jazeera america

remembering what we should never forget. on the 14th anniversary of 9/11, a reminder of the struggle that continues. at least 55,000 first responders are still being monday theed for medical

conditions. it sounds so familiar but it's not. >> lieutenant linda olson. fdny. >> these are all new names, 93 police officers, firefighters, paramedics, many others, what they have in common beyond their service on 9/11 and beyond is death from illnesses directly related to their efforts at ground zero. today, we honor those we lost because of

their illnesses. i was trapped. when tower two collapsed, i had no idea it was collapsing. i was able to grab with my left arm out extended and hold on to the door frame with one arm. the noise and the wind were insane. people flew by me, through me, under me. my left arm i was able to hold aircraft. >> carol found herself under a pile of rubble. somehow she and a fellow officer scratched their way out. they stayed to get others out. she's the one on the left in this strikal photo of two cops helping a dazed woman to safety. but almost immediately, carol began coughing and vomiting.

we were just trying to get the stuff off of our face. we were trying to breathe. still throwing up. eyes hurt bad. had pain in my body >> in the days after 9/11, the head of the epa christine todd whitman assured rescue workers the air was safe to breathe. in fact, the vaporize building intoed out a toxic cloud of cement, heating oil, jet fuel, glass, human remains. >> everything that was in that building we ingested. anybody that was there that inhaled that cloud. you know, desks, people, done withes, ammo, paper. everything. ten years later congress gave responders health benefits. at first the $4 billion in

benefits did not cover cancer but at least 15 chemical compounds in the smoke, dust, and gas found in the rubble are classified as cancer causing. so in 2012, the president signed a new version of the law that covered more than 50 cancers, insurance for first responders such as carol. for carol, that change in the lieu has new significance. she was perfectly healthy the day before 9/11 and she was left with knee and shoulder injuries requiring surgery and now suffers with lung disease and a stomach disorder. >> are you convinced this is a result of that day? >> i know it was from 9/11. >> henry plowman. district of columbia.

the names keep coming and one day they'll outnumber all those who die on 9/11 and cover the empty wall of granite that awaits them so even though not yet born on that terrible day will know of the men and women who served and suffered. we fast forward to what is sadly a legacy of continued suffering. we're told the number of claims for compensation has continued to rise as more illnesses are tied to 9/11. 4,000 new compensation claims have been filed in the last year next, a biting chance. wrestling away the secrets of the shark.

>> every saturday 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. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". saturday, 6:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

don't go near the water if you're worried about the sharks. more sharks than ever are along the eastern sea board. why? it's just one of the secrets. could climate change play a role or is there some other reason why? most of us are already fascinated. some afraid of sharks. america tonight's adam may explores our fascination with the scientists and the sportsmen who get up close and personal. >>reporte >> biggest one ever. >>reporter: elliott is known as the shark wrestler of nantucket. reeling in and then actually jumping in the water with giant sharks and lots of them. some more than seven feet long. >> only caught four or five hundred sharks. >> i'm becoming dangerously comfortable with the situation. my favorite part is when the rod just takes off. when they first bite. you're holding on and they're going and you just feel the power.

you can feel their tail moving. sometimes they jump. it's just insane. how powerful they are. it's recreational fishing to the extreme i guess. >>reporter: he heads out at sunrise in nantucket. usually the first one on the beach. today he's hoping for another big catch. another chance for a picture that would fill other fishermen with envy. >> what possesses someone to get up at 4:00 o'clock in the morning to try and catch a shark? >> they're big and they look mean and people are scared of them and i don't know. it's an epic battle and it just is undescribablely cool. >> in august, almost two dozen great whites were spotted in a single day and attacks against seals have even been caught on

camera. all of this triggering off and on beach closures drawing a feeding frenzy of shark loving tourists and raising questions best. >> just when you have them figured out you think you see something different. >> lisa has been studying sharks since 1982. one of the top shark researchers for noa. we caught up with her at a shark fishing tournament in the hamptons where anglers compete to see who could reel in the biggest catch. >> if you see a ship and americans perceptions on shark >> there's been a huge shift since i started out. when i first started going to these tournaments, the motto was the only good shark is a dead

shark and then it was they're killing too many sharks and now we're scared of sharks but you can't kill any not that we would want to go out and kill them. that's not the solution anyway. but it's, like, okay, what exactly do you want here? >>reporter: the main reason for the tournament is fishing then eating the sharks. each shark caught here is also part of ongoing scientific research. >> first thing we're going to do is get blood from the heart. >> these samples can tell a lot about sharks and perhaps unravel some of the many shark mysteries. >> that's the liver. >> this is the liver. >> and we're weighing it to get an index of condition of the fish. percent body weight. >> does that tell you about the overall health of the fish? >> yes, a nice, big, fatty liver is a good thing. >> but scientists still don't

prehistoric creatures leaving some of the simplist scientific questions unanswered. >> if you could get into a time machine and just keep researching sharks, what do you want to know? >> my biggest question is the age. that's what i've been doing my whole career since i was 21. so, yeah, it's still a mystery. but we'll see. we'll see if we find that out. >> that's why they are testing new ways to try and determine a shark's age. making sure sharks are not overfished and brought to extinction. despite the increased sightings in cape cod, images of overfishing in other parts of the world have raised major concerned about the future of the shark. >> there's a general feeling the shark population of the world is declining and there's some

evidence for some species and not for others. but there needs to be more data. >> back on nantucket, it's now sunset and elliott is still at it hoping to catch another shark. >> it's the best time of day to catch sharks. >> but unlike the fishermen in the hamptons, he says he releases every single catch. >> there's a lot of ways to do this. >> one of thousands of american anglers who tag and release sharks. part of a government program to learn more about them. >> how much of what you do is sport and how much is science? >> it started off as all

sport. all the data comes from this and it relies on recreational fishermen to get involved. >> i caught four this year that have already been tagged. one thing we do know is sharks migrate. some now have gps sensors and even their own twitter accounts to share their movements. but despite what scientists are learning, some animal rights groups have called for an end to shark fishing even if it's catch and release calling it cruel. that's kind of a big point of contention. if you keep them in the water and don't drag them on the beach and do all kinds of weirdness with them and just pull them in the water get the hook out if you want to. everything very fast and get it back in the

water. you have to be quick. >> have you taken some heat for it? >> yeah. i'm going to publish a book of all these e-mails i get. i don't even know how to describe it. they're crazy. >> what do they call you? what do they say? >> i hope a shark drags you you. >> whether you're shark wrestling or shark fishing, the thrill of luring in one of the planet's most powerful predators is addicting for some, concerning for others but the fascination is universal.

that's america tonight. please tell us what do you think at al jazeera.com. >> i kept trying to make him not be a boy... it's not working. >> transgender children. >> i'd sit alone, i'd eat alone, i have no one to talk to. >> some dismiss it as a phase. >> we're trying to pigeon-hole him into "tom boy". >> but is it reallt a crisis? >> when your child wants to die... that's what changes parents. >> meet the families on a life changing journey. >> i finally get to blossom into the beautiful flower i am!

>> more than 100 people are killed in saudi arabia after a crane collapses at mecca's grand mosque. hello, this is al jazeera, live from doha. i'm adrian finighan. also on the program. >> my friend die, my teacher die, that's very bad. >> we meet the children that are among the thousands of refugees that are making the desperate move to europe. >> flooding in japan kills at least three people.