it throw it's weight around. just the newest. i'm ray suarez, and that's the "inside story." >> this is aljazeera america, live from new york city, i'm erica pitzi. a holy communion, thousands joan pope francis in washington d.c. as he celebrates mass for the first time in the united states. another bump in the road. the ceo of volkswagen resigns, but takes responsibility for the company's emission cheating scandal. and emergency meeting. eu leaders gather in brussels

to devise a plan to deal with the refugee crisis. well, it was a momentous first day in the u.s. for pope francis. president obama and it first lady, michelle obama, greeted the pontiff at the white house this morning. the president and the pope took part in a welcoming ceremony on the south lawn before meeting privately in the oval office, and later, thousands cheered for pope francis in a parade before he ended the day with the canonization of a new saint. mike viqueira joins us, and the pontiff didn't seem to shy away in addressing major issues facing the united states and the church today. >> he addressed in the first speech that he made as pope in his entire life. this is the first visit he has

had here. what the pope saw on television and the thousands who lined the street and thronged the pope in jubilation as he made his way across town in a parade is a pope that's not going to shy away from controversy. from the moment he left the vatican embassy in the morning, to the indelible scene, when he saw a young girl held back from the pope mobile by security, went to her. and it represents a change for the church. earlier, there was the pomp and ceremony of a white house welcome, speaking publicly for the first time in america, the pope repeated a stance that has brought him scorn from conservatives. the need to act on climate change. >> the ability to all together in building our common home.

[ unintelligible ] we wish to commit ourselves to the conscience and responsible care of our common home. >> president obama spoke of their shared concerns, including rights for migrants and refugees, and showered the pope with praise. >> you shake our conscience from slumber. you call on us to rejoice in good news. and give us confidence that we can come together in humility and service. and pursue a world that is more loving, more just, and more free. >> the two leaders walked to the oval office, spending 40 minutes there in what the white house described as a private meeting, offering no details. speaking to 300 american bishops at st. matthew's cathedral. francis raised a scandal.

sexual abuse by priests. >> i realize the weight of the world upon you, and i support generous healing to victims, in the knowledge that in healing, we too are healed. and to work toward such crimes never being repeated. >> later in the day, an estimated 26,000 greeted the pope at the shrine of immaculate conception. >> the source of our joy is an endless desire to share mercy. >> francis elevated junipero serra, a monk to sainthood. and in his ho homily, he sparked the theme of compassion. >> and erika, you saw that pope francis, here at st. matthews cathedral, did reference the sexual abuse of priests that

has plagued the church, and the outrage in the past two or three decades. the rims and their families say that it was good to hear. after all, pope benedict xvi when he was here during the bush administration made a similar apology, but it didn't go far enough, because it didn't mention the rights of victims, and bringing the perpetrators to justice. >> and let's talk about tomorrow. and pope francis has another big day scheduled, right. >> yes, his third day in washington, and he starts off with a much anticipated speech to a joint session to congress, and that's expected to last about 40 minutes, and then keeping with the theme, he'll visit another catholic church in downtown washington here. st. patrick's catholic charities, where he's going to speak with shores and workers, and he'll speak to a group of homeless and lower income individuals, before heading off on his second leg of his journey to new york city. >> all right, mike viqueira, thank you.

there's a reason they call francis the people's pope. after leaving the white house, he greeted thousands who waited to see him. >> bathed in the dawn's early light, thousands walked to the nation's capital. under the watchful eye of the secret service, and a multitude of federal agencies, the faithful lined the streets, waiting and hoping for a chance to catch a glimpse of the spiritual leader of the roman agent licks. >> with one word for him, it's mercy. his mercy is so large, can you see it, and he's down-to-earth. >> it's his belief this we can best protect the earth by acknowledging our role in climate change that makes his message different, but still based in scripture. >> everything is biblical. genesis talks about the earth. >> but not everyone who came

out sees eye to eye with pope francis. >> i don't pretend that i will agree with him on every issue, but i respect the fact that he's willing to come out and speak on issues that he cares about. >> after hours of waiting, the masses finally had their moment, with cellphones raised, the pontiff emerged. he traveled around the elips, he smiled and waved and babies were blessed. and then a gesture, not to an official, but a small child. that child was five-year-old sophie cruz. she came with her family from los angeles to see the pope, but got much more. >> i gave him a letter.

>> it was a letter for the pope to take up the cause for immigrants here in america. a powerful message, and for little sophie, the moment of a lifetime. and for others, it was unforgettable. >> i think it was the defining moment of my life, to be able to sit here in washington d.c. and see pope and the young lady got touched and blessed by the pope. i think it was a wonderful day, and something that will be with me forever. >> aljazeera, washington. >> the first canonization on u.s. soil is a controversial one. today, pope francis made 17th century missionary, junipero serra, a saint. he's credited with bringing christianity to california 300 years ago, but native americans say that serra is no saint, accusing him of creating a hostile mission system that resulted in tens of thousands of indian deaths. we'll have more about the

controversy and what the native americans are saying today at the bottom of the hour. >> . >> volkswagen ceo resigned today in the wake of the company's growing emissions scandal. this comes after the ceo, martin wintercorn resigned. he took responsibility for what happened to his watch. but he said that he was stunned by the misconduct involved. later in the show, we'll talk about what this means for the company's long-term outlook. a deeply divided european union is holding a summit on the crisis. german sans lore, angela merkel and 26 other leaders are meeting to find a comprehensive solution to the refugee increase. it comes a day after the refugee quota overriding opposition from four eastern european nations. >> reporter: one thing that this maintains on wednesday is intended to do is look at some

of the more practical measures that can be put into place to try to restrict the number of people entering the eu, and to install better controls on who is entering. discussions about deploying new eu forces to help the police, immigration in countries on the front line like greece and italy, who have clearly been struggling to deal with the number of people coming in. again, it's controversial. because it's the question of national sovereignty. shouland it's still to be discud but another thing, the desire to pledge more money to some of the countries through whom the refugees travel in the balkans, like estonia and serbia, and turkey, georgia and serbia, who have been carrying the biggest burden so far in terms of sheltering the refugees.

>> that was jesus christ 'or a us in brussels. now to an update about our colleagues sitting in an egyptian jail. mohamed and fave have been pardoned. the pardons were issued this morning, and dozens of other prisoners will also be freed. while it's good news, there were a handful of aljazeera journalists who were sentenced and they have not been pardoned. we turn to join in toronto where mohamed fave is can expected to arrive in the next few days. >> reporter: erika, good evening to you, and you heard the expression, it takes a village, and in this case, it takes more than that, from the oval office, to news rooms, all over the world, people have been campaigning to have the aljazeera journalists in egypt set free, and today that

finally happened. two of them, we know have been pardoned. and one of them, we're working on clarifying. but on that occasion, it's a mix of emotions for aljazeera today. >> it has been a long time coming, but they have been freed at last. >> it's over, and we can live like normal people and go back home. >> a pardonsen by sisi, marks the end of it. the aljazeera media network says, we're delighted for them both and their families, but it's hard to celebrate since this whole episode should not have happened in the first place. according to human rights watch, egypt charged or

sentenced at least 41,000 people between july 14th, and it shocked the world. the report from the committee to protect journalists in june, egypt has the highest number of journalists behind bars since the group started keeping records. they sentenced them to 7-10 years in prison, and then last january, the court threw out their convictions and ordered them a retrial. in february, after a year in jail, they ordered peter to go to australia. and then the others were still serving a kind of sentence. their plight inspired a global campaign of support, from grassroot to heads of government. >> the aljazeera journalists in egypt, we have been clear both publicly and privately

that they should be released. >> they returned them to prison, and the retrial was supposed to give them a second opportunity to clear their names. instead, justice was denied. the arrest and detention of them damaged egypt's reputation abroad. the president's pardon -- >> it may not be a coincidence that they were pardoned before sisi's talk before the general assembly. but it's a major start of the muslim holiday, and that alone could slow his progress down. there were other aljazeera staff convicted in the original trial. one of those, former correspondent, sue, has yet to be pardoned. >> we last name stop the campaign until we're all cleared, at least of this

conviction in the eyes of the law. we need to be able to fly in and out of countries that have extradition treaties with egypt without the fear that we may be arrested and put on a plane and sent back to egypt. >> in a statement, the country said they may not be put behind bars, but their families and careers have been affected immeasurably. we ask egypt to quash their cases and let them too get on with their lives. for now, everyone at aljazeera is happy to see the closer of one chapter at least in this long-running sag a [ cheers ] >> to update, mohammed is in egypt. and peter guester is on the way to the states. and fahmy, he is suing the

network for negligence, but that's for another day: we're happy that they're free. >> thank you, and up next on aljazeera america, doing business with china. what that country's president had to say to american business leaders. ♪ and the happy birthday copyright. why the song is no longer protected

>> one that included a $38 billion deal from best thing for 3800 aircraft. and president xi jinping sat

down with business leaders. allen schauffler is joining us from seattle. and good evening to you. >> good evening, and interesting developments here. and really, the first big business deal to be announced in conjunction with the chinese lead or the west coast. he started out this morning, addressing a roundtable of very prominent american and chinese tech leaders, and then he jumped into his enormous motorcade that seemed to stretch for miles, and made a 20-mile trip from seattle to everett to a boeing manufacturing plant. and as he was on the way there, the information broke via the chinese news agency and was confirmed by boeing officials about this enormous deal. 300 airplanes that chinese companies will buy, and it's going to add up to tens of billions of dollars.

>> china is quickly becoming the largest aviation market in the world. and our partnership together is creating jobs both in china and in the u.s. >> reporter: the chinese market is going to be a tremendous opportunity for international suppliers and manufacturers going forward. and all of this will create enormous business opportunities for american corporations, including boeing, and create greater space for an even higher level of cooperation between china and boeing. new. and it was not just a deal for airplanes to be sold from boeing to china. the company is committed to building it's first finishing plant outside of the u.s., somewhere in china. that's a plant for interiors will be assembled and paint jobs finished. and planes tested before the final delivery. that has not sat well with the boeing machinist union, and

there were small protests at different manufacturing plants today. a spokesman telling me this afternoon that it seems that every time a big deal like this is announced, it's our jobs, machinist jobs, the trading chip on the table and they have very grave concerns about anything that would move jobs from here out of washington state and overseas. boeing executives saying no, this is good for business overall in the long run, and it will not be a net loss for jobs in the pacific northwest. erika. >> all right. allen, cyber security. it has been a big concern for companies doing business in china, and how did president xi jinping address this? >> yeah, a huge concern for american businesses working there, and any foreign businesses, trying to run their companies in that business. former u.s. ambassador to china, gary lott, told us days ago that this is something that china has to crack down o. and

the real telling point is that eventually, the chinese companies, they grow and get into the market, are going to want to be protected too. and president xi has made it a priority this morning for the emphasis to protect international property rights. >> we will continue to build a law-based business environment and will stand to protect ipr. the null established ipr courts in china are running smoothly, and this means that there will be much stronger protection, to assert the businesses, as well as chinese companies, and this is good news. >> president xi also toured the microsoft campus this afternoon, and he will visit a tacoma high school tomorrow night before getting on a plane and heading t to the other washington to meet with he president obama in his first

state visit. >> playing golf, the complexities of a rich man's game in a communist country. well, a popular song has earned millions of dollars in the last 80 years for companies that claimed ownership of the tune. ♪ happy birthday to you >> yes, you know that song, and a federal judge has ruled that no company has rights to happy birthday. after warner brothers charged $5,000 for using it in a documentary, she has forced them warner to give back the money that it made off of the song, estimated to be $50 million. and joining us now, that filmmaker, jennifer nelson. it has gone on for years, and joining us, her attorney, and thank you for joining us tonight. first, your reaction to the ruling.

>> it's amazing. i'm thrilled, and i'm excited. and you know, it's very gratifying to know that the song can be used by anybody around the world, however they choose. it has been a long road. and the victory feels very sweet. >> talk about the documentary, as you were researching the song, happy birthday, you came across research that perhaps the copyright was invalid, correct. >> yes, correct. every documentary has a starting point, and you don't know where it's going to end up on the journey, so it has been a true it documentary experience, but the evidence that you're talking about, the professor's legal journal, which was an eight-pagle document challenging the copyright under the song. so when i found that information, it sort of struck me that it's odd that you had to pay for the song, and it was

owned by somebody in the first place, and then the fact that there was this sort of convincing article saying that they might not own the song? it was an incredible discovery, and i took it to my lawyers, and we felt we had a valid enough argument to file a lawsuit. >> against one of the biggest companies in the world. and what made you think that you could take them on? >> actually, my lawyers. it's pretty daunting to think that you're going to fight this joint battle. and warner had never been sued before. and i had never been in a lawsuit before. and i didn't know what i was getting in for. but i felt very certain and confident that we had enough factual evidence to prove that they did not own the copyright. and i wouldn't have embarked on this journey if i didn't feel that confident.

>> let's bring in your lawyer, mark, and legally, it's likely that they are going to appeal here, but really, what is the next step? >> well, the next sep in the case is for us to ask, how many people are entitled to get back money, having been paid on a bogus copyright claim? and we have to go back to 1988 when warner claimed to previously own the song, and there's a possibility that warner could ask the court to appeal the decision to the 9th circuit. we would oppose that. >> so let's talk about those royalties that people paid. apparently, warner has been raking in some it million $2 min this song, and you certainly want your money back, but you

want to see the rest of the people paid back as well. >> absolutely. i think first and foremost. it's the principle, the idea that they unlawfully charged when they didn't lawfulfully own the copyright. and that's part one, and participate two is a lot of people were duped into thinking that they had to pay for the song when they didn't. and that's unfair, and we hope to get renewal rac renewal racee who paid for it. you've been going through legal wranglings here, and is it done? when can we see it? a lot of it is new twists and turns, so we hope to -- i don't

have an exact release day. but hopefully sometime in the new year. and it will be online, and it will be a short film online, and it easy for people to find and to see and share. and the world has in such a way, that we want them to understand the history. and why and how this song is so important to us, and the battle that we have fought. and this nice, victorious ending that we now have. so stay tuned for that. >> we will stay tuned. filmmaker, jennifer nelson and her attorney, mark. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, erika. >> still ahead, seeking safety in the church. a look at america's sanctuary laws, and how they fit in the immigration battle. and whistle blowers, the group that uncovered the volkswagen emissions scandal.

>> and you're looking live outside of the vatican mission in washington d.c., where you can see quite a large crowd gathered there, where pope francis will wrap up a very busy day in the nation's capital. this morning, pope francis kicked off the first full day of his historic trip in the u.s.. the catholic leader was welcomed to the white house by president obama and first lady, michelle obama, and the family and the pope had a ceremony on the white house lawn before meg in the oval office, and he was greeted by thousands as he rode through washington d.c. pope francis preside over the first continue onization on u.s. soil. and he canonized junipero serra to sainthood. he was an evangelist who set out to spread christianity on

the indigenous people in california 300 years ago. >> we declare junipero serra to be a saint. and he too be ven ritted by the whole church n. the name of the father and of the son and the holy spirit. >> but serra's canonization is a hot button topic for many native american groups. they say that his mission forced thousands of native indians to abandon enter culture and thousands more died from it disease. from carmel, california, where father junipero serra is buried, so many native americans are saying he's nothing to be celebrated. >> depending on who you ask, but most native americans do not appear to be particularly happy. and here in front of mission

carmel, a small group of them gathered in private prayer and vigil. saying that junipero serra was not a saint, but a sinner. the mission that's he established on the california coast of caused a lot of pain and suffering to the indigenous people here. as you mentioned, the cultures, but the diminishing populations, and in many ways, until today. they don't have federal status, and mott of them don't have federal status as a tribe, and that's something that a lot of them are working on. part of it has to do with the way that the mission was run historically and the immediate area around want mission. so a lot of people are not entirely onboard with the decision from pope francis. erika? >> and has the catholic church ever advanced the concerns about the native americans and

serra? >> try. the church has, and this past summer, when he was in bolivia, in front of an audience of indigenous people, he did apologize on behalf of the church for the sins committed in the new world. and the catholic church has also brought scholars out to the vatican to have discussions, and they have looked at father junipero serra, and to some extent, the two sides are speaking past each other. the native groups are looking at serra as a historic figure, and from the church's perspective, a larger perspective, and the church, somebody who spread the gospel in a time and a place very far away, and father junipero serra

loved europe and went all the way to california, and it's something that the catholic church is very much focused on. >> we're looking at pictures from washington d.c. where pope francis has just arrived at the vatican mission, and he's greeting it looks like hundreds of people there, as he's getting ready to turn in for the night. and he had a very busy day in the nation's capital. he still has quite a bit of energy as he's waving and greeting people, and shaking their hands, and smiling, but he must be very tired. >> melissa, can you talk more about the native americans who could be potentially supporting serra and his canonization today? >> >> good morning, erica, in our sort of reporting over the last several noz on this issue, we met with a lot of people, and one of them was a native

american named andrew galvin, and he's a descendent of ones of those that we talked about. and a curator of one of the missions. he participated in the convocation ceremony this afternoon in washington d.c., and he was the one holding the rosery, and right after, you may recall, in our coverage of course, the people saw the reading. one the readings from the bible was actually in the native language, and that was done by a gentlemen by the name of vincent medina, someone else that we have talked to. now vincent medina, when we met him, was very opposed to sainthood. and i think that it's interesting that he received an invitation to participate. and i think that's a bit of an olive branch from the catholic church to a native american, and saying, yes, they understand that people can be upset and understand a different point of view, and

they do not deny that pain and suffering exist this in the 17th century. and one with the historic impact, and the other ideological. >> melissa chang, from california, and we just saw pope francis for the vatican mission as he turns in for the neat. and really, he has another full day in washington tomorrow. he will make the first ever address by a pope to a joint meeting of congress, and at 11:15, he will tour a soup kitchen in the dc area, and then he will farther andrews to head to new york city. immigration reform is a key point on the pope's visit. many in the united states have embraced the pope's message of welcoming refugees. joey cheek met with a young woman from honduras who sought help after arriving in the u.s.

>> reporter: just 16 years old with a child opt way, she was picked up at the u.s.-mexico border, sent to live with relatives while the officials processed her deportation. she was too afraid of gang violence and crime to return home. so she stayed in north philadelphia. the be constant threat of deportation hanging over her head. >> you were worried that they would try to send you home. >> yeah, [ speaking spanish ] >> scary. [ speaking spanish ] >> with immigration agents closing in, nevaro joined a

growing number of migrants. >> [ speaking spanish ] today, 40 congregations across 15 states offer shelter, taking advantage of the federal immigration policy that prevents raids of sensitive locations, like schools and churches. nevaro's parish wouldn't take her in. but a local catholic priest did find them safe haven in the storage area of this north philadelphia church. immigration activists, a kindred spirit in st. francis, who has taken in immigrants fleeing their home countries, and he has a message to capitol hill. earlier this year, nevaro and her supporters declared victory when immigration officials be granted a two-year reprieve on

her deportation. for the first time in nearly two months, she was able to leave the church. today, nevaro remains front and center in the debate, calling out trump for his aggressive comments about immigrants, even as she ecose pope francis' calls for forgiveness. [ speaking spanish ] >joie chen's aljazeera. >> two officers in the pasco county, washington police department are returning to duty. this follows an investigation

into the deadly shooting of a local farm worker last winter. witnesses say that the victim was behaving aggressively, and that the officers avoided the use of force for as long as possible during the incident. in arizona, prosecutors have formally charged the suspect in several recent highway shootings. 20-year-old leslie is accused of firing at 11 vehicles on a highway in phoenix. he's charged with several felonies, including aggravated assault and acts of terrorism. he told the authorities, they have the wrong guy, and his gun was in a pawnshop at the time of the shooting. we told you that the man running volkswagen is out of a job. the ceo reassigned in the wake of the scandal. and what's in store for the world's to selling auto member. >> the treo of volkswagen board members made the announce many. the chief executive, martin

vintercorn was out. >> part of this when vinter where corn stepped down and the board acknowledges that with great respect. he said that he takes responsibility and volkswagen needs a fresh start. an internal investigation into how software testing results found it's way into 11 million vehicles. >> we will make sure that those concerned will be prosecuted. >> germans, including those who live in volkswagen's held quarter city, are disturbed by the scandal that soiled their country's reputation for

quality products. >> it's scheming imaginations, it's criminal dealing if you ask me. it's like a mafia. >> it just can't be true, that such a global firm ruins their minimal like this. >> i am disgusted. just imagine, this sort of manipulation happening at the very top. >> in the u.s., a chicago attorney is taking legal action on behalf of volkswagen owners. >> the allegation will be that the consumer has been harmed for the full purchase price, plus the sequential damages associated with that. whether it's value, the entire purchase price. it's just massive. >> german prosecutors plan a criminal investigation, and in the u.s., also vw could face

charges of wire fraud and lying. stiff punishments. >> there ought to be prosecutions, and corporate executives that knew this and have done it ought to be going to jail. >> volkswagen has already paid a heavy price for the scandal, with its stock falling sharply, and potentially billions of dollars worth of fines looming over it. but the biggest cost to the company cannot be measured in dollars or euros. that is the loss of its reputation. rob reynolds, germany. >> daniell daniel carter joins m the center for alternative fuel engines and emissions, and he conducted the study exposing the study.

and today, the ceo announced that he's stepping down, and what do you think about that? >> it's a big surprise to me. i can understand the turmoil, and we're shocked and dismayed. >> there's an interesting back-story to how your group discovered this deception. you were hired by a non-profit, explain this. >> the joint research center of the european union cracked the international council in clean transportation to issue an rfp proposal and we generated a propose ral and submit today to them to test emissions on these light duty diesels, and we were awarded the subcontract. >> so were you particularly surprised by any of your own finds? >> yes, we have been at this game for quite awhile, and upward of 25 years, and we have done a lot of work on the heavy

engine market. and there were similar controls. we expected a very good performance, and we were very surprised when we saw the numbers we did. and it kind of made us second guess ourselves, and we double checked and triple checked and verified that our numbers were correct. >> is it. >> is it possible that this goes behind the diesel cars and goes to goss powered cars? >> i can't say how this moves on, what i considered would be technologies not being active. and those are not the same technologies used in the gasoline counterparts. so i have no reason to believe that. >> so tell me how vw reacted when you released the results of the study. >> they contacted us and asked us about the data and how it was collected. and obviously inquiring about

the results, and subsequently later, they contacted us and asked if we could provide information providing the roots. and we fully complied with that, providing that information too. >> you have referred to this as a scheme in the past. and so do you think that volkswagen deliberately misled regulators. >> i can't comment as to if they deliberately did. but the vehicles acted much differently when they were tested affording to practices. >> but you did call it a scheme though. >> scheme, i think that would be, the scheme i was referring to was the scheme which they were using to control fueling. we often refer to those algorithms and controls as schemes. >> so for customers who have these particular volkswagen vehicles, how does this affect their overall performance? will it essentially cost them money in the long run? >> i can't really say if it

would cost them money. i can say that if the systems aren't active, particularly that results in improvement in fuel economy, but we don't know how the control strategy looked. sometimes it's a phase in fueling and overall amount increased or decreased. >> all right, thank you so much. up next on aljazeera america, china's wealthy, why they have to make a trip to the u.s. to hit the links. and did he really say all of the things that he said? remembering the life of the baseball legend, yogi berra.

>> nearly 2 million muslims from around the world have gathered where the prophet mohamed is believed to have given his final sermon. the faithful assembled around the foot of mount arafat in saudi arabia today. 14-year-old amateur scientist, akmad mohamed, is visiting the newness today. the teenager was detained last week after showing his teachers a homemade clock, but the teachers had feared that ahmed

had brought in a bomb. it came a day after his trip to google in california pitch. >> as we mentioned. china's president is wrapping up day two of his visit to the united states, and he assured ceos and politicians that china was addressing their concerns about the cost of doing business in china, he stressed confidence in the chinese economy and hue they will teal with the theft of intellectual property. one thing on the list, golf. nearly 600 golf courses were built in china in the last ten years, many illegally. this spring, the government shut dozens of them down. and we explain from myrtle beach, south carolina. >> deceptively such, and complicated.

nowhere is arnold palmer's observation more fitting than in china. golf booms along with wealth in china, in the amount i corruption drive. >> shut dozens of illegal courses, and left most middle class enthusiasts with nowhere to swing a club. >> china may close almost 100 golf courses. >> that's where entrepreneurs, nick and dan are hoping to generate green. by enticing chinese golfers to the saturated coastline of myrtle beach, south carolina. >> if we need to be seaside, there's always los angeles and myrtle beach, and we chose myrtle beach. >> which turns out to be a bargain. the group snapped up 22 golf

courses for $100 million in cash. >> we built too many golf courses in the 80s and 90s, and the apply and demand got out of sync. >> he heads the myrtle beach chamber of commerce. >> one of the things to go was the golf package. >> so when nick and dan flew into town, you must have been like ca-ching! >> the opportunity to bring chinese golfers to the u.s. could be a huge shot in the arm to our golf industry that desperately needs more travelers. >> it's not only a passion, but they bring big wallets, and in fact, the chamber of commerce in myrtle beach estimates that chinese spend up to 5 times morn their north american counterparts. money that moves the links into local businesses, and the founder's group hopes to capture more of by selling

cation homes they're building for chinese golfers. a win-win in myrtle beach if it all comes together. but they tell us that they haven't won everyone over yet. >> i know it's the culture. the people are very historic, right? so outside people come with a lot of money, and there will be changes. they're a little bit nervous. >> a mission that he's taking so seriously, he moved his family to myrtle beach. >> husband and wife. >> and threw his wedding there. >> local businessmen, politicians. >> we have almost 200 people. >> how many were from china? >> 60. >> a plan that attracted 20 chinese golfers to myrtle beach in september. >> we heard myrtle beach has world class golf courses, and many golf courses.

in china, we just started getting interested in golf. >> but getting chinese golfers to flock to myrtle beach in steady droves could prove challenging, because there are no direct flights from china. but with no debt hanging over their golf courses, they can sit back and wait to turn a profit. and work on their game. >> do you play golf. >> a littl a little. i'm a beginner. >> aljazeera, myrtle beach, south carolina. >> now, for a look at what's coming up at the top of the hour, john seigenthaler is here. >> at 8:00, we're going to continue our coverage of pope francis and his trip. and we already know what he's challenging to the conservative catholic, and that includes american politicians. we'll find out how republican contact licks are feeling, and pope francis, raising concerns about the economic system and

inequality. how he practices what he preaches. we'll have a lot more coming up in 4 minutes. >> see you then, john. thank you. one of baseball's greatest players, and one of the most memorable characters has passed away. yankee legend, yogi berra died today. he played 18 years with the broncs bombers, and berra is also baseball's all-time leader in world series games, but he may be best remembered for his famous quotes, it ain't over until it's over, and i can't hit and think at the same time. we'll leave you with the picture of the empire state in new york lit up in pinstripes to honor the yankee icon. i'm erica pitzi, and the news continues next with john seigenthaler. have a good night.

>> hi everyone, this is al jazeera america, i'm john siegenthaler. francis fever. thousands turns out in washington, d.c. the pope stresses a more inclusive church and jumps into controversy. devil's advocate. >> we talk about sarah in the sh