wyland. he was found dead last night while on tour for his new band. he was 48 years old, police say today that they found a small amount of cocaine on his tour bus. they sold more than 10 million albums and won a grammy ward in 1994. that is all the time we have for this news hour. jonathan betz is back with today's news right now. we do begin tonight with the mass shooting in san bernardino. and for the first time the police are saying they are investigating the situation as an act of terrorism. allen schauffler, what have you learned today? >> jonathan, this is a massive act by state and local authorities, as of this afternoon it is very clear who's in charge and what they're looking for. 48 hours after the mass murder

in san bernardino, the fbi formally takes over the case. leaving no doubt about what direction the investigation is headed. >> as of today, based on the information and the facts as we know them we are now investigating these horrific acts as an act of terrorism. >> reporter: the agency's assistant director for los angeles says that was done, but offers little details other than what's already known. the dozen or so home made bombs and extensive bomb-making materials discovered in their garage. two damaged cell phones have been found in a nearby trash can and are being examined to determined if digital material can be retrieved. investigators say that could be key evidence in nailing down a motive and could find out whether syed farook and tashfeen

malik were members of diverse terrorist groups. >> we are here with the nation together. it's not us versus you. we are also affected here in town. this is my home town. i was born here in san bernardino. this is my city. i have been here all my life so i take this personally. >> attorneys for the family of syed freuk held a press conference. >> they are totally shocked. there was never any evidence that either of the two alleged shooters were aggressive, had extremist views, they were totally shocked that this could takes place. >> the associated press was reporting that a facebook posting ostensibly from tashfeen

malik, was posted wednesday morning about the time the killing started. assistant director boache boash. >> maybe they did maybe they didn't, maybe it helps them to attach themselves to an act like this. >> fbi and current law enforcement said they had no current incremental evidence of any looming terrorist threftsz locally or across the u.s. >> law enforcement officials now identified the person who purchased the two guns in question and used by the suspects. an atf spokesman has identified the person hasn't released an identity and nobody has been detained in the case of those two guns. jonathan. >> a lot of moving parts. you mentioned the suspects might

have destroyed computer files and cell phones. do you know how important those matters are to investigators now. >> reporter: well, assistant director bowdich said it could be very important, to see anybody outside of these two people who could have had part of this. how they could have assembled an arsenal, assemble bombs, if they did it entirely by themselves, clearly any digital media might have proved that. if there was no contact with any others on that subject, it might have proved otherwise, if they contacted others in this country or overseas. and the fbi is saying that they're working with agencies overseas to try to determine if there's been some, any international communication. >> okay that is the big question tonight. thank you, allen schauffler, live for us in california.

fbi director james comey said. >> so far we have no indication that these killers are part of an organized larger group or form part of a cell. there's no indication that they are part of a network. again i quickly add it is early. we are still working very hard to understand but i wanted you to know so far we don't see such indications. >> and let's bring in james wedick, former agency who spent 34 years with the bureau. james, you heard from the fbi director there, no connections at least yet to an organized network. what are they looking for to finally make that connection? >> well, from an experienced investigator's point of view, i can tell you that they were to calm and collect to return fire, to not have received some kind of training, some kind of

mentorship, which i think probably occurred overseas. and so they'll be looking for any connection like that. we know that she did make a posting on facebook, according to a representative from that organization. pledging allegiance to the i.s.i.s. leader. and there was some indication, regional director bowdich said about some contact between other suspects that were either in the states or a broad . so they will be looking to get that information and establish those contacts using to include there's the smashed phones. we all thought long ago that digital devices were very -- not only complex but fragile, only to discover they hang onto their signature long after something happens. and so i think the forensics will prove that there are some contacts that will be

interesting. >> so james about the concern that they might have been trained overseas. what is it exactly that makes you think that they did get training overseas? is this not information they could have learned online. >> that -- the way they acted, isn't something you could just learn online and read in a book. it looks to me that she was pretty cool and calm and collect to return fire, noting that we had in excess, almost 100 rounds exchanged. they had 4,000 rounds found in their possession, when they were apprehended. and of course there was another 2,000 rounds back home. plus, let's not forget, they had -- they discovered 12 pipe bombs. and so there's also some information that suggests that the -- putting those pipe bombs together may be a signature of sorts. >> james, considering the fact they had such a large arsenal, they got their hands on bombs,

traveled overseas, were able to build bombs, how could they fly under the radar of the fbi? >> that's what the investigation is going to be about. it begs the question that amassing that kind of material, buying the ammunition, that maybe they did have some support. and so it's that kind of information they'll be looking for. >> and does that worry you that the fbi did not know about these two people? >> oh sure, absolutely. this is unprecedented. what we've seen here today is, who individuals that were able to fly under our radar and collect intelligence and looked like to be planning a mission. usually you only see that from an organized government like may i suggest russia or china where their intelligence agencies operate over here as do ours over there. and we don't see this from a --

an unorganized government. and so this clearly has shattered our thoughts about the size and what thei.s.i.s. and we able to can in the unit united states. >> james wedick, stand by. the landlord gave access to the residents' town home in california. melissa chan. >> i couldn't quite understand it, we came here, i had thought that perhaps investigators were giving guided tours or something. jonathan this is essentially what happened. a free for all at the home of syed farook and tash mee tashfe.

>> we have barre have barely sew enforcement officers. the front door is wide open. anyone can walk in or out. inside, a ransacked apartment. so little information about the mystery shooters, reporters packed into the tiny home. was there anything here that could explain what could possibly motive a couple to leave behind their six month old child? >> we're going to go into the room over here. okay we're coming over here to what may have been the main bedroom. and kind of overwhelming here. >> some news outlets broadcast their exploration of the apartment live. >> and spread out on the -- spread out appears to be credit cards and i.d.s. >> all the while, landlord doyle miller stood outside in the middle of a media scrum.

he also said he didn't know who really called him. >> they said release the property. >> did they say you could let people inside? >> yes. >> the fbi confirmed it had wrapped up investigation of the shooters' apartment. >> once we turn that residence, or once we board it in, anyone who goes in after that point, that's got nothing to do with us. >> although miller may not have had the right to let anyone else in. >> the landlord doesn't allow anyone to enter the property of the renters, we've escorted the people out and resecured the property. >> eventually someone arrived to board the front door up. the tour was over and shortly after a police officer showed up about.

>> mr. miller i'm with the police department, could i see you for a moment, i need to talk to you. >> to whisk the plald out of thf the limelight. msnbc actually issued an apologies thiapology. it did go on to explain in that statement though that the landlord had let journalists into that apartment, jonathan. >> interesting development today, melissa chan thank you. let's get back to retired fbi agent james wedick. do you think it was appropriate for the media to go through that apartment? >> let me just say that, the agencies were provided access to the apartment because they had a court order permitting them process. and permitting them to achieve

materials that were pertinent to the investigation. they had to clearly explain to the judge what they were looking for and if it was mentioned and contained in that affidavit they would be able to secure it and leave a receipt. it's private property. it can't be left there for any length of period of time other than to complete their business. they've indicated they completed their business they were able to copy document photograph and seize whatever they needed. >> how can they be so sure they're done with their business and done with that apartment? we're only acouple of days away from the shooting. >> no, that's understood. if there is some criticism, it might have been that they could have gone back and gotten another warrant, asking the judge to give them permission to stay longer. that would have been another affidavit and another warrant that could have easily been obtained if -- and they would have been allowed to do that had

the judge authorized it. but it was another process. of course, we don't know that to be true. it is private property. the occupants of that property do have rights themselves. and in fact if the agents had stayed any longer than normal -- >> right. >> -- their lawyers could actually go into court and demand that the property be returned immediately. >> again james we're not talking about a month after the shooting. we're not talking about a week. we're only talking two to three days. do you feel like someone here dropped the ball or do you sincerely believe the fbi is completely done with that apartment? >> no, i think it would have been more prudent had they gone back and gotten another warrant. and asked the judge for permission to hold onto the property for a little bit longer. now, remember, someone's paying a mortgage on that property and so even if this the agents had

done that there could have been an attorney come in the next day and argue look your honor this is causing us monetary damage and we need to have access back at that property. the agents can photograph, take copies or even seize things that they want but they don't have a right to stay there forever. so that's the argument. >> and the fbi made it very clear they seem to be done with that apartment, no other relevant evidence inside. james wednesdayick retired fbi agent thanks so much for your time tonight. >> sure, thank you. >> coming up. double life. the secrets kept by syed farook. we talked to a man who thought he knew him. motive and meaning, the difference between radicalized and self radicalized. words and pictures, the lives lost in san bernardino.

>> the fishburne says it is now investigating that attack in california as quote, an act of terrorism. the media arm of i.s.i.l. says the two people were supporters of that group. jamie mcintire is here. jamie. >> reporter: jonathan, the fbi director spoke briefly about this. he made a couple of points, one is that this is very early in the investigation, the second is that the investigation has so far turned up what he called indications that the two shooters may have been radicalized or inspired by what he called foreign terrorist

groups. and the third point he made is that it appears at this point that they operated independently. that is, they weren't part of a larger organization. >> our investigation to date and again it's only two days old, so far we have no indication that these killers are part of an organized larger group or form part of a cell. there's no indication that they are part of a network. again, i quickly add, it is early. we're still work very hard to understand but i wanted you to know that so far we don't see such indications. >> reporter: director comey also cautioned people not to read too much into the reports that one of the shooters may have had contact with people that were under fbi investigation. he said that was never anything that raised -- that rose to the point of putting them on the radar. and he asked people to channel their concern about this into an

increased awareness of their surroundings. this still remains a pretty baffling case and director comey says it's even puzzling to someone like him who has been in this business a long time. jonathan. >> including whether this couple may have had support and help from other people, does the fbi seem any closer on focusing on whether there are any other suspects here? >> well, at this point they have no other suspects and there are no indications of any other suspects. but as the fbi said it is very early on in the investigation. the main thing they're trying to do is trace the digital foot footprints or firpts. at this point, there are no indications that they were supported directly by anyone else. >> jamie mcintire, at the pentagon, thank you. working in the office of the

special representative to muslim communities, joins us from los angeles tonight. good to see you. i'm curious, to learn more about the reach of these social media accounts from these different networks and groups overseas. especially since i think the impression a lot of people have that a lot of these twitter accounts, facebook accounts that are supporting i.s.i.l. are quickly discovered and quickly shut down. is that not case? >> well, it is the case but it is an extremely organic process. people seem to have the misconception that it's a very organized thing but it is very organic, it happens naturally with the different groups of people that fall into different categories of fan boys or people wanting to radicalize folks. it is really whack a mole going on when you're trying to get these groups shut down. >> what is the difference between radicalized and self radicalized when investigators are trying to identify suspects?

>> it is the process of radicalization is a personal process that takes place. and we have to i think take a few steps back and realize that there is a broader cultural problem that's happening. social media has resulted in information overload with a lot of people. and this goes as well for colorado springs shooter as it does in this case. is that people are overloaded with stimuli, they process it in a certain way and they feel thiy can stay advantage of and this is what happens. i.s.i.s. happens organically and they want to position themselves as the kind of spiritual head of it all. >> we have been clear that i.s.i.l. is also aggressively targeting in their social media campaigns women. is it possible that perhaps it is the wife here that might have been leading these attacks instead of the husband? >> it could very well be. we tend to think of radicalization and violent extremism as a male problem but there is a role for women to play in this, in the world view

that is constructed by these folks. women are seen as a support network or even can be empowered by being a driver of it. and some women actually take to that. so we can't rule that out as a factor in this case. >> and house important is it for authorities to figure out -- and how important is it to figure whether this was part of a network or group? especially since i feel like in this day and age the face of terror is changing. you don't have to go overseas to learn how to inflict harm or buy weapons or build bombs. >> obviously law enforcement is going to want to see if there is a network and pursue anyone connected to this. but we a society need to take a step back. radicalization is a larger social issue that affects disparate groups of people. until we look at those drivers that make different risk groups susceptible, we're not going to solve this problem. if you treat this as a criminal

enterprise you might be missing some of the deeper psychological things happening. >> what are the deeper psychological issues that make this so much more complicated? >> as we have seen in this case there are a very few kind of warning signs that people could feel. if you look at all the cases of violent extremist activity, you'll see a couple of things in common. you'll see people starting to disconnect from their communities. you can see people that are kind of falling through the cracks. we need to educate communities more and i mean communities i mean all americans to try to identify people in their circles that may be just distancing themselves. i think it's good socially, it's good to bind communities together but it also may be the key that keeps somebody from truly going off the edge and feeling like their only use in this world is to make -- yes? >> but this bucks the trend. this is not an individual. this is a married couple that by all accounts seem like a typical

suburban company with a young child at home. do you think it's difficult to track these people when they're working as a team? >> i still think we need to treat it as -- i look at them as a unit that is self radicalized if that is indeed the case. i think we still need to lye look at these social issues that lead people to kind of fall through cracks and try to bring them back somehow and empower communities so that they can make every community member feel valued and give them avenues if they're upset to deal with them in a very constructive manner. >> so many question marks about this couple. shahed amula, thank you so much for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> our coverage of the attack in san bernardino. the 14 men and women who lost their lives.

else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight.

>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz. john siegenthaler is off. interned. did i.s.i.l. inspire the attack? was it involved? the very latest on the investigation. home grown. inside the house where police say the suspects built bombs and amassed an arsenal. also, in memoriam.

lives lost in san bernardino. two days now after the rampage in san bernardino and authorities say the investigation is just beginning. but they are treating it as a possible act of terrorism. this comes as we're learning new details about the husband and wife who police say were behind that deadly attack. our allen schauffler is in san bernardino, california tonight. alan what evidence is leading the police too that conclusion? >> the fbi spokesman didn't lay all his cards on the table wand we didn't expect him to. he reminded everybody here, we are three days into a very long and complex investigation. he did however backtrack and just lay out for everyone what they found so far. >> we've uncovered evidence of explosive, multiple arm amounts, you knoarmaments,you know that,e device et cetera, we have also

uncovered evidence that they suspects they attempted to destroy their digital fingerprints. for example, we found two cell phonesn a nearby trash can. >> reporter: and whatever they may be able to retrieve from those cell phones could be very important. the fbi agents say those are paths they are going to follow and follow with a lot of diligence, looking for anything that could connect these two people who clearly planned this attack with anybody outside of their household, whether in this country or overseas. so they'll be looking very hard on any of that digital material that they can recover from those two phones or fromfully other communication device or computer that they have been able to link with those two suspects. jonathan. >> a lot of information alan. i saw the media being allowed into the town home of the suspects. suspects. how will that lend to the

investigation? >> everything in the investigation is going to go through federal hands, going to go through the fbi. the local jurisdictions that have been here and supporting the investigation, they have a lot of work on their hands. this is a city and an area with a very high crime rate and those folks will be able to take a breath and go back to protecting public safety. they may be helping in support roles if the fbi asks them to but for now, the fbi are the ones that are going to be leading the investigation, all information going out or coming in is goods to go through fbi. >> alan schauffler, in san bernardino, california, thank you. vectors are now looking to the people close to them. adam may spoke to the people closes to syed farook.

adam. >> he met farook about a year and a half ago, he said that farook was a very devout muslim. he came almost every day on his lunch hour when he was at work, and stop there to pray. i think what really stood out in my conversation with him, even though he knew this individual for a year and a half, even though they were side by side, shoulder to shoulder inside that mosque he didn't know a lot about farook. what he did say however he quit attending the mosque shortly after the paris attacks. >> i think he had an issue with his work. even though he never told us anything about it. but he had some issue with his work. he probably hated some people at his work. at the same time, he got some ideas, maybe through the internet, that justify killing nonmuslims which is not part of our religion. our religion is not 1% of it to kill any innocent person. >> reporter: do you suspect his wife had something to do

with it, with driving him down this path? >> we were wondering how was he able to convince his wife to do that? now, through media, this morning, we're starting to think that maybe it's the opposite, she's the one who convinced him. >> reporter: and his wife was sometimes sparted in th spottedg lot outside that mosque. there was a conversation inside that mosque a few weeks ago after the downing of that russian airliner and they had a conversation in the parking lot where members of the mosque were outraged by what had happened there by the actions by i.s.i.l. and during that conversation, we were told that farook simply stood there silent, and he really didn't have anything to add to the conversation. and now people are looking back at that conversation, wondering, was there something else on his mind. jonathan. >> adam may live for us, thank you. you can see more of adam's

reporting on "america tonight" at 9:30 eastern. azal ali knew syed farook. thank you for being with us tonight. >> hi, how are you good evening. >> i'm well, thank you. i'm curious to know what was your impression of farook, how close did you know him? >> honestly, i mean he was a person that i met on a good frequency and would i meet him two to three times a week. however unfortunately i wasn't able to build a friendship with him. why is it unfortunately, because had i known about this perhaps i could have prevented it, you know, perhaps i could have been one of the people that could have warned authorities of this type of action that would be about to occur. >> i know you face this question it's got to be something that you have thought about since but was there any kind of warning signs, any indications from farook that he was becoming

radicalized? >> no absolutely not. and i talked with my other brothers at the mosque and all of them we all agree with this, unfortunately we didn't see any signs. he was always a nice person, gentle person, kind heard person. very warm. he was silent in the beginning but after we broke the ice so to speak he became a little more open in terms of talking and things like that. but we never crossed the barrier barrier meaning you know becoming a friend and having that intimate relationship with him where he would discuss family issues or personal issues which he did not. >> considering this and i know you've had a couple of days to think about this where do you think this anger came from, then? >> honestly i don't know. this is a frustration that we don't understand this you know. i've known him for two years. i met him at the mosque two years back. and to me was the same individual throughout. i don't see a peek like as if you know he was one person and all of a sudden he was changing and there was a shift in his

emotions or something like that. i don't recall and none of my brothers at the mosque do we recall him changing his ploitions or changing any type of behavior or anything like that. >> does that include after he was married? you knew him before he was married and after. did you see a change in his personality when he came back from saudi arabia with his wife? >> no honestly to me it seemed the same, it didn't seem like nothing really changed except that he was married and now he had more time to devote to his wife. because it didn't affect us because the only time i saw him was you know monday through thursday, a few days of those week, on that 1:00 prayer then noon prayer and other than that i didn't really you know see him. >> what about his wife tashfeen malik how much contact did you see with her? >> i only sawr her twice. he told me nizam can you help me cook some things for the banquet. he had tasted some of my food,

he said do you mind me helping me out, dookin cooking for my w? i said no, not at all. we took some to his home mosque. we had attended that banquet and that's where i had seen his wife in the car. and again she used to wear what we call a nicab, not just the hijab. so i couldn't describe her to you. i can't describe the color of her skin, her body, was she fat, was she skinny i don't know. >> give us an idea how much this has impacted your mosque in california. >> absolutely. it's devastating, it's heartbreaking. we give our condolences to the victims, to the families and to those who are injured. today i learned, i prayed, the friday prayer at riverside mosque and i learned that one of the individuals from this community who worked behind me in the regional center was a

muslim lady from the riverside community who was shot three different places, her right arm her left arm and her abdomen and she was a muslim woman. it's devastating. our prayers are with the families, we ask god to enable us to go through this patiently and without any problems. we are afraid of backlash and stuff like that. we requested the police to be present in our mosque to try to defer any type of suspicious activity or type of activity that did come. we did have a death threat the night of the incident. a person leaving a message saying we're going to come get you. >> talk about the backlash. why did you feel concerned that you had to request officers to come there? what's been happening? >> nothing officially nothing happened, no graffiti, no tagging, no people came, i didn't see no one came to attack the people or say anything no verbal conflict or anything. but it's just a feeling based on

the timing of events the paris incident that happened shortly before and just the timing of it. to think that what if someone wanted to you know be ignorant because of ignorance, to attack the community which condemns this attack and all the muslims in the united states if not globe, altogether, this is not an act of islam, this is an aact that is unacceptable. >> so many people have so many questions about why they did this, they had a six month old daughter at home. the beginning of a new life new family. did farook talk about that girl? >> the only time he mentioned her, before she was born, she's pregnant i'm expecting a baby, oh congratulations, sit a boy or a girl, he had mentioned it was going to be a girl he was happy

at that time, it was at this time or when the baby was born he had mentioned i'm going to go and pursue my degree, master's degree. that alone says to me this is a man this is a person that's looking forward that's looking to do something with his life to progress in his life so to speak, something to benefit his daughter you know? that's the idea i got when he said master's degree i'm going to go back to school. >> what is the take away for you personally and the other people of the mosque, you guys were closer to him than a lot of other people were. what is it you want others to know? >> i mean what, i would want them to know, we are with them. i mean what i would say first of all is that i would not want my society my country my nation my community on a smaller scale my san bernardino community as maybe you know i was born here in san bernardino, this is my city, this is a place i grew up. i wouldn't want those neighbors i mean people who are watching this they could be my teachers

from kindergarten from preschool from elementary school from middle school they could be my classmates they could be friends i have now in college in university. i don't want them to think that i had something to do with this, or any muslim for that matter, in the entire community or america at that had anything to do with this, nor do we accept it, we condemn this, we are with the people, we mourn, this is a mourning for us all. it is not us versus them, we are americans, we are people living here. i mean look at me, i dress like this the way i do reason for that is because i believe that the way to fight the stereotype is to present the stereotype to show the stereotype and to snow the set of that, i am going to dress like this, this is not our native attire, you know? so the perception is that i'm going to show the world that you think that these dress like this they have these type of attire but i may look like them but we

don't have anything in common, they don't practice my religion i'm not a person like them, i'm not out to kill anyone, i'm a respectable person i'll try be as nice and kind as i can be to you and show you the true spirit of islam. >> thank you for coming to speak to us. >> god bless you. >> coming up at the top of the hour ali velshi. >> jonathan we're taking a look at radicalization. the very mention of the word civility is troubling to some people but whatever you call it the process isn't clearly understood by most americans. we'll look at the external forces that could have driven two people to commit an act of terror and take 14 lives. that is "on target" tonight at 9:00 eastern. jonathan. >> thank you ali. the victims of the san bernardino sheeting ranged from 26 to 60 years old. they gathered for a holiday

party on wednesday when the attackers stormed the building and took their lives. jennifer london has more. >> this is the start of the healing process, thousands coming together acknowledge a community finding strength in one another as they remember their loved ones. robert adams worked as an environmental health special with the county. he married his high school sweetheart. the community says they want adams to be remembered the way he lived not died. isaac was also married and had three grown children. his cousin matt said was, quote, a great human being. beneta bit badal was 18 years old, she settled in california, met her husband, later had three children. this a statement her family said it's the ultimate irony her life

was stolen from her from the same community she fled years ago. harry was a devoted catholic. his family said he enjoyed the outdoors and spent much of his time liking. on sierra clayborn's page, i hanging out with my friends and i love my life. juan espinosa was a father of two. juan was the youngest of 12 siblings and has been described as a devoted family man. aroya godoy, at 26 the youngest victim leaves behind a son. her husband said she was a devoted molg mother with an open heart, shannon johnson woke at dawn each day to make the long drive to work as a count health inspector. l.a.'s mayor described johnson as one of our own.

those who worked with him said he was great at his job. a self dried free spirit, larry kaufman fun loving guy who was always smiling about. >> the world will suffer as having one less man like him. >> damian mines, warm with a hearty laugh. he spent 28 years working for riverside county. before that he was a p.e. teacher. who loved playing santa. tim nugent, she and her long time boyfriend hoped to be matter in 2017. nicholas was committed to his jewish faith and wanted to serve the lord and bring people to the lord. >> he was a very good plan always there to help out. >> full of life and loved by

all. that's how yvette valascos described her. a mother and sister, she will be remembered for her intelligence and ambition. michael was the father of six children. amazing person who loved his job and family very much. life without him will never be the same. >> there are six kids that have lost their father. and renee is at stay at home mom so they've also lost all their financial support. >> jennifer london, al jazeera, los angeles. >> we'll be right back after this very short break.

>> a cafe where five people died during the attacks in paris has reopened. five weeks to the take of the assault the left 130 people dead. several other cafes in the city say they hope to reopen soon. paris has struggled economically in the wake of those killings. but there are more signs

that life is slowly returning to normal. that international climate summit is going on as planned. and a parallel summit of mayors from all over the world. to set more ambitious goals for climate change. half of the world's largest cities have already committed to cutting their emissions by at least 70% by the year 2050. since last year scientists looking into the effects of global warming have been conducting groundbreaking new research at puerto rico's national forest. they are heating up areas within the 29,000 acre rain forest to see what will lap. al jazeera's robert ray met with scientists there for a progress report. >> reporter: in the mountains of puerto rico, far from the busy streets of san juan, is a place that may be the key to unlocking answer he abous aboutw important rain forests are in the bald against climate change. this diverse ecosystem is the

only rain forest within the national forest system. tana wood is the lead scientists responsible for the one of a kind project in the el yunke forest. >> where are we going here? >> this is the entrance of the warming process. >> you are warming a tropical forest. >> we are warming seven degrees fahrenheit over 4° celsius. >> carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide. absorbing 30% of what humans emit each year. >> this is a slippery work environment to say the least. >> this is the first time anything like this has been done in a tropical system and it presents all new challenges. >> have to be incredibly careful

not to fall. >> fund he primarily by government agencies costing $2.5 million, construction began two years ago on this mountain plot full of mud and extreme humanity. >> wan humidity. >> did it happen in a coffee shop, in a forest, whatever? >> little bit. we had workshops so a group of scieists got together and we sat in a room and we talked about what the most important research questions were for trying to understand climate change in these systems. >> watch out for the spiderwebs pen this is not like lighting your house up with christmas lights. this is the real deal. >> yes. it has been a real learning experience for us. i mean i'm a forest ecologist and now i'm working with engineers and electrical engineers trying to figure out how to make this project run and to do it safely. >> reporter: in the past five years nearly 15 million acres of tropical forests around the world have been cleared.

without the tree canopies, the ground warms and less carbon dioxide is absorbed, a long term problem says dr. wood. >> we have six infrared heaters that are in a circular array and they will be angled down to keep the area 4° celsius warmer than our controls. >> reporter: the experimental warming will actually begin this coming march. meanwhile, making all the equipment work is the goal now. >> and with the electrical equipment too is certainly a challenge to keep it all working. >> reporter: it is remarkable. wood and her team have been collecting data during the testing of the equipment. >> what we're finding is that the temperatures in the canopy are already at the maximum, the optimal temperature for photo owessynthesis. it is possible that photo

synthesis could slow down with warming. >> to understand how important these ecosystems are to our planet. >> and so what's going to happen a hundred years in the future is the el junke that we know still going to be the way we know it? >> do you know? >> i think it is very resilient. >> with a lot of patience wood and her team will be dlecting thicollectingthis data under thy tropical rain forest. el junke national forest, puerto rico. >> airs climate sos, this weekend. there's been an unseen spike in the illegal importing and exporting of endangered animals. "techknow"'s phil torres got a look at what's being seized at

american ports every day. >> when we seize items that are in violation of wildlife laws they are kept as evidence until the case is adjudicated until we have ways of disposing of them. >> this room that seems more like a morgue, is a learning tool, behind every item is a tragic story. u.s. fish and wildlife supervisor mike osborn knows a great deal of them. the great deal of media attention is focused on rhino horns. >> i see see turtles, monkey skull ivory and then this thing. what the heck is this? >> this is one of the hottest things on the market today. >> this? >> this is an air bladder from a fish called the tatwaba. >> the totowaba is a sea bass.

can be found in only one place in the world, the middle of the sea of cortez. illegally harvested for its bladders. each bladder can sell for up to $15,000 on the black market. that promise of big profits from illegal wildlife sales motivates sellers of getting creative. >> i've had monkeys fly out of suitcases, birds fly out of toothpaste boxes. >> jeremy james is an example. >> jeremy james is an unusual smuggler. >> trying to sell endangered band hbanded iguanas. james had several of them. >> he actually stole from a wildlife preserve in fiji during his honeymoon.

he could build a secret compartment within his prosthetic leg. that's why he stored the iguanas. >> what is the strangest animal you've seen, it's man. man can do some pretty strange things with endangered specious tspeciesto make a lot of money. >> i'm phil torres. for "techknow." >> when we come back tonight, images of the week, shock and sadness in san bernardino.

>> as we leave you tonight we leave you with these images from san bernardino. as the grieving continues and memorials grow. and as you'll see these powerful photos speak to the suffering. >> hear our prayers from this place. heal our city, bring back our

peace and our joy. ♪ >> we're all hurting. it happened in our community, and it hurts us all. ♪ >> no one thinks that it's going to happen in their city. but here we are. ♪ ♪ >> the first reaction that i get it's like a punch in the stomach. teaching the much islam is basically peace. islam means peace. >> and we can all get mad and up in arms but really what would make the difference we believe is a place of prayer and being able to kind of fight in a spiritual place. >> one day that i met her she blew me from day 1 that i met

her, to the last day, when she went, she was just. >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight, the attack in san bernardino. what external forces could have driven two people to amass an armory of weapons and open fire on dozens of people? the grim story of the massacre in san bernardino, california now includes i.s.i.l. news reports say investigators believe the woman suspect, tashfeen malik, plenld