harder convince others in the value of what we believe. and if we can't do that, we'll have to shut or doors. i'm ray suarez. and that's the "inside story". >> this is aljazeera america, live from new york city, i'm tony harris. defending himself. the accused planned parenthood killer fires his attorneys in court. barred from flying, why the u.s. prevented a muslim family from catching a flight to los angeles. a woman dies after forcibly being removed from the er. and stranded sea lions, what's causing them to come up onshore?

so the man accused of shooting up a colorado planned parenthood was in court again today. the first time robert deere stood in front of a judge, he had 16, count 'um, 16 outburst, claiming that he was a warrior for unborn children. now he has fired his lawyer, and he said that he wants to represent himself. jim is in colorado springs with the littest on ththe latest on d what happened in court? >> reporter: just another crazy hearing and mr. deere wasting no time standing up and blurting out a couple of things. right off the bat, he said i want to invoke my constitutional rights to defend myself. and the judge said, mr. deere, you have to be careful. and anything that you say here in open court can be used

against you, and then he ordered everyone out of the courtroom so he could talk to the prosecutors and the defense team by himself, confidently. very much like you said two weeks ago with the outburst from deere. here are soundbites from two weeks ago. >> kill the truth, kill the babies, that's what planned parenthood does. >> reporter: the judge did allow everybody back in after the out burst today, and he told deere, you definitely have the right to defend yourself. but first i have to hold you responsible. and i have to order a mental evaluation to make sure that you're competent enough to defend yourself. and tony, it really was a bizarre scene today. >> and it's going to continue, so i want to get to the whole competency thing, jim. what does this mean for the legal proceedings at this point?

>> >> reporter: well, tony, basically it puts all of the legal proceedings on hold. by law, everything has to be shut down, and nothing can go forward until in fact this competency evaluation can be worked out and conducted on deere. here's dan, the district attorney here in el paso county. >> there are not many proceedings that you can hold in court unless the person understands what's going on. that's rue in any stage. whether it's at this stageora arraignment or a mere or a trial or sentencing, he's concerned that the person is competent and what's going on in court and they can aid in their proceedings. so any time the party has a concern about it. >> the judge says that he wants to have a status hearing on the evaluation in 60 days, so both sides will be back here in court. but this evaluation could take 60 days, 90 days, up to 6 months, and it will really slow

down this entire process. >> jim,le wait a minute, deere said that he won't taker part in any evaluation, and has he changed his mind on that? >> that's right, he said that two weeks ago at a hearing here, and he said it again today. he said i'm not going to answer any of your questions during the evaluations, and he said i will not take any drugs that will make me cooperate. i'm not going to be a zombie. those were his words, and you're not going to turn me into a zombie like that batman guy, and he made a zombie like motion with his body as he was sitting at the defense table. that was in reference to james holmes, the theater shooter, found guilty a short dime ago. >> jim, good to see you, thank you. a woman accused of intentionally plowing her car into pedestrians on the las vegas strip said that she's heartbroken over the incident.

44-year-old lachesa hallow way, accused of murder and hit-and-run and child abuse. her three-year-old daughter was in the car when she mowed down tourists, and she plans to plead not guilty. the crash killed a woman from arizona and injured 35 others. a british man said that the u.s. prevented his family from flying to disneyland without any explanation. and more with o'on this, tell us more, roxanne. >> reporter: tony, both men said that they had visa to travel to the u.s. when officials blocked them from boarding flight. and they're worried and cases like this are not isolated. gym owner, mohamed, said that he has never taken part in terrorist activities.

so he says that he felt humiliated at london's gatlin airport last tuesday, when anker official barred them from flying to los angeles, though they had u.s. travel visa. >> i asked why is this happening? and i don't want to say, because the only thing that comes to my mind is because i have a muslim name perhaps. >> the pakistani born british citizen said that his family members were devastated they couldn't go on to disne disneyl. >> i was planning it for two months, and the kids were excited. >> a former candidate for britain's parliament said that he had a similar experience two days later at heathrower airport. he said that the u.s. officials stopped him from boarding a flight to new york and told him his business visa was revoked. >> i said that maybe you did

something wrong and you need to speak to the embassy. i was furious that he would make he accusations without any proof, and they could just arbitrarily revoke a visa. >> he said that 20 others have joined. after donald trump called for muslims to be barred from the u.s. >> it donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. >> reporter: on wednesday, he criticized trump on facebook. saying if the u.s. doesn't approve of its policies, it will not bar muslims from entering the u.s.

the spokesman tells aljazeera that they're not determining factors when determining if a person can travel to america. people can be denied entry for health issues, prior convictions, securitier concerns, and of violations. but he says that the u.s. is singling out muslims. >> people like me who stood and vociferously condemned terrorism. doing this to me is in itself a big insult. >> reporter: the u.s. embassy in london said that it's in contact with him. and david cameron said that he will look into the case of the mahmoud family. he denies that he post the violate material on his facebook page. >> russia is denying that it's airstrikes are targeting civilians. they accused moscow of targeting and killing at least

200 civilians in the last two months. the kremlin is calling the report fake information. aljazeera interviewed people on the ground who support the findings. >> reporter: the russian airstrikes have increased recently. they pretend that they're starting the terrorists, but most of the people killed are women and children. >> be russia said that they're targeting isil only and according to the amnesty report, there were no military targets in the areas hit by the airstrikes. the of effort to retake ramadi is in it's finally stables. -- may be out of the city by the end of the year. >> progress is slow, but it's progress nonetheless. iraqi security forces closed in

on fighters in the center of ramadi city. and the government is portraying it as a final push to recapture anbar province, and the spirits are high. >> even though it's very slow, and it's very welling organized and very well coordinated between the iraqi army and the airstrike from the international coalition. >> there are just a few hundred rebels left in remove adi. ramadi. the iraqi forces have been trying to reenter the city since early november, and they say that they weeded out fighters from two residential neighborhoods and are moving through booby trapped streets to the town center. they hope for victory within days. a lot of the forces have been

trained and ready to hold the ground after liberation of the city. this is going to be a great boost for the iraqi forces, and great advance and progress in the fight against isis. >> reporter: the shia-led government has cut off supplies to ramadi for months now, and attempted to choke isil fighters, but it has made it worse for residents. winning back the city is one thing, and winning the people will be a different matter altogether. aljazeera. >> remains of the six men and is women killed monday in a suicide attack in afghanistan are become in the u.s. their bodies arrived in an air base in delaware. and defense secretary ashe carter called it a dignified

transfer. the remains will be turned over to their families for burial. they had a special comrade ceremony, and that's where they had been based. boots and helmets, and the chaplain who led the service said that the best way to honor them would be to continue the mission this they sacrificed their lives for. rescuers in china said that they found a man who had been buried alive in a landslide. he had been trapped for days, and others are still missing. adrien brown has it. >> alive against all of odds. trapped for almost three days. a migrant worker, age 19, his voice and pulse were feeble when the rescuers finally reached him, raising their morale and that of other people. >> it's a miracle, a man was rescued alive. we were so happy when we heard about it. very happy.

>> reporter: he had been in the office of a factory when the mudslide happened on sunday morning, but a man found close to him was dead. doctors are hopeful that tien will recover, but his injuries are serious. >> mr. a tien is seriously dehydrated. he had a severe crush injury on his right lower limb. >> reporter: at the rescue site, the frantic efforts are indicating signs of life, but they're also finding more bodies. the operation is beginning to affect local businesses. >> we can't go out now, we can't trust in and out of the area. there's no guarantee for our lives. many workers have to eat. and there's no power supply now. >> reporter: the deluge of mud and construction waste

engulfed more than 30 buildings in an industrial zone. it happened after heavy rains dislodged the manmade pile that had been there several years, and now a senior official of the firm that managed the dump has been arrested. state media say that the local report had months ago warned of a catastrophe. a catastrophe that has now happened. adrien brown, aljazeera, beijing. >> up next on the program. refused care. details of the woman who died after she was arrested for refusing to leave a hospital when she was discharged. and a bit of relief for drought stricken california.

when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. to discover the best shows friends together and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist. later on, we'll conspire ♪ ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land, ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land! ♪

xfinity's winter watchlist. watch now with xfinity on demand- your home for the best entertainment this holiday season. >> record high temperatures and severe weather, thunderstorms, floods, and even tornadoes. john terrett has more on all of this. john. >> reporter: that's right, good evening, tony, it's trains, planes and automobiles all over again, and this time it is look for a bit of a struggle for millions of people trying to make it home for christmas. and here's why. aaa says over 100 million people are hitting the road in the next two weeks, and lower prices at the pump. and they have to keep an eye on the skies just as much as on

the road. fog probably contributed to this deadly chain-reaction crash on interstate 49 in arkansas. tornado watches are in place throughout the south and the midwest. here in arkansas, this flagpole created into the ground is being buffeted in high winds, a precursor of what is to come. in alabama, hundreds of people lost power in mobile, in hour, causing flash flooding, and 10 inches fell south of the city. a rescue operation in washington state. they had to suspend the search for a missing skier because of avalanche dangers. >> he could be in a snow cave or under a tarp waiting for us. >> reporter: in california, workers tore the tarp off of this building. big rigs in the mojave desert. and utility crews are working

around-the-clock. >> we have another one that we have to respond to. >> millions of travelers are expected to fly through january 3rd, the biggest, l.a. and chicago, and in the middle east, a heatwave with temperatures topping 70 agrees on christmas eve and christmas day. that heatwave has started in the northeast. but it has brought with it very heavy rain and dense fog. and it has been a gloomy start to the holidays with many people trying to get away with delays at the east coast airports right now. >> okay, it's interesting, interesting date. makes you wonder. john terrett in florida. a tallahassee woman is dead after police forcibly removed her from the hospital where she was seeking treatment. the family claims that the police and the hospital were negligent. >> 57-year-old barbara dawson

roved in an ambulance complaining of stomach pain. she was kept overnight, and they discharged her, and she insisted that she was having trouble breathing and needed to stay. she was arrested on calls of disorderly conduct and trespassing and was taken in handcuffs. >> the nurse ran over there and cut her oxygen off, and then they tried to unplug her oxygen. and she cut the oxygen off, and they said she don't need it, and she said she need today. and they said she's fine. >> the police took her back to the emergency room. and they tried to save her. the family disputes that and they are suing the hospital. >> i went to call her, and she never responded. and i waited two or three minutes, and i called her

again. she didn't respond. and i said y'all done kill her. >> something happened in the course of them taking her to the car that alerted them that she needed to go back inside. she should have never left the hospital grounds. the fact that you would take a sick person and put them in cuffs says something about the hospital and the department itself. those are things that they both need to address. >> reporter: they are investigating, and in a statement on wednesday, the police chief found the state medical examiner said dawson died from a blood clot in her lung, and there's dash cam video from the officer's car. it doesn't show the actual incident but does show audio. but the tape has not been released. the family's attorney is asking the department of law enforcement to investigate. they have weighed in, saying that the agency is aware of incident that coward in calhoun

hospital. and we're reviewing the incident accordin accord to the interview. >>dal dalish parks, dale be part heard from, it's good to see you and do you have a theory or a thought that you want to share with us? >> good to see you, tony. let me say that several things happened here. first of all, you heard that the aunt was in the room with her when they cut her oxygen off with a pair of scissors, and she was not getting any oxygen. and she left in handcuffs, so clearly the situation starts

there, and then once we get to the car, she collapses, and we have photos that show no one assisted her when she collapsed initially. though the department is trying to blow it off as if it's just a natural thing that happened, a lot of things happened outside of once she collapsed that certainly also contributed to barbara dawson losing her life. so we have serious concerns about this case. of late that you should know, because we have the still photos that showed no one assisting her, we did decide that we needed to ask about the surveillance video that should have been maintained by the hospital. well, we have been told now that it's not working or it's not available. so we're asking law enforcement, who are involved in the full investigation of this case, to take a full inquiry on the equipment to see if it was working or not.

so there are details on the technical side that need to be answered by all involved. >> let me ask a slightly sensitive question, and i'm trying to drill down on this thing. was miss dawson treat this way in your estimation because she's black, overweight, didn't have insurance, some of these things i do not know obviously, any one of those things, a combination of those things -- >> tony, let me just say, going to play the race card, but we have an overweight black lady on medicaid in a north florida rural town, asking for healthcare, who asked to be observed a little bit longer in the emergency room. she has not been in the emergency room for quite 12 hours, and because she refuses to go, they call the police and lead her out and she's dead within minutes. i don't have to put any race

into that. any good american who knows the facts can come to their own conclusion. >> i'm going to push because that's kind of what i do. are we saying that this is a bad hospital or a bad hospital that also discriminated against miss dawson? are we saying both? >> well, we're saying that we have hospital professionals and a law enforcement of professionals and we have to ask how competent they are, and they did not handle this situation correctly. >> okay, so what do you do about the video? the dash cam video just had audio, and you have to get your hands on that, and you have to figure out the surveillance inside of the hospital. what do you do in both regards here? >> if we don't get it, i think

that we respectfully request that the florida department of law enforcement do a full investigation on the equipment that did not exist. and the tape that did not exist and fully vet out that issue. and not withstanding that, there are other events that are available to us so we can put together a timeline to put it into perspective when and where. meaning that there was a 9-1-1 call that happened around the time that she was leaving, and we can find out while that call was. and we can pull a 9-1-1 tape that should have existed also, and we can pull the communication from the department. >> so should not was with miss dawson in the hospital. and i guess that you have a description of the scientist involving herring forcibly removed from the hospital. you have a description of what that scene looked like,

correct? >> we do. we have two witnesses within ear shot that heard everything, and they have given us written statements, we have those two people. and we also have her aunt in the parking lot. she took the still pictures that we have that show the condition of barbara's body when she first collapsed. and we have the scrape marks where grabbed her body while she was in the parking lot. >> do you have anence case here? do you believe that's what you have? >> it's more than a negligence case. for example, there's a federal law that deals with hospitals and emergency room departments who receive federal aid, we can invoke that law in and of itself on the federal side. along with the constitutional claims, delivered in difference on the u.s. constitution, and additionally, we have state claims that we can bring under

the statute of florida, that deals with both the post-department that deals with medical malpractice in this case as well. >> so darryl, we're going to stay on this with you and follow up with you if it's okay with you. all right? >> please do. >> absolutely. he's the attorney representing barbara dawson's family. merry christmas to you and your family. and up next on the program, protests, why demonstrators are rallying at america's largest mall in the christmas rush, and stranded by the dozens, why scientists think that starving sea lion pups are turning up on california's beaches.

>> protesters in minneapolis have wrapped up a day of demonstrations at the nation's biggest mall and at a major airport today. black lives matters, they moved onto the minneapolis airport. at the mall in bloomington, andy, what's the latest there? >> tony, there were four arrests here at the mall on this, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and there were eight arrests at the airport, on this, the single busiest flying day of the year. by the time black lives matter protesters blocked the entrance to the minneapolis airport and started chanting and crowding into two terminals, police had had enough.

and shoed them out. >> i order all assembled to leave. >> reporter: earlier, the protests at the mall of america had barely begun when the police moved in to shut it down. signs went up, warning that no protests were allowed. a section of the mall, housing a quarter of its 520 stores, went into lockdown, some stayed, but others headed out. and packed on to trains. >> everybody, we're heading toward the light rail. >> and into the airport. the police followed, and it was there that handcuffs came out. black lives matter organized the demonstration to call attention to the black man killed. >> do you think that the

lawsuit has something to do with the lack of organization? >> absolutely. i know for example some of the real organizers who were doing in this year as well as last year, were threatened and told that they were not able to come in here. >> the manager at this store, closing up shop, said that he would lose about $6,000 today. and he was one of many who told us that black lives matter is turning off people more than it attracted. >> you mess up everybody's flow, because if something happens to somebody and their family at a distance because well, they couldn't get somewhere, or go somewhere, what are you going to say, i'm sorry? >> but one protester pointed to the way that other movements, civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, made people uncomfortable. >> but all movements have been blamed and been accused of turning people's mainstream messages off. >> reporter: at the very least, the protests remained

peaceful. last year, the mall let black lives matter protest an hour before they kicked them out. but this year, not at all. they wanted to make sure that the protesters were not there, tony? >> so what's the response, if there was any, from the mall to the protest? >> . >> the mall has long said that we don't take a position on black lives matter, but the public courts have confirmed that. and they can kick people out if they want to. >> andy in bloomington, minnesota. washington state's governor is ordering an investigation on why it takes so learn of a 13-year error by the prison. 1300 have been released and they said that a computer glitch is to blame for

miscalculating when a prisoner is released for good behavior, from a few days to two years. >> the fact that this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply disappointing, totally unt acceptable, and frankly, it is maddening. >> it's to locate those who need to be behind bars. a new jersey truck driver in the 2013 crash that left comedian tracy morgan with head injuries and injuries. he was driving a wal-mart truck when he crashed on the turnpike, and he had been awake for 24 hours before it happened. a comedian traveling with morgan was killed in the crash. it has been a difficult year for california and want drought. there were mudslides that took their toll on the entire west coast. families have been looking for

answers, and the state officials have been struggling to provide them. jennifer london be looks at california's ongoing battle with nature. >> reporter: from the reservoirs to the seals, to people's homes, the state water crisis spread to every corner of california. >> as californians, we have to save water in every way that we possibly k >> reporter: with a big brown mountain as a backdrop, california's governor, jerry brown, set in motion a year of heartache. >> we have to pull together and there will be heartache here >> reporter: it was an unprecedented move to stop an unprecedented drought. mandated water restrictions across the state. business and city and farmers told that they have to work without water. >> farming without water, that's a trick. that's what we're doing for the last few years. >> reporter: for thousands

living in the central valley, there was no water left to have conserve. >> when did you run out of water? >> we ran out last march. >> so it has almost been a year since you've had any running water? >> yes. >> my god, the day that my well went dry, as we can say, i thought it was the end of me, because what do you do without water in and i still don't know what to do. >> is she coughing a lot? >> for some, the drought was not only a water emergency, but also a health crisis. >> for the obvious reasons, physical health. people with upper respiratory issues, lung issues, copd and asthma, their problems are worse thing. >> reporter: bottled water helped a little, but many

residents felt not forgotten by the state. >> i think that it's a natural disaster, and it should be treated as such as any other disaster in the united states, and i don't think that it should be brushed under the carpet. >> people need help now? >> they do need help now. they need it now, and not six years from now, or five years from now or to be forgotten. it's kind of the land that people forgot. we're talking about water, and thousands of years without water to their homes, that's as bad as it gets, and is the state doing enough? >> we're doing everything that we can right now. >> but is it enough? >> matter nature our biggest obstacle. >> travel south to the central valley, and you'll find one of the dryest places in north america, but it's not an obstacle when it comes to building entire new cities in the coachella valley near palm springs. >> right now, we're standing on the proposed paradise valley

development, which is in essence a new city. >> reporter: 15 miles from the site of paradise valley o. the outskirts of the city of coachella, you may find the future development of the community called la entrada, a massive community, it's a city within a city. homes, condos, office, retail, parks, schools, churches and even it's own fire department. >> the county works hard to be responsible in how we handle development and infrastructure. >> do you think that it's responsible in a time of drought to approve massive new developments? >> well, again, we're working with our water gifts, districts who are indicating that over a period of time, there will be water that can be provided to the site. >> honestly, we live in a desert, and we don't live in florida. >> do you think that there's enough water in the valley to support all of proposed development? >> there's not enough water for

tomorrow. there might be enough water for today. but not enough for tomorrow. >> reporter: as 2015 comes to a close, there's hope that that could change, but at the same time, concerns that a mon story el nino could bring too much of a good thing. >> in southern california, it's floods, mudslides, and general mayhem. >> reporter: one brief storm in late october closed roads, and swept away cars. it also brought much-needed snow to the mountains, and that's a good thing. snow melt accounts for a third of the state's water supply, and if california has any relief from the drought, snowpack like this is the answer, and the end of 2015 is looking a lot whiter. aljazeera, wrightwood, california. >> california beaches are hot spots where sea lions are looking to rest up. but they have been finding the animals washing onshore, weak,

confused, or trembling because of seizures. climate change may be to blame. >> reporter: this summer patty irish had to eat through a feeding tube, and that's a miracle. the sea lion pup was on the reg of death when they got the call that she had been stranded on a beach four hours north of san francisco. >> it looked like the matter sea lion had been cruising up and down the shoreline, and they didn't make the connection, and the sea lion was stranded. >> she was marked with red color, for easy identification, an unprecedented number with other pups her age. >> the little sea lion pups coming into our care are seven, eight-month-old pups, and they're little bags of dons, really in pitiful condition. >> reporter: the national

atmospheric administration said that the sea lions and the mothers are out to sea. and the pups couldn't keep up, alone and starving. the new conference in san francisco blames analogy that produces a neuro toxin that's harmful for any mammal, even sea lions, in low concentrations. >> it is not enough to cause seizures and death, but it's enough to kill the neurons, and so they get the part of the brain that shrinks, and then they can't remember things as well, and they can't navigate as well. >> demowic acid is why the crab harvest had to be canceled this year, because it's also toxic to humans.

in sea lions, when something is wrong with them, something is very wrong with their food supply and their environment. >> so the fact that the mothers of the pups are not able to find the food and what they need gives us insights into the state of the ocean environments fromle point of view of water temperatures, and fisheries. >> reporter: the center is seeing more of these cases each year. a rapid and steady increase since 2015. in the first ten weeks alone, the center received 600 more patients, more than half of what they typically see in a year, and the survival rate is 75%. >> unfortunately, this animal passed away a few minutes ago, despite efforts at resuscitation. for better or worse, these have become experts in sea lion life and death. >> for the sea lions, it's a unique situation right now. >> reporter: though the pens are already full, they can

handle as many animals as necessary. if the double threat of poisonous algae continues, they may be the only hope for the sea lion population around the world. >> still on the program, wanted by the government, an arrest warrant is issued for one of russia's richest men and one of the most out spoken critics of president putin. and not just the topic, but the film itself.

>> russian authorities issued an international arrest warrant for one of the critics critics - putin's most vocal critics. >> reporter: he may be himself imposed exile. but he seldom misses an opportunity to criticize president putin. [ speaking russian ] >> no matter what the kremlin propaganda and pr want to show us, putin is no superman and he will not go down in history as a hero. >> reporter: on tuesday, the russian police raided the offices of a pro democracy movement funded by him. >> when we all made a decision to work with this organization and him, we understood our risks and that's why it's not

an unexpected event for us, especially taking into consideration the fact that activists of russia were jailed and searched before. >> reporter: on wednesday came the international arrest warrant accusing portakofski of a killing in the 90s. >> they accused his involvement in homicide and attempted homicide, and the investigation has decided to require his arrest. and as you know, the court granted the petition. >> the kremlin's most outspoken critic of russia's once richest man, had already spent ten years in jail because of tax evasion, charges widely seen as challenges to criticizing presidential power. he lived in switzerland where he renewed his condemnation of putin's russia. in the past weeks, he has been

increasingly outspoken on attacks on the government. and he said that revolution is inevitable and necessary, and he said i'll help bring it about, remarks that incensed the kremlin. on wednesday, portakofski reacted to being charged that he had gone mad. >> iraqi forces pushing closer to the center of ramadi. we have new details on the battle and the role that the united states forces are playing. and also, heroin overdoses in the united states, and why it's happening in the suburbs. talking to actress, mckenzie phillips, a recovering heroin atict who is helping others get clean. depicting cruz and his daughters as dancing monkeys,

and now six weeks before the presidential voting begins. and this will mark the 50th, yes 50th anniversary of a charlie brown christmas. one of the men who helped to create a holiday classic. those stories and more in a few minutes. >> this weekend, the controversy over concussions in football hits the big screen. a new movie called concussion is about research into head injuries, but critics say that they will try to soften the blow. john henry smith with more. >> in the new sony pictures film, concussion, will smith stars as bennett omalu, who coined the phrase. >> representative head trauma chokes the brain. >> his pioneering research led

to the disease of former greats like junior as much eal, and waterson, they took their own lives. he went from nog on football to the premier scholar on football related injuries. the film also portrayed the national football league as determined to cover up dr. omalu's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports on reneging on a leading brain research group. the reason, according to reports, the boston research is a leading critic, dr. stern. the nfl denies that. in handing it out, it's setting the grant aside for another project. emails made public from the

sony hacking scandal made it apparent that the nfl tried to soften parts of the film. one august 2014 email from senior studio executive from dwight canes reads, we'll develop message with the help of a consultant to make sure that we're telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet's nest. >> it doesn't surprise me. they have downplayed the concussion situation for some time. >> a hall of fame guard. >> if the nfl did have a way of alternating the film or altering it in any way, of course they're going to try to soften it. >> it should be noted that sony pictures has no formal business relationships with the nfl. and the film's director strongly denies any effort to soften the story. as for players like lure, he is one of thousands of players awarded close to 1 is billion dollars to so much the class

action lawsuit. he's keeping his grandchildren away from football. >> i have six grandsons, and i really don't want them playing. >> john henry smith, aljazeera. >> and still ahead, how an 80-year-old ambulance driver is saving lives in her community.

>> so the defense department, said that a mysterious fireball on the west coast was actually from a russian be rocket booster reentering the atmosphere. the streak of light was seen in california, arizona and nevada. the job of the first responder is not for the faint hearted. at 87 years old, edna is as tough as nails. she's the oldest emt, completed her qualifying course back in 1978. lisa fletcher spent the day with mitchell. >> if you need emergency medical care in southern maine, don't be surprised when edna mitchell shows up. >> back in service. >> an 87-year-old great grandmother, edna mitchell is maine's oldest emt and ambulance driver. >> basically, when the pager goes off, i'm ready. all i have to do is tell them

i'm responding. >> i imagine somebody might look at you and say, she can't do this, what are they thinking? and you're like a force of nature. clearly. the surprise factor with you is huge. >> well, a couple of years ago i went on a call, and one of my swimming friends said, my friend in new hampshire said they were in an accident and some old woman helped them and i know who they were talking about. >> a volunteer for the liberty fire department, mitchell covers some 400 square miles of coastal maine, handling more than 100 calls a year. that's nearly 4,000 calls in 37 years on the job. that's a lot of pressure. >> it is, but i feel kind of dedicated to it.

>> david schuster is park with more of today's news right now. >> tony, in the war against i.s.i.l, forces with air support, iraqi troops are closing in on the city of ramadi. more than seven months controlled by i.s.i.l, now several neighborhoods have already fallen. al jazeera am jamie mcintire has the latest. >> iit appears the offensive to retake ramadi is underway. as iraqi forces are getting closer to the heart of the city they are dealing with more boopie traps and i.s.i.l. forces who are holding hostages. so there's still lots of tough fighting ahead. it would appear that some of the forces have melted away but