i'm joie chen. with me this week is renowned chocolate expert angus kennedy. >> when we're walking through the factory looking at this vat, i mean, this is sort of the-- this is-- this is the centerpiece of chocolate, right, this is-- this is--. >> it's kind of death by chocolate almost, isn't it. >> the cosmic swirl of the universe in chocolate. >> yes. yeah, i-- yeah, 'cause what they do is they-- they get this chocolate and they mix it up, they-- they temper it for a little bit, that-- that's actually what it's called. and-- every choc-- every chocolate factory will have these, you know, huge vats of chocolate. and it really is quite mes--. >> this is like veruca salt, or who-- no, who is it that fell into the-- the vat-- but in any case, so-- it's-- it's a charlie (laugh) character. >> yeah, it is, yeah-- yeah, so-- yeah-- it's-- it's-- but-- but it-- but it's almost meditational, when you-- when you look inside this thing, it's like, wow, look at that, and the smell, the chocolate, you know, it

thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. in the final days of the year disturbing signs from afghanistan. about a threat the u.s. hoped had been tamped down. the latest assessments though, that instead of an end of the power of the taliban this group has reemerged now with more yellow of afghanistan than it's had since the u.s. led invasion in 2001. and that is particularly worrying for the ordinary afghans who have been struggling to bring order back to to their country, especially women, to create new opportunities for themselves. al jazeera's jennifer glasse on a grandmother who is taking great steps forward despite the odds. >> reporter: six days a week anissa gets an early start. alone she leaves her home in kabul before dawn, not normal for an afghan woman. 56-year-old anyssa is in a hurry. there are still many in afghanistan who disapprove of women in school. at 16 when she married her father-in-law objected. so school would wait until her youngest child turned 18. anys srvega april walk is half a mile. on this bitter

syrian children in limbo, is there a place for them to call home >>> thanks for being with us, i'm joie chen. it's a city on edge, but baltimore, for the moment responded to calls for calm in a new turmoil. a mistrial for a police officer charged for his role in the death of freddie gray. it was feared that the city would explode as it did in the first days and nights after freddie gray collapsed and died in police custody. >> cold rain may have helped keeping those under control. what next for charmed city remains. christopher putzel went to the streets of baltimore seeking [ chanting ] >> reporter: for many residents of baltimore, the mistrial of officer william porter is the latest surprise furn in a dramatic -- turn in a 2015. >> i want peace and justice. i know his siblings, and basically they heard about it. we know freddy was not a goody two shoes, he had a record. there's a lot of people with records that are treated good. i feel everywhere should be treated the same. >> reporter: this week the baltimore police were on the streets in large numbers. the reaction to the mistrial was mu

. >>> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. border wars and migrants on the move. we've seen how that has played out. refugees fleeing in terror, political leaders in pressure and battling back. one place that's stayed mostly off the radar in this discussion has been a big focus on "america tonight," the dominican republic, where hundreds of thousands have tried the avoid deportation, across the board, hidden terror facing a frightening deadline. tonight we follow up as al jazeera republic david mercer begins his report in the dominican capital, santo domingo. >> well-known fighter in his town outside of santo domingo, the dominican republic capital. the dream of one day representing the land of his birth in competition. but because of uncertain future following the government's failure to register those of haitian dissent, he may no desc. only two of adonis's brothers and sisters have a dominican birth certificate. he does not. >> reporter: six months ago when we were here last this was the scene in the capital. undocumented workers trying to register themselves a

. >> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. think sweatshop and you will likely imagine unsafe working conditions half a world away. but what if the products of that hard labor end up in your living room? as the market for bigger and better flat screens goes, there's the market across the border. christof putzel investigates the peril in the workplace. >> two miles south of the texas border, lies the city of reynoso, panasonic, black and decker and lg electronics call it home. the city is a source of cheap labor for these global giants with tens of thousands of workers bussed in and out of their shifts each day. reynosa the capital of employment the billboards read but behind the campaigns of smiling workers we found a different reality. >> can you tell me what happened to your right arm and the fingers of your left hand? >> 26-year-old los castro was born and raised in raynoso, 26 months ago he went to work for a company and stamped the lg logo on front of tvs. just the second day on the job there was an accident. >> like many

thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. we have just begun to know the face of evil that struck in san bernardino. investigators are trying to work out why a young man and his wife instruct out in a work place that helped the vulnerable and what links there are to others that attack our communities. with little to go on the best information comes from the victims and others that saw what happened. adam may is in san bernardino california. >> how many times was he shot? >> five times. >> where. >> one in the shoulder, back, two in the leg, thigh and the other thigh. >> reporter: "america tonight" spoke to carlos ortes outside the medical center where his son kevin is recovering from the ambush. >> he ducked under the table to hide himself. he said they came back, shot some more and showed us when he was shot in the legs. >> reporter: the two attackers arrived at the scene, dressed in black tactical gear. they unloaded 70 round of ammo, injuring 17 and killing 14 others. law enforcement officials are searching for a motive. >

>> i -- >> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. it is almost unimaginable, what's happened in flint, michigan. a man made disaster the mayor says ha that has led to families giving their children poisoned water. this has been going on for a year and a half, despite pleas from families, how is this even possible? "america tonight's" lori jane gliha, investigates what happened in flint an flint and why the city's children were left to suffer. >> they are not people that are disposable. we are not. it is a crime to be serviced with water that's classified by the epa as toxic waste. >> at rhonda kalso's house in flint, merrill lynch -- >> i have a filter up under here. >> reporter: this is one of the certified ones that filters out the lead? >> filters out the lead. the 52-year-old stroke survivor says she still won't drink it. >> i have to rely on family members and friends to take me places. and help me to go and get bottled water. this is water that came out the tap, look at this green at the bottom. >> it was only a few months ago

. >> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. think sweatshop and you will likely imagine unsafe working conditions

on all the stories here on al jazeera on our website, al jazeera.com thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. this year it's become a center piece of focus our conversations about the police and the communities they serve. officer involved shootings especially whether the victim is a person of color have ignited protests, led to federal investigations and forced us all to consider how much it takes to bring a suspicious person under control. although it has been a key headline over the last year and a half it is not a new phenomenon and the frustration even the outright anger many survivors have can go unresolved for years or forever. "america tonight's" sarah hoye with a mother still searching for answers. >> reporter: it's mid morning and sherise wells is easing into her day of work. soon this mother of three will be hosting her extended family over the holidays but there won't be one member of her family at the dinner this year, her son, robert chambers. this sunday will mark five years sings ront died. ince robert answers. >> do you think you would have closure? >> only if i know what ha

thanks for joining us i'm joie chen.n the final days of the year disturbing signs from afghanistan. about a threat

thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. could it be the next flash point of conflict between a community and its law enforcement? cleveland this time where a grand jury has declined to indict two local police officers for shooting death of tamir rice. that wasn't too much of a surprise but the shock is still setting in. activists have kept tensions in check. "america tonight's" christof putzel is in cleveland with what lies ahead. >> outside cleveland's justice center protestors called out his name. 12-year-old tamir rice was shot dead by police officer thy low imran in a park, just after receiving calls, man with a gun. after a grand jury failed to indict lowman and his partner, the outrage over rice's death still burns. >> we will have. >> we will have. >> equal protection. >> equal protection. >> under the law. >> under the law. >> dante boyken is a community activist. >> we have to look deep within ourselves and is it, the law, can it be applied fairly and justly to each under every person in the nation? it's inhumane t

thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. this year it's become a center

thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. we have just begun to know the face of evil that struck

. >> thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. it is an education crisis you may not have contemplated. philadelphia's schools like many are cash-strapped. so the administration has taken on the usual. increasing class sizes and something parents can't live with. classroom conditions so decrepit kids can't learn and may even be in danger. "america tonight's" lynch ha lia tonight's" lisa fletcher has a look inside. >> mold and mildew creeping through classrooms and toys contaminated with rodent and insect droppings. these are just some of the conditions documented inside philadelphia's public schools. >> falling apart through layers of negligence. >> robin roberts is a concerned mom and member of the advocacy group, parents united for public education. growing up in philadelphia public schools. >> we don't feel safe sending our kids to an environment which we don't think is in their best health interest. there's no reason for someone to walk into a district school that is dirty that has mouse droppings that has applies on traps, that has huge mold stains on the wall. peeling plaster and

i'm joie chen. this brought a number of firsts to the catholic church in america. pope francis led the way to new conversations about immigrants, the poor and our environment. his first major teaching document focused on a subject no pope addressed that way before, global warming and climate change, and for american catholics long-committed to activism, the pope's words mark a turning point for the faith. >> in the beginning god created the heavens and earth and the earth was without form and void. >> to hear john rousch tell it, the idea of protecting our earth began with the one who was there in the beginning. >> when you think about the first chapter of genesis, the first couple of chapters of genesis, you really have a plan of god, that god was the god of life. >> out here in the heart of appalachia under the vast blue eastern kentucky sky, it is hard to separate god from the glory of nature. >> as we walked through here, there's such a biodiversity and interdependence on the life structures. whether it's a little ant or a little spider, a tree, a shrub, all th

>> thank you for joining us i'm joie chen. ptsd, we've seen it reported so long among combat veterans, first responders and so many who have experienced trauma, the approach to treatment has improved and now what may be a surprising solution a drug best flown on the party circuit getting a second life as a good trip. so effective that "america tonight's" christof putzel found some say it saved their lives. >> m m m. >> while serving in iraq tony macy lost many of his brothers in arms. >> i was 19 when i was in iraq. i think my impression on what war is going to be was not anything to what it actually is. >> to this day, the death of his comrades and the horrors he saw remain vivid memories. >> we were doing dismounted troll and two guys in front of me stepped on an i everyd. just kind of really surreal, seeing someone bone up and also being two people away from it. ieds you can't do anything about. you step on them. or you are driving, it puts fear in you. when you are back home i started thinking about it more because i had m

. >> thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. there's no doubt the fbi says, what happens in san bernardino was an act of terrorism. that investigators say is clear. what's still a mystery, exact liz who if anyone else linked to the two killers inspired their vicious assault and what explanation did they mean to leave behind? federal investigators are now running down the trail of some of the most revealing information those who knew syed rizwan farook and his wife. "america tonight" spoke to a fellow worshiper at his mosque. >> he prayed and then went back to work. >> got to know syed farook better than almost anyone. >> i became a little bit angry. >> "america tonight" took him inside the mosque where he prayed side by side with the man he describes as a spiritual brother who betrayed him. >> we have an opportunity to find out what kind of thoughts he had when the russian plane was shut down, i was talking about innocent people, about kids being killed for nothing and after the prayer we went outside in the parking lot and we h

thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. in the final days of the year disturbing signs from afghanistan.

on all the stories here on al jazeera on our website, al jazeera.com thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. this year it's become a center piece of focus our conversations about the police and the communities they serve. officer involved shootings especially whether the victim is a person of color have ignited protests, led to federal investigations and forced us all to consider how much it takes to bring a suspicious person under control. although it has been a key headline over the last year and

>> i -- >> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. it is almost unimaginable, what's happened in flint, michigan. a man made disaster the mayor says ha that has led to families giving