. >>> on "america tonight" - ♪ heading down the highway ♪ >>> kate pearson exploded on to the music sceneh the b-52s. now, after 39 years and the bs kate is going solo >>> also tonight... >> the f35 is the most expensive weapons programme in american history. so far the pentagon has bought almost 150 f-35s, with more on the assembly line. even though the plane is not cleared for combat. >> it can blow up. >> absolutely. there goes the airplane and the pilot >>> good evening, thank you for joining us i'm adam mays sitting in for joie chen. despite the talk about the need for belt tightening there's a programme that has been spared. congress is expected to spend more than 1 trillion on the f-35 fighter plane. even though that programme experienced setback after setback. now there's another concern. safety. "america tonight"s sheila macvicar investigates speaking with former pentagon advisors raising alarm bells much >> reporter: the air force base is where the american pilots learn the art of aerial combat. here the full array of u.s. air power is on display, gr proven workhorses like the f

now we take you beyond the beehive and discover there's more to the b-52s kate pearson.d out at aljazeera.com/"america tonight". >>> welcome back, in our fast-forward - this is the most contaminated nuclear site. for decades workers were exposed to toxic chemicals and raidia active waste cree -- radioactive waste created by a world war ii bomb programme. exposure is still happening today, some say. lori jane gliha with more on ill examination. >> it was on this 586 square mile site where workers developed a nuclear reactor, producing plutonium for a bomb in world war ii. the site generated millions in waste, and hundreds of billions in liquid waste until the last reactor shut down in the '80s. thousands of workers were hired to help with the clean-up - still going on today. dale worked at hamford for 30 years nearly. how often did you walk around with no mask? >> most of the time. almost all of the time. >> reporter: gear worked in the tank farms, his job including making sure the storage units filled with radioactive waste functioned properly. now retired and suffering

. >>> on "america tonight" - ♪ heading down the highway ♪ >>> kate pearson exploded on to the music sceneh the b-52s. now, after 39 years and the bs, kate is going solo >>> also tonight... >> the f35 is the most expensive weapons programme in american history. so far the pentagon has bought almost 150 f-35s, with more on the assembly line.

. >>> on "america tonight" - ♪ heading down the highway ♪ >>> kate pearson exploded on to the music sceneh the b-52s. now, after 39 years and the bs, kate is going solo >>> also tonight... >> the f35 is the most expensive weapons programme in american history.