"america tonight"s sheila macvicar. thanks >>> next - the witness behind bars. he saw a suspect die at the hands of police. why that has kept him locked up. >> later - not a prayer. a controversial therapy to pray away the gay, and why the white house joined the fight against it. and hot on "america tonight"s website - the big muscle on campus. the university of alabama sees change but the machine makes the crimp son tide role. aljazeera.com/americatonight. m/americatonight. >>> in our fast-forward segment, a twist of justice - the police chokehold that killed a statton island man led to outrage, but no charges against the officers. the one person that ended up behind bars is the eyewitness who shot video of eric garner's death. he told "america tonight" his arrest was payback for exposing what happened. >> stop. no no i understand you are stressed. you are taking it out on me. >> reporter: emotions run high when christy gets a call from her husband, the staten island man that took a video triggering outrage against new york city police officers accused of killi

sheila macvicar, aljazeera. >> you can catch more of sheila's reporting tonight. >>> off the russian coast today, at least 56 people were killed when a fishing troweler sank in icy waters. the search and rescue crews uncovered a massive operation and managed to rescue 63 crew members, but a dozen are still missing. the 330-foot ship rolled over while hauling in a fishing net. it likely hit an object in the water. >>> robert menendez appeared in court today and was arraigned on 14 felony charges. he appeared briefly before a judge and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges including bribery and conspiracy. and he was released on his own recognizance. he is charged with using his office in exchange for luxury gifts, and $700,000 in campaign donations. >> for nearly three years the justice department has pursued allegations based on smears launched by political opponents trying to silence. these are false and i'm confident they will be proven false, and i look forward to doing so in court. >> menendez will return to court for several hearings, and the trial is not expected until next

ethnic minorities and reports of atrocities, communicated by a group -- documented by a group that sheila macvicars determined to bring the truth to light. >> reporter: the november visit by president obama to burma called myanmar showed just how far the military-led country moved away from its image as a human rights pariah. the release of opposition leader aung san suy kyi, the suspension of u.s. sanctions, and a steep rise in tourism opened up burma to the world. [ explosion ] >> reporter: there is a side of burma the government doesn't advertise - a surge in violence by the burmese army. there are hundreds of ethnic minorities in burma, some in conflict with the government for years. ethnic separatists are increasingly under attack by the burmese army, and they are driving minor dis out of some -- minorities out of some reasons, forcing many from their homes. it's a conflict that outside the region attracts little attention. a small band of volunteers risked death daily to document the brutality of the government's continuing wars against ethnic minorities. they call themselves the free burma

"america tonight's" sheila macvicar, with the afghans left behind. our report thursday on "america tonight". affecting us all... >> we're taking a hard look at the most important issues out there that get you the answers that you deserve. >> real money with ali velshi only on al jazeera america >> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet >> it could be the sound of a new generation. gender bending biracial, with the foot on two continents, he's already got an enormous international following. now stromae knocked it back at coachlla, "america tonight" looks at his next moves. >> bonsoir. >> paul von hader comes alive on stage as stromae. his songs are mega-hits around the world. reaching number 1 in 19 countries. his music has hundreds of millions of views on youtube. ♪ ♪ ♪ and he fills the biggest arenas in europe but here in the u.s. the 30-year-old from belgium is virtually unknown. he is now trying to bring his sound to an american audience. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> why do you think you haven't caught on yet in the u.

but sheila macvicar says there's much to fear. too much of a good thing. >> king's bay is the only place you can swim with and even touch groups of florida's endangered manatees. producing an an aquatic gridlock. an ever growing number of people now more than 250,000 a year flock to this small bay. hot springs beneath the bay provide warm water all year round, heated to a pleasant 72°. manatees need that warmth to survive winter cold. it's critical manatee habitat. >> we have fat healthy manatees here. >> mike is a skilled guide. the swim with manatees attraction is his livelihood. often swimmers will touch or pet the manatees. which is legal here. they believe new york hers and boats are harming the manatees. they believe at the least touching should be banned. turns tourists to manatee advocates. >> gives me chills thinking about that, being able to touch something that to me which has always been so elusive. >> so different than anything i've ever done. like they're so big. and they're right there. and you know you could just r

after "america tonight"s sheila macvicar found when she spoke with pentagon insider. >> reporter: so far the pentagon bought almost 150 f-35s, with more on the assembly line. seven though the plane is not cleared for combat. eventually the air force is expected to buy more than 1700 f-35s. with the navy and the marines purchasing 700 more, ones modified for them. why buy so many f-35s when they are not cheer for battle? >> congress and the military believe the plane can be refined is more being built. >> from the futuristic shape to the lines of computer code acting as artificial intelligence, it's a complicated beast. miller is one of the places it is being tested. ltcol bishop is a test commander. how do you compare the f-35 to the f-15e. you are licensed on both. >> the f-35 is a monumental leap in capability. it is something our air force needs to secure the national defence. >> from a military man, that may be what you expect to here. other reviews are less positive. the plane has been plagued by flaws and setbacks, rarely a week goes by out a head line. the latest this report b

"america tonight's" sheila macvicar, with the afghans left behind. our report thursday on "america >> sunday. >> we're pioneers. >> the head of america's space agency charles bolden. >> we take science fiction and turn it into science fact. >> addressing nasa's critics. >> we are the best nation in the world when it comes to exploration. >> and mankind's next giant leap. >> we can become multi-planet species. >> every sunday night... >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. "talk to al jazeera". sunday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> it could be the sound of a new generation. gender bending biracial, with the foot on two continents, he's already got an enormous international following. now stromae, knocked it back at coachlla, "america tonight" looks at his next moves. >> bonsoir. >> paul von hader comes alive on stage as stromae. his songs are mega-hits around the world. reaching number 1 in 19 countries. his music has hund

. >> sheila macvicar with us.seems there's a lot of challenges for the programme in tennessee, yet others are following suit. >> not only are there challenges there has been no increase to treatment beds available to pregnant women who have an opiate problem. one result of that has been that many women not wanting to confront the law have been moving into western north carolina. north carolina says oh we need to do what tennessee did, and enact an identical law. they reference the law when discussing this. north carolina is about to criminalize women who are pregnant. and women that have an opiate addiction, without providing treatment for pregnant women. >> there's no acknowledgment that there has to be something, funding for beds. it seems impossible. >> we are talking about 1,000 babies born in tennessee, that showed symptoms of neo-n.a.t.o. addiction syndrome. we are talking about a small number of beds maybe 126 got help. there's no additional money, there's a view that in the minds of the legislature, these

as america tonight's sheila macvicar reports. >> why didn't you just stop doing drugs. >> the withdrawal symptoms were so intense. there was no way to function being a mom work, get out of bed even. >> shannon's doctor wrote her a prescription for more opiates. he said you cannot stop. the withdraw could be so hard that you could miscarry. >> her daughter was born healthy and drug-free. but if she did the same thing today she could land in prison. as of july 2014 women in tennessee can be jailed with charges as severe as aggravated assault against their own babies for using drugs during pregnancy. addicts often give birth to newborns dependent on drugs and going through painful withdraw symptoms calls neonatal awstinen, or nas. >> it holds women responsible for their conduct and we hope that it deters future behavior. >> women can avoid jail by getting treatment but treatment centers often can't or won't treat pregnant addicts. >> daughter know when you call up treatment centers, treatment programs one of the questions that you're asked are you pregnant or could you be pregnant? and a po

sheila mick macvicar, al jazerra. >>> sacrifice for the story of their community. that's "america tonight," tell us what you think at aljazerra.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back, we'll have more of al jazerra tonight tomorrow. "d" "america tonight" tomorrow. >>> a deal on iran's nuclear program, months of negotiations finally come to a positive conclusion in switzerland. >> i hope that at the end of this process, we will all show that true dialogue and engagement with dignity, we can in fact, resolve problems, open new horizons and move forward. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome to al jazerra, i am rob matheson in doha. also ahead in the next 30 minutes. the armed group al-shabab attacks a university in eastern keny

addicted to drugs tennessee passed a law sending pregnant addict to say jail, as america tonight's sheila macvicar reports more states look to follow the lead. >> why could you simply not stop doing drugs? >> the withdrawal symptoms were no intense there was no way to function and be able to be a mom and to be able to work and to be able to just get out of bed even. >> her doctor wrote her a pro description for more opiates. >> he said you can't stop. if you do, the detox will be so harsh you could miscarry. >> her daughter was born healthy and drug-free. if she did the same thing today using opiates under a doctor's orders, she could land in prison. as of july, 2014, women in tennessee can be jailed with charges as severe as aggravated assault against their own babies for using drugs during pregnancy. >> addicts often give birth to newborns dependent on drugs and going through painful withdrawal symptoms called n.a.s. tennessee leads the country in babies born with n.a.s. lawmakers are alarmed enough to pass this law the first in the nation to target pregnant women for drug use. >> it holds women