Transcripts For ALJAZAM America Tonight 20141006

Leaguer whose outsize play leave a sad legacy for Major League Baseball. And getting a charge out of tesla. The electric car is already hugely possible. Why the teslas other innovation have the other car makers try to run it off the road. And good evening, thanks for joining us. Im joie chen. Communities versus the cops in the last few weeks a wave of cases in which unarmed suspects find themselves targeted by officers. Back in ferguson, missouri, there were more protests and more arrests. And tensions in ohio as well, where just four days before the death of Michael Brown in ferguson, a young unarmed black man was shot down in the aisle of a Walmart Store by police. An in depth look at that shooting by america tonights christof putzel. What is your emergency . Im in the walmart, there is a gentleman Walking Around with a gun in the store. Has he got pulled out . Yes. Hes pointing it as people. John crawford was there buying ingredients for s mores. He went to get ideas for a cookout. America tonight sat down with his mother. They say the 911 caller was lying. He did not point the beebee gun to anyone in the store. No one was in imminent danger. Reporter the 911 caller was this man, ronald richie. He describes what he saw to a radio program. Waving at people, little children. Thinking that hes either going to rob the place or hes there to shoot somebody else. It looks kind of serious as far as he didnt really want to be looked at, and when people did look at him he was pointing the gun add people and everything so. At people and everything so, really offputting. Based on that, beaver creek policemen shot and killed him. He had the beebee gun in his hand and the cell phone still in his hand. On the other end of the line the mother of his two children and his own mother tressa. I heard him struggling to breathe. Like go, you know, that gurgling type noise. When blood was in his throat. I heard him like crying and i heard the Police Officers. Reporter as customers panicked and scrambled for the exits, angela williams, a person with a heart condition, had a heart attack and died. He started this, he caused the death of two people. Is there a way to hold the caller responsible . We believe that theres enough evidence and information there that the prosecutor could move forward with some type of charge against richie. Did the call that they received, does that give the police justification to shoot him . Absolutely not. That may give him calls to investigate. That may give them the call to come in and find out whats going on. If you come into walmart, and there are other people shopping, and nothing seems to be awry, then how is that an active shooter . Reporter the Supreme Court has ruled that officers dont need to prove an actual threat to their safety to use deadly force. They just have to prove an objectively reasonable threat to their wellbeing. Are you sure hes pointing at people . Yes thats what the caller says hes pointing at people. Reporter a grand jury agreed. They failed to indict John Crawford for his death. They returned no indictment. They decided the Police Officers and the Police Officer in particular that fired the shots was justified in doing what he did. I was hurt. It was like me losing him my son all over again. No one is being held responsible for it. No one. Reporter the beaver creek police did not respond to america tonights request for an interview. Walmart said in a statement that it was deeply saddened by the incident that occurred. On tuesday it pulled all the beebee guns from the shelves of walmart. Since the verdict, protests have gripped the area. Supporters of the crawford family turned out and so did unlikely allies. Members of the local open carry movement. They say the case is important because in ohio, its legal to carry a gun all the time, real or fake. One was the protesters says hes brought his own gun into this very walmart on multiple occasions. Youve been inside this walmart carrying a gun. A real gun. Unlike what John Crawford was carrying. A real gun. Youve had no problems. No problems whatever. Why do you think things went down the way they did with John Crawford . I believe race played a factor. This area is very white. Folks tend to be afraid of the unknown, especially of black men and what seems to be a firearm or rifle in his hand. I think with regards to race this officer probably would have been a little more patient had this not been a young black man with looking the way that had mr. Crawford looked. Reporter the Justice Department said it would conduct an independent review of mr. Crawfords death to see if there were civil rights investigations. His mother says that wont make up for what she lost that day. I lost part of me. You know, i lost my son. It was crawfords two children also lost their father. His oneyearold son is having a particularly rough time. Very hard seeing him just cry. So i mean scream, for, like, three weeks, every day. He know his dads not there. You know, somethings somethings different. Reporter christof putzel. Al jazeera. Ahead on our program, revved up, the hot electric car, why and how the competitions trying to put the brakes on tesla. America tonights correspondent adam may investigates, next. On tech know, cars, the science behind. Keeping us safe on the road. Oh oh my god the driving force behind these new innovations i did not see that one coming. Tech knows team of experts show you how the miracles of science. This is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future . Can affect and surprise us. Sharks like affection. Tech know, where Technology Meets humanity only on Al Jazeera America maybe you thought about it yourself. Thousands of american drivers are making the switch to electric cars, increasingly to luxury vehicles like those made by tesla but american vehicles face stiff competition by imports. America tonights adam may reports whos trying to put the brakes on tesla. Whats your favorite part of this car . What i like is the touch screen. Like driving a spaceship. In their first tv interview about mounting lawsuits filed by traditionally auto dealers, tesla vp, Diarmud Oconnell speaks. Trying to destroy the dealer system, to eviscerate the dealer system. And you know what i say is, if the dealer system is as weak as it is, it proponent isnt as good as the system is. How it could shake up the entire u. S. Auto industry you first need to understand tesla. Wow, the acceleration is just insane. Almost 80 miles per hour. The fully loaded tesla model s is a 100,000 modern marvel, all electric, no emissions, able to travel 300 miles on a charge. This has got to be really fun to drive. It is. Arthur blake bought one of the first 10,000 to roll off the line in california. The invention of elon musk. Was it hard to drop that kind of coin on the car . It was, it was a little bit of a stretch for me but it was something that the more i thought about it, the more i really wanted it. An ev doesnt have to suck. Thats what he lon wanted elone lon wanted t elon wanted to say. Did he succeed . I think he succeeded wildly, i think he even surprised himself how well it turned out. Reporter but an even bigger surprise, a battle for american vehicle dealers. They want tesla to be sold through independent dealerships or else. Dealerships trying to run them out of the state. Why . Because 99. 95 of the market apparently isnt enough for them. Stephen lane knows the ins and outs of the American Auto business as well. He runs a dealership outside of atlanta, georgia. They want every single car sold through a new car dealership. Theyve set up a patch work of laws throughout the decades, in order to create what i would characterize as a legal theft cartel. Since tesla sells directly to consumers, bypassing, rlg franchise dealers, the auto dealers lobbying group claims tesla exceeded that limit so they filed a petition with the state, to force this showroom to shut down. Have you broke the law in georgia and sold too many cars direct to consumers . My clear understanding is that we have not sold directly in georgia, beyond our maximum. Reporter oconnell is one of elon musks right hand man. Are these brought on by hampering tesla teslas succes . I would rather be traveling to state capitals and arguing, and our lawyers submitting briefs to courts. But on the flip side, its probably allowed us to get the word out. Youre here to learn about tesla and im telling you about the dealer issue. That issue has touched every corner of the u. S. Iowa recently stopped tesla from offering test drives. Tesla has been band from showing any cars in texas, arizona, new jersey and maryland. And legal battles are brewing in other states like georgia. We wanted to know whats really motivating the georgia Dealers Association from stopping tesla. They wouldnt answer our questions. Instead they sent me an email, saying, providing consumer protections, we also reached out to the National Automobile Dealers Association. They said theyre really not involved in this tesla issue. Even though a video on their website states otherwise. Governments set up dealer franchise laws to protect consumers and dealers make this complex process simple. But recently some have suggested weakening these laws or eliminating them to bypass dealers completely. Tesla has chosen this knowingly and willfully to avoid the law. A writer for yahoo auto have accused auto dealers across the nation of operating a cartel because of the influence you have over state legislatures. Does very a point . Many people think that does he have a point . Many think that those franchise laws, were enacted to protect dealers. Local businesses. Werent they . Thats not true. No. They were actually enacted to protect consumers. Theyre enacted to protect consumers because the Franchise System is an extraordinarily efficient way of distributing vehicles and promoting competition. Appleton claims traditional car dealers look out for their customers. Lets face it. Everybody does whats in their interest. Everybody does whats in their economic interest. Dealers economic interest is to serve consumers, compete for business and control recall services. They say cutting out the middle man, cutting out a franchise auto dealer you dont have somebody go to bat for you. Who helps a tesla customer . Thats an interesting relationship. Arguing its only dealers that recall situations that will stand up for customer, one worth exploring, one would affect the dealers perhaps in the case of this recent problem with gm to raise the red flag. Reporter tesla is banking on a resolution to this dispute. In palo alto, california, they are breaking ground on a new facility in nevada. You can sell cars in some states, you cant in others, you cant testdrive cars in some states. Do we need federal intervention here . Certainly it would be better to do this in one fell swoop at the federal level, either at the congress or judicial area. Dont you miss your car . Hes ready for his custom ordered tesla to be delivered to georgia. Its the best relationship in the world. No blow up gorillas . Newspaper of that. Here is where you sign and we signed and it was tremendous and thats my car. He designed his car on the internet, test drove it add the georgia showroom and put down a deposit. Hes not sure how the unresolved issues will affect delivery. Ill do what i need to do to get the car absolutely. Youre not going to let the state regulators stop you . No no, absolutely not. As they grow, traditional dealers predict tesla will have to conform to their standards. I think once tesla gets their supply ahead of demand they will run not walk to establish franchisees. Tesla may be part of your organization some day . We would welcome them. We actually have the electric charger in the parking lot. Will there be a day when tesla will be on sale in all 50 states . Certainly thats our intention. Want to see the engine . All right. There is no engine. Its called a frunk. This is the frunk . Thats short for front trunk. In the meantime, diehard tels fans show off their tesla fans show off their cars. Will you get another tesla . Hesitation. As long as i can afford it. Ah, the price teslas next challenge. Adam may, al jazeera, atlanta. Tesla plans to roll out the model 3, thats a car with a 40,000 price tag by 2017. When we return, sticker shock. College costs and debt balloon. America tonight correspondent michael okwu, with a surprising response from many students. Just say no to college. Weve been focused on the ebola epidemic and the fears about its spread, long been warned that left uncontained in west africa, ebola was likely to move across the world and into our communities. The worst predictions came true last week, as a liberian man living in texas became first to be diagnosed in the United States. What can be done to stop the spread of ebola in the United States and what is being done . Heres america tonights crilts. Christof putzel. After a man was diagnosed with ebola, the question in the United States is, could it s happen to me . We met with thomas farley. The first ebola case has hit the United States. How concerned should we all be . We should be concerned about this epidemic overall. The first case in the United States, i can certainly expect more. Because there are thousands of cases so far in west africa and within the next few months there will be hundreds of thousands of cases and we can certainly expect some of those people to travel. Reporter flights have been reduced, and airports are screening peaks for fevers. But because symptoms take 21 days to appear, some of those symptoms can be unnoticed. New york state has had an outstanding system. They have trained Hospital Personnel and ambulance personnel, the citys prepared but Everyone Needs to execute on those plans. Reporter when you walk around new york city it feels like a congested place. One of the worst place for the outbreak to occur. Is that the case . Remember, ebola doesnt fly through the air. It comes from blood or body fluid of an infected person. The people that can spread ebola, the way ebola can spread is when someone is sick, its with contact with their blood and body fluids so the persons at risk are taking care of someone who is ill. It can be people at home or in hospital facilities, which is in africa, the medical systems are overwhelmed and people are sick and dying at home. Reporter itsment estimate theyd the virus has already sickened and killed 7,000 in west africa, those numbers could be even greater. How primitive are the systems in the west africa area . Many people have become infected and died, there is not enough people to take care of those. The system is overwhelmed and the world response is inadequate. The attention is focused on eebles o ebola this summer. But it wasnt until infected aid workers were brought back to the United States. Thousands of cases within west africa, within months there will be hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions, every day we delay more thousands of deaths. The world needs to respond more now, not a month from now because summons so far has been inadequate. There need to be more Treatment Centers more medical personnel and more organization around that so people can be treated in a place where theyre not spreading the infection to others. If we act more now we ask save tens hundreds of thousands of lives in the future. Reporter we are not dealing with anything thats on the scale of west africa. I dont expect the kind of spread taking place in west africa is going to happen in new york city or in the United States. We have a much larger medical system and a much better system of Health Departments that are poised to deal with this. But we can expect i believe more cases to arrive in the United States and Everybody Needs to follow through, what the plans are for how to contain that spread when it arrives. Reporter christof putzel, al jazeera, new york city. Thats an investment in protecting lives. Another in protecting futures. College has gotten expensive, very. Student debt is now over 1. 2 trillion. The first time its exceeded the credit card debt. Which raises the question for families, is the sticker shock worth it . America tonights michael okwu reports on a new movement, those who say no to college. Its full and all across america a new batch of students are leaving the nest and heading to college. The experience wont come cheap. The average cost for a four year Public College is over 18,000 a year. A staggering 40,000 a year for a private school. That cost weighed heavily on evas mind as she looked for schools for her son nick to attend. Walk me through in your head some of the reactions you had. How the hell am i going to do this . How l are we going to make sure that we can provide our kids with the same opportunities that our parents provided us with . This place looks nice. Reporter thats one reason why nick ended up here. Hahey, how is it going . Reporter and Experimental Program in San Francisco where students spend a single year preparing themselves. Its called uncollege. We both sort of noticed within the past year that college might not have been the best route for me right away. He wasnt really sure what he wanted to do. I didnt want to have my parents have wasted money if i didnt find what i wanted to do. I said i feel like we might as well set a pile of money on fire if you just go off to school right now. Youve got this conundrum of people who are being told that they have to go to a college to get a degree to get a job. Theyre not necessarily obtaining the right skills to actually be employable. We are going to do whatever we can to help you. Uncollege aims to give its students the hard skills employers are looking for in a quarter of a time and 10th of a cost of a four year degree. In the real world what gets you buy is whether you can sound intelligent. Our students will have had a relevant real world experience by the time they finish our program. Theyll have built out a robust group of skills, they will have interned and showed off their skills, they will have traveled abroad and show what it is to be flexible in a new environment. They dont need to are spend four years and 200k on a College Degree. Dale believes a College Degree is a mandatory part of the plan. Taking pictures taking videos, designing clothes. Uncollege typically are folks who havent necessarily gotten along perfectly in school. I was in the middle of high school and just like hated it. They come from all walks of life and span a variety of interests. I was fortunate to figure out what to do with my life. Its special to get the energy of motivated people in the room together and you can tell that these are smart kids. Theyre going to go far. Reporter but do you have any proof that taking this course is going to prove more successful than going to a institution . If you take a look at the Employment Outcomes in the past year, 76 of the folks who have done the program are employed or have received a job offer in the field they were pursuing. A lot better than the one in four College Students are doing right now. Reporter still the unr relenting focus on the jobs, has given the uncollege a bad reaction. For the sake of getting an education, what would you say that . Having the freedom to pursue knowledge for knowledge sake is a huge privilege and i admire anyone who has the resources and flexibility to do that. But for many thats not possible. Reporter stevenson was able to launch uncollege thanks to money he received from another ring organization that values this. To start a conversation about the future of higher ed. Reporter the foundation pays young adults not ogo to college. Only half of College Grads end up actually having jobs and only half of those have jobs that are relevance to their degrees. Jonathan kane is president of the teal foundation. The teal fellowship, awards 100,000 a year to those who may not come to pass. 83 young adults have received the award. The fellows are working on everything from building small Scale Nuclear reactors, each argue against a traditional four year degree. We have been blown away by what the fellows have built. Far outweighs the benefits of that College Degree right now. In addition to investing in the mark zuckerbergs, of the future, college may not be simply all right for everyone and that is okay. If society says to have a Meaningful Life and get a job you need to go to college, but what about everyone else . The statistics show that an individual with a College Degree outearns someone who doesnt have one by a considerable amount. Isnt this overly risky . Depending on the choice someone makes, going to college may make Financial Sense certainly but it may be something if you are not thinking carefully about your choices may constrain the kind of future you have. Probably like doublish in size. Dale stevens believes the increasing number of applicants to uncollege believes it is a strong alternative to a four year degree. Weve proven theres at least 200 people a year who want to do this. Will it go to a thousand . Probably. Will it go to 10,000 . I dont know. Our motivation in doing this is to create a place for people who are misfits in the educational system can be themselves an grow and thrive. As she prepares to return home to an empty house nicks mother is just happy the her son will be able to explore who he is without necessarily breaking the bank. Thank you, have fun. You too mom. Im so thrilled that hes having this opportunity. Ive given him the foundation. He is the person who he was meant to be. At this point in his life. This is the last opportunity i can give him to give him a tool, and use it. Michael okwu, al jazeera, San Francisco. College or not. One of the issues young people confront in Al Jazeera Americas original series edge of eighteen. See all the kids profiled on the reunion special, next sunday on Al Jazeera America. Right after the break, a Young Players dreams and the painful reality of his spectacular plays. His mother gives her first tv interview to america tonights michael okwu on the head injuries her son suffered playing the game he loved and why she believes, it led to his death. Contact sports and concussions back in the spotlight again. University of michigan coach shane morris stayed in the game but first the coach said he had suffered a high ankle sprain. Concussions are not exclusive to football. Americas pastime takes with it some risk. The physical style of play shined on the baseball diamond but also led to his tragic end. Now for the first time ryans mother and stepfather sit down to talk about concussions in baseball with america tonights michael okwu. By 1995, ryan freel was finally living his childhood dreams. Drafted by the toronto bluejays, he spent six years in the minor leagues, leaping diving and careening through plays before getting his big break in the majors in april 2001. Freel personified utility, playing almost every position on the field. But it was that flatout, fullthrottle style that fans remember most. You cant watch this kid play and not think, theres somebody on the diamond whos playing with absolute reckless abandon. And as a parent i would imagine that theres a mixture of pride yes. And fear. Norma and clark vargas, freels mother and stepfather, said what have their son lacked in size, he more than made up for with heart and hustle. Crashing into walls, sliding head first, sacrificing his body to make a play. I think ryan was a great athlete but he was also a hardworking kid. I know other players are much better athletes than ryan. But they didnt work as hard as ryan. He was the first one on the field and probably the last one to leave. Reporter but giving his all on the field would eventually exact a price. I said ryan, you cant continue to play this way. Because youre getting hurt. And youre not going to be able to continue to play this way. And he said, this is the only way i know how to play. This was his exact words. Mom, this is the only way i know how to play. Reporter by his mid 20s, freel wassing struggling with alcohol. Were there red flags . The way he handled himself i thought something could be wrong with him. You know. But he wouldnt go to the doctor. I only knew what he told me and now im not sure he was really open enough with the doctors tell them how he felt. Then much later, he would say mom, something is wrong with me. I feel like im inside a jar. My brain is just not working right. Feel like somebody is just pressing my head. Reporter by 2010, after eight years in the league, freel was dogged by constant injuries and his baseball career was over. By his own count he had suffered at least ten concussions. The divorced father of three began coaching alittle league team he founded with the same energy he devoted to his play. But he struggled with being off the field. And soon began retreating from family and friends. Indulging himself instead in a new obsession. Guns. Alarmed by his spiraling condition his mother removed the weapons from his home. Freels last communication with her came in a text message. He did mention something about the rifles. And i said yes, i have them. And he said yeah but you missed one. When norma couldnt reach her son the next day, she rushed to his home with a friend. We get out of the car and she said stay here, dont go in. She was the one that went in and found ryan. So that was december 22nd. Reporter ryan freel committed suicide just three days before christmas in 2012. He was 36 years old. Did ryan ever feel that the concussions he sustained during course of his career might have had something to do with what he was feeling . He might have at the end when one of the football players, i cant remember his name right now, i think he had committed suicide if im not mistaken. Jimmy sale . Yes, i think so. He said, i can relate to that. Head injuries in sport have become a major Health Hazard and Public Relations nightmare, affecting football hockey, other full contact sports. So date, 33 former nfl players have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte. Degenerating disease caused by repeated traumas. The symptoms range from erratic moves or aggressive behavior, cte can only be conclusively detected after death. Ryan freel is the only player who has been conclusively diagnosed. Clusters of abnormal deposits indicating that he was suffering when he died from stage 2 cte. Stage 4 is the most severe. The question is, is it a depression issue or is it a concussion issue . It is both. It is both, for gods sake. In order to have depression there is a propensity for suicide. Then you couple that with a head injury and a concussion, thats a death sentence. And nobody put him on a watch list. I hear a little frustration. And maybe and anger. Maybe some anger. And anger, yeah. I hate losing the child. When i got a person who i love and i admire, tell me dad, im scared, and this guy is a god on the field because he can control his mind and his physical body and he tells me hes scared and ive got no answer . On average, how many concussions occur over the year in Major League Baseball . We generally have between 20 and 30 a year. So again when you think about it, that theres about 750 players, thats not a lot. When we look at it, compared to other sports where you know that could be a busy weekend in some sports. Reporter despite the relative infrequency in of head injuries in Major League Baseball, gary green is the league physician for Major League Baseball. When did the league first become seriously worried about head trauma . I think over the past five or six years, baseball has become concerned even though its a relatively rare event, how are we at the state of the art for evaluating and treating these injuries. Enhancing the safety of players, including eliminating home plate collisions, instituting a seven day disabled list, allowing the players to return to the home field in less time. Most concussions are better in seven or eight days. Major League Baseball had a 15 day disabled list. If a player got a concussion you wouldnt put him on the 15day disabled list because why would you put somebody often the disabled list for 15 days, when theyre going to be better in seven . You would lose them for an additional eight days if you used the 15 day disabled list. Stan conte is at the forefront of the issue. Have you ever seen anything happen on the diamond that really stayed with you for a long time that upsets you . Probably the thing that stayed with me the longest is the mike metheny situation, not a single event. To watch him not recover, to know that we had to stop his career from him not having longer long term problems. Persistent concussions forced catcher mike metheny from the game at age 36. Weve shown studies, thats obvious to anyone who has watched a baseball game, a catcher has 120 to 130 pitches that he catches per game. Hes also at risk for collisions at home plate and also for his normal turn at the bat, his four or five atbats. Let me tell you a story about mike metheny. When you hit a foul tip you black out for a second, he looked at the other catcher and said right . The other catcher said no, i dont black out. He really believed that was part of the routine. What do you think the lesson of ryans death should be . Should be to the public, and should be that you know concussion matters. Concussion creates permanent damage, that if compounded, you know, sufficiently, will lead into cte in that cte is a progressive degenera tive disease, disease that will cause suicides, so its important that the word get out to the youngsters. Tell them what the consequences is. If they want to do it, fine. Play it as hard as you can, good luck to you but take protection. Not everybody is going to make it to the big time. Michael okwu, al jazeera, jacksonville, florida. And ahead in our final segment this hour. A long waited salute. The newcomer among washingtons memorials is this one for the survivors. And a note ahead on this week on america tonight, the sea of controversy. The worse Case Scenario that they get away with it, pioneer and monsanto and lg seeds, in the agricultural industry, spend millions of dollars developing these products and then are essentially robbed because of the benefit of their efforts. Tomorrow, espionage in americas heart land. America tonights michael okwu, an an allegation that American Companies have been stealing trade secrets from the corn fields of finally from us this hour, a thought about how we honor duty and sacrifice. Here in washington this weekend, the opening of a first of its kind monument, a National Memorial to disabled vets. Those broken warriors, the brothers in arms who live to honor their fallen comrades, finally getting their due salute. It is possible for a man to lose half of his physical being, and still become whole. What echoes here are the words of survivors in a city better known for its memorials to the dead. Other monuments in the Nations Capital rightly honor the ultimate sacrifice of americas military men and women. But this is First National monument to recognize the wounds, physical and emotional, of those who return from battle foaferforever changed. When you are young youre invincible. I thought i wouldnt come back. There was that thought too but i had this feeling that i would come back. Why so many quotes, what was the thinking . Well we wanted to express different thoughts in the veterans journey, we wanted to express their call to service. We wanted to express what it was like to be injured, we wanted to express what it was like in rediscovering, healing and then their rediscovery in life. They are the voices so often unheard. The sacrifices that play out over a lifetime. Long after the guns have fallen silent. I was naive and clueless about the hor horrors that can be inflicted on a Young Persons body. Lloyd pope was a young star starlet when she signed on. I saw young men lying on gurneys, hobbling on crutches. Without limples limps, so badly burned, eyes just sockets, no ears, noses. I brought with me the song, somewhere from west side story, it was very popular, i very nervously began to sing that song. I got to the line, hold my hand and ill take you there, and i reached out to hold a young soldiers hand. And he had no hand for me to hold. And when i left, i thought okay, if i ever can, i want to do something for disabled veterans. I promised smie myself that i w. Inspired by a visit to the Vietnam Veterans memorial pope made good on that promise. 16 years later the flame has finally been lit. This memorial is for the 4 million living disabled veterans and the hundreds of thousands who have died before them. I want people to know that the cost of war doesnt end when the guns are silenced. I want them to know that. Disabled veterans continue to battle every day, every day. Pope helped raise money, donated some of her own, lobbied congress and the then secretary of veterans affairs, jesse brown, whose words are also here. For every tragic life unraveled, there are dozens of individuals who have managed triumph over the harrowing experience of war and ruin. The rows of trance lucent glass have 18 different quotes etched into them and images depicting the stories of countless service men and women, like felicia wesson. I just wanted to find somebody from my company. Project director barryy owenby gave us a tour. This is not just pretty glass. It is meant to tell us something. The glass, this is starfire glass, it has a strength to it but it also has a fragility to it. Two meanings, the strength of the glass but also the fragility of the glass. It represents our disabled veterans have been wounded but they come back they have been healed and have a rediscovery of purpose. The commemorate disabled veterans and to give them a place to pause and reflect. This memorial has a lot to do with reflection and light. We have a beautiful star fountain with a flame in the middle. That flame symbolizes the fire in the grove. It was a fire in the camp grove of the soldiers. Of a more than a decade of battles in iraq and afghanistan the number of disabled veterans has grown. Almost 45 since 2000. I wanted our elected representatives to realize the human cost of war. To think twice before sending our troops to battle. The memorial is located in the shadow of capitol hill. And pope says she believes that will be a call to action. Every day life goes on but pain. It is. I want people to know that. Before i lost my limbs i was only half a man. Now ive developed some humility. I can look at the average person and understand him where before i only looked at myself. A salute so richly deserved. The National Disabled Veterans Memorial is open now just west of the u. S. Capital in washington. Thats america tonight. You can comments on any stories youve seen here by logging on to our website, aljazeera. Com americatonight. Well have more of our program ll have more of our program tomorrow. The sun isnt up yet, but david godeski is. Godeski has been homeless in washington d. C. For nearly 7 years. Last night, like most, he slept outside. With Affordable Housing getting increasingly scarce here, theres been a spike in the number of homeless. Churches, food pantries, the city, are all scrambling to meet the demand. At the public librarys main branch, Homeless Individuals rush in when the doors open, some are even dropped off by a shuttle bus from the homeless shelters. Once inside, they log onto computers to job hunt or check email. They meet friends or just read, protected from the elements. For many years we would sort of open our doors and say okay, weve done our job, because were providing them a warm place to go if theyve got no place else to be. Now, social worker Jean Badalamenti will help provide information on Homeless Services and will sensitize staff. While government, residents and local businesses argue over the role of the libraries, david godeski is just glad theyre here. Having a place like this where things are controlled, its a godsend. So godeski will be back every day he can. This is Al Jazeera America, im Thomas Drayton in new york. Lets get you caught up on the top stories this hour. A new day in hong kong sees the vast majority of protesters gone from the street. For most people, business as usual. We have no doubt well stop it in its tracks in texas. Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan fighting for his life, officials counter fears about the spread of the disease. In the week ahead, we look at past