Transcripts For ALJAZAM America Tonight 20140706 : vimarsana

Transcripts For ALJAZAM America Tonight 20140706

Also the case that brought some of the nations biggest Civil Rights Act visits and thousands of protesters to a tiny town in louisiana. Sara hoy with a look at the young men known as the jena 6. I dont believe justice was served in this case not at all. I believe it was resolved but not justice. Now eight summers later their story raises questions about fairness and race and our system of crime and punishment. And, free as a bird mans mission to protect the sacred and mighty bald eagle. Good evening, thank you for joining us. Im adam may, joie chen is off. We begin with a oneyear anniversary of one of the worst rail disasters in modern history. Dozens of people died when a run away oil train sped into the center of a small canadian town. The train derailed and exploded. America tonights Sheila Macvicar travelled to that town in quebec to see how the community is rebuilding. One year on in the center of town theres an ugly scar. A constant reminder of the night of july 6th, 2013. The six city blocks wiped out. The 47 lives lost. A peaceful hot summer night. To this. Oh my god. With no warning. I thought at this moment okay all of us will die this night. Kareem blanch et was driving when she saw a massive fireball in her rear view mirror the explosion and again and again of the tank. The people everywhere. The sirens of police. It was just apocalyptic. A train with 72 tanker cars hauling 2 million gallons of oil from the field. A train with no engineer on board. When the brakes civiled the train failed the train rolled out of control downhill into the center of town. Investigators awhen the train say when the train came down the track it was travelling at 63 k hr. 63 miles an hour. Hits this quur curve. The cars slide. There was the cafe. The cafe thats a nightclub where blanch et was supposed to work. Where her friends were. I was in front of the disaster. I said no, its impossible. I want it to stop now. And rewind and never happen. Reporter its so shocking. Yes. The wait es i was supposed to switch with her, she died. So i always saw some of this and think she died at my place. Its strange to im sorry. Massive devastation. This is what we were faced with when we arrived. This was like driving into hell. It was. There was nothing comparable. This was the 9 11 to canada. Tim has been a professional firefighter for 35 years. He leads the volunteer force at rapingly maye rangely maine. These are neverbeforeseen pictures taken by one of his crew from inside the blast zone. We saw towers we didnt know what they were. What kind of building it was. He said it wasnt a building they were the tank ards they went in so hard they embedded and stood up and exploded from the oil. Into the nightclub. Into the nightclub. We said were there a lot of people injured . They said to, there was one injury. You lived or died. Its so big. I lost 30 friends. And customers in the same night, and employees, friends. Its too big. I cannot swallow it. Reporter even now. Even now. Reporter yannick was the owner of the music cafe. One mere on, hes trying to rebuild, not just his cafe but his life. Reporter are there other people here . Its the same. Its the same. Its so small here. The tragedy is so big. We talk with someone, he knows another, he lost a friend a daughter, a son, another lost his father his mother. Everyone knows everyone here. Reporter crude oil doesnt normally explode and burn. This from the backend fields did with such force that the canadian Prime Minister scribed it has a war zone. Train wheels were blown off. Tanker cars plit open like soda cans. Oil igniting and exploding, blowing apart the water system. No one would be set up to handle a blast of the that proportion, we dont have the money oequipment. No Fire Department has. This reminds everyone of the disaster that almost wiped their town off the map. Translation its a tragedy of unbelievable magnitude. It was the heart of the town which was somehow gone decimated. The impact of the explosion is still being felt. Translation more than 700 lost their jobs some are under shock because they experienced it closely. Reporter dozens of businesses are closed, many suffer trauma theres been suicides and divorce. Theres the fear of contamination, 1. 5 billion gallons of fuel were burnt. The tracks in the town were never meant to transport hazardous foorls. In the last five years it increased exponentially. In 2009 there were 500 cars of crude oil. In 2013, 160,000. Thats an increase of almost 32,000 . A boom echoed in the u. S. Every day. Rolling in carrying millions of gallons across america. For the fire chief, the business of moving oil in milelong traipse is a worrying trend. The Rail Industry has not been regulated since the 60s. We are shipping millions of gallons daily over the tracks going by homes, local neighbourhoods, schools, hospitals, thorough ways and people are sound asleep. The trains are rolling through at night. In the wake of the accident the canadian government imposed more regulations, including forcing the Rail Industry to update cars used to transport petroleum, standard unchanged since the cartses were introduced four cars were introduced four decades ago. The United States has yet do the same. At some point it will happen again and therell be another new story and more fatalities and people will feel bad. We need to have the people in charge the federal regulators those that obvious see transportation, write regulations to make sense, keeping the people safe and have the ability to enforce the regulations. There are trains rolling through, but they are carrying goods that the city is assured are safe. There are plans for a bypass but that takes time to build. Meantime, theres talk of letting trains with dozens of Petroleum Tanker cars roll through the center of the town. That has people here reliving the worst nightmares. I think we are not. Translation we dont deserve this with all that happened here all that we lost. Im concerned the train has to pass somewhere, but not in my town. The mayor acknowledges that many in the town are uneasy about the proposed resumption of shipments, but since the new rail line opener they promise the trains will be as safe as possible and moffat the slowest possible move at the slowest possible speed. Its a small town but a lot of people will lose their home family trend and job. Nothing will be the same. Coming up next bridging the gap. At the height of the summer driving seven, a warning about the 60,000 bridges in this country in desperate need of remare. An indepth repair. An indepth look at crumbling america and why you may be at risk. Lawyers are entrusted to seek the truth. I didt shoot anybody i dont have anything to do with nothin but some dont play by the rules the way the courts have treated him, made me sick and its society that pays the price prosecutors have unique power to take away your personal liberties i just want justice. The system with Joe Burlinger only on Al Jazeera America country in desperate need of on tech know imagine getting the chance to view the world. The brain is relearning how it sees again after decades in the dark i couldnt get around on my own a miraculous bionic eye. Im seeing flashes great tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. This is some of the best driving ive every done, even though i cant see. Tech know. Were here in the vortex. Only on Al Jazeera America. We know a lot of you are hitting the roads this Holiday Weekend. Every day 200 million cars cross bridges across the United States. Theres cause for alarm. Inspectors say one in nine are structurally deficient. Federal funding to fix them has been held up in congress. I travel to three big cities to report on the broken bridges as part of crumbling america. A bridge cop l collapsed. People are all over the place. Send everything you got. The bridge over the river fell down. Theres cars all over the place. Where, sir . 35w over the mississippi. Theres hundreds of cars down the river. Send everything you have got. Lindsay was 24 in 2006 show was stuck in traffic. Frustrated and anxious to get home after a long day. Slowly approaching the i35w bridge. I got to about the middle of the bridge when i heard a clank. It was a very distinct sound of metal breaking. What did you see . My cars was in an immediate free fall going the bottom. It was full of water. Do you remember sitting there watching the water rise around you . My car went in and the water came up as quickly as the car went in. By the time the car stopped moving, i was drowning. To her surprise and against the odds lindsay floated reaching the surface of the water. Thats when she saw the scale of the destruction. A construction worker saw me called me to a section. Bridge an incline that was climable. He took a broom that had fallen and fished me out of the water and told me to sit by the median. Thats where i sat for about 45 minutes. When i need to i come here. Reporter seven years later a memorial has been erected honouring the victims of the minnesota bridge collapse. 13 columns remembering 13 lives lost overlooks the new i35 w bridge. Lindsays name is here with 145 others who survived. How did you get out of your car sni. D the unanswered question. I dont know. I have chalked it up to whatever else. I dont know. I accept i dont know and may never know. I did. Thats the part that matters. Reporter a formal investigation into the collapse took more than a year. The National Transportation safety board said the cause of the tragedy was a design flaw in the gusset plates metal squares connecting one beam to another. At the time of the collapse the bridge was listed as structurally deficient. Engineers ruled the brim was in need of critical maintenance, but safe enough to remain open. How much bridges in the country are deficient . We have 60,000 structurally deficient bridges, with physical problems. And to put that into perspective, one in nine bridges in this country. One in nine. Casey is with the American Society for civil engineers. Every four years they evaluate the sit of americas infrastructure. The most recent report card gave the nation a shocking d plus. While the bridges were graded a c plus. How did we allow this to happen in the country to get so many deficient bridges . Like many categories we take the things for granted. Perhaps we think theyll last forever, we can defer maintenance. The reality is the trust fund theres a trust fund supporting bridges, roadways and transit system. Theyll go bankrupt. Congress has a challenge before it now to fix the trust fund and this has to be done by the end of the assumer. It sends 35 billion to states. Its a primary source of funding. Its not collecting enough rev few. It could be drained to zero by august 1st. President obama is calling on lawmakers to support 300 billion in additional funding. Its time for folks to stop running around saying whats wrong. Roll up your sleeves, lets get to work and help america re build. Thats what we should be doing. Reporter in the shadow of the Nations Capital sits the fret rick Douglas Bridge designed to last 50 years, its a critical artery into washington d. C. And 14 years overdue for replacement. What are the problems with this bridge . It carries 77,000 cars per day in and out of the city. Its a critical way in. Its showing serious signs of age and wear and tear. I read a report that described parts of the steal, and under parts of the steel. Its a visual depiction. A state with the worse record for safety is pence vainia with one in four bridges structurally deficient. The icon yirk birmingham bridge is one of them. Dan ses ner is with the department of transportation. Theres not too many more years of rusting that that could do that would be acceptable before you have a safety issue. Reporter it had a scare . 2008 when a rocker beam that supports the bridge slipped. Portions of the bridge were closed for nearly a year. If you took this bridge out of service, 25 of capacity to cross the river would be lost a Significant Impact on commuters and business in the pittsburgh region, and would have a lot of impacts on people. With federal funding in departmenty act 89 was passed setting aside 40 million to overhaul the birmingham bridge much. The project is eligible for federal funds. The lack of federal fund if we didnt have state funding we wouldnt talk about the fact were getting ready to fix the bridge. While bridges can be fixed, lindsay says her mental scars will last a lifetime. She credits art with helping her cope with the drama of that day. One of canvas the back brace she wore for months. Are these some of the names . Amazing. I have all the names of the 13 victims who passed away. And numbers and things that are kind of important to historical nature of it i wanted to capture what i remember. I remembered flames tangled beams, and the truck on fire. And the people on the island with me. The rebel. It was a cathartic process for me to really put that memory in real visible form for myself. Lindsay says she deals with posttraumatic stress disorder and survivors guilt. But says the biggest loss of all was to her faith. My world view now comes with the assumes that things will fall down. I can see the cracks and all of things that are wrong with our infrastructure and buildings and all the different ways that we dont care for stuff like that. I dont trust that things will be safe. President obama called for action on that trust fund. Looking ahead on the program pot wars exploring marijuanas momentum in washington statement, where the medical marijuana is getting down to business but the grand openings are facing controversy between federal and state law. Correspondent Lori Jane Gliha reports on the looming collision course that is this week on america tonight. Next in this hour when justice falls out of balance. The explosive case of six young men facing harsh judgment in a louisiana town. Correspondent sara hoy with an indepth second look at the jena six. Care that they need a partisan standoff. I ride in opposition to obamacare millions uninsured. It hurts to see my family in this condition. Our politics costing lives . There are people like me literally dying because because they dont have the cash fault lines. Al jazeera americas hard hitting, theyre blocking the door. Groundbreaking, we have to get out of here. Truth seeking, award winning, investigative documentary series the coverage gap only on Al Jazeera America now inroducing the new al jazeea america mobile news app. Get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. A global perspective wherever you are. The major headlines in context. Mashable says. Youll never miss the latest news they will continue looking for suvivors. The potential for Energy Production is huge. No noise, no clutter, just real reporting. The new Al Jazeera America mobile app available for your apple and android mobile device. Download it now every saturday, Al Jazeera America brings you controversial. Both parties are owned by the corporations. Entertaining its fun to play with ideas. Thought provoking get your damn education. Surprising oh, absolutely . Exclusive oneonone interviews with the most interesting people of our time. Youre listening because you want to see whats going to happen. I want to know what works what do you know works . Conversations you wont find anywhere else. Talk to al jazeera. Only on Al Jazeera America. Oh my now to crime and punishment. Its been a decade since jena louisiana was thrust into the spotlight. Six black teens were arrested and charged with attempted murder after beating up a white class mate. The case pitted black against white. In an exclusive sara hoy returned to find out what if anything had changed. Robert bailey Junior Michael bell brian pervis theo shaw four young men part of a group of defendants known as the jena six. A racially charged case that divided the nation. It just happened. Reporter the teens were charged with attempted murder then battery following a 2006 schoolyard fight that left a white classmate unconscious. I know what i did, but when i heard the term attempted murder im thinking man, attempted murder,. Michael bell was the first of the six teens to be tried and convicted in adult court. A ruling that sparked anger across the country. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase the jena 6. Anger. I wont say hate red, but a lot of pain. Reporter now a 24yearold student at Southern University in baton rouge, bell wants to set the record strait. Its important for the country to know what happened with the jenna 6, that they stood up and said they had nothing to do with it that i did everything. Its important for everywhere to know what happened. If you had a part in it you should have stated that you had something to do with it. Just not a jena 6, its a jenna 1. Released in 2007 after his conviction was overturned bell agreed it a plea deal sentenced for 18 monthless he was given credit. He attempted suicide after an unrelated arrest the following year. It didnt bother me but people judged. I wanted to live a normal life put that behind me. Have a family. I have a daughter who is three. Reporter the followed months of continuation after three nooses were found hanging from a tree known as a hang out for white students only. After bell was found guilty he faced 22 years in prison. Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of jena with alsharpton and Jesse Jackson leading the charge. Even then senator president obama weighed in on the controversy saying in a statement . I wouldnt have known about this i didnt know about it or do nothing wrong at the center of the brawl was yourselfin Barker Justin barker, who lives near jena. Eight years later he is married with a baby girl. He suffers jaw problems and doesnt know why he was attacked. At that time i didnt know what it was. It didnt blow up until alsharpton and the buddies came in and the story was turned off of me getting jumped on to getting them out of trouble, you know. I mean its like they didnt go nothing wrong. Like i wasnt worried about them jumping on mean and they were just worried what they were charged with. It was probably a little harsh, attempted murder but they still shoul

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