>> just a scathing report charging police in ferguson, missouri, with racial bias. the city is still struggle to go reform its law enforcement community after months of unrest in the wake of the shooting of teenager michael brown. today attorney general eric holder said that the justice department won't seek charges against the officer responsible for his death. he also said that the department's treatment of black residents is unconstitutional. ash har quaraishi joins us live from ferguson. city officials just wrapped up a news conference. what is their response? >> as you mentioned only from mayor knowles. he didn't answer any questions. he talked about some of the plans and measures that the city has taken in the wake of the michael brown shooting. we do know from chief jackson who told us just a few weeks ago that they had continued to be in touch with the d.o.j. and they've been making changes in the way they've been policing this community and they've been doing that for some time. mayor knowles said its time to move forward. >> these actions taken by these individuals are in no way representative of the employees of the city of ferguson. today's report allows the city of ferguson to identify the problems not only in our police department but in in the entire st. louis region. we plus do better, not only as a city, but as a state and a country. >> one of the things that we're hearing for the first time is actual responsible from officials talking about what has been pressure ported to be happening in ferguson for years. many residents say they're targeted by police, discriminated against, and this is what we're hearing for the first time the department of justice report being released today, and we're hearing city officials acknowledging that and changing it. >> attorney eric holder described the charges. what are those accusations. >> they talk about how officers routinely stop people without reason and use unreasonable speech and unreasonable force. one of the things that they found is that african-americans are twice as likely to be searched during vehicle stops but found in possession of contraband 26% less often than white drivers. they would look at build there was a pattern of violation and constitutional rights, and something that the attorney general said led to a lot of anger on the streets. he said there is no justification for violence. let's take a listen to what he had to say about that. >> violence is never justified but seen in this context amid a highly toxic environment defined by mistrust and resentment stoked by years of bad feelings and spurned by illegal and misguided practices it's not difficult to imagine how a single tragic incident set off the city of ferguson like a powder keg. >> antoine, you know, a lot of residents we've spoken to in ferguson never expected the grand jury to come down to an indictment. they never expected charges to be filed against darren wilson but in these bigger pattern and practice patterns you can see how things happened over the length of time. >> ash har quaraishi for news ferguson missouri. thank you. trisha rose is director for the center of study of race and ethnicity. she's in miami tonight. trisha look, what is the big take away from the findings in this report released today behind the justice department. >> the big take away is that america has to stop talking about these incidents in isolated ways based only on individual personal bias of a given police officer and we need to take very seriously how much constitutional racism and structural racism creates these kinds of climates and circumstances for african-americans all over the country. that's the big take away. >> is that what it is? structural racism. i look at the report, and i think, what do i call this? is it bias, prejudice, hate, intolerance? what is it? >> when you focus on the e-mails and these kinds of hateful kinds of comedy that people bond over, it has a personal bias dimension, right? but it's constitutional when police who represent an institution of government and the police force that participate in a system of bias treatment, excessive force which are not backed up by the statistics, meaning there is no reason to stop and frisk or pull black people over any more because you find fewer drugs which your correspondent just noted. there is no grounds for t and then penalize repeatedly. that's constitutional. now structural, the next tier up when it involves more than one institution and has reverberate ed effects. when you look at the police action and the laws and city council that others pass that create the administrative circumstances of penalizing people for various demeanors, then you have the government as a whole and thin you have the courts and the judiciary that has come up. now you're looking at structural racism with inter locking effects. we're not even looking at housing and other things. but when it's creating compounding effects. >> hard truth time. i don't have enough time to get into this the way i want to. what is history what does your life tell you. what does your academic life tell you about the most common depiction of black men in this country. we're talking about ferguson, the context of ferguson and the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager. >> there is no question that perception produces a certain kind of reality distorted as it may be. african-american men tend to be understood on the positive side as athletes, celebrities music entertainment. but if you're not a celebrity or famous for one of those things, the stereotype dominant perception is one of crime and criminality. when african-american men perform personas that are criminal they get more attention, but it's also a fear-based phenomenon that drives segregation and drives the police treatment of black men, fear of clutching pocketbooks, locking car doors. this is not just ferguson, rodney king. it's not just the 1960s riots or the 1960's movement. it goes back to emancipation. the moment black people become free they're frightening and no longer under the control of dominant society, and there is a whole series of laws, none of this would be shocking and surprising. black codes vagrancy laws in which black mobility was policed, punished, and understood as necessary for a safe society. and it evolved over time and changes, and attitudes on every day life have changed for many people. but the fundamental perceptual base remains staggeringly intact intact. >> trisha, as always, pleasure. director of the center for study of race and ethnicity at brown university. thank you. >> my pleasure, tony. >> boy oh, boy businesses were really hit hard by the unrest in ferguson and the areas--the economy really took a hit. "real money's" ali velshi is with us. >> you remember this clearly these burned husks hulks buildings they said they would demolish 18,000 burned out buildings. they have recovered but only slightly since then. in the past seven months home sales have taken a hit. falling 38% since last august. overall ferguson saw a 6% drop in tax revenue in the thee months from august to october when things were quite bad compared to the same time a year earlier. they only slightly recovered in 2014. it's not just ferguson, tony. small cities nearby have suffered similar hits to their tax bases. cities further away saw their revenues go up because people in nearby areas shifted their business away from ferguson. so it's a bit of zero-sum game. it's not that people weren't buying. it's just that they were staying away from ferguson and neighboring towns. >> how hard has it been for those people to rebuild their lives after all that unrest of last year? >> you know, tony, you and i both cover natural disasters. they tend to come back faster because this community spirit to get it rebuild to show that it can bounce back. this blow to the ferguson area is going to prove hard for recover from. last year's violence did feel like a natural disaster. it's just not that easy to rebuild because not everyone is on the same side of this issue. maybe the department of justice finding is going to help bring everybody together. things could be made easier in ferguson if the community had faith in local law enforcement. but as we know that is something that is worse than we thought tony. we knew that there was not faith in law enforcement in ferguson. we didn't really know how deeply it ran and we're learning that now. >> we sure are. what else are you looking at on the show tonight? >> we're looking at more of the federal investigation into ferguson police. we're going to be talking to a consultant who has helped to reform other police departments where they found things like that. we're looking at that, and something very interesting unconscious bias in the workplace. we'll have a spirited discussion about the pay gap between men and women why it exists and how deep it actually is. >> can't wait? thank you. you can watch ali velshi at 10:30 eastern time and 7:30 pacific right here on al jazeera america. we're following breaking news from south korea. the u.s. ambassador was attacked. take a look at this video during a thursday morning meeting in seoul. a man with a razor blade attacked him while shouting. he was reportedly bleeding and taken to the hospital. no word yet on the attack. as you can see here the the assailant was arrested. he calledpresident obama called the ambassador and his of injuries are not life-threatening. today the justices heard arguments on just who is eligible for tax subsidyies under president obama's healthcare law. lisa stark is live for us in washington lisa this particular case center on four words within the affordable care act. >> they do. a 9- 900 page act and we're looking at four words. "established by the state." we know that many states and the direct of columbia set up their own healthcare exchanges. many live in states where they have to buy health insurance through healthcare.com. that's the federal government exchange. subsidies can only be available for those who live in states where exchanges were, quote established by the state. justice kagan was not buying that. she said we looked at the whole text. we don't look at four words. outside of the courtroom the plaintiff's attorney said he's not taking those words out of context. >> reading the statute as a whole dramatically reinforces our point. principlesly a clear purpose of the statute was to encourage states to establish their own exchanges, which is dramatically undermined and frustrated by the irs rule, which provide subsidies regardless of whether the states do that. >> now the government argues that congress never intended that, and the whole basis of the law was to provide affordable care, they said that would be undermined if those tax credits disappear for millions of americans. tony? >> lisa, did we get a sense where the justices stand in this case? >> well, there is clearly a polit. the liberal justices were favoring the government's argument. the conservative justices seem to be favoring the other side. there are two key swing justices in this, justice--chief justice john roberts. he said very little during the arguments. he's not really showing his hand and the other is justice anthony kennedy. he had tough questions for both sides, but he did say at one point that's worried if these exchanges or subsidies go away for so many people, that it could throw the insurance market into a death spiral. but i think it's too close to call at this point. >> lisa stark for us in washington. thank you. in the supreme court sides with the plaintiff in this case, millions of americans could lose the tax subsidies that help them to afford health coverage. virginia is one of the dozens of states that could be affected. libby casey has more. what did they have to say? >> millions around the country are bracing for the potential of losing subsidies. they get hundreds of dollars a month to help them pay for health insurance and many have budgeted carefully expecting these subsidies to come their way. now we met one family who is already thinking about the tough choices they may have to make. [ piano music ] >> the seven-year-old is not just learning her bach and beethoven. she's learning to live with epilepsy. >> it's not something that i chose or she chose. >> she niece health insurance. >> she has to have health insurance. yes, i mean, it's stressful. >> right now they have insurance through the affordable care act and their daughters are covered by a program for uninsured kids. but they hope to earn more money by music teachers and the girls won't qualify for the state program. that means that luna and her sister will switch to her parents' insurance. the family can afford coverage only because of federal subsidies. >> right now they're making $417 difference a month and next year if i have to pay for my kids as well you're looking at--it would make the difference of $600 to $700 a month. >> the fear of suddenly having to cover that extra cost is keeping luna's father awake at night. >> i would be anger at ten seconds and then i go into a panic. it would turn out that i would have to completely reorient everything that i do, like immediately in order to accommodate this decision. i would have to pull my kids out of school. i would have to add more classes or get a second job and then i would have figure out what to do for child care for my kids while we work a second job or my wife will have to start working more than she already does. >> luna's family is among 3,000 people in violence and virginia who could lose their subsidies and we took their concerns to the republican lawmakers on capitol hill, who were fighting the federal healthcare law. >> we met a family who is afraid of losing their subsidies. what are you saying to americans? >> i don't think they will. any bridge will provide a continuation that will provide basic healthcare for them. there's no way that anybody wants anybody to lose a day of healthcare. >> senator hatch and a small group of republicans are working on a temporary fix a bridge if the supreme court throws out obamacare subsidies. that's little comfort to luna's family. >> that sound like a bridge to nowhere. >> for now the family is waiting to see what the supreme court decides, and praying that whatever happens it doesn't disrupt their lives or their children's healthcare. >> the real question, tony s what would happen next while there are some republican law make whose are trying to come up with a temporary fix if the supreme court ruled later this year against the federal subsidies there is no guarantee that congress would get on board with that by any means. it's likely to become a huge political issue and the state legislature is thinking about what they can do. it's a lot of politics at the 10,000-foot level and families say they're concerned about what is happening at their own kitchen tables. >> libby casey for news washington. thank you. to ukraine now where the government is blaming separatists for slowing rescue efforts at a collapsed coal mine in the east. ten are still missing and i have to warn that some viewers may find the images in the report disturbing. >> after the blast came the confusion. >> suddenly there was dust everywhere and people were groaning. >> outside of the mine, too things were murky. >> there was an explosion. it's unknown where the people are, what condition they're in. no one knows so far. >> the 130 men who entered the mine were evacuated, some with horrific wounds. >> there was a bang, and then it threw me so hard. >> for the families whose miners didn't make it out there was wait and worry. >> he was supposed to retire next year. they said that 32 people died, but nobody tells us anything. >> the deadly blast left ukrainians asking whether politics delayed health for the men trapped underground. they say the separatist government who controls the mine denied entry to 60 experienced mine rescue workers he sent perhaps costing the trapped miners crucial minutes. >> i gave instructions to send six brigades, each composed of ten people, but the russian terrorists did not give an opportunity to the ukrainian mine rescue brigades to pull out the people and save lives. >> but they say they were not needed. >> we're using 135 men for rescue operations inside the mine. these men belong to the military mountain rescue service the donetsk people republic. if necessary the head of the hubble will ask russia for help and the luhansk republic. >> the donetsk people republic said that a build up of methane gas is to blame. this is a just one of a series of accidents at this side. they have a tradition of burying miners here in this cemetery in view of the mine. >> it wasin 2007 was the deadliest mine accident in history. >> russian president vladimir putin called the death of his most outspoken critic a tragedy. boris mentsov was gunned down on friday. putin denies interfering with ukraine and said that nemtsov's death was meant to destabilize his government. >> the most serious attention should be paid to high profile crimes. russia should be deprovide at last of the kind of shame and tragedy like the one we've endured and seen, i mean the murder the audacious murder of boris nemtssov. >> a russian journalist released this dashcam video. the car drives by a white vehicle and city truck. nemtsov says that the gunman fled in a light-colored car. the truck blocked other security cameras from recording what happened. the boston bombing trial. his attorneys admit his guilt. plus holding the state department accountable. hillary clinton e-mails the focus of a new investigation on capitol hill. >> hillary clinton's e-mail troubles are not going away just yet. a house committee has subpoenaed asking for all the e-mails connected to the bengahzi attack. that includes those that clinton sent from her personal e-mail account. that's the topic of politics. michael shure is live for us in los angeles. here is the question. how bad are these subpoenas for hillary clinton. put this into context for us? >> well, the context is unchart unchartered waters. there is nothing bad if nothing wrong was done. the clinton people have 55,000 e-mails, but we don't know what other e-mails are out there because it's her staff which decide which should be sent to the state department. in the foreign relations committee they said we're going to do this. we have the majority, we can do that. they'll put it together in the house and see where it goes. but this does not help. you'll remember this was a kenneth starr independent investigation and found other things. if they go in looking for bengahzi and find other things, that's a bad day for the clinton clintons. >> have a listen here. >> former secretary powell has been out saying he did use personal e-mail. he did the same--not the same exact thing but had a personal e-mail that he used. secretary kerry the first secretary of state to rely primarily on his state.gov e-mail account. >> does this help clinton? >> it helps her in a sense. if nothing untoward happened in these e-mails then it doesn't hurt or help her. the fact that colin powell did it, sarah palin even did it at the time she was governor and candidate she had her own personal e-mail. but the clintons have a homegrown server in their own home different than what colin powell, sarah palin and similar to jeb bush, this pervasive argument that she might be hiding something that may exist these things cannot help her. >> any implications for 2016 for hillary clinton? >> well, you know, there are always implications. she's the unannounced candidate that everyone knows now is going to run for president. the question when we woke up on monday morning was not these e-mails was when was she going to announce. if hillary clinton if for some reason does not run there are a host of democrats waiting in the wings that republicans want to see who will come out. you know, the truth is she's going to run. this is not going to stop her from running. that's a big part of the problem here tony, what can happen in four months. what can they find in eight months in these e-mails. nobody knows that. >> thanks. >> you too tony. >> from the i dos to no you can't. why same-sex marriages are on hold again in alabama. and the u.s. offered a $5 million award for this man's capture. 's now behind bars in mexico. >> the supreme court is now deciding a case that could have a huge impact on the healthcare coverage for millions of americans. the justices heard arguments on the challenge to tax subsidies in the affordable care act. they bought insurance through the exchanges and those who bought it through their home states. we'll take another stab at it. we go to a constitutional law professor at columbia university. he has been legal council for both democratic and republican administrations. professor, good to see you. is this case happening because the affordable care act was poorly written or is this a purely partisan spectacle? >> a little bit of both. the passage of the affordable healthcare act did not go through the typical process between the house and the senate. it might have caught this language, so it is in part a complex statute that went by an unusual legislative route but partisanship does play a deal of the role here. >> professor, what is really at issue here, whether the law was written in a way that precludes or blocks the federal government from set be up healthcare exchanges. that's it, right? >> i wouldn't put it quite like that. i might prefer to say that the issue is whether or not congress has authorizeed federal exchanges, and whether or not this particular language, because it doesn't mention the federal exchange excludes it by inference. >> could the court say--could the court say that we understand the intent of the law? you just messed up the language, go fix it? >> well, the court could say you just messed up the language, you don't have to fix it. we'll stick with the irs ruling. >> right. >> for much of the 20th century, jurisprudence moved in the direction of doing that. courts were much more willing to capture congress' intent even if there was a statutory glitch in the language. we moved away from that now. justice scalia is part of a large movement to trying to confine courts more tightly to statutory language. that means they're more reluctant and less likely to do as you suggest and throw it back to congress. >> now we're at it. the administration's argument is that the phrase established by the state encompasses both federal and state-run exchanges and let's put the language up here. and that that reading the text to allow an attacks health only for state exchanges runs counter. the court is really determining do i have it correctly here? whether it go by the intent of the law or the letter of the law? is that close? >> no, i think that's broadly right. there are other references within the statute. you don't have to assume that you can get a federal exchange from these four words. but as a general matter that's right. if you believe you know the broad intent of congress, and i think there is enough in the language of the statute to infer that with some confidence, then you're probably not going to be bound by those four words. if on the other hand you say look the law is the law you're going to have a different outcome. >> do you see justices kennedy and reports potentially again being the swing votes here? >> quite possibly. the last time the affordable care act was before the court in the is sebelius case, and he wrote a dissent and it was the cleave justice. so arguebly either of these men or some other combination. >> a constitutional law professor at columbia university. thank you for your time. >> thank you tony. >> in boston today jurors began hearing the case against boston marathon bombing spake suspect tsarnaev. after prosecutors laid out their opening statement there was a surprise from the defense. >> yes, to say the least. the defense admitted that their client helped to carry out the attack. this is the defense saying this, not the prosecution. but they went on to say that is not all their fault. >> prosecutors had a different take saying that tsarnaev had a different take. there was one of the survivors in the courtroom. another eyewitness described the aftermath of the bombings like the scenes from the hollywood movie "saving private ryan." the father of the youngest victim was also in the public gallery. he's expected to eventually testify adding what could be the most heart wrenching story of all to the case. others who lost loved ones that day are hoping for closure hoping to avoid the mass media surrounding the title. >> for justice to be served and get it over with. >> a total of 23 people were killed when the bombs explodeed near the finishing line of the boston marathon. a police officer was gunneda police officer was gunned down three days later. tamerlan and his brother would steal husband gun. there was a fierce fire fight. tamerlan was killed in the exchange but dzhokhar escaped. he was found in a boat in a near buy driveway. several of the jurors said they believe that dzhokhar is guilty, but they promised to keep an open mind in considering whether he's guilty or not, a decision that could get him the death penalty. >> that is the goal for the defense, to get tsarnaev a life sentence rather than a death penalty. the trial is expected to last several months. >> this evening marriages are on hold in parts of alabama. some local judges stopped handing out licenses after the state's supreme court stepped into the debate of same-sex marriages once again. jonathan betz. >> this is a very rare move. a federal judge had given the go ahead to gay weddings only for the state to step in and then take it away. for gay couples in alabama hoping to marry the honey hoon is over before it began. the alabama supreme court ordered counts to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. >> so now the state court in alabama says no wait a minute, we do things our own way here in alabama. you federal courts get out butt out. >> in a 134-page ruling the state's justices wrote family is the fundamental unit of society. marriage is the foundation of the family. thenit's a stunning reversal after a federal court earlier allowed same-sex marriage in alabama. >> this is really unusual for a state court to thumb their nose at a federal ruling. >> alabama's chief justice abstained on this ruling, but a month ago he ordered the state probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. >> i'm not going to dictate who you love or who you don't love. the law restricts who you marry in this state. >> and the fight to uphold the law in alabama said that this decision protects family values. >> endgendergender does matter. >> one justice warning the court is venturing into unchartered waters and potentially unsettling established principles of law. >> this finally happened. we're happy. >> and couples celebrating just weeks ago are unsure of what will happen to their licenses. across the country gay marriage bans are crumbling. this summer the debate is headed to the u.s. security which will have the final say on alabama and across the u.s. will have the right to marry. now the u.s. supreme court could issue a ruling as early as june. it is widely expected to allow same-sex marriages across the country, but it may not necessarily clear up the debate. if has punted on this issue before, and it could do it again. >> jonathan betz. thank you. it is the winter that will not stop. with about two weeks left officially until spring begins. ice and snow is affecting millions from texas to the northeast. meteorologist nicole mitchell is here with more on this late blast of weather. >> i walk into the room these days. >> more good news. >> got it. well here you don't even need me to explain this. you can take one look at the radar and see how widespread this is right now we're getting ice reports, for example, anywhere from portions of texas all wait to jackson tennessee and on the northern side of it it's starting to switch to snow. yet another cold front has passed there. as this drops temperatures, the wide area of rain, rain becomes snow and ice. look at some of these temperature contrasts. temperatures have dropped 30 degrees from yesterday at this time just that short distance from memphis to atlanta, a 40-degree change. and atlanta in the 70s today will drop. i really think this 54 is the overnight temperature. probably for the 40s. houston also in the 70s will be stuck in the 40s tomorrow. that's how big that temperature drop is with all of this. that's why this is going to convert. the one good piece of news. once this clears through we have a nice dry stretch for at least a couple of days. but we have to get through it first. this is the widespread area. already right now dallas has that freezing rain. memphis is going to get snow. and then in west virginia. even around that northeast corridor that is so busy, washington, d.c. up through pennsylvania could be looking at four to eight inches of snow on the north side of this, new york city, for example, kind of on the edge. still four to six inches of snow for the day tomorrow. that is going to make tomorrow morning a very messy commute. >> messy commute. nicole, we love you. youit's just what you have to report sometimes. thank you. >> italy has rescued nearly 1,000 migrants who were trying to cross the mediterranean and they carried out seven rescue missions between libya and sicily in the last 24 hours. some migrants were on board a convoy of five dinghies. one of the boats cap sided capsized killing ten people. in an interview the convict blames the victim of a notorious notorious 2012 gang rape. it is part of a controversial new documentary that about a banned yesterday. roxana saberi with more for us. >> reporter: tony, debate over the film is growing in india. since we told but this story yesterday, the interior ministry has accused the british filmmaker of exploiting a tragedy to make money. but the director said that india is censoring a story that needs to be told. >> more than two years after a gang rape on a pus bus in india this topic is anglering top indian officials. >> india banned tv stations from airing "india's daughter." some authorities are upset that the film crew got into this jail to interview this man. he was the bus driver, one of four men convicted of rape and murder. in the film he blamed the victim victim. >> new delhi police had called for the ban arguing that the film could cause public disorder like the protest that spread across the country after the rape in 2012. british filmmaker a rape survivor herself said she's being censored. >> i say calm down. it's time we all joined hands together. >> she said that critics are taking the bus drivers' comments out of context. >> they don't understand that these comments are not endorsed in the film. these comments are decried in the film. >> she also interviewed two defense lawyers who blame the victim too. >> she should not go in night hours. >> the victim's father says these views are deeply rooted in society. >> we need to think what is prompting him to say such things. >> and women's rights activists say they're not surprised. >> blaming the victory is universal because the questions we should be asking is why did this person attack this other person? this woman? not what was she wearing that would provoke it because what that does is that it gives rapists an excuse to rape. and we do this in our culture every single day. >> the filmmaker said that she hopes people inspired by the film will help change some of that thinking. >> they come to me invarybly the vast majority of them and say please tell us what we can do. >> the four convicted murderers are on death row. india's court has stayed their appeal. thethe filmmaker now thinks that the ban on the film will only pique the interest of more people and more people will see the film. >> thank you. mexican police are declaring another victory on their war on drugs. they'rethey've arrested the reputed head of the cartel. he's the second drug lord arrested last week. how were they able to capture him? >> well, according to the mexican government which just held a press conference a few moments ago they've been conducting surveillance. they've been watching the finance chief of the latest operation, and they had seen this man go to several meetings and they realized that he was the brother of the former leader and he had taken charge. so in the past few days they have been moving in that area. they arrested the finance chief and four lieutenants. it took place at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning on mexico time wednesday morning. it's seen as a big success because recent months have had bad news in the investigation of the disappearance of 43 students who were last seen in the hands of the corrupt local police. >> adam, look, the united states offered $5 million for morales' arrest. to what extent has the u.s. been involved at all in mexico's drug fight? >> well, i sat down on monday, actually, with the number three at the drug enforcement administration in washington for series of reports we're doing and he said that they're in constant contact with their mexican partner. when we spoke to the office just a few moments ago they wouldn't confirm or deny any cooperation per se with the mexicans on this operation, but in their statement that they've been given to the press they say they congratulate mexico for the success and look forward to continue to work with their partners. it's very unlikely in the operation like this was conducted in a vacuum without some communication back and forth. >> you certainly want to believe that two governments are working closely together. what more do you know about the mexican government's over all strategy to take down these leaders? >> well, the key tony to understand this is as big of a splash as this is to take down, this cartel leader, one of the most brutal and blood thirsty gangs, and earlier the arrest of the leader of the knights templar group there has been some success on that front every few months you hear about huge money laundering scandals with international banks that continue to help perhaps sometimes unwittingly but often with knowledge the fact that they're helping international criminal organizations. that is also side by side with ongoing corruption here in mexico and also corruption north of the board. so as much as the authorities like to make a big play of these arrests, what needs to be done is to reform the courts, reform the financial systems to make sure that they can put a strangle hold on the finances of these organizations, and make sure that they don't continue to thrive in what is a lawless environment in up until now they've been able to succeed in. >> adam rainy for us in mexico city. thank you. there is a big drug problem as you know, here in the united states. heroin deaths have skyrocketed especially near chicago. it is home to the so-called heroin highway. >> new details this evening on the number of lives taken in this country because of heroin. federal data shows overdoses have quadrupled since 2000. since 2013 more than 8200 have died from the heroin overdose. many are taking the heroin highway, expecting suburbs with chicago's gritty drug markets. >> as students crisscross the halls of the high school there is a constant reminder of a growing danger. >> those are two doses. >> wheaton became the first school district to put narcane a drug that counter acts heroin overdoses in its school after two kids died. >> are there kids in your high school that are taking heroin. >> we believe. >> wheaton has become a hub for heroin addiction. this town is one of the exits off of one of the infamous heroin highway. former addict takes us on the 30-mile stretch of interstate 290 in what is called the largest heroin distribution center. >> my palms are sweating already. it's been awhile since i made this trip. >> gordon would make this trip sometimes half a dozen times a day. he took us down side streets where he cruised for heroin. >> those are lookouts. they're looking at what is going on. >> and down deserted alleys where he often met dealers. >> i would stop right here by this fence. someone would come running through, roll down the passenger window, hand to hand, and see ya later. >> on every trip he tried to dodge police and danger. >> were you afraid that you would get shot or mugged or robbed? >> absolutely. especially after i was robbed and but heroin has such a grip on you that it doesn't matter. >> young white suburban addicts are fueling the trade. we saw police stop and frisk a handful of people, but still the head of the drug enforcement administration in chicago's field office said that it remains a huge problem. >> why can't you shut those down. >> i assure you people are working on that as we speak. i point out too that i've worked in other cities like st. louis and other cities, every city in america is just about got an own air drug market because of the demand that you're speaking about diana. >> if you're a suburban heroin addict, you don't have to go into the city to score drugs. sometimes the drugs will come to you. addict also buy it downtown and sell it in their own communities. >> the head of the drug enforcement group said that they bust people almost daily in public places like this train station based on tips with those caught with heroin. even though his team made 300 arrests last year, he said that heroin demand is stronger than ever driven by new users who are mostly teens and young adults. >> is there a sense of outrage in these communities among parents? i think outrage is a strong term. i think there is a sense of concern, but there is also some complacentcy who feel not in my backyard or not my good kid johnny or sally or whatever. unfortunately, that's who we're seeing who end up the victims the good kids, johnny and sally. >> nick said he was one of those good kids who made a bad choice. he's making better ones now managing a restaurant and staying clean for three years. he thinks he's on the right path. >> i'm guessing you feel pretty lucky? >> i'm the most blessed person that i know of. there are people right now as we're driving back from this that are not going to make it through today. because of their heroin addiction. >> he said he'll always be an addict but he's confident he's exiting the heroin highway for good. diane estherbrook al jazeera. >> and for a look at what's coming up at the top of the hour, david shuster is here. >> tony, it's plaintiffs spoke out in washington against the affordable care act known as boom care. obamacare. >> there is no reason to force millions of us to pay tax penalties if we don't join the government programs. >> we'll take a closer look at the implications of the court case and explain the crucial and controversial role the tax code now plays to help some americans buy health insurance. plus police in a small texas town are under investigation for killing a mentally ill girl. the police said they were justified. the family said that the troubled teen was just seeking help. >> she was just trying to get a taste of being out on her own kind of. she was going to turn 18 soon. she had dreams. she wanted to go out into the world and explore. >> in a special two-part report, heidi zhou castro looks at who this young girl was and if her shooting death could have been prevented. >> the melody is catchy, but was it stolen? [music] >> it takes more than shared notes to prove copyright infringement. find out what the plaintiffs must show to win their court case. >> that is a big record. david shuster. an amazing find at the bottom of the ocean and it was discovered by microsoft co-founder paul allen. allen used his own submarine to find a japanese battleship on the ocean floor of the philippines. it's been there since it sank during a world war ii battle. that's all of our time during this news hour. i'm tony harris. we'll be back in just a couple of moments. for the latest news at any time head over to our website at www.aljazeera.com. that's www.aljazeera.com. have a great evening and we'll see you back here tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >> this is al jazeera america. i'm is david schuster from new york. key points from a swing justice suggest the law will be preserved. ferguson finderrings. the justice department says the police department conducted a pattern of violence, but in the death of be michael brown there