>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. a pivotal ukrainian town has fallen. after days of intense fighting on the ground, thousands of ukrainian troops pull out of debaltseve. >> our troops and formations have left in an organized and planned manner. >> kiev insists that the withdrawal was not a retreat. while they may be able to salvage a cease-fire.

>> operatests say they now control the railway town in eastern ukraine. the withdrawal is a serious blow to the ukrainian force. paul brennan is on the front lines of debaltseve. >> they're beaten and in retreat. ukrainian soldiers finally gave up the defense of their position on wednesday pushed out by relentless bombardments and ground assaults. and all this happened four days after a cease-fire supposedly began. the ukrainian wounded were taken in and spoke of a gauntlet of fire. >> there are no words to describe it. along the entire way we were blanketed with shots. they used everything.

we left debaltseve at 5:00 a.m. and until this morning we were still under fire. >> the bombardment was carried out by separatest unites like this one southwest of debaltseve. we found the fighters confident and bullish. there was no shortage of tanks and armor. many of the fighters believe the ukrainians should be forced to withdraw from the whole donetsk region. >> in my opinion the first task is to push the enemy back to the donetsk and luhansk regions as drawn on the map. after that we'll see. >> there was a thinly veiled threat aimed at any ukrainian stragglers. >> i think what happened here, i can't imagine what will happen after that. time will tell. >> the loss of the town of debaltseve for the ukrainian is a bitter blow. they had invested much capital both human and military trying

to defend it. but the smoke hanging over the town now seems to be nothing more than a clean up operation for the separatist forces. the ukrainian forces have withdrawn. separatests are adamant that debaltseve was encircled well before the minsk agreement. now the fate of one of the last disputed towns has been settled and it gives hope that the two sides can begin to disengage the length of the front line. >> we have more on the conflict, and why this particular city, debaltseve is so important. >> very critical town, tony. keep in mind the rebels already control much of southeastern ukraine including the key cities of luhansk and donetsk

in debaltseve, when they peace deal was reached last week, ukraine technically had control of the town. but all that changed overnight. fighters moved in, and fighters fell to the pro-russian separatists. now drone footage shows what has been left behind here. the city up here is largely empty today. many buildings are badly damaged. most of the people fled during the fighting. this town once had 25,000 people people. newest mates are that there are no more than a few thousand people left. and this is why debaltseve is so important. transportation major highs run highways run through it. both of these cities are rebel strongholds. that's why debaltseve is so important. railroads are needed because this area is rich in coal, which is, of course, shipped largely by rail.

and it also provides a great rail link into russia allowing it to send in supplies and military equipment directly to the front lines. when you add in criee i can't in the south and this moves drastically the amount of land that russia controls. >> that's a good explaining.. jonathan betz for us. the president is laying out his plan to stop what he called the violence extremism of isil and alqaida. i called on communities to help stop extremist groups from recruiting americans. mike viqueira is live for us at the white house. good to see you. the president was criticized ahead of the summit for not addressing this issue head on, but he certainly surprised some folks today. >> reporter: well, he did tony, and this being washington, the events takes on all kinds of meaning that had nothing to do

with the original countering violent extremism as it was billed. tomorrow the international session with many coming to the state department will president obama will speak again. you're right the president leading up to this had been hit by criticism from principally conservatives and he was reluctant to use the phrase islamic terrorists when talking about the attacks. some of the brutal killings we've seen most recently in libya, for example the attacks in denmark canada, france, and elsewhere. while the president has been walking a fine line between the critics and not wanting to offend all muslims, not to single out muslims. he spent a great deal of time defending muslims and their faith, but this is what the president said in direct reference to the critics. >> they're not religious leaders, they are terrorists. [applause]

and we are not at war with islam. we're at wore with war with people who have perverted islam. >> that's the president referring to the leaders of isil and and alqaida. he made another point. if leaders paint muslims with the same brush it's not only the wrong thing to you, but it plays into the strategy of the enemy who wants to paint this as a west versus muslim. >> what is supposed to come out of this summit. >> the expectations are low. they say they're working towards the u.n. general assembly in the fall. but they're citing pilot programs that the administration has under dean in three american cities to get at the grassroots level and at the community level, to build awareness to

stop people or recognize the signs that young people in vulnerable populations as the white house puts it, might be on the path to radicalization. to counter extremist narratives particularly online and social media and community intervention through local community and religious leaders. that's what the president is after. that's what this summit--we shouldn't use the word, it's more of a gathering other the course of three days at the white house. those are the goals and that's what the president was working towards today. >> mike viqueira at the white house, thank you. now to syria where there is no evidence yet that the government is following through with proposed cease-fire in aleppo. damascus' u.n. envoy said that it would suspend airstrikes up to six weeks. this comes on the heels of a defensive that killed upwards of 150 people. the fight something believed to have killed 200,000 people in the last five years.

an american journalists vanished in syria two and a half years ago. now the parents of austin ties are calling on president obama to do more to find him. roxana saberi visited tyce hometown. >> they say their son is still alive. they say though that they don't know who is holding him hodges. austin grew up in houston and served in the marines for six years. he took a break from georgetown law school to report in syria. his family last loved from him on august 13, 2012. >> we've been in contact with a number of people and you know, pretty much for that exception everyone that talks to us and that we talk to tells us they believe he's alive, and they believe that he'll ultimately come home.

we just want to start the process. we just want that to be tomorrow. >> yesterday. >> roxana i'm wondering to the tices believe that the president has done more to return heston. >> they say that they need to talk more to figure out where audience is and bring him home. we'll have more on their efforts and what they're doing. >> roxana. appreciate it. roxana saberi. thank you. an emergency session at the united nations security council dealing with libya and a new threat there from an isil affiliate. libyan government is asking for the arms embargoing to lifted so they can fight the group. and egyptian planes bombed isil in libya after the group released a video showing the murder of 21 coptic christians.

but those living in the area say instead of hitting isil targets civilians were injured and killed by those bombs. >> reporter: witnesses say this boy was a casualty of airstrikes by the anything military. as was his sister. doctors could not save their lives or the lives of five other people. >> we started resuscitation on this bench. everything happened here. but they say the suffocation took place in al bata. the chirp were here, and the men who appeared on the video with them is from the an thesology department. >> but some dispute whether the children were killed during the bombing, claim they can died of other causes in another city in eastern libya. the airstrikes came after the beheading of 21 coptic christian nationals who were living and working in sirte. the hometown of former leader

muammar qaddafi. the egyptian government said that the airstrikes were aimed as training camps of isil affiliates. some appeared to have missed their target. >> there was no militant presence here. just families lived here. the family, the mother and their children were all killed. there was a gentleman who was also killed. there were eight killed in the neighborhood. >> the court-appointed said that they're trying to divert public opinion from their own problems at home. >> we call upon the u.n. the european union and african union to launch an investigation into the video of the allegeds beheading. >> egypt is now demanding for u.n. action. france and italy are also campaigning they want a coordinated international effort to counter the threat.

tunisia is worried security has been beefed up at the border area. it's been unclear how strong a presence isil groups have in libya, but the current political security vacuum create the perfect breeding ground for such groups to expand. >> and just south of the libya in chad the u.s. started it's annual military exercises and the target, the threat really from boko haram is really a key topic. troops from 28 nations including niger nigeria and cameroon taking part where boko haram has launched attacks in each one of those countries. it's part of an initiative to take back 11 towns. two soldiers are reported dead in the offensive. andthey've used airstrikes against boko haram along the area.

president obama has tapped the head of his security detail to become the new full time secret service director. libby casey is in washington for us. was there pressure on president obama to hire someone from outside of the agency? >> there was tony, especially after a panel convened to looking at the mistakes of the secret service blamed in part of the culture and said someone outside of the agency should run it. but ultimately president obama went with experience, choosing a man who has literally guarded his life and the lives of former presidents. >> joseph clancy has run the secret service for four months. a period of soul searching for the agency, looking at high profile mistakes, including an intrude who are made his way into the white house and a drone that landed on the white

house lawn. recommendations of sweeping changes, including putting someone in charge who is not part of secret service culture. but president obama is keeping clancy on because he has built up credibility inside the agency. >> mr. clancy has demonstrated that he was willing to conduct a candid cleared-eye assessment of the agency and look at reforms. and that's precisely why he has been promoted to the permanent role. >> reporter: runs are criticizing the president's decision to ignore the review panel recommendation. house oversight and government reform chairman jason chaffetz called it disappointing and said that the panel called for someone with a fresh perspective, free from the allegiances and without ties to what has been consistently described as a good ol' boy's network. clancy himself talked about

bringing someone in from the outside. >> we don't have time to train someone in this role. you got to have someone who has some history and knows where we need to go in the future. >> the panel's proposals to fix the secret service did not stop with changing management. it included a host of recommendations ranging from better officer training to raising the white house fence. and there is another looming challenge for the agency, the stand off on capitol hill over funding the department of homeland security. the dhs secretary warned that that could jeopardize planned improvements. >> we're unable to do some of the things that the secret service panel were unable to hire for the coming presidential elections cycle. >> clancy is a 27--year veteran at the agency. he has held president's lives in his hands and now he'll determine the future of the secret service. >> even though clancy has decades of experience at the secret service he left it in

in 2011 to go into private security coming back four months ago, of course, when the president called him to. there have been some house clearing at the secret service besides the director julia pearson, who left in october. in the last couple of weeks four other top officials were moved tony they're no longer at the agency. >> gotcha. libby casey for us in washington. thank you. investigators this evening are trying to figure out what caused a huge explosion at an exxonmobil refinery near los angeles. it all about leveled part of the refinery and registered the equivalent of a 1.7 magnitude earthquake. it triggered the flair system that sent flames and smoke into the air. four workers suffered minor injuries. russia's side of the story. i'll talk to a former kremlin wider who say russia is not the problem in eastern ukraine. plus thousands march in silence on the streets of argentina. the protesters upset over the

death of a prosecutor investigating government corruption and this: a racist and proud of it. video of soccer fans on a paris subway and the fall out it is creating.

>> in argentina thousands have taken to the streets this evening. this is what it looks like in buenos aires. they're protesting the government of cristina kirchner over the death of a prosecuteor. >> the march lasted for more than two hours under the relentless pouring rain, but that did not deter thousands and thousands of people who came out here to to to pay homage to the prosecute who are died exactly one month ago under suspicious circumstances. many people said that although this was pot snowed to be a supposed to be a political march they suspect that the government had something to do with the prosecutors death although there is no hard evidence at this point to back those claims. over the march was attended by just about every opposition

leader. the march was called by, quote those who were trying to carry out a judicial coup and destable it but in the end this was seen as a demonstration and the chief of staff said that the organizers were trying to stage a kind of judicial coup against the government and try to destabilize the president's stay in power. most people say that that's not true. they said what they want is less interference in justice and who killed alberto nisman. >> a major blow for ukrainian forces struggling to hold on to a strategic town in the east, president pet terror poroshenko

ordered force has move from the town today. they say they captured hundreds of ukrainian soldiers, and they deny that claim. we go to the director of the institute for democracy in and cooperation, and a former member of russia's presidential council. good to see you. >> thank you. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> let me start here with you. so the separatest promised to lay down their weapons as part of this cease-fire. instead, isn't it clear that they have only regrouped to fight another day? so what does the memberships agreement mean? is it not even worth the paper that it's written on? >> no, no what happens unfortunately for president poroshenko, he did not want to recognize that his troops are in siege. >> his troops are in siege. >> yes sure. and they were surrounded they

could lay down arms and they would be let go. >> for the russian forces could put down their arms. >> they were in siege. not the self defense forces. but poroshenko did not want to be perceived as a loser, a president whose forces are you know suffering defeat after defeat. that's the problem. unfortunately because of ukrainian president several hundred people were killed. >> what should he be doing in your view. >> he should recognize that there is a siege and the troops need to be-- >> should he let debaltseve just

go? is that something he should have done? >> but eventually we have exactly what happened. debaltseve is under the control of the self defense forces only because of poroshenko she suffered several hundred killings. >> you don't call the pro-russians separatests. >> no, they're not pro-russian separatests. >> self defense forces. >> yes exactly. these people are fighting for their liberation. >> under attack by what, the ukrainian government forces? >> of course. unfortunately, not only government forces. together with government forces there are also some volunteer battalions headed by extreme nationalists who are pro-- >> wow. >> neo-nazi forces. >> you're arguing kiev again aren't you. you're arguing kiev all over again, aren't you?

as the origin of this. >> of course kiev is the origin. because these people--even a year ago they were ready to give some heavy rule, the right to speak in their native language in russian. >> that was not being denied. that was not being denied. >> the government of kiev--that was denied. by the way after they forced yanukovych out. >> he left. >> no, he was forced out. they repealed the law concerning russian languages in regions. and unfortunately that created another-- >> you don't see this as an intervention led by russia, do you? you don't see this that way at

all? >> of course not. >> the european union see it that way. the germans see it that way. the united states see it that way. you don't see it that way. tell me why please. >> because everyone has their own narrative of the region and their own interest in the region. russia wants ukraine out of as between russia and the west. americans want ukraine to be part of nato and e.u. which means a serious geopolitical trip for russia, potential enadvancement of nato infrastructure to russian borders. i think it's absolutely unacceptable for russia. this is an existential for them. >> always good to have you on the program. pleasure talking with you and. >> thank you for inviting me. >> of course, of course. >> thank you. >> the police are looking into a video showing soccer fans

harassing a black man in paris. now the video obtained by the guardian shows a group of men getting out of hand on a train after an english premiere match. we have more on this story from paris. >> a black man tries to board a paris metro plane. and is repeatedly pushed off by fans of the english football club chelsea. the british man who filmed the scene at the station said that people around him could not believe what they were seeing. what happened next was more shocking. and the morning after chelsea's champion league match we managed to get a reaction from some fans heading home to london.

>> we're disappointed for two reasons. firstly, because of what happened. secondly because now we're all labeled racists. not just the individuals who did it but all of us. they've set the club back 30 years. >> i'm horrified. >> it's unacceptable, and any true chelsea fans would abhor that. >> london's metro metropolitan police side they'll help to identify the men. : >> but this civil rights campaigner witness to see boulder action. >> i want chelsea football club,

i urge them to make a call for those who know the supporters so they can be prosecuted. i urge jose mourinho to make the call. i urge chelsea football club to take this opportunity for this massive any racist campaign. >> paris police are investigating the event. >> healthcare in rural america. >> odds are you may die because there is no healthcare like the hospital. >> there is a possibility. >> why hospitals are disappearing and doctors are trying to treat those who live in those communities. >> and jeb bush says he's his own man. the presidential hopeful takes a step back from his brother's foreign policy.

>> welcome back to the program. in rural communities access to medical care is becoming inaccessible. that's leaving the uninsured and unemployed to see doctors. robert, in the sit of georgia they have seen five hospitals five of them go under in the last two years. what is behind that trend? >> it depends on who you talk to. some people say the expansion and lack of medicaid here in the state of georgia and other republican-dominated states with republican governors and lawmakers say that is the major issue. then you talk to others and they say the affordable healthcare act has caused a problem in you'll rural pockets, and then you talk to others who say rural areas cannot i tract good doctors to come to those areas.

but regardless who or what is to blame there are communities who have a life-and-death situation. >> cindy jones' husband bill died of a heart attack two years ago. >> he had been on the usual day of a farmer. he was on a tractor and the nearest hospital was 25 miles away. >> the town of rich land was closer only nine miles away. it's hospital could have saved jones' life if it hadn't closed only a month before he had had his heart attack. >> this is a hospital or at least the shell or remnants of what was. you can see the rusted over doors. there is no electricity. this is a building falling apart. well, a few years ago when it shut it was the second largest employer in the county. a real economic engine in this area. now that's gone. now people who have problems, they have 40 miles to drive to

get healthcare. >> it's just heartbreaking. >> cybil is the former director of nursing at the stewart webster hospital. >> let's say i have a heart attack. i'm brought here. i go to the front door. this is the hospital. it's locked. there is no one here. there is no care that condition get care. >> other than the doctor's office. if you needed emergency care, no. >> the odds are? you may die because there is no healthcare. >> very good possibility. >> so we went to the doctor's office just down the street. he was a surgeon before the hospital in rich land closed. today he's the only doctor in town and he's deeply concerned about the affect on the elderly and the poor. >> the impact is very concerning because the patient has to travel so far, a minimum

35-40 miles, the closest hospital. >> jimmy lewis runs a rural health organization in georgia that is trying to raise money and talk with lawmakers about these forgotten areas. >> we have in many cases in georgia the equivalent of third world healthcare. these simply because we don't have providers that are accessible in a timely enough fashion to provide the proper healthcare for that 1.8 million people. >> georgia state lawmakers have rejected plans to expand medicaid. democratic state senator david lucas blames republican opposition to obamacare. >> i would say its politics. that's the only thing that i can explain. i'm for it. i've always been for it. i think it's the best thing since apple pie and it would go a long way in helping these hospitals. >> we asked to speak with georgia's republican governor nathan deal on camera. instead his communications

department sent us this e-mail statement. the governor implemented changes to the rules and regulations effecting licensure for hospitals which permitted rural hospitals to offer fewer service it is they're in danger of closing. also the governor has invested state resources to expand the number of residency spots in the state to incentivize monther doctors to stay and practice in georgia. back in rich land, they're trying to raise millions for a new hospital. >> you say that the state politicians are listening to you guys they'll try to help, but we've heard that before. you're a small town mayor. you have good intentions. do you think they're going to come up and give $6 million to you guys? >> well, they've offered assistance and so i wouldn't say anything negative at this time because we still have some

things we're working on to try to see if we can put it together. >> but i have to ask you, i mean the thing is this is life and death. this is not let's fund a railroad or let's put together a community program. this is people's lives. people need health attention. do they understand that? >> i really think they do because the governor has made some changes in the healthcare and to make it easier for communities to be able to do this. >> for widow cindy jones any government promise is too late. >> if that hospital had been there, i'm sure there would have been someone there trained to do what they could do other than what my daughter did. but we just didn't have that. >> tony, no one really has a solution. everyone you talk to here in the capitol city of atlanta they say that they're working on things. the governor, as you heard

would not talk to us. lawmakers, some of them will talk to us. some of them won't. but no one has any concrete solution as to what will happen in these ruler communities as the aging communities get bigger as time goes on here. so what we've heard from several people here at the state capitol is that it could an few years until someone has anything concrete. for the time being i think we're going to see more of those rural hospitals close and a lot of people suffer. >> robert ray for us in atlanta. thank you. georgia isn't alone. rural hospitals are closing down across the nation, and the pace of those closures is only getting faster. >> tony, nationwide 16 million people live in rural communities, which is everywhere outside of the orange clusters. that's 20% of the population. but only 10% of the nation's doctors serve those you recall areas. the main concern is not the lack of rural hospitals but how often they're closing. over the past five years 48

rural hospitals have shut down. the closures are leaving hundreds of thousands of americans hours away from the nearest hospital. when we add the numbers, you can see it's hitter some of the poorest areas. the lighter the green the lower the income. the light represent families who make less than $30,000. most of the closings are happening in rural communities in the deep south. but for many time is critical. if you have a stroke every minute untreated about 2 million nerve cells die. if you have a heart attack every minute the heart isn't beating your chances of rival go down by about 10%. with 280 rural hospitals on the brink of closure many americans could be left without critical care in the time that they need it the most. >> in today's power politics the president was firm today in stating how the fight against extremeism should and shouldn't be characterized. it was a speech that was sure to get strong reactions. michael

shure is live for in us in los angeles. why did the president give this speech today? >> yes tony, i think it's an interesting question you asked. the real reason that the president decided to speak on this is because of a combination of things. one of which, of course, were those hideous murders that took place in chapel hill north korea north carolina last week. this is politics. 57%. that's the number of americans according to a poll release yesterday that disapprove the way the president is handling the issue of isis, and to remind other americans as well that the islamic--that isis and islamic extremists do not represent islam. >> they tried to portray themselves as religious leaders holy warriors in defense of

islam. that's why isil presumes to declare itself the islamic state. and they propagate the notion that america and the west generally is at war with islam. we must never accept the premise that they put forward. because it is apply. they're not religious leaders. they're terrorists. >> michael look, if we take a peek here at 2016 politics, the president spoke on the same day that former florida governor jeb bush was giving his own foreign policy speech. what did you take away from that speech? >> yes, of course, they weren't designed to compete with one another, but, in fact, the speech that jeb bush gave today in chicago every speech that jeb bush is giving, many of the people who handle jeb bush say he's trying to differentiate

himself from his family, but in fact this was more than that. this was a speech on foreign policy. he did make sure to let everyone know that he is a different kind of bush. >> i've been fortunate to have a father and a brother who helped to shape foreign policy in the oval office. my views will often be held up in chair son to theirs. i love my brother. i love my dad. i love my mother as well, i hope that's okay, and i admire their service to the nation and the difficult decisions they had to make. but i'm my own man and my views are shaped by my own thinking and my own experiences. >> you know, he is an underlining these thing saying things like he has his own views and own foreign policy. he gave a speech and q and a and he was great in the q and a and less good in the speech in terms of stylistically. but to say that i'm not george

bush's brother or george bush's son, but he went ahead to praise his brother george w. >> my brother's administration through the surge which was one of the most heroic acts of courage politically that any president has done because there was no support for this. and it was hugely successful, and it created a stability. >> hmm. michael, look, this is the second time this month right that, jeb bush has made what looks and sounds like a campaign speech. what is he saying. >> the polls are coming out now very premature. the only actively running for president, and when you look at some of the polling that has come in, the states of colorado, iowa and you look at rand paul.

he's doing quite well against hillary clinton in two states, colorado and very. colorado has a strong libertarian streak and not surprising that rand paul would do well there. and jeb bush, jeb push is 42--42 against hillary clinton. and only in iowa is he doing well against rand paul. they're also distancing a candidate date from another father of rand paul. >> as the economy rebounds at least one group of people seem to be left out. we're talking about students here. students are having a difficult time paying back their loans.

ali velshi is here. >> the idea that larger economic forces are holding back the financial progress of young people hurting our economy as a whole. here is the issue. people take on debt. college students take on debt, bigger debt than ever before. the grand toll is $1.16 trillion at moment and they're having a hard time getting the jobs that will help pay that off. younger americans put off making large purchases like homes or they don't start their own businesses as the pace people normally would. they stop taking economic risks and that's bad for economic growth. you know two-thirds of the u.s. economy is driven by expenditure expenditures decided upon by individual consumers.

young americans who are saddled with big student loans are less able to spend. they're less likely to take out mortgages, and ultimately that ends up effecting all of us. if there is less demand for those houses there is less demand for the product services that we put out there. >> are there any bright spots in this report? >> well, in fact, a lot of areas in which students have taken out loans or loans that are out there are coming down. they're not terrible. americans are starting to borrow again in general, mortgage debt was up 1.5% in the past year. $8.17trillion to compare. so mortgages are much bigger deal than student debt. but the mortgage increase something a sign that americans are slowly feeling comfortable

enough to take out loans to buy homes or they're qualifying for those homes. either case is good. only 3.1% of those mortgages are delinquent. that's down 9% in 2010, and prior to that the numbers were much higher. credit card balances are down to 7.3% compared to 7.5%. generally speaking the trend is pretty good. the one we worry about is not just the excess student loan but the fact that some of those loans are becoming delinquent. >> what else are you working on for the big program tonight? >> the question we've got tonight is how we should deal with wild extremists. the president finished a while ago talking at the white house. what does it all mean? this white house likes summits. we'll talk to someone who was in that one are they saying anything different now? >> good to see you. you can watch "real money with ali velshi" every weeknight at

10:30 p.m. and 7:30 pacific. >> we have incredible cold air in the eastern half of the country. look at what it has done for niagara falls. increasing the number of viewers going this time of year, but today we were stuck in the teens with more light snow coming down and that cold air is now spreading south. as we get back to the maps you can see all the way as far south as key west could set record lows as that cold air win funneled it, and it will drop the overnight wind temperatures as well. temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below average so places like atlanta in the teens overnight. but wind child will be subzero in some cases. then into the next day private morning is when that brutal air really hits the northeast and east coast. it's been spreading and it will

be cold today. even if you had a mild day today. not a lot of snow coming through for now. it will pick up moisture in new england maine could see six to ten inches. but the next system could bring more to the south for friday into the east coast. the one nice number, 30 days until spring. >> that is a good number. i should have tossed it to you. we don't do that again. >> i'll run with everything. it's always good to talk to you. >> that's what i was hoping she would say that. nicole, thank you. one way ticket to mars, i will talk with a doctor who couldn't wait to sign up. are you kidding me? this is the trip of a lifetime, though though.

>> if you had a chance would you take a trip to mars? what if it meant that you never could return to earth again? a lot of people have signed up for the one-way trip to the red flag. many behind it say that they plan to make that dream a reality by 2024. >> no human has ever gone to mars. but in less than ten years they

hope to put people on the red planet. it has published a list of 100 finalist toss take a seven-month journey with no chance of returning home. >> this is our chance to get the world excited about space again. >> the idea that mars represent the ultimate frontier. >> people from 35 different country applied eagle for take the deep space voyage. among the finalist, a doctor. >> why would i be a candidate i'm never bore and i'm happy. but best off i'm an e er doc. i'm the real mccoy. >> this mock up to show what mars colonies could look like. many see themselves as pioneers, heirs to christopher columbus. >> i'm inspired by those who sailed away by everything they have known and love to cross

great plains and settle and build great places. when i look back at space it will be the start of a new chapter in human history. >> mars is not a very hospitable place for humans. mitt scientists he is mate that mars one colonists would survive 61 days. the risks are big but pioneers say that the award would be bigger. >> to look up from earth would we ever again tell ourselves that there is nothing else that we can't do. if we can achieve that, then what else is possible. >> if they can survive and thrive they'll continue every two years expanding the colony. >> mars one says it plans to raise the money through crowd funding, sponsorship in sales and talk of creating a reality show around the project.

that might be interesting. the doctor you just saw is with us from washington. she's an emergency room physician at howard university hospital and one of the finalists for the mars one project. good to talk to you. >> hi. >> layla. why are you doing this? why are you putting yourself up for this project? >> you know, everyone keeps asking that question. and really, the first responsive is why wouldn't we want to do this? >> layla because you're guaranteed not to come back. >> oh, no, we're definitely guaranteed not to come back. but you know, humans have been exploring ever since we crawled out of the ooz. it's what we do. it's the innate part of what it means to be human. it's what we are. you mentioned christopher columbus sure. but basically everyone wants to explore and discover. we're curious. that's what we do. >> leila, this started i understand, with an e-mail from

your husband. what did e-mail say? are you guys having problems in the marriage? >> no, no problems at all. in fact, he's the perfect husband. he sent me the e-mail that said, i don't want to, but i feel like i was a lousy husband if i didn't send this link to mars one. we discussed that we both are space exploration enthusiasts. we both expected humans to be on the moon or mars 20 years ago. and we both said that it was our dream to go into space. so when he saw this opportunity he wanted to share it with me even though it could mean that i would leave him forever. >> whoa, tell me why you think you should be chosen for the mission, why you? >> why me? >> yes. >> you know, i am the real mccoy. you heard me say that. >> yes. >> i think that it would be really important to have a trained medical professional on the trip.

mars one has eight years to train us. they can train people up on maybe two a medic level but i spent eight years 80 plus years to be an emergency physician. you can't do that and learn the electrical engineering and the hydroponics and everything else that you need to know. whether it's me or another doctor or an icu nurse or paramedic, i think they should, if they can find someone who fits in their team, pick someone with a medical training. >> i would feel different about this if it was nasa sanctioned. mars one what do you know about this group? do you feel comfortable with mars one? who the heck are they? >> who the they can are heck are they? >> yes. >> they're forward-thinking people. i love nassau. i'm a supporter of nasa. anyone who looking out to the human destiny in the stars. unfortunately, nasa is slightly

under funded. >> yes that's for sure. >> actually heavily underfunded and as a governmental organization they have to uphold restringent safety requirements. >> well, leila. >> the fact it you have to take chances. >> will you keep us posted. we're going to keep reaching out to you. leila. it's a pleasure to meet you. you're delightful. >> thank you. a pleasure to meet you too. >> for a look at the top of the hour. >> we'll have more of our interview for a lot of people that they would like to send to outer space. one the hate creatures in europe in stopping homegrown threats. >> i have called upon god to punish those oppress certificates the way that noah has called onnoah was called

upon. >> we look at why administration at an university that would block iranian students from studying engineering. plus the academy award show fast approaching we look at this year's oscar nominated documentaries. tonight the director of the film "our curse" following parents dealing with newborn children who are suffering from an incurable disease. we'll have those stories and more in a few minutes. >> i'm tony harris. that's all the time in this news hour. youif you would like the latest that we've covered in this news hour head over to our website at www.aljazeera.com. belch belch

>> hello everybody, this is al jazeera america. i'm david schuster in new york. coming up. >> find him and get him home. >> family me. the system of an american missing in syria for two years are putting pressure on the obama administration. they're hoping it will bring their son home. bully pulpit, he has praised i.s.i.l. and the islamic state and says