website. the address is aljazeera.com. you'll find the latest comment, analysis and blogs. also reports from sources on the ground. aljazeera.com is where you need to go. we're going to bring you an update of all of our top stories in just a few moment's time. do stay with al jazeera. ♪ cloo iraq's prime minister visits president obama at the white house asking for more help and more weapons to fight isil. the united nations security council takes action against yemen's houthi rebels limiting the flow of arms but it may not ease tensions. and years of jail time and fines for some atlanta public school educators who changed

standardized test scores. this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm randall pinkston. iraqi prime minister is meeting today with president obama and he is making the case for a stronger u.s. presence in the fight against isil. this morning he sat down with vice president joe biden at the white house. he will ask for billions of dollars worth of drones weapons and other military today. he is expected to make a series of requests to the president and congress. patty culhane is at the white house. since 2004 we have spent about a trillion dollars there. given that is the u.s. likely to

deliver on his requests? >> reporter: not all of them. the prime minister and the president is in the oval office. they have made statements and we are starting to hear news lines that have been coming out. president obama said the u.s. will commit another $200 million in humanitarian aid to iraq last year. in 2014 the total was $208 million. but the prime minister is coming here with an incredibly long list. his country is facing a $22 billion deficit because oil prices have plummeted. he wants the u.s. to give him weapons basically on credit. and the list is pretty long from iraqi officials we're hearing -- oh it looks like possibly the meeting may have

wrapped up. that was the prime minister just leaving. he will be meeting with secretary kerry later in the day. the list is pretty long everything from f16s to surveillance drones apache helicopters. basically they want to conducted their own air campaign. but that would be giving away the most leverage the u.s. has. think about tikrit the shia militias was fighting alongside. there was a stalemate, and the u.s. was asked to do air strikes, and the u.s. said not unless the shia backed militias leave, because they are linked with iran. so it's a very delicate dance happening here at the white house. >> given the fact that a few months ago, iraqi military walked away in the face of isil abandoning lots of weapons and

tanks, is there any concern that if the u.s. provides new weapons they could fall into the wrong hands? >> of course it is a huge certain here. the president said we trained them, and then they melted away. and now the u.s. has had to go back and basically blow up their own equipment. there have been more than a thousand air strikes doing exactly that. on the training aspect, the u.s. solders are training the iraqi army in iraq. and with the shia militias the president said he does want though weapons given to the shia militias. the white house likes to say they didn't have reason to fight because the government doesn't unified. they believe that is the key to ensuring that they actually put up a fight, but some of the

things they are talking about sensitive drones fighter jets those are technologies they might not be willing to share with the iraqis. so hopefully we'll hear from the two leaders today. >> thank you very much. now to the war in yemen. the u.n. security council has approved a resolution aimed at stopping the fighting there. it targets houthi rebels restricting travel and their ability to get weapons. samantha power spoke right after the vote. >> we condemn unilateral actions to undermine yemen's security and stability. in response the houthis working in close coordination with president salehiva extended their offensive. the united states strongly supports the adoption of today's resolution which imposes

consequences on the houthis and president saleh, and calls on all sides to once again return to the negotiating table. >> james bayes has more now from the united nations. >> reporter: well it now is international law, this resolution. it has passed the u.n. security council. the only abstention was from russia. jordan technically proposed the resolution, but all of the work was done by the gulf cooperation council, the countries all involved in the military operation with regard to yemen. worth mentioning that that saudi-lead operation is not mentioned in this resolution not directly mentioned at all. what is mentioned in the resolution and the main thrust of it is towards the houthis. it demands that they end all violence and withdrawal from all of the areas across yemen that they have captured including the

capitol, sana'a and introduces new sanctions and arms embargoes not just against the three people that were already sanctioned but against three others. there is an element in the resolution for humanitarian pauses. this is something that ban ki-moon is support to coordinate. although he has to do it in coordination with the government of yemen and remember the government of yemen very closely linked to that saudi-lead military operation, so it seems likely that any humanitarian causes will be done in conjunction with the government who will do it in conjunction with the saudi military command as well. according to the al-qaeda branch in yemen, one of the leading clerics has been killed in a drone attack.

al-qaeda say he died two days ago. he was released from guantanamo bay in 2006. the international red cross says ukraine is in desperate need of humanitarian aid. red cross teams have been distributing aid to displaced residents, but many people are living on the front lines of the battle with no possibility of work or income. fighting broke out in donetsk overnight. that came hours after russia and ukraine agreed to pull back more weapons. china released five female activists on dale today. the women were arrested for, quote, provoking trouble. they had apparently planned to demonstrate against sexual harassment. their lawyer says they were released because of international pressure and lack of evidence. we're getting a look now of

president obama's white house meaning with the iraqi prime minister. this discussion took place just a short time ago, let's listen in. >> obviously, the fact that iraq is a shia majority country means that it will be influenced and have relations with -- with iran as well. and at the point in which daesh or isil was surging, and the iraqi government was still getting organized at that point, i think the mobilization of shia militias was something that was understood to protect baghdad or other critical areas. once prime minister abadi took power, and the coalition came

in -- at the inviteation of and in agreement with a sovereign iraqi government our expect is from that point on any foreign assistance that is helping to defeat isil has to go through the iraqi government. that's how you respect iraqi sovereignty and recognize the democratic government that was hard earned and that is being upheld in the work that prime minister abadi is doing in reaching out to all of the various factions inside of iraq. so i think the prime minister's position has been that he welcomes help as you just heard, but it needs to be help that is not simply coordinated with the iraqi government but ultimately is answerable to the iraqi government and funneled through the chain of command

within the iraqi government and that's what we have been very careful to do. i have made clear from the outset that isil is an enemy, and we will make sure they do not threaten the united states and we will go after them wherever they are, but when we are working with a strong ally and partner like iraq it is very important for us to coordinate our activities so that the impression is not that the united states is somehow moving back into iraq but rather that the united states is doing what is ultimately best for the iraqi people even as we join in fighting a common enemy. i realize i probably should have had a translation break there. i feel bad for our translator. why don't you go ahead, and maybe i'll add something.

[ foreign translation ] >> we are watching a prerecorded view of president obama with prime minister abadi at the white house today. president obama addressing the issue of iraq's reliance on iran shia militias iranian-backed shia militias to defeat isil. president obama saying that iraq, of course needs help and will accept help but he is suggesting it should be through official channels. and now we're hearing the translation. the prime minister is expected to ask president obama and the u.s. congress for billions of dollars in weapons and other

assistance to defeat isil and continue building his new government. [ translation continues ] >> so far the u.s. has pledged to iraq $200 million in humanitarian aid. that is a long way from the billions that we expect to be requested by prime minister al-abadi. >> -- both inside of iraq and to the world community that it is important for all fights forces to be under unified control of

the iraqi government and i think it's particularly significant that that view is shared among a wide range of political parties inside of iraq, and was echoed by the ayatollah just recently. it sends a clear message that ultimately iraq is in control of its own destiny. and part of that means that those who possess arms and have the ability to apply force and defend their country have to be under a single government. >> president obama in addition to dealing with requests from iraq for financial assistance and military aide of course is urging the prime minister to reach out to all of the segments of iraq to try to stop the sectarian violence that is taking place there, and to build a unified government, we'll be

hearing more about the president's meeting and his request throughout the day and tomorrow during his two-day visit to the u.s. in other news judgment day in atlanta for teachers convicted of a test cheating scandal. two teachers have been sentenced to 20 years but will serve 7 be on probation for 13 and pay a large fine. only one teacher took a plea bargain agreement. andy gallagher is live from atlanta. andy were the sentencing a surprise? and what is the reaction there? >> reporter: well i don't think the sentences were a surprise because on monday the judge made it very clear that he was offering a plea deal. he said you have to come before me and apologize for your part in this cheating scandal and

your sentence won't be as harsh. two of the ten defendants came forward to take the plea bargain. they receive probation, weekends in jail teaching children and basically had a very -- you know they didn't get harsh sentences. for the remaining eight it was a different story. three received 20-years sentences, 13 years probation in many one case and huge fines, $25,000 apiece. there was some emotional scenes this morning. at one point the judge saying this is the sickest thing that has ever happened to atlanta, thousands of children have suffered because you didn't do your job properly. i think the sentences could have been much harsher. so given the judge's warning, andy why did the

defendants not accept the deal especially since they knew that it might mean a lot of prison time? >> reporter: i mean the instructions from the judge to the defendants was pretty clear apologize or receive a harsh sentence. why didn't they do that. a couple of them came up to the judge to speak and said they simply didn't know this was going on. if they would have known they would have said something. but the judge said the evidence is overwhelming. three were executive directors of the atlantic public school system. they were in high senior positions. the judge said the evidence was there, you were culpable you have to serve the time. i don't know why the three defendants decided not to take the plea deal. but they are paying the price now. >> thank you up very.

coming up on al jazeera america, a surprising find in the cargo hold forces the plane to make an emergency landing.

a volunteer sheriff's deputy in oklahoma has now turned himself into to police. he has been charged with manslaughter, he shot and killed an aun -- unarmed african american man. >> i feel the charges are unwarranted and shouldn't be brought. >> this man has been good to the community, and has been a great citizen for our town and made it something bad or sinister. >> the man he shot was trying to sell a gun to an officer as part of an undercover sing. harris man and his capture was

videotaped. he is being heard on the tape saying sorry for shoots the suspect. an investigation is underway when a plane has to turn around when passengers and crew heard cries for help inside the cargo hold. >> reporter: not long after alaska airlines flight took off for seattle, the pilot and passengers in first class heard something alarming. >> screams from underneath in the cargo area. >> reporter: screaming and banging from underneath the plane. >> we thought there was something wrong with the landing gear. >> at some point a u.s. marshall emerged out of nowhere and started yelling really loud into the ground hey, we're turning around. we're getting ready to land hold on to something. >> reporter: they convinced the

pilot to return to seattle 14 minutes after departure. passengers feared the worse. >> we're landing and we saw all of the firetrucks and ambulances, and cops and all of us started getting a little antsy. >> reporter: once the plane stopped a discovery. >> police and fire department officials help find the crew member that was inside the cargo hold area. >> reporter: the crew member was a ramp agent. authorities lead him away to a waiting ambulance, but not before he told them how he had become trapped. he said he had fallen asleep in the cargo area. when he a woke he was horrified to learn of his predicament. for passengers the unscheduled landing turned into just a minor

annoyance. >> people were just kind of patient, which was cool. and maybe stayed really calm. and nobody freaked out. >> none of the passengers were deplaned and the same aircraft turned around. >> the lucky worker was taken to a nearby hospital to be checked out as a precaution. he is expected to be okay. after he was attended to the unidentified worker's system tested negative for any illegal drugs. the leader of the baggage handling crusade he called the worker's phone when no one could find him after the flight was loaded. he said he assumed the worker had gone home. they said the worker had been at the end of a nine and a half hour shift that started at 5:00 a.m. john henry smith, al jazeera. we have new pictures of the cleanup of the germanwings crash site in the french alps. it shows the operation to

recover wreckage from the deliberately downed plane. the flight was deliberately brought down last month killing all 150 on board. in mexico police have often been criticized for corruption but those same police deal with grim conditions often working 48-hour shifts. john hullman reports, where some officers told him how bad things really are. >> reporter: keeping order in one of mexico's most violent towns would be a tough task for any police force, but here officers are underpaid, underequipped and even have to buy their own bullets, says this policeman. who didn't feel safe showing his face or leaving his car. >> translator: if we had better equipment and at least were better paid for, we would be able to do our jobs better.

>> reporter: the public widely views the police as corrupt and incompetent. the officer said they are often struggling with little government support. most of the police are too afraid to go on camera but they have told us they work shifts of 24 hours, and barely earn enough to get by. this expoliceman told us he wasn't given medical insurance or even a bullet proof vest when working in an area riddled with organized crime. >> translator: we once arrested some carjackers. by 3:00 they were free and at my door threatening me. >> reporter: he said the conditions can push officers into taking bribes. >> translator: with these salaries police don't go to work they go to steal. instead of taking care of the

civilians, they are seeing how they can get money out of you. >> reporter: conditions for some are have improved but many local and municipal forces continue to be badly paid and undertrained. rather than improving their conditions several state governments have recently created new small elite forces backed by ad campaigns. >> it's a lot easier to show a 2,000 strong elite police force that covers the whole state than to actually have 10,000 police officers actually local -- local police officers improve their capabilities. >> reporter: without sufficient training or government support, local police across mexico struggle to convince a skeptical public they are fit to defend them. coming up on al jazeera, recreating an historic moment 150 years later.

abraham lincoln's last ride before his assassination. >> being a musician, there's no demand... >> world renowned artist lang lang >> the moment you're on stage, it's timeless >> american schools falling flat... >> there are no music class in public schools... >> and his plan to bring music back...

>> music makes people happier... >> every sunday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. a court in japan today prevented two nuclear reactors from restarting.

the judges cited safety concerns. it is the second ruling to block nuclear plants this year and also a win for the country's anti-nuclear movement that has gained popularity since the disaster. and for the first time since the 2007 tsunami we're getting a look inside of the reactors. the amount of radiation inside this reactor could kill a human in less than a hour. 150 years ago, abraham lincoln was assassinated. a group of horseback riders spent monday reenacting his final journey. he went to a cottage, and the next day he went to the play where john wilkes, jr. shot him. thanks for joining us. i'm randall pinkston. the news continues next live from london. and remember for the latest go to aljazeera.com.

>> the nation moves to try to stop the war in yemen. targeting houthis rebels. hello. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, elsewhere in yemen, al quaida says it's spiritual leader is killed in a drum strike. the fight against isil the prime minister goes to washington to seek more help in the battle. still no sign of the 200 school girls