hi, everyone, this is al jazerra america, i am john siegenthaler. debate eyeing ran a propose the bill to let congress vote on a nuclear deal. the white house reacts. hard lessons and lengthy prison sentences for several atlanta educators convicted of cheating. rarest of the rare, the extraordinary step to his protect the only male northern white rhino left on earth. plus lincoln speaks. rare documents reveal the life of the president 150 years after his death.

♪ ♪ we begin with the iran nuclear deal. getting the west in iran to agree is one thing and getting the white house and republicans to see eye to eye was another. but today a bit of political diplomacy from both sides of the aisle. libby casey is in washington with more, libby. >> reporter: john, the white house is far from thrilled with this legislation. but the real compromise took place between republicans and democrats on the senate foreign relations committee. they passed out a bill today let's dig in to the details it. requires the white house to submit any iran nuclear deal to congress by july 9th, including classified information or congress gets more time to review it. if the white house can stick to that deadline, congress has 30 days with just 12 days wiggle room to review.

and this bill removes language that was in an earlier version that would have required president obama to certificate on a regular basis that iran isn't engaging in terrorism. democrats didn't want that in there to complicate things. and if the senate decides to weigh in with a disapproval resolution once a final deal is crafted, it would take just 60 members of the senate to approve that resolution. that is what republicans wanted. now, a lot of compromise here, john. but what they wanted more than anything else was a role in any iran deem. senators quickly agreed on one thing this week, they want a say in the obama administration's negotiation with his iran. >> i want to make sure that every member of congress will have input. we are going to have our say. >> more fully than ever i believe congress should play a role in insuring that all the detail that his need to be in place are there. >> reporter: but democrat ben

carton brought a reality check to the senate foreign relations committee. >> i don't think we'll convince any administration, democrat or republican that, congress should have any role in any that they do. >> reporter: there has been a tug-of-war between president obama and congress with the white house threaten to go veto legislation that would weigh in on a nuclear deal with iran. that changed tuesday senators had retooled their bill and avoided a political showdown. obama administration spokesman josh earnest described a reluctant white house standing down. >> i think rather what we would filed ourselves is with -- with is the kind of compromise that the president would be willing to sign. >> reporter: the compromise shorteneds the time congress would have to review a final deal. and it gets rid of a requirement that the president regularly certificate that iran hasn't supported terrorist acts against americans. senate foreign relations chairman and top democrat worked together to craft the bill.

>> the president saw that as senator corker was working closely with the ranking democrat on the committee to washing out this compromise they were able to come together and the white house better go along because they were building up a veto-prove majority in the senate as a result of that compromise. and so as the country saw and goes here in the u.s., you gotta know when to hold and know when to fold 'em. >> reporter: democrats say they won't interfere with iran negotiations. >> i have received assurances today all morning i was on the phone with experts saying do you feel that if we vote for this bill we will upend negotiations. and the answer came back very straightforward way no. this will bill not do that. >> reporter: and on the other side of the aisle chairman corker convinced his regular can colleague that his they will get their say. >> many times let's face it, this was not something that the administration favored but congress prevailed. >> reporter: a rare bipartisan moment postponing the big fight over iran sanctions until another day.

john this, bill can now go to the full senate. it's likely to pass with flying colors. clinching that crucial veto-prove majority. john. >> libby, thank you. also in washington today president obama took a big step toward improving relations with cuba. the president told congress that he plans to remove the country from the u.s. terrorism list. cuba was designated a state sponsor of terror in 1982. daniel has more from havana. >> reporter: julio ramirez was a cuban soldier fighting in ethiopia in the late 1970s, he was one of 17,000 cuban troop that his president fidel castro sent to help the ethiopian government in its war with neighboring so somalia. >> translator: it was a just fight. those who wanted to go could go. no one was obliged to go. many of us went to defend the ethopians. they are very similar to us cubans and we got on very well. made some good friends.

>> reporter: president castro called it an act of solidarity with comrades in need. but while the cold war was still hot, washington saw cuban involvement in ethiopia, angola and nicaragua among others as unacceptable intervention accused havana of aiding armed rebels it called terrorist organizations. freedom fighters or terrorist organizations? cuban history is built on emphasizing the battle of the oppressed against the oppressor. these trenches built in havana in the 1960s as defenses against the threat of u.s. invasion. the u.s. said cuba provided arms training and save haven to rebel groups such as the farc in colombia and the bask separatists in spain. the this monument is for northern irish i. r.a. hunger strikers who died in 1981 in their battle against british authorities.

the following year, washington placed cube he a cuba on its list. >> there is a mutual distrust from the big power that believes that they can do whatever they want and the small power has to accept it. and the small power that looks as the united states as the big elephant that can hurt it, no matter what they do. >> reporter: fidel castro said in the early 1990s that cuba's support for insurgents was a thing of the past. but while north korea and iraq were removed from the u.s. list, cuba remained, until now. julio has fond memories of his ethiopian adventure but the world as changed. while cuban-u.s. relations are trying to catch up. daniel al jazerra havana. mike viqueira is at the white house tonight mike, what happens now that the president has made this decision? >> reporter: john, this is more than a symbolic move, it will have real world financial

implications essentially cuba is now open for business. banks, american banks that were restricted from doing any kind of business, where it be credit card or dealing with cuban banks, loaning money to cuban embassies, will not have anymore fear of u.s. government restrictions or retaliation or punishment against them. similarly, international institutions like the world bank which handles a great deal of american tax payer money restrictions placed on it by congress, they are now free to do business in cuba, lend cuba money. it is a very big deal for cube actual the cuban economy and a major step forward ever since president obama announced the opening to cuba unexpected unexpectedly on december 17th. >> the president has plenty of critics on this. so what do we hear from congress? >> reporter: well, the usual suspects those you might expect to oppose this, those who have voiced opposition to what the president has wanted to do for four months now have raised their voices again today john boehner the house speaker is against, this. sass marco rubio a cuban

american from florida himself a presidential candidate in 2016. essentially congress can do very little to stop the president in this move bye law they have 45 days to vote against what the president wants to do in delisting cuba, they do not have the votes do. what congress will have to do -- will have to vote on, will have a say so on i should say is lifting the embargo that has been if place since the early '60s the administration and lead nurse congress say that will not happen any time soon. the most immediate step now the administration can do and to a large extent what the president did today clears the way opening an embassy a u.s. embassy in huh van and a an em pass i here in washington. john. >> mike, thanks very much. another major topic at the white house today the fight against aisles. iraqi prime minister minister mends with the president today. he said they would hundred hundreds of thousands of eye

rooks forced to flee isil. the president did not address iraq's ask to provide heavy weapons. four security can contractors convicted of killing 14 iraqi civilians in 2007 are headed to prison. on monday they received sentences ranging from 30 years to life. the firm they work for black water, was once a powerhouse private security contractor. it sold a few years after the incidents, but its controversial founder is still making waves. >> we strive for perfection, we try to drive towards the highest standards. >> reporter: former navy seal, eric prince founded blackwithout never 1997. it became the go-to company for elite security. and won hundreds of mill kwropblgz of dollars in government contracts protecting american officials in iraq and afghanistan and helping train their armies. but blackwater became the target of controversy and criticism. in 2007, four blackwater guards

opened fire on a group of unarmed iraqi civilians. 14 died, 17 more were injured. >> we promise to -- >> in front of congress, prince defended his person he said they were acting in self-defense. >> most of the attacks we get in iraq are complex. meaning it's not just one bad thing eights host of bad things. car bomb followed by small arms attack. r.p.g.s followed by namer fire. >> his testimony did little to cool the anger. and in 2010, he sold the company and got out of the business of government contracting at least with the u.s. as for blackwater, its new owners renamed it academy. it touts a new board of direct torts that includes former attorney general john ashcroft and retired address mill bobby inman. it's still the beneficiary of big government contracts. receiving more than $300 million since 2002 in tax-pair hepayer funds to help afghan forces fight the opiates trade in afghanistan.

in spite of all that money spent on private contractors a u.n. report says that from 2011 to 2013 the amount of afghan land used for opium poppy consult indication rows by rose by 60%. roger carson was contracted by the department of defense in afghanistan. he's a former green beret now a senior fellow at the foreign policy research institute and he's in miami tonight. roger, why are these groups necessary? why do we need to pay private organizations to do the work that apparently we decided the military can't do? >> well, a lot of times the military has to get rid of capability and capacity. in other words as you are cutting budgets or as armies are starting to get smaller you still need to do some of the things that armies do. and they find that if you just hire a contractor temporarily to solve that problem, to fill that capability and capacity, then documents nicely have to hire a soldier who may be with you for 20 years and then recruit --

accrue met retirement. in many ways it's cheaper. in many ways it is cheaper. >> you think it's cheaper. we paid hundreds of millions of dollars to blackwater and it's cheaper? >> when you spend money on contracting or spends money on anything heck, when i go buy groceries, money can still go in the wrong place if there is not proper oversight. so money was lost during the -- both the iraq and afghan wars through improper oversight and frankly some strong mismanagement that was exhibited at times by the federal government. but in terms of what you get from a contractor, as opposed to having soldiers do things like, for example peeling potatoes, something you always see people in world war ii movie doing that right. why do that when you can pay a contract tore do that. doing weapons maintenance transportation engineering. >> why not have the whole military be paid contractor? why do we need a military at all if it's cheaper? >> there is an argue make them that. but the real argument that nation states do not want to slice out the -- that important

thing that do you and that's taking human life. that's an inherently governmental task. >> isn't that exactly what we are talking about in this case? >> it is. you know, if you are going to take life, contractors are only supposed to do so when they are defending themselves or defending the people around them. they are not supposed to take life in an offensive manner. again, that's an inherently governmental task when you offensively take human life. >> what's the difference between these guys and mercenarys? >> mercenaries i would say are people that are absolutely would, for example sale their grandmother to make a profit or fight for anyone on the tip of a hat. one day you are fighting for germany, next day france, and it doesn't matter to you. the majority of contractors you'll find in the world actually will only fight for the country or the principle that his they believe in. so their private military firms and there is a level of professionalism in these couple ofs. >> but 70 mr. prince doing just that, he's working for other countries now? >> as i understand he works for

a logistics firm, he's not in the private military firm disney more. >> okay. you know, you understand these questions and i mean, they are very tough questions when you see young soldier that his risks their lives and to come back without an are or a leg and they are getting paid nothing like these private contractors are is that fair? >> as a guy on the ground i thought it was. there were things i didn't want to do like build the camps i lived on. i didn't want my soldiers cooking the food or contributing water f we could go ahead and outsource transportation, that wasn't a bad deal either. ill rather have the people wearing uniform and members of the united states military, for example, focus on the task at hand and that is being freedom to do combat operations or stability operations. all of the things that we don't want to do or are too somebodies i have for us to do, i absolutely don't might contractors filling the bill.

>> roger carsons thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you. now to oklahoma and the police killing of an unarmed black man. the tulsa sheriff's deputy who killed the man is now free on bond. robert bates is charged with man manslaughter. he's a 73-year-old part-time volunteer deputy. there are tough questions about his training. and whether he should have been carrying a gun at all. or should have been a deputy. hidy joe castro it in oklahoma city tonight. heidi. >> reporter: john bates was suggesten and silent today following his booking. now, the tulsa oklahoma sheriff's deem said the shooting of eric harris was an excellent that bates intend today reach for his stun gun wrath than his pistol and now this case has called oklahoma's reliance on these such reserve officers in to question. the big question the tulsa county sheriff's department is faces is why a 73-year-old insurance company executive was

moonlighting as a volunteer police officer. reserve deputy robert bates was booked tuesday on a second manslaughter charge, he was immediately released on $25,000 bond. >> in light of the charges he's not glowing make a going to make a statement. we will defend this in the court of law. and that's what we are going to do base is charge charged in the death of eric harris the trarg he had of illegal guns, cameras show bates run deputy bates warns he's going to use his stun gun but instead fires his pistol. >> oh, i shot him i am sorry. >> reporter: harris' family says the filing of criminal charges is a necessary first step on the road to justice. and for our family's healing process, at the same time, we know that there is a long road ahead. there remain many unanswered questions. questions like whether bates was qualified to be an officer. in oklahoma, reservists are

usually unpaid volunteers. who have the full powers and authority of a commissioned deputy. they make up about a third of tulsa county's deputies deputies and their state required training pales in comparison to that of full-time officers. steve am you understand oversees police training in oklahoma. >> he became certificateed in 1964 when he went through the tusla police academy. he became a certified peace officer in the state of oklahoma. >> reporter: and he serve today a year professionally? >> yes. >> reporter: that's 51 years since he was certified as a police officer in, further one years, policing method advance skills can be worn, is that not a concern? >> certainly, it is a certain. >> reporter: certificates are good for life until an officer gets in trouble and no requirements for continuing education for reservists s that sufficient? >> in my opinion i would think that we would need training for all peace officers regardless of

whether they are full-time or reserve. >> reporter: bates has had some training since becoming a rewservist in 2008 but did not immediately elaborate. then there are the questions about bates relationship with the department and with the sheriff himself. the tulsa world reports bates served as chairman of the sheriff's reelection flight i in 2012 and county records show bates denieded six vehicles and expensive forensics equipment to the department since 2009. do you think these donations could have influenced the sheriff to keep this 73-year-old deputy around? >> well, i don't know. i have no background with that. in oklahoma there is no requirement that i am aware of or restriction where donations impact the ability to be

certified. >> reporter: what know is that the way bates became a reserve deputy and his on-duty powers are legal in oklahoma. and any reforms would require a change in state law. now, the oklahoma sheriff's department would not respond to my questions about whether there was a conflict of interest or this pay to play suspension against them. also now bates will face a preliminary hearing which is public in which a judge decides if there is sufficient evidence with the case to move forward. this is oklahoma version of a grand jury. >> heidi in oklahoma city, thanks. at an lat at that judge threw the book at a group of educators convicted in a cheating scandal all were teachers or administrators in the city's public school system. they were found guilty of falsifying standardized test results in order to get bonuses and promotions. eight of them are going to prison. they were given 7-year sentences. judge jerry baxter insisted the punishment fits the crime. >> there were thousands of children that were harmed in this. this is not a victimless crime. and these kids were passed on

and passed on, and had no chance to begin with because of where they lived who their parents were who their -- you know, just their situation. and the only chance that they had was the school. >> two others convicted in the case agreed to sentencing deals and got probation. another will be sentenced in august. and coming up at 8:30 on this broadcast, robert ray is in atlanta with more on the sentences and why the judge rejected defendants' pleas for leniency. also this hour, convenience versus the environment. billions of cups of single serve cough and it's waist produced. plus being trapped by armed guards what rescuers are doing to save the northern white rhino from ex-teaching.

in our special report on our fragile man he had single-serve coffee is a mull by billion dollars business. the plastic pods are used every day and they are piling enough landfills. erica is here with that story. erica. >> john, we are talking about these little cups here, known as k-cups and go with the machines that make a single cup of coffee in 60 seconds they are in millions of homes and businesses around the world. full disclosure we have them right here in our offices. the problem is these pods are not recyclable. and that fact has the man who invented them filled with regret. >> hey, what are you drinking? >> i am drinking did unkin k-cup pacts. >> dunkin' donuts use says them. foldgers uses them and you probably use them. these single-serve coffee pods known as k-cups are everywhere, available in practically every

flavor of your favorite coffee. bring shops like starbucks in to your own home. every year nearly 10 billion k-cups are sold around the world. so many they could circle the globe more than 12 times but one of the men who invented this multi billion dollars phenomenon now says he wishes he never had. >> if i could turn back the clock and looked at what happened and said this will be a problem 20 years from now i would not have done it that way i would have done it differently. >> so what's the problem? it turns out even though they are plastic they are not recyclable. >> at what point did you realize it was a plastic not. >> recyclable. oh, do i one. >> he was barely in his 2020s when he and his friends con conducted a prototype in his kitch then massachusetts. >> i don't think people thought about recycling back then. >> the thought didn't hit him until a few years ago. >> i would say when i started to see them showing up in grocery stores. every person in line would have

these big boxes of k-cups and i would say that's inning insane, you can take every football stadium in the united states and fill them up from top to bottom every year with these things. >> this type of plastic is a composite type of plastic that can't necessarily be recycled with the other normal plastics because it's engineered for certain properties. >> christopher cats is honor began i can chemistry and environmental science professor or at the university of massachusetts boston. he blames the waste on the top of plastic they use to create the k-cup. >> it will several hundred to maybe several thousand years to degrade. these plastics will begin to leach in to our water system. >> but that keeps the coffee ground air tight while also withstanding high huh heat, high pressure and very hot water. while the k-cup is not entirely recyclable. the professor says there is a way. >> try and remove the foil part of this filter.

>> to recycle some of the parts. >> there is even some paper in there that can also go in your garden or compost bin. >> but you have to pull it all apart. >> i don't know the average person would take the time to do that. >> even those willing to separate the foil, compost the coffee ground the chances a local recycling facility will accept these kind of cups are slim. in kind of plastic here only recyclable at a handful of cities in canada. which is why every year millions of these k-cups end up at transfer stations like this one where they are processed like any other piece of trash on their way to america's already over well thed land fills. depicting a monster made out of k help cups scorching the earth and spaceships using them as bullets shooting at people. this action-packed thriller dramatizes the concern that k-cups are destroying our environments. made by an activist group in nova scotia the video racked up more than 700,000 views on you

tube since january. >> please no more. >> i loved it. i loved it. it's great. it's a good point. again, you know, it's a problem you fix it. >> inside the k-cup inventors massachusetts home you find find a currying machine or a single k-cup. he says the recycling problem is an easy fix but in a statement to al jazerra year i go green mountain says it has a target to have 100 percent of the k-cup packs recyclable by 2020. >> i don't think it should take five years. it not take five years to fix that problem. >> but that's not his problem now. he sold his share of the company years ago. so is this a crisis of conscience after he cashed in on the idea? he says he sold his share of the company in 1997 for $50,000. long before the k-cups caught on though he did buy some shares of it later on. >> you made sigmon i for sure if you bout as low as around three or $4 a share and sold at $140 a

share, right? that's fair to say? >> do the math. >> would you career it again if you could? >> yes. again, i can't see 20 years in the future. and if i could turn back the past 20 years then i might not but you know, at the time you are 25 years old, you want to do something, and you do it. it's like, yeah. would i do it better? yes, i would do it better. >> so these days sylvan is brewing up a brand-new idea to redeem himself. he's creating solar panels that attach to the side of a house and absorb enough sunlight to heat an entire home. he figures if this envision catch on his like the k-cups, he feels he will have redeemed himself 100 percent. >> all right so the inventor says it shouldn't take five years to make k-cups recyclable. how would he do it faster? >> so his idea is to take this, instead of using plastic turn it in to alluvium which is

100 percent recyclable. the problem with that, though, is then you have to reconstruct the machines and that would be costly for the company in the meantime, five years down the road from now, we are looking at 50 billion more of these littering our planet and stock stacking up in our landfills. >> thanks very much. up next a tough lesson, atlanta educators convicted in a test cheating scandal get some very tough penalties. plus the growing problem of child labor. how u.s. companies are dealing with and t* and one man's fight to help those children.

hi, everyone, this is al jazerra america, i am john siegenthaler. then three detentions, several atlanta educators convictedded of cheating, sentenced to years in prison. child labor in myanmar illegal but a reality for hundreds of thousands of kids. one man's fight for their future. last of its kind.

the only male northern white rhino left on the planet and the extreme effort to protect him. plus lincoln's legacy, a look at the president stilt speaking for us 150 years after his assassination. it was sentencing day for a group of atlanta educators convicted in a scheme to inflate students' test scores, the judge showed very little mercy sending eight to prison for as many as seven years. robert ray is in atlanta with more robert. >> reporter: john, rain coming down and that fits the mood for these former atlanta public school educators the judge very agitateed by situation in the courtroom today. show absolutely no mercy and he called it the sickest day in atlanta history. >> to have them sit in jail another 30 days simply because the court is upset -- >> just make it a blanket

objection. >> reporter: fiery exchange, tears and eye tired frustrated judge. [speaking at the same time] >> sit down or i am going to put new jail. if you yell at me, points at me. >> you are yelling at me, judge. i will be quiet. >> every day -- >> reporter: the judge jerry baxter sentenced all but one of 10 former educators to prison. he had delayed sentence ago i by day to give them a last chance to make deals with the prosecutors. only two accepted. >> the fact that she said i am going to plead not guilty and challenge the charges does not mean that she doesn't care about the children. >> in the meantime -- >> reporter: for the two who took the deal, judge back tour followed the state's recommendation. he gave the former teacher one year of home confinement. and a former testing coordinator, six months of weekends in prison. >> this thing was pervasive. it was -- it's like the sixest thing that's ever happened to this town.

>> reporter: the remaining eight received harshers sentences. >> i sentence to you 20, to serve seven. >> reporter: with three of them well beyond prosecutor's recommendations. the sentences ranged from serving one to seven years in prison. >> everybody in the education system knew that cheating was going on and your client promoted it. >> reporter: a 2013 state investigation found that as far back as 2005. educators from the atlanta school system fed answers to students orie raced and changed answers after tests were turned in. evidence of cheating was found in 44 schools with nearly 180 educators involved. >> cheating on a standardized test is wrong because it's harmful and something ought to be done to make sure it doesn't happen again. so i don't know whether or not it sets a precedent but i hope that people will stop and look

at what happened here. >> reporter: one of the largest cheating scandals in u.s. history, is now closed. but many say the damage done to thousands of students will last a lifetime. >> i pamela cleveland do here by sincerely apologize to the students my fellow staff members, parents and the atlanta public school system. >> reporter: john fox those eight atlanta public schoolteachers that did not accept the plea deals or didn't get them today, they have 30 days to post an appeal, get bond and get out of prison. now, for the other person that was not sentenced today she just had actually a baby a few days ago and we are told that her sentencing will occur at some point this august, john. >> is the fact that the only two educators the deal a surprise? a plea deal a surprise? great, question, it is a surprise. the prosecutor were extremely surprise million dollars a press

conference afterwards. didn't quite understand why those folks wouldn't do that, considering now some will be in prison for five to seven years with major fines. but we are told that those folks that did not talk the plea deal, one of the caveats was that they were supposed to admit that they did a wrong thing and apologize to the students and the people of atlanta. and they claim that they didn't do anything wrong and that never not guilty so they are not going to apologize well, now they are going to end up in prison with major fines and huge community service john. >> robert ray robert, thank you. an associate professor of urban education at loyola university in maryland. she's in baltimore tonight. welcome. first of all can i just ask you a question. before we talk about the teachers aren't the students the victims of this crime? >> actually, i think the students are victims but i think the educators are victims

too. >> who is hurt more by this? don't you think the students are hurt more? i mean, they essentially had adults who they trusted change their grade they passed them on when they shouldn't have been passed on to the next level. i mean, this is a horrible -- isn't this a horrible situation for these students? >> i think it is a really unfortunate situation for the students. and i think they deserved better. but i also think that this exists in a larger context. and that it's not as wrong as this was for those students, those educators were existing in a high-pressure culture where they were operating in a way that they felt like they had to. >> so the culture made them do it? >> did the culture make them do it? i think that they responded to the culture. >> okay. but, i mean, i guess what i am -- are you making any excuses -- are you trying to make an excuse for what these teachers did?

>> i think what they did inexcusable, but i also think the prison sentences are extreme. >> so what would be an appropriate prison -- >> i think the charges were extreme. >> what would be a an appropriate prison sen thens. >> i don't think there is an appropriate prison sentence. i don't think they should have been charged with crimes. what would have been appropriate would for them to have been to lose take teaching licenses and lose their jobs. all that have community services and retribution those things make sense to me. prison sentences are think are extreme especially given what people don't go for prison for in this country. people actually murder people who are not in prison. so, you know, it's a little hard to say that these educators deserve to be in prison because of this situation. >> how do we fix a system where teachers that produces teachers who cheat so they don't lose their jobs? >> well, i think what we do is we fix our testing system, because that's what to me had these educators respond in this

way. so i don't think that these are just sort of bad individuals who decided to, you know, create this situation in atlanta. i think this we have seen cheating happen in different places around the country because we have all of these rules and policies that came in to play after no child left behind. and people have responded to these policies in ways that we would not prefer that they respond, in ways that are wrong. are they criminal? i don't know. i think to say that they are criminal is to go too far. >> you don't like no child left behind. you don't think that this testing is a good idea? >> it's not that i don't think testing is a good idea. i think assessments make sense. but high-stakes testing is very different from just testing. so to find out how students are performing, to look at how teachers are teaching and then to reteach information, that i think is important. but to say if you all don't do well on this exam, we are going to take much-needed resources from your school, we make close down your school, we may shift

educators, those are the things that i think are highly problematic. when people are looking at their livelihood and thinking i have a morgue toeupblg park, i have a child on the way to college people make choice that his maybe, you know, some of us -- we don't know what choices welds make if we were facing those same situations . >> all right we appreciate it, thank you for joining us tonight. al qaeda's branch in yemen says its top cleric has been killed. he has been on the u.s. and saudi most wanted lit. his death is a sign that the converted american drone program continues in yemen despite the recent withdraws of u.s. military ahead vicars. it comes during the country's worsening civil war houthi rebels now control much of the country. the u.n. security council imposed an arms embargo on the group today. battles have intensified in the country's south as the saudi-led coalition continues air strikes

against the rebels. the u.n. demanded that the houthi withdraw from areas that they have seized including the capital of sanaa. now for myanmar. it's seen a spike in international investment. the u.s. eased sanctions on the southeast asian country in 2012. and some big american companies seized the opportunity. the many critics say it comes at the cost of myanmar's children, hundreds of thousands forced to work no-at this it. roxana saberi joined us now with more. she's just gotten back from myanmar. roxana. >> that's right john, when i was there i saw at of signs american businesses moving in and coming face-to-face with the problem of child labor. he is 12. but for the past three months he's worked 15 hours a day every day. >> translator: i get up early in the morning and help open the tea shop. then i bathe then we wait on tables all day. at night we close the shop.

>> he's one of an estimated 1 million child workers in myanmar. most leave school for big cities to support their families. activist tim a. hardy is trying to help. >> what we are doing is like a drop in the bucket. this issue is so huge. >> he started the myanmar mobile education project last year. he and his team are teaching 400 kids like him basic reading math and life skills. today's lesson is on hygiene. [speaking at the same time] >> he fled to america from myanmar in 1989 after taking part in student protests in the military government. he came back in 2012 as the country began opening up to the world. and he saw more children working in cities than he ever had before. >> when he came back and i was like wow, there are so many kids everywhere you go. like young people working day

in day out. and then just to make like a couple of dollars a day. >> myanmar bars children 13 to 15 from working more than four hours a day and kids under 13 from working at all. but the law is rarely enforces. child labor is purveys i ever here. posing a challenge to american companies that have come back since 2012. when the u.s. eased sank on his myanmar. we reached out to a number of american companies doing bids here to see if we could visits their sites they said no, but coca cola told us its policy in myanmar is to hire 18 or old and the gap says when it comes to child labor it has what it calls a zero tolerance policy. an independent audit of two factorys used by gap in me myanmar did not find evidence of child labor but found some personnel files did not contain proof of age verification and some age verification documents showed

signs of manipulation. we headed to the u.s. embassy to asked how well american companies in myanmar have avoided using child labor. >> it's a challenge for sure. we have heard of cases where companies have found that in the supply chain and had to tell supplyers or subcontractors to suppliers, we can't hire those you know, we can't work with you unless you deal with the child lake or situation. >> reporter: if somebody says to you, american companies should not even be investing in a company where there are issues with labor rights like child lake or, what would you say? >> i don't see it as a uniquely per meisburmese problem. it's all over the world. the scale might be different. but i thinking here makes more of a difference than not being here. >> i believe the companies should not only long at the short-term game but long-term contentss. >> reporter: tim wants company to his do for more like kids like these.

>> if they can get down on the ground and work with them, to develop the skill that they they need this very labor force could come back and help them develop business in the country. >> reporter: he says it would also give kids like him more hope. what do you want to do when you grow up? >> translator: i wanted to be an engineer. but i don't know if i will have the chance. >> reporter: another difficulty is figuring out what to do with children who lose their jobs because they are too young and that is something johning the international labor organization says it has witnessed in other countries . >> you mentioned coax with saw children under 18 selling coke products wearing coke t-shirts. this is obviously -- whether or not, you know, they are coke employees, this is a huge problem for many corporations that are global, right?

>> i told coke what we saw. and they said they have 20,000 outlets around the world those employees are not coca cola employees and so what the company says the people at those sites are supposed to follow local law and not coca cola's policy of hiring people 18 and older. some activists say the company should hold them to hire standards. >> all right. very interesting stories roxana, thank you very much. in nigeria today protesters marked the first anniversary of the kidnapping of hundreds of school girls by boko haram. one year later, 219 girls remain missing. today, nigerian president pledge today keep searching, but he said he cannot promise the girls will ever be found. in somalia a deadly attack by al-shabab fighters killed at least 10 people in the capital mogadishu. the group set off two bombs and stormed government ministry buildings. two soldiers, eight civilians killed along with seven gunmen.

the latest attempt eye space x to cut the cost of travel has come up short. the space x dragon rocket launched successfully but its booster rocket was badly damaged trying to land on a barge off the coast of florida. the hope was to reuse the rocket. spacex says the reusable boosters will help cut the cost of future launches. one group of americans is calling on congress to attach strings to any deal over iran's nuclear program. barbara is here with a story you'll see in our next hour. barbara. >> john, we are talking about the surviving 39 of 52 hostages held by iran from 1979 to 1981. many have already spoken out about the negotiations over iran's nuclear program for them the issue you runs deep as they can never forget the terror that they felt for the 444 days that they were held by supporters of the late ayatollah khomeini. they were beaten, threatened with death and even southed to mock executions. the events marked the beginning

of course of decades of strained relations between the two countries. survivors have been seeking hundreds of millions in compensation from the iranian government and now they are calling on congress to include that in any deal over iran's nuclear program. well, in our next hour we'll be joined by don cook who is one of those former hostages now pushing for compensation. >> really interesting story barbara, thank you. coming up next, abram link none his own words rarely seen personal letters about the civil war, slavery and more. and the last one on earth the fight to protect the only surviving male rhino of its kind. the the

150 years ago tonightabraham lincoln was shot at ford's need never washington, d.c. he died the next day. new york's morgue ran library and i have a new exhibit with never-before-seen lincoln letters and writings, revealing new insights in to the 16th president's life and legacy. dale walters has the story. >> reporter: was honest abe honest? >> yes, of course he was. >> reporter: there was hesitance, though? >> because he's famous for his stories and his tales and anecdotes, so lincoln was able to tell the truth but tell it obliquely at times. >> reporter: and so it is that one of america's most revered

presidents was in a very real sense much like today's politicians. this new exhibit in new york city is entitled lincoln speaks. it is abraham lincoln in his own words. >> he treasured language. he read widely. he loved read ago loud. he loved poetry, he loved shakespearian plays he loved public speaking. he loved debate, he loved lawyerly argument. >> reporter: what he said and what he wrote sometimes raw and always to the point. like this note to union general ulysses grant. >> he sends this encouraging memo. aware that telegrams can be intercepted by the enemy so it's brief succinct and forceful. have just read your dispatch of 1:00 p.m. yesterday. i begin to see it. you will succeed. got bless you all. >> reporter: that thing grant would succeed at was winning the american civil war. when lincoln wrote the telegram, hundreds of thousands of soldiers union, con fed confederate

american had died. the nation was coming apart at the seams. lincoln was not. was he a man of the people or a blue blood? >> definitely a man of the people. but upwardly mobile. and always self improving. he is american in that way. >> reporter: jim says lincoln's writings show he was unwavering in his conviction to end slavery. >> slavery is everywhere and always wrong and he made many, many comments alternating back to the 1830s and '40s, about how wrong slavery was. dale, let me take you to one of the most surprising documents in this exhibition. >> reporter: the document deals with a slave trader facing the death penalty. >> lincoln to the surprise of many people, refused to grant him clemency. and gave him two weeks to make peace with his maker and this man was executed here in new york city in february in 1862. now, he was the first slave

trader to be executed under federal law that had been in place since 1820, making lincoln the only american president to ever execute a slave trader. >> reporter: did he know how unpopular that was going to be south of the mason dixon line? >> absolutely. he knew how unpopular it was in some areas of the north. >> reporter: the exhibit offers new insight to the man behind the legends in personal letters like this one. >> here is lincoln kind of accidentally involved in a long distance engagement that he doesn't want to be in. so he writes this letter, which survives today from 1837 to a woman called mary owen. whom he hadn't yet met. and in the letter he's trying to persuade her why she shouldn't want to be involved with him at all. >> reporter: but he's engage third degree to woman. >> gentlemen, he is, and he wants her to break it off. and so ultimately he persuades her to do so. >> reporter: still moist of the exhibit centers on the issue that defined the time. and the man who lost his life to an assassin's bullet trying to end it, slavery.

>> here is a thing called general orders number 252 issued in july 1863. basically he says my black soldiers are equal to whites so for every black soldiers killed by the confederacy quote a rebel soldier shall be executessed for everyone enslaved a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor. >> reporter: lincoln action anti-slave reviews where they based on politics or personal feelings? >> deeply percentage feelings and a moral depth that was profound and he understood from the beginning he understood black people as black people. people who are human beings and he understood that this was just profoundly wrong. >> reporter: del walters, al jazerra, new york. now for a rhino named sudan. the only male northern white rhino left in the world. the entire sub species is down to just five members. three are protected by a kenyan

conservancy, where an extraordinary effort is underway to insure their survival and their future. at the 90,000-acre of the cancers antsy in cain january the last male northern white rhino is under protection 24 hours a day. both armed and unarmed rangers try to provide a double player of security where the rhino can be safe from poachers, but also roam freely. these body guards are always on hand. but they are not with the rhinos every second of the day. the converse antsies wants the rhinos to enjoy a somewhat natural existence in the wild. poacher is chasing them for their horns they'll go for as much as $240,000 on the black market. with that much money at stake poachers are willing to put their own lives at risk. in an effort to eliminate the market value of sudan conservationist have removed his horn. still, poaching is a big threat

to this male rhino the last of his kind. right now the conservancy is working toward artificial reproduction techniques that will allow the northern white rhino to continues. >> the chances of our getting a northern white carve on the ground -- calf onthe ground before they die is pretty remote. the best we can hope for is the recovery of their genetics in the form of their eggs and their sperm and hopefully their embryos. >> rob the chief executive officer at the conservancy encouraged supporters of the white rhino to visit the conservancy. they even started a go fund me page. that money he says, goes directly toward funding the armed security rangers who are on the frontline of protecting the rhinos from poachers. >> it may not be the edges tinks of the species but certainly the removal of the species from the plan feed a period of time. and that is -- it's an indictment of what the human

race is doing to the planet earth is the absolute truth it's not just happening to rhinos it's happens to all sorts of species big and small across the planet. that's our program thanks for watching. i am john siegenthaler.

>> firming up support. >> i've made it clear from the outset that i.s.i.l. was an enemy, and we'll make sure that they do not threaten the united states the iraqi prime minister comes to washington and the white house throws support behind him in the fight against i.s.i.s. a rising tide of refugees. >> we are seeing an increase of the people who arrive who make the crossing unsafely to europe the search for a better life forcing record unanimous