early cosmic achievements from the spacecraft to the space toilet, meaningful moments in humanity's journey into the unknown. neave barker, al jazeera, at london's science museum. much more on our website, the address is aljazeera.com. ♪ general motors agrees to pay nearly a billion dollars over its faulty ignition switches, but families of people who died because of the defects say it's not enough. a new focus for the republican field, donald trump may still be the front runner, but another candidate is getting a lot more attention. thousands of refugees begin the next leg of their desperate journey, heading to croatia after hungary shuts down its

borders. ♪ this is al jazeera america. live from new york city, i'm erika pitzi. general motors has agreed to pay $900 million to end a criminal probe into how it handled deadly defects in some of its vehicles. the defective ignition switches are linked to at least 124 deaths. the company new about the problem for a decade for issuing recalls. it ensures no individual gm employee will be criminally prosecuted. bisi onile-ere is live in detroit for us. what else do you know about the deal and what it does for gm? >> reporter: this settlement ends a long investigation by the u.s. government. general motors has admitted to

misleading the public and is now faced with this $900 million penalty. it was last year when general motors recalled more than 2 million vehicles because of an ignition switch defect. the switch could switch into the at position and disable the power staring, and air bags. it was revealed last year that general motors knew about this problem for more than a decade butting didn't issue any recalls until last year. gm says that it will now be forced to pay over $600 million to the victims. as you mentioned as well, gm is not being prosecuted, none of its employees. this agreement includes a deferred prosecution deal which means that the government will dismiss this case now, and under the terms of the agreement, general motors will be watched

by an independent monitor for several years. take a listen to what was said during a press conference with the department of justice a short time ago. >> justice requires the filing of criminal charges. it requires detailed public admissions. it requires a significant financial penalty, well above what gm has paid and will paid under its victim compensation program. above all, justice requires measures to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> reporter: and i think that that's what the u.s. government is really trying to stress, making sure that general motors is held accountable to ensure that nothing like this happens again. speaking of general motors and their reaction, we're expected to hear from them in a press conference a little later this afternoon. >> and what about reaction from the victims and their families? are they satisfied with the settlement? >> reporter: i think it depends on who you ask.

you have hundreds of victims who agreed to a settlement with general motors, but you also have about 300, 400 cases out there, families who have lost loved ones in gm vehicles or they were injured and they are actually proceeding with criminal action against general motors. all right. thank you. republican presidential candidates today are assessing the impact of their performances in the latest debate. it was clear from the start front runner donald trump was the big target. david has the highlights. >> reporter: at the reagan library, the republicans mentioned the former president more than a dozen times. >> ronald reagan knew how to go a big and go bold. >> i -- >> mr. trump -- >> i think i actually flew on this plane with ronald reagan when i was a congressman. >> reporter: the political

world, though is far different than 30 years ago when reagan urn e urged republicans not to attack each other, and this group hit hard. >> first of all rand paul shouldn't even be on this stage. >> reporter: donald trump and rand paul tangled from the start. >> his visceral response to attack people on their appearance, short, tall, fat, ugly, my goodness that happened in junior high. are we not way above that? would we not all be worried to have someone like that in charge of the nuclear arsenal. >> reporter: jeb bush tried to hit trump's ties to democrats. >> you got hillary clinton to go to your wedding, because you gave her money. make it works for hillary clinton but it doesn't work for anybody on this stage. >> i was a businessman i got along with everybody. >> but the simple fact is -- >> excuse me, one second --

>> you cannot take -- >> reporter: trump and carly fiorina argued over their business record. >> why should we trust you to manage the finances of this nation any differently than you managed the finances of your casino. >> reporter: it prompted exasperation from new jersey governor. >> we don't want to hear about your careers. you are both successful people congratulations. you know who is not successful? the middle class in this country who is getting plowed over by barack obama and hillary clinton. let's start talking about those issues tonight and stop this childish back and forth. >> reporter: carly fiorina was asked if donald trump was talking about her persona when he said her face would keep her from getting elected. >> i think she has got a beautiful face, and i think she's a beautiful woman. >> reporter: a candidates went

out of their way to avoid clashes and instead appear presidential. >> if the united states military is going to be engaged by a commander and chief it should only be engaged in an endeavor to win. >> reporter: mike huckabee painted a grim picture of the iran nuclear deal. >> this is really about the survival of western civillization. >> reporter: towards the end the debate veered into lighter territory and there were several funny moments. >> 40 years ago i smoked marijuana and i admit it. i'm sure other people might have done it and may want to say it in front of 25 million people, my mom is not happy that i just did. >> reporter: the candidates were asked what code name they would want from the secret service. >> ever-ready, it's very high energy, donald. [ laughter ] >> mr. trump? >> humble.

>> reporter: david shuster, al jazeera. we're learning the first details about a hearing now underway in san antonio for army sergeant bowe bergdahl. they said this morning that bergdahl deliberately deserted his post before being captured by the taliban. a tough border crackdown in hungary is forcing thousands of refugees to go somewhere else. more than 6,000 people have traveled to croatia by bus in the last 24 hours. lawrence lee has more. >> reporter: what you can see happened today is the result of the bottleneck that was created by though actions of the hungarian government who obviously treated the refugees with a mixture of violence and contempt for all of that time. as soon as the croatian government said you can come this way instead, come to our border and go in and out the

other side, then they have just come by the thousands. i don't know if you can see through the dust the buses at the end of the road. we have seen a half a dozen or more buss in the last couple of hours, all of them had 50, 60 people in them. they are dropped here just on the serbian side of the border. they walk up this dirt track here, and then take a sharp left and go this way, and we followed them earlier on in actual fact. two kilometers down that track is croatia. we followed them there. it's a mundane border only marked by a couple of big stones. we spoke to some of them. and they said where are we now? and we said you are in the european union now. but clearly, the fact of this bottleneck having been released by the serbians who bussed everybody up here, and the croatians have caught the

croatians unprepared. for the moment the door is open, and everyone is rushing through it as fast as they can, but the trouble is the door might shut again if croatia says it can't deal with the numbers that have turned up. as more countries close their borders, thousands of people are continuing to land on the shores of greece. jonah hull is in lesvos. >> reporter: anyone who thinks that the closure of european borders will deter this human wave would be wrong. as we watched on the shores, the boats came in. >> [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: you have heard that there are problems. but will this stop you? >> i will not stop. i will -- i will be -- >> reporter: you'll keep going. >> yeah, keep going and to rife germany to achieve my ambition.

>> reporter: carefully wrapped in makeshift water proofing, smartphones are vital tools, serving as both road map and guide. photographs and video on social media feed their expectations. this is a smuggler's facebook page. happy faces on calm seas, safe for all ages at around a thousand dollars a head. this is a fancy yacht for hire, but that costs much more. the promise is clear, get your tickets here to a new life in europe. the reality is different. cheap overcrowded boats, accident-bound. sometimes the people aboard only learn how dangerous this journey can be when it's too late. this man and his baby survived, but in recent days close to a hundred lives have been lost in greek waters many of them children. here comes another boat. now volunteers guiding them in,

local greeks ready to pounce and steal the engine. no matter what triggered this mass movement, no matter what started it, no matter what perpetuates it, there is no easy way of stopping it. >> translator: we know that the border situation is difficult, but god willing things will get better. may god show us the say with so can go ahead and be able to protect these kids. >> reporter: whatever calamities may lie ahead, whatever tragedies have yet to unfold in these watereds, as long as there is war and poverty and as long as there are smugglers getting rich on the opposite shore, they will keep coming. decision day for the federal reserve over interest rates, but not everyone wants to see rates go up for the first time in nearly a decade.

plus why some navajo farmers still do not want to use the water months after a toxic spill. stay with us. ♪ ♪

>> as the global refugee crisis intensifies... >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> and the e.u. struggles to cope... >> we don't know, they stop us here. >> what's being done while lives hang in the balance? >> we need help now. three americans who helped stop an attack on a french train are getting the red carpet treatment in washington today. they met with the president a short time ago in the oval office. later that will go to the pentagon where defense secretary ash carter will present them

with matters. two are active duty service members. wall street is trading cautiously right now as investors wait to hear the federal reserves decision on interest rates. the fed has been debating whether to increase rates for the first time in nine years. as patricia sabga reports not everyone supports it. >> the last time the federal reserve raised interest rates was back in 2006. but after the great recession hit, the feds slashed rates to near zero to kick start economic growth and create jobs, and it has worked to a degree. the economy is growing, slowly, but steadily. while the unemployment rate has plummeted to 5.1%. but that takes care of only one of the fed's observetives, by law the fed also has to ensure price and financial stability, and this is where economists disagree on the timing of the next rate hike.

a certain amount of inflation is necessary to help the economy grow. but inflation has been running well below the fed's 2% target for over three years and the situation has grown worse as oil prices have dropped and the dollar has strengthened against other currenties. some economies are not all that worried about low inflation, reasoning that a tighter labor market will force wages up. they also believe the impact of low oil prices and a strong dollar ease up. but others think it's a mistake to raise interest rates when the global economy is weakening, because higher rates here will pull more money out of the emerging economies and into the u.s., turbo charging the u.s. dollar making exports more expensive overseas, and if low inflation slips into deflation,

it will encourage consumers to sit on their money. jack in 2000 japan raised rates and plunged the country back into an economic slide. what is a fed official to do? well all they can do is weigh thef dense and hope they make the right move at the right time. and that was patricia sabga reporting. the fed is expected to release its decision around 2:00 pm eastern today. the epa is defending its response to the colorado toxic spill. though blow out sent heavy metals into the an -- animus

river. >> in this case we were in a remote area. we know we got ahold of our state partners immediately. the partners notified the national response center. >> the disaster affected waterways in colorado, utah and new mexico. colorado san juan river took a direct hit from the spill. despite assurances the water is fine, navajo farmers are still not using it and it is putting their livelihoods at risk. >> there is nothing growing over there. >> reporter: navajo farmers grow corn, alpha fa and cantaloupe, but when last month's toxic spill made its way to the san juan river they stopped watering their crops. >> i had a hay right over here

as you can see. i had to just plow that up. because of no water. that's just bare dirt now. >> reporter: now instead of using river water, he uses water from his tap in addition to water delivered by a local navajo agency. >> i will be carrying a bucket of water, maybe two back and forth from my faucet all the way down to the corn, and this was the only way i was irrigating. >> reporter: why are you not using the water? >> because it's contaminated, and i don't want none of that contaminated water to come into my field, because if it gets in these crops here, what is going to do? you know. >> reporter: this canal should be full of water. however, those farmers say they would rather lose their crops

than use river water they fear is contaminated. >> emotionally it does hurt like what happened to the water, our water. because we're going to have to deal with it, and we as navajos, natives, we can't sell our land and move on to another country. there's no such thing for us. >> reporter: according to the epa the water is safe and some navajo communities have resumed using it. >> the navajo nation is just going by what the government is giving them, you know, the information that they are getting from the government, but i don't trust the government at this point. >> reporter: in august, the navajo nation stated would sue the epa for damages and has taken its own samples in preparation, but has yet to release the results. >> do you want to help hold that. >> reporter: scott smith is with water defense a non-profit,

assisting the navajo citizens to help conduct the tests. >> this monitors ex expo -- exposure over time. >> reporter: they use a substance to soak up what is in the river. he says the epa's method of taking a sample from the surface doesn't capture what is flowing through the san juan. >> reporter: 99.9% of people i have met from the epa are great people that want to do the right thing, and they will tell you it is those above that tell them to look the other way. >> reporter: the epa denied our request for an interview. and says they will release their tests. meanwhile farmers like these

continue to watch their crops die as the canals dry up. >> if you love your land, you'll do anything for it, and protect it. and that's where me and my husband are. we want to protect our land, because we want to grow food. we want to have the organic food. we don't want to go to the store and have to buy, you know, whatever over there. several people are still missing as two major wildfires burn through northern california. firefighters recovered two more bodies wednesday after a few daysover cooler weather, temperatures are rising again in northern california. that will make containing the fires more challenging. a dire warning over the world's oceans, conservation groups say in the last 40 years half of all marine life has died, and it may get worse.

♪ we're now seeing the extent of the damage caused by a powerful earthquake off of the coast of chilly. at least ten people were killed, the quake caused homes to collapse, small tsunami waves flooded some shore towns. tsunami waves just over two feet high reached hawaii a few hours ago. a new study says air pollution may be taking years off of your life. the research just published found contaminated air could

kill more than 6.5 million people by 2050 if nothing changes. polluted air is already killing about 3.5 million people a year. new details today on the world's threatened oceans. the world wildlife fund says humans are destroying so many natural resources underwater that it is killing much of its sea life. richelle carey reports. >> reporter: the world wildlife fund says the world's oceans lost more than 50% of their vertebrae populations over the past four decades. half of the creatures that depend on the oceans are gone. some fish species have declined by almost 75%. for the report, the organization tracked thousands of marine animal population around the groeb since 1970. it says the decline is more

serious than previously thought. they habitats are being destroyed and degraded as well. the report shows half of the world's corral reefs and half of all sea grasses have been destroyed. over 25% of all marine species live in corral reefs, yet they coverless than .1% of the orb shap. >> we can see in the distance there, the industrial development and the destruction of the world heritage listed -- >> reporter: it says that humanity is collectively mismanaging the oceans to the brink of collapse, and that fortells an impending world, social and economic crisis. the report says the biggest drivers of the decline are human actions, including overpopulation. the global population is expected to grow by another 2 billion to reach 9.6 billion by

2050, with most people in coastal areas. a 300% increase in ship traffic over the past two decades, 14 to $35 billion in subsidies that encourage overfishing, mostly in developed countries, and global rm warling. the organization estimates at current rates corral reefs could disappear entirely by 2050 because of warmer, mored a siddic water. richelle carey, al jazeera. nasa is pushing to bring humans back to mar exploration. the first manned flight will not happen until the mid-2030s. that does it for us this afternoon. thank for joining us. i'm erika pitzi. the news continues next live from london. have a good day. ♪

border. scenes on the crew wash sha saying it cannot cope. >> you are watching al jazeera live from london, also coming up. >> protestors demand release of their transitional president. following a military coupe. al jazeera goes undercover to find out how a growing demand from china is fueling the