this is al jazeera america live from new york. i'm adam may. faceoff. >> i think women all over this country heard what mr. trump said. >> behind the back and forth and bickering, we look at the issues defining the republican race. ready for battle. >> students not only passed their standards, they passed their peers and patrols.

>> easing restriction on woman in combat. the marines say it's a bad idea a prize-winning syrian author driving a chicago taxi. >> there's only chaos now. everybody kills everybody. >> plus, finding fault. mul multimillion dollar faults. it's not nearly enough. we begin with that epic three hour republican debate and what could be a turning point in the gop race.

some actually took the stake last night and it was really their first real look at the policy differences between the top republican con tenders. >> from domestic issues to international affairs, the candidates did dig into some substance revealing areas of common ground and insights into republicans who want to be president. the candidates agreed to take away planned parent hood federal funding. >> anyone who has watched this videotape, i dare hillary clinton, barack obama to watch these tapes. watch a fully-formed fetus on

the table. its heart beating, legs kicking. while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. this is about the character of our nation and if we will not stand up and force the president to veto this bill, shame on us. >> the videos do not show the graphic scenes she described and no tax-payer dollars pay for abortions at planned parent hood. that's not stopping ted cruz to go as far as shutting down the government to veto the organization. >> we need to stop surrendering and start standing for our

principl principles. complied? >> the poll traced today's con fliktss in the middle east back to george w. bush, the war in iraq and the overthrow of the government there. >> iran is now stronger because hue sane is gone. when we complain about the iranians, you need to remember that the iraq war made it worse. >> donald trump slammed jeb bush's slamming of the iraq war.

>> his administration gave us barack obama because it was such a disaster. >> as it relates to my brother, i know he kept us safe. i don't know if you remember, donald, do you remember the rubble? the firefighter with his arms around it? he sent a clear signal that the united states would be strong and fight islamic terrorism and he did keep us safe. >> you feel safe right now? i don't feel so safe. >> trump threw barbs at the three candidates who voted against military strikes in syria in 2013 but there was some with no responsibility. >> he should only be engaged in an endeavor to win and we're not going to authorize use of force if men and women are in a position where they cannot win. >> the next debate is in

colorado. that third debate is six weeks away but candidates will try to pop in the polls and also raise funds. many were were back on the trail today hoping to capitalize on any momentum they built on last night. a lot of this campaign so far has been about personal jabs but as 2013 gets closer, candidates may be trying to figure out the formula. >> voters seem to be asking for that now. thank you so much. >> emigration reform has been front and center in this republican race thanks in large wart to donald trump. sparks flew last night on that issue. jonathan bets is here now with that. this debate highlighted the growing divide within the gpo. >> we're building a wall as on

the campaign trail immigration was a big focus of the republican debate. >> he's weak on immigration. >> and it was personal for bush. he called out coloneled trump for labelling him soft on immigration because his wife was born in mexico. >> that was completely inappropriate and i hope you apologize for that, donald. >> but in style, trump did not back down. we're the only ones stupid enough to have it. >> although his challengers support a secure border, some were quick to dismiss the plans. >> to build a wall and deport

people half a million a month would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. tear families apart. >> you can't just wave your hands and say the 14th amendment is going to go away. it will take a huge vote for 20,000 people to be deported a day every day for two years is an undertaking none of us could accomplish. others had a different distance. >> i hate to say it but trump has a point here. there's never been a direct supreme court case on people here illegally whether or not their kids are citizens. >> i'm the only one here who has never supported am necessity and who helped lead the fight to stop a massive amnesty plan.

candidates have been speaking spanish on the trail. >> [spanish speaker] last night he defended that move. >> he taught me that in spanish. that was his comfortable latent printing wage >> immigrants are quick to say trump is no different than anyone else. now to our special coverage in week of the crisis from the middle east to europe. today thousands of refugees tried to get to western hungarian

in hungary's southern border and now this,

any way they can, including killing me if they can get away with it.

leaving miami, dallas, and chicago. nearly approximate hundred it will criminal lawsuit filed by the justice department. more than 100 deaths. on live in detroit with more for us tonight. >> that covered that ignition switch test test test se se does in order to secure a deal

like this. prosecutors are not ruling out charging individuals in the future. and it's part of our apology to the victims. $75 million to settle many of the lawsuits filed by victims and their families. the settlements were met with frustration by victim's family members like laura christianson who last year said she hopes someone at general motors would be held criminally responsible for the death of her daughter, amber marie rose died in a 2005 crash caused by the ignition switch in her chevrolet cobalt.

it's a bill law makers said last year could have been avoided. the parts needed to fix the defective switches said cost less than a dollar per car. >> they insided not to do so because of cost. now, americans stepped up and bailed out general motors. now general motors needs to step up and make substantial corporate changes so nothing like this ever happens again >> general motors will be watched by an individual monday the. but it was stressed today that could change

how are the families reacting to this sellalment? >> they're shocked, convinced that the u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york would take gm to the wood shed in regards to what's necessary due to a fine and personal responsibility for specific individuals inside gm who participated in the coverup. and gm was told to pay $900 million which is less than the toyota criminal settlement and toyota did less than gm did. >> what do you think would have been more appropriate? >> $3 billion. >> would you say that gm got

away pretty easily here. they now are writing a check for $900 million. no one is going to go to jail. they're going to go on making cars and making money. >> we put our hands in the lives of auto makers every time we get behind the wheel. what kind of message does this settlement send to the auto makers? >> i'm concerned for tomorrow's victim of tomorrow's defect because when you are inside an automobile company and are pressured to cut corners and recall that gm got away with paying $900 million and not going to jail. gm says they have turned over a new leaf.

they may be right. my fear is not so much about what gm is going to do tomorrow because they hired a new ceo and they're -- there are also victims barred from suing. they suffered injuries and deaths just like many of the clients receiving this settlement bid. but they were just simply unlucky enough to have their accident pre-09. a judge ruled the victims have no avenue inside the courtroom. the bankruptcy will revent them from anything. up next, women in combat. an experience casting doubt on

their abilities. and what's next for interest rates. why the federal rage is standing pat for now when rates are likely to rise.

welcome back to al jazeera

america live from new york. i'm adam may. firing back >> equal standards across the board. >> the debate over female soldiers in combat and a marine corps experience that many say set women up to fail. >> stay the curious >> it was appropriate to wait for more evidence. >> the fed leaves interest rates near zero while a raise is still expected this year and what it'd means for the economy. >> plus, art and activism. >> i document it as an artist. it's a defining moment of our time. >> we talk to set illustrator drawing attention to syria's civil war. a major showdown looming at the pentagon. civilian leadership is trying to remove all barriers to women in combat but the marines have dropped a bomb shell. they say women on the front

lines would seriously harm their national effectiveness. >>reporter: this is a debate that's been raging over social media. just as it seem add this there was a consensus that the way to go to have equal standards for men and women this marine corps study suggests all male units will always be better than mixed gender units. >> just last month it seemed two female soldiers who aced the army ranger training had pretty much settled the debate about introducing women into ground combat. >> equal standards across the board. >> but the u.s. marine corps says not so fast arguing it's not as quickly an individual marine can climb a wall or carry an howitz around, it's how the whole squad performs as a team

and earlier this year at california, they conducted an experiment pitting mixed-gender squads against all male units. the men were faster, stronger, and more lethal scoring higher on 69% by all measured tests. men outshot women with a hit rate of 44% to 28%. men were faster at combat maneuvers including clearing walls and evacuating casualties. >> and women suffered twice the rate of injury 40% for female and 19% for male. now the debate is raging over what it all means and whether the experiment was as advertised, designed to figure out the best way to get women into contact or keep them out. >> it's a way to keep them out. to support an argument that is

saying women are not good enough and here's data. >> she was a cobra attack helicopter fighter pilot and i spoke to her by skype where she's been tracking the issue and says the study doesn't take into account many other variables besides gender. >> for example, prior training is missing. when you look at the training that men and women receive prior to coming, it's very, very different. men have the -- especially those already in combat arm jobs before starting this had physical and tactical training that number of the women had. >> the commandant says it will be one factor with what he decides to recommend. on social media, many marines have already decided that putting women in infantry units will sacrifice effectiveness or

correctness. >> sergeant major justin he hugh who helped set up the experiment wrote your senior leadership of this country does not want to see america overwhelmingly succeed on if battle field. it wants to ensure everyone has an opportunity to pursue whatever they want regardless of the outcome of national security. >> he argued the experiment was in fact fair. the women were the best available. and that marines are open minded. in a facebook post, he argue there had is nothing gentser diced about this. it is what it is. you will never see a female quarterback in the nfl the back lash has been fuelled in part by statements from navy secretary ray mavis, the civilian in charge of both the navy and marine corps. he says he'll ask all jobs be available to women. >> it started out with a fairly

large component of the men thinking this is not a good idea. and women will never be able to do this. when you start out with that mindset, you're almost presupposing the outcome. >> critics also point to the fact that to get into the experiment women and men had to demonstrate only a minimum level of physical fitness. a standard many of the men exceeded suggesting perhaps raising physical requirements for everyone rather than excluding women might even the playing field.

that could be a game changer. >> what is your reaction to this study? >> well, my first reaction was that it really was a study and not an experiment. there were lots of other factors that would have played out into the outcome. just by looking at the study, we're looking at the real study. i mean, the real study is the

test of women in iraq and afghanistan for the last 14 years absent the equipment and training and infantry and in combat arms and have still been performing along side men and successfully. that's the real battle test. >> so the debate right now is raging. the sergeant major basically wrote this would be a threat to national security. >> what do you have to say to him and other detractors? >> i don't agree with that at all. if people are trained to the standard, begin the opportunity to suck seated, we're going to see more women passing these hurdles all of the time. i really agree with the idea that without the encouragement and confidence and that fair shot they don't have the shame chance. it's not an even playing field but once they do have that i think we're going to see women really rising to the occasion and see them pass better and better.

ize there was just no way you can say it was gender alone that made that team perform. it's interesting because with the 200,000 marines, if we put all of them in teams, we would see that there is only one team that would be the best and all of the teams that did less well we would not look at them and say that's jeopardizing national security. we'd say they're all marines and

passed the tests but just in -- that's what we really need to look at.

so much attention from the federal groups. we're talking going from zero to 25. their response has been huge. it's the call to action. everything. a real shock. the fed itself is pretty divided. the federal reserve stopped raising rates in 2006 while low borrowing costs have helped stimulate the economy there

>> farm workers striking in mexico...

i think it was because of my race and where i'm from. and because of my name. >> how does that make you feel? >> it makings me feel different, like, i didn't belong there and it made me feel like i was a threat to them. >> and obviously you're not. you're 14. do you think the school or police should say sorry? >> yes.

they should apologize. this is is not my first or last invention. they can't change who i am >> cannot wait to see who he is. the president has invited him to the white house. it's just one of many invitations he's getting. also got one from lg that says he eventually wants to attend college. why do i believe that's going to happen? >> >> now to a landmark achievement in an effort to get rid of those deadly land mines. >> thousands of people are killed and maimed every year with you land mines. most are civilians, many kids. land mines have within used for hundreds of years in countless conflicts but after every war they remain in the ground, a hazard for everyone. it took mozambique 20 years to clear them. it's the first large mine

contaminated country to be declared land mine free. next hour we'll be joined by cindy mccaine who was there when the last land mine was designated. we'll talk about how many more need to be declared and how the impact goes beyond the human cannage. >> very interest. thank you. 11 million syrians have been forced from their homes. more than 200,000 have died. the country's largest city, aleppo has been the hardest hit. molly crab apple is now trying to bring attention to the region. >> one of the collaborations i'm proudest of is with a young syrian writer. he sends me cellphone pictures sometimes from cities under isis rule like racca or mosul or aleppo. he sends me those photos and writes accompanying essays to my

drawings. he said the hardest part is watching them reduced to nothing. when people talk about syria, it's only through the lens of the war. they see it only through isis especially. there was one with an old woman coming out of what was once on her home and there was such anguish on her hope, it felt like it was stabbing me from inside the photo. there needs to be open borders with europe right now we have a situation where people are throwings themselves into the mediterranean basically and dying on smuggler boats to try to get out of a war zone. and then you have the wealthy

countries turning their backs on them essentially. i try to document it as an artist because it's a defining moment of our time >> the news continues next with antonio mora. i have no one to talk to. >> some dismiss it as a phase. >> we're trying to pigeon-hole him into "tom boy". >> but is it reallt a crisis? >> when your child wants to die... that's what changes parents. >> meet the families on a life changing journey. >> i finally get to blossom into the beautiful flower i am!