goevening, i'm antonio mora. president obama tries to clarify his strategy and the work done to get help from allies. debating the fate of a baltimore police officer accused in the death of freddie gray. the possible protests that the city is preparing. >> and the right to unite. drivers for ride hailing apps like uber and lift, utilizing in seattle. the impact on contract employees

nationwide. we begin with a show of force by the commander in chief. president obama made a rare high profile visit to the pentagon to defend his strategy against i.s.i.l. the u.s.-led coalition was hitting the group harder than ever. the president's comments were aimed at his critics. jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> antonio. after a more than two hour meeting in the briefing room. president obama essentially said read my lips - no new strategy. trust me, the old one is working. >> president barack obama's motorcade left the white house house for a strort trip. clarifying the commander in chief to the headquarters of the troops he commands. the meeting of the military and homeland security team was intended to show that defeating i.s.i.l. remains among the president's top priorities.

afterwards in the pentagon briefing room obama talked tough but took no questions. >> as we squeeze the heart, we'll make is harder for i.s.i.l. to pump the terror and propaganda to the world. >> president obama offered no plans, but a promise to pursue the current strategy with vigor. >> i offer new actions to intensify the war. the actions are well under way. >> it's similar to what the president said the last time he visited the pentagon during the summer. >> indeed, we are intensifying efforts against the base in syria. our air strikes continue to target the oil and gas facilities that front so much of the operations. that was then, this is now. in recent weeks we unlished a wave of strikes, the oil infrastructure, destroying hundreds of tankers, trucks, wells and refineries. >> in july the president conceded progress was slower

than hoped. >> in there not be quick. it's a long-term campaign. >> he has the same message now. >> we recognise that proingz needs to keep -- progress needs to keep coming faster. >> the president pointed to the ongoing iraqi offensive to retake ramadi as evidence that i.s.i.l. is slowly losing its grip on power. >> so far i.s.i.l. lost about 40% of the populated areas that it controlled in iraq. and it will lose more. iraqi forces are now fighting deeper into ramadi, they are working to encircle fallujah, cut off the supply routes into mosul. >> with the u.s. doing the heavy lifting, president obama is dispatching the defense secretary ash carter on an arm-twisting mission to the middle east, trying to convince countries who say they are battling i.s.i.l. to do more to battle i.s.i.l. first stop turkey. >> jamie mcintyre at the

pentagon. secretary of state john kerry is in russia to lay the ground work for another meeting aimed at ending the conflict in syria, kerry will meet with his russian counterpart and try to narrow the differences between u.s. and russia before a meeting of world powers in new york on friday. the differences include the role of bashar al-assad in any political transition and who role rebel groups should take in the talks. >> a u.s. group in turkey says it may face an attack. it is scaling back consular operations in ankara and telling all americans to maintain a high level of vigilance. officials urged people to avoid the embassy until wednesday, and did not elaborate calling it a security situation. >> army sergeant bow beryl dal is facing a jemp court martial on desertion and endangering

troops. the decision against the recommendation of the army lawyer who presided over the preliminary hearing, suggesting a lesser special court-martial and no prison time for bergdahl who spent nearly five years as a taliban hostage in afghanistan. the 39-year-old could face life in a military prison if convicted. >> the fate of a baltimore police officer accused in the death of freddie gray is in the hands of a jury. it began deliberations after hearing closing arguments. john terrett is it in baltimore with the latest. >> good evening, the prosecution was trying to show that officer william porter lied on the stand. there are discrepancies between what he said in the original police interviews and what he said here last week. the prosecutors setting the jury a test. what would a reasonable officer do in similar circumstances. the prosecutor said at one point it was a coffin on wheels. we have a graphic to ilfreight

more words. credibility, responsibility and reliability, three words i want you to think about when returning the evidence: she went on to urge the jury to convict officer porter on all four charges. the defense painted a different picture, wanting to show the jury not to be caught up in the emotion of the event and look at the facts dispassionately. we have a graphic by the defense attorney saying: that is important, it brings us back to what would a reasonable officer in similar circumstances do test, set by the prosecution. everyone in baltimore is a little on edge this evening.

all leave for the police have been cancelled. officers are working 12-hour shifts. the police say they expect protests when the verdict comes, but they want the protests to be peaceful. they will not say what they'll do if they are not. two other issues, baltimore county schools cancelled trips into the city until friday, and the mayor of baltimore activated the city emergency management center just in case. antonio. the jury deliberated for three hours, and will be back in the morning 9:30 eastern to continue. >> thank you. now to a victory for drivers of ride-hailing countries like uber and lift. seattle is the first city in the u.s. to allow drivers of the country to unionize. allen schauffler reports from seattle. >> there was a lot of talk from seattle city hall about the historic nature of the vote. this legislation has not been

tried anywhere else, all quiet here right now, as you can see. that was not the case monday afternoon when the vote went down in council changes. >> at uber business is booming. six years into the ride-sharing mobile app business, the country has more than a million drivers behind the wheel, in 250 cities in more than 50 countries. this person drives for uber and other services in seattle. >> i keep it on a schedule. it's got into terms of flexibility. also, i like transporting people. >> drivers paying their hours and most cone cars. they don't receive the workplace benefits. they are not employees, they are independent contractors. the company sets the rates. there's no precedent for labour workers to have collective

rights, those that support the industry say it's time to challenge that. >> what i want to do is give the drivers some leverage in negotiating with uber, negotiating with lift, whoever it is, so they have say in what the employment looks likes. >> it would be a first in the u.s., not just for drivers, but contract workers. attorney law workers says congress should look at how workers are defined and compensated. uber and its competitors created a new model. and the labour law may be updated. >> federal law pre-empted the area of private sector unionization for more than 50 years. i do not believe that theistic to create will be upheld by the court system. >> reporter: it's not clear how many drivers want to unionize, no one is forcing them to work for uber or any service.

but they want more control over workplace conditions, and want input into how uber sets the rates and hires and fires the workers. what we are saying is treat us in two more ways. treat us carefully. >> it may have been a you nan mouse vote, but the legislation does not have the sport of the mayor's office. the mayor saying he supports the concept and sees problems with the law, he will not sign it, he'll let it become law without the signature, and hopes to see further legislation next year to clarify what he sees as problems with implementation and oversight. >> allen schauffler in seat the environmental protection agency is accused of carrying out an illegal social media campaign. using various platforms, they asked the public to support an

obama clean water initiative. the blitz was called covert propaganda. the e.p.a. says it never asked the public to contact the state tore federal lawmakers. lobbying and propaganda violated war. iowa republicans have the first say in 2016 congress in a few weeks from today. they'll get the lay. ted cruz is surge, donald trump is strong and the party establishment tries to make sense tv all. hundreds of thousands of drone users have weeks to register the contraptions with the federal government.

>> we have people who are desperately in need of jobs. >> hear from citizens caught in

the crossfire... >> we want freedom, freedom! >>...and what america can learn from chicago's ongoing gun violence. republican presidential hopefuls hit the debate stage tuesday night in los angeles, and the newest polls are all over the place, a poll released over the weekend shows a shift. ted cruz jumped 21 points since the last demoyne registered survey, and in that poll the texas survey holds a 10 point lead over donald trump, ben carson is third. donald trump has a lead in the national poll at 41%, cruz with

14%, second. and marco rubio third. that poll is significant. it was taken entirely after donald trump made his controversial comments about banning muslims from entering the united states. a professor of political science joins us tonight. good to have you with us. i want to start with the iowa polls. there are a couple this that have trump ahead. the other has ted cruz ahead. when all the recent ratings and polls where they'd been wrong, can we trust this? >> we have to be circumspect about the polls. what we know about trump's voters is if he's ahead in the polls, he has support from voters who are the least likely to get out to the caucuses. caucuses require you to spend two hours in the public environment. defending your choice and advocating on behalf of canada. these voters, given the education, income level. past history are the least

likely to turn out. we have to be cautious about those things, this is a game with who will get out, and who is not. it depends on how you define that. >> that's iowa, but we look at the national poll with trump at 41%. as we went along people say the sealing is 25%, 30%, 35% - now he's at 41%. are you surprised? >> i am surprised. >> would say again, national polls, we have to be careful. we have to look at a state by state basis. it is the first one where we take into account the national poll. who is better known than donald trump, who gets more free media and headlines than trump. granted he is ahead. there's no question about that. i'm not sure he's breaking that up. >> a lot of free media is because of comments that he has made. many times the wisdom has been this is it for trump.

he did this, installed john mccain. called for banning muslims in the united states. you'd think that some of these things would hurt him. instead, they seem to be helping him. with his supporters, the more he is attacked by the republican establishment and the media. the more entrenched and supportive of them. >> will they wake up at some point. there's another poll, an n.b.c. wall street that shows that trump head to head losses by 10. crews a little bit. rubio and cars son beats her. at some point wouldn't they care more about winning the white house. >> the establishment is frustrated having trump and cruise into the lead. once they get into a general election, that is not a winning strategy, it's not about the presidency, they are worried about losing the senate and support in the house. >> there's a bunch of the senate

seats and states that president obama won. they have that. >> if they have a weak candidate, and you don't have moderate republicans out to vote. they are in danger of losing the senate. >> the bigger danger is alienating donald trump too, and having trump mount a third party candidacy. do you think the establishment will be more careful than they may have been in the pass. particularly where they man i'm ute lated a convention. trump is making noises if they don't treat him possibly they'll leave. >> and ben carson has said something. i think they are trying to work out what the impact will be, there's a school of thought that he'd take voters with him. and a school of voters that think it could help them. they are trying to figure out the best way to do it. they don't want to upset him that they lose all supporters to independence. >> do you think it will be heated tomorrow night.

>> i think it will be heated, but i'm not sure it will be between crews and trump. trump has been going after crews, and crews taking a step back, making funny comments in response. and thinking that we may see christy go after trump or some of the more established candidates. in the past, we noticed trump has stepped back, not taking people on the way he feels free to. >> social media as well. >> that's right. >> twitter. we'll have you back tomorrow night and talk about what happened in the debate. >> can't wait. >> stay with al jazeera, for coverage of the g.o.p. debate, and a full preview of the main event tomorrow at 8:00 eastern this month, all recreational drone users will have to register their aircraft in a database, an attempt to address growing safety concerns, as lisa stark reports, some critics say the rules are unnecessary. >> with drones flying off the

shovels this holiday season, the f.a.a. moved with lightening speed to require drone regs strikes. the online process up and running on monday. owners of drones that weigh from half a pound to 55 points will need to register. previous owners have until february 19th. new owners must sign up before the first outdoor flight. there's a $5 fee, free if you act fast within the first 30 days. owners will get a unique identification number that must be marked on the drone so it can be traced back if it ends up where it shouldn't be. that's been the problem. errant drones turned up on the white house lawn and on the stand at the u.s. open. they halted the aerial firefighting efforts and came close to airplanes. a new study finds that in the last two years, there were 327 close calls in the air.

909 involving commercial -- 90 involves commercial jets. 38 with helicopters. in 38 cases pilots had though manoeuvre to avoid a collision. >> it's an issue that a lot of airports are experiencing. we are not just talking about commercial airliners, we are talking about crop dusters, medical airlift helicopters. peelts of all skill and ever -- pilots of all skill and level have experienced interference with a drone. >> there's resistance from a hobbyist group. the academy of model aeronautics called the move an unnecessary burden for drone owners, saying educational campaigns are key to keeping the skies safe. >> do you know how far you can flythis for you? >> no. . >> you have to see it. >> also, no more than 400 feet

above ground level. >> education is critical. with so many alarming incidents, it wants accountability from owners, who face stiff fines for failing to register their drone still ahead on al jazeera america - a new window on the world's oceans. we'll take you on board the high tech ship that will help researchers explore everything from the stormy surface to the darkest depths. >> heading in the opposite direction, n.a.s.a. is accepting applications for the next class of astronauts.

a philadelphia area school stopped teaching the adventures of hubbingle berry fine over the use of the "n" word. >> a private quaker school ditched the classic. the "n" word appeared 200 times, swain used the term because he wanted to drive home a point about slavery. when the book was published it caused controversy, it portrayed the friendship between a black man and a white boy. >> the united states is entering a new era of deep see research. as jacob ward reports, a contest is aiming at opening a bigger window on the world's oceans.

>> a new 90 million ship. the r.v. neil armstrong. built by the navy just for science is about to carry researchers to the deepest oceans on the planet. >> think of this as the most exclusive cruise line, it takes years to get a ticket. you have a raise a lot of grant money to earn your place, once you are out on the boat. the idea is to do big science, the kind that is hard to get funding. the funding for ocean research took a hit, just as the kinds game important. we know more about the surface of mars. climate scientists observed the ocean absorbed half of our carbon emissions. a study suggests the ocean may stop doing that as the climate changes. if it's true it will change all

calculations. >> the human influence on the planet will change all. this is a time we need to understand how our ocean is changing and how it will impact life on earth. >> that's why this ship, operated by a consortium of universities and research agencies is built to go to the ends of the earth. >> we generally work in, you know, nastier places, just kind of by default of what scientists are looking for. the ship we retired spent most of its last 15-20 years in rugged environments. certain groups were looking at the air-sea interchange for the exchange of stuff between water and air. and the best mixing in storms. they wanted to find storms in rough weather. not so exciting for us, but it's the job, i guess. >> the diesel engines can take the boat to any part of the

world, except for actual iced in boringses of the arctic, and the ship has six miles of cable. that puts something on to the ocean floor. the only limitations is whether the stuff you want to put into the ocean can survive the place that it goes. >> a new competition could jump the start of robotic systems, designed to withstand pressure of depths. the ocean x prize, a $7 million competition will award millions to the best robotic surveys estimate capable of surviving at depths of 13,000 feet or 4,000 meters. the prize hopefully creating a market for the technology as x prizes have done in other areas. >> the prize awarded in 2004 was a private space flight competition which - to get three people up to 100km in the atmosphere twice in two weeks.

that spurred the private space-like industry between new ships and technologies, the r.v. "armstrong" will hopefully reveal the secrets of the sea. 90% of which is unknown. at a time of less funding the launch of the ship is a rare opportunity to do good work at sea n.a.s.a. is now hiring. the space agency started accepting applications for the next generations of astronauts. candidates could travel to the international space station, the moon or mars. recruiters say advance degrees are not required, but you need a bachelors degree in hard science or engineering science. a benefit for the counter astronauts, a pass to see the new star wars movie. special arrangements made to view the upcoming film "the force awakens", it debuts in los

angeles. it opens nationwide. i'm antonio mora, for the latest news head to aljazeera.com. ray suarez is next with "inside story". have a great night. the two big parties in the united states don't agree on much, but they both got behind a rewrite of the bush era, no child left behind act, passing the every student succeeds act by an overwhelming margin. does this new law represent much of a departure from the old law, which gave the federal government a lot more power over educational policy in the united states. will the back to no child, and ahead