this is al jazeera america live from new york. here are today's top stories. the final push as presidential candidates descend on iowa for last-minute campaigning ahead of monday's caucuses. tragedy at sea. more refugees die trying to reach europe, many of them children. tracking the zika virus. more cases reported in south america and the u.s.

canada's dark secret, hundreds of women have disappeared over three decades and some say police just don't care after months of debates town halls and countless polls, the u.s. presidential race has officially kicked into high gear. monday night is the democratic and republican eye iowa caucuses. they're rally supporters to get out and caucus. iowans will pack gyms, centers and more. they will make a last pitch to convince people to back them. the new new york times made the preferences known today as it did in 2008.

the editorial board endorsed former secretary of state hillary clinton as the choice. the time is backing john kasich, the governor of ohio. al jazeera's chief political correspondent joins us live. the gold standard of predicting the iowa caucuses was just released. the des moines register's poll and they're predicting a small lead of hillary clinton over bernie sanders. 45% voted for clinton and 42 for bernie sanders. martin o'malley there in third with 3%. the poll is predicting victory for donald trump with 28% of the vote, ted cruz in second with 23% and marco rubio third with

15%. so michael what do you make of that? >> reporter: a lot of people are going to say trump up, clinton up a little bit. i think the interesting numbers in that poll is ben carson at 10%. four he is seen to be the evangelical vote. marco rubio is trying to chip away at that. there is 48 hours now, and if that is able to be taken and put into cruz's column, he will look good. in the last 48 hours both cruz and marco rubio after that one of the myths is iowa actually picks the president but that's not the case, is it. >> reporter: no. it isn't. you've seen republicans from this state go, rick santorum

winning it last time, mike huckabeeing last time. it may not serve that purpose as it has in the past because new hampshire is next. it is also only eight days after the caucus, so it is like one big primary lumped together. they're trying to appeal to new voters. it is not going to be necessarily selecting the next candidate, but if somebody like marco rubio can come in second or if ted cruz could beat donald trump, the energy of this campaign going into new hampshire will be very different if donald trump lossess or marco rubio is ab to take a lot of the votes and finish second himself, that could change, but you won't see a lot of people dropping out in the last 48 hours we're seeing a big push from

candidates to win over voters. you're talking about did donald trump here. >> reporter: he is trying to appeal to the ee van gel kals but-- evangelicals. he has taken out his bible, he has talked how they love him. he says that about a lot of people, but that's the ploy here, getting that he can also be someone to represent the evangelical vote. they're trying to tap into those who favored the outsiders from the beginning of this campaign going to the democrats here, martin o'malley, a doesn't third, and today what literal might be his last roll here. let's listen to one of his

tactics. >> come see, come dance with me to the beautiful iowa waltz that is a real song. he actually has a nils voice there, but honestly is this war song? >> reporter: right. it isn't over until the candidate sings, right. it is going to be his swan song. he was hoping that somehow - we still have time and i want to be fair to o'malley and his supporters, but the truth is he is 3% in this poll. a lot of people have to go one way or the other. the people that caucused to him have to make a decision to support either sanders or clinton. it is going to be tough going for o'malley thank you so much. tomorrow night in our sunday night look at the week ahead religion and the 2016 campaign, the roll of faith in the race

for the white house. that's sunday night at 8.30 p.m. eastern. it's the scandal that just won't go away for hillary clinton, her use of a private server during her time as secretary of state. yesterday the state department said that 22 of the emails found on that server are so sensitive they will not be released. al jazeera's correspondent has more. >> reporter: the hillary clinton campaign is calling for the release of those top secret emails knowing now that it has been marked top secret it won't happen. the clinton store does not add up when it was revealed thee was using a private server we were told there was nothing sensitive. it now says 22 have guarded secrets. her opponents on seizing on this saying that further investigation should be done in whether the former secretary of state broke the law >> she is disqualified from

being president. this thing with her emails is a big deal. just yesterday they couldn't release all her emails. do you know why? because some of the emails are so sensitive, so classified that they can't release them. it would be damaging to release them. what else do we need to know? she thinks she is above the law. she believes she is above the law. what she did is because she believes she is above the law. >> reporter: the prognosis for the clinton campaign is now again the issue of trust. for hillary clinton has consistently forced low in the mind of voters. there's two days before the caucus where many people have made their minds up and may not be influenced by these new revelations. at the same time it is expected to have an impact on the next nominating contest in new

hampshire where republicans are sure so seize on this to say she should not be president president obama will visit a baltimore mosque this week to emphasize his support of religious freedom. he will lead with muslim leaders on monday when public sentiment against the faith seems to grow. he has called on americans to reject anti racial meant. at least one person has been killed in denver after several shootings and a stabbing this afternoon. it broke out after the motorcycle expo. six other victims have been taken to hospitals. police are investigating the attack tz but so nar no-one has been arrested. despite represented warnings a russian jet once again crossed into turkish airspace on friday.

the russian ambassador has been summoned to discuss the incident. russia began air strikes in neighboring syria last september. turkey shot down a russian fighting jet that violated airspace in september. >> in their statement they describe this incident as "yet another example of russian escalatory behaviour". even the president erdogan said this was an attempt by russia to escalate tensions in the region. like you mentioned, the turkish foreign ministry says that the plane violated its airspace on friday. they summoned the russian ambassador, they protested the action, they condemned the action. we have to remember tensions were at an all-time high really. in november when the turkish air force shot down a russian jet. now, russia did not respond

militarily. there were words and it took actions and imposed economic sanctions on turkey. it took a number of actions inside syria which really tied turkey's hands inside syria. we have to remember these two powers are on the opposing divides in the syrian conflict. this is a very dangerous situation. we have also heard statements from n.a.t.o. urging russians to avoid such violations in the future thank you for that. further north another russian fighter jet is accused of making a risk maneuver close to an american aircraft. the russian jet butzed an american spy plane over the black sea on monday. the pentagon says the maneuver threatened the safety of the american crew. now to the war in syria. u.n. organisers are optimistic to a start to peace talks now that the main opposition group has arrived in geneva. meanwhile air strikes in syria

continue. jets bombing targets in the city of homs in video have been released. the opposition had insisted of stop of air strikes as a precaution for attending the talks. >> reporter: my understanding is that the opposition team has 17 members. that sounds like a big delegation, but i'm also told at this stage this is not a negotiating team. they decided to travel here from saudi arabia after several conversations that they had with the united nations. i'm told they also spoke to the russians and they spoke to the u.s. i'm told it is following assurances, verbal assurances, given by the u.s. secretary of state john kerry that they decided to get on the flight to come here. they were told some of their concerns were going to be addressed. there would be some measures

taken following their demands that they have made before they are going to take part in any negotiations. they will come here, they are going to meet, i believe, u.n. officials and then they're going to take stock and see whether they have got what they've been told they're going to get when they come here and then they will decide whether to take part in actual negotiations here in geneva james bays reporting from geneva there. at least 39 refugees fleeing the region drowned trying to cross the sea from turkey to greece. the turkish government says a boat carrying more than 100 people sank today after hitting rocks. we want to warn you some of the images in this next report are graphic. >> reporter: they are casualties of war and poverty. among them a small child, other children and adults too. washed up on a beach in turkey. their boat had sunk not far from

the rocks. in all, about a third of the 120 people on board didn't make it, drowning as they tried to reach greece, a gateway to europe used so many before them. some victims are thought to have been from syria. all this as politicians in geneva gather for talks to try to end the nearly five-year long war. >> we will save you. don't worry >> reporter: over night another group of refugees tried to make the journey. the italian coast guard spotted people stranded on rocks near the greek island of lesbos. the only light came from the rescue boat. it was a daring operation with divers trying to reassure the men, women and children that they would be rescued. eventually they were pulled aboard, cold, frightened but

safe. more than a million refugees and migrants have travelled to europe during the last year. the cold winter weather hasn't stopped people coming and neither have the conflicts that have driven so many to take the risk of making these journeys months after welcoming refugees into germany the chancellor now says they must go home once the war is over in syria. she urged e.u. countries to offer more help to prevent the number of refugees from soaring in the spring. the chancellor has resisted calls from conservatives to close the countries's borders or limit the number of refugees. in the u.k. the debate over immigration grew violent in the streets today. there were angry scenes of pushing and shoving in the port city of dover. anti racism activists disrupted a really against immigration

organized by far right groups. despite a heavy police presence bricks and smoke bombs were thrown. several people were arrested. in our next hour a deeper look at the refugee crisis, what is driving the growing anti refugee sentiment taking hold in some countries. that's coming up at 8 p.m. eastern. a serious virus is spreading at an alarming rate. new cases of the zika virus which may cause severe birth defects in babies are turning up daily. what you need to know next. in rome thousands of people are rallying to preventity lee to-- prevent italy and same sex couples. many women have gone missing.

on monday the world health organisation will decide if the zika outbreak justifies a public health emergency of international concern. that meeting comes just as health officials in colombia say more than 2,000 pregnant women have been diagnosed with the virus. this is disconcerting because it may be linked to severe birth defects in children, specifically with microcephaly.

health officials say in brazil hundreds of cases they have tested may not be linked to zika at all. let's go live to our correspondent who is in mexico city for us. good evening to you. we're finding out now that peru has confirmed their first case of the zika virus. >> reporter: good evening. yes. the case is a really good example of how the zika virus is moving from country to country or has the potential to move from country to country in the americas. so we have a venezuelan man living in peru who visited and was infected in colombia and returned to peru and that's where they got their first documented case of the zika virus. the world health organisation predicts that by year's end three to four million people will be infected with the zika virus. there are a couple of reasons why the organization has

described the spread as explosive. first of all, the zika virus was only introduced in the americas, in brazil specifically, last spring, so people don't have any kind of immunity. secondly, the mosquito that transmits the virus exists in every country in america. as you can see, there is a real potential for this virus to spread and you mentioned brazil. brazil has been hardest hit so far and with the rio olympics coming up in a matter of months, there's a real concern about how this will impact of attendance absolutely. that's definitely a big question now. you are in mexico city. what are you seeing and hearing there. are there health warnings? >> reporter: no. not yet. it is important to note that so far as the confirmation of the virus has been extremely low, at least comparatively to colombia and brazil. so mexico so far has confirmed

18 cases of the zika virus in the southern portion of the country it's not a hot spot of tourism, and we did reach out this week to hot spots, particularly among americans, in mexico. so the tourist boards of various areas, so far they haven't mentioned any impact on tourism, but as you know spring break is a couple of months away and that might be a point in time where people may have changed their travel plabs. people have already changed their travel plans, cancelled flights and trips in the region out of concern about contracting the zika virus and it's particularly pregnant women or women who want to have kids who are concerned what are you hearing about what health officials are doing to curb the spread of the virus, especially when there is no vaccine? >> reporter: there is a vaccine being worked on apparently right

now, but it will be years before it is available. the world health organisation is taking a proactive substance, so it says it is partnering with health officials throughout the region to do a couple of things. first and foremost it is trying to examined the capacity-- examined expand the capacity to test. they're working on eradicating the breeding grounds for the mosquitos and that is primarily standing water water and disseminating information. they're telling people to sleep under mosquito netting, wear insect repellant, wear long sleeves and pants and try to avoid standing water thank you. now let's bring in a physician specializing in infectious disease. thank you for joining us in the studio. to be clear, zika virus is also here in the u.s. we know of several cases

diagnosed across the country from new york to texas to hawaii, the w.h.o. saying that it is spreading explosively in the americas. how concerned do we need to be? >> well, one distinction i would like to draw is while we've had cases of zika virus diagnosed here in the u.s., they did not acquire the infection here in the u.s. that is really important. the transmission has occurred overseas. there is a reason why we're insulated from this explosion of zika virus in the u.s. we don't have the same type of poverty. we have running safe water so people don't have to keep standing water stored and that can be a source of mosquito breeding. we have good sanitation and hygiene which means again we don't have standing water, sewers open and that sort of thing where you can have mosquito is breeding. we also live in air conditioned screened homes. we have better living areas than

those in latin america what about those people that are going to be travelling, we're talking about a lot of countries here, two dozen countries. there are travel warnings for americans going to those countries, including where our correspondent is in mexico. should people be second-guessing whether or not they actually go on those trips in the next several months? >> if you're pregnant or trying to get pregnant, absolutely. this what not be the right time to go. do we think this is going to be a definite travel prohibition for those hoping to get pregnant or are pregnant, probably not. what is probably going to happen, which has happened in the history, people have not been exposed medical recently. you will have an explosion but it will burn itself out. the only people left will still not be immune or very young children who have just been born and not been exposed yet. this is something that we need

to be concerned about. this year, probably next year, but in the long run this is not going to continue to spread as it has been it is often referred to as a site si-- silent infection. >> that means there are no symptoms. it is harped to make a diagnosis if somebody feels bell. we don't-- feels well. we don't go out and test them for if it. the symptoms are mild, fever, rash, pink eye and a lot of different things that can cause that. most people get better on their own so we don't go fishing for that let's talk about this vaccine possibility here. we are hearing that there's an emergency virus vaccine ready for use. is that something that could possibly help in this scenario? >> i think it's similar to the case of the ebola epidemic where yes there were some vaccine candidates on the shelf that we started to study during the

epidemic, but they were not really useful in bringing that epidemic to an end. to get a vaccine fully study, safety approved and out there on the market, really scaled up in production, takes years. we're talking about moneys of millions of dollars, probably five to 10 years before we have a zika virus that we can use summer olympics in rio, we're like seven months away from that. your friends and family, loved ones, what do you say to them? do they cancel their trip or do they go? >> my husband is a sports journalist and he will be going to the olympics. i'm not going to tell him not to go because he is not a woman trying to get pregnant or is pregnant. it is a very specific population that is at risk. weep can't turn the clock back on goeblisation. you have some six million foreigners who go to brazil every year.

the big package, it is not what is going to make a big impact on the spread of this epidemic thank you. the defense department will not take further action against retired general david portrayus. he was found guilty of leaking information to his then mistress. he will retain his four star rank instead of facing a demotion. he agreed to pay a one hundred thousand dollar fine and was wut on probation. punish punish put on probation. the rise of bernie sanders, how a politician with views aligned with socialism has become a contender. a project to restore one of the holidayiest places of the christian place.

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. in syria bombings continued today. peace talks in geneva with the opposition arriving late today. the saudi backed groups say they have received assurances that humanitarian issues will be addressed. at least 39 refugees have died in the sea thechlt were trying to get to greece from turkey. the turkish government says more than 100 were on board. among the dead are ten children. the iowa caucuses are set for

monday. the former secretary of state hillary clinton with a slight lead over bernie sanders on the democrat side and for the republicans donald trump has a five point lead over senator ted cruz. for many americans the word socialism has long conjured images of the iron curtain. one candidate is changing these perceptions. a report on bernie sanders, a south described socialist and his surging popularity. >> reporter: the time-worn rhythms of american politics are changing. for the first time in u.s. history american socialists have a standard bearer. >> we need an economy that works for working people >> reporter: who is a major candidate for president >> if it takes a socialist to show us the way, then god bless him. the system hasn't worked for a very long time. so for me it's not so much of a

taboo of the s work because i've seen what the k word, capitalism has done >> reporter: in america's agricultural heart land these are times for new signs. with iowa ready to pick their votes in monday, it could set up an epic rivalry. a socialist versus an ultimate capitalist >> that's what's happening >> reporter: trump is also tagging sanders with the c word >> this socialist/communist, okay, nobody wants to say it. >> reporter: until recently sanders european style socialism was a hard sell in a country that has long equated it from socialism from world war ii march

marches. to gee self mccarthuy. ichlt have you no sense of decency. >> reporter: to the campaign against socialised medicine. we do not want that. behind it it will come programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country until one day we will awake to find that we have socialism. >> reporter: medicare has become popular along with the socialised insurance program, social security. >> at one level we hate socialism, as it were, or democratic socialism. at another level we really like a lot of the things that the democratic socialism does. >> reporter: the sanders campaign is opening the door to a growing breed of young liberals disillusioned by the capitalism of washington and wall street >> they hear socialist and they see europe today. they see the benefits of

socialism and they don't see the iron curtain and stalin and the negatives that might be associated with it. >> reporter: the campaign trail is long and torturous. for sanders to go from here to history he will have to carry his brand of american-style socialism to victory from the snow capped corn fields of iowa to washington in yyoming campaigners say liz chainy will announce her run on monday. she is the oldest daughter of dick cheney. she ran two years ago but dropped out because of health issues. she will face eight competitors for the one seat in the house of representatives. italy is the only western european country that does not allow civil unions and adoptions for same sex couples. today thousands gathered in rome to demand that the government

keep it that way. >> reporter: they chose the theater of an shent battles to bring their fight against same sex civil unions and adoptions. tens of thousands of traditional families from all over italy together to say no to a law that proposess to give some sex couple recognition and the right to adopt a partner's biological child >> translation: we are against this law because children are not giving a right. children have come from a mother and father. >> translation: you can't get it as family because it cannot birth a family. >> reporter:ity lee is the only country in western europe without a law that legally recognises and protects same sex couples. because of it, it was condemned by the human court of human

rights. that's one of the reasons why the government is trying to fix that anomaly, but clearly a lot of italians disagree. in a demonstration last weekend thousands of gay rights advocates showed their support for the law in more than 100 cities across the country. on thursday some of them gathered in front of the senate where the bill is being debated. a wake-up call that the country says it can't wait any longer to keep up with europe. >> translation: we have been trying to have a law for same sex couples in italy for the past 30 years. i hope the government finally approves it without compromises because this is already a compromise as it is not a law that elg legallys same sex marriage but it is a first step >> reporter: it will be voted on in the senate starting next week, because of the hundreds of thousands of people who voiced their opposition on saturday, the outcome is far from

predictable demonstrations were held today in france against extending the country's state of emergency since november's attacks in paris. our correspondent spoke with the protesters about which liberties they want to protect. >> reporter: it began first as a 12-day state of emergency that was extended to three months. that period is about to expire and the french government wants to extend the state of emergency even further. it gives the authorities unprecedented rights to be able to detain and arrest without warrant, to shut down demonstrations like this. in more recent years it closed down web sites when it could be proven that the website is a sympathetical supporter of so-called terrorism. the law has been seen very much by these people as a double hedge sword. on the one hand it protects national security, but on the other hand many people believe it undermine tz civil liberties >> it is used not only for

fighting terrorism, and that is agood thing, but it is used for silencing people with opinion opinion. >> reporter: what liberties are you worried about? >> this one, the liberty to demonstrate and for a social struggle. >> reporter: large numbers at this demonstration still the vast majority of french people are in favor of extending the state of emergency. after all, the french president francois hollande says that the country is at war and many people believe him. even though the emergency measures continue to divide opinions here on the political left our correspondent reporting from us in france. bad weather kept rescue workers from towing a disabled cargo ship off the coast of france. the modern express is listing nearly 90 degrees, 108 nautical miles into the atlantic. the captain has made a distress call and has since been rescued.

they will attempt to tow the vessel again. the beth le hem church, considered the birth place of jesus, is getting a long over due make over. even a task as noble as this one is not without controversy >> reporter: what is believed to be the birth place of jesus christ has survived many events and even an earthquake. history and the weather have taken their toll. now for the first time since the sixth century the church of the nativity is being completely restored from ceiling to floor. the latest focus has been the mosaic and fixing the old has also uncovered something new hidden underneath the wall plaster. >> translation: we were lucky to discover an angel in its entirety, just the top part of its head missing. we have restored it. this will be a different view of the church than before the

restoration. this will be a beautiful end result. >> translation: we're shown what it looks like before the italian team of experts start work. centuries of candle smoke and varnish have dulled their image. it is a remarkable transformation, delicate, meticulous work that is giving the church a complete face lift. the roof and the window were restored first as the rainwater was leaking inside the church. these are essential repairs. the fact that they're even taking place at all, some have described as a miracle. this holy site is administered by three different churches. they each over see different parts, invisible lines that if crossed can turn violent. >> translation: it happened before. in some cases there were serious scuffles between disputes over who cleans which centimeters. >> reporter: just like this, priests and monks fighting with

brooms following a communal clean five years ago. someone may have brushed a little too far. sensitivities that boil down to the idea that if you clean it or take care of it, it's yours. those centuries old rivalrys have been put aside in a rare moment of consensus over seen by the palestinian authority. perhaps the ypd dawning that the results of benefit all-- idea dawning. the roof no longer leaks, the mosaic shines. in time, the chumpbt of the nativity will be seen as it hasn't for centuries-- the church of the nativity when justin trudeaux was elected as canada's prime minister, he promised a national inquiry into the disappears of hundreds of native women's. some families have waited decades for answers. >> reporter: five years ago this man's sister disappeared. >> she was seen getting into a

red truck and that's as far as we know. it is just a guy in his mid 30s, short stocky build. >> reporter: she was just 20 years old. there are so many women going missing in indigenous community. why are they more vulnerable? >> because they're easy prey. there are a lot of people that don't, like, they believe they can just take them and just get away with it. >> reporter: winnepeg has the largest indigenous population in canada and also the highest crime of murder rates. many in the city are poor >> i think that poverty make people vulnerable to the point where they are more attractive to those predators that are out there and there are many predators out there. >> reporter: bodies sometimes turn up in the river. the indigenous here feel that the government has largely ignored the violence, but there is now growing public awareness and a movement to change things.

>> it just seems like the people have had enough. >> reporter: the campaign to find out what happened to so many missing indigenous women has picked up momentum with the support of a new liberal government. with the prime minister trying to improve relations with the greater indigenous community >> we have made this inquiry a priority for our government because those touched by this national tragedy have waited long enough. >> reporter: by their own add mission, police say they've had some 1200 cases of missing or murdered indigenous women over the past 30 years. they are over represented, more likely to go missing or murdered than any other group of women, making up 16% offual female homicides in canada but representing just 4.3% of the country's total female population. this woman's sister is another victim >> i think definitely my sister being a woman, being aboriginal,

having a criminal record, a known drug user and someone who is known to frequent the streets, all of those things played a role in how her case was investigated. if these were nonindigenous women, i'm sure that something would have been done a long, long time ago. >> reporter: the problem people have is a sense that law enforcement often appears not to prioritise indigenous cases. it has been many years, july 20078 when smith's sister went missing. this intersection was her last known location and according to the family police didn't even bother looking into her case until ten days after she went missing. police explain that most missing person cases, about 90% are actually solved and that limited resources require them to judge which cases to focus on. >> the town handles close to

7,000 missing person investigations per year, so on a daily basis officers are coordinating and looking and prioritizing, assessing. >> reporter: feeling powerless, some family members have taken matters into their own hands. both these two drag the city's river hoping to find clues. they say they won't ever give up their search. >> they say time heals but it doesn't get any easier, especially when you don't have any answers. you know, it feels like yesterday she went missing. >> reporter: it is unlikely a national inquiry will solve specific cases. the move is meant more to examine the bigger picture, the institutional weaknesses that have led to a tragic end. the proponents hope at the very least it will make the system more fair, raise awareness and make canada safer for its indigenous women a blow to ms williams' reign

as tennis champion.

tennis super star serena williams was dweed in a grand slam-- defeated in a grand slam turn employment tournament. she lost to angelique kerber in the final. she was nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament. she defeated williams in three

sets in the championship match. a look at what is coming up. >> reporter: we're going take a look at europe's refugee crisis. angela merkel made a statement saying that refugees she welcomed into the country will eventually have to go home. we will take a look at the backlash against asylum seekers. students applying for college expect to submit their grades, but what about asked to reveal run-ins with the law. some universities are asking that question and that is creating a lot of controversy. then, of course, we will head to iowa live where presidential candidates are bombarding the state with political ads and stump speeches before monday's caucuses on this week's episode of third rail host adam may presses the senator on the politics of

pragmatism. >> reporter: where do you stand on this divide right now between idealism and pragmatism in your party? >> i've been listening to the debates and i think hillary clinton is on fire. she has been very strong on our national security issues to domestic issues. so i think she is running a very energetic campaign as she pointed out herself, she has been fighting these fights for a long time and has great credibility and experience to deal with the challenges america faces. i think she has been very energetic. bernie sanders is a friend. i've known him for a long time. he is clearly got a lot more energy from younger people in this campaign that may have not been vefld in the past. that's good news. competitive situation now, we hope will bode well for november when we will get more people voting for our democratic nominee. >> reporter: you said it right

there that senator sanders is getting a lot of that youthful energy right now. i'm wondering why isn't clinton doing better against really a self proclaimed socialist? >> again, they both have pointed out this is for the noment nation for president of the u.s. it's not handed to anyone. we knew that this was going to be a tough campaign. it is going to be a tough campaign for november, not just the primaries. that was known from the beginning. we're not surprised that there is competition for it. it has been a healthy competition. the interesting point is that the democratic candidates, all three, have been seeking primarily two issues, where you don't see that on the republican side. so the fact that this is competitive was known from the beginning. at the end of the day i believe hillary clinton will be our nominee and she will be the next president of the united states you can watch the entire episode of third rail tomorrow at 5.30 eastern, 2.30 pacific right here.

a huge sink hole has opened up in an oregon highway stretching 80 feet wide. it lays next to another one that opened up two months ago. there has been no injuries or vehicles lost in the process. they are a result of recent heavy rain and landslides in the region specialists think. looking at those pictures, i mean that is some serious damage there. is that because of the rain? >> reporter: when you get too much rain or too little rain, both of those situations will cause sink holes. oregon is known for the sink holes. things for them are better. you can see the rain here. this area of cloud that you see right here in the pacific doesn't look too bad right now, but over the next several days it is going to be intensifying and become our next winter system as it makes its way in. we're not seeing too much in terms of any snow with that

particular system, but the winter storm warnings and the watchers are up anywhere from california all the way up here towards iowa where we're going to see sun, monday and tuesday, big, big problems across that entire region. let's break it down day by day. as we go towards tomorrow afternoon we will see that locum on shore start to intensify. we will get snow from california to parts of colorado. then towards monday we see 18 incorporates of snow across the region, 30 inches in the higher elevations and denver, some problems there. when we go towards monday the storm really intensifies. we will see several problems with this. first of all thunder storms down towards the south and then blizzard-like conditions across much of the central planes. iowa, minnesota minnesota,

michigan, 18 inches plus. the winds are going to be sustained anywhere between 20 and 40 miles an hour and then we will have those gusts to 50. what that will do with the snow is making the visibility coming down and that's why we will have the blizzard. if this is one day off it could cause a big problem for the cauc caucus thank you. argentinians are scrambling to fight the largest plague of low kufts in 60 years - locusts. >> reporter: a single locust eats it's own body weight in a day. it eats any and all vegetation. an adult insect can fly more than 50 kilometers. that is just one locust. multiplied by millions, and that single locust forms part of a devastating force. >> translation: the huge swarm of flying locusts were here.

at the end of the breeding cycle they laid their eggs and this is the product, the swarm. >> reporter: the region hasn't seen anything like this since the 195s. >> translation: -- 1950s. >> translation: we're trying to ensure they don't form swarms because if they do they will migrate and lay their eggs somewhere else. >> reporter: the agricultural agencies and local people are working together to first find where they're concentrated. then they fumigate. most of the insects are still jumping. their wings haven't developed to fly. the challenge is to eradicate them before they take to the air in quantities so great they will be impossible to contain. this is a race against time with local people and authorities working together from dawn to dust to try and exterminate them before they multiply out of

control. if they do, they will devour the vegetation in the whole area, destroying livelihoods, wiping out whole communities. the climate in this normally arid region has changed. recent winters have been pileder and rain faum greater. that has created the-- fall greater. that has created the best breeding period for them. >> translation: everyone is working together, private and public. it is going really well. we're all working to lessen the impact. >> reporter: as the sun goes down they settle for the night. these hunters from all over argentina work in a coordinated effort to identify where best to fumigate early the next morning. if necessity get it right, they're on course to contain the threat. if they don't, the-- if they get it right, they're on the course to contain the threat. if they don't, then the locusts are free to eat

thank you for watching.

this is al jazeera america with a look at today's top stories. syrian refugees drowning at sea, children among the dead. we take a deeper look at the growing anti refugee backlash in europe and the push to send back hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers. just two days to go before the iowa caucuses. the candidates are