expose children at an early age to the famous instrument and its unique sound. well, you can find out plenty more on our website, all of the stories we're following are right there. the address is www.aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪ >> i don't want to pass this problem on to the next president, whoever it is. >> president obama making one last pitch to fulfill a campaign promise to close guantanamo. donald trump looking for another win in nevada. in flibt, michigan, the city and state agree to fix the city's pipes, but residents say neither side is actually doing anything. ♪

this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm del walters. just moments ago, the president laying out his plans to close the guantanamo bay prison. >> for many years it has been clear that the detention facility at guantanamo bay does not advance our national security. it undermines it. this is not just my opinion. this is the opinion of experts. this is the opinion of many in our military. it's counterproductive to our fight against terrorists. >> reporter: president obama made that campaign promise to close guantanamo bay when he was campaigning back in 2007 and before taking office, pointing out that both sides agreed on closing the prison when he took office, but said the issue has since become highly politicized. jamie mcintyre has more. >> reporter: three of the

points, i think are fairly non-controversial. one is to continue the transfers of -- of prisoners, and there are 35 detainees at guantanamo who have already been cleared for transfer, and they may be gone by the end of the year, the other is to continue and even accelerate the review process for other prisons to see if more can't be approved for transfers to other countries. the third point is to prosecute or have legal consequences for those who can be tried with the military commissions or in other legal proceedings, and the last point, of course, is the most controversial, the people that the pentagon says are unreleasable for one reason or another. the president wants to bring them to the united states and close down guantanamo. he says he has not identified the facility, in part because the law that prohibits the transfer, also prohibits them from doing any work towards that

end. but it has some notional ideas in there about how to do that. and just to review the number of prisoners left in guantanamo now, the president said at one point there were over 800, there are only 91 left, 35 are due to be transferred another 10 are possibly facing some sort of trial or military proceeding, and that leaves about 45 or 46 that are potentially could be transferred to the united states. the most questionable part of the plan, the fourth point, work with congress to find a way to bring them back, and congress has already pretty much said that is not happening. >> that is our jamie mcintyre at the pentagon. now on to capitol hill. the president's plan is in the hands of congress. libby casey is live for us in washington. libby is congress at all receptive? >> reporter: del, because the house and senate are both controlled by republicans, this plan is not being met with

interest. and even though president obama points out that there was once by partizan support, it really no longer exists. now president obama is aware of that, and he acknowledged as much as he spoke today. >> in congress, i recognize in part because of some of the fears of the public that have been fanned oftentimes by misinformation, there continues to be a fair amount of opposition to closing guantanamo. if it were easy, it would have happened years ago, as i wanted, as i have been working to try to get done. but there remains bipartisan support for closing it. and given the steaks involved for our security, this plan deserves a fair hearing. >> reporter: that fair hearing may happen on capitol hill. we do expect to see congressional hearings take place, del, but don't expect

republicans to get on board at all. even though the administration hasn't been able to move forward on where to move detainees, there has been initial research into possible facilities, namely in south carolina, california, and kansas. already republican senators from those states have come out saying it is just not safe to bring those prisoners to their home communities. and the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell is against moving prisoners to the u.s. as well. >> so we'll review president obama's plan, but since it includes bringing dangerous terrorists to facilities in u.s. communities, he should know the bipartisan will of congress has already been expressed against that proposal. >> and del, it goes even further, because republican presidential candidates aren't interested in closing gown guantanamo bay. what was once seen as something the president planned to do during his time in office is now

looking fairly illusive because of this key question of where to put the most controversial prisoners, del? >> how did the political landscape change, republicans for decades have been the law and order party, and now it seems that they are afraid to bring these people into the united states. how did that change? it is really a fear, or just another battle in washington. >> reporter: the republicans say they have real concerns about security. the white house pushes back, and the president today talked about some of the notorious cases of recent years, everyone from the tsarnaev brothers who bombed the boston marathon, the surviving brother was dealt with here in the united states, the shoe bomber, was dealt with in the united states. the president says we have the ability to do that.

and we have seen a real shift, people like paul ryan saying there is no reason to close guantanamo down. >> libby casey thank you very much. switching gears now, presidential politics, the focus now in nevada. donald trump once again the front runner, looking for his third win in a row, ted cruz and marco rubio locked in that fear battle over who will be his main challenger. melissa chan is live for us in las vegas. the polls are projecting a big lead for trump in nevada. what is his appeal? >> reporter: well, to a certain extent trump is very hard to put into a box as a republican. he is a very flashy rich man, and here in las vegas that is not necessarily a bad thing. nevada is a unique state you

have libertarian leaning, and it is also heavily reliant on las vegas, on reno, on gambling, alcohol, entertainment, prostitution is legal in some parts of the state, so these are what you would consider sins if you are conservative. so you have some republicans who work in las vegas, and they really connect with donald trump and less so to somebody such as ted cruz. >> and cruz and rubio fighting it out to be the alternative to donald trump, does either of them have a chance to take him on in nevada? >> reporter: the polls are saying they are essentially neck and neck. marco rubio is a much more classic republican, and ted cruz he has sort of followed the cliven bundy effect, and won support from people who have

supported cliven bundy. you have 80% of land in nevada administered by the bureau of land management. and cruz has really come out to talk about that. >> melissa chan for us in las vegas, as always, we thank you very much. >> let's go to a senior reporter from the center for public integrity. dave this morn's "washington post," the editorial taking issue with the republican party itself. he demeans war heros, and yet he is the front runner for the republican party. was the post right? what does this say about the party itself? >> the party has had this tortured dance at times. it wants somebody who is going to be a great nominee for the party for the general election when the nominee has to go up

against hillary clinton or perhaps bern. on the other hand there were a number of candidates who were involved in this race early on. you had about a dozen who were semilegitimate candidates, and as a result it wants to remain somewhat neutral and come out guns ablazing against one of its own. >> but let me push back on that. one of the things the paper seemed to be asking, was whether or not the republican party wanted to be the party of bigotry, because that's what the editorial was saying, when you compile all of the people that donald trump is against, is that the type of party that the republican party wants to be? winning is one thing, but winning at all cost, is that what the republican party wants to be and should be? >> there are some republicans who agree with that editorial more than they probably ever having a agreed with a "washington post" editorial in history. they are concerned about donald

trump not only in a political sense, but also a moral sense. now at the same time, donald trump has a ton of supporters, many of whom are dedicated republicans, so they have to factor that in. that's why you are seeing so many starting to coalesce behind marco rubio. the question for marco rubio is can he win? he hasn't won any states yet. i'm a buffalo bill's fan, we never did win the super bowl, second place is not going to cut it. marco rubio knows that better than anyone in this race. he has got to get a victory. whether it's super-tuesday, or going into florida where he has his own state. >> can donald trump be stopped? >> donald trump can be stopped. the question at least in that regard is who is going to stop him? if you have ted cruz, marco rubio and donald trump all in this three-way race, presuming

that john kasich and ben carson aren't going to win a state, right now it has been the case of momentum that has propelled trump forward. then you get into the math, these 11 super-tuesday contests coming up, and several more in mid-march, and the real delegate count really begins at that point. and if donald trump is far away, and really pulling away in that delegate count, perhaps he is unstoppable. but if marco rubio can win a few, and ted cruz win a few states, then it becomes trickier for donald trump. and the big question mark is hey, are we going to have a contested convention. >> i want to go back to donald trump and bernie sanders to some extent. you live in washington, what many people refer to as the bubble. what do you say to people who say that donald trump is simply the mirror, and america doesn't

like its own reflection? >> i would say a lot of people feel that way, and here in washington, d.c., it's very, very easy for anyone to scratch their head and say what the heck is going on in the rest of america. and the rest of america says a lot is going on out here, and that's why donald trump is winning, because washington isn't listening to us. the anti-establishment rhetoric you are hearing is playing very well for not only donald trump but a candidate like bernie sanders who is holding hillary clinton up as the ultimate washington insider, and somebody who isn't reflective of values of people in middle america, that is something that has resinated in this campaign on both ends for months and months right now, and it is really coming home to roost, as you see those candidates not only doing well, but winning a lot of

states. >> dave as always thank you very much. when we come back, we're going to talk about fixing flint's water crisis. why a power struggle is leaving the residents once again in limbo. and a new option for cash-strapped home buyers, but it is raising fears of risky lending once again. ((úz@úxóxkt

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>> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching al jazeera america. the u.s. based company initially issuing a recall in germany after bits of plastic were found inside of a product there. it has since been expanded. protests are being planned at 40 apple stores around the country. demonstrators say they want to

show their support for apple in its fight against the fbi. apple says it is not going to comply with a court order to help crack an encrypted iphone used by one of the san bernardino shooters. the public, however, does not agree. microsoft founder bill gates also side -- weighing in. >> it's no different than should anybody ever have been able to tell the phone company if they can get records. or bank records. meanwhile facebook ceo mark zuckerberg said, quote:

there is a new bat brooing in flint, michigan over how to fix that city's water crisis. the mayor saying thousanding of pipes need to be dug up and replaced. john henry smith has the story. >> reporter: while the city of flint is no longer getting its water from the pal -- polluted river, they say replacing pipes is the next step. >> get those out of the ground and then move forward with lead pipe replacement. >> reporter: but the agreement ends there, when it comes to the process of removing those pipes. the flint mayor announced a research team had laid out the scope of the problem. >> what our research supports is an estimate of at least 8,000 homes and businesses in the city of flint, being fed with lead

pipes. >> my goal has been for all of them to be removed, so i was glad to have somebody validate this information. >> reporter: she wants $25 million from the state to pay for replacing those pipes. but while the mayor was making her announcement, rick snyder was 65 miles away, touring the state's new emergency operation headquarters, and the governor said he is doing his own study. >> we have the infrastructure study going on, to determine where the lead pipes are, we're focused on a process to identify the high-risk ones. >> reporter: the governor has signed a contract with a company called rowe professional services for his study. state records show rowe was involved in the city's switch to the contaminated flint river. it helped design the water treatment process, but calls its role peripheral. the governor is keeping his

focus on getting supplies to the residents. protesters say that's not enough. >> get these pipes fixed, you know? i -- that's all i can say, try to get the pipe fixed and resolve this water problem. there are growing calls for a complete ban on those rechargeable lithium ion batteries on passenger planes. it comes from the montreal civil based organization. concluding that those batteries can createn tense firing, capable of destroying aircraft all together. it is scheduled to take effect on april 1st. this morning there is hope for some home buyers who don't have enough money for big down payments. a new program is out that it says will help, but that is sparking fears of risky lending again. >> reporter: the loan program requires 3% down and no mortgage

insurance and also gets around the federal housing administration, or fha. the fha has penalized big banks in recent years for making errors on loans. >> there's hard feels from the big banks against fha, and they would like to dial it back as much as they can, and clearly this is an attempt to come up with an alternative. an alternative that is more affordable to borrowers than fha. >> reporter: freddy mac and fannie mae have been offering similar loans for a year now, but have been little used by home buyers, partly because they require a high credit score and strict underwriting. >> you still have to a verify assets. you still have to a verify your

income, importantly there's counseling involved by a self-help group in terms of getting a mortgage and if you run into problems, so those were features that we never really saw during the subprime boom. >> reporter: for now they plan to issue no more than $500 million of these new loans, that's a fraction of the billions of dollars in loans made by banc of america last year. when we come back, the oceans rising at their fastest rate in thousands of years, humans are being blamed. and showing the heart breaking but life-saving work during the ebola outbrake.

>> people take money. wicked people. >> you are creating a society that can be rotten to the core. >> anas risked his life to report the truth. >> to save his people. >> doesn't matter who you are, i come with my cameras. >> only on al jazeera america. >> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is

asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching al jazeera america. a new warning over climate change, a group of international scientists saying sea levels rising 5.5 inches over the past century. the rise in water levels is bad news for low-lying island nations, the study says emissions have to be cut or warmer temperatures will continue to melt glaciers and

sea levels will keep rising. the climate change manager in australia, says that people are already being forced from their homes. >> many of our closest pacific island neighbors are at risk. their very existence is at risk. we're already seeing climate refugees evacuating many of those islands, and the predictions that follow from global warming are that we could see up to 200 million climate refugees by the middle of the century. scientists say this is the fastest rise in those sea levels in 28,000 years. there is less than one week to go before the s -- oscars and one of the document industries up for an award is about the

ebola outbreak. >> the illness took old across west africa just over two years ago. there is still no cure. guinea, sierra leone, and liberia were hit by what was described as an epidemic. this place, los angeles is a world away there that horror that we saw in 2013 and beyond. but there is a link between liberia and l.a. today, because a film about ebola is up among one of the tops. this is it, body team 12, the tail of the red cross workers who collected bead bodies as the outbreak took hold. this is the site of the oscars, this is real life and death as

raw as it comes. >> every day i would fear the worst, could i be next? and that played in my head during this production, so i got a small glimmer of what it was like for these teams day in and day out. the level of anxiety they were working under was intense. >> reporter: it tells the story of a nurses and are sized by her community because she went to help in a place where few others would dare. >> reporter: liberia has gone through a brutal civil war not long ago. and to here these brave liberians were fighting for their nation, their families and the rest of us, the whole world. >> reporter: the film has already won best documentary at last year's tribeca film festival. for its makers it is essentially that tails like these are shared. >> it's a super hero story,

about real people that did something at a time in history when the whole world was afraid. the epidemic is now officially over, without these people, the question is, how much longer would that have taken? and how many more victims could have died. >> what did we do to help liberia. and finally, pbs saying it is going to create a 24-hour channel exclusively for kids. pbs kids will carry some of their original most popular programs and stream live online. that announcement coming as more content providers are adding more for the little ones among us. the news continues live from london next. and you can always check us out 24 hours a day, by going to aljazeera.com, where the news never stops. stay with us. ♪

president obama presents his long-awaited plan to close the detention camp at guantanamo bay. ♪ hello there, i'm julie mcdonald, this is al jazeera live from london nflt also coming up. the number of refugees crossing the mediterranean this year is already at a record level. returning to their destroyed houses. we're with fijian islanders coming home three days after a devastating cyclone. >> reporter: and the