especially in the authorities. the myth of nuclear energy, of it being economic, safe and clean has been swept away. >> "fukushima: a nuclear story," narrated by willem dafoe. this is al jazeera america. i'm randall pinkston in new york with a look at today's top story tires. >> just say no. >> we look at the life of nancy reagan as america says good-bye to the former first lady. >> the rights of women worldwide taking center stage. the topic of the week ahead. >> if america is going to invest lots of money into mental health and when you watch these

republican debates you know why. >> bernie sanders and hillary clinton face off, both taking shots at the republican candidates. >> and electronic dance hall group, major laser, becomes the first group to perform if cuba since restoration of dploiks relations. diplomatic relations. >> our top story tonight, a country in mourning for the loss of nancy reagan. the former first lady died this morning from congestive heart failure, she was 94 years old. 19 reagan's body was taken from her home late this afternoon. she will be buried beside her husband at the reagan presidential library.

patty culhane reports. >> her devotion to ronald reagan was clear. it was the constant theme of h their marriage. born in 1921. she was put on the black list as a communist. she went to the president of the screen actors guild, ron reagan, to help. she put her career aside to raise their two children, and help his career, from governor of california to u.s. president in 1980. >> i think i may have helped a little. maybe. >> there were often questions about how much she helped. this incident reinforced the idea that she was really running the show.

>> doing everything we can. >> doing everything we expect. >> she denied having that much control. glf i was aware always of people that were end-running him and he wasn't so i would step in and say, you've got to watch out for him. >> that meant she often clashed with his staff much more so after the assassination attempt, when she demanded final say over his schedule. it made headlines when it was revealed, she was consulting an astrologer. raised in the life of privilege she was often portrayed as an elitist. targeted for redesigning the white house she championed pairing the elderly with at risk youth and famously urging kids to: >> just say no.

>> brought the numbers down a bit but they end made very little difference to the statistics. stem cell research convinced it could have helped her ailing husband she pushed republicans to abandon their objection and it was to guc george w. bush to provide a compromise. her life began the day she married her husband. his legacy will in many ways define her own. >> al jazeera's michael shure is at the ronald reagan presidential library at simi valley. where funeral plans are already underway. >> nancy reagan was a stickler for detail and her funeral will be no less. her day of birth her day of death on them already, you see

every little detail being planned and right now the work is furious to get this place ready for the funeral. whenever that will be held. it will be presumed to be late this coming week and another part of this is that the library and foundation are pushing ahead. the library again closed but they are pushing ahead with plans for tributes for all of the logistics that take place here. i got a chance to speak earlier with john highbush the executive director of the ronald reagan library and foundation. he told me about his experience with ha her. >> she came every june 5th, she would spend a half hour or hour with the president at his grave site, just praying and thinking there was a moment that she never wanted to miss and she didn't miss from the moment he died. >> to the very active role here it is a place she visited

regularly every june since president reagan passed away and it's the place where she will come to her final rest, as well. randall. >> michael shure. earlier we spoke with craig shirley who shas written three best sellers on the reagan administration. he told us about the influence she had in the white house. >> she was not going to talk him into doing something he didn't want to do already so that was that she understood that he had his positions he had his principles and he wasn't going to change. she had a hand in thous ter of .

>> jimmy carter told his sunday school class that he does not need any treatment for his cancer any longer. his treatment ended last month. the 91-year-old carter will continue to get checkups just in can case the cancer returns. >> turning to the u.s. presidential election, bernie sanders and senator marco rubio two on republican primary with nearly 74% of the vote in puerto rico. in maine, senator sanders took

60% of the vote. bernie sanders and hillary clinton faceoff in a debate in flint, michigan. becoming the focus of the campaign trail when high levels of lead turned up in the water supply. diane estabrook reports. diane. >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic candidates for president of the united states. >> reporter: it was their seventh debate. the venue, flint, michigan, the focus, the stoxic water crisis. the candidates be left no time to sound off. >> dereliction of duty is irresponsible, he should resign. >> it is raining lead in flint

and the state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required. >> reporter: and both were challenged on the failings of the federal environmental protection agency. >> people should be fired. how far up it went, i don't know but as far as it goes they should be relieved because they failed this city. >> president sanders would fire anybody who knew about what was happening and did not act appropriately. >> reporter: the candidates were grilled from everywhere direction. some questions were point pend. >> your first visit to flint was five months ago. what took you so long? >> well, first of all that was not quite accurate. i was here long before that. >> reporter: jobs were high on the list of concerns among michigan voters. with bad deals, sanders saw his opening and pounced. >> secretary clinton supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements

written by corporate america. >> he voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry. i think that is a pretty big difference. >> sanders countered saying did he not support the bailout because wall street was to blame and kept up his attack on clinton for her wall street ties. >> one of us has a super-pac. one has raised $15 million from wall street for that super-pac. one of us has given speeches on wall street for hundreds of thousands of dollars. now i kind of think if you get paid couple hundred thousand dollars for a speech must be a great speech. i think we should release it and let the american people see what that transcript was. >> the two clashed on corporate subsidies. sanders had to explain why he sided with senator ted cruz on the issue. >> boeing and other big companies get support just like

their competitors do from the companies that they are from in the countries that provide the support. >> thank you senator sanders. >> isn't it tragic that these large multinational corporations make billions of dollars a year shutting down in america going to china, going to mexico. oh absolutely they need a handout from the american middle class. i don't think so. >> reporter: the debate took a poignant turn when the father of 14-year-old abigail koff a victim of the uber shooting raised gun control. >> if they understand that they are selling guns into an area that is getting into the hands of criminals of course they should be held liable. but if they are selling a product to a personal who buys it legally what you really are talking about is ending gun manufacturing in america. i don't agree with that. >> no other industry in america

has absolute immunity and they sell -- >> the candidates were also asked about race both invoked their civil rights records but bowt both supported a 19 -- both supported a 1999 crime bill, that disproportionately affected blacks. diane estabrook, flint, michigan. following the debate tonight, governor rick snyder responded to calls for his resignation. he tweeted: i'm taking responsibility as our value system says we circulate. our track record says they need to get things done and i want to get things done. michigan is very important to clinton and sanders. 147 delegates up for grabs. >> any surprises diane glrm sorry would you repeat them?

>> any surprises in the debates? anything new between clinton and sanders? >> i just think that it was a much more testy debate tonight. they kind of went after each other. they were respectful, something we kind of didn't see in the republican debate but they really went toe to toe with each other which is something that i think maybe we haven't seen in past debates. >> thank you, diane estabrook in flint, michigan. in the republican contest senator rubio's win in puerto rico may not be enough to help. he and john kasich remain long shots. more from hermel aa argawi. >> john kasich won an enthusiastic endorsement from california governor. the ohio governor has yet to win

a state and has only managed second place twice. but defended his decision to stay in the race. >> i will win ohio and it will be a whole new ballgame and i'll be able to compete in a lot of these states. >> donald trump splierd mostdone jabs on sunday morning talk shows. >> i'd rather run the risk of running without donald trump. >> donald trump maintains he's what the american people need. >> i'm very much a unifier. >> florida senator marco rubio continued to attack trump. >> someone's going to have to punch them back. >> reporter: the republican candidates were also asked about the possibility of a contested

convention. ted cruz and john kasich came out against it. >> but if a bunch of washington deal makeers try to steal the nomination i think we'll have a manifest uprising. >> i agree with ted cruz from the standpoint we can't let a bunch of washington is insiders pick the president. >> the rnc's chairman says that's too soon to determine. hermella aregawi. al jazeera. >> 239 people were on board the boeing 777 two years ago when it vanished. families are hoping that the search will be extended. some debris believed to be from the missing plane has washed ashore in the western indian ocean.

scientists from around the world are in brazil studying the zika virus. the recent outbreak may be linked to devastating birth defects. brazil hopes to have it under control by the time the olympics begin in august. be al jazeera's marga ortigas reports. >> going from home to home, doctors from the world health organization are researching, steep increase in birth defects from babies born from mothers who have the zika virus. >> we need to understand this and to create public health activities. be. >> reporter: it's been ten months since the first case of zika was confirmed and medical facilities here are struggling to cope. there is still a lack of information particularly with

regard to its consequences. away few doctors there are have taken to using any available technology to continual per with clinics and patients further afield. >> there are over 4,000 suspected case of mike microcephaly, less than 700 have been concerned. with so little known, officials are asking everyone to do all they can to prevent being bitten by mosquitos. the brazilian government last been commended by the world health organization for doing its best to handle a difficult situation. but its efforts don't seem to be making their way to the areas most affected. >> translator: we haven't received any extra money for combating the mosquito or even treating those children with microcephaly. the research, all of that so far the local government has been

paying for it. i can't wait for them making funding available . i need to do more research. >> in places like pareba, research he workers are doing what they can to hem families one day today time . >> up next, the cessation of hostilities, a rare chance for them to go outside and play with their friends. plus, no other country in the world has a smartphone addiction more than korea's. coming up their solution to the problem. and coming up gender equality. the topic of tonight's the week ahead. v

>> i.s.i.l. is claiming responsibility for suicide bombing that killed at least 60 people and wounded dozens more. the attack happened at the entrance to the iraqi city of hilla. javier reports from baghdad. >> the tanker blew up on one of

the busiest roads. instead of fuel it was carrying explosives. i.s.i.l. took responsibility for the explosion near hilla, near the ancient city of babylon. iraqi soldiers and police officers manned the checkpoint. families returning to baghdad. >> the blast has completely destroyed the checkpoint and its buildings. more than 100 cars have been damaged. we and residents have strongly condemned the attack. >> reporter: iraqi security forces have driven i.s.i.l. fighters out of ramadi and recently recaptured hundreds of kilometers of desert near samara north of baghdad.

as i.s.i.l. loses territory seem to step up attacks on civilians. while iraqi security forces are make progress against i.s.i.l. on the battlefield, iraqis remain vulnerable in the cities. javier, al jazeera, baghdad. >> continued fighting disrupts the truce in parts of syria. opposition activists report that a free syrian army faction seized a border checkpoint from i.s.i.l. force he. while force he fought back an attack of i.s.i.l. force he. omar al saleh reports. >> the park in aleppo has never been as busy in recent days. it is an atmosphere that these children have missed for a while: fun, calm and hope. they do what children do best.

but they seem aware of their reality around them. >> translator: the conditions are good but sometimes the plane comes and hits. >> translator: i came to play with the swing. it's better now. there are no planes, no water and no electricity. >> reporter: entire families have ventured out, enjoying a break away from fire and explosions. >> translator: we're having a good time. hope it lasts like this always. we also hope to get clean water back. >> the sky above aleppo is quiet. there are no war pleaps or helicopters. the partial -- planes or helicopters. aleppo and in many parts of syria. the u.s., russia and iran say a truce is largely holding but it remains fragile. activists say there have been more than 180 violations including air strikes, artillery mortars and fighting since the ceasefire started more than a

week ago. many are enjoying the good weather and relative peace, many people in syria would like it to last. the pause in fighting has given many syrians a chance to take a breath and live a normal life even though they know it may last for a short period of time. omar al saleh, al jazeera acknowledge syria. >> 29% of teens are heavily dependent on their devices. the government is planning to create treatment centers where young people are forced to live without their phones. al jazeera's harry fawcett visited a pilot project in one town to see how the treatment works. >> reporter: there aren't many places in the world's most wired country where you can cut ties to the internet. this school is one of them. they are stripped of their smartphones and laptops and

encouraged to read, to play games, to interact in the real world rather than the virtual one. >> the fact they can live without their smartphones we believe this will give them the ability to exercise self control. >> the sessions are lasting two weeks, split into boys and girls. they each receive one to one counseling and think about careers to plan actively for their futures. 16-year-old says he was spending 12 hours every day on his phone playing games, messaging, watching videos, even now after more than two weeks at the center there are times he craves it. >> usually when i'm about to sleep i feel like i want to use the phone. it's about time use the phone, want to do it, such thoughts occurred to me. but as we all live together here we can manage without it, it's

okay. >> attentions do boil over. he had to be separated from win classmate. these are usually young people with poor communication skills. some try to escape, staff say they simply walk with them until they are tired and they bring them quietly back. there's no question that this is shock therapy. several weeks of rural isolation without access to the internet of any kind. the question is just how long it effects can last once these kids get back to real life. parents, some are dedicated to make changes, some feel the camp is childcare even promising their child a new smartphone at the end of it. >> our expectation is, after the scamp over. they live in environments where they can't help using them in daily life. we expect them to use it but with moderation.

stw♪ ♪ >> childhood in south korea is usually marked by loneliness, and this camp can counter that but smartphone addiction. >> my folks in the control room say just take phone. up next, the world spotlight shines on the fight for women's rights, comploicialt the accompf women's around the world. the topic of the week ahead.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here's a look at the top stories. tributes pouring in for nancy reagan tonight. the first lady died sunday morning at her los angeles home of congestive heart failure. she was 94 years old. she will be buried next to her

husband at the presidential library in simi valley, california. jimmy carter may have beaten brain cancer. he told his sunday school class today that he doesn't need treatment because his symptoms are gone. he will get frequent checkups in case the cancer returns. senator marco rubio won the republican primary in puerto rico, bernie sanders won the democratic primary in maine. sanders won with more than 64% of the vote beating former secretary of state hillary clinton. it's sunday night and time for our regular look at the week ahead. tuesday march 8th is international women's day. the global event dates back to the early 20th century, celebrating the political social

and cultural deeds of women. the united nations has taken the lead at organizing international women's day since the 1970s. the theme this year is pledge for parity. at the current pace of progress the global gender gap won't be closed until 2133. full gender parity would mean equal access to health education earning potential and political participation worldwide. while women have made progress in board rooms and other forums, high levels of equality throughout africa, middle east and latin america. kristin saloomey has more. >> the roots of this event go

back to 1908 when 15,000 women marched here in new york demanding better pay, voting rights and better working conditions. since the 1970s this has become an annual event. this year the theme is pledge for parity. and that is based on a prediction by the world economic forum that at the current slow pace to achieving parity, it's going to stay another century to get there. and so what they're doing is encouraging everyone and anyone, men and women to make a pledge to do something concrete to help pick up the pace, whether that is supporting women leaders, women politicians or doing something to help girls achieve their career ambitions. conferences and other events are being held worldwide and the united nations is encouraging people to support female focused charities and foundationals, that could mean anything from the girl scouts to microlending

operations taking place in bangladesh. air indian for example plans to operate a flight from new delhi to san francisco with an all female cry. the real challenge is to come up with actions that will make a difference in women's actions worldwide. >> joining us, assistant secretary and deputy executive director, and the president of national organization for women, terry o'neil. ambassador, tell us about the pledge for parity. who are the signatories and is the pledge part of the millenium goals? >> well, the u.n. has launched a global campaign, u.n. women, initiated that campaign. and we have launched a global campaign which is called planet

50-50, buy 2030. and i'm so glad you are emphasizing the urgency and the acceleration moment that this represents for gender equality, women's empowerment and women's rights agenda. because as you said, if we wait and continue at the same snail's pace, we will take another century. and we ca not wait another cent. so the whole team is about parity, it's about equality, it is about ending violence against women, and all forms of discrimination, within a generation. so that's the pledge we have sought from the world, from heads of state, and we have commitments from 90 heads of state on that. and we have sought from

companies, corporation, because they occupy a luge space. >> what is it that would prevent everybody from not signing on to such worthy goals? >> well, last year was in fact one of the historic years of commitment where all heads of state and government signed on to what is called 2030 agenda for sustainable development. and within that, they have prioritized gender equality, both as an enabler of sustainable development but also a goal of sustainable development. and we have within that goal 5, sdg five and we call it high five. which really is transformative

and civil rights based and seeks to the women's rights agenda into a sustainable agenda. so that's what the commitment has been. >> so they've all signed off on some aspect of the agenda? >> completely. not only stg five, all s tferltg, 17 of them must deliver for women and girls. >> pardon me for interrupting you, sustainable goals -- >> they have replaced the millenium goals and they are universal. >> let's go to washington now, ms. o'neil, how is the organization planning to mark national womtion day and wha wo. >> it's wonderful that the united nations is pushing for this. the truth is the united states

was a world leader for pushing for women's equality. i'm sorry to say for a number of reasons we have lost our leadership role in this country. my organization is working very hard to reestablish the u.s. as a leader. but just as an example wage inequality in the united states has stagnated, women are still stuck at around 79 cents earnings to the dollar paid to men. but in the united states, discrimination against women is always complicated by race. so african american women wages are about 69 cents to the dollar. and latinas wage are about 64 cents to the dollar of white men. we are close to closing the gender gap and the gender race gap, which is a very specific issue. only 5% of kerrie ceos of the tp

companies of america are women. just 20% of members of congress are women. my organization is working hard to elect the first woman president who will stand for women's issues. that would be hillary clinton. not every woman politician in this country would do that. but we are trying to achieve that remarkable milestone. >> we'll get back to you in a few minutes ms. o'neil but first, in balance of power is felt at home. around the negotiate women and girls spend billions of hours more than men completing uncompensated household duties. and now sharing the load. >> give me five minutes.

we'll hear the president. >> i'm so proud and i'm so sorry. sorry. sorry. >> yes, i 30 that ad could be played anywhere in the world. ms. o'neil back to you for a moment. i'm curious what is your assessment on why it is that in america, which we have a woman who is ambassador to the united

nations, we've had women in very high positions of authority in the national government, secretary of state for example, two of them. why is it that you believe that these women who are in these positions can't persuade the other elected officials to move forward on some of the issues you've mentioned for example wage inequality? >> well i'm very sorry to say but we have a political party which is extremely powerful and unbelievably well funded by industrialists like the coach brotherkochbrothers in this cou. they have fought the violence against women act, three are currently bottling up legislation, three are absolutely opposed to an increase in the minimum wage even though two-thirds of minimum wage workers in the

united states are women. so an increase in the minimum wage would dramatically reduce the wage gap. so time after time after time the republican party has shown itself insisting on stopping woams equality tstoppingwomen's. stopping birth control and abortion. let's be clear one in three women will have an abortion by the age of 45. it is a necessary and common part of women's health care and yet the republican leaders in this country are dead set against women have health care. all of this is holding us back. >> some of those, to now ms. piri what you see as some much needed priorities, dealing with gender equality on legal

rights, legal status in other parts of the world. >> let me for a minute talk about unpaid care work and it is an increasing issue. unpaid care work, recognizing it, sharing responsibilities within the family and community but also social provisioning. and state provisioning of it. this recognition is an important target now in the gender goal. so it's a global commitment now to address that inequity because 2.5%, 2.5 times what the work that women do, men do pep less, you know, 2.5% less than women. so --

>> we spent most of our time on economics. but i have to ask you about governments such as pakistan, such as afghanistan on serious issues like honor killings. is there any progress being made on that at all? >> let me come back to your question about legal change because one of the key commitments that governments have made is that they will transform laws. and that is critical. because in many countries around the world and you have mentioned some, there is this issue of parallel legal systems. traditional religious legal systems that are interpreted, in a way that violate women rights, that condone violence again woman like child marriage, female genital mutilation,

member states have committed to end that in that goal stg 5.now they have to change those laws, they have to make those changes also the implementation and then we have to also do movement-building. we have to support women's groups, we have to bring faith based groups on board because they are the ones who are upholding some of these harmful practices. >> thank you so much nor your time, and the insight of this issue. the president of national orlings of women, terry o'neil. thank you. >> here's a look at the stories we will be watching in the week ahead, vice president joe biden will be meeting with important

officials as well as be mowbz. mahmoud abbas. waiting for fighting to settle down last week at a ceasefire was declared. >> canadian mladenov for country's participation this the anti-i.s.i.l. coalition, has said they will continue to help in the anti-i.s.i.l. effort. coming up, another thorn in the side of cubaa and the united

states. plus, flint, michigan's water crisis and its impact on the presidential race. >> we're still looking at very significant rain in the western united states, we are looking for a big warmup for the east coast. more on that when we return.

is. >> crews in flint, michigan have finally started to replace some corroded pipes. congressional delegation, including nancy pelosi. bisi onile-ere reports. >> reporter: house minority leader nancy pelosi and others visited flint, water crisis has plagued the community for nearly two years. >> what we further learned today we know we have to act. we have come here to listen, to learn, to act upon what we have well, put together after this, so that we can give hope and healing.

>> reporter: outside the city's east side, karen weaver kicked off her fast start initiative, the goal to replace all lead service lines and replace safe drinking water this the city. as weaver pleads for more funding thousands in the city are getting what they can to get by. jaden sawr is three yearjaden s. he will be tested for lead poisoning. for more than a year flint's tap water was tainted with lead. sawyer was among thousands who were exposed. yolanda stewart learns of her grandson's test results within minutes. >> good news, jaden tested 4.3.

>> but others haven't been as fortunate. after the city began pulling tap water from the city in 2014, the percentage of lead levels increased. >> we're seeing a various range of levels. there are certain areas in the community that have a higher level more so than other areas. >> university of michigan nirgs veronicnursesaid the contaminatf flint's water is now at the center of a criminal investigation. >> children are still growing so their brain is still growing so they might be a little slower than usual to learning certain things. >> reporter: residents in the predominantly black and poor city have depended on bottled water and filters for months. michigan governor rick snyder has been criticized for his slow

response. >> we didn't connect all the dots that i wisdots that i wish. >> recently released e-mails indicate they knew the are problem early on. >> that's where i wish i would have money more questions. >> yolanda stuart hopes that a resolution to flint's water crisis comes soon. >> i am hoping and praying that pipe gets fixed and i believe in my heart that it's going to be all right. >> boanls, abisi onile-ere, al , flint, michigan. (f). >> now here is kevin corriveau. >> up here towards the central and northern part of california where we have been seeing quite

a bit of mudslides and landslides, and the flooding is deadly where one person has died in the flooding there. warnings will remaining in effect until the early morning hours of the day there. temperatures warming up because of the jetstream well to the north across the central part of the united states. what is going to happen is the jetstream is going to slide over to the east and bringing warm temperatures with it. here on monday, 63°, new york is going to be about 59 but look how those temperatures begin to rise as we go through rest of the forecast period. tuesday we're talking wawsh, 72, and how about new york 75° there. and five day forecast is well above average for this time of

year. talking about 46 as the high but we're talking 72° on thursday, really not coming down until we get to about friday. but for washington you're going to stay into the 70s all week long. >> thanks kevin. they have been having a blast in havana this weekend, american dance music filling air and young people filling streets to hear it. al jazeera's lucia newman is in center of it all. >> a another potent sign of the change times, american electronic music stars perform and havana's antiimperialist unit. the american embassy on the orders of former president fidel castro. in order to facilitate antiamerican protest, right in front of the u.s. diplomatic mission. but this is the furthest from

the minds of these young people here today. there is a new president both here and in the united states and things that bring the generations together like this music are what are taking the center stage. >> translator: i've come to the antiimperialist tribunal without carrying what's behind it. i simply love electronic music. >> translator: this is something we have been waiting for for a long time and thank goodness they've come. >> i've come to enjoy diplom. >> the norm rather than the

exception. >> 85 mushers and sled dog teams embarked on the first leg of the most famous sled dog race in the world, disit rod. iditarod. dallas seavy has taken the prize three out of the last four years. thank you for watching, i'm randall pinkston in new york. >> celebrity chef, marcus samuelsson. >> i've had the fortune to live out my passion. >> his journey from orphan to entrepreneur. >> sometimes in life, the worst that can ever happen to you can also be your savior. >> and serving change through his restaurants. >> we hired 200 people here in harlem... these jobs can't be outsourced. >> i lived that character. >> we will be able to see change.

al jazeera america. children once sacrificed their childhoods, even their lives, working in american mills, mines and factories. the us rooted out child labor practices 75 years ago. but today, us agriculture remains a stronghold for child labor. >> i know most kids come out here to help their parents out,