spectacular colored lights were visible even as far south as northern england. usually it's synonymous with nordic countries. the lights form when electrically charged particles of the sun meet the earthly's atmosphere. if you're going to talk, tell the wholeatory, senator. >> let me tell my story and you tell yours. >> i will. >> a fiery debate in michigan ahead of the next primary. the nation mourns former first lady nancy reagan, the different approach she brought to the role. north korea vows to launch nuclear strikes on south korea and the u.s. ♪ young cubans get a taste of

american music ahead of president obama's first trip to the island nation. this is al jazeera america, live from new york city. i'm stephanie sy. we're just a day away from the next contest in the presidential race and michigan in the big prize. the democrats were there last night clashing in a bitter and often heated debate. the water crisis and their economic policies were front and center. sanders tried to turn the heat up an clinton, but the democratic front runner hit back. al jazeera's diane esterbrook has more from flint. >> the democratic candidate date for president of the united states. >> it was their seventh debate, the venue, flint, michigan, the focus, the toxic water crisis. the can't dazed sounded off. i believe the governor of

this state should understand that his dereliction of duty was irresponsible. he should resign. >> it is raining lead in flint and state is derelict in not coming forward with the money that is required. >> both were challenged on the failings of the federal environmental protection agency. >> people should be fired. however 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 only appropriately. >> the candidates were grilled from every direction. some questions were pointed. >> your first visit to flint as a presidential candidate was just over a week ago. it's almost five months after the people here were told to stop drinking the water. what took you so long. >> that's not quite accurate, i was here longer, before that. >> jobs were high on the list of concerns among michigan voters

and with bad trade deals partly to blame for the job losses. >> 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 by saying he did not support the bailout because wall street was to blame and kept up his attack on clinton be for her wall street ties. the two clashed on corporate subsidies. sanders had to explain why he sided with senator ted cruz on the issue. >> bowing and other companies get support just like their com pelters do from the companies that they are from in the country that is provide the support. >> isn't it tragic that these large multi-national corporations making billions of dollars a year, shutting down in america, going to china, going to mexico, oh, absolutely, they

need a hand out from the american middle class. i don't think so. >> the debate took a poignant turn with a father of the driver of the uber issue driving raised gun control. >> in terms of this liability thing where you hold manufacturer's liability, if they understand that they're 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 person who buys it legally, what you're really 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 both supported a 1994 crime about him that led to higher levels of incarceration that disproportionately affected blacks. >> diane esterbrook reporting

there. the latest delegation count gives clinton a big lead. if you add in super delegates, she is halfway to the number needed to lock in the nomination. in the republican race, marco rubio hopes to gain momentum after his win in puerto rico this weekend. he got more than 50% of the vote there, meaning he receives all of the commonwealth's 23 delegates, but he still lags far behind donald trump and ted cruz in the no delegate count. trump and cruz split the other can tests this weekend. tomorrow, voters in four states will have their say on the republican nominee. trump's rifles have been points out his inconsistencies. i happen to think that when you fight an enemy that chops off heads, i happen to think that we should use something that's stronger than we have right now. right now, basically,

waterboarding is essentially not allowed as i understand it. >> you'd like it to be if you could expand it. >> i would certainly like it to be at a minimum to law that. >> earlier i spoke with andrew baits, professor emeritus of history. he said trump's policies so far described could undermine the u.s. constitution. his shoot from the hip manner, again, it appeals to a considerable number of americans, suggests that a trump president wouldn't be bound by the sort of limits imposed by the constitution. >> when it comes to foreign policy, who do you think is more dangerous, trump or the emerging gop alternative, ted cruz, who won a couple of caucuses this weekend, who talked about carpet bombing in syria? >> i think that's a great question and the answer, my answer is that cruz would not represent much of an improvement. this is in some respects, i

think the distressing aspect of the moment we're in right now. from where i sit, it looks to me like at least some of the air is beginning to escape from the trump balloon, but the beneficiary is cruz, and there's nothing that cruz has said up to this point that suggests that he would be a sensible realistic steward of u.s. foreign policy. the latest polls show trump with a big lead ahead of michigan's primary tomorrow. flags at the nation's capitol and statehouse of flying at half staff in honor of former first lady nance reagan who died sunday. she had an outside role as the first lady and was one of president ronald reagan's advisers. >> in this moment, nancy reagan symbolized the grief of a nation, burying her husband after a long battle with

alzheimer's, her devotion to ronald reagan was clear. it was the constant theme of their long marriage. born in 1921 in new york ann robin, nancy was actually a nickname, she became an actress. when was she mistakenly put on the blacklist as a suspected communist, she turned to the president of the screen actors gills for help, ronald reagan. they married a year later. she put her career aside to raise their children and help his political career from governor of california to u.s. president, elected 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 can. >> she denied having that much control, but later admitted she did play a role in her husband's presidency.

>> i was more aware always of people who were 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 this assassination attempt, when she demanded final say over his schedule. it made headlines when it was revealed she was consulting an astrologer first. as a first lady, she was often controversial. raised in a life of privilege, she was often portrayed as an elitist, targeted for remodeling the white house and replacing the china. the money was donated, like her gowns, but that didn't crop the critics. >> she famously urged kids to: >> just say no.

out of the white house, she did impact stem cell research. she pushed republicans to abandon their moral objection and it was enough to force president george w. bush to find a compromise, allowing some research to be done. her life, she said, really began the day she married her husband. her intense love and devotion to him and his legacy will in many ways define her own. al jazeera's mike viqueira joins us now live from washington. good morning. what impact did nancy reagan have on our understanding of the role of first lady? >> well, good morning to you, stephanie. in many ways it was a contribution because there were aspects of her term here in washington that were very traditional and others where she helped redefine the role. she was a traditional supportive spouse working behind the scenes in terms of her personal style, in terms of her tastes in decorating or the fact that she wanted to undertake repurchasing

of china for state dinners and wore designers gowns that were donated with moneys from elsewhere. she redefined the role in many ways because she was very assertive hind the scenes. she is known for trying to dissuade her husband from running for reelection after that assassination attempt where he was hit by a bullet and sent to the hospital. she was instrumental for the firing of one of her husband's chiefs of staff, donald regan who left the office during that time. it's a fine line for a lady to walk between being assertive. someone will resent that if someone is too high profile. on the other hand, really performing a role that would make and influence and make a difference here in washington. that's the line nancy reagan walked many believe quite

successfully. >> it is a tightrope with that what has the white house said since nancy reagan said death? >> president obama and first lady michelle obama put out a statement, reading in part. nancy reagan once wrote that nothing can prepare you for living in the white house. they was right, of course. we had the benefit of her proud example and her warm and generous advice. that statement praises nancy reagan for her work in advocating stem cell research, something that goes against republican port orthodoxy. ronald reagan succumbed to alzheimer's, stem cell research mostly going for fighting that disease. flags flying at half staff on the order of the republican speaker paul ryan. >> mike viqueira for us from washington, thank you, mike. >> jimmy carter has turned the battle in his battle for cancer.

the president said he doesn't need anymore treatments. doctors discovered four small leagues on his brain. the combination of immune know therapy and radiation ended last month. carter will continue to get check ups in case the cancer returns. >> the government of north korea is viewing to launch nuclear strikes on the u.s. and south korea. the threat comes as the u.s. and south are scheduled to hold joint military drills today. the exercises will include 3,000 troops on the south koreaen side as well as 7,000 u.s. troops. >> north korea is a country that continues to express its desire for peace and prosperity for

those that their people, which is not the case and if they are talking about a conventional war, a conventional military build up. last week, kim jong-un ordered the country to be on nuclear stand by aft sanctions were imposed. a tunisian soldier has been killed in clashes across the border from libya. military officials say armed fighters attacked an army base and national guard outpost. they opened fire with heavy weapons and rocket propelled grenades. 26 fighters and civilians were killed. up next, the rain soaked northwest braces for more wet weather. heritage at risk, native americans try to pass on their language before it all but dice

out.

san francisco is gearing up for more rain today after a weekend of thunderstorms. some areas got four-inches of rain, leaving streets looking like rivers. falling trees have taken down power lines and parts of houses with them. >> this is in southern california, police saved a dozen people from the los angeles river sunday. they were from a homeless

encampment next to the water. people were clinging to trees to they wouldn't get swept away. everyone rescued is ok. let's bring in kevin corriveau. >> we have that air of lo pressure off the coast. rain shower after rain shower is coming into play. we may get rain the next couple of days. one big band is pushing through right now. further back, there is another wave, that's going to be the problem as going into tuesday night. lets look at what's happening on the radar. you can see the very heavy rain showers push down through parts of san francisco. you can see right here heavy rains pushing through right now and some severe weather with that, so a lot of lightning, flooding, major problem in this area, the ground is already sad rated. we are going to see more rain tomorrow night.

the other big problem with this storm is the snow across the sierra nevada's, not a problem long term, we need the snow pack. if you are traveling, and highway 80 has been closed because of that across the doer pass. towards the north, we are looking at probably another eight to 12 inches of rain. toward the south, we think it will be dry in that area. the other big story is severe weather outbreak that we are going to see starting this after across the south central part of the united states. we have an upper low that is really beginning to intensify and tap into the moisture in the gulf of mexico. not a lot on the radar right now. later this afternoon and this evening, it's going to be a completely different story. as fart threat of hail, wind damage and possible tornado popping up this afternoon, tomorrow, though, that risk does increase across the region and it's really in the same place, so texas is really on target to

see a lot of severe weather. >> that is a busy weather map for a monday morning. kevin corriveau, thank you. in california, one group of native americans are using attack and action to keep their language alive. they're teaching the ancient words to a new generation before they're gone forever. >> you're listening to an ancient language, once nearly wiped out, but determined to survive. these children are learning hupa on their native american reservation in northern california. hupa's very existence hangs by a slender threat said the teacher. >> there are three elder fluent speakers. there's a handful of people my age or older we've come to a level where we can teach and understand and have conversation. >> the hupa have lived in this beautiful place of forest, mist

and mountain forever. in the late 19th century, the u.s. government took most of their land. in the early 20th century, the government began americanizing natives accross the u.s., forcing children into border schools where their languages and traditions were banned. hupa children were beaten for using their mother tongue. >> you would actually get punished both in the school and the in the actual community at times or get turned in, so the indians had to go underground. >> amid deliberate efforts to stamp it out and the onslaught of american culture, the hupa language dwindled. >> it's almost like losing a finger or part of your body, so that really, the men were sick, really in this case, the world is sick. >> now, the tribe is making a determined effort to bring it back. in this classroom, tribal schoolteachers are learning basic hupa in order to teach it

themselves in primary and high schools. eventually, there will be totally immersion hupa classes for children up to age six, like many native american people, the hupa suffer from poverty, crime, alcoholism and drug abuse. bringing back the hupa language and culture can help heal historic wounds. >> there's so many feelings of despair. with the language comes tradition, vital to the survival of hupa people. >> restoring the language won't be easy. it's a project that will span generations. the goal is for these kids to become fluent hupa speakers and then years later to pass on the language when they have children of their own, a language that refuses to die and the people who have survived against the odds flowing on like a mighty stream.

rob reynolds, al jazeera, hupa valley, california. american researchers from the c.d.c. are in bra dill working with health officials to investigate a link between zika virus and birth defects. the doctors are going door to door to gather information. >> this is obviously something important to know. we want to get the information out as soon as possible in order to be able to understand this and to, you know, create public health activities. >> there were more than 4,000 suspected cases in 10 months there. brazil is scrambling to determine the case and get zika under control before the olympics begin in five months. it's very likely that malaysian airlines flight 370 will be found by july. it departed from kuala lampur and headed to beijing with 239

people onboard. authorities believe it went down somewhere in the indian ocean. family members this weekend marked the coming anniversary. potential debris expected to be from the jet was found just last week on the coast of mozambique. that debris is being investigated. making music history. ♪ >> cubans come to hear americans perform. mack users, detail on the ransomware affecting apple computers.

apple says it is taking steps to stop away first for its computers, a hacker attack using ransom ware, it encrypts data and asks users to pay a ransom to get it back. it's common on p.c.'s, but apple said its computers were immune because of better security. the inventor of modern email has died. ray tomlinson passed away saturday at age 74. coworkers say he did not frequently check his email. as al jazeera found out, young cubans are enjoying the musical perks of warmer u.s.

relyings with cuba. >> another sign of the changing times as thousands of young children hear a performance. it was in front of the u.s. intersection of the american embassy and the anti imperialist plaza, built on the orders of former president fidel castro in order to facilitate anti american protest right in the face of the diplomatic mission. that is the furthest thing from the minds of these young people today. there is a new president both here and in the united states and things that bring the young generation of both countries together, like this music, are what are taking center stage. >> i've come to the anti imperialist area without caring what's behind it. i simply love electronic music.

>> this is something we've been waiting for for a long time and thank goodness they've come. >> i came here to enjoy it. >> all this less than 10 days before president barack obama comes to communist cuba for a historic visit, symbol to all, but especially the young ones who hadn't been born at the height of the cold war. >> al jazeera in halve. tweeting thank you, we have been humbled by your love. alaska has gone to the dogs. >> 5-4-3-2-1. the annual iditarod has been shoreddenned due to the lack of snow. the winner should cross the finish line in about nine days. thank you for watching. the news continues next live

from doha. hello, welcome to another news hour from doha. i'm adrien finnegan, our top stories, tunisian security forces under attack by armed men from libya. 45 people are dead. divisions over how to handle the refugee crisis in europe discussed at a meeting in brussels. protests in ramallah, thousands on strike for higher pay. i will