back to earth and the reality that is syria. this is the moment of truth. that's our lead story on our website. those are the words of the u.n. envoy, staffan de mistura on the first day of talks to try and come to some sort of resolution when it comes to syria. fighting for surviving in the presidential race, betting their futures on the primaries in florida and ohio. an attack in turkey, a powerful car bomb in the capital kills more than three den people. now the government is going after those its were responsible. get your pencils and your brackets ready, the field is set for march madness.

>> the candidates who want to be president ahead of critical primaries that will be make it or break it for chose challenging the front runners. voters will go to the polls in ohio, illinois, missouri, north carolina and florida tomorrow. the outcome could whittle down the field. for republicans, the winner of the illinois contest get most of the delegates. in florida and ohio, the leader gets all. the station are high. the biggest did he go get prize comes from florida where senator marco rubio pins his hopes. polls show he may not only lose his home tate, he may lose badly. robert, good morning. where does the republican race

stand now? >> good morning, there are startling new numbers. trump had 46% with the lead here in florida, a big lead over marco rubio at 22%. rubio has gone into second place according to this new pole. cbs yesterday had him in third place, ted cruz now in third place at 14% and ohio governor kasich at 10%, pretty much not even measurable. marco rubio has been all over his home state over the past couple days trying to get the message out that he's the best candidate, that he can save the republican party and that donald trump will do nothing but destroy it. let's listen to what he had to say. >> look, i'll be honest with you, it's getting harder every day. it really is, because while i don't want hillary clinton to be president of the united states, i do not, i want her to be defeated, i think we are having a battle to define conservatism

in the republican party that i do not want the republican party or conservative movement to be defined by what i'm seeing out of donald trump's campaign. >> you can see where he's coming from going through the decision of whether or not they'll endorse donald trump if in deed he does pull away with the hundred nomination, because donald trump is still calling -- why do so many expect had gone is going to take the sunshine state? >> well, hillary clinton has a very strong foot in the state right now. she has got the minority votes.

>> bernie sanders trailing way behind hillary clinton, so it looks like hillary clinton has just got this pretty well here going into the second super tuesday tomorrow. >> she may also do well with some of the older constituencies threw in florida. robert ray live, thank you. ted cruz won the majority of delegates in the wyoming caucus. zero delegates there for john kasich. he did get nine in the d.c. caucus. trump and cruz getting no delegates in the nation's capitol. we wanting to live to cleveland. what are the issues driving voters ahead of the primary

there? >> according to polls, the major issue is the economy. a lot of jobs were lost in manufacturing. >> median household income of ohioans is lower than the national average. >> the republican convention is going to be held in that city in july. i understand that some city leaders are now worried about the possibility of unrest during that convention, especially after questions broke out at a trump rally in chicago last week. how is the city preparing for that? >> they are taking several steps including special train to the police force here. we've spoken to activists who expect at least 10,000 protestors here in the city during the republican convention in july. that figure could go higher. we have one city leader here, kevin kelly. what is the city doing to

prepare for possible unrest that could spread from other rallies we've seen recently to cleveland this summer? thanks, roxanna. we are working closely with homeland security. there will be a very detailed plan to deal with safety to ensure the safety of our gifts and citizens and people who work downtown. we generally, this isn't the first convention that's happened and we kind of know homeland security knows how to do this, secure the perimeter and the city is going to work with them. of course this is an unusual convention, you know, what if it's a brokered convention, what if it goes beyond, we don't know. we're bog to put into play systems that when those things happen that are outside of our control, we just need to be ready for them and respond the best we can. i'm very confident that we are going to be able to ensure the safety of all the gel gets, all the people who come here, all the people who work and live downtown. >> what would that security look

like, if we see what happened in chicago happen here in july, what exactly do you think will be the response. >> i don't know at this point. i mean, we're in march, the convention is in july, but i can just tell you with great confidence that there is no contingency that's not being explored. we're making sure, we're working with our partners at homeland security to make sure contingencies are being considered. i don't have that information right now. >> i understand that the mayor's office has requested 2000 sets of right gear, also barricades. activists are concerned about the militarization of the security forces, that there could be heavy handed tactics used against protestors. is this a valid concern? >> i don't believe so. i think when you talk about having a convention of this size and this magnitude in the city of closed in an election like this, of course you need to order that. you're going to need to order paid armor and things to protect

the officers themselves. it's just something you do to prepare. it doesn't indicate that it's going to be more heavy handed or anything. i think if you look at how cleveland dealt with protestors in the recent months and how we have dealt with unrest in the city, i think that the city of cleaved has been very fair, even handed in terms of protecting protestors, as well as anybody else that was in the vicinity. i think that if you really look at how we've handled things in the recent past, if that's an indication going forward, i don't think people have anything to worry about. we are going to provide for the safety of the delegates of the city of cleveland, of the protestors, and we're going to make sure that this is a great convention. >> then you can tell activists things are changing, the department of justice did find excessive use of force by police in the past. >> i think if you look at what's happening in the city of cleveland, we have reached agreement with the department of justice. we're executing a consent decree

that was agreed upon by both parties and we've taken significant steps towards that already. we've taken steps with body cam it is, police training, with crisis training, which is meme health training. >> i'm sorry, we just ran out of time. thank you for your perspective. city council president kevin kelly here in cleveland. tomorrow the polling starts, it is winner take all with 66 delegates up for grabs. >> an important state to watch tomorrow. thanks, roxanna. voters in illinois head to the polls tomorrow, the economy and jobs are to main issues there. unemployment in illinois is higher than the national average. the state is also losing its manufacturing muscle. >> one day before illinois voters head to the polls, the first round of layoffs began at this nabisco plant in chicago.

>> i have a daughter in college and we have to scramble to figure out what we're going to do. >> nabisco's parent is moving half of the plant's 1200 jobs to mexico rather than renovate this facility. the move is drawing fire from presidential candidates on the left and right. >> when a company decides to leave like nabisco is leaving and they've gotten tax benefits from chicago and illinois to stay there, i'm going to claw back those benefits. >> we have to stop it, folks, i know how to stop it. >> jobs and the economy are front and center for many illinois voters this election year. unemployment here is 6.1%, more than a percentage point higher than the national rate. it's also significantly higher than other surrounding states in the rust belt. the line group in suburban chicago makes precision parts for honey well. cheap labor in china has taken some of his business.

he said the bigger consideration for him is the high cost of doing business in illinois. he said his income taxes, property taxes and worker's compensation costs have all increased. he said that makes it tough for him to consider adding workers and create badly needed jobs. >> if i could up and move my business, i'd move it tomorrow, but it would take me well over a million and a half dallas to move a factory this size. >> that's exactly what some companies like hoist lift truck are doing. >> this building is only a 30 minute drive from the old factory. >> he convinced his father to move the 35-year-old company from the chicago suburbs to east chicago, indiana. 270 jobs went with it. he said $15 million in incentives and a more favorable

business climate sealed the deal. >> we did everything we could to stay there, but it didn't make sense for us to do it. >> michael leuke fears even more manufacturers will leave if illinois doesn't balance its budget and make reforms, but he also thinks washington should help states even the playing field. >> we've always been the most innovative country in the world but let's be competitive on how we structure our states and country so businesses can hire, expand and grow here. >> voters will support the candidate they believe affairs solutions to the state's sluggish economy. we'll be live in the battleground states tomorrow morning and bring complete results beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern. an investigation is underway this morning into what caused an amtrak train to derail in cans overnight. the train was heading from los angeles to chicago when five cars came off the tracks in cimarron kansas not far from

dodge city. officials say it is unclear what caused the derailment. about two dozen people went to the hospital with non-life threatens injuries. parts of louisiana are still under flood watches this morning. rain has left three dead and thousands of homes in need of repair. the governor's office said nearly 5,000 homes have been damaged along the mississippi delta. a louisiana national guard spokesman said it is the worst northern hurricane flooding the state has ever seen. sunday, president obama signed a disaster declaration, triggering federal aid for the victims. flooding continues to be a problem in the south. let's bring in nicole mitchell for more. it's good that system lessening. >> we had a frontal boundary stay stuck in the south. that was the original problem. an area of low pressure developed over the accident continuing to funnel more in.

it tax a calm days to clear this to the north. we do have the moisture through the great lakes and northeast and a little disturbance rolling through. our southern states under the crux of all that rain, especially alabama and mississippi, a lot of cases getting over a foot total. it's going to take a while for rivers to rekeyed. here's where we have the moisture moving through now. the little disturbance we've gotten is bringing moisture anywhere from indiana to pores of tennessee. as this moves towards the coastline, slight chance for severe weather and hail. most is rain, keeping temperatures cool. you can see on the northern side as all of this moves through. there could be that wintery mix in with all of this. the ground is warm, then we get a break, by wednesday, there could be more moisture moving in with something we've been monitoring through the west. a pretty wet day through the northeast today and that

possibility for the prosen participation, anything, snow, sleet, freezing rain, we are not talking about a lot. the ground is warm, but watch out for that. this is the cool portion of the country. temperatures drop through the day, so much cooler. that is snow for the higher he will vases. >> nicole mitchell, thank you. >> a show of force in north korea's back yard. military might on display at pyongyang promises attacks. facebook haled promised to stop gun resellers, but buyers and sellers are finding their way around the ban.

issues officials in turkey say they are wrapping up their investigation into a suicide attack. a car bomb exploded in a major transportation hub in ankara last night. 37 were killed and dozens hurt. families are mourning as the first of the dead are laid to rest. we have more from the capital. >> the second car bomb to hit the heart of turkey's capital in less than a month opinion the blast ripped through the square, a densely populated transport hub when early evening crowds had gathered. the aftermath was chaotic. >> there was a woman sitting behind me. her seat just blew away. something hit me here and

pierced through. it was a car, i think it was black. five or six people died in the bus, the neck of one was completely severed. something pierced me through here and i have one in my arm. >> in february, 29 people, mainly military personnel were killed in a suicide car bomb attacked claimed by a group calling itself the kurdistan freedom falcons. the country has been on a heightened state of alert as a result. >> tight security measures were taken, instructions were given, but unfortunately terrorist attacks cannot be prevented 100% in any country. >> turkey is now facing multiple security threats as it is engaged in a war on two fronts. it is facing isil and the p.k.k. in its southeast. now with the findings still to come, the country war i say and waits, as concerns about the overall security situation in turkey rose. al jazeera, ankara.

>> in geneva this morning, a new round of talks are underway to end the conflict in syria. diplomats hope to build on a fragile truce. u.n. envoy staffan de mistura hopes all sides are ready to layout a roadmap for syria's future. al jazeera's diplomatic editor james bays reports from geneva. >> it is going to start with the government side coming here to the united nations. remember these are what they call proximity talks, so both sides meet with the mediator, mr. staffan de mistura but don't meet at this stage face-to-face. that first meeting for this round, remember we had a failed round of talks that really got nowhere a matter of weeks ago. we understand that the opposition delegation, the main opposition block behind negotiations committee will not be meeting a special envoy in geneva on monday, but their meeting will come a day later on tuesday.

i think mr. staffan de mistura, although he says these are substantive talks, he says they're going to deal with the mother of all issues, which is political transition, he is taking it slowly. he knows on that key issue and the part of that issue that's been -- the main problem, i think throughout the five years, the role of president assad and those around him, he knows there's a real difference. although worth telling you that the time line for this process seems to have shrunk since he last spoke to the media, when we were here a few weeks ago, he talked about intensive talks lasting six months, now they are talking about putting the plan now that he has in place with trying to come up with a solution by the middle of may. james bays in geneva. secretary of state john kerry has called for all sides to work together but said a political transition in syria must be on the table for the talks to sub

seed. a major show of force is underway in south korea. the u.s. and south korean militaries kicked off joint fearses. as rob mcbride tells us, the goal is to send a message to north korea and china. >> nothing does power projection quite like the aircraft carrier with the accompanies battle group, a floating fortress certify of well over five thus personnel and bristling with airborne fire power. it has been planned for about months, say the u.s. military. it had nothing to do with current tensions, but this visit coincides with relations being about as tense as they can be, and it is a timely reminder of the type of power america can deploy if it has to. >> our focus is on deterrence. we're trying to deter such provocative acts. in the presence of the john c. tennis and carrier strike group

is part of that deterrence. >> this visit send as strong message to china. to get here, this vessel sailed through the nine in a seas. much has been said in the last calm years about china acquiring it's first aircraft carrier joining an exclusive club of nations. >>, mcbride reporting. the exercises will involve 17,000 u.s. troops and 300,000 south korea forces. facebook's ban on private gun sales is apparently not stopping owners from selling on the site. it's been six weeks since the company announced they could not be sold on facebook or

instagram. private groups where sellers post images of their guns, messages sent to make a deal and forbes found some sellers were willing to accept payments through facebook's payment app. facebook appears to be a big sale in private gun sales. >> it's hard to see exactly how big a role, because a lot of sales do take place in private messages. a lot of the sales that i found were taking place in private groups, so it's hard to get a feel for exactly how big, but when you consider how big facebook is itself, and how many groups that we are able to find, it's safe to say it's certainly a big player in the used gun market. the problem for facebook is it doesn't know what users don't tell them. in other words, facebook doesn't have a team of people going out to try to find examples of these sales taking place. they only know about them if users notify them. the issue with that and the challenge is there is really no

incentive for a gun owner or enthusiast to one of these groups to reports what's happening. >> knowing that it has to be self reported and they don't have the means to enforce it, why do they take a stand in the first place, it is political, p.r.? >> those both play a part. in facebook's place, the every town gun violence prevention group was very voluntarily cool in lobbying them to take a stand. groups mike moms demand action against gun violence make a point to lobby businesses, facebook, target, starbucks and their strategy is to do that so long as canning isn't going to take action, they are going to lobby businesses to try to do it themselves. >> facebook has not commented publicly on the story. anti gun groups may approach the company a conversation on how they can better enforce their own rules. >> still ahead, 8,000

applicants, one winner, the palestinian woman took top honors for being the world's best teacher. ((úz@úxóxkxñ($9

al jazeera america. a palestinian teacher is being recognized for promoting peace through play. she was awarded the global teacher prize in dubai on sunday. the honor comes with a check for $1 million. she grew up in a refugee camp and encourages her students to

renounce violence. pope francis prayed her work in a videotaped message. >> fantastic! the pope said my name! amazing! this is something incredible. it's not normal. i feel amazing and i still can't believe that the pope said my name! >> she developed a curriculum called we play and learn focusing on play as a way of learning trust and respect. she was selected from 8,000 applicants. she plans to use the prize to set up scholarships for future teachers. basketball fans are breaking out their brackets this morning. the march madness seeds are out. kansas, north carolina and virginia are in the top billing. this was an unprohibittal season with a resolving group of number ones that's likely to mean an unpredictable tournament. the news continues next live from london.

>> welcome to the al jazeera news hour. the top stories. the u.n. brokers a new round of talks in geneva to try to end the five. year conflict in syria. funerals begin for the victims of a car bomb in ankara. turkey's president vows to crackdown on terrorism. and the coal miners defy authorities in china to take part of protests. and search for life on mars. we look