the spanish capital to meet his footballing hero. al jazeera, tel aviv. >> great story and you can find much more about many of the stories we're covering over on our website. the address to click on to is www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com. >> today i'm nominating chief grudge merrick garland to join the supreme court. >> the president makes his choice for supreme court but the republicans are still refusing to consider anyone. >> going forward and we're going to win. more importantly we're going to win for the country. we're going to win, win, win, and we're not stopping. >> donald trump wins big in the presidential race. and marco rubio bows out, and john kasich with a win in his

own state. >> you've been waiting for the right moment. now is the time to come join us. >> hillary clinton celebrates a strong night, but short of a clean sweep. >> this is al jazeera live from new york state. republicans are already pushing back against president obama's nominee to replace justice antonin scalia on the supreme court. there is a bitter fight whether he'll get a hearing in the senate. at 63, garland is the oldest nominee ever for the supreme court. he's currently the chief judge for the d.c. court of apeoples. in 1997 he was confirmed with bipartisan support. just moments ago he described how he would try to serve.

>> fidelity to the constitution and law has been the cornerstone of my professional life. it is the hallmark of the kind of judge i have tried to be for the past 18 years. if the senate sees fit to confirm me for the position i've been nominated today, i promise to continue on that course. >> president obama urged the senate to overcome party politics and confirm garland during his announcement. >> it is it tempting to make this confirmation process simply an extension of our divided politics. the squabbling that's going on in the news every day. but to go down that path would be wrong. >> al jazeera's john terrett is live for us in the north lawn of the white house. john. >> hi. >> hi. the president knows what he's up against. it was obvious in that announcement. what are republicans saying right now in response to this

nomination? >> well, the republican line has not changed ever since the death of justice scalia. their lines have been consistent, and it is no nomination and no confirmation hearings. we're not going to change. and all the evidence so far is that they're not going to change. president obama went on to say that all he's asking for the senate now is for a fair hearing for merrick garland. the president will go on an vacation tomorrow and wants to think about what the complications would be if he's not nominated. mitch mcconnell laid out the battleground again today not that it wasn't laid out before, but it was laid down most

emphatically today on the floor of the senate. here's more of what he has to say. >> the american people are perfectly capable of having their say, their say on this issue. so let's give him a voice. you let's let the american people decide. the senate will consider the matter when it looks at the next president nominee. >> of course this has ramifications for the white house in 2016. should it turn out that the republicans deny the nomination, a hearing and never release a confirmation hearing then i for

the nomination leading up to the election. >> how are they reacting to the announcement. >> our blackberries lit up. here is planned parenthood, judge garland is a competent judge who has secured bipartisan support. now that the president has upheld his constitutional duty it's time for the senate to up hold theirs. here is the national rifle association, americans need need a president who will nominate a justice who will support the second amendment. and from patrick leahy from vermont, he says for more than 40 years the senate has held confirmation votes on supreme court nominees on average, 70 days after the former nomination the senate should afford chief justice garland with a fair hearing in april and nomination

by may 25th. in those two things, the graphic that we put on screen from patrick leahy and the coat from mitch mcconnell you can see how the battle lines are being drawn. we shall see. >> what a year it has been so far. well, coming up this term, the high court basis several landmark decisions including cases on affirmative action, minimum gas station and abortion. earlier we spoke with boston college law professor who said its hard to gain how garland will go if he's confirmed to the supreme court. >> even if we can read his paper trail on the court of appeals, and it is a moderate paper trail, it is unknown how he'll vote on the supreme court. there are justice who is join the court and then see the

change of reviews over time. byron white appointed by president kennedy became more confidentiality over the years he was on the court. some say that david suitor became more liberal as he was on the court. who knows how he will actually vote. >> if garland was confirmed he'll work along side a former colleague justice roberts. they worked together in their early careers. the nomination of garland will play big in the election. the presidential race is looking clear for the frontrunner. voters help donald trump and hillary clinton to take primaries in florida, north carolinaish, annorth carolina, illinois. missouri is too close to call on both sides. hillary clinton holding a slim lead over bernie sanders. and the same on the republican

side where trump leads ted cruz by eight points. hillary clinton has nearly 100 pledged delegates, that's half of what is needed for the nomination. the lead is larger when you factor in superdelegates. trump has th's victory in the sunshine state forced marco rubio to drop his campaign. let's go to al jazeera's randall pinkston live in miami. randall, donald trump basically trumped marco rubio. why did marco rubio do so poorly in his own state. nine or 11 months ago when rubio announced he was the darling of the new generation of republicans who could bring all the sides together. but if his senate tenure, he also moved over to the moderate

side coming up with a plan to have immigration reform. and the tea party supporters did not forgive him for that. that made him part of the establish. this year donald trump is the anti-establishment candidate, that's why rubio lost. he conceded last night. >> while it is not god's plan that i be president in 2016 or maybe ever, while today my campaign is suspended, the fact that i'd even come this far is evidence of how special america truly is, and all the reason more why we must do all we can to insure that this nation remains a special place. >> so the question is whether rubio will make a comeback. his senate turn will end. did he not choose to run for election so he could run for the nomination for the republican party. that's done. we'll see what comes next for marco rubio.

>> that does remain to be seen. what is next for trump? >> well, he'll continue to run, probably racking up even more delegates. donald trump has been excoriated by people in the republican movement and all around for the kind of vitriolic statement he has made from the podium afternooning people to punch demonstrators in the face. but trump claims he is the victim. this is what he had to say last night in his speech. >> nobody has ever, ever in the history of politics received the kind of negative advertising that i have. record, record, record, record. mostly false. i wouldn't say 100%, but about 90%. [ laughing ] mostly false, vicious, horrible. >> and then trump went on to say that despite all those negative

ads he noticed that his popularity went up. he picked up 45% of the vote after all here in florida. you know, that is an endearing question. why has trump been able to do almost anything and win? one person told the palm beach post newspaper that it reminds him of a song by billy joel quoting from this article. you know that song, you may be right, i may be crazy, but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for. maybe that's what they're looking for a lunatic. that's his explanation for voting for donald trump. it was quoted in a palm beach post this morning. >> that's an interesting little tidbit. thank you, randall. earlier, i spoke with the national political correspondent with. new york observer. >> donald trump obviously had a

very big night. yet you still hear parts of the republican party talking about the possibility of a brokered convention or some other nominee. is that fan fiction? >> it's not fiction, but it's close. what happens now because the structure of the republican primaries is the delegate to vote--the vote-to-delegate ratio works more in mr. trump's favor. if he consistently gets that 42-45, he'll get much higher numbers of delegates. hif he go continues he'll get the nominee on the republican ballot. >> the negative ads that he referenced insisting that he was the record hits. is that correct. >> he believes that. he believes he'sen been the

target of more ads. what has been coming up is less than what has been in a competitive senate race. will that move voters. i don't think it moves primary voters. what is the message. trump is bombastic and trump is inconsistent. trump uses nasty words. this is the core of his appeal. this is not how you take vote weighs from him. in a general election when you target the whole country yes, the ads that we've seen with a lot of women speaking his words about nasty things he has said, in an election where middle age white women will be a swing vote, i don't make that will help donald trump if the democrats were to run something similar against him. >> ted cruz has been saying he's one candidate who can beat donald trump, yet he has rarely proven that is the case. >> to the extent that anyone can beat donald trump it is ted cruz. right now in missouri right now

it's too close to call. on the republican side one of the reasons that it's too close to call is because marco rubio stays in that race. if he drops out a day sooner all those votes are split and cruz wins that state. in a three-person race, it's unlikely to see him beating trump consistently going forward. there is a scenario where if he comes to are a broker convention, cruz has by far the second largest amount of delegates, and therefore is in a good negotiating situation. but the scenario where he beats trump to the nomination out right now that strikes me as he unlikely. >> hillary clinton had a huge night. was that to be expected that he would do as well as she has done? >> no, the clinton campaign did a very good job keeping expectations manageable. no one could control this, that she would win big in north carolina and big in florida. if she did those and does a draw in the other two says or even a

draw in missouri and ohio, and wins illinois that's okay. they kept expectations low, and frankly she hit it out of the ballpark. it's a tough night for bernie sanders. he has a path forward for sure. i don't know if he has a path forward that leads to the nomination. he would have to win to have the majority of the pledged delegates, he needs 58% of the delegates the rest of the way. right now he has been 42 through this point. he really would need a huge turn around. and in some of the major states particularly here in the northeast, pennsylvania, new jersey and new york he needs a lot of delegates, and in those states it's closed primaries. that means only democrats can hurt in those primaries, and that will hurt mr. sanders as well. >> let's talk about what will happen earlier this morning. the president finally putting forward a nominee for the supreme court. the republicans responding as they said they were going to respond. it doesn't matter who this person is, we're not going to give them a hearing.

who--who does this energize going forward? what base does it energize going forward for the election? >> it may in fact, energize both bases but it helps the democratic story towards the middle. the swing voters will hear the democratic story and it will sound better. the republicans are backing themselves in a tough corner. we hear them you keep backing down. you never stand up to obama. they said they'll stand up to obama on this, and they have to. but there are swing vote whose are hearing that republicans are obstructionist. and what now they're very obstructionist. if i were advising mitch mcconnell, i would understand that you can't take the democratic nominee. have the hearing and vote against him. >> at least have a hearing. >> if you want get the majority of senators voting against him, then you should not be senate majority leader. by not even having the hearing

they're saying that the process does not have credit. that really does undermine our country's ability to function. >> this is the job of the president to make this nominee. >> and the job of the senate to have the hearing. >> lincoln mitchell, always great to talk with you. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> underwater with no relief in sight. communities in texas and louisiana brace for more rain. and 20,000 students will be tested for lead poisoning.

>> this is what it looks like in texas. it's shut down because the river has been flooding. there are mandatory evacuations for nearly 2,000 homes in the area. >> we're looking at more rain

though is a low pressure area. the right now the front is coming down the appalachians that could be a problem. the snowy side is through tomorrow morning. the front by tomorrow could start to see some of that rain. now it's hit and miss, and it goes for a couple of days even an inch or two. now on a snowy side of all of this there could be rain tonight, but the snow, this is a lot for a late-season snow. some places could see over a foot in northern parts of wisconsin or minnesota and high winds associated with all of this. well, through portions of the midwest could reduce that visibility. back to you.

>> the federal reserve is wrapping up its latest meeting. janet yellen will talk with the media later this afternoon. analysts expect the interest rates will remain unchanged with uncertainty over the global economy and financial market. newark, new jersey, is preparing to test thousands of students for lead poisoning. high levels of lead were found in the water in many of the city's schools. the finger pointing has already begun. >> a week after officials in newark, new jersey, announced they were shutting down water fountains and faucets in half of the city's schools, concerns were growing over lead in the water supply. >> our students' health are in jeopardy. >> last week suggesting that parents of students in those 30 schools might want to get tested for lead pointing. now the state said it will provide testing for all 17,000 students who may have been

exposed. it will begin in pre-schools, something that doctors call a wise move. >> the younger the child, the more likely the lead will deposit in them and more likely it will cause damage. >> the newark mayor maintains that newark is not flint, michigan. >> there is nothing wrong with newark's water. but there is something wrong with our influence. >> specifically they point to old rusted pipes that run through the school buildings, some of which are 100 years old or more. the state will begin testing the plumbing systems in all 66 newark school buildings starting this week. but the head of the teacher's union said they did not need to wait to help students. >> do not allow my child to continue drinking poison while you're waiting for assistance. >> he snaps these water filters in schools saying they were installed four years ago. all schools were told to change

those filters every six months. >> stop my child first and then go get help. >> state and local officials continue to insist the lead levels in the water have not been high enough because any serious health problems. al jazeera. >> a pain pill crackdown. opioids are bad medicine for chronic pain.

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love romance? get lost in every embrace. into sports? follow every pitch, every play and every win. change the way you experience tv with x1 from xfinity. >> an unprecedented move in washington, d.c. the entire subway system is shut down for emergency inspections. as many as 700,000 commuters are looking for alternate transportation. a fire monday brought questions about the system. it will reopen tomorrow. the impact of the zika virus. only 1 in 100 pregnant women infected with the virus develop a fetus with microcephaly.

that's the condition where babies have brain damage and abnormally small heads. they studied birth in french polynesia. the cdc is releasing guidelines to address the widespread use of opioids. the goal is to use aspirin for pain and only use opioids for the lowest effective dose and for a shorter amount of time. jacob ward reports that veterans are susceptible to opioid addiction. >> this veteran said he has been addicted to heroin and prescription opiates for most of his adult life. heroin and precipitation opioids

bring a similar risk of death in overdose. that's where the veterans administration has a massive problem. 50% of its patients seek help for chronic pain. that makes the agency the largest prescriber of pain killers. v is th a is the largest prescriber of pain killers addiction. they're developing a program that would give any veteran at risk of abusing opiates and perhaps all veterans who are prescribed opiate painkillers another drug as well narcan can reverse an overdose from heroin or pills. >> one problem is that opioid pin killers were invented to prevent acute pain. but since the 1990s painkillers like this have been prescribed as a standard means

of controlling chronic long-term pain. and the alternative is painkillers, physical therapy, massage and acupuncture are expensive and hard to come by. >> 50% of those who come to the v.a. have chronic pain conditions. there is a lot of pain care to provide. >> for the vast majority of patients. opioid is incredibly effective. so the v.a. is unlikely to stop prescribing them and because they have not been able to cut the number of overdoses, narcan is a last-ditch crisis management tool. >> this is something that it wouldn't hurt to have just in case of an emergency. >> the complication is that the drug that comes from the v.a. can sometimes lead people into heroin. >> yes, but certainly doesn't reduce our need to protect people.

>> for boston, a nationwide narcan program can't arrive fast enough. >> i've lost a lot of friends to overdose. they weren't--some of them were the biggest addicts that i ever met in my life. but they were also fathers and brothers and sons and they were best friends. to lose somebody like that because the government has not come around yet is ridiculous. >> jacob ward, al jazeera, san francisco. >> fifa is accusing south africa. paying $10 million bribe to secure the 2010 world cup. the accusation by the governing body is in legal papers. 51 normal officials took bribes and stole money from the organization. fifa said that it was the victim of corruption. thank you for joining us. i'm richelle carey. do keep it here. the news continues next live

from london. >> hello everyone, i'm felicity barr. this is the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes. a powerful kurdish group in syria say it's ready to declare an autonomous region. >> today i'm nominating chief judge merrick brian garland to join the supreme court. >> barack obama sets up a showdown with republicans. as he names his choice for the country's most powerful court,