50 years. thanks for watching. good night. ight. >> this is aljazeera america, live from new york city, i'm tony harris. congressional grilling, rick snyder with lawmakers on capitol hill. over failures in flint's water crisis. pumping polluted water. and find innings a new study. water appears to be leaking from a nuclear facility in miami and threatening the florida everglades and sea

world stops its killer wail program. the iconic image of his bedroom. and now you can sleep in it for a price. the flint water crisis is the topic of a fiery hearing on capitol hill today. the star witnesses, michigan governor, rick snyder and the head of the epa. both had calls for them to resign. lisa stark has more from washington with more on their testimony >> reporter: tony, with angry lawmakers on the house oversight and government reform committee who want to know why the state and government officials did not act more aggressively as the water problems in flint mounted, it was a year and a half since the residents began complaining and

the officials sounded the alarm. during that time, there was a steady drip of evidence that all was not right. >> the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. >> reporter: rick snyder and gina mccarthy both under fire for the water crisis in flint, trying to deflect blame for the water contamination and the government's slow response. >> let me be blunt, there was a failure of government at all levels. local, state and government officials all failed the families of flint. >> while the epa did not cause the problem, we should not have been so trusting of the state for so long when they provided us with overly simplistic assurances of technical compliance. >> but members of congress were not buying t during the hearing, they staked snyder's administration and want epa for

not acting fast enough after the city split from detroit's water supply to the detroit river to save money. >> reporter: governor snyder has been described as running the state of michigan like a business. well, what if this was a business. i have no doubt in my mind that the corporate ceo did what governor snyder's administration has done, they would be hauled off on criminal charges. >> administrator mccarthy, you hadet ability to act, when you find that things are not going right in these systems, you have the compliance authority under law, don't you? >> yes, sir. >> and who was fired or held accountable in the epa? was anyone fired? >> no, sir. >> residents and officials from flint were watching the testimony and they were just as

critical as lawmakers. >> i think governor snyder is trying to act and play like he's really concerned and accountable and he didn't really know. he knew and he needs to admit when and how fast he knew. >> it looks like they're just dancing around the questions, rather than giving direct answers. >> reporter: governor snyder said that michigan is spending millions of dollars and taking other steps to clean up the water to prevent a similar crisis from ever happening again. >again. a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn't weigh on my mind. >> reporter: but that didn't stop calls for both's resignation -- >> the more i listen and the more i watch the governor, i think that it is time for him to go. >> reporter: and mccarthy's too. >> you did not act when you had the chance, and if you're going

to do the courageous thing, you too should step down. >> reporter: that was a testy hearing as you saw. now, the democrats on the committee say that there are 15 current and former state officials in michigan who are not cooperating with congress. won't provide interviews and documents, and the democrats have asked governor snyder to direct those employees to please cooperate with the committee. >> lisa, let's see what happens on that front. but here's the question for u what has been the white house response to calls for resignation for both governor snider and the epa administrator? >> well, it seemed clear from today's white house briefing that the epa administrator's job is not in jeopardy. he said that the president believes that mccarty is one of the best if not the best epa administrator ever in the united states, and as far as the white house and governor, that's up to the voters of michigan to decide governor snyder's fate. and they added that though

there may be political differences between the governor and the white house, that has not in any way hindered the whit white house et to get to the bottom of it. >> the activist and flint resident in washington, leave being the room. and now for the battle over president obama's attempt to replace justice scalia. judge merrick garland was making the rounds today. and john terrett is there. so john, is there any sign that the republicans may be softening their stance now on not confirming garland? >> limited is the answer, limited size. because judge merrick garland made the long drive up to capitol hill today, tony, and he must have felt a little bit alone. there were only two democratic senators on hand to greet him, and as for the republicans, a handful have begun reaching out

but it's still a hard party line. no confirm nation, and no up or down vote. and meanwhile, the white house continues to sell its man hard. one day after nomination, merrick garland was on capitol hill, meeting those in whose hands his page now lies. mary reed, democrats, as republicans show knew signs of backing down. >> i talked to him by phone, and you do what you've always done. >> reporter: leahy was talking about mitch mcconnell, who spoke only by phone to garland on wednesday, saying that he has no plans to schedule a hearing. how garland's nomination could fundamentally change the court for a decade.

>> the president does not, and we disagree in this instance, and as a result, we logically act as a check and balance. >> reporter: mcconnell's opposite in the senate, harry reid, met with garland, though a photo on was brief. they are begging americans to do want job, and say that garland is the impeccable choice that obama says that he is. >> my job is to study these people on the court behind me. it's an awesome responsibility that we have, and all of us should take a look at the record as we're begging the republicans to do. >> reporter: the white house is pushing its man as hard as he can. releasing this video montage on the website and announcing a twitter page to lambaste the republican stunernness. saying that he's the candidate. >> the president put forth a

person that the republicans themselves said would do a great job on the court. he's described as a consensus nominee. and that's why it should not be particularly difficult for republicans to put it aside to do their constitutional duty first. >> in washington, some kind of deal struck with the republicans to confirm in the lame duck session. it was put after comments by orrin hatch of utah, and the white house asked about that. they said if they it is, it's just politicking and they should go ahead and allow a fair hearing for an exemplary candidate. >> the republican party leaders have begun considering new ways to block gop frontrunner, possibly, at a brokered convention. but one leading potential to trump is throwing cold water on

the idea. aljazeera's david schuster reports. >> reporter: on capitol hill thursday, house speaker, paul ryan, stepped up to the microphone. >> happy saint patrick's day, everybody. >> reporter: and then threw cold water on efforts to make him an alternative to donald trump. it's an idea that has been promoted by former house speaker, john boehner. >> i saw boehner last night and told him to knock it off. >> reporter: speaker ryan doesn't want to be the gop nominee, and they should cross him off of any list. >> it's not going to be me. it should be somebody running for president. i made a decision over a year ago not to run for president. i believe that if you want to be president, you should run for president. >> that's music to the ears to donald trump's final rivals, john kasich and ted cruz. >> only one campaign has beaten donald trump over and over and

over again. [ cheers ] >> reporter: but without a contested convention, cruz can only reach the 1,082 delegates by capturing 87% of all of delegates in the final contests, and kasich's math is even work. even if he wins all of remaining delegates, he would still fall short. as for trump, it's almost a mathematical certainty that he will enter the republican convention with at least a plurality of delegates. >> if we're 100 short, and somebody else is at 500 or 400 because we're way ahead of everybody, i don't think that you would say that we don't get it automatically. i think that you would have riots. >> back in the senate, former presidential candidate, marco rubio. >> there are not going to be

any riots, but it's an unusual political year. people are going to write books about this year. >> reporter: and the final chapter could be written about trump's favor in the convention. to reach the magic number, trump needs to maintain his usual vote ratios in the proportional contests coming up and grab victories in some of these contests that are winner take all. meanwhile, the desperate effort to block trump now and perhaps later at the convention is playing out in the republican endorsement game. >> i think that the best alternative to donald trump is to stop him from getting ted cruz, and i'm going to help ted any way i can. >> reporter: earlier this year,year, lindsey graham said t he would rather be shot or poisoned than support donald trump. >> if you killed tes tes on the

floor of the senate. and the trial was in the senate, nobody could vict you >> reporter: politics makes for strange bed fellows. the big problem for republicans who dream of cruz, paul ryan or anybody else other than donald trump, is that trump's nomination now may be unavoidable. >> my party has gone [ bleep ] crazy. >> okay, so while many are embracing the anti-immigration rhetoric coming from donald trump, scores of illegals are racing to be citizens so they can cast votes against trump if he wins the nomination. >> did you check? >> after working all day, martha is able to find time to sit down with her ten-year-old daughter and help with homework. >> did you write it down somewhere? >> she came to the u.s. from her home in mexico 26 years ago. >> 19190.

>> you remember clearly? >> oh, yeah. >> crossing the border packed in the trunk of a car with five men, she remembers just as vividly her farris taste of politics. >> i remember in 198, i seen this lady, we were walking around the secondhand store, and she has a sticker. they give you a sticker and i said i want that sticker. >> martha became a permanent legal resident with a green card after getting her papers in order in the 1990s. and now she wants to be a u.s. citizen so she can vote. she fears that the anti-immigrant represent rick from donald trump, calling mexicans drug dealers and rapists. >> i can tell donald trump that i have my citizenry. and my kids are watching his back. >> reporter: martha is one of thousands of legal permanent residents here in colorado

motivated by trump's candidacy, so they're spending the morning here in the community from to begin the process. valencia came from columbia 16 years ago. >> what do you think of donald trump? >> i think that he's wrong, because everybody, latino, mexican, not everybody is bad people. >> reporter: adrianna larson has been here from mexico 28 years. and she said donald trump finally made her want to be a citizen. >> i don't like the way that he thinks about hispanics, that we come here and take the jobs from other people, from the american people, you know? and also we come here and bring drugs. >> first of all, i think mr. trump could probably use a little bit of a primer on how immigration actually works. >> she's taking her time to help hopefuls with legal problems. >> are drug dealers and rapists

coming through the doors? >> these doors for naturalization? no. do they commit certain crimes once in the country or have they been in without permission? yes, but ut rules don't allow that kind of per to enter, and once they commit that kind of problem, the rules permit for their departure. >> they have been working for months organizing citizenship workshops and phone banks around the country, especially in swing states with large latino populations, the cut off to get applications in to vote this november is quickly approaching, april 30th. >> the goal is to process 1 million application biz the end of april. so in key places where we know that new voters can make a difference, we'll see increased activity out of florida and

colorado. >> this i have you ever been a habitual drunkard? >> here in colorado, there are 90,000 latinos eligible to be naturalized. they have lived legally in the u.s. for years, even decades, which allows them to expedite the naturalization process. 1300 of them will be new citizens. martha does not like to speak badly of a canceled date that she has never met. but one thing is certain, if she becomes a citizen in time to vote in november, you won't see her voting for donald trump, but you will see her "i voted "sticker. >> if you do get that sticker, how will you feel? >> i'll be so happy. >> aljazeera, denver. >> continuing to escalate tensioning with the west, north

korea fired a ballistic missile off of the west coast, falling into the water. u.s. officials have not responded to the missile launch. in the meantime, the state department has been able to contact an american student in prison. the 21-year-old was convicted for crimes against the state for stealing a propaganda banner and the state will do everything that it can to win his release. isle's crimes. why the state department said that they're committing genocide.

>> meat, ashe carter and his military adviser, joseph dunford, said that they continue to ratchet up on the group, with more fighters to take them on. neither could say if more strongholds in iraq and syria could be taken this year. >year. do you see iraq or syria being taken from isil? >> we're limittening the epmy's move. and i can't tell you when they will fall. i can tell that you we're working closely with indigenous forces on the ground. >> do you agree that the idea of iraq is pretty remote. >> i can't put a timeline on t >> reporter: the declaration

will have little practical effect in the ongoing war against isil because the u.s. is already treating isil as a genocidal group, even without the designation. it's a specific meaning. not just killing vast numbers of people, but with the intent to destroy a group in whole or in part. they are documenting isil's alleged atrocities, so all of the perpetrators can be held accountable. >> jamie mcintyre for us. at the u.s. peace talks in geneva, held by the syrian government, both sides holding detainees, but the numbers are much higher on the government side. james bay has more from geneva >> reporter: near the top of the agenda release the detainees. they are depositing the

inhumane conditions facing the prisoners of the assad regime. she said her brother was jailed and then executed. >> they put them in the prison for two years and two months, and then they killed them there. >> when you listen to the whole story, you begin to realize the appalling brutality and suffering involved. her brother was a military judge, who was arrested after he came to visit her in jail. a peaceful activist, she was imprisoned and tortured in 2012. things were so bad that she began to envy fellow prisoners who lost their minds. >> i saw them get crazy. i used to feel very jealous of them. they're happy, they don't know what's going on. i saw men die, and they just putting them in the dirty water to throw them somewhere else.

>> reporter: the issue of detainees has now been added to the work of the task force on humanitarian issues. >> nothing would be more important now than to get out some groups in particular. women and children, and the sick and the wounded among the detainees, so yes, we're hopeful that we can make progress on that issue. >> the issue, the crescent, the guardian of the geneva conventions, said that they're willing to make prisoner changes if the deal is done. >> if they can play it's role, should the party to the conflict reach an agreement on exchange, or on detainees, or releasees, which can occur. >> reporter: the dapy issue puts the government delegation under pressure.

the government has far than the abs at side. and the government is calling out the issue, getting aid into areas siege bid the government forces. what's more, he says that he wants to get down quickly to the substantive issue of political transition. but they believe that the government is stalling, and they want to talk only about procedure. james bays, aljazeera, united nations. >> still ahead, florida power problems. problems in the water and concerns about an aging nuclear reactor and parts of the south seeing record flooding.

>> in south florida, growing concerns aboutaning nuclear plants. leaking into the water supply, and they are making sure that florida power and light is held responsible for the leak. >> it seems an unlikely pairing, next to one of america's most prized national parks is one of florida's few nuclear power plants. >> they really did find the worst place to put a power plant. >> 25 miles south of miami, it provides power to homes in

south florida. a neighbor that deeply troubles the head of biscayne national park. >> as a park, we want to keep the water quality great. >> for years, warm, salty, slightly radioactive water from its massive network of canals, essential to cooling the plant, has been seeping into the ground water in biscayne bay, jeopardizing drinking water, critics fear, and the environment. >> when you have nuclear waste in biscayne bay, it could kreiger algae blooms or kill the fish. >> a radioactive isotope of hydrogen was found in biscayne bay, 200 times higher than normal, though well within what scientists consider safe, but still, it's an ongoing concern. last year, the judge blasted

the championship, florida power and light. >> this is fp&l's problem, and they're responsible for making sure that the operations of the plant do not contaminate the surrounding area. and they need to be held accountable. >> are they being held accountsable? >> we're not satisfied. >> the company has promised response and cleanup, while. >> ing that the plant is not a danger to the public. >> we're going to continue to take action and comply with the requirements of the state and the county and improve the conditions at the plant. >> reporter: but critics say without a clear solution in place, the power plant will continue leak being right next to one of america's national treasures. aljazeera, homestead, florida. >> big announcement from sea world today. they will stop breeding killer

whales in captivity. it's in response for groups that have long criticized the sea world dolphins. were >> reporter: they have been making a big splash for more than other years, sea world's captive and controversial killer whales. the massive marine animals have long delighted audiences and angered animal rights activists. on thursday, the theme park announced a big change. the orca breeding program will soon be history and they're phasing out the shows. it comes three years after the documentary, "black fish." the violent incidences of a whale. and it raised ethical questioned about sea world's breeding programs. just how bad the backlash has been for sea world's bottom line. since the film came out, the visitor numbers have plummeted and the stock prices have

tanked. people for the ethical treatment of animals said that it's huge. sea world will no longer breed orcas. this 2017, shows in san antonio and orlando will end in 2019. but theerra of captive orcas is far from over. the creatures can live for as long as 100 years. some activists have called for them to be released into the wild. but they will probably die there. for as long as they live, the orcas at sea world will stay in our parks. sea world's 29 remaining whales will no longer perform tricks. instead, the company said that they will develop new orca encounters and showcase their natural behaviors. they make the case that sea

world is a victim of its own success, to make the world fall in love with killer whales. we have helped make orcas among the most beloved marine animals on the planet, he says, and as they continue to change, sea world is changing with it. for whatever reason, it's the end of an era of what some call entertainment and others consider cruel. >> rivers rising in southeast texas, residents are forced to flee their homes. this week, parts of texas and louisiana are pounded with rain, causing record flooding long want sabine river. more now from dewyville, texas. >> reporter: rescuers gather in the early morning fog in deweyville. this is a community entire submerged after torrential rains. most of its water came from an overflowing reservoir, and it burst its banks. making it the most severe

flooding in more than 100 years. >> i've lived through droughts, heat, fears, two hurricanes, but this is worse than anything that we have been through. >> reporter: the only way into the community now is by boat. but the extent of the damage and the depth of the waters is all too obvious. homes, cars and businesses lie partially submerged in deep brown floodwaters. it has been more than a week since the flooding began, but you can see on the fence line behind me that the floodwaters are slowly beginning to recede. to give you an idea of how extensive the damage s. and how long it will be before the families can get back to their homes, this is a quiet residential street and it election like a river. >> we have to be here for a little while, and so we might as well have fun with it. >> hundreds of families have been evacuated and there of been no casualties.

but to get back to their homes, -- >> there's a lot of cleaning that has to be done. it's going to be a mess. i don't know what to expect. i'm praying for the best. >> it may be days before these waters fully recede and weeks before the extent of the damage is known. residents here have lived through floods before, and most managed to grab their most precious possessionsess, but the cleanup will be an arduous process. >> one county is changing how crimes are charged. and perfects are making that call. it's in response to a shooting and the protests that followed. john henry smith ha has more >> reporter: for 18 days, protesters in minnesota camped outside of police headquarters and demanded justice for jamar clark. >> the gun went off and that's what i saw, but the guy was not

fighting back. >> reporter: the 24-year-old was fighting with them when the officers killed him last november, and witnesses say that he was handcuffed. nationwide, the grand juries found no cause to bring charges, but prosecutors in minnesota argued that prosecutor, mike freeman not use a grand jury in this case. >> grand juries will no longer be used to consider shooting cases >> reporter: it ends a four-year long tradition. not a sim officer has ever been found guilty of wrongfully shooting someone. freeman said that it will make the system more fair and accountable, but he doesn't think that others should necessarily follow his lead. >> in other communities, they may feel that the case of the grand jury in police shooting cases is appropriate. >> reporter: the feeling of

anger have cost prosecutors their jobs. in ohio, tim mcguinty lost a primary. he concluded the shooting of 12-year-old tamir rice by two officers was reasonable. >> it did not conduct criminal conduct by police. >> reporter: and alvarez lost a re-election bid. she waited more than a year to charge the officer who shot laquan mcdonald 15 years. >> the congressional hearing today, congressional governor, rick snyder, spent several hours in the hot seat with gina mccarty. and lawmakers took turns berating them. >> we started giving filters so people. >> dine ability only works when it's plausible, and i'm not buying that you didn't know about any of this until 2015. you were not in a medically

induced coma for a year. >> both snyder and mccarthy were asked to resign and both declined. at the hearing with governor snyder today. and love that name, and glad to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> what was it like? >> well, it was very satisfying seeing governor snyder because he has not yet met with flint residents. >> come on, i hear that, and i can't believe it. >> it's totally true. we had a people's hearing march 5th, and he declined to hear the pain that his policies had on the community as a whole. >> he cannot be that tone deaf. what's the reason? has the administration or the governor's office offered a reason? >> i'm not sure. he has come in for photo ops, but he has not met with the people of flint publicly. >> so you're in the room at the

hearing today. and what did you think? the questions and the answers, right? the q and the a. >> well, it was extremely satisfying hearing representative cartwright classifying his excuses and equating it to a domestic violence relationship. >> let me read a portion this. administrator mccarthy, you had the ability to act when you found out that things were not going right in these systems, and you have the compliance authority, don't you? and she responded, yes, sir, i do. and who was held accountable in the epa? well, sir, you have to look at it. was it -- she responded no, sir. any accountant to be found? >> you have people who have resigned. but they are able to keep their

pensions and health insurance. >> is that really accountability some. >> no, it's not real accountable. >> epa director, mccarthy. should she lose her job? >> well, i feel like susan headman, the regional director, she did resign. >> well, what about the governor? what are your thoughts on the governor? should he go, should he resign, step down? >> well, the governor should resign. his policies created the flint water crisis and the emergency management. >> what's on the ground? how are you, how's your water, and how's life in flint? >> well, residents in flint still have to go and get one case of water per day at the fire stations, which is what the state runs, and that's not enough to meet the basic needs of a family. >> and is it going to be fixed?

is the legislature going to appropriate the money necessary to do the real fix that's necessary here? >> well, we hope so. but president obama still hasn't declared flint a federal disaster zone, which would trigger a lot more money and we could move to 55-gallon jugs. >> so you want the president to get involved? >> yes, he needs to declare it a disaster zone. >> are you disappointed in the president? >> yes, people are bathing in that water, cooking with that water, and making value judgments based on how much war yomuch wateryou have. >> you're going to stay with us, aren't you? >> yes. >> good to have you on the program. >> did you drive up? >> yes. >> you drove up. >> yes. >> thank you. >> it's pretty amazing. still ahead, on the program,

political crisis in brazil. the next step in the impeachment proceedings against the country's president.

>> a strict new abortion bill is headed to the governor's desk in indiana. it goes so far that it has even divided some abortion opponents. >> reporter: indianaes bill canes many of the same

provisions for abortion clinics currently under supreme court review. such as allowing doctors to have admitting privileges at hospitals, and for the clinics to meet the standards of surgical centers. but it would ban abortions if the fetus has a disability like down's syndrome. >> we can't imagine life without them, nor would we have considered abortion in that situation. every child is a gift from god. and again, every child say wanted child. >> reporter: it allows them to make multiple trips to a clinic, and they must hear the heartbeat at least 18 hours before the abortion, and it allows for the mother to pay for the burial of the fetus. opponents say that it adds shame. they showed up with 2700 signatures opposing the measure. >> there's no question that there are provisions in this

bill that greatly impact a woman's ability to get an abortion, and it should be medical decision making. >> if approved, indiana would be the only state to ban abortions for genetic abnormalities. >> in chaos, brazil's lower house of congress has taken the first steps to impeach the president, and a federal judge is trying to block an appointment of her predecessor to protect herself from being impeached. >> reporter: this was the moment the president hoped would pacify the country and turn things around. her predecessor is formally being appointed chief of her cabinet. and it didn't last for long. president rusef didn't get it get in the way.

she welcomed the former embattled president into her cabinet. >> i count on his experience, his identity, the identity that he has for this country with the people of this country. i count on him. and desilva, the chief of staff. >> reporter: outside the presidential palace, anti-government protesters clashed with lula supporters. and clashed with the terms that the country's politics have taken. the demonstrations are difficult in the capital. for the second day in a row, thousands took to the streets in the cities of the country, tired of corruption and their politicians. despite the massive protest, president roussef is determined to press on, trying to keep the country running. she said that the protest is part of a healthy democracy,

and she's doing what she believes is best as brazil's duly elected president. but members of the house plan to make it difficult for roussef to hold onto her seat, planning procedures against her for fiscal mismanagement. and a federal judge has suspended the appointment. a move that the government is appealing. the president hoped to having lula in her corner would shore up support for their government, but nothing is calming the emotions. brazil is reeling from the corruption for petro graph. and it's suffering the worst recession in decades. people are not people, and they're determined. >> south african's president was feeling the heat in parliament today. jacob zuma said that his

cabinet has not been influenced by a family. >> reporter: president zuma faces the latest scandal engulfing his government. but he's soon drown out by shouts from mps. he's being scrutinized for his relationship with a powerful family, with massive business influence in south africa. officials say that the gupta family had presidential treatment. one of them, the deputy of finance, who says that he was offered the top job in the ministry before the previous minister was fired without reason in disease. >in -- in december. >> i'm in charge of the government and the constitution. there's no minister who is here who is ever appointed by the guptas or anybody else. minsters are here were pointed

by me. >> the gupta family has denied the allegation, saying that they're politically motor vehicled. >politicalmotivated. >> one of the officials said that she was in johann esburg, as a minister in president zuma's cabinet. and all the way. he was in the mansion and later escorted her out. the president has previously said that there was nothing untoward about the relationship with the gupta family and there's nothing wrong with their son being a business partner, but it's the latest scandal that has the opposition party determined to see him removed. >> leave the house. >> the top decision making bold of the african congress is due to meet this weekend. the official line from the party is that that's deeply concerned about the always. >> we're talking about a

situation where the outside interest, and often a capital that seems to exert an undue influence on the government. >> the split between the party has never been as wild. >> there are two blocks that have emerged. the one block, the more liberal and also the radical opposition. and then there's the nationalist, the traditionalists, and also, that very strong block which is very much a majority still. they will hold on, but the dissent is palpable. >> the party said that no one is untouchable, including the president. his confidence in his leadership may prove to be the president's biggest challenge yet. aljazeera, johannesburg. >> and up next on the program, a unique van gough experience takes you into the recreation of one of the artist's most famous works, and live in new york city, where the

new york empire state building lit up for saint patty's day parade. that's next.

>> new york city celebrated saint patrick's day with its annual march down 5th av. and former senator, george mitchell was this year's grand marshal, and gay and lesbian groups, they broke the ban on them last year, and this year they opened up the parade to include more of those groups. the art institute of chicago is providing a new interactive experience for fans, in conjunction with air b&b, for just $10 a night, art lovers can stay inside of a van gough replica bedroom >> reporter: it's arguably the most famous room captured on canvas, vincent van gough's bedroom. >> they were painting it a couple of weeks ago, it's amazing >> reporter: the three versions of the celebrated

dutch artist's paintings are currently on display at the art institute in chicago. the first time that all three have been exhibited together in north america. >> i think it's one of those iconic images that everyone loves because it's so graphic and so colorful. and so, in some ways startling because of its emptiness. >> van gough painted it in the late 1880s in france.

>> we again with a showdown over president obama's pick to replace the late supreme court justice antonin can leah.

merrick garland was meeting with officials. >> that's right, today he made that long drive up to capitol hill, and he must have felt a little bit alone. there were only two friendly democratic senators on hand to greet him publicly. and it is true, a handful have begun to reach out but it's a hard party line. no nominee, no confirmation, and no up and down vote. as for the white house, they're continuing to sell their man very hard. one day after his nomination, merrick garland was meeting and greeting those in whose fate lies leahy said it's the most important vote that they have to