mike viqueira is live in have a hanna for us. mike, are you there? we're trying to get mike viqueira. we're having a few technical difficulties. we'll come back to him shortly. in the meantime, a new cbs news poll shows that majority of americans six in ten approve of restoring relations. 52% of americans approve of president obama's handling of relations between the two countries. 55% favor ending the trade embargo against cuba. 51% said they have a favorable impression of cuba but only 43% of americans are interested in visiting cuba. director of a deputy director of human affairs for the department of state from 1989 to 1993, and do authored the book learning to salsa, new steps in cuba and american relations. first of all, put this in perspective today what is happening. >> wow, you know, it's just been an amazing day. but when you take the whole perspective, you look at castro who is coming in with his revolutionary army into havana at the end of 1959. then our embargo being placed against cuba in 1961 then we have the mist crisis that brought u

mike viqueira. more thoughts on the fact that raul castro is insisting on this being an equal relationship and having said such, if president barack obama criticizes cuba, raul castro felt justified in criticizing the u.s. as well - and he did. >> well, you know, and risen, the united states over the courts of the last 54 years, frankly speaking, has given the u.s. government plenty of ambition to use against them, from the bay of pigs and the embargo, a major sore point not only with the castro regime but the cuban people. the translation may have been off, but raul castro said he would resist two faced approach to human rights, which is a relative strong statement of condemnation directed at the united states, insisting that changing within cuba is a sovereign matter and not subject to meddling to outside powers, and accepting and respecting our differences and not placing them at the center of the relationship with something that castro urged. it is a question. embargo which president obama decla

michael shure, aljazeera, miami, florida. >> i'm mike viqueira in miami. hillary clinton is back where she started at the beginning of the campaign. the odds on favorite to take the fight to republicans in the fall. >> we are moving closer to securing the democratic party nomination, and winning this election in november! >> reporter: clinton routed bernie sanders in north carolina and florida, and it was a draw in missouri and illinois. but it was double-digits in ohio that debunks the theory that clinton is vulnerable in the industrial heartland. but sanders is succeeding nothing. his campaign has plenty of money to carry on, and addressing supporters in arizona tuesday night, he launched into his now familiar attack. >> she has received money from the drug companies and the fossil fuel industry. she has given speeches on wall street for $225,000 a pop. >> even the clinton team succeedconcedes upcoming primarn arizona and in hawaii, caulk uses in a format where sanders does well. but after her victories on tuesday, the delegate map put sanders in a big h

we are joined by al jazeera's mike viqueira. and despite the smiles, the cuban president was quick to criticise the u.s. during today's events. >> well, that's right. it's sort of an awkward moment. unusual, unexpected. it came on an historic day. there's a lot of pomp and ceremony around the visit. it's an official state visit. president obama returned to his quarters from the state dinner with raul castro at the palace derevolution here in havana. raul castro today said there are profound differences between the united states and cuba, one that is will never go away. it was never more apparent than when castro lashed out at critics over his country's record on human rights. >> reporter: this was the moment raul castro and president barack obama shaking hands for the first time on cuban soil. they talked for two hours behind closed doors. when they emerged it was clear that the acrimony, 54 jeers, couldn't be forgotten even with the ceremony and good really. >> asked why an american reporter had political prisoners, castro bris

goods and services flowed between the united states of canada >>> mike viqueira at the white house. as president obama begins to interview supreme court nominees senate republicans are standing by a promise to not consider any candidate. as libby casey reports, top-ranking republicans fought it up. antonio, it's impossible to strait out the politics. republicans repeated their stance. they won't vote against it, they won't let a nominee come up for a hearing. entrenched positions. republicans say no supreme court nominee until there's a president. we are not going to draw up any nominee. i'm not going to let it happen. to the good people of iowa. on the other hand democrats say it only fair to consider president obama's choice. >> i am appealing to the better agents of their nation. when there is a nominee, do as they have done in the past. give the nominee careful. meet with the nominee, ask the nominee questions. >> reporter: thursday's business meeting of the senate meeting turned into a forum to go on the record. no changes between republicans and democrats. the committee has th

. >>> al jazeera's mike viqueira joins us now live from washington. good morning.hat 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 bein

. >> mike viqueira is at the white house. ke, tell us more about what topped the agenda today. >> reporter: perhaps fitting that on march 10th, where it's 82 degrees in washington, d.c. that global warming and climate change would be the focus, and that center was a centerpiece of what these two governments would like us to talk about. both countries, the united states and canada, very acutely aware of the effects that climate change is having, particularly in the arctic. there is also a plan on the table to ease cross-border commerce. ease bottlenecks between the united states and canada, $2 billion a day plus every single days crossing the border, and they want to streamline that process. but there's no question that american politics is casting a shadow over this state visit, and it is the first state visit full of all of the pomp and ceremony meant to illustrate the closeness of these two countries. the first visit in 19 years. earlier today there was an arrival ceremony on the south lawn. the prime minister showing up whi

i want to go to mike viqueira. we all woke up thinking the biggest story in the world would be president obama speaking in havana, but we all woke up to news that there has been yet another major terror attack on a major european city. what more to we know about the white house's response to what has happened in brussels? >> reporter: obviously this happens in -- and it was an undeniably historic speech we just heard, and yet the news started breaking at that time very early this morning. we were told by white house staff that the president had been briefed on the situation. we were assured that white house officials were in contact with their belgian counterparts. the department of homeland security advised everyone that they were on top of it. again, repeating their -- repeating their often said phrase. if you see something, say something, things of that nature. the white house obviously on full alert here. this is bringing a political cue and cry from the republican right back home. we have seen a number of prov

al jazeera's mike viqueira has more on the goals of the trip. >> it's been 19 years, but today, president obama rolls out the red carpet for a canadian prime minister, welcoming justin trudeau to the white house for the pomp and ceremony of an official state visit. the two leaders met once before at a summit in the philippines last fall, shortly after trudeau took office. obama aids see a developing special relationship as trudeau tries to raise canada's profile on the international stage. >> whether it's the united nations, whether it's refugees, climate change, there's a zeitgeist of engagement he brings, and so in a certain sense, they are selling canada to the world. >> a major proposal could ease backuppion in the u.s. canada border, clearing customs at ports, highway checkpoints, bus and train stations, much like the preclearance system now in place at many airports. the goal is to ease choke points and speed travel. with $2 billion in goods and services crossing the border day, canada and the u.s. are each other's largest trading partner. one area there's been disagreement, the fig

mike viqueira joins us from havana. good evening to you. how has the president spent his first hours on the island? >> well good evening to you. the president going to the u.s. embassy saying it's an historic opportunity. the embassy opened in washington and havana respectively, today, truly an historic visit as you point out, the first since the waning days of calvin koolidge administration. the president, almost the first thing he did, when he got off the plane. the president is touring old havana with his family, he has malia and sasha with him, and his mother-in-law, marion robinson. almost a celebratory air. the president has a lot of event, this is officially is state visit. he'll meet with a raul castro, the president and will do a number of things to highlight what the white house hopes is an effort to cement the initiative, taking to normalize relationships with cuba, cognisant that it is an election year, and doesn't want his predecessor to reverse what is done. the appearance is substantive and symbolic. >> anti-government protes

mike viqueira joins us from havana with more on the president's busy day on the island. mike?reporter: good evening,

i want to go back out one last time to mike viqueira before we wrap up this live special coverage. mike, talk about how the president will measure the success of this trip by which metrics will the white house be able to spin this as positive to the american people and to the cuban people? >> well, again i think it remains to be seen. there have been some flies in the ointment already. we've seen protesters manhandle with images shown around the world just hours before the air force one touched down. i can tell you that the white house staff was not happy about that at all. they were concerned and went out of their way to say in the speech give to the cuban people will be aired nationally to the cuban people. that was part of the agreement. that happens tomorrow. he'll go to the baseball game with the tampa bay rays. >> right now president obama meeting with cuban president raul castro. both presidents are said to meet with the press. that will vice president at 1:15. thanks for watching. >> hello again. the news hour from al jazeera. our top stories u.s. president barack obama has

going to turn around here, more results flashing on the screen here in west palm beach. >> okay, mike viqueira, and mike is in that noise dome there in west palm beach, florida with the clinton campaign. and appreciate that. bernie sanders is already looking ahead to next week, and the arizona primary, melissa chang is joining us from phoenix, and how is the campaign feeling about next week? >> well, i think that the campaign is feeling pretty good if you look at the crowd behind me here. the people have been gathering since 10 a.m. local time, since the event started in order to participate. i think that the sanders campaign, he was back here in july of 2016, where bernie sanders held a rally, and at that time, a lot of people didn't take him seriously. well, 11,000 people showed up at that rally back in the summertime last year, and it was really interesting, tony. as i was walking along the lines, i kept asking, did anybody go to the rally last summer? and i didn't come across one. and that means that so many of them are new supporters, and that's a good sign for him, tony. >> so melissa, g

mike viqueira is next with "inside story". have a good night. night. ♪ ♪ >> we're rapidly approaching five years of civil war in syria. hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost many of them innocent women and children. while i.s.i.l. and other rebel groups undoubtedly committed war crimes, syria has blood on its hands as well. vladimir putin pulling some russian jets out of the region, are we turning a tide on the war torn country?

mike viqueira is live for us in washington, d.c. ike, what is on the agenda for the president on this historic trip. >> reporter: as you reported some 88 years since calvin coolidge made the trip in the waning days of his administration. it almost has sort of a celebratory air of it. obviously many problems remain in cuba, still an embargo imposed by congress, would have to be lifted by congress from the united states on cuba. the president will arrive, he has got the entire first family intoe on sunday. he has first lady michelle obama, his daughters and his mother-in-law. on monday he gets down to business. let's go through some of the major events here on his three-day schedule. he'll meet with the president of cuba. white house officials insist there will be no meeting between president obama and fidel castro. on tuesday an address to the cuban people. he will talk about many of the major issues on the agenda, human rights as well as economic opportunities, a round table with dissidents. this is something a lot of people are look

mike viqueira reports. >> the white house was caught flat fasted in public. it's a breach which protocol, says the president's spokesman on a matter that should have been handled privately. >> i think it's just good manners. >> while the white house said it's not a snub, given the history between the two, few were buying it. >> republicans invited netanyahu to address a joint meeting of congress last march where he asked them to reject the deal mr. obama was negotiating with iran over its nuclear program. >> leaving iran with a vast nuclear program. >> that angered the white house, which turned down an oval office meeting ocean that netanyahu was in the middle of a tough political campaign. and a meeting might be seen as an endorsement. now those who see this as a at this time far at that time, netanyahu said a meeting with obama might interfere with the on going u.s. presidential campaign. netanyahu lectured obama in 2011 on israeli security in history. >> it cannot go backs to the 1967. >> tuesday, biden landed in israeli, the latest effort to patch things

mike viqueira was there. he is at the white house for us right now. and mike most of the questions were dealing with the question climate change, and cutting carbon emissions. saying that things will stay the change with regard to climate change. >> reporter: right, the american press more concerned with the raging politics going on right now. and there's no question that the impending election is casting a shadow over the rose garden here today. first time in 19 years a canadian prime minister has been here for a state visit. all of the pump and circumstance connected with that. but the president taking time for a long-sort of public meditation on the state of the republican party in response to a question. yes, he did get his first question from the american press was about the supreme court nomination. he said he would be nominating someone it appears to be in short order here, someone that he assures everyone will be eminently qualified. but then he was asked about the state of the republican party, and whether he is somehow responsible for the ton

, and a lot of eyes being opened, but i think the coming weeks and months will really tell. >> mike viqueira reporting from havana cuba. thank you, mike. >> we're joined by rachel from d.c. rachel thanks for sticking with us during the breaking news. what for you was most rez innocent about that speech? [ audio difficulty. ] >> rachael i apologize we're going to try to fix our audio connection with you. and david let me pose that question to you. who do you think the president was trying to speak to? knowing he has a captive audience in an unprecedented way. the cuban people listening to this on live television. >> yeah, he is a clearly audience in this case. because it's the cuban exile community that is scrutinizing every word, but also this is an historic opportunity that he took advantage of. he spoke to the cuban people in a way that really no one has done over the course of their lives. about three-quarters of cubans have never known anyone but a castro in power. and certainly an american president has never spoken to them. so to hear him say you should be able to have freedom of ex-pr

. >> mike viqueira for us in washington. thank you very much. >>> update on another former president. jimmy carter saying he has turned the battle in his -- turned the corner in his battle against cancer. he revealed doctors discovered four small lesions on his brain, a combination of immunotherapy and radiation ended last month. carter, who is 91, says he will continue to get those check-ups just in case the cancer returns. >> san francisco is gearing up for more rain today after a weekend of severe wind and thunderstorms. some areas got upwards of four inches of rain, leaving streets looking more like streams. fallen industries been taking downpour lights and parts of houses. dramatic footage from southern california. police saved a dozen people from the los angeles river on sunday. they were from a homeless e encampment next to the water. when the rescue team arrived, people were colllinging to tree everyone referring you'd is okay. >> flooding continues to be a problem it for residents living in the northwest. kevin corr

mike viqueira is next with "inside story". have a good night. night. ♪ ♪ >> we're rapidly approaching five years of civil war in syria. hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost many of them innocent women and children. while i.s.i.l. and other rebel groups undoubtedly committed war crimes, syria has blood on its hands as well. vladimir putin pulling some russian jets out of the region, are we turning a tide on the war torn country? it's the "inside story." >> welcome to "inside story." i'm sheila macvicar in for ray suarez. today forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad entered palmyra, which has been under full i.s.i.l. control for almost a year now. omar al saleh is there, near the syrian border. >> syrian where officials say syrian officials are near, they describe the situation as very tense and the fightings is fears. fierce. people are called to leave palmyra. earlier in the month they start he the campaign to regain palmyra which fell to i.s.i.l. last year. the importance of palmyra, aside from the historical aspect and the a

we'll go out to mike viqueira who is standing by in havana as we see these pictures unfold. i'm curious how this is being covered in cuban media and what access cubans have in seeing these events unfold. >> well, again that is something that has been a concern of the white house. after all the point here is to expose the ordinary cuban person to the president. his message and what he has to say. one of the sticking points as they negotiated over the course of the first few months of last year between the cuban government and the american government in trying to open those embassies, the americans wanted their diplomats to have freer travel throughout cuba so they could have that exposure to promote not only american values, american ideals in terms of politics and civil liberties but also american economic interests as well. i had visited with a couple of different individuals over the course of the last few days of restaurant owner who has a chic restaurant--full disclosure, i was having dinner there, but he said that business has boomed over the last three months. but part

. >> mike viqueira in havana, we look forward to your reports. >> raul castro was not at the airport to greet president obama, but the two counterparts will be meeting tomorrow. brett neumann has more from the leader who has been mending fences. >> in size and character, raul castro could not be more different from the brother that he replaced as president of communist cuba. >> jacky rowland fought to overthrow the dictatorship. punk tutored by fiery american speeches. -- punctuated by fiery american speeches. >> he had a vision, placing importance in the ideological reasoning of the revolution. >> reporter: for nearly 50 years raul castro was the u.n. challenged leader of the cuban revolution. gavt focus on the -- fidel castro focussed on the new man and blamed the united states for short comings. when poor health forced him to step down most assumed raust would fol black raul cast castro -- -- assumed raul castro would follow in his brothers footsteps. to everyone's surprise, he released restrictions on small business and travelling abroad. >> raul is more liberal. we have to open

mike viqueira joins us from havana with more on the president's busy day on the island. mike?> reporter: good evening, to you, john. raul castro says there are profound differences between his country and the united states, and certainly those differences were on display today. amid all of the pomp, ceremony, and goodwill, castro lashed out at critics on his country's record on human rights. shaking hands for the first time on cuban soil. they talked for two hours behind closed doors, but when they emerged it was clear that the acrimony, 54 years couldn't be forgotten, even with the ceremony and goodwill. asked by an american voter why cuba has political piz -- prisoners, castro bristled. >> translator: what political prisoners? give me a name or names. give me a list, and if we have those political prisoners, they will be released before tonight ends. >> reporter: human rights groups say arrests of dissidents in cuba have increasing, though long-term prison sentences decreased. shortly before president obama arrived a protest was forcibly eliminated. >> translator: i think hu

mike viqueira has more on trudeau's warm welcome. >> reporter: good evening, richelle, for primary primary justin trudeau and president obama, it has been mutual concern. and both sides hoping that this day is a new chapter in the relations between close neighbors. it has been as much as of celebration as a sum, leaders of two nations could hardly be closer, affirming a deep bond. >> we are proud to welcome the first official visit by a canadian prime minister in nearly 20 years. [ cheering ] it's about time, eh? but the shadows hung over the visit, with prime minister trudeau looking on in the rose garden. mr. obama was asked if he were in part responsible for the tone on the campaign trail, calling it a circus and a crack up. and he said that the party has no one but itself to blame. >> what you're seeing to some° is all of those efforts over the course of time, creating an environment where somebody like a donald trump can thrive. >> reporter: trudeau, who has jokingly suggested that americans opposed to trump could take revenge in canada, trying to stay above the fray. >> the principle

mike viqueira is in havana with more. >> in havana president obama began his much-anticipated speech to citizens of an old enemy for pledge of a close ally. >> we'll do whatever necessary to support our friend and ally belgium in bringing to justice those who are responsible. >> mr. obama called for an union need fight for what he called the courage of terrorism. >> we can and we will defeat those who threaten the security of people all around the world. >> the white house released this photo susan rice in an early-morning call with tough security aid back in washington. later mr. obama called belgium prime minister charles michel and offered his condolences. >> as countries have always done, we must confront this threat together. we must defend democracy and defeat terror. >> testifying before congress, secretary of defense ash carter said that the military coalition against isil is vital, but it's only one part of the fight. >> we need the intelligence. we need the homeland security and we need law enforcent. and so do our partners. because of the kind of thing you saw in brussels

. >>> mike viqueira, are you there? >> yes, i am. that was an extraordinary press conference, absolutely, no question about it. you know, first of all there was a negotiation beforehand between the u.s. and the cuban side, whether there would be any questions at all. the last we heard, there would be no questions arrived. someone yielded and the men reporter that first questioned, i happened to know that reporter, his own family history. his family emigrated from cuba to the united states, a pointed question about human rights in cuba, a little confusion at the outset, but raul castro rejecting political prisoners, he said give me a list, give me the names and i'll release them. an awkward moment in what is intended to be reconciliation, almost an historic visit with obama. obama taking more questions, and putting castro on the spot to get him to answer that second question where he talked about health care as a right. clearly implying that those things do not happen in the united states >>> we'll bring in the ambassador into this co

and mike viqueira has the details. >> reporter: good evening, tony, the fight against isil has sufferedrecent setbacks, but today, they have captured the top isil official, even as they warn of an ominous plot in the works. they have captured the head of the weapons program. al fari was captured in a commando raid in iraq weeks ago, and he's there u.s. custody under interrogation. u.s. officials in washington were type lipped on wednesday, citing security, but they lauded the expeditionary force. set in power by obama. >> there are u.s. military forces that are on the ground in iraq that are part of these forces that are dedicated to carrying out raids, being collecting intelligence, and where possible getting access to high value targets. >> the u.s. official in iraq said isil has in fact launched some chemical weapon strikes, especially against the pesh be merga. they have reported isil attacks using chlorine gas, but a pentagon spokesman said that isis is using mustard powder, not gas, and causing a cloud of dust that can cause irritation, and kill. once worked for iran's military un

. >> mike viqueira, al jazeera, washington. >> we want to take you to this live look outside the whitehouse, that is where all of the preparations are being made for the prime minister's meeting with president obama. again, these images that you are seeing, this u.s. canadian meeting something that has not happened in almost 20 years. last hour, i talked to a former canadian diplomat. he said justin trudeau will make trade a huge part of his talks today, knowing he is going to be running for reelection. >> the economy will have to be good. 75% of our trade and g.d.p. dependency on our ability to trade. his objective is to get better access to the united states market, better links into the supply chains. that will be his major ask. 25% of what canada sells to the united states because of the supply chains that we've developed between two countries actually began in the united states in the first place, so trading with canada is actually very good business for the united states. we're the united states largest trading partner. >> that is good for the bottom line of a business. is it nec

mike viqueira is at the clinton gathering in miami, mike? >> you know, the nature of super tuesday primary voting with 12 states holding caucuses or primaries are all over the place gone are the days of politicking. they're all over the place. hillary clinton herself started the day in minnesota, which is voting today in a caucus, ending the day in florida which does not vote for another two weeks, and then tomorrow a big rally in new york city. hillary clinton did something unusual for the first time in 87 days. she took questions from the press corp that travels along with her all along those states. a measure that the clinton campaign trying to turn the page, trying to create this air of inevitability that she's going to be the one to take on the republican nominee. and you hear her talk about the presumptive nominee, and it's looking more and more like they're going to be carrying the republican standard in november, and that is donald trump. she's trying to, number one, fire up her base by talking about trump. we heard bernie sanders do