Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20150206

Were releasing music much differently than we were for the last 20 years when bands were putting out a song here, then an ep. Woodruff as playlists become the new albums, music on demand changes the Creative Process for artists and how fans listen to their favorite songs. When we were sequencing this album we were obsessing about it and went through 30 or 40 sequences and then i just put something on twitter and i said why am i even bothering with this . No one even listens to albums in sequence anymore. Woodruff its friday, mark shields and david brooks are here to analyze the weeks news. And, photographers tranformed into ambassadors for peace, capturing the realities that youth face worldwide. What the camera really does it allows these individuals to have an excuse to go out into their communities and explore and to see their world, and study it in a way that they wouldnt by just walking through it. Woodruff those some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. I. B. E. W. The power professionals in your neighborhood. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your life and become youre own chief life officer. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff questions swirled today after Islamic State militants claimed an american aid worker is now a casualty of war. The militants said the hostage, kayla jean mueller, died when jordanian planes bombed this building in their stronghold of raqqa, in syria. Jordan had stepped up the air strikes after one of its pilots was burned alive. Amman dismissed the Islamic State claim, and u. S. Officials including National Security advisor susan rice, said they cant confirm it. Were obviously very concerned about the reports that have come in recent hours. We do not, at the present, have any evidence to corroborate isils claims, but obviously well keep reviewing the information at hand. Woodruff we examine whats known and not at this time, with shane harris, Senior Intelligence and National Security correspondent for the daily beast. Shane harris, welcome. First of all, who was Kayla Mueller and what was she doing . Syria. An aid worker from prescott, arizona, who spent most of her life after college working in the region and particularly on the border of turkey and syria to help refugees displaced which the civil war. Especially working with children, she worked with children in camps, lost from their homes. She had done art therapy and other things with them. She was drawn to the plight of the refugees, and went into syria where she was working with a Hospital Associated with Doctors Without Borders and it was that time in 2013 when she was kidnapped by i. S. I. S. Woodruff is there any question it was i. S. I. S. That kidnapped her . Has there been evidence . There was evidence. There niece question it was i. S. I. S. Last year, kaylas family received proof of life from her kidnappers. They demanded a ransom payment as well. So i. S. I. S. Had identified themselves as her captors but no known communication since that time last year between the family or u. S. Officials and i. S. I. S. Woodruff how recently was show known to be alive . At least the confirmation had come as recently as last spring which was quite some time ago. There had been no evidence to suggest she had been killed. There were speculation and rumors about the status of her but frankly there are often rumors about the status of american hostages held over there. What was notable in kaylas case is she had not appeared in any videos i. S. I. S. Had been putting out since last summer, the grizzly beheading videos weve been familiar with. So there has been no indication of whether she was dead or alive. Woodruff todays claim by Islamic State that she died in a Jordanian Air attack on this building in raqqa, wheres the evidence that backs this up . There is no evidence. We should treat it accidentcally. U. S. Officials are we talked about proof of life. I. S. I. S. Usually provides proof of death when the hostages are killed. No photographic evidence, only a claim from i. S. I. S. , which is hard to believe from the evidence presented so far. There were air strikes but not confirmed how many. How could i. S. I. S. Have identified the accurate is a jordanian and this was a warehouse for weapons used by i. S. I. S. So a question of why she would be held there. I. S. I. S. Hasnt put forth any evidence and they have a pattern of lying about the time that hostages were killed and using this information to manipulate emotions and to for their own p. R. Advantage. So we really dont have any evidence yet she is dead and i. S. I. S. Has manipulated people with this information in the past. Woodruff sounds like we are left to wait until there is some evidence. Shane harris with the daily beast, we thank you. My pleasure. Woodruff in the days other major story, the u. S. Economy showed the strongest evidence yet that it is rebounding, in the latest government jobs report. It said employers added a net of 257,000 employees in january. That makes one million jobs created since november, including newly revised totals, and the best threemonth average in 17 years. The Unemployment Rate ticked up to 5. 7 in january as more people began to look for work. Jeffrey brown examines whats behind the numbers, after the news summary. The jobs report unsettled wall street. Signs of strong growth raised fears that the Federal Reserve might raise Interest Rates sooner than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 60 points, and slipped closer to 17,800. The nasdaq fell 20 points on the day and the sandp 500 slid seven points. In yemen, shiite rebels announced today theyve officially taken over the government and dissolved parliament. They said their revolutionary committee in charge of security and intelligence will run the country. Yemens government had been a u. S. Ally in the war on alqaeda. The white house said today its deeply concerned by the turn of events. President obama is defending his approach to yemen, the Islamic State and other challenges, in a new National Security document. Hes faced calls from republicans and others for more robust u. S. Action, but in the document released today he said, quote the leaders of france and germany took their Diplomatic Mission to moscow tonight, in a bid to stop the war in ukraine. At the same time, hundreds of people took advantage of a brief truce, to escape the fighting between ukrainian troops and prorussian rebels. Jonathan rugman of independent television news, reports. Reporter they are on the road to debaltseve to evacuate civilians. Because last septembers ceasefire is in tatters, and the town may be about to fall to prorussian forces. The sound of shelling frequently contradicted todays humanitarian truce. Those trapped in the crossfire have been deprived of water and electricity for almost two weeks now. And they now face this choice either take a bus to the ukrainian side of the frontline, or into the breakaway self declared republic of donetsk. Separatist forces have them almost surrounded. And todays diplomacy in moscow seems increasingly desperate. Reporter this was Angela Merkels first trip to the russian capital since this crisis began. A mark of how serious it now is. President hollande of france flew in, too, in the hope of another ceasefire. Reporter last septembers socalled minsk agreement led to a ceasefire and buffer zones along the frontline. That agreement completely collapsed last month, when Ukrainian Forces were forced to retreat from donetsk airport. In the past few weeks, the fighting has been concentrated around debaltsevo, still held by Ukrainian Forces, but shelled by rebels. Reporter these Ukrainian Forces are demanding western weaponry to defend themselves. But the europeans fear that will expand this war, rather than end it. The question is whether europe is so eager to stop the fighting that Vladimir Putin will emerge the victor here. And perhaps more inclined to push forward again. Woodruff the moscow talks ended after more than five hours, with word that the parties will work on a new peace document. Activists in syria say the assad regime has stepped up air strikes this week, to deadly effect. More than 80 people were killed in attacks outside damascus today, after rebels fired rockets into the capital yesterday. 47 others died in aleppo when Army Helicopters dropped barrel bombs. In canada, the Supreme Court has struck down a ban on doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. The court today reversed its own 1993 decision, and said mentally competent adults with intolerable suffering have the right to die with dignity. The response on both sides was immediate. This is a case about real people with serious illnesses who through a change in the law can find some peace and comfort in knowing they have a choice. We find that this decision is the most destructive and least restrictive option in the world right now in terms of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Woodruff assisted suicide is already legal in switzerland, germany, albania, colombia, japan and in the u. S. States of washington, oregon, vermont, new mexico and montana. A sitting member of the u. S. House of representatives has died. Republican congressman Alan Nunnelee of mississippi passed away today in tupelo, after battling a stroke and brain tumor. Nunnelee was reelected to a third term last year. He was 56 years old. And, nbc news announced an internal investigation of anchor Brian Williams and his statements about an incident in iraq, in 2003. Hes admitted his helicopter was not hit by a rocketpropelled grenade, as he previously claimed. But hes faced growing criticism. In a memo to staffers today, the head of nbc news said were working on what the best next steps are. Still to come on the newshour highlights from the strong jobs numbers; the mother of a journalist missing in syria for two and a half years; why streaming music has made playlists the new albums; mark shields and david brooks on the weeks news; plus, love, work, conflict and Community Around the world, captured on camera. Woodruff now a closer look at whats driving those surprisingly upbeat jobs numbers; heres jeffrey brown. Brown not only did todays labor report show that more people found work in january, it also revised the numbers upward for november and december. Making 2014 the strongest year for job gains since 1999. More good news the increase in wages last month was the largest in six years. Diane swonk is a senior managing director and chief economist for Mesirow Financial and joins me from chicago. Diane, it looks as hoe the though the upswing is bringing more people back into the job market. Can you tell us what age groups for example . One to have the biggest encouraging points about the job Participation Rate is that younger people were rejoining the labor force. Many people had been sidelined for many years. 25 to 34yearold men, in fact, had the highest labor force Participation Rate in two years a big jump there. We also saw an increase in the 35 to 44yearold age group. This is a group that the Federal Reserve had been watching carefully because they had been sidelined by the recession but clearly theyre too young to retire and had to come back at some point in time. So the fact they were reengaged is quite encouraging. Brown this explains why the Unemployment Rate ticking up is considered a good thing in this case because of participation. Absolutely, more people throwing their hat in the ring, being reengaged with the hope of finding a job rather than giving up is good news. Brown the wage is going up. This has been a big problem in the years. Even though the job sector has gotten better, wages have been a problem. What did we see now . The wages snapped back after slowing in december. Year over year, still stagnant on wage gairntion running only 2. 2 , well below what the fed would like to see closelier to 3 to 4 wage gains to regain the loss in median family incomes out there. We saw a lot of states pass minimumwage increases in the last year and nine states increased minimumwages in the month of january a lot more coming in in june. What were seeing is that cascading effect overminimumwages lifting up the bottom a bit particularly in states like florida and arizona in january which have a lot of those lowwage jobs weve generated in recent years. Brown as we see this growth, do we see big regional differences big job sector differences . There are big sector differences. These gains are broad based. The losing sector was the mining sector. Oil prices have fallen and with that a decline in mining and oil industryrelated jobs. That will flipflop in 25 25 2015 from what we saw in previous years. Tech generates 400,000 of the more than 3 million jobs yerntd last year came from the state of texas alone. Theyre a more diversified economy than they once were with hightech and oil but oil will hold back and slow down employment gains. Flip side, places where there is more leisure and hospitality more Discretionary Spending the south like florida gaining momentum with the lowwage jobs and jobs coming back in Business Services and finance as well. Brown even with all of the gains, there are still so many people out of the job market. What other kinds of concerns keep you awake at night or on the forecast here . Certainly we have a nice tailwind going into 2015 with the upward revisions in november and december and thats good because thats more paychecks to cushion us and buffer head winds coming our way, but head winds are out there. We have a strong dollar and weak growth abroad and a lot of turbulence that could come from abroad and we dont want those tremors to come up as tidal waves on our own shores. I think our shores are better fortified as they once were and we can better handle the waves coming in but the waves are still out there from abroad. The eurozone is trying to navigate their own crisis. We have the crisis in russia and ukraine crisis in the middle east. All those things can be destabilizing as we move forward. Forward. Brown hovering over this is what the fed would do next when it might rise Interest Rates. Do todays numbers have any influence you can see . My view is that the Federal Reserve has shown extraordinary patience in terms of their liftoff on Interest Rates. With the wage gains coming back they welcome that but are still stagnant with the relative year over year gains still not enough. This is a fed thats really been very clear about their willingness to not only allow the economy to expand and recover and regain ground loss but do some catch up, too. And i think that was only till tbhai the late quarter before they raise rates and even as the ground below us is firming they will be treading as if theyre treading on thin ice to hedge the Downside Risks particularly from abroad. Brown diane swonk, thank you as always. Thank you. Woodruff we return to the situation in syria. Since the start of the civil war, a number of americans have been captured by militant groups. Tonight we look at one american journalist who has been missing for two and a half years, and his familys efforts to find him. Woodruff this shaky video released weeks after austin tice disappeared, remains the only sign of him to date. It showed him blindfolded with tice had been working as a freelance journalist, covering fighting on the outskirts of damascus. That was in august of 2012. Now, his parents, marc and debra tice, have mounted a Public Campaign for more help in winning his release. Our number one focus is to bring our son austin home safely. Woodruff the tices were in washington this week, pressing their case, even as Islamic State militants announced theyd burned a captive jordanian pilot alive. They had already beheaded two japanese hostages, as well as american journalists james foley and steven sotloff. And three aid workers, american peter kassig and david haines and alan henning of britain. Then, today, the claim that another american aid worker, Kayla Mueller, died in an air strike. Tices parents say they dont believe the Islamic State is holding their son, but they complain u. S. Officials havent told them much, one way or the other. There is no agency, no person, solely committed to the singular objective of the safe return of the hostage. That has to change. Woodruff at a forum at the newseum, debra tice, along with james foleys mother diane listened as assistant secretary of state Douglas Frantz acknowledged the problem. We need to do more. We need to be better. I would have preferred to have mrs. Foley and mrs. Tice sitting right here saying not that news organizations had done everything they could for them but that the u. S. Government had done everything it could for them. Woodruff tices parents say their sons captors have never demanded a ransom, and current u. S. Policy bars such payments for hostages. And with me now is debra tice. She is austins mother. Welcome. We appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much for asking me to come. Woodruff so as weve reported today the Islamic State claiming that the american aide worker the woman is dead as a result of an air strike. Like these other reports, this has to be so hard for you and your family. When we think about her family, its almost more than we can bear. Its just almost unbearable. Woodruff and youve gotten to know them . Well, we dont know them as well as some of the other families, but we have had contact with them. Of course, we share this burden. Woodruff austin has been missing now for two and a half years. What keeps you and your family going . What are you hearing from the government . What are you hearing from any sources you have that hes there and he can well we do get periodic words of encouragement, you know, that we need to be patient, that hes alive, hes relatively well taken care of, and, so, we have this steadfast hope that he is coming home. We expect that this h campaign is going to raise a lot of support, and those are the things woodruff to get attention. Right. Woodruff of austins situation. People joining hands with us saying we want him home, too. Woodruff who do you believe is Holding Austin . We do not know who is holding him. You know, of course, its a great relief to us to know that daesh is not holding him. Woodruff thats Islamic State. Yes. Woodruff youre pretty convinced of that. Right, and nusra. And the Syrian Government denies holding him. So we cant be really sure who is holding him. Woodruff and you were telling me that you and your husband have talked to a representative of the Syrian Government, youve met with them in lebanon. Yes. Woodruff what do they say to you because the u. S. Government isnt, obviously talking. Well, they tell us that they will put all their resources as well toward finding our son and returning him to us. So, you know, we hold them to that. Theyve told us they will do that. Woodruff where do the assurances come from that austin is alive and being well taken care of . We cannot ever trace them back. They are credible and they are referred incredibly but we can never channel them back. Woodruff what more do you want the u. S. Government the to do . You and your husband have been somewhat critical of the fact that the government hasnt been more organized or helpful. What do you want them to do that theyre not doing . Well, we want all of the information that our government has about our son, we want them to share it. We dont think anyone should know more about our son than we do, and thats been a point of frustration thats ongoing. You know, i believe in diplomacy. I believe in diplomacy. For me, that means talking, and i just as a mother of seven children, i dont think when youre angry with someone the first thing you should do is cut off communication because then youve cut yourself off from a resolution as well. Woodruff so you want more information from them you want them to be talking to the syrians. Yes, of course. Woodruff what about theres obviously been discussion about whether money should change hands whether whoevers Holding Austin should be rewarded. Well, we havent had that discussion because we havent even had the chance to get to that place. So there are ways to figure things out, and we think that we should be the best and the brightest at figuring it out and weand responding appropriately and getting our people home woodruff the other evening at the museum when i was there the assistant secretary of state Douglas Frantz was theying the United States has made mistakes and are trying to make it bet around coming up with a new policy. How confident are you that the new policy will be better . I expect it to be better. I expect we will be able to hold them accountable. I think the American People should be interested in holding them accountable and that we can come up with something better. It wont be perfect, but it will be the beginning of something much better im confident in that. Woodruff is there one part or piece of that new policy new strategy that you think would make a big difference . Yes, theyre talking about having a single point person who is focused entirely on the hostage and that unique situation and that that person will look at American Resources and assign them appropriately for the benefit of the hostage. And i think that will be fundamentally a great improvement. Woodruff but thats not being done now . Oh, nothing like hat is being done now. Not at all. There is you have 17 different Government Agencies none of them have a defined position theres all kinds of jockeying and lack of communication. Its chaos in a can. Woodruff but you see improvement may be coming . Yes. There is a truly dedicated effort to getting this policy right. Woodruff do you believe austin will come home . Absolutely. I think were just waiting were doing all we can to make that moment our very next moment, but i have no doubt that he will be home. Woodruff debra tice i know everyone whos listening absolutely is with you on that. Thank you judy. I really appreciate you having me. Thank you. Woodruff thank you. Woodruff the campaign debra tice just mentioned is to raise awareness about her son and the threat to free journalism. You can visit the web site at freeaustintice. Rsf. Org. Woodruff next, the changing model of the music business, and how its impacting the work itself. The other night, Hari Sreenivasan looked at what streaming has done to artists and the industry financially. Tonight, hes back with a second report. This on how artists, companies and big labels are approaching the whole idea of recording differently. Its part of our series were calling music on demand. Sreenivasan at the turn of the century, music entered a second jukebox era, not because were youbecausea new model was rolled out, but because i tuned unbundled the album and put the song at the center of the musical universe again. Listeners could buy a single song. Were releasing music differently than the last 20 years where bands are putting out a song here then an m. P. Sreenivasan daniel helped artists launch careers and even though theyve won billboards album of the year he sees something new on the horizon for his artists, play lists. The drum beating in the street youre following is a curation of likeminded play lists. For example, what are your hobbies . You like to exercise, follow basketball, there are n. B. A. Play lists, what are they use to warm up and have in half time. Sreenivasan take lord, a grammy Award Winning artist from new zealand known for her hit song royal among others. In 2012 she released her extended play debut a few select tracts on a Service Called sound cloud. With little marketing her songs found their way to streaming services and important play lists, similar to the billboard charts that once tracked air play on radio station, the streaming services began aged her song to their list of up and coming lists because they could see so many listeners adding her to the list. She was play listed. People spoke to each other and said wow the turn on factor are easier and better. Sreenivasan glass also thinks the shift away from the album combined toward the move towards streaming music means the Creative Process could change in ways we have not yet thought of. Remixes, putting up stems of their music online so people could remix their music and reciprocal fans say how about you mix mine, ill mix yours. Its a different experience. Sreenivasan tim parks is north american head of spotify, one to have the largest streaming services in the world. You will see people creating and releasing nukes in novel ways, releasing a soviet albums. Maybe release ago song a week for 20 weeks. Sreenivasan he sees Technology Creating new opportunities for artists. Artists have an unprecedented level of control now. They can, with the tools that are available, they can record a song and within a matter of minutes upload it and connect with millions of people around the globe. Sreenivasan artists like this pop duo are take aing advantage of what the technology has to offer. These outlays allows people to be close to us. Its not like before where you people on huge stages. I feel like were more close to the fans now than ever before. Sreenivasan while their fame was built on successful tracks, they still strive for the artistics expression of the album. Thats always been the thing. We wanted to make a toptobottom work of art really try to piece together a story. You know, to us having singles are cool, sort of like counted bytes of whats sound bytes of whats to come. We really put our heart into the album. Sreenivasan roseanne cash released her 13th album and isnt ready to abandoned that format. Theres a reason track 3 is not track 7. Thats right. Not only did i put out an album, i put out a concept album. How Old Fashioned can you get . Sreenivasan cash says you will hearta music in the way intended. When we were sequence alsoing the album, we must have done 30 or 40 sequences then i put something on twitter and said why am i even bothering this . Nobody listens to albums in sequence anymore. Sreenivasan the numbers prove that. With album sales dropping the Music Industry is trying to make money by stream ago track at a time but for some artists like cash the math doesnt add up. Streaming sales dont come close to replacing what used to be her album income. Is there an impact on your Creative Process in do you think theres a lack of ability to make a living off your art would be a Strong Enough disincentive for you to not pursue that path . I think what happens is you have less time to create your work because, you know, its all expensive studio time and if you have to take off a year to write a record, i mean, you know not many people can afford to do that. So, yeah, definitely impacts. Sreenivasan how to make artists like cash whole again through this transition is the challenge streaming services face. A streaming Service Google bought last summer things the key is to introduce more people to new music they find relevant based on what theyre doing at the time. During finals, we have a lot of kids of High School Students and College Students listening to classical theyre studying. So we exposed a demo that would never serve out Classical Music on their own to it. We say we know youre studying and this is great for focusing without distracted by lyrics. Try it. Sreenivasan is app is play lists depending on time of day, your activity or mad youre in. Its founder says its the introduction of new sounds at the right moment to lead a listener to the right artist. I think when music is packaged in a way where its the essential ingredient to doing all those things better, its a more intuitive thing to pay for for a generation that might not think access all by itself is worth paying for. Sreenivasan the longer paid relationship between listener and artist is what streaming services and Record Companies want to be in between. Streaming servelingses increased revenues 54 in 2014. Seems like listeners are paying for music again not just albums. Hari sreenivasan for the pbs newshour. Woodruff this week saw increasing brutality from Islamic State militants and president obama came under fire for comments on religion. To analyze it all, shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. Welcome gentlemen. So we have this week seen a wave of revulsion to the latest Islamic State terrible murder the terrible pictures which even if you didnt see it just the idea of it, the way they killed this jordanian pilot. Now the word today of the american hostage aid worker. Theyre claiming she was killed in an air strike. We dont know. You probably saw the interview i did with the mother of the missing journalist. I guess my question david, is the Obama Administration as strategy for dealing with the terrorists in the middle east, with Islamic State, is it working . No. First of all, one part i think is working these are acts of terror. These are taunts designed the make us feel afraid, designed to make us feel helpless. Theyre provocations. Theyre not acts of war. Its more like an insult to our sense of humanity. I think its important not to overreact to these individual events. We give them power if we overreact. Having said that we do need to do what we can, which is limited, to make the middle east a civilized place for people to live, and Islamic State is a road block to that. To me, the things we have to do are things theyre doing to some degree burks not to a sufficient degree. The first is to degrade the Islamic State, which were doing through the Obama Campaign in iraq, with really the exception of one town in syria and that means they will have a refuge to go to wreak havoc in iraq and make syria a hell hole which it is. It cant be a battle of our status vs. Theirs. They kill our journalist we kill two of theirs. If we dont have the mission of making doing what we can to make the middle east a pluralistic, democratic place, weve lost the moral high ground. Its not about mo rability its just the barbarism they want to be charge of of and us respond. Woodruff mark, do you think the sus trying to make the middle east a more pluralistic kind of place . I dont know. When you have what happens to this jordanian pilot this week all the attention is there, and david is right, you cant react to a single incident but this is an absolutely cant take your eyes away from it. I hope quite frankly its a turning point. You cant import will into a region, and if, in fact, there is going to be the ultimate and eventual degrading and defeat of the forces of barbarism, then it has to come from within. We can lead, we can organize, but right now were doing 90 of all the flights woodruff we meaning the u. S. . The United States. The coalition it cannot be the United States against another country in that area. It cant be the United States invading and occupying. It has to come we can hope that this galvanizes the neighborhood in a sense of rage. But their religion has been perverted, and they want to reclaim it as well as to stop this and eventually to selfdetermination i mean, i dont know if it will be pluralistic and democratic, i hope it will. Thats certainly our objective. But if its going to be a point of selfdetermination in those areas wrath than at the end of a sword or gun. A couple of things sometimes the military has worked. Weve saved some understand the have helped prevent genocide, but its been insufficient. The problem is having a sense of this is what we believe in, weve heard pluralism and politics and what were now in danger of doing is were so offended by Islamic State we become de facto allies of the alassad regime because weve stopped attacking them because we feel theyre better than the Islamic State and thats not a place we want to be. The assad regime is one of the places of instability, its barbaric regime we cant be de facto allies with them because they think it will help us with Islamic State and help us defeat iran. Were switching back between the two. That is a longterm rep reputational disaster. Woodruff how do you thread that needle . That means youre attacking both at the same time. The original reaction was to when they were moderate, to arm them. Were still doing a little of that. Weve got about 5,000 that were doing. But thats all we can do. We cant shape the region, we can just be ourselves. Absolutely. I do think that we have failed to lay out what our mission is, you know which has been the constant that were entering into what could be a long, protracted Twilight Struggle when theres no measure how we know how to achieve victory or what our objective is. I think thats what has to be done by the leadership of this country and has yet to be done quite bluntly. Woodruff i want to ask about what the president said at the Prayer Breakfast yesterday a lot of attention, he was attempting to talk about saying terrible things have been done in the name of all religions including christianity and talked about the crusades spanish inquisitions, slavery, the republicans jumped on this h and said false eequivalencey, you should be focusing on what extreme muslims are doing today and not talking about christianity. I think if the president had come as an atheist to attack religion and christianity, the the republicans would have a point, thats not what a president should be doing. But thats not how he came. He has used the breakfast to talk year after year about his own faith, his own journey and struggles. Hes come as a christian. The things he said ive never metheard a thing that a christian would disagree with, that we have to walk humbly before the lord and gods purposes are mysterious, this is at the core of every christian and jews faith. What he said was utterly normal and admirable and a recognition of historical fact and an urge towards some humility. So i thought the protests were manufactured and falsely manufactured. The bible says slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling. That was use the bid slave masters in this country, they quoted the bible. And terrible things have been done in the name of chris chant. The crusades are hardly one of the polished chapters of christianity. I think with the i think what the president said is accurate. I think hes been somewhat reluctant to acknowledge and admit and confront this is an islamic terrorist, that it is a perversion and to address that. But i thought the response i mean, these are the same people who are constantly criticizing the Islamic State people for not joining in the coalition, and saying youve got to condemn them. I just thought it was over the top and undeserved. Woodruff while were talking about american politics, a couple of republicans got themselves in hot water talking about vaccines and vaccinations. Governor chris christie, rand paul both said in different ways parents dont need to vaccinate then they both walked it back a little bit. But damage, are they damaged shortterm, longterm, any damage from this . You know first, let me celebrate a couple of people who said what science says. Marco rubio and a lot of other leading republicans said the science is clear, you should get vaccinated vaccinations should be universal and they were completely accurate. Whats disturbing about christie and paul is i cant imagine that they believe parents should be opting out of vaccines. I cant believe rand paul really believes, though he said i heard cases where kids were vaccinated and then there was mental damage. I cant believe he believes that. What he is doing is kowtowing toward people who are suspicious of institutions. There has to be a leadership test for candidates. Are you willing to tell people the truth when the science is clear . Marco rubio passed the test. Christie and paul are getting c minuses. You have to stand up for truth even though a constituency i think they both flunked. Theres rhetoric, individual freedom, government interference, stay out of our lives, leave us alone, anything from washington that you have to oppose a federal mandate. You know, that has become the rhetoric and that must be the response. The reality is quite simple. Americans do feel the government is a pain in the neck and too much red tape and keep them out of their lives but a trace of botchulism found in one can of tuna fish outside a town in idaho and the universal american reaction is where the hell is the federal government . I want a report in my office in 24 hours or heads will roll, we want a small and efficient federal government on our side 24 hours cheap. Er in 2013 only 213 cases of polio. Thats because of vaccinations and jonas salk and public health. To me, theyre slaves to ideology and christie just doesnt have his footing. With paul its sort of an excess of where he comes from and where he treads and what he believes. But i think christie comes off even worse than paul or anybody else. Woodruff and the measles debate goes on. There are states imposing new rules, school systems. Its its survival. Woodruff mark shields dived brooks. Thank you. Woodruff finally tonight, a program that is empowering young people, in one of the most dangerous countries on earth, to look at their future through a different lens. The newshours Anne Davenport reports. Reporter can a camera be a tool for peace . Thats one of the questions behind National Geographics photo camps. Now in their 10th year operating around the world, one program focused on south sudan, known as the worlds newest nation. South sudan has been embroiled in a series of civil wars, the most recent 13month conflict has killed more than 10,000 people dead, reopened deep ethnic divides, causing more than one million to flee and driving the country of 11 million closer to famine. Catherine simon arona is a law student in juba, the Nations Capital and largest city. Shes one of 20 students at the university there, from a Cross Section of tribes, who set out to document their reality. We talked to her on a recent trip to National Geographic headquarters in washington, where she explained the back story to this image of an orphan at the confident children out of conflict this child was so curious that he couldnt hold back how he wanted to touch the camera and take the picture himself, because i took their pictures and they wanted to see, and when they saw it they wanted to do it themselves. I went out of the room and i captured this moment, because i felt like its very strong. Reporter the images are part of the recentlyopened exhibit featuring 67 different camps from india to uganda, baltimore to los angeles. The aim . Look at universal issues youth age 13 to 25 face. Each camp is organized around the themes of love, survival, work, home, community and self image. Wait, you got it. Reporter amy toensing and matt moyer travel the world for National Geographic. The married couple has devoted time to this program for many years. To actually hold a camera that has functions that they can control is like a whole new experience for them, its very exciting for us how open they are, and thirsty for the power of photography. And how they can use it. They start to learn about each other, and that helps build bond across borders, and stereotypes, and regions, and everything else. Within the camps themselves very often the goal is to bring in different people from different areas, in pakistan we had men and women together working, and in chad we had christians and muslims who were working together. Weve put our cameras down, and so were getting to see how theyre seeing their world. Reporter is it hard to put your camera down . No. Sometimes. Reporter the veterans mentor the young photographers, here matt moyer critiques Catherine Simon aronas photo. That frozen tear made the photo. Reporter after meeting up again with mentors this time at National Geographic, they set out for a more informal session at a washington ice rink, a firstever skating outing for the south sudanese students. The camera itself, you know, is just a box, it allows these individuals to have an excuse to go out into their communities and explore, and to see their world, and study it in a way that they wouldnt by just walking through it, it gives them a voice. Reporter akuot mayak comes from a small village. His family escaped to ethiopia during the civil war but mayak was then sent alone a refugee camp in kenya. He and his fellow photo participant, duku savio, see holes in their countrys cultural history that visual storytelling can help fill in. Yeah, actually, documenting human life, it means a lot because when youre documenting you are documenting somebodys life, and its good for a future. The country has been in a problem, and we need to grow up, and we make something for ourselves, so that we can be strong in the future. Reporter savio and mayak say its the ordinary, not the extraordinary, that often drew their eyes and cameras. For savio, scenes of farmers and fighters, and for mayak, quotidian life of girls swimming and a boy fishing, they want to show signs of normalcy, yet they live in a nation where even taking photos be a source of conflict. We take pictures from different angles, the pictures its kind of balance the news, and balance the information, and the picture of the country itself. If you just travel your camera all over the world, take pictures from different locations, take them back home, then they can compare, and change a lot, and make people live their normal life together in harmony. Reporter the group of young photographers will continue to share, but now, through social media, and in pop up exhibitions across juba. Im Anne Davenport for the pbs newshour. Woodruff online, you can see more images from these young photographers. That story is on our homepage at pbs. Org newshour. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. Islamic state radicals claimed an airstrike killed american hostage, Kayla Mueller. And the economy added another 257,000 jobs in january. On the newshour online, nadia lopez was on the verge of quitting her job as principal of a new York City Middle School when a blog post from one of her students inspired her to stay and eventually led to a 1. 2 million fundraiser for the school. Read about what the student said on our home page, pbs. Org newshour. And a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. Gwen ifill is preparing for washington week, which airs later this evening. Heres a preview ifill much to dive in to tonight, as we sort through the u. S. Role in the world, its hostage policy and a looming confrontation with russia. Judy . Woodruff on pbs newshour weekend saturday, a report from main street, columbus, mississippi, where new jobs are bringing new hope. One, two, three cheering ookah a ama tire will employ 500 people and possibly up to 2,000 if all goes according to plan. At 1102 main street Joe Max Higgins runs link, the group credited with attracting more than 5 billion in investment. When yokahama raised questions about the reliability of the local workforce, joe made an emotional plea to its top officer. I said you could be the Phoenix Rising up from the ash by building this new facility here. Woodruff tune in for the full report on tomorrows pbs newshour weekend. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff, have a great weekend. Thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your life and become youre own chief life officer. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is bbc world news america. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the Freeman Foundation newmans own foundation, giving all profits from newmans own to charity and pursuing the common good kovler foundation, and mufg. Build a solid foundation, and you can connect communities and commerce for centuries. Thats the strength behind good banking relationships, too which is why at mufg,