Transcripts For WMPT PBS NewsHour 20130715

Neighborhood watch volunteer of both Second Degree murder and manslaughter. We the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty. In the hours that followed protesters gathered in cities across the country demonstrating against what they viewed as a miscarriage of justice. From florida. Im a black youth and just to see one black youth die, thats crazy. Its like when is it going to stop . Its been going too long. Woodruff to ohio. I was hurt by it. Just because i didnt feel that justice was served, even though it may have been in self defense, i think he should have had to accept some expobility for what he did. Woodruff to arizona. We should be able to trust the laws that our nation has for us to buy into the system. Woodruff others that viewed the system said the jury got it right. I dont think the prosecution did enough and i think that the defense did. You saw little bits and pieces and you have to speculate and think of the whole trial just on little piece he, whereas the jury has everything to consider. Woodruff for the most part, there were scattered incidents. Late saturday in oakland, california demonstrators vandalized buildings and smashed car windows and last night groups of protestors in los angeles threw rocks and bottles at police. 60 were arrested for failing to disperse. President obama read a statement, that read in part, this verdict has elicited great passions, i now ask every american to respect the law for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. Today, White House Press secretary jay carney said, the federal government will decide whether or not to press charges against George Zimmerman. But hundreds of vigils and rallies across the country this saturday. Trayvon martins family also had the option of filing a civil suit against zimmerman. Woodruff well delve into questions about the criminal justice system, racial profiling, and more, a few moments from now. Also ahead in the program, a new plan to improve safety at bangladesh factories; health care for musicians; a failed drug test for a champion sprinter; and a reporters journey into a dangerous mexico. But first, the other news of the day. Heres kwame holman. Holman a top u. S. Diplomat urged egypts interim leaders today to include all parties in a transition to democracy. Deputy secretary of state William Burns is the first senior american official to visit cairo since the army ousted president Mohammed Morsi. Burns met today with the interim president and the head of the military. Afterward, he said the u. S. Wants all sides to Work Together, so egypt can succeed. Burns arrival in cairo came as thousands of islamist supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi demonstrated again. They waved flags and pictures demanding his return to power. U. S. Officials insisted today president obama remains committed to arming rebels in syria. They played down a New York Times report that the effort is much more limited than first discussed. The report said the c. I. A. Will provide only small arms, on a limited basis, and that it could take months for the program to affect the battlefield. The full u. S. Senate went behind closed doors this evening in a bid to avoid allout fracture over filibusters and senate rules. Democratic leader harry reid said republicans must allow confirmation of seven president ial nominees theyve blocked so far. If not, reid says Majority Democrats will change senate rules, instituting an upor down, simple majority vote for such appointments. Iowa senator tom harkin made the democrats case. If were doing our constitutional duty, we would confirm all of these nominees tomorrow and move on to our legislative work so why arent we doing that . Well, because my friends on the republican side are hijacking these nominations, and this nomination process, to try to make changes to laws they know they could not change through regular order. Holman the move would not affect current rules that require a supermajority of 60 votes to break filibusters against other senate action. But republicans, including jeff flake of arizona, argued even the limited change would do longterm damage to the senate. The rule change that is being considered this week is more far reaching an more significant than has been advertised. This rule change was described this afternoon by the majority leader as a, quote, minor change, no big deal. It is a big deal. It has a potential to change this institution in ways that are both hazardous and un forseen. Holman senators still could reach an agreement on the president s pending nominees and avoid the rules change. The u. S. Air force is putting a number of its combat planes back in the air after grounding them in april. Budget cuts forced a third of activeduty combat planes to be parked, from fighters to bombers to airborne radar planes. The return to flying comes after Congress Allowed the pentagon to shift money from lower priority accounts to training. On wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 20 points to close at 15,484. The nasdaq rose seven points to close at 3607. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to judy. Woodruff and we come back to the zimmerman verdict and some of the major questions continuing to resonate in the wake of the decision. We get four views. Christina swarns is director of the criminal justice practice at the n. A. A. C. P. Legal defense and educational fund. Jelani cobb is a contributor to newyorker. Com and director of the institute of African American studies at the university of connecticut. He has been writing on the trial. Jonathan turley is professor of law at George Washington University Law school. Carol swain is a professor of Political Science and law at vanderbilt law school. We thank you all for and i want to ask each one of you the same question starting with you christina swarns, was justice done here . No. I think thats quite clear. Juchts was no justice was not done. I dont think you can say when a child is walking down the street, doing nothing wrong and buying candy and ice tee, gets shot and killed in the street. Nothing accountable but justice. Its quite clear that no, justice was not done in this case. Carol swain, how do you see it . Was justice done . I think our legal system worked the way it was supposed to work. There are a lot of situations in the case that does not fet with the race agenda. Woodruff we can get to some of those factors that are not being discussed in just a minute. Let me ask you jelani cobb. Was justice done . Absolutely not. I dont think justice was done. We have this right to Fourth Amendment right freedom from unconstitutional search and seizure which we generally think applies to the police but what we have in florida is a state of affairs where people have been deputized in light of the verdict to stop African American youth anywhere under any circumstances and demand what theyre up to and what theyre doing and possibly at the penalty of death. Woodruff and Jonathan Turley, hearing what the others have said, how do you answer this question . I think the case has become a vehicle for issues that go far beyond what happened in the courtroom. What we talk about justice we are talking about often overriding issues of race in america that have been under scrutiny for decades. Did justice occur . Yes. This was a determined prosecution. Many people felt actually overplayed the case to try to get a conviction. I think it was a fair trial. And the result i think was predictable. Woodruff christina swarnes pick up on that and size up for us whether you think the prosecution did the job that it should have done in handling the case. Well, i would want to first pick up on the point that was just made. You know, its quite clear that mark omara did a good job defending his client. He outdefended the prosecution in this case. With respect to what the prosecution did in this case there were several serious errors made. The first being that it allowed it was the issue of race was taken out of the courtroom and then ultimately, in closing said that it wasnt a question of race in this case. And i think that was a significant error and a significant false fact, really. The second thing i would point out is you know, the jury selection in this case, i dont understand how the prosecution believed that a jury of six white women was going to be favorable to its case against mr. Zimmerman. So i think that was another error. Several of the witnesses that they presented clearly appeared to be unprepared or underprepared to present a strong case against mr. Zimmerman. So i think there are a lot of issues and errors in terms of how the prosecution handled this case. Woodruff carol swain, how do you see, how the prosecution handled the case . Good i think everything was set up to be favorable to the prosecution and six women were selected because it was assumed they would be favorable and at times it seemed like the judge leaned towards the prosecution. I think there was a fair trial. It probably would not have been brought to court at all, if certainly race was always a part of it. So theres no way to pretend that it wasnt about race. It was always about race. If it had been the same case involving two black men or two white men, it would not be national news. And so it was racialized from the very beginning. If we had focused on the faculty that this was a confrontation between two ethnic minorities that tragically ended in a death we would not be here discussing it right now. Woodruff well, to you, jelani cobb on that point about whether race was clearly a part of this trial, we knew the judge said at the outset that the attorneys were not to use the term racial profiling. Right. If i can just respond to carol swains previous point with this being racialized as opposed to race being an integral part of it from the beginning. Melissa alexander who people may be familiar with, in a Domestic Violence situation, fired a warning shot and was sentenced to 20 years, despite the fact that she deployed a stand your ground defense, despite the fact this is who white men or two two white men or two black men, 45 days before this case was investigated or charges brought. No we cant escape and finally the fact of the matter is, mrs. Zimmerman had called the police 46 times in previous six years only for African Americans, only for African American men. And so if we just look at who he thought was suspicious and if this was a kind of arbitrary element of calling, 20 of the population of that subdivision is African American. What his problem seemed to be was with the presence of African Americans there not with the presence of crime or the incapacity to differentiate between African Americans and crime. Woodruff carol could you pick up on that point quch. Unfortunately if you look at the crime rate of African Americans it works against blacks. And it bothers me a lot that were not talking about the black on black crimes that are taking place in urban cities. We should be concerned about the young men that are dying across america. And the Civil Rights Community ought to be out there marching in those communities, demanding that Something Different be done. Woodruff what about that point, christina swarnes . You know i obviously agree, young black men should not be getting killed across this country. But what happened in florida to Trayvon Martin is mr. Zimmerman looked at him walking down the street with a bag of skittles and a bottle of iced tea and determined this young man was a criminal. He warranted a call to the police, warranted being followed, following mr. Martin down the street on foot, notwithstanding the fact that everyone agrees that this young man was doing absolutely nothing wrong. There was nothing criminal about what he was doing. There was nothing apparently criminal about what he was doing. The only thing we know about him was that he was black. We know from other evidence that the school had april rehelpedded him and found jewelry and mr. Zimmerman didnt know a single thing about that. All he knew at that moment was that mr. He didnt know anything about this child. This was a teenager walking down the street. All he saw didnt justify murder woodruff were not going to be able to rehear the case here. So we hear that both of you have a different perspective. Jonathan turley, do you want to comment on what they have just been going back and forth on . Its indicative about how much has been piled on this case. What was striking on this case is people looked at the same events and came away with surprisingly different views how effective witnesses were. I think this case was fatally undermined by angela corey and overcharged the case and made it Second Degree. If she had gone with manslaughter it could have come out erchlt did i. I think it is a major differently. It was a major flaw. It got worse and worse with the prosecutors. They led with a very weak witness who was conflicted and gave testimony that was heavily towards zimmermans favor. Where let me even this out. Jelani cobb does this verdict speak to the minorities of the country getting a fair trial . Well, i think this verdict doesnt tell us anything about race and juchts system that we didnt already know. And whats disturbing about this is you know, regarding professor swain afs previous comment the amount of crime in African American communities somehow works against someone thats endorsing the very element of racism. No amount of white crime would simply allow us to make a blanket prim prime prime afaisb. Woodruff Jonathan Turley youre shaking your head here. We seem to be detached from what the evidence was. This jury knew knowing more nothing more about what happened, the situation was in equipoise. The jury is not there to make a guess and its certainly not there to make social justice calls. They didnt have enough to convict and i know people are frustrated by that. But this system worked. This was a fair trial. May i please respond . Woodruff yes, go ahead. Well, so this was not a situation of equipose. Because the fact of the matter is, whatever the conflict was it was precipitated by mr. Zimmerman. The Police Dispatcher told him not to get out of his vehicle. He proceeded to get out of his vehicle. He followed by car and by foot. This was a conflict. If there had been a physical conflict that evolved out of that is because mr. Martin felt threatened which is a justifiable reasonable presumption. If anyone is walking down a dark street in the rain and someone is following them on foot you might assume you are at risk. If Trayvon Martin struck him first, if Trayvon Martin struck him numerous times this would be the action of someone who reasonably feared for his life. Woodruff were going to let jonathan respond. We cant say that the jury believed zimmerman or even liked zimmerman in this, they simply didnt have enough to convict zimmerman. The actions you describe are legal. Hes loued to follow and be armed. I think someone investing so much in the case that they dont recognize that these are lawful acts and you have to presume things in this case that a jurys not supposed to presume when theres a presumption of innocence. Woodruff i want to come back to all of you with this final question starting with you christina swarns, should the are civil grand jury pursue a case against George Zimmerman . I think they should. We could pick this apart and say this should happen and this shouldnt happen and this didnt go well but the truth of the matter is that a young innocent young man was shot dead in the street and no one has been held accountable and whether or not there was a fair trial in the terms of the structure of the law, that is not justice. It may have been a fair trial but that is not justice. And so i think there needs to be a further review. And we need to think about whether the system is working, if this is a fair outcome in the four corners of our justice system. And so i certainly believe that the federal government should look at it and see what its laws provide, whether for example the Matthew Shepherd james bird hate crime act provides an opportunity for further federal prosecution in this case. Because whether or not that trial was fair under the law juchts was not done in this case. Woodruff carol swain should the attorney general pursue a civil case in this matter . Absolutely not. The state has tried the case. We have the rule of law and the attorney general should not pick and choose and when theres an outcome that doesnt fit the political narrative of the day where people have been racialized they should not jump into that and stir the pot. They should be educating people about the criminal justice system. They should be educating people not stirring the pot. Woodruff we are going to leave it there but we want to thank all four of you for joining us. Carol swain, christina swarns, jelani cobb and Jonathan Turley. Ifill now, the latest efforts to improve factory conditions in bangladesh, and questions about just how effective they will be. Jeffrey brown has the story. It was less than three months ago that the eightstory rana Plaza Building collapsed killing more than 1100 workers. The accident near the baghdadi capital dakka was large. Fred de sam lazaro visit the site where family and loved ones are still grieving. They got the bodies of my older son and daughterinlaw but they havent found my younger son. Brown the Building Collapse came just six months after the fire destroyed another building outside dakka. Put new focus on often dismal conditions at apparel factories outside bangladesh. For u. S. And european retailers. Last week in washington representatives of some of those retailers including walmart and target, working conditions. We stand here today because we believe that companies and government have a responsibility to ensure that the tragedies that occur in bangladesh are not repeated and we believe that if we Work Together we can prevent and fix unsafe working conditions in bangladesh. The new group known as the alliance for bangladesh worker safety represents 17 u. S. And canadian retailers. Together they are responsible for imports from bangladesh. They said they have raised 42 billion for a five year effort including creating common Safety Standards within three months and requiring safety inspections at all alliance factories within a year. Target Vice President daniel dudy. Alliance recognizes the importance of the Garment Industry to the Bangladesh Economy its workers and families. We recognize the unifying role to help worker safety which we are determined to do through this alliance. Brown that announcement, separate global effort spearheaded by european leaders, it also lays out new stat safetn other guidelines. 72 companies have already signed on but most Major American Companies declined to join. They say it exposes them to unlimited liability, provides too little accountability for how money is spent and gives unions too much power. An and we fill in and debate the picture now with avedis seferian, president and c. E. O. Of worldwide responsible accredited production, or wrap, an organization created by the American Apparel and footwear association, along with buyers and brands around the world. And scott nova, executive director of the Worker Rights consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization. His group was involved in hammering out the agreement made by european and global retailers. For the record, we invited a group specifically representing american retailers to participate, but our invitation was declined. Invitation was declined welcome yeah. First, how important is this new effort by u. S. Companies, in what ways may it make a difference . I think it is very important indeed. The tragedy was such an immense one, that the grieving still continues and theres clearly so much work that needs to be done. Any effort that aims at improving factory conditions and making workers lives safer and working conditions better is one that ought to be welcomed. Brown and yet scott nova, your group called the effort a sham. Why. Indeed because this is a supposed agreement in which new of the participating companies have any obligation to pay a single penny to renovate and repair these factories and make them safe. This is what has to happen in bangladesh. You have thousands of factories that are grossly structurally unsafe. They need to be renovated and repaired in order to prevent future Building Collapses and fires. This costs money. The only way this is going to happen is if the costs are underwritten. Requires the brands and retailers to underwrite the costs of the renovations necessary to make the factories safe. The u. S. Brands and retailers have refused to make that agreement. Brown do you see this in that agreement . No i dont, other 42 million already and thats based on the 17 members currently part of the alliance, it will increase when more members join. That is a significant amount of money being contributed to a specific plan to identify the factories with problems and make sure that the sourcing practices of those factories are terminated thus sending a very strong signal to the industry that you only get to work with these major retailers if you have safe working conditions. Brown im sorry. Plus on top of that the alliance has put aside 100 million as a funding mechanism for financing to make available for the factories to improve those conditions. On top of which 10 of that 42 million has been set aside to help workers who may have been displaced while these refurbishments are being made. Brown is it the money or the Binding Authority to cause the money to be used . The 42 million is purely the administrative cost of the program. The only reference in the empire empire entire initiative is a supposed 100 million loan program but if you read the documents that gap and walmart and other Companies Put forward says very explicitly, this is not binding. To make loans or otherwise contribute to make the factories safe. Brown but why not a public spotlight . Why not give them the benefit of the doubt that the spotlight has been shown . Sure because we have been hearing the same promises from walmart and other u. S. Retailers for a decade. For a decade they have been promising to inspect the property and have failed. If you trust the kerries from large corporations to be trusted purely out of the goodness of their hearts, it is a scam. Where we want large corporations to do the right things by workers you need to require them to do it you need to recognize that the gap scheme is not going to brown let me ask you the incentives are to keep costs down, thats the reason why the companies are in bangladesh to create the lowercost apparel. It is precisely that you are in the real world that you will recognize the alliance, because that is exactly built around the kind of incentives that you are referencing. This is a market economy and there is always going to be pressure on reducing costs. It should not follow from that, that this should lead to unfair working conditions in factories so you need to create the right kinds of incentives in form of the program identifying, and making sure those factories do not get sourced from and sending a strong signal to everyone else in the industry you cannot get business if you are not keeping your workers safe. On top of which to a point raised earlier, the 42 million is not entirely, has been earmarked precisely to go to workers to help them tide over that time when they might be without jobs while the factories in question are being refurbished. Brown let me ask you no matter how you feel about these specific agreements the two on the table and the global and the u. S. , how difficulty will it be to make a difference, given the number of factories, the corruption, where the money goes, et cetera . It can be done. Its a question of money and binding commitments. Weve known how to make an apparel factory safe for a number of years. How to do it ask no big problem, no structural issue. The problem is u. S. Brands and retailers have demanded such low production costs that the only way the factories can possibly meet those prices is to ignore worker safety. Thats what created this current disaster. The only way to fix it is to put money in the system to pay to renovate the factory to make them safe. This will not happen given the dynamics of the industry, the cutthroat nature of the industry, unless the branded retailers are contractually obligated to do it. We can no longer trust them to do it. They have been promising to do it for more than a decade and they have failed. Brown do you think the path to get there whatever you think of the specific agreements is as clear as he suggested . No, i dont think its quite so cut and dried. I reiterated earlier that any plan to improve conditions in bangladesh ought to be welcomed. So even though ive been presenting some of the details of the alliance is not to suggest that i disagree with the accords, both plans are ultimately trying to achieve the same thing. Create a safe working environment for factory workers in bangladesh. The way to go about it is not quite as cut and dried as i said. It is going to take money and so both plans are putting forward serious money. It is going to take money applied in the right way which is why i think some of the incentives and from the way of distributing that money is going to become so important. If you create business incentives, however much we can talk about you know, mandating stuff we all know in the end voluntary efforts on someones parts are likely to be more sustainable than forced to do something. You create the right business incentives you create the right conditions in bangladesh that makes clear to the factory owners that unless you create safe factories you cannot attain the end goal. Brown well have to end it there. Thank you very much. Ifill next, a look at a unique alliance that provides musicians with health care coverage. Its in a state with the nations highest uninsured rate. Ray suarez has our story. Suarez get close enough to downtown austin, texas, and its not hard to hear why its called the live music capital of the world. Get a little closer, and the musicians themselves tell a quieter story. Thats john pointer on stage now at antones nightclub. Hes a beatboxing, boot stomping singersongwriter who also has type one diabetes. Like the average austin musician, he makes less than 16,000 a year, and he cant afford health insurance. So many people said, well, then just get a job. But i think the ten austin music awards and the National Television commercials and the stages on which ive performed and the audiences that come to see me would disagree that i should just quit and get a job that gives me health care. Suarez having diabetes made it difficult for pointer to find an affordable primary care doctor in austin. He was paying several hundred dollars a month for coverage in the states highrisk insurance pool, an amount that consumed much of his takehome cash. Then one day pointer decided to check into an Unusual Program designed for people like him. Its called the Health Alliance for austin musicians, or haam. Similar in some ways to an insurance company, the group connects with area health providers, works out reimbursement rates, and helps keep outofpocket costs for members manageable. Haam executive director Carolyn Schwartz says its the least this city can do. The Music Industry is a 2 billion industry here in austin. Any night of the week, you can go to one of over 250 venues to go see live music. Its at our grocery stores, its in clubs i mean, everywhere you go in austin, were just used to having live music. And so i think of any community that would support Something Like this, austin is the ideal place. Suarez schwartz helped launch haam in 2005, and continues to run the group today. Shes quick to point out that despite the similarities, haam isnt health insurance. Musicians making less than 250 of the Poverty Level are linked directly with Health Care Providers offering reduced rates for everything from primary care to vision and hearing. Haam pays for most of the extra costs through grants and fund raising. It does only help the musicians while theyre here in austin, but our musicians had nothing before haam, and so the method that they used was called the walkitoff method. With this program, they have access to a 24hour nurse call center. Theyre getting urgent care appointments in a primary care setting. Its very costeffective for our community. Suarez the noteworthy result, according to musician ginger leigh, is knowing that an Unexpected Health disaster wont lead to financial ruin. Before haam, she spent many years uninsured, and hoping for the best. And i wouldnt go to doctors as much as i probably should have because when you cant afford it. Youre afraid theyre going to find something thats a really big problem, and all of a sudden your entire life is going to change because youre going to be strapped with hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical bills if it is something. Suarez that very easily could have been her story. But leigh discovered haam a couple of years before she found a lump in her right breast. Many procedures followed, including a lumpectomy, a mastectomy, and reconstructive surgery. But to leighs relief, most of that was paid for through small copays, the charity care donated by a local health group, and haam. I would have financially been completely devastated to have had to walk away with 130,000 to 150,000 in medical expenses. And i certainly couldnt keep doing music to pay for that. Suarez shes now cancer free. I took a walk outside today. Suarez so could this kind of setup be replicated in other parts of the country . Soul singer Akina Adderley doesnt see why not. Shes one of about 3,000 austin musicians who have accessed haams benefits so far. More join every day. And even though some young adults feel they dont need health coverage, most of those enrolled in haam are 40 or younger, healthy, and hoping to stay that way. Being able to get up and get out and perform in shows and record on albums, thats our livelihood. Without access to medication or treatment or therapy or things of that nature, when it comes right down to it, when you get sick, you are just out and not getting any income in or taking proactive steps to make yourself better. Suarez its not clear what the impact will be on organizations like haam when the rest of the Health Care Reform law goes live. In texas, the future is especially murky, because Officials Say they wont expand medicaid to cover more low income americans. But whatever happens, for the musicians of tomorrow, theres a Health Care Option out there they can afford, if only within austins famous city limits. Woodruff and you can hear fulllength songs from some of the musicians featured in rays story on our web site. Ifill now, new revelations on doping in sports, and the fallout for one of americas best track and field runners. E 30yearold american sprinter tyson gay was off to a great start this season after being plagued by injuries in recent years. But on friday, the u. S. Antidoping agency, usada notified gay that he tested positive for an unnamed banned substance in may. Gay broke the news himself. In an interview, he said, i dont have any sabotage story, i dont have any lies, i put my trust in someone and i was let down. It was quite an admission from a former World Champion whoing subjected him to testing. Gay talked about being clean during a video in 2008. I believe in fairness, and besides that, my mom would kill me. Gays is the biggest name connected to doping since marion tested positive for drugs. It is a great amount of shame that i stand before you and tell you that i have betrayed your trust. Five georgi jamaica n athlett month another jay ma jamaican a, all denied cheating. As for tyson gay he has been denied and lost his adidas documentary deal. For mower, we are joined by christine brennan, a columnist for u. S. A. Today and abc. Welcome back. Thanks gwen. Ifill how big is this . Tyson gay is known as mr. Clean. He said i am clean, if im not my mother will kill me. His mother is not happy today, obviously. He is 30 years old. His whole career has been about this and now he has tested positive. It is a devastating blow for the sport thats already been reeling over the years from ben johnson, marion jones, ten years ago and now this. You wonder if it is pushing the sports into oblivion. Ifill how about the georgia may kah jamaican run . You can remember the days sports fans certainly can when track and field athletes would be on Sports Illustrated three, four, five times a year many the maims marty lequarry and ben meyers, milers, other than cycling a spot that has been hit the hardest in the United States and the world but u. S. Because of the steroid scandal. If you cant if youre looking at a foot race and you cant trust eight men or eight women running in a foot race what can you trust . Ifill you mentioned cycling. How does this compare with unfolding slowly painfully over years with Lance Armstrong . Lance armstrong lied for years, also transcended his support because of his work in the cancer community. He was a cultural icon not just a sports icon. Tyson gay that is not Lance Armstrong. But i think theres a similarity there. People looking at cycling saying, why am i watching this . How can i trust this . When youve got all those years of when lance is kicked out and no one can take the top spot because they all cheated too. And you almost wonder if track and field is there. Ifill what is the punishment for tyson gay . If he is found to be guilty a twoyear ban and then lifetime. There can be mitigating circumstances, we dont know if theres a substance that is tainted. He is responsible whats in his body. Ifill he has said that he is not going to lie about this. That is initial. In terms of the terrible incident for his sport, he did this himself, he said i trusted someone. But the line is they have to know what they put in their body. It is inexcusable, to take a substance and not know the contents, you can call the 247, 800 number and talk about any chemical at any point. You cover a lot of this chris and you must know after all the years of watching this, people rise and the disappointments that a lot of sports fans look at this and think who do i trust . What do i trust anymore . What is the answer to that question . It is a great question. Because the testing in the olympic world is the toughest going so while we talk about baseball and the problems there, and looming scandal and looming suspensions with the biogenesis saga there, we talk about other sports that dont even have as stringent testing as olympics or baseball, you say at least olympics have tough testing and then this. Marion jones never failed a drug test and she is sadly one of the worst cheaters of all times, and Lance Armstrong never failed a test. I would like to say you could trust Missy Franklin you could trusts Michael Phelps. We all know, we were born here, not born yesterday. Im not saying Michael Phelps or Missy Franklin, but, bad chemical is are way ahead of the good chemical is in chemists. The authorities havent begun to test for because they dont know exist that these athletes may be taking. This is a devastating blow when mr. Clean the guy who stood up there and said i am clean has tested positive and the jamaicans as well. Id like to say theres some hope but tougher testing has got to be the answer and athletes who decide they cant cheat anymore. Ifill christine brennan, thank you so much. Gwen, thank you. Woodruff finally tonight, to mexico, and a personal look at our countrys neighbor to the south through the eyes of a journalist. Margaret warner has more. Warner mexico is a country of riches and promise, now the second fastestgrowing economy in latin america, and it is plagued by violence and corruption fueled by the drug trade that has killed some 80,000 people in the past decade. A new book by Dallas Morning News correspondent Alfredo Corchado seeks to understand why. Corchado was brought to the United States as a small boy, yet in 1994 he felt drawn to return to mexico as a journalist. His new book, midnight in mexico a reporters journey through a countrys descent into darkness, draws on his nearly twenty years of reporting there, and his personal relationship with his birth land. Corchado joins me now, and welcome. Thank you. Warner last time we saw each other was mexico city. Right before the election. Warner now the book opens with this harrowing tale of you getting a phone tip from a source saying someone is about to kill an american journalist in the next 24 hours, and he thinks its you. Everyone tells you to get out of mexico, and you stay to investigate. Why . What did you think you would learn by following the thread of who was after you . Well, you know, that was a real turning. We left as. I was only six years old when we left mexico, and i always thought i would come back someday. And my mother always thought that really our opportunity, our prosperity lied in the United States. And i thought that, well, mexico as its own country has the potential to get itself back. So i wanted to go to mexico and prove my mother wrong. That evening i kept thinking, is my mother right . Why do i feel so betrayed by mexico . Warner so what is your conclusion after all these years of coverage about why mexico descended into this darkness of corruption and the drug trade and violence and killings . Well, we had the big change in the year 2000. The opposition for the first time took office. They kicked out the regime which had governed mexico for 71 years. So essentially you had the power going from a more Central Power to the state level. And suddenly i think organized crime just took advantage of that power vacuum, and the monster came out, if you will. Warner a persistent theme in this book also has to deal with the mexican character. And you just flicked at that a little by talking about your mother, but you describe a kind of fatalism. What do you mean by that . As a kid growing up in the u. S. , you hear so much about mexico and the mexican character. Is it a culture of corruption . Is it a part of our genes . I live in mexico city, but i spend a lot of time on the u. S. Mexico border. El paso is one of the safest cities in the United States, yet for many years was marked as one of the most violent cities. So ive always been skeptical of that. Is it really a culture of fatalism, or is it really a lack of law and weak institutions . And thats something that has always been a source of my curiosity as a journalist. Warner and so what have you concluded . Ive concluded that sometimes amidst the worst moments in mexico, ive seen the best of mexicans. And ive seen a resilient spirit. Ive seen a people fighting to really construct communities, often from the ruins of what weve seen in the last few years. A hundred thousand people were either killed or disappeared. But people. I think in some ways the violence has brought people together. I think its made them try and hold government much more accountable than theyve done in the past. Warner and now mexico really does have this rising middle class. Net migration, i think, is down to zero, at least between mexico and the u. S. There are Civil Society groups. Do you take any hope in these trends that in mexico the balance will shift, and you will have stronger institutions, and you will have citizens saying no we need better here . I often feel like, as a journalist, covering mexico is like covering two countries. Theres that troubled side of mexico, the country where the violence is there. But theres also, i think, a much more prosperous side of mexico. I often think as an american that someday americans will miss mexicans, because the birth rate has gone from seven to two. You dont see mexicans migrating. Its interesting. I was just in the region in central mexico, and the people i asked, do you feel the same desire to migrate like other generations . And they say, if i do, its more of curiosity than necessity. And i think someday there will be a time when americans say, where are all the mexicans . Warner but, i mean, within mexico, mexico has a new president now, enrique pena nieto. Do you see any new era dawning . So the two worlds, the two mexicos, will continue to have to coexist. That is the prosperous rising middle class economy and this whole other hugely profitable, hugely corrosive underbelly. I think if you ask most mexicans, they want that other side. They want that central part of mexico to replicate other parts of the country. But i think as long as you have the security challenges, the economic potential, the prosperity will be undermined by those challenges. I think, in the end, the question is, can mexico have peace without justice . And that, as a journalist, i think the next few years will be the most fascinating time to cover. How much have mexicans really change . I mean, can they hold the old regime accountable . Warner and so youre staying . Im staying. Its not that i have a death wish. Im staying because i really believe in the mexicans themselves. And i believe that the story has to be told. And i hope that the book, and my reporting, continues to serve as a bridge of understanding between the two countries. Warner Alfredo Corchado, author of midnight in mexico, thanks. Thanks. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. Attorney general eric holder called the killing of Trayvon Martin tragic and unnecessary, but he stopped short of saying hell file civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, now that hes been acquitted of murder and manslaughter. And in cairo, a top u. S. Diplomat urged egypts interim leaders to include all parties in a transition to democracy. Woodruff online, how can we simplify Social Security . Kwame holman has the details. Holman the u. S. Program, with thousands of rules, could learn something from new zealands pension system, which has just one rule. Find out what it is on this weeks edition of ask larry on making sense. Plus, Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner arent the only new york politicians who have reignited their political careers after scandal. They join a long history. Read about scoundrels of the past on our home page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Judy . Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. On tuesday, well look at a huge school in india that aims to transform the lives of poor children from tribal communities. Im judy woodruff. Ifill and im gwen ifill. Well see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. Thank you, and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. 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. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org sales sag, if people werent buying cars, they werent buying much as all. Retail sales disappointment has economists worried about a slowdown in Economic Growth. How do you invest in a slow growth world . City strategy. It seems to be paying off. What one of the worlds biggest banks and most widely held stocks is doing to put the past behind them. Closing the gap. Why the Great Recession prompted an increase in the number of women to take control of their money and become more financially secure. All that and more tonight on nightly business report. Good evening, everyone. Fresh worries today about Consumer Spending and the outlook for the u. S. Economy. Retail sales in june were a big disappointment. They notched up just a fraction. Much less than forecast. Sales of gasoline, clothing, furniture, new cars and trucks were strong, but sales of building materials, computer and other electronics disappointed. And americans dined out a lot less often. Thats a troubling sign that consumers are getting stingy about spending. Adding to the worries, new reports showing a slowdown in chinas economy. Its no wonder economists are now recalculating Growth Numbers for the u. S. Over the last quarter. One of them is calling for skimpy gdp growth of less than 1 . There are more indicators of Economic Growth that saw a lot of movement today, oil and gasoline prices both moving higher again. Crude closed above 106 a barrel today, with no sign of letting up any time soon. But the ceo of one of the Worlds Biggest Oil Companies Said today, that by the end of this year, the oil price should be half what it is today. Gulf oils Joe Petrowsky credits the Record Number of oil and natural gas being produced. He also said that does not mean prices at the pump will see a sharp decline any time soon. The fact that were relying on railroads and trucks to move product from refinery markets to co