Arguments and early testimony. Ifill the pentagon eased financial pain for its employees by cutting unpaid furlough from 11 days to six. Ray suarez discusses the budget cuts and Terror Threats with deputy secretary of defense Ashton Carter. Our effort to deal with the current budget situation, we believe, has to be driven by strategy. That is, a view of the future. Terrorism is one of those things thats going to be around. Warner and more than 1. 5 Million People have fled the bloody syrian civil war. We have an ontheground report from the worlds second largest refugee camp in jordan. Ifill thats all ahead on tonights newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. 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. Warner the Terror Threat thats already shut down u. S. Embassies across the muslim world zeroed in on yemen today after the state Department Urged american citizens and many u. S. Government personnel to depart. Americans and other foreigners streamed to the airport in sanaa after the state department warned of an extremely high threat level. And at the fortified u. S. Embassy, nonessential staffers were ordered to leave, flown out by the u. S. Military. But in washington, state Department Spokeswoman jen psaki would not call it an evacuation. Let me just make clear what this is and what this is not. This is a reduction in staffing. This is. We still have a presence in yemen. We are continue to evaluate. We dont have any updates on when staff may return. Warner it was reported that todays order to leave, coming after widespread embassy closings and a Worldwide Travel alert, was triggered by a communication between al qaedas leader, ayman al zawahiri, and nasser al wuhayshi, the chief of its affiliate, al qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or a. Q. A. P. The Yemeni Government objected to todays u. S. Order but did cite specific intercepted threats. translated there were attempts to control key cities in yemen. The plot was planned by al qaeda for the 27th day of ramadan. The aim was to control two important ports by dropping in al qaeda members wearing military uniforms who would pretend to ask for ramadan tips owed to them, and then they would attack. Warner a. Q. A. P. Has tried to mount operations outside yemen, too the failed 2009 Christmas Day bomber and the 2010 plot to ship explosives in printer cartridges to the u. S. The u. S. Has launched multiple drone strikes in yemen, including one today that killed four suspected al qaeda operatives. For more on the threat posed by yemen and emanating from yemen we turn to gregory johnson. He was a fulbright scholar based in yemen now at princeton university. Welcome. The u. S. Has been pounding away at a. Q. A. P. Intense i have beenly ever since the Christmas Day bomb attempt in 2009. Is al qaeda stronger or weaker than it was then in the Arabian Peninsula. Right. I think this is one of the really frustrating things for the United States because as you point out they had been carrying out several air and drone strikes. They killed people like the americanborn cleric there in yemen. They killed a. Q. A. P. s number two. Yet what weve seen over the past threeandahalf years is that a. Q. A. P. Has gone from a group of about 200 to 300 people on Christmas Day 2009 to, according to the u. S. State department, more than a few thousand fighters today. Warner and what explains that . I think one of the things that explains it is that the u. S. , not all of these strikes that the u. S. Carries out are successful. So there are some mistaken strikes. There are strikes that kill civilians. There are strikes that kill women and children. And when you kill people in yemen, these are people who have families. They have clans. They have tribes. What were seeing is that the United States might target a particular individual because they see him as a member of al qaeda. But whats happening on the ground is that hes being defended as a tribesman. So you have people flowing into al qaeda, not necessarily because they share the same ideology of al qaeda but just so that they can get revenge for their tribesmen who has been killed in a drone or air strike. Warner how widely can a. Q. A. P. Operate outside of yemen . Well, this is a group that, as you report, showed, i mean, they were able to Christmas Day 2009 to send a wouldbe suicide bomber from yemen on to a plane bound for the u. S. In 2010 they sent a pair of cartridge bombs which were thankfully uncovered before they could be exploded. Last spring in 2012 the organization developed almost an underwear bomb 2. 0, one that was generations beyond what they had created in 2009. Thankfully that one they gave to an undercover agent. This is a group that has shown itself to be determined and also to have the Technical Capability to ship bombs to the United States. Now reportedly this latest iteration of the threats and the warnings came from some sort of intercepted communication between the head of a. Q. A. P. And al zawari head of al qaeda central of course believed to be based in pakistan. To what degree does the head of a. Q. A. P. Take direction from the central al qaeda . Right. Thats an excellent question, margaret. So al wuahyshi, the head of a. Q. A. P. , he has a great deal of operational independence. So hes deciding when these plots are going to be launched, when theyre not. What it appears that another leader is doing is hes putting pressure on wuahyshi and saying, look, you need to carry out a strike. You need to do this. This is something that he did just last week in an open video to groups in egypt as well. Its something quite common in al qaeda. We often saw owe Osama Bin Laden putting pressure on affiliates in different places to carry out attacks but the final word on Something Like this is going to come from the people on the ground, the people in yemen, people like wuahyshi for the reason were seeing today. Communication back and forth between yemen and pakistan is easily intercepted. Warner and that probably explains the intensified u. S. Drone strikes in yemen over the past week. Finally, how aggressively is the government of yemen and this new president going after a. Q. A. P. Both on its own and in concert with the u. S. . Right. Well the new government under president hadi who was just in the u. S. Last week meeting with president obama, president hadi has given the u. S. A green light to carry out strikes in a variety of different places at the times of the u. S. Choosing. Hes doing this because he has a lack of Domestic Support within yemen. So he needs the u. S. To make up for that lack of Domestic Support. So theres an open communication which is much different now than it was from when the former president was in charge. But we have to remember that the Central Government in yemen is incredibly weak. Theres a separate insurrection thats going on up in the north. Theres calls for secession in the south. Theres the al qaeda threat. The economy continues to collapse. People in yemen are struggling on a daily basis to put food on the table and water into their cups. When all of that is taking place, al qaeda tends to drop down on the list of priorities for a country like yemen. And at the same time they put Fertile Ground for al qaeda. Gregory johnston of princeton, thank you so much. Ifill still to come on the newshour an exclusive interview with Donald Graham of the Washington Post; opening arguments in the Fort Hood Court martial; deputy secretary of defense Ashton Carter; and inside the worlds second largest refugee camp. But first, with the other news of the day, heres kwame holman. Reporter two u. S. Senators urged egypts interim leaders today to release jailed members of the muslim brotherhood. Republicans john mccain and Lindsey Graham visited cairo in a bid to help resolve the stand off between the militarybacked government and supporters of ousted president mohammed morsi. We believe they should treat each other with respect. We also urge the release of political prisoners. We also urge strongly a National Dialogue, a National Dialogue that is inclusive for parties including the muslim brotherhood. Reporter senator graham said the interim government risks jeopardizing relations with the u. S. If it excludes brotherhood members from political negotiations. A spate of car bombings around baghdad killed more than 50 iraqis today as the recent surge of violence showed no signs of easing. The attacks began just before sunset and continued into the night. More than 650 people have been killed in iraq during the muslim holy month of ramadan. In syria, rebels claimed theyve captured a key air base in the northern part of the country. The base is in the Northern Aleppo province and has been under siege since last year. Video from the site showed rebels apparently inspecting the area near the turkish border. Syrian state tv insisted Government Troops still are fighting there. The new president of iran announced today his country is ready for serious talks on its Nuclear Program. Hassan rohani held his first News Conference since taking office sunday. We have a report narrated by alex thomson of independent Television News. Reporter transparency is a favorite rouhani buzzword, so he duly appeared in front of the packed media. The national anthem, prayers and the foreign media got down to business. Iranian and foreign journalists asking about the Nuclear Deadlock on the anniversary of hiroshima. Russia said today she wants talks next month. President rouhani says a deal is doable and doable soon if the west, as he put it, stops the threats and starts engagement. translated we are willing with seriousness and without timewasting to enter serious and substantial negotiations with our counterparts. If our counterparts have the same willingness, i am certain that the concerns of both parties will through talks be eliminated, and in the not too distant future. The root of this achievement has to be discussions, not threats. That is the key to this issue. Reporter the man who spent years as a key iranian negotiator on the Nuclear Deadlock said the war mongering of another state was imposing its agenda on america. He didnt mention israel by name, but he did send them a message today, saying iranians are not interested in threatening or intimidating any other country. translated the worst approach is to shout sharply then act slowly. We hope to make long strides in action, but calm ones in expressing ourselves politely, with wisdom, with all of the world, so that the world believes we have no intention of threatening anyone. Reporter he spelled out yet again iran seeks nuclear power, not nuclear weapons. This is a man who has persuaded his country in the past to suspend the Nuclear Program to help talks in 2005. It got nowhere. Iran since then has been repeatedly accused of hiding elements of its Nuclear Program. Reporter in washington, a state Department Spokeswoman said iran now has a chance to act quickly on concerns about its Nuclear Program. The latest look at rising military suicide rates concludes there is little or no connection to combat. Instead, the study at the Naval Research center in san diego blames depression and alcohol problems, among other things. Researchers tracked more than 145,000 active duty troops and veterans from 2001 to 2008. The findings were published today in the journal of the american medical association. Former president george w. Bush underwent a successful heart procedure today in texas. Doctors at a dallas hospital placed a stent in a blocked artery. The blockage was discovered on monday during the former president s annual physical. Mr. Bush is 67 years old. Hes expected to be released tomorrow. President obama has renewed his push for mortgage reform. In phoenix today, the president called for phasing out fannie mae and freddie mac, the governmentbacked mortgage giants. He said taxpayers should not have to suffer when lenders make poor decisions. Weve got to encourage the pursuit of profit but era of expecting a bailout after you pursue your profit and you dont manage your risk well, well, that puts the whole country at risk. Were ending those days. Were not going to do that anymore. applause reporter the president said he wants the private sector to assume most of the risk while continuing to offer the popular 30year mortgage. Wall street gave up ground today over warnings of weaker profits. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 94 points to close at 15,518. The nasdaq fell 27 points to close at 3,665. Those are some of the days major stories. Now, back to gwen. Ifill people in newsrooms and at water coolers across the country were abuzz today with word that the flagship paper in the Nations Capital is about to be sold to an internet pioneer. Nobody knew it was for sale. Ifill washington residents and the newspaper industry were still reeling today over news about the news that amazon founder jeff bezos is buying the Washington Post. Publisher katharine weymouth, part of the family that owns the paper, said bezos will pay 250 million for the post and its smaller publications. Today, she explained the decision to a Washington Post interviewer. This is a transition to a good owner who has a lot he could bring to us. And we werent on the auctions block and just auctioned to the highest bidder. Ifill the purchase will end nearly eight decades of ownership by the graham family. Patriarch eugene meyer bought the post at auction in 1933. His daughter, katherine graham, led the paper as it rose to National Prominence beginning in the 1970s, first with its coverage of the pentagon papers under executive editor ben bradlee and then watergate, and bob woodward and Carl BernsteinsPulitzer Prize winning reporting that brought down president richard nixon. I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Ifill her son, Donald Graham, followed in her footsteps. Subscriptions peaked in 1993 at more than 800,000, but, like many other papers, the post has faced declining circulation and ad revenue in the digital age. Ive been a subscriber before, but i dont really subscribe to anything any more. I Read Everything online. Ifill enter digital giant bezos. Former executive editor Leonard Downie says the bet is that the Online Shopping pioneer can ensure the posts survival. Jeff bezos understands this new world that were in and that all News Organizations have to adapt to, whether its channel 7 or the Washington Post. Ifill the post is hardly alone in seeking buyers with deep pockets. Over the weekend, Newsweek Magazine was sold to i. B. T. Media, the publisher of International Business times. Red sox owner john henry bought the boston globe from the New York Times company for 70 million. And the tribune companys newspaper division, which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and the baltimore sun, is also on the block. Donald graham is chairman and c. E. O. Of the Washington Post company. He joins me now. Full disclosure, i worked for you for the Washington Post. I was going to ask if you disclosed your terrible conflict. For seven great years in the 1980s. Ruth marcus one of your leading columnists said that this is a brave and painful decision for your family to make. Was it also a necessary one . Well, we thought so. The publisher of the post now is catherine way mut. Thats a job that i held when you were on the paper. I held it for 21 years. But catherine and i sat down at the end of last year, the end of 2012. We looked at how how the paper had done in 2012 and what we could reasonably expect going forward. 201 is the 7th Consecutive Year the paper has been down in revenues so what do you do when you have less money coming in the door . You try to innovate. Weve been pretty successful at that. But not successful enough ifill 44 decline. Youre going back over several years there. But thats