Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140128

Tunnel collapses . A tunnel collapse is more dangerous. But often those two things happen at the same time. That is what is called your time to die. Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. 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. Ifill a dangerous cold wave that could be one for the record books moved deeper into the heart of the nation today. The frigid air pushed east from the Northern Plains and midwest, and began snarling travel and schools. Newshour correspondent kwame holman has our report. Reporter the frigid system is again driving arctic air and snow south from canada, for the second time in a month. Forecasts today called for wind chills of minus 43 in minneapolis. And minus 40 in chicago, prompting the closing of schools in and around the windy city and airlines to cancel hundreds of flights. Along the waterfront, steam rose across lake michigan, as the water was much warmer than the air. Elsewhere, extreme wind, gusting up to 60 miles an hour, blew snow into near whiteout conditions for travelers in the dakotas. And slick roads triggered a massive 33car pileup yesterday in warren, michigan. Only minor injuries were reported. An s. U. V. Came behind me, hit me, then another car come and hit him and next thing you know it was a really bad accident. Reporter with the deep cold expected to linger for several days, road crews around indianapolis raced to clear snow as quickly as they can. Its going to be a very hard freeze and no matter what you put on it, salt or whatever, its not going to move. Reporter but salt was in high demand in many places, including portions of wisconsin, where theyre already running short. The town of waukesha has used its entire allocation of salt for the 2013, 2014 season. Reporter propane also is in short supply as families and businesses struggle to keep warm. Prices spiked in the midwest last week, forcing suppliers to ration deliveries. Meanwhile, the south and east now are preparing for the cold thats coming in the days just ahead. The National Weather service has issued winter storm warnings and cold advisories from Southeast Texas and along the gulf coast. And on up the eastern seaboard. Ifill in quebec today, police and search teams braved the biting cold to search for victims of a fire at a seniors residence. 32 people are feared dead from last thursdays blaze, but officials have recovered only 14 bodies so far. The wreckage is now encased in heavy ice and police are still investigating the cause. Ifill Major Internet Companies have worked out a compromise on what they can say publicly about customer information they turn over to the government. The Justice Department announced the surveillance agreement today with google, microsoft, yahoo, facebook and linkedin. The Companies Get to disclose, within limits, how often they are ordered to hand over information, but not until six months after the fact. Ifill the government of ukraine agreed tonight to scrap new antiprotest laws. The announcement came on the official website of president viktor yanukovych. He imposed the laws earlier this month, sparking violent clashes between police and demonstrators the opposition wants closer ties with the european union, but the government has signed a new pact with russia, instead. Ifill the syrian peace talks appear stuck, for the moment, after negotiations lasted less than an hour today. The focus was supposed to be on creating a possible transitional government. Instead, the assad regime offered a paper on fighting terrorism and cutting off funds for rebels. After the meeting broke down, the opposition and the regime blamed each other. The focus as all the International Community expected was for us to discuss the implementation of the geneva communiquee. Instead the regime put forth what they called a joint declaration of principles, which was clearly a deviation from the path. We were surprised that this basic paper was rejected by the other side who either does not have the capacity to acknowledge syria and its territorial integrity, or they dont care about what is happening to the syrian people. Ifill over the weekend, the two delegations did agree to let women and children leave the besieged city of homs, but they have yet to work out the logistics. Ifill a new wave of bloodshed has broken out in northeastern nigeria. 25 people were killed at a Church Service on sunday, and at least 52 others died today in a separate attack on a village. The attackers are believed to be from boko haram, a radical islamist sect that launched an uprising in 2009. Ifill back in this country, jury selection began today in new orleans, in the federal corruption trial of former mayor ray nagin. The twoterm democrat is accused of taking more than 200,000 dollars in cash and other gifts from contractors. In exchange, he allegedly helped them secure millions of dollars in city repair work after hurricane katrina. Ifill republican congressman trey radel is resigning his house seat, after he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession late last year. The freshman out of florida initially insisted hed stay on, but Party Leaders urged him to step down. Radel had been in office ten months when he was caught buying cocaine from an Undercover Police officer in washington. Ifill wall street had another down day, but the losses were far less severe than last week. The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 41 points to close below 15,838. The nasdaq lost 44 points to close at 4083. Ifill the french duo daft punk basked in congratulations today after winning four Grammy Awards last night in los angeles. The electronic music pioneers perform as helmeted, silent robots. Their wins included record of the year, for the song get lucky, and album of the year. Producer Pharrell Williams and hip hop artists macklemore and ryan lewis also claimed four trophies apiece. Still to come on the newshour, the deep freeze crippling much of the country; new troubles for the u. S. Afghan relationship; republican senator roy blunt previews tomorrows state of the union; then, the search for terrorists ahead of the sochi olympics; a new book on the russian dissident punk band, pussy riot; plus, the dangers of underwater gold mines in the philippines. Woodruff the deep freeze settling in over much of the country is forcing state and local officials to take precautions once again to protect people from dangerous subzero conditions. That included the state of minnesota where schools were closed today. In st. Paul, the day began with temperatures of 23 degrees below zero. Chris coleman is the mayor of st. Paul and joins us from the twin cities. Welcome, mr. Mayor, tell us, how is this severe cold affecting your area . Well, this is quite a stretch of cold weather. This is the 7th day in the last five years that schools have been closed. And five of those days have occurred in january. Weve had to take precautions with how we treat Emergency Response calls, sending out firefighters with ambulances in case somebody has to leave their home an go out in the cold. Weve extended rec center time so kids have a place to go where theyre warm and safe. Just really, you know, we urge people to be very cautious when the weather gets this cold. Woodruff so have people been able to stay safe and out of the cold . Well, we certainly have had some incidents. Weve had some really unfortunate incidents where people have been lost less than cautious and found themselves caught outside. A lot of kind of tragic situations. But i think that people, you know, were used to this in minnesota. It hasnt been this cold for a long time but for those of us that remember longer stretches of cold weather, just be cautious, be safe and put on an extra layer clothing if you are going outside. Woodruff with closing schools, i know that has a big effect on families. What are the wider effects of that . I know there are a lot of children whose parents count on them being in schools. Many kids depend on schools for nutritious meals. Right. This is very hard on families. Whether you are a family that as you say is kind of dependent on those School Services that are provided or youre a parent that doesnt have extended sick leave time or personal time that has to stay home unpaid, it can really have kind of a doublewhammy for families. And so were very cautious. And the decision to close schools that the superintendent ultimately makes but consults with me on, is one that is not taken lightly. And with full understanding of the implication for families. Were at the point though now where well close the schools one more day tomorrow. Its supposed to warm up a little bit on wednesdayment but beyond that well have to extend the school year, actually, into june if we, in fact, cancel sal any more this year. How much do you worry . We mentioned school meals at school lunch and so forth. How much do you are you concerned about children missing that . Because of School Closings . Well, it really is, its an unfortunate situation, you know. And its kind of part of this whole picture. In the old days when it got this cold we didnt necessarily close schools. But we see more and more kid as that dont have resources, dont have proper clothing. So that if they do get caught out on a street corner, it becomes a much more dangerous situation. Parents dont necessarily have cars to transport those children or their cars are suspect and may not start. So you combine that with nutrition, you combine that with in many instances, and we know this to be the case, where parents dont have a choice but to go to work. So children are at home, that maybe are a little bit younger than should be left at home. There are a lot of concerns that we have when a situation like this occurs. And especially now the fifth time in a month. The strain on families is really strong. Woodruff a lot to juggle. Mayor Chris Coleman of st. Paul, we thank you for talking with us. And good luck with dealing with all of this. Thank you. Thank you very much. Woodruff this especially cold winter is having an impact on the prices, and delivery sometimes, of natural gas and propane. In wisconsin, Governor Scott walker directed state agencies today to work with residents who are having trouble getting propane as supplies have dwindled as the price has spiked up. Over in the northeast, as demand rises, the Pipeline System for delivering natural gas is the subject of new questions. And this weekend, a rupture of a Transcanada Pipeline in canada has affected customers in minnesota, north dakota and wisconsin. Marty durbin is c. E. O. Of americas natural gas alliance, an Industry Trade group. He joins us now, thank you for being here. Happy to be here. So i think a lot of americans think we have this glut, this enormous supply right now of natural gas but were finding out its more complicated than that. It actually is true. We do have an he nor house supply of natural gas. What were seeing happen now is, this is obviously a Severe Weather event as weve been hearing about. And so the prices will move. When we have these events. You know, the last two winters were very mild. We saw prices down around 2. 50. So while we are having some isolated issues of infrastructure, both policy and financing issues around pipelines and what have you, bottom line is the supply is there. Woodruff well, if the supply is there than what is happening. We mentioned three states in the midwest. What are the infrastructure in the pipeline issue problems. Well, let me be clear first in the Transcanada Pipeline issue. The concern about anybody will have to be in the cold right now. But it z the transcanada explosion sdend up having impact in three states. It affected about 100,000 residents where the gas company asked them to curtail their use. Happy to say that those curtailments have all been lifted. And they never lost their gas service. So they were able to work around the issue. And because there is enough Pipeline Network out there. And what about the pricing part of all this. The price again if there is a huge supply, why are prices going up . I was reading today that they have gone up i cant find the numbers, four times higher than normal . There were some price spikes in specific instances. The fact is that even in the northeast, especially with residential and commercial customers, they have guaranteed contracts for natural gas so they did not see prices go up. They did use more. It affects more the electric generators who dont have these guaranteed contracts for natural gas supply. So when they can be interrupted, everyone else is using it, they have to buy on the spot market. So its really just an incremental part of the market where these prices end up being so high. Was the industry taken by surprise by this given the kld weather . No, i dont think the industry was taken by surprise. I mean this is, i think, a Severe Weather event that were dealing with here. I think with the industry is showing that there were not specific supply constraints from a natural gas standpoint. I think the other thing we have to realize what did you mean by that . Well, i think in essence, weve got the infrastructure is there but in certain instances. To get the gas from the origin to the people. Correct. There are isolated areas, for example in new england. There is not as much of a Pipeline Infrastructure there. Part of this is now, you know, weve seen such a fast transition to this, you know, this natural gas a bundance that were going to have to catch up. Both from infrastructure, policy, financing and other opportunities to make sure that the natural gas is always there when its needed. I want to ask you very quickly before i let you go, marty durbin about propane. I know thats not your area, but what is the story there with the rising costs. Well, again, the stockpiles of propane have been down for two reasons. Number one, the colder than normal weather and then also back in the fall there was a very wet harvest. Propane is used in the agriculture industry to dry the harvest. So stockpiles were down and propane does not have as quick an ability to ramp up production. So then we have these Severe Weather events, thats why we start to see stockpiles dwindle. So this is just a temporary people who need propane who cant get it, how long are twaking about waiting . Do we know . As the weather starts to moderate, well see prices moderate. But also the production will be able to start catching up to the demand. All right, we thank you marty durbin with americas natural gas alliance. Thank you. Thank you opinions ifill as u. S. Officials struggle to hammer out a post 2014 security arrangement with afghan President Hamid karzai, there was another snag today. The Afghan Government decided to release dozens of prisoners the u. S. Deems dangerous. The 37 detainees are dangerous criminals against whom there is strong evidence linking them to terrorrelated crimes, ifill washingtons already tense relations with the Afghan Government worsened again with kabuls decision to release 37 prisoners from the parwan detention facility. State Department Spokeswoman jen psaki. These insurgents, who pose threat to the safety and the security of the Afghan People and the state, are being released without an investigation and without the use of the criminal Justice System and in accordance with afghan law. Ifill the prisoner release came on the heels of a story in saturdays new york times. It involved a u. S. Attack on the remote afghan village of wazghar on january 15. Karzais governmentcirculated dossier included this photo, purporting to show a funeral held the day after the attacks. But the picture was actually taken in 2009, in another area. The incidents come amid an already contentious debate over a Security Agreement, governing any u. S. Troops who remain in afghanistan after the end of the year. Last november, an assembly of afghan elders known as a loya jirga voted in favor of karzai signing the accord. But so far, he has refused to do so, and on saturday he sounded defiant. translated afghanistan will never sign the Security Agreement under pressure. No pressure, no threat, no psychological operation against our people can force us to sign the Security Agreement. If they want to leave, they should leave today. Ifill karzai insists he will not sign until afghans vote on april 5th to elect a new president. The u. S. And nato have warned against further delay. For planning reasons, we need to know soon whether we are invited or not ifill speaking in brussels today, the nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said time is running out. I mean, if we are not invited, if we dont have any Legal Framework then we cant stay in afghanistan after 2014. It is as simple as that. Ifill at the same time, the prospect of a complete withdrawal has raised fears that hardfought security gains could evaporate. Some u. S. Intelligence officials also warn that losing access to afghan air bases and air space will hurt their ability to launch surveillance and attack drones into neighboring pakistan. Ifill is this a new low in the u. S. Afghan relationship with the United States . Or is it just another chapter in a tumultuous alliance . Im joined by zalmay khalilzad, he was u. S. Ambassador to afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. And david sedney. He was Deputy Assistant secretary of defense for east asia from 2007 to 2009. Obvious question, is this, mr. Ambassador, the break . I hope not. I dont think so. I think karzai is about two months left in his presidency. The Afghan People as you mentioned want a Security Agreement as demonstrated. The candidates without are running for president to replace president karzai all of them have said they will sign the agreement. They are willing to express that, im told, to the u. S. Ambassador should the u. S. Ambassador ask them. So the challenge for us is are we going to wait out president karzai and sign the agreement with the successor or do we use karzais intransigence and i think very unpopular stance in afghanistan as an excuse, if you like, and go to a zero option, socalled zero option and say no more troops after 2014 in afghanistan. Mr. Sedney lets stipulate that hamid karzai is being intransigent or stubborn or at least wont do what the u. S. Wants right now. Is this a break . A real break . No, i dont think its a break. What it is a series of mistakes, including lots of mistakes on our side, as we almost seem to have empowered karzai in the last couple of months when he was more and more a lame duck. How did we do that sm. By setting deadlines which were never nervous, which we never meant. First we said october then we said november then we said december, and a couple of weeks ago we said a couple of weeks. None of those deadlines really had any basis in fact and they resulted in karzai strengthening his hand and playing to a domestic audience that may not exist which he thinks does, that pushes towards confrontation rather than progress. Is he realigning himself as far as you can tell from this with the tampa bay in this . I think if there is a break if there is an announcement which i would think would not be wise on our part that we had decided to go for zero option. What does that mean, a zero option. Meaning a withdrawal of all forces, or this year actually, 2014, and then i think the conflict is likely to intensify among afghans and in that context, alignment could change, the afghan history shows repeatedly changing alliances. So i would not rule out in that scenario a possible karzai taliban access. He was close to the taliban at the beginning when the taliban emerged. They in fact, he told me offered to me the u. N. Ambassador. But then it didnt work out. So i think at times he does think that a realignment with the taliban by him and some his supporters maybe is not so undesirable. If that were the case, mr. Sedney, how give would that be. And i want to get back to your question about deadlines because the next deadline obviously is april. The election ban. I wonder if that one if going to be met. But first how dangerous would it be if he were, indeed, to realign with the taliban . Well, it would certainly be very dangerous for u. S. National interests. Because the taliban have never really broken with al qaeda. And the whole purpose of going into afghanistan from the beginning was to prevent al qaeda from coming back and carrying out over attacks such as they did on 9 11. But i think it would also be dangerous for president karzai because the mast majority of Afghan People as the that really represents the afghan population, they want a future with the United States, with other skris. And if with other countries and if president karzai throw us out with the taliban i think he would be in a dangerous position internally. Ifill so the u. S. Should wait him out until the april elections and he is no longer there. That would be my recommendation very much. I think everybody we have done to the contrary, setting all these deadlines has just made it more intransigent,made it less likely that he would agree. Ifill with not just the zero option, why not just walk away . Well, that is obviously an option but i think a very negative it will have very negative implication. It will limit our ability to deal with the remaining al qaeda threat in the region. And we operate from afghanistan against those threats. To our presence also as a hedge against pakistan going bad, if a Nuclear Weapon falls into the hands of extremist in pakistan and we have to react being in afghanistan. That is provided with the platform and capability to move quickly. And then there is not sure what happens to afghanistan as david mentioned. That afghanistan and the taliban could come back and al quite could come back and we may have to go back there at some point down the road. So there are risks to embracing the zero option. There is another option which is leave 10,000 troops on the groundment right now there has been a negotiation between 12 and 15 or 8 and 15 and this is the latest version of that. And perhaps thats the solution but i want to get back to a point you just raised about afghanistan being a vital launching pad for us as we continue to keep an eye on disputed regions, especially in pakistan. Reports now that if we were to pull away. That our Drone Program would be harmed. How much of a loss would that be if we were forced to close cia bases. I think it would be a very serious loss. We have driven al qaeda down, we have made them hide. We have made them less effective but they are still there. Without that pressure they will come back. So what do you do about that . So that takes that option off the table. The walking away option. I think it should take it away. My concern as quite clearly, that that thes probably karzai believes that we are not serious that we will meet his terms, that afghanistan is very important for us and we will accommodate him. Ifill why do we trust his potential successor to be able to do what we need in the region . So many other cases around the region we have created, we have set somebody up who is going to come in and fix everything and it doesnt work. So why from the people who are now up for this job, why do we think that they can do it . Well, we wont know until they actually have an election and the speaker is chosen. I think there are actually a number of fairly strong candidates. People we have worked with closely in the past. Most importantly the election gives the Afghan People now we look ahead to the state of the union. President so bam obama will address hundreds of lawmakers and millions of americans tomorrow night in the u. S. Capitol. Laying out his agenda for the coming year. But how will his message be received by Congressional Republicans . We raise that question with senator roy bluntofmissouri. He served as vice chairman of the Senate Republican conference. Welcome to the program. Glad to be here, judy. Woodruff so how would you describe the state of the union right now, senator blunt . Well, i would say its just not working the way it ought to woz find a way to do a better job. It is an incredibly frustrating experience to be here. Its got to be a lot more frustrating to the people that we work for. And frankly nobody is in as good a place to lead the end of that than the president of the United States. The white house is saying the president tomorrow night is going to broadly focus on trying to do something about the lack of economic mobility in this country, the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Do you agree that that should be a main priority for the country . Well, i would say the bigger importance is how you need people who are not where they would like to be up to where they ought to be. It shouldnt be about setting one group against the other or talking about how we can take from this group to give to somebody else. It should be how you create that kind of mobility. And the white house also has repeatedly said over the last couple of days, starting with the president , that he has a pen to sign executive orders with and a phone to mobilize support. Thats giving up on the congress but more importantly its giving up on the constitution. The president needs to lead us out of this rather than to be the person who says nothing can be done about there so im just going to do what i can do by myself. Hes to the going to be able to do a lot by himself. Its not the way he ought to get things done. Woodruff the white house is saying the reason the president going to be proposing executive action is because they say the congress wouldnt cooperate with the president hast year. Well, i think the president is again, the person who is in the best position to find out what he would like to get done thats possible. There are lots of things that i found ways to work with democrats on, senator king and i have a bill to reorganize the regulating process, senator staineau and i have a bill, senator brown and i have one on manufacturing. Senator bennett and i and senator warren and i both have one on infrastructure there are a lot that republicans and democrats are willing to do together. But it may not be exactly the way the president wanted to get it done. He needs to figure out how to lead us out of that, he is in the best position to do that. I would like to see that tomorrow night but based on what i have heard the last week, it doesnt sound like theres going to be a lot of that as much as why cant you guys Work Together. And since you cant, im just going to do whatever i think i can do on my own. I just dont think, judy, thats the right answer for the country or the right direction to try to lead us in. Woodruff well, do you think there will be more willingness to cooperate more on the part of republicans this year . Well, i think its not just about republicans. We havent had the appropriations process work in the senate like it should one time in the last seven years. Ive only been here three of those. We have a new chairman, a democrat who i think very much wants to bring these bills to the floor. Debate the priorities, there is only one reason these bills havent come to the floor. And thats because the majority didnt let them. At proceed Operations Committee voted them out virtually every time. We have not debated them. Not voted on them, not set priorities. I think democrats and republicans in the house and the senate want to get back to the way things are supposed to be done. And i hope that the majority in the senate let us do that and i hope the majority in the house cooperates. You with, senators on the other side of the aisle watch. Do you think stands a real chance of getting passed this year. What about immigration restorm for example. Well, you know, i think if you take Immigration Reform and break it up and try to solve it in pieces rather than all in one package youve got a much better chance to do that. Frankly i was the main vote counter in the house most of the time i was there. So i still think of that 218, half of 435 margin in the house. You have got a better 218 votes to decide how to secure the border, may not be the same people that are the best people to decide what to do with people without came to the country illegally or stayed illegally. And those groups may not be the best 218 people to decide what are the real Workforce Needs of the country. I think theres a way to get this done. I think the comprehensive bill that has been tried now for a decade hasnt worked. Lets see what happens if you divide that up and get a majority in the house, and majority in the senate to solve these problems, one problem at a time. We all know they need to be solved. Lets find the best way to solve them. Well, give us is there another example of something where you think republicans and democrats can Work Together this year . I think so. Senator stabiknow and i have made Real Progress i believe in getting attention to the exlens in Mental Health act, to allow community Mental Health centres to add Behavioral Health. Its one of the things that people can rally around based on the tragedies weve seen, the violent tragedies. People with Mental Health problems are much more likely to be the victim than they are to be the perpetrator but it does call attention, these tragedies call attention to the one consistent thing, is somebody with a Behavioral Health problem that for whatever reason hasnt been dealt with. I think thats an area. Infrastructure i hear all the time americans say we have to do a better job. Were looking at tools in the tool bock. Senator bennett and i have one that really was started by john delaney, a democrat over in the house that has 50 house sponsors and equal number of democrats and republicans. Senator warren and i have an infrastructure effort that we think would be another tool in the toolbox. I any we can get these things done and the American People are ready to see us solve some problemsment and we can start back to that a Pro Operating process with just publicly and full amendments debating the priorities of how we spend peoples money and then figuring out how many tools we put on the table that allow the government to do its job in a better way there are lot its of new things out there from smart phones to 3d printing to all kinds of American Energy that were not really putting our arms around the way we could as a country. Woodruff we hear you, senator roy blunt, thank you for joining us. Good to talk to you. Woodruff tomorrow, well get the view from the white house from preisdent obamas counselor, john podesta. Ifill we turn now to russia where the Olympic Games are just weeks away. We begin with a look at the countrys aggressive efforts to secure the games. John ray of independent Television News reports. The rush arnes are taking no chances with the the russians are taking no chances with the torch, tight security, a trouble prey parade today but these olympics are already steeped in blood. Here just half a days drive from sochi, they are waiting waging war. Special forces expected militants, a husband and the young and the restless wife at home where they are making a last stand. Beyond, a friend pleads with the mother to surrender. I dont want to come out she replies. I want to die. But she does hand over her son, his name is ravah arc. Hes 2 years old and terrified. And soon he will be an orphan. On the des late hillside a world removed from the slopes of sochi, a sabotry reserved for the dead of russians antiterror operations have that intensified as the games come closer. There is much freshly turned earth here this is a war in which no mercy is shown. Even to the dead. Here they are buried with no ceremony, in graves with no names. In this graveyard and others like it, this woman has searched for her son missing presumed dead and innocent, she insists. This is our system, our blood thirsty system. When the order comes from the center, people lives destroy. Dagestan is russias wild southwest. Breeding ground for islamist terrorists. Suicide attacks in volvo grad demonstrated their range and deadly intent. Now police hunt another suspect, a socalled black widow, out to avenge a husband killed in an antiterror raid. Dagestan deputy Prime Minister must make good on putins promise of terrorfree games whatever it takes. It is not true that we set out simply to exterminate terrorists, he told me. The single purpose must be to to insurance the safety of the olympics. Brown the jailing of the ifill in addition to security concerns, the runup to the olympics has also Brought International criticism of russias human rights record, including its jailing of opposition figures, and new laws regarding homosexuality. In late december, in what was widely seen as an effort to soothe such criticism, two members of the antiputin russian punk band, pussy riot, were granted amnesty and released from prison. Theyd already served most of their original two year sentence. Jeffrey brown picks up the story. Brown the jailing of the women stemmed from what they termed a punk prayer they performed in 2012 at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in moscow. They were charged with hooliganism and two of the five women involved served time in prison camps, where they went on hunger strikes to protest conditions. Their story is told in the new book, words will break cement the passion of pussy riot by russianamerican author and journalist masha gessen. Her previous book is the man without a face the unlikely rise of Vladimir Putin. Welcome to you. Thank you. Brown we referred to pussy riot as a punk band or art collective, political activism, how should we think of them, what are they. They are art collectors with who created a character called pussy riot, a punk band. So they performed as this character. And they staged performances in moscow and a variety of locates to protest various expressions of the putin regime. Brown in your book you say they all came at this in different ways but is there a Common Thread that lead to this collective action. Theyre young. Theyre very young. The two who ened up serving time were both in college. One was 22, one was 23 at the time that they were jailed. Theyre very, very smart. And you know, the mastermind behind it, is very unusual. I mean i couldnt find an explanation which is part of what i tried to do. I couldnt find an explanation for how a person like that comes to be in a place like that. But she is absolutely brilliant as all of them are. Brown because she is coming out of a culture that doesnt make a lot of space for such things. Shes coming out of a culture that has no space for also coming out of a town that has no place for ed cag. She comes from a very small, very, very dark town in the arctic circle. She very much an auto die damage. And yet somehow she is steeped in the western tradition of protest which i think in some ways made things very differ for pussy riot in russia that also contributed to making them a worldwide celebrity. You chronicle their founding as in a former group and then this group. And then they start taking these aks. Then of course the catalytic event at the cathedral. How did they see that performance . How do you come to see the way they looked at what they were doing . Well, they saw it as a prank. A bank first and foremost. An art prank. I think they were hoping it was a brilliant prank. I think they were hoping for a lot of attention. I think they feared that they were risking something, like maybe 15 days administrative arrest. They never thought they were going to jail. Brown they had no idea what this might lead to. No, no. And in fact, you know, their arrest was the beginning of the crackdown. People didnt actually go to jail for peaceful protest in russia at the time for more than 15 days administrative arrest. They are the first in a long line of people who have gone to jail since. But really it is highly symbolic that they were arrested on the day that Vladimir Putin claimed to be reelected to a third time as president. And it was really the beginning of the more politics. Brown they were stepping into not only politics but religion, tradition, culture. How does how are they seeing seen by the rest of the country or by the majority of the country if one can ask that . Right, well, they were the refrain of the punk prayer was mother of god, chase putin out. Brown right. You have religion and you have putin. Well, which was exactly the point. They were protesting the sim bee owe sis of church and state. Processing the fact that the head of the Russian Orthodox church was companing for putin and against the protestors. So i think that it is very difficult to answer the question how does russia see them. Because russia is not a whole country. Russia is a country that is extremely polarized and ripped apart by the last 14 years of dictatorship. So there is the russia that watches television that sees them as women without want in and behaved a bomb inably in the church. And then the much smaller rush that doesnt watch television that are somehow involved in the protest culture or in the opposition. And i think they are the ones who they i think some of them were taken aback by the protests. But it came around to think that they really identified and that i think is a great work of art, that made people think. Do you think the women see a continuing role for themselves now . Is there a space for them to fit in the kind of work they want to do . Well, theyve been profoundly changed by the two nearly two years they have spent in prison. Vladimir putin knocked two mondays off their sentences so they were released a little bit earls but they spent two years in a bom inable conditions that often could only be described astor ture. And they have come out, they went in College Dropouts or college students, actually, who staged a prank and they came out political activists, seasoned political activists. They have declared their intention to found a broad ranging prisoners Rights Movement and have been working on that very, very hard, day and night. They have always done quite a lot to publicize the conditions in prison in russia. So that is their place now. They see pussy riot i think with nostalgia. Let me ask you finally about yourself. You have written much about t an this goes to the other issues with russia now, and recent laws about homosexuality. You have written about being a lesbian, and a parent and watching what happened there. And your own decision to leave the country. Do you see the country, where do you see things headed . Oh, well, first of all, the my situation is that i didnt have to leave the country, i was writing a biography of putin and ended up leaving over the antiday laws because there was a direct threat to my family and i feared my children would be taken away. I think the crackdown is extremely damaging for the country and the people. I think that its good for putin. He has chosen the most effective way to confront the mass protest movement that he faced two years ago. It will keep him in power longer than any other tactic that he could have appoint, that he could have chosen. But it will do extreme damage to the country. And the longer is goes on, the worst things will be after its over. Brown all right, the book is words will break cement, the passion of pussy riot, masha, thanks so much. Thank you. Ifill jeff continues his conversation with masha geesan online, where they talk a bit more about russia, gays, lesbians and the upcoming Olympic Games. Woodruff and finally tonight, we visit the philippines, a country still reeling from a record typhoon in november. Just before it hit, photographer larry c. Price traveled there to document the dangerous and sometimes deadly way some poor filipinos are making a living. Hari sreenivasan narrates our report, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on crisis reporting. Reporter near a remote village in the eastern philippines, at a small camp in the forest. A man bites down on a plastic tube, adjusts his mask and disappears into water as opaque as chocolate milk. Descending as deep as 40 feet, he breathes from a small diesel powered air compressor, while blindly digging into the sides of a narrow tunnel. For hours at a time he fills bags with mud and rock that a partner hauls to the surface, where the sediment is broken down and, using mercury, panned for gold. According to thomson reuters, in 2012 the philippines was the 18th largest producer of gold worldwide. Large companies are responsible for much of that, but there are also many unofficial, small scale mines like these. Many lie in the poor coastal province of camarines norte, about 200 miles southeast of manila. Where some of the countrys highest concentrations of the precious mineral can be found. But much of it is trapped in ore underwater. Socalled compressor mining originated in this region of the philippines as far back as the mid1990s. The practice was inspired by fishermen, who used the motors to dive deep underwater to catch reef fish. But with the potential for engine breakdowns and tunnel collapses, its an extremely dangerous venture. And one not limited to adults. Pulitzer prizewinning photographer larry c. Price traveled to the philippines for the newshour in november. There he spoke to 15year old elias delima, who began diving when he was just 13. Delima told an interpreter that divers get double the take of the other miners, around five dollars a day, and thats incentive enough. Why do you do this . Why do you go into the hole and bring up the dirt . To get gold. To help my parents. And to have some money for myself. Reporter dindo leche, now 25, said he began diving when he was 14. While hes no longer afraid, he says he knows the risks remain. translated its dangerous. Because we are extracting soil, the holes get wider and deeper. The soil loses natural strength. And it does not stick together and easily gives way. That is what we are on the lookout for underwater so you do not get buried. Which is worse when the compressor stops, or when the tunnel collapses . translated a tunnel collapse is more dangerous. But often, those two happen at the same time. Thats what is called your time to die. Reporter compressor mining was officially outlawed in the philippines in 2012. In january of that year, near the town of paracale, an accident left at least three compressor miners dead. The site was shut down and quickly abandoned. Yet with vast stretches of poor, Rural Communities spread across some 7,100 islands, desperation is high and regulation is lacking. Novembers record typhoon caused billions of dollars of damage to the country. But it only stopped operations for one day in mambulao bay, where more than 400 work on some 40 floating bamboo encampments near the village of santa milagrosa. Miners here say they pay local police 11 a month per worker to look the other way. Many of those workers are children and adolescents. Reporter julie hall works with the World Health Organization in manila. She says that in addition to the immediate, lifethreatening dangers posed by an engine failure or collapse, the conditions also pose longerterm health risks for children. One is the poor quality of air fed to the divers by the compressor engines. Its likely that that air thats sucked through the tube will be mixed with diesel fumes, with carbon monoxide, with other pollutants because its very close to the engine thats driving the compressor. Reporter the second is the effects on the body at those depths underwater. The bodys under a lot of pressure, little gas bubbles can form in your bloodstream, and those gas bubbles can block off the blood supply to little bits of your brain or little bits of your lung. Reporter and a third is the poor quality of the water theyre diving in, susceptible to bacteria and parasites. So for somebody to be spending a lot of time to be breathing poor quality air, under pressure, under the water and exposed to all of that bacteria in these bugs in that dirty water, this clearly poses a Significant Health risk and when youre a poor family, the more, the more people you can convince to work and contribute to the Family Income obviously the better. Reporter carlos conde works for Human Rights Watch in the philippines. He says that parents are typically the ones pushing their children into this dangerous work. Often times they dont consider, for instance, education for the kids. Although getting an education is a paramount concern for filipino families but, you know, particularly in the provinces, the really poor ones, its just, you know, kids are seen as extra hands. Reporter edlyn ortiz is 12 years old. Girls like her typically dont dive. But they help with the panning and domestic chores that allow the family to work at the mine. She tells an interpreter that her family depends on her help. Reporter why do you work in gold mining . translated to earn money so we can have something to eat. Reporter what do you like better going to school or working . translated i want to keep going to school, and in the end thats what will give us a better life. These children are mortgaging their future, not of themselves only but of their families and communities. Reporter Lawrence Johnson directs the efforts of the u. N. S International Labor Organization in the philippines. He agrees that schooling is key to breaking this cycle of child labor. We see education as a way to help the next generation become more productive, to have a better quality of life. But its also right now allowing for an environment where these parents can provide for their families and not just go out and mine just enough for today to survive. Reporter in a country with so many desperate challenges, even before the typhoon, johnson says if people want to help stop this practice, they can start by being more conscientious consumers. Whether were talking gold or silver that we mine, its a bulk commodity. So we ask consumers, are you sure that the ring youre wearing, the necklace are free from child labor . Thats more difficult but its up to consumers to start making that choice again. Reporter for now, the divers will continue to bear the risks, taking their dangerous plunges and grasping for gold. Ifill you can find more of larry prices photos of compression miners on our homepage and at pulitzercenter. Org. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. A dangerous cold wave that could set records moved deeper into the heart of the nation, with wind chills hitting 40 below in the midwest; and the president it cuts food stamps about 1 , 800 Million Dollars a year. The house of representatives had wanted to cut 5 . And the president of ukraine agreed to scrap an antiprotest law that provoked violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Ifill on the newshour online right now, as we prepare to cover the president s annual address to the nation tomorrow, we wondered, what if the leaders of china, syria, north korea, iran and egypt had to give a state of the union . What would that look like . We asked some experts for their analysis, which you can read on our world page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. On tuesday, well have special coverage of president obamas state of the union with the analysis of shields and brooks, among others. Im Judy Woodruff ifill and im gwen ifill. Well see you online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us here at the pbs newshour, 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. 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Which countries in crisis could have the biggest impact on your money . And now its the feds turn, Central Bank Policy makers meet this week. Will they or wont they continue to cut back on stimulus, especially with e