Jeopardy in the Central Valley as groundwater is becoming scarce. Woodruff and its friday, mark shields and david brooks are here to analyze the weeks news. Those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. Friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff this was the day after for much of the eastern seaboard, digging out from the latest winter storm. In parts of the northeast, snowfall topped two feet, and in the south, nearly halfamillion customers spent a third day with no power. The storm was also blamed for 25 deaths. Hari sreenivasan reports on the days developments. Reporter heaps and heaps of snow made a messy aftermath as the big storm moved on. Plows and trucks worked overtime to clear streets from the deep south, all the way to the northeast and new england. But for many, the morning commute was treacherous. One stretch of the pennsylvania turnpike outside philadelphia had three separate pileups this morning. There was a big truck right behind me and he didnt stop in time he slid into the back of me, which pushed me right into the b. M. W. Reporter in washington, it was back to work for federal employees after yesterdays snow day. But many had to step gingerly on sidewalks and streets coated in ice. In connecticut, Governor Dannel Malloy declared a road salt emergency, with some municipalities running out. Storms are variable, so some folks have burned through the salt that theyve had faster than other towns. And so were going to make sure people have salt, but were not planning for two weeks, were planning for 60 days of weather conditions that we may have to respond to. Reporter here in new york city, the mounds of snow began melting as the weather warmed, leaving slushy, icy puddles. But the respite will be all too brief theres more snow in store for tomorrow, followed by a blast of bitter air early next week. This storm gave the city a rare look at thundersnow last night, as lightning lit up the skies. But traveling by air remained a daunting prospect, with more than two thousand new cancellations today. For the week, more than 14,000 flights have been scrubbed and for the winter so far, that number is 75,000, the worst in 25 years. Moreover, the relentless winter is getting the blame for falling retail sales. They plunged more than 9 just during the polar vortex storm last month. Car sales also fell last month, with february looking just as bleak. Some dealers say theyve had no customers for two or three days this week. And the floral industry, especially, is feeling the effects on this valentines day. A number of flower shops have had to suspend deliveries. We have to start making decisions about what we are going to do and when we decided we were going to cut off delivery for the 13th and 14th, thats a major piece of florist business. Reporter others, though, pledged to deliver no matter what, trudging through snow and slush in the name of love, and money. Woodruff the weather was good for one industry, ski resorts, where sales and rentals are going strong. Or, as the owner of a New Hampshire ski spot said today theres never too much snow. Well look more closely at the economic fallout, right after the news summary. Woodruff a volcano exploded to life on indonesias java island overnight, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee. At least three people were killed. Ash and debris that spewed from mount kelud blanketed the region for miles. It was eight inches deep in some areas, and workers rushed to protect a famous ninth century buddhist temple by covering it with plastic sheeting. The eruption was so powerful, it was heard 125 miles away. Woodruff southern england braced for another night of galeforce winds, hammering waves and, more rain. That meant the alreadyextreme floods afflicting the region will get even worse. We have a report from john ray of independent television news, who visited a series of coastal towns today. Reporter it is unrelenting, barely a chance to catch your breath between crushing waves. From chezle beach and beyond, the wild southwest wet and wind weworse still to come. Its much wisers to make for cover. To batten down the hatches, and to stack you want sandbags once again. In dorsett, residents are being told to be ready if disaster strikes to evacuate their homes. I live on top of the island, my tiles clang every night when you get 60, 70mileperhour winds. Reporter it will get much worse. Each time i think will they stay on . But flooding is the worst thing you can have. Reporter there is nowhere left for the rain to go. It is bubbling out of the drain on to the road. There are yet more flood warningings, because along this desolate and devastated coast they are not yet repaired the damage wrought by the last storm. Here in chezle, the beach stands between the beach and the homes below. It is a test of resolve and nerve. We are sandbags and everything, so its a lot of its worrying. Reporter but nothing points to an end to the torment. As evening falls the winds are whipping up and the tides are rising. This is a winter in which the extreme has become routine and the exceptional the norm. And it is not over yet. Tonight britains defenses will be tested yet again. A few might find adventure in adversity, bit for most, it is cold and wet and miserable. Woodruff Britains Environment Agency says it could be weeks before the flooding finally abates. Woodruff this was the warmest day yet at the winter olympics, in sochi, russia. Spectators soaked up the sun, but organizers had to cancel training for two events. Some crosscountry skiers even cut their sleeves off to stay cool. As for the competition, a spoiler alert tune out for a moment, if you dont want to know results just yet. Japans yazuru hanyu won his countrys first gold medal ever in mens figure skating. And american noelle pikuspace took silver behind britains elizabeth arnold, in womens skeleton. Well talk to a reporter at the winter games later in the program. Woodruff in syria, a car bomb killed as many as 43 people in a village held by rebels. One opposition activist said the bomb exploded next to a truck filled with diesel, setting the fuel on fire. The blast burned cars and damaged a mosque where worshippers had attended friday prayers. A United Nations envoy met separately today with the two factions in the syrian peace talks, but both sides said theyre at an impasse. The opposition and the assad regime remained divided over whether to focus on political transition or fighting terror. The regime has not submitted any other proposal about transition to Democratic Practice away from bloodshed, away from imposition of the people in power on the population. We hope to receive positive response. We havent received anything yet. Those who do not give a chance for discussion and agreement on combatant terrorism are definitely not part of the syrian people, and contradict with the wishes and aspirations of the syrian people. And we want to continue our discussions until we reach an agreement on this point because this is a crucial for the syrian people. Woodruff there were also new questions about syrias chemical weapons. Reuters reported the regime has handed over just 11 of its stockpile and is likely to miss a june 30 deadline for destroying all of it. Woodruff there was progress as north and south korea met today for their second high level talks this week. They agreed to go ahead with upcoming reunions of families separated during the korean war. And, the north withdrew a demand that south korea and the u. S. Delay the start of joint military exercises. A u. N. Commission wants the International Criminal court to prosecute north korea for crimes against humanity. The Associated Press says the panel has found it says theres evidence of extermination and deliberate starvation. North korea denies it. Woodruff italy has suffered another political upheaval. Enrico letta resigned as premier,after a rebellion in the ranks of his centerleft democratic party. That puts matteo renzi in position to become the countrys youngest premier ever. He has agitated for Sweeping Change to rescue italys economy. The battle over gay marriage in virginia is headed to a federal appeals court. Last night, a federal judge ruled the states voterapproved ban is unconstitutional. Virginias new attorney general, mark herring, had declined to defend the ban. He spoke today in richmond. The arguments raise bide those supporting virginias wan on samesex marriage were essentially the same arguments my predecessors used years ago to justify virginias ban on interracial marriage and justify segregated schools. The injustice of virginias position in those cases are not being repeated this time. Woodruff virginia is the First Southern state to have its bar against samesex marriage overturned. But, the ruling will be on hold, while the appeal goes forward. On wall street today, stocks ended the week on an up note. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 126 points to close at 16,154. The nasdaq rose three points to close at 4,244. For the week, the dow gained a little over two percent. The nasdaq rose nearly three percent. Still to come on the newshour; what the winter storms have done to the u. S. Economy; philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter on fighting poverty; a historic drought strains california towns and farms; the latest from the sochi olympics; plus, mark shields and david brooks on the weeks news. Woodruff this weeks storms in the south and the northeast were the latest punch to businesses, retailers, government offices and employees coping with a tough winter. Jeffrey brown looks at the Economic Impact. Woodruff its just the middle of february and many states have seen more than their usual share of snow days. Even in the midwest and plain states, where harsh winters are normal, thereve been weeks where subzero temperatures have frozen activity. Mark zandi is watching and assessing the fallout as chief economist of moodys analytics. Mark, generally, first, what kind of negative Economic Impact is the bad winter having so far . Well, its been really cold since early december, and now were getting a string of storms that are really disrupting Economic Activity. You can see it best in the job market. We lost roughly 50,000 jobs in the month of december because of the atypical weather, not quite that in january, and given what happened this last week, i expect well lose 75,000 to 100,000 jobs in the month of february. Its really hurting the economy at this point. Brown and this goes beyond whats normally accounted for already, the socalled seasonally adjusted type of assessment . Yeah, thats exactly right. So, you know, obviously in the wintertime, its cold and you dont see as much Economic Activity normally. But we account for that. Economists account for that. The government stazistitions account for that in their data. They seasonally adjust the weather but the weather we are seeing is outside what we see ordinarilily and the impact on the economy is not normal. Brown break it down a little bit by sectors or types of businesses. Well, you know, its hurt the Auto Industry a lot. Auto sales are way off. We got some Industrial Production data and auto production is down as a result. Anything, obviously, related to construction, housing, either the housing recovery is just in its infancy, and this is has put it back on its feet. Retailing hit really hard. Restaurants, travel, the airlines. If you move anything around trorpgz, distribution, warehousing that gets strupted. Widespread disruption, and i think one key thing since a lot of people in much of the country is having to spend a lot more just to heat their homes, they have a lot less to spend on Everything Else and it hurts everybody else. Brown we should mention, i guess today is valentines day associate candy and Flower Industries . Yeah, you know, getting those cut flowers to the stores im sure is a little wit difficult. Where im from, here in philadelphia, just looking at the i went to bamy wife a valentines card and it wasnt as crowded as it normally is. Im sure valentines is being disrupted as well. Brown how about reegeally . Of course, one of the phenomenon is it het places lieb the southeast particularly hard. Yeah, and its not obviously, the southeast generally doesnt get this weather. I mean weve had ice storms in dallas and parts of louisiana. Atlanta and charlotte had been basically shut down for the part of the past few weeks and its been incredibly disrupted there. In the northeast were more used to and it prepared for it but this is beyond the pale. Lots of people have lost power and thats affected their ability to do their work. Even the midwest, as you mentioned, its been brutally cold, so cold, it cut down on Construction Activity in that part of the country, which normally, you know, they can weather a lot of weather. So and its also important to point out, its not the winter, but weve got a big drought in california which is also have been an impact. Brown just finally with to put it into larger context, mark, the economy still struggling to get a foothold, right . So how do you look at wheeze going on in these months affecting that . Well, jeff, you know, i this is temporary. I mean, well overcome this once we get more typical weather as we move into march and april. Things will bounce back. You cant get evething back. You cant get those airline trips back. But in and those cut flowers for valentines back but well get most of it back and the economy will get back on track. Its just, obviously, very discouraging. The recovery is now four and a half years expoald it really hasnt kicked into high gear. I thought we would late last year, but the winter has really delayed things. Ultimately, this economy is moving in the right direction, and i think once we get more typical weather well see that. Brown all right, mark zandi, thanks so much. Thank you. Woodruff we return tonight to the subject of poverty and inequality. In recent days, weve spoken with members of both Political Parties weighing in on the problem, for our series of conversations, closing the gap. For a closer look at how one particularly hardhit city is coping, we turn to philadelphia, where more than 28 of residents live below the poverty level. Thats the highest rate of any u. S. City with more than one million people. The Median Income in philadelphia is just above 34,000. Thats the secondlowest of any u. S. City, just ahead of detroit. Joining us now from philadelphia is democratic mayor Michael Nutter. Mr. Mayor, we welcome you to the program again. Thank you, judy. Good to be with you. And happy valentines day to you. Woodruff thank you, and to you. And i want to start by asking you a question weve put to i think all of our other guests on the subject, and that is how do you see inequality in this country . What does the gap look like to you . I think, unfortunately, judy, its a pretty complex issue, and it is far ranging, in many instances, certainly here in philadelphia, it is intergenerational. It is certainly about income but its also about education, its with some folks, quite honestly, losing a sense of hope and cant see a vision for the future. Boots Economic Investment what do you see going on in your neighborhood . What is your access to jobs . The fact that African Americans and latinos and many others of color, the Unemployment Rate gets published in the papers is nowhere near reflect iive of whats really going on in many of our neighborhoods and other cities all across the United States of america. It is economic, but its also about access to health care. Its about the snap program. Its about fresh fruits and vegetables and do you have supermarkets in your community or not . Its a wide range of factors that all combine that end up addressing the issue of poverty and inequality i think as you laid out. Woodruff well you know, of course, that philadelphia is one of five places in the country designated by the Obama Administration as socalled promise zones, meaning what does that mean to your city . What does it happened last summer go ahead, yeah. It was just a couple of weeks ago. And it was very, very proud on wehalf of the city to, one, have some really great partners to submit that application with, to be designated by president obama and his administration as one of these promise zone areas. It means a number of things one, were one of the first five in the United States of america. As the president talked about in his state of the Union Address in 2013. Two, it means that youll have acstoas greater federal and private resources when youre applying for federal grants, because were a program zone, well get extra points in terms of how we score on those grant opportunitys. Private sector is more inclined to invest in these areas because they know that there is a plan this is. A twosquaremile area b35,000 people could have had in West Philadelphia under, partners with Drexel University and the peoples emergency center, mount vernon manner, and our own community and Economic Opportunity office, in my administration, so you put all of that together, the section of the city has had some challenges, but it also has many positive assets. When you look at the wealth of young people who live in that community and others who are trying to get a better education for themselveses and take care of their neighborhood and the housing stock, this is an opportunity for to us pour significant amount of coordinated resources into an area, transform it, and then use that same model all across the city of philadelphia to address issues of inequality, and certainly pover