Attempted in the world. Woodruff . A new canal to connect the hemispheres. China invests billions to build a shipping waterway through nicaragua. An economic expansion that threatens to uproot thousands of farmers. Those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf the engine that connects us. At lincoln financial, we believe that you are the boss of your life. The chief life officer. In charge of providing for loved ones. Growing your nest egg. And protecting what matters the most. Lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge of your future. Life income, retirement, group benefits, and advice. Lincoln financial. Youre in charge. 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. 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 a federal judge in philadelphia today approved the National Football leagues settlement of thousands of concussion lawsuits. It could cost 1 billion over 65 years, but the n. F. L. Has dropped an earlier cap on total damages. An estimated 6,000 former players who develop alzheimers or moderate dementia will get an average of 190,000 dollars each. The u. S. Senate has passed legislation to help victims of sex trafficking, 99 to nothing. Todays vote followed a lengthy dispute over abortion funding. The end to the impasse clears the way for a vote tomorrow on Loretta Lynch to be attorney general. Italian naval vessels saved yet another group of migrants today in the mediterranean. Nearly 450 people, including 59 children, were brought to the sicilian port of augusta. Theyd been rescued off italys southern coast. In rome, the italian Prime Minister appealed for the European Union to stop smugglers, and recognize the migrants are desperate. translated the Central Point is that when a person is ready to risk his own life, when hes ready to put his life at risk because he needs to get out from a situation where he could be beheaded, you cannot discourage the departures with a simple statement. You do it by taking action. Woodruff e. U. Leaders are set to hold an emergency summit tomorrow, days after some 800 migrants drowned off libya. More than 100,000 people marched in ethiopias capital today. They protested the killing, in libya, of 30 ethiopian christians whod been trying to reach europe. A video released sunday showed Islamic State militants shooting and beheading the victims. Todays protesters vowed to fight terror. They also condemned ethiopias chronic poverty, and some fought with police, who fired tear gas to disperse them. The European Union accused russias stateowned energy giant today of pricegouging and monopoly practices. It was the latest sign of rising tensions between the e. U. And moscow. The e. U. s competition commissioner charged gazprom is using its dominant position to strongarm countries in eastern and central europe. Gazprom has been able to charge higher prices in some countries without fearing that gas would flow in from other countries, from resellers or where the prices were lower. What we have seen then in our data is that gazprom has been charging what we think of as unfairly high prices. Woodruff gazprom dismissed the accusations as unfounded. Back in this country, the Supreme Court is making it easier to sue the government for negligence. By five to four today, the justices ruled deadlines for filing such lawsuits may be extended in some cases. Its seen as a victory for military veterans whose medical malpractice claims are delayed by red tape. A federal Appeals Court threw out barry bonds conviction for obstructing justice in a steroid probe. The court, in San Francisco also ruled he will not be tried again. It said an answer he gave to a grand jury in 2003 had no bearing on the main investigation. Bonds was convicted in 2011, but remained free while he appealed. This was the 45th annual earth day, and new york city marked the occasion with a plan to reduce its trash by 90 by 2030. Meanwhile, president obama toured floridas Everglades National park. He said a warming climate threatens the region, and he warned, action can no longer be delayed. Its gotten more expensive to rent a home or apartment in the last year, and in some places, much more expensive. Real estate data firm zillow reports prices climbed an average of 3. 7 nationwide, but in San Francisco, they jumped almost 15 , to average more than 3,000 a month. Rents also spiked in denver and kansas city, but fell in chicago and minneapolis. And on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 88 points to close above 18,000 again. The nasdaq rose 21 and the s p 500 added 10. Still to come on the newshour the fight for power in yemen from the air and on the ground. Stopping Police Brutality in the city of brotherly love. Scientific links between oil and gas drilling and earthquakes in oklahoma. China invests billions to construct a new shipping canal through nicaragua. The female american soldiers who assisted special op teams in afghanistan. Student whistleblowers speak up to prevent violent acts at school. And, how kentucky authorities busted the ringleaders of a great bourbon heist. Woodruff now to yemen, where hopes of a ceasefire seem further away, as violence continues. Woodruff for a month, air strikes by saudi arabia and its sunni allies pounded shiite Houthi Rebels across yemen. Then, late tuesday, the saudi military announced the end of the u. S. Backed air campaign,but with this caveat translated the coalition will continue in preventing the houthi militias from moving or undertaking any operations inside yemen. Woodruff and indeed, within hours, the coalition struck targets in taiz, after e houthis captured an army base there. At least a dozen other air strikes hit areas across southern yemen. This afternoon, in washington, the saudi ambassador to the United States defended the renewed bombing. When the houthis or their allies make aggressive moves, there will be a response. The decision to calm matters now rests entirely with them. Woodruff back in sanaa, yemens capital, thousands of houthi supporters turned out to declare their defiance. Woodruff the houthis did release yemens defense minister, who joined exiled president Abed Rabbo Mansour hadi in saudi arabia. Rebel leaders also called for peace talks. And the state Department Said the Obama Administration has told the saudis it supports negotiations as well. The saudis make their own decisions certainly in conjunction with their coalition partners, but we have been having a conversations the saudis understand that the path forward here needs to be dialogue. Woodruff meanwhile, in shiite iran, the Parliament Speaker challenged the saudis to defend killing hundreds of people in yemen. translated what has happened in yemen over the last 27 days . The saudi government should be asked what have you achieved, after all this fuss, when you said in your statement that you have achieved your goals . Woodruff iran supports the Houthi Rebels, but has denied supplying them with weapons. We take a closer look at irans role in yemen, and its Nuclear Negotiations with the u. S. Joining me is Thomas Erdbrink, the New York TimesTehran Bureau chief, some of whose video reports weve aired on the newshour. Hes in new york this week. Thomas erdbrink thank you for joining us. We have heard the iranians deny their supplying the houthis with weapons but we know the u. S. Says that they are doing that they have been doing that. We know the u. S. Warships in the area are watching iran ships to make sure they dont continue that. Why doesnt iran just acknowledge what its doing . Well i think the iranians, throughout the past decade, they go about the way of supporting groups in either afghanistan or iraq and they apply the same policy in yemen. I also think we should not exaggerate the level of this military assistance. On the one hand you have saudis leading a coalition of ten countries attacking yemen with warplanes, and the iranians are potentially sending weapons, but i dont think we should think the weapons are of the highest standards or quality. But the iranians, as you said yourself, its hard for them to physically bring the weapons to yemen. I have been in yes, maamen once. It is a country awash with weapons so i also dont know how many weapons the iranians would need to send. Woodruff how do the iranians view the war in yemen and do they see this as a much bigger conflict between themselves than saudi arabia . Well, the iranians have been in competition with the saudis in the region for a very long time, basically from the time of the shah. But recently, you know, following the withdrawal to have the United States the withdrawal of the United States from the region out of afghanistan, iran has been filling up this vacuum and this, of course, has been scaring the saudis who first started with an engineering a drop in oil prices, something that also hits the u. S. Economy but at the same time hits the iranian economy which is already under sanctions. Now, the iranians feel that their support for the houthis is legitimate. I mean, you can doubt it, but they are saying houthis are fighting for freedom, they are fighting with leaders of a country that is basically collapsing over the past years. So their fight is a legitimate fight and again they are pointing at what they call the double standards. Theyre saying, look, the saudis are attacking this country with airplanes causing a loss of civilian victims our support is not that bad. Woodruff let me turn you, now, to the nuclear issue. We know the talks resume today in vienna between iran and other world powers over whats going to happen with Irans Nuclear program. Weve heard an iranian official say repeating what the ayatollah said the other day is they expect economic sanctions to be lifted when this agreement is completed the u. S. Says, no it will happen in stages. What do the iranians expect in that regard and what are the iranian public looking for . Well, to start with the last group, the iranian public ordinary people, they are waiting for the sanctions to be lifted yesterday, of course, so they want the sanctions to be lifted. If you look at irans leaders, irans Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khamenei who calls the shots in iran, he has been arguing since the signing of the agreement all sanctions should be lifted. The Foreign Ministers and other people at the negotiating table are taking a different approach and saying the sanctions must be lifted on the day this agreement is implemented. Now, there might be months, possibly a year between the signing of the agreement and the implementation of the agreement. So that gives, in my sense, enough wiggle space for all parties to come up with a reasonable compromise. Woodruff very quick question about the Washington Post reporter jason who has been in jail for nine months weve heard the iranians say they have imposed four charges against him including espionage. What is expected will happen with this case . Let me first state that jason rizion first and foremost is a friend of mine and my successor at the Washington Post before i went to the New York Times. These charges that have been leveled against him must be proven in a court of law and according to iranian law the charges had to come way sooner than this. The court case needs to come soon. I spoke to jasons brother the other day. He also is expecting a court case. This has taken very long, if the iranians are so convinced jason is a spy, something ive never seen from him, okay, let them prove it in a court of law. Woodruff there is so much to keep an eye on and Thomas Erdbrink we thank you for talking to us while youre in new york. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Woodruff the death of a 25 yearold black man, freddie gray, in baltimore is the most recent in a string of stories spotlighting use of force by police. Many cities across the country are trying to improve relations between police and the citizens they protect. Take philadelphia a recent Justice Department report found nearly once a week over the past eight years Philadelphia Police opened fire on suspects who are almost always african american. Hari sreenivasan has more. On december 15, 2014, i was going to work. I got to work a little late. I got there, i want to say 6 26. And i was getting ready to cut my car off, and i heard a black male, on the radio, a black male, 26 years old, gunned down by police at the 6600 block of frankfort avenue, driving a white dodge charger. So when i heard that unfortunately i knew that it was my son. Sreenivasan last December Tanya browns son Brandon Tate Brown had been killed, shot by Philadelphia Police after being pulled over for driving with his headlights off. To know that my son suffered like that and that i was not there to protect him or lay my body on him, and then probably kill me too. It breaks my heart. Im his mother. And i couldnt do nothing to help him. Sreenivasan brown is not alone in her pain. There have been 394 shootings involving the Philadelphia Police since 2007. In many years, the department saw more Police Shootings than new york city, a city five times its size. Charles ramsey is the Philadelphia Police commissioner there are changes that need to be made. And we need to make them. And we cant ignore them and pretend that everythings ok. Because its not. Sreenivasan two years ago ramsey recognized the crisis, and commissioned the u. S. Department of justice to review philadelphias Police Shootings. The report, released this month, documents the harsh reality that has plagued this city and included 91 recommended changes. You know weve done a good job at lowering crime in this country. But what we werent very good at was understanding the consequences of some of the police actions, and the collateral damage. You may have reduced or suppressed crime, but have you alienated the Larger Community . And if the answer to that is yes, then you need to reevaluate your tactics and your strategies. Sreenivasan the new guidelines involve a series of changes in training, oversight and transparency. Commissioner ramsey has pledged to rebuild the trust and uproot the tense culture between police and the poor communities where they serve. Thats success, is when we dont have the kind of conversations that we are having today that are really centered around mistrust. And its not just mistrust of police, its mistrust of the entire system. And thats got to change. Sreenivasan but these changes are far from a reality and the death of tanya browns son, is a prime example. While the Department Says it is working on transparency, it refuses to publicly name the officers involved, or to release the full video of the shooting. Last month, it was announced that the two officers in browns shooting would not face charges. That same evening, commissioner ramsey the District Attorney and other officials attended a Community Event in north philadelphia. Protesters upset by the brown shooting rallied. We were very fired up. We were there to ask those questions who killed brandon tatebrown . And to demand for the tapes to be released. Sreenivasan the incident now symbolizes the divide between the police and its citizens. T. J. Ghose teaches at the university of pennsylvania. You saw what happened when chief ramsey went out into the community and tried to have a conversation. Right . Theres anger. And theres justifiable anger. So it has to be not the police talking at the community, or the community shouting back. Right . It has to be across the table where people feel like their voices are being heard. And that they are actually implementing policy right there at the table. Sreenivasan the tension is not new, 30 years ago the Philadelphia Police bombed the house of a radical activist group. For some philadelphians, that was the beginning of a pattern of intimidation, by police. Incidents of Excessive Force like what happened on this very Street Corner in 2010, only continue to deepen the mistrust that the citizens of philadelphia have with their police. This video captured askia sabur, a north philadelphia resident, being beaten by police in 2010. He split the back of my head. I had six staples. You know, messed my back up to the point where i cant walk straight. Sometimes my the alignment in my spine gets crooked. So he really did a number on me. Sreenivasan after 18 months in jail, sabur was acquitted of all charges and won an 850,000 settlement against the philly police. For far too long, Police Departments around the country have been, sort of, you know you cant touch them. We