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 individuals. 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 the flood tide along the Mississippi River and major tributaries has finally begun to crest in places today, but for many people, relief arrives too late. Towns in whole sections of missouri and illinois are under water, with at least 20 dead and untold millions of dollars in damage, and its not over yet. The scenes of soaking wet destruction are everywhere across southern missouri homes flooded, roads washed out. This is devastating here. This is five feet higher than the past record and just total devastation. Ifill the deluge turned runways into islands at this airport, and stranded small planes. Some of the worst damage is along the surging meramec river, southwest of st. Louis. Whole neighborhoods are under water in eureka, where firefighters have used boats to rescue nearly 50 people there since tuesday. Downstream, the meramec crested today near valley park, at a record 44 feet. The water poured over a wall of sandbags at the towns waste treatment plant, and raw sewage spilled out the third such incident in the region this week. The Overflowing River has also shut a huge stretch of interstate 44, and a three mile span of interstate 55 was closed early today, triggering backups for miles. Local engineers said theyre working around the clock to restore access. What were waiting on right now is going to be the crest. Once that crest occurs sometime today, then well know that thats the height its going to be, the walls are going to hold, and that it will be safe to pump all the water out of the interstate and open it up to traffic. Ifill meanwhile, on the Mississippi River, water rose perilously close today to spilling over railroad bridges and elevated roadways in old monroe, northwest of st. Louis. And in west alton, homes located between the mississippi and missouri rivers were completely cut off by floodwaters that surrounded them. In illinois, the city of cairo is caught between flooding from the mississippi and ohio rivers. Were setting up pumps to do some pumping operations to help us pump some of the water thats in our storm sewer system and help pump it on out. Ifill a dozen counties in illinois, and at least that many in missouri, have been declared disaster areas. And the u. S. Army corps of engineers is closely watching levees across the two states. Water has topped at least nine of the flood barriers so far. Well hear from people on the ground in the flood zone, right after the news summary. In the days other news, new years eve brought spectacular fireworks in cities around the world, but nothing to rival what happened in dubai. Fire broke out in a highrise luxury hotel there about two hours before midnight. It engulfed at least 20 stories of the 63story building, and rained flaming debris down on the street. The cause was unknown, but officials said no one was seriously hurt, and the citys new years fireworks went off as planned, even as the hotel continued to burn. Elsewhere, festivities went off without a hitch, including in sydney, australia. More than a Million People watched by land and by sea as fireworks displays erupted from the harbor bridge and other landmarks. Tonights celebration in new yorks times square is also expected to draw about a Million People, watched over by some 6,000 police. Security is heavy in other major cities as well, after the terror attacks this year in paris and bangkok. In brussels, belgium, new years celebrations were canceled, and crews dismantled an outdoor stage over continuing fears of another attack. And in paris, authorities sought to reassure the public translated everythings being done for the celebrations to go well. But we have to stay extremely vigilant. The threats are still there. There are still risks. The presence of these forces across the country shows that we have to be extremely vigilant, but that vigilance doesnt stop us from celebrating the new year. Ifill meanwhile, prosecutors in brussels say police have arrested a tenth suspect in connection with the paris attacks. The year ended with another deadly confrontation in the west bank today. Israeli troops shot and killed a palestinian man after he rammed a car into a group of soldiers. Just since september, 131 palestinians have been killed in similar incidents, and 21 israelis. In turkey, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is vowing to give no quarter to kurdish militants in 2016. Government forces launched a new campaign against the Kurdistan Workers Party in july, as a two year ceasefire fell apart. Erdogan insisted today he will not relent. translated our Security Forces are stripping away terrorists inch by inch, both from the mountains and from the cities, and they will continue doing it. In 2015, the number of terrorists who were neutralized during operations, both inside and outside the country, is 3,100. Ifill western allies have urged erdogans government to concentrate more on Islamic State fighters. A fierce storm in the north sea has forced Oil Companies to evacuate drilling platforms in the north sea. Theyre worried about a possible collision with a barge that tore loose from its moorings. The storm system is the same one thats brought widespread flooding in britain over the last week. Back in this country, three top aides to republican president ial candidate ben carson resigned today. The campaign manager, deputy manager and Communications Director said theyre stepping down immediately. They cited frustrations with outside advisors. Carson was, for a time, the g. O. P. Frontrunner, but his poll numbers have since fallen. Wall street ended the year on a downer. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 180 points to close at 17,425. The nasdaq fell 58 points. And the s p 500 dropped 19. For the year, the dow was down 2 , and the s p was down a fraction of one percent, but the nasdaq gained more than 5. 5 . And, the largest container ship ever to visit the u. S. , entered San Francisco bay today, and it was a tight fit. The Benjamin Franklin passed under the gold gate bridge with just 20 feet to spare. The megaship is roughly a quartermile long and holds 18,000 shipping containers. Still to come on the newshour this new years eve missouri officials respond to widespread floods. The iraqi ambassadors take on the fight against isis. What a marshmallow test tells us about selfcontrol, and much more. Ifill we start tonight with a closer look at the flooding in missouri. For that i am joined by cindy erickson, c. E. O. Of the American Red Cross of eastern missouri, which serves the city of st. Louis and 62 surrounding counties, an area of more than four Million People. And, scott barthelmuss, a firefighter and emergency medical technician in eureka, a town on the meramac river that is essentially cut off by flood waters. Is scott, id like to start with you. Were talking to you by skype nearby. Assess the situation for us tonight in eureka. Things are starting to look for positive. The refer crested yesterday. Water was originally very slows to recede but now is rapidly falling. We have working with the local chamber of commerce, city officials and other partners, were in doing Damage Assessments. I know about 30 minutes ago or so that we had con i thin contia group of people walking through businesses to see where they stood, as well as some of the homes above 109 so that we can give the Damage Assessment process well underway and then, from there, begin the Recovery Efforts. Ifill so you talk about the Recovery Efforts which are now about to start. Lets talk about the rescue efforts. How extensive were they . What was involved . Starting really over the weekend where we had a lot of flash flooding because of the torrential and historic rains we experienced here in the area, we did a large number of vehicle rescues earlier on and the weekend and earlier part of the week. As river rose, we began to get people who were either stranded or had stayed in their properties and areas that either they were there to protect them or they didnt think they would flood. We did well over 50 rescues. Rescued well over 100 people as well as some animals from some of those homes if the course of the past couple of days. I have to give great credit to our line function person, our firefighter paramedic center online, ambulance companies, they have been working nonstop over the weekend to save peoples lives and help protect property and the like in whats been truly an heroic effort. Ifill tonight roads are essentially cut off to entrance and access to eureka . Many of the highways are still cut off. Were starting to see some of ththe roadways open up, a portin of 109 opens up south of eureka to give us access to a large subdivision down there, some 300 homes that were cut off. So i hope it wont be long hopefully before we get the interstate open. Modot will hopefully get it hospital there have been two roadways out on the west end of the district in the past couple of days and theyre not designed to handle the traffic that they have been. Ifill right. Modot being the Mo Department of transportation. Yes, im sorry. Ifill thats okay. Cindy erickson, assess what the situation is now in the entire region. The American Red Cross, first of all, our hearts just go out to the families who lost everything this holiday season. This red cross, weve got a in your opinion of shelters that we opened up throughout missouri as well as illinois providing residents with a safe, warm place to stay. Were providing them with comfort kits and meals and weve got a game area for kids. A lot of times, when youre in a disaster situation, youre evacuating very quickly, you forget some of the essential things that you need. The red cross was there and we had a family the other night that came in, an older couple, a gentleman actually didnt have his dialysis for that day so the red cross nurse was able to get him through the lifesustaining treatment he needed. Ifill what is the biggest challenge . People literally driven from their homes, needed Health Services or bewildered about what happens next . Its a little about all of that because, unlike flooding, its very different. So we have tornadoes, the tornado comes in, it hits and you know what the disaster is. In flooding, its so different because youre waiting for the water to recede. Families, a lot of stress because theyre waiting to get back into their homes. They cant yet because its not safe. Or their homes possibly could be flooded because theyre in a floodplain area. So a lot of stress. The red cross, our priority, providing the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing and adds the next step, starting to recovery. And the quicker we can get people into recovery and start to get back to that normal life, thats when healing really starts the to take place. Ifill let me ask you and Scott Barthelmass as well, starting with you, cindy erickson, how does this compare to other disasters in terms of magnitude in this region . You know what, this has just been incredible. Many have compared it to the 93 flood and, for the American Red Cross, it certainly is a huge disaster because its not just in one area, its in multiple areas. So the red cross, i mean, we plan for disasters 365 days a year, 247, over 9 of our workforce are volunteers, and, so, we are able to deploy at a moments notice. So to be able to stand up, numerous, a dozen shelters within a couple of days is pretty remarkable of the community and the communitys resilience. Ifill Scott Barthelmass, how does it compare for a small town on a big river . You know, our district covers 82 square miles, and we actually serve multiple communities, eureka being the main city and the center of our district. And there is flooding in 1982, substantial flooding in 2008. But we have not seen devastation like this before, and i think, as the cruxes alluded and others, the flood event will come to an end, the recovery effort will last for weeks and maybe for some people years to get their businesses back up to where they were and their homes and the like. Im going to have to leave you because i have other things that are pending, but we appreciate you covering this story and, again, hats off to the community as they stood up to this and firefighters on the line. Ifill cindy erickson, Scott Barthelmass, thank you very much. Ifill this week saw Iraqi Military forces, backed by u. S. Airpower, retake a key city from isis. Could this be a turning point . And does it present a model Going Forward for the campaign against the militants in iraq . Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner looks for answers. Warner for many civilians in ramadi, the worst seems finally over. Families said to have spent months as human shields for Islamic State fighters are emerging. Their children fed, their wounds bandaged, their elderly cared for. They have harrowing tales to tell of their captors, and praise for their iraqi army liberators. translated death is all we saw. Bloody people came upon us, people that dont know the meaning of humanity. God bless the soldiers who came and rescued us from this place, from the beasts. Warner isis militants seized ramadi in may, a late capstone to their 2014 sweep through iraq that captured more than a third of the country. The Iraqi Military, backed by u. S. Air strikes and allied shiite and sunni militias, had already scored their first major victory, in march. They retook the city of tikrit, 100 miles north of baghdad. In june, they drove isis out of the oilrich city of baiji. Then, last month, kurdish fighters in the north retook the town of sinjar. But the push for ramadi took seven months. And though the city center fell on monday, soldiers are still removing bombs from the rubble filled city and searching for up to 700 militants who are believed to be hiding in the area. Still, baghdads ambassador to washington, lukman faily, told us yesterday, its a milestone. Retaking ramadi is symbolic, as you were just talking about, and at the same time, strategic. Symbolic in the sense that were telling the world the iraqi army is retaking initiative and that isis will be kicked out of iraq once and for all. Warner how long will it take them to clear the city enough so that the tens of thousands who fled, the civilians, will feel comfortable returning . It will not be an overnight work, because the booby traps issue. We have learned a great deal in tikrit when we cleansed it, that it took a few weeks just to make sure that some of the places are booby traps they have used are tremendous, using car bombs as well. Thats another issue. We are dealing with enemy who doesnt have any rule of engagement. Warner just the same, Prime MinisterHaider Alabadi visiting ramadi this week, vowed to set his sights on a far larger prize in the quest to drive isis, known as daesh in arabic, out of iraq. translated we will raise this flag and purge this land from the last member of the we tell the people of nineveh, the people of mosul, that we are coming to liberate you from daesh, and isis will be defeated and flee as they were defeated in ramadi. Warner mosul, 250 miles north of baghdad, had a population of two million before isis took it; five times the size of ramadi and the largest city in the militants control. Do you think the approach that you used combined your forces with a lot of american air power. Is that enough of a model to then retake mosul, which the president has said is the goal . Popular mobilization forces, we had local tribes participate in it. In ramadi, we focused on the local tribes, our Counterterrorism Forces and the strong cooperation of the allied forces, in relation to the supremacy of the air. We need to carry on with such a model in retaking mosul, however we also have the kurdish partners of ours, the peshmerga. We have the tribes, we have the local as well as the government and as well as anybody who would like to contribute, including the allied, in the retaking or liberating of mosul. Thats a bigger project. Thats a much bigger project. Warner a different take comes from jim jeffrey, u. S. Ambassador to iraq from 2010 to 2012. He says ramadi is a significant victory, but not a guarantee of future success. To what degree did the way ramadi was retaken, which was using the iraqi army trained by the u. S. , backed by a lot of us bombing, offer a model for taking the much larger city of mosul . It offers a model with several exceptions. First of all, in Anbar Province in ramadi, we had a lot of sunni police, sunni members of the military. And sunni arab tribes fighting along with us. That is not going ot be the case up in mosul to the same degree. Mosul is bigger. Isis will fight harder for it. The u. S. Is going to have to put a lot more Ground Forces and a lot more fire power in order to take that down in any time in the near future. Warner do you think itll actually take american quote boots on the ground that is combat boots on the ground or trainers and advisors on the ground . I think itll take both trainers and advisors with the units who are going into combat that theyve trained. And at least some american, what we call maneuver battalions, to prime the pump and get other people to encourage