>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> you never discriminate. you want everyone -- the young, the old, the soft and the strong -- but cancer, we're fighting you with immune therapies and genetic testing, with laughter, with strength because every one of us is doing one thing only -- making cancer history. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your financial futureh r >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. bo >> supported by the rockefeller foundation. promoting the well-being of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. more at roesecellerfoundation.orgup >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security.ri at carnegie.org. >> 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.oge ut >> ifill: donald trump has spent this day trying to recover, after a series of statementsri that triggered a storm of criticism. he campaigned today in the face of sliding poll numbers, and more defections within republican ranks. correspondent lisa desjardins has today's developments. >> reporter: the unconventional donald trump spent the dayay trying to expand his presidential map in an unexpected place-- portland, maine. >> we are letting people come in from terrorist nations that shouldn't be allowed because you can't vet them. there's no way of vetting them.m you have no idea who they are. (applause) this could be the great trojan horse of all time. >> reporter: for trump, winning maine, with a history of votingn for democrats for president, would be a coup.wo but he has other electoral map concerns: a dozen states are thought to be in play, and newth polls out today show trump down significantly in three key states: michigan, pennsylvania, and new hampshire. he's also behind, but within the margin of error, in often- decisive florida. running mate mike pence todayri was in yet another november battleground: north carolina. in raleigh, it was an 11-year- old boy, off-camera -- who put him on the spot... >> you've been kind of softening up on his words. >> reporter: ...over how pence has been handling trump's recent missteps. >> you know, sometimes things don't always come out like you mean. and donald trump and i are absolutely determined to work i together. we have different styles. you might have noticed that. >> reporter: but some other republicans are attacking, not defending, of trump: congressman mike coffman of colorado is launching this ad, slamming the nominee: >> so if donald trump isssdo president, i'll stand up to hims plain and simple.mp >> reporter: the list of g.o.p. members of congress who've gone beyond just criticism, and publicly say they won't vote for trump, is growing. it now includes air force vet adam kinzinger of illinois. he joins charlie dent of pennsylvania, plus ileana ros-sy lehtinen and carlos curbelo of florida. there's also new york's richard hanna, who's going a step further: saying he'll vote for hillary clinton. and today, the top republican i congress, house speaker paulke ryan, tried to walk the trump tightrope. trump has refused to endorse him, ryan said he still supports trump but he implied that could change. ryan also told a wisconsin radid show, he'll keep pushing backep when he thinks trump is out of bounds. >> i don't like to do this, i don't want to do this, but iis will do this because i feel i have to in order to defendo republicans and our principles, so people don't make the mistake in thinking we think that way. >> trump extended an olive branch saying he thinks ryan is a good guy but not endorsing him. on the left. >> i would feel terrible ifle donald trump got elected. >> jill stein released her ad going after donald trump and hillary clinton both. as for clinton, she was in las vegas talking about jobs, as shl left one stop, she turned to respond to a question about outsourcing, and donald trump. >> when you run for president you need to be judged on what you have done and trump was a he imported foreign workers instead of hiring americans at country clubs and resort. he cheated contractors. i take that personally. >> reporter: the other half of the democratic ticket, tim kaine, stopped in baltimore for the national urban league conference this morning, before a tour through the upper midwest tomorrow. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins.gug,he >> woodruff: in the day's other news, a bombshell hit u.s. gymnastics on the eve of the olympics in brazil. "the indianapolis star" and "us today network" reported widespread claims that coachesde have sexually abused young athletes. it said the sport's governing body has mostly dismissed the claims.go we'll explore this in full,fu right after the news summary. >> ifill: in israel, the head of a christian charity's operations in gaza is now accused of diverting donations to hamas, to build tunnels and buy weapons. mohammed el-halabi was arrested in june. he appeared in court today on charges he siphoned up to $50 million from "world vision" over 10 years. world vision says it's "shockedo and has no reason to believe the charges. >> woodruff: a stabbing spree in the heart of london last night left one american woman dead and five other people wounded. the attacker was a norwegian teenager of somali origin. investigators worked the crime scene today, and said itnd appeared to be the result of mental illness, not terrorism. but, people in the area werem. rattled. >> it's such a busy area, it is right by euston station. there must be thousands of people who pass through this area every day. i heard on the news this morning that the police response was quite quick i mean so that gives some comfort but yeah i'm shocked. >> woodruff: the suspect is in custody. one of the wounded remains hospitalized. >> ifill: back in this country, the national institutes of health is moving to promote research using human stem cells in animal embryos. it could help find ways to treat alzheimer's and other diseases, or grow organs for transplants. n.i.h. proposed today to lift a moratorium on government funding for the research. it was imposed last september, because of ethical concerns. >> woodruff: much of the southwest is bracing for new flooding as monsoon seasonal rains sweep across the region. six states-- arizona, california, colorado, nevada, new mexico and utah-- were warned today to be ready. flash floods hit parts of the region earlier this week, after intense storms that knocked down power lines and left drivers stranded. >> ifill: a major recall today from the ford motor company. it involves 830,000 vehicles in the u.s. and mexico. they could have faulty side door latches that break, allowing the doors to open while the car isdo moving. ford says the recall covers six different models ranging from model years 2012 to 2016. >> woodruff: and, wall street mostly marked time, ahead ofah tomorrow's jobs report for july. the dow jones industrial averagi lost about three points to close at 18,352. the nasdaq rose six points, and the s&p 500 added half ats point. >> ifill: still to come on the newshour: years of unreported sexual abuse accusations against u.s. gymnastics coaches. stepping up the fight against isis in libya. a shrinking jewish community on india's coast, and much more. >> woodruf on the eve of the opening olympic ceremonies in brazil, a new investigation into usa gymnastics uncovers some disturbing details. as athletes are gathering in rio, a stunning report from the "indianapolis star" and "usa today" network dominated this day: it found top executives in charge of gymnastics' national governing body for years routinely ignored allegations of sexual abuse by coaches of younb athletes, in some cases, going back to the 1990's. the report said usa gymnastics had files on more than 50 coaches around the country, claims that had long sat in drawers at its office in indianapolis. that included a former coach, mark schieflbein. the news report said gymnastics officials had a thick file of complaints about him for years before he was convicted of sexual battery and sexual exploitation of a minor.ex former gymnast becca seaborn says he molested her as a young girl. her parents learned of the extensive file usa olympics had only after he was convicted. >> our daughter now is 26 years old. this happened when she was 10 and 11. h and still to be where it's at and not to have changed anything, it makes me sick that this is still happening. that these children aren't beine protected and that's just not fair. the olympics, these children are going to want to go join gyms. be just like these heroes theyse see on tv, and it just starts all over again. it just makes me real sad. >> woodruff: in another case, the report found gymnastics officials had sexual misconducts files on coach james bell fivee years before he was arrested for molesting other gymnasts. kaylin maddox brietzke said she was seven when bell inappropriately touched her, and is angry at usa gymnastics. >> any corporation that puts their reputation above safety. honestly that's something that i don't want to be a part of at all. and i was part of usa gymnastics for a very long time. doesn't matter who you areme protecting. it doesn't matter that they are part of your organization andth you want to save face. how about saving me? >> woodruff: in a statement, steve penny, the president of usa gymnastics said the organization is "committed to promoting a safe environment... and "believes it has a duty to report to law enforcement whatever circumstances warrant." but he also said the group seeks first-hand knowledge wheneverno allegations arise. and noted, "we feel the star left out significant facts that would have painted a more accurate picture." >> woodruff: for a closer look at all this, we turn to marisa>> kwiatkowski, investigative reporter for the "indy star,"or part of the usa today network. and, nancy hogshead-makar, a three-time olympic gold medalish in swimming. she's the director of advocacy 20 women who are survivors of sexual abuse. for the record, we invited usa gymnastics to appear but no one was available. i and we want to thank both of yoe for joining us.us marisa kwiatkowski, to you first, help our audience to understand the role that u.s.a. gymnastics plays.mn what is it to the sport of gymnastics? >> u.s.a. gymnastics is the sport's national governing body so they set the rules and policies that govern the sportt of gymnastics in the united states. they also are the ones who select the olympic team, the team that will represent thent united states in the olympics. >> reporter: now, the report today suggested something likek 50 coaches may have been involved over a period of how many years? >> we know that u.s.a. gymnastics compiled sexual misconduct complaint files on at least 54 coaches between 19966 and 2006. >> woodruff: so we're talkinguf about something that allegedly went on for a long time. >> well, the issue of sexual misconduct has been a problem in all different kind of sports and different disciplines over a long time.m >> woodruff: so marisa kwiatkowski, as we heard, u.s.a. gymnastics is saying we feel the star left out significant facts that would have painted a more accurate picture. what do you think they're referring to? >> i'm not sure. on our web site indy star.com, we have all the questions we asked with their responses so the public can see specifically what we asked and what they responded. we also posted their statement you're referring to in its entirety on our web site. >> woodruff: what is their best explanation for why these files sat there and why people -- parents weren't notified, why this wasn't more public, why something wasn't w done sooner? >> well, we don't know at this time what's in those files because they are sealed by the judge in the criminal case, and u.s.a. gymnastics has declined to release them to us and cited the privacy of those involved. we do know those involved allegations of sexual misconduct against coaches.ns we don't know whether or notno those were investigated by u.s.a. gymnastics or reported to authorities. >> woodruff: and do you have d any sense of what happens next now that this report is public? >> well, we have a number of articles that we're continuing to work on on this topic that will be coming out through "indy star" and u.s.a. today in the future. the lawsuit is ongoing so the judge will rule on our motion to intervene to get access to those documents and also to the plaintiff's case. >> woodruff: let me turn to nancy hogshead-makar. what was your reaction when you first saw this story? >> well, i was aware of this rule. i knew that united states swimming also has a similar rule which says that it will only review complaints that are filed by either victims or parents of victims, and that rule is not required by the sports act or by any sports law, and it's sort of a random rule, but it looks to keep national governing bodies from having to go do these investigations or file reports with the police or other authorities. >> woodruff: was there an awareness, staying with you nancy hogshead-makar, wasre thew an awareness that this might have been going on over time? >> well, the issue of sexual abuse in club and olympic sports is one that i have been working on for a number of years, so an employee is protected by title 7, students are protected by title 9 that requires schools investigate or sanction the abusers. when it comes to club or olympic sports, there is no civil rights protection, so these national governing bodies will say in court that we don't owe a legal duty to the kid who is harmed, that the club should handle it, that the parent should handle it, other people but not the national governing body should handle it. so consequently, you get the rules like the one they have which says that, you know, unless the kid makes the complaint, they're not going tot do anything, and we know that molesters are very good at getting kids to be quiet. that's why when we find out about molesters like the san dusky type you find dozens if not hundreds of cases. >> woodruff: so what is the resource for parents, for men or women who may have been involved in -- may have been involved in a case of molestation years ago or currently?or what can they do? >> yeah, there is not the samesa league patrol teaks. i mean, right. so that's consequently why we don't hear about a lot of it. so it's usually people who are deeply in the sport that know best about just how bad it is and where the problems are, things like what the indianapolis star revealed in their investigation. but if aei parent thinks they he a problem, they should definitely report to their national governing body, you know, because we know that both parents and victims, they will do an investigation, that they will report to the appropriate authorities. >> woodruff: but one of theuf things that's so disturbing is how young these children were. seven years old? >> absolutely. these are small children. the easy part for governing bodies to do is the education piece. the much harder part is getting a coach out.t. you know, listen, police have a hard time dealing with sexuall abuse and getting -- and convicting these people and making sure that they are in prison. any youth-serving organizationa needs to have very strong protections. what we want them to have is an independent duty to do these investigations and get the molesters out of the organization. >> woodruff: i know for one thing, i'm sure everyone hopes this kind of public reporting of this could begin to make some difference. we're going to leave it there. marisa kwiatkowski, nancy hogshead-makar, we thank you both. >> thank you very much. . >> woodruff: and in other olympics news, this evening the international olympic committee approved the entry of 271 russian athletes for the rio games. they had faced questions as to whether or not russian athletest would be banned due to allegations of doping. >> ifill: the chaos in libya after the fall of moamar gadaffi, created a vacuum, filled in part by the islamic state. now, the u.s. is stepping up pressure on the group's stronghold there, with new attacks launched this week. t foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner begins our w coverage. >> warner: president obama visited the pentagon today, conferring with his military leadership about the battle t against the islamic state.hi he had this to say about the newest u.s. military front inli that fight, in libya. >> the request of libya's government of national accord wt are conducting strikes and support of government aligned forces as they fight to restake sirte from i.s.i.l and we will continue to support the government's efforts to secure their country. >> warner: the meeting cameee three days after the u.s. launched a series of air and drone strikes against isis's libyan stronghold, in and around the town of sirte. the u.s. air campaign comes in support of a libyan government- backed coalition of brigades anc militias fighting isis on the ground. those forces have taken heavy casualties trying to clear the town block by block, pushing isis fighters into the city center. >> ( translated ): despite the obstacles and difficulties we have faced in the dollar neighborhood such as land mines, booby traps and snipers, the snipers took all the roofs of the high buildings, despite that we made good progress forward. >> warner: but their slow going prompted the u.n. and western-d backed libyan government in tripoli to request the u.s. air strikes. the tripoli government isn't the only one claiming legitimate rule in the country. it has a competitor in the east. in benghazi, renegade generalra khalifa heftar has been fighting islamists and other rivalva militias for supremacy there. he rejects the tripoli government's claim to power. but for now, the u.s. militaryfo is focused on the fight for sirte, at the heart of the islamic state's bid to make libya its most important outpost outside of iraq and syria. for the pbs news hour, i'm margaret warner. >> ifill: joining me now for more on this is fred wehrey, of the carnegie endowment for international peace. he's just returned from a research trip to the front lines of the battle for sirte. he was embedded with governmente backed militias as they battled islamic state fighters. welcome. >> thank you. >> ifill: we heard the president boast success against i.s.i.s. today whether in syria or iraq or afghanistan, and he, also scolded russia's role. but libya seems like it's a whole more complicated issue. >> absolutely. first, there's no government -- or it's split. i i mean, there's many governments. and the forces that are fighting the islamic state are a coalition of militias that are very loosely affiliated to the government of national accord,or and so the united states' effors is to use air power to support that offensive.fe beyond that, you've got enormous challenges of building the libyan skate. >> ifill: how wide strd is i.s.i.s.' footprint in libya?by >> right now it's concentrated in the coastal city of sirte. i heard estimates of about 500 fighters. it also has a slight presence in the west, a presence in benghazi. but over the past year, we've really seen libyan forces of their own accord push back against the islamic state.st >> ifill: we've heard the president use an interestingte term in his remarks today.y he talked about the risk of this becoming global wackamole.a is that what libya is? >> this was an affiliate thatf was powerful and growing so i think the president to have the united states and our western allies felt the need to supportp local forces in this battle. libya is strategically locatedca close to africa and europe. by some estimates, it is the most powerful affiliate outsidee of syria and iraq.ir >> ifill: well us about sirte. sirte is gadhafi's hometown and guys support. the town fell into disrepair after the revolution and he was able to come in and set up a draconian form of governmenten there. misratah is a town to the west that fields the most powerful militias and they are providing most fighters that are launchinl the assault on sirte.si >> ifill: that's who you spent time with, these fighters, when you were on the ground. so what evidence did you see as you traveled on the front lines of the presence of i.s.i.s.? >> well, you certainly seee i.s.i.s. beyond the front lines. >> ifill: right. we went into a bombmaking factory, you see i.s.i.s.s. corpses. they are in the city. drones are observing the i.s.i.s. fighters. so they are dug in. they have sniper in buildings. they set up booby traps and mines. they have a few artillery and tank pieces the u.s. hit. so they're prepared for the long haul. the thing is they don't have anywhere to go and that's why they're fighting so ferociously to the death. >> ifill: you saw a structure for crucifixions?r >> therthis was a roundabout one outskirts of sirte used for crucifixions that had a metal scaffolding. it was a powerful moment when they took this down because that's where the islamic statei held their public executions. >> ifill: how sophisticated are thi i.s.i.s. fighters? >> they enjoy a lot of support from foreign fighters that seemed to have quite a lot of expertise in tactics like mortars and booby traps and minus. there are reports of some defections from libyan fighters because theys see the noose tightening. but they're in it for the long haul. >> ifill: yet as you started off pointing out, and we alwaysl come back every place the u.s. is engaged in, is internal politics on the ground affectth what the future will be. >> absolutely. in libya, the government, even though i.s.i.s. is ousted from sirte, there are enormous challenges for rebuilding. there is the question of oil revenues and the rejection of government in tripoli. tripoli's government is so fragile it it hasn't been able to exert its authority. one purpose behind the strikes is to show the government the u.s. has your back, helping you in this campaign. >> ifill: with the understanding u.s. will be done once i.s.i.s. is done?. >> i think u.s. and the other allies want to help this government rebuild its army, get the economy back on track. the europeans have a huge role to play here. i think we heard the president acknowledge we really dropped the ball in the year after gadhafi fell, so tremendous work to be done. >> fredne wehrey, carnegie, endowment for international peace. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: stay with us,us coming up on the newshour: why the u.s. sent irane $400 million the same day four hostages were released. what one man's very public job search teaches us about beingbl unemployed. and alec baldwin explains why he was born to be a radio host. but first, the last hurrah in a once thriving jewish community- in one of the diaspora's farthest flung places. fred de sam lazaro takes us to india.es a version of this story aired on religion and ethics news weekly. >> reporter: in its nearly 900 year history, this synagogue had never seen an observance like this one.ry they came from four continents to this unlikely location: the coastal indian city of cochin, for the first sabbath service in decades, and possibly the last one ever. a once thriving jewish community of several thousand has mostly faded into a bitter-sweet history in the age of modern day israel, said yeshoshua sivan, as british-born israeli, >> i'm very sad to see communities disappear.sa on the other hand, i'm very happy to see that after all these years of dispersion the prophecy of the return to the land of israel is in my time. i'm part of it, is being, realized. at least we see the synagogues, we see the streets, we see howet life was once here >> reporter: jewish life along india's malabar coast dates back to the ancient spice trade that drew explorers from across the sea. they comes now as tourists butey they came in ancient times to trade and, in the case of some jews, to settle, from yemen, mesopotamia and later a few from spain and portugal after the inquisition away from tourist enclaves, there's a struggle to preserve what remains of the jewish heritage here. i'm standing in what was the women's section of a synagogue in mala about four or five mile in from the coastline. there was a thriving jewish community here until 1955 when they decided, all of them en masse, to emigrate to israel. and they turned this building over to local municipal authorities. >> they were very good friends,, they were very good neighbors, they were very good traders.d >> reporter: some left for religious fulfillment in the new jewish homeland, says retired professor c. karmachandran, who heads a local historic preservation committee. others thought israel had bettet economic prospects, he adds, but none left in fear. scholars agree there's little history of anti semitism in india.hi >> they were given all the protection by the rulers as wela as the local people to maintain their culture, their religion, their belief and their practices, and this is fact is the living symbol of that particular lofty tradition. >> reporter: but even loftyep traditions come underun development pressure or suffer neglect. already half the old jewish cemetery has been appropriated for a stadium, karmachandran complains. the rest is overgrown with weeds, where livestock graze. fading memories breed indifference, he says, but in a time of growing religious tensions in india, its critical to preserve the heritage >> to keep it up for posterity. >> reporter: for posterity! >> this is a lesson of tolerance. >> reporter: 60-year-old elias josephai was made caretaker of the synagogue in cochin, as the community dwindled, numbering no more than a handful today.dw this is where school children sat?th in the space where children once studied on the sabbath, he runs a nursery and aquarium supply business. the synagogue proper served as a dusty warehouse when i first visited josephai. and the scrolls from here? its sacred scrolls were donated years ago to a museum in israel. lacking the minyan or quorum ofn 10 men required for a sabbath service, there hadn't been one since 1972. >> i cry every sabbath, every holiday, i cry in my heart. >> reporter: about a year ago josephai shared that lament with some israeli tourists whoth stopped by. >> and when he told us that they hadn't prayed in that synagogue since 1972, i said to myselfid i've got to come back with a group of ten men, >> reporter: brooklyn native ari greenspan, a dentist and amateur chef now in israel, did indeed organize a return tour of india's jewish communities, c complete with a kosher menu. >> so here we have a traditional jewish cook and a traditional indian cook, ravi, making sure we have both strictly kosher and amazingly tasty kosher indian food. >> reporter: as they prepared the sabbath meal, some of the 35 visitors took time for pre- sabbath prayers. most came here under the auspices of the u.s. and israel- based orthodox union, which encourages jewish heritage tours. >> its wonderful to go into a building which hasn't been usedi in a very long time, at least you're able to have it function again for the purpose a synagogue was meant, namely to hold a prayer service, it's kind of a revitalization, even for a short timeye >> reporter: for josephai, it was a dream 44 years in the making, as the visitors entered a sanctuary that had been spiffed up.. they heaped praise on their host. >> you're sort of on the cusp because when he goes, he should live to be 120 years old when he goes, that's it. 2,000 years of cochin is gone. >> reporter: josephai actually plans to be gone in four years, retiring and settling like all the rest in israel. i it's not an easy decision, leaving a land he holds dear and a place so influential in forming who he is. >> i'll keep my heart over here and then go. i love india but it is inevitable. i have to leave the country, not because of the discrimination but as a jew, to live as a jew. >> reporter: elias josephai may well be that last jew, the one who'll turn out the lights on nearly a millenium of history in this place. for the pbs newshour, this isho fred de sam lazaro, in cochin, india. >> woodruff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under- told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. >> ifill: the iran nuclear deal has been a major issue in this year's presidential election.ct detractors blame hillary clinton and the obama administration foi caving to iranian demands, while receiving little in return. now, revelations about u.s. payments to the iranian government add a new wrinkle to those critiques. hari sreenivasan has more. >> sreenivasan: this week, the "wall street journal" broke news that the obama administration secretly air-lifted $400 million in cash to iran. the money was owed as part of a failed arms deal prior to thede 1979 islamic revolution. but the payment coincided within the release of four americans imprisoned in tehran, raising questions about cash for prisoners.si donald trump criticized the move today at his rally in portland, maine. >> $400 million in cash being flown in an airplane to iran. i wonder where that money really goes by the way, right. i wonder where it really goes. well it went to-- either in their pockets, or toward terrorism. probably a combination of both. >> sreenivasan: late this afternoon, president obama pushed back and defended the u.s. decision to send the cash to iran. he spoke at the pentagon. we announced these payments in january. many months ago. it wasn't a secret. we announced them to all of you. iran had pressed a claim before an international tribunal about them recovering money of theirs that we had frozen that, as a consequence of its working itsit way through the international tribunal, it was the assessment of our lawyers that we were now at a point where there was significant litigation risk and we could end up costing ourselves billions of dollars. it was their advice and suggestion that we settle.t >> sreenivasan: for more on this, i'm joined by the reporteh who broke the story, the "wall street journal's" jay solomon.he he's also the author of the forthcoming book, "the iran i wars: spy games, bank battlesan and the secret deals that reshaped the middle east." jay, thanks for joining us.nk not every day the secretary ofre state and the president come out and challenge the newsiness of your story. at one point the president called this manufactured outrage. i guess the central question isu was this part of the pre-negotiated payment for thee arms deal in the late '70s? what has your reporting shown this might have been somethingn closer to a ransom payment? >> the difficult part of this story from the beginning is the administration announced back in january this $1.7 billion payment, but as far as the specifics, the mechanics, they've refused to answer when dider the money arrive, house of it spent, was it sent in cash. through our reporter we found out actually this money was sent in pallets of cash on a plane secretly. to this day, we're still tryingt to figure out the timing, when did this money arrive and,an through this reporter, there is indications that it was secret, that basically these americansic weren't going to be released till that money arrived. so then it becomes a question really of timing. >> sreenivasan: which leads you to believe that therean wasa quid pro quo, that the prisoners wouldn't be released till the cash was in hand?in >> that is part of what we're seeing. it is hard because various elements are true. the white house said this is a decades-old dispute over financing over this arms deal, that is true. i there are a lot of different disputes that are continuing between iran and the u.s. on the financial side, but the particulars of how this was paid and when the money got there is still -- they refused to answer those questions, and they could easily resolve this by just saying, yeah, the money arrived then, it was paid in cash and there was no problem. p but if you watched the state department transcript today they were repeatedly asked and just would not answer that question.u >> sreenivasan: the president seemed to say it was cash partly because our sanctions against iran were working so well and we don't have a bankingve relationship with them and basically he said because we couldn't write them a check.h >> i think there is probably truth to that. there are lot ofh truths to this possibly, was it cash because there was no other way to get it there, i can believe that.at was it the situation that on the iranians wouldn't give up the americans till the money got there? i can see that.er some of the iranian generals publicly said they only would release the spice, as they called them, once the money arrived. >> sreenivasan: there wass recent reporting about the tension of the d.o.j. and the state department about doing this at all.l. >> there seemed to be consensuss within the government that the amount of money was a good deal, that this was a 37-year disputes the initial principal was 400 million and paying an additional 1.3 million in interest was not a bad deal for the united states. how they were going to spinet, that the iranians would take the cash for ransom or quid pro quo and would use this possibly in future cases. i think what a lot of people inn the u.s. government are concerned about in the last six months -- last year there have been three more iranian-americans taken prisoner, another three european and canadian iranian nationalsti who have been taken prisoner ino the last, i think, three months. so it's a cycle. and when you look back on the o history of the united states-iranian relations going back to the revolution you see this cycle, you know, that american diplomats who were taken hostage, the resolution for that was partly the unfreezing of assets in theth united states that were the shah's money. the three hikers taken prisoner in 2009, their release was also tied to both prisoner exchange and cash being paid.d. so it's not like this is a one-off. if you take a step back, as longer cycle. >> sreenivasan: jay solomon of the "wall street journal," thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >> woodruff: this week, a former news reporter and professor, sree sreenivasan was named chief digital officer for new york city. it's the culmination of a very public job search sreenivasanbl embarked on just last month. special correspondent roben farzad looks at what a sreenivasan's experience could teach the rest of us. it's part of our series "making sen$e" which airs thursdays on the newshour. >> reporter: at 7:00 a.m. in new york's riverside park, digital guru sree was walking his beagle mix, tara. but this was also an early morning networking session. what's one thing you've learned from the other places you're able to apply here? >> i think finding your key influencers and your largest audience. >> reporter: four days earlier, sreenivasan lost his job as chief digital officer at new york's financially strainedal metropolitan museum of art. >> after 3 amazing years i'll ba leaving the met on june 30th. >> reporter: it was a careerer low-point that his network knew all about because he himselfhe broadcast the news on social media. "if you want to invite me tof anything," he wrote, "i now have time, including for meaningful cups of coffee and drinks. h i'd also love to go walking with anyone available." o >> and i gave people this form, which might have been thefo funniest thing, where peopleth could go in and give me suggestions on what to do.hi >> reporter: over 1,000 people sent advice. >> visit with our camera club, go fishing. >> rescue twitter, start a start a social media consulting firm. vacation first then host your own tv show.al >> all the good tv shows are taken so...w. >> reporter: his facebook post got almost 500 comments including some job offers. sreenivasan turned them down. >> people may not always know what's the right thing but they want to help.y >> reporter: sreenivasan is prolific online. he taught social media at columbia journalism school for years, and while radical transparency is all the rage these days, even he was reluctant to take his plight public.pu >> i didn't want to do this. i had no interest in talking about myself in a moment of weakness as it is right now. my goal was to get a job. >> reporter: tell us about the most memorable or audacious overtures people have made to you.em >> i've been really touched by the folks who have said, including one of my friends who said, "i can't hire you fullu time, but i have a single day of consulting money and will you come speak to us on july 21?" and it was so meaningful. and i had someone drop off a pair of nike shoes because they heard that i want to go on a walk.esl >> reporter: someone even sent money. >> sree, i am sending this check in case you run out of rice,of noodles, lentils or dollars." i mean, who does that? that is such a generous gesture. >> reporter: at home with his wife roopa, a consultant, and their family, sreenivasan was trying to capitalize on thatsr goodwill. former chief digital officer at the met. >> reporter: working the phone... >> thanks for holding. i'm just checking my calendar.al >> reporter: lunch with a former colleague at columbia journalism school. l >> what is your advice for people when they stumble? >> it happens to all of us. people can use it as an opportunity to grow.s >> reporter: and miles of walking and talking. >> i have to take every phone call, every lunch, every coffeee that i can take and my days are booked from 7:15 in the morning, until late at night. >> reporter: so he was connecting with as many people as possible. >> do you feel like people are surprised to hear that a new yorker cartoonist needs to re- invent herself? ase >> reporter: a walk with cartoonist liza donnelly becameh an impromptu facebook live session. >> hi everybody. >> reporter: with an audience of over 2,000.er >> folks, just tell us where you're watching from, and hit share right now on facebook, so your friends, family, enemies can join us. >> reporter: the theme of the day? reinvention. >> ah, lauren says, how does one reinvent themselves while working in the same craft? >> i try to push my limits and use different tools. actually these are subway drawings that i did on my phone. it's a little boy looking out the window. i sit there with my finger and draw. >> i think reinvention, and you're an example of this, it's reinventing not who you are, but how you do your work, your processes. getting the word out. and you have to do this when you don't need to do it. >> reporter: granted, sreenivasan is a high-profile,ni highly networked figure. such a mainstay on twitter thath he even gave his job search a hashtag "sree 3oh". but what about the vast majority of jobless who lack v sreenivasan's resources and know-how? w >> i just want to find the right position for me.po >> reporter: katrina seals ruiz recently learned her event management position would be cue in a bank merger. are you in a position to do what sree is doing in that, opening it up really truly to the world, leaving nothing a secret? >> i would never think to post on facebook. he already has that relationship with, with the social media space, and i don't think i have that relationship yet. i'm, i'm still kind of dabbling in it, >> reporter: so her news would reach just 250 friends on facebook, compared to sreenivasan's 5,000.sr she's new to twitter.tt her dozen or so followers are dwarfed by sreenivasan's 80,000. have you had any unsolicited jon offers yet? >> no. no unsolicited job offers. i would welcome that greatly!! >> reporter: but seals ruiz is working the connections she has, even contacting professionals she doesn't know on linkedin. >> i have no problem using linkedin as an in mail, reachinn out to folks. for example, when i started this job search, i reached out to on of those people that i had in mailed, and she happened to sayn 'katrina,' she said, 'you're not going to believe this but i just mentioned your name.'bu i hadn't spoken to her in months. she didn't have a job for me,'t but we just had a great conversation >> reporter: and, likeke sreenivasan, she's taking every appointment. >> it's great to sit down with you now.u i wish it was under different circumstances!di (laughs) >> reporter: laura kottkamp directs corporate relations attk virginia commonwealth university's business school near katrina's homebase in richmond.in >> you could look at same industry which would be talkingm to other banks. then i would recommend that we put you in touch with some people that are in say an it company. >> i really, you've had some really great suggestions and recommendations that i will definitely utilize. >> it's tiring i think. >> it's exhausting. it's discouraging too. because you know i feel like i'm a big deal! and you know how come they don't see that?kn (laughs) >> reporter: seals ruiz is working hard to get her name out there. >> ♪ so i'm saving all my love for you ♪ >> reporter: in the meantime she's drawing on another talent, performing at private events. >> the next several months it i might be what i rely on depending on how things work out with my job search! >> reporter: she travels to new york regularly for gigs so we hooked her up with sreenivasan who was walking with a friend. >> people want to help you and your friends want to help you. but, 99% percent of the time, they have no idea what you actually do, and what you can do. i've had very good friends say well what can you actually do? so, making something simple that can be forwarded to somebody, very useful, very important. >> reporter: back at home,te sreenivasan hoped more people could learn from his experience. >> if you are working right nowh don't be complacent.ac make sure that you use this opportunity to build out your network, to continue to build the digital skills that are relevant to your industry, your kind of work now. because one of the things we've learned is that jobs come and go, but your network never leaves, i tell people it's too late to figure out twitter when the plane has just landed on tht hudson.ds it's too late to figure out linkedin when your company starts having layoffs. yeah, i should. yeah. >> reporter: sree, for his part, starts his new job with new york city this fall. katrina is still looking. but she refuses to sing the blues. s hit her up on twitter or linkedin if you know ofit something. for the pbs newshour i'm roben farzad in new york. >> ifill: next, to another in our brief but spectacular series where interesting people talk about their passions. tonight, we hear from alec baldwin, famous for his decades long career in film and television. he is also now host of a wnyc studio's podcast, "here's the thing." when i first started listening i remember thinking he was born to host public radio. >> good lord. (laughter)r) >> wow, i've never been insultet like that in my life. >> i don't need to be in some batman versus superman film, too old for that.d i was born to host, am i leonard peyton, jr.? ♪ acting was like sex. when i was young, i would do it with anybody. you get bedazzled by money and other things.i i always say to people don't live a big life in your early career so you can really, realll have a career like liam neeson or daniel day lewis.le colin firth, kevin kline, the people who succeed the most ino the business, it's the most important thing in their lives, or at least in the first years.a give it everything you've got when you're young and beautiful. it's working like a charm for leonardo dicaprio. he's done everything i told himi to do, he's got women jumpingpi out of the trees on him and an oscar, so you're welcome, leo. this is alec baldwin and you're listening to "here's the thing.e my chance to talk with artists, policymakers and performers. >> i don't view this show as an interview. i view it as a conversation.n people have complained, oh, alec, shut up, and i'm intrudinn on the people, but i'm trying to push them toward something we don't already know about them. you leave them alone in the longer format and 15 and 20 minutes go by and they're telling you everything you hopeh but it's their decision.i one of the most interesting interviews was paul simon and he just stared at me. so, what did you have for breakfast? he would be like this -- no, i'm not going to talk about what i i had for breakfast.br he was so private. these other people, you roll the tape and they do an unbroken monologue for an hour.no i could leave and go to lunch and come back and they wouldn't notice i was gone.. robert f. kennedy, jr., when you see images of your dad, what do you think of w the drama of your family? how does that play out in your daily life and who you are?r the biggest one for me i wanted to get was obama. how did it feel to do that job for eight years, the ups and the downs? i was dying to do that, but i don't think i'm going to get him, so... i remember al gore was on the set of "30 rock" working with us and i turned to him and he said, alec, you were interested in politics at some point in youryo life if i'm not wrong. >> woodruff: said, yes, sir, i really was, but the presidency of the united states isn't what it used to be. and the look he gave me, h he just stared at me and went, no, it is not. like what an amazing thing to have him say who had been in that world for so long. and it has changed.h i have a desire to do somethingo in the world of politics when i was young and that waned and waned over the last maybe 10 years and is almost extinguished. i don't have a desire anymore. you have to give me a good reason to believe hi house.s i hve two little kids and my wife and i are having another one. my big production i'm working on now is my family. i'm alec baldwin and this is myy "brief but spectacular" take on why i was born, to host a publii radio show. >> ifill: watch more of ourll brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. >> woodruff: also online, what outcomes could the election have for social security and medicare? on our making sense page, our medicare expert takes a look at the party platforms and what the candidates have promised. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and a clarification before we go: last night, in the introduction to julian assange, we said he was avoiding extradition to the u.s. we should have said he first faces extradition to sweden for questioning over sexual assault allegations. from there, he could face possible charges in the u.s. for releasing classified information. >> ifill: tune in later tonight on charlie rose: dr. anthony fauci of the national institutes of health on the funding shortage that may jeopardize the battle against the zika virus. and that's the newshour for tonight.'s i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks. for all of us at the pbs. newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:aj >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your financial futuren >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention. in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. ngnt >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.adib captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org acce ssorg this is "nightly business re with tyler mathisen and sue herera. market cat lifts, investor attention is squarely on tomorrow's employment report and whether it will show what many economists are starting to believe. the job growth is slowing. new normal? why americans just are not eating out like they used to. location, location, location. you take a picture. you post it on social media, but are you also revealing personal information that you'd rather keep private? those stories and more tonight on "nightly business report" for thursday, august 4th. good evening, everyone. i'm sue herera. tyler mathisen is off tonight. the job market has been a bright spot in an economy that has seen lackluster growth.