Sreenivasan next on pbs newshour weekend. Pbs newshour weekend is made possible by Corporate Funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios in Lincoln Center in new york Hari Sreenivasan. Sreenivasan good evening. Thanks for joining us. An International Terror group linked to al qaeda is warning of attacks on shopping malls in the United States, the United Kingdom and canada, including the mall of america. The warning was conveyed in a video released online by al shabaab yesterday. This morning on cnn, Homeland Security secretary jeh johnson urged vigilance, saying terror groups no longer need to rely on people trained overseas to come into the United States to launch an attack. Were in a new phase in that these groups are relying more and more on independent actors to become inspired, drawn to the cause. And the internet, through the internet. Carrying smallscale attacks on their own through their effective use of the internet. So, how seriously are you taking the threat . Im very concerned about the serious potential threat of independent actors here in the United States. Weve seen this now in europe. Weve seen this in canada. But specifically against the mall of america. Anytime a terrorist organization calls for an attack on a specific place, weve got to take that seriously. Sreenivasan al shabab claimed responsibility for a mall attack in nairobi, kenya, in the fall of 2013 that left more than 60 people dead. That monthlong strike at Oil Refineries across the United States has expanded again. Employees at two refineries in louisiana walked off the job late yesterday, hours after workers struck americas largest refinery in port arthur, texas. The workers, members of the united steelworkers, have also waged strikes at plants in california, indiana and ohio. Economists say gas prices have crept up in some locations as a result of the walkout. Overseas, mixed signals from ukraine. Prorussian rebels and the Ukrainian Government forces theyve been battling both say they will honor the new cease fire and pull back some of their heavy weaponry. The two sides exchanged prisoners yesterday. But at least two people were killed and ten wounded today when an explosive device was tossed from a car into a crowd of people at a peace rally. This amateur video was obtained by reuters and is believed to show the moment of the attack. Fighting continues in some cities, and the Ukrainian Government says russia is still sending armored columns into the region to support the rebels. For the First Time Since the civil war began in syria nearly four years ago, turkish troops crossed the border between the two countries overnight. The troops, supported by tanks and drones, rescued another 40 turkish troops who had been trapped for eight months by isis fighters. The rescued troops had been guarding the remains of the grandfather of the founder of the ottoman empire. Turkey claimed the site under a treaty signed in 1921. Syria denounced the incursion as blatant aggression. From nigeria tonight, word of another suicide bombing involving a young child. Authorities there say a young girl possibly only eight years old, blew herself up at a checkpoint outside a market. She died along with at least five others. The incident happened in the northeast region of the country where boko haram islamic extremists frequently carry out attacks. Just weeks ago, another girl carried out another similar attack there. She was ten. There is a suspected new leak of Radioactive Material at the stricken Fukushima Nuclear power plant in japan. Authorities there say they detected it this morning and responded by blocking the flow of water from the plant into a nearby bay. Contaminant levels were initially reported to be 70 times above accepted levels before falling. A major art discovery two unfinished sketches by paul cezanne have been found on the reverse side of watercolors acquired more than 90 years ago. The discovery was made by officials at philadelphias Barnes Foundation museum. Curators say collector Albert Barnes likely never knew he had acquired, in their words, four for the price of two. And legendary jazz trumpeter clark terry has died. Terry played with both Duke Ellington and count basie, and later was featured in the tonight show band. Clark terry was 94. Sreenivasan walmart made news this week by announcing that it is raising the wages for its employees above the federal minimum of 7. 25 an hour. Starting pay at the company, the Worlds Largest private employer, is going up to 9 an hour, and 10 an hour next february. To discuss the broader implications, we are joined now by shelly banjo. She has reported the story for quartz, a business site published by the Atlantic Media company. So how significant is it . Were talking about one in a hundred people employed in the United States are employed by walmart. Pretty significant. Walmart, as you mentioned is the Biggest Police officer at employer. So what walmart does other people tend to follow. Srennivasan is that something target and other competers competitors might do as well. A lot of competitors are already paying more Something Like costco or some of the other retailers but definitely competitors like target, best buy those kinds of companies are likely to follow suit as they fight for workers. Srennivasan so why did walmart do this at this moment . One of the things you pointed out in your story is now 29 states around the country already have minimum wages above the federal base. Right. And my argument is what took them so long. Because basically they had to do this anyway. The time was coming. As you mentioned 29 states already had higher state wages than the federal minimum and a lot of political pressure from workers from the government from the states themselves. And the economy. Wages are raising especially for unemployed workers. Not as fast as other parts of the economy but jobs are getting the the Unemployment Rate has been going down and jobs are getting more competitive. Srennivasan wage stagnation has been one of those things economists have been struggling with because basic economics says if unemployment decreases meaning there is less people without jobs so the demand for them increases. And they should be getting paid more or they should be able to command more right but that hasnt happened in the past years why not . I think that is what is confounding. Economists are seeing the economy going up. They are saying we are having a hard time finding good people yet at the same time they are ep coulding their wages low. So maybe this is new an experiment saying maybe if we bring up the wages well get Better Qualified workers. Srennivasan places like the chamber of kmefers and other business groups are using this as an opportunity to say you know what this is an example of the market at work. That the government shouldnt be creating creating a federal mandate to try to ask everybody to say 10. 10 is the minimum. Walmart did this on their very own. I think that is the political gains you get out of this. Because all those business groups are the ones coming out against raising the minimum wage. The National Retail federation was saying no we shouldnt raise wages. And then the second walmart says were going to raise wages, then all those business groups rallied around walmart and said good job with your decision. So i guess if walmart can head them off before it gets to 10. 10 by offering 9 this year, then they set the conversation. They decide what they want for their business. Srennivasan and how many people does this actually impact inside walmart. Even if they get 9 this crer or 10 are they does this increase their ability to spend money compared comparatively speaking. You raise an interesting point. Because one of the biggest were upon ents say walmart employees employs 1. 3 1. 4 million if you include sams club or not in the u. S. So you put ex tra dollars in their pockets and a lot of those people will spend their money back at walmart. Srennivasan shelly banjo thanks so much. Thank you. Sreenivasan and now to our signature segment, our original reports from around the nation and around the world. Tonight, in the midst of this extreme winter, we focus on a problem that affects millions of poor americans finding the money to pay their heating bills. Today happens to be the warmest day in a week in ashville, North Carolina, but even that far south, the low friday was 4 degrees, 3 the day before. And while, for some heating costs have declined this winter for many heating bills continue to pile up. Our segment tonight is part of our ongoing reporting initiative about the causes and effects of poverty in america. In the weeks and months ahead, well be looking indepth at social programs that work and those that dont, as well as focusing on Innovative Solutions from around the country and across the political spectrum. We call our series chasing the dream poverty and opportunity in america. The newshours stephen fee has tonights report. Reporter asheville, North Carolina, a city of 87,000 nestled in the appalachian mountains. Its perhaps best known for farmtotable dining, funky boutiques, arthouse cinemas. But behind palatial vacation homes and craft beer halls 20 of people here live below the poverty line, outpacing state and national figures. And during the wintertime, when the average january low is 27 degrees, lowincome families some living in older or mobile homes often struggle to keep warm. Nine years ago, after betty and mike lannings daughter fell on hard times, they took custody of their infant granddaughter. Mike was a mechanic, betty worked in home healthcare. I took care or people, and i enjoyed my work very much. Reporter in 2007, mike died in an accident, and betty was left to raise her granddaughter rhianna on her own. After he passed away, it was a real struggle for me. I had to decide to buy medicines or feed my granddaughter or pay my utility bills. Reporter a series of debilitating medical conditions left lanning, now 76, unable to work. Her only income, 1,100 a month in social security. She started going to food pantries, even stopped taking two medications to save cash. But as the weather got colder, lanning knew she wouldnt have the money to heat her home. I heat my home with fuel oil and its very expensive. Its like 3 and something a gallon. So, if you get 100 gallons of fuel oil, its over 300. Reporter and then you bring in the income from social security, which is 1,100. So, thats a big chunk of your monthly income. Yeah. Well, certainly, this time of year, heating is always at the top of the list. Reporter thats bill murdock, executive director and c. E. O. Of Eblen Charities. Each year, eblen helps thousands of asheville families pay bills, put food on the table, and, in wintertime, stay warm. You turn on the tv, and you hear that the economy is Getting Better and that gas prices are lower. Is that having an impact here for lowincome families in asheville . So many of our families have been struggling for a long, long time, even before the economy turned. And a lot of them are the first ones hit when something happens and the last ones to recover if they ever do because theyre dealing with so much more than what a lot of us deal with. Reporter on a recent january morning, the waiting room at Eblen Charities was full by 9 00, and most of the folks we met needed help paying heating bills. How much are you looking at . Its 500 a month right now because of the space heaters. Reporter 40yearold Jorge Londono has four kids. He switched on electric heaters this winter and now has overdue power bills totaling more than 1,000. Cecilia lordman gets paid the minimum wage working at burger king. On her salary, she and boyfriend mike roberts cant afford their 300 energy bill. Her husband lost his one job. Reporter jackie henry brought her 36yearold daughter debra wolf to Eblen Charities. Wolf has four kids and owes 417 this month. The Power Company says its ready to switch off her electricity. So, we met some clients just now. Some people, it looks like their heating bills are almost half of what they pay for rent. You know, what kind of burden is that putting on families here . Well, its a tremendous burden considering economic times, and some were maybe not working, some maybe on social security, some maybe have two or three jobs. Reporter in North Carolina, lowincome families are eligible for a range of Government Programs to help stay warm in the winter. Generally, theyre administered by the state and paid for by the federal government. But in recent years, federal spending on programs for the poor has been cut. So, for example, the federal utility bill subsidy only pays up to 400 a year in North Carolina; we met families who owe more than that every month. So, increasingly, local governments are partnering with private nonprofit organizations to try to find new ways to help poor families cope with cool temperatures. Phillip hardin is Economic Services director for the Buncombe County Health and Human Services department, which includes asheville. Instead of directly doling out federal heating dollars his department contracts with nonprofits like Eblen Charities to do it instead. He says those nonprofits often have more latitude in distributing government aid. So, they can combine funds in a lot of ways, you know, that if theyre administering three or four different pots of funds from us that could help with heating costs, then you may be able to pull from more than one funding source. Reporter so, they can basically stitch together state federal resources, also use a little bit of private funds and hopefully give people enough to pay a bill. Thats absolutely right. Yeah. I mean, they. And then they have their own funding as you mentioned. You know, thats something that, from a county Government Agency we dont go out and recruit or solicit donations. Reporter after Betty Lanning came looking for help, eblen worked out a deal to cover her regular heating bills. Government dollars cover a little more than half the cost; eblens private funds and other donations, including funds from the local energy company, make up the rest. So, does that basically mean that government isnt doing enough . You know, i dont know if i could say that. Im certainly not one to point a finger and say, you know, youre not doing enough. But i think theres a great opportunity to do more. Needs are always going to outdistance resources. I think, since the beginning of time, i think thats always going to happen. Reporter phillip hardin, though, says a publicprivate model might not work everywhere, especially in communities that dont have charitable organizations. When you get into the smaller communities, those partners dont exist. You know, there may not be but one nonprofit in some of these smaller counties, if. laughs maybe none. Reporter whats more, just paying heating bills doesnt solve the whole problem in Western North carolina, where many lowincome families live in drafty older houses or poorly insulated mobile homes. We try to do work that you cant really see from the inside. Reporter thats where groups Like Community action opportunities come in. The nonprofit has seven full time weatherization professionals on staff who serve four counties in Western North carolina. They seal ducts, insulate doors and windows, and install Energy Efficient light bulbs to help families stretch their Energy Dollars at no cost to the homeowner. Technician jack heuer says those simple measures will save nearly 300 a year for the Family Living in this singlewide mobile home. Were estimating to spend labor and materials, close to 3,500. Reporter their work is also financed with federal funds, and the government requires any improvements to basically pay for themselves after 15 years. In this case, the project will be paid for in about 12 years. But federal resources for weatherization have been trimmed, as well. At the height of the federal stimulus program, Community Action opportunities had an annual budget of 3. 9 million to weatherize 200 homes a year. But today, the budgets down to 1 million, and the group can only work on 100 homes annually. And while there are no firm figures on how many homes need insulating, the group says its waitlist has only grown. In a time of belttightening, bill murdock at Eblen Charities says there will always come a point when government assistance dollars just dry up and private nonprofits have to fill in the gaps. We dont feel we have that opportunity that lu