Public agencies are now looking at the community in a different light, because now once they see the young men from our program, it breaks down the stereotypes that some folks may have had toward young men of color. Wooduff those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved, staying engaged. They are not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is, how did i end up here . I started schwab with those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. 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. Ifill the pentagon tallied the damage today from u. S. And arab air strikes that blasted Oil Installations held by Islamic State forces in syria. They represent a key source of funding for the militants up to 2 million a day in black market oil sales. At the pentagon, rear admiral john kirby said the strikes were successful, but theres much more to do. They still have financing at their fingertips. They still have plenty of volunteers. They still have plenty of weapons and vehicles and the ability to move around. They still control a sided with swath inside iraq, no question about it. This is just, as i said the other day, and i want the state it again, this is just the beginning. Ifill syrian activists reported civilians were killed in last nights attacks, but admiral kirby said there is no credible information to support that claim. Meanwhile, f. B. I. Director james comey said the u. S. May have identified the Islamic State militant in video beheadings of two american journalists and a british aid worker. The man has a british accent, but comey would not give his name or nationality. Wooduff iraq now says it has intelligence of an alleged plot by Islamic State militants to attack subways in the u. S. And france. Prime minister Haider Al Abadi said today hes received credible information of an active threat. Senior u. S. And french officials said they had no evidence of a plot. But nycs Police Department added more officers. Ifill irans president Hassan Rouhani charged today that outsiders bear the blame for the rise of Islamic State and other extremists. He told the u. N. General assembly that certain intelligence agencies helped fund and support such groups. That was taken as a reference to the u. S. And israel. Rouhani also challenged u. S. Leadership of a coalition. translated it is a strategic mistake if some countries under the pretext of the leadership of the coalition are in fact trying to continue their hegemony in our region. Obviously, since the pain is better known by the regional countries, Better Together they can form a coalition to shoulder the responsibility and the leadership of the fight. Ifill the iranian leader also said a deal on his countrys Nuclear Program is possible by a november deadline if the west is flexible. Wooduff a cruise liner in the mediterranean rescued more than 300 people from a small boat off cyprus today. Theyre believed to be refugees fleeing syria. The packed vessel had been stranded about 50 miles off southwestern cyprus, and the coastal town of paphos. Hundreds of people have already died at sea this year, trying to sail from the middle east or north africa, to europe. Ifill a woman beaten by a california state trooper is getting 1. 5 million in a settlement. The incident involving Marlene Pinnock was captured on video last july first. Pinnock is bipolar. Court documents say the trooper tried to pull her from oncoming traffic on a los angeles freeway, and she resisted. The officer has agreed to resign. Wooduff wall street hit the skids today, driven partly by in apple. The tech giant sank nearly four percent after it had to pull a troubled Software Update for iphones. Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 258 points to close at 16,952; the nasdaq fell 88 points to close at 4,466; and the s p 500 dropped nearly 32 points, to 1,966. The decline came amid talk that the market is overdue for a correction. Wooduff still to come on the newshour. Examining eric holders tenure as attorney general. The challenges for Health Workers on the front line in the fight to contain ebola. Helping young men of color in california by training them to save lives. President obama creates the Worlds Largest marine preserve in the Pacific Ocean. And, how billionaires are shaping american politics. Ifill attorney general eric holder tendered his resignation today after six years at the helm of the department of justice. When he officially steps down, he will be one of the longest serving and most controversial members of president obamas cabinet. The president and his top Law Enforcement officer entered the white house state dining room late this afternoon. As younger men, eric and i both studied law, and i chose him to serve as attorney general because he believes, as i do, that justice is not just an abstract theory. Its a living and breathing principle. Im proud to call you my friend. I have loved the dept of justice ever since a young boy, i watched Robert Kennedy how the department can and must be a force for that which is right. I hope i have done honor to faith you placed in me and to the legacy of all those who have served before me. Ifill eric holder became the nations first African American attorney general in 2009. He quickly became a lightning rod for criticism, first over khaled sheik mohammed, the 9 11 mastermind. Holder wanted a civilian trial in new york, but was forced to leave it with a military commission at guantanamo. The attorney general also drew heavy partisan fire over operation fast and furious, a botched gunrunning investigation in the southwest. House republicans cited him for contempt of congress for allegedly withholding documents. And holder clashed publicly with House Oversight chairman darrell issa. You didnt want us to see the details, mr. Attorney general. No, no, im not going to stop talking now. When you characterize something as talking over each other its too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of congress. Its unacceptable and its shameful. Wooduff holder rejected demands that he resign, and told the newshour today in a phone interview to those who think that they forced me out, i hate to break their hearts, but thats totally untrue. The attorney general has focused instead on major Civil Liberties issues including gay marriage. Earlier this year, he told his state counterparts they are not obligated to defend bans on gay unions. I believe that we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation. And we must endeavor in all of our efforts to uphold and advance the values that once led our forbearers to declare unequivocally that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity. Ifill the attorney general also vowed to find new ways to protect minority voters, after the Supreme Court invalidated part of the Voting Rights act last year. We cannot allow the slow unraveling of the progress that so many, throughout history, have sacrificed so much to achieve. Wooduff more recently, holder pushed to shorten prison terms for many nonviolent offenders. He singled out drug sentencing in a newshour interview this past summer. If you are basing a sentence on something other than the conduct of the person who was involved, and the persons record, if youre looking, for instance, at factors of what educational level the person has received, what neighborhood the person comes from ifill to be clear, some states are doing that already. They are. Right, and using that as a predictor, though, of how likely this person, this individual is going to be a recidivist im not at all certain im comfortable with that. Wooduff and last month, he announced a fullscale investigation of the police in ferguson, missouri. That followed violent clashes over the death of an unarmed black teenager Michael Brown at the hands of a white officer. I promised that the United States department of justice would continue to stand with the people there long after the National Headlines had faded. Wooduff holder leaves undone a promised update of racial profiling rules for f. B. I. Agents. Its expected to include religion, gender and sexual orientation. Also unresolved, a request for more Immigration Judges at the border. So far, congress has balked at funding the idea. Ifill we examine eric holders tenure and legacy with tony west, who served as holders associate attorney general, until stepping down earlier this month. And, hans von spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and coauthor of obamas enforcer eric holders Justice Department. Tony west, he was your boss for a long time. There what is his legacy . I think his legacy will definitely include civil rights, making historic gains in civil rights, as well as reforming our criminal Justice System, particularly when it comes to defending our rights at a time when those rights are under attack. I think it will also include looking at the criminal Justice System where we have a criminal Justice System that too often manifests divisions along race and crosslines. Eric holder is someone who has not been afraid to take those on and to try to change that. I believe that will be part of his longterm legacy. Ifill hans von spakovsky, what is your idea of his legacy . Well, frankly i welcome the resignation today, and so would anyone else who believes in the rule of law. He has politicized the department to an extent never seen before. In fact, one of the career lawyers that we interviewed for the book, who was hired during the clinton administration, told us that he thought eric holder was the worst attorney general since mitchell under nixon, and thats quite a statement coming from a career lawyer. Ifill what does he base that on . He bases it on the fact that the decisionmaking on prosecutions, rather than being made on the objective and Fair Administration of justice, has often been made on ideology and politics. A great example of that is in the civil rights division, where according to an i. G. Report issued last year, the race neutrality, which has always been the policy of the Justice Department when it comes to enforcing the Voting Rights act, was ended because eric holder did not believe in the race neutrality of enforcing the voting right. Ifill let me ask tony west to respond to that . Well, as someone who was there in the Justice Department, that just doesnt seem to comport with the facts. The fact is that when you look at where the department has had to be very aggressive in defending Voting Rights after the Supreme Court struck down part of that act, the Voting Rights act, eric holder has led. Shes led in texas. Hes led in North Carolina with innovative legal arguments based on the Voting Rights act, section 2. Weve also been very active in ohio and in wisconsin in participating in lawsuits there, as well. So i think its almost comical to think that of any attorney general eric holder has not stood very strong to protect the Voting Rights of all americans. I think that is what the record shows. Ifill lets talk about another issue, which is the prosecution of clerk will read khalid sheik mohammed. There was much pushback when the president wanted to prosecute them in downtown new york in the shadow of where the towers once stood. He told me today when i talked to him at the phone, he said if he had not been forced to reverse himself and send khalid sheik mohammed to a military court he would be on death row right now. Democrats in congress did not agree with that. It was a bill they passed and agreed to that prevented him from doing that. I think thats another example of what hes done wrong. He has brought back the clintonevery era idea of treating terrorism as a criminal act. We saw how successful that was in 9 11, and i dont think thats been good for national security. In the same vein, hes opened up more leak investigations of classified information than any prior attorney general combined. Theres been a distinct pattern. Whenever a lowlevel individual could be found to be prosecuted, theyve done, that but when leaks have been directly traced to coming out of the white house, leaks clearly intended to make the president look like he was tough on terrorism, those leak investigations have not been pursued and have not been prosecuted. Ifill tony west . Certainly when it comes to whether or in the our article 3 courts, our criminal Justice System is well equipped to deal with terrorist cases, i think eric holder has been vindicated by history. We saw just this week the conviction and the sentencing to life of osama bin ladens soninlaw. That was in an article 3 court in manhattan no less. Weve seen it with abu hanza earlier this year. I think its quite clear that one of the great principles of our Justice System is that our courts can handle cases like this. It is something that eric holder believed in back then when kfm was the issue of the day. Ifill there has been bad blood this congress, including members of his own party, as mr. Von spakovsky points out. Did that hurt his ability to get the job done . I dont think so ultimately. Oftentimes when you think about these types of tenures, only in the fullness of time are you able to appreciate how effective an attorney general or president has been. I think that will also be the case here. The fact is that controversy is often the laboratory of greatness. I think when you look at some of the controversial steps that other attorneys general have taken when attorney general kennedy integrated the university of alabama, that was controversial but it was also right. I think if theres anything you can say about this attorney general, hes never shrunk from doing what he believed was right. Ifill the attorney general identified two things where he thinks next incoming attorney general can work with republicans, and thats on reforming or reviving the Voting Rights act and also on sentencing reform. We have heard some crossparty agreement on those issues. Do you see movement coming on those issues no matter who the attorney general is . Well, theres no reason to revive the portion of the Voting Rights act that was thrown out by the court. That was an emergency provision that was originally only supposed to last five years. The rest of the Voting Rights act, section 2, is an effective tool against discrimination. Thats the tool that hes been using in lawsuits around the country, although he has been me until nally unsuccessful so far in many of those lawsuits because he doesnt have the evidence there to actually show that, for example, voter i. D. Is discriminatory. Ifill so you dont see movement happening . I dont. On criminal justice reform, i actually agree with him. The Heritage Foundation actually believes that there are many instances of people being sentenced for crimes criminally that should not be, that should, for example, just have civil fines. Some of the sentencing lengths are too long. And there is an area i think that both parties can Work Together on. Ifill tony west, mr. Hans von spakovsky earlier compared this outgoing attorney general to an attorney who was, who departed under a cloud, mitchell. I noticed today one of the first calls he made notifying his stepping down was to Ethel Kennedy is. That who he identifies with . Hes certainly earned the comparison. When you look at the major issues, and if you just take the cause of lgbt rights in this country, eric holder was on the right side of history. He was on the right side of history in a way that not only allowed the department to comport with its traditional role, but in a way that allowed us to move forward in a way that has transformed this country ever since. So i think when we look back and again in the fullness of time we consider his tenure, we consider what hes done in criminal justice reform, we consider what hes done in voting right, we consider what hes done for civil rights, i think theres no question that eric holder will be one of the greatest attorneys general that the country has seen. Ifill will he outlast his critics, mr. Von spakovsky . I dont think so. I think going down the road, the legacy that he is going to be considered to have is not going to be a good one and not one thats very complimentary to him. Ifill final word. Well, i think only time will tell, but one thing i like to remember is that when you think of the most controversial attorneys general weve had in history, the fullness of time shows that oftentimes the