Reach a deal. Woodruff and arctic ground squirrels give scientists clues about how warmer temperatures are affecting tundra ecosystems. Those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your life and become youre own chief life officer. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. 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 a st. Louis county grand jury has reached a decision on whether to indict Darren Wilson, the ferguson, Missouri Police officer who shot and killed teenager Michael Brown. The decision has not yet been released, but is expected some time tonight. The newshours stephen fee traveled to ferguson, missouri, where a community waits. He filed this report. chanting in st. Louis shaw neighborhood sunday night, dozens of protesters marched through the rainy streets, calling for justice in the august killing of 18yearold michaeMichael Brown. As a black woman, this hits close to home. The twohour demonstration a include add weekend of uncertainty. Many here thought a grand jury decision about whether or not to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the white Police Officer who killed brown, would be announced sunday, but then it wasnt. I was just anxious. Im not sure what to expect out of who. Im going to be out here in the streets. Reporter the prevailing hope is what any demonstrations following the announcement will be equal to. Antonio french, community leader. I am expecting large crowds of people in the streets. I expect most of them to engage in nonviolent protests. Some may engage in civil disobedience, again, nonviolently. Reporter even with those expectations, missouris governor declared a state of emergency last week. Law enforcement and even the National Guard are on standby. Sphwhrncht chanting at the demonstration sunday light, protest leaders said they were not marching just for Michael Brown but all victims of police shootings. Far too many names have become hash tags and that we learn after they are lost. They never get to fulfill their dreams or live to their pull potential. Reporter the alderman says he understands the anger and frustration show cased sunday night. I am stru administrated by the system like many folk out there. Without a doubt, we need a dramatic and drastic change in st. Louis, but i know that is a long process. For some of the younger protesters, my message is, you know, be angry and frustrated but also be patient. Reporter its that patience, he says, that will help keep the peace. Ifill well talk to stephen in a moment. Joining us now from st. Louis is Cornell William brooks, the National President and ceo of the naacp, which has been monitoring the situation in ferguson. So much conversation over the years of the naacps existence about nonviolent protests. How do you advise or imagine that the local leaders, local activists, local residents of ferguson tonight are bracing for this . The local residents and protesters and families and certainly our naacp branches in the community are branching for this decision and we are in fact committed to nonviolent action. We are in a moment where we have to challenge or rather channel anger into action, frustration into focus and focus on seeking justice for a grieving family and also systemic reform for an outraged community. Michael brown is only the latest tragedy in a series of tragedies and we cant forget the importance of responding to this crisis, seeking individual justice, but really turning this tragedy into racial profiling and police misconduct. Thats the challenge here. Ifill but if the grand juror were to decide not to indict Darren Wilson, there are those who say that is a form of just cities as well. Yes, there are those who say that, but my challenge here and i think the challenge and the question the community has is we have a teenager who meets a Police Officer with a gun, badge and training. The teenager ends up dead. The teenager was initially suspected of jaywalking. We have a major and fundamental challenge in the way we conduct policing in this community and in this country. That needs to change. Justice here is justice for family and justice for community. We need both in equal measure. Ifill there are those who say justice is also justice for Law Enforcement, the job they have ahead of them tonight. Is this a local or a National Discussion . Its a local discussion and a National Discussion, but we need to keep this in mind when we consider the police and we consider the protesters, the responsibility for keeping the peace is asymmetrical. That is to say, the Police Officers have the responsibility for keeping the peace, for acting in such a way as to allow for constitutionallyprotected civil disobedience, and to allow these protesters and allow naacp branches and members to do the work that they have taken upon themselves to do, and that is really a right and responsibility of citizenship. So the point being here is we need peace across the breadth of the community, but peace in the context of a pursuit for justice. We have to have that. Ifill there has been a lot of attention paid to what happened in ferguson. We would have been surprised at talking about this still at thanksgiving. On balance, is that a good thing to have that conversation spread out over such a long amount of time or has it hurt the discussion . I think its helped the discussion. When we think about these facts, one out of every three africanamerican men can expect, according to some studies, to spend some time in prison. One out of every four africanamerican men report being treated unfairly or unjustly at the hands of the police in the last month according to a gallup poll. When africanamerican men are 21 times more likely to have their lives ended at the hands of the police, we have a major problem. So the point being here is we have a generation of young people who see the death of mike brown not as an individual incident of Police Brutality but a generational assault. So the point being is weve got to talk about this as a nation. We as people of conscience, as communities of conscience have got to talk about this problem with an urgency, that is to say to bring in interracial profiling and one of the benefits of that is we need Police Departments that protect their communities by respecting them and engaging them, making the communities safer and also ensuring Police Officers are, in fact, safer. Ifill reverend Cornell William brooks, c. E. O. And president of the naacp. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, gwen. Ifill and the newshours stephen fee joins us now from ferguson. Whats the mood where you stand tonight, stephen . Well, gwen, it really is a moment where everyone has been holding their breath for so long, and now that moment that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived and the real question is what will come next. As we showed you in the story earlier, we were at a protest just the other evening, and it was peaceful, wellorganized, the police are respectful. They kept a distance from protesters. There really wasnt any kind of an tag nism that we could at least see. The question is what comes next, if theres anger after an indictment or no indictment, what charges may or may not be brought against officer Darren Wilson. It really is uncertainty at this moment. Ifill part of the uncertainty is the timing of the announcement that it should happen at night after schools are closed for the day and maybe the holiday as well. Does that make does it ratchet up the apprehension by what could happen later on tonight . Well, i think so. The whole community heard the decision would come out sunday, then it didnt happen then. Then this whole day of uncertainty, yo. The School System in ferguson was open today. We saw kids getting on school buses on our way to the courthouse about 20 minutes away, but they announced they will be closing schools tomorrow. We saw a little rush hour traffic in the community, a lot of folks going home. I know youve seen a lot of pictures of boarded up businesses. Certainly not every business in the community is boarded up, but we saw a few more securing their doors, making sure things were safe before leaving work this evening just to see nhat happens as evening falls here. Ifill weve seen in your report and others lots of conversation about the people who are speaking out in support of Michael Brown, who are very unhappy about what they anticipate this decision will be. Do you hear at all from people who are in support of Darren Wilson or in support of Law Enforcement in this . You know, we did. Its easy for us to go and film a protest. Its a little harder because a lot of the folks we spoke to didnt want to appear on camera or give us their names. I spoke to one woman today who organized an Online Community that does support Darren Wilson and says he deserves due process, he is indent until proven guilty. They feel he has been unfairly treated in the public and by protesters alike. So theres a lot of folks out here who seem very far apart in their feelings on this, but they all feel the same degree of anxiety, i think. Ifill the alderman said people should be angry but also patient. Is that message resonating . It seems to be. Theyre the ones training and flanked by fellow organizers. They are very well organized in that regard. The question alderman french brought up is who knows who else might show up tonight, who is angry who havent been in the organized groups, they havent received the training from the disciples of justice clergy group in the community, so there are a lot of unknowns as we move forward into the evening hours. Ifill stephen, we know you will be watching that for us. Thank you very much, stephen fee in ferguson. Thank you. Woodruff another Fatal Police Shooting this one in cleveland was also in the spotlight today. An officer shot and killed 12 yearold tamir rice on sunday, near a playground. He was carrying a pellet gun made to look like a real weapon. Police chief Calvin Williams says the boy was ordered to raise his hands, but pulled out the pellet gun. He says the officer had to make a splitsecond decision. He didnt want to do this. But he had to protect himself. And as the investigation goes on other things will come out. We know that the family maybe does not want to hear that part of it but the investigation, all the video evidence, the scientific evidence, will show everybody exactly what happened. Woodruff the chief said a Surveillance Video captured the shooting, and is very clear, but he gave no details. A 911 caller had alerted police, and said the boys gun was probably fake, but its unclear if the officer ever got that word. Ifill in afghanistan, two u. S. Troops died in a bombing attack in kabul today, the latest in a new surge of violence. It came a day after the Afghan Parliament approved an agreement keeping some u. S. Troops there after 2014. Their mission will now include new operations against the taliban, but the white house said today only with clear limits. Any sort of combat operations carried out by u. S. Military personnel will be for force proterksz or to go after remnants of al quaida or extremists like al quaida that work with al quaida that pose a threat to u. S. Homeland or u. S. Interests around the globe. Thats the change in the mission that will move forward at the end of the year consistent with the directives the president has been discussing for some time now. Ifill all of this followed the deadliest attack of the year so far, sundays suicide bombing at an afghan volleyball tournament. The death toll from that attack rose to at least 50 today. Woodruff Government Troops in iraq recaptured two eastern towns from Islamic State militants today. Fighting was continuing in pockets outside the towns in diyala province. Shiite militiamen and Kurdish Forces joined in the fight. The two towns had been taken by Islamic State militants back in august, when they tore across northern and western iraq. Ifill back in this country, theres word that the price of gasoline has hit a fouryear low. It fell to an average of 2. 84 a gallon in the past week. Gas prices are down 88 cents over the past six months. Woodruff on wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained more than seven points to close near 17,818. The nasdaq rose almost 42 points to close near 4,755. And the s p 500 added about six points to finish at 2,069. Ifill president obama today awarded the nations highest civilian honor the medal of freedomto 18 artists, Public Servants and activists. Three civil rights workers were honored posthumously james chaney, andrew goodman, and Michael Schwerner were murdered by the ku klux klan in mississippi, in 1964. Other recipients included singersongwriter stevie wonder, actress meryl streep, nbc journalist tom brokaw, congressman john dingell whos served longer than anyone, ever and ethel kennedy, widow of senator robert f. Kennedy. Ifill still to come on the newshour chuck hagel steps down as secretary of defense, Homeland SecurityChief Johnson on the president s executive actions on immigration, extending the deadline for a settlement on Irans Nuclear program, and how squirrels in alaska are helping scientists measure the effects of Climate Change. Woodruff now to a major shake up in the Obama Administration the resignation of defense secretary chuck hagel. The move comes as u. S. Expands in mission to go after the Islamic State group and just weeks after the after the president s disappointing mid term election results. Its been the greatest privilege of my life the greatest privilege of my life to lead, and most important, to serve with the men and women of the defense department, and support their families. Woodruff hagels announcement came amid widespread reports that hes leaving under pressure after 21 months on the job. Publicly, at least, president obama offered only praise. When i nominated you for this position, you said that youd always give me your honest advice and informed counsel. You have. When its mattered most, behind closed doors in the oval office, youve always given it to me straight. For that, i will always be grateful. Woodruff the vietnam war veteran had served as a republican senator from nebraska for 13 years, alongside then illinois senator barack obama. Like the future president , hagel was a critic of u. S. Involvement in iraq, and became an obama friend and supporter. But that stance put him at odds with fellow republicans, as evident in his rocky Senate Confirmation hearing in january 2013. At one point, arizona senator john mccain challenged the nominee on whether he was wrong to oppose the 2007 surge of u. S. Troops into iraq. Im not going to give you a yes or no, i think its far more complicated than that, as ive already said, my answer is ill defer that judgment to history. I think history has already made a judgment about the surge, sir, and youre on the wrong side of it. Woodruff hagel eventually won confirmation, and faced a shifting list of tough challenges, including syrian president Bashar Al Assad and the ongoing civil war over his rule, and more recently, the threat from Islamic State militants in iraq and syria. Even winding down the u. S. Combat mission in afghanistan took an unexpected turn this past weekend, with word that American Forces will target the taliban after all. Even so, hagel today pointed to achievements. I believe we have set not only this department, the department of defense, but the nation, on a stronger course toward security, stability and prosperity. Woodruff for now, hagel will remain in office until the president nominates and the Senate Confirms a successor. For a closer look at whats behind the hagel resignation we get two views. Thomas donnelly is the codirector of the center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise institute. And p. J. Crowley is a distinguished fellow at George Washington universitys institute for Public Diplomacy and global communication. He had a career as an air force officer, and was an assistant secretary of state under president obama. We welcome you both back to the program. I think the president , tom corbett tomdonnelly, was onew that said this decision was chuck hagels and wasnt forced on him. Whats your understanding . Its difficult to tell. Probably by mutual agreement. It doesnt really reflect a change of policy, maybe a change of personnel, be u but the president did not announce his departure from past policy. Woodruff whats your understandi