Difficult for states. They have to tell people, are our kids getting dumber . Why are our kids not performing well . Sreenivasan those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your life and become youre own chief life officer. 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. Sreenivasan this christmas brought all the traditional celebrations of the day, but along with them, new calls for an end to suffering. The most ardent of those appeals came from the vatican. The crowds who filled st. Peters square heard a holiday lament from pope francis. There are so many tears this christmas, he said the ravages of ebola, fighting in the middle east and ukraine, and terror attacks, like the one that killed scores of students in pakistan. And, he decried the persecution of christians and others by Islamic State militants. translated i ask him, the savior of the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in iraq and syria, who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution. Sreenivasan but many of those beset by strife, including refugees in iraq, still found ways to celebrate. And Health Care Workers in sierra leone brought what cheer they could to ebola patients, despite a government ban on public celebrations. Meanwhile, christmas in cuba took on a new air of hope that renewed relations with the u. S. Will change lives. translated it is a gift, it really is a gift. I hope everything works out in the best possible way because it would bring a lot of benefits to work in better conditions. Sreenivasan in london, Queen Elizabeth took up a similar theme with her own annual message to the world. Even in the unlikeliest of places hope can still be found. A very happy christmas to you all. Sreenivasan it was a sentiment that echoed high into the heavens. Hello from the International Space station. Sreenivasan where astronauts Barry Wilmore and terry virts shared seasons greetings, a miniature floating christmas tree. And, this image of a celestial sunrise on christmas morning. Back on earth, some of the more unusual traditions played out, as members of the berlin seals Winter Swimming Club took their annual Christmas Day plunge into a freezing lake. Christmas eve brought a second night of protests in berkeley, missouri. A night earlier, a black 18 yearold was shot dead by a Police Officer after he allegedly pulled a handgun. Last night, demonstrators marched down interstate 170, blocking traffic. They also held a vigil and staged a diein at the gas station where the shooting took place. Police say they made a handful of arrests. The loss of a jordanian military pilot in syria prompted appeals from his government and family for his safe return today. He went down yesterday, in a region controlled by Islamic State fighters. The u. S. Military said his plane crashed and was not hit by enemy fire. We have a report from Nelafur Hedayat of independent television news. Reporter captured by Islamic State, the first u. S. Led Coalition Soldier in the hands of the terrorist organization. 26yearold muath safi yousef alkaseasbeh, a jordanian pilot, was captured by i. S. After his f16 fighter jet crashed. Initially, Islamic State claimed responsibility for shooting the jet down, celebrating with a macabre victory parade through the street. None of this matters much to lt. Muath safi yousef alkaseasbeh. Islamic state are well known for brutal treatment and beheading of the captives. Today his father youssef alkasaebeh has added to the many voices pleading for muath safi yousef alkaseasbeh to be released unharmed. I sent a message to the brothers in syria to be generous toward my son. I asked god to fill their hearts with love and to return him home in safety. Reporter muath safi yousef alkaseasbeh has been a pilot for the Jordanian Air force six years. Jordanian air force have joined other states forming the 40strong coalition. Continuing the fight against terrorism and we know that we will win because this is the right thing to do for the sake of our security and stability of this country. Reporter u. S. Led campaign against i. S. Started back in september. This month, air strikes have been intensifying as the mission to degrade and destroy Islamic State in iraq and syria continues. This is the first time a Pilot Coalition hs been captured. So far, there have been no public demands or conditions set for his release. Islamist gunmen in somalia attacked the main base of African Union peacekeepers today. The alshabab militants struck in mogadishu, the capital city. An a. U. Military spokesman said eight of the attackers were killed in the resulting gun battle. Alshabab controlled much of mogadishu for four years, until 2011, when the peacekeepers drove them out. And in indonesia today, thousands remembered a day of disaster. Ten years ago tomorrow a catastrophic tsunami killed nearly some 230,000 people in 14 countries, most of them in indonesia. Today, a church in banda aceh, a city that was all but wiped out by the giant wave, held a special christmas service. And, thousands flocked to a mosque that was one of the few buildings to survive. Still to come on the newshour inside the push to bring the interview to a theater, or computer, near you. A movement to prevent prospective employers from asking about convictions. How pope francis cultivated his populist appeal. Religion, the other front in the ukrainerussia conflict. The backlash against common core, as states pick and choose what elements to keep. And, walking the fine line between enjoying our National Treasures and abusing them. Sreenivasan less than a week ago, sony indicated that under pressure of threats, the moviegoing public was not going to be able to see the comedy, the interview at a theater today. But that decision hit quickly on a tripwire of criticisms about geopolitics, freedom of expression, terrorism and more. And in a quick reversal of fortune, the movie opened in more than 300 locations today, mostly at small, independent art house theaters. Christmas day is usually a busy day for the movies, but this is unlike anything weve experience before. Sreenivasan even before the first screenings, the film was selling out at smaller theaters. Costar and codirector seth rogen made a surprise appearance at a midnight screening in los angeles. We thought this might never happen at all. Sreenivasan president obama, who was on vacation in hawaii and criticized sonys initial decision, wouldnt say if he would watch it, but he said, im glad its being released. Sreenivasan the release of the comedy, about a c. I. A. Plot to assassinate north Korean Leader kim jong un, was canceled last week after hackers threatened potential attacks at theaters. The president has said north korea is behind the hacking of sony. Moviegoers were out early at washington, d. C. s west end cinemas. Including mohammed shouman. I decided to show my personal support for theaters that show it and my personal support for freedom of speech. Sreenivasan sarah arlinghaus admitted the rogen franco style was not her usual movie fare. I wouldnt have seen it if the North Koreans hadnt decided i shouldnt see it. I would like to sit near the exits just in case we have to evacuate quickly. Sreenivasan the interview is also available as video on demand. It can be seen on google play, youtube movies, and microsofts xbox. Still, before major exhibitors pulled out, the movie was originally scheduled to play in 3,000 theaters. Arthouse convergence, a coalition of about 250 independent theaters, wrote an open letter to sony earlier this week offering to show the movie. I spoke to the groups director, russ collins, yesterday in ann arbor, michigan, where he also runs the state theater thats showing it today. Russ collins, why did so many of the members of your organization, the independent theaters, decide to run this movie . There were two reasons. One, we initially reached out to the employees and the sony corporation, but their employees in particular, the folks who we have the interface with, just to express our empathy pore the difficulties that theyve encountered the last month after their company was hacked and their emails went down and their telephone went down and all of the records went down, its just been a very, very difficult time for sony employees. We wanted to express how we felt and that we wanted to support them and one of the ways we could support them is if sony decided to release the interview, we as independent theaters would be willing to screen that, or at least we thought we might. When the word got out among the art house Convergence Group that this might be a possibility or something that we could offer, they were enthusiastic in their response, and it just kind of took off from there. Sreenivasan no disrespect but a seth rogen movie and r. House Convergence Group dont usually go in the same sentence. This isnt usually the fare of independent movie house. Thats true. Independent movie houses are dedicated to diversity of program, documentaries, independent american films, classic films, but were also strongly committed to freedom of speech and artistic expression dynamics. Art houses do this on a regular basis. When this particular exhibition became a freedom of speech issue, it aligned with the values of independent theaters, making the offers work with our values and our capabilities and the diversity of the programs and facilities and locations that are out there in north america for independent cinema. Sreenivasan so one of the things people might be thinking about whether theyre going to see this movie at one of your theaters or a different one, are there additional safety precautions youre taking into consideration . Were encouraging each theater to consult with local Law Enforcement officials, have the Law Enforcement officials work their channels to see if there is any concerns. In our particular case, the university of michigan has a Korean Studies Program and we contacted them to get their input. So we are out there concerned and vigilant about seeking any unusual telemetry about unusual behavior. So far we havent encountered any, at least in our particular market, but im sure theaters are going to do what they need to do to assure that their customers and their employees are safe at these screenings. Sreenivasan weve seen reports that some screenings of this movie are selling out. I look at some of the web sites like Rotten Tomatoes and so forth and its not particularly because this movie is oscarworthy to put it mildly, do you think its because of the publicity in it that people are attracted to this . I think there is two reasons. One is when the initial release was planned, they looked to screen it at two to three to 4,000 screens. The way its turning out, its going to be 200 or 300 screens that are actually showing the interview. Obviously, all of the National Press thats occurred and all of the issues about the film have resonated a particular interest in the notion of the film and the difficulties sony encounter. So i think theres a lot of curiosity. Is curiosity will be satiated quickly and the film will have a long life based on how its received by audiences. Sreenivasan do you see this as an opportunity for more people to reintroduce themselves to the independent or small theaters in their neighborhoods versus the big chains that usually run a movie like this . Yes, independent theaters, art houses are out there all over the country. The objective of the art house convergence is to increase the quantity and quality of art houses. So, yes, this might be a nice introduction to customers who are more interested in going to Seth Rogen Stoner comedy than those who tend to go to the art house fare. However, who knows. This would be the citizen cane of stoner comedies. Sreenivasan what about competition with streaming sites . I know youtube an and others are planning to make this available. Is the competition shifting away from amc and regal versus art his to art house versus streaming . Well, in the art house market, video on demand, day on date release streaming has occurred for a couple of years. Were used to that. We like theatrical clearance. If you have a monopoly, you tend to do better. But day in date release and diversity ability through online and cable access is normal. Sreenivasan thank you for your time. Thank you, happy holidays. Sreenivasan now, a move to make it easier for people who have been convicted of a crime to find employment after being released from prison. Several states and municipalities are preventing employers from asking about criminal convictions up front. The socalled ban the box movement would eliminate a checkbox on initial job applications. Brandis friedman from our affiliate wttw in chicago has this report. How do i know i can trust you . Reporter it is a question any employer might ask the students in this room. Each has a felony conviction and has served time in prison and each of them wants to prove to a future employer that he or she can be trusted. 26yearold karl lynch is one of the students receiving job Readiness Training from the safer foundation, a nonprofit that helps released prisoners transition back into society. The economy is always changing, jobs are always getting tougher. I feel like it will just prepare me to get ready to reenter into the workforce. Reporter lynch was released from Illinois State prison in early july after serving two years for breaking into a car with someone inside. He said a new job will help make him the father he once was to his two children. I know i cant get the time back, but its importance for me to be there and let them know dads back. Reporter hes hoping to get a job in hospitality or Customer Service but its been difficult and he thinks its because of the box on applications which asks candidates if theyve ever been convicted of a crime. It gives you anxiety when you get to the box, going, wow, how are they going to feel about this crime i committed. That has kept a lot of people out of the interview. With this question removed, that would really help you. Reporter illinois is the latest in a series of states and municipalities to pass a law prohibiting employers from asking applicants if theyd been convicted of a felony on initial job applications. Phil is a labor and Employment Opportunity in chicago. Essentially, it delays when a prospective employer can inquire about a candidates criminal history until the employer has notified the employee that the employee will be granted an initial interview. Reporter while each law is slightly different, the goal for each is to get job applicants with convictions past the initial screening. Hawaii says you have to have a conditional offer of employment. Most laws have exceptions that vary from state to state as well. Reporter the illinois law which takes effects january 1, 2015, applies only to private employers with 15 or more employees. It provides exemptions in situations where state or federal law prohibits hiring applicants with certain convictions where the new hire would require a Fidelity Bond that eninsurance employees who work with money or where the new applicant would need to be licensed under the medical Emergency Assistance act. A bill like this has been in the long time in the making. Employment is the biggest link to reduce recidivism. The first thing they want to do is get a job to show their worthiness and viability first of all to themselves and families. Employment discrimination routinely denies that opportunity. Reporter safer foundations director policy advocacy anthony lawrey says governments are looking at the ways to cut expense of incarceration and communities are looking to turn former inmates into productive citizens. It is the biggest challenge of their lives. The criminal worker is the new civil rights issue. People denied employment no matter how mild or old the record is. Reporter the Illinois Department of corrections releases about 30,000 inmates a year and half return to chicago. Of those 15,000, experts say 80 come to one of seven neighborhoods like this one, often unfortunately known for its culture of poverty and violence. When entire communities are filled with people who cant get jobs, the cycle of poverty keeps spinning. I see people recommit and commit crimes theyve done in the past and think Something Different is going to happen, but its not. Thats why i dont want to go down that route again. I want to try to find work. Reporter under existing federal and state a whraws, employers arent allowed to use a conviction as a prescreening tool. Advocates say its not working. Todd is the lead at the justice unit. Screening is done in nearly every state and thats why the movement precipitated because people are frustrated. Were asking people who commit crimes and endure the time to get education to get extra training and get their lives back on track. When they do, theres no Job Opportunities because theyre being denied outright. Reporter attorney jeffrey wish who chairs the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Employment Council argues the ban