Sreenivasan and its friday. Mark shields and Michael Gerson are here, to analyze the weeks news and look ahead to the year in politics. 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 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. Sreenivasan president obama announced fresh sanctions on north korea today, in response to its cyber attack against Sony Pictures entertainment. The executive order names three companies plus 10 north korean government officials, some who work in iran, syria, china, russia and namibia. The u. S. Has had sanctions on north korea since the 1950s, most recently for its nuclear programs. These mark the first sanctions punishing the regime for its alleged hacking of sony executives emails. 21 more bodies from the airasia plane disaster were recovered from the java sea today. At least 30 victims have been found so far, and some were still strapped to their seats. Their remains were flown to surabaya, indonesia for identification. Aircraft and ships painstakingly searched the waters off borneo for more bodies. Theyre also still looking for the planes fuselage and black box flight recorders to help determine exactly what caused the crash. translated its about a 30mile area that we are searching. The First Priority is to evacuate survivors if any are found or to recover bodies and second, to find debris or objects that can help the National Commission of safety transportation. Sreenivasan four of the victims have now been identified, including a Flight Attendant and an 11yearold boy. Their remains have been returned to their families. U. S. And Coalition Warplanes went after the Islamic State groups de facto capital in syria today, hitting them with more than a dozen air strikes. The air raids on raqqa, in northeastern syria, were the heaviest since the militants captured a jordanian pilot last week. Meanwhile, iraqi troops took back ground from Islamic State fighters in iraqs anbar province. They targeted a complex known to be used for bombmaking. A Record Number of rhinos were killed in south africa last year, where over 90 of the worlds rhinos live. South african government figures showed at least 1,020 of the animals were illegally slaughtered in 2014. That amounts to more than three rhinos poached each day. The animals are killed to meet a growing demand for horn and ivory in asia. Particularly ahead of the Chinese New Year in february. Stocks on wall street began the year on a flat note, with very little movement. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 10 points to close at 17,833. The nasdaq fell 9 points to close above 4,726. The s p 500 dropped less than a point to close at 2,058. For the week, the dow, nasdaq and s p each lost more than one percent. Still to come on the newshour violence and war push migrants from africa and the middle east to make the perilous trip across the mediterranean sea. Tackling the Education Needs of unaccompanied minors in the u. S. Researchers blame random mutations, not lifestyle or genes, as the primary cause of most cancer. Remembering former new york governor mario cuomo. And, mark shields and Michael Gerson on whats in store for politics in 2015. Sreenivasan its one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. Refugees fleeing war and poverty in north africa and the middle east, board rickety, over crowded boats, crossing the mediterranean to europe. Thousands have died on this journey. Increasingly, human smugglers are abandoning vessels jammed with migrants before they even reach european shores. Its the second such incident this week alone. A ship carrying hundreds of migrants, stranded in the rough waters of the mediterranean. Shortly before dawn today, italian officials took control of the sierraleoneflagged ezadeen. translated the coast guard is working to avoid another tragedy. We called on board immediately when the plane detected the ship. There were no crew and one migrant, a woman, took the call. She said we are alone. Please help us, we are in danger. Sreenivasan as many as 450 people, including children and some pregnant women, were onboard. Most were believed to be syrian. Though its exact route is unclear, officials said the cargo ship left from a turkish port, before it was abandoned by its crew of smugglers, ending up drifting off italys southern coast. The rescue comes just days after italian authorities took control of another cargo ship after its crew disappeared. The moldovanflagged blue sky m was close to crashing into italys coast with hundreds of migrants aboard. The italian navy, coast guard, and air force patrols last year rescued or intercepted more than 170,000 migrants, many fleeing crises in syria and libya. The efforts of rescuers are made more complicated when crews abandon the ships. translated we are watching this new phenomenon with great attention. We are looking at it, we are studying it, and we are trying to give a correct response. But for sure this is very dangerous, because one ship that navigates with nobody at the helm is like a bomb launched against the coastline. Sreenivasan in a statement today, the u. N. s Refugee Agency said the growing trend of migrants undertaking dangerous sea journeys to europe can no longer be ignored. For more on this, im joined by Daryl Grisgraber of refugees international, she has interviewed migrants who have made this dangerous journey. Why is it that theyre abandoning these migrants in the ships on the middle of these dangerous routes . Its an easy way to make money frankly. People can be charged the smuggling rates, get them on the ship, take them out into the water and instead of risking getting them all the way to shore being caught by the coast guard or being prosecuted, you can just leave the ship there. They have the idea these people are civilians and maybe things wont be so bad for them. Sreenivasan what were people paying . 2,000 to 5,000 u. S. Dollars. Sreenivasan quite a lot money in that world. Yes. Sreenivasan what are the key drivers forcing these people to find a better life . Yeah, originally, in the country that theyre coming from, take syria for example theres a conflict right . People are leaving there. Many syrians have gone to egypt as another good example, this is where i spoke to a lot of people. In egypt they dont get adequate services cant find jobs and dont see a future for themselves. The only hope is to move on and this is the place where Everyone Wants to go. So its desperation driving people. Sreenivasan what do we know about the smugglers . Whos behind this . It depends. There are Large International networks of smugglers all across the northern coast of africa and wellconnected internationally and between the countries on the north african coast as well. Those involve a lot of local people. Sometimes local fishermen are involved. They help load the boats. There are people on the ground who collect the migrants take them from a bus in the big city to the coast. So theres a huge number of people involved and extremely well organized. Sreenivasan theres an infrastructure here. It seems shocking theres that much of a profit to be made that you could abandon an entire ship. Ships are worth something. Thats true, but lately theyre using much larger ships so you can put a lot more people on it, more bang for your buck, and a lot of the ships are used and not particularly seaworthy so you can get them quite cheap. Its apparently cheaper or someone could make a profit by selling it or sending it to Southeast Asia for scrap so people can take people andc ush them off. Sreenivasan theyre seeing one flood of migrants after another. The maritime laws are different than when people are on land but italy suspended its search and rescue program a couple of months ago because of finances, they could dont it anymore. A bit about manpower as well. So there needs to be a much larger Regional Cooperation helping rescue people. The vessels are deterring a lot of boats leaving in the first place. Sreenivasan what about the e. U. Overall . They need to be put into this because its their border as a whole. Recently support and rescue operations in the mediterranean as well because theyre afraid it encourages people to come to europe if theyve been rescued at sea. Internationally, there needs to be cooperation. Sreenivasan Daryl Grisgraber, thanks for joining us. Thank you. Sreenivasan officials in this country have also been dealing with a surge in illegal immigration this past year. Most dramatically, when a wave of unaccompanied children and young adults flooded north across the u. S. Mexican border last spring and summer, many were detained and face possible deportation back to their home countries. But as special correspondent Spencer Michels reports, those who made it to American Cities face other challenges in their new lives. Reporter nearly 100 miners who came to the u. S. Without their parents make up about a quarter of the student body at Oakland International high school in california. Altogether, nearly 60,000 unaccompanied minors were caught at the border this year. Most are from honduras, quat mall leand el salvador. Protests both for and against the Obama Administration immigration policies great their arrival. When apprehended many claimed fear of Gang Violence and persecution in their home countries. So they were allowed into the u. S. Pending a hearing in immigration court. But in oakland and in some other california cities, there was little debate over whether to welcome them. Karmalyta reyes is coprincipal of International High. These are children, period. What their legal status is immaterial. Theyre students, they deserve an education so im part of that system that is the safety net for these children. Reporter both the network of schools like Oakland International high and several American Cities, but the politics of the immigration debate are largely ignored in the schools where the emphasis is on teaching english and other subjects and taking care of the kids. 17yearold blanco is new at the school, just starting to learn english. He grew up in guatemala where he says violence and danger were commonplace. Its a violence that emerges from the communities and it keeps getting bigger and bigger, and sometimes people are killed because of this problem. P reporter today he takes a full load of classes topics like history and math are taught in english and the students who speak 35 different languages learn from each other. We dont have desks, we have tables, and we have very purposeful groupings so that theres some language diversity at tl table. A student from asia and a student from Central America at the same table. So english becomes the common language of that project or that group discussion. Reporter but for this population, oakland schools cant concentrate solely on education. Almost all get free or lowcost meals paid for by the federal government. And the district has hired an unaccompanied minor specialist and others to concentrate on the psychological, social and immigration problems facing the new arrivals. Lets go. Where do you have to go . Reporter Lauren Markham is Community Schools manager who spends her days solving kids problems. Because these students arent with their family members and because theyve faced a tremendous amount of trauma, theres huge Mental Health needs. So needing to see a counselor, a mentor and after school programs. Reporter among her charges is carlos, a senior at international who i made his way to the u. S. From el salvador with just his younger sister. They were recruiting young kids to join the gangs, and i was, like, i dont want to be a part of that because when they put you in it, theres no way for you to get out. You go every day or they will kill you. Reporter after being caught near the border, he and his sister were sent to live with parents in oakland while waiting for an immigration hearing. Carlos father and then mother had come to america without documents years earlier leaving carlos and sister tonya with a grandmother. They live with young7n siblings born here in a few crowded rooms in east oakland a neighborhood where gangs flourish just as in el salvador. Carlos, sr. Who works as an unlicensed barber would like to get a work permit. He was encouraged by president obamas recent announcement on immigration. I think it is going to help us. God willing well be able to work legally. I think i will be able to get my license to work as a barber and start my own business. Reporter for his son, its been worth the fear and the struggle. He wants to be an accountant. I Start College next year from high school. Get a career, help my family. Reporter at the u. C. Berkeley law school Allison Davenport studies and handles family immigration cases in the International Human rights law clinic. She says the immigration challenges faced by the sura family are complex and uncertain but not unusual. Thats a common scenario. The parents are undocumented. The children born in the u. S. Are by law u. S. Citizens. Then the recentlyarrived children are likely have cases pending in immigration court. Now, the parents, because they do have the u. S. Citizen children, may be eligible under this new deferred action for Parents Program announced by president obama on november 20th. Reporter as for unaccompanied minors like those at International High davenport was disappointed president obama did not directly address that issue. The claims are difficult to win. You have to show not just that you have a fear of return to your home country but its connected to one of the five protected grounds unser asylum law race, religion political opinion membership in a particular social group or your nash nationality. Reporter consequently all unaccompanied minorspa International High need legal representation. A ton of my work has been trying to find lawyers for the students. When an unaccompanied minor is caught they are put into proceedings and will be deported unless they can show a reason they have legal grounds to stay. Reporter thats the way it should be argues rick an environmentalist and active member of californians for population stabilization. He says cities and schools providing services for Illegal Immigrants just encourages others to come. When you provide innocentist, youre going to increase the flow and put more people onto this perilous journey. Its just wrong. We have a very generation immigration policy but we cant be open to just anyone walk across the border. Eventually most should be returned. Reporter the u. S. Deports 400,000 people a year. So far none of the unaccompanied minors at oaklands International High has been removed. Is this a predator . Yes. Reporter meanwhile the school is not answer pating is not anticipating another surge of students but will figure out a way to take care of them should they materialize. Spencer michels in oakland for the pbs newshour. Sreenivasan next, the role of chance, what we might call bad luck, in who gets cancer. Jeffrey brown has our look. Brown according to a new study from the Johns HopkinsUniversity School of medicine published today in the journal, science, more cases of cancer than have commonly been thought, can be primarily explained by random d. N. A. Mutations that occur during cell division, rather than by heredity, lifestyle choices, or environmental influences. The study looked at 31 types of cancer, including leukemia, bone, testicular, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Breast and prostate cancers were not included in the study. Cristian tomasetti is one of the authors of the report and a bio mathematician at Johns Hopkins. He joins me now from baltimore. Thank you for joining us. It seems important, first, perhaps, to explain what you were looking at. What does bad luck or chance mean when it comes to getting cancer . Yes, what it means is that every time a cell in particular a stem cell every timeit divides, a mutation can occur and can hit the dna of this cell. If that mutation happens to be in a gene that is the key regulator known to be associated with cancer so lets say a bad mutation that may lead us to cancer. So thats what we meant for bad luck. Reporter so were you and and other researchers surprised to find that bad luck in a sense played such a large role in so many cancers . Yes. I would say that i think its been known that luck together with environmental factors like smoking or sun exposure as well as inherited factors are three of the components and i think what was surprising and expected, in a sense, was how large, how important this component of the bad luck turned out to be. Reporter so you mention the other causes for cancer. You are not saying we we should be clear right youre not suggesting people should change their behavior and do things that we know do cause cancer . Right, thank you for mentioning that. Thats actually very important. I really hope no one takes, you know, this work as saying that because that would be completely wrong. Brown its also important to say, i think, that dif