Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140122

Philippines, job generators, not job seekers abroad. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by theres a saying around here you stand behind what you say. Around here, we dont make excuses, we make commitments. And when you cant live up to them, you own up and make it right. Some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where its needed most. But i know youll still find it, when you know where to look. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. 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 new winter storm shut down schools, shredded Airline Schedules and closed government offices from the mid atlantic to new england today. Official washington went dark as windblown snow began piling up. It made for dangerous driving, and touched off scores of accidents. More than 2,200 flights were cancelled, and new york and other cities braced for at least a foot of snow. Everyone remembers how frigidly cold it was in the last storm, this could be even a bit colder. So we want to focus, the best thing that can happen for this city is for Sanitation Department to be able to do their job. We every single new yorker can help them do their job by staying off the streets, staying out of our cars. Ifill the National Weather service warned that wind chills could reach 40 below, in some places. The Major Players moved into position today to open the syrian peace talks tomorrow, in montreaux, switzerland. But there were fresh recriminations over irans absence, and fresh revelations of atrocities, allegedly by the Syrian Government. Chief Foreign Correspondent Margaret Warner has more on all of this, after the news summary. In lebanon, a new bombing struck at supporters of hezbollah, the Shiite Militia fighting for the assad regime in syria. A car bomber killed four people in a shiite neighborhood on the outskirts of beirut. Some 35 people were wounded in the blast. Claimed responsibility calling the attack retaliation for hezbollahs actions in syria. Russian Russian Security agents are now hunting for three women who may be planning suicide bombings. Police leaflets say one is believed to be in sochi, where the Winter Olympics begin next month. The women are known as black widows, because their islamist militant husbands died in previous attacks. We get more on the investigation later in the program. Allout street battles broke out overnight in the capital of ukraine. It marked a dramatic shift in the struggle between the prorussian government, and protesters demanding closer ties with the european union. We have a report from matt frei of independent television news. Welcome back to kiev yet these are fireworks. But they are used as missiles and no one here is celebrating. The avenue leading to parliament is now the response line of protest thats become a siege. A homemade catapult, their proudest if in the most accurate weapon. It was shortage of while the goliaths stood their ground with stun grenade, rubber bullets and tear gas. I was here month and a half ago the atmosphere couldnt be more different now. Because its a full scale siege, between protesters and riot plies right in the center of kiev about 500 yards behind me. The same Parliament Just a few days passed new antiprotest laws straight from that was latest stand off. In the morning the siege looked like apocalyptic nanria, encuesed with discarded cobble stones and i went off to see one of the main opposition leaders in the makeshift headquarters, a place teaming with the urgency of history but also the prospect of failure. I condemn the violence. And this is my key message for the last two days. This is not the way we can get the results. Thats the problem of ukraines second stab at the orange revolution. Grey is the new orange. Ifill the government of thailand has declared a state of emergency amid its ongoing political crisis. The announcement came after a series of recent attacks at antigovernment protests in and around bangkok. The decree is in force for 60 days. That gives Security Forces the power to ban large political gatherings, detain people without charge, and impose curfews. Reams of documents released today show how the Roman Catholic church in chicago hid decades of child sex abuse by priests. The material covers 30 clerics, out of at least 65 identified by the archdiocese as child molesters. Well hear from a lawyer for some of the victims, later in the program. President obama will meet with pope francis at the vatican this march. The white house announced today the president hopes to discuss a shared commitment to fighting poverty and inequality. His visit will be part of a larger trip to europe. Fishermen in western japan have reportedly made their biggest dolphin roundup in four years. The antiwhaling group sea shepherd says about 250 dolphins were captured during the annual hunt. More than 50 of them were selected for sale to aquariums and others. About 40 were killed for their meat, the rest were released. Dolphin slaughter occur almost daily for six months of the season begins september continues through the months of march. These dolphin killers will go out and hunt the dolphins and small whales almost daily, slaughter occur and dolphins are taken captive for marine parks around the world. Ifill over the weekend, the u. S. Ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy, tweeted that she was deeply concerned about the slaughter. A spokesman for the japanese government insisted the traditional dolphin hunt is legal. Former Virginia Governor Bob Mcdonnell and his wife maureen were indicted today in a federal corruption investigation. Theyre facing wire fraud and other charges, in connection with gifts from a political donor. Republican mcdonnell has insisted he did nothing illegal. He was termlimited and left office this month. Wall street had an up and down day. The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 44 points to close at 16,414. The nasdaq rose 28 points to close at 4,225. Still to come on the newshour Margaret Warner reports from switzerland on the syria peace talks; new documents detail how priests in chicago abused children in their charge; a push to keep filipinos from leaving home to earn a living; the Supreme Court on the genesis of raging bull, and the limits of labor unions; plus, russias hunt for three female terrorists. Ifill delegations from dozens of countries are arriving in switzerland for tomorrows peace talks aimed at ending syrias bloody civil war. But so far, the highly publicized absence of one country is casting a shadow over the event. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner reports. Some of the images in her story may be disturbing. Warner the arrivals hall at the airport in geneva was filled with diplomats and negotiators, including the head of the opposition Syrian National council. He made clear his goal translated we hope that the people of syria have great confidence in us. We are here to achieve the aspirations of the Syrian People and the demands of the syrian revolution. And we will not accept less than removing the criminal Bashar Al Assad and changing the regime and bringing the criminals to justice. Warner that seems the longest of long shots at the moment. Syrian president assad has made it equally clear he has no plans to give up power. Moreover, the sessions planned in lakeside montreux, amid tight security, already hit a diplomatic speed bump with the u. N. Secretary general ban ki moon inviting iran sunday night, and then disinviting tehran yesterday. Today, iran said it never wanted to go in the first place. translated about us not being invited to the geneva 2 talks, i have to announce that we were never interested in participating in these talks. This was the u. N. Secretary general insisting that we participate in these talks, and now they have canceled their invitation. This is very unfortunate and sad and we are very keen to know the real facts as to why he was forced to reverse this invitation. Warner criticism also came from the russians, who said it was a mistake not to include iran. translated despite the largely ceremonial nature of the event, the absence of iran in the list of 40 countries cannot but raise questions. Warner and a major new revelation today in a document commissioned by qatar, a report from three former war crimes prosecutors, with photographs of what they said was the torture and killing of some 11,000 detainees by the assad regime. They reportedly were taken by a Syrian Police photographer whos now defected. Desmond da silva is one of the reports authors. The pictures are reminiscent of the worst pictures that came out of belsen and auschwitz after the second world war. And these poor creatures were not only starved but were also tortured while they were starving. Warner in london, British Foreign secretary William Hague saw some of the 55,000 digital images. Ive seen a lot of this evidence, it is compelling and horrific. And it is important that those who have perpetrated these crimes are one day held to account. And the u. S. State department called the report and photographs extremely disturbing. Even before this, among the two million refugees whove endured three years of civil war, hopes were not high for a positive outcome in montreux. translated weve lost our faith in the International Community. We dont care about geneva conference and whether it takes place or not. We have lost many of our relatives and friends and family members in the fighting, and weve lost syria. translated all countries are plotting against the Syrian People; no one is supporting the Syrian People. If the International Community wanted to solve the crises, they would do that. People are being killed for nothing. No one cares about the Syrian People. Warner president obama discussed the syria conference with russian president Vladimir Putin by telephone today. They, along with the u. N. , are the conveyors of the conference, and will be represented by secretary of state kerry and foreign minister lavrov. Ifill Hari Sreenivasan is in new york and spoke with margaret a short time ago. So, margaret weve been waiting for this meeting for quite some time, what are the expectations. By the standards of International Conferences like this, this expectations are pretty low there is really no shared sense of what the goal is when you talk to the two adversaries here, the Syrian Government and the opposition. Tomorrows set of speeches is hard bargaining in geneva friday, the hope by the United States and the u. N. And most of the countries there is that at least youll get a united chorus from the 30 or so Different Countries that are speaking tomorrow that the answer is not a military solution but a political solution. And they hope that the two adversaries will hear that and that when they speak there will at least be some sense that they, too, want to pursue that even though they have very different end states, their visions are very, very different. Secretary kerrys theory has been for some time now that if you put at least get these two warring parties to sit down for the first time face to face and commit to continuing negotiations in geneva without any particular time limit or deadline, that they could begin to find a way forward. The u. N. Officials said to me today, as you said, hari, they worked so hard to get this conference together but he said there are so many different so many traps here and so many Different Actors he said im really not an optimist. Tell us what happened yesterday, inviting iran then uninviting iran, why . I am told by people close to him that he began with the premise that conference wont really be successful, that is there resolution without irans participation because they are such major badge o backers of president assad. They supply weapons, trainers, gotten hezbollah, militias to come in and fight for him. They have sent fighters from iran itself. And so they had to be part of it. Then im told ban was told bit by the russians then iranians that iran was ready to accept the basic premise of the conference, this to set in motion a process that will ultimately lead to a transitional governing body. Pave the way to a new government in syria. So ban thought he would make this announcement that within an hour would be written or verbal statement from iran saying they welcome coming to the conference and they accept that premise. They join in this premise. Instead all they got was a letter or a statement saying, were very happy to come. So ban was upset then came under tremendous pressure yesterday from secretary kerry from Syrian Opposition which they would boycott the conference and also from the gulf state led by saudi arabia that they, too, would boycott. He had a choice. Hold a conference with iran there, but one of the two major adversaries not there. And so given that choice he rescinded the invitation. So lets talk a little bit about the two conveners of this conversation, the u. S. And russia they have very different takes on syria, what do they agree on . Hari, youre right, they have different takes but essential to one another. This conference would not be happening without the two of them. Secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov have worked hard on this with secretary kerry pressuring the Syrian Opposition to come. Lavrov pressuring the iranians to help him persuade the Syrian Government to come. They also share the view that it can only be political solution and share concern about the work of the jihadi terrorist groups that have been attracted as if kerry were a magnet and are getting training and weapons and connections that would make the u. S. And russia both more vulnerable to terrorist attacks down the line. But as we know russia has been main defender on the u. N. Security council, resolutely stood in the way of tough sanctions or resolutions demanding humanitarian access, and bottom ply is that russias got long time interest in syria, it doesnt want to lose syria as at least very friendly if not quiet state and visceral reaction against any thought of forcible regime change by the out shied world by the western powers after the libya experience. So almost reflexively russia reacts negatively when it senses Something Like that is in the works, especially if its led by the u. S. Margaret warner, thanks so much. Thank you, hari. Ifill the Catholic Diocese of chicago, the countrys third largest, shielded and protected priests who were accused of sexual abuse for decades. Newly released papers document the actions of 30 priests, nearly half them deceased. The rest now out of ministry. Victims who had long p for more information talked about it at a press conference in chicago today. The priest that abused me moved seven times and abused others. If they would have stopped him like they would have stopped the other at the time of the abuse there would be significantly less victims. As part of the release of these files i am hopeful that there will be less victims in the future and people will stop putting the reputation of the institution above the welfare of the children. That is my hope. Ifill the documents, released as part of a settlement with those victims describe how the late cardinals john cody and Joseph Bernadin approved the re assignments of priests. In a letter sent to parishes this past weekend, Cardinal Francis george, who took over the diocese in 1997, apologized for the past actions of the church. But he also said that almost all of the incidents were perpetrated by priests he never met. We invited leaders of the diocese to appear tonight, but they declined. We are joined by a lawyer for some of the victims, jeff anderson. Welcome, mr. Anderson. What did you learn from this new group of documents today. What 6,000 pages of the offending priests file reveal very clearly is a very long standing pattern and practice by all the top officials, including the past and current cardinals of making conscious choices to protect offenders, keep their offense secrets, thus protect the reputation of the archdiocese from the 1950s to the present time and up until 2006. Mr. Anderson, in this letter that archbishop george tonight congregationss he conceded there has been mistakes but went on to say in the case of father Daniel Mccormick who was arrested twice, he said, mistake is not a cover up. Cardinal georges position that this was a mistake and primarily by those who preceded shim really deflection and denial. When it comes to mccormick, it was on his watch and there were reports to his office and there was a second arrest that became known to him and he chose to keep mccormick in ministry and give him a promotion and mccormick continued to abuse children. And it is that kind of thing thats reflected in these documents past and present that Cardinal George should himself be apologizing on behalf of himself and his choices and his predecessors. And until he does and until they do there can be no acknowledgment of the truth of the pass and assessment to repeat in the future. What survivors really need to is change. This is not so much about discovery of new incidents of abuse, its themselves but about holding the church accountable . Absolutely. Its really that about offending priests any more, these documents reveal the top officials had actual knowledge, time and time again and chose to keep it secret and make conscious choices. To protect themselves and the offenders. And in that case i am peril many children. So what the survivors did is demand accountability and transparency and when Cardinal George denies responsibility hes holding himself less accountability and being less than transparent. These documents speak for themselves. Thats the language that he used. Accountability and transparency in his message to the church. But you obviously think that falls short. In this case were talking about 30 cases, 6,000 pages involving 30 cases. There are 65 altogether youre expecting more. We are. Theres are 35 yet to be revealed and were working now to make sure that they are the same way these 30 are. But what is evident that there has been and remains a long standing pattern and practice as long as the top officials deny that they are the problem, the problem persists. You have represented victims around the country, is there a difference between the way the chicago authorities have handled these cases and the way its been handled in other cities and jurisdictions . We have worked with survivors across the country and in these kinds ever patterns and sadly, the pad earns reflected here passion and present are much like those across the country from l. A. To philadelphia and im sorry to say have a grave similarity. So what are the options at this point for your clients . What are they seeking now from the church . Well, what the survivors need first is to know that the truth of the past is known and revealed, which makes it less likely to be repeated in the future which means that the survivors can then rest more comfortably knowing that children will be less likely be harmed in the future. If there is an acknowledgment of the problem and the practice and it is changed. What they really need is the practice to be acknowledged and to be changed so the kids are protected. Thats what survivors want. Have we seen the end of financial celtsments in these cases . No, theres a lot more work to be done. Theres a lot more accountability to be had. And until there is a full transparency, full accountability there is a lot of work to be done on the courage and the shoulders of the survivors with whom we work every day in gratitude. I guess im trying to get to the bottom of an interesting question here which is both you and the church say what you really want more than anything else is healing, transparency that leads to healing for the survivors. Is that even possible . Well, i think it is. I mean these are wounds that run so deep that are never erased there. Is healing through life, through truth and through the knowledge and recovery of the power around accountability. And when survivors know they have done something to protect the kids of the future, they can rest better and feel better and recover their own power. And so, yeah, they can get better and they do. When they know other kids are at risk they remain anxious, worried and troubled that the same patterns that caused them to be harmed are being repeated over the present and future. Jeff anderson, attorney speaking on behalf of sexual abuse victims, thank you so much. Youre welcome. Ifill next, to the philippines, where one organization is trying to tackle the nations poverty by luring people to the countryside. Special corespondent fred de sam lazaro has the story. Part of his ongoing agents for change series. Crowded cities, tony lamotta is trying to get people to come or come back to the farm. Where were going here, right. And organic rice and we have 30 different crops here. Three years ago he established an 85 acre campus about 35 miles from the capital called the enchanted farm its a village of about 50 families relocated from urban slums, a farm and a place for research and innovation. The vision is making this the Silicon Valley for social interconnection. Lots of fertile land in the philippines just doesnt produce enough of the right crops and products. So rural people move to the city in search of a livelihood. Those who can leave the country. About 10 of this nation of 100 million, doctors, nurses, welders and Domestic Workers work abroad. How many are planning to leave the country after graduate . An economist by training and one of the countries best known antipoverty activists he tries to persuade young visitors to try. Its possible to create another career or business path in this country. Rather than be a Domestic Worker abroad. This is not bad. Because they are the heroes of the philippines but i think the next generation like yours will be job generators not job seekers abroad. He came from a lower middle class family but with scholarships was a high academic achiever and went on to International Business career. Including posting in australia. But he says felt keen awareness of those left behind. I started to see that the basic problem was the connection of those privileged with the best education, with the best opportunities from those who had no dignity, no justice, no hope. I felt that i had to go back to the philippines, to the poorest slum and try to discover myself. He began in the mid 90s by janing a lay Catholic Organization trying to forge a sense ever community in slums riddled by gang violence. A few years later he founded care, organizing mostly volunteers and focusing first on decent housing. A human being who lives in an animal pen will think and behave like an animal. When men are deprived of their dignity then they are on survival mode. Thats when they get in to gang. To date, he has transformed the homes of 200,000 families, housing about a million people. Residents build and maintain these small model communities which elect their own leaders. These gk enclaves stand out for that clean ness and bright colors to thousand a them including some that were in the path of the recent typhoon. The. Community is located in the track of the typhoon did sustain some damage. There are roofs that are blown off but most part the structures are still standing. The typhoon killed more than 6,000 people but not a single one of them was in a Community Like this. We coordinated with the local government unit they point to us where safe areas are safe because theyre on higher ground. He also makes certain that occupants have clear legal title. Its a key issue, says executive director. Because the poorest here they are always victims. He said slum dwellers are always vulnerable to eviction by natural disasters or people with more means who lay claim on their land. He never pays to acquire land for its communities instead it convinces land owners to donate a part of their holding. Promising to work with the government to develop infrastructure, to everyones benefit. When you have a community of this size they will Start Building the public roads. When you have public roads then obviously the land will appreciate. That idea of partnership between haves and have nots is behind the farm project to create socially minded business. The combination of the difference of the poor and rich is explosive. Some of the earliest recruits are yankauer pines. A toy maker working with local women and materials hoping to grow in the market where almost all toys are imported from china. Another enterprise is making that additional lemongrass tea claimed to prevent certain diseases. Lemongrass is also and very good, this tea is very awesome. Why dont we make it worldwide product. Lemongrass is antioxidant. It is now selling about 50,000 a month. Our target is a million bottles in a few years which will provide jobs to thousand people. We put them will those with no business experience are coached on how to start one. A laid off garment worker and a former Domestic Worker both refugees from slums are being converted from traditional cooks to fast food entrepreneurs. They hope to set up food stands like this one in shopping malls. Im really grateful to live here. Before this i lived in manila close to the river. And it flooded any time it rained hard. I was living like a squatter. As she built her food business she sells convenience items from her home, her husband who works on the farm and cares for their two pigs and their 12yearold son enjoy a modest home but its secure and dry. Sleep well . My life here is very happy. Comfortable . Comfortable. To sustain the farm theres new Conference Center hopes to bring visitors ideas and revenue. The complex was built with donations from several Large Companies like shell oil and hyundai. Its not charity, just good marketing. This will be the venue for the national congress, this is sponsored by the Philippine Armed forces. These are the new generation of as conference began he introduced four young people who have come to work on the farm, all top graduates of prestigious universities, usually a ticket to far more lucrative jobs abroad. Two actually returned from jobs overseas, market presearch in singapore, Investment Banking in new york. She passed up a full bright scholarship that would have taken her to germany. Theres a lot of hungry people in the philippines are billion hectares of land. Its the stable back broken of our economy. This is a country that does not have any excuse to remain poor. It is important for us now to raise a new generation of filipinos to have that conviction. He hopes to develop several more farm campuses like this one, its goal to bring five million families out of poverty by 2024. Ifill a ifill a version of freds story can be seen on the pbs Program Religion and ethics newsweekly. His reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at Saint Marys University in minnesota. Ifill the Supreme Court heard arguments today that could strike a blow to Public Sector unions and to authors of original works. In the first case, nonunionized Home Health Care workers in illinois say they should not have to pay for contract negotiations. And in the second, can an authors heirs still stake claim to a big hollywood production more than 30 years later . The 1980 movie raging bull earned Robert Deniro an Academy Award for his portrayal of a embattled boxer jake lamotta. As always marcia coyle of the National Law Journal was in the courtroom this morning and is here with us tonight. Lets start with the union case, marcia. Are Home Health Care workers normally covered by unions . Well, there are a number of states that have recognized unions to represent those types of workers. The state of illinois did in this particular case not only recognize the union but really supported it because it found once it had a union it dramatically reduced turnover in these jobs, it raised wages and offered benefits that made the job more attractive to workers. So the union is supporting im sorry the state is supporting the union in this case before the Supreme Court. How could Supreme Court ruling in this case affect Public Sector unions in general . Well, if the court were to rule for the three challengers who are Home Health Care workers, who are not members of the union, it could really as justice pointed out today radically alter the workplace around the country where there are unions like this. These three Home Health Care workers who are nonunion members are saying that because this is a Public Employee union, even bargaining for wages is a way of petitioning the government and their fee to support the bargaining costs is compelled speech. Violating the First Amendment. Now the interesting thing here, gwen, is that the Supreme Court has recognized for years that nonunion workers can be asked compelled to pay a fee to support bargaining activities. However, it balances that out with the first impingement on their First Amendment rights by saying that none of that fee can go to union advocacy. It has to be strictly for bargaining costs. Were not talking about forcing them to pay dues just forcing them to pay for the part of the negotiation cost that they benefit from. Thats right, exactly. Its a way to prevent what is called free riders, getting the benefits of what the union can negotiate and yet not sharing in any of the cost to the unions. Justices have any sympathy for that today . Yes, they did. I cant really say the court is divided here but i can say that there were several justices such as justice brier and kagan who did see this as really an attempt to overturn a 35yearold Supreme Court decision, really alter how the workplace operates with agency shops. On the other hand, justices such as Justice Kennedy seemed to grasp the idea the challengers that when you are petitioning as a Public Employee the government for higher wages, youre speaking almost really on matter of public concern. In fact everything thato youre bargaining nor is a matter of public concern ultimately. Eprex he ised concern that this is that Public Employees are surrendering nonunion members are surrendering a substantial amount of their First Amendment rights. There does seem to be a certain amount of openness on the part of some justices to reexamine this very bedrock principle thats been around for three decades now. On the second case that the court heard today, this been calling shorthand around here the raging bull case. This isnt really so much about the film or even about ownership as much as about delay . Yeah, exactly. In fact its really about the daughter of screen play writer whose screen play she says was basis for the film, whether she can actually get in to court and make her claim that mgm has been infringing the copyright on that screen play. The issue before the justices is really whether can unreasonable delay in raising your right, your copywrite here, actually be used to bar you bringing your lawsuit. Is it a defense, for example, to mgm. And the lower courts here said that it could bar it. But the wrinkle is the copywrite act itself says that people can bring copywrite claims within three years of an infringing act. Paula patrella, filed it in 2009 is claiming that mgm infringed from 2006 to 2009 the issue for the justices is, can this sort of very old doctrine of unreasonable delay preempt the limit that congress put in to the actual law that you have three years to file a copywrite action, each time theres an infringing act. So if this was a law that congress wrote, congress have role in trying to straight then out . Well, i think ultimately it depends, gwen, on what the court says. If the court says that this doctrine of unreasonable delay can be used to bar these types much suits then congress could look at the copywrite act and make it explicit that the doctrine doesnt prevail, that the threeyear timeframe they put in the law is what should govern here. Really does depend on what the court says. I couldnt tell at the end of the argument which way the court was going to go. There seemed to be good arguments on both sides for which whether the doctrine or the limiting the law should prevail. There was any discussion at all about whether this could have the ruling of this case could have broader implications for authors of other works, for new technologies which dont have necessarily threeyear life spans . So r oh, absolutely. If its copyright case its going to fall under the copy write act, of course. But this doctrine of unreasonable delay, ill use the word, its called laches, could affect all kinds of works you could see in the Supreme Court itself with amicus briefs that there were a number of amicus briefs by musicians, composers, authors who really want to be able to assert their copyright after certain period of time. On the other side you have studios and other producers, business as well that feel, gee, if you wait 18 years as paula patrella did, to sue, you ought to be out of luck because we relied on that time period in which you were silent. And you should be able to come in and skim the cream off the top as mgms lawyer said. Ifill fascinating as always. Reporting tonight in washington for us in a lovely snowstorm but reporting on the Supreme Court, thanks again. My pleasure. Ifill authorities in russia are on the hunt for three women suspected of planning terrorist attacks at the upcoming Winter Olympics, now just weeks away. Hari is back to begin our coverage. Sreenivasan the streets of sochi were heavy with security today. And images of three potential female suicide bombers were posted around the city. Theyre known as black widows, women who were married to islamist militants killed by Security Forces. Police said its believed that one of them, 22yearold ruzanna ibragimova, is already inside sochi. Texas congressman michael mccaul, chair of the House Homeland Security commission, was there today, assessing the situation. All the briefings that ive received, from the Intelligence Community to the f. B. I. And others, indicate that there are serious concerns and that we need to do a lot to step up security. We have 15,000 americans traveling to sochi for the olympics. Sreenivasan the challenge grows out of a long running Islamist Insurgency in russias north caucasus region. Which includes dagestan and chechnya. Sochi lies roughly 400 miles away, but the militants have demonstrated an ability to reach across russia. In late december, two suicide bombings hit the Southern City of volgograd, killing 34 people. On sunday, an Islamist Group in dagestan claimed responsibility for that attack, and threatened the olympics. Today, russias National Anti Terror Committee said Police Killed a senior islamist militant in a shootout in the north caucasus. Russian president Vladimir Putin has promised a ring of steel to protect sochi. And foreign minister Sergey Lavrov counseled calm today. He said the world will join russia in safeguarding the olympics. Terrorism has no nationality. Terrorism has an International Dimension this fact is well has repeatedly stated that we will ensure security at the olympic games. Special staff are operating, including representatives of practically all the states whose athletes will participate, and im convinced sufficient measures are being undertaken. Sreenivasan in the meantime, the olympic torch has reached southern russia, en route to sochi. Ifill to tell us more about the socalled black widows we are joined by robert bruce ware, professor at Southern Illinois university edwardsville. Hes written extensively about the russian caucasus. What are these black widows how is this a phenomena . Looks like mr. Ware, can you hear me . Explain these black widows to us. A ringing im sorrow were having few technical difficulties well be back been mr. Ware as soon as we can. Started about his private life. Tonight pbs american masters. Would be the hardest thing. The day after d day thats when it one point they see a white flag and so the americans think theres going to be a surrender. Officers come forward to accept the surrender honorably. The germans open fired. The americans become kill crazy. Had to be punished, theyre going to hunt down every german in the area and are going to kill em. Shall engirl was part of the Counter Intelligence corps whose job it was to interview enemy prisoners. Played a very important role. G. I. S, young guys in squads being asked to attack a village, want to know every single thing they can possibly know about that village, where the machine gun nests were, where the alleyways were, where the avenues of fire were. Then like shallinger their job was to provide information that would have kept more of those guys alive. Attitude to move behind and near the enemy lines. To understand the culture, the people. To understand what war did to the local people. Theres a more intellectual probing war for him than average grunt. My dad was actually 21 when he met mr. Shallinger, hes four years his senior. The four gentlemen, mr. Salinger. Mr. Keenan and my father they refer to each other as the four musketeers. They corresponded for nearly 65 years. And theres really a bond. My dad used to comment that they would say theres really no time for us to do anything because we always had to stop for salinger to work on short stories or his novel. And my father said the only photo that anybody has ever seen of salinger writing the catcher in the rye. Ifill american ifill american masters salinger airs on most pbs stations later this evening. Check your local listing for the time. Those audio problems have been fixed. Were back with robert ware, help us understand this black widow phenomenon. The black widows first appeared in june 2000 when a woman detonated a bomb attached to her body at a Russian Military base in chechnya. Attracted worldwide attention in october 2002 during moscow theater hostage crisis when chechen rebels distinctively featured female insurgents. Ever since 2003 there have been number of incidents in russia, particularly in north caucuss involving women related to martyred fighters who have detonated bombs on their body at various public events. So, there was a group called dagestan that took responsibility for those horrible bombs that we just saw at the end of december. Who is this group . The group started during second chechen war and is affiliated with the broader called the caucasus em rat. The doing tan is pace dagestan is at north eat southeastern end of this region. Essentially in the area between chechnya and the sea. So you saw this 50minute long video where these two bombers basically laid everything out. What were they asking for . What was the purpose of their new threats against soapy . In the long run, the longterm goal for russia to leave nor caucasus region. What theyre doing in this video is demonstrating the assembly of some explosive devices that have been subsequently strapped to the bodies of the men who claim that sochi olympic events will be targeted. Are there other groups that russia needs to be worried about in addition to these folks just claimed responsibility for the recent bombings . There are throughout the north caucasus a number of groups who have been agitating for the withdrawal of Russian Forces and for withdrawal of russia from the north caucasus region. And also are pursuing a number of local grievances involving local corruption, Police Brutality and so forth. Is sochi somehow sort of symbolic or important to these different groups . Is this homeland . Yes. Exactly 150 years ago the people in the northwestern area of this region, essentially on the black sea were deported enmasse to turkey and other parts of the world also suffered horrendous massacres, to the point that the events are often described as genocide. The sochi olympics are taking place on the same site where the people were massacred and deported in a genocidal matter exactly 150 years ago. One of the points thats made in the video is that essentially the olympic ceremonies are being held on the bones of their ancestors. The men in the video also say that the specifically taking vengeance for muslim blood thats been shed in dagestan, somalia and syria. Is there a history of sporting events in russia being attacked as political statements . Theres some history of it. Specifically there was black widow attack at a moss cosporting event in moscow in 2005 the russian installed was assassinated at a soccer game in may of 2004 when the seat beneath him exploded. Robert bruce ware, thanks thanks for your time. Okay, thank you. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. A powerful new winter storm blasted the eastern u. S. , from kentucky to massachusetts, with up to a foot of snow. Thousands of flights were cancelled. And the syrian peace talks prepared to open tomorrow in switzerland, amid new allegations of war crimes by the assad regime. On the newshour online right now apparently, when you apply for a job you should do more than just submit your resume. But you still need one. So this weeks ask the headhunter has some tips for tailoring it to fit. Thats on making sense. All that and more is on our website, newshour. Pbs. Org. And thats the newshour for tonight. On wednesday well look at the impact of californias expensive and enduring drought. Im gwen ifill. Well see you online and here tomorrow evening. For all of us here at the pbs newshour. Thank you and goodnight. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. 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. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. 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