Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140321

House. But i noticed for medications the face is not green, its actually red. And what means is he missed the time hes supposed to take it. Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved, staying engaged. They are not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is, how did i end up here . I started schwab with those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. 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 russia and the west stayed locked in a staredown today, as the crisis over ukraine continued to build. Announcements of sanctions flew back and forth between washington and moscow. And in crimea, the russians intensified their pressure on ukraines military. Well have a full report right after the news summary. This day has seen a new flurry of activity and hope in the search for a missing malaysian airliner. The new focus an area in the southern indian ocean. We have a report from Jonathan Rugman of independent television news. Reporter this morning, australian and american surveillance planes set out in search of the remains of flight 370 after satellite imagery pinpointed possible debris floating below. They dropped yellow marker buoys over the spot. Theyre designed to record the oceans drifting currents and so detect where that debris might drift next. But clouds prevented any glimpse. One plane spotted only two passing pods of dolphins and a freighter. That ship, a norwegian car transporter, was diverted from its course to investigate but its Filipino Crew have seen nothing so far. A satellite recorded two objects. This one thought to be up to 24 meters long, though after so many false leads, caution is the order of the day. This is a lead. It is probably the best lead we have right now. But we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them to know whether its really meaningful or not. And i caution again, theyll be difficult to find. We dont know what that satellite saw until we can get a much better, much closer look at it. But this is the first tangible breakthrough in what up till now has been an utterly baffling mystery. Reporter flight mh370 left kuala lumpur at 12 41 am heading for beijing 12 days ago. The last goodnight from the co pilot came at 1 19am, about 40 minutes after takeoff. Just after that, communications were turned off. At 2 15am, the plane turned sharply off course. A satellite carried on picking up a signal for the next seven hours, the plane heading somewhere along one of these two vast corridors. Today, satellite images showed potential debris close to the southern corridor, over 1,500 miles west of perth, in australia. At kuala lumpur airport, the worlds press was hungry for eyewitness confirmation, which never came. 12 days on, the relatives of 239 missing people still left in the agonizing dark. The jet may have crashed into the ocean, but the mystery of what really happened could go on for days, months or even years ifill well have more on the huge challenges in the search for flight 370, later in the program. Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair was fined 20,000 today for sexual misconduct, but given no jail time. He was initially accused of Sexual Assault, as the pentagon acknowledged the problem is widespread within the military. But the case against sinclair crumbled and he pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Today, he appeared upbeat after leaving court at fort bragg, north carolina. Its been a very difficult time for me and my family, it really has. The system worked. Ive always been proud of my army. All i want to do now is go up north and hug my kids and see my wife. Ifill sinclair is retiring immediately, but a Disciplinary Board could yet reduce his rank and his pension. Well talk to a reporter whos been covering the court martial, later in the program. In a separate case, a military judge acquitted a former Naval Academy Football Player of Sexual Assault. Joshua tate was accused of attacking a female classmate at an offcampus party in 2012. Tate said the sex was consensual. Prosecutors argued the woman was too drunk to consent. Two other navy Football Players were charged, but the charges were later dropped. International criminal gangs are making california their number one American Target for cyber and other crimes. The state attorney general reported today california leads the nation in hack attacks and identity theft. The report also estimated more than 30billion is laundered through the state economy every year. Wall street rebounded today. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 108 points to close at 16,331. The nasdaq rose 11 points to close at 4,319. And the s p 500 added 11 to finish at 1,872. Leaders on both sides of the aisle paid tribute to robert strauss, who died wednesday. For decades, he was a major washington figure, advising president s of both parties. Ifill powerbroker, peacemaker, deal negotiator. Robert strausss career in politics began as a law student at the university of texas where he worked on Lyndon Johnsons first congressional campaign. By 1972, hed become chair of the Democratic National committee after George Mcgoverns shattering loss in the president race that year. Strauss set about rebuilding the party and helped engineer the 1976 election of jimmy carter. He served as the president s personal representative in middle east peace talks that led to the camp david accord. But he also moved easily across party lines as a trusted advisor in the Reagan Administration and as ambassador to the soviet union under president george h. W. Bush. Im Old Fashioned enough as many of you know i am Old Fashioned enough to believe still that politics does end at the waters edge and i believe that i can serve in the tradition of others who have made that step. Ifill in 1992, strauss returned to dallas to work at the law firm he cofounded in 1945 and to lecture at the university of texas. Robert strauss died wednesday at his home in washington. He was 95 years old. The kansas preacher who led his Westboro Baptist church on a fiery crusade against gays, has died. Reverend fred phelps organized antigay protests nationwide, even picketing funerals of aids victims and soldiers. That led to a major freespeech ruling in 2011, when the Supreme Court barred grieving families from suing Westboro Baptist for damages. Fred phelps was 84 years old. Still to come on the newshour, debating the u. S. Response to the crisis in ukraine, a new lead in the search for the missing malaysian jet, Tech Startups tackle the challenges of aging, sentencing day for a general in a high profile Sexual Assault case, plus, a look ahead at the race to control the u. S. Senate. Woodruff president obama upped the ante against russia over crimea today and triggered a return salvo from moscow. The world is watching with grave concern as russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions. Woodruff the words of warning came on the white house lawn as the president expanded economic sanctions first announced on monday. I signed a new executive order today that gives us the authority to impose sanctions on individuals and sectors of the russian economy. This is not our preferred outcome. These sanctions would not only however, russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community. Woodruff the latest sanctions target president Vladimir Putins chief of staff and wealthy supporters. And, they quickly provoked a reaction. Within minutes, the kremlin announced sanctions against nine u. S. Officials, including senators john mccain and harry reid and House Speaker john boehner. The russian inner circle also faces new penalties from european leaders, who met in brussels today to consider their next punitive measures. In berlin, german chancellor Angela Merkel announced the g8 meeting that russia was scheduled to host in june, has been suspended indefinitely. translated it is clear that as long as the political conditions for the g8 are non existent, like right now, the g 8 does not exist anymore either as an organization or as a summit. Woodruff the russians remained undeterred. The lower house of parliament approved the treaty to annex crimea with the upper expected to give final approval tomorrow. And foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to secretary of state john kerry in a phone call, making clear theres no going back. The Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying lavrov warned again that the kremlin has its eyes on ethnic russians elsewhere in eastern europe. translated we will be defending their interests of russians abroad by political, diplomatic and legal means. We will be insisting that the countries, where our compatriots found themselves in, respect their rights and freedoms in full. Woodruff ukraine charged russia is preparing for an invasion of more ukrainian territory beyond crimea. While in crimea, proRussian Forces stormed and seized three ukrainian warships in sevastopol. The crew of one vessel left with their belongings, as a russian flag flew from the rigging. Meanwhile, in washington, debate is growing about the obama administrations handling of the crisis. Senator mccain and others have argued the u. S. Should have stood up more firmly to russian president putin. From a different perspective, theres criticism that u. S. Actions provoked the russians, as when assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland visited kiev last december, offering bread and support to protesters. So, how has the president handled the ukraine crisis overall . Joining us to discuss this, is david kramer, former Deputy Assistant secretary of state for european and Eurasian Affairs in the george w. Bush administration. Hes now president of freedom house. And richard betts, a member of the National Security council in the carter administration. Hes the director of the interNational Security policy program at columbia university. We welcome you both. We start with you david kramer. Lets talk first about the sanctions imposed today on top of what we heard on monday. Will these punish russia as much as the Administration Says . I think the step taken today by the administration was a very positive one. It is going to have an impact, dealing with bankruptcy at the first bank being affected by todays announcement is a positive step. I think well see another round if mr. Putin doesnt show willingness to back down. It also we want after more people in the higher levels of the russian government as well as businessmen and i think that is particularly important because putin has the circle around him of people who have benefited personal enrichment since hes been in power and going after them and the money i think is what is going to get their attention. Woodruff what do you see as the effect of the sanctions when you add together monday with what they did today, richard betts. The sanctions can make the russians pay a price for what they did, which is inexcusable but understandable, i think, but theyre unlikely to change russian policy to get them out of crimea or to turn them away from the stance putins taken on a much larger set of issues. Reporter why do you believe theyre not likely to have an effect . Well, as far as i can see, this is much more about politics and basic National Interest to the russians than about economics, and maybe a price theyre more willing to pay than nato is to keep upping the ante. The european allies who have a much bigger stake in all this than we do are not as anxious as we are, it appears, to put maximum pressure on the russians. Woodruff well, let me bring that back to you, david kramer . What about the argument that the russians dont really care if, yes, they may be hurt, some economics, Bank Accounts pinched but they will do what they want to do . This is coming against the backdrop of where the russian ruble is at its alltime low, stock market dropped 20 , Interest Rates are going up, the russian economy is stagnating and putin will have Serious Problems trying to maintain the standards of living in russia. If there is diversification of Energy Supplies to europe, that will have a big impact since energy is such a huge part of the russian economy it depends on for its gdp. My colleague is right, the e. U. Does have to step up. It did monday with sanctions not quite as severe as the ones the u. S. Announced. Were still waiting for the e. U. To take additional steps and if they do i think that will get the attention of people in the kremlin. Woodruff richard betts, in other words, russia is in a more vulnerable economic position than it has been and this has to hurt. What about that . It certainly will hurt, but theyve taken a very dramatic action, a very Decisive Action to absorb crimea, and its hard for me to believe that they are going to back off from that because theyre suffering pain economically. Sanctions, very often, can make countries pay a price for bad actions and they may help to deter third countries from thinking about doing the same thing, but there arent many cases in which economic sanctions forced their targets to turn around and change the policies they are meant to change. Woodruff lets broaden this out, david kramer. I know you also argued earlier that the administration should have moved more quickly on sanctions and, in some ways, they sent signals that encouraged the russians to do what they did. Broaden this out and describe your view of how the administration handled this back from when it really began. When Russian Forces first went in, i thought the administration was too reticent. It wasnt active enough in moving forward and pushing against the russian invasion of ukraine. I do give the administration credit. I think this week has been a good week. It has imposed serious sanctions against individuals, also the bank. I do think there will be additional sanctions. I think the administration is catching up. The challenge will be putin is also trying to demonstrate hes not backing down. Theres been talk about southern and eastern parts of ukraine theres concern in neighboring moldova, theres concern even in latvia, a member of nateo with a fairly Large Russian population. Its not saying putin will send troops into latvia or moldova, but he can stir up trouble. We need to make it clear this behavior will incur serious cost and he needs to assess before taking further action. Woodruff richard betts, what do you think the administrations posture should be and should have been . Well, i think the original me stakes was, along with the europeans, insisting on forcing ukrainians to choose between the west and moscow. Our given history, given ukraines position, given the way the russians have been treated in the past 20 years and their more recent desire to push back, for all those reasons, i think it would have made much more sense to try to strike a middle course which would have avoided escalating the confrontation. At this point, i think, ideally, the thing to do which would not be popular for obvious reasons would be to seek an arrangement that guaranteed, in effect, the neutrality of ukraine and a status something similar to what finland had during the cold war, which was much criticized in the west at the time but which served the finns pretty well in preserving their domestic independence and democracy while compromising foreign policy. Woodruff david kramer, youre vigorously shaking your head. I hope the days are over where u. S. And russia decide the fate of other countries without the other countries present. We shouldnt be declaring the ukraine pns. There will be elections the 25th, the future government could decide that but w we shouldnt be closing doors in ukraine, nato or the e. U. , we should be focusing on the Current Situation which is the responsibility of president yanukovich who betrayed his country and forfeited his legitimacy and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people but also mr. Putin, theyre the ones principally responsible, not the west. Woodruff do i understand you, richard betts, saying the administration shouldnt be much more active than its already been, that the thrust now should be to back off, if anything . No, we have to impose sanctions. We have to make the russians pay a price tore what they did but we also have to try to avoid escalating the confrontation to more dangerous levels. There are still things that could happen that send things out of control, things neither moscow nor washington can control directly. For better or worse, great powers do try to shape and constrain the actions of other countries that affect their interests. The fact that we may have interests in avoiding escalation that affect our policy towards ukraine i think is quite reasonable. Woodruff do you want to react and how much more should the administration be pushing right now . I think the administration has to keep additional round of sanctions open. Sanctions are both punitive and psychological and if the target of the sanctions thinks that more sanctions are coming, then the target might change his or her behavior and i think thats the case with russia. Its very important we continue to push back. This is the biggest challenge that i would say we have faced since the end of the cold war, possibly going back even decades before that. Its critically important that the United States together with the europeans, canada which has a large ukrainian population, by the way, say this is unacceptable and we really should be insisting on status quo ante, not simply avoidance of escalation. Woodruff we hear you both. David kramer, richard betts, thank you. Thanks. Ifill the satellite images of possible debris in the indian ocean captured International Attention today as the hunt for the missing malaysian airliner continued. But even with a more targeted area to focus on, the challenges are daunting. Andy pasztor, Aerospace Reporter for the wall street journal, joins us again. Andy, what are the challenges, the special challenges facing this search . The first challenge is the weather. Its really, really lousy, so the search planes and ships will have a very hard time identifying and locating the suspected piece of debris. Its not clear it is from the plane. Everyone hopes everyone whos part of the search clearly hopes it is but thats not clear yet. But even if it is, the next big step is a much bigger challenge and that is to try and figure out where the plane would have gone down in the water if theres part of the debris here, and thats science. Yes, there are lots of ways to look at the wind and the currents and the waves, but its also a little bit of an art, and its extremely complicated and can be very controversial to figure out where to look for the wreckage and the debris field, is what they call it, underneath the water. Woodruff well, and this is particularly deep water. This is a very, very remote area of the indian ocean which hampers the search even more. Thats absolutely right, and the depth is a problem and if you look back at spreaghs crashes of aircraft a into water, you learn they often break into many relatively small pieces which are hard to find and the currents can move them 100 or 200 miles from the point of impact where the plane went into the water but, more importantly for this investigation, i think we should be looking at how the decisions will be made. When the air france jetliner went into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, there was a huge fight between the airline, the manufacturer of the airplane and french investigator about where to look for the wreckage. Took them two years, they finally found it, but it was extremely controversial and i think considering the multinational makeup of this search, were unfortunately likely to see some arguments about where to look, how to look and how to continue if if we have some debris. Ifill feels as if we have been seeing that already. We have seen jurisdictional disputes, questions about whether malaysia was stepping up. The announcement was made today by the australian prime minister, china has been involved, dozens of countries and now theres a norwegian ship in the region. Is that whats adding to the delay . Its now been 12 days. Confusion and delay, definitely theres a friction within the malaysian government between the civilian and military sides and has been on how much information to release. People who looked at this would say the malaysians were slow in releasing information that the plane has flown for an additional 6. 5 hours after it disappeared off radar. Malaysian government says they were corroborating the information and wanted to make sure everything was correct but, in fact, some folks, including the satellite provider of the information, got so concerned they went to the british government, as one of our stories indicates, and basically said to the british government, this information has to become public, were counting you know to do it. I think the situation is better in malaysia, i think theyre more willing to accept help. They realize the scope and size of this investigation and the search and how much scrutiny theyre under, but, still, youre going to see those kinds of points of friction between countries inevitably. Ifill are there also problems or challenges in the quality of the Satellite Technology itself . Well, the image the signals were talking about, we were not talking about images at this point of the debris. We were talking about the satellite signals that show where the plane may have gone. The images themselves, i think, are better than we have seen. I think that the Satellite Company that provides the images, digital globe, a private company which sells imagery to the u. S. Government, theyre actually able to do much more precise images that look much more clear than they do often than the ones weve seen publicly. So i think thats a plus, but, to me, its clear that nobody is completely convinced that this is part of malaysian flight 370, the piece thats floating in the indian ocean now. Ifill to what degree is the United States government inwovld in involved in this search as compared to other countries in the region . I think were deeply involved. In the beginning it was our air safety folks from the faa and the National Transportation safety board who contributed and helped decipher where the plane may have gone. At this point, its turning into more of a criminal probe and the f. B. I. And other u. S. National security agencies i think are very deeply involved, but the malaysians, of course, want to say that this is their investigation, and thats part of the pressure and part of the dynamic that, i think, will continue throughout. Its a malaysian investigation, but the whole world is watching them, and all these other countries are basically breathing down their necks to make sure that everything is done right as those countries think it should be. So this dynamic is going to continue and it may get worse if there are Big Decisions that need to be made about where to search, who will pay for the research and those kind of questions. Ifill has anybody suggested to you or your colleagues who are reporting that in fact debris from this plane may never be found . I think that thats certainly a possibility. Some people would say its a strong possibility. Many experts who know about searches say the area is to vast and the pieces may be so small and the depth of the water may be so significant that, in fact, well never find we may never find the wreckage and, of course, the other problem is, even if we do find the wreckage, figuring out why this was done is a whole another question about what the black boxes show. Ifill well get to the bottom of this piece of information possibly within the next 24 hours. Andy pasztor of the wall street journal. Thank you. Thank you. Woodruff most of us think of Startup Companies as primarily focused on younger customers for their business, but some Silicon Valley entrepreneurs see opportunities with a very different demographic. They are designing Innovative Products for seniors and their caregivers. The newshours cat wise has our report. Reporter 81yearold bud glickman has lived in his San Francisco apartment for nearly two decades. He wants to stay there as long as possible but knows he needs some help. Ive had some memory problems, shortterm memory problems. Ive tripped a couple of times. I certainly dont want people to be overly concerned. On the other hand, if something really happened, i would want their support. Reporter glickmans family is very supportive, and they want him to remain independent in his own home, but they also want to keep an eye on him and make sure he is keeping up with his daily routines without being too intrusive. The solution . These small, sleek motion sensors placed throughout the apartment. They wirelessly transmit information to a webbased app that his son, david, checks regularly. For my dad, this morning, i can see he is eating and drinking, has been getting out of the house, probably walked the dog. But i noticed for medications the face is not green; its actually red. And what means is, he missed the time hes supposed to take it. Reporter David Glickman isnt just a user of the new product called lively which helps him stay connected to his dad, hes also a cofounder of the company. People are spending money. Families are spending money, caring for their adults. And we didnt see anybody really kind of creating beautiful products super simple, easy to use and affordable using todays technology, not Technology Ten years ago. Reporter lively is part of a new wave of Tech Startups that are developing products for seniors and their caregivers. Its a multibilliondollar market, which until now has been largely ignored by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. A lot of the past products for seniors have been what we call big, beige and boring. Reporter one of those leading the charge for more innovation in aging is katy fike, a 35yearold former investment banker who has a ph. D. In gerontology. Shes the cofounder of aging 2. 0, which provides mentoring for startups, including lively, which target the 50 and older demographic. We see real potential to bring in new technology folks, bring in investors, bring in designers, because i think the more smart brains we have thinking about and looking for new solutions, the better well all be. Reporter many of the startups, like one called brain aid, are trying to keep older adults engaged and living independently longer. Some, like sabi, are redesigning products used by seniors like canes and pill boxes; others are creating new apps for caregivers. Its still too early to know which ones will actually make a dent in the aging services market, which has been long been defined by a certain wellknown commercial. Ive fallen, and i cant get up. Reporter but stephen johnston, fikes aging 2. 0 co founder and a former mobile industry executive, says the new players want to connect with seniors in a different way. Threequarters of people over 60 already have a cell phone. If you look at the usage of social media, facebook and twitter, the biggest demographic growing is always the 5565, and increasingly over 65, as well. And everyday were seeing more and more people figure out ways to connect this population. Reporter fike and johnston decided to base their startup incubator in a slightly unorthodox location at a senior center. The institute on aging is a bay area nonprofit which provides a wide range of services for thousands of elderly clients each year. Bringing the entrepreneurs and seniors together under one roof has led to a lot of collaborations and has been meaningful for the institutes aging clients, according to chief operating officer cindy kauffman. As someone gets older, we have a tendency to do for them. And we have their best interests at heart, but we take away their dignity, we take away their purpose. So, part of what this aging 2. 0, and institute on aging does is, we get their opinion, and then we have a conversation as to whats available, whats not available. But its really important. I want my opinion to be heard, and it doesnt change as we get older. Reporter and aging 2. 0s fike says the startups have benefited, as well. We wanted to immerse the entrepreneurs in who theyre designing for. We didnt want them to have to guess about whats needed or about what would work. Theres all these folks that are really living every single day either as the older adult themselves or the care providers. They know the needs. We just need to pair them with people who know how to make the solutions. Reporter one of those entrepreneurs is 26yearold j. Connoly, the founder of lift hero, a new Ridesharing Service which employs offduty e. M. T. S and other medical professionals as drivers. Pickup requests can be made online or over the phone like many of his fellow founders, connoly says personal experiences with an aging Family Member inspired him to start his company. The seed was planted really when my own grandmother, it took her a long time to find a trustworthy driver. And thats the process were trying to facilitate is, make that much easier for someone to find a driver that they trust and get where they need to go. Reporter on a recent afternoon, connoly and a group of other young entrepreneurs gathered at aging 2. 0 to hear an unusual perspective on Product Design. I hope you know that youll be able to develop strategies so that you can really design for our needs and not design for something that you think is clever and well never use. Reporter june fisher, an 81 yearold retired physician and Product Design lecturer at stanford, is now aging 2. 0s chief elder executive. Among the first products shed like to see redesigned are her walking sticks, which she thinks are ugly. She appreciates being asked to give her advice and being taken seriously. I want things that make my everyday life, my mundane life, easier, and that theyre aesthetically appropriate. And i dont want to be labeled as an old lady and being pampered and catered to, but not really addressing my needs to participate in everyday life. Reporter for their part, aging 2. 0 cofounders fike and johnston refute any skepticism that technology can truly improve seniors quality of life. I really dont see Technology Replacing what humans do. I think it fills the time when someone would have been alone, it fills the time when you probably couldnt have gotten there, and i think it also changes and improves the quality of when you are together, you know. If youve been having an ongoing interactions remotely, that, when youre together, youre more in sync, you can kind of catch up in a more meaningful way. Reporter the number of seniors in the u. S. Is expected to double by 2050 to more than 85 million, a statistic very much on the minds of the new aging entrepreneurs. Ifill we have a Photo Gallery of products designed to help seniors age in place, created by students as part of a competition sponsored by Stanford University and aging 2. 0. Thats on our homepage. Woodruff a military judged today ruled that army Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair will serve no jail time. Sinclair is believed to be the highest ranking u. S. Military officer ever courtsmartialed on Sexual Assault charges. Those charges were dropped after the prosecutions case fell apart and the general plead guilty to having inappropriate relationships with three subordinates. Reporter Paul Woolverton has been covering the case for the Fayetteville Observer and joins us now to tell us more. So, Paul Woolverton, welcome. This case started out as something very different from what it ended up. We mind us what the original case looked like. Originally, it was a Sexual Assault case. The general was accused of forcing his accuser, a captain under his command, of giving him oral sex at times when she didnt want to, and this was in the war zone in afghanistan. Woodruff and what happened to that case over time . Well, the general fought it very hard and his legal team fought very hard and they pushed and pushed to get the Sexual Assault charges dismissed on the allegation that the accuser basically they said she was lying. The prosecutors, of course, kept at it over time, but in the end they arranged to plea bargain, and the Sexual Assault charges were dismissed, but that still left other charges including adultery and misconduct and maltreatment of the accuser. Woodruff explain what happened to the prosecutions case because, as you point out, there were some very serious charges leveled, originally, against general sinclair. As time went by, it same clear some of what the accuser was saying wasnt borne out. The accuser stands by her position the Sexual Assault took place. The question i think was whether it could be proved in court. I guess late last year, they were still negotiating to try to get to a plea and the accuser was opposed to the plea. But then the convening authority, the general in charge of saying were going to have a court martial, he said, were not going to do a plea deal. So there was a letter from a lawyer representing the accuser that said, a, she opposes a plea deal but, also, the broader specter of congress changing laws regarding how the military treats Sexual Assault and if they drop this case against general sinclair, it would force congress or lead congress to punish the army politically by taking power away from the Courts Martial which became a case of unlawful command influence on how to proceed over cases in the military. They cant have outside influences decide justice, and that led up to having the plea bargain take place in the end. Woodruff essentially what youre saying is it looked as if there had been Political Considerations and that took a case that was already on shaky ground and weakened it even further. Exactly, yeah. Whether its on shaky ground, whether the defense or prosecution would dispute that, there was discussions within prosecution circles to take the deal but the higherups did not want to take the deal. Going in the defense was very optimistic they would win if the jury heard all of the evidence of Sexual Assault, but, you know, they took the plea. Woodruff the accuser, of course, hasnt been identified publicly. Was there a consensus about in court about the strength of her accusations and the strength of the generals defense . Well, i saw her testify in court, and she was very persuasive and very emotional about how he assaulted her and how it affected her life. You know, the relationship started consensual back in 2009 but then, over time, she said she wanted to leave him and felt she couldnt because he was her boss essentially and he could damage her military career, and she also claimed that he had threatened to kill her and her family if she exposed their relationship. But the defense countered that her private emails and journals and other such materials, messages, show that she wasnt so, i guess, wanting to leave him, more so that she they contend she wanted him to leave his wife and marry her. Woodruff so when the end of it, when this finally came down to the judge deciding on what he was guilty of, which was much less than what was originally charged, and the penalty, what was the reaction in the courtroom and in the community . In the community, i think a lot of people were surprised. Hes not getting any active prison time. The plea bargain allowed for as much as 18 months of incarceration. In the end, the judge didnt do that. Hes going to be reprimanded. He will allowed to retire and, when he retires, he probably will be demoted to Lieutenant Colonel which will affect his retirement. He also has to pay a 20,000 fine and pay 4,100 in restitution for travel expenses he accrued visiting his accuser when they were still having their relationship. I talked to several people who thought he would get active time and even the defense team said they were stunned at the sentencing. Woodruff as you point out, all this is taking place during a time when there is a lot of not only discussion about the extent the amount of sexual, at least accusations of Sexual Assault in the military, the debate right here in washington about whether these kinds of charges should be taken out of the chain of command, would you say that i mean, you have been talking to a lot of folks in the military, are they coming away there this case saying this argues for that or not . People who i talk to over time within the military legal circles, generally a lot of them are opposed to taking command authority away from the generals and other commanders in terms of deciding who gets courtmartialed and whether or not to overturn a conviction should a jury convict somebody. But theres a lot of pressure from the outside in some other areas of the Legal Community that say other countries do it differently, that they have independent prosecutors. Its interesting that the lead defense lawyer for general sinclair favors the bill that would remove command authority from deciding Courts Martial. Whether this happens now, i imagine this will provide fodder as Congress Goes forward as they decide whether to take the authority away. Woodruff Paul Woolverton. Thank you very much. Thank you. Ifill as this years mid term election campaigns intensify, democrats are growing nervous that geography, policy and politics may cost them control of the senate. History usually predicts midterm setbacks for the party in power. And with the help of some strong challengers, republicans are hoping to take advantage of that fact. In public, president obama owns the bully pulpit, and democrats own a majority in the senate. Today, the president focused on the economy in a public speech in orlando. When women succeed, america succeeds. Ifill but tonight, he will be fulfilling another mission raising money for democrats at a private florida fundraiser at a politically perilous time. Warning signs are popping up everywhere for democrats. Last week, republican david jolly won a special house election in the Sunshine State that democrats had hoped to use to build momentum. Red flags are also popping for democrats in the senate, where republicans need only six seats to take the majority this fall. Part of the problem democrats are struggling in seven states they now hold that republican mitt romney won in 2012. Now, the g. O. P has extended its target map to include a handful of typically democraticleaning states. For democrats, the best chances to turn the tide on republican turf are in georgia and in kentucky, the home of Senate Minority leader mitch mcconnell. But democrats recently acquired two new worries. In colorado, where republicans landed a toptier recruit when congressman cory gardner announced he would challenge democrat mark udall. And in new hampshire, where former massachusetts senator scott brown has moved across the border to explore a challenge to incumbent democrat jeanne shaheen. We explore the contours of the Midterm Election landscape with stu rothenberg of the rothenberg political report and roll call newspaper and amy walter, National Editor of the cook political report. Why are democrats so worried, amy . You laid it down politically, its the map is the most important thing that makes them nervous and the political environment. When the president s Approval Rating is sitting at 42 or 43 , even if youre in a relatively democratic or competitive state, thats a tough place to be as a democrat. If you are in a red state, that is dismal. Woodruff thats what youre saying . Theres a dynamic in Midterm Elections theres a reason why the president s party won house seats only twice in the last 100 years in midterms, is the voters express dissatisfaction with the president and the Party Candidates suffer. Ifill one of the states that romney won in the 2012 election where there are now democratic seats endangered, some of them are democratic retirements, thats south dakota, montana, West Virginia, and some of them in danger of incumbents, north carolina, alaska, arkansas and louisiana. Lets just unpack that for a moment, amy. Which of those states are you watching . Well, the open seats are the toughest for the democrats mostly because these are the seats that have moved over to the republicans at least at the federal level for quite some time. The only reason they stayed in democratic hands is because they had democratic incumbents who were really connected to those states. Ifill like montana. And West Virginia with j. Rockefeller. With those folks done, almost impossible for democrats to keep the seats. The other states are places where the democrats, they have been fighting against the tide, in some cases for quite some time and holding on, like louisiana with Mary Landrieu, and others theyre a brandnew senator in a state that has traditionally been republican like mark beggage in alaska where his father was a senator there. Ifill or north carolina. North carolina is a little different in that its not quite as red as the other states like arkansas, alaska and louisiana. It is a competitive state. He won it in 2008 and lost it narrowly in 2012. You have states where the landscape is better or the democratic incumbent has a name to allow him to resist against a republican wave. Ifill like arkansas. Yes, or alaska. These are democrats who have deep connections to the state and they need to try to localize the campaigns so voters in most states say its not just about barack obama, its not about the national environment, its about my senator Mary Landrieu or mark pryor. The democrats are trying to do that and will be difficult to succeed. Ifill its even difficult in areas where these are states that president obama won n the last election, theyre two democratic retirements, one in michigan and one in iowa and endangered encuments in two other states. We mentioned them in the senate in colorado and in new hampshire. How does that i think the thing to note about the four states is we were watching three as swing states in the president ial race the last time. Yes, the president won them. New hampshire 52, iowa 52, colorado 51, so these were narrow wins. So i think that means the landscape isnt as good for democrats as democrats may be thinking. Ifill go ahead. And, you know, at the end of the day, this comes down to mood. Angry people vote. People who are sort of complacent or people who are generally happy dont always go out and vote. Its the most motivated people especial in the mid term that go out and vote. So the president when you look at his National Number at 42 or 43 , you have to take it and say what would that mean in a state he already lost by ten points or a state he narrowly carried . That means in that state he is lower than the National Number. It is very tough for a democrat to overperform the president by that big a percentage. Ifill how much a drag in the big picture is the healthcare law and how much would he have had problems whether this law existed or not . I think it is a drag in part because republicans are enthusiastic about it and energized. Ifill theyre angrier. Yes, it will affect republican turnout. Attend of the day, when we talk about the final few weeks and few months to have the campaign, independent voters make up the month, its more generally about mood. Hows the economy doing, are there new jobs created, how has the president performed . For them, i think the aca has already baked into this. Except if there are more problems with the aca and thats really the question because september and october could bring thats traditionally when Insurance Companies bring you your insurance premiums if youre a Small Business for the next year. If things go up in september and october right before the election, not really a good sign. Ifill you see the big push to get people enrolled. There is there a plus to that or running place . A little bit running in place. The bottom line will be, i think, healthcare reform success politically at least in the short term would be based on how people who have current insurance feel about it. Do they feel like their own Health Insurance has been in any way compromised by this new healthcare law. If it has, then theyll take it out on the president. If it hasnt, theyre not going to use it as a motivating factor. Ifill we have been watching senator harry reid go against the Koch Brothers, the finance brothers duo. How much does that indicate money is a big problem and republicans are the ones who got it . I dont think its that the republicans have all the cash. I think its an attempt to redefine the election to say the problem is its really inside baseball. The average voter doesnt say, wow, whos contributing to who. So i think its a general democratic frustration here. When you look at these races, its not as though the republican candidates have a lot more money than the Democratic Senate candidates, thats not the case. When you look at how much theyre spending in some of these states we just talked about. Ifill thats true. N north carolina, their super pac up against the democratic majority pac, its in some cases threetoone, fourtoone difference in the number of ads run. But i agree it may not stay that way. And remember the republican super pac so big last time, crossroads, seem not to be active at this point. They will be later in the cycle. So far, the Koch Brothers has been carrying the ball for the republicans. Ifill doesnt matter, the president is the drag. Everybody will have more money on n these races. But, no, the president is a much bigger problem. Absolutely. Ifill okay. Amy walter, the cook political report, stu rothenberg, the rothenberg political report. Thanks. Thanks. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. The u. S. And russia traded sanctions as the crisis over ukraine escalated again. The southern indian ocean became the focus of the hunt for a malaysian jetliner after satellite images showed possible debris and army Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair was fined 20,000 for sexual misconduct, but he avoided any jail time. Ifill on the newshour online right now, scientists are watching what happens as a gas cloud about three times the mass of earth barrels toward the black hole at the center of our galaxy. On our science page, researchers describe what they might see and wonder will the black hole eat the cloud this year . All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Woodruff and again, to our honor roll of American Service personnel killed in the afghanistan conflict. We add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. Here, in silence, are six more. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. On friday, margaret warners latest report from ukraine on escalating tensions in the eastern part of the country. Im judy woodruff. Ifill and im gwen ifill. Well see you online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks among others. For all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. 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. Org  report with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. Brought to you in part by thestreet. Com. Featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and Market Insights with action alerts plus, the multimillion dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. You can learn more at thestreet. Com nbr. What a difference a day makes. The dow rises triple digits, e racial mo erasing losses on news about the economy. What happens next and whats the best place for your money . The yellen effect. When rates rise, and they will at some point, what does that mean for your investments, the housing market, your mortgage and for savings . Just do it. And thats what nike did in its latest earnings report. Whats behind the strong quarter