A program bringing dance to thousands of children in new mexicos Public Schools. And teaching valuable life lessons with each and every routine. Work hard, do your best, never give up, and be healthy. We think if you do those things, whether youre learning a dance step, taking a math test, or applying for a job, thats what it takes to be successful. Woodruff those are just 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. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill the u. S. Military has stepped up the search for more than 270 school girls kidnapped in nigeria. President obama told Congress Today that 80 troops are being deployed to neighboring chad. Theyll help with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights over northern nigeria. The Islamist Group boko haram abducted the girls last month, and today, its fighters killed 48 people in three northern villages. Yesterday, bombings in central nigeria killed 118 people. Woodruff there was heavy new fighting in libya today, amid fears of growing chaos. The combat came near a main camp and military barracks outside tripoli. This morning, fires were still burning from midnight rocket attacks that killed two people. About 200 people were evacuated from the area. It was unclear who was involved in the fighting, but a renegade general, khalifa hifter, has launched a campaign against islamist influence in libya. Ifill democrats in the house of representatives have decided to join a new investigation of the attack on u. S. Diplomats in benghazi, libya. Four americans, including the u. S. Ambassador, were killed there in 2012. Now, a republicanled select committee will investigate, the eighth probe to date. Minority leader nancy pelosi acknowledged today that some in her ranks wanted to boycott the effort. I could have argued this either way, why give any validity to this effort but i do think it is important for the American People to have a pursuit of these questions done in as fair and open way as possible. That simply would not be possible leaving it to republicans. Ifill republicans have charged the white house misled the public about what happened in benghazi. The Obama Administration denies it. Woodruff in afghanistan, taliban attacks left at least 21 people dead. Ten Police Officers and three civilians were killed in gun battles and bombs in several provinces. Villagers also found the bodies of eight policemen abducted two weeks ago. Afghanistan faces a president ial Runoff Election next month. Ifill former egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to three years in prison today, for stealing public funds. Mubarak appeared in a defendants cage in a cairo court, along with his two sons. They were given four years each on the same charges of embezzlement. News of the sentences prompted sharply different reactions across the egyptian capital. translated why should he get three years . This is unfair, there is no evidence in the case, Hosni Mubarak and his sons have done nothing, and his sons gamal and alaa are the most honorable people in egypt. translated they should have sentenced them to more than three or four years. He ruled us for a long time, and left us broke and poverty stricken and sick. Ifill another Court Sentenced 155 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to jail. They were convicted of violence after president Mohammed Morsi was deposed last july. Woodruff china and russia signed a 400 billion natural gas deal today. Russian president Vladimir Putin and chinese president xi jinping were on hand in shanghai, to witness the signing ceremony between their two statecontrolled gas agencies. The deal is a boost for putin as he faces western sanctions over russias actions in ukraine. Ifill back in this country, the Transportation Department called for airlines to do a better job letting passengers know how much it will actually cost to fly. Proposed new rules would spell out addon fees, including the cost of a first and second checked bag, assigned seats and carryons. Currently, only bag fees have to be disclosed, but even then, the airline does not have to give an exact price. Woodruff on wall street, stocks made up much of yesterdays lost ground. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained more than 158 points to close at 16,533. The nasdaq rose 34 points to close at 4131. And the sandp 500 added 15, to finish at 1,888. Still to come on the newshour president obamas promise of accountability at the v. A. ; takeaways from last nights congressional primaries; how some ukrainian steelworkers are pushing back at separatists; whats behind the wave of auto recalls by g. M. ; and a Program Teaching kids valuable life lessons through dance. Ifill president obama pledged support for Embattled Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki today, but warned that there will be accountability at the agency if allegations against the v. A. Are proven true. Ifill the president came to the White House Briefing room to pledge hell get to the bottom of whats wrong at the v. A. I will not stand for it, not as commander in chief, but also not as an american. None of us should. So if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and i will not tolerate it, period. Ifill these allegations include falsifying records to cover up long wait times. Overnight, the v. A. Inspector general expanded his investigation to 26 v. A. Facilities, up from ten last week. Ground zero is this v. A. Hospital in phoenix, arizona, where, its been claimed, 40 veterans died while awaiting care. This morning, president obama met privately with v. A. Secretary Eric Shinseki, who faced a Senate Hearing last week, amid calls for him to resign. Any adverse incident like this, makes me mad as hell. Ifill mr. Obama defended shinsekis overall work but said someone will be held accountable for any shortcomings. If you ask me, you know, how do i think Eric Shinseki has performed overall, i would say that on homelessness, on the 9 11 g. I. Bill, on working with us to reduce the backlog across the board, he has put his heart and soul into this thing and he has taken it very seriously. Ifill lawmakers from both parties said more needs to be done. South dakota senator john thune. Tough words just arent enough when it comes to this issue. We need action. And they are looking at some specific sites around the country. I happen to believe, and ive got a bill that calls for a nationwide investigation by the i. G. Because i think this is not an isolated instance. This is systemic. Ifill the president drew mixed reaction from veterans groups. In a statement, the veterans of foreign wars said on capitol hill, the house moved to set aside Civil Service protections and give the v. A. Secretary more power to fire or demote top executives in the department. He would be the only cabinet member with that authority. A similar measure has been filed in the senate. Ifill how has the Obama Administration handled this veterans wait list issue . We have two views. Retired Army Brigadier general David Mcginnis was a member of admirals and generals for obama in 2008. He held a senior job at the Defense Department during the Obama Administrations first term, and is active in veteran health issues. And Joseph Violante is National Legislative director at disabled american veterans, an Advocacy Organization with 1. 2 million members. Welcome you both, gentlemen. Good evening. Ifill how widespread do you think the problem is . Its systemic. It goes beyond just medical care. Theres a serious culture issue within v. A. Theres an attitude within v. A. That theyre exempt from congressional action and from the executive, from the president s executive orders, and theres plenty of evidence of that during this administration and beyond back two or three administrations, and i think they become conditioned that they really dont have to do what the secretary and the president tells them to do. And im talking about the midlevel, professional executives that the bill in the house is targeted at. Ifill Joseph Violante, do you think its as serious as he thinks . I think its serious and well find out as the investigations go forward just how widespread it is. I disagree with some of the comments david made. The v. A. Employees that ive met from around the country are very dedicated individuals looking to help veterans. The biggest problem here is the funding issues. Once you get into the v. A. Healthcare system, the quality of care is excellent. Access into that system is difficult, and its been shortchanged over the last few years by 7. 8 billion. Ifill the last ten years have been a decade of war as the president made the point today. Has this exacerbated things . I think it exacerbated the system because it was the system was designed for a restrictive army who came back and went to the civilian world, where in the early part of the 20t 20th century, didnt have a lot of medical care. Now we have the same system used to be selfcontained and focused internally and used to treating veterans who came to them. They dont understand outreach. They dont understand the secretarys guidance to, if you cant handle people in the medical condition in 14 days, go out into the civilian economy, go to civilian providers. And 7 days for mental health. Neither one of the standards are being met today. Ifill Joseph Violante, if theres the problem we see being investigated now about these wait lists, do we know if it stops there . Is it beyond . Is it systemic . Its a good question. You have to go back to 2001 when president bush established a task force to look at the delivery of healthcare for veterans and they reported in may of 2003, the wars in their early infancy in 2003, and at that point in time, they found a wait list of 236,000 veterans waiting six months or more for healthcare, and they found a mismatch in demand in funding. So this has gone on for a long time. It is a problem. But, again, the problem of access is a funding issue that needs to be addressed. Ifill i just want to ask about the wait list question because the white house said the number actually has gone down. The number has gone down. The number has gone down to some extent with the processing of applications for benefits. But the internal problem that we have is that and i disagree with joe on this is they have gotten more money, number one. And number two is the shift in priorities. The internal attitude is if you want me to do more, give me more money. Instead of looking at this is the new world order. Both of us are Vietnam Veterans from our generation and we realize now we need the v. A. We went 30 years without realizing that, or longer. Also you have a new group of veterans coming in and we havent adjusted the priorities inside the v. A. To spend the money appropriately. We have a lot of staffing problems with medical staff across v. A. Which is indicated in this particular issue in arizona. I have a case im working in hampton, virginia, where we dont have enough staffing in a particular discipline so that veterans can get the appointments they need to get taken care of. Ifill if these concerns have been long documented, i guess the elephant in the room is whether secretary shinseki should have done more about it and if not should he be forced to resign . Secretary shinseki has done a lot to turn things around. He reduced the claims backlog, hes looking into this situation with regards to the wait times on the health care. Hes trying to eliminate homelessness among veterans. Theres been a lot going on since hes come in and, again, the funding issue existed long before he came in. The problem with demand and access has existed for a long time. I do agree v. A. Has gotten a lot of money and there may be a need to look at how effectively theyre spending it, but there is still a mismatch between demand and funding. Ifill is there housecleaning necessary at the v. A. . Oh, i think there is, but i would like to see the investigation go beyond the inspector general. One of the members of the Senate Committee and my group and myself have been working with the committees in the house and the senate and their staffs and one of the Committee Members last week in the meeting with general shinseki recommended involving the f. B. I. I would support a special prosecutor because i think this has gone on a long time. Theres a lot of duplicity and deception here and i think that we, the veterans and gen. Shinseki and the veterans have been victimized. Ifill the question, at its root are veterans, many who made huge sacrifices for their country, are they being victimized because of thisser problems left unaddressed . If theyre getting care, theyre not being victimized. Theyre getting quality care. Getting into the system is a problem and that needs to be addressed. Again, we need to ensure the v. A. Has the resources necessary to do that, and that theyre spending the resources wisely. Ifill final thought. Think its important that we realize americans need to come up with need to support a solution that changes whats going on today in the v. A. Its that simple. And i think that the president s call for everybody to come together, make this a and veterans have never been a part of this issue, whether at the state or federal level, and i hope they will all come together and put together some type of discussion and come to a decision, the president and the two Committee Chairmen come to a decision on what we need to do and jam it through. Ifill David Mcginnis and Joseph Violante, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff next, to politics, and the results from tuesdays primary elections. Republican voters in kentucky, georgia and oregon gave a boost to candidates favored by the establishment, and to the partys chances of taking back control of the senate. Woodruff nowhere was the strength of the g. O. P. Establishment more evident than in kentucky, where Senate Minority leader Mitch Mcconnell crushed Tea Party Challenger matt bevin by 25 points. A tough race is behind us. Its time to unite. Woodruff mcconnell will face democrat Alison Lundergan grimes in november, in what may be one of the most expensive, and contentious, races this year, as republicans seek to win back the senate. Theres a reason, my friends, a reason every hollywood liberal is sending her a check. Its not because they care about kentucky. I assure you that. Its because they know as we do that there isnt a dimes worth of difference between a candidate who puts harry reid in charge, and harry reid himself. Woodruff grimes, meanwhile, released a Television Ad today insisting she would be an independent voice in washington. Im running because i believe we need a senator who puts partisanship aside and works with both democrats and republicans to do whats right for kentucky, and our country. And no matter who the president is, i wont answer to them. Ill only answer to you. Woodruff the republican brass also got its preferred Senate Candidate in oregon, where pediatric neurosurgeon monica wehby, who is pro abortion rights, defeated a more conservative opponent. They hope she can stretch the political map and challenge democratic senator jeff merkley in the fall. In georgia, businessman david perdue and congressman jack kingston, two candidates also favored by the republican establishment, advanced to a july runoff. The winner will face democrat michelle nunn, daughter of former senator sam nunn. Who we send to washington matters. Changing the culture of washington, building out relationships. I pledge to meet with every senator in the first year. I want to find common ground. Woodruff in the race for georgia governor, democrat jason carter, grandson of former president jimmy carter, will take on republican incumbent nathan deal. And in pennsylvania, businessman tom wolf easily won the democratic gubernatorial primary. Woodruff his fall opponent will be republican tom corbett, one of the partys most vulnerable incumbents. Woodruff with us now, two reporters who follow politics about as closely as one can Jonathan Martin of the New York Times and dan balz of the washington post. Welcome to you both. Back to the program. Thank you. Woodruff so, dan, lets start by talking about the republicans, kentucky, the Senate Minority leader who wants to be the Senate Majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, pretty much coasted to renomination. What was that all about . Well, he told jonathans newspaper two months ago they were going to crush the tea party everywhere and he led the way last night. I dont think anybody thought it was a surprise he won but i think the margin was more impressive than some people thought he might do. And the thing we know about senator mcconnell is he is a tough, tough, tough campaigner, and he demonstrated that in this race and put matt bevin behind him and is now focused squarely on Alison Grimes and this race going into the fall is going to be a repeat of that, very tough race. Woodruff jonathan, were the force at work in kentucky the same things at work in georgia helping the mainstream republicans there in oregon or are we talking about Something Different . I think each state is a little unique because the races with incumbents, those have been there 30 years, are always different than open races. But you see republicans learning mistakes of the recent election cycles in which they didnt put enough care into nominating some of these candidates. Its not pure ideology, its also the quality of the candidates and the nature of the campaigns and i think those were their candidates who were raising more money, who were smarter and scheuer about how they approached the campaigns are doing better. In some cases, the candidates are more conservative. Woodruff and, dan, its not that the conservatives dont feel every bit as passionate about what they believe, is it . No, not at all, and we spent most of the spring talking about the narrative of the Tea Party Versus the establishment and in most weeks weve declared the establishment the winner, but its a more complicated story than that, and part of it is, as jonathan said, the establishment has figured out how to run these races. They recognized that they made some mistakes by if not allowing some candidates, but not paying enough attention to these races before, you could argue that they would have five more seats in the senate now if they had done in previous years what theyd done this year, but the other aspect of this is the tea party in many ways has sort of bent the establishment to its corner of ideological spectrum and, so, as Speaker Boehner said this week, there is not a huge difference in a lot of ways on many of these issues as some people think. There are stylestic differences, issues of how you comport yourself in washington, but on most of the big issues that this campaign will be fought out over, the tea party and the establishment are pretty much in the same place. Youre nodding your head. I was talking to a longtime conservative warrior today who said the problem to have the press narrative is you guys are stuck in 1985 with Charles Percy and ed brook, theyre moderate to liberal republicans and the fact is its a conservative party now. The conservatives for the most part took over the party in the last 30 years and fur and fewer mod rats, most have become democrats. There are still a few but the differences ideologically have shrunk sh returning over the years. So you have the primaries that are much more about tactics and personalities. I was going to say, as jonathan said, candidate quality makes a difference and there have been races in which Tea Party Candidates have been better. We were talking about ben in nebraska who is a Tea Party Candidate with establishment pedigrees. In texas in 2012, ted cruz was a better candidate than the person he defeated the lieutenant governor. And you have to figure out who will be falling into my camp because all sound conservative on the campaign trail but, when they show up, obviously, there are nuances in how they vote and approach different bills. But on the campaign trail, there are very few mod rat moderates t there. Woodruff and your editorial, you still have some of the same conservative values in these candidates. I guess my question is dan and jonathan, if they are if the party has bent to the right, why wouldnt that give democrats more of the hope . If democrats if you assume you need to move to the mainstream to win, then well, theres quite a bit of hope every four years during the White House Campaign because theyve won five out of the last six popular votes for president. The challenge is, in these offyear elections, the nature of the electorate is far different looking than the president ial campaigns, especially this year because the map where the senate races are being fought is largely red america and that puts democrats in a tough spot. A natural sort of smaller electorate combined with the fact the terrain is tough for them. I think the one thing the democrats have been hoping for is a repeat of what they saw in 2012 and in 2010 and 2012 is the weaker candidates emerging. I talked to a democrat who said one thing shes worried about is theyre facing a more united right, a more united, conservative mov movement this r than in 2012. Woodruff that being the case, what is the strategy for democrats . We see in kentucky Alison Grimes is saying im an independent, not tied to harry reid. Well, in that kind of race, its about making the campaign about Mitch Mcconnell and his record. The other races, weve got either an incumbent democrat or open seat, it will vary. But youre absolutely right, these democrats are looking for different keys in the races and havent gotten them. Woodruff is part of the salvation, is there any hope for democrats because were painting bleak prospects, dan, changing the turnout . Thats what theyre hoping to do. I think their belief is a number of these candidates who have, in a sense, moved to the right will be less acceptable to the population at large, but the truth of the matter is most of these tough races are being fought in red states, so thats not necessarily going to work. But i think theyre other hope is, particularly in races where democratic incumbents are in trouble, that some of these candidates have yet to really be fully defined to the electorate at large and theyre going to test them over the next few months, theyre going to push them, theyre going to see whether these candidates really are up for general elections. Woodruff so what makes the difference . Money, the message, a combination of all the above . Oh, i think its going to be the national environment. Can president obama improve his standing or does he fall . A lot of these races typically turn on where the president is, look at 1998, the economy was going great guns, therefore, bill clinton was popular despite the overwhelming scandal around him and d. P. S. Did well. The fundamentals are not good for the democrats, so theyre trying to move things at the margins. The president s Approval Rating goes from the 43, 44 range to 46, 47, the democrats will breathe easier. If the economy picks up steam, democrats will feel bert. Those kinds of things. Woodruff dan balz, Jonathan Martin, great to have you both. Thank you. Ifill the Russian Defense ministry claimed today that troops on the Ukrainian Border were heading to train stations and airfields, returning to their home bases. But n. A. T. O. Said it saw no sign of a pullout. In troubled eastern ukraine, the nations wealthiest man is trying to bring stability to one city, by opening his pocket book. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner has that story. Warner smokestacks dominate the horizon of mariupol, belching acrid smoke from the heavy industries that are the economic lifeblood of this seaside southeast ukrainian city near the russian border. But it was real blood spilled 11 days ago in a gun battle at a police station, under still disputed circumstances, leaving up to 20 dead, that made mariupol the latest flashpoint in the standoff between russian backed eastern separatists and the Central Government in kiev. Kiev had sent elite forces here to reassert control, and they and their tanks still maintain checkpoints on the citys outskirts. But now theres a new security game in town. The overwhelmed local police, whove been forced to this new precinct across town, have been joined by thousands of steelworkers in patrolling the streets. This morning, they were lining up in their new standard formation two bluehats, and six hardhats. 46yearold sergiy boev, a former red army soldier, is one of the plant workers now walking the beat. His day job is with metinvest, a huge metals firm. He remains on salary, but has volunteered. translated i served in afghanistan long ago, and i dont want war here. I have three kids, and i dont them to die warner the political tensions over whether the eastern donestk region should break away from ukraine was ruining daily life, with growing crime, stealing, looting, disorder. Now, he says, its better. People are positive towards us, are greeting us, and are calmer. Warner so they trust you because youre one of them . translated yes. Warner 25yearold Police Lieutenant igor lysenko, on the same patrol, agreed. He said the crime rate has already dropped. translated with the extra help, we can send out more patrols. Warner all this is the brainchild of rinat akhmetov, ukraines richest man, the countrys bill gates, except he made his billions in iron and steel, not software. With deep business interests in ukraine and russia, after sitting on the fence for many months in the struggle between moscow and kiev, last week he jumped in with this new plan, and yesterday made an impassioned televised appearance denouncing the separatists effect on his beloved donbass industrial region. translated you will not intimidate us. Nobody will intimidate us. Including those who call themselves socalled donetsk peoples republic. Tell me please, does anyone in donbass know at least one representative of this d. P. R. . What have they done for our region . Warner he said hed fund his plant workers to restore order, and urged citizens to stand up too. Warner american and european officials are totally behind what akhmetov has launched in mariopol, and would like to see the model spread to other east ukraine cities where armed separatists have taken hold. In their view, given the mutual hostilities now infecting the east, this the oligarchs unconventional approach, with some behind the scenes help from kiev, may be the best chance to keep the lid on here until sundays crucial president ial election. That power was on display yesterday at one of his medinvest plants, the ilyicha metal works, as thousands of its 28,000 workers gathered at noon for what the peoples warning protest akhmetov called for. This plant manager told his workers that the company had always avoided politics but now felt compelled to act for economic reasons. If ukraine gets caught in a grey zone between europe and russia, he said, it will be hit with sanctions, see its markets dry up and have to lay workers off. Plant employee Irina Shevchuk was convinced. Hes seen men with guns in streets, she said, and heard gunshots in the night. Her motive isnt political, she said, but about quality of life. translated i was born in russia but have always been for an independent ukraine. Warner but despite akhmetovs power, we found the separatist donestsk peoples republic alive and well in mariupol. Their near the city center, barricaded in a controlled zone of their own. Political leader Aleksandr Kiselev boasted of organization the recent referendum endorsing independence for donetsk. translated our goal is the welfare of our people. We dont want to follow kiev and join the e. U. We want to join the former soviet states custom union, the union of slavic peoples. Warner just up the street kiselevs military counterpart, commander andrey borisov, was receiving worried family members looking for their lost son. Warner who are you defending against . We are protecting all the people of mariupol against the junta in kiev. Accusing the separatist leaders of deception and urging the people of the entire eastern Donetsk Region to push back against them. Many ask what is next. Fight, fight and fight again for your happiness. Your present and your future. Ifill and the best way to fight back, hes been saying is to vote in sundays president ial election. And what of the ordinary people of mariupol . Are they going to vote . You lasaid yes to both. translated things are much calmer than they were four days ago, since the tanks were taken away from the city. The joint patrols helping keep the city safe. Warner she didnt like kiev sending in tanks but just yearns for a return to normal life. As so many others told us they do too. Woodruff General Motors announced yet another vehicle recall today. Its part of what has become a wave of safety alerts the company has issued in recent weeks. Jeffry brown has the story. Brown the latest addition to g. M. s evergrowing list 218,000 chevrolet aveos recalled just this morning. They have a dashboard lighting module that could overheat and catch fire. A day earlier, the company told customers to bring in nearly 2. 5 million vehicles for seat belt, gear shifter, and other mechanical problems. It all started in january, with nearly 2. 6 million vehicles recalled, for ignition switch defects going back a decade, and linked to 13 deaths. G. M. s new c. E. O. Mary barra faced senators in april. Sitting here today, i cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to be announced in that program, but i can tell you that we will find out. Brown by now, g. M. Has called back nearly 14 million vehicles, the most ever in a single year. The 29 separate actions include last thursdays recall of 2. 7 million chevrolet, saturn and cadillac models for taillight and other malfunctions. The march 13th recall of 1. 7 million buick, g. M. C. And chevrolet vehicles for brake and airbag problems. And the march 31st recall of 1. 3 million chevrolets, saturns and pontiacs for power steering issues. Last friday, the government fined g. M. 35 million for concealing the ignition switch problem. Transportation secretary anthony foxx. What we cannot tolerate, what we will never accept, is a person or company that knows danger exists and says nothing, literally, silence can kill. Brown the companys new safety chief, jeff boyer, acknowledges the investigation prompted the avalanche of other actions. He told the Associated Press were not waiting for warranty trends to develop over time. In the meantime, g. M. Has conducted its own investigation of the ignition switch issue, but has not yet released any results. Thats expected to be released in the coming weeks brown we look at the re calls and the impact on g. M. , with erik gordon, a professor at the university of Michigan Ross School of business. And daniel hill, president of ervinhill strategy, a Public Relations firm here in washington. Erik gordon erik gordon, let me start with you. What are we to make of this run of recalls, some even very small. Whats happening from a business perspective . Well, its a disaster for General Motors. Its damaging their reputation, will end up damaging their sales, hurt their stock price, and i think the damages will last a long time. Brown and what do you see them doing in drawing out these recalls at the moment . You know, i think the game of drawing out the recalls and, you know, announcing recalls in a way they hadnt previously done is to try to get everything out and over with and to avoid having more explosions. I think the thing that makes g. M. Look the worst is not that there are problems with cars. The cars are big, complex things. There are going to be problems with cars. Its the idea that g. M. Has been covering things up. So the last thing g. M. Wants is to have another event come up they havent disclosed. It just makes them look terrible. Brown daniel, what do you see from a public perspective . Its huge. Toyota is still dealing with litigation from their issues in 2009 and 2010. The scale of this, the impact on the public, the inconvenience, the safety issues, its going to take g. M. Many, many years to brown i was wondering about the toyota example. Reputationwise, years later, is that still how toyota sees it as a potential impact for g. M. . The difference is toyota started with a better reputation to begin with. They were seen as a quality automaker at the time of their crisis. G. M. Was on the recovery to that and its brand and reputation improved dramatically, but people can still remember the old g. M. Where safety and quality were not as good and, so, people start defaulting consumers start to defaulting to the old g. M. When they think about this new g. M. Brown erik gordon erik gordon, what about the spoons so far . The response to changing some of the safety issues that theyve talked about at the company . I think theyve done some things well and i think theyve done some things not to well. What theyve done well is stepped forward and said we will take responsibility for accident victims, even though its not clear they have the legal responsibility, theyve stepped up to the moral responsibility. I think theyve done that well. I think what they havent done so well is they havent acted like a new g. M. They refer to themselves as the new g. M. But they act more like the old g. M. They ore not acting transparently. The c. E. O. Is unable or refused to answer questions in congress. They wont answer questions until their own internal investigation is done. So theyve got part of it right, and i think theyre botching up part of it. Brown well, daniel hill, in fact, inevitably, the new c. E. O. And first woman to head the company, is much of the focus of this. Yeah, and i think they made a calculated risk that is going to backfire and that is putting her out in front of this crisis very early on. If i were advising the company, i would have said she should have appointed someone to oversee that part of g. M. While she works on the future and leading the Company Going forward. Now shes dragged into this crisis so much its going to be hard for her to do the other thing. So its a huge distraction on top of all the challenges that the situation brings. Brown as the new person, doesnt she have to be out there leading and responding to the public in a moment like this . I think she can do that and also not drag her self into the daytoday problems the crises caused for the companies and give herself enough distance in terms of owning it for the company. Brown erik gordon, put it in the larger perspective of g. M. Over recent years. Weve had the bankruptcy and the government help, and the story weve covered on this program in the last number of years is a largely positive story about g. M. And the American Auto industry, until this. You know, its really sad. It was like g. M. Was a corvette convertible going down the road at a nice clip, sunny day, the wind in your hair, things were looking pretty good, then all of a sudden the wheels fall off and youre in the ditch. I think its going to be hard for g. M. To get that momentum back because the more recent history hasnt been so pleasant. The timing couldnt be worse for General Motors. Brown in what way . Well, you want to build on that momemtum. You wasnt to put the bankruptcy behind you, you want to put the image of the old g. M. Behind you. You want to bring out new cars. You have a new c. E. O. You really wanted things to build up, not to stall. I mean, literally and figuratively for the company. I mean, how many new g. M. S can you take in a couple of years . Its going to be hard for them to get that new Company Image back and hard for them internally to get that kind of momemtum going again. Brown what do you think of that, daniel . How many new g. M. S can the public take . Right, well, they could try new g. M. 2. 0 or i think what they will try to do is try to convince the public the new g. M. Were seeing today is actually the old g. M. And theyre going to try to roll this one under the bus and start fresh once they get the recalls out of the way. And the problem with the recall situation they face now is they want to take this rip the bandaid approach, get it all out of the way, but theyre ripping the bandaid off too slowly. So its not really as effective as i think they would like and i dont think weve seen the end of it yet. Brown speaking of the end, what is next . There are lawsuits out there, their own internal investigation which apparently could come within a few weeks. And the big one is the looming criminal potential, that there would be a big criminal fine from the government the same way toyota faced and also the potential for political issue do candidates running for office start tying the g. M. Crisis into the healthcare discussion . Thats what you get when the government interferes in private sector business. Brown do you think it could play out like that . I do. I could see republicans making an issue in this in the Midterm Election saying the government intervened with this company and this is what you could look forward to with your healthcare. It could drag on. Brown erik gordon and daniel hill, thank you so much. Thank you. Ifill finally tonight, the Obama Administration has used part of this week to showcase arts and education, making the case that exposure to dance, music and other expressions can improve student achievement. Special correspondent Kathleen Mccleery profiles a Dance Program in new mexico thats done just that, in and out of the classroom. Its part of our american graduate series, a public Media Initiative funded by the corporation for public broadcasting. And over the top. The warmup, the makeup, the the proud parent streaming in, looks like the usual end of the year recital, but this one is a little different. Its the culmination of a years work at the National Dance institute of new mexico, a program that aims to engage and motivate children to strive for excellence using the arts. 74 of the dancers come from lowincome families. 85 are either hispanic or native american. Katherine oppenheimer is the programs founding artistic director. We target the schools and communities that need our presence the most, so that means high poverty, rural, isolated. The cities, too, but kids who wouldnt otherwise have an opportunity to experience this kind of program. Reporter oppenheimer once performed with the new York City Ballet and with legendary classic dancer jacques. He started the National Dance institute in new york to expose inner city children to ballet, convinced oppenheimer to teach and eventually bring the program to new mexico. They offered lessons this past year to nearly 8,000 children in more than 80 Public Schools across the state. This is the perfect counted eight shes smiling, her hands are out reporter fourth and fifth graders are taught during the school day. After school, lessons for older, more advanced dancers and preschoolers. Most classes are free of charge to students and no one is turned away because his or her family cant pay. It costs about 5 million a year to run the organization. Some of that money is raised at galas like this one in santa fe. Support comes from foundations, local businesses and individual donors. Executive director Russell Baker explains the mission. We believe it takes energy and effort to do something with excellence, so what we teach, we call the core four. Work hard do your best. Never give up. Be healthy. We think, if you do those things, whether learning a dance step, taking a math test or applying for a job, thats what it takes to be successful. Reporter this years review for santa fe area schools is called broadway bound, celebrating the magic of musicals and show cases 500 children on one stage. Along the way it weaves in life lessons about perseverance and teamwork. One scene recognizes each and every dancer. What we say to kids is theres this big spotlight and the light is shining and shining right in the center of the stage and its their moment to go jump and fly through that spotlight. Reporter 13yearold seventh grader Laura Balderama beams when she describes that moment. When each person gets the shot in the spotlight where they can show off and let everyone look at you, its just awesome. Youre shining and letting all your energy out and making people smile. Its pretty cool. Reporter the quest for excellence goes beyond the foot lights. New mexicos schools get low grades on National Rating and in 2013 the state ranked dead last in the study that measured educational, economic, social, and physical well being of children. But the indi students are raising the bar with higher test scores in reading writing math and fitness, in a study commissioned by the organization comparing fourth through seventh graders in the same school district. 16yearold emory is a case in point. Shes been dancing since fourth grade. He lives with his grandfather, a retired auto mechanic who also cares, sometimes, for emorys 3yearold niece. Hes learned through the dance, you know, theres rules you have to abide by. So i think thats helped him. You know, and it will help him through life when he gets a job and starts working, he knows that they expect his full attention and his devotion to whatever profession he decides to get into. My grades before, they were moderate from cs to cs and ds, but now, with ndi, its improved to bs and as in most classes. Reporter Santa Fe High School english teacher garcia described the impact shes seen in the classroom. Confidence, participation in class discussion, Critical Thinking about characters in the plays and how they interact, and then writing about it. And he feels really competent to stand up and readout loud and to expect his feelings, with si is a tough kid for kids in ninth grade. Reporter the Graduation Rate at santa fe high is only 62 . The latest state average which, in turn, is one of the lowest in the nation. You guys are good. Reporter santa fes mayor thinks programs like this one will help stem the dropout crisis. We know the more kids are exposed the arts, the greater opportunity they have to stay in school, and we know if they stay in school, they will graduate. Equally important, they open up their mind. Science, technology, engineering, math is important, but we need to add arts to that and, when we add it, we create a citizen prepared to meet the world. Reporter back on stage, the cast includes more than just kids. At one point, Classroom Teachers and a handful of parents join in. Among them was lauras dad who immigrated from mexico 12 years ago. Really, its very exciting to see people applaud you. It makes you feel like you did a good job. I dont know huh to say it, but its really, for me, very gratifying to be here and it makes me feel very, very good. Reporter also in the company are some city of santa fe firefighters who know how to boogie. Firefighters are heros, so we have six heros performing with kids. Kids are looking up to these men and women and theyre big and theyre strong and these are young people that want to grow up and be big and strong and do something important. Its powerful. Reporter captain carlos got the bug for dancing from his daughters. They know what a commitment is now because the time they put into this and the hard work they put into this, they know what its like to really commit to something. Reporter nava, like most parents of these children, said he couldnt afford tuition at a private dance academy. As the program celebrates its 20th anniversary, a few students have made it to bigger stages as professional dancers. But thats not the ultimate goal. Whether theyre bound for broadway, we dont know, but the idea is be bound for something. Figure out what that is and work hard and do your best and dont give up until you get there. Reporter and thats a lesson that will stick with these young dancers long after the applause dies down and the curtain closes. Ifill we have more from the dancers online, where you can see their rendition of fabulous feet from the musical the tap dance kid. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. President obama promised to fix whats wrong at Veterans Affairs hospitals, and to hold people accountable. The president also notified congress that 80 u. S. Troops have deployed to chad, to help hunt for those kidnapped school girls in neighboring nigeria. And General Motors added another 218,000 cars to its long list of recalls this year. Ifill on the newshour online right now, why is the kitchen on the international stocked with hot sauce . Because your taste buds change in zero gravity and the sting of tabasco can make a meal, according to some astronauts we talked to. Read what else they crave in space, thats on our science page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. On thursday, former treasury secretary Timothy Geithner on the banking bailout, the Housing Market bust and financial regulatory reform. Im judy woodruff. Ifill and im gwen ifill, well see you online. And again here tomorrow evening. For all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by when i was pregnant, i got more advice than i knew what to do with. What i needed was information i could trust, on how to take care of me and my baby. United healthcare has a Simple Program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get care and guidance they can use before and after the baby is born. Simple is what i need right now. Thats health in numbers, United Healthcare 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. 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 this is nightly business report, with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. Brought to you in part by. Thestreet. Com, featuring Herb Greenberg who remindings investors that risks real, with the reality check, resurging stocks in terms of risk, you can learn more at thestreet. Com reality check. And Federal Reserve officials lay the ground work for raising interest rates. But they also talked about another topic at their last meeting that could prove even more important to the economy. Targets transformation, a data breach and now its ceo, what is the interim chief executive planning to do to attract shoppers and investors . And financial