Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140618

Than two Million People a year in rural parts of india, asia, africa, central and south america. Without timely medical treatment, patients will die. 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 interim government in libya today demanded the u. S. Hand over the newly captured suspect in the attack on u. S. Diplomats in benghazi. Ahmed abu khattala is now headed to the u. S. By ship, after he was captured over the weekend by u. S. Special forces in libya. The interim government condemned the raid that seized him, and insisted he should be tried in libya, under libyan laws. Woodruff the newlyelected president of ukraine offered a ceasefire plan today, to end the violence plaguing its eastern border with russia. Petro poroshenko discussed the proposal by phone with russian president vladimir putin, who welcomed the move. It includes amnesty for pro russian separatists if they lay down their arms. He unveiled the 14step plan in kiev. translated i can say that the period of ceasefire will be rather short. We expect that illegal armed groups will then immediately disarm. Then order will be reached, including joint patrolling against marauders, criminals, and bandits who are destabilizing the situation in the east. Woodruff poroshenko stopped short of announcing precisely when a ceasefire would be declared. But ukraines defense minister said it could begin within days. Ifill one of the candidates in afghanistans president ial runoff demanded officials stop counting ballots today, claiming saturdays vote was rigged. Abdullah abdullah accused his opponent, ashraf ghani of engineering fraud. Abdullah also announced his team was suspending relations with the election commission, accusing it of interfering in the vote as well. The commission refused to stop the count, and said everyone should wait for final results due on july 22nd. Woodruff japan passed a law to ban most child pornography today, the last of the worlds Major Industrial nations to make it illegal. The japanese parliaments upper house pushed the legislation through. It amends an earlier law that banned people from creating and distributing child pornography but not owning it. Under the new law, sexually explicit depictions of children in comics, animation and Computer Graphics are still permitted. Ifill after almost two months without any executions, three states are resuming lethal injections. Problems with one such injection in oklahoma in april postponed Death Penalty enforcement across the country. Overnight, both georgia and missouri carried out executions, with no complications reported. A third execution is scheduled in florida tonight. None of those states will disclose where they obtain their lethal injection drugs, or if they have been tested. Woodruff the u. S. Federal reserve is slowing its bond buying based on its assessment that the economic recovery is on track. The announcement came at the end of the Central Banks twoday policy review meeting. But it gave no indication when it will start raising its benchmark shortterm Interest Rate. Chairwoman janet yellen said the fed is taking a waitandsee approach. There is uncertainty about monetary policy. The appropriate path of policy, the timing and pace of Interest Rate increases ought to and i believe will respond to unfolding economic developments. If those were to prove faster than the committee expects, it would be logical to expect a more rapid increase in the fed funds rate. Woodruff the fed also scaled back its Economic Growth forecast for 2014, citing the damaging effects of the long, harsh winter. Markets on wall street reacted positively to the fed news. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 98 points to close at 16,906. The nasdaq rose 25 points to close above 4,362. The s p added 15 points to close just under 1,957. Ifill the u. S. Patent office ruled today that six of the Washington Redskins trademark registrations should be canceled. The board said the nickname is disparaging of native americans. The decision does not force the team to give up its name, but it will make it harder for them to go after others using the name for commercial gain. The Football Team quickly announced theyll appeal the decision. Woodruff a rare onecent postage stamp from a 19th century british colony has regained its status as the worlds most valuable. The British Guiana onecent magenta is the only one of its kind known to survive. It sold last night for a record 9. 5 million dollars. The new york auction house was packed with interest, but an anonymous telephone bidder won out. It sets a brand new world record for a stamp obviously. So far above any prior price for a stamp. Its going to be a hard one to beat. And it probably wont be beaten until this stamp comes up for sale yet again in the future. Woodruff for stamp collectors, the auction was a rare chance to see the stamp. It hasnt been on view publicly since 1986. Ifill in world cup soccer news, the defending champion, spain, was eliminated after a stunning loss to chile. They were shut out two to zero. Spain has been a soccer powerhouse over the past six years, winning the world cup title in 2010 as well two european championships. Ifill still to come on the newshour as insurgents in iraq take aim at a major oil refinery, senators tim kaine and john mccain discuss the u. S. Response to the crisis. Then, g. M. s c. E. O. Faces lawmakers over deadly car defects. The search for the holy grail of snakebite antidotes. And how president obama is using the stroke of a pen to get around congress. Woodruff the crisis in iraq continued to escalate today, as sunni militants pushed on towards baghdad and battled with Government Forces at the countrys main oil refinery. We have an ontheground report from Jonathan Rugman of independent television news. Reporter to some it was occupation but to others liberation. Islamic extremists parade american vehicles after seizing the Largest Oil Refinery men of isis in hundreds. May god support you this crowd shouted. One jihadist filmed what he claimed was smoke from a downed government helicopter nearby. The refinery in control by revolutionaries he declared. But government said otherwise. translated today we repelled attempt by isis to attack refinery. Reporter baiji accounts for quarter of iraqs domestic refinery output. If attacked again, could trigger energy crisis. Before surrendering, there were heavy losses. In baghdad, Nouri Almaliki the Prime Minister tried to sound upbeat. We have absorbed momentum of setback and will continue dealing heavy blows to militants. The Prime Minister signing up volunteers, where the training is lightning quick. But will this rusty looking home guard defend sunni iraq or just the shia dissidents . Amid scenes like this, iraqs army is becoming an ever more sectarian force. Iraqs kurds, too, are fighting for the kurds. Battling to keep isis out, along the 600mile border, now. Not defending iraq so much, just holding on to what they claim is theirs, in a country which still appears to be unraveling, even if its leader wont admit it. Woodruff the secretary of defense and the nations top military leader were pressed today on capitol hill about an american course of action in iraq. We have a request from the Iraqi Government for air power. Woodruff the chairman of the joint chiefs, general martin dempsey, made the sense of urgency in the crisis in iraq clear today, as he spoke before the Senate Appropriations committee on capitol hill. He was joined by secretary of defense chuck hagel, who was pressed by senator dan coats of indiana on the severity of the situation. Weve already lost the territory, theyve already gained control of the second largest city in iraq. We didnt lose anything. We turned a pretty significant situation over as you noted, for the very reasons you noted to the iraqi people when we phased out of our military involvement in iraq. And so we have done everything we could to help them. But its up to the iraqis. Woodruff but pressure is mounting now for the u. S. To come up with a course of action against isil, or the Islamic State of iraq and the levant. In his final briefing as the White House Press secretary, jay carney said the option of air strikes is still on the table. The only thing the president has ruled out, and i want to be clear here, is sending u. S. Troops back into combat in iraq. But he continues to consider other options. Taking direct military action by the United States will not solve iraqs challenges, certainly not alone. Woodruff meanwhile, president obama met with congressional leaders at the white house today. Earlier, both Senate Majority leader harry reid and House Speaker john boehner expressed their hesitation over u. S. Involvement in the spiraling crisis. Woodruff and boehner warned against the u. S. Working with iran to combat sunni extremists. I can just imagine what our friends in the region and our allies would be thinking by reaching out to iran at a time when they continue to pay for terrorism, foster terrorism, not only in syria and lebanon but in israel as well. Woodruff amid the challenges the u. S. Government faces over iraq, the American People have become wary of how the u. S. Will handle it. According to a new n. B. C. News wallstreet journal poll, the publics Approval Rating of president obamas handling of Foreign Policy has dropped to its lowest level. In december, 2012, 52 of those polled approved of the president s foreign policies. That number is 37 as of this month. As the u. S. Deliberates its course of action, the white house has made clear that iraqs shialed government must do more to mend sectarian divisions in the country as part of any solution to the crisis. Woodruff now, two senators with different takes about the next steps for the u. S. Senator tim kaine, a democrat from virginia, is on both the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. I talked to him a short time ago. Senator kaine, thank you for joining us. Thank you, judy. Woodruff should the u. S. Be providing more military assistance to iraq right now . Judy, the question is a little premature because what we really need, there is a process, the way this is supposed to work is the president will come to us and lay out what he thinks is the preferred option and then after consulting with congress well go forward. I expect he will do that soon. Hes already been in significant consultation not only with leadership and with others like me, but when he does come, there will be hard questions. Maliki, the u. S. Wanted the stay in iraq and he kicked us out, didnt want us to stay, then ignored advice we and others gave him about how to govern iraq to try to do it in a way that brought kurds and sunnies and shias together, instead hes run away sheenas and oppressed kurds and sunnis. So this has been a predictable consequence in my view. Horrible people, doing horrible things, hes given them an opening by govrerning in such an autocratic way. So do we come in now to back up maliki with military force after he kicked us out and governed the wrong way would be foolish. What we should be First Talking about are there reforms the iraqis are willing to make to try to demonstrate to all in the country they all will be treated equally. Those kind of reforms are the things that have to happen before we decide what kind of assistance we should provide. Woodruff youve had raised a couple of things. In terms of the reforms, Prime Minister maliki says he has reached out, for example, to sunnis, hes brought them, hes given them a role in his government. He says, in essence, that its just wrong to say that he has not reached out. Virtually every objective account that weve heard from iraq experts here, not only folks connected with the administration, state department, d. O. D. , but ngo and others suggest to the contrary, that he has ignored that advice and run this government for shias with the strong support of the shiabased government in iran and has done it in a way that marginalized sunnis and kurds and thats why theyre not coming to his aid right now. Woodruff and should any u. S. Military or security help be contingent on his reforming or his leaving government, for that matter, as some people are saying . The notion of him leaving government, thats for iraqis. We shouldnt be dictating who nations choose as their leaders. But if their leaders are asking for our help, its very fair for us to say, well, only, you kicked us out and now youre running this government in a way thats creating the conditions of extremism. This is pt about bailing you out of your bad decisions. In terms of contingency, i would rather not do co contingent this based on promises, but actually see them take steps of reform, put in a sunni as the defense chief, put in a kurd as the intelligence chief, make the visible, necessary reforms to demonstrate to iraqis that its going to be an open society. Woodruff and if hes not prepared to do that, are you saying the u. S. Should not provide military assistance . I think it is a very hard case to make. Aside from humanitarian aid we should be doing in tandem with regional partners, its a hard case to make we should provide the maliki government with military assistance if they are not willing to show they will govern in an evenhanded way. What would be the likelihood that it would work, providing assistance to a government that has created the very conditions of instability by rejecting the u. S. , wanting to send help and then governing the wrong way. Woodruff on your point, you say he rejected u. S. Help. As you know, john mccain and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina both insist they were talking to the Iraqi Government at the time and Prime Minister maliki was prepared to accept u. S. Troops staying in the country. Well be talking with senator mccain after you, but he insists it was not the case that maliki rejected u. S. Troops. Judy, let me tell you why i think it is the case. President bush signed an agreement in 2008 with maliki that said u. S. Would be done in 2011. He was in dialogue with maliki in 2011 about staying. Zabari, the Iraqi Foreign minister, stood up and said the United States wanted to stay in iraq and we told them know and we made a huge mistake when we told him know. Zabari told him he had spoken with hamid karzai and said dont make the same mistake in afghanistan. So when the foreign minister of iraq said we know you wanted to stay but we stiffarmed you and told you to get out, i think thats probably the state of affairs, they didnt want us. Woodruff should any use of force by the u. S. First be approved by the congress, if thats what it comes to . It should definitely be approved by congress in one of two ways. The framers of the constitution said its always congress that should be making the decision about whether military action should be initiated, but in the event of an emergency, there was an understanding that the president would go to the congressional leadership of both houses and explain plans and in the event of an emergency, that consultation would be initially sufficient that congress would have to come back and give their stamp of approval. So if the president feels like this is so urgent and emergent that all he could really do is inform the leadership and get some consensus by him and go forward that he can act in the case of emergency without a vote, that he would still like to come back to congress and get a vote for the initiation of military hostilities. Its that way in the constitution for an important reason. If you dont get congress on board, youre putting american women and womens lives at risk without doing the necessary work of reaching the political consensus the framers intended between the legislative woodruff a leading republican voice in this debate is republican senator john mccain of arizona. He too serves on the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Senator mccain, thank you very much for joining us. A number of things to ask you, but let me start with the last question for senator tim kaine and that is the question of whether congress should give its approval before there is any military addition canal military or Security Assistance for iraq. I think the president could act in certain ways depending on what the emergencies of the moment are, depending on exactly how he wanted to do it. I think he should consult the leaders of congress, particularly the Intelligence Committee members, but i dont think he has to have a blank check or excuse me, i dont think he has to have their permission. Some years ago, you might remember, we woke up and found out Ronald Reagan decided to invade a small nation called grenada. But i want to get back to what senator kaine said, i dont know what he heard anybody giving a speech and how many times hes been to iraq. I have been there more times than i can count. Lindsey graham and i in direct conversation with Nouri Almaliki, they were all ready to deal. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said the number of troops we were proposing cascaded to 3,000 when it recommended to be 20,000, and by that time, the leader of especially maliki decided it wasnt worth the problem. So what senator kaine is saying is totally false and, in fact, a lie because Lindsey Graham and i were there and we know what happened because we were there face to face and the administration would never give a troop strength number the chief of staff, general dempsey testified before the Senate Armed Services committee and said the number cascaded his words down to 3,500. At that point, maliki and company decided it wasnt worth it. Woodruff senator, those are very strong words accusing senator kaine of lying. Im saying it is a lie to say that the iraqis rejected. It was president obamas commitment to get everybody out of iraq. Thats the overriding fact here. Woodruff this is something you have spoken about you have been outspoken about in the last few days, youve spoken about it today and previously on the floor of the United States senate. Why is it so important, do you think, to continue to make this point to talk about what happened in the past . Because the opponent our opponents and those who want to justify this colossal failure that has caused the greatest threat to United States National Security since the end of the cold war, theyre trying to justify it by saying that maliki did not want american troops there, and that is not true. And the fact is the other point that senator kaine missed here, this isnt just a sunnishia conflict. This is about the richest, most Largest Terrorist Organization control that is dedicated to the destruction to have the United States and thats the words of the director of National Intelligence and the secretary of homeland security. Woodruff and, senator, what do you believe the United States should do now . What a number of other military leaders have recommended and that is that we go in, we use air power, we get some boots on the ground, a few that can identify targets. We need to get some planners over there that can help the iraqis repel what is going to be at least some assault on some of the other towns. I dont think they can take baghdad. And recognize that this is not a civil war going on. This is the most extreme element of the extremes of jihadists that want to destroy the United States of america. Thats what this is all about. Woodruff and, senator, what do you say to those including those in your own party Speaker John Boehner have been talking about this and other members in both parties saying their concern is the u. S. Gets involved without being clear about whose side its on, it risks inflaming the situation. There is iran, the saudis, whats going on in syria. How does the u. S. Know whom it is siding with . We have leaders, generals who know the iraqis. They have been with them for years and years. They know who our friends are and arent. Maliki is totally an abysmal failure and he is really the cause of a lot of the success that isis has. He know who these people are, weve served beside them for years. We can identify them. But maliki has to set up a government, a reconciliation and that has to be inclusive and have to live with that. Woodruff do you believe military actions should be contingent on the Prime Minister taking no, no, because were in immediate danger militarily. They have taken mosul. They now have american equipment. They are trying to attack baghdad. They have taken over there is now an enclave, a palisade of iraqi and syrian, and you cant leave syria out, the most hard core terrorist organization who plan to do whatever they can do to attack america, that should be our first priority. Woodruff youre comfortable with the u. S. Working with iran in this . And how long should the u. S. Stay . First off, i do not in any circumstance want to deal with iran. Theyre responsible for ieds that kill americans. How long did the we stay in othr countries . Weve always left behind residual forces. We had this one, thanks to the surge, that was largely pacified. The president of the United States wanted us out and i predicted what would happen and im sorry that i was right. Woodruff senator john mccain, we hear you loud and clear. Thank you for joining us. Thank you, judy. Ifill federal regulators have opened a new investigation into a second detroit auto maker, digging into reports that air bags failed to open in some older jeep, dodge and chrysler models, because of potentially defective switches. So far, no deaths or injuries have been reported. That news came on a day when General Motors troubled record on ignition switches was the focus of a second round of congressional hearings. For those of us who have dedicated our lives to this company, it is enormously painful to have our shortcomings laid out so vividly. Ifill for the First Time Since the release of a critical internal investigation, g. M. C. E. O. Mary barra faced tough questions on capitol hill over how her Company Handled the ignition switch defect now linked to at least 13 deaths. Barra sought to reassure lawmakers. I want this terrible experience permanently etched in our collective memories. This is not another business challenge, the is a tragic problem that never should have happened and it must never happen again. Ifill attorney anton valukas, who led the independent investigation for g. M. , also appeared before the house subcommittee. The story of the cobalt is a story of individual and organizational failures that have led to devastating consequences. Throughout the decade it took General Motors to recall the cobalt there was, a lack of accountability, a lack of urgency and extraordinarily a failure of the Company Personnel charged with safety issues to understand how this car was manufactured and the interplay between the switch and the other aspects of the automobile. Ifill valukas said g. M. Long characterized the ignition switch troubles as a, quote, customer convenience issue, rather than a safety problem. Colorado democrat Diana Degette pounced on g. M. s record. And so this kind of boggles my mind. A car could be going down the highway at a high rate of speed. 65 milesanhour and it gets bumped and it goes into neutral and then everything stops. The power steering, the brakes, the airbags yet the g. M. Engineers said that this was a convenience issue right . They not only said it internally they said it publicly when they were interviewed by the press they said this was our position that a stall does not constitute a safety issue. I mean thats just insane, isnt it . I wont use the word insane but im troubled by that. Ifill barra said g. M. Has now launched a Safety Campaign to reward employees who report potential safety issues. But several house members, including republican tim murphy, remained skeptical, even in the wake of this months announcement that 15 gm employees and managers would be fired. You mentioned, 15 were fired. Thats 99. 999 , if my math is right, of the people are the same. If you havent changed the people, how do you change the culture . Well, again, the people, the 15 people that are no longer with the company are the people that either didnt take action they should or didnt work urgently enough to rectify this matter. And they are no longer part of this company. That was a strong signal to send within the company. Ifill g. M. Has issued 44 recalls this year alone, including mondays pullback of 3. 2 million cars for a separate ignition switch defect. Ifill i am joined by david shepardson, who covers the Automotive Industry as Washington Bureau chief for the detroit news. Welcome back, david. Lets start with the chrysler. What is the scope of the investigation we hear about today . 1. 2 minivans, suvs, a similar issue at which hundreds of complaints, the stalling when a drivers knee hits the key, similar to the g. M. Cases. The differences are no reports of any killed or injured. However, same issue that the air bags could fail to deploy in the event the key moved out of the run position is whats prompting the government to take a very serious look at it. Ifill mary barra said today they now fixed 199,000 vehicles. Sounds like quite a lot. Did she in any way satisfy members of Congress Today that g. M. Is taking sufficient action about what seems like an Endless Round of recalls . I dont think shes satisfied members of congress but i think she sent the right message that this is crucially important. Yes, they fired 15 people, disciplined 5. Hired does of engineers, recalled almost everything under the hood. But she said words you know, actions will speak louder than words and wont be resolved in a week or a month, g. M. Will have to spend a long time convincing the public, congress that there is a new company and wont allow a problem like this to fester a decade without fixing it. Were here today about the flawed chevrolet impala, which i dont know if they make them anymore, that someone reported there was a problem and they didnt do anything about it for nine years . Its certainly troubling. The impala as initially designed is getting good reviews. But in 2005 an employee sent g. M. An email saying i had a stall, to the stadium engineer responsible for the cobalt. And they didnt do anything about it. Wasnt till monday this week that g. M. Recalled 3 million cars including the impala for the ignition or the steering problem, so it raises the issue that despite all the progress, all the recalls, there are still a lot of issues that are still hanging out there and why if the employee said, hey, this is a big issue, we have to address it, why did no one take it more seriously. A big issue, including the 15 people, including this engineer, no longer with the company, to put it of, is this a serious recall. Did the senior management, the board, the c. E. O. S, how did they let the culture exist where the problems didnt go to the top, or the employees dont take notes in meetings about serious safety issues. There just wasnt a culture of this is very important, we have to do what it takes to prevent customers from being hurt. You know, i think, you know, the 15 people are not going to resolve it as the congressman said, that 99 of employees are still there. But i do think that has sent a huge message to people. Were talking a Vice President , senior lawyers, a lot of key people in g. M. Were forced out. How do you change culture . Seems thats more difficult than fixing an ignition switch. A company at g. M. , 20,000 people, this is like a battleship trying to turn around. Its not new. G. M. s culture has been like this for decades. The Company Thinks its own way, very solid. People with very narrow responsibilities, people dont always talk and there havent been enough incentives to bring bad news up the chain, its been easier to push them under the rug. Conversation, the issue for people who had problems or loved ones who died in the cars, only for the actual victims and there lies the rub. Right, it will be announced by the end of the month a proposal to compensate the 13 families killed plus the 54 crashes but will not propose money for the millions of owners who the value of their car has declined as a result of these recalls. So those lawsuits will go on for years. However, g. M. Is contingent because of its exit in bankruptcy theyre shielded from the liability of those old cars therefore they shouldnt have to pay anything for those so thats going to drag on for a long time. Is it fair to say there will be more recalls . Certainly g. M. Said they want to wrap up big issues by the end of the month, h 4 so far, but i expect 44 so far, but i expect a few more the next few weeks. Ifill david shepardson, detroit news, thank you. Ifill than you woodruff although snake bites are rarely fatal in the United States, every year about 100,000 people die worldwide after being bitten by venomous snakes. A california doctor has come up with a way that might lower those numbers. Newshour special correspondent Spencer Michels has our report. A warning it contains images that might be disturbing to some viewers. Oh, my gosh did you see that . In india, children sometimes play with venomous snakes. This one in a Youtube Video may have been defanged, but in the child snakes can be deadly. crying reporter in fact, venomous snakes attack more than 2 Million People a year in india, asia, africa and Central America in rural parts. Most in poor agriculture areas remote from hospitals. Without timely medical treatment, patients often die. siren matt, an Emergency Room Physician and medical director of the American Ambulance in San Francisco used his experience in treating seizures and his training as a neuroscientist to develop a fastacting treatment for poisonous snake bites. He does much of his research at the California Academy of sciences in San Francisco. He serves as a physician on academy expeditions around the world where the health of scientists is often at risk, sometimes from snakebites. In fact, in 2001, a 38yearold Academy Researcher died after being bitten by a small snake while doing field work in myanmar. Venom from some snakes contains neurotoxins that paralyze the body including the respiratory system, and slewensky couldnt get to a hospital before he stopped breathing. They were more than 24 hours from help. This poor man, down the mountain, taking turns, and they couldnt sustain it. He was bitten by a venomous snake that could fit in the palm of your hand. Reporter treating snakebites in india is often more expensive than rural families can afford. To counteract the toxins, doctors rely on a drug commonly used in surgery. Everywhere in the world, its heat stable and very inexpensive. Reporter but in the hands of inexperienced people, injecting it into a bite victim could induce heart problems. In the injectable form or i. V. Form, its very toxic. Its difficult to handle. So the idea is to develop a formulation thats less toxic and less prone to complications, to get rid of the needle would be a great way. Reporter he says a nasal spray containing the drug could be used safely by almost anyone, anywhere, unlike the injectable version. He got the idea from his work in the ambulance and the emergency room. One of our protocols, we were using nasal sprays to treat the seizures. The thoughts came together out of the blue in a clear moment and i thought, wow, wouldnt it be cool if we could treat snakebite with nasal spray . Reporter it would buy valuable time until the hospital could use antivenoms to treat and neutralize the jake poison. Most who die from snakebites never get treated in the hospital. If you could get to the hospital, you would probably do quite well. Reporter without funding, he and a group of his scientific friends decided they had to prove nasal spray would actually counteract neurotoxininduced paralysis. So he became the guinea pig while a team of researchers in San Francisco conducted a fullhour, selffinanced experiment. Involved administering the infusion of this drug to create a controlled and safe state of partial paralysis. I couldnt see, couldnt move, couldnt talk, very weak. So he developed some blurred vision, then difficulty swallowing and at the level we were using it some side effects on breathing. Then the doctor administered the nasal spray and a few minutes later i was quite close to normal. It worked it worked it worked reporter but it hasnt been proven in humans against actual snake venom. You stay where you are. Ill move the snake around. Reporter some Scientists Say its benefit is limited because it wont work on most north american snakes, especially not the most common ones in this country which dont inject neurotoxins in their victims. At stanford university, director of emergency medicine robert norris, is a snake enthusiast and a form colleague. Here hes wrangling a venomous Northern Pacific rattlesnake named jake. Its a common north american snake. The drug would have no benefit for a rattlesnake bite. The venom from rattlesnakes cause tissue damage, blood clotting problems and possibly shock but very rarely any neurotoxicity at all which is what neostigmine might help in some cases. Reporter he argues the venom from most states across the world are not affected by the drug. I think its a noble idea. Unfortunately, i dont think it would have a great impact. The percentage of snake bites that would be applicable to are pretty is pretty small, and whether or not it would even be effective in those types of snakes is still questionable as well. Reporter but he and his colleague bickler disagree and add the spray is just a First Step Towards solving a large problem. Neurostigmines specifically addresses the venom of snakes like cobras that paralyze the muscles. That alone would have a major impact in terms of a number of victims worldwide who die from snakebite. The paralytic snakebites are the vast majority of the deaths that occur. Reporter since statistics on snake deaths are spotty, its hard to tell whos right. Theyre working on the problem and finding a drug or combination of drugs, a universal anecdote that would counteract various kind of venom, either administered by nasal spray or by an epipen that is common for getting relief from allergies. Well, thats obviously the holy grail, but theres nothing out there right now that looks like it would even potentially fit that definition. Reporter one thing the two agree on is that because it is not a major problem in the u. S. And europe, there is far too little attention or Research Going into snakebites and their treatment. Woodruff read more about the research to save lives affected by snake bites. Spencer details that in a blog on our health page. Ifill this week, the white house has announced three separate executive actions dealing with gay rights, the environment, and manufacturing. Raising the question in the midst of partisan gridlock, how much can the president do without congress . Jeffrey brown has that debate. Brown president obama has been expanding these executive actions. Its something he promised to do earlier this year. Were not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that were providing americans the kind of help they need. Ive got a pen and ive got a phone. Brown and hes followed through, on a wide range of issues, including equal pay for women, student loans, and more recently carbon pollution. But every time president obama does this, hes faced backlash from those who charge that hes an imperial president. We have our own debate on the subject now, with jonathan turley, a law professor at George Washington university. And michael waldman, president of the Brennan Center for justice at new york universitys school of law. Welcome to both of you. Jonathan turley, start with you. You made the case the actions by president obama have gone too far. What have you seen . Certainly, he didnt start this process, concentration of authority in the executive branch, but it has reached a level that frankly is a matter of concern. You know, our system is designed primarily to avoid one central danger and that is the aggregation of power in any one branch, and what were seeing, particularly in the obama administration, is this rise of an oober presidency, a president that can govern alone and when the president said to congress in his state of the union i intend to circumvent you, i was surprised to hear applause, almost selfclothing applauding a president who said i intend to make you a nonentity. Brown what do you see happening . Im considerably less concerned about it and i think, in fact, given divided government and not a Hostile Congress but a completely paralyzed congress, this president doesnt have much choice. Hes using executive action especially in his second term the same as president george w. Bush and bill clinton and reagan did. He has a duty to seek his goals and advance his policies, again within the constitution and law and in public without secrecy. But im considerably untroubled by him acting to require contractors to not discriminate based on Sexual Orientation and that kind of thing, which sometimes some people scream mussolini every time he does Something Like that. Brown if you look at the numbers, jonathan turley, weve got a graphic of recent american president s. It doesnt look like hes overdone it. Is it a numbers question . What troubles you . Its not. The thing is, i think its not right to compare the numbers of executive orders. When it came up the last time i testified in congress, i told congress you cant simply look at the number of executive orders. You could have a single executive order that chings the essence of our system. Brown the quality or the kind, then. Yes, and the white house said, its true, it doesnt come down to how many but what type of executive orders that have been issued. Brown so youre saying in this administration, its certain kinds that have gone too far, not number. Thats correct. Brown an example . The example is the president has essentially rewritten some laws like the healthcare law, the aca, by changing its meaning, not just on the starting date but core issues in terms of the obligations of classes of parties that have to function under the act. He shifted 454 million in that act from the legislative purpose to entirely different purpose. And immigration, he ordered the agencies not to enforce the immigration laws against an entire class of individuals. Its a rather long line. Its a difference of magnitude weve seen with this president. Brown michael waldman, go ahead. I dont agree with that. The list showed he in the first term was quite timid in many respects in using his executive power. The number of executive orders tells the story. Its not the only story. Sometimes you count calories and sometimes carbs. Im not aware of executive actions he took akin to seizing steel mills and other kinds of things president s have done in the past that raised many questions. And a lot of the things that he has done has been in the nature of the typical things president s do when theyre implementing complex statutes such as the healthcare law or making priority decisions about what kinds of deportations to do and that sort of thing. Im actually puzzled about the degree of hyperventilation that sometimes we hear about this. My concern first off is how we can get congress to not be as paralyzed as it has made its isself with the super majority requirement of 60 votes to move anything, and i actually think there are things the president has not acted on that he could act on. On voting, for example, hes talked a lot about voting rights, but he could designate departments as Voter Registration agencies under existing law and help register many, many americans. I think there are things he can continue to do and im just untroubled. I think its actually, in many respects, not always but in many respects an encouraging development. Brown in a system of gridlock, what else is he supposed to do. I disagree fundamentally with michael. Theres a reason things are not getting done. Were a divided nation, and divided on these very areas. When were divided, fewer things get done. Some say thats a good thing because we cant come together, but the system is designed to force compromise. I think even though michael says hes not troubled by this, im quite astonished the position of democrats on this. They have rued the day they created this type of presidency within our system. This is not going to be our last president. The democrats are acting like the next two years are the only two years left. They dont know who the next president will be. Brown last word, michael. Might this blow back the next time you face a president that you dont like . Im sure whether its president rand paul or Hillary Clinton or whoever else it might be, first off they need to follow the law, second people will scream over each, no matter what they do. I am concerned especially when it comes to Foreign Policy and terrorism fighting that president s of both parties, bush and obama, have reached beyond their authority and i am concerned especially for example about the kind of surveillance practices in the executive branch that warrant the kind of reaction we are seeing from the american public. Brown all right, well leave the argument there, michael waldman, jonathan turley, thanks so much. Thank you. Brown you can check the newshour online and see how every president from George Washington on has used executive actions. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. Iraqi Security Forces battled insurgents for control of the countrys biggest oil refinery. President obama met with congressional leaders at the white house to review options in iraq. And the c. E. O. Of General Motors faced sharp questioning by congress over her companys delay in recalling millions of defective cars with ignition switch problems. Ifill on the newshour online right now, how would architects and engineers redesign the coastline of one of the worlds most iconic cities . The department of housing and urban Development Issued that challenge. Its mission to save new york city from another Flood Disaster like superstorm sandy. You can see what they came up with, 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, well have the medal of honor story of retired u. S. Marine corporal and veteran of the afghanistan war, kyle carpenter. 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. 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