If we could understand how those actually work, we would know something important about how everything works. Woodruff plus, an update on efforts to bring back the abducted Nigerian School girls, 100 days after they went missing. 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. Woodruff the first of the victims from the malaysian airliner shot down over ukraine arrived back in the netherlands today. Life in the grieving nation largely came to a halt, as the days somber events played out. Jonathan rugman of independent Television News has our report. Reporter at eindhoven military airport this afternoon. Two aircraft, one dutch and one australian, ferried the first of mh17s passengers and crew back to the country which lost the most. 193 of the 298 were dutch. 32 australian, and 10 from the u. K. 40 hearses for 40 coffins. And before they were taken away for forensic investigation, the dutch gave the bodies a heroes welcome, with the sounding of the last post. The countrys new king willem alexander, and queen maxima, led a day of national mourning. The ceremony here, meticulous in bright sunshine, and performed in front of about 1,000 relatives of the dead. And what was most striking, the determination to give them a dignity in death that they never received in the fields of Eastern Ukraine. At the crash sight itself, separatist rebels gave access to officials from the organization for security and cooperation in europe. But not to dutch investigators, who said their safety was not guaranteed. The planes flight recorders have been taken to the u. K. For an examination which could take weeks. But six days on, there has been no professional investigation permitted here. On monday, the u. K. Said it had imposed an absolute arms embargo on russia. But today, it emerged that more than 200 export licenses, including for missile launching equipment, are still in place. We have an arms embargo in place. We set out the terms of it, and we need to make sure that everything thats happened since is consistent with the terms of that embargo. I believe thats the case, but well want to go through each one of these individually to very much make sure that it is the case and if it isnt, of course well act very swiftly. Reporter and amid disagreement among World Leaders as to how to respond, pro russian separatists are continuing to shoot down aircraft. Today, it was two Ukrainian Military jets. This just 25 miles from the mh 17 sight. The ukrainians claiming the rockets were fired from russia itself. On the other side of europe though, the peeling of bells, and then a minutes silence. Not a corner of the netherlands have been untouched by this disaster. And the scenes this evening have been unprecedented. Many thousands lining the streets to watch the hearses pass by. The first bodies from 11 nations in all, though none of them have yet been identified. Yet all of them, honored here by the country, which less than one fateful week ago, had sent them on their way. Woodruff european monitors said today there are body parts still at the site in Eastern Ukraine where the plane was shot down. And australias Prime Minister warned its increasingly likely that some of the remains will never be recovered. Ifill and in other news today, in taiwan a Transasia Airways plane crashed in Stormy Weather as it was trying to land on the small island of penghu. At least 47 people were trapped and feared dead. Rescue workers used flashlights to comb through the wreckage in the darkness. 58 passengers and crew members were on board. Woodruff republicans and democrats in congress offered up competing bills today, on the flood of Migrant Children across the southern u. S. Border. But there was no sign that either side can win over the other. House republicans said their bill would cost 1. 5 billion, far less than president obamas request of 3. 7 billion. Speaker john boehner what the president is asking for is a blank check. He wants us to just throw more money at the problem without doing anything to solve the problem. The administration ought to get their act together. Without trying to fix the problem, i dont know how we actually are in a position to give the president any more money. Woodruff republicans also insist on speeding up deportations by changing a 2008 law that lays out a lengthy hearing process. In the senate, democrat Barbara Mikulski proposed legislation to cut the president s funding request by 1 billion. But it would not change the 2008 law on deportations. Homeland Security Department officials warn border and immigration agencies will run out of money in the next two months, unless congress acts. Ifill lawmakers in iraq have again delayed voting on a new president. They agreed today to put off a decision until tomorrow, after the kurdish political bloc asked for more time. At least 95 candidates are running. Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an overnight suicide bombing that killed 31 people at a checkpoint in baghdad. Woodruff in indonesia, a former general who lost the president ial election now plans to challenge the results in the nations highest court. His campaign alleges widespread fraud in the voting, although election observers have said it was generally free and fair. Election officials declared Jakarta Governor joko widodo the winner, yesterday. Ifill the Costa Concordia cruise liner began its final voyage today, more than two years after it capsized off an italian island. Two tugboats pulled the ship away from the port of giglio. It will make a slow, fourday journey to the northwestern port of genoa, home to the company that owns the vessel. It is difficult to describe the feeling without being too emotional. The ship is heading north at 2 knots expected rival time following between saturday night and sunday morning. Ifill 32 people died when the concordia steered too close to land and struck a reef. The captain is now on trial on charges of causing the wreck and abandoning his passengers, and for multiple counts of manslaughter. Woodruff back in this country, General Motors has issued six more safety recalls, covering another 700,000 vehicles. This time, the problems range from faulty seats to turn signal failures, to problems with power steering. All told, g. M. Has issued a record 60 recalls this year, for nearly 30 million cars and trucks. Ifill congressional investigators told house members today how they repeatedly qualified for Subsidized Health coverage using fake i. D. s. The Government Accountability office said investigators succeeded in 11 out of 18 attempts; they said they got around an online identity checking system by dialing government call centers instead; also today, a study by the department of health and Human Services estimated more than ten million adults have gained coverage under the Affordable Care act. Woodruff the anthrax incident at a Government Lab has cost the lab director his job. Michael farrell submitted his resignation today from the centers for Disease Control and prevention. Hed already been reassigned from a c. D. C. Facility in atlanta that handles bio terrorism agents. Last month, that lab accidentally sent anthrax samples that were still alive, to two other labs. Dozens of c. D. C. Workers were potentially exposed, but no one got sick. Ifill wall street had a mixed day after some mixed reports on corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 27 points to close at 17,086. The nasdaq rose 17 points to close at 4,473. And the sanp 500 added three, to end at 1,987. Woodruff still to come on the newshour the humanitarian crisis on the ground in gaza; how a georgia race will help decide control of the u. S. Senate; what a flys brain tells us about our own minds; stricter rules for trains carrying crude oil; and, whats happened to the abducted Nigerian School girls, now missing for 100 days. Ifill the fighting between hamas and israel continued today as americas top diplomat shuttled between israeli and palestinian leaders, attempting to broker a cease fire. More than 680 palestinians and 34 israelis have been killed since the fighting began july 8. Ifill secretary of state john kerry landed in tel aviv, his air force jet exempt from the f. A. A. Ban shutting down u. S. Flights there. He met first with u. N. Secretary general ban kimoon, and suggested theres been some progress toward a ceasefire. Were working hard and im not going to get into the characterizing, but we have certainly made some steps forward. Ifill from there, he headed to the west bank, and talks with Palestinian Authority president mahmoud abbas. Were doing this for one simple reason. The people in the palestinian territories, the people in israel are all living under the threat or reality of immediate violence. And this needs to end for everybody. Ifill and then, back to tel aviv, for a meeting with israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. Amid all the shuttling, even russian president Vladimir Putin spoke with netanyahu by phone today, hundreds of palestinians were also on the move, pouring out of the Southern Gaza town of khan younis. They were fleeing heavy israeli air and artillery strikes, and there were reports of many people still trapped. translated they were firing from tanks next to our house. We were stuck in the house, we called the ambulance and the firefighters, none came to help us. Ifill in rafah, hundreds took part in a funeral procession for five palestinians killed by overnight air strikes. And in jerusalem, thousands attended the funeral of israeli soldier max steinberg. The 24yearold man from california was killed in fighting on sunday. Violence also spread to the west bank, where a palestinian man was killed in fighting with Israeli Soldiers in bethlehem. Meanwhile, hamas rocket fire killed a Foreign Worker near ashkelon, in southern israel. The rocket threat prompted more airlines to call off flights into Israels Ben Gurion international airport. President shimon peres urged them to reconsider. May i say i regret that airlines have suspended flights. The real answer to the danger of flying is not to stop the flights, but to stop the rockets which are endangering the flight. Ifill but the u. N. High commissioner for human rights navi pillay held both sides responsible for the rapidly rising death toll. I unequivocally reiterate to all actors in this conflict that civilians must not be targeted. Not abiding by these principles may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ifill israeli Justice Minister tzipi livni answered the allegation with two words on her facebook page, get lost. Late today, hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called for the world to force an end to the israeli offensive, and to the economic blockade of gaza. Pernille ironside, of the u. N. Childrens agency unicef, has been on the ground in gaza since the conflict began. I spoke with her via skype earlier today. Pernille ironside, as you travel around in gaza, tell us, what are you seeing . Well, the conflict has been getting steadily worse by the day, and were now into our 15th day here, and with each one the civilian casualty rate has only mounted. Amongst those, children are bearing the greatest brunt of this terrible conflict at the moment. Theres over 168 children who have died already and were now over 1,100 children who have been seriously injured, maimed and even terribly burned. The physical and psychological toll is undescribable. Ive met with, for example, the three surviving baka boys who were on the beach playing with cousins and the next moment saw pieces of four of their friends and cousins strewn around them. These are lasting emotional and physical scars that children are bearing across the gaza strip. I also met 4yearold shima in the hospital the other day and she was longing for her mother and her siblings, all of whom died as they were seeking shelter, leaving their home in search of a safer place, and only shima and her father survived. The fact of the matter is there is no safe place here, even in the Public Schools and compounds and in shelters, there are no guarantees for safety. Ifill thats what i wanted to ask you is where do people go when they seek shelter . Well, gathering around the main Emergency Hospital in gaza, theyre gathering in mosques, in the Orthodox Church here in gaza, and theyre also gathering in school compounds, both u. N. Schools and now, as those have basically reached their capacity is over 120,000 people in them, people are also pouring into Public School compounds. I visited two of the Public Schools today just to see how people were coping. The vast majority of nearly 1,400 people in each compound were children. I woul would say, in one alone,2 children were under the age of 2. This is an enormous civilian impact and upheaval in terms of all these lives who have literally had to flee, not knowing if theyre going to survive or not. In fact, one grandmother today said to me, 40 of them, all they could do was pray at that moment because they did not know, as their 5story building came crashing down around them, they did not know if they would live. Ifill what is the condition of the infrastructure, whether water, electricity, even the roofs over peoples heads . What is your sense of how damaged that all is . I have been visiting a number of the most critical water and sanitation installations around gaza. I can say that 70 of the population is now without access to safe water. The main sewage pumping station has been hit directly. 40 of gaza sewage is flowing directly into the mediterranean now. Just down the road from there the primary Sewage Treatment plant was also directly hit and the sewage flowed down the street into the neighborhoods and fields, contaminating a huge amount of area. Water wells have been directly hit. There is at least 50 of all the water and sanitation infrastructure is no longer functioning at this moment and even when some urgent repairs could be made to reestablish some of the connections, its been rendered impossible because there is no safe humanitarian access for the Municipal Workers to be able to make these repairs and, already, three of them have been killed while on duty. Beyond water and hygiene, the emotional toll, we have the emergency psychosocial teams who are reaching out to all the families who have lost loved ones in order to provide some immediate coping skills, and this is really just the first step of a very long process of healing and recovery that gaza will need to undergo. Ifill sounds like a long process in every possible case, pernille ironside, the u. N. Childrens agency unreceive, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff now to politics yesterday in georgia, voters chose the republican nominee for the u. S. Senate in what turned out to be a tight primary election. It sets the stage for what will be one of the closest watched races of the year, a contest that could help decide control of the senate. With us to talk about this race and the broader Senate Landscape is our political editor, domenico montanaro. So welcome back. Thank you. Woodruff domenico, the republicans, it was a tight race, a runoff, but they have candidate now, his name is david perdue, who is he . Former c. E. O. Of Dollar General and the Sneaker Company reebok, which everybody knows. Jack kingston is who he defeated 5149. Kingston, a member of congress. It shouldnt be lost that david perdue in this race was the only person who ran in this primary who was not either a member of congress or a former elected official, so he really played that outsider card. He ran this ad depicting babies on the lawn in front of congress crying, depicting all the lawmakers are cry babies, essentially, so he really tried to play that card, hit kingston with being on the insider status, and thats what probably did help him. He also pulled in about 3 million of his own money which didnt hurt. Woodruff now perdue faces a wellorganized democrat and normally deep south is not fertile territory for democrats but in this case she is the daughter of a wellknown former senator. Thats right, and democrats have hope that Michelle Nunn, daughter of sam nunn, will do well because of her legacy and name but also because to have the changing demographics of the state. So i think this is a state that democrats are starting to feel a little bit better about and, given the fact perdue is a political novice, never run before, nunn is in a similar situation, but she also has tried to play the outsider card. Now you will see republicans weve already seen republicans take strong aim at Michelle Nunn. We know the democrats are already picking apart David Perdues business experience, trying to reopen the mitt romney playbook to say this is someone who cost jobs and shipped jobs overseas. The the real question will be over the next two months, can Michelle Nunn withstand the barrage that comes her way . If we look two weeks after labor day and the race is still tied, this will be an actual potential pickup for democrats. Woodruff and this race is especially important to democrats because the Overall National Senate Landscape is not very friendly. Thats right and thats why we care about this race. There are 12 races in the country we should all be looking at now but you can see from our map that 10 of the states are seats held by democrats. Well or are republican targets. Only two of the races are in places that are held by republicans kentucky with mitch mcconnell, minority leader who could become majority leader, and this race in georgia. If georgia is on the board for democrats, then the ability for republicans to take back the senate and net the seats they need out of this landscape makes it more difficult. Only three states on this map weve seen are likely heading toward republicans in montana, West Virginia and one other, and you see that because of that, if republicans arent able to hold georgia, then the landscape becomes much more difficult for them. Woodruff democrats start out with a disadvantage and its just tough. Well, it is. But right now in alaska and arkansas, mark pryor and mark begch are doing well and probably better than most republicans thought, and they might be gum in the dam because if they can hold, democrats will likely hold a one or two seat majority, if they lose you could see a much broader way come the republicans way. Woodruff i like that metaphor, gum in the dam. This report came out yesterday from the respected organization saying the turnout in this years primaries so far is not only down but, in most of the states where there have been primaries, a historic low. 25 of the 50 states are at an historic low. In the 1950s there was a primary of mid 30s of eligible population turning out from the study of the center of american electorate. And now only 13 to 14 is turned out. People are upset. Pessimism reins. They are upset with president , congress for blocking the president , upset at the president for using too much executive authority, and it goes back and forth. People arent feeling much better about the economy despite the headline economic numbers and what it all leads to is a large disinterest, frankly, in what were seeing in politics, but it does have consequence. Elections have consequences as were talking about whether or not who holds control of the senate a. Woodruff pretty depressing and maybe people watching and all over the country, well, you know, take notice and pay more attention. In favor of more engagement. Woodruff domenico montanaro, thank you. Thank you. Ifill next, trying to better understand whats happening in the brain of a fruitfly, a dragonfly, or a zebrafish. All part of a bigger puzzle to learn more about how our own minds work. Newshour science correspondent miles obrien has the first in our threepart series on the science of the brain. Reporter oh, to be a fly on the wall at the basic Research Facility scientist consider nirvana. You might see a nobel prize in the making or be sub geeked to the fruitfly version of a scary november where, a rapidly growing shadow of a predator coming in for the kill. Interested on how they make decision. Reporter glen runs a laboratory near washington, d. C. And films fruitflies at 6,000 frames per second to see what they do and eventually she hopes understand how their brains issue commands and their bodies turn that into life saving action. One of the interesting things weve discovered is that if you show a fly a scary movie, they actually dont do one particular thing, they actually do a whole sequence of behaviors that are quite flexible and varied. Reporter this is the kind of question bugs and neuroscience in another lab here, jerry ruben, spent his entire career studying fruitflies. Fruitflys have a very distinguished, long career in Biomedical Research because they breed like flies. Reporter the bugs are more than rapidly prolific. They can do interesting things and compared to humans are much easier neuroscience test subjects. These are complicated calculations and small biological computations. We feel if we could understand how those actually work, then we would know something important about how every brain works including our own brains. Reporter ruben not only runs a lab here but the overall facility as well. In fact, its his baby. He hatched the idea in 2002, the doors opened in 2006, and right now it houses 350 scientists working in 42 labs and on five collaborative teams. It is a welloiled machine, to be sure. Robotic efficienty. They feed, breed, bar code and house more than a million insects here hoping they might hold answers to some of the most challenging problems in basic Biomedical Research. It is funded by the Howard Hughes medical institute. For the record, also a newshour underwriter. H. H. M. I. Plans to spend 50 million to 100 million a year for at least 20 years here, giving the best and brightest scientists what amounts to a blank check to do their work as they see fit. We could bring an Unusual Group of people. Protect them from the real world, give them a place to work on their science, encourage them to Work Together on challenging problems and give them the freedom to do it and see what happens. Reporter ruben, after a workplace on his resume. The bell laboratories founded by at t and western electric in 1925, it attracted the best scientists from virtually every discipline, encouraged them to collaborate and gave them the freedom and funding to conduct basic research, even if there was no obvious profitmaking application evident. Over the years, bell researchers made big strides in the realm of basic science. Discovered cosmic Background Radiation and thus the big bang theory, and also invented Game Changers in the marketplace including the transistor, laser and charge couple device. The lab garnered seven nobel prizes in all. In recent years Corporate Funding of fundamental science with longterm goals has all but vanished and federal funding for basic science dropped precipitously. I think theres a broad recognition there is a way the federal government chooses projects to fund, the way it supports them tends to cut out the most creative work. Reporter to pursue a greater understanding of neuroscience, scientists and engineers work in close collaboration to build new tools of discovery. Developmental biologists and neuroscientists Phillip Keller showed me his amazing light sheet microscope. This is designed to main malley interfere with the normal development and function of the biological sample. Reporter living samples bathed in laser light and recorded by two fast digital cameras to generate 3dimensional movies of biological processes. This is an embryo from 3 hours after fertilization till hatching 24 hours later. We have tens of thousands of cells in development. You cannot see these rapid movements. These are multiple contractions. Reporter this is one embryo from different angles. Exactly. Reporter something zebrafishy in the lab as well, zebrafish, waiting for an extreme closeup. The Ground Breaking movie shows a zebra zebrafish larva brain in action. Each blip is a brain lighting up. These experiments are aimed at trying to find out what exactly is going on. Reporter hes thinking about something good or bad . One or the other, right . We try our best to see that hes not thinking something bad. laughter reporter its done. True professional. True professional. Reporter neuroscientist Anthony Leonardo uses a collaborative approach as he studies another insect, the dragonfly. He captures them capturing flutt flies, focused on 28 muscles controlled by fury neurons, what day do in the span of 14 wing strokes. Gets better with practice but they understand how to do it from the start. Reporter whats amazing is he starts with his back to the fruitfly. Exactly. Reporter leonardo is focused on how our brains coordinate complex behaviors in splitsecond real time like catching a ball. To get a better look at the problem, he and an engineer have outfitted some dragonflies with 60milligram backpacks. They capture and transmit signals from ten neurons linked to four muscles. We look at all these things together and slowly build up a model of how the nervous system will solve this problem. Reporter leonardo says the tiny backpack is a good example of how collaboration can streamline scientific research, but theres a big catch. No such thing as tenure here. Even though longterm funding is not a worry, the scientists themselves work on fiveyear contracts and can be asked to leave if they dont measure up. As we spoke, Anthony Leonardos contract was up for renewal. The way this was put to me when i was interviewing that resonated with me that we dont see is the ethos of the place is we will bet these massive resources on you and your ideas and you bet your exreer in exchange you bet your career in exchange. That was the gamble. Reporter researchers here are keeping longterm basic research afloat at a time when it finds very few safe harbors. Not every avenue of Research Works out. You dont know exactly where its going or exactly what youre going to learn. We dont know what the truth is or we wouldnt feed to pursue it. Sometimes it turns out as you expect and sometimes it doesnt. Reporter there are hopes the research will pay off with new nobel class discoveries. Thats the idea. The sure thing need not apply. Tomorrow, judy explores new findings on genetics and schizophrenia. Woodruff the Obama Administration proposed new and tougher safety rules today for Railway Trains carrying oil, trains sometimes referred to as a pipeline on wheels. They come after some tragic derailments and at a time when more than a Million Barrels of oil a day are traveling across the country by rail. Jeffrey brown has the story brown on july 6th of last year, at 1 15 in the morning, the small canadian town of lac megantic was rocked by a powerful explosion. A runaway train carrying 72 cars of crude oil had careened into the community and derailed. The blast and ensuing fire destroyed dozens of buildings and killed 47 people. The train carried bakken oil, a highly flammable crude from Western North dakota, where production has surged, along with rail shipments. Overall, the number of tanker cars carrying oil in the u. S. Soared from 10,000 in 2008 to more than 400,00 last year. They didnt look down the road to figure out how are we going to get this to market in a safe way. Brown don morrison of the dakota resource council, in a may interview with the newshour. Going through people, right next to peoples houses and businesses. Its dangerous. And theyve got to be careful. Ifill now, the department of transportation is proposing new regulations for oil trains. They would include the phase out or retrofit of thousands of older tank cars within two years; improved braking systems; and testing cornbased ethanol and crude oil for flammability prior to transportation. The goal is to prevent the kinds of accidents seen from lynchburg, virginia to casselton, north dakota, over the last 18 months, though none was as deadly or destructive as lac megantic. For the record, the casselton incident involve the rail company b. N. S. F. , a Major Carrier of oil and an underwriter of the newshour. Still, industry representatives, like ron ness of the north Dakota Petroleum council, insist the transportation of oil by rail is sound. Safety is certainly the number one aspect that i think all aspects of the Transportation Industry are focused on. And at 99. 7 of the time, you know, rail movements get to their destinations safely. Brown supporters of the longdelayed Keystone Pipeline project, to carry canadian oil to the gulf of mexico, say it would ease the need for oil trains. Environmental groups say it poses its own threats. Brown the secretary of transportation, anthony foxx, announced the proposed rules today, and he joins me now. Welcome to you. Thank you, jeff. Brown first, help people understand the situation as you see it. How serious a health and Public Safety issue is it especially in towns where trains run through . We have to remember that Oil Production in this country is growing exponentially and crude in russia increased fromo 80s from 900,000 car loads to a 4 increase. We dont see that abating soon. The production lynn crease, Safety Standards have to increase with it and thats why we proposed the rule today. Brown the criticism that came immediately is youre moving in the right direction but too slow. We have to put up a graphic from earth justice, one of the activist groups, that says your proposal showed extreme unacceptable risk posed by outdated and accidentprone type of railcar, the d. O. T. 111. The departments proposal, they raise reducing the risk of keeping these accident prone cars off the rails for three to six years. Why wait so long if theyre so dangerous . Were trying to push the rule out as quickly as possible. We have a 60day Comment Period. Folks with criticisms or exrovlts theyd like to see to the rule, we invite them to use the Comment Period. But to the particular question you asked, the reality is we have a market that has as best a third of new tank cars in it today. So to transition the market, it will take time from a practical standpoint. We want to have a right standard set pore the new tank car and thats what were proposing is to have alternatives to improve the tank car standard but this is also a comprehensive rule, it goes with speed and other aspects so we can ensure the safety of the other people. Brown youre getting pressure from the industry not to move too fast. We use the Comment Period to hear from industry but were not going to be bound by what we hear from industry. Were going to do the right thing for safety in america and whatever that is where our final word will be. Brown one interesting issue is the particular oil involved. Sounds as though your department decided the bakken oil is actually particularly volatile and less safe and more combustible than other oils. Yes, one of the things were noticing in this situation is that, in the bakken region, there is rud rude meantiary separation occurring before it goes into the tank cars. In the bakken, the tank cars are moving the materials out to the refining areas on the east and west coast so the challenge is we have a relatively unstable substance moving long distances and sometimes hundreds of cars at a time. Brown here youre pushed back from the oil industry. A graphic from the American Petroleum institute the best science and data tonight support recent speculation that crude oil from the bakken friends a greater than normal risk. Theyre calling on you to get your science right. Do you feel you have it right . Yes, i do. Some folks say were moving too slow, some say too fast. Were probably in the right place. We look forward to the Comment Period and listen to what folks have to say. Brown what about the the issue of speed . Are theres a question of 40mileperhour speed limit which i gather now the railroads have accepted within urban areas but the question is whether you should expand that countrywide. Yeah, the question is do we have a 40mile limit totally, everywhere, do we have a 40mile limit around certain parts, given population differences . Do we have it just in urban areas. That type of challenge is not just a challenge inherent to this issue of crude by rail. There is an issue of what it does to other commodities, grains, rail, Corn Products moved by rail. So, again, this is a place where well listen to input from a variety of stakeholders and work to craft the rule accordingly. Brown how do you decide Something Like that . Is it based on the new cars or they always will be tied together. Thats right. Brown theyre also calling for a new braking system or looking at it. It is very complex and we need a comprehensive approach which is why our rule takes into account all the factors. As we get comments in, well take a look at the comments but i believe you will see a rule thats going to have several components to it, the tank car standard, the speed standard, and other pieces including breaking and other things that you mentioned before. Brown the larger issue is where you started. We saw the huge increase in production. The balance is out of order. The balance in the increase in production versus maintaining the safety, the ability to transport this. The reality is things have changed. This increased production, these trains are now moving, as i said before, in some cases 100 unit trains at a time, and its unit cars at a time, and were going to have to deal with this new reality by stepping up our state oSafety Standards and this rule is going to be promulgated to focus on where we will be in the future as well as where we are. We want to hit the target with the rule. Brown especially in the local communities, there has been a lot of protest and worry. Well aware of. This weve heard from members of congress, mayors, Community Members all over the country and even into canada. We understand the importance of this issue. Thats why we worked to get the rule out and have a public Comment Period and well move it as quickly as we can. Brown while i have you here, i want to ask you about another transportation issue on peoples minds and thats air transportation. We had what happened in the ukraine. We have u. S. Flights not going into israel. Jet travel nowadays, should people be worried in a new way . I think what people should be reassured by is the fact our f. A. A. Is working very closely with our Intelligence Community and with the International Community to understand the risks of traveling, and when we believe the risks are substantial enough, we have issues rules to prohibit u. S. Carriers from flying into certain territories. Well monitor situations as they occur and hopefully folks will feel safe as they fly. Brown you believe thats the situation in israel, even though the Israeli Government says thats not the case . We are using the intelligence we have. Again were working with all our International Partners in situations where we have active no tems, and will monitor the situation elsewhere. Brown anthony foxx, secretary of transportation, thank you so much. Thank you. Ifill finally tonight, we return to a story that captivated the worlds attention for a time, but has faded from the public eye, the fate of those kidnapped school girls in nigeria. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner has this update on what has become of them, and of the campaign to bring them home. All we are saying is bring back our girls, now and alive. Warner a small, but vocal, protest marked the somber anniversary in nigerias capital, abuja. Its been 100 days since nearly 300 young schoolgirls were abducted by islamist militants from a town in northeastern nigeria, chibok we call on to the Nigerian Military to facilitate a decisive military operation. Warner no one is sure of the exact number being held today, some seen here in a video from midmay. Nearly 60 escaped their captors, a strict fundamentalist Islamist Group called boko haram. Its leader, abubakar shekau. translated we are against western education and i say stop western education. I repeat, i took the girls, and i will sell them off, there is a market for selling girls. Warner yesterday, for the First Time Since the april 14 abductions, nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan met with many parents of the kidnapped girls, and some who escaped. He and his government have come under withering criticism for their handling of the incident, and of boko haram. The government was wildly slow to respond to this particular abduction, and the governments Security Forces have been wildly ineffective at both dealing with boko haram and protecting the local population. Warner sarah margon is the washington director of human rights watch. Warner why is it that the Nigerian Government, after 100 days, with some outside help, has not been able to locate and rescue these missing girls . Its our understanding that they actually do know where they are, but because the girls have been broken up into smaller groups, and its basically a hostage negotiation, its a very dangerous situation. Warner this morning by phone, i asked Nigerian Government spokesman in abuja, mike omeri, about that. The effort, the energy, the resources, the mobilizing and standing together is towards rescuing these girls. So, repeatedly, officers and Ground Forces and Security Services have indicated knowledge of where, knowledge of where these girls might be held. Warner but we were told that you know where they are, but it is too risky to try to rescue them, because its basically a hostage situation. Is that right . Warner the kidnappings inspired a global campaign, bring back our girls, which raised awareness, but in a video released last week, boko haram chief shekau brazenly mocked the effort while taunting the president and his military. Bring back our girls . Bring back our army. Bring back our army. Jonathan jonathan girl, girl, girl, girl, girl bring back our army warner standup the kidnappings are but a symptom of the governments impotence as boko haram, which wants to establish an islamist caliphate in nigeria, has advanced across the predominantlymuslim northeast of africas most populous nation. Late last week, its fighters planted their flag the strategic town of damboa. And today, its believed to be behind bomb blasts in the city of kaduna, that killed at least 39 followers of a muslim cleric who doesnt embrace boko harams hardline ideology. All of this emblematic, says peter pham of the atlantic council, of an organization that has grown in strength and ambition the group has metastasized very rapidly in the last two to three years, its gone from a violent militant group that did driveby shootings and lobbed grenades at people it didnt like, to a terrorist group that carried out the first suicide bombings and truck bombings in nigerias history, to now, in the last 12 months, to a group that occupies territory. Warner so what explains its ability to expand its area of control . I think several factors contributed to it. One is better training. Increasingly, also, the weakness of the Nigerian Military. The Nigerian Military has been unable or unwilling to fight back, and then, finally, the fear that boko haram has managed to stoke in villagers and others leads people to flee before them, rather than putting up resistance. Warner and, says sarah margon, where the military has fought back, it has done as much to create Fertile Ground for boko haram as deny it. In part, theyve been emboldened by the heavy hand of nigerian Security Forces. In part, the local community has been pushed towards them because of the heavy hand, and so they have been strengthened. The heavy hand includes extra judicial killings, rounding up suspects, arresting them, not charging them, sometimes killing them, burning residential structures, looting homes, abusing people. Warner so your saying that actually has helped boko haram . Absolutely. Warner while government spokesman omeri says there was initial resentment of the army by local populations, he refutes the charge of abuse. Warner but peter pham says such assurances fall on deaf ears among many nigerians, whove grown cynical after decades of corruption and economic disparity in this oil rich country. Boko haram wouldnt be in the strong position that it is and have the sympathies or at least the tacit acquiescence of considerable segments of the population were it not for the social, political, and economic marginalization that many nigerians feel, not only because of corruption but also for lack of inclusion. Warner this has bred a regional threat potent enough to prompt the u. S. To designate boko haram a terrorist organization, and the United Nations to enforce sanctions against it as an al Qaida Associated group. Its expanding reach is a threat the u. S. Should be worried about, says pham. Boko haram forms part of an archipelago of extremist groups stretching from north africa through the ungoverned spaces of the sahel and then onward and eastward to unstable areas of east africa, as well as a linkage to some of the militants fighting in syria. Warner another reason that the u. S. Hopes the Nigerian Government, even while trying to get back the kidnapped girls, also presses on every front against the surging threat boko haram represents. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. The first 40 bodies from a malaysian airliner arrived back in the netherlands. The plane was shot down over Eastern Ukraine last week. Secretary of state john kerry shuttled between israeli and palestinian leaders, trying to arrange a ceasefire in gaza. But the fighting raged on, with more than 700 palestinians and 34 israelis killed so far. And the Obama Administration proposed phasing out thousands of older Railroad Tank Cars that increasingly carry crude oil. Woodruff on the newshour online right now, batman turns 75 this year and we wanted to know why he remains so popular after threequarters of a century. So we talked to a real batman scholar dwight blocker bowers of the Smithsonian National museum of American History in washington, d. C. He showed us part of the smithsonians collection of batman artifacts. I think batman remained popular in American Culture because he represents the power in good and he represents a superhero who can save us from ourselves. First of all, i think it goes back to the statement that he has sustained himself since 1939 when he premiered, in American Culture. He represented a figure who can fight for the might for good as opposed to evil. I remember as a child a television joe, the adam west version of that man. I loved the sense of comedy it brought to the series because that man is a very serious figure, and i think that show introduced humor to the character that i found embracing. Woodruff we also talked to several of the writers and artists whove had a hand in the superheros evolution over the years. You can find those interviews, plus a lot more, on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Ifill and thats the newshour for tonight. Im gwen ifill. Woodruff and im judy woodruff, 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 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 bbc world news america. 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