Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140725

Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved, staying engaged. They are not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is, how did i end up here . I started schwab with those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. 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 an air algerie flight disappeared in Northern Africa today with 110 passengers and six crew on board. The plane was flying from burkina faso to algiers, but it fell off radar over mali after the pilots reported heavy rain and asked to change course. Later, the president of mali said wreckage had been spotted in the countrys northern desert. Nearly half of the passengers were french citizens. The rest came from a dozen other nations. Woodruff european monitors found more human remains in Eastern Ukraine today, where Malaysian Airlines flight 17 was shot down last week, killing 298 people. At the same time, two more planeloads of 74 coffins arrived in the netherlands. Rohit kachroo of independent Television News reports from the town where the bodies are being identified. Reporter for the victims brought here from the sunflower fields of ukraine, the people of hilverson do whatever seems appropriate. Sobbing breaks the silence but the silence always returns. No one expects to become immune to the heartache here. We feel connected with all the victims because of the fact we know them. Its like your brother, its like your friend, its like the person with whom you are working. Reporter a hundred miles away, the second repatriation ceremony took place. Its a little better rehearsed but no less agonizing. Military precision for a civilian procession. The pattern the same as yesterday, except twice as many coffins, twice as many hearses. In a town that has lost three families, they watched as they waited for the bodies to arrive at the military base here. Its sort uh i yesterday, i cried the whole afternoon, evening and now. speaking dutch . So, i just cant believe it. Its unreal. Reporter but hilverson is a focus for investigators as well as mourners. A british detective is among them. Im confident that we will identify them but this will take were talking in terms of weeks, months, and not days. Reporter because of the state in which these remains were recovered . Because of the processes we have to take with human remains that have suffered such trauma, yes. Reporter hilversons trauma is told by flowers, but this is now the town that this country looks for many of the answers, too. Woodruff in other developments, dutch investigators said the initial look at the planes black boxes show no sign of tampering. And in ukraine, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced hes resigning, after two parties withdrew from the government. The move clears the way for new parliamentary elections. Ifill the Iraqi Parliament elected a veteran kurdish politician as president today. A key step toward trying to form a government. Afterward, Fouad Massoum was sworn in to the ceremonial position. His first task is picking a candidate for Prime Minister. It all came hours after sunni militants attacked a military convoy near baghdad. At least 52 prisoners and nine policemen were killed. Woodruff the top European Human Rights Court has ruled that poland let the c. I. A. Carry out what amounted to torture, on polish soil. Two terrorism suspects were imprisoned there in secret from 2002 to 2003 under the u. S. Program of renditions after the 911 attacks. The Court Ordered poland to pay the men a total of more than 300,000. Both men are now imprisoned at guantanamo. Ifill authorities in arizona will investigate the states execution process, after a lethal injection last night took nearly two hours to take effect. Joseph rudolph wood was a convicted killer, and the first prisoner in arizona to receive a new twodose lethal injection. Associated press Reporter Astrid Galvan witnessed the execution. Once he was sedated, he just laid there and took several gasps. I counted probably more than 600 gasps during the nearly two hours it took for him to die. But he was sedated, so all we heard, very occasionally, was him snoring, and that was when the doctors went and checked on him and came on the microphone and said that he was sedated. Ifill wood was sentenced to death for the 1989 shooting of a father and daughter at close range. Family members of the victims said they had no problem with how the execution was handled. So everybody here from what i heard said that it was excruciating. You dont know what excruciating is. Whats excruciating is seeing your dad lying there is a pool of blood and seeing your sister lying there is a pool of blood, thats excruciating. This man deserved it and i shouldnt really call him a man. He deserved everything he had coming to him. Ifill earlier this year, an ohio prisoner took nearly half an hour to die by lethal injection. And oklahoma prison officials stopped an execution in april because the drugs werent administered properly. The condemned man died moments later of a heart attack. Woodruff in economic news, General Motors said it expects to spend at least 400 Million Dollars to compensate those killed or injured in crashes tied to faulty ignition switches. The Company Released the number today in its secondquarter earnings report. It said the cost may yet rise another 200 Million Dollars. The ignition switch problem has been linked to 13 deaths. Ifill and on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost almost three points to close below 17,084; the nasdaq fell one point to close at 4,472; and the s p added a point, to finish just short of 1,988. Still to come on the newshour, examining israel and hamas tactics in gaza. How the Border Patrol sees the immigration crisis. My interview with u. S. Ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy. And new research on the genetic links to schizophrenia. Woodruff the battle between israel and hamas entered its 17th day. So far at least 788 palestinians and 32 Israeli Soldiers have been killed. Meanwhile u. S. Secretary of state john kerry continued his efforts to broker a cease fire. sirens emergency workers rushed victim after victim to this hospital after a u. N. School compound was hit in northern gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent and hamas blamed israeli tank fire. It was a shelter for the people and they thought it was a safe place to stay in it, and israel strike them and there is, until now, more than 20 killed people and many injuries actually. Woodruff the israelis said theyre investigating. But they said it may have been hamas rocket fire that hit the school. The u. N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees has confirmed finding rockets stashed in two vacant u. N. Schools in recent days. And in jerusalem, israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again condemned hamas tactics after meeting with the British Foreign secretary. This use of human shields is extraordinarily cynical, its grotesque, its inhuman, but what is equally grotesque is that israel was condemned at the human Rights Council. Its a travesty of justice. Its a travesty of fairness. Its a travesty of common sense. Its a travesty of truth. Woodruff yesterday, the u. N. Human Rights Council had criticized israel for the heavy civilian toll its taking, while warning both sides over possible war crimes. And today, valerie amos, the u. N. s top humanitarian official issued a fresh appeal to stop the violence. We have over 118,000 people now who are sheltering in un schools. We have schools that are now unable to be used for education. People are running out of food. Water is also a serious concern. Woodruff but the ferocity of the fighting continued unabated. Israeli fighter jets pounded neighborhoods in jabaliya, north of gaza city in the early hours. And more tanks and troops crossed into gaza. Hamas, meanwhile, claimed it fired more rockets in the direction of bengurion airport at tel aviv, but no warning sirens sounded. Last night, the u. S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted its suspension on u. S. Flights inandout of bengurion. And europes Aviation Agency followed suit today. On the diplomatic front, secretary of state john kerry returned to cairo, in a bid to get a ceasefire. Egyptian officials talked of negotiating a humanitarian truce by next week, the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan. Hamas leader has voiced support for the idea but only if israel ends its economic blockade of gaza. Israeli officials suggested a truce is not imminent, and said the army might need two more weeks to finish destroying the hamas tunnel network. With the number of casualties rising there is a growing focus on the tactics being used by both sides. We look at that with two experts on the law of armed conflict. Amos guiora, an israeli, is a professor of law at the university of utah. He had a 19 year career in the Israel Defense forces and is the author of the book, legitimate target a criteriabased approach to targeted killing. He joins us from jerusalem. And noura erakat, a palestinian, is a human rights attorney and activist. Shes also an assistant professor at George Mason University and has written extensively about self defense and humanitarian law. We welcome you both to the newshour. Amos guiora, let me start with you. Lets talk about the tactics and this charge by president netanyahu that hamas is deliberately putting civilians in a place where they are in jeopardy, where their lives are at risk. Is there hard evidence for this . Evening and thank you for having me. With respect to the question of the human shield, i think the pictures tell a graphic story in terms of children tragically being killed, unfortunately, and tragically empathize. I dont think theres much doubt that one of the reasons children are dying in this conflict is because of human shielding by hamas whose spokesman last week made a public pronouncement calling on families to make sure that their children be in the vicinity of the tunnels or the rocket launchers and thereby endangering children and making them human shields. I dont think there is any doubt that is an egregious violation of International Law and absolutely a tragedy on a human level. Woodruff noura erakat, how much of that is going on, and if it is, how does hamas justify it . I think you asked a pertinent question, is there any hard evidence for actual human shielding, where hamas is using palestinians as human shields and there just isnt. The hard, difficult truth is israel is targeting civilians or recklessly targeting them in ways that amount to a violation of International Law. Israel has made the claim that its adversaries use human shields as in 1996 in lebanon, 2006 in lebanon, in 2008 and 2009 against gaza, and the u. N. Reports that have been published and investigated as well as reports by human watch amnesty international, physicians for human rights israel, all refute this claim. So we continue to accept this without any evidence and that israel refuses to subject its own evidence supposed evidence to public scrutiny. Woodruff if theres no evidence, why does Prime Minister netanyahu and others as say this . I take you to the statements by i. S. D. Requesting people and warning them to leave the neighborhood prior to the attack, knocking on doors and telling them an attack was forthcoming. We were seeing hamas was preventing people from leaving their neighborhoods and homes and at the end of the day the responsibility lays at the doors of hamas that prevent people from escaping areas upon announcement that an attack is coming. Its a violation of International Law and a tragedy. Woodruff what about that . Again, there have been reports that the israelis have tried to warn the civilians in gaza to leave but hamas has said even dont leave. Well, lets just put this all in context. I think everything makes more sense with context. The gaza strip is under Israeli Occupation and has sealed four of the five exitso the gaza strip. So these 1. 8 million Palestinian Civilians have nowhere to go. Its not that hamas is preventing them from going. They literally cannot leave. They dont have the opportunity to become refugees. Second of all, as for the banks, these warnings are warnings by rockets that are also very harmful and provides the palestinians less than three minutes to leave their home. If we were hit from a rocket that supposedly warned us to leave now, i think we would be so struck as to be immobilizer than expect the palestinians to leave. Civilian families have been targeted in their homes. A u. N. Shelter has been targeted despite israel having the coordinates. We should reject these talking points and subject this to scrutiny, to judicial and public scrutiny and not accept reservation and accountability. Woodruff what about that and the other argument one hears that even if israel believes hamas is firing rockets from civilian populated areas, they shouldnt be firing on civilians . Right two, responses. First of all, noura mentioned israel is giving palestinians three minutes. We israelis would love to have threeminutes notice of rockets live in the vicinity. We have between 15 seconds to 90 seconds. Outside jerusalem, 90 seconds to find a shelter. 3 minutes is much more than 90 seconds. Thethen israel does not occupy e gaza strip. History is important. Hamas won elections in 2006 and controls the gaza strip. Decisions by hamas over the course of the past eight years to destroy the greenhouses israel left, to build tunnels, to have a rocketmaking industry rather than gelding the gaza strip into what it could have been which would be a wonderful place for people to live, at the end of the day, thats on hamas. Woodruff and let me stop you there. I know context is important. Woodruff i want to ask you, and what about the notion israel should not be targeting civilians if theyre nowhere in the vicinity. Thats a great question. Heres the reality, when youre engaged in trying to take out rocket launchers in realtime, youre making every possible conceivable effort to target only the rocket launcher, but because the launchers are embedded in the civilian community, as hard as you try to target only the launcher,ths tragic and operationally that in these Collateral Damage such that innocent civilians will be killed and are getting killed. Theres no argument in that. But the question is when the rocket launchers are embedded in the civilian community, its inivetaable that tragically civilians would die. If the launchers were far removed from the civilian population, obviously, there would be a reduction in civilian deaths. Theyre firing into civilian community that lends itself to loss of innocent lives. Woodruff i want to ask you about hamas is firing on civilian populations in israel. Were reverting to the talking point hamas is using human shields. Again, there is absolutely no evidence for this. Its israels word against the united nations, ens Emirates International human rights watch, breaking the silence israel. What other country would we accept a repeated talking point with no evidence but this is the case, thats one. The second, the World Health Organization says the gaza strip would be unlivable in the next six years by 2020, the access to sanitize water will be impossible. This is not hamas fault. This is the result of israels position of debilitating and cruel siege killing palestinians even in the absence of rocket fire. Any reference to woodruff the civilians. Hamas is firing on civilians, its not controversial. Hamas has crude rocket fire and, therefore, cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants within israel, so its an ipso facto violation, but thats not whats in controversy, and far less insidious to israel, the only democracy and provides 3. 1 billion a year as far as sanctions and designating hamas as a terrorist organization, they provide the arms and sheer an actual controversy. Woodruff this is an argument that can go on. Well have to leave it there but will continue to look at it. We appreciate it amos guiora and noura erakat. Thank you for having me. Woodruff violence broke out in the west bank. Israeli newspapers reporting 10,000 palestinians marched from ramallah and fought israeli troops and police with rockets and fire bombs. The israelis used tear gas, stun grenades and gunfire. Palestinian news accounts said two protesters were killed. Ifill the influx of unaccompanied children continues at the southern u. S. Border. The white house says the number coming across has decreased in the past month. But Border Patrol agents say theyre still overwhelmed. Jeffrey brown has another in our occasional series conversation with people on the front lines of the crisis. Reporter earlier this month, we talked with an immigration judge about the overwhelming volume of immigrants whove entered the country illegally and are ending up in the court system. Tonight, were joined by shawn moran, Vice President of the national Border Patrol council, the union that represents Border Patrol agents. Moran himself has been a Border Patrol agent for seventeen years. Welcome to you. I want to ask first about those recent reports that as news of more deportations has spread, the numbers of people trying to enter the country is dropping. At least apprehensions are down. Does that jibe with what youre seeing . Well, we are seeing a dip, and were not sure exactly what the cause of it is. Historically, we have seen drops in the summertime due to the heat and humidity in south texas and along the southwest border. Also the beast, the socalled Freight Train that has been bringing people through mexico from Central America has been derailed for the past two weeks so we think that helped contribute to the dip in numbers. Brown specifically with the situation of so many children entering, whats the role of the Border Patrol and how has that changed the work of you and other agents . Our job, we are the primary Law Enforcement agency in between the ports of entry. So if you come across the border and you are not a u. S. Citizen, you can expect to have a Border Patrol agent try to encounter you. With the situation in south texas, were having large groups that are ser rendering and wanting to take part either in asylum or to be released in some way. So our agents are being the first ones out there to arrest and we are in large numbers doing the processing that takes place for the family groups that are then released and also for the unaccompanied juveniles then released to a relative in the u. S. Brown it looks as if that has led to frustration. There was a case of a tweet sent out by a union and later recalled that suggested you were being asked to do some things you are not used to doing. Thats true. Border patrol agents, you know, well do whatever we have to do to get the job done, but our concern is the fact that we have so many of our agents doing processing and nothing related duties such as baby sitting, making food, doing medical care, that we dont have our agent out on the border doing their primary job, which is trying to secure the southwest border and make sure that people arent coming across. So it definitely has had an impact on our operations, and it does have an impact on morale when youre doing all these things for these groups of people that are coming across the border and then we just see them walk out the front door essentially getting what they came here for. Brown it was just reported today, in fact, that the Obama Administration is sending a team to the border to assess whether a National Guard troops could help and what theyd do. Its something that a number of people, especially republicans, of course, have called for, already. Whats your reaction and what has been your experience in the past . Well, we have some serious concerns about any potential group deployments on the border. The number one thing that we saw during operation jump start when president bush sent the national ghawrnationalguard down was thas these people would be working on the border to free up Border Patrol agents. They were unarmed, not allowed to have any illegal alien contact, so essentially what happened is you would have a Border Patrol agent working a mobile camera. They would be removed from the truck, a National Guardsman would be put in there and a Border Patrol would be in the truck to protect them. So we never saw the manpower gains that we were told. It seemed to be more window dressing. Brown from your perspective as a union and Border Patrol agents, what would you like to see . What do you feel you need . The thing that conpounds sus is were having a border crisis but we dont have 100 Border Patrol staffing. During se question administration the customs and Border Protection reduced the hours Border Patrol agents have historically worked for a minimum of 10hour shifts, sometimes longer if youre working a case or tracking a group, and we dewed it in some cases, our k. 9 agents are working eight hours and then being sent home. They are one of our most effective units out there. Thats leaving huge gaps in coverage. If you cant work ten hours and you dont have the overlap of shifts, this isnt like a Police Precinct where in a couple of minutes you can be at your post. Some of our agents are going out two hours to patrol the area in their assigned area. So we think full Border Patrol staffing is the first step any plan should have entailed. Brown all of this, of course, much caught up in politics. It is. The Border Patrol agents, we often feel like political footballs. Everybody claims to want to secure the border but nobody seems to want to really do anything about it. So it can be very demoralizing for a Border Patrol agent, but, luckily, we have very motivated people. They go out there and they continue to do the job under very difficult circumstances. Brown mr. Moran, finally, i would be remiss in not asking about some reports that have been in the media especially from our colleagues at n. P. R. About Excessive Force used by Border Patrol agents, specifically about abuses of children, holding them in freezing rooms, verbal and psychological abuse. Are those things happening . Are you looking into those things . We are, but i in 17 years as a Border Patrol agent, ive never heard ourselves referred to as freezers, so that was new when i spoke to john burnet this weekend about this story. I believe as a Border Patrol agent, when you encounter a child, theres nothing that pulls at your heart strings more. Border patrol agents know better than anyone else how dangerous the border is and to see a child coming across theres special by themselves definitely, as i said, pulls at the heart strings and brings out the compassion. To say Border Patrol agents are going out there and trying to make this situation more difficult for juveniles that are here illegally, i just dont believe it. Brown so you dont believe sleep deprivation or physical or psychological abuse, you just dont think its happening, in spite of these reports . I dont think its purposely happening, but somebody going into a cell, if theyre the oncoming desk officer and theyre in charge of knowing exactly how many people they have in custody, that could easily be misconstrued as sleep deprivation. You have to wake people up, you have to have them lift up the blankets if they have their kids under there so you know exactly how many people you have in custody and that you know the security of everyone in your custody is at 100 and that nobody is being endangered by fellow detainees. Brown are these things being investigated, as far as you know . I am sure that cdp and department of homeland security, if they have complaints, they have wholeheartedly investigate these and most of the time they are found to be meritless and i hope they will investigate if it is true expwroo shawn moran, Border Patrol council, thank you very much. Thank you, sir, for having me. Woodruff every year, thousands of children in this country are expelled from school before they reach kindergarten. In fact, studies show that Pre School Children are expelled at significantly rate of those in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Special correspondent Molly Knight Raskin reports on a program in kansas city, missouri thats trying to stem this trend by looking beyond the classroom to the issues these kids face at home. In many ways, this is a typical 5yearold girl. Shes bright and affectionate. Her favorite color is pink and she enjoys drawing and dancing. Two years ago, when desiree began preschool at a Head Start Program near her home in liberty, missouri, she didnt seem to enjoy much of anything. She was a very angry child. She would tantrum, scream, whine, complain of things bothering her that might not normally bother a child. Renee saw her as a School Therapist who worked individually with desiree. She would not take no for an answer. She would want to do things when she wanted to do them. She did everything she could to try and gain control. Reporter in most classrooms, desirees behavior would be met with harsh discipliner but in this Head Start School teachers dont punish kids for acting out. Thats because all these children including sez ray have experienced at least one traumatic event in their short lifetime. This would be separation from parents, this would be incarcerated parents, Substance Abuse or untreated Mental Illness in the home. What youre seeing, violent interactions, being abused themselves. Reporter janine heran is the c. E. O. Of a vehicleatric Childrens Hospital in kansas city. They developed head start for classrooms. The program was created in response to the pervasiveness of trauma in the kansas city area. 50 have experienced more than three traumatic events. This is not kind of a bad experience. This happens over and over and becomes a lifestyle of trauma. Reporter studies show one in four preschool age children experience a traumatic event by cindekindergarten. So many act out, and they have teachers that discover putting them in time out or disciplining dont work and eventually lead to expulsion. Quhie . The behaviors are so extreme, the adults dont know how to keep everybody safe. Reporter in head start trauma smart safety comes first. Molly has been teaching in the program for five years. The first thing is to make them kneel safe. If they dont kneel safe, they wont learn or improve. Most of what we teach starts with complete socialemotional. I am here, i will keep you safe. Help me keep it that way. This is where i would like you to sit today to make sure your body is safe. In training programs, teachers learn to val dade extreme emotions referred to as safe feelings using calm and quiet voices. They are armed with cognitive tools to help kids soothe themselves. In our room the safe spot is in a way et corner filled with pillows and blankets. We have a calm down box. There are several sensory things they can play with, squishy balls, sunglasses,. Reporter all of the methods are aimed at quieting a tidal wave of emotions that often overwhelms the kids. Scientists have found trauma causes arrests of development in childrens brains, making them vulnerable to triggers adults dont often see. It might be a smell, touch, a sound that that child experienced during that traumatic event that is a reminder for that child of what happened. Reporter this is the case for desiree who suffered traumatic events including the incarceration of her mother and the death of a close family member. Desiree was also the victim of abuse. The incident was so trauma advertising that her father derek saw a total shift in her personality. Before everything, she was a people person. She loved being around people. After the experience happened, she tended to turn off. She didnt really want to be around adults. She didnt want to be around kids. She just wanted to be at home, her safe spot. Reporter derek says it wasnt till she began the Trauma Program that desiree finally felt safe enough to go to school and share her experience with the adults there. One is the therapist who works with kids individually to reennorse the selfregulating techniques of self start trauma start. In one activity, she applies lotion to desirees hands. Your pinky and your ring finger and your little how often do kids get the nurturing where each finger is individualized and pointed out and theyre getting the focused attention where nothing else matters. So it really helps the kids. Its almost like they melt. Reporter its not just teachers and therapists who practice the techniques. Bus drivers, cooks, everyone in the life to have the child. Derek says he often works with desiree at home where they both use calm down stuff like counting and deep breathing. Go ahead. breathing deeply she tends to just walk away and calm herself down. Usually, like, before the program, she would just, you know, have a tantrum. Now shes more in control of her feelings and emotions. As a parent, it makes me completely happy. Reporter head start trauma smart is still in early stages but showing promising results. 100 of the children enrolled have moved on to kindergarten. Its this kind of success it is hoped will bring the program nationwide. If we can pull it off across the country the dividends will be phenomenal. Reporter some results are hard to measure but to those who care for these children, they are impossible to miss. All right ifill now to my interview with the u. S. Ambassador to japan caroline kennedy. While conflicts in the mideast and ukraine have dominated the headlines, japan has been coping with its own. Caroline kennedy was greeted warmly when she arrived in tokyo last year. But the region, overshadowed by conflicts in the rest of the world, is a troubled one. Japan, russia and china continue to feud over who controls islands theyve fought over since world war two. In may, chinese and vietnamese ships collided in the South China Sea after a Chinese Oil Rig began operating in an area claimed by vietnam. It has since moved. Kennedy ruffled diplomatic feathers early on when she suggested that an annual traditional dolphin hunt was inhumane. And japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe came under fire from the u. S. And others for paying tribute at a shrine to japanese war dead that koreans and chinese consider offensive. But as abe pushes for structural and constitutional reforms, the u. S. Is offering its support, especially for a plan to allow japans military to expand its role beyond self defense. translated i have the heavy responsibility as the Prime Minister to protect the livelihoods of our citizens. Taking that into account, this cabinet resolution will help to begin preparations for laying the framework of a new security legislation. Ifill abes plan has not been popular among the japanese, who fear they will be drawn into other nations conflicts. President obama visited japan in april, stressing that he has not abandoned the socalled pivot to asia he promised early in his presidency. Left on the front lines of that pivot is the u. S. Ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy. I spoke with her earlier today at the state department. Welcome ambassador kennedy. Thank you. Ifill when you first arrived in japan, you were greeted by throngs of people cheering you in the streets. Has that died down . Yes, actually, i wasnt expecting it, but i think it was an incredibly moving tribute to the place that america holds in the japanese hearts. Ifill you said at the time that you were arriving in japan at a critical time in history for both countries. What are the Critical Issues that face you right now . Well, i think its really hard to really appreciate fully here at home, when theres so much going on in the rest of the world as well, how important japan is as an ally of the United States. Pretty much everything we do around the world, japan is one of our closest, if not our closest, partner. And that includes our economic relationship, our political and security relationship. Asia represents 40 of the worlds g. D. P. , so this is a region that is critical to americas future, and we need allies and partners, and japan is really our number one. Theyre a democracy, theyre the worlds number three economy, they are absolutely committed to the u. S. japan alliance. And we do all kinds of other things, like monitor Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases with them, scientific exploration, and student exchange. So its really across the board. So there are complicated issues right now, but there are also these longstanding kind of relationships that i think are so important for the United States to build on. Ifill i want to get back to those complicated issues right now, but you mention first theres so much else going on. We are preoccupied with whats going on in the middle east, whats happening in ukraine. I can name half a dozen hotspots before i even get to japan. Whatever happened to the big asia pivot, the Transpacific Partnership . The asia pivot, rebalance i think is really how people see it, is absolutely happening, and its having a major impact on the region. The president s visit was so important, and he visited our treaty partners, japan and korea, who are two of our strongest allies in the world, as well as the philippines and malaysia, announced new agreements with the philippines. So i think that the u. S. Presence in asia is one of the reasons why it is so stable and prosperous, and thats been true for the last 50 years and its because people have worked at this. Ifill in japan, if there is any nervousness in the region, its about china and it is about north korea. Lets talk about china first, the territorial disputes involved in the islands there. Where does that stand today . Well, i think as you point out, its increasingly tense, and i think that theres an effort being made, especially by japan, to really open channels of communication, to set sort of safe Maritime Security practices, to resist destabilizing attempts to change the status quo. So i think that japan would like to have a hotline with china. They are really taking this very seriously, they train, they approached this very responsibly. They debate this, theyre very transparent with other countries in the region, so i think that everybody is really looking to japan to be a helpful, solid leader on these issues. Ifill but still a fair amount of tension with the idea that china is on the rise. Well, china is certainly on the rise, but i think that china benefits a great deal from the u. S. japan alliance. Its one of the things thats kept the region peaceful and prosperous and allowed their economy to grow. Ifill japan agreed to turn over its weaponsgrade plutonium, something the u. S. Really wanted them to do, yet nucleararmed north korea still looms. How do you justify their cooperation when they have such an existential threat so close to them . Well, i think japan is as committed as we are to denuclearizing north korea. This is a threat to all countries, and i think that we all work very closely to eliminate the north Korea Nuclear threat. Ifill are their conversations underway with south korea, with other nations in the region, about how to do that . Oh, constantly. Its something that our government takes incredibly seriously, the japanese government takes it equally seriously, as do the south koreans. This is something that is really front and center in the region, is the provocative and dangerous behavior of the north koreans. Ifill how are the concerns about whats happening in the middle east, especially, and in ukraine and in afghanistan, and in iraq, and in iran, how does that play out in japan . Is that something people are watching with a wary eye or is it something that just seems incredibly far away . This is something that the japanese are watching very, very carefully and obviously they have stuck they are with us on sanctions, they are with us, they are part of the g7. This is something they take are taking very seriously. And they are partners with us in a much broader way. They are partners with us in development, in humanitarian assistance in the middle east, in syria, in the ukraine they have just contributed, they are the number one donor to afghanistan after us. Ifill one of the things that Prime Minister abe has been trying to do to change the constitution to allow japan to take better part or play a greater role in these Multi National efforts in these regions were talking about. Right now, the constitution allows only for selfdefense. Japanese people have not reacted very well to that even though the u. S. Has encouraged it. I think its going to allow them to participate in Peace Keeping and to help the United States and to protect the United States when were doing joint operations. And so i think its something thats a big change, the rhetoric, its a very complicated and confusing issue. Its going to be legislation and its going to be fully debated. The initial debate happened in the spring, but there are going to be much more extensive debates and i think thats one of the things that we should all look to, is this is a Democratic Society thats going to debate this fully. Ifill are you necessarily on the sidelines in that kind of debate . Well, this is a japanese issue for the japanese people. Ifill as a woman ambassador, one of your goals in arriving in japan was to raise the status or address the status of women as professionals and equal parts of the economy in japan. Have you been able to do that . Well, i think the Prime Minister has really put this front and center, and theres a National Debate going on in japan right now about this, and i think the business community, as well as japanese public, sees this as an economic issue for their future, and empowering women is absolutely critical for the japanese future. And so i think its a really exciting time to be the first woman american ambassador, because theres so much debate, theres so many proposals, theres so much going on, and there are so many talented women there, so its going to be great. Ifill has your celebrity and all that comes with that, has it been a help or a hindrance, as ambassador . Well, i think people have been incredibly welcoming, and i think its also been very moving for me to see how much they admire america but also president kennedy and the ideals of Public Service and patriotism that he stood for. Ifill ambassador caroline kennedy, thank you so much. Thank you. Woodruff finally tonight, understanding the connections between human genetics and schizophrenia. Its part of our series on the science of the brain. Tonight, we look at a study published this week, the largest ever of schizophrenia patients. There are more than three million of them in the u. S. The study found that perhaps more than 100 genes were associated with the condition. Genetics has long been assumed to play a role. But for the first time researchers found genes in the immune system are among those involved. Patients have long awaited better treatments. Dr. Steven hyman is the director of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute of m. I. T. And harvard. His center was involved in this study. I spoke with him yesterday. Dr. Steven hyman, welcome to the newshour. First of all, tell us what it is like to have schizophrenia. We know that Something Like 3 million americans suffer from this. Thats right, it affects about 1 of people worldwide, including the United States, and what Patients Experience is extremely distressing and also disabling. There are three kinds of symptoms, most famously people have what are called psychotic symptoms hallucinations, most often hearing voices that arent there, dilutions which are fixed, nails beliefs that are not culturally appropriate, but also less well recognized are two other symptoms which contribute to disability. People have declines in their cognitive functions things like memory, about the pay attention, and ability to use their thoughts to control their emotions and behavior. Then theres another symptoms called deficit symptoms where people have blunted affect, even something very sad or happy might not elicit a response, they lose motivation. The drugs we have today only treat the psychotic symptoms and do that incompletely and really dont touch the other two sets of symptoms, leaving patients very disabled greater costs and challenges to families and society. Woodruff we know this was a large study as they go. What are the Main Findings here . So the most important finding is that this is the beginning of identifying specific variations in genes that contribute to the causes of schizophrenia. And i think its really important just to put in context that not have many years ago schizophrenia was considered an absolutely mister embrace disease mysterious disease. When i began my psych imrarkt training, people thought the way parents, especially mothers, behaved toward children psychologically was the cause of this illness. We know this is largely caused by genes, genes are not fate for any of these diseases but genes are influential. But theres a big step between knowing the genes are important and actually finding the genes involved. This study, a Large International study, 108 separate locations in the genome were with certainty associated with the causes of schizophrenia. Woodruff youre saying a connection but not in every case. For example, youre saying the genes i know the studies show genes that affect the immune system also show up in individuals with schizophrenia. So that means these genetic markings dont in every case indicate causation. Thats exactly right. Like most chronic, common human illnesses where genes are highly influential, and theyre influential in everybody, its just as you suggest, different combinations of genes matter in different individuals, and were not yet in a state to say, you know, these 20 or 30 genes matter to this person, but what we can do is begin to say, you know, in the population there are now 108 known places in the genome which point us towards genes that are involved in causation and, as you suggest, while most are in the nervous system, some very intriguingly point to the immune system as being involved. Woodruff you were saying earlier that its been difficult to find medications to successfully treat schizophrenia, so why then are these kindings so important . These findings so whether or not . Thats the reason to do the studies is ultimately to improve diagnosis and develop treatment. The first drugs to treat schizophrenia and, in fact, to treat you know, were all impatient, but no one is more impatient than those affected by these terrible illnesses and their families, but the reality is these are very early clues, they are real clues, they are not going to go away, they are going to lead us to an important direction, but it will take many, many years to turn these into more useful treatments. Woodruff dr. Steven hyman, we thank you very much for talking with us. My pleasure. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. Violence broke out in the west bank this evening, as thousands of Palestinian Protesters battled israeli troops and police. Palestinian accounts said two protesters were killed. The fighting in gaza raged on, with the Palestinian Death toll reaching 788. 34 israelis, plus one Foreign Worker have died. And an algerian airliner with 116 people on board disappeared over north africa. State tv in mali announced late in the day that the wreckage has been found in northern mali. Woodruff on the newshour online right now, how concerned should we be about a mosquito borne virus thats just now been transmitted within the u. S. For the first time . Federal Officials Say two florida residents have been infected with the chikungunya virus, which causes fever, severe joint pain and other symptoms. Learn more about how to prevent infection on our science page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Ifill and thats the newshour for tonight, on friday, well look at the link between Creative Genius and Mental Illness from hemingway to tesla. 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 moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. 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. 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. Youre just gaming the system. Youre an american company. Fighting words, the president tells Steve Liesman companies shouldnt game the tax code by moving headquarters overseas. What he plans to do about it. Big loss, amazon surprises wall street with a Second Quarter loss of 126 million. The stock sinks after hours. Is the strategy working or not . Sales slump, americans bought fewer new houses in the first half of the year than they did in 2013 and june sales dropped 8 from may. What the design signals for jobs and the economy. That and for for night by business