Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140828

The new traditional classroom . It doesnt replace the campus. We really believe that ultimately the right model for learning is a blended model. Where you blend the best of online and the best of in person. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by 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 prorussian rebel forces opened a new front in ukraine today, fighting their way into a key southeastern town. Novoazovsk lies in a strategic location astride the road that links russia to crimea. Up to now, fighting had not reached that far south. Ukraine also reported more russian soldiers and Armored Vehicles have crossed the border. The state Department Said it appears a russiandirected counteroffensive is underway, in support of ukrainian rebels. United nations investigators are once again accusing the Syrian Government of poison gas attacks against its own people. An independent Commission Said today theres evidence the Syrian Military used chlorine gas at least eight times in april. The targets were villages in the north, where Islamic State fighters now have control. Israels Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared victory today in the latest war in gaza. More than 2,100 palestinians and 70 israelis died before a cease fire took effect last night. Netanyahu spoke today at a News Conference in jerusalem. translated with the establishment of the cease fire, i can say that there has been a huge military achievement here, and also a political achievement. Hamas was hit hard and did not get any of the demands they made as a condition for the cease fire, not even one. Ifill meanwhile, gazans streamed back to communities reduced to rubble by seven weeks of fighting. Thousands of homes were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving many people weary after the third round of fighting since 2007. The centers for Disease Control and prevention warned today the Ebola Outbreak in west africa will get worse. Dr. Tom frieden spoke during a visit to liberia. Meanwhile, Security Forces there fired live rounds at a crowd trying to break a quarantine on their neighborhood. At least four people were hurt. The Ebola Outbreak has killed more than 1,400 people so far. President obama will push for an International Climate accord that doesnt require senate approval. A white house spokesman confirmed the new strategy today. He said the accord would name and shame countries that fail to reduce fossil fuel emissions, but it would not be legally binding. Republicans and democrats have said theres no way a formal treaty will get through the senate. The head of the International Monetary fund, christine lagarde, faces preliminary charges of negligence in a french corruption scandal. The announcement involves her former role as frances finance minister in awarding 500 million to a businessman who sued a stateowned bank. Lagarde says the accusations are without basis. In economic news, the Congressional Budget Office projected Economic Growth at just 1. 5 this year. And wall street had a lackluster day. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 15 points to close at 17,122. The nasdaq slipped a point to close at 4,569 and the s p 500 added a fraction, to stay above 2,000. Still to come on the newshour, the rise of american jihadists fighting for terror groups abroad, after u. S. Journalist Peter Theo Curtis is released. What it takes to free captured americans Margaret Warner reports on the humanitarian crisis in iraq. In florida, the former governor who switched parties to get his job back. Do Free Online College Courses give students a lower quality education . And, a profile of African American dancer Misty Copeland and her improbable rise in the world of ballet. Ifill there was continued shock today over the discovery that a 33yearold american man was killed fighting for sunni militants in syria. The californian is not the First American who has given his life for jihad causes in the wartorn country, and the f. B. I warns that there are dozens more like him out there. We of course use every tool we have to disrupt and dissuade individuals from traveling abroad for violent jihad and to track and engage those who return. Ifill the death of Douglas Mcauthur mccain has once again highlighted the issue of americans joining jihadist groups. He reportedly died in aleppo, fighting with Islamic State forces against the western backed free syrian army. State Department Spokeswoman jen psaki. We previously were aware of his presence in syria and his affiliation with isil. Ifill the 33yearold mccain grew up in minnesota, and later lived in Southern California attending san diego city college. Its unclear exactly when he traveled to syria, but online postings show hed been drawn to the militants also known as isil or isis. On twitter, mccain went by the name duale khalid. In late june, he retweeted a post that read it takes a warrior to understand a warrior. Pray for isis. Mccain was not the only radicalized american to travel to the battlefront. Floridaborn Moner Mohammad abu salha, was killed in a suicide bomb attack in syria, last may. Hed joined the alnusra front, a branch of al qaeda. And last year, a michigan woman was killed by progovernment forces in syria. F. B. I director james comey says about 100 americans have joined the fight in syria. They follow the likes of american john walker lindh, captured in afghanistan, while fighting for the taliban in 2001. Hes now serving 20 years in a federal prison. The state Department Said today it is looking into reports that a second american died in the same syrian battle that took mccains life last weekend. For more on why americans and other westerners join islamic extremist groups, we turn to Jessica Stern, a lecturer on terrorism at Harvard University, and the author of terror in the name of god. She served on the National Security Council Staff in the clinton administration. And, humera khan, the executive director of muflehun a think tank that focuses on countering violent extremism. So how typical hummera khan is this . In terms of going off and trying to fight, join isis, trying to fight in syria and iraq there is no nationality, which is exempt. We have seen people from many, many countries going. And so being american does not mean there is any less likelihood. We see a lot of muslim from europe. The last numbers have just come out from the government, either there has been about 140 known americans who have actually gone to syria to fight. Ifill Jessica Stern, how does that compare to werners coming from other countries . We saw in the execution video of james foley, at least we heard that his executionary appeared to have a british accent. Yes. There are about 50 countries from which jihadies have volunteered to go and fight in syria. And what studies show is that theyre not necessarily religious zealots. Indeed they may be rather ignorant about islam. Quite a few of them actually are converts, they are often quite marginalized. They often have bad encounters, or unhappy encounters with the police. They may have had an identity crisis they feet more connected with a group abroad than with nair neighbors. Ifill what does it mean humera khan as Jessica Stern says they are converts, they are almost like people who quit cigarettes and that they are more passionate about it than people who are born to it or people who never who never stopped. Who is it about the conversion which might make some of these people more radical . I think its conversion but its not just conversion am because we also see people who are culturally and they actually havent had much exposure exposure to the traditional or classical teachings, so this is a group, they have limited information about classical teaching of religion itself. They might have been committed criminal acts or been involved in all sorts of other problems in the past. So for them its a matter of proving that oh, we can actually become good. Theyre trying to make amends in a particular way. And theyre trying to find a sort of like shortcut to heaven. Now most people when they do something bad in the past, right, a regular believer will say, okay, i need to repent, i need to do good deed, i need to go to haj and pray. Those are the regular things to do. But they have such a superficial understanding of religion that they actually go down the path of well, maybe if i do this, this will be my shortcut and it will save me. Ifill Jessica Stern, shortcut to heaven. If this is what is drawing some people to these casss, does isis, isil, does that provide an easier path . Well, i think we also need to remember that these are people who actually want to kill. A lot of people want to right injustices around the world and they become physicians and heal people, for example, of ebola or they work for humanrights groups. These are people who think that by killing civilians they have a quicker pathway to heaven and it is really sad as humera says that it is people without really dont know too much about traditional teachings of ice lamb. Ifill but what about isiss role, weve been dealing with it on nousra front, with al qaeda. Over the years we have seen this happen, even in afghanistan with John Walker Lynn all those years ago. Is there something about isis that micks it more accessible to these people . Theres two parts to it, right, one is that isis is a lot more open or encouraging or welcoming to foreign fighters. And so they are they are one of few groups that is open openly calling out to them much more so than other groups. I was actually i my organization looked at people or try to keep people from joining terrorist groupsing step away from violent terrorism so we ask why isis, why specifically did you want to join isis than anyone else. And the response was because of its international flavor. And because they have this this they have now got a reputation of having an international flavor, so you find a lot of other nationalities, its actually more attractive to people going from the west because in some of the other groups fighting on the ground right now, theyre not looking for foreign fighters, as you talk to some of the people from sfa, they expect the students to step up. Nousra has fewer foreign firlts and a lot more veting that goes on because they are part of al qaeda an al qaeda has its own, they are about who they let in. Ifill Jessica Stern, and syria has become ground zero for this, is it because of antiwestern activity, antiassad activity, what is it about syria that is so attractive . Well, i think that part of the answer has to be the sophisticated recruiting Online Presence its really quite extraordinary, the care with which these recruitment videos are made. If you compare what those recruitment videos look like with the state departments response online, you can see how much more sophisticated we really need to get to be in order to counter this really a kind of fad, a horrible fad so this is not just people searching out and finding a group like isis, isis and groups like it are actively reaching out. Yes, because when people show that there is a willness, that they have sympathies towards the cause, are sympathetic towards what is happening on the ground, then it is actually much easier for recruiters to fine them and then they groom them. So this is not an overnight process. They actually groom them, try to get them to trust in the relationships and the then they start doing emails, they skype, the personal relationship is built and also thats how they are helping them or teaching them what they should do next. They indoctrine ating them in their ideology by completely changing teaching them things, they cant distinguish from right from wrong and they are trying to help them get into on the ground fighting. And Jessica Stern, just logistically and physically, turkey is the way in, that border for people to get where they want to be. Why is that, how is that . Because the border apparently is quite open, its very hard to police that border and isis is quite active in that area so yes, that is one of the problems. Its unusually easy to get there for europeans. Ifill and Jessica Stern s the u. S. Government on top of this, is there any way knowing whether were watching this carefully enough . I am concerned that the u. S. Government may be wasnt really paying all that much attention until fairly recently. This has been going on since 2003. And i think we left iraq quite precipitously, we werent paying attention to what was going on. And of course isis the Islamic State comes directly out of a group, al qaeda and iraq that was formed as a result of our invasion. Its not new. Its just a new name. This is what happens with al qaedarelated groups. Theyre constantly changing their names. Merging, splitting and so on about this is not a new phenomenon it didnt start when an american was beheaded. Ifill Jessica Stern, Harvard University and humera khan, thank you both very much. Ifill now, we take a closer look at some of the victims of muslim extremists americans who have been taken hostage. Jeffrey brown take a look tonight at the long, complicated and often unsuccessful process of bringing them home. Brown american journalist Peter Theo Curtis spoke publicly for the First Time Since he was released in syria on sunday. I have learned bit by bit that there have been literally hundreds of people, brave, determined and bighearted people all over the world working for my release. Theyve been working for two years on this. I had no idea when i was in prison. I had no idea that so much effort was being expended on my behalf. Now, having found out, i am overwhelmed with emotion. Brown the 45year old curtis spent 22 months in captivity, held by the alnusra front, an al qaeda affiliate. His freedom came days after a video was released showing james foley, another american beheaded by Islamic State militants. They also threatened to kill 31 yearold journalist steven sotloff, unless the u. S. Halted air strikes against their forces in iraq. Today, in her own video, sotloffs mother appealed directly to the Islamic States leader. As a mother, i ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet mohammad, who protected people of the book. I want what every mother wants to live to see her childrens children. I plead with you to grant me this. Brown all this has renewed focus on the u. S. Refusal to pay ransoms for the return of hostages, a policy that differs from many European Countries. Its also been reported the Islamic State is holding yet another american a 26yearold female aid worker. Joining me now is david rohde, an Investigative Reporter for reuters. Hes a twotime Pulitzer Prize winner and former reporter for the New York Times where he was working when he was kidnapped by the taliban in 2008. He escaped after seven months in captivity. And brian jenkins, a terrorism and security expert who has advised in hostage negotiations. Hes Senior Advisor at the rand corporation. Brian let me start with you. Explain first for us the thinking behind the u. S. Policy to not pay ransoms and to what degree does that govern third parties from stepping in and negotiating . Well, the u. S. Policy is that the u. S. Government itself will not pay ransom, will not release prisoner, will not make other concessions to Terrorists Holding hostages. It does so in part on the belief that by holding to a noconcessions position, it will deter future kidnappings of americans or at the very least, were it to abandon that position, that is to express a willingness to negotiate in these cases, that that would only really paint a target on the back of american citizens abroad. U. S. Policy does not prohibit negotiate by others from attempting to ransom people. Nor does it preclude creative diplomacy as we may have seen a demonstration of in the in the kurdish case. The other part of not paying ransom though is also based on the fact that the ransoms are used to finance further terrorist operations. The report is that isis demanded 130 million for the return of james foley. Now thats the equivalent of several hundred thousand ak47s on the black market or the equivalent of more than 200 9 11 operations financed by al qaeda. Let me ask david rohde, because as we said in the case of david theo curtis, there was speculation that might have been intervention and help from combat ar in this case. Does that sound possible help from qatar, does that sound possible in the way things work, what do you think about the policy. I think in the case its absolutely fantastic that hes home. But qatar was he was held captive for two years, theres been rumors for a long time that qatar was actually backing its al nousra front, this al qaeda allied group that was holding theo curtis for these two years. And now theyre saying they just managed to get him released from this al qaeda aligned group. I know from my own experience in captivity, holding a captive is very labor intensive, theres many guards for the group. They spend a lot of money on food to keep the captive alive. So whoever gave theo curtis up had to get either something in return, you know, potentially a ransom from the qatari government or this shows how close, you know, qatars relationship is to this al qaedarelated group. And theres a broader problem with governments, the. Is did this in the past with the soviets in afghanistan, we used gentlemen hadies as proxies to fight the soviets. But today it looks like qatar and definitely pakistan, they work with these jihadist groups and its very dangerous. These groups cant be controlled. Theyre frankensteins and its a real mistake to have that policy. Brown david rohde, i did want to ask you that because as we said many European Countries do negotiate and give ransoms. They deny it but it is apparently widely known that they do it. So there is a divergence, right, between the u. S. And other countries. And youve argued that this has been a serious problem. It is first kidnapping is a growing problem. A colleague of mine at reuters just wrote a story about a japanese man who traveled to syria. He was sort of unstable mentally. He was homeless for a period in japan. Hes now been taken captive. And i just dont feel that the u. S. And british approach of no ransoms and the europe approach of paying, its not working. Im sure in the region that the perception is that there was a ransom paid for theo curtis. Whether or not there was a ransom paid, when i was in captivity, this was now five years ago, captain phillips who was famously rescued off the coast of somalia by navy sales, my taliban kidnapper heard news about that on the local language bbc radio broadcast and he said no, no, there was no navy raid. That is a lie. The. Is secretly paid 15 million. So you know, kidnapping is work. Theyre getting huge amounts 6 money. And there needs to be a more coordinated approach. Brown brian generalkins, is it possible to have a more jenkins is it possible to have a more coordinated approach or are they so politically sensitive that every country will make its own decision in each case . I think its unlikely that we will see a coordinated International Policy in dealing with these episodes. First of all, as already pointed out, the governments have different positions on this. A kidnapping of a hostage of any nationality creates a crisis for that particular government. As weve seen in our own experience, hostage events can turn into political crises. For the Carter Administration during the abduction of the americans at the u. S. Embassy in tehran, for the Reagan Administration when it was revealed that contrary to u. S. Policy the u. S. Had secretly sold arms in an effort to spring the hostages being held in lebanon. The european governments are pragmatic about this. They say rather pay a ransom than create a cries thas can bring down the government. I dont see i dont think were going to see a unified International Position on this. Brown what about, david, rohde, we also saw today the moth ef mother of Stephen Sotloff speaking out in that video. How unusual or unusual is usual is that, what wrol do families play, and what is their position with the government in case like this . It shows the desperation these American Families face. And the problem with the current approach is that these european ransoms are growing. The record that i have heard of was a stateowned French Company paid 40 million for the release of four prisoners last year in niger, that is 10 million a hostage. In a sense these growing european ransoms skew the market. So the Curtis Family and the foleys, you mentioned 130, it was mentioned the 130 Million Dollar demand there is nothing they can do to possibly come up with that amount of money. The government, the American Government will advice them, help them with how to handle phone calls, and these kind of things. But the government will not the American Government will not pay. Theyll turn a blind eye if a family or an organization can raise a ransom. But again, this is a growing problem. The ransoms are rising. And its impossible for americans. I just felt terrible for these families. Its this sort of hidden world that they are trapped in. And they really dont know what to do. I applaud, i think was a very positive thing to make that announcement today by mrs. Sotloff. Maybe it might just save her son we will leave it there, thank you both very much. Thank you ifill plans for a possible expansion of u. S. Air strikes on Islamic State forces appeared to be firming up on two fronts today. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner reports from iraq. Warner u. S. War warplanes have conducted more than 100 air strikes in Northern Iraq in the last three weeks, and now officials are talking openly of expanding the mission against the Islamic State forces into syria. On monday, the pentagon said it began surveillance flights above syria a necessary precursor to air strikes. And today, the New York Times reported the Obama Administration is building a coalition of nations to support just that step. President ial press secretary josh earnest addressed the question at todays white house briefing. I know there are some headlines in the paper today that would lead some to believe that the u. S. Has begun a new diplomatic effort in pursuit of this one goal. The fact is, this element of our strategy is something that we have communicated on multiple occasions and will continue to be a critical part of whatever success we have. Warner there was also talk of launching a new humanitarian mission in Northern Iraq. It was widely reported the focus of possible us action has shifted to the town of amirli, where thousands of shiite turkmen are under siege by Islamic State militants. The Iraqi Military evacuated a group of terrified women and children from the area on monday. And, the United Nations Assistance Mission in iraq is calling for urgent action. Again, white house spokesman josh earnest. This is the kind of situation that president has ordered military action in support of in the past. And this particularly situation is one that the president and his National Security Team Continues to watch very closely. Warner there are fears the turkmen could fall victim to the same atrocities visited on others considered infidels by Islamic State fighters. The u. N. Today accused the group of widespread war crimes in iraq and syria including amputations and public executions. At the same time, u. N. Investigators voiced concern that boys forced into Islamic State Training Camps in syria could be hit by any u. S. Air strikes. Ifill Hari Sreenivasan spoke with margaret earlier today. Srennivasan margaret, lets start with the situation in the town where the president has considered air strikes or possibly humanitarian intervention. Warner well, hari, i have tried to get people inside amerly, have not been able to but talked to senior officialsing people involved with them in baghdad, they stay it is desperate there are 15,000 civilians trapped there. They have been under siege for 76 days. They are without adequate food, water or medicine. Harrowing stories to tell of people dying for lack of medical care. Now the Iraqi Air Force has been air dropping in supplies of food and medicine, alternated with supplies of weapons. But for example, yesterday they only got an air drop of weapons, not a food and medicine so it is a very, very dire situation. Or as the head of the u. N. Mission in iraq warned, theres a real danger of a massacre should the is forces actually make their way into this town of shiite turkmen. Srennivasan so how are they defending themselves with these air drops of weapons and medicine, is it adequate. Warner that was interesting. You would think how does a found of 15,000 people defend themselves against the is forces. Well it turns out that first of all, theyre turkmen, theyre tough. And secondly many are veterans of the iraqi army. So though they are now farmers or merchants or they know how to use weapons. They are very old weapons. The air drops have helped give them weapons but they are surrounded. So they have to defend from every direction. Theyve divided the town into areas. And they defend all around. The air strikes, i mean the strikes by isis or the advances apparently take place between midnight and the morning so theyre kind of prepared mostly pore that but they say they cant sold they can hold out for a wile but it is very, very tough vaz. Srennivasan what are its racki turkmen asking for in terms of help . Warner number one, hari, they are saying they think their fighters can hold out for a while on that front if the humanitarian problem is volume of the. So they want one of two things. First of all they want better air drops of food, medicine and water. The Iraqi Military, im told, has only maybe two dozen helicopters. Theyve got a lot of missions all over iraq against the is forces so they only get there two times a week some they really want the americans to do what the americans did on sinjar mountain which is massive air drops of supplies. Secondly, and heres where it gets problematic, they would like an evackiation card north toward a town that we actually went through and had to skirt because that is where isis control begins. And there they said well, yes, it has to go through three arab villages. A senior Kurdish Military official told me today that he thinks it will be problematic for the americans because theyve made clear in these joint Operation Centers they do not want to bomb areas where there are civilians am there are three arab village as long that route. The turkmen say oh, well, theyre all sympathizers and partners of isis, as they call it but its Kurdish Peshmergas are not so sure that the americans will be willing to do that. Srennivasan so if the u. S. Does get involved, what sorts of forces would be involved in an operation . Warner thats also an interesting question. First of all of course clearly the iraqi forces this town though it is called in Northern Iraq is really eck which distance between irbil where i am now and the kurdish capitol and baghdad. So the iraqi forces are pretty close and their air force has been helping. Its question is with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces who are right down across in it, it is kind of where i was five days ago, are willing to support it thats where ethnic politics comes in or ethnic hostilities comes in in iraq. The turkmen and the kurds have never been pals. They are in contention for control of territory in kirkuk and elsewhere in this general area so this Kurdish Military official said to me im not sure that the shiite turkmen want us there. The turkmen said to me look, they shouldnt be on the front lines but they should help with artillery. Srennivasan all right, Margaret Warner, thanks so much. Warner thank you, hari. Ifill now, some domestic politics. One of the most closely watched gubernatorial contests this fall will be in florida where current republican governor rick scott and republicanturneddemocrat Charlie Crist both scored big primary wins tuesday night. With his resounding primary victory and a critical party switch, Charlie Crist moved a step closer to winning back his old job. In 70 days, we want to make florida scottfree ifill that was a shot at current republican governor rick scott, who scored his own big primary win tuesday. I cleaned up Charlie Crists mess. He left me with a 3. 6 billion budget deficit. Ifill for crist, the democratic primary win highlights one of the political worlds more remarkable transformations. In 2008, crist then the states republican governor campaigned for g. O. P president ial nominee john mccain, even making it onto the shortlist of Vice President ial prospects. But his ties to the grand old Party Started to fray in 2009, after he welcomed president obama to the state a little too warmly. By 2010, hed dropped the republican label, running for the senate as an independent. He ultimately lost to Republican Marco Rubio in the general election. And by 2012, the former republican had become a featured speaker at the Democratic National convention that renominated president obama. He officially became a democrat later that year. I didnt leave the republican party; it left me. Ifill then, last year, crist announced he would run for his old job as a member of his new party. With early polls showing a tight race, the matchup in the Sunshine State is expected to be one of the most expensive and negative of the cycle. For more we are joined by adam smith, Political Editor for the tampa bay times. Hi there, adam, so tell us the significance of this big whopping victory last night t wasnt just that he beat the employment aero upon ent, but what it says for what happens next i think a lot of people wondering Charlie Crist, lifelong republican, can democrats really get exsouthed about him, there was some concern from some of his allies that his underdog primary opponent could crack 30, 40 and that would have been a sign of trouble. Ifill but we still dont know for sure whether democrats are excited because we have another test coming up, and turnout has always been a problem. Yeah, absolutely. And in fact democratic turn out in some of the bigging big strongholds in southeast florida, miami dade, Broward County is very weak. Historically in offyear elections republicans turn out five, six, seven percent higher than democrats. Charl yee crist has a lot of work to do to mobilize and energize democrats in the state. Ifill we just gave a thumbnail sketch of the the transformation the governor has made in the past couple of years. Nobody has covered it more than you. How much of a swing, he says the party left him, how much of a swing from the right to the left has have we seen happen with Charlie Crist. It really is an only in florida story. As governor he was a moderate republican, part of the reason he got into so much trouble as the tea party rose was because he was reaching out pretty a grelsively to democrats. He was courting the teachers yooun. He was courting trial lawyers. He was doing things on civil rights, so you know there are reasons that the democrats can get behind him but there is a guy through most of the career called himself a prolife, pro gun, ronald reagan. Ifill so lets talk about the other candidate who is prolife, pro gun reason ald regular can republican rick scott, who is very wealthy and demonstrated he doesnt mind spending money. Yeah, he spent almost 80 million of his own money to get collected last time and the poll numbers consistently show him as one of the very least popular governors in the country so he should be very vulnerable but this going to be i a mindbogglingly expensive race. If the polls show that he is not that popular we still have what looks like a neck and neck race, what accounts for that . It is going to always be tight in these races and weve already seen Charlie Crist was up double digits about a year ago over rick scott. Rick scott spent almost 30 million already on a lot of negative ads trashing Charlie Crist. Now it looks like a dead heat race. And i think youre going to see an extremely negative campaign for the next 70 days. Can Charlie Crist match rick scotts fundraising can ability maybe from in strait or out of state . No, you will see are you already seeing a fair amount of out of state money there say billionaire in california, environmentalist tom stire that is spending millions of dollars to help Charlie Crist. Democrats can never match republicans in the state of florida or a guy who at any day could write a 20, 30, 40 Million Dollar check. Ifill you mentioned in your coverage of last nights election that it was significant that Charlie Crist spent his Election Night in fort lauderdale, not in st. Petersburg, his hometown. Explain to the rest of the country why that makes a big difference . You for example its interesting. The rule of thumb has usually been where i am, the i4 corridor is your Central Florida swing vote area and that is where elections traditionally are won or lost. And it seems the countriesth campaign really has more of a lets jack up the base. Lets really target those infrequent voters, that maybe dont turn out routinely in offyear elections. So theyre looking heavily at miami dade and south florida for those democratic voters that dont usually turn out in nonpresident ial years it sounds like what we saw happen in mississippi with going up after nontraditional voters. But there is another person involved in this race. And thats the president of the united states. Theyre both in their way running with or against him. Yeah, last time rick scott really ran the nominee was alex sync, chief Financial Officer and rick scott ran more against obama and obamacare than de against alex singh this year charlie countrieses unlike alex sing has not distanced himself at all. I think he is an obama person, he campaigned hard for obama. He spoke at the convention and i think his calculation is obama Approval Ratings may be in the low 40s but among those voters that he needs to get excited and he needs to turn out, the president is still very popular. Ifill well all be watching, adam smith, Political Editor for the tampa bay times, thanks. Thank you. Ifill next tonight, another in our series on rethinking college. Are the ivory towers of Higher Education delivering their product the much soughtafter sheepskin in an oldfashioned and inefficient way . We look at online technologies that could change colleges and universities. Hari sreenivasan is back with that. Theyre handwriting on a tablet. A write. Srennivasan when a professor of Computer Science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of technology decided in 2011 to offer his circuits and Electronics Course online for free, he was amazed by the response. I had over 150,000 students taking it from 162 countries. Srennivasan an while the vast majority of students eventually dropped out, the sheer number of student was passed the course was remarkable. Of 155,000 students took the course, about 5 passed the course. And earned a certificate. So that was about 7,200. That say big number. If i were to teach on campus twice a year, both in the spring and fall semesters i would have to teach for about 40 years before i could teach 7,200 students. Srennivasan now just three years later, his overall online venture reaches 2. 5 Million Students from every country in the world. With help from harvard and m. I. T. , the Computer Science professor founded edex a nonprofit learning destination with a staff of more than 100. Learners from all over the world can come in and take these great courses for free. And the courses from great universities like berkeley from california, or harvard and m i. D. , or from china or i. T. Bombay, the Australian National university. Massive open online courses nick named initially generated huge expectations. Many hoped they would make Higher Education more affordable and accessible to students around the globe. Imagine taking a class with 100,000 or more students. But the format has met with criticism from some professors who say computers can not equal the quality of inperson teaching. An assistant professor at writing at stonibrook university in new york. In our discipline, the objective of Student Learning is not to basically learn the content of the discipline, but instead to use the content as a context to engage in discussion, to develop their positions and to let the positions to debate and argue and develop Critical Thinking skills. And that oftentimes requires the expert ease and guidance and mentoring and close connection oneonone support to the students. One of the concerns that the existing academia has about quality is delivering information equal to educating someone . So educating someone doesnt mean just consume a set of information. Its not about just watching the video and just listening to it. We have interactitivity. We have problem sets and exercises that students engage with. They get feedback. And so they get to try things out and sperm with things. Earlier this summer the campaign for the future of Higher Education, a group funded in part by teachers unions created this this video highly critical of mouks. So far it equals failure. The president of the california faculty association. I think every single faculty member in our system worries all the time that these products come into our system making all kinds of claims theyre going to be cheaper, theyre going to be quicker, theyre going to move people in and out faster but nowhere in the conversation is there a discussion about the quality of the education that they are helping us provide for our students. I really believe that we can transform education both in quality and scale and access. Despite all his online teaching success, he agrees with critics who say online courses are no replacement for classroom instruction. He says edex can be an effective supplement. Does anyone know an example pointing to universities that use the edex platform on campus, an approach called blended learning. It doesnt replace the campus. We really believe thault mately the right model for learning is a blened model where you blend the best of onlynn and the best of in person. Students watch the videos. And do exercises online. And then they work in groups with the professor and the professor answers questions an helps the students and really helps them learn the material. And so this is a form of blending where you are blending the online with the in person to very good results. There are different interpretations. Professor brian white agrees, white who has taught biology at the universities of massachusetts in boston for 15 years decided last fall to replace his lectures with edex instruction. I didnt give a single lecture on any of this material. All these lech tours that were sacred to me that i set up for all thesiers were not necessary. You will be guided through the basics. Instead, white used edexs intro to biology class with lectures by. I. T. Professor eric landers, a world renowned scientist and leader of the humangenome project. White says yen line lectures made it easy for his students to learn the material. They really like the ability to stop and remind and watch at their own pace, to do the equivalent of saying, you can say that again, you can say that again, can you say that again, can you skip over that boring part. That allowed white to focus his time in class getting students to truly understand its lesson. He added his own materials and spliced edex content to best fit his course. I used the lectures to show the students what they needed to do to come to class prepared and then in class rather than just telling them information, what i was able to do is take them the next step. So show them how to use it, fill in any cracks, deal with students individual issues. To the extent that i can be replaced by a videotape, fine replace that part of me with a videotape and leave me to do what i do best, which is to work with students. The focus unlike white many faculty are uncomfortable with the idea of handing over lectures to another professor and see it as a way College Administrator kos cut costs in the future by reducing the number of professors on campus. Budget cuts across the country here in california particularly have really created a crisis in public Higher Education and it has been tempting on the part of our boards of trustees an our administrators to look around for cheap Silver Bullets. And there is the notion that online will provide that cheap Silver Bullet. But there isnt a Silver Bullet for Higher Education and education in general. You have to invest in it. You have to really understand that it is laborintensive. Professors, institutions and yen line course designers all agree that Online Learning is likely to play an Important Role in the future of Higher Education. We will continue rethinking college tomorrow as hari looks at the reinvention of the city colleges of chicago. And online you can read about the department of educations plan rating how effective and affordable the countrys colleges really are. See what that could be for students and Financial Aid ifill finally tonight, classical dancer Misty Copeland is only the second African American woman ever to reach the level of soloist at american ballet theater and the first in 20 years. She recently performed here at the Kennedy Center in washington. While she was here, she sat down with us to share the story of her rise from poverty to the spotlight and her desire to open the world of ballet to all economic backgrounds and races. She began by reading from her new memoir life in motion an unlikely ballerina. In it, she recounts the evening she became the first black woman to dance the title role in stravinskys dance of the firebird. Outside, the largest crowd that i have ever seen waits. Prominent members of the African American community and trailblazers in the world of dance who have seldom received their due are here tonight, but i know i will also dance for those who arent here, who have never seen a ballet. Who pass the metropolitan opera house, but cannot imagine what goes on inside. They may be poor like i have been; insecure like i have been; misunderstood like i have been. I will be dancing for them, too. I run onto the stage and feel myself transform. As i approach center, my flock parts, leaving me to stand alone. Theres a brief second of silence before the audience erupts into applause once more, clapping so loudly i can barely hear the music. And so it begins. Im Misty Copeland and im a soloist with american ballet theater. I didnt come from a background that wouldve introduced me to this world in any way. I didnme from a family with money. I had no knowledge of the ballet world. Id never heard Classical Music before. But i think above all of that, just starting at 13 and only training for four years before i was accepted into american ballet theater, Americas National ballet company, i think is the most unlikely of it all. I took a free ballet class at a boys and girls club surrounded by other kids that had similar backgrounds to me that were all older. And i was selected to come to my Teachers School on a full scholarship. It was the first time in my life that that had been presented to me that i had no limits and that i could dream. That was not something i grew up in my home atmosphere having. I remember the first time i sit on the stage at the metropolitan opera house. I was 19 years old, still struggling to find my place in a. B. Ts corps de ballet. I trace the marley floor with my pointe shoes, and imagine myself on the stage. Not as a member of the corps, but as a principal dancer. It felt right. It felt like a promise. Some day, somehow, it was going to happen for me. The ballet world i dont think is an artform that isnt quick to change or to adjust or evolve. A. B. T and most classical companies are about following this slow and steady process of proving yourself and moving up through the ranks. And because i was so able and capable of mimicking and doing movements that ive never done before, i could just see it and imitate it, choreographers wanted to work with me. You just have to be given the opportunity and give everything to it and just dive into it. And really commit to these roles, which with these opportunities ive been given with firebird and swanhilda, ghamzadi, all of these parts that i really, i took care with all of them because i have so much respect for this art form. The ballet world is so similar to theater and drama and youre becoming a character. I mean its not you on the stage. You know, there is no, no role called misty that i am playing. Were portraying a character and you know, even if you are in the corps de ballet, you know, why cant there be a beige swan, a brown swan, a black swan out there. So i understand the importance of me having a voice and exposing people beyond the typical ballet world to this art form. I think that it saved my life and i want to introduce it to more people. And coming full circle, thats something that im trying to do now is to give back to those communities. To invite people into my world as its happening, i think is really amazing. To have grown men, that have never seen a ballet in their life, look at me and see a woman that they can relate to, someone who looks like their sister, their daughter, their mother, and say, well im going to put my child in that because they can see themselves through you. I think its creating a completely different path for these people that never saw themselves in this world. And to watch me still growing in it and on my path, i think is really powerful. Ifill Misty Copeland will be performing with the american ballet theater next month in australia. Ifill again, the major developments of the day u. S. Officials investigated the death of Douglas Mcauthur mccain, an american killed in syria with Islamic State forces. They also said theyre checking reports that a second american died in the same battle. Prorussian rebel forces opened a new front in ukraine, fighting their way back into a key southeastern town and israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory in the latest war in gaze, a cease fire with hamas took effect last night. On the newshour online right now how to land on a comet while flying 35,000 miles an hour. We look at the rosetta spacecrafts remarkable challenge, on our science page. And you can see how a book cover designer imagines the worlds of franz kafka, james joyce and Stieg Larsson in a Photo Gallery from artist peter mendelsund, whose new book is called cover thats on art beat. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. And thats the newshour for tonight. 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 charles schwab, proud supporter of the pbs newshour. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. Profit triples. Aly baba is showing off his financial strength, grabbing investor attention weeks ahead of the suspected landmark debut. Too late too little . The securities and Exchange Commission tightens rules on sectors. And new record. Apple shares hit a new high ahead of the widely expected release of its iphone 6. But what features do consumers really want in a phone . We have all that and more tonight on nightly Business Report for wednesday, august 27th. Good evening, everyone. Tylers off tonight. Well, heres a Ticker Symbol youll be hearing a lot about pretty soon. Baba. It stands