Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20141021

Moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill the headlines on ebola in the u. S. Were more hopeful today. They included news that the pool of potential ebola cases is shrinking. Its somewhat of a happy press conference for us. Ifill after weeks of uncertainty, a bit of relief. Dallas county judge clay jenkins announced that 43 people no longer need to be monitored. All had initial contact with thomas duncan, the liberian man who died of ebola at a dallas hospital. They included several of duncans relatives and his fiancee, all allowed to leave quarantine today. Theres zero risk that any of those people that have been marked off the list have ebola. They were in contact with a person who had ebola. And the time period for them to get ebola has lapsed. It is over. So they do not have ebola. Ifill five more people will complete their 21day monitoring period in coming days. 120 others are still under watch in texas, including those who cared for thomas duncan. But a dallas hospital worker who handled some of his specimens, and then went on a cruise, also tested negative. The ship returned to texas yesterday. Two infected nurses, nina pham and amber vinson, are still being treated at special facilities, in bethesda, maryland and atlanta. In washington today, dr. Anthony fauci of the National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases, said both had exposed skin even though they followed existing guidelines. So the protocol that was quite successful, it worked very well in ebola in africa, the way that was written, was a risk for the nurses and they went by the protocol. They got infected. Right now, those protocols are being changed. Ifill those new guidelines will be issued by the centers for Disease Control and prevention. Meanwhile, in west africa, ground zero of the epidemic, nigeria was declared ebolafree today by the world health organization. This is a spectacular Success Story that shows to the world that ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when west africa is also declared free of ebola. Ifill nigeria had 20 ebola cases in total and eight deaths. Thereve been more than 9,000 cases and 4,500 deaths in guinea, liberia, and sierra leone. Test on american dk tore who caught ebola in sierra leone and treated in Emory University in atlanta was declared free of the virus today and released. Well turn our focus to the ebola fight in liberia, after the news summary. At least 43 people were killed in iraq today in a new round of suicide and car bombings. The targets were mainly shiite communities in baghdad and karbala. In one of the attacks, the bomber blew himself up as worshippers were leaving a mosque after midday prayers in central baghdad. At least 17 people died there. In all, more than 200 iraqis have been killed in just a weeks time. Islamic state forces have claimed many of the attacks. A libyan militant has pleaded not guilty to u. S. Charges stemming from the 2012 benghazi attacks. Ahmed abu khattala entered the plea today in federal court in washington. He faces an 18count indictment. If convicted, he could get the death penalty. The benghazi attacks killed u. S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other americans. In nigeria, fridays announcement of a ceasefire with boko haram insurgents appeared increasingly shaky. Fighting continued throughout the weekend, and Army Officers reported at least 25 militants were killed overin damboa, in the countrys northeast. Meanwhile, talks are supposed to resume tomorrow on freeing more than 200 school girls kidnapped by boko haram in april. Indonesia sworein a new leader today. Joko widodo completed his rise from the slums of java to become president of the worlds fourth most populous country. The 53yearold was inaugurated at the president ial palace in jakarta. He called for unity to achieve economic growth. translated to the fishermen, the workers, the farmers, the merchants, the meatball soup sellers, the hawkers, the drivers, the academics, the laborers, the soldiers, the police, the entrepreneurs, and the professionals, i say let us all work hard, together, shoulder to shoulder, because this is an historic moment. We need to move together to work, work and work. Ifill about 50,000 people attended a street Party Outside the inauguration, and widodo rode through it, flashing victory signs and shaking hands with wellwishers. Theres word today that dozens of alleged nazi war criminals and s. S. Guards have collected millions of dollars in Social Security benefits since 1979. The Associated Press investigated men who entered the u. S. After world war ii, but fled decades later after being named as nazi suspects. The report said the Justice Department encouraged them to go, with a legal loophole that lets them keep Social Security benefits. The Social Security administration had no immediate comment. It also turns out, thousands of federal employees accused of misconduct are earning millions of dollars in paid leave. The Washington Post reports the Government Accountability office found more than 57,000 workers were kept home for a month or longer and paid 775 Million Dollars over a three year period. The workers also kept accruing Vacation Days and pension earnings. Last weeks turmoil on wall street gave way to relative calm today. Stocks managed small gains after mostly strong corporate earnings overcame disappointing results from i. B. M. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 19 points to close at 16,399; the nasdaq rose 57 points to close at 4,316; and the s p 500 added 17, to finish at 1,904. Still to come on the newshour driving an ambulance in ebola stricken liberia. Bolstering the fight against Islamic State forces. Confusion over voter i. D. Laws, and how it might affect the upcoming Midterm Elections. With Political Polarization on the rise, former republican leader bob dole calls for a return to bipartisanship. Apple pay uts purchasing power at smartphone users fingertips. And, accusations of anti semitism as the death of klinghoffer returns to the opera stage. Ifill now, an intimate look at the frontlines in the fight to contain ebola in hard hit liberia. An estimated 4,200 people have contracted the virus since the outbreak began, and 2,500 people have died. In this report produced by the New York Times video journalist ben solomon spends three weeks with an ambulance nurse overwhelmed by an onslaught of patients needing care. My name is gordon kamara. Im an ambulance driver. That piece was 17 years old, died at home the next day. Ifill the flashpoint in the battle against Islamic State forces the beleaguered syrian kurds battling to defend the town near the border with turkey after shifts by both the u. S. And turkey. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent margaret warner. Warner after weeks fighting off a siege by Islamic State militants, the syrian kurds defending the town of kobani are being reinforced. Overnight, the u. S. Airdropped pallets of weapons, ammunition and supplies furnished by kurdish authorities and their Peshmerga Forces in iraq. Then this morning turkey, bordering iraq and syria, said it would help Iraqi Kurdish fighters travel through turkey to kobani to join the fight. The Turkish Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke in ankara. translated we are fully cooperating with the coalition with respect to kobani. We are facilitating the passage of peshmerga fighters to kobani. Warner but turkey continued to say more aid should go to rebel factions trying to oust syrias president bashar al assad. translated we should not forget that the only element fighting both against assad and isis the Free Syrian Army. In framing a border strategy, the Free Syrian Army is the group to be supported. Warner previously, ankara insisted it would not allow men or materiel cross its border to aid kurds in kobani. Thats mainly because the Syrian Kurdish Fighter Group in kobani called the p. Y. D. Is allied with a Kurdish Group in turkey, the p. K. K. , that waged a bloody 30 year insurgency. Just yesterday, after president obama notified him of the coming u. S. Airdrops by phone, turkish president Reccep Tayyip erdogan made his displeasure clear. The p. Y. D. Is for us, equal translated the p. Y. D. Is for us, equal to the p. K. K. It is also a terror organisation. It would be wrong for the United States, with whom we are friends and allies in nato to talk openly and to expect us to say yes to supplying arms to a terror organization. We can not say yes to it. Warner the u. S. Airdrops also represent a steppedup american effort to save kobani beyond its Ongoing Campaign of air strikes against Islamic State positions. Secretary of state kerry, in indonesia today, said it was too important an opportunity to pass up. While they are a Offshoot Group of the folks that the. Our friends, the turks, oppose, they are valiantly fighting isil. And we cannot take our eye off the prize here. It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a Community Fighting isil, as hard as it is, at this particular moment. He didnt say if there would be further air drops, nor when iraqi peshmerga fighters might arrive. Ifill and margaret joins me now. Margaret, the u. S. Said it wasnt going to participate in these air drops. Something changed, what was it . Warner absolutely this is a big turnaround. First of all this is the first time the u. S. Has directly supplied lethal aid, as they call it, to any syrian rebel fighters. But secondly, as you may recall at the beginning of this operation, the department of defence thought this battle over kobane was a diversion. They didnt even like having to do air strikes. Its not really essential to the fight against Islamic State. But the more the Islamic State poured resources, men, material, heavy weapons in there, the more one they presented target, and the more they presented it as an important strategic victory as far as they were concerned. And the u. S. Suddenly recognized that they could not afford to let cobaby kobane fall, even though they are warning kobane could fall, because it would add to this sense 6 power on isis. They decided kobane was important, we had to do something about that. Thats right. What about turkey, they also switched positions, they were not going to get involved either. Warner big switch, big switch. First of all, you know, turkey has been in a position to do a lot to help. They are sitting on the border. They moved tanks down there. They havent even used their artillery to help pummel some of those u. S. Positions. And secondly they have is positions and they have refused to let any kurdish fighters krorx their own pkk, their own insurgents. Or even civilians who have been dying to cross the line to go help their fellow kurds. So in speaking to a senior kurdish official nine days ago, he said no way, no how would he allow a corridor, as we showed on the map, in which these iraqi kurds, who actually have pretty good relations with turkey, which i wont get into why, cross over and come in and help. That is a big turn around. Im also going to ask you about how called them to change at the same time. It is interesting to me, that with some tension between the u. S. And turkey. And they both reversed themselves at the same moment. That cant be by accident. Warner well, it is not entirely by accident. Heres what i am told. First of all, the u. S. Had grown increasingly frustrated with turkey. Yes, there has been some cooperation, yes, turkey is now going to let its property be its territory be used to train. But basically, turkey still hasnt decided what its going to do. And so apparently in this phone call on saturday, president obama call the president erdogan, he said look, we do share the goal of defeating isil. He said let me tell you, the fighters in kobane are running on time. Their lifeline is running out of time, their time line. Ifill the president said this to erdogan. I am told on good authority. And he said if kobane falls, it will hand a huge propaganda victory it will hand a huge momentum to isil and neither of us want that. So let me tell you what we are going to do. Now erdogan was not pleased with that. He said, see those frosty comments he said yesterday which we just ran. But this official said it was a productive conversation. That these two men actually after some ups and downs over the last few years, have an ability to talk directly. And this official said i cant say why turkey did what if did. But it knew what we were going to do. It criticized what we did, but you notice we embrace wlad it did. So coordination implies they get together and say you do this, and i do this. Not quite. Ifill a little facesaving going on. Warner and an understandingment when president obama said were going do this, then turkey has been facing condemnation for doing nothing, letting the beseiged fighters fight it off by themselves. And last thursday, i didnt realize this, they lost a key vote, secret ballot in the u. S. General assembly to get one of these coveted seats from the u. N. Security council, they have been lobbying for three years and lost it a 2 to 1 margin and a lot of little countries made clear this is why. So turkey had a reason. At this point the u. S. Was going do something this is the least bad option for them. Ifill what happens going forward. We know the u. S. Stepped up air strikes in and around kobane. Now these air drops of lethal weapons. Now this cooperation, at least for now with turkey, does that continue . Does that build . Is there going to be more . Warner last night there was a background Conference Call on the phone, with some of the reporters in which basically u. S. Officials said look, were going to do what is necessary. I think if you look back to the operation, the rescue thiadist, remember, they said hey were out of material again, the leaders are saying in five days we will be, i think so. But the other thing that is key to remember here is that obama strategy which he laid out at west point and over and over, we dont want to be the combat forces any more. We want to empower local forces. Here are the most effective local fighting forces, much more effective than the moderate Syrian Rebels at the moment were supporting, they happen to be the kurds in kobanement and even though the turks are a po plec particular that there is an appliance between their insurge ent kurds and the fact is i think this administration is now committed up to a point with air strikes and air drops. Ifill feels like a minor turning point, maybe a major turning point. Warner i think could be. Ifill margaret warner, thank you. Warner thank you, gwen. Ifill in an unusual saturday ruling, the u. S. Supreme court cleared the way for enforcement of texas voter i. D. Law, considered among the strictest in the nation. The action is the latest in a series of preelection Court Rulings that have changed polling requirements for voters in 18 states, among them, North Carolina. Kelley mchenry of public station unctv reports the new regulations have left some voters scratching their heads. Reporter at a recent Voter Education forum in granville county, it was clear there is much confusion about the states new voting law. Where can you get free i. D. s . Reporter its not surprising theres confusion. Over the last few weeks there has been a flurry of Court Appeals and decisions which first upheld, then reversed, then upheld again the new requirements. The new voter law includes a photo i. D. Requirement, a ban on sameday registration, no outofprecinct voting, and a reduction in the number of early voting days. All of the rules took effect this year, with the exception of the photo i. D. , which starts in 2016. The law was passed in 2013 by a newly elected Republican Legislature and the changes are bitterly dividing voters. Im very concerned about it. I think the turnout will be lower. I think folks will be frustrated and they wont understand and they wont come to vote. I think the changes are being made to make the whole voting process more honest and more believable. Reporter proponents of the law said the changes were needed to protect against fraud, although even they admit the number of reported fraudulent cases has been low in the past. Jay delancy runs the voter integrity project in raleigh. Its mission to root out voter fraud. He says the reason there are so few cases is because people arent looking for fraud and district attorneys dont prosecute it. I had one d. A. Scoff at me and say ive got d. U. I. s to prosecute. I dont have the resources for this. Reporter the new voting requirements have prompted a public outcry from many groups, including the n. A. A. C. P. , which worries the restrictions will take the state back to an era when segregationist laws known as jim crow prevented blacks from voting. This fundamental attack on Voting Rights and implementing Voter Suppression is the worst thing we have seen since jim crow. It has angered so many people but they are turning their anger into action. Reporter the n. A. A. C. P. , and the department of justice are suing the state, arguing that the new voting laws violate the Voting Rights act of 1965. The court case is scheduled for next year. The n. A. A. C. P. Says the new laws are specifically designed to suppress black votes and it points to studies which show African Americans are twice as likely to utilize early voting and 50 more likely to use same day registration. We should be looking for more ways for people to vote, not less ways, and what we are finding is all of their claims about fraud are fraudulent themselves. Reporter the North Carolina voter i. D. Law comes on the heels of the Supreme Court decision last year to strike down key parts of the Voting Rights act of 1965. The Supreme Court lifted federal restrictions over states like North Carolina that had a history of Voter Suppression. Marilyn avila, one of the sponsors of the new law, says the Supreme Court was right to lift the restrictions. She says the fact that one in five state lawmakers is African American shows that North Carolina has moved on from its troubled history. In the days of jim crow it was this is the way life is and we dont know any differently. We know differently today. Reporter all of the recent Court Rulings could spell confusion at the polls in november although they may encourage some people to get out and vote. Ifill its politics monday and early voting is already underway in a handful of states, including in illinois, where today, president obama campaigned for governor pat quinn, and cast his hometown ballot. For more on how early voting, voter id laws, and final stretch campaigning might determine election day outcomes in just a little over two weeks, we are joined by, stu rothenberg, editor and publisher of the rothenberg political report, and susan page, the Washington Bureau chief for u. S. A. Today. Two weeks out what is the landscape, stu. I think the trajectory sun changed from a couple months ago. That is the republicans have a little breeze at their backs. They have a lot of opportunities in senate races and house races. The governor situation say bit quirkier with both sides worrying about incumbents. But right now the environment certainly favors the republicans. Ifill when you see these voter i. D. Problems like in North Carolina and other voter ballotting stories around the country, do you think that in some tight races, susan, this may have an affect on the outcome . You know, i think in most of the places where they are enforcing these new voter i. D. Law these are not places where they have close races, they are enforcing them in text cass. We know republicans are in a good situation with texas. North carolina might be the exception that it could help determine who wins that race. But its certainly im thinking about colorado, im thinking about early voting in georgia. That perhaps could have some voter it turns out. Early voting could. If democrats can use early voting to get people to vote who might not turn out in a Midterm Election, who tend to vote democratic like africanamericans, like younger people that could definitely have an affect on some of these close races. So the mail ballot is a big question mark for us. Colorado, how will it affect turnout rates l people who ordinarily dont vote because its so easy to vote, just mail your ballot in, will they participate . And this is a big huge problem we have of handicappers and reporters and analysts. It really is about turnout. You know, im sure they laugh whrx a copout, they say its about turnout. But thats really important particularly in these Midterm Elections. There is a significant drop in turnout by some significant groups historically. Younger voters, hispanics, latinos. And we dont know who is going to vote. Plus, gwen, democrats are making a major effort in terms of i. D. Ing, registering and turning out voters. It was a year ago when i was talking to democratic strategists. They said look at arkansas. Were going to register all these new voters and turn them out. The republicans are going to be shocked. Ri have republicans telling me just watch our turnout efforts in colorado, in iowa. They think they have, if they havent equaled what the democrats have done, at least theyre going to surprise. And at the very least, dont both parties, arent they both in debating points. Isnt that what is really happening in a Midterm Election like this the democrats want to debate Voter Suppression or voter turnout. And republicans want to debate the president. I dont think voter i. D. Laws are something that turns the electorate. Its important. It is an important thing. We want people to be able to vote. But if you talk to people about what they care about, they care about the economy and jobs. They care about the threat of isis in the sense the country is under attack, could have bigger terror threat. They worry about ebola. I think that when you get to things like voter i. D. Laws its really, for swing voters, that isnt something you hear them raising. And it seems to me that voter, identifying voters and turning them, only takes so you far. The landscape is negative for you t is going to be uphill and we have a landscape that is pretty friendly to republicans. I agree completely. But i would ad that add that i think youre right that democratic strategists and Democratic Candidates can go into the minority community, and say republicans dont want you to vote. That is and are doing that. And they right, theyre doing that. And that is a way to motivate groups that traditionally fall off in Midterm Elections. An help cans go to their base and say, you republican goes to their base and say we do not trust these democrats voting with the president , 99 of the time. And therefore, so that is why i wonder if that is all a remarkably unenthusiastic electorate this time. People are unenthusiastic about politics in washington. But republicans are pretty gined up about president obama. It seems republican have a much easier tax in getting their people to come out because they have been opposed to the president. They thought she should have taken the senate last time around. They really, in two cycles they failed in their efforts to win the senate. If they cant win it this time, under what circumstances could republicans win control of the senate. What competitive races are most surprising to you at this stage . Well, in the senate, boy, it changes every week. This week, what is surprising to me or the last few weeks t is the kansas is in play, republican senator pat rob zrts in serious trouble. In a three way race in south dakota, the republican is mike round is widely criticized by republicans for the race he is running and the republicans are worried. They think they will win that state but are worried. Georgia has come into play. Im still interested very much in colorado and iowa which i think, i think when we started this cycle we thought these races are democrats to lose. And they may be doing that. So there are a bunch of races i think are still fascinating. Is your map the same . I think it would be very similar. You know, im also struck by the races in which independent Third Party Candidates are going to be a factor. You have an independent in kansas who might win the senate n south dakotah you have somebody who is essentially an independent candidate who might determine the outcome that could have how you know what that says to me, that says people usually vote in the two party system but they are sick and tired of these two parties and they are willing to entertain people from other places. Okay, let me put you on the spot and repeat the same question a different way. Which is what the is most interesting race or the most consequential race that nobody is paying attention to very much right now, that you can go governor, senate, state house. Wow. Thats tough. Yeah. The most consequential race that nobody is susan, you mentioned maine. Okay. I dont hear anybody talking about it. Nobody, but its kind of a quirky race. On the other hand the idea that the governor lepage could win a second term after barely winning a first term and governings in a controversial way that would be pretty surprising. I Kathy Giffords seat in arizona, im looking at that one because it has become ground central for the debate over gun control in a state where people own guns and use guns. That might be one. I will give you two quick ones. I will give you a chance to think about it. One is the kansas governors race where Sam Brownback could possibly lose. And i think this reflects a deep division in the Kansas Republican Party that is reflective of the larger tea party, libertarian versus establishment argument, and the Republican Party nationally. The second one is the illinois governors race where governor quinn where the president was today. Governor quinn, i mean two months ago i would have said hes toast. Put a fork in him, hes done. Now the race is even. And it is an interesting race in terms of the republicans are running a very wealthy businessman who is running as a candidate for change. A businessman. And the democrats are just trying to gin up the democratic vote and turn it up the final few weeks as they did four years ago. One of the few safe places where the president can go campaign as de yesterday in maryland. You can believe were two weeks out and the president has made just his First Campaign appearance. It is amazing. We will be watching to see if there are any more. Thank you both very much. Stu rothenberg and susan page. Ifill judys in georgia tonight, reporting on whether the senate race there might help democrats reclaim the south. Well have that story tomorrow night on the newshour. Before she left, judy sat down with a man who knows a thing or two about senate math, bob dole, former majority leader and president ial candidate. Woodruff senator bob dole thank you for talking with us. Thank you, judy. Woodruff you are 91years young. You have led a remarkable life after the terrible injuries you suffered in world war ii. Youve gone on to be a very busy man. How are you doing today . Doing great. Im in great shape. I keep busy, which is important. Woodruff and youve been gone as i understand for nine trips to kansas this year. Nine trips, and weve been in 96 of the 105 counties. We dont have any agenda, its just a thank you tour to thank the people for voting for me five times in the u. S. Senate. Now, many in the audience arent old enough to have voted for me five times, so you meet a lot of new friends. Woodruff you talked about how democrats and republicans worked together to do important things. But you have also talked about the senate doesnt work anymore. How much do you think it has changed . How different is it today . Well, its hard to criticize the senate when i was there for 28 years, but it does seem to be more confrontational, and not as much bipartisanship. I go back to the time when Ronald Reagan told me one day, he said, bob im going to send this legislation to congress and i want 100 , and then he said with that little twinkle in his eye, well if you cant get me a hundred get me seventy and ill get the rest next year. So he believed in compromise and working together and i just dont see much of that now. Woodruff what would your advice be to members of the democratic party, but also members of your own party right now . You know, get together. I havent been there so i cant say theyre not getting together, but from what i hear from my friends in the senate, its sort of a different place, not just because i was there and senator mitchell was there, because we were great friends. We used to talk a lot and try to work things out. And i dont think its there right now. Woodruff do you think it matters for the good of the country whether the two parties Work Together . Oh, thats the way to do it. Some people just vote for the party. They dont contribute much to their districts. But we have sort of the far right in the Republican Party and the far left in the democratic party. So both parties are sort of split, which makes it harder for Mcconnell Mitch mcconnell and harry reid to work things out. Woodruff you said last year at one point you said there are some republicans who have leaned so far to the right that they are about to fall out of the capitol. Speaker boehner has had a lot of difficulty with about 30 some. I thought i was a traditional republican conservative, but theyve moved beyond tradition, and i dont know what theyre for. Its easy to be against things, but what are you for . Woodruff you have advocated relentlessly for those with disabilities and most recently you have been lobbying for the senate to ratify the convention on the rights of people with disabilities, the international convention, but at this point there are still some republican senators who are holding that up. What argument have you made to them and why do you think that they havent come around . Well, ive tried to explain to them that this treaty is neither democrat nor republican. Its not liberal or conservative. It just protects the rights of disabled if they travel overseas. 139 countries have ratified the treaty, and were the leader the United States on disability. Theres no reason the treaty shouldnt pass with 100 votes. And were going to try and bring it up in the lame duck session after the election. And i believe were about two votes short. Woodruff what do you think the greatest challenge is facing the country today . I think the greatest challenge is in Foreign Policy areas where you could almost throw a dart on a world map and you might hit a country where they might have a conflict with us, whether its korea or iran or ukraine or whether its syria. The worlds on fire and were dealing with it, but some of its going to take time and we dont want to send any more american men and women to fight a ground war. Other countries ought to come forth and do their share, but so far they havent done anything. Woodruff and what sort of job do you think president obama has done dealing with all these International Crises . I think president obama is a fine man, but i think he has trouble making a decision, and he sometimes delays a decision, which doesnt help the problem. Woodruff do you think republicans are going to take control of the senate . Well, i think its promising, but i dont think its in the bag. There are a lot of close races, including the republican state of kansas, where pat roberts is in a very tight race with a so called independent who was a democrat, but i think thats going to be close and it would be, its a battleground state. Whod think republican kansas would be a battleground state . I think the moderates feel that both the governor and pat roberts have been too conservative, so theres been a number of moderates who publicly endorsed their opponents. Weve got to be a party of inclusion. We dont want anybody to leave the party, so theyre reaching out to the moderates, and trying to bring them on board. Woodruff last thing senator, what do you want your legacy to be . What do you think it is . I dont know, that i worked hard. I think my legacy will be that the people of kansas trusted me, a majority, and i did the best i could. Im sure i made mistakes, but i think i served kansas well. I dont know what my legacy will be. That i lived to be 200, or at least 100, and that ive never forgotten where i was from. Woodruff senator bob dole, we thank you for talking with us. Thank you, judy. Ifill if you happen to be one of the millions who bought a new apple iphone in recent weeks, or are waiting for your upgrade to arrive, you may feel like your wallet is getting lighter and not just because of the price of the phone. In an era of electronic payments, technology is turning the wallet in your pocket digital. Hari sreenivasan has our conversation, recorded in our new york studios. Paying for something with your phone isnt necessarily a new idea. Ive been using mine to pay for cabs for the past year. But today apple launches its mobile payment platform called apple pay. And here to help us understand how the arrival of apple into this arena changes the game is the Senior Editor at Technology News site ricoh. Why is it a big deal that apple decides to do something google has been doing for a while. Partially because with the Google Experience it is inconsistent. There is resistance from the carriers. For instance verizon has its own payment plan. And has resisted googles infrastructure, googles plan so it has been inconsistent and uneven experience on the google platform with. Apple we have a completely unified experience. Apple has also, its been a lumbering giant in payments for a long time there are more ed ity card accounts associated in the itunes infrastructure than on amazon or pay pal. And so it is only been a matter of time before the technology to come, and the experience to show up. And make it easy for consumers to use. So besides apple and google, you also hear walmart and pay pal, all these people are getting into this arena. Why is it so important for them to control the actual transaction . What do they get out of it . Theres a lot of money. There are multibilliondollar businesses, first data is one and numerous other payment processors, multibilliondollar business on essentially pennies and fractions of pennies. There is always money to be made on the swipe of a card or in this case now the wave of a phone. So what is the Industry Response been to this when they realize apple has this unified experience that might lure more consumers to do this. Are there companies that are concerned that this is something that basically that User Experience is slipping away from them and possibly into apples favor . Yeah, one potential threat is really going to be pay pal, apples partner with a lot of apps on the phone to use this apple pay system, to pay for virtual to pay for things that you would buy online, in the app that is a threat to pay pal because they have a lot of in app and online payments. I use pay pal a lot myself not just for ebay things but also just to pay certain bills sometimes. But so thats one thing threat. But it is also, i think, a lot of the retailers dont want to be left out in the cold. Partially because there is this moment right now where credit cards, the old mag strip has been around since the 1960s. Really phasing out and there is new infrastructure coming out there is the new chip and pay, tokenization, all kinds of new security measure security measures and apple is seizing on this moment to change the paradigm a little bit. So if there is as my moment where Consumers Want to pay for their phone we will know it definitively. Its been kind of an uneven experience. The data has been a little bit inconsistent so far. And so were going know definitively and for sure whether or not consumers really want to do this. Are we a step closer to paperless currency . Paperless current currency . I dont know. How much cash dow carry these days. I dont carry cash very often. I carry some kind of a card. I havent paid with my phone yet, im sort of a luddite on this, believe it or not. I think were also seeing this moment where people are experimenting with bitcoin that is a little on the fringes but its definitely, theres definitely a lot of things happening on the currency front that are kind of changing our economic behavior, changing what our perceptions of money. Weve come a long way from having to have silver coins. You had people back then to carry your bags, right. Yeah. You didnt want to get your hands dirty. Exactly. I dont like getting my hands dirty with cash than anybody else does so but its also a lot less friction, you know, the time spent on a transaction needs to be shortened. Its all about time and friction and complexity. And waving your phone makes it a lot more simple. And also possibly that you will spend more if the friction is less. If the friction is less, the tendency to spend may be more, yes. So consider yourself warned. All right, thank you so much. You bet. Ifill finally tonight, a battle over the role of arts in portraying history. For some audiences, opera remains a remote and less accessible form of entertainment. But a new production opening in new york city tonight is stirring some very strong feelings outside the arts world. Former new york city mayor Rudolph Giuliani is one of a number of political and religious figures protesting outside the metropolitan opera. Jeffrey brown has our report. Brown the opera is called the death of klinghoffer. Like so many operas throughout history its a tragedy told through music, words, and stagecraft, and is filled with drama and emotion. But this is based on a very real tragedy in recent history the hijacking of an italian cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, off the coast of egypt in october 1985. By four members of the palestinian liberation front, who murdered a 69yearold disabled jewishamerican passenger named leon klinghoffer. All civilized peoples welcome the apprehension of the terrorists responsible for the seizure of Achille Lauro and the brutal murder of leon klinghoffer. The pursuit of justice is well served by this cooperative effort to ensure that these terrorists are prosecuted and punished for their crimes. Brown the renowned american composer john adams, whose work is regularly performed throughout the world, wrote the opera six years after those events, in 1991. Hes tackled recent history in other operas as well, including one titled, nixon in china. This afternoon adams told me what drew him to this story. Well, all of my operas deal with what i call american mythology. Atomic bomb, nixon in china, the collision of capitalism and communism. The death of klinghoffer is about terrorism, which is unfortunately one of the essential psychic experiences of our american life. Brown yet controversy has followed the work from the beginning. Some saying it shows sympathy for the palestinian extremists and even glorifies terrorism. Included in that group are leon klinghoffers own daughters, lisa and ilsa. In todays haaretz, the israeli paper, they wrote that the opera presents false moral equivalencies without context and offers no real insight into the historical reality and the senseless murder of an american jew. The opera rationalizes, romanticizes and legitimizes the terrorist murder of our father. A statement from the daughters will be included in the metropolitan Opera Company playbill. Meanwhile, a planned broadcast of the opera in theaters and on radio was canceled, out of fear that it could encourage anti semitism abroad. Part of a deal struck with the antidefamation league. Protesters gathered last month outside the met to demand the opera be called off altogether. Another protest is planned for tonights opening. The a. D. L. Is not involved in those demonstrations. But today its president , abraham foxman, told me of his objections to the opera. It glorifies terrorism, it gives it a status and stature, of a terrorist act, a criminal act. It makes the murderer a person of cause and all he was an anti semitic racist murderer. He was a terrorist. And this opera makes him out to be some hero, some folk hero, some image. Brown foxman also responded to the criticism that the protests are a form of censorship. Mr. Adams has a right ot do whatever it wants. And the opera, metropolitan, has a right to decide what it wants to put on. I think its a terrible judgment they made because the metropolitan gives it an imprimatur, a stature, that says this is serious, this is significant and all it is glorifying murder. Brown the metropolitan Opera Company has addressed the controversy headon with advertising that says, see it. Then decide. Many critics, in fact, have said they have not and will not see the opera. And composer john adams believes theres a deep misunderstanding of the ideas and goals of his work. I think to typify this opera as creating moral equivalency between a terrorist act and defenseless hostages is a complete hysterical mis representation of the facts. I think probably what unhinges the operas critics is that we do present both mythic narratives, so we represent the narrative of the jewish people and the narrative of the palestinian people. Brown protesters tonight will use wheelchairs as symbols of the slain leon klinghoffer. As he prepared to attend the opening, adams had this say about the role of art and artists in addressing history i think that all the great dramatists whether it was shakespeare, aeschylus, wagner, or verdi have taken historical events, communal events, events that have impacted people, whether they be regicide, battles between nations, races, and through their art, theyve raised these conflicts and these human dramas to the level of myth and to a poetic level where we can experience this on the levels of deepest feeling and understanding that reading history books will never provide. Brown the death of klinghoffer is scheduled for eight performances at the met, through november 15th. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. The news on ebola in the u. S. Was more hopeful, as more than 40 people were released from monitoring in texas. They included relatives and the fiancee of thomas duncan, the liberian man who died of ebola in dallas. The u. S. Began air drops of weapons and supplies to kurds battling Islamic State forces in kobani, on syrias border with turkey. And a libyan militant, ahmed abu khattala, pleaded not guilty to u. S. Charges stemming from the benghazi attacks that killed four americans in 2012. On the newshour online right now, how does legalized medical marijuana influence the use of alcohol and other drugs . On making sense, we share a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research about the effects. All that and more is on our web site, pbs. Org newshour. And thats the newshour for tonight. On tuesday, in the competitive world of tech startups, few ideas make it big, scores flop, others turn into zombies, what to do about startups that just wont die . 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 and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. Brought to you in part by thestreet. Com. Featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and Market Insights with action alerts plus, the multimillion dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. You can learn more at thestreet. Com nbr. How about them apples . Apple beats the street with Strong Demand for its iphone and says next quarter will be even better than it expected. Third quarter earnings were disappointing. They werent what we expected. We saw some slowdowns. Big blue bummer. Ibms latest earnings were not what the ceo expected. She also ditched the companys profit road map, dumped its chip unit and by the end of the day the stock had