Interesting thing; that whats going on here is not being widely shared down at the bottom and middle ranges of this economy. Ifill all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. Supported by the rockefeller foundation. Promoting the wellbeing of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. Ckefellerfoundation. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. 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 after a weekend of turmoil on the president ial campaign trail, candidates got down to business with just hours to go until polls open in another critical series of primaries. But the day began with more protests at a donald trump rally, this time in North Carolina. The commotion was met, at first, by silence from the republican front runner. But when chants of trump and usa drowned out the demonstrators, the billionaire businessman spoke up. The press is now calling this saying oh but theres such violence. no violence. You know how many people have been hurt at our rallies . I think like basically none, other than i guess maybe somebody got hit once or theres no violence. Theres love fests. These are love fests. Ifill it was similar scene later in the day in florida. The tumult comes amid a scramble for votes in five states tomorrow, featuring pivotal primaries in florida and ohio. Focusing on his mustwin home state, john kasich started his day in youngstown, taking aim at trump. Leadership is not dividing people, leadership is not encouraging a toxic environment where we blame one group because of the failure or success of another. This country is about us coming together, this country is not about us tearing each other down or having fist fights at a campaign rally. Thats not what america is. Ifill later in the day, kasich was joined by another trump critic, 2012 republican nominee mitt romney. You look at this guy and, unlike the other people running, he has a real track record. He has the kind of record that you want in washington and thats why im convinced that youre gonna do the right thing tomorrow. Agreed . Tomorrows the day where were gonna shock the country. Ifill senator marco rubio, like kasich, has also taken a similar home state focus, buy in florida. The winner in either state will take home all the delegates. And as in ohio, frontrunner trump poses the greatest threat. Tomorrow we have a chance to make a powerful statement to the country. And that is that the Republican Party is not gonna allow itself to be hijacked by fake conservatives and people who go around dividing us against each other. Ifill for texas senator ted cruz, illinois provides a ripe target. Donald trump has made billions buying influence from politicians, supporting liberal democratic politicians and supporting the republican establishment all at the expense of working men and women. Ifill Democrat Hillary Clinton campaigned in illinois as well, meeting with latino activists and visiting a memorial for victims of gun violence. At a rally, she jabbed at republicans economic proposals. Folks that get excited by the rhetoric and the demagoguery on the republican side need to be reminded that they are george w. Bush on steroids. applause their economic plans each and every one of them would throw us back into the mess that president obama was able to dig us out of. Ifill and back in ohio, Bernie Sanders predicted hed beat clinton, as he hit her again for her wall street speeches. If you get paid 225,000 for a speech, it must be an extraordinary speech, it must be shakespearean, it must have released to the american people. Ifill but, as with the republicans, the days main target was trump. Bringing our people together will always trump separating us and dividing us up. We have to have a big vote tomorrow that can send a strong message that love trumps hate ifill clinton called on democrats to unify around her as the best chance to defeat trump. Ifill well have more from newshour correspondent john yang who is in the battleground state of ohio, right after the news summary. Woodruff in the days other news, russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to begin pulling out of syria. He said its because russias military intervention has achieved its objectives, as a new round of syrian peace talks got underway today in geneva. Putin discussed his decision today by phone with president obama, who welcomed the move. Syrias president bashar assad said the action was coordinated, and frances defense minister said russia has, practically stopped hitting moderate syrian rebels. For more on putins announcement, i spoke late this afternoon with nathan hodge, Moscow Bureau chief for the wall street journal. Welcome, nathan. U. S. Officials say they have seen no evidence yetco of any movement by russian forces. Is president putin believed to be serious about this . Well there, didnt seem to be much evidence according to the u. S. Officials we had spoken to that russians were ever planning to stay for the long haul but the announcement certainly comes as much of a surprise in many ways as russia decision to commence this military operation back at the end of september. Although it wasnt preceded by a speech that president putin delivered at the u. N. Where he said russia wanted to create an alliance against terrorism, and hes cast his campaign as supporting theco assad regime as the best bulwark against Islamic State and other extremist groups. Woodruff well, what is it exactly that is believed putins forces have accomplished in syria . Because as you said, i mean, he said this was intended to go after terrorists, but we know that civilian syrians, civilians have been targeted, hundreds if not thousands of them have been killed. Right, and there have been accusations leveled against the russians of the indiscriminate use of force and the use of weaponry that has displaced lots of people and caused civilian harm. Allegations, of coursu,rbo0 thae russians have pushed back quite hard against. But what this campaign did, in many ways, the introduction of russian air power in many ways reversed the momentum. Back last summer, even president assad conceded he was having a difficult time because of defections Holding Ground in syria, so this, in many ways its hard to see if this is really putins Mission Accomplished moment yet, but they did russian air power did succeed changing the momentum on the ground in syria and in recent weeks they had been pressing a very strong offense nigh the north of the country. Woodruff so what effect is this pullout expected to have on the course of the war there . What Syrian Opposition groups are telling us is were waiting to see. Doesnt necessarily mean putin is withdrawing all support entirely. Putin spokesman said russia intends to keep bases in syria, but what does seem to be happening is russia could be exerting a little more pressure on Bashar Alassad to negotiate in earnest. So once again, putin managed to insert himself quite forcefully into Global Affairs and in many ways set the agenda here. Woodruff nathan hodge of the wall street journal reporting from moscow, we thank you. Thank you. Ifill also today, turkey struck back at kurdish rebel groups they believe were responsible for yesterdays deadly suicide bombing in ankara. Authorities detained 11 people, and turkish warplanes pounded Kurdish Military sites in northern iraq. Sundays blast rocked a busy thoroughfare in the capital, killing 37 people and wounding more than 100. Today, turkeys Prime Minister pledged further retaliation. translated i am calling on terrorist organizations and the forces behind them. You cannot weaken our will. Last night, after this incident, after the name of the terrorist organization was established, our armed forces carried out comprehensive operations in northern iraq. Our fight against these terrorist organizations continue with resolve in southeast ifill yesterdays attack comes just a month after another suicide bombing targeted ankara, killing 29 people. Kurdish rebels claimed responsibility for that blast. Woodruff an amtrak passenger train derailed early this morning in rural southwestern kansas, injuring 32 people. None of their wounds were life threatening. A Government Official told the Associated Press the trains engineer noticed a bend in the rail and hit the emergency brakes shortly before it went off the tracks. Emergency crews rushed to rescue the more than 140 people on board. Upon arrival we found that amtrak had overturned about 2. 5 miles west of cimarron. We have about seven cars that are laying on their sides. We have taken and evacuated all the patients and personnel out of the train at this time. Woodruff federal investigators are on the scene to try to determine the cause of the derailment. The countys sheriff said theyre looking into whether an earlier, unreported vehicle accident could have damaged the rails. Ifill Southern States braced for a new round of flooding today that threatened to damage hundreds more homes. Officials warned the swollen pearl river along the louisiana and mississippi border could reach 21 feet, the highest level in over three decades. Since last week, the flooding has killed four people, and damaged nearly 5,000 homes in louisiana. President obama signed a disaster declaration for the state yesterday. Stocks finished flat on wall street today as investors awaited the outcome of the federal reserves meeting later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 16 points to close at 17,229. The nasdaq rose almost two points, and the s p 500 slipped two points. Woodruff still to come on the newshour john kasich tries to thwart donald trump in ohio, and why florida could be a big win or bust for marco rubio. The head of the u. N. Refugee agency, as syria marks five years into its civil war plus, we launch a new series exploring amercans views on the economy. Woodruff tomorrow is an important day for the president ial race in both parties, with primaries being held in five major states. One of the biggest prizes is ohio. No republican has won the white house without winning the buckeye state. And this year, its taken on heightened importance in the effort to derail Donald Trumps path to the republican nomination. Newshour correspondent john yang reports from ohio. As Ohio Governor john kasich and donald trump crisscrossed the buckeye state, campaigning forw3 tomorrows primary oh, i love ohio. Its about time we had an ohioan become president of the United States. Its been far too long. cheers and applause more is at stake than just 66degree gats in this winner take contest. I want to win ohio. We really want to win ohio. Ohio republicans say theyre bat thing for their partys future. They dont like liars couldnt be more different. Well fix these things when we remember were americans and not republicans and democrats first but Americans First and Work Together and lift this country, we will fix this. Were going to build the wall, folks. Dont worry. cheers and applause whos going to pay for the wall . Mexico who . Mexico reporter and it goes beyond style. Party leaders fear trump isnt a real conservative says paul beck, a it mr. Is scientist at ohio state university. That is whats scaring Republican Leaders more than anything is if trump gets the nomination and if he wins the presidency, he redefines the party, and he moves the party away from what it has been for almost forever. Reporter thats why the state party is throwing its full weight behind kasich. Volunteer for governor kasichs president ial cam poison. How are you . A former nineterm congressman we will project our favorite son to the white house in 2016. Franklin county auditor Clarence Mingo said he wouldnt support trump as his partys no, maam neenchts its a National Embarrassment to have a diswrentman who insulted the disabled, war heros like john mccain and minorities. Its unassemble and the nation and the party will pay the price for this conduct. The charitys chamberren everyone knows you cant get a republican elected without carrying ohio and the best candidate to get ohio is john kasich. Maybe its about selecting the right nominee and that person should be john kasich. Dont forget to vote trump for president but thats not what voters said at a trump rally in dayton. What brings you out today . I want to see this man. Hes the man. Is he your man for tuesday . He is my man. Take brenda hardesti. I am a democrat but i have flipped this year because there is nobody on that side and trump, hes just i dont know. Hes our future, you know . Hes just our future. Loretta brown volunteered at the event. We are financially sick and this is the doctor thats going to make it well. Thats what america and the people need. They need their jobs back, and financially the country needs his help. Even waiting in line at a kasich event in morrain, judy says hes a good governor but may vote for trump anyway. Hes a businessman and i think thats what washington needs now. There is just too much going on thats not right right now. Others say they prefer kasichs temperament and experience. Bill reardon is a retired engineer. Hes willing to stand up for his own beliefs and is not, you know, trying to make a big thing out of it, but hes telling the truth and is doing a good job in ohio. What gave him the edge over trump, in your mind . Just because hes levelheaded and has good common sense. This will be the first time ryan richie votes for president. Trump has gone at this very unprofessionally. The presidency is something that should be taken very seriously. Its not something that you can just walk into, not something you can insult your way into. John kasich is the only adult left in this race. Tonights rally will be postponed. Friday, violence erupted after trump canceled a planned rally in chicago. Kasich, who hadntxd engaged trump, scolded the businessman. Donald trump has created a toxic environment. Thathis is no place for a natiol leader to prey on the fears of people who live in our great country. Trump says kasich isnt strong enough. Kasich is a baby. Hes a baby. He cant be president. He cant be president. Too many problems. Voters have already been casting ballots for nearly a month even as the governor and billionaire intensify their battle over the air waves. Kasich gave ohio obamacare and increased our budget more than any governor in the u. S. We dont need him in ohio and certainly not the washington. As polls showed donald trump leading ohio, he attacked our john kasich with unhinged boldfaced lies. And at the grassroots. Hi. Were stopping by on behalf of my brother john kapy 9n hi. Ello. My name is christina and im with the trump campaign. Party leaders concerns go beyond the primary. Some worry that trump at the top of the ticket could hurt republican candidates all the way down the ballot. Hes done a great job for us as governor and he deserves to be president to have the United States. Like senator rob portman whos been at kasichs side on the campaign trail. If there are a number of ohio republicans, people who would automatically, who say i cannot stomach this ticket with donald trump at the top, i cant vote democratic, that would be a violation of everything i believe in, so im just not going to turn out. And it, i thinks, is a legitimate worry. With so much at stake regoing to win ohio . Trumps path to the nomination so now were here, please dont screw this up for me. The survival of kasichs campaign and the future to have Republican Party, ohios hopes for a win of a kasich win tomorrow are more than just a matter of buckeye pride. John kasich acknowledges that if he loses his ohm state tomorrow, its probably the end of the road for him or, as he puts it, he stays home. A trump loss here in ohio would complicate his drive for a first ballot nomination but not it would probably certainly put visions of a brokered convention dancing in the antitrump forces heads. Judy. So, hi, john. Tell us, theres also a serious race going on between the democrats in ohio, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Tell us a little what hat looks like. The Bernie Sanders campaign really hopes tomorrow they can show michigan was not a fluke. They have high hopes for ohio. When they look at ohio, they see a lot of the things that helped them in michigan industrial manufacturing jobs that have gone overseas, a slow recovery. Ohio only got back to their prerecession Employment Level in october, much later than a lot of other states. So sanders is little hard on the trade issue both in speeches and rallies and on television. This morning, he added a stop in youngstown, a place where the Steel Industry used to be big but no more. They also see ohio as a home to a lot of Little College towns across the state which would play to his strength for young people. For their part, the Clinton Campaign says only they expect a close race tomorrow but they had been talking about being here today. They did not, they were not, they were in illinois and North Carolina instead, and tomorrow night, to watch the election returns, they will be not here but in florida. Judy . And john just quickly, what about Television Advertising . Is that playing much of a role on the democratic side . It is i mean, just like last time, ohio is blanketed with television ads. Its hard to watch television and not see even the same sanders or clinton ad repeating. But a lot of people here say it is so saturated that it becomes background noise, that it may not really be having an effect. Judy. Woodruff john yang reporting for us from ohio. You will be there tomorrow when theyre voting. Thanks. Ifill well be paying close attention to ohio, but tomorrows key votes also include contests in florida, illinois, missouri and North Carolina. For all of that and more, we turn to politics monday, with amy walter of the Cook Political Report and Stuart Rothenberg of the rothenberg and gonzales political report. Welcome to you both. Amy, i want to start with you. For every candidate not named trump, how critical is tomorrow . Very critical. Of course, trump is important as well. I think there are two people whose future begins or ends tomorrow. One of those is marco rubio whos been hunkering down in florida hoping that maybe the polls showing him down double digits are wrong and things can turn around in the lastni few hours here before voting begins. Sort of doubtful. If he loses his home state, he doesnt move on. John kasich, of course, as we just learned in the piece before this counting on ohio to deliver him the home state. However, that doesnt mean that john kasich is in the hunt for the nomination. All it means is that he denied donald trump the ability to sort of run away with the day and amass enough delegates to stay on the path to winning the 137 del cats he would need to be the outright nominee before we hit the clevelandnr republican convention. Kasich would still be a spoiler in other words, splitting up the votes, once again, between the trump and the nontrump and probably leading us to what could be a contested convention. So, stu, for a while, as marco rubio us a a nontrump and now its john kasich . Thats what it looks like. Rubio seems to be flowfnedderring in his own state and other states. The air went out of the balloon for marco rubio and the attention is on kasich. Kasich has not put together a National Campaign for the republican nomination. Hes fought in a couple of states. Michigan he came in narrowly in third. If he wins ohio its almost as if hes the safe to son and the thquestion is whether he can broaden appeal beyond that. Kasich people will say were the only establishment game in town. Even though john kasich says hes not establishment thats whose backing him. Ifill amy, were also seeing primaries in illinois, North Carolina and missouri tomorrow. Yeah, and for the two parties, you have very different scenarios playing out here. The other thing i want to point out is ted cruz is still in this race on the republican side and he actually has won more votes and more delegates than john kasich or marco rubio. Hes likely to stay in this race as well regardless of where the results are. He may be able to pick up a win and delegates in missouri. Hes also looking to pick up delegates in illinois. The question of whether trump goes is not just ohio and florida, whether he can sweep those two states, but whether he does well enough in missouri and illinois that he can pick up another delegates because of the way that they proportion out their delegates there, he could actually get a big lead even while he loses ohio narrowly to john kasich. So the math will be important to watch. On the democratic side were watching for almost a rerain of what we saw on the in michigan which is Bernie Sanders likely to do well in ohio, illinois and missouri. Hillary clinton likely to do well in florida and North Carolina. The challenge for Bernie Sanders is that coming close or winning narrowly isnt enough for him. He needs now to win at least 55 of all the delegates Going Forward in order to have a chance to watch up with her. Ifill is this one of those cases i guess on both sides in which, stu, you can win and lose and still keep winning. Does that make sense . If youre Hillary Clinton, you can lose and still get enough delegates that he cant catch up. Right, exactly. She has an advantage right now of 200 in terms of pledged delegates that she won but she has another over 400 superdelegate advantage. As amy said, each of these states with large basically the red states, secretary clinton was really well in the republican states. Doesnt do so well. Theres a tradeoff. In the michiganmississippi contest, she lost michigan but won all the delegates from mississippi and ended up winning even though all the attention was on how she lost michigan. Lets talk about the downballot consequences because this is not just about the president ial race. People who are sitting in the senate and even thenr house are watching this all play out very carefully, amy. Absolutely. And were talking about a state like ohio. Rob portman, the freshman republican senator elected in 2010 rather easily up for reelection this year. Hes already in a very close race with the former governor, democratic governor of this state. With somebody like trump on the top of the ticket who is as polarizing as he is, it is going to be very tough for rob portman to not get pulled underxd by the trump phenomenon and not in a good way. I think he will be a weight on many republicans running in these swing states, pulling them down. You could even see that as the house level, too. It is very hard for me to believe that, with donald trump as the top of the ticket, that republicans could hold the senate. Theyd likely lose the senate. The only question is how many seats they lose. But all the talk and chatter this weekend about violence at trump event, its not really losing trump any support at the top. There is no evidence of that yet. Look, Trump Supporters were attracted to him very early. They locked in, and their whole world view is his world view. It basically is a sense that hes fighting against the media, the political establishment. So, of course, when they attack him, when they portray him as inciting violence, theyre just trying to destroy him. So his supporters i think are pretty solid. Now, i dont think hes going to lose support there. Now, it may limit his ability to broaden support at any point, but i dont think its shaken up the race dramatically. Let me ask you both finally, what are you chances here on super tuesday 3e or whatever e. R. Calling this . What is your guess about the chances of this leading to a contested convention, amy . You put me on the shot here. laughter i think kasich can win ohio tomorrow. To me, im going to look at the margins coming out of illinois and ohio to give an answer but we could be looking at a contested convention if cruz runs well. Its a question of where the rest ofo the vote goes, trump is not moving. Ifill stu . Agree with amy that well, i think trumps going to have a really good day. The question is can he win enough and how close will he get . Will he get the delegates . They may not be able to deny him the nomination. Ifill amy walter, stu rothenberg, thank you both very much. Thanks, gwen. Ifill we have more politics coverage online, including a story about which g. O. P. Candidates have benefited the most from lobbyists. Theres a breakdown, at pbs. Org newshour. Woodruff tomorrow marks five years since syrias brutal civil war began, killing hundreds of thousands and displacing millions more. The humanitarian situation remains the most dire since the second world war, as halting peace talks toward a resolution begin again. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner begins our coverage. Warner huddled together, handinhand, hundreds of migrants streamed out of a camp in northern greece today. They trudged along muddy trails and forded surging rivers in search of a break in the border fence. We hope we can cross because we are a lot of people. Our number is big now. Warner theyre fleeing the overcrowded, rainsoaked idomeni camp where theyve been stranded since its northern neighbor macedonia closed its border to refugees last week. Many are syrians fleeing the war in at home. In geneva today, the first round of United Nationsbrokered peace talks aimed at ending that conflict got underway, as u. N. Special envoy to syria, staffan de mistura, hosted syrias ambassador to the u. N. We believe that we should have at least a clear roadmap. Im not saying an agreement, but a clear roadmap because thats what syria is expecting from all of us. As far as i know, the only plan b available is return to war, and to even worse war than we had so far. Warner the start of talks come as a tenuous cessation of hostilities in syria entered its third week. Today, five years since the conflict began, unicef painted a dire picture for the countrys children one in three syrian children have been born since the war broke out. And 8. 4 million, or nearly 80 of syrian children, are affected by the violence, either within the country or as refugees elsewhere. Meanwhile, the u. N. Refugee agency, unhcr, reported that 46 of the more than 150,000 refugees inundating europe this year came from syria. Those numbers outpace last years, when a record one Million People fled to europe. Many make the perilous sea crossing from turkey to greece, but now, because balkan borders are blocked, thousands are stranded in greece. At an e. U. Summit last week, turkish Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoglu offered to take back huge numbers of migrants in exchange for 3 billion in aid and progress on turkeys joining the european union. Warner the e. U. Summit with turkey resumes later this week. Brown for more on this ever growing refugee crisis, five years into the syria war, im joined by filippo grandi, who two months ago started his five year term as the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. Brown lets start with the tentativedale margaret was talking about between the e. U. And turkey. What is your objection to being turkey bring back some of those refugees . I think we should put this in context. Turkey is the country that hosts the largest number of Syrian Refugees. We have heard 2. 7 million. In fact, its the countries that host the largest numbers number of refugees worldwide, all kinds of refugees, and we have always promoted the idea that the responsibility of hosting Syrian Refugees should be shared more widely. Many have reached europe together with refugees of other countries and weve always encouraged europe to manage that flow in an orderly way. Unfortunately, that wasnt done. Chaos has followed. What we see in greece today is very worried. Europe is reacting in an emergency manner and is now discussing with turkey the possibility of sending back to turkey some of these people. Now brown would that not create more of an orderly passage . First of all, it needs to be done and, if it is done, it is called technically readmission of refugees from one country to the other. It needs to be done in a manner that respects the human rights, the rights of these refugees. So what were saying to europe, what were advising europe, if it is done, it needs to be done in a manner that fully, fully ensures the guarantees for the people that go back that their protection and rights are observed. Brown speaking of turkey and other countries that border syria where there are so many refugees and so many financial precious on these countries, youve had a lot of pledges of money, do they have the resources to handle the refugees they have . Is it money coming through that you need . This was a conference in london at the beginning of february in which 11 billion were pledged to support refugees and hosting communities and host countries in the region. Some of that money has been paid and pledged and paid but we havent got the full picture yet. What we are telling donor governments is those pledges need to be expedited because, for people on the ground, results have to be tangible and visible. Otherwise, the risk is they will move on and also try to reach europe. Brown when you look at countries in europe closing their borders, you look at political trends, even this weekend elections in germany, do you see the tide turning against refugees in europe . We see a hardening of the position of certain governments in respect to receiving refugees. What we are, of course, telling europe is that the responsibility to take care of refugees should be shared globally. Syria has shown that this cannot be any more the responsibility of two, three countries bordering the country at war, syria in this case, but has to be shared more widely, including by europe. Brown so thousands of refugees now stranded in greece, right . What should be done what is the situation there . How dire is it and what should be done for those people in the short term . The situation is dire. People were trying to move on for greece. The northern border was closed, so now about 40,000 are stranded there, and more are coming. The important thing is to find adequate sites to host them temporarily until solutions are found, including, perhaps, relocation through europe, a decision that europe made many months ago but which it didnt implement. Brown you were talking earlier about donor countries, the pledges youve received. I wonder about the United States. What do you want to see come from the United States . Is it more money . Should the United States take in more refugees . The United States is the largest donor country to refugee programs, and its also the country that takes the largest number of resettled refugees from old nationalities. Of course, the number of syrians that all countries are taking through resettlementnr and other legal means of transferring them from one country to the other, of course those numbers are still inadequate compared to the 4. 7 million that are hosted by the countries neighboring syria. Brown so why is this so tough to crack . I mean, why does it seem to get worse . Why is there intransigents from governments that keeps people in flight. I think things have made governments and Public Opinion more resistant to hosting refugees, there are economic reasons, economic downturn, there is security reasons, the fear, the unjustified fears that refugees bring terror, refugees flee terror. They dont bring terror to countries. Their arrival is very carefully vetted, so there should be no fear. But there is an irrational fear which is, in many countries, fueled by political propaganda. Brown and margarets piece was talking about a pongs the peace settlement. Do you think the flight of refugees will continue . Until there is war, people will try to flee. This is in human nature. People are afraid of bombs and destruction and want to go away. That is what happened in geneva today five years after the beginning to have the war, the peace talks must succeed. Brown filippo grandi, United Nations high commissioner for refugees, thank you so much. Thank you. Woodruff the start about the new Election Year series about the economic lives of americans, the frustrations many face trying to get ahead and the forces shapings the economy. In many way the recovery seems solid. The Unemployment Rate is at its lowest level since the recession and theres been six consecutive years of job growth, but Many Americans say they dont feel it. Our new multimedia series will explore why and how economic forces are affecting individuals. A joint project of the newshour, marketplace and pbss frontline, weretite ling it how the deck is stacked. Kai ryssdal joins us from los angeles to discuss a poll commissioned by marketplace looking at these issues. Kai, welcome. You will be tackling something we have been trying to understand for a long time. Yeah, we are. You see people consistently rate the economy as the number one thing theyre worried about in this country, topping terrorism and National Security from most recent polls in other organizations. He know why, what is it about peoples individual economies that makes them say this is the most important thing for us . We went out with Edison Research and said to people, a thousand people across the country, why . What is going on . What are you feeling in your own personal economy . Thats what this poll is all about. You start with new numbers that quantify peoples attitudes. There was a percentage there i found striking who say they are sometimes frequently anxious about their financial situation. Two thirds of people in the country, 61 of people say they are sometimes or frequently anxious about whats going on in their lives. Its a bunch of things, car payments, their jobs, their future do. They have enough saved for retirement, they are not feeling the thing the numbers tell them they should feel. Jobs run. We add a million jobs in the country since september and people arent feeling it. Thats the most interesting thing. Whats going on is not widely shared down at the middle and bottom ranges of this economy. Woodruff kai you also found the anxiety is higher among africanamericans and among hispanics. Right. Theyre the ones who have not saved for retirement. They use pay valentines day loans more. They see problems with their inherents. All the things the rest of russ feeling day in and day out and i should say you have to separate the wealthiest part of the economy from the rest of it. If you get down below the 1 , the 5 , there is deep economic stress and africanamericans and latinos feel it more acutely than anybody. Woodruff you asked a specific question about how people would handle an unexpected expense. Right. We asked people, if you had an unexpected expense of 1,000 today, right now, would you be able to handle it . And we asked it because you can get 1,000 like that a fenderbender, tripping on a curb, there is is thousand dollars. Would you be able to make the payment . 59 of the people said they would have difficulty making the payment and fully half of that group said they have nowhere to turn for help. They dont have a friend or relative that could help them out with 1,000. When you think of how easy it is in this Economy Today to be hit for a 1,000 bill for some kind of expense, thats a big issue. Woodruff you also got interesting results when you asked people about the role they feel washington has played in all this, how angry they are specifically at the nations capital. There is some discontent. I mean, and there are some racial and ethnic cross currents in there you have to sort of parse out. As you see out on the campaign trail today, nobody is very happy with whats going on in washington. You see it in democrats, republicans, independents. People are not satisfied with whats going on. But and this is also really interesting there is great support for a government safety net. People want the government, just not the way it is now. That one i know you will keep trying to understand. Tell us a little bit finally, kai, where you will be going, what parts of the country and what kinds of questions you will be trying to understand. Right. So what were going to do is go out with front line and folks from pbs newshour and find the stories that tell the people side of this thing, right . And ill give you an example. I was in tuscaloosa, alabama a number of months ago working for amarketplace story and we met a ph. D. Student in material science at the fort of alabama, she will get a job in this new economy no matter what, right . Shes working at a bbq joint in alabama to make ends meet, 102,000 worth of debt, and will get a job once she gets her degree. I said whats it like as you think about the future . She says, im scared. So well find the stories that sort of pull that thread through, why people arent feeling good about what, according to the numbers, is a rising economy. Woodruff we are looking forward to the entire series, going to be working with you, talking to you throughout the rest of this Election Year and beyond. Kai ryssdal, thank you very much. You bet. Woodruff we want to hear more from you about where we should go and what issues you feel should be part of our series. The series is funded in part by the corporation for public broadcasting. Go to our website and youll see a place where you can give us your feedback on how the deck is stacked. Ifill well be back in just a moment. But first, take this time to hear from your local pbs station. Its a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. Ifill for those stations still with us, join us for a second look at a company that aims to make it easier for people with Food Allergies to eat out, starting with a portable gluten test. Special correspondent cat wise reports from San Francisco. Reporter 31yearold Shireen Yates loves dining out with friends, but when shes ordering, its often a stressful experience. I would love the empanadas and black beans and plantains. Those are gluten free right . Yes, everything is gluten free. Reporter yates says she suffers from severe gluten sensitivities, and she also has problems with soy, dairy and egg. Despite her best efforts to avoid those foods, she often finds herself in situations where she doesnt know or trust what shes told is in the food. If she ingests even the smallest amount of the foods she has issues with, her health can be impacted for days. While in graduate school at m. I. T. , yates attended a friends wedding and had an unpleasant Dining Experience that sparked an idea. This waitress comes by with these delicious looking appetizers, and i asked her are these appetizers gluten free, and she said, how allergic are you . I was really angry, you know, just like starving, and i was like why cant i just test this . And that was that ahha moment, i said, well, why not, how hard could that be . Its hard. Reporter three years later, after teaming up with scott sundvor, a fellow m. I. T grad, who also has to avoid gluten due to a health condition, yates is on the verge of turning that idea into a reality. With this small portable gluten detecting device called the nima. Nima means fair and equitable in farsi, yates familys native language. So this is the nima. Reporter in the kitchen of their small San Francisco startup, yates gave us a demo on some fresh, supposedly gluten free, waffles that had just been delivered from a local restaurant. So what we would do, is we would take a sample of food, and we put it in this little capsule, and then were going to take the top, the action of closing this will grind the food. Im just going to put it in the sensor right now, and then were going to start it. Reporter it takes about two minutes for the results to come back. During that time, the device uses a sophisticated antibody the company developed to test if gluten is present. They are testing to levels set by the food and Drug Administration for what constitutes gluten free, 20 gluten protein parts per million. A smiley face means no gluten at those levels, a frown means gluten is present. So we got a smiley face, so what does that mean . That means i feel a lot better about eating my waffle. Reporter could some other part of this waffle have gluten in it . Yeah, that is absolutely a possibility. But what we are doing is giving you that extra piece of data to really improve your odds of staying your healthiest self when youre eating out, and actively trying to avoid certain foods. Reporter those trying to avoid gluten is a big market, about one in five americans these days. A team of engineers and scientists who are part of the company now called 6sensorlabs, are making final tweaks to the nima before the Company Begins shipping it out to customers next summer. It will cost about 250 and each disposable capsule will be 4 to 5 depending on the quantity ordered. Testing foods for gluten isnt new of course. Its often done in clinical labs, and there are some home testing kits out there. But many are timeconsuming and require multiple steps to get results. That presented the team with a design challenge. This is a consumer product, its not a medical device. And because of that, it has to be something thats really easy to use. It has to be fast, it has to be discreet. Reporter the company is aiming for 99. 5 accuracy and theyre comparing their results with the results of other independent gluten testing labs. What they have found so far is about a quarter of the foods theyve tested, labeled gluten free, have in fact had some gluten in them. Yates says that doesnt surprise her. I dont know if youve ever worked in a kitchen, but its chaos. And so the idea of getting your order in, making sure it was heard correctly, getting it to the chef, making sure everything was prepared in the right way, getting the dish, and putting it back in front of that consumer that has that real sensitivity, theres a lot that can go wrong. Reporter the nima currently tests only for gluten, but the company is planning to eventually test for other allergens like dairy and peanuts. But thats proving harder to do. There hasnt been a clear guideline regarding what level do you have to detect to make sure people arent getting sick at those levels. Reporter while 6sensorlabs is focused on getting their product to market quickly, their competition is heating up. Several other companies are developing different food testing technologies, including the use of smartphones. All are attempting to capitalize on the growing number of americans who are food focused, especially when it comes to gluten. Its a trend that has more than a few skeptics. But for the estimated three million americans who suffer from celiac disease, an inflammation of the intestines, theres no disputing that gluten ingestion is a Serious Health problem. Theres some studies that suggest that as little as 50 to 100 milligrams is enough to activate an immune response. To put that into perspective, a slice of bread has 5,000 milligrams. So it really doesnt take a lot. Reporter dr. Nielsen fernandezbecker is the director of the celiac management clinic at Stanford University hospital. She says that products like the nima could be helpful, but they shouldnt be a crutch for patients. I think it would be valuable. But i think its only one tool in the arsenal. I hope what it doesnt do is that it makes patients more complacent. If you have a piece of steak and you sample one side, could we be missing gluten in some other side. Reporter the nima team is now developing an app that will allow users to share information about the tests theyve done on foods, and where glutenfree is truly gluten free. For Shireen Yates, that kind of knowledge can make or break her meal out. After getting the smiley face sign she was hoping for, she dived right into her gluten free empanadas. For the pbs newshour, im cat wise in San Francisco. Ifill john king is the next secretary of education. Ehad been serving ago acting secretary since arne duncan stepped down last year and previously served at new york states commissioner of education. Woodruff on the newshour online, math geeks and sweet tooths alike celebrate pi day today. March 14th marks the mathematical constant, that begins with 3. 14. But our resident science producer isnt convinced that pi is so special. Read his take, on our home page. And in our poetry series, how language and verse helped a young undocumented poet find his voice to speak about immigration. All that and more is on our web site, pbs. Org newshour. Ifill later tonight on charlie rose, whats behind the drawdown of russias troops in syria. And thats the newshour for tonight. On tuesday, with voters heading to the polls in five states, well have reports from ohio, florida and illinois. Im gwen ifill. Woodruff and im judy woodruff. Join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provid by and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. 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Its a perfect, stunning backdrop for making romantic moments utterly unforgettable