Transcripts For WHYY PBS NewsHour 20140610

Place, of what Shenandoah National park is. Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by at bae systems, our pride and dedication show in everything we do; from Electronics Systems to intelligence analysis and cyber operations; from combat vehicles and weapons to the maintenance and modernization of ships, aircraft, and critical infrastructure. Knowing our work makes a difference inspires us everyday. Thats bae systems. Thats inspired work. Ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved, staying engaged. They are not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is, how did i end up here . I started schwab with those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. United healthcare, online at uhc. Com. 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. Woodruff the International Coalition in afghanistan launched an investigation today after five u. S. Special operations soldiers were killed, apparently by friendly fire. It happened in Zabul Province in the south, and may be one of the worst such incidents in almost 14 years of the afghan war. For more, i spoke earlier with n. P. R. Reporter sean carberry, whos in kabul. Sean carberry, thank you so much for talking with us. What is known exactly about what happened . Well, u. S. Special Operations Forces and Afghan Forces were carrying out a clearing operation in Zabul Province which is one of the more unsecured provinces in the country and, according to afghan officials, when the troops were on their way back to the base from this operation, it came under attack by taliban militants. At that point, they called in for air support, and the air strike apparently hit the friendly forces, killing five u. S. Troops and one afghan force. Nato and u. S. Officials have not officially confirmed that it was a friendly fire incident. They have indicated theyre investigating that. However, afghan officials said the air strike hit the friendly forces, again, killing five u. S. And one afghan troops. Woodruff so its not confirmed but sounds like the evidence points to friendly fire. Is it known what type aircraft . Reports are that it was a b1 bomber, so this is not an apache helecopter or gunship or Something Like that. This is most likely heavy munitions, a heavy bomb that would have been dropped in this instance. Woodruff sean, were just a few days away from the president ial election runoff there in afghanistan. Whawhat is it security situation there . Youre in kabul. Its increasing in checkpoints around the city. Officials said theyre on high alert going into the elections. In terms of the security incidents, there havent been as many as people have been expected. There have been fewer attacks than there were in the run up to the first round offvoting in april. However, last weekend, militants did carry out a Suicide Attack against president ial candidate abdullah abdullah. He and his entourage survived. But thats the most highprofile attack weve seen, but officials are expecting more violence for election day this year because its coming in peak fighting season, whereas the first round was at the tail end of spring and, at that point, the fall hadnt happened, fighters werent as active at that point. Woodruff sean carberry, thank you very much, talking to us from kabul. Youre welcome, usedy. Woodruff u. S. Officials in washington declined comment on the incident, saying they are waiting for the investigation. Ifill gunmen in pakistan attacked a Police Training facility today near the karachi airport. It followed sunday nights taliban assault that killed 26 people at the airport itself. Todays incident forced a temporary suspension of flights and triggered a brief shootout with security forces. But airport officials downplayed its severity. translated the wrong word was used, that there was an attack. There was no such situation. There was a firing incident, which was within our capability to manage. However, the word attack was used by the media, which created panic. You saw the response. Police, rangers, army, everyone was immediately here. Ifill the taliban said it was also behind todays attack and warned of more violence to come. Woodruff in syria, in fighting between an alqaeda linked group and other rebel factions has taken a heavy toll in recent weeks. The syrian observatory for human rights reported today more than 630 people have been killed in the east, near the iraqi border, since the end of april. At least 130,000 others have fled the region. Ifill there was more fallout in Congress Today over the prisoner swap that freed Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in afghanistan. The senates number two democrat, dick durbin of illinois, said there was no time to notify lawmakers in advance, because the deal to free five guantanamo detainees in exchange for bergdahl was finalized just one day before it happened. But republican Jeff Sessions rejected that reasoning after a closed briefing by defense officials. Im not satisfied in any way that congress should not have been consulted in this matter. Just as a matter of courtesy, whether it was in law or not, a matter of this importance should have been discussed with at least key leaders in the congress. Ifill democratic senator carl levin of michigan came out of that same briefing, saying military leaders supported the prisoner swap. What the media has not carried, i think, is the critical question do our top military uniformed leaders support this agreement, did they, were they involved in it, they assured me they were, and did they support it, they assured me they strongly support it because of the ethos of getting our people back. Ifill the house begins hearings on the bergdahl release tomorrow. Defense secretary chuck hagel will testify before the Armed Services committee. Woodruff the house has voted unanimously to make it easier for veterans to get in to see doctors. The bill that passed today would pay for vets to get care outside the Veterans Affairs system, if theyve had long waits or live more than 40 miles from a v. A. Hospital. A similar bill is pending in the senate. Ifill crew members of the south korea ferry that sank in april appeared in court today, at an emotional hearing. Relatives of the more than 300 who died in the sinking, wrestled with officials and packed the court room. Some shouted murderer when the captain entered. The 15 crew members face charges ranging from negligence to homicide for abandoning the ship. Woodruff this is primary election day for six more states. Republican senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and House Majority leader eric cantor of virginia are expected to hold off tea party challengers. Primaries are also scheduled in maine, nevada, and north dakota; and arkansas is holding a series of runoffs. Ifill wall street had a relatively quiet day. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained not quite three points to close near 16,946. The nasdaq rose more than one point to close at 4,338. And the sandp 500 slipped half a point to end at 1,950. Ifill still to come on the newshour. Sunni militants force iraqs army out of a key city; could Hillary Clintons new book foreshadow a second president ial bid . The fight in the states over Medicaid Expansion; a judge strikes down tenure protections for californias Public Schoolteachers; and connecting the next generation to cherished historic places. Woodruff in a major blow to the government of iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Almaliki, and to that country stability, sunni militants have taken over iraqs second largest city. Woodruff fighters from the Islamic State of iraq and the levant pushed Iraqi Army Units from parts of mosul overnight after days of fighting. The largely sunnimuslim city in the north is a strategic hub for iraqs oil industry, as well as a gateway to syria. The militants, also known as isis or isil, captured military depots, equipment and weapons in mosul. They also seized provincial government headquarters and freed more than a thousand prisoners. Thousands of residents fled north toward the kurdish autonomous region, jamming roads. Some were iraqi soldiers, who left their uniforms in the streets. In baghdad, newlyreelected Prime Minister Nouri Almaliki addressed the mostserious challenge yet in his eight year tenure. translated i call upon the parliament to live up to its responsibility to declare a state of emergency and general mobilization. We have to declare a comprehensive mobilization and the utmost alert in political, financial and popular capabilities to defeat terrorism and bring life to normal in all areas occupied by terrorists, either in mosul or any other city. Woodruff but malikis shiiteled government has largely failed in reconciling with iraqs sunni population. The Islamic State has taken advantage of the breach. The sunni Extremist Group previously took over fallujah and rts of ramadi in western and central iraq. Its also a principal combatant in syrias civil war, but has fought against other rebel groups as fiercely as many of its units have fought against the army of president assad. The groups ambitions there have led to a rupture with al qaidas core organization, which sides with the syrian rebellion. The attack on mosul now threatens to draw nearby Kurdish Forces into the fighting as well. That drew this reaction from the u. S. State department today. The threat i. S. I. L. Is presenting is not just threat to iraq, but is a threat to region. This growing menace exemplifies the importance of iraqis from all communities working to confront this common enemy. Woodruff Iraqs Parliament has announced it will meet thursday to decide on a state of emergency. Woodruff for more on what the takeover means for iraq, the region and beyond. Im joined by laith kubba, senior director for the middle east and north africa at the National Endowment for democracy and kimberly kagan, president of the institute for the study of war. We welcome you both. So, kimberly kagan, let me start with you. We know these insurgents have been creating havoc for some time, launching attacks. How important is this particular attack taking over the city of mosul . This attack, the Islamic State of iraq and the levant and the levant has launched on muslims is incredibly important because it is the begin of a campaign and a push beyond mosul into the areas toward baghdad that the Islamic State of iraq wants to govern. It seeks to establish an emirate and state to govern inside iraq as well as inside syria where it has announced the beginning of its emirate. I think mosul will be its new capital. Woodruff laith kubba, how do you see it . And why is this happening now . How is it that this Insurgent Group has got ton this level where they can wreak this kind of chaos in the country . Over the last two years, i think they have been growing steadily. All the signs were there, nobody wanted to read them. They moved from being an offshoot terrorist group, and their people might think we can live with terrorist groups and the skirmishes they create but this has become an army of 10,000 to 15,000, very well equipped with rocket launchers, some air missiles, and they are so coordinated, i think theyve become a magnet for more soldiers to join them. This latest attack not only one attack, its a coordinated attacks on five cities in iraq, has given them immense momentum and credibility, and theyre going to become a serious threat to the region. Im not really sure if they can hold territory for long, but certainly theyve achieved their objective in saying were a force and i think hundreds will join them, and this is going to become a regional problem. Woodruff kimberly kagan, how did they get to have this capability . Because it was opportunity case when the u. S. Pulled out of iraq. The Islamic State of iraq is no longer a terrorist group. It is an army. It is an insurgency, and it has grown in its capabilities inside of iraq by really fielding an army, by freeing prisoners that were held in iraqi prisons, by testing the Iraqi Security forces, by taking control piecemeal. And if we tried to confront it as a terrorist organization, we will misunderstand its nature. Its an insurgency, it is fighting for terrain, and it has really come of importance as Prime Minister almaliki tried to exclude sunnies from his government and create resentment among the sunni population in iraq. Woodruff what is the role of the ma licksy government in that this is happening under their noses . The i emergence of i. S. I. L. Is very much a product of what is going on in syria, but i think the failure of politics in baghdad and the failure certainly of the iraqi army is a direct result of whats going on in baghdad. Bear in mind the Prime Minister is the commanderinchief, hes been Prime Minister eight years, iraq is an old country and it could not stand its ground in front of hundreds of attackers. A country that kept iran in check for eight years is now not capable of keeping an insurgency in check. I think for iraqis, this is evidence that something is fundamentally wrong in the way their country is governed. Even the electoral process that is repeated over and over again is not producing a good government. Woodruff kimberly kagan, whats to stop them, i. S. I. L. From just doing what they want and taking over any territory they want . I think that the organization has momentum, the organization has aimed for years to dissolve the Iraqi Security forces and named a campaign, the soldiers hardest campaign that its been conducted for a year for that goal. I think the Iraqi Security forces are breaking and will continue to even though Prime Minister almaliki has declared a state of emergency. And are they even able to defend baghdad and its environs and will they be able to mobilize, as they already have, sheer militants grouped, backed by iran and strained by hezbollah that fought in syria in order to defend the shia areas of baghdad and south. Woodruff are we looking for a showdown around baghdad . Just to emphasize the point, iraqis expect a state with an army, not militias that are sponsored or sent to syria to fight or called upon to defend its city. Iraq should have an army and i think its a sign of how far things have gone to see militias, roaming trying to defend cities. Woodruff to laith kubba first, why does this madd matter in the broader region . You have the civil war going on next door in syria, the effect on countries in the area . The fact that this army now controls territory so well equipped and so capable and with momemtum, i would worry about jordan because thats a very soft front, they can push there anytime, and this group now is increasing in numbers and sophistication. Theyre going to be there for a long time. Woodruff and the same question i asked a minute ago, whats to stop them from marching and going where they want . I certainly hope that the Iraqi Security forces can stop them, but realistically, what we see now is a safe haven that has developed in iraq and syria from which islam militants can both launch attacks and train foreign fighters and send them out and also govern terrain and oppressed people. That is precisely the kind of safe haven this administration and its predecessor have stated that the United States will not tolerate in the region. Woodruff and that raises questions that we will be continuing to lookxd at and want to ask about the in days to come. Kimberly kagan and laith kubba, we thank you both. Thank you. Ifill former secretary of state Hillary Clinton headed back out on the trail today, not for a political campaign, but to support her new memoir. With a hopscotch schedule of media appearances, political observers are scanning the book, and her interviews, for 2016 tea leaves. Ifill the book tour formally began this morning, with the author arriving at a barnes and noble in new york, to applause and an army of cameras. But the buildup started weeks ago. Its about the hard choices everybody has to make in life. Ifill after days of leaks and secretly purchased advance copies, her second memoir, hard choices, is now officially on the bookshelves. In new york today, book buyers lined up to meet the former first lady, senator and secretary of state. The carefullyorchestrated roll out only stokes speculation that she is launching a 2016 president ial practice run. Shes on the cover of people magazine. Shes made highprofile appearances at a number of recent forums. And shes sitting down for a slew of television interviews, starting last night with a. B. C. News diane sawyer. When are you going to decide whether youre running for president . You know, im going to decide when it feels right for me to decide because still by the end of this year . Well, you know, certainly not before then. I just want to kind of get through this year, travel around the country, sign books, help in the midterm elections in the fall and then take a deep breath and kind of go through my pluses and minuses about what i will and will not be thinking about as i make the decision. Ifill in that same interview, clinton said she made millions in paid speeches because she and former president bill clinton were dead broke when they left the white house in 2001. After republicans said this proved clinton is now out of touch with average americans, she returned to a. B. C. This morning to defend herself. I fully appreciate how hard life is for so Many Americans today. Is an issue ive worked on and cared about my entire adult life. Bill and i were obviously blessed. We worked hard for everything we got in our lives and we have continued to work hard and weve been blessed in the last 14 years. But i want to use the talents and resources i have to make sure others get the same chances. Ifill early reviews have been decidedly mixed. The New York Times called it a subtle, finely calibrated work. The Washington Post described it as a careful book and slate said clinton goes on at great length, but not great depth. Part travelogue and party policy treatise, hard choices clocks in at 600 pages, focusing largely on her time as secretary of state it includes photos from clintons time campaigning for president obama and working with Vice President biden, who is also considering a 2016 run, as well as her meetings with World Leaders from africa to asia. Ifill for more on the rollout of clintons memoir and what it might tell us about her future in politics, we are joined by ann lewis, a longtime advisor to both hillary and president bill clinton. Chris lehane, a democratic strategist who worked in the clinton administration. And amy chozick, National Political reporter for the New York Times who is covering mrs. Clinton. Amy chozick, words that come to mind are orchestrated, calibrated, structured, this roll out. How organized is it . Absolutely. I think it was incredibly well thought out right up until the mothers day excerpt about Hillary Clintons mother Dorothy Rodham that was kind of our introduction of the book and also showed a very softer side of her, i would say, and it continued from then, the peoples magazine cover right up to today at the barnes noble in new york. What was that like . Crazy . It was insane. There were a thousand people outside. A lot of people slept outfront ready for hillary. There was a giant campaign bus. I talked to a woman who pulled her 11yearold daughter out of school to attend. So had the feel and enthusiasm of campaign. This was the middle of Downtown Manhattan so not exactly a proxy for a nice wade president ial campaign. You have been ready for what, exactly . Whatever it is hillary decided to do. They have 2 million members or more growing every day. Heres this wonderful Public Servant and anybody who reads the book will see how much Hillary Clinton cares and policy, about doing the right thing, how proud she is of our country. We want to go as far as she would like to do and if she wants to go further, well be there. Ifill is it just me or does this seem to be more carefully rolled out, structured, not in collaboration with hillary, but certainly much more done with more of an eye of the political future than the last book rollout in 2008 . The last book was in a very imrcht climate, and if you go back and a different media landscape. Look at the ways were talking about the book that didnt exist last time. There was no twitter at the time that says hillarys book. So you have a hightech, sophisticated conversation going nut the blogosphere, and then low tech like the bus. Ifill chris lehane, you have a candidate here with 100 name recognition. How do you handle if this is indeed a political rollout as well as literary, how do you handle that differently than any other candidate . Great question. Im not sure if the book will or will not be the equivalent of war and peace, but its certainly been handled about as well as you could at a war and peace level. By that i mean i think its really smart. I think informed by Hillary Clintons experience in the 2008 president ial campaign, if this is really an effort to control america, define herself on her own terms i mean, even the timing, president ial aspect books, which this may or may not be, typically happens years out. This is happening several years out. We live in a pe perpetual campan world, and important to control your character definition even down to the title and the content of this book, shes doing that, and i think its a smart strategy and the execution has been extremely effective. Ifill amy chozick, the execution includes getting in front of interviewers and answering questions that may take ow off topic, like shes been asked about Monica Lewinsky and benghazi and made the comment to diane sawyer that she and bill clinton needed to earn the money to pay for houses and mortgages which the republicans jumped on, so there are also the potential for slipups here. I actually welcomed the slipups which signaled if shes a candidate in 2016, maybe she wont be so scripted and find out how americans feel about it before she utters every line. I found the gap refreshing as a political reporter. Ifill ann lewis, you have been through a lot of this with the clintons. I wonder if this isnt trying to define yourself before everyone races in and does it did on the kind of issues that have now been described as her gap. Good point. I think the first part is Hillary Clinton talking about the last four years, as secretary of state, she was americas ambassador to the war. She wants people to know whats so important. We need to be leaders, whats at stake, she wants to do it in her own voice, she cares about this deeply. People who read the book will get the sense of both the policy, the substance but also the personality she brings to it. She can do that better for herself than anybody else can talking about her. Ifill you talked about the title hard choices. One of the things she said today and yesterday, there have been so many interviews its hard to keep track, but she said hard choices are what president s do. Thats the closest shes come in saying hard choices is about considering the presidency . Yeah, youre not supposed to judge a book by its title, but i think in these types of books theres an awful lot to the title because ultimately youre trying to give folks a sense of who you are as a person, particularly if you end up being a president ial candidate, and she obviously has been one before and had a lot of experience. Thats where it breaks into two categories. One is your character, personality, and your other is your vision for the country, and i think the title hard choices does a good job of encapsulating both and would fit nicely on a Bumper Sticker and, i think, i think is a smart way to package all of this and at the end of the day she is talking about the fact that when you are a president or secretary of state or in the u. S. Senate, that you do have to make hard choices, that is part of being a leader and i think this goes to both elements, the character of personality, who she is and also that vision for the country and, you know, based on what ive seen from the book, if she is talking retrospectively about our four years but extrapolating from that in terms of what she cares about and how potentially she looks at issues postspectively so she does a good job at both. Ifill youve both talked to enough people inside hillaryland. Is there anybody who doesnt think shes running . First chris lehane. Well, i think that, yes, every signal and sign out there would certainly suggest shes doing Everything Possible to make sure shes in a position to run. Obviously, i defer to her. Its her choice and i think we all recognize and respect that. But this book i mean, this book, to me, you can evaluate the process and approaches shes taking and its indicative of somebody whos doing Everything Possible to put themselves in the strongest position to say, yes, ideed, i am a county for president in 2016. Ifill ann lewis you talk to so many people and devote time to tracking her footprints, anybody say, no, shes not going to do it . 99 sure one person said she was running. Another person said the duller the book, the more chance shes running. So read into that what you will. I think the book was cautious that she could leave her options open. Friends of hers, cheryl mills, being a key one saying they dont want her to run, that they worry about the scrutiny of the campaign and they just want her to enjoy her life. What about other democrats who might be considering it . Clinton addressed this in one of the interviews and she said she wasnt worried it was freezing out the field but i think the party is anxious for her to make up her mind so they can get behind someone else if for some reason its not her. Whats the hardest choice Hillary Clinton has to make between now and the end of the year. She has referred to this, she would probably have to decide whether, in fact, shes going forward. Can i stop and disagree . I almost never disagree with amy and shes been a great observer. But i think a lot of people who read this book will not think its dull. I dont think its dull ifill all right. Just wanted to get that on the record. Ifill she opened the possibility it may not be exciting. Oh, i think it will be thrilling. But Hillary Clinton said this, she is right now in for her very unusual place. That is, she can take her time when she gets up in the morning, she can go out and walk, she can spend that time with her husband. She really, at the same time, has this opportunity to step forward, to be a leader again for the United States. She has to decide what. Again, that is a very tough choice. Ifill a lot of people are weighing pros and cons to see what she does with the choice. Ann lewis, amy chozick, chris lehane, thank you all very much. Thank you. S for having me. Woodruff the battles over whether to expand medicaid coverage under the federal Health Care Law are still playing out in a number of states this summer. The latest virginia, where republicans in the state senate grabbed control of that chamber yesterday, and prevented Governor Terry mcauliffe, a democrat, from opting into the expansion. It happened after another democrat, a state senator, unexpectedly resigned amid claims that he was trading his seat for another position and an appointment for his daughter. Meanwhile, there are a handful of states, including indiana, pennsylvania and utah, where republican governors are considering participating in Medicaid Expansion, but only with more requirements and restrictions from those who would be covered. So far, 26 states, plus the district of columbia, have agreed to expand. The Obama Administration says six Million People have gained medicaid coverage. But there may be nearly two million waiting for their applications to be processed. Julie rovner, who is now with Kaiser Health news, is with us. Welcome back to the program. Nice to be here. Woodruff why have some states still not made a decision about whether to expand medicaid . Of course, they dont have to. In 2012 the Supreme Court said this is optional. This, of course, is not going to be optional as the health law was passed, anticipated every state would expand medicaid. Congress knew when it passed in 2010 states didnt have extra money to help pay for medicaid which is a shared program between federal and state governments, basically the federal government pays a little more than half the cost, but the federal government said for this expansion population they would pay 100 of the cost for the first three years and phase down to 90 , so still most of the cost going into perpetuity but when the Supreme Court made it optional half the states as we pointed out jumped in and the other half mostly republican states said we dont even know if we can afford that 10 that we would have to kick in after the three years when its going to be, you know, fully federally funded. So theyre still arguing about it. Woodruff as we were just pointing out in one of these states where its on the cusp, theyre trying to figure out what to do, virginia with a new democratic governor having had a republican governor the state legislature, state senate now has a very unusual situation there. Of course, the new democratic governor ran with his number one priority to expand medicaid and, of course, its a Republican House and it was a split, it was 50 50 with the Lieutenant Governor being the decided vote. So this one designated by this state senator has slipped the state senate to the republicans and basically theres this budget standoff and it was thinking it was going to shut down the state over the budget. Now, of course, it looks like the budget will not have the Medicaid Expansion it in much to the dismay of the democratic governor. There is still a possibility that there could be a special session, that medicaid could come back. There are a couple of moderate republicans in the senate who support the Medicaid Expansion but certainly it puts it in much more doubt just with this one expected and unknown why resignation. Woodruff but then you have, julie, these other states that are trying to figure out, republican governors, utah, pennsylvania, indiana, just to name a few, politics peculiar to each state in play in every one. Yes, and were starting to see kind of a theme with these republican governors who would like the federal money. Its a lot of money for a large, uninsured population in many of the states. Pennsylvania has perhaps 400,000 people who could be covered and what many of the republican governors are doing, were seeing this in iowa, is we want to expand medicaid and want to do it our way. So we want these people to go into private plans. Weve already seen that in arkansas. We want to perhaps have the people pay more in cost sharing. So have this lowincome population pay something for their coverage, thats not traditionally been allowed in medicaid, and we want perhaps incentives for them to do healthy behaviors, maybe stop smoking or lose weight. So those tend to be the kinds of things theyre asking for, and they havent necessarily gotten that yet from the federal government. And what is the pushback that youre hearing from advocates for the poor who say even a small amount that some of these folks are required to pay can prevent them from having access . Theres a large body of research that suggests cost sharing deters people from getting care and particularly poor people from getting care and theres a concern that even if you put small amounts of cost sharing on there, people who need care, particularly people with chronic ailments wont get the care so it can be counterproductive and theyre very concerned about the idea of having skin in the game for the medicaid population in particular. Woodruff so while the dramas play out and with real consequences, this notion that there are several Million People who applied for medicaid dont have their applications responded to. Thats right and thats partly because putting in the Affordable Care act every state had to change the way it calculated eligibility for the medicaid population to basically make it standardized across all of the states. Basically as of january 1, every state had to change the way it calculated eligibility. Also some difficulty in healthcare. Gov, the web site basically sending the information to the states and getting it back and forth. So there is this backlog, most turns out to be in california and illinois, but also backlog in some states that didnt expand medicaid, states like north carolina, georgia, hopefully just over the next few weeks as these states get their i. T. Problems straightened out the backlog will dissipate if not go away. Woodruff julie rovner, on top of it, thank you very much. Thank you. Ifill teachers unions lost a major court case in california today which could make it easier to fire ineffective teachers. A california judge ruled that the states tenure protections for Public School teachers are unconstitutional. The case was brought on behalf of, and by, nine students who said those policies effectively denied their right to a quality education. We begin with some background. Ifill Los Angeles Superior Court judge rolf treu struck down three laws, saying they offered teachers job security at the expense of many students. Elizabeth vergara and her sister beatriz are two of the students who brought the complaint. A year apart in age, they attend the same Los Angelesarea high school. The sisters told the newshour this spring that when they were in middle school, they both sat through a history class taught by the same ineffective teacher he would just be at his desk. Like, just using his computer or sleeping. I didnt even learn anything, like i was getting behind. Ifill in 2012, they joined with seven other california students to file suit against the state, saying their education suffered because teacher and tenure laws prevented schools from acting in their best interest. Teachers are eligible for tenure in california after 18 months. The students sought to get rid of that and other laws, including seniority protections and dismissal procedures they say allow poorlyperforming teachers to stay in the classroom. But attorneys for the state and teachers unions told the judge the laws are key to recruiting and retaining a skilled teaching force, and were meant to ensure educators arent dismissed unfairly. Fourth grade teacher Kelly Iwamoto considers that due process protection crucial because i speak out very frequently about resources being brought to our district for lowering class sizes. And if im vocal, and someone doesnt like what im saying, then i can be let go for that. And i dont think thats fair. Ifill several other states have either eliminated or limited tenure protection through law or union contracts. Lawyers for the state said they plan to appeal todays ruling. Ifill now, to the decisions potential impact. Russlynn ali serves as an Advisory Board member of students matter, which represented the plaintiffs. She is a former assistant secretary for civil rights at the department of education. And joshua pechtault is the president of the California Federation of teachers, one of the key parties who lost in todays ruling. Joshua pechtault, there are 6 Million Students in california, 325,000 students. This is the beginning of the end of teacher tenure . No, i dont think so. Were going to appeal this and i think even more importantly were going to continue to work with parents and community and a vision for a quality Public Education that both raises up kids and also values the men and women who work with them, which is the complete opposite of what this ruling attempts to do. Ifill russlynn ali, how do we know its the teachers who are failing the students and not Something Else . Well, what the judge decided today made it quite clear that, taken together, the statutes that guarantee lifetime employment after 18 months that dont look at factors like whether teachers are actually teaching kids and whether theyre learning, statutes that make termination nearly impossible, costing hundreds of house of dollars, and statutes that ensure that those most new to the profession are first fired, and anytime there needs to be a reduction of force for budget reasons, theyre taking together those upstatutes violate the quality right to an education guaranteed by californias constitution. Ifill joshua pechtault, there are those who say this is about funding. Is that part of the problem . Well, i think funding is yeah, i think funding is a big part of this. Its funny that were going to at least if the plaintiffs have their way, well shape educatioeducational policy basen layoffs. The California Teachers Association works hard to pass progressive morsers to stop budget cuts and we know more has to be done. We know what works. We have districts that are successful. We have schools that are successful, and in those districts and in those schools its where the Community Works collaboratively. Education is a collaborative endeavor. The slogan, it takes a village to educate a child, that happens in a cooperative way, not by attacking teachers and teacher rights. Ifill something from the judges ruling today in which he talked about the first fired part of the statute and he said it was clear to him that keeping a senior and incompetent teacher was preferable to letting go a junior effective teacher. What do you say to that argument . Well, so, number one, we dont want to see any teachers let go during layoffs. Thats the most important point. But the reason to have seniority is because seniority creates an objective criteria for determining whos in the classroom. If its about teacher effectiveness, thats very subjective and, really, what these folks ultimately want to get at is evaluating teachers based on test scores. Thats the only measure that they are going to be able to come up with when were assessing thousands and thousands of teachers in a particular district, and weve seen years, now, of having test scores driving education and curriculum. It distorts what happens in the classroom, it narrows the curriculum and its not good education policy, and these folks are have the money and resources to follow that agenda. Ifill let me allow pardon me let me allow russlynn ali to respond to that. Is there another agenda at work here in. The only agenda that the plaintiffs in this case that the lawyers, that all of us, its about what is right for students. This is not about pitting students against teachers. To frame it that way does a disservice to what we all need, what california citizens want to accomplish and that is to ensure our students have access to the best and most motivated teachers, that they are inspired to learn that we transform the way our schools work so everyone learns better. Ifill do you judge that by we ought not use quality blind decisions. We are not talking about widgets. We are talking about children and their lives. We need to know whether they are learning. That is not to suggest that we ought to use test scores alone, but part of an Evaluation System that gauges true learning in the classroom, we ought to look at the assessments that we give kids. We intimated we were deciding policy based on layoffs. The turn factor, that is that in schools that serve mostly students of color are some of our lowest performing students and highest poverty schools. They suffer vacancies at a rate that is extraordinary. Those students in louisiana, for example, are at 68 more likely to have a grossly ineffective teacher if they are english language learners. Theyre almost as likely to have an ineffective teach for they are africanamerican students. We are talking about equi. The aequi equity and justice. Those principles ought not to fly in the face of what is in the best interest of teachers. What is in the best interest of students is whats in the best interest of teachers. Ifill joshua pechtault, what are the prospects of appeal . We are hopeful. We think the evidence is compelling that blowing up the Education Code in california doesnt help with equity. If doing away with seniority and Due Process Rights was so effective then why is it that in the states where these rights dont exist for teachers, education is also suffering and its suffering for poor and working class kids . There are obviously other more compelling reasons that shape Public Education, not just the teachers in front of the classroom. We want the best teachers in the classroom and put the resources in that are best, not mechanisms for getting rid of people. Ifill joshua pechtault and russlynn ali, thank you both very much. Thank you very much. Woodruff finally tonight, across the country theres a new effort underway to preserve americas historical sites, while at the same time teach a new generation the art, and importance, of that work. Jeffrey brown has that story, part of his ongoing series, culture at risk. Brown high atop central virginias shenandoah mountains, these students are continuing work begun 75 years ago. Theyve been renovating the skyland stables, which for generations have provided park visitors with horses to ride along 200 miles of equestrian trails. This is the Pilot Project of the hands on preservation experience, or hope crew, a new nationwide initiative from the National Trust for historic preservation. Monica rhodes is its volunteer coordinator. What the National Trust hopes to bring to this, through this new initiative, is an opportunity for a younger, more diverse audience to get involved w these buildings, to really interact with their environment and contribute to their country. Brown the trust is partnering with the National Park service, the Corps Network and other groups to bring a new generation into the preservation fold across the country. In this case, water damage and wear from the horses had damaged some of the wood on this rustic ushaped stable. It also needed a new fence. There are number of Historic Buildings in the nation. The park service alone has about a four and a half billion dollar backlog of deferred maintenance, so these are Historic Buildings that are in need of repair and rehabilitation right now. Brown working with an expert craftsman, a team of students carried out the restoration work. Many are from cities far from the mountains, now studying at the Harpers Ferry Job Corps Center in west virginia. Im not used to being around horses. So yeah, their loud noises are pretty startling. Brown while staying nearby, students like jarmaine budd earn 10 an hour, far less than the 40 to 60 an hour a contractor might charge. In exchange, they get hands on experience in a new kind of work, which budd says requires greater attention to detail. The challenging part about it is the matching of the wood. And the cuts are a little more rougher. And some of the cuts have to be a little more cleaner and more precise than inside a house, where a little half inch, you wont really tell that difference, but out here, its a big margin. Brown elijah smith is from washington, dc. I think its important to Save Old Buildings because when you go back you can see what you did right, what you did wrong, and the older something is the more value there is to it, it brings more people to it. Brown in the 1930s it was the civilian conservation corps, under president Franklin Delano roosevelt, that originally built the National Park. During that time the stables, and the nearby skyland resort, were also purchased by the National Park service. To preserve them for new generations to come, craft expert david logan, who owns a vintage Restoration Company in virginia, says the hope crew has done the heavy lifting. What i have done is guided the team just on some approaches for replacing siding, ways of cutting out the old and then how to handle the oak to let it move, just little tips and advice. Brown but logan says he sees a real dearth of young people learning his trade. In our area the people who are really skilled are 40 to 65. We rarely get young people coming into this field and i think thats very unfortunate. Brown from a conservation standpoint, logan argues that older structures like these deserve to be saved. And student Nicholas Edwards agrees. Youll be using more lumber to make a new building. And then you can use, somethings been standing up there for a while, it could be there for a little bit longer brown Monica Rhodes says in addition to conservation, this work is about preserving history and the memories people have for a place. Its continuity. You know, it continues a historical conversation that started in the late 30s into 2014. So like i said, it really contributes to a sense of place of what Shenandoah National park is. Brown she hopes upcoming projects like this one, in missouri, texas, new mexico and montana, will help instill those values and inspire more people to go into this field. For his part, jarmaine budd says he wants to do more preservation work. And after the works complete, he hopes to return to the stables, to see how his own work has held up over time. To come back to a place that we helped do, that we helped build. To show everybody else this is what we did. Brown creating another connection to the park, and to history. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. Islamic militants in iraq seized control of mosul, the countrys second largest city. And coalition officials in afghanistan began investigating the deaths of five u. S. Soldiers, apparently in a friendly fire incident. Woodruff thats the newshour for tonight. On wednesday, well look at defense secretary hagels congressional testimony about the prisoner swap that led to Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahls release. Im judy woodruff. Ifill and 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 moving our economy for 160 years. 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Shareholders meet and protesters rally in an effort to keep the pressure on the executives at general motors. And why some florida condo owners could be forced to sell their homes and lose everything in the process. We have all that tonight and more on nightly Business Report for tuesday, june 10th. Good evening, everyone, tyler is off tonight. Call it the tortoise rally, the dow crawled to a new high, its fourth record in as manyni days and it is reaching the mi milestones at a painstaking slow pace, today rising at a mere 2. 5 points, the s p