Transcripts For WHYY PBS NewsHour 20140917

Includes controversy. The scientists here are spicing corn with rice genes. This d. N. A. Tinkering goes against the grain for many environmental activists. Ifill plus, ken burns discusses his new documentary, the roosevelts, how one family shaped american history. They really felt that government had to be a kind of countervailing force against what was hugely large industry and an inability of workers and ordinary people to have a voice in that equation, that government could help balance the scale. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering 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. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill questions swirled today around the u. S. Strategy for destroying Islamic State forces in iraq and syria. Topping the list, whether u. S. Troops will or will not get involved in fighting on the ground. I want to be clear, the American Forces that have been deployed to iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. Ifill the president underscored his policy, at u. S. Central command in tampa, headquarters for operations in the middle east. Hundreds of u. S. Special forces are already in iraq, but mr. Obama insisted they are only there as advisers. They will support iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists. As your commander in chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. Ifill white house spokesman josh earnest said the president would consider sending u. S. Advisers out with iraqi troops, but they would not be personally or directly engaging the enemy. The chairman of the joint chiefs, army general martin dempsey, told a Senate Hearing yesterday that under specific circumstances us forces could ramp up. If we reach the point where i believe our advisers should accompany iraqi troops on attacks against specific isil targets, ill recommend that to the president. If i found that circumstance evolving that i would of course change my recommendation. But for the daytoday activities that i anticipate will evolve over time, i dont see it to be necessary right now. Ifill today, dempsey and army chief of staff general ray odierno followed up, saying air strikes in iraq alone will not be enough to drive back the Islamic State group. Instead, they said, rebuilding a competent Iraqi Military is the key after its collapse in the face of Islamic State attacks. There is always a reality which is that the majority of the iraqi army system collapsed. Ifill fuad hussein is chief of staff to masoud barzani, president of the kurdish region in northern iraq. The newshours Margaret Warner spoke with him this morning in washington, where hes pressing for military aid. Reporter do you think that u. S. Military personnel will have to be on the ground embedded with these units . We think we can do the job. American support is very important to us. And if the air strike will continue and if we will get heavy weapons like tanks, and artilleries, i think we can do the job. Reporter but if the American People want to know how long this commitment will need to be what would you say . I dont think it will take long. I mean, destroying main bases main bases of isis will not take a long time but to uproot isis as a terrorist organization, then it will take a long time. Ifill hussein said americans need to understand they, too, have a vital interest at stake. Isis terrorists they are not only dangerous for us, but they will stay somewhere and they will come to other places in the world. They are dangerous also for the United States. So our fight is your fight. Ifill the secretary of homeland security, jeh johnson, and f. B. I. Director james comey expanded on that theme at a house hearing. They warned the risk of attack rises as the Islamic State and al qaida jockey for primacy. These groups are in competition with one another for attention, for fund raising, for recruitment, and one way to compete is to show that youre the biggest and badest group out there. The logic of it is compelling. Youre not going to be the leader in the global jihad without striking america. Ifill later, on the senate side, secretary of state kerry talked up efforts to build a coalition against the Islamic State. The president says 40 nations are taking part, but there have been questions about who is contributing what. Not every country will decide their role is to have some kind of military engagement, but every country can do something. And well show, exactly, what that means. Ifill also unsettled, a house debate over providing 500 Million Dollars to train Syrian Rebels to fight Islamic State forces. Democrats like californias Loretta Sanchez said theyre worried about the unknowns. Id really like to know who our coalition is and what theyre really going to do before i vote for any plan. What dont we know . We dont know how moderate these Syrian Rebels really are. We dont know if somewhere down the line they will turn our guns right back on us. Ifill but some republicans argued the president s plan doesnt go far enough. Still, lawmakers like Ileana Roslehtinen of florida said they were likely to back the request. If our military officials believe that it is absolutely necessary to use the us military on the ground i would fully support that. We cannot take anything off the table and showcase to the terrorists what we are not willing to do. Ifill the senate could take up the funding resolution as early as tomorrow. The final vote in the house was 273 to 156. Well return to the issue of whose Ground Troops will face off against Islamic State fighters, after the news summary. Schools in part of northeastern pennsylvania closed today, as authorities hunted the ambush killer of a state trooper. The sniper attack took place late friday, at a remote barracks in the pocono mountains. A second trooper was wounded. The suspect, eric frein is described as an expert marksman and survivalist. Officials say he has a grudge against Law Enforcement and has talked of committing mass murder. The National Football league and its Players Union have agreed on a new policy governing performance enhancing drugs. The announcement today said testing for h. G. H. , or human growth hormone, should begin this month. Thats in addition to testing for steroids and diuretics. Players who use banned stimulants in the offseason will be referred to a Treatment Program instead of being suspended. The Federal Reserve signaled today its still in no hurry to raise shortterm Interest Rates. Instead, the central bank announced its keeping the benchmark federal funds rate near zero for a considerable time yet. Fed chair, janet yellen, said key Economic Indicators including wage growth and long term unemployment still need to improve. If the pace of progress in achieving our goals were to quicken, if it were to accelerate, its likely that the committee would begin raising its target for the federal funds rate sooner than is now anticipated and then might raise, might then raise federal funds rate at a faster pace. And the opposite is also true, if the projection were to change. Ifill the feds announcement helped push stocks higher on wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 25 points to close at 17,156, a new record; the nasdaq rose nine points to close at 4,562; and the s p 500 added two points to finish at 2,001. The oncedominant Electronics Giant sony now projects it will lose 2 billion this fiscal year. Officials also announced today theyre canceling dividends for the First Time Since the company was publicly listed in 1958. Sony has suffered years of red ink, and is struggling to salvage its smartphone business. Still to come on the newshour. How best to fight Islamic State militants . Why the n. F. L. s troubles have yet to hurt profits or ratings. One final day of campaigning before scotland votes on independence. The controversy sparked by genetically modified rice in the philippines. And documenting the lives of theodore, eleanor and franklin rooselvelt. Ifill one central question being asked of president obamas plan to combat the Islamic State group can the u. S. Rely on the Iraqi Military and moderate rebels in syria or will u. S. Ground troops eventually be needed to destroy the militants . We get two views, retired colonel derek harvey was an Intelligence Officer and special adviser to the commander of u. S. Forces in iraq, general david petraeus. Hes now director for the Global Initiative on Civil Society and conflict at university of south florida. And Janine Davidson was an air force pilot during the 1990s and was Deputy Assistant secretary of defense for plans during the first term of the obama administration. Shes now a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations. Colonel harvey, the president doubled down today on this effort to keep us out of a ground war. Was he right . Well, i think we have the Pay Attention to what he said, and he has clear red lines. Clearly he does not want combat troops on the ground. But it doesnt mean were not going to have other capabilities on the ground that will be providing that support to the Iraqi Security forces and to others eventually. Ifill Janine Davidson, what do you think . Was he right to draw that line so brightly . Well, i think policy is different than a plan, so i do think that he is right to say that we dont need Ground Forces right now, american Ground Forces, but then again, you know, general dempsey did say, im holding this idea in reserve, but thats sort of the role of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is to offer options to the president when he may need them at a later time. I think for now we should see how this goes. Ifill derek harvey, we did hear general dempsey say, if this happens and that happens and this happens, then i would go back perhaps to the president to ask for a more rebust presence of u. S. Troops on the ground. Do you think that the general is basically laying the groundwork for the potential that this could be a slippery slope, or is he just speaking general speak . I think hes speaking general speak. I believe that the administration has a comprehensive approach that will take time, and theyre looking at the long view. Theyre going to go after the financial networks, the foreign fighter flow both into those countries as well as out. Theyre going to try to delegitimize the Islamic States brand of islam. And theyre going to do other things, like build, train and equip the Iraqi Security forces and build up other capabilities in the region. So theyre taking a long view. We have to take the president s speech at its word. He wants to model it after the yemen and somali campaigns and not have u. S. Troops on the ground. Ifill let me ask you, david Janine Davidson, is it possible not to have troops on the ground, or is it someone elses troops we want on the ground . I think it is possible, and i think it might be the right approach not to put american troops on the ground, not because we dont want skin in the game, but because it may be more effective. We have to draw a tight line here between doing what we can to destroy isis, and american firepower is huge. Sure, we could go in there with everything we have and do some real damage, but on the other hand, the bigger we go in, the more likely we are to draw a blowback and also get a lot more antiamerican sentiment. So its a real delicate line to have, you know, where we can do some damage l to isil without generating so much antiamerican sentiment that we continue this cycle on and on and on. I think the administration gets that. Thats probably what theyre struggling with. Ifill derek harvey, i wonder sometimes if were arguing something, an arcane distinction without a difference, which is to say there are already americans who, they may not be wearing boots or whatever, but theyre already on the ground. Theyre just called advisers. Is there a distinction to be drawn there . The distinction is those that will be in direct combat, closing in close combat with the enemy, and that is not what the president s going to put on the ground. But i do believe that the president and the administration need to think serially is about significantly expanding the ground presence in terms of advisers, trainers and the capability to support engagement with the sunniarab communities, to build the National Guard structure there and to build a confidencebased system, an interlocking system where we can engage and support the political process going forward. That does with a significant military presence of the right kinds of capabilities. When you say significant, can you put a number on that in. I would say 6,000 to 8,000 in a combined joint task force, but not directed at a Ground Combat role. Ifill Janine Davidson, when the president invoked the examples of somalia and yemen, are they reasonable comparisons to what were going through now . Well, it depends on what he means by that. If hes talking about the way in which we coordinate with local actors to conduct these operations, then i think thats the right model. If hes talking about the other part about the yemen and somali model is drone strikes that appear to sometimes be arbitration or that are just aimed at taking out senior leadership, and that could potentially backfire. And so i think we have to be very delicate. So working with local actors for them to take the fight to the enemy as opposed to just trying to put warheads on foreheads, as the military says, across the region. Ifill derek harvey, we saw in todays debate on the house floor and also in the hearing with secretary kerry a lot of scepticism about whether those actors on the ground, actors from allies on the ground, will actually step up. What is your sense of that . Well, thats the feedback that im hearing from my sources. And i think what we have to keep in mind is there are a lot of pieces in play that make the president s strategy viable in iraq. But im not sure that we understand what the end game is in syria or that we have the pieces in play to work with that. Because we dont have a partner in government, in the military, we dont have a Political Program to offer there. So thats the big question mark. How do we square the syrian piece of this twostate problem. Ifill Janine Davidson, and i want to ask you this too, derek harvey, in a moment, but the president said today again that part of the overall longterm mission is to destroy isis, isil, the Islamic State group. Is that word even achievable . Yeah, i mean, i think words really matter here. I think that its feasible to stop isil. I think its feasible to degrade their ability to operate. But ending isil will take a long time. Defeating it or destroying it, it all depends on what you mean by that. I think the roots of what has caused isil are going to continue until the leaders in the region come up with a political solution that acome accommodates all these various actors. Derek is right. Sear that is a witchs brew of bad guys. I mean, its nearly impossible to pick the right side. What weve chosen to do is choose the least bad side for now to get the worst bad actors off the street. And then what . Well, well sit and see, sit back and see who the next bad actor is and see if we can continue to work that and nudge that. But the american role is not to do it all because its impossible for an outside American Force to do what needs to be done politically over the long term in this region. Ifill derek harvey, what do you think about the use of the term destroy . It was an overreach by the president. It was inappropriate for this context. I agree with janine very much that this has the capability to be neutralized, pushed back, rolled back. Were on the edges of being they were on the edges of being defeated when they found sanctuary in syria. I think its unfortunate the president used that term because it raised expectations and showed a gap between strategic aims and the resources that hes willing to put at the effort, and i think thats what caused this debate. Ifill all right. Well, well be watching to see where the debate goes from here. Derek harvey of the university of south florida and Janine Davidson with the council on foreign relations, thank you both very much. Thank you for having me. Thank you, gwen. Ifill for several weeks, the n. F. L. Has found itself front and center in Daily National headlines over Domestic Abuse involving women and children. Now, a handful of sponsors are starting to complain publicly about the leagues handling of the cases involving ravens player ray rice and vikings player Adrian Peterson. But Fan Attendance remains steady and so do the tv ratings. Hari sreenivasan, in our new york studios, has more on the fallout. We made a mistake and we needed to get this right. Sreenivasan the brothers who own the Minnesota Vikings sought to explain today why theyve now benched Adrian Peterson indefinitely. Zygi wilf said the star running back will stay off the active roster until felony child abuse charges in texas are resolved. Our goal is to always make the decision we feel is right for Minnesota Vikings. And to be clear, we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children. And we want to be sure we get this right. Sreenivasan it was the latest twist in petersons case. After his indictment became public on friday, the vikings held him out of sundays game against new england and lost, 30 to seven. On monday, vikings general manager Rick Spielman announced he was being reinstated. Based on the extensive information that we have right now and what we know about adrian not only as a person but what he has also done for this community, we believe he deserves to play while the Legal Process plays out. Sreenivasan but that announcement only fueled the outcry from public and politicians. Minnesota governor mark dayton called petersons actions an embarrassment to the state. The Radisson Hotel chain suspended its sponsorship of the vikings. And today nike halted its sponsorship deal with peterson. The 29yearold star has said he never meant to hurt his four yearold son when he switched him with a branch, leaving multiple cuts. Peterson says he was disciplined the same way, growing up texas but the case has sparked a debate over Corporal Punishment and sharply different reactions from other prominent figures in the sports world. Former vikings wide receiver cris carter spoke sunday on espn. My mom was wrong she did the best she could, but she was wrong about some of that stuff she taught me. And i promised my kids i wont teach that mess to them. You cant beat a kid to make them do what you want them to do sreenivasan ex n. B. A. Star Charles Barkley offered a decidedly different take. Im from the south, whipping is we do that all time. Every black parent in the south is going to be in jail under those circumstances. Sreenivasan meanwhile, theres been a new development in the ray rice Domestic Violence case. The n. F. L. Players union filed an appeal last night for the former Baltimore Ravens running back. Hes been suspended indefinitely by the league for punching the woman whos now his wife. Two other n. F. L. Players are also facing Domestic Violence cases. Carolina panthers defensive end greg hardy played in week one, but not last weekend. Today he was taken off the active roster. And San Francisco 49ers defensive end ray mcdonald has played in both his teams games so far. House minority leader nancy pelosi, a california democrat, said today that was the wrong call. Even so, the 49ers sunday night game with the Chicago Bears drew one of the largest tv audiences ever, for a regular season game. Chicago won, 2820. What kind of threats do these stories pose to the future of the game as a business . And is the business itself showing any cracks . We check in with two who have a good lens onto all of this. Greg easterbrook is the author of the king of sports footballs impact on america. Hes a contributing editor to the atlantic and a columnist for espn and nfl. Com Andrew Zimbalist is an economist at Smith College who specializes in the business of sports. He has consulted in the past for Players Unions, teams and sports leagues including football. Andrew zimbalist, let me start with you first. Over the past couple weeks, has this made a dent in the business of football . I dont think so. Not yet. You have sponsors complaining and a few sponsors leaving. Those sponsors will come back as soon as this uproar blows over. As you just pointed out, ratings on Television Games are going up. Attendance is fine. So i think this would have to drag on for a gad deal longer, and there would have to be more and more bungling by Commission Er Roger Goodell for it to have an impacts. I think the front office is now mobilized, and they will do things that will at least lower the uproar a little bit. Sreenivasan greg easterbrook, whats the threshold that has to be crossed where there are serious financial consequences . Well, since most of the nfls money comes from television contract, its not going to change year to year. You ask, how will the perception of football change over the course of the next few years. The game itself, the games are fabulous, nfl game, college game, but if people begin the say football is the new cigarette, and youre starting to hear that, if people begin to think that football isnt just tax subsidies, if governor of minnesota says hes embarrassed by the vikings treatment of Adrian Peterson, what you should be embarrassed about is the 500,000 dollars of taxpayers money that the governor gave to the wilfs to build the stadium, and theyll keep all the profits. If football becomes perceived as a womans issue new york one saw that coming. And especially if football people turn their attention to the fact that the vast majority of football is played at the youth and High School Level by people who are legally children. Thats where thelt harm of children is done. If public high schools begin to drop out of playing football, and there is some indication they, will that over a period of years could change the nfls economics very radically. Sreenivasan andrew, when you were mentioning the sponsors, have any of the actions that the radisson or nike have taken, are they significant . Are they likely to win more support . Not yet. Not yet. Theyre drops in the bucket. You know, the nike is a deal that they have with peterson. Its in the a deal they have with the vikings or the nfl. I think any sponsors that do drop the nfl will come right back because they dont have better alternatives. This is a game that, a sport that produces ratings of eight and ten on a typical sunday. So you have eight million households watching a football game. This is a game where you have tens of millions of americans involved in fantasy football. They have a very strong foothold in america. I think greg is right. There are a lot of truths in what he said. If the perception of all those things begins to change over time, then, yes, football can be hurt in its business dealings, but thats not about to happen. Sreenivasan greg, what about the fact that these ratings are at historic highs for football, that we might be privately or even semipublicly opposed to whats happening with a few specific players, but were still going to the games or were certainly watching them more often than we used to. Oh, football is the 800pound gorilla of television. Nbc sunday night football, the number one show on network tv. Not the numberone show, the numberone show. Espns monday night football, the number one show on cable. Not the numberone sport, the numberone show. The games have never been better. Its the perfect game of the United States. I call it the king of sports because it expresses what we are as a nation, its too loud, its too crazy, its too violent. Its the perfect game and a fascinating game to watch. I love it. But when you add the sociological impact, the distorting effect that it has on high school education, mainly for boys but a few girls, but mainly for boy, the distorting fact it has, ncaa football has at big public universities and then add in that the public subsidizes the production of nfl profit, roughly a bill whereon dollars a year goes to subsidize the construction and operation of nfl stadiums, where almost all the revenue generated is kept by the super rich, you have these sociological impacts. Suddenly the fact that the game is a fabulous game doesnt seem so great anymore. Andrew, what about speaking of subsidies, this is also called into question the tax status of the nfl and people have tried to take it on before, and theres now possibly pieces of legislation that may make their way to the floor. Oh, frankly, i like cory booker, but i think hes grandstanding here. What this Tax Exemption is is an exemption for the front office of the National Football league. Its in the an exemption for the teams. The teams still pay profit taxes. The owners play profit taxes. The players pay taxes. The front office gets revenue from television and licensing and sponsorships. They keep some of that to fund the front office, and they give the rest to the teams. They can manipulate those numbers any way they want. If the irs all of a sudden said, were going the tax you, they can make all of their income disappear and the taxes would amount to nothing anyway. I think its a red herring. Sreenivasan what about the idea that the nfl has sparked conversations in the past few years. Were talking about concussions. We were talking about bullying. Now were talking about Domestic Violence in National Conversation about Corporal Punishment. The nfl holds up a mirror to society in many ways. As recently as five years ago, concussions were a forbidden subject, totally verboten. You never heard it mentioned on the air on cbs, nbc, espn. Now its discussed constantly. Thats healthy literally because it helps boys and youth players to understand how to protect their heads. A year ago the Miami Dolphins bullying controversy, jonathan martin, a huge, muscular man who could lift a ten ton weight above his head stop playing football because he was being bullied. That reflected. A generation ago we would have laughed about that, but our social understanding of bullying has changed from not being bad manners to being an ethical problem. Now were using the nfl as a lens through which we see Domestic Violence. Its the nfl holding up a mirror to american society. Andrew, the nfl has weathered a lot of these things before. How do you think it will deal with this . Yeah, i think its going to weather it. You know, they have a very effective Public Relations office. They have done it before. They. People say the concussion scandal and the litigations were going to unseat goodell several years ago. They said when there was the issue with the new Orleans Saints a few years ago that that was. That they were getting bounties for injuring other players on the other teams. These scandals have come to the surface practically every year, and theres always an uproar about it, and the meade yess iewls on top of it and people are speculating about how fragile the nfl is. And it always bounces back. Thats what i predict will happen in this case. Andrew zimbalist, greg easterbrook, thanks so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Ifill its the eve of one of the biggest moments in scottish history, as more than four Million People get ready to head to the polls and decide whether to stay part of the United Kingdom or break away. Polls show the vote is too close to call. Gary gibbon of independent Television News followed the campaigns in their last day. A rally in glasgow city center. Down the road, gordon brown fires up the no campaign. First minister alec salmond is flitting around scotland on the ground. His army of activists work relentlessly to get the message across. At the heart of this campaign has been an argument about the best way scots can get social justice. The vote tomorrow is whether you want to break and sever every link, and i say lets keep our u. K. Pension. Lets keep our u. K. Pound. Lets keep our u. K. Passport. Lets keep our u. K. Welfare state. Gordon brown said separatism is the enemy of social justice. The actress elaine c. Smith said the yes campaign had given hope to people in the poorest Housing Estates or schemes. All the schemes across scotland who are motivated and finally have something to vote for and something to hope for. [cheering] passions were high on the eve of electoral battle. But there is dread on both sides, too. Can you imagine fighting for a cause, fighting for your country, an your lungs will be filled with fear and trepidation. Thats whats happening for us. Its emotional that you can change your country. When someone is as emotionally charged as you are about this, what happens if its a no . Ill be depressed. Ill be ashamed of my country. Let us tell the nationalists, this is not their flag, their country, their culture, their streets. This is everyones flag, everyones country, everyones culture and everyones streets. Gordon brown told supporters to hold their heads up high and not be cowed by the yes campaign. Someone put stickers on my windows to cover up my no sign. Do you think theres a silent majority for no thats been quiet and doesnt want to come out . Yes, i do. I feel theyre intimidated. Theyre frightened. A lot of the pensioners, im a pensioner, and the pensioners beside me are frightened to put the signs in their windows, although they told me theyre for the no vote. If there would be a narrow yes victory on friday . How would i feel . Yes. Absolutely completely devastated, so much so they would even think about leaving scotland. And i love this country so dearly. School tonight is a country fired up, engaged, but also uneasy as it edges toward its date with destiny. Another itn correspondent headed north to the highlands of scotland. Dan rivers asked voters how theyll be voting, with their heads or with their hearts. It is one of the most sparsely populated places in europe and surely one of the most sublime. In this emptied land burns called the birthplace of ballot, there might be sol today, but there is no escaping the debate. Were traveling across this epic landscape the see how the highlands are facing a momentous decision. In abby moore, flyfishing instructor jim cornford is about to make the most important cast of his life, his vote for yes tomorrow. Ive been looking forward to this for well most of my working life, you know . Weve got something to aim for. It wont be easy, but if everybody pulls together, better conditions for everybody. But ian chisholm isnt convinced. A purveyor of highland dress, hes patriotic but cautious. Still undecided. I think its going to go right to the vote. Last push in inverness by the Better Together campaign. Reaction on the street is good. People are supportive. Our vote appears to be solid. But the yes Scotland Campaign is also upbeat, claiming the winds of change are about to blow through the highlands. Here in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of scotland, many people feel disillusioned with the politics of westminster. The yes campaign is gaining ground here, but its still going to be a close one. With increased devolution being offered by the unionists, that alienation might not necessarily translate into people voting yes and taking the plunge for independence. Ifill researchers believe they have found a way to add critical nutrients to rice, dietary staple in countries like the phillipines. But those changes tap directly into concerns over genetically modified food. Science correspondent miles obrien has a look at the high stakes in this fight. One note for eagleeyed viewers miles shot this story earlier this year, before he lost his left arm in an accident. He may not be happy about it, but this megadose of vitamin a might save his vision or maybe his life. Vitamin a deficiency is a pervasive and silent killer of malnourished killer and pregnant mothers in the third world. Each year at least half million children and a few hundred thousand women go blind or die for lack of this crucial micronutrient. The best sources of vitamin a, meats and leafy vegetable, expensive and often unavailable, are rarely part of a daily diet here. Thats why people here in the philippines are working to add vitamin a to the daily staple, rice. But the rice theyre meticulously breeding has become the Gold Standard for a heated debate over genetically modified organisms, or gmos. So this is the greenhouse. The control trial greenhouse where were breeding golden rice. Whats an economist doing here . Bruce tollantino is Deputy Director general for communication and partnerships at the nonprofit International Rice Research Institute or niri. The fields here are filled with various strains of rice that are glad tolerant or insect resistant, all derived through conventional breeding techniques, but golden rice stands apart, literally and figuratively. Were taking some aspects of the corn plant, which has beta carotene, and chance ferresing those traits into rice, so we will develop a rice variety that contains beta carotene. Which turns the rice yellow, hence the name. The human body converts beta carotene into vitamin a, an essential micronutrient. The scientists here are spicing corn and a microorganism in soil with rice genes. This d. N. A. Tinkering goes against the rain for many environmental activists. In august of 2013, hundreds of them stormed a philippines government test field planted with golden rice. They uprooted and destroyed all the plants. Daniel ocampo is a Sustainable Agriculture campaigner for groan peace in the philippines, which opposes gmos primarily out of fear they will contaminate other crops. If there happen, theres in way you can actually have a recall of genetically modified organisms once they spread uncontrollably. He denies green peace was involved in the rice raid, but he says he respects what the protesters did. Were in the afraid, but were concerned about the longterm impacts on the environment and human health, because theres no proof theyre safe. Antonio alfonso is in charge of finding the proof that gmo opponents seek. He is leader of the golden rice project at the Philippines Department of agriculture Rice Research institute. More commonly known as phil rice. The agency is testing golden rice to see if it is indeed safe for the environment and human consumption. The plot that was destroyed was one of 15 spread throughout the philippines. So researchers are convinced they can recover scientifically. But they worry that it was a big psychological and political blow to the golden rice project. I was sad. And this thing happened. Its just heartbreaking. Alfonso sees no real difference between conventional breeding techniques employed by agriculture for thousands of years and genetic modification. If people say that this is bad, why is it bad . They are concerned about safety . There are sciencebased, you know, wellestablished techniques, methods for establishing safety. When golden rice was first created in the late 1990s, the giant Agribusiness Corporation syngenta funded research, but since its inbred, generating seeds that farmers could replant, the company saw no moneymaking potential and turned the project over to the nonprofit world. There is no profit motivation. Our motivations are purely for the good of mankind. Dr. Alfred summer is a professor of epidemiology with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins university. In the 1970s, he led the team that discovered the vitamin a deficiency is much more serious than previously thought and even a mild deficiency of the micronutrient increases Child Mortality rates. You can die of a vitamin deficiency. The reason you die is because your resistance to infections is reduced. Youre not as immune competent, so if you get diarrhea or measles in particular, its much more severe than it would be if you had a normal vitamin a status. Studies show humans can efficiently convert to vitamin a the beta carotene in the latest version of golden rice. The science suggests that a cup of rice a day would make a dramatic difference. But if golden rice were available now, would farmers here plant it . Former Orlando Nicholas was overseeing a crew of workers planting rice when i met him. First and foremost, he told me, the amount of yield and how much we would earn is what counts. And, in fact, thats the main stumbling block that scientists now face. At niri, theyre trying to modify the most popular, highyielding rice varieties, but so far the golden rice they have created does not measure up on output. And what about consumer demand . Will people accept a different colored rice that is genetically modified . People wont be afraid of it, rolanda told me. Its still rice you plant in the ground. It will grow in the ground. How you take care of it is the same as regular rice, so why should you be afraid of it . But gmo sceptics say there is plenty to be afraid of. Its the way we look at it. This environmental scientists is with a group called the farmer Scientist Partnership for development, the filipino organization. Its Something Like youre raiding the species because you are using the gene without its consent. He believes golden rice is not needed. Poor people can get small amount of vitamin a from this black rice that has been developed with conventional breeding or much more from mangoes or sweet potatoes, but what poor people eat here and now is rice. At niri they remain determined to make it more nutritious. We want to make sure that the experiments go on, that the research continues. We want to make sure that the data is available, not only to researchers, but to everybody who wants to examine the data. In strig that test field, gmo opponents only made it harder to get answers. The irony is those answers could save thousands of lives, but they also might undermine the case against genetic engineering in the future. Ifill on our science page learn more about why vitamin a is so crucial to your diet, and how to get more of it on your plate. Ifill finally tonight, a conversation with ken burns about his latest effort to bring history alive. Margaret warner has the story. Warner you think you know them, three icons from one extended patrician family, all ambitious, teddy, the boisterous rough rider and western adventurer who used the bully pulpit as a republican president to press social reform, franklin del know, elected president as a democrat during americas worst economic depression, who took america to war and died before it ended. The nations longestserving president ever, despite being afflicted by polio all his adult life. And eleanor, teddys favorite niece and fdrs wife, who broke the mold to create the modern first lady, a liberal champion of civil and human rights and a u. S. Delegate to the united nations. They shaped americas transformation during the first half of the 20th century, but do you really know them . Now you can through a sweeping new documentary series the roosevelts, produced by ken burns, airing this week on most pbs stations. I spoke with ken burns yesterday at the warner theater in washington, d. C. Ken burns, thank you for joining us. Its my pleasure. Now, all three of these historical figures have been the subject of major books on each alone. What made you think of pulling them all together like this . It seemed in retrospect so obvious. All three people belong to the same family. This is an intricate family drama that theyre exponentially more interesting when theyre interrelated and you understand how theyre interrelated. There is no franklin and no eleanor without theodore. Hes the precursor. I think weve segregated them into separate silos because theodore is a republican and franklin is a democrat and we think there is no connection. There are more similarities than differences. Theyre both progressives within their own parties. So there is a continuum you can see and the internal drama, the family drama, the tensions within each person and between these people is so spectacular that it sheds new light and gives you fresh perspective on the events we think we know. What do you think of all the similarities, whats the most consequential. I think the single most consequential thing is they all felt, and they came to it in our own way, that we all do well when we all do well. They all to the manor were born. They could have spent their lives in idle. They felt an obligation to do things. It wasnt just adding their money to things. It was adding their sacred honor to the cause of levels the playing field. They really felt government had to be a kind of countervailing force against what was hugely large industry and an inability of workers and ordinary people to have a voice in that equation, that government could help balance the scale. All of us are the beneficiary. Warner what do you think . They each suffered from affliction, not just physical, emotional, psychological. They would cripple other people, stymie them for life. Did you see a Common Thread in what enabled them to. Did they do it by transcending it, sublimating it or turning them into strengths . They each dealt with stuff in different ways. All of it had to do with supplementing it. Franklin roosevelt, everything is fine no matter the fact he can never walk again in his life. He has the same enthusiasm and confidence he had when as a little boy. Theodore roosevelt is trying to escape the demons. Hes always running faster than those demons. And eleanor is very much like that, but shes also saying, get up every day and do something that you dont want to do. Its facing your fears. Thats what all of them did in a way. And they did it in an active way that they instilled confidence in others. When you think about saying even just eleanor roosevelt, who should not have even survived her childhood to be not only of the moment, but to understand our future, what the issues were, of race, of poverty, of children, of health, of women, of immigrants, of labor, all of these things that are still the front page of our discussion today, and she was doing it more than half a century ago. One of our facebook communities sent in a question today asking you, what was the most amazing revlation that came to you in the course of this project . In the end, as much as i love theodore and eleanor, its understanding what Franklin Roosevelt was actually going through. Normally you say, he got polio and then the press turned off the cameras so the American Public didnt see him. We get into a discussion of press discretion, but we dont understand that from the summer of 1921 until hes elected president of the United States in november of 32 and inaugurated in march of 33, this is one of the most incredible passages. Its like being out in the desert for christ. It is an amazing transformation of trying to will his body back, a body that would never take another step again unaided, but able to come back. When we think about it, that he was able to lift us through two of the greatest crises that weve ever felt, certainly the two greatest crises since the civil war, the depression and world war ii, and he couldnt lift up. Warner they werent saints. They all had flaws. Thats important to remember. How did they deal with those . I dont think you do. We live in a media culture that says if this person isnt perfect, theyre no longer a hero. We lament the absence of heroes. But the greeks defined heroism as the negotiation betwin a persons strengths and weaknesses. Achilles had his heel. Sometimes its a war within these volatile, high voltage individuals. Theodore, franklin and eleanor, thats so interesting to watch. Franklin was so opaque and so devious and manipulative. Eleanor could be at times frustratingly naive and just sort of certain about things and trs unstable in many ways, loves war, pushes his son close to war with the most horrible, tragic consequences in world war one, and yet each one of them on balance made an extraordinary positive contribution. I think the lesson for us today is stop being so absolute. Lets not be the moralist, but lets be able to hold intention, a persons strength and their weaknesses and make a much more sophisticated judgment or come to a much more sophisticated understanding of who our leaders are and what theyre capable of. And then the roosevelts, all the good things they did do, theyll have didnt a second thing, which is remind us about what human beings are really like. A final thought on yourself as a filmmaker. All of your 26 documentaries have dealt with american culture, american themes. Why is that . What is it about the american saga that so fascinates you . I love my country. I dont know anyone who loves their country more. Im curious about how it ticks. I think ive made the same film over and over again, and were asking this question, who are we . Who are these strange and complicated people i like to call themselves americans . I feel like a mechanic. You lift up the hood and see how this works and how its not working. Its not so much proselytizing. You want to understand the past. It gives you a chance to have a future. Warner ken burns. Thank you and congratulations. Thank you. My pleasure. Ifill margaret also asked ken if he thought the roosevelts could flourish in todays political climate. Watch that part of the conversation online, on the rundown. Ifill again, the major developments of the day. President obama insisted that american troops will not get involved in Ground Combat against Islamic State forces in iraq. The house approved 500 Million Dollars for training some syrian rebel factions to fight against the Islamic State. And the Federal Reserve signaled its still in no hurry to raise shortterm Interest Rates. Arizonas running back arrested. On the newshour online right now, twentyone new geniuses were minted today by the macarthur foundation. From a materials scientist to an alto saxaphonist, the fellows, recipients of what has come to be known as the genius grant, each will receive 625,000 dollars to use as they see fit. Find out who they are and read more about their work, on the rundown. Youll also find more of Margaret Warners conversation with the kurdish president s chief of staff thats on our world page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. And thats the newshour for tonight. On thursday, well examine the president of ukraines trip to washington and meeting with president obama. Im gwen ifill, well see you online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. No rush. The blue chip dow index finishes after a record after Federal Reserve chair janet yellin sticks to her clip and makes sure that the bank will keep Interest Rates in place for a while. And profits considered a bellweather, earning a lot of money last quarter and could be a sign of things to come. And down to the wire, the battle for independence in scotland and why the outcome could mean big changes for business. A report tonight, on nightly Business Report for wednesday, september 17th. Good evening, everybody, and welcome. It was as susie just mentioned another recordsetting day on wall street with the