By mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios in Lincoln Center in new york, this is pbs newshour weekend. Brangham good evening. Thanks for joining us. Im William Brangham in for hari sreenivasan. We begin with a major legal victory for ousted egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. An Egyptian Court today dismissed charges that mubarak was responsible for killing hundreds of demonstrators during the arab spring uprising in 2011. The 86yearold appeared in court on a stretcher. The courtroom erupted in cheers when the verdict was read. Mubarak and his two sons were also acquitted of corruption charges. The verdict means mubarak could go free for the First Time Since he was removed from office three years ago. Hes also approaching the end of his sentence in a separate corruption case. The judge said the decision had nothing to do with politics. Family members of the protesters who were killed expressed anger at the ruling. One critic said the courts have now acquitted the officers who killed the demonstrators and the man they say gave the orders. For more on todays ruling, we turn to samer shehata. He is an associate professor of middle eastern politics at the university of oklahoma. He joins us now from norman, oklahoma. Professor, how important is this ruling for egypt . It has very little political significance for egypts future political development. Its unlikely this is going to affect the course of events in terms of government policy or even in terms of opposition protest. Mubarak is, in many ways, yesterdays news. Its important in other ways, but not for egypts political future. Brangham and are there larger implications, if not in egypt, then for the rest of the middle east . Well, i think mubaraks acquittal today is, of course, symbolically very important. I mean, mubarak was egypts president , really an authoritarian president for 29 and a half years. Its also the case, i think, that over 860 people, 6,000 people were injured during the 18 days of the uprising. So to not try mr. Mubarak in a fair way and hold him accountable, at least explicit for some of those deaths not to mention those in the ministry of the interior, is really a travesty of justice. So symbolically, of course, its an absurd outcome. And i think it is quite telling in terms of where egypt is right now in comparison to the goals of the 2011 revolution or uprising. Mr. Mubarak is found not guilty. He said likely to become a free person in a few months, whereas there are thousands of Political Prisoners in egypt today, including many of the revolutionaries, the youth who initiated the january 25 uprising. Brangham so for the average egyptian who may have seen mubaraks overthrow as hugely important for the arab spring, what does it mean, that he might soon be a free man . Well, i think it tells us largely about the fate of the arab spring quote, unquote nearly four years after it began in a small town in the interior of tunisia in december of 2010. Many of the hopes and aspirations that many of us had for the arab world, a renaissance, political democracy, human rights, rule of law, a new era of participation and so on, that largely that has not been fulfilled with the partial exception, quite a hopeful exception, of tunisia. But if we look at egypt if we look at libya, if we look at syria, certainly, if we look at bahrain, very little progress has been made. And authoritarian regimes in some cases very bloody and brutal authoritarian regimes, were really the absence of the rule of law, and chaos are the order of the day. Brangham okay, professor samer shehata, thank you very much for joining us. Youre welcome. Brangham in syria, isis reportedly orchestrated four suicide bombings within just a matter of hours today in the town of kobani. One of the bombs was detonated at a Border Crossing between turkey and syria. Its the first time an isis attack has originated from within turkey. Turkish leaders have denied supporting the jihadists. Kurdish militia have been battling isis fighters on the syrian side of the border for the past two months, with the help of u. S. Led air strikes. An International Monitoring group says at least 30 kurdish fighters have died in the recent battles. Well have more on whats at stake in the fighting later in the program. And the death toll from fridays attack on a mosque in the nigerian city of kano is now over 120. More than 200 were reportedly injured. No one has yet taken responsibility for attacking the building with both bombs and gunfire. Officials say the operation bore the hallmarks of the islamic rebel group boko haram. The sunni jihadists have been targeting traditional Islamic Religious authorities for nearly six years now. The emir of kano has been a vocal critic of the group. He was not at the mosque during the attack. Here in the u. S. , missouri governor jay nixon is calling for a special session of the state legislature to approve additional funding for the National Guard and highway patrol, who are providing security in and around ferguson. Today, activists are staging a 120mile march to the state capital in Jefferson City to protest the killing of unarmed teen michael brown. Yesterday, protesters forced a mall near ferguson to temporarily shut down by lying on the floor for a moment of silence. The u. N. Committee against torture has issued a new report saying u. S. Law enforcement doesnt fully comply with an International Treaty banning torture and cruel treatment. The panel raised concerns over Police Shootings of unarmed africanamericans as well as other issues, including the failure to fully investigate allegations of torture of prisoners held abroad, and the use of solitary confinement in u. S. Prisons. And in health news, new Research Shows an ingredient in antibacterial soap, toothpaste, shampoo and other household products might lead to cancer in mice. The study recently published by scientists at the university of california, davis, found that exposing mice to high levels of triclosan made them more susceptible to liver tumors. Researchers say the mice in the study were exposed to much higher concentrations of the microbial ingredient than a typical person would encounter. However, they say prolonged exposure could be a risk and more research is needed to determine the actual risk to humans. Brangham returning now to the threat of isis in the wake of the coordinated suicide bombing attacks in syria this morning. Just a few months ago, some u. S. Officials worried that isis fighters could actually overtake baghdad, but there are new signs of confidence in the fight against the islamic jihadists in iraq. For more, we are joined from grand rapids, michigan, by douglas ollivant, a partner with mantid international. Doug, welcome back. I understand you spent a good deal of time in baghdad. What is it like in baghdad today . The atmosphere in baghdad was very positive, both among the iraqis and with many of the u. S. Forces at our embassy. I think what most struck me in baghdad was the sense of normality of life. People are going about their business. Theyre shopping. There are traffic jams because everyone is out shopping and anything to work and going to where they need to go. When you go to baghdad airport, the security is tight, but you get there, and there are lines. There are people flying all over the world to and from baghdad. Just how much life is going on, even though the front in some places is not too far away. Brangham president obama recently approved the sending of another 1500 troops, which is basic a doubling of the u. S. Force there. How much of the recent changes that you witnessed would you credit to u. S. Forces involvement there . I think external forces, both the United States and we interest could be candid irans intervention have greatly assisted the iraqis with pushing back the Islamic State with coaching from outside powers and, of course, with u. S. Air power in support, both the iraqi army and the kurdish peshmerga, both of which did not look very good lets face it in the initial push of the Islamic State into iraq, have made some fairly serious gains over the last couple of weeks. The iraqi army has pusheded for. They broke the siege at beiji refinery, and in the north the kurds have been able to push nurgt to mosul. Brangham we spent years and billions of dollars trying to create a reliable force, and when isis first showed up, much of that force was defeated or vanished into thin air. But you seem to feel they are doing a better job now and are able to stand up a little more effectively. Well, i think some more reliable troops have been brought from the south, troops that are very devoted to the iraqi state. But part of this, i think, is the army that we built for the iraqi army. This was an army that was built to be a Police Garrison force. And thats what we built it for. And then when it face faced this Islamic State army that came in and pushed through it, this was an opponent for which they were not prepared. Now, we dont want to downplay the very real problems with the iraqi army its corruption, the lack of training, the ciphening off of money. There are very real problems with the iraqi army that we dont want to downplay. But there is some thought if we focus this new iraqi army on this new problem set that theyre facing, that we could have some different results in the nottoodistant future. We dont want to get ahead of ourselves. Theyre not going to beat the Islamic State next month. This is still a 1230month endeavor but the signs right now are good. Brangham a lot of our fight in iraq, obviously is against isis. Theyre not just in iraq but theyre also in syria. Do you have any sense, any sense that the successes that youve seen in iraq could possibly translate to success in syria . Unfortunately, no. In iraq, we have the basis of a political solution. Now, theres a huge uphill climb in iraq to get reconciliation with the kurds, with the iraqi sunnis in the north, and we cant downplay how difficult that is. But theres a very real possibility that that could happen if everyone plays their cards right. In syria, theres no way that i can tell you a story, however implausible, about how the politics in syria might come back together in a way that produces an outcome that would be okay with us. I mean, lets be candid. The most likely outcome worthy of assad regime to fall in syria is the take of syria by the Islamic State and or the nusra front, the official al qaeda affiliate in syria, which sometimes gets lost in the talk about the Islamic State, but is nonetheless the very real, official al qaeda affiliate in the country. So the politics in syria are just much, much more difficult. Brangham douglas ollivant, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, william. Brangham and now in tonights signature story, the nationwide controversy over teachers and tenure. Supporters say tenure provides important job protections, but opponents say tenure makes it hard to fire bad teachers and difficult to keep good teachers with less time on the job. Last spring, the newshour traveled to california to talk to students, parents and advocates who went to court to change their states tenure laws. Tonight, we look at the outcome of that legal fight and how challenges to similar tenure laws are spreading to another state. Megan thompson reports. Reporter sisters beatriz and Elizabeth Vergara attend Public High School in a lowincome, mostly hispanic section of northern los angeles. The girls are aiming for college and would be the first in the family with higher degrees. But the vergara sisters say that in middle school, they faced obstacles in pursuing their education chaotic classrooms and little to no instruction. Elizabeth, now a senior, and beatriz, a junior, say back in seventh grade, they both had a particularly bad history teacher. He would just be at his desk, like, just using his computer or sleeping. And he would let students smoke marijuana. Reporter they were smoking marijuana in class . Yeah. Reporter thats. I know, its hard to believe. Reporter beatriz also says a Science Teacher was offensive. She would call this girl whore and, like, slut, go over there. Reporter what went through your mind when you heard that . I was scared to ask questions because i didnt want her to, like. I didnt want her to offend me. Reporter beatriz and elizabeths mother alicia martinez, who immigrated from mexico, says she complained to a School Administrator about the two teachers, and two others. But, she says, nothing happened. translated he didnt do anything to address the situation. They didnt take me seriously. You do solemnly state that the testimony you may give. Reporter so, in 2012, martinez volunteered her daughters to join a lawsuit against the state and the teachers unions that went to trial in january. The nine student plaintiffs in the case known as vergara v. California challenged two main areas of state Law Permanent employment and dismissal statutes the plaintiffs say make it difficult to get rid of bad teachers; and the seniority based layoff system, which they say makes it hard to keep good, lesssenior teachers during difficult times. The plaintiffs say the laws deny students their right to a quality education, guaranteed by the california constitution, and affect poor and minority students more. Our Education System delivers a constitutional right, so theres a certain responsibility of our society to deliver. I believe that every child, everywhere. Reporter david welch is a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur who founded and largely finances students matter, an educationreform group that spearheaded the lawsuit. As of 2012, welch had donated or loaned nearly 2 million to the group, which is footing the bill for a highpowered legal team that includes ted olson, former solicitor general of the United States. Welch has a ph. D. In Electrical Engineering and went to Public Schools for most of his education. Its because of these teachers that ive been able to have a successful career as an engineer and as an entrepreneur. Reporter welch also has three young kids and has supported other education and environmental causes over the years. What motivated you . Im a father, im an employer. And when i look at the system, i realize the system actually inhibits one of the most important things that are for an education, for a child. And thats access, the uniform access for every child to have a passionate and effective teacher. Reporter some of your critics have said, you know what . This isnt a grassroots movement. The kids were recruited, and maybe theyre just being used for the personal mission of a wealthy businessman. What do you say to that . When you sat there and you watch the children get on the stand, theres no one that put them up to that other than themselves. It made me not want to try, or show up to school. Reporter one law welch is fighting is the statute that governs teacher layoffs. California is one of ten states that requires seniority be considered to determine who stays and who goes during budget cuts. John deasy is the former superintendent of the l. A. Unified school district. While superintendent, he testified against the socalled lastin, firstout law. I couldnt think of a more destructive statute for students, staff, in a system. We have had to lay off very effective teachers in the same school that we are documenting a teacher for dismissal. Their contributions to the school, their relationships with students, how theyre supporting and helping parents, none of the factors other than the hiring date is used. Reporter the vergara lawsuit also challenged laws governing teacher tenure. Californias twoyear probationary period for new teachers is one of the shortest in the nation. After two years, most teachers get Permanent Employment status. Former superintendent deasy says that permanent status means the l. A. School district can end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to fire a single, underperforming teacher a process, he says, that can take a decade. It came out during the trial that only about 3 of teachers who are. Who were evaluated last year were below standard. So we. Should we overhaul the system to take care of what might just be a few bad apples . When youve identified chronic low performers, you cant exit them quick enough so the students are not being harmed. Thats that were talking about. Are there teachers who shouldnt be in the classroom . Absolutely. But to blow up the entire system for evaluating and protecting teacher rights based on a couple of students perspective i think really misses the boat. Reporter Joshua Pechthalt is president of the California Federation of teachers, one of the unions that fought the lawsuit. He says the unions support efforts to streamline the dismissal process. I think the dismissal process could be more effective and more efficient. Reporter pechthalt says that many ineffective teachers are weeded out during the twoyear probation period. And, he says, granting permanent status to the rest encourages them to stay on the job despite often difficult classroom conditions. The bigger problem we have in california and i think nationally is that we cant keep teachers in the profession. Classes are overcrowded. There arent enough resources. So, that really is the bigger issue in public education, and thats creating conditions that make it attractive for people to make this a lifelong profession. Its a remainder of 2 and a divisor of 3. Reporter fourth grade teacher Kelly Iwamoto of inglewood, california, says she knows firsthand how precarious her job can be. Because she doesnt have enough seniority, shes been laid off three times in the last three years, then brought back. Even so, she supports the senioritybased layoff system. She says its objective and clear. Its fair. Its fair, and i support it. Reporter iwamoto also says she supports the other part of the law thats being challenged permanent status for teachers after two years. She says that provision actually helps her advocate for students without fear of being fired. Because i speak out very frequently about resources being brought to our district for 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. Reporter iwamoto and the unions also say a teachers effectiveness is difficult to measure, and, they say, students dont necessarily connect with every teacher. During the trial, Elizabeth Vergara testified that she learned nothing in english class and wasnt assigned an entire book to read all year, but the teacher testified that vergaras reading scores actually went up. We read and wrote every day. And did you ever receive any negative marks on your evaluations or observations . I did not. A local judge made a major ruling on teacher tenure. Reporter after months of arguments deliberations, last june, the judge ruled in favor of the vergara plaintiffs, declaring the tenure laws unconstitutional. The judge wrote in his decision, substantial evidence presented makes it clear to this court that the challenged statutes disproportionately affect poor and or minority students. His ruling is on hold as its being appealed by the unions and california governor jerry brown, parents and educators taking on new york states teacher tenure system. Reporter but it spurred legal action another state. Within weeks, parents in new york filed two lawsuits now consolidated into one opposing that states teacher tenure laws. Former nbc and cnn anchor Campbell Brown is backing the lawsuit through a nonprofit she launched earlier this year, and is speaking out extensively in support of it. But we know that the single most important schoolbased factor in determining a childs success is the effectiveness of the teacher, so why wouldnt we do Everything Possible to get the most effective teacher possible in every classroom . Reporter the new york plaintiffs are also aided by a famous attorney, david boies, whos leading browns nonprofit. Boies was al gores attorney after the 2000 election, and he successfully argued against californias gay marriage ban in front of the supreme court. But just like in california, the unions are fighting the lawsuit. New york state united teachers filed a motion to dismiss the suit, its president saying tenure is an important safeguard that ensures children receive a quality education. It enables teachers to speak out in the best interest of their students, and it protects academic freedom. Arguments in the new york lawsuit are expected in january. Brangham what are the laws surrounding teacher tenure in your state . Odds are, they could be changing. For more, visit newshour. Pbs. Org. Brangham before we leave you tonight, u. S. Gun sales saw a major spike on black fridays, resulting in a Record Number of background checks. This, according to the f. B. I. , which says it received more than 144,000 background check requests in just one day. Thats more than three times the daily average. Returning to egypt, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in central cairo, protesting the dismissal of charges that former president Hosni Mubarak was responsible for killing hundreds of demonstrators during the arab spring uprising in 2011. According to the associated press, Security Forces used Water Cannons and tear gas to disburse the crowds. Thats all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. Im William Brangham, good night. Captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by Corporate Funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support is provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Erertz tes explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your p. B. S. Station from. christmas waltz plays woman vocalizing frosted windowpanes candles gleaming inside painted candy canes on the tree santas on his way