Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140106

Ifill plus, a promising but still unproven approach to combating alzheimers targeting those at high risk before they show symptoms. When my father was still alive and i looked at him, all i saw was my destiny. And i was frightened for me, but i was more frightened for my family. Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by charles schwab, proud supporter of the pbs newshour. 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 foundations. 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 bitter arctic cold gripped the midwest, pushed eastward and dove into the deep south today. Millions of people across dozens of states faced unheardof temperatures. The frigid cold rushed in on the heels of nearblizzard conditions emptying roads of traffic in parts of illinois. While in michigan, accidents littered highways in icy, snowy conditions. And st. Louis cleaned up from sundays oneday record snowfall 10. 6 inches. But the real danger was the cold. Indiana governor mike pence urged people to use common sense. If you can stay in today, stay in all day today. We ask you to heed signs about road closures, we ask you to heed the leadership and announcements of local communities. They are for your safety and its important that we take this weather event very, very seriously. Ifill the arctic air, known as a polar vortex, stretched all the way from the dakotas to the deep south. Wind chill warnings and advisories were in effect all the way to the gulf coast through tuesday. And temperatures just kept dropping, to 16 in bloomington, minnesota and with the breeze of a wind chill, makes that 40. Officials warned that frostbite can happen in just five minutes in temperatures that low. People who did go outside bundled up to ward off the sub zero temperatures. I got a heavy ski jacket and my scarf, but ive got 12 blocks to walk in downtown chicago. Ifill some plunged into the deep freeze anyway. This Green Bay Packers fan went to extremes to see sundays n. F. L. Playoff game with the San Francisco 49ers. I have four layers of long johns, two sets of snow pants, four shirts, a sweatshirt and a coat. Ifill the packers lost. Today, the cold and snow shuttered School Systems in the entire state of minnesota and in st. Louis, chicago, milwaukee, indianapolis and detroit. For air travelers, it was hard to get anywhere, with more than 8,000 Flights Canceled since friday, more than 3,000 today. We finally got on the plane about an hour late, headed out, deiced, started to deice, stopped deicing, waited, de iced again, headed for the runway, waited, and then turned around and went back to the gate again and waited, and then finally got off the plane. So there was a lot of waiting, but here we are, but what can you do . Ifill the low, low temperatures are expected to last through tomorrow, then gradually inch their way into double digits by the end of the week. Double digit temperatures probably sound good right now to both of our guests, a pair of mayors who are dealing with the very real impact of this in their cities betsy hodges from minneapolis and francis slay of st. Louis. You mayor hodges, youre known as being pretty tough people in minnesota, is this as bad as youve ever seen it . You know t hasnt been this cold in many years in minneapolis. But we we know how to handle it here in minneapolis. Weve been preparing for quite some time, especially given we know the impact Climate Change will have on our city over time. Mayor, let me ask you the same question. Theyre pretty tough in minneapolis but st. Louis you dont think of a place that is weather strictern like this. Yeah, this is a very unusual weather event. Its not so of the amount of snow we received, its the bitter cold. We havent had subzero highs temperatures for many, many years in st. Louis, so its been very, very dangerous. But weve our biggest concerns have been our oldest, our youngest, our most low income residents as well as our homeless residents in st. Louis. Mayor hodges, youre the pro, tell us how do you prepare for Something Like this . Well, i mean certainly you know we encourage folks if they need to to stay in. The governor cancelled schools statewide. Our School System is also going to be shut tomorrow. In our city we have delayed garbage collection for a day. The folks who work outside, we need to make sure they have the protections that they need, especially our first responders. You know, we make sure they have the protection they need but they are heroes. And they are doing their jobs in this cold. Ifill how do residents respond to this . Do they just say oh, its cold, we know what cold is in january in minnesota and go about their business or do they take this more seriously this time . I think its both. You know, people take it seriously but we know how to handle it. And so we, you know, our protocols come into play. Theres a lot of phrases like oh, its very brisk outside, its very brisk. Ifill brisk sounds like it is an understatement, mayor slay, you also have to worry as you pointed out by the most vulnerable among you. Do you have a homeless considerations that you have to take into effect, people without dont have shelter . We do. And weve opened up emergency overflow shelters and we have a lot of organizations here in st. Louis who have been working together, st. Louis city and county t has been very successful. We have not turned anyone down. The numbers are up. People that are attending these have been very comfortable and seem to be very satisfied. I visited one of those shelters today. The other thing were doing is for our homeless seniors, our home bound seniors, who may not have someone checking on them. We have a functional need to registry where we call thousands of these home bound seniors to see how theyre doing. If we dont hear back from them, we check on them. So were out checking on them as well. And certainly were concerned about our lowest income residents who have problems with their utility bills. We do have a organization heat up st. Louis where if someone cant pay their utility bills, its a private organization that will help pay those bills for them so they can keep their heat on and keep their family safe. Same question to you, how do you take dow take special precautions to deal with the most vulnerable among you . Absolutely we do. I mean the biggest thing we need to do is get the word out to people that this is happening. And what services are available and are provided to them. We have a very Robust Program for working with homeless folks. And we need, you know, we make sure that they get what they need as well. And kids, you know, i mean the schools were cancelled because we dont want kids waiting out in the cold. We dont want, you know, the danger to hit them if we can. But like i said were pretty hearty people this is not unusual for us. We have been preparing for weather events like this for many, many years and people are pretty familiar with what needs to be done. Ifill dow have are you hoping for or counting on the prospect of warmth any time soon, mayor hodges . Well, it seems like were going to be warming up into the 20s or 30s this weekend. Which ask about 50 or 60 degrees warmer than it is now, so that sounds pretty good to folks around here. Ifill how about you mayor slay . Warm weather is on its way. Well be in the 20s tomorrow. It looks like by wednesday it be up in the 30s and by the weekend it could be up to 50 degrees, so were looking at some pretty quick thawing, but in the meantime its still going to be very dangerous and street crews and others are out cleaning the streets still. It will still be dangerous for people to drive. They have to be careful, safe, smart. And be very patient. Mayor slay, we wish you thawing in st. Louis and mayor hodges, stay out of the briskness in minnesota, thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. The senate returned from its holiday break today and took up the issue of restoring longterm Unemployment Benefits. Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to proceed on the issue, but they vowed to keep at it. Well explore the issue further and talk to the secretary of labor later in the program. Janet yellen won Senate Confirmation this evening to lead the federal reserve. Shell be the first woman to run the central bank, taking over from ben bernanke who is stepping down after eight years as chairman. Yellen has served as vice chair for the past three years. In iraq, Prime Minister Nouri Almaliki appealed to the people of fallujah to drive out alqaeda militants who seized control there last week. Iraqi troops have encircled the sunnidominated city, but maliki has not yet ordered them to move in. Well look into whats behind the growing conflict, right after the news summary. The same alqaeda group thats active in iraq is also at the target of new infighting among rebel groups in syria. A coalition of other factions attacked the militants on friday in aleppo and idlib province. Fighting spread today to the city of raqqa in the east. Peace talks to end three weeks of fighting in south sudan are still stalled. Negotiations technically began saturday in neighboring ethiopia, but the two sides have yet to hold facetoface discussions. In south sudan today, president salva kiir faulted the African Union and United Nations for not doing more to help his government stop a rebellion. They should have come out very openly condemning these people who took this action. There was no reason. But if they have decided to keep quiet, that means, you know, it is their failure to uphold the constitution and their responsibilities. Ifill the violence has killed more than 1,000 people so far. The Supreme Court put a hold today on samesex marriages in utah, at least for now. The hold will stay in effect while the state appeals a lower courts ruling that lifted a ban on samesex marriages. Since that decision, more than 900 gay and lesbian couples have married in utah. Liz cheney, daughter of former Vice President dick cheney, has ended her u. S. Senate bid in wyoming. Shed mounted a primary challenge to incumbent republican mike enzi. Cheney did not mention the resulting party rift today. Instead, in a statement, she said, Serious Health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, i have decided to discontinue my campaign. A pennsylvania woman known as jihad jane was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison. Colleen larose pleaded guilty to plotting to kill a swedish artist in 2009 for depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. In philadelphia today, she told a federal judge that she is no longer obsessed with radical islam. The cost of keeping asian carp from getting into the great lakes from the Mississippi River could top 18billion dollars. The army corps of engineers gave that figure today as its high end estimate to stop the invasive species. It offered eight possible plans, from physically separating the waterways to using electric barriers. On wall street today, stocks fell to start the first full trading week of the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 45 points to close at 16,425. The nasdaq fell 18 points to close at 4,113. Also ahead on the newshour, escalating violence and unrest in iraq. Two views on the political fight over Unemployment Benefits, preventing alzheimers by taking it on early. Plus, everything from the car you drive to the clothes you wear connected to the internet. Woodruff today the Obama Administration announced it will accelerate sales and deliveries of military equipment to iraq, as that countrys government continues to fight for control of two key cities. Gunfire echoed across fallujah today, as alqaeda militants held on in the city they overran last week, while iraqi army tanks lined the outskirts. The military held off an allout assault. Instead, Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki urged sunni tribal leaders to help remove the militants. One of the leaders said meetings were underway to try to return the city to government control. translated tribesmen are in constant communication to impose security and expel armed men out of the city. We are about to recall the Police Forces to the city to assume security responsibility after the artillery shelling stops. Woodruff but in the streets, alqaeda fighters from the Islamic State in iraq and the levant warned of retribution. translated the revolutionaries of our tribes in fallujah have resolved to punish the tribesmen who support the sectarian Government Forces. Woodruff the militants also seized nearby ramadi last week, also in Anbar Province, where sunni hostility to the shiiteled government is centered. It boiled over last april when Security Forces assaulted a sunni protest camp, sparking months of bombings across iraq. On saturday, maliki warned sunnis against aiding extremists. translated i am calling on those who are deluding themselves to reconsider. They have been involved, without knowing, in supporting alqaeda projects and protecting it in several ways, including giving media and political support. Woodruff fallujah is where american troops suffered some of their greatest losses before the final withdrawal two years ago. Yesterday, secretary of state john kerry ruled out sending troops back in. Were not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight, but were going to help them in their fight. Woodruff today, white house officials said part of that help will come in the form of new Surveillance Drones to help track insurgents. So how did alqaedalinked militants make these gains in western iraq, and what is at stake for the u. S. . For that we turn to james jeffrey, he was the u. S. Ambassador to iraq from 2010 2012 and jane arraf, shes a freelancer for Al Jazeera America and the Christian Science monitor who has been reporting from iraq since 1991. She spent eight years as c. N. Ns Baghdad Bureau chief. Glad to have you with us. Jane arraf you were telling me this is a situation building for many months. It has. I think while the west was ignoring iraq, essentially the country has become partitioned. And in fallujah, fallujah is less than 40 miles from the center of baghdad, right, but to get to fallujah, you have to pass roadblocks, the army has essentially sealed off the town, the same way they sealed off other sunni areas. Its been a year of grievances, a year of protests. And as the American Military always used to say and the american state department, theres no military solution to this. But the political solution that people feel we should have been seeing just hasnt been there. Woodruff and what has been behind Prime Minister malikis move to isolate, to seal off the sunnies in this part of the country, the an bar province. Its really easy to see this, i think, as a sectarian conflict, sunni versus shia but i think its oversimplifying it in a very complicated country, in a really complicated, increasingly complicated region. At the heart of malikis decisions, i think, having covered him for many years, is the real fear that his government is in a precarious position. Its the only a led government, essentially, in the middle east and he firmly believes that given half a chance sunnis will come from anbar and other places, tear down the barriers in the green zone and come and kill them all. Its that basic. Its a fight for survival. And that is at the heart of it. And thats so what affect has that strategy had on the sunni population in iraq. Well it has isolated them and alienated them. This would have been bearable if it wasnt forthe situation in syria. That has provided an al qaeda cousin group, the isis ground to develop themselves to dig in to receive a great deal of money and weapons and recruits from around the middle east. And theyve now united with the remnants of the former al qaeda in iraq group and what we see is al qaeda taking the offensive, really. Now the Al Qaeda Linked militants are sunni as well. How much sympathy, how much alliance is there between them and the sunni tribes in iraq . Well, its almost down to a personal level. In general the tribes who rebelled against the al qaeda controlled areas of Anbar Province back in 2006, 2007 have grievances against al qaeda that at the moment go more deep than the grievances against the iraqi government. Iraq, remember, is still primarily 80 a kurdish, a shia arab state, so there is no danger of the al qaeda people overrunning the country. The question is controlling these areas, right now maliki can causei count on the support of most of the tribes in this three way battle against al qaeda. So jane, we read today that maliki, that Government Forces have now surrounded fallujah, at least thats the way its described in the wire report. What are you hearing . And are they, are they in, and the maliki has called on the sunni tribal leaders to drive out the al qaeda militants on their own. Is that something theyre capable of doing . That is an absolutely, extraordinary statement. Because really what were talking about is people, let alone the tribal leaders, were talking about a city that in 2003 was essentially taken over by al qaeda. They had rigged bombs in a lot of the houses. There were tripwires almost everywhere. And what were talking about now is another version of al qaeda. They have had a lot of practice and theyve come from syria where there are foreign fighters, where there is money pouring in. This is not al qaeda 2003. And were still a city of people and of tribes who are not that fond of the iraqi government. Theyre going to form alliances but one of the things we have to really talk about, i think, is the awakening, the tribes have turned against al qaeda and fought with the american forces. And then were essentially abandoned by the United States. Their leaders have been assassinated. Theyre the people who are being called to fight al qaeda and its not that clear theyre going to. Woodruff thats my question, ambassador jeffrey what can we look to happen. Maliki is saying you do this. But then hes got troops on the outside of the town, of the city. I mean can his forces year run al qaeda if they want . In the end hes got enough heavy armour, artillery and hundreds of thousands it of troops. So he can win any conventional battle. The question is does he want to do that in a city with some 300,000 inhabitants. We basically had the inhabitants evacuated before we went in in 2004. The tribes cant do it alone. But together, the hope is that theyll put enough pressure on al qaeda that they will fade back into the desert whether that will happen or not we have to wait and see. Woodruff meanwhile, ambassador jeffrey what is the interest for the United States here . Clearly the u. S. Opposed to al qaeda getting a foothold. But beyond that, what does the u. S. Want to have happen and how much can it affect it. I would disagree respectfully with secretary kerry. This is our fight. We fought there in 22004. We fought there in part to drive al qaeda out after they established a foothold. Maliki government for all of its problems is still a government that is a quasi ally advisor, it is a constitutional regime, they do work one way or another with many of the sunnis and most of the kurds. And its in our interest not to allow al quite al qaeda to establish another foothold that is the basic premise on all of our actions. And were taking pretty good actions with the additional equipment, the drones, the hell fire missiles, the advice, the intelligence and such. We probably need to do more. And we need to have a different attitude, i think, in how we pitch this. Because people are watching us in iraq to try to find out are we in this game. Not with ground troops, not with our solders fighting, but with support for whofer, be it maliki, be it the tribes who are willing to take on al qaeda, that is not completely clear yet. Woodruff jane, having been in the region so recently, is the view of the people there that the u. S. Is or isnt engaged . Where do you see this going . I think it is definitely the view that the u. S. Isnt engaged and hasnt been engaged for some time. And i think its completely clear iraqis do not want to see u. S. Troops. I also dont think its clear though that hell fire missiles and drones are the answer. I mean this really is a region that feels that its not a part of iraq. When ive been there i have interviewed women who have been imprisoned, put pressure on their husbands to confess to terrorism, countless executions that take place, children being rounded up. Its not just a matter, really, of al qaeda controlling fallujah, its a matter of is this country actually even going to, without. You cant cut off fallujah. You cant cut off the sunni areas. Woodruff well, were certainly going to be watching, jane can arraf, ambassador james jeffrey, we thank you both. Thank you, judy. Thank you. Ifill we return to the debate over extending Unemployment Insurance benefits, the senate was slated for a vote but it was delayed until tomorrow morning. Kwame holman starts us usoff. Im optimistic, cautiously optimistic, that the new year will bring a renewed spirit of cooperation. Its very badly needed. Reporter Senate Democratic leader harry reid began 2014 with a push to restore emergency benefits for the longterm unemployed. The payments ended for 1. 3 million americans, on december 28th and the white house says 4. 9 million others will lose benefits this year. We have never had so many unemployed for such a long time. The longterm Unemployment Rate is twice as high as it was any other time weve allowed emergency Unemployment Benefits to end. Reporter the Current Program began under president george w. Bush in 2008. It offers extended federal benefits after the expiration of state benefits. On average it means about 300 a week for someone out of work. This new bill, sponsored by democrat jack reed of rhode island and republican dean heller of nevada, would extend the federal program for another three months. President obamas chief Economic Advisor Gene Sperling spoke at the white house today. The clear right thing for us to do right now is pass this measure now in its current form. And again, its just for three months. It gives more time to have those type of you know, further bipartisan discussions about what else you might do to extend it after that. Reporter but a number of republicans including say the cost must be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. Within its a total violation of fiscal responsibility. It just is. If just is. I wish if werent so. I wish we could just do this and it wouldnt cost anything. The president means to step up the pressure on Congress Tomorrow when he hosts a white house event for people whove lost benefits. Ifill now we look more closely at the broader political fight brewing this Election Year. First, the case made by the president s team. Thomas perez is the secretary of labor. He joined us from the white house earlier this evening. Secretary perez, thank you for joining us. My pleasure. Ifill the Unemployment Insurance benefits have been extended now 11 times. What do you think is the risk of not extending them again . Well, there are 1. 3 million americans who were supposed to receive their check today but they didnt. Because the program has not been renewed. And so immediately theyve gone from situation of dire need to one of catastrophe. And thats not simply 1. 3 million but thats also their family members. And so thats why its so important for congress to act immediately to restore these programs. And im very heartened by the fact that there is a bipartisan bill in front of the senate, with senator reid from rhode island and senator hell frere nevada. Because this program has always enjoyed bipartisan support. And im confident and hopeful that this time it will be no different. Ifill except that last nose count it didnt look like the democrats or mr. Heller had the votes to get to that 60 vote threshold to consider debate. Do you know differently . My role is not as a vote counter here but i can give you a sense of history. Which is that congress has always on a bipartisan basis supported emergency Unemployment Compensation. When president bush was in office, five times, the bill was passed. No strings attached. Any of those times. And so im confident and hopeful that this will pass. And if it doesnt, it is not simply affects the 1. 3 Million People who are no longer have their benefits and their families. But it also has a negative impact on the economy. There have been a number of studies that have shown that somewhere between 2 and 300,000 jobs would be lost because when people have less money in their pockets, they spend less. Companies hire less because theyre selling less. And the economy contracts. Thats an unnecessary situation. It can be avoided. And it can be avoided simply by extending emergency Unemployment Compensation for three months. And hopefully during that time a longerterm agreement can be worked out. Ifill are you concerned that the continued need for a program like this might point to an underlying problem with the economy that is perhaps to the being addressed . Well, this extending Unemployment Insurance benefits on an emergency basis is certainly not the only strategy that were undertaking right now. We have seen 45 consecutive months of private sector job growth to the tune of over 8 million jobs. But thats not enough. We need to pick up the pace of growth. And the longterm Unemployment Rate right now is at a historic high. One aspect of the recovery from the Great Recession is just that. The average duration of unemployment in 2007 or 2008 when president bush first signed the extension was 17 weeks. And the Unemployment Rate was Something Like 5. 6 or 5. 7 percent. Now the average duration is 36 weeks. And what we have to do in addition to extending emergency Unemployment Compensation is pass the president s jobs agenda. Hes put forth a very forwardleaning proposal to help us invest in our infrastructure, tax cuts for businesses that would enable one time revenues that would allow us to expand infrastructure when we passed immigration reform. That will grow the economy. The best way to address and attack the longterm unemployment problem is to grow the economy. To expand gdp. And thats what the president wants to do. Pardon me for interrupting. But some republican was object to this particular proposal, this dean Heller Jack Reid proposal are saying that they dont object to the idea of expanding benefits or renewing benefits. They object to the idea that were not paying for it. Is that not a reasonable argument. Well, certainly when president bush signed five extensions there were no strings attached. When president bush signed it. I believe 14 out of the last 17 extensions of Unemployment Benefits have been signed with no strings attached. So historically there have been an understanding that we call it emergency Unemployment Compensation for a reason. Because people are in a state of emergency. And were talking about a bill here that is of three month duration. And during that period of time im hopeful that congress can Work Together on a bipartisan fashion, once again to come up with a longerterm fix. I heard you mention minimum wage and immigration. Im wondering if this is the beginning of a bigger fight on the administrations part on these Economic Issues . Well, i think we have to do everything to put people back to work, to help people have those that lifeline while theyre looking for work. And to make sure that work pays a decent wage. Nobody should have to nobody who works a fulltime job should be living in poverty. And there are so many people who are. And that is why the president and i and so many others on a bipartisan basis so strongly support an increase in the minimum wage. But thats not enough, either. We do so much at the department of labor, for instance, to invest in skills. So that people have the tools necessary to compete for today and tomorrows jobs and have those ladders of opportunity to the middle class. And these wideranging investments that the president has been putting forth, are really a multifaceted strategy for growing the middle class, for insurancing that we can lift people out of poverty. And giving that critical lifeline to those who are in a situation of longterm unemployment lieu no fault of their own. But is there any room at all for bipartisan agreement as you keep eluding to in an Election Year like this . Oh, i think so. I was working, for senator kennedy in 1996. People say that you cant get anything passed in a president ial Election Year. Well, you look back on that year, the minimum wage was increased. There was a hate crimes billpassed. Welfare reform passed. Immigration reform passed. There was a major Health Reform bill that passed, all in a president ial Election Year. So it can be done. It has been done. And i think right now you look at the situation across america, too many people are working hard and falling further behind. Ifill secretary of labor thomas perez, thank you so much. Thank ifill and now for the alternate view, we turn to douglas holtzeakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office under president george w. Bush. Hes now the president of the American Action forum, a conservative think tank. So the white house says that benefits need to be increased at this emergency Unemployment Insurance needs to be extended. Whats the argument against that . Well, i think the first thing is to agree with the fact theres a real problem. And that the best solution would be better strategies for more rapid Economic Growth. And getting people jobs and increases in income. It really doesnt help. So i think that is the key and the president spent time on bipartisan approaches for better Economic Growth would be i think a more futureful path than to push on this. The second is simply to be clear about matching problems and solutions. If the problem is someone cant find a job because they dont have the skills and they need some retraining, extending emergency unemployment isnt going to solve that you need the job Training Programs are for the skills bills that come out of the house, sitting in the senate. If you have a problem where you have just poverty, longterm Insurance Benefits for an emergency arent going to fix that either. You have to fix the social safety net. Unemployment insurance was meant to be a bridge for temporary spells of unemployment. And even there it cuts both ways. The good news is people have some income. They can take some time to find a job and have one that matches. The bad news is all the evidence is that the longer you have Unemployment Insurance, the longer people stay out of work, their skills erode. The job they ultimately get paid less. And thats not to their benefit. So the question becomes what is the right length of Unemployment Insurance. Heres the debate, 26 weeks which is the safety net right now versus effectively 40 weeks, so six and a half months to ten months which is what is at play in the senate. And we dont know the scientific answer. Ifill you put a lot of things out there. I want to go one that you mentioned is that it is a patch, it is a temporary patch. We just heard secretary perez say this is the kind of patch that was applied just fine in the bush years without strings attached. Is that not is he incorrect about that . He may have been but i think we all know the budgetary environment we live in. We know that the troubling future for federal deficits, they should pay for everything. This shouldnt be special on this bill or another one. The congress has to get serious about controlling spending. What about the argument made which is by putting more money in the pockets of people who need it, even if for a temporary period of time, you put more money into the economy. Its right, its just not that big. If it was a huge impact, then the stimulus bill would have been an amazing success and we wouldnt be having this conversation right now. So yes, true, but lets get the magnitude straight. This isnt that big. Until you can figure out the longerterm fix, whats wrong with this three month, what is it, 6 billion fix which is being mentioned, 6. 5 billion fix which is being debated right now on capitol hill . Well, on a policy basis, the two questions are one, are you going to pay for it or not. I at least think you ought to pay for everything. Even if it is temporary. Absolutely. There isnt a good excuse for not paying attention to the fiscal outlook at this point. Those days are gone. And the second one is well, we want to have a bridge. But we want to have a bridge that works to the effect of help workers not harm them in the end so what is the right length. Can you can make a principalled argument for 40 or 26 which is what we have if we dont extend it. So what is the immediate solution or likely solution or possible solution that you would prefer for the longterm underlying problem of longterm unemployment. There are things that for example the president has proposed and talked about but not serious i would say tax reform would be number one. A lot of agreements, our companies are not internationally expect any the tax code. A lot of agreement that we get a boost to shortterm Economic Growth for tax reform. For getting real tax reform moving through the congress. Former Senate Finance chairman max because cause now leading ambassador to china spent a lot of time this. There is a bipartisan underpinning for it. The white house needs to weigh in on a serious way. Ifill i i have to ask you the same question i asked secretary perez which is this idea of grand bipartisanship that can be reached in a Election Year, how can that happen . The only way you get bipartisanship is great white house leadership. Congress is fundamentally a partisan place and the white house has to broker those deals. Ifill are we having when it comes right down to it, especially when it comes to issues like unemployment, especially right after the holiday, are we having an economic argument here, or are we having an emotional one . Oh this is a great political argument, a very emotional one am but i always think that even though thats true, its important to step back and look at the factsment figure out what is big, what is small. And always target the solution and the policy correctly. Dont try to solve the wrong problem with Unemployment Insurance. Woodruff . Ifill with what is the wrong problem. There a big problem with skills am we need better Training Programs, we do need a way to get people from careers that are deadend into new careers. Unemployment insurance does not do that. Ifill and what is the political problem . The political problem here for the white house is they have a bad economic record. They want to change the subject and stop pointing fingers this is a good way to do it. Ifill douglas holtzeakin, thank you so much. Thank you. Woodruff alzheimers disease remains among the most devastating diseases that medicine has yet to crack. Theres no known cure or treatment that has substantially helped curb memory loss and the decline in cognitive skills. One in eight americans over the age of 65 has alzheimers. Now, researchers are hoping they can find a more promising future by intervening well before any symptoms show. Jeffrey brown has the story. This is my father at a father daughter dance in High School Reporter at age 48, jamie tyrone decided on a whim to sign up for a study that offered genetic testing for 22 diseases. This is my mother and my father at my wedding day. Reporter the results were shocking and life changing. My genetic status is that i have a 91 lifetime risk of getting alzheimers disease. Reporter alzheimers, a debilitating form of dementia, was not even on tyrones radar screen shed had no symptoms. And hearing the news sent her into an emotional tailspin. I was very, very lonely and very, very isolated. At one point, i was told it was probably best not to talk about it because you might be discriminated against, so i went into a really dark hole. Reporter all this began five years ago. Ironically, just as her father began showing signs of mental confusion. Tyrone watched as his health quickly declined. He was eventually diagnosed with alzheimers. When my father was still alive, and i looked at him, all i saw was my destiny. And i was frightened for me, but i was more frightened for my family, because i didnt want i dont want them to go through what we were going through with my father. Reporter and her story is now part of a new approach to experimental Alzheimers Research treating people for the disease before they show a single symptom. Im going to ask you a bunch of questions that deal with memory and thinking and i want you to just take your time and relax. Reporter tyrone volunteered for a biomarker study at Banner Alzheimers Institute in arizona. Here, she is given cognitive tests, medical screening, and brain imaging. I panic every time i go through it because im like oh my goodness, if i forget something, do i have alzheimers . Reporter so far, her tests have been encouraging. So, you got 27 out of 30, which is normal jamie whew the biomarker study tyrone entered is part of an ambitious goal set by banner, to prevent and even eradicate the disease. Its incurable, its debilitating, its relentless, and its unacceptable. Reporter dr. Pierre tariot is on a team of doctors that launched the alzheimers prevention initiative. We think the best way to find an end to alzheimers disease, without losing another generation, is moving earlier. One new study will involve people who dont have any symptoms but are at high risk because they carry two copies of a gene called apo efour. Evidence that lifestyles matter reporter and while jamie tyrone fits that genetic profile, she is too young to participate, the trial will track people 60 to 75yearold. If we learn that making this red goes away, or we prevent it from occurring. Reporter last summer, the study received a big boost, 33. 2 million dollars, from the National Institutes of health. We and others really think that the way to put this disease behind us is to find therapies that attack the underlying biology, and apply them right biology, and apply them right away, at the right time, and if we can do that, we may be able to preserve the independence and autonomy, which is the goal. The area of blue is little amyloid protien deposits reporter one longheld hypothesis is that a buildup of amyloid protein in the brain is the main culprit in the onset of alzheimers. These new trials will test drugs aimed at halting that progression. Well be comparing change in people who get active treatment, versus a placebo, or a sham treatment, and our hypothesis is the active experimental treatment will slow down, or possibly even prevent the otherwise almost certain loss of memory. Reporter so far, drug trials to treat people who already have the disease have proven disappointing. There has been a significant paradigm shift in just the last couple of years. Maybe using these promising experimental agents at a time when the disease is already ravaged the brain is too late, so maybe what we ought to do is intervene at the very beginning, before damaged has occurred, and symptoms emerged, so thats a big pivot, a big change in the field. Reporter it is also raises new ethical considerations to administer alzheimers treatment to people with no current symptoms. In every case it boils down to the ability for everybody to appreciate potential risks, and the potential benefits, benefits for oneself, benefits for ones family, or future generations youre going to draw trees in the background, yours is looking great reporter for people who already have alzheimers, the institute creates environments, like this art class, where patients can feel productive and successful. I think it works for people who have alzheimers because everyday they face failure, because their memory, their brain cant keep pace. But as i tell people with this disease, look, not all of your brain is not working, there are parts that work beautifully, and art is one of those areas that work beautifully reporter according to the alzheimers association, 5. 2 million americans are affected by the disease. A new diagnosis is made every 68 seconds and the number of cases is expected to triple by 2050. The World Health Organization has labeled alzheimers disease as the coming pandemic of western society in this century. Predicting that as we age sucessfully, the numbers will become so extraordinary that unless we find a way to put it behind us, it could overwhelm our society. Reporter feeling overwhelmed by her husbands diagnosis is something Judy Starbuck is familiar with. I have periods of great grief, of loss. You know, they said start planning to make a life for yourself, and i dont want to. I reporter starbuck volunteered for the prevention trials. But was found to carry no risk and therefore didnt qualify. In fact, researchers acknowledge it may be tricky to find volunteers. So the Arizona Institute has created an online alzheimers prevention registry. One of the Biggest Challenges is just finding enough people to participate. Typically Research Studies take place in people who already have the disease, and here were trying to do prevention focused studies. Reporter jamie tyrone says she cant help being optimistic. Oh my goodness what it means is that theres hope, theres actual hope, there is a possibility that there may be a prevention in my lifetime and my family wont have to go through what we have in the past, and thats very, very promising and exciting. Reporter the prevention trials are expected to begin in 2015. Ifill learn more about alzheimers prevention, including how to eat your way to a healthier brain. Thats on our health page. Woodruff finally tonight, a future where your home can act a little smarter. Your car starts with just the sound of your voice and your clothes can measure your heart rate and other personal data. Those are just some of the possibilities being discussed at the annual Consumer Electronics show in las vegas. Its a gathering to highlight some of the latest developments in Technology Featuring plenty of highend gadgets, and often a bit of hype as well. This years theme is about the socalled internet of things. Cecilia kang of the Washington Post joins us from las vegas to fill us in on that idea and more. Welcome back to the program. So im almost afraid to did, what is the internet of things. The internet of things really represents the idea that the internet is moving beyond just smart phones and tablets and has really become part of so many more aspects of our life where so many more machines, so many more accessories and gadgets are connected to the internet. Everyone from a toaster to a car, to a wristwatch to your stocks. So the idea is that so many more machines and parts of your life can be connected to the internet. This really is sort of the next step beyond a smart phone resolution so what have you seen there thats caught your attention . Well, cars will be a really big theme here. And the smart sort of internet connected car. Theres a lot of aspects to that. The idea is that youre in the car for a long time and what carmakers and Silicon Valley hopes that you will do some of the things that you do in front of your computer and over your smart phone in your car as well. Which of course werents some concerns, some questions about safety. But the idea is that to put 4g highspeed wireless Internet Connections into cars, audi is going to announce that. Gm is announcing that this week. And the, this will allow say, for example, youre in a minivan and you have four kids in the car and two parents, six people total. Everybody should be able to listening to the music they want, watching the video, streaming the videos they want, playing with the apps and updating their Facebook Status all at the same time in the car and carmakers hope this will be the next stage of their industry which is really trying to figure out a way to attract more and younger buyers. Woodruff instead of looking out the window. And were hoping the driver is paying atension to where he or she is going. Thats right. And there will be some Big Questions about safety. And federal regulators will certainly look into this. There are there are so many concerns about distracks in the car. And there was a huge effort over the last few years to get drivers to stop texting while driving. And then suddenly we have this idea of so many more internet distractions potentially while youre driving. The solution that the companies hope, that the Web Companies and the Car Companies hope to introduce would be voice recognized commands, that that will hopefully avoid of the idea of people glancing too much at a screen and actually tapping on apps. But a lotofthat remains to be seen. And its also an insurance question as well. Without picks up the liability when theres accidents. Woodruff weve been hearing over the last year or so about driverless cars, does this mean were coming closer to that . It certainly does. It certainly does in the sense that theres no reason why the technology and the way that its moving. Sensors are so cheap, cameras are so cheap. There is no reason why your car cant have loads of them all over the car and also connected gps connections and this Internet Connection to sense when other cars are too close. And all that capable, all these technological advances are available today, or at least are conceptually available in labs. And google has introduced that two years ago. Audi has talked about its own prototype its working on. Every carmaker is sort of interested in this idea about the idea of potentially having people in their cars doing things other than actually steering the car. And having more time to be on the internet, if you will. But it will take some time, judy it will probably take five to ten years is what the carmakers say. There are the regulatory concerns. You have to get approval from your local and state highway patrol. And you also have all these questions again about liability. Who picks up the insurance plans and the burden of liability when theres an accident. Woodruff now theres also t there are so many other devices and gadgets as you mentioned. Smarter tvs, tell us about that, how much smarter are they than the tvs we have now. Sure, well, i would love to state that they are so much smarter, judy. But it seems like theyre not that much smarter than last year and the year before that. The problem with tvs, smart tvs and the idea of smart internet tv that it all sounds good and most tvs actually that are sold today in Retail Stores do have internet capabilities. And a lot of people are buying apple boxes and bocks to enable them to get on to apps like netflix and pandora and amazon prime online. But the thing is most people actually are also pretty happy with the tv, the hardware that they have itself. And tvs have become so cheap. So the idea of buying some of the tvs that are coming out at the ces show this week which are in the tens of thousands of dollars an are huge, 105 inch screens and ultra hd, that means incredible resolution, the idea of spending that kind of money is really so far out of the budget of most consumers. But like most products here at ces, what youre the providers like the Companies Like samsung and lg are trying to do is to pique your interest and sort of get you curious and fascinated with the possibility of what could be. So it will be probably a small market size for those people who want to buy internet capable tvs. It will grow slowly. But its probably not going to be the big hit for the Consumer Electronics market going forward. Just in a few seconds, wearable gadgets. How far are they getting along with those . Well, theres lots of theres a lot of interconnect activity trackers like the fit, and fuel bin and those are getting smarter. And youre seeing the same kind of technology that those wristbands have. Make its way into other parts of your clothing and accessories, from socks to shoes to head bands. And theres so many other things that people are measuring. The question is i think what Consumers Want is a good price point and they probably want a device that looks good and also has a few more capabilities than just tracking your steps and counting your calories. Theyre hoping for something that might have a little more incorporation of some of the smart phone functionality that you have in your wristband. But there is a lot that has to come together for a consume tore want to spend more than 200 on Something Like that. And they also need to be able to understand it. Cecilia king from the Washington Post, thanks very much. Thank you. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. Bitter cold left much of the nation in the deep freeze, with subzero wind chills that could pose dangers to life and limb. Senate democrats fell just short of moving forward on a bill to restore longterm jobless benefits. And the Prime Minister of iraq urged the people of fallujah to throw out the alqaeda fighters who seized control of the city last week. Ifill on the newshour online right now imagine working 20 hours a week for five years but never getting paid. Thats the typical amount of time a longterm caregiver donates to a sick parent, spouse or other family member. We have a bythenumbers profile on what kind of an impact this can have on their finances on our rundown. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. We had hoped to bring you an interview with the head of the World Program on the major humanitarian crises facing 2014, but will bring you that conversation tomorrow. 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. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Charles schwab, proud supporter of the pbs newshour. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. 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 bbc world news. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newmans own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. For nearly 150 years, we have believed a commercial bank owes its clients strength, stability, security, so we believe in keeping the lender to standings high, capital ratios high, ratings high. Companies expected it then, and Companies Expect it now. Doing right. It is just good business. Union bank. And now, bbc world news america. World newsbbc america. Reporting from washington, i am katty kay. The u. S. Says it will step up sales to iraq, where they are trying to get areas back controlled by al qaeda militants. Much of the u. S. Is in a deep freeze, with dangerous temperatures not seen in decades. It is not the most obvious job in the world. The night, we introduce you to a whose products appear on stage and screen