Jeopardy in the Central Valley as groundwater is becoming scarce. Woodruff and its friday, mark shields and david brooks are here to analyze the weeks news. Those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. Friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff this was the day after for much of the eastern seaboard, digging out from the latest winter storm. In parts of the northeast, snowfall topped two feet, and in the south, nearly halfamillion customers spent a third day with no power. The storm was also blamed for 25 deaths. Hari sreenivasan reports on the days developments. Reporter heaps and heaps of snow made a messy aftermath as the big storm moved on. Plows and trucks worked overtime to clear streets from the deep south, all the way to the northeast and new england. But for many, the morning commute was treacherous. One stretch of the pennsylvania turnpike outside philadelphia had three separate pileups this morning. There was a big truck right behind me and he didnt stop in time he slid into the back of me, which pushed me right into the b. M. W. Reporter in washington, it was back to work for federal employees after yesterdays snow day. But many had to step gingerly on sidewalks and streets coated in ice. In connecticut, Governor Dannel Malloy declared a road salt emergency, with some municipalities running out. Storms are variable, so some folks have burned through the salt that theyve had faster than other towns. And so were going to make sure people have salt, but were not planning for two weeks, were planning for 60 days of weather conditions that we may have to respond to. Reporter here in new york city, the mounds of snow began melting as the weather warmed, leaving slushy, icy puddles. But the respite will be all too brief theres more snow in store for tomorrow, followed by a blast of bitter air early next week. This storm gave the city a rare look at thundersnow last night, as lightning lit up the skies. But traveling by air remained a daunting prospect, with more than two thousand new cancellations today. For the week, more than 14,000 flights have been scrubbed and for the winter so far, that number is 75,000, the worst in 25 years. Moreover, the relentless winter is getting the blame for falling retail sales. They plunged more than 9 just during the polar vortex storm last month. Car sales also fell last month, with february looking just as bleak. Some dealers say theyve had no customers for two or three days this week. And the floral industry, especially, is feeling the effects on this valentines day. A number of flower shops have had to suspend deliveries. We have to start making decisions about what we are going to do and when we decided we were going to cut off delivery for the 13th and 14th, thats a major piece of florist business. Reporter others, though, pledged to deliver no matter what, trudging through snow and slush in the name of love, and money. Woodruff the weather was good for one industry, ski resorts, where sales and rentals are going strong. Or, as the owner of a New Hampshire ski spot said today theres never too much snow. Well look more closely at the economic fallout, right after the news summary. Woodruff a volcano exploded to life on indonesias java island overnight, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee. At least three people were killed. Ash and debris that spewed from mount kelud blanketed the region for miles. It was eight inches deep in some areas, and workers rushed to protect a famous ninth century buddhist temple by covering it with plastic sheeting. The eruption was so powerful, it was heard 125 miles away. Woodruff southern england braced for another night of galeforce winds, hammering waves and, more rain. That meant the alreadyextreme floods afflicting the region will get even worse. We have a report from john ray of independent television news, who visited a series of coastal towns today. Reporter it is unrelenting, barely a chance to catch your breath between crushing waves. From chezle beach and beyond, the wild southwest wet and wind weworse still to come. Its much wisers to make for cover. To batten down the hatches, and to stack you want sandbags once again. In dorsett, residents are being told to be ready if disaster strikes to evacuate their homes. I live on top of the island, my tiles clang every night when you get 60, 70mileperhour winds. Reporter it will get much worse. Each time i think will they stay on . But flooding is the worst thing you can have. Reporter there is nowhere left for the rain to go. It is bubbling out of the drain on to the road. There are yet more flood warningings, because along this desolate and devastated coast they are not yet repaired the damage wrought by the last storm. Here in chezle, the beach stands between the beach and the homes below. It is a test of resolve and nerve. We are sandbags and everything, so its a lot of its worrying. Reporter but nothing points to an end to the torment. As evening falls the winds are whipping up and the tides are rising. This is a winter in which the extreme has become routine and the exceptional the norm. And it is not over yet. Tonight britains defenses will be tested yet again. A few might find adventure in adversity, bit for most, it is cold and wet and miserable. Woodruff Britains Environment Agency says it could be weeks before the flooding finally abates. Woodruff this was the warmest day yet at the winter olympics, in sochi, russia. Spectators soaked up the sun, but organizers had to cancel training for two events. Some crosscountry skiers even cut their sleeves off to stay cool. As for the competition, a spoiler alert tune out for a moment, if you dont want to know results just yet. Japans yazuru hanyu won his countrys first gold medal ever in mens figure skating. And american noelle pikuspace took silver behind britains elizabeth arnold, in womens skeleton. Well talk to a reporter at the winter games later in the program. Woodruff in syria, a car bomb killed as many as 43 people in a village held by rebels. One opposition activist said the bomb exploded next to a truck filled with diesel, setting the fuel on fire. The blast burned cars and damaged a mosque where worshippers had attended friday prayers. A United Nations envoy met separately today with the two factions in the syrian peace talks, but both sides said theyre at an impasse. The opposition and the assad regime remained divided over whether to focus on political transition or fighting terror. The regime has not submitted any other proposal about transition to Democratic Practice away from bloodshed, away from imposition of the people in power on the population. We hope to receive positive response. We havent received anything yet. Those who do not give a chance for discussion and agreement on combatant terrorism are definitely not part of the syrian people, and contradict with the wishes and aspirations of the syrian people. And we want to continue our discussions until we reach an agreement on this point because this is a crucial for the syrian people. Woodruff there were also new questions about syrias chemical weapons. Reuters reported the regime has handed over just 11 of its stockpile and is likely to miss a june 30 deadline for destroying all of it. Woodruff there was progress as north and south korea met today for their second high level talks this week. They agreed to go ahead with upcoming reunions of families separated during the korean war. And, the north withdrew a demand that south korea and the u. S. Delay the start of joint military exercises. A u. N. Commission wants the International Criminal court to prosecute north korea for crimes against humanity. The Associated Press says the panel has found it says theres evidence of extermination and deliberate starvation. North korea denies it. Woodruff italy has suffered another political upheaval. Enrico letta resigned as premier,after a rebellion in the ranks of his centerleft democratic party. That puts matteo renzi in position to become the countrys youngest premier ever. He has agitated for Sweeping Change to rescue italys economy. The battle over gay marriage in virginia is headed to a federal appeals court. Last night, a federal judge ruled the states voterapproved ban is unconstitutional. Virginias new attorney general, mark herring, had declined to defend the ban. He spoke today in richmond. The arguments raise bide those supporting virginias wan on samesex marriage were essentially the same arguments my predecessors used years ago to justify virginias ban on interracial marriage and justify segregated schools. The injustice of virginias position in those cases are not being repeated this time. Woodruff virginia is the First Southern state to have its bar against samesex marriage overturned. But, the ruling will be on hold, while the appeal goes forward. On wall street today, stocks ended the week on an up note. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 126 points to close at 16,154. The nasdaq rose three points to close at 4,244. For the week, the dow gained a little over two percent. The nasdaq rose nearly three percent. Still to come on the newshour; what the winter storms have done to the u. S. Economy; philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter on fighting poverty; a historic drought strains california towns and farms; the latest from the sochi olympics; plus, mark shields and david brooks on the weeks news. Woodruff this weeks storms in the south and the northeast were the latest punch to businesses, retailers, government offices and employees coping with a tough winter. Jeffrey brown looks at the Economic Impact. Woodruff its just the middle of february and many states have seen more than their usual share of snow days. Even in the midwest and plain states, where harsh winters are normal, thereve been weeks where subzero temperatures have frozen activity. Mark zandi is watching and assessing the fallout as chief economist of moodys analytics. Mark, generally, first, what kind of negative Economic Impact is the bad winter having so far . Well, its been really cold since early december, and now were getting a string of storms that are really disrupting Economic Activity. You can see it best in the job market. We lost roughly 50,000 jobs in the month of december because of the atypical weather, not quite that in january, and given what happened this last week, i expect well lose 75,000 to 100,000 jobs in the month of february. Its really hurting the economy at this point. Brown and this goes beyond whats normally accounted for already, the socalled seasonally adjusted type of assessment . Yeah, thats exactly right. So, you know, obviously in the wintertime, its cold and you dont see as much Economic Activity normally. But we account for that. Economists account for that. The government stazistitions account for that in their data. They seasonally adjust the weather but the weather we are seeing is outside what we see ordinarilily and the impact on the economy is not normal. Brown break it down a little bit by sectors or types of businesses. Well, you know, its hurt the Auto Industry a lot. Auto sales are way off. We got some Industrial Production data and auto production is down as a result. Anything, obviously, related to construction, housing, either the housing recovery is just in its infancy, and this is has put it back on its feet. Retailing hit really hard. Restaurants, travel, the airlines. If you move anything around trorpgz, distribution, warehousing that gets strupted. Widespread disruption, and i think one key thing since a lot of people in much of the country is having to spend a lot more just to heat their homes, they have a lot less to spend on Everything Else and it hurts everybody else. Brown we should mention, i guess today is valentines day associate candy and Flower Industries . Yeah, you know, getting those cut flowers to the stores im sure is a little wit difficult. Where im from, here in philadelphia, just looking at the i went to bamy wife a valentines card and it wasnt as crowded as it normally is. Im sure valentines is being disrupted as well. Brown how about reegeally . Of course, one of the phenomenon is it het places lieb the southeast particularly hard. Yeah, and its not obviously, the southeast generally doesnt get this weather. I mean weve had ice storms in dallas and parts of louisiana. Atlanta and charlotte had been basically shut down for the part of the past few weeks and its been incredibly disrupted there. In the northeast were more used to and it prepared for it but this is beyond the pale. Lots of people have lost power and thats affected their ability to do their work. Even the midwest, as you mentioned, its been brutally cold, so cold, it cut down on Construction Activity in that part of the country, which normally, you know, they can weather a lot of weather. So and its also important to point out, its not the winter, but weve got a big drought in california which is also have been an impact. Brown just finally with to put it into larger context, mark, the economy still struggling to get a foothold, right . So how do you look at wheeze going on in these months affecting that . Well, jeff, you know, i this is temporary. I mean, well overcome this once we get more typical weather as we move into march and april. Things will bounce back. You cant get evething back. You cant get those airline trips back. But in and those cut flowers for valentines back but well get most of it back and the economy will get back on track. Its just, obviously, very discouraging. The recovery is now four and a half years expoald it really hasnt kicked into high gear. I thought we would late last year, but the winter has really delayed things. Ultimately, this economy is moving in the right direction, and i think once we get more typical weather well see that. Brown all right, mark zandi, thanks so much. Thank you. Woodruff we return tonight to the subject of poverty and inequality. In recent days, weve spoken with members of both Political Parties weighing in on the problem, for our series of conversations, closing the gap. For a closer look at how one particularly hardhit city is coping, we turn to philadelphia, where more than 28 of residents live below the poverty level. Thats the highest rate of any u. S. City with more than one million people. The Median Income in philadelphia is just above 34,000. Thats the secondlowest of any u. S. City, just ahead of detroit. Joining us now from philadelphia is democratic mayor Michael Nutter. Mr. Mayor, we welcome you to the program again. Thank you, judy. Good to be with you. And happy valentines day to you. Woodruff thank you, and to you. And i want to start by asking you a question weve put to i think all of our other guests on the subject, and that is how do you see inequality in this country . What does the gap look like to you . I think, unfortunately, judy, its a pretty complex issue, and it is far ranging, in many instances, certainly here in philadelphia, it is intergenerational. It is certainly about income but its also about education, its with some folks, quite honestly, losing a sense of hope and cant see a vision for the future. Boots Economic Investment what do you see going on in your neighborhood . What is your access to jobs . The fact that African Americans and latinos and many others of color, the Unemployment Rate gets published in the papers is nowhere near reflect iive of whats really going on in many of our neighborhoods and other cities all across the United States of america. It is economic, but its also about access to health care. Its about the snap program. Its about fresh fruits and vegetables and do you have supermarkets in your community or not . Its a wide range of factors that all combine that end up addressing the issue of poverty and inequality i think as you laid out. Woodruff well you know, of course, that philadelphia is one of five places in the country designated by the Obama Administration as socalled promise zones, meaning what does that mean to your city . What does it happened last summer go ahead, yeah. It was just a couple of weeks ago. And it was very, very proud on wehalf of the city to, one, have some really great partners to submit that application with, to be designated by president obama and his administration as one of these promise zone areas. It means a number of things one, were one of the first five in the United States of america. As the president talked about in his state of the Union Address in 2013. Two, it means that youll have acstoas greater federal and private resources when youre applying for federal grants, because were a program zone, well get extra points in terms of how we score on those grant opportunitys. Private sector is more inclined to invest in these areas because they know that there is a plan this is. A twosquaremile area b35,000 people could have had in West Philadelphia under, partners with Drexel University and the peoples emergency center, mount vernon manner, and our own community and Economic Opportunity office, in my administration, so you put all of that together, the section of the city has had some challenges, but it also has many positive assets. When you look at the wealth of young people who live in that community and others who are trying to get a better education for themselveses and take care of their neighborhood and the housing stock, this is an opportunity for to us pour significant amount of coordinated resources into an area, transform it, and then use that same model all across the city of philadelphia to address issues of inequality, and certainly poverty. Woodruff as you understand it, at this point, theres no federal money connected with it, but it does mean that philadelphia and these other zones will be eligible for that. Does this send a signal in order you want to correct what im saying . Yeah, just two fine points. First of all, there is already significant federal and state and city funding going into this particular area already. What were talkin talking abouth the promise zone is access to additional dollars Going Forward. But through this plan, weve already been able to better coordinate the resources were already getting. I do want to mention to you, its important to us. It may be just a little bit but our poverty rate has dropped almost two point down to the 26 range. Some progress, clearly not enough. We have a lot more work to do, no doubt with it. But i just want to stay focused on where we are on the ground here in philadelphia. Woodruff well, thanks for clarifying that, but what i wanted to ask is does this send a signal that you believe you believe progress can only come if there are federal dollars attached to it. Well, clearly cities are not able to, you know, have an overwhelming impact on the larger issue of poverty and income inequality by ourselves. So thats why partnerships, certainly with the federal government assistance and support from the state all three levels of government working in partnership, we all represent the same constituents. They pay taxes, and every level of government has a responsibility. I think what president obama has done here is very sharp, very straightforward, and very clear. Partner Work Together develop a plan, apply to the federal government, apply to the corporate and philanthropic communities, demonstrate that you have a plan and can show the partnerships and the stakeholders, again, the many that i talked about earlier, and Additional Resources will, in fact, come to you. So i think that this is the mod theyll the federal government is going to use across a variety of departments and agencies, and represents a change in how the federal government will partner directly with cities all across america. Woodruff as you know, many republicans say that so many times of the federal money that has been directed at poverty in this country has not had the intended effect. One of the folks weve interviewed in this series of conversations, my colleague gwen ifill this week, talked to senator marco rubio republican of florida, who talked about the fact that so much money has gone into helping what he called pain, alleviate the pain of post, but it hasnt helped people come out of poverty. And he went on to say part of the super bowl a cultural problem, that the federal government can only do so much, but part of the problem has to come from people themselves. What do you say to that . Look i believe in the United States of americas again, as the president has said but i certainly agree here on the ground, the government does have an obligation to its citizens, and, clearly, many citizens can utilize and access resources that we have. And theres always a part of this is the level of personal responsibility to get engaged and be involved in, you know, raising your children and also trying to make things better for yourself. That does not mean, though, that local, state, or federal Government Agencies or leaders can walk away from american who are in need. This isut foundation of our country. And i wish many elected officials, especially at the federal level whether theyre democrats or republicans or in the house or in the senate but especially many on the republican side of the aisle, i wish that they would actually come on the groind and see whats going on in communities all across the United States of america. Many of them talk about programs that they barely know what they actually do. And so, proposing to cut the food stamp program, better known now as snap, im not sure what purpose thats trying to pleas. Cutting the Community Development block grant program, im not sure what purpose youre trying to accomplish. Youre actually hurting the American Public. Youre hurting neighborhoods. Youre hurting communities. We cant just run the government on political rhetoric and ideology. These are real people with real challenges and real problems and the federa the government does e some obligation to try to make things better for americans. Woodruff in 10 seconds, youre saying they dont have the information to make the right decisions on this or theyre just wrong . Some are just wrong and some have no idea what theyre talking about and some would do better to come on the ground walk the streets that i know and see what positive things are going on in communities, how dollars are being utilizes and their action and rhetoric is actually damaging the American Public that they claim to want to help. Woodruff mayor Michael Nutter of philadelphia, we thank you. Thank you, judy. Woodruff while much of the nation is struggling with a wet and freezing winter, the southwest is experiencing record heat and for weeks, california has been suffering from a serious drought. As you can see on this map, more than 90 of the state is experiencing a severe to exceptional shortage of water. The areas shaded in red and maroon are the most extremely parched areas of the state. President obama is visiting california today where hes meeting with farmers in the Central Valley as part of his trip. Hes directing more than 160 Million Dollars in federal aid, much of it going to provide relief for farmers and ranchers with livestock losses. Special correspondent Spencer Michels has been spending time with farmers and others feeling the effects. Heres his report. Reporter dairyman Don Debernardi has had a rough winter. The 700 cows he milks at this organic dairy in sonoma county, california, are eating costly hay, not the lush green grass they usually munch on at this time of year. The 14month drought kept it brown until just now. That could put his organic certification in jeopardy. Hes had to truck water in to clean his milking barn. His springs are dry. As far as pasture, were not going to have any feed for at least two months. Reporter and whats the result of that . Well, we have to truck hay in, where theres not much hay left in the state. Reporter so what are you going to do . We come out of state. We have to try and get hay somewhere. Reporter each of his cows drinks 35 to 40 gallons of water a day. Like a lot of dairymen, hes considering selling some of them for beef, since its too expensive to feed them. Well have to wait and see if the pasture comes, or how the hay supply holds out. We probably will sell some. You cant afford to feed an animal all year and buy hay to feed it. Reporter the problem, says debernardi, is too many people and not enough stored water. More people come into california, they build more homes, but they do not build any infrastructure for the dams for water supply. Reporter 50 miles north of the cattle ranch, in the wine country of sonoma county, grape growers, whose vines are dormant right now, had been told by water officials that the drought could be of biblical proportions. They use water in the winter to protect the grapes from frost, and in the summer to irrigate them. Without enough, the crop gets smaller and are vulnerable to freezing. The early february rains in Northern California got everyone excited, until they realized that what seemed like a monumental storm was just a drop in the bucket. Water Officials Say the state would need six or seven more storms like that one to really end the drought, and that seems unlikely. With the rainy season half over, the state remains in bad shape; with reservoirs far below capacity, and rivers trickling like it was summer, and the states huge Agricultural Production is in jeopardy in the Central Valley as groundwater is becoming scarce. In the mountains, whose melting snow provides much of water for the rest of the state, the snow pack increased this month from 10 of normal to 22 but thats far too low. Last month, governor jerry brown officially declared a drought emergency and called on all citizens to cut back at least 20 of their water use, though conservation efforts would be voluntary. In cloverdale, a quiet agricultural town in sonoma county, 90 miles north of san francisco, its 8,500 residents were told by the state they, along with 16 other communities, could run out of water within two to four months. While public works director craig scott doesnt believe the situation is that bad, he says the towns plight is serious. We just have had the driest year on record in 2013. This storm that we just had in the last few days has been the first significant storm in over 14 months. I think with tree ring analysis, its the driest year in 400 years. Reporter cloverdale gets its water from wells along the banks of the russian river, which feeds an underground aquifer. The rivers flow now is comparable to what it usually is in the dry summer so theres concern the wells production could decline. The town has no dam to store its water and depends on a few tanks. This water is heading out into the pacific ocean. We have no way to store it right now in sufficient quantities to get us past these really giant drought events. We have storage in the system; four days worth of storage. A reservoir of the magnitude to actually get us from season to season would be a huge expense. Reporter so cloverdale isnt thinking big, its mayor, carol russell, and the city council, are taking smaller steps, declaring a what they call a mandatory cutback of 25 in water usage, including a ban on lawn watering. This luscious landscaping is designed to save water, and have a garden that is essentially made up of things that dont require a whole lot of water to survive. The city council is considering tougher measures, including higher rates and fines called stage three. A stage 3 isnt best because 25 ps of mandatory. Now it goes up to 50 and you end up with an allotment of water per person, per household. Reporter one of cloverdales most thriving businesses depends on a lot of water. Bear republic brewing company, a regional brewery that makes racer five i. P. A. , is trying to conserve water. For every gallon of beer they use 3. 5 gallons of water, much lower than the industry standard. Cofounder and brew master Richard Norgrove says he isnt sure if cloverdales wells will provide the brewery with enough water this year. We may have to truck it in. We could move our production out of state; we could move our business to a community thats not affected by water use problems. But those arent really part of what the family plan is. Reporter instead, to insure an adequate water supply, bear republic has entered into a privatepublic partnership with cloverdale, to bring more wells into production. We lent them close to half a Million Dollars to accelerate well drilling, which is really helping the infrastructure for the community. If we dont manage our watershed, we may not even be able to grow this business, because theres not going to be enough water for everybody. Reporter and the town is equally enthusiastic with the arrangement. They came to the city and said, look, can we expand . And we said, yeah, wed love you to, but theres a water problem. Were in the middle of a drought. We got together with them and what theyre helping us do is develop wells for everyone. Reporter meanwhile, many californians are resorting to lessexotic, timetested ways of saving water bricks in the toilet tank, low flow toilets, short showers and less lawn watering. All means of coping with a drought that hydrologists are predicting will continue throughout this year, and perhaps even beyond. Woodruff as residents in california cope with the problems spencer chronicled, the president is proposing the creation of a new one billion dollar fund to help communities deal with the impact of climate change. That money would need to be approved by congress, but it will likely face significant opposition among republicans in the house. Woodruff weve reached the Halfway Point of the winter games in sochi, a week that has seen its share of spectacular victories and some surprising disappointments for the American Team and others. Christine brennan has been covering the action in russia for u. S. A. Today and a. B. C. News. I caught up with her earlier today. Christine brennan, its great to have you join us again. Once again a spoiler alert for our viewers. Were going to talk about some results. Chris teen, here we are at the end of the first weeks, the americans have had a tough day on the ski slopes. Thats right, judy. The u. S. Ski team, the alpine ski team, is one of the highest profile events at the games, bodie miller, ted ligety, and julia maciewso. Miller and ligety did not have a good day. Miller has not had awe good olympics, coming up with the term to bodie meaning being shut out. Hes 35, 36 years old. You know, its at this point in his life, this is towards the end. But i think the disappointment is that there were no med althoughs. Julia mancuso now is the only one who has won a medal for the u. S. Woodruff we watched figure skating yesterday where the big news last night were some big falls. And the surprising exit of a russian favorite. Reporter judy, it was 30 minutes that seemed like it was the Bermuda Triangle had entered the figure skating arena. First off, you had yevgeny plushenko, two olympic gold met medals, two olympic silver medals, he comes out and hes looks he looks like hes injured. Hes hurting. He goes over to the referee reminiscent of, frankly, of what tonya hard dignity with her skates 20 years ago, withdraws, waves to the crowd and is gone. That drama 30 minutes later of followed by Jeremy Abbott who fell hard on his quadruple jump, and instead of getting right up, popping up the way most skaters do, he just laid there and it seemed like forever, an eternity, his coach was about to rush out on to the expies help him but he popped up and kept going and the crowd spurred him on. Incredible drawm and only in figure skating. It never, ever disappoints. Woodruff i want to talk about snowboarding and how well the american women have been doing. Reporter well, yes, the american women, with xgame sports we look at it from shaun white to the slope styles of skiing. The u. S. Women of course are going to be stars of these Olympic Games in large part of course because these are our best female athletes and they get a chance to shine at the olympics. But i think if you look at it in total, and, again, say these edgy extreme xgame sports, the u. S. Is doing great. All four gold medal medals are m xgames, relatively new sports in the olympics for the u. S. The International Olympic committee brought these sports in to try to attract a newer audience, younger viewers to watch the coverage on the networks. And the reality is i think if the i. O. C. Hadnt done it, the u. S. Olympic committee would have because the yuz just cleans up in these medals, u. S. , canada, north american smorts. And you can pretty much rely on the fact theyre doing something that wasnt done 20 years ago in the olympics, the u. S. Is going to do well in it. Woodruff one thing you wrote about was the overhang or shadow of the old spirit of the soviet union. The fact that youre there in russia and you really cant get away from the history of this place. How are you seeing that while youre there . Reporter you know, it comes, judy, in little waves and snippets. For examine, the lighting of the light, the athlete had a racist tweet regarding president obama, and shes lighting the calderon. Theyre not former russian athletes. Theyre former soviet athletes and those of us of a certain age cant help but remember that. And for sports fans and the United States it was the miracle on ice. You see these people and it kind of brings back that time. The using of their anthem, of course, is the old soviet anthem. I certainly love that anthem but it has haupting tones that take us back to another time when we were not friend with them. Obviously, it was the cold war. So the russian figure skating, occasionally you see judging, the eastern bloc, the cold war can be alive and welin figure skating judging, i can tell you that. For the First Time Ever in a full olympics, the complete olympics is in russia. The fact that were here and the u. S. Is the big cheese, always, the fact that the United States and russia are at it a little bit in a friendly rivalry and i do stress friendly but there are moments when you look back to the old days and they were not quite so friendly, obviously. Woodruff when you stum up the week, whats been the highlight for you . What do you take away at the Halfway Point of the games . Reporter i have to say the fact that there has been no knock on wood huge news. Thinking of the sochi, all the kitchens, the terrible concerns about terrich bsecurity, protests involving the antigay law there were a couple earlier. Of course, im in the talk, to you right now from the press center inside the secure zone, its ring of seal, so to speak, so we wouldnt see that. Put the bottom line is there has been almost no news. The big snooze no big news. Were talking about athletes. Were talking about sports. Were talking about the thing we should be talking about at the Olympic Games. Im not saying those other issues may not rise up again, lets hope everything goes well with security but so far, a week into the olympics, not a big news story to be had in terms of security, and that is a huge, huge upset. Woodruff christine brennan, were so glad to have you talk to us. Thank you. Reporter judy, thank you very much. Woodruff and to the analysis of shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. Welcome, gentlemen. And its valentines day. And by the way, pink tie, tie with hearts, very nice. So because its valentines day, lets Start Talking about the debt limit. Nice segue. Woodruff we watched this drama play out which ended up in the senate, with senator ted cruz of texas, essential he hanging some of his fellow republicans out to dry. What was he trying to accomplish and did he do it . Nothing says valentines day like senator ted cruz, our national aphrodisiac. mark laughing what he was trying to do, its unclear. The official explanation was that he wanted republicans to fight. He thinks theres a spending problem in the country, and republicans should fight harder before raising the debt ceiling. They should get some spending reforms. He was going to force a the love republican senators, including mitch mcconnell, that are up, to make them cast an unpleas apt vote which is going to make it harder for them in the primaries. He put a lot of people in a tough bind. The basic problem is it the republicans have been here before. Theyre not all insane. They saw how badly it went and made a completely rational strategic decision, lets just let it go and move on and talk about something else. Thats called basic strategy Nursery School style. There are some who think strategy is bad and want to run into the wall again and again and i would put ted cruz in that category. Woodruff is it working for him, mark . Well fiewnd out in about two years from now. If ted cruz is going national, he has carved outaise nirks which is im not the establishment republican. We tried john mccain. He worked across the aisle. He was bipartisan, and he got 90 of democrats voting against him. And then we had blue state mitt romney, who worked with democrats in massachusetts, and 93 theres only one republican who had democratic votes. That was ronald reagan. He was an ardent conservative. Im the antiwashington candidate. I think thats what hes casting himself as. I think david is absolutely right that what hes done to his own party, the democrats owned the debt ceiling. They were going to raise the debt ceiling all by themselves with nobody elses votes. What he forced republicans to do, and they had no republican could be the 60th vote to cut off debate. So they had to round up seven more to cast an unpleasant vote. As bob dole used to say wisely, we senators love to make tough speeches. We dont like to cast tough votes. And this was a tough vote that ted cruz forced them to cast. Woodruff so where does this leave tea party . And we should say, this comes on the heels of the house, where Speaker Boehner couldnt, david, round up enough republicans to get behind a plan that would counter the the democrats wanted a clean extension of the debt limit with no strings attached. The republicans were looking for something. They cooperate get enough vote but it never came together. What does all this say about what is going on in that party . The tea party is going to be a permanent feature of the party. Those people were always here before we called them the tea party. There are two features. One, like a lot of respects they think were spending too much money. Two and this is more a matter of strategy they dont believe in it. They dont believe in strategy. They believe simplicity. Whatever washington is doing, just mess is up. So a direct, fullbore frontal assault approach again and again and again. Somebody like john boehner says you pick your fights. But theyre against that sort of game playing. What i would qual just intelligent strategy. They are going to be a permanent part of the party. What is happening now is exasperation. What youre seeing is beginning to see the republican establishment, who have been terrified of the 5 tea party, sy weve got to stand up. The most weirdly cowardly people on earth are the establishment. They hate to take on the renegades. Youre seeing john boehner leading the ray, really, in a series of press ccheses the past couple of weeks or months, saying,im not going to do it your way. Im going to do it my way. This is the way i was taught to do politics. I will do it this way. Youre seeing bob corker, others, certainly john mccain, other ands saying, no were not going to do it that way. Were going to do it the way parties are supposed to do it, strategy, a little surrender here, a little aggression here, not just run into a brick wall. Woodruff what does that mean, mark, for policy, for legislation, for addressing the countrys problems when you have one party that is so divided not that the democrats dont have that. I think, first of all, just to review, last month we were celebrating the fact that theyd come to a budget agreement, the first time in three years, and the budget and then patter murray, the democrat in the senate, and paul ripe, the respect in the house, reached this great agreement, congress voted on it, and it was stort of a step in the right direction. And those are the bills we agreed to pay up and come the bills and they say, no, no, were not going to pay them. Were basically going to defau default. John boehner acted like a grownup. He wasnt nathan hale or patrick henry, but in this climate he looked like it because it was good politics and good public policy. He did the right thing for the country, and he did the right thing for his part party. He brought them back from i a second selfdestructive closing of the government which cost the Republican Party enormously. What does it mean Going Forward . Im not sure. Its a better climate. It was a victory for the president , a victory for the democrats in the sense they didnt they did get a clean bill. But i dont see it as a great compact,o a great concord. I really dont. I mean, i think immigration is where the president had his biggest hope, and i dont see that any closer this week than it was last week. Fiwere the president , i would hit i would take advantage of this moment of division or rancor, whatever you want to call it, in the Republican Party, and i would have two big proposals that id just talk about endlessly. The first would be immigration, which does split the Republican Party and hit that every single day. Maybe you can create a governing majority. Maybe there is enough upset with the tea party to do that. The second thing would be poverty. Marco rubio, paul ryan, some of the people you have been talking to, they have stretched republican orthodoxy a fair bit to allow for some Government Action to address poverty, some subsidies, increase the earned income tax credit. So theres been some movement there. And they differ with them how to pay for it and that sort of thing. Nonetheless, theres movement there, and i think theres a potential for a governing compromise on some sort of poverty legislation which, for the Democratic Political advantage, would split Republican Party but also yield possible legislation. Woodruff so youre saying that mainstream republicans could go along with Something Like on immigration and dealing with poverty, and just say goodbye or say tea party, too bad. I dont eye mean, david was a lot more bearish on imgraigz than he is today. I think first of all, mitch macom, the republican leader, may 20 primary, fighting for his political life in a tough general election, has already said there will be no immigration this year. And john boehner stated the principles and quickly got shot down, i mean, got pulled back to earth. So i dont know the votes may be there. There might be 45, 50 vote. I havent seen them selfidentify and say we want to sign a discharge. With the democrats yet to bring immigration to the flor. I was just saying if i were the president , you have two subjects, immigration eye agree with mark, its extremely unlikely but at least you have an issue that sprit the republicans and thats a political win. Poverty, i think theres a chance of a substantive win if you have the right set of packages and its on peoples mind and the republicans have a hankering to show they do have a policy. If you want to split the republicans, the republicans are on the short side, in popular support, minimum wage, which 70 of people want raised; equal pay for women for equal jobs. Theyre on the wrong side of that. If youre going to just talk about taking advantage of republican weakness and republican defensively, im emphasize those two. Woodruff and the republicans we interviewed this week, marco rubio, and senator tim scott, adamantly against the minimum wage. Lets talk just a minute about the Health Care Law. There were good numbers, david, that came out, the administration announcing 3. 3 million, i think, people have signed up on the exchanges. On the other hand, the administration announced that it was going to extend the deadline for medium businesses to bring their employees under health care coverage. Is this does this mean the Health Care Law is healthier or does it mean its weaker . I mean, how do we read whats going on . Its both, its both. So if you want to draw a Straight Line for a lot of the different stories that have been going through on health care reform, i think youd say one thing its Health Care Law is probably going to reduce the number of uninsured not probably, it will reduce the number of uninsured. And the good enrollment numbers are a piece of that. The second thing on the down side is costs will probably be a lot higher than estimated. So what youre seeing is the exchanges are not competitive. A lot of places, theres just only one fortune in the exchange, one company, a blue cross or something in the exchange, so theres no competition over price and, therefore, its a lot more expensive to get the policies. Also, i think theyre going to have no mandates. We had a big fight, individual mandates for companies, and theyre really walking back every mandate. Woodruff including the individual . I personally and this is just conjecture i think theyre going to have trouble getting mandates, period, and that will raise cost because you wont be able to subsidize. Without the individual mandate, there is not. I agree with david on the walking back, judy, it was projected seven million by the thirst of march. Now the Congressional Budget Office says six million, which is not as good as democrats had hoped for, or the architects had hoped for. A lot better than republicans had hoped for. I mean, republicans have based their 2014 campaign on bangladesh. I think the whole test is going to be in july, people looking and say, gee, this has worked, for my nephew. This has worked, for my daughter. This is better. My neighbors life is better off. Its going to be really a pragmatic, practical test of whether its working. Its not going to be ideological left or ideological right. Woodruff thats my question is it a winning issue for republicans to be hammering way. If you look at the polls its still an unpopular thing, especially in the red state, where a lot of Senate Democrats are up for reelection. And mark is right, it could turn around my friend got coverage, my bartender got coverage, my bartender got coverage, but the costs over the long haul could prove to be extremely expensive. There are a lot of extremely unaffordable programs that are quite popular. Woodruff we wish both of you happy valentines day. Thank you. Woodruff we hope it hasnt been too expensive for the two of you. Excellent point. Woodruff david brooks, mark shields, thank you. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. This was the day after as much of the eastern seaboard dug out from the latest blast of winter. The storm was blamed for at least 25 deaths. And there was more evidence that the hard winter has taken an economic toll. Factory output fell in january after two months of gains. On the newshour online right now, hoping to impress your valentine tonight . Before you splash yourself with your favorite scent, read our pheromones primer. It details what role the chemical compounds play in peaking a sweethearts interest. And how perfumes and colognes that claim to trigger desire are lacking in the science. Thats on our homepage. And we look back at 20 years of and a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. Gwen ifill is preparing for washington week. Which airs later this evening. Heres a preview glen were tackling some tough questions tonight whats going right in washington, whats going wrong, and the reasons why. The answers might surprise you tonight on washington woodruff tomorrows edition of pbs newshour weekend looks at how cell phones are transforming africa and in some ways ahead of the u. S. And well be back, right here, on monday with a look at arkansass plan to use medicaid dollars to buy private insurance for lowincome residents that may be in peril. Thats the newshour for tonight, im judy woodruff, have a nice weekend. 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. 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. And charles schwab. At union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you to know your business. Solutionspecialized in capital to help you meet your growth objectives. 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