Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20140717

We take care of our own before we go and help the Illegal Immigrants . Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill israel agreed late today to a fivehour pause in attacks on gaza, after a u. N. Appeal. The halt, for humanitarian purposes, will begin at 3 a. M. , eastern time, tomorrow morning. The announcement followed a day of steppedup strikes that pushed the Palestinian Death toll to at least 213. Jonathan miller of independent Television News filed this report from gaza. Reporter ten past four and there were two almighty explosions. Israeli shells had hit groin used by gaza citys fishermen. Many of their boats have already been targeted and sunk. People emptied out onto the previously deserted street and rushed to help. It was then we learned that a third shell had killed children minutes later, just down the beach. Two still grabs from c. C. T. V. Appear to show the four boys playing football. And then the shell strikes. Israels pledge had been to hit hamas hard. At 1 30 a. M. , three missiles from an f16 slammed into the gaza city home of hamas super strongman mahmood zahar. In all, four hamas leaders homes were destroyed overnight. None of them was killed. The debris here, now a dystopian childrens playground. Shortly after dawn, an israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on three neighborhoods, all were close to the israeli border. One was in shajia, a district in the east of gaza city. And here is one of those leaflets. The translation from the arabic goes, for your own safety, we request that you vacate your residence immediately. The Israeli Defense force does not wish to harm you or your family. Those who disregard these instructions endanger their own lives and those of their families. Hamas got on the local radio straight away and said, dont believe it, dont move, its propaganda. The israelis simply want you to move out so that they can move in. The residents of shajair were not impressed. This man said he couldnt read. Where can we go, this man asks. We cant go . Where are we meant to go . Reporter this evening, the four boys killed just down the beach were laid out in the abu hasira mosque. The imam was agitated. He said, our battle with the enemy will never end. Ifill hamas rejected a ceasefire yesterday. Today, the militants fired several dozen more rockets into israel, but caused no major damage and no casualties. Woodruff syrian president Bashar Alassad was sworn in for a third term today, even as a now fouryear long civil war rages on in his country. Assad took the oath of office during a large ceremony at the president ial palace in damascus. He declared victory over those he called terrorists, and he warned countries whove backed the rebels. translated soon we will see that the arab, regional and western states that supported terrorism will pay a high price and many people will understand, late, that the battle in which Syrian People is fighting to defend its country, is a battle to defend many other people that will be facing the same terrorism sooner or later. Woodruff the u. S. And other countries have dismissed assads reelection as a sham. Ifill in iraq, Government Forces pulled back from a bid to retake tikrit, after meeting heavy resistance from sunni insurgents. The city was captured by the Islamic State group last month, a stronghold of former Saddam Hussein loyalists. Woodruff the United States is imposing its toughest sanctions yet on russia, for supporting rebels in ukraine. The Treasury Department announced new penalties this afternoon, targeting key russian banks as well as energy and defense companies. Russia has to understand it will pay a price for its actions. These sanctions are significant but also targeted, designed to have the maximum impact on russia while limiting spillover effects on American Companies or our allies. We are taking these actions in close consultation with our european allies and meetle in brussels to agree on the next steps and what we are expecting is that the russian leadership will see once again that its actions in ukraine have consequences. Woodruff pentagon officials reported today moscow beefed up forces on ukraines border to 12,00 12,000 troops. Ifill Senate Democrats failed in their bid today to reverse a Supreme Court ruling on contraception and the health care law. Last months decision says familyowned companies and others with religious objections may refuse to cover some forms of birth control. Democrats and republicans jousted over the bill before a procedural vote. Who should be in charge of a Womans Health care decision . Women should call the shots when it comes to their health care decisions, not their boss, not the government, not anyone else, period. The issue before this body is not about access to contraceptives, despite a whole lot of politicking by Senate Democrats to suggest to the contrary. In this body, the number of people who would do anything to restrict access to contraceptives to anybody is zero. Ifill the bill ultimately fell four votes short of the 60 needed to advance. Republicans said they plan to introduce their own bill later this week. Woodruff the man running the department of veterans affairs, for now, painted a grim picture today. Acting secretary sloan gibson said veterans and the public have lost trust in the v. A. Amid a scandal over treatment delays and falsified records. But gibson told a Senate Hearing the v. A. Has a chance to turn things around. We can turn these challenges into the greatest opportunity for improvement in the history of this department. I believe that in as little as two years the conversation can change, that v. A. Can be the trusted provider of choice for health care and for benefits. Woodruff the v. A. Says it already has made some progress, such as reducing the number of veterans whove waited 90 days or more for a medical appointment. Ifill aidsrelated deaths worldwide are now the lowest since they peaked nearly a decade ago. A United Nations Agency Reports one and ahalf Million People died from the disease last year. 35 million were infected with h. I. V. Virtually unchanged over the last two years. The u. N. Says with greater funding, it will be possible to control the global epidemic by 2030 and, ultimately, end it. Woodruff a Federal District judge in Southern California ruled today the states Death Penalty is unconstitutional. He said prolonged delays in carrying out executions have made the system too arbitrary, a violation of the constitutional bar against cruel and unusual punishment. The ruling came in the case of a man condemned in 1994, and still on death row. Ifill General Motors is facing yet more scrutiny about its handling of an ignition switch defect that triggered mass recalls. The New York Times reported today that g. M. Kept quiet for years as regulators asked about the potential causes of fatal crashes. The ignition problem has been linked to at least 13 deaths. Woodruff b. M. W. Announced that its recalling 1. 6 million of its cars worldwide for possibly defective air bags. More than half of those are in the u. S. They include three series cars from model years 2000 to 2006. A number of other auto makers have issued similar recalls for air bags, all made by the same japanese firm, takata corporation. Ifill on wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 77 points to close at 17,138. The nasdaq rose nine points to close near 4,426. The s p 500 added eight to finish at 1,981. Ifill still to come on the newshour california takes emergency measures to tackle a worsening drought; the israeli ambassador on the possibility of a Ground Invasion in gaza; a town divided over giving shelter to immigrants who await deportation; enforcing Safety Measures at federal laboratories to prevent bioterror threats; and the peace corps, in search of a new generation of volunteers. Ifill california officials are putting mandatory restrictions on water use in place, as a result of that states ongoing drought. Several western states, including oregon, nevada, arizona and new mexico, have large regions suffering a severe to extreme drought. But californias problem has lasted longer than most, and now the state says its time to ramp up conservation. Woodruff driedup lake beds and water shortages have become depressingly familiar sights across california, and state water regulators moved tuesday to impose new conservation rules. State water board chair felicia marcus. Were focusing on outdoor irrigation because thats a place where people tend to, even without realizing it, they over water. It really behooves all of us to figure out how to use the water that we do have as wisely as we can. Woodruff starting august first, the new rules could mean daily fines of up to 500 for people who waste water on lawns and car washing. California is now in the third year of its worst drought since the 1970s. Governor jerry brown declared a drought emergency in january, and temporarily rolled back protections for endangered fish to allow pumping from the san joaquinsacramento river delta. Brown also called for a voluntary 20 reduction in water use, but a state survey shows consumption actually rose by one percent in may. Jay lund, at the university of california at davis, has studied the drought. He says the States Residents have to adjust. From all the Climate Change studies that weve done, we dont see catastrophe if we manage it well, but we do see inconvenience and we do see costs. Woodruff a large part of those costs come in the states Agriculture Sector that provides food for much of the United States. Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley already faced reduced water flows, and they are worried. I dont know, if this drought continues were in trouble, serious trouble. Even when were drilling these wells, were watching the production. Most of the wells that we have are down 30 from a year ago and were watching them drop by the week. Woodruff the u. C. Davis report warns the drought will cost california 2. 2 billion this year, and the loss of more than 17,000 jobs. Woodruff for more on the rationale for them and their likely impact, im joined by Timothy Quinn, the director of the association of California Water agencies. His members will have to enforce the changes. And craig miller, the science editor at san franciscos k. Q. E. D. Public media. And we welcome you both. To you first, Timothy Quinn, why were these regulations necessary right now, and if the situation is so serious, why the discretion to individual agencies on how and whether to enforce them . Well, that is necessary because were going through an extraordinary drought experience in california. Last year was the dryest year on record, this year is the third dryest. The demand is up, storage is down, so our member agencies believe the action is necessary now. Frankly,eth not too late. The seriousness of this drought just became apparent in the last few months. I mean, in january, february, march, we were dry as a bone. We started to realize we had to take this seriously. It takes time, of course, for the public and others to move up the learning curve. I think the actions taken by the control board, our water comp in california, theyre saying take this serious for the emergency that it is and thats what well be doing. Woodruff briefly remind us what people are asked to do. No water runoff when youre watering the lawn, dont water driveways, dont use excess water on the cars. Its all outdoor use . The focus is use but the state is ordering every water agency that serves more than 3,000 connections in california to go to the mapped tore connections of the drought contingency plans. Its focused on the outdoors but california is realizing this is an emergency situation and will start saving outdoors and indoors. Maybe showers have been the order of the day. They have been in my house since january. Were not going to be flushing as often and the lawn will be brown and it will be tough till its over. Woodruff craig miller, you have been reporting ton water situation for a long time. How seriously do californians take this problem . Its kind of hard to tell. Some polling was done in may on that very point and most californians at that time, about 60 , i believe, said they thought the drought was pretty serious where they were, and most of them also said that they were already taking actions to save water. As weve heard, the governor is asking for 20 water reduction across the board and hes not getting close to it. In some parts of the state, water use is actually up this year. I think thats probably one of the reasons at the state level they started thinking it was time to take the bull by the horns. Woodruff you were telling us earlier today, craig miller, that in observing what people are doing around the state, you think people are, though, taking precautions they didnt used to or using water in a somewhat different way. Well, everythings relative. You know, if you look at the per capita water consumption around california, its all over the map, literally and figuratively. Anywhere from 50 gallons a day to three, four times that, depending in large part on the size of lawns people have and what theyre doing with them. But you also have an increased number ofo high an increased number of highdensity housing in urban areas. A lot of people dont have lawns anymore and things are generally more efficient than they were. If you go back to the last serious drought in the mid 70s, people were told to put a brick or gallon water jug in the tank to reduce the flush. Well, today, most toilets already use the lower amount of water per flush. So things have already become more efficient. The less water people are using, the harder it is to squeeze savings out of them. Woodruff how do you expect the local water agencies will enforce this legislation in will they go around the neighborhoods and see what people are doing . That will happen. All agencies that deliver water in california have drought contingency plans in place. They dont dream them up. They go from voluntary measures, to stronger, to mandatory measures. The plans are in place. There have been two droughts before, so they will go out and do those things. Its not easy. There are a lot of arguments. You get complaints from the customers. They will implement plans they already have in place, by and large. If you dont have a plan in place, you will be required to get one and take specific actions. Typically, we find a home owner whose grass with too green or the driveway is wet, you give them a warning that may be followed by another warning and a small fine that actually get big. The actions taken by the state yesterday authorizes fines up to 500 a day, which will get water users attention, although i predict you wont see that many fines. I predict californians will respond. This will convince them we have a true emergency, they need to change behavior, do extraordinary things that go beyond efficiency, theyve always responded in the past and i think they will this year. Reporter whats your sense of how people will respond, craig miller . Are they going to go ahead and comply . I think the enforcement is a little murky, judy. Even in the release that came out from the state water board, they said something about how local districts would be allowed to ask courts to impose fines. The actual linkage between the regulation theyve put out and the fines themselves is pretty loose. I agree with tim, i dont think well actually see much of that happening. Districts are reacting differently. As tim will tell you, theres over 400 water districts and agencies around california and theyre all taking this with Different Levels of seriousness. Some said they will respond very aggressively, like san francisco, for example, and others are saying its going to be pretty much what they have been doing right along. Woodruff quickly, Timothy Quinn, a mixed picture in terms of enforcement and compliance around the state . Is that what youre looking at . Well, with hundreds of water agencies, theres always going to be a mix. Let me tell you, it will look more the result of what the board has done. The state has a lot of power. The governor declared Emergency Powers which are extraordinary in all states including california. Water agencies around the state will start behaving more like each other. Consumers will respond to a crisis condition. They just havent quite gotten this drought before now. This will help them get this drought. Woodruff Timothy Quinn with the association of California Water agencies, craig miller with kqed, we thank you both. Thank you. Ifill now to our series of conversations about the ongoing turmoil in the middle east. Our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner has spoken this week with the former u. S. Envoy for Israeli Palestinian peace and an analyst with close connections to hamas. Earlier today, she sat down with israels ambassador to the United States, ron dermer. The interview took place before the Israeli Military agreed to a u. N. Brokered pause in the fighting. Warner ambassador dermer, thank you for joining us. Thank you. Warner today the academy called up 8,000 reservist bringing the number to 50,000. After what happened yesterday is a Ground Invasion of gaza imminent . The security cabinet met early that morning, accepted the cease fire proposal from egypt. A ceasefire proposal that was accepted by the International Community and the arab league. Hamas wouldnt agree to that, forced israel into continued operations and last night the security cabinet met and has given now the authority to the Prime Minister to take the action he needs to take in order to protect the israeli people, including any action he needs whether military or diplomatic, and i think the 8,000 reservists that were called up makes sure that the Prime Minister has all the tools at his disposal to protect the israeli people. Warner your foreign minister seems to have reached a conclusion. He said the security of the citizens of israel cannot be insured without a Ground Invasion. Hes been the Prime Minister a very long time. Does he share that view . I know the Prime Minister will do whats necessary to protect the israeli people. There were debates and disputes within israelis security cabinet. The majority of the israeli people were against the cease fire. About 2 to 1 were against the cease fire. Not because they want to end the attacks, but because they want to be sure the attacks dont end just for a day or a month or six months, that we have some permanent resolution to this problem. Warner how intense is the political pressure on the Prime Minister to do something more than just get back to the status quo here, to actually clean out hamas from gaza . I think its pretty strong and the best way to understand it is imagine you had 200 million americans in bomb shelters, you had 1,000 rockets fired at you by a terrorist organization in territory and the cease fire proposal. Do you think the American People would support it or would they want their government and military to take very strong action, Even Stronger action to bring it to an end . Its important to appreciate how much restraint the Prime Minister of israel has shown in dealing with this and prosecutor this war against hamas in a calibrated and measured way. Doesnt mean were perfect. Unfortunately, anytime you have a war, even if you take the most legitimate actions to defend yourself, innocents can be put into harms way. Warner human rights figures say as of monday even though israel says its targeting hamas leaders that threeforts of the people threequarters of the People Killed are civilians. I dont think thats true. When the operation comes to an end, i think its important to realize hamas uses human shiewldz and are doing everything they can to put the palestinian population in gaza into harms way. Israel is doing everything it can, whether dropping flyers, calling people, sending text messages, taking all sorts of actions to get the palestinians out of harms way. Warner if theres International Criticism that the use of force is disproportionate, israel rejects that . Absolutely. I completely reject it and ill tell you why. I think part of that criticism is not understanding the rules of war. People say its disproportionate because they do essentially a body bag count on each side. I say, look, 200 people have been killed on the palestinian side and only one israeli at this point is killed. If more israelis were to die the action would become proportionate. Proportionality has nothing to do. 22 as many germans died in world war ii as americans. Didnt mean americans force was disproportionate or the germans were right. Always make a distinction between combatants and noncombatted bts. Israel does that all the time. We do not deliberately target palestinians. Theyre targeting ours, we dont target theirs. Warner talk about the possibility of a Ground Invasion. If there were to be one, what would be the objectives . Are we talking about a target of raids aimed at command and control bunkers of militants or thinking about taking over in gaza . Israel doesnt have a strategic objective to reconquer gaza. We did not have that objective a year and a half ago. The last time we were in a confrontation went on for eight days, the cease fire achieved before the ground operation. We dont have that objective now. The Prime Minister has been clear about what israels objective is, a sustained period of quiet. Were doing that by degrading capabilities of hamas in gaza and the Prime Minister will achieve that whether militarily or diplomatically. You always prefer diplomatic outcomes but we have to achieve the sustained peace of israel. Warner can that be achieved with a limited ground operation . Dont know. Remains t to be seen. The question is what kind of force to be brought to bear on hamas. Warner Mahmoud Abbas is in cairo speaking with president sisi today. Secretary kerrys asked for a little more time to let this proposal to play out. How much time is israel prepared to give this process time to possibly work . Well, israel already agreedo the cease fire. So now we have rockets and we have to defend ourselves. Obviously, if all of a sudden hamas changes its mind im sure the Israeli Government would take it seriously because we agreed to the proposal. Theres no reason you would want to agree to the proposal again but we have to have a sustained period of quiet for israel. We appreciate the efforts of everybody and strong statements made by president obama, by secretary kerry, all the diplomatic pressurers brought to bear on hamas hopefully will lead to hamas to reconsider its position and agree to a ceasefire. Warner others have told us that all hamas wants to accept the cease fire is a rerelease of the prisoners they won back in the Prisoner Exchange and were recaptured and, two, an opening of some of the crossings between egypt and gaza. Could israel accept those . Were not going to negotiate for a ceasefire even on your very prestigious show. The egyptians put a proposal on the table with four points. Israels security cabinet agreed to it. As i said, wasnt as simple for the Prime Minister to make that decision. It was an act of tremendous leadership on his part. He hado actually fire Deputy Defense minister in the Israeli Government for the criticism he faced from one of his own members of his government for the decision to agree to the cease fire. Warner are you saying the Israeli Cabinet agreed to the proposal to release the prisoners . No. The egyptian cease fire was on the table and i assume remains there and hopefully hamas will reconsider for the sake of battlessian population in gaza. Now we have a situation where from the northern part of gaza, thousands of palestinians are having to leave their homes because israel is going to have to intensify military operations to bring this rocket fire to an end. So hopefully we can reach a good conclusion as quickly as possible with limited casualties on both sides. Warner ambassador dermer, thank you. Thank you. Woodruff as we said, that interview was recorded before the Israeli Government announced it had agreed to a fivehour humanitarian pause in the bombing tomorrow. But an israeli official told margaret late today that if hamas continues firing rockets during the pause, quote, well have to react and defend ourselves. On the other hand, he said, if hamas does observe the pause it could become the basis for a true cease fire. Tomorrow margaret will interview the palestine liberation organizations ambassador to the u. S. , maen rashid areikat. You can see all of her interviews in this series, on our world page. Ifill next, the immigration divide. A New Washington post abc news poll shows a majority of americans agree on one aspect of the debate, they dont like how politicians are handling the situation 58 disapprove of what president obama has been doing and 66 disapprove of how House Republicans have handled it. We take a look now at a small southwestern city on the frontlines of the crisis. Since june 27, its become a temporary home for some of the thousands of families who have entered the u. S. Illegally. Special correspondent Kathleen Mccleery reports. Reporter the hot, dry, dusty town of artesia sits about 70 miles north of the mexico border in southeastern new mexico. Its rich in oil and gas and home to ranches and farmland. Most people in this red part of a blue state are conservative. Phillip burch has been mayor for seven years. By and large, the community would prefer this installation not be here, because we view the federal Law Enforcement Training Center as a place to train Law Enforcement people, and we just dont feel that its appropriate to have it change to a detention center. Reporter the federal Law Enforcement Training Center is run by the department of Homeland Security. In no small irony, as the mayor said, it trains Border Patrol agents. Now, the federal government has converted three former barracks to house 672 mothers and children under age 17. Eight foot fences keep them hidden from the people of artesia. The women and children come from central americas northern triangle, honduras, guatemala and el salvador. They crossed from mexico into texas, were captured by the Border Patrol and bussed here. Officials say most will be sent home. Last week, Homeland Security officials took reporters on a supervised tour of some unoccupied rooms. This facility is spanking clean, air conditioned and comfortably equipped and will help relieve the overcrowding at the border. Four bunk beds with new linens line the walls of bedrooms. There are flat screen televisions, playrooms stocked with toys, and clinics with medical equipment. Residents get housekeeping, laundry services, new clothing and three meals a day. Federal authorities wont say how much money has been spent, or how many staff theyve hired here. Outside a local brew pub in town, longtime resident joann griggs questioned the federal spending. Were giving it away to people who are not even citizens of the u. S. Mainly, we are supporting them, we are feeding them, boarding them, educating them and probably going to doctor them, and its our tax dollars thats doing it, and it really upsets me. Reporter at a veterans memorial, we found vietnam vet ken boles. Weve got people in this country that need housing, weve got homeless vets running around, and kids that are starving and things like that, they need to clean their own yard before they go to somebody elses place. And at a car wash for a High School Fast Pitch softball team, nurse becky perez had similar thoughts. Im like, take care of our own before we go and help the Illegal Immigrants. Reporter not everyone in town held that view. The immigrants are fleeing gang violence, drug lords and poverty, creating a human rights issue that americans have to pay for said Pamela Nordstrom at the jahva house coffee shop. I dont think we can afford not to. You have them here, you cant not just take care of them, thats inhumane. We provide for lost animals, we have to at least provide the basic care. Reporter some in artesia think the comfortable living quarters may actually encourage those deported to venture back. But mayor burch believes the amenities wont mask the governments message, dont come back. They are probably sleeping in the best bed theyve ever slept in, and these are just plain bunk beds. Theyre probably eating the best, or the most nutritious food theyve ever eaten. So, from that standpoint you could say, yeah, theyll go home and theyll come back to be in the artesia hilton, well, the message theyre going to be sent home with is dont go, because youre going to be deported. Reporter unlike murrietta, california, where jeering crowds of protesters turned back buses of undocumented immigrants headed for a processing center, here, the reaction has been more muted. 400 people showed up at a town hall earlier this month. Many voiced concerns about Health Problems and other issues. The mayor believes the immigrants will get the message, dont return. But in downtown artesia we heard worries about problems that may arise, no matter how long the immigrants are detained here. Lori dudek used to work at the Training Center. I know they have a problem with them bringing in diseases and lice and all kinds of other things and workers are getting sick. Reporter but a doctor at the center said the children only have illnesses common to u. S. Daycare centers. At the local walmart, tita harris said her worry is the safety of her community. This is the thing, they keep saying they can keep them in that compound but they escaped their country, a fence is not going to keep them in if they want to get out to me that is common sense. For the First Quarter of the year here in artesia over 70 of our crime was graffiti. Reporter Violent Crime isnt common in this small town, says police chief don raley, and hes not worried about escapees from the detention center. Mommas dont leave babies, and babies dont want to be left without mommas, so because of the nature of the population our escape concern is significantly less than it might be if we had a mixed population. We kind of joked about the escape flier resembling a family of ducks or quails crossing the road with momma in the front, and three or four little babies behind, and because they are so focused as family units, and if you go into the facility, and you see the people who are inside there, theyre very focused as family units. Reporter here and elsewhere, there is compassion, especially for the children. Artesias population is half hispanic. Many are immigrants themselves. Tony estrada thinks the center is a good thing. I think its okay because i think that everybody deserves a chance, its like everybody says, we are doing it for the children, they are the ones who are getting hurt, you know. Reporter vicky and Ramon Calderon have lived in mexico, and understand poverty. I feel for these ladies, these children, they deserve help, as much as we can give, we help everybody. Why cant we help these people seeking refuge . Reporter many in the town of 11,000 have tried to help. Hayley klein is executive director of the chamber of commerce. In a way i have been surprised. We tend to take care of our own in this community, but they have, theres been a very strong outpouring of concern for the innocent victims. Donations have poured in, and piled up at the chambers office. Folks have tried to donate all kinds of things, from formula, to diapers, clothes, shoes, but really what they are accepting are clothes, shoes for women and children, toys, art supplies, coloring books, crayons, and books, reading books, preferably in spanish, those are the things that they will take. Reporter still, for many who live and work here, the issue is far larger than the detention center, its about immigration policy determined 1,800 miles away in washington, says oil industry worker randy ray. There has to be a point where we say, this is enough, we have to stop and we have to secure our borders. Then we deal with it at the border itself. Reporter meanwhile, the flood of immigrants continues. About 40 people from artesia were flown back to honduras on monday. Officials expect more to be deported in the coming days and weeks, and new busloads of immigrants to arrive here. Woodruff now, to a series of alarming safety lapses at the federal centers for Disease Control. No ones been hurt, but theyve raised serious questions. And today, the head of the c. D. C. Traveled to capitol hill to address them. Hari sreenivasan has the story. What we have here is a pattern of reoccurring issues of complacency and a lax culture of safety. This is not sound science and this will not be tolerated. Reporter revelations of safety and Security Problems put dr. Thomas frieden under the microscope at a house hearing. The head of the centers for Disease Control was called to account after more than 80 c. D. C. Lab workers were exposed to live strains of anthrax last month, in atlanta. The agency has also acknowledged that it mistakenly shipped the avian flu virus to outside labs. Separately, several 60yearold vials of small pox, some with still viable strains, were found at the National Institutes of health in bethesda, maryland. No one was sickened in the incidents, but, frieden conceded the fact that no one was harmed does not mean it is acceptable. It should never have happened. Reporter lawmakers pointed to a pattern of disturbing incidents, and to c. D. C. s failure to report them before now. The house panel found that federal investigators have documented dozens of other safety violations at c. D. C. Facilities in atlanta. Among them storing anthrax in unlocked refrigerators. Allowing unauthorized access to labs. Failing to document that staff were properly trained. And, even, transferring germ materials in ziploc plastic bags. I think that while we have scientists who are the best in the world at what they do, they have not always applied that same rigor that they do to their scientific experiments to improving safety. And thats why were taking a number of steps to strengthen the culture of safety at c. D. C. Reporter but friedens admission failed to satisfy Committee Members from either party, including Pennsylvania Republican tim murphy. I have to think what i heavens name would go through the minds of scientists thinking a ziploc bag is enough to protect someone from anthrax. Once the laboratory had said here is killed anthrax it was handled by the staff in those lower containment laboratories as if it were not infectious. But dr. Frieden this is like saying, i didnt know the gun was loaded. But somebody got shot. But you should always assume it is, for someone to say well i didnt think the anthrax was live is unacceptable. Reporter colorado democrat Diana Degette suggested theres a more overarching problem, lack of oversight. Dr. Frieden has indicated that he was as surprised as anybody by the scope of the problems. And the fact, dr. Frieden, you were so surprised is a problem in and of itself because what it shows is that there is a fundamental problem with the culture of identifying and reporting safety problems up the chain of the command. The c. D. C. Has now closed two labs tied to the anthrax episode until safety protocols are reviewed. Frieden said hes naming an outside Advisory Group to revamp those rules. Sreenivasan alex wayne of Bloomberg News was at todays hearing and he joins me now. So lets talk a little bit about some of these incidents that members of congress were so heated about. First the anthrax one we learned about in full just last week. Right. So in early june, some scientists at a very highlevel lab of the c. D. C. Called the bioterror Rapid Response and advance Technology Lab were preparing an experiment using anthrax. They thought they sterilized the anthrax before sending it to a lower security lab but turned out they hadnt and they only discovered this eight or nine days after they sent the anthrax to this laboratory. So that raised the process some workers were exposed to it. Sreenivasan frieden said he was more concerned about the incident with the avian flu. Why . Two priors there one, they didnt find out till months after the incident happened and, two, this strain of avian flu is very dangerous. I believe its lethal in about 50 of the people who contract it, as opposed to anthrax, which is also dangerous if youre infected but it can be treated with antibiotics and you also cant transmit it to anybody else. I think thats really one of the overriding concerns here with this anthrax incident. Its not so much that anthrax got loose in the c. D. C. Labs, its what else might get loose thats more dangerous, but what could a c. D. C. Worker become infected with, then leave, go home, transmit to its family, neighbors, all of a sudden you have a Public Health emergency, not just within the walls to have the c. D. C. Sreenivasan so you witnessed something thats becoming increasingly rare in washington, bipartisan agreement, at least on a level of frustration toward the c. D. C. Right. What concerned lawmakers was thomas frieden, director of the c. D. C. , seemed to be surprised about the incidents and said it was a wakeup call for his agency, even though there have been numerous investigative reports over the last three or four years pointing out safety violations and poor procedures in the c. D. C. Labs. Sreenivasan what does the c. D. C. Say it will do and how will it be different than the times before . Well, this time, theyve taken concrete steps to control this research at least in the short term that closed this bioterror lab that mishandled the anthrax and its going to be closed i definitely till they put in better procedures to handle this material but, also, for now, impose a moratorium on transferring these very dangerous pathogens between labs within c. D. C. Or shipping them to labs around the country. Sreenivasan this might be a rudimentary question, but what does the c. D. C. Say is the need to have multiple locations around the country dealing with such incredibly powerful live agents . Well, there are really a couple of different agencies within the government that study these things, not just the c. D. C. , the department of agriculture and the defense department. They dont all have the facilities concentrated in atlanta. The usda has facilities elsewhere in the country as does the defense department. Also universities often operate fairly high security labs, not to the level of the c. D. C. s, but certainly secure, and they like to have their own material on hand to perform their research. Sreenivasan now that theyve closed off these specific labs, are there different protocols the c. D. C. Says it can put into place to prevent this from ever happening again . Really whats an issue here is ensuring scientists follow the protocols already in place. The reports that congress has made public this week reveal that the c. D. C. Workers were simply ignoring procedures that make a lot of common sense. For example, they were transferring anthrax between labs and zip lock bags. They were storing anthrax in unlocked refrigerators and unrestricted hallways. They lock the refrigerators. If they handle the anthrax a little more carefully, i believe the c. D. C. Believes they can stop this thing from happening in the future. Sreenivasan seems like more of a culture problem, one of the things people in reports say people would piggy bag in secure areas, where one person uses the pass and the other walks in. How do you change that behavior . Im sure its tough. You could start by changing leadership at the c. D. C. , i suppose. Nobody at these hearings called for dr. Frieden to resign, but, apparently, he said there seems he has to impose some sort of a culture change. I think what happens is sort of like in any workplace, you get comfortable with your job, you think you know what youre doing and, so, you cut corners and start piggy backing on security cards, you maybe use a torn glove when you know what youre handling, perhaps, isnt all that dangerous to you personally. Sreenivasan alex wayne of Bloomberg News, thanks so much. Sure. Thank you. Ifill finally tonight, enticing a new generation to join the peace corps. 53 years ago, president kennedy created the allvolunteer corps, which has since sent more than 200,000 u. S. Citizens to 139 countries. Today, there are about 7,000 volunteers serving in 65 countries, teaching, working in agriculture and economic development, and promoting nutrition and Public Health. But the peace corps has been on the decline, as fewer people apply, and wait times for acceptance increase. Yesterday, the corps announced plans to reverse that trend. Director carrie hesslerradelet joins me now. Thank you. Its a privilege to be here. Ifill tell me, 53 years, what are the changes youve announced . We actually started this four years ago as part of a planned reform to upgrade all aspects of our operations and really modernize the peace corps. We focused the first four years on improving support we provide to volunteers so health, safety, technical and Program Support so they can do their jobs effectively. So we strengthen our base first, and now were ready to ramp up our application numbers. Ifill lets talk about the application numbers. I read today there were 30,000 incomplete applications made in nine months. Why were the applications not completed . The former process was cumbersome and long. It used to take eight hours to apply for the peace corps. Ifill eight hours . F you printed it out, it would be 60 pages. Now we have a process that takes less than one hour to complete. Its much more user friendly, faster, easier and more personalized. Ifill so the desire to be an International Volunteer still exists . Absolutely. Absolutely. Ifill just the process needed to be fixed . I think the process needed to be fixed, absolutely. Ifill does it change where people get to go, the process . Ifill the three changes weve announced today, our first possibility of choice, our volunteers have the opportunity to apply for a particular country and a particular program, and thats a big change for us. Ifill a blind application before . Yes, you apply to the peace corps and you go we we need you. You still have the option to choose ill serve wherever needed. Frankly, were finding almost all our applicants, even since we announced the changes, are still pushing that button, are still selecting they are willing to go wherever needed. Ifill do you have a backup plan in case everybody wants to go to france . We dont serve in france, but there are countries that will be more competitive, absolutely. Its a competitive process. Its going to be like applying to a university. Ifill thats the first difference. The second is were having the shorter application we just talked about. The third is, now, we have increased the transparency. So if you apply for a particular program, you will know when you will find out whether or not you have been accepted and youll know what date you depart. So its just like applying for a job or university, you will have clarity around your dates and plan around your peace corps service. Ifill youve i had the peace corps is a great brand. What is the brand and who is still applying to go abroad . You know, our volunteers are of all ages. Our youngest volunteer 21, our oldest volunteer is 80, and we represent the diversity of our country, and having a volunteer force that reflects the rich diversity of our country is a very important priority. Ifill does it truly reflect the diversity . Not completely. About 20 selfreport as minority, but it is a high priority for us that we have a volunteer force that reflects the rich diversity of the American People. Ifill how do you go about doing that . Partnerships with historically black colleges and universities, hispanic servings institutions, travel to colleges and universities, aarp because we want diversity in age as well, and then we have partnerships with organizations that reach out to underserved populations. Ifill youve also had a change to respond to the times, the peace corps came under scrutiny for Sexual Assault in some locations and also have to take into account the rise of samesex couples who want to serve together. Thats right. The whole issue of safety and security is a very high priority for me personally as a mother, as a return peace corps volunteer myself, a as Public Health professional and a Sexual Assault survivor, it is an area i feel very strongly about and weve done so much over the last few years to improve the quality of our support to volunteers and the response that we provide. Ifill as a former volunteer yourself, when you look at the people who come and say they want to apply, and even when they were filling out 80 pages worth of applications to do it, how has the volunteer force changed . You know, i actually think that the volunteers themselves are not that different. They are still people who are incredibly motivated by service, they are curious about the rest of the world, they want to make a difference and that has not changed. What has changed is their level of comfort with technology. All of our volunteers now are fully savvy in the use of all technology and theyre putting that to use in their Development Work and its very exciting. Ifill have advance made on the peace corps. Yes, Climate Change is an area of great concern of many nations. Food security, hiv aids. Were working on the most Important Development challenges of our time and the volunteer host reflects that. Ifill you began to broadcast information about making it easier to get in or at least know that youre in. Have you seen an uptick in interest . Absolutely. Yesterday was our busiest day ever in the history of peace corps on our web site and weve had many new applications submitted since we announced our changes. Were very excited. Ifill because people had forgotten about the peace corps . Well, i think people are excited about the new possibilities. Theres always been a great demand for service but i think the new process, a more userfriendly process is certainly generating interest. Ifill carie hesslerradelet of the peace corps, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Woodruff again, the major developments of the day. Israel agreed to halt air and naval strikes on gaza for five hours, early tomorrow morning, for humanitarian purposes. President obama announced new sanctions on russia for aiding rebels in ukraine. They target key banks and energy and defense companies. And a federal judge in california struck down the states Death Penalty. He said long delays in executions have made the system too arbitrary to be constitutional. Ifill on the newshour online right now, 3d imaging has brought a baby dinosaurs first steps to life and one museum is using the technology to take its find around the world. Now you can download the model and see it for yourself. We have directions on how to do that, on our science page. All that and more is on our web site, newshour. Pbs. Org. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. On thursday, well look back at a historic moment in american politics, when the first woman ran on a Major Political partys president ial ticket. 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 and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org  this is nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and susie gharib. Mega merger, murdoch sets his sights on timewarner but his 80 billion bit is rejected. Will he offer more and does this deal make sense . Call to action, the white house urges immediate action from lawmaker s to crack down on what it calls an abuse of the tax system but will Congress Respond . Blue chip record, upbeat earnings sends the dow to an alltime high and tonight focus shifts to ebay and the take away from this quarterly result. That and more coming up tonight on nignightly Business Reportr this wednesday, july the 16th. Good evening, everybody. Im Bill Griffeth in for Tyler Mathisen who will join us later in the program. T