Being a dancer is easy because you just have yourself to think about and when youre a teacher you have so many concerns for your students. Woodruff those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and. 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 republicans who will run the next congress talked up their todo list today. House Speaker John Boehner also issued a warning to president obama especially on immigration. There is a bipartisan majority in the house and senate to take some of these issues out of obamacare. We need to put them on the president s desk and let him choose. Ifill well have more on todays events, and another look at whats behind the Election Results after the news summary. Ohio, kentucky, michigan and tennessee. That conflicts with rulings by other appeals panels, making it more likely the high court will have to issue a definitive decision. Theres word today that president obama wrote last month to irans supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, about the fight against Islamic State militants. The wall street journal reports the letter described irans shared interest in battling the militants in iraq and syria. The white house declined to discuss the correspondence, except to say again there will be no military cooperation with iran. Ifill israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu tried today to quell a conflict around jerusalems holiest site. Its known to jews as the temple mount and to muslims as the noble sanctuary. Theres new unrest as jewish activists demand greater access. But today, netanyahu said he telephoned the king of jordan, who technically has custody of the site. I explained to him that well keep the status quo on the temple mount, and that this includes jordans traditional role there as consistent with the peace treaty between israel and jordan, we have to make every effort to restore calm, quiet and security. Ifill the tensions over the site have led to clashes there and elsewhere. There have also been several incidents of palestinians driving vehicles into groups of israelis in jerusalem. Woodruff libyas high court handed islamist militants a victory today and deepened the countrys political turmoil. The court declared that elections held in june were unconstitutional. It said the new parliament and government thats been fighting the islamists should be dissolved. The ruling was handed down in tripoli, where the militants are in control. Ifill one of the longest held terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay is back in his home country. Fawzi alodah arrived in kuwait early today. Hed been at guantanamo since 2002. Last july, a review found al odah may have fought against the u. S. In afghanistan but he had only lowlevel training and was not in a leadership position. 148 prisoners remain at guantanamo. A retired navy seal cameed for to say he fired the shot that killed osama bin laden. He spoke out because his identity was being leaked anyway. Oneill cdges at least two other seals also fired shots during the raid at the pakistan home in 2011. Ifill a close adviser of russian president Vladimir Putin is now the target of a u. S. Investigation involving money laundering. The wall street journal reports russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko is suspected of using the American Financial system to wash money from corrupt deals in russia. The kremlin today condemned news of the federal investigation. A spokesman charged its really aimed at putin himself. Woodruff the Los Angeles County museum of art announced its largestever donation of artwork today. Jerry perenchio, the former c. E. O. Of the Spanish LanguageNetwork Univision pledged to donate 47 pieces. They include masterworks by pablo picasso, claude monet, and edgar degas. The bequest will take place after the 83yearold billionaires death. Ifill a union army officer in the civil war has finally received the medal of honor 151 years after he died at gettysburg. President obama today honored First LieutenantAlonzo Lon Cushing of wisconsin. In july 1863, he commanded a small force that helped break the confederate assault known as picketts charge. Cushing was wounded repeatedly, but refused to leave the battle. Lon ordered his men to continue firing at the advancing columns. He used his own thumb to stop his guns vent, burning his fingers to the bone. When he was hit the final time, as a poet later wrote, his gun spoke out for him once more before he fell to the ground. And Alonzo Cushing was just 22 yearsold. Ifill the account of cushings bravery was lost in the chaos after the battle. More than a century later, a historian in wisconsin rediscovered his story, but it took years of research and letters before congress awarded the medal. Woodruff on wall street today, upbeat economic reports helped lift the dow and the s p to record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained nearly 70 points to close at 17,554; the nasdaq rose more than 17 points to close at 4,638; and the s p 500 added seven points to close at 2,031. Ifill still to come on the newshour. Breaking down the numbers on voter turnout in key races from the midterm elections. U. S. Airstrikes target rebels in syria outside the Islamic State group. Rebuilding indonesias cities to withstand forceful tsunamis. Making yes means yes the standard to stop sexual assualts on college campuses. Why ebola treatment in the u. S. Saves more lives than treatment in west africa. And honoring ballerina Patricia Mcbrides career as a dancer and coach. Ifill the political earthquake from tuesdays elections continues to reverberate. Today, it made its way to capitol hill where there were new questions about whether the president and the soon to be Republican Congress can really get anything done. My job is not to get along with the president just to get along with him. Although we actually have a nice relationship. The fact is my job is to listen to my members and listen to the American People and make their priorities our priorities. Ifill a day after the post election promises of cooperation, signs of sharper edges were beginning to show. Writing in the wall street journal, house Speaker John Boehner and Mitch Mcconnell, the next Senate Majority leader outlined their objectives for the new congress. Among them, authorize the keystone x. L. Pipeline, overhaul the tax code, revise or repeal the Affordable Care act, and rein in the federal debt. There was no mention of Immigration Reform even though president obama threatened yesterday to act on his own by years end. If they want to get a bill done, whether its during the lame duck or next year, im eager to see what they have to offer. But what im not going to do is just wait. Ifill mcconnell had warned thats like waving a red flag at a bull. Boehner chose his own metaphors today to make the same point. I believe that if the president continues to act on his own, he is going to poison the well. When you play with matches, you take the risk of burning yourself. And hes going to burn himself if he continues to go down this path. Ifill as for keystone, white house spokesman josh earnest said the president will consider any bill Congress Sends him pending a court ruling. Thats a process that currently is winding its ways through the state department and one that right now is at least going to be influenced by the decision from a nebraska judge about the proper route for that pipeline through that state. Ifill the president has called congressional leaders to the white house tomorrow, to discuss those issues and others directly. As the white house and congressional leaders retreat to their corners, we thought it might be worth taking one more look at who voted, what they thought they were voting for and whether the politicians heard. David winston is president of the winston group, a republican polling firm. Over the years, he has advised Republican Congressional leadership. Fred yang is a partner at the Garin Hart Yang research group, a democratic polling firm. Examine for us, gentlemen, the 2014 electorate, and tell me what stands out for you. Well, i mean, first off, it was a very traditional offyear electorate. What that means is Younger Voters did not participate in the same level they normally do in president ial years. There wasnt that much of a dropoff in terms of minority vote that was expected. African americans dropped off by one from an on year to an off year and the spanish dropped off by two, but this was in many ways a typical offyear elexerate. Ifill antidemocratic or washington. Its hard to argue given what happened on tuesday there wasnt some antidemocrat voting but i think it was ultimately antiwashington, and an electorate that had run out of patience with what they perceive is the status quo, and since the democrats have the white house, we were the status quo. Ifill this was, everybody agrees, an older, whiter, more male electorate, at least the republican electorate was, and we have three examples to show you that would demonstrate that. One is nationally. Nationally we discovered white male republicans were up in 2012 to 64 from 62 , not a big number. But look at the state of georgia where david purduring the senatorelect, got 79 of the white male vote, the republican there. And in michigan, white male republicans had grown five points since 2012 from 58 to 63 . So does that mean that the weve talked a lot on Election Night about the daefght Obama Coalition. Does that mean there should be more focus on wooing back white males . I think the challenge to democrats at this point after seeing their Coalition Fall apart is not necessarily to start going cherry picking groups. Its thinking through the process of what day new Majority Coalition look like if the democrats are going to try to achieve it. I think on the republican side, we got there. We were certainly able to expand in terms of hispanic voters. We went from 29 to 36 . We did better with women this time. We did slightly better with Younger Voters as well, so we were able to grow that coalition. I think the challenge to democrats at this point is what does the new Coalition Look Like . It may include that demographic or it may not, but i think thats the challenge. Ifill thats what the republican tells a democrat, so you get to tell him as well. Im taking notes. There is an Obama Coalition. It appears and in some respects, also, david, it is a president ial turnout coalition. Agreed. And the challenge for democrats not just based on tuesday but in 2016, president obama wont be on the ballot. And sort of can we build on the Obama Coalition . Can we make sure unmarried women, single women, minorities, young voters, one of the interesting statistics from the exit polls was in president ial elections, under age 30 voters s are a bigger share than over age 65. On tuesday night, two to one aged 65 over Younger Voters. So can we sustain our momentum with Younger Voters . Look, ultimately, the democrats, like the republicans, are a national party. And i think that as part of the postelection debriefing, i think we as a party need have,ob, messages and priorities that resonate with the entire electorate, including white voter disple youre talking about prioritys. Both the president and Mitch Mcconnell and to some extent john boehner said america wants us to get stuff done. Those were the president s words. Does it matter what stuff or is it just getting something done. The electorate wasnt saying here are the 17 things we want done. They just ran out of patience with the president and turned to republicans and said you guys. Were going to give you the chance to govern. This is your opportunity to do it. And the one thing they want done is economy and jobs. This is not a situation where there are seven things that are going to occur. They want kind of a reset, and that means, by the way, the president s got to reset, as well. And i think you heard, reading the piece that mcconnell and boehner did in the wall street journal, theyre resetting as. Weapon youre rightyoure rightt stuff done. And i think it would be a mistake to read the mandate as some kind of economic agenda. I do agree with david it was a mandate for impatience, that we sort of need to get things moving. I think the one opportunity, among many, fore democrats is i dont think the Republican Party articulated a positive agenda. It was antiobama, antithis, and i do think theres a chance for democrats to seize on the economic narrative. Ifill are we a centerright country, based on those results or is that just where we are today . We have been a centerright country for a while. If you look at the exit polls, moderates are the Largest Group and theyre more conservative than liberals so centerright. But understanding where that center goes politically and ideological, sets up the friem for how you build your Majority Coalition. I agree with that. Ifill you agree with that . People expect pollsters from different parties to disagree, but the numbers are the numbers. And, look, i think on tuesday night, the country might have shifted centerright. I think 2016 is a whole new ballgame with a different electorate. Ifill well, 2016 is it going to be right on our heels any moment now. Well be back to talk to you about that as well. Fred yang, david winston, thank you both very much. Pleasure. Woodruff u. S. Air campaign inside syria broadened again last night going beyond the targeting of the Islamic State group. Tonight, we take a closer look at the shifting dynamics on the ground in the wartorn nation. This video, posted by syrian activists, purports to show the aftermath of u. S. Air strikes near aleppo overnight. Targets included the alnusra front, alqaedas syrian proxy, and the socalled khorasan group, said to include alnusra elements. Over the weekend, nusra front fighters routed two u. S. Backed rebel groups in neighboring idlib province, and seized a major weapons cache. On the other hand, nusra has also often allied itself with socalled moderate rebels against the Bashar Alassad regime. Nusra and the Islamic State group split with each other in february over tactics. The weekend losses were a blow to washingtons effort to build up those rebels. At the white house yesterday, president obama said the u. S. And its allies must tread carefully in the syrian maze, to find someone who will battle the Islamic State group. There are a lot of opposition groups in syria, they fight among each other, they are fighting the regime. And what were trying to do is to find a core group that we can work with that we have confidence in. Woodruff indeed, the dizzying array of groups fighting in syria, includes the syrian army of bashar al assad; the Islamic State group; the alnusra front. In addition, there are kurdish militia, and the Free Syrian Army, or f. S. A. , among others. They control different parts of syria. The regime holds sway in the westerncentral regions, parts of damascus and aleppo, and the coast. Islamic state holds a band across northern and eastern syria, toward iraq. Alnusra is strong along the southern border near israel and in the northwest. And the kurds hold territory along the border with turkey. Other groups and the f. S. A. Are strongest in the south. The Free Syrian Army and its allies still hold areas in the north, including a vital crossing into turkey called bab alhawa. Vital aid passes through here a lifeline to rebels and to thousands of internally displaced syrians. Now, alnusra forces are closing in on the border crossing, as alliances once again shuffle. But the u. S. Central command was careful to say it did not target the nusra front as a whole. Thats because in the syrian war, the group has sometimes allied with americansupported factions against the syrian government. And Andrew Tabler a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for near east policy. Welcome both of you back to the program. Andrew tabler, let me start with you. This is almost an alphabetlike collection of groups in suryoo so im going to keep it simple for my own sake. How significant is this latest news that alnusra has routed the Free Syrian Army, which the u. S. , at least in part, has been supporting . I think its significant in that its routed two primary groups in the Free Syrian Army, both of which the United States h