>> coming up, the nsa has joined the game of the drones. if the agency is playing a big role in the u.s. drone program. more details just ahead. the u.s. supreme court tells the state of california to release thousands of prisoners. we take a look at the ruling ahead. the war over water. three southern states are battling over water rights. they have been getting neighboring states against each other for more than two decades.

it is thursday, october 17. i've :00 p.m. in washington dc, and you're watching "rt." the latest information leaked by former government contractor edward snowden. the documents outline the extent to which the nsa has been involved in the cia's counterterrorism activities. they detail the agency's engagement in the u.s. drone campaign which involves using large unmanned vehicles to scope out an attack thought to be affiliated with terrorism. an exclusive initiative of the cia. we learned that they depend heavily on the ability to collect information from telephone calls. according to the washington post, the nsa has created the counterterrorism mission

alliance that allows them to focus large amounts of resources on hard to find individuals. the nsa said that our activities are directed against ballin -- valid for intelligence targets. to protect the nation against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. this kind of involvement has attracted it in -- intense criticism that it has grossly overstepped its boundaries. they remain in russia where he was granted a one-year asylum. he arrived back in the u.s. yesterday. >> tuesday. stay. -- to stay. stay. that is my advice but not what

he might do. he is comfortable and happy and committed to what he has done. >> they will continue to follow the story. believe it or not, the u.s. congress found a resolution to reopen the government and avoid defaulting on its debts. it only took 16 days, one day short of the deadline set by the secretary. yesterday, they announced a deal that would and the partial government shutdown and the bill was brought to the house floor late last night. 285 congressmen voting for the bill, 144 against. let's take a look at what this entails. the deal will fund the government. we could see another government shutdown. they agreed to left -- to list the debt limit until february.

they also earmarked spending that made its way in. two point $2 billion authorized for a project that involves a dam that goes to the home state of senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. that is over the 770 $5 million allocated to the project. -- $775 million already allocated to the project. >> if you don't like a particular policy or a particular president, then argue for your position. though out and win an election. -- go out and win an election. push to change it, but don't break it. don't break what our predecessors spent two centuries building. that's not being faithful to what this country is about.

>> with the bill signed, sealed, and delivered, employees were finally able to return to work today for the first time in over two weeks. but this is not the last time we will be hearing about the ominous debt ceiling. the newest financial show, "boom bust." >> this week, they took on the california prison system and asked the court to overturn a 2011 judicial order that required the state to reduce the population by 140%. they have been in the spotlight the last year as they grappled with severe overcrowding leading to concerns about prison health conditions. one concern is the state employment of the long-term solitary confinement policy. a controversy that led to a hunger strike of california

prisoners earlier this year. of the 120 thousand prisoners in the population, they ordered that they free 9600 additional inmates by the end of the year. so far, california has cut the population by 25,000 inmates in the past two years. to discuss this and the incarceration that seemed to define this country earlier, we are joined by a partner. i asked why the court ordered the release of so many inmates. >> the federal courts have been grappling with inhumane conditions in the california prison system for 20 years. during that time, they put more resources into minimally humane health care for prisoners.

the state kept passing laws increasing sentences and sending more people into prison for minor offenses and drug offenses . it became overcrowded that you couldn't do basic things like respond to a person who was bleeding. the place was just too crowded. the courts finally said enough is enough. you're operating this place at 200% of capacity and killing people. there was a cap on the capacity. they have been trying to comply since about 2008. the population is down somewhat, the last 7000 or 8000 people to bring the prison population under control. >> what were the conditions like for some of the inmates that you represented?

>> i represented the most vulnerable people in the population, severe mental illness. in america, we have had a trend of closing down mental hospitals. it was a promise that there would be more community-based mental health services. trading institutions to be treated in their communities but that never materialized. we took people from the mental hospitals, put them on the street, they deteriorated and ended up in prison. something like 25% are people with severe mental illnesses. those people were in a horrific conditions, be very symptomatic, contemplate suicide, be in cells where they are losing touch with reality.

there wasn't enough capacity to care for them. the other case is a medical case where medical conditions ranged from infections to cancer and they were not getting minimal care. they are in prison. the only care they can get is the care the prison system gives them. california was stuffing too many people into prisons. >> it sounds unbearable. what do you make of the argument made by municipalities and jerry brown that the influx of inmates will be overly burdensome and dangerous. >> it is false. when we file for overcrowding relief, at that point, the state policymakers knew that they had a problem and they saw this coming down the pike.

they started reducing the prison population on their own. we had 174,000 prisoners. since 2007, they are down about 40,000 prisoners. we have already had this enormous reduction in the population and we have -- from 2000 7-2012, crime in california is down more than 10%. what we have learned in this country is that we went on and incarceration binge and we ended up with the highest incarceration rate in the world. some states either voluntarily like in new york state or through litigation are starting to get over the incarceration binge and bring the risen populations under control. new york state has enjoyed the

greatest reduction of crime in history while reducing the prison population voluntarily. the communities are correct to look for more funds. i hope one of the results in my case is to take the $10 billion a year that we throw into the prison system that doesn't work and return some of that money to the communities so they can use it on things that do work. putting more police on the street works to reduce crime. we know that more services for people with mental illness looks to reduce crime. we wasted warehousing people into these communities. but the communities should get the resources we are freeing from prison centers. >> we only have about a minute left. the idea that these prisoners are being freed is not true in many cases.

there are plans to move them from state prisons to local and private prisons. is this solving a problem or just shifting it? >> the governor said last month that they will probably not get relief from the supreme court of the united states. the legislative leaders passed a bill to move this last 8000 or so too, as he said, private contractor prisons in different parts of california. that might buy them some breathing time. you're correct that it is not a long-term solution. a long-term solution would be to use the proven policies we know about and not waste money giving it to the private prison industry. if it does by the policymakers more time, and they use the time wisely, it can be a good thing.

>> all very important information. thank you for coming on and breaking it down for us. thank you. before his untimely death, they were working on a project called dead drop. it was a submission system like wiki leaks in which whistleblowers could leak information without the fear of disclosing their identity. the project was not quite ready for implementation. there were a number of kinks, including the program cost installation. -- row graham program's install. the freedom of the press foundation has taken the project under its wing and ray named it -- renamed it secure drop .

technical support to news organizations that want to run the systems. the foundation plans to equip media organizations with the tools needed to maintain a secure server in the long term. the new yorker was the first to use the secure drop called the strong box project. willmore organizations follow suit? andrew, always good to see you. explain how this secure drop server works. >> if there was an easy way to explain it, people would be implementing a system like this. essentially, it is a series of networked computers altogether to defend protocols and tactics. i will make it easy. it allows people to anonymously submit documents to a news

organization. once they are received, they are ideally scrubbed of identifying data and provided to journalists so that they can work off of these documents and perhaps work towards blowing the whistle on a certain issue whether it is domestic, international politics, or what have you. the surveillance coming from malicious actors, the government , or otherwise. it is a new system that would be simplistic enough so that the one of the whistleblowers sitting on a document they would like others to discover but aren't sure how to go about doing that, this will enable that. >> is it 100% impenetrable? >> nothing really is. it relies on a bunch of different stuff.

the user has to connect to a server using torrent or an anonymous program. they use certain codes. identities are not revealed through this if it is being implemented successfully. nobody really knows who they are talking to but just like anything, they are trying to find ways to compromise people that you security programs. nothing is 100% secure, it depends on the user. this can provide a new outlet for people to distribute materials to journalistic organizations. wiki leaks except -- accepts submissions right now. you can say i have something interesting for you but no one is supposed to know, this

bypasses those barriers to make it easier for journalists to know what they are doing and working with secure information to communicate with their sources. >> who is going to benefit from this tool? what organization has bought into this so far? >> the freedom of press said half a dozen organizations have signed up. they are being incredibly generous and are trying to raise money so that they can operate the code, learn how to use it, and are willing to help out to get the system in place. the new yorker was already using it and we will see a handful of organizations step up. it can change the game of journalism if anyone, not just wiki leaks or the washington post or the new york times -- i

think this is a secure way to present it to them. this will enable them. essentially, the world is full of endless possibilities if you are in a system where information can be distributed by people. who doesn't benefit by being able to distribute information. or the warlords or the guantanamo bay deputies. if we talk about who can benefit, it is the caliber of material. >> i have to ask how this fits into the legacy. >> somebody committed to releasing information to the public to main unsuccessfully

prosecuted in his role for compromising the legal system as well as a handful of other enemies. we know that the -- entities. we know that the government went at them pretty hard. he was a reporter and a hacker that most recently was hired. they got this thing squared up and there was a major security outlet. it looks like they are working on getting the kinks out of fear and making something that he would be very proud of. >> it is an important tool for journalists. water, water, everywhere, but not enough to drink. it has turned into an unfortunate reality as states begin to run out of clean drinking water. this lack of resources is playing out at the judicial level.

the state of florida filed suit against georgia claiming the scarcity against water and the burgeoning population of atlanta. we have more. >> for over two decades, three states have been in a bitter battle over water. it has reached a boiling point. >> there is an issue on if there is enough water for everybody. >> torture, alabama, and florida have a stake -- georgia, alabama, and florida all have a stake. i am in georgia, but on the other side of this river is alabama. the water is flowing south into the state of florida. with all three states having a stake in this river, it is leading to a war over water. >> florida filed a lawsuit against georgia. the sunshine state charge the neighbor with using too much

water. they said it is drying out business for oyster farmers that need a healthy mix of fresh and salt water to thrive. who is sucking up the most water? atlanta is growing and so is its thirst for water. >> overtime, population groth has come, and we are starting to stretch water resources. >> experts keep an eye on the river and say it is not all atlanta's fault. >> there is certainly variables that affect things other than freshwater. >> one lawsuit after another, there has been no solution that

quenches everyone's thirst. >> not often that they come to a consensus around something that people have given take in. -- give and take in. you would think that the cost of litigation is annoying. >> it is regulated by the army corps of engineers. the core would force it landed to cut back on water consumption and divvy up the water among the three states. some have a stake in the river, holding out hope that the dispute can be settled outside of the court. >> we hope that the three states can get to the table and bring resolution.

>> to bring down the latest of the water wars, we have director of the colombian water center. thank you for joining me. florida is suing the state of georgia because it is overusing water resources. our other u.s. states facing similar things -- threat? >> there was a conflict that is not that uncommon. in the west, waterwars [indiscernible] across stage as to who gets what. -- states as to who gets what. it turns out that people today talking about climate change, you can have 10 or 12 years or

20 years that are relatively wet and maybe 12 or 20 that are dry. you can come up with an agreement where you allocate the water to different states or different organizations. and when you switch, you don't have any trouble. this happened in colorado and effectively, what saved ourselves, utah, colorado, wyoming, [indiscernible] they are under a continuing resolution with the department of the interior. >> the florida georgia case, the

dispute was mainly the falling revenue for oyster businesses. i think it takes business interest to really spur change. >> since the 1980s when president reagan was in office, the federal government has gotten out of the business of managing and dispersing water depots. states have water programs, but when it comes to an issue, there is really no clear federal guidelines for doing it. they are in the financial interests of the citizens whose supply chains rely on that water. those are the businesses on the debate.

>> we heard people say that water is the new oil. is that a fair comparison? >> not quite. it is obviously very valuable. realistically, there are a few differences. water is a renewable resource. we have cycles that we learned about in kindergarten. unlike coal or oil which is essentially being mind. however, beyond that, in the u.s. central valley or california, we have drought water which is 100 -- 100,000 years old. in that sense, yes.

on the other hand with oil, the value of oil seems to be established by the market. water is a public sector resource and varies on price. we don't know what we should assign. >> sure. what is the best way to resolve these kinds of conflicts? is taking it to the court the best answer at this point? >> what is the nature of the resource, how much is available, the quality of the water available, and [indiscernible] the problem we have is we have not gone through the exercise

systematically throughout the country. and we don't know how much value should be assigned for the production of energy or water. most people think it is what they used a mess to clean. -- use domestically. particularly in the southwest, if you look at the political map of the united states, a bunch of the red states is where the water issue is. >> we have unfortunately run out of time, but i appreciate you coming on. thank you. and now to another instance of the revolving door. outlook officials take their conditions to the private sector

where they can cash in. insiders in washington speculated that she had her eye on the top spot of secretary of agriculture. but now it is clear that she will take a more common path with lincoln policy group. politico announced the group had three new contracts including with oil refiner valero. include walmart and the interstate gas association of america, it is no surprise that lincoln has secured these lobbying deals. walmart and comcast which combined spent more than $100,000 on her candidacy. it is a short walk and one that

the former senator will be taking quite frequently. we will see you back here at 8:00. hello and welcome to nhk. it's friday, october 18th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. federal employees are back at work and americans are lining up for government service and visitors are crowding into national museums.