captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: the american midwest and east coast were colder than swaths of antarctica today as the record breaking freeze even spread to the deep south. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. gwen ifill is away. also ahead, the country's biggest bank is slapped with another record fine. this time for what j.p. morgan didn't do when it learned of bernie madoff's ponzi scheme. plus, the head of the u.n.'s world food program, the group on the front lines of the fight against hunger, in areas crippled by violence. >> in the central african republic there are 100,000 people in and around the airport itself, in bangui.

when we began a feeding program in that area, our humanitarian workers were attacked. >> woodruff: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> 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. bitter cold, persistent and spread across much of the country today. conditions were better suited to peng wins that people and gave new meaning to the term blue states. >> i'm wearing long underwear, i feel like i'm going skiing but i'm not. >> i'm going to work. >> millimeters of americans spent another icy day in the polar vortex, from washington, d.c. where readings started the day in the sing glits as soon as i got out of work i will make sure i bundle up and stay there. >> to most of the midwest and the northeast and new england.

>> 28 below, -30, -40rbgs but it doesn't make a lot of difference. >> you bundle up in layers, whatever we have. >> layers. >> stay warm. i'm using a towel as a scarf. >> i'm using my wife's scarf because i couldn't find mine. >> and the deep south joined the misery, as frigid air pushed all the way into the renal renal. this is ice on the roads in atlanta. and snow in rural north georgia. and this completely frozen fountain in s. in greensboro north carolina. further south, vegetable and citrus crops in florida are at risk. farmers worked today to protect fields of potatoes and cabbage from the falling mercury. >> it depends on how cold it gets and how deep it freezes. it could affect the top layer of potatoes. the containage can be affected and it can burn the top leaves. >> even places accustomed to cold winter hesitate a shock.

chicago hit a record low for monday's date at -16 degrees. not counting the wind chill. this is what it looked like when a man opened his window and let freezing winds pour inside. in indiana, about 30,000 people lost power overnight. and with it, their heat. they turned to generators, blankets or shelters to stay warm. many schools in the midwest stayed closed for a second day today. michigan governor rick schneider. >> this isn't the day to have the kids go out and build a snowman or an igloo. the conditions are such that it's not safe to be out in the cold for long. >> black ice and slick patches on the road were another danger with the number of spinouts and rollovers growing by the hour. and more than 500 amtrack passengers got off trains they had spent the night on and climbed into into busses do their destination, chicago, blowing drifting snow had been

stuck on the tracks since central illinois since yesterday afternoon. >> we did have power, we did have blankets and we're happy about that. >> but one part of the country escaped the deep freeze, sunny southern california with temperatures in the 70s. >> the fact that it is the beginning of january and i'm eating a cup of ice cream is awesome. >> starting tomorrow, those still suffering through the cold can expect somewhat warmer weather, at least near or above freezing. >> we have heard the term >> woodruff: we've heard the term "polar vortex" quite a bit during this deep freeze. here to help us understand the science behind it, i'm joined by andrew freedman, senior science writer at climate central, a news and research organization. >> andrew freedman, thank you for being with us. tell us, what is the polar vortex. >> the polar vortex actually is not really a new meteorological phenomenon.

it's just the national attention has been focused on it in the past couple of days. you can think of it as this mass of very cold air that usually resides near the north pole, that usually resides in the arctic and is surrounded by fast upper-level winds. >> ifill: so it usually sits there but what happened? what caused it to move? >> that's what is especially interesting. usually these fast moving upper level winds trap the air up there and keep it there and that's relative good for people down in the continental u.s. because it spares us from some of the brutal cold. but occasional what can happen, the winds weaken and it's like when you have a spinning top, when it's spinning very quickly, it's pretty stable. when it starts to slow down, it meanders and wobbles and what we had was a wobble in the polar vortex that kind of pinched off

this large chunk of it and slid it south with the aid of other weather systems and the jet stream that we're more familiar with. >> so at the risk of getting really in the weeds here, what caused it to slow down, to start this wobble? >> well some of it is dynamics that are going on in the high atmosphere, in the stratosphere and there are often waves that go through the atmosphere from low to high and high to low and that can help cause some of these wobbles. there's also, you know, areas of high pressure called blocking highs that sort of act like stop signs in the atmosphere, preventing storms from kind of going through them, and we had a sear lease of blocking highs other the past week or so over the north pacific especially. they kind of rerouted the traffic in the atmosphere. >> is that what caused it to come so far south this time. >>

>> yeah, that's pretty much an explanation of why the polar vortex, why such a big chunk of it came this far south. but keep in mind we haven't seen anything like this in a long time, in 20 to 30 years. a lot of the records are being broken from those periods but we have seen this before. this is not an all-time cold event, we have had many worse outbreaks. >> any way to predict how often we will see it happen in the future, when we will see the next one come? >> well, we can predict it in advance in terms of a week or two perhaps. but you know, what we're sort of guaranteed is that we're going to continue to have cold outbreaks throughout the winter, but long-term climate change means that a lot of the cold outbreaks that we experience may not be quite as cold as they used to be. we're seeing less frequent extremely cold temperatures in many cold places. minneapolis has had much fewer

days below -10 degrees fahrenheit, fewer nighttime lows that low. in the past decade versus the 1970's for example. so the long-term trend is up but we have these natural variations in weather patterns that we try to keep close track of. >> it and sure does catch everybody's attention. andrew freedman of climate central. we thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: j.p. morgan chase agreed today to pay more than $2 and a-half billion dollars to settle criminal charges in the bernie madoff fraud. bank ignored warning signs that federal authorities charged the bank ignored warning signs that madoff was running a huge ponzi scheme. we'll get full details right after the news summary. on wall street today, stocks finally had the first "up" day of the new year. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 105 points to close at almost 16,531. the nasdaq rose 39 points to close at 4,153. a bill to restore long-term

unemployment benefits took its first step forward in the senate today. half a dozen republicans joined democrats to begin formal debate. republicans also called for spending cuts to pay for the bill. we'll have a full report on today's action later in the program. in iraq, the government claimed it struck a key blow at al qaeda militants holding two cities. the military said this video showed an air strike on an operations center just outside ramadi. it said 25 fighters died in the attack. the militants seized ramadi and fallujah last week when government troops pulled back. today, sunni lawmakers warned that the shiite-led government to keep out. >> ( translated ): the iraqi troops were pulled out of anbar because they were defeated. they faced tribes and so many armed men. the troops' participation in civilian issues-- which are in fact the responsibilities of local police-- has created chaos

in anbar and the situation is out of control. >> woodruff: the obama administration has pledged to help the iraqi government by providing surveillance drones. the first chemical weapons materials have left syria. the u.n. announced today that poison gas ingredients were loaded aboard a danish ship. the vessel took on the cargo in the port of latakia, then put to sea until the next shipment arrives. eventually, the chemicals will be destroyed on a u.s. navy ship. a corruption scandal in turkey took a new turn overnight, as prime minister recep tayyib erdogan dismissed or reassigned 350 police officers. it was his latest effort to contain an investigation that he says is politically motivated. the corruption probe has grown steadily to include cabinet ministers and businessmen close to the government. the los angeles county sheriff announced today he'll retire from running the nation's largest county jail system in the face of a scandal. last month, 18 current and

former deputies were indicted on charges ranging from beating inmates to obstructing investigators. today, sheriff lee baca said he decided not to seek a fifth term, to prevent further damage to the department. >> the reasons for doing so are so many. some are most personal and private. but the prevailing one is the negative perception this upcoming campaign has brought to the exemplary service of the men and women of the sheriff's department. >> woodruff: baca is 71 years old. he said he'll step down at the end of month. more than 100 former new york city police officers, firefighters and prison guards were charged today with faking mental problems to get federal disability benefits. some falsely said they suffered ailments after 9/11. prosecutors say four ring leaders coached officers on how

to describe symptoms of depression and other problems. they received payouts as high as $500,000, and the ring leaders allegedly got kickbacks. in chicago, a ban on handgun sales is now in limbo. a federal judge ruled monday that ordinances barring such sales are unconstitutional. but he agreed to delay his ruling from taking effect, to give the city time to appeal. last year, chicago led all other american cities in homicides. still to come on the "newshour": another record fine for j.p. morgan; a bill to extend unemployment benefits clears a key vote; what to expect from janet yellen's federal reserve; an inside look at a terrorist training camp; plus, the challenge of fighting hunger in the world's crisis zones. >> woodruff: we return to the j.p. morgan story and the

historic penalty it will pay for the bank's connection with the madoff ponzi scheme. the settlement and fine were announced five years after bernie madoff's scheme collapsed around him and investors worldwide. jeffrey brown picks up the details about those connections. >> at the time that madoff's crimes were unveiled, jpmorgan's name was not publicly connected with the case in any significant way but federal prosecutors said today the bank new something was wrong well before the ponsy scheme collapsed. u.s. attorney spelled out some of that history at a press conference this afternoon. >> today's charges have been filed because in that regard, j.p. morgan as an institution failed and failed miserably. in part because of that failure, for decades, bernie madoff was able to launder billions of dollars in ponzi proceeds, essentially through a single set of accounts at jpmorgan, as

far back as 1998, a bank fund manager concluded that the returns were possibly "too good to be true" and that there were too many red flags. >> patricia hurtado has been covering this for bloomberg news and was at the prosecutor's press conference today and joins me now. thank you for joining us. let's fill in the picture little bit. what exactly is jpmorgan admitting that it did? >> well, they're basically accused of being the private banker for bernie madoff and enabling his ponzi scheme to continue, merely for the mere fact that they were concerned and they got their own personal investments out of madoff and he thought they were suspicious and something was wrong they allowed other people to be victimized. >> we heard this phrase, too good to be true, that's how it looked at least at the time. but the problem is, nobody said anything? >> yeah, the government basically alleges that for years, dating back to 1986,

madoff had an account at jpmorgan chase and its predecessor entities and allowed hundreds of billions of dollars to go through and allowed very unusually suspicious transactions to go through and the bank never raised any red flags or concerns. but the bank was savvy enough to get its own money out when it became concerned before the fraud was uncovered in 2008. >> no individuals are cited. am i right the company said it doesn't believe employees knowingly assisted madoff's scheme? >> yes. basically the u.s. attorney's office conceded today they're not charging an individual, that this is an constitutional failure. many, many people, this is a huge bank, different parts of the bank didn't communicate well with each other and didn't share their concerns, so it sort of isolated or the concerns are fragmented, so not one

individual was aware of the ponlzy scheme and allowed it to continue. >> to trish give us examples of the red flags that were ignored. >> well, the government in an unusually statement of facts, it's an admission of responsibility. a mea culpa of what the bank employees were talking and saying privately about madoff which is kind of incriminating. for example there's bun point in june 2007 where one employee speculated thtt madoff and his returns are speculated to be part of a ponzi scheme. in december 1998, jpmorgan manager said his returns are, quote, too good to be true and there were too many red flags, end quote. and the last, most significant thing, was four months before madoff basically admits that he has conduct add ponzi scheme that has gone on for decades in

december 2008, jpmorgan in october 2008 was really concerned and redeemed $275 million of its own money from its investing with madoff, and at one point, one of the traders said in october 16, 2008, weeks before madoff's fraud was uncovered "there are many elements in the story that make us inference" and later when madoff was arrested in 2008, one madoff employee remarked to another one "can't say i'm surprised, can you?" and the other said no. >> this is referred to as a deferred prosecutorial agreement. what does that mean? is there still potential for prosecution? >> no. if the bank agrees to behave itself, what you might remember with a probation, they're told to behave, they're under the government's thumb for two years. they have to report to the u.s. attorney's office to prosecutors, to federal regulators, to banking officials

as well as the fbi and they have to alert theogovernment as soon as they're aware anybody is misbehaving and not complying with the banking regulations and then they are on notice to notify the government asap otherwise they will be prosecuted so it's deferred for two years until they are off probation basically. >> so explained to us something about the money involved here; how much and where is it going to? much or all of it going to victims? >> basically, manhattan u.s. attorney stead today that, with the addition of the 1.7 billion, that they're getting from extracting from jpmorgan today, on top of hundreds of millions of dollars and four billion dollars basically collected through another madoff case, forfeiture case, there's going to be $4 billion that will be gotten into the pockets of all of the madoff victims. >> so some of this is going

through -- it's a little confusing. there's $1.7 billion going through the criminal side and then separately paying hundreds of millions to settle private claims? >> yeah. basically all of the money from this case is basically the government's agreement with the bank. so this is $1,797,000,000,000 that is going to be disbursed to madoff victims and then there's $350 million that will be disbursed in a separate payment the bank is making to the office of currency and controller and then $543 million is being collected by the trustee that is overseeing the bankruptcy of madoff. >> and the other part of this, you say, is that the bank agrees to 134 kind of monitoring or various steps to make sure it doesn't happen again? >> yes. it also, in addition, it has to acknowledge responsibility which went on for pages of years and

years and years of systemic failures to pay attention to these basic red flags that madoff wasn't totally kosher. >> so how unusually is all of this? how big of a deal did the u.s. attorney see it? >> it is very rare. and it is pretty significant. it's the second-largest forfeiture that the government has ever been able to extract and the department of justice has been able to get from a banking institution. the only larger one involved hsbc, so it's significant and it's quite at a big dent. it's a cold day outside in new york and it was kind of a cold day for jpmorgan today. >> patricia hurtado, thrawch. >> >> woodruff: even as prosecutors announced the j.p. morgan settlement, a separate trial got under way today over allegations of insider trading by the former manager of the hedge fund run by billionaire steven a. cohen. insider trading has been a major focus of the u.s. attorney's office for seven years, and

cohen's hedge fund, s.a.c., has become a major target of several cases. that's the subject of tonight's "frontline: to catch a trader." here's an excerpt about the pursuit of cohen, including exclusive footage of a video deposition he gave in a private civil suit over these matters. >> narrator: this is a copy of sac's code of ethics and conduct, obtained by frontline. in the industry, it's called a compliance manual. it spells out the rules prohibiting insider trading. in his 2011 deposition, cohen was asked by the plaintiff's attorney if he was familiar with s.a.c.'s compliance manual. >> now, the s.a.c. compliance manual at the time provided that if you were in possession of material nonpublic information, you could not trade, period, correct? >> yeah. well, the way... >> is that correct? >> actually, i don't know what it says. >> okay, so at the time, you didn't know what s.a.c.'s compliance manual says on insider trading?

>> when it comes to trading, i rely on counsel. >> you know, you're talking about somebody who's been in the industry for 30 years, and for him to be that oblivious of these very central things to his business in that deposition was shocking. >> i don't remember what it says. >> so you don't know today, sitting here as the head of the firm, what your compliance manual says. >> i've read it, but if you're asking me what it says, today, i don't remember. >> what it meant was, he really didn't care to have an understanding of what the rules were or even what was in his compliance manual, which just told me he didn't take those things very seriously. >> and there was trading in fairfax... >> narrator: the deposition was part of a lawsuit filed against s.a.c. and other hedge funds by company called fairfax financial over allegations of price manipulation. >> ...and we went short fairfax. >> fairfax had been targeted for what's classically called a "bear raid," which is when short sellers go out into the marketplace and try and drive the stock price down artificially by putting out

negative information about the company. >> well, it really comes down to where they heard it. if it was a rumor... >> narrator: michael bowe asked cohen whether he thought it was acceptable for his traders to short a stock if they have advance knowledge of negative press stories about the company. >> what if they sent you an e-mail that said the reporter told me he is coming out with a negative story? it is your testimony it would be okay for them to short? >> if the story was not coming out in a relatively short period of time, i would say there was ambiguity on that. i think it might be okay.

>> narrator: fairfax's suit was dismissed, but the securities and exchange commission took an interest in cohen's answers under oath and subpoenaed his deposition. >> a deposition by steve cohen may come back to haunt him as he tries to protect his s.a.c. capi from a federal insider trading lawsuit. >> narrator: in july of 2013, the s.e.c. brought a civil case against cohen, alleging he failed to supervise his traders, a charge he is fighting. >> they basically said, look, this was an operation where there was a complete failure of compliance, and cohen, who has his name on the door and owned 1 failed to properly supervise these guys. >> narrator: that same month the justice department filed a criminal indictment against s.a. calling it a magnet for market cheaters. >> the government decided that they found insider trading so pervasive that they wanted to put their foot down and say ok this is effectively a criminal enterprise and we're going to declare it that and charge the

firm criminally. >> narrator: steven cohen's lawyers have argued that he has never been involved in insider trading. cohen has repeatedly declined frontline's requests for an interview. >> woodruff: tonight's addition of frontline, "to catch a trader," airs on most pbs stations later this evening. >> woodruff: the u.s. senate took action to extend emergency unemployment insurance today, but, as newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman reports, many challenges still remain before benefits are restored. >> on this vote the yeas are 60, the nays are 37. >> reporter: the drive to restore benefits to the long- term unemployed cleared its first hurdle this morning, as the senate voted to proceed with debate. democratic majority leader harry reid argued millions of people need the help, and so does the economy.

>> americans use their unemployment benefits to buy food and fuel at local gas stations, to pay the landlord or to purchase a child a winter coat. that's why for every $1 we spend on unemployment insurance, the economy grows by $1.50. >> reporter: six republicans sided with the democrats in voting to limit debate on the bill. it provides up to 47 weeks of federal unemployment benefits after state offerings are exhausted. the payments had averaged $300 a week when the program expired december 28. this bill would restore benefits to 1.3 million americans for three months while a longer-term deal is worked on. republican minority leader mitch mcconnell said he still wants to see the $6.4 billion cost offset. one way, he suggested, is to eliminate new health care subsidies for the poor by delaying the requirement they get coverage. >> i'd like to propose that we be allowed, that my side be allowed, to offer an amendment

to pay for these benefits by lifting the burden of obamacare's individual mandate for one year and take care of our veterans who were harmed by the recently agreed to budget deal. >> reporter: reid was quick to knock down mcconnell's proposal, while leaving the door open to spending cuts elsewhere. >> he wants to pay for them by whacking "obamacare." that's a nonstarter. so if they come with something that's serious, i'll talk to them. but right now, everyone should understand the low-hanging fruit is gone. >> reporter: all of that as president obama met with people who've lost their jobless benefits. he welcomed the senate vote but said it's just a first step. >> all they've agreed to so far is that we're actually going to be able to have a vote on it. they haven't actually passed it. so we've got to get this across the finish line without obstruction or delay.

and we need the house of representatives to be able to vote for it, as well. and it's... that's the bottom line. ( applause ) >> reporter: that may not be easy. in a statement, republican house speaker john boehner warned even if it passes, the senate bill has little chance of reaching the house floor. >> one month ago i personally >> reporter: nonetheless, senate democrats pushed forward for a second, key procedural vote sometime this week. >> woodruff: the high rate of unemployment is one of many challenges the new chair of the federal reserve will face when she takes over next month. janet yellen, the first woman to head the central bank, was confirmed by the senate last night. she has already made it clear that joblessness is one of her main concerns. we take a closer look at how she may change things as she tries to navigate some tricky terrain.

michael hirsh has written about the "yellen agenda" for "national journal," and gillian tett writes on these matters for the "financial times." >> welcome to you both. michael, your first. we said janet yellen make it clear. she worries about unemployment. what more do we expect her to do as chairman of the fed about that? >> well, i think that the main thing is this has been the grand passion of her life and her career as an economist, if you look at what she has written. she comes out of an activist tradition of economic thinking, that is quite distinctive, i think, from the previous two fed chairman, alan greenspan and ben bernanke who were both conservative economists and i think based on her writings and things she said in her speeches going back more than a decade, we can expect to see her focus on the employment issue in a way that i don't think we have seen a federal reserve chairman do for a while. >> and she's in a position to make a difference?

>> the important thing about federal reserve chair people, i guess we have to use that term now, is they have an influence that goes way beyond the specific mandate of the fed mandatory policy. their economic thinking is enormously influential not only in washington but around the world. this there is the most important economic job in the world and the second most important job in washington after the president. so i think her four-year term, during that time we're going to see a lot of testimony and discussions with congress that will shape new thinking on unemployment. >> so gillian tett at the same time she has expressed worry about joblessness, she is also under pressure to wind down the stim husband program that the federal reserve has been engage in, the bond asset buying, so-called imawnt take easing. how much tension is there between those two goals? >> well, the reality is, there's rising tension right now and you can see that in terms of the

people sitting around the table with her on the federal reserve committee, because opinions will increasingly divided about just how quickly the fed should change course or not. >> but the key thing to understand about janet yellen, is she's not just the first woman to hold this post which is remarkable but one of the first cansions to hold the pace and she cares about the human face of economics and as she herself has said many times, for her unemployment is not just had a bunch of statistics but it's very much about human lives. for that reason alone we certainly can expect her to take a much softer policy line than some of her predecessors. >> so gillian tett, staying with you, what does that mean that we could look for her to do? >> i think the important thing is what she is not going to do and what she is not going to do is withdraw the stimulus that was put in the economy the in the last couple of years in a very rapid manner. she is someone looking for a gentle exit strategy that

ensures that although the fed does not fuel the bubble anymore that we see in bond prices, that at least it tries to maintain the stimulus and keep the economic machine going. >> and michael hirsh, in connection with all of this, you wrote recently and this picks up on what you said a few minutes ago, that she, for a long time, has advocated a higher minimum wage. is she in a position to do something about that? >> not specifically. in other words, she -- again, the feds mandate doesn't allow her to shape legislation specifically, and she's going to be a little bit wary getting into congress' business because there's been some backlash against some of these fed policies. one of the reason her confirmation vote was as close as it was. but i do think she will have a lot of influence in terms of the kinds of things she says in her by annual or semi-annual rather congressional testimony, in the kinds of things that she says in

speeches, in the same way that alan greenspan over his 18 years at the fed and ben bernanke, during his two terms really influenced economic thinking about the response to the crises and the period before the crises. >> gillian tett this is something that i know you are written about, about how important the communication skills of the federal reserve chair can be. how do you see that in connection with janet yellen. >> janet yellen is somebody that even two years ago pointed out the feds have already engaged in such extreme policy measures frankly there's not a lot more they can do in terms of putting money in the economy. instead, increasingly they're trying to shape how the economy works and how we expect the economy to work by talking about the future and by trying to persuade people they're going to take a very easy start for a long time. now that's incredibly controversial. some people think the policy which is called forward guidance is really a bunch of voodoo but

certainly it means that people will be watching what janet yellen says very, very carefully indeed because she not just ascribing what is happening, she is describing how she hopes to see the economy going forward in the future. >> is that something that you expect her to do? >> very much so. the most distinctive thing other than the fact she is the first woman to lead the fed is the breadth of her economic thinking. better than yankee's focus as a circular was on the great depression. greenspan was famously a financial economist. she is someone who has studied the whole economy and again in a kinsion way and comes out of the activist school at yale and studied under those renowned foregovernment intervention and you will see that in every policy decision she makes. as jillion says, first things first, she will have to decide on when to taper back the federal intervention and she will be include to do that less than more. >> and i think you said you expect her to be tougher in terms of regulating wall street.

>> already she has gotten turf battles with the governor there who bernanke left to do that. she sees that as her agenda and something she wants to take on personally as chair fed and you will see her taking a prominent role perhaps getting into a fight or two with the federal department. >> how do you see that, gillian tett and i wanted to ask about the fact she is the first woman and if that could affect, in any way, what she does? >> before i get on the women issue, one thing i want to point out, she has broad experience. the one bit of experience she does not have is direct market experience and her focus is very different from the predecessors. she's actually not that focused on the way the market behaves and cares far more about the real economy, the human face of the economy and that could bring quite a different tone to the policy debate from what we have seen before. does that have any tie in to the fact that she is a woman? it's very hard to say. i think, however, shy does take a much more holistic view about

her economic process of work and that's one of the most interesting things of all is, by week the first woman to hold this position, suddenly an entire generation of young female economists can look up and think, wow, maybe that's possible. and that helps to reshape expectations in many ways and it helps to carve a new face or stamp on what economics is about and actually it may encourage more women going into the field going forward. >> why have there been so few women do you think? i'm asking michael this but i want to get jillion's response first, quickly because this can make a difference. >> absolutely. i would also note, and i don't think it's just a coincidence that going back to brooksly, the head of the ftc in the 1990s tried to take ton the issue of over-the-counter derivatives before the economy happened and was slapped down by the men in charge. we have seen women coming and really take on wall street in a way that frankly not that many

men have. gary beginsler is one of the exceptions. it's interesting to see her at the tail end of this and she represents also what someone described to me as someone who is truly not captured by wall street. she has not worked in there and in some ways that's at a strength n that way, like some of these other women that have not been part of the wall street mindset, she can stand back and look at it in a different way than we have seen by those inside the power structure in washington who have previously worked for wall street. >> so jillion, what do you look for? >> i'm looking for her to have a new face on economics and there's a great study by stanford university that those when you have a female professor in the department you have more women doing ph.d.s and economics and the fact she is there can help to change the economics in the next generation. >> those women can go on to become policy makers. >> at the moment, only 10 of the bankers are women so there's a lot of ground to catch up but

certainly it's an interesting eye appointment. >> michael hirsh and gillian tett thank you both. >> thank you. >> woodruff: terrorist groups are secretive by nature, using violent attacks to make public statements. tonight, we get a rare look inside a training camp for al- shabab. that is al qaeda-linked organization based in somalia. it comes from jamal osman of independent television news. >> reporter: in a secret location deep in the somali bush, i meet al-shabaab, one of the most feared al qaeda- affiliated organizations. this is the jihadist group behind the attack at the

westgate shopping mall in kenya that left 67 people dead. this is the face they want the world to see. this is the al-shabaab class of 2013. around 300 newly trained fighters have completed a six- month course, the same military training as the westgate attackers. today, they are rewarded with a visit from al-shabaab's spokesman, sheikh ali dhere. he's the public face of the group and the only one willing to show his face on camera. >> reporter: some western

analysts believe al-shabaab is in decline, but the groups say the westgate attack proves how strong they remain. that's why al-shabaab viewed the westgate shopping mall in nairobi, kenya, as a p.r. victory. these terrifying images from the attack show al-shabaab fighters casually walking through the mall as they shoot civilians.

>> reporter: for al-shabaab, the attack is being used to inspire new soldiers. >> reporter: highly organized, these latest additions will soon decide which unit within al- shabaab to join. some show off their gymnastic skills to impress sheikh ali dhere. the recruits might remain regular fighters, become bomb- makers or work for the amniyat, al-shabaab's elite intelligence network. but the most popular unit is the

suicide brigade, and, believe it or not, there is a long waiting list; only the best recruits will be accepted. >> reporter: al-shabaab have been designated as a terrorist organization by several western nations. after losing control of four major cities, the islamists were thought to have been defeated. but they still control large parts of the country and see themselves as an alternative government. this is bulo burte, a key strategic crossing point on the shabelle river. it's an al-shabaab stronghold. it also happens to be the town where one of the westgate

attackers came from. the number and identities of the attackers still remains a mystery. kenyans claim there were only four, but locals here suggest there were more, and some are even believed to have returned to somalia. >> reporter: unlike other parts of southern and central somalia, there is peace here, but it's under al-shabaab's strict sharia law. all the women do go to a school and are allowed to run their own businesses. the locals might not agree with

al-shabaab's military campaign, but they told me they appreciate them for bringing law and order. i ask local elder muhammed bedel what life is like now under the self-appointed al-shabaab rule. >> reporter: i followed the hizbat, the al-shabaab police, on their beat. none of them would let me film their faces. the first stop was this restaurant, telling the female owner to remove the rubbish from outside. then, they make their way to the local hospital, where they check the pharmacy for out-of-date medicine... >> reporter: ...and also, the cleanliness of the facilities. they seem satisfied.

our final stop is a mini supermarket where they checked product expiry dates. but as soon as they hear the call to prayer, everything stops. people head to the mosque for midday prayer, whether they like it or not. passing vehicles are pulled over. >> reporter: the al-shabaab police make sure everyone goes to the mosque. >> reporter: this butcher is reluctant, but "no" is not an option. the mosque quickly fills up, with some having to pray outside in the heat.

it's a good opportunity for al- shabaab spokesman sheikh ali dhere-- this time in civilian clothes-- to drum up more support. >> reporter: it's an ominous message from a group that says its been revived and is strengthened by the kenya attack. they say they will strike again. the question is, where and when?

>> woodruff: finally tonight, we turn our attention to hunger. there are 870 million undernourished people around the world, most of them in developing countries. that's according to the united nations. and at least 20% of households face extreme food shortages. jeff recently sat down with the woman in charge of combating this chronic problem. >> the rural food program is the un's frontline agency for fighting global hunger and right now it has its hand especially full with four major food emergencies at once n syria, with millions displaced and in refugee camps, in the central african republic another conflict area where the un has warned of potential famine, in neighboring south sudan in the news with an outbreak of tribal violence, and in the philippines, still reeling from tie tune high i don't know. the rural food program is based in room.

the executive director is erthran cousin, an american with many issues in food issues and she joins us no now and welcome to you. >> thank you very much. >> first, the here is number of the emergency situations, how unusually and what kind of challenge is it to deal with them all at once. >> needless to say, it is highly unusually. when we created this category of level three emergencies, which the un and the not profit community worked together to make sure that we met the needs of those impacted by the emergencies, we all said what we we do if we had three of them and now we have four. >> it's noted that three of the four are conflict areas, civil war, a lot of violence. >> yeah. >> what kind of challenges does that pose in particular. >> needless to say, in conflict areas the challenge is that's you have war, and you have the inability to access those who are in what we call beseiged areas or areas where fighting is ongoing because its very difficult for humanitarians to

access to those areas to assist the victims of the conflict. >> so take for example, the central african republic, one that doesn't get that much attention. what are you label to do and not do? >> in the central african republic, we said over 300,000 people in the areas in the rural areas of the central african republic but the challenges are a lot more people are needed because we can't get access to. a good example is that there are a hundred thousand people in and around the airport itself in banghi. when we began a feeding program in that area, humanitarian workers were attack sod we had to stop the feeding program. >> food is there but you just can't get it. >> you can't get to it people because of the ongoing violence notice area. >> >> you know, we talk about these kreeses but in the meantime there's so much more i know. i was reading today about the

continuing problem that you are dealing with in kenya and the refugee camps and i saw where you wrote, the world's gaze has turned elsewhere. this must happen constantly for you, right? >> it does. and tragic because you feel as if you're prioritizing one hungry child over another. >> you feel that personally. >> i feel that personally. because in ken da where you have somalia refugees there are still over 500,000 people in the refugee camps and we had to cut rations there, first 10 in december and another 10 in i can't know january. that means there are children that will not get the nutrition that that need. >> you have been at this in many different ways noor long time. when does the world pay attention and when does its not? and when do you get frustrated and when do you not? >> unfortunately the world pays attention when the media shines a lot on those in need, which is why it's so important that we maintain the global public role that is necessary to meet the

needs of those we serve. we require investments. dfp is 100% donation funded and we receive significant support for our work but we recognize that there's only so many dollars to go around. and what it forces us to do is, when i get frustrated, is it when i see a situation where we know that we can make a difference, that we don't have the resources to support those in need. >> and that happens -- >> too often. >> too often. setting aside the immediate crises that we're talking about, if you can for a moment, when you think of the longer of food security, because there's another area, is how do people feed themselves, how does the world feed itself, crises aside? what do we need to know or somewhat not happening that you would like see happen? >> well, the solutions are

available to us. we recognize that the majority of people who are hungry in the world live in rural areas and most are small subsistence farmers and by increasing the agricultural chain and marketing chain in countries where we serve, we can provide the economic support necessary to those small holders so they can feed their families in a sustain and i believe durable manner so we know somewhat required. the challenge; it's not one year solution. it's going to require multiyear implementation of the work that is necessary to support the small hold of farmers so they can ultimately feed themselves and feed their children and our support is no longer necessary. and we know it works. because china is great example. 50 years ago when wfp was started, china was the largest

government program. we worked with the farmers in china and began to make a difference there and we know where it is today. erthran cousin is executive director of the world food program. thank you very much. >> thank you for having me >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day. the record-breaking deep freeze persisted and spread, leaving much of the country colder than parts of antarctica. j.p. morgan-chase agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal charges that it turned a blind eye to bernie madoff's ponzi scheme. and a bill to restore benefits to the long-term unemployed passed its first procedural test in the senate. on the newshour online right now: the polar vortex may be on its way out, but you should still stock your house with winter essentials. first up: good books. we asked kate di camillo, the new national ambassador for young peoples literature, to recommend her favorite titles

for kids stuck inside. find those, plus an expanded list from the library of congress, on our rundown. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, a look back at the war on poverty 50 years after president lyndon johnson called on americans to take up the fight. i'm judy woodruff. we'll 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: there's a saying around here: you stand behind what you say. around here, we don't make excuses, we make commitments. and when you can't live up to them, you own up and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it's needed most. but i know you'll still find it,

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we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am katty kay. the iraqi government says it has killed 25 al qaeda militants in an airstrike, but extremists are not giving up, and there is fear of a civil war. to morgan chase was slapped with a 1.7 billion dollar penalty. authorities say the bank ignored obvious warning signs of bernie ponzi scheme. and we will show you the new gadgets rolling out at the consumer electronic show. ♪