♪ on this edition for sunday, february 16th, secretary of state john kerry says climate change may be the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction. in our signature segment, how mexico is battling obesity by raising taxes on foods load ed with saturated fats and on sugary drinks. >> education problems to change the habits of people but we are also using incentives and taxes can be powerful incentives. >> and what's behind growing drug shortages in america next on pbs news hour weekend, made possible by louis

that's why we're your retirement company. additional support is provided by -- and by the corporation of public broadcasting and to contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch studios from new york, hari sreenivasan. >> thank you for joining us. skt john kerry warned today that the world is running out of time to address climate change. he addressed people he called shoddy scientists and ideologs

that are trying to hijack the conversation. >> terrorism, epidemics, poverty, weapons of mass destruction all challenges that know no borders. the reality it ranks right up there with every single item. >> united states and china agreed to cooperate more closely to fight climate change. the two countries are the largest emiteres of greenhouse gases. while in indonesia, kerry also visited the largest mosque in southeast asia with the capacity of 130,000. indonesia is the world's most populous country. accusing north korea of crimes against humanity and recommend that the case be turned over to the international criminal court in the hague, executions, rapes and forced

abortions. experts believe north korean prison camps in isolated parts of that country hold as many as 120,000 prisoners, many of them political prisoners. china is like ly to block any move to bring the case to the international criminal court. in egypt today, a fatal attack on a bus carrying south korean tourists. at least three people were killed and 20 injured shortly before the bus was to have crossed into israel from the peninsula. this footage captures the moment the blast occurred. there have been increasing violence since the ouster of mohamed morsi. today's attack was the first again against. hamas said it would not accept the presence of international peacekeepers there. palestinian president mahmoud abbas said he would accept the deployment of international troops. spokesman for hamas said in the same manner it uses against what he called israeli occupation

forces, an apparent reference to suicide bombings and other attacks. back in this country prosecutors in florida will retry a 47-year-old software engineer on murder chang charges. the jury convicted michael dunn on three counts of attempted murder but deadlocked on the murder charge. he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager after an argument at a jacksonville gas station about the teen and his friends playing loud rap music. dunn testified that he thought he saw the barrel of a gun in the teens' car, but prosecutors say dunn faced no physical danger and kept firing even after the teens drove off. there's been a major food recall. agriculture department food safety inspection service says dried egg products may be contaminated with salmonella. shipped to u.s. military bases around the nation and abroad. no illnesses have been reported so far. new information about approximate that major security breach at target.

wall street journal says computer security experts warn the company that its payment system was vulnerable and need to be reviewed. this, at least two months before hackers stole 40 million credit and debt card numbers from the company's servers. the request was initially brushed off. it is unclear if a review was ever carried out. target has not commented on the report. there's been a hacking incident at kick starter as well. the company, which provides an on d online platform said this weekend that hackers had gained access to users names, encrypted passwords, e-mail, mailing addresses and phone numbers. the company says the problem has been fixed and no credit card information was stolen. discouraging news about what people do and don't know about the solar system. like, for instance, that the earth is actually part of it. that's another way of saying that 26% of americans polled by the national science foundation did not know that the earth revolves around the sun. in case you're wondering,

americans actually fared better on the question than those polled in the european union on previous surveys. as we reported earlier, skt john kerry was in indonesia today, after concluding a two-day visit to china. for more about his latest diplomatic mission we're joined now from washington by jeff dyer and reported from china for six years. jeff, yesterday john kerry was making news about climate change in china. today in indonesia. why is climate so high on the state department's agenda right now? >> i think there are really two reasons for that. one is that secretary of state is trying to build momentum toward the conference next year, big personal priority of his as well. and then the other reason, i think, is that the u.s. government sees climate change and environmental issues as one of the areas in which you can

p potentially cooperate with china, have a relationship with china and competitive aspects which are gathering steam. climate change is one of the areas where they may be able to work together in a much more coherent area. >> and one of the areas the u.s. wants to work with china is north korea. is north korea's -- i should say is china's influence on north korea diminishing with the tumult that's happening there? >> china is still very much the guarantor, which the regime relies on. when kim jong-un had his uncle executed essentially, he was a very close -- the person in the regime that the chinese had the closest ties to. they saw him as someone they could deal with more effectively. they're hoping that he would encourage more chinese economic reforms in north korea and so now that he's out of the

picture, they feel potentially much less influence over the regime. >> let's talk about a couple of months ago we heard the saber rattling from china and japan about these disputed islands. is that getting any better? >> still very much a hot issue. there are engagements almost on a daily basis between japanese ships, chinese aircraft and the risk is not that the chinese are going to invade the islands or anything like that, but the risk is some sort of accident, miscalculation, one of these pilots goes a little too far. and you can get sort of the incident that quickly spins out of control. >> all right. and finally, it looks like a big picture. where is the u.s. status in asia? the president, president obama is scheduled to go visit a few asian countries in april. >> absolutely. in a very strong position in asia. one of the reasons for that is that most of the countries in the region, apart from china,

want to see a similar start of status call, similar sort of structure in asian politics. but the regime has -- the administration has lost a bit in the last few months. sense that it's distracted. secretary of sta s secretary kerry is focused on the mideast. so there's a sense in asia that the obama administration has really slightly lost its momentum, has gotten a bit distracted. that's why secretary kerry is there this week. that's why he's trying to show that he's still very much focused on asia. >> how much of the president's visit will be to try to offer a counter balance or be a counterweight to china's growing influence in the region? >> well, the broader thrust of the policy in the region at the moment, is to try to show that it's not going to disappear, that china won't take over and become the dominant power. but it's a very subtle policy,

particularly environment, trying to work with china and north korea on iran. there's not a case of all-out competition and cooperation. >> what about this larger context conversations about china and the u.n. security council? the u.s. keeps butting heads when it comes to issues like syria. >> absolutely. although i think on the syria issue, probably with russia. china tends to support russia but hasn't stood out in any way with syria. russia is where the hard work will be done ought syrian issue. >> jeff, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and now to our signature segment, our original in-depth reports from around the nation and around the world. tonight we take you to mexico, a

country like the united states, trying to cope with high levels of obesity. unlike the united states, mexico has recently adopted a national policy to try to overcome the problem. its biggest component, increasing taxes on foods with saturated fat and sugary drinks, all with assistance of new york city mayor michael bloomberg. martin fletcher reports. >> reporter: every sunday mexico city, tens of thousands answer the president's challenge to exercise one hour a day. mexico's health ministry says its citizens are too fat. yoga class along the city's main reformer avenue. nearby, zumba. five straight hours of latin american dance and aerobics, overseen by a mexican

pentathlete. >> 70% are overweight and you're an olympic athlete. how do you feel about it? >> it's a very important proble problem. it's sad we came to this part. it has a lot to do with the education, culture. we are trying to make this -- >> reporter: zumba dance, barely five feet, this 30-year-old mother has struggled with her weight her whole life. zumba has helped her lose 20 pounds. she's hoping to lose 20 more. it's certainly hard to resist. catchy part of what mechanixicos its three peculiars to fight obesity. so this is pillar number one. more exercise for the people. i think i've lost a little bit of weight. maybe. after more sport comes number two, healthier diet. it's peculiar number three that has the whole world watching.

taxation of junk food. with 1.5 million people overweight around the world, mexico's battle of the bulge has become a test case in the fight against obesity. new taxes are 8% on food high in saturated fat, sugar and salt like sweet breads and cakes and about 9% on sugary drinks like cola. >> we have a lot of education problems. to change the habits of people, but we are also using incentives. taxes can be powerful incentives. i believe in incentives and i think they should have an affect on how people accept what to drink and what to eat. >> reporter: commercials pound the message, exercise and eat healthy, every day. similarly to the new york message of former mayor michael bloomberg. and that's no coincidence. bloomberg's philanthropic organization has pledged $10 million to help finance mexico's anti-obesity campaign.

jorge ramos, chief lawyer for mexico's beverage industry association says since taxes were introduced january 1st this year, consumption is already down 5%, but he believes it will go up again. >> we are not convinced that by putting a new tax for soft drinks in addition to other taxes that they already pay is going to be a solution. the reason is that it's an older custom in mexico to drink soft drinks. >> reporter: that's exactly the point, isn't it, to reduce the consumption of sugar, because it leads to obesity? >> yes. but if tax only the drinks which are bottled, then why not the other ones? there is an inequitiable situation and the tax might be unconstitutional. you cannot tax some products and the other ones not. >> reporter: what ramos is

getting at, only bottled or canned soft drinks or package snacks not the fatty foods and drinks sold on the street. still mexicans drink more coca cola drinks per capita than anyone else in the world. castillo has had hypertension for ten years and diabetes for five. how much coca cola do you drink a day? for the family three liters she says. >> three liters a day? one liter a day each person, more or less? she says yes, it's bad, and tortilla and bread. mexico's coca cola franchise declined our request. ramos, who represents coke, among other brands, says the soft drink companies are not the only culprits in the obesity crisis. >> it's the amount of sugar. there's so much sugar in these

drinks. >> maybe it's the amount of sugar. if it's the only energy that they consume, they eat or they drink. so, no problem. they exercise, no problem at all. it's very expensive to buy fruits, to buy vegetables. so they are only eating fried food. >> reporter: with 50% of mexicans living below the poverty line, croft is critical. >> doesn't it just make it more expensive for the people who can't afford to buy anything else? >> taxes are only taxing high-calorie foods and sugary drinks. there are other foods and other drinks available that are already taxed and we want that shift. >> reporter: locals shy away from tap water often leaving bottled drinks as the only option. back at home, diana from zumba class has heard the government's message loud and clear and has

changed her eating habits over the past year. the children eat rice, peas, tortilla and guacamole. a year ago it was fries, hamburgers, cans of coala. if she hadn't gone on the diet, she says, i would be this big sbchlt she feels better. look at the badge behind her. that's spanish for i feel magnificent. it's too early to say what the effect of taxation will be as a tool against obesity even as supporters say an increase of 8 to 10% is not enough. the government argues it's the message that counts. healthy eating saves lives. in a local initiative by mexico city, for those who don't go to the gym, the gym comes to them. 300 so-called urban gyms were set up last year. 300 more will be opened this year and the same again next year. with medical and psychological advice and checkups all provided freebie the city. prevention, the mayor says, is

cheaper than treatment. maria gonzalez is the city's psychologist in charge of these urban gyms. >> we want the people to have -- to eat healthy. >> reporter: when you see the people who come to you, are they healthy? >> most of them, no. but they come here and they are -- they start wanting to have a better way of living, a healthy life. a healthy style of living. >> reporter: the biggest challenge is to start them young. all research shows that if a child is overweight at age 5, most always will be. they don't know much about new taxes, but the government says higher taxes on junk food will make families buy less and the children will be healthier and live longer. the whole world is gaining

weight. find out where the u.s. fits in and see what other countries are doing to battle the bulge. this visit news hour on pbs.org. government accountability office issued a report serious and growing drug shortages in the united states. joining us now from washington from "the new york times." first of all, how bigative problem is it? how widespread are these shortages? >> it's actually a fairly serious problem. the number of shortages since 2010 -- rather 2007, the number of shortages since 2007 have tripled. so, you know, this is anything from injectable cancer drugs to drugs like nitroglycerin used in heart surgeries. presenting a problem for hospitals around the country. >> how did we get here? any particular cause for the

shortages? >> it might be strange but it's often a mystery when a drug goes into shortage as to why. you would think there would be a straight, simple, plain answer. but in many cases there's not. the producers themselves are a little secretive. they say it's a trade secret to tell the world exactly what is happening that's causing the shortage, so they don't need to detail the reason. often times, however, it's that many -- there are very few producers of sterol injectable drugs, the drugs that are most often in shortage in the united states. two, three, four producers only. many of the production lines that they have are quite old. so, kind of like an old car needs a lot of repairs, more kind of focus in attention. same thing with these plants. when something goes wrong, the fda steps in and says, well, we can't produce this line if there's something -- there's contamination in the drug.

instead what happens is the line is shut down, sometimes an entire factory and a drug goes into shortage because the few number of other producers simply aren't in a position to ramp up production quickly enough to keep up. >> so, are there economic fac r factors that contribute to this? >> yes. very interestingly, there were economic factors. sterol injectable drugs are very small profit margin. sometimes what happens is, you know, a line goes down. something breaks. something breaks down. and a company, a producer looks at the margins and looks at the economics and says, well, you know, it's not really worth with the margins we're getting on this drug continuing the line, putting the money in to fix it. so, in fact, they let it go into shortage and even if people need it, even if it's a critical drug -- say, for example, the nitroglycerin in heart

surgeries, they don't produce t at the end of the day, the fda can encourage, you know, producers to do -- to keep going, but doesn't really have the power to force them to do that. >> so, what are the recommendations by the gao of what the fda should be doing? >> so what the gao said essentially is that the fda needed to be essentially more nimble in how it was predicting these shortages. it has now tremendous database of numbers that tell it what is in shortage and how long it's been in shortage. a fair amount of data, but basically the gao said the fda wasn't using that data to kind of look at overall patterns in the country, look at kind of how these things tended to shake out and then try to predict when the shortages would occur. that's what the gao told the fda they needed to get better at. >> sabrina tavernisi from "the new york times," thank you so much.

>> thanks a lot. finally tonight, the connection. as far as everyone is concerned, tomorrow is president's day. and many of the advertisements would lead you to believe that it's a celebration of two of america's greatest presidents, george washington and abraham lincoln. >> massive deal. ♪ who's your founding father >> in the rear view camera. >> despite of what almost everyone believes tomorrow is not a national holiday known as president's day. even the department of interior apparently isn't in on the secret. under a federal law passed in 1968, the third monday of february was officially designated as washington's birthday. no mention at all of honest abe. >> lincoln has never had a national holiday devoted to him. >> harold holzer is a lincoln scholar and author or editor of 35 books and a consultant on

"lincoln," the academy award winning film of 2012. >> same discord that greeted much of reconstruction. even though dead at the time he was considered the northern interloper who would impose federal control on the sunny south. while there was a washington's birthday that was a federal holiday, lincoln never made it. he was only a state by state holiday. >> and today only four states designate lincoln's birthday, february 12th, as an official holiday. although president lincoln has been passed over for a federal day off he is on mt. rushmore, the $5 billion and the penny. but there is talk of ditching the penny, because of the cost to produce. >> dr. king and others have, it's a little bit of a national embarrassment. >> we can all enjoy the day off, save some pennies on those sales

but call it what it is, washington's birthday. join us on air and online tomorrow on "the news hour." that's it for this edition of "pbs news hour this weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching.

good morning and welcome to forum. i'm michael krasny. hello, i'm dave iverson. 20 years ago in the winter of 1993 michael krasny hosted his first forum program. he has been at it ever since conducting conversations with the authors and artists, leaders and innovators, scientists and scholars who shape life in the bay area, the nation, and the world. a conversation that's also a daily exchange with all of you. michael is also the author of three books, including "off mike: a memoir of talk radio and literary life." and since 1970 he has been a professor of english at san francisco state university. he has also been a visiting and