captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: the battle over gay rights intensified today. arizona's governor was pressured to veto a bill that would allow businesses to refuse service to homosexuals. while the u.s. attorney general questioned the legitimacy of states banning same-sex marriage. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. also ahead, battle lines harden in venezuela after days of protest and discontent, spreading throughout the country. plus, the fight over a tried and true military aircraft. now on the chopping block, thanks to budget cuts. >> what's at stake is the lives of a lot of troops. troops in the field, we owe them the ability to pull them out of trouble.

>> ifill: 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: >> at bae systems, our pride and dedication show in everything we do; from electronics systems to intelligence analysis and cyber- operations; from combat vehicles and weapons to the maintenance and modernization of ships, aircraft, and critical infrastructure. knowing our work makes a difference inspires us everyday. that's bae systems. that's inspired work. >> i've been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. the ones getting involved, staying engaged. they are not afraid to question the path they're on. because the one question they never want to ask is, "how did i

end up here?" i started schwab with those people. people who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> 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. >> woodruff: a political firestorm in one state, a major court fight in another and strong words from the nation's chief law enforcement officer. it all served today to highlight the shifting political and legal

landscape on gay rights. >> woodruff: the shift was evident this morning as u.s. attorney general eric holder told his state counterparts they are not obliged to defend bans on gay marriage. >> any decisions at any level not to defend individual laws must be exceedingly rare. but in general, i believe that we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation. and we must endeavor in all of our efforts to uphold and advance the values that once led our forebears to declare unequivocally that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity. >> woodruff: so far, 17 states and the district of columbia have legalized same-sex unions. and a trial opened in detroit today on a challenge to michigan's ban on gay marriage. meanwhile, arizona lawmakers have triggered a storm by passing senate bill 1062,

allowing business owners to deny service to gays, on religious grounds. for instance, wedding photographers could refuse to work at a same-sex wedding if it goes against their faith. supporters insist it's not about being anti-gay, but pro- religious freedom. >> i think there's a lot of spotlight on it being an issue of gay and christian. and that's not the case. it's really a case of defending all people. this isn't an issue of discrimination. it's an issue of having people's values respected. >> woodruff: but the bill has sparked protests in phoenix and elsewhere by gay rights advocates who say it's discrimination pure and simple. business groups warn the furor is taking a toll on tourism. ben bethel says he's getting cancellations at his hotel and spa in phoenix. >> it's causing a lot of damage to arizona already.

because anything arizona does that is bad for arizona only strengthens other cities. >> woodruff: as the pressure builds, three republican state senators who voted for the bill last week, have changed their minds. one of them, bob worsley, told the associated press: i was not comfortable with the vote. i feel very bad, and it was a mistake. had the three republicans voted no last week, the measure wouldn't have passed. in tweets arizona's u.s. senators, john mccain and jeff flake, have criticized the vote, and called for governor jan brewer to veto the bill. she has until saturday to act. if she signs the bill, arizona would become the first state to have such a law. >> woodruff: in uganda today, a tabloid newspaper printed a list of what it called the country's top 200 homosexuals. it came a day after the president signed a harsh, anti- gay law. at newstands around the capital of kampala people stopped to

read the story and look at photos of some of those named. the list included gay rights activists who said they now fear for their safety. >> two boys walking together, we don't even know if they were a couple, but just two men walking together being attacked and one killed this morning is, makes me think more about my own security. how am i going to be able to keep speaking out? >> woodruff: uganda's president has rejected international condemnation of the new law, and accused the west of promoting homosexuality in africa. >> woodruff: in nigeria, islamist extremists staged a bloody new assault today, murdering at least 58 students at a government school. the militants set a locked dormitory ablaze, shooting and stabbing all who tried to escape. others were burned alive. we'll take a closer look at the

worsening situation in nigeria later in the program. >> woodruff: lawmakers in ukraine have put off forming a new government until thursday, amid ongoing political tensions. they also voted today to send ousted president viktor yanukovych to the international criminal court, if he's ever caught. meanwhile, his temporary successor voiced concerns about signs of separatism in the mainly-russian speaking republic of crimea. james mates of independent television news is in crimea with this report. >> reporter: if ukraine's new leaders are worried about their country splitting in two nowhere is that danger greater than in its southernmost territory, the crimea. the flags you see at demonstrations here are russian. the demands, stop maidan. stop what is happening in kiev. "russia, russia" they shout and demand a referendum on rejoining what they call the motherland. >> crimea and russia is one,

it's one nation. >> reporter: are you russian or ukrainian? >> my passport is ukrainian but i am russian. it is in this atmosphere that the new acting president of ukraine told parliament today he was heading to a security council meeting to address the potential splintering of his country. the crimean city of sevastapool will have been top of his list of concerns. this man is the new mayor here. not elected but imposed by a crowd of 15,000 two days ago. his supporters now gather here every day, their message if kiev can overthrow a president we can overthrow a man. in this town there is no question of russia moving in. the russians are already here. their black sea fleet is based in sevastapool. it is widely believed that deposed president yanukovych is hiding somewhere in this space right now.

there is no clear indication of just how well established the russians are in crimea than this the headquarters and command of the russian black sea fleet, right in the middle of sevastapool. russian officers and men coming and going as if it was their own territory. neither they nor the occasional armored vehicle are the making of a russian takeover and moscow insisted today it won't interfere. but the skyline here is dominated by lenin and the dome of a russian orthodox cathedral. its loyalties are not to ukraine and the leaders in kiev know it. >> woodruff: russia conquered crimea in the 18th century, but in 1954, soviet leader nikita khrushchev transferred the region to ukraine. since the soviet breakup in 1991, crimea has been part of an independent ukraine. >> woodruff: the prime minister of turkey is accusing his political rivals of launching a quote, "treacherous attack" on him, as he becomes the center of

a corruption scandal. audio recordings released overnight appeared to show recep tayyip erdogan telling his son to get rid of large sums of cash before police raids. today, erdogan told parliament the recordings are fabricated: >> ( translated ): there aren't any allegations that i cannot answer. but neither members of ak party nor i will be lured by their traps to change the agenda and we will not surrender to this game. if we surrender to them and deal with their shameless montage and shameless traps, we cannot find time to serve our people. >> woodruff: opposition parties insisted the recordings are genuine, and they demanded erdogan resign. a thick veil of smog blanketed china's capital for a sixth straight day. the world health organization called it a crisis, as people wore masks to try to keep from breathing in the polluted air. chinese president xi jinping braved the smog, as seen in this mobile phone video. he took a rare, unannounced walk

in a beijing alley-way, greeting residents. japan may re-start some of the nuclear reactors that were shut down after the fukushima disaster, almost three years ago. a draft energy policy, presented to the cabinet, made that recommendation today. the reactors would have to meet new standards set after a tsunami severely damaged the fukushima plant in march of 2011. all of japan's 48 commercial reactors have been off-line since then. one of the world's top exchanges for the digital currency bitcoin has gone off-line amid reports of catastrophic losses. the website for m.t. gox was blank today, and leaked documents showed losses roughly equal to $350 million. bitcoin trader kolin burgess, of britain, protested outside the exchange's headquarters in tokyo. >> i am both annoyed and

worried. it seems that i have lost all of my money and i'm annoyed that the company has been stringing people along for so long, claiming everything has been okay. luckily, most people didn't believe them. >> woodruff: leading proponents of bitcoin argued the collapse of m.t. gox is an isolated case of mismanagement. combat jobs will soon open to women in the u.s. army, but only a few say they want those positions. the associated press reports that finding comes from an army survey of some 30,000 women in the ranks. only 7.5% responded they want a combat job. the military faces a january 2016 deadline to open infantry, armor, artillery and combat engineer slots to women. there was hopeful news today on childhood obesity in the u.s., from the centers for disease control and prevention. it reported the problem among

pre-schoolers has fallen more than 40% in the past decade. health officials regard obesity as a national epidemic. young children who are substantially overweight are five times more likely to be heavy as adults. in economic news, home prices fell in december, for the second straight month. the dip in the standard-and- poor's case-shiller index partly reflects the effects of winter storms. and on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average lost 27 points to close at 16,179. the nasdaq fell five points to close at 4287. and the s-and-p 500 was down two points to finish at 1,845. still to come on the "newshour: political turmoil in venezuela; a fight over grounding a battle-tested u.s. war plane; islamist militants go on a killing spree in nigeria; plus, a bipartisan effort to get undocumented youth a college education.

>> ifill: now, to the escalating tensions in the key oil state of venezuela. street protests against the socialist government show no sign of ending, and already- frayed relations between washington and caracas are growing even more strained. >> ifill: the latest diplomatic jab came today from state department spokeswoman jen psaki. >> in accordance with article nine of the vienna convention on diplomatic relations, the state department has declared three officials from the venezuelan embassy in washington, d.c., persona non-gratae. >> ifill: that was the u.s. response to venezuelan president nicolas maduro's decision to expel three american diplomats last week. he accused the u.s. of conspiring with the venezuelan opposition to overthrow him. on the streets, though, it's gone far beyond a war of words.

protesters have barricaded major streets in caracas and other cities. and yesterday, one person was killed in a clash with police, raising the toll to 15 dead and 150 wounded in the last two weeks. at the same time, thousands of government supporters mounted motorcycles in the capital in a show of solidarity with maduro. the president himself has sent mixed messages to washington, lashing out last week, yet offering an olive branch this week. >> ( translated ): i have decided to name an ambassador to the united states to see what happens. i want to have a dialogue with the united states because i want peace, respect, a relationship as equals with the united states and i invite the opposition to accompany me in that. >> ifill: conspicuously absent from the leadership meeting in caracas was venezuela's most prominent opposition leader, two-time presidential candidate governor enrique capriles. >> ( translated ): i am not

going to a meeting with the federal council to help him save face. i'm not going to be like the orchestra on the titanic. i am not the musician, the boat is sinking, and i am the one who is playing the music? no sir, nicolas, you are not going to use me. >> ifill: another prominent opposition leader, leopoldo lopez, remains jailed, after surrendering to face charges of instigating violence. from prison he passed his wife this hand-written letter, which was circulated on twitter. in it, lopez told his supporters: "i'm fine. i ask you not to give up, i won't." meanwhile, maduro has called for another national summit tomorrow. to get a closer read on what's happening on the ground, i spoke to girish gupta, venezuela correspondent for the reuters news agency a short time ago. girish, thank you for joining us. why are we getting such mixed messages from nicolas maduro about his relationship with the u.s. >> we are getting mixed messages

as you say from maduro about his relationship with the states. now he has lost -- u.s. diplomats this week. we saw today washington internal at this time for at -- tat butt the same time maduro is saying he wants some dialogue with the u.s. he's also saying he wants to appoint an ambassador to washington. now this move, this idea of taking and blaming the u.s. when times get tough is not new. you might remember in 2006 when hugo chavez took the stand at the united nations he called george bush the devil -- just a few hours beforehand, nicolas maduro kicks out a couple from the story. in september again he kicked out some diplomats in the u.s. when you look at the relationship that the u.s. has with venezuela, it's better to look at the oil and the money that's changing hands as opposed

to necessarily the rhetoric and the politics. the u.s. remains one the biggest part of venezuelan oil for the united states and that really says it all. >> ifill: that's talk about what's happening internally. who are the protesters on the streets, first of all. >> what we're seeing right now is huge protests across the country. we're seeing it in caracas is saying lots of every night for the last couple week we've seen stones and petro bombs and occasionally rubber bullets. this is going on every night in caracas. it's mainly a wealthy area of town. getting this across the country, that's more important, that's the more organic part of this process. it began in a western administrate known as being quite feisty for want of a

better word. now that's more violence and even more passion than it is in caracas. what we're seeing is this protest is much more organic than we've necessarily seen before. protesters tell me, i asked them, who do you support. do you support the official leader or leopoldo perhaps who is now in jail as you might know. they told me they don't care. they don't care about the opposition leadership. they just want a change. they want an end a to the problems this country faces, the inflation 6.3% inflation over the last year. they're crying. there are deaths every single day in this country this year. that's two and-a-half times than last year with the same population. they are primarily shooting and nowrch's jumping in on this. there are a lot of people, business leaders, business people, the middle classes who are now happy with the status quo. >> ifill: are these protests beginning to die out or are they pretty much continuing every

single day. >> they do seem to be continuing. that's surprised i think myself and most of the people here are expecting a week ago for things to die down. every morning we see barricades all over caracas with trash on fire in the streets and blocking the roads. and this seems to be continuing. i asked people why and how long it can go on for. keep going, why not they've got nothing to lose they say. if that's true or not i don't know because there are people who need to work and keep earning money, need to go to school. so we're going to have to see. it's surprisingly how long it has lasted and just how wide spread it is here. we'll see how it goes the next few weeks. >> ifill: is maduro himself, allied with chavez, at the now in danger because of these protests or is he still from them. >> that's a big question. now the protesters, they don't necessarily have a leadership but they do want to get rid of maduro at the end of the day. they know he's not going to

change his policy necessarily. is maduro in danger, it's very difficult to say. now he's not hugo chavez. you got to remember that hugo chavez, with the problems there were in this country, he sort of held things together. he had this amazing charisma which maduro doesn't have. he needs to impress his own party which is sometimes he's making more radical rule and rhetoric. there are two ways it can go. can either get more extreme and the process can continue or there could be some between maduro and capriles. they did try to speak this week however that got put on the back burner because of the language they've been using towards each other. maduro called capriles a fascist nazi. capriles said yesterday that maduro is committing genocide. that's very strong language and i can't see those sitting at a table to discuss. >> ifill: girish gupta news

agency in venezuela. thank you so much. >> ifill: as defense secretary chuck hagel announced yesterday, the pentagon is grappling with what to keep and what to cut in a time of tight budgets and national security challenges. at the air force, leaders have set their sights on grounding a plane that's been a reliable standby for decades. but it's defenders won't give up without a fight. defense producer dan sagalyn, has been tracking the debate. kwame holman narrates this report. >> reporter: a typical day at martin state airport on maryland's eastern shore includes chemical weapons training with the a-10 warthog. the national guard base is one of the homes of an aircraft beloved by ground forces who see it as their guardian in the sky. its pilots view infantry on the ground as their primary customer, and responsibility.

most combat aircraft shoot down other planes or drop bombs or both. but the warthog was designed specifically to come in low and attack enemy forces in a mission called close air support. >> north or south, west of the smoke, west of the smoke. okay copy, west of the smoke i'm looking at danger close now. >> reporter: often times the enemy is within yards of friendly forces. this video captures the exchange between a warthog pilot and a ground controller calling in a strike on taliban forces in 2006 in southern afghanistan. >> roger, keep your fire west of the smoke. okay copy that. >> reporter: major chris cisneros trains warthog pilots in the air force's hundred and fourth fighter squadron. >> close air support is kind of a pick-up game if you will, if a friendly convoy is out, a particular mission, and they come under fire unexpectedly, and sometimes the enemy is

within 100 meters or even closer than that. >> reporter: the air force has about 350 warthogs. flying below cloud cover, its pilots can see with their own eyes what they're attacking. it can loiter over the battlefield, the cockpit protected by a titanium shell and bullet proof glass making it survivable even when hit by small arms fire. it's most lethal weapon is a 30- millimeter gattling gun that fires almost 4,000 rounds per minute. but top pentagon officials now say the warthog's days are over. they want to eliminate the entire fleet and save three and a half billion dollars over five years. defense secretary chuck hagel told reporters yesterday that money could be better spent on newer, more capable and survivable aircraft. >> the a-10 is a 40-year-old single-purpose airplane originally designed to kill enemy tanks on a cold war battlefield. it cannot survive or operate effectively where there are more advanced aircraft or air

defenses. >> reporter: retired general norton schwartz agrees with the defense secretary. he closed down some warthog units when he was air force chief of staff from 2008 to 2012. he acknowledges the a-10 is beloved but says the air force has other planes that can protect troops on the ground just as well, those include the f-16, f-15e, the b-1 bomber and ac-130. and schwartz says the u.s. military's newest war plane, the multi-mission and long-delayed f-35 joint strike fighter also can handle close air support. the f-35 is designed to replace most of the u.s. strike aircraft fleet. >> what you want to do is to have platforms that can perform the mission, that mission and as many other as might be required in the future. but service personnel up and down the ranks told the newshour the a-10 is unique. >> i've sort of found a soul mate, so to speak, in the a10. >> reporter: marine corps major

daniel o'hara who led a platoon in afghanistan says the warthog scared the taliban. >> the psychological effect it has on the enemy i think is pretty clear, and i also think it has an equally positive psychological effect on friendly forces. you see that aircraft come on station, you know what it's capable of, you know that the enemy on the other side probably doesn't want to mess with you while that's in the air. >> we are outraged at the air forces latest attempt to kill the a-10. >> reporter: pierre sprey helped design the warthog in the late 1960s and '70s. he says it was built to do more than destroy soviet tanks and that it's uniquely tough airframe made it more survivable and capable than alternative aircraft. he says those newer planes cost much more to fly. he and other a-1o supporters mobilized to save the plane at a recent conference in washington

d.c. >> you are going to buy extremely expensive aircraft that cause you a much worse financial problem and you are canning the cheapest airplane you operate, and saving a trivial amount of money. >> reporter: general schwartz says improvements in cockpit cameras, radars, electronics and precision munitions mean the planes that would replace the a- 10 are much better at protecting ground forces even from far above. >> increasingly the technology has allowed us to enjoy the same protections for friendlies through other means. >> reporter: but a-10 advocates say technology has limits. >> technology is good but the problem with using that technology, especially the optical stuff, is that it's like looking through a soda straw. so imagine you hold a straw up to your eye, and that's how you have to view the whole battlefield. >> reporter: retired lt. col. bill smith flew warthogs over an 18 year career including combat

missions in afghanistan. he also participated in the save the a-10 event. >> with looking with your eyeballs, i can turn my head around and i can see much more of the battlefield than i can with slewing that pod around. and i can see the bigger picture. i'm able to maybe catch some movement out of the corner of my eye and look down and go oh, there's a little bit of dust over there. >> reporter: a-10 advocates are getting support on capitol hill. senator kelly ayotte, a new hampshire republican wants to hold off on dumping the a-10 until the new joint strike fighter proves it can do close air support. ayotte, whose husband is a former a-10 pilot, says the air force should find other places to save money. >> the air force spent a billion dollars on an i.t. system, that they're not going to get anything out of and they just cancelled in 2012, so i think we should take a step back for a minute and make sure that there aren't any more of those billion

dollar systems out there. >> reporter: but general schwartz says the days of such wasteful spending by the pentagon are over and that today's shrinking military budgets mean programs like the a-10 are a luxury. >> the dilemma is what else in the air force do we stop doing in order to keep the a-10? so what childcare center do we not keep open? what base do we compromise security? >> reporter: pierre sprey says the air force has mounted a campaign to retire the a-10 by making political and spending deals across the country. >> they have reached out to state governors, state adjutant generals of the national guard, to basically to bribe them to not complaining about losing their a-10s. they have done this in every state that has an a-10 base, promising them something, an f- 16 squadron, a kc-46 tanker squadron, whatever the pay off is state by state. and sadly its working. >> reporter: staff to several members of congress, who would speak only on background, told the newshour the air force had promised to station new aircraft

in their member's state to replace the a-10s. they said as a result their lawmakers weren't complaining about the a-10s retirement. general schwartz said he doubts the air force is bartering like that. but if they are: >> the effort that secretary donnelly and i made ran into some headwind and that's the decision of the current serving leadership is that they want to choose to reduce some of that headwind after that painful experience, i offer no objection. >> reporter: whether congress goes along with the air forces plans to retire the warthog remains to be determined. pierre sprey says ground forces need the protection the a-10 provides. >> what is at stake is the lives of a lot of troops. troops, in the field, we owe them the ability to pull them out of trouble. and that takes the kind of airplane im talking about. general schwartz says that wont change, even without the a-10. >> our airmen, when they hear this call troops in contact need help now, you should have

no doubt that air force airmen are going to speed to that point and take care of business. >> reporter: back at martin state airport, pilots and ground crew continue train on and maintain the a-10, the question is, for how long. >> ifill: we have more with "warthog" designer pierre sprey, who knows the plane inside and out. that's on our homepage. >> woodruff: we turn now to nigeria, where almost sixty teenage boys were brutally killed early this morning. it's believed to be the latest in a string of attacks by a re- emerging extremist group. >> woodruff: islamist militants from boko haram have attacked northeastern nigeria with a vengeance this month, murdering more than 300 people. they reportedly struck again

before dawn today at a boarding school in yobe state, in a town near the capital city. gunmen torched a boys' dormitory, burning many alive, and cutting the throats of any who tried to escape. that came one day after nigeria's president, goodluck jonathan, rejected one regional governor's criticism of efforts to fight the militants. >> reporter: jonathan declared a state of emergency last may, and the military flushed the insurgents from cities, only to see them regroup in forests and caves. boko haram's fight for an islamic state in northern nigeria has terrorized the country for four and a half years, leaving thousands dead and forcing thousands more to leave for their own safety.

the violence now threatens the stability of africa's largest oil-producing state. the u.s. is trying to help. in october, american special forces held a two-week training session with the nigerian military. >> woodruff: to tell us more about boko haram and what their recent attacks mean for nigeria and the region, i'm joined by peter pham, director of the africa program at the atlantic council. welcome to the program. tell us more about who and what boko haram is. >> boko haram started well over a decade ago, eccentric -- >> woodruff: meaning. >> islam and local beliefs. a couple hundred followers. in 2009, the nigerian government moved against them, killed most of them including an extra judicial killing of the leader of the group and thought it ended this group. instead what happened was the

surviving several dozen align themselves closely with al-qaeda-linked militants in islamic -- as well as -- in somalia got training came back in 2011 as sort of boko haram version 20.0, more deadly, introducing for the first time vehicle bombs, suicide bombings into nigeria, attacking u.n. headquarters. and somali intervention. they came back to nigeria what i call 3.0 with more fighters and vert length etiology. >> woodruff: what is the etiology, what's the mission. >> to overturn the nigerian state with some sort that goes beyond shi'a law which is more than nigerian states now impose. >> woodruff: why do you say fantasy. >> it's not rooted in any

history. it's certainly not supported by the vast majority of nigerian muslims. these are people whose very name, the name boko haram means literally book lording western education is sacrireligious. they reject it which is why there are all these attacks on schools and young people who want to learn some skills. this is an agricultural college that was attacked today they attacked for two reasons. both to show the government is incapable of protect citizens and secondly to attack even the rudiments of western modern science. >> woodruff: this brutality you described is typical for how they separate. >> increasingly so. it didn't start out that way but they are increasingly acting this way. regretly the my -- the my junir response is very brutal in its own and there are human rights concerns been raised by human rights groups as well as our department of state. >> woodruff: what about security. what kind of efforts are under way to protect against the attacks. and where are they operating

inside nigeria. >> they're operating primarily in the northern part of the country and specifically in the north eastern part along the borders with -- and cameroon. the refuge go across the borders. nigeria has thrown its military against them but to fight this group, it's a counterinsurgency. they need to secure people. they need to provide security for ordinary nigerians, win hearts and minds. right now they are only pursuing a military strategy. >> woodruff: what about the population of the country. what's their view. are they completely against what they're doing, do they have sympathy among the people. >> well, the people in the north part of nigeria which is the audience that we're addressing are certainly marginal economically and politically. they have some legitimate grieves but not represented by this extremist group. a hand fist of government

response relying only on brute force that this places more people doesn't win the government any applause or any support either. so many ways the poor people of nigeria are caught between these extremists that don't represent them and a government that's not responding to their needs for security in a holistic fashion. so they're really in a difficult place. >> woodruff: i think we reported, i know i saw a report that said that security forces at this particular school where the attack took place yesterday were believed to have left before the attack happened. i mean, is this a matter how far there's some sort of inside information being passed around. >> there's some allegations. in fact, nigeria's president goodluck jonathan has accused even members of parliament of including with boko haram. he's facing election and there are allegations of his politicizing a fight against this group or people using this

group to make them look week. that enters the picture. it's a complicated picture. it requires a great deal of nuance and a broad-based strategy that so far i don't see any evidence of. >> woodruff: we also reported a moment ago that u.s. special forces training. does that training have anything to do with the boko haram problem. >> well i think it helps with the nigerians. the nigerians have been responding to this largely as a hard military, a conventional going in with tanks, armored personnel vehicles. and some of the lessons u.s. forces know of afghanistan and iraq that you have to secure the population, work with local leaders. i imagine what they're trying to impart. whether it takes, that's a whole other story. at least they're trying to pass on the best practices or to the nigerians and hopefully they pick up on that. >> woodruff: the question one has, we know nigeria is not the poorest country. they have revenues from oil. why aren't they able to put

together a better security force or approach. >> it's certainly not for lack of resources as you point out, but just a week ago, nigeria's well respected central bank governor was suspended by the president because he had the audacity to point out there are at least $20 billion in oil revenues that had gone missing in the last few years. and so for his trouble, he was suspended from his job. so there's certainly corruption. there's a lack of political will and those are the key elements that need to be brought up. it's not a military answer. >> woodruff: so finally, peter pham, how much is the population, how much should they be fearing what boko haram does in the weeks and months to come. >> well, unfortunately with the politicized climate the lead up to election, one expects both more military action on the part of the government and increased active thity on the part of boko haram to make the government look weak. so the people are caught in

between that. unfortunately it's going to be a difficult time for the people of nigeria for the next few months. >> woodruff: tough. peter pham, the atlanta council, we thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we have more on the extremist group boko haram, who they are and what they believe. read a council of foreign relations backgrounder, on our homepage. >> woodruff: now to the domestic front, and a bipartisan effort to help undocumented young people attend college. jeffrey brown has our conversation. >> brown: every year some 65,000 students who entered the country illegally as children graduate from u.s. high schools. while 17 states now allow these students known as dreamers to pay in state tuition at public higher education institutions, they are not eligible for federal financial aid like pel grants or low interest

government loans. now with the prospect for immigration reform stalled if not dead on capitol hill the private sector to help these students is under way. by washington post owner documented graham and our two guesses, carlos gutierrez, he now chairdz the political action groups republicans for imconversation reform. and henry munoz who serves as -- what is the idea behind this. what is the problem you're addressing. >> well it's as you said, kids who came to this country, no fault of their own undocumented and they find out very often when they graduate high school that they can't keep going. that they're not in the country legally. so that's it. their career has stalled so what we're doing is providing them the opportunity to keep studying

as they want to do through these scholarships. >> brown: how is it supposed to work. is it relatively limited in scope in terms of numbers you're going to reach and the colleges that are participating. >> well it started out of a conversation a year ago really with the dreamer community. in many ways it's a scholarship initiative that was designed by dreamers for dreamers. we began by focusing on communities, the community of washington d.c., of miami, colleges in texas for example to try to get at community base response to the fact that these young people don't have access to programs. so in many ways, it's a modest yet national type of program to begin to provide private programs for dreamersbrown. >> immigration reform is very political and partisan. you sit here as a democrat. is there a larger message that that conveys as well. >> it's the way the country

should be thinking about it and the way congress should be thinking about it. the divide between the two parties today is just absolutely wider than i have ever seen it. >> brown: do you feel on immigration in particular. >> i think on a lot of things. i think the extremes are dominating. immigration reform is good for our economy, it's good for our society. we can't grow without immigration. we just have to face up to that. even the senate bill recognizes that. there are 110,000 agricultural workers. our country needs a million. so we need to embrace the fact that we have to have immigration in order to grow. we all want to grow our economy. >> brown: are you getting much push back for this effort, criticism from fellow republicans. >> i haven't heard of it. the people with whom i speak, business people are terribly frustrated that members of congress, members of the house

don't get it. they don't get that this is an economic issue that we should be embracing this and that we should be a party of immigration as a party of growth and prosperity. >> brown: of course henry munoz nothing seems to be happening politically. is this effort kind of substitute or where do you see the politics of it. >> it's a recognition that even without a piece of legislation to address, immigration reform. can have an impact on people's lives. people forget the dreamers are our neighbors. they're the people we pass when we're walking down the street. there's half a million young people who have filed for documents are capable of activating these scholarships. the more you invest in an individual the more you reinforce the value of the american dream. the more power that you give to people. hopefully will have an impact on the conversation happening in congress. >> brown: where is the money coming from. i see there are foundations, from yourselves and individuals.

>> foundation money, individuals. henry was talking a little while ago about a grassroots effort to allow people to contribute $5, $10. we want to show there are a lot of people in the country who are in favor of this. what worries me is how history will judge us depending on how we treat these kids. and it will be a real shame to just cut off their progress. >> brown: this is personal for both of you, right. is that right. >> yes. it's personal but this also, there's policy here. i'm an immigrant myself and i've worked in mexico. i've worked throughout latin america. i know how hard these people work. i know how hard they are working. i know how much they dream. i know how much they want to achieve something. but i step back as a u.s. citizen and i realize that this is good policy for our country. and for our economy. >> brown: not everyone agrees still, right. >> i come from phoenix -- texas

and i see it every day. every place i travel in the country i see dreamers and i understand the value of the american dream. in many ways, this is a process, a movement of people to educate our country about the economic benefits and the undeniable fact that the demographics in this country are shifting. and we really need to make sure that the future of our economy is solidified and one of the ways to do that is to make sure we have people who are educated and can be a part of that economic future. >> brown: what's the goal or hope immediately. how many people do you think you can reach. >> interesting, the dream dot u.s. was established around a decade of opportunity. educating at least 2000 dreamers over ten years that's got the support from everyone from bloomberg, philanthropies to the gates foundation and as carlos mentioned, many people who are only capable of giving $5 and $10 by going on-line to the dream dot u.s. >> brown: i want to ask you

lastly because there is so much talk and concern about the role of money in politics these days. and the role of wealthy people and foundations putting money into particular causes. this is a cause. you're men of means and you're returning to others. what do you say to people who would be willing in some ways you're buying your way into what is a very political cause. >> well you know, this is not a super pac designed to elect than official. this is a private effort designed to help kids who need help. and i think it's a very noble cause. talking about the personal side, when i came to this country, i felt like people welcomed me. these kids don't feel welcomed and that's not good for our society. it's not good for them. we should be saying come on in and be successful. >> brown: what's your response. >> my father used to tell me no

peso, no say-so. what better place to invest your money than in the future of our country and specifically with this very highly motivated generation of young people who want access to the american dream. and i think it's time that the latino community step up and involve itself around efforts like this. i feel good about it. >> all right. henry munoz, carlos gutierrez, thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: finally tonight, the secrets of the vatican, and the recent scandals that have rocked the papacy. that's the subject of tonight's episode of "frontline." it explores, among other things, stories of victims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy. a leak of private papal documents to the press and allegations of a clandestine sexual sub-culture within the holy see. here's an excerpt, looking at the italian government's inquiry into financial practices at the

vatican bank. >> the vatican is a world on its own, an independent state. and this is the guarded frontier that separates it from italy. whose authorities have no powers here. >> the vatican is the last absolute monarchy in the world today. the pope when he's elected is answerable to no human power. he has absolute authority over the entire roman catholic church, director authority that reaches now to individual members. he is the supreme judge, the supreme legislature and director. >> he needed help and turned to cardinal. in charge of the vatican's

government. >> the vatican curia which is the administrative body of the worldwide church is a collection of small thiefdoms of individuals vying against one another. >> and it is the curia that runs the city state with its own lowell system, tv channel and radio station and newspaper. it even has its own bank the institute of religious works housed in a medieval tower. >> the bank of italy, the highest authority in our banking system has described the vatican bank as a falling bank on our soil. we see the big walls of the vatican as a national border. we cannot intervene the vatican. >> he's a powerful figure in italy. he prosecutes the most difficult

cases, the mafia, corrupt politicians and most recently the vatican bank, which has a long and dark reputation for financial corruption. >> politicians, businessmen were using the vatican bank as an offshore, to hide their money or money launder if you will or not pay taxes. >> for years the italian authorities could do nothing. but one when tough banking regulations were imposed across europe in the wake of the financial crises, only the vatican bank resisted. so the italian finance police put the bank under close surveillance, using all the tools at their disposal. they monitored transactions in and out of the vatican bank. they made their first break through in the summer of 2010. >> in that case, it happened

that an italian bank received a request from the vatican bank to transfer 23 million euros. the bank of italy requested details for both payee and recipient in the transaction and the reason for the transfer. the vatican bank failed to provide adequate information so the bank of italy decided to freeze that money. the whole european banking community was up in arms. the account holders that included the iranian and iraqi embassies appears the money would be used for laundering. one bank after another refused to do business with the vatican bank until it cleaned up its act. >> woodruff: yesterday, pope francis announced the creation of a new oversight body to monitor the vatican's financial activities. frontline's "secrets of the vatican" airs tonight, at a special time of 9:00 p.m., on most p.b.s. stations. >> ifill: again, the major

developments of the day. attorney general eric holder told state attorneys general they're under no obligation to defend bans on gay marriage. ukraine's new leaders raised growing concern that eastern parts of the country, especially crimea, might split off and join russia. and islamist insurgents in nigeria slaughtered at least 59 students at a government school, in the latest of a series of brutal attacks. and late today, president said about four million people have now signed up for health insurance under the new health care law. the white house hopes to enroll seven million people by the end of march. >> woodruff: on the hewshour online right now, the nation's ailing honey bee population will be getting a much-needed boost from the u.s. department of agriculture. the agency will provide aid to farmers who rely on the insects to pollinate their fruits and vegetables. read that story on the rundown. and to get ready for sunday's oscar ceremony, we continue our look at the nominated

documentaries. today: you know their voices, but never heard of their names. they're the backup singers whose pitch-perfect vocals made an indelible mark on the hits. listen to jeff's conversation with "twenty feet from stardom" director morgan neville, on art beat. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, the latest from ukraine, as they hunt for their ousted president and form an interim government. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you on-line 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:

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report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. brought to you in part by -- >> the street.com. founded by jim cramer, the street.com is an independent source for stock market analysis. cramer's action alerts plus service is home to his multimillion dollar portfolio. you can learn more at the street.com/nbr. where do we stand? home depot and macy's say spring is the thing to look toward, but one survey on housing says the best of the recovery may be behind us. so is the economy in the winter doldrums or are there real problems ahead? grand canyon, a controversial bill in arizona has big business racheting up the pressure on the state's governor. and being nimble. in the second part of our health care