captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: authorities in washington state warned today the official death toll in that devastating mudslide will rise significantly in the coming days. tonight, we hear from a member of the national guard search and extraction team. good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. also ahead this thursday: >> wonderful to meet you. thank you so much. >> woodruff: president obama and pope francis met face-to-face for the first time. afterwards the president spoke of shared objectives while the vatican emphasized their differences. >> ifill: plus, innovative structures for disaster victims. that idea earned one architect

the world's premier prize in the field. >> notice more more for the public or even more somebody who-- by natural disasters. >> i can use my experience and knowledge more for the general public, or even for somebody who lost their houses by natural disaster. >> 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: >> 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 by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> 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: the number of deaths in the washington state mudslide will only get worse, according to officials at the scene. with at least two dozen bodies already counted, but at least 90 people still missing, jeffrey brown reports the recovery is far from over.

what you're going to see in the next 24 to 48 hours as the medical examiner office catches up with the difficult work that they do you're going to see these numbers increase substantially. >> fire chief travis warned this morning they're far from done finding all of the dead. but he insisted they're looking for survivors. we're going to exhaust all options. all these resources that we've had here since saturday, if we just find one more person that's alive, to me that's worth it >> brown: it's now six days since tons of mud buried the community of oso. the u.s. geological survey says two major slides hit about four minutes apart. no one has been found alive since saturday, when mac mcpherson was among those pulled from his shattered home. >> i was all balled up, but this one hand was free and i had a stick, so i just kept digging and digging with the stick, and

i saw a little bit of light. and i shove that sucker up there and started waving it back and forth. >> brown: rescuers saved mcpherson, but his wife, linda, was killed. others waited longer to learn the fate of loved ones. summer raffo's brothers found her body yesterday still in her car. meanwhile, as families confront their losses, the search teams face more long, slow days of digging. >> it is so wet and mucky it's like a swamp. if we were trying to put big machinery out there, we'd lose it. it would disappear in the muck. >> brown: and with more rain forecast in the coming days, the job isn't likely to get any easier. >> woodruff: jeff will talk with a top national guard official involved in the search, right after this news summary. the white house is touting a win in its campaign to sign up americans under the new health care law. president obama made the announcement today as he traveled in italy.

he said more than six million people have enrolled through the federal web site and state exchanges. the deadline for signing up this year is just four days away, although extensions are being granted. two of the world's most powerful people-- the president and the pope-- came together today at the vatican, but they emerged with decidedly different takes. mr. obama said they talked mostly about poverty and inequality; the vatican said the emphasis was on objections to contraceptive coverage under the new health care law. we'll have a full report on the papal audience later in the program. the search for the lost malaysian airliner was cut short again because of bad weather over the southern indian ocean. australian authorities pulled back 11 planes while several others went out, but had to suspend operations after just a couple of hours. >> the weather was the biggest factor today t was definitely not ideal for.

ceilings are were anywhere from 600 feet down to the surface with visibility anywhere between five miles and 0. >> woodruff: meanwhile, japanese satellite images taken yesterday showed about ten objects that could be debris from the plane in roughly the area where the search is under way. other satellite images released by thailand showed about 300 objects floating 125 miles to the southwest. those pictures were taken on monday. in the philippines, the government signed a peace accord with the country's largest muslim rebel group, ending decades of conflict. officials sat down with leaders of the moro islamic liberation front in manila. the agreement they signed creates an autonomous muslim region in the south. ukraine drew new international support today. the u.n. general assembly condemned the referendum in crimea that led to its annexation by russia. and the international monetary

fund pledged $18 billion in loans to ukraine over the next two years. in kiev, acting prime minister arseniy yatsenyuk presented parliament with financial reforms that he said are hard but necessary. >> ukrainian government won't allow bankruptcy of the country. that's why we came to the parliament with this package of very unpopular, very difficult and very tough reforms. that should have been conducted not yesterday or the day before yesterday but 20 years ago. and we're offering this package to the parliament of ukraine. >> woodruff: back in this country, the house and senate easily passed legislation giving aid to ukraine and imposing sanctions on russia. the two bills differ somewhat and will have to be reconciled. the house also voted today for another temporary medicare another temporary medicare fix. without it, doctors faced a 24% cut to their payments under the program, starting monday. the house bill delays that another year. the senate is expected to

concur, but not before monday. the air force has fired nine mid-level commanders and will discipline dozens of junior officers in a cheating scandal at a nuclear missile base. it involved exams for missile launch officers at malmstrom air force base in montana. air force secretary deborah lee james suggested today the culture there encouraged cheating. >> i certainly felt that the testing an training environment was unhealthy. the drive to always soar 100% -- score 100% on exams when 90% was the standard, and the use of these scores in some cases as the sole differentiator on without got promoted and who didn't, just seemed inappropriate to me. >> woodruff: the air force announced plans to modernize three nuclear missile bases and upgrade training on "core values" and leadership. the secret service is also under new scrutiny over alleged misconduct. the issue resurfaced after an

agent turned up drunk at a dutch hotel before president obama's visit this week. today, the "washington post" reported two officers suspected of drinking had a car accident this month in miami during a presidential visit there. in economic news, a bill restoring jobless benefits for more than two million americans cleared a procedural hurdle in the senate. it's not expected to survive in the house. and wall street failed to gain any traction. the dow jones industrial average lost four points to close at 16,264; the nasdaq fell 22 points to close at 4,151; and the s&p 500 was down three, to finish at 1,849. there's word today that james schlesinger, who served republican and democratic presidents, has died. schlesinger was a blunt-spoken intellectual who became c.i.a. director and then defense secretary under president nixon. after nixon resigned, he stayed

at the pentagon under president ford until being fired in 1975. later, under president carter, he became the first secretary of energy. james schlesinger was 85 years old. still to come on the newshour: a firsthand account of the search for mudslide survivors and victims; the meeting between president obama and pope francis; new research into what might cause autism; the recruitment of foreign nurses; the debate in the states over stricter voter i.d. laws; plus, an award-winning architect's innovative structures for humanitarian relief. >> ifill: rescue and recovery crews on the ground in washington state are struggling against tough conditions and a forecast of more rain. the mudslide happened about 50 miles northeast of seattle in the small town of oso.

jeffrey brown has this update. the national guard joined the efforts earlier this week, master sergeant chris martin is a member of the search and extraction team, he joins us from arlington right near the site of the mudslide. thank you for joining us. what is the situation there today, has it gotten any easier to do the work? >> you know t seems like we've made a lot of progress from yesterday. we have two teams of 25 people working out in the site today. we're doing more of a systemic grid search through the area and things look like they're moving in the right direction. >> we've been hearing for days about the quicksand conditions of the site and the difficulties of the search. how are you coping with that? >> they are-- the conditions are very rough. if you can kind of imagine, mud, the consistency of concrete before it sets, lots of trees strewn about,

really it's slow going, painstaking. we just take our time to be safe and search through the debris field as carefully as we can to make sure that we don't miss anything. >> we know there's always hope of finding someone alive still. but given what you have seen up there, do you think it's possible? >> you know, i'm a man of faith. i believe in hope. and i believe in miracles. i always would like to think that there's always the chance that we might find somebody. >> i understand that more local volunteers were-- have been allowed on the site today. that's after officials were trying to keep them away. what can you tell us about that? >> i worked with quite a few local volunteers yesterday. they integrated with us well. they have more at stake in this than the rest of us. and they got in right next to us and were assisting moving out the debris. they were very helpful and we enjoyed working next to

them. >> this must be taking a toll on the rescue teams up there, the hard slog, sometimes the bad weather. and the slow pace. >> we work in shifts so we make sure that we don't burn ourselves out too quickly. we also have several chaplins onsite to talk with us as kind of a destress situation or debrief us after we come off of the site. so i think that we're doing very well as a whole. >> and i presume you have to take great care with every bit of ground that you are working with. >> absolutely. it's kind of like they took a blender to the landscape so you could find anything amongst the rub nell there. so we're very painstakingly searching through the area to find anything that might be of interest. >> have you yourself ever dealt with anything quite like this?

>> personally, i have not, no. this is a new experience for me. but i'm definitely glad to be able to help the community of oso. i'm from washington state. i'm helping my fellow washingtonians and that's what the national guard is all about. >> do you have any sense at this point about given the difficulties you're facing about how long this will go on s it days, weeks, even longer, perhaps? >> it is certainly going to take awhile. and the national guard will be there as long as the local-- they need us here to be. master sergeant chris martin of the national guard, thanks some of for joining us. >> thank you. >> ifill: president obama's meeting with the pope today focused international attention on two of the most well-known

leaders on the planet, what they share in common, and how they differ. the president's first-ever visit with pope francis began with pomp and ceremonial tradition as he proceeded through the vatican's apostolic palace. >> wonderful to meet you. >> ifill: their private meeting lasted nearly an hour, almost twice as long as expected. it came as francis enjoys tremendous popularity in the second year of his pontificate. going in, the president told the pope he's a great admirer. later, at a news conference with italy's prime minister, he underscored that sentiment. >> i was extremely moved by his insights about the importance of us all having a moral perspective on world problems and not simply thinking in terms of our own narrow self- interests. >> ifill: but the two sides offered strikingly different accounts of the papal audience.

mr. obama said they focused largely on areas where they have similar views. >> the largest bulk of the time was discussing two central concerns of his. one is the issues of the poor, the marginalized, those without opportunity, and growing inequality. and then, we spent a lot of time talking about the challenges of conflict and how elusive peace is around the world. >> ifill: by contrast, vatican officials emphasized differences with the president's policies. high atop that list is the affordable care act mandate that requires employers to include birth control coverage. another is abortion. president obama supports abortion rights, while the pope defends the roman catholic church's anti-abortion stance. a vatican statement said:

the president acknowledged addressing those subjects, but with the vatican's secretary of state and not the pope. >> we actually didn't talk a whole lot about social schisms in my conversations with his holiness. in fact, that really was not a topic of conversation. i think his holiness and the vatican have been clear about their position on a range of issues. some of them i differ with. >> ifill: whatever their differences, the two men were all smiles as they parted. the pope may travel to the u.s. in september of next year for a world gathering on families in philadelphia. for more on what the pope and the president talked about today, and what it means, we turn to a pair of scholars: stephen schneck is director of the institute for political research and catholic studies at catholic university of america;

and thomas reese is a jesuit priest and senior analyst for the "national catholic reporter." we heard the president say today i am an admirer to the pope. is it admiration mutual? >> i think it is. the visit was described as very cordial by the vatican. the video showed them interacting in a very positive and friendly way. i think this was a meeting where two people, you know, both of whom had walked the slums of their favorite cities. president obama as a community organizer in south chicago and the pope as the archbishop, both of them walking through their favorite city but the slums of their favorite city. i think they had a lot in common and a lot to share. >> yet, yet, we do pay attention to the gulf between the two men, how wide is it really, stephen schneck. >> i think probably the most important thing to realize is that at one level they both share kind of an

interesting vision. that is both gentlemen, i think, take the measure of civilization to be the quality of life for the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. and so that's something that they both share. but the differences are there too. one could argue that the pope say little bit to the left of the president on a number of issues like peace and economic policies and so forth. >> refugees. >> refugees, for example. but of course the social issues particularly abortion and, you know, the concern that the bishops of the united states have about the contraception pan date, these are items of important difference between the two. >> ifill: why do you two think that the public statements were so, seem to differ so much from each other. the vatican statement was kind of more hard edged than the president? >> well, the vatican's statement gave almost the equal number of words to international issues and to the domestic problems that the u.s. bishops have with the obama administration. but that done mean that that was the way the time was divided up. in point of fact, it looks

like the pope and the president really didn't talk about the affordable care act. that was left to the secretary of state. the vatican secretary of state. and my guess is they probably only spent about five minutes talking about that. the vatican really wants to focus on international issues. but at the same time they want to support the local bishops when they're in conflict with their government. so they brought us these issues at the request of the u.s. bishop. >> so the discussion about the contraception pan date to the degree, wherever it happened, was mostly a concession to the american bishops? >> i think it's quite clear that the vatican doesn't want to have any kind of a gap between what the vatican itself is saying and what the americans ops are saying. in other words, they don't want to undercut the american bishops in their concern about these things so i pretty much agree with father reese on these things. the sharper elbows were thrown downstairs at the staff level meetings. i think that the conversation between the president and the pope was warm and friendly. >> to the extent that these

two men have a lot in common and a lot different, i wonder how much that would come across. both of them were treated with great-- when they first rose to their level and certainly pope francis is still enjoying that. is that something that reflects positively on the president in a meeting like this? >> well, i think that both of them have inspired a lot of hope in people. certainly pope francis has gotten, you know, people loving him all over the world. his public opinion ratings are the envy of every politician in washington. and obama had that for a while and kind of lost it. so this is something that both of them have and are-- you know, have in common. >> but to the extent that the pope comes in for any criticisms at all, especially among catholics,

it's from conservative catholics who are maybe not embracing his message as much. and they are the same ones who perhaps are not embracing president obama. >> yeah, i think that's interesting. this is a good comment, correct analysis. the people who have the greatest problems with the pope right now in the catholic church are those people who are also having the strongest objections to president obama's policy here in the united states. >> when you talk about foreign policy and that is what the vatican wants to focus on, let's pick off some of it. in lebanon it's about persecution of christians. >> that and also the refugees. the pope is very concerned about all the refugees coming out of syria, and the need to care for them. i mean i think you know, speaker boehner has invited him to speak to congress. i think he would come to congress and say we want you to appropriate more aid to help these refugees. you know, they're hungry. they need shelter. and i think you would be very strong speaking for that kind of help from the

u.s. government to helping these people in lebanon and syria and turkey. he's also very concerned about christians. and they're being caught between all these fights that are happening in the middle east. >> what about the israeli-palestinians, the ongoing glackial discussion, negotiations, where is the pope in that. does it matter that the u.s. is at the table but it is moving very forward. >> the pope is vitting the holy land in may so this is something that is high on the vatican's agenda right now. the peace process. in all of its details. where exactly the vatican going to come down on that i think is anybody's guess at this point. clearly that interest is something that was part of the conversation between the president and the pope. >> so what does that say about the relationship between u.s. catholics and the hope and to the extent that the president represents that in a visit like this. we've seen presidents for decades go and do this very

thing, repeated visits, mostly agreeing and smiling for the cameras but -- >> well, i think american catholics like all americans would like to see the vatican and the pope and our government working together to help people, to work for peace. that's, you know, i think that's what people want to see happen in the middle east, in africa, all over the world. >> is it possible that we as americans sometimes take papal statements and we translate them in an american context in a way that was not intended? >> yes. >> give me an example. >> inevitically-- inevitably whatever papal statements are issued, find themselves, you know, caught up in the maelstrom of american politics. >> so for instance, if you heard him say who am i to judge about gays. >> exactly. that became part of discussion about same-sex marriage here in the united states. so inevitably those sorts of things do happen. >> in the end is it in the interest of both sides that

these are two sides, to paper over differences, legitimate policy differences that exist? >> well, you know, the vatican has dealt with governments for over a thousand years. and it knows how to chew gum and walk at the same time it you can disagree with people but you can also work with them. it's not like the u.s. congress. you know, the vatican wants to work with the united states. wants to work with obama. to work for peace, and for development and better economy and you know less inequality, all of these kinds of things. and there's no problem in doing that. >> i think actually i'm going to have a slight disagreement with father reese on this. i think that the vatican isn't interested in papering over some of the differences. some of these differences are matters of principles and its a not something that request be-- the smiles and cooperation, this s of course, something that has to be done am but the differences, those differences remain and they're important from the vatican's perspective.

>> ifill: stephen schneck from catholic university and thomas reese, thank you very much. >> delightful >> woodruff: let's turn to some new findings on autism, especially research showing brain changes happening in the womb. scientists compared the brain tissue of children who had autism and died with those who did not have autism. they found that kids with autism had disorganization in regions of their brain essential for social functioning, emotions and communication, a conclusion drawn from discovering disruptions in these sections of the brain. those gaps are shown here in purple. the news came as the government revised upward its estimate of the prevalence of the disorder to one out of every 68 children in the u.s. that's more than the previous autism estimate of one out of every 88 kids. eric courchesne is an author of today's research about the brain.

he's the director of the autism center of excellence at the university of california, san diego. eric courchesne what makes these findings important? >> it's especially important to try to understand what is causing autism in order to address this really high rate of one in 68 autistic individuals. the for years it's been really an effort to discover what starts it. we did the study t points to the second and third trimester. and little patches of cortico disorganized defects are present in frontal cortex and temp oral cortex, the areas of the brain that are most important for social, language and communication functions, those are the functions impaired in autism. the study that we dids with a very detailed one, exam being the fine structure of cells and layers in cortex

there are six layers in cortex. we found that layers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are very commonly disrupted those layers are typically formed between about 19 weeks of gestation and about 30 or 30 weeks of gestation. >> so that's what i was trying to understand. this is-- the cortex being an area that is on the outer side, the outer lining of the brain, if you will. and so what you found, how do you know though that these occurred early in pregnancy or relatively early? it's known from our from other studies that as the brain is developing from the second to the third trimester that the brain goes from displaying a single layer in cortex the cortex is the gray matter. so probably when your mother asks you to pay attention and to use your gray matter, she was talking about the cortex where brain cells are located. the cortex is only about 3 millimeters thick. it's pretty big sheath but

it has six layers. each layer has specific types of cells. each one of those cells does a specific type of information procession. we all have they all have to interact with each other. cortex is formed in the second trimester. initially there is a single layer and other layers and finally by the third trimester there are six layers. throughout that procession there are markers that indicate when those layers are forming, so there is a progression of development from not being defined to being fully defined where each cell type is defined by a genetic signature. we examined those genetic signatures. and what we discovered was that there were places within inn the cortex where those genetic signatures were absent suggesting that this progression from being undefined to being defined, those several layers and finally six layers, at some point failed to take place. >> woodruff: and what you can tell from this about what the cause or causes

might be? >> well there are a number of different possibilities. one study recently would suggest that there's a possibility genetic cause that could be accounting for what we identified. but then there's also the pont that there could be environmental or maternal intrauterine events that are not genetic that might be involved. so the next step in the sort of research is to identify what the triggers are that cause the failure of the normal progression of development of these six-- the normal development of these layers of brain-- of the cortex of the brain. >> woodruff: so you're not able at this point to farrow it down. you said either genetic or environmental, could be either one. >> or it could be a combination. >> woodruff: it could be that both are required. but it does narrow down to a very important point, which is that this evidence points to brain mall development in autism beginning in pregnancy, very likely in the second and third trimesters to a particular

important part of the brain, that's important for the kinds of symptoms that are seen in autism it narrows it down to a type of defect that is common across the children, the autistic children in our study. in fact, 91% of the children in our study displayed this defect. and that's very exciting and unexpected. because autism is a clinically heterogeneous disorder so many would have assumed that there would be lots of different types of defect, not one common type of defect so what we found is very interesting because it suggests there could be a common underlying biology that is there at the beginning. so a common time, a commonplace, a common underlying neuropathology that begins this disorder that will really help the search for the original triggers that cause autism. and it changes the direction of research from post natal to prenatal. >> woodruff: and so my question is what does it tell you about prevention if

anything? >> it tells us what studies to do to determine, what the triggers are, knowing what the triggers are, will then tell, reveal what prevention might be possible. it also gives clues as to what might be biomarkers for identifying autism at very young ages, perhaps as early as at the age of one to two years. so that kids can be identified at much younger ages, be referred for treatment at much younger ages and thereby have a better outcome. >> woodruff: well, there is-- it's fascinating research. and we appreciate your joining us, eric courchesne, thank you. >> well thank you, it was good to be here. >> ifill: we turn now to the business of finding and hiring foreign nurses for the american health care system. the demand is great but, for some, so are the risks. newshour special correspondent

fred de sam lazaro reports from the philippines. >> reporter: every few minutes at this manila nursing school, a mannequin is born. students are trained on a range of childbirth scenarios, simulated on robotic patients. but real life, whether in operating rooms or the job market these days will be far trickier. nursing has long been a highly sought-after profession in the philippines-mainly because it is seen as a ticket to a well-paid job outside the country >> my aunt abroad, she was the one who is sending me to college. she lives in hong kong. >> reporter: so, she encouraged you to become a nurse, why? >> because, according to her, being a nurse is a lot of salary. they earn so much money, so she >> reporter: if you were to work

overseas, what would be your first choice? >> anywhere in the united states, sir. >> reporter: she wants to follow a path that has brought tens of thousands of nurses from the philippines, india and elsewhere to the u.s. over recent decades. george washington university processor patricia pittman says they've filled critical, recurring nurse shortages. >> the last major shortage of u.s. nurses was between 2000 and 2008. at the peak of that shortage, we were recruiting about 20,000 nurses a year. >> reporter: the recession that hit in 2008 brought many part time and rered american nurses back into the job market. that left their filipino counterparts vying for fewer jobs and vulnerable to unscrupulous, even fraudulent recruiters. >> i was a nurse in the philippines and i was barely making it, i was making around $100 a month. >> reporter: five years ago, andrea santos was scouring the internet, looking to better her career prospects.

she began communicating online with a denver-based recruiter. he offered her a job, and the sponsorship she required to apply for a work visa. >> so, i was surprised and very thankful. >> reporter: single at the time, santos left her infant daughter behind with her family. she also borrowed $6,500 from a mortgage size sum in the philippines. them to pay her way to america, >> he actually told me, okay, he will give the money back to me, you know. so, that made me interested. >> reporter: what made you believe him? >> desperation. >> reporter: once in denver, her nightmare began to unfold. not only did her recruiter, a man named kizzy kalu, not refund her expenses, he took 40% of her salary. if she dared question him, santos says, kalu responded with threats and intimidation, since her visa depended on being

employed by him. >> it's more a psychological threat for me that if i don't do as he say, then i will face deportation. >> reporter: kalu began using santos' image on his web site as a "success story" to attract more recruits. >> i was able to see her on the internet, yes. i was like, i think if she can do it, maybe i can also do it. >> reporter: for newer recruits like penelope pilpa, kalu raised his price, with up-front fees of up to $10,000. he promised her a university teaching job. turns out the university didn't even exist. >> kizzy was always threatening us to, if you go out of this contract, we're going to deport you back to the philippines and >> reporter: eventually, the law caught up with kizzy kalu, himself an immigrant from nigeria. late last year, he was convicted of human trafficking and sentenced to 11 years in prison

>> you're age 20, 25, and you are in a foreign country. you are truly dependent on the individual that has recruited you here. and, not having a lot of knowledge, or have... having done legwork in what it entails to have a contract, then they are really so vulnerable. >> reporter: vicky navarro is with the philippine nurses association of america. >> these nurses are now here dependent on the agency to provide them with the work, to provide them with a place to live even. and... and so, and the visa issue, as well. they are real... literally held hostage because of the visa. >> reporter: visas tie nurses to their employers. historically, these were large hospitals and health care systems, but with growing government backlogs in processing visas, these providers began turning more and more to staffing agencies, like the one kalu pretended to run. >> because the recruitment takes a fairly long time-- several

years-- it's hard for them to predict what they'll need when visas come through. whereas a staffing agency in theory can move people around according to what the demand is. so, they have less risk. >> reporter: even when the recruiter isn't a trafficker, the deals still can work to the nurses' disadvantage. contracts often bind nurses to their agency for up to four years, with penalties reaching $60,000 if they quit earlier. many contracts have other daunting provisions. >> recruiters basically-- verbally and in the contract-- prevent the candidate from... from showing the contract to anyone else. there is a waiver in some contracts that they will not seek legal recourse. >> reporter: these provisions are never required of canadian or european nurses who come to work in the u.s. in recent years, some hospital groups, philippine and indian nursing associations and unions have drawn up a code of conduct to prohibit such practices, but only a few staffing agencies

have signed on. meanwhile, in the philippines, a large industry-- some 300 nursing schools that mainly target the american market-- is waiting for a pick up in hiring. how many of you plan to take the nclex board exam that would qualify you to work in the u.s? the life they dream of may well resemble what andrea santos now enjoys. as victims in a trafficking case, she and others who were scammed by kalu were allowed to find new employers and permanent residence in the u.s. she now works for a los angeles nursing care service, is reunited with daughter alyssa and married to an iraq war veteran. penelope pilpa also has a good job in a hospital. >> there's a lot of opportunities, but you just need to be very careful, especially with a contract, because anywhere in the world there's

always bogus... or there's always people who want to... to make money out of you. and they could be legal or they could be illegal. reporter: both legal and illegal could increase significantly, starting in about a year. an improving economy and aging population in the u.s. will increase the need for nurses as, quite possibly, will changes brought by the affordable care act. experts say the u.s. could begin to see pre-recession level shortages as early as 2018. >> woodruff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under- told stories project at saint mary's university in minnesota. >> ifill: next tonight, the simmering debate about who gets to vote. a federal judge in kansas last week ordered election officials to help kansas and arizona enforce laws requiring new voters to show proof of

citizenship. an appeal is expected. those who support it saying it will prevent voter fraud and those against saying it will disenfranchise mostly minority voters. hari sreenivasan has more. >> sreenivasan: if this all sounds familiar, that's because controversial voter identification laws have been popping up all over the country and were a big part of the 2012 presidential election. in all, a total of 34 states have passed laws calling for voters to show some form of i.d. at the polls. so, what about the specifics of this case and what such laws mean for voters and the voting process? we explore those questions with: kris kobach, the secretary of state in kansas, who has been called the architect of the citizenship requirement; and jenny rose flanagan, the director of voting and elections for common cause, and an opponent of the law. let me start with you, you sell bratted this ruling as something that will pave the way for more-- why is a rule like this requiring more proof of citizenship necessary?

well, it is i rule requiring proof of citizenship period. in most of the states in the union, you simply just fill out the registration card, check a box saying i'm a u.s. citizen, sign it and you're done. but four states including kansas and arizona have said no, proof of citizenship, documentary proof is necessary because so many aliens are on our voter roles. we have found them in our two states. and most often they're manipulated by someone who says hey, you can vote. and they're trying to generate votes for a particular local can the da, in some case. and they don't even know they're breaking the law. and now we have a safeguard to insurance that only u.s. citizens are on the polls and you have to remember that every time a non-citizen casts a vote in an election that is sfektively cancelling out the vote of a u.s. citizen. >> what about that idea? is isn't preventing voter fraud a noble goal? >> well, of course, no one would like to see non-citizens or anyone who is not eligible to vote in our elections. but let's be clear here.

there's such a disproportionate number. mr. kobach is talking about. we're talking about at least 10,000 or more eligible voters in kansas right now on a suspend list because of this law and upwards of 30,000 in arizona because of these laws. so you know, you make it sound simple and for those of us who have these i.d.s and documenteds it is not a problem. but we know at least 10% of americans done have the necessary documentation. and these laws are knocking people out of our dem soc sock-- democracy. >> kris kobach wa, about that notion that this is a way to disenfranchise more voters, people who are registered now who might not have had that proof of citizenship already aren't going to be able to cast a ballot. >> well, i want to correct one thing, nobody's rights have been suspended. the laws only go into effect pro pesively for newly registered voters, people already registered were grandfathered in. the 10,000 plus people she is referring to, nobody's

rights were suspended. those are people whose registration is incleat. our plaus are easy, you can fill out your registration card, send it f it will be partially done. you still have to provide proof of citizenship but we bent over backyard to make it easy so you can e-mail it in from home, even text it in one of our largest counties. and so you can take your time providing the proof of citizenship and 83% of the people who started the process since our law went into effect have already provided the proof of citizenship, again because it's sozz easy. and we have to remember, we're still many months away from the november 2014 election. so i expect as we get closer to the elections more much those people will say you know what i need to finish up my registration but nobody is being prevented from voting. they simply are taking their time as our law allows them to do. >> miss flanagan do we have any proof that this actually either discourages or prevents people from voting? >>. >> absolutely. i mean to me these laws send a message to voters. we don't want you if you don't have the documentary proof. and again we know that there

are thousands of americans who are eligible voters, who just don't have these documents. we give you a quick example from a project we know of in colorado, an i.d. project where they work with thousands of citizens who are trying to get i.d.s to participate in society. it's not that folks don't want the documentation, but sometimes they just don't have it. an example is an elder woman, this impacts women greatly, who was adopted and she wanted to get her i.d., found out that her birth certificate, she didn't have, and in trying to get t the names didn't match. and in order to get these documentation she had to enlist the help of pro bono legal support, it took over a year. so we're talking about a very costly process, very time intensive process. and so we know that there are many americans out there who aren't going to be able to meet these hurdles. and yes, the majority, 80% as secretary just said may be able to get this proof.

but essentially it's not that easy. and again the resulting impact are people not going to be able to participate in our democracy, that's just unamerican. >> mr. kobach, quickly, the department of just tils i think the last time they looked into it between 2000 and 2005, out of 197 million votes cast they only found 40 instances of cases where people were indicted for voter fraud, is this a big enough problem for the state of kansas or other states to be using taxpayer dollars to go through and say are you on the suspended list to offer more proof. >> absolutely it is. if you just look at indictments then are you only seeing a very small percentage of the picture. if you look at actual case of reported voter fraud where you have like a county clerk or some other corroborating individual who can say yeah, this is a credible report, it's much higher. look at the number of aliens in our voter roles, in kansas we presented to the federal court 20 examples where we knew they were aliens and they got on the voter roles, arizona presented about 200 case and that is just the telephone of the iceberg because there is no easy way to look and

determine without is a citizen and who is not. so it is a significant problem. and one response to the earlier point being made in kansas our law does allow someone who doesn't have any proof of citizenship which would usually be a birth certificate or passport t does allow someone still to prove their citizenship. just this past monday, we have a state board that allows people in that very rare situation to prevent-- present any affidavits or other evidence they have that indicates their citizenship it works very well it doesn't require a lawyer and it happens very quickly. usually takes about five, there is a notice period of five days and the board rules. and so it's working really well in kansas and equally well in arizona. >> mr. kobach stay with you for a secretary there was a recent university of chicago study that showed how minorities were actually asked for voter i.d. far more than white youth were i should say white young voters were. is there something that you can do to inoculate that reservation that this is another herdle that will disenfranchise specific groups of voters? >> our law does not allow

poll workers or anyone to not ask anyone. everyone come together poll, i think now you're talking about photo i.d.. everyone coming to the polls has to present photo i.d. and everyone registering to vote has to present proof of citizenship so there can be no discrimination. some of the argue that i have seen on the other side is they claim that maybe people of a certain race or ethnic group will be less likely to have proof of citizenship. but again we've seen no evidence of that. you know, most people regard their birth certificate as a pretty important document and in kansas we even took the extra step of providing free birth certificates for someone who lost theirs. we've really bent over backward to make sure inwho is a u.s. citizen can register. but we also made it hard to cheat. >> very briefly, you're planning to appeal? >> we are planning to appeal. because again, he makes it seem like this is very easy but we know the facts are we are talking to voters who are on the ground. it's not as easy. and this is really in contrast to what we're seeing around the rest of the nation where we are

making our voting more accessible rather than restrictive. >> thank you both for your time. >> my pleasure. woodruff: this year's recipient of architecture's top award, the pritzker prize, has made his name not with monumental buildings but with a humanitarian focus. jeff is back with that. >> brown: modest shelters for rwandan refugees, supported by paper tubes. an elementary school-- its columns and beams also made of paper-- built to replace one of the many lost to the massive earthquake in southwest china in 2008. a cardboard cathedral in christchurch, new zealand, constructed after the congregation's own 19th century home was devastated by a 2011 earthquake. for 20 years, japanese architect shigeru ban has designed innovative structures for people suffering from hardship and disaster.

and for that, he's earned architecture's top honor, this year's pritzker prize. from paris, where he keeps an office, ban told us today of why he began working on buildings in disaster areas. >> after i became an architect, i was very disappointed about my profession as architect because we are mostly working for privileged people. but i can use my experience and knowledge more for general public or even for somebody who lost their houses by natural disaster. >> brown: in selecting the 56- year-old ban, the pritzker jury wrote: indeed, ban has focused on structures that are easy to assemble, made from cheap, lightweight materials like paper tubes and plastic beer crates that don't require heavy machinery.

he says when he began as an architect, he couldn't afford to purchase wood for his designs, so he began experimenting with paper tubes. >> then i knew that the paper tube was very strong, so i started testing it. actually, when i started experimenting, i started developing with this structure. that is way before people start talking about environment and ecological problems. so, i just have an interest in using the humble material around us as a structure of the building. >> brown: and over the years, he's shown that these humble materials, originally conceived as temporary, can sometimes become something more, as with a paper church in kobe, japan, and these shelters he built following the 2011 tsunami that have proven so popular that their inhabitants didn't want to leave. you've talked about the idea of the "temporary" versus "permanent." how do you define those in your work?

>> whether the building is permanent or temporary is not dependent on what kind of material its made of. it depends on whether people can love the building or not. that's my definition. >> brown: ban has also undertaken traditional commissions for private clients, often continuing his experimental approach. the undulating roof of his pompidou center satellite museum in metz, france, was inspired by a woven bamboo hat. elsewhere, in works like the curtain wall house in tokyo, he links the interior and exterior worlds. and even in this work, he at times incorporates recyclable materials, such as with this pavilion in hanover, germany, made with a cardboard latticework and a paper membrane. and the so-called nomadic museum in new york, made of shipping containers. shigeru stresses that his profession needs to find a better balance between what he sees as a focus on serving privileged society with one serving those in need.

>> but i'm not criticizing, but i'd just like to make the role of architecture just a little bit wider, socially, not only working for rich but also working for general public or even the people lost their houses by natural disaster. >> brown: well, do you see the field changing? and do you feel your prize is perhaps signaling such a change? >> yes, i feel that way. when i give the lecture all over the world, now i have strong reaction from young architects or young students. they are very interested in what i'm doing. also, many of the students all ask to join my team working disaster area. it's never happened, maybe 20 years ago, but now more and more i always see that the younger generation, they are also more social conscious than before. >> brown: ban will accept his award with a $100,000 grant in june. his next major building, the aspen art museum, is set to open

in august. >> woodruff: you can see photos of shigeru ban's work on our art beat page. the major developments of the day, authorities in washington state warned the death toll in the mudslide disaster will rise significantly in coming days. and president obama and pope francis met at the vatican. the president said they mostly discussed poverty and inequality. the vatican said the focus was on issues such as mandatory birth control coverage under the health care law. >> woodruff: on the newshour online right now, what makes a viola worth $45 million? that's the starting bid price for a 300-year-old stradivarius that goes up for auction this spring. we talked to a renowned string- instrument maker about why this item is so valuable. that's on art beat. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. >> ifill: and that's the

newshour for tonight. on friday, president obama visits saudi arabia. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better

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