captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: in the latest hostage crisis, the kingdom of jordan is now the latest to debate: how far should a country go to save one of it's citizens? good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. also ahead this wednesday, heroin on the rise. the moral and medical dispute over prescribing drugs to help people get clean and avoid fatal relapses. >> woodruff: plus, after decades of confrontation, bridging the chasm between iran and the u.s. for the sake of common interests. >> the goal is, for you to do less of the fighting and get your allies in the region, or even your former enemies in the

region to do more of the fighting and more of the balancing for you. >> woodruff: and, san francisco's libraries help homeless patrons who seek refuge among the stacks. >> i look for people with a lot of bags or people who are asleep. hey brother, you're not allowed to sleep in the library ok? i'm sorry. that's alright. hey here's a place where you can sleep during the day. >> ifill: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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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: fighting flared on the tense israel, lebanon border today after hezbollah rocket fire killed two israeli soldiers, and the israelis fired back. a u.n. peacekeeper from spain was also killed. it was the deadliest incident on the 50-mile-long frontier since hezbollah and israel fought a war in 2006. the israeli military answered today's attack with air strikes and artillery fire. and, prime minister benjamin netanyahu warned hezbollah to back off. >> ( translated ): whoever is behind today's attack will pay the full price. in all of these events, our mission is to defend the state of israel.

our only consideration is the security of the state of israel and its citizens. thus we have acted and thus we will continue to act. >> woodruff: hezbollah said its attack was retaliation for an air strike that killed six of its fighters, just inside syria, earlier this month. israel has never confirmed or denied a role in that strike. >> ifill: new england began digging out today from a blizzard that dumped as much as three feet of snow from connecticut to maine, as temperatures plunged. martha's vineyard was hard hit and the entire island of nantucket lost power. with mountains of snow waiting to be shoveled, boston mayor marty walsh promised an all-out effort, before another round of snow begins falling this weekend. >> if there's snow on friday we'll be out there doing it, if there's snow on saturday and sunday we'll be out there removing it. it's just that this storm, because of the cold weather we're not going to have an opportunity for any thawing or melting of any snow so we need to make sure we clear the streets as best we can because we've got to put this snow that's coming potentially over the weekend in another place. >> ifill: the big dig-out will

have to be done in temperatures that aren't supposed to rise above freezing for another week. >> woodruff: president obama's nominee to be u.s. attorney general faced her senate confirmation hearing today. if approved, federal prosecutor loretta lynch would be the first african american woman to hold the office. >> i look forward to fostering a new and improved relationship with this committee, the united states senate, and the entire united states congress, a >> woodruff: loretta lynch came to the hearing, offering overtures to republicans who repeatedly butted heads with her predecessor, including texas senator and majority whip, john cornyn. >> let me just stipulate, you're not eric holder, are you? >> no, i'm not, sir. >> woodruff: republicans had often accused holder of politicizing the justice department. so utah senator orrin hatch pressed lynch to declare her independence. >> if you are confirmed will you commit to enforce and defend the laws and the constitution of the united states regardless of your

personal and philosophical views on them on any matter? >> absolutely, sir. >> the issue is not my personal view or any issue of bias or policy even, but it is the duty and responsibility of the department of justice to defend those statutes. >> woodruff: lynch did defend the president's actions to protect millions of immigrants from deportation. she suggested it's a matter of setting priorities. >> the department of homeland security's request and suggestion that they, in fact, prioritize the removal of the most dangerous of the undocumented immigrants among us, those who have criminal records, those who are involved in national security and terrorism, those who are involved in gang activity, violent crime, along with, i believe, people who have recently entered and could pose a threat to our system, seem to be a reasonable way to marshal limited resources to deal with the problem. >> woodruff: the nominee is currently u.s. attorney for parts of new york city and long

island, and, as new york democrat charles schumer suggested, she is widely expected to win her promotion. >> if we can't confirm loretta lynch, then i don't believe we can confirm anyone. >> woodruff: lynch is the first of the president's nominees to face a confirmation vote in the new republican-run senate. >> woodruff: there was no >> ifill: after 54 years, a south carolina judge has exonerated nine black men who went to jail for sitting at a whites-only lunch counter, in 1961. they attended tiny "friendship college" in the town of rock hill, and became known as the "friendship nine." the group refused to pay fines, and instead served 30 days at a prison farm, a tactic that spread across the segregated south. . >> there will be no more executions in oklahoma until the supreme court rules on that state's lethal injection procedures. the court delayed three pending executions. last week, the justices agreed

to hear arguments that a sedative used in oklahoma still allowed the condemned man to feel pain. >> ifill: in economic news the new leftist government of greece moved to roll back austerity measures today, as promised. in a series of announcements, plans for privatizing public sector utilities, ports and assets were put on hold. they're part of the greek bailout deal with the european union, but the new finance minister called the agreement a "big toxic mistake." >> ( translated ): today we are turning the page on that mistake that has cost human lives, that were lost or undermined, that has also cost our partners in europe. the problem isn't that germany italy, and the poorer-than-us slovakia didn't give enough money to greece. they gave more than they should have. it was just thrown into a black hole. >> ifill: the new government also sought to reassure financial markets, but greek bank stocks plunged 25%and the athens stock exchange fell

nearly 10%. >> woodruff: wall street slumped today, even after the federal reserve reaffirmed it will be "patient" before raising interest rates. instead, the market focused on a new slide in oil prices to below $45 a barrel, the lowest in nearly six years. that sent the dow jones industrial average down nearly 196 points, to 17,191. the nasdaq fell 43, to close just under 4,638. and the s-and-p 500 dipped 27 to finish at 2002. >> ifill: and, a major new auto recall. nissan today issued two today for nearly 768,000 vehicles. one involves electrical shorts and possible fires, in more than half a million "rogue" s.u.v's. the other covers 216,000 "pathfinders" and "infinitis" with hood latches that can fail. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour. negotiations with the islamic state group to free hostages. are prescription drugs the right treatment for heroin addiction? should the u.s. mend fences with

iran? the koch brothers' big plans for 2016. what lawmakers who are veterans of the iraq and afghan wars bring to their service in congress. and, reaching out to homeless patrons of public libraries.xd >> ifill: a potential exchangeñi of prisoners may be in the works between jordan and the "islamic state" group. officials in amman announcedñr their willingness today to deviate from a long-standing policy against negotiating with terror groups. >> ifill: the jordanian government issued its statement on state television, saying it's willing to meet islamic state demands to win the release of a jordanian pilot, muath al- kaseasbeh. he was captured in december, after his jet crashed inñi northeastern syria during a

bombing mission against islamic state forces. supporters of the pilot rallied outside the royal palace in amman this evening, as his brother pressed for action. >> ( translated ): we've been waiting for 35 days to get a statement or a decision from the jordanian government in mua'th's case, we have been waiting for any word from the jordanian government. >> ifill: the jordanian government said nothing today about a japanese hostage, journalist kenji goto. he spoke in an islamic state message yesterday. >> ifill: the message again demanded that jordan release an iraqi woman, ajida al-rishawi, who was sentenced to death for a 2005 suicide attack. jordanian officials said today she'll be freed if the militants free the pilot. meanwhile, in japan, prime minister shinzo abe faced mounting pressure to save goto,

after the militants beheaded another japanese hostage over the weekend. abe spoke at an emergency cabinet meeting today.ñr >> ( translated ): this was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. while this is a tough situation our policy remains unchanged in seeking cooperation from the jordanian government for the early release of mr. goto. >> ifill: kenji goto's mother issued her own statement today urging the prime minister toñi save her son's life. >> ifill: there was still no word this evening on whether the islamic state accepted jordan's offer, or on the fate of either hostage. chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner joins us now with more on the shifting winds.çóok muathal-kaseabeh >> whatçó changed? >> warner: well no one knows for sure gwen, whyñi i.s. changedxd

its demands, but the belief among jordanian and ñ.knr officials is they wanted to cause serious politicalc problems for king adbullah of jordan. they know and they read jordanian politics accurately, the war against i.s. or the anti-i.s. coalition is unpopular in jordan. many agree withñr the pilot's father who wrote a letter to the king and who has been part of these protests saying this isn't our war. we send our sons to fight to defend an notv fight outside our borders. so the king has a delicateñr balancing actñi with the tribes and ethnicities and if you haveñi trouble with the sunni tribes, he's got troubles. the second, officials believe, was to cause rift withinñi the anti-i.s. coalition which adopted the no dealing for hostages policy and but they want to in thisñi case. >> ifill: even though japan is not involved in the proposed

swap. >> warner: theñi jordanian prime was part of the swap. what we don't know is has japan decided to privately pay some money, when the british foreign secretary leaned on the japanese last week in london not to because that just gives i.s. the money they want, they need. >> ifill: there seems to be pressure happening on a couple of different levels here, one at the king abdulluh level, we were talking about the international politics but also the domestic level, at the street level. there's a lot of pressure for him to act. >> warner: oh absolutely. once the fate-- in that video you just showed of the pilot and the japanese hostage were brought together-- the king-- this pilot's become>xú national hero. so he had no choice but to show he was doing absolutely everything he could to save the life this national hero. he wasn't going toçó trade this would-be suicide bomber--

>> ifill: do we know if there's been any proof of life? >> warner: no and that was the thing i was going to mention,ñi gwen. we do know negotiations are still going on but it's hour by hour and earlier today it was much more optimistic. by late today, officials were saying not only have he heard nothing but as the king tweeted out we have asked for proof of life and we have heard nothing back. so there is some concern that the pilot may be dead. >> ifill: and there's also some concern that isis, as we discussed before u and i are so hard to figure. it's not like a government or state actor who you can go to for a response. >> warner: no. >> ifill: so there is the u.s. in all of this. they said we don't do these deals and don't encourage our allies to do theseóc do they just sit on their hands. >> warner: it's interesting. there has been nothing publicly. no repetition of we don't deal for hostages. they said we have our position and every countryshould make their own position. the u.s. engages in prisoner swaps, look at bergdahl the

soldier in afghanistan and paying cash for civilian hostages. but the main point here is, gwen jordan is so key to this anti-isis coalition. they provide training space for training. they provide political cover for the u.s. as a non-gulf arab state. and to have the co-- have abdullah weaken and the coalition's commitment-- or rather his commitment to the coalition go owl wobbly that would be a disaster. and one former obama administration official said to me, "i cannot believe they tried to second guess the king. >> ifill: about so much more than just these two lives. >> warner: oh, yes. >> ifill: margaret warner thank you. >> woodruff: there's been growing concern in a number of states about a rise in the use of heroin and, in some places, a jump in overdoses. hari sreenivasan has a look at a new investigative report out

that explores not just what's behind those numbers, but what could be done to help break addiction. >> sreenivasan: compared to other drug use, heroin is by no means the most commonly used drugs. studies find 300,000 to one million-plus americans regularly use heroin each month but its toll is well known and increasingly worrisome. its rise has been confirmed in published studies and in a study of 28 states, the number of heroin deaths jumped by a substantial percentage since 2010. the huffington post is out with a major piece reported by jason churkis. he is looking at its rise in kentucky and specifically about a debate there and elsewhere over breaking addiction. one medication viewed is known as saboxone, but there is not agreementçó and some experts believe a substance-free approach is the only way to go. ryan grim is the washington bureau chief for the "washington

post" and the editor of the article and joins me now. how significant of a problem are we looking at when statistics are so hard to find, especially when there are so many other drugs and other drug problems in america that out-- kind of outweigh heroin? >> particularly in rural areas this is becoming a serious problem. un, the media does have a habit of exaggerating, you know crises as they relate to drugs but this is a serious one. you had some 400,000 people who went to emergency rooms the last year for heroin overdoses, more than eight though of those died. there's a 39% jump from the last year, and there's no reason to think those numbers aren't going to continue to go up. we're seeing more heroin coming into the country. we're seeing prices drop, and heroin addicts themselves are paradoxly the best salesmen for heroin. they're broke. they need money. they go out and find other people that they can go in on a buy with and that's how it spreads. this is a serious problem.

8,000 is a lot of people. >> sreenivasan: okay so i made a reference to this drug named saboxone. what's the difference between saboxone, and methadone, which we are familiar with. >> methadone swiet simply, gives you much more of a buzz. it's much easier to abuse methadone, and methadone might be the appropriate drug for somebody that has a more significant or serious addiction. saboxone is nixed with naloxene, which you probably heard about. that's the one they use to revive people from overdoses. in other words, they've put it into a film which can't be split up so that if you take too much saboxone, then naloxone kicks in and it's a miserable time for the person. the act of abusing it leads to a terrible time, and it's not something that somebody would want to do twice. and because there's naloxene in tyou can't die from simply a sabooxone overdose.

>> sreenivasan: you spoke to several expherts and you had a video version. i want to play out a couple clips, if i can, for the audience. you talked to a couple of characters that really summed up the argument and tension there pup spoke to a judge that says she doesn't feel that there is any place for drugs in the treatment process, and then you also spoke to a doctor who wants to be able to prescribe this. let's take a listen. >> i personally feel that when you're talking about saboxone and methadone, you're talking about replacing one opiod for another. with heroin, you have to keep it a level just to feel decent. it's not even feeling high anymore. it's just to feel okay. when you detox someone in a jail facility, you're not giving them any treatment, you're not giving them any course of conduct to overcome the cravings, you're just housing and detoxing and i talked to one heroin addict who told me the same thing, that the memory of how difficult detoxing was, was one of the things that actually got them through not using again.

now to get to that point is pretty hard. >> the problem that i see is this lack of being more open minded to the medical treatment of the problem. we're not contributing to the addiction. what we're giving people is a light at the end of the tunnel. if i have urges once i leave a treatment program, these urges could potentially kill me. so if i have a medication that could reduce those urges and allow a person to participate in life normally what's wrong with that? >> sreenivasan: there's a lot of people that feel probably the same way the judge does, the idea that whether it's methadone or saboxone, it's displacing one addiction for another and we're going to be on the hook paying for a lifelong addiction in some cases for some people. so what's the-- what's been the response from people like the doctor to that? >> right, that's exactly right. there is a lot of discomfort with the notion that you would

do what's called maintenance. the drug war started about 100 years ago and it's common now for people to say look, the drug war has failed. we need to focus on treatment over incarceration, but the same kind of impulses that drove the drug war are actually now driving treatment and that's looking at drug use through a prism of morality or politics and that's kind of what the judge is doing. she's saying this seems wrong to me. or it seems wrong that we should be paying for somebody's addiction. but the doctor is saying no, this is a medical issue. step aside allow the medical community to deal with it. i said earlier you can't die from saboxone. that's too much. you can die from aspirin. you can die from anything. you should obviously be careful with anything. the doctor and others are saying this is a medical issue. take politics and take morality out of it and deal with it based on the evidence. >> sreenivasan: so how-- let's take an apples-to-apples

comparison if that's possible. how effective is saboxone, versus the standard of care a 30-day 12-step program. what kind of relapse rates dropout rates. how do we compare the two. >> the success rate for abstinence-based treatment-- it's 30 days and you go home and attend meetings--, you know, it's hard to find precise numbers but the consensus is it's less than 10%. so that means more than 90% of these people are going to relapse and they're in a very dangerous situation. because they've gone-- they've-- because they've gone through detox, they've gone cold turkey, now all of a sudden, when they use the exact same amount of heroin that they used to, their tolerance is way down, and that's why an overdose can be fatal. so just looking at keeping people alive, saboxone's success rate is staggeringly higher because it has naloxone in it.

dropout rates the doctor said his dropout rate is around 8%. there still need to be more studies done but it's much more effective than the status quo. >> sreenivasan: ryan grim, washington bureau chief of the "washington post" who edited this article, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: well before president george w. bush labeled it part of the axis of evil iran was viewed as a leading enemy of the u.s. for more than three decades, they've had no diplomatic relations. but with serious negotiations now underway about curbing iran's nuclear program, and the rise of a newer, common threat the islamic state, some foreign policy thinkers are arguing it's time for a thaw. in the latest of our series of collaborations with the atlantic magazine, we take a look at theñi arguments on both sides of re-thinking u.s. relations with

iran. tonight, the first of twoxd reports.ñi >> woodruff: four decades of mistrust between the u.s. and iran have passed since i was the white house correspondent for nbc news covering what would turn out to be the last official visit by a us head of state to iran. >> in one of the more troubled areas of the world. in just a little over a year,xd the shah would be overthrown and forced into exile, the usñi embassy stormed and 66 americans held hostage for 144 months, and ever since, the status quo has been enmity between iran and the west. some experts, like historian robert kaplan believe it is it time to open the door to iran the way president nixon did to

china in 1972. >> because foreign policy is about necessity, not desires. >> woodruff: but you're talking >> i'm not talking about peace, i'm talking about detente. and detente is what you do with enemies, not with friends. >> it is true that americans and iranians both, since 1979, they have used all their capacity to confront each other. no doubt about it. talks in 2005, hosain mousavian former spokesperson for iran's negotiation team, is used to representing iran in the west. >> from the iranian point of view, the reason the they really cannot trust the u.s. is when the u.s. backed dictators in iran. second, when the u.s. supported the saddam invasion of iran a war which aimed at dismantling

iran. we have a history of mistrust, misunderstanding, miscalculations. there is a more important fact. the common interests between iran and the u.s. is huge. >> woodruff: israeli ambassador to the u.s., ron dermer, is a powerful opponent of the idea of any softening of the west's position on iran. how does israel view the u.s.-iran relationship? >> well, even in the middle east judy, you need two to tango. iran is not interested in any rapprochement with the united states. they are not changing their behavior in the region at all. they are saying they are not going to change their behavior. iran is the foremost sponsor of terrorism in the world. >> iran is an imperial power. iran has a vision of the role in the middle east as the dominant. >> the head of the council on foreign relations shares the skepticism. >> look at the differences the united states and iran have in virtually every other aspect in the middle east about israel

and the palestinians, about syria, about iraq. >> the reason why you have a problem in syria is because of iran, because of iran's support for assad. why is lebanon not free today? because of iran through its proxy hezbollah. iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds of american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan. >> woodruff: but robert kaplan sees the outlines of a different relationship emerging where former enemies the u.s. and iran now have >> woodruff: why is now the time >> the rise of the islamic state has given new urgency to the situation. situation because the islamic state is an enemy of the united states but is also the enemy of shi'a iran. so that we have a cenchence of interests now. >> iranians and americans are the leading regional international force fighting isis. americans are leading the air strikes, and iranians are leading the ground strikes.

>> woodruff: he believes iran could also be helpful in afghanistan and he says it wouldn't be the first time. >> you can see the same history during war on terror 2001 in afghanistan. iranian army security establishments, they were cooperating shoulder by shelter with americans to fight al qaeda and taliban. >> woodruff: but critics argue that any kind of rapprochement with shi'a iran would play into islam'sislam 14-century old rivalry pitting sunni countries like egypt and saudi arabia, against shi'a iran. >> these two groups both hate the united states. >> woodruff: ambassador ron dermer says a chance to play sunni against shi'a. >> when your enemies are fighting each other, you don't take a side. you don't strengthen one of them. you try to weaken them both. >> woodruff: the toppling of saddam hussain was something

both the u.s. and iran supported. musavian says the two countries are better off if they also clean up the current crieses together. >> directly or indirectly, iran and the u.s., they cooperated to remove saddam. it was enemy of iran. it was enemy of the u.s. today definitely they have common interest for the peace, security and stability in iraq. >> woodruff: but in another country, syria iran is supporting the assad regime, a brutal dictator-- >> see, judy, don't get me wrong. i didn't want to say on every issue in the middle east we have the same views. i'm saying we have already-- like israeli issues, palestinian issues, syrian issues. >> to get assad out or to weaken him or to move him aside cannot be done without some sort of acquiescence with iran because if we just kill him, the result

may be like when we dismantled the regime in iraq. >> woodruff: some would argue that that's already-- that syria's already in chaos. >> i would argue this-- that there are different levels of chaos, that you could go from a balkan level of atrocity to a rewand an level of atrocity. don't say that things cannot get much worse because they can. >> woodruff: responsibility for the brutal attacks in paris just two weeks ago has been claimed by the a.q.a.p., the arabian peninsulaian peninsula branch of al qaeda operating from yemen. kaplan sees iran as a potential asset here too. >> iranian rebels in yemen are the only ones that appears with the capability on the ground of taking on al qaeda. >> woodruff: just last week the same iranian-backed heathy rebels took control of yemen's capital, the seat of the

country's government. do you think a detaunt of a sort with iran would mean less u.s. military engagement? >> the goal is is for you to do less of the fighting and get your allies in the region or even your former enemies in the region to do more of the fighting or more of the balancing for you. >> woodruff: despite this talk of a possible thaw, critics remain wary of iran, at best. >> the gap between where we are and what you're describing as a kind of a strategic rapprochement is large. it's closer to a chasm. should we try to bridge it? sure but we shouldn't kid ourselves that it's in any way close. >> iran controls four arab capitals. they control-- effectively control iraq large parts of iraq. they control syria through assad. they control lebanon through hezbollah. they control gaza in their

support of hamas and islamic jihad and they're now going to control yemen and they're doing all of this without a nuclear weapon. >> woodruff: tomorrow night we'll focus on the nuclear talks in part two of our collaboration on iran with the "atlantic" magazine. >> ifill: charles and david koch may not be running for president, but they are certainly poised to decide who will. the billionaire brothers are raising their collective profile this year as political king- makers, courting presidential hopefuls and making plans to spend nearly a billion dollars on the 2016 election outstripping both major political parties. the kochs, who have used their fortune to create a network of conservative and libertarian think tanks, foundations and super pacs, have become the focus of democratic criticism. but they are also major philanthropists, who give money to education, the arts, and, we should also say, projects aired on public television.

matea gold of the washington post is just back from covering a weekend meeting hosted by freedom partners, the tax exempt business lobby that acts as the hub of the koch political operation. she joins us now. matea, democrats see the koch brothers as bogeymen of politics and republicans see them perhaps as their safer. which is it or is it a little bit of both? >> i think if we've learned anything about the kochs over the last several elections is that they really are independent players in a lot of ways. they are clearly devoting the most of their resources in the political arena to help republicans, but they're not working in lockstep with the republican party. and this announcement about the amount of money that their network is going to put in over the next two years-- which i should note is not all going to political activity-- that really upends the balance in-- and takes away a lot of power from the r.n.c., you could argue. >> ifill: i'm actually surprised we even know that number. their reputation has been of a shadowy bunch of political

financiers. is this their attempt to be more open and transparent? >> we have seen an interesting change in their spotlight. as the democrats have tried to vilify them and create caricature of putteers fulg the strings of the republican party, we have seen actually both charles and david koch and koch industries engage more in the public why why there is an ad campaign touting koch. >> ifill: which we can show, take a look at it. >> you may not always see our name on the products you use, but we help make better food, clothing, shelter, technologies, and other necessities. here we build on each other's ideas to create more opportunities for people everywhere. together we are koch. >> ifill: nothing like babies in diapers and men on horseback with cowboy hat haton to feel real. >> all-american. and one point they make is a lot of people don't realize what koch industries is, and their ad campaign is an attempt to fill

that void. this is one of the largest privately held companies in the country. not only do they have energy interests, which is usual let's focus but they're in timber they're in pipelines. they're involved in the production of components that go into iphones. they are an incredibly diversified company. >> ifill: if you use brawny paper coals, you are using a koch product. there is the political empire, the business empire, and the philanthropic empire. >> david koch, in particular, has been known for his generous donations to medical institution working on cancer research and a lot of cultural institutions in manhattan. charles koch is giving a lot of money on criminal justice issues. he said this is a major concern of his or has been for a while and is now talking about it openly. i think really what's caught the attention of people is the amount of money they're going to spend over the next two years and how that will reshape the political atmosphere. >> ifill: explain that to me. that looked like a big chunk of money.

as you point out, it's not all for political activity but could certainly tip a lot of balances. >> i think-- too soon to say whether it will be primarily vote dwoeted in the hard-hitting campaign ads we've seen coming out of a lot of their outfits but there's no question they are growing incredibly muscular and really taking on a lot of the functions that traditional political parties have. they have an operation that does technology development. they're working on data and collecting data about voters. they have an incredibly vast network of volunteers and staff on the ground as part of a national field operation. these are things the parties used to really have a lock on. >> ifill: is it fair to say, several of the people who won elections in 2014, owe election in part to that kind of financing. >> a half of dozen newly elected senators were there this weekend and had a huge of amount of support from koch-backed groups.

there's no question having such organizations with such deep resources that are real rale united in their message about proating these candidates was a huge assistance. >> ifill: you were in california this weekend covering that. many of the candidates came from iowa, where they had done the presidential cattle call and went straight to california to appear at the koch summit. is there a significance to be read into that? >> sure it underscores the priorities of anyone contemplating running for 2016. you need to make sure you're reaching the activists in iowa, which is going to be the first key state and you need to be reaching the donors and the koch network has some of the largest conservative donors. not all of them, but a large group of people that could really help determine the primaries. >> ifill: could the democrats match this? is there anything like that on that side of the aisle? >> there are plenty of democrats with those resources at their disposal. it's hard not to imagine they

could muster this. hundreds of other of donors are planning on putting in. i think we're not going to see a lack of resources on behalf of hillary clinton, for example, if she jumps in the race. >> ifill: what a free-spending spigot this is going to be this year again. matea gold of the "washington post," thank you. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: now to a different look at capitol hill. this new congress has the fewest military veterans since world war two. in the years following, through the 1970's, as many as three- quarters of the members of congress were veterans. but that started to drop after vietnam, falling sharply in the nineties and bringing us to today, where only 18% have served in the military. one element, however, has gone up the number of recent veterans. nearly half have served in the

iraq and afghanistan wars. and for the first time there are no world war two vets. yesterday, i spoke with two newly-elected recent veterans. republican representative martha mcsally of arizona is a retired air force colonel and pilot who led fighter squadrons in iraq and afghanistan. and democratic representative seth moulton of massachusetts is a retired marine captain who served four tours in iraq including in a unit that was one of the first to go in, in 2003. representative moulton representative mcsally, welcome to both of you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: now representative mcsally you supported the idea of the war in iraq. how do you think your service in that war affected your decision to run for congress? >> well, i think like many veterans, i stepped up to serve and run for congress because i was frustrated with the direction the country's going, and i'm not going to be someone who complains about something without doing my part to fix it. so, you know, we come from the

core values of integrity first and service before self and excellence, doing what's best for the country. and stepping in now to serve in a new way because there's so much at stake. i think having more veterans in congress with national security experience, with the decisions that we have in front of us is really important, and so it was really about serving the country in a new way. >> woodruff: representative moulton you had problems with the decision to go to war in iraq and yet you did serve four tours of duty. how do you think your service affected the decision to run for congress? >> well, i would not have run for congress if not for my service in iraq. i am not someone who grew up wanting to get into politics or wanting to be a congressman. but i was in a war where i saw the consequences of fade leadership in washington. i think congress didn't know what they were doing when they got us into iraq and they didn't have our backs while we were there. and i remember a day in 2004 in najaf, when a young marine in my platoon after a tough day looked

up it's me and said "you know, circ you should run for congress some day so this doesn't happen again." so that really underalize why i'm here. >> woodruff: representative mcsally if you could pick up on that and what you said earlier, what do you think you bring as a veteran of this war that you think other members of congress might not bring? >> we bring the firsthand experience. i have had six deployments to combat zones. we know what it's like out there. we know the challenges in dealing with the extremists that are growing around the world. the threat is getting greater. we know what it's like to be in the military and making sure we have the training and readiness and equipment. we're seeing now the implications of cookie cutter cuts to the defense and sequestration so we bring that perspective of we've got to make sure we have a military that can defend against the threats that we face and also the larger national security experience of how to address these in a very complex world where it's more drug drus than i have seen in my

lifetime. it's very important to have that experience mere. >> woodruff: representative moulton, what do you think you bring? and i've read you've been quoted saying you didn't come to washington to be one of them, to be like other members of congress. what did you mean by that? >> i mean i'm bringing a fresh perspective, and i'm bringing the perspective of a veteran, someone who has been on the ground fighting these extremists, someone who understands what we're asking of our 18- and 19-year-old kids when we ask them to put their lives on the line to defend our country. the congress' most sacred responsibility is making sure if we put young americans in harm's way, we only do it after exhausting every other alternative. >> woodruff: well representative mcsale, you were mentioning the pentagon. you were mentioning defense spending a minute ago. how do you think the priorities of the defense department should change? >> well, again right now what we have are really cookie cutter cuts that are across the board without any thought about a

strategy-based budget instead of a budget-based strategy. so we've got lots of threats that are around the world and new ones that are popping up to include the cyber threat and others. we've got state sponsors of terror in iran that are marching towards a nuclear weapon. we've got to be able to have a military that can prevent any sort of attacks on america and can defend america's interests and defend americans and we need to right size that military and we shouldn't be playing political games with them. there are ways to gain efficiencies in the department of defense. i have been there. i know where some of them are. on the armed services committee i'm going to be working to make sure we gain those efficiencies but not playing politics with those men and women in uniform and their ability to defend us. >> woodruff: representative moulton you are also on the house armed services committee. how do you see the priorities for the pentagon in the next few years? >> i agree with representative mcsally. sequestration is a terrible idea. it's mandating across-the-board cuts with no thoughtfulness given to where we need to invest

and where we need to cut. there are a lot of inefficiencies in the department of defense. i've seen them firsthand as well, but there are also place where's we need to invest and at the end of the day we have to make sure our young men and women on the front lines have all the things that they need. >> woodruff: what are you hearing, representative moulton, from your fellow service members about what they look for from washington right now? >> they look for leadership. they look for people who are not just going to play political games but really get the work done for the american people. i was elected on a mandate to work across the aisle to rise above this hyperpartisanship that has so defined congress in the last 10 years, and that's the spirit we had in the military. you know, in my platoon, i had marinesmarines are from all over the country, from massachusetts and vermont, from texas and alabama, from a gated community out of park city utah and from inner city brooklyn, new york. we came together with remarkably different backgrounds different religious beliefs, different political beliefs. but at the end of the day, we were able to set aside those

differences to do what's best for america. and fundamentally, i think that's what americans expect of congress as well. >> woodruff: and representative mcsally, would you say your fellow service members look to you, also to work across the aisle? >> oh absolutely. they're looking for leadership as well and they're looking for us to bring our experience as veterans and our mindset to actually solve the nation's problems and get things done. you know, you are never allowed to deploy to the war you want to be in. you're deploying to the war you're in. this is not about ideology and those kinds of struggles. we have very solution oriented in the military. we figure out how to pragmatically work together get the job done work over obstacles and have the mission to defend america, and so just that mindset of a veteran is about servi is about getting the mission done, and working together to make that happen, finding common ground things that unite us instead of things that divide us. so i think having more veterans here with that mindset is going to be important for this next congress. >> woodruff: representative

martha mcsally of arizona. representative seth moulton of massachusetts we thank you both and again, congratulations. >> thank you. >> thanks very much. >> woodruff: about four million people visit their local library every day in the u.s. some have nowhere else to go. the american library association can't put a number on how many homeless people are using their facilities as shelter, but many cities are struggling to address the problem. in san francisco, where more than 7,000 people are homeless, the city decided to take an unusual approach: placing a social worker inside the library. the newshour's cat wise has our report. >> reporter: a line of people recently stood outside san francisco's main public library waiting for the gates to open. when the doors opened, the crowds streamed in. the library draws patrons from

all walks of life. but on a typical day, about 15% of the 5,000 visitors are homeless. in that regard san francisco isn't unique: many urban libraries serve as safe havens during the day for the homeless. but here's what is unique about san francisco's library. meet leah esguerra. the nation's first full-time library social worker. esguerra was hired in 2009 to do outreach to patrons in need of social services. >> one of the advantages of having bee is i've become a familiar face at the library so people know me. and its interesting even on the streets they say you're the library lady or the social worker. >> reporter: esguerra is well acquainted with the citys large homeless population, many of whom hang out near the library

which is steps from city hall, and the gritty tenderloin neighborhood. before coming to the library, she worked at a nearby community mental health clinic. these days, she seeks out many of the same kinds of people she helped in the past, but in a very different setting, amid books. >> i always say that its easier to do outreach on the streets because its a neutral territory you can just approach people. but here its their safe place, its their sanctuary, so i try to be very respectful. my way in is "hi, i don't know if you know that there's a social worker at the library." i don't say that i think they're homeless, but i just 'say we have these services if you think you might, you know, want to know more about it, i'm available, i'm always here. >> reporter: much of esguerras job entails providing information to people about where they can access services like free meals, temporary shelters, and legal aid. but when she encounters an individual who meets specific criteria, including being chronically homeless, with a

physical or medical condition, esguerras role changes: >> i sit down with the person that's when my being a clinical social worker comes in, i do the full clinical assessment, and then i make a presentation to my colleagues at the san francisco homeless outreach team, they provide case management, and also housing. >> reporter: in fact, since the program began, about 150 formerly homeless library patrons have received permanent housing, and another 800 have benefited from other social services. but not everyone, even in liberal san francisco, is supportive of the homeless presence at the library. one particularly irate patron recently wrote a review on the main librarys yelp page: >> reporter: inappropriate use of library facilities by some patrons, including the homeless, has long been an issue in san

francisco. last year, after encouragement from the city's mayor, the library implemented a new code of conduct with tougher penalties. but some advocates feel the code unfairly targets the homeless, such as rules against emitting strong odors and bringing large carts or luggage into the library. >> there are times where security, or whatever, the library police, they're not always that friendly. >> reporter: brian andrews is one of those upset by the tougher enforcement. he says he's been homeless for ten years and often comes to the library to use the restroom because he doesn't have other options. >> i need to go to the restroom, and granted, the library has signs posted saying that you can't shower, bathe, whatever, and i understand it and appreciate that, but at the same time its like i'm on the street, and what can i do?

>> reporter: luis herrera is the chief of san francisco's libraries. he says the new rules are not targeted at any one group of patrons, and the library wants to support everyone who walks through the doors. >> urban libraries are one of the most democratic intuitions that we can have, and we welcome everybody. 99% of the individuals come in here, use the library respectfully, for it's intended purpose, but were always going to have that small percentage that obviously has some problems or some issues. >> reporter: one of the ways the library is trying to make it work better for everyone is by putting more eyes and ears on the floors. >> i had an outreach i didn't tell you about yesterday. he's 35 years old and he's been homeless for two years but no chronic illness or nothing like that. >> reporter: on the day we visited the library, esguerra was meeting with jerry munoz and two other staff she hired who are known as health and safety associates. all three are formerly homeless

library patrons themselves, and now, after turning their livesñi around, they are trying to help others do the same.w3 >> this is our basic community here. we deal with all kinds of people. a lot of retired people come here and stuff. but like i said, i look forçó people with a lot of bags or people who are asleep. >;p)eporter: munoz, who is 54, lost his job and home six years ago when his son passed away unexpectedly, and depression set in followed by substance abuse and health complications from diabetes. he spent nine months homeless on the streets of san francisco, but he now lives in subsidized city housing. and after receiving special training from esguerra, he patrols the library floors during his three hour shift, five days a week, looking for anyone he thinks may need help. >> excuse me brother, you're notñr allowed to sleep in the library right? >> oh sorry. >> that's alright, you know here is a place where you can sleep during the day. >> i talk to them, and i go oh,

i slept under the bridge, i did everything, you know what i mean, and i let them know i know where they're coming from. it makes them feel comfortable, then they know that they have one person they can connect with. >> reporter: for her part esguerra is soon planning to hire two new formerly homeless outreach workers. and the program will be expanded into san francisco's neighborhood libraries in the coming year. im cat wise for the pbs newshour in san francisco. >> ifill: again, the major developments of the day. jordan waited to hear from islamic state militants after agreeing to exchange a convicted terrorist for a captured pilot. and oil prices slumped below $45 a barrel, the lowest in nearly six years. that sent the dow industrials down another 195 points. >> woodruff: on the newshour online right now, youtube stars glozell green and hank green made news last week, when they interviewed president obama at

the white house. tomorrow, they're joining us for a live twitter chat at 1 p.m. eastern. we're going to ask them about their experience and the power of social media in reaching their millions of fans. you can join in and ask them questions, too, using the hashtag #newshourchats. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. and that's the newshour for tonight, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. join us 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: i.b.e.w. the power professionals in your neighborhood.

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this is "nightly business report" with tyler imagine son and sue varella. >> stocks take a late day tumble and so do bond yields. investors try to make sense of the federal reserve statement. >> the hard part the central bank says the u.s. economy is expanding at a solid pace. inflation is below its target and the global economy is sputtering. how the fed will try to thread the policy needle. the airline industry flush with cash spent it on new planes. all that and more tonight on nightly business report for wednesday january 28th. good evening, everyone and welcome, another turbulent day in the markets today. stock investors tried to