captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> it is time to reclaim the constitution of the united states. >> ifill: senator ted cruz is running for president, the first candidate to officially enter the 2016 race. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. also ahead this monday: as the deadline for a deal with iran looms, we talk with the chief of the united nations nuclear watchdog. >> ifill: plus... >> he said we have reason to believe that tristan died from shaken baby syndrome. >> ifill: when a family tragedy turns into a legal nightmare. doubts and scrutiny over a diagnosis that triggers charges of abuse and puts some caregivers behind bars.

>> there are certain doctors who believe that when you see a particular set of findings and you don't have the explanation of a terrible accident, like a car accident or a fall from a really high, high place or a particular illness that what must remain is abuse. >> woodruff: 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.

>> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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 crumbling situation in yemen brought a new appeal, and a warning, today. the u.s.-backed president, abdrabbo mansour hadi, called for gulf arab nations to intervene against shiite rebels allied with iran.

on sunday, the rebels seized yemen's third largest city, taiz, and threatened to push south to aden, where president hadi has taken refuge. in response, saudi arabia warned the arab states will act to protect yemen against the rebel advance. >> ifill: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu apologized today to his country's arab citizens. he acknowledged that comments he made in the parliamentary election campaign were offensive. netanyahu was accused of racism when he warned on election day that arabs were voting "in droves." today he said: "this was never my intent." >> woodruff: the obama administration wants funding to maintain afghan security forces at a maximum of 350,000 troops through 2017. that word came today as afghan president ashraf ghani began a series of meetings with top american officials at camp david, maryland. the u.s. effort is costing $4 billion a year, but ghani said it's vital. >> this is a major statement of

support. our armed forces and our security forces are going to greet this with enormous welcome because it gives them the assurance that resolute support mission is continuing and that we are able to focus on our key priorities. >> woodruff: ghani meets tomorrow with president obama. the two leaders are expected to agree on keeping more u.s. troops in afghanistan for longer than originally planned. >> ifill: in syria, islamic state fighters pressed new attacks on government forces. they attacked a military airport in homs province, after a three- day battle farther west, in hama. they've suffered recent setbacks in northeastern syria, but now they're targeting provinces to the west. >> woodruff: the city-state of singapore was in mourning today, for longtime leader lee kuan yew. he died at the age of 91 after a long illness.

lee led singapore with an iron hand for more than 30 years, until 1990. he transformed it into an economic powerhouse, but maintained a strict social order. today, mourners mostly remembered him in a favorable light. >> he has done very great job in building our nation, giving us what we call our home. if not for him, you will never see singapore on the world map. that is my greatest respect for him because he really cares for the people, so i felt very sad. >> woodruff: lee kwan yew was remembered by president obama as "a visionary." >> ifill: back in this country two new reports on police conduct. in philadelphia, a federal review found too many officers believe fearing for their lives is reason enough to open fire. the justice department says that is not consistent with city policy or court rulings. the review examined nearly 400 shootings, mostly involving

black suspects. >> woodruff: and in chicago, the american civil liberties union charges police make use of "stop and frisk" tactics that target minorities. there were more than 250,000 stops last summer, with no arrests. blacks make up one-third of chicago's population. but they accounted for nearly three-fourths of those stopped. >> ifill: wall street started the week on a quiet note. the dow jones industrial average edged down 11 points to stay above 18,100. the nasdaq fell 15 points and the s&p 500 slipped 3. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour: politics monday with ted cruz in the race. the chief of the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog agency on making and monitoring a deal with iran. re-examining the deaths of infants that put some parents into prisons. no evidence found to support the story that a university of virginia student was gang raped. the supreme court weighs what can be put on a license plate in texas.

and, a snapshot of kodak after film. >> ifill: the field is crowded with those who say they maybe sort of, might run for president. but senator ted cruz made it official today. in an appearance at liberty university, a christian school in lynchburg, virginia, the texas republican became the first candidate to announce a bid in 2016. >> i believe in you. i believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives to reignite the promise of america. that is why today i'm announcing i'm running for the president of the united states. >> ifill: with cruz all in, it's the perfect day for our monday check-in on all things politics. tonight, we turn to amy walter of the "cook political report,"

and susan page of "usa today." amy, besides being a first-term senator and has been in washington three years and the government shutdown along the way, that's all most people know about ted cruz, who is he? >> he was in the first wave of tea party senators. he got to washington in the way that many in the class of 2010 and he came in '12 by knocking off establishment figures. he wasn't supposed to win. he was up against a lieutenant governor in, the took him to the runoff, won it, here he is in washington. he's a conservative crusader, takes on a lot of challenges, hasn't won m. but before that that was his calling card. he's been attorney general in+++ so been around the block in politics in texas

though new as senator. >> ifill: i remember the 2012 republican convention when ted cruz walked in, there was a wave of excitement about his arrival on the scene. seems like i turned around and i thought, what am i missing? so seems like there was a moment when he exploded. >> he's not a guy who waited his turn. he didn't do that in texas. he took the first republican senate candidate's space from him, david duhurst. he doesn't care if he annoys his elders with his tactics. he's more of an agitator than a legislator and we'll see how that works this the presidential campaign. >> ifill: a long speech he gave today in lynchburg. did he say at any point why he's running? >> he says to bring back the promise of america. basically the theory goes republicans are losing and they've lost two +*79le elections not because they didn't attract

enough people in the middle but because they didn't get enough conservative to turn out. he talked about the fact evangelical conservatives haven't turned out because in part they don't have anybody make look to. getting into specifics -- didn't give specifics how he's going to turn the folks out but we know from his past experience he'll charge hard right on social and cultural issues, on financial-fiscal issues and foreign affairs throughout the campaign. >> ifill: was it significant he did this from a college campus? >> i think it was significant he did it on this college campus, the world largest largest christian campus, foundered by jerry falwell, the evan yellicle christian leader. i think h he's looking to broaden the support to more christian conservatives who might be voting for huckabee or

sanatoriumor -- rick santorum. >> ifill: does it seem like a lot of people are competing for the same voters? >> that's exactly his problem. he's going to be the conservative anti-establishment candidate up against the establishment candidate, who many think will be jeb bush. the problem is the anti-establishment slot is full of a lot of folks. we mentioned some of them. the mike huckabee, the rick santorum. you have scott walker, rand paul, ben carson, a whole lot of folks he's competing with. he's challenged by somebody like scott walker who he sees as his businessingbusinessing competition for the slot overanti-establishment is scott walker's appeal to the republicans is he's a bold conservative and found success in a blue state. ted cruz has put up a lot of

fights but no wins. >> ifill: who's next in line out of the box? >> we think rand paul will be next out in about two weeks and marco rubio might be the next one and hillary clinton might be the next one out. but today's announcement is the starting gun they all hear and propel some to think it's time to get in the race because now there will be attention. that's much to ted cruz's benefit. he's been overshadowed. the whole point for being first. and also not doing the i'm going to test the waters thing. he says, i'm running, i'm in. i think that puts real pressure ton the other contenders. a large field on the republican side who want to run for this nomination. >> ifill: do they all think they're running against jeb bush at this point? >> many people not named jeb bush, but it will be a two-person race between the anti-and jeb bush. >> ifill: the democrats, they're still out there and there is some discussion.

you mentioned hillary clinton, discussion about whether she really has this thing to herself or any kind of unhappiness beginning to bubble to the surface on the d. j. side of things. >> certainly there are progressive leaders who want someone else in the race who don't trust hillary clinton, who think she's too much of a wall street democrat who are very much behind elizabeth warren. elizabeth warren isn't persuaded this is a good thing for her to do. no signs of hillary clinton. her support is quite remarkable. i'm of the opinion the only person who can take the nomination away from hillary clinton would be hillary clinton either by choice or some fantastic error. i think she seems to be the strongest non- incumbent contender for the president's race that we've seen in at least 50 years. >> yeah, i think that's exactly right. there seems to be a narrative building and i think a lot of it is quite frankly, a press corps and others who want to see something exciting happening. >> nothing wrong with that.

having some excitement on the democratic side. the problem is the voters don't seem to want to race. a democratic primary voter, they are very happy with hillary clinton. 75% of them think hillary clinton represents change. republican voters don't think that about jeb bush. this is a woman who's set up very well. however, she shouldn't want to go without a primary. she should want the challenge. she should want to have to prove that she's a strong campaigner. >> ifill: practical question. question see the bush family is raising money for jeb even though he's doing tex ploar tore thing. does this meaning exploratory or formal announcement, is there a distinction without difference that the money will get raised? >> completely. the candidates have decided to un. this task is too hard, too grueling and too important to test the waters. it's just a matter of waiting

until you find the right moment for you to announce it. and here's the question i have the participation of the bush family for jeb bush, is that really a plus for him? because h biggest problem is people say, wow another bush. >> ifill: amy walter, susan page, thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the iran nuclear talks are set to resume later this week with the goal of reaching a deal before a deadline at the end of the month. but politics at home are complicating u.s. diplomatic efforts abroad. >> we do believe that we have made important progress over the last few weeks. >> woodruff: the latest white house assessment came as a congressional letter to president obama was made public. it was signed by 367 members of the u.s. house of representatives, democrats and republicans alike.

dated march 20th, the letter said: "a final comprehensive nuclear agreement must constrain iran's nuclear infrastructure so that iran has no pathway to a bomb, and that agreement must be long-lasting." white house spokesman josh earnest seemed to mirror those demands in his own remarks. >> what we will insist on is that we cut off every pathway to a nuclear weapon that iran has and that they agree to and submit to historically intrusive inspections into their nuclear program. if iran is not able to make those commitments, then there will be no deal that is reached. >> woodruff: it's been reported that the u.s. and iran are working on a deal for a 40% reduction in iran's nuclear centrifuges, for ten years, in exchange for phased-out exchange for phased-out economic sanctions. but over the weekend, france appeared to take a harder line,

insisting that a deal must prevent iran from maintaining any ability to build a nuclear bomb. >> ( translated ): as long as we do not agree on everything, then the agreement doesn't exist, but we are working on it. >> woodruff: today, iran's deputy foreign minister pushed the u.s., france and four other powers to find a common position in order to reach a deal. then, it would fall to the international atomic energy agency or i.a.e.a, to monitor compliance. that group is conducting its own investigation of iran's program, as the negotiations proceed. those talks resume wednesday, with an end-of-month deadline just days away. >> woodruff: and with me now is the director general of the nuclear watch dog agency or iaea, yukiya amano. mr. amano, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for inviting me. >> woodruff: based on everything you know about the deal tats being worked on, does it give your agency the ability to do what you need to do?

>> the i.a.e.a. has the ability to verify and monitor the activities in iran. the important thing is that iran agree to implement apart from additional protocols, we also need to clarify the issues that iran may have had in the past. >> woodruff: let's take the additional protocol first. iran has agreed to some of this. what would that mean? we know it hasn't been ratified yet in iran, but they have in essence, agreed to it. what would that mean if that's carried out? >> i'll talk to that. iran signed the additional protocol and iran implemented this additional protocol for some time that it is not implementing the additional protocol. what is the advantage of the additional protocol?

with the implementation of the additional protocol, we can have access to the site which or we can request an inspect to the country. these activities are very useful to detect undeclared activities. >> woodruff: if you don't get that, is this deal worth having? if you cannot have that kind of access, is this a deal that's worth all the effort that would have gone into it? >> i think the implementation of the additional protocol is essential to have the confidence in the peaceful nature of iran nuclear activities. otherwise, we can have the assurance that the activities -- the declared activities are for a peaceful purpose but we cannot say everything is a peaceful

purpose or not. >> woodruff: mr. amano, what is the inspection situation? i think many people don't realize there have been some inspections going on. what is the extent of what your agency is able to do now even without a new agreement? >> there is an agreement which is called a comprehense safeguard agreement between iran and i.a.e.a. in light of this -- in accordance with this agreement, iran places a number of sites under i.a.e.a. monitoring and verification. for these facilities, we can send the inspectors, we can install camera and we can tell these activities are in peaceful purpose. but what we don't know without they have undeclared activities or something else. we don't know what they did in the past. so we know a part of the activities but we cannot tell we

know all the activities and that is why we cannot say that all the activities in iran is for peaceful purposes. >> woodruff: do you have a sense or able to get a read on whether iran is prepared to give the kind of access you say there must be? >> the additional protocol iran already signed. they gave indications that when the agreement is reached, they are ready to implement it, at least. >> woodruff: they've said that but it just hasn't been implemented, is what you're saying? >> just as an example, iran and p5 plus 1 agreed to join the faction. >> woodruff: the other world powers. >> yes, in 2013 and they rimple meaning it. they are implementing comprehensive safeguard

agreement but they have not said yet that they implement the additional protocol. this is the point and this is the problem. >> woodruff: so there are still sites, still people still data that i.a.e.a. wants access to. i also want to ask you about the work of your agency you've referred to several times is you want to know what they've done in the past on nuclear weapons and whether they've worked on nuclear weapons. they say they have not. you're not getting cooperation on that then, is that correct? >> we have received information we have collected our own information and we have heard from iran and our information indicates that iran engaged in activities regarding nuclear explosive devices. we have requested iran to clarify these issues. the policy-making organ of the

i.a.e.a. and the security council requested iran to engage with the i.a.e.a. and clarify the issues. so far, there have been some clarification but the progress has been very limited. we need to accelerate and clarify all the areas that we have identified in 2011. >> woodruff: and how long has your agency been asking for this information? >> we -- it was quite a long time but in 2011, we have information with the member states. since that time we nicheiated and in 2013 reached an agreement of the clarification. >> woodruff: but without that information, not to mention the additional protocol you have been talking about are you

comfortable -- would you be comfortable with a new agreement if they are able to reach one? >> i think it is very important that iran engage with us to clarify these issues. that is necessary to restore the confidence of the international community and the peaceful nature of iran nuclear activities. >> woodruff: at this point, what do you believe what will happen? >> my fear is clarifying this issue is in the interest of iran and if iran wants to restore their confidence, it is much better to do it sooner than later. i have a meeting in munich with the iranian foreign minister and i had a meeting if and i'm

making this point to accelerate and engage with us proactively. >> woodruff: yukiya amano director of the international atomic energy agency. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> ifill: next a diagnosis reconsidered. for decades, when a child appeared in an emergency room with unexplained head injuries and a disturbing set of symptoms, many doctors assumed one thing to be the cause: violent shaking and potential child abuse. but in recent years, the diagnosis of what's known as shaken baby syndrome has come under intense scrutiny, and so have many of the prosecutions and convictions that followed. special correspondent jackie judd begins our story in olney maryland. on a glorious sunday last

memorial day weekend in suburban washington, andrew taught his on -- >> go, go, go! >> >> reporter: his wife shot the scene with the baby nearby. people marveled how ideal the family seemed. >> it was the perfect weekend. trystan was smiley. >> reporter: 12 hours later their lives were inimaginably altered when they realized 18-year-old trystan had not cried out for his 2:00 a.m. feeding. >> i shot up in bed and looked at the monitor and all i could see was his butt in the air. i went into the room and pulled him up out of the bed and i just heard this gasp for air. i looked at him and he was so cold. >> reporter: the mother found

trystan slipped over and struggling to breathe took the baby to the hospital, thinking he might have suffered a diabetic reaction. to medstar hospital, doctor suspected meningitis. by wednesday morning trystan was dead. a doctor told the shortelles the cause appeared to have been child abuse because of bleeding behind the eyes and other symptoms. >> and he pulled both of us into the psych room and said we have reason to believe trystan died from shaken baby syndrome, the evidence doesn't lie. my mouth dropped. i was, like there's no way. >> i didn't even know what they said i said, i don't know what that is. >> reporter: within minutes of trystan's death, the mother was put in a room and questioned by a social worker and homicide detective. it was the start of a family

strategy and a legal night mayor as well as a window into what some viewers see as a flawed process of shaken baby syndrome. it is now understood that falls, infections, blood disorders even the birther process is cause some of the same symptoms once widely believed tied only to shaking. >> we know it can happen from accidents disease and all sorts of stuff. >> reporter: university of wisconsin law school consults on shaken baby cases in the innocents networks. >> some doctors think if you have a set of findings and don't have an explanation of a terrible car accident or fall from a really high height or a particular illness that what must remain is abuse. >> reporter: the set of findings or symptoms is often known as the triad -- bleeding behind the eyes bleeding around

the brain and swelling of the brain. for decades, some doctors have considered the presence to have the triad as irrefutable proof that a baby has been violently shaken as illustrated in this animation used in legal cases causing the brain to slam against the skull. further, that the disabling and sometimes fatal symptoms come on so quickly the last person with the baby must be responsible. the most notorious case involved louise woodward, a nanny in massachusetts who, in 1997, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. more than 1,000 cases of shaken baby are diagnosed every year. experts estimate that at least 100 of those are prosecuted. >> hi! >> reporter: some of those convicted turned to the innocence network's

organizations, including traden draden who lives in the phoenixiary who is one of a few who have had their cases overturned in the last two decades. he and his girlfriend were in ant out of the hospital with their infant son stephen after a complicated birth. witt was with the 4-month-old just before they rushed him to the e.r. for the final time. >> knowing he had a medical history, seizures knowing he had a very troubled history from birth, even knowing that, as soon as, you know, baby shaken syndrome was thrown out there, it was a train they all jumped on. nobody decided to look further. >> if i felt for one millimeter of a second that he did something to our son i would have took care of him mfself and that's a what i told the cops, you know. stephen was my entire world, and if i felt at all he was ever in

danger, i would have never put him in that situation. >> reporter: witt says he was an angry and aggressive young man who looked the part of a rough. then he was stilled surprised to be found guilty of second-degree murder. he spent 12 years in prison until his appeal was heard. in a statement to the court the medical examiner wrote, "there is now no longer consensus in the medical community that the original findings i reported are reliable proof of shaken baby syndrome. i believe stephen's death was likely the result of a natural disease process." since walking free in 2012 witt with his now wife and daughter, have been catching up on a life delayed. >> my peak years are gone. everything for me is starting over mid 30s. some people don't recover from that, and that's something that needs to be not taken lightly.

>> reporter: dr. lauren frazier, an expert on child abuse treats patients at penn state children's hospital in herbie and teaches at the college of medicine. >> we have to be totally honest with parents what we're doing. >> reporter: she always believed the triad can appear for multiple reasons but she also believes that in this contentious environment the defense too often ignores the obvious. >> but when you have symptoms that could be due to severe head trauma up to investigate because that's mandatory under the law. the standard is reasonable suspicion and they provide reasonable suggestions suspicion in the medical setting. >> reporter: mo one disputes child abuse occurs. the issue is how to narrowly identify the reason for a medical crisis. how do you tell the difference between abusive and accidental? >> it depends on the severity of the injury, of associated

injuries, other injuries. you take a detailed medical history. you spend probably at least an hour or more with family going in detail. tell us what happened. >> i have a lot of respect for the folks who work hard to figure out what the difference is, but we need a more accurate way to have figuring out the difference because it is absolutely unacceptable for children to be abused and it is similarly absolutely unacceptable for people who did nothing wrong to be in prison for crimes they didn't commit. >> reporter: judson of the innocence network says despite the evolving science she has not seen a decline in the number of shaken baby cases being prosecuted, diagnosed and investigated. that is the legal limbo mary ellen and drew shartele found themselves after trystan's death. for months alone they couldn't be alone with their surviving

son. >> i couldn't sleep. i was depressed. i'm thankful i made it because there were months i wanted to join hill. >> reporter: they soldiered on packing up the old house and moving to a place of their own. a legal resolution of sorts came in december. the medical examiner ruled the cause of death as undetermined. nothing in the autopsy report suggests signs of abuse such as fractures, broken bones or blunt impact. however, the shartels stay the state of maryland will not expense records to have the case for three years and until then they could be flagged for extra scrutiny, if they want to open a daycare,phor example, or adopt a child. >> instead of grieving you find yourself defending yourself. >> i felt guilty till proven innocent. >> reporter: the shartles opened a fund in trines' memory

for diagnosing shaken baby. for ten months they tried to help their 7-year-old adjust. >> you go through incredible sadness and not understanding what's just happened to you. then there's the anger at these people now intruding into our lives and looking at us like we did something that we know we didn't do. >> i remember on new year's eve when the ball dropped we just looked at each other and just burst into tears, just, like, oh, my god, that was a horrible year. the first half was the best time, and then on may 26th at 3:00 a.m., our life changed. >> reporter: and now with the cloud of suspicion gone about just what happened that night, they are free to truly grieve for their little boy. for the pbs "newshour", this is jackie judd in bethesda, maryland.

>> ifill: we asked medstar georgetown university hospital and maryland's child protective services to comment on this story. both declined to appear. >> woodruff: police in charlottesville, virginia have released the findings of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault at a university of virginia fraternity described in a rolling stone magazine article late last year. the story drew national attention, and soon thereafter, scrutiny of the details in the account. at a press conference today charlottesville police chief timothy longo discussed what his team found during the investigation that included multiple interviews with the alleged victim known only as "jackie." police also spoke with university officials, fraternity members and friends of the woman. it's the first official report to discredit the account. >> unfortunately, we're not able to conclude to any substantive

degree that an incident that is consistent with the facts contained in that arlo -- in that article occurred at the phi kappa psi house or any other fraternity house for that matter. that doesn't mean something terrible didn't happen to jackie onon that evening. we're just not able to gather sufficient facts to conclude what that something may have been. >> woodruff: joining me now is taylor rees shapiro. he's a "washington post" reporter who uncovered inconsistencies in the original "rolling stone" piece and has been following the developments at the university of virginia, since. taylor rees shapiro, thank you for talking with us. we know jackie's story, first she described seven men physically assaulting her being raped. what did the police investigation uncover? >> the police investigation, which included interviewing 70 different people and spending

hundreds of man-hours with the detectives, was not able to conclude with any sufficient evidence that the allegations that were detailed in rolling stone were true meaning they weren't able to prove that the actual gang rape had occurred. >> woodruff: so in doing so, just give us some sense of not only who they talked to but what they were told that did not square with her story. >> sure. the first thing the police aimed to do was confirm some details in the story such as did the party occur at the fraternity house on september 20, 2012. in order to do that the police reached out to members of the house that lived there that year and i believe they spoke to at least nine or ten of them. in the course of that investigation, they were able to show that, no, there had not been a party that night. they also reviewed financial records and other statements from the fra fraternity to prove that. in addition to that, they are able to prove that since there was not a party that night, they were able to say with more

definition that it didn't occur at the house. >> woodruff: they spoke to friends of hers. what did that produce? >> they interviewed three people who met jackie in the aftermath of the alleged attack and they told a story significantly different from what was detailed in rolling stone. they said they described a sexual attack significantly different than what add occurred and what was detailed in rolling stone suggesting inconsistencies in the account provided. >> woodruff: was there anything in her account they were able to corroborate? >> long said their investigation is suspended. he said that doesn't mean something horrible did not occur to her, but as far as they were concerned the rolling stone account was discredited. >> woodruff: in talking to them privately the university

officials and other privately do they believe something did happen to her in the fall of 2012? >> i met jackie multiple times and i was stunned by the allegations she was describing. when i talked the other people who knew her they, too, believed something happened to her. apparently in the minutes afterward when her friends met her that night. they said she was crying extremely distraught, that she didn't appear physically hurt but very emotional and they all concluded something terrible akin to a sexual assault must have occurred in their eyes. >> woodruff: mr. shapiro, understand why she has not cooperated or talked to police further answering questions? >> it's not clear to me. i have not spoken to jackie since september and her lawyers have declined to comment, i can't possibly say why other than she does not feel she needs to. >> woodruff: in watching this university community, how would

you say there is a reference to that i think in the police chief's news conference about how the university community has dealt with this? how would you say they have dealt with it what has changed on the campus would you say and do they feel there are lessons learned by this? >> sure. university of virginia's had a rough few months that began with the disappearance of hannah graham the rolling stone allegations and arrest of police officersl in charlottesville. the sexual assault became a hotly debated topic on campus and raised an issue and generated positive conversation. >> woodruff: more awareness, the better. >> yes, even one sexual assault is one too many. >> woodruff: taylor rees

shapiro, covering for "the washington post." thank you. >> of course. >> ifill: it was a busy day at the supreme court. the justices decided not to take up a voter i.d. case out of wisconsin, and, they heard arguments over the right to issue license plates in texas that feature a confederate flag. newshour contributor marcia coyle of the national law journal was there and joins me now. let's talk about this wisconsin case. in 2011, it was a big deal, this idea that voters had to present photo i.d.s at the polls and this was considered by democrats to be voter suppression and by republicans a chance to beat voter fraud. so this gets to the supreme court and they decided to end ut? >> not really. they decided not to hear the wisconsin case, so that leaves in place the lower-court decision upholding wisconsin's law. the court said nothing about the

merits of the challenge to wisconsin's law. and, gwen, right now, there are a number of other cases pending and moving up the pipeline that challenge other states' voter i.d. laws and in particular, texas and north carolina. texas, there was a full-blown trial and the judge in that case found intentional racial discrimination by the state of texas, unlike in wisconsin that case is now on appeal in the sixth circuit and expected whoever loses will take it to the supreme court. so as of today, we really don't know how the justices think about some of these laws. >> ifill: but additionally this was put on hold because it was too close to an election, not the merits. >> exactly, the court does not like to see changing to election law shortly before elections. the wisconsin law was going to go in effect right before midterm elections. today the aclu and other groups that challenged wisconsin's law

immediately went to the lower court to ask again that bit put on hold temporarily because there is an april 6, i believe election and, again, they haven't had time to implement the changes. >> ifill: let's move on to the arguments of the case today because we can never get away from a debate periodically politically, legally, about the confederate flag this time on a license plate. >> right. a really interesting case a very interesting argument today. texas, like many states, offer a specialty license plates for a fee. >> ifill: we're seeing one there. >> good. there is a state board that approves or disapproves of designs that drivers submit often after notice and comment. sons of confederate veterans is an organization that tries to preserve the legacy of those who fought for the confederacy in the civil war and they sought a design on the plate that featured the confederate flag.

this state board of texas heard thousands of comments mostly negative saying the flag was really a badge of slavery. the board rejected the sign. there was an appeal. the lower appellate court ruled in favor of sons of confederate veterans. texas brought the case to the supreme court as a first amendment case. the conflict boiled down very simply is who is the speaker on these license plates? the state of texas says this is government speech. if it's government speech, the first amendment does not apply. the government can choose whatever message it wants to market or display on the plans plate. sons of confederate veterans says nobody who looks at these license plates think it's government speaking, they think its the driver. >> ifill: the individual of the plate. >> exactly. and if it's the individual the first amendment does apply.

that was the structure of the argument. >> ifill: isn't former texas governor perry said this was scraping old wounds? did that argument get any kind of discussion today before the justices? >> it really didn't figure so much on that argument. the justices really pressed each side here to see what was the limit to their argument. for example, the texas attorney, he was asked, oh, well, for example could someone propose "vote republican" on a license plate and texas say that's fine, but turn down someone who votes democrats on their license plate. >> ifill: and the answer? texas attorney said there would be other constitutional bars to doing that, like equal protection. but he pressed the consequences of the other side's arguments. texas would have to put on its license plate for example, a swastika or al quaida, something

promoting jihad. >> ifill: that was truly offensive. >> yes, truly offensive. he said these groups that are denied their designs can get their messages out in other ways -- bumper stickers, a decal on a windshield. >> ifill: but why put it on a plate. the justices are looking into article arguments. what kind of questions were they asking? >> they pressed along the limits and on the sons of confederate veterans side, they asked that attorney, so what is this here, this license plate? >> he said this is a limited public forum. texas opened these specialty license plates to the public to design a message and once they did that, the first amendment would come into play. texas, he says, uses an arbitrary standard for deciding about the message. it says only if it's offensive to anyone. >> ifill: how many other

states have confederate flags and things like this. >> i don't know how many. >> ifill: so we don't know whether this would alie to other states? >> oh, yes certainly. what the court says about whether this is government speech or private, individual speech will have an impact on other states th offer specialty license plates and also the court hasn't spoken much about what government speech likely is. it's not only license plates but could be in other contexts. >> ifill: marcia coyle, thank you always. >> my pleasure, gwen. >> woodruff: for many years kodak film was one of the nation's leading companies, with 145,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $19 billion. today kodak is a much smaller company, digital cameras don't need film, and kodak is focusing

instead on exploiting thousands of patents it holds. the new york times produced this snapshot of the physical and cultural transformation taking place at kodak company headquarters in rochester, new york. you know, there are some mixed emotions. we took down 30 buildings and about 6 million square feet of space. in 34 years, i worked in a lot of these buildings. i have to be honest, it was a little bit tough to see some of that going down.

>> used to be called kodak park. you're standing in a place that used to have tens of thousandso of employees working there. now it has fewer more diversified, but still an exciting place. >> we still have over 6,500 people. the difference is three-quarters of those people are non-kodak workers today. >> all around us are other companies not kodak. >> in this facility where they're now making sauce and salsa, kodak used to make camera bodies. now it's just normal. my last five years at kodak, i used to manage the decline. sell buildings, cut costs.

it was depressing. it was just a shadow of its former self. what it is today is very different. obviously, kodak is a pretty interesting company and is a brand that was very warm, very personal because these were your memories that you were capturing. part of me says we need to carry on that legacy, and the next generation of products we make, children of this technology in there. ♪ we had 7,000 patents. we make our own inks and toners. we also make the fastest commercial printing ink jet machines in the world. we use film and put grid on it. >> we then print.

put glue on a piece of construction paper and sprinkle sparkles on top is similar to what goes on here. here is the ink. this is the metal. more high-tech but fundamentally that's what goes on. coda color film. this is the next generation of the products. >> part of me would love to have the business we had. while i enjoy the nostalgia, i'm beyond that now. i'm ready to move on. kodak will be offering more jobs here. but i think the real jobs will likely come from other companies coming in and utilizing the capability here. >> at one time there were 30,000 people manufacturing film. we have now 300 people manufacturing film. there has to be a sense of it.

sometimes you have to trim a tree for it to grow stronger. >> this is a real exciting change for us. >> i jumped ship and came over to the food and beverage industry. food and beverages, you know, it's the one thing i like about it the most is people have to eat. it won't be replaced by digital technology, and that i like. >> woodruff: you can find more on kodak and the company's transformation, online at nytimes.com/video. >> ifill: again, the major developments of the day: republican senator ted cruz of texas became the first candidate to announce a presidential bid in 2016. 367 members of the u.s. house, from both parties, released a letter to president obama on nuclear talks with iran.

in it, they insisted that tehran must have "no pathway to a bomb." and yemen's president appealed to other arab states to help him stop shiite rebels, allied with iran. >> woodruff: on the newshour online: it's not easy to have a frank discussion about race and culture in america, but as we continue our series "race today" on the younger generations' attitudes, we asked some guest columnists to share their thoughts: from personal experiences to scholarly data. first up is brittany cooper, a self-described "cusp millennial" and assistant professor of africana studies at rutgers university. find her column on our home page. that's at pbs.org/newshour. >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, we talk to afghan president ashraf ghani about the way ahead for his war weary nation. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you on-line, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good

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cultivated for the years to come, giving your company the resources and stability to thrive. mufg -- we build relationships that build the world. >> and now, bbc world news america. >> this is bbc well news america , reporting from washington. iraqi forces join shia militia fighters to surround the town but so far islam estate is not surrendering. let the race began. republican ted cruz announces he is running for president in america, the first two officially declare with a whopping 19 months to go. could cannabis oil help cure serious diseases like cancer? we go inside the fears medical debate and investigate the claims.