captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: on the newshour tonight: a spy to be set free-- israeli-american jonathan pollard gets parole after 30 years behind bars in the u.s. >> ifill: then, revisiting the nuclear bomb, 70 years later. the lingering health concerns for a community downwind of america's first test site. >> we were the first people that the atomic bomb was used on. the government came into our backyard and used us as guinea pigs. >> woodruff: plus, the criminals who rule the lawless seas. chasing down the world's most wanted in dangerous waters. >> ifill: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: nato ambassadors convened a rare emergency meeting today in brussels on the islamic state threat in turkey, after a string of attacks.

representatives from 28 nations gathered at nato headquarters for the special session, at turkey's request. afterward, the alliance's secretary-general spoke to reporters. >> all allies stand in solidarity with turkey. we strongly condemn the terrorist attacks. we express our condolences to the turkish government and to the families of the victims in suruc and other attacks against police and military officers. >> ifill: at the same time, turkey faced more violence from kurdish militants. a turkish soldier was shot in the head near the border with iraq. in retaliation, turkish jets hit kurdish rebel sites in the southeast. president recep tayyip erdogan said the peace process with kurds is on hold for now. >> ( translated ): i don't think it's possible to continue a peace process with those who take aim at our national security and brotherhood.

there should have been national unity and brotherhood. brotherhood comes above the peace process. >> ifill: the kurdistan workers party-- or p.k.k.-- said the airstrikes against them rendered the peace process meaningless. but they stopped short of formally pulling out. the p.k.k. and its affiliates are part of the effort to fight isis in syria. >> woodruff: obama administration officials today made their second pitch to congress over the iran nuclear deal-- this time before the house foreign affairs committee. >> there are conclusions that have been drawn that don't in fact match with the reality of what this deal sets forth. >> woodruff: secretary of state john kerry began his testimony well aware he'd face challenging questions from lawmakers over the nuclear deal with iran. he was joined by energy secretary ernest moniz, and treasury secretary jack lew. committee chairman ed royce claimed the deal, which lifts sanctions on iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program,

would only strengthen tehran. >> if this agreement goes through, iran gets a cash bonanza, a boost to its international standing, and a lighted path toward nuclear weapons. >> woodruff: kerry-- as he has repeatedly-- equated walking away from the deal to giving iran a fast-track to the bomb but he had a hard time making his points: >> you know, we hear these complaints, we hear, "well, this agreement doesn't do this. it doesn't stop their terror this agreement's gonna give them some money, this agreement's gonna do this." what this agreement is supposed to do is stop them from having a nuclear weapon. now i want to hear somebody tell me how they're going to do that without this agreement. what's the next step for the united states? nobody's answering that question. >> woodruff: at times, kerry was visibly frustrated as lawmakers peppered him with their doubts about the deal. >> your time has expired. i've suggested to the members--

ask the questions and leave time for response. >> woodruff: members from both parties also expressed concern over the fates of four americans in iran-- three held by the regime, one whereabouts unknown- - and over iran's support for militant groups. >> they support hamas, hezbollah and houthi, and those are just the organizations that begin with the letter "h". >> woodruff: congress began a 60-day review period on the deal last week, and secretary kerry leaves later this week for the middle east to discuss the agreement with arab allies. the deal did pick up critical support today from democratic representative sander levin of michigan. he's jewish and a strong supporter of israel. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has called the agreement a "historic mistake". >> ifill: in his last day on the continent, president obama pushed african leaders to do their part to make africa more stable and economically attractive.

during a speech during the african union in ethiopia, the president called on his counterparts to support human rights, prioritize job creation and clean up corruption. >> nothing will unlock africa's economic potential more than ending the cancer of corruption. when someone has to pay a bribe just to start a business or go to school or get an official to do the job they are supposed to be doing anyway, that's not the african way. it undermines the dignity of the people you represent. >> ifill: the president also said, "nobody should be president for life"-- remarks aimed at african leaders who have held onto power long after their terms expire. >> woodruff: the son of late libyan dictator moammar gadhafi was sentenced to death by firing squad today in tripoli. saif al-islam gadhafi was convicted of war crimes committed during the 2011 uprising that forced his father out of office. gadhafi's son was not in the courtroom when the ruling was handed down.

he's been held for four years by a militia in western libya that has refused to hand him over. >> ifill: back in this country, an upstate new york prison worker pleaded guilty today to helping two killers escape. joyce mitchell wept as she entered her plea today in plattsburgh. the former prison tailor admitted to smuggling hacksaw blades and other tools to the men inside frozen hamburger meat. richard matt and david sweat's daring prison break last month triggered a three-week manhunt. mitchell could face up to seven years in prison. her sentencing is set for late september. >> woodruff: more than a thousand scientists and tech experts warned today of the danger of an artificial intelligence arms race. in a open letter, the signatories called for a ban on autonomous weapons that are beyond meaningful human control. technology could make robots on battlefields a reality within years, not decades. stephen hawking, apple co-

founder steve wozniak and elon musk, the c.e.o. of tesla motors, were among those who signed the letter. >> ifill: archeologists in jamestown, virginia have discovered the remains of four of the first colonial leaders in america. the burial sites were found in 2013 in the earthen floor near the altar of what's left of america's first protestant church. the men were buried between 1608 and 1610 alongside various artifacts-- a rare practice at the time. it included a small silver box with bone fragments and a holy water container-- a mysterious catholic find for the anglican religion of the colony. >> woodruff: the national football league officially has its first female coach. the arizona cardinals hired 37- year-old jen welter to coach inside linebackers during their pre-season training camp. welter-- who has a p.h.d in psychology-- previously coached and played for the indoor football league's texas

revolution team. >> ifill: the four-game suspension against new england patriots quarterback tom brady will stand. he was suspended by the league for his role in using underinflated footballs during last season's a.f.c. championship game. brady and the team have denied the charges. n.f.l. commissioner roger goodell also said today that brady had his cell phone destroyed on the day he was due to meet with an independent investigator in the "deflategate" scandal. >> woodruff: a wave of strong corporate earnings reports coupled with a rise in the price of oil boosted stocks on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 189 points to close at 17,630. the nasdaq rose 49 points and the s&p 500 added 25. >> ifill: still to come on the newshour: parole for jonathan pollard after 30 years in jail for spying for israel, the boy scouts of america lift a ban on gay scout leaders, but allows religious exemptions, the city of boston terminates its bid for

the 2024 olympics, why playing host doesn't always pay off and much more. >> woodruff: lawyers for convicted spy jonathan pollard announced today that the u.s. government will be granting the 60-year-old parole. the former naval intelligence analyst was convicted of selling classified information to israel, and has been in prison for nearly 30 years. israeli leaders have been asking for pollard's release for decades. reporter devlin barret has been covering the story for "the wall street journal" and joins me now. welcome back to the program. >> hi, thanks. >> woodruff: remind us who jonathan pollard is and why he was sent to prison life. >> he was sentenced to life after, in 1985, he was arrested and charged with passing

suitcases of classified documents from his work at the navy to the israelis, and it was an amazing case in a lot of ways because, you know, the u.s. is very close to israel and traditionally speaking, the u.s. feels nations that are this close don't spy on each other this aggressively. when he was sentenced in the navy h he received a life sentence and set off decade of disagreement and pressure from israel to release him before he died. >> woodruff: he pleaded guilty. >> right. >> woodruff: what was the argument by israel that he should be able to leave? >> he was spawned for an ally. he didn't actually harm u.s. national security the same way a spy for the soviet union would because those secrets were taken by a friendly nation. i think one of the quirks of the pollard case is, in a lot of spy cases, we swap them for our own agents that we want back. for pollard, unluckily, i guess, there was no one ever to swap

for him, so that's part of the reason he's remained in prison all this time. >> woodruff: how much is known about what was in the material that he took and gave to israel? >> the defense secretary at the time, casper weinberger, said he could not imagine a case that did more harm to national security. i think there is some debate within the intelligence community about that because certainly spice like aldridge ames are credited with giving up information that directly led to deaths of agents and got people killed. that be a debate around pollard that the government has never specifically made that accusation against him. >> woodruff: today the u.s. parole board is saying there is no connection between this decision to let him out in november and what's going on with iran. the israelis, obviously, very upset with the u.s.'s deal on nuclear weapons with iran. you talked to u.s. officials who give you different -- >> i spoke to multiple u.s. officials who believe there is some connection, that that's not

the sole reason, but part of the thinking behind releasing him now. i will say that obama administration officials adamantly deny that as being in any way related to a foreign policy consideration. what's sort of funny about that is if that were true, that would be the first time in this man's life maybe in 30 years, that he wasn't part of a foreign policy discussion. he's basically been a human bargaining chip for the last 20 years. >> woodruff: is this supposed to have a sol dare effect on u.s.-israeli relations? >> i think it could, but i think anyone who thinks this significantly affect the way israel views the iran deal is mistaken, that it may create some good will just in the general israeli population maybe among israeli leaders, but, in the end iran is bigger than pollard. as important as pollard may be to israel, the iran deal is simply bigger than pollard. >> woodruff: what happens to jonathan pollard once he gets out of prison?

>> me very much wants to go toirlz. israel granted him citizenship in 1995. the u.s. government has to decide whether to let him do that. his lawyers said, if he can't leave the country, which is sometimes a condition of parole, he will move to the new york area. >> woodruff: but that has to be worked out. >> that's still to be worked out. his official release date is november, so there's a little time to work that out, still. >> woodruff: all right, devlin barrett with the "wall street journal," we thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: after years of debate the boy scouts of america voted last night to end a ban on adult leaders who are openly gay. the policy still would allow church-sponsored scout units to maintain an exclusion for religious reasons. the scouts decided two years ago to allow openly gay youth. several religious organizations are either apprehensive or oppose the new policy, including the church of jesus christ

latter day saints, which sponsors more scout troops than any other denomination. mormon leaders said in a statement they will re-examine their ties to the boy scouts. we invited several religious organizations to appear tonight, but they declined. zach wahls is the executive director for scouts for equality. thank you for joining us. welcome. so how big a deal is this? we've seen this coming bit by bit for a time. >> this is an historic step by the boy scouts of america. they first implemented this policy in 1978, 37 years ago and for them to go from that policy which they adopted in the '70s to voting last night to end the ban even though there is a religious exemption as you mentioned, still a pretty big

chapter for the boy scouts to move on to. >> ifill: how did it happen? we heard robert gates used to be secretary of defense now head of the boy scouts said maintaining the old policy was no longer sustainable. what does that mean "sustainable"? >> i think in this context gates was referring to the fact the boy scouts policy was under essentially assault from legal challenges being pace placed in new york and chicago. but also this is the kind of event that will create stories that will illustrate the damage the ban was creating. for example, in april of 2012, jennifer terrell from bridge bridgeport, ohio, was banned from her son's boy scout troop. we heard earlier in new york a gentleman had been hired to work in their summer camp and up until this point the boy scouts refused to hire gay adults. >> ifill: what kind of impact will this have on the culture of scouting? >> it's hard to say with

specificity because we don't have allowable polling data. but since james gale was removed in 1990 from the boy scouts, the boy scouts have seen a precipitous decline in membership since 1990. >> ifill: in coming to this agreement, the boy scouts agreed to allow for exemptions for religious organizations. do you find that acceptable? >> our position is discrimination at any level sends a harmful message to youth, gay or straight alike, and discrimination has no place in scouting. it's important to recognize this is a big change for the boy scouts and makes sense to find a compromise with their religious partners. >> ifill: so the churches, mormons as we described earlier, they decided to pull out of boy scouting entirely. doesn't that undermine scouting as well is this. >> we hope the mormons don't leave. we believe scouting is stronger when it is more deverse fide in

its members. we think the mormons baptists, catholics should stay. it should be open to everyone who is willing to live by the scout law. >> ifill: so the hope is conversations will agree between you and the people who believe as you and the church organizations? >> yes. >> ifill: have there been discussions? >> we've heard from the yiewn tarrian association which says they will be trying to reestablish relationship with the boy scouts. we're also reaching out to other organizations including the union for informed judaism. we hope the church of christ will increase its commitment to the boy scouts. we're excited about building a stronger more inclusive boy scouts moving forward. >> ifill: what do you say to people, whether a scout member or leader, that sexuality shouldn't be an issue in these cases. >> i agree sexuality shouldn't be an issue.

i have two moms, jackie and terri, i don't know if they're watching at home but they were a small part of my scout experience when we were growing up because we lived in a progressive community, but in bridgeport, ohio where jennifer terrell is from, it was an issue. no scout should be denied entrance because their parents are gay. >> ifill: zach wahls executive director of scouts for equality, thank you for joining us. >> thanks, gwen. >> woodruff: hosting the olympic games has become a kind of olympian feat in itself. many cities have struggled with it, while others have said the outcome is well worth it. but boston's ambivalence about hosting the summer games and the decision it announced yesterday is casting a fresh spotlight on these questions. >> this is a commitment that i cannot make without assurances that boston and its residents will be protected. >> woodruff: with that announcement yesterday, boston's bid to host the 2024 summer

olympics came to an end. mayor marty walsh: >> i refuse to mortgage the future of the city away. i refuse to put boston on the hook for overruns. and i refuse to commit to signing a guarantee that uses tax payers dollars to pay for the olympics. >> woodruff: the move follows a months-long, multi-million- dollar campaign that preceded even january's selection of boston by the u.s. olympic committee as america's candidate city. high profile athletes with boston ties made pitches, and planners envisioned venues spread across metro boston and the state of massachusetts. but the bid soured soon after boston was picked. as bostonians learned of the cost details, their support plummeted. in a statement yesterday the u.s. olympic committee's c.e.o., scott blackmun, said the u.s.o.c:

u.s. olympic officials now have until september 15th to name a replacement candidate city. one possibility is los angeles which hosted the games in 1932 and 1984, and has already expressed interest. the u.s. hasn't hosted a summer olympics since atlanta in 1996 or any olympics since the 2002 salt lake city winter games. boston's doubts and decision underline the great costs borne by olympic host cities. rio de janiero-- which will hold next year's summer games-- is spending about $12 billion on the event. and russia spent upwards of $50 billion to organize the 2014 winter games in sochi. the question that many are asking in the wake of boston is whether it ultimately is worth

hosting a games. there are various ways of measuring that and we get two different takes: george hirthler has been a communications strategist for ten olympic campaigns, including atlanta's successful 1996 bid and vancouver in 2010. and andrew zimbalist, a professor of economics at smith college and author of the book "circus maximus: the economic gamble behind hosting the olympics and the world cup." and we welcome both of you. so let's talk about boston first. andrew zimbalist, to you, what would you add to what was just reported about what went wrong in boston? why were they chosen and then what fell apart? >> i think from the very beginning when boston was selected back in january -- and by the way, it was said boston was selected because it was the most walkable of the four competitors. ever since the announcement was made that boston was selected

the boston '24 committee came out with a lot of incomplete, deceiving and misdirection-oriented information and, over the last several months every couple of weeks, some new piece of information has been released that i think has lessened the trust of bostians and sit sens of massachusetts, who, after all, just a few years ago, went through the big dig construction in boston which was supposed to cause $2 billion and ended up costing over $20 billion. >> woodruff: george hirthler, anything to add to that about what went wrong in boston? >> what went wrong, judy, was the public narrative pretty mitch controlled by professor zimbalist and his co-heart cohort of colleagues. they kept the public focused on the financial risks of the games so the public never had a chance to consider what it would be like to have athletes from 200 countries around the world living in an olympic village in

their midst. the games would have been extremely walkable for 90% of the fans coming into the boston. but because the economic argument kept going, a lot of fear was introduced and bids don't usually get their economic numbers well worked out until well into the international phase which doesn't start till september. boston was at a great disadvantage. it had gone through a domestic phase, then just looking at preliminary numbers. professor zimbalist and dempsey and others attacked the numbers and kept the public focused on risk and fear. so the people haven't had a chance to look at the overall benefits and aspects that might have been delivered in the game. >> woodruff: i want to move on to the larger the question we raised burks professor system zimbalist, let me give you an opportunity to respond. >> i want to thank george for making me out to be so powerful. i don't think we had nearly that impact, but look here's the reality, every single olympic

game since 1960 that we have financial data for has had a cost overrun. the average cost overrun of the summer olympics since 1980 has been 3.5 times which means if you compare the initial bid numbers to the final numbers you have to multiply them by 3.5. they talk about the last three olympic games in the united states were in sur plays, in profit, they say. in fact, there are three buckets of money that gets spent hosting the olympics. the first bucket is the operations budget of the 17 days of the games. then there is the venue budget then an infrastructure bucket. the last three games had a sur plurks but not an overall surplus and doesn't mean a lot of public money is going into the games. >> woodruff: do you want to respond george? then we'll move on to tbirg question. >> the obvious example i can

talk about are the economics of atlanta, a little bit anecdotally. since the flame went out in atlanta, judy -- and by the way, the venues were built out of marketing rev revenues in atlanta. there wasn't a separate bucket for the development as professor zimbalist said. we built eight competition venues for $520 million out of the marketing revenues for the atlanta games and still ended up with a profit. since the flame went out in atlanta, judy, there have been $3.2 million of investments around centennial olympic park that served as a catalyst of the economic redevelopment of downtown atlanta. last year we hopped the center of hill and human rights next to coke, the georgia aquarium, geeks to hotels and condos and businesses all of which came to atlanta because to have the olympic games. professor zimbalist might add that the games don't help raise

the image of the city internationally. today atlanta has 18 fortune 500s headquartered here up from 12 before the games, primarily because of the image enhancement we got out of the olympic games. >> this reminds me or the story -- >> woodruff: i want to brond this out, and ask you is your argument that there's a better model for deciding where the games go or that the u.s. shouldn't be bidding for them, period? >> i think it's a very difficult proposition to come out economically neutral when you host these games very difficult. los angeles obviously did it in 1984 under very special circumstances. i think barcelona achieved some positive economic results from hosting in 1992. also because of some very special circumstances. i wouldn't say you should never bid. i think it's possible that a

los angeles bid might make sense. they have most to have the venue infrastructure and the transportation infrastructure already in place, so the amount of investment they would have to make would be quite small. that's something we have to see when the plans develop and whether or not mayor garcetti is willing to sign the guarantee to the i.o.c. that they will cover cost overruns or revenue shortfalls. >> woodruff: george, is there a better model? clearly, some cities have struggled with the cost that is required to put these games on, and there are real questions. there were questions in boston. >> there are new models judy, and boston would have invented a new model, i'm sure, in line with the agenda 2020 reforms that the international olympic committee has recently begun to implement. but forethat forget that, there is a better story, the story of the olympic movement and its value to our world and you never hear about it in the economic,

financial risk stories of the opponents of the games. right now, the olympic movement is at work in 200 countries around the world, 365 days a year, instill the values of excellence friendship and respect, respect for opponents, other cultures differences, and in millions of young children around the world. in our world, we need a positive force at work around the world. the olympic movement invests a billion dollars every year in development of sport around the world and that money flows directly from the sponsorships and broadcast rights sold for the cities that are hosting the games. so money from the host cities in order to develop sport globally. i would like to know what the value of development of sport, giving kids to choose sport, what's the economic development of that? >> woodruff: let me turn in the little time we have, andrew zimbalist, what about this bigger bin benefit you hear

mr. hirthler describing. what doesn't that outweigh some of the financial questions you're focused on? >> look, the olympic movement is a good thing. olympic values is a good thing. nobody is contesting that. is issue we're talking about is whether or not it makes economic sense for cities to host the loirchg games, whether or not -- those the olympic games, whether or not it pays off to do that. all of the academic literature all of the serious unpaid for literature, finds it's not a good investment for cities to make. that's the argument i'm representing here. >> all right, we're going to have to leave it there. we thank you both for joining us andrew zimbalist and george hirthler. >> thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: slavery, theft and lawlessness in international waters and, oh the things you can read-- how a

once lost dr. seuss book got published. >> ifill: this month marked the 70th anniversary of the first test of a nuclear bomb. it was a milestone for science and credited with leading to the end of world war two. but one group isn't celebrating. they call themselves the downwinders because they lived downwind of the blast site. special correspondent kathleen mccleery reports from south central new mexico. >> reporter: the solemn reading of names at a candlelight vigil. this one with traditional new mexican luminarias is in a baseball field in the village of tularosa. these are victims of a different kind of loss. >> there's just-- just too much cancer here. so many tears. >> reporter: gloria herrera knows about cancer from her friends, her neighbors and her husband, henry, who's had three different kinds.

the herraras blame the disease on a day etched in henry's memory. he was 11 years old. >> kaboom, that thing exploded and i mean it was a big explosion. it wasn't like these regular ones we'd be hearing. >> reporter: in july 1945, scientists worked in secret on the world's first atomic bomb in a part of new mexico's desert called jornada del muerto or journey of death. they hoisted a 19 kiloton device called the gadget on top of a 100 foot tower. at 5:29 in the morning on july 16th, a tremendous flash came first, and then a mushroom cloud stretched seven miles high. it was the same size and power as the plutonium bomb that would be dropped 24 days later on the japanese city of nagasaki killing tens of thousands. july is the rainy season in new mexico. hours after the blast, the skies opened up.

no one told residents to evacuate, even as radioactive ash poured down on livestock, crops, water cisterns and laundry hanging on lines. >> it was just black, black real, real fine dust, cause momma had just hung up her clothes, white sheets and pillowcases and the white clothes she washed first. >> and it was on the roof. we got it into the-- the cistern. it was on our food. it was on our chickens, our cows, our rabbits. >> reporter: a 2010 report from the centers for disease control examined radioactive fallout from several nuclear tests. for trinity, the study found some radiation levels were: "almost 10,000 times what is currently allowed in public areas." people here believe the radiation caused a spike in numerous cancers among those who lived downwind of the site. >> there isn't a family in tularosa. i'll bet you ten dollars to a doughnut, that don't have

somebody in their family with cancer, maybe one two maybe the whole family you know. >> we were the first people that the atomic bomb was used on. we were the first downwinders. the government came into our backyard and used us as guinea pigs, they experimented with us. and they left. >> reporter: the hinkle family was one of the hardest hit. edna kay hinkle is a breast and skin cancer survivor. her grandparents had a ranch 27 miles away from the blast site. >> my dad and his uncle were out there, sleeping on the front porch and the-- a bomb went off and woke them up. and they saw the mushroom. every one of my grandparents' kids were affected. why were there 14 in that one family, you know, and then you add granny's siblings, well there's 20 in one family. that's a lot of cancer. >> my brother died of cancer. my oldest son from my first marriage had a brain tumor. it was a very rare tumor.

>> reporter: ray cordova is the mayor of tularosa, which sits around 40 miles from ground zero, population about 3,000. he says the numbers affected by cancer are climbing. most americans have family and friends who have battled cancer. one in two men and one in three women will contract the disease during their lifetimes. but are cancer rates higher here in the towns and villages near the trinity test site? >> if you like the analogy of war on cancer, we are the people who are drawing the map for that war. >> reporter: chuck wiggins heads the new mexico tumor registry and his data does not show higher cancer rates in the area around the test site. >> when you compare anglos in the trinity site area to anglos in other parts of new mexico the rates are really quite similar. same with hispanics and natives the rates really are-- are quite similar to other parts in the state. >> reporter: wiggins says there is a link between radiation and certain cancers. but exposure can occur in many

ways, for example: x-rays and other diagnostic tests, flying in airplanes, tanning or smoking cigarettes. >> cancer is the leading cause one of the leading causes of illness and death in new mexico. what i would say is that that's true in tularosa, it's also true in santa fe county and many other counties throughout the state. >> reporter: but that argument doesn't fly in tularosa. >> i do not believe that. not for one minute. >> reporter: tina cordova-- the mayor's niece and a thyroid cancer survivor-- has organized the tularosa basin downwinders consortium. they've collected health surveys from hundreds of people and compiled names of the dead. gloria herrera is one of the list-makers. >> what if i give you a list of 285 people that we know, we've attended their funerals, we've seen them, we've gone to take food to the families. 285 people that we know of, and there's probably more.

>> our goal has always been basically two things: number one to get the government to acknowledge and apologize to the people in all of these small communities, in and around trinity, and the number two: to include us in the radiation exposure compensation act. >> reporter: that act-- passed by congress in 1990-- apologized and awarded $50,000 to $100,000 to miners and participants exposed to radiation in nearly 200 nuclear weapons tests. but downwinders were only compensated in three states: nevada, utah and arizona. >> they forgot about new mexico. >> they didn't do nothing about us. >> they forgot all about new mexico. >> nothing. zilch. >> reporter: it will now take a congressional amendment to change that. something senator tom udall has worked on since he was elected to congress in 1998. this year, on the anniversary of the trinity test, he again urged his colleagues to make amends to the people of his state. >> they deserve justice.

they deserve compensation. and they are still waiting. 70 years later. still waiting. >> reporter: people in tularosa aren't counting on getting a check from the government any time soon. >> there's not enough money in this whole wide world to compensate the people in tularosa, we could fill a lake with the tears and the prayers. >> reporter: at the white sands missile range, an obelisk marks the spot where the bomb stood. the ranch house where it was assembled is two miles away. tiny pieces of green glass litter the ground, melted sand that's still slightly radioactive. the national cancer institute is embarking on an assessment of what people ate and how they lived in an effort to determine how much radiation they got. but those results aren't expected until at least 2017. in tularosa, there's skepticism about a government study. >> the cancer institute is

coming to question us? 70 years later? what happened ten years afterwards? 20? >> think about how many people we've lost this year. i'm not certain we need more studies. in my mind, what we need to put money into is compensation. is healthcare. is screening, is helping people who need help. >> reporter: i'm kathleen mccleery for the pbs newshour in tularosa, new mexico. >> ifill: the trinity site is open to the public only twice a year, but you can take a tour with us in a slideshow of images on our web site. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and, later tonight on pbs: a new film takes an in-depth look at the race to produce the first atomic bomb, the ethics of using a weapon that could end human civilization, and the lives of those who built it. "the bomb" airs tonight on most pbs stations.

>> woodruff: now a look at some uncharted waters and the dangers faced by those out at sea. william brangham reports. a warning: the story contains some graphic images. >> reporter: it's easy to overlook just how dependent our lives and the entire global economy have become on shipping and the seas. today, several million ships carry roughly 90% of the world's goods. but a "new york times" series shows how little we know about "the lawless seas." migrants, stowaways and fishermen disappear-- often killed in accidents, or worse-- there's evidence of murders taking place offshore. and tens of thousands of workers are essentially enslaved each year. all the while, international maritime law seems wholly inadequate and few authorities ever step in. ian urbina reported this series and he joins me now. in the first part of your series you talk about a particular ship, "the dona laberta," and you document a whole manner of

crimes, treatment of crew, stowaways overboard, dumping oily residue into the water, you can name the owner of the ship, but nothing is done, why is that? >> number one: a lot of these companies are p.o. boxes and shells of shells of shells and that was the case here. so just pinning down the owing company was tough. secondly you have a boat that has ten different nationalities in terms of the crew, the captain from another nation, the company, a third nation, it's flagged to a fourth nation and passing through intl waters-- figuring out who would prosecute or investigate a crime is tough. and the last part is no one wanting to investigate these matters, when crimes occur, it's usually against crew, the

environment, the crew are from poor countries and those countries don't have the wherewithal to prosecute. >> reporter: is there a governing body, an organization that is supposed to have jurisdiction over these matters? >> the flag that ship flies that ultimately the country that should take responsibility, but those flags are businesses and they don't have enforcement wings, they don't have police they don't have investigators and they don't have much incentive really to investigate their clients. there are overarching bodies like at the u.n. and the international maritime agency but again it's not an enforcement agency so complaints have been filed, but they usually sit there on record. >> reporter: you document in your series some, the conditions for fishing boat workers, and video? the way you describe it is many of these workers are in essence slaves, who are these men and how did they end up in the circumstances that they're in?

>> that's a story we focused on in the south china sea where this problem is most acute, most of the vessels we looked at were thai flagged trawlers, fishing vessels, they are smaller boats, and the crews come from predominantly laos, cambodia and there are many burmese. and they are trafficked into the country over the border illegally-- often under the pretense they will get a job in construction or some land based job. next thing they know they are at the port and they are shuttled onto a ship and the traffickers essentially sell them to the boat captain, and they are indentured on the boat and working till their debt is cleared, but once you get out to sea, it's not a realm of bookkeeping, exact account. >> reporter: you can't just get off. >> right, so they stay there. >> reporter: you document a horrible incident that happened i believe in the indian ocean, this very graphic cell phone

video of men being shot in the water, this is pretty clear evidence of a graphic, horrible crime, how come no one is held to account for this? how do you explain that? >> it's pretty amazing, this cell phone video that was found. it shows a clear case of murder. there are four men floating in the water, and over ten minutes they are shot, at the end of the video and the most striking part, those involved in the shooting are taking selfies. >> reporter: they've just shot men to death, in the water, and here they are taking selfies of themselves. >> and the video ends up on the internet, so the question is how is it possible with this much evidence, there were four large tuna, long-line vessels in the area, so that means there were dozens of witnesses, with the video on the internet with the culprits. it gets to the heart of the issue that you raised before: there is no interested party that has the wherewithal to prosecute or investigate, and at

the end of the day the seas are this sprawling space, and so pinning down when and where things occurs out there when there are so few other people that weren't party to the crime- - is difficult >> reporter: the environmental crimes you document are also quite stark. you write: what is being done to combat those types of crimes? >> not a whole lot because while there are rules on the books, rules are only as good as their enforcement. and that's where the high seas become especially difficult, because it's super costly to put boats on the water, it's such a huge area to patrol and no nation has the jurisdiction to

do that on the high seas because it belongs to everyone and no one, so there are strong rules on the books forbidding that kind of behavior, but there is no one there to stop it. >> reporter: ian urbina of "the new york times," thank you very much. >> thank you. >> ifill: finally, dr. seuss's popular empire is about to grow once again. a newly published book of his immediately shot up to number one on the amazon best-seller list day. jeffrey brown has more on its interesting back story and the enduring appeal of the children's author. >> brown: ah, the choices that life presents. for example: "we want a pet. we want a pet. what kind of pet should we get?" the opening lines of a "new" book. actually, an old book, never finished--until now-- by theodor geisel, who as "dr. seuss," wrote and illustrated such

classic children's books as "the cat in the hat" and "green eggs and ham". 44 books in his lifetime-- he died in 1991-- that have sold more than 650 million copies and counting. now comes "what pet should i get," discovered in a box in 2013 and completed by cathy goldsmith, who worked with theodor geisel as a designer and art director for his last six books. she continues to work at random house, which has just published the new book. also with us is author and illustrator greg pizzoli. his debut picture book, "the watermelon seed," won the theodor seuss geisel award in 2014. >> brown: so cathy goldsmith, let me start with you. let me ask, what do you make of this book and what should we make of this book? why did theodor geisel set it aside? >> well, i think he set it aside mostly because he got involved in other things. he was famous for always working

on more than one project at a time, and i just think this was one that he wrote and moved open almost immediately afterwards to "one fish two fish." >> brown: how much work did you have to do on it to bring it to publication? >> well, in the box, we found the complete line art and manuscript. what we did not find were the color specs for the book. >> brown: therefore, what did you do? >> so i backed out to try to work out a color scheme for this book that would be consistent with what ted himself might have done if he were still with us today. >> brown: which meant look at that time work around that time? how did you figure it out? >> because it's so closely related to one fish two fish, i started with the color pallet for that book and worked out what needed to happen in this book to make this bookwork. >> brown: there are two children in the book, trying to decide on a pet start with a dog and cat and then, in

dr. seuss fashion imagine ever more extravagant types of animals. what did you see in this book? >> well, i'm a cat person so i was hoping for the cat but i've found the dr. seuss i've loved since i was a child the fun rhyming text, the amazing illustrations and the dr. seuss that we all love. >> brown: tell us more. what accounts for that love or that leadership? >> well i think, you know, in particularly, when people think of dr. seuss, they think of his rhyme to verse, they have a very particular imaginative quality they have with language. as an illustrator myself, i was looking at the book today and just marveling at the pen and ink illustrations, and how he was able to do so much in the illustration that wasn't being said in the text itself.

as cathy said, the colors look great. great job. >> thank you for that. >> brown: the line got me and brought me back to reading dr. seuss as a kid when he says "oh, boy, it is something to make a mind up." you know that's correct very human moment or i can't decide but i have to decide. >> yes, i think this is it not only about choosing a pet but making a choice and it's a problem children and adults have throughout their lives at various times. >> brown: tell us more cathy goldsmith, about dr. seuss or theodor geisel, the man. he's described often as a perfectionist. i saw where he said, i know my stuff looks like it was rattled off in 28 seconds but every word is a struggle and every sentence is like the pangs of birth. that's quoting him. >> well, that is a quote that he made, yes. and i think it really described the way he worked. he wrote and rewrote and redrew

and seldom actually shared a project with those of us at random house until he was well into it and knew that he was on the path to being finished with it. but he also expected the same thing of those around him, which is why we take taking care of his legacy so seriously at random house. >> brown: you were talking about the drawing itself. he could have done a lot with his art. i mean he could have done many other things but he put it in the service of children's books. >> right. he did political cartoons during world war ii. he was, you know, a very fantastic sculter. he really could have done anything, and he chose children's books. he saw children's books children's publishing as a legitimate art form worthy of his particular genius, and elevated the fields. i think he should be largely credited for the golden era of picture books we're seeing today. >> brown: cathy goldsmith, any

reservations? was there ambivalence for you or for random house or for his widow for anybody involved here in winning this to the public? >> not at all. we have a tremendous respect for the legacy of what dr. seuss did when he left us, and we would not have published this book if we did not feel it fit very nicely and rep reputably within his work. >> brown: is there more possibly to come? >> there was nothing else found in that box that was complete so no no new other new books coming down the line. >> brown: greg? signaled the ideas to me cathy. that's fine. >> brown: send them to you? yeah, i'll fin them up. >> brown: greg pizzoli, cathy goldsmith, thank you both so much. >> thank you.

>> woodruff: finally tonight our "newshour shares" of the day. something that caught our eye which might be of interest to you, too. our colleagues from kqed in san francisco profiled "vocal rush," a teen acapella group from oakland, who used the stage to pay homage to the black lives matter movement and acknowledge their own city's troubled history. one, two -- (singing) >> "vocal rush" has always been a group of diverse kids. it's something we're all proud of, too. but this year, the fact that black live

>> woodruff: you can find the full report on our arts beat page at pbs.org/newshour. >> ifill: also on the newshour online right now, twitter may be also on the "newshour", read how the micromessaging site is cracking down on plagiarism. that's on our web site9÷is

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