captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> sreenivasan: good evening, i'm hari sreenivasan. judy woodruff is away. on tonight's pbs newshour, a wave of suicide bombs shake nigeria, just days after nigeria's president pledges to defeat the terrorist group boko haram by the end of this year. also ahead this friday, an exclusive interview with the al jazeera journalist who's returned home after spending 400 days in an egyptian jail. freedom isn't easy. three inmates seek to rebuild their lives, and their families, after prison. >> having a child is a wonderful thing. you know, she's not like, "mommy, you have all these flaws, or you look ugly to me." she thinks i'm beautiful, strong and i want to nurture that. >> sreenivasan: and it's friday: mark shields and david brooks are here to analyze the week's

news. all that and more 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. >> supporting social

entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: a series of suicide bombings rocked northern nigeria today. four women blew themselves up early this morning as soldiers challenged their entrance to maiduguri, killing at least 18 people. the blasts occurred just hours

after two bombs struck a nearby mosque. at least 30 people died in those explosions. officials suspect boko haram extremists are behind both incidents. nick schifrin is on assignment for us in nigeria; i spoke to him earlier today in the capital, abuja. nick, so you were in the town where the bombings happened. you're in a different city now. what can you tell us about today's violence. >> hari, good evening. can't get into the center of maiduguri nor can they seize any land outside of it. they're strapping people with bombs, more bombs, according to intelligence officials, in the last nine months than the previous 16 years combined. this morning, the attack was actually thwarted by police. last night's attack, horrific. somebody actually got into a mosque and blew himself up. the vast majority of boko haram's victims are muslims. >> sreenivasan: what's the u.s. doing to fight boko haram.

>> the hope is to retrain nigerian forces to fight boko haram and flood the zone with drones. there is a brand-new base in northern cameroon. intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, these are the kinds of things the u.s. will give nigeria and the whole region. there will not be troops on the ground. the u.s. hopes to train more to have the local forces and give them the intelligence they need. >> sreenivasan: nick >> thanks, hari. >> sreenivasan: we'll have more on the security situation in nigeria right after the news summary. tensions between israelis and palestinians flared for another day. a palestinian man wearing a "press" t-shirt stabbed and wounded an israeli soldier in hebron, while elsewhere in the west bank, palestinians firebombed a jewish holy site. violence also broke out in gaza, where israeli soldiers shot and killed two palestinians. all this, as both sides pleaded for international help, at a special meeting of the u.n. security council. >> ( translated ): we come to

you today asking the council to urgently intervene to end this aggression against our defenseless palestinian people, and against our shrines, which are subjected to violations by the israeli military occupation and by israeli settlers and by extremists. >> israel is facing an onslaught of terrorism. yet for them, there has been no demand for a emergency session of the security council, no call for the palestinian leadership to stop their incitement, and not even a whisper of condemnation of these acts could be heard from this council. >> sreenivasan: there was also word that u.s. secretary of state john kerry will meet israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu next week in germany. the two also spoke today about the conflict, during what the state department called a constructive conversation. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations insisted today an iranian missile test last weekend was a clear violation of u.n. sanctions. samantha power issued a statement warning the u.s. will seek security council action, now that it has determined that the iranian missile was,

"inherently capable of delivering a nuclear weapon." and at a news conference today, president obama maintained the landmark deal over iran's nuclear program won't deter the u.s. from pressuring the country over its missile program. syrian troops initiated a fresh offensive against rebel forces today. the new push in the northern province of aleppo was coordinated in conjunction with russian airstrikes. it follows a separate operation launched yesterday farther south in homs province. meanwhile, the turkish military shot down an unauthorized drone flying in their airspace near the syrian border. u.s. officials believe it was of russian origin, but moscow insisted all its aircraft were accounted for. hungary is further sealing itself off from the sea of migrants flowing into europe. the government is officially closing its border with croatia tonight, a month after doing the same with serbia. earlier in the day, more than 1,000 refugees streamed off a train in a croatian border town, hoping to make it into hungary before the closure.

more than 383,000 migrants have entered hungary this year. parts of southern california were digging out from a deluge of mud and debris a day after powerful storms soaked the area. emergency crews worked around the clock to reopen one of the state's major thoroughfares, interstate five, north of los angeles near fort tejon state park. hundreds of vehicles were stranded in the area yesterday in up to five feet of mud. on wall street today, stocks closed higher for a third straight week. the dow jones industrial average gained 74 points to close at nearly 17,216. the nasdaq rose more than 16 points. and the s&p 500 added nine. for the week, the dow, nasdaq, and the s&p 500 all gained around 1%. still to come on the newshour, the journalist who spent 400 days in an egyptian jail cell; three former inmates try to beat the odds by staying out of prison, a u.s. ambassador gets his own reality tv show in denmark, and much more.

the deadly attacks in nigeria this week come as the obama administration announced 300 u.s. soldiers would be sent to neighboring cameroon. for more on all this i'm joined now by peter pham, director of the atlantic council's africa center. what does the u.s. hope the to accomplish here? what kind of skills are we bringing? >> two things, hari. first, to provide better intelligence on the increasing core activity of boko haram. it's no longer a threat in nigeria but they're reaching into niger, chad and cameroon. so to monitor its movement. once the full complement of the 300 u.s. personnel are there, to engage in further training of cameroon's military. cameroon's military halls the rapid reaction force known by the acronym b.i.r.

the b.i.r. has been u.s.-trained, has had u.s. cooperation and equipment since 2009. it's one of the best military units in the region, so bringing them up to speed, up to the level necessary to fight this new type of challenge they're facing. >> sreenivasan: compare that to the rest of the neighborhood, the military capacity. >> nigeria has the largest military in terms of personnel in the region, but since 1999, when the military ceded power back to civilian rule, in an effort to avoid future military coups, nigeria has contributed to peacekeeping in africa and darfur and elsewhere in the world. but the skill sets in peacekeeping are entirely different from war fighting, much less the type of specialized warfare, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism boko haram calls for. chad has an army but face as new

type of challenge in boko haram. niger is one of america's best partners in america but a desperately poor country. it's in cooperation but needs our help. so we're struggling to find the units that can be trained up to the standards we need. >> sreenivasan: what's the threat to the u.s. interests here? >> well, boko haram is an evolving threat. it's been evolving for the last several years and its alliance and allegiance to the so-called islamic state presents a new dimension to the challenge. that being said, however, one has to be frank. boko haram does not present a direct threat to the united states but, as a growing dynamic, an evolving part of the islamic state and one that ties down the resources of a number of countries that are critical partners of the united states in west africa, it does pose a challenge to u.s. interests. so i think the best way to approach it is the way the administration has already taken

which is building up partner capability to knit the challenge -- nip the challenge in the bud. >> sreenivasan: given how long we have been working with trainers on the ground there, will the addition of this 300 make a difference? >> i think it will make a difference marginally in cameroon. we have a trained unit but it's not trained for the desert or counterinsurgency and counterterrorism it needs. so this will be helpful and the intelligence gathering will be helpful. let's be realtyic, it's going to take time to build up the multi-national force to train up the elements. so we're in for the long haul, not only the united states, but the other partners of west africa, france and other countries. >> sreenivasan: i assume we're supplying drones for intelligence gathering as well. >> yes, the predators will be deployed in cameroon together with manned aircraft in the region operating in other countries and this will build a better, broader picture of what's going on. >> sreenivasan: peter pham,

atlantic council's africa center. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> sreenivasan: journalist mohamed fahmy returned home to canada this week, the end of a long saga that began in egypt almost two years ago. chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner sat with him for his first american interview. >> warner: this din of everyday life in dowtown toronto is new again for mohamed fadel fahmy and his wife marwa omara, three weeks after his sudden release from an egyptian prison. the canadian-egyptian journalist was pardoned september 23rd by president abdel fattah el-sissi, ending a nearly-two-year ordeal. >> our families have suffered so much. >> warner: fahmy, a longtime cnn producer and "los angeles times" writer, was the new cairo bureau chief for al jazeera's english channel when he and two colleagues, baher mohammed and

peter greste, were arrested in their cairo hotel on terror charges dec 29, 2013. the raid was quickly broadcast on egyptian television. thus began a kafka-esque journey through egypt's judicial system, just months after then-general sisi's ouster of the elected president, mohamed morsi, of the muslim brotherhood. the three were initially charged with terrorism-related offenses to aid the brotherhood, which had just been branded a terrorist organization. al jazeera is owned by the government of qatar, which continued to back the brotherhood, even after morsi's ouster. caged in court, fahmy emphatically denied the charges. >> evidence? i don't even see it-- do you see it? i don't see it. >> warner: they were convicted and sentenced in june 2014. after a retrial was ordered in january, the australian peter greste was deported. but fahmy and baher were retried and convicted again this summer, sentenced to three more years. finally, amid worldwide

pressure, and with the help of noted human rights attorney amal clooney, president sisi pardoned them. i spent some time with fahmy yesterday in toronto. e scorpion super maximum security prison is probably the worst prison in the middle east. i was in the terrorism wing with mohamed al-zawahri and fighters and extremists who arrived from syria to topple the egyptian regime and members of the brotherhood group. and it was surreal because i am a journalist, what am i doing with these people? there was no outing, no sunlight, no way of telling time. it was pretty brutal and really freezing in the cell. i had a broken shoulder, sleeping on the floor, lots of insects. >> reporter: the human rights report talks about torture, beatings, isolation.

were you subjected to any of that? >> i wasn't. i had been to three prisons throughout my 438 days in detention. i didn't see any torture. i was not ill treated or abused in any way. of course, it's psychologically unbearable. you can't see your family, you have no writing material. the food is limited. it's pretty harsh. the fact that you are living with these terrorists, it's seriously insulting. of course, we tried to do what journalists do and we were interviewing them and trying to understand what they're doing there. it was very interesting to dig into their minds. it represented a mirror image of what's happening in egypt now, that many of these people are in prison, including some seculars as well. >> reporter: the pro democracy activists. >> who started the revolution in

2011 when we worked together. >> reporter: were the jihadists among them as ext >> warner: the tahrir square with revolution. and i don't know how to ask this question but i want you to describe but i mean were the jihadists among them as extreme still in their views and beliefs? >> they were as extreme as can be, they were they have no respect to democracy, humanity unfortunately i was incarcerated during the time of charlie hebdo and the slaying of my friend steven sotloff who had visited me in cairo before going to syria and just seeing them celebrate this. >> warner: when he was beheaded >> yeah when he was beheaded and was really awful and again it was just really weird seeing them and living with them for a year and realizing that there is no hope for these people. they twist the meaning of islam to suit their unacceptable actions. >> warner: did the muslim brotherhood members who were in there were they cheering the

beheading of sotloff? >> no they weren't. there is a clear distinction between how the muslim brotherhood were viewing these extremists actions and what these hardened extremists were saying and i was playing the devil's advocate inside and we sort of had a radio mock show to keep ourselves entertained and we had like a hatch in the door of our cell because we were in solitary confinement you could only see the eyes of the person in front of you and this other cell so we'd call everybody to come up to the hatch and we'd have like one hour show which contained poetry or reciting of koran and also interviews. very so i would play the devil's advocate and put the extremists and the muslim brotherhood on the spot and compare of how they view things. >> warner: and did you take notes? were you able to take notes? >> i did and i took notes and i smuggled them out during family visits with my wife when she visited me and it was very important because a lot of these notes are useful in what i'm writing my book now and of course some of the journalists

outside also got a little bit of the notes from what i wrote inside. >> warner: we just were just talking about that you took notes and all that and that's going to be the basis of your book and did you manage to communicate with people on the outside somehow? >> well my family when they visited me my wife used to smuggle in inside the food printouts of articles that had been written outside and i realized there is a serious movement across the globe and people were fighting for us and i this is what kept me going knowing that you the journalists and armies of diplomats and ngos and i felt that it's not about me now it's about our cause, freedom of expression and that's what kept me going and i somehow the news always slipped through the concrete cracks and the very, very secured prison and one guard would come in and say hey they are fighting for you in canada so that kept me going and it made a huge difference. >> warner: even though you thought your employer aljazeera and the canadian government were letting you down. >> yes i mean i was very critical of aljazeera my employer because although they had a very successful staff campaign and keep our fight

alive they didn't really have a parallel strategy with good lawyers in the courtroom and we've seen that the lawyer that michael quit abruptly and confirmed a lot of the acquisitions of prosecution made us look really bad and then he went on other tv channels and he started attacking us >> warner: you think the prospects are now for egypt to ever realize the promise of the arab spring? >> now i think the arab spring is dead and buried. i think press freedoms are at its worst times and i think that the political parties are almost nonexistent so in order for egypt the country that i love and where i grew up and where i had the dream in tahrir square wants to reach this true democratic state a lot of work needs to be done and a more inclusive approach should happen and you know i am willing, i am already cooperating with the egyptian

journalists in syndicate in a new charter that's been written as we speak that will be submitted to the egyptian president to make sure that journalists are not imprisoned under any situation and to make sure that you know we as journalists are protected from prosecution and i just really hope that the democracy i see here in canada where i am today could be one day implemented in egypt. >> i remember the first time i saw him smiling in years. he was like a young kid. >> there are so many people giving us hugs and saying hello and asking for photos. you feel a lot of warmth and love. >> reporter: the two of you go to vancouver, starting your new life? >> i'm looking to listen to music -- >> go to the movies. >> reporter: are you a good

dancer? >> not bad. not bad. when i'm happy. there's nothing to dance about the last two years. we're excited to start all over and just have a normal life and just put it all behind us. it's therapeutic as well to help others. i feel that's the way of dealing with it, and i think that will help us move forward, and we do want to help because we are here because of all the help that we got from others. >> reporter: mohamed and marla have begun their own foundation to help other journalists held behind bars. they describe it as a healing process. i'm margaret warner for the pbs "newshour" in toronto. >> sreenivasan: stay with us. coming up on the "newshour," mark shields and david brooks dissect the democratic debate and the u.s.'s role in afghanistan. the ambassador to denmark gains celebrity status. and, fantasy sports-- gambling

or an investment? but first, last night, we introduced you to three inmates serving time at a maximum security jail in southern maryland. all three were part of a pilot jobs program aimed at teaching them the skills to stay out of prison after their release. tonight, a look at their struggles and successes as they try to do just that. william brangham continues our report. >> brangham: 20-year-old jordan taylor is about to be a free man. he changes out of his county- issued jumpsuit, and back into the clothes he was wearing the day he got locked up over a year ago for violating probation on an armed robbery charge >> what's your name sir? >> jordan taylor. >> good luck to you. >> brangham: and with that, he's done, and heads out to the open arms of his parents and older brother. >> are you all right, mom? you know i was coming home mom. >> brangham: for the past several months, we've been following jordan and two other prisoners, carlos colon and ashley wilson, as they

transition from a life behind bars to a life outside them. will they fall back into a life of crime, or will they manage to start over? this isn't an idle question, because, as the number of people behind bars in the u.s. has skyrocketed from 500,000 in 1980 to more than 2.2 million today, so has the cost of incarcerating them, which now costs taxpayers roughly $80 billion a year. now, there's a strong, bipartisan push to do something about this trend. and one of the key efforts is to reduce recidivism. right now, two-thirds of convicts end up getting re- arrested within three years of their release. so the goal is to somehow stop that revolving prison door from spinning. unlike a lot of newly-released prisoners, jordan taylor has a pretty big welcome mat laid out for him. he's back home in gaithersburg, maryland with his mom and dad. they've been married 26 years. his longtime girlfriend, shawna, also is thrilled to have him back.

ex-prisoners with strong support systems do better-- lower rates of drug use, higher employment, and less criminal activity. >> i'm applying everywhere i can apply really, not really being picky at all. >> brangham: but still, three months after his release, jordan hasn't been able to find a job. >> i tried mostly fast food, i tried warehouse jobs. i applied there, to the aldi's supermarket, but i don't know what's going on with them. >> brangham: the unemployment rate for blacks is twice that of whites, and for a young black man with no high school diploma and a criminal record, it's particularly hard to find entry level work. now, maryland, where jordan lives, is one of 17 states that has a so-called "ban the box" law-- where you don't have to check a box on a job application indicating if you've got a criminal record. but jordan says he still gets asked the question, and he tells the truth. >> their whole demeanor changes, no matter how good your first impression was, or how you talk, how articulate you are, every

time they immediately change. every single time. >> i'm just hoping that something works out, that there is a miracle and that's all i'm going with. >> brangham: as his release date approaches, carlos colon has a different problem than jordan taylor-- he has nowhere to go when he gets out. this 32-year-old car thief has been turned down by multiple halfway houses because of a prior prison escape. he has no family or friends to go to, and he's broke. >> hopefully i never see you again. >> brangham: but just before his release, he's accepted into this group home. one that's not easy to get into. >> brangham: why did you pick him? >> it was really just his attitude, just his upbeat spirit. you know he has that spirit of where he's just excited about life and not giving up.

>> brangham: cindy cook started "great compassion ministries" in 2008. it's a faith-based program that houses seven residents at a time in this tree-lined suburban maryland neighborhood. >> i'm gonna go over some of the rules and some of the expectations i have of you and that you may have of me. >> brangham: there are house rules, and a 10 pm curfew, but tonight, for the first time in three years, carlos is a free man and one who gets to sleep in a real bed. >> brangham: so if you hadn't found this place, where would you have ended up? where would you go? >> i probably would have gone and stole me a car. >> brangham: first night? >> first night i would have had to take my chances and that's the reason i would have waited til night time. i know it sounds crazy and i know it sounds insane that you're doing the same thing over, but that's just what i do. that's what i know how to do. it's not like i can go home to my parents. >> brangham: and thanks to a

pilot jobs program in the montgomery county jail where he served time, carlos might have a better shot at finding legitimate work. several weeks ago, back in jail, he was interviewed by a national company-- they didn't want us to say their name-- but they want to help convicts find work when they get out. >> i'm a hard worker. like the jobs that i've had before, the only reason i lost them was because they find out i have a criminal record, and that's the reason i lost them. so with this guy, he says he knows my record. he came in understanding you came to a jail to interview me, you gave the break. there's no telling him, "oh, i forgot to tell you, i'm a car thief. " >> brangham: carlos also got to visit this non-profit which provides free business clothes to low-income individuals. these kinds of resources and opportunities resources are pretty rare. ex-convicts are blocked from up to 800 different occupations nationwide. in many states they're also ineligible for food stamps, public assistance and educational loans. and their job prospects do suffer: hundreds of thousands of prisoners are released every year, and more than half remain unemployed a year after getting out. and those who don't find work? they're 3 times more likely to

wind up back behind bars. >> i'm really fortunate that i found this place. now i just got to get on my feet and earn some money and start paying my own rent. then hopefully within six months, eight months, i can move on. >> brangham: ten miles away, 20- year-old ashley wilson's first taste of freedom has given her a headache. >> cause my eyes were just not used to sunlight. you don't get any sunlight at all in the jail. it's completely closed in except for the windows are open bars. >> brangham: today is ashley's first full day at what's called a "pre-release center." it's a county-run transitional home. this is where she'll serve the remainder of her 18-month sentence for prostitution, possession of heroin and check fraud. on the surface, it's a far cry from jail. you get regular clothes instead of a jumpsuit. there's no barbed wire, and you can have your own cell phone-- which, experts argue, is crucial for getting a job these days. but residents are still not free. they get breathalyzed each time they come and go from the

center, and leaving without permission is a first degree felony that will get them an additional five to ten years on their sentences. >> so we can do your intake. >> brangham: each resident gets a case manager to help them craft a plan, and to help find a job. but for ashley, who struggled with heroin addiction for much of her young life, she says staying clean and sober will be the biggest challenge. >> right now you have a clean slate. you're in the program, you're sober. so how can i help you get past those difficulties you've had with your lifestyle choices? >> i think i really need help building that foundation. having something to work towards, to strive for, to have something i don't want to lose. to get back to being a responsible citizen in society and a responsible parent and an active parent. >> brangham: it's been six months since ashley last saw her two year old daughter, talia. talia's father has sole custody, and he's under no obligation to

bring her here for visits. today is particularly rough because it's talia's birthday. >> i'm really excited, but pretty sad about that because i don't get to see her or talk to her today. having a child is a wonderful thing. you know, she's not like, mommy, you have all these flaws, or you look ugly to me. she thinks i'm beautiful, strong and i want to nurture that. >> brangham: long-term, ashley hopes to get custody of her daughter and earn a college degree. but in the short term, she just wants to finish her time at this center and stay out of jail. she says her fellow inmates back in jail used to take bets on how quickly she'd end up back there. >> lets say they gave me two weeks. ok, i'm going to count down til the end of those two weeks, regardless if i'm ever going to see that person again. i'm gonna say, 'haha,' that's just me. >> brangham: at first, ashley seemed like she was proving the

doubters wrong: she got a visit at the center with her daughter. she landed a day job at panera, which the center encouraged. but it only lasted one day. ashley was caught using synthetic drugs, and she was expelled from the center and sent back to jail for the rest of her sentence. she won't get out until at least next spring. for all prisoners, putting the past behind them won't be easy. recidivism is the norm for most ex-convicts. we'll continue following these three to see what they do with their second chance. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham in montgomery county, maryland. >> sreenivasan: on our website, you can catch up on part one of this series, and take an in- depth look at carlos, jordan and ashley's lives. that's at pbs.org/newshour. the democratic candidates for president faced off in their first debate this week and new fundraising numbers give a closer look at which contenders are winning the money game. for all that and more we turn to

the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. so you watched the debate, obviously. how was the tone different? it seems perhaps fox news set the tone in a much more aggressive and sharp way for the questioners in the round. is that what we're going to see throughout the cycle? >> i think democrats, generally speaking, felt better about their debates than probably republicans did about theirs. there is no question that donald trump by big numbers and by a certain level of suspense and you kind of hold your breath at what's going to happen to him, but martin o'malley and the former governor of maryland and n one of his rare good moments on tuesday night pointed out that the democrats had gone through an entire debate discussing issues with no personal attacks, nobody had been accused of being ugly or a loser and there had been no

racial stereotyping or negative. so i think in that sense there was an entirely difference in tone. >> there was a difference in tone and subject matter. the democrats actually talked about middle class concerns whereas republicans talked about weird stuff. the other factor is the republicans are actually arguing and fighting with each other. what i saw was hillary clinton performing extremely well and four other guys lying down and letting her have the nomination. bernie sanders held up the white flag of surrender when he refused to go after her on the character and moral issue, which is the his only way, in and the other three, i don't know why they're there. martin o'malley is the one who surprised me the most. i thought he would see the fiorina model and come out with aggressiveness. it was just passive. >> sreenivasan: how do you think sanders did? >> i thought hillary clinton had the best night of her campaign. i thought she was in command,

she was comfortable, she was spontaneous. she came back from the break and was a little late getting to the stage, having obviously visited the ladies room, and gave light to the stereotype of the joyous feminist that it takes women a little longer to go to the lavatory and i thought it bordered on the authentic. i thought she did very well. campaigns are about differences, and when you're behind somebody, you better draw the differences with them, whether in style, substance, character, and the others did not do that. i thought bernie sanders had a better night than david thinks he did, and i think it was reflected in the polls which viewers watch it and their emotions and reactions are gauged. it's a very legitimate way of measuring people's reaction. people listening to presidential acceptance speeches and so

forth. he did well on that and the focus groups. i don't think he expanded in any way. i think he went deeper with his constituency. i don't think he ex panned his message or made his case better. but i think, all in all, he probably improved his own status, but i think she had a good night. i would just say this one thing about her -- this is the time for her to say why have i had one good night and six bad months? and i think it's time for an examination of conscience almost to sit down and say who has given me good advice over these six months, what did i do wrong, why did it take me five months to admit that the e-mails were my mistake and i'm wrong about it? because right now, i think this is the moment for her to figure that out. i mean, not to be just confused and put off by -- >> she's a debater, always has been. she did well against barack obama. >> she did.

it suits her, the preparation, the depth of knowledge, the aggressiveness, all that suits her. but i just think sanders missed the opportunity, with that email moment, with the crucial moment, he doesn't have to go after e-mails, democrats don't want to talk about e-mails, but the only piece of leverage he has, i don't think he'll win because he's further to her left. he has to win because we're not sure she's electable and he passed that opportunity and i'm not sure he can get that back. >> sreenivasan: campaign money, the third quarter fundraising numbers are out. on the democratic side, you can see clinton with a total of 29.9 million, all the way down to chaffee with no million, and then on the republican side is a good range, ben carson is doing well 20.8 million and rubio at 6 million. trump has some of his own funds with other donor moneys that don't necessarily show up, i think he's maybe in eighth place. what does this say about the

campaigns? at this point, should there be war chested or bigger to keep the lights on? >> the first story is bernie sanders. i mean, bernie sanders has been the surprise. he has proved that there is an outsider constituency that has captured a large share, chunk of the democratic imagination. bernie sanders is not leading some anti-war movement. he's getting huge crowds. he's getting a lot of money. he has more money on hand right now -- i believe, cash on hand than the three top republicans do. i mean, they see democrats as more fiscally responsible which they have been with their campaign contributions than the republicans, is something to see. but i think the sanders thing is remarkable in terms it is reflective of the mood in the country that washington and wall street are in bed together, that wall street is playing the

tune and washington is dancing to it, and the 1% and the inequality in the country, the shrinking middle class, i think that is a real world story. the other story is that we're talking about before is many of the republican candidates and democrats, too, it's a temptation, you get lured by the big money of pacs which you can't spend in your own campaign to open your own headquarters and i think that's become a problem. >> the pac contributions are concentrated in the small groups. the outsiders are doing well like the carsens, the sanders, the pio rinays, and they're doing it with the small donations. carson has direct mail because he's probably got an older group, but the others are online. it's super cheap to raise that kind of money. it's sort of democratizing. a lot of people are getting involved.

that's good. the second thing in the headline to me is ted cruz. ted cruz is doing very, very well. >> he is. so as donald trump fades, which i still assume he will, cruz is the natural receptacle, and he's got a lot of money and small contributions. so you begin to see a possibility where it gets down to a bush-rubio versus a cruz. suddenly he looks bigger than if you just looked at the polls. >> you can't talk at the money without talking about the concentration of big money in this campaign. in the "new york times," they did a story last sunday of 158 families in the united states that have given over half the money in this campaign. citizens united, justice roberts, justice scalia, thomas,

kennedy, i mean, this is truly oligarchy. and people who worry about big money having too large a voice, this is giving them a mega phone and the golden rule operates where he has the gold rules, and it is truly terrifying for those who care about democracy. >> sreenivasan: the withdrawal from afghanistan, it's been something the president campaigned on, it was a promise to get us out of these wars, and this week, is this a scenario where his decision is a clash of kind of political insingt and will -- instinct and will versus military reality on ground? >> i think it's a politically tough cal. he made the promise he would like to get us out, but the troops on the ground can stabilize a country. in iraq we learned we left a vacuum i.s.i.s. and others were happy to fill and while the administration denies it, the

basic principle he applied to afghanistan. he went against his own wishes and his political promises, so he wouldn't leave a mess. so, you know, i sort of salute him for looking at reality, looking at context and saying, i've got to do this for the good of afghanistan and america. >> sreenivasan: is this just kicking it down for his successor? >> at least there is a greater likelihood he will not leave a complete disaster with his successor. >> i disagree with david about iraq. i think it would be impossible to leave any troops there and certainly dealing with the iraqi government and their unwillingness. this has been barack obama's war. in 2008, he said afghanistan was the right war. i do think that the 5,500 that will be there in 2017, you're not talking about a significant number to make a profound difference. i mean, it could make a profound

difference in their lives. they're there. i mean, afghanistan right now is not capable of defending itself, and i just think that it's really not an answer. the reality is that -- it's unavoidable. we talk about both parties sending american troops in harm's way and the idea of training proxies is sort of a salve for the consciences of the congress and president and it has never worked. if anybody can show me where it's worked, i will stand corrected. >> the american revolution. >> sreenivasan: we'll have to look at that. thanks so much. television viewers in denmark are tuning in tonight for the season two premiere of a surprise hit reality show.

it's star is the u.s. ambassador to copenhagen, rufus gifford, who was given the job by president obama as a reward for raising more than a billion dollars during the last election campaign. ambassador gifford, who is gay, married his partner in denmark last weekend. and as special correspondent malcolm brabant reports from copenhagen, his unique brand of diplomacy, is raising eyebrows amongst traditionalists. >> reporter: in a city accustomed to flamboyance, the union of the u.s. ambassador to veterinarian stephen devincent was not only the wedding of the year but also a landmark for diplomacy, rufus gifford-style. >> here in the country that created fairytales, we get to have our fairytale. and now i guess it's a case of happily ever after or something,

right? but americans are pretty good at that, so we're so happy. >> reporter: the couple's cheerleader in chief is the ambassador's father chad, former chairman of the bank of america. >> rufus is just such a people person. he has this unique ability, and there's nothing false about it. he just cares, and he cares about people. that smile says it all. he's so genuine it amazes me. >> reporter: seriously, how do you think this style helps america? >> as an american, i worry about our country and frankly about our politicians, that seem to say what they think they need to say to get elected. and i abhor that. i think it's sad for our country, and rufus is the opposite of that. he says what he thinks and he just believes what he says, and i just wish we had more like him. >> reporter: within an hour of tying the knot, the ambassador was posting on social media, where he has a huge following.

>> our time in denmark is running out. (siren) >> i've got the best job in the world. >> this is not our average wednesday. >> i had just over a year left in denmark and i want to spend every minute of my time here engaging as much as i poss >> reporter: tv executive erik struve hansen recognized the ambassador's box office potential and is responsible for creating a show that has wowed viewers of the country's main youth channel. >> i think it's become that big success because of rufus' character. he is what we call a big character. all of our viewers and a lot of people in denmark, they love him. they think he's a good role

model. he's so positive and he likes denmark as well. he's very positive about our country. >> reporter: for ambassador gifford, it was a huge relief when in june the supreme court ruled that gay marriage was a constitutional right a quarter of a century after denmark led the way. >> the idea we're doing it here is a tribute to that as well, recognizing same-sex unions. (humming) >> that's hail to the chief. that's giving me a pretty big promotion half laugh. >> not talking about you. >> i think a very good ambassador as he is, and so open and so warm, of course gives the danes a good impression of america. >> i don't know if this a diplomatic thing today or not. i mean, let me put it this way actually-- we, as the united

states, on these issues have come so, so far over the course of the last ten years >> today, i think we tip our hat to denmark and the journey you've been here on for so many years. and tonight we are celebrating, partying late into the night with all of our friends and family under the american flag. and i am so grateful for the journey i think our country has gone on these issues. so perhaps there's a little bit of diplomacy there, too, and what i say all the time is that diplomacy is about people. >> the wartime british prime minister winston churchill once defined diplomacy as the art of telling someone to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions. former president harry s. truman described tact as being the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes.

the reality is that in terms of foreign relations, denmark is a walk in the park. it doesn't provide the challenges of say russia or china. >> reporter: but the ambassador, a former hollywood producer, has not managed to win over foreign policy expert hans mouritzen, a traditionalist when it comes to diplomacy. don't you think he's got some lessons to teach traditional diplomats in that he seems to be doing an awful lot to promote america's image. >> yes, but i think he's promoting his own image because i think people can understand that its more his own image than the american image. people know all kinds of things about american foreign policy which they don't like, but they like mr. gifford. >> reporter: do you not think this might work in other parts of the world, for example, where perhaps you need to have a different fresh approach? >> it wouldn't work in eastern europe because they don't like gay people. so it has to be in western europe. yes, that's about it. it couldn't be in africa.

you have to have a common cultural background because to understand many of the things he says, you have to have this anglo-american background which we have in scandinavia. so it works very well here. >> reporter: at his residence, the ambassador disagrees. >> i think you could do this in any country around the world. is it easier in denmark? absolutely. if you go to other countries which certainly might not be as receptive to american messaging generally speaking-- and the american brand is worse than it is in denmark-- i think the work is going to be much harder. i think openness and honesty always win out in the end. and will you get hit in the meantime? sure. will it be hard in the meantime? absolutely. but it's still worth it because i think people respect it. >> reporter: rufus gifford has worked for president obama for almost nine years, and diplomatic sources say he enjoys the trust of the white house. the big question is whether he will seek political office once

his term ends in a year's time. his father hopes not. he says the ambassador is too good for that. for the pbs newshour, i'm malcolm brabant in copenhagen. >> sreenivasan: we've all seen the ads for draftkings and fanduel-- playing fantasy sports is now a multi-billion industry. today, regulators in nevada are the first to rule that playing daily fantasy sports is considered gambling, and ordered the companies to cease operating in the state until they obtain gambling licenses. frontline and the "new york times" recently produced a story about playing daily fantasy sports-- bryce mauro, a student at depauw university says he makes six figures by betting on daily fantasy sports, putting his study of economics to daily use.

>> i wagered about $12,000 this morning. >> that's a lot of money. >> yeah, it is. >> you confident? >> i'm very confident. i wouldn't be wagering money on this scale if i wasn't very confident in my abilities. i mean, i lost about $18,000 last night, so it offsets it. it fluctuates. >> how much have you won? >> my bankroll, i mean, it's in the hundreds of thousands. i've made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing this over the past... almost two years now. >> the core of our game is not about the money. when you ask people why they play, they play because it makes the games more exciting. >> what's the biggest prize a player could win? >> we have contests where people can win up to several million dollars.

>> several million? so you don't view what you do here at fanduel as gambling? >> no. >> that's a word that isn't used very much around here, i take it. >> is what you do gambling? >> no, it's not gambling at all. um, i mean, it's... i consider it more of investing. you know, i have a portfolio. i'm trying to diversify the portfolio by picking players every day. i'm trying to maximize returns. i'm trying to optimize my line up each day. >> sreenivasan: you can see more of the film at nytimes.com and on the frontline page at pbs.org. on the newshour website: for four years, french photographer laurent kronental has documented seniors living in the massive housing complexes in suburban paris. one image in particular captures the grand expanse of the

fortress-like buildings, and the isolation of its inhabitants. he writes about what drew him to this subject. see his photo and read his response, on our home page: pbs.org/newshour. and a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. gwen ifill is preparing for "washington week," which airs later this evening. here's a preview: >> ifill: tonight we'll talk about promises made and promises not kept. from the debate stage to the campaign trail to the white house-- war, peace, money and politics. tonight on "washington week." hari? >> sreenivasan: on pbs newshour weekend saturday: could legalized hemp replace tobacco as the next big crop in kentucky? here's a first look at that report. >> reporter: brian furnish and his family have been growing tobacco for eight generations. >> for us, i guess it's a labor of love, one we have always done. >> reporter: but the days when kentucky's crop grossed nearly a billion dollars a year are no more-- forcing brian, and farmers like him, to imagine a future without tobacco.

brian's most recent bet is cannabis sativa, also known as hemp. but there is a catch: to the federal government, hemp is just as illegal as marijuana. kentucky agriculture commissioner james comer is determined to change that. >> there is no reason why industrial hemp should've been outlawed in the united states or in kentucky. >> sreenivasan: that's tomorrow night on newshour weekend. >> sreenivasan: and again to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the afghanistan conflict. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here, in silence, are eight more.

and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm hari sreenivasan. have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ >> announcer: this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and sue herera. strong quarter. what shares of general electric did today that they haven't done in years. move or improve. why homeowners are choosing to put a lot more money into their current home. and buy and hold. the stocks our market monitor says should be in your portfolio for a year or more. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for friday october 16th. good evening, everyone, and welcome. a seven-year high. that's where general electric shares finished the day after reporting strong third quarter results. the conglomerate said its earnings improved as it continues a massive restructuring and a return to its industrial roots. the stock that's widely held in mutual funds rose more than