captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, more raids and arrests in brussels. we're on the ground as police and intelligence services try to track down the terrorists. and, there is a war of words between the two leading republican presidential candidates. it's friday; mark shields and david brooks are here, to analyze the week's news. plus, we head to kentucky, where promising programs help fight and prevent cancer among the poor. >> the challenge is educating them that they can do something about it, and that i can help them do something about it. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> woodruff: this was the third and final day of official mourning in belgium, for victims of the islamic state attacks in brussels. and there was confirmation that two americans were among the 31 dead. that word came as raids spread across the belgian capital. malcolm brabant has our coverage, from brussels. >> reporter: one raid centered on this residential neighborhood, where police suited up in bomb disposal outfits to enter two apartments. state tv reported two explosions. cell phone footage also showed a raid on a bus stop, where a suspect was believed to be carrying a suitcase filled with explosives. he was shot in the leg and arrested. >> he was sitting at the bus stop with his daughter. and after that, two cars, two special cars from the police coming, and they told him to stop. he tried to do something, boom- boom, two shots.

>> reporter: all told, there were three daytime arrests across the city in addition to seven others overnight. all this follows tuesday's suicide attacks on the brussels airport and the maelbeek metro station. they came within days of police raids in the molenbeek neighborhood last week that led to the capture of paris attacker salem abdelslam. some of today's activity happened in the nearby schaerbeek neighborhood-- where three days ago, police also found a large stash of explosives. meanwhile, belgium's nuclear plants added security and withdrew entry badges from some staff amid concern the plants could become terror targets. investigators also named a new suspect-- 28-year-old syrian naim al-hamed. they now believe he had some role in tuesday's assault. the attacks underscore the intelligence challenges across europe-- with 28 countries in the european union, each with its own security services, and communication among them muddled. claude moniquet is a former french spy, and head of a security consultancy-- the

european strategic intelligence and security center. >> the services, police and intelligence, are overwhelmed by a threat which is not sized to europe. we are facing thousands, i mean thousands, of possible potential terrorists. at the time of al qaeda, for instance, we were facing maybe 500 to 1,000 people in europe and it was already considered a very hard threat. today, we have at least ten times more people to confront and to survey. >> reporter: but how does the west counter the appeal of the islamic state amongst young muslims? moroccan-born rachid benzine is a professor of islamic studies. he says european governments must strive harder to help them integrate and give them a sense of belonging. >> ( translated ): our young people are not being radicalized in mosques. the phenomenon of radicalization is taking place within the family unit and with their friends and peers. we need to provide them with the tools so that our young people

are sufficiently armed against the ideology facing us. because if you don't fully integrate young people, their imagination will automatically create a symbolic identity and people can die for that. >> reporter: such concerns were in the air today as secretary of state john kerry arrived in belgium to meet with prime minister charles michel, on defeating isis. >> we join kerry to discuss the fight against terrorism-- how is it possible to do better, how is it possible to work together in order to be more efficient. >> we will not rest until we have eliminated your nihilistic beliefs and cowardice from the face of this earth. >> reporter: later, kerry placed a wreath of flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims at brussels airport. and at bourse plaza, which has also become a memorial site, the brussels philharmonic played an impromptu tribute today to the victims.

the flemish radio choir joined them to finish with a performance of beethoven's "ode to joy"-- a european anthem, and a hymn of hope for the future. away from brussels, police in neighboring countries are on the move. french authorities say a man arrested there was in the "advanced stages" of plotting a new strike-- and had ties to the ringleader of november's paris attacks. and german officials are questioning two people with potential links to the brussels operation. judy? >> woodruff: malcolm brabant in brussels tonight, thank you. pentagon leaders announced today attacks this week killed several senior figures, one hajjy imam, identified as the group's finance minister, it happened in a raid in syria. we'll take a closer look at the war on i.s.i.s. after the news

summary. heavy fighting raged for a third day, as government troops fought to retake palmyra from isis. the army and its militia allies seized an ancient citadel, backed by russian air support. capturing palmyra could open much of eastern syria to government forces, but large parts of the town remain under the militants' control. while, in iraqçó a suicide bombr killed 25ñi people in a soccer match south of baghdad. 60 others wounded. no immediate claim of responsible. a korean-american arrested in north korea confessed today to stealing military secrets. state television showed kim dong chul at a news conference in pyongyang. the 62-year-old was arrested last october. today, he tearfully admitted to spying for the u.s. and south korea. >> ( translated ): it-- the extraordinary crime i committed-

- was defaming and insulting the republic's highest dignity and its system, and spreading false propaganda aimed at breaking down its solidarity. >> woodruff: earlier this month, north korea sentenced otto warmbier-- an american college student-- to 15 years for trying to steal a propaganda banner. much of the christian world marked good friday today. in jerusalem's old city, thousands walked the "way of the cross." it's the route that, according to tradition, jesus took to his crucifixion. later, pope francis led good friday services at the vatican. hundreds of worshippers filled st. peter's basilica. and in the philippines, some of the faithful had themselves nailed to crosses, including one who did it for the 30th year. thousands of tourists looked on and took pictures. and tv writer earl hamner junior has died of pneumonia, in los angeles. he was best known for creating "the waltons," based on his own upbringing in virginia's blue ridge mountains.

it ran for nine seasons, starting in 1972, and won 12 emmys. earl hamner junior was 92 years old. still to come on the newshour: how the u.s. is fighting isis; mark shields and david brooks take on this week's news; beating cancer in one of america's poorest communities; from groups of white supremacists to lone wolves, exploring a racist under current in america, and much more. >> woodruff: secretary of defense ash carter and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general joe dunford, spoke this morning at the pentagon about the fight against the islamic state. while hailing operations to kill top isis leaders-- like the one we reported earlier-- they sought to put the longer war in context.

>> there's no question that this individual and other individuals we have eliminated have been part of the apparatus of isil to recruit and to motivate foreign fighters, both to return from iraq and syria to countries in europe and elsewhere, and also simply by using the internet and other communications to do so. even if it's just inspiration, it still takes you back to iraq and syria and the need to eliminate the sources of that inspiration. >> while isil has not been able to seize ground in the past several months, that hasn't precluded them from conducting terrorist attacks, and it hasn't precluded them from conducting operations that are more akin to guerrilla operations than the conventional operations that we saw when they were seizing territory. so, i think the momentum is in our favor. i think there's a lot of reasons for us to be optimistic about the next several months. but by no means would i say that we're about to break the back of isil or that-- that the fight is over.

>> woodruff: dunford and carter also spoke of expanding the role of u.s. marines in northern iraq and the possibility of sending more forces in the coming weeks, adding to the nearly 4,000 already there. we examine the state of the fight against isis now, with retired army colonel derek harvey. he was an intelligence officer and special adviser to the commander of u.s. forces in iraq, general david petraeus. he's now a professor at the university of south florida; and brendan koerner is a contributing editor at "wired magazine." he's the author of an upcoming article about isis and its use of social media. and weñi welcome you both to the program. col. harvey, to you first, how important was this number two figure in i.s.i.s. we have been talking about who'sxd evidently been killed by u.s. forces? >> judy, i usually don't get very excited about taking out a senior levered through the

decapitation strategy but haji imam is a very important person for one particular reason, not that he's number two, but he connects islamic state to key al quaida senior leaders, operatives at that level and was tied in with the order ofñi the insurgency wing from the former regime days. >> reporter: meaning saddam hussein. >> saddam hussein's former vice president, and he was an architect of the original insurgency back in 2003çó and 24 before becoming partñi of al quaida in iraq with zarqawi. >> reporter: assuming he's been killed and the other i.s.i.s. leadership the u.s. says has been eliminated, where does that leave the state of the fight against i.s.i.s. in iraq and syria? >> i think it's a very bleak picture because what we've had to do is destroy urban centers, sunni arab cities in order to

clear those areas of the islamic state -- ar ramadi,çó tikrit and probably will end up doing the same in mosul. the core issues have not been addressed. it's necessary to go after the islamic state territorial but there is more to do and still very bleak. >> woodruff: secretary of state john kerry was saying today in europe that because i.s.i.s. is losing ground and syria that they're lashing out in europe. he said they're resorting to actions outside the middle east because their fa' caliphate is collapsing. >> i think that's just plain wrong. the islamic state has for two years been talking in their speeches and in their communications about conducting operations in europe and elsewhere.

this was not a lashing out. this is part of their normal operational profile and we'll see more, particularly as we see these foreign fighters move back to areas around the world, not just europe butñi north africa d asia. >> woodruff: we know one of the ma to and tries to recruit fighters is using smeed. i can' social . you said i.s.i.s. is as much as a media conglomerate as a fighting force. what do you mean by that? >> i think it goes back to its earliest days in 2004 when it was a rogue al quaida offshoot in iraq. they understood the value of pushing out content, specifically videos of atrocities, into the world. therefore, they could recruit very brutal young men to join their struggle. after the organization evolved, it made media central to its ideology and organization. it now has many different media

offices which all manufacture content it pushes out through social media to every corner of the world tailored to specific audiences, whether in the balkans, chechnya or the western world. >> woodruff: give me an example, brandoñrñi brendançó kw this works. you wrote "they have a cockroach-like resilience." explain what you mean by that. >> certainly on socialñi media, the supporters of the islamic state really from all over the world are often ex spelled from social networks because of their speech and usually within hours of being booted from twitter or facebook, they're right back at it. they're registering accounts, using false identities and cell phones to get back on so they're hard to stamp out in disseminating theirñi messages. theñi atrocities we see on video

is a small personally of what islamic state manufactures. they're good at making videos to portray the caliphate they're building in syria, iraq and elsewhere as a paradise where people can bring their spouses and families and flourish and practiceñi what theyy is true islam. very effective content for young men. >> and what's the best way for the west, for the united states to counter this? >> well, i don't think it is just focusing our efforts exclusively on tamping down speech. i think it's in creating better speech. the islamic state is clearly frightened by the outflow of refugees. we've seen media created that flourish from fleeing these territories. i think we should take advantage of the refugees, give them tools to tell their stories to the wompletd that will be the best tool against the media the islamic state is putting out.

>> woodruff: derek harvey, how much progress does it matter the progress i.s.i.s. has made in the social media realm. >> i think it's important to tamp down the prospects for the lone wolves as well as the recruitment and the finances that flow into this islamic state organization, but i think, you know, to pivot off his comments, al 1% other jihadist groups are framing their position as a more moderateñr jihaddism, and they e actively recruiting in syria and iraq, but in turkey and the refugee camps and jordan and now into europe, and they are framing their narrative in a way that we can have the fight without the brutality and the extremism. so they're well positioned to be, youñr know, al quaida 4.0 after the end of this, once i.s.i.s. is atrited, unless we go after the core issues and i

don't see enough effort in addressing these civil wars in iraq and islam. >> woodruff: they keep appealing to the peaceful, the pleasant side of what they say will be the future under their rule. >> clearly, the agility of the islamic state's media is one of its trademarks. the fact that they can respond to current circumstances and shift their messageñi and they'e done that very effectively. you can see right now, clearly libya is becoming a new front iq state and they have been very good about producing media surrounding its libyan ventures, trying to portray that area where people can now immigrate to and participate in the struggle for this caliphate. so i think we need to be very, very fast about the way we address this situation because they're clearly one step ahead of us now. >> woodruff: well, many alarm bells out of this conversation, even as there is progress made on theñ koerner, we co.

col. derek harvey, thankñi you. >> thank you, judy, so much. >> woodruff: now for another look at the war against isis, and the battles on the presidential campaign trail. the analysis of shields and brooks: that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. >> woodruff: gentlemen, welcome to you both. let's pick up in the conversation we just heard. mark, you did have this successful capture, killing of this top i.s.i.s. leader and another one recently on the battlefield, but in the wake of these brussels attacks, growing course of criticism that the obama administration is not doing enough to go after i.s.i.s., that you're still seeing horrible attacks like the ones in belgium. where do you -- how do you assess the administration? >> well, the administration hasr

taken on i.s.i.s., its caliphate, that is in syria and iraq, and i think it's fair to say that they're in retreat. the problem is europe. i mean, that's a problem. it's a soft target. it's free and easy access, and these are homegrown terrorists here. what the united states can do is encourage and urge and push for the sharingçó of information, bt there is a whole inequality of intelligence in those countries. there is unwillingness, language difficulties, and also there is a tradition. i mean, this is a continent that has lived under both naziism and communism, and the willingness to let authorities have access to the mega data we have done in

this country with only limited resistance is a lot stronger there. >> only so much the u.s. can do, david? >> i think there are two issues. first, in syria, i think we bear a large responsibility. i think we withdrew from iraq too quickly and created a tremendous vacancy i.s.i.s. filled. i think we were too slow to recognize what was going on in syria in the civil war, refused to arm people, refused to take down assad, ignored the red line and created a vacuum that i.s.i.s. filled there. so that's partly on us. i think that has nothing to do with what happened in brussels. the european thing, as mark said, it's a matter of ideas and alienated cultures. i lived inñr brussels five years in the '90s. if you went to those neighborhoods which are a lot of muslim people live there, they were isolated, they were different. it was like leaving brussels and entering a different country, and there was little integration, social, cultural, economic between those areas and the rest of the country and the

city, and that sort of thing gestated, gestated, and the radical ideology found a lot of alienated people and they only have to tap a few young men to create something like this. >> woodruff: some of the criticism, mark, is the administration has not put enough emphasis on this. yes, the president talks about it and yes a number of limited special operations troops and may be more going over, but doesn't seem to be enough of a priority. >> well, i think the president could be accused legitimately of not having recognized the threat at the outset and i think history will not be kind to the drawing of the red line in syria. and for the united states. but, a.m., the willingness of the united states for further action and deployment of military, even an all-volunteer military, is severely limited, judy. let's be very frank -- the

organizing principle of this was the united states' invasion of iraq and the united states' occupation of iraq. that remains to this moment, whether we left early, should still be there, the fact that we went in, invaded and occupied this country, and it was a tragedy and a disaster, and we have reaped that whirlwind and it remains with us. >> woodruff: david, even criticism this week of the optics. the president was in cuba for this historic visit and some comments that he shouldn't have gone to the baseball game and argentina, how much does that matter? >> i think those criticisms are unfounded. we have a big government. we can do a lot of things at once. if the president had skipped the baseball game and gone home, what more could he have done?4/. he can make decisions and have meetings. it's my principle that's political point scoring and also my principle never to miss a baseball game and i support his

decision to do that. >> i disagree. i think optics do matter. i think the baseball game was probably the most important event emotionally and nationally during his trip to cuba. i don't think he had to be there for the wave when the crowd stands up for that. i don't think it's necessary for him to wear sunglasses. he could have gone to the game and the rest. optics -- terrible word -- do matter, and if you have any doubts about that, virtually every paper in the country, "wall street journal" among them, featured the master as servant this week. on holy thursday, there was pope francis kissing and washing the feet of a refugee, a penniless refugee. that is a visual. i agree with david the president can do anything, anywhere he is, but if you were sitting in brussels and worried about your family or your relatives or your neighborhood, the picture of him kind of grinning at the game was

probably not helpful. >> woodruff: and it was striking among some of -- the reaction of some of the republicans candidates for president. ted cruz said we need to send patrolling into neighborhoods where muslim americans live. >> yeah, i have spent the last week so repulsed by donald trump, i've forgotten how ugly ted cruz could be, but he reminded us this week. the reason we have terrorism is not because the prophe prophet d came down and there is a religion called islam. the reason we have terror is young men are alienated and feel they can wage a just war against societies that are racist and exenexeno phobic and crushing td them. to spread the message, a good way would be to have extra police operations directed at muslim neighborhoods. ted cruz's idea is probably only the worst idea of the day because we have a lot in this

campaign, almost saved by the fact he doesn't want to believe it, he just wants to sound like donald trump. >> i think david put his finger on it. it's ironic, judy, the republican party avoid donald trump, rallying reluctantly against their own will around ted cruz, he reminded them and everybody else why they didn't like him in the first place. this is an awful position. when the anti-defamation league comes out and compayers it to the imprisonment and incarceration of japanese americans in world war, two when commissioner bill bratton in new york says he has no idea what he's talking about, there are thousands of muslims on the new york police force, it's beyond stupid. >> woodruff: that occupied a lot of the week, but something else that occupied a fair amount of time and at least became a war of words between the two leading republican candidates had to do with women and we'll take a side bar look at that and

talk to both of you. >> woodruff: ted cruz blasted his main rival, donald trump, today in wisconsin. >> years from now, when my daughters google this, they will read these lies. >> reporter: cruise acaused trump of being behind tabloid accusations of extramarital affairs. the latest in the escalating war of words over women this week between the two candidates. it all began with this ad, a photo of melena trump, a former model posing for "british gq" 16 years ago, posted on facebook by an anti-trump super pac ahead o tuesday. within hours, donald trump tweeted a response. wrongly attributing the ad directly to cruz's campaign, and warning him to "be careful." >> ted cruz knowingly, in my opinion, had this article sent all over utah -- had the picture

saying "is this want you want, essentially, for your first lady?" and frankly, she'd be outstanding. >> woodruff: a fury in the twitterverse ensued, as cruz hit back -- defending his wife, heidi, and calling trump a "coward." a day later, trump ratcheted up the war of the wives, when he retweeted an unflattering image of mrs. cruz. polls show trump's standing with women voters has worsened in recent months. according to the latest "washington post" abc news poll, 64% of women say they have a "strongly unfavorable" reaction to him. that's 18 points higher than it was in august. so what do we say about this? did we ever think this would be the lead story out of a campaign for president of the united states? >> that's the first thing i wanted to say, are we really here? is this really happening? is this really america? are we a great country talking

about trying to strad the world and create opportunity in this country? it's mind boggling.ñi this campaign has become so ugly we've become cultureiated to sleaze and unhappiness you want to shower from every 15 minutes. trump, the comparison to looks of the wives, he has a misogynistic view of women as arm candy, pieces of meat, an attitude that's the stuff of a diseased adolescent. so we've seen a bit of that showing u up again. if you look at him, calling up radio shows and talking about his sex life in public, is childish. i don't think standard republicans can say i'm going to vote for this guy because he's our nominee and he's a different

order. this week is a reminder of that. >> woodruff: could this be something that really does hurt donald trump?ñi >> well, we've predicted nine of his last eight stumbles and they've yet to all materialize. judy, whoever did that political action committee ad has to be thrilled because it elicited from donald trump the worst of his personality, the bullying, theçó misogyny, as david said, brought it out. it's more than childish and juvenile adolescence. there is something creepy about his attitude toward women. take megyn kellyñr of fox news, who he just has an absolute obsession about and he's constantly writing about, you know, how awful she is and no talent and this and that, it's an obsession. and i don't know if he's just never had strong, independent women in his life who have spoken to him, doesn't seemñr tt

way. >> woodruff: she asked him tough questions in the debate. >> she asked him tough questions and was totallyçó fair by everybody else's standards, but there is something really creepy about this that's beyond locker room, it's almost like a stalker, and i thought this was -- it actually did the impossible, it made ted cruz look like an honorable, tough guy on the right side of an issue, and, you know, i just marvel at it and i don't know at what point it becomes, you know -- politically, he's stilld leading and i have to say he's the overwhelming favorite for the republican nomination. >> woodruff: what was striking is this ad, david, which presumably had limited circulation might have gone almost unnoticed if it hadn't have been for how he reacted. >> i think about his whole career and language and world view is there is no love in it. you have a sense of a man who can receive no love, give no

love, so his relationship with women has no love in it, it's trophy his relationship in the world is one of competition and beating, and if he's going to win by competition what other people get by love. so you're seeing someone who has an odd psychology unlevenned by kindness and charity, but where it's all winners and losers, beating and being beat, and that's part of the authoritarian personality but comes out in his attitude towards women. >> i would say, in his defense, which i didn't think i would use that phrase, his relationship with his children seems quite good with his daughter and sons, and they seem like -- they don't seem like malevolent people at all. they seem like very benevolent people. >> woodruff: makes you wonder what their reaction is to all this. >> exactly. >> woodruff: mark shields, david brooks, thank you. >> thank you.

>> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: deconstructing strands of racism in america, from white supremacists to lone wolves; and, remembering two entertaining greats-- actor garry shandling and rapper malik taylor, also known as "phife dawg." but first, poverty has had a persistent grip on eastern kentucky for generations. its residents are poorer and less educated than any other region of appalachia, and the impact on health is unmistakable: life expectancy there is five years shorter than the rest of the nation. special correspondent jackie judd reports on efforts to turn that around. ( sings ) >> reporter: there are a few certainties in sam wilson's hardscrabble life; bluegrass that sustains him, and cancer,

that he expects will kill him. >> i was laid up with cancer and didn't know it. in my bladder, kidney, prostate. some in my bowels, colon. >> reporter: in eastern kentucky, appalachia, cancer is epidemic, and has been for decades. the highest-in-the-nation rates are fueled by a toxic combination of poverty, medical illiteracy, limited access to care, life-style choices like smoking, and a fatalism that says "knowing you have cancer won't save you." >> my whole family, they just won't go to the doctor. my mother died of cancer and she wouldn't go. two of my sisters died of the cancer. they went to the doctor, but they still passed away. >> reporter: irene, did you try to convince him to go to the doctor when he wasn't feeling well? >> he finally told me after a few years, and he said it's so painful, something has to be done. >> reporter: after a few years? >> yes, he's very lucky, yes. >> reporter: not months or

weeks, years? >> about four years maybe. >> reporter: kentucky public health officials are trying to change that story line, to get people screened so disease is discovered before it is too late to treat. tom tucker is the director of the kentucky cancer registry. >> the old models for doing this where we tell people that they need to do it, and they're going to go do it. well that's obviously not going to work. so using other strategies that are culturally and socially appropriate for the population, that connect more appropriately. we are much more effective at doing that now than we were 10, 20, 30 years ago. has anyone ever talked to you about a colonoscopy? >> reporter: about a decade ago, health officials trained their sights on colon cancer. within seven years, screenings doubled and deaths declined 24% statewide. part of the strategy is to reach people where they live.

>> when's the last time you seen a doctor? >> long time. the only time i go is if a bone is sticking out or if i have to be sewn up. >> reporter: tom collins with the rural prevention cancer center sets up shop in the county unemployment office, sweetening the deal with his homemade pies. about half of the people he corrals either leave with a home test-kit or agree to get colonoscopies. >> the challenge is educating them that they can do something about it, and that i can help them do something about it, you don't have to get cancer. >> reporter: the state legislature passed a law last year requiring insurance companies to cover colonoscopies. >> we're so grateful for your mighty blessings. >> reporter: but debra burchett had no insurance and no way to pay for a screening even though she was having symptoms. >> have you completed all of your treatment? >> yes. >> reporter: then, her doctor told her the county had begun

offering free screenings for people in her situation. it probably saved her life. and what was diagnosed? >> colon cancer. stage iv colon cancer. >> reporter: so if you had not found the free program, would you not have gotten the colonoscopy in 2014? >> probably not. i probably wouldn't be here today. >> reporter: another piece of this success story is polly gilbert and other lay health workers, who are known in the community and trusted. gilbert travels hundreds of miles a week, visiting people in their homes, educating them about preventive care and steering them to the proper services. >> hi. what's going on today? >> reporter: so they will listen to you in ways that they may not listen to a doctor. >> sometimes they do, and we have been able to sway them, "well, polly says i need to come," not just because i'm such an influence, but i make them. they're part of my family.

>> reporter: in the past couple of years, the increase in the number of people getting screened for colon cancer has plateaued. even the trusted-gilbert, runs into resistance as she does with sam wilson's wife irene. so you've never had a colonoscopy! >> no i haven't. >> reporter: why? >> well, i guess because i haven't had any symptoms or anything. >> reporter: public health officials are now tackling another disease devastating to the region. the incidence of lung cancer here is double the national rates. deaths are almost double. the challenge is not only to encourage screening for certain life long smokers but to get smokers to quit, and encourage others never to start. it will be even more difficult than changing the profile of colon cancer because it involves addiction. >> i've been smoking since i was probably eight years old. back in those days in this part of the country, it was nothing for kids to smoke.

it was acceptable. >> the aspire program is a program for kentucky schools. >> reporter: long time public health worker, becky simpson, hopes schools will begin using this anti-smoking program, even for kids as young as 10 or 11. years ago, conversations like this never would have happened. >> i could not talk about it unless i had permission. >> reporter: why? >> we didn't want to anger the people we were working with. tobacco was the cash crop. so it was not okay to tell people not to smoke because that's how people made their living. >> reporter: how many of the patients you treat are from eastern kentucky? >> 50-70%. >> reporter: oncologist and researcher suzanne arnold at the markey cancer center in lexington is investigating how to get screening numbers up in rural kentucky, as well as

looking at causes of lung cancer which may be unique to the region. >> there's got to be more to it than just a little bit more smoking in that community, that causes this gigantic increase in lung cancer rates. and the reasons for that are probably, we don't clear carcinogens as well as the next group; we don't process tobacco as well, so we have a higher drive for more nicotine and we smoke more; we maybe don't repair our d.n.a. as well as other populations, and d.n.a. damage is at the heart of cancer incidence. >> reporter: dr. arnold sees progress battling cancer, but progress slowed by poverty and fiercely-held custom. do you encounter, what i would call, that fatalism? >> yeah, i do. i'm struck by it, because it means that these people have been devastated, and they've been devastated over and over and over again, by not having anybody to reach out to help them.

ultimately, we don't want people to lose hope. >> reporter: the hope of public health officials is that the model used to bring down colon cancer deaths can be used to the same effect, not only for lung cancer, but for other diseases plaguing this depressed swath of america. as for sam wilson, he so wishes he had not ignored his health; that he's been sick so long now, he almost forgets what it means to "feel better." for the pbs newshour, this is jackie judd in campton, kentucky.

>> woodruff: the ku klux klan and other white supremacist groups have gained more attention in the news recently, but as special correspondent charlayne hunter-gault explains, there may be a more pervasive undercurrent. it's part of our year long exploration of solutions to america's race problem. >> these are boots that are intended so that when you stomp on someone the swastika will be left. >> reporter: heidi beirich is leader of the intelligence project here at the southern poverty law project, a non- profit anti-terror organization. she shows us memorabilia revealing some ku klux klan history, boots with swastikas and boots with red laces-- indicating klan members who've physically harmed someone-- and other racist paraphernalia. in 2014 there were some 784 active hate groups. beirich brings us up to date. >> reporter: the ku klux klan has declined over the years, in

part due to lawsuits that you people here at the southern poverty and law center have filed. briefly tell us about how that came about? >> sure. we started filing law suits against the klan in 1981 over a lynching of a young black man in mobile. that was our first anti-klan law suit. we came up with this idea that we should sue these folks in civil court to bankrupt them. that was the plan. now, we've had a series of klan groups that we've sued, put them basically out of business, leading all the way up to the very recently with the imperial klans of america. our hope is that by taking their money away, they can't function anymore. >> reporter: and that was successful? >> yes. every single one of them has been successful. obviously, when these groups don't have money, that means there's less violence that they could perpetrate. the whole idea is to not allow them to function. >> reporter: but at the moment, there seems to be a resurgence and what appears to be a rise in hate groups. what explains that? >> we have seen a sustained rise in hate groups since basically 2000. and the main thing driving this has been changing demographics

in the united states. 2000 was an important year because it was the first time that the u.s. census said definitively in our near future, 2042 at the time, whites will no longer be the majority. and obviously, if you are a member of a hate group, like if you're a white supremacist, the fact that whites will be less than 50% of the population is something to be, basically, be a little freaked out about. and so we started seeing organizing by hate groups and huge growths spiked over a thousand hate groups in a short period of time. obama added to that, right? obviously, a first black president was another reason for backlash like that to develop. >> reporter: and you're getting that from former klans-people and former white supremacists who are telling you that? >> you always hear exactly the same thing. whether people are in the movement or out of the movement. >> reporter: is it mostly hatred of african americans or is there more to it? >> hatred of black people is the driving force for america's hate movement. but over the years, as you see, changes in the population of people of color here, you can

add to that mix, dislike of latinos and immigrants; dislike of gay people and very recently, we've seen a huge outburst by every kind of hate group against the muslim community. >> reporter: you've also described in some of your writings about a new phenomenon called the lone wolf, which is different from organized groups. how significant and worrisome is that? >> well you're pointing out one of the biggest trends in terms of racist killings that we're seeing lately. we have people like dylann roof, who killed nine people in charleston. our understanding of dylann roof, from his own manifesto, is he never met a person in another hate group in his life. he was completely radicalized online. that's exactly the same phenomenon that we see for people inspired by isis. they go onto websites where there's propaganda that's widely available. it enrages them for some reason. that kind of lone wolf terrorism is a big problem and there's more of it today than it was ten years ago and we don't expect that to change.

>> reporter: can you use any of the tactics that you used to decimate the klan in this new era? >> these people live on the web, like many people do for all kinds of reasons. the only way for law enforcement to really find them and track them is to follow them onto the hate websites and it's not easy. how did dylan roof indicate that he was going to go on a mass shooting spree? he didn't. >> reporter: so are there any solutions though for people who around the country are concerned about these issues? >> the department of justice reconstituted a domestic terrorism task force, that had been defunct since 9/11 to start collecting intelligence aggressively against white supremacists and extreme anti- government types. that's a very important thing to do. what we try to do here is publish information about these people, where they are, what groups they're involved in, what they're publishing, so that at least law enforcement which the big readership for our products knows where they are, what they believe, what they think, so

they have a chance to maybe catch someone before they escalate. >> reporter: how much does education add to a solution? >> it's probably the biggest solution. and we know from talking to people who are racist today that it has a lot to do with what you learn in the home. if it's not counteracted in some way, deep racial hatred, you don't learn any differently. we have a lot of people who come to us after stints for example in prison for crimes committed with white supremacy in some way who meet people of other places. that's a place where you could intervene with younger people too and bring them out of movement. >> reporter: and you've seen that happen? >> many, many times. one of my favorite examples is a woman named angelica king who went to prison in florida for involvement with white supremacists skinhead crew. they committed some robberies. she met a jamaican woman who was imprisoned with her, but was involved in some community activities in the prison there. they became friends. that's how angie got out of the movement, was through that relationship. for the first time in her life,

she had an honest friendship with a person of a different color. now angela king runs something called "life after hate," which works with people who wants to get out of white supremacist movements. what we try to do is bust up the groups. we try to sow discord among the organizations, try to show that the people who run these organizations are hypocrites and so on, to try to give people a chance to look at what they've got involved in and maybe reconsider it. >> reporter: and you've seen that work? >> it absolutely works. the number one thing i would say that drives people out of hate groups is seeing their leadership corrupt, and this >> reporter: looking into the future and the things that you do, are you at all optimistic that your organization and america in general can get its arms around hate and racism? >> i'm optimistic in the long run and i'm extremely pessimistic in the short run. some of the racial strife that we've been experiencing over the last year are all related to our inability to digest the fact that our country is changing and white people are not going to be the majority here.

i think in the long term, everything in the united states may be amazing. we might be the first true multi-cultural, multi-ethnic democracy that embraces tolerance everywhere. we would be the first if we maintain this transition in the 2050s without having things descend into chaos. but we're going to have to get to a rough patch. we really have to work on this issue. it's fundamental to our democracy working. >> reporter: heidi beirich. thank you so much for joining us. >> it was a pleasure. >> woodruff: finally tonight, we note the passing this week of two ground-breaking artists of the entertainment world. jeffrey brown has our remembrance. >> brown: garry shandling was first a comedy writer and a stand-up.

in his first influential sitcom, "it's garry shandling's show," he'd break character and speak directly to the audience. he'd started in standup, and been a fill-in host for johnny carson-- and in 1992 he created his own mock late night show "the larry sanders show," that subverted the form to find >> brown: he pioneered a kind of "meta" humor. and both featured, and influenced, up-and-coming comedians. earlier this year, sanders joined his friend jerry seinfield on his web-series

"comedians in cars getting coffee", where they discussed the impact of "the larry sanders show." >> you ever watch tv, "the office," "modern family," you ever go-- "oh, they're still doing me?" >> and i mean they thought i was crazy. >> brown: among many others, last night conan o'brien recalled sanders' personal kindness. >> but he was also extremely sensitive, he was complicated, and he had a ton of empathy for other people. and i want to make that point-- that is something in the business, in comedy, that is ry rare. he really did care about other people. >> brown: garry shandling died of an apparent heart attack in los angeles on thursday. he was 66. ♪ ♪ ( "can i kick it" playing ) another innovator who helped reshape his artistic landscape was malik taylor-- better known as phife dawg. he and childhood friend,

jonathan davis, aka q-tip, helped found the seminal hip-hop group "a tribe called quest," known for its socially-conscious lyrics and innovative music. ♪ >> for a lot of people t.c.q. was our beatles, our rolling stones, our led zeplin. >> brown: the group was the subject of a 2011 documentary called "beats, rhymes and life" by actor and director michael rapaport, who spoke with us via skype. >> when q-tip and phife were in sync, it was as good as anything. it was as good as your favorite piece of pizza, the best glass of wine, picasso, keith and mic >> brown: still, the group's 1991 album "low end theory" fused hip-hop and jazz-- and along with "midnight marauders," influenced a generation of rappers and producers.

phife dawg died of complications with diabetes. he was 45 years old. >> woodruff: and, later this evening on "washington week," gwen ifill and her panelists will have more analysis and insight into the week's big news. gwen? >> ifill: thanks, judy. we'll pick up where you left off, providing reporting and analysis on the european terror crisis; the president's history- making trip to cuba; and this completely unpredictable and consequential presidential campaign, with reporters from the "new york times," the "daily beast," npr and the "washington post." that's tonight, on "washington week." judy? >> woodruff: thanks, gwen. and alison stewart has a preview of what's coming up on tomorrow's edition of pbs newshour weekend. on the next pbs newshour

"weekend," workers and businesses struggle to strike a balance between wages and tips. >> sundays, the tips are amazing. but then there is other days that i'm making nothing. >> on the next pbs newshour "weekend." >> woodruff: that's tomorrow night, on pbs newshour weekend. and we'll be back, right here, that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fathom travel-- carnival corporation's small ship line. offering seven-day cruises to three cities in cuba. exploring the culture, cuisine and historic sites through its people. more at fathom.org. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. >> bnsf railway. >> genentech.

>> 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

this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. good evening and welcome to a special edition of "nightly business report." believe it or not, the first quarter of the year is just about in the books and this time around the first quarter was unlike any one we've really ever seen. >> absolutely. investors were whip-sawed and had nerves frayed by big plunges and sharp snapbacks. with one quarter just about in the rear-view mirror we're going to look ahead to what we might expect as the second quarter rolling in and how your money might be impacted. >> we'll begin tonight with stocks. 2016 started in the worst way possible with the market plunging. sparking fears of a recession and dredging up