captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: attorney general eric holder wants texas to get federal court approval before changing election rules, part of an administration strategy to challenge laws it says discriminate by race. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown.

>> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the justice department move comes after the supreme court threw out part of the voting rights act. we examine the legal battle ahead. >> brown: then, a major hedge fund has been charged with securities fraud and insider trading. hari sreenivasan explores the indictment and the effort to root out financial crimes. >> woodruff: some of california's most dangerous felons are on a hunger strike after being held in isolation for years. we go inside the prison to see what conditions are like for the inmates and their guards. >> i believe that certain people should be isolated. but without no sunlight, going years with no sunlight, it would be nice to look out a window and see the outside. that would be nice. >> woodruff: officials in pyongyang unveiled a new cemetery for korean war veterans, the first of several ceremonies for the 60th anniversary of the end of the conflict. we get a rare report from inside north korea. >> woodruff: and the conversation about race continues after the zimmerman verdict and president obama's personal reflections. we have our own roundtable about the pressures and dangers faced by young black men. >> brown: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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>> woodruff: the obama administration today challenged voting laws it says discriminate on the basis of race. attorney general eric holder made the announcement in philadelphia before a meeting of the national urban league-- pledging to focus first on texas. >> we cannot allow the slow unraveling of the progress that so many, throughout history, have sacrificed so much to achieve. >> woodruff: the attorney general's declaration signaled the justice department's first move to protect minority voters since the supreme court invalidated part of the landmark voting rights act last month. in its five to four decision, the court in effect removed a critical provision requiring states with a long history of voter discrimination to get federal approval prior to any changes in voting practices. but today, eric holder said his department would rely on surviving portions of the act.

>> we plan, in the meantime, to fully utilize the laws remaining sections to ensure that the voting rights of all american citizens are protected. my colleagues and i are determined to use every tool at our disposal to stand against discrimination wherever it is found. >> woodruff: and with respect to texas, he said the state's recent history could still make it subject to federal pre- approval. >> based on the evidence of intentional racial discrimination that was presented last year in the redistricting case, texas v. holder-- as well as the history we believe that the state of texas should be required to go through a preclearance process whenever it changes its voting laws and practices. >> woodruff: still, holder pressed congress to take bi- partisan action to reinstate pre-clearance requirements. >> it's incumbent upon congressional leaders from both parties to guarantee that every eligible american will always have equal access to the polls;

to ensure that we will never turn our back on the hard-won progress of the last hundred years; and to consider new solutions that are equal to the challenges of the 21st century. >> woodruff: but the governor of texas rick perry criticized the d.o.j.'s move. his statement said, quote: officials in other southern states once subject to pre- clearance are watching the justice departments actions closely. many, like north carolina, have enacted or fast-tracked new voting eligibility rules in the wake of the supreme court's decision.

for more on the implications of today's news, we turn to nina perales, the vice president of litigation for maldef, the mexican american legal defense and educational fund. and hans von spakovsky. he is a senior legal fellow at the heritage foundation and testified recently at a house judiciary committee hearing on the voting rights act. welcome to both of you to the "newshour." so, nina perales, to you first, what do you make of the attorney general's announcement today? how significant is this? >> well, we very much appreciate the announcement and the effort of d.o.j. to support our request in the texas court, that texas be put under continuing supervision under the voting rights act. it's sorely needed. texas is the poster child for why we continue to need the protections of the voting rights

act. and i hope that d.o.j.'s effort is just the beginning of. econtinued involvement in voting rights in texas. >> woodruff: soreliy needed. what's your reaction? >> i'm not sure that's true. it shows the critics of the supreme court decision that knocked out section 5 of the voting rights acts are wrong. this shows there are still very powerful tools in the voting rights act that the attorney general can use. in fact, this is the right way to do it. rather than having just blanket coverage of a number of states based on 40-year-old data, the justice department is going to have to go to court, convince a court and produce evidence that texas has engaged in discriminatory conduct, and should be put under supervision based on current conditions. and that's the way it should be. >> woodruff: you're suggesting that's a harder pull, a harder argument to make than it was before the supreme court ruling. >> well, yeah, but because the--

texas was covered under section 5 before the supreme court ruling based on data that was 40 years old. it was based on turnout information from the 1964-1968, and 1972 presidential elections. whereas now, justice will have to bring current evidence that they're discriminating, and that they will continue to discriminate unless they're put under court supervision. >> woodruff: so nina perales, explain what the challenge is in texas that the justice department is saying it's going to support. >> well, the challenge has largely been litigated. we filed suit against texas-- by "we--" i mean various civil rights organizations in texas sued the state over their 2011 redistricting plans. we've been able to secure relief so far, and at this point, the really important question in the case is whether texas is going to be put under the continuing supervision of the voting rights act. i have to respond to hans in

saying that-- pointing out that texas has not made it through a single redistricting round since the 1960s without one or more of its redistricting plans for the state being struck down as discriminate or, racially discriminate or against minorities, and that was certainly the case in this round as well, where two courts found racial discrimination problems with the state's redistricting plan. so we think that texas is perfect for the kind of preclearance obligation that was removed in the "shelby" decision by the supreme court, but which can be hestored by our federal court here in texas if it sphiendz that the coverage is warranted. >> woodruff: so she's saying texas' situation is perfect for the justice department to continue-- for the federal government to continue to be involved under the surviving language in the voting rights act. >> well, it will be if-- if they can prove intentional discrimination. i mean, one of the problems with section 5 was that it had an

effects test-- >> woodruff: when we're talking about section five, just so the audience understands, what are we talking about? >> section 5 was a special provision of the voting rights act saying a small number of covered jurisdictions could not make any changes in their voting laws without getting the preapproval of the federal government, either department of justice or a federal government. and the coverage was based on having less than 50% turnout in these federal elections back in '64, '68, '72. and the problem with the statute-- one of the problems was that they never updated that formula. even though today blacks vote at higher rates in many of the covered states dispp the other problem was thas an "effects" test. in other words, there can be no intent to discriminate, no purposeful discrimination, and yet, if it supposedly has a disparate intarkt then it violates the law. >> woodruff: so bottom line

here, nina perales, is-- does the justice department action make it more-- make it easier for you and others who are challenging redistricting, future redistricting decisions in the state of texas, does it make it more likely that you'll be successful? >> well, i think it's always helpful when the justice department comes in and supports the position of voting rights advocates. and i'd also like to point out that i think it could be really critical in additional cases that are wound to be brought in texas. we still are struggling with discrimination not just at the state level but at the local level. d.o.j. recently denied preclearance, before the supreme court decision, to a redistricting plan in the area of corpus christi, texas. we have ongoing voting rights litigation in houston. i was just meeting with somebody

today over the dallas city council's recent redistricting plan. seats my hope that the department of justice doesn't simply support our effort to get continuing coverage in texas statewide, but also that they come in and help us address these discrimination issues that are popping up on the local level. >> woodruff: is what the justice department doing healthy? you said a minute ago it's better for them to do under this provision than the one the court knocked down. but is this-- is this healthy for american democracy? is it-- is it healthy for the federal government to be involved in poverbal voter discrimination? >> of course. look, if there's actual discrimination going on, the justice department should be there to try to stop it and remedy it. the problem is this law has been atbiewdz in many instances in the past. parts of the voting rights act, a good example is the fact that that they objected to south

carolina's voter i.d. law and it was really a frivolous objection. south carolina had to spend $3.5 million in court to fight them, and they were successful, and they beat the justice department. >> woodruff: are you saying this texas move is frivolous? >> i don't know. i haven't seen the evidence that they would fall within section 3. one thing to keep in mind is section 3 requires you to show that the state has violated the 14th and 15th amendment rights of texas residents. i haven't seen the evidence yet that that has occurred. >> woodruff: how do you respond to that, nina perales? >> we do have substantial evidence of racially discriminatory intent in the 2011 redistricting plans, and in fact, a federal government in washington, d.c. last year pursuant to the preclearance provision found that texas had intentionally discriminated against minority voters in its state senate plan, as well as

the congressional plan and found that the state had slid backwards in the stated house plan. now, that decision was subsequently advocated by the supreme court following its decision in "shelby" because of the changes now that the court has declared in the coverage provisions. but we have absolute confidence that the federal government in san antonio, texas, where we're trying our case, is going to look at that and he was come to the same conclusion as the court in washington, d.c. >> woodruff: final quick word from both of you. nina perales, does what the attorney general announced today support you and what you're doing in texas? >> yes. the continual's announcement supports us. not just in the short term, in terms of some of the relief that we're trying to get in texas redistricting, but in the long term. we look forward to the support of the justice department in remedying all of the local violations that we fight here in texas. >> woodruff: and how do you see that? >> well, i-- i hope she does get help, but i should point out, for example, the last five years, the obama administration

has only filed one lawsuit under section 2 of the voting rights act to try to stop voting discrimination. so they haven't been very effective in enforcing other parts of the vote, rights act. >> woodruff: we going to leave it there, hans von spakovsky, nina perales, thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> brown: still to come on the "newshour": charges of insider trading against a hedge fund; california inmates on a hunger strike; the 60th anniversary of the end of the korean war. plus, being a black man in america. but first, the other news of the day. here's kwame holman. >> holman: federal prosecutors indicted four russian nationals and a ukrainian for hacking corporate computers to steal millions in cash and goods. they're charged with stealing some 160 million credit and debit card numbers then creating and selling their own cards in the largest such case in u.s. history. the operation targeted 17 american and international corporations, including j.c. penney, 7-eleven and nasdaq resulting in losses of more than

$300 million. u.s. attorney paul fishman said two of the alleged hackers are in custody. >> the individuals charged and arrested in this case are the ones at the top, the ones who steal the data that they sell to the folks who cash out. by arresting two of the key players and identifying three of the others we believe we have taken a major step toward dismantling this organization. >> holman: prosecutors said the other three suspects in the case remained at large. police in northwest spain are questioning the driver of a train that derailed catastrophically after apparently traveling at an excessive speed. at least 80 people on board died and nearly 100 were injured. the crash happened last night outside santiago de compostela, as the city's annual catholic festival was getting underway. we have a report narrated by lewis vaughan jones of "independent television news."

>> reporter: from just above the wreckage, the man filming here is repeating the words, "what horror." hundreds of people were in these carriages. on top of the bank, train seats are scattered on the ground, and one whole carriage landed here will. people are trying to rescue passengers inside. down on the track, other attempts to help seem futile. these are the moments just before the crash. we have stopped the picture, but as the train rounds the corner, the carriages tip, and smash into the bank. the crash happened around 8:40 last night. this is one of europe's worst-ever train crashes. just two smiles from santiago de compostela station. this morning, the work of

clearing through the destruction-- here, people's suitcases are being taken away. the huge scale of all this visible in the smallest facial expression. the spanish prime minister has declared three days of official mourning across the country. he said, "today, we have lived through a terrible, dramatic accident which i fear will stay in our memories for a long time." the carriages have been winched away. questions now about how this could have happened and with speed a factor, one of the train drivers is being investigated. >> holman: the state department confirmed one of those killed in last night's crash was an american. five americans were among the injured. a new wave of bombing and shooting attacks swept across iraq today, killing at least 42 people. the deadliest blast happened inside a busy cafe north of baghdad. 16 iraqis died. the recent increase in violence has claimed the lives of more

than 550 people so far this month. chinese officials have charged ousted politician bo xilai with bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. bo ran the metropolis of chongqing for five years, and was a rising star in the communist party. but early last year he was caught up in a scandal involving his wife and the murder of a british businessman. the 64-year-old bo hasn't been seen in public for 17 months. his trial is expected begin within weeks. the death toll in the two-and-a- half-year-long syrian conflict has now surpassed 100,000. that's according to an estimate out today from the united nations. the grim milestone came as u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with leaders of syria's opposition at the u.n. he urged them to seek a political solution to end the civil war. the labor department today reported the number of americans applying for jobless benefits rose slightly last week. still, stocks managed modest gains on wall street. the dow jones industrial average

added 13 points to close above 15,555. the nasdaq rose 25 points to close at 3,605. pioneering sex researcher virginia johnson has died. johnson transformed the study of human sexuality in the 1960s-- along with her husband, the late william masters-- and penned two best-selling books. they also conducted critical research on the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions. virginia johnson was 88 years old. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> woodruff: and we turn to new allegations from the u.s. government of unprecedented insider trading by one of wall street's most successful hedge funds. hari sreenivasan has the story. >> sreenivasan: s.a.c. capital has long been known for posting some of the best returns in the industry. its founder, steven a. cohen, has been seen as an exceptional trader on wall street. cohen himself was not indicted today.

but federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against the firm, saying portfolio managers, supervisors and analysts had engaged in securities fraud for at least a decade by using inside information of at least 20 public companies. cohen was blamed in part for the larger culture at the fund, once worth $15 billion. five former employees have admitted to insider trading at s.a.c. at a press conference today, us attorney preet bahara said it was a magnet for market cheaters with rampant insider trading. >> when so many people from a single hedge fund have engaged in insider trading, it is not a coincidence. it is, instead, the predictable product of substantial and pervasive institutional failure. as alleged, s.a.c. trafficked in inside information on a scale without any known precedent in the history of hedge funds. >> sreenivasan: sheela kolhatkar

covers this industry for bloomberg "businessweek" and was at the press conference today. 41 pages long, what are the highlights? what are they alleged to have done? >> they're basically charging s.a.c. capital, the company, with being responsible for years and years of illegal trading on the parts of a handful of portfolio managers. they're basically saying the hedge fund owner-- who is not named, intriguingly in the documents, but he all know it is steven cohen-- they say he hired people knowing they had contacts at public companies who could leak them none public foks, that that was a priority in his hiring. that he compensated these people-- he paid them bonuses in exchange for their sharing of this kind of information and bringing in profits into the firm. and basically, the language is so strong in this charging document, it makes it sound like the entire operation was completely rotten. if you believe what bahara said today. >> sreenivasan: there was a quote from f.b.i. saying s.a.c.

not only tolerated cheating. it encouraged it. you say these bonuses, were they given bonuses for cheat orgjust having that mystery edge? >> of course the word "edge" pops up intriguingly throughout this. it used to be used commonly on with the as a sort of you've fism for your advantage, your information advantage in the market. what's the little thing you know that other people don't know that can allow to you maj makemoney. of course, often, "edge" in that sense is illegal. you are not supposed to trade on information other people don't have. the bounces and other compensation at the firm was often based on how profitable the traders' ideas were and they were often encouraged to bring their best and most profitable ideas to cohen himself. the complaint alleges that they didn't talk about inside information, but they were sort of euphemisms to describe a conviction rating. you could say, "i have a conviction rating of 10 out of 10 on this." cohen might think, okay, that

means you know something. there were, that means it will be a profitable trade. if it turns out to work out well for the firm he will pay you handsomely for it and this is part of the culture of country. >> sreenivasan: we have heard in the past inside trading companies against individuals but why go after the firm? what is significant about that today? >> it's a very interesting move because it doesn't happen very often, especially not with a company of this size. it has 1,000 employees, and it had $15 billion in assets at the beginning of the year. i think, from covering this for a number of months, that they would have liked to charge cohen himself, and there's been a lot of effort and resources devoted to trying to build a case against steve cohen himself for engaging in inside trading. this move today on the part of the u.s. government signals that they were not able, least at this stage, to make a case against him. they didn't have any witnesses saying that he participated inneedparticipated ininsider tr. they didn't have any wiretaps. instead they've taken this approach of indicting the whole

company saying it fostered this culture of lawbreaking sort of behavior. >> sreenivasan: is this a matter of going after the firm because they couldn't get him and try to essentially dry the firm up, destroy its business? >> well, i'm sure they thought very long and hard about how it would impact firm's business because of course, you know, it's not good. it could lead to job losses. it will sort of send ripples throughout wall street. but, yes, i think at some point they decided this operation was dirto some level and, of course, cohen, and his firm have argued throughout this process that they haven't done anything wrong. so, you know, this is the moment where the government has to really shoats hand, and they're going to have to prove that this is actually true and, you know, that all this energy that has been spent trying to take this company down has actually brought them somewhere. >> sreenivasan: so what's the impact on the firm so far? has business gone away? have dollars walked away from investments at s.a.c.? >> well, that's a good question. i mean, because this has been going on for so long, a lot of

damage has already been done. the firm had about $15 billion at the beginning of this year. only $6 billion of that was outside investor money. over the course of this year, as one s.a.c. employee or former employee after another has been charged tore linked to insider trading, there has been all this terrible press and publicity. the s.e.c. has charged the firm. a lot of investors have already pulled out their money they only have around $1 billion in outside investor money left. so in that respect, if even the end result of that you will is cohen himself get banned from the securities industry, all that means is that he cannot trade outside investor money. he cannot serve as an investment adviser. and he's almost effectively at that point now. most of the capital that remains in the fund is his own personal wealth. >> sreenivasan: as you mentioned, he faces no criminal charges. what's the impact to the rest of the street? does it send a strong enough message? this is a huge firm they're going after and this is a

culture they're kind of laying open. >> yes, i think preet made that pretty clear. he's trying to discourage greed-- at least that's what he said. he's trying to discourage cheating. this is a firm that had achieved legendary status on wall street. it was the biggest and most successful for the most number of years noong a peer group of very large, successful hedge funds, and a lot of traders on wall street have been inspired to work there. stevie cohen was thi legendary figure. he always made money. 2008 was the only year his firm does dnot have sort of a very impressive performance. so i think it is going to shake people. there had been some fatigue, i think, over the last few years on wall street over some of these insider trading cases. people were getting a little weary. but this case today was so strong and so sort of dramatic, i think people are going to really pay attention. and ting has already sent a message about cheating and aggressive behavior and the use of information. >> sreenivasan: all right,

thanks so much. >> brown: now, from california: prisoners held in isolation for years and sometimes decades are mounting protests. special correspondent michael montgomery with the center for investigative reporting and kqed san francisco has the story. >> reporter: pelican bay state prison in northern california is designed to hold some of the most dangerous inmates in the states vast penal system. inside, is a bunker-like security housing unit where hundreds of men have been held for more than a decade. earlier this month inmates at pelican bay launched a state- wide hunger strike over conditions in the security units. they are seeking an end to what they call indefinite solitary confinement and an easing of restrictions. advocates and family members took to the streets in support of the action, which drew in thousands of inmates from 14 prisons.

before the hunger strike got underway, i was allowed to visit pelican bay's security unit. i wanted to find out more about the isolated conditions and the lives of the prisoners held here. prisoners like jeremy beasley. >> the conditions back here are horrible. you don't get no sunlight. i haven't had any human contact with anybody without being chained since 2004. >> reporter: beasley is serving a life sentence for murder. once behind bars, he joined a violent white-power prison gang. and that's when officials sent him to pelican bay. before recently agreeing to leave the group, beasley spent ten years confined 22-and-a-half hours each day alone in a small cell. >> i wasn't a saint before. i believe that certain people should be isolated, but without no sunlight, going years with no sunlight. it would be nice to look out a window and see the outside. that would be nice. >> reporter: when was the last

time you saw the moon? >> the moon? i don't even know. it would have to have been back in '98. >> reporter: for an hour and a half each day, beasley is allowed into a small pen with 20 foot high concrete walls partially covered with plexiglas. and that is his day, every day. pelican bay is one of dozens of supermax prisons around the country. they're built to minimize contact between inmates, often described as the worst of the worst. but what distinguishes pelican bay is the extraordinary length of time some inmates have been held inside. some 500 prisoners have been imprisoned at pelican bay for more than a decade, according to a federal lawsuit filed last year by a coalition of civil rights groups. the suit alleges that years of solitary confinement causes severe physical and psychological damage and violates a constitutional ban on cruel and inhumane punishment.

pelican bay inmates launched the hunger strike on july 8. the strike has sparked protests throughout california led by inmates families. their demands: limits on the time that inmates can be held in solitary. they also want more family visits, phone calls and rehabilitation programs. marie levin's brother, ronnie dewberry, is locked up at pelican bay and is one of the strike organizers. >> the united nations has declared that 15 days is the maximum amount of time that any one person should be in solitary confinement but yet they have allowed my brother to be in solitary confinement for 29 years! >> reporter: levin had to wait 25 years to get a new picture of her brother, because the that's because restrictions at pelican bay included a ban on inmate photographs. the ban was lifted last year. >> the first one in the late 80s i see a strong vibrant young

man, the second photo i see an older man weary, but still yet holding on. >> reporter: pelican bay warden greg lewis rejects charges of abuse. he says the units are humane and that inmates leading the hunger strike, like marie levin's brother, are powerful prison gang members who run criminal networks behind bars and on the streets. >> everybody's seen the movie "the godfather." everybody's seen how the godfather himself never pulled a trigger, never strangled anybody, didn't run the rackets, didn't run the booze, these are those men. >> reporter: lewis alleges that all the inmates here are in the upper echelon of dangerous gangs, and would operate with impunity if they weren't locked up at pelican bay. >> these are not your burglars, not your street corner drug dealers. these men are highly violent and it provides for the safety of my staff, which is paramount.

>> reporter: but not all the men fit this profile i met lonnie rose at his home in stockton. he was just recently released. >> and so when you look around at all this, you know, the trees, what do you think, how does it feel to you? >> i think it's good to be home. >> reporter: rose was sent to prison for a non-violent drug offense. but following a riot, officials sent him to pelican bay, saying he was active in a violent prison gang. rose was then held in isolation for nine years based on two pieces of evidence-- a drawing, supposedly with gang symbols and a puzzle book, inscribed with the name of another inmate, an alleged gang member. so, tell me about this book. >> this is "match wits with mensa," and little did i know it would cost me six more years in the pelican bay shu. >> reporter: so the officers came into your cell, they found this book, they saw another

inmate's name in it, and that was enough? >> that was enough. >> reporter: rose says he didn't know the other inmate but prison staff concluded that he was actively associating with a known gang member. earlier this year, rose petitioned for release from prison following changes to california's sentencing laws. a judge determined he was not a danger to society and granted rose freedom. >> the courts saw it for what it was. i went to prison on a drug case, i haven't been that big of a problem. and i don't pose a threat to public safety. a policy allows tattoos, drawings and books to be used as evidence. the former warden said cases like rosa's suggest the prison security unit is not being used the way it was intended. >> those cells are departmental, high-value cells, expensive cells, that should be for the

current, violent predator that's causing problems in your prison system. they should be reserved for those guys. >> reporter: he oversaw many inmates placed in isolation and he sees another problem-- once in the security units, most inmates are held indefinitely. until recently, the surest way out was to divulge information about the gangs. inmates say this leaves them with a stark choice-- snitch on other prisoners or remain locked in isolation. >> so yeah, it troubles me. i think there should be a light at the end of the tunnel for almost all inmates. kelly harrington says the department has already made the changes that the hunger strikers are calling for. >> the departments view is that we've met those demands. >> reporter: harrington cites a new department program implemented following a 2011 hunger strike that has transferred more than 200 men out of the security units and

into regular prisons. men still held in isolation can work their way out by refraining from gang-related activity and participating in special classes. hopefully the men will see that as an incentive to go out. >> reporter: but protesters say the department's new policy doesn't go far enough. they want men held in the security units for more than ten years to be let out of isolation within six months. they are continuing settlement talks over the federal lawsuit. the next round of settlement talks in the federal lawsuit are scheduled for the end of the month. but with both sides digging in, inmates say they are prepared to starve themselves to death. >> brown: online, you'll find a slide-show of pictures of inmates held in isolation, including images before they the link to the center for investigative reporting is on our home page. >> woodruff: next, a rare view from inside north korea. a handful of western journalists

were permitted to enter the usually closed country and given access to events marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the korean war. among them was john sparks of britain's channel 4 news who filed this story from pyongyang. >> reporter: channel 4 news among the other international media were shuttled through the city's barren streets in a six-bus convoy. no time to stop and chat, though. the north koreans go to great length to avoid accidental conversations with ordinary citizens. this week, the authorities will hold events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the korean war. and they included the opening of a brand new cemetery this morning. although our arrival wasn't universally welcomed. >> pleads follow me. >> reporter: journalists are assigned state minders with particular ideas about what can and can't be filmed.

>> hello. >> reporter: security was tight. even the veterans with the medals were subject to checks. it's necessary, said our minder, important officials are attending. ( applause ) but we were you all surprised when this man turned up, north korea's 20-something leader kim jong-un. the great marshal, as he's known, cut the red ribbon, made an inspection of the cemetery, then left in his stretch mercedes. kim jong-un wasn't here for long, but a large group of specially invited guests is now touring the facility which was created for this week's commemorative events. gravesite around north korea were dug up and relocated here in the center of pyongyang. the korean war was a deeply

traumatic event, and miss, which ro isn't over it. she lost her father in the conflict. what feelings do you have towards your neighbors to the south? >> ( translated ): there's no change in feelings. i can't forget the feeling of hatred. my son and daughter will take revenge for what they've done. >> reporter: is the korean war over? is it finished? >> ( translated ): it's not over. the war's not over. we won't put down our guns until the americans surrender. >> reporter: it seems then the north koreans are sending also a message. their nation may be poor and isolated, but the people are steadfast and their rulers aren't going anywhere. >> woodruff: among those attending today's ceremonies were two decorated u.s. veterans of the korean war. they were on a mission to visit the site of one of the war's deadliest battles at the chosin

reservoir and to try to find the remains of a fellow aviator killed there in 1950. >> brown: finally tonight, in the aftermath of the treyvon martin shooting and acquittal of george zimmerman, a conversation about being a black man in america today. last friday, president obama spoke about the issue bluntly, and emotionally. >> and the fact that a lot of african-american boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there that show that african-american boys are more violent-- using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently causes pain. >> brown: speaking a day before planned protests over the acquittal of george zimmerman,

in the fatal shooting of travyon martin, the president said the circumstances of martin's death, at just 17 years old, spoke to a larger issue. >> we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our african- american boys? and this is something that michelle and i talk a lot about. and is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them? >> brown: his words played into have sparked a larger conversation about the challenges faced by black men in american society. trayvon martin's father, tracy, thanked the president at a congressional forum brought together by the congressional black caucus yesterday. >> it sparks the conversation in every household, over the dinner table, and that conversation is what can we do as parents, what can we do as men, what we can do as fathers, what we can do as

mentors, to stop this from happening to your child. >> brown: that discussion will continue tomorrow as members of the caucus travel to chicago, for a summit on the issue of urban gun violence. and we have our own discussion now with four black men who all nathan mccall is professor of african american studies at emory university and author of "makes me wanna holler: a young black man in america." khalil gibran muhammad is executive director of the schomburg center for research in black culture at the new york public library. bishop harry jackson is a pentecostal bishop who serves as the senior pastor at hope christian church in beltsville, maryland. and michael melton is president of 100 black men of washington, d.c., a group of businessmen and professionals who mentor middle- and high school aged african americans. welcome to all of you. khalil muhammad, i'll start with you, did the president frame the issue well? what did he get right?

where, if at all, did he fall short? >> well, i think he did get three things right. he articulated that race matters, that history matters, and that our black children matter in this country. and those are three things that are incredibly important, given the high stakes in this matter. we've seen in just the past few days, a huge racial divide on the question of justice in this country, with the pew research poll showing that 86% of white americans when asked about the verdict agree with the verdicts -- i'm sorry, 86% of african american are dissatisfied with the verdict as compared to 30% of whites. that is a gigantic divide. it calls us to the importance of the speech. it may be fifth year into his term, a term not characterize bide a lot of presidential leadership on the question of race in this country. he's spoken to the n.a.a.c.p. he's spoken to the congressional black caucus at key moments.

so i think what we see here is for the first time, really important timely presidential leadership, and it matters because the dwid about how the criminal justice system has stigmatized and criminalized an entire generation of young of young people is growing and is significant and must be addressed. >> brown: nathan mccall, same question to you. what did you hear? what did the president get right? where might he have fallen short? >> well, i think the president did a great job of providing a nuanced, heartfelt view of the experience that many americans, especially african american males experience in this country on a daily basis. it was important, i think, that he spoke from the heart. i notice he didn't have-- it wasn't a prepared speech. and he was sincere.

i think it meant a lot to many people to hear the president of the united states validating the experiences of african american males whose experiences are often dismissed. on the flip side, one of the things that i wish that he had talked about a bit more is the other side of the coin. trayvon martin did not kill himself. and so the discussion that we should be having is-- should not be restricted to african american males. i think it needs to be-- there's a broader discussion to be had, and i look forward to talking about that. >> brown: bishop jackson, i'll try to ask a difficult question as simply as possible-- what is the problem for or of black men inn this society? how do you define the problem? >> well, i think there is cultural rejection.

there are still racism that exists. and i think that we as the church i don't want to be pejorative or negative-- we haven't stepped up at the level that we should. the civil rights movement was led by the church, changed hearts, then laws. today, we're trying to get politicians to do what only the church can do, and more or less that's what the president said-- i don't want to get into political speech. so i think black young men with broken homes need surrogate families instead of gangs. and i think churches and groups like the 100 black men are prepared to take up the slack but one little organization can't do it. we need multifell pell churches. in my view, we need black, white, hispanic churches working in tough urban areas together, and we can't let this thing called racism divide us.

>> brown: you're speaking here as a social conservative. most issues with the president you don't agree because we've talked about this on the program before. >> yes, but i think he did a great job. i, too, wish he had spoken more to whites. i was a program today, radio programs were whites were all upset abuse they see this as divisive, as opposed to giving a little bit of a balm of healing to black people who feel left out. >> brown: let me ask michael melton, what part of this can be addressed only within the black community? and what part must be addressed by the nation as a whole? >> i think within the black community, we need to teach our children to stop being afraid of the police. for example, if trayvon martin had called 911 and said, "i am being stalked by someone as i'm walking home" then they would have had a recorded record of himself trying to defend himself. but since there was a fear of we

don't want to get the police engaged in our business, he didn't make that simple call. and i think that would have been something we individually could teach ourselves. in the bigger community, i think if each one of us just takes the example-- look, am i being subtly racist or overtly racist-- black, white, hispanic, whatever. am i having a problem with this person because of race or just because of something that happened? and if we just all retreat a step and just think openly about what we're doing, i think that will help. >> brown: khalil muhammad what, is your answer to that? what must be addressed in just the african american community? what part is for the nation as a whole? >> well, i think that there's always room for teaching values. this has often been a question of personal responsibility. and, frankly, that's been the most consistent message within the black community. it comes from the pulpit. it comes from teachers. it comes from mentors.

but the fact remains that trayvon martin's behavior had nothing to do with personal responsibility. and we must realize that what happened to trayvon, what happened in the zimmerman acquittal are the same coin as the problem of stop, question, and frisk in new york, or racial profiling in general. in other words, we have completelyized in this society the presumption of guilt among young and adult black men in this country, essentially saying it is okay to be fearful, that that fear is a reflection of the statistics in our society and their individuality is completely subsumed. and that is a problem for-- that is an educational problem. it is a cultural problem. it is a problem that essentially black people can't fix, either in the political system or in the white homes and latino homes and asian homes that have tremendous ambivalence about whether a black person's

individuality actually count and matters in this society. >> brown: i want to bring back bishop jackson today. you talked earlier to one of our prosecutors and you mentioned a culture of grievance in the black community that you've seen at times. >> yeah, i think, unfortunately, president obama's statements-- to many-- kind of fit into that politics of grievance category, which means, we cry out about something, and then we don't follow through. i think we need to honor his message to us and take decisive action. sooner, with the first black president and secretaries of state and others, who are black, folks are going to say, "hey, you black folks have your own problems. solve it yourselves." i think it's time for to us take aggressive action. >> brown: what does that mean? >> what it means for me nsanford florida, this past year-- many don't know-- 65 pastors met

together about a year ago. there was no riot in sanford itself. i think we've got to get the church involved. other groups can do their thing. but i think we have the after-school programs. we need to engage kids from broken homes. give them a vision and incentive for their expliefs we've got to do it and take action now. >> brown: nathan mccall, what would you like to see? all four of are you parents. all work with young people. what do you tell them? >> well, if i may, i'd like to address that phrase, "the culture of grievance." i have a bit of a problem with that because i think, again, we're going back to blaming the victims. and you can't tell people who are hurt, people who are in pain hour, to suffer or,000 grieve. this murder of trayvon martin has been one of a number of murders that have happened over

the years that have-- and the outcome has been grievous. so i think we have to be very, very careful with regard to that. though i agree that there are things we can do within the black communities, again, i don't think the problems that exist in the black communities exist in a void. i think they were create bide a larger reality which relates to white america and our history in this country. so there are a lot of things we need to talk about. but it's not only black people that need to do self-evaluation and thinking about how we're going to approach problems with us. the problem does not lie exclusively with us as african americans. >> brown: michael melton, you are in the ment org business, right? >> yes, i am. >> brown: your organization. so you're working with young african american men and women,

but what-- what do you tell them? what's the most important thing for them to negotiate their way through all the things we've talked about? >> i try to tell them to be aware of your surroundings and how other people are perceiving you. and you don't need to be defensive, but you need to actually think more than a normal person would about can this be perceived incorrectly? and be nonaggressive. just naturally. and just try to think about that. because people are going to sometimes see you incorrectly, but a conversation, "hey, who are you? what do you want? i'm just trying to walk home." there was something that could have defused it? but on the other end, i think that self-defense in this case should not have been applicable at all. for example, if you incorrectly approach someone because you think they're doing something wrong and then whatever ensues after that, it should be your fault. and that's could be a modification to the law that will make it more justice.

>> brown: all right, a big, big subject that we've just started but we'll end it there. michael melton, human papillomavirus, nathan mccall, and bishop harry jackson. thank you all four very much. >> thank you, sir. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day: attorney general eric holder said he wants texas to get federal court approval before changing its election rules. united states prosecutors indicted four russian nationals and a ukrainian for hacking corporate computers to steal millions in cash and goods and spanish police questioned the sdoia a second juror in the george zimmerman trial spoke publicly, saying she felt zimmerman, "got away with murder" but there qawnt enough evidence to convict him. >> brown: online, the case for allowing more guest workers into the u.s. kwame holman explains.

>> holman: yesterday we featured the argument against more high- tech visas. today: why such workers stimulate innovation and the economy. that's on making sense and on twitter, we hosted a lively discussion on curbing gun violence. all the comments are available on our homepage. find all the stories from our series there as well. all that and more is on our website newshour.pbs.org. jeff? >> brown: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks, among others. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and...

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> live from dw studios here in berlin, this is the "journal." >> here are our headlines this hour -- >> the moment it all went wrong. disturbing footage of spain's train disaster. we will have a live report. lex chancellor merkel's top aide is under scrutiny. how much did he know about u.s. surveillance programs? >> the bike that is made out of cardboard. we will meet its israeli of mentor -- inventor.