captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: the calm after a storm of ebola hype, as dozens are cleared from quarantine in texas. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. judy woodruff is on assignment. also ahead this monday, u.s. forces air drop supplies to kurdish fighters, struggling to defend a key border town from the onslaught of islamic state forces. plus, tensions in the middle east build in an unusual venue, on stage, as the metropolitan opera prepares to open its new production, "the death of klinghoffer." those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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>> ifill: the headlines on ebola in the u.s. were more hopeful today. they included news that the pool of potential ebola cases is shrinking. >> it's somewhat of a happy press conference for us... >> ifill: after weeks of uncertainty, a bit of relief. dallas county judge clay jenkins announced that 43 people no longer need to be monitored. all had initial contact with thomas duncan, the liberian man who died of ebola at a dallas hospital. they included several of duncan's relatives and his fiancee, all allowed to leave quarantine today. >> there's zero risk that any of those people that have been marked off the list have ebola. they were in contact with a person who had ebola. and the time period for them to get ebola has lapsed. it is over.

so they do not have ebola. >> ifill: five more people will complete their 21-day monitoring period in coming days. 120 others are still under watch in texas, including those who cared for thomas duncan. but a dallas hospital worker who handled some of his specimens, and then went on a cruise, also tested negative. the ship returned to texas yesterday. two infected nurses, nina pham and amber vinson, are still being treated at special facilities, in bethesda, maryland and atlanta. in washington today, dr. anthony fauci of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases, said both had exposed skin even though they followed existing guidelines. >> so the protocol that was quite successful, it worked very well in ebola in africa, the way that was written, was a risk for the nurses and they went by the protocol. they got infected. right now, those protocols are being changed.

>> ifill: those new guidelines will be issued by the centers for disease control and prevention. meanwhile, in west africa, ground zero of the epidemic, nigeria was declared ebola-free today by the world health organization. >> this is a spectacular success story that shows to the world that ebola can be contained, but we must be clear that we have only won a battle, the war will only end when west africa is also declared free of ebola. >> ifill: nigeria had 20 ebola cases in total and eight deaths. there've been more than 9,000 cases and 4,500 deaths in guinea, liberia, and sierra leone. test on american dk tore who caught ebola in sierra leone and treated in emory university in atlanta was declared free of the virus today and released.

we'll turn our focus to the ebola fight in liberia, after the news summary. at least 43 people were killed in iraq today in a new round of suicide and car bombings. the targets were mainly shiite communities in baghdad and karbala. in one of the attacks, the bomber blew himself up as worshippers were leaving a mosque after midday prayers in central baghdad. at least 17 people died there. in all, more than 200 iraqis have been killed in just a week's time. islamic state forces have claimed many of the attacks. a libyan militant has pleaded not guilty to u.s. charges stemming from the 2012 benghazi attacks. ahmed abu khattala entered the plea today in federal court in washington. he faces an 18-count indictment. if convicted, he could get the death penalty. the benghazi attacks killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. in nigeria, friday's announcement of a cease-fire with boko haram insurgents appeared increasingly shaky.

fighting continued throughout the weekend, and army officers reported at least 25 militants were killed overnight in damboa, in the country's northeast. meanwhile, talks are supposed to resume tomorrow on freeing more than 200 school girls kidnapped by boko haram in april. indonesia swore-in a new leader today. joko widodo completed his rise from the slums of java to become president of the world's fourth most populous country. the 53-year-old was inaugurated at the presidential palace in jakarta. he called for unity to achieve economic growth. >> ( translated ): to the fishermen, the workers, the farmers, the merchants, the meatball soup sellers, the hawkers, the drivers, the academics, the laborers, the soldiers, the police, the entrepreneurs, and the professionals, i say let us all work hard, together, shoulder to shoulder, because this is an historic moment. we need to move together to work, work and work. >> ifill: about 50,000 people

attended a street party outside the inauguration, and widodo rode through it, flashing victory signs and shaking hands with well-wishers. there's word today that dozens of alleged nazi war criminals and s.s. guards have collected millions of dollars in social security benefits since 1979. the associated press investigated men who entered the u.s. after world war ii, but fled decades later after being named as nazi suspects. the report said the justice department encouraged them to go, with a legal loophole that lets them keep social security benefits. the social security administration had no immediate comment. it also turns out, thousands of federal employees accused of misconduct are earning millions of dollars in paid leave. "the washington post" reports the government accountability office found more than 57,000 workers were kept home for a month or longer and paid $775 million dollars over a three year period. the workers also kept accruing vacation days and pension earnings. last week's turmoil on wall

street gave way to relative calm today. stocks managed small gains after mostly strong corporate earnings overcame disappointing results from i.b.m. the dow jones industrial average gained 19 points to close at 16,399; the nasdaq rose 57 points to close at 4,316; and the s&p 500 added 17, to finish at 1,904. still to come on the newshour: driving an ambulance in ebola stricken liberia. bolstering the fight against islamic state forces. confusion over voter i.d. laws, and how it might affect the upcoming midterm elections. with political polarization on the rise, former republican leader bob dole calls for a return to bipartisanship. apple pay uts purchasing power at smartphone users fingertips. and, accusations of anti-

semitism as 'the death of klinghoffer' returns to the opera stage. >> ifill: now, an intimate look at the frontlines in the fight to contain ebola in hard hit liberia. an estimated 4,200 people have contracted the virus since the outbreak began, and 2,500 people have died. in this report produced by the "new york times" video journalist ben solomon spends three weeks with an ambulance nurse overwhelmed by an onslaught of patients needing care. >> my name is gordon kamara. i'm an ambulance driver.

that piece was 17 years old, died at home the next day. >> ifill: the flashpoint in the battle against islamic state forces the beleaguered syrian kurds battling to defend the town near the border with turkey

after shifts by both the u.s. and turkey. chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner. >> warner: after weeks fighting off a siege by islamic state militants, the syrian kurds defending the town of kobani are being reinforced. overnight, the u.s. air-dropped pallets of weapons, ammunition and supplies furnished by kurdish authorities and their peshmerga forces in iraq. then this morning turkey, bordering iraq and syria, said it would help iraqi kurdish fighters travel through turkey to kobani to join the fight. the turkish foreign minister mevlut cavusoglu spoke in ankara. >> ( translated ): we are fully cooperating with the coalition with respect to kobani. we are facilitating the passage of peshmerga fighters to kobani. >> warner: but turkey continued to say more aid should go to rebel factions trying to oust syria's president bashar al assad. >> ( translated ): we should not forget that the only element fighting both against assad and isis the free syrian army. in framing a border strategy,

the free syrian army is the group to be supported. >> warner: previously, ankara insisted it would not allow men or materiel cross its border to aid kurds in kobani. that's mainly because the syrian kurdish fighter group in kobani called the p.y.d. is allied with a kurdish group in turkey, the p.k.k., that waged a bloody 30- year insurgency. just yesterday, after president obama notified him of the coming u.s. airdrops by phone, turkish president reccep tayyip erdogan made his displeasure clear. >> the p.y.d. is for us, equal >> ( translated ): the p.y.d. is for us, equal to the p.k.k. it is also a terror organisation. it would be wrong for the united states, with whom we are friends and allies in nato to talk openly and to expect us to say "yes" to supplying arms to a terror organization. we can not say "yes" to it. >> warner: the u.s. airdrops also represent a stepped-up american effort to save kobani beyond its ongoing campaign of air strikes against islamic state positions.

secretary of state kerry, in indonesia today, said it was too important an opportunity to pass up. >> while they are a offshoot group of the folks that the... our friends, the turks, oppose, they are valiantly fighting isil. and we cannot take our eye off the prize here. it would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting isil, as hard as it is, at this particular moment. he didn't say if there would be further air drops, nor when iraqi peshmerga fighters might arrive. >> ifill: and margaret joins me now. margaret, the u.s. said it wasn't going to participate in these air drops. something changed, what was it? >> warner: absolutely this is a big turnaround. first of all this is the first time the u.s. has directly supplied lethal aid,

as they call it, to any syrian rebel fighters. but secondly, as you may recall at the beginning of this operation, the department of defence thought this battle over kobane was a diversion. they didn't even like having to do air strikes. it's not really essential to the fight against islamic state. but the more the islamic state poured resources, men, material, heavy weapons in there, the more one they presented target, and the more they presented it as an important strategic victory as far as they were concerned. and the u.s. suddenly recognized that they could not afford to let cobaby-- kobane fall, even though they are warning kobane could fall, because it would add to this sense 6 power on isis. >> they decided kobane was important, we had to do something about that. >> that's right. what about turkey, they also switched positions, they were not going to get involved either. >> warner: big switch, big switch. first of all, you know, turkey has been in a position to do a lot to help. they are sitting on the border. they moved tanks down there. they haven't even used their

artillery to help pummel some of those u.s. positions. and secondly they have-- is positions and they have refused to let any kurdish fighters krorx their own pkk, their own insurgents. or even civilians who have been dying to cross the line to go help their fellow kurds. so in speaking to a senior kurdish official nine days ago, he said no way, no how would he allow a corridor, as we showed on the map, in which these iraqi kurds, who actually have pretty good relations with turkey, which i won't get into why, cross over and come in and help. that is a big turn around. i'm also going to ask you about how called them to change at the same time. it is interesting to me, that with some tension between the u.s. and turkey. and they both reversed themselves at the same moment. that can't be by accident. >> warner: well, it is not entirely by accident. here's what i am told. first of all, the u.s. had grown increasingly frustrated with turkey. yes, there has been some cooperation, yes, turkey is now going to let its

property be-- its territory be used to train. but basically, turkey still hasn't decided what it's going to do. and so apparently in this phone call on saturday, president obama call the president erdogan, he said look, we do share the goal of defeating isil. he said let me tell you, the fighters in kobane are running on time. their lifeline is running out of time, their time line. >> ifill: the president said this to erdogan. >> i am told on good authority. >> and he said if kobane falls, it will hand a huge propaganda victory it will hand a huge momentum to isil and neither of us want that. so let me tell you what we are going to do. now erdogan was not pleased with that. he said, see those frosty comments he said yesterday which we just ran. but this official said it was a productive conversation. that these two men actually after some ups and downs over the last few years, have an ability to talk directly. and this official said i can't say why turkey did what if did. but it knew what we were going to do.

it criticized what we did, but you notice we embrace wlad it did. so coordination implies they get together and say you do this, and i do this. not quite. >> ifill: a little face-saving going on. >> warner: and an understandingment when president obama said we're going do this, then turkey has been facing condemnation for doing nothing, letting the beseiged fighters fight it off by themselves. and last thursday, i didn't realize this, they lost a key vote, secret ballot in the u.s. general assembly to get one of these coveted seats from the u.n. security council, they have been lobbying for three years and lost it a 2 to 1 margin and a lot of little countries made clear this is why. so turkey had a reason. at this point the u.s. was going do something this is the least bad option for them. >> ifill: what happens going forward. we know the u.s. stepped up air strikes in and around kobane. now these air drops of lethal weapons. now this cooperation, at least for now with turkey, does that continue? does that build?

is there going to be more? >> warner: last night there was a background conference call on the phone, with some of the reporters in which basically u.s. officials said look, we're going to do what is necessary. i think if you look back to the operation, the rescue thiadist, remember, they said hey we're out of material again, the leaders are saying in five days we will be, i think so. but the other thing that is key to remember here is that obama strategy which he laid out at west point and over and over, we don't want to be the combat forces any more. we want to empower local forces. here are the most effective local fighting forces, much more effective than the moderate syrian rebels at the moment we're supporting, they happen to be the kurds in kobanement and even though the turks are a po plec particular that there is an appliance between their insurge ent kurds and-- the fact is i think this administration is now committed up to a point with air strikes and air drops.

>> ifill: feels like a minor turning point, maybe a major turning point. >> warner: i think could be. >> ifill: margaret warner, thank you. >> warner: thank you, gwen. >> ifill: in an unusual saturday ruling, the u.s. supreme court cleared the way for enforcement of texas' voter i.d. law, considered among the strictest in the nation. the action is the latest in a series of pre-election court rulings that have changed polling requirements for voters in 18 states, among them, north carolina. kelley mchenry of public station unc-tv reports the new regulations have left some voters scratching their heads. >> reporter: at a recent voter education forum in granville county, it was clear there is much confusion about the state's new voting law. >> where can you get free i.d.'s? >> reporter: it's not surprising there's confusion. over the last few weeks there

has been a flurry of court appeals and decisions which first upheld, then reversed, then upheld again the new requirements. the new voter law includes: a photo i.d. requirement, a ban on same-day registration, no out-of-precinct voting, and a reduction in the number of early voting days. all of the rules took effect this year, with the exception of the photo i.d., which starts in 2016. the law was passed in 2013 by a newly elected republican legislature and the changes are bitterly dividing voters. >> i'm very concerned about it. i think the turn-out will be lower. i think folks will be frustrated and they won't understand and they won't come to vote. >> i think the changes are being made to make the whole voting process more honest and more believable. >> reporter: proponents of the law said the changes were needed to protect against fraud, although even they admit the

number of reported fraudulent cases has been low in the past. jay delancy runs the voter integrity project in raleigh. its mission: to root out voter fraud. he says the reason there are so few cases is because people aren't looking for fraud and district attorneys don't prosecute it. >> i had one d.a. scoff at me and say "i've got d.u.i.'s to prosecute. i don't have the resources for this." >> reporter: the new voting requirements have prompted a public outcry from many groups, including the n.a.a.c.p., which worries the restrictions will take the state back to an era when segregationist laws known as jim crow prevented blacks from voting. >> this fundamental attack on voting rights and implementing voter suppression is the worst thing we have seen since jim

crow. it has angered so many people but they are turning their anger into action. >> reporter: the n.a.a.c.p., and the department of justice are suing the state, arguing that the new voting laws violate the voting rights act of 1965. the court case is scheduled for next year. the n.a.a.c.p. says the new laws are specifically designed to suppress black votes and it points to studies which show african americans are twice as likely to utilize early voting and 50% more likely to use same day registration. >> we should be looking for more ways for people to vote, not less ways, and what we are finding is all of their claims about fraud are fraudulent themselves. >> reporter: the north carolina voter i.d. law comes on the heels of the supreme court decision last year to strike down key parts of the voting rights act of 1965.

the supreme court lifted federal restrictions over states like north carolina that had a history of voter suppression. marilyn avila, one of the sponsors of the new law, says the supreme court was right to lift the restrictions. she says the fact that one in five state lawmakers is african american shows that north carolina has moved on from its troubled history. >> in the days of jim crow it was this is the way life is and we don't know any differently. we know differently today. >> reporter: all of the recent court rulings could spell confusion at the polls in november although they may encourage some people to get out and vote. >> ifill: it's politics monday and early voting is already underway in a handful of states, including in illinois, where today, president obama campaigned for governor pat quinn, and cast his hometown ballot. for more on how early voting, voter id laws, and final stretch campaigning might determine

election day outcomes in just a little over two weeks, we are joined by, stu rothenberg, editor and publisher of the "rothenberg political report," and susan page, the washington bureau chief for "u.s.a. today." two weeks out what is the landscape, stu. >> i think the trajectory sun changed from a couple months ago. that is the republicans have a little breeze at their backs. they have a lot of opportunities in senate races and house races. the governor situation say bit quirkier with both sides worrying about incumbents. but right now the environment certainly favors the republicans. >> ifill: when you see these voter i.d. problems like in north carolina and other voter ballotting stories around the country, do you think that in some tight races, susan, this may have an affect on the outcome? >> you know, i think in most of the places where they are enforcing these new voter i.d. law these are not places where they have close races, they are enforcing them in text cass. we know republicans are in a good situation with texas. north carolina might be the exception that --

>> it could help determine who wins that race. >> but it's certainly i'm thinking about colorado, i'm thinking about early voting in georgia. that perhaps could have some voter-- it turns out. >> early voting could. if democrats can use early voting to get people to vote who might not turn out in a mid-term election, who tend to vote democratic like african-americans, like younger people that could definitely have an affect on some of these close races. >> so the mail ballot is a big question mark for us. colorado, how will it affect turnout rates l people who ordinarily don't vote because it's so easy to vote, just mail your ballot in, will they participate? and this is a big huge problem we have of handicappers and reporters and analysts. it really is about turnout. you know, i'm sure they laugh whrx a copout, they say it's about turnout. but that's really important particularly in these mid-term elections. there is a significant drop in turnout by some significant groups historically. younger voters, hispanics,

latinos. and we don't know who is going to vote. plus, gwen, democrats are making a major effort in terms of i.d.ing, registering and turning out voters. it was a year ago when i was talking to democratic strategists. they said look at arkansas. we're going to register all these new voters and turn them out. the republicans are going to be shocked. ri have republicans telling me just watch our turnout efforts in colorado, in iowa. they think they have, if they haven't equaled what the democrats have done, at least they're going to surprise. >> and at the very least, don't both parties, aren't they both in debating points. isn't that what is really happening in a midterm election like this the democrats want to debate voter suppression or voter turnout. and republicans want to debate the president. >> i don't think voter i.d. laws are something that turns the electorate. it's important. it is an important thing. we want people to be able to vote. but if you talk to people about what they care about, they care about the economy and jobs. they care about the threat of isis in the sense the country is under attack, could have bigger terror

threat. they worry about ebola. i think that when you get to things like voter i.d. laws it's really, for swing voters, that isn't something you hear them raising. and it seems to me that voter, identifying voters and turning them, only takes so you far. the landscape is negative for you t is going to be uphill and we have a landscape that is pretty friendly to republicans. >> i agree completely. but i would ad that-- add that i think you're right that democratic strategists and democratic candidates can go into the minority community, and say republicans don't want you to vote. that is -- >> and are doing that. >> and they-- right, they're doing that. and that is a way to motivate groups that traditionally fall off in midterm elections. >> an help cans go to their base and say, you-- republican goes to their base and say we do not trust these democrats voting with the president, 99% of the time. and therefore, so that is why i wonder if that is all-- a remarkably unenthusiastic electorate this time. >> people are unenthusiastic about politics in washington. but republicans are pretty

gined up about president obama. it seems republican have a much easier tax in getting their people to come out because they have been opposed to the president. they thought she should have taken the senate last time around. they really, in two cycles they failed in their efforts to win the senate. if they can't win it this time, under what circumstances could republicans win control of the senate. >> what competitive races are most surprising to you at this stage? >> well, in the senate, boy, it changes every week. >> this week, what is surprising to me or the last few weeks t is the kansas is in play, republican senator pat rob zrts in serious trouble. in a three way race in south dakota, the republican is mike round is widely criticized by republicans for the race he is running and the republicans are worried. they think they will win that state but are worried. georgia has come into play. i'm still interested very much in colorado and iowa which i think, i think when we started this cycle we thought these races are democrats to lose. and they may be doing that. so there are a bunch of

races i think are still fascinating. >> is your map the same? >> i think it would be very similar. you know, i'm also struck by the races in which independent third party candidates are going to be a factor. you have an independent in kansas who might win the senate n south dakotah you have somebody who is essentially an independent candidate who might determine the outcome that could have -- >> how -- >> you know what that says to me, that says people usually vote in the two party system but they are sick and tired of these two parties and they are willing to entertain people from other places. >> okay, let me put you on the spot and repeat the same question a different way. which is what the is most interesting race or the most consequential race that nobody is paying attention to very much right now, that you can go governor, senate, state house. >> wow. >> that's tough. >> yeah. >> the most consequential race that nobody is -- >> susan, you mentioned maine. >> okay. >> i don't hear anybody talking about it. >> nobody, but it's kind of a quirky race. on the other hand the idea that the governor lepage could win a second term after barely winning a first

term and governings in a controversial way that would be pretty surprising. i kathy gifford's seat in arizona, i'm looking at that one because it has become ground central for the debate over gun control in a state where people own guns and use guns. that might be one. >> i will give you two quick ones. >> i will give you a chance to think about it. >> one is the kansas governor's race where sam brownback could possibly lose. and i think this reflects a deep division in the kansas republican party that is reflective of the larger tea party, libertarian versus establishment argument, and the republican party nationally. the second one is the illinois governor's race where governor quinn -- >> where the president was today. >> governor quinn, i mean two months ago i would have said he's toast. put a fork in him, he's done. now the race is even. and it is an interesting race in terms of the republicans are running a very wealthy businessman who is running as a candidate for change. a businessman. and the democrats are just trying to gin up the democratic vote and turn it up the final few weeks as

they did four years ago. >> one of the few safe places where the president can go campaign as de yesterday in maryland. >> you can believe we're two weeks out and the president has made just his first campaign appearance. >> it is amazing. >> we will be watching to see if there are any more. >> thank you both very much. >> stu rothenberg and susan page. >> ifill: judy's in georgia tonight, reporting on whether the senate race there might help democrats reclaim the south. we'll have that story tomorrow night on the newshour. before she left, judy sat down with a man who knows a thing or two about senate math, bob dole, former majority leader and presidential candidate. >> woodruff: senator bob dole thank you for talking with us. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: you are 91-years- young. you have led a remarkable life after the terrible injuries you suffered in world war ii. you've gone on to be a very busy man. how are you doing today? >> doing great. i'm in great shape. i keep busy, which is important.

>> woodruff: and you've been gone as i understand for nine trips to kansas this year. >> nine trips, and we've been in 96 of the 105 counties. we don't have any agenda, it's just a thank you tour to thank the people for voting for me five times in the u.s. senate. now, many in the audience aren't old enough to have voted for me five times, so you meet a lot of new friends. >> woodruff: you talked about how democrats and republicans worked together to do important things. but you have also talked about the senate doesn't work anymore. how much do you think it has changed? how different is it today? >> well, it's hard to criticize the senate when i was there for 28 years, but it does seem to be more confrontational, and not as much bi-partisanship.

i go back to the time when ronald reagan told me one day, he said, "bob i'm going to send this legislation to congress and i want 100%," and then he said with that little twinkle in his eye, "well if you can't get me a hundred get me seventy and i'll get the rest next year." so he believed in compromise and working together and i just don't see much of that now. >> woodruff: what would your advice be to members of the democratic party, but also members of your own party right now? >> you know, get together. i haven't been there so i can't say they're not getting together, but from what i hear from my friends in the senate, it's sort of a different place, not just because i was there and senator mitchell was there, because we were great friends. we used to talk a lot and try to work things out.

and i don't think it's there right now. >> woodruff: do you think it matters for the good of the country whether the two parties work together? >> oh, that's the way to do it. some people just vote for the party. they don't contribute much to their districts. but we have sort of the far right in the republican party and the far left in the democratic party. so both parties are sort of split, which makes it harder for mcconnell-- mitch mcconnell and

harry reid to work things out. >> woodruff: you said last year at one point you said there are some republicans who have leaned so far to the right that they are about to fall out of the capitol. >> speaker boehner has had a lot of difficulty with about 30- some. i thought i was a traditional republican conservative, but they've moved beyond tradition, and i don't know what they're for. it's easy to be against things, but what are you for? >> woodruff: you have advocated relentlessly for those with disabilities and most recently you have been lobbying for the senate to ratify the convention on the rights of people with disabilities, the international convention, but at this point there are still some republican senators who are holding that up. what argument have you made to them and why do you think that they haven't come around? >> well, i've tried to explain to them that this treaty is neither democrat nor republican. it's not liberal or conservative. it just protects the rights of disabled if they travel overseas. 139 countries have ratified the

treaty, and we're the leader-- the united states-- on disability. there's no reason the treaty shouldn't pass with 100 votes. and we're going to try and bring it up in the lame duck session after the election. and i believe we're about two votes short. >> woodruff: what do you think the greatest challenge is facing the country today? >> i think the greatest challenge is in foreign policy areas where you could almost throw a dart on a world map and you might hit a country where they might have a conflict with us, whether it's korea or iran or ukraine or whether it's syria. the world's on fire and we're dealing with it, but some of it's going to take time and we don't want to send any more american men and women to fight

a ground war. other countries ought to come forth and do their share, but so far they haven't done anything. >> woodruff: and what sort of job do you think president obama has done dealing with all these international crises? >> i think president obama is a fine man, but i think he has trouble making a decision, and he sometimes delays a decision, which doesn't help the problem. >> woodruff: do you think republicans are going to take control of the senate? >> well, i think it's promising, but i don't think it's in the bag. there are a lot of close races, including the republican state of kansas, where pat roberts is in a very tight race with a so called independent who was a democrat, but i think that's going to be close and it would

be, it's a battleground state. who'd think republican kansas would be a battleground state? i think the moderates feel that both the governor and pat roberts have been too conservative, so there's been a number of moderates who publicly endorsed their opponents. we've got to be a party of inclusion. we don't want anybody to leave the party, so they're reaching out to the moderates, and trying to bring them on board. >> woodruff: last thing senator, what do you want your legacy to be? what do you think it is?

>> i don't know, that i worked hard. i think my legacy will be that the people of kansas trusted me, a majority, and i did the best i could. i'm sure i made mistakes, but i think i served kansas well. i don't know what my legacy will be. that i lived to be 200, or at least 100, and that i've never forgotten where i was from. >> woodruff: senator bob dole, we thank you for talking with us. >> thank you, judy. >> ifill: if you happen to be one of the millions who bought a new apple iphone in recent weeks, or are waiting for your upgrade to arrive, you may feel like your wallet is getting lighter and not just because of the price of the phone. in an era of electronic payments, technology is turning the wallet in your pocket digital. hari sreenivasan has our conversation, recorded in our new york studios.

>> paying for something with your phone isn't necessarily a new idea. i've been using mine to pay for cabs for the past year. but today apple launches its mobile payment platform called apple pay. and here to help us understand how the arrival of apple into this arena changes the game is the senior editor at technology news site ricoh. why is it a big deal that apple decides to do something google has been doing for a while. >> partially because with the google experience it is inconsistent. there is resistance from the carriers. for instance verizon has its own payment plan. and has resisted google's infrastructure, google's plan so it has been inconsistent and uneven experience on the google platform with. apple we have a completely unified experience. apple has also, it's been a lumbering giant in payments for a long time there are more ed:ity card accounts associated in the itunes infrastructure than on amazon or pay pal. and so it is-- only been a matter of time before the technology to come, and the experience to show up. and make it easy for

consumers to use. >> so besides apple and google, you also hear wal-mart and pay pal, all these people are getting into this arena. why is it so important for them to control the actual transaction? what do they get out of it? >> there's a lot of money. there are multibillion-dollar businesses, first data is one and numerous other payment processors, multibillion-dollar business on essentially pennies and fractions of pennies. there is always money to be made on the swipe of a card or in this case now the wave of a phone. >> so what is the industry response been to this when they realize apple has this unified experience that might lure more consumers to do this. are there companies that are concerned that this is something that basically that user experience is slipping away from them and possibly into apple's favor? >> yeah, one potential threat is really going to be pay pal, apple's partner with a lot of apps on the phone to use this apple pay system, to pay for virtual-- to pay for things that you would buy on-line, in the app that is a threat to pay pal because they have a lot of in app and on-line

payments. i use pay pal a lot myself not just for ebay things but also just to pay certain bills sometimes. but so that's one thing threat. but it is also, i think, a lot of the retailers don't want to be left out in the cold. partially because there is this moment right now where credit cards, the old mag strip has been around since the 1960s. really phasing out and there is new infrastructure coming out there is the new chip and pay, tokenization, all kinds of new security measure -- security measures and apple is seizing on this moment to change the paradigm a little bit. so if there is as my moment where consumers want to pay for their phone we will know it definitively. it's been kind of an uneven experience. the data has been a little bit inconsistent so far. and so we're going know definitively and for sure whether or not consumers really want to do this. >> are we a step closer to paperless currency? >> paperless current currency? i don't know. how much cash dow carry these days. i don't carry cash very often. i carry some kind of a card.

i haven't paid with my phone yet, i'm sort of a luddite on this, believe it or not. i think we're also seeing this moment where people are experimenting with bitcoin that is a little on the fringes but it's definitely, there's definitely a lot of things happening on the currency front that are kind of changing our economic behavior, changing what our perceptions of money. we've come a long way from having to have silver coins. >> you had people back then to carry your bags, right. >> yeah. >> you didn't want to get your hands dirty. >> exactly. i don't like getting my hands dirty with cash than anybody else does so but it's also a lot less friction, you know, the time spent on a transaction needs to be shortened. it's all about time and friction and complexity. and waving your phone makes it a lot more simple. >> and also possibly that you will spend more if the friction is less. >> if the friction is less, the tendency to spend may be more, yes. so consider yourself warned. >> all right, thank you so much. >> you bet.

>> ifill: finally tonight, a battle over the role of arts in portraying history. for some audiences, opera remains a remote and less accessible form of entertainment. but a new production opening in new york city tonight is stirring some very strong feelings outside the arts world. former new york city mayor rudolph giuliani is one of a number of political and religious figures protesting outside the metropolitan opera. jeffrey brown has our report. >> brown: the opera is called "the death of klinghoffer." like so many operas throughout history it's a tragedy told through music, words, and stagecraft, and is filled with drama and emotion. but this is based on a very real tragedy in recent history: the

hijacking of an italian cruise ship, "the achille lauro," off the coast of egypt in october 1985. by four members of the palestinian liberation front, who murdered a 69-year-old disabled jewish-american passenger named leon klinghoffer. >> all civilized peoples welcome the apprehension of the terrorists responsible for the seizure of "achille lauro" and the brutal murder of leon klinghoffer. the pursuit of justice is well served by this cooperative effort to ensure that these terrorists are prosecuted and punished for their crimes. >> brown: the renowned american composer john adams, whose work is regularly performed throughout the world, wrote the opera six years after those events, in 1991. he's tackled recent history in other operas as well, including one titled, "nixon in china". this afternoon adams told me what drew him to this story. >> well, all of my operas deal with what i call american mythology.

atomic bomb, nixon in china, the collision of capitalism and communism. the death of klinghoffer is about terrorism, which is unfortunately one of the essential psychic experiences of our american life. >> brown: yet controversy has followed the work from the beginning. some saying it shows sympathy for the palestinian extremists and even glorifies terrorism. included in that group are leon klinghoffer's own daughters, lisa and ilsa. in today's "haaretz," the israeli paper, they wrote that the opera presents false moral equivalencies without context and offers no real insight into the historical reality and the senseless murder of an american jew. the opera rationalizes, romanticizes and legitimizes the terrorist murder of our father.

a statement from the daughters will be included in the metropolitan opera company playbill. meanwhile, a planned broadcast of the opera in theaters and on radio was canceled, out of fear that it could encourage anti- semitism abroad. part of a deal struck with the anti-defamation league. protesters gathered last month outside the met to demand the opera be called off altogether. another protest is planned for tonight's opening. the a.d.l. is not involved in those demonstrations. but today its president, abraham foxman, told me of his objections to the opera. >> it glorifies terrorism, it gives it a status and stature, of a terrorist act, a criminal act. it makes the murderer a person of cause and all he was an anti- semitic racist murderer. he was a terrorist. and this opera makes him out to be some hero, some folk hero, some image.

>> brown: foxman also responded to the criticism that the protests are a form of censorship. >> mr. adams has a right ot do whatever it wants. and the opera, metropolitan, has a right to decide what it wants to put on. i think it's a terrible judgment they made because the metropolitan gives it an imprimatur, a stature, that says this is serious, this is significant and all it is glorifying murder. >> brown: the metropolitan opera company has addressed the controversy head-on with advertising that says, "see it. then decide." many critics, in fact, have said they have not and will not see the opera. and composer john adams believes there's a deep mis-understanding of the ideas and goals of his work. >> i think to typify this opera as creating moral equivalency between a terrorist act and defenseless hostages is a complete hysterical mis-

representation of the facts. i think probably what unhinges the opera's critics is that we do present both mythic narratives, so we represent the narrative of the jewish people and the narrative of the palestinian people. >> brown: protesters tonight will use wheelchairs as symbols of the slain leon klinghoffer. as he prepared to attend the opening, adams had this say about the role of art and artists in addressing history >> i think that all the great dramatists whether it was shakespeare, aeschylus, wagner, or verdi have taken historical events, communal events, events that have impacted people, whether they be regicide, battles between nations, races,

and through their art, they've raised these conflicts and these human dramas to the level of myth and to a poetic level where we can experience this on the levels of deepest feeling and understanding that reading history books will never provide. >> brown: "the death of klinghoffer" is scheduled for eight performances at the met, through november 15th. >> ifill: again, the major developments of the day. the news on ebola in the u.s. was more hopeful, as more than 40 people were released from monitoring in texas. they included relatives and the fianceé of thomas duncan, the liberian man who died of ebola in dallas. the u.s. began air drops of weapons and supplies to kurds battling islamic state forces in

kobani, on syria's border with turkey. and a libyan militant, ahmed abu khattala, pleaded not guilty to u.s. charges stemming from the benghazi attacks that killed four americans in 2012. on the newshour online right now, how does legalized medical marijuana influence the use of alcohol and other drugs? on making sense, we share a study from the national bureau of economic research about the effects. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, in the competitive world of tech start-ups, few ideas make it big, scores flop, others turn into zombies, what to do about start-ups that just won't die? i'm gwen ifill, we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. brought to you in part by -- >> thestreet.com. featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and market insights with action alerts plus, the multimillion dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. how about them apples? apple beats the street with strong demand for its iphone and says next quarter will be even better than it expected. >> third quarter earnings were disappointing. they weren't what we expected. we saw some slowdowns. >> big blue bummer. ibm's latest earnings were not what the ceo expected. she also ditched the company's profit road map, dumped its chip unit and by the end of the day the stock had