captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: american medical centers plan for more patients with ebola. we go inside one of new york's designated hospitals to see the challenges up close and the enormous effort it takes to be fully prepared. >> creating a team that is competent and confident in their skills to care for a patient with this deadly disease that provides extreme risk to health care workers that is the real challenge for us. >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. also ahead, in mexico, theñi search for forty-three student activists who disappeared after clashes with police. it's friday, mark shields and david brooks are here to preview

next tuesday's midterm elections.ñr >> ♪ shake it off shake it off ♪ >> woodruff: close to a million fans buy taylor swift's new album in its debut week. why some pop stars still sell despite huge changes in the music industry. those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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. >> woodruff: the space industry suffered a new catastrophe today. a "virgin galactic" space tourism rocket crashed during a test flight in southern california.

the co-pilot was killed, and thó pilot was badly injured. the wreckage of "spaceship two" landed in the mojave desert. witnesses described an explosion after the rocket was released from a plane that carries it to a high altitude. on tuesday, a rocket owned by another private company, orbital sciences, blew up just afterñi lifting off from a launch site on virginia's atlantic coast. >> woodruff: people across northeastern pennsylvania were finally able to relax today, with news that a seven-week manhunt is over. the suspect in a shooting that terrorized the region was captured last night and appeared in court this morning. >> eric, are you sorry? are you sorry? >> woodruff: shouts from the crowd went unanswered as a battered-looking eric frein stood waiting after his hearing at the pike county courthouse. district attorney raymond tonkin. >> today, we find some comfort as a community that we are taking these next steps towards

justice. >> woodruff: frein is accused in the sniper-ambush of a state police barracks in blooming grove, pennsylvania, on september 12th. the attack left corporal bryon dickson dead, critically wounded trooper alex douglass and it triggered a grueling, 48-day manhunt across the pocono mountains for frein, an expert marksman and survivalist. the search took law officers through woods, caves and vacation homes, closed schools, canceled football games, and hurt area businesses. >> he was able to get into cabins, into other unoccupied structures, find food. in other cases, he had things hidden, but he was able to get shelter, get in, out of the weather much as we suspected was occurring. >> woodruff: finally, last night, frein surrendered peacefully to u.s. marshals, who came upon him in an abandoned airport hangar, about

30 miles from the state police barracks. he entered no plea at today's hearing but faces first degree murder and other charges and añr possible death penalty. for area residents, it's the end to a nightmarish time. >> i can't even explain what i'm feeling right now. this is awesome. we are so proud of our pennsylvania state police, their hard work. there've been many, many sleepless nights. >> woodruff: and with frein's capture, local officials announced that neighborhood trick-or-treating is back on tonight's schedule. >> woodruff: in florida, a former college band member was convicted today in the death of a drum major at florida a-and-m university. dante martin was found guilty of manslaughter and felony hazing. the victim, robert champion, died after running a gauntlet of fists, drumsticks and mallets. afterward, the school's nationally known band was suspended for more than a year. >> woodruff: there's word today that more than a thousand

foreign fighters are flowing into syria each month, despite american air strikes. that's according to a report today in "the washington post", citing unnamed u.s. intelligence and counterterrorism officials. the account says it's estimated the total number of foreign fighters inside syria now exceeds 16,000. israel reopened a contested holy site in jerusalem today. there'd been clashes a day earlier, when police killed a palestinian suspected of shooting a jewish activist. today, entrance to the site known as temple mount to jews, and "noble sanctuary" to muslims, was watched closely by an extra one thousand security personnel. israeli authorities continued to deny access to muslim men under the age of 50. japan's central bank made a surprise move today to jump- start its economy by expanding stimulus efforts. the head of the central bank said there's a risk of

deflation that will hurt wages and stock values. >> if the real inflation rate continues to be sluggish, there's a possibility toward a turn around toward a deflationary mindset. our nation's economy is at a critical moment, a process of escaping deflation. our decision to go ahead with easing is based on such reasoning. japan has been plagued by de- flation and anemic growth for much of the past 20 years. also today, russia's central bank boosted its key interest rate to 9.5%, hoping to stop the ruble's decline in value. the russian currency has been hurt by western sanctions over ukraine, and by falling oil prices. wall street shot higher on the moves to stimulate japan's economy. the dow jones industrial average gained 195 points to close at 17,390, a new record. the s-and-p 500 added 23, to finish at 2018, also a record.

and the nasdaq rose 64, to 4630. for the week. the dow and the nasdaq gained more than 3%. the s-and-p rose more than 2.5%. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour: how u.s. hospitals build up to handle more possible ebola cases. after twenty-seven years, burkina faso's president steps down amid massive protests. what's delayed making public a report on c.i.a. interrogations? updating the 42 mexican college students gone missing. mark shields and david brooks preview next week's elections. and, what taylor swift's latest album sales say about today's music business. >> woodruff: now, how hospitals are preparing for ebola cases in this country. a judge in maine ruled today against state officials who

sought to quarantine nurse kaci hickox who returned from west africa after working with ebola patients. hickox has no symptoms and has refused to observe a voluntary quarantine. but the judge did say she must u).]ïrpfonitored for symptoms and must coordinate any travel with state officials. the debate over that case comes as hospitals are scrambling to prepare for any future ebola patients. in new york state, governorñi andrew cuomo designated eight hospitals that need to be ready. the newshour's megan thompsonçó visited one of those hospitals in manhattan. >> reporter: on wednesday afternoon, staff was buzzing at the mount sinai hospital on manhattan's upper east side. in a special ward doctors, nurses and security were prepping at top speed for a dreaded scenario: someone with ebola walking through their doors. dr. david reich is the hospital's president. so, you've been at this hospital

for 30 years. have you seen anything like this before? >> reporter: there's really nothing like this that's ever been dealt with at this hospital before. and in fact, i'd say that of all the hospitals in new york city, there's really never been anything quite like this. >> reporter: new york's first case of ebola last week, at nearby bellevue hospital, only added to the pressure. mount sinai is a top-notch hospital, but ebola represents a whole new challenge. the first thing that greets you when you walk in the door: big new signs in thirteen languages. they say, if you have symptoms and have traveled, tell us immediately. >> so, this is an isolation room in part of the emergency department. >> reporter: possible ebola cases can be isolated here. luckily the only patient today is a mannequin used for training. so far, there have only been a handful of false alarms in the entire mount sinai system. but until now, this hospital didn't really have another place outside of the e.r. to provide long-term care for an ebola patient. >> last week, this section of the hospital was part of the

cardiac critical care unit. but in just a matter of days, mount sinai has transformed it into a brand new unit to care for possible ebola patients. they're still finishing it up, but they say that if somebody walks into the hospital today who might have ebola, they're ready for them. >> and we've completely walled it off. >> reporter: the new unit is sealed off. and while ebola is not an airborne disease, a negative pressure system and heavy-duty air filters are in place as extreme precautions. special protocols are followed to get rid of all waste. and this new communications system will allow staff to monitor and talk to patients without having to get close. >> the facility is in some ways only the smallest part of this. creating a team that is competent and confident in their skills to care for a patient with this deadly disease that provides extreme risk to healthcare workers, that is the real challenge for us. >> reporter: so mount sinaiçó conducts training regularly to make sure the staff is prepared. an expert from the cdc is here to consult.

one of the most important, and new, procedures to learn is how to put on the protective personal equipment. >> i'm going to read out the safe work practices. >> reporter: nurses train with a coach and a checklist. there are special coveralls and thigh-high plastic booties. a respirator, hoods, goggles. a second gown, two sets of rubber gloves, and a face shield. every detail is rehearsed, down to the type of knot securing the smock. >> we have to make sure we're hydrated before we suit up, if you need to use the bathroom, because, it's going to take time for us to do that again. >> reporter: plus, it's just hard to work draped in all that plastic and rubber. >> we did a simulation last thursday with the cdc watching us. after about 45 minutes, they were exhausted, they were soaked in sweat. it's very clear that anything we take for granted in terms of normal functions in an intensive care setting, is so much more difficult. >> reporter: so staff practice maneuvering around in the gear.

>> spray everything with bleach. >> keep everything nice and calm and stable. >> reporter: and during simulations, they trouble-shoot to find holes in their systems. here a doctor pretends to be an ebola patient who accidentally tore off the nurse's gown. the team must figure out how to react. >> the patient needs to understand that he cannot pull on you. >> reporter: and then there's taking off the protective gear. what might seem like a simple act could actually be the most dangerous. because this is when exhausted nurses and doctors could accidentally contaminate themselves. the hospital is constructing another isolation unit outside that will be the primary ebola care center. but all in, the new units will only be able to handle about three patients at a time. and that could pose a problem if the outbreak grows dramatically worse. hospital officials wouldn't provide specific numbers, but it's clear the costs for all this will be considerable. dr. kenneth davis heads the entire mount sinai system. >> this is expensive.

the drill, the drilling, the equipment, the construction, it's all not been budgeted. and in hospitals like ours, which have a very large percentage of patients who are largely medicare or medicaid, the margins are very narrow. so, we're ultimately going to be looking for federal, state, local help. >> reporter: but while all of this might look like something out of a sci-fi movie, dr. davis says, everyone needs to remember to stay calm. >> what separates this from anything else we've ever seen is the degree of anxiety, almost hysteria that's in the population about this. let's remember, there is one case in new york. there are less than a handful of cases in the united states. and the cases are, by and large, health care workers. >> reporter: for weeks to come, mount sinai's health care workers will continue to practice the new procedures. procedures they hope they will never have to use.

>> woodruff: there was a major shift in power today in the west african nation of burkina faso as that country's strongman leader, a u.s. ally who had bee3 in power almost three decades, fled the country. jeffrey brown has the story. >> brown: there was cheering on the streets of burkina faso's capital. after president blaise compaore agreed to step down, 27 years after he seized power in a coup. in a written statement, he called for "free and transparent elections" within three months. then, he left the city, apparently heading toward neighboring ghana. mass demonstrations had erupted in recent days, against compaore's attempt to seek another term. yesterday, mobs stormed the parliament building and set it aflame, leaving windows shattered, and burned out cars.

with word of the resignation today, the head of the military announced he would assume power, for now. >> ( translated ): people of burkina faso, today, october 31, 2014, the armed forces have noted the resignation of the head of state. it has been decided that i will take on the responsibilities as head of state. we expect to hold without delay consultations with all the vital forces and the components of the nation with a view to return to normal constitutional life. >> reporter: the turmoil is being closely watched in washington because burkina faso holds a strategic place in a turbulent region. it's been a u.s. military ally hosting a base used by american drones to track insurgents. to the north lies mali, a hub for al-qaeda-linked militants and to the east, nigeria, where the islamist "boko haram" is creating havoc. >> reporter: the ultimate outcome in burkina faso may also raise questions about the durability of other long- standing rulers in africa.

>> brown: for more on this i'm joined now by nii akuetteh, of the african immigrant caucus, an organization aimed at increasing political influence of the african diaspora. his career has focused on fostering relationships between the u.s. and african nations. well come -- welcome to you. >> thank you. >> brown: how important is this to the people of burkina faso and why? >> it is very important. they have been pushing for this for years. the president who departed is very agile. i was not sure he would be able to ride this out as well. so they have removed him. i think the military just came in to stabilize the situation. this is the people's revolution and it's really important. >> brown: we've seen a number of countries in libya and elsewhere, where a strong man goes but there isn't the infrastructure and civil society in place and sur mile ensues.

are there comparisons to be made here in. >> i think a little bit. i seriously doubt it will get as bad as libya, for one thing because of the influence of the african yiewn and the regional organization. they say if you come to power by unconstitutional means, you are out of the club but we will help you hold elections. and then the military, they have the examples of mali and other places to look at and ghana. i expect they hold their elections. >> brown: this has been an ally of the u.s. what now? >> i think the u.s. is watching the situation carefully. when mr. compaore decided to withdraw the bill, the u.s. was not happy. so i think they are trying to handle a situation in which they've lost an ally but want to

have more democratic processes to deal with whoever comes. burkina is indeed strategically placed in a turbulent region so i think the u.s. will try to work with those. >> brown: this is a region that does not get a lot of attention for the most part. what does something like this tell us about the potential for change in other countries in the region, ifçó anything at all? >> i think what it does, many african countries want the power to throw out their leaders if they don't like them. usually these are leaders of powerful countries outside. so other countries such as rwanda, uganda, they bear watching because you never know when the people will gain the upper hand. >> brown: and do you see people in a lot of these countries gaining a new voice?

>> i think they do but i think what will happen is the presidents in those countries are holding on to power, so it would not surprise me if the suppressed news of what's happening in burkina faso, if they're putting security forces out there to hold more tightly to power. >> brown: where there are countries with islamist groups, in burkina faso and elsewhere in this region, are there groups potentially there to step in? >> yes, there are. so i think it has to be watched carefully. nigeria has done a good job on its own. it's not out of the woods. nigeria is powerful and has been competent but they have boko haram. so there are things to watch out for and be concerned about in west africa. >> brown: have a great day. thank you very much. >> pleasure.

>> brown: we turn now to a battle over making public a senate report on the c.i.a.'s interrogation tactics. in 2009 the intelligence committee launched its investigation three years later, the 5,000 classified report was finalized. the cia disputed some of the conclusions. earlier this year, senators learned the c.i.a. searched senate computers without notifying the committee. and, in april, the committee voted to release a summary of the report. but the c.i.a. has insisted on more redactions to protect agency assets and secrets. we will hear from a former cia official in a moment. but we begin with a member of the senate intelligence committee, senator ron wyden of oregon. senator, welcome to the program. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: why is it you want this report released? >> usedy, the c.i.a. leadership maintained for years that

torturing prisoners was essential to obtaining information, that we weren't able to get the information we needed to protect our country without torture. what this report shows is that a number of the claims that the c.i.a. leadership made about the value of enhanced interrogation simply was untrue and a, regrettably, it looks like the culture of misinformation at the c.i.a. leadership is still going strong. >> woodruff: isn't the reluctance to release it, doesn't that have to do with making public the identity of agents, methods, operations that the c.i.a. and others believe needs to be secret? >> judy, i don't take a back seat to anybody in terms of protecting our agents who are undercover. in fact, a number of years ago, i wrote legislation with senator bond on a bipartisan basis to increase the penalties for

outing one of our agents. what the c.i.a. is doing here is trying to obscure key facts and trying to keep the real story from coming out. of course, i would be in favor of redacting any specific identifying information about our very valuable undercover agents. >> reporter: well, one of the key facts, give us a sense of the key fact that you think must come out that c.i.a. and the administration, whoever is making this decision, is saying no? >> well, this report is about misdeeds, mistakes and other falsehoods. and the reality is the c.i.a. is asking for something that is unprecedented. for 40 years, since the days of the church committee, we have used pseudonyms in order to protect our undercover agents. but if you don't allow

pseudonyms, for example, you can't even tell whether we're talking about different people or the same people, and you're obscuring what the narrative and what the public accounting is really all about. >> woodruff: well, it's my understanding one of the concerns expressed is even using pseudonyms could be traced to particular individuals and places. >> i don't believe that stripping out the specific identifying information will cause a problem. judy, the reality is, for 40 years, we have never seen a demand like the c.i.a. is making now. the c.i.a. is asking that all pseudonyms, all of them be stripped out. that wasn't done with the church committee, iran contra or abu ghraib. what c.i.a. is asking for is unprecedented and what's clear is they're interested in

obscuring the facts and covering up a really accurate narrative. >> woodruff: senator ron wyden, member of the senate intelligence committee, thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: for perspective from the c.i.a. side, joining us now is john rizzo, who spent thirty-four years in the agency's office of general counsel. he's also the author of the book "company man" about his time in the c.i.a. so, john rozzi, you heard what senator wyden was saying. he said this is unprecedented what the c.i.a. is asking for. >> first of all, i should make clear i have not seen the report, not for a lack of trying. several weeks ago, i and former c.i.a. officials who were deeply involved in the program asked for an opportunity to at least read it before it's released to the world. so i have no idea, as we sit here today, anything about the content of the report. as for the use of pseudonyms, again, it's all context. >> woodruff: and we should

clarify again we're talking about substituting pseudonyms, other names for the names of actual people who provided information. >> that's correct. and i should make clear that we're not talking about deleting the names of senior people like myself who are public figures. i mean, all of us, i assume, are going to be named by naming the report, and that's fine. what we're talking about here is the names of undercover operatives. many of whom i'm still operating in secret around the world in a dangerous assignment. >> woodruff: as you heard senator wyden say, in all the years, in a modern era, he said going back to the church report, back in the 1970s, this is not something the c.i.a. has insisted on. why is it so important to keep this report back until this name issue gets resolved? >> again, it's all context, but i can certainly foresee a

situation -- this report is 600 pages long. if the same pseudonym for the same person appears at various parts of the report describing the circumstances, what he or she was doing and what country he or she was in, those who are willing to take the time -- and believe me, there are people out there willing to take the time -- can piece together the two identities, or at least there's a possibility, and there's even a possibility of that, i honestly don't see -- i mean, this report is about the program. the agency ran the program. the people who carried it out in the trenches, you know, why should their safety be potentially compromised? >> woodruff: last question, do you think a compromise is possible here? this has been going on for months. >> look, i and my colleagues would like to see this report come out. it's been hanging for a long time and dripping with leaks. we all want to see it come out. i hope an arrangement can be

made. i would hope finally it's not the c.i.a. that's driving this process, it's the white house, the administration, the president's chief of staff. so to characterize this, this is añi c.i.a., to uphold the report is not fair and doesn't reflect reality. >> woodruff: john jorntion former general counsel for the c.i.a. thank you for talking with us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we turn now to mexico, for a disturbing story of dozens of college students gone missing and the hunt to find what happened to them. hari sreenivasan reports. >> sreenivasan: it's become an increasingly common sight across guerrero province, in southern mexico: police searching for the possible mass grave of 43 college students who vanished more than a month ago. their case has grabbed nationwide attention, but so far has yielded more questions than answers. mexican attorney general jesus

murillo karam. >> ( translated ): we've been very careful about giving precise information, to not speculate, to work with facts and not imagination, and this is why the information that we give is exactly at the stage that it's at and the conditions that it's at. >> sreenivasan: what is known is that the students were last seen in the town of iguala roughly 80 miles south of mexico city. they'd been raising money to protest funding cuts at their teachers' college, when they disappeared on the night of september 26th. investigators say local police opened fire on the group, at the mayor's orders. then, they allegedly handed over the students to a drug gang with ties to the mayor, who has now gone into hiding. the gang's leader and several members have since been arrested, but the case remains unsolved and the fate of the students, unknown. the lack of results has sparked public outrage and increasingly violent protests. just last week, demonstrators in iguala set fire to the town

hall. mexican president enrique pena nieto insisted wednesday that he shares the outrage, as he met with the students' families for the first time. >> ( translated ): the president of the republic is also indignant before these incidents and i also became very impatient. the ongoing investigations will soon allow us to determine the whereabouts and broaden the search to find the missing students. >> sreenivasan: pena nieto pledged to improve communication, starting with a panel to act as liaison between investigators and the families. >> sreenivasan: we turn to dudley althaus in mexico city. we over heard of a number of arrests. what's the latest? >> they're up to about 57, according to officials. most of them are local police fromi iguala and a nearby town and local officials of the gang. the latest today is the internal

minister of mexico announce they did're still looking for the students alive. that was a demand from the parents of the students two days ago when they met with president pena nieto. today in iguala, there's a banner that appeared near the army base near police headquarters saying the students were indeed still alive and that the entire investigation has been a sham. >> sreenivasan: human rights watch estimates there have been 20,000 disappearances in the last night years. why are these particular kidnappings of the students resonating across mexico? >> for one, the sheer numbers and, besides, these kids had a reputation for kind of trouble making, political agitation. but they're basically innocent, they're apart there the dug wars, as far as anyone knows. for the past years, president pena nieto has been assuring the country that the worst of the violence is behind it and

they're basically moving on. he's been trying to moment a message of economic development, investment and stability. this kind of shook everybody up. >> sreenivasan: we've heard the mayor of the town and his wife are on the run, that they may be in on this. what does this say about how difficult it is to root out the corruption that might be inside these small towns and also working with the cartels? >> really that's the most important back story of all of this. the government, past and current, has been really trying to take down major drug lords, the head of the cartel was just arrearsed. but what's happening is a lot of smaller groups are all throughout the bad areas of mexico and they have been lying low and really dominating local

towns. it doesn't take much to dominate a small city or a small town in areas there, even up along the u.s.-mexican border. so that's been kind of ignored in the past two years and i think this underscores the fact that these are very dangerous situations in a lot of parts of mexico. >> sreenivasan: this has escalating into a national situation, so what's next for the federal government? what's the mexican president likely to do? >> it's been five weeks since the students disappeared. something's got to give, or it starts working badly against the government. i think they'll redouble their efforts. i think they're trying to, as far as it goes. but, you know, they have 57 people in custody, it's a relatively small area, though it is a big state. most of mexico thinks it can't be hard to find these students. the government has to come up with something very quickly.

it's losing credibility every day, i think. >> sreenivasan: the "wall street journal"'s dudley althaus in mexico city, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: and to politics now and the final stretch of campaigning with election day just four days away. plenty of heavy hitters were on the trail this week. from former president bill clinton in kentucky, former secretary of state hillary clinton in iowa, mitt romney in kansas, jeb bush in colorado, and lots of others. so what should we be watching heading into this final weekend? joining us now are shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. we can't wait. we're almost there. mark, we're heading into the last few days. what does your gut say.çó >> don't tell me. can we have anotherçó week?

>> woodruff: what are your sources and what is your gut? >> my gut, and when my gut speaks, i listen to it. i'd say republicans have to feel better than democrats do heading into tuesday. >> woodruff: senate races. senate races. the governors' races stand on partisan grounds and more man mano mano, if i can use the sexist terms.ñi but the senate, it's not only the terrain, the republicans have a big advantage i politically, but it's the mood for the reps against the democrat. >> woodruff: what's your instinct? >> my gut isçó what mark says. i have the same feeling. all the models say the republicans are likely to take over the senate. a couple of things -- one, ticket splitting. there used to be a lot of people

ticket splitting. that just happens less. one of the reasons is the electorates were more educated. educated. they're more ideological. obama's a drag. we look at his numbers, he's come down a lot, so it's just a big drag. there are a lot of undecided voters out there. today, suggesting early voting, good signs for democrats, but it's not a lot. when the country's unhappy, president is in the sixth year, it's not brain surgery and the party will do okay. >> woodruff: what are you watching for? >> the first coming in new hampshire and north carolina, jeanne shaheen, new hampshire, kay hagan north carolina. obama carried new hampshire

twice. jeanne shaheen has been found to have nor road the race. it's a toss up. i'd say if gene shaheen and kay hagan win, the democrats in the two states, then the republican sweep is nonexistent in 2014. but beyond that i have to look at the states where the president did carry where democrats are running. colorado, if the democrats lose those, i think that's significant and will indicate that the republicans are having a very good evening. >> woodruff: is that what you're seeing? >> yeah, you know, the republicans will do well in the red states, arkansas, places like that, west virginia, probably louisiana, but winning over your own people is good but not a huge victor. so they could do that and even still win the senate, but if they can get in the purple states, then they're showing they're breaking out of their pattern, and the pattern has been over the last four years is

they're toxic. evenñi some traditional republicans are unhappy with the republican party. but has the republican party detox fide themselves? have they returned from a tea party that scares people and announce ago business party that will get the economy going? if they start winning the purple states, the north carolinas of the world, or even if scott walker wins in wisconsin in the governor's race there, then you begin to think they've improved their image with some of the swing voters. >> woodruff: mark, i want to turn on its head. a lot of talk about how much trouble the democrats are in. as both of you pointed out, they are fighting on territory that is red. mitt romney wonñr them in double digits, 23, 27 points in west virginia a couple of years ago. so if you turn the question on its head, we could say why aren't republicans running away with some of these races? the state? >> that's a good question. and my only answer would beñi is

the first time was in capital a hill, an old timer took me aside and was looking at some kind of down at the heels congressman. and they say, see that guy? they say, he knows more about pork belly futures than anybody in this state. and everybody that's in this body, house and senate, has something going for them and it's up to you to figure out what it is. because at least 1,000 or maybe 5,000 people in the state have ability and ambition who would like to have that seat. so the democrats were holding those seats. a gifted political operatives. they've survived in hostile territory, mary landrieu and mark pryor. they've managed to do it. the fact that the time and trends are running against them makes it even tougher for them. but, i mean, you've got to acknowledge these are skilled, able people who have performed

satisfactory in those states. >> it might be too uphill. i would say the other thing and here's a substantive point, republicans don't have a growth agenda, democrats don't have either. if you look at polling issue by issue, people still think the democrats are more like them. they do like the republican positions on spending, on obamacare, but the number one issue is who can create jobs and growth. you cannot say the republicans have come forward with an agenda to do that. i'm not sure democrats have either. but without the positive agenda, it's hard to get a big wave going. >> woodruff: we're looking at an economy, what they put out in gdp numbers is it's grown 3.5%, the unemployment rates are lowest, the market's higher than years. the wages are showing life, they're coming up, consumer confidence, yet none of this is translating into good news for

the party in power. >> no. the stock market -- just take the dow jones, up 10,000 points since barack obama has been in the white house. you're right, the last six months have been the best six months of growth in the past eleven years. so it really is good news. the problem is, judy, that's big picture, and people don't feel it. the the medium family income has been down every year since 2006. it is lower now than it was in 2000. the share of wealth that goes to the top, 1% in the country, has doubled. so there's a sense that the rising tide has lifted it out but hasn't lifted our boats. that's really what it is. it's not a knock on the overall big economy. it's what my life is, where my own chances of success and providing for my children and my

family and, if anything, more threatened than they were. >> woodruff: two-thirds of the voters are saying they don't like the direction the country is heading in. >> the growth rate has to be growing in august, september, july for people to notice. you have to have a period where confidence is going up. second, do people feel they can leave their jobs they're unhappy with and other opportunities will be around. they don't feel that. until that, they will feel bad. third, a feeling we're weak abroad. there's more foreign policy in this election than recent elections, and there's a lot going on in the world that we are not controlling. finally the president in this speech and that doesn't seem to be shaping agendas. maybe it's an unrealistic expectation, but the obama drag really is the core thing here.

people are seeing the president, 338 approval on economy and foreign policy, that's the core thing, disappointment. >> it's more of an economic election than a national security election. i agree there's a doubt that has increased in the white house. but the basic concern is that of the economy. that's the irony is the big, good numbers you've cited don't translate into support for the president. 10 million more people have healthcare than had it a year and a half ago. the legacy you can make, a great statement by transformation of presidency, but it's not much of a help if you're a democrat running in any kind of hostile area. >> woodruff: do statistics lie? do they just not mean anything for people? >> the ones i disagree with lie (laughter) no, a lot of it is everything is

pros and cons, but there is an overall feel and maybe the country is wrong, maybe they should be more cheered up. i could easily make the case, you compare it to the '30s, '40s, '70s, there's a general feeling it's not working. >> woodruff: we've talked about how telling negative the campaign is. the ads are negative, mud slinging about everywhere, in the contested states. my last question about the viewers, what do you see that's uplifting and makes you feel better about the country, mark, as we go into this mid term election? >> judy, that's a good question and i wish i had a good answer for it. i'm not charged up or encouraged by what i've seen. the negative commercials which

we're careful now are uncoordinated between the independent groups and candidates where i view through the independents group and talk about my feelings in my own campaign conn'sen contributions. the final cost ofo negative commercials is it depresses turnout. it says there is nothing you can do to change. it erodes confidence in our public institutions and ourselves and i really think that the consequences are enormous. so there was one bumper sticker i saw in harrisburg -- no -- >> woodruff: nothing uplifting? >> i can't see -- governor of colorado, the fact he's not running any negative commercials, if he wins, then maybe that will be an encouragement. politics is a derivative

business and if somebody wins not running negative commercials, that's a positive. >> it's positive, neck and neck. tv station owners are getting rich, but the governor's races are better than the senate races. we are polarized in the country but there are still so many states where you have close governor's races -- florida, wisconsin, illinois is even kind of close. so that shows there is still political competition, as mark said. georgia. these are races fought on foreign policy more than the national races. >> woodruff: it's always uplifting having you two here friday nights. mark shields, david brooks, thank you. anand a reminder, tune in tuesdy fight for election coverage. it will include a special report at 11:00 p.m. eastern.

>> woodruff: finally tonight, how to achieve "platinum" status in the ever-changing music business and at a time when the "album" as we once knew it, no longer sells. pop superstar taylor swift and her team have found a successful formula. but can it be duplicated? and what does it say about the industry and how we consume music now? once again we turn to jeffrey brown, who has the story. >> ♪ got nothing in my brain that's what people say ♪ >> brown: this week taylor swift is back on top. her new album, "1989," named for the year she was born, debuted monday and is on track to sell a million copies in its first week. >> ♪ but i keep cruisin won't stop won't stop movin ♪ >> brown: it's not just the only record to do so this year, but it's triple the mark of the

second best-selling album, by the band coldplay. and the million sales in the first week is a feat not accomplished since swift's last platinum album, 2012's "red." for the music industry as a whole, which has seen a 14% drop in album sales just from last year, it's a shot in the arm heading into the big holiday season. zack o'malley greenburg covers the industry for forbes. >> you know, hits like "1989" >> brown: swift has always held crossover appeal, but "1989" marks her official move from national pop queen. a move that has its own risks, says "washington post" music critic chris richards. >> this came as a big declaration that she was now

going to be a pop artist with a capital "p." i think it's shrewd as a business position to try to appeal to that larger audience but part of what made her such a superstar is that she was both a massive pop star and someone people thought they could relate to personally. >> ♪ and the haters gonna hate hate hate i'm just gonna shake shake shake ♪ >> brown: and while she has vocal critics, and addresses them head on, few dispute swift's mastery of today's music and marketing. she first teased this new album's release during a yahoo live event in august, appeared on rolling stone magazine's september cover and this week has shown up all over t.v. and online, at all hours, for interviews and live performances for huge crowds. she's also spurned music- streaming sites like spotify and instead partnered with retail giant target to distribute the c.d. >> there's only one place to get more taylor. >> i think the strategy and her team are using by not releasing

the album onto streaming sites yet is one that we've seen other superstar acts use before. which is to make sure they get every opportunity to get actual unit sales instead of, you know, kind of fractions of pennies per stream >> brown: in many ways it's a very traditional marketing campaign, contrasting the more recent trend of releasing albums without any advanced promotion. >> you can see artists like beyonce and u2 within the past year both used really bold, sort of stunt-like album release tactics. taylor swift used a totally old school music biz, old fashioned promotion, publicity cycle to promote this new album and it's working. and i think it's working because of the intimacy that she's formed with her fans over the years. >> brown: very new school, though, is swift's use of social media in all its various platforms: engaging with her fans on a personal level via her own website, facebook page, tumblr and instagram.

as well as her twitter feed, replete with photos of fans who have bought the new album. she's enlisted other popular young stars to help her promote it. with musician lorde and actor, writer and producer lena dunham both tweeting their endorsements to their many followers. but swift's success comes amid enormous and continuing upheaval for the music industry as a whole, with a continuing move away from album sales, to downloads and now to streaming services like spotify and others, where musicians and labels say they earn far less. zack o'malley's forbes article suggested that "1989" could be the last platinum album ever. >> and as long as platinum is measured, as sort of the total actual albums sold as opposed to streamed.

>> brown: until the platinum designation takes streaming into account and compensation for those plays rises, other artists may have a difficult time breaking through. >> if you're not a taylor swift, life is very, very difficult. but at the same time, i'm a believer in the access to the internet. and in a lot of ways it's amazing. anyone can put that music online, it can be heard around the world. it's getting attention that is the issue now. and access is unprecedented but how musicians can sort of corral attention is the great mystery of our time. >> brown: the official designation of "1989" as platinum would come from the industry sales tracker "nielsen soundscan" by the middle of next week. >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day. a "virgin galactic" space tourism rocket crashed during a test flight in southern california. the co-pilot was killed, and the pilot was badly injured. and wall street zoomed to record highs on word of new efforts to

stimulate japan's economy. the dow gained nearly 200 points. on the newshour online right now, many of you will be hosting scores of little ghosts and goblins asking for candy at your front doors tonight. but do you know where the tradition of trick-or-treating came from? or how this day turned into such a party event for adults? read our "eight things you didn't know about halloween," on the homepage. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. gwen ifill is preparing for "washington week" which airs later this evening. here's a preview: >> ifill: now that you've heard what shields and brooks think, tune in for more from reporters on the politics beat. they join me for tales from the campaign trail and i look forward toe election night coming up on "washington

>> woodruff: and, hari sreenivasan will bring you the latest news saturday and sunday night on "p.b.s newshour weekend." here's a sneak peak. >> sreenivasan: on pbs "newshour" weekend tomorrow, we'll be coming to you from louisiana public broadcasting here in baton rouge. jeff greenfield reports on how brand name political families may influence tuesday's vote and how the highly contested race here in louisiana could determine control of the u.s. senate. join us on air and online tomorrow on pbs "newshour" weekend from baton rouge. >> woodruff: and we'll be back, right here, on monday. after a trip to kentucky to profile one of the most closely watched senate races in the country. and tune in tuesday for the latest election results including a special report at 11:00 p.m. eastern. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff, have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions

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this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathe sorks n and susan geary. the multi million-dollar portfolio she manages with jim kramer. you can learn more at the street.com/nbr. >> tricks and treats. october started with tricks and ended with lots of treats. >> scary thought, chevron and exxon seeing past estimates. but what happens if oil prices keep falling? our market monitor thinks the consumer is feeling strong. he's got three stocks that should benefit. all that and more o