captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: for the first time since election day, president obama hosts leaders of congress at the white house, amid deep divisions and showdowns on the horizon. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this tuesday: we travel to ohio, to hear what buckeye voters have to say about washington dysfunction and how lawmakers can get past it. >> instead of being obstinate mr. president or mr. speaker don't be obstinate. sit down, shut the door. we don't need cameras in there. sit down and find out how we can work together. >> woodruff: plus, this flu season is causing concern. why health officials are urging doctors to perscribe antiviral

medicine more often. >> ifill: and, in india, rescuing girls from forced prostitution when the pimps are members of their own families. >> it was the 14-year-old daughter of the brothel owner. until recently she had been enrolled in school and even lived in the apne aap shelter but was pulled out after seventh grade-being prepared, gupta said, to go into the sex trade. a common tradition here, passed from mother to daughter. >> woodruff: 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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>> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: national leaders in france vowed today to take the fight to islamist radicals. the call to action came as investigators probed deeper into last week's terror attacks in paris, and as the french parliament paid tribute to the dead. it was the national assembly's first session since the terror attacks, and lawmakers honored the 17 victims with a moment of silence. and, with a spontaneous singing of "les marseillaise", the country's national anthem, they also listened, as prime minister manuel valls vowed to

pursue stricter surveillance of convicted extremists after they're released. france, he said, has gone to war. >> ( translated ): yes, france is at war against terrorism jihadism, and radical islamism. france is not against a religion. france is not at war against islam and muslims. >> woodruff: lawmakers underscored that resolve, voting 488 to one to continue military operations against the islamic state group in iraq. one of the paris gunmen, amedy coulibaly, claimed allegiance to the islamic state. the others, cherif and said kouachi, said they acted on behalf of al-qaeda's yemen branch. new footage emerged today of the brothers' attack on the "charlie hebdo" newspaper office, where 12 people died. police also confirmed that the kouachis' weapons came from abroad, and that several people are wanted in the funding of the attacks.

>> ( translated ): i can't go into how many people we are exactly talking about because i would be lying if i told you i know exactly. one thing is for certain-- this cell did not include just those three, we think with all seriousness that they had accomplices because of the weaponry, the logistics and the costs of it. >> woodruff: meanwhile prosecutors in bulgaria announced a french national arrested earlier this month had ties to cherif kouachi. he now faces extradition to france. and in jerusalem, mourners buried the four jewish victims killed friday by amedy coulibaly at a kosher supermarket in paris. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> ( translated ): these are not only the enemies of the jewish people, they are the enemies of all huapgity. the time has come for the civilized world to unite and root out these enemies from us. >> woodruff: while back in paris, president francois hollande joined victims' families at a ceremony for three slain police officers.

>> ( translated ): thanks to them, thanks to you, freedom won over barbarism. and it's the people of france who stood up to express its attachment to living together in harmony and fraternity, in front of the leaders of the whole world. >> woodruff: amid such appeals for harmony, "charlie hebdo" went to press again, with a defiant cartoon cover of the prophet muhammad holding a sign saying "je suis charlie". the cartoonist defended the choice. >> ( translated ): then there was nothing else but that, this idea of drawing muhammad, i am charlie. and i looked at him, he was crying, and above it i wrote "all is forgiven" and i cried, and it was the front page. we had found the front page, we had finally found that bloody front page. >> woodruff: many news organizations, including the pbs newshour, have decided not to show the cover. the paper is printing up to three million copies. french muslim leaders today

criticized the showing of representations of muhammed, an act considered blasphemy by most muslims. but, they urged their followers to respect the right to free expression. >> ifill: in other news this day, president obama renewed a push to beef up the nation's cyber defenses this afternoon. it came one day after the u.s. central command's twitter and youtube accounts were hacked by islamic state sympathizers. the president said that and other recent attacks on private companies like sony show there are still areas in need of improvement. >> we're more prepared to defend against cyber attacks, but everyday our adversaries are getting more sophisticated, and more determined, and more plentiful. so everyday, we've got to keep upping our game at the same time. we've got to stay ahead of those who are trying to do us harm. >> ifill: the proposed legislation would grant limited lawsuit protection for companies that share cyber-threat information with the government. it would also increase information-sharing between government agencies. in indonesia, divers retrieved the second black box from the

wreckage of air-asia flight 8501, in the java sea. the cockpit voice recorder was found today, just 33 feet away from where the flight data recorder was recovered a day earlier. now, indonesian authorities in jakarta will examine the data to try to determine why the plane went down last month. >> woodruff: pope francis carried calls for reconciliation and justice to sri lanka today as he began a six-day trip across asia. up to 80,000 people died on the island nation dubi civil war between mostly hindu tamils and the buddhist sinhalese majority. the war ended in 2009, but the pope said today that only the truth about human rights abuses will help heal lingering divisions. >> for the sake of peace religious beliefc allowed to be abused in the cause of violence and war. >> woodruff: earlier, the

pontiff rode on an 18-mile route from the airport into colombo, the capital. costumed elephants and thousands of well-wishers lined the way. >> ifill: the top appeals court in egypt has cleared the way for releasing deposed president hosni mubarak from custody. the court today overturned a verdict that sentenced mubarak to three years for corruption. supporters jumped up and cheered when the decision was read in a cairo courtroom. there was no word on when the 86-year-old mubarak might be released from the cairo hospital where he's been held. >> woodruff: wall street had a day of wild swings, as oil prices dipped again, and then recovered. the dow jones industrial average was up 280 points early on, before giving back all of that ground and then falling by 140. in the end, the dow finished with a loss of just 27 points to close at 17,613. the nasdaq fell three points to 4,661. and the s&p slipped five, to end at 2,023. still to come on the newshour:

president obama and congress flex their political muscles as they search for common ground. ohio voters weigh in on dysfunction in washington. a reign of terror that's tough to track in northern nigeria. what you need to know about this year's flu season. and, getting police in india to treat human trafficking and forced prostitution as a crime. >> ifill: more than a dozen capitol hill lawmakers from both parties gathered around a table in the white house cabinet room today to talk shared priorities and shared difference. it was the first face-to-face exchange between president obama and leaders of the revamped republican- controlled congress. the president and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell both indicated they are in search of compromise. >> on each of these issues i'm going to be listening to

everybody around this table. and i'm hopeful that with the spirit of cooperation putting america first, we can be in a position at the end of this year to be able to look back and say we're that much better off than we were when we started the year. >> our job here in the senate is to see if we can make some progress for the country right now. and one of the reasons we... the president and i... in the meeting we had this morning... spent our time largely talking about the things we agree on is that we don't want to use election coming up as a rationale for not making some progress. >> woodruff: republican speaker of the house john boehner had taken sharp issue with president obama earlier in the day, but after the meeting his office released a statement saying both sides had discussed opportunities to work together. >> ifill: to talk about today's meeting and the mindsets of the leaders in both branches we are joined by newshour political director domenico montanaro who

is at the white house. and, newshour political editor lisa desjardins at the capitol. domenico, let's start with you. what are folks at the white house saying their priorities were for this meeting and for going forward? >> well, they're really hoping that they can find some area that's common ground. they said president obama brought up some things, like you mentioned. cyber security was one thing on the table. tax reform is always something that kind of gets dangled that some of us are kind of skeptical of. we listened to mitch mcconnell talk about we don't want to let an upcoming election get in the way. we just got through an election, but they're already talking about another election coming up. they do think there are some things they can(wnrk on, but the white house has already issued five veto threats on some item, the keystone pipeline an item in the affordable care act that they find to be unacceptable. they say that's republicans not wanting to compromise because they pushed through some of these, what they called recycled they knew the president would be

against. >> ifill: lee centennial park it's interesting on capitol hill to hear john boehner so tough earlier in the day and so relatively mild later in the day. did they come away from that meeting having accomplished something from their point of view? >> that was fascinating to listen to. just a few hours made quite a difference in tone. yes gwen, talking to republicans in that meeting today, i heard and noticed a couple of similar phrases from them, neutral to warm, things like positive signs. there were lots of discussions, and a lot of opportunities for compromise. those are the phrases republicans are using here. and i also have to say, i've noticed the tone on capitol hill has shifted dramatically. things are not as sharp. there's not that sense of bitterness that there was just after the mid-term election, so call it a mid-term mildness, but it seems like the president is capitalizing on this moment or trying to to bring these two forces together. all that said, of course, the politics have not changed even if the tone has. the truth is that on major issues like even tax reform and of course immigration, other major matters facing this

country, the divide may have even incbeçased. and talking the people about what happens next, you can see republicans sense that voters have moved congress in more of a direction toward the right and the divide technically may have gotten larger. eiffel i've domenico, we have been here before where they sound mild when they meet first face to face, and then they go further and further apart. is there anything specific that they walked away from today after this meeting that they could point to and say, well, yes, we are doing something? >> it's interesting. yes, i think on authorization for use of military force, which isn't something i think people were thinking about coming in, but when you talk about the politics and just having come out of a mid-term, this is something that white house officials said tonight that, look, members of congress didn't want to touch this one a ten-foot pole during the election, but now they seem more willing to take this on, this is to fight the islamic state in iraq and in syria, but they said the white house, president obama does not want to have to jump in on this alone, and, you know just kind of give legislation to

congress on this. he wants someone like mitch mcconnell or bob corker who is a republican senator from tennessee, to help craft some of this legislation on almf, on the authorization for use of military force. as lisa says the politics have not changed. that's a very minor thing. when you think about immigration in particular that's going to be a real sticking point. >> ifill: and, lisa speaking of sticking points, on many of these things, it sounds like they are going to work together, but we know there is one big issue where there is potentially a major impasse that could not only derail that issue but a lot else along with it. >> that's right. by february 27th congress needs to approve a new budget for the department of homeland security, and we've been sort of picking at this as a theme throughout this entire segment. the issue there is immigration. congress, republican congressmen last session wanted to change the president's policy on immigration. he did this through executive order, so that's very difficult

for congress to change, so they have changed the homeland security budget so that it will only go until february 27th. now congress has to figure out how to fund that and tomorrow the house will vote on a special homeland security funding bill. gwen and judy, it's particularly important to watch because republicans will pass several amendments to try to undercut the president's immigration policies, especially allowing some undocumented people to stay in the country including those so-called dream act kids or kids who are part of dafc deferred act for children. the republicans will vote against that tomorrow. that will likely passes the house. here's the problem, the house passes the budget and it gets to the senate. talking to senate leaders today, it's not clear that it has 60 votes and we could be back to/ major agency of government with just a month and a half to go. >> ifill: domenico, one more question for you. you mentioned early on at the top of this that the president has been vetoing or at least threatening to veto a lot of things is. that part of the white house strategy, just to be a little in

your face with members of congress? >> i think a lot of negotiations have started with something like a veto threat, where you say, this is my position on this, and we're not going to budge on this. they're not going to roll back the executive actions on immigration, and the bet they're making here is that republicans don't want to shut down the department of homeland security, which is what would happen february 27th if it's not funded. >> domenico montanaro and lisa desjardins on the scene for us tonight on capitol hill and the white house. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: now that the president and congressional leaders are getting down to business, we thought it was a good time to check in with voters about what they expect from washington right now. we picked a midwestern state you hear a lot about in presidential election years. >> i, john richard kasich --. >> woodruff: we showed in ohio on the same day republican governor john kasich was being inaugurated for a second term and for football fans arguably an even bigger event, as ohio

state university's beloved buckeyes were about to face oregon in the college playoff championship. despite this, we still found people across the political spectrum who were willing to talk to us. >> i don't think the government has to do anything big. i think they have to do a couple good things well that are small where people can say, ah, the government is working again. >> i think it's going to be a lot more butting heads. >> i'm very pessimistic. i would love to be proven wrong. i just have this sense that there's this... we have arrived now, we're now in control. nothing is going to happen if we don't want it to happen. >> we came here to columbus two years ago just before election day to talk to voters in this crucially important swing state. now, after the 2014 mid-term find out what some of those same voters think about what's been going on in washington and what their expectations are for the

new republican-controlled congress. in 2012ry tired army officer, computer programmer and longtime republican jeff johnson told us he and others were voting for mitt romney because they were so unhappy with president obama. >> they're worried about taxes. they're worried about the future. they're worried about the deficit. >> where do you want to eat tonight? >> woodruff: even though romney lost, johnson says he thought more would get done under obama's second term, but he blames both parties for that. as for the future, he's hoping for graeme on extending the keystone oil pipeline and... >> well i would hope that we have a rewrite of the tax laws so the corporations that have money overseas can bring it back pcd invest it in the states. we have a whole bunch of people that need jobs, and this would be very helpful to them. >> woodruff: two years ago democrat gale cuddly -- dudley,

pastor of the non-denominational church at north point helped lead a souls to the poles caravan for sunday voting. she too hoped that washington would address the jobs issue, but she wanted to see the federal minimum wage increased. >> can we not give them some sort of assistance to do what they need to do? let's help them a little bit. let's get them on their feet. let's help them with the salary that's going to make a difference. i don't see it as big government. i see it as if we're just helping someone, what we're really doing is we're equipping them to move forward. >> hi. i'm volunteering today. >> woodruff: electrician and ibew member jason moyne told us in 2012 that recent g.o.p. mmv/ts to weaken collective bargaining have motivated union members and taken a toll in ohio. >> everybody's kind of had enough quite frankly, and so we're hoping to get our message out this year and deliver a blow

that will sustain and help us to not have to might these fights continuously year in and year out. >> woodruff: today after being laid off as an electrician moyne works at ales in a gave site memorial company. he blames john boehner for obstructing the president's agenda, but he says he's in the pleased with democrats either. >> in all honesty i'm in the a fan of either political party at this point. whether it be a democratic or a republican party. it's gone past the common man and it's gone to who can hip -- help me. that's the way i feel both parties are. who is going to help me as opposed to how can i help them. >> woodruff: this attorney is president of ohio right to life. he openly favors theç g.o.p., but he agrees with moyne that both parties share responsibility for washington's dysfunction. >> it would be very easy to say, oh, it's all the democrats' fault or it's all the

republicans' fault but that's not true. i think it's the collective soul. i think unfortunately in our country now we're seeing too many people that are focused on their next election or their own political ambition. >> woodruff: we caught up with ohio's two u.s. senators one democrat, one republican, who concur this is blame to be shared by both parties but each lays more fault at the door of the other side. >> we have never seen in, that i can think of in american political history, where from day one, one political party wanted to just insist, you know, insist that the president not succeed. >> i have worked for two presidents, 41 and 43 bush. i just have not seen that level of engagement with the white house that you would expect from the executive branch. >> woodruff: despite this, cooperation is possible on several fronts. >> i think the best chances are on taxes. i think democrats, republicans

will insist on corporate tax cuts in closing some loopholes. i don't want to see corporations pay fewer taxes, but if we're going to do that, we also need to make sure that we continue tack breaks for working families >> judy divided government is sometimes the best way to get things done. i look back the ronald reagan the last time we reformed the tax cope in 1986 with tip o'neill and democrats being in charges of both houses of congress. people were very pessimistic, this will never happen, well, it has to happen because theo3 american people demand it and because it's time. >> woodruff: all the voters we sat down with hold varying degrees of hope that congress and the president will find a way to work together but it was striking that on the one issue the president was talking up last week two free years of community college, opinions were sharply divided. >> it sounds great you know to

say we want every american to go to community college for free, but free it's not free. you know, it's $68 billion. we live in a country that's trillions and trillions in debt so what's an extra $68 billion amongst friends right, but it adds up. >> let the people go back to school. let's get this free education that president obama has put on the table now. two-year community college. but it's going to be better for the community at large. it's going to be better for the united states of america. >> i mean, there are more important items to me than some kid getting two years of free community college. what are we doing about isis? what are we doing about the middle east? >> i don't think it's the federal government's issue to pay for some kid to go to college. every time the government gets into a market, whether it's college or medicine or you name it mortgage, it distorts the process, and it ultimately ends costs the taxpayer more. >> woodruff: every voter we

spoke with says they want congress and the president to work together but they also have strong views that clash. one republican says he expects the leaders they sent to work to washington to figure out how to bridge the difference. >> instead of being obstinate, mr. president or mr. speaker or senate president, don't be obstinate, sit down, close the door, we don't need cameras in there. sit down and find out how we can work together. >> but that sort of private talking makes ohio voters like gale dudley fearful. >> i'm afraid that people will be on the street people will be out of jobs and those are some of the things i'm afraid of. what are some of the things thatting are being negotiated behind closed doors. >> woodruff: given that most of the meetings between the white house and members of congress and their staffs are behind closed doors, voters in ohio and elsewhere may want to pay close attention.

>> ifill: even as the world's attention has been focused on missing planes in the java sea, and terror attacks in paris another disaster has been unfolding, steadily but more quietly in the remote northeast region of nigeria. there, the terrorist group boko haram has been on the rampage conducting mass kidnappings and waging bloody attacks on civilians. on january 3rd, militants attacked the northern town of baga, and surrounding areas. but word was slow to get out. residents began to flee the&,- region, and it wasn't until several days later that reports of death tolls ranging from hundreds to as many as 2,000 people got the world's attention. the nigerian military has put the number much lower -- closer to 150. but amnesty international has called it possibly the "deadliest" massacre in boko haram's history, that could mark "a disturbing and bloody escalation." for more on the recent attacks and government response, i'm joined 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. welcome. >> thank you very much. >> ifill: what is it about what has happened in baga that has taken so long to get out? what has been the delay? >> i think for one thing it is this most recent attack is in a remote area. it took time for people to get out. also boca raton's attacks have destabilized and spread fear in the whole area so that is part of it i think. that's why it took that long. of course we don't have many journalists in the area to report on it. >> ifill: so the numbers are all over the map. what are we to believe, and why not take the government's word that the numbers are much lower? >> just on paper you can see that it's in the government's interest to give the imbrown that it's not as bad, but also

there was a case a few months ago where the government actually claimed that they were negotiating where the girls were. that turned out to be false. so i think it is prudent for everybody to say let's get some other sources confirming the numbers before we believe it. >> ifill: you mentioned the 200 schoolgirls napped who have not been heard from, except now we're hearing disturbing reports as young girls being use as explosives having explosive strapped to them and becoming suicideç bombers. do we see a connection in all of that? >> i think there is. i think it's important to understand that boko haram has been around for about 12 years as an organization. they became particularly violent and caught the world's attention five years ago, so they've been rampaging for five years and, yes, this is part of what they

do do. less than a week ago there was a story of a ten-year-old who was sent into the market strapped with explosives, and then she was noticed and it exploded. there was another story of a girl about the same age who then got frightened and wouldn't detonate the explosives. so there is speculation that this one was detonated remotely. and the other thing is boca raton has not confined its attacks to just that area of northeastern nigeria. they have hit abuja. they have made forays into cameroon and actually had battles with the cameroonian air force some boko haram started out as a nigerian problem. it is now actually a west african problem and i dare say a global problem. >> ifill: you say it's a global problem. what has been the u.s. role in helping or negotiating on nigeria's behalf to help attack this problem?

>> i think all along the u.s. actually and nigeria have had close relationship. so of course when boko haram became an issue we said, yes, we support you and we'll help you, but as an observer of u.s.-african relations, i have not been impressed with how much help i think nigeria should get even before the girls were kidnapped in april. >> ifill: why do you think that is? >> it's a good yes. -- question. you know, i think sometimes there are people that think nigeria ought to be able to deal with this by itself. also if you look at u.s. foreign policy africa always gets the short end of the stick. >> ifill: by nigeria is a prosperous country. >> well it is by certain standards. it recently became the biggest economy in africa. >> ifill: right. >> but it's still a very underdeveloped country. most nigerians are very poor by any measure. and therefore it's also a matter of technical military assistance and intelligence to deal with

the issue. now, global powers actually stepped in in may when, you know, the first lady and others said we need to help find the girls, and they t problem is that they are cooperating with the niger yens. i have been disappointed that even with their help the problem has not been contained. >> ifill: there are presidential elections coming up in the next month. do you think what we see unfolding here with boko haram could or could not affect the outcome? >> oh, i am absolutely convinced that it will affect the outcome. for one thing, it is not easy to... it's not hard to imagine that it will be difficult to vote in those areas because of the fear, because of the devastation, but we also know... >> ifill: it's a security problem. >> that's right. we also know certain jihadi groups particularly attack democratic governments because some of them see it as sacrilegious. they want theocracy. so they don't want people to

vote. so it's anticipated that boko haram will not be happy with the election. now, there will be repercussions for that because somebody might say, because we didn't vote in that area, it wasn't a fair vote. so it's causing a lot of anxiety and boko haram's operations are casting a shadow over the nigerian elections next month. >> nii akuetteh among other things, former director of africa action. thank you very much. >> it's a pleasure. thank you for having me. >> woodruff: no doubt about it. we're in the middle of flu season, and this one is shaping up to be a particularly tough slog, possibly the worst since 2008. the centers for disease control report that flu activity is widespread in 46 states. in fact, the only places where flu activity was limited to local pockets were arizona, california, alaska, hawaii and

here in washington, d.c. c.d.c. director dr. thomas frieden is here to discuss that, as well as what he thinks people should do, and why some in the field are questioning some of those recommendations. dr. tom frieden, welcome back to the program. >> thanks for having me. >> woodruff: just how much more serious is the flu this year? >> this year is what's called an h3 year, one particular strain of flu that tends to be worse than other strains of flu. years ui(! this strand predominance, more people hospitalized and sadly more people who will die from influenza. furthermore, in this year, the match between the vaccine and the virus is not good. so we don't expect the vaccine to work as well as it does in most years. >> woodruff: so you're saying it's not a perfect match. you're also urging people to go ahead and get that vaccine. that doesn't make sense to some people. >> based on past trends at least nine out of ten people who

are going to get a flu vaccine have already got one and even if it's not effective against the most predominant strains, it is still effective against the strains that are still out there. so it has some level of protection. i got the flu shot. my family got the flu shot. but at this point we're making a very important recommendation for people who get the flu and that's to think about getting treatment for flu with anti-viral medications such as tamiflu or relenza. >> woodruff: what does that mean? if someone who is saching this thinks they may be coming down with the flu what should they do? >> first off the question is how high is the risk between being really sick and how sick is the person? so if someone is really sick in the hospital they need to get anti-viral medications. if someone is over 65 under the age of two or has a chronic health problem, like diabetes, asthma, heart disease then it's really important at first signs of flu to talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner or physician

assistant about getting a prescription for tamiflu or relenza because the sooner you take it, the sooner you benefit from it. >> you're saying people should check in with the doctor regardless. >> it's a good idea to be in touch with your doctor. anyone with flu can benefit from anti-viral medications. they're not the miracle drugs that some of our antibiotics are, but the c.d.c. scientists that have looked very carefully at this have concluded that though they're not perfect they do cut down the duration and severity of the illness. they can keep you out of the hospital. if you're hospitalized, they might keep you out of the intensive care unit and they might be able to save your life. >> woodruff: you say, that but i know you are aware that there are other infectious disease experts out there in this country right now saying that the results are really mixed on these anti-virals like tamiflu and, in fact, there was a group of british researchers a report was issued in the last couple day, who say their study shows emphatically that they don't do the good that some believe they

do. they say they even have some bad side effects. >> we have not seen severe side effects. we have seen consistent modest benefit with the medication. it's not a miracle cure. it does not make you get out of bed and dance the next moment after you take it. but if you look at the weight of evidence especially for people who have underlying conditions and especially if they take it in the first 48 hours after the disease starts, then the evidence suggests that it will help you get better. >> all right. dr. friedman. i also want to ask you about ebola. you have just come back from west africa. we know there's been progress in some places libereback but we also know that sierra leone and you talked about this, the number of cases continue to increase, particularly in the rural countryside. what did you see when you were there? >> from first time i went during this epidemics in august and september until now, it's a night-to-day difference. the response is dramatically

better. we've made tremendous progress, but we have a long way to go. we're nowhere near out of the woods. in each of the three countries, there are unique challenge and in each of the three countries there has been real progress, but guinea shows the risk of complacency. they had a decrease before and then it came back up some liberia needs to learn from that. sierra leone still has a lot of cases, but they're implementing effective programs that should bring those cases down. we have to get to zero. that's the critical challenge in this epidemic. >> just one other question. a report today that a federal lab technician was possibly expoised to ebola here in this country. turns out he or she is not sick, but that does raise the question, there have been some other incidents with dangerous viruses, bacteria that were not adequately protected in a c.d.c. lab. are you confident that adequate precautions are being taken in your facilities? >> i am very concerneded about

any potential exposure. we want the laboratory staff to report if they have any concern of an exposure orç a problem. what we'll do in this case as we have in the others is look very carefully. could this have been prevented? if so we'll put in the systems to prevent it, not only in this individual lab but in other labs, as well. we take the safety and security of our own staff very seriously. in this incident there was a possible exposure to that one laboratory technician not to anyone else at c.d.c. no other exposure but working with dangerous pathogens and this laboratory has done more than 10,000 tests for ebola since the outbreak started, but we always have to take great care to make sure that we do it safely. >> we're certainly glad that technician is not sick. dr. tom frieden with the c.d.c. we thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: now to the second part of special correspondent fred de

sam lazaro's report on the struggles to stop sex trafficking in india. last night, we witnessed a failed attempt to rescue young women forced into prostitution one blamed on alleged police complicity with traffickers. in tonight's report, fred follows another rescue attempt. one with a very different outcome. his story is part of our "agents for change" series. >> reporter: in india's impoverished rural state of bihar, people struggle to live off the land. one of the few businesses that thrives is underground. >> this is one of the epicenters in the world for human trafficking. little girls are trafficked into prostitution. they are put on buses and trucks and taken to bombay, delhi and calcutta. >> this woman and the human rights group she founded, "on our own," is working to change the tradition of lower caste

women being moved boo the sex trade. she runs a shelter for women and their daughters. but first the group has to work with the police to free the women. >> ( translated ): so here is the law. we've printed it out for you. >> reporter: that means explaining the new law the group helped get past. it punishes trackers and not those who were prostituted. >> ( translated ): we have to arrest the trafficker. >> reporter: sometimes that task is not easy. >> the police is part of our society and if the entire society believes a girl is of less value, a low-caste girl is of even less a value, so they don't even try to enforce the law because they think this is not a crime. >> reporter: just the previous night, we followed a team hoping to rescue a young woman from a brothel. the raid failed, possibly because the police tipped off the traffickers. >> what's going

on? >> i think the girl has been kept waiting at the police station for two hours by local police officers who must have informed the traffickers that we were on our way to rescue them. >> reporter: in this morning's raid, the exact location was kept secret from police until the last moment. still, rumors of the raid had spread and brothels cleared out. but fatima katune a staffer who grew up and still lives in the red light district is a key source of intelligence. she led the search to a home where she said a girl was hidden. not long after, indignant protests from the homeowners a frightened young woman emerged. >> ( translated ): there's no reason to cry. don't be afraid. don't be afraid.

>> reporter: as the young woman was led to a waiting car, fatima led the team to a brothel where she had been allegedly working, hoping to gather evidence against her trafficker. apparently the man shown here talking to police and also taunting fatima. a loud and physical altercation ensued before he was put into the police paddy wagon to cool down at gupta's insistence. >> they're following us to try to talk the police ]ut of it. then he started abusing fatima to provoke her by calling her all kinds of name from whore to all kinds of things, hoping she would hit him and then he could hit her back. he's trying to stop us from going to the brothel. here's another room which is being used as a brothel where the girl was rescued this is

the bed where the customers are brought and these girls are put forward for customers and they're locked up in rooms like this with iron bars on the window, as you can see. here's a little condom lying here. >> ( translated ): please take a picture of this. get that book up there. it probably has names of the customers. >> reporter: next another shack-like brothel. here they hope to rescue two teenage girls, one forced to prostitute herself the other the daughter of this woman who owned the place. gupta says it's not uncommon for women to be involved in the business of trafficking women. many were themselves trafficked when they were young. what's happening right now? >> she says the girls are in school. we'll go to meet the girls at school. >> on what grounds?

>> she says 4:00. of course she warned them. >> reporter: where do things stand then? >> ( translated ): no, no. take her in. let's go. please turn the camera off. >> reporter: we were asked to get out of their way because . were causing interference with the process of arresting the alleged trafficker. it appears to be happening right behind me. the threat of going to jail seemed the cause the woman to relent. she was let out of the police vehicle just as i began talking to gupta. suddenly a new development. >> a girl was suddenly found who she said was in school. so let's go and see what's going on. >> reporter: it was the 14-year-old daughter of the brothel owner.

until recently she had been enrolled in school and even lived in the shelter, but she was pulled out after seventh grade, being prepared, gupta said, to go into the sex trade, a cop mantra digs here passed from mother to daughter. negotiations resumed with the chastened brothel keeper and her son, who in another common practice works as a pimp. >> ( translated ): do you want to be a pimp? >> no ma'am. >> ( translated ): so why are you doing this? you're preparing a 14-year-old to prostitute herself. you have another girl in the back that you've enslaved. have you no shame? and what's the use of you crying? this girl cries every day when customers come and rape her. >> reporter: the girl being prostituted would not be produced this day, but gupta was able to negotiate a deal for the daughter, one more year in school. >> she has agreed she can study until class eight.

i hope the daughter will become stronger more educated, and she will be able to negotiate with her mother and go on and stay on in school for another two years. it's a year of not being rapeed a year of not being beaten is great. it's better than a year of being rapedded and beaten. report for the young woman brought back to school and to live in the shelter it was hard to see much beyond her immediate fears and turmoil, torn and confused by family loyalty and tradition counseling for her is just one of the tasks that lay ahead for the staff. they'll do the same for the girl rescued earlier this busy day. her testimony will be key to building the case against her alleged trafficker. in its 12 years, the anti-trafficking group had managed to successfully prosecute 66 traffickers but

more critically, gupta says, the first four alumni of its shelter now hold tickets out of generational prostitution and poverty. they have gone on to enroll in college. this is fred de sam lazaro in bihar india for the pbs "newshour." >> ifill: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at st. mary's university of minnesota. >> woodruff: russia's vladimir putin has been a mainstay on the world stage for more than 15 years. tonight, our pbs partner "frontline" takes a deep dive into the controversial figure's past. in the following excerpt of "putin's way," we hear from a man who was once one of russia's richest and most powerful individuals. he severely misread the president, and paid a heavy price.

>> narrator: in the early years of his presidency, there was hope that putin would live up to his billing and take russia on a path closer to the west: democratic, liberal and capitalist. in 2003, he summoned the country's oligarchs to a meeting in st. catherine's hall in the kremlin. under yeltsin, they'd become billionaires. under putin, they hoped for even more business and new legitimacy. on the left, the richest of all: mikhail khodorkovsky. >> ( translated ): i got the impression that he was a person of our generation. >> what do you mean by that, "of our generation"? >> ( translated ): our parents' generation, they have a totalitarian view even if they're against it. as opposed to our generation-- we're closer to the west. >> narrator: khodorkovsky was

concerned about a new u.s. anti-corruption law that would affect russian companies doing business in america. >> ( translated ): that forced the heads of companies who wanted to list their shares on the market to sign a disclaimer that they don't allow corruption practices within their companies. at the same time, by 2003 corruption was already the key method of state governance used by the bureaucrats, and bureaucrats started to demand the kind of money that was impossible to hide. one had to make a choice: build companies that are open and list them, or do business russian style-- in other words, pay bribes, receive privileges, but remain within a closed system. we decided the question was worth discussing. >> narrator: khodorkovsky asked if he could speak frankly and made the case that it was time for russia to change its ways.

>> as i understand it, what you were essentially doing with the television cameras running wasç accusing the president of russia of running a corrupt state. >> ( translated ): i did not accuse him personally of corruption, and this is not how he took it. yes, i did accuse his inner circle and him of0c ing a model that uses corruption as its backbone, and he told me that we too took part in creating that model. >> narrator: putin reminded him that his oil company, yukos, was facing tax problems. it was a veiled threat.

>> ( translated ): i did not argue with him. i said, "we may have started that, but we must be the ones to end it." did i realize it would provoke putin's displeasure? of course i did, but i thought he would choose the european model, and i was not the only one thinking that, because it was obviously more beneficial for the country. >> narrator: khodorkovsky was also perceived as a political threat. he had been funding opposition parties and spending money to promote democracy. the meeting in the kremlin had sealed his fate. he was arrested, his oil company dismantled and divided among putin loyalists. russia's richest man would serve ten years in a siberian prison camp. today, he lives in exile in switzerland and has no doubts about the system putin put in place.

>> ( translated ): at first he thought he could build a sort of democratic model that he could control. a model like this does not exist, so he started to slide towards, at first, mild totalitarianism and then an increasingly harsh totalitarianism. if the situation develops further, he will reach a full totalitarian model. in reality, every authoritarian system is a kleptocracy. >> woodruff: watch frontline's "putin's way" tonight on most pbs stations. >> ifill: finally tonight, our "newshour shares" moment of the day. something that caught our eye that might be of interest to you too. tonight's "share" comes from our own hari sreenivasan. while on a reporting trip for the newshour, hari got a presidential surprise. at 90 years old, jimmy carter is apparently still campaigning. working the aisle, the former president shook the hand of every passenger on the commercial flight from new york to atlanta, hari's too.

some habits, it seems, are hard to kick. >> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day. french investigators probed deeper into the weapons and financing behind last week's terror attacks. meanwhile, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to continue military operations against islamic state forces. and president obama met with leaders of the new congress and called for unity, even as he threatens vetoes of key bills, from keystone to immigration. majority republicans said they're going ahead anyway. >> ifill: on the newshour online right now, american families are getting smaller. but writer wendy thomas russell says many question her decision to have only one child. for wendy and her husband, three is their family's!]agic number. her top 10 reasons why has sparked a heated viral debate, you can join in too, on our homepage and on facebook. and los-angeles based indie- rockers the allah-las put a

modern spin on the california pop sound of the 1960s. watch a video of the band, from our partners at kexp radio in seattle. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, we'll have a special report on how convicted sexual offenders in the military fall off the radar once they are discharged and enter civilian communities. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and 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: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160

years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> 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.

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report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. rally falls apart. a 280 point gain in the dow jones industrial average evaporates. what's behind one of the biggest downward swings for the blue chip index in years. payday. new reports show late wages are rising yes, rising along with job openings. has the missing piece of the labor market tussle been found? cashback? is apple ready to give billions back to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks? we'll speak to the analyst who says "yes." all that and more tonight for "nightly business report" on tuesday, january 13. >> good evening, everyone and welcome. if all you looked at today were the closing numbers on wall