PBS NewsHour - 2008-10-08

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

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[0:10] Good evening. I'm Jim Lara. On the

[0:12] NewsHour tonight, the news of this

[0:14] Wednesday. Then the latest on the

[0:16] farreaching financial crisis and the

[0:19] response here and abroad. A presidential

[0:22] campaign wrap-up, plus the view from

[0:24] political reporters in Pennsylvania,

[0:27] Ohio, and Florida. the arguments in two

[0:30] US Supreme Court cases [music] as

[0:32] reported by Marshia Coyle of the

[0:34] National Law Journal and a NewsHour

[0:37] report about water pollution caused by

[0:39] storm water runoff.

[0:43] Major funding for the NewsHour with Jim

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[2:22] The crisis of confidence in world

[2:24] markets showed little sign of letting up

[2:26] today. Stocks kept sliding in Europe

[2:28] where major indexes fell at least 5%.

[2:32] And in Asia, the losses were even

[2:34] steeper, ranging from 8 to 10%. Wall

[2:37] Street had a seessaw day, but the Dow

[2:40] Jones Industrial Average shed another

[2:43] 189 points to close at 9258.

[2:46] The Nasdaq was down 14 points to close

[2:49] at$,740.

[2:51] The stock losses came despite a new

[2:53] series of crisis moves to ease credit

[2:55] and bolster banks. In a coordinated

[2:58] effort, the Federal Reserve cut its key

[3:00] federal funds rate by half a point to

[3:03] encourage more lending between banks.

[3:06] The Fed's counterparts in Canada, China,

[3:08] and across Europe took similar actions.

[3:11] Officials in Washington and Wall Street

[3:13] generally welcomed the cuts. This is

[3:16] what you should be seeing, the central

[3:18] banks moving together because this is

[3:20] becoming very much a world problem. It's

[3:22] not just a US problem anymore. It never

[3:24] was just a US problem. and it's the rest

[3:27] of the world has to understand that

[3:29] they're part of the problem and need to

[3:31] be part of the solution.

[3:32] >> Later in the day, US Treasury Secretary

[3:35] Pollson made his own bid to reassure the

[3:37] markets. He said there's no time to

[3:39] waste and starting the $700 billion

[3:42] rescue plan. But he also said getting it

[3:45] right is just as important. Patience is

[3:48] also needed because the tur because the

[3:51] turmoil will not end quickly and

[3:54] significant challenges remain ahead.

[3:57] Neither passage of this new law nor the

[4:00] implementation of these initiatives will

[4:02] bring an immediate end to current

[4:05] difficulties. Officials in Britain also

[4:08] moved today to stop the meltdown in

[4:10] stocks and credit. The British

[4:12] government announced it will partly

[4:14] nationalize leading banks for an

[4:16] estimated $88 billion. We have a report

[4:19] from Juliet Brimmer of Independent

[4:22] Television News.

[4:24] >> 240 and a half at 240.8.

[4:26] >> At their desks in the city, traders

[4:28] waited to see whether the banking system

[4:30] could be saved. They'd got a rescue deal

[4:32] that seemed to deliver everything they

[4:34] wanted, but bizarrely, they still

[4:36] weren't happy. The markets plunged more

[4:39] than 200 points, apparently oblivious to

[4:42] the record-breaking Treasury handout.

[4:45] There were still fears that strings

[4:47] attached to the government money meant

[4:49] banks would cut dividends and there

[4:51] would be less profitable businesses in

[4:53] the future. People aren't quite sure yet

[4:57] as to what exactly it means. Not only

[5:00] for the banking sector of which some

[5:03] shares have benefited today, other

[5:05] shares have have had a bad day, have

[5:08] fallen again, um but also all the other

[5:11] sectors.

[5:12] >> Businesses want help too as nervous

[5:15] customers cut spending and banks charge

[5:18] more for loans and overdrafts.

[5:20] Even if this rescue package works and

[5:22] banks feel confident enough to start

[5:24] lending cash again, everybody's warning

[5:27] it could be weeks, if not months, before

[5:29] that feel-good factor filters down onto

[5:31] the high street and borrowers and small

[5:33] businesses can get their hands on

[5:35] affordable money. A few miles from the

[5:38] city, thousands of unsold cars, a sign

[5:41] recession is already here, but today's

[5:43] action might just have staved off a

[5:46] deeper depression. The British

[5:48] government urged other European nations

[5:50] to follow its lead in shoring up banks.

[5:53] And in Paris, French President Sarcoi

[5:56] promised new coordinated measures. He

[5:58] said, "In the hours ahead, we will have

[6:01] concrete results." In Washington, the

[6:03] International Monetary Fund warned of a

[6:06] worldwide recession. It said governments

[6:08] can prevent an even worse outcome if

[6:11] they act soon. My sense is that the

[6:14] sense of urgency that markets are

[6:17] basically making extremely clear is

[6:20] going to force governments to basically

[6:23] adopt fairly coherent plans in the very

[6:26] near future. Under that assumption, I

[6:29] believe that the risk of a great

[6:31] depression is nearly nil.

[6:34] >> In another development, Iceland fell

[6:36] deeper into crisis as its banking system

[6:39] teetered toward collapse. The prime

[6:41] minister warned the country could face

[6:43] national bankruptcy. The economic crisis

[6:46] dominated the US presidential campaign

[6:49] again today. Republican John McCain was

[6:51] in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, touting his

[6:54] plan to have the government buy up bad

[6:56] home mortgages. Democrat Barack Obama

[6:59] spoke in Indianapolis. He cautioned

[7:01] against fear and said better days lie

[7:04] ahead. We'll have more on the campaign

[7:06] later in the program tonight. The US

[7:09] Supreme Court heard arguments today on

[7:11] limiting the Navy's use of sonar to

[7:14] protect whales. Environmental groups

[7:16] cited evidence that sonar interferes

[7:19] with the FEL's ability to navigate and

[7:21] communicate. The government argued

[7:23] military readiness is at stake. It also

[7:26] said presidential wartime powers should

[7:29] override environmental concerns. We'll

[7:31] have more on the court's day later in

[7:33] the program tonight. In Iraq today, a

[7:36] woman blew herself up in Bakuba, killing

[7:39] at least 11 Iraqis, wounding 19 more. It

[7:42] was the latest in a series of bombings

[7:44] involving women. The former US commander

[7:47] in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus,

[7:50] addressed that issue in Washington.

[7:52] Suicide vest attacks now is a particular

[7:54] problem with women carrying them out and

[7:57] so forth. Down again very substantially,

[7:59] but still uh a good bit more work needed

[8:02] in this particular area. This is one of

[8:04] the focus areas, assassinations uh being

[8:07] the other because that's another very

[8:08] pernitious activity in a situation like

[8:10] this that we have to focus on. The US

[8:13] military confirmed today that recent air

[8:15] strikes in Afghanistan killed far more

[8:17] civilians than acknowledged so far. The

[8:20] New York Times had reported a military

[8:22] investigation has found more than 30

[8:24] people died in the raid last August. Up

[8:27] till now, American officials had said

[8:29] five to seven civilians were killed

[8:32] along with a number of militants. Two

[8:34] Americans and a Japanese scientist won

[8:37] the Nobel Prize in chemistry today. They

[8:39] were honored for research on a jellyfish

[8:41] protein that glows green under

[8:44] ultraviolet light. The substance is now

[8:46] a key tool in tracking the spread of

[8:48] cancer, among other uses. The Japanese

[8:51] scientists first isolated the material

[8:53] from jellyfish in the early 1960s. 30

[8:57] years later, the two Americans found a

[8:59] way to use it as a tracer. They also

[9:02] developed similar proteins with other

[9:04] colors. And that's it for the news

[9:06] summary tonight. Now, the latest on the

[9:09] financial crisis, the campaign in the

[9:11] battlegrounds today at the US Supreme

[9:14] Court, and storm water runoff.

[9:18] Another

[9:25] day of financial anxieties everywhere.

[9:28] Jeffrey Brown has our coverage tonight.

[9:30] The day began with a worldwide effort to

[9:33] cut interest rates to spur growth and

[9:35] ease the credit crisis, but markets

[9:37] responded with little confidence about

[9:38] the situation. In fact, they fell again.

[9:41] To discuss the latest, we're joined by

[9:43] Simon Johnson. He was chief economist at

[9:45] the International Monetary Fund until

[9:47] this past August. He's now a professor

[9:49] at the MIT Sloan School of Management

[9:51] and a senior fellow at the Peterson

[9:53] Institute for International Economics.

[9:55] Liz Anne Saunders is chief investment

[9:57] strategist at Charles Schwab. And

[9:59] Richard Thaylor, professor of behavioral

[10:02] science and economics at the University

[10:04] of Chicago Graduate School of Business

[10:06] and the author of Nudge: Improving

[10:08] Decisions About Health, Wealth, and

[10:11] Happiness. Well, Liz Anne Saunders, I'll

[10:13] start with you. Today's effort by the

[10:15] Fed and other central bankers, how

[10:17] unusual was it and what was it intended

[10:19] to do to turn things around?

[10:22] >> Well, I I've decided to stop using the

[10:24] word unprecedented because I hear it uh

[10:26] constantly these days. So, it's already

[10:28] becoming an overused word, but it is

[10:30] very rare to see this kind of

[10:31] coordinated action. You know, in the

[10:33] last couple of days, there had been a

[10:35] building view and consensus that we were

[10:37] likely to see a meeting uh an

[10:39] intermedating rate cut by the US Federal

[10:41] Reserve, but we felt all along that what

[10:44] would have been much more helpful would

[10:45] either be a coordinated set of rate cuts

[10:47] or at least a series of global central

[10:49] bank rate cuts. And that's indeed what

[10:51] we got. The the US economy is actually

[10:54] more impacted by global interest rates,

[10:57] not just US interest rates. So although

[11:00] clearly the market did not vote

[11:02] directionally up today with its move, we

[11:04] can't just look at single day moves by

[11:06] the stock market. I think the decision

[11:07] by the global central banks was the

[11:09] right one.

[11:10] >> Simon Johnson, all week we've been

[11:11] talking about uh uh Europe's problems

[11:14] and the need for coordinated action

[11:16] there. Was the willingness of central

[11:18] bankers in Europe to participate in this

[11:20] a a helpful sign?

[11:22] >> Yes, it was a helpful sign. it wasn't

[11:25] really what you needed to to break uh

[11:27] the the panic, the mood of panic, let's

[11:29] say, uh which is which is pervasive, but

[11:31] it was a good sign the Europeans and the

[11:33] US could get together uh in in this way.

[11:35] >> What about the action in Britain that we

[11:37] heard about uh with the banks?

[11:39] >> That's also pretty positive. The British

[11:40] announced a rather assertive bank

[11:43] nationalization recapitalization

[11:45] program. It's rather like a big Warren

[11:47] Buffett type program for the entire

[11:48] banking sector. Makes a lot of sense

[11:50] under circumstances. It wasn't. Uh,

[11:52] again, it was a little bit like throwing

[11:53] pebbles into a stormy stormy ocean,

[11:55] which is the phrase I'm hearing a lot

[11:57] these days. It's a little bit too late,

[11:59] a little bit uh too little, a little bit

[12:01] by themselves. The rest of the Europeans

[12:02] are not there yet uh with them. So, it

[12:04] hasn't had the kind of effect that they

[12:06] were hoping for.

[12:06] >> Is that your explanation of why markets

[12:09] do not respond very well today? Yes, I

[12:11] clearly we there's an enormous uh

[12:13] enormous storm out there and and what's

[12:14] really needed the only thing that will

[12:16] turn around is decisive coordinated

[12:18] action uh across the G7 and maybe the G7

[12:20] plus plus some other countries um when

[12:22] and if they come in with the monetary

[12:23] policy, the fiscal policy and the bank

[12:25] support short-term and medium-term,

[12:27] they'll turn it around and they could

[12:28] turn around really quickly. I think the

[12:29] mood can switch uh really fast and you

[12:32] you see inklings that this this message

[12:34] is getting through uh to the policy

[12:35] makers and the policy makers are trying

[12:37] to move in in the right direction. So,

[12:38] I'm a bit encouraged uh from today even

[12:41] though o overall it was a down day.

[12:43] >> Well, Richard Thaylor, I just heard the

[12:44] word mood, which is one of the reasons

[12:45] we we wanted you to join us here to talk

[12:48] about markets and behavior and how how

[12:50] it works. It just strikes me that last

[12:53] week we were talking about bad assets

[12:54] and and bad loans and institutions

[12:56] failing and this week most of the talk

[12:58] is about mood and confidence and panic.

[13:01] Help us help us see what's going on.

[13:03] What What do you see? Well, I I think

[13:05] that people are confused and um you

[13:10] know, take the actions today. I think

[13:12] there are two different ways of

[13:13] interpreting them. Uh one is to say,

[13:16] thank God they've acted and I should be

[13:18] happy. On the other hand, the other is

[13:22] to say, well, oh my gosh, um things must

[13:26] be really bad for them to uh all agree

[13:30] to take this action together.

[13:32] uh the steps that were taken in England

[13:34] and in Iceland. So I I

[13:37] >> Excuse me. Do do you mean that the very

[13:39] fact that they're acting like this has a

[13:41] kind of counterintuitive effect? It

[13:43] makes people more scared.

[13:44] >> I I think so. uh and reasonably so when

[13:50] uh it's it's natural to say uh given how

[13:54] difficult it's been to get these central

[13:57] banks to coordinate to when they do to

[14:00] say oh well they have data that we don't

[14:03] and uh they must be really worried.

[14:06] >> But what about the mentality of the

[14:09] investors that uh the the markets that

[14:12] need to gain confidence? What do we know

[14:15] about what drives that on a given day or

[14:18] what it takes to turn it around?

[14:20] >> Well, I think we don't know much. I

[14:22] think one thing should be stressed is

[14:26] that we we don't really know whether

[14:28] there is a panic here. Uh we have lots

[14:31] of uncertainty and when there's lots of

[14:34] uncertainty, we expect volatility.

[14:37] People can't really make sense of this.

[14:39] The other thing I would say is that

[14:40] whatever is going on is primarily being

[14:43] driven by professionals. This is this is

[14:46] not a retail panic and um and and I'm

[14:50] not sure that there is a panic there.

[14:53] People are reacting to very real things.

[14:56] Uh the credit crunch is quite real and

[14:59] people uh on on in the money management

[15:02] side um are are worried about people

[15:05] withdrawing their uh their money. they

[15:08] they're having trouble borrowing and so

[15:11] they have to reduce leverage and um all

[15:14] of that drives uh the uh prices of risky

[15:18] assets down.

[15:19] >> Lzanne Saunders, what what do you make

[15:20] of this question of of of panic and mood

[15:23] and what is driving investors and

[15:25] markets right now?

[15:26] >> You know, the comment just made about

[15:28] leverage I think is one of the more

[15:30] important ones. We are in a deleveraging

[15:32] uh cycle. We we know we're doing it in

[15:35] terms of of consumer leverage which had

[15:37] gone in the stratosphere and that's

[15:39] ultimately one of the silver linings

[15:40] here is we're we're taking an embedded

[15:42] very indebted consumer and hopefully

[15:45] moving them to an environment where

[15:46] they're more savingsoriented. But we

[15:48] also have to understand the mechanisms

[15:50] of the market. Some of the biggest

[15:51] players in the market are hedge funds in

[15:53] the very short term day-to-day trading

[15:56] and they're the ones going through this

[15:58] massive deleveraging process. Um and

[16:00] they're the ones that explained what are

[16:02] really record-breaking uh number of days

[16:06] where we have 2% moves, 3% moves, these

[16:08] rapid intraday swings. So I absolutely

[16:11] agree that that's not being driven by

[16:12] the retail investor. Now they've been

[16:15] somewhat active. Individual investors

[16:17] have raised cash in their portfolios,

[16:20] but it's been fairly steady over the

[16:22] course of of this year. We've gone from

[16:24] overall about a a 22 23% cash position

[16:28] broadly for American portfolios in

[16:31] January up to you know 34 35% now. But

[16:35] that has happened over time and

[16:37] certainly doesn't explain the kind of

[16:38] short-term girration. So we have to

[16:40] understand the effect that that hedge

[16:42] funds and other shorter term momentum

[16:44] kind of traders and investors are having

[16:46] on this market right now.

[16:47] >> Well, Simon Johnson continued helping

[16:49] helping us to understand this. In our

[16:50] new summary, we saw Secretary Pollson

[16:54] calling on for patience. It'll take

[16:56] time. Who is he speaking to?

[16:59] >> That's a good question. I think he's

[17:01] speaking to the to the American people.

[17:03] I think he says he's saying that we need

[17:04] some time to to really turn things

[17:06] around at a fundamental level. Um, but

[17:08] he's also trying to communicate to the

[17:09] markets. And to the markets, I think the

[17:11] message should be we're coming uh with a

[17:13] decisive package. We're going to turn

[17:14] things around. And I think he's also

[17:16] speaking to the other members of the G7

[17:17] to whom he's trying to say, you know,

[17:19] let's get going. So there's a a bunch of

[17:21] different communication levels here and

[17:23] Professor Thaylor is right about the

[17:24] confusion. In fact, I I would say anyone

[17:26] who who who claims not to be confused

[17:29] right now isn't telling the truth.

[17:30] >> And does that include Secretary Pollson

[17:32] and the Fed? I mean, all these actions

[17:34] that they're taking, no doubt they have

[17:35] to take into consideration the

[17:37] psychological impact as well as the

[17:40] substantive or fundamental impact. I

[17:42] >> I think they're figuring this out.

[17:43] They're the very smart people and

[17:45] they're catching up. They realize that

[17:46] what we're seeing here is much more like

[17:47] an emerging market crisis. the kind of

[17:49] thing we s we you see in Russia, we saw

[17:51] in Asia in 1998 where it's all about

[17:53] sentiment. It's all about confidence and

[17:55] things can go down really fast, but you

[17:56] can also bring them back. You bring them

[17:58] back with something big and decisive. I

[18:00] think we learned today that it's got to

[18:01] be pretty big and rather decisive

[18:03] commitment to the public balance sheet

[18:05] in order to turn it around.

[18:06] >> Richard Thaylor, something big and

[18:08] decisive. Is that what history tells it

[18:10] takes us it takes to to turn things

[18:12] around?

[18:13] >> Well, I think we don't have much

[18:15] experience with history. we we can go

[18:17] back to the depression to see what not

[18:19] to do. I I think many of the steps that

[18:22] have been taken were essential. Uh when

[18:25] they guaranteed the money market

[18:27] accounts and then raised the limits on

[18:30] the um balances and savings accounts to

[18:34] $250,000.

[18:36] I think those were essential because I

[18:39] mentioned we haven't really had a retail

[18:41] uh panic. We could have if people had

[18:44] started taking their money out of those

[18:47] accounts and putting it under the

[18:49] mattress or whatever the what everyone

[18:51] does with with with money when you panic

[18:53] these days. I I think the retail

[18:55] investor might uh be tempted to panic

[18:59] but I'm not sure this makes any sense

[19:01] but to say but they don't really know

[19:03] how to do it. Uh you know you see a line

[19:06] you know to run away. Uh this is also

[19:08] bewildering to the man on the street

[19:10] that they're worried, but um

[19:15] maybe as as Liz said, uh maybe they'll

[19:18] uh start paying off their credit cards

[19:20] and if if that's the way they panic,

[19:22] that would be great.

[19:23] >> Well, Lizanne Sanders, what what do we

[19:25] look for next? Uh interest rate cuts,

[19:28] for example, could there be more? How

[19:29] how low could it go?

[19:31] >> Oh, I think there probably could be

[19:32] more. Whether they are continue to be as

[19:35] coordinated as they were today is hard

[19:37] to say, but I think there's not an

[19:39] insignificant chance that the Federal

[19:40] Reserve here in the US cuts rates again

[19:42] at their next scheduled meeting, which

[19:44] is at the end of this month. Um, I think

[19:46] we could see rates head to 1%, maybe

[19:48] even below that. Um, it it it does help

[19:51] to build capital, requefy the banking

[19:54] system. There are a lot of consumer

[19:56] loans tied to the prime rate, which in

[19:58] turn is tied to the Fed funds rate.

[20:00] though it does matter in terms of at

[20:02] least helping bring some consumer loans

[20:04] down and and start to feed into the

[20:07] demand cycle for housing. There's

[20:09] certainly a number of technical things

[20:11] that we can look at from a from a market

[20:13] perspective. The one thing I will say

[20:16] about panic and and whether it's it's

[20:18] manifesting itself yet in the markets

[20:20] and whether we're we're seeing that kind

[20:22] of activity by the retail investor is

[20:25] that we have to think about what

[20:26] preceded this era when we were at market

[20:29] highs not only for the US but other

[20:31] global markets back last fall for the

[20:34] most part really where the action had

[20:37] been for the several years prior was not

[20:39] in the US equity market but was in

[20:41] global equity markets particularly

[20:43] emerging urging markets. That's where

[20:45] not only all the action was, it's where

[20:46] all the dollars were flowing. It's where

[20:48] all the performance was. We're seeing

[20:50] those markets get obliterated relative

[20:53] to the US market. So maybe you can't

[20:55] still define it as panic, but we are

[20:57] seeing a much greater amount of selling,

[21:00] including by the retail public out of

[21:02] international and emerging market stocks

[21:05] because that's where all their buying

[21:06] focus had been prior to this downturn.

[21:08] >> All right, we will have to leave it

[21:10] there. Lizanne Saunders and Richard

[21:11] Phaylor and Simon Johnson here in

[21:14] Washington. Thank you all very much.

[21:15] >> Thank you.

[21:15] >> Thank you.

[21:22] >> And now the presidential campaign as the

[21:25] candidates go back on the road. NewsHour

[21:27] correspondentwami Homeman begins our

[21:29] coverage.

[21:31] At a rally in Tampa, Florida this

[21:33] morning, Democrat Joe Biden claimed his

[21:35] side was three for three after the

[21:38] second McCain Obama debate and his

[21:40] debate last week with Sarah Palin.

[21:42] >> I realize I'm slightly prejudic about

[21:44] our ticket.

[21:46] >> But if this was the best of five series,

[21:49] it'd be over.

[21:52] It'd be done. Biden also charged that

[21:56] the McCain campaign was trying to scare

[21:58] voters with its attacks on Barack Obama.

[22:01] >> The one they have chosen is to appeal

[22:03] the fear with the veiled question, who

[22:09] is the real Barack Obama? Ladies and

[22:12] gentlemen, to have a vice presidential

[22:15] candidate raise the most outrageous

[22:18] inferences, the ones that John McCain's

[22:21] campaign is condoning, is simply wrong.

[22:24] >> Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin

[22:26] campaigned together at Lehigh University

[22:29] in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Palin went

[22:32] first and criticized Obama's debate

[22:34] performance. So last night, Senator

[22:37] McCain talked about real and pragmatic

[22:40] solutions. Barack Obama talked about why

[22:42] he'd rather run against George Bush.

[22:48] And

[22:49] that strategy is starting to wear pretty

[22:53] darn thin.

[22:55] John McCain didn't just come out of

[22:57] nowhere. The American people know John

[23:00] McCain. They know that he's the

[23:02] maverick. and that's what our opponents

[23:04] are afraid of most. [cheering]

[23:07] >> McCain followed and questioned whether

[23:09] Obama could be trusted to follow through

[23:12] on his proposals.

[23:13] >> So, who is the real Senator Obama? Is he

[23:16] the candidate who promises to cut middle

[23:18] class taxes or the politician who voted

[23:22] to raise middle class taxes?

[23:26] Is he the candidate who talks about

[23:27] regulation or the politician who took

[23:30] money from Fanny May and Freddy Mack and

[23:33] turned a blind eye as they ran our

[23:35] economy into the ditch?

[23:37] >> McCain also talked up his proposal

[23:39] unveiled last night to have the US

[23:41] Treasury purchase mortgages homeowners

[23:44] are struggling to pay.

[23:45] >> The dream of owning a home should not be

[23:48] crushed under the weight of a bad

[23:50] mortgage.

[23:58] This moment, this moment requires a

[24:00] government act and as president, I

[24:03] intend to act quickly and decisively.

[24:06] >> Today, a McCain adviser said the program

[24:08] might cost $300 billion, which could

[24:11] come out of the $700 billion made

[24:13] available in the recent financial rescue

[24:15] package or from federal housing

[24:18] administration funds. The Obama campaign

[24:21] responded to McCain's plan this

[24:23] afternoon. In a statement, economic

[24:25] policy director Jason Ferman said, "John

[24:28] McCain's plan to overpay for bad

[24:30] mortgages by handing taxpayer dollars

[24:33] over to big financial institutions is

[24:35] erratic policymaking at its worst. And

[24:38] it's not the change we need to

[24:40] strengthen our economy, create new jobs,

[24:42] and keep Americans in their homes."

[24:45] Meanwhile, Obama himself campaigned in

[24:47] Indianapolis, Indiana. A state no

[24:50] Democratic presidential candidate has

[24:51] carried since 1964, but one that's in

[24:55] play this year. He sought to reassure

[24:58] Americans shaken by the recent tumult in

[25:00] the economy. I'm here today to tell you

[25:04] that there are better days ahead.

[25:07] [cheering]

[25:11] >> I know these times are tough and I know

[25:14] that many of you are anxious ABOUT THE

[25:16] FUTURE. BUT THIS isn't the time for fear

[25:19] or for panic.

[25:21] >> This is time for resolve and steady

[25:24] leadership.

[25:26] [cheering]

[25:32] [cheering]

[25:34] >> I know I know that we can steer

[25:37] ourselves out of this crisis because

[25:39] that's who we are.

[25:40] >> This is the United States of America.

[25:44] The candidates have more battleground

[25:46] states lined up tomorrow. Obama in Ohio,

[25:49] Biden in Missouri, McCain and Palin

[25:52] together in Wisconsin.

[25:54] >> And now to journalists in three of the

[25:57] battleground states. Adam Smith is the

[25:59] political editor of the St. Petersburg

[26:02] Times in Florida. Daryl Roland is public

[26:05] affairs editor and head of polling for

[26:07] the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio. and

[26:09] Mackenzie Carpenter is a political

[26:11] reporter for the Pittsburgh Post

[26:13] Dispatch in Pennsylvania. Adam Smith,

[26:16] based on polls and other measurements,

[26:18] where does the presidential race stand

[26:20] right now in Florida?

[26:22] >> Right now, it's looking like a dead

[26:24] heat. Maybe Obama up a couple points.

[26:26] It's it's neck and neck. Mackenzie

[26:28] Carpenter, what's the state of play in

[26:29] Pennsylvania?

[26:30] >> Uh well, Obama's taking a big lead. Uh a

[26:33] couple of recent polls show him in

[26:35] doubledigit um leads. Uh although in

[26:38] southwestern Pennsylvania where I am

[26:40] that lead disappears and McCain is doing

[26:42] very well.

[26:43] >> Daryl Roland in Ohio. What's the race

[26:45] look like?

[26:46] >> Jim, our poll was out Sunday and that

[26:49] showed Senator Obama with a seven-point

[26:50] lead, which was a turnaround from a a

[26:52] one-point deficit before the conventions

[26:55] >> now. Adam, in in Florida, is there is it

[26:58] is it moving? Is there is are there is

[27:00] there a trend or is it just is it

[27:03] static? Well, the trend has clearly

[27:05] been, as it is elsewhere, toward Obama

[27:08] since the convention and uh that's been

[27:10] a big shift throughout this year. He had

[27:12] never, when you average the polls

[27:14] together, been been better than a tie

[27:16] and now he's up maybe three or four

[27:18] points.

[27:19] >> Is uh is does the economy have a lot to

[27:21] do with this?

[27:21] >> The economy has everything to do to do

[27:23] with it. Since the uh economic crisis

[27:25] really erupted, that's when his poll

[27:27] numbers really moved.

[27:28] >> McKenzie, same in uh in Pennsylvania.

[27:31] the economy.

[27:31] >> Absolutely. The economy is critical. But

[27:34] Jim, I wanted to make one point and that

[27:35] is in southwestern Pennsylvania, you

[27:37] have a lot of Reagan Democrats, some of

[27:40] whom have said they will not vote for a

[27:42] black man. And I'm working on a story

[27:45] right now about the role of race in our

[27:47] region. I think that's going to play a

[27:48] big role.

[27:49] >> Well, can you quantify that? I mean, in

[27:51] terms of

[27:52] >> No, no one can quantify it. Um, but I

[27:55] was interviewing Senator Bob Casey today

[27:57] and and he said any politician who

[28:01] doesn't think race is going to be an

[28:03] issue in Pennsylvania certainly is

[28:06] stupid. That was his word. Um,

[28:10] it's it's could be 1%, it could be 5%.

[28:14] uh whatever it is, it's going to eat

[28:16] into the lead that Obama seems to be

[28:19] having right now, which is why he's

[28:20] spending so much time in the eastern

[28:22] part of the state, which is heavily

[28:24] populated, Pu uh Philadelphia and the

[28:27] Collar counties, trying to boost um his

[28:31] support there as much as possible.

[28:33] >> Darl, what's the the Are you picking up

[28:35] any of this in Ohio, the race?

[28:37] >> No question. Uh of course, you just come

[28:39] come across the river into Ohio from

[28:40] from southwestern Pennsylvania. Uh we

[28:43] had reporters scattered throughout the

[28:45] state and I I was kind of shocked when

[28:48] when one of my colleagues came back from

[28:49] southeastern Ohio and just reported that

[28:53] folks would come up to her, give her

[28:55] name, put my name in a paper, here's how

[28:56] you spell it, and oh by the way, I

[28:59] cannot vote for Senator Obama because

[29:00] he's black. Again, how much is that in

[29:03] Ohio? That's unknown. Interestingly

[29:06] enough, in two days, he's going to be

[29:08] traveling through the heart of that

[29:09] area. So that'll be an interesting

[29:11] campaign swing for him. Jim,

[29:13] >> Adam, how do you read that issue in

[29:14] Florida?

[29:16] >> Yeah, I I think it's something of an

[29:17] issue. I'm often struck by how many

[29:19] times you'll talk to sort of swing

[29:21] voters that will say something that

[29:23] sounds quite racial and they've got

[29:25] concerns about voting for a black man

[29:26] and yet they'll still say, "But you know

[29:28] what? We need a change and so I'm

[29:30] leaning toward Obama."

[29:31] >> Yeah. Now, let's go. You're you're

[29:33] getting a lot of traffic from the

[29:34] candidates, are you not in Florida,

[29:35] Adam?

[29:36] >> It's pretty relentless. We had Sarah

[29:38] Palin for a couple days and then uh

[29:39] Biden. It's every few days somebody's

[29:41] here. What about advertising? A lot of

[29:43] that.

[29:44] >> Tons of advertising. Particularly in my

[29:45] neck of the woods, Tampa Bay. That's the

[29:47] biggest battleground within Florida and

[29:49] it's it's non-stop on TV, especially

[29:51] Obama.

[29:52] >> Are you getting uh are you getting any

[29:54] of these attack ads or what kind of ads

[29:56] are are they are they throwing?

[29:58] >> Obama is uh overwhelmingly leading in TV

[30:01] advertising in uh Tampa Bay and in

[30:03] Florida overall. and his uh you know

[30:06] there was a study out today about a

[30:07] third of his are negative. McCain's got

[30:09] fewer ads up so far in Florida and most

[30:11] of his are most of his are negative.

[30:14] >> McKenzie, what's the traffic like among

[30:16] the candidates in Pennsylvania?

[30:17] >> Well, I'll be following Sarah Palin this

[30:20] weekend. They were in Lehi County. Uh

[30:22] McCain Palin today. Um Senator Obama and

[30:26] Biden will be in Philadelphia this

[30:27] weekend. Yes, we're we're very busy

[30:30] here. Um the ads are relentless just

[30:33] like Adam was saying down in Florida. Um

[30:36] McCain is being outspent by Obama 3 to

[30:39] one here, but McCain is also spending

[30:43] more in Pennsylvania on ads than

[30:45] anywhere else in the country right now.

[30:48] >> What kind of ads?

[30:49] >> Uh negative, sure. Um it's sort of

[30:52] 50/50. I don't watch a lot of TV, but

[30:54] while I was waiting to be on here, I was

[30:56] watching CNN and there was another one.

[30:59] um uh character. Um a lot of gloomy

[31:03] pictures of Obama, he's not ready to

[31:05] lead, looking very grim, that sort of

[31:08] thing.

[31:08] >> Darl, in uh in Ohio, beyond the economy,

[31:11] what are what what issues are you seeing

[31:13] either or hearing from the candidates

[31:15] when they come, you got a lot of traffic

[31:17] there, too, of course, but also on the

[31:19] ads, what are they talking about?

[31:20] >> Yeah, no question. And it's uh was

[31:23] referred to earlier. There was a new

[31:24] study by University of Wisconsin out

[31:26] today and showed that Ohio is the number

[31:28] one state in the nation in terms of the

[31:29] Obama and McCain ad traffic. Um what

[31:33] beyond the economy, Jim, are we talking

[31:34] about anything beyond the economy these

[31:36] days? Uh I don't think so in Ohio. Um

[31:39] this is fall. This is Ohio State Buckeye

[31:42] football time. But you know, there's a

[31:44] lot of people sell saying thank god for

[31:46] Michigan because without Michigan we'd

[31:48] be number 50 instead of just number 49

[31:50] in a lot of economic measures. Our

[31:52] unemployment's at a 16-year high. Our

[31:54] Medicaid roles are the highest in

[31:56] history. Our food stamp roles are the

[31:58] highest in history. The wick enrollment

[32:00] is at highest in history. Uh food lines

[32:04] are are growing. People who used to

[32:05] volunteer and serve in those food lines

[32:07] are now in the line getting food

[32:09] themselves. Uh it's pretty bad here. So

[32:12] people are talking about the economy as

[32:13] issues one, two, and three at least.

[32:15] >> No Iraq, no foreign policy.

[32:18] >> You see that there? and and and frankly

[32:21] that frustrates uh some of the

[32:22] Republicans cuz they know very well that

[32:25] if this campaign's on the economy that

[32:27] is on Barack Obama's home turf.

[32:29] >> Uh so there it's almost like this

[32:31] reminder that they want to get across,

[32:33] hey, you know, we are still at war.

[32:35] Terrorists are out there. There are

[32:36] people want to kill us because that's

[32:38] John McCain's home turf. They want to

[32:39] turn the discussion. Um perhaps as

[32:41] Senator McCain mentioned, turn the page

[32:43] and let's talk about some of those other

[32:45] things. Healthcare of course is also a

[32:47] concern, but once again that's more of a

[32:49] an issue for Senator Obama despite

[32:51] Senator McCain's attempts to make it one

[32:52] of his own.

[32:53] >> Adam in Florida, is there a second

[32:55] beyond uh behind uh uh the economy of

[32:59] any substance of any

[33:00] >> Well, I would I would see his economic

[33:02] misery and probably raise it here in

[33:04] Florida where uh month after month, one

[33:06] or two in terms of foreclosures, in

[33:09] terms of job losses. So, you know,

[33:11] economy is overwhelmingly number one.

[33:14] Uh, way down the line are Iraq and

[33:16] healthcare.

[33:16] >> What about Iraq and foreign policy?

[33:19] Mckenzie in Pennsylvania. Is that a big

[33:21] big thing to talk about?

[33:22] >> Uh, not in west, not so much in the

[33:24] western part of the state. I mean,

[33:26] certainly we have boys here serving,

[33:28] boys and girls serving in Iraq. Uh, no,

[33:30] it's the economy. And again, uh, in

[33:33] August alone, our unemployment rate

[33:36] jumped from 5.4% to 5.8%.

[33:39] foreclosures uh have uh gone up by 60%

[33:43] from a year ago.

[33:44] >> Um this it just like uh in Ohio and

[33:47] Florida, it's the economy

[33:49] >> right now. And all three of your states

[33:50] are called battleground states and

[33:52] that's no accident because there's a lot

[33:54] going on down there. Adam, starting with

[33:56] you, what's the level of voter interest

[33:58] in this election compared with elections

[34:00] you've covered before? Give us some

[34:02] measuring stick.

[34:03] >> Oh, I I don't know if I can quantify it

[34:06] uh exactly. The polls show it's it's

[34:08] through the roof. uh and it's been

[34:10] extended. You know, there are a good

[34:12] number of voters that started to pay

[34:13] attention more recently, but it's been

[34:15] striking how many people were paying

[34:17] close attention uh even months ago.

[34:20] >> Yeah. McKenzie in Pennsylvania saying,

[34:22] >> "Well, all I can tell you is that the

[34:24] voter registration edge for the

[34:26] Democrats has gone from 600,000, I

[34:29] believe, in 2000 to 1.2 million

[34:34] as of today." And is that attributed to

[34:37] Barack Obama or are there just general

[34:39] interests?

[34:39] >> I think both. Um, but mostly Barack

[34:43] Obama. I mean, again, they don't break

[34:44] it down uh in terms of why people are

[34:48] registering, but a lot of those folks

[34:50] are young people and they tend to go for

[34:52] Barack Obama.

[34:52] >> What's the level of interest in Ohio,

[34:54] Darl?

[34:55] >> Jim, it's just incredible. And you can

[34:58] get this anecdotally or you can get it

[35:00] numerically. We our voter registration

[35:02] period closed last week. We now have 8.2

[35:05] million registered voters. That's an

[35:06] all-time high. Uh that's 94% of the

[35:09] voting population, the number of

[35:11] eligible voters are signed up to vote.

[35:13] Uh we also have for the first time in

[35:14] Ohio, early voting um in a presidential

[35:17] election where you don't need any

[35:18] excuse. Anybody can cast a ballot right

[35:21] now. So thousands of votes are being

[35:23] cast. And in fact, just this past Sunday

[35:25] here in Columbus, which is the largest

[35:26] city, there was a line of about an hour,

[35:29] hour and a half long of people waiting

[35:30] to vote. It's kind of weird. people

[35:32] waiting in line to vote early so they

[35:34] don't have to wait in line on election

[35:36] day.

[35:36] >> Yeah. What about the uh interest in the

[35:38] debate last night? Uh Darl, what was

[35:40] that? Could you measure that?

[35:43] >> I think so. And that that gets more

[35:45] anecdotal, of course. I haven't seen

[35:46] ratings, certainly nothing Ohio

[35:48] specific. Um I was at at a debate

[35:50] watching party for Senator McCain. One

[35:51] of my colleagues uh was paired with me

[35:54] was at one for Senator Obama. His was

[35:56] actually at a movie theater about 300

[35:58] seats and they talked about uh that was

[36:02] filled uh both for this last debate.

[36:04] There's actually even more interest in

[36:05] the vice presidential debate. There were

[36:07] people, you know, sitting and laying in

[36:09] the aisles. Um it's probably a good

[36:10] thing the fire marshall was there, but

[36:12] they they were just out the door to to

[36:13] watch a presidential debate.

[36:15] >> Yeah. Mackenzie, what about the the

[36:17] debate interest in Pennsylvania? Well,

[36:19] uh, we had a big debate party here for

[36:22] Obama supporters at the Shenley ice um

[36:26] skating rink and that was a a huge event

[36:30] and there are also very uh very feisty

[36:33] McCain supporters with lots of parties

[36:35] that we wrote about. So on both sides

[36:37] there's been a lot of interest.

[36:39] >> And Adam uh on the debate did have has

[36:43] your newspaper done any reaction stories

[36:45] to last night's debate? We have not done

[36:48] any reaction story to that debate. We've

[36:50] got uh we have an ongoing focus group of

[36:52] undecided voters that'll that'll be

[36:54] coming in shortly. That focus group

[36:56] incidentally has been uh striking in how

[36:59] much it moved toward Obama uh

[37:01] particularly because as a reaction to

[37:03] Sarah Palin.

[37:04] >> What about re what what about reaction

[37:06] in Pennsylvania, Mackenzie? Have you all

[37:08] done any reporting on that? Uh yes, we

[37:11] um uh are certainly going to be writing

[37:14] analysis pieces over the next few days,

[37:16] but I have a confession to make. I was

[37:18] in the newspaper today, so I don't

[37:20] really know what the voters were

[37:22] thinking.

[37:24] >> Okay, that's that's fine. Confession is

[37:26] good for the journalistic soul. Daryl,

[37:28] how about you? What what have you all

[37:29] been when you yall been doing any

[37:31] reporting on the since last night?

[37:33] >> Absolutely. As I mentioned, we we were

[37:35] actually at debate watching parties. We

[37:36] were getting that firsthand reaction. Uh

[37:39] I was at the at a house uh uh in western

[37:43] uh western Columbus suburb. Uh a lot of

[37:46] Republicans sort of crammed into the

[37:47] family room watching the the big screen.

[37:50] Uh they really wanted McCain to be much

[37:52] more aggressive. Uh especially going in

[37:55] they they really wanted some of this red

[37:56] meat. They they like some of the message

[37:58] that Governor Palin uh is espousing on

[38:01] the campaign trail. And frankly I think

[38:02] maybe there's a little bit of

[38:03] disappointment. They they didn't get it

[38:05] last I don't know if it was the town

[38:06] hall format or Senator McCain's choice,

[38:09] but there was just a little bit of

[38:10] frustration and of course, you know,

[38:12] time is growing short.

[38:13] >> Sure. Well, I must say, uh, Daryl

[38:15] McKenzie and Adam, sounds to me like the

[38:17] three of you at least are having a

[38:18] really good time during this election

[38:19] year.

[38:21] >> It's always a mixed blessing. U, you

[38:23] know, we love it if you're into

[38:24] politics, but uh, it's a lot of hours,

[38:26] too.

[38:27] >> A lot of hours, Mackenzie and Adam, as

[38:28] well, right?

[38:30] >> Uh, I'll be working all weekend. Thank

[38:32] you. [laughter]

[38:32] >> Okay.

[38:33] >> All right. Thank you all three very

[38:35] much.

[38:36] >> Thanks you.

[38:38] [music]

[38:43] [music]

[38:43] >> And now two arguments before the US

[38:45] Supreme Court and Judy Woodruff on just

[38:48] the third day of their new term. The

[38:50] justices today tackle two of the main

[38:52] issues on their docket this year.

[38:54] Environmental law and job

[38:56] discrimination. Here to walk us through

[38:58] both cases is NewsHour regular Marcia

[39:00] Coyle of the National Law Journal. Hello

[39:03] Marcia. kind.

[39:04] >> All right, these are two really

[39:05] interesting cases. One of them, the

[39:08] United States Navy against the whales

[39:11] off the coast of California. Let's start

[39:14] by telling us what it is that the Navy

[39:16] and the Bush administration are what

[39:18] they argue as they bring this case. The

[39:20] Navy is basically challenging a court

[39:22] order here that imposed restrictions on

[39:25] how it conducts very complicated,

[39:28] sophisticated sonar training exercises

[39:31] off the coast of Southern California.

[39:34] The judge here in order to protect

[39:36] marine mammals said that the Navy had to

[39:39] power off the sonar if a marine mammal

[39:41] came within 2200 yards of the sonar

[39:44] source or uh power down 75% if the Navy

[39:50] detected activity in in the water. Uh

[39:53] the judge's order was a result of a

[39:55] lawsuit filed by an environmental group,

[39:57] the Natural Resources Defense Council,

[39:59] which claimed the Navy had violated

[40:02] federal law by not doing an

[40:04] environmental impact statement before

[40:07] starting the training exercises. So the

[40:10] case here boils down to what? I mean,

[40:12] you were telling me before it's not so

[40:14] much about uh environmental impact as it

[40:17] is what the what the judge the judge did

[40:20] in uh in issuing this injunction. Well,

[40:22] the Navy is is is is basically saying

[40:25] the the judge used the wrong standard

[40:28] when it issued his when he issued his

[40:31] order for the Navy. Today, Solicitor

[40:33] General Greg Gar, who represented the

[40:35] Navy in the court, argued that the court

[40:38] court here that issued the order,

[40:40] ignored uh evidence that the

[40:44] restrictions imposed by the judge would

[40:46] seriously interfere with the Navy's

[40:48] ability to do the exercises, which in

[40:51] turn would damage our ability to protect

[40:54] national security. And he also argued

[40:57] that the the court here ignored

[41:00] statements by the president as well as

[41:02] the nation's chief naval officer that

[41:04] this was a serious interference with

[41:07] what the Navy was trying to accomplish.

[41:10] Uh the court uh the justices in their

[41:13] questioning uh probed the Navy about how

[41:16] 2200 yards and 75% power down really

[41:20] affected their use of sonar. But they

[41:21] also were very concerned about the

[41:23] Navy's claim that one, it did its own

[41:26] environmental assessment and that

[41:28] assessment showed there would be no

[41:30] serious injury to marine mammals. So

[41:32] they asked the solicitor general, "What

[41:34] do you mean by that?" Justice Alto said,

[41:36] "Tell me in practical lay terms, what is

[41:39] non-serious injury to mammals?" And Mr.

[41:42] guard told the court that no mammals

[41:44] would be killed by the use of sonar,

[41:47] that there may be a temporary impact on

[41:49] breeding and feeding, and if whales

[41:52] heard the sonar, they would probably

[41:54] turn and go in the opposite direction.

[41:56] Can you tell how much those

[41:57] environmental arguments are going to

[41:59] matter?

[42:00] >> Well, I think the court is concerned

[42:02] about the Navy's ability to do what it

[42:05] has to do to protect national security.

[42:07] So that put the onus on the

[42:10] environmental groups council who was up

[42:12] next uh Richard Kendall for natural

[42:14] resource defense council and and he

[42:17] argued that well this judge who issued

[42:19] the order had ample evidence based on

[42:22] prior Navy training exercises that the

[42:25] Navy could do the exercise under the

[42:28] conditions the judge imposed. And he

[42:31] also disputed the Navy's assessment of

[42:34] injury to marine mammals. He said, for

[42:36] example, there was overwhelming

[42:38] scientific evidence that [snorts] beat

[42:41] whales that have been stranded around

[42:43] the world uh were stranded because of

[42:46] sonar.

[42:46] >> So, this is a case you were saying the

[42:48] environmental groups and and of course

[42:50] the military are watching.

[42:51] >> The Navy wants a rule that will uh

[42:54] prevent future orders like this.

[42:56] Environmentalists are concerned that the

[42:58] Navy's rule would prevent them from

[43:00] enforcing a major environmental law. All

[43:03] right, let's move to the second case

[43:04] today. The jobs discrimination case.

[43:06] This is alleged retaliation

[43:08] uh against a woman in Nashville who

[43:10] complained uh about that she was uh

[43:14] harassed by her employer, then she was

[43:16] fired. Tell us about that. Vicky

[43:18] Crawford was a 30-year employee with the

[43:21] Nashville Metropolitan School District.

[43:24] She was called into an interview when

[43:26] her employer had launched an internal

[43:28] investigation of some employees concerns

[43:32] that one of the uh directors at the

[43:34] district was engaging in sexual

[43:36] harassment. She didn't complain but she

[43:39] participated in the investigation

[43:41] because she had contact with this

[43:43] director as part of her job. In the

[43:45] interview, she said that this director

[43:48] had on number of occasions asked to see

[43:51] her. Tatis uh had um grabbed his

[43:55] genitals, pushed his crotch up against

[43:58] her window, and even pulled her head

[44:00] once against his crotch. About 3 months

[44:03] after the investigation was concluded,

[44:06] and it was concluded with a verbal

[44:08] reprimand to this director, she was

[44:10] fired allegedly for irregularities in

[44:13] her job as payroll coordinator. She sued

[44:17] claiming the employer retaliated against

[44:20] her for her testimony in the

[44:22] investigation. Her suit was thrown out

[44:24] at a very early stage. She didn't get to

[44:26] a jury. lower court said the

[44:29] anti-retaliation

[44:30] provisions in the major federal job bias

[44:33] law didn't cover cover her and that's

[44:36] the dispute before the Supreme Court

[44:38] today

[44:38] >> getting the the heart of it I gather

[44:40] that uh the definition of what

[44:44] constitutes an objection did she raise

[44:46] an actual objection

[44:48] >> the retaliation right exactly the

[44:50] retaliation provision in the law has two

[44:52] parts an employee is protected if the

[44:55] employee opposes the illegal

[44:57] discriminatory act or if the employee

[45:01] participates, testifies, assists in any

[45:04] way in an investigation uh under title

[45:07] 7. Uh her lawyer uh Professor Eric

[45:10] Schnapper argued that her situation fit

[45:13] right within that. Uh the opposing uh

[45:16] lawyer for the school district sees the

[45:18] the the language in those two provisions

[45:21] much narrower. And I saw the Chamber of

[45:24] Commerce filed an amikas uh brief these

[45:27] cases

[45:27] >> because they're worried about uh other

[45:29] employees.

[45:30] >> The competing concerns here are if

[45:33] employees who participate in a in their

[45:35] employer's investigation aren't

[45:37] protected uh against retaliation. They

[45:39] won't cooperate because they they'll

[45:41] fear they'll lose their jobs. Business

[45:44] fears that uh if they are protected, an

[45:47] employee can immunize himself or herself

[45:50] for years from any adverse action by

[45:54] their boss simply because they

[45:56] participated in an internal

[45:57] investigation of harassment.

[45:59] >> All right. One was job discrimination,

[46:01] the other one was the Navy.

[46:04] And there's more to come. Marshia Coyle,

[46:06] thanks very much.

[46:06] >> My pleasure.

[46:15] And finally tonight, another [music]

[46:16] environmental story. This one about

[46:19] rainwater and water pollution. NewsHour

[46:22] correspondent Lee Hawkberg of Oregon

[46:24] Public Broadcasting reports.

[46:29] When it rains, which is pretty common in

[46:31] the Northwest, most people look at the

[46:34] sky. Water pollution experts look at the

[46:37] ground.

[46:39] And what they see disturbs them.

[46:41] Chemicals and motor oil and herbicides

[46:44] washing from neighborhood streets and

[46:46] yards into creeks and bays.

[46:50] Half of US water pollution comes from

[46:53] storm water runoff. In Seattle, it's

[46:56] responsible for more than 70% of the

[46:58] zinc and copper that winds up in Puet

[47:01] Sound. heavy metals that are toxic and

[47:04] kill sakkeye king and coo salmon

[47:07] protected under the endangered species

[47:09] act.

[47:10] >> Well, this is the typical type of

[47:11] development that we're seeing now and

[47:14] there are better ways to do of doing it.

[47:16] >> King County storm water manager Kurt

[47:19] Crawford took us to a typical

[47:20] subdivision outside Seattle. Though it's

[47:23] only 24 acres, as many as 200,000

[47:26] gallons of polluted water drain off of

[47:29] it after a normal rainfall.

[47:32] >> When you clear those trees away and you

[47:34] put in these roads, impervious surface,

[47:37] you put in the roofs, it can be as much

[47:40] as a 300%

[47:42] increase in in runoff volume. The group

[47:45] Earth Justice complained the runoff is a

[47:48] violation of the Federal Clean Water Act

[47:50] and demanded more regulation. Lawyer Yan

[47:53] Hasselman. When Congress adopted the

[47:56] Clean Water Act in 1972, it set a very

[47:59] ambitious goal of having all of

[48:01] America's waters fishable and swimmable.

[48:04] We're nowhere near that. We don't build

[48:07] houses in a way that protects clean

[48:09] water. It's a system that doesn't work.

[48:12] Now, in a landmark decision, a

[48:14] Washington state pollution board has

[48:16] ruled that flow of polluted water must

[48:19] be reduced. And to do that, the very way

[48:22] that new homes and neighborhoods are

[48:24] built must be changed.

[48:27] >> So, this is a a really simple technique

[48:29] that we use to capture the roof water

[48:33] runoff through a a downspout system. The

[48:36] ruling requires developers like Linda

[48:39] Puit of suburban Seattle use low impact

[48:42] development strategies or LIDs on the

[48:45] homes they build. Strategies that limit

[48:47] how much rainwater flows off of them.

[48:50] >> We can redirect this water through a

[48:54] pipe that uh takes the roof water and

[48:56] directs it to the rear of the lot. It

[48:59] bubbles up here and infiltrates forward

[49:03] through this beautiful ornamental swale

[49:08] planted with all kinds of thirsty plants

[49:10] including reeds and grasses and some

[49:12] blueberries.

[49:14] Puit whose company touts itself as being

[49:17] green implemented the techniques

[49:19] voluntarily because they actually

[49:21] reduced her costs of handling storm

[49:23] water. Some sidewalks in her development

[49:26] made of a new form of porous concrete

[49:30] literally suck up water.

[49:34] The houses she builds are small. Smaller

[49:36] roofs mean less runoff and they surround

[49:39] a large communal yard that absorbs

[49:42] water. Garages are tightly grouped

[49:44] around a common driveway.

[49:47] >> You have a smaller footprint first and

[49:49] foremost. The homes are clustered around

[49:51] beautiful open space and uh garden areas

[49:56] rather than on a parking lot with

[49:58] pavement and cars. It results in less

[50:02] imperous surface, less pavement, less

[50:05] sidewalk, less concrete. Other

[50:08] developers are experimenting with roof

[50:10] gardens to absorb rainwater.

[50:14] One Seattle neighborhood by narrowing

[50:17] streets and planting shrubs reduce

[50:19] runoff by 99%.

[50:22] >> We can get more runoff into the ground.

[50:24] >> Storm water manager Crawford showed us a

[50:26] subdivision that's experimenting with

[50:28] other strategies.

[50:30] >> Normally, you'd have a sidewalk both

[50:31] sides of the road. Here, what we're

[50:34] doing is draining all the road over to

[50:36] this one side here so we can um take

[50:38] advantage of this grass line swale here

[50:41] and provide an opportunity for storm

[50:43] water to infiltrate back into the

[50:45] ground. Compost is mixed into soil to

[50:48] increase the water retention of these

[50:50] yards and a community rain garden

[50:53] captures and absorbs runoff. Yet

[50:55] Crawford thinks even more stringent

[50:58] requirements are needed. We think

[51:00] there's more that needs to be done than

[51:01] what's being done here.

[51:03] >> He says government could require

[51:05] narrower streets with permeable

[51:07] pavement, taller buildings that cover

[51:10] less of the ground.

[51:11] >> We need more and it's it's probably

[51:14] going to take a stick.

[51:15] >> But builder Eric Campbell doesn't want

[51:17] to be forced to go farther. He says his

[51:20] new homes have to compete in the

[51:22] marketplace against homes with no such

[51:24] requirements.

[51:26] When we're sewing a home, we are

[51:28] competing with homes that have been

[51:29] built 10, 20, 30 years ago. And if we

[51:32] have better techniques that are quote

[51:34] more green,

[51:36] >> Kurt Trader, his high taxes kill jobs

[51:38] and hurt [music] families. Maybe that's

[51:40] why he doesn't pay them. That's right.

[51:43] After raising our taxes, Kurt Shder

[51:45] didn't pay his 17 times. Shrader even

[51:49] refused to pay [music] property taxes

[51:51] for 3 years. Trader says taxes were so

[51:54] high he couldn't afford them. Now that's

[51:57] irony. Kurt Trader. Maybe if he paid his

[52:00] own [music] taxes, he'd stop raising

[52:02] ours. Fall is here or near and guests

[52:05] are coming. You're going to want to have

[52:06] your home gorgeous for the holidays.

[52:08] With the biggest inventory we have ever

[52:10] had, ready for immediate delivery.

[52:11] [music] Right now is the best time to

[52:13] buy. Substantial discounts from major

[52:15] lines have prices as good as they have

[52:17] ever been. We call it Oktoberfest. You

[52:19] will call it [music] fantastic. Great

[52:21] selection and lots of new things. Take

[52:23] advantage of our huge discounts and make

[52:25] your home perfect. Paul Shots Furniture,

[52:27] [music] a Northwest tradition since

[52:29] 1919.

[52:33] As a teacher, [music] I have serious

[52:34] concerns about Measure 60. Not all

[52:37] children learn in the same [music] way,

[52:38] and Measure 60's one-sizefits-all

[52:40] approach just won't work. Measure 60 was

[52:43] written by Bill Seismore, who has no

[52:45] experience in education. It's vague and

[52:48] poorly written and could have [music]

[52:49] all kinds of unintended consequences. It

[52:52] fails to define how teachers and kids

[52:54] performance would be measured and it

[52:56] doesn't say who is judging teachers or

[52:58] how. [music] Please join parents and

[53:00] teachers and vote no on measure 60.

[53:04] >> In tonight's circular file, we go to

[53:06] Fargo, North Dakota, where a man wanted

[53:09] a bike badly, but he didn't want to pay

[53:10] for it. The 25-year-old man thought he

[53:13] found a very good place to get one for

[53:15] free. He pulled it from a bike rack and

[53:16] was ready to pedal away. Two things he

[53:19] didn't think about, though. The bike

[53:20] rack is located on the side of a police

[53:23] station and there was a police officer

[53:25] in his patrol car right outside who saw

[53:27] the whole thing. Despite that, of

[53:29] course, the man still claimed the bike

[53:31] was his. Not so. Police say the bike was

[53:33] actually left there by police themselves

[53:35] for a man who was getting detox

[53:38] treatment.

[53:40] >> You know, Joe used to be a poorly,

[53:42] didn't he?

[53:42] >> I'd say so. at least at a couple of

[53:44] couple of levels. That's it for us.

[53:46] Thanks very much for joining us. Uh

[53:47] we'll see you again tomorrow for K2

[53:49] News.

[53:51] [music]

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[56:17] big oil and corporations that ship jobs

[56:20] overseas. And now a blank check for

[56:23] [music] Wall Street. But for working

[56:24] families, there's Jeff Mkeley. Balanced

[56:27] the state budget, created the rainy day

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[56:31] taxes for the middle class and create

[56:33] living wage jobs is what we need to

[56:35] strengthen our economy. Finally, a

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