PBS NewsHour; June 15, 2011 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS

>> Brown: THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PUSHED BACK TODAY AGAINST CONGRESSIONAL PRESSURE OVER THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO FIGHT IN LIBYA. GOOD EVENING. I'M JEFFREY BROWN.

>> Woodruff: AND I'M JUDY WOODRUFF. ON THE NEWSHOUR TONIGHT: WE HAVE THE LATEST AFTER THE ADMINISTRATION SAYS U.S. MILITARY ACTIVITIES ARE NOT FULL BLOWN HOSTILITIES.

>> Brown: THEN, WE GET AN UPDATE FROM WISCONSIN AFTER THE STATE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT A LAW COULD TAKE EFFECT THAT WOULD STRIP MOST PUBLIC WORKERS OF KEY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS.

>> Woodruff: TOM BEARDEN REPORTS ON A CONTROVERSIAL METHOD OF EXTRACTING NATURAL GAS FROM SHALE ROCK. .

>> SOME PEOPLE HERE IN WESTERN COLORADO BELIEVE A NATIONAL GAS PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE CALLED F

>> Brown: RAY SUAREZ EXAMINES ALLEGATIONS OF WAR CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT NEAR THE END OF THE COUNTRY'S 25-YEAR-LONG CIVIL WAR.

>> Woodruff: AND WE CONTINUE OUR COLLABORATION WITH "THE ECONOMIST" MAGAZINE TO HIGHLIGHT THE ART OF FILMMAKING. TONIGHT, LETTING KIDS BE KIDS IN A SKATING PARK IN WAR-TORN AFGHANISTAN.

>> THERE'S NOTHING LIKE WATCHING AN AFGHAN WOMAN GO DOWN A RAMP FOR THE FIRST TIME. SHE'S ACHIEVED SOMETHING THAT SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE WOULD.

>> Brown: THAT'S ALL AHEAD ON TONIGHT'S NEWSHOUR. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> I MEAN, WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT SMALL BUSINESSES?

>> WE NEED SMALL BUSINESSES.

>> THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HELP DRIVE GROWTH.

>> LIKE ELECTRICIANS, MECHANICS, CARPENTERS.

>> THEY STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES.

>> EVERY YEAR, CHEVRON SPENDS BILLIONS WITH SMALL BUSINESSES. THAT GOES RIGHT TO THE HEART OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES, PROVIDING JOBS, KEEPING PEOPLE AT WORK. THEY DEPEND ON US.

>> THE ECONOMY DEPENDS ON THEM.

>> AND WE DEPEND ON THEM.

>> AND BY THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION. DEDICATED TO THE IDEA THAT ALL PEOPLE DESERVE THE CHANCE TO LIVE A HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE LIFE. AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU.

>> Brown: WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TODAY DEFENDED THE PRESIDENT'S AUTHORITY TO PURSUE MILITARY ACTION IN LIBYA. THEY SAID THE U.S. IS NOT ENGAGED IN SUSTAINED FIGHTING AND HAS NO TROOPS ON THE GROUND, SO THERE'S NO NEED FOR CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL. THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE CAME TODAY UNDER PRESSURE FROM CONGRESS TO CLARIFY THE LEGAL GROUNDS FOR THE U.S. MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN LIBYA. SPEAKING AT MIDDAY, PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY SAID THE 30-PAGE DOCUMENT WAS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS LAWMAKERS' CONCERNS.

>> WE BELIEVE THAT THE REPORT WE WILL BE SENDING UP TO CONGRESS LATER TODAY ANSWERS A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT MEMBERS HAVE, CONTINUES A PROCESS OF CONSULTATION THAT HAS BEEN BROAD AND DEEP AND CONSISTENT-- MORE NOW, BUT CONTINUES THE PROCESS THAT ALLOWED ME TO SAY LAST WEEK THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 40 DISTINCT ENGAGEMENTS WITH CONGRESS IN TERMS OF CONSULTATION ON LIBYA. THIS IS PART OF THAT PROCESS. SO WE... WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT CONGRESS ASKED.

>> Brown: JUST YESTERDAY, HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER HAD WARNED THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD VIOLATE THE 1973 WAR POWERS RESOLUTION UNLESS IT ASKS AND RECEIVES APPROVAL FOR THE LIBYAN OPERATION BY SUNDAY. IN A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT, BOEHNER WROTE: THE MISSION BEGAN IN MARCH, WHEN THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES LAUNCHED AIR STRIKES TO ENFORCE A "NO- FLY" ZONE OVER LIBYA AND TO PROTECT CIVILIANS FROM ATTACKS BY MOAMMAR GADHAFI'S FORCES. THE U.S. SOON HANDED OVER OPERATIONAL CONTROL TO NATO FORCES BUT STILL PLAYS A MAJOR SUPPORT ROLE. IN THE MEANTIME, GADHAFI HAS REMAINED IN POWER DESPITE STEPPED-UP BOMBING OF TRIPOLI AND DESPITE RECENT ADVANCES BY REBEL FORCES INTO GOVERNMENT- HELD TERRITORY. AND AS THE CONFLICT CONTINUES, WITH NO OBVIOUS END IN SIGHT, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN BOTH PARTIES HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY RESTIVE. IN A VOTE TWO WEEKS AGO, THE HOUSE REBUKED THE PRESIDENT FOR CONTINUING THE U.S. ROLE IN LIBYA WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF CONGRESS. AND TODAY, A SMALL BIPARTISAN GROUP OF HOUSE MEMBERS FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION, CHALLENGING ITS INVOLVEMENT IN THE LIBYA CONFLICT. OHIO DEMOCRAT DENNIS KUCINICH:

>> THE FACT OF WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND AT THIS POINT DOESN'T GET INTO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT THE PRESIDENT HAD THE ABILITY IN THE FIRST PLACE TO SEND U.S. MILITARY ASSETS ABROAD TO PARTICIPATE IN AND INITIATE A WAR. THERE'S A CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE HERE, AND IT CAN'T BE DANCED AROUND AT ALL.

>> Brown: ALL THE SAME, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN CARNEY VOICED CONFIDENCE TODAY THAT CONGRESS WILL CONTINUE TO BACK U.S. MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN LIBYA. FOR MORE, WE TURN TO: JAMIN RASKIN, PROFESSOR OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY'S WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW; AND CHARLIE SAVAGE, DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT FOR THE "NEW YORK TIMES." CHARLIE, START US OFF BY EXPLAINING SOME OF THE PRESSURE THAT HAS BUILT UP FROM CONGRESS. IT'S CONCERN OVER THE SCOPE OF THE MISSION, QUESTIONS OF LEGALITY. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING?

>> THERE'S DEFINITELY BEEN... YOU USED THE WORD RESTIVE, THAT'S A GOOD WORD. INCREASINGLY MEMBERS OF BOTH PARTIES IN CONGRESS-- ESPECIALLY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-- HAVE BEEN ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW IS IT THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS GOTTEN ITSELF INVOLVED IN THIS NATO-LED AIR WAR IN LIBYA, WHETHER THE PRESIDENT HAD THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO THAT ON HIS OWN, WHETHER HE STILL HAS IT NOW THAT IT'S DRAGGED ON UNDER THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. HOW MUCH IT'S COSTING. WHO'S REALLY ON THE GROUND IN LIBYA THAT WE'RE HELPING OUT. AND THERE WAS A BIPARTISAN REBUKE, AS YOU SAID, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO IN THE HOUSE AND NOW YESTERDAY WITH THIS LETTER FROM SPEAKER BOEHNER PRESSURE ON THE LEGAL THEORY BOLSTERING ALL THIS IS RAMPING UP.

>> Brown: SO THERE WAS A RESPONSE TODAY, YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE A LOOK. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ARGUMENTS?

>> WELL, THE ARGUMENT THAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS PUTTING FORTH IS THAT THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION-- WHICH IS A 1973 LAW THAT SAYS THAT IF THE PRESIDENT HAS INITIATED HOSTILITIES ON HIS OWN WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL PERMISSION HE HAS TO TERMINATE THEM AFTER 60 DAYS, A DEADLINE THAT APPEARED TO PASS ON MAY 20, THAT THAT LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO WHAT THE U.S. MILITARY IS DOING IN LIBYA. THE CONSTELLATION OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE DOING THERE-- REFUELING, SURVEILLANCE, SOME DRONE STRIKES AND OTHER SUPPORTING ROLES TO OUR NATO ALLIES-- DOES NOT RISE TO THE LEVEL OF HOSTILITIES AS IT... UNDER THAT LAW BECAUSE U.S. FORCES AREN'T ON THE GROUND, THE LIBYAN FORCES ARE NOT RETURNING FIRE ON THE U.S. , THERE'S NOT A RISK OF CASUALTIES AND THE WHOLE THING IS CONSTRAINED BY THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION TO A LIMITED MISSION. THE IDEA IS THAT AN ASSERTIVE INTERPRETATION, TO SAY THE LEAST OF THIS STATUE AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW CONGRESS RESPONDS TO IT.

>> Brown: JAMIE RASKIN, LET'S TURN TO YOU FOR BACKGROUND ON THIS RESOLUTION. 1973, COMES OUT OF THE VIETNAM WAR. WHAT WAS IT INTENDED TO DO?

>> CONGRESS WAS INTERESTED IN RESTRAINING WHAT IT SAW AS AN IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY. THAT WAS RICHARD NIXON AND THEY SAW HIM AS SOMEONE WHO'D BEEN PURSUING AGGRESSIVELY-- ALONG WITH PRIOR PRESIDENTS-- IN UNDECLARED UNAUTHORIZED WAR IN VIETNAM. AND THE DILEMMA THEY SAW WAS THAT IF PRESIDENTS COULD GET THE COUNTRY INTO WAR WITHOUT A CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION CONGRESS WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO PULL THE COUNTRY OUT BECAUSE THE REFRAIN WOULD BE YOU'VE GOT TO SUPPORT THE TROOPS. SO THEIR THOUGHT WAS EITHER WE SHOULD BE DECLARING A WAR OR WE'LL GIVE A LIMITEDED WINDOW, A 60-DAY WINDOW, FOR PRESIDENT TO INITIATE HOSTILITIES. THE PRESIDENT WOULD NOTIFY CONGRESS OF THAT AFTER 48 HOURS AND WOULD HAVE TO GET OUT WITHIN 60 DAYS UNLESS THERE WAS AN INTERVENING AUTHORIZATION BY CONGRESS OF THE CONFLICT. MOST PRESIDENTS HAVE SORT OF DODGED THE LEGAL AUTHORITY....

>> Brown: WHAT DOES "DODGED" MEAN? PUSHED BACK? IGNORED?

>> SOME HAVE ASSERTED IT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL. MANY HAVE FILED REPORTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH IT BUT THEY SAY IT'S NOT PURSUANT TO THE WAR POWERS ACT BUT CONSISTENT WITH THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. I NOTICED THAT THE OBAMA LETTER ALSO USES THE LANGUAGE ABOUT CONSISTENT SWI THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING TO SHE THAT THE PRESIDENT TODAY DID NOT CAST DOUBT ON THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. HE'S DOING WHATEVER HE CAN TO AVOID A HEAD-ON COLLUSION WITH CONGRESS. HE'S SIMPLY SAYING THAT THE CURRENT CONFLICT DOESN'T RISE TO THE LEVEL OF HOSTILITIES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. AND THAT ARGUMENT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT BY BILL COE WHO'S THE KEY LAWYER IN MANAGING THIS WAR EFFORT.

>> Brown: CHARLIE, SO THE STEP? THERE IS HOW MUCH WENT INTO THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES TO TRY TO CONSTRUCT THE RIGHT SORT OF LANGUAGE TO FIT INTO THIS LONG-RUNNING DEBATE THAT THE PROFESSOR IS TALKING ABOUT?

>> WELL, IT'S SOMETHING OF A BLACK BOX BUT AS BEST AS I CAN TELL THERE HAS BEEN WEEKS OF DELIBERATIONS. WE KNOW THAT ONE THEORY THAT WAS PLAYED WITH FOR A WHILE WITH WHETHER THEY SHOULD STOP USING ARMED DRONES AFTER MAY 20, THERE WOULD THEN BE NO DIRECT STRIKES BY U.S. FORCES AND THAT MIGHT BOLE STORE CASE THAT THIS IS NOT HOSTILITIES. ULTIMATELY THE WHITE HOUSE DECIDED NOT TO GO THAT ROUTE, TO LEAVE THE MISSION UNCHANGED AN TO SAY THAT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS NOT HOSTILITIES AS WE INTERPRET IT.

>> Brown: JAMIE RASKIN, IF THE QUESTION IS A QUESTION OF THE DEFINITION OF HOSTILITIES ARE THERE LEGAL DEFINITIONS TO HELP? THE SUPREME COURT HAS NOT WEIGHED IN ON THIS, CORRECT?

>> THE SUPREME COURT HAS OFFERED NO ILL LUCE DECONTAMINATION OF THE TERM. THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS STATUTE THAT ELABORATES ON THE DEFINITION THAT'S SORT OF SELF-DEFINING OR SELF-PRESENTING IN THIS STATUTE. AND, OF COURSE, IT'S VERY UNLIKE THEY A COURT WILL EVER COME TO LOOK AT IT.

>> Brown: WHY?

>> THE COURT IS A NOTORIOUSLY... DIFFIDENT ABOUT DEALING WITH FOREIGN POLICY AND WAR POWERS QUESTIONS. I MEAN, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A SITUATION WHERE CONGRESS HAS A PRETTY RIGHTFUL CLAIM TO POWER. CONGRESS HAS THE POWER TO DECLARE UNDER ARTICLE I SECTION VIII OF THE CONSTITUTION. IT'S GOT THE POWER OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE, IT'S GOT THE POWER TO RAISE ARMIES AND NAVYS AND TO SET THE RULES OF WAR. BUT THE EXECUTIVE HAS THE POWER TO BE THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES DURING A TIME OF ACTUAL CONFLICT AND THE WAY THAT THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH HAS INTERPRETED THAT-- DEMOCRAT AND REPUBLICAN ALIKE-- IS THAT IT MUST ACT WITH DISPATCH IN PURSUIT OF THE NATIONAL INTEREST AND NATIONAL DEFENSE. AND CONGRESS SOMETIMES WILL ASSERT ITS PREROGATIVE AND OTHER TIMES WILL BE VERY NERVOUS ABOUT DOING IT AND OFTEN TIMES IT GETS CAUGHT UP IN THE POLITICS OF THIS PARTICULAR WAR.

>> IT'S ONE THING THAT'S NOT EXACTLY A PARTISAN ISSUE BUT IT BECOMES A POLITICAL ISSUE.

>> IT'S CERTAINLY POLITICAL. THERE WAS A LAWSUIT BROUGHT TODAY BY DENNIS KUSZ NICHE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF CONGRESS AND CONGRESSMAN JONES, A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, WHO'S TURNED INTO A MAJOR CRITIC OF THE IRAQ WAR AS WELL AS SOME OTHER PROGRESSIVE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS LIKE CONYERS AND OTHER CONSERVATIVES AND THEY BASICALLY ARE TRYING TO REASSERT THE CONGRESSIONAL ROLE IN SOVEREIGN PLACE IN WAR MAKING. BUT THAT'S A TOUGH ROAD TO HOE. BASICALLY EVER SINCE WORLD WAR II. AND SOMEONE WHO'S WRITTEN A LOT ABOUT THAT IS HAROLD COE HIMSELF. HE WROTE A WHOLE BOOK ABOUT THE NATIONAL SECURITY CONSTITUTION AND THE WAY THAT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WAR POWERS HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED SINCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

>> Brown:, SO CHARLIE, TAKE US BACK TO THE POLITICAL BATTLE WHERE IT'S LIKELY TO CONTINUE. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING IN REACTION TODAY AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

>> WELL, THE DOCUMENT JUST WENT OVER TO THE CONGRESS SO WE DON'T HAVE A REACTION YET TO POINT TO ONE OUTCOME COULD BE THAT THIS THEORY WILL BASICALLY BE ACQUIESCED TO BY MAJORITIES IN CONGRESS AND IT WILL BE A FACE-SAVING WAY FOR EVERYONE TO STAND DOWN. ANOTHER POSSIBLE OUTCOME IS THAT IT WILL ANNOY PEOPLE AND FURTHER ENRAGE THE FRINGES AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE CENTER, PEOPLE WHO ARE UPSET WITH WHAT HAPPENED IN LIBYA BUT WHAT CONTINUES TO HAPPEN IN LIBYA. I WOULD EMPHASIZE WHEN YOU LOOK BACK NOT OVER THIS CONFLICT BUT THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES DISPUTES OVER EXECUTIVE VERSUS CONGRESSIONAL WAR MAKING AUTHORITY. WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER ABOUT THIS NOT BEING A PARTISAN ISSUE IS QUITE CORRECT EVEN THOUGH IT'S HIGHLY POLITICIZED. WHAT TENDS TO HAPPEN IS WHICH EVER PARTY IS NOT IN CONTROL OF WHITE HOUSE, SUDDENLY CONGRESS IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR INSTITUTIONAL ROLE AND CRITICAL OF A COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF THEY SEE AS USURPING THAT AUTHORITY. THEN THERE'S AN ELECTION AND THAT PARTY GETS INTO OFFICE AND SUDDENLY THOSE PEOPLE GET QUIET AND PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPORTING THE WHITE HOUSE SUDDENLY FIND THEMSELVES QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT EXECUTIVE UNILATERALISM. THIS WILL PROBABLY PROVE TO BE NO ENGS ACCEPTION.

>> Brown: ALL RIGHT, CHARLIE SAVAGE OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES," JAMIE RASKIN OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Woodruff: STILL TO COME ON THE NEWSHOUR: WISCONSIN UNION LIMITS TAKE EFFECT; FRACKING FOR NATURAL GAS; SRI LANKA'S KILLING FIELDS; AND SKATEBOARDING IN KABUL. BUT FIRST, THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY. HERE'S HARI SREENIVASAN.

>> Reporter: THE GOVERNMENT OF GREECE WAS ENGULFED TODAY BY POLITICAL REBELLION IN PARLIAMENT AND VIOLENT PROTESTS IN THE STREETS. RIOTING BROKE OUT AS MORE THAN 25,000 DEMONSTRATORS MARCHED AGAINST A NEW ROUND OF AUSTERITY MEASURES. WE HAVE A REPORT NARRATED BY JONATHAN RUGMAN OF INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS.

>> Reporter: IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS, AN EXPLOSION OF ANGER. THEIR COUNTRY'S ON THE BRINK OF BANKRUPTCY, AND NO AMOUNT OF TEARGAS WILL PERSUADE THESE DEMONSTRATORS THAT THEY SHOULD FOOT THE BILL. THESE PROTESTERS TRIED AND FAILED TO STORM PARLIAMENT. THEIR TAXES ARE GOING UP; WAGES, PENSIONS AND BENEFITS ARE BEING CUT; AND UNEMPLOYMENT STANDS AT 16%. THERE WERE STREET BATTLES WITH RIOT POLICE AND RUNNING SKIRMISHES WITH MASKED YOUTHS AMID THE THIRD AND BIGGEST GENERAL STRIKE IN GREECE THIS YEAR. TONIGHT, GREECE'S ECONOMIC MELTDOWN TURNED INTO A POLITICAL CRISIS, AS WELL. THE PRIME MINISTER, GEORGE PAPANDREOU, MET THE GREEK PRESIDENT AND LET IT BE KNOWN HE WOULD RESIGN IF ONLY THE OPPOSITION PARTIES WOULD ACCEPT THE LATEST AUSTERITY MEASURES IMPOSED BY THE REST OF THE EUROZONE AND THE I.M.F. GREECE'S DEBT MOUNTAIN NOW STANDS AT 340 BILLION EUROS. "WHY," THEY ASK, "SHOULD WE DANCE TO THE EUROZONE'S TUNE IN REPAYING IT WHEN HIGHER TAXES AND LOWER WAGES ONLY MAKE A BAD ECONOMIC SITUATION WORSE?"

>> ( translated ): THE PEOPLE ARE PAYING FOR THESE TERRIBLE MEASURES! THE EUROPEAN UNION IS MANIPULATING GREECE IN ANY WAY IT WANTS.

>> Reporter: EUROZONE FINANCE MINISTERS ARE NO LESS SICK OF BAILING THE GREEKS OUT. IN BRUSSELS LAST NIGHT, THEY DEBATED A SECOND BAILOUT ON TOP OF LAST YEAR'S 110 BILLION EUROS. A BAILOUT OF THE BAILOUT. AND WITH BRITAIN NOW DOUBLING AND STOCK MARKETS AROUND THE WORLD TUMBLED TODAY UPON FEARS THAT GREECE WILL WALK AWAY FROM ITS FOREIGN DEBTS RATHER THAN RISK DOMESTIC CHAOS.

>> Reporter: WORRIES ABOUT GREECE WEIGHED ON WALL STREET, AS WELL. STOCKS WERE ALSO UNSETTLED BY NEWS THAT CONSUMER PRICES-- MINUS FOOD AND FUEL-- ROSE IN MAY BY THE MOST IN NEARLY THREE YEARS. THE COMBINED EFFECT SENT THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE FALLING NEARLY 179 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 11,897. THE NASDAQ FELL 47 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 2,631. FOR MORE ON ALL THIS, WE TURN TO SUSIE GHARIB OF THE "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT" ON PBS. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US.

>> GREAT TO SEE YOU, HARI.

>> Sreenivasan: HELP EXPLAIN WHY THE UNCERTAIN ANY GREECE IS HAVING SUCH A PROFOUND AFFECT ON THE STOCK MARKET IN THE U.S.

>> I KNOW, I CAN SEE YOU'RE THINKING THAT'S THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH US? BUT HERE AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE THE ONE WORD THAT KEPT COMING UP WAS "CONTAGION. AND THE WORRY IS THAT THE PROBLEMS IN GREECE WILL SPREAD TO OTHER ECONOMIES IN EUROPE AND TO THE BANKS THAT HOLD THAT GREEK GOVERNMENT DEBT AND IF THEY DON'T PAY THOSE PAYMENTS, THAT COULD LEAD THE A GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND THAT WOULD AFFECT AMERICAN COMPANIES THAT DO BUSINESS OVERSEAS. AND AMERICAN COMPANIES DO A LOT OF BUSINESS IN EUROPE. SO YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE A GLOBAL MARKETPLACE AND THAT WHAT HAPPENS IN OTHER COUNTRIES ARE CONNECTED WITH US AND THAT'S WHY WE SAW THE MARKET FELL OFF TODAY.

>> Sreenivasan: SO THERE'S CONCERN THIS COULD HAPPEN IN IRELAND AND PORTUGAL AND SPAIN AND SLOW THEIR ECONOMIES DOWN AS WELL?

>> EXACTLY. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK IS S&P WARNED THAT THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT GREECE COULD DEFAULT ON ITS DEBT. YOUR REPORT JUST SAID THAT EUROPEAN OFFICIALS COULDN'T AGREE ON A SECOND BAILOUT PACKAGE TO GIVE MORE MONEY TO GREECE. IF THAT DOESN'T COME THROUGH, THAT MEANS GREECE IS GOING TO MAKE BORROWING COSTS GO HIGHER FOR OTHER COUNTRIES. THAT WILL LEAD TO A SLOWDOWN IN ALL ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND AS I JUST MENTIONED, A DOMINO EFFECT ON WHAT THAT AFFECT WILL HAVE ON WORLD ECONOMIES EVERYWHERE.

>> Sreenivasan: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DOMESTIC NUMBERS. THE DOW HAS BEEN TRENDING DOWN FOR ALMOST A THREE-MONTH LOW NOW. WE'VE GOT MANUFACTURING NUMBERS THAT DON'T LOOK THAT GOOD, CONSUMER PRICES INCHING UP. WHAT DO THESE NUMBERS ADD UP TO?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THIS DATA HAS BEEN COINCIDING WITH THAT SELLOFF. EVERYDAY WE GET SOME NUMBER THAT IS SAYING THAT THE ECONOMY IS SLOWING DOWN. YOU MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO THOSE CONSUMER PRICES HIGHEST IN THREE YEARS. ALSO TODAY A MANUFACTURING REPORT SHOWING A SLOWDOWN IN NEW ORDERS. AND MANUFACTURING HAS BEEN A BRIGHT SPOT IN THE ECONOMY. YOU ADD IT ALL UP, THERE ARE A LOT OF WORRIES ABOUT IS THERE GOING TO BE ANOTHER RECESSION. WE SEE THAT AMERICAN COMPANIES ARE NOT HIRING. THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS AT 9%. GASOLINE PRICES ARE AT $4 AND THAT IMPACTS CONSUMER SPENDING AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE. NOW, KEEP IN MIND, THE MARKET PROS THAT WE'RE TALKING TO ARE SAYING THAT THIS IS NOT THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BEAR MARKET. IT'S MORE LIKE A CORRECTION. BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL IT, THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AND THE MARKETS DON'T LIKE UNCERTAINTY.

>> Sreenivasan: ALL RIGHT, SUSIE GHARIB FROM "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT," THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

>> NICE TALKING TO YOU.

>> Reporter: NEW TENSIONS ROILED U.S. RELATIONS WITH PAKISTAN TODAY AFTER WORD THAT THE PAKISTANIS HAVE ARRESTED PEOPLE WHO HELPED LOCATE OSAMA BIN LADEN. U.S. NAVY SEALS KILLED THE AL QAEDA LEADER ON MAY 2 IN ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN. TODAY, THE "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTED FIVE INFORMANTS WHO AIDED THE C.I.A. HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN RECENT WEEKS. ONE WAS SAID TO BE A PAKISTANI ARMY MAJOR WHO COPIED THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBERS FROM CARS THAT VISITED BIN LADEN'S COMPOUND. IN WASHINGTON TODAY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN MARK TONER CAUTIONED AGAINST OVERREACTING TO THE NEWS.

>> MORE TERRORISTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND KILLED ON PAKISTANI SOIL THEN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD AND THAT'S IN PART DUE THIS COUNTERTERRORISM CORPORATION THAT WE HAVE. SO IT'S IN OUR INTEREST TO WORK THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES AS THEY ARISE AND TO MOVE FORWARD.

>> Reporter: THE PAKISTANI MILITARY DENIED TODAY THAT ANY ARMY MAJOR HAD BEEN ARRESTED. SEPARATELY, PAKISTANI INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS REPORTED A SERIES OF NEW MISSILE ATTACKS BY U.S. DRONE AIRCRAFT. THEY SAID 15 SUSPECTED MILITANTS WERE KILLED NEAR THE AFGHAN BORDER. IN SYRIA, THE GOVERNMENT CALLED FOR REFUGEES TO COME HOME AFTER THOUSANDS FLED TO TURKEY IN THE FACE OF A VIOLENT CRACKDOWN. BUT THE APPEAL CAME AS SYRIAN ARMY UNITS MADE READY TO SWEEP INTO ANOTHER BORDER TOWN TO PUT DOWN PROTESTS. IN GENEVA, THE TOP U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL CALLED FOR A FULL INVESTIGATION.

>> THE MOUNTING CASUALTY RATE AMONG CIVILIANS IS ALARMING. IT IT UNDERSCORES THE CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT'S LACK OF RESTRAINT IN ITS EFFORTS TO CRUSH DISSENT. I REMIND THE SYRIAN AUTHORITIES THE VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ARE SERIOUS CRIMES FOR WHICH PERPETRATORS CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

>> Reporter: MEANWHILE, IN DAMASCUS TODAY, LARGE CROWDS OF SUPPORTERS OF PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD TURNED OUT IN THE STREETS. THEY UNFURLED A MASSIVE SYRIAN FLAG AND CARRIED PICTURES OF THE PRESIDENT. ASSAD'S FAMILY HAS RULED SYRIA FOR 40 YEARS. AMERICANS ARE LIVING LONGER IN GENERAL, BUT NOT IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. THE JOURNAL "POPULATION HEALTH METRICS" REPORTED TODAY THAT BABIES BORN IN 2009 WILL LIVE AN AVERAGE OF 78 YEARS AND TWO MONTHS. BUT IN HUNDREDS OF COUNTIES, MANY OF THEM IN THE SOUTH, LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR MEN ACTUALLY FELL. FOR EXAMPLE, A MAN IN FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, IS EXPECTED TO LIVE 15 YEARS LONGER THAN A MAN IN HOLMES COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI. LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR WOMEN WAS ALSO DOWN. THE RESEARCHERS CITED OBESITY, SMOKING AND OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS AS THE MAIN FACTORS. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO JUDY. GRIBS HAS BEEN RELUCED FROM A HOUSTON REHABILITATION HOSPITAL FIVE MONTHS AFTER SHE WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD. GIFFORDS WAS DISCHARGED AND CAN BEGIN OUTPATIENT TREATMENT. FOR NOW SHE'LL MOVE TO THE HOME OF HER HUSBAND ASTRONAUT MARK KELLY JUST OUTSIDE HOUSTON. A GUNMAN WOUNDED GIFFORDS AND 12 OTHERS AND KILLED SIX IN A POLITICAL EVENT? TUCSON, ARIZONA, LAST JANUARY. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO JUDY.

>> Woodruff: NOW, WHAT'S NEXT IN WISCONSIN FOLLOWING A MAJOR BATTLE AND NOW A COURT DECISION OVER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND UNIONS. IT WAS A SHARPLY DIVIDED WISCONSIN STATE SUPREME COURT THAT REVIVED THE NEW LAW, STRIPPING MOST PUBLIC WORKERS OF MANY OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS. THE 4-3 DECISION, RELEASED TUESDAY NIGHT, OVERRULED A LOWER COURT THAT HAD VOIDED THE LAW. AT ISSUE WAS WHETHER REPUBLICANS GAVE PROPER NOTICE OF THIS STATE SENATE COMMITTEE MEETING IN EARLY MARCH AS THEY PUSHED THE BILL TO PASSAGE. REPUBLICANS HAILED THE SUPREME COURT DECISION WHILE DEMOCRATS CONDEMNED IT.

>> WE ALWAYS FELT THAT WE FOLLOWED OUR RULES THE WAY WE NORMALLY DO AND THAT WE NEVER VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION. AND THAT'S WHAT THE COURT FELT, AS WELL.

>> I WAS CERTAINLY VERY SHOCKED AND CERTAINLY VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS RULING BY OUR SUPREME COURT. ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THE SUPREME COURT IS NOW VESTED AS PART OF WISCONSIN, IS THAT THE LEGISLATURE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

>> Woorduff: THE DECISION WAS A SIGNAL VICTORY FOR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER. HE'D INSISTED THE STATE NEEDED TO CONTROL LABOR COSTS TO COMBAT A PROJECTED BUDGET SHORTFALL OF $3.6 BILLION OVER TWO YEARS. BUT WHEN IT WAS INTRODUCED EARLIER THIS YEAR, HIS PROPOSAL DREW THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS TO THE STATE CAPITOL IN MADISON. THEY OPPOSED GIVING UP THEIR BARGAINING RIGHTS. THE BILL ALSO MANDATED THEY PAY FOR A GREATER SHARE OF THEIR HEALTH CARE AND PENSION BENEFITS. ALL 14 DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATORS FLED TO NEXT-DOOR ILLINOIS TO LEAVE THE SENATE SHORT OF A QUORUM AND, THUS, PREVENT A VOTE. ULTIMATELY, REPUBLICANS RECONFIGURED THE BILL TO PERMIT A VOTE WITH FEWER MEMBERS PRESENT. THE LAW IS NOW SET TO TAKE EFFECT ON JUNE 29, AND GOVERNOR WALKER SAID LAST NIGHT HE HOPES THE STATE CAN "MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER," BUT MORE LEGAL CHALLENGES ARE EXPECTED. AND A NUMBER OF STATE SENATORS-- SIX REPUBLICANS AND THREE DEMOCRATS-- FACE RECALL ELECTIONS IN AUGUST. THE OUTCOMES COULD GIVE DEMOCRATS CONTROL OF THE STATE SENATE, AND THUS A CHANCE TO TRY TO REPEAL THE NEW LAW.

>> Woodruff: MORE NOW ON WHAT'S NEXT WITH THE LAW AND THE CONTINUING FALLOUT. ADAM SCHRAGER HAS BEEN COVERING THIS FOR WISCONSIN PUBLIC TV, AND HE JOINS US FROM MADISON. ADAM SLEIGHER, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. FIRST OF ALL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE LEGAL ASPECTS. ON WHAT GROUND DID THE STATE SUPREME COURT IN WISCONSIN UPHOLD THE LAW?

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME, JUDY. IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY HERE IN WISCONSIN RULED ON THE PROCESS THAT LED UP TO THIS LAW, NOT ON THE POLICY ITSELF. WHAT THEY BASICALLY RULED WAS THAT THAT THERE WAS A SEPARATION OF POWERS AND AS LONG AS THE LEGISLATURE BELIEVES IT WAS WITHIN ITS PROPER ROLES AS FAR AS POSTING THIS MESSAGE AND POSTING THIS... THE MEETING THAT LED TO THIS LAW, THAT BEING TWO HOURS OF GIVING PUBLIC NOTICE, IT WAS TELEVISED, THE HEARING THAT LED TO THE PASSAGE OF THIS LAW, AS LONG AS THAT WAS TAKEN CARE OF, THEY FELT THAT THE COURT, THE MAJORITY OF THE COURT RULED THAT THEY HAD, IN FACT, TAKEN CARE OF THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW HERE IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. THE POLICY SIDE OF THIS IS NOW WHAT'S GOING TO BE CHALLENGED AS A COALITION OF UNIONS TODAY FILED SUIT IN FEDERAL COURT CLAIMING THAT IT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST CERTAIN CLASSES OF PUBLIC WORKERS IN THAT IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL PUBLIC WORKERS, SPECIFICALLY POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS WERE EXEMPTED FROM THE MEASURE. SO THAT'S NOW GOING TO HANDLE AND DEAL WITH THE POLICY SIDE OF THIS QUESTION.

>> Woodruff: I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT DAMAGE IN JUST A MOMENT. BUT THE LAW TAKES EFFECT AT THE END OF THE MONTH OF JUNE. WHAT AFFECT IS IT EXPECTED TO HAVE?

>> >> THE ADMINISTRATION TODAY SAID IT WAS NOT GOING TO RETROACTIVELY DOCK WORKERS' PAY FOR THE INCREASED PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS, THE INCREASED HEALTH CARE CONTRIBUTIONS. THEY HOPE TO ACTUALLY PUT THIS INTO EFFECT FROM A PRACTICAL STANDPOINT NEAREDLY END OF AUGUST.

>> STATE WORKERS WILL SEE CUTS-- SOME WILL-- IN THEIR PAYCHECKS.

>> STATE WORKERS AND PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL ROUGHLY 6% INTO THEIR PENSIONS, AN ADDITIONAL 12% INTO THEIR HEALTH CARE. SO THAT WILL START TO BE DEDUCTD FROM THEIR PAYCHECKS AT THE END OF AUGUST.

>> Woodruff: AND WHAT ABOUT IN TERMS OF LIMITED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS. IS THERE ANY UNDERSTANDING OR SENSE AT THIS POINT OF WHAT... OF HOW THAT COULD PLAY OUT?

>> WELL, BASICALLY AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW UNDER ACT 10 AS IT WAS CALL CALLED WHEN IT WAS PASSED BY THE WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE, WHAT ACT TEN DID WAS RESTRICTED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ON BENEFITS. IT LIMITED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ONLY TO WAGES AND, IN FACT, IF NEGOTIATIONS WERE TO TRY TO TAKE WAGE INCREASES ABOVE THE RATE OF INFLATION THOSE WOULD HAVE TO BE PASSED TO VOTERS TO ULTIMATELY APPROVE THAT. BUT BASICALLY IT RESTRICTED ALL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING OVER ANY KIND OF BENEFIT EXCEPT FOR WAGES.

>> Woodruff: NOW AS YOU JUST REFERRED TO A MOMENT AGO, THERE'S ALREADY BEEN A LAWSUIT FILED IN FEDERAL COURT CHALLENGING IT. EXPLAIN AGAIN, NOW, ON WHAT GROUNDS IS THIS CHALLENGE GOING FORWARD?

>> WELL, THE CHALLENGE THAT WAS FILED TODAY BY THE UNIONS IN FEDERAL COURT-- IT WAS ACTUALLY ASSIGNED TO A JUDGE THAT WAS A PRESIDENT OBAMA APPOINTEE-- BASICALLY WILL CHALLENGE THIS LAW AND SAY THAT IT IS DISCRIMINATORY AGAINST THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS BECAUSE IT SETS THEM ASIDE AND PUTS THEM IN DIFFERENT CLASSES. BECAUSE FIREFIGHTERS, BECAUSE POLICE OFFICERS ARE NOT ON LIGATED UNDER THIS LAW, THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS HAVE NOT BEEN TAKEN AWAY. THE UNIONS ARE CLAIMING AS PART OF THIS LAWSUIT THAT, IN FACT, EVERYBODY ELSE'S CIVIL RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED AND THEREFORE IT'S A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW. IT'S INTERESTING THAT THEY'RE NOT SEEKING TO ENJOIN ALL PARTS OF THIS LAW. THEY ARE NOT SEEKING TO STOP THE INCREASED CONTRIBUTIONS FOR BOTH PENSION AND HEALTH CARE. THAT IS NOT A PART OF THIS LAW THAT THEY ARE CHALLENGING.

>> Woodruff: SO WE'LL SEE WHERE THAT LEGAL CHALLENGE GOES. BUT SEPARATELY, ADD DAMAGE SLEIGHER, WE KNOW THERE'S BEEN POLITICAL FALL... SCHRAGER, WE KNOW THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF STATE SENATORS FACING EFFORTS TO HAVE THEM RECALLED. TELL US WHERE THAT STANDS.

>> YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING, BECAUSE THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY SINCE 1908 WHEN OREGON BECAME THE FIRST STATE IN THE NATION TO ALLOW ITS VOTERS TO RECALL STATE OFFICIALS, THIS HAS ONLY HAPPENED 20 TIMES WHERE STATE LAWMAKERS HAVE ACTUALLY HAD TO FACE A RECALL ELECTION COMING UP IN AUGUST WE ARE GOING TO SEE NINE STATE SENATORS THAT FACE RECALL-- SIX REPUBLICANS, THREE DEMOCRATS. THERE ARE GOING TO BE PRIMARIES IN JULY AND THEN THE EVENTUAL ELECTION WILL TAKE PLACE IN AUGUST. IT'S REALLY UNPRECEDENTED IN THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY THIEF MANY STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS BEING RECALLED, BASICALLY, AND ASKING THEIR VOTERS ONCE AGAIN FOR THEIR SUPPORT. IT COULD CONTROL THE STATE SENATE. IT'S GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTING. IF YOU TALK TO DEMOCRATS RIGHT NOW THEY'RE OPTIMISTIC THAT THEY CAN END UP GAINING THE MAJORITY. THEY NEED THREE SEATS IN ORDER TO DO THAT. IF YOU ASK THE REPUBLICANS, THEY'RE ALSO OPTIMISTIC RIGHT NOW. THEY FEEL THEY CAN GAIN AN EXTRA SEAT BY KNOCKING OFF ONE OR TWO OF THE DEMOCRATS UP FOR RECALL. SO IT WILL BE A VERY INTERESTING SUMMER HERE IN WISCONSIN.

>> Woodruff: BUT ADAM SLEIGHER, YOU WERE SAYING THOSE RECALL EFFORTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY BASED ON HOW THEY WERE VOTED ON THE CAMPAIGN LAW.

>> WELL, AS YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR STORY WISCONSIN IS DEBATING A BUDGET THAT SEEKS TO TRIM $3.6 BILLION IN STATE SPENDING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, ANYONE WHO'S HAVING TO DEAL WITH BUDGETS LIKE THIS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY ARE SEEING CUTS TO SCHOOLS, CUTS TO HEALTH CARE. AND IT'S INTERESTING AS WE HEAR SOME OF THESE CAMPAIGNS GO ON RIGHT NOW, THAT'S THE MAIN FOCUS THAT YOU'RE HEARING DEMOCRATS CHALLENGING REPUBLICANS, REPUBLICANS, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, CHALLENGING THE DEMOCRATS DO WANT TO FOCUS ON THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THEY SAY DEMOCRATS ABDICATED THEIR JOB WHEN THEY LEFT THEIR STATE AND FLED TO ILLINOIS. BUT TO DEMOCRATS WHO ARE CHALLENGING REPUBLICANS, THIS IS ONE PART OF A VERY LARGE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE REPUBLICANS THAT'S BASICALLY THEY ARE TERMING AS A WAR AGAINST THE MIDDLE-CLASS.

>> Woodruff: WE'LL LEAVE IT THERE. ADAM SCHRAGER IN WISCONSIN, THANKS VERY MUCH.

>> Brown: ENERGY COMPANIES ARE INCREASINGLY SCOURING THE COUNTRY FOR NATURAL GAS. BUT AS THEY DO SO, ONE OF THE METHODS THEY'RE USING, KNOWN AS FRACKING, IS COMING UNDER SHARP SCRUTINY IN MANY STATES. NEWSHOUR CORRESPONDENT TOM BEARDEN REPORTS FROM COLORADO.

>> Reporter: BY NOW, YOU'VE LIKELY SEEN THE VIDEOS OF PEOPLE SEEMINGLY LIGHTING THEIR WATER ON FIRE.

>> WHOA!

>> Reporter: THE IMAGES WERE FEATURED IN A MUCH-PUBLICIZED DOCUMENTARY CALLED "GASLAND" AND HAVE GENERATED GOVERNMENT HEARINGS AND NEWS COVERAGE ABOUT WHETHER THE GAS IN THE WATER WAS THE RESULT OF DRILLING FOR NATURAL GAS. ALL THE ATTENTION HAS ALSO POPULARIZED A WORD THAT WAS LITTLE KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC JUST A FEW YEARS AGO: "FRACKING." IT'S EVEN INSPIRED A YOU-TUBE VIDEO. ♪ IT'S SHORT-HAND FOR "HYDRAULIC FRACTURING," THE PROCESS USED TO GET THE GAS OUT OF THE GROUND. CONCERNS ABOUT IT HAVE IGNITED A NATIONAL DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER NATURAL GAS, LONG TOUTED AS A "GREENER" ALTERNATIVE, IS INDEED A "CLEAN" TECHNOLOGY. THE PROCESS BEGINS WITH VERTICAL AND THEN HORIZONTAL DRILLING THROUGH THOUSANDS OF FEET OF ROCK AND SOIL. ONCE THE GAS-LADEN SHALE LAYER IS REACHED, A PIPE IS INSERTED AND ENCASED IN CONCRETE TO PREVENT LEAKS. THEN, A FRACKING FLUID IS INJECTED AT EXTREMELY HIGH PRESSURE, CAUSING THE ROCK TO CRACK. MATT ABELL WORKS IN COLORADO FOR ENCANA, ONE OF THE LARGEST GAS COMPANIES IN NORTH AMERICA.

>> THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THAT IS TO INDUCE A SERIES OF FRACTURES, FRACTURE NETWORKS, WITHIN THE ROCK WHICH THEN ALLOWS GAS TO COME INTO THE WORLD.

>> Reporter: ABELL SAYS THE FLUID USED TO MAKE THOSE CRACKS IS 90% WATER, 9% SAND AND LESS THAN 1% ADDED CHEMICALS TO FACILITATE THE PROCESS. BUT IT'S THOSE CHEMICALS THAT HAVE GOTTEN MUCH OF THE PUBLICITY IN RECENT MONTHS. DESPITE YEARS OF REASSURANCES FROM GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND THE GAS COMPANIES, A LOT OF RANCHERS HERE IN GARFIELD COUNTY BELIEVE THESE OPERATIONS ARE A SERIOUS THREAT TO THEIR HEALTH. CAROL AND ORLYN BELL OWNED A 110-ACRE RANCH JUST OUTSIDE OF SILT, COLORADO, FOR 27 YEARS.

>> THE CORPORATIONS THEMSELVES CONSISTENTLY INSIST THE FRACKING FLUID IS NOTHING BUT WATER AND SAND, AND WE KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE. IT'S LACED WITH HYDROCARBONS THAT ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. AND WE HAD A NEIGHBOR WHO BECAME VERY, VERY ILL BECAUSE... THE FRACKING FLUIDS GOT INTO HER WELL.

>> Reporter: IN 2004, ENCANA DRILLED A WELL ON THEIR PROPERTY, AND THE BELLS SAY THEIR LIVES CHANGED FOREVER. AFTER THREE SPILLS AND WHAT THEY SAY WAS CONSTANT EXPOSURE TO FUMES, THE BELLS SOLD OUT AND MOVED AWAY. BUT THEY SAY THEY STILL SUFFER FROM COUGHS, HEADACHES AND EVEN MEMORY LOSS.

>> YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK AT THOSE THINGS AND IT GETS YOU TO WONDERING. WAS BREATHING FIVE, SIX, EIGHT, TEN, 20 SHOTS OF GAS FUMES A DAY WHILE YOU'RE OUT WORKING ON YOUR PROPERTY MESSING WITH YOUR BRAIN? OR IS IT MESSING WITH YOUR BODY? YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.

>> Reporter: IN FACT, DOZENS OF GARFIELD COUNTY RESIDENTS HAVE COMPLAINED OF HEADACHES, NAUSEA AND NOSEBLEEDS THEY BELIEVE WERE CAUSED BY GAS WELLS. BUT ANY SCIENTIFIC LINK BETWEEN FRACKING AND HEALTH EFFECTS HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO PROVE. THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY HAS JUST BEGUN A TWO-YEAR INVESTIGATION INTO THE SAFETY OF FRACKING. IN THE MEANTIME, SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE TAKING ACTION OF THEIR OWN. DENVER CONGRESSWOMAN DIANA DEGETTE RECENTLY RELEASED A CONGRESSIONAL REPORT WHICH SHOWED GAS COMPANIES USE SOME 750 DIFFERENT CHEMICALS IN FRACKING FLUIDS; 29 ARE KNOWN OR POSSIBLE HUMAN CARCINOGENS.

>> INCLUDING BENZENE AND OTHER CANCER CAUSING SUBSTANCES. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, WE FOUND OUT THAT, DESPITE THEIR ASSURANCES, THAT THEY WERE NOT PUTTING DIESEL INTO THE FLUID. THAT THE INDUSTRY WAS, IN FACT, PUTTING DIESEL INTO THE FLUID. MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF DIESEL INTO THE FLUID.

>> Reporter: HER WORRY IS THAT THE CHEMICALS CAN SEEP INTO WELLS THROUGH FAULTY CONCRETE WORK IN THE WELL BORES, OR INTO SURFACE WATER FROM SPILLS AND LEAKY CONTAINMENT STRUCTURES. DEGETTE HAS SPONSORED LEGISLATION TO FORCE COMPANIES TO DISCLOSE THE CHEMICALS IN FRACKING FLUIDS. DOUG HOCK, WITH ENCANA, EXPLAINS WHY THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN HESITANT.

>> THEY'VE PUT A LOT OF MONEY, A LOT OF CAPITAL INTO R&D, SO THEY'RE RELUCTANT TO TALK ABOUT THOSE FORMULAS. HOWEVER, BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH CONCERN, INDUSTRY HAS TAKEN STEPS WHERE COMPANIES, INCLUDING ENCANA, ARE NOW STARTING TO POST FOR EACH WELL THE CHEMICALS THAT ARE USED, QUANTITIES THAT ARE USED, SO THAT'S PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE.

>> Reporter: HOCK SAYS HE'S ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT PASSING NEW LAWS WITHOUT THE SCIENCE TO BACK IT UP.

>> THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME KIND OF CAUSAL LINK, AND WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT. WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF ANECDOTES, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS AND WE SHOULDN'T MAKE PUBLIC POLICY BASED ON ANECDOTES.

>> Reporter: OFFICIALS AT ENCANA SAY THEY'VE TAKEN STEPS TO PREVENT WATER CONTAMINATION, INCLUDING AN EXPENSIVE "CLOSED- LOOP" SYSTEM WHICH USES A TREATMENT FACILITY TO CLEAN AND RECYCLE WATER. THE STATE AGENCY THAT REGULATES THE INDUSTRY IS ALSO CONFIDENT THAT THE FRACKING PROCESS IS SAFE. THE COLORADO OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ISSUING DRILLING PERMITS, WATER TESTING, REGULATING THE WELLS AND INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS. DAVID NESLIN IS ITS DIRECTOR.

>> WE HAVE TYPICALLY RECEIVED A COUPLE OF DOZEN COMPLAINTS A YEAR WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IMPACTS OR THEY THINK THERE MIGHT BE IMPACTS TO THEIR WATER WELLS FROM OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT. WE INVESTIGATE ALL OF THOSE VERY SERIOUSLY. IN NO INSTANCE HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO VERIFY THAT THERE WAS AN IMPACT ATTRIBUTABLE TO HYDRAULIC FRACKING. HOW MANY WELLS DO YOU THINK THEY'VE DUG?

>> WE'RE RUN ABOUT 60 WITHIN A MILE OF WHERE I LIVE.

>> Reporter: BUT GARFIELD COUNTY RESIDENT LISA BRACKEN SAYS THE INDUSTRY'S SAFETY CLAIMS ARE HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE. IN 2004, HER FAMILY FOUND GAS SEEPING UP BENEATH A CREEK ON THEIR PROPERTY AND RECORDED VIDEO OF IGNITING IT.

>> WHAT WE SAW WAS BUBBLING LIKE A SODA CAN ALL THROUGHOUT THE CREEK. AND SO, WE CALLED THE DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE CALLED THE E.P.A. REALLY, NO ONE HAS AUTHORITY EXCEPT THE STATE AGENCY THAT OVERSEES THE OIL AND GAS REGULATION.

>> Reporter: ULTIMATELY, THE AGENCY FINED ENCANA FOR A FAULTY CONCRETE JOB THEY SAID CAUSED THE GAS IN THE CREEK. BUT BRACKEN SAYS THE WATER IS STILL CONTAMINATED AND ACCUSES STATE REGULATORS OF BEING TOO COZY WITH INDUSTRY.

>> IT'S PRETTY FRUSTRATING TO BE DEPENDENT ON THE INDUSTRY THAT CREATES THE POLLUTING EFFECTS TO TELL YOU THE EXTENT OF THE POLLUTION, AND TO HAVE A REGULATORY BODY THAT SHOULD BE PROTECTING HUMAN HEALTH DENY WHAT'S HAPPENED OR IGNORE YOU.

>> WE'VE NOT BEEN AFRAID TO DISAGREE WITH THE INDUSTRY WHERE IT'S WARRANTED. WE HAVE ASSESSED LARGE SIX- FIGURE PENALTIES WHERE IT'S WARRANTED, WHERE OPERATORS HAVE VIOLATED THE RULES.

>> Reporter: STILL, SOME THINK IT'S TIME FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO GET MORE INVOLVED. ANOTHER PART OF DEGETTE'S "FRACKING BILL" WOULD REMOVE THE INDUSTRY'S 2005 EXEMPTION FROM THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT. DEGETTE SAYS NATIONAL STANDARDS ARE NEEDED.

>> WATER TABLES DON'T JUST STOP AT STATE BOUNDARIES. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT. VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE IS GOOD, BUT IF THERE'S NO NATIONAL STANDARD, THEN IT'S DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT'S IN THAT FLUID, WHAT THE PERCENTAGES ARE.

>> Reporter: INDUSTRY SAYS MORE FEDERAL OVERSIGHT IS UNNECESSARY.

>> THE STATES HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE GEOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY IN THEIR AREA, AND THEY'RE IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION TO REGULATE AND TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE DOING. THE ISSUES THAT WE DEAL WITH HERE ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE ISSUES IN PENNSYLVANIA OR EVEN IN WYOMING, FOR THAT MATTER. SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EACH STATE HAS THEIR OWN RULES THAT THEY CAN APPLY TO THAT SITUATION.

>> Reporter: THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAS ORDERED A REVIEW OF FRACKING PRACTICES AND SAID IT WOULD ISSUE GUIDELINES FOR CLEANER AND SAFER GAS PROCEDURES BY THE END OF SUMMER.

>> Woodruff: NEXT TONIGHT, THE DEADLY AND GRUESOME END TO A CIVIL WAR IN SOUTH ASIA. RAY SUAREZ BEGINS WITH SOME BACKGROUND. AND A WARNING: SOME OF THE DOCUMENTARY MATERIAL INCLUDES DISTURBING IMAGES.

>> Suarez: IT'S BEEN JUST TWO YEARS SINCE SOME SEMBLANCE OF PEACE RETURNED TO SRI LANKA, ONCE FAMED FOR ITS TEA AND BEACHES. FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, BEGINNING IN 1983, A CIVIL WAR RAGED IN THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE TROPICAL ISLAND NATION OFF SOUTHERN INDIA. MILITANT MEMBERS OF THE TAMIL MINORITY, THE SO-CALLED "TAMIL TIGERS," FOUGHT A GUERRILLA WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE AGAINST A GOVERNMENT RUN BY THE SINHALESE MAJORITY. THE TIGERS WERE ACCUSED OF DOZENS OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN THE CAPITAL, COLOMBO, DURING THE 1990s, AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS REPORTED ATROCITIES BY BOTH SIDES DURING THE CONFLICT. THE U.N. HAS REPORTED AT LEAST 40,000 CIVILIANS-- MORE THAN HALF THE TOLL FOR THE ENTIRE WAR-- DIED IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE FIGHTING IN LATE 2008 AND 2009. NOW, BRITAIN'S INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS HAS CHARGED THAT SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT FORCES HERDED THOUSANDS OF TAMIL CIVILIANS INTO A "NO FIRE ZONE" AND THEN OPENED FIRE ON THEM. JON SNOW NARRATED THE I.T.N. DOCUMENTARY, "SRI LANKA'S KILLING FIELDS."

>> THERE WERE BETWEEN 300,000 AND 4,000 PEOPLE LIVING HERE. SATELLITE AND DRONE FOOTAGE MEANT THE U.N. AND OTHER POWERS KNEW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT WHAT WENT ON THROUGHOUT THE WAR IN THE NO-FIRE ZONE. THE U.N. MONITORED WHAT HAPPENED AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS. WAS IT SAFE? THE NO-FIRE ZONES?

>> NO, IT WASN'T. THE NO-FIRE ZONE WAS TAKING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SHELLING FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA AND IT WAS KILLING CIVILIANS.

>> A U.N. SPECIAL PANEL REPORT PUBLISHED THIS APRIL FOUND THAT GOVERNMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY WAS BEING USED IN THE SO-CALLED NO-FIRE ZONE. YET THE SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT CONTINUED TO INSIST IT WAS ENGAGED IN A HUMANITARIAN RESCUE OPERATION WITH A POLICY OF ZERO CIVILIAN PRESENCE. IN APRIL, THE GOVERNMENT ADOPTED A NEW APPROACH. THEY FOCUSED A LETHAL BARRAGE OF HEAVY SHELLING ALONG A LINE STRETCHING BACK FROM A TEMPORARY HOSPITAL SPLITTING OFF A SECTION.

>> THE GOVERNMENT CUT THE SAND SPIT IN AFTER SO THAT 100,000 CIVILIANS FLOODED OUT AND WERE SHIPPED OFF TO INTERNMENT CAMPS INSIDE GOVERNMENT-HELD TERRITORY.

>> THIS IS GOVERNMENT FOOTAGE OF SOME OF THOSE FLEEING CIVILIANS BEFORE THEY WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY THE ARMY. BUT NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY HAD DIED IN THE ASSAULT.

>> Suarez: THE OTHER SERIOUS CHARGES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT IN THE PROGRAM COME FROM FOOTAGE TOO GRAPHIC FOR US TO SHOW. THE VIDEO WAS APPARENTLY SHOT BY GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS THEMSELVES AND INCLUDES EXTENSIVE EVIDENCE OF RAPE, TORTURE AND EXTRA- JUDICIAL KILLINGS OF CAPTIVE TAMIL SOLDIERS.

>> AS THOUSANDS OF TERRIFIED SURVIVORS STRUGGLED TO ESCAPE THE SLAUGHTER AT THE END OF SRI LANKA'S WAR IN THE END OF MAY, 2009, TRIUMPHANT GOVERNMENT FORCES MADE SURE NO INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS WERE ALLOWED ANYWHERE NEAR. THE REASON IS NOW CLEAR. WHILE IT IS WORLD WAS SHOWN THESE OFFICIAL IMAGES OF GOVERNMENT FORCES MEETING TRIUMPHANTLY ON THE BEACH, OTHER MEMBERS OF THOSE SAME FORCES WERE COMMITTING A SERIES OF HORRIFIC WAR CRIMES. THE REASON WE KNOW ABOUT THESE CRIMES IS THAT SOME OF THEM WERE RECORDED ON MOBILE PHONES AS GROTESQUE WAR TROPHIES.

>> Suarez: BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON CALLED TODAY FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ALLEGATIONS. HIS GOVERNMENT SAID THE DOCUMENTARY SHOWS "CONVINCING EVIDENCE OF VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS" IN SRI LANKA. LATE TODAY, WE HEARD THE RESPONSE OF SRI LANKA'S GOVERNMENT FROM ITS AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S. I SPOKE WITH HIM AT THE EMBASSY HERE IN WASHINGTON.

>> WE BELIEVE THAT THIS VIDEO NOT AUTHENTIC. THIS IS PRODUCED AS A PIECE OF PROPAGANDA.

>> Suarez: THE DOCUMENTARY GOES MUCH FURTHER THAN THE VIDEO AND SAYS THAT THE GOVERNMENT CREATED A NO-FIRE ZONE, ASKED TAMIL CIVILIANS TO ENTER IT, AND THEN MADE ARTILLERY STRIKES ON THESE PLACES INVOLVING WIDESPREAD KILLING OF CIVILIANS.

>> ALL THIS IS PROPAGANDA. A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN SAY A LOT OF THINGS. WE'D LIKE TO SEE CREDIBLE EVIDENCE FOR ANYTHING. FOR ANY WAR, ANYBODY CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS PERSON WAS KILLED BY AN ARMY ARTILLERY SO WE NEED TO SEE THE EVIDENCE TO BELIEVE THAT. SO, IN FACT, AS YOU KNOW, WHAT WE DID WAS WE RESCUED NEARLY 300,000 INNOCENT CIVILIANS WE'D JUST TAKEN BY THE N.T.T.E., BY THIS TERRORIST GROUP, AS HUMAN SHIELDS. AS A GOVERNMENT, WE STARTED SAFE PASSAGES AND ALSO WE HAD TO OPEN UP ENOUGH ROADS AND TAKE OUT THE CITIZEN CIVILIANS. IN FACT, WE LOST MORE THAN 6,000 SOLDIERS BY TRYING TO DO THAT. OUR PRESIDENT HAS CREATED A COMMISSION CALLED A RECONCILIATION COMMISSION. WE DO NOT WANT THIS WAR TO COME AGAIN BUT WE HAVE SUFFERED ENOUGH AND WE ARE SRI LANKANS, AS SRI LANKAN PEOPLE WE DO NOT WANT THESE TERRORISTS TO COME BACK. THAT IS THE VERY REASON THAT SRI LANKA APPOINTED THIS VERY, VERY PRESTIGIOUS COMMISSION.

>> Suarez: YOU CAN WATCH ALL OF THE DOCUMENTARY "KILLING FIELDS" ON CHANNEL FOUR'S WEB SITE. AND FOR MORE ON THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGATIONS OF MASS KILLINGS, WE GO TO MARK SCHNEIDER, THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP. HE IS IN CHARGE OF ADVOCACY WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. MARK SCHNEIDER, DOES THE INFORMATION THAT THE I.C.G. HAS SUPPORT CHANNEL 4'S DOCUMENTARY?

>> IT DOES, INDEED. WE ISSUED A REPORT A YEAR AGO THAT, IN FACT, FOUND THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS THAT HAD BEEN KILLED IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE WAR AND SPECIFICALLY AS THE DOCUMENTARY INDICATED MOST OF THEM HAD COME INTO THESE AREAS THAT THE GOVERNMENT PROMISED WERE GOING TO BE SAFE. SO-CALLED NO-FIRE ZONES. IN FACT, THE GOVERNMENT REALLY TURNED THEM INTO FREE-FIRE ZONES IN WHICH THEY SHELLED HOSPITALS, FOOD CENTERS AND IN THE END ACTUALLY AS PEOPLE WERE LEAVING THE AREA AFTER THE WAR ESSENTIALLY WAS OVER AS YOU'VE SEEN FROM THE DOCUMENTARY THERE WERE SUMMARY EXECUTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS, SOME OF THOSE LEADERS WHO ALLEGEDLY WERE SEEKING TO SURRENDER APPARENTLY ALSO WERE KILLED. AND THIS COMES TO US NOW ALSO FROM A SPECIAL PANEL OF EXPERTS THAT THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL APPOINTED TO LOOK INTO THESE QUESTIONS.

>> Suarez: YOU SAY YOU ISSUED THIS REPORT A YEAR AGO. WHY DO YOU THINK THERE WAS SO LITTLE INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN KILLING ON THIS SCALE?

>> I THINK THE REALITY IS THAT ALL OF US RECOGNIZE THAT THE TAMIL TIGERS, THE L.T.T.E., WERE A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION THAT CARRIED OUT HORRENDOUS ACTS THEMSELVES. SUICIDE BOMBINGS, ET CETERA. MA WHAT WE BASICALLY SAID, THOUGH, IS THIS CANNOT JUSTIFY A GOVERNMENT AND ITS ARMED FORCES CARRYING OUT ESSENTIALLY THE SAME KINDS OF ACTS OF WAR CRIMES AND VIOLATIONS OF HUMANITARIAN LAW. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO IMMEDIATE VENUE FOR SOMEONE TO CARRY OUT THE INVESTIGATION BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO PERMIT INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OR OTHER KINDS OF INQUIRIES.

>> Suarez: AS YOU HEARD, THE AMBASSADOR TALKED ABOUT THE LESSONS LEARNED RECONCILIATION COMMISSION. A SRI LANKAN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EVENTS OF THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE WAR AND SAID BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THAT COMMISSION SRI LANKA NOT COOPERATE WITH ANY FURTHER U.N. INVESTIGATION.

>> WE HOPE THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, THAT THAT THE UNITED KINGDOM AND OTHERS WILL PRESS THE SECRETARY GENERAL, IN FACT, TO FORM HIS OWN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY HOPE WE HAVE. THE FACT THAT LESSONS LEARNED COMMISSION IS TOTALLY BASED. A U.N. PANEL OF EXPERTS SAYS IT FAILED TO MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. IT'S CHAIRED BY THE FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THIS GOVERNMENT. IT AS IN THAT COMMISSION SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS THAT AS WELL. SO IT'S BASICALLY IN TERMS OF FINDING THE TRUTH BUT ALSO CHARGES THOSE IT FINDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE. ONE HAS TO ASK THE UNITED STATES OTHERS TO INVESTIGATE WHO AMONG THEIR CITIZENS HAD RESPONSIBILITIES IN THIS CASE THE MINISTER OF DEFENSE AND THE ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT WE'VE HEARD ARE DUAL CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES ONE WOULD HOPE THAT WOULD BE INVESTIGATED HERE.

>> Suarez: MARK SCHNEIDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP. THANK YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Brown: FINALLY TONIGHT, WE TURN NOW TO A VERY DIFFERENT STORY FROM AFGHANISTAN. IT'S PART OF "THE ECONOMIST FILM PROJECT," A NEWSHOUR COLLABORATION WITH "THE ECONOMIST" MAGAZINE. TOGETHER, WE SHOWCASE INDEPENDENTLY-PRODUCED DOCUMENTARIES THAT TAKE US PLACES WE DON'T ORDINARILY GO. HERE'S AN EXCERPT FROM "SKATEISTAN" BY FILMMAKER ORLANDO EINSIEDEL. HE FOLLOWED THE FOUNDERS OF A SKATE PARK IN KABUL AND THE KIDS WHO CAME TO HAVE FUN AND PERHAPS EVEN JUMPSTART CHANGES IN THEIR COUNTRY.

>> MY NAME IS SHANA AND I'M HEAR MANAGING THE SKATE PARK IN THE SKATISTAN PROGRAM. SKATEBOARDING IS A FANTASTIC WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AND BUILD RELATIONS WITH EACH OTHER. THE MAIN FOCUS OF SKATISTAN IS TO BUILD CONFIDENCE AND GIVE THEM A VOICE. SKATISTAN HAS BECOME A BIT OF A ACTIVITY HA WHICH IS VERY EXCITING. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE WATCHING AN AFGHAN WOMAN GO DOWN THE RAMP FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SHE'S ACHIEVED SOMETHING THAT SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE WOULD.

>> I AM 12 YEARS OLD AND I LIVE HERE. 6-I WORK ON THE STREET. LIFE IS HARD FOR ME PERSONALLY BECAUSE MY FAMILY IS POOR. SOMETIMES WE CAN'T AFFORD ENOUGH TO EAT. AT SKATISTAN I DON'T FEEL THAT MY SURROUNDINGS ARE RUINED. I FEEL AS THOUGH I'M IN A NICE PLACE. I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. THEY DISAGREE GIRLS WANTING TO PURSUE SKATEBOARDING AS A HOBBY. MY FAMILY ARE MOSTLY ON MY SIDE, HOWEVER MY FATHER DISAGREES WITH THIS HOBBY. WHEN I'M SKATING ON THE STREET, I CAN FEEL PEOPLE QUESTIONING MY RIGHT TO SKATE. BUT OPINIONS ARE MEANINGLESS TO ME. I REALLY LIKE SKATING AND I WON'T STOP.

>> IT WAS REALLY MISERABLE HERE IN THE TALIBAN. AFTER THE TALIBAN LEFT, THE FIGHTING STARTED AGAIN AND WE ARE BACK TO SQUARE ONE. WE THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN MUST UNITE TO REBUILD THE COUNTRY. I DON'T WANT WAR ANYMORE.

>> WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT IF THESE CHILDREN ARE GOING TO INHERIT THE PROBLEMS THAT THEY WILL IT'S IMPORTANT SHOW THEM NEW QUALITIES OF WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A LEADER.

>> MY HOPE IS THAT MY COUNTRY IS LED BY SOMEONE WHO IS ABLE TO BRING PEACE. UNTIL THEN THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN.

>> Woodruff: IN OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THE ECONOMIST PROJECT, WE TALK WITH A FILMMAKER OF PAIR PERESTROIKA, A LOOK AT THE LAST GENERATION RAISED UNDER COMMUNISM IN THE SOVIET UNION.

>> Brown: AGAIN, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DAY. IN A REPORT TO CONGRESS, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DEFENDED THE PRESIDENT'S AUTHORITY TO PURSUE MILITARY ACTION IN LIBYA. THE GOVERNMENT OF GREECE WAS ENGULFED BY POLITICAL REBELLION IN PARLIAMENT AND RIOTS AGAINST NEW AUSTERITY MEASURES. AND STOCKS FELL AROUND THE WORLD IN REACTION TO THE GREEK TURMOIL. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIALS AVERAGE LOST NEARLY 180 POINTS. AND TO HARI SREENIVASAN FOR WHAT'S ON THE NEWSHOUR ONLINE. HARI?

>> Reporter: READ UPDATES ON SOME OF THE AFGHANS PROFILED IN "SKATEISTAN" IN A BLOG POST FROM THE FILMMAKERS AND WATCH A VIDEO DIARY FROM KABUL. PLUS, LEARN MORE ABOUT "THE ECONOMIST" FILM PROJECT AT film.economist.com. AND WE EXPLORE A NEW STUDY THAT FINDS CANCER PATIENTS IN SOME COUNTRIES FACE MISPERCEPTIONS THAT CAN HAMPER TREATMENT. THAT'S ON OUR GLOBAL HEALTH PAGE. PLUS, FROM OUR "ARTS BEAT," JEFF TALKS WITH A MEMBER OF THE BLUES-ROCK BAND HOT TUNA ABOUT THEIR FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 20 YEARS ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEB SITE, newshour.pbs.org. JEFF?

>> Brown: AND THAT'S THE NEWSHOUR FOR TONIGHT. ON THURSDAY, WE'LL LOOK AT ROBERT GATES' TENURE AT THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT. I'M JEFFREY BROWN.

>> Woodruff: AND I'M JUDY WOODRUFF. WE'LL SEE YOU ONLINE AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY: CHEVRON. WE MAY HAVE MORE IN COMMON THAN YOU THINK. THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION, WORKING TO SOLVE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD. AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

>> THIS IS "BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA." FUNDING FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FREEMAN FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK, STOWE, VERMONT, AND HONOLULU. NEWMAN'S OWN FOUNDATION. AND UNION BANK.

>> UNION BANK HAS PUT ITS GLOBAL EXPERTISE TO WORK FOR A WIDE RANGE OF COMPANIES. WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?

>> AND NOW, "BBC WORLD NEWS AMERICA." AMERICA."