. >> ifill: plus, paul solman looks at how employers are reacting to the mandate to provide insurance under the health care reform law. >> it's something that companies across the country are now weighing: keep employees below 30 hours a week, and thus avoid paying for their health insurance entirely. >> woodruff: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> 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. >> ifill: our lead story tonight, the outcome of the battle at a shopping mall in nairobi, kenya, remains in doubt, even as the government claims its troops are "in control." unclear, but officials say at least 62 people have died, with more than 1

. >> ifill: plus, paul solman looks at how employers are reacting to the mandate to provide insurance under the health care reform law. >> it's something that companies across the country are now weighing: keep employees below 30 hours a week, and thus avoid paying for their health insurance entirely. >> woodruff: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> 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. >> ifill: our lead story tonight, the outcome of the battle at a shopping mall in nairobi, kenya, remains in doubt, even as the government claims its troops are "in control." unclear, but officials say at least 62 people have died, with more than 1

paul solman reports on the legal debate over whether they should get paid.

paul solman digs into today's employment figures. >> brown: your emails, online bank transactions and more-- privacy tools keep all of that data secure. but hari sreenivasan dissects new revelations saying the n.s.a. can crack those codes. >> woodruff: and we return to syria, starting with two looks at its impact on the middle east.

but the newshour's economics correspondent, paul solman, has the story of one company that's found a bright side to hiring senior citizens. it's all part of paul's ongoing reporting on making sense of financial news. well, we apologize for that. we appear to be having some audio problems. we'll try to fix that and come back to it as soon as we can. and now we turn to the legacy of the civil rights movement. ray suarez has that story. >> two perspectives, ruth rosen is a professor emerita, and how the woman's movement changed america and george chauncey, professor of history and american studies at yale university. professor ros rosen has this haf century changed, when we throw around the words human rights and civil rights? >> absolutely, the movement for women rights and civil rights, abolitionist movement inspired a suffrage movement, and in the 20th century, founded now and when younger women who had been part of the civil rights movement founded the younger women liberation movement, so the civil rights movement have absolutely inspired twice in our history a fight for women's eq

paul solman. what's my bill? >> right now, you have an outstanding balance of $148.10. >> reporter: $148.10. but the inn offers another option. but i'm going to get berkshares... >> oh, perfect. >> ...to pay with. that's okay? >> absolutely. >> reporter: berkshares, an alternative, small-is-beautiful, local currency born in 2006 and now accepted by some 400 businesses in berkshire county. the process begins at five area banks, one conveniently right next door to the red lion inn. among them, the banks have about a million berkshares in their vaults, circulated only when someone like me steps up to the window. can i trade dollars for berkshares here? no questions asked? no fuss, no muss, and you buy berkshares at a 5% discount, getting 105 berkshares for every $100. 700. for my $700, to cover our crew costs for several nights at the inn, 735 berkshares. i'm back. >> hi. >> reporter: hey, with berkshares. and thus, you get a discount at every place that accepts the local currency, because at the bank it takes 105 b

paul solman digs into today's employment figures. >> brown: your emails, online bank transactions and more-- privacy tools keep all of that data secure. but hari sreenivasan dissects new revelations saying the n.s.a. can crack those codes. >> woodruff: and we return to syria, starting with two looks at its impact on the middle east. ray suarez reports on the flood of refugees in neighboring jordan. >> brown: and margaret warner is on the ground in egypt. >> woodruff: plus, mark shields and david brooks analyze the debate over military action. >> brown: and gwen ifill gets historical perspective on how past presidents flexed their war powers. >> if we go through american history, presidents, even to this day, have an amazing ability to change americas' minds on foreign policy when they have to. >> woodruff: that'all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> support also comes from carnegie corporation of new york, a foundation created to do what andrew carnegie called "real and permanent good." celebrating 100 years of philanthropy at c

paul solman digs into today's employment figures. >> brown: your emails, online bank transactions and more-- privacy tools keep all of that data secure. but hari sreenivasan dissects new revelations saying the n.s.a. can crack those codes. >> woodruff: and we return to syria, starting with two looks at its impact on the middle east. ray suarez reports on the flood of refugees in neighboring jordan. >> brown: and margaret warner is on the ground in egypt. >> woodruff: plus, mark shields and david brooks analyze the debate over military action. >> brown: and gwen ifill gets historical perspective on how past presidents flexed their war powers. >> if we go through american history, presidents, even to this day, have an amazing ability to change americas' minds on foreign policy when they have to. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> support also comes from carnegie corporation of new york, a foundation created to do what andrew carnegie called "real and permanent good." celebrating 100 years of philanthropy at

paul solman reports on the legal debate over whether they should get paid. >> you get tons of new experience and on top of that you get to make new connections and really build your resume. >> i knew the work i was doing was exactly the same work that i had previously done, except that now i was doing it for free. it's not right, and you can do something about it if you want to. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> 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. >> woodruff: our lead story tonight: neither side gave ground in washington's war over preventing a government shutdo

newshour's economics correspondent paul solman looks at the bottom line for different business owners, part of his making sense of financial news. >> reporter: at rock bottom brewery in omaha, nebraska, restaurant owner greg cutchall didn't mince words when it came to the affordable care act. >> the law, the way it's written today, i think should be scrapped. >> reporter: cutchall's main gripe is with the so-called employer mandate, which obliges firms with 50 or more full-time workers to offer affordable health insurance or pay a penalty of up to $2,000 per full-time employee. >> i cannot think of any other burden that's been placed on the restaurant industry in the last 20 years that could have the impact that this one does. >> reporter: the employer mandate: a burden to some. to others: no big deal. >> most employers think it's a responsibility of being a good employer to offer health insurance. >> reporter: neera tanden, a former health reform advisor to president obama, points out that the vast majority of large firms already provide benefits to their workers. >> 95% of companies

paul solman reports on the legal debate over whether they should get paid. >> you get tons of new experience and on top of that you get to make new connections and really build your resume. >> i knew the work i was doing was exactly the same work that i had previously done, except that now i was doing it for free. it's not right, and you can do something about it if you want to. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> 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. >> woodruff: our lead story tonight: neither side gave ground in washington's war over preventing a government shutdo

paul solman reports on the legal debate over whether they should get paid. >> you get tons of new experience and on top of that you get to make new connections and really build your resume. >> i knew the work i was doing was exactly the same work that i

but the newshour's economics correspondent, paul solman, has the story of one company that's found a bright side to hiring senior citizens. it's all part of paul's ongoing reporting on making sense of financial news. >> you're doing something useful. you're not sitting vegetating. >> at age 101, rosa finnegan is punching in part time at small manufacturer. finn fan and those like her are extending their useful lives and their retirement income. but might they also be a boon to the economy? >> how much do you say? i'm not allowed to say am i? you're 100 years old, you request say whatever you want. >> the reason i asked this year the gap tweng u.s. spending and tax revenues is expected to be over $640 billion. threatening to widen the gap: 32 million americans reaching retirement age in the next 20 years slated to draw associates and medicare while paying zero taxes on income. >> so are you slowing down? yes. definitely. as long as i don't come to a screeching halt i'll be lucky. >> but what if americans worked as long as rosa finnegan who we interviewed in december? rosa is being coy

"newshour" economics correspondent paul solman has the story, part of his ongoing reporting: "making sense of financial news." >> reporter: imagine you're a college student who wants to be in entertainment, and you land an internship at "saturday night live." >> it seemed like a dream come true, i was really excited. >> reporter: or you grew up in a pbs-loving house, and you get to intern for the "charlie rose" ow. >> it was a really exciting time. i got to meet all of the presidential candidates. >> reporter: or you've been working a humdrum job in financial services, are looking to change careers, and you're offered an internship on a major hollywood feature. >> i thought, "well, this is one of those kind of breaks that may lead to other big things." >> reporter: actually, in all three cases, it led to other things, all right-- other unpaid internships. monet eliastam worked 25 hours a week her whole junior year at barnard for "saturday night live's" film unit. >> reporter: what was the favorite commercial parody that you worked on, or your favorite? >> probably disney housewives.

paul solman reports on the legal debate over whether they should get paid.