Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20171027

People like me didnt live in houses like this. We served in houses like this. Woodruff and, its friday. Mark shields and david brooks are here to talk about the infighting in the Republican Party, and the prospects for tax reform. All that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. Babbels 1015 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. More information on babbel. Com. Collette. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff new messages today to north korea. The u. S. Secretary of defense delivered one of them, at the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides north and south korea. His unannounced visit came at a moment of extreme tension. John yang reports. Reporter standing on the worlds most tense and dangerous border, defense secretary jim mattis spoke to u. S. And south korean troops about diplomacy. Our goal is not war, but rather the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Reporter with north korean soldiers looking on from their side of the Demilitarized Zone, mattis reaffirmed full u. S. Military support for the south. It is an alliance designed to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the Strongest Military defense of our shared democratic value. Reporter mattis and his south korean counterpart warned against north korean provocations, like new missile and Nuclear Tests. translated the Nuclear Weapon and the missiles north korea is developing are not something usable. If they were to use it, we want to make clear that the alliance of south korea and the United States will punish north korea for such intention. Reporter the warning was underscored by the impending arrival in the region of three u. S. Carrier strike groups for what the navy calls longplanned maneuvers. North korea has been issuing warnings of its own that it plans Nuclear Tests in the atmosphere over the pacific. All of this follows on the fiery war of words between President Trump whos threatened to destroy north korea and north Korean Leader kim jongun, who has called mr. Trump mentally deranged. Next week, the president makes his first trip to asia, including a visit to seoul to meet with south korean president moon jae in. General joseph dunford, chairman of the joints chiefs of staff, was in seoul today, meeting with his south korean counterparts, and Vice President pence made a pointed visit to Minot Air Force base in north dakota, home to Nuclear Bombers and missiles. Anyone who would threaten our nation should know that america always seeks peace, but if we are forced to defend ourselves or our allies, we will do so with military power that is effective and overwhelming. Reporter meanwhile, the administration is using other tools to increase pressure on north korea, this week imposing new economic sanctions. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff in the days other news, new violence erupted across kenya over the repeat president ial election. And, officials postponed attempts to finish the voting tomorrow. Police battled protesters in several cities today, and in some places, rival political gangs also fought. The death toll rose to six. Opponents of president Uhuru Kenyatta say the election is rigged, and they have refused to take part. The crisis over secession in spains catalonia region came to a head today in its capital, barcelona. The Regional Parliament declared independence, and the National Government then declared direct rule of the region. Jonathan rugman, of independent television news, reports from barcelona. Reporter this morning, a crowd of several thousand gathered outside the catalonian parliament, pressurizing m. P. S inside to vote for the independence theyve been dreaming of and, following their every move. Adding to that pressure, dozens of rebel mayors from across the region, bringing their staffs of office but all too aware they could lose that authority when direct rule is imposed. If we have to disobey, we will do it. Reporter you could be arrested, sent to jail . Yes, everybody can be arrested. They cant arrest our hearts. Reporter in the chamber, opposition m. P. S tried to keep talking, but it didnt work. Three parties walked out, shouting long live catalonia and long live spain. The vote was 70 in favor of independence and just 10 against with two abstentions. Amid all the backslapping here in the parliament, what these m. P. S have effectively done is take this region over a political precipice, into the unknown. cheers and applause but look at these catalonian mayors waving their ceremonial staffs with delight and shouting for a freedom which spains leaders and spains constitution had refused to bestow. cheers and applause as the news broke outside, a crowd of many thousands joined in the celebrations. If there still is a majority in favor of spanish rule, it had stayed away. And it didnt take long for the senate in madrid to vote for direct rule and for the spanish Prime Minister to move towards imposing it. translated the objective is to insist on taking back legality, and therefore i want to tell spaniards and all catalans to be calm, that things will be fine. They will be measured, they will be dealt with effectively, as we have done up until now. Reporter and these scenes of jubilation may not last for long. Several european governments have refused to recognize the independence voted for today. While the Regional Government here could be sacked, the talk is of peaceful resistance to madrid. But nobody knows how long that peace will last. Woodruff that report from Jonathan Rugman of independent television news. The state Department Today banned doing business with more than three dozen russian groups. They are linked to russias defense and intelligence agencies. The sanctions list was about a month overdue. It is required by a new law aimed at russian meddling in the 2016 president ial election. The United Nations sounded new warnings today about Rohingya Muslims who have fled buddhist myanmar. More than 600,000 have crossed to bangladesh since august to escape assaults by myanmars military. Today, the u. N. s Human Rights Organization said refugees tell of a methodical pattern of gross human rights violations, including killings, torture and rape. Many children are very traumatized. Women and Older Persons have been brutalized. And it is very important that we give them a sense of security. Giving them a moment, a chance to make their lives more normal, and this is what youre offering in this country. Woodruff the death toll among the rohingya is unknown, but the u. N. Officials warned that it may be high. Back in this country, the Trump Administration says that it played no role in a 300 Million Contract to restore electric power in puerto rico. The islands sole power Utility Agency struck the deal with the tiny company, whitefish energy. Now, the federal Emergency Management agency says it has significant concerns about the arrangement. Whitefish is based in interior secretary ryan zinkes hometown in montana, but his office says he had nothing to do with the deal. President trump will approve plans to shrink the size of two National Monuments federally protected areas in utah. That word today from orrin hatch, one of the states u. S. Senators. He says the president called him today with the news. The white house would not confirm or deny it. The monuments are bears ears and grand staircaseescalante. The latest trove of documents on president kennedys assassination is out. The National Archives made 2,800 documents public last night, but President Trump held back others for further review, at the behest of the f. B. I. And c. I. A. He tweeted today that he hopes to make nearly all of it public eventually. On wall street today, upbeat earnings and sales reports from microsoft and amazon fueled a tech rally. The nasdaq rose 144 points, more than 2 , to top 6,700. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 33 points, and the s p 500 added 20. Still to come on the newshour a top h. B. O. Executive shares her experience with Sexual Harassment. At risk concerns about the upcoming census that could have ripple effects across the nation. And, much more. Woodruff now, the fallout from Sexual Harassment scandals and the calls for change. We are continuing our own series of discussions with women across american society, and with differing perspectives. Tonight, we hear from a leading filmmaker in the industry. Sheila nevins is the president of hbo documentary films, and has greenlit more than 1,000 films over three decades. Before that, she worked at abc, cbs, and pbs. Shes also the author of the new book, you dont look your age, and other fairy tales. I spoke with her earlier today. Sheila nevins, thank you for talking with us. Thank you for having me. Woodruff were you surprised by the Harvey Weinstein revelations . Yes. Yes. Woodruff you had dealt with him professionally . Yes. Yes. I was not surprised in any way by temperament or anger or certain kind of language, but i was surprise bid the physical surprised by the stories of sexual, physical abuse. I really was surprised. Woodruff what have you known of Sexual Harassment in this industry . You know, im old. I grew up and the rules of the game were different. I didnt know. I really didnt know that i wasnt to be touched and man handeled. I finally understand the meaning of the word. I really didnt know what that was. I thought, to succeed, i had to be somewhat seductive and complicit. So i wo 60s, when i got out of yale and got out of school and wanted a job, i think i was not abused because i was active sexually and complicit. I now have sort of reformed all of that because i realize what i consider to be acceptable was really abuse, and i recovered because i wanted a job so badly. But now i feel everything is out of hand and there is just its enough. Its enough and women have to be together. I didnt have any women to go to. I didnt have anyone to cry to, but now, i think when you cry together, you make a louder noise, and i feel like im happy to add my voice. Woodruff did you feel or did you know there were other women going through the same thing when you were . No, because when i began in this business, there were very few women in the business so there is no way i would know. It was a mans world and the only way i didnt know. I tinted know. I mean, i used to sit at screenings at unknown unnamed, i should say, networks and someone put their hands down my back. I didnt know to remove them. I thought if i removed them someone else would get my job. But it was the truth in the 60s. It was the truths. Woodruff is it accurate to say that you were suffering in silence . In retrospect, it intimidated me, but i was so ambitious that i pushed that aside. I mean, it hurt. I mean, it hurt mentally in a way, but i didnt know. I didnt know. You know, its like getting t. B. Before twhrs a shot for it or polio before theres salk. Who was i going to look to . There was no gloria steinem, no womens movement. There was no one telling me i was equal. I actually thought i was not equal. Woodruff is there any doubt in your mind that things have changed . Yeah, no doubt in my mind things have changed. I think it has to do with the group of voices as opposed to solos. Solo is a very lonely thing. I dont know how to sing, but i have to use that word. Solo, you do what you can do. Together, youre warriors, and i think it makes a big difference. I was not wonder woman. Woodruff how has it changed . Because there are still these stories that are coming out. I think men are put on warning. You know, keep off the grass sign now for want of a better thing. You cant anymore and you should never have but now you cant because your job is in jeopardy, your life and career is in jeopardy. Woodruff some of the Harvey Weinstein are pretty recent. Thats so criminal as so not even be part of the conversation. In other words, i always think whatever that was was it wasnt just intimidation. It was brutal, it was physical, it seems criminal. I dont know. But i think the abuse the sexual abuse, the harassment, its time for women to get together and say enough, it happened to me, you, her, its not going to happen to my daughter. Woodruff as head of hbo hbo you made with your colleagues a decision to cancel the series by mark halprin. Was there any hesitation making that decision . I cant answer that, thats not my area. I know of the decision, but i dont know what led them to make that decision. But i think hbo has become a place of zero tolerance. There are a lot of women in how we are and i think we would have been angry had it gone ahead. Woodruff you said, i saw in one interview, there werent Human Resources departments. No, there was no one to go to. I dont think i knew the word Sexual Harassment till about 20 years ago. Woodruff but there are Human Resources departments and women dont feel safe going there and worry they still will have a job in jeopardy if they go forward. They have to go forward. There have to be enough women in power that if you go forward on behalf of what happened with a male colleague that everyone will join you and you will not lose your job. There may have been a time you were afraid you would lose your job, but i dont really know. I dont know. Its different. The rules are different. There is a vaccine against it now. Were not going to get that disease anymore. Were just not going to get it. Woodruff you really do think it . I absolutely think it. I think thats what revolutions are about. Its been quiet for a long time. I mean, its very sad, really, that women have been subjected to that for so long and have had to be so silent about it because there was no place to go. Its hard being a woman in the workplace. Ha rasement is very deep. Its emotional, doesnt have to be sexual, it can go into other things. Not being heard, not being reckoned with, not being treated equally, not getting equal pay, this catapults all those other things into the spotlight. Men will be careful. They will be careful of us. They will respect us. They wont hurt us. Woodruff i ask you about this, Sheila Nevins because i still hear young women saying the workplace is still so unbalanced with men holding by far the balance of power and women not that theres not a check on so many men who feel they can i dont think its going to happen again. A man would have to be pretty stupid to step forward now. He really would have to be a psychopath because he would have to be willing to lose everything he has his scripts, jobs, wife, his respectability. I dont think i dont know where they work. I know where i work, but i think its the time to fight back. Woodruff so what is your advice today to young women who experience something and arent sure they should come forward . They have to come forward because there are enough women in power now that can hire them and listen to them and enough people in positions of i mean, the Human Resources sounds like a funny word but there are enough people in the workplace who will join with you and fight back. Youre not alone. Women are not alone anymore. Theyre just not alone, and i think i wouldnt be talking to you if i thought i was alone. I feel like you and i are on the same page. You know, at a certain point, youre old enough in this business that no guys going to make a pass at you, okay . But that shouldnt be the reason, should it . And i think that equality that you get as you get older because youre not a sex object anymore mas to pervade youth and young women, and it will. It just will. It has to. Come to us, well help them. Woodruff for sure, come to us. Sheila nevins, thank you very much. Thank you for asking me these questions. I really appreciate it. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour mark shields and david brooks weigh in on the republican divide. Author jesmyn ward explores love, class and race in her new novel. And, a view from someone who likens her familys life in north korea to being held hostage. But first, the u. S. Census is generally considered more technical than controversial, but in recent months, the onceadecade population count has been the subject of political debate. There has been no move to replace director John Thompson since his surprise resignation last spring. Commerce secretary wilbur ross recently asked congress for additional funding to keep the agency from collapsing. Hari sreenivasan spoke with former census director kenneth prewitt, to discuss what a crippled census in 2020 could mean for our democracy. But he begins with a quick look at how the census affects us all. Sreenivasan heres a bit of civics 101. The u. S. Census is an attempt by the government to count every person living in the United States. Every ten years, the Census Bureau gathers information like gender, age, race and income. We did it. We did it, hey what did you do . We helped mommy fill out her census form. And we mailed it back. Why . Because everybody counts in the census form. Sreenivasan but why does the government collect this data . First, the constitution says to. One of the ways the constitution preserves our rights is to require the government to conduct a census every ten years. Sreenivasan the Founding Fathers decided the number of seats in the u. S. House is determined by the number of people in each state. The official count is used to draw voting districts at the national, state and local level. But theres another important reason the u. S. Conducts a census money. 2. 4 million, 2. 5 million. The u. S. Census isnt just a population count. It helps allocate federal, state and local funds to our community. Sreenivasan the federal government decides how much funding or grants to give states, counties and cities by looking at the detailed census data. That means money for updating schools, building new hospitals, repairing broken roads, and maintaining Public Utilities like water, sewage and electricity. You can answer census 2000 and get what you need, or you can leave it blank and get this nothing. Sreenivasan private companies also make major decisions based on what the census says, like where to build Grocery Stores or new housing developments. But like any other government agency, the Census Bureau needs funding to do its job. And its not cheap. The last census, in 2010, cost taxpayers 13 billion, with more than 500 field offices and 635,000 staffers nationwide. Republicans already worried about Big Government have questioned that price tag. South carolina congressman trey gowdy cost matters. It does. Period, new paragraph. Kenneth prewitt, thanks for joining us. Its been a significant concern, budget hawks, why does the census cost as much as it does, are there technologies that can do it better and less expensively . Theyre trying to do the 2020 census relatively half the price of the 2010, whereas the 2010 was doubled the price of the 2000, that was the one it was engaged in. So enormous advances have been made and Technology Reduces the cost, but if you havent been confronted with the new technologies, youre ill prepared to do the census in 2020. Bad news, its not funded and we dont have a director in the Census Bureau so were not ready in that sense. Another issue, were trying new technologies the First Time Ever in a census and you should test them. Theres no money to test them. Its like you had a fighter plane that puts a new technology in it thats never been before, rolls off the assembly line, and they say, oh, go directly into action. Sreenivasan there was a draft that was leaked that said u. S. Questionnaire includes sentship and immigration status. What kind of effect does that have . It would scare a lot of people that you actually need to count. The census is supposed to count everyone in the country once and only once and in the right place. Thats a big job. Sreenivasan considering were in a climate where institution wes once used to trust are regularly questioned whether fake news or fake census, whats the consequence of Something Like this not being trusted . Huge, quite honestly. If we really have a bad census, one of the things that could happen is the administration could say lets not use it, lets sort of just use the old numbers, and with respect to redistricting, allocation of seats in the u. S. Congress, that means we would go with what we now have. A lot of Population Movement in the last ten years. So this would really be a setback. Sreenivasan seems constitutionally it was designed as a representativel, not a political one, but, over the years, its been used by either side thats in control as kind of a political tool. I would say the Census Bureau is not political. The use of the numbers is political, and as long as we can have the Census Bureau only wanting to produce the most accurate, complete count, then it itself is not political. If they are misused in ways, they are gerrymandering now with the census data, so a population roughly 50 50 in terms of electoral strength is roughly 60 40 in terms of seats in congress and governorships. Sreenivasan are there vested interests in wanting to maintain the status quo . Yes, and im trying not to be political here, but if you like the dystuition biewtion of seats and governorships and in particular in the country now and if you think by having a good census you would lose some of the seats, why would you want to have a good census . Sreenivasan can the census be salvaged or saved given the amount of time and money we have now . Oh, yes. If there was strong leadership in place in the next four or five months, and if the budget were where it ought to be, yes, it can be saved. There comes a time when you cant save it. If you have not tested the census in 2018, its too late to fix it, even if you tested it in 2019. You dont have the time to go back and fix any of the problems you encountered in the big test. Sreenivasan kenneth prewitt, columbia university, former director of the u. S. Census, thanks for joining us. My pleasure, thanks. Woodruff the rift in the Republican Party widened this week, as outgoing senator jeff flake of arizona called on his party to stand up to trump, and house representatives aired their disagreements over a plan to overhaul the tax code. That brings us to the analysis of shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields, and New York Times columnist david brooks. And gentlemen, welcome to both of you. Weve spent much of this week examining, talking about that stunning speech, david, that senator jeff flake of arizona gave on the senate floor this week where he essentially took on the president and challenged his colleagues. Lets first listen to a short excerpt of that. We must never regard as normal the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country. The personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms and institutions, the fragrant disregard for truth and decency, the reckless provocations most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have been elected to serve. Woodruff that was jeff flake on the senate floor. David, what effect has that speech had . Well, it sounded like a cull to arms at the moment, but what flake made clear is you cant survive a republican primary if you dont sound like donald trump and whether knack whetr flake, corker leaving, the republicans who want viability have to be trumpian. So you have most of the republicans saying i may not like this guy privately, i may worry about this guy, but this is my guy, i am going to support him. So this was really the week i thought something amo ammospherc shifted. The Republican Party is the wholly owned subsidiary of donald trump. The polls show it and the republican polls rate donald trump off the records bods and high marks and give negative marks to republicans in congress. So the choice of it made, it would seem, and i thought that when jeff flake said the fragrant disregard for truth and decency and then bob corker said it from tennessees indictment as well, they arent philosophical differences. Bob corker obviously talked about the danger of world war iii and Donald Trumps not coherent leadership, but theyre an indictment of character, and the other republicans to remain silent on that, if thats the question. If character is the question, then they just say, oh, we just want to worry about our own reelection. Woodruff let me ask you about that, david, because jeff flake went on to say to his fellow republicans, our children are watching, and he said, what are regoing to do about that . What are we going to do when the next generation asks us how did we respond at this time . In other words, saying they are complicit . You know, i had some conversations with some republican senators who support donald trump by and large, and i guess their argument is, well, you know, i really believe in this tax cut, hes for that. We can get some Economic Policy passed, when his Administration Calls my office to say who they want to be deputy secretary and this and that, i give them a name, they hire the person, so i have been able to have influence over the administration that way. I grant for some persons, trump offers some things and i think the administration is hiring some former staffers in a way they think is good and influential, but i guess yore priorities are messed up because donald trump will support you if hes going to get you a tax bill you like youre putting money above morals and the morals and social fabric of the country are more important than the tax rate, so and i would ask you to think about that. I guess when i do make that point, a lot of things i find outrageous about Donald Trumps behavior, they seem kind of distant and treat those things as unimportant, they put sort of a vast distance between them and some of the daily fights and dishonesties that i think characterize a lot of this president s behavior. Woodruff so, mark, are we talking about values here . What does it come down to . Well, i think thats the way jeff flake framed it. It is a question of character, destiny, and i think the fact is, judy, david mentioned tax cuts, an that the it. Thats the last stage out of dodge for the republicans. They have failed at every turn in this congress and in the Trump Administration. They have nothing to show. They talk about justice gorsuch, fine, but they really have nothing to show, no accomplishments with total republican dominance of both the congress and the presidency. So this is it, and this is the one thing that ties them together, you know, it is a its shameless. A party that talks so movingly about balancing the budget and not putting the burden on our children an grandchildren and adding 1. 5 trillion, they voted to this week, the president pushed to do it, to the new debt over the next ten years, and, you know, but this is it. This is their last chance to say we did something in this election, and the key, the problem that republicans are facing and the real confrontation is the fox news poll showed republicans, if you could vote for had to vote for congress today, would you vote for a democrat or republican, and 50 to 35, people say they vote for a democrat. I was just going to say so youre saying the republicans have that to worry about . They have a general election in november of 2018 that they have to be scared silly about given those numbers in the fox news poll. Given that, david, and the fact so many republicans are saying we need to Work Together to get something done, what are the prospects for tax reform, tax cuts . Well, i think theyre pretty grim. You know, they might be able to fall back to some sort of tax cut of something, maybe the Corporate Tax rate or Something Like that, but getting some sort of big bill where they take on some of the deduction for local taxes, for the 401ks, theyre pretty entrenched and it takes political skill to get that comprehensive reform passed. So im not particularly optimistic by that. If i could take a point mark made and go deeper, whats interesting to me and my colleague tom edsel has written about this, is the nature of the Party Affiliation changed in the last few years, its no longer about ideology and belief system. Its as if being a pennsylvanian or an italianamerican or jewishperson, all the things people who used to form their identity about, those have fallen away and youre now a republican or democrat, and thats the primary identity parker and when youre like that you will follow yore president or Party Leaders absolutely anywhere theyre willing to go. Woodruff where does that lead us, mark . There are 19 safe Republican House seats 192 safe Republican House seats right now, considered safe by nathan gonzalez, a great analyst and appeared on our broadcast. In there, your concern is not so much november 2018, although it should be because, right now, the outcome of the signs are dire, but youre worried about the primary, and thats what you dont want. And bob corker in tennessee was at 61 , 21 favorable, 3 to one favorable in february this year, among republican voters. Criticized donald trump and hes now at 37 , 48 favorable among republicans. Woodruff so a drop. A drop of, what, 50 . So that is what youre scared of if youre a republican. But youre terrified if youre going into the general election because donald trump is toxic and he excites the excitement and intensity right now is on the part of democrats rather than republicans heading into the next election. Woodruff but to pick up on the point where you stopped and i asked mark, where does it lead republicans, if they are simply defining themselves by their party . Well, it probably leads them in a 38 position which is pretty bad. The only thing i would say is i wouldnt underestimate the democrats ability to mess this up. One of the things weve seen across western europe is the complete collapse of centerleft parties. People who were in the centerleft are going to green and socialist parties and going left. Thats happened here, too. I assume thats whats going to happen. You see the Republican Party in crisis but are strong on the local level but both parties could be in crisis, which is a decay of the party system as we know it, which is what you see in britain and around the world. Woodruff so what will we end up with . I guess i disagree with david, in our country the National Party is defined by the face of the leader. You dont have a coherent National Philosophy for a party until you nominate a president ial nominee and elect a president. So until the democrats do that, they will not have an overarching message. In 2018, all you have to be is the other guy if theres great dissatisfaction. Just to put the numbers in perspective, judy, in 2010 when the republicans picked up 63 house seats from the democrats to the republicans, the difference in who would you rather have democrat or republican was 9 points more republican, today democrat. So that really is unsettling. Woodruff oh, wow, for democrats. Yeah. It means they cant move because of the partisan alignment, so theyre stuck losing but cant be anything other than they are. Woodruff were going to keep on talking about this into 2018. I want to change the subject, though, david, with the interview i did a few segments ago with Sheila Nevins whos probably the most powerful woman in television filmmaking about her own experience with Sexual Harassment. She said in that interview that she thinks the country is now going to change, that men are not going to be able to get away anymore with what theyve gotten away with before now. What do you think . Well, i do think the norms have been steadily shifting over the decades, but i thought the key point that she made is you can now, if youre a woman and been harassed and oppressed, you can now join as a group. The Technology Makes this a lot easier and you can come out because guys that are a haasing, its not just one case, it tends to be a lot of cases. People can come out as a group, find each other online and say, yeah, this happened to all of us andates lot more effective. I dont think the norms have shifted, people have been accused of stuff, but the punishments are coming down in a way weve never seen before. Woodruff are things changing, mark . I think have and are changing dramatically. 1991 when the Clarence Thomas and anita hill case appeared, the male judiciary shamed her, and adversarial. Just think if that testimony were given today by somebody oof anita hills credentials and believability, you would have to take it seriously. I think women in position of power, this is about abuse in these actions we hear, its cruelty, but most of all its about power. Its somehow i can exercise power and youre not another human being until every man acknowledges that every woman is either his sister, his mother, his daughter, his niece, his favorite child, then im afraid this is considered a perk by a number of powerful men. Woodruff an, david, thats my question. As long as men hold the vast majority of the powerful jobs in this country, powerful roles, is anything going to change . Women can still speak up as a group but they still will be facing this, as i understand what youre saying. Saying. Yeah, the Power Dynamics is what it is. Some men have power addiction, masochism, an addiction to seduction where theyre always crudely driven by this, so its just woven into some peoples distorted natures and i think they can stop getting away with it and its becoming more likely that they will get caught. Woodruff we hope some things are changing for the better. David brooks, mark shields, thank you both. Thank you, judy. Woodruff and now, a look at love, loss, class, race and the mystical all topics in jesmyn wards latest novel, sing unburied sing. Recently named a macarthur genius fellow, the Tulane University professor has been nominated for this Years National book award, an honor she previously won in 2011. Jeffrey brown visited her in mississippi in the latest episode of our race matters series. Brown a late summer day in the small town of delisle, near the mississippi gulf coast, and jesmyn ward plays in the yard with her fiveyearold daughter and her friend, while her infant son sleeps inside. When ward was a child growing up here herself, she was a voracious reader, especially of books about the adventures of young girls. But, there was always something missing. I would have liked to have had the chance to read about an eight or nineyearold girl of color who was having some amazing adventure, in some magical place, and not bound by the world, the world that we live in. Brown were you aware, even as a child, that you were not, that that story was not being told . Yeah, yeah, i was. It made me very sad. I dont know, because i think that when you see yourself reflected in literature, that it enlarges your ideas of what is possible for you. And this is the delisle bayou. Isnt it beautiful . Brown it is. Its very beautiful. In book after book, the 40year old ward has been enlarging the world by focusing on a particular place and people mostly black, rural, a mississippi of rich family life and brutal poverty and racism. Her 2011 National Book Award Winning novel salvage the bones was a fictional account of hurricane katrinas very real toll on her community. That storm taught me that everything you love, everything that means something to you can be taken away from you, in five hours, six hours, and you have no control. Brown wards family, the extended group numbering now in the hundreds, has been in delisle for generations, and she lives within a few miles of her grandmother, mother and two sisters. So this is scenic drive. My mom worked in a house like this. Brown when jesmyn was young, her mother norine worked as a maid in nearby Pass Christian for a wealthy white family, who helped jesmyn attend an episcopal school, where she was often the only africanamerican. On one hand, i was very conscious of the fact that my mom cleaned houses like this for a living. And i knew historically people like me didnt live in houses like this. We served in houses like this. You know, i was just a teenage girl, who loved her friends and wanted to have fun with them. Brown her 2013 memoir, men we reaped, told a darker story a portrait of five young black men from her community who died violent deaths in a span of just a few years. One of them, her younger brother joshua, killed in 2000 by a drunk driver. He was 19. He didnt even make it to 20, in some ways, i write about him so much because it is also enabling him to live, both in my nonfiction, when i explicitly write about him, and then of course in my fiction, when he takes on life in my characters, in some ways. Brown have you thought about how you have managed to create such an alternative life . I do, and i think that sometimes i feel guilty about it, because i lived and because he died. And then with that life, you know, that i had, i did this thing, i did this really foolish thing. Brown you mean this thing of writing . And getting out in the world in a different way . Yes, yes. I did it for myself, because i love books, i love writing, i love literature, i love telling stories, i love creating. But i think that in some respects, i did it for my brother, too, because hes not here. And i dont know, i think thats an achievement, you know . Brown in her new novel sing, unburied, sing, the dead, as ghostlike figures, are present in the lives of the living. The story is narrated by different characters, including a teenage boy whod met a violent death in prison years before. Most of my fiction is pretty realistic, right . And so here i was, you know, introducing the supernatural, introducing, like, the magical into my fiction, and its a different kind of writing, right . Its the kind of writing where you have to invent an entire world, it has to make sense, it has to be believable, right, to your reader. Brown but if ward has added a few ghosts, shes also continued to ground her story in very real world pain and problems. Much like literary great william faulkner, who also used his native mississippi as a backdrop. Thats the world these characters live in. And in some respects, its the world that i live in. Because i live in my hometown, and there are many people that i know of in my hometown who are battling drug addiction, who are you know, struggling with poverty, who are struggling with the fact that they have little to no access to Quality Health care. Brown whats very striking about your writing, though, is, while youre dealing with these very, sort of hard, real issues, the writing itself is more poetic. Including the ghosts. I feel like so many of the writers that i love have done that. Like, you know, i think about faulkners work, and here he is writing about poor white people. But the language is amazing. The structure can be so impressive and unexpected, and it can surprise you. So but hes just one of many, right . Brown hes a big one, especially here in mississippi. Yeah, hes a big one, hes a big one, yes. Brown having left delisle to become the first in her family to attend college she earned two degrees at stanford and a masters at michigan ward made a decision to return to raise her children. Her books have a prominent spot in the local bookstore. But she continues to balance what she loves and fears here. One of the most important things that i want for my kids is, i want them to live. You know, i want them to live to see 21 and beyond, and i dont necessarily know if this is the best place for that. I mean, even though there are all these wonderful things about raising my kids here. So thats something that i struggle with, this choice that ive made to come back here, and to stay. Its something i struggle with all the time. Brown from delisle, mississippi, im Jeffrey Brown for the pbs newshour. Woodruff and jesmyn ward is already starting her next work an historical novel set amid the 1800s new orleans slave trade. Woodruff the daily news about north korea and its Nuclear Capabilities causes great anxiety for many people. Because so little is known about what happens inside north korea it is very difficult for journalists to travel there most news Stories Center on the actions of its leader, kim jongun. Tonight, writer and novelist min jin lee offers her humble opinion on the enormous, and the very human, part of the story that we are missing. My father was born on Christmas Day in 1934. He grew up in a northeastern harbor city called wonsan, which is now part of north korea. When the korean war began, my father was 16, and he found passage on an american refugee ship thinking hed be gone for just a few days, but he never saw his mother or his sister again. Somewhere behind the heavily secured 38th parallel, lives my family. My father never learned when his mother or sister died. My fathers sister had a child, who is apparently alive, but i do not expect to meet my cousin. So, when i think about north korea, i think about my father and what he lost. Imagine being 16 years old, and because there is a war, you must leave your birthplace and never see your mother again. Imagine now knowing that she must be dead, based only on natural Life Expectancy rather than on a real moment in time. Imagine if you did not know that this was your last goodbye. Today, my cousin cannot leave her country. She cannot travel within her own nation without permission, which is almost never granted. The nation assigns her a classification based on her familys loyalty to the state; she will not know her own classification, but it will determine where she lives, how she eats, where she works, and where her children go to school. She does not have the internet, or access to the most ordinary factual information. She does not have the freedom of religion. If she is caught with prohibited media, like u. S. B. Sticks of korean soap operas or a copy of the bible, she will be imprisoned, and the punishment will fall on three generations of her family. If my cousin tried to escape and failed, she can be shot. If she defects and goes to china, she risks being sold as a slave by human traffickers. The same is true for even the most elite members of the north korean government. So when we consider north korea, we respond to the messages of exactly one person, a young dictator about whom we know very little. 25 Million People who live in north korea are denied freedom in every aspect of their lives. In short, they are hostages. Imagine 25 million hostages. So, when i hear about Nuclear Weapons, like you, i am afraid. But we can also remember the Democratic Values we cherish; we can learn more of how we can help; and we can have compassion for our global brothers and sisters who are trapped in a dystopian invention not of their making. Woodruff on the newshour online right now an appalachian blues band puts the Opioid Crisis into song, painting a picture of the people in West Virginia whose lives have been unraveled by addiction. Listen in and learn more our website, www. Pbs. Org newshour. So, robert costa is preparing for washington week, which airs later tonight. Robert, whats coming up . Tonight we will take a closer look at the fractured Republican Party and the extraordinary action by not one, but two g. O. P. Senators to publicly question President Trumps character and ability to lead. Could the g. O. P. Civil war cost the party the majority in 2018 . Plus, a preview of the g. O. P. Tax plan to overhaul the federal tax code, later tonight on washington week. Judy . Woodruff and well be watching. Thanks, robert. Tomorrow on pbs newshour weekend, Nick Schifrin reports from russia on a controversial law that decriminalizes some forms of domestic violence. translated when a woman calls the police and says, my husband is killing me, they respond by saying, call us when he kills you. Reporter thats actually what happened last november to 36yearold yana savchuk. She recorded herself calling the local police in a town 200 miles south of moscow and calmly asking for help. In response, the officer a woman mocked her. The officer says, if he kills you, well certainly come to examine the dead body. 45 minutes later, her boyfriend killed her. Last june it was made a crime punishable up to two years in prison. Now if they dont break bones they can be sentenced to only 15 days in jail or avoid jail by paying a 500 fine. Woodruff so disturbing. Thats tomorrow night on pbs newshour weekend. And well be back right here on monday, with a look at children in china raising their younger siblings. That is the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language. Bnsf railway. Collette. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org youre watching pbs. Rose welcome to the program. We begin tonight with President Trump declaring the Opioid Crisis a Public Health emergency. We talk to Jenna Johnson of the washington post. This all comes down to money. And a lot of advocates that we talked with today said you know what, the president can call this what ever kind of emergency he wants to call it, what we really need is more money. More money for treatment, more money to help people. Just more money. Rose we continue with more on the opioid cries business peter santoro, dr. Lipi roy and dr. Nora volkow. When i was going through my darkest das 27, 28 years agok i lost everything. What open yads opiates did to me i it was everything, more important than my wife, my money. Rose because of the pain