Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20171113

More. Its a good place to go and its a bit of a surprise. Woodruff 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. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. 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 alabamas republican nominee to the u. S. Senate, roy moore, faces new pressure tonight to quit the race, and new allegations of sexual contact decades ago with teenage girls. Lisa desjardins begins our coverage. Desjardins now 55 years old, Beverly Young nelson alleges that Senate Candidate roy moore violently assaulted her when she was 16 after offering her a ride home. He reached over and began groping me. And putting hands on my breast. I yelled at him to stop. Instead of stopping he grabbed my neck to force it onto his crotch. Desjardins sitting with her highprofile attorney gloria allred, nelson gave details, including showing that moore, then district attorney, signed her yearbook a few days before the alleged attack. She says she came forward publicly now after hearing the charges of other women. I want mr. Moore to know he no longer has any power over me. And i no longer live in fear of him. Desjardins her story sparked a new round of reaction, colorado senator cory gardner, who oversees g. O. P. Senate elections, said the senate should expel moore if he win his senate seat. Hours earlier republican Mitch Mcconnell said moore should drop out of the race. I think he should step aside. Desjardins mcconnell added that he believes the accusations from four women in the original the Washington Post story that ran last week. I believe the women, yes. Desjardins moore fired back at mcconnell on twitter, saying the Senate Leader is the one who should step aside. Repeatedly, including in birmingham over the weekend, the former state chief justice has insisted he is innocent. These attacks involve a minor and they are completely false and untrue. To think that grown women would wait 40 years to come before right before an election to bring charges is absolutely unbelievable. Desjardins moore said he will sue the Washington Post over the original story. Those who may decide moores fate, alabama voters, were mixed following those first accusations. Some critical of him. Nothing that he says holds any water with me. Desjardins but others taking moores word over his accusers. Yes right now, i believe him. I surely do. If it was me, if somebody had done me wrong, id go ahead when the event took place and Say Something then. Why would i wait 30 years . Desjardins for now, moore is set to take on Democrat Doug Jones on december 12. His new accuser says she wants a Senate Hearing on her charges within two weeks. For the pbs newshour, im lisa desjardins. Woodruff late today, two more u. S. Senators withdrew their support of Moore John Cornyn of texas and Lindsey Graham of south carolina. Well explore the roy moore story in greater detail, a little later in the program. In the days other news, President Trump called for major changes to republican tax reform plans. In a tweet from asia, he advocated for ending the unfair and highly unpopular individual mandate under obamacare. He also urged cutting the top rate to 35 , with all the rest going to middle income cuts. Republican bills in the house and senate do not include either proposal. In iran, rescuers dug with their bare hands today, after a powerful earthquake killed at least 445 people and injured 7,300 more. It struck last night near the border with iraq and sent tremors as far as the mediterranean coast. Geraint vincent of independent television news, reports. Reporter on ruined streets in the towns of western iran, people gather around holes in the rubble in the search of signs of life. The earthquake struck only 24 hours ago. So the chances of finding survivors are still strong. But when hopes are dashed and they have to recover the bodies of the dead, their work is accompanied by the wailing of the griefstricken. The earthquake reached across the border between iran and iraq, where people ran for their lives as the supermarkets emptied as the stock was shaken off the shelves. And in this glassfronted cafe, even as they were escaping, the doors shattered. And on the Security Camera screens in the control room of a dam near the epicenter, the pictures show that its not always safer outside. Huge rocks were thrown down the hillside, and across the car park. On the iranian side of the border last night, hospitals suddenly found themselves overwhelmed. The quake shook remote regions, where thousands were made homeless in a few moments, and now face cold nights with no shelter. Epicenter, the boulders have come to a halt. But there are big cracks in the structure of the dam, and fears that it could burst. Woodruff that from Geraint Vincent of independent television news. A Saudi Arabian coalition is lifting a blockade of air and sea ports controlled by the government in yemen. Thats after aid organizations warned it would trigger a humanitarian disaster. The coalition had said it needed to cut off the flow of weapons to rebels in yemen. A north korean soldier was shot and wounded by his own side today, as he bolted across the border to south korea. It happened at the truce village at panmunjom. The defector is now in a south korean hospital, with wounds to his shoulder and elbow. Global Carbon Pollution is up for the first time in three years. An International Team of scientists reported the findings today in bonn, germany. It came after Carbon Dioxide emissions had leveled off in 2014. The plateau and now the renewed rise this year are all driven primarily by what is happening in china, with the renewed use of coal this year anticipated as a result of stimulus probably from the government, pushing Industrial Production up again this year. Woodruff Carbon Dioxide emissions in the u. S. And europe have actually declined slightly this year, but by less than in previous years. Back in this country, the president has nominated former Drug Company Executive alex azar for secretary of health and human services. Azar worked for eli lilly for most of the last decade. Before that, he held senior posts at h. H. S. In the george w. Bush administration. If confirmed, hed succeed tom price, who resigned over his use of private charter jets at government expense. Another woman is accusing former president george h. W. Bush of groping her. She says it happened as they posed for a photo in 2003, when she was 16 and he was in his late 70s. At least five other women have made similar allegations. A spokesman for mr. Bush said today he regrets offending anyone. And on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 17 points to close at 23,439. The nasdaq rose six points, and the s p 500 added two. Still to come on the newshour whats come from President Trumps trip to asia. The political fallout from new accusations against Senate Candidate roy moore. The u. S. Role in yemen, a country faced with war, disease and starvation, and much more. Woodruff President Trump winds down his twelve day, five nation trip to asia meeting with a controversial leader accused of abusing human rights. On the surface, at least, it was all pleasantries between mr. Trump and his host, philippines president rodrigo duterte. We have a great relationship, this has been very successful. Woodruff up for discussion trade and fighting terrorism. In public, at least, President Trump did not mention dutertes bloody crackdown on drug suspects. Philippines officials estimate more than 3,000 people have died. Human Rights Groups say its three times that many. Duterte has even boasted of killing men with his own hands when he was younger. After todays meeting, white house spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said human rights briefly came up in the context of the philippines fight against illegal drugs. A spokesman for duterte denied that mr. Trump ever raised the issue. Well, there was no mention of human rights, there was no mention of extralegal killings, there was only a rather lengthy discussion about the philippines war on drugs with woodruff the leaders ignored reporters questions. Duterte called them spies, drawing laughter from President Trump. Reactions were sharply different in the streets. Hundreds of people protested the trump visit, and police beat them back with shields and water cannons. Duterte, though, seemed unfazed. Last night, he even broke into song for his guest of honor. Ladies and gentlemen, i sang, uninvited, a duet with miss Pilita Corrales upon the orders of the commander in chief of the United States. Woodruff still, there are differences. Today, mr. Trump addressed leaders of asean, a bloc of Southeast Asian nations, hoping they will help counter chinas influence. President duterte is seeking closer ties with china. At a forum yesterday, he called it the number one economic power. The South China Sea is better left untouched. Nobody can afford to go to war. Woodruff over the weekend, President Trump drew fire for his embrace of another strongman russias president vladimir putin. They spoke during a summit of asianpacific leaders in vietnam. Afterward, the president was asked if he pressed putin on russias meddling in the 2016 election. He answered, every time he sees me he says, i didnt do that, and i really believe that when he tells me that. Mr. Trump also said u. S. Intelligence Agency Leaders whod confirmed russian meddling were political hacks. But on sunday, he said he was talking about Previous Agency heads. Im with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. I believe in our intel agencies woodruff tomorrow, the president attends an east asia summit meeting in manila, concluding his asia tour. We take a closer look at the trip and what message mr. Trump is sending to the region with Richard Haass. He served in republican administrations on the National Security Council Staff and in the state department. He is now the president of the council on foreign relations. His latest book is a world in disarray. And Michael Pillsbury is a senior fellow at the hudson institute, where he directs the center for chinese strategy. He was also an advisor to the trump transition. To both of you. Welcome back to the program. Michael pills burry to you first, what is the main thing the president has accomplished on this trip. I think there are two or three things. The maining main thing is to lay the foundation for his next trip, next year. He laid the foundation. Each of these five countries, hes taken very seriously the through multilateral organizations that he met with. Hes also integrated trade and security in a very unique way that has not been done for a long time. If you look at his team at some of these meetings, not only has secretary of state tillerson, hes also got bob whitehaaser fromstr. So it is a unique combination of trade and security comes together, and comes out in the bilateral agreementings with the five governments. Woodruff raiched haass how do you see the accomplishments of the trip so far. The principle accomplishment in the spirit of showing up. The fact that the president went to five countries, spent nearly two weeks, showed up at all these meetings. I think that says that asia is important to us. This was, however incomer part undone by his own lack of discipline. You mentioned some of the things in your introduction. The kind treatment of the president of the philippines, the statements about mr. Putin, the trashing of former american intelligence officials, all this detracted from the trip. And where i disagree with Michael Pillsbury fultly is the president rather than integrated security and trade if anything divorced the two. Historians will say, i will predict, the principle decision of the trip was to further distance the United States from the dynamism in the region to keep the United States outside the multilateral trade mechanism and the principle beneficiary of that is china as our allies in friends are left to their own devices. Woodruff lets take that one at a time what about the first point, that the president with all these comments, flattering the strongman, cozying up to people who have not been seen as friendly to the u. S. , that that really hurt the overall effort to get something done. Human rights was mentioned in the bilateral statement between the philippines and the United States. So it is a little bit unpair for richard to say, you know, be as harsh as he is. This is a first time out. D i completely agree with invoking woody allen, 90 of life just showing up but its more than that. He got some agreements. When i mentioned trade and economics being integrated, im talking about the businessmen who showed up in beijing which they promised 250 billion in deals. Businessmen were part of each of the stops. So it cannot be denied that trump is trying to integrate trade and investment with security issues. I think also its important that he laid out an exit ramp for the leader of north korea. Woodruff let me stop you there, i want to come back to richard on that point about trade and security and then well come back to north korea. Richard, what about that . Deals are not the answer. A lot of these deals in part represented previous agreements, that may take five, ten, 15 years to really come to freuician, that isoing to then make the size of them quite insignificant. The real Economic Opportunity was to integrate the Unitied States in the Transpacific Partnership t would have set very high standards for the rego. Region. China is not a part of it and it would have forced china to make a decision, city outside the region, or join it but join it on term terms we want, to open up to investment and trade. That they cant demand certain types of technology transfer, they cant steal technology. So we had this mechanism which we helped negotiate and then mr. Trump walked away from it. Woodruff so did the u. S. Lose ground with regard to china in asia . No, i dont think so. I understand Richard Haass criticism of walking away from tpp. I think what the president has in mind is replacing it in two ways. One is some sort of benefit from tpp, its not entirely dropped. Some aspects of it can be incorporated in the new framework which is Bilateral Agreements with each of these Major Trading nations. The other thing i need to remind Richard Haass of is an excellent book he once wrote called reluctant sheriff. It has the concept in that book of rightness or relationshippening when an issue is ready to be settled it is a very important thing in geopolitics to know when it is time to do something. Rate now its time to move toward more bilateral trade agreements that are fairer to us. Its also time to talk about north korea which he did at every stop. But in a much more measured way than some of the military threats that had been used earlier. In fact, there was very little discussion of sort of an attack on north korea during the trip. I think that is a good thing. Woodruff richard husss, what about the north korea point and then about the trade. And about this great look, the reluctant sheriff, its impossible to criticize someone who says nice things about your writing. But let me come to north korea. Thats obviously the most urgent National Security threat, not just in the region but the world. The president i think erred by me of his public tweeting and so forth, but privately the real question is over time did he line up japan, south korea and most important china to work with us more on putting pressure on north korea. And even more, i think the question, judy, is the United States now prepared to introduce an element of diplomacy. The choices are essentially living with north korea with a large missile and nuclear inventory, that is not desirable. Going to wore with north korea, also not desirable. So why not introduce a serious diplomatic dimension it wont he eliminate the problem but it could cap and stabilize it and create a baseline. I dont see that yet, im hoping. And this is one trip, i realize, not an entire foreign policy, well have to look back on it one day, im hoping that ultimately gets introduced. Woodruff well have an opportunity in the future to look back at this. We want to thank you, the promoter of the become and author himself richard hass ha, ss, michael pills bury. Richard is being too harsh on President Trump, that is my final say. Thank you. Woodruff thank you. Woodruff now, back to the accusations of Sexual Misconduct against the Republican Partys Senate Candidate in alabama, roy moore. We turn first to don dailey. He covers politics for Alabama Public Television and joins us now from birmingham. Don dailey welcome back to the program, so we mow have a fifth woman making serious accusations against judge moore. What is the reaction there . Well, we heard today from the head of the alabama Republican Party, her first public statements since last weeks accusations broke. And she said that it is her interpretation that support for roy moore, at least among the party loyal and among his loyal base, seems to be surging. Terry lathan the chair of the party said today there are no plans now to seek an alternate candidate or to endorse a writein candidate in this race. She says anything is possible but so far the state Republican Party Steering Committee which guides her in making decisions has not decided to meet and discuss this issue. And again she is saying the state Republican Party chair that roy moores support seems to be surging. Woodruff so don dailey, are people there saying they believe these women are simply making all this up. There are some within the Republican Party, especially those who are very loyal to roy moore, his base who have said at the dont believe these allegations, that they believe he is the victim of a political attack. And they question the timing, obviously, of the allegations release coming only a month before the election. There are others in alabama who have said they believe these accusations and that they believe moore should step aside from the senate racial. They are largely either democrats or independents or moderates. But roy moores base which is fervent and solid here in alabama, they have come out twice supported him in the primary and runoff elections, by and large seem to be sticking by him so far. Woodruff and what about the growing number of republican senators in washington or from around the country who are saying that he either needs to step aside or there at the very least withdrawing their endorsement. I think that is reason for concern among some here in alabama. Even some republicans here in alabama. But roy moore himself in the last few days has at least wondered aloud in public whether or not Establishment Republicans in washington may have been behind the release of these allegations, republicans who might be worried about him being a maverick and not necessarily towing the republican line, thats been an open question of debate in this story as it unfolds here in alabama. But republicans by and large here in alabama at least publicly, are saying that they are standing behind judge moore for now. Woodruff and what about the democrats, don. What are they saying . Democrats by and large are expressing a lot of concern about these accusations, theyre saying that they believe these women who have come forward and they believe that the accusations alone are grounds for roy moore to step aside. Interestingly, roy moores democratic opponent in next months general u. S. Senate election here, doug jones, has said very little publicly. He has acknowledged the scandal. He has publicly called on roy moore to answer these serious charges as he put it. But his campaign nar riff narrative as has continued on the campaign trail in recent days has been focused on his core message, things like health care, jobs and the economy, rather than focuses on the allegations against roy moore. He seems to be, at least, sitting back and letting the story unfold on its own. Woodruff quickly going back to what you said at the beginning of our conversation, that the head of the Republican Party in alabama says support for roy moore is surging today, are they basing that on polls or anecdotally. I think its probably anecdotally. You may be aware that a couple of polls have been conducted in alabama since these allegations broke. They have been back and forth on who is the leader of this race. These public polls have suggested that roy moore was still ahead. There are others that have suggested that he was tied with doug joans. And new reports or new polls rather today went back to suggesting he is leading by as much as 10 percentage points. Woodruff don dailey with Alabama Public Television. Watching it all very closely. We thank you. Thank you, judy. Woodruff and back here in washington we are joined woodruff and back in washington, were joined by our politics monday team amy walter of the cook political report, and tamara keith of npr. Welcome to you both. So tamara, we just heard from alabama, what people are saying down there. What are you hearing here in washington about this, this new a accuser, woman who came forward today in new york from alabama, but also the senators . So this was, thises with different, you know, the past allegations came in a newspaper article. This is live on Television Video of an accuser who is deeply emotionally distraught and offering very specific details about this event that happened 40 years ago. And almost immediately the reaction from senators was prompt. And you have Corrie Gardner who is the head of the nrsc, responsible for getting republicans elected in 2018 saying that roy moore should step aside. And if he doesnt, expulsion is the direction that we would go, trying to expel him from the senate. And that seems to be the way its going. There are a lot of different scenarios a that have been gamed out this washington in recent days. But it seems like republican senators are starting to con toll consolidate behind that idea. Just moments ag reporting from the hallways of capitol hill im seeing luthor strange giving interviews the current republican senator from alabama temporarily saying he thinks a writein candidacy is unlakely at this time. Woodruff that is what we were hearing from don dailey in birmingham, saying that was what the word is there. It sounds like senators, the republicans in washington, now expect that roy moore could very well win this race. Absolutely. Republicans have almost a nowin situation here with roy moore. If he wins, they have then the reality in front of them as tam pointed o out, many senators calling for his expulsion or one of the most prominent senators Corrie Gardner saying we will expel him from the United States senate. If he lose, then of course they are now down to an only one seat majority. Theyre trying to pass tax reform, which then would be the barest margin if they dont pass it by the middle of december. And so this would put so many things into general ardy. But as i said, whether he wins or loses, republicans are in a very, very difficult place. Woodruff what kind of territory are we in, tam, when we are talking about expelling a snoor who has just senator who has just been elected. Do we know how that works. Potentially reversing the will of the voters. Woodruff exactly. There is a process for it and the reason that these republican senators are even con tell plating this is because this isnt just about alabama. This isnt just about 2017. This is about 2018 and 2020. And if they were to have eye fellow senator who is accused of these very serious things serving sidebyside with them, it would become a Campaign Issue in every single campaign. Woodruff so it may be, it may be that he flies, is acceptable in alabama, amy, but their concern is about what this looks like for the rest of the country. Absolutely. I think you are already going to see that democrats are going to try to attach republican candidates and republican incumbents to roy moore. Theyre already asking incum dents and candidates to km out publicly and say what their opinion is of roy moore. And so he will become in many ways sort of a poster child for the Republican Party, that is if you are republicans you are worried that you are going to see this person and what he has done in campaign ads all through 2018, even if you have come out and said i would like to see him gone. Woodruff talk about a polit Republican Party. Yes, and this is a bigger challenge, i think, where if you step back for a minute. Which is the difference between what we are hearing from alabama and the report you just had before us, and what you are hearing in washington. This has been sort of a constant under the trump era of the divide in the Republican Party between the so called establishment here in washington and republicans on the ground. The other person that is helping on the ground, of course, is steve bannon and Breitbart News who are encouraging roy moore to stay in this race, that are discrediting the women, trying to find ways to discredit the women, discredit the Washington Post. There was a time, judy where if a National News organization came in and uncovered serious crimes about a candidate, that would be taken very, very seriously. Now because it came from the Washington Post, it is discredited. Same with washington itself. There was a time when a United States senator saying its time for to you step down would mean they would step down. Woodruff would be the kiss of death. Absolutely. That matters zero. And so its more than just this race, judy. It goes to show that whether he comes here or not, there say new world order that is coming to the way that we do politics. And it is going to reverberate far beyond this race. Woodruff while all of this has been going on, tam, this has sucked a lot of oxygen out of the room. But there is this tax reform plan, the republicans are trying to get done. There is a house version, a senate version, what does it look like right now. Just to talk about briefly how much oxygen has been sucked out, Mitch Mcconnell was in kentucky doing an event about tax reform. When he got asked about roy moore and ended up making news about roy moore, and no one is talking about taxes. Woodruff even knows what he said. Well, somebody must know. But that didnt make the news tonight. So the house is expected this week to pass their tax bill and the senate is working its way through t theyre marking it up. It is in committee. At the moment the house and senate are on schedule with this very aggressive schedule. But there are a lot of things to work out between now and actually having something that could get to the president s desk. Woodruff a lot of things to work out, amy but a lot of pressure on republicans to get this done. A lot of pressure. When we talk to republicans they say this bill may not be the greatest thing in the world. But if we dont pass it, we are doomed. Because we will have completed an entire term with a Republican House and senate and white house and have absolutely nothing to show for it. It would be a disaster. So the willing to take the risk on a bill that right now at best, judy, is polling in the mediocre territory, voters are pretty ambivalent about it. They would rather take the advance with that then take a chance of not having anything to talk about in 2018. Its a very difficult place that theyre sitting in right now. Woodruff were looking at that as we get ready for thanksgiving. Well talk about that next week. Next week. Woodruff amy walter, tamara keith, politics monday, thank you. Youre welcome. Woodruff stay with us, coming up on the newshour austerity measures lead greeks to have fewer children and sometimes leave the country altogether. And Jeffrey Brown sits down with led zeppelins lead singer robert plant. But first, as we reported earlier, the saudiled, u. S. Backed coalition has begun to lift its blockade of yemen. However, humanitarian groups on the ground say that famine is still a possibility for millions, while a cholera epidemic rages on. Newshours p. J. Tobia has the latest on the crisis and the u. S. Role in the conflict. Reporter a brutal civil war thats led to pestilence, and perhaps soon, says the United Nations, famine. Millions are in danger, either from manmade Food Shortages or an exploding outbreak of cholera, a waterborne diarrheal disease that could sicken one Million People by years end the threeyear civil war has drawn in regional and global powers spilling local blood. If we condition get people in, that strange els our ability to run medical programs, and has a similar effect on humanitarian activities across the country. On one side of the conflict reporter on one side of the conflict Houthi Rebels who deposed a saudiallied government. The houthis are said to be allied with iran, though how much is in dispute. On the other, a Saudi Led Coalition backed by u. S. Weapons and logistics. The houthis launched a missile at the saudi capital, riyadh. It was their furthest incursion into saudi arabia. Saudi Officials Say the missile was supplied by iran, and they shut down access to yemens sea and airports. A u. S. Air force official in the region said remains of the rocket bore iranian markings. Iran has long denied supplying rockets to yemens Houthi Rebels. As the war grinds on, yemen endures what the United Nations calls the Fastest Growing cholera epidemic in history. Nearly 900,000 people have the illness, half of them children. More than 2,000 yemenis have died in the epidemic. The u. N. Predicts one million cholera cases by january. It affected the vast majority of the country, with patients reported from every corner of yemen and its compounded by the fact that the Health System has already collapsed in many respects. As i said Health Workers have not been paid, over half the Health Facilities in the country have ceased functioning, other ones struggle with even the most basic needs. Reporter but the war continues. Al qaeda, isis, tribal and militia groups are also active. The u. S. Conducts airstrikes against these terrorists. In january a navy seal was killed in a raid in central yemen. Abdul wahab alkebsi was born in yemen, hes now the Deputy Director for programs at the center for International Private enterprise. The conflict in yemen unfortunately right now has reached a level of equilibrium. Nobody is gaining ground, nobody is losing ground, mo of the belligerents right now are benefiting from the status quo, so they would benefit from continuing the war while they would also lose from a peace process. So weve reached a level where it seems like theres no solution in sight. Reporter a United Nations report in september said that both sides of the conflict have committed war crimes. The houthis are accused of recruiting child soldiers. But the u. N. Says Coalition Bombings are the leading cause of civilian deaths. Some of those bombs were sold to the saudis by u. S. Based arms dealers. A single, october 2016 saudi airstrike killed 140 and wounded hundreds at a funeral in sanaa. Basically u. S. Tanker jets are flying missions to refuel saudi and u. A. E. Jets in air, so that they can continue the high tempo of air strikes over the country. Reporter kate kizer is the director of policy and advocacy at the yemen peace project the u. S. Also has been sharing intelligence with the coalition for targeting purposes, and there are also u. S. Personnel in the joint command center that the coalition runs. But its pretty unclear still what the role of those u. S. Personnel is, as theres never been transparency either from the Obama Administration or the Trump Administration. Reporter a pentagon spokesman would only tell newshour that the u. S. Gives the Saudi Airforce information on enemy capabilities and networks. They wouldnt specify how much fuel u. S. Tankers were pumping into saudi and emiratee jets bombing yemen. Theyd only share figures for all operations in the horn of africa region. After the funeral bombing, the Obama Administration launched a review of u. S. Support for the coalition. Ultimately obama halted the sale of nearly 20,000 bombs to the saudis, many manufactured by u. S. Based raytheon. Last summer the Trump Administration notified congress that it would permit the sale. Trump later announced the possibility of billions of dollars in new u. S. Arms sales to the saudis. The president says the deals are a way to create u. S. Jobs. Providing military support that is then used for potential war crimes opens the u. S. To complicity in those war crimes so i think its really important to recognize that just because theyre our allies we should not just blindly support them. Reporter some lawmakers on capitol hill agree. Senator chris murphy introduced Bipartisan Legislation last spring that would have limited u. S. Bombing support. It was narrowly defeated. Newshours Judy Woodruff asked murphy about the issue earlier this week. The u. S. Saudi war in yemen is a National Security disaster for the United States. Its setting off one of the worlds worst humanitarian crisis in yemen. Its radicalizing the population against the u. S. , the u. S. Is getting absolutely nothing out of this war inside yemen reporter and the National Security stakes for the u. S. Are high. A failed state in yemen will create a vacuum, will create the perfect breeding ground for terrorist organizations, whether its the alqaeda flavor, or the isis flavor. And thats a very, very destabilizing thing for yemen, for saudi arabia for the region and for the rest of the world. Reporter more than one plot against the west has emanated from yemen, including a 2010 plot to bomb cargo planes bound for the u. S. Continued instability is Fertile Ground for bad actors. For the pbs newshour, im p. J. Tobia. Woodruff we turn our focus now to greece, where the ripple effects of their financial crisis are still felt seven years later. The damage might last generations given economics have forced many young greeks to forgo having children or leave the country entirely. Special correspondent Malcom Brabant reports on this growing brain drain. Reporter dusk in northern greece. Time for the marriage of administrator christina theofilidou and sotiris manitsaris, a researcher in artificial intelligence. Its a unique moment. Its the first time in my life ive had this kind of moment, so its between stress and happiness, lets say. Right now, a bit of a panic. But ill be fine soon. Ill be fine in a second. Reporter summers end used to be prime wedding season. But as greece languishes in its great depression, statistics show an increasing number of young people cant afford to marry. Basically i think, it was kind of love at first sight. When i found christina, i thought this girl is for me. Shes beautiful, she has an excellent character, shes very clever, and she also left greece for me. Reporter besides love, being on a typical monthly wage of 750 convinced christina to join the brain drain and move to france. As a human being you need to have dreams. You need to be able to dream of a future, of having a family, but due to the financial crisis all of these dreams were shattered. Because you cannot live with 625 euros, my salary, i have a masters degree, i have work experience, thats my salary, another 625 euros, if you put that together, i mean, you really cant live with that kind of money. This is not a big fat greek wedding. Not at all. Reporter there was no honeymoon. They were heading straight back to paris so christina could start a new job. I feel were very lucky to be able to do this. I know that there are many families in greece at this moment in time who cannot have this kind of celebration. To be honest, i worry more about the country than the young people because i think young greeks know very well how to survive. Reporter but according to research emanating from the island of lesbos, that confidence is misplaced. With its rapidly aging population, greece is not only facing a demographic time bomb, its young generation is in the firing line of what a sociologist calls geneocide or annihilation. If a country is losing a Young Creative generation, it doesnt have the means to reproduce itself. This will be a vicious cycle of degradation, of decline of the society. Its not just a problem. Its the most difficult problem that greece is facing today. Reporter sotiris xtouris is a professor of sociology at the university of the aegean. I call this the annihilation of a generation. They have no jobs. They will not have a generation of creative entrepreneurs in greece. It could be that greeks and the Greek Society will decline totally as a failed state, as a failed society. Reporter 42yearold Yannis Sarakatsanis is determined to ensure his society survives the seemingly never ending trial of austerity. Despite being a well known comic actor and satirist, he struggles. Whatever you want to do, the reward has to come quick. Because we dont trust that were going to have a stable system in three months. Getting paid is a more difficult process now. So me as an actor, lets say i do a commercial, the Production Company will pay me six months after the work ive done. In the meantime i have to pay my taxes. I have to wait, and i have to call them, again and again and again. Because if i dont call them, theyre not going to bother with me, because thats actually a bonus for them, if i dont call them, and if i dont bother them, theyre going to keep my money and pay someone else who is actually bothering them. When i wake up, i have this knot in my neck because i feel like its a new day that i have to pull through. Reporter soso hadtzimanoli is a 34yearold actress. Like so many of her generation, the financial crisis has taken away her sense of independence. I feel sad and angry that i have had to move back with my parents because the first thing that came to my mind when i did it, it was like, you are taking a step back in life, and i couldnt understand why because i was working, all day, all night, every day since i was 21 years old. Reporter Financial Insecurity across greece has made couples too scared to have children. To maintain the level of population, the fertility rate should be two children per family. In greece, its down to about 1. 3 the population decline in greece is one of the most severe in the world. In 2010 when the financial meltdown began, 115,000 children were born. Five years later, that number had dropped to 92,000. So how do you counter that birth rate reduction of 20 , together with the silencing of wedding bells . Sociologist sotiris xtouris says the government must prioritise investing in the lost generation. One way, he says, would be to unlock the giant portfolio of unused state property and turn it into cheap housing. The most important thing for the Greek Society today is to concentrate all its efforts to reproduce this generation to give to these young people the possibility to be creative, to stay in greece, and the ability to form this society again. Reporter but the actors are skeptical about greece emerging from the abyss. We should work twice as hard as our parents, to get through our lives. Its a little bit unfair, but its what we have to do right now. Reporter alexandra ousta is another household name. She and yannis married last year. I believe that my generation is passive. We dont do as many things as we have to do to make it better. We have to have a voice. And nobody screams. Because austerity becomes harder, we continue to lose faith in the state, and because it becomes a matter of survival, we dont pay taxes, and we dont cut our receipts, and we dont show our income, because we wont survive. Reporter the day after their marriage, newly weds sotiris and christina were having coffee and cakes with their friends, before setting off for home in france. We would want to come back at some point in the future, but we want to know that there are the conditions, at least like some basic conditions, we can find a job, we can have a decent salary we can maintain our family, we need the basics. I feel that i have an obligation to my country to make the country better. You either go away ot another country, or you stay here help. So i think im deciding to stay here and help. Reporter if greece were to follow the sociologists advice and invest in the lost generation, it would require more sacrifices from everyone else. For most people, after years of austerity, the tank is empty. Theyre just flying on the fumes. For the pbs newshour, im Malcolm Brabant in greece. Woodruff now, a rock legend whos grown into a successful solo career. Jeffrey brown has the latest from singer, robert plant. Brown he was the quintessential hard rock front man, in what was for a time the biggest hard rock band on the planet. Robert plant, lead singer of led zeppelin long hair, bare chest, tight pants, howling his way through albums and arenas with guitarist jimmy page, who put the band together in 1968, bass player John Paul Jones and drummer john bonham. Those bands in those days, you know, barely out of my teens, and the guys i was playing with were the most amazing players. And it was all about energy. All about expression. Garish sometimes. In that environment then, everything was so exaggerated, but it lasted just as long as it lasted. And then it, for me, it just dissolved. Brown so if it was all about energy then, what is it about now . Same thing, but its bridled, its contained more. Its a good place to go and its a bit of a surprise, you know . Brown at 69, meeting us recently at nonesuch records in new york, plant is a rock icon whos content with how things have turned out, other than being scored on in foosball. Beaten at soccer by an american that cant be right brown zeppelin disbanded in 1980, after the death of drummer john bonham. Plant had a first solo hit three years later with big log, a but while some rock stars keep playing the same old songs in the same old ways, plant slowly built a muchadmired solo career, by experimenting with different sounds and different musicians. Most notably his 2007 collaboration with bluegrass country star alison krauss. Raising sand, an unlikely meld of styles and voices, was a surprise hit, winning five grammys, including album of the year. The songs were really delicate but intense, and the musicians and the production people, the network, the whole idea of a room all heading to one point to make, get the most out of a song, to get the most out of every lyric, so that a syllable can hang in midair for a while. That was a particularly that was a particularly sensual collection of songs and performance. Brown his new album of original songs, with his band of recent years, the sensational space shifters, is called carry fire. When you put out an album nowadays, what compels it . What does there have to be for you to say, ive got something new . I guess you would probably call it soulsearching, to make sure, with time being so precious, that its not a wasted journey, so brown what constitutes a, an unwasted journey for you nowadays . The musical weave in the beginning. The groove and the kind of, the essence of the music that surrounds the songs, the just being able to get to a place where the music is paramount, its discrete, and in a kind of composite mind, slightly exotic. Brown with the space shifters, here on the pbs Program Austin city limits last year, plant has incorporated zeppelin hits like black dog in new forms. And he continues and expands the zeppelin blend of blues, english ballads, and world music. Including on carry fire, the title track of the new album, the middle eastern oud. I asked about the sounds and influences. They just come from a fortunate life traveling and keeping good company. I was always gathering more and more fuel. I was buying cassettes in the market places and listening to variations on themes and just, such a beautiful, amazing encyclopedia of music i developed slowly. Brown the question plant is asked most often is the one he seems least interested in when will led zeppelin ever get together again . The three surviving members last performed together in 2007. But no encores are planned. I asked plant about the key to the bands success. I dont know. We didnt know. You may think its naive because now so much of entertainment is pretty structured. You know, the game is the game, here we are. We didnt know what on earth we were doing, we were just doing gigs and the gigs got bigger and the crowds got bigger and we had more fun and more and more fun but to be the guy up at the sharp end, is what i call it, as the singer, was a bit of a labor, was a bit of a toil. Brown but was it a performance or was that you . I think it was me responding to music. Just like it is right now. I dont wear a girls blouse anymore, but im still switched, desperately switched on to the music that surrounds me. So with zeppelin i think i was just playing it out. Interesting to see now, i just wonder how he felt at the end of the night, that guy, when i look at him. Brown that guy who was you . Yeah. I cant imagine he must be brown the difference now, plant says perspective, and the freedom to go wherever his musical passions lead. For the pbs newshour, im Jeffrey Brown in new york. I think its all about being good and staying good. And that is the newshour for tonight. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im Judy Woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by colette. Celebrating 100 years of travel, together. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshourroductions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org rose welcome to the program. Tonight, david brooks, the columnist for the new york times. The Republican Party has become the party of people who are rejecting meritocracy, rejecting globalization or extremely skeptical of it. So its deeper than one person. Second, i think its going to be a long time that a party frankly stained by trump can erase that stain. Rose david brooks for the hour next. Rose funding for charlie rose has been provided by the following and boo