Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20180125

Its entrepreneurial spirit. Big skies, big ideas. People think big. Thats why such great things as, as the Nuclear Weapons whole industry. To microsoft who was formed here, to goddard, to the first computer ever. Woodruff all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. 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 new details out of the white house tonight on President Trumps immigration plan. Theres word it could offer a path to citizenship for 1. 8 million young immigrants. Our White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor joins me now with the details. What are we learning . Well, the white house essentially released this early, they are supposed to release it on monday. Now they are releasing it now. It goes into several different things. They want 25 billion for the border wall, and that the border on the wall for mexico and they want to hire more Law Enforcement officials which means there could be more deportation, thents 10 to 12 year path for citizenship for daca and a larger group of undeumed people, usually that has been 800,000 undocumented people, now they are growing it to 1. 8 million. And they also want restricted immigration, eliminate the Visa Lottery Program and limit family wait immigration, so called chain migration. And that term is essentially saying that you can bring over your kids or your spouse but you cannot bring over your grandmother. So everybody has been waiting for this plan, as you said. They said they were going to put it out on monday. They moved it up by several days and you are already getting reaction to it. Yes, i spoke to a white house official today. He told me that they wanted to release it early because lawmakers on the hill were getting ant see. They had been talking to different groups, lawmakers wanted it in their hands. The reaction has been missed. On the right side, conservatives have been at one point happy about it, paul ryan spokesperson tells me that he is, that he see this as a balanced solution but then you have breitbart calling donald trump all nesty don because they are angry that is a 10 to 12 year path toward citizenship. On the left some groups are saying this is a good nshting tactic, kind of a good open place because it includes citizenship but there are also people that are angry at the family issue, because so many immigrants come to this country and bring over their family members. And thed where that you would have to leave your grandmother behind only take your spouse is really heartbreaking for a lot of people. Woodruff we know this is the start of an extended negotiating period, it will be hard fought but it looks like the white house wanted to get their ideas on the table now. That official, the white house official i spoke to said that the president wanted to people to understand what he wanted. He wanted to lay this kind of line in the sand and help people understand that this is the framework he wants to deal with. And conservatives are really going to have to look at that number, 25 billion and say is this what we want to put on our border wall. The interesting thing, this this t is not just talk baying concrete wall but talking about technology, its talking about creating more types of security, so in some way it expands the idea of the wall. I think the big thing for people back home is that the 1. 8 billion people that they are offering citizenship to is a big number that they had not been talking about before. Yesterday when donald trump talked about extending citizenship, he was only talking about 800,000 people. That is a big thing for immigrant activists to hear him say that he wants to extend it. Now that it is out, at least this as much as you have screened is a lot for both sides to chew on. Yamiche alcindor, thanks so much. Woodruff this came as the president was overseas in davos, switzerland, where hes attending the World Economic forum. He spent the day hunting investments, defending his Foreign Policy and making news on the value of the dollar and trade pacts. Special correspondent Ryan Chilcote reports, from davos. Reporter President Trump said he had brought a message of peace and prosperity. He also sought to project the image of a serious global leader, dismissing talk of troubled relations with british Prime Minister theresa may. The Prime Minister and myself have a really great relationship although some people dont necessarily believe that. Reporter less than two months ago, the british Prime Minister publicly rebuked mr. Trump for retweeting anti muslim videos, posted by a far right group called britain first. Today, the Prime Minister emphasized the countries historic ties. We continue to have that really special relationship between the u. K. And United States Standing Shoulder to reporter the british also announced the president will visit the u. K. Later this year. His visit is a controversial issue in the u. K. , and has been repeatedly postponed. Weve developed a great relationship, both as countries, where i think its never been stronger. Reporter the president also exchanged warm words today with the israeli Prime Minister netanyahu and issued what appeared to be an ultimatum to the palestinians. And we give them hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and support. That moneys on the table and that moneys not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace. Reporter President Trump also defended his decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital and move the u. S. Embassy there. That decision enraged palestinians. President trump said it will advance the peace process. There were never any deals that came close because jerusalem. You could never get past jerusalem. So when people said, oh, i set it back, i didnt set it back, i helped it. Because by taking it off the table, that was the toughest issue. I palestinian official responded. President trump saying that jerusalem is off the negotiating table translates into that peace is off the negotiating table. Back in davos mr. Trump told cnbc in an interview he would consider reentering the Transpacific Partnership trade 2k50e8 he withdrew from last year, with a condition. If we did a substantially better deal, i would be open to tpp. And he said he was in favor of a strong u. S. Dollar, that seems to contradict a statement from his treasury secretary yesterday who said a weaker dollar would benefit u. S. Trade. Later at a cocktail reception, mr. Trump pushed his economic agenda. We want great we want great prosperity and we want great peace. And i think that really is the message. It been going really well. Reporter tomorrow, the president s set to address the forum, showcasing the u. S. Economy, and stressing the need for fair trade. For the pbs newshour, im Ryan Chilcote in davos. Woodruff in the days other news, the United States pressed turkey to call off its assault on Kurdish Forces in northwest syria. The turks are targeting kurds around the city of afrin, saying theyre allied with rebels inside turkey. The u. S. Supports the syrian kurds, and at the davos forum today, white House Homeland Security adviser tom bossert urged restraint. I think that president erdogan will make decisions to deescalate violence in afrin and to normalize and stabilize preafrin actions in that region and i think that hell make that decision here with the full support of the United States. President erdogan, we understand your legitimate security concerns on your southern border, and we are going to work with you very closely to get through those concerns. Woodruff the turks shelled afrin again today, and they warned that some 2,000 u. S. Troops in the region could become targets. Turkey also complained that the white house gave a false account of yesterdays phone call between president s trump and erdogan. China promised today to work with the u. S. On cutting the flow of illegal opioids to american dealers. Thats after u. S. Senate investigators found chinese sellers are largely able to circumvent package checks by the u. S. Postal service. The influx of opioids has fueled a wave of Overdose Deaths in the u. S. The nations Emergency Alert system came under scrutiny today, after hawaiis false warning about a missile launch. The incident touched off panic earlier this month. At a Senate Hearing today, democrat brian schatz of hawaii suggested the responsibility for such alerts should not be left to the states. We have lively debates about federalism, about the role of local versus federal government. But a missile attack is federal. A missile attack is not a local responsibility. Confirmation and notification of Something Like a missile attack should reside with the agency that knows first, and knows for sure. Woodruff hawaiian officials have blamed human error for the false alert. But the federal Communications Commission said today the person in question is refusing to cooperate with investigators. And on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 140 points to close at 26,392, another record. The nasdaq fell about four points, and the s p 500 added a point. Still to come on the newshour gymnastics moving forward after widespread sexual abuse. The classified document thats causing a stir on capitol hill. Puerto rico still without power, months after Hurricane Maria, and much more. Woodruff after days of powerful testimony, former gymnastics doctor larry nasser was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. But as the hearing ended, the judge and a number of women who testified said it is crucial now to focus on what needs to change moving forward. Were going to focus on that tonight with a renowned gymnast, shannon miller. She won more olympic medals than any other u. S. Gymnast, and led the team that was dubbed the magnificent seven to gold during the 1996 olympics. Miller was not assaulted by nasser. But she is a leading voice working to reform the sport. I spoke with her earlier today and we started with her reaction to the testimonies she heard during the sentencing hearing. I have just been in a state of shock and sadness, outrage and to listen to the victim impact statement as a mother, as an athlete, as a woman, it is it is absolutely heartbreaking. And i take those voices with me each day as i continue to relentlessly focus on agendabased change. Change has to happen. You have been talking and writing about that. Before we talk about changing the system, though, i want to ask you if you think others besides larry nasser shod be held accountable. The u. S. Olympic committee, michigan state, other institutions . I think there is a lot of account ability to go around, that is for sure. I think this is something that happens by one man, but i think oftentimes its not allowing the voices to be be heard, creating an atmosphere where athletes can not speak up or if they do, they are not heard. Things are not followed through on. So i think there is a great amount of accountability that needs to take place. And i think certainly within u. S. A. Gymnastics one of the things that is of utmost importance is not just the new kre that has come in and the change in leadership but really a change throughout the organization from the board of directors to certain personnel. I think there is a lot of people in the gymnastics community, in fact, i would say a majority of the gymnastics community, they want to see change. They want to do better. And it starts with Holding People accountable. Well, last night we interview ed Sports Training specialist robert an draws from houston and im quoting here. He said there are quit a few gyms out there with horribly abusive coaches running the show. And he said on the womens side there is a tremendous amount of psychological abuse, shaming, humiliation. Is that the system that needs fixing . Its incredibly difficult to watch this unfold because this is not the gymnastics i knew. This is not the gymnastics experience that i faced. I had my personal coaches. I lived at home. I went to public school. I trained. And i got to go out and represent my city and my state and my country. That is the gymnastics i know and i love. Its about flipping and tumbling. It is not about whether or not your child is safe on any level when they go into the gym, other than maybe an injury or two. And we have to have comprehensive, abuse prevention, education t needs to be mandatory for every member of u. S. A. Gymnastics and it needs to be available for all children, all athletes, parents, coaches, administration. It can be age appropriate and thats great. But it covers all types of abuse, including bullying and body shaming and cyberbullying. These are all issues that athletes athletes face. And so we have to make sure that they are protected and armed with that knowledge and education so they know when they can speak up. So how confident are you that that reeducation can take place when this other system has been in place for so long . You know, the interesting thing is i am more confident than ever that change can take place. And sometimes you have to burn the field to plant anew. And thats the thing that were focused on here. These victims not victims, sur vaifers that have been through this ordeal and they have had the courage to speak up and speak out. So lets use that, and again, i think there are so many, there are so many gyms across the country, there are so many athletes, there are parents, there are people that want to see that change. And they want to help with that change. They want this to be a safer, more empowering sport. So if we unite and we get together, we can power through the Difficult Conversations and the processes and best practices. All of those things can happen. They are out there. A lot of the things i talk about are common sense. You dont have a trainer in the same room with a female athlete alone. So there is hundreds if not thousands of these small things that are absolute common sense that you can put into place. I think now is the time for change. And i think its already begun. I would like it to go faster, and thats why i am continuing to push and push hard moving forward. You mentioned the parent. There has to be parents out there watching all of this, wondering if they should let their children, e78ly their daughters go into gymnastics. Given what is going on. How do you give them confidence. What is the parents roll here. I think the parents roll, and im a parn of two small children, who were both will go into the gym this saturday. But i think it is all role to worry. And to be a part of it, and to be concerned and to be educated. But its hard. And i think its important that there is an understanding that its not just about one person or one segment. Its about making sure that the coaches are educated and the athletes as well. The parents as well. But we all know as parents, we cannot be with our children 24 7, whether its at school or any other sport or gymnastics. Or a field trip. We cannot be in control of them 24 7 7 as much as we would like. So we have to make sure that we are creating places that are as safe as possible. And i think part of that is making sure that this education is mandatory and that there are very specific guide lines that these gyms, if you want to be a u. S. A. , gymnastics member club, then there are very striblght guide lines on what he you have to follow in order to have that des ig nation. Shannon miller, we thank you so much for talking with us. Thank you. Woodruff now, to the political firestorm over the independence of special counsel Robert Muellers probe. John yang has the story behind a secret memo, lostandfound text messages, and more. Anytime theres breaking news about this massive government abuse of power. Yang to hear some news outlets tell it, there is widespread outrage. So if it turns out that this whole investigation is a politically motivated sham. Yang casting doubts on special counsel Robert Muellers Ongoing Investigation of possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and russia. President trump told reporters wednesday he was looking forward to answering muellers questions. Do you have a date set, mr. President . I dont know. No, i guess theyre talking about two or three weeks, but i would love to do it. You know, subject to my lawyers, but i would love to do it. You would do it under oath . Yang Congressional Republicans are also fanning doubts about the probe. This week, without offering direct evidence, senator ron johnson spoke of corruption, and a secret society, within the f. B. I. Ive heard that there were managers, highlevel officials in the f. B. I. That were meeting together offsite. Yang he claimed such a society was mentioned in texts between f. B. I. Lawyer lisa page and f. B. I. Agent peter strzok, who was removed from muellers team. Today, reporters pursuing johnson on capitol hill asked if the reference could have been a joke. Its a real possibility. Yang republicans also raised warning flags when the f. B. I. Said it could not find about five months worth of those texts, but in a letter to congress today, the Justice Departments internal watchdog said his office had recovered them. There is also the matter of whats being called the nunes memo. Drafted by aides to House Intelligence Committee chair devin nunes, it reportedly alleges that the f. B. I. Abused its powers to surveil the Trump Campaign. The specifics of the fourpage document arent clear because it is classified and only available to members of congress, despite calls from the right and the left to release it to the public. Republican congressman mark meadows calls the memo shocking. Part of me wishes that i didnt read it because i dont want to believe that those kinds of things could be happening in this country that i call home and love so much. Yang the Intelligence Committees ranking democrat, adam schiff, says it is pure politics. They wanted to make a political statement, they wanted to feed the beast on fox news. They wanted to derail the mueller investigation. Yang all signs that temperatures are still rising on capitol hill, over a probe that itself continues to intensify. To talk more about this, im joined now by representative brian fitzpatrick, a republican from pennsylvania. He has an unique perspective on these issues because before he was elected to congress in 2016, he was an f. B. I. Agent for 14 years and served as a special assistant u. S. Attorney. Mr. Fitzpatrick, thanks for joining us. I have take it you have seen this so called none easy memo. I know you cant talk about it if detail because its classified but from what you have read, does it suggest any wrongdoing or missteps on the part of the fbi or the Justice Department . The memo answers some questions. But i think it raises more questions than it answers. So any time we have a situation like this, there is a continuum of the need for transparns and also the 23450ed for confidentialallity particularly in covert investigations. And its really a case by case bases when we have a situation like this. One of the reasons why i err on the side of releasing this, after scrubbing it, and after declass fying it, is given all of the given all the controversy surrounding this, because with any fbi investigation, this one included, Public Confidence and the integrity of the investigation is very, very important. And given all of the reporting surrounding this, i think that if the declassification is done in the right way, its probably to the benefit of the country to disclose some of the contents. Do those contents raise questions about the integrity of the fbi . Well, i think it raises the questions of the judgement, before we say integrity, we have to know whether this sin tensionable or neglect ligable content, but there are certain people mentioned by name, most of whom have already been reported in the media. So from their standpoint, it is very disturbing, some of the facts that came out in that memo. Once its he did classified the nation will see that. As i said it raises a lot more questions than it answers with regard to the chain of command and who knew what and its not our place to rejudge but to investigate. I know the Intelligence Committee is doing their work. The special council is doing his work. Im on the Homeland Security committee, we have a role to play as well. But the most important thing, john, is that we stick to the facts and we maintain our credibility. We dont sensationalize the memo to indicate that things are included that are not included but also not to be dismissive of some of the very troubling things that are in the memo. Senator johnson, the chairman of the senate Homeland Security committee has talked about what he quoted as an unbelievable level of bias at the top of the fbe. On the other hand, congressman schiff, the ranking democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said that the memo is a quote distorted view of the fbi. Where do you fall on that continueium. I know you cant speak to the details. I take it you are somewhere in twean but are you closer to one side or the other on that . No, i dont want to compare either one of those two or their characterization. All can i tell you is my reaction to it i think it is important that the entities that are doing their work, finish their work. And that we judge based on the facts because our job in an oversight role is similar to that of an fbi investigator, when i did that job. It is to follow the facts wherever they lead and to reported those facts with integrity. Yesterday the president was asked if he trusted the fbi and he said quote im very disturbed as is everybody else that is intelligent. As a member of congress, as a 14 year veteran of the fbi, how do you react or what is your reaction to the president of the United States saying that about the fbi in. I dont think that we should judge an entire institution because of a few 3w5d actors. I think the solution is to expose those bad actors, identify them by name, make public their bad conduct and deal with them appropriately. I think that is the proper way to be doing this. And again for the unanswered questions, we need answers to those. And could lead to other things just like when i was an investigator, a lot of times we would go up on a wiretap, for Money Laundering case and ended up learning bay drug conspiracy and it takes you down a totally different path. You served under Robert Mueller when he was director of the pbi. You were an agent at that time. Do you have any concerns about the integrity of the investigation. We havent have briefed on his investigation. When Robert Mueller was director of the fbi he was a man of integrity. Again, i cant speak to what is going on now because we havent been briefed on it i am not on the Intelligence Committee, im on the Homeland Security committee. Our committee has not been briefed on this investigation. But i do believe that investigators and prosecutors should be given the leeway to do their work. Do you think mr. Mueller has been treated fairly . By who. I think to say whether he is treated fairly or not is going to depend on his investigative results and what context he provides to that. So i think, and i will say, that mr. Mueller should be allowed to do his work. I supported the call for a special counsel, i called for that, actually. Because i thought the investigation should be taken out of the political realm and put into the hands of Law Enforcement. The women and men that i had the privilege to work sidebyside with for so long, i supported the call for a special counsel. I supported the decision to hire mr. Mueller. I think he, you know, was the right pick. And how he goes about conducting that investigation. Well, let him do his work and then report back and then we can all about the judge of that. Brian fitzpatrick, thank you so much for join us. Thank you, sir. Woodruff stay with us, coming up on the newshour kickstarting a sluggish local economy through startups. The last republicans insights into the bush dynasty and todays g. O. P. And a brief but spectacular take from a holocaust survivor. Its hard to fully comprehend, but more than four months since hurricanes swept through the caribbean, about half of Puerto Ricans still remain without electricity. This week Governor Ricardo Rossello announced the islands Public Energy monopoly would be sold off to private companies following a series of scandals. In the first of two reports from puerto rico, special correspondent Monica Villamizar looks at whats behind the delay in restoring power and how people are coping. Reporter when Hurricane Maria struck in september fires broke out and victims had to run to the station to tell firefighter ronald vega and his colleagues. There was no way to dial 911. This fire station in the eastern town of naguabo is now functioning normally. But at ronalds home nearby. There is no electricity. He uses a generator at night and relies on emergency food aid. The signs of water damage still loom above his head. translated its not easy. Its such a tough situation. Im paying at least 15 a day for the fuel of my generator during the week. Thats every day. Reporter as a firefighter vega makes less than 20,000 a year. Before the storm he was already supplementing his income with part time work at walgreens. Four months after the storm, about 450,000 of the 1. 5 million electricity customers are without service. Blackouts regularly occur for hours at a time, even in san juan. Outside the capital, destruction remains. In salinas, home to the islands largest power plant, barber julio ortiz set up shop at a ruined gas staon. It took him three months to find an inverter to connect his razors to the car battery. translated people have to survive one way or another. I have to make it happen somehow because, you know, money doesnt grow on trees. Reporter the response here remains an emergency. The u. S. Army corp of engineers coordinates repairs by private contractors using dollars from fema, the federal Emergency Management agency. Were at the laydown yard where all of our large items come into. Reporter the army corps oversees materials distributed across the island, but under the federal stafford act, fema is only allowed to restore infrastructure exactly as it was before a disaster. In some cases, materials in puerto rico were so outdated that the corps had to get them made especially for the island, furthering delays. It really doesnt allow us to do more resilient or hardening work that made that puerto ricos grid definitely needs. Reporter colonel john lloyd directs the army corps operation from the headquarters of the electricity utility. Whats the point of restoring it to something old and essentially you know in bad shape . What i can tell you is this though is the work that we are doing does it. It brings it up to code and in many cases it wasnt up to code. When do you think everyone will have power again . We will slowly get more customers online. I think by the middle of march. Were going to see the majority of customers with power. Reporter many people have accused puerto ricos sole electric utility company, prepa, of being corrupt and wasteful. Before the storm, prepa was bankrupt, and it saved money by cutting down on important maintenance. After the storm, prepa contracted whitefish, a small, montanabased firm, for repairs it could not complete. The contract was canceled but prepa still has to pay whitefish more than 100 million for work done. And then this week the puerto rican governor announced that prepa will be privatized over the next 18 months. translated the process will begin for prepa assets to be sold to companies who will transform the Generation System into a modern, efficient, and less expensive one for the people. Reporter the privatization is not expected to affect the repair schedule. About 80 of electrical infrastructure was destroyed. Prepa told us that restoring power everywhere on the island, not just the majority, is expected to take at least until may, eight months after Hurricane Maria. Houses across the countryside are lined with blue tarp on their roofs. But not everyone is waiting for outside help to move forward with repairs. We dont depend upon the grid to supply the needs of casa pueblo. Reporter Arturo Massol deya is the head of casa pueblo, an Environmental Organization in adjuntas. This local Community Center has been running on solar energy since 1999. The sun powers everything, from industrial coffee grinders to medicine refrigerators as well as a Radio Station. Lighting was a critical thing and it was a way to teach people how inexpensive, easy is to embrace Renewable Energy sources like the sun. In which you are less vulnerable because the capture of the energy and the utilization of the energy is at the point of consumption. Reporter casa pueblo is technically still connected to the grid. But it creates so much power that it can send it back into the system. The puerto rican government still hasnt approved regulations for people to provide power to the grid with solar. In addition to the costs of infrastructure, thats one more barrier to making alternative energy widespread. The government does plan to increase Renewable Power from only a small amount to 30 of the islands energy so it can be more prepared for the next hurricane. This place was an important power source for the entire community after the hurricane. People were coming here to charge their phones, to get solar lanterns and refrigerators. And the Radio Station never stopped broadcasting because it runs on solar power. Its a community station where people call in to request their favorite salsa songs and make dedications to friends and family. In the hills around his town, he has installed Solar Systems to connect Vulnerable People isolated from the power network. Jonathan is disabled living with his grandmother luz leida plaza. With solar they have lights, and power for their phones and a tiny fridge for medicine. The same system powers a neighbors dialysis machine. translated before they had a solar system my neighbor told me he had to connect his mothers machine to a car battery all night. Reporter its a familiar story to ronald vega. translated in some places they are fighting, fighting to get electricity. People in many villages say they feel that theyve simply been forgotten. And thats because in many places they are still without power and lights, and its been more than 116 days. Reporter and like casa pueblo, his fire station is now prepared. Thanks to a Solar Power System brought to the island by las vegas firefighters, they are Strong Enough to weather the next storm. For the pbs newshour, im Monica Villamizar in puerto rico. Woodruff in the coming days we will continue our series after the storms with additional reports from puerto rico and texas. Woodruff the stock market is up, unemployment is down, and much of the u. S. Economy is on the rebound. But not for new mexico, a state thats still down in the dumps, a decade after the recession began. Its jobless rate is 6 , compared to just 4. 1 nationally. Economics correspondent paul solman traveled to the land of enchantment where local officials are betting on innovation to spark a turnaround. Its part of his weekly series, making sense. Reporter now heres a kind of weird question can a hot new photography fad, smoke bomb websites, help reignite one of the countrys worst performing economies . There is no good supplier for these smoke bombs. Reporter university of new mexico junior kyle guin, who to build a smoke bomb supply business right here in new mexico. So i found a great manufacturer and distributor and im currently working with Amazon Fulfillment Center to be one of the only sellers in the u. S. That can have these to your door in two days with prime shipping. So, i got size 13 feet. Reporter youll hear from thoutofthebox entrepreneur who showed off a homegrown snowboard to richard berry. When we interviewed him, just finishing eight years as mayor of albuquerque. And hey, says berry, these days, the mantra everywhere is young entrepreneurs or bust. Every mayor in the country is worried about why people, about why young people are moving. Shame on us as a state for 40 years to rely on just government and oil and gas, but now, we have this third leg of the economy thats starting to take off. Reporter starting to take off, he hopes, in the Albuquerque Metro area, which houses half the states two million people. It sure would help new mexico, whose economy is now ranked a moribund 47th in the nation, with an Unemployment Rate above 6 , topped only by alaskas. A cause and effect of the malaise new mexicos young brains, draining away to more promising and populous markets. But theres plenty to like about the land of enchantment, says the outgoing mayor. Great weather. Mountains. You can ski in the morning, golf in the afternoon. The weather, the landscape, the special side of the place is there. Reporter but if youre a wouldbe entrepreneur, you can also work here on the cheap, a low burn rate, as they say in the startup world. And thats for someone like the snowboard guy who its still not quite time to hear from. You can come here to start businesses. Fail. Fail fast. Fail forward. Much, much less expensively than you can other places. Reporter ideal location for a startup, says Economic Development pro gary oppedahl. Big skies, big ideas. People think big. Thats why such great things as, as the Nuclear Weapons whole industry. To microsoft who was formed here, to goddard, to the first computer ever to smokey the bear and breakfast burritos. Reporter the latest big idea is a largely government bankrolled, sevenacre, 150 million innovation complex downtown, anchored by the rainforest an ecosystem of business folk and college types. Kyle guin is an enterprising young brain the state wants to keep. So the University Provides an apartment upstairs from his classes, and space to work on his startups smoke bomb supplier, an app called pencil in that scans documents with dates and zips them into your digital calendar. This was from one of my math classes last semester. So you just take our app, you photograph it, once you photograph it, you just go to your calendar, done, saved successfully, now go check the calendar, and there it is, oh my god. So, on february 3, you have vector functions, last day to drop without a grade reporter just across the parking lot is a makerspace operated by the local community college. The building, recently a soup kitchen, hosts wouldbe entrepreneurs. A 3d printed guitar maker, and at last our custom snowboard maker marty bonacci. One of the benefits of being in this makerspace was that i didnt have to pay huge overhead, buy all this equipment up front, or lease it and incur all the overhead costs associated with building out the space. Thats a big investment and a big risk. What if youre a young entrepreneur, why would you come here . Reporter yeah. Why would you . The burn rates less. We have a billion dollar arts economy. You match the arts with the sciences and you have a place that accepts you. All of a sudden now, you can have these human collisions with a varied and Diverse Group of people that can add value to your proposition. Reporter as they have to the film business, says the former mayor. Im thinking you and i could partner up. Reporter those are the stars of the hit cable series, breaking bad, which itself partnered up with an eager new mexico, where the show was made, boasts development booster gary oppedahl. Breaking bad was a blockbuster, right . The film office here is one of the best in the world. Not, says us, says hollywood. Reporter the state has been making a special effort to court tv and movie companies, says mayor berry. Captain america, the iron man films, the terminator films, a lot of those were filmed right here. We have the largest film studio in north america five miles south of here. That happened because we were intentional about attracting it. Reporter okay, you get the pitch big skies, low overhead, big mountains, big hopes, but for the states economy to clamber up from 47th, it will also need to hoist its native american population, one in ten new mexicans. The states 22 tribes dont all measure unemployment, but to take just one example, the navajo nations rate is north of 20 . First baby step the indigenous comic con, brainchild of the guy in the hat, texting, lee francis, from the Laguna Pueblo 47 miles west of albuquerque. The event draws native vendors and all sorts of visitors from far and wide. The big idea is the same here entrepreneurship as problem solver. Native visitors were asked to post their problems, their villains, on a board coal mining, alcoholism, drugs, domestic violence. Domestic violence is a huge one, but around the drugs and alcohol. Its like, oh, well this is how it is. This is how natives are. Reporter an exaggerated stereotype, says francis, but part of the native selfimage. So the larger goal here is to spur natives to reframe the narrative. Cartoonist ricardo catay does it by reframing history. Were not focusing on your alcoholism. Were not focusing on the drug. Were not focusing on the unemployment. Were saying, hey, theres some really cool stuff. Lets let the imagination fly. Reporter and why the images of pop culture superheroes . If we can get to it in front of our young people and begin to spark that they can be superheroes, that they can be the heroes of their communities then they begin to think outside of what theyve been locked into. Thats where entrepreneurship begins. Reporter rod velarde, for example, who applies his hicarilla apache grandfathers traditional designs to star wars characters to inspire enterprising young natives to prosper and return. We had a family song. Its called, go my son. Go my son says, talks about an aging chief talking to his kids and says go my son, go get an education, go out there and see the world, but come back and teach your own people. Reporter put them in the drivers seat, so to speak, and hope that theyll find their way back home. Our last new businessman zeke pena, who works with students to produce and publish a low budget zine aimed at keeping teens in school, first, by focusing on themselves. My experience growing up was not having my story represented in schools so that i was fortunate to stay connected and graduate, right . But a lot of people drop out. And drop out because they disengage and are not really connected to what theyre learning about, right . Reporter pena also teaches students Digital Skills they can trade on anywhere. If you become very successful in digital media, will you go to, you know, bigger places . Were the next generation, were going to be the ones that get new mexico to the top, so if i do become a professional im not going to leave, because im going to stay here and help new mexico grow up and become more successful. Reporter back at the university of new mexico, smoke bomb entrepreneur kyle guin knows the bigger places question well. Theres probably more resources, theres probably more money. But theres also 10,000 of me. Here in albuquerque theres only one of me. Reporter youre a big fish in a small pond. Im a big fish in a small pond. Reporter a pond that his state is desperately trying to grow. For the pbs newshour, this is economics correspondent paul solman, reporting from new mexico. Woodruff as President Trump continues to dominate the news cycle, not everyone in the president s club is giving him high marks. In a new book, former president s george h. W. Bush and george w. Bush weigh in on mr. Trumps handling of the highest office in the land. Lisa desjardins recently sat down with historian and author Mark Updegrove. They are a living political dynasty, fatherson president was rarely speak at length about the politics of today. But a if you book offers insights and rare interviews with the pair, talking their relationship, values and how they see the man in the oval office now. The book is called the last republicans, inside the extraordinary relationship between George Hw Bush and gorks george w. Bush and its author historian Mark Updegrove joins me now. Thanks for having me. Lets start about these men, their relationship, who are they and how they influenced each other. They are very different people of different generations. Is pat riggs from theush who is northeast who decides to strike out on his own in the oil business if texas and kind of a hybrid between those two places. The old style patrician northeast and roughandtumble texasment and you have his son who is a product of midland texas, primarily. George w. Bush, a baby boomer, not part of the greatest generation like his father. They are very different in many ways but they are bound together by the ethos that is part of the bush family. Lets talk about thattetteos, and in particular ethos an in particular a fascinating letter that George Hw Bush wrote to his sons in 1973, as the watergate scandal is happening. It you introduce that letter and read a quote from it. Of course. This letter was written when George Hw Bush was the chairman of the Republican National committee. And it was just two weeks before Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency in 19d 74. And 1974. And he used that as a teachable moment, if you will. And he wrotes his son a letter which in part includes this pass age. In judging your president , give him credit for enormous achievements. But understand, too, that power accompanied by arrogance is very dangerous. It is particularly dangerous when men with no real experience have it, for they can abuse our great institutions. And it is that last, the last part of it that is so fascinating. Especially now, a very timely quote. A very timely quote. And im wondering given this is how you see the bush ethos what should be president s bush, who have this slal u, howe did they see the Republican Party now . Are they the last republicans, the title of your book. Power accompanied by arrogance is a way of describing Richard Nixon. But when George Hw Bush talks about it being particularly dangerous when men with no real experience have t that not nixon. He was a congressman, senator, Vice President , he went on elected to the presidency twice. So he is not talking about Richard Nixon it say hypothetical but it allows, obviously to donald trump. And i think that the bushs likely see him as endangering the institution that they revere most in the world and that is the president. Taking us through their interactions with donald trump, some of them potential interarks they chose not to have and what exactly they told about their thoughts on the president. George Herbert Walker bush when he was former president in the 1990s was waiting for his private aircraft to get some maintenance and he was told by his chief of staff, who was told by an attendant at the airport that donald trump was about to land. And would the former president like to meet donald trump. And when presented about this idea, george bush had a newspaper in his hand. And he lowered it and said god no. And then he lifted it up again and pulled it down and said waited, hes coming here. And she said i dont know. Sow put up his newspaper in front of his face to shield his face in the event that donald trump came by. So that gives you a pretty good indication of what george bush thought of donald trump prior to. This and actually his Campaign Manager in 1988 presented the notion of donald trump as running mate which george bush quickly rejected. And neither president bush voted for donald trump. Neither of them did. As you eluded to, i dont know if they see themselves as the last republicans. I think they see that there is still a vibrant Republican Party that can be had, if it goes back to the principles that they upheld as the standard bearers of the Republican Party. But it straiked decidedly and discertainably from those principles. And i think that concerns both of the bushes. President george Herbert Walker bush was in the news, i think, in a way he didnt want to be. With allegations that he inappropriately touched women on their bottoms. Did you speak to the bush family about this, what is their take on those charges and sort of this environment right now . I think this is a great moment in the history of our country, that women are finally coming out and able to talk about injus titions as it relates to the misbehavior. But i think its dangerous to point all of this behavior with the same brush. What george Herbert Walker bush is alleged to have done was when he was much older, his hands are in awkward places when he is sitting in a wheel chair. I think we probably have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think at worst is a very inappropriate gesture, a bad joke, and he was con triet, he immediately came out and apologized to those he may have offended. But it is very uncharacteristic for this man to have we haved in that way. My final question, throughout your book you see this concept between the decency that the bushes want to stand for and worries that they have about what they see day to day in the current white house. How does the bush family decide now when to speak out. Because i know that their code is dont interview with current lawmakers. Without question, they want to see our president , republican or democrat succeed. Both of the bushes were succeeded by democrats. And they left notes to each of their successors saying that hey, listen, im here for you. I want you to succeed. Donald trump i think is a concern to not only the bushes, but to other Establishment Republicans and certainly to democrats as well. I think the clearest statement they made was in the wake of the charlottesville incident. In which the bushes for the first and only time issued a joint tweet. It was a statement of sorts con telling loudly the bigotry and antisemmityism that we saw from charlottesville. And i think it was, the reason por that joint statement was because we werent seaing any clear, unaim unambiguous statement from our president it was a betrayal of american values. And the bushes stepped up to fill, i 24eu what they might have seen as a leadership void. Mark updegrove, historian, author of the last republican. Thank you. Thank you,lisa. Woodruff next, we turn to another installment of our weekly brief but spectacular series where we ask people about their passions. Tonight, in honor of International Holocaust remembrance day, we hear from 84yearold reva kibort of minneapolis, minnesota. Originally from poland, kibort spent two years imprisoned at demblin concentration camp. She survived the war, while many of her family, including her parents and sister, did not. I was born in warsaw, poland in 1933. I remember when the germans came in and actually, the soldiers, they werent so bad. We lined up in lines to get food, they gave us soup and bread, and that was my first memory of the german soldiers. They were not that bad, but we learned later on what it was going to be like. The warsaw ghetto, towards the end, looked like people Walking Around like zombies, dead bodies. People who had starved from hunger. It was the most devastating place to live in. They took away everybodys dignity, you know. I was very, very hungry, and i told my mother that i was hungry and she said to me, she said, revala, i have nothing to give you, theres nothing to eat. What you should do is take this big rubber ball and go out and play, youll forget that youre hungry. We were put on trains and taken to a camp called demblin. There were 11 children in the camp, i was the oldest, and i and then there was this german who said to me in german, throw the child away. Because i was holding, holding the six month old little baby. I ran into the dirty clothing that the women had taken off. A pile of dirty clothes, and while i was in that pile of dirty clothing, i could see that the same german took a machine gun and killed all the 11 children right in front of me while i was watching them. I ran into the womens barrack, womens barrack and the women sort of attacked me saying, where are all the kids . What happened to the children . And i said, i dont know, and i believe they probably know, i didnt have to tell them. I was one of the young girls in my camp. I survived when i was 12. And i feel if im not going to speak out now, itll be up to my children, and grandchildren, and maybe great grandchildren to tell the story of the holocaust. So we have to speak up. Whenever you see injustices at all, you have to speak up. It bothers me a great deal when i see somebody who is hungry. It bothers me if i see a homeless person. It bothers me when i see people standing in line for food because all these things come back to me all the time. Are you angry . Am i angry . Im angry. Ill tell you why im angry. Im angry mostly because i was an orphan, they deprived me of my mother and father. They deprived me of grandparents, of cousins, they deprived me of a childhood that i never had. Yes im angry. But at the same time, im also very happy that im here in america and for the opportunities that i had and for what america had given to me. Im very happy about that. My name is reva kibort, and this is my brief but spectacular take on being a survivor. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language. 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 newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org eduardo this week on history detectives wes how did this metal blade spark violent tension between the north and the south . This is a very controversial event in u. S. History. It was an attack on a federal arsenal. Eduardo what can this brass bullet reveal about the hidden agenda of American Forces in the earliest fight against soviet communism . Elyse and is this the costume that helped serve up a billion happy meals . Well have lots of fun Elvis Costello watchin the detectives i get so angry when the teardrops start but he cant be wounded cause hes got no heart watchin the detectives its just like watchin the detectives