America reporting from washington. m jane obrien. On the brink of military action against iran, President Trump reconsiders the strikes minutes before launch. I set i t wantknow something before you go, p how maple will be killed . Jane president xi wrapped up his two dayno trip th korea, with kim jong un touting invincible ties. In the Amazing Stories of the mission to the moon still coming to light. For those watching on pbs and around the globe, welcome to world news america. Prident trump says he called off military strikes to iran with just minutes to l sparet night. The track on three targets would have been retaliation for the a shooting down unmanned u. S. Drone, but mr. Trump said the death toll would hav been too high so he stood the mission down. John in iran they are celebrating, taking out of the ty 130 million u. S. Drone, the latest escalation sions between washington and iran. Today on iranian tv, the results of their handiwork being shown off. America has no shortagof military assets in the region, but the anticipated retaliation never came. It turned out military strikes hadut been ordered, at the last moment donald trump had a shange of mind. He confirmed t on twitter this morning. On monday, they shot down an d unmannne flying in international waters. We were cocked and loaded to retaliate last night on three different sites when i asked, how many will die . 150 people, sir, was the answer from auteneral. 10 m before the strike i stopped it. Not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. But now, a rather different account from the president. The planes werent even in the air, so weapons could not have been locd and loaded. Were the planes in the air . Er weabout ready to go. No, but they would have been soon. And things would have happened to the point where you couldnt turn back. John that wasnt the impression he gave yesterday at the white house. When watched by his hawkish National Security advisor and secretary of state he seemed to , suggest action was eminent. Anan irainister told bbc they were only acting in selfdefense when you violate iranian airspace, then we defend. This is defense. John to back up the argument, iran produced a sketch to claim the drone was flying ove territorial waters. The u. S. Put out a more formal looking map to claim it was in international airspace. Regardless, the federal Aviation Authority issued orders preventing american air lin from flying over iran as a result of the incident. British airways is doing the same. At friday prayers today inwe tehran, ther renewed chance of death to america. There was fiery language from the countrys spiritual leaders that the strait of hormuz will become a graveyard for trespassers. Last night donald trump pulled back, but this is still a tensel situation in aile region. Jane e a brief tim ago i spoke with a former senior official at the state department under president obama. In your view did President Trump , to the right thing . If he actually talked to r iran, he did tht thing. Because had the attacks gone forward, regardless of the casualties, i think it would have put iran and the u. S. On a very different footing and probably towards war. Jane iran doesnt seem to want to talk to the u. S. At moment, it has rebuffed offers of diplomacy. So where does this leave tensions . I think that is their initial position only. Iran will ultimately have to talk to the u. S. , largely because there is no other way in whh they will get sanction lifted. And they know they cant shoot their way out of sanctions, but they would like toet leverage. They wont they dont want to go to talks the first time they are invited. They are playing a bit of hard to get, and they are making a show of force for the get there. Jane is this a sign sanctionsma anmum pressure are working . They are working insofar as they are decimating the iranian economy, that they are not working in the way President Trump thought, that irur was going tonder and capitulate and show up at the table ready to make a better deal. Thats not happening. Cell the iranians are turning the table on him saying, we are , prepared to go to war, are you prepared to go to war . If not, you Better Change your cac change your tack with the maximum pressure. Jane would iran see this as a propaganda victory . The way they see it is that they got President Trump attention. First of all, they are not only willing to shoot down an unmanned drone, but they probably have capabilities the u. S. Hadnt thought of. They can shoot down such a drone from 30,000 feet in the sky. Secondly, they got Donald Trumps attention. They made hash of his maximum pressure policy, because now he has to sit and thi, its not working, what does he do next . So in a way they pushed the gains because they found this corner that surrounded himum tht created around him. Jane we see an extraordinary spectacle of the commanderinchief explaining his thoughts in realtime. When you make of that . It doesnt make sense. Questions heas asking about w many people die get asked when you are actually planning, ngt 10 minutes before stri and the generals probably would not have been around the president 10 minutes before striking. He is basicallyignaling to the iranians that i could have done th, you would have lost 15 people, it would have been devastating, it would have put us on the way to war, i still can do it, but i backetoaway in ordeive talks another chance, so i am giving you a chance to also consider coming to the talks. Think that is what the messaging should be interpreted as. Jane still might do t do you think that the danger for strikes or the danger for miscalculation is as high today as yesterday . I think so. I think the iranians madecide they push one more time before something happens, and one more time maybe one more time to o man m, or tru change his mind and say, if these guys are not going to talk and answer my overtures, maybe i will hit them anyways. So i dont think we are out of the woods. Its a good thing they dit come to blows, because then the door to talks would be completely closed. But we are still not at the tabl i think someone has tnmediate betw them, a european power, the japanese, they have to find a way to get into talks. Jane thank you very much for joining me. Still a very tense situation. Thousands of protesters in hong kong blocked roads surrounding Police Headquarters today as anger about a prosed c extradition bitinued police asked protesters to. Police asked protesters to withdraw peacefully, saying they would seriously affect emergencs serv demonstrators are demanding arrested inst thos violent protests last week be dropped. They also want chief executive carrie lam to step down. Nick beat repos. [demonstrators chanting] nick the generation that wont be silenced. Thousands surrounding thead arters of the hong kong police, a force they accuse of utality during this months extraordinary public protests. Demonstrators are angry with the authorities here and plans to govern this place. Im very worried about the government didnt listen. O the people peoples opinion is important. I dont want hong kong to become china. T i t the freedom and the rights of hong kong people can continue. [protesters cheering] nick once again main roads in main roads in the heart of hong , kong were taken over. Todays turnout, a fraction of last weeks, but the strength of feeling just the same. At strikes you about the protesters out today is that they are students, young and angry, and they found their voice. Crucially, they believe wider Public Opinion and momentum is on their side. At first this protest was over a specific new law that would send suspects to courts in mainland china, but there is now wider condemnation of the politicians in beijing. I urge International Communities to speak up for what is going on in hong kong. World leaders, when th meet president xi at the g20 summit, should show their ncern about how the police force ueashed an assault on peaceful citizens. And how the Hong Kong Government shouldhd ww the evil law and just have some kind of suspension. Tinick if hong kong autho thought repeated apologies would appease protesters, they were wrong. This evening after work, yet more arrived to lend their voice. The direction of this movement is hard to predict, much like the future of th city. Nick beek, bbc news, hong kong. Jane chinas leader xi jin ping just wrapped up a visit to north korea, where kim jong un hailed invincible ties between the two countries. The show of unity coming a week before president xi is expthted to meet resident trump at the g20 summit, where trade will dominate the agenda. Thanks for joining me. What have the two leaders got from this meeting . Kae this was all about a projection of unity. R when you hem talk about these invincible ties xi jin , ping wrote an editorial in the National Newspaper of north korea, which is unusual, saying they have been through 70 years together through wind and rn, and they are publicly renewing this alliance to send a message to the u. S. That china has north koreas back, it is not sperate at a time of trade tensions between china and the United States. Its a message to donald trump that, we can help you with north korea or we cannot help you, but we have a great amount of jafluence here. how strong is the relationship right now between north korea and china . Until recently it has been under huge strain. In the first five years that xi jin ping was in power, he didnt need kim jong un wants. His administration voted for maximum pressure in the u. S. Gn camp it was only in the last 18 months that we have seen chinese president reassert himself and reclaim ground, because it was endangered last year, and donald inump was getting very close, so we were told, and was going to be left on the sidelines. E despite how thaders may personally feel about each other, there are National Interests at stake here and i think xi jin ping is making it very clear that all roads to kim jog un and north korea will go through him. Jane is it interesting thateoe went to pyngchang, not the other way around . It is really symbolic to have the leader of china touch down in north korea, all the spectacle, the crowds lining the streets. And it is a real long or a realk honor toi it is a real honor to kim and really helps to normalize and legitimize his regime. It is the first time a, sie al that they eating kim as a normal leader, important to his domestic political propaganda. Jane when president xi meets donald trump at the g 20 at the g20 meetings how will he , use this leverage he thinks he has two resolve his trade agreement . The difficulty for donald trump is how he maintains this maximum pressure campaign,hat allfronts push a north korea that they would be under so much prestore that they would have give up Nuclear Weapons up front. And under xi jin ping, china has been in favor of a more gradual, stepbystep approach. I think you are going to see hi ioggesting to donald trump that that is the dire that this goes, and without chinese backing and willingness to enforce sanctions and keep these tist sanctions in place, it going to be difficult for donald trump to do that without him. Jane katie, thank you for joining me. Lets have a look at other storesaking news today. Firefighters in the u. S. Have been battling a massive lays ate a ganing at a gas refinery in south philadelphia, many hours after the fire broke out. Residents of the rsa their homes were rocked by four explosions friday. Four people were injured and treated on site. Fthe cause of te isnt known. Ruedia has suspe passenger flights to georgia and advises russian torts not to travel there following unrest. Apousands took to the streets of theal of to policing friday, day after people were injured at protests Parliament Building over and addressed by a russian politician. spais Supreme Court has ruled an attack on a teenage woman that shocked spain was gang rape, rather than an earlier verdict of sexual abuse. Five men known as the wolfpackre we originally given 5 given ne years in jail but tjuay es increased the sentences to 15 years. Our british minister has been suspended after forcibly removing a protester from an event in london. Foignffer Foreign Office minister mark fieldfi was ed pushing a greenpeace activist out ofhaellor Philip Hammonds speech. He has apologized. He said he feared the protester might have been armed. You are watching bbc world news amica. Stilted, a blast from the pastn provcomfort still to come, a blast from the past providing comfort to alzheimers patients. Town that ihe playing its part. Jane a centu ago today, German Forces off the scottish coast scuttled more than 50 warships, deliberately sinking them so they wouldnt fall into allied hands. It was the greatest loss of warships in history. Today aervice was held to remember nine germans who died on that aotic day. We have a reportm fro the northeast coast. Reporter they are on a jouaney their arents took 100 years ago, when as schoolchildren they witnessed the sinking of the navy. He was the same age as ramsey. He saw the boats sinking and teachers panicking. My bother my mother firsts into tshe always remembers that, her brother put his arm around her and said never mind, you are witnsing history. Reporter in 1919 the german admiral in charg ordered the oncemighty fleet scuttled. [bellringing] the order to abandon ship had been a bell ringing out. Today that same bell, ringing again. Beneath the waves, seven ships still remain, the greatest loss of warships in history. Many in germany viewed the sinking of the fleet as a moment when german honor was restored because it denied the allies spoils of war. The british viewed it as a hostile act that led tod increa reparations. Nine german sailors died as a result of the confusion that stoker, albert. Machinist martin enter. Reporter the last germans to be killed under fire f fm the more familiar front lines of rettle and just days befohe final peace treaty was signed. Jane i Health Care Facility in california is trying a nch appr to addressing the effects of alzheimers disease and dementia. They built a replica of a 1950s erican town to help spur memories and provide a comforting atmosphere for patients. It might look like a movie set, t actually what doctors call reminiscence therapy. The bbc went to see. The minute my mom locks the door, it is delightful because it is like you walked back in time. My mom has been diagnosed with dementia,alzheimers, aphasia cell trouble finding words and putting sentences together. Theres, there has been a very nice, what do i want to say . So here is this woman who is welleducated, who had a history on stage, she also had a history in broadcast, but she was having a very difficult time and probably was hiding it. [people singing] when the music comes on, my mom goes right back into being a into being happy jackie the concept was to create an immersperience consistent with where peoplemes strongest ries are. People make their strongest memories between the ages of 10 and 30. This is beautiful. The average age of our participants is typicallrlin the 80s, so they would have been between the ages of 10 and 30 in the 1950s and 1960s. We made this as authentic as possible. This attention to detail is really intentional. Down there that way. Over yonder . Yeah, there is a place and there is a picture, this big picture. The first time i really looked hi it, i thought, my gosh, is from way back when. And you had one that looked simir to the blue and white one . That is what i thought. That is what i am telling you. She recognized hself and she remembered. That is the reminiscence piece. Jane a town with no name,he ing people bring back memories. This summer marks the 50th anniversary of nasas apollo 11 mission to the lon. As w as putting a man on the surface, it also launched america into the digital age. But this wasnt all about science and technology, the human endeavor was just as important. A new book, one giant leap, tells the story of those behind the scenes o designed, tested , and built the equipment that got the astronauts into space. I spoke with the books author, charles fishman. Thank you for joining me. Charles im happy to be here. Jane we all know about the astronauts themselves, but what about the 410,000 people who made their job possible . Charles the astronauts are. Rightly regarded as hero and their courage, determination and mmitment is appropriatel honored. But back on earth, almost half a Million People worked just to t 11 Apollo Missions int space, and they were as courageous and bold in many ways as the astronauts. Their work, the work of the engineers, the mathematicians, the work of the factory workers, had toe perfect for the work of the astronauts to succeed. I spent four years trying to understand what that was like on earth. Jane and it waskt all brough science. Some of their acmeevements and f their vital functions were quite lowtech. Charles what s interesting was the combination of those things. T, in fhe Technology Necessary to go to the moon required all kinds of pushing the limits of engineering and science. What was amazing was that many of the Solutions Scientists and engineers came up with exceeded our ability to make them. The computers are great example. The computers that flew the astronauts to the moon were the smallest, fastest, most nimble computers ever created. Gbut the programming, ts, the circuitry, was literally hand woven by women in a raytheon factory in waltham, massachusetts. Two dozen women sat at looms with needles and wire instead of , thread, and every wire of every computer for the Apollo Computers was sewn by nd. Jane e i lat story. What about the parachutes . Because they were handsewn aswe. Charles the parachutes were not only handsewn, 2 million stitches for each parachute, three big parachutes for each apollo capsule. But the parachutes were hand folded and in the United States, parachute folding is considered a serious business. You have to be licensed by the faa. There were only three people in the whole nation who knew how to fold apollo parachutes and were licensed to do it. They were recertified every six months to make sure they hadnt lost track. Thosthree people, two men an a woman in california, folded every apollo parachute. During the years of the apollo andduring the years of the apollo spaceflights, nasa forbid them from ever writing in the same car together, bause nasa couldnt afford to have all three of them injured in thesa car accident. Jane was apollo worth the money at the end of the day . Chles to me there is no question it was worth the money. The impact of apollo back on earth, apollo laid theda foon for the digital revolution. You almost cant put a price on moving forward the digital revolution five or six years and , what that got us. But when you look at raw numbers, apollo cost 19. 4 billioin money actually spent in the 60s. And there were twoetears of the m war, each of those years cost americans more than the entire race to the moon. The vietnam war cost eight or 10 times what going to the moon cost. Dno question americans co afford it and we got back mu, re than we spent. Jane charles fishman, one giant leap, thank you so much for joing me. Im jane obrien. And apparently nasa forgot to pack the flag. You will have to read the book to find out how the American Flag got to the moon. Do check us out on twitter. Have a lovely weekend. Im jane obr thanks for watching. Announcer funding this presentation is made possible by. The freeman foundation; by judy and peter blumkovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs; and by contributions tohis pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Announcer you can access more of your favorite pbs shows than ever before. This is the future with pbs passport, a member benefit that lets you binge many of the latest s fws and catch up on yoorites. We really are living in the modern world. Any time you wt. Man wow how about that . Anywhere you are. Woman theres literally noth. G like this in the world announcer support your pbs station and get passport, your ticket to the best of pbs. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc woodruff good evening. Im judy woodruff. On t newshour tonight on th brink tensions remain between iran and the United States despite President Trumps canceling retaliatory airstrikes. Then, harsh detention new details about conditions in a government facility for immigranchildren. Plus, its friday, mark shields and david brooks analyzeewll the weeksincluding the standoff between the u. S. And iran, and democraticdi president ial cte joe bidens comments about working with segregationists. And, behind the curtain of be more chill, the youthfu musical thats made it to broadway despite the critics. Its kind of refreshing to