Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20240714

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Woodruff the federaleserve cut a key shortterm Interest Rate today, after raising it as recently as december. It lowered the federal funds rate the rate that banks charge each other for loans by a quarterpoint. Unusually, the stock market fell on the news, when Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell failed to signal it might be ths first ofies of cuts. Also unusual, two fed Committee Members voted against todays cut. C at a preference, powell played down the lack of consensus. There is a range of views on the committee, but the committee is unified, completely unified,t on our dedn to making the best policy decisions we can make. And that means people have a responsibility to do their best thinking and to present that thking. And i would not have it any other way. Are going to be data dependent. We are going to be, as we always are, doing what we need to do to support the economic expansion. Woodruff lis afternoon, President Trump also weighed in, saying in a tweet that powell let us down, that markets were looking for indications of a lengthy and aggressive ratecutting cycle. Todays rate cut marks the first time the fedinas lowered rest rates in a little over 10 years. At that time, thu. S. Economy was struggling to emerge from the great recession. Today, Economic Indicators are stro. Unemployment is at a 50year low, with the stock market recently hitting new highs. So why cut now . For answers to that and more, we once again turn to david wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on fiscal Monetary Policy the brookings institution. David, welcome back. Good to be here. As we just mentioned, last time we loor,d, in decemhe fed was raising Interest Rates. Now theyre lowering thewhm. They have three reasons. One is that theyve made ast e in december. The economy isnt as strong as they had anticipated. Two, theyre worried inflation too soft. They expected inflation to be moving towards their 2 target, and it hasnt moved there quite as effectively as they had hoped. Thats prices going up. Prices going up. Its hard to believehe fed ying to get inflation going up. For oldtimers like us, that seems like an impossible thing. Were used to the fed doi the opposite. The third thing is theyre worried about risk to the global economy, not so much the United States, but chairman powell mentioned china and europe and also made clear, and he said this seral times, that trade tensions, President Trumphu trade war iting the economy largely because its depressings business spind business investments, so, in a sense, theyre saying we need to cut rates now to protect the economy in part from the damage that President Trumps trade policies are doing for e outlook. Woodruff so hes specifically pointing a fingersi at the pnts trade policies . He didnt quite say itlike i did, but pretty close. Woodruff putting esntuarter of a point do sound like a lot. What effect is that going to have on the economy d ordinary americans . It isnt a lot. Its a smaenll movto offset some of the bad things in the economy. Markets were angst pating the move. Mortgage rathe a few months ago were 5 , n 3. 7 , meaning slightly lower rates on car loans a cedit cards, but also means people who have money marketfund a marke in a Bank Certificate will get less interest. Woodruff President Trumpca being cribecause he said the fed should have signaled there would be more ratets in the future and the market seem to have reacted to that. Youre right, thmarket seemed to have reacted to chairman Powells Press Conference in which he used to say this was a series of cuts. He was a littleonfusing. I think basically what the fed is saying is the economy is okay, this is taking out a little bit of insurance against a bad outcome. We will cut rate wa lot ife think the economy is on the everge of a recessionon we think it is, so this is not the first of a long series. The marts still expect at least one more rate cut this year. The president asparently wa more than that. Woodruff but, for whatever reasons, as you just said, t fed is not prepared to promise that. No. I mean, partly, s cause the markets and the analysts want more certainty than the fed can ever provide. They dow,t really knond chairman powell talked about this, how bad will trade tensions be for theconomy, so meeyre trying to be cautious. Secondly, unempl is at a 50year low, and the economy is okay. So the fed doesn believe it needs the really strong medicine of sharp rate ts. The president apparently feels differently. Woodruff quickly david wessel. Another focus ton president seems to be on the strength of the u. S. Dollar. How does that play into this . The president worries a lotted about the dollar which has been strong because it hurts our trade exports and makes trade deficits worsand thats a big concern. The fact other Central Banks around the world are cuting their Interest Rates means their eurrencies will fall relative to the dollar, so factor in feds decision was they knew they had to cut rates now otherwise the dollar might get too strong and apparently they dont want that and thepr ident surely doesnt. Woodruff one more actor in the drama as it goes on. Keeps me employed. Woodruff david wessel, thank you. In the days other news as we mentioned, stocks turned south after fed chair Jerome Powell indicatedodays rate cut might not herald a trend. The Dow Jones Industrial avera plunged over 333 points to close at 26,864. The nasdaq fell 98 points, and the s p500 shed 33. All three indexes were down 1 . Woodruff speaking of trade, u. S. And chinese officials have finished their latest trade talks without visible signs of progress. The meeting in shanghai today was aimed at ending an ongoing tariff war. It wrapped up 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Just yesterday, President Trump accused the chinese of reneging on promises, and he warned them against iting to see if he is reelected. Today, beijing answered translated its just laughable, because its obvious to all who went back on hisrd and has been capricious inn more tyear of trade talks. Its useless to ask other people to take medicine when you are sick yourself. It i think the states should show more sincerity and honesty s the issue of trade talks. Woodruff the tes say tey will meet again, in washington, come sepigmber. The fominister of iran, Mohammad Javad zarif, is now under u. S. Economic sanctions. The Treasury Department announced it today. It said zarif is helping irans supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, to cry out his reckless agenda. Zarif countered at he was sanctioned because he is a threat to americas agenda. In western afghanistan, a roadside bomb ripped open a bus today, killing at least 32 people. Al happened on a highway between the provincial capof herat and kandahar. Local spitals were crowded with at least 17 wounded. Officials said most of the dead were women and children. The taliban denied responsibility. Kelly craft was confirmed ambassador to the unit d the longtime republican activist is currently ambassador to canada. She will also be the firstoraj political donor to serve as u. N. Ambassador. And, puerto ricos outgoing Governor Ricardo Rossello named his choice for a successor today. Pedro pierluisi a former delegate to u. S. Congress. He was nominated for secretary of statend would become vernor when rossello resigns la friday. But, top puerto riwmakers said they will block him over his ties to the islands federal control board. Still to come on theour analyzing the results of last nights democratic debd looking ahead to tonights second round. Cu tions of Sexual Assault against an air for general taking a top military post. Out of thin air canarvesting water from fog be the key to solving the worlds water problems . And much more. Al woodruff of the candidates seeking the 2020 democratic president ial nomination faced off in tuesday nights debate in detroit. As amna nawaz reports, the ideological rift in the crowd field was on full display. Nawaz for the ten democrats on stage last night, an existential question how far left to go . More moderate candidates like former maryland congressman john delaney set their sights on the partys left flank. I think democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises, when we run on things that are workable, not fairy tale economics. Az nfrom Senators Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of vermont, the partys two lirral leaders standing cen stage, a united front. You know, i dont understandt ngy anybody goall the trouble of runni for president of the United States just to talk about what we really cant do and shouldnt fig. I get a little bit tired of democrats afraid of big ideas. Nawaz its a divide that played out for nearly every resue, as democrats debated the best way to defeatdent trump. South bend indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg we will deal with climateif and only if we win the presidency, if and only if we beat donald trump. Nawaz on health care, the moderates, like montana goveor Steve Bullock, in his first debate appearance, expressed doubts about the Health Care Overhaul known as medicare for all. At the end of the day, im not going to support any plans that ray Quality Health care from individuals. This is an example of wish list economics. Cait used to be just repub who wanted to repeal and replace. Now Many Democrats do, as well. Lets lets be clr about this. We are the democrats. We are not about trying to take blay health care from anyone. Thats what the reans are trying to do. applause and we should stop using publican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that health care. Os nawaz sanders also defended his signature pr against attacks from ohio congressman tim ryan and former colorado governor john hickenlooper. En forr citizens it will glnally include dental care, hearing aids and eses. But you dont know that you dont know that, bernie. U second of all ill come to a second, congressman. I do know it, i wrote the damn bill. If were going to for americans to make these radical changes, theyre not gng to go alonhrow your hands up all right ohho, i can do it. But you vent implemented the plans nawaz similar to the last debate, the debate around immigration centered on a plan to make crossing the u. S. Rder a civil offense instead of criminal. Former texas congressman beto orourke i expect that peoplwho come here follow our laws, and we reserve the right to criminally prosecute them the problem is that, rightw, he criminalization statute is what gives donald trump the ability to take children away from their parents. We must be a country that every day lives our values. In nawazowntown detroit, a city thats over 80 black, night one of the debate featured an allwhite field of candidates. Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar sponded to President Trumps recent attacks on congressman Elijah Cummings and baltimore. Little kids literally woke up this weekend, turned on the tv and saw their president calling their city, the town of baltimore, nothing more than a home for rats. And i can tell you, as your president , that will stop. Awaz while author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson focused on the water conditions in nearby flint michigan. Its bigger than ovint its al this country, its particularly people of color its particularly people who do not have the money to fight back. And if the democrats dont start saying it, then why would leose peeel that theyre there for us and if those people dont feel it, they wont vote for us, and donald trump will win. Naw expect race to come up again tonight, as ten more candidates prepare to take the stage. Among them, former Vice President joe biden and california senator kala harris, who clashed over desegregating schools during the first debate last month. Do you agree today thatou were wrong to oppose bussing in america then . Do you agree . I did not oppose buin america. Nawaz biden said last week he was over polite last time. Heading into tonight, harris w signaled sl once again set her sights on the candidate leading in the polls. My mother rlised me to be and i intend to be polite. I will express differences and articulate them. Nawaz they will share the stage with eight other candidates hoping for their own stand oumoments before the polling and fundraising thresholds double for the next round of debates in september. For analysis of last nights debate and what to look for tonight, im joined by stuart rothenberg, Senior Editor of inside elections, amy walter of the Cook Political Report and host of the politics with amyer waon wnyc radio, and karine jeanpierre, a senior m advisor eon. Org. Welcome to you all. Lets jump right in. Stu, last night one of the centrathemes was about te moderate versus progressive candidates. Did one side do beter than other at making the case . No i think both sides did very well, and youre right, that was the context created by the question from cnn folks, but anso its an honest Division Within the partyyou saw the two obvious progressives, Bernie Sanders elizabeth warren, energize,articulate, you know, about their positions, and you saw the pragmatists. So think they dida really good job, a number of them, whether delaney or ryan or whatever, trying to poke holes in air arguments. So i think botesh sidid quite well. Karine, you noted from stu some of the lower poll candidate. Were taking aim frequently at senator warren and sanders. Medicare for all is one of the big topics last night. How do you think they did i defending their tur . I think they did pretty good. La night i sawbe de bait about policies and substantive issues. Its part of the process and having a primak, and i thin they did well for themselves and i think, now, we move on to tonight and see ow that ges. Amy, lets take a look at how people are deciding who it isua they ay want to vote for. I want to point you to something that always stands out to me. O this is m our pbs newshour npr marist poll. When you aselk likdemocratic voters have they made up their minds,2 say no, they have not. That is a lot of people. So if youre a dtemocratic er out there watching the debates, what are you gleaning from this kind of format right now . What youre really looking for right now, amna, when i talk to voters, what theyre telling me is they are hoping that thege fielts narrowed because there are too many choices for them. They just get kind of intimidated by the number that are on the stage. So i think, eveh n tho saw some new names in the mix, st mentioned john delaney and Steve Bullock literally the first time on the stage, governor omof ana, i think this race is still consolidating around four, maybe five candidates, and as those candidates are getting challenged or maybe challenging another candidate, you will see thr numbers rise and fal as other people challenge them, but i dont think were going to see one of these candidates that right now is polling in the low ones or twos suddenly break up from the top. Just overall this fundamental debate about pragmatism and one thats more structural reform, you know, sitting here in michigan right now, th a debate that happened in 2018 in the governors race and happened in 2016 in the prmary between llary clinton and Bernie Sanders, so folks in this stateo are pretty use that conversation. In 2016, it was the more didate, berncan sanders, who won the primary in 2018. It was the more pragmatic who is now the governor gretchen whitmore,o who won her primary. Cina, karine, climate, race came up, hge in the 2020 election as we talk about it. It was an all white panel based on the random draw. How dining they did at developing an overall message of how theyre going to mae the democratic case to voters of color . Yeah, it was very unfortunate, amna. We have a very diverse field and, like you , ention was pretty much an allhite ndidates on that stage and, tonight, that will change. But imy actuaally glad the question of race was asked to the white candidate they took an opportunity to answer that. What we saw the past three weeks with donald trump and the way hes brought up race and how hes using it for his 2020 reelection i quite concerning, and, so, its an important conversation to have. Weeed to bring it u and you have people of color living in this country that is vyr worried as to whether this country is going, and i thinks good it was great to see these candidates on this stage talk abot it last night. Stu, we mentioned donald trump. I want to point you to another rece showing from our poll that pbs npr marist poll. When it looks at what democratic voters are looking for in their candidate, do they want someone who alliance with their values ore someo can beat donald trump . Majority says theyre looking for someone o can beat donald trump. Did you see that messages . I think the president didnt get as much attention last night as i expected will get or those people get tonight, but face, amna, vots want it all. They want somebody to beat donald trump and somebody to reflect their lues and priorities and views. Theyre going to hold off deciding until much later ithe year. I know we expect we think weve already had debnates there have been town halls and interviews, but weve got a long way to go before people actkelly hoices of who theyre going to support and who they arent. Its worth ting themp campaign put out a response after the debate last night, says its the same radical democrats, same big government,l the soessage, social message comes up again and again. Pete buttigieg foreshadowed that and said we ned to do what we believe in and move forward. Is there some truth to that, to the democrats now . We know what the play book is going to be foronald trump and republicans. They have been using the socialist label now since the 2018 campaign. Wasnt particularly eff that race, but, again, that was a Midterm Election where it was a referendum on the president. This is going to be a choice between the president and another democratic candidate. T, look, i thinthat, when were asking, you know, whether or nothe candidate who appeals to the more left or the moreg center is go win, we miss another fundamental question, which is whos the candidate that has theision, the message, whos able to connect, who has a nrrative and a story . And, so, this is where, i think, some of the moderates did not do they were not as effective last night and that they were able toort of try and poke holes in what the progressive candidates were saying about ar medicare fl system, mentioning how difficult it was going to be to pass, how unworkable it was. But theyre not offering i didnt see last night a real sort of vision or optimisc message to voters who are looking, as stu sad, for everything, but who want to beat donald trump and see a cdidate who has a realistic path of getting there. I feel like aeeb moderator, 30 seconds or less. What are you looking for tonight when ten more candidates take the stage . Joeiden now becomes the face and the voice of that moderate, in a way that the candidates last night, yes, they tried to play that role, but the real role is going to be played by joe biden and how he holds up under what i think is going to be pretty aggressive you know, i dont know i would use the word attack buet thre going to aggressively challenge joe biden tonight. Can he hold up . He did not do particularly well in trst debate. Karine, what are you looking for . Se what i want to which we didnt see last night is i really want toe the contrast with donald trump. We talked about healthcare, moe than 35 minutes was on medicare for all, which is great, but nobody mentioned that rit now the Trump Administration is in the courts trying to take away healthcare from tens of millions of people. That type of thing is what i want to hear tonight from the candidates. Whats the contract, how are whats the contrast, how are wea going tot donald trump . I agree with amy. I think biden is going to get a lot of the attention, people are going to be focusing on him tonight escially after the last debate, but i also want to say that i dont think were going to see much change after tonight. I think the third debate, the one in september in houston, where the fieldnill, youw, whittle down a bit. I dont think well have mo than one debate, i think thats where well see movement with renumbers and how people standing in this race. Ill give you the last word, stu. Biden and biden, hes the leading progressive pragmatist. , is if he falters, which is certainly possib will create an opening for somebody else to take that place because this is a party thats split, that wants toin but with a certain agenda. Stu rothenberg, karine jeanpierre, and amy walter. Thanks to you all. Certainly. Oodruff air force general john hyten was nominated in april by president rump to become vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. But hes been accused of sexl assault and making unwanted advances by one of his former assistants, colonel kathryn spletstoser. Spletstoser has been in the army for 28 years. Shes received glowing fitness reviews, including from general hyten himself, who wrote in 2017 that spletstoser was in the top 1 of all colonels i have seen in my 36 years of service and that kathy will be the kind of general officer the army needs. Ready today for brigadier general; unlimited potential to lead. At his Senate Confirmation hearing yesterday, general hyten allegations. Osers it has been a painful time for me and my family, but i want to state to you and to the american people, in the stronges these allegations are false. Erthere were there was a extensive thorough investigation that dr. Wilson described whicht revealed tth nothing , ppened ever. Woodruff tode Senate Armed Services committee voted to move hytens nomination to the full sene with republican senator joni ernst joining six other democrats in voting against neral hyten. And a warning, there is strong, graphic languagen this conversation with colonel spletstoser, which i recorded a short time ago. With me now is army colonel kathryn spletstoser. Colonel, thank you very much for youre welcome. Woodruff so tell us first, what was your relationship with general hyten before these advances that you say happened took place . Well, i was his director, his Commander Action Group director. I basically developed a pretty Good Relationship with him early on. I was probably hisv most faorite subordinate, first among equals, thats the way he treated me. Woodrufhi saw m every day . Every day all day and on travel, yes. Woodruff and you say that these unwelcomed advancesin starte early 2017. Just give us an example. O it started in january 2017 on a trip to palo alto, and we were doing work in his hotel after his hhistel room after work, he asked me to stay behind. We went over and covered some stuff for the next day, engagements at stanford, and then as i was leaving heal ac stopped me on my way out the door, pulled my hand to his groin and he had an erect erectpenis. I was veryhocked and cofused. I didnt understand what that meant. I was mortified. I just turned around and he gave me sort of a face that was veryn disconce like he thought i would like that. He didnt say anything. I said i basically didnt say anything. Ft and that was the first encounter. I thought, it could have been a mistake or an accident. Woodruff and youve said that these advances continued off and on through 2017, and then in december, something more serious ha i would say in june something more serious happened. In june in washington, d. C. And we made a lot of trips to d. C. , this was another time where we were aually going over work for the next day to prepare for some engagemen. In d. Cand he asked me to stay and go over some work. An it was ins hotel suite ryd it was after the duty hour but it wasnt vate, and he stood over my shoulder. He grabbed my breasts andd tur me around and started kisnge passionately. I pushed him off. I said, this is not going to happen, like, what are you doing . And he said, i just want to see how that felt, i thought you would like it. Im, like, i didnt like it, why would you think that. He said, well, i thought you liked me. And i was, like, sir,i do like you but not like that. He said, well, why not . Im, like, youre married, youre my boss and youre not my type. He asked, like, what my type was. And i said someone not married, someone not my boss, and i prefer men of color, and he made a snarky remark about why myself and his former tde go along so well because he was an africanamerican guy. We proceededo have a conversation that was verguy ntative. He got upset. He actually sat down on the couch and actually started crying, and i was very confused and shocked at that. Hes a very emotionaguy, but now im sort of in a position where he did something incredibly wrong to me, and i dont really know what to do. I got really upset and reallyd angry d. Woodruff but you continued to work with him. I did. I thought he got the point that it cld never happen again. Woodruff and then in december, you were on another travel yeah, there were some small incidents in between there, but, yes, we were at the reagan security forum. Reporter in calornia. Yes. Woodruff and he showed up at your hotel room outside the door. Yes. Woodruff and you let him in . Yeah, so, now it was after the dinner that and it waa great event the whole forum went really, really well. So as i was preparing to go to sleep for the evening, i was putting on face cream and i get a knock othe door. I thought it was probably the aide or the como or security detail and it was him and he just walked in my room. I was thinking something was wrong, did something happen, did i screw up, did i not meet the standard or sothing for that day. He said, no, no, i just want to talk. Had come in my room with a work binder. I he said, just want to talk. And im, like, okay. So he sat on the bed and asked me to sit next to him. And i was really confused n. I was, like, oh, this is sort of weird, i dont know whats going to happe but, you w, everythings been going really well, so i wasnt afraid. Then he took my hand, and i stood up and i w ns, lik and he grabbed me. He stood up and started kissing me passionately and and he would not stop, even though i said he said he wanted to make love to me. I said, thats not going to happen. I think i might have said, you want to have sex . He said no, i want to make love. I was trying to get loose from hie and kept saying youre responding to this, you like it. I said, no, im not, i dontli it. He proceeded to still kiss me and hold me pretty tight and touch me on the butt and some her areas, and thn finally he was grinding on my leg, which was kind of weird, and then he aculated aftea while. So i was mortified. I pushed him off. I was really scared at that point. Like, at that point, i wasnt s physicalred, but now this has gone through a whole other level. Woodruff this is your superior officer . This is a fourstar general. Im a colonel. Hes a sixfootfour man, im fiveseven. This crossed the line in a big way. Woodruff but rtu didnt ret to anyone. Is that right . At the time . Thats correct. Woodruff why not . I didnt really feel like i was comfortable having a venue to report security detail, theyre there to protect him, not me. Woodruff so you thought you would just keep it to yourself . I thought rally in the jue incident, i thought he got the point and that it really never would happen again. I know he does love his wife, so i was, like, oh, this is just sort of an infatuation. And so i was just really confused. , woodruff y you know, general hyten completely denies this, we heard what he said just a moment ago. He serd it nevappened, and vhen you have the air force office of special tigation, they looked into this and im quoting, they said we spke to 50 people in three countries and 13 states and reviewed thousands of emnails they did they concluded there was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct. Thats not exactly true. Air force office of special investigations reports do not make those type of determinations. They are fact gatherers, they friend facts. They did corroborate every single thing i sad in my sworn statement, that everything i said happened, there were her ings to corroborate. T it lef the sex acts. Which i went in saying this will probably be a he said she said. Woodruf you finally did go public after he was nominated for this decion . I didnt go public, i made an appropriate so throu discussing the issue with the separtment of defense Inspector General who hadd me for some more information, i had been dealing with them other investigations that had been concluded, and they said, look, if theres something more you need to tell us now. I talked to my boss and sai you know, kind of hinted around, this is kind of what it is, and t s, like, thats a tough choice, think ab hard, and if you do decide, well send it through the i. G. First, and it would go to a Law Enforcement agency woodruff so what do you make, when all is said and done, colonel spletstoser, how s this ndled by the military . The agents in charge admitted they were being rushed and there was a lot of pressure to get it done quick. Woodruff how do yo the public, people watching you right now, are going to say this is r version of events versus is that how you see it . Is it he said she said or more than that . I went in and said, look, this is going to be hard to prove the actual sex act, but youre going to find other stuff, and they did. When they said there was insufficient evidence to charge him, that investigati uncovered a lot of things about his leadership style. Oodruff negative . Negative. Corroborated evidence indicated he wasfu untruin his o. S. I. Interview, corroborated by atta least 12ments that were in that investigation. It was also corroborad i mean, he could have been charged with deer election of duty, conduct unbecoming, faire to maintain good order and discipline, and this is e hardest one because he always talked about, oh, his re line was treating people with dignity d respect, but i would argue he didnt treat me with dignity and respect at all byoing tha or the way i was treated. Woodruff you also said sterday, colonel, you said youre doing thise so gneral hyten doesnt do this if he is confirmed as the vice chair of the joint chiefs. O so the bottom line for me, i felt like it was aal responsible. At that point, like, when his nomination was announced, its because he told me he was retiring. My replacement was a man. His testimony hi timeline was short. I took him seriously when heh saidt, and then he gets nominate and thant fudamentally changed the equation. I was really upset, and thats when i hitd a conversation my brother and my boss and said, look, what should i do . And it became sort of aon rebility to report it so people know and that it would ensure that he didnt get the opportunity to do this to somebody else for the next four years. W you think this sends to other women or men who are the vic of Sexual Assault in the military . It basically says, look, if your boss is a general officer, no matter what you do, you wont be taken serusly, despite the evidence. It means that they will try to blame, shame and discredit you because the o. S. I. Investigation didnt investigate him, it was victim focused, like trying to discredit me and it failed to do that. But it also says, hey, not only will we not believe you and well discredit you along the way, but well probably let him get promoted, too. Woodruff colonel kathryn spletstoser, thank you very much for talking with us. Thank you. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour north korea launches multiple missile tests what it means for negotiations with the u. S. Plus, remembering the life of legendary broadway producer and director, harold prince. Al water supply faces constant and worsening threats Climate Change, overconsumption, poor management. Its a challenge pushing scientists, politicid designers to hunt for innovations that could lead to new sources of water. John yang reports for our breakthroughs series on the leading edge of science and technology. Yang situated the edge of the sahara in southern morocco, Mount Boutmezguida gets only about five inches of rain a year. But whatt lacks in rain, it makes up for in fog, which blankets the area for about half the year. W thats where residents have now turned for theer harvesting it from fog. Alongside scientists from the german water fndation, the moroccan nonprofit dar si hmad has set up whats said to be the largest fog collection project in the world about 19,000 square feet of nets called cloud fishers. As fog rolls through, the mesh traps fresh water, which drips into a receptacle. A network of pipes takes it to the villages below, where about 1,000 peoplevery day use it for drinking and watering plants and animals. Jamila bargach is director of dar si hmad. T the f having water has radically transformed the life of the women who used to walk for hours to get water, one, and two, t of not having enough water. Right now that fear is not there anymore. Ut yang b in other places,ai the fear r. T perts say theres a global water crisis, withast two thirds of the population living in areas that ck water one month a year or more. This summer, chennai, india, has had to relon water deliveries from tanker trucks. A poor monsoon season left all the citys reservoirs y. Betsy otto directs the World Resources institutes obal water program. Were seeing really significant shifts much mo erratic rainfall. Snowpack and glaciers that have been very important sources of slow release water tmuch of the world are disappearing. So were seeing really bagnificant changes from g Climate Change. Yang while collecting water from fog may sound revolutionary, its actually an, ancient technind one found in nature. African beetle species captures fog droplets with small bumps on its back. And archeologists have found evidence it was used centuries ago in the middle east and south america. E how dot as much water as possible from fog today . Pt with high consn and Climate Change making water scarcity a growing problemar nd the world, researchers are tackling that question. Teone technique is being t here at this farm at virginia tech. Industal design professor brook kennedy is part of the team that developed the fog harp. It uses tightly placed vertical wires, as opposed to criss ossing mesh. Either they tend to be too open. So a l of fog passes through them or in other cases theyre too tightly woven and so the fog droplets get stuck. Whateve done differently he is that weve removed the horizontal wires and this prevents the water droplets from getting stuck. So they quickly througgravity quickly drop away. Yang tests have found this design to be at least three times more effective at capturing water than traditional nets. For kennedy, this was a case of biologically inspired design, influenced, in par at least, by california redwoods. The towering trees draw most of their water from fog accumulating on their needles. The solution isnt embedded with you know circuits and other high tech accoutrements or features. Its a fairly simple solution but yet by just tweaking meaningfully the design really at a small scale the results are rather dramatic. Yang the team is now working on the next generation of fog harps, making themturdier, more colorful, exploring the best wiring material within a few years, the plan is to test hundreds of harps in places battling water scarcity, likeeru or south africa. In cambridge, ssachusetts, m. I. T. Scientists are trying to take the innovation surrounding fog collection even rther. Theyve discovered that zapping air rich in fog with a beam of electrically charged particles draws the droplets toward the mesh, dramatically increasing its ability to colle water. So right now the system is off. So you can see that this plu can pass through the mesh unaffected. And then it goes around. But when we turn the electric field on. The plume vanishesta instously and then water starts collecting on that mesh. Yang so its the same amount yang the idea is to use the system on power plant cooling towers. Almost 40 of all fresh water taken from rivers, lakes and reservoirs in the United States is set aside for that critical purpose. M. I. T. Mechanical engineering professor kripa varanasi leads the team. Weve been able tond entally change the oplets. Ory of these in fact, we saw these drops that are going away make a uturn and come back. And so we went from a half to a enuple of percent efficiency to almost 100 effi. W yanle both the projects are promising betsy otto of the wosources institute says water innovation must be coupled with better water management. And so were going to have to find new ways of storing it or capturing it in places that used to have more waterhan theyll now have yes its important to have those technologies but that alone is not enough. Its a big societal problem and not as simple as, hey you know you have a power plant i can sell you this thing i mean i think conservation in combination with other techniques working in unison will help us tackle water scarcity. Yang that combination may mean the difference between losing or maintaining one of the most basic elements of life on earth. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff north korea launched two shortrange, Ballistic Missiles yesterday. Its the countrys second ch launch in less than a week, and comes as talks between the u. S. And north korea are at ate stal beck schifrin has the latest. Schifrin it more than a month since President Trump and north Korean Leader kimre jongun to restart their dialogue. Eat theres been no movement yet, and north kas made very public demonstrations with its military, seemingly in frustratn with the u. S. And u. S. Ally south korea. What is north korea saying with the tests, and where do the talks go from here for that, im joined by general vinct brooks, who retired as the top u. S. General in south korea in january, and is currently a senior fellow at the Belfer Center at harvard university. Vincent brooks, welcome back to the newshour. Thanks, good to be with ou reporter we saw the two Ballistic Missile tests yesterday and two more last week and before that kim jong unade a very public visit to a submarineactory outside of h ng pong yong. What is norea trying to say . I suspect theyre trying to send messages and get levege before the discussions resume, and i think the discussions will resume and relavely soon. But the idea of creating pressure especially onko souta is what i think this is all about, a reaction to south korea receiving f35a joint strike fighters, and these types of asse have not been on the Korean Peninsula in more than a year, at least deployed by the united statis. So thi messaging and posturing,ut it heaps to equalize the table before they go into discussions. Te rep so as you mentioned, 535s recently deployed to seoul, north korea, specifically cited those and specifically cited joinert ses between the u. S. And south kona. You more t most know the capacity of vehicles military and how south koreas military works. Do you believe the arm sales and joint exercises should be going on . These exercises are impoant r professional militaries to maintain their edge and, even in the environment of creating room for dlomacy and postponing some exercises more than a year ago, theres still room for maintaining readiness and thats been ongoing. So we see the second oftwo exercises that have begun in thl year 2019 alliance, thats the name of the exerciser oming in the korean language, and the second one thats coming up, its impoant in this particular case because it is a bit of a certification exercise for the south koreans as they prepare to take over thr leadontrolling forces in wartime should that eventuality actually occur. So yes the exercises need to let me also just mention, if i may, north korea hasnt changed theil,exercise program at a and not a bit in five years. We saw a few things that were modifications in terms of what they did in the winter cycle, but for the mt pt, their exercises remain at the same scale atwihe same timingce a year as they have been for five years. You talked about keeping the room for diplomacy, that is something certainly President Trump has been trying to maintain, and i want to play what he said about the rst test last friday. They are shortranged missiles, and they relationship is very good with chairman kim, and well see what happens, but they are shortranged missiles and many people have the missiles. Many people have those missiles. Vincent brooks saysorth kore conditioned President Trump to accept shortrange missiles. Te is that okay . Its for the administration to decide whether its okay or not, but i willyoust tel this that certainly there are military ail suspects of this thats a capability that be improved by the north koreans, a solid fuel rocket motor, for example, the ability to do some maneuvers in flight, particularly at the end of the maflight, and, so, it is ter that must now be contended with by the republican of koa and the u. S. Alliance in particular, but by otheors as well wh look at this as a test or demonstration of cs able. So iot a matter of whether its okay, its a matter of recognizing whether north korea has a formidable arsenal of weapon sysms and continue to modernize those beyond the Nuclear Programs testing intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. So thats the reason forces have to stay ready in northeast asia e d the Korean Peninsula. Reporter youid out a program of incentives include relar starting korean joint programs and create an international escrow account into whicho donorsd put money. North korea could see the money and would only get the money if actions are positive. Why do you think its important to have incentives . North korea doesnt trust anyone, they dont trust themselves or the intersectional community especially the United States. S so the first demonstrate there is something waiting for them at the end of the rainbo if you will, and there are promises to a great future tobu north koretheres no money on the table. Now, im not suggesting there is a payout for every behavior, but ther that theres a visible International Fund that donors can contribute to that helps to build the potential for development fororth korea in time, and it can be metered. When we see a negative behvior we dont like, like shortrange missile launches, money com oes ba and goes back to the donor. When we see a posveehavior like a declaration, inspection, repatriation of remains or remption of recovery operations at arro hwheadll, money flows into the account. It shows movement which the International Community an an expectation that chairman kim will deliver on what did eh sai he would do which is ultimately a finally verified denuclear dealization. Reporter vincentrooks, commander of allied forces i woodruff finally tonight, a broaay great has died today. Director and producer harold hal pnce won an astonishing 21 tony awards with shows that became household names and whose popularity endures even now. This is part of our ongog arts and culture series, canvas. Harold hal prince was full of blrprises and created memo works still being performed many years after their debuts. He started first as a producer of shows such as the pajama game, damn yankees, west side story, a funny g happened on the way to thedl forum, and er on the roof. R in 1986, the newsh he had this to say about his career when i it cost 250,000 to do a musical. Mo of us were neophytes; w got our experience right on the spot. It is overwhelming, the experience of having a 4 Million Investment on your shoulders. Woodruff Eric Schaeffer is the longtime artistic director of signature theater in arlington, virginia and f aged manyinces plays over the years. In fact, signature, which won a tony ard for best regional theater in the country, honored prince for his work in 2013. He was an icon, and if i can grow up to be like hal prince, that would an amazing thg. He was an amazing captain of the ship, whenever there were problems, he made it look like there were none. Oo uff prince went on to direct landmark musicals such as cabaret, company, follies, sweeney todd, evita and phantom of the opera. Woodruff during his over 50 year career, prince received two special tonys in addition to the 21 statues when in 1972, fiddler became broadways longest running musical and then again two years later for revival of candide. He also received a Kennedy Center honor and was known as a master collaborator and prince of broadway. In a feature for pbs great performances, prie discussed the change hes seen in broadway since he started his career as a director. An id to provoke conversation for people to leave the theater but not the show. Nt i issues on the stage as they had been in my youth. Oodruff it was with legendary Stephen Sondheim who was the lyricist for west side stedy that prince devel longlasting friendship and professional partnership. They went on to workn a funny ing happened on the way to the forum and many more. Their relationship changed american musical theater. All of their work was groundbreaking, was pushing style or form, and they were telling stories that nobody else was. Woodruff princes publicist said he died in iceland after a brief illness. Harold prince was 91. Wonderl. And thats the newshour for tonight. Tomorrow, how georgetowns universityying reparations for its slave holding past. Im judy woodruff. Join us here and online at for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. Maj funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by home advisor. Ordering takeout. Finding the west route. Talking for hours. Planning for showers. You can do the things you like to do with a wilan designed for you. With talk, text and data. Consumer cellular. Learn more at ercellular. Tv babbel. A Language Program that teaches spanish, french, italian,ge rman, and more. Financial Services Firm raymond james. With the ongoing suppor of these institutions and dividuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for puic broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs statn from viewers like you. Thank you. Hello everyone and welcome to amanpour. Heres whats coming up. Ak47 type assault rifle. It was purchased legally in the state of nevada. After another mass shooting, democrats face off ithe second round of debates. We dive into the big issue of a gun laws witading voice, connecticut senator chris murphy. And the white housemiddle east peace plan. We need to resolve the political issue. We neeto go back to negotiating and resolving the political problems. We hear from palestinian assinesses and from washingtons man in israel, ador david friedman