Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20150922

And, america after charleston a return to the city where nine people were killed three months ago. A pbs town hall on healing, forgiveness and race. All that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill a river of humanity continued flowing into europe today, but it appeared to be somewhat better regulated. Thousands of people were being taken in buses directly from croatia, across hungary and on to austria. Jonathan miller of independent Television News reports from the croatian hungarian border. The hungarian military is busy building its reservoir just like the one on the serbian frontier. They want to ensure the transient in hungary is tightly controlled. From here they are bused straight through hungary to the austrian border. Earlier this afternoon i visited a new Transit Center on the serbian border an hour and a half south, 300 military tents erected in 24 hours flat, capacity around 4,000 and 3,000 already there. They get registered, then food, medical attention, a shower and shelter. The u. N. Refugee agency is there and told me 97 of these people come from the worlds top ten refugeereferring countries. They all know exactly where they want to go and how to get there. Some have received through Different Social Media very precise information, so they have been briefed where to go. Reporter the head of the International Federation of the red cross commended the serbians for bringing an end to the chaos. They say now its up to the e. U. Theyre taking care of their own lifetime here they are because of all the circumstances we know and we have a new solution in this situation and it is our duty as individuals in organizations, a semblance of this world to deal with what is expected to us, would show. Reporter by tomorrow, the people in the camp will wait for buffers from hungary to austria and by tomorrow night at the gates of vienna. The u. N. Refugee agency says there is no letup to the surge and are seeing ever more people entering croatia. Ifill tomorrow, interior ministers from the various European Union states meet in brussels. Theres no sign of agreement on a proposal to relocate 120,000 people now in greece, italy or hungary. In nigeria, more than 50 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a series of bombings overnight. Attackers struck in the northeastern city of maiduguri, the capital of borno state, where boko haram is active. The Islamic Militant group has recently lost territory to the military. The u. N. s Nuclear Watchdog reported significant progress today in looking at irans past nuclear activities. The head of the International Atomic energy agency, yukiyo amano, said he now has environmental samples from the Parchin Military site. But, he also acknowledged that renovations may obscure what actually went on there. The u. S. President ial race will have one less candidate. Wisconsin Governor Scott walker is quitting the republican nomination contest. He initially led the polls in iowa, but has since fallen far back in the pack. 15 republicans are still in the race. Volkswagen Stock Plunged today after the company admitted it rigged u. S. Emissions tests of its diesel vehicles. V. W. Shares fell nearly 20 in trading across europe. Analysts in frankfurt said that should come as no surprise. translated there is a giant scandal and it has arrived as a shock even here. The management of v. W. Already confessed to this and now there is a threat of several billion dollars worth of penalties and the shares plunged accordingly. Ifill bloomberg reported today the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of volkswagen. And germany said it will investigate whether v. W. Falsified emissions results in europe. Meanwhile, on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 125 points to close at 16,510. The nasdaq rose one point, and the s p 500 added nine. A former Peanut Company owner faces 28 years in federal prison for a deadly salmonella outbreak. Stewart parnell was sentenced today in albany, georgia. Hed been convicted of knowingly shipping tainted foods. The resulting salmonella outbreak killed nine people and sickened hundreds in 2008 and 2009. Firefighters in Northern California made progress today against some of the worst wildfires in the states history. But over the weekend, they raised the number of homes destroyed to 1,600, in two huge fires north of san francisco. South of the city, a new blaze broke out over the weekend. It destroyed 10 more homes and killed one person. A new study out today finds americans may be recycling a lot less trash than anyone thought. Researchers at Yale University measured whats going into landfills, and found the average person tosses away five pounds of trash a day. Thats more than twice what the government had estimated. The Global Growth of Internet Access is slowing for the third year in a row. The u. N. Broadband commission estimates the number of people online will grow by just over 8 this year, down half a percent from last year. Yet more than half the worlds population, better than four billion people, remain offline. And, some televisions biggest stars are polishing their new emmys today, including tony award winner viola davis, who was named best actress in a drama series for her work on abcs how to get away with murder. Shes the first black woman to win that award. The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. applause you cannot win an emmy for roles that are simply not there. Ifill hbo was the big winner, with 14 statuettes, far outpacing any overtheair network. But the awards telecast itself was the leastwatched emmys show ever. Still to come on the newshour pope francis in cuba, a day before he arrives in the United States. A debate over religion stirs an already boiling pot its politics monday. And much more. Ifill huge crowds turned out to see the pope in cuba on the second full day of his trip there, a day that marked the anniversary of when he decided, as a teen, to become a priest. He delivered a message about the importance of change. William brangham has this report. Brangham thousands of cubans welcomed pope francis this morning as he celebrated mass in the eastern cuban city of holguin. Festive songs mixed with traditional hymns and with the pontiffs call for tolerance and mercy. translated jesus invites us to slowly overcome our preconceptions and our resistance to change in others, and even in ourselves. Brangham todays remarks were in keeping with sundays packed mass in havanas revolution square. There, francis urged cubans to put humankind ahead of ideology a subtle jab at the countrys communist system. translated service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people. Brangham Cuban Security forces kept political dissidents away, blocking them from attending some events and detaining several others. But from all appearances, those who did hear and see the first latin american pope, were receptive. translated pope francis had a very deep message. A message of hope, cordiality, of helping each other many beautiful and appealing things. Brangham hours later, francis met with fidel castro, the retired founder of cubas communist revolution. Vatican officials described their 40minute meeting as informal and familial. The pope held separate talks with castros brother, the current president raul castro. And late today, francis traveled to santiago to visit the shrine of cubas patron saint, the virgin of charity. The papal visit came as the u. S. And cuba have restored diplomatic relations, thanks in part to some behindthescenes brokering by the vatican. And tomorrow, the pope begins his firstever trip to the u. S. Hell fly first to washington, where hell meet with president obama on wednesday and address a joint meeting of congress on thursday. Ifill after the pope leaves the nations capital, he continues to new york city and philadelphia. In those cities, he is scheduled to meet with some of the poorest and the most powerless, delivering a message of inclusiveness that has snagged the attention of catholics and noncatholics alike. Judy woodruff brings us a portrait of the churchs first latinamerican pope. Woodruff on march 13, 2013, a new pope was elected. Habemus papam woodruff many were surprised to learn he is an argentine. Bouna sera woodruff jorge mario bergoglio. First pope from the americas, first jesuit, and first non european in more than a millennium. His chosen name francis honors Saint Francis of assisi and his special concern for the poor. translated how i would like a poor church, for the poor. Woodruff soon, the new popes message of change expanded to include others who had been marginalized women, the divorced, homosexuals. When queried about gays, he sent a clear sign of a new approach by asking a provocative question in return translated if someone is gay and seeks god and has good will, who am i to judge . Woodruff his statements on womens roles also made headlines. translated women in the church are more important than bishops and priests. I think we are missing a theological explanation on this. Woodruff but critics say not much has actually changed in terms of doctrine. For example, that women can never become priests. I dont think that there is yet any signal that the deep, rich, important voice of women in the Catholic Church is going to be heard. Woodruff marie dennis is co president of pax christi international, the catholic peace and justice movement. I am hopeful that pope francis will bring a change in the Catholic Church in terms of its relationship with the women in the church. But im concerned that so far, that isnt too evident. Woodruff francis decentralized the hidebound Church Bureaucracy known as the curia and accused its members of being careerist and of having spiritual alzheimers. He moved to clean up the notorious vatican bank, firing conservatives and promoting newcomers who share his vision. And he looked to make lasting change around the vaticans most shameful and deeply troubling wound the child sex abuse scandal. American archbishops were forced to resign; a former Church Ambassador to the Dominican Republic was indicted; a new tribunal was created to investigate topranked churchmen. Still the efforts were criticized as too little, too late. I have liberal friends who think he should have come in and just changed the whole proceeding for priest abusers. Woodruff garry wills is the author of the future of the Catholic Church with pope francis. Hes trying to do something along that line, but theres nothing that would be adequate except to fire all the bishops, because they were all complicit in the coverup. Woodruff but if changes in policies have been slow to come, the new popes shift in tone and unique pastoral style has not. Even so, little was known about the unassuming 76yearold who had spent nearly his entire life in argentina. An intrigued world wondered who is pope francis . The secret to him is pretty open. Hes a christian. He follows jesus. He talks like jesus. Jesus talked about the poor. And thats all the pope is saying start with the poor. Woodruff professor Stephen Schneck directs the institute for policy Research Catholic studies at catholic university. What do we need to know about this man, in the beginning . Hes a, you know, a Second Generation immigrant, and i think the immigrant experience of italians in argentina was unique. Argentine history was one of the shaping factors here. Its a different history than the United States, and you know, the forces of political life, the culture are different than the United States. Woodruff born in buenos aires, the eldest son of an italian immigrant accountant, the popetobe graduated secondary school with a chemical technicians diploma and worked in a lab, as a janitor sweeping floors, and even as a nightclub bouncer before joining the jesuits. Biographer sergio rubin translated in just six years, he went from being a priest in a small convent in a province, to being archbishop of buenos aires and future cardinal primate of argentina. His career has been meteoric. Woodruff in his argentina, he was known. As the slum bishop, yes. Woodruff why . Because thats where the center of his gravity was for his time as archbishop. Woodruff he quadrupled the number of priests in the slums, lived in a small apartment, rode Public Transportation and cooked his own meals. He said, the mark of the shepherd is youve got the smell of the sheep. You have to go out and not only teach but listen to the people of god, and he said, my ideal of a pastor was a priest i knew who knew who the name of every dog in the slum. Woodruff in 2001, bergoglio was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul ii. After john pauls death four years later, Cardinal Bergoglio was reportedly a front runner to replace him, until he asked his peers to vote instead for joseph ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict xvi. Woodruff he wasnt. Putting himself forward . He was not putting himself forward, just the reverse. Woodruff in the years that followed, bergoglio remained deliberately lowprofile. But once he became pope, francis signaled he was different with early gestures such as washing the feet of Prison Inmates and those with disabilities. Coming to America Pope Francis will be. Woodruff the popes first ever visit to the u. S. Will include a rare trip to speak to a joint session of congress, following an invitation from House Speaker john boehner. The speaker released this video in anticipation of the papal visit i think theres a lot of interest in what the pope is saying. His outreach to the poor, the fact that, you know, people ought to be more religious. Hes got some other positions that are a bit more controversial, but, its the pope what hell want to do is heal. Hes not a bombthrower and he will not come to insult anybody. Woodruff but francis has not been shy about taking on controversial political issues. Most notably, he has spoken out about Climate Change and the negative impact of global capitalism. His recent encyclical highlighted humanitys role in Global Warming and urged leaders to act. translated this home of ours is being ruined and that damages everyone, especially the poor. Woodruff the encyclical calls for radical changes to the Global Economic system. So does canadian activist naomi klein, whose bestseller this changes everything blames capitalism for ruining the earth, and led her to join the popes team of advisors. And i think that the encyclical is just a truth bomb. It just has the force of coming from a place that isnt about appeasing Public Opinion but is just about trying to tell powerful truths. And when people, when powerful people start telling powerful truths, its contagious. Woodruff it is his identification with the poor that most differentiates pope francis. His remarks on inequality and the excesses of modern capitalism have been forceful, and he has attacked supplyside economics, policies that call for tax cuts for the rich, as a nearsacrilegious heresy. For him, these are primarily moral issues. He is, in fact, speaking as a pastor when he is reminding us of the moral cost of our economy, of the profound moral dimension of caring for creation. Woodruff most recently, francis called upon catholic parishes and religious communities to take in refugees who are pouring out of the middle east. Who is pope francis . To a great extent, he remains an image we create for ourselves. Pope francis is the conscience for this age of the world. He is a man in a hurry. Pope francis is a breath of fresh air. I think of him as joan rivers can we talk . Woodruff whatever the pope has to say during this visit to the United States, one thing seems certain he is already a transformative figure. And finally, its way too early to ask this question, but whats his legacy likely to be . What he has done, i think, is he has transformed the catholic attitude towards the world. Hes calling us to the margins, and to the marginalized. That is, of course, the oldest christian message. Ifill follow all our coverage of the popes u. S. Visit online at pbs. Org newshour. Ifill as we reported earlier tonight, wisconsin Governor Scott walker has decided to drop out of the republican nominating race. He spoke to supporters in madison. Heres what he had to say just moments ago i was sitting at church yesterday. The pastors words reminded me a that the bible is full of stories about people who are called to be leeders in unusual ways. Today, i believe i am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With this in mind, i will suspend my campaign immediately. I encourage other republican president ial candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current frontrunner. This is fundamentally important to the future ifill walkers decision was the headline, but not the sum total of a weekend of politics, which also strayed onto the third rail of religion. Joining me for politics monday susan page of usa today and amy walter of the cook political report. Lets start by talking about scott walker. Did he lose support, lose money, or was it the tail chasing the elephant as it were. Probably a combination of both. Scott walker was a candidate who looked so perfect on paper, and im guilty of saying this that he looked like the ideal candidate for the Republican Party, but when it came to being an actual reallive candidate, he didnt do a particularly good job of it, and part of it was his message which was i am the consistent conservative, i did something in a blue state no other republican governor has been able to do is to knock down the unions, elect me because i can be both an electable and conservative candidate, that message got muddled throughout the campaign when he was chasing the tail but mostly what he seemed to be chasing was a message that kept moving to the right and he was moving along with it. Ifill so if this is a party of outsiders, does that mean if you are a governor who comes from inside the system that you have a disadvantage . In the latest poll, scott walker was at less an. 5 . This guy who won three gubernatorial elections in wisconsin and is the only governor to survive a recall election in American History and at the top of the field we have three people who have never won office, donald trump, ben carson and Carly Fiorina. It continues to be the likelihood that the Republican Party elects someone whos held office before. So its good news for jeb bush and john kasich who have a lit moral territory now to claim that part of the partys support. Ifill so we can assume somewhere, in some basement of campaign headquarters, people are dialing for his support . And some of them are already moving up. We started to hear talk about supporters, donors already giving money to other candidates. The candidate who seems to benefit most from them, somebody like marco rubio, who is already picking up some of his support and staff in some of the earlier stages. I dont think scott walker was a victim of donald trump. He was a victim of his failure to campaign effectively. He had a great speech in iowa that launched him but became an inconn assistant campaigner. Flipped on birthright citizenship and seemed uncertain addressing National Security issues, this was a failure of this candidate to deliver on his promise. Ifill we have an interesting stumble this weekend, dr. Ben carson, who was on meet the press and was asked about people who should be running for president. Lets play what he said so we can make our own judgment about what he meant. Should a president s faith matter . Should your faith matter to voters . I guess it depends on what that faith is. If its an consistent with the values and principles of america, then, of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of america and consistent with the constitution, i have no problem. So do you believe islam is consistent with the constitution . No, i dont. I do not. I would not advocate that we put a muslim in charge of this nation, i absolutely would not agree with that. Ifill now, this was an Interesting Exchange because chuck todd basically threw out an openended question and then opened the door and drove the truck through, a question about whether having muslim as president is consistent with the constitution, which doesnt have a religious test. Correct. But i think were now sort of splicing and dicing maybe this a little bit too much just in that i think the fundamental thing, the takeaway, at least for me, was that this was a candidate that looked like he was saying that i dont want to see a muslim i elected president , as opposed to getting into a debate of the constitutionality of whether a muslim could be president. You hear a lot of republicans saying he didnt advocate that people couldnt elect one, he just doesnt want to see one. But i think what a lot of voters will see out there and if he is a nominee that i think would be a problem for the party is a Republican Party that seems intent on dismissing or looking like theyre closing down ranks instead of opening up their base to a bigger, broader electorate. If you look at what republicans talked about after the 2012 elections, the number takeaway from the rnc was we are a party that is too insular, we are too white, we are too old, we need to expand our base and bring different people in. Thats not a message that brings people . Ifill yet, if youre just going by what the republican polling universe believes, this is a popular position hes taking. You wonder sometimes and hes continued to defend it, you wonder if hes doubling down which is the new republican political tactic. Donald trump demonstrated doubling down can serve you well, makes you look tough and you dont vo to apologize. In the republican primary, im not sure this is a big problem for dr. Ben carson because a lot would believe its nod good to have a muslim president , but it seems intolerant to say that you would not elect a muslim president. There was a time when we would not have elected a black president and we did, or a catholic president and we did, so who wouldnt say there wouldnt come a time when we would elect a muslim president. So there are a lot of americans who would say this is not what i think of when i think of the country america. Ifill lets talk about the women. We have Carly Fiorina who surges a bit. But how is she trying to capitalize on this moment . The first question is can she capitalize by getting money and infrastructure . Those are two things she hasnt had. So shes got to do this on the fly, put together a campaign team. She has a very skeletal staff. This is going to be important for her. The second is taking the incoming flack for her record as the c. E. O. Of h. P. Its very, very rocky. She talked a lot about what some of her successes were, but, at the end of the day, she was fired. The company didnt do particularly well during her tenure there. That is going to be something that is a serious line of attack that shes got to figure out a bibetter answer find out a better answer for. Ifill on. One thing that happens is you get submitted to scrutiny. Scott walker didnt stand up to scrutiny. Carly fiorina is from the bottom of the pack to the top tier and she will have a chance to demonstrate if she can stand up ifill these are not new arguments. She didnt do so well last time but shes doing wetter in addressing yes questions about r tenure as head of h. P. Than she did then. This is different. The stakes are high and scrutiny tough. Ifill Hillary Clinton has a whole new media strategy. She did a friendly talk show, late night, spent all kind of days trying to roll out a new media strategy to reintroduce herself. Lets hear what she said yesterday on face the nation to our friend john dickerson. Give us three words that is the real Hillary Clinton laughter just three. I cant possibly do that. Look, i am a real person with all the pluses and minuses that go along with being that. Ifill okay, its been 20 years shes been in the public eye. Why is she having the this conversation . This has been the debate the Clinton Campaign had with folks like us in the media from the beginning. Shes the most famous person nobody knows. This is our chance to reintroduce her. If youre going to reintroduce one of the most famous people in the world, it has to look genuine. So i think the challenge for her is shes not the best order. She is not somebody thats going to go up and stir up the crowd like other candidates but shes good at other things and shes focusing on those things. I think she did good on face the nation yesterday. Shes good on policy. Other things, not so well. If you have to say, im a real person, possibly a sign of danger as a candidate. The the question is do you have a Second Chance to make a First Impression . Impressions of her pretty hard to change. Maybe not impossible. Ifill in your column you made reference to death cab for cutie. What were you talking about . Theyre a great indy band. Ifill any connection to politics . They have a song called the sound of settling which in my mind goes to the challenge for jeb bush and Hillary Clinton in that theyre not the most exciting candidates but ultimately you may just find that voters are settling for them. Ifill does that reasoning ring true you, susan . I think we have a sorting out process, and sometimes the candidates we have counted out early on ended up winning the election and we should never forget that. Ifill there is nothing wrong with a little indy band on our politics monday. You insist i have to listen . No. Ifill ill see what i can do. Thank you both very much. Ifill stay with us, coming up on the newshour what happens when syrians find refuge . We follow one family as they settle in to their new life in the u. S. And, we preview tonights pbs special america after charleston. You joined us a year ago in ferguson. What would you say has changed since then . Nothing. Absolutely nothing has changed since a year ago. But what weve learned in the past year is not that black lives matter, but black deaths matter. Ifill greeces former Prime Minister returned to power this evening after his snap election gamble paid off. But as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from athens, many in the cash strapped country are more resigned than enthusiastic. Reporter the scale of Alexis Tsipras victory came as a surprise. Before the election, opinion polls had suggested a much tighter race between the conservative new democracy opposition and tsipras left wing syriza party. In the end he had a clear lead over new democracy, and although he didnt win an outright majority, he won enough parliamentary seats to form a Coalition Government with his previous partner, the right wing independent greeks. translated we gave a tough and difficult battle and i feel vindicated today because the greek people gave us a clear mandate to continue fighting inside and outside the country and boost our peoples pride. Reporter a break away faction of his syriza party, that opposed the latest bail out deal was wiped out in the election and so his authority has been reasserted. Reaction to the result was muted. Normally after a greek election the streets are full of people celebrating. But the country is weary after five years of never ending crisis. Despite his policy flip flops, some syriza supporters still regard tsipras as the gold boy of the left. translated i am very happy, i live for my children and grandchildren and he is our hope, he is the same age as my son, he is all we can hope for otherwise we are lost. translated this is the third time that i am voting for syriza and Alexis Tsipras. I am very proud and i feel very happy. I am not happy but i was expecting it. I believed that the greeks would vote for new democracy but unfortunately for me, and i think for my country, they kept on giving their support to syriza. Reporter the most significant figure in the election was the 44 of people who didnt vote. The low turnout is the worst in greek electoral history and is an indication of how disillusioned most people are with politics and politicians. The reason Alexis Tsipras managed to succeed was that he persuaded his core support to get out and vote, which his opponents did not. The sense of hope he engendered earlier in the year has gone. People are steeling themselves for the pain of austerity. The latest tax demands should start arriving in the post any day now. International investors are tapping into the expertise of political analyst Nick Malkoutzis to determine whether greece is worth the risk, now that tsipras has the potential to be Prime Minister for the next four years. Today in athens the skies, roared with thunder. The big question on every ones lips is after tsipras first stormy term, will there now be calm . Everyone is asking is he going to deliver because hes been such an enigma over the past few months. I think the two things you can point to that would perhaps make you think he can is hes emerged from the elections strengthened. Its clear to greeces lenders that hes the only player in town and the second is he returns with the same government, so there isnt a question of people getting used to the portfolios and learning what they have to do. Reporter philip ammerman, a Greek American Financial Advisor is working with conglomerates that want to purchase some of greeces nationalized assets that are being privatized as part of the restructuring program. He has grave doubts about tsipras ability to force through the unpopular austerity program. He has a mandate but he only has a majority of five votes in the Greek Parliament and, previously, the syriza party a month and a half ago fell apart precisely because of implementing the program. Now, they have voted for the rescue package but not through implementing arrangements. So the proof in the pudding is going to be how many cities stay with the governing coalition when it comes down to implementing the structural adjustment programs that have to be done. I think its going to be very difficult for him to last beyond 12 months, personally. The emergency refugee crisis calls for his participation. People want to know whether he will tear down the fence on the Turkish Border by forcing people to take the sea route by the greek islands. Ifill the Obama Administrations plans to settle as many as 10,000 Syrian Refugees in the u. S. Within a year is coming under fire. In a Statement Released sunday, Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley and house judiciary chairman bob goodlatte, both republicans, said the Islamic State group will use the refugee crisis to try to enter the United States. And that the administration does not have a concrete and Foolproof Plan to ensure that terrorists wont be able to enter the country. So far, fewer than 2,000 refugees have settled here. Tonight, the story of one family that recently arrived. Special correspondent marcia biggs reports. Reporter its the theme that played out all over america this month, children getting ready for their first days of school. But for this family, its an entirely new kind of fresh start. Mohamed and his wife and three children arrived only two months ago. Five of the 1700 Syrian Refugees that the United States has taken in since 2011. I have been in the u. S. For 50 days now, and i like it. And before the 50 days, i asked . I didnt know what america meant. Reporter mohamed and his wife are from the birth place to have the syrian revolution. She was a carpenter and she a High School Physics teacher. All three children were small in 2011 when the revolution began and Bashar Alassad issued a brutal crackdown on their town. When they would raid the homes, we were afraid for our children, our women. We were afraid they would kidnap one of us. Thats when the fear started. Reporter what did you tell your children . The kids were very scared. They would wake up in the middle of the night and start crying and i was worried they would develop some sort of psychological problem. The main reason i left was for my kids. It was 2012 when the family far roy missed the missiles that flattened their neighborhood and finally fled. They waited for weeks to make the dangerous crossing into jordan, running for their lives. I grabbed my daughter and ran through the checkpoint. My wife grabbed our other and we crossed even though we knew they might shoot us. It was terrifying. This day was the most difficult of my life. I still remember it and still have nightmares about crossing the checkpoint. Once in jont the family struggled living in a camp made for five, without work, legal documentation and bearing the stigma of being a refugee. The proud protector of his family, mohamed had to think quickly on his feet. I was afraid if anything should happen they would send me back to syria so i started to register with the unhcr to protect my children. I was one of the first who registered as a syrian refugee and they chose us. Reporter two and a half years later they arrived here in new jersey where they have been living with the help of the u. S. Government and church world service, one of nine n. G. O. S that helps with refugee settlement. How do you prepare for the rival of the families . We pay for the apartments, pay for the first months rent, move in furniture, do the setup, by grocery so we put it into the fridge so they have food to eat. We have go to pick up the family for the first time and were the first faces they see upon arrival. Reporter what kind of Government Services do they receive and how long. Medicaid so they have healthcare to go to the doctor for any reason up to eight months. They receive food stamps, a bit of cash assistance. Reporter what is required of them . They must attend courses for at least 35 hours a week and must show theyre trying to find jobs themselves as well. Reporter none of the family speak english. Mohamed and his wife are enrolled in english and is trying to find a job. Whats been the most difficult part . When i first arrived, i immediately felt i wanted to go back. The people are not my people. I dont know how to speak, i dont know how to walk, i dont know how to do anything. It was strange. I was lost. My children, how am i going to register them . How am i going to work . I felt i wanted to go back, i dont want to stay here, but then everything falls into place and people blend in. Were suffering with language but god willing well learn and stand on our own two feet. Reporter whats been the best part . That i can move around freely, theres no sense of im ment. I take the kids around. The kids were stripped away from going to parks, to rivers, to the malls, too shopping, and now theyre back to school and life came back to them. For me that was the best thing when i saw that their future came back to them. To me, thats worth the entire world. Whats touched you the most about these certain families . I believe its their drive to continue despite what they have been through. Their work ethic is really tremendous. They want to be here. They want to be productive and active individuals in the community. Reporter all the children are enrolled in school now. 5yearold shakad for the first time. 12yearold hajad and 13yearold nabiha with an interpreter. They say their favorite part about being in the u. S. Is finally feeling like they belong. Friendship is the best thing. You like science . What do you want to be when you grow up . A doctor. You want to be a doctor . An engineer . Reporter in jordan they would say youre syrian, go away from us and separated the jordanians and syrians in school. Arent we all one . You feel like you are the same, not like in jordan. Were all one and the same at school. For example, the teacher doesnt get upset with you because youre syrian. She doesnt shout at you bays youre syrian. She treats us like everyone else in class. Reporter how did it feel to put your kids on the school bus for the first day of school here in the United States . Of course, when i see my children going to school and theyre going to build their future, im going to be the happiest. For me, i see no future. Im 42 years old. I will barely make a living and provide for them a decent life. The future is theirs. When they came back from school yesterday, i asked them, how was your day . They said, we were really happy, we had such a fun day. For me, thats beautiful. Reporter for the pbs newshour, im marcia biggs, jersey city, new jersey. Ifill now, we return to the root of whats forced millions from their homes the conflict in syria. With multiple factions and common enemies in play, the war has become even more complicated, as russia now steps up its support of syrian president Bashar Alassad by moving additional military men and weaponry into syria and expanding its base there. Meanwhile, moscow is calling for greater coordination with the u. S. To fight a common enemy the Islamic State group. Joining me now to help us sort through some of this latest tangle, is chief Foreign Affairs correspondent margaret warner. So, margaret, where is this proposal or talk about having joint u. S. Russia talks stand tonight . Gwen, even though theres been no official anowrntle in fact you can say the militarytomilitary talks have begun. Last friday secretary of Defense Ash Carter had conversations 15 minutes with his counterpart, 18 months after which the Obama Administration cut off all contacts after russia seized ukraine crimea. So the question theyre trying to figure out, publicly the u. S. Is saying these are deconfliction talks. Make sure our planes dont interfere with each other and we dont have an accident. That is really part of it. What they really want to know is what is assads intention here and is it to prop up the Assad Government . With russians intentions to prop up the Assad Government just to fight i. S. I. S. Which is what kerry has been told by lavrov. Lavrov. Ifill is this cold war suspension or do we have reason to be worried if. If. The administration will say they do not want to be gamed like where president putin and lavrov consistently lied to them not only to them on the phone, face to face but lied to the world whether they were going to ukraine and what they were doing in ukraine. So this time they didnt want to be sucked into that. They also want to make sure, you know, if his intention is to help assad fight i. S. I. S. And they adopt assads view, which is everybody opposed to me is a terrorist, well, the u. S. Is the one that sucked into that kind of endeavor or that kind of partnership. Ifill i can understand that but how does facetoface talks mean they will get the truth . Excellent point. Kerry has already had three conversations with lavrov. Based on what happened in ukraine, there is no guarantee they will be telling the truth, and the interventions with lavro the phone have, so far, not slowed the russian advance of weapons and material and men into syria. Ifill are we worried or concerned part of the deal if lavrov were to talk to kerry or putin would talk to president which might happen next week in new york, are you concerned the tradeoff might be keeping assad in power . Oh, yes. In fact, in london just this weekend, secretary kerry said, well, essentially, assad could be part of the the transition. When you ask why the turnaround, Administration Officials tell me there is no turnaround. If you get what you need, the syria peace talks 18 months ago or you read the clips today, syria was hard and fast, there is no role for president assad even in this transition phase. Yesterday or this weekend kerry said, were not obdurate about that as to time and place. Ifill thats a change. Definitely a change. For two reasons, one, there is urgency to get something going in the political process. Kerry because hoping the invitation to talk militarytomilitary will open up an opportunity and we can cooperate with the russianons that as we did on iran, so, one, its the e. U. , the european migrant crisis is driving it and, two, a growing concern that assad and everybody other than i. S. I. S. Is losing control completely of more than syria, and i think it was getting completely out of hand. Ifill for the record, what is it russia says theyre actually doing . They say they are there. They had a base in syria. This is not new. Ifill they are advisors . Dont know the details of that. But this is totally different. The bases being expanded. There are reports from reuters russia is already flying Surveillance Drones over syria. So they want so what they want to make sure doesnt happen is essentially assad gets this tremendous help from the russians and turns around and uses it against his own citizens as assad is doing now. Ifill tell me if this is too simplistic, this sounds like a pool game that migrant crisis is pushing them toward russia, theyre afraid russia may have a shot that takes them back toward assad. I couldnt say it better. The track record is such that theres no reason for president obama to believe president putin anyway. Ifill whos behind the cue on that . Probably putin. Hes trying to get out of the deep freeze hes been in with the rest of the world over ukraine. The the u. S. Does not want to be an enabler to that. At the same time, they want to learn more about the the military operations. So the administration, it strikes me, is a little caught. And you also have the u. S. Secretary who has completed the iran deal, some people say looking for another great negotiation. Ifill one last thing, next week is the United Nations general assembly. This is where any meeting between the president and president putin would likely happen. Where does that stand . There is debate and discussion in the white house over this, im told. It is very much in the air. Kerry and lavrov will obviously talk, probably extensively and several times, in a bilateral, just the two of them. So i would not be a bit surprised if president s obama and putin were to be ifill and there will be a pool cue in the corner waiting. Yes. Ifill margaret warner, thank you very much. Thanks, gwen. Ifill before we go tonight this weekend i traveled to charleston, South Carolina, to the circular Congregational Church for a town hall meeting on race. We were just blocks away from emanuel a. M. E. Church where nine black worshipers attending bible study were gunned down in june. We spoke with local residents and National Experts and activists about greece, recovery, the Confederate Flag and whether black lives matter. In a pbs Newshour Marist poll conducted last week before the town hall we found widespread agreement about the scope of the problem. 6 0 of whites and 56 of blacks say Race Relations have gotten worse in the past year, but when we asked if africanamericans and whites have the same job opportunities, 76 of black respondents said no they dont while 52 of whites said yes they do. And when we asked if police treat blacks and whites equally, 8 of africanamericans said yes compared to 42 of whites. At the town hall i asked the leader of the dream defenders after Treyvon Martin was killed in 2012 whether anything changed. What weve learned in the past year is not that black lives matter, but black deaths matter. Thats the only time people wake up. Thats the only time people react. But in South Carolina and around the country, if the politicians who are touting that black lives matter really care, there would be health care for black families so they could provide for better qualities of living. There would be quality education in the schools if you really cared about black lives. There wouldnt be mass incarceration if you really cared about black lives. Ifill you can watch american after charleston in full tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on most pbs stations. Itll also be streaming live on our home page. You can find all of our coverage on the popes visit to the u. S there, including a week of essays on faith and religion. Todays contribution is from a modern orthodox rabbi who says the pope inspires him. A new study, doctors are prescribing drugs to reduce cholesterol to the elderly at higher rates than ever before. The catch . There is Little Research showing that benefits outweigh the risks of taking these drugs. We have a report from partners at Kaiser Health news. All that and more is on our web site, pbs. Org newshour. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im gwen ifill. Join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and sue herera. 5,000 increase. Why a 62yearold drug that once cost 13 a tablet just got a lot more expensive. And what one president ial hopeful is saying about it. Diesel deception. Volkswagen shares plummet. Sales of several popular models are suspended as the department of Justice Reportedly targets the automaker in a criminal investigation. Hack attack. Why even the most valuable company in the world is not immune. All that and more tonight on nightly Business Report tonight for september 21st. Good evening, everyone. And welcome. Volkswagen may face u. S. Criminal charges over claims it cheated on emissions