Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20160826

Pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge ofou your future. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation forp public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Sreenivasan the u. S. And russia neared an agreement today that aims to reduce hostilities in syria. Word of the progress came after an hourslong meeting in geneva between secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. Kerry said the deal, if completed, will make the possibility of a lasting truce more likely. But he conceded there was more work to be done. In the next days, our experts will be meeting here in geneva to conclude the few remaining technical issues and to move forward in order to take the steps necessary to build the confidence to overcome the deep mistrust that does exist on all sides. Sreenivasan an earlier cessation of hostilities failedi after numerous regime and rebel violations. Meanwhile, in syria, one of the wars longest standoffs drew closer to ending. Hundreds of residents and fighters were allowed to evacuate the damascus suburb of daraya, which has been under government siege since 2012. Secretary kerry accused the syrian army of forcing them to surrender. A suicide truck bombing in southeast turkey killed at least 11 Police Officers today. Another 78 people were wounded. It happened at a checkpoint jusc steps from a Police Station near the syrian border. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility. Its the latest in a string of attacks targeting the countrys police and military. The Philippine Government has agreed to an indefinite cease fire with communist rebels. Its aimed at ending one of asias longestrunning insurgencies a conflict thats killed at least 40,000 peopleki since the 1960s. The deal was the culmination of peace talks in oslo, norway. It includes a timetable for discussions about political, economic and constitutional reforms. A government representative hailed the agreement. This is an historic and unprecedented event. Many of us have been here doing this before, but i think were looking at a very opportune opportunity that we can finish off what we have started a long time ago. Sreenivasan representativesa from both sides agreed to returu to oslo in october for further negotiations. Frances Top Administrative Court overturned a controversial ban on the socalled burkini in one resort town today. The bodycovering swimsuit worn by muslim women has sparked a fierce debate in france. Martin geissler of independent Television News has our report from paris. Reporter these were the pictures that divided france and shocked the world beyond. A muslim woman forced by a group of armed policemen to remove her clothing on a public beach. The burkini was banned by more than a dozen french towns for being overtly religious. The law had wide public support, but activists took it to the highest court in paris today. Judges ruled it should be suspended. Its against the civile freedom of religion, and now the decision is final. Fi reporter as absurd as this all may seem, its important ton remember the context. France has suffered a series of terror attacks over recent months, and the country feels embattled and angry. I support without any hesitation the mayors ban of the burkini to preserve public order. I ask for a law forbidding it on the entire territory of the republic. Reporter there was little sign of stress at the manmade beach today. That didnt stop the debate. We view victims of terror in this country and the burkini is a clear symbol of islam. Thats why it offends people. We live in a free country so they do what they want. If they want to wear something its no problem. Yes. Reporter these are extreme times in france and many believe they require extreme measures. The republics founding values, freedom, equality and brotherhood, are being testedst like never before. R as this country debates the best way forward, its being forced to ask difficult questions of itself. Sreenivasan the human righte lawyer fighting the ban said that while todays ruling applied to only one town, it should set a legal precedent throughout the country. Back in this country the food and Drug Administration wantsdm all u. S. Blood banks to start screening for the zika virus. That requirement had previously been limited to areas with active zika transmission like puerto rico, and parts of florida. Last month, the f. D. A. Ordereda. Facilities in miami and Fort Lauderdale to stop taking blood donations, until zika screening could begin. Republican donald trumpsp campaign is taking fresh heat over its new c. E. O. , stephen bannon. The guardian reported bannon registered to vote in the swing state of florida using theof address of a vacant home a move that would violate election laws. A trump spokesman insisted hes moved elsewhere in florida. Meanwhile, various news outlets revealed bannon was charged with Domestic Violence in 1996. He allegedly grabbed his then wifes neck and wrist. The case was dismissed when she did not testify. Well have more on the Campaign Later in the program. The federal government will give amtrak a nearly 2. 5 billion b loan the largest in the history of the transportation department. It will be used for improvements on the busy northeast corridor, which goes from d. C. , through new york, to boston. Amtrak will buy new trains, upgrade tracks, and improvero platforms. President obama created the Worlds Largest marine protected area today. The Marine National monument is located off the coast of hiso native hawaii. It will now quadruple in size, to span nearly 600,000 square miles. The sanctuary will protect more than 7,000 different species, including sea turtles and whales. White House Press Secretary josh earnest explained why the president felt it was time to act. There is a role for congress to play in terms of setting aside certain territory, lands and waters in the United States for future preservation. But we havent seen a lot of congressional activity of any sort really over the last few t years. And it has turned the president s attention to more robust use of executive action. Sreenivasan hawaiis National Marine monument was originally created a decade ago, under president george w. Bush. Federal reserve chair janet yellen said the case for raisinl u. S. Interest rates has gotten stronger in recent months. She spoke at an International Gathering of central bankers in jackson hole, wyoming. But yellen gave no indication of when the fed might raise rates. That led to choppy trading onn wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 53 points to close at 18,396. The nasdaq rose six and the s p 500 fell three. For the week all three indexes lost a fraction of a percent. Still to come on the newshour the shrinking window for finding survivors of italys devastating earthquake, voters lay bare their hopes and frustrations in the president ial election, mark shields and david brooks on this weeks news, how robots couldot stop the invasive lionfish, and much more. Sreenivasan three days after a powerful earthquake hit central italy, the death toll has climbed higher to 281. Rescue operations have been called off in some parts as hopes of finding survivors fades. For an on the ground report, we turn to special correspondent Christopher Livesay in amitrice. I spoke with him a short time ago. Christopher, thanks for joining us. The thing with earthquakes is its not just one quake, what are the aftershocks youre feeling . Everyoneck is on edge in the town of amtrice where im standing, but all through the region, they have been ripplingr throughout the original quake on wednesday through a few moments ago. The biggest one happened about 6 30 this morning, 4. 8 on the o Richter Scale and sent structures in amtrice toppling to the ground. The last time i spoke to you, you might recall a Church Standing mind we. We had to move to a different location because the church was deemed unstable and the bell tower could have toppled at any moment. Thats been the case for someme roads leading into this town. Also for a bridge that was essential pipeline. As i was trying to get back into thei city, i couldnt get past a certain road because they were demolishing a hospital that was on the brink of collapse, so thats making the rescue effort very difficult, but rescuers,r when you talk to them, they will tell you that, at this point,po three days into their efforts, theyre really not counting on finding anyone alive. Sreenivasan how significant is it if the infrastructure starts to crumble or deemed too unsafe to travel, that resources like people, goods and services are getting through those roads and bridgesg well, you would be surprised by the breadth of people who have come out to lend a hand. You hear accents from all over italy, people from as far north of milan and venice through theo tip of the toe of the italian boot, shall we say. Some come from further afield. I spoke to a group of israelis who are lending trauma help. A more surprising group, 50 volunteers, all of them migrants from africa. Af when i asked them why they were doing this, they said, look, were here to help in the same way italy helped us in our time of need, we want to help as well. Sreenivasan given theen scale of all the buildings that have collapsed, who is responsible for rebuilding or the newer buildings making sure they didnt fall in this earthquake . A reckoning is taking place now, a lieutenant of soul searching and some finishing poynting. Yn a couple of probes have been opened into some structures that toppled down that some people believe shouldnt have. E. One in particular in the town close to here. That church tower came tumbling to the ground, ten years after an expensive restoration process took place on this church that should have made it earthquakeproof. That steeple that came crashingn down killed a family of four people, and, so, now, people are trying to find out whos responsible for that or if its just mother nature. E another example was a school in this town that came crashing down. It was a public building that, again, should have been built up to code and should have been retrofitted. No matter how old the buildings are, the question is can you make something earthquakeproof in a part of the country thats seen seismic activity since time in memorial. Sreenivasan Christopher Livesay, thanks for joining us. S thank you so much. Sreenivasan back in this country its been quite a week for political news. With allegations of racism from both president ial candidates, and calls to disband the philanthropic behemoth that isan the clinton foundation. In as the country watches all of this unfold, we take the temperature of the race. Our Judy Woodruff sat down this week with a group of six voters in northern virginia, one of the few competitive states thiset election year. Woodruff lets talk about the candidates. We have been through this pretty long,ca some would say tortured process of figuring out who the nominees were going to be, especially on the republican side. We started out with a big field of candidates. Its now winnowed down to donald trump. Alison, what do you think about donaldon trump . Early on, id say last august, i thought trump was going to be the nominee. He was drawing these crowds of ordinary citizens in. When he did his first virginiai rally in richmond in october, i drove all the way down there to the Richmond International raceway and it was like a huge pep laly or a rahrah revival. It got me involved in an emotional level in a way none of the other candidates i just listened to on television did and ion liked the fact he was a businessman. Bill lupinacci, what do you make of donald trump is someone who has business experience. I find him morally repub nant and have disavowed mye relationship with the Republican Party. I have done business with his companies who bought our software. The word on the street is get the money up front. Other vendors of his say get the money up front, so he pays us in credit cards when his companies have bought our software nothing personally. The thing he says in his ralliea to try to incite violence, to inflame people is sickening to me. I wont have anything to do with it anymore, so im havingha nothing to do with the Republican Party this year, as many other republicans who say they wont vote for him. Hi woodruff marissa, what doh you think . I have three youngth childre, im the t. P. A. President of an Elementary School of about 80000 kids. We have a sizable portion of english language learners and free lunch children from a lower socioeconomic status or group. Ou and it angers me when people say were wasting all these money on these children that are illegal. Theyre children. They want to be educated. They come here for a better life. How do we say, because you were not born here or because youe were some type of anchor baby or something derogatory along those lines, that you dont also deserve the same opportunities as every child thats born here . If those children coming here illegally had been born in the home countries they belong in,in they wouldnt be here anyway. Where do we draw the line . At some point were getting inundated. I grew up in appalachia. Ap there are very poor children there that were part of the fref Lunch Program and needed head start and theyre being ignored. Its like bless the illegal alien children, and im not taking it out on the children, but their parents are plotting to bring them here with the idea that, oh, no, were not going to want to send them back. Ba woodruff let me bring in farah here. You have beenhe hearing then conversation about whether immigrants and Illegal Immigrants are hurting this country. What do you think, as it connects to donald trump . There are drugs, there are immigration problems, ther thers unemployment long before this perception of immigrant wave. Its been a rather long time. Its the history of our nation,i the history of our great nation, and its what has brought us to where we are. So i think, when we look at trump or anyat other candidate,e need to think of how we can address those problems and not just say, we have to fight this and not do anything about it, essentially. Woodruff cory, what about that . Donald trump is very well educated, and a lot of his language thats being spun into being divisive, i dont thinkvi you will see these extreme policies come out of him, but what you will see is him using Effective Communication tacticsn that any effective leader does and utilizes to actually bring forth the issues so that we can bring policy into legislation. E woodruff marissa, could that be an explanation, that hes doing this to shock people and to get the conversation going, and that hes not going to do this hes relying on theatrics and abusing people on twitter. Tw i mean, i work for a large corporation. The leaders in my corporation would never act the way in which hes acting on such a large stage with, him potentially being the leader of our countryo i mean, it just would never happen. So, i mean, i think if you study, though, any effective communicator leadership, selfdevelopment professional, they all use these tactics in interventions, they use these tactics in woodruff what kind of tactics are you referring to . Powerful rhetoric, offensive rhetoric, things that get peoples attention and allow yol to say, wait a minute, i have to think about this, what are my values . How do they affect the larger masses of people outside myself and inside my circle . Ci woodruff tom, what about that . Could this just be a tactic to get people talking . I mean, the tactic i would call bullying. Hes really picking on people who are vulnerable. And the word repugnant wasnt used to describe him, and i dont find any positive values in the guy. We talk about his business knowledge, 650 million in debt, hes had how many bankruptcies . Thats not the way you run a successful business. I dont knowcc whats going to happen in the end, but i certainly dont want that leadership in the white house. Ip woodruff alison. Okay, if you want the talk about divisiveness, i would point towo the Obama Administration and, hence,on hillary as a subsequent administration. I did not vote for her in 2008, but i thought maybe its a good thing we have an africanamerican president and will bring racial harmony and its time and, you know, i didnt care for him, but all hes done is pretty much sneer and look down and feel like americans who have been here for a long time like myself and my family are the enemy. En woodruff i can see this is clearly an election thats bringing out strong emotions and reactions. Were confronted with two main party choices, donald trump and Hillary Clinton and youve decided to vote for clinton. Yes. Woodruff why . It was probably because i didnt like trump. Tr i think if there were other republican candidates that were maybe a little more moderate, then i could be swayed to vote the other side. Si woodruff to vote against to vote republican, which i had never done in the past. Pa woodruff what is it about clinton, you sound hesitant . Its not necessarily im hesitant. I think i just dont know enough. I think were talking about, you know, how much time have you spent listening to the rhetoric or the information coming out on tv . I work. I i have three young children, so a lot of my information doesnto come from the news. It comes from what i see on the internet. Woodruff tom, what about you, as you look at the choices . Iferl like the economic mess that were a part of now goes way back and both parties bear equal responsibility. Sp the losers have been the lower half or, at this point, maybe, 90 of americans but certainlyce the lower half, and i dont think either the choices rights now are going to serve that lower half. R woodruff clinton or trump . Clinton or trump. But for me, the power of appointments is really criticalt for the future of the country. The supreme court, the attorney general, e. P. A. , just down the line. Clinton, i have more confidence in who her appointees would be, than if trump were president. Woodruff farah, what about you . I agree with Democratic Party when it comes to social policy. If i had to choose between trump and clinton, i would be conflicted, but knowing nf woodruff can you imagineag yourself voting for clinten . Yes. Its just difficult. Woodruff why . There is a lack of sincerity that i feel with her, and i know some people i speak with are, like, oh, youre just saying that because shes a woman, but im a woman, too, so its not that. I dont find her relatable. Re i dont feel like she can even though shes a working mother, she just she has a hard time relating to the population. Woodruff did you even give her any thought in this election . Its a possibility. I doubt im going to vote for her, i seriously doubt, but vilifying her and making her into, as the right has done, into this caricature is just wrong. Im more likely to vote for neither a democrat or republican. Im looking at both gar gary jon and jill stein. Woodruff im struck in a state polling ten points ahead that there is no one enthusiastic for Hillary Clinton. She fallsus in lines with things typical democrats support, tighter restriction on gun laws, pro immigration, so i think she falls in line with thh Democratic Party platform, so in that i would say i vigorously support her. Or woodruff plan to vote forr her in. Absolutely. I will vote for herto, for sure. I cant imagine a country run by trump. Woodruff i want to try tof sum this all up by asking you all whether you think its possible for the country to come together, or are we just destined at least for the nexte number of years to be divided . Corey . Unfortunately, i think weree looking at four more years of division. You would like to hope and wish for it to be different but weve come so far apart its going to take time for us to come back to middle ground on everyday issues that affect all of us. At woodruff what do youha think . Can the country come together under these circumstances . Ci what im hoping for, what i think could be possibly the best for the country is if these its get enough vote, because people are so disgusted with both the republicans and the democrats,c that these two independents gar johnson and jill stein get enough votes that it puts the fear of god into them and saying, oh, maybe four years from now a third party can win. Its going to be almosts impossible for them to win this year, but maybe it will scareil them enough to say one of these parties might take it in four years because the country is fed up. Woodruff does anybody see coming together or do we just live with this division . This built wasser this nation was built on hope and perseverance, and i feel like,i no matter what, well find ways to come together again, well find topics to come together again. I think were all kind of achein for it, no matter, republican, democrat, independent, i think we all kind of need that, that moment of unity again becauses were all kind of, oh, my gosh, the ship is sinking. So i do have hope. Reporter all right. R were going to leave it there. We thank you all very much. There is a lotmu more we could talk about tonight. But this has really been a wonderful conversation and i much. Chu all very thank you. Sreenivasan that brings usre to the analysis of shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times columnist david brooks. Lets start with your reactions to what you saw, this group of voters. Its always great to hear th voices of real voters. Vo i mean, you know, we see polls and its 57 , we figure everybodys monolithic. Er you get the texture and the conversation like that. I find alison really almost compelling woman who voted forfo barack obama in 2008 and really felt that she and the demographic of, i guess, White American voters had been neglected and forgotten in the past eight years in democratsem attention to other agendas. I found most of all it shows the lack of enthusiasm about this election. When 51 of republicans, according to gallup poll, and 42 of democrats say they wish their party had nominated somebody else, i think, was reflected in judys session. First of all, i disagree with mark, we are real voters. Do we not bleed . Bl laughter a lot of people in my focus group couldnt imagine a Trump Presidency but found clinton distrustworthy. Then say she wins and accordingc to the upshot, but going to an inaugural and administration with someone the country fundamentally doesnt trust. And what does that do to the morale of the country and isis there a way she can be more trustworthy, where she can introduce herself after the election, not in the heat of the campaign . Somehow it seems dispiriting if she wins that we go through four years where people feel distrust for the commanderinchief. That cant be good for the country. Sreenivasan there is an endorsement by Paul Wolfowitz saying he would vote for clinton but it came down to a chose of the lesser of two evils. Its seems the campaign is about our candidate is not so greatea but the other candidate is worse. The last endorsement Hillary Clinton wants is the man who made this case publicly to go to war in iraq admitted that the argument was consensus argument was on weapons of massea destruction because thats what everybody could get behind. So the cause for going to war was a contrivance. So Hillary Clinton probably doesnt want to be reminded of her support for that venture, and i think she probably now has enough republican Foreign Policy endorsements. Sreenivasan we talkedke about the rise of the altright movement. With we have one candidate calling him a racist and him responding back shes a bigot. Where are we here . I guess were getting it out in the open. I happen to think Donald Trumpm Campaign Began with an act of ethnic signaling or more. He wanted to ban muslim immigration entrance into the country, that was blanketing an entire ethnic group or religion and thats bigotry. Thats the thing that exploded his campaign. Mp there have been just signals all along the way between allotright and the trump campaign. And seems to me there is alwaysa a danger in every party to be taken over by some radical angry fringe the John Birch Society for the Republican Party in the 60s. Hubert humphrey and Eugene Mccarthy and other people spent a lot of time trying to get the communists out of the Democratic Party in the 1940s. Ther1940s. Parties have to control themselves where some vicious el meant cant take over. The Republican Party has not controlled the altright movement. Trump has welcomed it with a wink and a nod. No it is a longterm problem for the party that youre basically an allwhite party. Thats a core problem trump exacerbated and has blown up. Up sreenivasan instance after instance during the week wherewh donald trump goes out and tries to lure africanamerican and latino votes . To state mys . Case, donald trump has gone to, on a consistent basis, the meanest corners of the american soul, appealing to the bases basest ad darkest side of all americans. He began his president ial bid by charging falsely and ledging liablously that the president oi the United States was not american. He began his candidacy with theyre rapists, theyre murderers, theyre coming here for that purpose, speaking of mexican immigrants to this country. David said about the muslim ban, hes going to build the wall. Everything about it has been dark and meanspirited. Nd but let me just say one caveat, and i thought Hillary Clinton delivered the speech well. It wasnt strident, but this is the worst course for her to win a campaign, because you win a campaign this way, and hes not a dog whistle, hes a canine choir of dark impulses. But you want to campaign this way and you have agreed upon nothing about where we are as a people, what we ought to do next, what we ought to thinkin about of the great challenges facing our country in the next generations. All weve greed upon is the person is unacceptable. Your political and president ial honeymoon basically ends on midnight of election night. Ni there is no agreement on who we are as a people and what we ought to do as a people. Pe i say if this is where were going in a campaign, its obviously where he is andd continues to go, but if she goes that way and just to drive him down further, its going to be a terrible, terrible result. Re she wasnt too guilty of this, one has to distinguish between trump and the trump supporters. Its too easy to say theyre alh a bunch of racists which we dont know and seems unfair. My answer is hes the wrong answer to a right question, that people have a lieutenant of anxiety and lost dignity and a role. In thosety cases they do go to a little ethnic, tribal fear, but the way to ease that fear is not to say, oh, theyre all a bunch of racists, and shes not guilty of that but its floating around in thear conversation. She did a pretty good job of separating and there was tactically and strategically thc Republican Party. The paul ryans, bob doles, the john mccains, that hes an abberation, an anomaly. I thought that was a well crafted part of the peach. Woodruff what to make of this particular change in trumps stance . An the fact that hes changing stance is not surprising, because the man has a severe problem with impulse control. The fact he was consistent for a while is this odd situation for him. Hes beenhing consistent on is narcissism, so far. This was him responding to different audiences. So a new Campaign Team comes in, and they look at a bunch of poll numbers and see hes not doing well and especially not doing well among moderate republicans or latinos, so there is veryry crude pander both saying hell be great for africanamericansca then on immigration the pander and the crudity of it is striking. Heres a guy to the extent people like him, its because he speaks his mind, and to throw that away on such a blatant flipflop is not a sign he made a strategic pivot, its a sign he has Attention Span problems and he has he just want to please whatever audience he happens to be in front of at that moment and there is not aom lot of competency. The defense of Donald Trumpdo consistently is he may be a bully and a blow hard but you know where he stands, hes not your typical politician, he says who he says he is, and he turnsn out not to be who he says he is. He began the campaign, his candidacy was building the wall and rounding up these 12 million illegals, he called them, and banishing them to the outer darkness of the netherworld, or whatever. And now the ban on all muslims was just a suggestion, he says. Now hes backing off on this. So what is it . To me, okay, im always skeptical about motives, but iti have to look at it and say mitt romney carried white women 56 to 42 over barack obama for his vote. Hes its an embarrassment to say youre for donald trump. You cant do it. You cant look at your kids in selfrespect. So to make them less uncomfortable in somehoweh supporting him, i think its a vote to appeal to not the republicans davids talkings about, to come home and say hes not as bad as he seems to be, hes moderating. Od to me, thats whats happening. A i feel like i want to say no, maam nice thing about donald trump. The ice rink in central park is fantastic. It is. Sreenivasan lets get to ato couple of nontrump related topics. Bernie sanders, new Political Organization about the revolution. A bit of at rocky start. A bunch of his aides decided to leave en masse because they wer concerned about the direction i was going and who was leading it. The end of the revolution or is this just a step . This means that putting together an organization after a Campaign Based on a campaign is always difficult. Its frequently attempted, rarely pulled off, but i dont think there is any question that constituency is still there. This is ans changed election. Ec you heard it in judys piece. People want a change. E its not a status quo election. Problem is trump represents a change that is chaos to peopleop and scary. And sanders, when you get an outsider, youre usually notu going to get a lot of competence. What you want is an insiders competence with outsiders perspective. The management has not been their bailiwick. Sreenivasan syndicated columnist mark shields, New York Times cometh david brooks, thank you both. Th thank you. Sreenivasan the syrian conflict is in its fifth year, making jordan home to over 1. 3 million Syrian Refugees many struggling with trauma and the psychological costs of war. With fewer than 100 psychologists in jordan, doctors and social workers labor to fill the Mental Health care gap. University of california berkeley journalism students bring us this story. Hi its narrated by Lacy Jane Roberts. Reporter the war in syria led Nisreen Katbi to flee her home country four years ago. Now she runs a center in amman, jordan that cares for refugees fleeing from syria. Theyre recovering from the trauma of war. Souriyat across borders is a home away from home for refugees suffering from both physical anh emotional disabilities. They get rehabilitative care and live fulltime at the center all free of charge. This is where they do their t physiotherapy training. Reporter nisreen and her staff care for a rotating group of 30 men, women, and children. The residents can stay at the center until theyre rehabilitated, after which many return to their families in war torn syria. Nisreen sees people with amputations, spinal cord injuries, and head traumas. But, she says, the injuries arent only physical. E frightening situations, the bombings, the kiddle, losing their limbs or these severe injuries. Reporter but souriyat across borders has no fulltime Mental Health professionals on staff. So when a Mental Health trainino project run by a group of californiabased doctors came to amman, nisreen signed up. Dr. Saad shakir leads c. P. R. , or care program for refugees. Ef at first, c. P. R. s goal was to give direct Mental Health careal to Syrian Refugees, but after seeing the overwhelming number of people needing help, they instead began offering Mental Health First Aid Training to clinicians, counselors, teachers, and even Legal Consultants anyone who works with refugees. Being a physician, im a humanitarian. An so seeing all the devastation going on, its like i want to have an impact in a positive way. Reporter dr. Atef alqasem is c. P. R. s ontheground partner and training manager for the Noor Al Hussein Foundation Institute for family health. He was eager to partner with dr. Shakir after seeing an increase of refugees needing quality Mental Health care. translated so the goal of the training is to have anyone dealing with refugees be able to provide psychological first aid. 19 of people we see have been victims of torture. We also see p. T. S. D. , depression, anxiety all of them need immediately treatment. Reporter dr. Alqasem says that it is hard to provide individual treatment, with so many patients and so few professionals. So he is encouraging caretakers and Mental Health workers to apply group therapy. Y at their field clinic in the zaatari refugee camp, the counselors with the Noor Al Hussein foundation try to see as many people as possible in groua therapy. The camp is one of the biggest in the world, home to 70,000 refugees. Am sanad al badi works as a counselor in the camp, where he says he confronts Mental Healtha stigmas. translated we have a mobile team of 24 people who 2 make visits to refugees and talk about the need of psychosocial counseling because theng psychological support is necessary. Reporter once individuals start coming to group therapy, counselors help them cope with trauma and loss. translated the most common trauma we see is loss trauma. I ask them to remember their nice memories and encourage positive thinking about the future. Reporter back in amman, Doctors Without Borders is treating refugees who have been physically disfigured from syria, yemen, and iraq. Dr. Gwenola ghanes manages the hospitals Mental Health program she says there is no way to predict how people will react to a traumatic event. So on a psychological point of view, there is no rules, its not a mathematical equation. But most of the people will develop depression symptoms, such as depression or anxiety disorder, and small percentage of p. T. S. D. Reporter children, especially, can be affected by the trauma of war. Talha alali is a pediatric counselor. He works with young victims to rebuild trust. They start at the beginning to have this Small Social Networks while playing or while doing activities together. And the child will start to adapt again with buildingui relationships, and especially to build trustful relationships. But to protect them from the trauma, no one will be able to protect them while they arepr living in a war. Reporter after the trainingr Nisreen Katbi says she will be able to provide better care forb the patientresidents. Ive learned how to deal with certain cases, and i learned, if and the effect, like if he is having a nightmares or constant nightmares or if he is aggressive in a certain way orr if he is depressed, what are the reporter dr. Ghanes agrees that, while this kind of training is useful, much more is needed. Its not enough. On a humanitarian point of view, we need to train a lot of peoplo in a short time, to treat a reporter c. P. R. Hopes to return to amman once a year. T and nisreen hopes shell eventually be able to train her whole staff. This is the most important thing for us to do. G we have to raise an awareness about how to deal with victimsab of war. Reporter for the pbs newshour, im Lacy Jane Roberts in amman, jordan. Sreenivasan lionfish have voracious appetites that are upsetting coral reef ecosystemsy from rhode island to venezuela. But a new Nonprofit Company ha an unusual plan to restore balance to those environments before its too late. I in the latest edition of our online series, sciencescope, science producer nsikan akpannc has the scoop. The lionfish is an invasive species. Its also darwins nightmare. In the indopacific, the lionfish is a fierce, unrelenting predator. In the mid 1980s exoticets like lionfish became popular ino the u. S. They were eventually dumped indu the atlantic and threaten ecosystems up and down the atlantic. But they should watch out. Bu meet the lionfish terminator, a new robot who entered the fray. We teamed up with a mission. This 30 scientific organizations and companies wants to conduct one to have the largest marine life surveys in history. These are extraordinary submersibles are adapted toto become the latest in scientific equipment. We can research and takek scientists down to those depths. Of the earths oceans, only 5 have been explored. E we know more about the moon than the water that covers 70 of the earth. They want to fill the knowledge gap by making a baselinel measurement of the oceans health. Thats because the oceans arear facing a threat of inspecies like the lionfish. This is one of the first to notice the regions first lionfish invasion 16 years ago. G but then very quickly i started to notes that, over time werntion losing small fish from these areas where i traditionally found lots of small juvenile fish and lionfish were become morgue and more common. By about 2007 we started a calling program in bermuda to tackle the invasive species. The task force have fishing trowrmts to rid the waters of the invaders, consisting of recreational swimmers,on professional divers and local scientists like dr. Gretchen. L the lionfish are a threat to the eco cyst because theyre voracious predators and consumee an exorbitant amount of food more than any other potential predator out there right now. All of the white part is solidified. The lionfish overconsume. The smaller fish in the region dont recognize the lionfish as a threat. They swim right up to it and get gobbled up. Basically the lionfish just opens its mouth. Its a big dilemma. Lionfish are mostly 200 feet below the surface, largely inaccessible. But its not too deep for a robot. This new nonprofit is developing a lionfish hunting robot. Bo the leading candidate is based on electrofishing techniques where if you put the lionfish between two electrodesl and apply an electric current, that current kills the lionfishh or stuns the lionfish. The device in in the Development Stage and dive teams are testing how lionfish might react to a robot arm with two electric plates. Pl they have few prerts in the atlantic and not conditioned to flee anything. When approached from behind the lionfish stay still. Saltwater is highly conductive so it should act as a straight wire between two electrodes to keep other fish from being stunned. The lionfish is a best but also a living creature. We spoke with ocean ecologist james morris. S i dont think there is really any ethical issues with, you know, utilizing the resource,o but if were looking for an ethical question, its one around introducing the impact that it has on the region and specifically the biodiversity. Od thats it for now. Im nsikan akpan and this is sciencescope from the pbs newshour. Sreenivasan now to our newshour shares. Tonight an update to a story we brought you earlier this year. Last june, Darius Nabors set out to visit all 59 National Parks in 59 weeks to commemorate the Park Services centennial anniversary. We spoke with nabors on the National Mall recently, as he prepared to finish his tour at Maines Acadia National Park this week. My name is Darius Nabors, ani im visiting all 59 National Parks in 59 weeks. Its been a little crazy. Ive essentially been all over the country visiting all of the National Parks, and just spending time in beautifule places. So i like to say that i traded the modern conveniences of lifen like a microwave and a coffeemaker and things like that, for beautiful sunrises, beautiful sunsets and justfo beautiful views of our country. Most recently kind of coming west, i went from badlands w National Park in south dakota to hot springs in arkansas, mammoth cave in kentucky, then all the, way down to florida where theres biscayne National Park, everglades National Park, and dry tortugas National Park. Theres additionally a park in the u. S. Virgin islands, so we did have to go out there. They actually have an underwater trail. So they have little signs that are kind of put down into the ground that when youre snorkeling, you can pass overyo them. The thing i love about the parks is theres such well it showcases the diversity of the country in terms of geology or environment. And so those underwater one are just totally different. You get to see alligators. You get to see fish. You get to see manatees. So were going to acadia last for our 59th park, and its one that i havent been to, so im very excited about that. They always say you got to watch a sunrise on cadillac mountain, so ill go and do that. I its the first one on the east coast, and so its kind of special in that sense. And then i think for the trip, f its been a trip of going to bed and waking up with the sun. So its just gonna be another beautiful sunrise. Its wonderful we have all 59 of these parks. I always say if you can get congress to agree on something, like the beauty of a natural t place, then it means its pretty special. And so im just super thankful j that weve set aside these places for other people to enjoy. Just get out there and see it. You dont have to go camp in the backcountry like i do. Thats what i love, but i think its important for other people to do the things that they love. If they want to go to any overlook and look there, if theo want to go and do a hike, if they want to spend time witht family or friends, i think thats the wonderful part of the parks is it provides so many experiences for so many people to enjoy it in ways that they like. Sreenivasan on the newshour online right now its nationaln womens equality day. But a new survey by forbes finds that pay for hollywoods top female actresses is much lower than their male t counterparts. Find that and more on our website pbs. Org newshour. Once again we turn to our honor roll of American Service personnel killed in iraq and the afghanistan. We add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. Here, in silence, is one more. Sreenivasan a reminder about some upcoming programs from ourn pbs colleagues. Tonight on Washington Week the president ial race gets personal as donald trump and Hillary Clinton trade accusations of racism and bigotry. Plus, clinton defends her Family Foundation after questions of money and access. Washington week will sort out the week in politics later tonight on your pbs station. And on pbs newshour weekend saturday both president ial candidates have pledged to bring manufacturing jobs back to american shores, but have some jobs once thought to be lost forever already returned . Thats the newshour for tonightt im hari sreenivasan. Have a great weekend. Thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge of your future. T supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. Supported by the rockefeller foundation. Promoting the wellbeing offo humanity around the world by building resilience andbu inclusive economies. More at rockefellerfoundation. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions ongo and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbp station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is bbc world news america. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newmans own foundation, giving all profits from newmans own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs, and aruba tourism authority. Planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. You can find it here, in aruba. Families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days,