Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170422

Where, if youre not with blonde hair and blue eyes, your story is just not sensational enough. Woodruff and, its friday. Mark shields and Michael Gerson are here to analyze the weeks news. 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. 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 for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff investigators in france are trying to piece together what sparked thursdays deadly assault in paris. A gunman shot a Police Officer to death and wounded two more, before being killed himself. Hari sreenivasan reports on the days developments. Reporter masked police descended this morning on a paris suburb, home of the suspect in the deadly attack on the champselysees. Prosecutors identified him as karim cheurfi, a french citizen, and said he carried a note in support of the islamic state. Cheurfi had served time for trying to kill two other officers in 2001. translated i would like translated all the way through his period of imprisonment, which lasted about 14 years, he did not show any signs of radicalization, or signs of conversion. Reporter he was detained again in february for threatening police, but later released. You have to stay back. Reporter then came the attack on the champelysees. The famed boulevard was shut down for hours. Near the scene today, witnesses described the chaos. translated i can tell you that i was very scared. People started talking and going crazy. There was a wave of panic that came over everything. Reporter all of this, just two days before polls open in the president ial election. The Prime Minister sought to calm fears. translated ladies and gentlemen, the government is completely mobilized. More than 50,000 policemen will be mobilized in order to guarantee the peace. Reporter President Trump weighed in on twitter, predicting the attack will have a big effect on the president ial election. Later, he told the Associated Press it will probably help farright candidate Marine Le Pen. For the pbs newshour, im hari sreenivasan. Woodruff we will have a full report on the impending french election, later in the program. In the days other news, the Justice Department formally notified nine state and local jurisdictions that they will lose some federal grant money over socalled sanctuary cities. Letters sent out today demand proof that the jurisdictions are not sheltering undocumented immigrants. The letters went to new york, chicago, philadelphia, miami and the state of california, among others. President trump today ordered a review of major tax and financial regulations put in place under president obama. He signed directives to look at reforms imposing greater oversight of large financial institutions. He also wants to review Corporate Tax rules on sheltering income overseas. The president also promised today that he will have a big announcement on a tax reform package next wednesday. That would be just before his 100th day in office. At the same time, the white house signaled a new effort to repeal and replace obamacare. But, as he left the treasury department, mr. Trump was less definite about the timing of that no particular rush, but well see what happens. But health care is coming along well. Government is coming along really well. Lot of good things are happening. Thank you, folks. It doesnt matter if its next week. Next week doesnt matter. Woodruff earlier, on twitter, mr. Trump dismissed any criticism of how much he has actually done so far. He said; no matter how much i accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days and it has been a lot media will kill the u. S. Treasury department has denied exxon mobils request that one of its projects be exempted from sanctions imposed on russia, so the company can drill for oil in the black sea. The joint venture has been halted since the u. S. Imposed the sanctions for russias annexation of crimea. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson was exxons c. E. O. Back when the deal was signed. He recused himself from considering the waiver issue. South korea said today its on high alert again, ahead of a military holiday in north korea, and a possible nuclear test. At the same time, President Trump pressed china in a new tweet. He wrote, china is very much the economic lifeline to north korea, so, if they want to solve the problem, they will. The Chinese Foreign ministry insisted beijing is enforcing a ban on coal imports from pyongyang. translated the chinese customs and ministry of commerce have issued the notice. As for some reports saying north korean coal ships are docking in chinese ports due to humanitarian considerations for those crew members, we cannot simply leave them drifting on the sea. Woodruff north korea said overnight that the situation is extremely perilous because of what it called madcap American Nuclear war maenuvers. U. S. Defense secretary jim mattis says there is no doubt that syria still has chemical weapons. In israel today, he warned the syrians would be ill advised to use such weapons again. The u. S. Attacked a Syrian Air Base after a poison gas incident this month. Back in this country, the state of arkansas is planning three more executions next week, after it carried out its first one since 2005. Ledell lee was put to death just before midnight, for a 1993 murder. The execution came despite a flurry of legal challenges. Protests continued last night outside the governors mansion. The power went out across a wide swath of San Francisco today. About 90,000 customers were affected, with people trapped in elevators, and traffic backed up at stop lights that didnt work. Utility officials blamed a catastrophic failure at a substation that led to a fire at the site. Late today, they were still working to get electricity restored. A federal judge in detroit has ordered volkswagen to pay a criminal penalty of 2. 8 billion for cheating on diesel emissions tests. The order today came as part of a plea deal. The case involved nearly 600,000 diesel cars sold in the u. S. And on wall street, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost 31 points to close at 20,547. The nasdaq fell six points, and the s p 500 slipped seven. For the week, the dow gained half a percent. The nasdaq rose nearly 2 , and the s p 500 was up almost 1 . Still to come on the newshour france votes in the first round of a hotlycontested president ial election; oneonone with the new boss of the United Nations; missing children the dangers they face and why children of color often get less attention from the news media, and much more. Woodruff as we reported earlier, the white house announced today that efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act will continue this weekend, ahead of congresss return to washington. Joining me to discuss the latest developments is White House Correspondent john yang. So, john, congress coming back next week. Before they left, there was talk of trying to resurrect some sort of deal on healthcare reform. Where does it stand . Yang judy, talking to senior white house officials today, there is a girler a girler of optimism that their efforts to bring together the conservative and moderate factions to have the House Republicans factions of the House Republicans has led to language that may just satisfy both sides. They hope to present that language to lawmakers on a Conference Call, a House Republican Conference Call tomorrow to get a better sense of where things stand. Woodruff and, john, there seems to be a little bit of a if not a misunderstanding at least a back and forth on the timetable here. On the one hand, they seem to be in a hurry to get it done. On the other hand, we just heard the president saying, well, it doesnt really matter whether its next week. Well, thats right, the president said that, and sean spicer, the White House Press secretary said, if we get it done next week, great. If we dont, no problem, well get it done when we have the votes. But there are other officials in the white house who would love it if they could get a vote before the symbolic 100 days of the administration are up. Woodruff john, one other thing on the agenda next week is funding for the government, the temporary arrangement they had runs out at the ent of the week. Where do they stand on that . This afternoon, o b director mitt mulvaney had a Conference Call directing Department Heads to prepare for a possible government showdown, but he and other white house Officials Say they are confident it will not happen, that the government funding will continue one way or another. But they also, a Senior Administration official also says that these talks could tell us a lot about the next four years and the willingness of both sides to compromise. Judy. Woodruff all right. Well, we will be watching. John yang at the white house. Thank you. Woodruff france is on edge ahead of sundays president ial election, after last nights attack in paris. The vote, which features an array of candidates, is the first of two rounds independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron appears in the polls to hold a slight edge over Marine Le Pen. She is the leader of the far rightwing, antiimmigrant national front, and is hoping for a trumpstyle win to upend the traditional establishment. The top two votegetters will compete in the second and final round on may 7. From paris, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports. Reporter heavily armed police were patrolling the champselysee this morning in a high profile show of force. Others carried flowers to honor a fallen colleague, providing a stark contrast on the opposite side of the grandest of parisian boulevards. At the place where the officer was killed, Union Official denis jacob had this message. translated society mustnt fall into a mass psychosis. People shouldnt be paranoid that someone can come behind their back and kill them. Reporter this shooting is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks in france over the past couple of years. It began with the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine. And then on november the 13th, the shootings at the Bataclan Music Club and across paris. And then in july last year in nice, there was the truck massacre. The death toll over the past couple of years is around the 230 mark. There may only have been a handful of casualties last night, but the timing of this shooting could not have been more significant. Political analyst Jean Yves Camus doesnt believe the attack will drastically impact the outcome of sundays vote but has this proviso if theres going to be a benefit, certainly Marine Le Pen will benefit from the fact that this was a jihadi attack. That apparently, what we know this morning, the guy came from belgium or was a belgian citizen, so she will say, i want to bring back borders. Reporter immigration control is Marine Le Pens signature message. She has sanitized the party in recent years to broaden its mainstream appeal. She replaced her nationalist father as leader, expelled him from the party for his racist and antisemitic statements; and she watered down the fronts extreme rightwing tendencies. translated im telling you that whats at stake on sunday and ive repeated it tirelessly over the campaign because i believe it is civilization. On sunday, the choice is simple either a france reborn, or a france that founders. Im telling you that i intend to protect you. Reporter but as this brief protest demonstrates, Marine Le Pens detractors regard her as the most divisive of political leaders. They abhor her attempt to wrap herself in the flag. translated i love france, i love it from the bottom of my heart, from the bottom of my soul. I am a woman, and as such, i feel with extreme violence all the restrictions of our freedom that were seeing within our country because of the developing islamic fundamentalism. Reporter mikael sala is on le pens campaign team. translated donald trump was saying, were going to make America Great again; and were going to make america grow again. Well, this is exactly what Marine Le Pen will do for france. She will make it great again. And the french, they really aspire to that. They want france to be great again, and they feel in their gut that Marine Le Pen is that person. Reporter the potential impact of le pens policies would be felt most keenly in barbes, a parisian district dominated by immigrants. France has nine Million People living beneath the poverty line, and this market represents a snapshot. Habiba belhout, a muslim, supports the socialist candidate whos trailing in fifth place. She is concerned by le pens rhetoric. translated well, shes a racist, first of all. It really gives the impression that were going decades back, back to 19391945. She talks about the muslims, about immigration, when theres so much more more problems than that to deal with and yesterday, i heard her say she was the only woman candidate who defends women. Well, im sorry, but she doesnt represent me at all. Reporter according to opinion polls, the current front runner is Emmanuel Macron, who abandoned the socialists and set up his own independent party called on the move, to attract those who yearn for a moderate middleground candidate. The main contestants in this election are either the far right or far left. And i think thats not what we want in france. We dont want a racist or a communist president for france. And i think there are solutions other than extreme solutions for the country. Im proeuropean and im for Progressive Solutions for my country. Reporter macron is a 39yearold former investment banker, and reputedly a millionaire. As a former economy minister in the socialist government, hes promising to simultaneously reduce unemployment, while removing 120,000 civil servants. translated in france, in this wounded country, in this weary country, we dont want tomorrow to be like yesterday. And im making a commitment before you, here, this afternoon. You who are the living part of france, the beating heart of france, we will give france back its optimism, its faith in the future. Hello, mr. President. Reporter and macron got an unusual boost yesterday, before the attack a call from former president barack obama, which macron quickly tweeted out. The main message i have is to wish you all the best in the coming days. Reporter former conservative Prime Minister Francois Fillon could be forgiven for looking enviously at macrons poll numbers. Fillon was once regarded as the favorite to become president , but his popularity slumped after he was placed under investigation for misuse of public funds. But analysts believe the shooting might help him make a comeback. In france, there are normally two president ial election rounds. The two leading candidates from the first round, contest the second. For teacher veronique dadou, her main concern is the future of her students, which is why she has turned to the hardleft candidate, jeanluc melenchon, who has had an unexpected surge in popularity. translated the one thing that blocks Everything Else is unemployment, and that has a direct impact on the young people, because theyre the ones who are prevented from accessing a decent proper social life, their personal development, everythings on hold for them because of that. Reporter but this melenchon rally earlier in the week was overshadowed by news that the Security Services had arrested two islamists in marseilles who were allegedly planning an attack on one of the campaigns. translated we are not afraid, and even tonight, we are demonstrating this. Lets have even more debate, respectful debate, but debate nonetheless, to show that nothing will conquer our democracy, and that criminals can do nothing against it, the french people are free. Reporter the le pen camp plays up similarities with the trump campaign, but according to analyst Jean Yves Camus, americans should be wary. translated the impact for the United States will be bad because Marine Le Pen belongs to that kind of radical right parties which are highly prejudiced against the United States. This is because she doesnt want the United States to have a prominent say in international affairs. She wants to opt out of nato. She wants to end free trade. Reporter this election is considered to be the most unpredictable in decades. A third of all voters are said to be undecided. For the pbs newshour, im Malcolm Brabant in paris. Woodruff now, to my interview with United Nations secretary general antonio guterres. He took office on january 1, after a decade as head of the u. N. s refugee agency. I sat down with him this afternoon for his First American Television Interview since becoming secretary general. We spoke at the world bank in washington, where he is attending the annual meeting of the world bank and International Monetary fund. Mr. Secretary general, thank you for talking with us. Pleasure. Woodruff you were at the white house earlier today. You met briefly with President Trump. You also spent some time with the National Security advisor, h. R. Mcmaster. What did you discuss . We discussed, of course, the poblems of the world and especially how the u. N. And the u. S. Can cooperate better. It is for me clear that the world needs a United States that is engaged in security issues, in development issues, in human rights issues. The contribution of the United States for Global Affairs is absolutely crucial, and the cooperation with the u. N. Is very important from our perspective. And i presume the u. N. Can also be very useful to the United States, especially if we will be able, as i strongly intend, to have a more dynamic, more reformed, more nimble u. N. Woodruff i ask because we have been hearing, we know because this president said so, he has concerns that the u. N. And other International Organizations have already gotten a lot of support from the u. S. And now it may be a good time for the u. S. To pull back and to pull back in foreign aid and humanitarian aid. How concerned are you that they may do that . Well, i think its my role to try to prove that potential can translate into reality. Woodruff how do you do that . Well, we need to be able to demonstrate that what we do in tads world, in humanitarian aid, the enormous effort to minimize the tragic situations that we see all over the world, without the u. N. , people would suffer much more and the situation would be much more terrible. Woodruff but this is a president who has spoken about pulling back, pulling the u. S. Back from the rest of the world, except maybe now we see in a military sense. Are you worried about that . I think the u. S. Is too important for the u. S. To be possible to pull back. I think that eits very important to have the United States engagement around the world, be it syria, be it in every context. The United States represents values, human rights. To the Foreign Policy engagement to have the United States is a very important guarantee that those values can be properly pursued and in that regard the cooperation between the u. S. And u. N. Is absolutely session fortunately those values to be preserved in our world. Woodruff but are you not at all concerned about cuts in u. S. Contributions to the United Nations and other u. N. Agencies . Oh, i hope those cuts will not materialize, and i hope that we we need to do bert and to do more and we need to also be able to be more cost effective, and we are ready to discuss with the United States how to make our work more able to correspond also to what it is, the aspiration of the american people. But it is my deep belief that, when a country is so concerned and there are so strong reasons to be concerned with global terrorism, with the security of the american people, it is very important to recognize that that is not possible to guarantee, if at the same time the wasnt country is not addressing the root causes of terror. Woodruff you mentioned terrorism and security. There is focus today on paris. Theyre calling it a terrorist attack. Theres every reason to believe this is going to raise concerns in leading up to the french elections this weekend, pushing what is already an antiforeigner sentiment to be even stronger. As someone who heads the preeminent national organization, the u. N. , how concerned are you for that . For ten years, i was on the commission for refugees and i fought for those in conflict who have fled, in desperate situations to have absolute internationalception. Its an essential democratic value. What i think is important to recognize in todays world is all societies are multiethnic, multireligious and multicultural, and that is a richness, a strength. We have to recognize that for those societies, there is a lot of investment to be made in social cohenges and inclusivity. But the important thing to recognize and particularly in europe, most to have the terrorist attacks are homegrown. I think in america and, canada and the United States, it has been much easier for communities to live together in several european countries. Woodruff so much to ask you about, secretary general. One thing i dont want to leave out, of course, is syria. People look at the u. N. The u. N. Has been involved in trying to find peace in syria. It hasnt happened. There are critics saying the Security Council is paralyzed, hasnt been able to move on syria, theres a very critical story coming out of the New York Times over the weekend looking at the failure of the u. N. , the u. N. System to be able to deal with Something Like sir i cant how do you look at syria and see the responsibility of the u. N. There . Peace about security, that is a central body and it is critical. It has the responsibility to preserve peace and to address the situations of conflict. The truth is that the Security Council has been divided not only on syria but several other situations and that division has led to the paralysis of the capacity of the International Community to come together and push for an effective solution in syria. Woodruff so what can be done about it . Its high time for those who have an inflints with the parties to the conflict that it is in the interest of everybody to put an end to the conflict. But this kind of persuasion, this kind of intense pressure, i believe, its my duty to do even if i recognize that the contradictions, different perceptions of interests that exist are making it very difficult. Woodruff so this is clearly a priority for you . It is a priority for me. To see these people that have been so hospitable to others now suffering so much and being rejected also in so many parts of the world, it really breaks my heart. Woodruff two other things i want to ask you about, one is the reports recently building on previous reports about u. N. Peacekeepers in different parts of the world being guilty of the worst kind of sexual abuse, Sexual Assault on Vulnerable People women, children, boys, girls. Now that this is coming into the open, what is the responsibility of the u. N. To make sure this doesnt happen again, and are people being held accountable for it . Well, also a huge responsibility, and i have taken it very seriously. One of the first reforms i presented to the General Assembly was exactly on redesigning all our capacity to respond to Sexual Exploitation and abuse and trying to create conditions to mobilize Member States to assume their responsibilities. The u. N. , we cannot condemn a soldier to jail because of that, it must be the country to which the soldier belongs. To be able to create the conditions for that to be possible, and we need to do the job ourselves of much better protection of the victims, we must be absolutely determined with a zero tolerance policy in this regard, but we also need to pay tribute to those that are sacrificing their lives to protect other lives and that sometimes also do not see that properly recognized. Woodruff last question. You were not very long ago on the african continent. We know there are four Different Countries experiencing famine to one degree or another, not because of a lack of food but because of conflict, and youve spoken about this. Its received some attention. How do you get others to understand the problem . Because every country has a different reason for the political conflict in each one. How do you get the rest of the world to pay attention, to make a difference when people are who dont deserve to die are dying by the thousands and more . We are doing our best to raise aware fess and to mobilize the International Community in support to the victims of the this situation. We have recently a conference. Im doing tuesday for a pledging conference in geneva to support the victims in yemen. We rf another conference in london on somalia. So we are trying to mobilize the International Community to evoke a response, knowing that response cannot be unhumanitarian, that response, as you said, when you said that the real reason for this famine is the conflict, that response needs to be political. Woodruff mr. Secretary general, you have a full plate and we thank you very much more talking. It was a pleasure. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour mark shields and Michael Gerson analyze the weeks news; and, in my humble opinion, reflections on our addiction to technology. But first, missing children and a racial divide. When the washington, d. C. , Police Department tried to raise awareness about missing children and teenagers by posting their images on social media, the campaign backfired sparking some National Outrage and fears of an epidemic of missing children of color. But the story also exposed many risks that young people face when they leave home, including exploitation and sex trafficking. William brangham has our report. Reporter on a recent night in downtown washington, d. C. , a Dropin Center for homeless and atrisk youth begins to fill up. Theres pizza, games, a movie in the back. Gabrielle martin is a regular in this refuge run by the nonprofit sasha bruce youthwork. Ive been on my own, basically, since i was 15, and now im 27, so ive been homeless for 12 years. Reporter young people here have access to food, showers and a place to relax for a few hours, and martin says this center is essential because homeless life can be exhausting. It could get frustrating sometimes. Like, not knowing how youre going to eat or where youre going to sleep the next day. Sometimes, well just find excuses to go to the hospital, just so that we have somewhere to sleep that night, you know . Reporter martin first ran away from home in high school, after coming out as gay to her disapproving parents. She says shes struggled with drug addiction and has bounced in and out of various living situations ever since. If i wasnt in the streets, i was at different friends houses, or, i would actually date people that i knew had their own place, just so i could stay there. Reporter that led to a pregnancy with someone she was living with. Martins parents reported her missing around the time she turned 17, and up until last december, she says she was still considered a missing person by washington, d. C. Police. Even though im 27 now, i was still considered a runaway, because i ran away when i was a juvenile. So it was still in their its still in their system. Outrage over missing teens in the district. Reporter a spate of more recent cases in the Nations Capital were thrust into the spotlight last month after washington, d. C. Police, for the first time, started posting alerts about all missing children on social media. Prior to this year, they would usually only notify the public of missing children when they suspected foul play. But after celebrities like viola davis and l. L. Cool j retweeted the alerts, the story went viral, fueling concerns that d. C. Had a sudden epidemic of missing kids. We cant go nowhere by ourselves, because were out here worried about someone trying to take us. Reporter the story turned out to be largely overblown. Not only was there not a spike in missing children, but 2016 saw fewer kids go missing than the year before. However, washington, d. C. Acting police chief Peter Newsham doesnt regret using social media to highlight these cases. It took on some legs that we hadnt anticipated, but i do think that it was an eyeopener for a lot of people, to see how many young people we do have that run away. Reporter newsham also says that nearly all the missing kids are located. We find 99 of those kids. I think the awareness that has come about as a result of this, though, is a lot of people are asking the question, why are they leaving in the first place . And the other question, which is really important to get to the bottom of, is what happened to them, while they were away . Regardless of why a child is going missing, we need to find out what are they running away from, and who theyre running away to. Reporter Derrica Wilson is the president of the black and missing foundation. While she applauds d. C. s attempt to raise awareness, she says that for too long, the media and Public Officials have ignored cases of minority kids going missing. In fact, according to the f. B. I. , while blacks make up just 13 of the u. S. Population, they make up more than 38 of all missing youth. Its heartbreaking we dont know where she is right now. Reporter for example eight yearold relisha rudd went missing in washington in 2014. At the time, her mother begged for her daughters return. Come back home, unharmed and know that i love you. Reporter over three years later, shes still missing, and wilson says relisha rudd never became a household name. Not like chandra levy, or natalee holloway, or even the more recent case of elizabeth thomas, the tennessee 15year old who was kidnapped by her teacher, and found. This is not an epidemic that just popped up. This is something thats been going on for quite some time. Theres a term thats often used, which is, the missing white women syndrome. Where, if youre not with blonde hair and blue eyes, your story is just not sensational enough. Reporter peter lowery, Vice President at the National Center for missing and exploited children, says even the terminology we use about missing kids needs to change. His organization no longer uses the term runaway. Because the moment we put on our poster that this is a runaway child, we deal with a desensitized public, a desensitized media. Reporter because people just think oh, they ran away, its their fault. Theyre a behavior problem, and thats not the case. Reporter when she was a kid in chicago, tina frundt left home after a typical teenage fight. On my 14th birthday, i got mad at my parents because i couldnt stay out past 7 00. Reporter she called a man who had befriended her, but he kidnapped her, took her to cleveland, and forced her to work for his grandmother, who ran a local prostitution ring. He came from a family of pimps, so his grandmother is actually the one who controlled us. She used to tell me that god wanted me to be a ho, and thats what we were put on earth for. Reporter a year into her ordeal, the police raided the home and she was freed. While her trafficker never faced charges, she spent a year in juvenile detention. She was 15 years old. I was charged with prostitution. Reporter at 15 . Yeah. Reporter and frundt isnt alone. One in six children reported to a federal database that tracks those who leave home, are involved in sex trafficking. Today, she runs courtneys house in washington, d. C. , a nonprofit that counsels young sextraffic survivors. Why the survivors bond with me is because my story really is their story. It happened the same way. Reporter Gabrielle Martin says more needs to be done to prevent kids from leaving home in the first place. And, she says, the answer isnt simply to publish more names on the list of kids missing in washington, d. C. I know a few of those people on that list, and its like theyre not really missing persons theyre people who just chose to move on, because of what they left behind sucked. People dont really care about kids that are in the system, and thats what makes us choose to run away. Reporter since the beginning of the year, more than 700 young people have been reported missing in washington, d. C. 16 of those cases remain open. The city announced more Police Officers are being assigned to missing children cases, and is creating a task force to address the factors driving kids to leave home in the first place. In washington, d. C. , im William Brangham for the pbs newshour. Woodruff and now to the analysis of shields and gerson. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields, and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson. David brooks is away. Welcome to you, gentlemen. There was a special Congressional Election this week, mark shields, in georgia, the sixth district. Really . Woodruff really. My question is the democrats fell just short. Lessons learned, wider implications, what did you see . Yes, i saw all of them. The democrat, a 30yearold rookie with experience in public life of being a congressional aide on capitol hill managed to raise over 8 million from activists around the country who were committed and his own support and managed to get, judy, more votes than the first five republicans in a district mitt romney won by 20 points that has been electing nothing but republicans to congress including dr. Tom price, secretary of h. H. S. , and Newt Gingrich by substantial margins, but he didnt get the magic 50 , which in the jungle primary of georgia where everybodys in it, is the magic number. But i would say it was impressive. After kansas, what it means woodruff where they had another special election. Another special election where the democrat did not win but in a district where donald trump won by 23 points he lost only by 7. Even more impressive. Thats right. The democrats cut the margin and i would say the wind is at the democrats back. What does mat mean . What is the significance . The significance is this, if the democrats do win, it would be surprising if they could win, thats 11point advantage, if it does, it means theyre going to get better candidates. Thats what means when you win special elections. You recruit better candidates for the next general election, more attractive, appealing, competent candidates and the other side starts to see retirements. Candidates in tough races decide to spend more time with their family rather than doing a contested race. Woodruff what do you see in these tea leaves . Its not unusual for this to happen. Most president s in their midterms dont do that well. This is happening early. This is supposed to be a high point of president ial influence. What were seeing in both these data points is a very serious problem for republicans. Theyre hurting in places they shouldnt be hurting, and i think that has great significance. You know, who knows how it trends in the future, but right now i think republicans are seeing alarm bells ringing. Woodruff and knowing that if the democrats can mount strong candidates in these districts, theyre in trouble. Can they do that in 2018 or not . Well, i think the prospect of winning has encouraged people to run. I just point out, in defense of the sixth district, that while mitt romney carried collegeeducated whites by 14 over barack obama in 2012, donald trump only carried them by 4 points over hillary clinton, and this is a district where collegeeducated voters are the percentage of them is remarkably high, one of the ten highest in the country. Woodruff michael, you mentioned republicans may be feeling a little nervous, the white house feeling a little nervous. Republicans feeling comfortable enough to start criticizing this president. Had two republican senators in this past week, joni ernst. These are sort of gentle criticisms. The senator from iowa came out and said the president needs to spend less time at his maralago resort and more time at the white house and you had a few other republicans saying the president needs to release his tax returns. Is this the kind of typical intraparty split or what . No, i think it means something. Every republican candidate has the make a trump calibration to determine what percentage they support the president , what they dont, depending on their districts. Right now there is a huge difference between a president at 60 , a president in the low 40s. People feel like they dont need to explain things for him that are difficult to explain. You watch some members, like tom cotton, a senator i really like, a sharp guy, trying to defend why the president wont release his tax returns and looks foolish in the process. Right. So some of the cost, the intimidation factor has been reduced because of the president s standing and some people are just not going to put up with explaining the unexplainable. I agree with michael. Oklahoma is the reddest of red states and true blue conservator senator langford was asked about the tax returns, and his answer was he promised he would and, therefore, he should. It was that straightforward. Its unassailable logic thats absolutely true. He promised a number of times that he would do so, then he, the president , said the promise was negated because he won the election. The president today in an Associated Press interview said he was going to have a big, huge, wonderful tax cut bill next week, and anybody on either side of the aisle will have a tough time answering the question, if this is the proposal, what will it mean bush what will President Trumps tax cut mean for billionaire citizen trumps personal taxes . Woodruff thats a question hes materially undermining his ability to get that legislation through the congress because of his refusal to receive this material. They are not going to pass including many republicans a law without knowing how it benefits the president. Woodruff but as far as we know, there is no intention, is that right, on the part of the white house or the president to release it. Judy, i used to be a political hack, maybe i still am, but you have all the cabinet offices had to provide their income information for confirmation, wilbur ross is a billionaire. All you have to do is run the numbers. What would the proposed tax cut mean for wilbur ross . What would it mean for steve mnuchin, the secretary of the treasury . Woodruff but you dont have that information on for him. But it will increase pressure on him. It will put republicans very much on the defensive. Woodruff two other things. One is, michael, wrinkles this week when it comes to Foreign Policy, defense policy, the Carrier Group the president said was on its way to north korea and was headed in the other direction, the other thing is different signals coming from the cabinet, officers, even from the secretary of state on turkey and the white house. Are these just incidental things that happen or what . Some of it is real incompetence in the Aircraft Carrier circumstance, but that might not have been the white house, but it was genuine incompetence. I look at Something Like the president saying that korea was once part of china. That is not just mispronouncing a name. That is offending a country that is our ally in the midst of a crisis. This is serious. But there are also tensions. There is tension here between the president s word, ethnonationallist retreat from the world, and his personnel, people hes chosen like mcmaster and like mattis, these are internationalists. Theyre not consistent with his public voice. So you have those divisions within the administration. He has picked a variety of people that dont seem to share his Foreign Policy vision, so that creates natural questions on the part of both friends and enemies, who speaks for the administration under what circumstance . Thanks to the public partnership, they keep track of a very interesting number, and that is the number of senateconfirmable important positions there are in every administration. There is 554 that the senate has to confirm that every president appoints. As of this moment, 473 have not been appointed. Woodruff wow. So i think, judy, what you have in part is just theyre thin, the level of competence, the level of trust, the lack of cohesion. And donald trump has kind of boasted hes keeping people off balance. Every president when he gets in trouble domestically or stalled or fails in his domestic agenda loves to go on Foreign Policy where he has a far freer rein. Hes not the first one to do this, but to sustain and forge and maintain a coalition, its based on trust. Its based not on unpredictability or material behavior, its based on a sense of dependability. And we talk about the u. S. S. Carl vinson steaming toward the indian ocean when the koreans were told, our allies and the japanese were told it was headed twar the Korean Peninsula toward the Korean Peninsula and, judy, that sends tremors, quite frankly, through our allies. So they have more Serious Problems than just egg on the face. Woodruff and they have been mocking the u. S. In china and certainly north korea. Yes. Woodruff the last thing i want to ask you both about comes out of news from fox news channel, michael, that bil bill oreilly who was, i guess, their highestrated news star has left, been forced out because of a number of allegations by a number of women about Sexual Harassment and secret until now payments to these women, 25 million severance, were told. What does this mean in the world of media . Certainly in the world of conservative media, its a big teal. Well, its an epic change in conservative media. This has been the most important republican influence i think bar none over the last 15 years. Fox news played that role for many activist republicans and now the brains of the operation ails anailes and the face of the operation oreilly are gone. Thats a massive change. Maybe one way to put it is sometimes conservatives need liberals and liberals have been talking about Workplace Equality for a long time and they were absolutely right. This is a case where fox tolerated the intolerable and did so time after time. Thats a systemic problem, and i think they need to face that very directly. Woodruff just over 30, 40 seconds. Judy, i think its always been about power more than about Sexual Harassment. Its men in position of power over women who are vulnerable, who needed promotions, jobs and sustenance, and i think what we see in this is a revolt and a revolution and what we saw cable tv is about two things, its about eyeballs, the number of people who watch it, and its about dollar signs. His eyeballs, the number of people who watched bill oreilly were up there, but the dollar signs hurting. Corporate sponsors were withdrawing and it was because women and men, too, but women led it and they led a boycott and a threat and that i think can change our society for the better. Woodruff mark shields, Michael Gerson, thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff finally tonight, adam alter, a professor at new york universitys stern school of business and author of irresistible the rise of addictive technology, shares his humble opinion on our addiction to technology. In 2004, i left my family and friends in sydney, australia, to begin a ph. D. In psychology at princeton. I was lucky to find a group of close friends, but we were all busy, and at the end of most days, id return to my room alone. One night i stumbled on a primitive online slot machine game, called slots. U. S. Law prohibited online gambling, so i wasnt playing for real money, but i found the game impossible to resist. Instead of winning money, id win small rewards in the form of bells and flashing lights. Bells and lights may sound like trivial rewards, but in those moments of loneliness, they scratched a psychological itch. I played so often that i started to imagine the reels on the slot machine spinning during the day. Meanwhile, i happened to be taking a class in physiological psychology. We learned about a series of experiments on isolated, caged pigeons, monkeys, and rats. When the animals were trained to peck a button that sometimes delivered food but sometimes delivered nothing, they pecked the button hundreds of times even when they were no longer hungry because their isolation was soothed by each gamble. This was a eureka moment for me. I was behaving a lot like these animals. Slots wasnt nourishing, but i played for hours. My obsession lasted six months, only ending when i started dating a girl in my class. I learned that addiction isnt only about injecting a drug or playing a game compulsively. It also has to scratch a psychological itch. For me, that itch was loneliness. For someone else, it might have been depression numbed with narcotics, or boredom numbed with a video game. The world has changed a lot since i stopped playing slots more than a decade ago. Many of us have psychological itches that need scratching, from boredom to loneliness to low selfesteem; and we have access to allpurpose itch scratchers in the form of smartphones and tablets. Wherever we go, those devices bring us social networks, games, email, and text messages, each delivering or withholding rewards in the form of replies, shares, and likes just as that small button did for the caged lab animals and slots did for me. Its impossible to avoid the screens that deliver addictive experiences altogether, so the key is to live part of each day screenfree. Turn off your tv, and lock your smartphone and tablet in a drawer from, say, 5 00 to 7 00 p. M. Youll know youre succeeding if, for at least part of the day, you cant tell that its 2017 based only on what you can see. When youre looking out at the ocean or standing in a forest or staring into someone elses eyes, it could be 2017 or 1950 or 1700. The key is to make at least a thin slice of every day timeless. Woodruff Washington Week airs later tonight on pbs, with its newly named moderator, robert costa of the Washington Post. Hes here to give us a preview. Bob, congratulations thanks so much, judy. Its great to be here and we have a great round table tonight to discuss the apparent disconnect between the white house and Congressional Republicans over the repeal of obamacare. There is so much on tax reform to discuss and the border wall. Then why Bernie Sanders is back on the campaign trail, later tonight on Washington Week. Judy. Woodruff we will be watching. And again, congratulations. Thank you. And on pbs newshour saturday, scientists plan to march on washington and some are even considering a run for office. Woodruff why did you run for office . One to have the reasons is i was concerned about the antiscience rhetoric we hear out of so many politicians and the cuts to basic Research Funding that i think are putting us behind as well as hurting us economically. I think it is problematic when scientists are lumping together scientific issues with other points of advocacy that may be viewed as having a Party Affiliation or a particular political bend. Woodruff thats tomorrow night on pbs newshour weekend. And well be back, right here, on monday. I speak to facebooks sheryl stanberg about her struggle to move forward after her husbands death. Thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you, and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by bnsf railway. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. 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 youre watching pbs. Hello, and welcome to kqed newsroom. Im thuy vu. Workers and h1v visas. President trump orders a full review. We take a look at the impact on bay area tech companies. Plus, the lone republican. Attorney and venture capitalist john cox is the only republican so far to declare hes running for governor. Well talk with him about why he wants the states top job. And reflections on civil disobedience. A bay area activist whos made protesting her lifes work is the subject of a new film. First, we turn to berkeley where a protrump rally that included white nationalists turned violent last weekend. Several people were injured, and at least 20 were arres