Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170505

Care bill and the political stories this week. 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. Sreenivasan the u. S. Economy is showing signs of rebounding, after a lackluster first quarter. The Labor Department reports that employers added a net of 211,000 jobs in april, up sharply from the month of march. The Unemployment Rate for april fell to 4. 4 , a nearly 10year low. The strong showing could increase odds that the Federal Reserve will raise Interest Rates again next month. In somalia a u. S. Navy seal has been killed in a raid on the islamist militant group, al shabaab. Its the First American combat death there since 1993, when two helicopters were shot down in mogadishu. U. S. Officials say the seal died on a mission supporting Somali Forces yesterday. Two other americans were wounded. Thousands of afghans turned out today to hail the return of a former warlord to kabul. Gulbuddin hekmaytar responded with a demand that u. S. And other outside forces leave afghanistan. He rallied the crowd with a call for peace with the taliban, and he criticized the Afghan Government for its cooperation with the u. S. translated lets all end this war together in our country first, and tell the Foreign Forces that afghans are able to sort out their issues themselves, and that we want them to leave afghanistan. No one has any justification for the presence of foreign troops. Sreenivasan the u. S. Now has about 8,000 troops in afghanistan. Next week, the pentagon is widely expected to recommend sending more troops. Russias Defense Ministry announced today that four newly declared safe zones in syria will be closed to u. S. Coalition aircraft. Its part of a deal that russia, turkey and iran signed yesterday. It took effect tonight. Syrian military planes will also be banned from the restricted areas. The u. N. Human Rights Office is condemning china for an ongoing crackdown of activists and their defense lawyers. The agency said today theres been a continued pattern or harassment. Within recent days a prominent defense lawyer and his family were seized by police. Back in this country President Trump signed the omnibus bill to fund the government through september. It totals some 1. 2 trillion. Now, the focus shifts to the fate of the Republican Health care bill that passed the house yesterday. At the white house, deputy spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee sanders said the president understands there are calls to revise the measure. Hes committed to reforming our Health Care System, youre gonna see that process take place. Were not gonna get ahead of the legislative process, we expect there to be some changes, but we expect principles and pillars of the Health Care Bill as it exists to remain the same. Sreenivasan several key republican senators said today they probably cannot support the house bill. President trump has lost his second nominee for army secretary. Mark green withdrew today, saying false and misleading attacks made his nomination a distraction. He drew fire for saying that being transgender is a disease, and deploring the indoctrination of islam in public schools. The president s initial nominee Vincent Viola withdrew because of financial entanglements. And wall street closed out the week on the higher side the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 55 points to close near 21,007, the nasdaq rose 25 points, and the s p 500 added nine. For the week all three indexes gained less than 1 . Still to come on the newshour puerto rico in bankruptcy, we talk to the territorys governor, candidates make their last appeals ahead of a French Election with global consequences, can south sudan find a way out of its brutal civil war . And much more. Sreenivasan puerto rico went over the financial cliff this week. The u. S. Territory home to more than three Million People essentially filed for bankruptcy so it can restructure more than 120 billion in debt and pension obligations. It would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in u. S. History. It owes 72 billion to creditors, many of whom are angry they will have to eat big losses in bankruptcy court. Thousands of protesters took to the streets this week as the pain spreads throughout the island. The government is reducing Public Services, pensions are likely to be cut. And today, it announced it will close 184 schools, forcing 27,000 students to find another school. Its economy remains mired in a slump while more than 45 live people there below the poverty line. Its governor, ricardo rosello, joins me now from san juan. Governor, thank for being with us. What is the argument that youre going to be making in court on why you should be allowed to restructure your financial obligation. Well, what we asked, hari, was essentially to have the courts protection so we wouldnt be attacked by some, what we feel are frivolous lawsuits. But we have ensued a conversation with different creditors, and our hope is that we can find a consensual renegotiation route based on is fiscal plan weve implemented and thats been certified for puerto rico. Sreenivasan youre talking about cutting back on schools. What other Public Services are you going to have to tighten your belt on . Well the Schools Initiative was one that was established for a can couple months. Weve Just Announced today which schoolers the ones that were going to be closed now. This initiative of course has some fiscal relief, but the objective is for our children to actually consolidate and that we can get more Human Resource to give a Better Service to the kids, to the children of puerto rico. Sreenivasan what about the 49 billion in pension payments. Thats the people that have been paying into this. What are they likely to see. Well, were working on a budget right now and part of the strategy that weve ensued on the fiscal plan, is a paygo successystem. Were going to make sure those pension recipients get the funding. Now theres still a discussion with the fiscal oversight plan on how those can you tell us are going to ensue. Our proposal is its supposed to be on a progressive scale so that those that are most vulnerable, those that receive les than 2,000 in pensions will actually not get a cut. And those that receive higher will start getting a progressive cut on their pension. Sreenivasan governor, i know puerto rico is home to you and to the people who live there. I have to ask, how can you keep your people leaving the island. You have unemployment at 12 you loss 10 of your population, you lost 20 of the jobs on the island. If i was a resident of puerto rico why wouldnt i just pick up and move to florida or texas or anywhere on the mainland. Thats been happening so far. Because we havent made the proper changes. We havent made the changes to government. Expenditures have gone rampant in puerto rico. Lack of accountability, total lack of accountability. What were proposing right now is a complete change in that direction now. I know there are going to be some challenges during this cuts and the government. The truth of the matter is that we are being very aggressive so that we can lay the foundations for investors to come to puerto rico for jobs to be created, and for opportunities to ensue. And our objective again is for puerto rico, for the people of puerto rico who want to stay there for them to have the opportunity to stay here. Theres one last thing we need to point out. It is a fact that puerto rico is a colonial territory of the United States. This puts us in a very significant disadvantage to all of the other states and to all of the other american citizens. As a matter of comparative, the u. S. Citizens, the Puerto Ricans that live in the United States have much better incomes, more than twice as much, participate in the labor force of greater scales, have better results in the Education System and so forth. And the one key difference is that puerto rico is a colonial territory. We dont have representation. We have a difficult time getting funding from the federal government. So this is another critical component that we need to change. Sreenivasan so in the meantime, as your population continues to move to the mainland, your tax base shrinks which only compounds this problem. Right. I agree. But were trying our best to develop strategies. Weve already turned into law a labor reformula that will allow for more opportunities to ensue. We also established a permits law that will facilitate permits in puerto rico. They are about to roll out a comprehensive tax reform that will enhance the base and will rules the rates in puerto rico. And energy has been a big challenge in puerto rico. Weve pushing aggressively with a comprehensive agenda so we can collaborate with the private sector and reduce a lot of the costs. Your debt has been tax free which made it very very sought after for Municipal Bond funds, 401 k funds. What do you say to u. S. Taxpayers, they kind of put their faith in your future. What happens if their Retirement Funds suffer because of this. Listen, i just arrived to this position a little over a hundred days ago. I am 38 years old and i want to live in puerto rico and i want to create a path forward for growth. I real eyes ive come at the most challenging times to become governor but i want push things forward. I know that with clear leadership, with a clear path forward, understanding that the times are tough and there are great challenges. If we put a step in the right direction, i think we can push forward for a Better Puerto Rico and of course renegotiation efforts with different creditors so that it is something that is reasonable for them and something that is reasonable for us. Sreenivasan whats been your most recent conversation with the trouble administration . Just recently the president tweeted out, it didnt ven seemy supportive on a bailout. I know you talked with the secretary in february. What did you agree on. We met with the secretary of health and human services. We met with the administrator of cms, and we actually got a letter supporting what our claim was for puerto rico. Secretary stated that puerto rico needed 900 million to have a path forward, to have some runway. Its not a bailout. Its actually the moneys that were assigned to puerto rico and that we need to have a system that actually works. Were already cutting mind you over 300 million in healthcare expenditures over the coming years. So were putting our part. The Health Care System over here collapses because we have a lack of funding. The cost to the u. S. Taxpayer base is much higher. For every dollar that is spent here in puerto rico for a patient, all of the states and the federal government would have to pay 4 for that. So this is not a bailout by any means. Its reasonable ask. Its whats fair for puerto rico, and were doing so in a context where were already making changes. Were already cutting costs and we would prevent much more costs on the state level and the federal level if we do this. Sreenivasan governor of puerto rico, ricardo rosello. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much. Sreenivasan in the most closelywatched president ial election in france in decades, voters head to the polls this sunday. Its the second round runoff between centrist Emmanuel Macron and farright leader Marine Le Pen. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant is there. Reporter the candidates spent their final day of campaigning in vastly different places. Centrist and heavy favorite Emmanuel Macron strolled around the small town of rodez, in the southwest of france. But, he told a local Radio Station hes not relaxing. translated i know the french men and women you dont dictate their choices. So until the last minute they can decide, react, change so one must remain concentrated. Reporter to the north, far right candidate Marine Le Pen got a hostile reception outside the famed reims cathedral. Later, she tweeted monsieur macrons supporters act with violence everywhere, even in a symbolic and sacred place. No dignity. And in an interview in paris, she took aim at her rival translated mr. Macron is the candidate of the elites, he is the candidate of the oligarchy, he is the candidate of the big private interests. Reporter macron has been buoyed this week, by an endorsement from former president obama. And a solid performance in wednesdays bruising debate. But le pens antiimmigrant National Front has kept pressing its case today, in places like the yonne valley. Here, the front is preaching to the converted. Former soldier pascal roi supports le pens pledge to crack down on islamist militants. translated regarding terrorism, shes promised to expel people flagged as threats to National Security and dual nationals as well. This is going to remove a burden so we can keep a better eye on the rest of the population. Reporter most of those attending this final Campaign Gathering were either seniors or middle aged. There were no people of color. The youngest voter was student nurse marie buzetti, who favors le pens plan to follow britain out of the European Union. translated today we need to regain our independence. Today we are the puppets of the European Union and it needs to change. Reporter the National Front has been accused of preying on fears and whipping up hatred. Parliamentary candidate Ludovic Vigreux didnt hold back, warning that sharia law might one day rule france forcing his daughters to buy burkhas. We need marine, he said. France needs marine. And marine needs you. [ chanting ] as you can hear, theyre chanting marine for president. And here in the countryside she may do very well. But nationally its not looking good for her at all. All the opinion polls suggest that Emmanuel Macron is going to win by a majority of 60 to 40 . The yonne valley is one of the poorest districts of rural france. The lack of job prospects have forced many residents to move away. Le pens frexit plans worry Marketing Executive david de silva and so hell vote for the pro european candidate Emmanuel Macron. translated we have access to everything, a great market place, and it would be a shame to lose that. Today we obviously cant live without europe. Reporter one of the most important factors in this election is the large number of undecided voters. If millions abstain, it could benefit Marine Le Pen. Restaurant worker Joanna Thurloy voted for left winger Jean Luc Melenchon in the first round and now faces a major dilemma. translated i dont feel understood by either side. Because with Emmanuel Macron, its all about capitalism, and speculation. And Marine Le Pen, its her Family History of being on the extreme right. Weve already been through this. Reporter theres an undertone of defiance and maybe even desperation amongst the front supporters as they chant we will win. In order for le pen to enter the president ial palace, there will have to be a political surprise of brexit or donald trump proportions. And thats the mantra to which parliamentary candidate julien odoul is clinging. translated because shes the only one who speaks to the french, the only one who speaks to the forgotten ones, all those french whove been abandoned for decades. Reporter Frances National anthem, written in the 18th century is all about conflict if Marine Le Pen upsets the odds and wins on sunday, france and the European Union will face a major upheaval. But the pollsters believe french voters want stability and will follow the dutch in rejecting right wing nationalism. For the pbs newshour, im Malcolm Brabant in the yonne valley. Sreenivasan late today he said theyve been hacked and the internal documents have been posted online just hours before voters head to the polls. It issued a statement saying it wont tolerate the unde undermig dact sees vita vital interests. Stay with us. Coming up on the newshour empowering diabetes patients to control their own health, mark shields and Michael Gerson weigh in on the g. O. P. Health care plan, and a College President s plea for protecting free speech. But first, all this week weve brought you reports from south sudan on the roots of its conflict, the famine there, and the use of rape as a weapon of war. And from neighboring uganda, we met south sudanese refugees fleeing for a better life. Tonight, we ask what will it take to end the violence . And we turn to nii akuetteh has led a number of nonprofit organizations that promoted democracy and Good Governance in africa. He is now an independent analyst. And brian adeba is the associate director for policy at the enough project, which advocates for accountability for genocide and atrocities in africa. How did we get here so fast. I think its because in their fight for independence, the rest of the world focused on who they were fighting cartoon. And i think we did not pay enough attention to the raffle joy rivalries and faults line within the leadership. And also control of the new country with the rules to be written and resources and rivalries. I also do think that the death of john garan who everything says hes an outstanding leader. Finally, i think the world needs to pay more attention to whats going on. Sreenivasan anything to add . Well, indeed what he said is true. Ed inencedindependence in a smaf party, elites and institutions, ensued on cuppions that created a lot of deserv dissension withe party. Ultimately in the end, rivalries started appearing in the party because of these corruption. The state became the most prized asset that everyone was vying for control of. Unfortunately for the ruling party itself, because it had incapacitated the ability of institutions to really get this conflict in the end, the conflict gab to be expressed in vie length terms and thats where we are right now straws sreenivasan the conflict is a priority for everyone. Why hasnt it worked so far, whatever weve provide. I think one of the methods, one of the measures that people talked about that have not actually implemented is stopping the flow of arms into the country. Its like pouring gasoline on fire. And various International Players behind the scenes are reluctant, both in the region and then globally. I think thats one of the things. But the you thing is not enough pressure. I mean, the people who are, the leader are doing the fighting. They have not suffered from it. I think one of the aspect of the fighting that needs to be stressed is heart breakingly it has become ethnickized. So i think its going to be quite a challenge. Its true. The missing element here is leverage. What can be done to exert leverage so that the parties in the conflict change and thats missing. Targeted sanctions are essential. They are essential a because most of these transactions happen in the u. S. And that gives the u. S. Jurisdiction to act within the precious toolkit available to politicians in the u. S. , measures that can be enacted to trace these assets, to seize these assets in some aspects. And to send a message to the perpetrators of this conflict that there is a price to pay for war. Sreenivasan is that the most effective way to do it because the u. S. Dollar is the currency of the day. I agree totally. Because also on the global, the u. S. Looms large. And the u. S. Was a leader in supporting the independence of south sudan. But even if you took a moment out of your u. S. s own national interests, its always been said that ungoverned spaces breed terrorism which eventually can come to affect the u. S. So frankly when i look down the road, this is an american issue. Now the fight is south sudan peas, the victims are south sudanese and i think for one thing Congress Needs to make its voice strong and push the state department to work with various organizations. Because otherwise, it will get worse and that will then see that is beginning to affect the american interests in ways that cannot be missed. Sreenivasan brian, as he points out the u. S. Was instrumental in trying to birth this nation. But is this administration going to, are there any cases that theyre going to pay as close attention to this . Well, im quite optimistic. If we look back at the statements, the statement that u. S. Ambassador to the United Nations ordered a few weeks ago. It was the very first time that a member of the Trump Administration has come out very strongly on south sudan. She chided how koirnt counterpar the Security Council in sought sudan and suggested perhaps its time now to broach the possibility of an arms embargo to stop the carnage that is going on. She also called out the president of south sudan for continuing to perpetuate the conflict and also the other political elements involved in this conflict. So thats encouraging. From a multiliteral perspective an arms embargo is very essential and the u. S. Has a lot of room and opportunity to use that. Sreenivasan is that the best way for us to move forward for a body like the United Nations. Is there something the United States should be doing independent. I think so. The original organization agar, sudan, uganda, keen yeah, ethiopia. All of them played a good role. In fact, up until sometime ago they plays a positive role. But now, in fact the reason there has been no push on the leadership in south sudan is gauze egar it sell is divided. What im saying is the u. S. , apart from pressure like brian has said on the sudanese leaders, south sudanese leaders who also put pressure on the countries in the region. I mean u. S. Relations with khartoum has warm me up. Has good relations with uganda, eaceat own yeah and kenya. I think they will put pressures in these countries to come to meetings of the minds. Because we are on different sides sreenivasan sreenivasan thank you both. Thank you for having us. Sreenivasan more than eight million americans suffer from diabetes, and more than 320 billion are spent every year treating the disease. But an Innovative Program in san diego is trying to improve health and reduce those costs by encouraging better self management of the disease. Special correspondent cat wise has our report. Reporter fiftyone year old alma ayala is not a doctor or a nurse, but she is on the front lines of the diabetes epidemic in her community. Shes a peer educator for a program called project dulce which works with people who have diabetes or are at risk of developing the chronic illness. Her classes are part informational, part support group. Ayala says the goal of the program which has been held up as a National Model is for people to feel empowered about changing their health. Thats something she didnt feel 30 years ago when she was first diagnosed with the disease. I was devastated. I didnt want to hear the word diabetes. I felt that my life was done. That i was signing a certificate of death. Reporter here in San Diego County, nearly half the Adult Population has prediabetes and about 8 have diabetes. Its a disease that affects all socioeconomic groups and races, but the Latino Community has been disproportionately impacted. And thats the population project dulce has been targeting for the past 20 years. There are lots of barriers for the Latino Community language, insurance, sometimes doctors dont have the time to spend with them. So the classes that we provide is that extra support working together with a Clinical Team to help our participants stay healthy. Reporter the program is scattered throughout 12 clinics in latino neighborhoods throughout San Diego County and was designed by several local health care organizations, including the Scripps Whittier diabetes institute. Dr. Athena philis tsimikas is an endocrinologist who oversees the program. This is a disease in which you have to do a number of management components. Not only every day, but many times a day. Its not easy to expect someone to remember to test their blood sugar, take their pill, go out and take that walk, have exactly the right meal on the table all the time to take care of this. I dont see any lows so i dont think we need to worry that you might dip too low. Reporter to help patients, a team is set up at each clinic with a physician, nurse practitioner, a dietician and multiple peer counselors like ayala who come from the communities they serve and also have the disease. If you can train these other people and professionals to help you do these other components that take longer but are absolutely necessary, then youre using your team to work very synergistically to deliver everything that a patient needs in order to improve their care. Reporter the program is now adding another layer technology. Last year tsimikas conducted a study to see if patients receiving daily Text Messages could manage their disease even better. Artist gloria favelarocha was one of the participants. Shes a muralist who does large scale works for hospitals, schools and private clients. She says before the study, she often forgot to regularly check her glucose levels. Project dulce changed that. The text message would come every day at the same time, so if i would lose track of where i was during my day, i would hear it ring and i would check my blood sugars and send in the result right away. It would send me back a message according to whaterver my result was like good job or maybe you need to eat something that has a little more pro today. So it was just very convenient. Reporter dr. Tsimikas team has also been studying the effects of continuous Glucose Monitoring, which uses Bluetooth Technology to send results to the patient and physician in real time. This device is reading my sugar levels. Reporter Magdalena Hernandez wears a small monitor on her stomach. I love it. I love it because i dont have to prick my finger many times during the day and it alerts me when my blood sugar goes high or low. Reporter and what happens if your levels go above 200, what do you do . I grab a bottle of water and i get up and walk for five minutes. Reporter thirty miles away, dr. Tsimikas is also able to keep tabs on hernandezs levels. This is just over the last three hours, she probably ate breakfast here, it went up and is now declining. Reporter this technology has been on the market for several years, but has not been widely used because of cost and a somewhat complicated user interface. But tsimikas says those barriers are being reduced and predicts it will have a big impact on health. It is reinforcement to both the patient and to the provider thats helping to make recommendations on whether this is working or not. I think its really going to revolutionize the way we can take care of patients. Reporter dr. Tsimikas says the objective is to prevent the serious complications that can accompany diabetes including blindness, kidney failure, amputations or heart failure. I really love the black beans and all the vegetables in here. Reporter according to studies conducted by the university of california san diego and elsewhere, project dulce has helped lower patients blood sugar and cholesterol levels, while at the same time reduced the number of costly hospitalizations and emergency room visits. While some elements of the program are being used in other communities, project dulce stands out for its comprehensive approach. So why arent similar initiatives being rolled out in every neighborhood in america . Its probably the way we reimburse for each of these components. Thats probably the biggest hurdle. We traditionally have reimbursed only for physician visits. If we could find a way to actually reimburse for each of these components it may be more sustainable for the future. Or maybe we simply reimburse based on our success. If you are successful in achieving better outcomes, maybe then you pay for what leads to those outcomes. Reporter in the coming weeks, project dulce will begin a new study of patients that combines text messaging with continuous Glucose Monitoring and a wireless pill box that will alert a nurse if a patient isnt taking his or her medication. From san diego, im cat wise for the pbs newshour. Sreenivasan now, to the analysis of shields and gerson. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson. David brooks is away. Lets start with this little party that was on the rose garden yesterday, this was a celebratory atmosphere. President trump brought them there after the healthcare repeal pushed through the house. How did they manage to do this . Well, first of all the event itself, the only thing as unseem low as the sell congratulate tree bus trip to the whitehouse. Its like a scott ball game and you break out the beer. With the democrats on the house floor taunting bye bye bye to republicans. This is trivializing a moral issue. This to me, thats what healthcare is. Whether in fact it is a right of a as citizen in this country of healthcare. Its a serious country. Do we share or benefits and share our burdens or whether in fact were all in this alone. With the house passed yesterday, it was something that just had to be done. I mean otherwise youre staring in the abyss of total political failure. Republicans had gone through four elections with one unanimous position all taken with a party because the repeal of Barack Obamas Affordable Care act. 62 times they collegously and polledly tried to do so knowing it wasnt going to go anywhere. The 6r 3rd time was tougher because what they passed yesterday have serious implications for them politically and certainly for the people in the country. Its a great moral issue. But this passed because paul ryan got granular. He identifies what he needed and what they want and essentially gave it to them. So moderates give the high risk fund, the Freedom Caucus gets the waivers. He just put on the table he needed to get across the finish line. Now that doesnt make it a good bill or even a coherent bill. The trust here is that ryan will hand this off to mcconnel. Mcconnel has some rational process that the house can no longer produce because its only a term of dynamics. They might get an improved product at the end. The other thing thats worth noting that is really fascinating is the almost absence of president ial leadership in producing this victory. He was not really engaged or involved. Paul ryan is learning to live without the normal role of the president in the legislative process. But it is unique, his absence. Sreenivasan what happens by the time it gets to the senate. Nancy pelosi already said this is the vote thats going to be tattooed on you come reelection. But more important the senates going to change it in some way shape or form if they move forward at all. Yes. One quick point. And that is the 8 billion figurfig leaf to cover people with preexisting condition which was the price to get billing wong and fred upton. Less than one fifth of one percent of the cost of medicaid. Its not going to last beyond a couple months. It was just something they could go back and sell to their own constituencies and to their own purposes. Its meaningless. But whats going to happen in the senate . Ill say this. Weve just seen the high watermark for this legislation. Every republican in the house who voted for it will have to answer for it. And this is a standalone piece. Whatever happens in the senate, and nobody really knows. 11 republican governors dont forget, and this is where this starts to count, who expanded, accepted the medicaid expansion. And who have covered people from john kasich to Rick Schneider in michigan to gary herbert in utah, to Brian Sandoval in nevada across the country. So its a different timic in the sense. Different dynamic. Theyve got senators like rob portland in ohio, a traditional conservative who is going to cite the preser vasion of medicaid. The senate is acting pretty much from scratch. Theyre not going to the house bill and building on it or taking away. Lamar alexander should be charged to produce their own approach. Its a small group of senators that sit in the caucus that is working on this. Ma connell has promised been them some time for deliberation unlike the way the house passed this. The probable vote is exactly what youre talking about. Senator collins has already announced she will not support a bill that does not include planned parenthood fund. Okay. The bill will not include planned parenthood funding. That means that republicans need 51 votes. Theyve got a margin of one in intloosinintroducing this piecef legislation. Theres no margin of error for them here. Sreenivasan lets talk about another rose garden event that happened yesterday. Well talk about religion and politics and the trouble administration bring that to the fore. He signed an executive easent an irs rule by limiting activity by houses of worship. He proclaimed a national day of prayer and had a statement saying quote all human beings have the right to practice their faith in private and in the Public Square. The Public Square portion. Does that raise any concerns . It doesnt to me and it apparently didnt to the American Civil Liberties union either. I happen to believe this was a strict political pay off and symbolic terms that evangelical White Christians have been his most supporters. 81 voted for him. I for one will break the ranks and make the case that americas original sin existed until organized religion, namely the american methodist, the anglican an gen cull and scwairkz led the rights. There wouldnt have been aive rights bill without the active involvement of jewish, catholic and brought tent. Particularly black protestant leadership as well as peace movement. Im not as concerned about the house bill. Donald trumps religionousity has always been elusive to me. Sreenivasan is this a back door option or possibility where its Citizens United 2. 0. Lets today build the church of mike and michael totally tax exempt organizations raise as much money you want donate to whatever Political Party youd like. I dont know if it even accomplishes that. I mean the johnson amendment, you know, ive never seen anywhere encountered someone complaining about lingering enforcement of the johnson amendment. Ive been around this a long time. Its analogous issue, its a solution in search of a problem. It is a sop, it is an empty symbol. The problem were seeing recently is not that religion is hurting the Public Square too much, its that politics is underminding and invading the credibility of religion itself. People who support donald trump, many of them were people who said bill clintons character more than anything else. Now theyre embracing trump. People are looking at this and saying this is a joke. This is hu huh pock hypocrisy. Thats a good point. On your point, yes, i am deeply concerned and have been especially now that weve got a smoke screen of charitable religious institutions being formed basically for political ends for private and political. It amounts to in Public Policy terms is im making a donation, a tax, you got the donation, for a political purpose to support my political cause and your political cause which i think is absolutely wrong and its a corruption. Weve seen bogus foundations created. Sreenivasan do you end up picking your church a little bit more because you know how that church is going to vote. Ill reveal my hindu roots here. I thought jesus was an in the an independent not a democrat or republican. Theyre at risk over alien evidenting their oncogaition on issues that have nothing to do with religion. At least their judgment is not particularly sanctified on these issues. Id rather go to the average bartender for political advice than the average priest or minister. So you know, i think you dont have an expertise in many of these issues. Thats up to lay men in the church. From the pulpit there needs to be fairness. Sreenivasan all right, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Tomorrow night here in washington, the prestigious pen faulkner award for fiction will be given. Jeffrey brown talks with the winning author. The latest in our newshour bookshelf series. A couple from west africa working for a wealthy new york family as the Great Recession is about to hit in 2008. The novel behold the dreamers is a story of the contemporary American Dream through the lens of class, race and immigration. Author imbelow mbue came to the u. S. In 1998 and became a citizen in 2014. This is her nurse novel and because of that more congratulations to you. Thank you, jeffrey. Youre working here in Great American fiction tradition about immigration. What did you want to bring to that story. What did you want to tell. When i start writing this novel, it wasnt very much about immigration, it was about the financial crises. I was very interested in how the financial crises affected the customs and different economic. So i wanted to write about an immigrant, but of course an immigrant comes here for the American Dream. I wanted to write about how that affected him and how this is explore like the dreams and hose he has himself when he comes to center. Writing about an immigrant experience con here and realize what america really is like and also deciding whether it is really worth staying here. The main characters are from cameroon. Theyre experiencing both sides of the American Dream. They tell us that they see it as both wonderful and awful at the same time. Yes. Its very complex this idea of the American Dream. Because on one hand, when were back in our countries, especially when i was growing up in cameroon, we had this image of american being the sort of Promised Land and this country where you go to and you get to achieve this life with a lot of material, a house and nice car. That is what they came for. And then they got here and they see the realities in a lot of social issues. Economic inequity, racism and sexism and all of these issues. And they have to deal with it. They also see what its like for people to achieve the dream. By doing that and by setting it in that period, youre also raising question of class, right. Right. But as a writer, you have to see this, you have to see everybody with some sympathy. Right, right. So the Edwards Family which is wealthy. Right. And the immigrant family, they get along. They dont get along. All kinds of clashes. But for you what . What are they. For me, it was, i had a lot of empathy for the immigrants, because i am an imgrument. I am from the same town so i know those struggles. The struggles of the edwards, people that have that amount of privilege its not something i document during my life. So i had to push myself to think about what does it take to hold this dream life together. Because they do have a dream life. They have a house in the hasnt tons ha hamptons, they live n the east side. So there was one Family Living the dream and that family growing up with the dream and when the recession happened both families had to deal with the consequences. You referred to your own background. How much is this your story . In many ways, you know, i was like them when i came here i thought america would be sort of Promised Land. And i do believe that it is a wonderful country. I think its a country that has a lot of imgrants but in this American Dream its not accessible. But a black man without a good education and not having papers that somebody like that, the odds of moving out of poverty is very difficult. Youre also dealing in this very difficult and divisive issue over illegal immigration. Right. Because they overstay. Right. They want to stay in the country. Theyre facing deportation. So you know theres a great debate in the country over this. Right. I mean, you portray them as sympathetic characters who want to work hard. But you know there are plenty of people who would say im sorry youre not make by the rules. Right. It is a very very complex issue. I think that for me as a writer, that my job is to tell the story and let everybody decide. Should i empathize that they dont have papers. This is not a moralizing story. I think people can read my book and use it as poor immigration or use it as antiimmigration argument. My place is to tell the story honestly and completely. But i think that it is important to understand each others stories. Its so easy to say oh, people without papers, what are these people, what are their stories. I also understand the citizen perspective. I am an immigrant and a citizen and i understand what its like to be both. To understand that desire to come here and work hard but the desire to think about americas future. Let me ask you finally, as i said, this is your first novel. You won a big award. Thats got to be a big surprise for a young right. Yes, it is a good privilege. I started writing this book when i was unemployed. I lost my job at the end of the financial crises. This happened to you personally. Yes. And the story about people from my home town and strug ubles. And it got published. The Award Winning book is behold the dreamers. Imbolo mbue. Thank you very much. Sreenivasan finally, we are headed into commencement season and each week seems to bring a new fight over whose ideas should be heard. Tonight, trinity College President joanne bergersweeney shares her humble opinion that universities are exactly the place for these difficult conversations. Have a listen. These days, you cant miss the criticism aimed at Higher Education. We hear it were a bunch of intolerant elites; our students are precious snowflakes. As educators, were stifling speech and thought, and were not preparing students for the real world. Frankly, i get it. Lately, some campus protests around the country have gone awry in truly ugly ways. Now, its commencement season. Are controversial speakers going to be uninvited and ceremonies halted by protests . If so, all of us in Higher Education should be ashamed. Its our job as educators to uphold free speech and to teach the responsibilities that come with that freedom. And yes, we must provide safe spacesspaces that are safe for speech, not from it. But it seems more than ever that were just refusing to hear one another. Maybe thats because listening to the other side can hurt. Let me tell you as an African American woman, ive heard it all, and a lot of it has hurt. I didnt have to agree with it like when i was told a black girl couldnt be a scientist but i didnt have the option of not hearing it. And now im the first woman, the first person of color, and the first neuroscientist to be president of trinity college. But guess what . Im not representing just African Americans, or women, or neuroscientists. Im representing trinity college, a community with a variety of points of view. I have to be true to myself, but i cant be a responsible leader without teaching students this important lesson silencing voices and refusing to listen harms us all. Thats why, for my first commencement as president in 2015, i awarded honorary degrees to both a retired air force general and a renowned peace advocate. And thats why this year well hear a commencement speech from philosopher daniel dennett, a wellknown atheist, beside the statue of our founding president , an episcopalian bishop. Exposing students to different perspectives and helping them bridge divides this work is deeply personal to me. It may be the most important work ill do as president. When we teach students how to analyze an opposing argument and sharpen their own, how to relate across differences, how to listen and be heard we are preparing our students for the real world. In fact, were giving them the tools to make our world a lot better. Sreenivasan and before we go as we reported earlier french president ial candidate Emmanuel Macrons Campaign Said it was the victim of a massive hack. It said hundreds of authentic and fake internal documents have been leaked hours before the vote. Also, the Dallas Morning News reports a Police Officer in suburban dallas has been charged with murder, over the weekend killing of a teenager. The officer fired a rifle into a car as it left a party. On the newshour online right now read how a recent reporting trip to coal country in West Virginia inspired a journalists sevenyearold son to turn Water Pollution in his own neighborhood into a science fair experiment. All that and more is on our web site pbs. Org newshour. And robert costa is gearing up for Washington Week this evening, robert, whats on tap . Thanks, hari. Tonight we look at the policy and politics behind the house bill to replace obamacare. If it becomes law, how will it change who gets coverage and how mch it will cost. Well have some answers and analysis later tonight on Washington Week. Hari . Sreenivasan thank you, robert. On pbs newshour weekend saturday how the youth vote could determine frances next president and what the two candidates are doing to win over the young. Join me tomorrow. And Judy Woodruff will be back, right here, on monday. Thats the newshour for tonight. Im hari sreenivasan. Have a great weekend. Thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by 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