Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170708

Better quality of life. So we really started expanding our perspective on what we were trying to accomplish here. Woodruff and, its friday. David brooks and ruth marcus take on a week full of foreign tests for the Trump Administration. 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 it was the most highly anticipated meeting yet of the trump presidency. For the First Time Since he took office, mr. Trump was faceto face with his russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. On the agenda . Syria, north korea, and moscows meddling in the 2016 election, about which there is still disagreement. From the g20 summit in hamburg, germany, special correspondent Ryan Chilcote reports. Reporter what was planned to last just over half an hour, turned into an unexpected two hours and 15 minutes. President trump and russian president Vladimir Putin began their much anticipated facetoface by exchanging visibly friendly greetings, given the state of u. S. Russia relations. Were going to have a talk now, and obviously that will continue. But we look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned. And its an honor to be with you. translated im delighted to be able to meet you personally, mr. President , and i hope, as you said, our meeting will yield positive results. Reporter news of what was discussed came afterward, from the countries top diplomats secretary of state Rex Tillerson and foreign minister sergey lavrov. Among them allegations that russia meddled in the u. S. Election. In an audioonly briefing, tillerson said mr. Trump brought up the issue at the outset, and said the pair had a robust and lengthy discussion. The president opened the meeting with president putin by raising the concerns of the American People regarding russian interference in the 2016 election. The two leaders agreed, though, that this is a substantial hindrance in the ability of the United States to move the russianu. S. Relationship forward, and agreed to exchange further work regarding commitments of noninterference in the affairs of the United States and our democratic process, as well as those of other countries. Reporter tillerson added, putin denied any involvement. The Russian Foreign minister offered his own account. translated President Trump said that the campaign is already taking on a rather strange character, because during the many months that these accusations have been aired, there hasnt been a single fact. President trump has said hes heard president putins definitive statements that is not true, and that the russian leadership did not intervene in the election, and that he accepts those statements. Reporter yesterday, mr. Trump conceded russia likely played a role, but stopped short of blaming them solely for the election hack. Tillerson today said the russians asked for proof of interference, but stressed, both leaders agreed its best to move on. The president s rightly focused on, how do we move forward from what may be simply an intractable disagreement at this point. And i think the relationship and the president made this clear as well its too important. And its too important to not find a way to move forward. Not dismissing the issue in any way. Reporter the two leaders also discussed a ceasefire plan in place for southwestern syria. I think this is our first indication of the u. S. And russia being able to Work Together in syria, and as a result of that, we had a very lengthy discussion regarding other areas in syria that we can continue to Work Together on to deescalate the areas. Reporter tillerson, though, reiterated the u. S. Position that syrian president Bashar Alassad must eventually go, something russia has publicly opposed. All the while, outside todays smmit, there was no letup in massive demonstrations. Clashes between protesters and police engulfed germanys secondlargest city. Police again resorted to Water Cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds, and scores were arrested. German Officials Say more than 100 Police Officers have been injured. Meanwhile everyone here inside the g20 conference center, and by that i mean not just surgist journalists but a f the delegation as well focused on trying to find out as much as they possibly can actually what was discussed behind closed doors between the pesidents of the United States and russia. Judy. Woodruff a lot of questions, ryan. Two hours and 20 minutes. But first the contradiction that is apparently there. You have the Russian Foreign minister saying that President Trump accent president putins denial about russian metaling and we heard secretary of state Rex Tillerson say they are intractably in disagreement owe how do we read this . Thats an interesting one. The straight answer is we really dont know exactly what was said. The Russian Foreign minister as you pointed out did indeed say that President Trump had accepted president putins denial. Now i thought about this. You could have theoretically accept something without concurring with the view. But thats not what happened here. I listened to all of the Russian Foreign ministers comments. Ive been speaking russian for 28 years and together with a group of six native speakers, we went through the entire statement on the issue. He went much further. He said that President Trump has also asserted in this meeting that he hadnt heard a single fact in the month of allegations of meddling in the election. Now how does that meddle sort of fit in with what Rex Tillerson was saying. The u. S. Secretary of state kind of gave us some mixed signals. On one hand he began the press conference by saying President Trump has really pressed president putin and pushed him on this issue, but he also said, and i quote, the two president s didnt relitigate the past, that they were committed to working towards the future. And it was the u. S. s position that the best way to do that was to try in the future to win some kind of guarantee, some kind of commitment from the russians that they would not interfere in the future in u. S. Domestic policy or elections. Woodruff let me turn you to syria. After the meeting, it was announced that the two countries have agreed on a ceasefire for a part of syria and that october civil war. What do we know about the details of that . Reporter so what we know is that both the United States and russia have been discussing this for some time. It looks like most of the greanlt was worked out in advance. They signed a memorandum of understanding between russia, the greats and jordan. They would have a ceasefire that would begin shortly in syria, and that there would be a plan to deescalate or reduce the violence in the southwest of the country. The secretary of state did say that there was still a couple more meetings that were necessary. Maybe another week to work out the details who would actually be providing security on the ground. And i would point out remember, its not just russia and the United States that have forces in syria, iron does as well so it would be interesting to see how they fit into this agreement. I would also point out we have had four ceasefire agreements before this. Woodruff true. Ryan, finally so many journalists there and others watching this meeting today between the russian and the u. S. President , what are people taking away . What did you take away from this, i mean in terms of how they addressed, how they looked when they were together, what they said. Reporter well, the body language was warm, theres no doubt, theres no questioning that. You could really see that. President putin for his part, when he was speaking russian, he was very differential. E6s verhe was very polite and respectful, calling President Trump, mr. President as he addressed him. And then we heard from Rex Tillerson say that their chemistry was very positive, at they almost immediately took to one another. Interestingly i thought he also added that no one could stop the meetings. That several aides peaked in the door to try to break up the meeting and at one point melania tried to break it up and defight defight despite everyones wishes they talked for another hour because they enjoyed the conversation. Woodruff fascinating they ignored the first ladys effort to try to stop. Ryan chilcote reporting from germany. Thank you. And we will hear from britains defense secretary Michael Fallon on syria, russia and other issues, after the news summary. In the days other news, the u. S. , japan and south korea have agreed to apply maximum pressure after north koreas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile test. In a joint statement, they said they will push for a u. N. Security council resolution, to apply new sanctions on pyongyang. But, if the north chooses the right path, the countries stand ready to offer a brighter future. Experts believe the missile launched tuesday could hit alaska. And today, north korean state tv broadcast a message aimed at the u. S. translated north korea makes it clear once again that its development of an inter continental ballistic rocket is an option taken to defend itself. The test is a gift package, addressed to none other than the u. S. The u. S. Will receive more gift packages as it tries harder to destroy, by means of sanctions and pressure, the Overall National power and strategic position of north korea. The u. S. Japansouth korea statement also called on nations that border north korea to help reduce the threat. That is likely a reference to pyongyangs closest ally, china, whose leader meets with President Trump tomorrow. Mr. Trump met today with mexican president enrique pena nieto, and emphasized the importance of renegotiating nafta. It was the first facetoface meeting between the pair since President Trump took office. He hailed pena nieto as his friend, but said that he absolutely still wants mexico to pay for the proposed border wall between the countries. In egypt, a suicide car bombing killed at least 23 soldiers on the sinai peninsula, the worst attack there in years. Isis claimed the attack on a checkpoint south of rafah, meanwhile, in iraq, isis fighters are still clinging to a shrinking pocket of territory in mosul. Iraqi forces laid out the difficulty. translated we are facing challenges that slow down our operations. And thats because the Islamic State group is using civilians as human shields, especially children and women. And thats why we advance very slowly, because we have to protect their lives. Woodruff also today, the pentagon said that air strikes by the u. S. Led coalition in iraq and syria have killed more than 600 civilians. That is since the start of the antiisis campaign in 2014. Back in this country, hiring surged more than expected in june. The Labor Department says u. S. Employers added 222,000 jobs, the most in four months. But the Unemployment Rate ticked up slightly, from 4. 3 to 4. 4 , as more people looked for work. Analysts say its likely enough for another hike in the federal reserves key interest rate. For now, that news drove stocks higher on wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 94 points to close at 21,414. The nasdaq rose 63 points, and the s p 500 added 15. For the week, all three indexes edged up a fraction of a percent. U. S. Attorney general Jeff Sessions visited the military prison at Guantanamo Bay today. He was joined by Deputy Attorney general rod rosenstein, and dan coats, the director of national intelligence. Sessions has called guantanamo a perfectly acceptable place for detaining terror suspects. A Justice Department spokesman said the visit was meant to get an uptodate understanding of current operations. And, a key press Freedom Group is criticizing a report by republican senators about leaks. The document released yesterday says leaks are harming National Security, and was sent to the attorney general. The committee to protect journalists said it seems intended to have a chilling effect, and resembles measures seen more often in authoritarian countries. Still to come on the newshour i sit down with the u. K. Defense secretary. Republicans considering alternatives in their fight to replace the Affordable Care act. Lowincome housing with a focus on Healthy Living. And, much more. Woodruff as part of the g20 summit this weekend, President Trump will meet with the united kingdoms prime minister, theresa may. Theyll have much to discuss, from the fight against isis, to the role of nato, and how their broader agendas differ from those of european allies. Earlier today i spoke with the u. K. s defense minister, sir Michael Fallon. I began by asking him about the differing reports on what mr. Trump said to president putin about russian meddling into the u. S. Election. It was an important meeting. It was right that they should meet reasonably early o its right that they should get along because theres quite a bit to talk to russia about. Woodruff you said earlier that the u. S. Should go into that meeting warily. Does it sound to you thats what happened. We have to engage with russia. That cant be business as usual with russia while the crimea remains annexed while ukraine is being interfered with. It cant be business as usual. But we think it important to have a with russia to try to deescalate any tensions and to ensure that where russia does have influence in the world and syria is one example, that we can bring russias influence to bat. Woodruff you work very closely obviously with the intel jubleIntelligence Community. We know President Trump has challenged the u. S. Intelligence communitys reporting n russian interference in the election. What effect might that have on russia and its continuing efforts to interfere here in the u. S. And in europe . Well we know russia intervened in some elections in europe. That we do know. And the dutch referendum and the french elections. Theres been an attempt to in montenegro that russia was suspected of being involved in. We know lets this pattern of behavior by russia in recent years. But im not able to comment on what happened here in your election. Woodruff to the extent president trouble is challenging the work President Trump is challenging the work of the u. S. Community does that have an effect on intelligence work abroad, internationally, k5079ion betweecooperation whend allies like the uk. Theres no close of cooperation of u. S. Intelligence between us and the United States. Services work extremely closely together, both monitoring what russia is doing but also again terrorism. So its a very close relationship to us. Its very important to us. Woodruff let me turn to syria. Were told the two president s did discuss syria. In fact after their meeting, it was reported that theyve agreed on a ceasefire for a section of southwestern syria. What do you know about that . Well any ceasefire has got to be good news and the civil war thats gone on are for so long now. But theres been many cease fires before that turned out not to be cease fires at all. Weve seen in aleppo in the north of syria weve seen russia allowing syria to go on booming their own civilians and hospitals after ceasefire has been declared. Now this one has got to be enforced, its got to be an actual ceasefire. Woodruff what do you look for. Whats the evidence of that . You want to see when it takes effect and what the ground rules are. Yes. We want to sate applie see it ao those on the grounds so we can get humanitarian aid to those cut off on the fighting. We need to get aid there and be absolutely sure it really is a ceasefire. But lets hope this one sticks and bring some peace to that part of syria down in the southwestern corner. Woodruff can a ceasefire make a difference though when the two sides disagree about whether president assad should stay in power. The u. S. Has said it wants them removed the russians are still saying they want him to stay. We dont see any long term future for assad in syria. This is a man whose attacked his own people. Hes barrel bombed his own people, used chemical weapons against his own people. We dont think he can be part of the long term future of sear jaw bujaw syria but there are pas who want to work to a more Democratic Syria working together now to bring about a new sent many. And were encouraging the responsive process in alstonia and other negotiations going in geneva to bring those together and see if everyone can bring those around the table now plus a future for sea syria. Woodruff is there prolg of anprolg progress of any ka ceasefire or step together when they agreed with mr. Assad in the future. There is disagreement. We dont think he can be part of the long term future of syria. But we do want to see the political process get under way that will lead syria to a more plural kind of government that is genuinely representative of all the different group, in syria. Woodruff let me ask about another trouble part of the world and that is innovator north korea. We know you and u. S. Defense secretary james mattis discussed that. What can you tell us. Well its a problem not just for the United States. Obviously the United States is coming within range of these missiles but what the North Koreans have done is something illegal. Its something provocative and its unacceptable. And weve now got to spawfne res an international community, not just the United States. Its not right the United States has to bear this problem on its own. Wove got to work much harder now through the United Nations to see whether the sangions that have already been applied are working properly to consider additional sanctions. And thirdly, to bring more person to bear on china to get the kind of changes that we need in that regime would wood well woodruff well as you know President Trump has been tweeting a lot about this. He said words the other day to the effect what the chinese did hasnt had any effect, theyre still trading with north korea. Are these kinds of comments helpful . Well, we all have to i think step back now and see, look very courtfully at what has worked and what has not worked. Weve add seven United Nations resolution. Clearly a Nuclear Program of this kind put together without access to the raw materials, the components involved and indeed to the finance that you need to instruct them, to put it altogether. So clearly 9 th sanctions may he been breached and look at them see where the gaps are in the sanctions and whether a new resolution can impose a tougher regime on north korea or indeed on any other companies and individuals, chinese or i, who may have been helping them. Woodruff is there agreement between the u. S. , uk and other nations with the same interests on what should come next with regard to north korea . Well there is agreement that first of all we have to work this diplomatically and economically through sanctions. But we have to raise the price of what the North Koreans are doing to deter them from carrying out further tests in future. Theres an agreement amongst us on that and were all working hard on that at the United Nations in new york to move that agreement forward. Woodruff with all due respect there has been sanctions in play. There has been sanctions and some clearly have not been enforced and we need to look at that and see whether a new tougher resolution is required and we will be looking at that at the European Union framework as well over in europe to see who may have been trading with north korea and so on. Woodruff the russians and chinese have proposed that the North Koreans freeze their missile program, their Nuclear Program next change for which the South Koreans and the United States would stop or pull back on these joiilitary exercises and remove the sad Missile Defense system. Is that any sort of a realistic proposal . No. Because its a false comparison. Military exercises or Missile Defense, these are legitimate things for nations to have and to do. What north korea is doing is illegal. Its completely illegal under the treaties, under international lawrks its a breach of United Nations resolutions and you cant compare it with military exercises in the south. Woodruff one other thing i do want to ask, thats President Trump yesterday spoke to the polish people in warsaw and he spoke about the threat to western civilization. He talked about it being at a risk of decline and he asked if the west has the will to survive. Is this the sort of language that you think is going to bring the western allies together in their fight against extremism. We do have values in common in the west and we do need to speak up for those values and to remember them. Were being attacked in the west not because their values have failed but because were successful and spread some of those values around the world. That was an Important Message yesterday and coupled of course with a reminder that the United States stands behind article 5 of the nato treaty that believes in the collective defense of nato. If one of us is attacked, then the others must come to its help. Woodruff Michael Fallon, britains defense secretary. Thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff aside from the Many International issues before President Trump this week, his first major push on domestic policy is facing an uphill climb in the senate. John yang has this checkup. Yang when last we left the saga of the republicans attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act, Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell didnt have the votes for the senate bill, so lawmakers headed home for the fourth of july recess. Where do things stand as the recess ends . Lets turn to our own lisa desjardins. So lisa, has this week off helped or hurt mccalls efforts to get this bill passed. It has not helped and that has hurt. Some republicans who are not usually in the middle of these situations like john holden of north dakota for example, meeting with constituents but with hospital administrators. Those kinds of people and he came away with those meetings having problems with the bill. Then yesterday, Mitch Mcconnel the majority leader spoke to a rotary club in kentucky and he says this quote that got a lot of attention. If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement then some kind of action with regard to the private Health Insurance market must occur. No action is not an alternative. His office insists he said things like this before but the timing is key. This is a bill that was supposed to be voted on already. John, leadership sources tell me they would still like a new revised bill next week, maybe a vote the following week but that seems unclear now if that will happen. Seems like Mitch Mcconnel was sending a message. Who are the key players he was sending that message to. You got it exactly right. We talked about mud results before and now its about the conservatives. He scez to the conservatives we have to revise these bills and lost our shot of having anything as republicans. Lets compare two cannot servives who spoke in town halls yesterday. Sound b bite by senator tests cruz. 2014, to 2016 repealing obamacare was front and center. I recognize some folks may not agree with that but the voters repealing obamacare was the single biggest fact producing a Republican House and Republican Senate and i think ultimately a republican president. He is trying to change this revised bill to try to get it across the finish line. But compare that with senator jerry moran. I believe in the process of public debate and discussion testimony, offered by all senators. Bill comes to the senate floor, amendments offered by all senators. And figure out where there are 60 votes to pass something that is so important to so many americans. How about that key number. 60 votes. That nems democrats would need to be to be involved and thats coming from a conservative. What can Mitch Mcconnel do to get the bill passed. There are no easy options left but there are three to define the path much the first is to revise the bill. Thats what weve been talking about. They do hope to offer a revised bill soon but can they get enough votes, unclear. The second is a full repeal. Thats something rand paul and ted cruz wants but with that would come a replacement later and members in the Republican Party its too risky. Its what the president raised last week. Thats correct. They dont seem to have the votes right now in the senate. Then the third option would be smaller fixes to the Affordable Care act. Something that stabilizes the market and fix what people think are problems now that would involve the democrats as well. Keep the aca essentially like this is just make nicks and cuts around the edges. Po 3e67 tensionally be a smaller bill. Thats what the democrats want. Thats right. With the senate about to come back next week what are the odds. What are the chances. What does your gut tell you what the chances of a, the Senate Passing something and if that happens, b, getting something at the president s desk for his signature. I have the sense that almost no one knows whats going to happen now but i would say given that and given the way the senate works the odds are long both on the bills passing the senate and even longer getting on the president s desk as things stand right now. The odds are going youre going to have a busy week next week when the senate comes back. I think so. Thanks, lisa. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour david brooks and ruth marcus give their take on the president s meeting with Vladimir Putin. And, a linguistic professors defense of social media. But first, an experiment in rethinking Public Housing, that encourages healthier living by changing the larger environment for residents. Jeffrey brown reports from denver. Brown at age 71, noel taylor says shes become more active and Health Conscious than ever before. Every year, i improve my diet, i improve my exercise. Brown her change in behavior didnt happen by accident. Four years ago, here in downtown denver, taylor joined an experiment in making Healthy Living part of the design and daily life of a Public Housing project. Among the amenities here access to a garden plot. I noticed all summer long, i was getting healthier. The more of my own vegetables i was eating, the more energy i had. Its made a huge difference. Brown this sounds all too good to be true. I know. Thats what i thought. Brown and theres more. The denver Botanic Gardens hosts a farmers market, giving away free produce to residents. Were going to talk about how to shop healthy on a budget. Brown another group offers classes on healthy recipes and shopping. Now well take your blood pressure. Brown in a clinic on the ground floor of one building, Public Health physicians schedule regular visits to do routine checkups. Theres a light rail stop, both for easy transportation and to get residents out of their cars. Do the other side now. Brown plus, bike rentals, and a nearby shop to teach kids how to maintain their bikes. Even the architecture and public art was designed to encourage residents to get outside and walk. We really wanted this to look like a neighborhood, not a development. Brown ismael guerrero, director of the Denver Housing authority, says that ten years ago, this was a high crime neighborhood, with 250 units of rundown Public Housing. Something had to be done. What we learned in early conversations with residents was, they didnt just want a new unit to move into, they wanted a better quality of life. So, we really started expanding our perspective on what we were trying to accomplish here. Brown the result completed earlier this summer is the mariposa development, a mixture of 800 apartments and townhomes, a third Public Housing, a third subsidized, a third rented at market value. The overall cost was 150 million 60 million from federal, state and local government programs, with the rest coming through private investment. Already, mariposa is becoming a model for rethinking Public Housing. Part of it is physical health, and part of it is what we call neighborhood health. How healthy is the place . Is it safe . Are there healthy activities for you to do . Is there healthy food in the neighborhood for you to eat . Is there a healthy economy where people can get jobs and start a business . Brown the osage cafe, located in one of the apartment buildings, is designed to meet some of those needs. In addition to the food, it provides culinary training and internships for young people in the neighborhood. Like 20yearold israel trejo. And i think thats where i discovered i had a passion for cooking. Brown what did it give you . It gave me the entire world, basically. Like, with the skills that ive learned now, i could go anywhere, be anything. Brown trejo now has a job at one of denvers top restaurants, and plans to operate his own food truck soon. Are you looking forward to helping me grow fruits and vegetables . Brown angela rodriguez, a single mother of two teens, dreams of one day buying her own house. She has a fulltime job at a nearby community college, but denvers booming Housing Market makes ownership difficult. She lives in a subsidized townhome at mariposa, which she says is very different from the oldstyle projects she grew up in nearby. As a new style of Public Housing, it did take me a little bit of time for the adjustment. When new tenants are mingling with other tenants from different walks of life, its helping us to develop new perspectives of modern living. Brown rodriguez uses public transportation, has taken up gardening, and has fully embraced the culture of health that is promoted here. But is mariposa working . Its too early for definitive answers. According to a 2015 study by the denver Public Health department, about half the residents had participated in healthrelated activities over the previous three years. But, the study also showed the amount of exercise residents pursued had changed little just over onethird said they exercised five times a week, about the same amount said they exercised one to four times a week, and 26 said they rarely or never exercised. Smoking rates decreased, but only slightly, from 30 of residents down to 24 . And these socalled active staircases, designed with a bit of whimsy its a way to engage kids, and now the adults enjoy it. Brown to lure residents away from using the elevator . Well, so far theyre not having a big impact. We actually did observational counts, where we sat there and counted people who used the stairs versus people who used the elevator, and compared it against a control staircase in the mariposa development, and found absolutely no difference. Brown theresa mickiewicz, an epidemiologist with denver Public Health, is overseeing a study of the development. And while major improvements in Health Remain to be seen, she believes something important is happening here, and expects the numbers to reflect that soon. While maintaining my objectivity as an evaluator, do i think that there is value in this type of project . I would say yes. Individually, these components have been shown in the evidence, in literature, to improve health outcomes. Brown the city of denver is so confident in this new model, its about to embark on a Similar Development that will be three times larger than mariposa. That construction is expected to begin later next year. For the pbs newshour, im jeffrey brown, reporting from denver. Woodruff now, another look at the major news of this week, both foreign and domestic, from todays pivotal meeting between two president s, to new developments with the senate g. O. P. S Health Care push. And here to provide analysis of all that, is brooks and marcus. Thats New York Times columnist david brooks, and ruth marcus, deputy Editorial Page Editor for the washington post. Mark shields is away this week. Welcome to you on both. So the lead story today, of course, President Trump meets president putin, david, all eyes on this meeting, the body language, what did they say. And then we have these conflicting reports coming out after words. What do we make of it. It was sort of normal for a Trump Administration event. He did raise the meddling issue which is a good thing. From the talking points they hit syria and all the prints the u. S. President would talk to with the russian president. It seeme bit like a normal meeting which is a good thing. The admiring part to me is how small it was. That there are only four people and then the two translators in the room. No National Security advisor which is an oddity. And that gives them maximum flexibility to say whatever they want in the room and not have it reported out of the room. Thats what makes the point about what they were saying about the meddling or anything else. Totally mysterious, there were no note takers in the room. So it leaves a big void in what they actually said and whether trump accepted the fact that putin claims he didnt meddle and so its just a big void that would not exist if you had the normal plement of people in the room and normal note takers in the room and you had some actual look into what short of whats happening in there. Woodruff long meeting. Theres been a lot of questions. Long meeting, lot of questions and normal is not the way i would describe it. I think i should start by the way President Trump started with Vladimir Putin which is its an honor to be here with those of you. That is a true honor. I felt for President Trump to say and i understand we have diplomatic niceties, it was not an honor to be with someone who has attacked and jailed dissidents and killed dissidents in his country, has invaded other countries and who has tried to interfere in american election. I think that simply to accept, its great, at least he raised the question of russian interference but we dont know and never will probably precisely what he said. Its really defining the presidency down. That should have been a given that he was going to raise that. And that it was the a given, they left it on tender hooks and on the day before he was still saying well, nobody really knows for sure what happened and seems more eager to blame president obama for not doing enough to question whether the Intelligence Community gets it right, to tweet today about john pod e678dsta. Just underscores the abnormally of the situation. I would successfully define deviancy, so far. Thats the point of normalizing, right. Woodruff was using the term honor going too far. I dont think a normal person would say that but on the other hand, im willing to give diplomatic latitude to that. There are a lot of people in diplomatic circumstances, im sure if we looked back to how other president s speak youre trying to establish relationship with a bad guy. And you say thing. So i give latitude toward that. The question is whether donald trump recollect 23450eusz whether vladimi recollect 234r vladimir putirecognizes whetherd guy. Woodruff do you think he accepted president putins denials. Well be left wondering about this forever. Secretary of state tillerson said that they basically agreed it didnt make sense to relitigate this. Actually one of my favorite words. And maybe thats true. The important point is that since before the election, donald trump has been denying that this happened. He has seemed entirely unconcerned with figuring out whether it happened and expressing the outrage that any american president should be expressing. That it did happen. And now, i think were supposed to be satisfied that there is this joint working group on cyber securitiy. I have a proposal if were going to work on Cyber Security lets cline that with the Election Fraud committee and we can get to the bottom of everything. If we had a normal president , its an interesting political problem, what do you do with russia. You say you interfered with our elections, interfering with all these elections across europe, were not dealing with you until you behave by some standards of normalcy. Thats a more satisfying position that the columnists would be having fun but there are a lot of issues with russia and this is the problem with regimes. You got to deal with them and then you dont deal with them. Even if we had a normal administration it would be tough to know how to treat Vladimir Putin. This is my time to now say david has a fair point. And so sure, whenever youre dealing with somebody who is an adversary, and russia is an adversary you have to can brate because there are things we need their help with. We need their help on sear jaw and north korea. So you dont want one path on your democracy and your election system blow everything up but you do need to assert yourself in a way we havent seen him do publicly and whether he had questions privately. Woodruff speaking of our democracy yesterday in poland the president made a speech to the polish people and he talked about western civilization and how its under siege and and its going to matter right now whether we have the will to survive the siege that we are under. Does this ring true. Does it feel like western civilization is under siege right now . Well, i 80 liked the speech. There was this famous clash of civilization speak and the idea was western civilization war with islam and maybe some of the other civilizations around the world. I dont agree with that. But i do think there is such a thing as western civilization. The greeks and romans and the enlightenment, the resurrection that goes through the scientific age. It defines some of the cultures and mor morays. A lot of immigrants and absorbed a lot of ideas exchanged with asia and other civilizations. But its a thing. I like the fact that he appealed to that especially when hes trying to i hope reunify the western alliance which has been a powerful force for good in the world over the last 70 years and to his credit, he appealed to some of the things that are found in western civilization. Artistic creativity, rights of are minorities, equality for woman. He runs by the list. Whether the guy actually lives by those standards is another matter but at least he appealed to them. I think its a big mistake, any time anybody makes an appeal to the west or to america to patriotism to think oh, hes excluding. Its an identity formation. And we need identity formations and i think he did it in the speech at least reasonably well. Woodruff how do you read that. Well im not at 80 , surprise. But there are things to like about the speech. One thing to like about the speech is like the last time he was in europe and cut the words out of the speech we learned later, he was able to at least read from the teleprompter that he supports article 5 of the fundamental provision of nato for common selfdefense. On the other hand last time he was in saudi arabia he was able to not say the words radical islamic terrorism. Ill give you article 5 but i need my radical islamic terrorism. I think it was very nice to hear the summing up of the importance of the free trade and all those things. A little hard to take from somebody who had just tweeted out that cnn that brings me to my fundamental concern which the is whats really paying attention to, teleprompter trump or off the cuff twitter trump. Those matters. His willingness to say things. I was a little more put off by the western part of the invocation of common values and Democratic Values that we should all live by. But the teleprompter trump is one thing but i think when we see the real trump its a lot more notice making to see the least. Woodruff do we know which one is the real trump . No. I take ruths point but Angela Merkel had given this comment we have to go along because we dont about this guy. This appeal to western cohesion to me was a valuable thing. The second thing, this is something that trump does, he understands sense of belonging. And a lot of people think globalization, any time you make any particularity, youre sort of offending some other group. A lot of people in this country dont think they belong to america anymore and he at least appeals to some sense of belonging. I like the idea we belong to western tradition so im glad he appeals to that sort of thing. Woodruff all right. We could talk about this for a long time but i do want to bring us back to something we heard lisa de desjardins about healthcare. It sounds like they are having a hard time to get the votes they need to set something through. Senate majority mitch mick tunnel was talking about the rubiks cube, theres a solution. This one its not so clear. What i loved this week is mcconnel who is i think absolutely dedicated to trying to find the votes, which was not totally clear. Maybe he just wanted to get this put aside so we can move on to tax cuts when he really cares about and no one discounts his ability if anybody can do it he can but he brought out the big guns this week threatening the ultimate sanctions, bipartisanship. Im going to have to work with democrats and then youll see how unhappy youll be with the results. Whats the opposite of a nuclear option. Woodruff oh my god we may have to Work Together. I agree with ruth. It looks dead. Not only have you seen the concerns and then out some of the few town halls that have been out there, youve seen those concerns. Youre beginning to see all these called freelancing off in different elections. Ted cruz is taking a position and mikely and the moderates are taking up their position. Not only is it hard to piece this together theyre all going further apart. Theyre all defending themselves and the party is not cohesive enough so i think theres no solution. Its super hard to take away a benefit that is pretty deeply imbedded now no matter what your ideology is. To me its a genuine question what do we do. Mcconnel made the correct point that you cant just do nothing because the markets, the Insurance Markets are struggling and so something has to be done. Some abnormal repair at least has to be done. How can we do that. Can we imagine a bipartisan solution, i cannot w50d woo can. Its hard and i want to lay out the possibility there are ways in which you could coble this together. You say okay some of these tax cuts for the rich dont have to go. Theres all sorts of other things. But thats going to have to fail. There are people working, lamar alexander, susan collins, democrats are working with them on this and there are ways to shore up the markets. Weve had a learning curve on 9 Affordable Care act which k50eu7 of suggests too things. People like it and it needs some tinkering thats mostly around the edges. Woodruff i want to leave this on a positive note so were going to stop right there and by next forty well know more. Ruth marcus and david brooks. Thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff finally tonight, linguist Deborah Tannen has written a new book on womens friendships, youre the only one i can tell, and tonight, she offers her humble opinion on the new language of liking. For a book about friendship, i interviewed over 80 women, ages nine to 97, and heard a lot of worry that people are getting more selfabsorbed, constantly texting and posting pictures of trivial things, like plates of food. One woman complained, i dont care what somebody had for dinner. All this stuff out there that nobody needs to know. Im a linguistics professor, so you might think id lament the effects of social media, especially how it corrupts language. But i dont. Ive spent my career studying the language of everyday conversation, and i know that most everyday talk isnt about information we need to know. Its about staying connected to the people we care about. And thats a need that social media is extremely well suited to. My students at Georgetown University have helped me understand how this works. They like each others pictures to show theyre paying attention, like nodding and saying uhhuh when a friend is talking. And they use tagging to link their pictures to their friends accounts, drawing friends into their circle. A student in my class explained that a photo of bowls of food and glasses of wine might seem to scream look at me and this cool party i had. But tagging the friends who brought the food and drink to the party was a way to thank them for helping make the party a success, and to remind them of the time they all spent together. Surely, selfies are self indulgent, you might think. But the way my students use them, they arent. At least not if they observe selfie etiquette. For example, a selfie usually includes at least one other person, so the one taking it isnt really focusing on herself. And she shows she doesnt take herself too seriously, by mugging and adding captions that are funny, or selfdeprecating or, preferably, both. I think of social media as an extension of the howwasyour day conversations that let you know someone cares about you, so you feel less alone in the world. Its not that i dont see downsides, but those are also extensions of liabilities that have always been with us. For example, seeing what your friends and family are doing when youre not there can make you feel included or left out. Social media havent transformed human relations; theyve intensified them. While that means ramping up some of the stresses and frailties of friendships and family relationships, it also gives us new, more immediate, more creative ways to stay connected to the people we care about, who care about us. Woodruff on the newshour online right now with more than 31,000 miles of new and planned Energy Pipelines in the u. S. , landowners are increasingly facing off against developers who are claiming land through eminent domain. We visit pennsylvania, where a family and other activists have staked out in treehouses to stop construction of a pipeline on their land. That and more is on our website, www. Pbs. Org newshour. And, coming up this evening on pbs is washington week. Robert costa is preparing for the show. Bob, whats on tap . Tonight, President Trump tries to thaw u. S. Relations with russia, despite political heat at home. Did it work . Plus, how trumps America First approach is disrupting the socalled world order. All later tonight, on washington week. Judy . Woodruff and well be watching. Tomorrow on pbs newshour weekend, we head to seattle, where police are working to reduce their use of force and rebuild community trust. On the newshour all next week, correspondent Nick Schifrin brings us an indepth look inside Vladimir Putins russia. In russia today, resurgent nationalism. It is official. Still around one man. Russia posted suddenly it felt like a super power again. For putins opponents. We will try to meet the putin family and hasnt gone very well. A rare look inside putins russia, all next week on the pbs newshour. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you and see you soon. 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. Vu hello, and welcome to a kqed newsroom special edition on the arts. Im thuy vu. Across the bay area, artists are tackling topics that are thoughtprovoking, moving, and surprising. On this show, we bring together highlights from our arts coverage. One group of singers explores the threshold between life and death. And well look at an artists largescale works painted on a canvas of snow. Plus, visual artist jim campbell plays with thousands of blinking lights to create tapestries that dazzle the eye. But first, we start with the company odc dance and a piece that tackles science and the environment. The impact of climate change, from rising sea levels to rising temperatures, is often expressed through charts and data. Its an appeal made more to the intellect and less so to the heart, but one bay area choreographer wants artists to help audiences