Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170821

Involving a u. S. Ship in just two months. All that and more on tonights pbs newshour major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff people gathered across the country for a historic event today, a total eclipse of the sun in a 70 mile wide band, crossing from the pacific to the atlantic coasts. With special eyeglasses or homemade boxes, tens of millions looked to the sky to witness a sight not seen in most peoples lifetimes. Our science correspondent, miles obrien, was in idaho to watch for us and in partnership with our colleagues from the pbs program, nova. Miles gets us started and then, he and William Brangham discuss the days celestial and earthly events. Reporter it is the first coast to coast american eclipse in a century. Millions had front row seat for a celestial minuet of moon and sun. We got to charleston yesterday morning and came up because this was in our path and we could come and when you can, you should, so we came to see the eclipse because its a onceinalifetime deal. Id never seen an eclipse so i figured this was my chance since i was so close to chicago. Reporter beneath a 70mile wide path from salem oregon to charleston, South Carolina day turned to night for two minutes or more. It thrilled the public and the experts alike. Williams college astronomer Jay Pasachoff was among them. He has traveled the world for years chasing eclipses. This is his 66th. No one has seen more. Pasachoff is drawn by the beauty, and the scientific opportunity, when the moon appears to swallow the sun. And then this white corona appears all around you. Its dark and its just a wonderful experience to have. And theres great science that you can do. Only on the days of eclipses do we see the corona appear, and so we want to take advantage of that as much as possible. Reporter understanding the suns corona is a priority for scientists. Among the mysteries why is it hotter than the surface of the sun itself . But there are practical reasons as well. Sometimes, the corona breaks free of the suns Magnetic Field, causing a coronal mass ejection billions of tons of hot plasma moving at 2,000 miles per second. Normally, the earths Magnetic Field deflects most of the highly charged particles. But every now and then a large coronal mass ejection can overwhelm our defenses disabling satellites and causing power outages. Bill murtagh is among the scientists watching this space weather for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in boulder, colorado. The biggest event they ever saw came in 2012. And this is what we saw. All of a sudden that flare occurs, the eruption occurs and that blast was tremendous. Very big. Very, very fast. Reporter fortunately, it did not hit earth, as it would have caused widespread power outages. A total eclipse is one way scientists try to better understand coronal mass ejections. We would love to improve our capability to predict. If we can better model what the Magnetic Field might look like within an eruption, then we would be in a great place. Reporter nasa and the European Space agency have sent several craft to study the sun over the years. The next big mission, the parker solar probe, is slated for launch next august. It will fly through the corona itself gathering data. But no spacecraft can match the Teaching Opportunity provided by a total Solar Eclipse which occurs when the earth, moon and sun are perfectly aligned, so the moon blocks the suns light. The moon is 400 times smaller than sun. But also 400 times closer to the earth. So from our vantage point, they seem to be the same size. But this happens rarely because the moons orbit is tilted five degrees. And it is ellipical, so sometimes it is too far away to completely obscure the sun, causing a so called annular eclipse, with its distinctive ring of fire. The last total Solar Eclipse visible in the continental United States happened in the northwestern corner of the country in 1979. Of course, jimmy carter was president back then. That eclipse was in the northwestern u. S. , ideally suited for washington state. This time around, washington, d. C. Wasnt a bad place to watch. President trump did so, briefly forgetting to put on protective glasses before he finally did the right thing. William . So, miles, you were there in the actual shadow cast by the moon on the face of the United States. For those of us who were here outside that shadow, what was it like . You know, william, ive never seen the total eclipse of the sun before. This is my First Experience with this. Weve all seen the pictures in the films. The experience of being in it is surreal. Its the combination of all the senses that are involved, the temperature dropping. The light becoming this ethereal kind of blue and suddenly darkness at noon for a brief period of time. I stopped looking through the willedders glass and looked at what was the sun, this disk with this amazing aura around it, and i was truly gob smacked, i was at a loss for words. We all the were so advanced and evolved, but i think it appears to us in a fundamental, lining oflympic brain place, its difficult to put into words but spectacular. I understand you were with a unique brand of scientists. It was like the knackings of astronomy here. People from five nation here. Some operators of planetariums, some professional astronomers, some astrophysicists, some doing science here. What i like about covering science in general is it affords opportunity that bring us together. We live in a time when things that bring us together seem to be in short supply. So it was really nice to see us in this particular place come together and really in many respects the country kind of savor this moment together. Brangham you reported how crucial this day was for science. I was wondering why do we have to wait for an eclipse to do these measurements . Cant we put a filter on the telescopes or devices to measure the sun . Why do we have to wait for the moon to block it . You can cover the sun with your thumb right and maybe get the same thing. Doesnt work that way. Its important to have something in space that does the blocking because the atmosphere gets in the way of the science. If you have something coincident ri, the moon being 400 times smaller than the sun yet 400 times closer makes it a perfect distock occult the sun creating the clean view of the corona which you likely cant get unless youre in space. So this is an opportunity for science. There are probes that have gone to the sun and will go to the sun that will get all other types of science but this gives scientists a great opportunity to further understand the corona and its behavior. The last one was in the late 1970s. Today was an historic event for the u. S. Whens the next chance we might have to get a garden at Something Like this . April of 2024, seven years away. By quirk, this is happening, roughly, as we said, about every 18 months, that eclipse happens somewhere. Any given place observe the planet, the odds are one in 65 years you will see a total eclipse. Put that into the rubrics cube and you get another american eclipse from texas into pennsylvania, new york and maine in seven years time. I havent done this one and seen it in person. I can tell you, william, if im around, i will be there seven years from now to see it in person. Brangham fantastic. We are always grateful for our miles obrien especially on days like today. Thank you so much. Youre welcome, ewilliam. Woodruff stay with pbs for novas special eclipse across woodruff and remember to stay with pbs tonight for novas special, eclipse across america. In the days other news, here on earth, Spanish Police shot and killed the fugitive suspected of plowing a van through a crowd in barcelona last week. They caught up with Younes Abouyaaqoub about 30 miles west of barcelona. Police said the 22yearold moroccan was wearing a fake bomb belt when officers confronted him and opened fire. translated the continuation of the investigation can be extended to but the 12 people that we have always referred to in the cell have been all accounted for. Now we can say the 12 people that were part of the group are all dead or detained. Woodruff the death toll rose to 15 today, in the barcelona attack and one that occurred hours later. The count includes a man stabbed to death by the fugitive who was killed today. Theres been yet another car ramming attack in europe, this time in marseilles, france. Police say a man drove a van into two bus stops about three miles apart today. One woman was killed. The driver was captured later. Officials say the suspect has psychological problems, and theyve ruled out terrorism. The u. S. Fired a new diplomatic broadside at russia today. The American Embassy in moscow stopped issuing nonimmigrant visas for eight days, and three u. S. Consulates stopped indefinitely. The move could affect hundreds of thousands of wouldbe russian tourists. In moscow, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov denounced it as a bid to stir discontent. translated my First Impression is that the american authors of this decision have embarked on another attempt to provoke the displeasure of russian citizens with the actions of russian authorities. This is a famous logic. Its the inertia of the Obama Administration in its purest form. Woodruff the visa action is retaliation for moscows order that the u. S. Cut diplomatic staffing in russia by hundreds of employees. The us and south korean militaries began annual war games today, amid heightened tensions with north korea. Some 17,500 u. S. Troops are taking part in the drills. They began with computer simulations of a north korean invasion. Back in this country, at least eight people were killed and more than 50 others injured in chicago over the weekend, in a new spate of shootings. The Chicago Tribune reports the violence unfolded in a 13 hour period ending sunday evening. The city has recorded more than 450 homicides this year. Theres word the secret Services Budget is stretched to the brink, again. Its partly because agents have to protect 42 people under the Trump Administration, up from 31 under president obama. The director says some one thousand agents have already hit salary caps for the entire year. He says its been a recurring problem in recent years. A los angeles jury has ordered johnson and johnson to pay 417 million to a woman who says talc in baby power caused her ovarian cancer. The company says theres no scientific basis for the claim, and it plans to appeal. Hundreds of similar lawsuits are pending nationwide. On wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 29 points to close at 21,703. The nasdaq fell three points, and the s p 500 added two. And, finally, from london, the famed clock tower big ben chimed its last today, for the next four years. bells chiming big ben had been in Service Since 1859, but now, its undergoing renovations that will keep it mostly silent until 2021. Still to come on the newshour the navy wants answers, ordering an investigation after another warship accident this year. A drought threatens to turn off the eternal citys renowned fountains. From the newshour bookshelf, a witty novelist capturing the humor and drama of middle age, and much more. Woodruff since inauguration day, the Trump Administration has been deliberating over what to do about the war in afghanistan. Tonight the president will address the nation and reveal changes to that policy. The u. S. Has almost 10,500 troops there now. More than 2,400 americans have died and more than 17,600 have been wounded since the u. S. Invaded afghanistan after 9 11. And tens of thousands of afghan civilians and military personnel have been killed. For afghans, President Trumps announcement cant come soon enough. Special correspondent Nick Schifrin starts our coverage. Reporter in afghanistan this weekend, an anxious country celebrated its independence day. Security was extremely tight. The government controls only half the country. Over the last couple years, violence has increased, stability has decreased. And the Afghan Government says it still needs the United States. Hopefully there is one day we will be a good partner without having any troops in afghanistan. But for the time being, it is necessary. Reporter Mirwais Yasini is the first Deputy Speaker of afghanistans lower parliament. In 2009, he ran for afghan president. He speaks for many here when he asks President Trump to increase us troops. We would like to have a steady and continuous war against isis particularly, and taliban. Ambiguity is costing us. And we are paying, and International Security is paying, the prices for the delay of the strategy which is coming out of the white house. Reporter for months, the Trump Administrations been debating its policy. Nowfired Senior Advisor steve bannon advocated withdrawal, or replacing troops with private contractors. President trumps expected to reject that plan and endorse a four to 5,000 troop increase advocated by military advisors with long histories in Afghanistan National security advisor h. R. Mcmaster, who as Brigadier General was tasked to fight afghan corruption. Chief of staff john kelly, a former fourstar whose son First Lieutenant robert kelly died in afghanistan. And defense secretary james mattis, who led troops on the ground during the afghan invasion. Theyve teamed up with current commander general john nicholson, who just yesterday painted an apocalyptic picture if the u. S. Abandoned afghanistan. If we were to fail, it would unleash waves of migration in the millions around the world. If we were to fail, it would embolden jihadists globally to putting some more firepower back in can make a huge difference at the right time and at the right place to be successful. Reporter from 2011 to 2013 general john allen was the u. S. Top Commander in afghansitan. Last year he campaigned against donald trump, for Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton will be exactly, exactly the kind of commanderinchief america needs. Reporter but today hes backing President Trump if he increases troop numbers. Heres an opportunity for President Trump to make decisions that can put us on the road to the success hes looking for. Reporter allen and the president s military advisors say deploying more troops that are better integrated and have no departure date can turn the tide, and help push the taliban to the negotiation table. You can get a lot more out of 5,000 if theyre properly positioned, to train and to advise and if we resource this properly, and we resource it in the context of both time and the right kinds of individuals we can be successful. Reporter as a civilian, donald trump disagreed. Between 2011 and 2013, he wrote at least 11 tweets criticizing the Afghan Government and urging president obama to withdrawal. We should leave afghanistan immediately, he wrote in march 2013. No more wasted lives. If we have to go back in, we go in hard quick. Rebuild the u. S. First. That skepticism is shared by retired lt. Col. And former National Security council staffer doug ollivant. What is this magic powder, this secret sauce, this new idea that youre going to do with this new 4,000 troops that you werent doing when we had almost 100,000 troops in country . And if it didnt work with 100,000 troops, why do you think its going to work now . Reporter ollivant used be a Senior Advisor in eastern afghanistan advocating for more troops. But today he and other critics advocate leaving a small number of u. S. Assets to ensure Afghan Government stability, and to facilitate counterterrorism, and otherwise, to withdrawal. Finally pulling the band aid off will hurt. But are the policy options going to be any different from 10 years from now . 15 years from now . The best tribute we might be able to give to someone who died in afghanistan is not to have another generation of children die in afghanistan. Reporter many afghans acknowledge while the country has made great strides, major parts of the u. S. Policy have not worked. But they do not want the u. S. To abandon them. And they urge the president not only to increase u. S. Troops, but somehow help fix the government. Problems that have long plagued the Afghan Government a lack of resources, and endemic corruption. My advice is to support the people of afghanistan economically. Financially, the corruption. Fighting against the corruption is not less important than fighting against the terrorism. Reporter its been 16 years since the u. S. Invaded afghanistan. President trumps hoping his decision can prevent what hes complained about his successor inheriting americas longest war. For the pbs newshour, im Nick Schifrin woodruff the deteriorating security situation in afghanistan has been accompanied by rising ethnic tensions, warlord rivalries, as you just heard, corruption, and a government in the capital city that many say is barely functional. To walk us through what the u. S. Faces Andrew Wilder is Vice President of asia programs at the United States institute of peace. And ahmed rashid is a long time journalist and the author of several books about afghanistan and central asia. Gentlemen, we welcome you both to the program. Ahmed rashid, im going to start with you. You wrote earlier this summary about the crisis the u. S. Faces in afghanistan. You talked about the strengthening taliban, the dangerous role of iran and russia the political crisis in kabul. How bad is the situation there . I t there are multiple crises. Much of the talk in the u. S. Have been about troop levels and how many troops President Trump should send. But there are other equally major problems. There are political cry siss now. The president has not a lot of legitimacy. There is enormous opposition against him from the parliament, from politicians, from warlords, and i dont mean the taliban. Theres a huge economic crisis and no guarantee that the Trump Administration is going to come up with all the money that is going to be needed. Then theres this regional interference by now three neighboring countries deeply involved in giving some kind of support to the taliban. Pakistan, iran, and russia. At the moment, it doesnt seem that the u. S. Has a team either in the National Security council or in the state department which could deal with such a multitude list of problems. Woodruff Andrew Wilder, what would you add to that . You talked to this administration. Are they aware of what theyre dealing with here . Yes, they are. Its very daunting the challenges in afghanistan, and i think there is no quick fix. People are looking for a Silver Bullet and for many years and many administrations, we have been looking for quick fix solutions. Signing there is an opportunity to rethink our strategy and ewill be listening very closely to President Trump tonight to see what its going to be, but, you know, in the segment we just showed, yes, there is very rightly skepticism. So we decide on an additional 4,000 troops. What impact will that have when weve had 100,000 troops before and 4,000 troops brought us to around 12,000, 13,000 is not going to defeat the insurgency. But weve always focused on troop numbers and the military strategy and not put nearly enough emphasis on the political strategy in afghanistan. So i actually hope that we hear there will be more troops sent and well have a modest increase on the military side but primarily to support a political strategy which will be focusing on what ahmed said, getting the Afghanistan Government to step up more to tackle corruption and things that are undermining its legitimacy i which is fueling the insurgency but also the regional strategy, getting pakistan to do more but focusing on what is possible to get a politically negotiated relationship with the taliban. Woodruff what would address this political crisis inside the capital with the current leadership is this. I think what has been so sad is for the last year or two, the u. S. Has not had a regional strategy. Its has not really been able to put together an alliance of countries around afghanistan which would talk peace and persuade the countries who are interfering to pull out of there and the taliban to get to the peace table. What you need is a major dim pact push. Now, given Everything Else thats happening in the world, the middle east, north korea and others, i fear that President Trump is not going to put together a really highpowered team which is going to effectively deal with some of these neighboring countries and bring them together in some kind of alliance. Of course, there are problems. I mean, the u. S. Has very shaky relations with iran, but iran is a major player. The u. S. Has very good relations with pakistan, but it is also become a major player in backing the taliban. So this needs a great deal of diplomatic effort which at the moment is just not there. Woodruff Andrew Wilder, is it your sense again from talking to people in the administration that they are prepared to come up with some semblance of a strategy that you and ahmed are describing . I think so. I mean, certainly, we thought we were close to having a strategy in april and then in july and i think one of the things that delayed it was a sense in particular from the state department that we didnt have an adequate regional strategy. And i think ahmed is right, the absence of that has truly destabilizing behavior. People dont know what the policy will be so iran stepped into the void, russians stepped into the void in addition to what pakistan has been doing. Woodruff but as you said a moment ago, rashid, u. S. Right now strained relations with iran, russia. So how does one see working around that to make a difference . Well, i think there have been very good proposals by americas scholars that really would get the americans to look at afghanistan separately, perhaps involve other players, neutral players like the united nations, and support perhaps not an americanled but perhaps someone elseled coalition of countries with interested parties like russia, saudi arabia and others and get them to sit around a table and work something out. The problem is that certainly its risky and it would be extremely difficult to do simply because the u. S. Doesnt have good relations with so many countries. But its the only thing thats going to work. And p the u. S. Cant do it, get somebody else to do it. Woodruff Andrew Wilder, we heard ahmed rashid say a moment ago part of this should be looking at a way to bring this to an end, but is that even realistic at this stage . I think its difficult but i think its realistic and i think thats what our objective should be. I should point out one area where the taliban, afghanistans neighbors and the u. S. Agree or President Trump agree, we dont want our troops there forever, so that should be something we negotiate on. Its interesting when we should travel to afghanistan last year or the year before, afghanistans neighbors will collapse which would be very bad for the neighborhood and now the concern might be also they dont want us there forever, so my argument, an opportunity for the Trump Administration is to make the case that we also want to leave but we dont want to leave precipitously and have it collapse, a we want to leave responsibly, and we can agree on that with afghans neighbors and eventually the taliban as well. Woodruff rashid, what would you like to hear President Trump say tonight some. I would like to hear him give a very nuanced speech in which he does not just talk about the military deployment but also talk about the other issues strengthening the Afghan Government, getting them to do more reforms, dealing with corruption, helping the economic crisis in afghanistan, all these refugees fleeing the country, getting them to stay put by having a sounder check policy and raising money from other places, and most importantly taking steps to get the taliban to the table to talk peace. Woodruff Andrew Wilder, quickly to you, what do you want to hear . I would like him to renew our commitment that we want to partner with afghanistan, not abandon afghanistan. I think that would have a stabilizing thought that we are not about to jump ship and and abandon them. We have economic and political reasons to stay and not leave precipitously because i believe it would become a safe for transnational terrorist groups. Woodruff if the u. S. Withdrew. Yes. Woodruff ahmed rashid, Andrew Wilder, thank you both. Thank you. Woodruff the navys top admiral ordered a oneday, worldwide safety review after a destroyer collided with an oil tanker ship east of singapore. Ten sailors are missing and five are injured. Just two months ago there was another deadly collision between a destroyer and a cargo ship. They are the latest in a series of incidents involving navy ships in the pacific. Is there a systemic problem . John yang has that. Yang thanks, judy. To examine that question, were joined by retired navy officer bryan mcgrath, who commanded a destroyer identical to the ones involved in the two latest collisions. Hes now a consultant to the navy. Mr. Mcgrath, thanks for joining us. Weve had four incidents in the pacific with navy ships. The last two collisions, the fitzgerald off the coast of japan, the mccain now off the coast of singapore. Is it bad luck or something more elemental wrong here . You cant hang your hat on a run of bad luck. Its unsatisfying and probably not the right answer. The right answer is to look hard at what ties these incidents together, all four of them, potentially, and learn from that. So its reaching con if reaching conclusions is wrong, forming hypotheses is right. What could be the problem . If there is a systemic problem, what do you think the roots could be . The roots go back to tend of the cold war. The roots go back to america becoming the predominant sea power on the face of the earth and losing an opponent that focused its efforts and, over the course of time, the navy became less important to the country and we progressively funded it less. We had less of a navy, less of a size of the navy and we funded it inconsistently over the course of the last 12 or 13 years. Yang how did the lack of funding translate into these kinds of accidents . It translates by having too few smips to do whats required in that theater, and because there are too few ships and the work has to be done, my theory is that they sometimes have to cut corners on the basic training, and i think the panel that looked into a panel to loo it into today. Yang . In this operational pause, whats going to happen . The first thing, is if a ship is involved many a sensitive operational mission, it wont pause. It will continue to do its operations. But by and large, throughout the fleet, with that sea in to shore, ships will take a full day, get bridge teams, combat teams, engineering teams and navigation detail together and go through the procedures, they will go through the common reports, they will go through the things that they have to do every time right the first time and create a sense of importance, create a sense that business as usual is not acceptable, we have to get back on the right side of safety here. Yang you commanded a destroyer for how long . Two years ago. Did you have any close calls . Anyone whos gone to sea for an extended period of time have had close calls. How close they are is a factor of how well you and the other ship involved are following the rules of the road. If those ships follow the rules of the road, they wont collide. Bryan mcgrath, thanks for joining us to talk about this. My pleasure. Woodruff now to the ripple effects inside the white house, after President Trumps charlottesville comments and chief strategist Steve Bannons departure. Here to break it all down, our politics monday regulars, amy walter of the Cook Political Report and tamara keith of npr. And welcome to both of you, politics monday. The country got through last week, amy, but i think its fair to ask the ques how many damage was done to the president. Right. Woodruff i was away last week enjoying some Family Vacation time, but there was no avoiding what was going on. Thats right. Its never a good time when the president of the United States and your own party is finding lots of different ways to distance themselves from you. Report after report was that elected leaders werent even going to go on television to defend because they were worried they would have to defend the president. The short answer is we dont really know what total effect that the results of charlottesville and the president s reaction have had. Were starting to get polling data that its really not definitive yet. The only thing we have is history to guide us. Weve sat at this table plenty of times during 2016 when we watched the access hollywood tape, john mccain not being a war hero, the president attacking a goldstar family who was muslim. We said maybe the Republican Base will divide over this candidate, this no, maam know. Obviously, they never did. Its a little tune to sell, but its clear in talking to the voters, listening to the voters and the reports over the weekend, theyre not abandoning this president. The question is what happens when a president is constantly being his own party in congress has constantly distanced themselves and watched out for themselves. How much effect can you have as president when youre only talking to a narrow slice of the lect rail over and over again. Reporter . Woodruff is that whats happening . Yes. Interestingly, there are rank and file republicans like bob corker from tennessee or Susan Collins from maine who are saying things that are clearly distancing themselves from the president and saying it in a way that says the president s name. But when you get someone like paul ryan the speaker of the house or Mitch Mcconnell majority leader in the senate and mcconnell put out a strong Statement Today condemning neonazis saying there are no sides when it comes to racism and neonazis and white supremacists, never mentioned the president s name, but there is a sense there are many republicans in congress, obviously you have these Business Leaders who jumped ship from the Advisory Council to the president and all this indicates there are a lot of people who arent as afraid of this president as they were earlier in his presidency. Woodruff amy, what does that mean . We are all groping and trying to figure out what has changed. Has anything changed . Are we right back where we were eight or ten days ago . Its like every day is about like a dog ear. Its like every day, seven years. So you have to sort of live within that, knowing that by tomorrow we could be talking about something else, so its unclear if there is real systemic damage. But the president has a pretty important task ahead of him as we come back into the fall and thats will he be able to get his legislative agenda back on track, and thats where we can have an answer to this question about how much damage did this do. If youre a president sitting at between 35 and 40 approval, its hard to get a lot done. Its hard to first of all pressure members of congress with an Approval Rating that low and for members who are republicans, the base may still be with trump but they know i. T. N. S and other swing voters in the districts, they cant guarantee he can come and help them in the fall of an Election Year with Approval Ratings this slow lowe. So it limits his ability to be a strong legislator and chief as well as executive. Woodruff when it comes to appealing to the base, the person who i think most represented the base in the white house steve bannon is now out as of three days ago, tam. How much difference is that going to make do we think in whats going on . I think we just dont know. How many times have we said on this very set how much difference is this going to make . This person leaving, this person coming in, this new chief of staff . I think the answer is we dont know. What we can say is steve bannon is still going to have a voice in this country and on the right and he also is still going to have a telephone. And President Trump may be unhappy with him now but as we have seen, people who have been fired from the trump orbit, they come back like celestial beings, they come back around and come back in. Like lieu wean dow ski fired as Campaign Manager and i saw him walk out of the white house the other stay. People go out and come back in. Steve bannon will still van influence in this white house because President Trump reads breitbart news. The shakeup in the white house is reflective of the broader debate in the party between the two different wings of the party, the establishment versus abty establishment, the Tea Party Versus the original. Thats a debate within the Republican Party and within the white house and isnt going away at anytime. Woodruff because as you look at steve bannon who represented all the nationalist instincts and populist instincts, the fact thats not going to be in the president s ear, its not the fact that hes going to hear it. Its going to be regular. President trump has the nationalist instincts. He has been talking about some of these nationalist ideas for years and years well before steve bannon entered his orbit. Woodruff and thats still going to be there. So, as we look to see, okay, different chiefs, chief of staff, the chief strategist has gone, the Communications Shop has changed, but the president is still the president. The president is still the president. The people who have left the white house, you had one establishment wing with reince priebus, the r. N. C. Chairman came from theron crn and one from the outside. Thats what his policy portfolio looks like so far. Some wins from the nationalist side, the steve bannon side, pulling out of paris, but the traditionalists have gotten their way as well, so it has been a balancing act in the white house and between the parties but the differences on the issues are tearing the party apart and the president s temperament as well. Woodruff more to come, politics monday. Thank you both. Youre welcome. Woodruff a serious drought has swept Southern Europe this summer. Some farmers in italy and spain are predicting the worst yields in 20 years. Agricultural damage and loss are expected to be in the billions. Newshour special correspondent Christopher Livesay and bring us this report from italy. Reporter for three generations Daniel Granieri and his family have farmed olives in the tiny hilltop town of nerola, producing extravirgin olive oil from these fields outside rome. This summer, things took a turn, and for the worst. translated i started to get very worried. From being worried, that turned into being absolutely certain about the drought. Theres never been anything like this, not in 20 years. This is the worst its ever been. Reporter granieri is also the regional president of the italian farmers association, coldiretti. He shows me some of the damage up close. translated look here, theres hardly anything compared to the olives that should be on this branch. Raising the price wont offset the loss. But well have to raise them at least 10 to 15 . Weve lost up to 70 of our harvest in the region. Reporter the drought is so relentless, that his town now rations water. For eighthour blocks every day, they cant turn on their taps. And they arent alone. So far 20 nearby towns have had to follow suit. Roughly 200 million in crops have been lost in the central lazio region alone. And two billion dollars have gone up in smoke nationwide, due to drought and related brush fires, according to coldiretti. Conditions have gotten so dire that even rome, the city of aqueducts, has warned it too may have to ration water for a million and a half rome residents, and the tourists who flock there. Rome has nearly 3,000 drinking fountains like this one, and theres a trick to getting a good sip. But that may soon become a thing of the past. The city is currently turning off 30 fountains a day. Romans call them nasoni, or big noses for their curved spigots. The Water Utility says its the first time in history theyve had to turn them off, a radical move in a city where water plays such a central role, from the trevi fountain, to the tiber river. Rome is where it is because of this water. Reporter tom rankin is a professor of urbanism at romes la sapienza university. The romans were smart. They started removing the groundwater where it was undesired, using it for their water source, wells. Reporter the ancient romans were master engineers of water. They really were. The sewer system was certainly in place in the 4th century b. C. And its still functioning today. Its probably the most Cost Effective public works project ever built. Reporter but modern city planning has fallen short. The drought is one thing, he says. But longterm mismanagement is also to blame. Officials from both the city and the Water Utility declined requests for an interview. Rome, of all the european capitals, is the only city that has a fully Sustainable Water supply meaning that the water table is recharged faster than the city can use the water. The real problem isnt that it cant provide for the population, its the waste of water. The water system is damaged. At least 25 , some say up to half of it leaks out before getting to its destination. Reporter leaks like this one, thats caused foliage to overgrow a path along the river. Reporter and this one, which has formed stalactites. The Water Utility says its working to repair city pipes in order to avoid rationing water. But the lingering threat frightens roman shavedice vendor, maria di pascale. translated it would be a tragedy. Because without water you cant survive, you cant work. Its essential for humans to survive but especially for us, since we need it for our business. Reporter the threat is especially acute for some of romes most vulnerable. The red cross says turning off public fountains poses a serious risk to the citys thousands of homeless, which include a growing number of migrants. Volunteer marzia di mento distributes food and water to migrants and refugees outside romes tiburtina train station. translated we need those fountains. We use those that are closest to the camp. We use this pipe for the people to bathe in. Were afraid it could be turned off at any moment. Its their only water source. It would be a huge loss. Many of the migrants have skin diseases from the trip over here by boat. They need water to clean those wounds. Water is fundamental. Reporter for the moment, rome says its averted water rationing by tapping lake bracciano, about 30 miles outside the city. But thats caused still more problems, as water levels plummet to alarming lows, threatening local plants and wildlife. Back in the rome countryside, farmer Daniel Granieri surveys his olives. This year hell have to pick them early in order to save what isnt already lost. translated drought has absolutely become a recurring event. A farm like mine now has to decide either to change business, or make some serious changes in infrastructure. If this happens again next year, farms will go out of business. Reporter for urbanism professor tom rankin, romes drought is a wakeup call, not just for the eternal city, but for cities around the world coping with a changing climate. If rome, which is by definition a great water city, can no longer manage its abundant resource, then how can we expect places which have a very limited supply of water to survive . On the other hand, if rome were able to demonstrate its ability to engineer a solution, providing fresh, clean water for free to a growing population, then it would set a model for the rest of the world. Reporter is that what were seeing, rome rising to the occasion . Not yet. Reporter for the pbs newshour, im Christopher Livesay, in rome. Woodruff now, a look at a sexual revolution in ways you might not expect. Jeffrey brown has this latest addition to the newshour bookshelf. Brown suburbia, sex, satire and a touch of the supernatural subjects tom perrotta has taken on in novels and the films and tv shows adapted from them. Among them, the 1998 book election made into a film starring reese witherspoon. What do you mean . You woke up this morning and suddenly decided to run for president . Brown in 2004 in 2004, came the novel and then film little children with kate winslet. Oh, jesus. Brown and post recently the and most recently, the leftovers, an apocalyptic tale that became an acclaimed hbo drama. Now tom perrotta is out with his seventh novel titled, mrs. Fletcher, about a woman coping with her empty nest, her son whos gone off to college and the sexual boundaries both explore. Tom perrotta, nice to talk to you. Oh, great to talk to you. Brown so, single mother, the writer, were looking at sort of sexual norms today, i think. Yeah, absolutely. So in a way this is a book about college and identity. Eve sends her son brenden off to college and shes alone in the empty nest and shes looking for a way to jumpstart her life. Shes lonely, and through a strange series of circumstances, starts looking at this porn that confuses her but it also features middle aged women like herself and it makes her see herself as possibly an object of desire and in doing so it kind of changes her view on the world. Ordinary situations that seemed completely innocuous before are suddenly charged with some erotic possibility and sometimes she acts on that. Brown get to look at the limits of acceptable behavior today. Yeah, and im always interested in this idea of transgression and the fact that the line keep changing, you know . So in little children, the adulterous couple, thats not the scandal, you know, but the pediphile is the scandal. Whereas in the 19th century in novels like anna korinna or madame bovery, the adulterous couple was the scandal, so we keep redefining where that line is and for eve, worrying about her sons porn consumption and she just feels like, oh its terrible what these kids are exposed to and its had harmful effects on him. And then she starts looking, out of curiosity and it gets under her skin in a strange way. So shes in that place where a lot of my characters are shes doing something she herself disapproves of but she cant stop. Brown its jane austen right . This is the stuff of, how do we treat each other, whats allowed and whats not . Right, and you know, im in ive seen my parents generation have one view of sex and one experience of sex, my generation had another, and now my kids are coming of an age in a time when all sorts of sexual identities are suddenly available but also this huge amount of pornography on the internet so now that any kid who wants to be exposed to the entire encyclopedic spectrum of sexuality can get it. And i just dont think that we know exactly how its affecting people. I think part of the fun of this book was to show a middle aged person experiencing this late in life this kind of sexual re education. Brown you know i want to say, for the audience too, that were talking about a book that is sort of about pornography and sex, but this isnt a book with a lot of pornography or even a lot of sex for that matter. Youre writing a book about sex with not a lot of sex. I hope that doesnt disappoint anyone. Right, i think that its really about how we think about sex, how sex factors into our identity and how that identity can change at different points in life. For instance eve takes a night school class on gender and society and she has a transgender professor and the book kind of tracks this moment that we just lived through where the culture has started to re define gender as a spectrum to see that trans people are human beings and part of the community, but its also been challenging to a lot of people who are used to thinking about sex in very binary terms and think about gender in very binary terms, and i wanted to brown you know, it looks like youre a writer who is in some way tracking his own life. I wonder if this is fair . I think of early novels as a young guy and then, you know, married in the suburbs with kids and then up to today as an empty nester, it sounds like yourself right . Is that fair . That is absolutely fair. Brown youre your own material. I am and so i dont often write about myself or people i know, but i do write about the life passage that im going through and it helps in a way because im very close to it when im writing so its not seen through that mist of nostalgia, you know, and so i really felt like what i was reading in the newspaper was feeding directly into this novel. Brown work to film and tv, is your television experience impacting you fiction writing in terms of storytelling, or how you even approaching a novel . I dont think so. I feel like if you look at mrs. Fletcher and you look at some of my earlier work youd say thats the same writer doing that. On the other hand what has happened is ive become much more aware of whats special about novel writing, what are the kinds of things i can do. I can go into a characters head. I can follow their inner monologue in a way that very difficult to do in a drama. And so i think i try to avail myself of the tools of fiction when im writing fiction im much more conscious of that. Brown alright, the new novel is mrs. Fletcher, tom perrotta, nice to talk to you. Thank you. Great to talk to you. Woodruff and thats the newshour for now. Join us again right here at 9 00 p. M. Eastern for special coverage of President Trumps address to the nation on the path forward in afghanistan to be followed in the east by novas special eclipse over america. Im judy woodruff. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by and by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh rose welcome to the program. We begin tonight with two big stories, the departure of steve bannon from the white house and the terrorist attack in barcelona. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said chief of staff john kelly and strategist steve bannon mutually agreed on his exit but sources tell us the president had grown frustrated by bannons rising profile and recent publications describing him as the mastermind behind trumps campaign. Mr. Bannon came on very late, you know that. I went through 17 senators, governors, and i won all the primaries. Mr. Bannon came on very much later than that. Bannon was one of the First White House Staff Members hired and arrived with a nationalist ag,