captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> wooduff: a community grieves and cries for justice reverberate, as a man said to have white supremacist motives is charged in the shooting of nine church-goers in charleston south carolina. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. also ahead, airstrikes continue in yemen while peace talks in geneva collapse, an on-the- ground look at the civil war's devastating toll on daily life. it is now the priority. in addition to air strikes saudi arabia has imposed a blockade on the country and surprise is running desperately short.

>> wooduff: and it's friday, mark shields and david brooks are here, to analyze the week's news. plus, our cuban evolution series continues. an organic food revolution that took root out of necessity. and what the u.s. can learn from their struggle to make the most of every resource. >> i don't know what will happen if the american agriculture companies get in here, and are able to sell their products, if it's going to continue like this organic model, or if it's going to look a lot more like what we see in the u.s. >> wooduff: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪

moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> wooduff: shock waves from the murders at a black church kept rippling across charleston, south carolina, and the nation today.

a police affidavit said the gunman shot his victims multiple times, but several tearful family members offered him forgiveness. hari sreenivasan has our report. >> sreenivasan: all through the day, a memorial of flowers, balloons and notes kept growing outside emanuel african methodist episcopal church. people streamed to the site, popularly known as mother emanuel, many of them still shaken by tuesday night's mass shooting. >> the oldest lady who got killed in this church was my momma's girlfriend. they were in the choir together. this hurts a lot because this is the family church. i can't take it. >> sreenivasan: charleston's mayor of 40 years, joseph riley was also there, condemning the killings and defending his city. >> this hateful person came into this community with some crazy idea that he would be able to

divide and all he did was make us more united and make us love each other even more. >> sreenivasan: the city plans a vigil tonight for the victims. in all, nine people died in the attack. among them, the church's minister clementa pinckney, who was also a state senator. the accused gunman, 21-year-old dylann roof, was caught yesterday in shelby, north carolina, more than 200 miles away, and flown back to charleston. he appeared today via video link at a bond hearing, on nine counts of murder and weapons charges. some of the victims' relatives made tearful statements of grief and forgiveness. >> you took something really precious away from me. i will never talk to her ever again. i will never be able to hold her again. but i forgive you and have mercy on your soul. it hurts me, it hurts a lot of people but god forgive you and i

forgive you. >> sreenivasan: roof said little, and was ordered held on $1 million bond. afterward, solicitor scarlett wilson promised a vigorous prosecution. >> my mission is to serve justice for this community and especially for the victims in this case. and we will do it efficiently and effectively and we'll do it behind the scenes so that we can be successful. >> sreenivasan: it was widely reported that roof confessed to the shootings, and that he hoped to trigger a race war. a one-time friend, joey meek says he talked to roof just recently. >> it was a race thing, because he had told me that the black people was taking over the country and that he wanted it to be segregation that white on black. or, white with the white, black with the black. >> sreenivasan: even so, south carolina senator lindsey graham a republican presidential

candidate, joined visitors to the church, still struggling to understand. >> crazy people abound. that's what this guy was, a crazy guy. not in terms of being mentally incompetent, just being mean and hateful and crazy. i can't explain it. there's just no way i can explain what would motivate a person to do this. >> sreenivasan: whatever the explanation, south carolina governor nikki haley told n.b.c. today there's only one way the case can end. >> these are nine families that are struggling. this is a state that is hurt by the fact that nine people were innocently killed. we will absolutely want him to have the death penalty. >> sreenivasan: far from charleston, the tragedy sparked an outpouring of sympathy, and cries for action, from around the country. in philadelphia last night, christians, jews and muslims joined for an interfaith service. >> to me it's a senseless crime that needs to end. at this point, this has to end. we need to take this as a point to walk more in love in our community and less in hate, but not just to sit idly by on the

sidewalk and sideline and just be sad about it. >> sreenivasan: even comedian and "daily show" host john stewart pushed jokes aside. >> i honestly have nothing other than just sadness once again that we have to peer once again into the abyss of the depraved violence that we do to each other in the nexus of a just gaping racial wound that will not heal, yet we pretend doesn't exist. >> sreenivasan: back in south carolina today, the n.a.a.c.p. called for the confederate flag to be removed from the state capitol grounds in columbia, a long-standing issue in the state. for p.b.s. newshour, i'm hari sreenivasan. >> wooduff: president obama tweeted today that "the decency and goodness of the american people shines through" in the victims' families. and later, he said he has faith the nation will "eventually do the right thing" and pass gun control legislation. in the day's other news prosecutors in the 2012 colorado

mass shooting case wrapped up 8 weeks of testimony against james holmes. he's charged with killing 12 people and wounding 70 at a midnight movie showing. he's pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. the defense case begins next thursday. medium and heavy-duty trucks will have to get more fuel efficient and cut carbon dioxide emissions further, under new rules proposed by the obama administration. the environmental protection agency made the new regulations public today. they call for a 24% cut in emissions for trucks, buses tractor-trailers and vans, by 2027. those vehicles account for one- fifth of u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. acts of terror spiked last year as islamist militants stepped up their deadly campaigns. the state department says attacks shot up 35%, led by a spurt of violence in iraq, afghanistan and nigeria. deaths from such attacks rose

roughly 80 percent, to almost 33000. but the department's coordinator for counterrorism says that does not mean u.s. policies have failed. >> it's one way but not the sole way of addressing the effectiveness of our efforts. i think by any standard that you set you can look at that and say that we've made progress. have we done everything that can be done in order to push back on you know these groups, clearly not. >> wooduff: the report cites the "islamic state" group in iraq and syria and "boko haram" in nigeria as the main forces driving terror attacks. greece edged ever closer to default today, with still no sign of any deal for a new bailout. eurozone leaders now plan an emergency summit on monday, in a bid to break the deadlock. meanwhile, greek banks are hemorrhaging cash. paul mason, of independent television news, filed this report. >> reporter: the greek system made it to closing tile time on

friday just. the bank reported three billion euros to the european central bank this afternoon after 1.1 billion on wednesday. in the last five days around the same amount has been withdrawn. people here realize finally that next monday is the crunch. if there's no deal between greece and its lenders the country will most likely default on those debts. after that the central bank comes a slump and possible exit from the eurozone. prime minister was in russia today. greece has remained in nato it feels abandoned by its allies by the deal just signed is keeping diplomatic options open. >> let's be serious. the so-called greek problem is not a greek problem but european. the name of the problem is not green it's eurozone and it concerns its structure.

>> reporter: vladimir putin the diplomatic aim is divided the satisfaction did not need to be forced. flourish >> wooduff: greece faces a huge debt repayment at month's end, but doesn't have the funds. back in this country, the congressional budget office now says repealing the affordable care act increase the number of americans without health insurance by 24 million. the analysis also says repeal would boost the economy, at least for a time. but, it projected it would ultimately add nearly $140 billion to the deficit. wall street had a deficit of confidence today, the dow jones industrial average lost 100 points to close at 18,014. the nasdaq fell 16 points, and the s-and-p 500 slipped 11. for the week, the dow and the s-and-p rose more than half a percent. the nasdaq rose a full percent. and cable t.v. pioneer ralph roberts has died. starting in the 1960's, he built comcast into the nation's largest provider of

cable t.v. and home internet service. today, it also owns the n.b.c. network, universal pictures and theme parks. ralph roberts was 95 years old. still to come on the newshour: on the ground in yemen as a proxy war rages on; vladimir putin tells charlie rose that kiev is to blame for unrest in eastern ukraine; energy secretary ernest moniz on the state of play of iran nuclear negotiations; mark shields and david brooks on the week's news; and how necessity was the mother of organic invention on cuban farms. >> wooduff: today in geneva, switzerland, talks ended between yemen's exiled government and houthi shiite rebels who control the country's capital. the negotiations failed to reach even a temporary ceasefire. tonight, we take a close at the

personal cost of the conflict. but first a bit of backround: the latest turmoil can be traced back four years to the arab spring, when an uprising ultimately led to the ousting of then president ali abdullah saleh. earlier this year, houthi rebels, with the help of soldiers still loyal to the former leader, forced yemen's current president, abed rabdo mansour hadi, into exile. that sparked an international military response led by saudi arabia. the subsequent fighting has killed more than one-thousand civilians and displaced more than one million. newshour special correspondent jane ferguson traveled to yemen to see firsthand what life is like in rebel-controlled territory. >> reporter: these rebels ruled much of yemen marching through the streets of the

capitol center in a show strength and defiance. the gun men control the streets and the politicians control the government. the u.s. and saudi arabia accused iran of backing the houthis. this was saudi arabia's answer to that relationship. intensive air strikes have pounded the country for three months. this is where the rock others are. we were among the first russian journalists to enter when the bombardment began in march. we found neighborhoods destroyed and people terrified. >> are there saudi planes here they say yes all the time. all the planes are saudi. it is dangerous here. let's move on then. >> reporter: survival is now the preert. in addition to air strikes saudi

arabia has imposed a block indicated on the country and supplies a running desperately short. clean water is rationed to families but there isn't enough. this water station was paid for by a local businessman as charity. piles of gosh gashwhich garbage which hasn't been collected for months. people are sleep in their cars for days waiting to get fuel. ahmed has given up trying. as a cab driver that means no income for his family. when was the last time you had fuel. >> i went to the gas station i stayed for two days. >> reporter: oh my goodness. how often do you get to work nowadays. >> i just stay here. >> reporter: since when? >> since three months. >> reporter: yemen's rich history has not been smaird from the vie -- spared from the violence. the city's thousands of years

old and a heritage site has been damaged. these buildings were brought down during bombardment causing an international outcry. >> this is a problem. >> reporter: after years of working to safeguard the old city, he says the site is under threat. >> there are damage to the houses. because it's ours. this material, you see that's it. >> reporter: old bricks, ancient bricks. >> yes. before this crises, the 120eu was alive -- the city was alive from tourism and that means they would spend money for their houses. but now, they are suffering for the food. they don't care about something for the houses to pay something for the houses. >> reporter: a december to go grows -- december to december destituion

grows. can you tell us why you say these attacks are done by both saudi arabia and the united states? >> saudi arabia cannot do anything in the middle east without a green light from the united states. the saudis and the americans have both admitted they deport them militarily logistically and politically. >> reporter: the whitehouse said at the beginning of the bombardment that they were helping the saudis. most yemenis in the streets is aware of this. there is growing anger at america. >> our people are anger. >> reporter: they're angry at the united states because. >> because they are not doing anything for our people. >> reporter: do they think that the united states could tell saudi arabia to stop it. >> yes. they are supporting them. by guns, by money. >> reporter: not everyone supports the houthi. those who hope the exiled

president will return are either too frightened to speak or have left the city. the houthis are accused of arresting and jailing people opposed to them. hostility between the houthis and the saudis is not new. the houthis are followers of the shi'ite sect of the land. saudi arabia has accused the houthis for years of being puppets of shi'ite iran on their doorstep. but senior houthi leader denies any relationship with iran. >> we don't have any links whatsoever with iran and iran doesn't have any influence on us he says. we are completely independent and separate. >> reporter: while the rest of the world may see the conflict here in yemen from the perspective of power, saudi arabia, those don't really relate to those sectarian terms. is it really a history of

sectarian. people say they are more loyal to their tribes than religious sects. the worries is sectarianism could be brought into yemen as a result of the region-wide struggle. >> in the old city we met religious teacher at the grand mosque. country leaders create these problems to stay in power he says. those people who make these problems, they're not supporting sunni or shi'a, they just want power. they have a lot of money and they want to control the whole country. while they are strongly anti-american they're more anti-al-qaeda. al-qaeda in the arabian pense law and the u.s. -- peninsula and the u.s. has been conducting drones against them for years. he says many here are confused by the u.s.'s foreign policy. >> united states are supporting the enemies.

they are supporting al side. they--al-qaeda. it's the factory of factory of al-qaeda and the united states unfortunately is supporting saudi arabia. so they are supporting their enemy. >> reporter: this kind of chaos has yemen worried. it's the battle ground between america and saudi arabia on one side and iran on the other. it's a fight that is bringing yemen to its knees and threatens to destroys everything in its path. for pbs newshour, this is jane ferguson yemen. >> wooduff: russia's president vladimir putin today blamed nato expansion and the united states for fanning the flames of conflict in ukraine. he did that at an international economic conference held in st.

petersburg. part of the program featured an interview with putin by pbs' own charlie rose. >> wooduff: seated in front of an audience of business people political leaders and journalists, the russian president blamed the west for the conflict in ukraine. >> help us understand as you see it where are we how did we get there, and where do we go from here? >> ( translated ): why is there a crisis in ukraine? i was quite confident after the bipolar system went into oblivion and after the collapse of the soviet union certain western partners of ours particularly the united states were in a kind of euphoria, and instead of trying to create a new situation, good neighbors partner relations they started to explore new free, geopolitical spaces, well free

in their view. and that is why we are witnessing expansion nato eastwards. >> wooduff: i spoke to charlie rose immediately following his question and answer session with president putin. >> wooduff: charlie, you pressed him about what he thinks ukraine needs to do defuse the situation. what did he say? >> he said the people in kiev need to talk to the separatists. that is not a new idea from him. he has always said that. that they have to have a real conversation with the separatists. and i raised the question of if he was helping the situation by supplying arms to the separatists. and by the engagement of russian soldiers and other connections russia has to this. i think that putin has a real fear about nato being on his borders.

he's always had that. they had that with respect to georgia and with respect to ukraine, probably worries that if a government in ukraine was leaning east, i mean leaning to the west, it might entertain the idea of nato membership which he really, really dislikes the most. i think the headline from this, he really believes that the united states and russia should be talking. that they ought to be having a dialog about ukraine and other issues. >> wooduff: what did he say abut that, you asked him about the increasing tension in the relationship between the west and russia. what did he say about that? >> most of his animus is toward the government in kiev, as you know like he has said i previous times that he thinks that the demonstrations that overthrew the president of ukraine who fled to russia was a sponsored

in part by the west, the usa and the c.i.a. i think that most people believe that russia because of it's-- because it wants to regain some of its military strength and they do rattle the saber for a little bit wants to be a player. they want to respected which i raised with him and he said well we are respected, everyone wants to be respected. but there is deep within him, the sense that after the collapse in '91 that russia wants to retain its status as a big time player in the world. >> wooduff: would you say that being respected or not being respected is a new concern? is a new posture on his part? >> the fact that he said it the way he did suggests that he thinks about it. i think that pride for him and for other people, you know russia was a superpower and then with the collapse of the soviet union all of a sudden they were

not a super power and their economy was in terrible shape and they had a whole range of cataclysmic changes in their economy, and state ownership all kinds of oligarchs came forward, and russia has been trying to recapture some of its global presence. he cares about borders, he cares about respect and he cares about conversations, he wants to be talked to he wants to be considered a primary player. >> wooduff: charlie rose talking to us from st. petersburg, the site of this economic summit, charlie thank you and travel safely. >> thank you, judy. >> wooduff: the negotiations over iran's nuclear program are coming down to the wire, with unresolved issues still hanging

over the process. gwen ifill has our update, and a newsmaker interview with the secretary of energy, ernest moniz. >> ifill: the final deadline in the iran talks arrives in less than two weeks, and, according to secretary of state john kerry, a principle hurdle remains: access to iran's nuclear-related military activities. >> access is very, very critical. it's always been critical from day one. it remains critical. >> ifill: kerry spoke tuesday from boston, where he was recovering from surgery to repair a badly broken leg. >> it's critical to us to know that going forward, those activities have been stopped, and that we can account for that in a legitimate way. that clearly is one of the requirements in our judgment for what has to be achieved in order to have a legitimate agreement. >> ifill: negotiations have continued since a political framework was agreed upon in early april.

interpretations of that deal diverged sharply between the iranians and the so-called "p- five-plus-one," the u.s., united kingdom, france, russia, china plus germany. but tehran has staked out a firm position against allowing inspections of its military sites or interviews with its nuclear scientists, beginning with the supreme leader. >> ( translated ): we have said that we will not allow any inspections of iranian military centers by any foreigners to take place. they say we should let them interview our nuclear scientists. i will not allow this. >> ifill: last saturday, iran's president hassan rouhani, who is subordinate to the supreme leader, said the negotiating process runs the risk of falling apart. >> ( translated ): if the other side can honor the previously reached framework, instead of incessantly posing new demands i think we can achieve a deal.

but if the negotiation is turned into an endless bargaining, this will be very likely to postpone the negotiation progress. >> ifill: the american point man on the nuclear science involved is energy secretary ernest moniz. he's a trained physicist who's been deeply involved in the negotiating process, as it hurtles toward the june 30 deadline. i spoke to him yesterday. secretary moniz, thank you for joining us. we know about this june 30th deadline, is it a real deadline. >> well, we certainly want to meet it. we have lots of reasons to do so, including of course our subsequent interactions with the congress reporting to them. so we're pushing hard. we've had six technical meetings since then. we've had several political level meetings. secretary kerry and i were in geneva a couple weeks ago just prior to his unfortunate bike accident and we expect to be

back soon to try to finish the deal. >> ifill: what's the deal, is it a deal to get a deal or a deal to button this whole thing up. >> oh no, we are aiming to complete the deal to see to it that we and our partners p five plus one will have a deal where we will have confidence that iran's program is peaceful. we will have the ability to determine quickly if it is not. and then take proper responses. >> ifill: let's walk through some of the outstanding issues. they are not minor ones. for instance iran is secretly still trying to work on its nuclear program. any sense of that? >> well first of all transparency and verification is the

they make them. what do you say to members of the congress at this point. >> the best offense we have if you'd like is a really good deal. and we have spent a lot of time explaining the technical dimensions that were agreed upon. i think there's been general surprise in a pleasant sense from congress and from others that the specificity of what we manage to negotiate up to lazan, still some tough issues, samions

are relieved in return for iran meetings its obligations of nuclear parameters. to be honest that's part of what we still have to nail down over the next two weeks. >> ifill: also the iaea put out a report saying iran stock piles nuclear weapons is increasing not decreasing. it doesn't seem like it's aimed at restoring the faith to the members of congress who don't think this is a credible deal. >> i think we've explained that completely and frankly there's no new there is. the iaea has confirmed that iran has met all of its obligations under this temporary agreement. the fact is that we fully expect that assuming we reach an agreement when it comes into effect, they will have the order of 12,000 kilograms of enriched you'llyou'llyou're rain annualuranium.

they must bring that down. >> ifill: how do they do that one way is to dilute the uranium with neutral or depleted uranium or the simpler way is out of the country. >> ifill: you're a physicist not a politician. you play politics on tv sometimes. what exactly has to happen to separate the political from the technical in a very complicated electives. as you well know domestically and internationally the politics could sink it as much as the technology. >> first of all there are some very high level issues which depends on the resolve. for example the decision to seek an agreement that specifically addresses the nuclear weapon issue. so some have talked about that as a strategy but we are committed to that. we have worked seamlessly to

weave together the technical and geo political issues. that will be the art that we will have to perfect in the next couple weeks. >> ifill: i'll say. secretary kerry as far as you know will be well enough to travel to vienna next week. >> yes. we had business last saturday and in boston and he's looking well. he's back in dc now and he's ready to go. >> ifill: secretary of energy ernest moniz, thank you very much. >> wooduff: race relations return to the forefront after deadly violence in south carolina. the head of the catholic church takes a stance on climate change. and two more candidates leap into the race for 2016. for all this and more, we turn to the analysis of shields and brooks, that's syndicated columnist mark shields and new york times columnist david brooks. so another terrible race-related story to talk about, this

horrible shooting in charleston south carolina, david where a young white man kills nine black churchgoers. what are we left with? i mean is this an isolated, should we think of this as an isolated incident, racist young men or does the whole country need to do some soul searching. >> first we have an up lifting part of the terrible story is what happened today in the courtroom. the families forgiving the young man. search heartfelt way. that is believing the faith, walking the walk. we have a society and certainly politics filled with people who are unforgiving each other filled with vengeance. that's an up lifting moment which isn't negative. the horror, i'm a little confused about how much to generalize. we have a race problem in this country, that is so obvious. but we also have an angry solitary young man problem.

i'm not sure a lot of the angry solitary young men are directly connected. they are obviously loosely connected to the history of race in this country. but they are al rea solitary young men looking for a hateful and vicious idealogies. i don't think we have a nazi problem in this country. they are solitary and hate mongers. the guy sits in a bible study for an hour and starts shooting them. that's beyond imagination. and so it's obviously connected about i'm a little worried the two causations that are linked between our general race problem and this specific completely bizarre and completely evil. >> woodruff: how are you seeing it. >> i want to agree with what david said about the people in the courtroom saying may god have mercy on you may god forgive you. these are people who do practice their faith and it's a lot more than preaching. what hit me judy was president

obama in his greatest and eloquent moments in the times of crises and strategy and sort of putting things in perspective how yesterday making the announcement, dispairtd dispirited and sense of resignation. after the birmingham church in 1963 when they were blown up, there was a moment in the country you could feel it, was moved on civil rights. the passage of the 1964 act was almost assured that a terrible terrible inhuman act. that was a sense we're moving in the direction. after new town and after the slaughter of the nnts innocence anthonys there and the teachers -- innocents there and the teachers using

universal background checks. >> woodruff: on guns. >> on guns and nothing happened. it's a sense of how many more, the enormity of it, what's it going to take. so i just think there is, some of the sadness. for him to sit this alleged killer, to sit there for an hour while these people welcome him into their church into bible study and then to do it, i mean it's beyond comprehension. >> woodruff: it's beyond any words. david, is this a moment when we look for something to happen on guns? there was a lot of debate today about the confederate flag about whether the rules are too loose, about where they can be displayed. >> i'm taking for taking down the confederate flag. there's a group of people, that should be enough. we are citizens to each other and we do not things that offend other people in sym ballic ways. as for guns i personally support

most of the legislation. i'm subsequent cull anything will happen because of the past history. we have a lot of groups in our society and groups veto legislation. i doubt the efficacy of it. there are hundreds of millions of guns in this country. how to get rid of them is a question for me. i think something needs to be done as neighbors in these communities to be more alert to these solitary young men. there are a certain number of young men in their teens, drifting out of society and somebody must be noticing them. it's up to us as family members and neighbors to say that's potential problem. this is a kid sending out signals with an arrest at the mall and some other things he was doing, bizarre behavior sort of stalking behavior, the photograph on facebook with the flag. that's sort of up to all of us to be alert. >> woodruff: keeping an eye on the people around us. >> judy as far as the confederate flag, first of all

the background checks. lindsay graham, and i don't mean to hurt his potential k35eu7b -- campaign but he said there are at least a million americans with determined and adjudicated mental health problems who aren't even in the registry for guns. he made the point that background checks are to his credit. i don't know because the confederate flag, it was a debated issue in 2014 in the gubernatorial race in south carolina, nike haley was keeping it she won. they started taking it down can, he lost, i don't want to say it's a resolve issue but gone up in 1962 which was right in the middle of the civil rights act when an all white legislature deemed it be elevated. i don't, i don't know any action that's going to happen on that. >> woodruff: you both have touched on 2016 turning the corner. we had two new candidates

officially jump in the race this week. jeb bush, donald trump, two very different people, david. what do we make of both of them. where does this leave the campaign in the republic field. >> it's not a necessary sign of good candidates. the bush question is to me a great mystery. he's on the name booking, name recognition but not a lot of so far. what i know about governor bush he would really love and enjoy the actions of being spread. administrative actions. he's an administrator and i think in the campaign opening he broadcast those skills which he has. he would be a good administrator. whether he good campaigner or rally the country that's really something to be seen. i think the opening is good but it's remarkable he's not in the condition he should be in given the advantage he has especially in places like iowa around the country. >> woodruff: what about governor bush. >> jeb bush everyone everyone when

they make an announcement they want it to be a pageant. the parcel pastor who endorsed him personally, the spanish speaking people who endorsed him knew him personally. the woman with a disabled child spoke on personal terms of what he had done. i mean he spoke in spanish. i mean, there was a sense of genuineness. he extended, i thought very formatively. he mustled out mitt romney who was thinking about getting in by preempting support and financial support and political support. and they didn't know who he was for sure. he certainly hang handled has not handled the family questions or rack questions as -- iraq questions as well. but whether in fact the chemistry is there, whether he connects with people and he's got a high high unfavorable in places like iowa among republic

voters. >> woodruff: unfavorable. >> yes. and the other fellow, donald trump, if he took the first person pronoun out of his announcement it would have lasted four minutes. it was great testimony to the unimportance of humility in national politics. >> i think the field is so rich he's going to be squeezed out. i think he will be a side show and barely noticed. >> woodruff: something we did notice this week was the pope and he essentially came in david with an unprecedented statement encyclical they call it on the environment, very powerful statement on the humoral in causing climate change and saying the rich nation in particular has the responsibility to do something. is this going to change the debate? is it going to change minds change policy, change politicians. >> i doubt it. i personally thought it was beautiful, theologically

beautiful, how we're all connected to each other. it's a beautiful expression of catholic theology and a beautiful expression for all of us. it also reminded me the catholic church is amazingly consistent on abortion, on the death penalty on the environment. valuing the life, the church is so kind on this emphasis but our parties are sort of inconsistent on these different issues. i thought it made me feel environmental because he connected our role in the cosmos and our role in nature in a very beautiful way. i would have different emphasis than he did on the policy stuff to the church to my mind is capitalism too much a force that's listed 300 million people out of offer at poverty. i think he under values that but nonetheless the theology was ballbeautiful, the policy was two left wing. >> i confess i'm a critical fan

of pope francis. he approaches every single problem the same way. from the bottom up. he was not a diplomat he was not a church technocrat, he was a pastor. in boon buenos aires. everybody who visited him said the same thing he would take you to the slums. he's seen the world whether. when it comes to the environment, if you got a private plane, you can get to clean air. you can get to aspen, colorado. you can get to martha's vineyard. you can get to clean water. but the poor people, the fact of our capitalism the poor people don't have an option. they're the ones who contribute the least to the pollution and suffer the most. i just thought what he formulated in defense of the mowers economically in a defense lotion planet where there is a

common good that all of us have a responsibility. >> woodruff: just 20 seconds. do you see a changing mind, do you see it changing the republic party position on this issue. >> he is the most popular person in the world. every politician wants to associate with him. he's going to make it uncomfortable for both sides. but i think it's going to be impossible to ignore it as an issue as well as the environment. >> brazil and other nations may be awe of coursed. >> woodruff: mark shields, david brooks, thank you. >> wooduff: now, the conclusion to our series on cuba. all week long, we've showed you ways in which that country is dealing with significant shifts in business, arts, culture and society. tonight, jeffrey brown reports about an industry where cuba has been a leader, organic farming. its growth was born of necessity. but now its approach is attracting attention in the u.s.

and other places. it's part of our stories on "the cuban evolution." >> brown: in cuba, and now beyond, miguel salsinez is recognized as a pioneer of organic farming. >> molinga velanat. >> brown: he's a founder of vivero alamar farm, 27 acres on havana's outskirts. a small parcel of land, but one that produces food for 80,000 residents in the surrounding community. when salsinez talks of a "revolution," it's not the one fidel castro led in the 1950s. >> ( translated ): the country has had a green revolution in farming since the use of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides. at alamar, our food production is without chemicals entirely. >> brown: in fact, this is one of some 10,000 urban organic farms in cuba. it's part of a well-organized system here, that's gained attention as a model for other parts of the world. and daily attracts experts and foodies, like this group of

americans on a recent tour. >> this is like a school. people from other countries that come to cuba, they want to learn about cuba agriculture. they have had students for 15 different countries. >> brown: but cuba's role as a leader in organic farming didn't come from a concern over its carbon footprint, or a desire to rid chemicals from everyday food. cuba stopped using chemicals because the chemicals disappeared. >> the people in cuba are living in a crisis. >> brown: it began in 1991, what the government euphemistically called the "special period" when the soviet union collapsed and cuba lost its major supplier of fuel, fertilizer and food. >> people are just fed up with period special. >> brown: this 1993 documentary captured the pain and chaos of those years, when it's estimated, cubans lost an average of 10-15 pounds.

>> people cue in line for hours at a time for a few basic essentials, these people were waiting for a few pieces of bread. >> it was a matter of necessity, it was a matter of urgency. it was a huge challenge since we were importing more than 80% of the food consumed by cubans. we needed to produce our own food. >> brown: farmers were without fertilizers, pesticides, or fuel for tractors. in an effort to stave off hunger, the cuban government gave state-owned farmland to anyone who promised to grow food. vivero alamar was created by people who lived in the surrounding community. many well remember the special period. >> ( translated ): i am 56 years old, we had a rough period here in the 90's. we had needs, we were hungry but not dying of hunger. >> brown: jason reis, who has an organic farm in brooklyn, new york, helped lead the tour we joined. >> so the older people taught the younger people in the 90's

how to use the traditional ways of growing food when their was no access to chemicals. >> brown: so do you see when you look at this place? >> i see a great example of permaculture, and organic farming practices, they're using a lot of interplanting, and a lot of natural insecticides, they're using marigolds to attract the pollinators and it's not a monoculture, not a field of soy or corn like we'd see in the u.s. >> that is full of worms. >> brown: beds of worms are bred to break down manure into nutrient rich compost. juan andres rodriguez has worked here for nine years. >> ( translated ): it's very hard work. it takes a lot of love. >> brown: the vegetables and fruits are sold on the premises, to people in the neighborhood. >> brown: is it possible to feed the whole city of havana? >> it would be a dream to say that you can do that, because it requires a lot of resources that are not available right now, but

what we can say is that we have improved the diet of cubans, and the healthy diet of cubans, there's a lot of fiber, and a lot of good nutrients that we didn't have before. >> i need green coconut milk for my meal tonight. >> brown: indeed, one member of the tour of american foodies was jamie derossa, a well-known miami chef. >> we took the lobster we poached it with rum, coconut lime, and guava. >> brown: and he told me later he was impressed by what he'd seen. >> it's interesting to see how a country with less resources than we have, doing the very same farming we are just now becoming great at the lettuces were great, the herbs were great to see a greenhouse growing heirloom tomatoes is fantastic, i mean it really was. >> brown: but questions loom, as diplomatic relations between the u.s. and cuba improve, and american agriculture and food companies look for commercial opportunities on the island. >> i was just talking to our

guide at the farm here, and she says that genetically modified organisms are outlawed in cuba they're not allowed, however chemicals may be allowed, and i don't know what will happen if the american agriculture companies get in here, and are able to sell their products, if it's going to continue like this organic model, or if it's going to look a lot more like what we see in the u.s. i really don't know what's going to happen. >> brown: miguel salsinez says farming here will change, but he hopes the focus on organic methods continues. >> ( translated ): the use of chemicals is inevitable. the chemists are going to return. what we have to know is to what extent, and be conscious that chemicals are not a good thing, use them as little as possible, and try to continue to emphasize organic agriculture. >> brown: from alamar, cuba, i'm jeffrey brown for the pbs newshour. >> wooduff: chef jamie derosa shared one of the recipes he prepared that evening at the foodie event, lobster ceviche

with guava, and you can find that on our home page. also there, catch up on all of our cuba reports from this week, including photo galleries and a travel guide. that's at pbs.org/newshour. finally, our "newshour shares" of the day. something that caught our eye on the newshour online, how do you find meaningful moments with an aging parent before it's too late? it's a question jack ohman ponders in his latest cartoon in the series "the care package," that chronicles the final years he spent taking care of his own dad. you can find that, on our home page. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. gwen ifill is preparing for "washington week," which airs later this evening. here's a preview: >> ifill: hate crimes, drone strikes, trade policy, and presidential politics. debates over life, death, and partisanship.

we'll tackle all that tonight on washington week. >> wooduff: on pbs newshour weekend saturday, in israel, a new wave of arab lawmakers pledge to improve the social and economic conditions of israel's arab minority. minority group in the country, they have few leadership role in the country's social and government institutions and economically they trail far behind the jewish majority. nearly half of i real's israel's arabs live in poverty. it'sing growing. >> with the action law, but still the gaps between jews and arabs is large. >> but today after arab political party joined forces and run 13 of the israel parliaments, 120 seats a new generation of arab rule makers wants to change things.

>> wooduff: that's tomorrow night on pbs newshour weekend. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff, have a great weekend, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> 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

>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, mufg and sony pictures classics, now presenting "testament of youth." >> they say the oldest trees bear the sweetest fruit. at mufg, we have believed in nurturing banking relationships for centuries, because strong financial partnerships are best cultivated for the years to come, giving your company the resources and stability to thrive. mufg -- we build relationships that build the world. >> is it terrible of me to be