captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, july 4: greece on the edge as voters prepare to choose either spending cuts and higher taxes or possible ejection from the eurozone; in vienna, negotiators may be closer than ever to making a deal with iran over its nuclear program; and in our signature segment, from main street delano, california, a historic drought has farmers desperate for water >> reporter: mary mortgaged her home, plunked down almost $200,000 to drill a well. it saved her farm. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by:

corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm hari sreenivasan. we begin in greece, where the results of a nationwide vote tomorrow could keep the debt- ridden economy afloat or cut off desperately-needed financial support from its european creditors. voters from both camps have been holding massive rallies. if greeks vote "no" to adopting a set of severe austerity measures, the country would lose any chance of getting financial

help. if greeks vote "yes" to the cuts, the country could get some debt relief. the referendum comes after greece failed to pay a 1.6 billion euro debt payment, shuttered its banks and started rationing cash. today, greece's finance minister accused creditors of trying to" terrorize" citizens by" instilling fear in people" so they'll approve the tough austerity measures. earlier, i spoke with newshour special correspondent malcolm brabant about the mood of the people on the eve of this historic vote. you've been reporting on this for the past several weeks for us and other places. you've been talking to people on the street. the polls say that this vote is incredibly close. what is the feeling that you get on the street? >> it's impossible to tell which way this vote is going to go because it's a hugely difficult and complex vote for people to make. the question on the ballot paper is something that probably baffle economic students. for ordinary people it's a very difficult choice.

basically it distills down to whether or not you want to vote more of the same or increased os state which may be more severe that is the past five years. or something that is a step into the unknown because nobody really knows what is going to happen if the country votes no. the government here is basically saying that they're going to have a better terms possibly with the creditors. but that is something that really s undecided. so this is the most difficult question in greece's modern history. >> sreenivasan: it's been a week since the banks have been closed, money has been rags had are the impacts that you see n are there shortages of goods in stores now due to import restrictions? >> no. we're not seeing shortages yet but certainly something that people are talking about in the future. there are concerns people just won't get the goods that they want to. the problem is that everybody now wants cash. because cash is in short supply.

and so suppliers aren't giving materials to shops without getting cash. customers reluctant to part with their cash. the liquidity is shrink can that makes the difficult for the society to survive. the ironic thing what the creditors wanted to have is a sort of a modern society, financial society with credit and with money sort of going backwards and forwards electronically. we're going backwards in that respect. going back to the 1908s. >> sreenivasan: what are the possibilities on monday in either way that the vote turns out, do the central bankers when they meet could they approve bail-out funding if the yes side wins or could they say, you're out of the euro zone if the no side wins? >> i don't think so it's going to happen as quickly as. that this has been a much slower slide than people had imagined. people would have thought that after the default that there would have been armageddon that hasn't happened. the strike downwards has been

fairly gentle. built the problem is, that the money is running out of the banks here and the big question is, if there is a no vote wilt the banks actually dry out because the european central bank may feel compelled not to give the banks here any more money at all. >> sreenivasan: what about the social tension regardless of which way the vote goes? >> it is really sort of quite intense because the country s completely divided. people are talking about this being the levels of hatred that might exist after this something that deeply that happened during the civil war which started 70 years ago. that is a country which always had this tendency to turn on itself and self destructed past. people here have always fought against each other. and after the civil war ended in 1950 it took about 30 years for the country to be almost unified so those are the kind 6 tension is that we're talking about.

really immense. although if you were to look around the city tonight would you say that it was relaxed. but there's an awful lot of tension upped the surface. >> sreenivasan: malcolm brabant joining us from athens, greece. thanks so much. >> sreenivasan: in vienna, negotiators are racing to meet a july 7 deadline for a deal on iran's nuclear program. late last night, iran's foreign minister announced that tehran was ready to strike a deal and that negotiators had "never been closer to a lasting outcome." u.s. secretary of state john kerry agrees they're making progress but says there's still a lot of work to be done. diplomats from the u.s., u.k., france, china, russia and germany want iran to scale back its nuclear program to make sure it cannot build a nuclear weapon. but iran wants leaders to lift crippling economic sanctions before it makes any changes to its nuclear program. allowing access to u.n. weapons inspectors has also become a major sticking point. bloomberg news reporter indira lakshmanan has been covering the story, and she joins me now from vienna. they sacless is only good enough in horseshoes and hand grenades how close are we to reaching a

deal here? >> well, yes, that's exactly right. i mean you can be close but no cigar as the old say can goes. the american delegation has been clear telling thaws while they are closer than they ever have been before that this still could go up in flames if some very important political decisions not taken. of course what they mean by that is that the iranians have to make some decisions about giving access and specifically access for the iaea which means the u.n. monitors to inspect and meet with people and scientist look at sites there are past murk work. that is going to be probably the detaining needs to be worked out for this deal to come together in the coming days. >> sreenivasan: there was progress earlier they announced by the end of the year they would have a report on this, that is seemed like a step in the right direction that iran could understand that the u.n. could like it, the u.s. could, too.

>> yeah. that actually just happened today hari, i was huge news that is iaea director general just came back from take ran, he came before reporters today said that if take ran cooperates that they feel that the u.n. could put together its report, to direct the experience about the military directions in the past by the end of the year. but the key part that have sentence is if take ran cooperates. so, what our sources tell sus that right now the two sides are working on a lift. they're working on putting together a list based on u.s. intelligence and other western intelligence, israeli intelligence, figuring out who are the important people and the important sites trying to make sure that iran agrees that those sites can be investigated those people can be interviewed. with these sort of what is nope as additional protocol plus, plus more access. that is really what they have to get to the bottom. we haven't even mentioned that but sanctions is the other critical piece, to give this

access they want cangss released on the other end that is the other sticking point particularly in terms of time schedule how that is going to work that they still need to work out we're going to be waiting for foreign ministers to come together tomorrow in the building right behind me, the palace where these negotiations are taking place to make a final decision. >> sreenivasan: speaking of timing, this is what makes negotiations sticky, both sides want the other side to do their part first. >> right. we do understand that in the last few days there has been this critical agreement that there is going to be simultaneousness, while the united states and eu preparing the legal steps, the regulatory steps that they need to take to give sanctions relief on oil sanctions banking sanctions unfreezing assets and the rest for its patty rap will be taking all of the steps the of that it needs to push murk program. so, the working idea that on the day that the united nations verifies yes, iran has taken that steps by very same day the

sanctions will be lifted. it's going to be a complicated thing. i think something we could see perhaps by the end of the year but americans have told me they think it's more likely early next year, this really depends out quickly iran is willing to take those steps. that it needs to do to curb nuclear activity. >> sreenivasan: what are the sources that you've tone that about chances of this getting through congress. >> yeah, i mean, if it was hard to seal this deal here in vienna it's going to be really hard to seal this deal on capitol hill to sell it to all of the congressmen who are predisposed against it. the fact is it's not presentive of where the american people are when you look at the polling most is very much in favor of the nuclear deal on capital hill there is lot of suspension about this. also amongst think tanks and public intellectuals people are concerned think that iran cannot be trusted in any nuclear deal part is because net net has raised a lot of his experience.

we're going to, if this deal happen is going to have 30 day period which congress can review it can either say yeah or nay those are going to be 30 incredibly tan den shies days to be walking. >> joining from of froes vienna thanks so much. >> sreenivasan: on this july 4th, a message from russian president vladimir putin. he's both congratulating the u.s. on independence day and calling for "equal treatment and mutual respect" from the united states. putin's statement did not mention u.s. and allied sanctions over russia's involvement in the conflict in ukraine, but he did say: in europe, a heat wave is sending temperatures soaring. in italy, temperatures are expected to peak today at about 103 degrees. and spain is bracing for a high of 111 on monday. tour de france cyclists endured equally-stifling heat this morning. some spectators set up inflatable swimming pools along the route to cool off.

>> sreenivasan: and now to our signature segment. this week, there was encouraging news out of california, which has been suffering through a historic drought for the last four years. according to numbers released by the state agency that tracks water usage, residents in urban areas cut their water consumption by nearly 29% in may, which is a 15% improvement over the previous month. this follows the first ever mandatory water rationing in the state's history, put in place by governor jerry brown. but with the hot summer weather ahead, california still has work to do, and the drought has already taken its toll on agriculture, which accounts for the bulk of california's water use. and as you'll see, one farming community is doing its best to cope. in this updated story which first aired last year, john larson reports from main street delano, california.

>> it's going to be really hard for the businesses here on main street to survive if it doesn't pick up. >> reporter: all along main street in delano, california businesses can feel it-- the drought. at 1111 main street, susana garcia says it's simple. >> a lot of people not working. a lot of people only working, like, a few hours, but they're not working enough so they're not spending money. >> we need that water so there can be a lot more farm work for everybody, so they can come and shop and do what they got to do here. >> reporter: at chalia's barber shop, at 916 main, there's talk of wild bears wandering in from the hills. >> the bear was eventually taken out and put in the back of a wildlife truck. >> i guess they're looking for, what, food? there's no water source, so the bears are coming into the city. >> reporter: leias servin worries the drought will cost his parents, who work in the fields and can't afford to lose

the hours. how are they getting by? >> well, they have... i guess they have to make it work. but it's hard getting by when they are cutting you short. it's a couple of paychecks less that you get. >> reporter: delano's main street sits at the southern end of california's central valley, the richest agricultural valley in the world. the valley supplies 25% of all the food eaten in the united states, yet all around delano the drought has cost thousands of jobs, especially in the fields. this grape vineyard is 23 miles from delano's main street. crew boss sonia robles, still wearing the protective sun mask that she wears in the field says she's had to turn away people looking for work. >> i wish we could have work for them, but, i mean, we couldn't. >> reporter: when the congregation at united first method church, just a block off main street, shared their prayers on this sunday, a 24- year-old cowboy offered this.

>> we ask lord, that we receive more rain this winter. a lot of good, juicy storms, lord. >> reporter: matt huff works on a cattle ranch 16 miles from delano's main street. >> well, i know we need rain. we can't make it rain ourselves, but we can definitely give it to god. it's all you can do right about now. >> reporter: while it may be difficult to appreciate just how much the drought is changing the valley, listen to matt as he drives out with the evening feed. >> i first came here about five years ago, and the grass was at least shoulder height. every year that we've had a drought, the fields remain bald, just pure dirt. we used to have dandelions out in the field that were taller than me. that, you can feed a herd of cows with; this, you can't. >> reporter: the herd used to number 200, but when the drought hit, pastures began dying. the ranch owner began buying hay to feed the herd. as the drought continued, the owner was forced to begin selling off the herd you see up ahead. cow by cow, the herd dwindled to

a 100 and then to less than 50. he also sold his only bull, and with it much of the herd's future. but the bigger story, the reason we've come to delano is what's happening all around the ranch. the california drought is entering its fourth straight year, a drought some fear could become the most costly in the history of the american west. >> you got good years and bad years. this is what i call worst years. this is really bad. >> reporter: matt's boss, ranch owner jesse revilla, says despite his best efforts, the remaining herd is losing weight, but feeding them is breaking him. how long can you keep that up? >> well, that means i got to go sell some more cows. i got to sell more cattle so i can buy more hay. >> reporter: so the herd keeps getting smaller and smaller? >> and i'm getting poorer and poorer. >> reporter: california reservoirs, once pictures of abundance, are more alarming than reassuring. last year, the hottest ever recorded in california, water

levels fell so low that authorities cut off water to most farmers, meaning farmers had to use well water or lose everything. if you didn't have a well, what would have happened to your trees? >> well, they would be half dead by now. >> reporter: two miles from main street, mary andreas joined hundreds of farmers now drilling for water. mary grows 84 acres of almonds. her trees require year round water to stay alive. six months before her water allotment was cut off, mary mortgaged her home, plunked down almost $200,000 to drill a well. it saved her farm. how hard was that decision? >> it wasn't hard because we had already invested so much. we can't stop now. we don't know what's going to happen next year or the other but we have to keep going forward because we got everything, our whole life invested in this 84 acres. >> reporter: which is why farmers like mary who can afford it are drilling more wells than ever. drilling crews are arriving from

across the west, like matt hammond, who can't keep up with the demand. if we want drill a well in our farm, how soon could you do it? >> we're anywhere from eight months to a year and a half behind. >> reporter: but more worrisome is that so much water is being pumped from underground to replace water lost in this drought that few people believe it can be sustained. wells are going dry, and drillers are forced to go deeper to find water. this well, located 16 miles from main street, is headed down 1,600 feet, 350 feet deeper than the empire state building is high. to what extent do you feel like we can only punch so many holes and pull out so much water before we really start seeing huge problems? >> well, i mean, we're to that stage right now, i think because the deeper you go on some of this, you're losing out on water quality, too. you're going to get down so deep and the water's going to start getting salty on you.

>> so, this grove has not water on in a year. >> reporter: randy weldon is a local grower. he showed us how farmers who could not afford to drill wells helplessly watched their orchards die. these orange trees are dead, and there are thousands just like them not far from delano's main street. >> it is heartbreaking. in a lot of cases, the farmers have their heart and soul in this land, and it's like losing a part of your family, you know. and economically, it's disastrous. >> reporter: in california, water is considered a property right, so farmers are free to drill as much as they want; all they need is a permit. but no one knows how much water farmers are pulling from the underground aquifer-- that's the natural reservoir accumulated over thousands of years from rain and snow-- and no one knows how much water is left. if an aquifer is like a savings account, this is a run on the

bank. >> it's been over 50 years since we built the state water project. >> reporter: at the urging of the governor, jerry brown, california voters last year agreed they had to be better prepared for a drought, so they passed a $7.5 billion bond for building water storage facilities and water recycling projects. but the effort to preserve the water supply also means big cuts in consumption. in april, governor brown imposed new restrictions for california cities, reducing residential water usage by 25%. at first, farmers, who account for 80% of water use in california, were spared those cuts. then, last month, the state cut water allotments in northern california's sacramento-san joaquin river delta, driving farmers there to join those in the central valley in the race to dredge up more water from the ground. this escalating thirst for water has also led to some surprising partnerships.

for example, 21 million gallons of water every day flow into the cawelo reservoir, water helping save 90 desperate farmers south of delano. the water comes from, of all places, here. this is chevron's kern river oil field, just 35 miles south of delano's main street. it's the third largest oil producing field in the state more than 70,000 barrels per day. but in the process of retrieving the oil, chevron pulls up even more water, a lot more. the water is used for steam to help recover the oil underground, and then separated from the oil, cleaned and pumped through pipelines to the reservoir and the waiting farmers. >> for every ten barrels of fluid that we produced from kern river field, nine of those are water. one barrel of oil to nine barrels of water. so, we're almost like a water company that happens to skim oil.

>> reporter: back on main street, the drought can be felt in every lost sale and in every cash register. no one, of course, knows when the drought will end, only that until it does, life in and around delano feels harder, further beyond their control than they'd like, and that the things they hold dear here in this rich valley are suddenly in play. >> it's getting harder and harder to be a rancher. we need the rain. everyone does. >> if we don't get rain this year, we're in for some really bad times. >> i guess we're still here because this is our life and we're here because we want to keep farming as long as we possibly can. >> sreenivasan: what date was american independence actually declared? for eight things you might not know about the fourth of july, visit www.pbs.org/newshour.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: and on this independence day, a ship that changed the course of the american revolution sails again. a replica of the french ship" the hermione," also known as the freedom frigate, cruised into new york this week. in the heat of the revolutionary war, before diplomatic cables or emails, france used this ship to send a message to george washington that help was on the way. the messenger was marquis de lafayette. >> the word that lafayette is bringing with him as that ambassador basically is that an army will be arriving, an expedition of 5,000 soldiers and, critically, a navy, as well. >> sreenivasan: adam hodges- leclair is re-enacting the role of marquis de lafayette, the

famed frenchman who lobbied king louis xvi to support america in the revolutionary war. france provided much needed naval power to help turn the tide in defeating the british. it was the french navy that helped ensure the british surrender at yorktown. >> we declared our independence in 1776, but four years later the war was really uncertain. the french had come and supported us, and they were giving arms and equipment, but naval support was critical. so, a ship like this arriving with a fleet coming after it carrying lafayette, again symbolically, bringing that message of support was a real game changer. >> sreenivasan: this $21 million ship, which set sail from france in april, will make a dozen stops along the east coast. at each city, sightseers can see the ship's 32 cannons, hemp ropes coated in tar and ship's bell, and interact with a crew dressed in period costumes-- all to find out what seafaring life in the 18th century was like. the "hermione" left new york this morning.

on its way out, it passed by another french contribution to the u.s., the statue of liberty. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight isis has reportedly released a video showing teenagers executing 25 syrian government soldiers in front of a crowd at an ancient amphitheater after the city was captured in may. tunisia declared a state of emergency after the killings, authorities were criticized for not responding more quickly now the government has tightened security, deployed 1400 armed officers to patrol hotels and beaches and promised to close some 80 mosques suspected of spreading extremism. thanks foregoings. i'm hari sreenivasan. have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> sparks: among all the ships in the harbor, tonight is the pride of baltimore, a replica of a 19th century clipper ship that helped america win the war of 1812. and believe me, baltimore has plenty of reason to be proud tonight, for we're celebrating the 200th anniversary of "the star-spangled banner," our national anthem that was written right here. it's going to be a great party with plenty of terrific music so let's get started. please welcome train! ( cheers and applause ) >> ♪ this land is your land this land is my land ♪ from california to the new york island ♪ from the redwood forest