captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, september 12: as germany and austria prepare to receive more refugees and migrants, hungary looks to stop the flow of people across its borders. and, in our signature segment, finding alternatives to incarceration for teenage girls in trouble with the law. >> they consistently work with me, constantly. even when i try to give up on myself, even when i want to throw in the towel, i have to tell myself, "no, i can't. i can't." >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. judy and josh weston. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. 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 has been 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 thanks for joining us. european leaders are trying to unite behind a plan to cope with their ongoing surge of migrants and refugees arriving mainly from the middle east and africa. more than 430,000 migrants have crossed the mediterranean sea for europe this year, most pushing toward northern and western europe. on monday, the 28-nation european union will hold an emergency summit in brussels, belgium, to try to agree on how many asylum seekers each country will accept. the newshour's william brangham has been reporting all week from hungary, he is now in vienna, austria and i spoke to him earlier today.

william, among the european countries, hungary has been the most critical of europe's broader response to the refugees' arrival. you've been there in hungary all week. so what are the hungarians arguing ought to be done with the thousands of people coming to their door? >> reporter: well, hungary is trying to do everything it possibly can to shut that door. the prime minister has been very critical of the way the europeans have responded to the migrant crise. he is arguing for his country and europe as a whole this is about them defending the christian identity of the largely muslim group of refugees coming to europe. and hes that haz done more than any other european nation to do everything he can to stop those people are coming. he's building a fence along the border in syria, and he's pressed for new laws and ableds for the government to arrest people who are coming in. so at this meeting on monday in brussels, the hungarians and the hungarian position is going to be one of the biggest thornz in the side of the e.u. ministers

who are trying to get some kind of a consensus here. >> sreenivasan: the e.u. is proposing a quota system where different nations would accept different numbers of refugees depending on their size and economic strength. so how are the member nations responding to this judged what are the remaining challenges? >> reporter: right now it's not looking good. yesterday, the e.u. tried to get several central european nations to agree on a tentative agreement with regard to this quota plan and that was rejected. the tricky part of all of this is the numbers keep getting bigger and bigger. the e.u. right now is haggling with the issue of trying to settle the refugees over the next two years. earlier this week, the u.n. put ow an estimate they we will see 850,000 people coming in over this year and next year, so the numbers keep snowballing and there is actually some concern as these numbers grow bigger and big they're that growing number could even undermiep some of the good will that exists in some of the friendlier nations,

so-called friendlier nations, like sweden and germany, that if they see increase numbers of people coming to their borders they might get cold feet about this whole idea. >> sreenivasan: you spent a week this week talking with several refugees. what have you been hearing from them about why they're coming, why they're taking this risk on this journey or why now after years of war. >> reporter: >> quite simply, it's been the syrian civil war. the majority of people we met were syrians and they said they left their country because of the violence tearing their country poorlt the last five years. we met a father earlier this week who told me a story about his four-year-old daughter. he was traveling with his four-year-old and a three-year-old. he said his four-year-old daughter is now reluctant to let him walk out the door any time because she's not sure he is going to come back in. i think if you're a father, if you're any parent, and the war all around you has gotten so pervasive that your four-year-old daughter is afraid to let you go out the door to work in the morning, i think most parents would agree that's

a good reason to leave your life behind. >> sreenivasan: people have been fleeing syria since the war started 24 and a half years ago. >> reporter: the syrian refugee crisis is not a good thing. it's been going on as long as the syrian war, which is 2011. the thing that is new is where the refugees are going. for years the refugees simply poured into the bordering arab states-- jordan, turkey, and lebanon. and the number there are pretty staggering. it's estimated that three to four million people have now fled serria and gone into those nations. if you look at places like the satari refugee camp in jordans, it has become one of the biggest cities in that entire country. so while the numbers coming to yawrp are large they palerks in comparison. >> sreenivasan: william brangham joining us >> sreenivasan: as many as 10,000 migrants are expected to arrive in munich today.

germany takes in more asylum seekers than any other country in europe and expects to handle at least 800,000 this year. for more on that, we are joined via skype by noah barkin of reuters. how is germany receiving this influx of humanity day after day? >> well, we've all seen the pictures, the images in the media, germans welcoming asylum seekers who come over from hungary through austria, most of them arriving in munich, welcoming them with open arms, signs of welcome, handing out bananas and chocolate bars and things like that. that's what we've seen over the past week but there are signs that the mood is shifting, and as more come in. we have about i think 4,000 came in, into munich this morning. they're expecting another 7,000 or so by the end of the day, and the german foreign minister said yesterday that there could be as many as 40,000 who come in this

weekend. that would be double what we saw last weekend. so there is a bit of concern here in germany that the unflux won't stop. >> sreenivasan: is there political pressure on the angela merkel now. >> merkel is hugely popular. she has record popularity ratings, unprecedented in postwar germany. so she's in a good position. the german economy is doing well, and i think that's one of the reasons, one of the main reasons she can do this. but i spoke with one of her top advisers on thursday, and that person said that the mood can shift very quickly. we're already seeing attacks from her conservative sister party, the christian social union, which is based if bavarria. that's where most of the refugees are coming in. she has to be concerned about the mood shifting, certainly. >> sreenivasan: all right, there were also stories today

about marches all across europe in solidarity with the refugees. >> that's right. it's been interesting. we saw merkel welcome these refugees with open arms, scenes of her taking-- refugees taking selfies with her when she visited a shelter this week. and that seems to have had an effect on the rest of europe. there was a french magazine that put a big picture of americaole its cover this week and said, "if only she were french." so there is a bit of an outpouring of sympathy towards the refugees, i think partly because germany has been so welcoming, but there are other countries -- hungary, for example-- which is pushing the refugees out as fast as they can. >> sreenivasan: in the longer term pictures, do you see germany embracing these refugees as perhaps the future of their economy? i mean, these are young, sometimes very skilled people that are coming in. >> reporter: well, that's the

big question. i mean, germany does have a history of immigration. there were lots of turks, greeks, italians who came after world war ii to help rebuild the economy. so this is something a lot of germans have in their-- you know, they heard around the dinner table when the young. but amount taiment, i think the key things are if germans feel the government has this under control, it's too early to say whether we're going to see-- whether this same sort of acceptance is going to be here in a few months. we have the winter coming, and the authorities are going to have to find winter-proof shelters for these refugees. if they don't, if they're unable to do that and it's a huge task, then you could see the mood beginning to shift. >> sreenivasan: all right, noah barkin of reuters joining us live from germany tonight, thank you.

>> sreenivasan: in india, a pair of explosions has killed at least 89 people in petlawad, a town in the central part of the country. the first blast occurred when a cooking gas cylinder inside a restaurant exploded. authorities don't know why. but that triggered a second explosion of mine detonators that were illegally stored nearby. the restaurant, next to a bus station, was destroyed. many victims had been eating breakfast there. about 100 other people were treated at hospitals for injuries. in california, a wildfire is threatening 6,000 homes in mountain towns southeast of sacramento. the fire in the sierra nevadas began wednesday and now covers 65,000 acres. it is only 10% contained and has destroyed at least 15 homes. another, larger wildfire is threatening california's tallest trees. that fire, which sparked in july, has spread to within a mile of the famous sequoia groves in kings canyon national park. california could become the fifth u.s. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. the state legislature passed a

bill friday that would allow terminally ill patients to request a prescription to end their lives. but two doctors would be required to affirm a patient has only six months to live. the bill now goes to california governor jerry brown, who has not indicated if he will sign it. oregon first approved doctor- assisted suicide in 1997, followed by washington, montana, and vermont. the justice department has cleared a university professor previously accused of passing technology secrets to china. in may, federal prosecutors alleged xi xiaoxing, had shared blueprints for superconductor equipment made by a u.s. company. doctor xi, an american citizen of chinese heritage, chaired the physics department at temple university, in philadelphia. his attorney says: the f.b.i. misunderstood the science and neglected to consult with outside experts before bringing charges, and that the professor's emails-- intercepted by investigators-- were routine academic collaborations about unrestricted technologies. president obama has unveiled a

new "college scorecard" to help families figure out the costs and the potential return on their investment in higher education. the website, collegescorecard.ed.gov, rates schools by how much money their graduates earn and student loan debt they take with them. in his weekly radio address today, the president said everyone should be able to find clear data on college affordability and value. >> sreenivasan: in tonight's signature segment, we look at efforts to reduce the number of teenage girls who are locked up for crimes. it turns out a large percentage of girls who become juvenile delinquents are victims of crimes themselves-- particularly physical and sexual abuse. florida is taking a lead to curb this abuse-to-prison pipeline with alternatives to incarceration.

the newshour's megan thompson reports our story, as part of our series "broken justice," about changing attitudes toward imprisonment in america. >> reporter: on an afternoon in august, 17-year-old soozee stuart- there in the pink dress-- stands before a judge in jacksonville, florida. over the last few years, she's been charged with domestic battery, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana, and cycled in and out of juvenile detention. >> yes sir. >> reporter: she violated probation repeatedly and was on the road to a long-term sentence. but that's not going to happen today. >> just keep up the good work, and don't ever give up. >> reporter: because this is girls court. a year-old experiment to rehabilitate rather than incarcerate delinquent girls. stuart's one of the first nine teens to go through it. girl's court recognizes that, while many of these girls committed crimes, many are also victims. >> girls experience trauma at a different frequency and

different kinds of trauma than boys, girls react differently, and respond to that trauma differently. >> reporter: a 2014 study showed, 31% of girls in florida's juvenile justice system have been sexually abused. that's four times the rate of boys. 41% of girls have been physically abused. girls like soozee stuart. >> i felt like a reject. i felt like i couldn't get it right, no matter what. >> reporter: to hear stuart tell it, her problems began when she was nine years old. her mother was in prison for a domestic dispute with a boyfriend. and stuart says her father was physically abusive. she spent time in foster care and a state home for troubled kids. at 15, she ran away. then became a teen mom. >> angry. disappointment. confusion. you know, i didn't know who i was, or what my worth was. my self-esteem was so low, it's not even funny. >> reporter: after her first

arrest, a domestic battery charge, and then detention, stuart says she needed help but never found anyone she could trust. how do you feel like you were treated along the way? >> i feel like everybody had an attitude of, "you're not going to make it anyways." so, i started believing it. back then i was like, "i ain't got nothing to lose. i'm going to get locked up anyways." doing stuff i wasn't supposed to, i'd do it at the drop of a dime, because everyone made me feel like that's what- that's all i was worth. >> reporter: juvenile detention only reinforced her low expectations, even when she was relased. >> i said, "okay, i'm leaving. y'all won't see me again."" no, you'll be back." that's the kind of stuff they told us. you know?" you'll be back." >> reporter: and she was-- by her count around six times. so her probation officer recommended her case be transferred to the new girls court. it was launched by judge david gooding and children's advocates like lawanda ravoira. she runs the delores barr weaver policy center, an advocacy and

counseling group for girls in jacksonville. >> what we see often times when the girls have had a traumatic experience she doesn't always have a vocabulary to explain what's going on. and so, she will act out. >> reporter: although the total number of both girls and boys entering the juvenile justice system has dropped in jacksonville and across the nation, rates have dropped more slowly for girls. research suggests zero-tolerance policies and more aggressive policing of things like fights at home have impacted girls more than boys. >> often, the system's response is to push girls away, by punishing them, and not getting to the root cause of what's driving the behavior. >> reporter: to be clear, though, i mean, a lot of these girls have committed serious crimes and they do need to be held accountable for their behavior. right? >> absolutely. we would be the first to say that girls must be held accountable for their behaviors. but that has to be balanced with

recognizing where we have failed to intervene early. >> reporter: earlier intervention may have helped mia paz. as a teen in orlando she cycled in and out of florida's juvenile justice system. >> there was resisting arrest. there was possession of marijuana. i also had possession of alcohol. i had fleeing and eluding, a cop chase, a car chase. >> reporter: paz believes she was acting out because of trauma at home. she says her uncle began to sexually abuse her when she was in seventh grade. >> it started just, like, very awkward and weird questions. and then feeling weird from all- un-unwanted touching. and then it wasn't until i thought, "no, i don't want to do that," then it was more violent. >> reporter: she began getting into trouble, drinking and using drugs with her friends. >> during the time that i was being abused i was really trying

to avoid being at home. it wasn't like i was smoking pot because i was bored. for me, it was because i- i was self-medicating. i would rather be high than think about the two hours until i go home kind of thing. >> reporter: paz says she kept the abuse secret, and it made her distrust and fear adults. especially the police. >> i was almost like a cornered dog. i would run. it was the fight or flight mentality. when you have a police officer talking to you, you can't fight them or run. >> reporter: but that's what paz did. she was expelled, and says she probably spent about six months of her high school years in rehab or detention. >> i was very scared. i was very, very scared. because i felt like the girls- like, i always felt like i was the toughest of my friends. and here i am in a group full of people that are all tougher than me. >> reporter: paz finally found help at another alternative for at-risk teens: the pace center for girls. a network of schools for girls started in jacksonville 30 years ago as an alternative to incarceration.

it offers high school classes and counseling at 19 schools across florida. paz finally talked about her abuse. she flourished, went to college, and then law school. >> and it wasn't until at pace that i didn't have to be the- the tough kid. i wanted to talk not just to my friends, but to my favorite counselors, to my favorite teachers. and i stopped looking at adults as the enemy, really. >> reporter: lawanda ravoira, who used to be the president of pace, says it's crucial to find out what's driving girls' criminal behavior. >> one of the major challenges that we have is that so many of the girls coming into the system have serious mental health issues that have gone untreated and we expect the juvenile justice system to be the mental health provider. >> reporter: ravoira's policy center partners with florida's department of juvenile justice to provide that care. sometimes that's group therapy for girls who are detained.

>> you all have powerful voices. to me, i see a lot of leaders in this room. >> reporter: and counselors like jenna kramer will stick with these girls after they get out. >> so when you're back at home, you're out, you have that opportunity to make those shifts. >> reporter: the policy center also helps girls incarcerated far away stay in touch with their families and therapists with counseling sessions via web cam. >> you can do this. >> reporter: the jacksonville area locks up girls at higher rates than other parts of the state. brooke brady heads the juvenile division for the local state attorney's office and says it can be explained in part by an uptick in violent crime. >> unfortunately, there are some cases that it may be a first offense, but it's extremely violent, and we feel that that person's a danger to the community. >> reporter: brady also says sometimes her office has no choice but to pursue incarceration for girls repeatedly violating probation. >> and to get them the services

that they need if they're not staying at home and cooperating with that, unfortunately, commitment's the only alternative at that point. if there's any way to divert a case, we certainly look to do that. >> reporter: brady says girls court has helped her with that. her office gets more information about the situations of girls like soozee stuart. improving the chances they will get services rather than a sentence. >> soozee's been straight for a long time. i trust her. >> reporter: judge gooding works with attorneys on both sides, probation officers and counselors to keep girls on track. they've all pooled existing resources to make girls court happen. >> we try to reach the girl where she is. we try to provide a support system, not only for her, but also her family. whatever the needs of the girl might be. >> reporter: the team got stuart counseling at the policy center and into the pace center for girls. now they're trying to find child care for her two-year-old daughter. >> you're more articulate than a lot of the lawyers i hear.

i know you can do this. >> reporter: for the first time, stuart says, she has hope. >> even when i don't want to do it no more, they continuously push me." no, you have to do it. remember, you got a baby. you have to do it. you can't give up." so, then i start thinking like that. even when i want to throw in the towel, i have to tell myself, "no, i can't. i can't." >> sreenivasan: meet three young women who were incarcerated, and turned their lives around. visit pbs.org/newshour. >> on pbs newshour sunday, our coverage from europe and the ongoing migrant and refugee crise. >> they just throw food at us and say to, "stay, stay." >> sreenivasan: on the next pbs newshour weekend.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: an exhibition of ancient egyptian artifacts found buried underwater has opened to the public, in paris. the exhibit at the arab world institute features 250 artifacts from a pair of ancient cities discovered 15 years ago. it took seven years of underwater excavation to retrieve the artifacts from a 40 square mile area of the mediterranean sea near alexandria, egypt. the objects, covered in sediment and partially protected by the sea, date back 2,800 years. like this giant tablet with hieroglyphic writing. some objects came out of the water only last year. the french marine archaeologist who discovered the cities believes they became submerged 1,200 years ago. >> ( translated ): the cities were submerged because of natural calamities, earthquakes,

big tides, collapsing of ground, which made it possible that sea could cover those sites. >> sreenivasan: one of the biggest finds is this 30-foot statue of a pharaoh, which the archaeologists believe, stood at the entrance to a temple now underwater. the ancient cities were called thonis, heracleion and canopus. many of the artifacts are thought to be in tribute to the ancient egyptian god, osiris. >> ( translated ): the artifacts have aesthetic value, but at the same time, this shows us there is a continuity in egyptian beliefs from the ancient pharaoh civilization and to greek and roman times. we have osiris, who became dionysus and then bacchus in roman times. >> sreenivasan: the exhibit comes at a precarious time for antiquities in the middle east, as militants from the islamic state, or isis, have destroyed artifacts across iraq and syria. >> ( translated ): we want to say that no, we should take care of the world heritage because in reality it is not only our heritage only, it is the world's heritage. >> sreenivasan: the paris exhibit will run through january, and then travel to the british museum in london.

>> sreenivasan: tennis has an improbable new u.s. open women's single champion. flafia penetta won the title in new york. she beat roberta vinci 7-6, 6-2. the 33-year-old panetta is the oldest first time grand slam singles winner. following the match, she immediately announced her retirement. that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. 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: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. judy and josh weston. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. 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 has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

[ indistinct shouting ] alice: i remember thinking how helpless i was, and how indifferent i was when i would read about terrorist organizations who intended to do us harm. and the thing is, it was glossed over. it was not given the emphasis that it deserved. i heard about that as a flight attendant, we couldn't do anything except really laugh it off and try to forget about it. because i was not more alarmed and concerned, it's even more tragic. i feel that i've let mark down. when they got there, it was nothing more than just