captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. gwen ifill is away. on the newshour tonight: as world leaders gather at the united nations, from the u.s. to russia, how to end the war in syria tops the agenda. also ahead, margaret warner talks with the president of egypt on how to bring down the islamic state. plus, >> there will be major tax reductions. >> woodruff: it's politics monday. donald trump unveils his tax plan and hillary clinton keeps on answering questions about her handling of emails. then, nasa solves one of the greatest mysteries of mars: discovering rivers of water on the red planet. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president obama and russian president vladimir putin went to the united nations today where they laid out starkly different visions on the future of syria. the two men addressed world leaders, disagreeing openly on whether syrian president bashar al-assad must go, or stay. later, they met privately. we'll get a full report on developments at the start of this big week at the u.n. after the news summary. in other news, wall street had a bad monday over new signs of weakness in china's economy and falling oil prices.

the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 313 points to close back near 16,000, down about 2%. the nasdaq fell 142 points, or 3%. and the s&p 500 dropped 49, 2 1/2%. as the u.s. focused on syria at the u.n., the taliban scored a major coup in afghanistan. hundreds of fighters attacked and captured the city of kunduz, a provincial capital in the north. the taliban militants took cell phone video of themselves, after this seizure of a major afghan city for the first time since the u.s. invasion in 2001. >> ( translated ): this is our hope. we want to build a religious school, to build a school, to build a bridge, a road, a sharia-based government. this is why we came out and this is what we fought for, so that sharia law is in force here. >> woodruff: for more on the fall of kunduz and its significance, i spoke to

freelance journalist sune engel rasmussen in kabul. sune, welcome. tell us what happened. how did the taliban pull this off? >> this is an attack that started around 3:00 a.m. in the morning and the taliban attacked the city of kunduz in districts, three different directions around, surrounding the city. around mid morning, they captured the regional hospital in the city and early in the afternoon they'd taken the intelligence service headquarters, taken and released hundreds of prisoners and set fire to tun building. so it seems to be a very concerted effort by militant groups in not just kunduz but different provinces and seems to be weeks if not months in the making. >> woodruff: why is kunduz in such a vulnerable position? >> one of the main reasons is the withdrawal of the foreign troops. the -- the german troops pulled

out two years ago and since then the government has had a hard time establishing authority, and people on their side, not least kunduz is where a lot of opposition of the taliban relies on militia leaders and former warlords who don't necessarily have a lot of backing from the population because they have a reputation of abusing the local population and that is something that creates a fertile ground for an insurgency like the taliban. >> woodruff: so how much a threat does this pose to the central government in kabul? >> it depends on how long the taliban are able to hold. i'll be surprised if they're not pushed out quickly. that said, kunduz is an important city, a crossroads from northern provinces and gateway to kazakhstan.

so sit strategically a very important province. >> woodruff: sune engel rasmussen reporting fro reporti, we thank you. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: in yemen, security officials charged that air strikes led by saudi arabia killed at least 38 people at a wedding party today. it happened in a town near the port city of mocha on the country's southwestern coast. the saudis are running an air campaign against shiite rebels in yemen, but they denied hitting a wedding party. a spokesman said, "this is totally false news". pope francis is back in rome after his u.s. visit, but he kept making news, even as he flew home last night. speaking to reporters, in italian, he condemned bishops who helped hide the sexual abuse of children, by priests. >> ( translated ): when a priest abuses a child it is very bad. he crushes them with evil. and for that reason, it is

almost a sacrilege. he has betrayed his vocation, the call of god. and also, one should not cover it up. the ones who covered these things up are also guilty. >> woodruff: the pope also defended the consoling words he offered to u.s. bishops last week over the abuse scandal. he said he wanted to acknowledge that they had suffered, too. prosecutors in germany today opened a fraud investigation of volkswagen's former c.e.o. over cheating on emission tests. martin winterkorn resigned last week as the scandal burst to life. separately today, german government officials insisted they were unaware v.w.'s data was falsified. back in this country, the u.s. senate voted to break a deadlock over funding government operations into december. that's after republicans gave up trying to pass a bill that also denied funding for "planned parenthood". the house is expected to follow suit this week. royal dutch shell is abandoning its search for oil in alaska's

arctic waters, at least for now. the company spent $7 billion dollars on drilling in the chukchi sea, but says it did not find enough oil to make it worthwhile. environmentalists had condemned the project, saying a spill would devastate wildlife in the region. and there's hopeful news for women in the early stages of breast cancer. the national cancer institute reports a gene test can determine which patients are helped more by hormone therapy. those who skipped traditional chemotherapy, based on that test, had less than a 1% chance of their cancer recurring over five years. still to come on the newshour: world leaders grapple with what to do with syria. margaret warner sits down with the president of egypt. donald trump unveils his tax plan. nasa finds rivers of water on mars. and much more.

>> woodruff: how to end the war in syria? that was the key question today at the united nations. it's a conflict that's left thousands dead, displacing millions more, with ripple effects across the middle east and europe. our chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner is there and has this report. >> warner: 160 world leaders filled the general assembly hall to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the organization dedicated to preserving peace in the world. but the speeches of president obama and russian president vladmir putin put today's tensions between the two of its founding countries squarely in the spotlight. mr. obama spoke first, with an ominous warning. >> we come together today knowing that the march of human progress never travels in a

straight line, that our work is far from complete. that dangerous currents pulling us back into a darker, disordered world. >> warner: it was an indirect reference both to the rise of the islamic state-and to what the u.s. sees as adventuresome by russia, syria and iran. he rejected russian argument that supporting syrian president bashar al-assad is the price for fighting isis. >> the united states is prepared to work with any nation, including russia and iran, to resolve the conflict. but we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo. >> warner: later, putin, who appeared at the u.n. event for the first time in a decade, flatly disagreed. he said there's only one way to end the brutal conflict in syria and defeat isis. >> ( translated ): we think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the syrian

government and its armed forces, who are valiantly fighting terrorism face to face. we should finally acknowledge that no one but president assad's armed forces and kurd militia are truly fighting the islamic state and other terrorist organizations in syria. >> warner: putin is already engaged in a major military buildup in syria, and he's now struck an intelligence-sharing deal with syria, iran and iraq, which came as a surprise to the white house. he called today for a broad global coalition against terror, and he rejected criticism of russia's new activism on the world stage. >> ( translated ): i must note that such an honest and direct approach of russia has been recently used as a pretext to accuse it of growing ambitions, as if those who say it have no ambitions at all. however, it is not the matter of russia's ambitions but the recognition of the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world. >> warner: iranian president hassan rouhani likewise defended his country's actions in iraq and syria, where tehran is

actively aiding assad, and he blamed american policy for forcing iran to act. >> ( translated ): we must not forget that the roots of today's wars, destruction and terror, can be found in the occupation, invasion and military intervention of yesterday. if we did not have the u.s. military invasion of afghanistan terrorists would not have an excuse for the justification of their crimes. >> warner: the flashpoint in ukraine also figured large in the day's dueling speeches. president obama condemned russia for flagrantly violating ukraine's sovereignty. >> if that happens without consequence in ukraine, it could happen to any nation gathered here today. that is the basis of the sanctions that the united states and our partners impose on russia. it is not a desire to return to a cold war. >> warner: but putin shot back that the root of the problem is american arrogance.

>> ( translated ): we all know that after the end of the cold war, a single center of domination emerged in the world. and then those who found themselves at the top of that pyramid were tempted to think that if we are so strong and exceptional then we know better than anyone what to do. >> warner: the obama and putin speeches were a public preview of their private meeting later, their first direct sit-down in nearly a year. >> woodruff: and margaret warner joins me now. margaret, how far apart are these two powerful leaders in how they approach the world? >> well, i think quite different, judy. even though you just arrived and read their speeches, you would think they were both talking about having a very orderly and cooperative world. but not only as you heard in the speeches, they had very different views of ukraine and syria, how we got to the point where we are in both countries, but, you know, what the solutions are. the difference was president obama talked a lot about how a

strong nation is actually forced to diplomacy abroad and at home accepts its citizens have freedoms, and it's a weak leader and country that asserts itself abroad unilaterally repressive dissent at home. an obvious dig at putin and said in the end that is a recipe for a disorderly world. putin didn't talk at all about human rights or any sort of broad topics like that. he also talked about wanting to cooperate, but he just did not, i would say, try to offer an alternative vision, other than vague statements about cooperation. in fact, they clearly, in their actions, are dealing very differently with almost every conflict you see around the world. >> woodruff: we know, as judith mentioned, putin has

forces, beaching up forces in syria but in addition we know the russians arranged this intelligence-gathering arrangement with iran and with assad in syria. what is the u.s. saying about that? >> well, they're very concerned, and the other player in this, by the way, judy, is iraq. so if those four countries are going to share intelligence on i.s.i.s. when this first came out yesterday, the united states was completely blindsided. they had no idea, no one alerted them. so, clearly, it was like putin and the rest of them are trying to set up a rival sort of anti-acecies coalition and what worries me is it adds to u.s. worries, what is putin up to. is he sending forces to syria to fight i.s.i.s. or is it really to prop up assad and help assayed wipe out all internal opposition, whether terrorists or not? so this adds to a basket of

worries the united states has about the situation in syria. others would argue president obama declined to get very involved in syria and russia stepped into a void, essentially, sort of external leadership. wherever you come down on that argument, the u.s. is very, very concerned. now, to us, members of the administration said, oh, well, one said were low-level intelligence officers, and another side iraq is a sovereign country and can do what they want even though the u.s. is in there trying to save iraq's face and training military and support in attacks on i.s.i.s., i mean, those ring hollow. the united kingdom as an ally wouldn't do anything like this without telling washington. iraq may be a sovereign country but that's what stunned the u.s. officials most is iraq is part of this.

>> woodruff: given this, what were the expectations going into this meeting between president obama and putten? we assume it's still going on. >> yes, and apparently -- i mean, i wasn't there, and just a couple of reporters and photographers say a stoney handshake. the expectations were very low on the u.s. part because meetings between secretary kerry and prime minister lavrov had not yielded -- including here in new york -- had not yielded any greater insight into what the russians are up to. when they use words like "frank" you know what that means and no really private assurances. and there was no sense of give except president obama said in his speech today, we are willing to work with russia and iran. so in that sense, you've seen the u.s. move a little, you know, open the door that they would like to have russia part of this anti-i.s.i.s. coalition. but their expectations were quite low going into it. >> woodruff: a lot to watch,

margaret warner, who will be in new york the rest of the week following the goings on at the u.n. thank you. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: donald trump announces his plan to cut taxes, hillary clinton embarks on a new campaign strategy, and speaker boehner steps down but the problems of congress still remain. a perfect time for politics monday. i'm joined by tamara keith of n.p.r. and amy walter of the cook political report. and welcome to you both. so let's start with donald trump. he did, finally today, unveil this tax reform plan. eliminate taxes for millions of people, cut taxes for some of the highest income earners.

let's listen to a little bit of what he said at this announcement today. >> we will run this country properly. there is so much money to be saved. we're reducing taxes, but at the same time, if i win, if i become president, we will be able to cut so much money. we won't be losing anything other than we will be balancing budgets and getting them where they should be. >> woodruff: so, amy, is this a plan that is likely to gain him support for voters? >> well, i dub this the oprah tax plan, it's like you get a tax cut and you get a tax cut and everybody gets something. i know oprah can pay for all the things she gives away, but we don't know where this money is coming from. this is a tax plan that did get

conservatives a thumbs up. david norquist who is an influential republican conservative tax fighter, doesn't want to see any tax increases ever, even those who have criticized donald trump who don't think he's conservative enough, has advocating hiking taxes in the past. i think donald trump is pushing back on the argument against him that he is not strong enough on policy, he's not doing enough to talk specifics and, number two, pushing back on this theme that people at club for growth argued that he's not a serious conservative, he's not a real republican. this tax plan helps to push back on both. >> we know part of it, a lot of tax cuts, but also taking away carried interest favor that's been given to some folks with hedge funds. how does this compare with other

republicans on what they say they would do about taxes? >> it's like the jeb plan on steroids. he is lowering the corporate tax rate to 15%, and, in addition to cutting it from the 35% that it currently is, he also would take freelance income, small businesses that currently pay taxes at the individual tax rate, all of that would get pushed over and put on the corporate tax rate at 15%, which norquist, the anti-tax crusader, said is ambitious and bold. in reality, this is a pretty specific plan. it includes a lot of details -- new tax brackets on the personal income side, a zero percent bracket where he, in the plan itself, says there will be a page that you just fill out that says "i win." >> woodruff: but we do now

know a little bit more where he's coming from on economics on this, right? at least it fills in some of that picture. >> sure. it says he wants to give everybody a little bit of something. he says he's going to pay for it by closing these tax loopholes, which most economists say is not going to be possible, but we also know he wants to do a lot of other spending but we also don't know where that's coming from -- building the wall across the border of mexico, humanely rounded up immigrants, as he said the other night, having a healthcare plan that's not obamacare but will cover everybody, not clear where that money is coming from. >> woodruff: we talked about donald trump, one of the republicans. let's talk about hillary clinton. tamara, i guess her campaign decided she's going to give more interviews. we've seen her popping up on different news programs. everywhere she goes, she's being asked about the e-mails. no different yesterday on "meet the press," chuck todd asked her questions. here's part of that exchange. >> there are some things about this that i just can't control.

i can't control the technical aspects of it. i am not by any means a technical expert. i relied on people who were. my assumption was anything i sent to a.gov account would be captured. >> but that's very difficult to capture all your e-mails by going to perhaps thousands of people in their.gov accounts, it would have been easier if it was sent to your .gov account. >> when you communeuate t commuo people in other parts of government you're not sending it to state.gov. i think i've done all i can to take responsibility and be as transparent as possible. >> woodruff: i know what people are saying about this interview, she doesn't seem as impatient as she has in the past. >> she looks very relaxed. i am happy to be here and i am going to be relaxed...

(laughter) chuck asked her at some point is this just a drip, drip, drip? she said, yeah, there is going to be another release to the state department rate there are week on wednesday and come october 22, there will be the big ben ghazi committee hearing, and there is no telling whether that's really going to be the end of it. >> woodruff: but does her campaign, amy, think they just have to slog through this no matter what? >> yes, it's her body language when she acknowledged the drip, drip, drip, there is a resignation to her fate. the i didn't control this, i don't know what's going to come of it. she can hope two things -- one, it doesn't go in the legal program, stays in the political realm. and, two, that eventually the media and the voters and the public get bored with this story and it goes away but that's not anytime soon and certainly not before the first of october.

>> woodruff: house speaker pgh john boehner is stepping down. he did an interview with john dickerson on "face the nation." we heard boehner spell out who some of the don servets are who led to the decision. here's part of that. >> the bible says beware of false prophets. there are people out there spreading noise about how much can get done. i mean, this whole idea that we're going to shut down the government to get rid of obamacare in 2013 just plain never had a chance. >> woodruff: so, tam remarks we hear at -- so, tamara, we hear what the speaker is saying. he's pretty blunt. kevin mccarthy confirmed he's running for speakership today. i think it will be different under his leadership. >> he's going to have the same problem pgh john boehner had which is, in the house, republicans can get what they want if they all agree with each

other. otherwise, they're going to have to have democratic help. then it gets to the senate and they can't blast through a filibuster and then it would go through a democratic president and there's no way a democratic president will defund planned parenthood or defund obama care. they still have the same problem. mccarthy has a better relationship with some of the conservative members but i don't know how far that will go. >> woodruff: what changes, amy? >> literally, we'll just change changes that's a about it. i don't think we'll see much more out off the mccarthy speakership. the question is how much does he concede to the conservative base. will he say yeah, let's shut the government down over debt ceiling in december. fine, let's take more stringent positions, force the president's hand, which could create, of course, more gridlock, and we could have another government shutdown or geto the place where

republicans, especially those who want to win the white house back, say this is damaging us beyond repair. >> woodruff: there is no sign he's going to do some of those things. >> we don't know what he's going to do. >> woodruff: amy walter, tamera keith, thank you both. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: the fight for girls to get a modern education in the birthplace of voodoo. and miles o'brien helps us unravel a major mystery of mars. >> woodruff: but first, margaret warner's interview with egyptian president abdel fattah el-sisi. in 2013, when he was in charge of egypt's armed forces, sisi removed egypt's first democratically-elected president. he himself then was elected to the post last year.

egypt's struggles are many, amid almost five years of turmoil since the revolution began in january 2011. margaret spoke with sisi yesterday morning in new york. >> woodruff: mr. president, thank you for joining us. this past week the big news was you res leased 100 political prisoners including two prominent al-jazeera journalists. was the timing dictated by the fact you were coming to tun general assembly to quiet all the international criticism? >> the idea is very simple -- once the legal procedures are over and there is a possibility for me to intervene and issue a pardon, i did not hesitate. >> reporter: in your system, does a legal pardon upmean that you have concluded that they were innocent of the charges? >> once those are over, the legal party allows the president to intervene to bring an end toish issue and this legal issue.

>> reporter: there are still 18 journalists being held and, by conservative estimates, 20,000 or more political prisoners, many of whom had been brought in on what are said to be trumped-up terrorism charges. can you and lo act as swiftly once the legal process is over? >> it is very important to stop at the word of intentions. there is no legal formality that allows me to do so but there are court procedures force the cases. >> reporter: the billing issue at the general assembly is the fight against islamic state and particularly focused on sir. i can't the anti-i.s.i.l coalition of which egypt is a member, you have been at it for a full year and, yet, i.s.i.s. has grown more powerful. many fighters entered sir. i can't why is that? >> it's the idea we can fight

i.s.i.s. only militarily. the strategy is incomplete. we need a holistic approach with security, economic dimension, social-sull chiewrl -- cultural dimensions as well. >> reporter: egypt has not been involved except libya where i.s.i.s. has killed so many christain copts. is egypt going to step up. >> egypt is one member. is egypt role is confined to fight terrorism in sinai and on the borders of libya that extends over 1200 kilometers. >> reporter: so more in your neighborhood? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: one more question about the bigger picture. do you share the view of russia and iran that now is not the time to unseat president bashar al-assad or his government, the number one fight is against

i.s.i.l. >> we are for a political solution, not a military solution in syria. we want to preserve the integrity of the syrian territory and preserve the syrian national army. we must confront the extremists organizations and i.s.i.s. and syria to bring stability to the situation. we must reconstruct syria to accommodate the refugees back into their homes now. >> reporter: but do you think that president assad can be part of the political transition? >> we need to focus on the real threat, the extremism and terrorism and its negative ramifications and the huge instability that can dominate the middle east and can spill over to other regions as well. >> reporter: but there is a big question about whether bashar al-assad and his continued presence and the way he's treating all of his own people is fueling i.s.i.s. do you agree with that? >> i believe that the negotiations between the syrian opposition and the regime should

conclude that. we cannot just be judgmental while we are from the outside. >> reporter: so the insurgency in sinai, i recall when you came into power after the previous president, that you would clean this up in months, that you're a military man and know how to do this. instead, it is growing. why is that? >> this is what terrorism is and this is not a simple thing to confront, and i guess the united states has a long experience in countering terrorism in many countries and, despite all the capabilities of the united states, the united states took years in trying to defeat these terrorists. but if we can compare the security situation two years ago and today, we find a lot of improvement. but the question is will the flow of weapons and foreign fighters across the borders from libya be stopped? this flow poses threats to us and a challenge to us. >> reporter: secretary kerry

said this publicly in cairo and senator john mccain has said it, that crackdown on the brotherhood in the country, that further repression and jailing of many, many dissidents has, in fact, worsened this problem and has radicalized people in a way they weren't before. what do you say to that? >> you cannot forget that egypt has been in a state of revolution for five years, and the egyptian resources are limited. the state of affairs in egypt witnessed two revolutions in two years. these have been very difficult times for egyptians and we have 90 million people. they need to live. at the end of the day, egyptians want to find their basic needs provided and a better chance for life. this cannot be achieved while there is a state of chaos. the standards you live by do not necessarily have to apply to the standards we live in, in our own countries.

we need some time in order to reach the the standards that you live by. >> reporter: i understand that, but my question is, has the crackdown really ever since you came into office, including now under the anti-terrorism law, actually fueling the insurgency in egypt? >> undoubtedly, the crackdown on the insurgents and the terrorist members decreased the insurgent operations. >> reporter: decreased? decreased. undoubtedly decreased the terrorist operations and terrorist incidents. i'm saying to you, terrorism cannot defeat a country, especially if its people are unified in confrontation of terrorism. this is what we find in egypt. >> reporter: but, in fact, the number of attacks has increased, has it not? >> no. this is not true. >> reporter: so you don't think these critics could be right? >> everybody has the right to criticize, everybody has to present their own view, but i'm just offering you our perspective. the reality is that if we sorn

to syria, iraq or libya, the situation would have been much more dangerous for the region and europe. of our 90 million people, 60 million are young people. imagine if we are suffering from that state of chaos, what would the situation be? >> reporter: there is also concern in congress that military equipment given to egypt, whether apache helicopters, are being used in these anti-terrorist operations, the attack in the mexican desert. can you ensure the taxpayers their gifts to egypt are not being used in this way in the future? >> let me respond about the unfortunate incident of the mexican tourist. that was a mistake. they were in an area close to the border with libya, dangerous areas. as for sinai, i went to assure you that egypt will never use

weapons or force against innocent civilians because we will not allow ourselves to kill innocent civilians. >> reporter: let me turn to egypt-u.s. relations because the u.s. recently lifted the ban on military hardware to egypt. is it back on track now, the relationship? do you feel it has improved? >> in comparison to the last months, yes, it has improved. >> reporter: and what more would you lake to see? >> we have started a strategic dialogue with the united states to review our strategies and try to find ways how to handle issues of common interest in a better way. >> reporter: and you trust the united states as a reliable ally? >> me? undoubtedly. it goes without saying. the united states has never let us down throughout the past years. >> reporter: that's quite a statement. >> i just want to say to you, though, that the last two years presented a real test of the endurance and strength of the u.s.-egyptian strategic relationship. >> reporter: let me go back,

finally, to the state internally in egypt. can you explain to the american people why so many young, pro-democracy activists have been rounded up and put in prison sometimes for violating the law that allows them -- doesn't allow them to protest? it's hard for americans to understand. >> it is true that americans won't understand that easily because they look at us from the american perspective. but let me explain to them that we did not stop protests in egypt. we only regulated the right of protesting in egypt. many countries do. we do not ban it, and we will not. we only regulated it. why? because we need tability. we are not a rich country. this country cannot afford a state of instability. >> reporter: and, so, you think this young, liberal, pro-democracy activists are a threat to that? >> it is not a threat to the country. we just need to know that we cannot leave in this state of affairs forever. we need our country to progress.

we need to build our country after years of stagnant waters. we have complete respect for the liberal, young people, but this cannot be the only way people judge egypt. >> reporter: people who inspired the world years ago by calling for more openness, greater right to dissent and participate say it's worse than ever. has the dream of career died? >> never. the dream of tahir still holds and i can tell you there is no egyptian president who can continued leadership against the egyptians. this is a fundamental change now. only the presidential term, one or two terms, and the president has to go. this is the normal thing, and this is a very good development that egypt is witnessing and it is going to be a remarkable experience. this is what i dream of, and this is my determination and political will, and this is what i hope for my country, that it can only be ruled by the will, by the will and the choice of

the egyptians, not against their free will. >> reporter: mr. president, thank you very much. >> woodruff: this past weekend, the u.n. met to take stock of the millenium promise of guaranteeing a basic education for all children by 2015. in a message saturday, secretary general ban ki moon noted that around the world 59 million children are not in school and 250 million children are not learning the basics. over the past twelve years, pbs has been chronicling the education of six children in separate countries for wnet's documentary "time for school." tonight, we travel to the tiny african country of benin, where, in 2003, one in four children were out of school, most of them

girls. >> reporter: nine-year old nanavi todeénou lives in koutagba, a remote village in the tiny west african country of benin, where voodoo was born. nanavi and her village are participating in a nationwide campaign to educate the girls of benin. the voodoo priest calls for celebration because he has just agreed to allow one girl from each family to attend school instead of being initiated into the faith. >> ( translated ): i want nanavi to go to school. but all the girls can never go to school. there'll always be those who'll go to the convent. no one can force me to release all of them for school. >> reporter: nearly half of the girls in benin have had no formal education and often marry very young. >> ( translated ): now that your

daughters are going to school aren't you happy? >> ( translated ): you're not going to overwhelm your daughters with all the household chores, are you? >> reporter: regina gueédou hasa key role in benin's girls' education initiative, traveling from village to village on a state-supported mission to persuade parents of the value of letting girls go to school. >> ( translated ): if there are too many illiterate people, the country can't develop. we need these children of tomorrow, so that the country can change. but this will be a long fight. >> ( translated ): the changes that girls' education will bring to the village are huge.

she won't let her baby go without vaccination against diseases. she can help her mother count the money they made. at the market. >> reporter: the oldest of four children, nanavi is the biggest help on the family's modest farm. but for her mother an education was worth the sacrifice. >> ( translated ): i hope that she'll become something great, like a doctor. if i'd gone to school, i would've had a better life. >> reporter: in 2005, nanavi suffered a tragic loss. >> ( translated ): when my father died, i felt like dying too. he used to play with me.

if i didn't come back from school and it was getting dark, my father would pick me up in the village. >> reporter: before passing nanavi's father made one last wish. >> ( translated ): my father told me to go to school and not to rest. >> ( translated ): this is my middle school. this is the sixth grade. and this is my classroom. >> good morning teacher. >> reporter: with the help of regina and the girls' initiative, nanavi made it to middle school, one of the select 11% of benin's girls who even make it this far. >> ok, now class look at it. is it correct? is it correct? now you clap for nanavi please. >> ( translated ): i believe that nanavi can make it.

as we say, with a valiant heart nothing is impossible. >> ( translated ): i actually love being in middle school. i want to be a doctor so i can give people shots. i want to go to school until i become something great. >> ( translated ): my little boy's name is adaou fortune. he was born on may 28, 2015. he's 2 months old. >> reporter: in 2010, nanavi left her village to go to boarding school in the city, where regina and her mother believed she would receive a better education. but the demands of her new

school overwhelmed her and she was not able to keep up with other students. she moved to the capital, cotonou, to attend yet another school and lived with her aunt and uncle. but they physically abused her, she says, so she ran away before completing the 7th grade. she now lives in the city of bohicon, the third largest trade center in benin, and had her son with alphonse, an older married man already the father of four, who makes a living building auto parts out of rubber. >> ( translated ): i have to stay with him because we already have a son together. and i love him, too. i would've preferred to stay in school. school helped me a lot. for example, if you don't go to school, you can't read, you can't speak french, and you wouldn't be able to study photography.

>> reporter: no longer in school, nanavi is apprenticing at a local photography studio in the hope of being able to eventually support her family. >> ( translated ): hi, i'm training to be a photographer. mind if i take your picture? >> ( translated ): as soon as she started she was very dedicated to the work. she's diligent. she gave it her all. she definitely has all the right qualities to become a good reporter. >> ( translated ): it's clear that she really enjoys this work. i have to help her. she has to finish her apprenticeship. and it'll help support us.

>> ( translated ): it pains me that i couldn't stay in school, and that's why my son will do what i wasn't able to. he will study. he will go further than i was able to go. >> woodruff: you can watch additional videos of the "time for school" documentary project on wnet's website, thirteen.org. finally tonight, big news from outer space. nasa today announced that it has found evidence of liquid water on mars, at least during certain seasons of the martian year. the discovery was made through

satellite images, which revealed darkly-shaded streaks on slopes of craters and hillsides. they darken and lighten over time as water seeps across the surface, then evaporates. for more on what it all might mean, i'm joined by science correspondent miles o'brien hello again. >> judy, good to see you. >> woodruff: how do they know it's water, miles? there hasn't been a human there. they're looking at it through sites, how do they know? >> the site is a very sophisticated instrument and has the ability to do spectroanalysis and can look at whatever light is flowing through and gives unique signatures of water and in this case a lot of salt. salt is the key because mars is cold and has an atmosphere which is almost nonexistent. so the idea of water flowing there is hard to imagine. >> woodruff: but this flies in the face of what scientists thought for a long time, or have

they been building up to this? >> there is a huge body of evidence that mars at one time was warm and wet and we think probably a cushy birth for life. we have been looking for ancient life, fossils for example. there is been the thought maybe the aquifer is underneath i. they first spited the streaks in 2010. looked like water. what would keep it dpoag following? the key is they pound these percolates, these salts. extremely salty water. how do we get snow off the roads in the winter? we use salt. >> woodruff: let's talk about the streaks. we have great images here to look at. >> they're spectacular. this is essentially a cliff and you see those dark streaks are the water, the briney water that percolate infused water flowing:ward. the question is where did the water come from? is it from an underground

aquifer? it's problematic because it's starting at the top of the peak. that's unusual. could it be there is a humidity component to it? mars is very dry, but could there be under certain sicks what amounts to dew or fog which is causing this? we don't know the answer to that. >> woodruff: you keep using the word briney, very salty, so not like the water we have on earth? >> you wouldn't want to drink it, for shiewmplet but because it's so filled with the salt, it stays in liquid form where it would otherwise freeze. so the key is it's so salty it can support life. that's the debate among scientists now. >> woodruff: how are they thinking about that? >> flowing water has been kind of the holy grail on mars, and because wherever you look on this planet, where we see liquid water, we see life. it's a prerequisite for life as we know it. the question is, though, could this be water that sustains life? when we think about salt, it was used as a preservative for a

long time on voyages, because it kills microbes. so there might be so much salt there that there is nothing living there. but where is the water coming from and could it be fresher and could it thus sustain life? >> woodruff: how do they do further investigation. >> i think it begs for a mission and i think n.a.s.a. will think about the architecture for a mission. it's very difficult to get there because it's on these cliffs. how would you gather up that water? or would bit smarter to find a place a little more accessible, maybe go to the aquifer beneath, drill down and see if there are microscopic martians there. >> woodruff: how about the people watching, is it worth it, are we ever going to get there and find out? >> are we alone in the universe is a good question. we've looked at our neighbor and are getting closer by hunting after the water to find evidence of maybe ancient life or maybe

existing. the second question is the a second genesis? >> woodruff: another form of human. >> exactly, or we could be martians. >> woodruff: or we could have come from there. >> exactly. >> woodruff: this is what earth looked like. >> exactly. >> woodruff: i read today scientists are debating. how excited are they about this? >> this is holy grail kind of stuff. it's great science. it puts them in a space where they can start making an argument for missions that look beneath the surface. it's what the steady stream of nay is a and european and other missions to mars have been all about. follow the water, kind of a divining rod, if you will, a high-tech divining rod, and hoping at the end the pot of gold will be maybe microscopic life. >> woodruff: it's extraordinary. the pictures are extraordinary. >> it literally puts you in another place, doesn't it? it's spectacular to think you have the kind of imagery that

gives us that level of detail on a satellite that's been orbiting the planet. >> woodruff: miles o'brien, every time you come we have another surprise. >> it's fun. >> woodruff: thank you. you're wedge, judy. >> woodruff: speaking of space, that brings us to our newshour shares of the day, something that caught our eye which might be of interest to you, too. from russia... to paris... to las vegas... stargazers around the world were treated to an uncommon astronomical event last evening: a total lunar eclipse that occurred during a rare so-called 'supermoon.' the phenomenon happens when the sun, earth and moon perfectly align as the moon's orbit brings it closest to earth. this made the moon appear bigger and brighter than usual. and sunlight refracting around the earth bathed it in an eerie, reddish glow, giving it the name "blood moon". this 'double feature' has not

occurred since 1982, and whether or not clouds obscured your view, you'll have to wait until 2033 to see it again. >> woodruff: on the newshour online: for many retirees, navigating the social security system can take all the peace out of retirement. luckily, we have our benefits guru lawrence kotlikoff as a guide. today on "ask larry", he addresses widows and veterans benefits. you can read his advice, and submit your own question, on our home page. that's at pbs.org/newshour. >> woodruff: tune in later tonight on charlie rose, more of his exclusive interview with russian president putin. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, margaret warner continues her reporting from the united nations. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night.

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