captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, october 21, 2017: army sergeant la david johnson, one of the u.s. soldiers killed in niger, is laid to rest. spain moves to dissolve the secessionist government in catalonia. and, counting global deaths caused by pollution. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.b.p. foundation. the anderson family fund. rosalind p. walter, in memory of abby m. o'neill. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided

by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're 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 at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. the american soldier whose death in africa unwittingly ignited a war of words with racial overtones between president trump and a florida congresswoman was buried today following his funeral near fort lauderdale, florida. 25-year-old army sergeant la david johnson was one of four special forces soldiers killed in an ambush by islamic militants in niger almost three weeks ago. two others were wounded. 1,200 mourners attended the service for johnson, a father of two children, with a third on the way. democratic congresswoman

frederica wilson, who says mr. trump told johnson's pregnant widow her husband," knew what he was signing up for," told "the new york times" last night: "the white house itself is full of white supremacists." in response, on twitter this morning, mr. trump called congresswoman wilson "wacky" and said she's "killing the democrat party." the publication "roll call" has obtained and published details of an email exchange between the white house and pentagon that contradicts president trump's claim that he had called virtually every family of the 67 american service members who've died since he took office this year. "roll call" reports white house aides knew that claim was wrong when the president said it four days ago, and then scrambled to assemble a complete list of military fatalities and family contact information so mr. trump could start making contact. the pentagon and the f.b.i. are investigating the circumstances which cost the soldiers their lives. today in niger, officials say, militants who crossed from neighboring mali carried out an

attack that killed 13 policemen at their base, which was about 20 miles from where the americans were killed 17 days ago. spain's central government is taking strong steps to stop the catalonia region from seceding. today, after a cabinet meeting, spanish prime minister mariano rajoy called for the removal of catalan officials leading the independence movement, and for dissolving the regional government. to implement this, rajoy triggered an article of spain's constitution that permits the central government to intervene when any of spain's 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law. spain's highest court ruled catalonia's pro-independence referendum illegal earlier this month. rajoy also called for scheduling elections within six months for a new government in catalonia. separatist leaders in catalonia called rajoy's moves a "coup" that will crush self-rule. we'll have more in the independence movement and the reaction to madrid's moves later in the broadcast. egypt's government says more than 50 of its security forces have been killed in a firefight in the sinai desert with islamist militants. egyptian officials say a convoy

of armored vehicles was on the way to a suspected militant hideout when it was ambushed about 85 miles southwest of cairo. the security forces were hit by gunfire, explosives, and rocket- propelled grenades. the government did not offer a casualty toll for the militants. in afghanistan today, a suicide car bomber killed at least 15 government soldiers training at a military academy just outside the capital of kabul. the car rammed into a bus taking the soldiers home. sponsibility.laimed the taliban controls 40% of afghanistan's territory in its insurgency against the u.s.- backed government. elsewhere in kabul today, hundreds of mourners attended funerals for victims of last night's suicide bombing of a shiite mosque. isis claimed responsibility for that attack, which killed more than 50 people and wounded dozens more. more than 200 soldiers and civilians have been killed in terrorist attacks across

afghanistan this week. >> sreenivasan: the u.s., canada, and mexico are currently engaged in talks to amend the north american free trade agreement, nafta, which went into effect 23 years ago. american negotiators are looking for changes that could help lower the u.s. trade deficit with the other two countries, but the talks, which reconvene next month in mexico city, are at an impasse." bloomberg news" editor sarah mcgregor joins me now from washington to discuss this. sarah, this is kind of one of those stories that just flew under the radar, compared to all the other news that's being generated from the white house these days. so, what level of talks are we at, and how significant is this going forward? >> yes, so we're two months into the re-negotiation of the north american free trade agreement. the last round of talks ended last week, and that's the round where the u.s. put its hard-line proposals on the table. this is things like rules of origin. they want to increase the amount of regional content that needs

to be in a car for it to qualify for duty-free access under nafta. and they also want to introduce a u.s.-specific provision, which would be 50%. >> sreenivasan: 50% of the car has to be u.s. product, if it's going to these countries? >> yes, it has to be sourced from the u.s., and that would be in line with trump's proposal which, as you've said, is to lower the trade deficit and to bring back-- you know, revive manufacturing and bring back manufacturing jobs that he thinks went south of the border, that went to mexico, under nafta. another pretty contentious proposal is the idea of a sunset clause. this sort of came out of nowhere, actually. the u.s. administration wants to re-negotiate this every five years. >> sreenivasan: doesn't that kind of add a little uncertainty to the mix? >> absolutely. this is the round that we've started to hear a lot from the u.s. business community. and something like this sunset clause is something they're very concerned about, and if you're thinking, "my gosh, i don't know if i can depend on these tariffs, or this trade regime, beyond a five-year horizon," how

can you make your investments? >> sreenivasan: and what about congress' role in this? if this goes forward, and let's say these countries don't necessarily reach an agreement, does the united states, or does the president, have the ability to, with his pen, to be able to withdraw us from nafta? >> trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from nafta on the campaign trail. he was pulled back from the verge of it in april. >> since the negotiations began he repeated this pledge to withdraw from nafta. so it's pretty clear he has that idea in his mind. ings start to get a bit morewer difficult to read the tea leaves on. congress has a lot of control in the u.s. over trade. it's built in the constitution. it has a lot of say over tariffs and levies. and it's clear it would spark a huge political and legal battle if trump tried to pull out of this deal. >> sreenivasan: so what happens. let's say-- if the united states withdraws from nafta, are there

any existing kind of-- do we go to, like, w.t.o. rules? how do we continue to keep trading? >> yes, so, i mean, want-- you know, the scenario is hard to knowledge right now. but one of them could be canada and the u.s. actually had an existing free-trade agreement before nafta. so some people think they could fall back on that agreement. whereas, canada and mexico didn't have that arrangement. before they would fall back on the w.t.o. rules, which would raise tariffs. and i guess part of the irony of this is the u.s. would actually face higher tariffs into mexico, than mexico would into the u.s., because mexico is considered a developing country. >> sreenivasan: all right sarah mcgregor of "bloomberg news." we'll try to stay on top of this story as it develops. thanks so much. >> thank you! >> sreenivasan: as we reported earlier, spain's prime minister,

mariano rajoy, announced today he'll remove the separatist government of the secession- minded region of catalonia. that means the central government in madrid is planning to exercise direct rule over catalonia, a wealthy region where 7.5 million of spain's 46 million people live. the unprecedented move is an attempt to stop catalonia's drive for independence, which has gained momentum in the past month. in tonight's signature segment, newshour weekend special correspondent malcolm brabant reports from barcelona on how the movement stems from long-held grievances, but also reflects deep-seated differences among its population. >> reporter: at barcelona's sagrada familia cathedral, the soundtrack was not of chiming bells, but of banging pots and pans on neighboring balconies. this is the traditional protest of catalonia's independence supporters. they're furious with the spanish cabinet deciding to suspend the region's autonomy and impose direct rule from madrid. ( chanting )

"out with the forces of occupation," chanted protesters outside an office of spain's central government, in barcelona, as the madrid government's intentions were made plain. >> ( translated ): i am very happy that a lot of people are going out in the street. we will not stop. >> ( translated ): do not forget that, for example, the american independence wasn't legal. all independence, by definition, is illegal. >> reporter: elalia reguant is a member of catalonia's regional parliament that voted to defy spain. >> ( translated ): independence is not a lost cause. independence is more necessary than ever. people are our only weapon, because we know that is the only way to build a society that is fair and equitable. >> reporter: the last time europe witnessed a major country breaking up was in the early 1990s, when yugoslavia disintegrated in a series of wars that left 20,000 dead in croatia, and more than 100,000 killed in bosnia.

now, those countries had to fight for their independence. catalonia is different. it doesn't have an army, and as far as anyone knows, it doesn't have a secretive paramilitary organization, like the i.r.a. >> independencia! >> reporter: catalonia's decades-long drive towards independence has relied on the power of peaceful public protests, but it's met total resistance from madrid and the european union, which doesn't want to encourage other separatist movements in france, italy, and belgium. this week, spain's detention of two leading independence activists on sedition charges fueled catalan anger. nuria simon, a tour guide in barcelona, is among protesters who claim the future of democracy is at stake. >> as a catalan, i feel very mistreated from the spanish government. it's nothing against the country. it's nothing against our neighbors in spain. it's nothing against the people. it's against the spanish

government. they've crossed the red line one, two, three times again. we're taxed much more than the rest of spain. there is no freedom of expression nowadays. >> reporter: after the october 1 referendum, judged illegal by spain's highest court, carles puigdemont, head of catalonia's autonomous government, declared independence. but, he immediately suspended the process for two months, to try to secure negotiations with the spanish government. madrid was resolute. there would be no discussions about unraveling the ties that bind. puigdemont is being advised by political scientist marc sanjaume calvet, who outlines the motivations for independence. >> an important aspect is identity, recognition of national identity. a second important element is economy. catalonia is a relatively rich region, and would like to get-- to raise taxes and get its own share in its wealth. >> reporter: there are 7.5

million catalans, who comprise a sixth of spain's population. the region is spain's most popular tourist destination, with 18 million visitors every year. many are drawn to the avante garde buildings and surreal roof tops designed by 19th century architect antoni gaudi. overall, catalonia generates nearly a fifth of spain's annual income. but barcelona claims that, of every tax dollar levied by madrid, only 63 cents is reinvested in catalonia. in particular, the shortfall has negatively impacted the region's infrastructure. >> the catalonia institutions have been asking for a long time for a new arrangement, a new constitutional arrangements allowing catalonia to be recognized as a nation, allowing catalonia to have a new financial system, and to get more powers in international sphere. the catalan government should show to the world that catalonia wants to be a country and wants to be a partner to the other

european countries. >> reporter: then there's the hangover of history. during the 1930s civil war, left wing catalonia was the last part of spain to fall to fascist forces led by general francisco franco, an ally of adolf hitler. as spain's dictator, franco wreaked vengeance by outlawing the catalan language, removing cultural institutions, executing opponents, and imprisoning 20,000 people. the language and civil rights were only restored after franco's death in 1975, but bitterness lingered. >> current attitudes of the spanish government remind to some catalans to this franco period. >> reporter: built on such a legacy, catalonia's independence movement is dividing friends and families. nuria lopez ontiveros, an english teacher, and her husband, santiago, a publishing executive, have two children and are on opposite sides of the debate. >> we are going rapidly towards disaster, and i feel very powerless to stop it. >> all we can do is try and show

the world our will to be independent in the most peaceful possible way. >> i think it's suicide. you know, it's economical suicide. >> i think it is absolutely worth it. >> i could love my children to live in a world with less barriers, not more. so for me independence, brexit, catalonian independence, the basque independence movement, everything that creates more reasons to be separated, conceptually, is a step backwards for me. >> the first thing is respect. respect towards our language, towards our culture, towards our tradition, because they are being systematically attacked. and this is not the one thing that's started to happen in the last few weeks; this has been happening for years. >> they really talk about how things are going to be better, and when i look around, i see the quality of life here is really, really good. >> there's uncertainty, there are dangers, of course there are. but i wonder what will happen to us if we remain.

now, at this point? i'm much more scared of that. >> reporter: before the referendum, opinion polls suggested a majority of catalans, like retired geography professor juan antonio melendez, favored unity with spain. >> ( translated ): many catalan people are so worried, they have already transferred their assets to banks outside of catalonia. there is a real fear of a bank freeze. this is very important for people who have their whole life's savings, old people who saved for their pension and don't want to lose it. >> reporter: uncertainty over how independence might affect the economy has led to 700 companies, including catalonia's caixa bank, protectively moving their registered offices out of the region. pro-independence organizations have urged account holders to withdraw their money from the bank to protest. student marc torrano was happy to oblige. >> we want to let the banks know that we don't agree with them

taking the headquarters out of our country just because we wanted to declare independence. but i am not sure if this protest is going to work. i didn't take a big amount. just a symbolic thing. >> reporter: despite the hard pushback on their independence dream, the secessionists refuse to believe their cause is futile, and take to the streets in their tens of thousands. >> ( translated ): the spanish government has completely lost our respect. it doesn't have any dignity or respect. they are worse than franco. because franco already died long time ago, and we're supposed to have moved on, but nothing has moved on. we're even worse. >> reporter: back in the cafe, husband and wife remain at loggerheads. >> the people who really advocate for independence, they are really fearless of the consequences, and they think "at whatever cost." and i think that happens because we have lived in a very comfortable society, and we don't realize really what "any cost" means. >> i think at first it's going to be rough.

but i think that in the long run, it's going to be a positive thing for all of us. if we collect our taxes, not having to share them with the rest of spain, i think we might be better off. >> reporter: this is spain's most serious political crisis in 40 years, and today's developments are certain to trigger large demonstrations of the kind seen earlier this week. the cabinet decision has to be approved by the senate, but with support in madrid across party lines, that is likely. this is uncharted territory for modern spain, and the divisions between the two sides seem to be deepening by the hour. >> sreenivasan: read more about catalonia's independence movement. visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: according to a study published this week, pollution of all kinds can be blamed for nine million

premature deaths around the world every year. the study, by the environmental nonprofit "pure earth" and published in "the lancet," blamed air pollution for 6.5 million deaths and water pollution for close to two million more. one of the study's authors, richard fuller, joins me now to go over the details. first of all, nine million. people are going to say, "wait. how do you calculate that? how do you get to a number this big?" >> it comes using statistics coming out of two organizations, w.h.o., in geneva and the health metricmetrics and evaluations fd by the gates foundation. and what those folk do independently, is collect statistics on what people are dying from country to country. and then look to allocate those deaths according to certain types of risks. so, for example, when you are exposed to air pollution, one of the things that could happen is you could get lung cancer.

the same way you can when you get smoking. so these groups will allocate lung cancer deaths into five or six different causes. and we'll pick up all those that are related to pollution and aggregate them in this particular analysis. >> sreenivasan: one of the things that's most striking is the distribution of where these deaths are occurring. >> 92% in low- and middle-income countries. it's a development issue. this is something that the west has looked after reasonably well. we stell have pollution deaths here in the u.s., of course. but at a much lower level than you see in the poorer countries of the world. so it's-- it's as if we put in all the right controls in the 50s and 60s and so on-- clean air, clean water, all these acts came about. and we've been monitoring and very careful about controlling emissions and the like. overseas, they've

industrialized, and there's also this enormous draw into stwraez pollution can concentrate, and they just haven't had the same results we have in terms of ther own legislative and regulatory performance. >> sreenivasan: even if you look beyond the horrendous totals you're talking about-- i mean, one of the graphics you have says this is three times more than h.i.v., lung cancer, malaria. this is 15 times more than people that are dying by war, right. >> war and murder. all of the murders in the world, of the gun deaths-- and, and, and-- anything that's violent, 15 times more than that. >> sreenivasan: even if you set that aside for a second, which is still ringing in my ears, this actually costs the kind of economic productivity of the entire planet as well. and that's something that you can'tify they hadn't seen before. >> we looked at it based on welfare costs. and that number is just staggering. it's $4.6 trillion a year. so people are getting sick and

can't work, and they're dying before they've had a productive life. so there are costs associated to that with the economy. when we calculate that in low- and middle-income countries, it's 2% of their g.d.p. so if countries were to focus on pollution and prioritize it-- which, of course, is one of our main recommendations-- that's how much they could add potentially. >> sreenivasan: there has also been this common misnomer that countries have to go through some sort of a development cycle and this is the period why wherethey're going to be dirtier, it's going to be polluting. but you're also pointing out in this study, the economy. so this old myth-- we need to knock it on the head.

bust it. >> sreenivasan: all right, richard fuller, thanks so much for your teem. >> my pleasure. >> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: the last batch of secret, government files related to the 1963 assassination of president john f. kennedy is about to be released. a law passed by congress 25 years ago gives the president the authority, until october 26, to block the release of the documents. but president trump announced today on twitter he'll allow the national archives to release tens of thousands of documents next week, including f.b.i. and c.i.a. files. most j.f.k. historians say they don't expect any major revelations. an executive order signed by president trump could result in a thousand retired u.s. military pilots called back to active duty. yesterday's order extends a national emergency declaration by president george w. bush following 9/11. the air force, which is active in combat operations against isis overseas, currently has a shortage of 1,500 pilots. a pentagon spokesman says the

call up could be spread out over three years. more than a month after hurricane maria left the u.s. territory of puerto rico in tatters, 83% of residents, or three million americans, still have no electricity. 35%, or more than one million people, have no reliable drinking water. two-thirds of puerto rico residents now have phone service. more than 4,000 people are still living in shelters. in the u.s. virgin islands, utility officials say power will finally be restored on st. john next week, while a quarter of customers on st. thomas have electricity. tonight's hurricane relief benefit concert in texas will bring together all five former american presidents. the concert will raise money for efforts in puerto rico, the virgin islands, texas, and florida. both bushes, bill clinton, barack obama, and jimmy carter will attend the event at texas a&m university. the five presidents haven't been together since the opening of the george w. bush presidential library in 2013.

>> sreenivasan: finally, the nation's oldest civil rights organization has a new leader. today the n.a.a.c.p., founded 108 years ago, named derrick johnson its new president and c.e.o. for the next three years. the 45-year-old johnson is a detroit native who headed the group's mississippi chapter. his top priorities are voter and education access. tomorrow on the broadcast and online, nuclear power plants getting a longer lease on life due to climate change. 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:

bernard and irene schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. the anderson family fund. rosalind p. walter, in memory of abby m. o'neill. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're 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. be more-- pbs.

- [voiceover] funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by the alice kleberg reynolds foundation. and hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy. and by klru's producers circle, ensuring local programming that reflects the character and interests of the greater austin, texas community. - i'm evan smith. she's a grammy award winning singer-songwriter whose latest album, a collaboration with fellow grammy award winner steve earle is called, appropriately enough, colvin and earle. she's shawn colvin. this is overheard. (piano music)