captioning sponsored by wnet >> thompson: on this edition for sunday, november 12: president trump in the philippines, the final stop on a five-nation trip to asia. and in our signature segment: from hawaii-- harnessing the power of ocean waves to make electricity. 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. ank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> thompson: good evening and thank you for joining us. president trump is in the philippines this evening to meet with controversial president rodrigo duterte and to attend another summit of southeast and east asian countries. mr. trump, wearing a traditional shirt, arrived in manila from vietnam, where he had offered to mediate the rival claims in the south china sea, pitting china against five other countries, including the philippines. president duterte seemed to reject the offer, saying, "the south china sea is better left untouched, nobody can afford to

go to war." trump chief of staff, john kelly, said duterte's human rights record would be a "hot topic" in their talks. but when asked if he believes widespread reports that thousands of filipinos have died in duterte's extra-judicial crackdown on drug trafficking, kelly said, "we'll have to see"" before leaving for manila, mr. trump also walked back his earlier, provocative remarks about russia. first, the president told reporters yesterday that when he met russian president vladimir putin in vietnam, he believed putin when he again insisted he did not meddle in last year's election. mr. trump also questioned the former american intelligence agency chiefs who concluded, during the obama administration, that russia did interfere. mr. trump calling them" political hacks." but later, before leaving vietnam, president trump told a news conference he did not mean and russia did not meddle in the election. as to whether i believe it or not, i am with our agencies,

especially as currently constituted with their leadership. i believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. >> thompson: two of the former intelligence chiefs president trump called "political hacks" said today they fear putin is manipulating mr. trump. >> it's very clear that the russians interfered with the election, and it's still puzzling as to why mr. trump doesn't acknowledge that and embrace it and push back hard against mr. putin. the russian threat to our democracy and foundation is real. >> thompson: former director of national intelligence james clapper said he believes both russia and china think they can play mr. trump. in response, trump treasury secretary steve mnuchin said the president, "is not getting played by anybody." hanging over the asia trip, which ends tomorrow, is the spectre of north korea, and last night, mister trump responded to north korea's taunt that his speeches in asia have been" reckless remarks by an old lunatic."

mr. trump responded on twitter, saying: "why would kim jong-un call me old?" adding, "i would never call him short and fat?" he went on to say, "oh well, i try so hard to be his friend." in a clear signal to north korea, the u.s. and south korea, along with japan, are now holding large-scale naval exercises in south korean waters. for the first time in ten years, three u.s. aircraft carrier battle groups are taking part in the show of force. while the president has focused on foreign policy in asia, there have been developments in domestic politics-- from the democratic sweep in virginia's elections last week to accusations of sexual abuse against roy moore-- the republican nominee in the alabama senate special election scheduled for next month. but taking the long view, there may be a bigger political story worth paying attention to." newshour weekend" special correspondent jeff greenfield joins me now from santa barbara, california. so it feels to me like this has been a really big week in

politics but you say there should be something else we should be focusing often. >> yes a less dramatic story but one that has potentially more significance, the 25 republicans have said they will not seek reelection. that is a very high number this early in the signing. and a lot of these republicans come from districts that are the kind of districts filled with voters that helped give the virginia democrats their big margin. that is, their suburban, they're educated, they're younger. and we should remember that 23 republicans in the house represent districts that hillary clinton carried. why does this matter? it is easier for a open seat than to unseat an incumbent. some of the more critical of those of their own party are looking at virginia and

wondering whether it is time for them to look for their career moves. this could be a big story. 24 seats are what stand between democrats and take creel of the -- control of the house. >> there are a lot ever seats up for grab in the house? >> ifortsdz bleak in the senate. there are only eight republicans up in 2018. only one dean heller is up for one that hillary clinton carried. five in states that donald trump carried by anywhere from 19 to 35 points. and a lot of these states have a far fewer ever the voters that we saw in virginia. so if you're democrat you may be very posses pessimistic. 90 there's one cautionary note and that's judge moore. if he wins and the senate can't figure out a way to not seat him, he will become a poster boy

in every race other than alabama. i'll remind you that in 2012 one republican nominee todd aiken made some ham-handed comments about abortion. if you are mitch mcconnell, the last thing you want is senator roy from alabama to be in your caucus. >> speaking of moore a lot ever republicans in washington kept their distance from him this week but republicans in albert are sticking -- in alabama are sticking with him. how will this play out? >> how polarized this country has become politically. we are at a point where 40% of republicans and othird of democrats said they would be really yum set if one of -- upset if one of their kids married someone from another party. state officials saying i'd rather have a pedophile than a

democrat in that seat. on a slightly less head shaking notes, you've had other republicans and conservatives saying, can we postpone this election so we can have a do-over? that's about as unprecedented a thing as can you imagine in the way you do politics. it goes to show, no matter what the allegations, apparently if the choice is between an accused pedophile and a member of the other party, i don't want that other party to win. that is quite a sea change in the last generation of how we look at partisan politics. >> all right, jeff greenfield thank you for joining us. today marks one week since a man who entered a church in west texas, and ftc of methodology clmethodicallykilled 28 people.

a temporary road side memorial with 26 crosses has been built near where the massacre occurred. in slnldz, 30 miles from san antonio. today outside the first baptist church, people attended a somber service in a baseball field. no pictures of the service were allowed. sphrearchg pomeroy told his congregation, do not allow the families lie in vein, he urged them to, quote, never give up the fight. about 20 of the people who survived gunshot wounds have remained hospitalized. the church tends to turn into a memorial for the victims. senator john cornyn said his bill would make sure the

military is required to report convictions to the fbi system. the church mass shooter had an air force conviction, which would disqualify him from >> thompson: what's ahead for saudi arabia after its crown prince purged the government of top ministers and royal family members? visit www.pbs.org/newshour. when it comes to renewable energy in the united states, hawaii is a leader: 15% of the power there comes from solar and wind. and researchers on the island of oahu are now working on turning the power of ocean waves into a natural, clean energy source. in tonight's signature segment, i recently traveled to hawaii to see how it might work. this story is part of our ongoing series, "peril and promise-- the challenge of climate change." >> reporter: the east coast of the hawaiian island of oahu is known for its breathtaking beaches and ocean vistas.

but these beautiful waters aren't just a draw for surfers and tourists. they are also a potential, untapped source of renewable energy- power generated from waves. what's the potential for wave energy? >> it's huge. the resource around the world is enormous. >> reporter: pat cross is an oceanographer with a phd in meteorology who manages the wave energy testing site off the marine corps base hawaii. it's one of only a few places in the world testing out different technologies to harness energy from waves. >> the hard part is just how you capture it in a reliable and commercially viable way. the resource is huge, but the challenge is great-- to capture it. >> reporter: so far, no wave energy developers have figured that out, and that's where this testing site comes in....it's a joint venture by private business, the military, the department of energy, and the hawaii natural energy institute at the university of hawaii, where pat cross works. >> people are trying very

different concepts about how best to capture the energy that's packed into those waves. so one wave energy device looks very different from the next right now. and it remains to be seen kind of what the winners will be. >> reporter: wave energy is different from tidal energy, which harnesses power from the pull and push of tides with devices usually located underwater, and is already deployed in a handful of places around the world. the wave devices tested here sit mostly on top of the water. one one looks different from the next, but they all use the movement of waves to turn a turbine, winch or hydraulic system to generate power. one device tested for a year and a half is called "the azura." it's designed by a company called azura wave energy based in portland, oregon. the steel device weighs about 45 tons and is the length of a flatbed truck. as the device rocks back and

forth and up and down in the water, a float in the middle moves and rotates. >> as it does that, it pushes hydraulics that runs a motor and makes electricity. >> reporter: last spring the azura was lifted out of the water for cleaning and modification. after observing how it performed at the test site, researchers added a larger float to the middle to try to generate even more power. >> so this is another wave energy conversion device. >> reporter: pat cross showed us the second device tested so far, named the "lifesaver," because of its shape. it was developed by a norwegian company called fred olsen. >> you may have noticed that it looks nothing like the other wave energy converter that we saw. and it works in a very different way. >> reporter: the device is connected to the ocean floor with 200-foot cables. those cables are coiled around three winches, like pulleys, on the top of the device. >> and so as the as the wave device rocks in the waves, those taut connections cause the

winches to turn. so and you're doing that in three points around the device. >> reporter: the lifesaver came to shore last spring at the pearl harbor navy base so researchers could make adjustments to the undersea cables and power connections. the u.s. navy and the federal department of energy are funding the testing. kail macias is the technical director at the naval facilities engineering and expeditionary warfare center. he says the department of defense hopes wave energy might one day provide power to ships at sea or bases on remote islands. >> it's all about energy security. really critical for us. when you look at the logistical constraints of what it takes to provide energy as far forward as possible for our naval and d.o.d. forces, it does create quite a challenge. so when we buy, store, distribute fuel, it is a logistical constraint. so the nice thing about wave energy as it develops, diversifies our portfolio, and gives us another opportunity to

provide another energy source. >> reporter: researchers plan to test at least six more wave power devices in the coming years. the next one up is called an" oscillating water column" and works a bit differently than the others. waves push and pull air through a chamber and then through a turbine, which spins and generates power. researchers are also monitoring environmental impacts but so far have not found anything significant. the devices, as much as a mile offshore in kaneohe bay, are all connected to land by cables that come ashore here, and then feed into this old world war two bunker on the marine base that's been converted into work space. it's also where the wave devices connect to oahu's power grid. this is the only wave energy testing site in the country connected to an electricity grid, and researchers say if they can get the devices to start generating a meaningful

>> good wave can more reliable amount of electricity, it could be a more reliable source than wind or solar. >> it can be quite consistent day and night, which of course solar is not. and-- and it's predictable fairly reliably out to the order of five days to a week. so you can kind of plan how much you're gonna get from wave energy devices to feed into a power grid, for example. >> reporter: george hagerman, an ocean energy researcher at virginia tech, says beyond hawaii, the entire pacific coast of the u.s. has the most potential for wave power and that it could one day supply electricity to millions of american homes. but, hagerman cautions, that day is still a long way off. >> wave power is popularly thought, and i think with some with some validity, to be at the stage where solar electric panels and land based wind turbines were in the late 1980s, early '90s. so maybe a decade or

so maybe a decade or two in terms of really reaching the point where the technology is commercially widespread deployed. >> reporter: before that happens, researchers must figure out how these devices can toss about with the waves and survive harsh ocean conditions for prolonged periods of time. until recently, hagerman says, ocean-going devices have been designed with the exact opposite goal in mind. >> historically, all of our mathematical modeling and understanding of the fluid dynamics of how. dynamics of how waves interact with ocean structures is for structures that we design not to absorb wave energy. so a ship is designed to be of such a length that it doesn't pitch violently or everyone to get seasick on the ship. so vessels and oil and gas platforms are designed not to resonate with the wave, because you want the platform not to fatigue and fail prematurely. now we have to design structures that very efficiently take in all that energy. so that's one of the challenges too. it's a whole new mindset. >> reporter: it's difficult to develop this technology. it's still in the very early

stages, but you do believe that you are going to get to commercial viability one day? >> i do. you know, there are, it's, can i guarantee? no. but i think there's a lot of enthusiasm in the wave energy business right now. the prize is great. there's a lot of energy out there, and it's really, just makes, it wouldn't make sense not to pursue wave energy as part of-- the-- the world's, the navy's and the country's and the world's-- power needs. >> thompson: turning to the middle east, lebanese prime minister, saad al-hariri, said in an interview today from saudi arabia he will return home "very soon." this comes after a surprise and mysterious move eight days ago, when hariri announced his resignation from the saudi capital of riyadh. hariri had led a coalition government with "hezbollah," which is backed by iran-- saudi

arabia's rival across the region. for more on lebanon's political turmoil, i'm joined via skype from the lebanese capital of beirut, by "newshour weekend" special correspondent jane ferguson. jane, if we can first just rewind back. what has the response in lebanon been over this past week to hariri's surprise resignation? >> from the start megan it was one of absolute shock and that shock came from all divided factions of politics or religious leanings in this country. nobody expected this not only saad hariri's followers. it was considered to be a routine trip by the prime minister much lebron no, ma'am to discuss affairs there. then he shows up not only on tv, saying he was resigning and since then what has been even more shocking for people in lebanon is that they've gotten

no more clarity. he hasn't acknowledged or spoken to the people of lebanon and since then there has been what initially started as sort of a satirical campaign, free saad hariri, that has become quite serious, the president of lebanon michelle aoun, who have considered his movements to be restricted 50 saudi -- by the saudis, being held there. >> do you say what he has said and what the interview is going to be? >> the swruf would have gripped the inflation. to have one prime minister of one somp state, potentially what people are saying, what the president is saying, being held by another sovereign state in the middle east, even by the standards of what's been going on in the middle east over the last few years, this is

absolutely remarkable. in the interview he went to great lengths to discuss how much he loved lebanon and also that he would be returning. he promised that he would return. and that he would resign more formally. he acknowledged that his resignation was a shock. but what he said was that he wanted to give lebanon a good shock. to try to explain to the country or to show the lebanese people what danger they are in. and then he went on at great lengths to talk about iran's basically growing influence, that he sees as meddling in lebanon's affairs, one state in the interview that was actually fairly combative with a reporter who is effectively working for his own tv station when he kept asking him why are you here in saudi arabia rather than in lebanon, he actually teared up when he was speaking about his love for lebanon and then interviewer quickly cut to commercial break. >> israel is of course also a

factor here. what do you think these increased tensions will mean for israel? is a confrontation between hezbollah and israel more likely now? >> really for quiet a few years now there has been dhearn some sort of war between israel and hezbollah will be afternoon northwestability. the reason is hezbollah has become so strong during the israel civil war. of course, they said they did not wish to go to war with hezbollah. but if hezbollah and the iranians build up any are formalized position reaching red line, in terms of israel, they play have to act. but so far we are not hear rhetoric south of the border that indicates that will hatch within a few days. >> special correspondent jan

ferguson, thank you so much for joining us. this is pbs newshour weekend sunday. >> this is pbs newshour weekend, sunday. >> thompson: spain's prime minister went to the breakaway region of catalonia today, his first visit since the spanish central government dissolved the parliament there and imposed direct rule. in a speech to supporters of his conservative party in catalonia's capital of barcelona, prime minister mariano rajoy urged all catalans to oust separatists in the special elections rajoy has scheduled for next month. rajoy said doing so would "bring back normalcy" to the region. police say 750,000 people turned out for last night's rally in barcelona, demanding the release of ten detained separatist leaders. ousted catalan president charles puigdemont remains in belgium to avoid charges pending against him in spain. in india's capital of new delhi today, hundreds of activists took part in the city's tenth annual queer pride march in a

country where gay sex is punishable by up to ten years in prison. participants said they're fighting for everyone in india to live as they choose, and with equal rights. india's supreme court is expected to reconsider the constitutionality of a decades- old law that criminalizes sex between consenting l.g.b.t. partners. turkey is calling a published report that it explored abducting and taking custody of an anti-government cleric living in the u.s. "false, ludicrous, and groundless." the statement from the turkish embassy in washington denies the existence of any plan to remove the cleric, fethullah gulen, from the u.s. the "wall street journal" reported friday that special counsel robert mueller's investigation of former trump national security adviser michael flynn includes turkey's possibly offering flynn up to 15 million dollars for delivering gulen. flynn's lawyer calls the repor"" outrageous" and "false."

>> and finally, in los angeles today, several hundred people marched to support victims of sexual assault and harassment. organizers say the march and rally on hollywood boulevard was inspired by the me too social media comparison. the hashtag has contributed to the national conversation about misconduct. amid a growing list of accusations against entertainment figures, the me too campaign has urged all to speak out and against such experiences. i'm megan thompson, 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 mily. 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. provided by:upport has been and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ank you. be more, pbs.

[♪] there were two incidents where you almost lost your life. an m16 round went through my chest, and-- so luckily it went over the a in "petraeus" rather than the a in "army." and to get out of the hospital-- they didn't want you to leave that soon. you showed you could do pushups. you did 50 pushups. it's the only time i ever stopped at 50. no, i mean-- heh. [audience laughs] you had never before had people working for you directly who were killed in combat. it's a chilling experience. president obama calls you into the oval office... if the president calls on you and asks you to do something, i think you do it. woman: will you fix your tie, please? well, people wouldn't recognize me if my tie was fixed, but okay. just leave it this way. woman: and, david-- all right. [♪] [david reading onscreen text]