captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> o'brien: good evening. i'm miles o'brien. judy woodruff is away on the newshour tonight: california wildfires rage out of control. thousands are forced to evacuate around los angeles as winds continue to fuel the flames. then, we continue our series on iran's rising influence in iraq. tonight, how the battle against isis has brought iran further inside iraq's security operations. >> reporter: before u.s.-backed iraqi forces launched an operation to take back mosul from isis, it was the p.m.f. that cleared out isis from qayyara and many other towns on the outskirts of mosul. >> o'brien: and, making sense of the tax cut experiment in kansas. what the nation can learn from one state's attempt to grow its

economy by extending massive tax cuts to businesses. >> what has always been a draw for kansas is the quality of life, the stability here, excellence of our public school system. and by cutting into those basics, we really have shot ourselves in the foot. >> o'brien: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> o'brien: new evacuations are spreading along the southern california coast tonight as wildfires burn out of control. the flames so far have chased tens of thousands of people from their homes, and destroyed at least 200 homes and other buildings. the biggest and most destructive of the fires blazed its way down

to the beach today in ventura county. fire crews fought back, but the thomas fire repeatedly closed parts of u.s.-101, the coastal freeway. >> we evacuated the night before last, came home, and the fire was down in that direction. and this morning there was a wall of fire and i didn't think it was no big deal, but it's coming back to burn what it didn't burn yesterday. >> o'brien: overnight, gusting winds amplified the inferno. flames threatened the resort town of ojai, where officials ordered most of the 7,000 residents to get out of harm's way. evacuation orders also went out for several hundred people in santa barbara county. >> i only had 45 minutes to grab everything for my little girls. >> o'brien: as the day started, in all, four major fires were burning today across southern california.

the thomas fire alone stretched from the mountains to the pacific ocean, an area roughly the size of denver. in los angeles county, crews confronted the smaller skirball fire. that threatened the toney bel- air area, and destroyed at least four homes. thick plumes of smoke and poor air quality also forced 265 schools and the getty center art complex to close. >> this is what's left of our house. >> o'brien: but it's already too late for darlene jordan and others. now, they can only sift through the ashes. >> you know, you build memories in a house, from everywhere we went, all our travels and just everything. i'm just grateful that we're okay. that's all that mattered, was that. we were okay and our dog was okay. >> o'brien: elsewhere, a man risked his life overnight to save a wild rabbit from one fire, but another blaze destroyed more than two dozen horses. despite the losses, officials took hope from a forecast of wind gusts at 30 to 40 miles an

hour. they'd expected winds twice that strong. >> in a wind-driven event, wind is king. we're not quite out of the woods yet. but now here in daylight, we're going to do everything we can to hit it hard, hit is fast and hit it safely. >> o'brien: they also acknowledged the worst may be yet to come. los angeles mayor eric garcetti: >> the prediction is, even though this is a time of calm winds, that we will continue to get gusts through saturday that will be erratic and unpredictable, as high as 50 to 70 mph. >> o'brien: later, another wind- driven fire erupted, this time in san diego county, and forced more evacuations. and from pbs station kqed, john sepulvado joins us from the san fernando valley on the outskirts of los angeles. he's been reporting on the wildfires there. john, just give us an update on the conditions right now. i know the winds are not quite as high as expected. >> they're not quite as high as they expected but definitely fierce. in fact, we had problems on the way over here. as i was driving from ojai which

is a town of about 7500 people to here, there was a massive wind gust. it knocked over a power pole, knocked over all the wiring and the conduits that go with that right on the ground. we saw electric wires bouncing like rubber bands. it's a mess. it's not as bad as it was, but it's pretty bad. >> o'brien: there's a tremendous economic disparity where you have been driving around. i'm curious how people at either end of the spectrum are coping. >> so on the way over here, miles, i saw one group of people, these are private firefighters hired by insurance companies or they're often sometimes even hired by large ranchers, they bring large water trucks, they're able to have a lot of resources, these are all private, all paid for privately and essentially able to mitigate any damage done to multi-million-dollar homes, in

many cases. just pose that with just down the road, you will see people who are working the farms and they're working the fields, and many of them, as we all know, are undocumented, and these are folks that, even though there is ash raining down, they are still going to work because they can't afford to miss that day's pay. so this fire really exemplifies and in a lot of ways highlights the inequities and inequalities in california. >> o'brien: i know you spent a lot of time covering tires in the northern part of california, your home turf. what are the differences between the two? >> well, the differences here is that there is a lot more smoke, a lot more media attention, because louisiana is home to so many media outlets, so more people are paying attention to it. climate scientists think that's a good thing, that people are paying attention to these increasing wildfires. what is also very different is that this is largely in rural

areas, which it's funny because southern california is much more densely populated, but we're seeing these fires happen just on the outskirts right now of different towns. for example, in ojai where i was last night, it looked like the fire was going to sweep into this small town in a rural area, and it didn't at the last minute. we didn't see that same thing happen in the north bay. the fire was indiscriminate and deadly. it was the deadliest fire in california history. >> o'brien: december fires are somewhat unusual, though that is changing as the climate warms up. a few words on that. >> just very briefly, someone told me yesterday that this is not a fire season anymore, it's a fire year, and it's something that, from january to december, california and other western states are going to have to deal with. senator ron wyden out of oregon has made it really clear that he wants to see fire funding restored. right now, a lot of the money

that could be going to prevention is going to fight fires like these. it's getting much more costly and proving, especially in california, to be a significant drain on resources. >> o'brien: john sepulvado with k cede, thank you very much. in the day's other news, senator al franken announced he's resigning in the face of sexual misconduct allegations. dozens of colleagues from his own party demanded the minnesota democrat to step down after seven women accused him of unwanted advances. today, franken insisted some of the allegations are false, but he said he can no longer be effective. >> i, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving, while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the oval office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full

support of his party. but this decision is not about me. it's about the people of minnesota. >> o'brien: minnesota's governor, a democrat, will name a temporary successor until voters elect a new senator in 2018. there's word this evening that republican congressman trent franks is also resigning. it comes amid reports that he, too, faces allegations of sexual misconduct. franks has represented an arizona district in congress since 2003. f.b.i. director christopher wray defended his agency today against attacks by the man who appointed him, president trump. over the weekend, mr. trump charged that the bureau's reputation is "in tatters" because of the way it has handled the investigation of russian meddling in the election. today, wray answered the criticism at a hearing of the u.s. house judiciary committee. >> there is no finer institution than the f.b.i., and no finer people than the men and women

who work there and are its very beating heart. the f.b.i. that i see is people, decent people, committed to the highest principles of integrity, and professionalism, and respect. >> o'brien: committee democrats urged wray to push back against the president. republicans criticized the russia investigation, and said members of the special counsel's team are biased against mr. trump. a white former police officer who killed a unarmed black man in south carolina is going to prison for 20 years. michael slager was sentenced today in federal court. he pleaded guilty to violating walter scott's civil rights when he shot scott in the back in north charleston in 2015. last year, a state court jury deadlocked on murder charges. a federal judge in michigan has sentenced former sports doctor larry nassar to 60 years in prison for possession of child pornography. he worked at michigan state university and u.s.a. gymnastics. nassar has also pleaded guilty

to sexually assaulting teenage gymnasts. he'll be sentenced in those cases next month. in the middle east, palestinian protesters staged demonstrations across the west bank against president trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. palestinian officials say dozens were injured in clashes with israeli troops. in jerusalem, palestinians and israelis took sharply different views of the protests and the president. >> first of all, we are here in our capital. second, because my grandmother and the grandmother for my grandmother, she is from here. we are here to speak. this is our capital. >> it's been long coming. jerusalem is de facto, been our capital for many, many years and we're happy to have the recognition from the united states, finally. >> o'brien: the palestinian authority urged the u.n. security council to take action when it meets tomorrow. leaders of the militant group hamas called for a new armed uprising.

supporters of same-sex marriage celebrated in australia today after parliament voted to legalize the unions. lawmakers cheered the passage of a bill that changed the definition of marriage to a "union of two people." spectators sang and clapped from the balcony. the new policy takes effect on saturday. back in this country, the u.s. house voted to fund the federal government through december 22. it includes money for a popular children's health insurance program. meanwhile, president trump met with republican and democratic congressional leaders to discuss a longer-term funding bill. both sides voiced hope of making progress. in economic news, general electric's power division announced it will cut 12,000 jobs over the next two years, mostly outside the u.s. the company says it's adjusting to rising demand for alternative energy over coal and other fossil fuels. and on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained

70 points to close at 24,211. the nasdaq rose 36 points, and the s&p 500 picked up seven. still to come on the newshour: why the republican tax plan allows oil drilling in an alaskan wildlife refuge. iraq's reliance on iranian- backed militias to combat isis. low-wage workers facing sexual assault. and, much more. >> o'brien: let's turn now to our continuing coverage of the republican tax bill. we've talked about some of its other impacts that go well beyond the matter of taxes. tonight, we look at a particular part of the senate bill that has not gotten a lot of attention-- the possibility of opening up a pristine and long-protected part of the alaska to oil extraction. william brangham has been following this, and he joins me

now. william, we're talking about anwar, the alaska national wildlife rescue, a beautiful place. >> i think it'sgan called the certain getty of america. 19 acres in the neese corner of alaska, designated as a wildlife refuge in 1980 and, by all measures, it is this incredibly lush, rich, ecosystem, migratory birds, grizzly bears, musk oxen, fish. apparently, the marquee species is called the porcupine caribou and they migrate 2700 miles across canada to give birthright on the beaches there. >> o'brien: i think people imagine ice, and it is rich with wildlife, i've had the great opportunity to be there, and the amount of wildlife you see is rather extraordinary. in 1980, it is protected. why are we talking about drilling now? >> well, it's believed there is

oil under the ground, that's the biggest issue. the estimates range 5- to 15 billion barrels of oil under the ground there. oil companies have long wanted to drill there and the alaska delegation said we need these jobs and resources and can do it safely. don young, lisa murkowski has been saying this, ted stevens, the former senator there. murkowski, in particular, if you remember her father was governor and senator of the state, was one of the early proponents, and the murkowski family has been pushing this a long time. listen to lisa myrr murkowski. this is her talking about how to drill and protect this beautiful landscape. >> we will not sacrifice the caribou, the polar bear or migratory birds for the sake of development, but we also recognize that that is not a choice that we face here and, no matter how hard some try to make this an either/or proposition, there is no question that development and environmental

protection can and do exist in alaska. >> o'brien: on the one hand people care deeply about the caribou herds, on the other hand this is a big economic driver for alaska, obviously. what's the reaction among the local tribes and indigenous people. >> well, the environmental groups would have you believe all the native groups are against it and it's not really clear that's true. the people who live closest to the area we're talking about subsist largely on the caribou. they eat the caribou, use the fur, it's a big part of the culture and history and they're worried if p you trill, the caribou will not show up and their livelihood will take a huge hit. the inupia who live in the area, and seen economic benefits to the development of prudhoe bay, the development in the oilfield to the west of this area, like the possibility of there being money. so it's a mixed bag of opinion. >> o'brien: how did the

caribou migrate their way into the tax bill? >> doesn't make sense. oil and taxes are not usual a mix here. to simplify, congress gets to dee decide in these reconciliations what is germane. lisa murkowski got the c.b.o. to demonstrate a billion dollars could be earned if two leases were sold over the next wean years to drill in anwar. >> o'brien: revenue there. because there is revenue, they can put it in the bill and that's how they do it. environmentalists and democrats say this is an absolutely wrong way, that if you tried to stand up drilling in anwar as its own legislation it wouldn't survive and hate the way it's going down. sheldon white house, the democrat from rhode island. >> we're stickcally here pore the ministerial for the tax bill proposition of drilling in the alaska wildlife revenue which

has nothing to do with the tax or budget but are round up a republican senate vote. this whole process confirms once again our budget process is completely broken. >> o'brien: given the success of owl exploration elsewhere, particularly fracking, is this oil that's needed? it's very expensive to get it up there. >> that's right, if you take the median estimate of what's in the ground, about 10 billion barrels of oil in the ground, the u.s. uses about 7 billion a year, so it's a considerable amount of oil. again, no one knows if that's the real amount up there, and oil companies want to go there. they think the calculus is right. environmentalists argue the risk for such a pristine area is too risky to take, given all the other available sources of energy we do have. >> o'brien: william brangham, thank you very much. >> my pleasure.

>> o'brien: the long fight against isis in iraq is now all but over. claiming victory is an american- led coalition of iraqi government forces and kurdish troops, joined by tens of thousands of militia fighters, backed by iran. and it is the iranian support for that force that is causing great concern in washington. we return to our series, "iran rising in iraq," and again, in partnership with the pulitzer center on crisis reporting, special correspondent reza sayah reports. >> reporter: at a training camp just outside of the city of kirkuk, a rare glimpse of america's newest problem in iraq. the popular mobilization forces, p.m.f. for short, or hashd al- shaabi in arabic. an armed government-sanctioned militia, more than 100,000 fighters strong, who helped crush isis in iraq. many armed, funded, and trained by america's long-time foe, the

islamic republic of iran. with no plans to disband. >> ( translated ): the p.m.f. has reached a place where no one can stop it, and this is a blow to u.s. interests in the middle east. >> reporter: abu ali beyk is the face of america's newest problem. a battle-scarred p.m.f. commander committed to god and driven by duty, and in no small measure, revenge. when beyk was a child, iraqi dictator saddam hussein, a sunni muslim, executed his shia father. beyk and his family fled to neighboring iran, the leading shia power in the region, where they lived for more than a decade. 20 years later, he was back in iraq fighting isis, a terrorist organization many here believe was made up of sunni remnants of saddam hussein's forces, and supported, beyk says, by washington's sunni arab allies. >> ( translated ): everyone knows isis was manufactured by america's allies in the region. the p.m.f., backed by iran,

defeated isis, so those american allies are not happy. >> reporter: it was the threat of isis in iraq that spawned the p.m.f. in 2014. with most u.s. ground forces gone and iraqi forces too weak to take on isis, the iraqi government called on iran for help, and iraq's highest religious authority, shia cleric ayatollah ali sistani, called for volunteer fighters. within weeks, armed militias mobilized, backed by iran. >> ( translated ): while the whole world watched as iraq was collapsing, in fact it was only iran that stood with us by providing us moral and material support. >> reporter: the p.m.f. acknowledge support from iran. many fighters say they've traveled there. we heard several speak the iranian language of farsi. >> ( translated ): we love iranians. >> reporter: but p.m.f. spokesman haji jawdat assaf insists they're not beholden to iran, and never use iranian soldiers.

>> i think most people in europe, or america, must not believe these lies. there are no iranians in hashd al shaabi, only advisors. there are iranian advisors like american and british advisors. >> reporter: no iranian advisor is more revered among the p.m.f. than major general ghassem soleimani, a senior commander of iran's revolutionary guard and chief strategist of operations outside iran's borders. washington calls him a terrorist whose shia militias killed american soldiers in iraq during the u.s. occupation. the p.m.f. says he's a hero-- a brilliant tactician who helped save iraq. what is it about major ghassem soleimani that inspires you and so many others? >> when we see him, because he is brave. when we see him and go to the fight, one of us fights like a thousand soldiers.

>> reporter: it was soani who led many of the p.m.f. brigades in a three-year ground campaign that overpowered isis and eventually set the stage for iraqi forces to defeat the extremist group in mosul, its last major stronghold in iraq. this is the town of qayyara just south of mosul. before u.s.-backed iraqi forces launched an operation to take back mosul from isis, it was the p.m.f. that cleared out isis from qayyara and many other towns and villages on the outskirts of mosul. u.s. artillery units, positioned on the outskirts of the city, pounded isis-held areas in mosul while u.s. bombers and american fighter jets provided air support in mosul and other isis held areas. but p.m.f. leaders say their estimated 20,000 casualties, whose pictures line many iraqi streets, show who did the real fighting. >> ( translated ): the places we liberated were liberated by iraqi forces. the americans did not back up the p.m.f. anywhere.

they supported some iraqi special forces by air, but most of the areas were liberated by the p.m.f. >> reporter: the iraqi government credits all members of the coalition with crushing isis. but today, it's the iranian- backed militias that patrol many key towns in northern iraq, seemingly securing what iran's critics fear most: the so-called shia crescent, an iranian sphere of influence stretching to the mediterranean. >> i personally don't think the country needs more than one army. >> reporter: mazin al-eshaiker is an anti-iranian iraqi politician and staunch supporter of president donald trump. al-eshaiker says the p.m.f. should disband, otherwise iran has a powerful security presence that keeps iraq weakand under iran's control, an accusation tehran denies. >> i think they would like to have a mirror image of the revolutionary guards in iran, or a mirror image of the hezbollah

in lebanon. both of them are very popular in their countries. >> reporter: are they getting there? >> i think we are already there. >> reporter: one of iraq's top military officials disagrees. major general ghais al-hamdawi says what iran wants is a secure border and a stable neighbor free of extremism, not a building block in a shia crescent. >> ( translated ): but this doesn't mean they interfere in politics and sovereignty. it doesn't mean they interfere in domestic affairs. we are very careful to make our relationship with iran in accordance to the law, and with respect to the state, just like we do with saudi arabia, turkey, jordan, and the west as well. >> reporter: al-hamdawi says the many powerful factions of the p.m.f. who oppose the iranian government, led by powerful clerics like ayatollah sistani and muqtadar al sadr, serve as a barrier to any attempt by iran to dominate iraq. al-hamdawi is convinced isis would still be here if it wasn't for the p.m.f. and iran's

support. >> ( translated ): iran stood by the people of iraq during complicated circumstances. i believe, without the help of iran, isis would be standing on the doorsteps of baghdad. iraq went through very difficult times. in fact, the p.m.f. was one of the most important factors in the protection of iraq. >> reporter: the u.s. government says otherwise. last month, secretary of state rex tillerson explicitly called the p.m.f. an iranian militia and demanded they leave iraq. prime minister haider al-abadi said no, calling p.m.f. fighters iraqi nationals and the hope of the region. but the u.s. is pushing back. intensifying tehran and washington's long standing proxy conflict in iraq. for the pbs newshour, i'm reza sayah in kirkuk, iraq. >> o'brien: in reza sayah's final report tomorrow, he will look at the tacit partnership between the u.s. and iran to

defeat isis in iraq, and where that common goal ends. >> o'brien: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: making sense of a state budget crisis that's been blamed on tax cuts. and, a brief but spectacular take from an award-winning poet. but first, we return to our series of conversations about sexual assault and harassment around the country. yesterday, judy woodruff recorded this discussion about the extraordinary challenges low-wage service workers face when they come forward to share their stories. >> woodruff: every day in the u.s., about 50 people are sexually assaulted or raped in the workplace, according to the department of justice. it's a problem that extends well beyond the entertainment industry and politics to all lines of work. that includes the people who

work in hotels, clean offices and serve food. alejandra valles is the secretary-treasurer of seiu united workers west. her union in california represents over 45,000 service workers. she has been spearheading efforts to prioritize issues facing women in the union. and bernice yeung, reporter for reveal from the center for investigative reporting and author of the forthcoming book "in a day's work: the fight to end sexual violence against america's most vulnerable workers." thank you both for being with us. bernice yeung, let me start with you. we have been hearing so much lately in the news about men in the entertainment industry, men in the news media and politics going after women. tell us about the women you have been reporting on and talking to. who are they? >> these are the women, they're immigrant women working in low-wage jobs, essentially the jobs that remain invisible and

sometimes on purpose, the women in night shift cleaning offices, women picking vegetables and fruits in the fields, cleaning our hotel rooms, taking care of our children as domestic workers, people who are often easy to overlook but women often laboring in isolation and makes them particularly vulnerable to extreme forms of sexual harassment and sexual assault on the job. >> woodruff: how have their experiences of harassment and worse different from what we have been hearing about on the part of other women? >> i think there are very many similarities. there is essentially a shared abuse of power by somebody in abuse of power, and a situation of a low-wage immigrant worker, there are many ways the power can be abused. when you are going paycheck to paycheck, the ability to hire, fire, take away hours, these are very powerful weapons that supervisors can use against the workers. it makes it very difficult to

come forward and very difficult to report this type of abuse. it's also used against them to keep them silent. the other very kind of prominent seeing in the news media and the workers that i have been covering is immigration status, that is often another threat that is used against them, threats of deportation, and for a lot of the women who are sometimes single mothers providing for families back in the home country, this is not just -- you know, separation from families is not something they can really contemplate. >> i want to show everyone now a clip from a documentary that you were the lead reporter on. this was a documentary done by the pbs program "frontline" in conjunction with reveal. take a look. (speaking foreign language)

you know what you're doing, you know why this is happening. i don't know what you're talking about. yes, you know what you're talking about. (speaking foreign language) >> woodruff: very difficult to watch. i want to turn now to alejandra valles. you showed this to members, some wmen who were members of your union. what was the reaction when they saw this documentary? >> we showed this documentary to over 100 of our top rank and file leaders, many janitors but many women of color, and the reaction was shocking.

one woman after another woman stood up. by the end of our meeting, we had spent the entire time talking about not just sexual harassment but rape and assault on some of these tenants' desks and some of the building floors. so it was just an incredible, powerful moment of reflection of not just incidents that had happened in the last several months sense the documentary had come out, but going back years to the '80s, to the '90s. >> woodruff: we know, alejandra valles, that you worked in california to change the laws to try to help these women, to put in a new system that allows them to find a way to report. tell us just a little about that. >> the women actually themselves, which started a group which are really the teachers that create consciousness in the work set around sexual assault, rape and

harassment, so they decided they wanted to tackle this underground economy in all of the state, not just for union workers. and, so, we fought all of 2016 to pass ab1978, that would ensure every janitorial contractor in the industry had to register with the state and had to ensure that they provided training to the workers that really spoke to those workers specifically. we know that what we're seeing right now with the #metoo movement, there is so much around policy and laws, but unless you really speak to a workplace and the culture of that workplace, you are not going to have the impact that you want to ensure that you should start changing culture. >> woodruff: bernice yeung, how many states or how much of the country has protections in place like what we're hearing alejandra valles describe in california? >> unfortunately, i think too

few. california has been really activated around the issues related to farm work and janitorial services, but i'm hard pressed to think of very many other states that actually have targeted these industries specifically for sexual harassment protections. they're just treated like everybody else, but, as we know, their circumstances are different. >> woodruff: so what needs to be done? i want to ask both of you. bernice, you have been reporting on this quite some time. what do other states, whether it's the labor unions or other groups, what do they need to be aware of and change? >> what i've discovered in looking at farm workers, janitors and other low-wage workers, that training can be really crucial. once workers are empowered to exercise their rights, they will. furthermore, these trainings are a strong message and symbol oftentimes to bad actors that this behavior will not be

tolerated and encourages people to come forward and say this shouldn't just fall on the victim to report the issue. there should be an lies, male and female co-workers and colleagues who come forward and say this is not okay, this is not an environment and workplace in which we will tolerate this behavior and that's the culture change we will need to see. >> woodruff: alejandra valles, what do you need to add to that? what kinds of things do others need to do whether state or federal level. >> dusting off your h.r. policy is not enough. we need to look at every workplace specifically, give workers and survivors a voice. we all know whether in the breakroom or on the sets what the culture of that workplace looks like. we have a transformative moment now to change the culture from within industry by industry. >> woodruff: it is such an important message and a powerful message, important for everyone to hear. alejandra valles, thank you. bernice yeung, thank you both.

>> thank you. for having us. >> o'brien: now, back to efforts to pass a rewrite of the tax code, and how a major experiment to cut taxes in kansas has played out. as house and senate republicans in washington work to reconcile their tax bills, some have said the kansas experiment, while different in many ways, offers some potential lessons. economics correspondent paul solman recently visited the state, part of his weekly series "making sense," which airs every thursday. >> reporter: nine years ago, john rhoden started his roofing company in wichita, kansas. his crews now work on commercial buildings like these. four years ago, in 2013, businesses like his went from paying well over 6% in state taxes to paying nothing at all-- part of a plan to boost the limp kansas economy.

>> like, we bought a truck, a brand new truck last year. and not paying those taxes in that money i'm spending, hopefully grows, not just my business, but other businesses in the state. >> reporter: in 2012, republican lawmakers in control of the state government had voted to kill taxes on personal businesses like rhoden roofing, and cut income taxes some 25% for everyone else. governor sam brownback coined a phrase to describe the purpose. >> eliminating income taxes on small businesses is like a shot of adrenaline straight into the heart. it'll jolt our state and give us dynamic growth. >> reporter: but skeptics wondered what other cuts would be needed. here's willy geist interviewing the governor on msnbc's "morning joe:" >> this includes cuts on education and social services, which is where some people took exception-- >> mmm, not so on the last part of that. >> no cuts on education? >> no. >> or social services? >> no. >> reporter: no cuts at all. but how could that be?

how could the state cut taxes, while providing the same level of government services? >> growing the economy will create jobs. and more jobs mean more kansans working, and more kansans working produces more revenue for the state to fund our important services that we have. >> immediately, when the tax cuts were put in place, our revenue dropped like a rock. >> reporter: duane goossen is a former republican state legislator who served 12 years as budget director for three kansas governors-- republican and democrat. >> income tax revenue, which was the main source of income for our state general fund, dropped about $700 million, or about 25%. >> reporter: but isn't the idea here that in the long run, inviting businesses in or businesses that are already here to expand, will pay off and you're just looking at it too shortsightedly? >> even if that were true,

kansas didn't have the long run to do this experiment and be successful. we immediately went into a budget crisis. >> reporter: to cover the gap, lawmakers first siphoned money from the state's rainy day fund, then went after transportation funding. but it still wasn't enough. >> kansas school districts scrambling to find ways to make up funding. >> the centers for medicare and medicaid services decertified osawotamie state hospital. >> state lawmakers are now questioning how 70 foster kids can go missing. >> reporter: that was the local news soundtrack in kansas from 2014 on, as lawmakers went through budget cut after budget cut. >> i'm all for making sure our state government operates very efficiently, but i think you cut past the point of efficiency when you cut too deeply. >> reporter: melissa rooker, republican state rep from suburban kansas city. >> i often get asked how, as a republican, i could be against these tax cuts.

all i can say is, i am a republican, i am fairly conservative in my approach to money management, and this did not feel comfortable. the proponents of the plan will tell you today that we should have given it more time, that we didn't cut the budget enough. and i'll tell you, we cut it nine times, to try and cope with the drastic revenue reduction. >> i wish i could've had a stronger influence on my colleagues and have trimmed the growth of government even further. >> reporter: republican state senator ty masterson represents a district near wichita, and runs this makerspace, called gocreate, funded by the far- right koch foundation. he says lawmakers simply weren't willing to go far enough. >> we were still anticipating more growth and we didn't keep the government in check in the out years. >> reporter: do you take any personal responsibility for that? >> sure, i was chairman of ways and means in those next four years where we were anticipating

more revenues, so i do take some personal responsibility. >> reporter: but for most kansans, say goossen and rooker, the spending cuts went too far, particularly those to education, which made the cuts seem especially unfair. that's because kansas schools are funded through both the state income tax and local property taxes. even before the tax cuts went into effect, kansas' supreme court had ruled the state's schools were unconstitutionally under-funded. the income tax cuts set poorer schools back even further, schools like wyandott in kansas city. with so many non-english speakers, the bathrooms are labeled in english, spanish, burmese, nepalese and hmong. 80% of the kids need support for lunch. jason drew teaches government. drew grew up and attended school nearby, returned after his b.a.

at u.s.c. he could make $5,000 a year more just by teaching in the wealthier county next door. >> i have known teachers who have left our district and gone to a district in johnson county because they're going to pay their teachers more. or because that school has resources. >> reporter: says senator rooker: >> what has always been a draw for kansas is the quality of life, the stability here, excellence of our public school system. by cutting into those basics, we really have shot ourselves in the foot. >> reporter: meanwhile, roofer john rhoden was watching the news about the cuts. >> and you're seeing that schools may not be funded to the level that they need to be. you know, you do look in the mirror and say, i'm not paying any state taxes. should i be? you have that guilt somewhat in there. >> reporter: okay, so much for revenue cuts. what about that shot of adrenaline?

former budget director goossen: >> the kansas economy grew in a meager way, but in comparison to our surrounding states and in comparison to the national average, we under-performed. so if anything, our tax cuts correlate to economic decline or economic stagnation, rather than any kind of economic pop. >> reporter: in 2016, when kansans went for donald trump, they also replaced one third of their legislators with moderate republicans and democrats. once in office, those legislators largely undid the tax cuts, overriding governor brownback's veto. the electorate had changed its mind, says goossen. >> every month, every year, coming out of topeka was the news that the budget was in trouble.

>> the general public, in my opinion, had a major misconception of the truth, which affected then the ballot box. >> reporter: the public was conned. >> i think to a large degree... i say conned, they were-- >> reporter: misled. >> i think misled. >> reporter: and is his fellow republican senator melissa rooker also misled? >> in my opinion, she's extreme left. there's no difference between her, ideologically, than the most left democrat, who would obviously see me as extreme. >> reporter: well, if melissa rooker is extreme left, what do you make of bernie sanders or donna brazil? >> there's less difference between her and bernie sanders than there is between her and i. >> reporter: masterson insists that the "extreme left," and the media, have given the kansas experiment a bum rap. he says state unemployment has continued to fall, that the crash of oil, gas and farm prices explain the slow overall growth. >> it amazes me that there's so much focus on kansas. it almost feels to me like it's the rabbit in the hat, and the curtain. >> reporter: the reason people

are using kansas is because this argument, as you well know, has been raging for decades. when you cut taxes, do you stimulate growth or do you not invest in things that will cause greater growth in the long run, infrastructure, education, and so forth. >> that's fair, but what i'm trying to point out is that is an assumption of all things aside, right? of all things being equal. which clearly we know, they're not always equal. >> reporter: true, but then how could you ever tell if tax cuts, or any policies, work? masterson had one more argument, though: shrink government. called "starve the beast." >> i would say it's more like bariatric surgery, and we're limiting its revenues so instead of being morbidly obese, we're just simply overweight. >> reporter: representative rooker uses a different anatomical metaphor: they've cut to the bone, or even the marrow. >> this is what smaller government looks like in action. is this what you want?

>> reporter: from wichita, kansas, this is paul solman reporting for the pbs newshour. >> o'brien: now, the latest addition to the "newshour bookshelf." the winner of this year's national book award for young people's literature addresses a grown-up subject, adoption. jeffrey brown spoke to author robin benway recently at the miami book fair, about her new young adult novel, "far from the tree." >> brown: so this is a book about... i mean, in one way, it's about adoption. but it's about more than that, clearly. about family and family ties. how did you come to think of it? >> it was actually a song lyric that inspired a very basic idea. >> brown: a song lyric? >> yeah, a song lyric. i was in a costco parking lot and i was desperate for ideas, and i had just told my publisher, "i'm so sorry, i don't have any ideas, you'll have to wait a while." and they were lovely, and very fine with that. and i heard a song while i was

in a parking lot, and i was just immediately was like, "this book is about adoption." and that's how-- >> brown: what was the song? >> it was a florence and the machine song. ♪ ♪ i've heard it a thousand times before and i've heard it a thousand times since, but for some reason, that alchemy of that day and that parking lot just made me think of adoption, and a biological mother maybe putting her daughter up for adoption and hoping that some of the love she has for her child stays within that child, as that child goes through her life, that she won't get to see. >> brown: so fill in a little bit of the story. there's three siblings who were biological siblings, but have been separated. >> exactly. so, three siblings, none of whom know about each other, they have all been put up for adoption as babies. the oldest, joaquin, does not end up getting adopted. he actually grows up in foster care. and his younger two sisters, grace and maya, are privately adopted and the book opens with grace, the 16-year-old, getting pregnant and putting her own daughter up for adoption. and she suddenly feels that connection with her biological

mom, and she decides to go looking for her, with her parents' support. and in looking for her mom, she finds joaquin and her younger sister, maya. and the story is told from all three of their perspectives, and you see how, as their lives start to intertwine and intersect. >> brown: and for you this became a way to look at, what? nature and nurture and all kinds of...? >> you know, i think one of my favorite topics is family, and specifically, found family, you know, what makes your family. is it blood? is it circumstance? is it time? is it closeness? and so i think i examined all of those things inadvertently as i looked at all three of their stories and how they came together. >> brown: and how did you build these characters? >> it took a very long time. it was about six to eight months of research, because i personally am not adopted, and i haven't adopted. and i knew that i was wading into a very deep sea of information and i just wanted to make sure that... i don't think there's any way to get it right, and there's absolutely no way to capture every single adoptee's or adoptive parent's experience. but i just wanted to make sure that these three stories were as accurate as possible.

>> brown: so what kind of research? >> i read books, i read blogs. at one point, i had so many books on my dining room table that a neighbor came over and saw the stack of books about adoption and said, "oh my goodness, congratulations!" and i said, "no, no, no, it's for a book. no baby, just a book." and i did a lot of personal interviews. i talked to adoption attorneys. i talked to parents who privately adopted, i talked to foster parents, social workers. >> brown: oh, really? >> yeah. >> brown: and you ended up using these stories. >> every single one. people were just so lovely and open with me and they told me so much about their lives, you know, all these intimate details about their children and about their parents and the experience that they've had. the adoption attorney told me about the women that he's met. i didn't use any of their stories personally, but just, the circumstances behind the stories were really helpful. >> brown: but all toward fiction, right? you never thought about, well, i should write a book about adoption at this point. >> no, because the thing with fiction is that you can extend the world or decrease the world as much as you want. and with non-fiction, you are

working with facts, which you should, so i thought, i really want these siblings to be fictional characters, but at the end they felt so real, and they still feel so real to me. >> brown: by giving them different histories, you are able to look at different aspects of american life, right? so, class and race. you wanted to get into these things? >> you know, i wouldn't say i wanted to. you know, those are really treacherous subjects sometimes. but i didn't know how to tell a story about adoption without talking about those things. and if i didn't, i thought the book would be a little anemic. private adoption is so expensive in america. so does that mean that only wealthy people can adopt a baby, you know? when you look at-- there was a big npr story about the cost of private adoption based on the race of the baby. and that was really eye-opening. and awkward, and strange. and then, i looked at foster care and who ends up in foster care. not only who ends up in foster care, but who stays in foster care. you know, these boys of color don't get adopted and they become men of color at 13, 14, 15.

and seeing, you know how they stay in the system. >> brown: so you're writing in different voices in alternating chapters. how do you capture teen voices? >> you know, i think it's a mistake to try to capture a voice, because you have to remember the way teenagers talk to each other, the way they talk to their parents, the way they talk to their teachers. and then i think, most importantly, the way they talk to themselves. you know, that inner voice. the way that they feel about things, sometimes it's difficult for them to articulate, as it is for all of us. but i think you have to remember that the fear and the longing and the excitement and the emotion of it, and you just try to be as honest with that as possible. >> brown: and you remember that? >> i remember it painfully vividly, yes. >> brown: all right, the book is called "far from the tree." winner of the national book award for young people's literature. robin benway, thank you very much. >> thank you, thank you so, so much. >> o'brien: now to another in our "brief but spectacular" series, where we ask people about their passions.

tonight, we hear from major jackson, a poet and professor at the university of vermont. jackson's latest book of poems is called "roll deep." >> poetry, and any kind of art-making, requires us to be reflective. most people will think poetry is a vehicle of expression. i see poetry more as a vehicle of exploration. "stand your ground" was written in response to the florida law that justifies deadly force, if one feels as though one's life is in danger. and this created a loophole, a legal loophole, for the killing of a young black man in florida. but, it also opens up and legitimizes assaults, based on fear.

stand your ground. america, how often i have applauded your flagpoles? we, as citizens, struggle to find common ground, yet do much to damage the planks of your ark. we have a want problem. more of ourselves problem. us versus them, in the great race to prosperity. we have as guides, klansmen and eugenicists, who proclaim all others as less. it is, i admit, the slapping of your ropes, tolling a perfect union. but, is the measure of your worth a clang elsewhere? how is it a ripple also runs through me, when your wind rises? your cloth is nation, hauled down or half-mast, like a deferred dream. only earthly because we strive

on the path hidden by dead leaves. that an angry man can shoot a teenager is par. crips, knights, new tribesmen and new codes should in earnest put away our swords and talk- shows. the mysteries we have, an unmitigated burning of sound and fury, not organism of one, but organs. america, i've had enough. my name is major jackson, and this is my "brief but spectacular" take on leaving my mark. >> o'brien: on the newshour online right now: watch a ceremony at the white house where president trump honored six veterans of the attack on pearl harbor, during which one of the men broke out into a round of "remember pearl harbor."

that's worth watching. that's on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org martha stewart: are you eager to learn how to update

your favorite recipes with better for you ingredients from the modern pantry? then you won't want to miss this season of "martha bakes." join me in my kitchen where i'll teach you how to transform everything from traditional cakes, pies and even breads with new ingredients, plus mouthwatering gluten and dairy free treats for everyday and every occasion. welcome to a new way to bake. narrator: "martha bakes" is made possible by. for more than 200 years, domino and c&h sugars have been used by home bakers to help bring recipes to life and create memories for each new generation of baking enthusiasts. ♪