captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, december 9: wildfires continue to ravage southern california; ongoing protests in gaza, the west bank and jerusalem; and in our signature segment, refugees trying to make their way through europe are pushed back. 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 thank you for joining us. in california, firefighters are racing to gain control of the six wildfires burning through the southern part of the state before high winds return to the region later today. since thursday, more than 8,500 firefighters have used a break in the high-powered gusts that can spread and intensify the flames, to increase containment of all six fires. some residents began to return to their homes in areas where evacuation orders were recently lifted. >> everything's gone. there's nothing.

it melted everything. >> sreenivasan: california governor jerry brown surveyed some of the damage today in ventura and warned that the wildfire season is getting longer with the effects of climate change. >> this is the new normal, and this could be something that happens every year or every few years. it happens to some degree, it's just more intense, more widespread, and we're about ready to have firefighting at christmas. lawyer. >> the >> sreenivasan: the wildfires, which started on monday, have forced about 200,000 residents to evacuate, killed at least one person and destroyed hundreds of buildings. joining me now via skype from ventura, california, is sharon mcnary of kpcc southern california public radio. sharon, you've been out reporting already this morning. what you have seen? >> reporter: well, the most moving thing i've seen is the people who are telling me about their loss of their homes, and these are people from every income level. i mean, people had luxurious cabins up in the woods, to people who had, you know, very modest homes down in the flats. and what's more, it's still

unclear from the authorities exactly how many dwellings have burned. the number of structures destroyed is 537, but some of those structures are very big apartment buildings. so the loss of homes could be far larger. >> sreenivasan: and the weather seems nice where you're standing, but have the wind cooled down? are the firefighters getting a better chance today to fight some of these? >> reporter: year, today's winds are pretty calm. they're expecting it to kick up to about 10 to 20 miles an hour later today. but it's not like the 40- to 60-mile-per-hour gusts that we were seeing a couple of days ago. so what they're saying is that this fire has transitioned from a wind-driven fire to a topography-driven fire. so the terrain will determine where the fire goes. >> sreenivasan: there are so many different fires to worry about. are there area where's they're concerned the fires are slowly heading towards?

>> reporter: in this fiber the thomas fire, which is occupying a big piece of ventura county on the coast of california, the fire is heading north on the coast toward the santa barbara county line, and a city called carpinterria. once elast i checked it was about a mile from the county line. and a horseshoe-shape that goes around ojai. so many, many homes in ojai were saved. but then north of ojai, and extending again to the west, into a wilderness area, that fire is running along the south slope of some mountains. it's also heading north into the sespe wilderness area and a potential condor sanctuary, the condor being the state bird of california. >> sreenivasan: have you talked to some of the people who have been kind of now looking through the rubble of what's left of their homes? >> reporter: one woman i talked to, her husband had done an enormous amount of woodwork on this cabin that they lived in. and she thought they had a

well-protected house with fire-proof shingles and, you know, all the protections-- good brush clearance. and, of course, the firestorm that came through monday night was so strong, just a wall of flames, wind-whipped-- there was no chance of saving it. and so she's gone back and it's-- it's heartbreaking. >> sreenivasan: what about the air quality that's affecting a much, much larger swath of the population in los angeles, even if they're not directly affected by the fires? >> reporter: i hate to think of what i took into my lungs the years i smoked but i'm feeling that same hit to the lungs. it's murky, it's dark. and with the wind not being as active, it's just sitting on the terrain, and it's just awful. and it's-- it's-- you know, you're in new york, where people are talking about snow. it's snowing ash here. it's just miserable. >> sreenivasan: all right, sharon mcnary of kpcc, southern california public radio. thanks so much for joining us. >> reporter: thanks for your interest. >> sreenivasan: president trump was on hand today to mar

grand opening of two museums dedicated to mississippi's history and the state's role in the civil rights movement. the president toured the mississippi civil rights museum in jackson with mississippi governor phil bryant. it was a visit tinged with controversy after several black leaders said they would not attend the event with the president. in a brief speech after the tour, the president did not address the boycott but paid tribute to the heroism of civil rights leaders. >> the civil rights museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the african-american community; the fight to end slavery, to break down jim crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote and to achieve this sacred birthright of equality here. >> sreenivasan: civil rights icon and georgia congressman john lewis was scheduled to attend the opening and speak at the event, but he announced thursday in a statement that he would not participate, saying:

several dozen people gathered outside of the event to protest the president's visit, and he left mississippi shortly after his speech. before his appearance today in mississippi, president trump was in pensacola, florida, last night to support republican senate candidate roy moore. at a rally just over the border from alabama, trump blasted moore's opponent, democrat doug jones, in tuesday's upcoming special election. >> we can't afford to have a liberal democrat who is completely controlled by nancy pelosi and chuck schumer. we can't do it. >> sreenivasan: in an event that was officially a trump campaign rally, the president explicitly reiterated his support for moore. moore has been accused by nine women of sexual misconduct, including several teenage girls while the candidate was in his 30s. moore denies the allegations. trump took aim at one of the accusers, beverly nelson, who on friday admitted that she added to the inscription she says

moore wrote in her yearbook 40 years ago. >> so, did you see what happened u know the yearbook? did you see that? there was a little mistake made. she started writing things in the yearbook. oh, what are we going to do? >> sreenivasan: polls show the race between former federal prosecutor jones and former state supreme court justice moore very close, with both candidates showing leads in the last week. unrest continued throughout the muslim world today, marking the third "day of rage" called by palestinian protesters. this after president trump announced on wednesday that the united states formally recognized jerusalem as israel's capital. israeli security forces fired tear gas and skunk water at palestinian demonstrators in jerusalem and the west bank, and launched air strikes in the gaza strip, killing two palestinian gunmen and bringing the death toll there to four. president trump's announcement along with the plan to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem has sparked denunciations from around the world. in a speech in istanbul today,

turkish president regip tayyip erdogan called the decision" entirely provocation." erdogan plans to convene muslim leaders for an urgent meeting in turkey next week. joining me now via skype from jerusalem is newshour weekend special correspondent jane ferguson. jane, you've been out and about today. you've also been covering this in the last couple of days. give us a sense of how people are feeling. >> reporter: hari, what you sigh on the street today is a continuation of protests that we saw yesterday, although they are smaller. soang ser boiling over in places like bethlehem and the west bank, but also here in jerusalem and in east jerusalem, in particular. there were some small protests today, one in east jerusalem was actually broken up by israeli security forces on horseback. what we're not seeing is the level of violence or rioting that could have happened, that people were predicting to a certain extent, whenever the announcement was made by president trump. and that might be because many people here feel that the peace process is fairly dead in the

water at the moment anyway, and this doesn't, perhaps, rile up the street inside of jerusalem as much as say, for instance, a few months ago when we had mossive protests as a result of metal detectors being placed outside the mosque in jerusalem. they're still on a diplomatic and political level, absolute dismai among palestinians and a lot of celebration, as you can imagine, amongst the israelis. >> sreenivasan: what does this mean in the larger timeline for middle east peace? if you do feel it's people you have talked to the streets if they do feel the process is stuck, do they think this will be the catalyst to bring people back to the table or just spread them further apart? >> reporter: at the moment the major problem on the talking point among palestinians here is if there is any attempt or any real intent by the white house to re-start peace talks, then how can they view the americans as honest brokers?

basically, they're saying that they are not basically being fair to both sides by saying that they recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel, because, of course, the palestinians want east jerusalem as the capital of a future palestinian state. so the main sticking point among palestinians at the moment is, you know, how can they really trust the americans to be a fair broker? now, for instance, we've got mike pence, vice president pence is expected to come here and visit in the region later this month, and now we're hearing, really, a list of growing names saying they won't even meet with the americans when he comes to the-- to the region. today, we just heard that the head of the coptic church in jerusalem, has said he will not meet with pence because of that decision by the u.s. administration to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. we've also heard that palestinian president mahmoud abbas has said that he won't. and on top of that, the imam of

the el-hasra mosque in cairo, all said they won't meet with mike pence. so how the morns are going to get the palestinians to talk to the israelis, when they're not even talking to the americans, is going to be a huge challenge. >> sreenivasan: all right jane ferguson joining us via skype from jerusalem today. thanks so much. >> sreenivasan: tens of thousands of homeless people in california are struggling to escape toxic wildfire smoke. read the story at wwww.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the north african nation of libya is one of the critical stops for refugees and migrants fleeing war, extreme poverty and oppressive regimes in their home countries. from libya, their hope is to survive a treacherous journey across the mediterranean, make it to europe and find a better life. this week, the libyan prime

minister said that his country currently has more than half a million migrants stranded there, and that his nation will work to ease their suffering and help them return to their home countries. nevertheless, many will still attempt the journey, landing in italy. since 2014, italy has been welcoming, receiving half a million migrants and refugees. but that's starting to change. in tonight's signature segment, special correspondent nadja drost and videographer bruno federico start the story in rome. >> reporter: when migrants and refugees traveling from northern africa to southern italy make it to rome, they have few places to stay. some end up in this parking lot by an abandoned bus depot. >> we have the eritreans' part, we have the somalian, we have the sudani part. >> reporter: for the past two years, andrea costa has led an association of volunteers called baobab experience, who've helped 70,000 migrants who've stopped here, giving them free meals and

legal advice on filing asylum claims. >> and it started because in roma, the authorities didn't organize anything for the migrants in transit in this city. there was not a first reception hub for migrants of any kind. >> reporter: rome, like most of italy, has gotten by without a proper reception system for migrants because most pass through quickly, on their way to wealthier, northern european countries where they see better opportunities at integration or reuniting with relatives. 500 miles north of rome, the picturesque italian hillside town, ventimiglia, has become a launching pad for migrants who make it to italy and head north, trying to cross into france just six miles away. but many migrants are stuck at the border in nomadic limbo. under this bridge by the river, there's a few hundred migrants camped out-- some for days, others for months or even a

year-- as they attempt to cross the border into france. for many, it's a repeat visit here, having made it into france only to be caught by police and sent back to italy. now, with an increased presence of border patrol on the trains and in the mountains, many are worried here about how and if they will ever make it across. ali is from sudan. three years ago, he fled by foot and by bus to libya. though it has a u.n.-recognized government, since the fall of muammar gaddafi in 2011, libya has become a failed state divided by rival militias. like many other migrants, ali was arrested and detained for seven months by a militia that demanded money for his release. >> ( translated ): if you pay, they will release you. if you don't, they will start beating you. they give you electric shocks. there is no food, no water. even if you ask for water, they will kick you. i was beaten every day. >> reporter: ali eventually

collected enough money for his release, worked as a driver and saved $1,500 to pay smugglers for a spot on an overloaded rubber raft bound for italy. after six days at sea, with 150 passengers aboard, the raft started to sink. a german ship came to their rescue and brought the survivors to italy in july. seeing no support or opportunities for refugees like him in italy, within a month, he made his way to the northern border of italy and set his sights on france or germany. >> ( translated ): i will try until i succeed because i have no other choice. there's no organization to help you to get into france. there is no way; my only way is my feet. >> reporter: ali has crossed into france six times on foot, but each time french police caught him and sent him back to italy. that's because of the dublin regulation, a 2003 agreement among the 28 nations of the european union that requires asylum seekers to apply in the

first country they arrived in. so, migrants who land in italy and transit to northern europe are always at risk of being sent back. the policy has created a bottleneck in ventimiglia. the only shelter for stranded migrants is a red cross camp where men, women and children from countries like afghanistan, somalia and ethiopia stay as they decide whether to attempt a border crossing or seek asylum in italy. every day, migrants board trains in ventimiglia bound for france, a mere ten-minute ride. but french police wait on the other side in the town of menton. they board trains, remove migrants without proper papers and send them back by bus or the next train bound for ventimiglia. others are sent walking back. europe's open borders are shutting their gates to migrants and refugees. on his latest attempt to cross into france, ali, the sudanese migrant, set out with a few friends on a road leading out of

ventimiglia. >> ( translated ): we're trying to enter france anyway because italy has made us tired. the suffering is a lot, not little. here in italy, we miss a lot of things-- education, health and psychological comfort. >> reporter: they decided to sleep a few hours on a stone landing above a railroad track and take their chances walking down the railway during the next shift change of french border guards. >> ( translated ): it's very dangerous on the railway because if a train comes, you will get an electric shock, and it will kill you. but i will take the risk. we came to europe to study for our future; we didn't come to escape a quick death for a slow death. >> reporter: the tantalizing lights of the french riviera beckon in the distance, but ali won't get there. we later learn, once again, french police caught him and sent him back to italy. some migrants who do make it to france end up outside the town

of breil-sur-roya, where farmer cedric herrou defies the authorities by hosting a migrant camp among his olive groves. he's part of a network along with andrea costa, from rome, helping migrants move through europe. herrou says he's temporarily sheltered more than 200 on his farm. he shows me where italy lies, just beyond the mountain. >> ( translated ): and down there, look, there's a policeman watching me. >> reporter: i asked herrou, why police are here? >> ( translated ): to prevent people from arriving here, to prevent them from accessing their rights. >> reporter: herrou helps migrants file asylum requests, and even though french law lets citizens aid migrants on humanitarian grounds, police have repeatedly arrested him for helping them cross the border and stay in france. he blames racism for europe's crackdown on the migrant flow. >> ( translated ): i've been taken into police custody eight times. why? because i've had people in my

car who are black, who are minors, who are waiting for the state to take care of them or to make an asylum claim. this is a reality that exists in france. >> reporter: back in rome, the results of the stepped up e.u. enforcement of the dublin regulation are visible. >> if in 2015 and the beginning of 2016, migrants in transit would've stayed here maybe for three or four days before continuing on their journey. now, they can stay weeks, they can stay months; or maybe after three, four, five times of trying to cross the border and they are forced back, to come back here, they say, "okay, i'll seek asylum here." >> reporter: last year, italy received 123,000 asylum applications, up 48% from 2015 and second-most in europe after germany. by november this year, italy received another 116,000 applications. italy grants asylum in around 40% of its cases, which lets

migrants stay legally for up to five years before renewing their resident permit. hamda ahmed, from somalia, has been waiting on her asylum claim for six months. she's living with her husband and two children in a red cross camp in rome where they receive meals, clothing and shelter. in 2015, they fled to libya, took a boat across the mediterranean sea to italy and later reached germany. >> ( translated ): we were there for two years, and my son was born there. the life was good and comfortable. there was school, everything you need. >> reporter: but germany never granted the family refugee status, and, in accordance with the dublin regulation, sent them back to italy because that's where they had first arrived. >> ( translated ): it was really difficult because i wanted to stay there. >> reporter: not everyone wants asylum seekers like ahmed to stay in italy. far-right groups are seizing public concern over the large numbers of migrants and refugees, to bolster their anti-immigration platform. the european union and the italian government have committed at least $528 million

to stem the flow of people from northern africa, with $161 million directed specifically at libya. that includes millions to training and supplying libya's coast guard to intercept migrant boats and turn them back. as a result, thousands of migrants are being detained in libya in camps where the u.n. has documented inhumane conditions, forced labor, torture and rape. the crackdown has resulted in fewer migrants arriving in italy. by end of november, 117,000 migrants and refugees had landed in italy this year, but that's a 32% decline from last year, according to italy's interior ministry. refugee hamda ahmed, after being sent back to italy, is determined to learn italian and make a life here. but she's lowered her expectations. >> ( translated ): i just loved the idea of europe. i thought all the people had money, a car, good houses, a really good life. it's not how i imagined it.

>> this is "pbs newshour weekend," saturday. >> sreenivasan: the official death toll in puerto rico after hurricane maria is 64, but a "new york times" analysis says the real number may be more than 1,000. the "times" analyzed death rates from previous years and determined that in the 42 days after the storm, 1,052 more people than usual died. officials on the island did not include those who died in hospitals without power, bedridden people who had difficulty getting regular medical treatment, victims of bacterial illnesses and other secondary maladies. the lack of electricity following the storm severely hampered proper record keeping during and following the storm. 12 weeks after the storm, puerto rico is currently generating power at 49% capacity. the iraqi government said today that its forces have defeated the last remnants of the islamic state in iraq.

at a news conference in baghdad, prime minister haider al-abadi said the iraqi military recaptured the last areas still under i.s. control along iraq's border with syria. >> ( translated ): preserve your big victory and preserve your land and unity. start with god's blessing, a new day and a bright future. >> sreenivasan: the announcement comes three years after isis militants took control of roughly one-third of iraq's territory. u.s. special envoy to the anti- i.s. coalition, brett mcgurk, said on twitter: egypt's antiquities ministry announced today the discovery of two ancient tombs in the southern city of luxor that date back 3,500 years. the tombs from the 18th dynasty were found in a cemetery for nobleman, and officials hope the discovery will help boost egypt's struggling tourism industry. among the artifacts found were painted funerary masks, clay vessels, a collection of statues and a mummy wrapped in linen who is believed to have been a top

official. >> sreenivasan: and join pbs newshour weekend online and on air tomorrow in the fight to cure cancer, researchers test new ways to bring clinical trials to more patients. >> it's just about life exoangz, like, if this would get you an extra six months, an extra year, an extra two years. because there is no cure for what i have. all we can do is manage. >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching and 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.

explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. welcome to classical rewind. i'm martin goldsmith, and this is my music. tonight we're going to take you back with some real oldies from the 16th and 17th centuries. we'll meet many of the great masters and tell their stories. i promise you an exhilarating ride. along the way you're likely to hear melodies that you know but perhaps you don't know why. tonight meet the masters, next on pbs. ♪