captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour nit, president trump criticizes a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by brett kavanaugh, calling the accusations "a con game" by democrats. then, the president addresses the united nations reaffirming chhis "america first" appro foreign policy. plus, we kick off a eries, "the plastic problem," as discarded bottles and bags threaten the hlth of humans, animals anthe environment. >> even if we stop today, to use plastic, if we stop now, this e,plastic that is out there're still going to have to deal witr the next hundreds of thousands of years, maybe, because it's not going to go away. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin. >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> and with the ongoing supptit of these itions: wa >> this programade possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> woodruff: senate republicansi are largely ci the wagons around supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh tonight,gainst allegations of sexual misconduct. l a thursday hearing is st tap, and president trump is accusi democrats of "con game" tactics to defeat the nomination.be lisa desjardinns our coverage. >> let's be clear: from the very beginning, he has been strong quand uocal in his denial. >> desjardins: from republicans, a multi-pronged,ll-out defense of a supreme court nomin today from the white house communications team.e >> does thpresident still have full confidence in judge kavanaugh? >> yes, he does. >> desjardins: from republicans in the senate... >>e have never been, and do not wish to be a society in which a single uncorroborated allegation can float out acrs decades. >> desjardins: ...and even from brett kavanaugh himself, taking

the uncommon step of sitting down for an interview that aired on fox nst night. all to knock down two on-the- record allegations: christineol blasey ford,the "washington post" that kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in highsc ol. and deborah ramirez, told the "new yorker" he exposed himself to her in college. today, at the u.n. gl assembly, president trump went on open attack, particularly at ramirez who said admitted she was drinking when her incident happened. >> and there were gaps, and she said she was totally inebriated and she was all messed up. and she doesn't know it was him, but it might have been him. "oh, gee, let's not make him a e supreme court judge beca that." >> desjardins: kavanaugh himself did not criticize his accusers, but instead defended his teenage self as good and innocent. >> i was focused on trying to be number one in my class and being captain ofhe varsity basketball team and doing my toservice projects, going church. i think all of us hado probably things we look back on in

high school and regret or cring a bit, but that what we're talking about. we're talking about gaan alon of sexual assault. i've never sexually assaulted anyone. >> desjardins: but other accounts emerged with a different picture of kavaugh, including one from a freshman- year roommate of kavanaugh's at yale. james roche says in a statement that, "although brett was normally reserved, he was abl noheavy drinker ... and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was drunk." and as for ramirez's allegation in the "new yorker," roche says: "debbie has a right to be heard and i believe her." white use press secretary sarah sanders signaled this morning that republopans would "b" to seeing ramirez appear before the senate judiciary committee this week. on capitol hill, the halls were jammed with reporters looking for information amid the rhetoric. judiciary democrat dick durbinto issue with mcconnell's defense of kavanaugh. >> one moment he sounds like he's sympathetic to dr. ford and what she's been through, calling

for fairness, and then, before he catches a breath, he calls her charge an unsubstantiated smear. >> desjardins: attention and journalists have focused on undecided senators, like republican lisa murkowski of alaska, who could decide kavaugh's fate and tryay >> it's ve important to take allegations of those who have come forward, to take them seriously. i think it is important that we have a process that is viewed as credible and respected. >> desjardins: twit hearing, ford and kavanaugh, remains scheduled for thursday. newshour has confirmed that republicans hopeo vote on final confirmation for kavanaugh by early next week. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: we'll hear from both sides of the kavanaugh divide after the news summary. o in the dayer news, comedian bill cosby was ten yearsto 3 to in prison for sexual assault. the judge denied bail and sent

him immediately off to jail. cosby is 81. he was convicted of drugging and assaulting a woman in 2004, but some 60 men have accused him of similar crimes going back 50 years. william brangham joins us, for a full report, later in the program. pope francis conceded today that the catholic church's sex abuse scandals are driving paway from the church. in estonia, the pope acknowledged that the church needs to address those concerns honestly. he spoke to a crowd of young people, as he wrapped up a four- day visit to the baltics. >> ( translated we ourselves really need to be converted. we have to realize that in order to stand by your side we need change many situations that put you off. we know that many young people do not turn to us for anything because they don feel we have anything meaningful to say to them. this is very bad when a church behaves in such a way that young people believe that it cannot give anything to their lives.dr >> wf: the pontiff's

comments came as german bishops released a report that nearly 3,700 germans were abused by catholic clergy between 1946 and 2014. more than half were 13 or yoger. iran has issued a new threat to retaliate for saturday's attac on a military parade. the attack, in ahvaz, killed at least two dozen people. officials blamed arab separatists, backed by arab states. today, a news agency close to the hard-line revolutionary guard posted a video depicting potential missile attacks on saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. the government of china demanded today that the u.s. cancel ali $330 m arms sale to taiwan. china claims taiwan as a province. in beijing, the foreign ministry warned that the arms duld inflict "severe damage" on u.s.- china relations.

>> ( translated ): it harms china's sovereignty and security interest. we express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this arms sale.av wemade solemn complaints with the u.s. side. taiwan is an inalienableteart of chinesitory. nobody can waver chinese vernment's resolution and will to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. t >> woodrufhe arms sale comes oid growing tensions between the u.s. and chir trade. back in this country, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein remains on the job, pending a meeting tomorrow with president trump. white house spokeswoman sarah sanders declined to say today ia mr. trump stilconfidence in rosenstein.id she nly that he "has confidence in the system.ns" roin has denied that he talked of tapingorhe president, emoving him from office.th e havoc from hurricane "florence" triggered new warnings today. 11 days after the storm hit coastal north carolina, the town

of georgetown, south carolina is bracing for historic flooding. authorities there are urging some 8,000 people to leave their homes. rising rivers could put parts of the town under 10 feet of water, with more rain to come. grizzly bears are now protected from hunng again in wyoming and idaho. on monday, a federal judge restored federal protections for the animals, and blocked the first grizzly hunts in the lower 48 states in nearly 30 years. the judge ruled that the u.s. fish and wildlife service was loong to decide last year that the bears were ner threatened. and, rising intest rates and oil prices weighed on wall street today. the dow jones instrial average lost nearly 70 points to close at 26,492. the nasdaq rose 14 points, but ethe s&p 500 slipped thre. still to come on the newshour: how lawmakers are responding to te allegations against br

kavanaugh. president trump addresses the world at the united nations. bill cosby is sentenced to t,prison for sexual assaul and much more. >> woodruff: we return now to our lead story: the confirtion now in question of president trump's supreme court pick. senator chris coons, a democrat from delaware, is a member of e judiciary committee and is set to question judge brett kavanaugh and his accuser christine bley ford this thursday. senator, what do you expect the happen on thursday? >> well, what i hopeens, judy, is that the senate judiciary committee will show that we've learned some lessons since the hearing with professor anita hill 2 and justice thoma7 years ago. i hope there will be a respectful and open and

appropriate questions asked of dr. ford and of judge kavanaugh td that we will conduct this not as aal but as a job interview where we're trying to get to the truth of the allegations brought forward by dr. ford. >> woodruff: senator, as y tou kno republicans are saying they are going to bring in an outside council, lawyer, who is experienced in prosecuting sex crimes to do the questioning. what are demrats going too? >> i expect all the senate democratic judiciary committee members will do our job. we will question k judgeanaugh and dr. ford and try and provide the sort of open and level or fair environment that will help us get to the truh. i'm concerned by press reports that republicans are hiring a prosecutor specialized ing prosecutx crimes, and instead of doing their job in questioning the witnesses will hide behind this prosecutorso. that implies they may be going for a tone that is more prosecutorial of dr. ford, which i think will simply discourage

other victims of sexua abu from coming forward with their allegations in other contexts. >> woodruff: president trump is already weighing in, as you ow, on this today saying that it is a con game that democrats are playing, that heas referred repeatedly to false accusations being made by not just dr. blasey ford d borah ramirez, another woman who knew brett kavanau she says at yale. how much concern is it tha republicans seem to have made up their minds. the senate majority leader has already said that brett kavanaugh will be confirmed. >> and the senate majerity le republican mitch mcconnell, also denouncedn dr. ford as bg part of a smear campaign against brett kavanaugh. it's striking to me how much the tone has changed the last week. president trump to my surprise last week said that he welcomed an open and fair hearing and in the first couple days stayed quiet onhis matter.

a number of republican senators, senators flake and murkowski and collins called for there to be fair and open hearing where dr. ford was heard out. that tone has now changed sharpl and as you noted, president trump is now denouncing the whole process of trying to hear these allegations as sexual assault against judge kavanaugh. >> woodruff: do you think there is chance the committee will also hear at any pointro deborah ramirez, this other woman, the second woman? >> i think we should be hearing from mark judge, who is alleged to be in theg room dur dr. ford's alleged assault, and we should hear from debbie ramirez. frany, judy, more importantly, the f.b.i. should be conducting a prompt but thorough background investigation of all the different allegations andha witnesses who been mentioned or brought forward. i'll remind you that when professor anita hill was in front of the judiciary committee, the then-bush adnistration directed the f.b.i. to do this and in a matter of a few days. they came forrd with 2 different witnesses who testified to the committee at

that point. if the trump administration followed through and had the f.b.i. do their job, that would already be completed a the hearing this thursday would be a ropriater and more a hearing of allegations against judge kavanaugh. >> woodruff: what about the t thatican pushback on tha he's already had six f.b.i. investigations? >> he kghas had bund investigations, but not ones in which there were allegations of sexual assault. i have spon to folks who have done f.b.i. background investigions in other context and they say they have a sort of typical script that they followl thk into standard questions. it is not a standard question to say when youhiere i school, when you were in college, did you engage in drunken sexual assault. so that may very well have not been part of the previo background investigation. >> woodruff: can your committee, the judiciary committee, get to the truth on thursday? >> i tnk we can. if we have a broader range of witnesses, and if the membe of the committee or the outside council retained by the

publicans conduct themselves in a fair, measured, and appropriate way. 's more my concern that that will not happen and this will be about political neat and rushing forward with a confirmation vote than it will be about getting to the truth. >> woodruff: senator chris coons, a member of the senate judiciary committee, thank you very much. ud> thank you, >> woodruff: and >> woodruff: we now hear from a supporter and friend of judge brett kavanuagh. travis lenkner is former clerk for the nominee and is an attorney in chicago. ttravis lenkner, welcome news hour. does judge kavanaugh thi he is going to get a fair hearing? >> judge kavanaugh looks forward to the hearing on thursday. he has been looking the chance the testify under oath before the senate judiciary committee since he startedh asking for the opportunity to do that more than a week ago when the allegation from dr. ford was first published in the "washington post." so i know that, you know, now that about eight days will have passed since he was wanting that opport he's looking forward frankly to

the chance to testify under oath and to doo publicl. he's already spoken to thete commite multiple times on background investigation calls under penalty of felony, b to testify publicly, to tell his story and to do so und oath to the committee and to the american people is something that he's wanted to do for many days n. >> woodruff: the questions are still out there, travis lenkner, about why the committee, why judge kavanaugh hasn't wanted to have an f.b.i. investigation of these charges. you just heard senator coons bring it up again. why not? what's wrong with that? >> well, judge kavanaugh has said he will dohaver the senate judiciary committee asks him to do. and he's gone through ery step f the process that they have put in front of him. so he's the nominee. it's nr him to comment on what process the senate should be running. a it's theicle one advise and consent responsibility that they're executing at this pointo e's answered all the questions they've put in front of him. i would say, though, the f.b.i.

background investigation really would serve to gather witness statements from other people who were supposedly at the events that are in question. te judiciary committee has gathered statements. in terms of dr. ford's allegation, everyone else that dr. ford named as having been pret present at the gatheri has now give an statement on the record to the senate judiciary committee saying they don't remember thagathering or a of the conduct alleged, and in the case of a female, a woman who wa there, one of dr. ford's best friends from that period, she said shehi doesn't even she knows brett kavanaugh. so the committee already has the sorts of witness statements i think that they would be getting from the f.b.i. if the f.b.i. were the ones taking the statements instead. >> woodruff: ihink... iear what you're saying. i also hear others say when the f.b.i. is out there doing the investigation, asking the questions, that is... that people feel more compelled to come forward with the wholyoe story an could apply that to these second set of accusations now that he come from the woman who says that judge kavanaugh, when he was aan

frest yale, exposed himself to her. >> well, as to the second allegation, judy, i think what'i important foers to remember is that this is a story that "the new york times" itself refused . there is not a single eyewitness to corroborate this story, and that's after both "the new yorker" and "the new york times" reportethat each outlet had spoken to dozen, dozens of judge vanaugh's classmates and contemporaries without finding teyone to corroborate it, and there are snts on the record from people who knew him at the time who say that that is not only out of character for what they knew of him, but it would have been the talk of campus and the talk of thed dormitory anything like that occurred. so again, i think we have all the information we need not mention "the new york times" reporting that as recently stas eek the accuser in that episode was e-mailing friends and classmates from yale that she herself could not be sure that it was judge kavanaugh she was remembering. i> woodruff: i know "the new york times" is sng that it doesn't dispute or knock down "the new yorker" story, but

just want to say, you're saying that there are those who...ig you're. there were no eyewitnesses who have come forward at all at, yat there are people who knew judge kavanaugh as a roommate in fact, his has put out a statement, his freshman roommate saying, among her things, that brett kanaugh was a notably heavy drinker and could be bridge bridge rent, so some people were getting a different picture ofin how much ng took place, not just in college but also in high school. >> well,av judgeaugh in his interview last night acknowledged that he, like s, think all ofay have had times as a young boy or young girl, a young w man oran when he would look back and cringe r say hehed he behaved differently, but those things are far from what has been alleged here. sexual asslt is abhorrent. judge kavanaugh, i can't even believe i have to give tvie inte to say it, finds it so. he has said he did not do that in high school. he d t nots that at any time. i know there will be a

discussion in the hearing about behavior durin those phases of his life. but even toay someonerank beer in high school or college is a far cry to say that a sexual assault ever came close to occurring. >> woodruff: i'm just hearing now thatheudiciary committee committee is saying there will be a vote on friday morning, so that would be a vote the d after the committee hears from judge kavanaugh and fm dr. christine ford. just very quickly, does judg kavanaugh expect that he will be confirmed as the senate majority leader has said? >> i can'tpeak for his expectations other than i know he's expecting to go to the hearing on thursday, to tell the truth, to look every member of the committee in the eye and to be very... unfortunately to to be very express and personal about a younger phase in life and intimate details of his life, but he wants to do that,kl frnot because he wants the job, though i know he does, butp it's far moretant for him to defend his integrity and clear his name and make sure erople know the type ofn

he really is. >> woodruff: travis lenkner who was a clerk j forge hevanaugh in the in t appellate court. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the president spoke to the united nations today, and sought"a to explain hirica first" worldview to the rest of the world, and outline threats as he sees them. but as nick schifrin reports fr- the u.n., mr. trump's g it-alone philosophy was challenged repeatedly by other aders. >> schifrin: president trump walkedo iroom he once chastised as a club where people have a good time, and rejected the rn.'s internationalism, renewed nationalism. >> sovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle where freedom has ever survived, democracy has ever endured, or peace has ever prospered. >> schifrin: but among the

world's ghest level gathering of leaders, what president trump encalls sovereignty has be unpopulart . he pulled paris climate agreement signed by 196 countries. he pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, eugotiated with pe. and over arab and european objections, he moved t us embassy to jerusalem over the president calls those decisions achievements, buthey got him off to an inauspicious start. >> in less than two years, my administration hasccomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country. ( audience murmuring ) >> schifrin: someone in the audience yells sething-- >> so true. ( audience laughing ) didn't expect tht reaction, that's okay. silaughter ) >> schifrin: but pnt trump was unapologetic, and repeatedly defended his worldview. >> we ject the ideology of globalism. and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism. >> schifrin: it was left to rope to defend the world order and defend multilateralism.

french president emmanuel macron spoke for nearly 40 minutes and called president trump's reference to sovereignty a veil. for unilateral >translated ): leads directly to isolationism and to conflict. generalized clashes, men against men. do not accept the erosion of multilateralism. don't accepunour history raveling! i'm not getting used to this and i'm not turning my head to it. our children are watching. >> schifrin: macron received an extended ovation, as did u.n. secretary general antonio guterres, who warned against lled authoritarianism and implicitly criticized president trump's policy of separating children at the u.s. border. >> those who see their neighbors as dangerous may cause a threat where there was none. those who close their borders to r migration only fuel th work of traffickers. >> schifrin: across town, the u.s.' top diplomat and the u.s.a onal security advisor appeared before a group that has advocated for iranian regime change.

the u.s. is pursuing a pressure campaign against iran at has driven iran's currency to a record low, and flooded currency exchanges. iran is also coping with ciprotests by iranians cring government corruption. today president trump suggestedi he was forcin to the negotiation table. >> iran is a much different country today than it was a year ago. i think that at some point we will have meaningful discussions and probably do a deal, i don't see how it works for them otherwise >> schifrin: europeans are meeting with iran to try and get around u.s. sanctions. but many companies, including european airbus, have pulled out of iran. and today iran's president hassan rouhani rejected dialogue withthe u.s. >> ( translated ): it's ironic that the u.s. does not evenit conceaplan for overthrowing the same government it invites to talks. on what basis and criteria can we enter into a negotiation with such a government? >> schifrin: all day, president trump did the rounds, and gaveto ts to the u.n. but he did not spare his

criticism, including again historic u.s. allies he says rip the u.s. off on trade. >> we defend these nations for nothing. moving forward, we are oninly to give foreign aid to those who respect us, and, frankly, are our friends. lawyer the west earn european, canadian, the u.n. itself will continue to talk about multilateral im, but their onleaders have failed tonce president trump to change course, and they admit they can't preserve what's been call the western liberal order on their own without the u.s. is so the best thing they can do is buy time as the u.s. focusehs on it calls sovereignty. judy? >> woodruff: nick schifrin, we thank you. stay with us, coming up on the newshour: what can be done to counteract the mounting plastic problem. how the trump adminion's policies are affecting rapidly rising drug prices.

and why education has become a key issue in the wisconsin governor'sace. but first, comedian and actor bill cosby w today sentenced to spend three to ten years ine stison for sexual assault. william brangham has the latest. >> brangham: it was a striking sight this afternoon: billnd cosby, in haffs, being led out of a pennsylvania courouse. five months ago, cos found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting andrea constand back in 2004. sb that trial, several other women who alleged had similarly assaulted them testified against him. today, judge steven o'neil said the evidence sometimes from cosby's own words was "overwhelming" that cosby had pland to drug and assault constand, and he declared cosby a "sexually violent predator." mary claire dale of the associated press has been covering this cosby se from the beginning, and i spoke with her earlier today. >> well, the court officers and

the judge tried to keep a close tab on emotion, and cosby himself was surprisingly relaxed through most of the day. even after the three to ten-year senten was handed down and cosby's lawyers and publicists were taking off his watch and tie while the judge decided whether he had to go to prison tat day or later, even during the, cosby was still loose, laughing with his lawyers and publicists, and andrea constand sitting not very far away was staring straight at the judge quietly and somewhat solemnly as the judge delivere the final sentence and delivered remarks about the trauma that she's endur j, nott at the time, but in the years since. >> brangham: constand herself got a chance to speak. what did she say in. >> actually, yesterday she took the stand and gave only a fewwo s of testimony in terms of her victim impact statement. she had sent a five or so pagett to the judge that detailed... she says she has

gone from a person who was confident, secure, really looking forward to the years ahead of r to somebody who now finds herself stuck in midlife, because she questions her own strength given that she was not able to rebu mr. cosby that night. and the judge said, you know, she was a strong professional athlete, but cosby had to give her those drugs because she would have been age to fight him off. but yesterday she to stand very briefly and said, "judge, i have been heard. mr. cosby has heard me. you have heard me. all i want is for you to do what you see to be justice." >> brangham: i understand thece sentange is three to ten years. do you have any sense of how much time he actually might spend in jail? >> right. it's ieresting, ten years being the maximum sentence that the judge could have assigned. so he did go to the maximum if cosby does n got paroled sooner. so after three years, he will be able to go tool the pe board, but d.a. kevin steele noted today that andrea constand and

her family can write to the parole boardnd fight that. my guess is that they well might depending on t where they are in their lives at that time. but cosby will have to persuade a parole board that he is no a long danger to the community and to other young women. judge o'neil today took a point fensey even though the said he's 81 and the recidivism in sex assault cas for man of his age is nearly zero, o'neil said that he believe cosby remains a danger, that with drugs and with his power and money, wealth, access, he might well still be a danger to other people. >> brangham: all right, mary claire dale of the associated press, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> brangham: so at does this sentence, and the larger #me-too movement mean for the victims? lili bernard is one of me tha 60 women who have said cosby raped, drugged, coerced or sexually assaulted them since the mid 1960s.

bernard was an actreo appeared on the cosby show in the 1990s, where she says cosby took her under his wing t then drugged her and raped her. bernard's allegations were notin uded in this case, but she and a number of other survivors attended today's sentencing and the earlier trial.an you very much for being here. i know that you and so many of the other victims of mr. cosby's crimes have been following this case so closely for so long. i wonder, did you ever imagine that today would actually come? >> i did not. i really believed that he would s to his gave a a free man, so this was an absolutely unexpected outcome. >> brangham: what is it you think turned the tide? was it simply andrea constand and heregular saying i must have justice in this case, or what was it?

>> absolutely andrea was a gate big part of it. i have called her the joan of arc in the war on rape becaus te es tremendous courage to stand up against such a goliath, a revered, beloved, iconic father figure in the "entertainment tonight" industry o just has hundreds of millions of dollars at his disposition to put up a good fight. she withstood the victim blaming and shaming on the stand. she's an incredibly urageous person, and her family demonstrated during their victim impact statements how they served for her as a source of strength and unity andower, as a springboard for her to be able to have voiced her suffering for the world. so the "me too" movement, andrea constand was the catalyst ofhe "me too" movement, and then came the brave survivors of campus rape, who started the m anti-campus raement. in 2012, 2013, 2014, that provided a fertile ground for

the cosby survivors who started speaking out in the end of 2014 and 2015 to just continue with this fight to, in the battle, to join the army. so there is more of an awareness in society and there's been a shift in culture toward believing women, toward valuing women's lives. absolutely. it's a new culture, a new day. >> brangham: when you were assaulted by mr. cosby, you were a very young actress at the time. he tried to be a mentor to you and then allegedly committeesd horrible acts. i know that you confronted him, you went to him and said, don't ever do this to me again, but i know that that was a very difficult thing for you to do. i know your agent tried to dissuade you from talking >> i toll him that i would report him to the police. >> brangham: go ahead. please. >> i didn't say "don't ever do

this to me again." that was implicit again. but i did tell him that i would report him to the police, that i wuld go to the hospital and find out exactly what he slipped into my sparkling app cider and that what he was doing in a alled incest because he me his daughter. e have answering machine recordings where says, "you're one of my kids." he made it very clear that ias to look upon him as a father figure. he told that to my dad and my cousins at the cosby studios. he told that to my mother on te phone. so it was very clear that the mentoring relationship we had was many preparation for my guest starring role on "the cosby show" was a paternal one, platonic, paternal one. so it was devastating to beay be like that. i did not realize that all of this, you know, suppo that he was showing for me, this uprifting, because he was introducing meo the production team, the writers and telling them that i was going to be starring on "the cosby show," that he wod be writing a role

for me, and he encouraged them to visit the off-broadway productions i was acting in in theater. i did not underand all of this stroking, all of this lifting up of my acting skills, an a o commented that i was a great painter, was nothing that grooming so i that he could place me in a place so vulnerable that i would trust him enough to, you know, take drink of sparkling an pi cider. >> brangham: lili berrd, i know this has been a momentous day for you.yo i appreciat talking with us. >> uh-huh. my pleasure. my pleasure. thank you. >> woodruff: plastic pollution is considered one of the largest environmental threats facing humans and amals. the material is intended to last much longer than a lifetime. but that also means its impact on tme planet lasts a life too.

40% of all plastic-- water bottles, bags, straws and utensils-- are used only one time before being discarded. amna nawaz and producer lorna baldwin kick off a series this week about our global plastics problem. ay find somviewers of the images involving injured animals disturbing. >> nawaz: alg coasts across the globe, waves of plastic are washing ashore. this beach in the domican republic is inundated every day. this stretchf sand on australia's christmas isnd is swamped by debris, coming mostly plastic is clogging landfills from thailand to kenya. why? plastic is virtually indestructible, and it doesn't break down easily. but there are also so many different types of plastic, it can be hard, or in some cases, impossible, to recycle. and yet around the world, our appetite for plastic keeps on growing. more than nine billion metricpl

tons otic have been produced since 1950-- the weight equivalent of 27,000 empire state buildings or more than a billion elephants. roland geyer at the university of california santa barbara is an industrial ecologist who quantified the problem with he says of all that pl an estimated 60% still exists on earth today. >> we estimate that off the ni billion metric ton that humankind ever produced, maybe 20 to 30%, is still in use. and the rest, so that's about six, 6.5 billion metric tons has become waste. >> nawaz: and it's ended up in landfills. >> it's ended up by then landfills, in e environment. a tiny fraction was recycled. and thenn equally small maction was incinerated. >> what can beade with plastics? cosmetic containers and cockpit housings, radios and razors. >> nawaz: plastic was a new material that transformed the consumer landscape. whrge scale production began after world war two, the

potential for growth seemed unlimited. ar this paratrooper floating down to mother e is depending on plastics to get him there safely. >> nawaz: the durable materi m did, and doee some aspects of life more safe. >> look, here is the new bandai plastic strip with new superstick. >> nawaz: not to mention, more convenient. and ultimately, over decades of use, a disposable way of living evolved.tu its was so limitless that by 1967 dustin hoffman was given this career advice in "."the gradu" >> i just want to say one word to you. just one word. >> yes, sir. >> are you listening? >> i am. >> plastics. >> nawaz: the plastic problem is so pervasive that our own reporting teams keep r into it around the world. it doesn't matter how isolated the location plastic has found its way there, as jeffrey brown found on easter island in the south pacific. >> brown: not a place you'd expect plastic pollution, but this is what was found by a

cleanup crew on this beach just in the last few minutes. >> nawaz: scientists say nearly every sea bird eats plastic trash, mistaking it for fish. and plastic particles are in many of the fish we eat. >> thiis sort of the problem. the fish eats that and we eat the fish. >> brown: yeah. the fish eat the plastd then we eat the fish. >> yeah. and in our blood maybe exist plastic in the blood. >> nawaz: and john yang found out how plastispecifically impacts turtles when he visited the pacific beaches of costa rica with wildlife biologist hen pheasey. >> single use plastic is an absolute nightre for turtles. >> yang: and this is stuff ve just picked up on the beach here. >> i literally just found this here, yeah. this is a really clean beach and yet wherever you go, you find plastic. plastic gets into the marinebr environment, iks down into tiny little pieces called miaoplastics, and anything eats in the ocean will inadvertently eat the plastic, and that's killing turtles. up in florid they've got a hospital now, when a turtle comes in they no longer say,

does the turtle have a plastic in its belly, they now say how much plastic is in the turtle. >> nawaz: in 2015, a marine biologist's video went viral, documenting the painful process as she removed a plastic straw stuck up a sea turtle's nose. >> this is becoming more and more common, it's noa one off anmore. and these are things that we don't need, we don't need single use plastic, nobody needs a straw. and if you do need a straw for whatever reason, like your child or something, then you don't need ito be made out of plastic. >> nawaz: now, banning plastic items like straws and bags seems to be all the rage. cities, municipalities and companies like starbucks and marriott have announced bans are on the way. they follow in the footsteps of countries like rwanda: in 2007 it was one of the first to ban plastic bags countrywide and now it's consired one of the cleanest places in the world. but conservationist max bello

told jeffrey brown that's still not enough. >> even if we stop today, to uwe plastic, itop now, this plastic that is out there, we're still going to have to deal wit it for the next hundreds of thousands of years, e, because it's not going to go away. >> nawaz: join us all this week as we take a closer look at ho u the plastic every day is creating problems for the entire planet for generationsme. for the pbs newshour in santa barbara, california, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: tomorrow amna will take a look at some potential solutions to the plastic problem. >> woodruff: during the 2016 election campaign, president trump repeatedly pledged to bring down prescription drug prices.ni and his adration has taken some steps in recent months,

seincluding trying to incrhe number of generic, or non-brand- name produvailable for to substitute for high cost drugs. they've also lowered the price sodicare pays initially foe medications. feeling political pressure, some drugmakers have announced temporary price freezes. but a new analysis, by the associated press, finds there have been far more price hikes than cuts. while price increases did slow somewhat, the analysis found there have been 96 price hikes for every price cut inhe first seven months of this year. journalist elisabe rosenthal watches health care costs. she's the author of a book on the subject called "an americann si," and she's the editor- in-chief of kaiser health news. elisabeth rosenthal, welcome to the newshour. so in sum, what is this a.p. analysis telling us? >> well, it's showing us how hard it is to bring down drug

prices and that t president, despite his narrative of sayicog thesanies are getting away with murder, isn't making a whole lot of headway. i mean, that's pretty extraordinary. 96 up to one down. >> woodruff: but they do show there is i some slowi the rate of increase, is that right? >> well, they do, but when you're saying slowing and the rate of increase, that means they're still going up, and these prices are already for many drugs at extraordinary numbers and unaffordable for many americans. so they shouldn't be going up at a slower pace. i think we really need them to come down. >> woodruff: now, we know, elisabeth rosenthal, what the drug com snies say. thy we need this additional money because we're doing experiments, we're trying to come up with new drugs to solve other problems to cure other illnesses, and that costs money. yes, they say that, and that is true, but i think what we see, which is extraordinary to me, is that over time theame

exact drug, a vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia, a cancer drug will go up, will trouble, will triple over time. now that isn't how any rea wl markks. right? when things get olderthe ices go down because hey, you've recouped your investment with the high pce in the beginning, so why should it keep going up? that defies ogeconomicc and it defies healthcare logic, and frankly, it defies the drug companies' own logic. >> woodruff: so when the president of the united states says, as president trump said in may, he said he would be announcing massive voluntary drug price cuts within two weeks what actually happened after that? >> well, you know, a bunch of companies started off justno doing, you business as usual and announced price hikes, then president trup came back and shamed them. shamingorks a little bit s a whole bunch of companies, probably half a dozen have said, okay, we're not going to do ,price hikes this year, b hey,

we're going to pause, but what happens next year? no promises. there as i said, we're talki about price hikes of old drugs now. we're not talking about a new fabulous cancer treatment. we're talking about an annual 10% price hike on an old drug, and i don'think we have a good explanation for why that is occurring. >> woodruff: as somebody who has studied this for a long time, what do you think it takes? i mean, what is it going to take? are we talking political pressure from a president or somebody elste? what does ake? >> i don't think shaming is enough to make it happen. so i think the president proposed some ids like allowing greater generic competition, allowing biosims, which are comploex molecules t be done on a generic basis. but that only affects a small number of drugs, maybe ten to 15

right now. the ja nation, we've seen in this country don't lower prices. the epipen, you know, there was a brouhaha. it was $700. a generic meant it was $350. p.s., the epipen in 2007 was $100. so you know, we're starting with this crazy hih price point some what will it take? i can tell you what other countries have found is that it takes some sort of price setting, some kind of national price negotiatio >> woodruff: government action. >> yeah, basically large-scale government action. i mean, maybe when amazon and jpmorgan chase and berkshire hathaway get together, they'll have that kind of clout, but, you know, whether the market and these market manipulations can do it, i think secretary azar today said you need to give it i mean, my feeling is, yes, maybe some of them would work overime, but we're running out of time here. people are hurting right now, and these prices are

extraordinarily high right now. >> woodruff: the other thing we see about drug pricing is frankly a lack of transparency. we don't see what it is inside these companies that is leading to these price increases, do we? >> no, and in tk number of politicians have called for that. a number of states are callingic for that, is interesting. there's a lot of action at the state level right now.a ate is saying, if you want the raise prices, okay, explain why you need to do this. we want a justification. so far at a federal lev, it's been kind of willy-nilly. why do we raise prices? well, economists would say because they can. >> woodruff: it sounds like you're saying in the near term we're not going tsee much change. >> slow change, but we find in kaiser family foundation surveys, 80% t of people wanthe government to do something. 40% say they're worried they can't afford their medicines. we see young people dying because they can't afford understand -- insulin now.

this is an acute problem, so a long-term solution is not going to really beugh right now. i hope voters, you know, realize that and start putting on those political pressure, because oi think weeed a solution. >> woodruff: we're paying attention now, andpe let's lot more people pay attention. >> i hope . >> woodruff: elisabeth rosenthal, thank you very much. kaiser health news. >> thanks. >> woodruff: now, how education is emerging as a flashpoint in the midterm elections. the issue is front and cter in the wisconsin governor's race. the republican incumbe, scott walker, is squaring off against the state's longtime superintendent of school polls indicate the race is too close to call. special correspondent lisa stark of our partner "education week" went to wisconsin for our weekly segment, "making the grade."

>> reporter: it's a raucousir welcome on tst day of school at maple tree mlementary inilwaukee. >> welcome back. >> reporter: students, cheered on by city and district officials, and tony evers, wisconsin's schools chief and fthe democratic candidate governor. 20 miles away, in the city of waukesha, the current governor, republican sco walker, is opening the school year at la casa de esperanza, a charter school. walker, running for his third term, is getting an award from la casa, for expanding school choice. education is a key issue in this race, 40% of voters say it's their first or second most important ncern, edged out only by the economy. >> this is our message of thear i love my public school and i vote. >> reporter: heather duboie s bourenads the wisconsin public education network, a non- partidvsan group thatates for public schools. >> it's about making sure that

whomever gets elected is held accountable to the highe possible standard of doing the right things for kids in schools. >> reporte but how best to do the right things for students is what's at stake in this election. >> you couldn't pick a starker difference. >> two entirely different perspectives. >> reporter: on one side, governor walker, who soon aftera taking office,ed school spending to balance the state budget.an he faced tens of thousands of protestors after weakening, unioshing legislation known as act 10, that did awayt with mrgaining rights for teachers and many other public employees. the anger spilled over into a recall attempt, which walker survived.>> ust like you guys, all getting ready for school. >> reporter: now walker is campaigning as the educationaf governorr boosting state money for schools by $636 million in his most recent budget. why are you the education governor?

>> again, because we've not only made the largest historic investments in state history, which is important, but because of act 10-- because of our reforms those dollars overwhelmingly going into the classroom where they have a real imct in student success. >> reporter: on the other side, evers, whose been the sta'ste hehohief for nine years. he argues he's t real school champion, calling for a big bump in education spending, an extra $1.4 billion. >> clearly my lifelong journey has been all about public education and being a teacher and administrator and frankly i've fought for our schools l stead of bringing th down. >> reporter: schnding has been a been political flashpoint in more than a half a dozen states this year, including west virginia, arizona, oklahoma; as teachers walked out to demand higher salaries and more money for schools. this passion is still playing io many eleraces.

in wisconsin, outside money is pouring into the race from conservative and liberal groups. both ctes have taken to the airwaves. >> and i'll never play politics with the kids or their schools.i >> in wiscon we're rethinking k-12 education.or >> rr: one of the big dividing lines: school choice. walker has expanded arters and more significantly, voucher programs, which let lower income parents use state education dollars to help pay ivate school tuition, something evers doesn't support says jim bender, with school choice win. >> i think superintendent evers would be fine and dandy having all the education reform models nene and everything just t back to the same old school district. that it. no innovation. >> reporter: but education professor julie underwlls walker the private school governor, and says tditional public schools are not benefiting from his policies.to >> in 2011 w the largest

budget cuts we've ever had to public schools and that's never whally been restored. we've got schoolare barely staying open. they are worried about meeting children's needs and you to know, to quote an old movie, they're mad as hell ey're not going to take it anymore. >> reporter: in a recent poll, 61% of voters said it was more important to increase spending on public schools thant property taxes. what does that say to you? >> it says fund our schools. people are begging for it. the people are passing referend votingise taxes on themselves to keep their schools in business at record rates. >> reporter: governor walker believes the property tax measures are passing for a different reason. >> we've done such good job at cutting property taxes that it's no longer a factor as much as it was a decade ago. >> reporter: both candidates are pointing fingers at each other over wisconsin's achievement gap, perhaps the worst in the

nation, black students dnot do as well academically as white. studen evers says he's proposed fixes, uelker hasn't funded them. >> we need to conto work on that issue going forward in the state and we will, but we have to have a properly funded system in order to make that happen. we can't take money away and expect people to have miracles happen in their classrooms. >> reporter: but mark morgan, who heads the state republican party, blames evers' leadership. >> tony evers has failed to act multiple times in fixing, you know, either failing schools or taking bad teachers srt of the clasm. >> reporter: and tha controversial act 10 law passed seven years ago-- it's still creating waves. walker supporters say districts, free from union contracts, can now reward top teachers. >> we shall not be moved. >> reporter: but opponents, who still gather at the capitol every work day, argue teacher retirements and turnoverre up-

leaving less experience in the classroom. >> ♪ i do believe, walker won't be governor someday soon, ♪ someday soon! >> reporter: the race has gotten contentious-- walker accuses f evers ling to fire ao teacher ewed pornography at school. >> tony evers should have revoked the teacher's license, but he didn' >> have you seen these false attack ads. >> rorter: evers argues stat law at the time didn't allow him to do so. >> that's why tony evers worked with both parties to change the law. >> reporter: even as this battle hegs up, educators are putt their efforts into getting students settled for the new school year. >> catch it, say your me! >> deon. >> reporter: trying to tune out the political noise, says la casa school leader maria ayala. >> we need to get away from all the politics and really focus in on the children and what their

needs, what we can do for them and their families.ep >> rorter: a focus that will continue long after election >> make sure you work together! >> reporter: for "education week" and the pbs newshour, i'm lisa stark in waukesha, wisconsin. >> woodruff: and a reminder, on 6and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of internaticual peace and ty. at carnegie.org. th >> and witongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadca and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. pt ning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone. and welcome to "amanpour & co. i heres what is coming up. it's the annual meeting of world leaders at the u.n. in new york. and we remember thereat lessons of leadership from nelson mandela. our conversation with the great man'sidow, graca mashal. our walter isaacso talks to ken burns