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tv   PBS News Hour  PBS  November 26, 2018 3:00pm-4:01pm PST

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captioning sponsored py newshoductions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, cutting back.il general motol shutter production at five plants and layoff more than 4,700 employees. th, tension in tijuana: president trump defends border patrols' u of tear gas after a peaceful march veers out of control on the u.s./mexico border. plus another leap for humankind. exsa lands a spacecrt on mars with a mission tore if the red planet has ever been hospitable to life. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."
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for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutio to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was mae possible by rporation for tblic broadcasting. and by contributioyour pbs station from viewers likyou. thank yo >> woodruff: general motors announced today it is slashing its workforce by more than 14,000 employequ, including a ter of its executives, and shuttering several plants in north america.
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at least five passenger car models will be eliminated,lt reg in shutdowns next year at three plants in detroit, northeast ohio and ontario. two other u.s. plants are on notice. this would be the company's biggest shakeup since it faced bankruptcy a decade ago. last year, on a trip to ohio, president trump assured residents near one g.m. plant that he was workg to keep jobs and even add more. today, he spoke with general motors' c.e.o., mary barra. >> we don't like it. i believe they will be opening up something else. i was very tough. i spoke with her when i hearde they wosing and i said, "you know this country has done a lot for general motors, you better get back in there soon." that's ohio. "and you better get back in there soon." so, we have a lot of pressure on them. you have senators, ye a lot of other people, a lot of pressure. d >> woodrufid shepardson of "reuters news" is here to help explain what's behind these moves.
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welcome back to the "newshour", david. so what is being cut at g.m.? what kinds of jobs? >> there is two parts. one are, as yo said, the car production factories. you ha five factories building cars like the sheby volt, impala, cars that are not selling well. across the industry car sales dramatically declined as ople buy more suvs, crossovers a pickup truck. g.m. will cut about 15% of the saried workers,bout 8,000 jobs, of those roughly 2,000 taken voluntarily, an the other are the production jobs at the five plants pl the two supporting plants, plus two other plants outside north america that are to sed and identified sometime in the next year. >> woodruff: so people who work at plantu when yy salaried jobs,
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white-collar jobs, what do these people do? >> enginee,ng, financi accounting, all sorts of white-collar jobs that are critical to the industry. >> woodruff: and g.m. said today that, as part of what you just said, that the certain kinds of cars are just not selling anymore. is that the whole story here t? t is big part, certainly, that people are not buying the small cars and are buying the bigger cars on the same platforms, but it's also about g.m. moving toward the future they're going to take a big chunk of money and invest in electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles. g.m. could start as early as next year a self-driving car fleet in san francisco, so part of it isgbout addresshis future shift of mobility away from the traditional, you knw, human-driven car. att it's also recognition t u.s. car sales are flattening and potentially declining. we have en in a rising auto market since the great recession. so everybody is nervous.
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all the companies about this shift, and no one wants to be caught flt-footed and whas why you see g.m. and other companies. this is the biggest step taking early cost saings now before there's a recession, a big fall-off in auto demand. >> woodruff: does it represent a miscalculation on g.ms part, iticians,the pol democratic shara brown in ohio saying this is the worst kind of corporate greed and politicians on both sides of the ais criticizing. >> there is a lot of anger and g.m. ten years ago got a big bailout and taxpayers are on the hook for about $11 million, but g. says we have to be profitable and can't build cars people aren't buying and this iu a pblicly traded, free economy and tiers cars people don't want to buy. but you're right, given gas h price been low for the last several years, g.m. didnprt ict quite fast enough the shift away from cars into these
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larger vehf:les. >> woodro does this represent what's going on across the industry that we're going to see thikind of thing in other auto-maks as well? >> we've seen ford andas phhrysler announce they're abandoning nearly all sedans in north america. other companies like toyota saiy e going to reduce their focus on cars toward these larger cars. so we's not seen thilevel of job cuts yet, and it is striking tthat, give political ramifications you said in that presidentrump and others ally are attacking g.m. that they would do this given this is certainly to be an issue in the 2020 election. >> woodruff: so when ent trump and others sa they need to make up for this by making other kinds of vehicles,s hat realistic? >> in an answer, no. not without spending a lot of in cof wardstown, the plant money. in northeast ohio, you need ash nep because it's not big rgeugh to build the la vehicles, that could cost a
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billion dollars or more, retrofitting the plant could cost hundreds of millions or more, so a large investment taking several years, and the problem for auto comnies is what is auto manacturing going to be in the future, more or less, and do you want to inves in more production capacity if the market is going down. >> woodruff: in the meaime, represents a lot of pain for these 14,000 people who will be losing jobs. >> and it's remarkable g.m. is taking this tough step n moth before christmas, the political season, but represents there's a lot of nervousness despite the economy and unemployment beng low overall, that there are places where thoe ecmy may not be as strong as we necessarily believe. >> wodruff: we're all soking it in now. david shepardson, thank you very much. >> thank y. >> woodruff: the u.s./mexico border is the focus of our second major story tonight. at issue: a confrontationme betweeers of a migrant caravan and the u.s. border
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patrol. amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> reporr: a march 2,300 miles in the making, ran into a closed border and tear gas, on sunday, at the san ysidro crossing in tijuana. u.s. border guards fired the gas across the bordeinto a crowd of thousands seeking asylum in u.s., after hundreds tried to rush the fence to cross. myrna lissette amaya, from honduras, described the scene. >> ( translated ): many yog children fainted, my daughter also got gassed, pregnant women and there were many men who also fainted, there were some press members who helped throwing water to the children and there was a child who was hardly breathing and a person from the press grabbed him and took him away. >> reporter: homelanrity secretary kirstjen nielsen defended the border patrol's use of force. and, this morning, president trump threatened he might "close the border perly," and called for mexico to do more about people he called "stone cold criminals he followed up this afternoon, outside the white house. he they had to use because were being rushed by some very tough people and they used tear gas. here's the bottom line: nobody is coming into our country
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less they come in legally. >> reporter: mexican officials, in turn, said today that nearly 100 migrants who rushed the border fence are being deported. though border crossings are at historic lows, the number ofas asylum seekerseen increasing from more than 5,000 in 2007 to over 91,000 in 2016. in response, president trump issued a new rule this month, saying that while those o cross legally can apply for asylum, those who "enter the united states unlawfully through the southern border will be ineligible to be granted asylum." a federal judge has suspended the policy for 30 days, as he considers whether it violas existing law. meanwhile, across the border tho inng government of president-elect andres manuel lopez obrador, denied reports that it agreed to hold asylum seekers in mexico, while their claims were assessed in the s. all the confusion means more uncertainty for those awaiting their fate at the border. >> (anslated ): we are
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desperate, hoping for a positive response.th we hop authorities can reach an agreement. it's not our intention to putop the mexican out. our hope is to get news for christmas, good news for my family in honduras. >> reporter: an estimated 5,000 migrants are in tijuana, many hoping for seek asylum in theu. u.s. officials, however, are currently processing fewer than 100 applications a day. nar the pbs newshour, i'm amna z. >> woodruff: amna will be back with a longer look at border enforcement after the news summary. in the d's other news: president trump rejected a key conclusion of his administration's climate report. the findings were published friday. they predict dire economic effects from global warming. asked about that today, mr. trump said, "i don't believe it the u.s. and european allies today condemned russia's seizure of three ukrainian naval vessels. the russian ast guard fired on and then seized the ships on sunday in waters off russian-
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occupied crimea. moscow says the ships illegallyt entereterritorial waters. we'll have a full report later in the program. british prime minister theresa may has begun her final push to sell parliament on a deal to exit the european union.pp e.u. leadersved the agreement on sunday. it would keep britain subject e. rules even after leaving the bloc until at least 2020.he inouse of commons today, may warned opponents of the agreement that it may be the last, best chance. >> there is a choice which this house will have to make. we can back this deal, deliver on the vote of the referendum and move on to building a brighter future of opportunity and prosperity for all o people, or this house can choose to reject this deal and go back to square one. >> woodruff: president trump warned today that the deal could hinder u.s. trade withmeritain. parl is expected to vote on the issue, the week of december 10.
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back in this country: a winter storm blanketed parts of the midwest with heavy snow for second day and snarled post- thanksgiving travel in the process. hundreds of people were stuck in airports overnight, as blizzard conitions grounded more tha 1,900 flights in chicago alone. the snow and icelso covered roads from michigan to kansas. jury selection began today for james alex fields junior, accused of killing a woman at a white nationalist rally in charlottesville, virginia. the victim was heather heyer, a counter-protester at last year's event. fields allegedly drove his car rowd, killing heyer and injuring dozens of others. he's facing a state charge of rst-degree murder. the u.s. supreme court heardme ars today over whether apple's "app store" is an illegal monopoly the dispute stems from a requirement that iphone softwaru applications bhased
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directly throug the "app store." developers must pay the tech giant a 30% commission on all sales. iphone users have sued, arguing they are being overcharged as a. resu and, on wall street: bargain hunters helped stocks bounce back after last week's sell off. the dow jones industrial average gained 354 points to close at 24,640. the nasdaq rose nearly 143 points. and the s&p 500 added almost 41. still to come on the "newshour," an inside look at the trump administration's immigration policy from a former homeland security official; russia captures a ukrainian naval vessel in the ost dramatic escalation of the conflict in years; nasa lands a botic spacecraft on mars to research whether fe ever existed there and much more.
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>> woodruff: as we reported earlier, thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the united states were met with tear gas and a closed border as they attempted to cross into southern california this weekend. amna nawaz is back with a closer look at the trump administration's immigration policies. >> reporter: for that, i'm joined by scott shuchart. he worked on immigrati enforcement for the department of homeland security's office for civil rights and civ liberties during both the obama and trump administrations. " welcome to twshour". >> good to be here. thank you. >> you mentioned you immigration fellow at the center for american progress no longer with the government. i want to ask you about at the vents over the weeke and som of what you saw during your time with the government. you've heard the president refer to what happens at the border as
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a crisis, cited the caravan a number of times. you work for the government. is this crisis? >> well, it's clearly an attempt to manufacture something that would qualify as a crsis. it's not clear to me that it would need to be a crisis if managed appropriately. there have been lines at the ports of entrynmes past that can be managed withes additionalrces in. the past migrants would be processed for aslum at the ports of entry and if they cross over and are apprehend bid border patrol. then the trump administration policy enjoined by the judge t last weat unlawfully tries to deny asylum to people who try to cross in other ways. there's been an effort to align policy to drive thiats in a level would at least look like a crisis. it seems to coincide with the election and we are where we are. >> the images of women,nhild fleeing the tear gas and the the effects are very disturbing.
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>> unquestionably. i want to ask you something that an i shall from the border patrol said erlier today which was, look, we were being attacked to some degree, that the pictures were misleading. the vast majority of officials were men and when border patrol officials were having rocth wn at them they had to act to disburse the crowrd. what's your thought on that. >> there's a long hstory o bored patrol using force to deflect what they perceive as thats at the wall. reports of rock throwing met with lethal levels of force. so it's consistent with the border patdirol's traonal approach to meet a very high level of force to counteract what seems to be civil disobedience. i don't know the particular facts of this encounter, butly it's certahe case border patrol has looked to force-related solutions at tim to where civil rights officials
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and others have urged them to ok for ways of deescalating conflicts and this esn't seem the case. >> you've heard the president say again and again the pol we're seeing now are no different nan the onesnder the obama administration. you worked in both is there a difference? >> it's nonsense on stilts. no question that at anytime did any other administration try to separate parents froldren to create a deterrent. it's been clear that's what the administration wanted the do in 2017 and in 2018 what it did when i chose to prosecute parents as a legal way t separate parents from the child because you can't send the chi to prison and send the children and parents on different immigration paths and thereby create a deterrent. i believe the pesident tweed twice about this last night and if the second tweet essentially conced that that washat they were trying to do, while claiming that it's fake news b
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to describe it as different kind icy.ol so an extremely different kind of policy. there have been issues with processing families coming to the border seeking asylum together is a logistical and legal challengin lots of ways and some of the challenges have a younued, but the ide would separate children from parents to prove a point, to create a deterrent, e the potential for trauma to the a childrpart of a policy genderis completely new with the administration. >> one thing we've heard from ine administration is these are national securitrests at play. a your role in the government, your job is to protect the civil rights liberties making sure the policies put in place didn't violate those, but we' come into the this conflict before. after 9/11, a lot of policies would argue violating civil rights and civil liberties with the japanese interment of
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thousands o afmericans, why do you say this is keeping us safer? >> the point of government is to keepos safe and prtect our constitutional way of life. following 9/1, there was a recognition of civil rights abuses in response to tht. a civil rights office was created to pursue exactly that, t cause the idea was whwe are making safe when the government uses force, when we invest in bored security and everything else is our way of life that goes along with our constitutional values, it's not just aboutife a property, be's also about the kind of people we want tnd the place we want to live. so if we give all that up to keep a couple thousand women and children on one side of the ernce rather than the ot what if we accomplished? >> scott shuchart, thank you for being here. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: the men, women and children in tijuana started their journeys thousands of miles to the south. we wanted to understand their motivations and see what it has been like along the route. j
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producia galiano-rios followed one member of the caravan all the way to the u.s. border, arting in a mexican city 70 miles from the guatemala border. here's nick schifrin: >> reporter: one month ago yesterday, in the central square of mapastepec, we met 23-year- old karla cruz. her and her friends' shoes were worn from the 500 miles they'd already walked, but she joked and smiled, even as they set off at 3:00 a.m. to beathe heat.ke so many along this migrant and refugee rout cruz's dreams were born of nightmares. to the south is home, one of hondruas' most violent cities. to the north is texas, where her mother fled 15 years ago- leaving cruz behind when she was just eight-years-old. ( speaking spanish ) >> ( translated ): it's terrible, how parents abandon their children for a better futurei the truth isll be content with just seeing my mom, even if it means i will get deported.
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well, after 15 years, n't you think i deserve a smile? reporter: at first, the journey provided hope, through temporary shelters where infants wear their american icons and dreams around their necks, and where these migrants and asylum seekers had messages fortr presidenp. ( speaking spanish ) >> ( translated ): i want to get ahead. i want to maybe finish university. i want to maybe learn his language, so he undes that we're not criminals. we're people who want to better ourselves.ep >> rter: that was october 25.ed as cruz travelorth, homeland security secretary kirsten nielsen inaugurated a new b section of theder wall, and announced 800 additional service meters would deploy to prot it. >> we do not have any intention right now to shoot at people. th will be apprehended, however. >> reporter: despite thecrhreat, uz kept going, trying to hitch a ride from truckshose flatbeds were alady full. all they could provide was precious dnking water. they walked through tapanatepec on october 27, and then juchita.
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on october she shows off facebook photos of her ermily, including the moth and step-father she longs to join. she traveled with her coin, and made friends along the road for security and companionship, througmexican towns she'd already seen on previous attempts to go north.an when our camerawoman jokes the ride was romantic... ( laughs ) ...her laugh still came naturally. that same night, president trump spoke on fox news. >> when you look at that caravan, and you look at largely, very, you know, big percentage of men-- young, strong, a lot of bad people, a lot of bad people in there. >> reporter: the next day, the trump administration announced it would deploy 5,000 additional service members to the border. >> the president has made it clear that border security is national security. >> reporter: but cruz keptlk g, for seven days, to mexico city where thousands set up temporary lives in a converted soccer stadium. t and by they were weary.
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she visited doctors provided by the mexican government who said she had a fever and low blood pressu t. she admitt closer she got to the u.s., the harsher the rhetoric, the more difficult the realy. she admitted, she might not make it. >> ( trslated ): because of how protected the borders are now. i think it's going to be a bit hard-- and to be caught and be locked up for six months, i don't think i'm willing to do that yet. i don't understand why they treat us badly, why they don't t want us ir country. >> reporter: but on that day, the pull of a better life eclipsed fear. red eventually she hitched a ride for the last h-- all the way to tijuana. she arrived on november 20 on a government-provided bus, and took comfort from a newl acquired stuffed bear. and then she watched this weekend as hundreds-- including her cous-- tried to rush the border, and the border patrol responded with tear gas. and on the side of the road, we asked one last time about her plans. >> ( translated ): i'm scared. i don't want to be here anymore. >> reporter: after traveling so far, she finally felt resignation.
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>> ( translated ): maybe this was not what i was expecting. i thought that when we got here we were going to try to cross right away, not to park here, thke, to live. because that's whamajority is doing here-- living. >> reporter: she traveled 2,700 miles for a month d a half. but tonight she's consideringnd giving up, aurning herself into mexican authorities, so they can deport her baome. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: a confrontationtw n ukrainian and russian vessels on the high seas has launched a new and unpredictable phase in their cseflict. etary of state mike pompeo condemned russia's actns, saying they represent "a dangerous escalation." abhn yang has the story. >> reporter: froe-- what appears to be a naval battle. up close-- russian ships close
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he on a ukrainian tugboat ed for a nearby port. the video-- released by russia's government-- then shows one russian ship ramming the tugboat, cutting it off from two ukrainian gunboats. the ukrainian navyaid six of its sailors were wounded when ssian coast guards later opened fire and then seized all three ships and the ukrainian crews. the ukrainian boats were sailing through the kerch strait off the coast of the crimean peninsula-- which russia annexed in 2014. the aggression was a new flashpoint in a nearly five- year-old crisis: ongoing fighting between russian-backed rebels and ukrainian troops in eastern ukraine has claimed some 10,000 lives. today, russia's government said the ukrainians illegally entere the strait, en ignored warning shots. >> ( ertranslated ): it is a dangerous provocation, so it rendires special attention a special proceedings. >> reporter: both countries regularly use the strait under a
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2003 agreement. ukraine says it gave advance notice of the ship movement. ukraine's president petro poroshenko said earlier today ha asked parliament for a 30- day period of martial law to begin this week. >> ( translated ): but by attacking ukrainian military boats, it moved onto a new stage of aggression.ai >> reporter: u's parliament quickly approved, giving poroshenko wide-ranging powers to seize assets and control the media and measures. poroshenko said he would onlyau use the orities in regions that border russia. in brussels, nato secretary general jens stoltenberg said the alliance would stand firmly behind non-mber ukraine. >> there is no justification for the use of military force against ukrainian ships and naval personnel.>> eporter: president trump weighed in as he left the white house. >> we do not like what'ser happening eiay. we don't like what's happening. hopefully get straightened out. europe is working on it too. they're all working on it together.
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>> reporter: and at an emergency meeting of thesenited nations rity council u.s. ambassador nikki haley condemned, "reckless russian aggression." russia's ambassador said the u.s. and nato were giving coverm pollrs before next year's presidential election.sl >> ( tred ): how can he maintain power in these prcumstances? it's clear: organivocation and once again accuse russia of everything. inflate his own ratings, and put himself forwd as the savior of the nation >> reporter: matthew rojansky is director of the kennan institute at the woodrow wilson center in washington, d.c. >> there's a real question as to whether he can succeed in the elections so he may be lookingy for portunity he can now to remind ukrainian voters of the one big advantage that he has which is that he is the defender of the country, he is the commander and chief of the >> reporter: rojansky says russian president vladimir- putilso losing popularity at home-- is using the incident
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to his advantage as well: >> the more the coe lict in ukraeates chaos in the european security theater, chaos between europe and us, chaos between ukraine and the wider west including nato and the e.u. and chaos in american politics. these are alto putin's advantage, right, because he plays on that chaos. >> reporter: as right-wing activists and milita members in kiev today called for ukraine's government to do more to deter russian aggression, poroshenko assured that his martial law decree did not include postponing elections slated forr next or a declaration of war-- for now.ne for the pbhour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: after traveling more than 300 million miles over six months, nasa's newest mars lander, the "insight," touched wn on the red planet this afternoon.
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it may be the eighth time nasa has landed a probe on mars, but that didn't diminish the celebration today. >> touchdowconfirmed. ( cheers ) oodruff: its descent fro the martian atmosphere has been described as "seven minutes of terror," as the spacecraft has tolow from 12,000-plus mil an hour to just five miles an hour. this probe is focused on learning more about the interior and history of the planet. our resident space observer, miles brien, has been preparing for this moment as well and joins me now from boston. miles, welcome back. tell us. terror? just how difficult was this? >> well, jud imagine seven years of work all being distilled down to seven minutes. you know, the people who were in that room when they erupt with
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joy, kind of like riverboat gamblers of science. they put all the chips on the table, they inv est a lot of time, then they hope all these things have to go rigthht. spacecraft has to separate, the back shell hato come off, the parachute mas to deploy, the landing gear has to go down, the radar has to work, the engenerals have to is that ght, the heat shield has to go wellpeall has to hapin seven minutes. nothing they can do about it, an eight-minute delay, things getting back from mars, all of it has to work out, so definitely a moment to savor.00 >>illion miles, we can't imagine how far that is except we can see mars sometimes. technically, it's just as hard as it was the first time? >> yeah, there's nothing easy about this. they kind of make it look easy, they're kind of ah shucks about , calm, but when you see the joy erupt, a lot of nervousness
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going on because they've worked so harnofor this moment anw the science begins. >> wdruff: so, ms, how can they tell it worked? how do they observe it? >> well, they have -- of course, the spacecraft it wasse has the about the to transmit as it goes down, and it is able to relay information to orbiting n.a.s.a. spacecraft already in orbit around mars, and tis time something a little bit different, it had two briefcase-spied spacecraft flying in formation with it, the first time they've tried this,d ey served as a relay, sending information back to 'searth. thn idea which was kind of an add-on to this particular mission, wasn't a metric for success or failure, but expect to see more of that in the siture. >> so literally th of a briefcase? >> yeah, which is hard to imagine 300 million miles, sending a briefcase out there and it ends up the right place. glingkind of mind bog stuff. >> they want to learn more about the interior of mars, what do
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they want find out. >> well, if you think this is the eighth successful landing by n.a.s.v on mars, the seen previous ones have looked at the surface, they've looked at the atmosphere, the ions sphere, we look at what we see on or abouta . they're going below the surfacer e banner. >> the basic idea of insight is to map out the deep structure of mars. we know a lot about the surface of mars, we know a lot about the atmosphere, even abo its ionssphere, but we don't ow what goition goes on a while, much less two miles below the surface to the center.00 >> 2iles a big distance, not going that far, however, will be using a seismometer which will measure mars quakes and by doing so you can atually tell a lot about the layers that lie beneath the surface. they also have a probe that will
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go down about 15 feet, not quite 2,000 miles, but in doing so they will be able to tell how much the heates cha the temperature changes and can interpolate that, they thiny all the wn to the core of the planet. speaking of the core, the big question among scientists, is it a solid core, a liquid core? they actually have a radio transmter attached to this spacecraft that will be able to ettermine how the plan wobbles, and if it's got a liquid core ad will actually slosh around a little bit d lob a little more, so they will be able to determine that as. we allf this com out over the next year or so on mars. >> woodruff: fascinating stuff. and, miles, from this, you were telling us it helps them decide what they will do in the fu as they study mars. >> yeah, i mean, ultimately, the idea is to put human footprints on mars. the more you know about the place, the better you can thinko about whero, what the do and how to sustain life. this and there's one oth thing, when you think about mars now, it's really what earth
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looked like 4.5 billion years ago. we've had a lot of things happened on our planet, plate tectonics, that have changed the surface and buried the evidence, well the received on mars and gives us information ability how our planet has evolved. >> woodruff: miles o'brien, thank you. >> you're welcome, buddy. >> woodruff: there remains onen last elect this 2018 midterm cycle: a runoff election tomorrow for one of the u.s.se te seats in mississippi. race has become a major issue in this contest. and, as lisa desjardins reports, the runoff has also drawn ate great deal of ion from atesident trump, who is holding two events in the tonight. a republican victory there would give the party a 53rd vote in the senate come january. >> reporter: for president trump
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today, one last midterm election push in tupelo, missisi to help republican senator cindy hyde-smith, who is in a run-off tomorrow. >> i'm here to ask the people to send her back to the senate >> reporter: this contest in republican deep red mississippi has made headlines for being competitive and raising issues related to the state's painful history with race. first: a video showed hy-smith praising a supporter by saying, "if he invited me to a publicin hangg, i'd be on the front row." last week, she apologized. >> for anyone that was offended by my comment, i certainly apologize. there was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statements. >> reporter: but her democratic opnent-- mike espy, who is black-- said the remark had consequences. >> it's caused our state harm, it's given our state another black eye at we don't need.
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>> reporter: next came facebook photos hyde-smith apparently poed in 2014 showing her wearing a confederate cap. the post read, in part, "mississippi htory at its best!" and last week, the "jackson free press" reported that the senator graduated from a so-called "segregation academy," set up by white parents to avoid integrated schools. the hyde-smith campaign says democrats have twisted her words. she gues espy is too liberal democrat for the state. and on top of all that, she has attacked him for lobbying on behalf of deposed african leader now charged with war crimes. espy has said he ended the contract early. for the "pbs newshour," i'm lisi desj. >> woodruff: for more on the special election in mississippi it's time for politics monday with amy walter of the "cook political report" and tamara keith of npr.we ome to you both after this
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thanksgiving weekend. let's talk about mississippi, tam. so much controversy around cindy hyde-smith. she says a lot of it's unnecessary, but where ds that ce stand right now? >> it's going to a vote tomorrow. one of the major x factors is this is a runoff, this is the tuesday after thanksgiving. it's not cle war whol be all that excited about voting, one reason why president trump iso holding llies there today to try to remind people, hey, guess what, there's an election. you know, just by the numbers, and amy can get into this more than i canst, but juy the numbers, in the first vote, in november, there were two republicans on the ballot, and, so, cindy hyde-smith didn't get 50%, but she got a big share, and if you were to add all the people who voted for republicans up, it's a much bigger share than voted for espy in that first round.f: >> woodret, amy, there has been a lot, as we said,
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controversy over comments she's made, information that's come out about her >> and this race wasn't supposed to get this much attention, especially on election nighten e learned republicans were going to retain control of the senate. if thiwith were a seat where the senate control were at stake, i think we would have seen even more national attention very quickly here. , but what ally brought attention to this contest were the remarks of cindy hydhe-sm there. i think million -- i think missi is one of these states, tam is right, don't have to be it mr.le analyst, it's been a long time since the democrats won but the challenge for democrats, much like the challenge they han labama, is putting together a cn,alit very -- it has to be perfectly precise coalition to barely getver the finish line of tremendous turnout among african-american voters. web mississippi has the lartast
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perc of eligible voters. >> whore african-american? yep. and as well as getting someit voters, but really fundamentally what a lot of democrats wea hoping was tht those voters who traditionally turn out to support republicans stay tomics mayy supported the other republican in the first round of voting, mabe they just weren't paying as much attention because the senate't wat stake, donald trump coming in to remind them that his name is not on th ballot, but he is on the ballot. >> so, tam, his being there, two rallies tonight, oe in tuelo, lpe in biloxi, this can cindy hyde-smith? >> yeah, there are two ways of thinking about it. one way is prerusident is having to go in and hold rallies to help pull her over the finish line the other way of thinking about it is there's nothing you could do to prevent psident trump from holding a rally if there's
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an opportunity for him to hold a rally. >> t exactly what he wants to do. he loves, loves it. and the race is what we ar from operatives going into the thanksgiving holiday was, yes, the race had tightened up a ettle bit after thosemarks and there were some high profile admpanies that said we want our money back who given money cindy hyde-smith, like wal-mart, major league baseball, but it's still not as close as, saw, the alabama senate race was going into that election. >> and what i had fou i looking at president trump's endorsements in the earlier midterm races is rsallies and endorsements helped where there were red states where republicans have a lot of strength and where his base is. te.sissippi is a base sta >> his approval rating is around 56% there, so one of the west states for donald trump. >> so a up with of days after thanksgiving, not unwise on
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their part to try to get their vote out.et so bring it back to washington. and, so, the house ofpr entatives, it was only seven days ago, amy, we were talking aboutty race for speaker, nancy cordes clearly running, but getting a challenge, getting opposition from newly election and existing democrats in the house that now seems to be melting away. what happened? >> well, the biggest thing that happened is something thatap didn'tn which is woe don't actually have a challenger to osi.y pel what we saw the last time we were here, there was a letter signed by about 16 democrats, some returning, some new members, that said we're not ng nancy pelosi on the floor or in caucus, and what i think they had hoped with you bi sending letter out that somebody would emerge in themo atic caucus to say, oh, i'll run, i'll take this mantel and this challenge. instead, what happened was that, you know, they ran forward, its like watching military, right, where the generals run forward,
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look behind and there's nobody tbehind them, andhat's left nancy pelosi in a very strongti po right now. we've also seen a number of those members who signed that letter now have actually come out and said, ah, okay, i think maybe i'm going to vote for pelosi now. >> one of her leading critics from massachusetts said he was willing to talk with hert . >> ts mind boggling. marsha fudge is the only name who ever came up as someone who osi.d potentially shall pel she never said for sure she was going to do it, didn't sign the letter, then she met with nancy pelosi and now nancy pelosi is restaming a comittee on elections and voting and who will be the chair of that committee? mar slay fudge. >> woodruff: so restructuring. nancy pelosi has proven over time that is one of the levers she has wrked very well over the years. she knows how to give out gift to get what she needs and howo
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get people to do things they don't necessarily want to do.wo >>druff: esta testament, even saying this, amy, it's a testament to her skill as to what we call an indoor, politicimewho knows how to work the system and ma people feel -- >> especially since this is a change election, so many new membs and running against the establishment, this was going to with a significant challenge to somebody who's been part ofhe establishment for so long. first of all, she did not taet for granted she was going to have the votes and, second, every day since th election, democrats picked up more seats, almost 40 seats now gained in the midterm, the attacks on nancy pelosi didn't really seem to hurt democrats and i think it made it much harder for the democrats who were opposed to her to say you bet gert on board beuse she's an anchor and she's going to take us all down.
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>> woodruff: fascinating to watch. >>. >> woodruff: amy walter, tamera keith, thank you both. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: and we'll be back shortly with a look at the lifee of grouning italian filmaker, bernardo bertolucci. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station.e it's a chanc offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations still with us, away from the tourist attractions of anaheim, california, housing is a daily vallenge for minimum-wage workers who playal role in the region's booming economy. special correspondent cat wise e s this encore piece from our ongoing chasing eam series.
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>> reporter: there's a lot to be happy about in anaheim, california. lirecord breaking 24.2 mil tourists visited the city and its well-known theme parks last ar. unemployment is low, hotels are full, restaurants are bu, and there's no shortage of smiles. buaway from the palm tree- lined main streets, there are neighborhoods not often seen by tourists where tens of thousands of workers live who play a vital role in th economy. booming many are making around minimumwa -- $11 an hour-- and housing d is often aaily challenge. converted garages, sparete bedrooms, rooms, cars, and tents ha necessity in this area which has some of the highest housing costs in the county. w >> the housie, that is how much someone has to make per hour to afford a basic apartment, is $24-$26 an hour. and the folks who live in this area earn somewhere between $11- $13 an hour.
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>> reporter: jose moreno is an anaheim city council member who represents a distrt with a large number of low-income workers. last year, anaheim declared a homeless state of emergency and moreno led a task foe to study the problem. >> wages have stagnated, housing costs are going up. if you're not paying your workers a wage they can live on in the local economy, then that creates a lot of stress on the social system of the city. >> reporter: one of those who is struggling is 58-year-old glynndana shevlin who has worked at disneyland for 30 years. she's a full-time host in a v.i.p. lounge at onef the resort's hotels and she's a member of a labor union which represents disney hotel and restaurant workers. >> i love my job. i love the guests that come in. i have a panoramic view of downtown d ney, and both of the parks. >> reporter: while shevlin loved her job,he health insurance she receives, she doesn't love her pay.ak she es $15.70 an hour.
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she has struggled for years to find stable, affordable housing. last summer a friend rented her a bedroom-- a significant improvement over other places she's stayed including a shelter enr women, motels, and fri' couches. but sheblin says she's barely maki it month to month. >> at work i'm happy go lucky, i look good, i look like i live a privileged life. but actually, to tell you the truth, when i come home it's a toruggle. i haven't been ablhop this week. i couldn't pay rent this month. things king up but wages aren't. i feel like i'm a working poor, which is an oxymoron. you should not have to be poor when you're working! i'm working 40 hours a week. >> reporter: is not hard to find others who are facing similar employment and housing hardship in a nearby community, a $1,000- a-month converted garage with an outside shower and no kitchen i the currenme of lupe acevedo, her mom, and five s ildren. the family receigovernment assistance, but acevedo also
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works two minimum wage jobs at a small store and a food truck. last year they were in a motel and when we visited, she was worried she might have to move again. >> my kids, they tell me, "mom is this going to be our life?" they a afraid to live in the streets. i'll do anything i can so that they can get a roof. >> reporter: although low hourly wages are common throughout ery sector of the economy orange county's largest employer, disneyland, attracts a lot of attention. 30,000 full and part time e.ployees, known as cast members, work th a recent survey of the company's union employees-- about 5,000 of whom responded-- found: mo15 than 85% earn less than an hour. and "almost three-quarteno said they dearn enough money for basic expenses every month.l the company ed to do an on-camera interview but provided this statement:
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"this inaccurate and fscientific survey was pa by politically motivated labor unions and its results are e liberately distorted and do not reflect how erwhelming majority of our 30,000 cast members feel about the company. while we recognize that socio- economic challenges exist for ma people living in southe california, we take pride in our employment experience." disney also noted it has created 4,000 jobs in the last five years-- more than any other orange county business-- and it's launching a new higher ed and vocational training program for hourly workers. >> it's bigger than one company. >> reporter: tom tait isei ans mayor. he favors higher wages, but says the problem of affordable housing can not be easily solved by local government. >> we have a tough time affecting the price of housing. with l expensive, it's very difficult to build something that is affordable. the problem is system-wide. everything is expensive. so, we could help a few families here and there, but to help the
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>> reporter: in the past, anaheim did have more money to arhelp build affordable apents complexes, like this one, using state redevelopment funds-- but that money largely dried up in 2012. according to city records, just 300 units for low and very low income rente were built, or rehabbed, between 14 and 2016. some 30,000 are now on a city waitlist for affordable housingo and 20,000 aa waitlist for section 8 federal housing vouchers. jose moreno is one of the few voices in city leadership who believe developers should be required and incentivized to include affordable units in new projects or contribute to a housing fund. >> the city doesn't have an affordle housing policy, so as a result we depend on the market to take care of this, d we know that the market is just not taking care of it. >> reporter: california's minimum wage will go up to $15 an hour by 2022, but local unions don't want to wait that long.
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for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise in anaheim,alifornia. >> woodruflm the italian ker bernardo bertolucci died at his home in rome earlier ton y. jeffrey brs this look back at his career spanning more than 50 years. >> brown: bernardo bertolucci made films that both followed and defied the conventions of his times and wothe praise from many in the film world. >> you're pushing us to the edge. that's what filmmaking is all abou >> this is a joy that's is impossible to put ito wor. >> brown: born into an affluent, artistic family, bertolucci started making short
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films as a teenager in rome. his early work captured the politically, culturally and the mull cpourthousely sexual srit of the '60s and '70s, sims future as "before the revolution" in 1964 and his breakthrough "the conformist" in 1970. international name and controversy came in 1972 with the release of "last tango in paris." s graphic depiction of a sexual relationship between ann older played by marlon brando and a young french woman 19-year-old actress maria schneider earned the film an x rating in the united states and obscenity trial in italy where bertolucci received a four-month the film was heralded by some for its frank ero eroticism, criticized by others for tones of female nudity and emotional
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abuse. e maria schneider said shlt a little rained by marlon and bertolucci. the director's admission the scenes were a surprise to his young actress drew condemnation. in 1976, 1900, featuring an international cast including robe de niro was a massive multi-generational epic exploring questions of class and family. in his biggest hollywood acclaim came in 1987 with the last emperor.ou >>ill be the new lord of ten thousand years. b brown: it won nine academy awards includingst film and director for a lush biopic about the child who became china's final imperial ruler ahead of the mast volution.
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with 2003's "the dreamers" he returned to the revolutionary politics of his early works with the of two characters who sealed themselves off from student riots in the streets outside. it's about the spirit of those times, a hope of changing the world, of changing the relatiship between human beings. >> and he kept working in his later years, directing final film, me and you, released in 12 from a wheelchair. bernardo bertolucci died today his home in rome, he was 77 years old. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us on-line and again here ng.orrow eve 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.
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>> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthurda foon. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcastinut ld by contrns to your pbs station from viewee you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh hello, everyone.
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and welcome t "amanpour" and impany, here's what's coming up. would like to begin by condemning -- >> is the u.s. governmen attack from within? and is what we don't imagine the most harmful to our health? that is the alarming message of the fifth writ, the new book by brilliant nonfiction writer miael lewis. plus, from the united states to europe, the rise o illiberal democracy. the eu accuses hungary of targeting immigrants and the rule of i put this to hungarian foreign minister petero. seat and one year after a hvily armed gunman msacred 58 music fans in las vegas, our michelle martin talks to larry ward, a gun rights activist who wants to see more guns in more places.