captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, february 2: the governor of virginia: under siege amid growing calls for his resignation. venezuelans take to the streets as the political crisis escalates.in and an uncerta future for the once-welcomed migrants of riace, italy. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. im sue and edgar wachenii. seton melv. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter.

barbara hope zuckerberg. icorporate fundinrovided by mutual of america--st designing ized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from vwers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. the governor of virginia, democrat ralph northam, now says he is not one of the people in a racist photo that he apologized for yesterday. at a news conference this afternoon northam said he saw tho in question for the first time yesterday. it is on hisersonal page in s 1984 medical school yearbook showing two men-- one in black face, one in a ku lan robe. >> yesterday i took

responsibility for content that appeared on my page of the eastern virginia medical school yearbook that was clearly racist and offensivin he hours since i made my statement, i reflected with mymi and my classmates from the time and affirmed my honclusion that i'm not the person in that. >> sreenivasan: joining us now for more is annie linsky of the washington post. annie, this seems look a little bit of a reversal from what he said yesterday. >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, i think thebig news here is governor northum came out today and said he is notth photographed i very surprising, shocking, and offensive photograph of a man in blackface and a clansman in a yearbook from his medical school. yesterday, he had said that he was in the photograph, and although he did notnt idey which person he was, today he

backed off of that and said he's not in thetu pic. >> sreenivasan: what steps did he say he was going to take to try to prove this beyond some reasonable doubt. >> yeah, he said that he's reaching out to memberses of his medical school class, his close friends, to people who ran the yearbook, to try to figure out who actually was in the picre. and, you know, the other stunning thing is the governor said he had never even seen that picture before it was brought ti attention yesterday, which is another piece that i think he'll continue to be questionedn it is a little surprising that you would not have looked at your yearbook at all before, you know, 35 years. sreenivasan: the other part was he-- one of the interesting eparts was admitted to putting on shoe polish,o pretending michael jackson for a dance contest, totally separate from this incident. >> yes. that is another development that he discled today, which nobody

was aware of previously, that he's essentially saying i did not put on blackface when i was in medical school, but instead,r s a separate incident in 1984 in san antonio ere i did, and he said, put shoe polish on to his face to make himself appear like michael jackson. he said that he had won that contt, that dance contest, and then at some point during this very bizarre press conference, seemed to almostobe willin show his ability to do themoon dance. his wife, who was standing next to him, told him it would be inappropriate to do so. >> sreenivasan: year, i mean, the entire thing seemeked he moonwalked backwards from his statement now. what is the type of pressure coming from the democrats and from republicans? i mean, up to this statement, there was widespread pressure on him to resign. what's happened after?

>> well, there was absolutely-- it was surprising that he didn't i mean, there was widespread belief-- it wasn't even, you know, the point of pressure to resign. there's widespread belief that today he would be resigning, and then at,the "washington pos we were beginning to hear from people pretty early on that he was backing away frm t this morning. i think this is going to be very difficult for him. i mean, how you go forwards a governor of a state-- and virginia is a big state-- where you've really lost the support of key elements of your coalition is going to be a very difficult challenge. anso virginia is in for a few more quite difficult days. >> sreenivasan: all right, annie linskey of the "washington post," thanks so much. >> thank you. >> sreenivasan: thousands rallied in caracas, venezuela today in dueling demonstrations- - one to support president

s colas maduro and the other for ponent, self-proclaimed president juan guaido, who is calling for maduro to step downs ent maduro spoke to supporters at a rally to mark the 20th anniversarye socialist revolution launched by former president hugo chavez. >> ( w translated ): what defend? first of all, independence, no inteention in our country, because venezuelans decided to vote, respect wer vote! ave voted in many elections. >> sreenivasan: speaking at a rally of his supporter guaido promised humanitarian assistance will start flowing to venezuelhe soon despitebjections of president maduro. >> ( translated ): the cards are played. we have a new president, recognized by the vast majority o,of venezuelans, juan guand we expect nicolas maduro to leave the government peacefully. >> sreenivasan: joshua goodman, the news director for the associated press, joins us via skype from caracas.

you've been out there today. the protests look larger than they were lasteek. >> they look about the dame, but that's pretty damn big we haven't seen protests like this for a number of years, and i think there's really a sense now of optimi a, which weo haven't seen for a year. people feel like change is kind of just around the corner. >> sreenivasan: what does this do to nicolas maduro? i meit, he'sally got out his wundto, a man who claims to be the president of the country th thousands of people supporting him on the streets? >> that's right. and guido and thepposition is not really stayingut. organizing a humanitarian aid convoy from columbia or brazil, that's a huge undertake chicag requires a lot of support and a lot of authority, a lot of cooperation with other partners in the world. so they are sort of proceeding onwo tracks. on one hand, they are still fighting for effective control of the state. but on the other hand, they're carrying out diplomatics relatid sort of almost implementing their policies to get venezuela's economy back on

the one missing piece for the opposition right now is the military. so far, they've been prett loyal to maduro. we've seen a few minor defections and little uprisings, but for e most part parts that t showing signs of changing their loyalty en masse. >> sreenivasan: there was a general who o.de a vide how important is he in the arc of lots of military brass. >> he was not a household name. i had never heard of him before this video. he did it, we think, from columbia. he does command troops, though. there are generals there who do have power within the military, and there is a view if a major one of them defects -- say the defense minister or one the people who know-- that they would bring with them large swaths of the military. and it's also got to be said that they're not extremely organized in the way they were in the past. so we could see a situation

ere some generals defect, but others remain loyal. i think that's really sort of the worrisome scenario, a scenario where you have soldiers r twoing soldiers for eit of the sides of the political argument here. that could produce a lot of >> sreenivasan: what happens on the streets in the meantime? te for, is there any respi the kind of economic calamity that's happening? it's not like because theres this hope on the streets that there is suddenly bread on the shelves. >> that's right. and it's going to get worse. the u.s. sanions announced the other day against pedevesa-- we don't know when, but in a matter of weeks not monthses-- will lead to much more misery for venezuelans. it's impossible for venezuela to exportts oil to the u.s., which was its biggest cash market. people are going to have to hunker down, and iw people starting to stockpile food and fuel, and we could be sway situation at some point eye

don't know when-- we could see gas lines in the country withe rgest petroleum resources in the world. >> sreenivasan: what about the neighboring countries? are they all alig gd withdo? >> not all. several have recognized guido. bolivia, nicaragua, cuba, b mexico and uruguay, countries trying to promo a dialogue believing basically this show of force will run its course, and at some point the two sides will need to sit down and negotiate. >> sreenivasan: all right, joshua goodman o the associated press joining us live via skype from caracas, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> sreenivasan: for more on venezuela's escalating political turmoil visit pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: for the last 20 the tiny italian town o riace has become a symbol of how

europeans welcome and integrate migrints. it also international attention for its mayor, domeni lucano, who won plaudits from the pope, and was named by fortune magazine one of the "world's greatest leaders." but italy's new, populist government has a different view of lucano, and many of riace's new residents now face an uncertain future. newshour weekend special correspondent christopher livesay reports from rome. >> repheorten we first visited riace, a small hilltop town in italy's southern region of calabria back in 2016, mayor domenico lucano was proud to show us how many migrants were living and working there. >> h, bon giorno. >> reporter: including people like daniel yaboah, originally from ghana. a familiar face here in riace, yaboah wuse to house collecting trash and recyclables alon"with his "trusty donkey. he'd fled death threats in m ana, he says, after his wife converted for om islam to christianity, and had been living in riace for seven-and-a- half years. >> reporter: you have a life here? >> yes, of course. we have a life here, and the

people here give us a chance to feel like home, you know. they are fridly, used to foreigners. they are used to welcome everybody here. i'm very happy i'm hernow. >> reporter: riace was not only good to refugees, the refugees had proved good for riace. what wou the town be like without refugees right now? >> ( translated imply put, riace would no longer exist. >> reporter: that's because,y the 1990s, riace was suffering the fate of so many small villages in europe. its population had dropped almost in half as young people moved away to find jobs in cities and le behind empty houses and shuttered businesses. then in 1998, a boat came ashore wrdith 200 h refugees. rather than seeing them as a threat, mayor lucano saw them as the town's future. her found homes and jobs ny of them. it was the beginning of a welcome policy that lasted even through the recent refugee crisis.

by 2016, about 400 of the town's 1,800 residents were non- italians from more than 20 diiefferent coun mayor lucano developed a program that collected the $30 a day each refugee receives from the government and pooled into a fund to renovate formerly fuabandoned homes for es to >> (ntranslated ): even if you're here by yourself, you get your own house, thcause this is strategy that we launched from the beginning. the whole town is a migrant center. >> reporter:he fund also helped migrants start new businesses and paid them a monthly stipen riace was growing again, even becoming something of ist attraction. but after our first report, it emergethat the mayor was under police investigation, and today, the riace experiment fac extinction. and, at least for now, domenico lucano is no longer mayor of riace. lucano was briefly put under house arrest in october. when released, he was ordered to keep out of riace. banishment is an unusuarsh

tactic for someone like lucano. it's commonly used b aitalian courinst the mafia. >> ( tran ): i've been suspended from my role as mayor, and forbidden to enter riace, ese legal questions are cleared up. >> reporter: the investigation is ongoing, but there are already a number of charges, according to stefano candiani, anndersecretary of the italian interior ministry. >> ( translated ): the charges ce aret the mayor of ria charges from the judiciary following a lengthy investigation which they essentially uncovered widespread government mismanagement, improper management of public funds. the charges include fake marriages, marriages meant to facilitate the right to remain in italy. >> reporter: he's accused of facilitating sham marriages. is there proof against that? translated ): look, y can't ask me for proof. there's a judicial process at work. >> ( translated ): facilitating illegal immigration, sounds to me like, i don't know what. obviously, i've been through some hars and bitterness.

they're accusing me of felonies. >> reporter: did you break the law? >> ( translated ): i'd like to respond by asking a question: weren't there laws in nazi germany, during the third reich? they produced a hunitarian nightmare. people who are fleeing war. from trauma, mery, poverty. i tried simply to offer some sensitivity. and that turned into an extraordinary opportunity for a town like riace. >> reporter: there is a divide in italy over the issue of immigration. the country's populist government, which took power last year, recently passed sweeping legislation making it much harder for asylum seeke to get residency. the left-wing opposition, meanwhile, says the laws effectively criminalize a whole group of migrants by d them a place to live and work. in this political environment, lucano has become a hero of the left, the star speaker at this rally in rome. i ( translated ): it's right that tod here among you. keep on dreaming about the existence of a different dimension for humanity. >> reporter: lano's supporters

ve called the actions taken against him politically -mtivated. italy's anrant interior isnister matteo salvini has made no secret of hisin for the mayor of riace. in fact, if you want an idea, just go to twitter and see what he's posting. here he is gloating over the arrest of mayor lucano. he says, "oh my, i can't wait to hear what the do-gooders will have to say about thison, th who want to fill italy with hegrants." isovernment of matteo salvini trying to make an example out of the mayorf slace? >> ( tred ): that's very curious. because the investigations surrounding riace were launched long before this administration took office. the investigations into the management of public funds were launched in 2016. the conclusions are coming in now. >> reporter: whileiaucano awaits riace is already paying the price. the ce off funding for the town's refugee program, leaving fhundreds with no money fd

and rent. could we expect to see migrants forcibly removed from rie? >> ( translated ): if you're here with proper papers, you can stay. when they expire, either you leave, or you get kicked out of the country. these are the rules of coexistence. we can't want to come here simply because it's easy, looks nice, and pleasant. it comes with costs, at the expense of italians.rt >> re: what is next for the city of riace? >> ( translated ): the arrival of refugees helped bring riace back to life. that's all i know. for 20 years, since that boat washed up in riace, one way or another we changed the fate of this little town. i hope that riace manages to become a land of welcome once again. >> sreenivasan: nearly 14% of the nation's population is made up of immigrants. a recent poll states that the

majority of americans believe that immigrants help shen the country and the communities they live in. that has been the case in ples like the city of utica in upstate new york. adam bedient is a director and editor at off ramp films. his short movie "this is home" highlights the bosnian refugee community in utica; and andrew lim is dector of quantitative research at new american economy, a bipartisan research and advocacy organization for comprehensive immigration reform. thanks both for being here. adam, you grew up near utica, not in utica. for people who haven't watched your doc already, what is that town like? what did it go through? what's it like now?s >> uticaort of a typical restbelt city. tin the middle of the l century, the population decl precipitously. and there was just a lot of abandoned mill buildings and factories and dilapidated brick. and then in the early 90s, they started a refugee program to bring people in. there's lot of very cheap

housing and overdevelopment. and they've really hped to revitalize the city. >> sreenivasan: what immcogrant unities are coming there? in the 90s the first wave was bosnian, cambodian, and vietnamese. and now there are a number ofca afcountries. there's a lot from burma, one of the biggest inux right now. >> sreenivasan: if i was to drive down main street, how do i see that dif ierence? ould say the biggest example is there was an old methodist church right in the middle ocity, and the city was prepared to tear it down, and the bosnian communide ded to-- that they would buy it, and the city sold it to them for next to noteing. and bosnians turned it into this huge, beautiful mosque. and it's part of the skyline no and it's right in the middle of the city. >> sreenivasan: andrew, you've been looking at cities around the country, and what he's describing is not aeen anom >> definitely. and we started doing this research looking-- thinking that we would find similar to utica,

cities in the rustbelt, or postindustrial cities that laruggled for decades with depoon. actually, what was really surprising, is in other places-, the sunbr for example, for example, clark ston, georgia, is a great example, but also places like el cajon ini cfornia places where people want to live-- it's sunny and warm-- refugees are going there and ting inactually contri meaningful ways to economic activity, to neighborhoo revitalization, and helping some of these communities keep from declining in population to growing. >> sreenivasan: so these areac where people were leaving, or the population was declining in that way, and these re are backfilling it? they're not coming in and automatically moving to new york city, bright lights? >> refugees are sort of unique as immigrants because they don't really get to choose ere to go. they're assigned a place based off of their characteristics.

they have to make best of it. they're assigned a place to go, and they're really-- what we found, they adopt these places as theirew home towns and they're really invested in it. at sreenivasan: what does the current adminisn-- or the position the administration has taken towards refugees do to both of these? i want to ask you both this. there's a famteous quotephen miller had, "i'd be happy if not a single refugee's foot ever touched american soil again." knowing that, how do the people in your documentary feel about what's happening in this country? >> not good. it's hard emotionally for everyone there. you see it at t refugee center, who is having to lay off a lotf their resettlement workers because the resettlement program is ostensibly being broken. and then, also, family reconnection, and we've seen a i number otances where someone has started that hey have a-- their parents are expected to be coming from thailand. the case was opened,w and they're sort of-- it looks as though the case has been

dropped. >> sreenivasan: andrew, what about this notion of the replacement rate? when you think of the long-term arc of the united states, and how our demographics arefu shifting, are es -- how-- where is emotion immigration ane refugee influx as part of tha >> refugees, and immigrant as well, you're seeing that story playing out,specially in smaller cities and rural area ouere's you have a seri decline in the number of people of working age, or who are able to work. ghd younger people, as soon as they finish chool or even college, start to leave these places. and, you know, the vast majority of places in the united states are still these places. so without an influx of people of working age to come and take jobs, there aren't people to help fill them. it's a serious economic risk and cost to these local communities. >> sreenivasan: adam bedient, andrew lim, thank you both. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: russian president vladimir putin said today that he's pulling his country out of a key nuclear arms treaty one day after thedi united statethe same. putin noted that russia will only deploy intermedia-range nuclear missiles if the united states does so first. dyesterday, president don trump accused putin of violating the treaty by deploying banned weaps. secretary of state mike pompeo added that the treaty will terminatin six months unless russia destroys existing missiles that washington finds be in violation. moscow accuses washington of making false allegations to justify ending the treaty president ronald reagan and the n viet union's leader mikhail gorbachev signed87. iran's ministry of defense released video today of what it says is a new cruise m with a range of 840 miles. iran's defense minister claimed the missile can hit fixed targs and can travel at low altitudes for use in waging

electronic war. iran currently has missiles with a range of 1,250 miles, capable of reaching israel and u.s. military bases in the region. iran's defense ministry has a history of announcing military advancements that cannot be independently verified. the 101 highway on southern california'soast was shut down today in both directions near santa barbara after heavy rains caused mudslides. residents of california and other parts of the west are aing warned that flooding rain, heavy mountain sno strong winds are expected to strike this weekend. many of the areas still scarred from wildfires last year are facing an incrsed risk of mudslides. and in the midwest, meteorologists are predicting a 70-80 degree swing in temperatures by the end of this sekend following last wee polar vortex cold. there were more than two dozen weatherelated deaths and hundreds of injuries reported.

>> sreenivasan: less than an hour after virginia's governor said he would not resign and that he is not one of e people in a racist photo in his medical school yearbook, virginia's lieutenant governor, justin fairfax issued his first statemt. while fairfax did not call on the governor to resign, he did say, "i cannot condon't actions from his past that, at the very least, suggest a comfot with virginia's darker history of white supremacy, racial ereotyping and intimidation. that's all for this edition of" pbs newshour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org possible by:eekend is ma bernard and irene schwartz.

sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporat fby mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your poetirement company. additional s has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pom station iewers like you. thank you. be more. pbs.

sonoko sakai: well, i grew up in a very small town called kamakura, whi is about an hour outside of tokyo. and so i was immersed in the old world, old japan, very artisinal, without even knowing what that word is. they have this craftsmanship. that was y people lived. you had to know how to work wih your hands. and it was an awakening for me as a young child looking at thaftsman's work. and this was every day going to school. all i had tdo was turn my head and look into a shop and there was an artisan sitting there.