caioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for suay, may 12: rising tensions betweenanhe u.s. and in our signature segment: venezuelans find refuge and a community, in a small suburb of houston, texd a trip to the musical forest, where wood for the famed stradivarius instruments was sourced. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagel and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg.

corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ch from the tnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. athe united states and ir continuing their tense standoff nder the trump administration's economic sanctionsehran's threat of stepped up uranium enrichment. the u.s. isending the aircraft carrier "u.s.s. abraham lincoln" to the persian gulf and ditional b-52 bombers to counter what the trump administration calls "clear indications" of stilld unspecifreats from iran. sranian media quoted a senior commander of ira revolutionary guard today saying that the presence of u.src ft carriers in the persian gulf is not a threat but an

opportunity and that "if the m americans makee we will hit them in the head."ec last nighttary of state mike pompeo said the u.s. is positioning military forces as a "deterrent." >> our aim is not war, our aim is a change in the behavior of the iranian leadership. we hope the iranian people will get what they finally want, and what they so richly deserve. >> sreenivasan: joining us nowas fromngton, d.c. for analysis of the growing tension between the u.s. and iran is suzanne maloney-- deputy director of the foreign policy program at the brookings institute. >> sreenivasan: ms. maloney, why is all of this happening? >> i think we are seeing a period ointense signaling between the united states and irans this cooinciding with the one year anniversary of president trump's decision to exit the iran nuclear deal, and with the decision to ramp up pressure on iran with an effort to try to drive iln's exports down to zero, there appears to be at least a very

public effort to try to bolster the american troop presence, but i think in reality, this is very much in line with our standardal posture and what is important is the public signaling that is going on, yather than the milit maneuver >> sreenivasan: in that signaling, you kind of see an escalation of rhetoric between the two sides. is our intelligence in a region veryood? are we pretty sure that these are at least threats that we are hearing about and we are preparing for are legitimate?, >> wel they are real concerned voiced by members of congress and othe groups in washington about whether or not there is the possibility that the trumpon administras trying to hype the threat from iran. i think realistically we know that iran has been responsible for a number of attacks against american presence in the region over the years, at least 1,000 troops in iraq have died as a resu iranian provided ieds or irani assistant to shy a

my, shia militias there, there is support from terrorist regions and a real expectation that after the trump administration walked away fromd the nucleaeal that, in fact, iranians might retaliate, so there is reason to be skeptical about what the trump administration is putting out there in terms of the threatti perc, but there is also reason to believe that the iranians are prepared to the united states pay a price for the pressure that washingtot is eg on tehran at this time. >> sreenivasan: now, does this posturing play to the regime's base? because there is nothing that unifs people like a shared threat, and seeing, you know, what you could be perceived as a bully or whatever or look at these guys. they are standng right on our shores. we have got to come together as a country. >> well the conventional wisdom suggests there will be a rally around the flag effect as america puts pressure on iran but let's be realistic, they have the ability to resent both

their own government and the government that impacm directly in their pocketbook. i think what we are seeing at this time is not a movement toward the system on behalf of the population. we are seeing some consolidation of the political elite, buthat we are really seeing i think is a period in which the iranians have very few good options for parrying the american pressure that has been aplied, particularly through the economic sanctions. >> sreenivasan: and finlly, what happens, does iran walk tners,rom the existing par all of the european countries that are still a part of this nuclear deal? >> the iranians have been veryhe careful inay they have tried to calibrate their response to american pressure. the iranians recognize that there is vry little they have to gain from blowing up the nuclear deal, so so to speak because it would only put them under greater pressure from europe and others around the world who might be in a position to help suppt them and it would eliminate or at least reduce the sensthey have

something of a moral high ground, which of course is a rarity for the iranians. so they have been moving very carefully, but it is not inconceivable we are goingto see ourselves on a slow road to a much more intense nuclear cris with the iranians, even at the same time that we are dealing with something similar th the north koreans. >> sreenivasan: all right. suzanne maloney, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank y. >> sreenivasan: we will have more news later on in the broadcast. a psychologist found that more than a psychologist found that more than 25% of americans say their mother is their number one hero. read his analysis on our website at pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the political struggle between venezuelan president nicolas maduro and that country's opposition party shows no sign of ending any time so, and the u.s. has becom entangled in that crisis. president trump has recognized opposition leader juan guaido as venezuela's interim president and slapped sanctions on dozens of people in the madurome gove.

but there's also a venezuelan story much closer to home.fl venezuelaning their country have filed more than 70,00asylum petitions in the ver the past four years. many have settled in areas that already have large venezuelan-american communities. newshour weekend correspondent ivette feliciano has our story from tex. >> reporter: before moving to the houston suburb of katy, texas, carlos lozano and hisly faived in mérida, a venezuelan city in the andes mountains. lozano and his wife ran anbu importinness there. but their peaceful life was interrupted in 2013,e country's economy collapsed due to hyperinflation. lozano and his family were supporters of venezuela's opposition party. as the economic situation continued deteriorate, they participated in anti-government demonstrationswhich were often cet with violent resistance by pro-government f lozano says police and

paramilitaries targeted him for posting videos of the violence online. once he was even shot. >> ( translated ): when we all ran out, i heard someone say, hihere goes lozano!" that's when i waby a bullet here at waist level. every peaceful protest we held became p we had to hide from the police and government forces. >> reporter: but he says his breaking point came in 2016, when pro-government intruders vandalized his office. >> ( translated ): they came to our business and totally destroyed it. they looted it, they broke the glass, they stole absolutely all the material, years of work. they drew graffiti of weapons on ethe walls that said, "we coming for you, we're coming for your family, we want you dead and that's i" i knew that i couldn't stay in the country with my wife and children anymore. >> reporter: in 2016, lozano, his wife, and two children walked nearly 150 mileto cross over into neighboring colombia. exo days later, they boarded a

flight to houston,. >> ( translated ): we left all our family, we left our house, our apartment, we left our friends and the belongings that we still had left. they remained in our house. everything >> reporter: lozano says they decided to come to the houston area at the urging of a family friend who lived there. >> ( translated ): he told us that there was a hispanic and venezuelan community here, that venezuelans had been coming to houston and have been living here for years. >> reporter: since the 1980s, venezuela-- the world's largest oil reserve-holder-- has had business ties with houston's engy sector. for over 30 years, its state-run oil company owned controlling shares in the houston-based oil company, citgo. a failed 2002 oil worker strike in venezuela led to the firing of nearly 20,000 high-skilled oil employees. e many of them took lucratbs in houston's oil industry. dr. luis duno-gottberg chairs the latin american studies department at houston's rice

iversity. he says a second wave of immigrants came to houston after 2013. verything happens more o less at the same time. maduro comes into power, and the economic csis that was, of course, brewing before, explodes. with that explosn-- you have large amounts of people, like thlargest amounts of peopl have left after 2013, and 20, even increased further. >> reporter: while about three-miion people have left venezuela in the last four years, houston's venezuelan population has grown. according to the migration policynstitute, more than 23,000 venezuelan immigrants have settled in the hoarea since 2010. it's now the seconlargest venezuelan community in the u.s., behind that of south florida. the houston suburb of katy-- where the lozanos now live-- has received so many venezuelan immigrants that locals have dubbed it "katy-zuela." dr. duno-gottberg-- who was born

in venezuela-- notes that this latest wave of immigrants is more economically diverse than those who came before them. >> you have people from-- an-- any social strata leaving venezuela, and going not only to houston, but everywhere. and you start seeing tm in-- in coffee shops, and-- and doing not-- not anymore the owner of the place, but someone working in-- in the coffee scop, making thee. >> reporter: like the lozano family, many of the new arrivals here apply for asylum-- claiming political persecution. then they face a 150-day waiting period before they can even quest a work permit. in the meantime, many venezuelan imgrants have to rely on whatever savings they have left after the expense of coming to the u.s. the lozano's asylum petition has yet to be hear after nine months of waiting, their work permits were only approved this past april. until now, they've been living off their savings and the

profits from personal belongings that fends back in venezuela sold for them.tr >> ( slated ): every month things become a little more difficult, because we have practically nothing left but an empty house. but we've got a lot of help through many people. >> reporter: those people include members of houston's venezuelan community who have organized to help new arrivals get settled. diana mendt came to houston in 1998. she says that unlike the lozanos, many of the more recent venezuelan immigrants she's met have no money at all when they get to houston. to survive, they must find "under-the-table" jobs-- like construction or driving taxis. t >> i donnk they come with >> so now they come with they just come like this and see if somebody can help. they are escaping. of>> reporter: mendt is onhe founders of social action venezuela, a volunteer organi donated goods to venezuelan immigrants. >> it's incredible how many

people contacts daily. we have five, six families calling for help. most of them, they-- try to find a decent job and to pay the bills, and-- and actually-- wefo supply thingthe house. sofas, tables, dining-- dining sets and stuff like that. >> reporter: mendt and others have turned their garages into collection and distribution ceers for food, clothes, a other household necessities. her group is among several organizations that acceptur furndonations and deliver them to new arrivals like cesar garcia and his family,ho just arrived here in march. >> ( translated ): everything you see around here has been through these donations. we are enormously grateful. i never imagined that at this time in my life i would be hereo ing for help to leave my country. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: others are trying to make venezuelan immigrants feel more at home through

religious and cultural events. venezuelan-american laura celis black organizes venezuelan-style masses and concerts with her husband through their religioush organization, h in english lais called "virtual venezn parish." she says these gatherings also serve as opportunities to collect more donations for new arrivals, which helps those still in their home country. >> we believe that the best way of helpi venezuela is to help those who are be the diaspora. use those who live here, even if they are not working legally, all families y a box, they fill it with food and medicine, and they send it weekly to venezuel so if you help a venezuelan outside of venezuela survive, they will help their family back home. >> reporter: but she and others also believe that the federal government needs to grant temporary protected status-- or

"t.p.s."-- to venezuelan refugees so they c live and work legally in the us. bills granting t.p.s. to venezuelans have been introduceh in bothouse and the senate, but neither has been voted on. in march, 24 senators-- 23 democrats and one republican-- sent a letter to president trump, asking that he grant t.p.s. to an estimated 72,000 venezuelan asylum seekers. the white house has not responded. nonetheless, many in houston's venezuelan community-- whether recent arrivals or longtime residents-- approve of president trump's handling of the political situation in venezuela; particula his recognition of opposition leader junt guaido as interim presi and his sanctions against the maduro regime. >> ( translated ): president trump's administrati been very rigid and has applied many sanctions, more than any u.s.

esident had ever applied against venezuela. it is difficult, because the type of economic blockade ey are carrying out on the country is affecting the people as well. i ey suffer. but with the peoplve spoken to in venezuela, they are very happy that this is hap way to get the government to leave at some point. >> reporter: meanwhile, lozano reys that the biggest challenge for his family ioning with the loss of the place they once knew as home. >> ( translated ): no matter how many good people you get to know, we are not in our country. we do not meet with r people or with our families. and even though we have met very good people every day since we ime, we always try to forget what we've left, bis impossible, because it is always in our hearts, our homes, our friends. all our friends in venezuela have emigrated to other countries.

>> sreenivasan: perhaps instruments are more prized than those crafted by antonio stradivarius. only 650 stradivarius violins, cellos, and other st instruments are estimated to have survived. akt while the famed violin has been dead for nearly 300 years, the forest where he sourced his lumber is still alive and producine tonewood for es. special correspondent christopher livesay and videographer alessandro pavone s have try. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: it's rare to play an unfinished cello. ♪ ♪ but that's exactly what maddalena ldner is doing, to show us the very special wood of her instrument made right here in the italian alps, in a place called the fiemme valley, prized over the centuries for its exceptional lumber. ♪ ♪ but before it sounded like this,

this cello sounded more like this: ( slapping wood ) this spruce is ripe for becoming an instrument, says marcello mazzucchi, the former director of the local forest service. it's no accident that we're in the same corner of the alps where famed renaissance luthiers stradivari, guarneri, and amati handpicked the trees that would become some of the world's finest instruments thanks to a serendipitous combination of thi altitude andte, these have come to be called "il bosco che suona," the musiods. >> ( translated ): this is a super tree. i'd say there's a beautiful violin inside just waiting to me out. you're in there, aren't you? >> reporter: mazzucchi says he ten talks to the trees. more than just a retired forest ranger, he knack for spotting timber that's ideal for instruments. in these parts, many call him "the tree whisperer." >> ( translated ): it's a

t beautiful nickname, isn'it? the trees talk if you sit and listen to them. sometimes i even hug them. look carefully and they'll tell you their life story. >> reporter: he weaves from trunk to trunk, crossing flawed candidates off his list. so, these trees? how are they? >> ( translated ): this one is o curved, and has too many branches. >> reporter: until he settles on a tree that once would have been worthy of a stradivarius. >> ( translated ): this is a nice one. >> reporter: thi>>is a good one? translated ): this is a nice one. >> reporter: why is this a good one? >> ( translated ): even though it's not that big, it shoots up perfectly straight. it's very cylindrical, no branches at the bottom. if you ask me, there's a violin trapped inside. it's about three centuries old.a that stradivarius was here when it was a sapling. >> reporter: oh, wow. to test its quality, mazzucchi takes out a manual drill and twists it like a corkscrew through the bark.

mazzucchi listens carefully and pulls out a core sample. , good news? buone tizie? >> ( translated ): excellent news! look at the ring every ring takes one year to grow. because nature takes its time to do things well, without rushing. >> reporter: after mazzucchi has chosen the wood, he volunteers that information-- free of charge-- to a lumberjack, who then chops down trees like this one and carts them to a lumberyard, right here in theme fi valley, where the spruce is milled into sections. ( heavy machinery ) wood retailers then select the highest-quality lumber and cut it into blocks that are sold to instrument makers the world over, as well as locals like cecilia piazzi. >> ( translated ): it's magnificent wood.we se it for making the table, that's the beautiful part on the or cello, withli the sound holes on the surface.

first i roughen the wood. it needs to be like a drum skin, hat it moves and vibrate when played. the wood from this forest is perfect for that-- strong, yet flexible. >> reporter: it takes months to complete a single instrument, which can cost over $10,000-- a bargain when you consider ast divarius that came from the same forest can go for over $10 million.du it's an ry that's been driving the local economy since the renaissance. but this past fall, tragedy struck: a storm with winds topping 120 miles per hour crashed through these woods.s piera ciresae co-owner of one of the main wood retailers in the valley. >> ( translated ): our busins took a big hit. it wiped out our wood supply for the next four years. now we're doing everything we can to stockpile. i've never seen anything like it. >> reporter: locals say it came crashing down like a hurricane and flattened roughly one million trees in this unprecedented calamity. but now, thanks to the surprising collaboration of

forest rangers and instrument makersthese musical woods of stradivarius are sprouting anew. >> ( translated ): it was a horribleisaster. but all isn't lost. just think: this one pine cone has 200 eds inside. >>eeporter: forest workers now rushing to collect the fallen trees. if they pick them up before the summer heat, they can still be used to make instruments. and the cleanup also means more space and light for new growth. >> ( translated ): beautifof music is borhree artists. the first one is nature that gives us this magical wood. then the instrument maker, who awaken tthe music. th musician who sets it free. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

this is "pbs newshour weekend," sunday. >> sreenivasan: sri lanka's catholic churches ld their first regular sunday mass today three weeks after suicide bombers killed more than 250 people at easter church services and at luxury hotels. poarmed military troops ance patrolled the streets, searched church goers, and stood guard outside of churches this morning. the islamic state claimed responsibility for the attacks at two catholic and one protestant church and three luxury hotels sri lankan authorities say were carried out by local radicalized muslim groups. afghanistan's ministry of defense reported today that the taliban's intelligence chief in the northern baghlan province was captured alive by afghan and u.s. forces. haji mohammad ramin is believed to have been responsible for last week's attack on a police headquarters that ki0 officers and wounded more than50 olice and civilians.

and in kabul yesterday, two unidentified men on a motorbikek shot aled mina mangal-- a former television journalist and adviser to the afghan parliament.he mingal was oway to work at tte cultural affairs commission at the time of thek. south africa's president vowed today to purge his african national congress party of "bad and deviant tendencies." president cyril ramaphosa's a.n.c. party was declared the winner of national elections last night with 57% of the vote accordinto the electoral mmission. it was the weakesthowing for the party of nelson mandela since the end of apartheid 25 years ago. many south africans remain frustrated by corruption scandals within the a.n. that forced former president jacob zuma to resign last year. heavy rains this morning in new orleans flooded streets, g stranding cars and shuttwn all streetcar and bus service. overnight more than five inches inof rain fell and at one more than 11,000 people were without wer. a nearby spillway remains open as city officials try to prepare for a rise in the mississippi

river over the next several weeks. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight, in germany today thousands gathered to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the est berlinckade of in 1949. one of the guests of honor was 98-year old u.s. pilot gail halvorsen, one of the many allied pilots who airlifted supplies to the isolated city for 15 months until the soviets nove up. halvorsen became as the "candy bomber" because he added candy wrapped in handkerchiefsop to his supply for west berlin's children. that's all for this edition of" pbs newshour weekend i'm hari sreenivasan. happy mother's day. thanks for watching. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made

possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. lthe cheryl and pmilstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. vagelos. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customed individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your c retiremepany. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs e station from viewers lu. thank you. be more. pbs. be more.

hawaiian c cuisine is blazing its way into kitchens across america with exciting flavors and ingredients, but the most famous hawaiian dish is the one that is most misunderstood. i'm ed kenney, and today we'll trace the roots of my favorite dish, poi, an the ingredient taro to kaua'i. there are so many reasons why became a chef. every dish has a story. food brings people together and has the power to conjure up cherished memories. i was born and raised in the hawaiian islands, one of the most diverse communities in the world. this show, we'll meet a guest from hawai'i, learn about their favorite dish, trace it back to its origins, and have some fun along the way. e man: ♪ higher socan chase the moon ♪ announcer: major funding for "family ingredients" was provided by the corporation for public broadcasting.

ti adal funding was provided by the hawai'i tourism authority,