Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20171025

Woodruff all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language. Collette. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention, in the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. Org. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. 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 broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump rejected talk of a republican rift today and instead said there is great unity in the party. He dismissed Harsh Criticism of himself by republican senators bob corker and jeff flake, and said they are not running for reelection because they couldnt win. Mr. Trump spoke as he left washington for a g. O. P. Fund raising event in dallas. He complained that the news media makes him seem more uncivil than he is. You know, people dont understand, i went to an ivy league college, i was a nice student. I did very well. I am a very intelligent person. You know, the fact is i really believe i think the press creates a different image of donald trump than the real person. Woodruff meanwhile, senator flake had more to say on the president. He invoked the demagoguery of wisconsin senator joe mccarthy, who infamously led a communist witchhunt in the 1950s, and he warned, you cant continue to just remain silent. I hope that were reaching a Tipping Point where my colleagues and every elected official will say we cant go on this way. These politics you know, how can we explain to our kids that were countenancing this kind of behavior . Woodruff Republican Senate leaders tried again today to put the public feuding aside, and focus instead on tax reform. We will return to the g. O. P. Dispute, right after the news summary. A influential moderate in texas republican ranks is stepping down as speaker of the state house of representatives. Joe straus announced today that he wont run for reelection next year, citing growing political divisions. He had helped to block conservative initiatives such as the socalled bathroom bill aimed at transgender students. The president today also focused on a new revelation about a dossier on his possible ties to russia. The Washington Post and others reported that Hillary Clintons campaign and the Democratic National committee helped fund the research. Mr. Trump called it a disgrace. This was the democrats coming up with an excuse for losing an election. They lost it very badly and very easily. I mean, you look at the votes; it was 306 to, what 223 or something. They lost it by a lot. They didnt know what to say, so they made up the whole russia hoax. Woodruff most campaigns do Opposition Research. The trump dossier alleges the russians had compromising and salacious information on the candidate. He has insisted it is all false. A pregnant teenager who sparked new debate about undocumented immigrants, has had an abortion in texas. Her lawyers confirmed it today. She has been in custody since september, but federal officials had refused her requests for an abortion. A federal Appeals Court ruled in her favor yesterday. The sentencing hearing of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl opened today at fort bragg, north carolina. He has pleaded guilty to leaving his post in afghanistan in 2009. The taliban held him five years before agreeing to a prisoner swap. Bergdahl could get life in military prison for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The hearing could last several days. Fears of violence built in kenya today ahead of tomorrows repeat president ial election. The opposition says the vote is rigged and should be delayed. But the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals, amid talks of judges being intimidated. Protesters burned tires, blocked roads and clashed with police in several cities. In nairobi, their leader, raila odinga, urged followers to become a resistance movement. Do not participate in any way in the sham election. Convince your friends, neighbors and everyone else not to participate. Woodruff president Uhuru Kenyatta won the initial vote in august, but Election Officials cited irregularities and nullified the result. Today, kenyatta insisted the rerun will go forward. The u. S. State department warned that both sides may be undermining kenyas election system. Back in this country, the Transportation Security Administration says all passengers on flights to the u. S. Will be subject to new security screenings. The new measures range from interviews to stricter searches of passengers and luggage. Those rules apply both to american citizens and to foreigners. A warning today about american airlines. The n. A. A. C. P. Cites what it calls a pattern of disturbing incidents of discrimination against black passengers, and they should be on alert. The company insists that it wont tolerate discrimination of any kind. On wall street today, disappointing Quarterly Earnings triggered a selloff. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 112 points to close at 23,329. The nasdaq fell 34 points, and the s p 500 slipped 12. All three indexes were down half a percent. And, rock n roll pioneer fats domino has died. He passed away early tuesday in new orleans. He signed his first record contract in 1949, and had a string of hits during the 50s and early 60s, including Blueberry Hill and aint that a shame. You made me cry when you said goodbye aint that a shame my tears fell like rain aint that a shame youre the one to blame woodruff ultimately, he sold more than 110 million records, and was one of the first ten honorees inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Fats domino was 89 years old. Still to come on the newshour pennsylvania congressman charlie dent on the rift in the Republican Party. Chinese president xi jinping solidifies his power with no apparent successor. We travel to cuba, home to a rich mix of rare wildlife. And, much more. Woodruff we begin tonight with politics, and a deepening rift within the Republican Party. For more on these tensions within the party, im joined by representative charlie dent, a republican from pennsylvania. He also announced he wont seek reelection next year, after seven terms in congress. Representative dent is a cochair of the moderate conservative tuesday group, and member of the House Appropriations committee. I began by asking if he agrees with jeff flake. Many of us have been critical of the president in terms of his tone and his temperament. We, as members of congress have spent far too much time trying to answer questions about the tweet of the moment. Sometimes theyre inappropriate. Sometimes theyre, perhaps, offensive. Sometimes theyre unimportant. But because we are doing that, we are distracted from doing the peoples business. And i think jeff flake is on point, and ive said to my colleagues, its important that people like senator flake, myself, and bob corker speak up, that we should bring voice to some of these issues. And when we agree with the president , woe shouldnt be afraid to say so. And when we disagree with him we should act as a check. When the president does something thats off the rails, we need to call him out and not apologize for it. Woodruff well, are your fellow republicans afraid to speak up, some of them . One point senator flake said yesterday, we cant be explicit stand buying a president when we dont agree with what hes doing. Look, ive encouraged my colleagues to speak up, to say what to say publicly what they say privately. Im not here to see seek redemp. I didnt support the president during the campaign, and for a lot of reasons i stated over that time period. And i think its important that my colleagues stand up. And we should exercise our article i authorities. We are the congress of the United States. We have to reassert ourselves as. As republicans, we complained quite a bit, justifiably, when president obama overreached and talked about congress being trampled and this time its even more important to stand up now because at times the president has made disparaging comments about the media, about judges, and i think its important that we defend these institutions that are critical to our Democratic Values democrat with a small d im talking about here. Its important that we protect these institutions and let the president know when we disagree with him. Those are the types of things that often get said about the press and the media and the judges in authoritarian countries. We dont do that here in the United States, and we have to be better. Woodruff congressman, how widely held are the views that senator flake and you hold to one agree or another among republicans . I think that main of my colleagues share our view about whats happening at the white house. And let me let me qualify it this way i expect a certain amount of dysfunction in government. You know, we have a separation of powers, checks and balances, and sometimes, you know, we can laugh at ourselves in terms of what happens in congress in a democratic body. But, you know, ive often said, you know, at the white house, they seem to have taken the fun out of dysfunction. Its very difficult for us at times to deal with some of these issues. I dont like having to answer questions about miss universes weight, for example, or crowd size, or, you know, accusations that president obama spied on donald trump or his campaign. We dont like to have to answer these questions that we know are either unimportant or offensive or perhaps untrue. Woodruff do you still consider yourself a republican . Absolutely. Im a proud member of the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan and george h. W. Bush, and we have an obligation as republican members of congress to stand up for this party of individual liberty that believes in a Strong National defense and limited role of government, and we shouldnt shy away from that. But there is a battle going on for the soul of the Republican Party. I mean, i am concerned and this is true of both parties right now by the way, judy theres theres elements of isolationism, nativism, protectionism, that rear their heads in both parties right now spp and these are not attributes of a great nation. So i think theres a i happen to believe theres a political realignment occurring in our country. The ground is shifting right under our feet and no one knows how this is gog resolve itself. Woodruff well, do you think President Trump is helping that along . It seems hes trying to remake the party in the image of himself or maybe steve bannon, and i dont think that is in our partys interest. I mean, the party shouldnt be about a man or an individual. It should be about a set of principles and ideals and ideas. Thats what we should be about. And i do get concerned when i hear now we used to have a litmus test tseemed, for a long time its battle in the Republican Party was a litmus test between the purist and the pragmatists. You know, were you pure enough . And i was always in the pragmatic camp, so you would be defined as a rhino republican in name only if you werent pure enough on all the issues, if you werent doctrinaire enough. That paradigm has shifted. The new litmus test seems to be loyalty to the president as a person and that troubling to me. Jeff flake, by the way, say very conservative member of the senate, very conservative. So, really, his issues were not ideological. It was about his loyalty to the president. And i think thats unfortunate. We as members of congress are elected by our constituents. Our job is to work with the president , not for the president. We are a separate branch of government, separate but equal. And im very concerned, you know, theres too much talk here of separation of parties and not enough talk of separation of powers. Woodruff just quickly, finally, congressman, prospects for tax reform . I think the prospects of tax reform are reasonably good. Difficult issue. Were likely to pass a budget out of the house tomorrow. And then were and when we see the real tax reform plan, thats when the thats when the work really begins. But i do think theres a chance to get some, at the very least, some business tax relief, hopefully partially offset, but i think theres a real possibility to get some reform. Im not going to make any grand predictions about a massive, comprehensive reform, but i think well get something. Woodruff congressman charlie dent of pennsylvania, we thank you very much. Thank you, judy. Great to be with you. Woodruff over the past week, Chinas Communist Party has gathered for its onceevery fiveyear congress, in beijing. Usually focused on policy, it also chooses both the countrys leader and his successor. But this year, there was a twist. John yang has the story. Yang thanks, judy. Chinese president xi jinping is solidifying his grip on power. Today, when he introduced new members of the socalled standing committee, the most powerful group in the country, there was no successor to xi identified. Yesterday, xis doctrine was enshrined in the constitution, elevating him to the same status as modern chinas founding communist leader, mao zedong. For a look at what this means for china, the u. S. , and beyond, were joined by christopher johnson, who served almost two decades as a c. I. A. China analyst. Hes now at the center for strategic and international studies. Mr. Johnson, welcome. Thank you. This all happens, of course, two weeks before President Trump will be in china to meet with president xi. What are the implications for u. S. China relations in all of this. I think the most Important Development is now xi jinping has demonstrated he is the unquestioned ruler in china, and what has been striking about the bilateral relationship, really, since President Trump came into power is the two men have been actually running the relationship. The u. S. Government is not fully staffed yet yt, as weve seen, and the president has occasionally undermined his own secretary of state and other officials through tweeting and so on. We see the two president s, largely, running the relationship. Xi is now ready to welcome President Trump all the more powerful. I itin his 3. 5hour speech to the Party Congress last week, president xi talked about the great rejuvenation. He wants to make china a global power. Right. At a time when President Trump is pulling away the u. S. Influence on the global stage. How is that going to play . Well, it will be interesting to watch. Theres no doubt that president xi sees opportunity in President Trumps isolationism, as some would put it. Right from the beginning, when the president was elected, theres a reason why xi jinping when the summit and talked about chinas role increasingly as a defender of global rules and norm and multinationalism and Climate Change and global alleged. This doesnt ring true if you look at it on the surface, but if the u. S. Is pulling back and china sees an opportunity, that are stepping into the vacuum. And xi jinping is telling us they not only expect to be a global power. They are already one. Is there anything that happened in the Party Congress that concerns you about u. S. China relations . One of the things i think is potentially important is xi jinping made a point about the island building in the south china sea. This is typically something where china has conducted this activity but not wanting to talk about it. Xi jinping talked proudly about it in his speech. This could be a dog whistle, if you will, for conservative elements in the United States who believe china is trying to push the United States out of the region. And you mentioned president xi talks about multinational trading, and Climate Change, both areas where President Trump is pulling away. Are there areas of possible cooperation between the United States and china . I think the main area to look at is the economic relationship. President trump is sure to tell president xi, i need more help on the trade balance issue, and if you dont help me, im going to come after you through trade penalties and remedies. Xi jinping has an opportunity. Hes signaling a desire to slow down chinas economy. This will be good for the United States, and the globe in that concerns about a chinese financial crise that could cause us all a lot of trouble could be modified. Will this have any impact on mr. Trumps desire to get china to help him with north korea . I think he will seek to indicate to xi jinping, okay, you have all the power now. Why dont you help me more on this issue . Theres been a sort of narrative in the past that xi jinping or any other chinese leader on north korea has been constrained by hardline influences in the milt who remember fondly chinas support for north korea and in the korean war. If xi jinping is really as powerful as he says, there should be nothing standing in his way of being more supportive on the north korea issue. The real question is does xi jinping himself want to help the United States on the issue. As xi consolidates his power as he did at the Party Congress, are we moving towards a cult of personality like mao. I dont think so. Theres been a lot of debate about this, whether xi jinping is a powermad, megalomaniac, like mao zedong. I think hes a pragmatist and has demonstrated that several times. He doesnt look like someone who wants to cling on to power forever and he doesnt act in a whimsical way. Xi jinping has a plan, and we have been watching him steadily execute it over the last five years and he will continue to do it going forward. Christopher johnson, thank you for joining us to help us understand all of this. My pleasure. Woodruff now, a big win overnight for u. S. Banks and credit card companies. It goes back to a longbrewing battle over whether consumers have the right to bring class action lawsuits against those companies. William brangham has the details. Brangham until recently, consumers who signed up for Checking Accounts or credit cards gave up their right to be part of any classaction lawsuit brought against that company. Most people had no idea theyd given up this right, because banks and other institutions tuck what are known as abritration clauses into those long, fineprint agreements we all sign without really reading. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had passed a rule saying that arbitration was unfair, and groups deserved their day in court. But then last night, the senate overturned that rule 5150, with Vice President pence casting the tiebreaking vote. So what does this actually mean for consumers . To help us understand that, we turn to bloombergs elizabeth dexheimer. Welcome. So what does this 15 mien for consumers . So the status quo you just described will continue. You mentioned its arbitration agreements. These are very common and when you open a Checking Account or a credit card, you typically sign a contract with this clause that says you will not join together with other consumers in a class action lawsuit, and that if youve got a problem with your bank, you think that theyre overcharging you or some a grievance that you have, youre going to resolve that through a closed door arbitration process instead of arguing it in open court. This is an issue that, as part of the doddfrank law, following the financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was told to study this issue. They did. They published a report, and based on those findings, they crafted this rule. Since the beginning, for years, republicans and the Financial Services industry has been against it and been pushing back. So the industry has been fighting this and putting a lot of money into lobbying this for a long time, right . I mean, this are they really looking out for the consumerss interest, or are they looking out for their own financial interests here . Both. They certainly argue that this is in the interest of the consumer. They point to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus own study, and some of its findings about how awards for consumers have grievances and resolve them through arbitration are often better than if they go to court. However, another part of this is certainly that banks want to avoid what they see as frivolous lawsuits. And the consumers groups around the country decried this. They said that this move last night was a huge giveaway to wall street, in essence. What is their argument . Right. So, they say that the best way to hold Companies Accountable is through lawsuits, and particularly, theyve looked at recent scandals at wells fargo and at equifax to give a reason when companies when consumers are harmed by companies, the best way to hold them accountable is by set something sort of a precedent, and the best way to do that is through is by suing them. And the way that the senate did this last night, right, means that theres no doing over. Am i correctly reading this . That theyve now made it so no future administration can undo what theyve done . Thats correct. Congress used the Congressional Review Act to reverse the rule. That is a law that congress can use to overturn any regulation within 60 days after its enacted. And it means that the c. F. P. B. , effectively, cant take this up. So, yes, it was a very effective way to squash this issue that republicans have been fighting for years. Elizabeth dexheimer from bloomberg, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff we return now to this weeks swirling political news, with matt schlapp. Hes the chairman of the American Conservative Union and the former white house political director under president george w. Bush. And, hilary rosen. She is a longtime democratic consultant and managing director at the Public Relations firm s. K. D. Knickerbocker. And we thank both of you for being here. Matt, to you first, this feud that has gone on now for several days between the president , senator corker, now senator flake. Is this helping the president . What is it doing for him for the Republican Party . I dont think its helping the president. Although, i do think there is a strong feeling within the Republican Party and the conservative base of the Republican Party that they really want their Republican Leaders to fight back against the eight years of the obama agenda. Its one of the reasons they picked donald trump in the nominating process. But what you see with corker and with flake and with Susan Collins in some of these other members, they were never for trump. Some of them were never trump. And after a year, that relationship has just mott of not mended and its not going to mend. Woodruff hilary rosen, how do you look at this . I think the fact that theyre both stepping down i think is actually a longterm victory for President Trump. My guess is theyre going to be replaced by potentially well, arizona has a potential for a democratic pickup. But, you know, in tennessee, by a senator who is probably going to be more loyal to President Trump. His problem, though, is short term, which is over the next, you know, year and a half, do they hurt his ability to get things through the senate . And i think they do. So i think it was short sighted to pick this fight as early as they did. And i think hes going to suffer for it, on capitol hill. Woodruff matt, you can comment on that. I want you to comment also on what charlie dent said to me in the interview a few minutes ago. He said it has become too much about one man rather than the Republican Party. He said theres a loyalty test and he thinks the president and steve bannon are trying to make the g. O. P. In the image of President Trump. President s lead their parties. And when i was at the white house, one of the things i did was work with candidates like charlie dent. I consider charlie didnt a friend. Charlie dent is a moderate, and the party is dominated by conservatives. Moderates and conservatives have to learn to Work Together and we have historically. But theres a new element of some of these independentminded people who also want to join our coalition. Im all for it. And those people in the Republican Party who dont want to expand the party, theyre making a huge mistake because if you dont get the 51 in america, if you dont get a majority of the electoral votes in the president ial race, you dont win. And i want to win races. Woodruff so hilary rosen, looking at this from the other side of the political aisle, does it look like this is getting the Republican Party stronger or not . Well, i think its getting more concentrated. And so i think if you look in particular areas like a tennessee, it becomes stronger if you look at what happened in alabama when the conservative candidate won the republican primary. So i think it essentially creates more division and less incentive for more conservative republicans to want to compromise and work with democrats. I think but it also puts places in play that may not have been in play, like arizona. You know, i think we can pick up a democratic seat in arizona because moderate republicans and independents have sort of been driven away from due to the kind of combativeness of donald trump. Let me just quickly address this. Jeff flake was at 18 amongst republicans in arizona. He had no shot of winning. Bob corker wouldnt get out of a republican primary in tennessee. Same for susan colins if she ran for governor of maine. These people who are bellyache regular people who had political problems in their states and were going to lose anyway, so thats important here. But their independence is valued by the middle of the spectrum there, and thats thats where youre fighting for election in those senate race, i think. Think. Woodruff iment to turn you both to these reports, matt, in the Washington Post other and news organizations that the Hillary Clinton campaigns were among the democrats funding this socalled dossier in research into President Trumps relationship with russia. Whats the consequence of this . It sure muddies the water for people who believe the special council i investigation and the whole of the trump collusion is a problem. We now learned that one of the one of the people running against trump in the republican primary started this process, somehow tipped off hillary and the clinton and the democrats that they were funding this research, and went to Vladimir Putins, some of his crony. Hudemocratic money going to Vladimir Putins cronies to try to harm donald trump. It seems like after all of this, the collusion that we know about it, if the Washington Post and the New York Times and the of the hill are right, is collusion with the Hillary Campaign which is ironic and thats why investigations going gto interesting places. Woodruff hilary . Lets be clear, donald trump and his administration are under investigation because he fired the f. B. I. Director who was investigating countless meetings between his campaign fors and russians. And that that his top lieutenants did not disclose multiple amounts of those meetings in their form. So thats why that investigation is going on. I think this dossier only muddies the water from a rhetorical standpoint, not from the investigation standpoint. Its mere Opposition Research that a candidate did during the campaign. No. Theres no suggestion of any kind of government involvement. It was actually a british no. Exbritish spy who ended up doing the majority of this work. It had nothing to do with russia. I dont think that were going to see expwg happen here anything happen here with respect to that. Mueller has what hell have. Look, i can be quick here. Hilary didnt refute anything i said. The money that went through this process to piewts cronies, and james comey, as the f. B. I. Director, picked up this dossier project and did it under the auspices of the f. B. I. As well. This is crummy. This stinks, and this looks bad for the democrats. Woodruff we started talking about one feud, and now i want to ask you about this other feud the president has had, matt, for the last more than a week with the gold star family. The president was asked about all this today as he got on a plane to go to texas. Lets just quickly hear what he had to say. I was really nice to her. I respect her. I respect her family. I certainly respect la david, who, by the way, i called la david right from the beginning. Just so you understand, they put a chart in front, la david, it says ladavid johnson. Right from the beginning. Theres no hesitation. One of the great memories of all time. There was no hesitation. Woodruff the president talks about this. Should he just drop it . Yes. Woodruff or is it helpful to keep talking about it. He should drop it. I was with president bush during the years when he had to have some of these meetings and conversations. Its gut wrenching for a president. And i think it should be private. And i think that the congresswoman made a big mistake down in florida who tried to police plit size this, and i think the president makes a mistake, if he continues to engage this woman who clearly is grieving. It must be a terrible loss. I havent experienced Something Like this. I think we need to give her, her privacy. I think we ought to leave it alone. And i think he should keep making the calls. Most of the calls will go well. Most of the people will appreciate calls, even if theyre raw emotionally. But i dont think we be should be talking about it in a public sense. Woodruff hilary, what did we learn from this . Well, we learned that the president and his chief of staff should not go on tv and call a grieving widow and her friend, even if that friend say congresswoman, liars. And he picked this fight. Hes kept it going. Its an extraordinarily painful for a lot of not just that family but for a lot of families who have suffered loss. And they still have given no reasonable explanation for what even happened to these soldiers in niger. And i think if the president really cared about this situation wait he tried to express today, he would focus more on getting answers for those families than protecting his name when he clearly picked this fight to start. Woodruff we know there is an investigation under way at the pentagon, and were all waiting to see where that goes. Hilary rosen, matt schlapp, thank you both. Thanks, judy. Thanks, judy. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour from film to literature, tom hanks on his new collection of short stories. But first, miles obrien reports from cuba, where scientists are working to protect the islands rich diversity of wildlife some of it found nowhere else on earth against growing pressures both human and wild, from outside. It is another in our weekly series, leading edge of science. Reporter toby ramos is cubas croc whisperer. For more than four decades, he has lived in cubas zapata swamp, hoping to bring the reptiles back from the brink of extinction. They are feisty, ferocious, and able to jump as we saw at a nearby breeding center. translated the cuban croc is very bold and unafraid of humans. They come right up to investigate any disturbance in the water. They stand their ground even if you try to capture them. This makes them easier to catch than their american counterpart. Reporter which is one big reason they are in such trouble. The crocs were hunted relentlessly in the first half of the 20th century. 13,000 were killed in one year alone, for their skins and meat. Today, the poaching continues relentlessly. Right now, the wild cuban crocodile population is estimated at only about 3,000. They are critically endangered. They are not extinct, thanks in large part to toby ramos. He works closely with Natalia Rossi of the Wildlife Conservation society. Hes not only professionally a person that has a body of work for 40 years, but he is a brave person to work in the field. Hes still fit and eager to grab a crocodile. Reporter they offered no guarantees that we would even lay eyes on one, but nevertheless, we came to this remote wardens outpost to try our luck. And not long after we arrived. It seems there is a crocodile. Reporter oh, is there a crocodile . Lets see. Where . Where . A curious croc surfaced nearby. Toby ramos is a total pro. In all these years, he has captured thousands of animals and yet only been bitten twice. We were eager to watch from a safe distance. He is not in it for the thrill, but rather to protect the species. Poaching is only part of the problem. The other threat comes from another species that has flourished here american crocodiles. They thrive here, crowding out their cuban cousins, and also crossbreeding with them, creating a hybrid species. translated we have only seen this hybridization happening in two very specific areas. Plus other areas where only american crocs are present. We are working hard to protect what we have today, because we might lose one of these unique populations. Reporter cuba is replete with unique populations of rare and endangered species. Scientists say the country is a crown jewel of biodiversity in the caribbean; its mangrove swamps, coral reefs and its populations of unique amphibians, reptiles and birds are all unsurpassed. Now, we are heading onto an open area with palm trees, which is seasonally flooded right now. Reporter biologist maydiel morera gave me an eyeopening tour of some rare birds in another corner of the zapata swamp. That flooding movement or cycle keeps this area clear, and its very, very good for birds mainly. Reporter cuba is home to 370 species of birds; 27 found only here, including this one. What is that . What is that called . Cuban trogan, its the National Bird of cuba, and its my perfect bird in cuba, also. Reporter beautiful, plumage. We also saw a great lizard cuckoo, a cuban pygmy owl, a west indian woodpecker, a cuban green woodpecker and a cuban screech owl. You see my dot here. Reporter yeah, yeah. I see him, i see him. That is it. Reporter beautiful bird. Look at that bird. I think the most fitting english word for this is cute. Reporter we were joined by wildlife biologist ana porezecanski. She is director of the center for biodiversity and conservation at the American Museum of Natural History in new york. In 2015, the Museum Launched a partnership with the cuban museum of Natural History. They funded an expedition to cubas Humboldt National park, 275 square milesf extraordinary diversity, from sea level to peaks of nearly 4,000 feet. We were able to go and do an inventory, a survey of the biodiversity of the park together with park technicians, cuban scientists and museum scientists. And we found amazing things, some species and some cases that we didnt know were in the park and probably, several species new to science. Reporter cubas ecological bounty is a consequence of some deliberate planning by the cuban regime, which protected about 20 of the nations land and territorial waters and also years of geopolitical and economic isolation. The political situation kept cuba isolated from fast development. So in a way, there was not a like a strong competing interest of money versus conservation. Reporter for scientists, cuba is a tantalizing mystery. Its kind of a black box in terms of knowledge because there has been a lot of Research Done in cuba, but the connection of that research to the Research Done in north america and other countries in the continent has not been yet integrated. Reporter cuban scientists dont have the funding to answer some complex questions on their own, like, can pure cuban crocodiles survive . And does habitat loss, poaching and cross breeding make it likely the heartier cuban american cross breeds will prevail . On the front lines in the zapata swamp, toby ramos is also trying to find the answer, studying animals that he understands perhaps better than anyone. How many times have you done that before, toby . speaking spanish thousands. Reporter can i touch . Yes. speaking spanish reporter much dryer than you think. Once we let our crocodile swim free, we got back in the boat and gunned it. A big thunderstorm was brewing. Keeping these crocodile alive is not easy already, but add to the mix the growing pressure as tourism increases here in cuba. As more people come here, theres more pressure on these animals, and it makes it much harder to keep them alive. Can wild cuba coexist with widespread progress . More on that in our next report from cuba. In cubas zapata swamp, im miles obrien for the pbs newshour. This guys good woodruff now, to the newshour bookshelf tom hanks is one of the most recognized and acclaimed actors in the world. Now, he has done something new written a book, titled uncommon type, a collection of 17 short stories, mostly about people seeking connections of one kind or another. Several of the stories include an obsession of hanks typewriters. Jeffrey brown met up with hanks here in washington this past weekend, and began their conversation by asking about the different approaches to acting and writing. As an actor, my job, that i figured out a long time ago, was to get beyond self consciousness, because its the death of acting. If you have this outside presence, and youre seeing how you look, and sound, youll never be able to get free enough in order to pursue the truth of what the character or the story is. Brown but here youre creating the character. Yeah, once i could get involved in the individual stories, then i sort of roll up in the back of the head, just like it is in performing, and out it comes. But getting to that point when the eyes roll into the back of the head. Brown but selfconsciousness as in hey, im an actor trying to write, or this isnt my medium, or . How about all those things . Brown all those things. Plus a few other things, such as have i really thought this out . You put it on your laptop, or you take notes, and you say, well, gee, it looks like notes, you know . It looks like a paragraph, its about as long as a paragraph should be, but is it really saying anything . Brown were you nervous, though, sort of putting yourself out in no . No, and ill tell you why. Its because i cannot be nervous in my day job. I cannot go in front of the, a camera, or in a rehearsal, or in front of an audience and be nervous for a moment. Brown well, you could some people but youre not . No, its petrifying all the way, but you have faith in your balance. Its all a high wire act, and ive walked on a high wire before, so i trust ill be able to do it again. And so i was not nervous about delivering unto the powers that be these blocks of work, because its no place for ego. It is a place for protection of what your original instincts are, but you cant deny when somebody says i read your piece, i liked some of it, and a bunch of it doesnt work. What are you going to do, argue with them, and say yes it does, it does too work, you cant say that you can only brown well, you could, perhaps. Well, you could, but you do have to weigh it, and come back and reexamine it, and over and over again. Just like any cut of a movie that you might see early in the process, it just does slowly get better, and you do discover that combination of your own voice, and a style of working that is void of selfconsciousness. Brown you know, from what i had read beforehand, i half expected all these stories to be really about typewriters. Instead, instead wouldnt that be a great volume, of 17 stories about typewriters . Brown but instead, the references are kind of strewn about. Theres a sort of wheres waldo, it shows up in different ways. Little easter eggs. Brown whats with the typewriters . For many people, its this sort of nostalgic thing, it takes us back. What is it for you . Well, i collect them in the way somebody would collect vintage guitars or postage stamps. Or you know, stolen coffee cups from the great hotels of the world, which ive done a couple of times. Theres a beauty and aesthetic quality to them that i just admire them. They are perfect devices. They do one thing, and only one thing. You cant make a phone call on a typewriter, and you cant pull up todays New York Times. Brown imagine that. They literally take what is in your head, and with a tiny bit of physical training, it transposes it into fibers on a piece of a paper, that if you put something good down on that piece of paper, even if its just a birthday letter to your sevenyearold daughter, or, you know, william manchesters the glory and the dream, youve got something that runs the gamut from something that is incredibly simple, to something that captures the, you know, the entire zeitgeist of the human condition. Thats impressive stuff. Brown you know, im thinking of a story, like a special weekend, people are always wondering, i talk to a lot of writers, and theres always this question of how much of the writer is in the stories, how much of it is you . There are, theres plenty of beats or specific things, moments of confusion that i had throughout my entire life, not just when i was a little boy, but up until the elevator ride down here to talk to you. I had an awful lot of ammo as far as that goes. But there is a time, hes nine, and he and his mother drive to the house that he grew up in, and for the boy, nine years old, its a moment of just the most glorious nostalgia that he could possibly, and hes only nine, its magical, but for the mother, he lived there for half his life, but she lived there for this fractional, uncomfortable blip of bitter compromise and unhappiness. And i dont have necessarily the right to write that about my own parents, but as youve gotten older, you realize that my own parents were, they werent doing anything to us, they were just trying to get by in their lives, and deal with levels of unhappiness and reality that a nineyearold boy is not really apparent to. Brown youre here in washington partly to get an award from the National Archives for your work and i want to get this right in supporting history. Now, this does seem like, for all of us whove followed your work for so long, an obsession . From bosom buddies on, yes, i am, an obsession of being fascinated with the american story. And these are the great, you know, the great march of time and history. I read history because what really happened is always 10,000 times more interesting than anything you could make up. You think you know something about a subject matter because youre studied, or you read it, or you saw a movie about it a long time ago, and getting down just a little bit deeper not only puts history in a great perspective, but it also puts the present day brown well, but what does it tell you about the state of the american story today . I mean, were in washington, alas, there has always been fake news, there has always been alternative facts. The danger lies in someone hiding behind that truth, as opposed to exposing them. You go back and study the first true contested election in the United States of america, between john adams and thomas jefferson, after adams first term. That was probably the first time really there was fake newspapers. There were editors that put out absolute blatant lies. I think the danger is there, in which someone says, because there is fake news i wonder who were talking about right now, by the way because there is fake news, you cannot believe anything. It is the death of truth. No, no, the hard work then is discerning what that truth is, the important work of democracy and liberty and our republic comes in to determine what is the truth. But hasnt truth always been this incredibly illusive quality that people either pursue or obfuscate . Brown one more topic. I want to ask about you personally, good guy, you project decency in many characters. You project decency. How dare i. Brown how dare you. This is real, this is who you are . Look, youre talking to a man who is, ive enjoyed the benefits and ive worked very hard. I cant believe this is a job that you get paid for, and thats me. I, when i was in high school and i saw friends of mine in the high school play, and knew that they were getting credit for taking this class, i thought, why am i wasting my time in sociology and biology, i can take this class in school . And its been, it hasnt been that much different ever since. Brown the new book, uncommon type, by first time author tom hanks. Thank you, because people say were here to talk to tom about his new book no, were not, were here to talk to tom about his book, not latest, not new, just book, but thank you. Brown thanks for talking to us. Pleasure. Woodruff online, you can watch more of our interview with tom hanks, where he discusses the post, his new film about the Washington Posts decision to publish the pentagon papers. Also on the newshour online right now ocean Noise Pollution is a known problem for many marine mammals. But a new study demonstrates that invertebrates like oysters are also affected, literally clamming up when it gets too loud, with consequences for both the animals and water quality. You can learn more on our website, www. Pbs. Org newshour. Who knew. Tune in later tonight on pbs frontline presents part one of a twopart series that looks at russias attempt to influence the u. S. Election in 2016. Putins revenge tells the inside story of how Vladimir Putin came to see the u. S. As an enemy, after consolidating his own power in moscow following his president ial victory in 2000. Woon of the first things he did was take control of television. During the yeltsin years, independent television chams flourished. Even as they rid could political figure. They have a common show, and when putin comes to rise in public life, it features a putin puppet as well. And hes never portrayed very flatteringly. Putin, apparently, evidence driven to madness by the show and by the way he was portrayed on it, the way he was mocked on it. They were among the first to fall in the crosshairs of putins government. He sent armed operatives to raid the offices of media most, the parent company, which was at the time the largest independent Media Holding in russia. He is imprisoned and while hes in jail, one of putins lieutenants comes to visit him in jail and says, you know, you could get out of this mess if you sign over. He eventually does that, hands it over to a kremlinfriendly oligarch. Doing that, putin made clear to broadcast media, which is how most russians get their news, was no longer going to be outsourced. This was going to be a staterun operation. And its remained that way throughout putins term. Woodruff putins revenge premieres on frontline tonight on most pbs stations. And that is the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online and again right here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and well see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. Babbels 1015 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. More information on babbel. Com. Bnsf railway. Collette. Supported by the rockefeller foundation. Promoting the wellbeing of humanity around the world, by building resilience and inclusive economies. More at www. Rockefellerfoundation. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org welcome to the program. We begin tonight with politics and senator jeff flakes announcement he will not seek reelection in 2018. Two senators corker and flake both decided not to run for election next year. The issue would have amounted to a blaring alarm. Rose continue with jennet conant, her biography of her grandfather james b. Conent is called man of the hour. My grandfather believed our only hope for civilization was diplomacy and deescalating tensions, not escalating tensions. Living in the shadow of the bomb, we had no choice but to go forward and try and control it. Rose we conclude with marvin kalb, his memoir is