Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20160623

Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by you never discriminate. You want everyone, the young, the old, the soft, the strong. But cancer, were fighting you can immunotherapies and genetic testing, with laughter, with strength, because every one of us is doing one thing only making cancer history. You were born with two stories. One you write every day, and one you inherited thats written in your d. N. A. 23andme. Com is a Genetic Service that provides personalized reports about traits, health and ancestry. Learn more at www. 23andme. Com. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Supported by the rockefeller foundation. Promoting the wellbeing of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. More at rockefellerfoundation. Org Carnegie Corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. 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. Sreenivasan the Supreme Court weighed in on two politicallycharged cases today. The justices, in a four to four tie, effectively killed president obamas executive actions on immigration. His program would have deferred deportation for more than four million undocumented immigrants, and allowed them to work legally in the u. S. President obama reacted to the courts decision at the white house this morning. For more than two decades now our immigration system, everybody acknowledges, has been broken. And the fact that the Supreme Court was not able to issue a decision today doesnt just set this system back even further, it takes us further from the country we aspire to be. This is part of the consequence of the republican failures so far to give a fair hearing to mr. Merrick garland, my nominee to the Supreme Court. Sreenivasan and in another major decision, the justices ruled it is constitutional for universities in this case the university of texas to consider race in admissions. Well take a closer look at todays Supreme Court rulings right after this news summary. Woodruff another Police Officer in baltimore has been found not guilty in the 2015 death of a 25yearold black man, freddie gray. Caesar goodson was driving the police van in which gray suffered a broken neck while in custody. Goodson faced the most serious charges of all the officers involved. He was acquitted on all counts, including seconddegree murder. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the courthouse in baltimore today to voice their frustrations. We are human beings we deserve we deserve to have the right to walk in our communities, and ride in our communities and be safe by people we pay and send to serve and protect us. Who the hell are they serving . And who the hell are they protecting . Cause it damn sure aint freddie gray. Woodruff six Police Officers have been charged in the case. But only goodson was accused of committing murder. The first trial ended in a hung jury. The second officer was acquitted of all charges. In the president ial campaign, Republican Donald Trump faced tough questions today regarding past claims hes made about democrat Hillary Clintons emails. Yesterday, trump said her server was easily hacked by foreign governments, perhaps even by her financial backers in communist china. Putting all of america and our citizens in danger, great danger. But today, he took a step back when pressed by lester holt of nbc news. You also made the claim that her email, personal email server, had been hacked, probably by foreign governments, suggesting that well, you dont know that. As president well first of all, she shouldnt have had a personal server, okay . She shouldnt have had it. Its illegal. What she did is illegal. Now she might not be judging that way because, you know, we we have a rigged system. But what she did is illegal. She shouldnt have had a personal server but is there any evidence that it was hacked other than routine fishing . I think i read that. And i heard it and somebody where . That also gave me that information. I will report back to you. Woodruff Clintons Campaign has maintained theres no evidence hackers penetrated her private email server. Sreenivasan in china, a powerful tornado has killed at least 78 people, and leveled a large number of buildings. Some 500 people were injured. It hit a densely populated area near the city of yancheng, about 500 miles south of beijing. The twister overturned cars. Roads were blocked with trees, downed power lines and other debris. There were reports of winds up to about 80 Miles Per Hour in some parts. Woodruff it was a historic day for colombia as the government signed a ceasefire with leftist farc rebels, closing a halfcenturylong chapter of bloodshed. At a ceremony in havana, cuba, the colombian president and the leader of the farc formally approved the agreement to settle longstanding obstacles to peace, including the farcs disarmament. That now clears the way for a final peace deal, which negotiators hope to clinch by july 20. Sreenivasan back in this country, the federal government now says filtered tap water is safe for everyone in flint, michigan. The announcement lifts a recommendation that pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under six only drink bottled water to avoid lead exposure. The citys Drinking Water became contaminated when lead from old pipes leached into homes and businesses, triggering a Public Health emergency. Volkswagen will pay over 10 billion to settle claims tied to its diesel emissionscheating scandal. It was widely reported the majority of the money will compensate owners of nearly 500,000 vehicles programmed to cheat on emissions tests. The rest will penalize Government Agencies and fund pollution offset projects. The final terms of the settlement will be released tuesday. Stocks surged on wall street today as traders eagerly awaited the outcome of todays british referendum on whether to remain in the European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 230 points to close at 18,011. The nasdaq rose more than 76 points, and the s p 500 added nearly 28. New data out today from the u. S. Census bureau shows asians continue to be the Fastest Growing racial group in the u. S. The asian population rose 3. 4 over the past year. While the white population, including those who chose white along with another race, showed the slowest growth up just one half of a percent. There are 21 million asians in the u. S. Their population has steadily surged since 2000, largely due to international migration. And after decades of debate, a los angeles jury has ruled led zeppelin did not steal the opening riff of their classic song, stairway to heaven. The rock band was accused of copying the chords from a song by the American Band spirit. The two groups played together in 1970, a year before stairway to heavens release. Heres led zeppelins iconic guitar opening, as heard in this 1973 performance. And here are the chords in question from the band spirits song taurus, so you can judge for yourself. The jury ruled the chords of the two songs were not intrinsically similar. Still to come on the newshour big Supreme Court decisions on immigration and affirmative action. What will happen if britain leaves the European Union. House democrats sitin for more than 24hours to push gun control legislation, and much more. Woodruff we return to the big day at the Supreme Court a split on immigration puts millions in limbo. And justices uphold affirmative action. We dig into both cases now with newshour regular marcia coyle, chief washington correspondent of the national law journal. Marcia. Judy. Woodruff we need you here on days like this, especially on days like this. Lets talk about the affirmative action case first. What was it that the university of texas case was about . Well, actually this was the second time the Supreme Court had looked at how the university of texas uses race as a factor in its admissions policy. Back in 2013, the case came to the Supreme Court by abigail fisher, a student who was denied admission to the university in 2008. And she claimed that the use of race as factor was why she was denied admission and that it violated the constitution. The Supreme Court in 2013, led by Justice Kennedy, a 71 court, sent it back to the lower federal court saying you gave too much deference to the universitys explanation. You have to give the tougher scrutiny we have under the constitution, and the university has to show there are no workable raceneutral alternatives. Well, that lower federal Appellate Court held hearings, briefings, upheld the plan again. It came back to the Supreme Court. Abigail fisher brought it back with a conservative organization that had backed her from the beginning. And the Supreme Court today in a surprising 43 decision upheld the universitys use of race as Justice Kennedy said, factor of factor of a factor. Woodruff why do you say surprising . He had never voted to uphold an affirmative action plan, although he had written and spoken about the importance of diversity in higher education. So he did believe that it was an important, compelling interest to have a diverse student body. Woodruff there were some really strong opinions voiced here. Justice alito wrote this is affirmative action gone wild . Gone berserk, thats what he said. He actually read a summary of his very long dissent. His dissent was 51 pages. He read a summary from the bench for 17 minutes, almost three times longer than Justice Kennedys summary of his opinion. He took issue with most of the points Justice Kennedy made. By the way, Justice Kennedy said that this plan is really sort of one of a kind for the university of texas. Under texas state law, the university is required to admit students in the top 10 of their high school classes, and that has accounted for significant diversity, but the university felt that the 25 places in the school that the 10 did not cover did not really create diversity in the classroom. So thats why it used race. Justice kennedy said that the 10 plan was really a blunt tool, that it just admitted students on the basis of class rank, and the other 25 were admitted under a holistic view, that means many other things were considered. So Justice Alito felt that this plan discriminated against asian americans, and he felt that the university had not provided the kind of evidence that it was required to provide to show that it had. That it needed race to achieve the type of diversity it wanted in the classroom. Woodruff let me quickly move you to the other big decision the court handed down on president obamas immigration executive orders. The justices were asked to rule on the legality of that. Tell us about how they came down . Well, this was plan that was announced in 2014 by the administration. And it did two things. It would delay temporarily the deportation of parents, undocumented parents of children who were american citizens and legal permanent residents, and also it expanded a 2012 program that delayed the deportation of what we have come to call the dreamers, children who came to america with undocumented parents. Texas and 26 other republicanled states challenged that program in the lower federal court in texas. It claimed that the president had exceeded his authority under federal immigration laws. A Federal District Court Temporarily entered an injunction the halt it. A federal Appellate Court affirmed that injunction. So it was the United States that came to the u. S. Supreme court to try to get that injunction lifted. Also to confirm that the president had this authority. Well, the court did split 44 today, and a what that means is basically that the injunction that is halting the Program Remains in effect. The case goes back to the lower Federal District court for a trial on the merits. The courts 44 decision here only affirms the judgment of the lower court on the preliminary injunction. It was not a decision on the merit of the claims that texas and the 25 other states made. Woodruff so what can be read into this very brief statement the court made . Nothing. As i said, its not a decision on the merits. Its in the a precedent Going Forward that other courts can look to. The case may come back to the Supreme Court at some point once it goes to trial and appeal. The United States also has the option of filing a petition for rehearing in the u. S. Supreme court, which the court can hold until there is a ninth justice if it so chooses. Woodruff quickly, the presumption is the absence of the late Justice Scalia clearly had an effect. Very much, so as well as today there was another 44 decision in a case involving indian tribes. Important to them and american businesses. Woodruff marcia coyle, thanks very much. My pleasure, judy. Woodruff and now we take a Angela Maria Kelley is with the center for American Progress for a time advised the white house on immigration actions. And jon feere, legal policy analyst at the center for immigration studies. Welcome to both of you. Thank you. Woodruff Angela Kelley, let me start with you. Your reaction to this onesentence statement they handed down on this immigration . Nine paltry words, but boy what a big blow. Look, as marcia just said, its a disappointment, but its not a decision. And were not done. We have 11 Million People in this country. The average number of years theyve been here is 12. So these are not folks that are just stopping by. Theyre not accidental tourists. They are people who are living here. We cant send them all home, as some president ial candidates might want to happen, because they are hope some the question is what are we going to do about it. I think president s plan is legal and ultimately we will be back in court. I think that will prevail. We do need a ninth justice. Its been 100 days since judge garland is nominated, and he has not yet had his day in court, he hasnt yet had his hearing. Woodruff but jon feere, its true the justices didnt elaborate, but the effect of this is to send this back to the lower court. Yeah, i think a lot of people are wondering why the court even took it up to begin with because all this has done is delay an inevitable rehearing at the Supreme Court a year or two from now. So its unclear how long this is going to take, but in some ways a lot of folks were arguing that perhaps the court should have waited until the lower court actually had a hearing on the merits. So we would have some idea of exactly what issues we were looking at and where perhaps the white house was going to be successful and where they were not. Woodruff but they were dealing with 26 some, a large number of states that asked them to rule on this. 26 states, but the states themselves requested the Supreme Court not take the decision and, in fact, they wait until there was hearing at the lower court level. Woodruff what does this mean . You started to address this, angela, in your first comment. What does this mean for the individuals who. President obama talked today about people coming out of the shadows. What does it mean for them . Thats right. Their lives remain in limbo. People have already been here for nearly a dozen years on average. Were talking about people who have u. S. Citizen children, so clearly they put down roots. Most of them work and pay taxes and perhaps never see that refund. Theyre folks contributing to the economy, as well. I think unfortunately theyre stuck in the crosshairs of paralysis in washington, which is in congress and which has unfortunately now spilled to the courts. But i dont see that theyre going to all pack up and leave. Woodruff what about that, jon feere . Should they pack up and leave . I dont know if there has been a paralysis necessarily. Its just that the advocates for amnesty and more immigration havent got what they wanted, and president obama himself knows this policy sun popular. If it were popular, he wouldnt have waited until after the midterm to announce. This he didnt want to have to have republicans and democrats deal with this as voters were heading to the ballot box. The people have spoken. They denied the marco rubio amnesty bill. They stopped the amnesty back under president bush and the dream act went nowhere. So its not so much that were in limbo, its just that we have an administration, not that different from the previous administration, that isnt committed to enforcing our immigration laws. Woodruff so youre saying that, what, that what should happen to these individuals . Well, under federal law they are supposed to go home. It was noted a moment ago that theyre not tourists, but plenty of them came as tourists. They just lied to the state department and lied to the American People and overstayed their vies as some if we have any sense of law in this country, people have to abide by the terms we set forth. Well, we have a Record Number of people who have been deported under this president. He has hardly been a softy on illegal immigration. And we have a tremendous buildup at the border so that illegal immigration in the United States is basically at zero. The question is what are we going to do about these folks. I think the president did wait very patiently. The senate did passes a bipartisan bill on immigration reform, and the house failed to act. So its a question of its not an amnesty, but i think what we need is an answer. Interestingly enough, polls that came out yesterday show that 78 of independents support with the 11 million, not deporting them but giving them path to citizenship. Were talking about just very sensible what are we going to do . What are some Common Sense Solutions . Woodruff but in the meantime, the court, we dont have an answer. Correct. Woodruff in the meantime, mr. Feeres point is they are here illegally. They are here without documents. Well, mr. Feere should feel comfortable in the fact that immigration deportations are going to continue. That we have a robust Border Patrol force. But that to me isnt really the answer. Look, we have an immigration system that hasnt been updated since 1990. Just think about that. So until congress does its job and appoints a ninth justice on the Supreme Court, passes immigration reform, were going to have these dysfunctions, not just in the immigration system, but across many sectors of america. Clearly we deserve better. If you look at actual data, deportation has fallen dramatically over the past five or six years, and not just deportations of nonviolent people, but even deportations of criminal aliens has dropped down dramatically over the past five years. What this administration has decided outside deferred action, is theyre going to narrow the scope of deportation and virtually you will not face deportation unless you are a violent criminal. In fact, obamas former ice director said the exact thing to the l. A. Times last year. Woodruff let me quote to you part of what president obama said. Its heartbreaking for the millions of immigrants who have made their lives here, who raised their families here, who hoped for the opportunity to work, to pay taxes, to serve in our military and fully contribute to the country. I think the American People are the most generous people on the planet when it comes to immigration. We welcome more people for permanent residency than any other country on the planet by a mile. But our generosity i think is being taken advantage of. Americans are starting to sour on the concept of immigration because they see people who are not playing by the rules, who are breaking the laws, who are actually lying to us. Cutting in front of lines of people who are playing by the rules, taking the time and the money and the effort to do it the right way. Woodruff what about that . Look, life is messy. Uncomeed people dont live in an Apartment Building all by themselves. So they marry americans. They have citizen children. They work shoulder to shoulder with other people. They go to mosque. They go to church. They go to synagogue with other folks. So the idea that were going to somehow take them all out and remove them and that that is not going to upset the balance of this country is foolish and scary. Heres what we do know in 2012 when the president announced deferred action for dreamers, there were over 700,000 young people that came forward and got work authorization, pay tax, get better jobs. Thats a program that makes sense, not just for those families but for the country. Thats the direction i would suggest we go in. Woodruff final word. Until we end illegal immigration and theres an actual commitment from our policymakers to enforce immigration law, any type of asylum will enforce more illegal immigration. Woodruff jon feere, Angela Kelley and Marcia Sreenivasan should they stay or should they go . Thats the question facing british voters today as they decide their place in europe. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant has the story from london. Reporter the signs went up and doors to polling stations across britain opened for an historic day of voting. Its been a Bitter Campaign to decide whether britain remains within, or exits the 28 member European Union. With the result just hours away, britons were on edge. I dont really know what to expect and i think if a result comes in kind of early in the morning, everyone might be asleep still and might wake up to a different future or might wake up to just another day. Reporter the most recent polls show the outcome is too close to call, but bookies are putting the odds on a remain outcome. Whatever the result, the referendum opened a chasm across britain stirring nationalist sentiments along the way. And the murder last week of pro europe british lawmaker jo cox could also factor into the outcome. Here at a market in ipswich, the divide is clear. Produce vendor ian buxton is voting to leave; he says its because of immigration. You see all the migrants. What they say theres thousands of people waiting to come in. I genuinely think well be stronger out there on our own. Reporter at a nearby stall, steve singh says a vote to leave would hurt financially. Business wise its easier for them to obviously interchange with free europe and shipping and so you know my vote is to stay in. Reporter Party Leaders in britain made their way to the polls but refrained from campaigning outright. Another major factor thats perhaps going to play into this referendum result has been the weather. More than a months worth of rain has been dumped on london and the southeast over the past day causing absolute chaos. Ben page is the chief executive office of ipsos mori, a major polling firm. Its difficult to see a very absolutely certain pattern but it is true that brexit voters are much more determined than remain voters. Reporter the british pound did surge ahead today to its highest level this year, over market speculation the country will ultimately vote to stay. The polls closed just over an hour and a half ago. Vote counting is under way. Were in for a very long night. The final results should be in around about breakfast time tomorrow. Hari . Sreenivasan now that the polls have closed, what are you hearing . Whats the latest . Well, normally these sort of events, you have exit polls, but the broadcasters this time decided they wouldnt have one because there was no real model for them. But we have heard that the United Kingdom Independence Party has had its own poll of about 10,000 people, and shortly around the time the polls closed, their leader, nigel ferre, said he thought the remain people had edged it, which seems to be very much like a concession. He says the u. K. Is a force to be reckoned with and this independence move. Would not be going away. Then to actually consolidate what seems to be this concession, there was also a poll that had been carried out during the course of the day by an internet polling company, and they were looking at around about 5,000 voters, tracking them during the course of this referendum, and according to their honor day polling, their outcome is that its 52 for remain and 48 for those people who want to leave. So the indications are pretty clear. Of course, you know, there are maybe sort of as many as 30 or 35 million votes to be counted during the course of the night, and that could change, but these are pretty good indications. So certainly in the remain camp at the moment people are looking pretty confident. Sreenivasan when you talk to the people in the last couple days as you were reporting this story out, the undecided, are they aware of the consequences . They were undecided voters even up to the polls today. Sreenivasan yes. I think the undecided voters really have been absolutely critical in this, and up until today, the opinion polls, which cant necessarily be trusted, are saying it might have been as many as about 11 of the electorate who were undecided. And last night there was a very interesting debate on one of the british tv channels which had 100 people who were undecided, and it tracked their emotions during the course of the debate as various issues came up. At the end of that debate, what happened was that most of those people who were undecided did vote to remain. And what probably happened is that i think there are lots of people in britain who have been really bewildered by the argument. Theyre not able to make up their minds at all. And its a pretty momentous decision to go into a voting booth and to make up your mind because the decision that is made today is completely irrevocable, to leave the European Union, there would be no coming back. And for many people, this has been a campaign of loathing and fear, loathing on the part of many of the really vehement breakers, who hate the things the European Union stand for, especially the unelected and unaccounted representatives who they believe are dictating to britain and taking away its sovereignty, and the fear element is amongst those people worried particularly about the economy, and the economy has actually driven those people in the remain camp perhaps because the easiest thing to do is to vote for the status quo. People have been very worried about losing their jobs. Theyve been worried by predictions by fairly major individuals in industry, people like Sir Richard Branson who say it would be a complete mistake to come out of the European Union. So not knowing whats going to be on the other side of, this those people who are undecided have gone into the voting booth and decided to opt for the status quo. Sreenivasan special correspondent Malcolm Brabant joining us from london, thank you very much. Woodruff stay with us, coming up on the newshour the loses all americans face when big cities dont have enough housing. And a brief but spectacular take on why the o. J. Simpson trial Still Matters today. But first, it was a rare night and morning in congressional history. Democrats staged an allnight sit in, demanding a vote to ban anyone on the no fly list from buying a gun. Lisa desjardins begins our coverage. Reporter House Democrats emerged from the capitol and gave up their 26hour sit in. They vowed to keep fighting for gun control measures, after the july 4 break. When we come back here on july 5, were going to continue to push, to pull, to stand up, and if necessary, to sit down, or sit in. Reporter the scene outside was nearly as raucous as the one that played out yesterday and overnight. As republicans recessed, triggering an automatic shut down of the official house cameras, democrats took to social media to broadcast the backandforth on the floor. No bill no vote no bill no vote reporter 10 00 p. M House Speaker paul ryan tried to regain control over democrats chanting. The house will be in order. Reporter but order was not coming. The house cameras again went dark. The house stands in recess, reporter democrats kept sitting and standing on the floor, until republicans returned to a formal session again at 2 30 a. M. And not just any session g. O. P. Leaders called for a big vote on a bill that included a billion dollars to fight zika. It passed without debate, and republicans closed out the session until after july 4. Speaker ryan, facing this new test, had biting words for democrats today. We are not going to allow stunts like this to stop us from carrying out the peoples business. Why do i call this a stunt . Well, because it is one. Lets be honest here. Reporter why a stunt . Ryan pointed out that democrats sent multiple fundraising emails and flyers about the sitin. He said it wasnt a proud moment for democracy. But democrats point out that eight years ago, thenminority republicans also held the house floor in protest. A key difference . No cell phone video streaming then. As the house closed with no action, there was a symbolic victory on the senate side. A bipartisan plan from Susan Collins of maine would ban gun purchases from those on the terror watch list. It survived a procedural vote, getting support from 52 senators. The issue for the collins plan . It will likely need 60 votes, which it doesnt have, to make it out of the senate. For the pbs newshour, im lisa desjardins. Woodruff joining me now from capitol hill is one of the democrats who helped organize the sitin in the house, congressman David Cicilline of rhode island. Congressman, welcome to the program. First of all, did you get any sleep at all last night . I did not. I havent pulled an allnighter since college, so after this show im going to go home and go to bed. Woodruff why did democrats make what was if not an unprecedented move, as we just heard, close to unprecedented . I think it was unprecedented. We have been incredibly frustrated at the Republican House leaderships refusal to bring to the floor two very common sense gun safety proposals, one to keep a suspected terrorist who are on the watch list, to prevent them from buying a gun, and universal background checks to make sure that everyone who purchases guns has a background check. And these with are two common sense proposals the Republican Leadership in the house has refused to bring these bills to the floor. Weve been incredibly frustrated. We thought it was important to try something new to bring attention to this issue, to demand that the republicans bring these bills to the floor for a vote, to bring the attention of our country to this issue. We just saw an event, the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States in orlando, florida, 49 people slaughtered by an assault weapon, 52 people injured. We seem to see this kind of carnage on a regular basis. And so far the republicans have been unwilling to bring a single bill to the floor that would respond to it. We felt this was really important to try something different, the demand that they move forward on these. This was the beginning of what will be a protracted effort to really encourage and convince and persuade and ultimately force our republican colleagues to address this issue and make our Community Safer. Woodruff but if you dont have the numbers, how do you do that . I heard speaker ryan today say it actually did come up for a vote in committee, it just didnt pass out of committee in order to get to the floor. Well, both of the proposals, the proposal the make sure terrorists cant buy a gun and to make sure there are universal background checks, supported broadly by the American People, 85 and 90 , that includes republicans and democrats and independents. So the American People support this. And what was most agreed to fight about last night is we had a huge crowd outside the capitol that was growing throughout the night. Ordinary americans that had come to washington, to the Capitol Grounds to support our effort. This will require the outside engage of folks all across this country to demand that congress do what they need to be done to keep them safe. This is one of the issues where the American People are with us. We have to keep them engaged and the finally convince republicans that they have a responsibility to move forward and keep individuals who are on the terrorist watch list from buying a gun, make sure that all gun sales are subject to background checks, and really continue to engage with people all across this country to demand that leaders in the Republican Party bring these bills to the floor for a vote. Woodruff but do you really think youll be able to do that . For example, are there any republicans who have come to you or any of your democratic colleagues and said, im changing my mind . Well, i think there are republicans who heard from their constituents last night, and i think as they go home for break, imagine in the middle of this argument were asking them, lets debate these bills. Tell us why you oppose them, tell us why you think people on the terrorist watch list should be able to buy a gun. Tell us why you dont think there should be universal background checks, they wouldnt come to the floor and debate. Of course, there is no good argument against either bill, but what they did is at 2 30 a. M. , in the dark of night, while america slept, they used a procedural maneuver to adjourn. Theyre going to have to go home. Theyre home now. Theyll hear from their constituents who i expect will say, you need the pass common sense gun safety legislation that when we come back on july 5th and we resume our efforts, they will have heard from their constituents and look, this is going to be a long struggle, but i am confident that the end of this, we will persuade our colleagues to do whats right for the American People and prevent people on the terrorist watch list from buying a gun, make sure we have universal background checks. Both things which can really make our Community Safer and keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldnt have them. Woodruff whats your reaction to speaker ryans comment that this is just a stunt designed to get democrats in front of the tv cameras . Despite the fact that speaker ryan turned off the camera, shut off our microphones, were not going to be slensd. We were able to use social media the make sure the American People could see this debate despite the fact that republicans didnt want them to see it. But look, i think if you speak to any of the family members who lost loved ones in orlando, any of the parents of the children slain in sandy hook or San Bernardino or aurora, theres nothing thats a stunt about this. This is about gun violence, which is an epidemic in this country, which is ripping families apart, which is a serious Public Health crisis in this country. We have a responsibility the fight hard to enact the paroles that will reduce gun violence in this country. Well use every tool we have to continue to press hard to force the republicans to take up these issues. The American People are demanding it. They expect us to do something, and i can assure you for the families and victims of gun violence in this country, they dont think this is a stunt. They were pleased that we were in this fight trying to ensure their voices were heard in the congress of the United States. Woodruff do you expect more sitins . I expect well do lots more to force the republicans the finally meet their responsibility and enact responsible gun safety legislation. Woodruff representative David Cicilline of rhode island who spent much of last night literally sitting on the house floor. Thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff and we do hope to hear from republican lawmakers in the coming days. Sreenivasan the cost of buying or renting a home in key American Cities keeps on rising. A new study out finds more than 40 million households are spending a third of their income on rent. And the housing shortage in cities like new york, washington and San Francisco may be costing more than 100 million American Workers thousands of dollars in lost wages. Special correspondent Duarte Geraldino explains why as part of our weekly series on making sense of financial news. Reporter you can hear so much in this old building; every sort of step. Yeah, its like every creak. Reporter brian hanlon has multiple graduate degrees, a steady job and a middleclass income. This probably hasnt been renovated since the eisenhower administration. Reporter yet at 34 years old, hes the subtenant of a woman lucky enough to have a rentcontrolled apartment. But hanlons time is running out. Ive been in this room for about four and a half years. Reporter four and a half years. He worries the owner of his apartment house will offer the actual leaseholder a lot of money to move, meaning hanlon will have to pay a lot more to live in this Mission District neighborhood. Well so market rate for this place, im guessing its probably about 5,000 a month. Reporter 5000 a month . A threebedroom in the mission . Sure. Reporter the situation is forcing a growing number of people low, medium and high income workers into ever tighter living conditions. And some, with no income, out of their homes altogether. I got here because i got nowhere to go. Reporter Claudia Rocha has lived on this sidewalk since losing her Assembly Line job last year. And it was on this rapidly gentrifying but still gritty street that she says she almost lost her life. Reporter how tall were the flames . Oh, it was big, it was like this building. It took those windows. Reporter a huge fire started by someone throwing gasoline on her tent at 3 00 a. M. , with her inside. And i just see the fire, boom like a devil can touch me. I was panic and i get up and i run with no shoes nothing. Everything inside get in fire. Its ugly, its really ugly. Reporter helping rocha or hanlon find a stable place to live is complicated by a long list of roadblocks faced by developers who want to construct highdensity homes. I run grow s. F. Reporter housing activist laura clark founded a group called grow San Francisco to push for fewer restrictions, which even she admits were designed with good intention. It comes historically from a very good place. Originally there was a lot of really good work done to say we shouldnt be blasting highways through our city, we really need to take an environmental perspective about a lot of the urban rejuvenation we were doing. And then it kind of went to kind of a toxic place. Reporter one example shadow studies. Reporter shadow studies . Yes. Where we research where all the shadows are going to fall. Reporter it was hard to believe shadows, and other seemingly minor factors, could actually prevent the construction of new housing in a city that by some estimates needs tens if not hundreds of thousands more homes. So we tracked down jeff buckley at San Francisco city hall. Hes the mayors Senior Housing advisor. As part of a voter mandate which was established in the eighties, there are some public open spaces that cannot have shadows in them and others where they have a shadow budget. Reporter a shadow budget . Correct. Which is a small amount of shadow that is allowed in those areas during certain times. Reporter shadows, noise, environmental concerns. These are issues Community Groups and even individuals use to block new construction, often targeting marketrate, or luxury, housing. But San Francisco is trying to cut the red tape and has an ambitious goal of adding 30,000 new Housing Units by 2020, half of them subsidized. There are a lot of critics who say, you should just be focused on total supply and not necessarily on affordability. I think that works well in an economist thinktank but in the reality of politics and the policy making in an urban environment, you need to figure out, not just a total unit amount but, how to make those units affordable for people who live here in the city. Reporter but as economists point out, more total housing would lower rents for everyone. One of the most progressive policies that this progressive city could adopt would be to build more housing. Reporter Enrico Moretti is an economist at u. C. Berkeley, where he studies the relationship between housing and employment. I think this is a perfect example of how broken the planning process is in San Francisco. Theres a developer who would like to add 345 units on the top of walgreen and burger king there. Reporter yet protesters have blocked the Mission Street project for years. In part, yes, because of the shadows it would cast. The same goes for a 250unit project on market street, which would replace this low rise building and parking lot. The net result is that very few Housing Units get built in San Francisco relative to the demand. Reporter and that, says moretti, has far reaching effects. He and colleagues at the university of chicago took a mathematical model, normally used to study the economic effects of immigration restrictions between countries, and applied it within the United States. Crunching decades worth of data from 220 u. S. Metro areas, they found five American Cities did not contribute as much to us Economic Growth as they would have, if theyd had more housing. According to the research, the housing crunch in the bay area and in new york, boston and washington is not just stressing local renters but also shrinking the incomes of every American Worker some 100 Million People. Theres a loss for the entire nation. Reporter we met moretti at the San Francisco Federal Reserve where hes a fellow. He says restrictive landuse policies are keeping people out of cities like San Francisco. Reporter how much money would the average American Worker actually earn if these policies werent in place in these five cities . We estimate about 5,000 in additional earnings for the average worker. Reporter 5,000 in lost wages, 500 billion in missed g. D. P. Yes, if these five American Cities were to lower the level of land use regulation to the level of the median american city, we would see increased Economic Growth, increased g. D. P. , and higher wages, not just in those cities but across the country. Reporter according to morretti, these five cities are places where specialized workers cluster, making each member more productive and therefore better paid. If they loosened Development Restrictions so more homes could be built, rents would fall, making it easier for newcomers with high earning potential to break into the club. More people would relocate from different parts of the country to take advantage of this high productivity and these high wages. This would benefit those who move because they have better paying jobs. Reporter it would also benefit those who stay behind. Because there will be more available jobs in those communities than there is now. But as it stands, that is not happening and even the most highly educated workers in cities like San Francisco are concerned about the roof over their heads. I have a one bedroom apartment, and you know if you want to have a family or something thats kind of limiting. Reporter kyle huey is a highly paid Software Engineer who feels stuck in his small rentregulated apartment. Simply to rent my current place would cost so much more money now that trading up to a better place seems, you know, even more daunting. Everybody talks poorly about the techies. The techies are also living with roommates or in converted living rooms. Yeah, its kind of ridiculous, even the people who you want to hate who are making hundreds and thousands of dollars, are struggling to find housing in this city. Its a real crisis. Reporter so kyle huey cant trade up. Brian hanlon may be pushed out. Theres a real chance that i would just leave the bay area. Reporter and millions of American Workers may be taking a 5,000 hit they are not even aware of. In San Francisco, Duarte Geraldino, for the pbs newshour. Woodruff and now to another in our brief but spectacular series, where we ask interesting people to describe their passions. O. J. Simpson has been the subject of several programs this year, including an espn documentary, an fx series, and a play, watching o. J. By writer david mcmillan. Here, he explains why the 20 yearold verdict Still Matters today. I remember the o. J. Simpson trial very vividly. I will never forget the day that the verdict was announced because i was hanging out with my friend, a white guy chris brown. We saw these two black friends of ours who were celebrating and chris was like, how can you guys be happy that o. J. Was acquitted. And one of the black girls said, oh he didnt kill that white bleep . I will never forget that and it was a moment where he realized, he didnt know the people that he went to school with. I decided to write a play about not the trial itself but people watching the trial and their reactions to it. Unfortunately, the play has become even more timely in the last couple of years. Its speaks to where we are in our present moment. Race is a topic that is getting a lot of attention these days but at the same time people are afraid to start that conversation and how to start that conversation. Watching o. J takes place on the day that the o. J. Simpson verdict was announced. When these types of moments happen, suddenly you realize maybe i dont know my coworker or my friend as well as i thought i did. I tried to capture as many different points of view as i could. In one scene you have two characters, jamal and allison, one black one white. One is from brentwood, one from the hood. They cant possibly believe that the other person thinks that they think. Please tell me you think hes guilty . Why does my opinion matter . I suppose it doesnt. Not in the grand scheme but its a good litmus test. For what . To determine whether or not youre a sane rational human being . Another character derek, whos asian american, shares his perspective on the trial based on his parents, who are korean american, and how they were affected by the l. A. Riots. Part of me wants him to get acquitted because i dont want to see a repeat of what happened here three years ago. And if sparing my parents the heartache of seeing their store destroyed again means letting a guilty man go free, im willing to live with that. For a lot of African Americans they saw the trial not as an indictment of o. J. Simpson but really as an indictment of the l. A. P. D. One of the other characters in the play, kim, she has two sons. One whos in school and the other whos in prison. And shes looking at this trial not caring whether or not o. J. Did it, she just wants a win. That wouldnt just be a win for him, thatd be a win for all of us. For all the black men thats been railroaded by the system. And for all their mothers whove had to stand by and watch. For once, well finally get a taste of what justice feels like. And for once we can and for once we can finally say, yes, god dammit, we got one you [bleeped]. Yeah, we got one. Race is something that we will always have to deal with as a country. Our country was founded on de jure segregation, and racism, and slavery. And so those issues are part of the fabric whether we like it or not. I thought the verdict and what it brought out in people again not the trial itself but what it brought out in people was a moment. A moment where america got to see itself reflected back to itself. We see the country that we are as opposed to the country that we think we are. My name is david mcmillan, and this is my brief but spectacular take on the o. J. Simpson verdict and why it Still Matters today. Woodruff you can find more episodes of our brief but spectacular series at pbs. Org newshour brief. On the newshour online right now, how do u. S. Officials regard the u. K. Brexit vote . Margaret warner takes a closer look. Plus, selfdriving cars could improve Public Safety by limiting fatalities in traffic accidents. But a new study spotlights a moral quandary in how we choose to program those cars. All that and more is on our web site, pbs. Org newshour. Sreenivasan tune in later tonight for charlie rose. The former vice chairman of the chief of staff James Winfield on the fight against isis and extremism. Thats the newshour for tonight. Woodruff and im judy woodruff. Join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by you were born with two stories. One you write every day, and one you inherited thats written in your d. N. A. 23andme. Com is a Genetic Service that provides personalized reports about traits, health and ancestry. Learn more at www. 23andme. Com. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention. In the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. 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. 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