Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20171220

Jeffrey brown talks with the cast and writers of the bands visit, about a hapless Egyptian Group in israel. Its about taking little risks. And its also about how music, and maybe music and art, are bigger connectors than just language alone. 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. 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 it is a done deal. Congressional republicans today pushed their sweeping tax bill across the finish line. Then, they partied with the president. Lisa desjardins begins our coverage. Hasnt been done in 34 years. But actually, really, it hasnt been done because we broke every record. Its the largest tax cut in the history of our country. Reporter for President Trump and governing republicans, a white house victory lap today after scoring their first sweeping legislative win. 3. 2 trillion, just think of it, in tax cuts for american families, including doubling standard deduction, and doubling Child Tax Credit. Reporter final passage of the tax code overhaul came after the bill hurdled lastminute roadblocks. House republicans first passed it yesterday, but Senate Republicans had to drop three provisions, which violated the budget rules governing the process. Chants of kill the bill temporarily drowned out senators as they moved to vote after midnight. It passed with all republicans voting yes, all democrats voting no, and Vice President pence presiding. The tax cuts and jobs act is passed. Reporter Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell brushed off the bills low ratings as temporary. If we cant sell this to the american people, we ought to go into another line of work. I think this is an important accomplishment for the country, that people will value and appreciate. Reporter then, today, the truly final vote came in the house, and with it another eruption of applause. The motion is adopted. The motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. Reporter next, perhaps the largest lawmaker caravan in history took republicans to the white house by bus. As for democrats, leaders Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi warned all that this bill will haunt the g. O. P. Now, we know they are popping champagne down on pennsylvania avenue. There are only two places where america is popping champagne the white house, and the corporate boardrooms, including p insulting crumbs they give working families are meager and temporary. The tax breaks for Corporate America are vast and permanent. Reporter as for the bills cost, estimated to be 1. 5 trillion by nonpartisan analysts, republicans have insisted that will be paid for by growth. But today, House Speaker paul ryan was asked if the growth will be enough to cover that cost. He responded nobody knows the answer to that question, because thats in the future. But what we do know is that this will increase economic growth. Reporter white house officials, including treasury secretary steven mnuchin, have said the plan will pay for itself. Woodruff we have a lot of questions for lisa, but first, here is a reminder of the main changes this bill will bring about. The Corporate Tax rate drops substantially, from 35 to 21 . Most individuals will see income tax cuts, but less dramatic, and those expire in 2026. The standard deduction doubles for most households. State and local Tax Deductions remain, but they are limited to 10,000. And, it repeals the individual Health Insurance mandate, that was part of the Affordable Care act. President trump is expected to sign the tax bill into law next week. And lisa, youve been looking into some of the other policy shifts in this tax bill. What have you found . Step back and lets look at how does it change our priorities . Light, im so happy to have this conversation. First, the business focus that republicans have here. It seems like its part of dna for republicans, but looking at it historically, this shift is to top rate for corporations that is the lowest since before world war ii. Also it changes the conversation. This is a key debate. Republicans see helping Business Owners as something that helps everyone. Democrats see that as helping the wealthy. Here republicans have kind of shifted the policy direction there. Another one that i havent heard talked about much, traditional families. This bill does a great deal for traditional families. One we know the Child Tax Credit is doubled in this bill, but something that hasnt gotten much attention is almoany. This bill would reverse the way alimony deductions work right now. Someone who pays alimony can take a deduction for that. This bill would change that in 2019, so that the deduction would only go to the person receiving alimony. Noticing this, paul ryan talked about these issues and the idea of increasing childbirth rates last week. Heres a listen. This is going to be the new economic challenge for america, people. Baby boomers are retiring. I did my part, but, you know, we need to have the higher birth rates in this country, meaning baby boomers are retiring and we have fewer people following them in the workforce. So its definitely something you see in this bill. Pushing toward marriage and families. Right. Woodruff it also affects things we buy and sell including housing. There is a housing cooldown in this over 750,000, you wouldnt get that Interest Deduction and i spoke to Real Estate Agents today who think that will affect buying and selling of properties. Woodruff so lets talk a little bit about how this is implemented exactly. Go over exactly when it goes into effect. Everyone says january 1, but what does that mean . It means income earned after january 1 will be taxed under this new law. Income this year taxed under the old lay. Filing your taxes in april, its the old law. The first time your tax form will see these changes will be 2019. Woodruff so we are 11 days away from january 1. Right. Woodruff employers and others, the i. R. S. , are got to scramble to get everything in order. Right. They have to withhold income based on in new tax law. The statement from the i. R. S. They gave me today says we anticipate the initial withholding guidance in january, allowing taxpayers to see benefits of the change as early as february. That guidance usually goes out early december. Its over a month late. Thats a problem for those who handle payrolls. We got a letter from the American Payroll Association as well, saying its a hurricane he lean task. They say the conference report gives me flexibility and feel its easier to handle this task. Some of it delayed, but what does this mean for the final days of 2017 for people . Charities are sending out notices to people to say, if you want to give, give more now, because fewer people will deduct the charitable deduction next year because the standard deduction doubles. So they think more people should give money now if youre willing to. The other issue, judy, is property taxes, if you pay high property taxes, you should ask your local assessor if you can pay next years taxes early because that may be a benefit, you might be able to take a deduction now that closes next year. Woodruff that means focusing on something other than the holidays . Unfortunately, yes, this is when this is hitting. Woodruff a major tax bill. Lisa desjardins, thank you. Woodruff and in the days other news, Congress Worked on a spending bill to keep the government running through midjanuary. It has to pass by friday night to avoid a shutdown. Remaining issues include funding for a childrens Health Insurance program, and continued authority for overseas wiretapping of terror suspects. A political battle involving virginias state legislature has come down to a tie. After democrat Sally Simonds had been told that she had won by one vote, a panel of judges ruled today that she and republican david yancey are dead even. The winner will be chosen by drawing names from a bowl. A simonds win could shift control of the Virginia House of delegates, and boost democratic hopes for next years congressional elections. The European Union took the unprecedented step today of censuring poland for overhauling its justice system. The countrys ruling Rightist Party has moved to take greater control of polish courts. In brussels, the e. U. s executive body charged that the changes threaten the rule of law, and could trigger sanctions. The executive or legislative powers are now set up in such a way that the ruling majority can systematically politically interfere with the composition, the powers, the administration and the functioning of these authorities, thereby rendering the independence of the judiciary completely moot. Woodruff polands president was undeterred. Hours after the e. U. Announcement, he signed the last of the new laws, completing the transformation of the judicial system. 92 somalis are accusing u. S. Immigration agents of gross mistreatment during a botched deportation this month. They say they spent nearly 48 hours shackled on an airplane before ultimately being returned to the u. S. A classaction lawsuit charges that immigration agents kicked, struck, choked and dragged the detainees. A federal judge has blocked any new deportation effort until next month. A federal judge in nevada declared a mistrial today in the cliven bundy case. Bundy, two sons, and a militia leader are accused of leading an armed standoff with federal agents over a cattle grazing dispute. The judge ruled that prosecutors failed to disclose all their evidence to the defense. The ridehailing service uber has suffered a major legal loss. The European Unions top court ruled today that the company should be regulated as a taxi service, and not a tech company. Taxi drivers in barcelona, spain celebrated the decision. They had accused uber of engaging in unfair competition, and they sued to bar it from doing business in their city. translated well, im very happy. We are hopeful. We have achieved a very great victory. We have managed to get uber, a multinational company, to kneel before a group of taxi drivers who in the past, four years ago, managed to stop the service here in spain, and now we have stopped it all over europe, which is very important. Woodruff uber played down the ruling, and said it might affect operations in only four countries. Back in this country, crews battling the thomas fire in Southern California were on guard today against a return of gusting winds. The wildfire is now 60 contained, after calm weather the past two days. But hundreds of evacuees may not be allowed to return home for christmas. South carolinas capital has become the first u. S. City to ban the use of bump stocks, devices that let semiautomatic rifles fire like full automatics. The Columbia City council took the step last night. Members cited the las vegas sniper who used a bump stock to kill 58 people in october. The New York Times says that it is reassigning White House Reporter glenn thrush after investigating allegations of sexual misconduct. In a statement, the paper says that thrush acted offensively, but does not deserve to be fired. Instead, hell stay on suspension for two months, before getting a new assignment. On wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost 28 points to close at 24,726. The nasdaq fell two points, and the s p 500 also slipped two. And, the disgraced former archbishop of boston, Cardinal Bernard law, died today at a hospital in rome. For years, he was a leading figure in the Roman Catholic church in the u. S. But he resigned in 2002, after the boston globe exposed a coverup of decades of priests molesting children. His funeral mass will be at st. Peters basilica tomorrow. Cardinal bernard law was 86 years old. Still to come on the newshour the tax bill repeals the obamacare individual mandate. A stunning new civilian death toll in the fight to retake an isis stronghold. When moving from one neighborhood to another can improve your health. And, much more. Woodruff we return to the tax bill that congress sent to the president today. The reach of the measure extends beyond what you file with the i. R. S. , to health care. John yang has more on that. Yang judy, the bill repeals the penalties levied on individuals if they do not have Health Insurance coverage, the socalled individual mandate. That takes effect in 2019. President trump says that repeals the Affordable Care act. So in this bill, not only do we have massive tax cuts and tax reform, we have essentially repealed obamacare and well come up with something that will be much better, whether its block grants or whether its taking what we have and doing something terrific, but obamacare has been repealed in this bill. Yang here to discuss in and other. And other Health Care Issues facing congress is julie rovner, chief washington correspondent for Kaiser Health news which, we should note, is not affiliated with kaiser permanente. Julie, you heard what the president said. Is he right . Is this effectively repealing the Affordable Care act . Not really. I think, you know, hes been saying this. Hes been saying its dead. Most of my colleagues have been describing it as bruised, battered, beaten up, but not dead yet. The individual mandate was important but is not the only piece of the law, nor i think these days people are saying its not even the most important piece to have the law. Thathat may well be the requiret for insurers to cover people with preexisting conditions or the expansion of medicaid. Thats where most of the enrollment growth has come from. Yang the Congressional Budget Office estimates 13 million more people will be without insurance over the next ten years because of what congress did and that premiums will go up 10 or more in most years. Now, whats the connection between those two things . Well, the concern has been from the Insurance Companies that if people arent Healthy People arent required have some sort of requirement to have coverage that they will wait to get tick zick to sign up so only sick people will have insurance, talking about the individual market where people buy their own coverage, somewhere around 17 Million People total, and the insurers said thats why they needed this individual mandate. Without the individual mandate, they say, we will have only sick people. They will be required basically to raise their premiums or else lose money and thats where that comes in. So what the c. B. O. Says is there will be a combination of people who no longer have coverage. Some will be the ones the republicans talk about, the people only buying coverage because they were required to or else face a fine. Some of them says the c. B. O. Will be people who will be priced out of coverage because the insurers will raise their premiums and, finally, some will be people who live in areas where there wont be any more insurers, likely to be rural areas where twhrr more republicans than democrats. Yang you seem to be describe ago body blow to the Affordable Care act. Oh, yes, its something thats serious. Its not necessarily a complete repeal or even a fully taking apart of the law. What the c. B. O. Has said is they expect, in most parts of the country, even without the requirement, most individual insurers markets would remain what they call stable. Yang there have been two bills moving through really the senate to try to stabilize the individual market under the Affordable Care act. One would fund the plans costsharing reduction payments, the other would create a pool of money to help Insurance Companies pay claims to the sickest policy holders. Just this afternoon, they said these are not going to be acted on before they go home for christmas. Whats the future for these two bills . Its still pretty unclear. Er senator susan colonel whrins famously said she would vote for the tax bill only if they did these two bills, which looks like theyre not going to do, at least not this year. One of them, actually the second one, whats called the reinsurance bill that would give insurers more money to pay for their sickest patients, that one, most analysts think, would be fairly significant, although theres not a whole lot of money in that bill, but if they actually did it right, that could contain premiums from going up. The other bill is a little more complicated. Thld restore these subsidies the president cut off in october but, really, since then, a combination of state regulators and the Insurance Companies have figured out ways most people are being held harmless, Insurance Companies are being paid back. The only people who are being hit are people who dont get help for paying subsidies, theyre paying higher premiums but even some are protected if they buy a hiring plan. Yang the speaker of the house has not voted on. This are they trying to have a collapse to have the Affordable Care act . The republicans in the house have said all along they dont want to do anything that stabilizes this, they want the Affordable Care act to fall apart, so why would they want to vote for something that could make this letov a body blow. They wanted to do this because they wanted it to be a body blow. Yang childrens Health Insurance program, chip, popular bishop parents program, funding ran out in september and they still have not reauthorized it. A study out from the jowrntown University Health policy association saying 2 million children are at risk of losing coverage by the end of january and another 1 million by the end of february. Why is congress having such a hard time keeping this going . They agree it should be renewed for five years. They disagree on how to fund it. The republicans say this needs to be paid for. They want to take the money out of the Affordable Care act and medicare, democrats dont want to do that. This is purely how are we going to fund this. They have not resolved it. They said its okay to wait until december. But if they end up waiting till january, kids are going to start being taken off the program. Yang this is part of the funding problems they face with government funding running out on friday, and they look like they will do a short term till january. Thats what it sounds like but that could have serious ramifications for chip which they have been saying nobodys going to lose coverage, states have plenty money left over. Theyre quickly spending the money they had left over. Yang julie rovner, thanks for being with us. Thank you. Woodruff the fight against isis in iraq was a yearslong, brutal campaign. Now, the toll of its most important battle is coming into detailed, and horrific, relief. Hari sreenivasan has that, from new york. Sreenivasan the battle for iraqs secondlargest city, mosul, began in october of last year. This past july, the militants were finally routed, but at a devastating cost. Great swaths of the city lay in ruins, and thousands died civilians, soldiers, and isis fighters. At that time, special correspondent marcia biggs was there for us, witnessing the grim search for the dead. Heres a short excerpt of a report she filed. Reporter this is what socalled liberated mosul looks and sounds like. In a small pocket of the old city, the war against isis seemingly ongoing. And this is the old city from ground level, a scene of utter devastation. Entire neighborhoods flattened by Coalition Airstrikes, leaving the few survivors to search for the remains of their loved ones. Bashar and alis families were together in this house hit by an airstrike 28 days ago. Ali names the dead, one by one. translated my mother, three brothers, three sisters, my father, two sistersinlaw, two nieces. Reporter and youre the only one left from your family. translated yes. Reporter Shu Bedak Tamel . What are you going to do now . translated what can i do . I just want to take the bodies out and bury them. Sreenivasan that grim task of counting and burying the dead, is now several months old. And the numbers of civilian dead is shocking. A new report from the Associated Press puts that toll, right now, between 9,000 and 11,000 killed in mosul. The a. P. Says roughly onethird were killed by the u. S. Led coalition, or iraqi forces. Thats much higher than the Coalition Official figure of 326 civilian deaths. For more on the a. P. s report, im joined now by one of its authors, susannah george. Thanks for being with us. First, lets start with that number. How do we get such a big discrepancy . How did you go about counting it . We spoke to half a dozen morgue and Ministry Officials in mosul. We crossed referenced a number of different databases kept by independent organizations and nongovernmental organizations the united nations, Amnesty International and we pulled all these different lists together that we were able to get, lists of names of the dead, death tolls from the morgue, some handwritten on pieces of paper, and we crossreferenced them and were able to come up with that range, from 9,000 to 11,000 civilians killed during the battle to retake mosul from october 2016 to july 2017 when the city was declared lib raiptd htion when the people at the morgue write down the name of the dead body, what do they say is the cause of death and how do we figure out whether they were killed by i. S. I. S. Or airstrikes . Well, thats something we had to rely on the morgue officials knowledge of the cause of death for the civilians, the bodies that they brought into their office. They have a small office in eastern mosul where they work out of, and they said they made a judgment call for cause of death as the bodies came in, and the ones that they logged as killed by artillery or airstrikes, they were able to determine that by talking to family members who brought the dead into their office and also by examining the body. Many of the bodies, they said, as the battle moved toward western mosul, the vast majority of the bodies they were receiving at that time they described tas the cause of death as simply they were crushed from either airstrikes artillery or the i. S. Car bomb or explosives caused the building to collapse on top of the civilians. Sreenivasan give us context of what was happening in march in the last surge. Was there an opportunity for forces to recognize there were going to be an increased number of civilian b casualties. What we saw in february and march was something wed seen other times in the mosul operation was, as iraqi force were looking to speed up the progress on the ground to take the city, there was a spike in civilian casualties, and most people know about it because to have the march 17 Coalition Airstrike that resulted in more than 100 civilians dead according to a pentagon investigation into the incident, and when reports of the incident began to surface in late march, the entire mosul operation was put on hold for a few weeks and coalition told us at that time and a diplomat present at the meetings told us at that time they were looking to completely change the way they were fighting the battle because the cost on civilian lives was too great. However, when we spoke to iraqi officers on the ground who were actually leading the fight, they told us they did not receive any lasting change in guidelines of how to call in airstrikes or carry out the fight on the ground from their perspective. Sreenivasan a few months ago we saw in marcias story people going out and burying the dead. In your story, you show individuals exhuming bodies of their loved ones. What are they doing . Describe that. Those were heart wrenching screens we saw at the graveyard scattered around western mosul. Families had to exhume bodies of their loved ones to get a ministry of health death certificate, a piece of paper that would entitle them to benefits from the state if their loved one was a member to have the police or Iraqi Security forces. The families we spoke to in the grave yards said it was like reliving the tragedy of losing the loved one all over again, having to pull their body up from under the ground and have a ministry of health or morgue official examine it to corroborate what they believe was the cause of death for their loved one. Sreenivasan one of the things you point out in your reporting is this is not close to a comprehensive number, that there are still mass graves where people have not been identified, not to mention entire cities like raqqa where it could be worse. There are thousands of people who are believed to be in these mass graves dotted around mosul, the largest of which is south of mosuls western half, hasfah. And it does not include the people who died that are not from modems. As the physical caliphate collapsed, thousands were herded. Their death wouldnt be recorded in the morgue and ministry of Health Documents we examined as part of the death investigation. This is a minimum, the range of 9,000 to 11 how is, we believe, a minimum. Hundreds of people are still believed to be buried under the rubble of the old city that endured some of the greater destruction in the fight to retake the city. Susannah george of the Associated Press, thank you so much. Thank you. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour miles obrien walks us through this year in science. And a Broadway Musical that is already being considered an award contender. But first, the links between housing and health. A recent study found that African Americans who move to less segregated neighborhoods see significant improvements in their blood pressure. Previous research has also shown that children who move to more affluent neighborhoods are much healthier. Across the country, local leaders are responding to these findings by giving poor families more choices in where they live. Sarah varney begins our report in st. Louis. This story was produced in collaboration with our partner, Kaiser Health news. Reporter its been three years since civil unrest erupted in ferguson, missouri, after a white Police Officer fatally shot michael brown, an unarmed black teenager. But, for one family, those turbulent days have led to much quieter nights. How are you . Good. Reporter Jennifer Cummings moved in june into this governmentsubsidized apartment in the upscale st. Louis suburb of chesterfield, with her daughters, simone and samara. And hows your sleeping over here at night . The tidy rental is a calm, safe haven for the working single mother, closer to her job and better schools for her kids. Its a world away from her Old Neighborhood near ferguson. They stole my childrens clothes, shoes, jewelry. Reporter during the four years she lived here, burglars broke in four times, including last thanksgiving. And both cummings brother and the father of her children were shot and killed nearby. I actually had someone drill nails in my door, just to prevent people from coming in on the on me and my girls, while we were sleeping. Reporter among the thorny questions a stateappointed panel known as the Ferguson Commission grappled with in the months following Michael Browns death was the regions long history of housing segregation. Black residents in st. Louis remain largely concentrated in poor and violent neighborhoods, often in substandard homes. Those conditions fuel depression, childhood asthma, diabetes and other health problems. One study, for example, found that one in three children who live in high poverty areas had elevated lead in their blood which can permanently affect their development. Dr. Craig pollack, a Public Health researcher at johns hopkins, says moving families to wealthier zip codes can improve their health, their education, even how long they live. For adults, we know that having the chance to move to an opportunity neighborhood, a low poverty neighborhood, is linked with having a lower chance of getting diabetes, as well as a lower chance of being obese. We also know that for kids that have the chance to move to opportunity neighborhoods at a young age, they tend to have higher incomes later on in life, and theyre also more likely to attend college. Reporter in st. Louis, reverend starsky wilson, a Ferguson Commission cochair, says it became clear the Housing Authority needed to intervene directly to allow black residents like Jennifer Cummings to overcome historical barriers designed to keep them out of white suburbs. If we know that housing is the cornerstone for the building of wealth, and that wealth and health are connected, then weve got to say that these things that have been orchestrated around community development, or the lack thereof, have absolutely decimated the health of black and brown communities. Reporter amid continued protests in st. Louis earlier this yer, the socalled housing mobility program, paid for with federal dollars, began moving the first families who volunteered. This may be a new effort here in the st. Louis region to help struggling families change what can feel like preordained outcomes for their lives. But its an approach thats already shown some success in other racially segregated cities, like baltimore, dallas and chicago. The weather couldnt be worse, but i appreciate you making the trek out here. Reporter on a blustery day in a Public Housing complex south of chicago, an overflow crowd has come to learn how to sign up for a Housing Voucher Program from counselor nick mathiowdis. All of you guys have expressed interest in moving to a better neighborhood. Whats important to you in your next community . Reporter it had long been the case that federal rental subsidies used by some two million u. S. Households didnt take into account the higher rents needed to live in more affluent neighborhoods. That meant poor families stayed put. In 2016, president obama ordered the nations largest cities to raise rental subsidies for voucher holders who wanted to move into socalled areas of opportunity, zip codes with low crime, high employment rates and excellent schools. President trump has since rolled back the mandatory rule, but cook county and the city of chicago are doing it anyway, in large part because of the Promising Health effects. It shouldnt come as a surprise, if you are living in a lowcrime neighborhood, coming from a highcrime neighborhood, your stress levels are going to go down. You dont have to worry about your kids being bullied on the streets. You dont have to worry about your kids being recruited by a gang. Reporter these information sessions are the first step for people like tinisha jones. Im living in roseland. And ive been there for three years. Everybody on my block have gotten killed. Yeah, its time to get out. Got to go. Reporter but uprooting their families is a big decision. And counselors meet oneonone to consider practical concerns. So whats childcare look like for your twoyearold . So, i utilize family for the most part. Reporter families that do sign up, often move to chicagos affluent northwest suburbs, where a counselor helps each family settle in. How can we help . Reporter meet their new landlord. And find the rhythms of their new life. Its a new life in chicagos prosperous suburbs that seems almost unimaginable to tinitia jones, who wakes each morning on chicagos south side. All of illinois cant be like this. Reporter when you imagine moving to a place like Hoffman Estates or schaumburg, or one of these other areas, what do you imagine for your kids . What do you imagine your life will be like there . Oh, man. Freedom. Kids being able to be kids. Go outside and play, and, me not looking out the window or worrying about if theres going to be a driveby or, something dangerous to that effect. Reporter shanell washington is now resettled in one of chicagos upscale suburbs. Her son, timothy, once had severe asthma that was triggered by mold in the carpet in her old, shoddy apartment. There were other problems, too. She told her kids the gunshots they heard at night were fireworks. In their new neighborhood, washington and her kids can play outside. Not too fast, lilly reporter after living here for just a few months, timothys asthma has cleared up. He just had a Wellness Checkup with his doctor a couple weeks ago, actually, and hes, hes healthy reporter dr. Pollack says its vital to measure Health Effects like these in a more concrete way. His Research Team in baltimore is collecting air quality samples and cockroach and mouse allergens in the homes of families before and after they move. And then, testing whether asthmatic children who move to new neighborhoods have fewer complications. Weve heard from a lot of families that their asthma symptoms are doing better, that their health is improved. I really think its important to try to quantify this. I think this is especially important, as were thinking about ways to have investments in housing that lead to returns in health. Reporter but there are risks to moving families out of these neighborhoods. Im really stressed out, especially just sitting in traffic. Reporter back in st. Louis, Jennifer Cummings new apartment is closer to her job and her older daughters new school. But she hasnt been able to find affordable day care nearby for simone. So, she spends hours driving back and forth in gridlock traffic. While the Ferguson Commission recommended better Housing Options for lowincome families as one solution, some Community Activists like tia byrd, say plucking families out of poor neighborhoods can fuel urban decay. It adds to the mass vacancy that already happens because of, just general disinvestment, and, and lack of access to funding . And, when we do that, you, you sort of develop this narrative that you can throw away a community and you throw away a neighborhood. And thats not fair to the people that want to stay. Reporter Jennifer Cummings can understand that argument, but she says she would have done anything to give her children a better life than they were living just months ago. I want them to know that theres Something Else out there, better than what you see. You know . Than whats around you, you know . What youve been through. I just want, you know . Them to see and experience Something Better and so, id do it all again. Reporter even if that means waking before dawn to drive across town, and doing it all again tomorrow. For the pbs newshour and Kaiser Health news, im sarah varney. Woodruff it was quite a year in the world of science. The headlines and images were powerful. Among them, the rupture of enormous icebergs; scientists taking to the streets; the Solar Eclipse that captured the attention of the country; and new insights into the workings of the universe. William brangham sat down with miles obrien to get some perspective on it all, part of our weekly segment, the leading edge. Brangham so what would you say is the most importance science story of the year. A political story, sort of political science. Scientists concerned about the Trump Administration and its climate denial or climate skepticism took to the streets april 22, earth day. Thousands of them marched, concerned about the Climate Policy but also environmental policies, the administration. Also, frankly, concerned about their funding, and not long after the new administrator of the e. P. A. Came in, scott pruitt, a lot of evidence that they had reason to be concerned. There was a purge of scientists that received e. P. A. Funding, many of them associated with academic institutions, which made more room for corporatesponsored science advising the Environmental Protection agency. One of those purged scientists from the university of minnesota told me shes really concerned about the precedent. It almost feels like this is the first of a wave of potential actions that are going to further marginalize science advice and, therefore, marginalize the science being done at e. P. A. , marginalize the science being done in other Government Agencies and ultimately just there is going to be this very slow motion snowball effect. And then the big worry. In june, President Trump into the rose garden announcing that the u. S. , it is his decision for the u. S. To remove itself from the paris climate accords. This is a big deal, 170 nations committing to limit Greenhouse Gas production to about 2 degrees of warming above industrial levels. The United States is the only nation that is not a party to paris right now. Brangham and this pushback and rejection of Climate Science comes at a time when we seem to be getting more and more evidence of the severity of what Climate Change and Global Warming will do. The evidence is stacking up. Climate change is not something in future. Its happening now. The wildfires in california, the hurricane season. Epic, catastrophic in so many ways in. Puerto rico, theyre still trying to come back from that. Not only is there a lot of science linking the severity of these storms to Climate Change, they, are after all, fueled by warm water, but there is a lot of studies that indicate there is increased precipitation that comes along with these storms. Look what we saw in houston. I spoke with climate scientist at Columbia University about this. Even if the hurricane strengths stay the same, well probably see more rainfall in those hurricanes in the future because the upper oceans are going to be warmer, because the warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. That means even if the storm strength is the same, they will probably see a little more rainfall occurring during those powerful hurricanes. There was other evidence in april. There was a very significant coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier reef in australia that scientists said had clear cut signs Climate Change was a factor. Warm water affects the coral in very significant waze. In july one of the biggest icebergs ever seen was created, the larson sea ice shelf fell off apt accurate cay into the sea. Kelly brunt gave us perspective on it. Losing ice that represents roughly the state of rhode island in a month and a half far exceeded anybodys expectations of what could happen and the time scale it could happen in. Its, like, we have to rethink things. This is a wakeup call. Absolutely a wakeup call. Brangham the other thing scientists are raising is the threat of superbugs, bacteria that not only developed ability to fight back against our best antibiotics but some are wholly resistant to some of the antibiotics. Its a big problem. 23,000 americans die each year because there are no antibiotics to help them and very simple infections can kill you without antibiotics. A World Health Organization came out with a landmark study indicating this is a grave concern and there have to be incentives put in place to find new antibiotics. Brangham financial incentives. Its difficult because to have the way antibiotics are prescribed, not a lot of money in it for the big pharma companies, and scientists are running out of lowhanging fruit that makes it possible to make antibiotics. This is a concern we need to be watching. Brangham the eclipse, we loved your coverage of the wonderful event. Wish you could have been there. Brangham that was big news and the other big news of the heavens. Tell us about that. The eclipse was great. I have been covering science a long time. I once saw an annular eclipse which allows a ring of the sun to exist. I happened to be in the path of the totality of this full eclipse. I was prepared to be blase. Next time they come around, make sure you find yourself to one of these spots. Its a great experience in the sense it gives us understanding of how much we know about the space and astronomy and yet how insignificant we are in some ways. Theres a certain dichotomy there. Maybe were not so alone. In february the european southern observatory found the trap is sirnlings has seven planets around it, has a lot of indications they might be earth like. Lets listen to one of the scientists. In this illustration, three of these planets marked in green are in the habitable zone where liquid water can pool on the surface. With the right atmospheric conditions, there could be water on any of these planets. As you know, william, on this planet, where you find liquid water, you always find life. That is a tantalizing clue. Scientists havent figured that one out yet. Now for the big scientific, purely scientific event of the year, you have to look at the collision of two neutron stars that was recorded in two novel ways, capturing their Gravitational Waves as well as traditional astronomy. Scientists had not witnessed up with of those collisions of these very dense neutron stars. Why is that significant . Understanding it using both Gravitational Waves and traditional light astronomy gave them a way of further calibrate ago lot of what einstein first told us about the expansion to have the universe. They also theorize that these collisions are what created a lot of the heavy elements including gold and platinum, for example. Scientists estimated this collision generated more than an okaoctillian dollars worth of g, one with 27 zeros, the problem is its about 130 million light years away, so the prospecting prospects, if you will, are not so great. Scientists, however, that are responsible for this are on odds on favorite down the road to win a nobel prize, william. Brangham miles obrien, fascinating stuff. Thank you very much. Youre welcome. Woodruff finally tonight, a small musical that has become a hit of this broadway season, an early favorite for the tony awards, and based on some unusual source material. Jeffrey brown has the story. Brown when the members of the alexandria, egypt ceremonial band arrive in israel for a performance, it was immediately clear something is wrong. They were expected in the city of petah tikva with a p. Thats petah tikva with a p brown but through a mistranslation, have come to the sleepy desert town of bet hatikva, with a b. Where dina, owner of the one tiny cafe, lets them know theres not a lot going on. Welcome to nowhere brown the new musical the bands visit, set in 1996, is about missed opportunities. Crossed signals. Little and big things, like love, that do and, more often, dont happen. And its connecting with audiences and critics alike. The New York Times called it a musical for grownups. At sardis restaurant in times square, we talked with members of the production team, including actress katrina lenk, who stars as dina. I think its about loneliness, and our choice to remain lonely or to not be lonely when an opportunity comes around. Its about taking little risks. And its also about how music, and art, are bigger connectors than just language alone. Brown the story unfolds in one night, as the hapless band, looking, as one character says, like sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band, gets stuck in town, and the equally hapless locals take them into their homes and lives. Brown without a shared language, communication is in broken english. And beautiful music. Its based on a 2007 film, without music, of the same name, that writer itamar moses adapted to the stage. Absolutely everything that happens is just a very, very gentle natural outcropping of that very basic situation. And yet by the end of the movie, you feel like something really important, and sort of life changing has happened for these people. So i thought that was really sort of profound and interesting, and i thought it would be cool to see if you could preserve that in a different form. Brown turning the story into a musical, and deciding when a song is best for capturing a moment, fell to composer david yazbek. A song in a musical can serve a lot of different purposes, and if youre adapting a movie, sometimes the song is like a closeup in a movie. You might go close up on someones face and the picture speaks a thousand words. Music does the same thing. A song can also just be a way of going much deeper into a character, or a relationship, and thats the other thing that we were exploring in this. Brown the relationship that could happen is between dina and tewfik, the straightlaced but deeply humane leader of the egyptian band, played by tony shalhoub. Brown in the shows signature ballad, titled omar sharif, katrina lenk as dina sings of how much she loved egyptian movies and music as a young israeli girl. Im just overjoyed that i get to sing such a beautiful song, and that people do seem to be responding to it in a way that they love it, maybe, as much as i do. And thats a really exciting, special experience to have. Brown several cast members and writers visited israel before the production, to see the real town on which the story is based. They knew that a tale of israelis and egyptians comes with plenty of historical and political freight, and decided, as in the film, to focus on the smaller human scale within the larger drama. I wouldnt say that its accurate to say that the show is not political. I think its enormously political, but the argument its making is about the sort of manmade arbitrariness of politics, and that in the absence of those imaginary structures, people connect over all kinds of things. Brown one of the charms of the production directed by david cromer several members of the alexandria ceremonial band are actually in the theatrical band. Theyre musicians as well as actors. Including violinist george abud, who brings Something Else to the performance as an arabamerican from detroit, he hopes the music, the play and his presence in it makes a larger statement. Growing up, you dont have much to go with as a young arabic kid, and much to go with in seeing yourself represented in the performing arts. Thats why a lot of arabic kids dont become actors, because they dont think its something for them. And also, their families dont think of it as something for them. So i think if there were more stories being told, and they were being welcomed more into the theater by their stories being regularized, or their actors getting to be part of these shows, then the kids would be like, oh, thats another option for me. Its just a way to open up the world a little bit. Brown and just another way that makes the bands visit an unusual and welcome addition to broadway this season. For the pbs newshour, im Jeffrey Brown in new york. Woodruff 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 bnsf railway. 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 youre watching pbs. Gwen were the history detectives and were going to investigate some Untold Stories from americas past. Elyse this week did this beatup old boat play a vital role in the invasion of europe during world war ii . Tukufu are these fascinating photographs rare evidence of a victorian mailorder bride business . Wes and did this flag play a pivotal role in the campaign to abolish slavery in america . Watchin the detectives i get so angry when the teardrops start but he cant be wounded cause hes got no heart