On the difference in how it impacts our lowerincome neighbors as opposed to our middle ifill all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Bnsf. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Support also comes from Carnegie Corporation of new york. A foundation created to do what Andrew Carnegie called real and permanent good. Celebrating 100 years of philanthropy at carnegie. 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. Ifill tragedy struck the muslim world today, marring the end of the annual pilgrimage to mecca, in saudi arabia. At least 719 people were killed when worshippers panicked and stampeded. More than 860 others were hurt. Ifill it was a scene of horror in a place of holiness. Cell phone video captured the gruesome aftermath, with bodies littering the streets. Saudi officials said the stampede started when two waves of pilgrims collided. translated the accident, as most know, was a stampede caused by overcrowding and also caused by some of the pilgrims not following the movement instructions of the security and the haj ministry. However, this is gods will. Ifill the disaster unfolded in mina, a valley about three miles outside mecca. Separate surges of people met at an intersection with street 204, a main road that leads through thousands of tents to al jamarat. There, the faithful perform the symbolic stoning of the devil, a ritual of throwing pebbles at columns. But on this day, many never got there. Instead, ambulances and rescue crews struggled desperately to get the injured through packed streets, to nearby hospitals. Others were taken by helicopter. Survivors recalled the sheer terror of being engulfed. translated we were coming back from the jamarat and on the way back, i met my husband, and he was going to the jamarat. They, the pilgrims, began pushing each other and they pushed people to the ground. I was about to die. Ifill it was the second major disaster of this years hajj season. Less than two weeks ago, high winds sent a giant construction crane crashing into meccas grand mosque. It killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 400. The twin tragedies raised new questions about Safety Measures the saudis have implemented to prevent a repeat of past disasters. The deadliest came in 1990, when at least 1,400 pilgrims died during a stampede in a pedestrian tunnel. Now, Saudi King Salman has ordered an investigation into what caused todays stampede. Ifill aya batrawy is covering the story for the associated press. I spoke to her from saudi arabia a few minutes ago. Aya batrawy, thank you for joining us. We know youre there in saudi arabia despite the horrific tragedy today. One of the things we watched seeing this from a distance, we wonder is how did it get so out of control . Thats what the survivors i spoke to also are questioning, how this could happen in 2015 at a time when the saudi government has been hosting the annual hajj pilgramage for decades now. What the survivors told me is there was a large crowd heading toward the facility behind me to perform one of the final rights of hajj when another crowd coming back from the facile intersected with them. At that point people started shoving and thats when people started tripping and falling over each other, falling over wheelchairs. People were suffocating, bodies were piling up. The streets turned into complete chaos and mayhem. And as we see today, over 700 people dead and the death toll is expected to rise. I was there at the scene ten hours after this happened, and there were still bodies lying on the ground. There were still helicopters trying over trying to ferry the wounded. There were still bodies being picked up. I saw emergency lights being brought in which means clearly theyre going to be working through the night to try and figure out what happened as well as trying to get to people. Ifill as we have reported before, this is not the first time theres been this kind of stampede at the hajj, and is this. Are there safety concerns that have been worked out in advance by authorities, designed to avoid just this outcome . Definitely authorities here spend billions of dollars every year to prepare for the hajj and to make the hajj as comfortable and safe as possible for t pilgrims. Theyre spending 60 billion to expand the grand mosque that houses the cube. Cubeshaped scava, a location people go for the hajj pilgrimage. There are 100,000 Security Forces deployed for safety and crowd management. There are 5,000 cameras set up everywhere to monitor people for the flow of the crowd. Its a logistical challenge, and so thats kind of the question now is how did this happen . Who allowed these two. What happened that these two crowds were able to intersect because normally what happens are there are roads that are just one way. So crowds dont end up clashing into one another, so there will be roads one way going one way and roads going another way, and that way pilgrims can avoid this kind of thing. Ifill you mentioned all of the renovations and the money being spent at the grand mosque. Yet there was an accident there also earlier this week where 100 people were killed and a crane collapsed. Do they know what happened there yet . Theres still an investigation into that crane collapse, but i spoke with survivors there. It was a horrific, horrific scene. It was very unexpected. People were praying, looking toward the caba. It was exactly almost two weeks ago today that it happened when a storm happened, a thunderstorm, and wind came out unexpectedly. One of the largest cranes around the mosque thats currently working on the expansion collapsed. So what authorities are saying is that wind was the cause, but theyre also saying that the giant construction company, the saudi bin laden group, which was the operator of the crane, was also partly faulted for not following operating procedures there. So obviously this is something, theres two accidents that have happened in the last two weeks, extremely devastating for the pilgrims here, but also i think for the king, whose legacy is tied to the pilgrimage, whose title as custodian of the mosque in reference to two holy sites, one of them being mecca, its something everyone is taking very seriously and everyone is planning to see how, you know, this can be avoided again. Ifill aya batrawy of the associated press, thank you for talking to us tonight. Thank you. Woodruff in other news. European leaders are promising new efforts to process thousands of refugees and migrants reaching greece and italy. The agreement early today also includes more than a billion dollars in aid for those still in refugee camps in the middle east. Meanwhile, the crisis stoked new tensions along serbias border with croatia. Long lines of cargo trucks backed up as the rival nations cut off imports and blocked traffic in a war of words over the flow of refugees. translated all that the serbian Prime Minister has to do is to stop this flow of migrants. 9,000 in one day we cannot make 50 refugee camps at the border. What we have done so far is good, and we can cope with 4,0005,000 a day. But above that, no. translated croatia is behaving irresponsibly. By imposing this economic aggression, they are hurting the economy of both countries. Serbia is forced to introduce counter measures. We are not happy about it, but we have to protect our state and our sovereignty. Woodruff more than 40,000 migrants have entered croatia from serbia over the last nine days. Ifill the president of china arrived in washington this evening for a highly anticipated state visit. Xi jinpings plane touched down at joint base andrews, after flying crosscountry from seattle. He was greeted by Vice President and mrs. Biden. Xi has a private dinner with president obama tonight. Hell be formally welcomed tomorrow. Woodruff mr. Obama will meet with russian president Vladimir Putin on monday, in new york, for the first time in nearly a year. The kremlin said today the focus will be syria, and coordinating the fight there against Islamic State forces. But white house spokesman josh earnest charged again that russias military buildup will do far more harm than good. President obama will make it clear once again that russia doubling down on their support for the assad regime is a losing bet. The likely consequence of them doing so is to only deepen and expand the ongoing crisis in that country that doesnt serve the interests of either the russian people or the american people. Woodruff earnest said russias involvement in ukraine will be president obamas top item. The talks will follow putins address to the u. N. General assembly. Ifill in yemen, an Islamic State affiliate claimed an attack that killed 25 muslims at prayer today. The suicide bombing wrecked a mosque in sanaa, as worshippers observed the holiday of eid aladha. The bomber set off a smaller explosion, then blew himself up as people ran for the exits. Woodruff the government of colombia and that countrys Largest Rebel Group now say their longrunning conflict will end in the next six months. The two sides announced the deal last night in havana, cuba, where peace talks took place. A final agreement would end more than 50 years of fighting. The United States welcomed the deal, but colombias conservative political opposition condemned it. Woodruff the scandal over volkswagen cheating on emissions tests is expanding again. In berlin today, germanys transport minister confirmed that rigged v. W. s expanded beyond the u. S. translated we were informed by volkswagen that there are vehicles with 1. 6 liter and two liter diesel engines in europe affected by the manipulations. That is why we will continue to work intensely together with volkswagen in order to determine what cars exactly are involved. Woodruff 11 million volkswagen cars worldwide were fitted with the software responsible for the emissions cheating. Ifill back in this country, the senate balked at Defunding Planned Parenthood as the price of preventing a government shutdown. Republican conservatives have pushed that plan. But they once again came up short of the 60 votes needed to advance a bill, but only after the two parties traded broadsides. By inserting into this debate a meaningless, losing attack on women as just a waste of time, they, the republicans, have decided once again to place partisan, ideological agendas over the well being of the nation. Theres no reason to continue blocking every attempt to fund the government, or to protect political allies that are mired in scandal. So im calling on colleagues across the aisle to join us in standing against a shutdown. Im calling on them to join us in standing up for Womens Health instead. Woodruff Republican Senate leader Mitch Mcconnell has said he opposes shutting the government. Hes now expected to offer a so called clean bill to Fund Operations through december 11th. Its unclear whether House Republicans will go along. Ifill the Worlds Largest maker of construction equipment, caterpillar, will cut as many as 10,000 jobs through 2018. The announcement today is the latest sign of a worldwide slowdown in mining and energy exploration. And, that, in turn, held wall street back. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 80 points to close back near 16,200. The nasdaq fell 18 points. And the s p 500 dropped six. Ifill still to come on the newshour pope francis before congress. A look at the message hes delivered so far on his visit. And, making sense of the uneven recovery in americas Housing Market. Woodruff the pope wrapped up his historic trip to washington d. C. Today. And it started with an address to congress, one that was notable for his call to action on economic, political and social issues. William brangam begins our coverage. Mr speaker, the pope of the holy see brangham it was the first time those words have ever been heard in the United States congress. Pope francis entered to a standing ovation from the house and senate, and members of the cabinet. I am most grateful for your invitation to address this joint session of congress in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Brangham speaking slowly in english the pontiff used the occasion to call for action on several issues from poverty to immigration. His appeal encompassed the thousands of refugees arriving in europe, as well as Latin Americans coming to this country. We must not be taken aback by their numbers but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best as we can to their situation. Brangham the pope also urged lawmakers to address climate change, and he called for the global abolition of the Death Penalty. Brangham democrats applauded all of those things, while republicans especially cheered when francis alluded to the churchs longtime stance against abortion. Brangham the pope did not directly address Congress Current fight over funding for planned parenthood, but he did ask congress to put aside its partisan divisions. Brangham afterward, as the pope moved outside, members of both parties were left to contemplate his message. He said to us that we have to do more than just possessing space translated to me you have to come here and stand up for the issues. You have to take a position and you have to make sure that you represent all the people and to keep that in mind. I think people appreciated the fact that he recognized the difference of opinion here about how we should go forward and he was just saying we should go forward and there are ways to do it that wont affect people put people out of work and i think we appreciated that. Brangham as for francis, there was more cheering in store outside the west front of the capitol, where thousands had gathered, hoping for a glimpse of the pope. There, he reverted to his native spanish, delivering a prayer for the children in the joyful crowd below. This person that we read stories about and who is inspiring so many people catholics and noncatholics, to see him in person was incredible. He radiates happiness. He radiates happiness. He radiates peace which i think is something we all need right now. Brangham later, the pope traveled to st. Patricks Parish Church where he delivered a prayer and met with some of washingtons homeless. That was his last event in the nations capital. After a short break, he flew on to new york, the next stop on his sixday u. S. Tour. For the pbs newshour, im William Brangham in washington woodruff our political director Lisa Desjardins was in the crowd on the west front of the capitol for the popes speech and joins us now. So lisa, it was a call to action in what the pope had to say. We just heard both republicans and democrats saying they liked different parts of what he had to say. Youve been on the hill talking to people. What have you heard . You know, what i expected was to hear republicans say, oh, this is a liberal pope, we agree with him on some things, not on others, but what i heard instead surprised me today. Both parties heard a challenge from the pope, and republicans in particular, for whom i think the pope challenged perhaps on immigration and perhaps on climate change, democrats think so at least, republicans say they hold some of their conservative viewpoints on those issues, judy, they say especially on the environment that his tone indicated that he sees the United States as a leader, and especially a leader in technology, like renewable technology, and i think thats such a great example of what happened today or what might be happening from this speech. The popes words were so important and i think carefully chosen. He found perhaps areas where maybe republicans and democrats can find leadership room internationally, like on the environment. Woodruff so does that mean, whether its minds changing or agreement coming, he did talk about the polarization in congress and in the country. Yes. Woodruff do you think that means it may lead to something . I dont think positions will change on immigration. I dont think theyre going to change on say planned parenthood, abortion or the Death Penalty, but i do see a little room from the pope on the issue of climate and environment, and talking to republicans today, they say perhaps even if they dont change say cap and trade, theyre not suddenly all going to be for Something Like that that they see as a problem, but perhaps there will be a dialogue where theres more acknowledgment of a problem and a more careful look from those who dont see a problem. Note the pope did not use the term climate change. The republicans like that. That gives them room for dialogue on this subject and some say there could be a change on how they approach it. Woodruff what about beyond politics, whether we want to talk atmosphere or whatever word you want to use, did you sense, you know, listening to you and listening to what some of the members said, it sounds like they thought this was really Something Different happening, it wasnt clearly just another political speech. This is whats remarkable. Weve been around these members so often. They live in a strange world where they are the powerful, and they only are accountable every two or six years. But i think what happened today, judy, and even to the cynical reporter like me sometime, is the pope made them more human. I heard from dan coates, he said there was a sense of reverence in the chamber. Debbie stabenow said there was a sense of hue milltism i ahink he made these powerful people remember that they are human and that they have a human responsibility. Thats what i heard again and again from members who dont usually talk like that. Thats what was astounding. They also sort of got rid of that layer of scripte