Pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge ofou your future. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation forp public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Sreenivasan the u. S. And russia neared an agreement today that aims to reduce hostilities in syria. Word of the progress came after an hourslong meeting in geneva between secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. Kerry said the deal, if completed, will make the possibility of a lasting truce more likely. But he conceded there was more work to be done. In the next days, our experts will be meeting here in geneva to conclude the few remaining technical issues and to move forward in order to take the steps necessary to build the confidence to overcome the deep mistrust that does exist on all sides. Sreenivasan an earlier cessation of hostilities failedi after numerous regime and rebel violations. Meanwhile, in syria, one of the wars longest standoffs drew closer to ending. Hundreds of residents and fighters were allowed to evacuate the damascus suburb of daraya, which has been under government siege since 2012. Secretary kerry accused the syrian army of forcing them to surrender. A suicide truck bombing in southeast turkey killed at least 11 Police Officers today. Another 78 people were wounded. It happened at a checkpoint jusc steps from a Police Station near the syrian border. Kurdish militants claimed responsibility. Its the latest in a string of attacks targeting the countrys police and military. The Philippine Government has agreed to an indefinite cease fire with communist rebels. Its aimed at ending one of asias longestrunning insurgencies a conflict thats killed at least 40,000 peopleki since the 1960s. The deal was the culmination of peace talks in oslo, norway. It includes a timetable for discussions about political, economic and constitutional reforms. A government representative hailed the agreement. This is an historic and unprecedented event. Many of us have been here doing this before, but i think were looking at a very opportune opportunity that we can finish off what we have started a long time ago. Sreenivasan representativesa from both sides agreed to returu to oslo in october for further negotiations. Frances Top Administrative Court overturned a controversial ban on the socalled burkini in one resort town today. The bodycovering swimsuit worn by muslim women has sparked a fierce debate in france. Martin geissler of independent Television News has our report from paris. Reporter these were the pictures that divided france and shocked the world beyond. A muslim woman forced by a group of armed policemen to remove her clothing on a public beach. The burkini was banned by more than a dozen french towns for being overtly religious. The law had wide public support, but activists took it to the highest court in paris today. Judges ruled it should be suspended. Its against the civile freedom of religion, and now the decision is final. Fi reporter as absurd as this all may seem, its important ton remember the context. France has suffered a series of terror attacks over recent months, and the country feels embattled and angry. I support without any hesitation the mayors ban of the burkini to preserve public order. I ask for a law forbidding it on the entire territory of the republic. Reporter there was little sign of stress at the manmade beach today. That didnt stop the debate. We view victims of terror in this country and the burkini is a clear symbol of islam. Thats why it offends people. We live in a free country so they do what they want. If they want to wear something its no problem. Yes. Reporter these are extreme times in france and many believe they require extreme measures. The republics founding values, freedom, equality and brotherhood, are being testedst like never before. R as this country debates the best way forward, its being forced to ask difficult questions of itself. Sreenivasan the human righte lawyer fighting the ban said that while todays ruling applied to only one town, it should set a legal precedent throughout the country. Back in this country the food and Drug Administration wantsdm all u. S. Blood banks to start screening for the zika virus. That requirement had previously been limited to areas with active zika transmission like puerto rico, and parts of florida. Last month, the f. D. A. Ordereda. Facilities in miami and Fort Lauderdale to stop taking blood donations, until zika screening could begin. Republican donald trumpsp campaign is taking fresh heat over its new c. E. O. , stephen bannon. The guardian reported bannon registered to vote in the swing state of florida using theof address of a vacant home a move that would violate election laws. A trump spokesman insisted hes moved elsewhere in florida. Meanwhile, various news outlets revealed bannon was charged with Domestic Violence in 1996. He allegedly grabbed his then wifes neck and wrist. The case was dismissed when she did not testify. Well have more on the Campaign Later in the program. The federal government will give amtrak a nearly 2. 5 billion b loan the largest in the history of the transportation department. It will be used for improvements on the busy northeast corridor, which goes from d. C. , through new york, to boston. Amtrak will buy new trains, upgrade tracks, and improvero platforms. President obama created the Worlds Largest marine protected area today. The Marine National monument is located off the coast of hiso native hawaii. It will now quadruple in size, to span nearly 600,000 square miles. The sanctuary will protect more than 7,000 different species, including sea turtles and whales. White House Press Secretary josh earnest explained why the president felt it was time to act. There is a role for congress to play in terms of setting aside certain territory, lands and waters in the United States for future preservation. But we havent seen a lot of congressional activity of any sort really over the last few t years. And it has turned the president s attention to more robust use of executive action. Sreenivasan hawaiis National Marine monument was originally created a decade ago, under president george w. Bush. Federal reserve chair janet yellen said the case for raisinl u. S. Interest rates has gotten stronger in recent months. She spoke at an International Gathering of central bankers in jackson hole, wyoming. But yellen gave no indication of when the fed might raise rates. That led to choppy trading onn wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 53 points to close at 18,396. The nasdaq rose six and the s p 500 fell three. For the week all three indexes lost a fraction of a percent. Still to come on the newshour the shrinking window for finding survivors of italys devastating earthquake, voters lay bare their hopes and frustrations in the president ial election, mark shields and david brooks on this weeks news, how robots couldot stop the invasive lionfish, and much more. Sreenivasan three days after a powerful earthquake hit central italy, the death toll has climbed higher to 281. Rescue operations have been called off in some parts as hopes of finding survivors fades. For an on the ground report, we turn to special correspondent Christopher Livesay in amitrice. I spoke with him a short time ago. Christopher, thanks for joining us. The thing with earthquakes is its not just one quake, what are the aftershocks youre feeling . Everyoneck is on edge in the town of amtrice where im standing, but all through the region, they have been ripplingr throughout the original quake on wednesday through a few moments ago. The biggest one happened about 6 30 this morning, 4. 8 on the o Richter Scale and sent structures in amtrice toppling to the ground. The last time i spoke to you, you might recall a Church Standing mind we. We had to move to a different location because the church was deemed unstable and the bell tower could have toppled at any moment. Thats been the case for someme roads leading into this town. Also for a bridge that was essential pipeline. As i was trying to get back into thei city, i couldnt get past a certain road because they were demolishing a hospital that was on the brink of collapse, so thats making the rescue effort very difficult, but rescuers,r when you talk to them, they will tell you that, at this point,po three days into their efforts, theyre really not counting on finding anyone alive. Sreenivasan how significant is it if the infrastructure starts to crumble or deemed too unsafe to travel, that resources like people, goods and services are getting through those roads and bridgesg well, you would be surprised by the breadth of people who have come out to lend a hand. You hear accents from all over italy, people from as far north of milan and venice through theo tip of the toe of the italian boot, shall we say. Some come from further afield. I spoke to a group of israelis who are lending trauma help. A more surprising group, 50 volunteers, all of them migrants from africa. Af when i asked them why they were doing this, they said, look, were here to help in the same way italy helped us in our time of need, we want to help as well. Sreenivasan given theen scale of all the buildings that have collapsed, who is responsible for rebuilding or the newer buildings making sure they didnt fall in this earthquake . A reckoning is taking place now, a lieutenant of soul searching and some finishing poynting. Yn a couple of probes have been opened into some structures that toppled down that some people believe shouldnt have. E. One in particular in the town close to here. That church tower came tumbling to the ground, ten years after an expensive restoration process took place on this church that should have made it earthquakeproof. That steeple that came crashingn down killed a family of four people, and, so, now, people are trying to find out whos responsible for that or if its just mother nature. E another example was a school in this town that came crashing down. It was a public building that, again, should have been built up to code and should have been retrofitted. No matter how old the buildings are, the question is can you make something earthquakeproof in a part of the country thats seen seismic activity since time in memorial. Sreenivasan Christopher Livesay, thanks for joining us. S thank you so much. Sreenivasan back in this country its been quite a week for political news. With allegations of racism from both president ial candidates, and calls to disband the philanthropic behemoth that isan the clinton foundation. In as the country watches all of this unfold, we take the temperature of the race. Our Judy Woodruff sat down this week with a group of six voters in northern virginia, one of the few competitive states thiset election year. Woodruff lets talk about the candidates. We have been through this pretty long,ca some would say tortured process of figuring out who the nominees were going to be, especially on the republican side. We started out with a big field of candidates. Its now winnowed down to donald trump. Alison, what do you think about donaldon trump . Early on, id say last august, i thought trump was going to be the nominee. He was drawing these crowds of ordinary citizens in. When he did his first virginiai rally in richmond in october, i drove all the way down there to the Richmond International raceway and it was like a huge pep laly or a rahrah revival. It got me involved in an emotional level in a way none of the other candidates i just listened to on television did and ion liked the fact he was a businessman. Bill lupinacci, what do you make of donald trump is someone who has business experience. I find him morally repub nant and have disavowed mye relationship with the Republican Party. I have done business with his companies who bought our software. The word on the street is get the money up front. Other vendors of his say get the money up front, so he pays us in credit cards when his companies have bought our software nothing personally. The thing he says in his ralliea to try to incite violence, to inflame people is sickening to me. I wont have anything to do with it anymore, so im havingha nothing to do with the Republican Party this year, as many other republicans who say they wont vote for him. Hi woodruff marissa, what doh you think . I have three youngth childre, im the t. P. A. President of an Elementary School of about 80000 kids. We have a sizable portion of english language learners and free lunch children from a lower socioeconomic status or group. Ou and it angers me when people say were wasting all these money on these children that are illegal. Theyre children. They want to be educated. They come here for a better life. How do we say, because you were not born here or because youe were some type of anchor baby or something derogatory along those lines, that you dont also deserve the same opportunities as every child thats born here . If those children coming here illegally had been born in the home countries they belong in,in they wouldnt be here anyway. Where do we draw the line . At some point were getting inundated. I grew up in appalachia. Ap there are very poor children there that were part of the fref Lunch Program and needed head start and theyre being ignored. Its like bless the illegal alien children, and im not taking it out on the children, but their parents are plotting to bring them here with the idea that, oh, no, were not going to want to send them back. Ba woodruff let me bring in farah here. You have beenhe hearing then conversation about whether immigrants and Illegal Immigrants are hurting this country. What do you think, as it connects to donald trump . There are drugs, there are immigration problems, ther thers unemployment long before this perception of immigrant wave. Its been a rather long time. Its the history of our nation,i the history of our great nation, and its what has brought us to where we are. So i think, when we look at trump or anyat other candidate,e need to think of how we can address those problems and not just say, we have to fight this and not do anything about it, essentially. Woodruff cory, what about that . Donald trump is very well educated, and a lot of his language thats being spun into being divisive, i dont thinkvi you will see these extreme policies come out of him, but what you will see is him using Effective Communication tacticsn that any effective leader does and utilizes to actually bring forth the issues so that we can bring policy into legislation. E woodruff marissa, could that be an explanation, that hes doing this to shock people and to get the conversation going, and that hes not going to do this hes relying on theatrics and abusing people on twitter. Tw i mean, i work for a large corporation. The leaders in my corporation would never act the way in which hes acting on such a large stage with, him potentially being the leader of our countryo i mean, it just would never happen. So, i mean, i think if you study, though, any effective communicator leadership, selfdevelopment professional, they all use these tactics in interventions, they use these tactics in woodruff what kind of tactics are you referring to . Powerful rhetoric, offensive rhetoric, things that get peoples attention and allow yol to say, wait a minute, i have to think about this, what are my values . How do they affect the larger masses of people outside myself and inside my circle . Ci woodruff tom, what about that . Could this just be a tactic to get people talking . I mean, the tactic i would call bullying. Hes really picking on people who are vulnerable. And the word repugnant wasnt used to describe him, and i dont find any positive values in the guy. We talk about his business knowledge, 650 million in debt, hes had how many bankruptcies . Thats not the way you run a successful business. I dont knowcc whats going to happen in the end, but i certainly dont want that leadership in the white house. Ip woodruff alison. Okay, if you want the talk about divisiveness, i would point towo the Obama Administration and, hence,on hillary as a subsequent administration. I did not vote for her in 2008, but i thought maybe its a good thing we have an africanamerican president and will bring racial harmony and its time and, you know, i didnt care for him, but all hes done is pretty much sneer and look down and feel like americans who have been here for a long time like myself and my family are the enemy. En woodruff i can see this is clearly an election thats bringing out strong emotions and reactions. Were confronted with two main party choices, donald trump and Hillary Clinton and youve decided to vote for clinton. Yes. Woodruff why . It was probably because i didnt like trump. Tr i think if there were other republican candidates that were maybe a little more moderate, then i could be swayed to vote the other side. Si woodruff to vote against to vote republican, which i had never done in the past. Pa woodruff what is it about clinton, you sound hesitant . Its not necessarily im hesitant. I think i just dont know enough. I think were talking about, you know, how much time have you spent listening to the rhetoric or the information coming out on tv . I work. I i have three young children, so a lot of my information doesnto come from the news. It comes from what i see on the internet. Woodruff tom, what about you, as you look at the choices . Iferl like the economic mess that were a part of now goes way back and both parties bear equal responsibility. Sp the losers have been the lower half or, at this point, maybe