PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 6, 2017

On the "NewsHour" tonight: One of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded takes
aim at Florida.
Hurricane Irma rips through the Caribbean with 185 miles-per-hour winds.
Also ahead: As Congress returns, President Trump sides with Democrats on the debt ceiling,
complicating a packed to-do list facing Republican leadership.
Plus: combating road rage with technology -- how a program in Pittsburgh is using artificial
intelligence to reduce traffic and fix potholes.
COURTNEY EHRLICHMAN, Traffic21: So, we have an opportunity here using these technologies
to make our system more efficient and to optimize it, rather than trying to figure out how to
build more.
HARI SREENIVASAN: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
HARI SREENIVASAN: Hurricane Irma is punishing Puerto Rico tonight, as it takes aim at the
U.S. mainland.
Sustained winds are still blowing at a record 185 miles an hour, with gusts up to 225 miles
an hour.
One forecaster watching the assault today said this thing is a buzz saw.
The monster storm came in the night to the outermost islands of the Northeastern Caribbean.
Heavy rain and howling wind slammed Antigua and Barbuda, cutting off communications and
doing untold damage.
Officials on Barbuda confirmed one death.
The hurricane raced on to the French island of Saint Martin, ripping the roofs off homes
and triggering heavy flooding.
By mid-afternoon, hurricane trackers found the eye of the storm roaring over the U.S.
Virgin Islands; 185-mile-an-hour winds raged as we reached the territory's Lieutenant Governor
Osbert Potter by phone.
LT.
GOV.
OSBERT POTTER, U.S. Virgin Islands: The light posts, power poles, they are swaying.
The trees are -- what branches have not broken, and what trees have not fallen are being stressed
a whole lot.
Cars in the parking lot are literally shaking.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Puerto Rico stood next in line.
Heavy rain and wind built throughout the day, and residents there scrambled to prepare for
an all-out disaster.
And the people of Haiti hoped to be spared the worst, after Hurricane Matthew devastated
the island nation last year.
BARTHELEMY JEFFLINE, Haiti Resident (through translator): I have no place to go.
I have to stay here.
I will live or die depending on how this storm hits us.
If God wants to help us, he will, but we have no place to go.
HARI SREENIVASAN: After passing Haiti, the National Hurricane Center projects Irma to
continue tracking northwest, hitting Eastern Cuba by Saturday morning.
At the same time, the storm will be turning more to the north, and could strike at Miami,
with 150 mile-an-hour winds, by early Sunday.
Irma's approach resurfaced memories of the devastating Andrew that struck South Florida
25 years ago.
Governor Rick Scott said he plans to activate 7,000 National Guard members by Friday.
GOV.
RICK SCOTT (R), Florida: The storm is bigger, faster and stronger than Hurricane Andrew.
Do not ignore evacuation orders.
Remember, we can rebuild your home, but we cannot rebuild your life.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez joined the appeal to heed the
warnings, and soon.
CARLOS GIMENEZ, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida: We don't want you to be caught in
a hurricane in your car.
That's the worst thing you can do.
So, if you are planning to do so and leaving by car, please do so as soon as you can.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Stores and homes in the Florida Keys boarded up, as people left under
mandatory evacuation orders.
WOMAN: I have been through George, been through Andrew, been through Wilma, but I'm not staying
for Irma.
No, not happening.
HARI SREENIVASAN: And heavy traffic was already slowing highways along Florida's Atlantic
Coast, with stores struggling to keep shelves stocked.
WOMAN: They only let you get two waters, and the line is around the block.
This is the third place I came to today.
This is the first one I got any water at.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Meanwhile, two more storms are forming.
Katia, in the Gulf of Mexico, could strike Veracruz this week.
And Jose, in the open Atlantic, is tracking far behind Irma.
Neither of those storms poses an immediate risk to the U.S. mainland.
Irma, on the other hand has taken dangerous aim at Florida, but exactly where it lands,
and how bad, is uncertain.
Meteorologists are tracking its path closely, in an already record-breaking hurricane season.
We check in again tonight with Ed Rappaport, the acting director of the National Hurricane
Center.
He's in Miami.
Ed, we had you on the program last night.
You have more information now than you did then.
Where do we go from here?
What do we know about where the storm is headed?
ED RAPPAPORT, Acting Director, National Hurricane Center: Well, last night, we talked about
how the hurricane was moving into the Caribbean, and then in the longer range, was going to
be taking aim at the Florida Peninsula, and that's still the forecast.
We're just one day closer to whatever we have for eventuality.
At this point, the hurricane is just north of Puerto Rico.
And the center is forecast to move by Saturday to just north of Cuba and then turn towards
the north.
And Where that turn occurs is what's really critical, because Florida is along one of
those lines right up the middle.
And if we get a hurricane at the strength that we're forecasting, Category 4, for Irma
coming along this track, then we will have impacts that will be perhaps the most significant,
certainly for Florida, since Hurricane Andrew.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Speaking of going back in history, this almost seems like the same conditions
back 11 years ago, when we had Katrina, Rita, and Wilma all in a row.
What's happening in this ocean that's making this possible?
ED RAPPAPORT: We're right at the peak of hurricane season, so we do see often strong hurricanes
this time of year, even multiple storms.
What's unfortunate this year is that these last couple of hurricanes have been not only
very strong, but they have taken tracks that have brought them to land.
Often, they stay offshore, but, in this case, that's not occurring.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Why that happening this time around?
Is there a difference in the weather patterns on why it's coming closer to the Eastern Seaboard?
ED RAPPAPORT: That's right.
The storms that form out over the Eastern Atlantic all tend to move towards the west-northwest.
But at some point in their lifetime, they typically turn to the north.
Many of them do that way off the U.S. East Coast.
Some of them make it all the way into the Gulf of Mexico, as did Harvey.
In this case, we have got something in between.
And it just depends on when these storms form relative to what's going on elsewhere in the
atmosphere.
HARI SREENIVASAN: And how much does the warmer temperature of the water factor in to how
much strength these hurricanes have?
ED RAPPAPORT: The hurricanes draw their intensity, draw their strength from the warm waters.
And, again, we're at the peak of hurricane season, and what that also means is we're
at the peak in terms of how warm the waters get during the season.
And it just so happens that the hurricane is passing over what is nearly the warmest
waters available to it.
And that's why we're seeing these record to near-record intensities.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Finally, just looking at that map behind you there, it almost seems
that the worst thing that could happen to Cuba is the best thing that could happen to
Florida, in that these storms still wiggle back and forth.
Is there a chance that this could hit land somewhere else than the United States?
ED RAPPAPORT: There is a chance that it could move over the north coast of Cuba, and, if
it did, you're right, it would be very destructive for Cuba.
It may well then weaken the storm a bit, at least temporarily.
But, still, it would be a major hurricane approaching the United States, and that's
what we're most concerned about now.
HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Ed Rappaport, thanks so much.
ED RAPPAPORT: Thank you.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Irma is about to hit less than two weeks since Harvey struck Texas.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is leading the federal response and working
with states on both fronts.
I spoke with the acting deputy administrator, Kathleen Fox, this afternoon and began by
asking if FEMA can mobilize enough resources again so quickly.
KATHLEEN FOX, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency: We have
a number of resources in place.
We have got about 700 personnel on the ground in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in Puerto Rico,
and in Florida, and then personnel all along the Eastern Seaboard to be prepared to respond
to any event that may occur.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Is that enough people, considering that Governor Rick Scott has already mobilized
all the National Guard that he can in the state?
KATHLEEN FOX: It depends on what happens.
I mean, you know, as the federal government, this is what we plan for and what we prepare
for.
So we're prepared to mobilize more folks, should we need them.
HARI SREENIVASAN: And what kind of resources, in terms of housing or relocation or shelters?
I know you're working with the people that are already in these states.
But what can the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico expect, considering
the storm is going right through them right now?
KATHLEEN FOX: Yes, the damages could be certainly severe in those places.
And so we are mobilizing search-and-rescue assets, and working with the commonwealth,
the territories, and the states to support them in whatever they need.
So we have set out mass care work with the American Red Cross and again search-and-rescue
assets, food, water, other commodities, sort of the basic essentials.
And then we will be there to provide recovery support, should they need it as well.
HARI SREENIVASAN: What are you worried most about this storm?
In the case of Harvey, it was the rain that lasted days and days after the fact.
This seems to be incredible winds like we haven't experienced before.
KATHLEEN FOX: This is an incredibly powerful storm.
I mean, the National Weather Service has been calling it potentially catastrophic, so one
of the most powerful storms in the Atlantic.
So the -- you know, the results could be really devastating for folks.
And what we're asking people to do is take a few steps to get ready.
You can go to ready.gov for information about how to prepare, you know, having three days
of food, water, emergency supplies like medicines or other things that you and your pets may
need.
And, also, if you download the FEMA app, we have got checklists there, and then that gives
you access to alerts from the National Weather Service, as well as other emergency information,
such as where shelters might end up being located in your area.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Now, unfortunately, this is not the only crisis that you're having
to deal with.
You have also got Harvey.
How are the recovery efforts there going?
KATHLEEN FOX: The recovery efforts are going well.
I mean, we're providing tremendous support.
We have got thousands of people on the ground in support of the state of Texas, working
to make sure that we get the folks in Texas, the survivors of Harvey, what they need.
So that operation is certainly continuing, as we prepare for Irma and anything else that
may follow.
HARI SREENIVASAN: So, how long until people in the Houston area or in Texas can get relief?
I mean, is there any sort of a guideline or a thumbnail that they should know that, OK,
this is how long the process takes from the application to when I hear back?
KATHLEEN FOX: I mean, we ask folks to go to disasterassistance.gov, and to register, and
if they have flood insurance, to file their claim.
We're providing expedited assistance for flood insurance, and also for transitional housing,
so, putting, you know, thousands and thousands of people into hotels in the short-term.
We have got, you know, working with the Red Cross in the state of Texas on the shelters
that they have there.
And then we're also -- we have begun a huge effort to do planning for long-term housing.
What I would say is that, you know, the federal government and the state have some resources
to provide immediate relief.
But, you know, given the devastation that they faced in Texas, the recovery from the
storm will likely take years.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Finally, Ms. Fox, does FEMA have enough money to be able to do both of
these things at the same time?
KATHLEEN FOX: The administration is, you know, working with the Congress to make sure that
we are sufficiently funded, but that is not standing in the way of life-sustaining life
safety needs at this point.
HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Kathleen Fox, thanks so much for joining us.
KATHLEEN FOX: Thank you.
HARI SREENIVASAN: As we mentioned earlier, the Florida Keys could be at serious risk
from Hurricane Irma.
Residents there are being told to evacuate.
I spoke with the mayor of Key West, Craig Cates, about how preparations are going.
Sir, do you have all the resources you need to deal with what's coming your way?
CRAIG CATES, Mayor of Key West, Florida: Yes.
Obviously, if we get a direct hit, we'd need a lot more resources.
But, as it stands now, we're in very good shape.
HARI SREENIVASAN: How are the mandatory evacuations going?
CRAIG CATES: We started this morning with the tourists, and that's been going very well.
And we started this afternoon with the residents.
HARI SREENIVASAN: What are the lessons learned here?
You guys see these storms a lot more frequently than the rest of the country does.
What can you do differently?
CRAIG CATES: Well, we have been very fortunate.
We haven't been hit by a hurricane in 11 years, though we have had a couple of close calls
in the last few years.
But, before that, I think we were hit three times in one year.
So, yes, we're definitely prepared for it.
We know what -- the size of this hurricane and the strength of this hurricane is kind
of unprecedented for anybody here in the United States.
And so we're taking it very serious.
And the residents have taken it very serious.
And they are evacuating.
HARI SREENIVASAN: There's a good chance that nothing is going to withstand 180-mile-an-hour
winds if you get hit.
But what about those older homes?
CRAIG CATES: The real old homes were built very strong and withstood many hurricanes.
That's what we call Old Town part of Key West.
The newer homes, which were built in the late 50s, is -- they are much lower.
They have a tendency to flood in storms like this.
But there's not a lot of homes in Key West, old homes, built still on the water.
Very fortunate about that.
Anything on the water that's been damaged over the years has been rebuilt with much
stronger homes or hotels and stuff.
So, we don't have as much damage from the wind.
It's the water that comes up in certain areas that, you know, don't total out the properties,
but definitely does flood damage to them, which takes quite a bit of money to repair.
HARI SREENIVASAN: How many people are still left in Key West and the other areas?
CRAIG CATES: When I was out riding around today, obviously, we have no way to count
exactly how many.
But this is the least amount I have ever seen that stayed for a hurricane.
They took this very serious.
We have been preaching to them, telling them how bad it is.
And I think they -- coming off of Houston and seeing the impact that was done over there
and seeing all the issues that they have, I think people paid a lot closer attention
to this, and are definitely evacuating.
HARI SREENIVASAN: The other thing that concerns me is, where do they evacuate to?
If they go to South Florida, that's where the hurricane could land.
CRAIG CATES: No, you're absolutely right.
And we have concerns over that.
We were going to start running buses tomorrow to our shelter, which is in Miami at Florida
International University.
And that's where our shelter is.
But the hurricane may hit there.
So we're looking at that very closely, and the ones that haven't left, or left with a
car, they can go wherever they want.
They can move on to whatever area is safe.
But if we're going to bus these residents to a certain area, how are they going to get
out of there if they have to be evacuated?
So, that's something we will be discussing tonight and definitely through tomorrow at
the EOC.
HARI SREENIVASAN: What's the absolute deadline where you aren't going to be out there trying
to help someone who has chosen to stay?
You don't want to put your first-responders at risk either.
CRAIG CATES: Well, we're supposed to start getting storm-force winds very early Saturday
morning.
It's moved back a little bit as the hurricane has slowed down some, and it's turned up some.
So we are -- it looks like we're not going to get a direct hit like was possible before.
We're going to be on the better side of the storm, but we're still going to get a lot
of very strong winds and water.
So, that being said, starting Thursday Saturday morning, there will be no more evacuations,
because the upper part of Keys will actually be closer to the storm than we are.
So, that being said, you would be getting -- driving into worse weather.
So, whoever is there then will have to stay, and we will have to deal with the storm.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Mayor Craig Cates, thanks for joining us.
CRAIG CATES: OK, guys, thanks for having us.
HARI SREENIVASAN: In the day's other news: President Trump cut a deal with Democrats
to raise the national debt ceiling for three months.
That's far less than Republican leaders had wanted.
The deal combines the extension with Hurricane Harvey relief money.
It came as the death toll from Harvey rose to at least 70.
We will have a full report after the news summary.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia filed suit today over the president's decision
to end the DACA program.
It shields thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation.
The states argue the decision violates due process and is racially motivated.
Washington state's Democratic Governor Jay Inslee went further at a news conference in
Seattle.
GOV.
JAY INSLEE (D), Washington: It is a dark pall of cruelty and inhumanity which has covered
this land as a result of this president's willful, malicious bigotry, which has attempted
to stifle the dreams of some of the strongest, most ambitious, most vibrant, most brilliant
people in our blessed community.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Mr. Trump said today he has no second thoughts about dismantling DACA.
He also predicted Democrats and Republicans will work out a solution in the next six months.
On North Korea, the president spoke by phone with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping,
and urged him again to put more pressure on Pyongyang.
He spoke as he left the White House for a flight to North Dakota, and he said -- quote
-- "It was a very good phone call."
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: President Xi would like to do something.
We will see whether or not he can do it.
But we will not be putting up with what's happening in North Korea.
I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent.
He doesn't want to see what's happening there either.
HARI SREENIVASAN: The president said military action is not his first choice, but he left
open the possibility.
Chinese state TV said Xi insisted the crisis must be defused with diplomacy.
A U.N. commission reports it has strong evidence that Syria's government carried out a deadly
sarin gas attack in April.
The attack killed 83 people and sparked a U.S. air raid in reprisal, but the Syrians
denied responsibility.
The U.N. report relies on satellite images, video and interviews.
The report also accuses the Syrian regime of 20 chemical attacks in the last four years.
Myanmar is blaming a misinformation campaign for criticism of its crackdown on Rohingya
Muslims.
The leader of the mostly Buddhist country, Aung San Suu Kyi, said today that her government
protects all people.
Later, Suu Kyi's national security adviser challenged the Rohingya to come forward with
any accusations.
THAUNG TUN, Myanmar National Security Adviser: If there is wrongdoing, action will be taken
against the person who has caused the wrongdoing.
Nobody is above the law.
In Myanmar, nobody is above the law.
But you have to prove, you have to provide the proof that this was done.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Myanmar's army says it is responding to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.
Refugees tell of government troops destroying whole villages.
At least 146,000 have fled into neighboring Bangladesh since late August.
The U.N. warns that number could double.
The European Union's top court has thrown out a legal challenge from Hungary and Slovakia
to taking in asylum seekers.
The two nations have refused to abide by an E.U. plan to relocate some 160,000 refugees
now in Greece and Italy.
But the court today overruled the objections.
Back in this country, a major wildfire east of Portland, Oregon, has spread so much ash,
it's being likened to the Mount Saint Helens eruption in 1980.
The fire broke out Saturday in the scenic Columbia River Gorge.
By today, it had burned across at least 50 square miles.
Federal prosecutors began making their bribery case against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
In opening statements, they said the veteran Democrat sold his office for a lifestyle he
couldn't afford.
Earlier, outside the courthouse in Newark, Menendez denied accepting cash and lavish
gifts from a Florida eye doctor in exchange for favors.
SEN.
ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), New Jersey: I started my public career fighting corruption.
That's how I started.
And I have always acted in accordance with the law, and I believe, when all of the facts
are known, I will be vindicated.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Menendez is up for reelection in 2018.
If he's convicted and steps down, Republican Governor Chris Christie would name his replacement,
providing it happens before Christie leaves office in January.
And on Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 54 points to close at 21807.
The Nasdaq rose 17 points, and the S&P 500 was up seven.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": what's on the top of lawmakers' agenda as Congress return
to Capitol Hill; the nation's political divide on immigration; using technology to reduce
traffic jams in Pittsburgh; and much more.
By siding with Democrats today on the debt ceiling, President Trump has again complicated
an already packed legislative agenda for Republican leaders in Congress.
John Yang brings us up to speed.
JOHN YANG: Congress got right down to business this morning, overwhelmingly approving a $7.9
billion first round of Hurricane Harvey relief, with only three votes against it.
REP.
RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN (R), New Jersey: As one of the nation's greatest natural disasters
continues to unfold before our eyes, this Congress must ensure that our federal government
is able to meet the short- and long-term needs of disaster victims.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We have a lot to discuss.
JOHN YANG: But the path forward for Harvey aid may have been complicated by a deal President
Trump made at the White House with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Trump agreed to their proposal to tie the relief funds to funding the government
and increasing the nation's borrowing limit to avoid default until December 15.
But that could create a fiscal showdown just before Christmas and increase the Democrats'
leverage.
Flying to North Dakota aboard Air Force One, Mr. Trump praised the agreement.
DONALD TRUMP: We essentially came to a deal, and I think the deal will be very, very good.
We had a very, very cordial and professional meeting.
So, we all very much agree.
JOHN YANG: Not everybody.
Officials said objections came from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
They wanted a longer-term fix on the debt ceiling, through next year's midterm elections.
An hour before the Oval Office meeting, Ryan had flatly rejected the Democrats' idea.
REP.
PAUL RYAN (R-WI), Speaker of the House: I think that's ridiculous and disgraceful that
they want to play politics with the debt ceiling at this moment, when we have fellow citizens
in need, to respond to these hurricanes, so that we do not strand them.
JOHN YANG: Afterward, McConnell pointedly excluded himself from the agreement.
SEN.
MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Majority Leader: The president and the Senate and House Democratic
leadership agreed to a three-month continuing resolution and a debt ceiling into December.
JOHN YANG: It threatens a revolt from conservative Republicans.
Even moderate Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska tweeted: "The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump
deal is bad."
Meanwhile, a Senate committee began bipartisan hearings on another issue that divides Republicans.
SEN.
LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), Tennessee: This hearing is about taking one small step, a small step
on a big issue which has been locked in partisan stalemate for seven years: health insurance.
JOHN YANG: This afternoon, in North Dakota, Mr. Trump addressed another item he wants
Congress to tackle: taxes.
DONALD TRUMP: I had a great bipartisan meeting with Democrat and Republican leaders in Congress,
and I'm committed to working with both parties to deliver for our wonderful, wonderful citizens.
JOHN YANG: Mr. Trump reached across the aisle on taxes, taking Democratic North Dakota Senator
Heidi Heitkamp along on Air Force One.
But after this morning, it may be his own party he has to worry about.
We take a look at the political road ahead on Capitol Hill with Erica Werner, the congressional
correspondent for the Associated Press, who joins us from the Capitol.
Erica, welcome back.
ERICA WERNER, Associated Press: Thank you.
JOHN YANG: What are you hearing from Republicans up there about what happened at the White
House this morning?
ERICA WERNER: Well, it's just amazement.
I mean, they got completely rolled by the president of their own party, and were almost
speechless in the aftermath.
Paul Ryan, in fact, literally was speechless.
There was no statement from him whatsoever.
Mitch McConnell, as the audio you were playing earlier indicated, making clear, just admitting
outright that Trump had sided with the Democrats on this.
So, it's certainly not the outcome they wanted or expected from this meeting.
And then the next thing that happens is that Trump flies Heidi Heitkamp, who is a Democratic
senator in a vulnerable reelection race, to North Dakota with him.
So, Democrats are getting everything they could ask for from this president today, and
Republicans are getting nothing.
JOHN YANG: So when they add the debt ceiling and the short-term funding, the continuing
resolution, to the Harvey aid in the Senate, and it goes back to the House, what's going
to happen there?
ERICA WERNER: Well, I think that despite, again, the complaints that we're hearing from
conservatives, all the Democrats are on board.
And Paul Ryan, you know, is on this deal, much as he may not like it.
So, the expectation is that it will pass.
JOHN YANG: Does this complicate things for the Republicans moving forward on other issues?
ERICA WERNER: Well, definitely.
I mean, it's just curious, because one of the explanations coming out of the White House
for why they cut this deal is that they wanted to clear the decks for tax reform, so that
the next period of time can be devoted to that number one agenda item for the president.
But there is going to be so much ill will coming out of this deal among Republicans,
and then this looming deadline, which is now such a huge thing in December, it makes tax
reform all the harder.
So, that logic doesn't really compute for a lot of Republicans up here.
JOHN YANG: Erica Werner on Capitol Hill on a month, an interesting month that just got
a little more interesting.
ERICA WERNER: Very.
JOHN YANG: Thanks a lot.
ERICA WERNER: Thank you.
JOHN YANG: Well, one of the issues there Congress is dealing with is what to do about DACA.
We take a look at the story of one dreamer growing up in Salinas, California.
Jose Anzaldo is now in his first year of high school.
Filmmakers with our PBS colleagues "Independent Lens" have been following Jose since he was
in third grade.
Produced with USA Today, this is a follow-up to the film "East of Salinas," which is now
streaming on the "Independent Lens" Web site until September 30.
This clip starts with Jose in the eighth grade.
JOSE ANZALDO, Student: My name is Jose Anzaldo.
I'm in eighth grade, and I go to Washington Middle School.
I'm good at math.
When I grow up, I want to be an engineer.
Are you saying nine squared, plus six squared equals X-squared?
STUDENT: Can you try squaring them and them adding them, both?
JOSE ANZALDO: OK.
I like learning.
It can be fun sometimes.
STUDENT: Jose, what was your (INAUDIBLE) as you tried to solve this problem?
JOSE ANZALDO: I discovered that you could find it by just square-rooting it.
I was born in Mexico.
My brother and my sister, they were born here.
It's not like I'm supposed to feel like some other species.
It's just -- it's just I don't have papers.
That's all.
It's not a big deal.
It's not affecting me right now, but I know it will.
And I will have to be ready for it.
OSCAR RAMOS, Teacher: My name is Oscar Ramos.
I'm a second-grade teacher.
A few years ago, Jose Anzaldo was one of my students when I was teaching third grade.
Can you take away 8?
STUDENTS: No.
OSCAR RAMOS: No, you need to regroup.
He was a happy little guy, eager to learn.
Jose, you get the next one.
Jose reminded me a lot of myself as a child, growing up migrant.
JOSE ANZALDO: Mr. Ramos and I had a lot of things in common.
I remember we both said we liked math, and we both like soup.
It's delicious.
OSCAR RAMOS: Every year, I tell him that I was born in Mexico, and that I worked in the
fields at a very early age.
We used to get up really early, like at 4:00 in the morning.
And then we would go work for 10 hours, 12 hours.
And it's a great message for them, because they start to picture themselves being someone
with a professional career, a teacher, lawyer, doctor, engineer.
I like seeing that in their faces when they realize, I can be someone.
MARIA GONZALEZ, Mother of Jose Anzaldo: Three of my children are from here, and one was
born in Mexico.
That's Jose.
JOSE ANZALDO: I do think my mom has a hard life, but I know that she can get through
it.
MARIA GONZALEZ (through translator): Jose is still doing really well in school.
I'm worried the most for Jose because he's undocumented.
JOSE ANZALDO: It's just, like, work on the amounts and see if that can help me learn
more.
OSCAR RAMOS: A lot of our students don't have a very strong mentor in terms of education,
educational choices.
I think Jose sees me as a mentor, and I'm glad to play that role.
JOSE ANZALDO: I felt like I do have the right to stay here, because I have been here for
so long, and I have done my best to learn here, so that, one day, eventually, I can
help people here.
When I grow up, I think I want to be an engineer.
An engineer has to really know math.
And I like math.
I want to go to college, because my goal in general is just to have an education, and
no matter what happens, I will still strive for more opportunities.
OSCAR RAMOS: Jose is more determined than ever to succeed, and I'm more determined than
ever to support him.
Do I have hope for Jose?
Absolutely, 100 percent, yes.
JOSE ANZALDO: There's always a chance to do what you want to do, as long as you don't
give up.
JOHN YANG: What to do about dreamers like Jose is just one issue dividing Republicans
and the nation.
Here to walk us through the latest political fault lines is Karine Jean-Pierre, a veteran
of the Obama administration and a senior adviser to MoveOn.org, and Chris Buskirk, editor of
the online journal American Greatness, who joins us now from Phoenix.
Chris, let me start with you.
What happened this morning with the president and the leaders from Capitol Hill?
The Web site Axios is quoting a top Republican as saying that what he did today was -- quote
-- "the legislative equivalent of giving an entire stockpile of weapons to Democrats and
inviting them to take the Republican Party hostage."
What do you think?
What's your take on this?
CHRIS BUSKIRK, AmericanGreatness.org: Well, I would love to know who gave that quote.
I think that's pretty rich.
What we saw today, I think, is a warning shot across the bow of the Republican leadership,
which has thought that they could get away with trying to control the White House from
Capitol Hill, without ever actually having control of their own house, without ever having
their own house in order first.
We have seen this Republican leadership over the past eight months do absolutely nothing.
They have fulfilled none of the promises that they made to their constituents, let alone
to the deals they had with Donald Trump about working on his agenda.
They just haven't accomplished anything on the agenda.
They don't have anything to show for this past eight months in office or in session.
And so I think Donald Trump is saying to them, look, if you guys aren't going to do something,
if you guys aren't going to move legislation, then I'm going to find people to work with
on Capitol Hill who will do it.
And this is why I think I have got to tell you, as somebody who supports Trump, as a
Republican, I think it was a good move.
The president has a responsibility to the American people, and I think he's trying to
move things along in a way that is productive.
And the Republican leadership and the Republicans on the Hill need to take notice, and they
need to fall into line.
JOHN YANG: Shot across the bow, Karine?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, Democratic Strategist: Well, I have to say, John, I think Chris and
I agree on something here.
I see it a little bit differently when -- about the takeover.
Look, I think that Republicans have allowed their party to be -- to be taken over by Donald
Trump, a hostile takeover.
And all of these red lines that have been drawn from the last 18 months, especially
into this administration, whether it was the Comey firing, "Access Hollywood," defending
Nazis and white supremacists, they never -- they allowed it to happen, essentially.
They had an opportunity to censure Trump, and they didn't do that.
They had opportunities, many opportunities, to take action.
They didn't do that.
And so I think that this is on them, for sure.
But the other part of it as well is that Republicans own everything in Congress.
They really do.
Most of Trump's major agenda items, they needed 50 votes, not 60 votes, and they haven't shown
that they could just really run a government on a basic level.
JOHN YANG: So, let's talk about that, talk about the -- now the big test facing the legislature
now, Congress now, Chris.
And I'm particularly interested in hearing what you think coming from Arizona about what
the president did with DACA this week.
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Yes, it's interesting.
I mean, this is -- there's a couple of things going on here.
Of course, anybody who has followed this president as a candidate or as a president knows that
this is one of his longstanding promises.
So, no surprises here in one sense, right?
This didn't come out of left field.
President Trump promised when he was candidate Trump to end DACA as soon as he got to the
White House.
He disappointed some of his supporters because he didn't do it in January or at least in
February.
That was an expectation based on those promises.
But what he's doing here, I think, is righting a wrong that has been really a bipartisan
wrong that has taken place over 30 years, which is just the cynical ploy by both Republicans
and Democrats to fail to deal with immigration on its own terms, not to pass any legislation,
to hold people hostage.
They won't enforce the law, and they won't amend the law.
And so it leaves people in limbo.
And even Barack Obama, when he passed -- not passed, but when he signed DACA back in June
of 2012, that was a cynical campaign ploy leading up to the 2012 reelection.
It was only a couple months before.
He said that he didn't have the power to simply unilaterally suspend deportations.
I agree with him on that.
The process here is important.
To undo the executive order DACA, and to force Congress to do their job, which is to legislate
on these issues, I think that's good government.
I think that, regardless of what you think of whether DACA as legislation should be in
place or not, it has to come from the Congress.
And I think we should have that debate as the American people and through our representatives
in Congress and come to a resolution, and then live with it.
But this idea of holding people hostage because Congress fails to act, I think, is just wrong.
JOHN YANG: And, Chris, I just want to make sure I understand you correctly.
You're making a distinction between the way -- the policy itself and the way the policy
was put in place?
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Absolutely, yes.
I think that they're two distinct things.
What Donald Trump did -- and he made the same distinction.
He said, look, I'm rolling back DACA, but I'm giving it -- on a six-month suspended
sentence, so to speak, and I'm giving Congress time to work it out.
Well, that's Congress' job.
They need to do it.
Unfortunately, Congress has gotten way too good at not doing anything.
We saw this with the debt ceiling thing today as well.
Congress keeps -- they specialize in nothing so much as just kicking the can down the road.
Well, now they have got something that they need to deal with that they should have dealt
with a long time ago.
JOHN YANG: Karine?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Well, here's -- the fact of the matter is Donald Trump and his administration
are sending a very clear and simple message, which is, if you don't not look like us, you
do not belong in this country.
That is what they have been doing time and time again over the last eight months.
And here's what I find really fascinating, is their argument.
So, when it comes to Muslim ban, it's OK for Donald Trump to do a wide-authority Muslim
ban and actually deal with immigration then.
But, when it comes to DACA, oh, no, you know what, let Congress deal with it.
And this is the same man who said, I alone can fix this.
That's what he said going into the presidency.
So, I think there's some inherent hypocrisy here that is quite unbelievable.
And I think the last point that I want to make is that it is remarkable to see that
Jeff Sessions was the person who made this announcement, the same person who lied in
front of Congress to get his job, which is probably -- he probably committed some sort
of -- some sort of -- he probably broke the law by lying in front of Congress.
And he's the one that made this announcement about these young people and if they should
be here or not.
JOHN YANG: Chris, what about that comparison between the immigration policy and DACA, both
executive action?
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Yes.
I mean, just, look, the president, obviously, has the ability to take executive actions.
But what people have agreed upon is that with regards to -- with regards to deportations,
with regards to enforcing laws that have been enacted by Congress, the executive branch
has an obligation to enforce those laws.
That wasn't the same instance with regard to what people call the Muslim ban, the travel
ban.
This was the same ban that was proposed, by the way, by the Obama administration.
Right?
This is nothing different.
I want to go back to what I think is the key point here, which is that Donald Trump is
virtually begging Congress to send him a DACA look-alike bill, right?
For him to say that he's saying you don't look like us and you're not welcome here,
I don't think so.
And I don't think that what he said to Congress bears that out either.
He is saying, look, this was done incorrectly.
This is Congress' responsibility.
Even Barack Obama said that he couldn't do what he ultimately did.
Now, Congress, deal with it.
Send it to me.
He hasn't said it explicitly, but he sure is sending the signal that if they send it
to him, he will sign it.
JOHN YANG: Chris, Karine, I'm afraid we have got to leave it there.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Oh.
JOHN YANG: You got something quick, maybe?
(LAUGHTER)
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: No, it's just not true.
He is -- he is appeasing his small and shrinking base.
And just look at every action that he has taken.
It has been about his small and shrinking base.
This is a guy who defended white supremacy and Nazis.
Come on now.
That's just -- that's not right.
JOHN YANG: Chris, Karine, thanks so much.
We have got to leave it there.
CHRIS BUSKIRK: Thank you.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Thank you.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Stay with us.
Coming up on the "NewsHour": new allegations in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry -- this time,
it's stealing signs using Apple watches.
But first: Can robotics and artificial intelligence help improve that rush hour commute you're
facing?
Experts at Carnegie Mellon University think they can by monitoring traffic flow in real
time.
Jeffrey Brown has the story from Pittsburgh, part of our weekly series on the Leading Edge
of science and technology.
JEFFREY BROWN: You know the frustration.
You're late for work or to pick up your child.
You're driving through city streets, and every block or two, it seems, there's another red
light.
It's a problem that plagues commuters across the country.
In fact, according to a Texas A&M study, the average commuter in the U.S. spends upwards
of 42 hours a year at a complete standstill, stuck in traffic.
Eight years ago, traffic problems in Pittsburgh got the attention of a local philanthropist,
who gave seed money to Carnegie Mellon University.
The idea?
To have its robotics experts use artificial intelligence to create a smarter transportation
grid that will eventually remake the commute for drivers, cyclists and bus riders.
Almost half of all Pittsburgh commuters drive alone in their cars, so the first priority
was road congestion.
Courtney Ehrlichman helps run the program called Traffic21.
COURTNEY EHRLICHMAN, Traffic21: The problem in Pittsburgh is like the problems around
the country, is that we have this existing infrastructure that was designed many, many
years ago, and you really can't expand it.
You really have to optimize the system.
And so we have an opportunity here using these technologies to make our system more efficient
and to optimize it, rather than trying to figure out how to build more.
STEVE SMITH, Carnegie Mellon University: We're going with the flow right now, so we're getting
the greens.
JEFFREY BROWN: Professor Steve Smith thinks he's discovered a key to optimizing traffic
flow.
He's created software that's currently deployed at 100 intersections in a pilot area of East
Pittsburgh.
STEVE SMITH: Conventional signals are pre-programmed.
So, it's really designed for average traffic flows, as opposed to actual traffic flows.
JEFFREY BROWN: So then the trick is to make it as real-time...
STEVE SMITH: Right.
We're watching the real traffic.
JEFFREY BROWN: Smith's technology uses existing cameras and radar to track how many cars are
approaching.
Then an algorithm determines how to efficiently move the cars through.
That program controls the lights and also sends information to neighboring intersections.
STEVE SMITH: Essentially, we're trying to build a signal timing plan that moves all
the vehicles from these four different views through the intersection.
JEFFREY BROWN: Without a lot of waiting time.
STEVE SMITH: Yes.
But it also then communicates to its downstream neighbors what traffic it expects to be sending
their way.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
STEVE SMITH: So, now downstream neighbor -- let's say it's this guy, which is a downstream neighbor
-- is building its own local plan, but now, in addition...
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
He knows what is coming.
STEVE SMITH: Now, in addition to what it sees in front of it, it has an idea of what is
coming down the pike behind what it can see.
JEFFREY BROWN: All right, so here's one of your boxes.
STEVE SMITH: Yes.
JEFFREY BROWN: The traffic plans are recalculated every few seconds, using a small computer
installed at each intersection.
Smith says the program has made a noticeable difference.
STEVE SMITH: We pretty consistently get, on average, through the day a 25 percent reduction
in travel times, not so much because vehicles are moving faster, but they are stopping 30
percent fewer times.
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.
They're just continuing to move.
STEVE SMITH: And when they do stop, they're only idling for like 40 percent less.
JEFFREY BROWN: This summer, the Pittsburgh traffic control plan won an international
innovation award.
And even better for the city, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced it's giving
$11 million to expand the program to many more intersections.
ALEX PAZUCHANICS, Policy Adviser for Pittsburgh Mayor: Traffic is probably the number one
issue that we get complaints about.
JEFFREY BROWN: And that's because, I mean, that's life.
Alex Pazuchanics, who works in the mayor's office, says it may be impossible to make
everyone happy, but city officials have been pleased with the program so far.
ALEX PAZUCHANICS: For us, it's really important that we're seeing improvements in those corridors,
and would like to find ways to expand the use of technology to solve more city issues.
JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, Steve Smith and his team are now working on plans to use smartphones
so that cyclists and pedestrians can digitally talk to the intersections to help their commutes
too.
Another problem for drivers and the city, potholes and decaying streets.
And there's a project under way here to deal with that as well.
Pittsburgh has more than 800 miles of roads and, like most cities, a limited budget to
maintain them.
Professor Christoph Mertz has devised software that could help the city better determine
where to send repair crews.
So, the idea is pretty simple, right, use the camera that we all carry around?
CHRISTOPH MERTZ, Carnegie Mellon University: Right.
I mean, it's just a smartphone.
JEFFREY BROWN: The phone, which can be mounted on the windshield of any vehicle, records
video of the road.
Then comes the technological wizardry.
Mertz developed software that quickly analyzes the footage, and is capable of distinguishing
between small cracks and bigger problems.
So the machine has to think.
What is that?
CHRISTOPH MERTZ: Artificial intelligence, it's like a big word.
And in the past, people thought that, when a machine can play chess, then it's intelligent.
Now, it plays chess, but that's all it can do.
Right?
That program doesn't help us fix the roads.
And so our program will recognize roads.
JEFFREY BROWN: Can't play chess.
CHRISTOPH MERTZ: But can't play chess, right.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: The program also provides simple-to-use color-coded mapping.
So, if I'm a city civil engineer or city manager, how do I use this?
CHRISTOPH MERTZ: You could say, here's the red, so I'm going to do all the red stuff,
OK, but here, this is the main road.
Even if it's just yellow, I want to -- I need to fix that, because there's much more traffic
and it's more important.
JEFFREY BROWN: Mertz and Carnegie Mellon have just launched a private spinoff company called
RoadBotics to sell the technology to local governments.
The nearby town of North Huntingdon was first to sign on.
One idea is to mount cameras on garbage trucks, which travel every city street once a week.
CHRISTOPH MERTZ: The idea here is, if it's so inexpensive, you can do it all the time.
And so you can address the problems right away.
JEFFREY BROWN: Maybe before it's a big pothole.
CHRISTOPH MERTZ: Before it's a big pothole.
So, it's like for every dollar spent in preventative maintenance, you save $10 in reconstructive
maintenance.
So, that's a huge savings.
JEFFREY BROWN: Although Pittsburgh was involved in a pilot project using this technology,
it hasn't yet signed onto a long-term contract.
Alex Pazuchanics explains.
ALEX PAZUCHANICS: Technology is moving very quickly.
There's a risk to making a large investment without necessarily knowing what direction
the technology is moving.
So, for us, it's making sure that we're fast and nimble enough to make decisions as the
technology evolves.
JEFFREY BROWN: You mean the technology might be changing so quickly that you're on the
wrong technology?
ALEX PAZUCHANICS: You could very easily be obsolete after just a few months of having
the technology out there.
We want to be leading edge, not bleeding edge.
JEFFREY BROWN: The hope is, the new technology will also address public transportation, moving
buses along as quickly as possible, and giving them priority at crowded intersections.
That could lure more commuters out of their cars, further reducing congestion.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Pittsburgh.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Baseball has a history of teams trying to gain advantage against a pitcher
by occasionally stealing signs from the team it's playing.
The idea is to relay information to the hitter about what kind of pitch he will face.
There are ways to do it that are acceptable.
®MDNM¯But the Boston Red Sox are accused of going too far with it last month against
their rivals, the New York Yankees, and using technology to do so.
William Brangham has the story.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Specifically, the skullduggery being alleged against the Red Sox involves
the use of a video camera and an Apple watch.
The commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, confirmed that Boston used this
technology in a very elaborate process to record and decode the signs that the Yankee
pitchers and catchers used, and then relayed that information to their batters in the middle
of the game.
For more on today's unfolding scandal, and the decades-long history of outwitting the
rules in baseball, we turn to Joshua Prager.
He's a journalist and author.
His 2008 book, "The Echoing Green," chronicled the sign-stealing secret that helped the New
York Giants win the 1951 pennant.
Welcome to the "NewsHour."
JOSHUA PRAGER, Author, "The Echoing Green": Thanks for having me.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, help me break down what the allegation is against these dastardly
Red Sox.
What are they accused of having done?
JOSHUA PRAGER: So, they are accused of using mechanical means to alert a batter to what
kind of pitch is coming.
And there are about 20 or so seconds that pass between every pitch of every game, 280
pitches or so, 20 or so seconds between every pitch.
And that might seem like not a lot of time, but it's actually plenty of time to do all
sorts of stuff to alert a batter what kind of a pitch is coming.
And, ostensibly, most batters will tell you if helps them to know whether a pitch will
be a fast pitch or an off-speed pitch.
And the Red Sox are accused of using a phone and all sorts of quick signals to alert the
batter to what was coming.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, I guess the concern is, the idea is that they somehow used a video
camera to record what the Yankee pitchers and catchers were signaling to each other,
figure out what that means, so that the next time another batter is coming up, that batter
can be somehow tipped off what those signals are and what they mean?
JOSHUA PRAGER: Well, when you watch a baseball game at home, you see the catcher wiggling
their fingers between every pitch.
And when they're doing that, they're telling the pitcher what kind of a pitch to throw.
So, someone on the Red Sox, allegedly, according to Michael Schmidt, The New York Times, was
looking at this, I guess on a television screen, and then relaying that information to a member
of the training staff in the Red Sox dugout, who saw that information by looking down at
his wrist.
And then he simply signaled to one of the players in the dugout.
Michael mentioned two of them by name, Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia, who then relayed
the sign, it seems, to a Red Sox player, who was probably already on second base.
So, in other words, they didn't use this between every pitch of every game, it seems, but,
rather, they waited for someone to be on second base.
And they did that, because it's very easy when you're on second to then relay the signal
to the batter.
So, that sounds like a lot going on.
You go from the watch to the player, to the man on the field, to the batter.
But, as I mentioned earlier, you have 20 or so seconds, and you have actually -- that's
plenty of time to let the batter know what kind of a pitch is coming.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, my understanding is -- and you have certainly written a whole
book about this -- stealing signs is not considered a taboo thing to do.
You're sort of allowed to do it.
So, what have the Red Sox done here that's the problem?
JOSHUA PRAGER: Not only is it allowed.
It's encouraged.
If you're a batter on -- if you're a runner on second base, and you can peer in with the
naked eye and see what finger signals the catcher is using, and if you can figure out
what that signal means -- and the catcher knows that you're there, so they often change
what the signal means when there's a man on second -- but if you can figure that out and
relay that to the batter, that's encouraged.
That's kosher.
Everyone's happy with that.
But what is not OK is to use mechanical means to do that.
The commissioner is empowered to come down on the Red Sox and say, you cannot do this.
And no doubt he's now figuring out what will be a proper punishment.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, that's where the Apple watch comes into this, that that is the mechanical
piece of equipment that is verboten in baseball's rules.
JOSHUA PRAGER: Correct.
And baseball teams have been cheating for as long as there has been baseball.
I wrote a book about the 1951 Giants, who they famously won the pennant with Bobby Thomson's
Shot Heard Round the World.
And starting in the summer, on July 20, they installed a man in center field in the polo
grounds with a telescope.
And when he would spy the sign, he would then press a button that would, via buzzer wire,
make a buzz go off in the right field bullpen.
And the players there in the bullpen would then signal to the batter what pitch was coming.
So, they used a telescope and buzzer wire.
And there are literally dozens of other examples going back to the 19th century.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Is there any sense that you have that all of this creative hijinks
that goes on actually makes a difference in the results of a game?
JOSHUA PRAGER: Absolutely.
If it didn't help teams to know what pitch was coming, they wouldn't go to these great
lengths to steal the signs.
When I interviewed all of the members of the -- all the surviving members of the 1951 Giants,
Bobby Thomson, for example, who hit the Shot Heard Round the World, was very honest with
me.
He said: It helps me enormously.
It helped me enormously to know what kind of a pitch is coming.
If a pitch is traveling 90 miles an hour, a batter has just 0.13 seconds to react to
it.
So, if you can say, hey, I can wait, this pitch is going to be an off-speed pitch, that
will help.
Some batters don't want to know.
Tony Gwynn, famously, wanted to just react to the ball, see the ball, hit the ball.
But most batters, it would seem, very much do want to know.
And that's why, no matter how many times they're told they're not allowed to do it, they will
continue to try to do it.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Joshua Prager, thank you so much.
JOSHUA PRAGER: Thanks for having me.
HARI SREENIVASAN: On the "NewsHour" online right now: We mark the unofficial end of summer
with a look at the pop music Americans played over and over again.
You can find every state's song of the summer on our Web site, PBS.org/NewsHour.
And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.
I'm Hari Sreenivasan.
Join us online and again here tomorrow evening.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you.
See you soon.
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