JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight:
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I accept our intelligence community's conclusion
that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election took place.
JUDY WOODRUFF: An about-face: President Trump tries to contain the fallout from his statements
supporting Vladimir Putin.
We get reaction, including from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Then: Puerto Rico's doctor shortage.
After Hurricane Maria, parents scramble to find medical care, while more pediatricians
leave the island.
And the rising popularity of vaping in schools.
As cigarette smoking goes out of fashion, the new practice of so-called Juuling takes
its place.
JANELLE JESSEE, St. Vincent's Medical Center: I ask the question, raise your hand if you
know someone your own age that smokes cigarettes.
Very rarely do I get more than five.
And then I ask the same question, do you know someone your age that uses a Juul or a vape?
Almost every single hand goes up.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: One day later, President Trump is home from Helsinki, and he's backtracking.
He returned overnight, to face blistering critiques from both parties of his summit
with Russia's President Putin.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: I have to say I, came back and I said, what
is going on?
What's the big deal?
JUDY WOODRUFF: The president was in damage control mode this afternoon after the storm
over his statements in Helsinki.
Yesterday, he appeared to take Vladimir Putin's word for it that Moscow didn't interfere in
the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
DONALD TRUMP: He just said it's not Russia.
I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, reading from a prepared statement, he said the opposite.
DONALD TRUMP: It should have been obvious.
I thought it would be obvious, but I would like to clarify, just in case it wasn't.
In a key sentence in my remarks, I said the word would, instead of wouldn't.
The sentence should have been, I don't see any reason why I wouldn't or why it wouldn't
be Russia.
Sort of a double negative.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In Helsinki, Mr. Trump had also dismissed U.S. intelligence findings
of Russian involvement in the election.
Today, he insisted he has great confidence in the intelligence community.
DONALD TRUMP: Let me be totally clear in saying that -- and I have said this many times -- I
accept our intelligence community's conclusion that Russia's meddling in the 2016 election
took place.
Could be other people, also.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Earlier, in tweets, Mr. Trump blamed the news media for the bipartisan shellacking
he's taken.
He also blamed special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation for hurting U.S.-Russian relations.
Before leaving Helsinki, he returned to the theme.
DONALD TRUMP: They drove a phony wedge.
It's a phony witch-hunt, rigged deal.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Just last Friday, Mueller indicted 12 Russian officials for election cyber-attacks.
Putin, in his own interview, declined to accept a copy of the indictments, and he appeared
to defend the hacking of Democratic Party e-mails.
QUESTION: So, are you saying it's OK because it was their real e-mails, so it's OK to hack
and spread this information out and interfere with the election?
VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): Listen to me, please.
The information that I am aware of, there's nothing false about it.
Every single grain of it is true, and the Democratic leadership admitted it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, Moscow announced it's ready to implement new agreements on boosting
collaboration with the U.S. military in Syria and on extending a nuclear arms pact.
And Russian reports voiced sympathy for Mr. Trump.
But in the hours before the president spoke today, the criticism continued from the likes
of House Speaker Paul Ryan.
REP.
PAUL RYAN (R-WI), Speaker of the House: Vladimir Putin doesn't share our interests.
Vladimir Putin doesn't share our values.
We just conducted a year-long investigation into Russia's interference in our elections.
They did interfere in our elections.
It's really clear.
There should be no doubt about that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declined to directly criticize the
president.
Instead, he tried to reassure Europe.
SEN.
MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Majority Leader: We believe the European Union countries are our
friends and the Russians are not.
We understand the Russia threat.
And I think that is the widespread view here in the U.S. Senate among members of both parties.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Fellow Republican Susan Collins of Maine did take on Mr. Trump over his initial
dismissal of U.S. intelligence findings.
SEN.
SUSAN COLLINS (R), Maine: I remain astonished that the president would choose to believe
the assertions by President Putin over the unanimous conclusions of his own U.S. intelligence
leaders.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Some Republicans came to the president's defense, at least partially.
Texas Senator John Cornyn said he understands how the special counsel's investigation of
the Trump campaign's contacts with Russians has affected the president.
SEN.
JOHN CORNYN (R), Texas: That's what I think got the president so spun up, is because he
feels like this is an attack on him personally.
And I wish we could separate those two.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Democrats sounded a darker note.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:
SEN.
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), Minority Leader: So many Americans are going to continue to wonder,
does President Putin have something over President Trump that makes the president behave in such
a way that hurts our country so?
JUDY WOODRUFF: While other Democrats demanded that more Republicans speak out more forcefully.
SEN.
RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL), Minority Whip: Why do so many of my Republican colleagues remain
silent, in light of President Trump's open denial of the reality of the Russian involvement
in our election?
JUDY WOODRUFF: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned of Russian interference in this
year's midterm elections.
REP.
NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), House Minority Leader: The president gave a green light to continue
to attack our democracy to the Russians.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Mr. Trump today promise all-out efforts to prevent future Russian meddling.
But Republican Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, suggested
Congress may need to take some new action.
That could take the form of additional sanctions on the Russians.
As for reaction in Europe, the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May said today she
doesn't think the Trump-Putin summit undermined the transatlantic alliance.
But a German member of the European Parliament had a doleful assessment.
He said, "We Europeans must take our fate in our own hands."
For more on the fallout from President Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin, I'm joined by
Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig.
Carol, welcome back to the "NewsHour."
What sort of reaction has the White House been seeing and hearing, especially from Republicans?
What's coming through to them?
CAROL LEONNIG, The Washington Post: Well, I think Susan Collins actually captured the
word best, sort of astonishment, quiet astonishment, red-faced astonishment, and, in the case of
Mitch McConnell, sort of swallowing-your-tongue astonishment, where people are not coming
out and complaining directly about the president.
But some are very concerned about what has transpired here, because the golden standard
for U.S. foreign policy has always been that we would keep our partisan differences, we
would keep our concerns about our internal political affairs on these shores, we wouldn't
attack one another on foreign soil.
And, here, the president has done just that with a longtime foreign adversary at his side,
who he sided with.
But I would add, also, Judy, that it's not just Republicans who are being asked for their
opinion or openly questioning, as Paul Ryan did, the president's handling of this matter.
Inside the White House, there is great consternation about it.
We have been hearing about it for the last 24 hours, because this didn't go exactly according
to the staff's hopes and wishes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In fact, you and your colleagues wrote in The Post today that they had prepared
a lot of briefing material for the president.
But what you wrote was, he ignored most of it.
CAROL LEONNIG: Yes, this was supposed to be short and not sweet, but short and tough,
a quick meeting, a quick news conference.
The briefing materials, which numbered up to 100 pages and possibly more, outlined all
of the ways to the president that Russia has acted against U.S. interests, its damaging
role in Syria, its historic efforts against U.S. interests.
And yet the president wasn't able to mention any of those things.
He was mostly able to focus on his long stated and publicly stated desire to be friends with
Vladimir Putin.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, did they believe, with today's what the president's clarification,
that this is going to settle down?
CAROL LEONNIG: I think there are a lot of fingers crossed behind backs, yes.
However, in a way, the damage has been done.
European allies are likely not really believing that the president twice mistakenly said he
couldn't imagine that the Russians would interfere in our election.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A remarkable 48 hours, taking yesterday and today together, and, in fact,
more than that, going back over the entire trip.
Carol Leonnig of The Washington Post, thank you.
CAROL LEONNIG: Thank you.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We will hear more from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright after
the news summary.
In the day's other news: The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was wrong
to jail members of the group of activist artists known as Pussy Riot for a protest in 2012.
The court ordered the Putin government to pay nearly $50,000 to the protesters, who
spent two years in prison.
Pussy Riot activists staged their most recent protest at Sunday's World Cup final, when
four members ran onto the playing field.
Former President Barack Obama rebuked President Trump today without ever naming him.
Mr. Obama delivered a major address in Johannesburg, South Africa, and condemned what he called
a politics of fear and resentment used by strongmen leaders.
He warned against propaganda and false claims, sometimes from the mouths of leaders themselves.
BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: We see the utter loss of shame among
political leaders, where they're caught in a lie, and they just double down and they
lie some more.
It used -- look, let me say, politicians have always lied, but it used to be, if you caught
them lying, they'd be like, oh, man.
(LAUGHTER)
BARACK OBAMA: Now they just keep on lying.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In the end, the former president did offer words of hope, saying: "We have
been through darker times.
We have been through lower valleys."
In Nicaragua, the government intensified its assault on political opponents today.
Police and armed supporters attacked a neighborhood in Masaya that's become a center of resistance.
Protests against President Daniel Ortega's plan to cut pension benefits broke out in
April.
Since then, some 280 people have died in a government crackdown.
Japan and the European Union have signed a landmark trade deal.
The pact will do away with nearly all tariffs between them, and create the world's largest
open area for trade.
They made it official today during a ceremony in Tokyo.
The European Council's president said it's a counter to President Trump's protectionist
trade policies.
DONALD TUSK, European Council President: We are sending a clear message that you can count
on us.
We are predictable, both Japan and the E.U., predictable, responsible, and will continue
defending a world order based on rules, on freedom, on transparency, and common sense.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The E.U.-Japanese trade deal will cover a third of the global economy and
roughly 600 million people.
Back in this country, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress today he expects
to keep raising interest rates gradually.
He said the Fed anticipates the job market will stay strong and inflation will hover
near 2 percent for the next few years.
And he said it's a balancing act.
JEROME POWELL, Federal Reserve Chairman: On the one hand, raising interest rates too slowly
may lead to high inflation or financial market excesses.
On the other hand, if we raise rates too rapidly, the economy could weaken and inflation could
run persistently below our objective.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Powell declined to comment directly on potential effects of President
Trump's tariffs on foreign goods.
Instead, he said countries that are open to trade tend to have faster growth, whereas
those with protectionist policies fare worse.
And, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 55 points to close near 25120.
The Nasdaq rose 49 points, and the S&P 500 added 11.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on President Trump's
meeting with President Putin; a doctor shortage in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico; the popular
new way teenagers are vaping with e-cigarettes; and much more.
We take a closer look now at President Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin with a woman who
has extensive experience dealing with the Russian government.
Madeleine Albright served as U.S. secretary of state during the Clinton administration.
Her latest book, "Fascism: A Warning," is on The New York Times bestseller list.
We spoke a short time ago.
And I started by asking if she understands Mr. Trump's position toward Russia, given
the clarification he said he was making today.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, Former U.S. Secretary of State: No, I'm definitely not clear, because
I think that he tried to explain that this was just leaving out an N-apostrophe-T.
But I think, basically, it's unclear about how he believes -- how he feels about Russia,
period, in terms of how to deal with them, how he distinguishes the fact that the NATO
allies are foes and that Trump believes, I think, that Russia is his friend, and only
cares about collusion, because he's so uncertain about his own victory.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, on the question of collusion -- and there is no proof that there was yet
-- but we know the intelligence community has concluded that Russians interfered.
The president also said today he now has full faith and support in U.S. intelligence agencies,
after casting doubt on their work.
I mean, this is -- appears to be another reversal.
What do you make of that?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, I think he must think we're genuinely stupid, because, if
one watched what he was doing in his press conference, he made it quite clear that he
was believing Putin much more than his own people, that he had a -- he was unclear about
what his agenda was, period, and then just trying to persuade us that there was just
a couple of letters missing.
I just find it very strange that he has so little understanding of the fact of how he
is coming across to the people of the United States and to people in other countries, because
he believes that he's so persuasive.
And I think that he's so unclear and is only interested in superlatives.
That's all he ever speaks in, are superlatives.
And I think he may, in fact, get his wish and go down in history as the least democratic
president we have had.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, that's strong language.
So, if you take, altogether, Secretary Albright, what the president said today with what we
have heard over the last few days, the NATO meeting, the trip to Britain, the meetings
with Theresa May, and then the meeting with Vladimir Putin, what does it add up to?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: I think it adds up to total confusion about what the role of the
United States is in this part of the 21st century, what our relationship is with our
allies -- and we're the most powerful military alliance in the history of the world -- how
we feel about what is going on with Russia, and what we think is the international system
at this point.
And I think -- I have just been in Europe for quite a long time, a couple of weeks,
and our allies and friends are completely confused and want to know what those of us
who aren't in the government anymore can explain to them about what's going on.
And it's very, very hard to explain, frankly.
JUDY WOODRUFF: What are the practical effects of this, though?
We know the attitudes are negative.
There's a lot of criticism of the president.
But what does that translate into for ordinary Americans who are watching all of this?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, for ordinary Americans, I think that it really puts to doubt as to
how -- what the strength of America is.
Is it our -- I have always believed that our strength is not only our value system and
our diversity, but also the multiplier effect of having more allies than anybody.
And so that brings that question into mind.
Then I also think that what it has done in terms of our allies -- frankly, this super
political president has forgotten that those countries also have political issues, and
that they have to try to explain why they are paying at all into an alliance which it
is unclear what America's role is.
And so they're looking for other ways to have a defense system and how to operate.
So, I can tell you, they're all trying to figure out what their next steps are.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But he is -- the president is taking credit for getting them to put billions
of dollars more into their own military, into their own defense.
Does that not add up to at least a fairer equation for the support, the military support
of NATO?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, I think other presidents have talked about it, and I think it's very
important for our NATO allies to pay up.
But just the tone of it, you know, he had kind of bullied them into something, then
he takes credit for it.
And, later, President Macron of France kind of indicated that the move wasn't exactly
the way that Trump described it.
So I think it's just put doubt in his words.
And the fact that today he had to clarify one word just really underlines the fact that
people don't know what he's saying and why he's saying it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, the Russian military leadership, the Defense Ministry there is
now -- is saying that they're ready to, what they say, augment, improve contacts with the
U.S. over cooperation with Syria, number one, and number two, extending the START strategic
arms negotiations.
Could -- is it possible that those things could bear fruit, which would make all of
this at least have some silver lining, something positive come out of it?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, first of all, we don't really know what happened in that hour
or two hours almost that the leaders met without anybody.
But I do think -- I hope that there are talks now about nuclear issues.
That has been missing.
And I think it's very important.
And, meanwhile, both countries are building up their nuclear arsenals, when they should
be trying to figure out how to control them.
I do think, also, that Syria is one of the great tragedies.
And if something can be done for humanitarian reasons and stability, I hope that is done.
But you can't just say that the other things that happened have no importance.
I mean, there are a number of things that were said that I think really make us wonder
what his role is with the Russians and, frankly, what the Russians expect out of him.
I have said now that Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to Putin.
JUDY WOODRUFF: What do you mean by that, when you say that?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, I think that what I believe is that President Putin has a plan
to separate us from our allies and to undermine democracy and to regain influence in the Middle
East.
And, frankly, the way that President Trump deals with him is, he is fulfilling some of
President Putin's plans to divide us from our allies.
And so we can't tell, when they talk about, are they going to do more on nuclear or are
they going to do more on Syria, what really lies behind that relationship of who is giving
what to whom.
President Putin is a KGB agent, and he's very smart.
And he has played a weak hand well.
And I believe that President Trump is playing into that plan, either on purpose or by accident.
But he is helping Putin get further in his plan to divide us from our allies.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I have known you, Secretary Albright, for a number of years.
You have worked in the government going back to the Carter administration.
And over that time, you have seen the ups and downs of America's role in the world,
American diplomacy.
Do you see what's going on right now as something that can be fixed, that there's no doubt in
your mind that the U.S. comes out of this and comes out of it stronger?
Or are you worried that permanent, that lasting damage has been done?
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: I am concerned about lasting damage.
I do think that it's important for those of us that continue to have informal contacts
and the formal ones that members of Congress have can show that America does in fact want
to have a some kind of functioning international system.
We don't have to boss everybody around.
I think that what we believe is that we are better off with partners.
But I am nervous that, the longer this goes on, that it's harder to fix, and that the
allies will take different roads and will decide that we are not dependable.
That's kind of what some of them said, is they weren't sure they could count on the
U.S. anymore.
And that's the basis of the relationship that we have had since the end of World War II.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, we thank you.
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Thank you, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we turn now to Capitol Hill.
Some Republicans were quick to distance themselves from President Trump yesterday amid the fallout
over his controversial meeting with Vladimir Putin.
I'm joined now by one of those lawmakers, Representative Will Hurd from Texas.
He serves on the House Intelligence Committee.
He previously spent almost a decade at the CIA.
Congressman Hurd, thank you very much for being back on the program.
We just heard former Secretary Albright say that she believes that, either wittingly or
not, President Trump is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin, strikingly similar to what
you said yesterday.
You made a statement.
You said you never thought the president of the United States would be played by an old
KGB hand.
Are you convinced now that that's what's going on?
REP.
WILL HURD (R), Texas: Well, I'm convinced that what happened in Helsinki was actually
a part of a disinformation campaign by Vladimir Putin.
The goal was to make some of these outrageous claims and to have the leader of the free
world standing next to him, and not respond.
I think that's going to ultimately be the lasting impact.
And, as Secretary Albright said -- look, she was secretary of state for a reason -- the
fact that the U.S. has always had more friends, and now that we are in a position where our
friends have been doubting us and questioning, when the head of our country says one thing,
and then has to step it back, what actually really -- does that really mean, and where
are our various alliances and relationships going?
Bilateral relationships between two countries are just like relationships between people.
You have to spend time, energy and effort in cultivating that.
And when there's misunderstandings, that could potentially lead to irreparable damage.
And that's one of the concerns that I know our allies and many of us in Washington, D.C.,
have.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let me ask you one of the questions I asked her.
And that is, what does this mean for ordinary Americans?
What could the practical effect of that fraying of the relationship between the U.S. and its
allies and a closer, maybe user relationship with Russia mean?
REP.
WILL HURD: Well, first and foremost, let me get very specific to my district.
I represent the Eagle Ford and the Permian Basin.
These are fueling the energy renaissance in the United States.
And it's allowing -- is going to ultimately allow the United States to be a net exporter
of energy.
This was -- should have been a topic that got brought up, because we know the Russians
are trying to hack in energy companies.
That's going to have an impact on our economy.
That's going to have an impact on the European economy.
But, broader, a lot of people don't necessarily understand, why is NATO important.
NATO is important is because it's created 70 years of peace and prosperity in Europe.
And Europe has never had 70 years of peace and prosperity.
Why is that important to us?
Because that grew their economy.
That grew -- you know, the people in Europe wanting to buy product from America, that
allowed us to grow our economy by having such a large trading partner.
And NATO has been very important to that.
What Vladimir Putin is trying to do is, he's trying to reestablish the territorial integrity
of the USSR.
And what's preventing him from doing that is NATO, and what's preventing him from doing
that is the United States.
He knows he can't win a direct military conflict with us.
He knows his economy is not strong enough to go toe to toe with the United States, so
he has to resort to asymmetrical warfare.
That means getting involved in our elections, creating discord, causing Americans to distrust
their democratic institutions and foment discord.
And that's what he's been able to do.
And now he's continuing to drive a wedge -- and I mean Vladimir Putin is driving a wedge between
the United States and our allies in Europe, particularly the allies that are the backbone
of NATO.
So, this is his angle, because he wants to be able to have diplomatic veto and economic
veto, political veto over those countries in Eastern Europe.
Putin is -- people think of him as a global player.
I think of him as a regional spoiler, trying to impact those economies and those countries
in their orbit.
So all of this is going to have an impact on us because it's going to potentially impact
our economy, and then also it's a national security concern.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Bringing this back to Congress, Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee
said today that he thinks the dam has broken in terms of Republican members of Congress
now being willing to speak openly about their concerns with President Trump.
Do you agree?
Has the dam broken?
REP.
WILL HURD: I think only time will tell.
You know, I have always lived my life by being honest.
I agree when I agree, and disagree when I disagree.
I did that under the previous administration.
I'm going to continue doing that here.
Many of my actions and behaviors are based on my nine-and-a-half years as an undercover
officer.
I have chased terrorists all the over the world.
I had to deal with Russian intelligence officers throughout my career.
In my time in Congress, I have been working with our allies who have to deal with the
Russian menace every single day in a more intimate, face-to-face, than what we have
to here in the United States.
And it's important for Congress to continue our oversight role.
It's important for Congress to continue to fund the intelligence community and our military
community, who are making sure that they are collecting intelligence on and preventing
attacks from our adversaries like Russia.
We have got to continue to make sure we're doing oversight of these agencies, that they're
being allowed to do their job, because if there's one thing I know about the men and
women in the CIA, regardless of what's happening up here in Washington, D.C., and the political
environment, they are going to go out, put themselves in harm's way, and do their job.
And that is to be the collectors of last resort and make sure we understand what's really
happening and understand the threats to our nation.
And so Congress needs to make sure that we're continuing to support that, and we can support
our allies like Ukraine.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Representative Will Hurd, I should mention you and Congressman Beto O'Rourke
recipients of the Civility Prize from a college of Pennsylvania, Allegheny, that just announced
today, for working across party lines.
Thank you very much, Congressman.
REP.
WILL HURD: Always a pleasure.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Hurricane season is under way in Puerto Rico, but daily life is still precarious
for many after Hurricane Maria's widespread destruction last September.
It's still a challenge to find a doctor on the island.
Physicians were already leaving after a financial crisis began a decade ago, and last year's
storm has fueled the exodus.
As special correspondent Sarah Varney reports, the toll has been devastating.
It's the second of two stories about health care on the island, produced in collaboration
with our partner, Kaiser Health News.
SARAH VARNEY: Every three hours, Janisse Alicea prepares two bottles of Ensure for her daughters,
Patricia and Natalia.
The girls were born with a dire genetic disorder and microcephaly.
They once attended school and birthday parties and smiled brightly.
JANISSE ALICEA, Mother (through translator): So, here is Natalia at school participating
and in the Day of Triumph and Field Day.
SARAH VARNEY: But now, at 16 and 21, the disease has progressed and their bodies are fragile
and misshapen.
Ventilators help them breathe, and scoliosis makes it difficult to move them.
Alicea and her daughters waited out Hurricane Maria here in Ponce, a city on the island's
southern coast.
But the chaotic aftermath put Patricia and Natalia in grave danger.
JANISSE ALICEA (through translator): We didn't have power, we didn't have water, we couldn't
get enough Ensure.
It was very hot.
They were crying all the time, couldn't fall asleep.
They had convulsions.
SARAH VARNEY: The family fled on a humanitarian flight and eventually ended up with relatives
in South Carolina.
Alicea and her two daughters returned home in March.
Since then, she has struggled to find doctors who can treat them.
JANISSE ALICEA (through translator): We need pediatricians, we need neurologists, and we
need geneticists.
Before, we were able to get to some doctors, but now it has been impossible.
We can't get them to come here.
And their condition is degenerative, so they get worse and worse.
So, I need to know what, as a mother, can I do for them?
SARAH VARNEY: Alicea says her daughters recently started getting bedsores.
They're in pain, she says, and haven't seen a doctor since they returned to Puerto Rico.
Physicians are in short supply here.
Dr. Jose Cruz, a pediatrician, says the island's ongoing financial crisis and low payments
from health insurers drove many physicians to seek work in the states.
And Cruz says the hurricane badly damaged doctors' offices, requiring costly repairs.
DR.
JOSE CRUZ, Pediatrician: So there's a lot of money that the pediatrician lost, and they
just made the decision and left, left to United States.
SARAH VARNEY: From 2006 to 2016, the number of doctors here declined from 14,000 to 9,000.
Families who lost their doctors are filling up waiting rooms, like here at a Varmed pediatric
clinic in Bayamon, a suburb of San Juan.
Physicians say running a medical practice is a losing business in Puerto Rico.
At San Jorge Children's Hospital in San Juan, a pediatrician earning about $89,000 a year
can double his salary just by moving to the States.
The low salaries reflect the island's widespread poverty.
Nearly two out of three children and half of all Puerto Ricans rely on Medicaid, and
the territory receives far less money from Congress than poor states to pay doctors.
With so many pediatricians and other doctors leaving the island, many low-income families
here must travel long distances for medical appointments.
And they can wait for months to see specialists.
Sara Pallone braves the San Juan traffic with her son, Thiago, who was born with severe
low muscle tone.
A nurse travels with them.
She drives an hour each way to Centro Medico, San Juan's public hospital, for her son's
countless appointments.
Today's visit to a neonatologist was originally scheduled for last September.
But since the hurricane, it has taken eight-and-a-half months to reschedule.
The family scrambled for safety during the storm.
They were turned away from two hospitals and a storm shelter that didn't have a generator
to power Thiago's oxygen machine that he needs nearly all the time.
SARA PALLONE, Mother (through translator): We were five days without oxygen, and the
baby started doing very poorly,so we had to get him right to the medical center.
When we were there, the generator broke down, so we couldn't get the oxygen there either.
And instead of trying to transfer him from hospital to hospital, they sent us home.
SARAH VARNEY: But surviving the hurricane was just the first hurdle.
SARA PALLONE (through translator): And when the hurricane came, all of the appointments
were canceled without warning.
Many of the doctors didn't communicate with us to tell us they were canceled.
We felt abandoned, like my son's life wasn't worth it.
SARAH VARNEY: That sense of abandonment is pervasive in the island's Central Mountains.
Telephone and power lines are still being restored.
Cables dangle from trees, roads remain badly damaged and power goes off and on.
All of that has made it difficult to get medical care for even basic needs, like the flu or
vaccinations.
At Salud Integral en la Montana, a community clinic in Orocovis, the lack of electricity
and refrigeration ruined the supply of vaccines.
Some children, like ®MDNM¯Tanya Burgos, missed their vaccinations for months after
the storm.
But it's not only physical health challenges.
Dr. Nelson Almodovar, a pediatrician at the clinic, says children, like 4-year-old Hiram
Cruz Ortiz, are still showing signs of trauma from Hurricane Maria.
He's anxious and refuses to sleep alone, and Dr. Almodovar wants him to see a psychologist.
Those added demands for care combined with the shortage of doctors makes staffing this
operation difficult.
Gloria Amador runs seven clinics and four emergency rooms in this remote region.
She says, while it's hard to get specialists to come here, she has many vacancies for primary
care doctors as well.
GLORIA AMADOR, CEO, Salud Integral en la Montana: We have 24 vacancies right now.
So, it's very difficult for us to have such a huge system without having primary care
doctors.
So, right now, people's lives have been impacted because of the long time they have to wait.
SARAH VARNEY: Back in Ponce, Jeann Cruz and Edgardo Rivera say the scramble for doctors
has added to the stress of being first-time parents.
They would like their son, 6-week-old Jaxx, to see a pediatric gastroenterologist to treat
his reflux, but there are only two in Ponce, and the wait is months-long.
Still, they are undaunted by the island's challenges and by the new hurricane season
under way.
JEANN CRUZ, Mother: There's going to be many hurricanes.
Come at us.
Let them come, because we're going to stay here.
SARAH VARNEY: So they're heading across the island to San Juan to find a doctor there.
For the "PBS NewsHour" and Kaiser Health News, I'm Sarah Varney in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: new alleged details about sexual -- or, rather, details about alleged
sexual misconduct by a Catholic cardinal who was a power broker within the church.
Theodore McCarrick was removed from public ministry last month, making him the highest
ranking Catholic official in the U.S. to be removed for sexual abuse of a minor.
As John Yang tells us, a new investigation finds other offenses, and church officials
allegedly covered them up for decades.
JOHN YANG: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was long one of the most recognized faces of the
U.S. Catholic Church.
He led the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and participated in funeral mass for Senator
Edward Kennedy.
McCarrick became an influential voice at the Vatican and was among the cardinals who elected
Pope Benedict XVI.
In the early 2000s, Pope John Paul II asked him to help manage the devastating sexual
abuse crisis.
He was one of the drafters of the charter for protecting children that was adopted by
American bishops in 2002.
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK, Former Archbishop Of Washington, D.C.: I think, when you look
at zero tolerance, now, I'm saying this -- the other bishops aren't -- I'm saying zero tolerance
prospectively.
Everybody is on the same page.
If this ever happens again, that's it.
JOHN YANG: McCarrick was the public face when the U.S. Council of Bishops issued its report
about decades of abuse by priests.
Here he is on NBC's "Meet the Press."
TIM RUSSERT, NBC: Do you believe there's a special place in hell for men who represent
Christ on earth and abuse their flock?
CARDINAL THEODORE MCCARRICK: There's certainly a special, terrible judgment on someone who
would abuse the trust that a priest must have, that a priest does have.
JOHN YANG: But McCarrick's own behavior became the focus last month when he was removed from
the ministry.
The Archdiocese of New York said an accusation that he had molested a 16-year-old altar boy
nearly 50 years ago was credible.
McCarrick denied it.
Now there are more allegations.
The New York Times reports that, beginning in the 1980s, when McCarrick was a New Jersey
bishop, he inappropriately touched young adult seminarians.
The newspaper said church officials knew of the allegations as he rose in the hierarchy.
McCarrick declined to comment to The Times.
The Reverend James Martin is a Jesuit priest and editor at large of the Jesuit magazine
"America."
He joins us now from New York.
Father Martin, thanks for being with us.
The New York Times reported that the first documentation they see of a complaint that
the Catholic Church was aware of, church officials were aware of, was in 1994.
How could these allegations have been around for so long, and yet Cardinal McCarrick rise
in the church hierarchy?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN, Editor at Large, "America": That's a very good question.
I think you're talking about the allegations about him toward seminaries and priests.
I think, essentially, priests were probably embarrassed to come forward and former seminarians
embarrassed to come forward.
And it is shocking to me these allegations have been around for so long.
It's really pretty mystifying.
JOHN YANG: And let me also ask you about the difference between the -- sort of the swift
action once the Archdiocese of New York deemed credible the allegations about abusing an
altar boy many years ago, and yet the slow or the inaction on the allegations about adult
seminarians.
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: Well, another good question.
I'm not a lawyer, but I think one is technically illegal, it's a crime, and I think that sort
of puts into place the reforms of the Dallas Charter, where the person is immediately removed.
And I suppose these other things, these other accusations took a while to be unearthed.
But what happens in terms of the Dallas Charter is that, once there is any credible accusation
of child abuse, you are immediately taken from ministry.
It's -- there's no questions asked.
JOHN YANG: What's the church's attitude, or how do they view allegations about adults?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: Well, it's a very serious matter.
It's not only a grave crime against somebody's person, right?
It's an abuse, an emotional abuse, sometimes a physical abuse.
It's also sinful, and it's also breaking the promise of celibacy that you have as a priest.
So, in multiple ways, it's wrong.
JOHN YANG: Father, one of the targets of Cardinal McCarrick told The Times that, in the corporate
world, there's a human resources contact.
He says, does the Catholic Church have that?
How is a priest supposed to report abuse or wrong activity by his bishop?
What is their stated vehicle for anyone to do that?
Should there be a vehicle within the Catholic Church for that?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: Well, and that was part of the problem, that the bishop is the highest person.
Certainly, an archbishop or later a cardinal is on the top of the food chain.
And it's very hard to level an accusation against that person.
The nuncio, who is the Vatican's representative in the United States, is the person that you
would go to.
But, as read from The New York Times yesterday, there was one Dominican priest, Father Boniface
Ramsey, who did go to the nuncio, and was apparently either ignored or the nuncio didn't
believe him.
So, that process also failed.
JOHN YANG: Father, I think one of the reasons why so many people are surprised by these
allegations is that he was so out front on the abuse scandal against children, and yet
this was going on, or at least the allegations were there against him.
What do you make of that?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: Well, that people are very complex, and I guess he was able to compartmentalize
his own misbehavior and abuse, and somehow, I'm assuming, think that the child sexual
abuses warranted different punishment.
But the idea that someone who was himself behaving improperly with people would be in
the forefront is, frankly, mystifying to me.
So it just, again, shows the complexity of the human person and the complexity of sin,
too.
I think that the most difficult thing for me to fathom was how these situations had
gone on for so long, even before he was archbishop of Newark and Washington.
That was really stunning to me.
JOHN YANG: Do you think there is more to this in the church with adult seminarians?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: No, I don't.
I think that Cardinal McCarrick's case is really extraordinary.
The idea that he would have a house on the Jersey Shore and sort of bring people there,
I think that's very unusual.
I think, as in any organization, I think there are abuses of power and even improper sexual
advances.
But I don't think this is rampant.
And I think his case is really kind of an outlier.
At least, I would hope so.
JOHN YANG: But is there anything the church can learn from this?
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: I think that, you know, we need safeguards for adult abuse as well.
I think it's very much similar to the MeToo movement and sort of encouraging people who
might feel unjustly ashamed or embarrassed to come out and talk about these things, even
when it's someone in power.
And the other thing we can learn is that, no matter how good or how, you know, productive
a person is, there's always that chance of sin in a person's life.
JOHN YANG: Reverend James Martin, editor at large of "America," thank you very much.
REV.
JAMES MARTIN: Of course.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Cigarette smoking among youth is at historic lows, but the number of kids
using electronic cigarettes has increased.
The government estimates the number is two million.
Although e-cigarettes deliver nicotine, many teens mistakenly believe there are no serious
health risks.
And since newer devices look like computer thumb drives, it's harder for educators to
detect them.
That's led to worries about e-cigarettes in schools, including the most popular one, Juul.
Special correspondent Kavitha Cardoza, with our partner Education Week, visited a school
in Milford, Connecticut, where the principal is trying to change the behavior.
It's part of our weekly series Making the Grade.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Fran Thompson, the principal of Jonathan Law High School, opens what he
calls his vaping drawer.
FRAN THOMPSON, Principal, Jonathan Law High School: These are some of the items that we
have confiscated this week.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: The items are all e-cigarettes.
The most popular brand by far is called Juul.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: This is a Juul.
I know it looks like a flash drive, right?
So, the liquid goes in here.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Basically, they're devices that heat up a liquid, often nicotine, and
you inhale the vapor.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: And then they smoke it, they vape it.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Kids can hide them anywhere.
ZANE BERKS, Student: Their socks, their backpacks, their pockets, their wallets, their bras,
back pockets, everywhere.
EMMA HUDD, Student: Anywhere, yes, because they're so small.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Students Zane Berks and Emma Hudd say that's part of a Juul's popularity.
EMMA HUDD: It's a lot easier than smoking a cigarette or drinking.
People do it in class all the time.
And kids like that it's sneaky and that they're getting away with it, because it gives you
that, like, rebellion.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: Are you really writing about Christopher Columbus?
I have athletes doing it.
I have honors kids doing it.
There's absolutely no stereotype in terms of the spectrum of who would be doing this.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: That makes this school in Milford, Connecticut, typical.
Juuling, as it's called, has spiked all over the country among youth.
But, unlike alcohol or cigarettes, often, parents aren't even sure what it is.
Parent Liz Goodwin has two teenagers in this school.
She found nicotine liquid pods in their pockets while she was doing laundry.
LIZ GOODWIN, Mother: When I found the pods, I Googled it and looked for it, and I couldn't
find anything.
I just had a photo of it and tried to describe it, and what is this?
And then I saw the amount of nicotine.
It's the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes.
I also understood some of my adult friends used e-cigarettes as a way to get off of smoking,
so I didn't know how dangerous it was.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: I will show you what was going on.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Principal Thompson says his aha moment was in the bathroom.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: So, your typical high school bathroom, right?
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Brings back memories.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: Just like watching "Grease," right?"
But what was happening was you might have five or six kids hanging out in here with
the door closed and vaping.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Teachers said groups of students were gone for more than 20, 25 minutes at
a time.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: I had boys wrestling in the bathrooms.
I had girls setting up little tent cities in the bathrooms, so they could hang out and
then come back totally lost because they missed that instructional time, and really unfocused
because they were buzzed from the vaping.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: It was hard to know for certain, though, because there are no obvious signs.
There's very little smoke and no characteristic cigarette smell.
JONAY GUZMAN, Teacher: You really can't tell.
Like, how do I know it's not a Bath and Body Works perfume that they pray that smells like
mango?
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin Runs the Yale Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science
at Yale University.
She says the flavors are a big part of e-cigarettes' popularity.
They sound playful and harmless, mango, mint, cotton candy, blueberry pie.
SUCHITRA KRISHNAN-SARIN, Yale University: These products come in over 7,000 different
flavors.
And they can also mix and match to create their own, which, again, introduces a sense
of novelty.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: But the vapors inhaled has been found to contain lead, zinc, chromium
and nickel.
And Krishnan-Sarin says nicotine, the main liquid in these devices, is extremely addictive
and can cause memory and attention loss, especially in the developing teenage brain.
SUCHITRA KRISHNAN-SARIN: There's something about nicotine that the teen brain is not
only sensitive, more sensitive to it, but it also leads to greater use of other substances,
like cocaine, marijuana.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Juuls were created as a way to help adult smokers stop smoking.
Krishnan-Sarin says there is not a lot of research available, but e-cigarettes do contain
fewer toxic chemicals than a regular cigarette.
But she says that doesn't mean they are safe for kids.
In fact, a big misconception is most kids think they're inhaling water vapor.
SUCHITRA KRISHNAN-SARIN: No, no, definitely not.
It is not water vapor.
And I think that is a message that needs to be delivered very clearly to youth.
There are chemicals in these e-liquids.
You are vaporizing the chemicals and you are inhaling them.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Principal Thompson felt he couldn't punish students for vaping because
they didn't understand why it was wrong.
So he started educating them.
JANELLE JESSEE, St. Vincent's Medical Center: These are all the chemicals that can be found
in one single cigarette.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Janelle Jessee With St. Vincent's Medical Center has spoken to more than 16,000
students from all over Connecticut this year.
JANELLE JESSEE: I ask the question, raise your hand if you know someone your own age
that smokes cigarettes.
Very rare do I get more than five.
And then I ask the same question, do you know someone your own age that uses a Juul or a
vape?
Almost every single hand goes up from a fifth-grade classroom all the way up to a 12th grade classroom.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Students Morgan Macey and Anthony Mendez say images on social media
spread quickly.
MORGAN MACEY, Student: You see the younger celebrities are holding a Juul in their hand,
and everyone's Snapchat will post videos of them Juuling.
They just find it a way to be cool.
ANTHONY MENDEZ, Student: There's a lot of tricks.
There's like smoke bubbles, kind of like a ring around, and then a bigger ring.
There's different tricks that they do online.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: So, Jessee gives them information and answers questions.
She even has a session for their teachers.
WOMAN: So, where do you put the fluid?
Why do you need power?
I know nothing about this.
MARY MANNION, Teacher: I think not having these Juuls and this industry regulated by
federal and also state officials is outrageous.
SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FDA Commissioner: Yes, I will tell you, straight up, this is one of our
top concerns right now.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Scott Gottlieb is the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
He says while e-cigarettes can be used by adults to stop smoking, it can't be done at
the expense of children.
SCOTT GOTTLIEB: If all we do is end up hooking a whole generation of young people on nicotine
by making these products available, we won't have done a service from a public health standpoint.
And so we need to be very aggressive in trying to take steps to crack down, prevent the youth
use of these products.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: The FDA is being sued by several organizations that are challenging
Gottlieb's decision to allow e-cigarettes to remain on the market until 2022 without
regulatory review.
Gottlieb says they needed time to set comprehensive standards for all these products, not just
Juul.
SCOTT GOTTLIEB: We also can't be in a position where we're playing Whac-A-Mole, where we're
just going after one particular product and don't have in place rules that address the
overall category.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: The FDA has requested internal research from e-cigarette companies, including
why these products are so popular with kids.
They are conducting a national undercover blitz to stop stores from selling to youth.
And, this fall, the FDA will roll out their first ever comprehensive public health campaign
about e-cigarettes.
NARRATOR: Vaping can deliver nicotine to your brain, reprogramming you to crave more and
more.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: In a statement, Juul says they cannot be more emphatic, no young person
or non-nicotine user should ever try Juul.
The company has pledged $30 million for their own education and prevention efforts.
Despite how proactive this school is about educating students against e-cigarette use,
students say Juuls are still extremely common.
None of these four students say they have vaped, but they don't hesitate.
If I asked you to get me a Juul right now, how long do you think it would it take you?
ZANE BERKS: Three minutes.
MORGAN MACEY: Five minutes or less.
EMMA HUDD: Five minutes or less, yes.
ANTHONY MENDEZ: Don't even know how to get one.
(LAUGHTER)
KAVITHA CARDOZA: Principal Thompson knows this.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: It's always going to be catch-up.
It's always going to be reactionary.
So, you do the best you can, I think.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: But he says its critical to keep educating kids about the risks.
FRANCIS THOMPSON: I consider vaping to be the next health epidemic for teenagers.
And I believe, in my heart, that this is going to have long-term effects, not dissimilar
to smoking and cancer.
KAVITHA CARDOZA: For the "PBS NewsHour" and Education Week, I'm Kavitha Cardoza in Milford,
Connecticut.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And one additional note: In June, voters in San Francisco overwhelmingly
backed a measure to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, including vaping liquids.
It's considered the strictest in the nation.
And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
Join us online and again here tomorrow evening.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, and we'll see you soon.
For more infomation >> Video: Storms stick around through the night - Duration: 1:59. 
For more infomation >> Now United | Presos em Manchester, Reino Unido (Legendado PT-BR) - Duration: 0:38. 
For more infomation >> បទកំពុងល្បីក្នុង Tik Tok Remix 2018 - Music Mixed (Bass Boosted) - Duration: 10:26. 
For more infomation >> Twin Telepathy Slime Challenge! Friend Edition! | JKrew - Duration: 8:20. 
For more infomation >> Heat & humidity up ahead - Duration: 1:15. 
For more infomation >> resident evil 6 - parte 1 REMAKE por jake digo reidentx - Duration: 33:08. 
For more infomation >> Lodging a periodic return for payroll tax in OSRconnect as a designated group employer - Duration: 6:30. 
For more infomation >> John Cessarich's Complete Forecast - Duration: 3:38. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét