captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: a decade in the making. the federal reserve cuts interest rates for the first time in over ten years. what does it mean for the economy, and why is it happening now? then, ten candidates down, ten to go. where the democratic presidential hopefuls standr afst night's debate and what to watch for in tonight'snd second r and, out of thin air.iq how harvestingd water from fog may turn the tide of the global water crisis. >> it's a fairly simple lution, but yet by just tweaking meaningfully the design, really at a small scale thresults are rather dramatic.

all that and more on twsight's pbs neur. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language program that teaches real-life conversaons in a new language. babbel's ten to 15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com. >> consumer cellular. >> financial servis firm raymond james. entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing skollfoundation.org.

>> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s.ou and developingries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. morenformation at macfound.o >> and witthe ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation car public broing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the federal reser cut a key short-term interest rate today, after raising it as recently as december. it lowered the federal funds rate-- the rate that banks charge each other for loans-- by a quarter-point. unusually, the stock market fell

on the news, when federal resee chairman jerome powell failed to signal it might be the first of a series of cuts. also unusual, two fed committee members voted against today's cut.re at a press cone, powell played down the lack of consensus. >> there is a range of views on the committee, but the committee to unified, completely unified, on our dedicatioaking the best policy decisions we can make. dod that means people have a responsibility their best thinking and to present that thinking. and i would not have it anyy. other we are going to be data dependent. we are going to be, as we always are, doing what we need to decto support thomic expansion. >> woodruff: late this afornoon, president trump a weighed in, saying in a tweet that powell "let us down," that markets were looking for indications of a "lengthy and aggressive rate-cutting cycle." today's rate c marks the first time the fed has lowered interest rates in a little over 10 years.

at that time, the u.s.conomy was struggling to emerge from the "great recession." today, economic indicators are strong. unemployment is at a 50-year low, with the stock market recently hitting new highs. so why cut now? for answers to that and more, we once again turn to david wessel, director of the hutchins center on fiscal & monetary policy at the brookings institution. david, welcome back. >> good to be here. as we just mentioned, last time we looked, idecember, t fed was raising interest rates. now they're lowering the why? >> they have three reasons. one is that they've made ain mistakecember. the economy isn't as strong as icipated.ant two, they're worried inflation is too soft. they expected inflation to be ving towards their 2% target, and it hasn't moved there quite as effectively as they had hoped. >> that's prices going up. prices going up. it's hard to believe the fng tro get inflation going up. for old-timers like us, th seems like an impossible thing.

we're used to the fed doiheng opposite. the third thing is they're worried about risk to the globac omy, not so much the united states, but chairman powell mentioned china and europe and so made clear, and he said this several times, that trade tensions, president trump's trade war is hurting the economy largely because it's depressing business spirits a business investments, so, in a sense, they're saying we need to cut rates now to protect the economy in part from the damage that president trump's trade policies are doing for the outlook. >> woodruff: so he's specificly pointing a finger at the president's trade policies? >> he didn't quite say it like i did, but pretty close. >> woodruff: putting one-quarter of a point doe sound like a lot. what effect is that going to have on the economy and ordinary americans? >> it isn't a lot. it's a small movement offset some of the bad things in the economy. markets were angst pating the move. mortgage rathe a few months o

were 5%, now 3.7%, meaning slightly lower rates on car loans and crdit cards, but also means people who have money market and n market fund bank certificate will get less interest. >> woodruff: president trump being critical cause he said the fed should have signaled rere would be more e cuts in the future and the market seeem to heacted to that. >> you're right, the market seemed to have reacted to chairman powell's press conference in which he used to say this was a series of cuts. nfusing. little co i think basically what the fed is saying is the economy is okay, this is taking out a little bit of insurance against a bad outcome. we will cut rates a lot if we think the economy is on the everge of a recession. we don't think it is, so this is not the first of a long series. the markeill expect at least one more rate cut this year. the president app more than that.

>> woodruff: but, for whatever aid, the as you just fed is not prepared to promise that. >> no. i mean, partly, it'aus be the markets and the analysts wantty more certahan the fed can ever provide. they don't really know, and chairman powell talked about thil, how bad wtrade tensions be for the economy, so they're trying to be cautious. secondly, unemploymentat a 50-year low, and the economy is okay. so the fed doesn't believe it needs the really strong medicine of sharp rate cus. the president apparently feels wdifferently. druff: quickly david wessel. another focus ton president seems to be on the strength of how does that play into this? >> the president worries a lotted about hie dollar wch has been strong because it hurts our trade exports and makes trade deficits worse and at's a big concern. the fact other central banks around the world are cutti their interest rates means their currencies will fall relative to the dollar, so oneactor in fed's decision was they knew they had to cut rates now

otherwise the dollar might get too strong and apparently theyha don't want and the president surely doesn't. >> woodruff: one more actor in the drama as it goeon. >> keeps me employed. >> woodruff: david wessel, thank you. in the day's other news: as we mentioned, stockturned south after fed chair jerome powell indicated today's rate cut might not herald a trend. the dow jones industrial average plunged over 333 points to close at 26,864. the nasdaq fell 98 points, and the s&p-500 shed 33. all three indexes were down 1%. >> woodruff: speaking of trade, u.s. and chinese officials have finished their latest trad talks without visible signs of progress. the meeting in shanghai today was aimed at ending an ongoing tariff war. it wrapped up 40 minutes ahead of schedule. just yesterday, president trump accused the chinese of reneging on promises, and he warned them against waiting to see if he is

re-elected. day, beijing answered: >>translated ): it's just laughable, because it's obvious to all who went back on his word, and has been capricious in more than a year of trade talks. it's useless to ask other people to take medicine when you are tack yourself. i think the uniteds should show more sincerity and honesty on the issue of trade talks. s>> woodruff: the two sid tey will meet again, in washington, come septemberni the foreign er of iran, mohammad javad zarif, is now under u.s. economic sanctions. the treasury department announced it toda it said zarif is helping iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, to carry o his "reckless agenda". zarif countered that hwas sanctioned because he is a threat to america's agenda. in western afghanistan, a roadside bomb ripped open a bus today, killi at least 32 people. it happened on a highway between the provincial capitals of herat

and kandahar. local hospits were crowded with at least 17 wounded. officials said most of the dead were women and children. the taliban denied responsibility. kelly craft was confirmed ambassador to the united nations. the long-time republican activist is currently ambassador to canada. she will also be the first maor political donor to serve as u.n. ambassador. and, puerto rico's outgoing governor ricardo rossello named his choice for a successor today. pedro pierluisi a former delegate to u.s. congress.ed he was nominor secretary of state and would become governor when rossello resigns on friday. but, top puerto rican lawmakers said they will block him over t his tithe island's federal control board. str:l to come on the newshou analyzing the results of last nighs democratic debate and looking ahead to tonight's

second round.s accusati sexual assault against an air force gener taking a top military post. out of thin air: can harvestg water from fog be the key to solving the world's water problems? and much more. t >> woodruff: half candidates seeking the 2020 democratic presidential nomination faced off in tuesday night's debate in detroit. as amna nawaz reports, the ideological rift in the crowded field was on full display. >> nawaz: for the ten democrats on stage last night, an existential question: how far left to go? more moderate candidates like former maryland congressman john delaney set their ghts on the party's left flank. >> i think democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises, when we run on things that are workable, not

fairy tale economics.om >> nawaz: enators elizabeth warren ofan massachusettd bernie sanders of vermont, the party's two liberal stage, a united front. >> you know, i don't understand why anybody goes to e trouble of running forresident of the united states just to talk about what we really can't and shouldn't fight for >> i get a little bit tired of democrats afraid of big ideas. >> nawaz: it's a dive that played out for nearly every issue, as democrats debated the st way to defeat preside trump. south bend indiana mayor pete buttigieg: >> we will deal with climate, if and only if we win the presidency, if and only if we beat donald trump. >> nawaz: on health care, the moderates, like montana governor steve bullock, in his firstba appearance, expressed doubts about the health care overhaul known as "medicare for all." >> at the end of the day, i'm not going to support any plan that rips away quality health

f re from individuals. this is an examplesh list economics. it used to be just republicans who wanted to repeal and replace. now many democrats do, as well. >> let's-- let's be clear about this. we are the democrats.re weot about trying to take away health care from anyone. that's what the republicans are trying to do. ( applause ) and we should stop using republican talking points in order to talk with each other about how to best provide that health care. s >> nawaz: sandso defended his signature proposal against attacks from ohio congressmannd tim ryanormer colorado governor john hickenlooper.ti >> for senior ns it will finally include dental care, aring aids and eyeglasse >> but you don't know that -- you don't know that, bernie. >> second of all -- ec>> i'll come to you in ad, congressman. >> i do know it, i wrote the damn bill. >> if 're going to force americans to make these radical changes, they're not going to go along -- throw your hands up -- >> all right -- >> oh-ho, i can do it. but you haven'implemented the

plans >> nawaz: similar to the last debate, the bate around immigration centered on a plan to make crossing the u.s. border a civil offense instead of criminal. former texas congressmo o'rourke: >> i expect that people who come here follow our laws, and we reserve the right to criminally prosecute them >> the problem is that, right c now, tminalization statute is what gives donald trump the ability to take children away from their parents. we must be a country that every day lives our values.nt >> nawaz: in dn detroit, a city that's over 80% black, night one of the debate featured an all-white field of candidates. minnesota senator amy klobuchar responded to president trump's recent attacks on congressman elijah cummings and baltimore. >> little kids literally woke up this weekend, turned on the tv and saw their president calling their city, the town of baltimore, nothing more than a home for rats. and i can tell you, as your president, that will stop. >> nawaz: while author and nespiritual adviser marian williamson focused on the water conditions in nearby flint

michigan. >> it's bigger than flint-- it's all over this country, it's particularly people of color-- it's particularly peop do not have the money to fight back. and if the democrats don't start saying it, then why would thoseh people fee they're there for us and if those people don't feel it, they won't vote for us, and donald trump will win. >> nawaz: expe race to come up again tonight, as ten more candidates prepare to take the stage... among them, former v president joe biden and california senator kamala harris, who clashed over desegregating schools during the first debate last month. >> do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose bussing in america then? do you agree? >> i did not oppose bussing in america. >> nawaz: biden said last week he was "overly polite"ast time. heading into tonight, harris signaled she will once again set her sights on the candidate leading in the polls. >> my mother raised me to be polite and i intend to be polite. i will express differences and

articulate them. >> nawaz: they will share the stage with eight oth candidates hoping for their own stand out moments before the polling and fundraising thresholds double for the next ro debates in september. for analysis of last night's debate and what to look for ght, i'm joined by stuar rothenberg, senior editor of inside elections, amy walter ofp the coitical report and host of the "politics with amy walter" on w-nyc radio, and karine jean-pierre, a senior advisor to moveon.org. welcome to you all. let's jump right in. u, last night one of the central themes was about thesu moderate veprogressive candidates. did one side do better than other at making the cse? >> no i think both sides did very well, and you're right, that was the context created by the question from cnn folks, but so it's an honest division within the party, and you saw the two obvious progressives, bernie sanders and elizabeth warren, energize, articulate, eou know, about their positions, and you saw pragmatists. so i think they did a really

good job, a number of them, whether delaney or ryan or whatever, trying to poke holes air arguments. so i think both sides did quite well. >> karine, you noted from stu some of the lower poll candidate.m we're taking frequently at senator warren and sanmeders. care for all is one of the big topics last night how do you think they did in defending their tur? >>y think thedid pretty good. last night i saw a be de baitic about pos and substantive issues. it's part of the process and having a primary, and i think they did well for themselves and i think, now, we move on to tonight and see how that goes. >> amy, let's take a look at how people are deciding who it isnt they actually o vote for. i want to point you to something that always stands out to me. this is from our "pbs newshour" npr marist poll. when you askm likely deocratic voters have they made up their minds, 82% say no, they have

not.of that is a lo people. so if you're a democratic voter out there watching the deatbate, re you gleaning from this kind of format right now? >> what you're really looking for right now, amna,hen i talk to voters, what they're telling me is they are hoping that the field gets narrowed because there are too many choices for them. they just get oki intimidated by the number that are on the stage. so i think, even though we saw n some nmes in the mix, stu mentioned john delaney and steve bullock literally the first time on the stage, governor of i montanhink this race is still consolidating around four, maybe five candidates, and as tinge candidates are get challenged or maybe challenging another candidate, you will see their numbs rise and falas other people challenge them, but i don't think we're going to see one of these candidates that right now is polling in e low ones or twos suddenly break up from the top.st verall this fundamental

debate about pragmatism and one that's more structural reform, you know, sitting here in michan right now, this is a debate that happened in 2018 in the governor's race and happened in 2016 in the primay between hillinton and bernie sanders, so folks in this state are pretty used to that conversation. 2016, it was the more progressive candidate, bernie sanders, who won the primary i 2018. it was the more pragmatic who is now the governor gretchen whitmore,o who won her primary. >> cina, karine, climate, race came up, huge in the 2020 election as we talk about it. it was an all white panel based on the random dra how dining they did at developing an overall message of how they're going to make e democratic case to voters of color? >> yeah, it was very unfortunate, amna. we have a very diverse field and, like you mentioned, it w

pretty much an all-whiteat cand on that stage and, tonight, that will change. but i'm actually really glad the question of race was aked to the white candidates and they took an opportunity to answer that. what we saw the past three weeks with donald trump and the way b heught up race and how he's using it for his 2020 reelection isquite concerning, and, so, it's an important conversation to have. we need toring it up, and you have people of color living in this country that is very worried as to whether this country is going, and i think it's a good -- it was great tond see these ates on this stage talk about it last night. stu, we mentioned donald trump. i wanto point you to another recent showing from our poll that pbs/npr marist poll. when it looks at what democratic voters are looking for in their candidate, do they want someone who alliance with their values orca someone whn beat donald trump? majority says they're looking

for someone who cn beat donald trump. did you see that messages? >> i think the president didn't onget as much attenast night as i expected he will get or those people get tonight, but face, amna, voters want it all. they want somebody to beat donald trump and soebody to reflect their values and priorities and views. they're going to hold o deciding until much later in the year. i know we expec-- we think we've already had debates and there have been to halls and interviews, but we've got a long way to go before people actualls make chof who they're going to support and who they aren't. >> it's worth noting e trump campaign put out a response after the debate last night, says it's the same radical democrvs, same big goernment, the social message, social message comes up again an again. pete buttigieg foreshadowed that and said we need to d what we believe in and move forward. is there some truth to that, to e democrats now? >> we know what the play book is going to bed for donump and

republicans. they have been using theso alist label now since the 2018 campaign. wasn't particularly effective in that race, but, again, that was a midterm elction where it was a referendum on the president. this is going to be a choice tween the president and another democratic candidate. but, lok, i think tht, when we're asking, you know, whether or not thedaan who appeals to the more left or the more center is going to win, we miss another fundamental question, which is who's the candidate that has the vision, the message,ho's able to connect, who has a narrative and a story? and, s this is where, i think, some of the moderates did not do -- they were not as effective last night and that they were ablero sot of try and poke holes in what the progressive candidates were saying about a medicare for all system, mentioning how difficult it was going to be to pass, howwo able it was. but they're not offering -- i didn't see last night -- a rea sort of vision or optimistic

message to voters who are foking, as stu sair everything, but who want to beat dona trump and see a candidate who has a realistic path of getting there. >> i feel like a debate s.derator, 30 seconds or l what are you looking for tonight when ten more candidates take the stage? >> joe biden now becomes the face and the voice of that moderate, in a way that the candidates last night, yes, they tried to play that role, but the real role is going to be playedn by joe bnd how he holds up under what i thi is going to be pretty aggressive -- you know, i don't know iould use the word attack but they're going to aggressively challenge joe biden tonight. can he hold up? he did not do particularly well in the first debate. >> karine, what are you looking for? >> what i want to see which we didn't see last ght is i really want to see the contrast th donald trump.

we talked about healthcare, more than 35 minutes was on medicare for all, which is great, but nobody mentioned that right no the trump administration is in the courts trying to take aay healthcare from tens of millions of people. that type of thing is what i h want tar tonight from these candidates. what's the contract, how are -- what's the contrast, how are we going to beat donald trump? i agree with amy. i think biden is going to get a lot of the attention, people are going to be focusing on him tonight especial after the last debate, but i also want to say that i don't think we're going to see much change after tonight. i think the third debate, the one in september in houon where the field will, you know, whittle down a bit. i don't think we'll have more than one debate, i think that's where 'll see movement with numberand how people are standing in this race. >> i'll give you the last word, stu. >> biden and biden, he's the leading progressive pragmatist. he is -- if healters, which is certainly possible, it will create an opening for somebody

ele to take that placeause this is a party that's split, th wants to win but with a rtain agenda. >> stu rotheerg, karine jean-pierre, and amy walter. thanks to you all. >> certainly. uf >> woo air force general john hyten was nominated in april by president trump to become vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. but he's been accused of sexual assault and making unwanted advances by one of his former assistants, colonel kathryn spletstoser. spletstoser has been in the army for 28 years. she's received glowing fitness reviews, including from general hyten himself, who wrote in 2017 that spletstoser was in the "top 1% of all colonels i have seen in my 36 years of service" and that "kathy will be the kind of generalfficer the army needs.

ready today for brigadier georal; unlimited potential lead." at his senate confirmation hearing yesterday, general hyten denied spletstoser's allegations.t >>s been a painful time for me and my family, but i want to state to yoicand to the am people, in the strongest possible terms, that these allegations are false. there were-- there was a very extensive thorough investigation that dr. wilson descwhich revealed the truth: nothing ppened ever. >> woodruff: today, the senate armed rvices committee voted to move hyten's nomination to the full senate with republican senator joni ernst joining six other democrats in voting against general hyten. and a warning,here is strong, graphic language in this convertion with colonel spletstoser, which i recorded a short time ago. with me w is army colonel kathryn spletstoser. colonel, thank you very much for being here. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: so tell us first, what was your relationship with

general hyten before the advances that you say happened took place? >> well, i was his director, his commander action group director. i basically developed a pretty good relationship with him early on. i was probably his most favorite subordinate, first amongalqu that's the way he treated me. >> woodruff: saw him every day? >> every day a day and on travel, yes. >> woodruff: and you say that these unwelcomed advances started in early 2017. just give us an example. >> so ittarted in january 2017 on a trip to palo alto, and we were doing work in his hotel after his -- hi hoel room after work, he asked me to stay behind. we went over and coered some stuff for the next day, engagements at stanfod then as i was leaving he actually stopped me on my way out the door, pulled my hand to his groin and he had an erect

erectpenis. i was very shock and confused. i didn't understand what that meant. i was mortified. i ust turned around and he gave me sort of a face that was very disconcerting, like he thought i would like that. he didn't say anything. i said -- i basically didn't say an ahing. i leftnd that was the first ghcounter. i th it could have been a mistake or an accident. >> woodruff: and you've said that these advances continued off and on through 2017, and then in december, something more serious happened. >> i would say in june something more serious happened. june in washington, d.c. and we made a lot of trips to d.c., this was another time where we were actually going over work for the xt day to ppare for some engagements in d.c. and he asked me to stay and go ovr some work. and it was in his hotel suite d it was after the duty hour but it wasn't very late, and he stood over my shoulder. he grabbed my breasts and turned

me around and started kising me passionately. i pushed him off. i id, this is not going to anppen, like, what are you doing? he said, i just want to see how thatelt, i thought you would like it. i'm, like, i didn't like it, wh wou think that. he said, well, i thought you liked me. and i was, like, sir, i do like you but not like th he said, well, why not? rried,ike, you're ma you're my boss and you're not my type. ee asked, like, what my typ was. and i said someone not married, someone not my boss, and i prefer men of color, and he mde a snarky k about why myself and his former aide got along so well because he was an african-american guy. we proceeded to have a conversation that was very argumentative. he got upset. he actually sat down on the

couch and actually staed crying, and i was very confused and shocked at that. he's a very emotional guy, but now i'm sort of in a position wherohe did smething incredibly wrong to me, and i don't really know what to do. i got really upset and really. angry and ma >> woodruff: but you continued to work with him. >> i did. . i thought he got the point that it could verappen again. >> woodruff: and then in december, you were on another tr tel -- >> yeare were some small incidents in between there, but, yes, we were at the reagan security forum. >> reporter: in california. yes. >> woodruff: and he showed upo atr hotel room outside the door. >> yes. >> woodruff: and you let hi in? >> yeah, so, now it was after the dinner that -- and it was a great event the whole forum went really, really well. so as i was preparing to goo sleep for the evening, i was

putting on face cream and i get a knock on the do i thought it was probably the aide or the como or security detail and it was him and he just wlked in my room. i was thinking something was wrong, did s dething happed i screw up, did i not meet the standard or something that day. he said, no, no, i just want to talk. he hadooome in my rwith a work binder. he said, i just want to talk. and i'm,, okay. so he sat on the bed and asked me to sit next .to him and i was really confused then. i was, like, oh, this is sort of weird, i don't know what's going to happen, but, you know, everything's been going r well, so i wasn't afraid. then he took my hand,nd i stood up and i was, like, no, and he grabbed me. he stood up and started kissing me passionately and -- and heul not stop, even though i

said -- he said he wanted to make love to me. i said, that's not going to happen. i think i might have said, you want to have sex? he said no, i want to make love i was tryo get loose from him. and he kept saying you're responding to this, yoe it. i said, no, i'm not, i don't like it. he proceeded to still kiss me and hold mey preght and touch me on thbutt and some other areas, and then finally he was grinding on my leg, which was kind of weird, and then he ejaculated after a while.so was mortified. i pushed him off. i was really scared at that like, that point, i wasn't t point. physically scared, but now this hagone through a who other level. >> woodruff: this is your superior officer? >> thiais four-star general. i'm a colonel. he's a six-foot-four man, i'm

five-seven. this crossed te line in aig way. >> woodruff: but you didn't report it to anyone. is that right? at the time? >> that's correct. >> woodruff: why not? i didn't really feel like i was comrtable having a venue to report it. security detail, they're there to protect himnot me. >> woodruff: so you thought you would just keep it to yourself? >> i thought really in the june itcident, i thought he got the point and tha really never would happen again. i know he does love his wife, s i was, like, oh, this is just sort of an inf and so i was just really confused. >> woodruff: you, as you know, general hyten completely denies this, we heard what he said just a moment ago. he said itapever hpened, and then you have the air force gaoffice of special inveson, they looked into this and i'm quoting, they said we spo 50 people in three countries and 13 states and reviewed thousands of e-mails and they did they w

concluded "the insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct. >> that's not exactly true. air force office of special investigations reports do not make those type of determinations. they are fact gatherers, they friend facts. they did corroborate every single thing i said in my sworn statement, that everything i said happened, there were othgs tho corroborate. it lefte sex acts. which i went in saying this will prably be a he d she said. >> woodruff: you finally did go public afs ter he minated for this decision? >> i didn't go public, i made an appropriate -- so through discussing the issue with the department of defense inspector general who had aske for some more information, i had been dealing with them on the other investigations that had a been concludedd they said, look, if there's something more you need to tell n. i talked to my boss and said,

you know, kind of hinted around, this is kind of what it is, and he's, like, that's a tough choice, think about itd, and if you do decide, we'll send it through the i.g. first, and it would go to a law enforcement agency. >> woodruff: so what do you make, when all is said and doe, colonel spletstoser, how this was handled by the militars >> the age charge admitted they were being rushed and there was a lot of pressurto get it ne quick. >> woodruff: how do you -- the public, people wariching you t now, are going to say this is her version of events versus his version. is that how you see it is it he said she said or more than that? >> i went in and said, look, this is going to be hard to prove the actual sex act, but you're going to find othster f, and they did. when they said there was insufficient evidence to charge him, that investigation uncovered a lot of things abouts his leap style. >> woodruff: negative?

corroborated evidence indicated he was untruthful in his o..i. interview, corroborated by at least 12 statements that were ii that investi. it was also corroborated -- i mean, he could have been chargel with deerction of duty, conduct unbecoming, failure to maintain good order and discipline, and this is the hardest one because heways talked about, oh, his red line was treating people with dignity and respect, but i would argue he didn't treat medi witgnity and respect at all by doing that ated.e way i was tre >> woodruff: you also said yesterday, colonel, you saidh you're doings so general hyten doesn't do this if he is confirmed as the vice chair of nee joint chiefs. >> so the bottom lor me, i felt like it was a moral responsible. at tt point, like, when hs nomination was announced, it's -- because he told me he

was retiring. my replacement was a man. his testimony -- his timeline was short i took h seriously when he said that, and then he gets nominate and that fundamentally changed the equation. i was really upset, and that's when i had a conversation with my brother and my boss and id, look, what should i do? and it became sort of a responsibility to report it so people know and that it would ensure that he didn't get the portunity to do this to somebody else for the next four years. >> woodruff:yohat signal do think this sends to other women or men who are the victims of sexual assault in the military >> it basically says, look, if yo boss is a general officer, no matter what you do, you won't be taken seriously,espite the evidence. it means that they will try to blame, shame and discredit you

beuse the o.s.i. investigation didn't investigate him, it was victim focused, like trying to discredit me and it failed to do that. but it also says, hey, not only wi we not believe u and we'll discredit you along the way, but we'll probably let him get omoted, too. >> woodruff: colonel kathryn spletstoser, thank you very mut for talking us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: north korea launches multiple missile tests-- what it means for negotiations with the u.s. plus, remembering the life ofge ary broadway producer and director, harold prince. the global water supply faces constant and worsening threats: climate change, overconsumption,

poor managemen it's a challenge pushing scientists, politicians andto designerunt for innovations that could lead to new sources of water. john yang reports for our "breakthroughs" leading edge of science and technology. >> yang: situated on the edge of the sara in southern morocco, mount boutmezguida gets only about five inches of rain a year. but what it lacks in rain, it makes up for in fog, which blankets the area for about half e year. so that's where residents have --now turned for their wat harvesting it from fog. alongside scientists from the german water foundatn, the moroccan non-profit dar si hmad has set up what's said to be the largest fog collection project in the world-- about 19,000 square feet of nets

called cloud fishers. as fog rolls through, the mesh traps fresh water, which drips into a receptacle. a network of pipes takes it to the villages below, where about 1,000 people every day use it for drinking and watering plants and animals. jamila bargach is director of dar si hmad.av >> the fact ofg water has radically transformed the life t women who used to walk for hours to get water, one, and two, there w always the fear not having enough water. right now that fear is not there anymor >> yang: but in other places, the fear remains. experts say there's a global water crisis, with at least two- thirds of the population living in areas that lack water one month a year or more. this summer, chennai, india, has had to rely on wer deliveries from tanker trucks. a poor monsoon season left all

the city's reservoirs dry. betsy otto directs the world resources institute's global water program. >> we're seeing really significant shifts-- much more erratic rainfall. snowpack and glaciers that have been very important sources of slow release water to much of the world are disappearing. so we're seeing really significant changes from global climate change. >> yang: while collecting water from fog may sound revolutionary, it's actually an ancient technique, andound in nature. an afric captures fog droplets with small bumps on its back. and archeologists have found evidence it was used centuries ago in the middle east and uth america. how do we get as much water as possible from fog today? with high consumption climate change making water scarcity a growing problemhe aroundorld, researchers are tackling that question. chnique is being tested here at this farm at virginia

tech. industrial dign professor brook kennedy is part of the team that developed the fog harp. to uses tightly placed vertical wires, as opposed riss- crossing mesh. >> either they tend to be too open. so a lot of fog passes through them or in other cases they're too tightly woven and so the fog droplets get stuck. what we've dondifferently here is that we've removed the rizontal wires and this prevents the water droplets from getting stuck. so they quickly through gravit quickly drop away. >> yang: tests have found this design to be at least three times more effective at capturing water than traditional nets. for kennedy, this was a case of biologically inspired design, influenced, in par at least, by california redwoods. the towering trees draw most of their water from fog accumulating on their needles. >> the solution isn't embedded with you know circuits and other high tech accoutrements or

features. a itairly simple solution but yet by just tweaking meaningfully the design really at a small scale the results are rather dramatic. >> yang: the team is now working on the next generatifog harps, making them sturdier, more colorful, exploring the best wiring material. within a few years, the plan is to test hundreds of harps in places battling water scarcity, like peru south africa. in cambridge, massachusetts, m.i.t. scientists are trying to takehe innovation surroundin fog collection even further. they've diovered that zapping air rich in fog with a beam of electrically charged pticles draws the droplets toward e mesh, dramatically increasing its ability to collect water. >> so right now the system is of so you can see that this plume can pass through the mesh unaffected. and then it goes around.

but when we turn the electric field on. the plume vanishesy instantaneoud then water starts collecting on that mesh. >> yang: so it's the same amount >> yang: the idea is to use the system on power plant cooling towers. almost 40% of all fresh water taken from rivers, lakes and reservoirs in the united states is set aside for that critical purpose.i. mechanical engineering professor kripa varanasi leads the team. >> we've been able to fundamentally change the trajectory of these drople. in fact, we saw these drops that are going away make a u-turn and come back.d we went from a half to a couple of percent efficiency to almost 100% efficiency b >> yang: whih the projects are promising betsy otto of the world resources institute says water innovation must be coupled with better water mana. >> and so we're going to have to

find new ways of storing it or capturing it in places that used to have more water than th'll now have yes it's important to have those technologies but that is not enough. >> it's a big societal proem and not as simple as, ¡hey you know you have a power plant i can sell you this thing i mean i think conservation in combination with other techniques working in unison will help us tackle water scarcity. >> yang: that combination may mean the difference between losing or maintaining one of the most basic elements of life on earth.th fopbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: north korea launched two short-range,c ballisssiles yesterday. it's the country's second such

launch in less than a week, and comes as talks between the u.s. and north korea are at a nick schifrin has the latest. e >> schifrin: it's been man a month since president trump red north korean leader kim jong-un agreed tart their dialogue. but there's been no movement yet, and north korea has made very public demonstrations with its military, seemingly in frustration with the u.s. and u.s. ally south korea. what is north korea saying with the tests, and where do the lks go from here? for that, i'm joined by general vincent broo, who retired as the top u.s. general in south korea in january, and is currently a senior fellow at the belfer center at harvard university. vincent brooks, welcome back to the "newshour". >> thanks, good to be with you again. eporter: we saw the two ballistic missile tests yesterday and two more last week and before that kim jong un made a very public visit to a submarine factory outside of pong pong yong. what is north korea trying to

rey? >> i suspect therying to send messages and get leverage before the discussions resume, and i think the discussions will resume anlyd relatioon. but the idea of creating pressure especially onis south korehat i think this is all about, a reaction to south korea receiving f-35a joint strike fighters, and these types of assets ha not been on the koreeninsula in more than a year, at least deployed by the united states. so this is messaging and posturing, but it heaps to equalize the table before they go into discussions.o >> reporter: you mentioned, 5-35s recently deployed to seoul, north korea, specifically cited those and specifically cited joint exercises between the u.s. and south korea. you more than most know the pacity of vehicle's military and how soh korea's military works. do you believe the arm sales and joint exercises should be going on? >> these exercises are important for professional militaries to

maintain their edge and, even in the environment of creating room for diplomacy and postponing some exercises more than a year ago, there's still room for maintaining readiness and that's been ongoing. so we see the second of two ixercises that have begun in the year 2019 called ace, that's the name of the exercise or dom the korean language, and the second one that's coming up, it's importan in this particular case because it is a bit of a certification exercise for the south kore tans y prepare to take over the lead for controlling forces in wartime shouldvehatntuality actually occur. le yes the exercises need to occur. me also just mention, if i may, north korea hasn't changed their exerse program at all, and not a bit in five years. we saw a few things that were modifications in terms of what they did in the winter cycle, but for the most part, their exercises remain at the same scale at the same timing twice a

year as they have be for five years. >> you talked about keeping the room for diplomacy, that is something certainly president trump has been trying to mainin, and i want to play what he said about the first test last friday. >> they are short-ranged hissiles, and they relationship is very good w chairman kim, and we'll see what happens, but they are short-ranged missiles and many people have the missiles. >> many people have those missiles. vincent brooks says north korea conditioned president trump to accept short-range missile tests. is that okay? >> it's for the administration to decide whether 's okay or not, but i will just tell you this that certainly there are military ail suspects of this that's a capability that be improved by theh ortreans, a solid fuel rocket motor, for example, the ability to do some maneuvers in flig particularly at the end of the flight, and, so, it is a matter that must now be contended with by the republican of korea and the u.s. alliance in particular, but by others as well who look

at this as a te or demonstration of capable. so it's not a matter of whetheit okay, it's a matter of recognizing whether north korea has a formidable arsenal of weapon systems and continue to dernize those beyond the nuclear programs testing b intercontinentlistic missiles. so that's the reason forces have to stay read y inrtheast asia and the korean peninsula. reporter: you've lai out a program of incentives include regular starting korean joint programs and create an international escrow aunt into which donors could put money. north korea could see the money and would only get the ney if actions are positive. why do you think it's important to have incentives? >> north korea doesn't trust anyone, they don't trust themselves or the intersectional community especially the united states. so the first is to demonstrate

there is something waiting for them at the end of the rainbow, if you will, and there areo promises great future to north korea but there's no money on the table. w, i'm not suggesting there is a payout for every behavior, but ratht there's a visible international fund that donors can contribute to that helps to build the potential for development for nortkorea in time, and it can be metered. when we see a native behavi we don't like, like short-range missile launches, money comes back out and goes back to the when we see a positive behavior like a declaration, inspection, repatriation of remains or resumptionf recove operations at arrowhld hil, money flows into the account. it shows movement which the international community an an expectation that chairman kim will deliver on what did eh said he would do which is ultimately a finally verified denuclear

dealization. >> reporter: vincent broks, commander of allied forces i uf >> woo finally tonight, a broadway great has died today. director and producer harold" hal" prince won an astonishing 21 tony awards wshows that became household names and whose popularity endures even now. this is part of our ongoing ar and culture series, "canvas." ♪ ♪ harold "hal" prince was full of surpriseand created memorable works still being performed many years after their debuts. " started first as a producer of shows such asthe pajama game," "damn yankees," "west si story," "a funny thing happened on the way to the forum," and "fiddlerthe roof." talking to the newshour in 1986, he had this to say about his career: >> when i went into the theater

it cost $250,000 to do a musical. were neophytes; we got our experience right on the spot. it is overwhelming, thepe exence of having a $4 million investmldt on your shs. >> woodruff: eric schaeffer is the longtime artistic director " "signature theater"n arlington, virginia and staged many of prince's plays over the whars. in fact, signatureh won a tony award for best regional theater in the country fhonored prin his work in 2013. >> he was an icon, and if i can grow up toe like hal prince, that would an amazing thing. he was an amazing captain of the ship, whenever there were problems, he made it look like there were none. p >> woodrufnce went on to direct landmark musicals such as "cabaret," "company," "follies," "sweeney todd," "evita" and "phantom of the opera." >> woodruff: during his over 50 year career,rince received two

special tony's in addition to the 21 statues when in 1972," fiddler" became broadway's longest running musical and then again two years later for a revival of "candide." he also received a kennedy center honor and was known as a master collaborator and "prince of broadway." f ineature for pbs' "great performances," prince discussed the change he's seen in broadway since he sta ed his career as a director. >> i wanted to provokeco ersation for people to leave the theater but not the show. i wanted issues on the stage as they had been in my youth. >> woodruff: it was with legendary stephen ndheim who was the lyricist for "west side story" that prince developed a long-lasting friendship andal professiartnership. they went on to work on "a funny thing happened on the way to the forum" and many more. >> their relationshiged american musical theater. all of their work s

groundbrking, was pushing style or form, and they were ellling stories that nobod was. >> woodruff: prince's publicist saa he died in iceland afte brief illness. harold prince was 91. wonderful . and that's the newshour for tonight. tomorrow, how georgetown university is paying reparations for its slave holding past. i'm judyoodruff. join us here and online at for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> home advisor. >> ordering takeout. >> finding the west route. >> talking for hours. >> planning for showers. >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data.lu consumer cr. learn more at

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