"Ancient Stonehenge faces modern problems with plans for a nearby tunnel to ease traffic" PBS NewsHour 3/17/2021
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The Stonehenge landscape, one of the most visited ancient sites in England, is in the spotlight as a possible solution to a modern problem. Could tunneling through it help ease heavy traffic flow in the surrounding streets? Archeologists and activists warn the construction would place the cherished site under threat. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
"Britain rolls out a vaccine, but what will distribution look like in the U.S.?" PBS NewsHour 12/08/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: The first shots of a COVID vaccine in Britain Tuesday delivered new hope around the world. Officials in the U.S. want to begin rolling out a vaccine in the coming weeks. But there are many concerns about getting the vaccine out to those who need it in the coming months. Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
"How a vaccine will be administered to hard-to-reach communities" PBS NewsHour 12/08/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: A COVID-19 vaccine may be ready for distribution as soon as this month in the U.S. for some of those who are most in need of protection against the virus. But how will a rollout look in the coming months, including for some hard-to-reach populations? Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of global health at Emory University School of Medicine, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
"Do states have what they need to conduct mass vaccinations?" PBS NewsHour 12/10/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: Many are hoping the first doses of a Pfizer vaccine could be given out in the U.S. as soon as next week, and a vaccine by Moderna could follow before the month's end. But there are real concerns about how quickly states can conduct mass vaccinations. Amna Nawaz spoke with Dr. Jennifer Kates, senior vice president and director of global health at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, to discuss.
"Inside the attempt to build trust about the COVID-19 vaccine in Black communities" PBS NewsHour 12/12/2020
Excerpt
SUMMARY: As COVID-19 vaccines begin to roll out, some Americans remain skeptical about taking these vaccines. For the Black community, historical distrust makes their concerns even greater. NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker speaks with doctors, scientists and educators about how they are working on building confidence in the vaccines for a community that has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
SUMMARY: As U.S. cases of COVID-19 rise, officials are stepping up efforts to control the outbreak's spread. Communities across the country are bracing for disruption, with many schools closing or holding remote classes. Also, two GOP congressmen who were with President Trump recently are self-quarantining after a conference attendee with whom they met tested positive for the virus. Amna Nawaz reports.
SUMMARY: Monday was a tumultuous day in the global battle against coronavirus. Italy’s government banned travel nationwide after new spikes in infections and fatalities. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks had their worst day in over a decade. Special correspondent Christopher Livesay reports from Rome, and Judy Woodruff talks to Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics and Ben Mutzabaugh of air travel website The Points Guy.
SUMMARY: Amid the growing U.S. coronavirus outbreak, some experts have criticized the way President Trump, his team and top public health officials are communicating information to the public. For example, Trump made inaccurate statements Friday about the availability of virus tests. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: The impact of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. is deepening. On Tuesday, new cancellations, closures and quarantines were announced and President Trump and lawmakers huddled about potential measures to soften the crisis’ economic impact -- but the stock market rallied back from Monday’s major losses. Amna Nawaz reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: A growing number of U.S. schools, including several colleges and universities, are shutting their doors to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Although only a small fraction of public elementary and high schools have closed, more than 430,000 students are affected already. John Yang talks to Michelle Reid, superintendent of Washington state’s Northshore School District, about the decision to close.
SUMMARY: In the United Kingdom, novel coronavirus has killed six people as of Tuesday, with another 370 infected and quarantined. The British government is watching how the illness spread quickly and pervasively in Italy, fearing the same could happen in the UK. But as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports, the current attitude among the British is very much to keep calm and carry on.
SUMMARY: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a global pandemic. The illness has infected about 120,000 people worldwide and claimed 4,400 lives, and public health officials both within the U.S. and abroad are warning that the crisis will get worse. Amna Nawaz reports, and Judy Woodruff talks to WHO’s Dr. Margaret Harris about how people should be preparing.
SUMMARY: As the U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak worsens, colleges and universities around the country are asking students to stay off campus -- and essentially shutting down. Though some classes are migrating online, the closures may still represent a hardship for students who rely on school for housing, meals and other services. Amna Nawaz talks to James Ryan, president of the University of Virginia.
SUMMARY: The economic consequences of the novel coronavirus pandemic are growing even more severe. Stocks logged their worst day of trading since the 1987 market crash, cancellations and closures rippled across the globe and the fallout from President Trump’s decision to ban most travel from Europe became evident. Nick Schifrin reports and Charles Schwab’s Liz Ann Sonders joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are working on a multi-billion dollar novel coronavirus aid package to help the Americans hit hardest by the pandemic. They, along with Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, also weighed in on President Trump’s response to the crisis. Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Nick Schifrin, Yamiche Alcindor and Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: Friday was another day of mass closings and cancellations as schools, sports and travel shut down amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. President Trump also declared a national emergency to increase funding for a federal response, and he appears to have a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for related legislation. Amna Nawaz reports and Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff.
SUMMARY: President Trump has declared the pandemic of novel coronavirus a national emergency, allowing him to direct additional funds toward the federal government’s outbreak response. Will it mean faster virus testing and more ventilators? Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, and The New York Times’ Dr. Sheri Fink join Judy Woodruff to discuss.
SUMMARY: South Korea’s government is spending nearly $10 billion to fight novel coronavirus, which has infected nearly 8,000 people there. But the effort to contain the illness requires more than just money -- entire communities must come together, sharing information, volunteering at testing centers and limiting consumption of vital medical supplies. Bruce Harrison of Feature Story News reports.
SUMMARY: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has deployed the National Guard and created a one-mile containment zone around the town of New Rochelle, just north of New York City, where at least 158 cases of COVID-19 have been reported. And on Friday, the state launched its first drive-thru mobile testing facility in the region. NewsHour Weekend's Christopher Booker has more.
SUMMARY: With businesses shuttering, professional sports leagues suspending their seasons and widespread travel restrictions initiated around the world, the economic fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak may continue for months. Vijay Vaitheeswaran, U.S.business editor for The Economist, joins Hari Sreenivasan for more on the financial impact of the virus.
SUMMARY: A week after Italy’s government began locking down the country due to the coronavirus outbreak, new cases are emerging as the death toll climbs. The scenario is overwhelming a medical system already reeling from an influx of patients. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Chris Livesay joins Hari Sreenivasan from Rome with updates on the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
SUMMARY: The response to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. is changing on an almost hourly basis. But as health care workers face a volley of new challenges amid an American populace wary of the global pandemic, there has been an increase in testing and guidelines to consider. Caroline Chen, a ProPublica reporter who is covering the outbreak, joins Hari Sreenivasan with more.
SUMMARY: To help contain transmission of coronavirus, the CDC has issued guidelines for “social distancing.” But as the virus continues to spread, many more questions on when to close schools, how to seek day-to-day healthcare and the extent of the outbreak in the coming weeks remain unanswered. Crystal Watson, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, joins Hari Sreenivasan with more.
SUMMARY: Great Britain's political drama is intensifying this week, as the fallout continues over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament in advance of the October 31st deadline for Brexit. In response, some Labour Party lawmakers are trying to push emergency legislation that would prevent the UK from leaving the European Union without a deal. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
SUMMARY: With less than two months until the deadline for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the course ahead for the separation appears no clearer. On Wednesday, British lawmakers passed a law to prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson from executing a no-deal Brexit -- a measure supported by members of Johnson’s own party whom he had exiled. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
 |
| Picture worth 1000 words |
SUMMARY: President Trump lobbed a volley of verbal grenades at British Prime Minister Theresa May in a tabloid interview before he arrived in the UK, saying May had botched Brexit and praising the former foreign secretary as a potential Prime Minister. Special correspondent Ryan Chilcote joins Judy Woodruff from London to discuss the fallout from the visit.
President Donald Trump tweeted that while Democrats are pushing for universal health care, “thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U[niversal] system is going broke and not working." But the London demonstrators marched in support of the system and urged the government to better fund it.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service is a single-payer system: The government pays for health care, which is free at the point of service (with the exception of some prescription, eye care or dental costs), and funded through taxes.
Trump’s tweet came after a “Fox & Friends” interview with Nigel Farage, former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party and a Trump supporter, who said rampant immigration is putting a strain on Britain’s National Health Service. As a result, he said, “We just haven’t got enough hospitals. We haven’t got enough doctors. We haven’t got enough facilities.”
Without “fundamental reforms,” Farage said, the NHS is at a “breaking point.”
And he issued this warning for Americans: “The big, big point is this: when the state gives benefits to people, any attempt in the future to reform it or take those benefits back becomes politically impossible. … If you [Americans] were to introduce universal health care, paid for essentially out of taxes, you would never, ever be able to remove that.”
Soon after, Trump tweeted this:
Indeed, some Democrats are pushing for universal health care. In September, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination, introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2017, which would broaden Medicare into a universal health insurance program. It was cosponsored by 16 Democratic senators. And a majority of House Democrats signed on as co-sponsors of the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act, introduced by Democratic Rep. John Conyers earlier last year.
But Trump’s tweet suggests those “marching in the UK” were opposed to the universal health care system there. That’s not accurate.
The BBC reported that thousands demonstrated in London on Feb. 3, “calling for more government support for the NHS.”
The groups behind the rally, The People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns Together, put out a joint statement responding to Trump’s tweet. They said the demonstrators wanted “to show their love for the principles of universal and comprehensive care free at the point of use, paid for through general taxation." They were protesting, they said, against British government policies they view as trying to “move us more to an American-style system which is widely acknowledged to be one of the most expensive, inefficient and unjust healthcare systems in the world.”
Here’s the entire response:
The People’s Assembly and Health Campaigns Together, Feb. 5:
Dear Donald Trump
The NHS has existed since 1948 in the UK after the devastation of the second world war. The British population demanded the right to have access to healthcare which they deserve as human beings which is absolutely affordable when the right political decisions are made.
It has been a shining example to the world of what can be achieved when we put the needs of the collective good over the interests of a few wealthy individuals. Unfortunately, our current government have been persuaded to increasingly adopt policies which represent those of your Government, they have decided to move us more to an American-style system which is widely acknowledged to be one of the most expensive, inefficient and unjust healthcare systems in the world.
This is why our NHS is currently struggling and why leading Professors including Professor Stephen Hawking are bravely battling politicians who wish to turn it into a system like yours.
This is what our demonstration was about on Saturday 3rd Feb and tens of thousands of British people want to show their love for the principles of universal and comprehensive care free at the point of use, paid for through general taxation. We don’t agree with your divisive and incorrect rhetoric. No thanks.
A New York Times story notes that “budgetary austerity” in the U.K. has limited the growth of health spending to below the historical norm. As a result, “Patients often wait months, even for essential procedures. Waiting rooms are often crowded,” the Times wrote. That has soured some on the system, though public satisfaction with the NHS remains high.
Those protesting in Britain recently weren’t advocating scrapping the system; they were advocating higher government funding. According to the Times, the protesters in Britain chanted, “Keep your hands off our N.H.S." Images of the protest from the BBC and published by The Guardian show demonstrators carrying signs that read, “More Staff, More Beds, More Funds” and “Save Our NHS.”
In July 2017, the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based nonpartisan research foundation that promotes improved health care access and quality, issued a report comparing the health care system performance of 11 high-income countries, using indicators for care process, access, administrative efficiency, equity and health care outcomes. The U.K. was tops overall in the performance rankings. The U.S ranked last.
Commonwealth Fund, July 2017: In general, the U.K. achieves superior performance compared to other countries in all areas [care process, access, administrative efficiency and equity] except Health Care Outcomes, where it ranks 10th despite experiencing the fastest reduction in deaths amenable to health care in the past decade. [The U.S. ranked 11th, last, on health care outcomes].
Eric Schneider, senior vice president for policy and research at the Commonwealth Fund and the study’s lead author, said he could not comment on the specifics of Trump’s claims. But he said the Commonwealth Fund report “shows that overall the health systems of the United Kingdom and several other high income countries achieve higher performance than the U.S.”
“Like several other high-income countries, the U.K. spends a lower percentage of its GDP on health care than the U.S.,” Schneider told us via email. “All health systems, even those that are well designed and organized, may find it difficult to perform at a high level if they are insufficiently funded.”
In response to Trump’s tweet, Britain’s health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said on Twitter that while he disagreed with some of the claims made by those who participated in the march, “not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover.”
Hunt added that while “NHS may have challenges” he was “proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage – where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance.”
According to the BBC News, Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, also responded to Trump’s tweet, saying, “Unfortunately, respectfully, we suggest that tweet got the wrong end of the stick.”
“And, in fact, people in this country don’t want to ditch our NHS,” Stevens said, “not withstanding what we’ve said today, they want to keep it and strengthen it.”
SUMMARY: Going behind the palace walls, the ambitious Netflix series "The Crown" aims to capture the long reign -- and private dramas -- of Queen Elizabeth II. The new second season gives viewers a deeper look at the public-private dynamic of a royal marriage and begins at a low point, reports of infidelity by Prince Philip. Jeffrey Brown talks to the cast and creator about bringing the Windsors to life.
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first face-to-face meeting since Mr. Trump took office on Friday during the G20 Summit, discussing Syria and North Korea, as well as Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Judy Woodruff learns more from special correspondent Ryan Chilcote.
SUMMARY: President Trump plans to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the G20 Summit, where they'll likely discuss the fight against the Islamic State, the role of NATO and more. U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon joins Judy Woodruff to discuss Russian election meddling, the promise of a Syrian cease-fire and how to counter the threat of North Korea.
SUMMARY: World leaders from 20 nations concluded their annual summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Saturday, a gathering that was dominated by discussions on trade as well as North Korea’s weapons testing. The meetings also drew tens of thousands of demonstrators who protested a range of issues. NewsHour Special Correspondent Ryan Chilcote joins Hari Sreenivasan from Germany.
SUMMARY: The deadly Grenfell Tower fire is raising questions about the ways the United Kingdom cares for its poorest citizens. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a national investigation into the tragedy and the flammable material believed to have accelerated the fire, but the disaster has already seriously undermined confidence in May's government. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
SUMMARY: In our NewsHour Shares moment of the day, British researchers have monitored changes in the world's atmosphere from a remote lab in Antarctica for more than 60 years. Now, for the first time the state-of-the-art facility will close -- at least temporarily -- after a nearly 30-mile long crack opened up on the ice shelf.
SUMMARY: The world was shocked when, in June, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Many believe the severance will negatively affect Britain's economy, but the fishing industry expects benefits -- including increased profitability, poverty relief and elimination of what some fishermen see as harmful restrictions. From southwest England, special correspondent Jennifer Glasse has the story.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): There are reports that the United Kingdom's process to begin leaving the European Union may not begin until later next year, delaying the U.K.'s so-called Brexit.
The June vote to leave may have surprised many there, but it came as welcome news to the island nation's fishermen. They have long complained about European Union rules, and now they're hoping Brexit will help them revitalize a fishing industry they say was damaged by E.U. policy.
From Southwest England, special correspondent Jennifer Glasse reports.
JENNIFER GLASSE, special correspondent: Fishermen have brought their catches into Brixham Harbor since the Middle Ages, when it was the biggest fishing port in Southwest England.
The harbor and the fleet have changed over the centuries. And skipper Mike Sharp hopes there are more changes to come. That's why he voted for the U.K. to leave Europe.
MIKE SHARP, Skipper, “Emilia Jane”: We have all the Dutch, and the French, and the Belgian fishermen, and mainly the Spanish as well coming to land to take our fish out of our waters, which we want to — you know, I think we still can let them come in, but we can decide how many comes in.
JENNIFER GLASSE: European Union-mandated quotas stipulate what kind and how many fish the trawlers can bring in. Sharp and other fishermen here claim the quotas favor boats from continental Europe. E.U. rules also limited the size of fishing fleets.
MIKE SHARP: When I started fishing 30 years ago, there was 60 beam trawlers, and now there's 17. So, I would like to see it built back up.
JENNIFER GLASSE: A larger fleet could mean hundreds more jobs for deck hands, engineers, welders and; onshore, processing, buying and selling fish.
Brixham Fish Market is already the largest on England's South Coast, handling about $35 million of annual trade. This market itself was modernized in part with E.U. funds.
SUMMARY: In “White Trash,” Nancy Isenberg delves into the history of class in America, starting with British colonization. At that time, America was seen as a wasteland -- a place to discard the idle poor. The agrarian communities they subsequently formed often remained poor due to a phenomenon Isenberg calls “horizontal mobility.” Jeffrey Brown speaks with the author about how we can evolve past class.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): Now, a look at the history of poor white Americans.
That's the focus of the latest addition to the “NewsHour” Bookshelf.
Here's Jeffrey Brown.
JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour): “This book tells many stories. Arguably, the most important is the one we as a people have trouble embracing, the pervasiveness of a class hierarchy in the United States.”
That line comes from a new book with the provocative title “White Trash,” which makes a provocative argument that, from the nation's earliest history to now, ideals such as opportunity and upward mobility haven't characterized the lives of many Americans.
Author Nancy Isenberg is a professor of history at Louisiana State University.
And welcome to you.
NANCY ISENBERG, Author, “White Trash”: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America”: Well, thanks for having me.
JEFFREY BROWN: I think what hit me most is the idea that the poor have not only been accepted, but expected, that it's a part of our national DNA. That's the argument you're making?
NANCY ISENBERG: Well, I think one of the things we forget is that, for half of our history, we were an agrarian nation.
So, white trash really comes out of notions of rural poverty. And it goes all the way back to British ideas, because, in the colonial period and well throughout the 19th century, the mark of being a successful American was being a property owner.
And what we have forgotten is that large numbers of Americans didn't own property. For example, in Thomas Jefferson's Virginia at the time of the revolution, 40 percent of white men were landless.
JEFFREY BROWN: So, when you refer to white trash, I just want to be clear. And the idea of white trash, literally, the term was used, the terms like waste. Who do you mean?
NANCY ISENBERG: Yes, the word white trash, at least as far as we have been able to discover, first appeared in newspaper print in the 1820s.
But it has a much older meaning, because, if we go back to some of the leading promoters of British colonization, when they imagined what were they going to do with the new world. The new world, first of all, was imagined as a wilderness, what they called a wasteland.
And it was the perfect place for literally dumping the idle poor. And these were referred to as waste people.
SUMMARY: Where once stood a 16th Century theater that first staged Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a new London complex, including a 37-story residential tower, is rising. As the skyline changes at a head-spinning clip, archaeologists, by law, are digging down, uncovering fascinating artifacts. The theater excavation will be part of the new development, aptly called, “The Stage.” Jeffrey Brown reports.
JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour): Along London's famous skyline, cranes and towers of all kinds, and hundreds more under construction or in the planning stages.
The recent Brexit vote may raise new questions about the future, but there's no question this city has been going through an unprecedented reshaping.
Financial Times architecture critic Edwin Heathcote.
EDWIN HEATHCOTE, Financial Times: In the center of the city, there's never been anything on this scale. And when I say never, I mean, really, there never has been anything on this scale. So, even after the Great Fire of London, things were only rebuilt to five or six stories.
JEFFREY BROWN: When you say never, you mean — because there's a lot of history here.
EDWIN HEATHCOTE: A lot of history.
JEFFREY BROWN: You mean never.
EDWIN HEATHCOTE: I mean never.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: In this global financial capital, property prices have skyrocketed, along with the demand to build, and there's no place to go but up.
While Heathcote sees individual buildings he likes, he worries about the larger picture.
EDWIN HEATHCOTE: Now we have a much more generic, much more globalized city, in which the architecture is much more like Chicago or Singapore.
And so it is changing in the texture and the architectural language and the materials and the scale.
JEFFREY BROWN: But even as this city's future grows skyward, another part of London's story, its past, is being explored in a very different direction, below ground.
HEATHER KNIGHT, Archaeologist, Museum of London: If we were standing here on, say, a lovely summer's afternoon in the 1590s, we'd actually be standing on the stage of the Curtain Playhouse.
SUMMARY: For the next two days, defense chiefs and leaders from more than 30 countries are meeting in Washington to discuss the ongoing war on the Islamic State. For more, Hari Sreenivasan talks with UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon about turmoil in Turkey, how Brexit affects NATO and the British role in the fight against ISIS.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): Defense chiefs and other leaders from more than 30 countries are here in Washington for two days of meetings on the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The summit comes as ISIS loses territory in both countries, but the group and its followers lash out with terrorist strikes globally.
Meantime, there is continuing turmoil in Turkey, which borders both Syria and Iraq, after Friday's coup attempt.
For more on all of this, I spoke a short time ago with Michael Fallon, the United Kingdom's Defense Secretary.
Defense Secretary, welcome.
MICHAEL FALLON, United Kingdom Defense Secretary: Thank you, Hari.
HARI SREENIVASAN: First off, right now, we're hearing that the Turkish president has declared a state of emergency for another three months. This comes in a week where there has been a significant purge of people who might have been in opposition to him. Is Turkey still a reliable ally in NATO?
MICHAEL FALLON: Well, yes, it's still a key ally in NATO. It's a cornerstone of NATO. It's very important in the southeast corner of NATO to have Turkey there as a longstanding member.
It has formidable armed forces. And it's helping us fight ISIL as well in the Middle East. So, Turkey is important.
Now, it's obviously concerning that there's been this coup. And we're particularly concerned that Turkey keeps to the path of respecting human rights when it's dealing with the aftermath of the coup.
HARI SREENIVASAN: And does what's happening now compromise your ability to fight ISIS together with Turkey?
MICHAEL FALLON: Well, Turkey's made it clear that this doesn't affect their commitment to the fight against ISIL. We want to seal that border with Syria to stem the flow of foreign fighters.
And they have every interest in not having ISIL flourish on their doorstep.
SUMMARY: Welcome to 10 Downing Street, Theresa May. Now deal with the Brexit mess that you campaigned against. The new UK Prime Minister, who took over Wednesday from David Cameron, supported staying with the EU but the Conservative Party leader's first order of business is presiding over the divorce from Europe that British voters approved last month. Chris Ship of Independent Television News reports.
SUMMARY: Sir Peter Westmacott, the UK's former Ambassador to the United States weighs in on the past three weeks' fast-paced developments in Britain. Of the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, he describes her as grounded, no-nonsense and humble. He describes as a surprise her appointment of Boris Johnson, the pro-Brexit former mayor of London, to be foreign secretary. Gwen Ifill talks with Westmacott.
SUMMARY: The pound and European markets took big hits when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. Economics correspondent Paul Solman talks to Mervyn King, the former head of the Bank of England and the author of “The End of Alchemy,” who offers a longer view -- and a less alarmed one -- about what Brexit means for global banking and financial stability.
PAUL SOLMAN (NewsHour): Mervyn King, former head of the Bank of England.
In his new book, “The End of Alchemy,” King still worries that the world banking system hasn't reformed itself, eight years after its excesses led to collapse.
MERVYN KING, Former Governor, Bank of England: Thames, the old man river of Britain, been here forever, rather like money and banking. We have always had them.
PAUL SOLMAN: As it happens, he was giving me a tour of London to make his case on the day of the Brexit vote. The oddsmakers, the markets, and I at least thought Britain would remain in the E.U. As we passed a group of upbeat remainers, I thought, no problem.
WOMAN: Counting is under way of tens of millions of votes.
PAUL SOLMAN: Then came the result.
MAN: And the answer is, we're out.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
PAUL SOLMAN: So, before asking you to take the tour, we checked back with King to see if the vote had altered his analysis.
MERVYN KING: We didn't talk much about the Brexit vote, because actually the Brexit vote isn't germane to the fundamental challenges dealing with our banking system and putting it on a sound footing. We were talking as we walked around London about the really important long-run issues affecting our economies.
SUMMARY: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including what Brexit might suggest about the upcoming presidential election, how frustrations with low-paying jobs and expensive education are influencing voters this year, President Obama’s “depleted” legacy and the prospects for new gun legislation.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The presidential nominees also weighed in on the Brexit result today.
During a press conference at his Scottish resort and golf course this morning, Donald Trump praised Britain’s decision to leave the E.U.
DONALD TRUMP (R), Presumptive Presidential Nominee: I really do see a parallel between what’s happening in the United States and what’s happening here. People want to see borders. They don’t necessarily want people pouring into their country, that they don’t know who they are and where they come from. They have no idea.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Hillary Clinton also responded to Britain’s vote to leave. In a statement today, the former secretary of state said — quote — “We respect the choice the people of the United Kingdom have made.”
And now to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That’s syndicated columnist Mark Shields, and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Welcome to you both.
This whole program up until now practically has been about the vote in the U.K., David, to leave the European Union. What do you make of this?
DAVID BROOKS, The New York Times: Well, in country after country, we’re seeing a conflict between what you might call urban cosmopolitans, and less well-educated ethnic nationalism. And ethnic nationalism is on the rise.
And I agree with everything that Ivo, Richard and Margaret were saying, but it should be said — and I covered — I lived in Brussels for five years at the Maastricht Treaty, when all this was coming together — and the elites, as much as I hate the leave — the fact that the U.K. is going to leave the E.U., the elites in some large degree brought this on themselves.
There was built into the European unification project, an anti-democratic, a condescending, and a snobbish attitude about popular democracy. And, secondly — and this is also true here — and I’m as pro-immigration as the day is long, but we have asked a lot of people who are suffering in this company to accept extremely, radically high immigration levels.
And we have probably overflooded the system. And so while it’s easy — and I do condemn the vote to leave, get out — a little humility is in order on the part of the establishment, frankly, that we have flooded the system with more than it can handle. And, secondly, we have not provided a good nationalism, a good patriotism that is cosmopolitan, that is outward-spanning, and that is confident. And, therefore, a bad form of parochial, inward-looking Trumpian nationalism has had free rein.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Mark, the elites brought it on themselves?
MARK SHIELDS: I think the forces and the advocates of globalization have been primarily obsessed with the well-being of the investor class and the stockholders and the shareholders; and been indifferent, oftentimes callous, to the dislocation and the suffering that people in countries affected by this trade, the expanded trade, the larger economy, who have been victimized by it.
And it has been a accompanied, I think, by an elitist condescension, in many cases, and it’s been taken advantage of. I mean, the shorthand today is that we saw the words of the Republican nominee in waiting, who is a part-time presidential candidate and a full-time real estate developer, you know, he won, and Barack Obama lost. I mean, by any scorecard.
There is no spin you can put on this that in any way comforts Democrats today.
SUMMARY: Great Britain voted 52 to 48 percent Thursday to become the first nation to leave the European Union. The vote prompted Prime Minister David Cameron -- a leading voice in the “Remain” camp -- to announce his resignation, though he will stay on until October to ensure a smooth transition. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant takes a look at how Britain is readying itself for a post-EU paradigm.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The British people have spoken, and, in voting to leave the European Union, have sent shockwaves around the world.
Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant begins our coverage in London.
WOMAN: The U.K. has voted to leave the European Union.
MALCOLM BRABANT (NewsHour): The official word came just after 7:00 in the morning, U.K. time.
Rapturous cheers went up at leave parties. The final tally, 52 percent, more than 17 million people, opted to leave the 28-member European Union.
AILEEN QUINTAN, “Leave” Supporter: We have actually shown that opposition to the E.U. isn’t a small fringe — fringe minority.
MALCOLM BRABANT: For the 48 percent who voted to stay, the result was devastating.
MAN: I think it’s going to lead to great political, economic, business uncertainty.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The political fallout was instant. Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the campaign to remain, announced that he will step down by October.
DAVID CAMERON, Prime Minister, Britain: I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Cameron promised the referendum in 2013, in part to appease E.U. skeptics in his own conservative party.
SUMMARY: Thursday’s Brexit vote was largely a victory for right-wing British politics. But both “Leave” and “Remain” supporters had a plethora of political and emotional motivations. For a closer look at what drove the British majority to decide to exit the European Union, Judy Woodruff talks to former EU official Sir Michael Leigh and Tim Montgomerie of The Times of London.
SUMMARY: Thursday’s successful Brexit vote holds great consequences for economies worldwide, with some analysts warning that departure from the EU could plunge Britain back into a recession that might in turn spread to other countries. For more on the financial implications of Brexit, Hari Sreenivasan talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution and Diane Swonk of DS Economics.
SUMMARY: Britain is the U.S.’s closest diplomatic and military ally and top economic partner in Europe. One-fifth of U.S. exports to Europe go to the UK and so do half a billion dollars in direct investments. Senior editor of Foreign Policy magazine Cameron Abadi joins Alison Stewart to discuss the effects Brexit might have on business relations in the UK and Europe.
The United Kingdom has voted to exit the European Union, becoming the first nation to leave the economic, political and cultural bloc. The news sent shockwaves through the global economy and led to the resignation of British prime minister David Cameron, who supported the Remain campaign.
“Over 33 million people from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar have all had their say,” Cameron said in his resignation speech. We should be proud of the fact that, in these islands, we trust the people with these big decisions.”
Cameron continued by congratulating the Leave campaign for “the spirited and passionate case that they made.” The prime minister did not release a precise timetable for his departure, but guaranteed that he would remain in his post for at least three months with an aim to depart by October.
Exit polls show that England and Wales drove the decision to leave, while Northern Ireland and Scotland citizens leaned toward staying. Scotland prime minister Nicola Sturgeon believes a second independence referendum for her nation is “highly likely” following the Brexit. Scotland voted 62 versus 38 percent to stay in the EU, according to the BBC.
“It's a statement of the obvious that the option of a second independence referendum must be on the table and it is on the table,” Sturgeon said.
Global markets immediately plummeted in reaction to the referendum results. The British pound nosedived to its lowest valuation in 30 years, as the nation's stock market — FTSE — reported 8 percent losses within the first few seconds of trading Friday morning.
Economic analysts are predicting the biggest single-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis. Bank of England governor Mark Carney promised 250 billion pounds ($347 billion) to stabilize the economy. Other European markets took heavy hits, and the European Central bank pledged to provide liquidity for domestic and foreign currencies to prevent panic, as did the U.S. Federal Reserve for the dollar.
Shocker, a word you'll hear rarely from someone who, like myself, sizes up the world probabilistically. But shocker is the verdict on the Brexit vote, for at least four reasons.
First, of course, are the political implications. As economist Justin Wolfers put it late last night on Twitter, though overstating slightly: “Economists favor more integration, not for the economic gains, but because it fosters peace, which is more valuable.”
"Time for real talk. Economists favor more integration, not for the economic gains, but because it fosters peace, which is more valuable." - Twitter @JustinWolfers
Second, these are millions upon millions of people who were voting against their pocketbooks. And they knew it. That's because, economically, the results were unusually predictable. Every time the odds of a Brexit “Leave” vote had gone up, the value of the British pound had gone down. This might not be so bad if the UK were an export-based economy. A cheaper pound would mean cheaper prices on British goods and services. What the country loses in buying power it might more than make up for in jobs. But as Matt Yglesias tweeted late last night:
"Cheap pound would be great for UK exports were the UK not withdrawing from the world's biggest integrated market." - Twitter @mattyglesias
And Wolfers again:
"Upside: Britain is on sale. Everything, 10-15% off. Steak and kidney pies for everyone." - Twitter @JustinWolfers
Everyone outside Britain, he means — like me and my wife, leaving Oxford on Monday after 10 weeks here. I got an email from a vendor this morning telling me where to send a “cheque” for the 65 pound-price we agreed upon yesterday. In the ensuing 24 hours, I've saved $5. Maybe I'll stall till tomorrow. Oh wait, the pound could shoot back up! When should I pay? It's a question every importer from Britain will now be asking — more pressingly than in years, if not decades. And those $5 my vendor loses will be $5 less to spend on what will now be increasingly expensive goods and services from abroad. In the time we've been here, numerous Brits have told us they'd like to go to America because it's so much cheaper. Did they vote for Brexit too?
The third shock is more personal; my apparent over-reliance on the prediction markets, and on economists like Justin Wolfers who do as well. The two of us conducted a video chat more than five years ago in which we extolled the virtues of markets, mainly with respect to sports betting, but also in politics. And I have reported on political markets for the NewsHour many times, as recently as February. Last night, Justin reproduced this tweet:
“To Justin: I think you need an explanation on gambling odds. These markets are not full markets where people can bet a lot of money. They are not as informative as you believe they are.”
Justin's reply: “I love me a good mansplainer. Because honestly, I just didn't realize.”
In the defense of the market-dependent, yesterday's Brexit vote drew plenty of money: an estimated £50 million pounds or more on one British prediction market alone. But what we failed to realize — or more honestly, failed to remember — is that odds are probabilities, not facts. At 11 pm last night here in England, I tweeted:
"Brexit polls now closed here in UK. Betting mkts put the odds of Remain win at 85% likelihood. They were down to 60% before Jo Cox killing." - Twitter @paulsolman
Three hours later:
"Most dramatic swings I've ever seen on the prediction mkts: Brexit from 12% to 54% when this tweet began now back down to 40% as I finish it" - Twitter @paulsolman
The point is, even at 11pm, with the odds at 85 percent for “Remain,” there was still roughly one chance in six that the UK would vote to leave. And by definition, such an event will occur, on average, one-sixth of the time. On the prediction markets, those odds should lead to the right call five times out of six, on average. And that can lull those who monitor the markets into a false sense of complacency, as it did me with Brexit. I didn't forget about that sixth time. But I dismissed it. I'm shocked that I did.
The fourth shock should perhaps not come as one, as assiduously as we here at Making Sen$e having been covering economic inequality over the years. It's the gulf (or abyss) between elites and workers in countries like the US and the UK. That would help explain the confidence of the prediction markets. Who bets money on elections if not, disproportionately, those who already have enough? With which side was the Remain side identified, if not the Establishment? But after the assassination of the aggressively humane Labour MP Jo Cox, would aggressively civil England actually vote for the forces of aggression? The answer is that it did so, aggressively.
