♪ >> this is "dw news," live from berlin. president trump's last through of the health care guys and he gets a win. the u.s. senate just voted narrowly in favor of further debate on repealing the affordable health care act, known as obamacare. president trump had put heavy pressure on republican senators to support the procedure, but does it mean that obamacare is now doomed? also coming up, the trial of this woman moved towards its end. she's the last surviving member of a far right terror cell in germany. she's been charged with involvement in 10 murders.

and -- a jewish director in the anti-semitic richard wagner. germany's annual wagner fest opens up with the master singers and a jewish sense of humor. ♪ louise: -- brent: i'm brent goff for the u.s. senate decided to proceed with debate on repealing the affordable act -- affordable care act known as obamacare. the vice president mike pence had to break the tie to advance the repeal bill. as president donald trump held the results shortly after the vote took place, he's been applying huge pressure to get obamacare repealed but it's unclear whether there are enough

votes to do so. a short while later in the white house rose garden, trump commented on the vote. he was hosting the president of lebanon. pres. trump: i'm very happy to announce that with zero of the democrats' votes, the motion to proceed on health care has just passed and now we move forward towards truly great health care for the american people. we look forward to that. this was a big step. i want to thank senator john mccain. very brave man. he made a tough trip to get here and vote. we want to thank senator mccain and all of the republicans. we passed it without one democrat vote. and, that's a shame but that's the way it is straight it's very unfortunate. but i want to congratulate american people because we are going to give you great health care. louise: --

brent: that was the u.s. president. let's go to our correspondent in washington. this is a much-needed victory for the president. what changed, though, in the last couple of days? if we had tried to do this even a week ago it wouldn't be possible. reporter: this really does seem to be the republican strength take as many baby steps forward as it possibly can on this issue. we have to remember they've been promising to repeal and replace obamacare for 7 years. in the past six months they have tried twice with their own bill, a replacement bill, to fulfill that promise and they have not succeeded at that which cost me a lot of political capital. leader mcconnell in the senate basically decided, let's see if we can even just repeal obamacare without a replacement bill, which a lot of people who are against this are saying this would be horrible, a lot of people would simply straight up

lose their health care. but that motion passed, and now what happens is the senate begins 20 hours of debate to try to put together another health care will which is even less time than they had to put together the republicans' previous bill, which twice did not pass. brent: the world watching this story, the obvious tension, is the road now clear for a replacement for obamacare? reporter: not necessarily. and here's the thing. a lot of the senators who voted yes on the motion to proceed today, that's what this bill was, not a passage of the bill, just a motion to proceed to debating the will -- bill, had said they would not vote on a replacement bill unless certain stipulations are met trade the republicans have to walk a very tight tight rope here. they don't have any democratic votes, they cannot count on any democratic votes on that side. if they swing too far to the right on one way they will lose

one plank of their party. -- flank of their party. they really don't have any votes to spare. the vote was only passed a tie-breaking vote by vice president mike pence. brent: our washington correspondent on the story for us straight thank you very much. joining me now in the studio, with the aspen institute, also a veteran of the u.s. state department. good to have you back here. so, is this a good day for the u.s. president? >> it's been an eventful day for the u.s. president and he started the day with an early-morning twitter storm, talking about everything from the eu to his son to ukraine to the attorney general. but if you look at this vote, this was a massive hurdle for this goal of him and his administration and the republican congress, and they've achieved something. they brought it to a vote and there's momentum to repeal this health care act. brent: the senate vote was accompanied by protest.

let's have a listen. [inaudible] >> sergeant at arms will restore order in the chamber. brent: on the senate floor when senator john mccain took to the floor -- he's been fighting brain cancer. he cast a crucial vote. mccain had this to say. sen. mccain: my service here is the most important job i've had in my life. i'm so grateful, so grateful to the people of arizona for the privilege, for the honor of serving here and the opportunities it gives me to play a small role in the history of the country that i love.

brent: we've had some viewers writing in, saying we have john mccain, a man with brain cancer whose diagnosed, putting to go ahead with the repeal of obamacare. is there an ironing there? -- irony there? >> clearly he has fantastic health care, as all members of congress do. there have been calls to extend that level of health care to the rest of the country. clearly this is something that he believes in. he wouldn't have traveled, made that life risking trip to pass this vote if he didn't believe in what is happening. the question is, this is a really chaotic process. he is a statesman, he's been in the senate for almost 30 years. what he and other republicans have to say is, how do we shepherd this process responsibly? when you're talking not only about 18% of the economy in the united states, but also about

millions of lives, 25 million lives, people who are covered now who could not be covered, how could you create the conference and tori structures -- compensatory structures to make sure they are protected? brent: they still don't have an answer they can put on the table tonight. then there is the question of attorney general jeff sessions. the u.s. president, he remarked on sessions again a short while ago. let's take a listen. pres. trump: i am disappointed in the attorney general. he should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office and i would have quite simply picked somebody else, so i think that's a bad thing not for the president, but for the presidency. i think it's unfair to the presidency, and that's the way i feel. thank you. brent: the thing that continues

to bother me when i look at the timeline, the attorney general, he recused himself months ago. yet this dissatisfaction that the president has with him -- we just heard about that last week. >> right. than the president has said many times that he's doing a great job, that he supported him, he supported the deputy general, saying he got overwhelming bipartisan support. now he's coming under attack. at the end of the day, the attorney general is supposed to be the top law enforcement officer and the united states, although he serves at the pleasure of the president, he is supposed to serve the law. many on both sides of the aisle, including in the senate, have said that is what jeff sessions has been doing. and in the question has been, now people are thinking, with the president try to make a recess appointment? would you try to replace jeff sessions without senate confirmation? in the senate has preemptively said, including republicans, we will not allow that to happen. brent: jeff sessions, a dead man

walking politically? >> is going to be very hard to recover. brent: thank you very much. >> thank you. brent: here are some of the other stories making headlines around the world. libya's two main rival leaders agreed to a nationwide cease-fire in the country possible more. the breakthrough follows talks near paris, hosted by the french president emmanuel macron. libya's u.n. backed prime minister and eastern based military commander also committed to holding early elections. police in india say at least 8 people died after a building collapsed in the city of mumbai. authorities are searching the rubble for at least 20 others who they fear may be trapped inside. the building was around 40 years old. it's not fear what caused it to collapse -- clear what caused it to collapse. the parents of a terminally ill british child have asked the judge to allow them to take their son home to die.

but the hospital treating charlie says it's not practical to move the baby. yesterday charlie's paris abandoned their month-long battle to take him to the united states for experimental treatment. the european union and turkey tried to calm the troubled waters of their relationship today but it doesn't seem to have worked. the eu ended up voicing very strong concerns about turkey's crackdown on dissent the failed coup there year ago. they also discussed turkey's stalled it to join the european -- bid to join the european union. >reporter: free the defenders of freedom. human rights activists and family members called on turkey to release all the journalists, human rights activists, and government critics who they say have been falsely imprisoned. almost 900,000 people have signed a petition and appealed to the eu's head of foreign policy.

they want her to confront the issue during her meeting with turkey's foreign minister and its minister for european affairs. the pressure on her is huge. >> we have witnessed a worrying pattern of imprisonments of a large number of members of the democratic opposition, journalists and human rights defenders. this is why today as we have consistently done, in the past, we stressed our cooperation and dialogue needs to be sustained by concrete positive steps in the areas of rule of law and fundamental freedoms as well as in bilateral relations, each of the european member states. reporter: the turkish foreign minister defended his government's crackdown after the meeting. >> they should see real journalists different from pseudo-journalists who have terrorist activities and terrorists.

just because you carry out a journalistic activity does not mean you would not carry out a criminal offense. reporter: the meeting brought no breakthroughs in the cases of the jailed human rights activist peter steudtner and a german-turkish journalist, deniz yucel. no sign yet of ankara softening its stance. brent: poland's right-wing government says it will not be backing away from controversial plans to reform the country's justice system. the country's president and he will not veto two of the bills that critics feared would limit judicial independence, but this morning he signed a third bill that will allow:'s justice minister to name the heads of all lower courts. the president's decision comes amid nationwide protests. thousands of polls have taken to the streets. the european commission plans to discuss the issue on wednesday

after talk of sanctions and withdrawing voting rights from poland if the reforms are passed. muslim leaders have told worshipers to continue a boycott of the al-aqsa mosque in central jerusalem. even after israel remove controversial metal detectors at the entrance. those metal detectors sparked deadly violence. muslims saw the barriers as a violation of their official authority over the site. many protested, including by praying in nearby roads. israel said the barriers were needed after a palestinian killed 2 policemen nearby. but now israeli authorities say they will install sophisticated cameras instaed. -- instead. you're watching "dw news." still to come, the trial of this woman is almost over. she's the last surviving member of a far right terror cell in germany. she's charged with involvement in several murders, but why has it taken 4 years?

that story, plus, helen will be here with the latest business news. stick around. we're back in 60 seconds. ♪

brent: welcome back here with "dw news." the u.s. senate has voted narrowly in favor of further debate on repealing the affordable health care act, which is known as obamacare. president trump had put heavy pressure on republican senators to support the procedure. if germany's biggest neo--nazi trial since the second world war. state prosecutors have begun their closing arguments against the alleged last surviving member of a far right terror cell known as the national socialist underground trade the

main defendant is accused of being involved in several murders. reporter: the prosecutor's office sees the primary defendant, beate zschäpe, as an accomplice to 10 murders. zschape found the right wing terror cell in place to live. she documented their actions she had an influence over their financing as well. the attorneys of the nsu's victims are relieved that after four years, a decision is near. chemical i think the accused, who is the person we are concerned with is the moment,, zschape, now she will notice everything is finally coming to a head and the crimes are being uncovered. reporter: but beate zschäpe is the only surviving alleged member of the right-wing terror group and the other two members kill themselves. they are said to have murdered nine migrants and a policewoman.

beate zschape and four other suspected elders are accused of helping with bombings and robberies. the prosecutions closing statements alone lasted 22 hours. a final verdict in the case is expected in a months time. but for the victim's relatives, the court proceedings and the answer several of the main question straight to the nsu have any other helpers? for mistakes made by officials investigating the members? the court spokesperson said there were limits to what the trial could achieve. >> the job of the court proceedings was not to determine everything that happens, or to determine if the authorities investigating the case acted appropriately. rather, it was to comprehensively clarify the accused's role in the events. reporter: beate zschape could face life imprisonment for

murder if the court decides she was an accessory to the crime. brent: it's a huge story here in germany, the german car industry being rocked by scandal after scandal. one company might be in a little less hot water than the others. who are the lucky ones, helen? >> it seems daimler may have let itself off a fine worth billions of euros because it is a cartel case to authorities significantly earlier than its rivals, and that could see it let off the hook. the main auto manufacturers had been allegedly holding secret meetings since the 1990's, colluding on technology and prices, on -- and revelations have sparked fierce debate. . reporter: eu and german antitrust authorities are now investigating whether his company colluded bmw, porsche, audi, and daimler to disadvantage foreign carmakers.

companies found guilty of breaching eu cartel bills face times as much as 10% of their global revenue. >> if these cartel accusations proved to be true, it could cost the carmakers aliens -- billions. these are one-time payments that will certainly hurt, but at least they are bearable. much worse is the loss of trust. after all, who would buy a car for 100,000 euros from someone they don't trust? that question is likely to be on the minds of german auto executives as they daimleruss tn wednesday. helena: 10 to go to our financial correspondent. jens, how is this resonating in the u.s., and could the german big 4 face trouble if this turns out to be -- these accusations turn out to be true? >> there are reports that the justice department actually is

looking into these allegations, but there are no signs that the justice department will start with formal investigation. so, it does not seem at this point that the u.s. is really going hard after those accusations, experts are saying this could play out within europe, within germany, not necessarily so much becoming a global legal threat to volkswagen at this point. helena: jens, standby because were going to take a look at new developments in dw's scandal in the u.s. and then i want to come back to you. an american force says executive oliver schmidt intends to plead guilty and month in the carmaker's omission scandal. is one of several germans charged in the u.s. in the scheme. that affected may be 600,000 diesel vehicles there. he's been in custody since january, when arrested on vacation in january. schmidt was the manager of dw's

environment and engineering office in detroit. back over to you, in new york. why this sudden guilty plea and what can we expect to come of this? >> it seems to be the usual games by u.s. prosecutors that they are actually going up the food chain, meaning they start with a lower rank, threatened with a long-term prison sentences, and then they are hoping to get more information at the end, and get the higher ranking managers within the volkswagen company. that's at least what we believe at this point, and for all of her schmidt, -- oliver schmidt, he could reduce his sentence if he plays along with u.s. prosecutors. the plea hearing is set for next week, friday. we will learn more and a good week from that. helena: jens korte in new york,

thanks for that. britain's front office is investigating the mining giant rio tinto, looking into suspected corruption in connection with the world pass biggest untapped iron ore deposits in guinea. a story on authorities also probing the company. rio tinto reported itself to regulators last year after uncovering $10 million in questionable payments connected with the project. now, greece has returned to the bond market for the first time in three years, but why is it testing itself on the markets against other economies, which are in much better shape, at a time when it's also still receiving -- reporter: the eu finance commissioner and the greek prime minister met in athens to mark a special moment for greece. >> you are visiting greece in a special way. >> i know that. two special days. >> yesterday and today. >> the day that greece is coming

back to the markets in a successful way. and i think that this is the most important message, and the most significant step. >> griese returned to the european bond market, selling 3 billion euros worth of five-year bonds, yielding 4.625%. it is hoped the sale will help win grease off external aid. -- greece off external aid. >> and so we must be a very serious, conscious, collective, grand approach of the rest of the program. but i'm quite confident that we have made more difficult things. but let's not relax too much. let's concentrate, let's focus, let's work together. reporter: greece is still receiving bailouts while its creditors are calling for

further reforms. there is still a lot to do before the debt ridden country will be able to stand on its own two feet. helena: back over now to brent. brent: for diehard fans of composer richard wagner, it's arguably the years against event. germany's annual festival is underway. heavy rain fell to dampen angela merkel's's. as she arrived from the opening gala with her husband. the muslim festival celebrates the works of the german romantic composer wagner and was founded in 1875 wagner himself. this years's festival opens with the master singers of nuremberg, one of wagner's most controversial works. now, presented by a jewish director offering his interpretation of an opera that was glorified by the nazis. reporter: the director of the festival, and the australian-jewish director of the opening production, got straight to the point. >> if you're expecting to see

swastikas on stage, you won't. if you're expecting to see dead jews on stage, you won't see any. these are two topics that just don't interest me. reporter: the master singers of nuremberg was a favorite of the nazis. it's about a singing competition and love. most of all it's about wagner's take on german craftsmanship. the director's production stays light, a contrast to the heaviness of germany's nazi past. >> everything is so laden with meaning and every time you say the word german, it's written in red and capital letters. so we said, just throwing away. just throw it away. reporter: the director doesn't shy away from dark humor and

exaggeration. one of the characters loses the singing competition. he becomes a scapegoat and is adorned with a mask representing the jewish people. are you ready for 5 hours of wa gner? directed by barry koski, it certainly won't be boring. brent: after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. ♪

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