captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> ifill: good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff . >> ifill: on the newshour tonight: upheaval on campus. the university of missouri president steps down amid increasing student and faculty protests over racism and representation. >> woodruff: also ahead this monday: russia is caught in a state- sponsored doping scandal, putting russian athletes in danger of being banned from the 2016 olympics. >> ifill: and life on the road with gloria steinem. the famed activists talks about fighting for feminism in a new memoir. >> it was only after when i had been living this on the road life until i was 50, that i realized "wait a minute. this isn't just something on the

way to something else. this is it." >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: students and faculty members celebrated today at the main campus of the university of missouri, after the head of the university system quit. president tim wolfe was accused of ignoring racial incidents. the situation reached a boiling point when black football players announced a boycott saturday night. later, the chancellor overseeing the main campus, also resigned. we'll investigate this story in detail, after the news summary.

>> ifill: a judge in louisiana set bail at $1 million apiece today, for two police officers accused of murdering an autistic boy. six-year-old jeremy mardis was killed, and his fath was wounded when the officers fired on the family's vehicle 18 times. a lawyer for the father says police video shows he had his hands up when the shooting started. >> woodruff: in jordan, two americans, a south african and two jordanians were gunned down today by a police captain in amman. it happened at a regional police training center. in addition to the dead, seven people were wounded, including two more americans. the gunman was shot and killed by soldiers. u.s. officials said the americans were security contractors training palestinian police. in washington, president obama promised an investigation. >> we take this very seriously and will be working closely with the jordanians to determine exactly what happened.

but at this stage, i want to just let everyone to know this is something we are paying close attention to and at the point where the families have been notified. obviously our deepest condolences will be going out to them. >> ifill: the president spoke during an oval office meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. the relationship has been strained since the iran nuclear deal that israel opposed. today, netanyahu insisted he's still committed to middle east peace. >> we have not given up our hope for peace. we'll never give up our hope for peace. i don't think that anyone should doubt israel's determination to defend itself against terror and destruction but neither should anyone doubt israel's willingness to make peace with any of its neighbors that genuinely want to achieve peace with it. >> ifill: still, the white house said it no longer expects peace can be achieved before mr. obama leaves office in january of 2017.

>> woodruff: israel also joined those saying a bomb destroyed that russian airliner over the sinai peninsula. the israeli defense minister said there is "a high probability it was a bombing." meanwhile, evacuation flights resumed for russian tourists stranded in sinai. about 23,000 have flown home since saturday. cargo planes are transporting their luggage separately. >> ifill: greenhouse gas levels hit an all-time high last year. the u.n. weather agency's report today comes ahead of a world summit on climate change. the report says carbon dioxide levels are now more than 140% higher than before the industrial revolution. the amount of methane is up 250% since that same period. and the report forecasts another increase next year. >> woodruff: back in this country, a federal bankruptcy judge okayed a reorganization plan for the roman catholic archdiocese of milwaukee.

it stems from damage claims over sexual abuse by priests. the plan calls for paying a total of $21 million to nearly 460 victims. >> ifill: wall street had a blue monday, over worries about the global economy. the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 180 points to close at 17,730. the nasdaq fell nearly 52 points. and the s&p 500 was down 20. >> woodruff: and sea world says it will phase out its killer whale shows in san diego, by 2017. instead, the theme park will focus on the animal's natural setting and behavior. the announcement follows growing criticism of the treatment of killer whales in captivity. sea world has seen attendance plummet as a result. the company's decision does not apply to its other theme parks that include killer whale shows. still to come on the newshour: the university of missouri president ousted over his

handling of racial issues. russia's involvement in widespread steroid use. addressing mexico's diabetes epidemic. and much more. >> ifill: it's been an eventful day in columbia, missouri, where the university has been the center of national attention over racial tensions on campus. at the heart of the protest was a hunger strike that resonated across the campus and across the state. >> i am resigning as president of the university of missouri system. >> ifill: the announcement from tim wolfe came right after the university system's governing body opened a special meeting. >> this is not, i repeat not, the way change should come about.

change comes from listening, learning, caring and conversation. unfortunately this has not happened, and that is why i stand before you today and i take full responsibility for this frustration, and i take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred. >> ifill: wolfe's resignation followed months of complaints over racial slurs on the overwhelmingly white campus at columbia, including a swastika drawn on a dormitory wall with human feces. the student government president was one of the targets. >> what happens here is that they have the opportunity to create an environment that is inclusive. that you can put in place a zero tolerance policy for acts of bias and discrimination on this campus. >> ifill: as protests grew -- wolfe's car was blocked during a homecoming parade -- black graduate student jonathan butler

began a hunger strike protesting the slurs and the overall racial climate at the state university. >> ifill: the tipping point arrived this weekend, when at least 30 black football players announced they would boycott team activities until wolfe was removed. head coach gary pinkel endorsed the protest, posting a photo of the team locking arms, saying, "we are united." by today, faculty members were pledging to join in. the season of academic discontent is not limited to missouri. at yale, students and administrators have also been thrust into campus upheaval, as a memo over appropriate halloween costumes triggered longstanding tensions about race and free speech. >> we want freedom! >> ifill: in columbia, tim wolfe's resignation exposed raw nerves about the lack of diversity among students and faculty, while also showcasing the muscle of the school's athletic department. as students celebrated, jonathan butler declared his hunger

strike over. also, the football players announced they're returning to practice tomorrow. >> earlier this evening, i spoke to brenda smith-lezama, vice president of the student body of the university of missouri and scott brooks, associate professor of sociology. brenda smith-lezama, you have been in the middle of this and you know what the conversations have been. how much relief is there tonight or how much concern is there still in the wake of this protest? >> the relief is astronomical. at the same time, this is not the end game. so we're looking at how to move forward and proceed with the administration as well as involving students. >> ifill: professor brooks, is

this a new issue or an old one that's been given new life? >> no, it's definitely an old one that has been given new life. you can go back to 1969 with the legion of black legions and them giving a list of demands of their concerns at that time. so whether we're talking about 1969 here at the university of missouri or whether we're talking about other campuses, i think that it's a fairly common story for black students, even black faculty staff that they are operating on at a university and they have this kind of mixed feeling. you know, it's a place where they're coming to get the best that they can from the university. they are looking and hoping and expecting this is the time of their lives and, yet, they are struck with the harsh realities that they're not treated often as equal citizens, as equal

students, and that's across the levels, faculty, staff and students, so this is not a new story. >> ifill: brenda smith-lezama, tell me how this became such a big issue and whether this has been your personal experience, the stories we're now hearing coming out of campus about the experiences of black students not only now but for some time now. >> of course. well, i think some some of the students are post ferguson and going back to that year and a half period, the activism on campus is an all-time high. for the first time, it's been done in a very systematic and intentional manner. coming from the student body, i think there is a lot of change we see needs to be made and this is the first time we've all been able to rally around one cause, and that is making everything better. >> ifill: this is a post-ferguson effect, as it

were? >> absolutely. at least for me, prior to ferguson and all the events that followed, there was obviously racial issues and a lot of issues, systematic oppression and itself. however, after ferguson was won, we were met to a lot of silence from the administration and that's frustrating, when students are crying out for help, our administration left us stranded. >> ifill: let me ask you this and i'll ask professor brooks as well, what difference will it make when president wolfe is gone if this is a problem that's' predated his position on campus in 2012. >> i think that specifically after ferguson, tim wolfe served as kind of the icon of the system that has failed us, and one of the biggest things that students have brought up with

concern is the fact that we need to have educators in these positions, people willing to make that change, people willing to listen to students rather than meet it with silence and not validate our concerns and our struggles. >> ifill: professor brooks, what difference will it make if the president of the university is now gone? >> well, i think brenda has articulated it very well. this is simply a step in the right direction. the difference is not about removing tim wolfe. the difference is going to be seen in what happens next. that's really what we're encouraged to pay attention to, you know, what we're excited about is how can we move forward, now that we know that there is at least one less person that we feel has been an obstacle. this is the way that students feel and also a way that faculty, staff are coming together. we're coming together under the

guise of, you know, what changes can we make now that we have at least an opportunity for shared government? >> ifill: i want to go to what happens next, but let's go back for a moment. would this have reached the head it did, starting with you, professor brooks, had there not been the involvement to have student athletes, the football team, was that the tipping point? >> right. well, i think that you have to look at the student athlete and their students. if the student athlete would not connect with the large student movement, the student athlete wouldn't necessarily come forward. i agree that there is no doubt the importance of sport -- you know, we know how important sport has become, particularly at the university. we call athletics the front porch of the university. talk about the collegiate arms race, the sports industrial

complex, there was $1 million that the university could in current terms of fines if the football players did not go out into the field. so there is no doubt the important consideration for each and every university that has a big-time football team. that's not simply a missouri issue, it's a national issue. student athletes have had this power and been trying to exercise it in different ways for the last couple of years, as we've seen student athletes organizing around amateurship, being able to gain stipends, so this is a growing national piece as well. the revolt of the athlete has never gone too far beneath the surface. it did take a moment like this and the courage of our concerned students to step forward to help to galvanize and give student athletes even a voice and a platform and strength to move

forward. >> and brenda smith-lezama, you've had today's victory. you concede it's a partial victory. so what does happen next? >> i'm a student. i am not an administrator. i am not one who is paid and tasked with coupling u coming ue answers. that's what's been frustrating. administrators have held back and asked us to come up with the solutions. i can't go to school full time, work and do an administrative job as well. that's what's so crucial. i will say this is nothing else than putting administrators on high alert that university students will not stand idly by and let the university fall to pieces. >> ifill: brenda smith-lezama, student body vice president, and professor scott brooks, thank you both very much. >> thank you for having us.

>> woodruff: now, allegations that russian athletes have been gaming international sports for years. a report out today from an independent commission of the world anti-doping agency found a "deeply rooted culture of cheating" in russia's track and field programs, including systemic doping, bribery and destruction of evidence, much of it done at the russian government's behest. the commission's report recommended lifetime bans for five russian runners, including the gold and bronze medal winners at the 2012 london olympics. commission head richard pound said the doping had to be state- sponsored. >> our conclusion was that all of this could not have happened or been allowed to continue to happen without the knowledge of and either actual or implied consent of state authorities. they were not operating the

sport, but would certainly have known, and could not not have known, about this. >> woodruff: let's take a deeper look into the investigation and its impact, with a sports reporter who has long covered the olympics. christine brennan of usa today is also a commentator for abc news, and she joins me now. welcome back to the program. so this is an extraordinary report, isn't it? >> it is. it's groundbreaking and earth shattering in many ways. though for those who have been watching, what's happening with the soccer governing body, and people may remember the east germans and cheating in track and field and swimming into the '60s and '70s, and in some ways this may not shock people at all. but here we are talking about one of the great forces in olympic sports, russia, of course, just hosted the last olympic games, the winter olympics, which vladimir putin paid $51 billion to put on. now to have this story hit, in

many ways no surprise and, yet, obviously eye opening and very alarming. >> woodruff: when you start to read this report, christine, it's not only the athletes, it's the coaches, the doctors, the people who regulate the sport going all the way up to the government. >> exactly, the government is implicated. i don't know we'll ever get to the bottom of exactly how high up this goes in russia, but i think we can dream big, and when you think of how important the so muchsossosochi olympics wered russia at this time and so many issues, you can think it goes all the way to the to. but what the world anti-doping agency is aledging is extraordinary. it wakes sponsors up to what's going on in these countries, and i think it will turn out to be a good thing. >> woodruff: is it possible to put on a finger on who won, who

medalled and who didn't as a result of the cheating? >> in some ways, the fact that the gold and bronze medals would be taken away, people have become to realize there is only one person in the 21 of the top three in each seven years who have been clean. so going back to the olympic record books in the '70s where we know the east germans and soviets were cheating and you still look at their records and names, in some way that's almost a futile effort because it's so much bigger than that, but it certainly is sad for the athletes who haven't cheated to be denied the medals. >> woodruff: we should point out the the russian government and officials say this is politically motivated and are denying it. among other things, they're saying how can you accuse them of doing this when the international agency was in charge of doing the testing. they're saying, if we were doing

this, why didn't someone see it at the time? >> it's a good point except for this, the russian officials run those labs. so the lab was in sochi. it brings into question what was going on at the sochi olympics. right now we're talking track and field athletes and that is a huge spores for the summer games and whether russia should even be allowed to have track and field athletes in rio next summer. but you go back to sochi, the hub of international sports based on winter olympics, and those officials running that lab, also keep in mind that russian security officials were involved and there are the implications, allegations that they were actually strong-arming some of these people to make some of these decisions or in some cases destroy up to 1400 drug tests. >> woodruff: quickly, another argument heard today is this is going on in a lot of places, not just the russians. how much validity is there? >> i think it's true. i think whe -- i think drug tesg

is important but can't catch all the designer drugs that have been made that they haven't yet found a test for. so i think the important thing for fans and people who love sports, buyer beware. as a consumer, you know the product could be tainted, whether major league baseball, n.f.l., anything in the united states bulls at the olympic level. >> woodruff: and effect on the olympics going fward. >> i think it has a big effect. when you look at the tainted nature of this and the fact if people can't trust what they're watching, if you can't trust a foot race between eight men or eight women, what in the world can you trust and how does that impact sponsors moving forward? >> woodruff: christine brennan, it's quite a story. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: thank you. take care. >> ifill: stay with us. coming up on the newshour:

an overwhelming victory for myanmar's opposition party. politics monday. scrutiny and late night humor. and how gloria steinem's "life on the road" shaped her into a feminist icon. >> ifill: but first, combating a growing diabetes epidemic in mexico. special correspondent fred de sam lazaro reports. it's part of his "agents for change" series. >> reporter: the north american free trade agreement brought mexico chain restaurants, malls and big box stores with abundant shelves, and an epidemic of diabetes. >> regular food, but sugar free. >> reporter: javier lozano, who's mother suffered from the disease, thinks he can make a difference. three years ago he opened a chain called clinicas del azukar, or the sugar clinics. >> just as we have franchise for hamburgers and pizza and fried

chicken, our dream was imagine there's a clinic in every corner. >> reporter: the clinics are a one-stop shop to see a doctor or nutritionist, get your eyes checked, or feet, then pick up a pair of shoes or snacks. lozano, a 33-year-old m.i.t. graduate, hopes to have 200 outlets by 2020, but it's a tiny fraction of the demand in a country that by then could have 20 million diabetics >> basically diabetes prevalence has been doubling every six to ten years. >> reporter: dr. simon barquera of mexico's national health institute says it now affects 14% of mexican adults; a population with widespread genetic pre-disposition to diabetes. adding to the risk, 72% are obese or overweight. those numbers are now higher than mexico's northern neighbors but with double the impact. far fewer mexicans here have their symptoms under control. >> for example, in canada and the u.s., more than half of the population with diabetes has

adequate control. in mexico only 25%. >> reporter: complicating matters, half of those affected aren't aware they have diabetes. and those who are diagnosed can remain a-symptomatic for years and they do little to control its advance. >> they go looking for private care and they see that its too expensive, then they go back to the public care and its limited. so, you know, when people have a difficult decision we usually just defer this decision. >> reporter: maria de la luz mireles says she struggled for years with scattered, substandard care until specialists at the sugar clinic helped bring her symptoms under control. >> ( translated ): i went to many clinics and never got to see a specialist, it was general doctors and they'd change my medications. this went on for 20 years. >> reporter: that overall lack

of access to care means more advanced cases: limb amputations, heart, kidney and eye disease; more people like luis martinez-- at 64, long retired and nearly incapacitated. >> ( translated ): my kidneys have been very seriously affected, so i have to have dialysis twice a day, and four months ago, i lost the last bit of sight that i had. >> reporter: as a young man, martinez moved from the country to the city, part of a massive urbanization. three out of four people now inhabit cities in this once million in the capital alone, says sugar clinics endocrinologist eduardo camacho >> most people lived in the countryside and so they used a lot of energy and got a lot of exercise in order to feed themselves; it was labor- intensive work. now, with urbanization people are using much less energy in their daily lives to get the food that that they need. >> reporter: then there's the

food: plentiful, affordable but processed. barquera says it's an industrialized version of the healthy traditional mexican diet. >> so now we have tacos, tortillas, bigger, a lot of meat, lot of fat. sometimes the quesadillas are deep fried. >> ( translated ): people are on the go, working, so if you've got money you go to a restaurant, if you don't you eat tacos on the street. and people drink soda rather than have the water. >> la coca! >> reporter: maria sanchez perez, who is losing her sight and lives in fear of a stroke, blames her addiction to coca cola. >> ( translated ): those big bottles that you see? those wouldn't even last me a day. >> reporter: she's hardly alone. according to coca cola, mexicans are far and away the biggest consumers of the company's products, especially the flagship coca cola, which is sold in three-liter bottles in this country. on average, the company says mexicans consume 43 gallons of coke products per year.

that works out to about 55 of these-per person-per year. in 2014, after a campaign by citizen activist groups, mexico became the first nation to enact a so-called soda tax: 10% on sugar sweetened drinks, eight percent on salty snacks. in it's first year, one study showed consumption dropped by six percent. but the study's methods were questioned by the food and beverage industry, led by multinationals including u.s.- based coke and pepsi. the industry has fought such tax proposals -successfully in most cases, including new york and san francisco. >> it's regressive. >> reporter: lorena cerdan is a spokesperson for mexico's food and beverage trade group, which argues its products are unfairly singled out. there's absolutely no link between soda consumption at 43

gallons per person per year and the disease burden of this country? >> ( translated ): there is no causal relationship to link directly sugary drinks with diabetes. there is a causal relationship between a sedentary life style and an over-consumption of calories in comparison. >> reporter: she says the urbanized lifestyle and the overall increase in calories from many sources are the problem. the industry has contributed to public awareness and fitness campaigns. but its critics, like consumer advocate alejandro calvillo, are skeptical. >> they are, by this way, trying to create confusion, that you don't have good products or bad products. everything is on the relation of the calorie intake that you consume and the calories that you spend. >> reporter: he says there's also been lackluster enforcement of recent regulations, banning salty snacks and sodas in

schools, for example. >> reporter: the website is an attempt to hold schools and the government to account. >> we receive a report and this is the schools in the country that are not following the regulation. we are making a list of all the schools. >> reporter: and experts say its not just at school, but at home that a culture shift is needed. 26-year-old karla al manza gets good grades from her nutritionist at the sugar clinics for controlling her weight and sugar levels. but she says its not been easy cutting out foods and sugary drinks she loves and imposing a diet on her mother, who is also diabetic, and two daughters and her husband, who are not. >> ( translated ): for the children, i've always cooked like that. it's really difficult for my husband. he says, i'm not a rabbit, give me some more meat! >> reporter: it's also hard on the budget, she says.

the healthy diet, ironically, is costlier than fast food. helping her budget, her clinic fees are fixed; payable up front for the full year, though financing is offered to help patients afford care. lozano says this insures patients come back regularly; their complications not only treated but also tracked. >> we've been more than three years in care and we have seen more than 15,000 patients. so we have a lot of data. >> reporter: the data helps determine what works and what doesn't, which also in turn helps lower costs and increase access to care in an epidemic that most experts says this nation is unprepared for. for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro in monterrey, mexico. >> ifill: fred's reporting is a partnership with the "under-told stories" project at saint mary's university of minnesota. >> woodruff: we turn now to

asian nation of myanmar-- the country formerly known as burma- - where sunday's election is on track to produce a landslide victory to the party of former political prisoner aung san suu kyi. we start with a report from john irvine of independent television news. >> reporter: it seems the world has a new democracy. after years of brutal repression, burma's freedom movement and its charismatic leader aung san suu kyi have prevailed and that was something to celebrate here tonight. >> she is a great leader. she is very honest. she is our mother. >> reporter: but the day began differently with rangoon strangely subdued. many heeded official advice to stay at home. the joy of yesterday's vote had been replaced by uncertainty about what might happen next. then, when election officials

didn't show up to announce results at the appointed time, there was concern that democracy delayed might be democracy denied -- again. soon, miss suu kyi appeared at her party headquarters. she urged supporters to keep calm and to remain peaceful. then, nine hours late, the first results did come in, and people were calm no more. (cheers and applause) >> not long ago a member of this political party, a former prisoner. >> reporter: in the five years since aung san suu kyi's release m new faces have turned up here. businessmen and tourists for whom part of the appeal of this

place is its timeless quality. the flip side is many burmese live in a time forgot. home is a tiny stilted shack teetering over swamp land. these are the people aung san suu kyi has promised to help. her next burden is expectation. but after decades of circle she has put herself in a position to deliver. democracy is a thrilling prospect for people impatient for a future. (cheers and applause) >> woodruff: we take a closer look at myanmar's historical election. welcome to the program, tom malinowski. >> thank you. >> woodruff: are they on the track to victory? >> we don't have the results

yet. in burma, the military is reserved 25% of the seats in parliament, which means her party would have to run two-thirds of the contested seats to get a majority and form a government, so we don't know if they've done that yet. >> woodruff: some of the early reporting indicates it looks like that's where they're headed. i don't want to make predictions as to numbers. it is important to step back and remember this is is a day 25 years in the coming. a lot of people in burma sacrificed and died to get to this date. the united states all that period of time supported the hope, the dream that one day the burmese people would be able to make the choice they did today and there is still enormous problems. burma is not yet a full-fledged democracy, but this shows us that where we are principled and patient in pursuit of that goal,

we can make a difference. >> woodruff: if aung san suu kyi's party obtains the two-thirds you described, are you confident, is the united states confident that the military rulers are going to let her and her party essentially take over? >> we take absolutely nothing for granted. this has been a tough struggle in burma for many years, as i mentioned, but the military promised, including the commander-in-chief just in the last few days, that they will expect the results. and i think having gone this far, i think it will be quite hard for them to turn back now. >> woodruff: what are the chief challenges going forward, whoever is victorious in the parliament? >> there are several. first, the country is still operating under a non-democratic constitution which gives the military, as i mentioned, a quarter of the seats in parliament, which gives him, actually, power of changes in the constitution, the right to

ekuwait the military leaders. the constitution aung san suu kyi and her party said will need to change. that's something that we the united states have called for us a el. and then there's perhaps the deepest and most difficult problem and that is that, while one of the flaws of this election was that hundreds of thousands of people were hindu muslims who previously were able to vote in burma, who lived there for generations were disenfranchised and denied the vote because of a virulent, racist campaign that was staged, we think in part to try to deny the opposition a victory in this election, but that racism, that intolerance that was created for the purpose of this election is still up there and those people are still suffering a great deal. >> woodruff: we know there was a criticism of aung san suu kyi and some of the things she and her party did in this campaign.

that seems to be overlooked now in this early celebrating. >> well, it looks to me like, when people were in the privacy of the voting booth after all of these years of waiting for this day, they saw a choice between the past and the future, and despite everything that has happened and everything that has been said, it look like most burmese are focused on moving forward. >> woodruff: in the next few days, secretary malinowski, what are you looking for to come out of burma? >> first we need to wait and see what the election officials say about the outcome. we supported a program which thousands of observers turned out across the country to make sure the elections were properly run. then there will be a long period of political transition. so depending on the results, we'll want to see that the military, as you suggested, will respect them, will allow a civilian government to be formed

and ultimately that those civilians will have control and that the military will gradually step back and play a more appropriate role for a democratic country. >> woodruff: assistance secretary tom malinowski, thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: we may still be a year out from the presidential election here, but to hear one candidate tell it, the scrutiny has never been higher. and while one g.o.p. frontrunner took issue with the media, the other took center stage on the comedy circuit. and that's where we begin, this "politics monday." >> so why are you hosting "saturday night live"? why? because i've got nothing better to do. >> ifill: donald trump is by no means the first politician to use late night comedy to make his or her case. they're everywhere this year.

day and night, dancing with ellen, sparring with stephen, yukking it up with jimmy. washington post reporter elahe izadi says the ability to showcase a sense of humor has become a campaign essential, as important as delivering a policy speech. >> this is now just part of being on the campaign trail. this isn't just something that is an extra, this is part of what it means to be a national, political candidate for better or for worse. to have the willingness to go on these shows and allow yourself to be made fun of and just appear very, very silly. >> ifill: the tradition stretches back decades. john f. kennedy showed up on jack parr's "tonight" show in 1960. in 1968, two months before richard nixon was elected president, he memorably appeared on "rowan and martin's laugh in." >> sock it to me?! >> ifill: and in 1992, bill

clinton slipped on dark glasses and a saxophone for a visit to arsenio hall's late night show. but president obama became the first sitting president to take to the couch when he visited jay leno's tonight show in 2009. such appearances almost always stir objection. some of it about questioning the candidate's dignity. much of it from other candidates seeking equal time. immigration activists took it up a notch at rockefeller center this weekend, offering a reward for anyone who would disrupt trump's "snl" appearance. in the end, they settled for protesting offstage, outside the studio. >> ifill: and we turn now, as always, to amy walter of the cook political report and tamara keith of npr. >> ifill: so as we look at this, some of it funny, some of it not so much. who's winning these comedy wars, amy? >> i think you set it up quite well in the piece, the point is

to make people who spend most of their time in contrived situations, in a natural and normal like this is your best friend talking to you. there are different reasons to do the show. if you don't get attention, this is a chance to get in front of a new audience that may not have paid attention to you. but hillary clinton and donald trump, they have one thing in common in the polls, voters think they're not likable or easy going. so what better way to do it than go on one of these shows. >> ifill: is it working? t's free media, and hillary clinton's campaign after she went on "snl," a couple of days later there was an event and at the event they were blasting that ask it up on to the screen and they liked it. at one point she told somebody in the audience, well, you can call me val. there is this idea in campaigns that voters are likely to vote for the person who they would like to have a beer with. one way to look like you would

be someone fun to have a bar with is to show up on late night tv. >> ifill: i never understood how that works with the presidency. but that's a a different conversation. i want to talk about scrutiny. we've had a couple of major candidates, ben carson and marco rubio, who came under heightened scrutiny because of things they've said and done in their past and i wonder whether it feels different or is this the way it always is? before you answer the question, let's listen to what ben carson had to say about this whole issue. >> there is no question i'm getting special scrutiny because, you know, there are a lot of people who are very threatened and, you know, they they -- they've seen the recent head-to-head polling against hillary and how well i do and they're worried and they're point is to distract. >> ifill: h he says he's scrutinized like no other has.

>> there is stuff about this election that we've never seen before and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. but as i have been talking about throughout this year, at some point, the laws of the road, the political rules of the road start to apply and one of those is the higher up you go in the process, the longer you're the frontrunner, the more scrutiny you will get. there is absolutely nothing new about this. the prompts of ben carson, his autobiography is his campaign. that's the place where the scrutiny is going to be the most significant. it doesn't help him he doesn't have a specific policy objective. if he wants to talk about policy, great, but he has to get more specific about the policies. >> ifill: marco rubio knew what was coming was that people would raise questions about his handling of party-issued credit cards in florida when he was speaker of the florida house and he came prepared with an answer. >> marco rubio is running a very professional campaign. here's a candidate who did opposition research on himself, knew what was coming and had an answer and, in fact, made this

credit card thing part of his overall narrative, which was i wasn't a rich guy, i was living paycheck to paycheck just like everybody else. he really just blended it in with the story of marco rubio. i think that he played it well. in some ways, he's inoculating themself. this comes out now, he isn't even a frontrunner at this point, it comes out now and it will seem like old news and sort of is. >> ifill: it should have been said both of them have been on email raising money off this. >> and as you said there is something about the scrutiny, it happens every single election, so is the attack on the media -- give me money because the media is unfairly maligning me. >> and ben carson said just last week when the media was doing after him he raised $3.5 million from 10,000 people. >> throw me in the briar patch,

this is so terrible what you're doing to me. (laughter) >> yeah. >> ifill: daylight is opening between the two candidates, and he promised he wasn't interested in attacking hillary clinton. >> i still don't think he's interested in attacking hillary clinton. >> really? no, when you see him go on the offense, it's still very light and it's still very much about, look, i'm just going to put myself out here. i leave it for you to judge whether or not hillary clinton's been that consistent. and to hillary clinton's credit, she keeps moving further and further on to bernie sanders' terrain and moving further and further to the left. he's not giving her easy openings, but he has to make the argument that she's not been consistent in her support as opposed to she doesn't support certain issues. >> he thinks they will be marking the argument that i was right all along and first.

he doesn't say her name and he doesn't actually see this as an attack. he sees this as fair game comparison. he thinks that's completely fair. i think that his campaign would like him to push harder, but he's just not quite as comfortable with it. and hillary clinton has really no need to overtly go on the attack against bernie sanders. >> ifill: only a few seconds left. yet another debate tomorrow night. what are you watching for? >> let's see about the ben carson scrutiny and where we go with that. he's certainly going to be much more of a focus. >> ifill: and donald trump has certainly been going out of his way to remind everybody of what all the questions are. >> and all eyes on marco rubio, will he have another strong performance in this debate. >> ifill: okay, i'll let you watch and tell me all about it. amy walter, tamera keith, thank you very much.

>> woodruff: she is a writer, editor, but above all a feminist activist. gloria steinem has been in the forefront of the women's movement in this country for more than half a century. now at 81, she has penned her memoir, "my life on the road." our newest addition to the newshour bookshelf. she talked to jeffrey brown recently at the historic sewall- belmont house and museum of the women's suffrage and equal rights movement here in washington. >> brown: you write early on about your father who taught you something through his ability to live with and even love insecurity. that's an interesting trait. >> well it certainly was necessary for a freelance writer like me, but i didn't know that at the time. i just thought that that's the way life was. and he always said, if i don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, it could be wonderful. >> brown: and that became your life in a sense, or something

you could live by? >> well, not quite because of course you want to be like the other kids, you know? so, i looked at the movies and saw how kids went to school and how their fathers had jobs. but my parents were kind and loving and wonderful people so i was lucky in that way, but i didn't know yet that the idea of living with insecurity would be really helpful in later life- both as a writer and a person in movements. >> brown: when you, you write a book about life on the road-- when you look back now, does it look like a life that you chose? or did it just happen, unfold? >> you know, that's a deep question. >> brown: good! >> i think both. because what we grow up with feels like home so in that sense it was destined, but i also spent all the middle years of my

life assuming that i would have to settle down and live like everyone else. and it was only after when i had been living this on the road life for quite a long time until i was 50, that i realized, wait a minute-- this isn't just something on the way to something else, this is it. >> brown: this is it, this is who you are. >> yeah. and, i think in a real way my father had no home, i mean, he was a total wanderer and my mother had no journey of her own because she had to give up a career as a writer and a journalist. and you know, she kind of gave up everything she loved. so, it took me while to realize it isn't either/or, it's and. >> brown: what about today? do you see the same commitment, the same focus in young women? >> oh yes more. way, way, way more. we were like 12 crazy ladies in the beginning.

you know we were definitely the core of something and now all these issues are majority issues. and young women are way more likely to just assume that they'll be likely to use all of their human talents. in fact, they get radicalized as they get older. and they get into the labor force and they discover that equal pay is not happening. >> brown: so the idea that we're in a post-feminist society... >> oh that's ridiculous. you know who's saying that, i can guarantee you they're the same people who were saying to me in the beginning, you can't do this, this is against god, freud, somebody, and now the new form of obstructionism is to say, well it's over. just to keep you from doing anything more. it's so just begun. >> brown: the book tells about many successes along the way. i'm wondering about what you think of as the greatest

failures. >> the confidence to tell the truth about our lives. >> brown: meaning? >> well, for instance, one in three american women has needed at some time in her life an abortion. and there's still enough shame to it. or you know, controversy so that it's difficult for people to say that. >> brown: when you look at things like abortion rights, discrimination in the work place, a lot of successes along the way, but even now, on the defensive in some areas, right? >> well yes, essentially the people who are against reproductive freedom, kind of lost what they wanted in washington, so now they are starting to gain it in state legislatures. >> brown: but opponents of these things, and this has been the case for all your life, i'm sure, come to this with the same

certainty you do, the same right as you. >> well, but here's the difference. we are protecting their rights. we are protecting, reproductive freedom protects the right to have children. they are not protecting our right to decide when and where to have children. >> brown: let me ask you finally, are you able to able to imagine yourself as a young women in today's society? you're with young women all the time, still talking to them. what advice do you give to them? >> here's my advice: do not listen to me. really. >> brown: do not. >> no. i want to support their listening to themselves. i mean, each of them has things that they love, things that they do and they forget what time it is, which is a good measure, when they're doing it. they know their own lives and situations. i'm here to support that.

and say, ok you're not more important than somebody else, but you're not less important either. >> brown: alright, "my life on the road," gloria steinem, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, hari sreenivasan catches up with a man walking around the world. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and hong kong tourism board. >> i'm going to take you on a cullin area journey to consume a whole cow. look at all these beef dishes. i love eating like this. one thing