captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, it's tax day, and that's sparking new calls for president donald trump to release his own tax returns. we dig into how transparent this white house is. then, british prime minister theresa may calls for a snap election as she seeks more public support to take britain out of the european union. and, a teacher in the navajo nation schools takes a very hands-on approach to learning. >> in a math class, you get the problem wrong, you miss that question. in my program, if you get that math problem wrong, that animal can die. >> woodruff: all that and more,

on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> 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: voting is in the news across europe today, starting with a surprise announcement from london: british prime minister theresa may called for an early election, in june, instead of

waiting until 2020. speaking outside her official residence, may said she is asking to move up the vote to strengthen her hand in negotiating britain's exit from the european union. >> division in westminster will risk our ability to make a success of brexit, and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country. so we need a general election, and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done. >> woodruff: we will take a closer look at the implications of may's move, later in the program. police in france say they have broken up an imminent attack aimed at that country's presidential election. they arrested two suspects today in the port city of marseilles, and recovered guns and explosives. prosecutors accuse the pair of being islamic extremists. the first round of voting in france's presidential race begins on sunday. in turkey, the main opposition party is formally asking to

annul sunday's referendum that expanded the powers of president recep tayyip erdogan. hundreds of people waited outside the electoral board's headquarters today to file petitions against the vote. they say accepting ballots without an official stamp was illegal. separately, the white house defended president trump's congratulatory call to erdogan, as an effort to work with those who fight terrorism. vice president mike pence moved on from south korea to japan today, and again pressed the u.s. case against north korea. in tokyo, mr. pence said the u.s. will not relent until the korean peninsula is free of nuclear weapons. and, he told japanese prime minister shinzo abe that american support is unwavering. >> we appreciate the challenging times in which the people of japan live, with increasing provocations from across the sea of japan. and as the u.s. president,

donald trump, himself will say if he was here, let me be clear to you, mr. prime minister and to all of people in japan, we are with you 100%. >> woodruff: last week, the white house announced that a u.s. aircraft carrier was steaming toward korean waters as a deterrent. now, it turns out that was premature. the "new york times" reports the carrier group was headed the opposite way at the time, before changing course. the pentagon blames a series of miscommunications. the u.s. military says it intercepted two russian bombers in international airspace off alaska, on monday. two u.s. fighter planes shadowed them for 12 minutes. according to "fox news," the russians came within 100 miles of alaska's kodiak island. it is the first such incident in nearly two years. the manhunt is over for the suspect accused of killing an elderly man in cleveland and posting video of the crime on facebook.

state police in pennsylvania found steve stephens today in the city of erie. he shot and killed himself after a chase, closing the case for authorities back in cleveland. >> we are grateful that this has ended. we would have preferred that it had not ended this way, because there are a lot of questions. i'm sure, not only for the family but for the city in general, would have had for steve as to why this transpired. >> woodruff: facebook c.e.o. mark zuckerberg pledged today, the social media giant will do all it can to prevent postings of violent crimes in the future. state officials in arkansas are vowing to carry out a double execution later this week. that, after the u.s. supreme court halted the state's plan to resume capital punishment, for the first time in nearly 12 years. the high court issued its ruling late monday, just minutes before a condemned man was scheduled to die. secretary of homeland security john kelly is taking on critics in congress over immigration

enforcement. in washington today, he said too many public officials ridicule immigration agents and airport security officers, and accept unfounded allegations about them as truth. >> if lawmakers do not like the laws that we enforce, that we are charged to enforce, that we are sworn to enforce, then they should have the courage and skill to change the laws. otherwise they should shut up and support the men and women on the front lines. ( applause ) >> woodruff: more than 21,000 undocumented immigrants in the u.s. have been arrested since president trump took office. that is up from 16,000 a year ago. republicans faced another tough race today in what had been a solidly red u.s. house district. the election was in suburban atlanta, where 18 candidates from both parties competed. the seat was vacated by tom price, now the secretary of health and human services. president trump attacked the

leading democrat in the race, jon ossoff, who said he thinks the president is "misinformed." >> there is word this evening that president george h.w. bush is hospitalized again in houston. a spokesman said mr. bush is doing fine and already on the path going home. he gave no other details plp bush is 92. he was hospitalized for pneumonia back in january. and, on wall street, stocks lost more ground after goldman-sachs and johnson & johnson posted disappointing earnings. the dow jones industrial average lost 113 points to close at 20,523. the nasdaq fell seven, and the s&p 500 slid nearly seven. still to come on the newshour: growing concerns over white house ethics; the president's efforts to revamp a widely-used guest workers program; pushback against trump's upcoming state visit to britain, and much more.

>> woodruff: it's tax day, and president trump is facing renewed questions over public disclosure issues that dogged him on the campaign trial. our john yang begins our coverage. >> reporter: for president trump, questions about transparency start with his taxes, and why he's breaking with tradition and not releasing his returns. white house press secretary sean spicer: >> we're under the same audit that has existed, and nothing has changed. >> reporter: in fact, presidents and vice presidents are automatically audited by the i.r.s., which hasn't stopped other chief executives from making them public. this weekend, thousands of people marched in cities around the country to demand that mr. trump release his taxes. he dismissed them with a tweet: "someone should look into who paid for the small organized rallies. the election is over."

mr. trump is the first president in more than 40 years not to make his tax returns public. the president says only reporters care about the issue. but in a recent bloomberg/ morning consult poll, 53% of those surveyed said the president should release them. then, there's the question of who visits the white house, which mr. trump calls "the people's house." the administration says it's ending the obama policy of making visitor logs available, with exceptions for national security and privacy reasons. press secretary spicer: >> frankly, the faux attempt that the obama administration put out, where they would scrub who they didn't want put out, didn't serve anyone well. >> reporter: the administration is also under scrutiny for hiring former lobbyists to craft policies for the industries they came from. the "new york times" and "propublica" found some had been given secret waivers exempting them from ethics rules. ethics questions also extend to first daughter and white house advisor ivanka trump, and her

business interests. the associated press reported she received provisional chinese approval for three trademarks, on the day she dined with president xi jingping at mr. trump's mar-a-lago resort. her fashion line, which is seeing record sales, is held in a family-run trust, and she has pledged to recuse herself from issues that present conflicts. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: for more on some of the questions all of this raises about government transparency and conflicts of interest, we are joined by richard painter. he's a university of minnesota law professor who served as president george w. bush's top ethics attorney; and, noah bookbinder, executive director of the government watchdog group "citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington." we welcome both of you to the program. >> thank you. >> woodruff: thank you. noah bookbinder, i'm going to start with you. there's so much to cover here, let's just pick out a few of these questions. taxes-- the white house continues to insist that president trump's taxes are

being audited, and there's just no way he can release them. he doesn't have that ability to release them. what's the answer? >> that's just not correct. as the report just indicated, every president's taxes are routinely audited, and yet all of the previous presidents have seen fit to release their tax returns. richard nixon released his tax returns when he was under audit, and surely a level of transparency that was sufficient for richard nixon ought to work for this president. >> woodruff: richard painter, why isn't that a legitimate reason? in addition the white house says the public doesn't really care about president trump's taxes. >> well, the public does care, and the fact that the tax returns are under audit is not an excuse for not releasing the tax returns. and furthermore, the president is going to propose tax reform legislation, which may very well just mean more handouts for the super rich billionaire tax cuts. we ought to at least know what

particular tax provisions are benefiting him financially, which loopholes he's using before he starts tinkering around with the tax code to create yet more. so this is going to be critically important that he release the tax returns, or we're not going to have any tax reform legislation get through congress. i can't imagine that congress would sign off on a bill proposed by the president if he's not going to disclose how the bill is going to affect him financially. and the only way to do that is release those tax returns. >> woodruff: and just quickly to noah bookbinder, this has been donal donald trump's argumt throughout the campaign from the very beginning, the first time anyone asked him about releasing hez taxes. he said it's none of your business. it's my private business. and besides, they're being audited. does he have a point that he is in a special place in this argument, unlike anyone else? >> he really doesn't. it is-- his taxes will reveal information that is going to tell us how he's affected, as

richard said, by tax reform, but also by all kinds of other policy frooshz foreign policy, his tax returns will reveal his foreign interests, to regulatory policy. and so it's crucial for the american people ton what his interests are, to know what affects him and where conflicts might be. it's even more true for becausee maintains these vast business interests worldwide. >> woodruff: i want to turn both of you to another question that's been in the news, and that is release ago making public the list of people who visit the white house, the so-called visitor logs. richard painter, this white house, they're saying we're not going to do it. by history, by tradition, most presidents haven't done it. yes, president obama did, but president trump doesn't feel compelled to do so. what difference does it make? >> it makes a lot of difference. the most ordinary americans never have an opportunity to visit with anyone inside the

white house. they can only look at the white house from outside the gate. very few people get in there. lobbyists, billionaires, friends of the president, friends of his staff, politically connected people. we have the right to know who those people are. they're going in there, lobbying the white house staff, trying to get legislation through, trying to get regulatory loopholes, tax loopholes and rest of it. and the rest of us who don't have any opportunity to go in the white house have the trite at least know who is going in and out of there. >> woodruff: noah bookbinder, your organization actually sued the administration of george w. bush to try to get them to release these visitor logs. you weren't successful with him, but, again, as we mentioned, president obama did release his. where does that stand? is this the kind of lawsuit that could apply again? >> sure. our organization sued originally under george w. bush. that lawsuit carried through into president obama's administration, and it was in discussions that came out of that lutz that led to-- lawsuit

that led to the obama administration's policy of releasing the visitor logs. they did it with exceptions for national security policy and for privacy, so there were no problems with doing so. countless news stories came out of who was in there, who was getting access, who was influencing policy from the millions of names that were released. we have filed a similar suit now with this administration because they're not following the example of the obama administration and releasing those names. >> woodruff: so we'll see how long that takes to work its way through. i now want to turn both of you, though, to something else that has cropped up again today, and that is the family conflicts of interest. we know, patriotic that both the president's dawrkpresident's daa trunk, and her husband, jared kushner, have business interests. they have separated themselves by a measure now that they're working in the white house, but they have not completely separated themselves. how do you see the decision

they've made to create trusts or other legal mechanisms without completely selling off and separating themselveses from their business interests? >> well, the trusts don't do anything to change ownership of the businesses. they still have ownership of these businesses, which include clothing import businesses, bringing in clothes from china, and, of course, jared kushner's real estate businesss. so what this means is both of them are going to have to recuse from trade negotiations with china that affect the clothing import business that ivanka has, and both of them are going to have to recuse from tax reform measures because there are lots of loopholes for the real estate business in any tax reform bill. certainly a lot of real estate-related issues on the table and tax reform, and furthermore, banking reform. they have to stay out of that. that affects real estate. they have to stay out of those things and it will be okay.

>> woodruff: well, noah bookbinder, i was in touch today with ivanka trump's attorney, jamie garelic, here in washington, asked her about this story today about ivanka trump winning trademarks in china on the same day that she was meeting with the chinese, with her father with the chinese premiere. jamie garelic wrote back and basically said ivanka trump removed herself from her business before the start of her father's administration. she said she has no role in deciding now what trademarks it seeks. she's going to fall follow-all applicable ethics rules. why isn't that good enough? >> well, the-- she is still the owner of that business, and because sheets the owner, she benefits from trademarks that are granted to the business, and so, if they apply for trademarks, she sees that they get them. she knows the chinese government is doing things that are beneficial to her, and that's going to make her more disposed to policies that benefit china.

>> woodruff: all right, we are going to have to leave it there. as we said, so many questions in this. and i know we're going to be coming back to it. noah bookbinder, richard painter, we thank you, both. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: president trump today renewed his call for u.s. agencies to "buy american and hire american," following a tour of a tool-making plant in kenosha, wisconsin today. william brangham has the story. >> brangham: during his wisconsin visit, president trump signed an executive order to encourage federal agencies to use more american workers and products. it also targeted what are known as h-1b guest worker visas, which the president said hurt those same workers. >> right now, h-1b visas are awarded in a totally random lottery, and that's wrong. instead, they should be given to the most skilled and highest-

paid applicants, and they should never ever be used to replace americans. no one can compete with american workers when they are given a fair and level playing field, which has not happened for decades. >> brangham: the h-1b visa system is meant to help u.s. employers find foreign labor to fill highly technical jobs they can't fill with u.s. workers. but critics, including the president, say the system is being abused. we turn to two people who have followed this issue closely. daniel costa is director of immigration law and policy research at the economic policy institute, a nonpartisan think- tank here in washington, d.c.; and, vivek wadhwa is a distinguished fellow and adjunct professor at carnegie mellon university's college of engineering. he teaches and writes on technology and entrepreneurship. welcome to you both. daniel costa, i'd like to start with you. you heard the brief introduction that i made about these visas. explain what is the intention of the h-1b visa? >> well, the program is usually sold by the companies that use

it as a program to bring in the best and the brightest workers from abroad and also to be used when no qualified u.s. workers can be found. and the reality is, though, that's not what the law requires. employers are not required to search for and offer jobs to u.s. workers, and they can also pay much lower wages, based on the way the wage rules are set up in the program. and so that's sort of the two main things that are wrong with the program, and so the probable prm doesn't have a lot of credibility, and some fixes are definitely required. >> brangham: vivek wadhwa, the president argues there is a ready supply of american tech workers to fill these jobs and the visa program is being abusinged. what is your reaction to that? >> there are people with some skills, but the type of skills silicon valley is looking for are always in short fly splooi because technology is changing so fast. and immigration is the life blood of silicon valley. you know, yes, some is abiewlingsed, but it is badly needed by silicon valley for

what it does, which is to build these amazing new innovative product glks daniel costa, does this complement u.s. workers or replace the workers? >> i think there's no question america needs the best and the brightest skilled immigrants from abroad. i don't think anybody is domestic that. what is at issue is the terms and conditions under which those they come to work into the united states. they're tied to their employers so quasi-indentured and able to be paid much lower wages. the program is set up in a way that has four wage levels and the two local wage levels are below the local average wage for the job, and 80% of the h-1b jobs are a wage lower than the local average wage. what that means is either these are the best and brightest workers coming in and they're being vastly underpaid or they're just entry-level workers coming in. the lower level wages are listed as the entry-level wage. that's the reality, i think, prioritizing higher wage visas or higher skilled workers coming

in under those visas, it won't lower the number coming in, and certainly some companies really need these workers but we should shift to a higher wage, higher skilled workforce that comes in on the visa glook vivek, what's your reaction to that? if you're bringing in, workers from other lands, there is a fundamental fairness issue many american workers and the president would say that's not right. we should not be doing that. >> i agree with, that by the way. i agree with what daniel says. the problem is this visa ties the worker to the employer. when you're waiting for a green card, for indians who take 10, 15 years, you're basically locked into the employer and the employer pays substands wages and employer can get away with it. they have people locked in. very simple solution, let's-- very simple solution-- let's decouple the employer from the visa. in other words, let the visa go to the employee so that the employee can shift jobs and go

to the highest paid employer. why do we have to have them linked up the way they are? if we did that, suddenly the market forces would prevail, and it would fix the thereby one fell swoop, except we don't talk about it. you know a lot of the attacks on the visa are sostop immigration all together and cut off the life line to silicon valley. we need to have intelligent conversations and ficts real problem there is, which is deathering the employee to the employer. >> brangham: would that be a solution? if the worker came in and the visa belonged to them and they didn't like the pay they were getting at company "a," couldn't they go and work for company "b"? >> that just wouldn't be enough to fix the way the program is set up. there is very easy simple solution that's out there and been proposed in bipartisan legislation by senators durb and i know grassily, and all it would simply do is require that employers recruit and hire u.s. workers before hiring an h-1b worker and require that employers pay at least the local average wage, so eliminate the

two lowest wage levels. and then it would also create a prioritization scheme for the lottery that alcaits the visas. however, the tech industry and corporate lobbies have been strongly against these basically simple, commonsense solution. just being able to switch to another employer is not going to fix a lot of problems. it's something, and they can we should move away from these nonimmigrant temporary visa statuses because they're terrible for workers because they are tied to employers, the same issue with low-skilled visas. but workers need to be coming in. we need to be make sure there is an actual labor shortage and actual needs before the worker comes in. and once they come in, we should put them on a quick and weighsy's path to citizenship. >> brangham: vivek, what do you think of that? >> too complex. >> brangham: if a josh an engineer of a certain category is $150,000 a year, that's what the immigrant laborer should be

paid as well? >> i agree with that. but if the employee was allowed to change jobs, keep it simple. if the employee can change jobs like every other american can right now, the employer would have to pay market wages. the employer would select the best person. why do we have to become nationalistic and say you have to be white skinned or born in america to get a job with the american company. the majority of income american companies receive is from abroad. they market their goods globally. if we're now going to shawft rest of the world, rest of the world will shut us off and impact our pecome pptd simplest thing is to untether the visa from the employer and let the free market prevail. this is what makes america great say free market. let's go back to that. let's not have more regulation or more loopholes that can be subverted, which is what we were talking about. simple, untether the two things, let the free market rule. that's what i'm saying. >> brangham: all right daniel costa, vivek wadhwa, thank you both very much for being here.

>> woodruff: stay with us. but first, as we reported earlier, british prime minister theresa may announced today she would ask for elections to be held this june, instead of in 2020. jeffrey brown has that. >> brown: the prime minister's request for snap elections was made with an eye towards shoring up her negotiating position, as the united kingdom heads into tough talks over the terms of its exit from the european union. for more on what led to today's announcement, and where may hopes this will go, we're joined by stephanie baker, a senior writer at bloomberg. stephanie, first with that surprise was it a shock for many there and how was it taken? >> it was a big shock, and a the love people were surprised it hadn't leaked out beforehand pawps noticed in your report, theresa may, the prime minister has ruled out an early election repeatedly over the past few months, and people took her at

her word. so even members of her own party were taken aback by the decision. >> brown: so how fractured is the political debate there? was there a sense that she did this because she realized she needed a strong mandate in order to shore up her support over brexit? >> yes. her conservative party has a slim 17-seat majority in parliament, and, you know, i think she is taking a calculated bet here. she's taken a look at the polls, which give her conservative partyave 20-point lead, and she thinks she could increase her majority in parliament by picking up disaffected voters from the opposition labor party, particularly those who supported brexit in the north to increase her majority so that when she goes to brussels to negotiate, the u.k.'s exit from the e.u., she can come back way deal and not be attacked for any kind of

compromises or, you know, negotiating conclusions by the hard, anti-european wing of her own party. >> brown: and how big a personal risk is she taking? i saw that opposition figures were already painting her as a kind of opportunist trying to take advantage of things here. >> well, yeah, i mean, i think she runs a personal risk of undermining her own credibility since she did say so many times that she would not hold an early election, that the country didn't need another election, that it would undermine stability. she does look like another politician who has gone back on her word, and i think that will play out during the campaign over the next seven weeks. >> brown: so one of the big questions, of course, is to what extent this reopens the whole question of brexit. how much will it be the subject of debate in this election?

>> i think that's what a lot of people are talking about now. un, traditional leash the u.k. has been dominated by the two main political parties, the conservative and left-leaning labor party. the labor party is in a current state of disarray. it's led by a weak leader, jeremy corbin, who is regard as very unprime ministerial. there is a third party, the liberal democrats, part of a governing coalition between 2010 and 2015. they have positioned themselves as the party of remain vote-- that is, the 48% of british voters who backed staying in the e.u., and they are trying to turn this election into a kind of quasi-rerun of the referendum. whether or not they'll be able to do that, how many seats they'll be able to ping by running that strategy is unclear. but certainly in areas like london and the south of england, which voted overwhelmingly to remain, they're likely to pick up quite a number of seats so it's hard to see how the balance

will change. >> brown: and just briefly in 30 seconds or so, stephanie, americans, of course, are used to endless, years-long elections. this is june 8, so it's very quick. >> it is. it's seven weeks of campaigning. parties are going to have to be write thirg election manifestos, getting fund raising in place. this will be incredibly qek. it is not unexpected. there were many people among all the different parties who thought she would call it. the timing, of course, caught many people by surprise. >> brown: stephanie baker of bloomberg in london, thank you very much. >> woodruff: now, from the prime minister's surprise news of today, to a surprise theresa may brought to the white house in january-- and the debate it's sparked across great britain. from london, special correspondent ryan chilcote has

this look. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a diplomatic coup. the british prime minister beating the world's leaders to the oval office. >> i am honored to have prime minister theresa may here for the first official visit. >> reporter: may didn't just return the favor, she upped the ante-- extending an honor only two u.s. presidents have received since 1952. >> i have today been able to convey her majesty the queen's hope that president trump and the first lady would be able to pay a state visit to the united kingdom later this year, and i'm delighted the president was able to accept that. >> reporter: then things got awkward. three days later, 20,000 protestors gathered outside the prime minister's office to

denounce the travel ban president trump imposed just hours after may left. then, another day of demonstrations. 1.8 million brits signed a petition demanding the prime minister cancel the visit. ten of the last 12 american presidents who'd come weren't given the honor, why should president trump? parliament gathered for a debate. >> does my honorable friend agree that the expression, ( bleep ) describes a sexual assault, and therefore suggests that president trump should not be afforded a visit to our queen? >> reporter: at 82, paul flynn is a senior member of the house of commons. >> the debate in this country hasn't been about whether donald trump comes here. it's been about whether he gets treated to this state visit. what's the big deal? >> reporter: the big deal is that only two american presidents since 1952 have been given this special honor of a state visit. and we're giving this special, unique privilege to donald

trump after being in office for seven days. and it was an act of desperation by a prime minister that's in deep trouble. we're losing our market in europe because of brexit, and she's desperate to ingratiate herself with america in order to try to win new markets. we don't want to give him privileged treatment. we want to show him our contempt and disdain. >> reporter: president trump's visit to the u.k. has become politically fraught. every aspect of the trip, from the timing to the itinerary, is in flux. six years ago, president trump's predecessor was granted the highest of honors-- the opportunity to address parliament during his state visit. that was ruled out this time around, before it could even be debated. john bercow is the speaker of the house of commons. >> before the imposition of the migrant ban, i would have been myself strongly opposed to an address by president trump in westminster hall. after the imposition of the migrant ban by president trump,

i am even more opposed to an address by president trump. >> reporter: the state banquet is a staple of state visits though, so that's in. protests are also a regular feature. a foray into the countryside kept london's protesters away from president bush in 2003 during his state visit. this time, the planners are looking at going even further, to the north. scotland's an option. rural and remote, it's not a likely place for tens of thousands of protesters to gather, and yet even here, not everyone's a fan. president trump owns two golf courses in scotland, including this one he built on a pristine patch of 4,000-year-old sand dunes. david milne's house overlooks the course and the sea. or at least it did, until he refused to sell his property to president trump. so you must have had quite a

view here. >> yeah, we had 40 miles of uninterrupted coast line. >> reporter: and now you've got the fence and the trees. >> yes, trump provided the fence and trump provided the trees, which as you can see, are dying slowly. >> reporter: milne has flown two flags ever since trump visited scotland last year. the one on top is scotland's. and what possessed you to put up a mexican flag? >> well, the mexican flag was donald trump had recently made the announcement that he was going to build a border wall and send the bill to mexico. well, he did basically the same thing here with a small fence, and send me the bill. >> reporter: susan munro also >> reporter: michael forbes wouldn't sell either. >> the first thing he said is was "what's this land worth?" $25 an acre. ( bleep ) in your ( bleep ) dreams. there'll be protestors, all right. >> reporter: if there's one place in all of the united kingdom that can provide security and privacy, it's here at the queen's country home in scotland. president trump has reportedly

asked to play golf on the queen's private course at her scottish castle, balmoral. that would be a real honor. the last president queen elizabeth ii met at her private home was dwight eisenhower in 1959. according to one poll, close to half of the british public supports the idea of a state visit. there is also support for the president, himself, though in all of the parliamentary, this was the closest anyone got to it. >> there is something quite refreshing about a politician actually doing what they said they would do before they were elected? >> that's a selfie that hilary took up in derry, new hampshire in january last year. >> reporter: sir simon burns traveled to the u.s. to campaign

on behalf of hillary clinton. he is a conservative member of the commons and supports the state visit. >> we stand by america. america stands by us. it's in our national interest, and regardless of who's president, we have got to get on with the united states. >> reporter: fellow member of parliament bob neill says the visit should be looked at in perspective. >> reporter: president trump and theresa may have agreed to postpone the visit until october, to give british protesters a chance to cool off. reporting for the pbs newshour, i'm ryan chilcote in london. >> woodruff: fallout from

sunday's referendum vote in turkey continued today with critics of president recep tayyip erdogan calling for the results to be annulled. that is just one of a series of important issues being dealt with by the senate foreign relations committee. i spoke just a short while ago with its ranking member, democratic senator ben cardin of maryland. i began by asking him if he was concerned by president trump's call last night to president erdogan to congratulate him on his apparent victory. >> well, turkey is a very vibrant democracy, and, of course, one of our nato allies. they had a referendum. the referendum, according to local officials, did pass. we are certainly concerned about some of the powers that are being consolidated by mr. erdogan, and about the checks and balances in their own system. there's also been questions raised as to the legitimacy of some of the votes that were cast. so there are still issues i think need to be addressed by

turkey. as far as president trump calling president erdogan, that's a personal decision he made. i think it's important to recognize this is an important ally. >> woodruff: so you are watching the way ballots were cast. i ask because european observers are saying some 2.5 million ballots may have been cast fraudulently. >> yes, i'm very concerned about that. there's been some legitimate concerns raised about some of the tech neerng techniques thatd and the way the election was conducted. so we are concerned. it was a close election. it was a pretty close call between the two. the amount of resources that were made available were certainly not equal on both sides. there are some questions on some of the processes that-- procedures that were used. so, yes, we are concerned, and we hope that the erdogan government will have a complete independent investigation on how the elections itself were conducted. >> woodruff: let me turn you to north korea. as you know, tensions have been raised significantly just in the last few days.

the rhetoric both from the united states, from the trump administration, and from the north koreans has gotten hotter. this administration is saying what they call the era of strategic patience is over. last night on this program, i interviewed the former defense secretary, william perry, who said he's alarmed by the state of relations between our two countries. where do you stand? how concerned are you? >> well, i'm very, very concerned. clearly, the young leader of north korea is a very dangerous person. i'm not sure how he makes decisions. we see what he does to people who oppose him, including members of his own family. he's not a stable leader. now, is the time for the united states to exercise some very mature, international leadership to try to calm things down on the korean peninsula and to change the calculation for north korea so that it's-- they recognize it's in their interests to negotiate the end of the nuclear weapon program.

that requires china to be much more aggressive in isolating north korea with the sanctions that have been imposed so that we can really make it clear to north korea ther their only path forward is to negotiate with the international community. that requires strong, mature, u.s. leadership. we need a game plan that can accomplish those types of objectives on the korean peninsula. >> woodruff: are you seeing that game plan from this administration? >> no, i have-- i'm not clear what the administration's policy is. they strn haven't really sharedt with congress. i'm not sure they have a comprehensive policy for the korean peninsula. we want to make sure north korea does not possess the ability to use nuclear weapons, particularly to be able to deliver those nuclear weapons through the missiles they are testing. and we want to make sure also north korea is more in harmony with the international community and the way they treat its own people. obviously, we're concerned about the security of south korea. so there's a lot of interest that the united states has on the korean peninsula.

and we haven't seen an artic laipted, coordinated policy from this administration. >> woodruff: we're moving around the world, there's so much to ask you about, senator, but i also want to speak to you about russia. besides russian meddling in u.s. elections, there's now growing concern about russian involvement in upcoming elections in france and in germany. you are the sponsor, along with others, a bipartisan bill in the senate to impose sanctions on russia for cyber activity. that was-- that legislation was introduced months ago. the russians are still doing this. do they-- what's your sense of how seriously they take any sort of retaliation or action by the u.s.? >> well, we do know that the sanctions that were led by the united states, in which europe has joined us, has had a major impact on the russian economy. so we believe sanctions can be very effective in changing the

equation for russia and what they're doing, not just in meddling in our elections or meddling in european elections, but what they're doing in ukraine and the annexation of crimea. there's still engagement on the eastern part ukraine, and the manner in which they are supporting the assad regime in syria, committing war crimes. all those behaviors by russia we believe need to change, and we believe sanctions can be a major part of that. so, yes, we want to enhance those sanctions to make them stronger. we have a strong bipartisan group-- 10 daernlings 10 republicans-- that have joined in this legislation. we do know that russia meddled in our election. we know that. we know that they meddled in the montenegro election, caused violence. we know they're very active today in france and in germany trying to impact that election, not only impact the integrity of the election, but also the results, to get a more pro-russian leaders in europe. that is totally unacceptable,

and we need to be united with our european allies to prevent that from happening. >> woodruff: and is the drugs administration supporting that legislation? >> well, i really have not had much communication with the trump administration in regards to russian policy. there are major players yet to be named from the administration that will require senate confirmation. so we're still awaiting their ful team to be in place. in my conversations with mr. tirl sop, i've made it very clear, i think he's made it clear in recent weeks. so we're trying to give the administration more tools it can use for an effective policy against russia's aggressive actions. >> woodruff: senator ben cardin, the ranking democrat on the senate foreign relations committee. thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: now, a classroom

innovation called "career and technical education." it is a hands-on learning method for high school students. it is seen as a practical approach for both those headed to college, and for those who are not. and in the navajo nation in arizona, it's making a difference. pbs special correspondent lisa stark, of our partner "education week," brings us this story as part of our weekly segment, "making the grade." >> reporter: this is a one-of-a- kind classroom, with a one-of-a- kind educator, clyde mcbride. >> my philosophy is, kids don't learn unless they get a little dirty. >> reporter: so in clyde mcbride's classes in navajo nation, in northeastern arizona, students jump right in. >> the mcbrides tell us, go in there. you're not going to learn anything if you stand back and watch. >> reporter: this is hands-on instruction in veterinary science-- part classroom, part vet clinic.

students work and observe in two operating rooms, one for small animals, the other for large. they conduct exams and vaccinations, in a state-of-the- art $2.4 million facility, part of monument valley high school in kayenta arizona, and its career and technical education program. 180 students, more than one quarter of the high school, have signed up for this program, where abstract concepts meet the real world. >> before they go to surgery, ketamine puts them to sleep. it is an anesthesia and it's calculated by the millimeter per pound. in a math class, you get the problem wrong, you miss that question. in my program, if you get that math problem wrong, that animal can die. >> reporter: mcbride grew up around animals on a ranch in arizona.

he lost his father at age 16 and figured he'd forgo college to stay home and take care of the cattle. his mother had other ideas. >> i'll never forget going home one day and she says, we're going to sign papers. i just sold the ranch, you're going to college. >> reporter: he became a teacher and, longing for a rural district, jumped at the job in kayenta. >> when i came up here, some of my peer teachers was like, "why go to the reservation? that's going to be the worst place that you ever go to." our school is 98% on the free and reduced lunch program. a lot of our communities are very, very poor. >> reporter: but that hasn't slowed mcbride, or stopped him from dreaming big. >> when mr. mcbride and i first started dating, we would go out to eat dinner and he would draw on napkins his vision of the agro-science center. and i would tell him all the

time, you're crazy. people don't invest money like this in education, especially in native american children. >> i wouldn't accept no as an answer. >> reporter: it took decades to turn his dream into a reality. a new superintendent found the funding and students helped with the design. the a.g. center opened its doors opened in 2011. this program prepares students for careers and college and much more. >> it's to get the community and the kids and the students their parent involved in a better lifestyle and better health for themselves, for their animals. making better career choices and making better life choices. >> reporter: and it's working. students in the veterinary science program do better than the state average on math and english tests. 100% of them graduate high school, and three-quarters go on to college or training programs. the rest go on to a job. numbers that would be impressive

anywhere, but especially for native american students, who post the lowest graduation rates of any racial or ethnic group. >> we ignite the fire, we give them that passion. we give them that leadership. then, whatever route they want to choose, we support that route. >> they made sure i didn't fall off track. they made sure i didn't do anything to ruin my chances of going somewhere. >> i didn't really have that much motivation from my parents, but here, the kids, they really have a lot of that from the teachers and the community. they really help them a lot and then they reach their goals. >> reporter: the program has enriched the students and their community. with the nearest vet hours away, this is the go-to clinic for the animals and livestock families depend on. animals are considered a sacred

part of the navajo culture. >> in my culture, it's like, if you take care of the animals, they take care of you. >> reporter: mcbride's goal is to launch his students for college or good jobs. many hope to come back to serve their community. >> the navajo belief, and really the way i was raised, is, you want to leave this world better than you found it. and i can tell you, that's what i took into this program. when i leave kayenta some day, it's going to be better off than when i came. >> reporter: i'm lisa stark, of "education week," for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: now, in our newshour shares moment of the day: that sure sign of spring, tulips! and no one knows them better than the dutch. this year the royal netherlands embassy in washington displayed

some 10,000 at the ambassador's residence. we took a tour with caroline feitel from the embassy. our ambassador decided that this year he would like to do a spring event where we show off one of our biggest export products so we decided to do a tulip event to celebrate spring. we have over 10,000 tulips here, and i would say about 100 different varieties. the netherlands, weert second largest exporter of agriculture products in the world. we export about two billion cut tulips every year. and we export to the united states over a billion bulbs, which half are tulip bulbs. of course, we're also very much known for. the area that has hundreds of millions of tulips during spring. it's endless. it's like a carpet of tulips that you see, and it is very impressive, and a lot of dutch people and a lot of tourists come to the netherlandses and want to see that.

it's a unique moment in the netherlands every year in about mid-april. in the 16th century, there was a lot of tulip bulb speculation, and one bulb could be the value of a house in amsterdam. so it's seen as the first bubble speculation, you know, commercial bubble in the world. every tulip you see comes from one bulb. that was created by the grower, and then had to be multiplied. so the one bulb became four, and the four becomes 12, and so that's why when you have a new variety of tulip, it takes quite a while before you have the huge quantity to be able to sell it commercially. they come in a huge variety of colors. you have parrot ones that have the multiple colors. you have doubles. you know, it's almost like three tulips in one. black doesn't exist. and then blue doesn't exist, either. the closest you can get is a

deep purple. so we played a little trick so we have a blue tulip here today that was calendar. it was originally a white tulip, and the way it's colored it's put in blue water, and then it becomes a beautiful blue. tulips, they are definitely the springtime flower that you see around. and i think it brings people happiness. >> woodruff: tonight, on most pbs stations, frontline presents "the last days of solitary," following five inmates over three years in the maine prison system. in this clip, a confined inmate talks about his violent tendencies. >> never hurt anybody they felt that didn't deserve it. staff members, any staff member i ever put my hands on, i didn't stab any of them. had multiple opportunities to. i have not done that.

when i was drng i walked up to the desk, the female that was on, had her back to me. i threw the two shanks on the desk, and i told her, i said, "i'm not here to hurt you." i held my hands up like this. i said,"i'm going to turn around. put my hands behind my back and cuff me." i turned around, put my hands behind my back, she froze up. i think she was a little in shock, didn't know what the hell was going on. she was like, "is that your blood? is that somebody's blood? is that yours? i said, "hello, don't ask no questions, cuff me up." i a violent inmate? i can be, yes. you put me in certain situations, i am going to be like that. that's not no secret, though. anybody knows that. >> woodruff: on the hour online right now for tax day, this writer says the yurnt u.s. tax code should be scrappe scrad

completely rewritten. last week we profiled t.r. reid and his new book "a fine mels. "u" can now read an excerpt from that book on our website pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday: a preview of saturday's worldwide march in support of scientific research. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again right here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security.

at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> 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 >> you're watching pbs.