captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, president trump claims to be the victim of a witch hunt as the justice department appoints a special counsel to investigate possible russian ties to the trump campaign. then, we travel to iran ahead of a pivotal presidential election. plus, part two of our look at how gender stereotypes influence the jobs we take. meet the football coach who teaches second grade. >> everybody looking like, hey what you doing here? you know, this isn't p.e. or anything, and i'm just like, i know. it's reading and how to teach kids how to read and that's what i'm here for, to learn that. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> 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. >> 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. >> woodruff: president trump is rejecting any allegations of wrongdoing, and also the need for a new, independent investigation. he spoke out today, as a special counsel began looking into ties between his campaign and russia. william brangham begins our coverage. >> well i respect the move, but the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> brangham: the president's displeasure with the naming of a special counsel was crystal clear at his joint white house news conference with the visiting president of colombia. >> and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign. but i can always speak for myself and the russians: zero. and i think it divides the

country. i think we have a very divided country because of that and many other things. >> brangham: in a sudden shift last night, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein appointed former f.b.i. director robert mueller to investigate russian meddling in the election, alleged collusion with the trump campaign. and any other related matters that may arise. rosenstein said he acted to restore the public's trust. that trust was certainly tested in a series of bombshell developments in recent days. first, there was the president's sudden firing of f.b.i. director james comey last week. then, reports that mr. trump leaked classified information about the islamic state group to russian diplomats. and finally, allegations that he urged and finally, allegations that he urged comey back in february to drop the investigation of michael flynn. flynn had just been fired as national security adviser for lying about his contacts with the russians. the president was asked directly today about comey:

>> did you urge comey in any way to close investigation-- >> no, no, next question. >> as you look back, have you had any recollection wondered anything you had done worthy of criminal charges. >> i think its totally ridiculous, everybody thinks so. >> brangham: democrats had for weeks pressed for an independent commission or special counsel, and most welcomed mueller's selection. >> mr. rosenstein has done the right thing. i applaud his decision for both its correctness and its courage. i now have significantly confidence that the investigation will follow the facts where ever they lead. >> brangham: most republicans had resisted naming a special counsel, but today, house speaker paul ryan and others applauded the move. >> the appointment of the special counsel i think helps assure people and the justice department that they are gonna

go do their jobs independently and thoroughly which is what we called for all along. >> robert mueller is perhaps the single most qualified individual to lead such an investigation in my view and he's certainly independent. >> brangham: mueller ran the f.b.i. for 12 years, taking over just days before the 9/11 attacks, and served both democratic and republican presidents. journalist garret graff is the author of a mueller biography: >> bob mueller's entire history is as a tenacious prosecutor so he will follow the russia investigation wherever it leads. but the good news for donald trump is he's also the only person perhaps in america who could end up declaring that there's no there there and having people believe that. >> brangham: back at the capitol, this afternoon, deputy attorney general rosenstein briefed the full senate in a closed session, on the firing of comey and the handling of the russia investigation. rosenstein wrote the memo that the president used as a basis to dismiss comey.

>> clare micaskil said rosenstein acknowledged the memo he wrote on comey was not, in fact, what triggered the firing. >> he did acknowledge he learned comey would be removed prior to him writing his memo. >> say that again. >> he knew comey was going to be removed prior to writing his memo. >> brangham: republican lindsey graham praised the mueller selection, but also voiced misgivings. >> you couldn't have picked a better man to do the job. and i think most people in that meeting are generally okay with the idea of a special counsel. but what they don't quite understand yet is i think this decision has really limited what congress can do. >> brangham: all of this, as new revelations surfaced about michael flynn. "the new york times" reports the trump transition team knew flynn was under investigation "weeks before the inauguration" for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for turkey. a mcclatchy news service reported that during the transition, flynn blocked a military plan against the

islamic state that was opposed by turkey. it was later approved, after his ouster. and reuters reports flynn and other trump campaign advisors had contact with russian officials at least 18 times during the last seven months of the presidential campaign. meanwhile, the house intelligence committee became the latest congressional panel to ask for more documents on the ouster of comey and his conversations with the president. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham. gloog and we turn now to our lisa desjardins on capitol hill, and john yang at the white house. lisa, i'm going to start with you. we were just hearing from those senators as they came out of the briefing with the deputy attorney general. what more are you hearing from that? >> right, those senators emerged with one unified theme, that the deputy attorney general was a very cautious man, and on many questions, he actually deferred, saying he couldn't answer them, that it was up to the new special counsel mueller. now, judy, that left republicans, they said, with a sense of confidence that here was a deputy attorney general who was trying to

remove politics and congress from this investigation. democrats, however, they were frustrated. they said they're worried that as this goes forward they may not get many details about what is happening with this investigation. >> woodruff: and, lisa, other questions the senators were asking today. >> the big one. they asked repeatedly who told deputy attorney general rosenstein to write that letter about why f.b.i. director comey should be fired. they asked him again and again. and we're told he did not answer. so it's a question still in the air. >> woodruff: and, john, at the white house, they were fielding questions about a new f.b.i. director. i know i was there. the president had a session with television news anchors. but, clearly, one of the questions on their mind is getting to the choice of this new f.b.i. director. >> that's right. and at a photo opportunity with the colombian president, he repeat what he told you and the other anchors at lunch, that he expects texpects to name a new . director very soon now, he doesn't say exactly what that means if that's

going to be as soon as before he leaves on his first foreign trip tomorrow afternoon. and aides say that he's holding this rather close to his vest, but he has indicated that joe lieberman is a leading candidate. lieberman said that this is a bit of a surprise to him. he came in, spoke to the president yesterday afternoon. he said he didn't seek this, that he had been invited, he had been invited to come speak to the president just the day before. this would not only be something of a bipartisan selection but sort of a pan partisan selection. he was, of course, al gore's running mate on the democratic nict 2000. he ran for re-election after losing the democratic primary as an independent in 2006. and 200aircraft sort of broke with the party, went to the republican convention, and endorsed john mccain against president barack obama's re-election campaign. >> woodruff, of course, lieberman, longtime democratic senator from the state of connecticut.

so, lisa, what's the reaction on the hill to this talk? >> it's another one of these reverse worlds. democrats who would have elected lieberman as vice president said today they're not sure he should be f.b.i. director. they think it should be someone who has never held elected offices. republicans, on the other hand, say they love the choice of joe lieberman, in particular, john mccain said on the question of experience, "joe lieberman has more experience than the rest of my democratic colleagues combined, and you can quote me." >> woodruff: the white house trying to turn the focus to the president's overseas trip which starts tomorrow. >> this is a big trip. eight days, four nations, and sort of high stakes. any time the president goes overseas. but i think for the first trip for a president it's always closely watched. the planning seems to be a little ragged. they've having a little trouble getting the details, all the details that the television networks, in particular, need to have, in order so tathey can plan, so

that they can bring the pictures of that trip back to the united states. but ready or not, he leaves tomorrow afternoon. first stop saudi arabia. >> woodruff: and we'll be talking about that more if a few minutes. john yang at the white house, lisa desjardins at the capitol. thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the chair of the house oversight committee, jason chaffetz, announced he's resigning at the end of june. his decision came as the committee is investigating the trump campaign's contacts with russia. the utah republican said he wants to spend more time with his family and possibly run for governor. one person was killed and 22 hurt in new york's time square today when a car plowed into pedestrians. the driver, a 26-year-old navy veteran, was taken into custody and underwent tests for alcohol and drugs. the car drove the wrong way up a street, then up on the sidewalk, for 3 blocks, and finally came to rest with two wheels in the

air. police said there's no indication that terrorism was involved. the founder of fox news, roger ailes, died today. he transformed the business and built the network into a dominant presence, but his career ended in scandal. p.j. tobia has our report. he has dramatically and forever changed the political and media landscape singlehandedly for the better. neither will ever be the same again as he was a true american original. >> ailes left a huge imprint on american politics and media. he created the 24-hour fox news network in 1996 from scratch to compete with cnn and other tv networks he saw as too liberal. within a few short years, fox dominated cable and

helped shape politics with its fair and balanced fox news would have an explicitly conservative take to its coverage. >> fair and balanced. fair and balanced. >> reporter: ailes said this in a 2004 interview with c-span's brian lamb: >> oh, we've changed the business a little bit. fox news has come on the scene and identified itself as "fair and balanced." we try to do that every day. i think others, instead of trying to get more fair and balanced, probably are offended by that or worried about it. >> reporter: early in his career, ailes helped launch a little-known big band singer named mike douglas who became a household name with his afternoon variety show. it was there ailes first met richard nixon. ailes offered to become nixon's media adviser before he ran for president a second time in 1968, and soon became a force in politics. he would go on to advise and work for the winning candidacies of ronald reagan and george h.w. bush. mr. bush tweeted today: "he wasn't perfect, but roger ailes was my friend & i loved him. not sure i would have been president w/o his great talent,

loyal help. rip." he also served as a one-time advisor to donald trump. after a falling out, the two men mended fences in 2016 when ailes jumped on the trump bandwagon. at fox, ailes reigned supreme for two decades. but after sexual harassment allegations by former anchor gretchen carlson became public last year, ailes' career and legacy began to unravel. more than 20 other women came forward with allegations. so far, 21st century fox has paid $45 million in relation to those charges with more pending. 21st century fox corporate head rupert murdoch and his sons ousted ailes last july, only hours before mr. trump accepted the g.o.p. nomination. roger ailes was 77 years old. >> woodruff: late today, the medical examiner in palm beach county, florida said ailes died of bleeding on the brain. the u.s. treasury department is imposing new sanctions on venezuela. they're aimed at the chief judge and seven other members of the country's supreme court.

it's retaliation for the court's rulings against the opposition- controlled congress. the rulings have triggered ongoing protests and violence. the trump administration formally alerted congress today of its plans to renegotiate nafta, the north american free trade agreement. the president initially threatened to pull out of the 23-year-old trade pact with mexico and canada. he's since said he hopes to negotiate a better deal. today's announcement came as secretary of state rex tillerson, and his mexican counterpart, met in washington. >> trade is an extremely important issue and i think the filing of the authorities with congress this morning to start moving towards fast track authority is a very positive move. >> the government of mexico welcomes this development. we are prepared. we are ready to work together with both the governments of the u.s. and canada to make our

trade agreement better. >> woodruff: the announcement sets in motion 90 days of consultations with congress. then, negotiations begin with mexico and canada. and on wall street, stocks rallied after yesterday's drubbing. the dow jones industrial average gained 56 points to close at 20,663. the nasdaq rose nearly 44 points, and the s&p 500 added eight. still to come on the newshour: what's at stake during trump's first trip abroad. the choice between moderate and hardline candidates in iran's upcoming presidential election, and much more. >> woodruff: we return to the investigations into russia's role in the election and relationship with the trump campaign. senator angus king of maine

attended this afternoon's closed briefing with deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. senator king sits on the selecet committee on intelligence and joins us now from capitol hill. much for joining us. a lot of people have many questions for the deputy attorney general. what did you learn from today's briefing? well, i think there were a couple things that we learned. one that came out actually in his opening statement, which i think caught everybody a little bit by surprise, he said that he learned that president trump had intended to fire director comey before he wrote the memo, which, of course, was then used later on by the white house and by president trump in his letter to director comey as the justification for the firing. and i-- he was asked about it two or three times, as i say, he mentioned it in his opening statement. and that was a little bit surprising. i mean, we knew that the white house changed the justification for the firing.

president trump changed it himself two or three days later, but at the time, the whole argument was the firing was based upon the memo. >> woodruff: right. >> now we learn the firing decision had been made before the memo was written. >> woodruff: did he then explain, did the deputy attorney general go on to explain why he did so yhe wrote the memo? >> well, he didn't. he wouldn't answer questions about any details about why he wrote it, who wrote it, who contributed to it, whether there were edits. and this was sort of second thing that came out of the meeting because he said this may be part of robert mueller's investigation, this whole it's whole firing of comey may be part of that investigation. so, therefore, i can't talk about it. which i think that was also somewhat surprising, that he views the scope of robert mueller's investigation as pretty broad, which now, apparently, includes the circumstances surrounding the firing of james comey. >> woodruff: senator, this is a subjective question, but did you get the sense from mr. rosenstein that

he-- he feels he may have done something wrong here? no, i didn't. he was-- he was not apologetic. he was quite assertive, actually, and he stood by his memo. but then when he was pressed about "why did you write it and how did it actually come about and who talked about it?" that's when he said, "i can't answer that question," and he said that probably 10 times "because this may be part of robert mueller's f.b.i. investigation." >> woodruff: what does that tell you, though, senator about how much the senate intelligence committee, any of these investigative committees, are going to be able to find out if that's going to be the answer you get as you try to get to the bottom of some of these hard questions? >> well, i don't think that's necessarily the answer we're gog get, particularly in a closed session. by the way, i'm not sure why this session today was closed. i don't think there was anything said that was classified, at least i didn't hear it. and he stated himself that the opening statement that i

cited was not classified. but we will be having sessions. in fact, one of the things i-- i talked can one of the members of the committee right after the meeting this mes afternoon. our committee has to sit down with robert mueller and talk about how we will coordinate the two investigations. we don't want to get into each other's way. we don't want to offer immunity or have them offer emmiewnt that would compromise either one of the investigations. but basically, you have two investigations running in parallel. the f.b.i. is a law enforcement agency, and they're looking at whether lawes were broken in this country. we're a fact-finding agency, and-- or committee, and we will-- the-- as i say, the two investigations are running in the same direction, and we're going tow try to deconflict and be in touch as we move forward. and i think that's certainly possible to do. >> woodruff: well, that's my question, how concerned are you that you're going to bably to do that, given what

you're already discovering today from mr. rosenstein? >> well, he was reluctant-- i mean, he wasn't answering questions because he said this may be part of this investigation. we're going to be talking to director mueller about the investigation. so i think we're going to be able to get the information that we need. we've gotten good cooperation thus far from the f.b.i., from the c.i.a., from the n.s.a., from the other intelligence agencies. i don't think this is going to be a problem. but it's one that-- it's going to take some discussion and some work in order to be sure that we're-- we are not stepping on each other's toes because we're all headed in the same direction. remember, this investigatio investigation, all the attention is to the trump campaign. this is about a foreign government interfering in our democratic process. and let's always remember that that's what it is, and that's why it's so important. >> woodruff: but is it also about a potential obstruction of justice or a potential effort to stop an investigation that might be harming the president?

>> well, i'm not going to-- i mean, that's going to be part of the investigation. that's certainly what the deputy attorney general indicated today was that the investigation by the f.b.i. is going to undertake-- or is undertaking. it's been going on for some time. it's going to be very broad in scope. so all the facts are going to be on the table. and whenever you begin an investigation, you never know exactly where it's going to lead or what the facts are going to be. but my goal is to get the information so that ultimately, we can report to the american people and hopefully-- a lot of our hearings will be in public so the american people will travel this road with us-- what happened? why it happened. how it happened. and most importantly, how do we keep it from happening again? judy, this is not a one-off for the russians. this is what they do. and they are going to try to continue to be involved in our democratic process here whether it's state election processes or national

elections. and we've got to figure out how to defend ourselves. >> woodruff: so just finally, senator, today, president trump said again he has no business dealings with russia, no connections with russia. is that in any sense reassuring to you? >> well, if that were the end of the matter, we would all have to say we're not going to do these investigations. but, clearly, there are-- there's information that we need to get to the bottom of. and so, i'm delighted that he takes that position, and hope that he's proven correct. in fact, if that's true, if he is correct, then they should be falling all over themselves to help with us this investigation in order to clear the air on this. but we've got to follow the facts in order to reassure the american people as to what went on here. >> woodruff: but as i'm sure you know, the president today called it all a witch hunt, said that people are after information that he said is a big waste of time. >> i would not participate in a witch-hunt, judy, nor would i participate in a

whitewash. this is a very serious matter. and it deserves serious work and consideration and that's what we're going to do. >> woodruff: senator angus king, a member of the senate intelligence committee. senator, thank you. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: president trump leaves tomorrow for his first overseas trip, and it's an ambitious schedule. he'll travel to saudi arabia, israel, the west bank, the vatican, for an audience with the pope, on to nato headquarters in brussels and, finally, next friday, to sicily for a g-7 meeting. a short time ago i spoke to two people with lengthy experience in american diplomacy and foreign affairs: former secretary of state madeleine albright, who served in the bill clinton administration, and stephen hadley, who was george w. bush's national security

adviser. i began by asking secretary albright about her expectations of the president's ambitious trip. >> well, i think it's a very complicated trip. just think about it-- going to saudi arabia, meeting with a lot of muslim leaders, as well as the leadership there. then in israel. then meeting with president abbas. then going to rome, the vatican, to meet with the pope. then going to nato. then the g-7. what could possibly go wrong? and it is a very tiring trip. and i think the question is what is the purpose of it in terms of showing support for what's going on in the middle east? and i think the question is what they want to accomplish. but i think it has-- i don't think we should have a low bar for thowever, because there's an awful lot that needs to be done. it's just a very long trip. >> woodruff: do you think, stephen hadley, that the possibilities for success are greater than the pitfalls? i'm reading a lot in the coverage of running--

running up to the trip, that the expectation is there are many place where's there could be a problem. >> well, yes and no. i mean, it will be the first time that the world will see president trump as president on the world stage. it's important that it succeeds for him and for our country, that it succeeds. i think the first part of the tri, you know, the people in the middle east really want to have a strong relationship with this administration, want our policy to go in a little bit of a different direction, being a little more confrontational with iran, being a little more aggressive against isis, reconnecting with the traditional allies. and so i think israel, saudi, the palestinians, they all have an interest in making this trip successful for their own purposes. and, you know, meeting with the pope, you know, is-- is-- is usually a win for any president. so i think the first half of the trip ought to go pretty

well. more concerned about late in the trip when the president's a little tired, member problematic meeting with the e.u., meeting with nato. g-7, again, probably ought to be a little downhill because it's with our traditional friends and allies. but it's going to be grueling. it's a long period of time. the president hasn't done this kind of trip as president. the days are long, and the agenda. so it's-- it's going to be-- this is not easy. but he's-- he's someone who, you know, knows how to be in front of the camera, and is comfortable being in that position. i think it will probably go pretty well. >> woodruff: secretary albright, while the president is taking off on this trip, a lot of controversy he's leaving behind here at home over the firing of the f.b.i. director, the naming of a special counsel to look into the russia, potential russia connections between his campaign, the leaking-- alleged leaking-- of classified information to russian officials by the

president himself. how much does all that back home hang over a trip when a president travels? >> i think it definitely does hang on it. but the other part that i think people don't recognize often, you take press with you, and it's american press, and i know from various times they traveled is issues that are going on at home are asked by the american reporters. and so it's very hard to insulate yourself from that. and the question will be-- i think he can probably be very calm in terms of talking about what the foreign policy agenda is. he may get irritated, at some of the ways the questions are asked about what's going on at home. and it isn't as if the russians are just going to be silent. they are having a very good time kind of observing the turbulence that's going on. and something that you ran yesterday was very clear that they said they looked at the turbulence of information with pleasure. >> woodruff: stephen hadley, what about this question about so much

smoke, controversy here at home? how much do those headlines and-- does that follow him, the president, when he travels? >> as madeline says tfollows him because he takes a press corps with him. and i think in all these trips, the press is more interested in asking the president questions about the issues that are driving the debate in washington, and lesinterested in asking about the trip, which is the challenge to try to get their message through in terms of this trip. and they will do it by what the president says, about the meetings, about the visuals, about the deliverables from-- come to the trip. but the challenge will be to get the message from the trip and the success they hope to get from the trip to make it back to the united states and back to the american people over the effort by the press to make it all about what's going on in washington. >> woodruff: one of the things-- i was at a briefing at the white house today, secretary albright, and they are talking about, you know,

how pleased they are to be bringing together so many muslim countries to step up the fight against terrorism. if that's what they're able to do with this meeting in saudi arabia, how significant is that? >> well, i think it would be significant, but it's not easy. and basquely, if they have all the muslims, they will be sunni and shia, which is then reflected in their relationship with iran. iran will be a sub subject no matter whatever. whenever we've been with the saudis, it is very clear that is their number one nemesis. so the question is how the president works his way through that. i do think that what steve said is absolutely right, the saudis want to have a good meeting. they are about to get a very large deliverable, which is an arms sale. and then they want to be the center of new activity-- actually, i think, steve, they might have read our report, in terms of we were talking about the importance of having a regional

organization. they are talking and so is the president about doing something about that. so they do want to make it work. but the muslim part of this is complicated, especially since there are muslims who believe that president trump doesn't like muslims. and if i were a journalist, i would ask about the ban. >> woodruff: which the president talked about during the campaign but has soft-pedaled as president. steve hadley, again, if the administration is able to pull together of something together in the way of an announcement from a group of muslim countries that they are spending more on counter-trump, how significant? i think it will be significant. and i think what the president is going to try to do-- and i think one of the most important piece of this trip-- i understand he's going to give a speech in saudi arabia. i think that speech will be very important. what they want to do is show they are working with and rallying the muslim world to be in solidarity against the

extremists, to have the capabilities to cut off their money, and to really be in solidarity, and committed in a way that many americans think muslim countries in that region have not been committed against terrorism. if he can come back with that message,ening that's a win for him. >> woodruff: is that something, though, that makes a difference in the fight against terrorism? >> well, i think it would if it really has everybody working together. i do think it's very important to get the muslim community to recognize that isis is-- has hijacked a religion that is a peaceful religion. so-- but i think the difficulties of writing a speech such as this one and kind of touching the bases and using the right adjectives and a number of different things, that we've all been through, it is a-- it's not going to be simple. i do think that there are possibilities here, the whole kind of arab initiative initially on the middle east peace process, the extent to which the president is willing to get

into that. but there is nothing more dangerous than making a mistake on some of the biewshz they all have a great history, and you really do have to study it. i think we did. and so that's the question about how much homework the president has done. >> woodruff: quickly, steve hadley, that is another message coming from the white house today, from a white house official they have high hopes that, yes, it's just the beginning, but they do believe they can start to make progress on an israeli-palestinian agreement. >> i think we shouldn't have too exaggerated expect aegzs of this trip. i think you ought to think about it, it's a debut for the president to show himself as president of the world stage, and to try to set the table now for some initiatives and strategies that will be fully developed in the weeks and months ahead that might achieve some of these objectives. if they can do those two things, it will be a successful trip. >> woodruff: well, we will all be watching. >> and i think we wish him well for the united states, for the sake of the united states and the middle east. >> absolutely.

>> woodruff: thank you, both. >> thank you. >> woodruff: secretary madeleine albright, steve hadley. >> nice to be with you. >> woodruff: iranians go to the polls tomorrow to vote in a controlled, but still heated, presidential election. from tehran, special correspondent reza sayah reports. >> reporter: it's the closing stretch in iran's presidential race. and the capital, tehran, is at fever pitch. from the streets... to sport arenas... and campaign headquarters... candidate foot soldiers make a final push to win over voters. it's an election that will pit liberals versus conservatives, determine domestic policy, and shape iran's relations with the west. zeinab asgharpour wants another four years from incumbent

president hassan rouhani. >> ( translated ): these last days can make a huge difference. it's up to us to whip up excitement. if we do that, god willing, we'll have good results. >> reporter: rouhani's government signed the historic nuclear deal with the u.s. and other world powers in 2015-- the first agreement involving washington and tehran since iran's 1979 revolution. the deal lifted some international sanctions, giving iran access to global markets. >> ( translated ): have them tell you what they've done for the past 38 years. what i've done in the past four years is quite clear. >> reporter: but iran's economy is still struggling. the moderate reformer's message: says "let's be patient and move forward. >> ( translated ): maybe we didn't have an actual war but we there was a domestic struggle. we faced harsh sanctions. people suffered to survive. the last thing we want is to go backwards. >> reporter: but rouhani supporters are nervous. there is a serious conservative

challenge. >> reporter: come this weekend rouhani is gone, cries rally leader mahdi armaghani. >> ( translated ): we believe we are standing by the side of god, and god will definitely stand by us. >> reporter: raisi is iran's former top prosecutor, linked to mass executions of political dissidents in 1988. he's never been elected to office, but is backed by the clerical establishment, an important endorsement. some say he's being groomed to succeed iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. in campaign speeches raisi accuses rouhani of ignoring the poor and failing to deliver on the promised benefits of the nuclear agreement. >> ( translated ): most of our challenges can be solved with our nation's resources, our potential, strong leadership, our people's revolutionary values. >> reporter: at this raisi rally, a film taunts president rouhani, suggesting he sold out

his revolutionary values to cozy up to washington. >> ( translated ): all these sanctions are in place. we lost our dignity. there's no doubt it's time for change. >> reporter: raisi's backers are mostly conservative, devoted to iran's revolutionary values and deeply suspicious of the west. >> his attention will now be on us, will be inside the border. >> death to america! >> reporter: some still chant death to america. rouhani's supporters want to silence those chants. they demand social and political reform, and better relations with the west. they say a vote for raisi is a return to isolation and confrontation. >> ( translated ): america is bad but it's not all bad. if we keep fighting and beating ourselves up, nothing will ever get done. >> reporter: tehran-based political analyst mohammad marandi says president donald trump's aggressive tone towards iran, coupled with some u.s. sanctions still in effect, have put rouhani's reelection in

jeopardy. just this week the trump administration imposed new sanctions against iran over its ballistic missile program. >> they have not abided by their side of the bargain. by doing so they've hurt rouhani and his credibility. >> reporter: marandi says no matter who wins the vote, u.s.- iran relations will remain icy and, he says, there is little chance of confrontation. >> the iranians recognize the u.s. is in a very difficult position, that it can not launch another war. >> reporter: in this streets of northern tehran this week, this is a nightly ritual, people in cars, on foot, making a lot of noise for their candidate. maybe what's most surprising about this campaign is how tolerant security forces have been. people are able to gather, demonstrate, and chant slogans -

even slogans that were very taboo just eight years ago. >> when an estimated 25,000 rouhani supporters packed tehran's main sports arena this week, the loudest cheers were for mir hossein mousavi. the reformist candidate whose defeat in 2009 sparked mass protests by the reformist green movement. the government crushed the protests but the color green sits next to the rouhani campaign's purple banners, still symbolizing the demand for democratic change. no matter who voters are supporting, their number one demand is for the next president to make life more affordable. >> i think the most important thing for iranians is the state of the economy. >> reporter: three out of ten young iranians don't have jobs. many can't afford to get married or buy a home. rouhani wants more time to fix the economy. >> the lifting of international sanctions increased oil and sales and curbed inflation.

but the billions of dollars in foreign investment rouhani promised have yet to arrive. >> reporter: raisi says he'll fight corruption, build low- income housing, and double cash subsidies to the poor. >> reporter: former banker and economic analyst sadegh samii says iran's economy will continue to struggle as long as u.s. sanctions continue to block iran from the international banking system. >> if i want to transfer $1,000 to my children in canada, it's impossible. even european banks are afraid to of being fined by the u.s. treasury if they work with iran. without the western money, without the western banking system, nothing can possibly function within this country. >> reporter: no incumbent president in iran has failed to win a second term since the 1979 islamic revolution. zeinab asgharpour and fellow rouhani supporters roam tehran's streets, pleading for voters to keep that streak alive. for the pbs newshour, i'm reza

sayah in tehran. >> woodruff: now, special correspondent charlayne hunter gault has a story on how a once- segregated pocket of a small southern town is making a comeback, part of our race matters series. >> reporter: the city's historic african american business district , known as the "hot corner," helped foster commerce in a place once steeped in segregation. native homer wilson, who owns a popular barber shop, explains how the hot corner developed in the jim crow era. >> it was all-black from what we call "the bottom." church is all the way down to clayton. it was just black business. >> reporter: what type of businesses? >> funeral home businesses, dentists, lawyers, loan sharks, a barber shop, restaurant, cafes, motels, you name it. >> reporter: that was essential

for the black community, which had few other choices and could not use the then white-only businesses uptown. 56 years ago, when i was one of first two black students at the university of georgia, i couldn't come into athens and go to a movie theater like this. i couldn't even take bowling because the bowling alley was here and it was segregated. but after flourishing, many hot corner businesses moved to malls farther out during the '70s or died. homer wilson held on to his family's property, home to wilson's soul food for three decades. and, then... 41-year-old david eduardo came knocking, in search of a place to rent for his restaurant he calls the world famous. >> the hot corner is a great place to do business. >> reporter: what drew you to it? >> the fact that there was a restaurant there before that had a strong 30-plus-year run of success was very encouraging. they had great reputation, and

we could only hope to be half as successful as they were. >> reporter: so, you went to mr. wilson and said? >> i begged him for the opportunity to open shop next door. >> reporter: and what did you think about that mr. wilson, white boy, coming in? >> well, you know, he wasn't the first one. so, you know, he and i call them so, we had a lot of great chances to rent it to a lot of peoples, but, you know, david was more persistent. >> the fact that it is so coveted is not lost on me. i know that with that space comes tremendous responsibility and history. we have to be good stewards for the community. so, i'm very, very happy that the wilson family gave us the green light. >> reporter: a green light to gentrification, a turnoff to those who helped build this area but the spreading of the welcome mat to people from new communities. >> we have cuisine from everywhere around the world. live entertainment on any given night. you can find hip-hop, comedy, singer-songwriters. we want to be a place for

everyone, not just anyone. >> so, this end of town is coming back to where it used to be, where we had all this that would go on on our corner. >> reporter: both men agree the hot corner-- rich in history, good and bad-- is a special pace. >> there is a spirit that hovers over this place makes things people mix and mingle different here than they do other places. this togetherness, it can work. and we can learn to supply the right information to people. >> reporter: like what? >> it's all right to be white. it's all right to be black. >> amen. i would encourage folks to just get out of their comfort zone. i think folks from all cultural backgrounds, gender,

socioeconomic classes, they gravitate to this side of town. it's a very welcoming environment. >> reporter: where once people were kept from mixing, now the hot corner has become a hotspot for all. in athens, georgia, i'm charlayne hunter-gault for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: why aren't more men going into fields dominated by women? stigma is a big part of the answer, our economics correspondent, paul solman, reported last week. tonight, he focuses on one man many might want to emulate. it's the latest installment of our weekly series, making sense, >> we already got a man outside and i need you to be outside. >> reporter: harold johnson coaches linebackers for the ridge view blazers in columbia, south carolina, where high school football is a rite of masculine passage.

>> you start getting tired, you start getting lazy in your mindset, now, hey, you can't think. you have to be focused. you have to get control of your breathing. >> reporter: amos myles is the bad cop. but harold johnson isn't exactly the good one. >> reporter: pretty much every high school football coach is a guy, of course. and men are no rarity in secondary school classrooms either. ptel >> reporter: but in elementary school, says educator angela baum, the percentage is minuscule. >> between 1% and 5% of early childhood teachers are male. >> reporter: do you like having a man for your teacher? >> yes! >> reporter: their teacher is harold johnson, the linebacker coach, whose main job turns out to be running this second grade classroom, after six years teaching kindergarten.

early education teacher is a job for which, given the labor market for men, especially in the south, qualified guys would be hired right away. harold johnson has taken advantage, ever since college. >> i just decided i wanted to be an early childhood major. >> reporter: smart move, he learned, as good male gigs were proving ever harder to come by in the wake of the crash of '08. >> the dean of the colleges came in to just greet all the freshmen and stuff and he kind of walked in and he looked around and he was giving his speech, he just stopped me, his speech was like, hey that guy right there gonna get a job before all y'all. and i just laughed and i'm looking round, like, me? and he was just like, yeah, you. >> reporter: but eight years later, coach johnson still has surprisingly scant competition. when he attends yearly childhood conferences, for example... >> everybody looking like, hey what you doing here? you know, this isn't p.e. or anything, and i'm just like, i know. it's reading and how to teach kids how to read and that's what i'm here for, to learn that. so-- >> reporter: and do they, how do they, then they get embarrassed, i assume? >> there's somewhat of embarrassment and somewhat of intrigue.

they're like, what made you want to do that? what made you want to teach? same thing that made you want to teach, like, you enjoy it. especially when i was a kindergarten teacher it was definitely like, nobody could believe it. it was just like, ahhh, kind of sympathetic kind of situation. so-- >> reporter: aren't you sweet? >> yeah, aren't you sweet? >> reporter: so is there something different about him? well, he's patient. more patient than fellow coach amos myles, perhaps. but, even myles says... >> i think patience is key. you have to have patience with kids, doesn't matter what level you're on. >> reporter: so you don't think there's a difference in the patience required to be a kindergarten teacher as opposed to say a tv journalist? >> i personally don't. i just feel like you got the patience for what you got patience for. you hold them to a high standard then they will perform. a lot of times it's like, they're only five, they're only five. well that's why you don't have

patience because you treat them like they're only five. if you treat them like, no you're five, you're not four anymore, you know how to do this, then you get a better result. so i think you just, the mind frame of going into it is one thing. people say patience, but i think it's not really patience, you just got to teach what you want to happen. >> reporter: so what johnson seems to have is a different mind frame. >> i feel like that one thing people just having the wrong impression, just, they're little kids, they're dirty, they got snot hanging out, they don't know how to tie their shoes, they always ask for something, always whining and i always tell them, okay, i'm pretty sure you've got a co-worker there always asking you for stuff, that's always aggravating and always, maybe not being dirty, might have snot running out their nose too. >> reporter: in fact, what struck me after spending a day with harold johnson is that while he's exceptional at his job, he's much like the best side of any of us. and his gender is a help, not a hindrance. >> boy teachers are more nice and they understand more and they're not as mean as girl

teachers. >> reporter: they understand you better cause you're a boy and they're men? >> yes. >> reporter: now, girls in my experience are lots of fun. i have two daughters, they're a lot of fun, so why is the boy teacher more fun than the girl teacher? >> because boys do more awesome stuff than girls. >> no! >> reporter: on behalf of girls, i do not think that boys do more awesome stuff than you girls. but angela baum says male teachers do bring something different to the table, or the floor. >> some experts suggest that perhaps men play with children differently than women do. so, men maybe more likely to engage in what we call wrestle and tumble play, that's that vigorous chasing, wrestling kind of play. and that's good for young children, both young boys and young girls. >> reporter: there's one last

aspect of johnson's teaching worth mentioning, especially for a making sense segment: he teaches economics to second graders, even how to manage a workforce. >> we did supply and demand, and then we talked about wants and needs. we bought the materials to make something, so they had instructions, so one was a sugar cookie, one was some cocoa mix, one was a winter mix, and so they had a factory assembly line. somebody got behind and so, you know, the people at the front was finished, the people at the back were overworked because the person in the middle was kind of slowing down, so they were just like, mr. johnson, i'm bored, can i go? so 6the people at the end were like, well can we get some help? i was like, no, they finished their job. then they really got frustrated with the middle people because everyone was yelling at them, and they were like, man, that's hard work, there's a lot of pressure. >> reporter: okay, one last question for those men out there who might possibly be considering if this job is for you? how gratifying is this work? >> tremendously.

it's the best thing, i think the thing that i enjoy the most is when you see a kid have the 'aha' moment or either change their whole perception of something. and so it's just like, man, you know, i had something to do with that. if i can take this 180 days and make a lifetime of difference, then that's all worth it. that's all worth it for me. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour at lake carolina elementary school in blythewood, south carolina, i'm economics correspondent paul solman. >> woodruff: now to another in our "brief but spectacular" series. tonight, we hear from michael eric dyson. he teaches at georgetown and is the author of "tears we cannot stop: a sermon to white america." >> one of the greatest privileges of being white in this country is to encounter a police person on the street and live to tell

about it. when many people say,"let's get rid of political correctness" that's a shorthand for "let me keep on being bigoted the way i was before." as the great philosopher shawn carter said you was who you was before you got here, player, and you might change but that's just the top layer. when you think about want collective fragility of white americans, brown people, red people, yellow, people, you know what we do-- i'm going to break a secret to you-- we're very cautious and careful about how you might interpret things because you're very fragile. your feelings might get hurt. you have had 44 of 45 americans. where the tears of white america come sphrg to be white is to be seen as i'm just a human being. i'm just an american, why can't you guys do the same? many white brothers and sisters don't understand they posecrecy a race. when you hear gender what do

you think, that must be the women. you don't hear i have a masculinity. many when they hear the issue of race, they think the other. it was the late, great gore vidal who said we live in the united states of amnesia. america is upset with history when it's the reenactment of the civil war, some battle that was lost in the south. when it was black history "why don't you people get over that? stop obsessing about slavery. stop talking about reparations. stop speaking about historical repression, talk about what's going on now." when it makes america look great, claps, applaud ( applause ) when it doesn't, get out of my face. stop living in the past. my role is for many communities a paid pest. that's what i do, i'm a professor. i try to use humor. i try to use self-deprecation, but the ultimate goal is the same-- can we challenge the forces of unconscious white privilege and implicit bias to come out of the closet

and to be held accountable? that's my job. one of my white students, after reading a book that horr endously detailed the tragedies and horrors of white violence against black people said, "for the first time in my life, i feel ashamed to be white." i didn't want him to get stuck in a pocket of misery and guilt. because white guilt ultimately will not fix anything. you're going to get into circles they will never get into. you're going to go home to thanksgiving. go home and talk to greene, not before you eat the turkey or the stuffing or the pumpkin pie. but after, that then say to her, "you know what, i've got black and brown and red and yellow friends and it's not what you say," or say to your cousin or uncle, "in the not how it goes down. when you do that we can get rid of the amnesia and tell the truth about race in america. my name is michael eric dyson. and this is my brief but spectacular challenge to white america. >> woodruff: you can watch

additional brief but spectacular episodes on our website, pbs.org/newshour/brief. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> 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

boom! hello, i'm julia child. welcome to my house. what fun we're going to have baking all kinds of incredible cakes, pies and breads right here in my own kitchen. this gorgeous cream cake layered with meringue is a viennese specialty. pastry chef and master teacher markus farbinger of the culinary institute of america shows us how to do it.