caioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff.r on the newshnight, top intelligence officials say the white house clearance system is broken as questions surround the disgraced aide who left his job last week. also ahead, the senate tries to tackle the immigration debate. will lawmakers be able to reacho an agreementthe fate of hundreds of thousands of people who came to the u.s. without documentation? then, freezing classrooms and hazardous buildings-- why baltime students are being left behind in aging public schools. plus, medicaid changes in indiana put coverage forn recipientsestion. the debate over new state requirements for low-income americs. >> there's a great stigma that folks that are livin the poverty level don't care about their health. well that's completely wrong.

>> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and m0-e. babbel's 1 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. o more informatibabbel.com. ar >> consumer cellul ith the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.

and by contribions to your pbs ation from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: leaders of the united states' intelligence agencies are sounding a series of wnings. they went before a senate committee today to talk out everything from russian election meddling to breakdowns in a critical security process. >> the process is broken. it needs to be reformed. >> woodruff: the "process" in question was the white house secuty clearance process. and at a senate hearing today, the administration's top intelligence official, dan h coats, deliver vote of no confidence. there have been questions about the clearance process since white house staff secretary rob porter left the administration last week amid domestic abuse allegations. the white house previously said porter had been working with

just an interim security clearance, and that his backound check was still pending. but before the senate intelligence committee today, f.b.i. director christopher wray put out this timeline: that the bureau, which is involved in the cleara process, submitted a partial report on porter in march of 2017, and a completed report in late july. after a request for a follow-up inquiry, the bateau provided nformation in november. he addedhat the f.b.i. closed the file in january. and when it received more information earlier this month, it passed that along as well. >> i'm quite confident that in particular instance the f.b.i. followed the established protocols. >> woodruff: in addition, while the bure is involved in the clearance process, an f.b.i. official said in a statement to the newshour, "the f.b.i. does not grant, deny, or otherwise adjudicate security clearances for individuals."

later today, white house press secretary sarah sanders weighed in. >> the f.b.i. portion was closed. the white house personnel security office,ho is the one that makes the recommendation for adjudication, had not finished their process andef the not made a recommendation to the white house. >> woodruff: today's heari also dealt with russia's meddling in the 2016 u.s. election. g >> this is nng to change or stop. >> woodruff: one by one, the six intelligence chiefs who were testifying said that there weren't any signs russia's efforts were subsiding. >> we have not seen any evidence of any significant change from hest year. >> woodruff: but was also frustration, from independent senator angus king, ov president trump's inaction on the issue. >>y problem is, i talk to people in maine who say the whole thing is aa itch hunt and ax because the president told me.

cannot confront this threat, which is a serious oe , with the wh government response, when the leader of government continues to deny that it exists. >> woodruff: wray's bureau is involved in the investigation led by special counsel robert mueller, into russia's 2016 election meddling, andtial ties to the trump campaign. today, director wray rehashed his disagreement, this time, on- camera, with the so-called "nunes memo." the document, spearheaded by republican house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes, claimed that the bureau and the justice department were not fully forthcoming, when they asked a court to approve surveillance on a trump campaign aide, carter page. >> we had then and continue to have now grave concerns about the accuracy of the memorandum, because of omissions. >> woodruff: multiple senators, including republican susan ins, and democrat martin heinrich, also gave wray an

opportunity to offer his defensc against recerges of political bias within the bureau. >> there's no shortage of opinions about oura gency. and i'g believer in the idea that the f.b.i. speaks through its work, through its tses, through the victims protects, and i encourage our folks not to get too hung up on what i consider to be the noise on tv and in social media. >> woodruff: for all of its focus on the f.b.inatoday, this panel is also working on its own probe of russia's 2016 election meddling. committee ch said today the committee hopes to make some of its findings public in the cong months. and in the day's other news, police in israel recommended indiing prime minister benjamin netanyahu on corruption charges. netanyahu is a suspect in two bribery cases, including accusations that he took nearly $300,000 in gifts from two billionaires.

tonight, in a televised speech, he called the police move "baseless" and said it would "end in nothing." >> ( translated ): i will continue to lead israel responsibly and faithfully for as long as you, the citizens of israel, choose me to lead you. i am certain, i am certain, tha the truth willvealed and i am certain that at the next elections, which will be held on schedule, i will earn your trust again, with god's help. >> woodruff: israel's attorney general will make the final decision on whether to siarges. in south africa, pnt jacob zuma is under pressure to make a statement by tomorrow, amid calls for his ouster. the ruling african national congss formally ordered zuma today to step down, after years of corruptn scandals. party leaders want deputy president cyril ramaphosa to replace him. investigators in russia now say pilot error triggered sundayat plane crash illed 71 people.

they say the crew never turned on a heater, so critical instruments ic over and gave faulty air-speed readings.in the russian ai went down in a field outside moscow, minutes after taking o t. moren a thousand people are still searching the area. a man who detonated small bombs in new jersey and new york innc 2016 was sen today to life in prison. ahmad khan rahimi's pressure- cooker device injured 30 people in manhattan's chelsea neighborhood.th ere were no injuries in the new jersey bombing. outside the federal courthouse in manhattan today, one victim said she's satisfied with the senten, but not with rahimi's conduct in court. >> i thought today i would get justice, or feel some kind of way to feel relief, but the ulrpetrator was not remors at all. he definitely spoke about himself, he didn't even care about us.

i thought today was probably a day for us, but it didn't feel like that at all >> woodruff: rahimi was born in afanistan, but is now a naturalized u.s. citizen. the numb of measles cases across europe has tripled over the last year. the continent'center for disease prevention and control says more than 14,400 cases were reported in 30 countries. that's up from 4,600 the previous year. the agency blames the spike on fewer people getting the measles vaccine. the atmosphere on wall street was decidedly calmer today. after an uneven start, the dowst jones inal average gained 39 points to close at 26,640. e nasdaq rose 31 points, and the s&p 500 added almost seven. thousands of mardi gras revelers filled the streets of new orleans today. the annual celebration wound up with elaborate parades, festive costumes, and marching bands. and this year, something extra: ththcity also marked the 300

anniversary of its founding. and, finally, highlights from day four at the winter olympics in south korea. it was a triumphant day for american snowboarders. american chloe kim won the gold medal in women's half-pipe. her teammate arielle gold cameto in third, ake bronze. and, canada won the firstal olympic gold mn mixed do.les competition in curli still to come on the newshour:w you get a security clearance at the white house? the senate kicks off its immideation debate. riorating buildings in baltimore's cash-strapped school district, anmuch more. >> woodruff: now, back to the fallout over a top white house aide's resignation in a domeic abuse scandal.

there are conflicting accounts from the white house and the f.b.i. on the timeline of the background investigation into former white house staff secretary rob porter. to help us understand how it's all supposed to work, we areai joined by mark a washington lawyer who specializes in security clearances. w mark zaicome to the "newshour". >> thank you. >> woodruff: so based on everything you've heard about this case involving rob porter, how much do you believe the white house should have known abt his background when all these decisions were being madet >> wele white house should have known actually as soon as he put in what we call an sf86 which is the sta questionnaire for national security positions because, porter, who probably put this in at the end of 2016, would have had to have revealed that he had received a protecte order against him by one of his ex-wives. if he didn't put it on the form and we don't know one way or tht

otheen the f.b.i. we know interviewed one or both hi ex-wives in january of 2017. what we learned from christopher ray's testimony today the f.b.i. director is that the f.b.i. provided an interim report in march of 2017, which means the white house would have known in0 march of that there were some serious problems. >> woodruff: and we s there were several different intervals when the f.b.i. wasiving informationo the white house as recently as this month, director ray was saying. does that tell you ag?yth >> well, what we know, for example, the f.b.i. would have gone and done extensive background investigation, interviewed the ex-wives, also gone to the courthoe to find out information about the the protective order, also talked to er himself. when that investigation was completed by july of 2017, theha white hous some questions. i suspect because they went, as we've heard some reports, that the chief of staff went and talked to porter and said, loo

we have these allegation against you, what are your explanations? and we'sove seeme public reports that they felt he misled them. based on whatever happened in those summer months, they asked the f.b.i. to go back and get more. more information came in. basically, we've got about three th four opportunities tha white house knew enough information to make not only a clearance decision but suitability determination, did they want someone like porter in the whit house. woodruff: well that gets to a question because the suggestion has been up until today it was the f.b.i. that was holding up this information, that the white house was waiting for more information. today we understand from the white house that, once wey clarat the f.b.i. does not give security clearances, that's something that's done in the white house, the white house is now saying, no, it was done in this office of personnel security. so where is -- where are decisions made about who gets clearance not? >> so the white house has its own office of security in the administrative part of t white house. they determine secret and top

secret clearance levheels. ad an interim clearance, which is a very normal process within the system. that's not an issue. they adjudicate -- the white house ajud adjudicates the actul clearance, what we call sci, sensitive compartmented information, is done by the intense community, nory mae c.i.a., we don't know specifically in this case. but the white house itself makes this determination. these are usually career staffers, and i doubt they're the pron blemis case. >> woodruff: right. hen the f.b. would have provided the interim and final report, the office of security would share that with the counsel's office, the white house counsel's office for the suitability determination. we have bothmi dettions, two of them at once. >> woodruff: right. and that means the political people get involved. >> woodruff: how common is it for the white house to allow somee who has this kind of a problem in his or her background to serve in a high-level job, to have a security clearance?

>> it's more common than it used to be. outside the white house, it's quite common to have an interim clearance or a long peri time because there is a long backlog in the investigations. thhigher up you go in te house, like the w the more likely you're not to have an interim clearance for am long period ofbecause the white house actually has been quite good over the years, when i've dealt with them, whn they identify a problem, they have given the individual an opportunity to resign rather than receive an adverse, negative security clean determination. >> woodruff: and the other question i have, is it -- so how normal is it for someone to be operating for 13 months on an interim clearance is this. >> that itself doesn't phase me. the notion of having an terim, we need to know a lot more facts. that's, of course, always e problem. quite frankly, the fact we're talking about, information about porter is inappropriate, because none o this information should ever have been leaked from the

white house. this is verivy sens information for him. >> woodruff: finally, mark zaid, what i understand you saying is if there a decision that had been made to allow rob porter to continue to work at the white house and there were even reports they were considering him for a promotion, that would have been made -- decision would have been made by someone in political role, not a career civil servant? >> certainly at some point in me certainly on the suitability side it is by the political people. the president of the united states has the utmost authority. he can waff any type of rules io his discr we don't know yet, of course, what role the political appointees played versus the career civil servants, but we know the white housknew of this information and didn't act on it. >> woodruff: well, still many questions out there. >> many. >> woodruff: mark zaid, thank you very much. >> thank you.

>> woodruff: and now to immigration. the u.s. senate is set toly officiegin a rare open- ended debate, and it centers on the future of dreamers, brought here illegally as children. they'd been protected under the daca program that presidenttr p is trying to end. lisa desjardins begins our reverage. >> t no reason why we should not reach a bipartisanwe solution thi. >> desjardins: in the first minutes of the day, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell talked of a quick resolution on the fate of dreamers, despite the obstacles. yesterday a number of my colleagues announced a reasonable proposal that i believe is our best chance to actually make a law. >> desjardins: mcconnell threw his weight behind that legislation, introducer by iowa senauck grassley and five other conservative-leaning republicans. m rors president trump's own proposal. the so-called "secure and succeed act of 2018" offers a 10 to 12 year path to citizenship for an estimated 1.8 million

dreamers, brought to the u.s. illegally as children. it also includes25 billion for a border wall and otherity measures, and it limits family- based immigrant visas to spouses and unmarried children under 18. the bill also would increase punishment for those who re- enter the country ily after deportation. in the senate halls today, grassley spoke with a family who had concerns about the bill. to reporters, he stressed it'sri the one measurt now with president trump's approval. >> i think we have responsibility to listen to all concerns but there is one bottom line, what will the president sign or not sign. we and the president say he will sign our peace of legislation. we got a bill before us, we are >> desjardins: but the bill doec not have the dtic support it needs. senator dick durbin of illinois criticized the cuts to legal immigration.

let's remember, chloe's story iy the stf immigration in america. tole kim's story is a story of people who coo these shores determined to make life. >> reporter: the tension showed as the floor debate snagged. >> i would ask consent that at 2:15 today the motion to proceeo r-2579 be agreed to -- >> reporter: mcconnell moved to start off a debate with an amendment to crack down onal sod sanctuary cities, a proposal democrats like and their leader chuck scumer said no. >>edet's get this debate sta on the right foot. so i object to the leader's request. >> desjardins: and thus, leaders walked into the afternoon in legislativ leading bill on the floor and no agreement on where to start, schumer pointed to the need for compromise.

>> we recognize we're not going to get everything we want. we hope the president and republicans alize the same. >> desjardins: meanwhile, president trump started the day tweetinghat this is the last chance to replace daca, the program that protects dreamers and, he sounded optimistic as he met with republican and democratic senators on trade. >> i think we have a chance to daca very bipartisan, i think that can happen. >> desjardins: the president g itially set a march 5th deadline for ende daca program. a federal judge has at least temporarily set that deadline aside. and this afternoon, another federal judge this afternoon in brooklyn agreed and ruled that the prfsident's deadlin daca should be frozen and the program should contin at least temporarily as it works through the court. >> woodruff: so back to the is that, lisa. i heard you call it legislative limbo. are things asstuck as they look? >> yes, they absolutely are. i would describe the atmosphere today as singular. it's a frenzy of activity, judy, with no forward motion, and

let's break down exactly what we know could happen. the next time for a vote because of senate process is tonight att midn i have sources telling me that is unlikely at this time, but that means thet nextes would be tomorrow. now, the republicans say they want toth finish thiis week. that generally means thursday two, days from nobuwt the two parties as we had in the piece disagree over exactly where begin. so there are very big challenges to even startg theebate tomorrow. one beacon of hope came actually from the white house and mark short who's a legislative aide there and he told me he thinks a there amendments that could make it to the floor tomorrow. what those are we will have to >> woodruff: so several different plans tore consideration. give us a sense of the substae of what they're looking at. >> i think what's good to think about in this debate is are what the problems are first. they can't agree on how larg go with this bill. many are arguing the bill should focus only on daca and border

security. many and the republicans want to expand it to visa lottery and family migration which they want to limit. problem number one, judy, i at the key bills themselves have still not been drafted. that includes the president's bill, which is being led by senator grassley, whi we mentioned we expect that out any minute but haven't seen it yet. the kuntz mclean bill, no other bill has 60 votes. there are small bipartisan groups meeting all across the senate and they're in such a tough position they don't want reporters saying who's meeting with who. it just shows what they're up against and they have not found a way to get 60 votes on anything. >> woodruff: so sounds like they're feeling pressure onse thes to get something done. it's pretty unusual to be in this open debate situation.

>> incredibly unusual. i sat down with the senate historia for the most elucidatinconversation i had all day. she said our problem job is to look a precedent, but we're not erre to wto look for a comparon and history will have to judge it later because we're not sure where they're going yet. >> woodruff: is it a test for the senate for people watching to see if they can actually do this? >> i think after ndis up down year, this might be the biggest test for the senate. i think in the next wo days, we'll see a senate that either has a complete break down of legislative process over an issue, daca, that most americans agree on, or they will have a breakthrough today it was looking like a breakdown. but they have a few more days. people paying attention to this issue, these are very important days to watch. >> woodruff: there are a lot of folks on the outside watching closely and letting their voices

be heard. lisa dsjardins, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour, what's behind the upcoming medicaid work requirements in vice president pence's home state. and the american olympians racking up medals in the winter game st first, a pair of stories in baltimore, and tious problems residents face with some civic institutions. schools close occasionally due to winter weather, but the problems in baltimore public schools this season hach highlighted igger questions. outrage erupted last month after students found themselves in frigid classroomstwhen heating s failed in at least sixty schools. it's opened up a larger debate about funding anfixing them.

john yang has both of our reports tonight, beginning sith our weekment, "making the grade." >> we got to protest and we got to stand up for our kids as parents. >> yang: in the jam-packed refeteria of an east balti high school, the head of the city's school system faced frustrated pents. >> what happened to the maintenance keeping that school up? >> i agree with you. and you should be angry. >> yang: what sparked this heated outpouring? images that went viral on social media in early january of children bundled in coats, hats and scarves in aging classrooms barely warmer than the frigid temperatures outside. more than a third of the city's 171 public schools, the oldest in state, reported a lack of heat. a handful closed for repairs. boilers and pipes froze and burst, flooding classrooms, collapsing ceiling tiles and ruining newly upgraded equipment.

while the problems were brought ta a brief cold snap, they underscored longing funding issues. parents and teachers demanded answers, as did students. >> erybody wants to succeed and it's harfor students, or for teachers, to help their students succeed if it's cold. if it's freezing cold. >> yang: jon gray ishomore at baltimore city college, a selective-admissions college prepigh school. he says he had seen heating problems before, but nothing like this. >> let's say, i've failed a class. i can go to coach's class, i ca st. but if i come to school there is no heat. i can't really go downstairs ano cut the heatn. so it makes students feel like powerless. >> yang: whadoes it feel like it is to come to a school where the heat is so bad you have to wear your coat in class? and there are signs the bathroom telling you not to drink the water. >> kind of just makes you look back like you know like where is our support? when are things going to, like, move or change for us? >> yang: rosalyn taylor's son

jaden is a fifth grader at lei walk elementary-middle school in noh baltimore, one of the schools that closed. >> when i went to pick jaden up from school, i noticed that it was really, really cold in the buils ng. and i ke, "why is it so cold in here?" and they was like, "well, we didn't have any heat." >> yang: what do you think abou this? what does this make you think of the baltimore public schools? >> i think about transparency oi whhappening with the funding that we get for each student. where's the money going? and where's my taxpayer dollars going? >> yang: baltimore city schools have a $1.3 billion operating budget. nearly three-quarters of it comes from the state of maryland. despite the state aid, city schools still had to close a $130 million deficit ilast spending year. the school board is still making everywhere, including t 01intenance. between 2013 andmarylandal gavemore $12.8 million to deal with aging schools.ld

after the nap, maryland governor larry hogan announced he wouldpend $2.5 million of the state's emergency fund on immediate repairs.he lso said he would give baltimore schools an additional $11 million next year. hogan said his administration has made school heating and cooling projects a priority andc blames disleadership for maintenance problems. >> we resort to a knee-jerk response of it must be mismanagement. >> yang: sonja santelises is the c.e.o. of baltimore city public schools. >> baltimore city has more need. you can't look at underfunding for numbers of years and then say for a year or two we're going to give you 10 million more and that makes up for the millions upon millions of dollars that the school system g didn. i think that's a bit disingenuous and it's overly simplistic.

>> yang: she says part of the problem is h the state awards maintenance funding. districts with cash on hand can pay for reirs and then ask for reimbursement. but baltimore sct ols often caford to pay for those projects up-front. >> we're coming with a gss where other counties are coming with a receipt. if i'm going to take responsibility for improving the mastenance of school buildi the oversight of those school buildings then quite frankly others need to take respsibility for making sure the investment and the funds are there. >> yang: a 2012 district report found 69% of schools are in"ve poor" condition. and estimated it would take $2.5 billion to update them. rosemont elementary-middle is one of the schools in need of repair. the school's 47-year-old roof was scheduled to be replaced in january, until the school told parents there was asbestos.

i was frustrated. i was misled.as betrayed, >> yang: bryant whitener's five- year old daughter, jamaya is a pre-k student at rosemont. >> you know when these parentsy in this commun in any community wake up in the morning, the first thing they don't want to have to worry about is it safe for my child to go to school, inside of the building?g: >> yhitener and other rents organized a school boycott, keeping their children at home until the district rescheduled the repairs for the summer break. >> i'd rather have my kids in an environment where's it's zero risk. not a small risk. not one percent. not two percent. not a half percent.13 >> yang: in baltimore school officials launched a te year, billion dollar upgrade to l arly two dozen schools: the 21st century schildings plan. >> what you see now is an investment of over $1 billion. >> yang: fort worthington elementary/middle school was one of the first to be re-built.

>> look at that line! >> yang: monique debi is the principal.el >> it good to be in a space that has technology for childrenhat has interactive smart boards, we have the flex furniture here and a collaborative space. >> yang: as a school principal and as an educator, what does it mean to be in a facility like this? >> i think this atmosphere speaks to the investment that we're making in our chdren and our families and then their future. and so when they have what they need to learn e basic need is met the worry is less able to focus more on teaching and n arning. >> yang: but the ply calls for between 23 and 28 newou buildingof at least 140 in need of repair with completion now set for 2021. for jon gray, that's too few and too r away. >> i can't worry about whether or not i knoeverything on this test to pass if i can't even

focus. i'm cold. we need an answer now because while we're building those schools students are sll cold the water is still dirty. we need money to be able to build our 21st century schools but at the same time keep up the schools we have now. >> yang: without long-term unsolutions to decades-oldng problems, baltimore students are likely to continue to struggle in classrooms that are eitherr, too coldith spring approaching, too hot for learning. for the pbs newshouri'm john yang in baltimore. the other story in baltimore is the federal court conviction of two city police officers, detectives daniel hersl and marcus taylor, in a startling corruption scandal. six other officers have already pleaded guilty. adr the details, we're joined by jayne miller, the investigative reporter for wbal- tv in baltimore. she's covered this story from e beginning. jayne, thanks so mch for joining us. the charges in the court

yesterday were racketeering, racketeering, conspiracy and robbery. but that doesn't rally give us the fll breadth of what these guys did. what did they do. >> first of al they were members of a very elite unit in the baltimore police departmentc which led the gun trade task forcettf, tasked with getting illegal guns off the street. as such, testimony in the case says they were given latitude and leeway to operate citywide. the testimony in this case exposed a real underbelly of that kind of policing with the tactics they use to chase people, toarget people. the bottom line of the way theyl operatedegally in this case was that they'd target particularly drug dealers because they had cash, they would use police power toget search warrants, police power to enter properties, arrest people, detain people, get their address and go to their houses, but t

they'd targese folks and steal from them. they wouldn't steal everything. i thk that was a very important part of this scheme. they'd, for example, in one of the cases in which one of the two yesterday was covicted on the robbery count involves a drug dealer whado testified he h in his house $300,000 and ten kilos of drugs. the police targeted him, went into his hse, members of the gun trace task force, they allegedly took $200,0, submitted $100,000 as evidence to make it all look legit, and submitted 8.5 kilos o the drug. so what's missing? $200,000 and aha kilo and of drugs. that was the basic m.o. of this heme was to use their powerth undebadge. they weren't uniform, but they did have police vests on most of e time, but to us their power to target people for the purpose of enriching themselves.

>> yang: and they were doing this while the justice department was investigating the baltimore city police. >> right under their nose, that is correct. >> yang: and with this sort of brazen corruption exposed, what's been the rean from the mayor and the police department? olice just have a new commissioner that took office just a couple of weeks ago, he's designated to be the next police commissioner, and on frday announced a series of chacoes, a neuption unit to look at some of the names that have been dropped in testimony in the cse that weren't charged in the case. he's looking at the overtime -- the overtime fraud in this caser was stag and the ease with which these officers and detectes were able to eal overtime, able to cheat without supervision, without anybody blowing the whistle on them. he's form ago new overtime abuse unit but i think beyond thoseec ic changes, the real debate that's going on now in baltimore is whether there nee to be an entirely different structure of the baltimore police department.a

i'm just doinstory today for example with a key city council member in baltimore loking at los angeles, the model in los angeles where the police department is under the control of a board of commissioners which also has the inspector general so that police don't investigate themselves, and that's the kind of debate tht we're seeing now in baltimore and i think will become stronger as wo go frward. we still have a ways to go in this case, according to the f.b.i., and her testimony last mek before the jury's verdict in this case, sde it clear that the investigation is ongoing. last night the acting u.s. attorney after the guilt verdicts in the hersl and tailor cases said we're not telling w yot we're doing but indicating they're continuing to follow leads in this case so we may have ground to still cover in this particular case. >> yang: some cases being prosecuted are being thrown out. >> both local and federal.

there's a federal drug cas where two men were just released som prison -- well, one still in prison, one was out, but their sentenc vacated because they were prosecuted back iny all the way 2010 in a case where we now know the drugs were planted. so, yes, it's mostly state cases that have been tainted by the actions of these officers, but esere are also federal cas that are being reviewed as well. >> yang: you've got the police department trying to repair damage from the freddie gray case a couple of years ago bac y lar they had the highest per capita murder rate in the city's history. what's this done to the relationship between the police and the commun >> we had a homicide involved this afternoon, the first one in ten days. in a city like baltimore that has a very high rate of gun violence, that has been a welcome relief. everybody hopes it's not an

anomaly. there's a lot of work going on really ciwide with different agencies and communities, et cetera, to really try to bring down the rate of violence. i think the best part of the federal case is that it brings into the open and gives legitimacy to thepl comnts of many people in communities in baltime thahave long argued and complained thaict pol-- about police tactics, about police stealing from them, about planting drugs. this federal case put all in one place allegations from drug dealers and from convicted police officers. that's the most importah part ofs case is that four of the convicted gun squad members testified for the government, which is where all these revelations came from the activities of this unit. so in the end, you know, transparency is a good thing and at least this case has brought legilegitimacy andbnto the pulic eye really the underbelly of

policing. >> yang: jayne miller ofin wbal-taltimore. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, john. >> woodruff: republicans in washington and around the nation are poised to achieve a long- sought goal: reshaping medicaid. the trump administration has given the go-ahead to indiana and other states to require many adult medicaid recipients to work or do community service in order to qualify. wie idea is popular in indiana and some exemption be granted for groups like caregivers, students and those in addiction recovery programs. but as special correspondent sarah varney for the poor say they are worried the requirements will m

jeopardiical care for more than 30,000 people there. this sto was produced in llaboration with our partnerh kaiser heaws. >> reporter: katie josway is a songwriter and the front woman for the indianapolis band gypsy moonshine. ♪ ♪ over the past few years, she's been covered by medicaid. the public insurance programs largely free to patients in ayher states. but in indiana, joays about $25 a month. if she misses too many payments, the state will drop her insurance. >> i thinkhat it's fair to expect people to contribute based on their level ome and their ability to do so. so i think that's kind of at we do in this society. >> reporter: but josway, who also works as a massage therapist, worries about changei to medicaid in indiana. and even though she earns about $16,000 a ye, near the federal poverty level, she'll have to prove that she's working at

least 20 hours a wk to stay insured. a tough bet when her hours fluctuate each week. >> i'm trying to get pto book with me, but if they don't, then i don't want to bed penalid potentially lose my insurance, as well. that seems really harsh. i am growing trend of assuming that anyone who is on an assistance program somehow is mooching off the government or doesn't try hard enough. >> reporter: under former governor mike pence, now vice president,ndiana became the first state to enact a much more conservative approach to mecaid. but the idea to require most adults in the program to work was stopped by the obama administration. now, the trump white house is allowing indiana to move ahead. te effort is being led by seema verma, who presidemp appointed to lead the centers for medicare and medicaid services.

verma once worked for governor pence in indiana, where she tested out her conservative policies, like coverage lockouts and monthly premiums. now she's taking her vision even further, by allowing states to impose work requirements and making smokers pay more for public insurance.st the admition has approved kentucky and indiana's plans and at least eight other states have submitted similar requests.t vocates for the poor have protested loudly in recent months, saying many will lose coverage. nationwide, 60% of medicaidpi recients already work.te and advocasay the ones that don't usually have a good reason for not having a job becauve they're care, students or in drug recovery. at the heart of the debate are anople like antonio berlanga. he's 60 years ollives in clinton, indiana and spent most of his adult life without health insurance. indiana first expanded medicaid coverage to a small number of poor adults 2008 as the

recession decimated the state's economy. then in 2015, governor pence expanded it even further under the affordable care t to about 442,000 adults. that allowed berlanga, a janitor at a local church, to roll in coverage.tr now he's beeted for severe shoulder, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis c at the valley professionals community health center. like a lot of hoosiers, he's worried about what the changes uld mean for him, but he willing to do his part. >> i just don't want it for nothing. if i'm still able to do something and give something back, then let's go. i've still got a heart. i might not be able to, you know, physically do things. but i'll do what i can, you know? >> reporter: dr. john wernert, one of the architects of indiana's medicaid plan, says that's what he's heard in every part of the state.pl that pon medicaid want to feel like they're contributing in some way. >> it doesn't have to be a lot m ey for people to feel like

they have some ownership and take some responsibility for tha adminion of their program. there's a great stigma that folks that are living at or near the poverty abvel don't care t their health. well that's completely wrong. 've just not been put in position where they could take some ownership of that. >> reporter: revenues at indiana's hospitals have jumped as more hoosiers have become insured. the c.e.o. of margaret mary health, tim putnam, hirea compy called claim aid to enroll uninsured patients into medicaid and help them comply with indiana's complicated rules. >> hip is full coverage. >> reporter: now they'll have to add the work requirements to their checklist. putnam says the new rules aren't designed to be punitive. >> if it was purposefully trying to get people off of medicaid and onto no coverage at all that would be a detrimental program for us.

but as it is it's trying to get people to get work experience or get some job training to move on and transition to full employment full insurance. >> reporter: but indiana's conservative plan has added layers of bureaucracy that has ensnared peoe like allen wilson. he and his wife paid their ounthly premium but a paperwork glitch locked hiof coverage, to the point that his wife started to panic. t >> ay knew that i needed this operation for my heart. >> reporter: some 25,000 hoosiers were disenrolled from medicaid from 2015 to 2017 because they didn't pay their premiums. but it's unclear why. some may have moved out of state, found jobs withen insurance, or ied. advocates like alan witchey say now that indiana is adding a work requireme, bureaucratic mistakes will become much more common, especially for vulnerable populations like the homeless.

n though we've been told there's an exemption for homelessness, we haven't heard: w is that going to work? what does that look like? how are we going to get it? what proof do you have t provide? >> reporter: thoseiving in isolated rural areas, where jobs are few, have many of the same questions. niki carty moved into her brother's rented farmhouse here in the town of dana after getting out of prison in 2015. she was convicted of selling meth, ioids and other drugs. before prison, she became addicted to fentanyl prescribed a doctor, and soon her two daughters were hooked on opioids as well. now the family is in recovery, and carty is ngtanline classes to become an addiction counselor. t even though most students are exempt from the work requirement, carty worries her courses won't qualify. and she'll be forced to drop out of school and get a dead end job. >> i am concerned because i got screwed once before. s i really did gewed. >> reporter: in the 1990s whendi

a forced people on welfare to work, carty says the state didn't recognize the classes she was taking then. she quit school and ended up getting injured on the job. >> i look at this way: if i had not had to go to a full time job where i was being a full time student then back in the '90s, i buld have never been in that factory to get htwo forklifts. i mean, 20-some years later, i'm having this surgery anthis is pretty much the results. >> reporter: state representative ed clere, a republic from new albany, is one of the few lawmakers raising these kinds of issues at the state house. i kn one of your big concern is creating more bureaucracy here and in indiana. >> i think we have to be concerneabout that and we need to be realistic. what it's going to cost to administer this. >> reporter: clere says those added administrative costs will pull mon away from medical care. td although he supports the work requirements ory, he says the new rules are unlikely to improve health outcomes. >> and in fact, it may over time take us the other direction.

>> reporter: but many here, like say people who work live healthier lives and the changes will benefit the entire state. >> we're now starting to move the big battleship in a different direction, more towards what's needed in ourd economy at's needed in our society now.ac >> reporter:in dana, a world away from the booming economy in indianapolis, niki carty says the message from lawmakers to people like her is pretty clear. i hink they think we're trash. that wre just garbage to throw away. they're all worried about the money and all that. and i can understand that. but at the same time, there's a lot of us that are trying to pick our lives up to put.t back togeth reporter: for carty tha means planning her weekly narcotics anonymous meeting with a local pastor. she's determined, she to set her life straight and hopes the upcoming hanges to medicaid won't get in her way. for the pbs news hour and kaiser nehealth news, i'm sarah vin

indiana. >> woodruff: if you've been watching the snowboarding competitions at the winter gamer in south the past few nights, there's no other way to describe some of those feats as other than amazing. the american team is racking upe quite medals and, as jeffrey brown is here to discuss, features some compelling personal stories, including gold medal winner, chloe kim. >> brown: the expectations were already very high for the 17- year-old coming into these olympics. last night she became the focus of international attention with a dazzling display of aerial robatics and athletic turns. eddie pells was there, covering the olympics for the ap. he joins me now via skype. eddie, expectations height but more than met, right? tell us about i w

>> i would sy more than met. she went out there and essentially won the gold medal on her first run and had the whole thing secured and then, you know, for her last run, didn't need to do anything but, you know, it'a snowboarding mantra that if you don't do your best the result dtsn't mter, so she went out there and did basically the hardest run we've ev seen aoman do on a half pike, landed it perfectly, and then she could walk away with the gold medal and being able to say, hey, i put my best stuff out there and, to a lot of people, that's really what snowboarding is all about. >> brown: she's also the child of south korean immigrants. how is that playing there? >> it's huge in south korea. they love their sports stars. they don't have a million, but they will adopt chloe. she's a california kid but shery

knows the stoine. this is where her parents are from and her grandma still lives, and they're loving it. she's going to be a star in south korea and probably already is one in america. >> brown: what makes her stand tt in a sport where risks get ever greater? >> you know, i think she's small ansmiley and she's got a bubbly personality, but, you know, you shouldn't let that overshadow the fact that she works really hard. i meanen, she is first out on the half pipe ithe morning and the last one practicing at night. she knows what the risks are and she's been, you know, for the last ten years or more, beenki these calculated steps up in progression and, rally, you know, also is the most athletic woman out there doing this stuff. so, you know, there's always this reputation of snowboarderse being theind of dudes who are just out there, who caes.

no, she's a professional and has been work hard and is pretty athletic. she'd probably be a great tennis player, too.. whatev >> brown: and americans are continuing to dominate this sport. take us through a couple of other great performances you've seen. >> the first daye had red gerard, another 17-year-old on the slopes. he's the kid wholy basicet up an action park in his backyard where he learned his best tricks. he went out there and that was a little bit of an upset. the second y slope style, the great jamie anderson won her second gold medal. the weather wasd, people were complaining, but we're talking how thespeople are re pros. she went out there in a bad condition, put down a run she knew would win and that was exciting. we had chloe. arielfi gulnished second yesterday and told us she had a shoulder by the way.

>> brown: the most famous name in the sport is sean white gng tonight. what are the stakes for him? >> he wouldn't deny it, this is everything to him. a lot of the snowberders lik to talk about they don't love contests, no, thelympics means everything to sean. he won tw years a. four years ago was a mesyo links for him. he finished fourth on the half pipe, didn't accomplish any of his goals and basical the day after he left russia he said, you know, i'm going to dt in four years. this is really the only thing he cares about competitively. it's going to be a great contest. verano from japan. scotty james from australia, we may see a classic, never before seen kind of contest tonight if the weather is good, and i think it will be. >> brown: all right, we'll be watching. eddie pells of the a.p. from south korea. thank you so much. >> all right, thank you.

>> woodruff: on the ne online right now, as the senate begins debate on immigration, you can find a cheat sheet to explain every proposal ctogether in ort for easy comparison. that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, soon.ou and see you >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new ge, like spanish, french german, italian, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com.

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