captioning sponsored by newshour productions, ll : >> woodrufood evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, president trump's top economic advisor, gary cohn, is resigning after disputes over trade. then, are nuclear negotiations on the horizon? north korea claims it is open to talks with the u.s. about abandoning its nuclear weapons, according to south korean officials.d, uilding teacher confidence-- helping early educatioinstructors end their own anxiety around th and science, to inspire their students. >> it's not an easy shift for teachers to make, it's something you feel as if you should know the answers to these things when kids ask you. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> 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. >> wdruff: a major resignation at the white house tonight, over trade policy. chief economic adviser gary cohn says he's leaving. in a statemehentays it's been an honor to serve. cohn is a key opponent of the

kind of protectionist policies the presidt is favoring now-- president trump is calling for tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. the president kept pushing his tariff plan today, but more and more, republicars in congress pushing back. lisa desjardins reports on the day's developments. >> desjardins: republican leaders, at the microphones for the first time since president trump's tariff announcement, were parts cautious an concerned. from house republicans, including speaker paul ryan, the careful approach, first something positive: ri the president it to point out that there are abuses. there clearly is dumping and transshipping in steel and al. that's absolutely happening. there's a big overcapacity problem. let's go focus on that. let's go focus on the abusers of >> desjardins: then a less direct negative. a and that is why we think the proper approach ore surgical approach so that we do not have unintended nsequences. >> desjardins: in public, other republicans silarly downplayed

the divide, and echoed one word: "targeted". congressman tom cole of oklahoma: >> desjardins: senator rob portman of ohio: >> well, i think it should be more targeted, as i've said from the start. >> desjardins: and, congressman mark meadows of north carolina: >> tariffs ofinished goods at are targeted towards >> desjardinlls: meaning s and more specific than the president's idea of broad, 25% tariffs on stall and 10% on inum. this as the aluminum association weighed in today, saying it is "deeply concerned" about lossele job matching that more direct tone was republican senate leader mitch mcconnell ofoaching fears trade war. >> where most republican senators are right now, including myself, is genuine concern at this not escalate into something much broader. >> desjardins: but the president is not shiftn ing. >> w are behind on every

single country, trade wars aren't so bad. today the president stood next to the prime minister of swede o - steel is ohis nation's ten biggest exports. mr. trump again stood his ground. >> when we all down by 30 n, 40 billion, 60 billion, 100 billion, the trade war hurts them, it doesn't hurt us. we need steel and we nee you know there is a theory that if a country doesn't have steel, it doesn't have a country. and it's true. >> desjardinues: theion for lawmakers today: what will be the president's final policy?is >> theory of the president, the answer would be yes, because too often it goes this position today is not this position tomorrow. >> desjardins: also high on the ncern list: canada mr. trump and canadian prime minister justin trudeau talked trade in a phone call last night. canada is the u.s.' number one foreign supplier of both steel and aluminum.it

house officials say the tariffs will be formalized in the next two weeks. >> woodruff: and lisa joins me now. lisa, while we're watching this big division between the president and his own party, republicans, someone in the white house who he has now relied on >>s leaving. not just anyone, the point person on these large economic issues. i have to tell you, talking to senators today, gary cn is someone they were talking about, scratching their head. i talked to two different senatt coe chair people who said they weren't sure why gary cohn was staying because clearly ente presis going in a different direction from what he believes in. the other man's name ontheir lips, peter navarro. he is the one who wants these protectionist policies in place. he's someone that more and more we see concern with from people on capitol hill. >> woodruff: he was just recently give an promotion in the white house. the president anno what his positions are on tariffs, on steel and aluminum som where do things go in the congress with this kind of dissension aanngst republ >> first i guess the question is

can congress do anything. yes, they have that power. the constitution grants congress clear power here, but they would need a two-thirdsote to override the president on any terry mcauli-ff- tariff policy that he promotes. congress would have to vote on every tariff. it's not clear how many votes they would have. talking to membe of congress, these are smart people they've done this a long time. there are two tangible approaches from republicans, hee, hope president changes his mind, and the work hope the president changes his mind. i can't convey enough how utterly memrs of congress will react to this because theyhave free trade in their veins. >> woodruff: we've seen dissension before, but we're ten neitory. >> this is not just by party this is rsoegional. democrats like joe manchin of west virginia who love what the democrat -- president is

doing. the bigger story is this is a struggle over a balance of power issue that's been with thisun y for hundreds of years, and right now the president is showing the power is with hssim. congs not sure how to deal with that. >> woodruff: and he doesn't seem to be prepared in any wayk to bwn. >> that's right. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins, thank you very much. on another major story, the president cautiously welcomed eard that north korea would stop testing nuclweapons and ballistic missiles, if the u.s. agrees to direct talks. the south koreans reported the offer today. they also say the leaders of the two will meet next month, the first summit since 2007. mr. trump reacted at the white house.e >> we have ccertainly a long way, at least rhetorically with north korea. it would be a great thing for the world. it would be a great thing for north korea. it would be a greng for the peninsula. but we'll see what happens. we'll take a clos look at the possibility of nuclear talks with the north later in the program. in the day's other news,

president trump played down concerns about russian meddling in the mid-term elections. he said, "we'll counteract whatever they do." he also denied the white house is in chaos. on twitter this morning, he called it "fake news."t also said: "i still have later, at his news conference, he said: "i like conflict." a federal watchdog office says white house senior adviser kellyanne conway illegally tried to influence last year's u.s. senate race in alabama. that's a violation of the hatc act against political activity by federal employees. it involved conway's advocating for alabama republican roy moore in tv appearance he lost to democrat doug jones. present trump will decide what, if any, punishment conway receives. in west virginia, a nine-da statewide teachers' strike has ended. the republican-led legislature unanimously approved a 5% pay raisfor all state employees today, and spending cuts to make it possible.

republican governor jim justice had once opposed the raise, but he told teachers today: a "good coach makes adjustments at halftime." >> we are making an investment to make education, to put education where in my opinion over and over it ought to be and that is first. t sonk you even though there was times when you beat on me pretty bad. i thank you a i mean that. >> woodruff: even with the increase, west virginia teachers will still earn some $10,000 less than the national average pay for teachers. in syria, russia's military today offeredss safe e for rebels and their families to leave eastern ghouta. the damascus suburb is under intense shelling and air strikes, andit a war monoring group says at least 80 people were killed on monday alone. ritain is vowing a " ibust". responit turns out russia

poisoned a former double agent who's been l england.outhern sergei skripal and his daughter are in critical condition after being found unconscious on a park bench. police say an "unknown substance" was involved. ntere've been similar inci in the past, but moscow has denied any involvement. back in this country, the mayor of nashville, tennessee, democrat megan barry, resigned today afr pleading guilty to theft of city fund ls. itked to official trips she took with her bodyguard while they were having an affair. he pleaded gusailty to me charge. barry appeared in court today t enter heea, then spoke at a news conference afterward. >> while my time today as your mayor concludes, my unwavering love and sincere affection for this wonderful city and great people will never come to an end. >> woodruff: barry was elected mayor in 2015. she faces three years'

probation.wa and, o street, stocks struggled in a day of choppy trading. the dow jonesus iial average gained nine in to close at 24,884. the nasdaq rose 41 points, and the s&p 500 veadded se olill to come on the newshour: how congress mightback banking regulations. north korea puts de- nuclearization on the negotiating tae. isreal's benjamin netanyahu in the u.s. aid his own political travails, and much more. >> woodruff: a decade after the financial crisis spurred toughna ial regulation, the u.s. senate took a big step toward rolling back some of those rules today. republicans were joined by more than a dozen democrats to move forward with a bill easing

requirements on banks worth 50 to $250 billion in assets. specifically, those institutions would not have to pass an annual stress test to make sure they are healthy to survive a financial panic, or keep as much capital on hand. critics worry it could increase the risk of some bank bailouts again. but senator heidi heitkamp, a democrat from north dakota, strongly supports it and she joins me now. senator heitkamp, welcome to the news hour. nt to get to the bankin story in just a moment, but first i have to ask you about our lead tonight, and that is the surprise announcement from thwhite house that the president's chief economic cviser, gary cohn, is stepping down what have hearly been a dispute with the president, who he worksov for, imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. what's your thought about that? how is that going to affect trade policy? >>ell, i'm deeply concerned that we won't have that voice

that is the voice of reason in the white house as it relates to economic understanding of the importance of trade. ss than 5% globally of people in the world live in this country. if we're not trading, we're going to fail. i think that one of the biggest concer i have with the white house is their trade policy. gary was a great advocate f common sense as it relates to trade, and i find it deeply distbing that he'll be leaving. >> woodruff: what does it mean for your state north dakota if these tariffs take effect? >> well, we don't know yet which countries will be involved, butl obviously f the concerns about renegotiating nafta ha had huge ramifications in our relationships across bother bo both mexico and canada, which our are largest trading partners. we are deeply concerned aboute renegotiation of nafta and retaliation in the event these tariffs go into effect. >> woodruf: let me ask you now about this banking legislation that moved forward

in the senate today. as we said, it would exempt ,omething like two dozen banks, financial compani somewhere between 50 and 250 billion in assets they wouldn't be subject to the wame sort of federal oversight that they are and other requirements. why.er as you know, the co about this is that it means if we come to the next financial crisis in this country, thes banks are going to be back where we were in 2008 needing a big t bailout from federal government. >> i think that's come pleatly overstating the case. number one, i think at the top of the hour you said thathey no long rer going to be subject to stress tests. that's not true. the fed has complete ability to stress test and to put anyone ba into that designation if it's appropriate. but remember this, becauseid countr used this as an example, we have not changed the rules as i relates to qualifying mortgages. we have not changed the rules as to how it relates whether the

fed can stress test these westitutions. till have liquidity standards. we basically proved an assumption tst. assumption if you're below $50 billion, y do project systematic risk to the economy. we said let's take a look at $250 as the presumption, but anhing below that whe there is systematic risk could still be included and gulated accordingly. >> woodruff: as you say, there would be some stress testing, but much less th what we're talking about now. small banks, as we understand it, would no longer be some protectionfor homeowners, for example, to go to court to prevent wrongful disclosures. in other words, these banks are being given a break because thee say's just been too much paperwork. >> i think that's wayhe overstatingase. let me tell you about north dakota.rt dakota doesn't have those institutions making mortgages because the compliance costs are way too expensive for these

as a result, they're doing loans that are recourse loans, using other collateral like yourpo paycheck as d to your mortgage, or they're basicallyn transitionthose to large banks like wells fargo. when you don't have relationship lending, you're losing a big part of that capitalization in ral communities. so the protections are there, and, you know, i find it interesting because people always want to say, oh, these banks are going to take advantage oall these consumers. these banks are run by your neighbors. they're owned by your neighbors. they've been doing business for years and generations in these communities. and i think they kw bette what the community needs than a federal regulator. and let's put this back in focus. the reason why you have thest mortgagedards that you have is to prevent a collapse of thoe ec using mortgage as a collateral in derivatives. so ifou take these small community banks, they were never part of the too big to fa what we've created from too big

to fail is too small to succeed and so i have total confidence that my immunity banks know better what my community needs than a federal regulator that's trying to impose big-bank standards on our smiewl community banks. >> woodruff: how do you know, though, senator heitkamp, that -- clearly somen regulats need to be in place. how do you know the right regulations are still going to be in place r example, there is concern about whether banks, they won't have to report some of them, a number of them won't have to report the diversity of people they lend money to. in other words, there are some regulations tre now that people say need to be continued, whethethey are done in exactly the same way or not. >> well, let's take the hamda rules, and that's been a point ofcontention here. we are not eliminating the standard of makingure that we have fair lending rules. there were fair lending rules before dodd-frank.

the ham rules which were covered by all banks, are 40 pages of regulatio that doesn't add any value to making sure that there isn't discrimination. we're saying, look, we' eliminate that rule making for the smaller institutions, but if you fail, if you're a bad actor, we're going to impose these gulations back on yo and the one thing that i think is critically important, whenyo overregulate, eventually you eeach a tipping point wher everything is in question. we are doing very modest and very limited chang to dodd-frank to respond to what we're hearing on main streets in small communities like mine.e and weoud of this bill. we think that the results of this bill have been completely overstated by people who have hisn advocating against bill because they want to see fundamentally absolutely no changeo dodd-frank, even if the regulation doesn't make sense. >> woodruff: senator heidi heitkamp of north dakota, thank you very much. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: returning to one of our top stories, on north korea's reported offer of possible talks to give up its nuclear weapons program, and to stop testing those weapons while those talks are underway. william brangham explores whethethis is a real breakthrough or simply the north stalling for time.m >> brang the announcement came from top south korean officials, whomo just cpleted a two-day visit to pyongyang for meetings with kim jong-un. it said kim was open to talks on denuclearizaonf his regime could be assured of its own long-term security. s is the first time the north koreans have said they'll even discuss disarming, which has been a consistent demand of the u.s. we turn now to two men with dears of experiencing with north korea, and different views of what this means: joseph detrani was special envoy for korea during the george w. bush administration and he

oversaw the intelligence community's work on north korea lr the director for natio intelligence. he's now adjunct professor at stssouri state university graduate school otegic studies. and bruce klingner had a 2cayear er in the intelligence community where he focused on korea, including chief of the c.i.a. station in south korea in the 1990s. he's now a senior research fellow at the heritage foundation. gentlemen, thank you both for being here. >> thank you. >> brangham: joseph, i'd like the start with you first. what do you make o. this overtu the north koreans allegedly say they will talk about denucleariztion if they can be assured of their security. what do you make of that? >> i think it's a positiem statent. the fact is we've been having this discussion with north korea since4, 199nd we had some progress in 2005 with a joint statement. so we've been. there we've had this discussion. the key will be the particulars. what are they talking about when they talk about security assurances? we think ofa peace treaty. we think of some assurances that we have no ill intentions.

occasionally, or more than occasionally, north korea has other interpretations of security assurances. it could even include our presence on the koreanni ula, our military presence on the korean peninsula or our presence in the region. it's a question of us sitting down and getng the particulars, the details. what does this young man, because we've not negotiated t wis young man. >> brangham: kim jong-un. >> kim jong-un, wed negotia with kim jong il, who agreed to a joint statement in 2005, commiting to comprehensive reversible dismantlement of all their programs. now this young m comes into power, has a significant arsenal of weapons and delivery systems and is saying, i'm not prepared to denuclearization.he now he's sayins. what does that mean? >> brangham: bruce klinger, you share that trace of optimism i heard there? >> well, right now the two koreas are rushing down the path of reconciliation. it's a well-trodden path. to date it's always le both of them rushing off the cliff

like lemmings, but we can alwayt run do path again and hope for a different result. you know, it is a significant development. it is a bit surprising, especially considering where we were in late december when it seemed like we were on an inditable path to some k of military conflict. so this is really a dramatic change. the koreas really are leading the game right now. there's some concerns in washington as to how eager south korean president moon is,et r he will have less conditions or more eagerness than the u.s. may want. but at least right now we're starting from a good place. the so ah korean president is progressive, but he's adopted a much more centrist policy toward north korea than many of us had expected. he reversedimself on number of issues. so up until now he has been pushing pressure over engagement. brangham: joseph detrani, explain, why should we believe them now? there are pnty of administrations. you have both been through this process where the north koreans

make promises and then those promises are broken. why believe them now? >> he has pain. north korea is suffering now. >> woodruff: because of our sanctions? sa thetions are biting, there's no question. also the military exercises. we've introduceed strategic forces in those. >> brangham: these are trust-south korean exercises. >> u.s.-south korean exercises, and it's got to be intimidatinga buto kim jong-un has had a good year in regard to his nuclear and missile pamro 25 missile launches to include an intermediate-range miouile that canh the whole of the united states. a hydrogen bomb test. so he's coming to the table feeling better about himself. >> brangham: so you think his success in hisin te reg. makes these talks more feasible? >> i think that'spart of the equation. it's not only the sanctions that are biting and the military joint exercises that are intimidating, it's him feeling a little more confident that he has this arsenaland he'll be treated i think with what they usually talkbo, greater respect. so what does that mean?

it's the particulars. it's in the details. that's why some exploratory discussions, i'm not saying negoti ions. i donink we should go into negotiations until we're clear as to what their intentions are. is he serious about compreheive, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement? sition. our it's a correct position. i think everyone agrees north korea with nuclear weapons woulo be catashic. >> brangham: bruce klinger, what do you make of the other news that came out of this that kim jong-un a moon jae-in might be meeting face to face very soon? how significant is that? >> well, it's very significant because it would be the third time, only the third time that two hrean leadee met. i think it's a positive development that it will be in the bder area. also the area is fairly austere, have allot going to the diplomatic trappings of state dinne, and if it was in north korea, the north could have controlled the message more. here it will be much more

business-like. it's goingo be in thes pavilion, which are very austere. i think it will be a case of they arrive and they get down to business. now, the busins is the difficult part, and we've been down this path many times. so i think there is aot of reason and justification for being skeptical. >> braham: joseph detrani, if you wered a voiding the trump administration, how would you have them respond tothis overture in. >> i think exploratory discusons would be justifie indeed, if north korea halts its missile launches and indeed has no nuclear tests, i think that will end. they know we will move forward with our joint military exercises in south korea... >> brangham: which they did not ask us to walk away. >> eventually they'll ask us to scale them back and eventually they'll ask us to cease and desist. they're moving down that path. but i think exploratory discussions where we're not they, anything to them, in fact, are halting what they're doing. we should listen to them. and question them. because there is a joint statement. i keep mentioning the 2005 joint

ement. it took us two years of hard negotiations to get that, and then fouries of pursuingt, and north korea then walked away from it. there's a document the. there's a lot of work there. that could be revisited and north korea be asked, well, if your father, kim jong il, committed to this, why hav you persisted with your nuclear weapons? and if you're so concerned about security assurance, what do you mean by that, besides a peace treaty? i think in tme sta from the south korean, i think they noted they would like nmal relations with the united states. this is something they've always wanted. indeed, that is the bestce security assurthey can get. but they need to work hard at getting that. not only because of nuclear missiles, but human rights and illicit activity issues. >> woodruff:>> brangham: bruce , what would you are theo? administration >> we need close coordination anth our allies, south korea japan. but right the momentum is such that we can't stay out of the diplomacy game. there have been a lot of questions of whether president

trump was supportive of diplomacy or not. a lot of focus has been on whether the u.s. would do a preventative attack or not. now that we're getting to diplomacy, because in a way we're being dragged into it byo the korea, it's a case of the dog catching the car. we don't really know what to do with the car now, because the straight hasn't articulated wha it's looking for or what its conditions or preconditions are for engaging with the north >> brangham: bruce klinger, joseph detrani, thank you both very much. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> woodruf: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: training to "stem" preschool teachers' anxieties about teaching math and science. but first, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke today in washington, aan annual meeng of american supporters of israel.

as nick schifrin reports, the enthusiastic welcome in this country comes as israel's prime minister faces deep political, ibly criminal, problems back in israel. >> the primete minisr of the state of israel, benjamin netanyahu. ( cheers anpld se ) >> reporter: back home, benjamin netanyahu is surrounded by scandal. but in the warm embrace of washington, he's hailed like a hero. et good morinng, aipac! >> reporter: todayyahu addressed the friendliest crowd of all, the amblican israeli affairs committee. they gave him complete support on his main message. >> we must stop iran. we will stop iran. ( applause ) >> reporter: the 2015 iran nuclear deal froze iran's nuclear program in exchange for massive sanctions relief. netanyahu said that relief emboldened iran to spread its influence across the region, from lebanon to yemen. >> darkness is descending on our region. iran is building an aggressive empire. >> reporter: and netanyahu presented himself in lockstep with president trump.m

>> he hade clear that he too will never accept a nuclear armed iran.th that i right policy. i salute president trump on this. >> reporter: yesterday the two saluted each other in the oval office. >> we have, i would say, probably the best relationship right now with israel that we ever had.>> eporter: it was a remarkable show of strategic unity and mutual admiration. >> mr. president, i've been here for nearly four decades with talking, seeking to build the american-israel alliance. under your leadership,tt's never benger. >> reporter: for netanyahu this imagery is a welcome contrast to israeli newse. coverag >> continuing our coverage of the ongoing investigations into the prime minister. >> yet another twist in the alleged corruption investigation of benjamin nenyahu. >> reporter: for months, the tv coverage and the protests have focused on muagltiple cases nst netanyahu and his wife, sara, of corruption, bribery,

and fraud. just yesteray, netanyahu's former chief spokesman nir hefetz turne state's witness, the third former aide who's agreed to testify. but netanyahu is leading israeli polls, and he benefits byli helpinr president trump's pro-israeli policies, like moving the u.s. embassy to jerusalem. for the palestinians, who want east jerusalem as their capital, the move is unacceptable. but it boosted president trump with his base, and he says it can help the peace process. >> the biggest difficulty that anybody has had, you look over 25 years, nobody could get past, number one, jerusalem. they couldn't get past it. we've taken it off the table. >> reporter: so does taking jerusalem off the table increase the chances of peace? and what's t future of iran licy and netanyahu's career? for more on that i'm joined by aaron david miller. he served republican andmo atic administrations as a top diplomat on the middle east. he's n vice president at the wilson center, a washington think tank.

aaron david miller, how imperilleds prime minister tanyahu, and can a trip like this to d.c. help save him? >> you know, netanyahu has been around for a long time. he's currently working i think on the 13th of his nine lives. anybody who next year, assuming he survives, will surpass israel's greatest prime ministea d ben gurion as the longest-serving prime minister in israel's history can't be counted out. at the same time, three of his long-time confidantes have turned state's witness. the level o detailthat has been leaking to substantiate charges that the police have made, bribery, fraud, breech of trust, seem to be extremely serious. what we're waiting for is theey attorneneral to decide whether or not an indictment is in order. i think it's going to be extremely difficult based on the politics and the legalities for the prime minister simply to go on as if it's business as usual.

at the same time, nick, ifs electire held, according to a recent poll last week, likud would probably garner the most mandates in the kness. so netanyahu is still there. >>chifrin: he's still leading the polls. the u.s. says it does want to introduce the peace plan. is there a plan that the trump adnistration is working on that can be acceptable in this environment to both the palestinians and the israelis? >> no, in answer to the first question, having worked on various peace processes fo over 20 years, the degree of silence on this one is quite impressive. ere have been almost no leaks, none that are authoritative, and it suggests one of two things,, there's either something there worth protecting, or alternatively, perhaps, nothing. it's impossible to say what's in this thing. we have heard that it's going to be detailed, that it's going to address all of the core issues.

in answer to your second question, do i believe that anything the trump administration will lay down will be able to address the legitimate mutual needs and requirements of both sides, absolutely not. we don'tava peace process in large part because the gaps on jerusalem, bordety secu refugees, recognition of israel as the nation state of the jews and end of conflict and claim, those six core issues, the gaps are simply not bridgeable. it's not the trump administration that's the obstacle. it's the unwillingness of both israelis inand palens to make the kinds of choices and decisions that are necessary in order to allow a third party, at least one that knew what it was doing presumably, to broker an agreement. so the answer is, yes, i think there will be plan. it may actually have some substance. but i think the odds of getting both sides to sign on are slim to none.: >> schifresident trump says his plan the move the embassy to jerusalem will

actually improve the prospects of peace. is he right? >> she's just made an already-fraught situation c.mensely more problema he's turned a mission impossible i would argue, at let on the jerusalem issue, into a mission implausible. so, no, i can understand why many israelis are happy. i can understand why it does a lot for him politically. i understand why evangelicals and the americanewsh community is excited about this move. but the reality, when it wast taken, certainly wasn't done with foreign policy implications or other negotiationin mind. >> we saw a lot of damics day and yesterday, netanyahu and trump both agreeing on iran. they're lking a lot about iran. netanyahu's speech todwas well received. did that put pressure on president trump to nix the deal, the iran nuclear deal, which he has a deadline on in the next couple months? >> the presidendoesn't want to go to war with iran despite the

usterriness of some of his rhetoric. and he clearly isn't in the position to make peace with iran. the default position is to continue to manage, to try to find a way ton stay the iran nuclear accord, perhaps try for an add-on agreement constraining iran's mi oile technolo try to push the sunset clauses out to make them forever clauses. so i think, in, i the big difference between the prime minister and the presidents i ssertive american rule againstre the iranians in the region. tnd the trump administration seems to be alm as risk averse as the obama administration in this regard and seems to be unwilling certainly in syria to risk a confrontation with the russians or the iranians over the future of hezbollah or the assad regime. suspect in may when it comes time for another encertification, the pres will decertify probably as he did earlier in january, but'l find a way i suspect to at

least keep most of the deal intact. >> schifrin: aaron david miller, thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. >> woodruff: one of the major movements in american education iset more students engaged and learning when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math, often referred to as "stem." hari sreenivasan has a report from chicago on efforts to boost science learning amongome of the youngest students by boosting teacher confidence, for ouwer ekly segment, "making the grade." >> who had fun? >> me. sreenivasan: anyone who's spent time with three, four and five year olds knows children at this age ask a lot of s.questi

>> when they look at me, they want someone with all the answers. any quion they ask me, they want me to have the answers to it. okay. where is my good listener? >> says the craldren's unrested curiosity can sometimes make him feel anxious about teaching certain subjects, like science.o >> i feel t want to fail them. i don't want to let them down. >> sreenivasan: marshall is not alone. a recent study from michigan state university found that a majority of preschool teachers experience the same discomfort teaching iee. >> i'll focus more on reading and not really look at science because i thought it was complicated. >> i'm not good at science. i'm just uncomfortable with it. >> i wasn't a big science person. i remember biology in high school, but that's about it. >> sreenivasan: with only 38% of the nations' fourth graders testing proficient in the sciences, some educators are now looking to the preschool years

toddress the problem. here, at the university of chicag eo, early educatierts who specialize in science, technology, and math, are partnering with local childcare centers to boost teacher confiden. >> we hear all the time teachers go inty o eaucation to avoid math and science courses themselves. om sreenivasan: liesje spaepen and liz lehman, he university of chicago's stem education center, say that when teachers feel uneasy about a subject matter, it can leave a powerful impression on students, even at an early age. >> iyou're afraid, if you have anxiety around a topic, you're very unliky to want to teach it to your students the problem with anxiety is that it gets passed down. if i'm anxious about something, my students see that in me, and they think there must be a reason to be anxious about this. >> sreenivasan: lehman and spaepen have been coaching prescool teachers from chicago's austin neighborhood, where students from low-incomemi

es are at a greater risk of falling behind in science and math. >> we're going to see what things can roll down this ramp, ok can you say the word ramp? >> ramp. >> sreenivasan: at channings childcare academy, teacher odessa mcbroom introduced a ramp while the coaches observed. >> let it go, what did it do? >> sreenivasan: the exercise allowed teachers to use a simple activity to teach physics. >> what's the word i'm looking for? >> rolls. >> this is really getting into some of those physical science ouncepts. we're talking things like gravity, and friction. what do they do when i send thingsp?own a r some of them will slide, some of them will roll. >> what you going to do to make it moveyo? gonna push it? is it going to slide down? >> no. >> they were curious. they wanted to see what's going to happen, they 've to know whs going on. >> sreenivasan: later in the day, lehmaand spaepen observed

children who gathered around a water tank at bettas daycare demy to test which objects sink or float. g when you put t in the water, what do you think ng to happen to it? >> it's going to float. >> what did it do? >> it float. >> the science content there is arou density, and the properties of water, and the properties of materials. we aren't expecting chndren to learthe word density. you just want three year olds to have those experiences to draw on. if you can say, "oh yeah, i remember this when i was a kid, i dropped things into the water and some floated and some didn't, that's density." in>> it's to float. >> sreenivasan: even with this simple activity, the teachers had moments of doubt, like when marshall realized he didn't fully understand the properties of the materials. >> i wanted them to stick their hand in the bag and then ask them, what do you thinit's made out of. and when i got to that part, "i'm like oh my god, i don't know what this is. >> sreenivasan: later, he talked to the coaches about his insecure feelings. >> som of the objects, i didn't

know what they were made of, so i was kind of thinking should i ask thnsat quest >> i'm a big believer that it's ok for teachers to say, if it's someth something, right, "you know, i don't know, we'll have to investigate this" that's okay" >> so ai haveuestions, "why didn't the branch sink?" >> sreenivasan: marshall's teaching partner tina smith- miller had science questions of her own. >> the kids w saying it was going to float, and i thought it was going to sink. i didn't tell anyone i didn't knowhe answer, either, i was keeping it to myself. >> it's not an eacy shift for rs to make, it's something you feel as if you should know the answers to these things when kids ask you. >> sreenivasan: the university coaches do not teach science. instead the goal is to promote science inquiry. >> if you feel uncomfortable about the answers, about giving the answers, or finding the answers, your going to avoid those questions, and what we always tell teachers is use those opportunities, it's ay if you have to say, "let's figure this out together."

>> they gave me the courage to ask more questions, and it sn't a wrong answer, or i didn't feel silly or scared, or afraid. i think they helped me be more courageous. >> i learned a lot. exploring, finding things out, doing lots of investigating. ou had a lot of trial and error. >> i sh have learned it a long time ago. i'm solad that we got involved in this program, because okay, i need some help on this, everyt, hing else i got is i didn't have. >> sreenivasan: the teacher ope to expand thei early learning project in the coming years. in chicago for the pbs newshour, i'm hari sreenivasan. >> woodruff: and we'll be back shortly with new numbers that a spike in opioid overdose cases in u.s. emergency rooms.

but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations still w nith us, an o orleans art form is winning over new audiences on the international stage. last fall, jeffrey brown visited with on'se of the crescent ci music royalty to discuss his latest album and why traing the next generation is so essential. here's a second look. >> browann: this, troy ews, better known as trombone shorty, , is how he grew up in new orleans: with music all around. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we'd driven to his treme neighborhedood, he pull out his

horn, o athers joined in,nd suddenly it was just like old times-- an impromptu "second line" parade-- a quintessential new orleans art form in which a band marchewhile onlookers join in. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ou this is whatere telling me about when you were a kid, you'd just run into people? >> that's right. everybody's a musician, yeah. even though some of the people that i grew up under doesn't live here anymore, there'shi something about neighborhood that we can't let go. these people come over here and hang out because it's that much embedded in their soul and heart that they have to be here. it's a special place, magical. >> brown: he was a 'shorty' when he first played on these streets at age four, with a trombone

larger than he was, and the name stuck. andrews was born into a musical family-gr- hidfather was singer-songwriter jessie hill.he led his first band at age eight and was a touring musician by 10. he played with bo diddley, and got a new orleans- style educatiwi a variety of local greats, including wynton marsalis and the neville brothers. >> in my neighborhood it was t wanted to so i jus be like the people that i saw, that took me and put me on their side. >> brown: years later, at the ripe o age of 31, with a grammy and an international following, andrews is a performer who's absorbed different styles by playing with a variety of musicians, including rock stars like the foo fighters. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

his new album, with his band "orleans avenue", is called "parking lot symphony", featuring the sound he calls "supafunkrock". >> it's asically a high energy funk music, basically a big mardi gras party wherever we go. a lot of rock, a lot of soul, hip hop, jazz is in t are-- it's jubig collective of new orlean's music. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brow tn: andold me he thinks of himse as a kind of ock guitar' trombonist. these days, troy andrews is one of this city's leading musical ambassadors, given the honor of closing the new orlea jazz and heritage festival, known as 'jazz fest'... and he takes the role of educator very seriously, as

well, t old "trombone shorty- foundation" and its music academy. it's an after-school, after band practice gathering for high m all overicians f the city. a chance to meet new friends and learn from older, profeional playes. andrews, constantly on the road touring, stops in whenever he's in town. asia muhaiman, a high school band director by day oversees instruction at the academy. >> they come in already able to play, but i think it's that camaraderie, they're learning from those professional musicians, they don't get in school. most music achers, we're not out in the street performing and we're not flying all over the world performing, but being able to work with trombonehorty, the diferent gentlemen from the brass bands, it's something just totally dierent from what they're used to.

>> brown: 17 year old clarinetist whitney winford is in her third year at the academy. >> it'azs g to have, to know that i'm somewhere close with like something that far out there, i and wheant to be. and him being there cse help me get out there, and he also gives me confidence that i could be him one day. >> brown: that's where you want to be, where he is? >> yes, i want to be where he is.>> rown: chriopher plummer, also 17, spoke about the power of mentorship. >> a mentor doesn't tell you what to do and howo go about it, they guide you mostly, they lead by example, you see them in >> brown: back in treme, troy andrews' aunt debra waved us over to see how he looked as a teen, playing with the rebirth brass band, and showed us an old cracked photo that survived katrina. >> that's my mom there. >> brow wn: idering if a young kid could grow up now like

you did, and be surrounded byat ommunity of musicians. >> i may be the last person in the treme to grow up like that, but there are kids out there that's getting the culture, and starting to be friends with some of the musicians, and they just take them in and teach them. what i o wanted was just give the kids an opportunity, and if can affect them in any type of positive way to keep the music alive or, like i always tell them, i'm not expecting you to keep a certain style alive, but just to learn what we do here, and then you can be heeative and take it to text part. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in new orleans. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> woodruff: finally tonight, a stark new report shows the riioidss seems to deepening across the country. the centers for disease control released data showing overdoses are ineasing at an alarming rate. in fact, emergency room visits for suspected overdoses rose by an average of 30% in a year. william brangham is back with more on this report. william, what did the c.d.c. say in. >> just as you described. the headline out of this report is that the opioid crisis is still awful and it is getting rse. remember, we lose on average about 115 people die every single day in america was because of a drug overdose. in this report these si went to emergency reports and looked at how many people come to your hospitals are coming because of these overdoses.

30% of the overdoses,e they seen a 30% increase in overdoses betwee2016 and 2017. and in certain place, it's been particularly bad. the midwest was really hard hit. pennsylvania, illinois, overdoses were up 50% or more. delaware upby 105% with wisconsin up 9% so these are really, really startlingly high increases in the number of people who are coming in this terrible circmstances. some states did see moderate decreases in the number of erdoses, but not nearl as dramatic as the rises. >> woodruff: so disturbing. and these numbers are recent, 2017. up through so why is this happening? what do they say? >> the c.d.c. didn't really get into that. i think the argument is that it's the same part of this crisis we've seena all along. people are addicted to these drugs. they're taking more and more. one of the octious s is the rise of what's called fentanyl, the additives added to other opioids on the streets

ehat makes them mre ucmo likely cause people have an overdose. additionally, we've also been using more anmore of this drug called narcan, which if you doca overdose, yoshoot the drug into your arm or leg, and it revives you from that overdose,m so in way we're saving more people who are overdosing, and they are getting to emerncy room, whereas in the past they would have just died. >> woodruff: so following ont that, w the c.d.c. saying about what can be done? what kind of interventions ntoed appen that clearly don't seem to be happening. reu were -- i was reading earlier, they we saying that a number of these people are coming back after an initial crisis. >> ewxactly. e.r.l see what they call repeat customers, people who are coming for multiple overdoses. and a lot of public health researchers would say an overdose and you going to the mor. is thisnt of opportunity, it's like a window when you can reach someone when they're in terrible circumstance and maybe you can do some kind of an intervention

there. so the c.d.c. is saying people should be started on treatment, such methadone. start people on those medications in the hospital. but that's years of possible treatment going forward. they also argue that we should be giving more narcan to family members so if you were there at the bedside with a loved one,os teach people how to use narcan in case this happens again.o addinally, the thing the c.d.c.as pressing is the importance of having someone who can shepherd that person out of hospital and into treatment. because too often we bandage them up an let them go and they find treatmentluif they'rey, if they have money. the idea is to deploy someoneo go to the bedside, start a conversation with that person at thebl very vulne moment, and hopefully that person can become a bridge to walk that person out of the hospital, literally and negatively, get them enter treatmtnt, help them figure i out, help them figure out how to

pay for it. but again, these are all relatively small interventions. >> woodruff: and this is the kind of thing, though, it is treatment, but then it's following up on this and staying with them. >> right.al we'reng about years of treatment. this is not a broken arm, you get it fixed and have the castof cu. you're talking about a lifetime's worth of treatment. >> woodruff: and verhard to this on you own without help from the outside. >> indeed. >> woodruff: william brangham, so disturbing. thank you very much. >> you're welcome, judy. >> woodruff: you can explore all our stoe ries on ioid crisis, from the many ways it is crippling communities to new ideas on how the epidemic can be stopped. all that and more, in our "america addicted" series. on the newshour online right now, experts offer recommendations for energy- efficient upgrades that can help improve your standardkef living and our home a little "smarter." that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the nehour for tonit. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs

newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: w >> youe born with two stories. one you write every day, and one you inherited that's written in >> consumer cellular. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international pea security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

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e elyse: we're story detectives, and we're going to investigate some untold stories om america's past. this week, why were these two african americans sitting with whites when racial tensions [ gunshot ] wes: does this faded document reveal a passion that helped push thomas jefferson into financial ruin? tukufu: and did this bell ring in a golden age of sports during jack dempsey's legendary world chamonship fight? and with a one, two, three, four! whoa! elvis costello: ♪ watchin' the detectives ♪ i get so angry when the teardrops star♪ ♪ but he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart ♪