b captioning sponsored newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: exit plan. representative charlie dent announces he's leaving congress a w, speeding up his departure as one of rge number of republican lawmakers leaving office. then, the hannity connection. ethical questions mount after the fox news host is linked to president trump's personal lawyer, now under federal investigation. and, "making the grade." how a focus on leadership is orlping to turn around poor- perfming public schools in h icago. >> hhool graduation rates are up in chicago over the past fn years. they've gonerom 57% to 74%. we're seeing more students going on to college. we're seeing improvements in a.c.t. scores. >> woodruff: all that and more,

on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ >> kevin. >> kevin. >> kevin. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> babbel. a langge app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italia and more. babbel's ten to 15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular.

>> and with the ongoing suppor of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by e corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs u.ation from viewers like thank you. >> woodruff: disaster on u.s. airliner today. an engine exploded on a southwest airlines flight, sendin window and killing a woman. the planhad been en route from new york city to dallas, but it made an emergency landing in philadelphia.sc rs swarmed the site, and in washington, federal safety investigators got to work. >> we will begin immediaten, investigatxamination of t the engine a damage to the fuselage. the engine will be ultimately

shipped off-site, where we can do a detailed examination, tear- down of the engine. >> woodruff: this was the first time a passenger has died on a u.s. airliner since 2009. the i.r.s. website for online payments broke down today, hours before the midnight deadline for filing 2017 income tax returns. there was no word on the cause, but millio of last-minute online tax filers could be affected. treasury secretary steve mnuchia saidanyone who is unable to pay on time due to the trouble will get an extension. president trump saysa summit with north korea's leader l.m jong-un could happen in june, or not at he spoke today as japan's prime minister shinzo abe arrived at his mar-a-lago resort in palm beach, florida. and he said there have been"v y high level" talks with north korea. >> let's see what happens.e

we'll either hvery good meeting or we won't have a good meeting. and maybe we won't even have a meeting at all. depends on what's going in. but i think that there's a great chance to solve a world problemm >> woodruf trump also confirmed that the two koreas d e negotiating a formal end to the korean war, added, "they do have my blessing." china will allow now full, foreign ownership of chinese territory automakers within five years, instead of partnership arrangements. the announcement today addresses one of president trump's complaints about trade practices. but, the chinese also declared imported u.s. sorghuis being under-priced and hurting chinese grain farmers. it could face tariffs of 179%. the question of the president's powers to order air strikes in syria is starting to simmer in congress. a bipartisan team of senators pushed today to reple the uthorization for the use of

military force," or a.u.m.f., d thes back to 2001 and the 9/11 attacks. house speaker paul ryan counseled caution, while democratic senator tim kaine argued it's long overdue. >> the goal is to do something bipartisan-- to do sething to update these old authorities, to do something that puts tations on the when, whe and who we are at war against. it's specifically about non- state terror groups, not nation- states. >> there is existing authority, and this was article two in this particular strike, but the current a.u.m.f. doehave the existing authority. and the question going forward on any new a.u.m.f. is, do it give the military the tools they need, or tie their hands behind their back?nw >> woodruff: mle, the state department disputed syria's claim that international inspectors have entered the city of douma. that is where a suspected chemical attack sparked la weekend's air strikes. officials in greece report a new surge of migrants entering the

country from turkey. police say they have detained more than 500 people crossing overland, since sunday. the refugees are from northern syria, fleeing heavy fighting in a turkish military offensive there. back in this country, president trump criticized california's democratic governor jerry brown for refusing to use national guard troops to stop illegal immigration. mr. trump tweeted that the "high crime rate will only get highe"" as a result. brown was in washington today, and said the california guard is already focused on cross-border crime. c >> we haveple hundred guardsmen throughout the state dealing with the same problem, so it is a very logical next step to add a couple hundrth more, or mor that. and the guard is chomping at the bi ready to go. >> woodruff: republican governorin texas, arizona and new mexico have embraced the call to send the national guard to their borders. missouri's attorney general

says that its republican governor, eric greitens, may have illegally ud a charity's donor list in his 2015 campaign. josh hawley, also a republican, said today that it is grounds for pursuing impeachme greitens called the allegation "ridiculous."y he is alrearged with invading the privacy of a woman who had an affair with him. starbucks says that it will close more than 8,000 u.s. stores on may 29 to train employees on racial bias. that follows an outcryver the arrests of two black men at a philadelphia starbucks. the training will last severalve hours, and invome 175,000 workers.te chnology stocks took wall street higher today. the dow jones industrial average rallied 213 points to close at 24,786. the nasdaq rose 124 points, and the s&p 500 added 28.

and, long-time npr host t carl kasell diay, of comlications from alzheimer's disease. he spent his career in radio, and served as news anchor for npr's orning edition" from 1979 to 2009. in 1998, he became the judge on the news quiz show "wait, wait, don't tell me." winners got kasell's famedri bane on their answering machine messages-- like this one: ( phone rings ) ic hello, this is carl kasell from national puadio. kristin and george are not available at this time, but before you leave a message, i'd like to sing you a little tune: ♪ what's new pussycat whoa whoa whoa wa whoa ♪ ♪ what's new pussycat whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa ♪ ( phone beeps ) >> woodruff: carl kasell was 84 years old. still to come on the newshour:

representative charlie dent, on why he is leaving congress early. the supreme court considers a case tt would allow states to tax online retail. fox news host sean hannity is named as a client of president trump's lawyer. how chicago is relying on its school principals to enact education reform.h and, mre. >> woodruff: seven-term u.s. representative charlie dent of pennsylvania announced today that he will rign, leaving office next month. last fall, dent, who has served in the house for nearl14 years, said he would not seek re-election.is vening, i asked dent, why leave now? >> well, i had conversations with my family for some time, and we decided now was the right time. i should tell you that i really

want to get out there andn brig a voice to the sensible center for this country. i also have no final plans about my own professional opportunities, but i'v been planning, and i'd just as soon deal with those issues when i'm out of congress rather than in. >> woodruff: what do you mean "be a voice for the sensible center?" >> we have a primcary proess that tends to reward those who move to the eremes. i think those folks are much more represented in congress than people who are more solution oriented. the center is a large swath of the country but not a large swath of the congress right now. i woodruff: but it's the moderates, wheths center right, as i think you describe yourself, or center left, are all leaving, who will do that job in congress? >>ell, we'l have to work on it from the outside, too. i was encouraged to seeou ps like the problem solvers.

th stepped in and helped dan lipinski in his race in the democratic primary in ilasnois where heeing attacked from the far left. and he prevailed. so i think the needs to be a political infrastructure much further developed out across the country to help candidates like that who can speak to a broader audience and who have the capacity to get to yes, because many of these people who are attacking the bases and some to the exeme just find their political base, an they are not in a position where the can seek consensus and ultimately support a compromise. >> woodruff: you've told reporters in the last year or so, congressman dent, that you have grown tired of trying to explain to pele what's happening in washington, including under the leadership of president trump. is that a part of your decision? >> vell, noticed that the polarization and paralysis in this congress has been going on for some time. it predated donald trump.

certainly with donald trump, he has made this even more challenging. p i would say thsident was factor in my decision to not seek reelection but not the factor. i have bee thinking about this for a few years, but paralysis is what it is. we saw government shutdown in 2013, an absolutely futile, stupid gesture, all toed -o advance the political interests of one u.s. senator. it made no sens people went along on this suicide mission for no reason. i started to see things break down. that predated donald trump. now that we have president trump, he brings his own set of issues in terms of chaos and dysfunction at the wouse that makes governing very difficult. i voted against the healthcare bill, for example, and, you know, i'm glad i did for a lot of reasons, but after the bill h passed tse, the president said it was mean, the bill was mean, or just watching the other day with nikki haletaking a

position on russian sanctions only to have the president say,s well, thot where we are. he seems to contra dictd or undermine so s of his ownff from time to time. >> woodruff: i'm sure you know eveot of people beli republicans face an uphill fight this fall. they m lose a majority control e. the hous how strong is the republican party right now going into these elections? >> well, the repu pblicty is certainly in a very defensive position. during the first mid-term of a president, the party in per usually loses 32 seats in the house. we're running into a very strong headwind. this mid-term election will likely be a refendum on the president of the united states and his conduct in office, and that will drive this election probably more than anything else. so i tell my colleagues, particularly those in marginal district they need to put themselves between themselves nor the president just as c lamb did in southwestern pennsylvania. he put some distance between the

mself and his own party's leadership, which i think is a smart thing to do. republans will probably have to do the same thing in swing and marginal districts. >> woodruff: do you ts nk republicn win a majority? >> well,'d say it's tough. it will be an uphll climb. it's probably 50/50 at best. the odds can change. certainly the energy, the t enthusiasm ae anger is on the democratic side in this election. there's no sugar coating that. so, you know, it's a beg wave coming. some members will have to get off the beach. you got to watch this real carefully. so i don't know what -- members are going to -- republican membtrs will likely to localize these races the best they can. these races now are much more nationalized than they used t be. i should stress, republican candidates will have to go out and discredit their opponents early. that might be the best way to proceed in this type cycle when everything is kind of stacked against you. >> woodruff: congressman charlie dent stepping down in coming weeks after serving 14 years in congress. thank you very much.

>> thank you, judy. great to be with you. >> woodruff: today, of course, is a big day on the tax calendar. while some americans rush to file their income tax returns, thsupreme court heard arguments in a case on state sales taxeand online shopping. the justices also handed down a stling that will make it harder for the trump admition to deport some immigrants. marcia coyle of the "national law journal" was in the urt, and she joins me now. hello, marcia. >> hi, judy. >> woodruff: let's talk first about this immigration ruling. tell us what the law saysusand what theces say. >> all right. if you're an illegal alien and you commit what's called an aggravated felony, you're going to be deported, but that aggravated felony defnition includes crime of violence. that's what the court was

looking at in the case today, the definition of "crime of violence," which basically says a felony in which the is a substantial risk that physical force would be used to commit the crime. this alien, who actually was a legal permanentf residente united states, had committed to burglaries with noiolence volved. the court today said in a 5-4 decision by justice keegan that the definion of crime of violence was unconstitutionally void or vague. sorry. was arbitrary. it was confusing. judges went in different ditctions on the same sor of crime. >> woodruff: and it was interestinin that a conservative justice, justice gorsuch, voted with the more liberal justices. >> that's right. this is the second time the court heard the case. they heard itn 2016 after justice scalia died. th d apparentadlocked. justice gorsuch made the difference this time, and he did join the more liberag of the court and took ant

originalproach to finding whether this law was vague andly unconstitutionague. >> woodruff: interesting to point out the trum administration not happy. the department of homeland security says this will make it harder tkeep the nation saf. >> there is a category of crimes that seem to fall into this crime of violence definition that was confusing and vagu and so those are the ones that will be affected, but the admistration still will be able to deport aliens who commit very violent crimes asni aggravated fel, but, yes, the department of justice and homeland security congress to step in now. >> woodruff: urging them to close some loopholes. now, separately the justices heard this case having to do with whether states should be able to charge a sales tax for purchases made online. tell us about that. t. righ south dakota brought the case to the supreme court. they want the court to basically

overturn a 1992 decision that said stes can't require out-of-state retailers and other sellers of goods and services t collles tax unless those out-of-state sellers have a physical presence in the state that wants to have them collect the tax. a building, employees. south dakota claims thatre physicalence test, times have changed. it's out of date. thgrowth of ecommerce now has put their own in-state sellers at a disadvantage, and they basically are losing billions of dollars in potential revenue that they need. wayfair is on the othr side of the case along with overstock.co and new egg. they claim what's going to ngppen if you eliminate that test, you're goto subject out-of-state retailers to more than 12,000 individual taxing

jurisdiction, and they will have huge costs in time money and trying to figure out each of those jurisdictions' taxation system. >> woodruff: any suggestions from the questions the justices asked abouwhat they're thinking? >> i took away two main things, judy. one, t justices are very concerned about the fallout if they do eliminate the physical presence test. justice soto mayor said what about retroactive liability, and how do we decide how much contact is enough. the justices also wonded, with all the problems we could have, maybe this is for congress. congress canake the compromises that we can't do. they can balance interests on both sides. >> woodruff: justice sot mayor took a fall at her house yesterday, broke her shoulder. >> she broke sher leftulder. there was no evidence it in the courtroom under her robe, but

apparently her arm is in a sling. she's keeping her sche.dule >> woodruff: soldiering on, showing up for work. >> absolutely. >> woodruff: marcia coyle, thank you for showing up here. >> my pleasur judy. >> woodruff: the revelation in court yesterday that sean hannity is also a client of president trump's lawyer, michael cohen, has triggered a wave of criticism about the fox news host. william brangham reports. >> brangham: anyone who's seen sean hannity's show knows exactly where he stands. the longtime fox news host hasen steadfast champion of president trump and his agenda, and a fierce critic cial counsel robert muller's russia investigation.e, for examere's how, last week, hannity reported the news that fedal prosecutors had raided the offices of michael cohen, president trump's pe aonal lawyer: right, tonight we have an explosive new chapter in mueller's partisan witch hunt.

now we've entered a dangerous isw phase, and there's no turning back from it's been clear, as i've been warning, mueller iout to get the president, and it appears at any cost. here's what happened. upon referral from special counsel robert mueller-- the f.b.i. has raided the office, the home, and the hotel room of chael cohen, the persona attorney of the president of the united states. this is now officially an all- hands-on-deck effort to totally malign and if possible, impeach, the president of the united states. >> brangham: what hannity didn't say, and what we only learned yesterday, was that he, too, was allegedly a client of michael cohen's, and some of the material seized from cohen's office might relate to hannity. so, should fox news viewers have been told of this connection? i'm joined now by margaret sullivan, media critic for the "washington post." welcome. >> thank you. >> brangham: there is a lot we still don't understand abohi this relatio but what do you think about that? should fox news viewers have

been told about this relationship? >>es, absolutely. and fox news brass should have been told about it, too, whicpah ntly they weren't. but the viewers deserve to know that the person who was being talked about on hannity's show e s actually hannity's own lawyer to somtent at least, maybe not in a full-fledged, on-a-retainer way, but someone with whom he said he shared attorney-client privilege. >> brangham: why duds it matter? why do you need to knhat? >> it's a conflict of interest. you want to know someone is dealing straight. you want to know they're doing it becausehere's favor or they're endebted or there's something we don't know about. >> brangham: last night fox news had alan dershowitz on. he said hannity should have disclosed this.h here's hannity had to say later in the broadcast. >> let me set the record straight. here is the truth: michael cohen never represented me in any

legal matter. i never retained his services.iv i never rec an invoice. i never paid michael cohen for legal fees. i did have occasional brief conversations with michael g coheat attorney, about legal questions i had or i was looking r input and perspective. my discussions with michael cohen never rose tony level that i needed to tell anyone that i was asking him questions. to be absolutely clear,hey never involved any mater, any - sorry to disappoint so many -- any matter between a third party, a third group at all. and my questions focused exclusively almost on real estate. >> brangham: so what do you make of that? >> that last part seems to be trying to get out the message wha this was not part of what michael cohen doesch is to arrange payoffs to women who are making complaints about sexual misconduct.nn

y --. >> brangham: those are the other two. >> those are the other. two he's done that for prd ident trump r the g.o.p. fund-raiser who was the second client. hannity turns out to be the mystery third client. he wanted to be clear, if we can believe him, and it snds somewhat believable, that's not what this was about. so that's what he was ngyi there. t> brangham: fox news issued a statement today thsaid in essence, we did find out about this like the rest of the worl did, but we talked with sean shburn we think this was an informal relati and we're ready to move on. >> brangham: >> is not surprising that fox will not do what they should do, to take disciplinary action to, apologize to uh havers, and possibly to suspend or something more. at a lot of news organizations this kind of deceit would be considered a issible freable offense. but here at fox news, which has such a strong agenda, it's just brushed over. >> brangham: we are ing about the ethics as they pertain

to journalism, but hannity goes to great lengths to say sometimes, i'm in the really an journalist. i'm an opinion guy.ti sos he says he's a journalist. but do these guidelines still a i ply to someone like sean hannity? >> they do. i think whether he calls himself a journalist or not, you know, and sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't, he still is someone a major media figure with the top-rated or has been the top-rated cable news show, who is affecting the way people perceive what's going on in o world. and, you know, clearly a strong ally of president trump, perhaps probably his strongest media ally. so i think because of all that, if fox is going to call itself what it does, fox news, then he works for a news orgzaon and i think he should be subject to reasonable ethical guidelines. >> brangham: this is fox news we're talking about. they have many, many good, talented journalists there, but there is also a decidedly

conservative bent to the mrganization, so do you expect different from t >> i'm not surprised that fox news has not done anythi t. whennk about the other kinds of things they've done in these situations, you know, the long-time sort of stonewalling about ger ailes' sexual misconduct and that of bill o'reilly, you know, they kind o wait as longey can until it affects the bottom line. i don't think here that at this point it doesn't seem likate going to happen, and so they're willing to say, well, we really don't care and there's problem here. >> brangham: the atlantic today put out a report today reporting that another lawyer, jay sekulow, might have done work with sean hannity in regards to a radio station in oklahoma. what do you make of that if true? >> what i make of it, ifrue, is it seems to suggest this is a very close circle that includes president trump, his attorneys, and the people he wors most closely with and depends most closely on in the mead.

-- media. it's not a separation and an adversarial or independent kind of setup. it's all very tight knit, we're all on the same team. >> brangham: a lot still to be figureout about all of this. margaret sullivan, thank you very much. >> thank you. sh woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the nr: how the trump administration approaches asylum requests from women from abroad who are victims of abuse. the latest on the trial of bill cos plus, how a small utah town is using the arts as an economic engine.t rst, the chicago public schools system is one of the largest in the country, and o historically othe most troubled. ars problems, and its efforts to turn things aroundoften watched nationally. but in spite of past troubles,

.hicago schools are reporting academic improveme now, city leaders are hoping to keephings moving forward wit a new boss, who believes school principals are the key. special correspondent kavitha cardoza, with our partner "education week," filethis report from the windy city, fo our weekly segment, "making the grade." >> reporter: calling janice jackson "new" to anyg in chicago public schools isn't quite accurate... >> hi! >> should i bow or curtsy? >> they all work! ( laughter ) >> reporter: jackson has deeps in the system, starting as a toddler in head start. since then... >> i've been a student in c.p.s., a teacher, a principal, k district leader. and the one i thin most important is that role of parent. >> reporter: in january, she ok over as c.e.o. of chicago's school system.

jackson recognized the importance of developing principal leaders ea. >> the media and hollywood portrays educators as these heroic leaders, and you haveer this onen who comes in and changes everything. and i think that can happen, but it's not sustainable, right? i learned very quickly that it takes a team in order to be successful. >> reporter: jackson through george westinghouse college prep, one of the most successful high schools in the state. she was founding principal. >> when i took over, some would say i had big shoes to fill. i said, i have big stilettos to fill. p >> reportencipal patrick mcgill took over from jackson. hes aware of her laser focu supporting principals, because jackson was and, he says, contins to be his mentor. >> right away, i knew she was going to be someone i could learn from. what i didn't know is how much she was really committed to helping me learn how to be a leader. >> reporter: jackson has seen the challenges in chicago schools up close. she was in t fifth grade when the then-u.s. secretary of education william bennett said he didn't know a worse school system than chicago. more recently, the last two

c.e.o.s resigned in disgrace.fo oncorruption... >> i apologize to them.es theyved much more. >> reporter: ...the other for ethical violations. >> i regret my actions, and i've apologized for them. >> reporter: there were teacher strikes and a city-wide uproar when 50 schools were closed. like other big cities, chicago embraced testing, closings and teacher accountability-- ideas that many critics say have not made enough of a difference for student learning. even now, fewer than a third of children in chicago can read and math on grade level. despite the turmoil at the top,o a st study found chicago students are learning at a faster pace than other childreno >> theh rate from third to eighth grade in chicago is the fastest among the 100 large u districts in tted states. it is number one. >> reporter: sean reardon co-authored that study he found that chicago children thre squeezing six years w of learning into five years. >> not just for large districts,

but for all kids in the couny. >> reporter: that growth was for boys and girls of all races. >> it's really impressive that this is a universal change. >> reporter: jenny nagaoka is a researcher with the university of chicago who studi the city's public schools. you know, sometimes in other distris, when you hear of something like this, it could be because teachers and students are more familiar with the test. sometimes, it's teachers are teaching to the tests. sometimes, it's outright cheating. >> people often think when they see that, there's something fishy going on here, but it turns out these improvements are not just happening on one test. we're seeing this across different tests. >> reporter: and nagaoka says it's not just on tests. >> high hool graduation rates are up in chicago over the past ten years. they've gone from 57% to 74%. we're seeing more students going on to college. we've seen improvements in a.c.t. scores. we're seeing improvements in g.p.a.s.

>> reporter: researchersargely credit the district's focus on principals. studies increasingly show a critical link between school leadership and student learning. effective principals support teachers, who in turn support children. >> reporter: steve toz jackson's professor. that's why steve tozer says it's the most effective way to scale up academic success. the numbers are manageable. >> illinois, one othe most populous states, only needs 400 new principals a year. 400 principals, if prepared high level, would significantly improve student learning throughout the state. 400 principals a yeat's half the size of my high school class. this is a scale that we can actually opera at. >> reporter: chicago schools have high concentrations of poverty, like other cities. but it has provided a lot of support and mentoring for principals and a lot of autonomy for successful ones.

district leaders say the proof this strategy works? improved test scores. even so, there are parents and teacher who feel their voicesig are beinred. a flashpoint? school closings. shaasia martin is a parent who's upset about further closing. >> my entire family went here. >> reporter: martin says harper high school, where she and her siblings went for school and whicis her daughter now attends, is an anchor in her troubled neighborhood. she's frustrated that it's one of four area high chools slated se. >> safety is a huge issue, you know? and you are telling me that they've got to go further, into neighborhoods they don't know? >> reporter: jackson has delayed the closstgs until current ents graduate, but says they will close. there are too few students to support programs. but jesse sharkey, with the chicago teachers union, says ere's a reason for the l enrollment. he says the district has starved neighborhood schools of resources, even as several different charter hools have been allowed to open nearby.

>> and while their enrollment has skyrocketed, the enrollment at these neighborhood schools has plummeted. riit's almost like they've to implement a sort of "survivor," kick-people-off-the- island behind a vision of test score competition.>> eporter: sharkey says this is an ongoing effort to privatize education. he says they should e success on more than just test scores. >> let's measure outcomes inte s of, are students able to get trades? are students able to succeed a college? let's measure things like violence in and around schools. >> reporter: parents like anika mathews-feldman agree. >> there's absolutely no trust. you're not working for the chdren in the schools. you're working for whatever the mayor just tells you to do for the schools. >> reporter: jackson knows her biest challenge as c.e.o. building the same kind of trust system-wide that she enjoyed asc ol principal. >> when i became a districtd leader, i notiat people, they love the school, but they don't trust the system.ep >>ter: and she's aware that many see her as mayor rahm emanuel's political appointeed someone caou the mayor's

puppet. si i disagree with that. , e mayor has a that i happen to agree wiand a vision that i thepk works. >> rter: jackson realizes she has plenty of challenges ahead. declining enrollment and enormous debt, and the state is investigating special education services. but, she says she's ready for the job. >> don't let the smile fool you! i believe i have nice blend of high expectations and suort. i believe if you just have high expectations without supportng you're settikids up for failure. and i think if you only support thto, you are supporting the death. really, i just want to get to a place where our students are learning for the sake of learning. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour and "education week," i'm kavitha cardoza in chicago, >> woodruff: from his campaign promises to build a "big,

beautiful wall," to ordering national guard troops to the border, president trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a central theme ofs esidency. amna nawaz reports on the administration's efforts toe toughen les for one group of immigrants: women fleeing from domestic violence. >> reporter: while there is noce evidf an overall increase in people crossing the southern border illegally, the statistics on who is seeking asylum and why are striking. according to the department of homeland security, pri 2011, single adult males made up more than 90% of migrants seeking refuge in the u.s. today, 40% are classified as" families and children," many of whom are women who say they are fleeing domest abuse in their home country.am for more, oined by julia preston of the marshall project. r

attorney g jeff sessions has made it pretty clear that he's sceptical that domestic abuse and what he calls private crimes should be the basis of any kind of asylum claim. he's taking a broad review of the case law and those cases to see if those types of claims should continue to be recognized by the courts. >> reporter: you mentioned a inistration. the adm they have made clear this is part of this. they want to reduce the numb of people who are seeking asylum and refuge here. j isn't tht part of that mission? >> well, certainly the attorney general has the authority to

reach into the immigration urts and pick out cases that he wants to decide for himself. and this is what he's doing in this case with these domestic violence cases. i think it's worth talking a little bit about what's going on in these case, which is these women have really suffered sustained abuse, so in the case that i wrote about f the marshall project, this was a woman who woke up almost on a daily bas to her husband pulling her hair, punching her in the face, w beating herith belts. she had endured this for many years going to w bk withises and lacerations on her body visibly, and sthis is the kind of claim that the women are bringing to the immigration courts. and it's not clea particularly at a moment when sexual abuse and domst abuse is part of the national dialogue and where

the "me too" movement. has had suh an impact on workplaces and on women in the united states, it's not clear how curtailing thirrow avenue that's opened up for these women would actually speed up the process in the immigration courts. >> reporter: julia preston of the marshall project, thurnks fr ime. >> thank you. >> woodruff: prosecutors in the re-trial of bill cosby today judge they are close to wrapping up their case. the first trial ended in a hunge jury las.in now, he is fprosecution again over sexual assault charges. yamiche alciteor gets the . it comes after a judge ruled day that jurors can hear cosby's 2005 testimony, admiing he gave qualudes to women before what he says was consensual sex.te

>> rep jurors spent friday and yesterday hearing from cosby's principal accuser, andrea costand. she asserts the comedian drugged and sexually assault her at his philadelphia home in january 20. cosby claims the encounter was consensual, and that costand-- who took more than $3 million dollars from him in a 2005 settlement-- is a con artist looking toash in. more than 50 women have madesa similar acons against cosby, dating back decades. cosby denies all charges of assault. maryclaire dale is a long-time associated press legal affairs reporter, currently on leave for a neiman fellowship in journalism. she has been in the courtroom throughout both trials, and joins us now from philadelphia. maryclaire, thanks for being here. now, several women have testified during this trial and have accused cosby of usig his celebrity status and drugs to sexually assault them. walk me through what might havee powerful moments in them,

courtrnd what are they saying? >> right. this trial is different in that the judge allowed five other women who accused cosby of drugging and molesting them to take the stand. last year when the crur deadlocked, only one other woman was allowed to testif support constand's accusations. these women include the former supermodel janice dickinson, a colorado music teacher, heidi thomas, and three others, testified to very similar patterns of alleged behavior. they say they went to meet cosby sometimes in a hotel suite or a home that they had gone to to perhaps have an acting lesson or they were hoping that he migh introduce them to other people in the music or entertainment world, things like that. they said that they went there, that maybe they had a sip ofwi , maybe he gave them some pills for a cold that knocked them out, and they werthen sexually assaulted. so the jury heard from these wome d of course, tense came at them, talked about if they had ever had problems in thr

lives, called into question their credibility. many of the women, you know, nonetheless maintain that, you know, their stoies against cosby are true. they acknowledged perhaps problems in their lives but sd this was absolutely true and th, you know, one even said, you remember me, don't you, mr. cosby? >> reporter: talk to me about the "meoo" movement. and what impact it's having on the trial. the first trl happened before the "me too" movement happened. this time around things are differen >> right. it's a very moment, even though it's not even year later. in this trial, you know, for one thing, the jury is somewhat younger this time around, and more importantly, perhaps some jurs who have kept with the "me too" movement during questioning before they made the jury, many of them said they were familiar with the moment and the movement. so the accusations are coming forward in a time when peaps more people are aware of, you

know, the histy that some women have had with sexual harassment or other formsf harassment. in fact, the prosecutors changed their strategy this time. their very first witness they called was an expert, a forensic psychodie tryst, an expert in dealing with sexual assault, both abusers and victims, and he discussed and explained to the jury how it's no uncommon for victims of sexual assault to stay in touch with the abuser. sometimes they have to for family reasons. metimes they want an explanation. sometimes they demand to know what happened. and that is exactly what the p defense inting out andrea constand did. she stayed in touch with him afterward to some exte they had a relationship through her job at temple university where he w a booster of the basketball team for whom she worked. but even aftershe left that job, there was some exact between them, and prosecutors are pointing out that that show that she had a consensual relationship w ph him. they anting her this time

around as a con artist who framed cosby to get the $3.4 midion settlement that he p her in her civil lawsuit. >> reporter: i want to ask you about cause -- cosby's defense attorneys trategy. you talked about painting her as i con artist, but what else are they doing thise around? >> right. it's a very different defense really, because last yearthe judge did not allow jurors to hear about the lawsuit that constand filed against cosby when a former prosecutor declined to arrest him. dee filed a civil lawsuit. after cosby was o give deposition over two years, four days of testimony over two years in which he acknowledged getting quaaludes in the '70s to give women that he wanted to have sex with, and he acknowledgme other patterns of behavior, giving young women, actresses w and modee before sexual encounters, they again say they were knocked outy the wine or the pills.

so that settlement money is coming in, and so the question isn't consent as it was last year. last yr really the whole issue was just was it a cons relationship or was it a consensual encounter. this time they are saying thatis sh con artist and deliberately set out a plan to frame cosby and get this money. k >> reporter: well, thanu so much maryclaire dale of the association. i really appreciate you joining us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: now, how a rural community is using art and architecture to bring fe to the small town of green river, utah. jeffrey brown takes us there, as part of his occasional series, "amerin creators." >> this is a town called green river. >> brown: what kind of futureug should a sing rural town choose? that's the question posed by a

recent exhibition at the utah museum of fine arts in salt lake city. >> maybe that's a fun thing that people could come on vacation and do. >> brown: visitors choose from four options: become a tourist magnet, lure a new industry such as waste recycling, establish a futuristic space research colony, or, withdraw further from the outside world. >> you know, each of them has pros and cons, which is the reality of a real place. if a new industry comes in, there's going to be a lot of new jobs, but maybe we lose thewn small toibe that we really love. >> brown: maria sykes was in charge of the exhibition, but this was no academic exercise. sykes works in the real world of the really small town of green river, 180 miles to the south of salt lake. it's a stunning setting underneath book cliffs in the 1950s and '60s, green nver prospered thanks to uranium mining andrby missile base, swelling the polation to 2,700.

with tho jobs gone, the populations hovers at 950, and the town mostly caters to tourists stoppg briefly on their way to the spectacularur national parkser south. sykes first came here nine years ago. a recent architecture graduate from the university of alabama, she was volunteering for americorps. >> the first thing i saw was the beautiful landscape, of course. and th i saw a lot of potential. we can only do 50 people at a time in the quarry. >> brown: she and two colleagues formed a non-profit called "epicenter," with the goal of using art and architecture to give new energy and life in a rural setting. >> so this is the community center, which was actually the original non-profit where we came to. >> brown: each individual project is necessarily small: a welcome sign at the edge of town. installations from visiting artists. a mountain-biking trail.

a model home the group hopes to replicatfor low-income sidents.t ey are all part of a larger vision. >> architecture isn't justat lookin building. it's looking at how the city is shaped, and then thinking about an we do as citizens to make it a better place to live, through architecture and design. >> brown: initially, says mayor pat brady, there was skepticism from local residents. >> they were outsiders. why are you trying to do all this stuff?ar >> brown: whyou to tell us? >> right. some were calling them socialists. there was so resistance to them because of their thought patterns. they're differen you know, we're pretty set in our ways here. so you have to flow these instructions. >> brown: brady, who in addition to being mayor is alath teacher in a grade 7-12 school of just 90 students, says the town has grown to accept and embrace these "outsiders." what tipped the balance? >> their longevity and willingness to live here, buy houses and become members of the community.

>> hey, guys. >> brown: one approach: epicenter's "fix-it-first"as program, whichelped make minor repairs to dozens of houses in town. architect steph crabtree built two new porches, repaired the roof and installed new windows at the home of karen smith. >> there's no way we could have done it on our own. my husband has a bad back and he physically can't do it. and financially, it was the only way we could affd it. >> we loan them the money to have the repairs done. we're able to either do thela r ourselves or get volunteer labor in to keep costs down. >> brown: that's how you make it work financially?h. >> y and then they pay that back to us at a very low interest rate. >> brown: all around town, signs s- the boom-bust cycle. abandoned buildia bank, gas stations and numerous motels-- are reminders of ous more prosppast. like many rural communities, seen river has seen a mas exodus of young people. >> we ve a lot of great people. students graduate and go off to college.

tht they can't come back, because there's g here for them. >> brown: we met 17-year-old lindsey mcfarland, a star student at green river hig who plans to attend college in the fall, and says she likely wot be able to return to live in this town she loves. >> they just don't have jobs that i'm interested in. so, they have restaurants and stuff, but i'm not really a cook. >> brown: what do you want to do? >> i want to be a biochemical or biomedical engineer. >> welcome! >> brown: but there are signs of life, with epicenter's help. one exception to the exodus is joshua rowley, who grew up here and graduated in a high school class of 16. he went off to salt lake city for college and assumed that's where he'd stay. >> i vowed never to come back. >> brown: you thought you never would. >> oh, no. when i told my siblings and my parents that i was moving back, they just didn'>>t believe it. rown: but then he and his

husband saw a green riveror restaurant fale, one he himself had worked at as a te oager. with ter partners, and rrketing and other assistance from epicenter, thovated the building, updated the menu and opened three boutique guestrooms. business has been good. >> it was the exact opposite of what i thought wheisi left. thero much opportunity here. >> brown: epicenter has also attracted fresh blood, including lartists who appreciate tower cost of living. christopher henderson is a designer and builder who moved here from salt lake city. anna evans is a jeweler and fabric artist from portland. they met doing volunteer work for epicenter, and quickly fell in love with each other and the town. for just $4,000, they purchased an abandoned miniature golf course and are slowly renovating it to create a garden, studio space and eventually, a house.

>> i just wanted to put more effort into my art and have time for that, and not just try to scrape by to live. >> i guess we both sort of realized we were working to stay in the city rather than working for ourselves. >> it's a stationary taco truckb wn: maria sykes is proud of the improvements her organization haselped bring about, but is quick to say the goal isn't radical change. >> i've heard, if there is evert light in this town, i'll move away. and actually, e longer that i tove here, the more i start to like, really relathose folks. we don't want this to look like park city, utah-- >> brown: a ace for wealthy ople? >> exactly. like, want it to be like a pretty down to earth, authentic place, because that's what it is. it's nitty-gritty here. >> brown: no grand plans then, but a mix of art and economic development th might help foster a healthy future. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in green riv, utah.

>> woodruff: later tonight on pbs, "frontline" presents a film about senator john mccain, who recently underwent surgery at the mayo clinic. "mccain" examines how the g.o.p. has changed across his political lifetime, and how the choice of sarah palin as vice president might have contributed to the rise of president trump. on the newshour online right now: the latest poll from pbs newshour, npr and marist finds that public support has slightly decreased for special counselbe mueller's investigation into the trump campaign's alleged russia ties, and that support for the f.b.i. may show signs of slipping.ad you can ll about our survey findings on our website,o www.pbs.org/ne.

and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again right here tomorrow evening. r all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. v working withionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.>> arnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. m >> this progs made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by nehour productions, llc captioneby media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

welcome to the future. pbs digital. elyse: we're the history detectives, and we're going to investigate some untold stories from america's past. tukufu: this week, was this baseball signed by legendary dizzy dean? ro and did it play a in the integration of major league baseball? ow [ crd cheering ] wes: was this mysterious spyglass used by a secret southern sympathizer during the civil war [ gunfire ] gwendolyn: did one man's invention uncork america's richest oil fields td build one biggest fortunes in the country? ♪ watchin' the detectives ♪ i get so angry en the teardrops start ♪ ♪ but he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart ♪