captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on t newshour tonight, a secret mission-- president trump confirms that the c.i.a. eddirector whom he's nomino be secretary of state, met with north korea's leader kim jong- un. what this means for nuclear negotiations going forward. then, we remember the matriarch a political dynasty. reflections on the life and legacy of barbara bush. h >> s a very fortunate life and a very fortunate end in many ways. woodruff: and, what's behind the racial disparity in maternal mortality in the u.s. and what can be done to bridge the gap. all that on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> woodruff: the nation's chief spy, and possibly, soon-to-be chief diplomat, has washington buzzing tonigh mike pompeo's andestine mission to pyongyang sought to lay the groundwork for a u.s. - north korea summit. william brangham begins our coverage. >> brangham: the news broke last night just as president trumppa was hosting se prime minister shinzo abe at mr. trump's private club in palm beach, florida. this morning, mr. trump confirmed that mike pompeo, c.i.a. director and secretary of state-designate had met secretly with north korean leader kimov jong u easter weekend, in north korea. the president tweeted: "the meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. details of summit are being worked out now." that unprecedented summit could me in may or early june, and the effort to roll back northa' konuclear program will be

topic a. at his confirmation hearing lass thursday, pompke hopefully about the upcoming trump-kim summit.pt >> i'mistic that the united states government can set the conditions for that appropriately so that the president and the north korean leader can have that convsation, will set us down the course of achieving a diplomatic outcome that america d so desperately, america e world so desperately need. >> brangham: the c.i.a. director never mentioned, in public or behind closedoors, that he had already met with kim. the chairman of the reign relations committee, republican bob corker, welcomed the news today. >> i'm fine with i i really am. i've known for a long, long time that the backchannels we've had with north korea have been through our intelligence agencies and the c.i.a. in particular, so i think it's natural he would be a person that would be a first contact. >> brangham: but the committee's ranking democrat, bob menendez, was highly critical of pompeo's omission, and said that as asu , he'll oppose his nomination.

>> if truth and being forthcoming as the secretary of state nominee is one of therd standas we'd like to see for the next secretary of state, iin k he failed that. >> brangham: pompeo, while on the hill today lobbying for hisn nomination, wo answer questions about the visit. despite that, president trump waved off any concerns today about his nominee's prospects. >> i think he's gorog to come thugh. i think mike pompeo is extraordinary. i think mike pompeo will go down as one of the great secretary of states.ng >> braham: china's leader xi jinping had his own summit with kim jong un, in beijing, last month. today, a spokeswoman for china's foreign ministry again encouraged the u.s. to formalize s own summit plans. >> ( anslated ): we welcom the united states and north korea beginning direct contacts and dialogues. as the saying goes, well begun is half done. we hope the dialogueill be carried out smoothly and yield good outcomes. >> brangham: japan is less

enthusiastic about all this, and north korea figured high on th trump-abe agenda this week. but the prime minister was careful not to sound criti when he spoke to reporters yesterday. >> ( translated ): both japan and the united states have been demonstrating leadership in applying the maximum pressure campaign against north korea which actually successfully made the north korean side start seeking dialogue with us. so it is fair to say that our approach has proven to be successful and the right one. >> brangham: at the same time, tokyo is demandi that north korea abandons its medium-range ballisc missiles, the kind that have already flown over parts of japan. the japanese are also insisting on the release of their citizens who were abducted by the north decades ago. meanwhile, diplomatic efforts between north and south korea are also picking up steam. kim jung un and south korea's president moon jae in are to n met week in the demilitarized zone between their nations.to they hopay the groundwork for a peace treaty formally urding the korean war. for the pbs newsi'm

william brangham. >> woodruff: we'll getake of one of president trump's advisers on the pompeo visit to north korea, later in the ewogram. in the day's other internatnal inspectors were again denied access to the site a suspected chemical attack in syria. the visit to the town of douma was called off after u.n. security team faced gunfire there on tuesday. meanwhile, u.s. lawmaks from both parties are voicing concerns about president tru's authority for last weekend's missile strikes against syria. syria's neighbor iran put its military might on display today and issued a defiant warning against would-be attackers. soldiers marched through the streets of tehran, missiles rolled by and jets flew overhead to mark "nional army day." president hassan rouhani said iran needs its growing arsenal, regardless of sanctions. >> ( translated ): we tell the world that we will produce or acquire any weapons we need, and

will not wait for their approval. we do not seek their view on. th we never have and we never will we are not living in a normal region, and we see invading powers have built bases around us. they maintain an illegal presence. >> woodruff: u.s. sanctions on iran will resume unlesst presidump again grants a waiver next onth. in the meantime, britain, france and germany roposed new european sanctions.as cuba's nationambly moved today to name a new president, as raul castro gets ready to step down tomorrow. the 86-year-old leader entered the chamber with miguel diaz- canel, his designated successorh bull remain head of the communist party, the island nation's mt powerful post. raul castro took over as president after fidel castro, his brother, fell ill in 26. back in this country, a power failure blacked out all of puerto rico, for the first time since hurricane "maria" struck last september.

officials said an excavator accidentally took out a transmission line. it's the second major outage to hit the u.s. territory in less than a week. officials say it could take 24 to 36 hours to restore power. fire crews in oklahoma fought to corral wildfires that have burned since last week. the flames have swept through drought-stricken land, destroying homes and barns and killing at least two people. the largest fire has burned more than 400 square miles and is only 3% contained. oday of two women who sa they had affairs with president trump in 2006.io the "nl enquirer's" parent company released former playboy playmate karen mcdougal from a deal that barred her from and, on twitter the president mocked porn star stephanie clifford.e he said a picte released, purportedly of a man who threatened her, "a total con

job". americans got an extra day, today, to fi federal income tax returns. the i.r. online was down most of tuesdayw due to a he failure, so the agency moved the deadline back, 24 hours.an returnpayments are now due by midnight tonight. and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average lost 38 points to close at 24,748. the nasdaq rose 14 points, and the s&p 500 added two. still to come on the newshour: the enduring legacy of first lady barbara bush. what's at stake after the c.i.ar dire meeting with kim jong un. and the strikingly high infant and maternal mortality rates among black americans.

>> woodruff: she was a wife and mother to presidents, but a lack of pretention and a sense of humor that could be self- ecating were what endear barbara bush to the american people. she stood out in a crowd, with a shock of white hair that earned her the family nickname "silver fox." it was part of barbara bush's atermination to be hersel she recalled in 2004 for a pbs documeary. >> who's jealous of an overweight white haiman? nobody. so i think that was in my benefit in a way. >> woodruff: the future first lady was born barbara pice in new york city in 1925, to marvin and pauline pierce. her father was president of mccall corporation, of "redbook" and "mccall" magazine fame. the family lived in rye, new york, where barbara grew up with three siblings. from there, she went off to smith college, but in 1945, she

dropped out to marry george bush, who was on leave from the navy. they'd met four years earlier. the couple moved to texas in 1948 with their first child, aw. son, georg he was soon joined by a sister, robin. but she developed leukemia and died at the age of three, a tragedy th family.ch the three othedren followed, and barbara went on to oversee to 27 moves as her husband's career took them around the world. from texas, where he built his fortune in the oil fields, to politics and public life. r the 1960's and '70's, barbara was by his side o losing u.s. senate bids, a winning campaign for a u.s. house seat, and stints as u.n. ambassador, chair of t republican party and c.i.a. director. in 1980, he ran r president

and ultimately ended up as ronald reagan's runninmate. as a political spouse, barbara bush's wry sense of mor endeared her to many, but, she later acknowledged, it didn't suit everyone. >> i tried to behave myself, but i'm a little impulsive, so occasionally i said things i was sort of sorry i said, but i think i believe them. caused her trouble in 1984 when she referred to galdine feraur oh, the democratic vice presidential nominee, as something that "rhymes with rich." mrs. bush quickly she remained plain-spoken after her husband won the white house for himself in 1988. right from the start, the new first lady set a new tone, downplaying fashion, for , in sharp contrast with her predecessor, nancy reagan. >> please notice the hair, the

makeup, designer clothes. ( laughter ) ( applause ) and remember, you may never see it again. >> woodruff: in 1989, she even wore camouflage gear on a trip to saudi arabia during the first gu war to visit with u.s. troops at thanksgiving. mrs. bush also made dogs a fixture in the firsty's life. millie, their springer sniel, had the run of the white house. >> this is pickles. >> woodruff: millie produced a famous litter of puppies, displayed before the washington press corps when they were just a few days old. >> do you really want to keep on >> well, i haven't won that battle. >> woodruff: in time, mrs. bush was inspired to write a best- selling children's work, titled "millie's book." she reminisced about it in 2012 at the george w. bush presidential library. >> she made over a million

dollars for charity. as george says, i worked all my life, got the highest job maybe in the world, and my dog made more money than i did. >> woodruff: writing her own book was jus campaign for literacy in america. rbara bush took an active role in several literacy organizations, including the onn she d. >> remember we have a new baby. in the hou i have now spent more thanin5 years promfamily literacy as i truly believe that being able to read, write and comprehend is one of the keys to a very successful, happy life and that a literate society is important to keeping our country safe and strong. >> woodruff: b when it came to her husband's presidency, the first lady turned political fighter. she staunchly defended his failed re-election bid in 1992, in a newshour inrview at the republican national convention. >> what's the matter with

americans? you're in the best shape of anyonen the world. don't americans know that when you achieve peace it costs money? peace is costly. we ought to be willing to pay for the fact that we go to bed every single night of our life freer and safer because of george bush. things are turning judy, and they are coming to a strong economy. but we're going to have to all work for it. but it's because we all have peace and we ought to be darn grateful to george bush. >> woodruff: eight years later, she was back campaigning again, this time for her son, george w. bush, in his 2000 presidential run. re she was in new hampshire. >> thank you for all you'rein for my boy. >> woodruff: and in 2016, sheed campaiet again in new hampshire with another son, je u as he made himately-failed bid, for the republican nomination. >> it's great to be n new

hampshire. ople have good values. >> woodruff: mrs. bush made one of her last public appearances in march, th her husband and presidential scholars, in college station, texas. campaigner, literacy advocate, first lady, mother, and wife; and, as her faly described barbara bush, their linchpin. barbara bush was 92 years old. in dallas today, her eldest child, president george w. bushu openabout his family's loss. he sat down with the pbs public affairs show "in principle," hosted by amy holmes and michael gerson, who, we should disclose, served as one of the younger president bush's white house aides. mr. bush began by discussing his father, and how he was mourning. >> i'm very appreciative of th outpouring of sympathies, particularly for my dad, you know. at age 93, he's going to miss mother. after all, they were married for 73 years. i'm comfortable with herg passin

because she was comfortable with her passing. and she told me point blank, "i do not fear death. i know there's a loving god." and i told our daughters and my brothers and sisters, "wow, what a beautiful, beatiful lesson." i don't want to sound cavalier, but i truly am at peace, and i feel very blessed. plus my mother, i can just hear her saying, "get on with your life and do something good." >> what advice did your mom give you about being prident of the united states? >> keep your eye on the ball, ke your nose on the grin grindstone, and i told her, "that's a hell of a position to be in." >> a little awkward? >> yeah. a lot of psycho-babble about my relationship with my parents during the presidency, and it's natural, because people haven't had a chance to ask many presidents what it's like to be president with your father being a former president and mother former first lady.th

an most important thing they told me was, "son, i lond you,e're proud of you." which is the most important thing any parent can tell a child. >> so, mr. president, did you have a chance to say good-bye to your mom? >> iid, yeah. laura and you went over and saw her at the hospital. she was doing pretty well, feisty still, which is a good sign. she and i used to needle each other in a friendly way. and then a doctor walked into eris hospital room and moth said, "do you want to know why george w. is the way he is, doctor?" and the doctor didn't have any choice. and mother said, "because i drank and smoked when i was pregnant with h." so i knew she was feeling pretty good. and then a week later she went downhill. she chose no-- didn'tant to have any life-sustaining care. in other words, she was ready to move. and they made her comfortable. atd i called her yesterday, when i had the sense she was ready to go. she couldn't talk back, but i told her how much i loved her. and my brothers and sisters did

the same thing. and then she was by dad's side. interestingly enough, he sat th, e for, you knowur, five hours, i'm told, and a preacher came in and read the bible, and my brother neal read "mom's memoirs." >> oh, wow. >> it sweet seen when you think about it. >> that is sweet. >> she had a very fortunate life and a very fortunate end in many ways. >> woodruff: you can watch the full interew friday night at 8:30, on pbs's "in principle." and in a statement, the elder presidenbush said, "i always knew barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact i used to tease her thap i had a x about that fact. we have faith that she is in heaven, and we know life will go on, as she would have it. so cross the bushes off your worry list." now, for a deeper look at the former first lady's life, i'm joined by c. boyden gray, who was white house counsel to president george h.w. bush and remains a close personal friend

to the bush family. reverend bonnie steinroeder, who served as the pastor at theeb church in kennunkport that the bush family attended during their summers in maine. and susan page, white house bureau chief for "usa today," and author of the upcoming book "the matriarch: barbara bush and the making of an american dynay," which will be out ne year. and thank you all three for joining us. we do appreciate it. boyden gray, i'm going to starth ou. it's so remarkable to me, we just heard both president bushes comment witweh this, sayin are comfortable with this. she was comfortable with her passing. we heard h.w. bush say, "cross hethe bushes off worry list." that tells you a lot about her is and her family. >> isays a great deal. she went out the way she lived her life. she did it her way, she did it honestly, she did it straightforwardedly. it was a dignified way to go. those of us who work with the feel so lucky to have been

exposed to such to such love yd strength. >> woodruff: susa've been working on this book, which we mentioned, about barbara bu that's coming out next year. and i was struck, one of the things-- you said you've en struck by how she was often misperceived, underestimated by people. what did you mean by that? >> well, e of the reasons i thought she deserved a biography is that people had, i think, perception of her as a warm grandmother and a very soft-- the national grandmother with the white hair and the big pearls. and that's true that she's a warm grandmother. but e was also pretty sharp. she had great political instincts. she did not hesitate to expressh herself and opinions to her husband and her sons.sh and i thinwas influential in the white house in a way that people perhaps didn't understand. it's not that she took over health care, like hillary clinton. but she was a voice in the ear

of her husbd and her son on what mattered, on what to focus on, and on who to trust. she could spot a phony a mile away. >> woodruff: pas steinroeder, you met the bushes when you were-- you had just begun, i think, working at the church in kennebunkport. and you said it was right after 9/11,nd you said mrs. bush came over to you, made a point r of coming ove you. talk about that bher. >> weas, so, it a sunday after 9/11. i had been scheduled to give my call sermon at the church where i would preach, everybody would vote on me. 9/11 happened on tt tuesday, so i ripped up my sermon, i showed up my first time in this church. i looked out and the president's parent. you know, president george bush, barbara bush. i don't remember what i said, i just preached the best i could. and afterwards she camup to me

and she hugged me, and she said, "your words so comforted . i'm so glad you're our new pastor." and what i realized in tha moment twasn't me who had comforted her.or she was comfng me. i feel like that set the tone for our whole relationship. >> woodrf: and you told us that you went on to have a great friendship withm. boyden gray, i want to come back to you. there are so many parts of her life that are really i want to go back to what susan was saying about barbara bush's influence in the white house on w r husband. d you see that? >> well, she-- she was on top of everythie. she didn't involved, as susan said, in individual policies, except very, very rarely. but she knew everything. she was politically ry, very astute. and if she thought staff was not serving her husband well, or that somebody was cutting corners, she would let it be known, quietly, but strongly. and no one ev messed around when she was watching so she was an enormous watchdog

for him, and she wasn enmous tower of strength. she never flinched. she never blinked. and she always ted him to the fullest. tnership remarkable p that they had. >> woodruff: susa n, what'san example of that. you talked to us about the difficult, the painful times that she went through, and often we didn't have any idea that that was going on. >> you know, it's true. she is from a very exalted lineage. she had a direct ancestor come over on the "mayflower." she's a distant cousin to the 14th president, franklin peerls. and, of course, she had lived a life of privilege and position. but sheha the grief and pain that people have in thei she lost a daughter to leukemia. she had a battitleh depression in 1975. templatedme she con suicide at that time. she was diagnosed with graves disease soon after becoming first lady. that was something that caused

her great difficulty up to the-t forever, unt end of her lie. but in ways that she never-- you know, e never complained-- at least she never complaipped in public. she was very-- she was stoic. and she told me that the struggle with depression, for instance, gave her-- >> woodruff: which a lot ofen people w aware of. >> weren't aware of. ae disclosed it in her memoirs. people didn't knut it at the time. her struggles with depression gave her empathy with peole who were having trouble. she came to learn that you really nd sometimes to seek help. and she said she wished at that point she had done >> woodruff: and pastor steinroeder, you saw that in? her, didn't yo >> i totally saw that in her. when susan was saying in the beginning that people ceend of misunderstd her, she was-- yes, she was strong and smart and kind and funny, and all of those things. and i received her love. i also was scolded by her more than one time. and she just had theig bgest

heart and was a very compassionate and generous person. and i just want to add, you know, a lot of people will help you if you go and ask. barbara bush never waited to be asked. she looked around to see where the need was, and then she stepped into that need to help other people, which is one thing that for me made her so unique and special. >> woodruff: pastor steinroeder, i want to stay with you for just a moment, because one of the things you talked with us about is how you at some point-- they invted you to many events at their home in kennebunkport, and often youe were tly democrat there, or there would be democrats with republicans. how did you observe the partisanship around heem. >>were the most eye know it sounds fun tow say-- they were the mostsaonparpeople i have ever met. i mean, they knew that i was a democrat. they never brought it up. they were friends with everybody. their events were people like

olympia snowe, former senator of maine,hat i took to be some fundraisers and my husband and i. but everyone got along. and, again, they were so generous in spirit. and as their pastor, i can say, they took very seriously their rhristian calling to help thei neighbor, to love their neighbor as themselves. and their neighbor didn't have red or blue or man or woman or whatever station you were in life. they picked thei they helped people because they were loving and they cad. >> woodruff: boyden gray, i want to you pick up on thatbe use those values carried over to the bush presidency, toe not only r four years in the white house when he was president, but the time as vice president. their time throughout their lives in public service. >> well, they werincredibly generous with their time and their atteion. and they helped everybody in the family, in their family, everybody who worked with them, for them, in every way they could. it was the role mod they'll they

set was extraordinary.an i just hope that we can maintain this, using her life as an example, and 41's example. extraordinary couple. and-- but at the same time, very warm and very-- and very loving. and they-- you kno, as a partial matter, they helped me raise my daughter, and i'm ve grateful for that. one sort of anecdote, when daughter was graduating from high school, she wrote president bush and said, "would you come and speak at my graduation?" and he immediately replied yes. and barbara stepped in and said, o george you can't do that. you refused toy of your grandchildren's graduations and ofu'll do that for the rest your life and nothing else so you can't do it for eliza." but the thought remained, and that was what was important.u >> woodruff:n, on this whole business of how open they were to both political parties,

and, yet, there was tension with reis president, wasn't t >> yes. well, you know, barbara bush was a fierce defender of her family, against y critics of her husband or of her son, either son, all of her sons. but when donald trump was so caustitoward jeb bush during the 2016 primaries, i think she found that icry difft to take, and she made it clear she didn't like that. and she expressed concerns to me io interviews in recent months about the direof the party that she's been part of for so long. and i think one reason we see such a big outpouring today is i think other ericans think are we headed in the right direction? can we revive some of the civility that marked the bushes? >> woodruff: and suld note that mrs. trump, melania trump, the first lady, is going toervices, but it's our understanding that president trump is not attending. is that correct? >> well, i know that she's accept and he has not yet. >> woodruff: has not yet, so we don't know whether he is or

not. pastor steinroeder, you spoke, you touched on this a minute o, her strong faith. that was clearly a huge part of r life. i mean, from what you were telling us. >> it was a huge parert of life, and of president bush's life as well. and you could see it through everything. you could see it in their relationship. you could see it in theti moti that they felt to help other people, to be good people, to be nd, to be generous. we talked about faith quite a bit. t she was never heavy handed about her faith because she was-- i don't even peopleiz re but my experience of her is she was also very private in many ways. so she was very clear about her faith. she would help anybody. but she never tried to force h viewdz or her beliefs on anybody else. bably do think that's pro what helped her at the end of her life to have that sense ofca peace e we had talked a long, long time ago about her beliefs shashe knew she would be reunited with the people she

loved whohad gone before her. >> woodruff: boydon gray, you were in touch wh the family, in the past, you have been very close to them. but you've been getting regular reports in the last few weeks. how did she approach the end? >> well, the same way she did life. eas i saidlier, she wanted to go out with the dignitthat she always lived with and always exhibited. and she didn't want to be felt sorry for. she wanted to go out with the kind of grace that exemplifiedli hee. and she did it. and it's a great example, and 's something that i hope all americans look at, because ts is the way-- this is the way to finish off a fabulous, fablous life. >> woodruff: and her sons were saying keeping her humor til the very end. >> very end. having a bourbon right before she died. ( laughter )

>> woodruff: literahe day or so before. >> yes. >> woodruff: well, it is so nderful to be able to remember such a remarkable woma boyden gray, susan page, pastor steinroeder, thank you all much. >> thank you for having me. >> woodruff: a short time ago e president and japanese prime minister shinzo abe metrt res at mar-a-lago, mr. trump's florida estate. the president spoke ciain of the anted summit later this spring with north korea's kim jong-un, and of the primeni er's role in bringing

north korea closer to the bargaining table. >> during our visit to asia in november, we had tremendous success enlisting support for our campai of maximum pressure on the north korean regime. as you know, i will be meeting with kim jon-un in the coming weeks to discuss the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. hopefully, that meeting will be a great success, and we're looking forward to it. it would be a tremendous thing for north korea and a tremendous thing for the world. so we will bedoing everything possible to make it a worldwide success-- not just for the s unittes or south korea or north korea or japan, but for the entire world. we hope to see the day when the whole korean peninsula can liveh

to in safety, prospatriot, and peace. this is the destiny of the korean people who deserve andon have through so much over the years. we hope it all works out. we'll be trying very hard. i want to thank the prime minister for his insight and support over the past year as we ha pursued the dream of a peaceful nuclear-free korea. >> woodruff: that's president erump speaking just a short tim ago. so now we're joined by our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor. yamiche, the president referring to this meeting a few weeks ago between c.i.a. director mike pompeo, th norean leader. what are we learning about that? end what do we know about th meetings the president is having right now with the japanese prime minister? >> well, the president hasri characd the meeting that mike pompeo had with kim jong-un as something that wasve productive. he said the meeting went smoothly. he tweetedut this morng. and he said that he is now

looking forward to some sort of diplomacy with north korea. the prime minister of japan really made it very clear that one of his top priorities with meeting with this president, with meeting with president trump, is that he wanted to work on the denuclearization of north korea. he said it was his top priority. that's what he wanted to talk about. and it seems president trump is take a different ton. before we remember the back-and-forth between him and the leader of north korea where they were name calling. in this case, it seems as though things are getting a little bit under way and going oothly. >> woodruff: there has been some reporting with whether the japanese are entirely on board wi o what's goi what are we learning about the conversations between president ptrump and the japaneme minister in terms of the relationship between the two leaders, the countries? >> well, theelationship is one that is both-- they both havehi this--- they really want the goal to have north korea be denuclearized. but they also have this idea of trade. has saidesident trum he wants to work with japan, and the prime minister has really

sidentto flatter the p by saying he's taking a very leading voice on north korea there's also this idea tt president trump thinks that the trade that we have with japan right now is not fair, and he wants to of japan to pay more. he wants japan to be buying more military planes. he said that in his speech, in the press conference today. so there's this idea that he really wants japan to beef up what they're doing in terms ofng bustuff from the u.s. and that's where things could get a little shaky. it seems as thoughight now-- they played all day playing golf, it seemsike they're trying to get to know each other and things seem to be going smoothly. >> woodruff: it's ating to watch, all taking place at mar-a-lago. yamiche alcindor, thank you very much. >> woodruff: now a view from the white house on mike pompeo's trip to north korea and thepl atic state of play between north korea and the u.s. we turn to victoria coates, special assistant to the r esident and senior direc the national security council.or vi coates, welcome. >> judy, thank you for having

me. >> woodruff: we heard t president say just then that he's going to be meeting with north korea's leader i coming weeks. does that mean this meeting is definitely, for sure, is going to happen? >> he was actually a little bit more specific earlier on today. he said early june if not a little bit befo. so i would say that sounds pretty confirmed to me. >> woodruff: the reason i'm asking s specifically about whether it's on is because the other day the president said,l, "we may be meeting or we may not be meeting." so there's no doubt in your min the meeting is happening. >> there's no doubt in my mind they intend to meet but we have to remekoer the nortans have a vote as well. a lot of this discussion has been contingent on their willgness to talk about denuclearization. and that is our goal so if for some reason they were to do something, i could see that being a spoiler. but i think from our perspective, given the very constructive meetings director ingpeo had, and the tone com out of north korea right now, we would be very hopeful. >> woodruff: well, let's talk

about those meetings that mr. pompeo had with north korea's leader, highly unusual. we weren't expecting it.p it was a sse, kept a secret for a while. what came out of those meet sntion what did the lunited statarn about the north korean leader from those meetings? >> well, i mean, as you, know that's the first time since 2000, that we've had a meeting on that vel. and i think it was very important before we go in to any proposed presid engagement that we have someone the president very much trusts, somebody who can speak for the president, meet with that person, take their measure.i i'm not to speak to the details of the meet, but you can imagine whatind of sort of preparation and detail that you'd go throug and, also very much, as i said, to establish that our goal forth peninsula is something that they're willing to talk about and consider. >> woodruff: well, are they prepaed? i mean, we've been told-- >> they've said that yes, they are. >> woodruff: so thateans completely dismantling this program that they've spent years building up, spending money on,

pouring all their time and energy building up, tat they're prepared to completely get rid of it? >> well, they're at least willing to have that conversation. and we've been very clear that the verifiable, complete, and ir-reversible dismantlement of that nuclear program is our goal. sohey know going in tha that is what we're looking for. when president trump came into, offie thing he made very clear is that he was gog put this campaign of maximum pressure on so we've spent a great deal of time and energy over the last 15 months applying that pressure. we've gotten excellent support out of,bviously, south korea and japan. s 've also had some support from china, which en unprecedented. and i think that really is starting to have an effect. >> woodruff: are you already looking at how do you verifyhe once dismantle? >> that's always-- trust but verify. it is always the very difficult thing, is to get an inspections program in place that you are confident that, indeed, your goal has been met.

soobody is making light of this task. i think it will be extremely difficult, but so far, we, i think, have reason to be >> woodruff: and we know that we've been mentioning the president's meeting today and yesterday with the japanese prime minister. one thing the japanese are concerned about, they say, is conventional weapons. even if the nuclear program goes away, they're worried, because they're so close, about north korea's conventional weapons program. is that going to be part of these talks? >> well, i think we cerainly ve to address it. i think that's definitely a lesson from our experience with iran a couple of years ago, that we do need to pay attention to a full arsenal, and as the president said in the pressce conferhe's very aware of japan's proximity to northa. ko i mean, i think that was clear last year when the prime minister was at mar-a-lago the previous time, and there was that test, and you could see on the map how close it campaigns to japn. that's a very different reality that they have to face. and the president early appreciates it.

>> woodruff: another thing r,at we are-- that has been raised is whets part of this negotiation over the meeting, the north kortoans promisin return the three americans who are still being held in detention in north korea. are-- are-- is the administration talking to them about that? do you expect those people will be released? the president has been very clear that the return of stly detained american citizens is a top priority for this administration. he's worked very hard on if. there are a number of who have personally engaged with some of the-- some of the families. we have a large number of people who work on it. so i think he has made that very clear, and i think his raising the japanese detained citizens was a significant moment in the press conference today. that's, obiously, a top priority for the japanese. so i don't want to speak to conditions or p anything like that. but, certainly, i think he's been very, ry clear th he wants our people back. >> wdruff: these were japanese citizen who were taken in the 1970s and 80s. what a fut the locati the

meeting? is pyongyang one of the places you're look at? >> we've heard so many different nlaces. i mean, it's blmost like a global tour. i've heard sweden, fand, mongolia, vietnam. i think the answer to that question, given the number of places is nobody knows yet. >> woodruff: is pyog a possibility? >> i have not seen that raised internally as aitossib but since i don't think anybody knows, anything could be possible. >> woodruff: do you come away-- does the administration come away with a better understanding of this opaqueme refter mr. pompeo's meeting? ca oh, absolutely. >> woodruff: wha you say about him or about his >> i think it's very important to get that firsthand knowledge. and, obviously, i wasn't there, so i don't want to put words in director pompeo's mouth. but he is a very astute student of human nature. he is very talented at putting himself in somebody else's

shoes. because as we look at the north koreansegime, it inexplicable to us. why would you spend your money and energy on this? you know, what is your motivation for doing that. g and i thiting that kind of perspective, so you understand, you know, what is theicur ency. what are they looking for in this negotiation would be enormously helpful to the director. and tht's something he's, obviously, highly trained at. >> woodruff: and you're saying that some neatw infon came across. >> well, definitely you're going to get-- obviously, from meeting somebody firsthand, it's always very, very different from seeing them on screen. so... >> woodruff: victoria coates from president trump's national security council, thank you very much. >> it's a pleasure. thank you, judy. >> woodruff: the united states has a problem with maternal mortality and it's onehat's been getting worse. the u.s. is one of only 13

countries where the death rate is worse now than it was 25 years ago, and among the worst of wealthiest countries in the world. between 700 and 900 american women die each year from problems related to pregnancy, childbirth or complications up to a year later. there are as many as 50,000 cases annually where women face dangerous and even life- threatening situations. as part of our ongoing series race matters, amna nawaz looks at why it's dramatically worse among african-american women. it's the focus of this week's tigment, "the leading edge." >> nawaz: the stat are stunning. dack infants are more than twice as likely as white infants, a racial disparity that is wider today than in 1850, 15 e ars before the end of slavery. and black women ree to four times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women. for a closer look at what's behind those numrs,

we turn to linda villarosa. her in-depth report on the subject ran in the "new york times magazine." and monica simpson, executive director of siersong, the country's largest organization dedicated to reproductive justice for women of color. in 2014, she testified before the united nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination. linda and monica, welcome to the "newshour." linda, i'd like to start with help us understand these numbers. what is going on in america, in the lives of blak women, in our medical communities that's causing this? >> well, what i found in my reporting were really two things, both related to race. the first was that simply the experience of living in america as a black woman does somhing to your body that causes low birth weight babithat causes maternal mortality, that causes fant mortality. second, is that there is a kind of racism in the health caresy em, and most of it

unconscious. it's a kind of bias that's existed for a long time that we've knon about, that is affecting the birth experiences of black women i america. >> nawaz: so, monica, let me ask you now, because this conversation about t black-white disparity, it's long centered on things like wealth r and educatioht, the ideal ted womenr, less-edu are likely to have negative outcomes. but we heard the story of sena williams who had her own serious complications during her delivery and she shared them very publicly. that tntd conversation on its head. is that kind of experience more common than prevlyiohought? >> unfortunately, it's very common. and what is so critical about this, this issue, is that weju came out of black maternal health week. the black momma's matters alliance from this important work that we did that we took to the u.n. we were actually picking up stories like this and hearing this across the board from so a many black womoss this country. wt it didn't matter what their

socioeconomic stat. it didn't matter, you know, what their education level was. here we are looking at serenaw williams, in p was the world's best athlete. she definitely has support. she's definitelyot dealing with, you know, economic issues. and she still was deal with the fact that she almost lost her life after ging birth. thissistic we can see the thread, right, through her story and so many women, black women across the country. unfortunately, their outcomes were still just no-- they were not apar >> nawaz: linda, i want to dig into someth about the other things happening in women's lives. you tell the story of a woman whose daughter is stillborn, her medical story begins and ends with the pregnancy and the delivery. but in your rort you trace her story back much, muffle further. tell me why that is important, why an understanding of that completetory is necessary to understand why things end up the way they do. >> iwhthint her story told

was really a story of empathy. so you could real understand what women go through during pregnancy and childbirth. and her baby died, and she almost died in 2016om preeclamp sia. and that is high blood pressure during pregnancy. so when she ended up getting pregnant again a yea later, she was terrified, so she really t becauselot of supp she was very much afraid of coming home empty-handed again. and i think telling that stoy really is a story of humanity. it's a story of reslience. and it allows people to really cnderstand what is happening in the lives of bk women today. >> nawaz: and you used a couple of phrases in your report i'd love for you to explain. "toxic stress" an "weathers." how do those work in the context of this conversation? >> so when you hear the word tress," you kind of think of, "oh, i feel really stressed out or i need toake a chill pill or relax." but really, toxic stress is the

result of aggressions that happen to you and insults that happen to you, and in this ce, race related. "ican be everything from feel that i'm treated differently. people think i'm less intelligent," to "i am being discriminated against by the police in housing and in my worke ace." and thtually it's been prove than those have a physical effect on the by because every time you get stressed out in this way, and if it happens repeatedly, all of your systems fire up. and if yourystems continually fire up, they break down. and "weathering" is the ideal because of these repeated insults and this repeated firing up the system, the body ages prematurely. d so-- and it's not on the outside. i mean it could be, but it's on the inide. and that all comes to a head auring what is essentially stress test of a woman's body, and that is pregnancy and childbirth. >> nawaz: and, lindh awhen you say that it's been proven, i

nt to be clear aboutis, linda, in your report you talk about the body of evidence, the statistical evidence, that tracesack years and year tell me about that. >> one thing-- well, how i learned about it-- specifically, infant mortality-- hoi learned about the discrepancy between an educated black woman has a c highance of her baby dying than a white woman with an eighth grade education was in 1992 when one of my professors in grad sool handed me a study that had this, this kind of data in it. and it was in the "new england jourl of medicine." d i argued with him. and he said, "no, this is real." and i went back and talked t one of the women who was an author of that studouy,now, several months ago, and she had collected 174 studies that were saying similar things, whether they were about race in the-- you know, the effect of race on the body, or the effecof race in health care. and i said, "my gosh. you have 74 footnotes here, 174

footnotes." and she said, "you have to prove things. you can't juay 'it's race'. so this is a thing. >> nawaz: so, monica, i want to ask y about thisow. there is, obviously, the lived experience that contributes to thisand there is also, as y mentioned, what happens, or what we now know happens by and large to women of color, particularly black women, inside the health care system. you testified about that racial disparity before the united nations. what if anythings being done to address that so far? >> absolutely. one, we have to address the fact e have lack of medicaid expansion in this country and the lack of accss to health care. it's still huge. in the south overw elmingly, we at we didn't see an expansion of medicaid. so thousands of people are still left without access to their basic health care. we also looked at the fact that, unfortunately, we are still dealing with abstinence-only education that doesn't give a comprehensive, you know, overview for folks for them to

understand their body an happens to their bodies and to help people plan and think about what they want for their lies. that is also very critical to this had. and then thinking about the ft that research is still needed, right. we still need to get accurate numbers and continue to feedis these stcs and let people understand the fullness of this hasue. and thenwill help us think about how to move this in terms policy and making sure that our elected officials understand that we need to have this handled, right nour policies, and we need to move forward with proactive legislation that helps us get on the front efned of this issue to see some of-- toe see se numbers decrease. so from bringing those stories from on e ground, you kw, the statistics are real, and so are the stories, from so many h folks whe experienced oppression. they've experienced discrimination. you know, within the system. >> nawaz: linda, you mentioned the conversation ove 25, 30 years ago now, today, what do you think is the next thing thad to happen to alleviate

that disparity? >> i think that what we have to do is change the medical system. something is deeply embedded, you know a kind of eye mean, i don't want to say individual people are racist. maybe that is part of it. but this is a-- something that's embedded in the system. aked in. and we have to, startath medical school and before, to start getting doctors toce-- and other medical providers -- to face unconscious bias that is affect the care that women of color and everyone receives in the health care system. so i think that's a very, very important first step. >> nawaz: linda villarosa, monir simpson, thanks for yo time. >> thank you so much. >> thank you! thanks. >> woodruff: on the newshour ofat moments ago at the enis press conference with prime

minister abe of japan, president trump was asked if h would fire deputy attorney general robert rosenstein or special counsel aibert mueller. president trump despite news media reports that he isco idering firing them that they are "still here," and he wants the investigations put behind us. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm ju woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> consumer cellular believes that wireless plans should reflect the amount of talk, text and data that you use. we offer a variety o- contract wireless plans for people who use their phone a little, a lot, or anything in between. to learn more, go to consumerllular.tv >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language. e

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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, can a mysterious map nt take us to the fro lines of one of the bloodiest battles...of the cil war? elyse: is this the first advertisement for one of the world's most famous brands? wes: and was this billy club used during one of the most dramatic labor strikes in american history? elvis costello: ♪ watchin' the detectives ♪ i get so angry when the teardrops start ♪ ♪d but he can't be wounde 'cause he's got no heart ♪