captioning sponsored by newshour poductions, llc ni >> nawaz: good e, i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, to meet or not to meet: u.s. officis continue to make plans in northw korea, butill there be a summit? then, it's politics monday- the political blame game over immigrant families being separated at the border. and, on this memorial day, remembering the women in uniform. a look at the only memorial telling the stories of the nation's fastest growing group of veterans.ee >> ilike i carry a proverbial shovel with me becausthe path has been dug, but i dig a little bit deeper and a little bit further for the next person. >> naz: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular understanon that not eveneeds an unlimited wireless plan. our u.s.-based customer service reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your learn more, go to nothing consumercellular.tv >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions tpromote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these initutions: and individuals.

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs ion from viewers like yo thank you. >> nawaz: for ma americans, today is a day of solemn remembrance for those killed in military service. president trump paidte during a memorial day service at arlington national cemetergt outside washn. he laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, and thanked the families who've lost loved ones in service to their country. >> the heroes who rest in these hollowed fields, in cemeteries, battlefields, and burial grounds near and far are drawn from thef full tapestrmerican life.

they came from every generation. from privilege and from povty,th were generals and privates, captains and corporals, of every race, color and every creed. >> nawaz: several former military leaders criticized president trump today for tweeting that fallen troops would be "very proud" of how the country is doing under his administration. retired armyeneral martin dempsey, a former chair of the joint chiefs of staff, responded: "this day, of all days of the year, should not be about any one of us." are under way to put a u.s./north korean summit back on track. officials from both sides met sunday along the border between the koreas. another u.s. team headed to singapore, the potential summit site meanwhile, south korean president moon jae-in says he may meet again with north korea's kim jong-un, after holding talks on saturday. we'll have more, after the news

summary. the florida panhandle is bracing for flash flooding and possible tornadoes, from the named "alberto". it made landfall this evening near panama city, with heavy rain and sustained winds of 50 miles an hour.e orm emptied beaches in much of the state as high windse swept upurf. it's expected to move north in the coming days.to a powerful hit oman and yemen this weekend, leaving 13 people dead in its wake. it was the strongest recorded cyclone ever to hit the area, with winds of 110 miles an hour and flooding that swept people away in their cars. oman got three times its annual rainfall in just two days.ol the people ofbia now face a presidential run-off, with the future of dea peac with rebels in the balance. conservative ivan duque easily led sunday's first round, withgu leftisavo petro in second. duque ran on overhauling the 2016 deal that ended five

decades of war with the "farc" rebels. petro, a former mayor of bogota, supports the deal. >> ( translated ): we are ready for a clash of ideas and proposals, a high-level debate where we can air our differences so that colombiansx t the ballot fine the country's direction. because i'm sure that cope will overe class hatred. >> ( translated ): the sort of political forces that are surrounding duque appear to have a ceiling. in contrast, we, the forces of free citizens, have no limits. you can be sure we are going to win, and change the history of colombia. >> nawaz: the run-ofis set for june 17th. former president george h-w bush is back in a hospital, this time in maine. the 93-year-old was admitted sunday with low blood pressure and fatigue. her been staying at his sum home in kennebunkport. ft. bush spent 13 days in a

houston hospital his wife, barbara, died in april. and, an immigrant from mali has won french citizenship forld saving a cn paris. mamoudou gassama met today with president emmanuel macron. amateur video on saturday showed gassama climbing four stories t reacur-year-old boy, who was clinging to a balcony. gassama recounted his actis, today. >> ( translated ): no i didn't think twice, i just climbed up and thank god, god helped me. the more i climbed the more i had the courage to climb up higher, that's it. >> nawaz: the video of gassama's heroism went viral on social medi and he was quickly dubb "spiderman." still to come on the newshour: t wi u.s. and north korea be successful in reviving plans for a summit? political stakes: the president blames democrats for immigrant children being separated from their parents.

honoring the millions of women who have served in the united states military, and much more. >> nawaz: overhe weekendhe pace of diplomacy with north korea has picked up effort to revive the summit between president trump and north korean leader kim jung un. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports. >> schifrin: amna, thank you.tw u.s. teams are trying to resurrect the summit. one is in singapore, working on logistics. the second met with north korean officials in north korea. that team is led by veteran diplomat sung u.s. ambassador to the philippines, and also includest ast secretary of defense randall schriver, and alison hook from the national security council staff. these meetings come after another extraordinary show of friendship between north korean leader kim jong-un and south korean president moon jae-in. they met this weeks d on 24- hotice, their second

summit in just the last month. president moon is the man in the middle, pushinboth sides toward the summit. and to talk about all this, i'm joined by patrick mceachern, a state department offial focused on east asia who's currently on leave at the odrow wilson international center for scholars. thank you very much for being here. >> pleasure to be here. last week a senior white house official said june 12 is, i'm quoting him here, like in ten minutes, suggesting it was possible to get the logistics ready by june 12. is it impossible atin this po to get those logistics ready? >> i don't think so. look, intour inro you noted how the north koreans and south koreans were able to set up a summit and execute it within 24 hours. it might take the u a little bit long tore execute these sorts of things, but i don't think it's you be realistic we should bet ble to get ne by june 12. the real challenge won't be so much the logistics but the policy preparations going on

right now >> right, so the policy preparations are happening, prowumably, as far as we k in north kea, in these meetings going on. do these teams have to agree on an agenda or a document that president trump and kim jong un would sign together or is it even less than that? >> i think they need to agree on some sort of agenda. what are the two leaders going to try to accomplish when they meet in singapore or wherever they mightto decid meet in the end. this isn't an effort to tree to tee up a peace treaty or a detailed map to denuclearization. i think a successful summit would mean having a general roa map of the way forward for denuclearization and what sort of reciprocal concessions the united states would have to make, and i think that's whate ou in north korea is trying to harm out right now. >> so that's what a lot of experts seem to want to, slightly loer the expectations.

but president trump has not lowered expectationn they have be quite high. at one point, he's saying the summit could create ace, regional peace and stability. so do you think the expectations need to be lowered? >> well, i think it's appropriate or both sides, natural the two sides go into negotiation looking to have their maximum demands possible, and then they narrowed differences from there. so i think that's where present trump is coming from and trying to say, you know, he wants to see d right away, but that that doesn't mean that that's the only thing we's willing to accept. >> so there's a divide on denuclearization, how quickly that may happen, we may see that playout in the summit. the other variable is the levels urity guarantees north korea asked for and the u.s. is willing to give. we heard president moon say over the weekend t north koreans have real concerns about those are security guarantees, so what kind of security guarantees does the north want to hear from the u.s. in order to reciprocate

with quick denuclearization? >> well, the two sides will eac define their own demands, so for the united states, we get define what we mean by denuclearization because that is our demand of the north koreans. by contrast, the north koreans get to define what they want in terms of security guarantees and we try to fid where a match is between the two what the north koreans will request as far ascurity guarantees or pressure relief, kim jong un hasn't articulated that to us yet, so we don't know exactly what they will be looking for. >> we saw these extryraordi images, to think that we've had two summits between president moon jae-in and president kim jong un. does their relationship help push along the summit but could it also threaten t alliance between the united states and south korea? >> i think it pushes along the

u.s.-tprk summit. i think moon jae-in has dne a good job of bringing the u.s. and north korea togeer. his treaty is with the united states. the reason he's meeting with the north koreans is they're the enemy, pointing 8 artillery tubes toward the south capitol. moonae-in is firmly on the american side, but trying to broker a constructive peace rward. >> but some people are concerned that there could be a divide between what south korea has tho ty for ending the korean war once and for all and the u.s. priority of denuclearizaaton. >> it's al allies won't see things 100% the same way, butat the united s and south korea have tightly aligned interests and values and i think at will will havewhelm the differences, and the united states andouth korea have met

a greatal, their officials have all visited washington recently to make sure there is no daylight between sel and washington moving forward. >> patrick mceachern, thank you very much. thank you. nawaz: north korea remains a focus of washington politics, but there is also growing attention on immigration, and immigrion enforcement. and that's where we'll begin this "politics monday," with amy walter of "the cook political report," susan page of "usa today," and from santa ana, california, cin carcamo, a reporter who covers immigration for the "los angeles times." amy and susan, thanks for being lire. i want to get to ale bit of breaking news we've had just as we've come on air, we just learned repative thomas garrett, republican from virginia, announced he' struggling with alcoholism and

won't seek reelection. give me a nse of what ths means and what we know about his district and how this changes the lancape ahead. >> this is a district outsides of ch.arlottesvil garrett was a member of the freedom caucus. i think it was in politico that outlined the challenges many of his staffers were having, this was a very demanding box, asking them to do things that were completely inappropriate, including cleaning up after a dothat would come into the office and have problems that needed to be taken care . he announced in something of a rambling press conference last h wewas going to come back and run for sure for reelection. the news today is not th surprising given all the stories that have come out since the press conference. e question is whether or not democrats can make this a real race. part of the reason the race is selfetitive is garrett him had a number of controversies and he was not a particularly

strongdr funser. but it also points to the fact that republicans now, this would be something like their 30t 30th-something, i can't remember the number of total of retirements on the part of republicans, which is the highest number we've seen, that go back to the 30s of retirement from republicans. anytime there's a open seat, the party want to hold on to it. you want an incumbent there. >> 44th house republica t choosing nrun again. it's a big number and a sign we aren't sure how good a year this is going to be for draem but republicans specific the house eave decided it's going to be a very good year forocrats running against them. even in this district, trump carried the district by is 1 peentage points last time around, south a republican district will you not so overwhelminglyepublican that u couldn't imagine in a good year democrats winning it. >> we're in a buy week when it

comes to primaries. lo for back fo me, susan. what if we learned in terms of trends moving forward? how does that inform the eight states that have primaries next week? >> one thing that's struck me is the nature of the two parties. the repuican party we've seen in the primaries is trump's party. this is trump's republican party. you see almost no republican candidates who are running for office this fall criticizing the president. thsome talk about him morn others, some embrace him more closely than others but there wmost no criticism of trump among republicans running for tffice. democratic party, this is bernie sanders' deic party, not for bernie sanders in particular, but bernie sanders in his more progressive stance has really taken hold. bernie sanders' candidates, the candidates endorsed by our revolution and his group, the group affiliated with him, have not done so well in contested elections, but the whole party has moved to the left. you think about the primaries coming up next week, the big one

in california, dian diae feinstn fifth term, she's clearly moved to the left in response to the energy of the party being on the progressive side including now saying she opp des theth penalty, in opposition to the position she's taken in the past. >> nawaz: amy.ue my colleavid wasserman took at the primaries that have taken place, we're about a third of the way through primary season. 65 raceons the democratice sid featured at least one woman, one man and no incumbent, and women won 70% of those. there is not a similar trend going on. the republican side, they only want rublican women who are not incumbents have only won about 20% of their primaries. california which is coming up on june 5th, lots of wominen ru close to 30 women on the ballot, obviously, they're t not all goi win, but that's going to be very important. the most important thing to ctch foralifornia is this

thing called the top two primary, a new law put in place after 2010. in order to make the primary more open, encourage more people to come and vote and thee threatcally even in a very conservative or very liberal dictator give voters to get a chance of a more moderate member of that reigning party. in this case the challenge for democrats is beause they have so many candidates, the top two vote getters regardless of party, go on to the general electionth. two two vote getters in the most important districts democrats are looking at to win in november may end up with two republicans in november, shut out democrats, tht would be a big blow to democrats' chaaknces tog the house. >> i want to talk about something else that could make headlines later this week and months to come, immigration. the president was tweeting about it over the weekend. he tweeted "put pressure on the democrats to end the hrrible

law that separates children from their parents once they cross the boder into te u.s.." he went on to talk about catch and release, lottery and chain migration and, of course, building the wall, which has been a signature promise of his as well. but this issue of families at the border, amy, walk me through this. what does that have to do with the democrats? >> well, in that tweet, together, ito alsconflated two issues, i think, which is reporting that had come out recently about unaccompanied minors, children who had some by themselves into the country and about 1 1500 of them were not located, of the 5,000 or so that were put into foster care or given to family memrs, they couldn't locate 1,500 of those. that is differento frm this conversation the president tweeted about about separating familial. this is acy a trump administration policy

specifically outlined by the attorney general jeff sessions at the beginning of my. he is quoted as saying, if you don't want your child separated om you, then don't bring them across the border illegally, and other members of the administration saying that this ,rogram of taking families and you know, putting the children -- unapanied children in a different place from their parents was done as something of a deterrent, as a way to say to potential border crossers, don't do it, this is the consequence of that action. >> nawaz: let's get more on this from someone w covers immigration specifically, cindy carcamo joins us from the "los angeles times." a lot of attention being paid to these two immigration stories over the weekend, continuing into today. one, the family separation issut he border and, secondly, this issue of up to 1,500 lost or missing children. can you help us shed some light on those two stories and what we know to be true? >> yes. well, i think we have to kind of

take a stepe back inrds to why it is that we're at this pointw no, in regards the new policy by the trump t'ministration. for a long time,s been a misdemeanor to cross the border illegally, but, now, what they're doing is they're actually prosecuting or referring for prosecution a lot of these people who are crossing ilgally or asking for asylum at a nonport of entry. essentially, what's happening is the parents are having referred for criminal prosecution. the children arbeing placed in separate housing. and beforehand, tyat rea wasn't happening as much. there were incidents of that, but this is going to be an ongoinhpolicy for te trump administration. so i think that that, we're talking about in regards to separation of families, and eople arhat a lot of p up in arms about. but we always have to remember w one's always been this the books and simply what the

trump administration are doing is theyenforcing this law. in regards to conflating these two things, in regards to unaccompanied minors that came in 2014, and so forth, you're seeing onomee social media a loo children in cage-like conditions. a lot of those photos were from 2014 taken during theobama administration when children were coming unaccompanied and there were so many of them ey didn't know where to house them. i did a tour of on fility in nogales, arizona, where a lot of children were sleeping on mats in a warehouse facility and they were caged. so i think we have to understand that, even though we're under a different administration, you did have similarolicies beforehand, not the complete separationthf families like e trump administration is doing now, but you did have families and family detention. you had children who were in

detention. so we do have to remember that you had a similar situation happening beforehand. maybe it wasn't like policy, but it was happening in some instances where people were separaand along the borded, also, families who were kept together but they were ket in detention. actually, the obama administration brought back family detention. i think we have to keep tha mind. >> nawaz: cindy carcamo from the "los angeles times." thanks for joining us from here in studio. susan page and amy walter, thanks for being herlc >> you're e. >> nawazstay with us, coming up on the newshour: a canadian experiment that guarantees a basic income. from the newshour bookshelf, "the soul of america"-- how americans survive in the tim turmoil. an iraq war veteran asks us all

to reflect on the real meaning of memorial day. and the powful symbolism behind an incredible display of red poppies. this holiday, individua stories of service and sacrifice often get lost in the headlines. tonight, judy woodruff repors on a memorial dedicated to the three million women who worn the uniform on behalf of the united states. >> woodruff: this gathering of military women is not the kindha of eventcaptures much attention each year, when members of t congressional caucus for women's issues gather to pay tribute to outstanding soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors, at lie "women in ry service for america memorial" at the entrance toto arlinational cemetery outside washington. and each year, comes a refrain that more ould be done to commemorate their contributions: newly-nominated secretary of

veterans affairs robert wilkie: >> unless we know the stories, and the sacrifices of our women in uniform, we cannot understand the sacrifices made to makise a more perfect union.oo >>uff: to really know those stories, the women's memorial is trying to register every woman who has served in a the u.ed forces. so far their cot is 265,000-- only about 10%. women are the fastest-growing group of veterans. they have served in a variety of roles dating back to the american revolution and as of 2015, are cleared for all combat roles. women vets or their family"o members have t into" the atgister-- there is no aut government database that the private memorial can accejo. general dee ann mcwilliams, president of the

women's memorial foundation, says the more namesnd, photos a stories gathered at the 21-year d memorial, the richer the overall story of women's military service. >> this is the only memorial tot women world. this is the place where the story of tho women can be told d d shown to the public. >> woodruff: she te story of one son who found his mother's entry, and onlwished he had made the effort sooner: >> he saw the sign, came into the memorial, and pulled his he had never seen his mother in uniform. her on face time and showed his mother she was registered and took her on a tour of the memorial and wn i caught up with him he was sobbing because he never brought his mother here. >> woodruff: the register is housed in the morial's education center that showcases more than 240 years of american women's service with the military.

from the cane of dr. mary walker, t only woman in history to receive the medal of honor, to the world war i dog tags and victory medal belcoging to helenead, who joined18 the navy and said those were "the best years of her life. to a display on women p.o.w.s in world war ii. and a photographic accounting of the growing and varied roles women played during the vietnam war. there's a special exhibit honoring jessica ann ellis, a combat medic in the army, who died at age 24 when an i.e.d. blew up her vehicle in baghdad 10 years ago this month. she earned a bronze star and purple heart as part of operation iraqi freedom. and amidst the memorabil s, visitors c close to 7000 yellow ribbons suspended from e ceiling honoring every fallen service member killed in

theater since september 11th. 88-year-old retired brigadier general wilma vaughtwho joined the air force in the 1950's was one of the earliest women to make the rank of general officer. she was also the first woman toa deploy with anir force bomber. un general vaught was the driving force behind the memorial: >> somet military takes all you can give. all you can give mentally. all you can give physically. ld woodruff: chief master sergeant lisa argrees. >> i think that a young woman needs to understand that she can be very successful because of the women who have come before her. >> woodruff: she oversees velopment of long range strategic plans affecting over 250,000 rvice members and was the first woman to be a command chief in afghanistan, leading

over 2000 air force enlisted men and won in the war. "paying it forward" is part of her mission: >> i look at it as moving the next roadblock out of the way. ady behind me doesn't have to do that. i feel like i carry a proverbial shovel with me because the path has been dug but i dig a little bit de further for the next person that wants to join our service and it doesn't matter what service we're all si wers in arms. druff: another "sister" with a shovel is sergeant jor christal rheams of the u.s. army who was honored with arnold. rheams has performedriety of roles from aiding anhumanitarian efforts for refugees to mentoring military rmstress to serving as a vocalist in the us band. now, she's a role model to daughter, aria, who wants to be a military lawyer and attends college on a r.o.t.. scholarship.

>> the stories send a signal. i thin it's interesting to look back and sewho's done what. you know it will be interesting for my daughter for example to be able to look up and you know "thats my mom" or my granddaughter or my great granddaughter. you know it's important for those stories to be told and to be held somewhere. >> cony aneing my mom readily like go to work and put like selfless commitment just to the country like just spending g was like, that's someth would love to do too like i would like to be like my mom. >> woodruff: nd as women serve in greater numbers, there are reminders of the ultimate sacrifice of course, such as major marie rossi, the first woman in military history to serve in combat as an aviation unrs commander during the fit persian gulf war. she was killed in the line of duty when her aircraft crashed. 1.9 million of the nation's 20 million veterans are now women. morial organizers say,

it's important to acknowledger thories in life, and commemorate them in death. >> nawaz: the economy may be doing well by many measures, but for years there have been real oncerns over wage growth and the overall standaliving. so perhaps it's not surprising that at least one recent survey showed growing public support for a new government program that would guarantee some income to citizens.e there all pilot projects of how it could work. our own economics correspondent paul solman travels to canada tr see one of ther programs for our ongoing series "chasing the dream" on poverty and opportunity.

>> reporter: cheerios, it says "sans gluten." "without gluten." >> i may not speak french, but i've been in a bilingual country, so i know what sans gluten means. >> reporter: a tuesday trudge to the local grocery stohare in milton, ontario. ganic vegetables >> reporter: this is the first time 29-year-old alaaltzer has been able to afford the healthy food here at the mustard seed co-op. because, she say when you're poor... >> it's buy the stuff you can afford, which is generally duick, easy and all processed and high in sugar ans fats and all the other unhealthy stuff. >> reporter: that's all that baltzer could afford on her $575 a month welfare disabi check. but ontario will now give her $10 u.s. a month, no questions asked, as arpart of a three- basic income pilot launched late last year. >> around the world, people

believe that basic income could provide a simpler and more effective income support. >> reporter: the idea's also being piloted in finland and california. now it's ontario too. >> how are people's lives changed, how are they able to do better in their lives, prevent illness, stay in school, get jobs and keep jobs. >> reporter: ontario premier kathleen wynne. >> we should be looking at different ways of providing support, ways that actually don't punish people, butpo actually s people in getting on with their lives and produce better outcomes. >> reporter: 4,000 randomly selected ontarians in three communities will get about $13,000 a year, u.s., for a single person, $19,000 for a couple. in exchange, recipients give up some social supports and the government gets back 50 cents of every dollar they earn. >> it is definitely the biggest basic income study in north america.

>> you don't have to show that you're sick, you don't have to show that you can't work. a you get a right. >> reporter: research director kwame mckenzie and his team will analyze the results. >> we're going to see if it increases your chance of cong out of poverty. we're trying to see if it makesl your housing s we're trying to see whether it improves your mentalitealth. whethebasically decreases your use of other services, such as hospital beds. >> reporter: turns out manitoba launched a basic income experime74nt in hat the provincial government later pulled the plug on. >> it was an incomplete study. >> reporter: but long after, researchers studying the data found... >> we've got less health service use, we've got mental health improving, we've got people going back to college and they're getting better, getting better skills to move forward. this is a great thing. right? >> reporter: but was it a fluke?

and could the same polcy produce like results 40+ years later? well, for jodi dean and family it seems, yes.o >> see you tomrrow! >> reporter: 10-year-old daughter madison has suffered from both brittle bone disease and epilepsy since toddlerhood. >> jodi, how was your day? an it was okay. >> reporter: yes,a has universal healthcare, but not for the e.r. commute. >> as far as parking goes, we're not covered for that. that's $25 an emergency visit. >> reporter: h many times has she broken a bone? >> she's probably had at least 70 breaks. >> reporter: how many times a month do you have to pay for parking >> two to three times a week. >> reporter: basic income now covers, in effect, half parking the bill, a huge relief for someone who never dreamedhe'd be poor, used to volunteer at the food bank, then couldn't live without it. >> how do you go back to where you just gave that time and tell

them n you're in need? >> report der: jodin, like alana baltzer, lives in hamilton, a once-thriving steely f 750,000 within an hour of toronto. >> we used to have 4people working directly in steel, and today, it's probably closer to 7,000. >> reporter: tom coopedir, who cts an anti-poverty project, claims he's already seen benefits from the program. >> many of the individuals i've talked to who are on tic income pilot are going back to school, wanting to improve their opportunitieto get a better job. >> reporter: moreover, he says: >> there's not the oversight we see in traditional social assistance systems that requires people to report monthly on their income or their housing status or their relationship status. >> reporter: while most poor ontarians didn't make it into the pilot, balzer did, and no longer has to deal with the welfare system. >> you do not have the bureaucracy involved with welfe or disability.

if you get a job, youimy call and let them know, submit your pay stubs, bit a boom, bada rng, done. orter: your mom made it into the program. has it had positive effects for her? >> oh, god, yeah. she's more ecstatic about not having to deal with ontario works, the welfare workers. >> reporter: the pilot has evene ind baltzer to lose five poun since november; more exercise, more confidence. >> the first time in years i've been able to wear high heels without groaning in absolute pain and sheer agony. >> reporter: as for the pression she has long struggled to fend off... >> it's nice to not have aull- blown episode because i'm worried about whether or bot im going able to eat tonight or be able to pay my rent oraso something imple as laundry. >> reporter: other pluses? sll, from the government' point of view, it no longer has to subsidize baltzer's using, so the pilot is costing ontario less tn $700 a month more. >> it's important to measure that and measure use of

government services. >> reporter: but if balzer attends college in the fall, ase now pl and then gets a job, government would be off the hook entirely. >> it's also important to measure whether people are actually generating wealth. because everybody's thinking often about the cost, but people don't always think abohe possible economic benefits. >> reporter: but look, say skeptics, basic income will cost a pretty, albeit canadian, penny going out, while benefits y never actually flow in. >> i don't think the savings are actually going to be there. so, i think that's misleading. wy reporter: that's local er david wakely, who says if the program is extended univsally, it would cost ontario two-thirds of its annual revenue. and he doubts recipients will go to school or get a job. >> where someone can stay home and get a basic income guarantee. this just serves as a safety blanket, a security blankefor them, because they've always got

this income to rely on. >> reporter: and, as i asked former u.s. union leader andy stern, isn't that the time- honored objection to a basic income? if you pay people to do nothing, isn't that an incentive for them toontinue to do nothing? >> there are always people going to stay at home and take advantage of government programs. n ere are a lot of wealthy people and childo are paid to do nothing, and it dfesn't seem to t them being vital and involved in society. >> reporter: john clarke of the ontario coalition against poverty doesn't worry about poor people taking advantage of a basic income. but he does worry that the program is a move to take advantage of them, by laying the groundwork for the elimination of government-provided social workers, health care, the eventual privatization of social services. >> so you're shopping for healthcare, you're shopping for housing, you're shopping for publicransportation, childcare, all these things and

this is the prevailing agenda at the moment and a basicakncome system us in that direction. >> reporter: moreover, says clarke, a basic income creates downward wage pressure on the working poor.cr >> if eate a situation where low wage workers are receiving a significant portion of their wages out of the tax revenues, then the pressure on employers to increase wages is reduced, the pressure on governments to increase minimuma s is reduced. >> reporter: so how to know, then, if the costs outweigh the benefits? >> we can have all these theoretical discussions. or we can say let's do a test and see what actually happens. what are the costs? is it a more efficient way of giving people who need it, support? hat are the benefits? doe it grow the economy or not? and then we can have a rational discussion ba evidence rather than just based on theory. >> reporter: and rath than based on promises of breaking the cycle of poverty which might

ht not, in the end, be mainly smoke and mirrors. for the pbs newshour, this is economics correspondent paul solman reporting, marom ontario. >> nawaz: tomorrow on the newshour, more in our chasing the dream series, with a report on helping people remain stable after they start work and begin toarn incomes again. >> nawaz: on this memorial day, judy woodruff has the latest from the newshour bookshelf. >> woodruff: putsen prize-winning uthor jon meacham is best phone for his presidential biographies of andrew jackson, thomas jefferson and most recently george h.w. bush. last moth meacham delivered a eulogy a at funal service for

former first lady barbara bush. "the soul of america: the battle for our better angels" is meacham's latest jon meacham welcome to the "newshour". thank you for being here. >> thank youou >> woodruff:ring that the idea for this came after you had a colleague call you up aftethe terrible events in charlottesville, west virginia last sumaer. a n died in the white nationalist rally. >> rig h. >> woodruf did this get from that to the book? >> it kept rattling around in my head that we have been hear before. american history we tend to think of nostalgic terms and nostalgia is a powerful narcotic, but, in a way, it does a disservice to the past. it suggests the struggles of the past wertnot as piched orco entious as our own. again in again in american history, we'vrun it very close to try to get things right, but we've always maaged to get to higher ground.

what i wanted to try to figure out is to wht extent is this period we're in now, which feels dispiriting and depressing no matter where you o sta the political spectrum, people are unhappy, how does this compare to moments in the past where divion seems to be the rule, not the exception. >> woodruff: did you find true paraels, then? >> mark twain is supposed to have said history doesn't repeat itself but does rhyme. history s not cultural zoloft but should give us a perspective. what point should we light our hair on fair or a given tweet really upset us? and trying to create that sense of proportion by putting this moment in context with andrew johnson, a presint during reconstruction who issued a state paper saying that african-americans were genetically incapable of self-government, or joe mccarthy, who chased after innocent people, using the media of the day to create thi

hysterical feeling. these were moments that were incredibly difcult an, yet, we now have a country, even now for all our problems, tha by and large, we can be proud of. >> woodrf: so take us inside one of those moments. i mean, the clue ku klux klan rising in the 1920s and '30s. how did the untry grapple with that and get through it? >> there arre paallels because there was a great deal of anxiety about immigrants, there was a grt deal of anxiety about global affairs bcause we had come out of the firorst wld war, and working classmiddle class white movement refounded the ku klux klan.re there enators, governors who were explicitly members of the klan. how did we get throu it? calvin coolidge limited emmigration so it took som oxygen out of the fair, but also a free press said this is not who we are,rding and coolidge

said this is not who we are, and, ultimately, our better angels prevaed at least briefly. >> woodruff: there are so many other examples but one of the principle one is the red sare, after world war ii, the 1950s, is mccarthy era, and roy cohn was a figure, someone who co incidentally was a mentor to donald trmp, was a fure. >> we hope it's coincidental. >> woodruff: yea in many ways the 1930s and50 early $1re the most aknoll gauss periods. in the '30s we had a question about whether democratic capitalism would survive the decade. prident roosevelt could ha aculled the powers of a dictator if so inclined. in the middle ofhe '50s, joe mccarthy gave a speech saying i hae in my hand names of 205 communists. he didn't tweet it but might as well of, and it lasted about four years. what happenedwas henderstood

the media, how wire services worked, he understood raid you, he understood television, he understood how to co the narrative. any of this sound familiar is this. >> woodruff: yeah.en but what ha? the people in congress stood up, margaret committeublican of maine, was one to have the first. they ended upri cen him and they ended up arguing america is most herself when we widen the definition of what we mean by equality, not narrow i >> woodruff: one to have the questions is kit really be coared of today when you have this explosion of social media, twitter, facebook and all three of it, just this non-stop environment of newand conflict? >> well, but imagine if you lived in a pre-print universe, having a newspaper come every week or eves ry month seke a suddenly crowded arena.

imagine the 1920s when radio suddenly nationalizes the lture. imagine the early 1950s when television explodes. i think it's somewhat self-referential and self-defeating for us to thnk that this is the worst time ever. just because something'sen ha before doesn't mean it's not happening now. but we can't, i think, suggest that our problems aren isuprable because they're not unique. they's always been this struggle in what i call the american soul. people say the soul of the country is x. actually, no. hebrew or greek it means life or breath. so in history we have room for dr. king and the clan. d> woodruff: everyone woul agree the country is deeply divided no matter which side you're on. a lot of people believe this

apresidency is exactly wt they wanted. >> their cares and concerns cannot be diswrissed. e this book not because american presidents in the past have always risen to the occasion but because th incumbent rises to it so seldom. i think there are l learned here. i wish the president and those who serve him would realize that posterity rewards the presidents who reach beyond thir base, who try to unify the country and not simply cer to a given audience and a given free dissed set of supporters. >> woodruff: and finally, how much does it matter that this is a president who i think many of the people around him say has not paid that much attention to american history? >> oh, i think he's paid almost none. i had one convsation with him and it was like pulling teeth, except pulling teeth might have been more fun. all i can say is that he's living in a house where there are portraits of peple, some day his portrait will hang

there, and what i hope he would do as he walks down tho hallways, if he looks up from his phone, he would realize that he will want to ben seen warmer and better light than he is right now, and, you know, as winston churchill once said, the future sun knowable but the past should give us hope. so i think we have to hold on to that hope. >> woodruff: jon meacham with another book, this one is so"the of america: the battle for our better angels." thank you. >> thanks, judy. >> nawaz: kevin powers signed up for the army before finishing high school and went to basic training the day after he graduated. he was in iraq for a year anden e returned home, he managed to capture some of what that experience was like, in his critically praised novel "the yellow birds." powers says it's hard record what you are truly thinking and feeling in combat, because in many ways, you aren't doing

either-- much of the fighting happens on instinct and adrenaline. that's the situation so many americans still face and in powers' humble opinion, what we need to member tonight. >> if you're watching this today, perhaps you're taking a break from a family e rbeque, or mau've just returned from shopping for some much needes item that tekend's sales have allowed you to purchase. i hope the extra time with your loved ones is rewarding, and the long weekend a satisfying break from the challenges of work, or school, or parentng. but i humbly ask you to consider the following. 14 years ago, i spent memial day looking for i.e.d.'s in and around the city of mosul, iraq. i had only been in country for a couple of months, and the brave dy unit had not yet suffered its first casualty, as summer began, the purple fingers of iraqi citizens casting their votes felt like a cause worthfa ng that danger for. but soon enough, something shifted.

attacks increased in both intensity and frequency over the summer, and by the time autumn came around, several my company had been wounded, some seriously, and some terrifyingly so, especially when you knew you had to go back outside the wire again the next day. i'll admit, i was scared pretty much all of the time, but i did my job to the best of my ability, and i still believed that we might all make it home tother. but that's not how war goes. close to christmas, as 2004 was coming to a close, our it lost two young men, sergeants nicholas mason and david ruhren. they were both 20 years old. i grieved for them and their families then, and i grieve for them today. and i would ask you to consider the fact that on so many of the

days between that one and this one, there have been others to grieve for. less than a month ago, a young man from colorado was killed in afghistan.wh i came home from iraq in 2005, he was nine years old. so today, i'd asmoyou to take a nt to ask yourself, "how many more names might be added to the long list of those we are asked to remember next year" and to also remember the thousands of veterans, actively serving men and women, and grieving families of their fallen brothers and sisters, for whom memorial day doesn't just fall on the last monday in may, but on every single day of the rest of their lives. >> nawaz: now to our newshour

shares, something on this memorial day we find of note. "the poppy memorial" a the national in washington, d.c. this weekend. represents an american serviceman or wombn killed in since world war i. in world war i, a caadian officer visiting a comrade whome ad lost in a grave site saw poppies growing up among the crosses.a he penne poem in flanders field. three years later an mirn come wrote her own poem we shall keep the faith. woman teacotr mona michel her own poem, "we shall keep the faith," and in that she said we should never forget the fallen. and she recommended asaring a popp'm doing. so from that day forward, the poppy has been the symbol of the fallen. the memorial is located here on

a ideal location on the mall, surrounded by the vietm memorial, the korean memorial, the lincoln, the world war ii memorial, so that americans can see the connection between those memorials and 645,000 live lost. when you think about our history and you think that world war i was the war to end all wars. and we've had world war ii, korea, vietnam and our men and women in service are in combat right now. i think that has a lot of significance on both sides. e tragedy as well as the inspiration that they're willing to live there willing fight for their country if necessary die. we need to stodp and reflect think about what memorial day means as americans. are men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice so that we uld be free. >> nawaz: on the newshour online right now, two womepoets and veterans share how writing has ed them heal from p.t.s. read their poems and more on our website, pbs.org/newshour.

and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. join us again here tomorrow onening. and we leave youht with images from this memorial day as we continue to remember and honor those who have given theii lives in s to this country. for all of us at the pbs newshour, ank you and good night. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation.

supporting scienan, technology, improved economic performance and financialra lite in the 21st century. >> supporteby the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like u. thank you captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ ♪ ♪ -today on "ame test kitchen," dan makes julia foolproof grill-smoked and herb-rubbed flat iron steaks, jack challenges bridget to a tasting of mascarpone, and elle makes bridget the ultimate fresh fruit tart. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitchen." -"america's test kitchen" is brought to you by the following. ♪ -i've always been a big believer