captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: president trump says the meengng with kim n will take isace, after a senior north korean official vs the white house for the first time in almost two s.deca also ahead, the strengthening u.s. economy. unemployment falls to the pwest rate in 18 years, as the president breatocol with an early hint of a good jobs report. and, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks are here. we discuss the trump administration's controversial trade moves, and whcoarse and even racist language is finding a new place in american life then, reviving a town with a painful past. how montgomery, alabamais moving forward, without completely erasing its history of segregation.

>> i just reminds us of the battle and the struggles that we have to continue to fight, for equaliju and for equal ice, and that narrative needs to be told. >> woodruff: all that and mor on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ellular understands that not everyone needs an unlimited wireless plan. our u.s.-based customer service reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your othing more, nothing less. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james.

>> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoi support of these institutions: and friends of the newshou. >> this program wamade possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the on-agai off-again u.s. summit with north korea is back on, again. the announcement came today after talks at the white house. rick schifrin begins ou coverage.

>> reporter: in a manhatt tan high-ris u.s.' top diplomat and north korea's topbe envon the day with a historic handshake.si >> you'll be iapore on june 12th. and i think it will be a process. it's not... i... i never said it goes . one meeti i think it's going to be a process. >> that word process t. in the past, the administration insisted kim jong-un and the north koreans immediately give up their nuclear program the north koreans step-by-step denuclearization with incentives. president trump used process about tenimes today indicating he's okay with staged denuclearizanoon. >> we'rgoing to go in and sign something on june 12th. we never were. we're going to start a prondces. is told him today, take your time. we can go fast. we can go slowly. >> by only bracing a process, i think the president has basically decided that he cannot resolve a conflict of 70

years min theaking overnight. and he also is embracing ar pragmatic apoach to trust-building on the peace side and dismantlreg north s nuclear establishment step by step. so it's a big shift. >> reporter: frank supported the 2004 talks with north korea and s a state department and congressional korean policy. analy he's president of the mansfield foundation. >> i know that denuclearizatioa of north korll take years at best. so the president is staking his future now this process on a ep-by-step process. it's a very good thing because it actually gives him the opportunity for success at thee nd of the road. >> until now, the administration has claimed itsx maimum sanctions pressure brought the discussions to this point. today, president trump said he didn't like that term anymore. >> i don't even want e the term maximum pressure anymore because i don't want to use that term. >> well, the president, by taking that term off the table, is signaling good will to north

korea, which he hopes will be resipcated by the sustained missile test, nuclear test freeze by the noth. but he is essentially saying, while we're talking, unless thi breakwn, we're not going to enact any new measures against each other. >> reporter: 70 years a, the korean war devastated the peninsula. the us north korea and china signed an arm stis. today, president trump said th summit might produce peace treaty. >> can you believe we're talking about the ending of the korean war? you're talking about 70 years. that's something that could come out of the meeting. >> it's historic. kim jong-un wants to sit down anth president trump, shake hands and declar end to the hostilities that have been on the peninsula for 70 years. if kim jong-un can pull that off, then he will do somhing that his father and his grandfather had failed to do. and he himself will go dwn in the north korean history books as a great leader. >> reporter: this was the highest level meeting between a sitting us pesident an north korean officials since 2000 when

bill clinton met marshall in the whe hse. today president trump said he'd gone farther than any of his predecessors. >> i think the relationship we have right now with north korea is as good as it's been ia long time. >> a reporter: andleft for a weekend of summit preparations, president trump said he had rfaith that theocess rerestarted would yield a deal, quote, or not good of millions of people. for thepbs newshour," i' nick schiffrin. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the may jobs report is in, and it appears to show amerigi's economic firing on all cylinders. the labor department reported today that 223,000 new jobs were added last month. and the unployment rate dropped to 3.8%, the lowest since the year 2000. we will look into what's driving these and other onomic numbers, after the news summary. the jobs report gave a boost to wall street. the dow jones industrial average gained 219 points to close at 24,635. the nasdaq rose 112, and the

s&p 500 added 29. president trump today kept up the pressure on trade, one day after imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum from canada, mexico and the european union. all three have rejected the levies, and canada filed ang chalwith the world trade organization today. but the president argued again that they have been taking advantage of the u.s. >> i want fair trade. i like free trade. rt at a minimum, i want f trade, and we are going to have it for our workers and our companies. k and yow what? the other side understands it. to be honest with you, they cannot believe they've gottenis away with or so many decades. >> woodruff: the president alsoo floated the idreplacing the "north american free trade agreement," or nafta, with separate deals-- one for canada, and one for mexico. a judge in iowa hun blocked the y's most restrictive

abortion law from taking effect. he acted today after the republicagovernor and opponents of the law agreed to a process to expedite the case.ul the law ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, about six weekinto pregnancy. there is new legal turmoil in puerto rico, over deaths caused by hurricane maria. the u.s. territory's institute of statistics sued its health department on thursday, demanding full daa. a harvard study out this weekth estimate more than 4,600 people died in the three months after the storm.of thcial toll remains at 64. the threat of a strike against las vegas tel and casino workers receded today. existing contracts expired at midnight, but negotiators announced a new agreement with caesars entertainment. it covers one-fourth of the 50,000 workers at nine casinos along the strip. and, a new champion spelled his way to victoryt last ni the

scripps national spelling bee. 14-year-old karthik nnni beat out more than 500 competitors. in the end, he faced off against a competitor from his home county in texas, 12-year-old naysa modi. she was tripped up by an unwieldy german word, and nemanni seized his moment. >>-o-i-n-o-n-i-a. ( cheers and appla se ) >> med like most of the words you got, you knew right away. what about that last word, "koinonia?" when did you have that idea, this is it? >> when i heard it. >> woodruff: congrats. the victor's wnings include a trophy, $40,000 and a set of encyclopedias. still to come on the newshour: did the president go too far when he tweeted about the jobs report?

italy ends a political stalemate, while spain sees an upheaval of its own. and, much more. >> woodruff: may marked a record 92nd straight month of job growth in the u.s. we also see better than expected wage g job openings are now at a two-decade high. this all comes as trade tensiota and uncty are rising. the president has been engaged t tough trade talk, of course, and the impositiay of new tariffs, even among allies. neil irwin of the "new york times;" and dne swonk, who is chief economist at grant thornton in chicago. what is driving these good jobs numbers? >> well, we've got an ecomy that's secretary-general related in the second court. that's the good news. it's like a summer block bust ef. we've got a nice warming trend out there.

we saw retail em pick up.really we also saw strong gains coming back from some very lackluster weather. we had earlier in the year that we saw a snap-back, everything from building and materials, garden supplies stores and pickedction employme up. we really saw those specialty contractors pick up as well. so it was a really nice solid jobs report wibth broased gains, gain gains in things like manufacturing most ably, machinery. this is an area that's really important because it reflects an investment in the us economy that's been absent much of the expansion. unfortunately, things like machine entry mining na also picked up this month are als most subject to the tariffs that we see on the horizon. >> and we're going to get to that in just a momneent. bu, you wrote in "the new york times" today, we ran out of words how good these numbers arr they really that fabulous? >> look, i went to the that sorus to find some alternatives to these are good numbers but thesest several mont are good numbers.

nine years in, steady job growte despite being ears in the did pangs. the unemployment rate back to the levels it was in the year 2000. there's nothing not to like in these numbers. we just hope they cn keep up this way. >> woodruff: diane you pointed out -- i know because i sa you quoted in some places about wages and i think people are woning, yes, they went up 2.7 per cent last month compared to a year ago. but some people arell stisking why is wage growth so slo >> exactly. one the things is i said it's like a summer blockbuster but like many summer blockbusters the sequel is not as good as the riftnal. wages were growing very rapidly. what we're seeing out there, 2.7 per cent is warming trond but not a heatwave in wages and w really want a heatwave. that's something the federal reserve want to the see. unfortunately we're seeing a little heat in inflation insad of wage wages wages and we'd lif the other way around. everything from skills are eroded. we haven't much productivity

growth. it's been a really long time since employers have actually had to look at workers oter than commodities instead of thinking of them as diamonds in the rgh, invest in thm and let them sparkle. we are seeing many employers pum moey into training workers but back in april 2008 -- ast time00, when the we saw this kind of unemployment rate, there were help wanted sgn nas literally read "now hiring pulse required." >> woodruff: a remarkable moment. neil, i want to turn to some, i guess, controversy today. the president himself tweeted this morning at 7:21 a.m. this was a little more than an hour before these numbers camea out. i'm going to quote. he said, looking forward to seeing the un-- the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning. this has caused quite a sti among economists. why? >> these numbers, it takes weeks to prepare them. they're kept under lock and keyy thove markets. the dollar, the bond market, the

stock market all swing tradramaticly when these numbers are released so they're kept co, idential, locked doot spread widely. the president does get a chance to learn about them the evning before. the problem is, if this becomes routine if the president hints about what's going to col, it uld be destabilizing to markets. the idea there wouldn't be this predictable at 8:30 a.m., everybody gets the numbers at the same time, knows exactly how to interpret them, we want thapt ictability, especially if we find ourselves in a crisis or recess session when these market rn on every decimal point. sa woodruff: diane, there are even some criticing the president broke the law when he did this. what is the rule? well, the rule is that we don't see any government agencies talk about the numbers at all an hour around the numbers. and i think that's really important is because i work with ional association for business economics, the statistics commihee. i work whese institutions and part of the reason for keeping that sort of timeframe out tere, not having advanced

information, all the reasons that neil suggested are absolutely true, but so very important is the integrity and credibility of the data.t the data gs politicized once it comes out. there's just -- no matter who's going to be running, if it's a bad number, people are run png against thson are going to talk about the bad number. if it's a good number, they're going to talk about it's a good number. and take credit for it. but to feed this idea that the data is somehow influenced by an administration, any administration, is something you want to really stay away from. so the credibility anri int of the data and the institutions ohat produce it are als being -- coming under question when this is done. and i think that's incredibly important because we already see all these conspiracy theories. i spent a the love time with these statisticians you got to drink when you're with them because they're really that nerdy. >> woodruff: neil, i want to come back to trade. yes, there are going to be tariffs, no, they're aren't. the administtion has imposed tariffs on american allies on eupean uion, canada, mexico,

aluminum and steel. what does that represent actually? >> look, what worrying about these tariffs is -- it's not the direct econom effects. steel and aluminum imports aren't tat hh. it's what cig signals us trapo cy. the us is a place do business. wii europe,th canada and mexico, with china, with japan and korea. it's thoord go to war with the entire world at one time. d this lack of predictability of what is american trade policy thing to look like? what ibusiness environment is very risky and damaging for businesses that have to expandb and think t things for the long run. >> woodruff: you wrote today, neil, that it's the unpredictability of iin the long run can do more damage than the tariffs themselves. >> right. we don't know whatgohe regime is g to be five years from now with trade with mexico and canada and te european union. that's not something you would have said in the last 50 yeahar. s a difficult moment for businesses.

>> woodruff: so much to follow today. neiler wynn of the -- neil irwynn of the "new york times," and diane swonk. thank you both. >> woodruff: the political earthquakes in europe continue to rumble,his time in ity and spain. as william brangham reports, it is a mixed bag withhe rise of both populist and centrist leaders. >> brangham: nearly three months of post-election turmoil etonded y in italy, with a quiet sweari-in, as western europe's first populist government pook wer. the new premier, giuseonte, is a lite-known law professor and litical novice. the real power may lie with his deputian. >> ( trated ): we say that italians come fit, then the rest of the wo od! >> brangha of the deputy

premiers, matteo salvini, heads the anti-immigrant "league" party and favors quitting the euro zone. the other deputy is luigi de maio, who leads the "five-star" party, founded just nine years ago by a former comedian. their election victory was fueled by a sluggish italian economy, anger at e e.u. over austerity measures and ainflux of migrants. some italians today said they're wary of the new government's ability to lead... >> ( translated ): il give them the benefit of the doubt, but some of the ministers worry me. i think they are a bit embarrassing. . >> branghawhile others expressed optimism at the shakeup. >> ( translated ): i am very happy because i am excited to e them making the attempt. >> brangham: today's events me after italy's president, sergio mattarella, had vetoed erroskeptic paolo savona to be economic ministarlier this week. that touched off a new crisis, and talk of new elections that shook world financial mitrkets. evenh the cri,sis now pa

european union leaders say theyn fear tew italian government could be a disruptive force. but today, they cautiously sent congratulations, including a spokesperson for e. jean-claude juncker. >> president juncker is , mmitted to work with the new italian governme tackle the many common challenges that italy and europe are facidng frm tre to migration and many more. >> brangham: meanwhile in spain, more political upheaval today. chrs rang out inside parliament, after lawmakers rted to oust conservative prime minister mariaoy. proteste hurled taunts at the deposed leader, who been caught in a wide-reaching corruption scandal. they accused him of running the country like the mafia. voted in to repce rajoy, spain's former oppositioleader and 46-year-old socialist, pedro sanchez. >> i will attend the urgent social matters of many people living in precarious conditions and suffering from inequality. >> brangham: sanchez's sudden rise is a rare success for a center-left party in recent european politics.

but he now leads a minority government that's likely to face challenges to its hold on power. we explore these political shifts now with heather conley, who studies europe and european politics for the center for strategic and internation studies. so this election brings two populist parties to power in italy. help us understand what -- how a they got the what this means. >> well, this was an election -- the hest time t italian people went to the polls was 2011, so this was a pnt-up expression of frustration, frustration with economic growth. it's beevery anemic, rising migration and just frustration with the elite. so you had the league previously known as the northern league, which was a very xenophobic r-right group based in northern italy. and the populist five-staric movement, was more of a southern italian-based group that looked more at the center left and morer populist, me

fiscally spending for those ogroups. and hese two unlikely parties eventually came together. and now we have a very populist, i would argue very xenophobic government platform that is going to be quite a handful for the european union in the days and weeks to com be. ore we get to their concerns about the e.u., let's talk a little bit about this -- the migration into italy. explain why thaht's suc difficult issue for the italians. >> well, i think tt's a difficult issue for european countries. it's a difficult issue for the united stas. i mean, it comes through several ways. obviously, the instability from the arab spring and north africa, the sahelthe middle east, syria has caused people to flee their homes, some for economic reasons, some for conflict, environmentet, cli issues. and unfortunately, being in southern europe, when you're greece, italy, even spain, are you the first port of entry fo

those migrants seeking safety in & a better way of liflle. norm italy has allowed those migsrants once they've arrived in italy sort of a close your eyes, let them continue on through europe, but what's happened since the 2015 migratio crisis, europe even countries want those migration flows to stop. they're putting informal borders between austria andly italy, ind france, and now those -- >> migrants land and they're uck. >> they're stuck. yes. and they're seeing this rising in urbanr aeas, many tal dwrans associate more -- italians associate more cime and lawlessness with this migrant population. it just builds on the frustration of the economics of migration. it's really becoming an existential challenge for many europeans that see a shrinking demographic. these incredible winds of change of globalism and social change ad now yo put a migration challenge, and it's just -- it's the raw that broke the camel's back. now they really -- they are

really angry. they wanto seedramatic change. and the new interior minister, ma today's sal veny, the head of the league has said he will expel immediately 500,000gr ts from italy. so we could see some pretty bold action really at the beginning of this new italian government. >> this waalso a voe against the e.u. and the rule from brussels as the italians see it. what is thei concern? and does this make you worried about the larger european union project as a whole? >> so i think when things have ne well for the european project, national leaders have excepted that as their success. when things haven't been going well, boy, it is so easy to blame this large bureaucratic very far away distanced brussels. there's always someone to blame. and that's where think we see this frustration. can you blame immigrants.u n blame the european union. you can blame your politeral

le but it's really hard to look at yourself and say, we have got to chane. we have toform. we can't continue to do what we've been doing. it's not working. so brussels has become this in some ways facauess buacy that's so easy to blame. the problem is it's sort of te glue that binds 28 countries together. italy has benefited from thee european uniontainly greatly but right now it's just become the point raof fruon where everything is wrong because -- because of the e.u., which is not necessarily true. >> heather conley. >> thank you.much. >> woodruff: stay with us. comi mark shields and david brooks but we turn first to politics. military veterans are running for congress this year in record numbers, many for the time. lisa desjardins traveled to northern new jersey to see how this national phenomenon/trend

is playing out in one competitive house district. >> reporter: on memorial day.. ♪ ♪ ( drums ) >> reporter: ...in northern new jersey, retired first sergeant amery vasso is leading t remembrance. >> today, we are taking time tot ensu nation remembers the sacrifices of america's fallen. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: the event is a calm, profound statement of service and gratitude. amery served 23 years in the army, including in desert storm and iraqi freedom. he's also a voter, who values terans' principles. >> they swore an oath to uphold and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, and all that. i think they hold that still to this day, even if they're out. >> reporter: amery lives in a closely-tched, unique district-- the open congressional seat in newdi jersey's 11trict. among the crowded field are no

fewer than four veterans, two in each party, all first-time candidates. >> come on, what's up, boy? >> reporter: amery is undecided but gie of the most often- heard arguments in favor of electing veterans. >> they understand putting the country before themselves is i'm not sure that all of the npresentatives in washing feel that way and believe that. >> reporter: the four veterans running are part of a national trend: hundreds of veterans running for congress this year. it is a modern-day record. >> tony ghee! >> rorter: among the first- time hopefuls in new jersey, republicanntony ghee. the investment banker and army reservist is a natural at parade politics. he thinks vets are critical now because of global tensions. >> every time we send oops into harm's way, right, there are bodies. there are families that std behind those soldiers. sometimes the art of avoiding

conflict or by, quite frankly, ending conflict, is by making ngace. >> somebody was ase, "mikie, can you still fly a helicopter?" >> reporter: mikie sherrill is another rookie candidate who doesn't seem to show it. the retired navy helicopter pilot and prosecutor is part of an influx of democratic veterans running. democrats estimate nearly one-third of their top-tier congressional candidates have served n the military. >> i went to the naval academy. >> reporter: why the sudden surge in veteran candidates? well, consider the current trust gap.en in a rpbs newshour-npr- marist poll, just 25% of adults had any confidence in congress, 43% in the presidency. but the military? twice that, holding the confidence of a sweeping 88% of americ adults. at a local street fair, sherrill talks abt her service. it's part of her argument for democrats in general. >> we have g to provide new

leadership in congress. we've got to make sure that we can provide a check this chaotic and reckless presidency. and so, the task right now is flip the house of representatives and ensure that we promote the values that this country has always stood for. >> reporter: this surge of isn't happening by accident. >> she's in a really strong position for june 5. >> reporter: recently, seral outside groups have formed to help veterans run for office, like this one, called new politics. e group's founder, emil cherniack, wants to reverse the shift in congress. >>istorically before 1975, over 70% of congress had served and you knw we're less than 18%. >> reporter: is is a historic low? h it's an historic low. yep, the lowest tory. >> reporter: but do voters care if a candidate is a veteran? we asked at the street fair. >> absolutely not. why? why would thatatter? anybody who can do the job well and get it done and help the people is, gets my vote. >> i'm more likely to support

someone who's supported our country in the past. >> they're less likely to be a politician.of they'll be mor citizen and for america than a politician. >> you ready, kiddo? >> reporter: back at the memorial, amery vasso shares tho family's histof service with his granddaughter. but, he says, it'll take more than a military record to get his vote. >> i want the one that's going to serve the country best, serve my community best, solve wsot needs to bed. if that's a veteran? excellent. ift's not, excellent, too. >> reporter: one thing pulling for veterans though-- he thinks they'rmore likely to see politics as a temporary job. >> i think that's how the framers intended it, not for people to be in washington d.c. for an eternity. >> reporter: not caree politicians? >> not career politicians. so i think the vet, teran has that idea of serving and>> eporter: they served. this year, voters decide if more veterans will govern. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa

desjardins in woodland park, new jersey. >> woodruff: and that bring us to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mard shand "new york times" columnist david brooks. so, mark, do we believe that being a veteran this year is help these candidates? >> i think it will, judy. and i'll tell you why. why i think that. and i thought lisa's piece captured it, but particularly with mr. avery there. we now are in an era irrespective of how you feel about parties, of the era of self politically, the self of me, d it's -- i was thinking how out of sync this era is with john mccain. john mccain's message until 20002008 was to serve aause greater than yourself and my cause, my country, which i've served in perfectly -- him perfectly. well, i think voters crav people who do have a sense of service, whether military

service certainly but the peace, corps, americohat they've had a cause greater than themselves. and i think we're yening fo that in the country and i -- it's missing in our national leadership. it's missing in the white huse. and i think it's prized by. vote i truly do. >> woodruff: how do you see this? >> it's always the case that voters want to know how a person's character is formed before poll tiths. so strong candidates have military, maybe business background, faith background, something that may say tis is who i am, not just being a politician. ink particularly this year the veterans are surging in parm through group called with honor. and what strikes me is whe meet them, they bring that rneddo attitude they all lea in iraq or afghanistan or elsewhere and they bring that to office. i would safi party idention is smaller pat of their personal identity. they are runnins republicans and democrats but that's not quite the same team ey grew up with which is not the case for

others moving upa rs and so they want to come to congress and be less partisan. whether that can actually happen is another question. once you get here, you know, the fundraising takes a ton of time the party -- am spirit takes a lot out of you. so we'll see if they canac ally do it. but it's -- they're certainly all amazingly impresve peop that you meet through this. so far their win/loss record iso perfect. a bunch of them are losing too which is what you'd expect. so it's not a lock-in as we heard from lisa's piece.sa >> i wil the democratic nominee in that race that lisa just reported on will almost surely be mikey cheryl, the former helicopter poilt and -- pilot and amy mcgrath, jet fighter pilot, and i think do think, judy at the reason that veterans are sort of prized is that at a time of universal draft, when four out of five senators that served now we're

down to 7% of americans who have ever worn the uniform and jusry ew in the congress. >> woodruff: we'll we're going to continue to watch and see how theyo as the year goes on so much to ask you both about on this friday. david, trade.s after we i guess on again/off again, are we or aren't we going to impose tariffs on aluminum and steel from our allies, the european union, canada and mexico.id the prt yes, yes, we are. the reaction has been very loud and very angry. what do we see at this point about the president's trade policy? >> well, the trade tariffs are almost always a bad idea. the other side -- they end up hurting each other we're well down that spiral of hurting ourselves. t what strikes me is donald trump's capacity or incapacity for relationship. most of us when we have a relationship, it's built on trust, predictability, reciprocity. we are friends with canada.

we are prends with europe. we are friends with mexico. does he ever have a relationship built on trust, reciprocity and predictability? the exact opposite. and so we are treating our ich iss like enemies, w bad for our relationships. it's also just bad for oury. econ and so he just has a mentality that sees the world as me and enemies. and sometimes that's okay. if he wants to treat iran and noanh korea liknemy, that's fine. but when you're dealing with your friends, your employees, the people around you, to treate everike an enemy is just ruinous. this is not going to destroy the economy, but it's just a bad way for america to be in the world. >> every president opposes -- imposes his values upon the country at some point either consciously or unconsciously and sometimes permanently. and donald trump is a man without friends. whatever anybody says. any biographer could not find a friend. he doesn't understand the relationship like that of the s and canada. canada has been at the united states' side at every major

conflict, at every major international agreement. it's been the, and the idea of making canada hotile, the object of -- the scorn isst - is just unacceptable. it's not how you treat your friends. that is not how you forge alliances. it is not how you sustain an eye liance. and i can understand the feeling toward china. but china if anything has been a favor. i mean whede did the pre make his greatest effort to save jobs in china foe after our intelligence forces said it was a security risk to the uniteddi states and tr with iran against the protocols. so i mean, this is a unpredictability may be very interesting in the real estate business. it's quite frankly reckless and dangerous in intnational relations, especially with those allies. >> woodruff: well, speaking of friends and values, david, there are a lot of the attention in the last couple of days about

the president's pardon. one pardon he's done for sure, and that is conservative wrter dinesh d d'souza who was convied for campaign finance violation ewt he's also talking about pardoning martha t who was involved in a stock trade and then a commutation of the sentence the former illinois governor rob blah guy vich. this has come out of nowhere appalyntly. >> usuhere's a process where you decide some injustice or someone's exemplary ad they deserve a pardon. now it's just pardons for friends and so he should just do the extreme right-wing swamp and pardon them all at once because he seems to be doing them one by one. judge arpayo and now dinesh. and so yu kn it's just -- it's so political. and it's of a nature of taking systems of our gove, which are ideally nonpolitical, the justice system and making it i reward my friends. obviously, bill clinton did thek same with mich but that was a low moment. and now it almost has bece routinized. >> woodruff: and, mark, there's speculation this is maybe

sending a signal to the -- to are upper mueller -- >> -- robert muller -- no. woodruff: to federal prosecutors to say whatever you do, i have the ultimate power to pardon these pe. >> this is not a dog whistle. this is a canine symphony. anybody who's been interviewed and embarrassed found on the offensive thinking about copping a plea by robert mueller's special counsel and his colleagues, this is a way of saying, stick with me. don't turn. and it will be okay.gh david's i think of gerald ford and the presidential pardon. he saved the nation. strife and division and hate and enmity with trial of richard nixon. and heaid an enormous price for it. he was casstygateed by editorial pages, by both parties and in his own lifetime, he lived to bc vied but it cost him the presidency. and you contrast that, of course, with bill clinton and

mark rich, an expate rate who eld arms to ournemies, a sleaze, and it'stained the bill clinton presidency. but david's right. this is early pops and th is blatant. and this is unsubtle what the president's doing. >> woodruff: we're a year and a half in. you used term sleaze and stain, and that bings me to the -- david, the -- i guess -- i don't know -- conversation this week about what initially started as esseanne bar tweeting something racist toward ent obama's former top aide valerie jarret, roseanne barr was fired b her note work pand then you had samana bee -- then you hadhe white house saying -- well, there have been all these insults directed at the president. where's our apology? where are the firings there?th samantha bee comedian, had something pretty awful to say about the president's daughter, ivanka, so bad we ca't repeat

it here on the "newshour." are we in some kind of ck and mud in this country now in terms of our language and course racist and the rest of it? >> i hope we're trying to drags ourselt of the muck. we've been in the muck for a while. the caused by social media. it's caused by diffe tnt standards than used to exist. it's caused had part by donald trump setting new norms about what can be said and then trump's critics matching them so when you see afounishmen roseanne or see the criticism for samantha bee, it's a society ying to re-establish some norms and manners. my hero a edmbuonrk, famous philosopher and parliamentarian -- >> you're right. you're right. >> and he said manners are more important than laws because manners touch us every day. it's manners that either degrade us or uplift us. and so estlishing the manne of a society is just super important. and when i see the firing, when i see the punishment for samantha bee and for others, to

me it's a society saying, no, there are limits. and it's important to emphasize that the word samantha bee used, you don't just walk through a door from cleanliness and then use that word the next ty. you've gwalk through a lot of the doors to degrade yourself to that level where you think that's acceptable ways of speaking. d so i think as a society, se're trying to close that -- back those doorst some new rules, set some norms, because without the norms ofn maners and civilility, life is just dog eat og. so i sort of se as good news that at least the reaction is coming. the lines are bei rdrawn. >> david is truly an incurable optimist. [ laughter ] he sees good news -- no, really, i mean it. i stand in aw, because i mean, i've j dt seen abasement of our national conversation, vulgarity ascendent and compensated and rewarded in the marketplace. and i just look at it -- >> woodruff: because of roseanne barr's show was top in the ratings. >> roseanne buo her shw was an

example i think of where the market is driving this. that's why samantha bee hasiv su to this point in a strange way is that she's a niche, a niche fige. her people haven't turned on her. we'll see if the advertisers do. it is -- what she did -- samantha bee did was nuclear. nuclear word. this is a -- is is the universal most offensive word to women that i -- i - know of. and the idea that this was not simply out of the spontaneous ismonologue. thas taped. it was looked at. and it was distributed. it wasn't a twaneet. i don't know about -- i just y found incredible hypocr the part of the #metoo movement on the part of a lot of feminists and liberals that thee have not as harsh on samantha bee as they were rightly on roseanne who has been

the godmother of every conspiracy theory in t attacking -- i mean, this was not an isolated incident, her -a her ng and abusing of valerie jarret, she did the sam thing san rice. she did the same thing to huma abedin. that was her modus op rande. >> woodruff: samantha bee still has her job as of tonight. w i don't knoif we want to end it this way but we're going to have to end this way in xt friday. mark shields, david brooks. thanks. >> thanks. >> woodruff: let's be honest. hockey often doesn't get the same respect in the u.s. thatr the other maagues get. but, the stanley cup finals provide a different level of intensity that attract more fans. and, as amna nawz tells us, there are two great stories behind this year's face-off.

>> reporter: judy, the las vegas golden knights may be the most successful expansion team ever in north ameca. in their very first season as a team, they made it to the finals, and they did it by scooping up talent that was basically unprotected by rival teams. the washington capitals, on the other hand, have knocked on the door of imthe finals a few. but even with one of the league's best players, thet ve come up shery time. s in facce 1984, they've blown a big lead in a playoff series ten times. this year, the battle for lord stanley's cup is tiedect one game a and tomorrow night the caps and the knights face off for game three in washington d.c. joining us now is greg wyshynski. he is espn's senior n.h.l. writer, creator of the "puck daddy" hockey blog at yahoo, and co-host of the hockey podcast, "puck soup." thanks for making the time. >> my pleasuret listen, ask but this now perspective on this matchup just when you're looking at golden caty intos, they weren't even a team a year agocr. hoy is it that we're

talking about them as a potential championship winner? >> everybody you talk to now will say, oh, we saw it coming. but of course, no one saw it coming. no one thought there -- they would be a playoff team or a championship. you can see he roots for this in the expansion draft in the sense that they were given, unlike the other expansion teams for the last 30 years, a better cut oplayer, the nhl made the rules a little bit tighter on teams so not only d the golden knights get better players for the draft, but the teams were then levaged into trading players to make sure that certain guys weren't taken. so the tth line fo golden caknights, their three bestay s, carlson, smith and jonathan all acquired vi trade versus being drafted. >> now we're looking at las vegas being a championship sports town. it's not exactly one with a supportied sports -- storied sports history. what does it mean for you that folks thereve hat had that. they've had a run with college basketballs. they could have va championship

on their hand. >> i'm somebody who thinks thato it's too mucsoon. i think they should lose and then be hungrier for the win next time. i talk to a lot of the vegas locals when i was there. and they made it clear, we are long suffering. we've waited decades for a item to come here professionally. e's just that leaguese worried about match fixing and things like that so they never had a team put there. but the other important thing id how bohe golden knights are with the city after the shoong tragedy on 1 october. their first home game was several days after the shooting. the their first home game featured players walking out on the ice with first responders. a player by the name of derrick engler a resident of vegas gave an iwhpassioned speech abouat the city means to him and what the team wants to mean to the city. after where you go arthe arena, you see vegas strong things. first responders and victims' families are hon ored at games. there's is a bond between the city and thieteam that no on could have anticipated because of this tragedy and there's no question that the motivation to

play for that city and t community has been one of the reasons they've thrived this year. >> so folks in vegas have beewan ing a while for an opportunity like this. fair to say for folks in washington, d.c., right? the last time they were playing for thcupt was 1998? >> yep. right? they got swept by detroit. it was not a good time for them. at would that mean to e folks in d.c. to actually win? >> it would be tremendous. the drough d in. sports-wise goes well beyond that, back to the redskins last super bowl as fampas the last chanship they've had here. but the amazing thing about the capitals' run is for year after year after year with alex ovechk, they were always predicted for big things, to win the cup maybe. and they never would. they would always ose in the second round, usually to the pittsburgh penguins. th year there were no expectations. of opportunity looke like it was closed. they were going to go with a younger team, a less proven team. and no one really expected them to wiofn. soourse what do they do? they start winning. they get past pittsburgh for the first time in ovechkin's tenure with the team. now they're playing for the cup

year after everybody assumed their window to win was closed. and it just goes to show, you never know. you never know what's going to hoop for your team. >> you never know. game three will be one to watch. that's tomorw night. greg wyshynski, thanks for your time. >> thanks for having me. to>> woodruff: now, to a about history and change., montgomeabama is a city of monuments and markers of its confcted past-- the nfederacy, segregation and the civil rights movement. jeffrey brown looks at a project to rebuild downtown while maintaining a sense of its heritage. it's part of his ongoing series, "culture at risk." >> brown: "colored" and "white": inscribed on two stones th once stood in a kress department store in the heart of downtown

montgomery, alabama, where everyone knew their place. >> you knew where you could and could not go. >> brown: valda harris montgomery used to go to kress as a young girl. >> it was just the unfairness and the inequality that you sensed that was so strong, you could sense that that you're not welcome. >> i think it is a vestige of truth. brown: now, those old snes are part of an effort by new york-based entrepreneur sah beatty buller to revitalize a building and downtown that had fallen on hard times. >> it really started very pragmatically with, "wow, thosec are some spear buildings, and they're not really being loved. do you think that we could do something maybe about buying those buildings and helping to restore them?" >> brown: but then it went further. buller, and her husband mark, have spent t last five-plus years renovating this building.

the goal: to create new commercial space that turns a profit and preserves a sense of sometimes painful hi >> i don't want to recreate a time in history that isn't a ve proud one. i do also think that i have a responsility to show a vestige of history, so that people understand thathat had an impact for how people behaved and how they connected, that we can come up with something that's better. >> brown: in montgomy, as in other cities, street names and neighborhoods were markers ofis racial dns: dexter avenue was a largely white shopping area. when businesses and people began to move to the suburbs in th 1960s and '70s, many buildings were left in disrepair-- paint peeling, windows boarded up. the kress building was one them. it was originally built in 1898, restored in 1929 after a fire, and finally shuttered in 1981. a so-called "five and dime store," it was a destination

for montgomery shoppers. but the block-wide kress also opened onto monroe street, a once-bustling black business area.>> hat was exciting to go to the five and dimes-- kress -- because you could buy your popcorn as a child. if you had a dollar or so, you could really spend it on jt junk. >> brown: valda harris montgomery's father anow grandfather d and ran a drugstore for decades on monroe street. her father later moved the lunch counter fr the store into their family home. there were many good memories, she told us, but she also witnessed the segregation imposed at kress and other stes: separate dining area restrooms, even a separate staircase that led to the african american shopping area downstairs. in the restoration, buller kept some of these features but in a new context.

>> if we took them out of this space, it would almost be like pretending this never happened. it would be wiping it away. that was not my place to do that. >> brown: buller reached out to local residents, including montgomery, for inpu >> when we were doing a brainstorming session in the building, and she spoke of the water fountains, it was a little visceral feeling there ofdi omfort. >> brown: things came back. >> things came back, came back quickl >> brown: so what's the value in keeping, in restoring them? >> well, you saw the younger people that have come down, that are really interested in learning the history because iey've only read about this. they grew up in egrated times.

and how so many of the young whitt are coming in that are wanting to learn about this history as well. i think it's going to be very, very, very beneficial.: >> bro does michelle browder. ♪ ♪ orshe runs a tour company, than tours, and was one of the first business owners to move into the new kress building. >> when i was shown the stones, the "colored" and "white" only water fountain signs, it was a no-brainer. i had to be here. >> brown: why? >> it just reminds us of the battle and the struggles that we have to continue to fight, for equality and for equal justice. and so basically, i thought it was important to be the keepers of the stone. you know, i just thought that narrative needs to be told. >> brown: she's also part of a new generation of african american entrepreneurs, and takes inspiration from being onr the samet where black- owned businesses once thrived.

>> for so long we've been groomed to go to college to work for someone else. no, we can own our own. there are enough here to be able to do that and offer a product that works. >> brown: the legacybrowder looks to is on display throughout the new kress building. art of the "remembering monroe" project, residents ght in photographs of th historic block. and downstairs, there's a space to record and share memories of the store and neighborhood. there's also an art studio containing works from alabama artists, including bill traylor, a self-taught illustrator, born into slavery, who gained famee drawing on monreet. there's plenty of space for new businesses, and two floors above are 23 luxury apartments, all quickly rented, for $900 to $1,200 a month. this is, remember, a business, one created by outsiders. >> i think, for us especially,

because we don't live here, to make sure that we could link arms with people in the localwh communithad and understood that our visions were aligned for what we wanted. and what we all did share was an interest in really trying to bring downtown montgomery back. >> brown: making money whileg dois. there's no shame in that. >> there's so no shame in that. i hope that every single square foot is rented, is leased, and it's a combination of local businesses and multinational businesses involved with conversations as it relates toer their custand social justice. >> brown: it's a big idea, mmbining history and profit, old stones and ney. buller and her husband have purchased several other buildings nearby, some in very raw condition. they plan to renovate them just as with kress. for the pbs newshour, i'm

jeffrey brown in montgomery, alabama. >> woodruff: and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin.r >> advice folife. life well-planned. elearn more at raymondjams.com. >> consumer cellular. >> leidos.rt >> suppoing social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better

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> tonight on "kqed newsroom," voting today in california on june 5th. it's the warriors and cavs again for the fourth consecutive year in the nn fis. plus a star-studded comedy festival retuns to the bay area. from dozens of performers to interactive exhibits. welcome to "kqed newsroom," i'm thuy vu. a new poll out on the governor's race s showsan diego republican john cox advancing to second place among likely voters. democratic lieutenant governor gavin newsom remains in the