captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good ev i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, one-on- one with john kerry: the former secretary of state reflects on america's role in the world and takes aim at president trump. >> you have a president united states about whom everybody knows there is a disdain for facts. there is almost no truth coming out on a daily basis. >> woodruff: then, an eyon sexual misconduct-- the head of cbs is out after new reports of harassment and even assault. and, big game-- a new book goes inside the scandals andle ches lining up for professional football. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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"florence" turns into a major mece to the mid atlantic a southern u.s. it powered up today to a category 4, ouof 5, with winds of 140 miles an hour. the storm is on tracake landfall by friday, and south carolina has now oered a million people off the state's coast. people in north carolina and elsewhere stocked up on groceries and supplies today. governor roy cooper warned against ignori the danger. >> the storm is strong and getting stronger. the best safety plan is preparation and common sense. t we aing florence seriously and you should too.w. get ready >> woodruff: the storm could be the strongest to hit north carolina since 1954. the states of virginia and maryland have also declad emergencies. the white house pressed agn

today for a federal investigation into who wrote that anonymous essayn "the new york times." the writer, said to be a senior administration official, claimed top trump appointees are working to thwart his worst impulses. press secretary sarah sanders defended the president's demane for the justpartment to get involved. >> i'm not an attorney. it's the department of justice to make that determination and we're asking them to look into it and make that determination and they certainly are fully capable of doing that. but somebody actively trying to undermine the duly elected president and the executive branch of government that seems ite problematic to me an something they should take a look at. >> woodruff: meanwhile, president trump called veteran journalist bob woodward "a liar," over allegations in his new book. it quotes ief of staff john kelly and defense secretary eames mattis as disparaging president. both men denied makinghe comments, woodward said sunday

they are not telling the truthin orthwest syria, the united nations reports more than 30,000 people have fled their homes, as russian and syrian air strikes intensify. the assault began last week in idlib province. it's the opening phase of a campaign to recapture the country's last rebelghold. taliban insurgents in northern afghantan kept up a wave of attacks today, with multiple strikes at police and soldiers. they killed at least 52 people, and seized weapons and military equipment. a provincial governor said nearly 4taliban fighters also died in the fighting. sweden is facing political uncertainty after sunday's elections. no party won a clear majority in parliament, but a far-right anti-immigration party captured nearly 18% support. the ruling center-left bloc lost ground, but its leader, the prime minister, dismissed the far-right group.

>> ( translated ): of course i am disappointed by the fact that the party with nazi roots could in so much ground. they have no budget that will work, no improvements that will make life easier for people. the only thing they could offer is a widening gap in society and growing hatred. >> woodruff: it could take weeks, or months, to form a new verning coalition. north korea wound up its 70th anniversary celebrations today, with thousands taking part. the festivities culminated in a night-time rally in pyongyang's central square. crowds of students carried torches spelling out slogans.ni this year's rsary promoted f onomic growth and kept long- range missiles outght. in washington, the white house called the change a sign of good faith. human rights groups in russia say re than 1,000 protesters were detained nationwide on sunday. from moscow to the russian far east, riot police roun, d up protesteand beat some withns .

the demonstrations were aimed at unpopular pension changes. back in this country, the "miss america" pageant has a new representative, after a year that saw its leaders forced ert ov sist comments.or miss new y nia franklin, won the title last night in atlantic city, new jersey. there was no swimsuit 8 mpetition for the first time in the pageant's 9years. and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average lost 59 points to close at 25,857. the nasdaq rose more than 21 points, and the s&p 500 added five. still to come on the newshour: former secretary of state john kerry on foreign policy in the trump presidency and his own new book. a wave of sexual misconduct allegations forces out thech rman of cbs. why the u.s. is taking aim at the international criminal court, and much more.

>> woodruff: john kerrled many lives over a five decade career in public service. he enlisted in the navy in 1966 and served in vietnam after graduating from yale. a highly decorated officer, he then famously spoke out against that war upon his return. he would go on to serve in the u.s. senate for nearly 30 ars; in 2004, he was the democratic nominee for president. and in january 2017, he completed four years as secretary of state under, barack obama.ou he rs those years, and those lives, in a new autobiography: "every day is extra." j and john kerns me again. welcome back to the newshour. >> thank you so much. happy to be here. >> so this book is about your life, your public life, your

penn life. i want to back into though. by looking at washington rig now. a lot of news about disarray, qunfusion inside the white house. tions about president trump's leadership. in all your time in this city, have you ever seen anything like this? >> never. >> woodruff: and is there anything you can compare it to? >> well, obviously the closest comparison ithe years of richard nixon, richard nxon taped himself. donald trump had omarosa so l there isttle more spice to it but what we're seeing, judy, i regret to say, is simy not rising to the level of concern publicly or in choices that are being made by people in washington who have an ability to have an impact. and rticularly think the united states senate was

designed for moments like this that is why people have six year terms that is why st operated under different rules but one party appears to have decided that their loyalty to paty, president and po ber is greater than their loyalup toolding the constitution and preserving the institution itself. i think it is stunning to me that-- look, you have a president of the united states about whom everybody knows. there is a disdain for facts. there is aost no truth coming out on a daily basis tat major media documented, you know, almost 5,00lives now. you have a document being taken off the desk of the president so that a policy isn't put in place. >> what effect do you think is having on the united stays' position in the world. >> horrible effect. it's not what i think is

happening, it is what i know isp ing. there are certain people who are readily and happily ta advantage of this president. and you have seeni that, i tnk, with what china is doing right now in certain places. you atave seen ith president putin in some many ways. what happened in helsinki is a total disgrace when he met with president putin. andee cam out of a meeting with president putin and ratified, seem to take president putin's position on how we could get to the bottomru of thesia investigation, by m having mikfall, the former ambassador be submitted-- be subjted to coming over to russia, to have to be intergrated by the russias. he gave up on the idea after 24 hours but it shouldn't have lasted for 24 seconds. i mean this is the kind of thi that i think people all over the world are holding their breathe and wondhingat is next. >> woodruff: well, let me ask you about some spfiplaces, parts of american foreign policy

where we are watching problems right now, syria. this is a place, it has been in the middle of the civil war. right now they are on the cusp of what appears to be a humanitarian disaster. the syrian government w the backing of russia and ir about to go in and attack the last holdout of rebels. this has happened, built up over a course of years in which the u.s. has notla pyed the role that many thought it had. u tried in your time in the obama administration to get the u.s. more involved.a is wwe are seeing today honestly theruit of decisions made during the obama administration not tt more involved? >> st the treuts-- fruits of a long period of unfortunately the entire international community, failing to do what the t ternational community should do. i write in the book, there's a chapter on syria callethe open wound 69? why because it is a opened

festering wound. because we didn't in my judgement make the moves we should ha te madeo leverage a sad to the-- sa assad to the table. i thought there were things we could have done. i lost that arg >> woodruff: why do you think president obama didn't go along with you? >> he had a perception and a different conclusion to his thinking process. and s judgement was tit carried risks that were not worth taking. that it also would probably drag us in even more at a time whewen ere trying to get out of several other wars. i didn't carry the argument. the president is the decider. and i backed the decision. i mean he makose decisions. >> woodruff: i want to move you through several other elements of american foreign policy. north korea, you have been very critical of president trump but did extend an outreach to leader kim, north korea, they had a summit. there are some signs that the

north koreans may be slowing down. we don't know what more they are doing, their nuclear-- they haven't been any more. >> they our intelligence community says they ar continuing. >> woodruff: so you don't believe there's been any positive move toward an agreement on nucle, denuclearization? >> i believe that z it is good to talk. i tpportedhe president in his effort to try to reach out. but don't support the policy that has not been thought through sufficiently to have a clear, presentation process for a summit. and a clear understanding of at you can get out of tt summit 6789 but the truth is there is no unerdanding on what denuclearization means. therg is no understandr how you move to actually account for the current weaponry they have. there has to be a declaration of what they have. then there has to bed an adds

quait process of access to ketermine whether this dec laration is truthful and how you manage that, none of that is happening. >>oodruff: so you done see anything pos 2eu6. >> i see positive that they reached ouand positive that they are willing to talk. i see its positive for at least this periodme he is not firing a miss il. but what we hear were our intel community is that they ey are continuing the production behind the scenes quietlunder the table, and there are great indications that, in factt, tha in fact chairman kim is playing ropea dope. >> woodruff: very quickly through some other points because i want to get tothe book. i want to ask you about the iran nuclear deal. you may it clear yu think it was a huge mistake for the trump administration to withdraw the u.s. from that nuclear deal. doicou think, just very y, do you think the europeans can hold that together, a and what do you think the trump administration's goal is. do you thienk it isime change? >> i do. i think that fundamentally, they

are reaching for regime change strategy but i think that they ve, in fact, made a decision which is extraordinarily dangerous. and counter productive for our untry. so let me ask you a question. what countries are with us?a i a couple of countries in the middle east who have always sted iran, their focusiran am but the countries that resole involved in thotiation, china, russia, germany, frans, britain arpe all suportive of the agreement today, trying to keep the agreement and what is inresting is iran is supportive of the agreement and trying to keep the agreement. now president trump by pulling out has abndoned our allies, actually infuriated them. he has also broken apart the capacity of a moderaresident of iran, moderate by their standard. i'm not, n't qualify it here. but to try to begin the to move this country away frm where they were heading and embrace change and an opening to the

world. now the hard-liners in iran have been empowered by what has hatched. and the president has made it harder for any iranian leader to sit down an otiate with an american because the hard-liners that don't negotiate with ericans because you ca't trust them-- . >> woodruff: to the book. o or mon the back and more on your life. how do he see your role in how the united states looks back on theat nam? >> well, i hope, i mean johnca and i defined that role to a degree together. and john and i didn't know each othewell. he was the president of war, spent five and a half years in, jawas a protester who came back after the war hi seen. so so we went back to vet nam. we created an enormous probycess hich we account for those missing and dead or a prisoner. and i write in the book that one of the most profound moments of my public career was standing in the jail cell in hanoi in the hanoi hilton where john mccn spent me of those years with

him, just the two of us. and it struck me, if john mccain md john kerry can coe together and find common grounds in a jail cell in hanoi, we can solve any problem here in america. >> woodruff: and that is what i want to ask you about. because you do write about your time in the senate in the 19 '80s and '90s, the 2 thousand when even though the was clearly disagreement between republicans and democrats, theyr were able totogether on some important issues. is this country ever going back to a time like this or are we permanently changed? >> depends on the leaders. the rule of the senate, i tell people, are only marginally, tiny little here or there the nuear piece obviously. but basically the rules of the senate are the same they were when it, wod.op it is the who have changed. >> woodruff: you have been htalking in talking about book, about the importance for democrats of the mid te, r showingp, voaght, what is it that democrats should be saying

ri the amen people. >> i think democrats are saying it to the american people, they get swallowed up in day tweets and other things that are happening. but it's very, very clear, only me party in this countde a point of nominating a candidate who didn't believe the president of thenited states was born in america or was american. only one party in this country has been willing to walk back from their constitutional responsibility when you look at what shaping in the white house today. but the demtiocparty, i believe, wants to make sure that they are not going to take awayh heare from americans because of preexisting conditions. i think the democratiparty is very clear about climate change. we want to bthe people who bring the energy revolution,th is millions of jobs, cleaner, saves lives, and maicks ama leader in the world. >> you have referred several times to the need for presidential leader shirp. you haven't ruled out yourself running in 202 >> have i not been thinking of

doing it. my entire effort right now is focused on 2018 because in two months we have an opportunityto make our democracy work. and it is a great course correction. the difference in donald trump's presidency is not theeople who voted for him, it's the people without didn't vote at all. >> but y haven't ruled itout, 2020. >> you keep going there, you guys, huh? >> woodruff: former secretary of state john kerry, and the is extra"every day thank you. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> woodruff: the chairman and chief executive of cbsleslie moonves, is stepping down as several more women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment or assault. as amna nawaz reports, h departure marks a dramatic downfall for one of the industry's most powerful men.

>> nawaz: the 68-year-old moonves has been at cbs since 1995, and chairman and c.e.o. sinc2003. the accusations against him m cover a 20-year span-- fe 1980's to the 2000's. moonves reportedly began negotiating the terms of his departure weeks ago, after a "new yorker" report earlr this summer featuring accusations made against him by six separate women. the "new yorker" published a second report this weekend with six new allegations of misconduct or assault by moonves. within hours of the story's publication, the company announced his departure. the reporter behind both of ose reports, ronan farro joins me now. welcome back to the newshour, ronan. i want to begin by asking you about thoses dozen women across both reports. give me a sense of what stood out to you by their stories and consistencies you saw across what they told you. >> well, often in a body of reporting like this there is a hich you realize there are too many stories with too

many similarities in the factsfo patter it to be coincidental. these are not women that were in touch with each oter, there was no coordination, and yet they were producing uncannily slar details about molestation b less moonves. the other thing in talking with them is how serious the misconduct was. we are talking about multiple alleges that would meet the department of justice'sfi tion of rape, multiple allegations of serious sexual assault, forced oral x and finally there is a theme running through these stories of reclliation. womeiming that their careers were destroyed after they rejected less man ves. >> st worth mentioning, of course, in response to your report late on sunday mr. moonves released a statement. i want to read that ipart. the untrue allegations of from e cades ago are now being made against me that t consistent with who i am. i am deeply sadenned to be aving the company i wsh nothing but the best for the organization. i want to ask you about th cds response though, not to this

story, ronan but the first one back then they said there were no settle ams or claims of misconduct that they gnaw about. during moonves' time with them, in this report you talk about a criminal complaint that was filed by one woman last year. did the cbs boardot know about that? >> we reported in this latest article thata portion of the cbs board knew about that dating back to late january.h >> so did, in fact, know about that onement but tell me a little bit aboutthe vestigation now. there are two law firms that have been appointed to both conduct instigations, you've been talking to folks inside cbs. what do they make about h these investigations might turn out? >> you know, it's worth pointint out hese investigations are being lead by reputable law firms and by two attorneys a each firm there is a woman in charge of this that i nk commands respect. that said, there are significant questions from these sources in the stories about the impartial

naturef the investigation. as long as the board was in place as it was f aew days ago, with a majority of its members very much predisposed to ben favor of mr. moonves, people within the company not prepared to speak to these investigators in a lot of casesh becaus felt that there was no universe in which there would be an outcome that actually held anyone to aount am and they feared they might be retaliated against for speaking. and that is partly because this is not just less moonves they wereomplaining about. this is a broader culture and a story of men allegly protecting each other within the company. thatncludes jeff feiger, women within cbs news that aretill relax tenant. so too that point about that broader culture we reported on both times, do you get the nse that the investigation is looking into those possibilitieo into the bader culture? do you think that there could be similar additional behavior

uncovered? >> if the firm, th two frms are doing their jobs, then that is exactly what they are looking . it's been stated publicly that they are looking at the problems of cbs news. we spoke to anon executive oe of these stories who said that the writ of these includes thosg nst feiger as well as moonves. there is cautious optimism now that the board has changed, si members replaced, now that moonves is out of power but there are still a l of questions for a lot of employees at cbs who are frightened to speak. >> ronan farrow reporting on this continuing. and congratulations on your report, thanks as always for making the time. >> thank you, amn to learn more about what cbs's lreaction has been and whs ahead for the media giant, i'm joined by meg james of the "los angeles times." welcome to the newshour. i want to ask you abo the timing of what we have seen frob it wasn't really until the second report from ronan that decisive action was taken, whabe

ha happening in the cbs board room for the last several weeks since the allegations first surfaced? >> well, the cbso board rom has been very fraught over the last few weeks. me of the board members were quite taken aback by the charges that ronan's first article back in july exposed. i think a lot the board members, some more oldern gentlentlemen, felt like these were going to be just casual flings anthat th allegations themselves want back decades. so they weren't really that concerned or at least it dnt appear they were that ccerned until after the first story hit. and then a few days later cbs said like yes, we're taking these allegations very seriously. and then a few days after that they hired two very prominent plaw firms to investigate, not only the charges against mr. moonves but the culture at cbs. cbs news and all of cbs korp.re >> twith an sec filing

yesterday as cbs as pt of an another. i will read it but my reading is less the board decides pends investigation results to fire hmr. moonves for cause, now and will continue to work for them for up to a rear in an advisory caacity. he also stands to get paid $120 million. you can explain to us how that would work? >> yes, mr. moonves had renegotiated his contract more than a year ago. so there are provisions in place for him to be paid a prettye lucratttlement when he left cbs. he has been in charge of the company for more tha12 years. he's been an incredibly successful, one of the the most successful executives in all of hollywood and the board rewarde him way very lucrative contract, which allowed a production deal and considerable stock and options and other compensation when he left. the board is now in a very uncomfortable position. they have a contract whereve mr. mothat requires them

to pay him out. they have not fired him yet, they want to wait until after this investigation is completed and then they'll decide what portion of that 120 million if p any will beaid to mr. moonves. now the 20 million dllars that has been a go to group sorting metoo and woalmen's ey in the workplace, that money is going to come right out of what they would may mr. moorch moonves. it will likely be negotiated. i suspect the ng weeks when the findings are complete and cbs can really look at the totality of the charges. so there is a lot of legal implications that comes from this review. and i think cbs and the filing early this morning or late last night just madte that clear, tha they going to put 120 million in a trust account and tat, you know, will be sealed up until they can figure out how much if any moonves is entitled to. >> there wasnother legal battle playing outn the background. this one involving the former

paofnt company viacom, sor battle for control the that was settled this weekend. do we have any sense that the board's foot dragging in dealini mr. moonves and these specific allegations, was any of that wrapped up over that battle? >> a little bit it was separate from the sexl harassment charges. but last fall sherry reone who is one of the controlling shareholders of cbs as well as viacom, the other media company, started making-- for chappings on the board. and i feel like she felt che board needed a refresh. it needed new board members with different ethperience. an is what was the compromise they came to over the weekend. was that they would install six new board members in an attempt to ensure the board would have independence, not only for miss dstone but also from cbs management. i think that there was a feeling that the previous board, the one that was just aced, was a

little too close to moonves. and that was part of the rough-and-tumble between sherrne redsnd less moonves. and he had had the intort of thc board, ourse, until-- the support of the board until yesterday. >> until yesterday when c everythinged there, media giant has now forever changed. meg james of the los angeles times, thanks for your time. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: today, ambassador john bolton gave his first official speech as president trump's national security adviso bolton spoke to the federalist t societ conservative and libertarian organization, and took aim at the international etiminal court. but bolton also ta the palestine liberation thganization, and announce closure of the p.l.o.'s office

in washington, d.c. our foign affairs correspondent nick schifrin was in the room d joins us now. nick, why are they closing its plo office? >> the main reason that ambassador bolton and the state department said today was palestinians use ofim international al clip, the icc. the icc is based in the hagueo and designedackle some of wamanitarianities toughes crimes, crimes against humanities. the palestinian said they would go to e icc over israeli settlements in the west bank,er eizure of israeli property, over what palestinian officials call israeli usef force nside of the west bank. that's number one. number two reason why the u.s. says that it is closing the plo office here is that the palestinians aren't going helpful when it comes to peace talks and peace efforts. jason greenblat and jared kushner, the two advisors to president trump who are creating a peace plan, the palestinians have refused to meet them nce the u.s. moved the embassy from tel aiv to swrers lem aw

months ago. and they have also been disparaging. some of the work that the two of them have done even though that work isn't done. so what you heard bolton say today is that one, the icc, the international criminal court, should not be investigaang what he clled israeli housing pojects, not settlements. >> and twot thathe office here in washington had blocked efforts toward peace. >> the trump administration will not keep the office open when the palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct andul meaninegotiations with israeli-- israel. the united states supports a direct and roust peace process. and we will not allow the icc o her organization to constrain its rheal'sight to self-defense. >> i talked to the ambassador to the u.s. for the palestinians. he said look, this is not going to change ourehavior. we are going to take the israelis to the icc and we're going to continue not to help jar ead kushner and jason greenblat peace effort.

he later released a statementyi we stand firm in our decision not to cooperate in this ongoing campaign to liquidate our rights and cause. our rights are not for sale. we will bloy attempts at bullying and black mailing us.ru >> wo: so nick, this reveals not just frustration about what is going on right now but long-standing frustration for the palestinians. >> long-standing frustrations and real frustrations with the trump administration over the last few months. one, the removal of the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. presidensaying we took jerusalem off the table, plirns want east jerusalem as a future capital. number two, 200 million humanitarian made being cancelled by the u.s. administration that was for things like hospitals in east jerusalem that provided cancer e treatment, fample. the palestinian authority can't provide that treatment and those hospitals have lost that money. number three, $300 million for the u.n. agency that helps plirn refugees, again providing schools, health care, things that no one else in the west

banker orn gaza ca provide. now u.s. will say that those u.n. schools were beingsed by hamas to house rockets. and also that at organization was kind of skewing the definition of a refugee. in the past the u.s. has provided aid and separately hoped for a political solution. plirns believe that this is th u.s. taking away aid to black mail tem and force them toward a political solution. >> woodruff: so whre does this negotiation stand? we haven't seen any peace plan,w ha >> we have not seen any peace plan. u.s. officials are hoping to releases something by the end of the year. and they describe different approach. rather than the blue print for talks that t negotiation between two sides, they really are going to release a robust,lo significan peace plan and a lot of it has to do with economic inentives for the palestinians rather than necessarily answeringvery palestinian and grieving. >> so you were saying that bolton spent most of his time

talking about the internationalm al court, the icc. what is this, what is behind this? >> this is part of john bolton's worldview. it really is. that states are thmost important body in the international arena. and states should never give up any sovereignty, ever, especially to any kind of international organiz and the way to have influence in the world is not through allies. not through alliances, it's not through influence and multilateral institutions but as we put it toyed, power. >> the >> the hard men of history are not deterred by fantasies of international law such as the i.c.c. time and again, history has proven that the only deterrent to evil and atrocity is what franklin roosevelt once called "the righteous might" of the united states and its allies, a pree direct, so how does ngat play out in policy. >> it hasn't ch policy dramically yet. but we are seeing bolton's ideology play out across e

administration's foreign policy priorities. agreatening use of forceinst syrian president assad, and his ally russia. if tre is another checal weapons attack inside of syria. threatening european countries, european allies f they try and help iran, basically calling their bluff saying that they don't have the military, economic or political weight to convince iran to stay inside the nuclear dealment and in north korea, north korea needs to give up all of its nuclear weapons before the u.s. gives in very much. that is bolton's philosophy. y rth korea, and frankly south korean officials at is not how it should work. th will take steps if you take steps that is whate koreans said, that is not a philosophy john bolton adheres to. >> woodruff: nick schifrin, we thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: this week marks the

last week of primary voting before the mterm elections. it comes on the heels of former president obama making his presence felt on the campaign. lisa desjardins is here for this week's politics monday. >> desjardins: the eounds are ending. it's a good time to get ready for the fina of this key dterm year. and a good time for politics monday. here to bring us up to speed: shawna thomas, d.c. bureau chief of vice news. and amy walter of the "cook political report." thank you, let'sri just jumht into where we are. we have new york gubernatorial primary on thursday. we've got tomorrow, delaware and new hampshire which is strangely the last primary in the nation, i guess they could say now. but let's go big, why not. amy, tell us what this means ant what a expected real battle lines for november right now.k >> ihe one theme that has been apparent through out all these primaries in all different kinds of states and districts is the number of women who were successful asth candidates odemocratic

side. my colleague looked into all the ces for a the house and what he found is althe cadidates and democratic primaries, these are without incumbents, so open seats, a woman who was running against at least one other man, won 69% of the time. so women were winning a disproportionate number on the democratic side, the number on h,e republican side, much, muc much lower. but that is one key variable. and i think that is goingo be obviously a very big talking point on election night to see if we do hit and exceeds the march hit in 1992 which was thee firs of a woman when a record number of women where elected to congress. >> what do you see here, what are the two battle lines hee at are the two parties trying to sell and where do they conflict in november?he >> i thinkkey battle line and other big theme other than women and maybe because of women is president trump. and there is no way to get around that. as many mid termare, they usually are about the person who is in the white house. this one is no different.

thisevne is more powerfully so about the person in the white house. i think we saw examples of that and i am sure we will get to this about former president obama being on the campaign trail. we will, i promise. >> in illinois wheeling directly against president trump but also inalifornia striking a slightly different tone in california. but still making sure peopl know this is about flipping the house of representatives fo democrats, and flipping the house of representatives is in some ways a code is ofin saya way to put a check on the president. >> the other main story line too for these elections is just the difference in the maps for the house and for the senate. the battle for the sete runs through red, rural states that president trump is still relatively popular, in some cases still very popular in. the battle for the house runs through purple, suburban america twhere the president is n very popular. so we could have and election nigh awhere democratually do very well in the house but trug el? the senate. >> what's interesting, this is

in part a test at least in am so places of president trump, but we have former prntesibama out there. let's look at, first of all, let's listen what he habeen saying from this weekend. play the tape. >> we have the chance to flip the house of representatives and mike sure the real checks and balances are in washington. and i cannot tell you all across the country you can feel the energy. yofeel people saying oh, enough is enough. we're going tok kicoff our bedroom slippers, we're putting on our marching shoes. we are going to go up and we're going to start ting some clip boards out. i want you to start knocking on some doors. we're going to start making some calls. we're going to volunteer. >> kicking off the bedroom slippers, meakk some calls, whatever people do, shawna, my question is what does president obama do for democrats.

at might he do for republicans. >> well, like president trump, prident obama comes with his flaws and his positives. the positives are wen it is all said and done the person the head of the democratic party still, despite the fact he isn't in ihe white houpresident nobody i ever talked to has had a better answer f the question who is the heads of the party. one of the things our correspondent on vice news toght saw when he was o there in california were pem were driving miles and miles and hours and t urs to be par this event. and those were hard-core democrats. that weaptd necsarily independents and other people. hard-core democrats. coming to see him. he i able to-- able to get that kind of rally and energy that president trump can get on the other side to a certain extent. so that is a positive, great. the other thing is in sm ways he is bltion the example of what people were rallying against when they voted for president trump. so they will, and so theirpu icans will say look, they're going to go back to barack obama. somebody he didn't like in the

white house, that is still the head of your party, come out and vote, those are the people who usport president tmp. >> is he the head of the democratic pty? >> you probably remember this, i remember those speeches that he made saying th exact same things. you guys need to am could out and vote. you need to this for my legacy, whatever you do. apathy is ouriggest problem. he said that in 20 10rbgs he said it in4, 201hose vots still did not turn out for democrats. they turned out for him, but never his party. i still believe the biggest motivator for democrats is doned a trump. and he is still the biggest, 800 pound gor la is he the bigest factder in 2018. i do think yes, republicans are gog to try use obama but mostly use nancyelos as theon peo say if you elect democrat they will just follow the liberal marching orders from their leaders. but i think the bigger risk right now from republicans is

that trump is taking all the oxygen and all of not kus that they would rather be spending talking out the economy, deregulation and anything el that they aing in washington. they don't want donald trump to be making it all about him. >> i want to talk about the u.s. senate and something that might be going on. i saw video of the el paso congressman o rocker, lighting a fire for many progressives, dointhings like skteboarding in parking los, uncon vekal, something the liberal left is ving. something that some people think might be a problem fored cruz. there say po showing he is within four points. what is ing on in teas. does this man actually vay chance of becoming a senators from texas? have i to admit i saw the poll and also wasike oh, okay, okay, so maybe he has a chance, there say possibility he has a chance, in the reporting done when it comes to beto, he has

gone to a lot of parts of the state that usually democrats have ignored. wi has made it his duty to go to every single count the idea that if you know you can win houston, dallas, austin,ma r cities, if you can pick up a another thousand votes way o o wesomewhere else, perhaps this is something that actually possible. i'm still saying perhaps because i still think texas is still a solidly red state. >> okay. >> i think the bigger challenge rate now for republicans in holding a seat is tennessee, a deep red state where the candidate on the democratic side is actually a little bit ahead of the republicans. >> but the senate is getting interesting. thank you amy walhawna thomas, wonderful heaving you here for politics monday. >> of coue. >> oodruff: the long-running feud between president trump and the national football leaguers over plaaking a knee for the national anthem bubbled up

yesterday. even before players took to the field for the first games of the regular season, mr. trump tweeted: "if the players stood for our flag and anthem, and it is all shown on broadcast, maybe ratings could come back." william brangham explores the months-lg dispute. >> brangham: by some measures, the n.f.l. is great shape-- football games are consistently the most popular events on tv and owners are makinmillions. but the n.f.l. is also wrestling withultiple scandals: horrib violence committed off the field by players; the growing awareness that playeies and brains can be irreparably camaged by the game; and of course, the poliprotests by some players that are amplified and attacked by president trump. "new york times" political reporter mark leibovich spent four years amongst owners and players of pro football and he's out with a new book, "the big game: the n.f.l. in dangerous times." welcome to the newshour. >> good to be with you.

>> so many people going to knee you as a political reporter, they will remember your last book, this town which was all about washgton d.c. i'm just curious what it was like tor you spending all of these years chronicling and covering washington and thn now immersing yourself in what to my eye feels like a very different world. >> to my eyes it did too, i wanted a respite from politic i needed a break, and as it turned out i jumped into the nfl swamp and the arrest from politics lasted about two minutes or so. the was no escape from politics in the nfl and that includes league politics and getting immersed with the owners, commissioners and a bunch of players, you realize the ck biting and elbowing in washington is comparable to what you see in this organization. t then donald trump got involved and nfl has become this hobby horse of histh and hinks is a political winning issue for him and he jumped on it. of>> you uncovered a tap owners talking about the deficit they were having. what did you finned.s >> ts during the height of the national anthem crisis last october. there was a private meeting

between a group of players and a thgroup of ownerat roger goodell, the commissioner con seened-- convened at the park avenue headquarters. it was a private meeght. and one of the participates in this ws nice enough to share an audio recording of this with mee and kelson my colleague at the "new york times." to be able to listen to how thew rs talk about this issue and really the kind of primal fear h the of donald trump was very reminiscent, some what, of listening to u.s. senators or congressman, especially republicans living in fear of the next presidential tweet.ha it is like yoe a sense of someone who is kind of manipulating events from aware. and i was amazed at how scared they sounded. how confused they sounded. and also how short sighted they sounded. they are sitting at the top of a multibillion dollar empire. they can just print money. i mean it's not going to go away any time soon and yet they're just worried about the next tweet. l>> you also spend of time in the book and personally with tom brady, thnfl's golden boy.

and itu admeavily in the book that you are a diehard patriot fan. i thitk you referred t as the disease you contracted early on, what was that like for you. >> tom brady was ad guy, able to write a profile for the time magazine a few years ago. i have interviewed prsidents app all kinds of c.e.o., celebrity types, i don't think i have ever been as nervous as when i got to be a fan boy, it is kind of a thetic thing to admit but it's kind of true. >> in the book you don't go eas on him. are you tough on him, you do point out, especially with regards to this holistic mind body thib he is dong with his guru. >> look, i mean, this is an insurd world we are ta about. these are worlds of incredible wealth, incrediblego, incredible accomplishment, incredible success. but also incredible insularity and it is incumbent upon me to tell what this anthropology is like and how it is different from what you and i ar used to. >> the subtitle of the book as we described is the nfl in dangerous times. i mentioned a few of the things

that might be icebergs in the waser. what do yoas the most dangerous things for the nfl. >> well, i mean i think the two things are one, definitely health and safety and the realization that the nfl is tbing to be unself at any speed, players keep getting bigger, faster, stronger. p and you caobably influence it around the margins with some rule changes or equipment chans but ultimately that is not going to change in any big way except that the research will keep owing us that it is very dangerous and the more dead playeravbrains becomailable, the more awareness it will be ecd people are going to make hopefully informedions about whether they want to be a part of this. the other thing i think is just technological and cultural cord cutting and technology change, an also just the idea of people have so many moroptions and entertainment. owere is no sense that football has the room to hat they might think it is. >> on the issue of the concussions and the degenerative brain disease, your book is still with examples of players and owners and people on the margin saying i don't want to tawng about concussions am i

don't want to address tha but it really is potentially an existential threat. p the talent pool dries if enough kids and parents say i'm not doing that, i don't kno the game survives. >> look, for like a viewer of this, i like to think ae thoughtful vwer there is a lot of cognitive disonance that goes into watching and lo football. i experience it i'm sure other people who watch footballt. experience there is this comingling of just loving the sport, loving what is on tv, the great sectacle that football presents, a lot of 9 nostalgia i grew up watching football with the adult realizations of what this sport as doing to people. >> of course wee also been seeing this recent controversy with the n, ke ads and colin kaepernick and ongoing protests of players betens police violence and racial injustice. president trump as you mentioned has clearly believed that the seantagonism against thouys say winning political issue for him. what are the owners reactions to that? >>n a lot of them have

personal history with donald trump arc lot gave money to his campaign, donald trump himself has been trying to get in the nfl over four decades and wouldn't give the time of day, this is driven in some ways by personal grieveance. os of them know him sort in that rich guy circle. and they want nothinto do with him. and yet now they have to deal with him because he is in the white house and decided to heckel from the bullypit, i assume we will be hearing more from him as we get closer to the mi election. >> your book also spinsd a good deal of time dissecting the career of nfl comitionzer roger goodell. how much of the problems of the nfl do you pu at hs feet, could he have a meal yor yaited m.of the >> he could have mated them better, in the last ten years which mimics his commissionership, the league has gone from one of the most yun fying institutions in ameri to probly the most polarizing sports brand we have. i asked him flat out last januy, do you bear any responsibility for. this and he punted, good football melt metaphor. he s tid i thit is more to

do with the political times we are living through than anything and it is probably true, but it is also, i don't think it is a ahealthy thing for the e to vay comitionz thary is des piesed as widely as he is by the fans of the nfl and a lot of the players. yes, he makes people a lot of money but this is 32 really rich guys and i think the rest is sort of a drain on the brand in some ways. >> the book is bigame, the nfl in dangerous times. mark leibovich, thank you. >> thanks for hang me. >> woodruff: as students across the country return to school how can they can best prepare for the academic year ahead? daniel levitin is a musician, aauthor, neuroscientist,nd teacher. every september he tells his students something they would never expect, revealed in tonight's in my humble opinion. >> it ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble.

it's what you know for sure that just ain't so. you may be familr with this mark twain quote-- it was used in the film "the big short," and in al gore's film "an inconvenient truth." thain is saying that if you're sure you know sog, you act on it with the strength of conviction, never considering you might be wrong. if you're sure that this alternative treatmen help cure you better than "western medicine" you'll forego the traditional treatmen two-thirds of cancer patients believe that alternative medicine will prolong their lives, but in fact patientwho turn to it are twice as likely to die of their cancers. if you're sure that your choice of political candidate is right, you're not going to be open- minded about any new evidence that might come in that could, or should, cause you to change your mind. i am a college professor, and i train phd students for careers as neuroscientts. they come into my laboratory full of confidence. they have been at thtop of

every class they've ever taken. i spend most of my time trng to teach them that they don't know everything they think they do. my job as a teacher is to unteach them. i'm always asking, "y do you think that? what's the evidence?" these lessons take four to eight years. knowledge can only be created in an environment where we're open to the possibility that we're wrong.co you may ize the zen connection, the wisdom of insecurity.if ou think you know everything, you can't learn anything.in i that all of us are capable of this kind of critical thinking. every fo-year old asks a series of incessant "why" questions. we have this beaten out of us early on by worn-down parents and teachers. but this "why" mode is the keyto ritical thinking. think like a four-year old. ask "why" and "how." ask them often. this attitude allows us to navigate the world more effectively, choosing among options, or political

candidates, or medical likelyents, that are mor to maximize our success and well-being. by the way, mark twain is widely cited for e quote we began th. but there is no evidence that he ever said it or anything le it. the source of it is s known. sometiu don't know what you think you do. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and aga here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century.

>> supported by the john dt.and catherinacarthur 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. anbsby contributions to your station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by cnewshour productions, ll captioned by dia access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

[ bebells play tune ] [ theme music plays ] ♪ -i think i'm home, i think i'm home ♪ ♪ how nice to look at you again ♪ ♪ along the road, alg the road ♪ ♪ anytime you want me ♪ you can find me living right between your eyes, yeah ♪ ♪ oh, i think i'm home ♪ oh, i think i'm home -today on "cook's country," bryan tries to crack the secrets of a beloved north carolina dipped fried chicken recipe. jack challenges bridget to a tasting of chocolate ice cream. and ashley makes biodget a classic veof north carolina lemon pie. h that's all righte on "cook's country."