captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: presidt trump directly estions christine blasey ford's claims of sexual assaultc by suprert nominee brett kavanaugh. it's friday. mark shields and ramesh ponnuru break down the fallout from ford's accusations, the president's move to declassify certain russia investigation documents, and more. plus, screen legends robert redford and sissy spacek discuss their new film, "the old man and the gun," and their apprch to acting. >> being in the moment is part of what being an actor is. if you're really in the moment, that means things are going to be just loose enough for you to improvise ifou have to. you know, if you're in the moment. as long as the moment's real. >> nawaz: all that and more, on

tonight's pbs newshour. or >> major funding fhe pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> consumer cellular 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 phone, nothing more, nothing less. to learn more, go to

consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries o frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing suort of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. s >> togram was made possible by the corporation fora public broing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. nawaz: the struggle ove supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh, and sexual assault allegaons, is intensifying on

two fronts tonight. one involves when and how to p holdlic hearing. the second involves the president challenging vanaugh's accuser. congressional correspondent lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> desjardins: after measured talk for most of the week, president trp today fired out sharp words about accusations aom christine blasey ford that kavanaugh sexualaulted her in the 1980s, in high school. today, on twitter, the presidenf went aftd by name, writing, "if the attack on dr. ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediely filed." o altwitter today, and at a rally in las vegas last night,th president stepped up his defense of kavanaugh.>> rett kavanaugh is one of the finest human beings you will ever have the privilege of knowing or meeting. president's challenge to ford's credibility unsettled at least one key republican. maine senator susan collins told

reporters in her home state thad she was "appay the egesident's tweet." she noted that aions of sexual assault are often unreported, and called the tweer "completely inriate." asked about the presid tweet on msnbc, secretary of state mike pompeo defended the president and lashed out atde crats. >> i regret that this rose at the end. this was unfortunately sat on by a united states senator for weeks, as best i understand that. the presidenhas said pretty clearly, we hope the process ove forward fairly and efficiently. >> desjardins: mr. trump's shift came as ford's lawyers began negotiating with the senate judiciary committee on whether she'll testify, and under what conditions. her lawyers said ford wants to testify no sooner than thursday, and that she does not want to be in the same room as kavanaugh, and she wants him to testify first. theylso want senators-- not

lawyers-- to do the questioning. sources tell newshour that senate republicans today issuede their counter-to ford: she would testify on wednesday, speaking first, with kavanaugh to follow in separate seion. and, republicans would like an independent lawyer, not republican senators, to question her. at a news conference, 75 women who knew kavanaugh in high school, in college andra professionallyied in his defense: >> the acts of which brett is accused represenpaa stark ure from the behavior my uriends and i have witnessed for more than ecades. >> it seems anyone can launch an allegation without corroboration or evidence andismantle a person's career and their life and the lives of their family members. this is wrong. >> desjardins: in washington,aj senateity leader mitch mcconnell made a definitive statement of confidence. >> in the very near future, emdge kavanaugh will be on the united states sucourt. so, my friends, keep the faith. don't get rattled by all of

this, we're going to plow right thro and do our job. >> desjardins: but democrats, m like senatgie hassan of new hampshire, fired back. >>t doesn't matter to him to the senate republicans whether judge kavanaugh assaulted a woman-- a crime. committed a crime. it doesn't matter to them what happened. you know, nobody has a right to a united states supreme court appointment. >> desjardins: former vice presidenten joe baid again, he hopes the committee treats ford better than when he chairea anita hill appeared in 1991. she accused supreme court nominee clence thomas of sexual harassment. >> she should not have to go through the things anita hill went through. should be given the benefit of the doubt and not be, you know, abused again by the system. i

to talkinged to f.b.i., but not about her accusations against jung kavanaugh, instead about the threats she herself has been receiving. and we have late-breaking news. this republican offer we made to her, i was just told by a topre blican source, that her team has said they will not respond by the deadline, which waclose of business today. they may not respond tonight. that's very frurating for republicans, so still all this is in limbo. >> nawaz: the time line taking, too. you mentioned that republican offer. what exactly is i that are offering ford in. >> what they like about this offer is they want just tw witnesses. they want chance to hear her story and that want judge kavanaugh to be able to respond. however, they're not giving a lot of ground on the tougher pots. she wants more witnesses, for example, and they don't seem will willing to go that direction.th want a separate independent counsel, one of which is optics. the senate republire all white men, and if a woman attorney was askong thse

questions, they think it might be more positive for them. nawaz: what about the democrats? they want a full investigation, they wan bdr. ford heard. are they coordinating with ford's lawyers? >> a top source tells me, no, they are not in very much contact. the messages you hear from democrats are political. they are not coming fromrd dr. camp. i think overall, amna, that's tomething to keep in mind. this has turned a political battle. >> nawaz: you mentioned the questions with the time line. republicans are already off the time line they wanted. what's next. > let's think about. this we could havaring wednesday or thursday of next week. thuray was supposed to be the final senate vote for this nominee. instead we're delayed. that'something democrats wan they seem to have achieved it. we'll see how far republicans let that go. >> naw: you have been lking to your sources all week, all day today. tell me about the atmosphere on capitol hill right now. >> even for the past year and a half, which has been a very intense year, this is the most toxic environment that i havee sensed on ll. we have seen not just kind of partisan rhetoric, but real threats, deattothreats susan

collins, threats to senator dianne feinstein to, judge kavanaugh's family, also to dr. ford. we're also seeing this spill into how some candidates in the fi d are speakiout this. sometimes too cavalierly. i think it's a very dangerous and risky atmosphere for everyone. >> nawaz: a very dangerous atmosphere. a lot at stake, as well. lisa desjardins, thanks for staying on top of thr us. >> you're welcome. >> nawaz: in the day's other news, the flood disaster deepened across the carolinas in ke of hurricane florence duke energy said surging water breached a dam at a closedpl powet near wilmington, north carolina, and could be spilling toxic coal ash into the cape fear river.wh mee, the governor warned that for some communities, the worst is yet to come. >> some locations won't see rivers crest until late in the weekend. and flooding will continueweell s to nex. this means that lie still at risk, and people need to stay alert for local evacuation orders.

>> nawaz: rivers are also rising in eastern south carolina, prompting a new wave of evacuations today. and, the storm's overall death toll has now c to at least 42.an innia, officials say at least 136 people died feen a rry capsized and sank on thursday. it happened on lake victoria, just off a dock, as the ferry was making its wayetween two islands. today, the vessel lay overturned s th its hull exposed. crews pulled bodieom the water, as hundreds of people watched from the shore. officials estimate there were close t300 people aboard, three times the ferry's capacity. brexit negotiations between britain and the european union ar"at an impasse." that word today from british prime minister theresa may. on thursday, in austria, e.u. officials rejected may's blueprint for leavinbloc. today, in a televised statement, she challenged them to offer their own plan. >> i have worked to bring people with me, even when that has no always seemed possible.

no one wants a good deal more than me.bu the e.u. should be clear, i will not overturn the result ofe the ndum, nor will i break up my country. >> nawaz: later, the president of the e.u. council, donald tusk, said comomise is "still possible." the two sides meet again ind- tober, in what could be a make-or-break summit. back in this country, president trump today walked back his order to declassify unredacted documents from the russia investigation. he said the justicdepartment d u.s. allies raised security concerns, so the departmt's inspector general will review the material first. mr. trump added on twitter, "in the end, i can always declassify if it proves cessary." there's word the president's former personal lawyer, john dowd, offered to pr legal fees o trump campaign officials.d

paul manafort ck gates were charged in connection with the special counsel's russia obe. the "wall street journal" and others report dowd wanted to use the white house legal fund, but white house aides said "no." meanwhile, another former trump lawyer, michael cohen, confirms he's been interviewed in the russia probe. his lawyer says cohen provided "critical information." an independent investigation has found the university of maryland responsible in the death of edotball player jordan mcnair. the 19-year-old f heat stroke after a grueling practice in june. the report blamed athletic trainers for failing to identify symptoms and aggressively treat them on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average gained 86 points to close at 26,743. the nasdaq fell 41 points, and the s&p 500 slipped one point. for the week, the dow gained 2%. the nasdaq and the sned a fraction of 1%. and, in one western greek town, it looks like halloween came early. spiderwebs spanning nearly 1,000 feet are blanketing trees and low-lyinvegetation along the coastline of aitoliko.

experts say unusual he humidity led to huge numbers of lake flies, the spiders' favorite food, and thain turn fueled a spider population boom. still to come on the newshour: the complex uland diff process many women go through to report sexual assault. how abortion politics are limiting amerin women's access contraception. mark shields and ramesh ponnuru break down the week'tical news. plus, film legends robert redford and sissy spacek discuss their new film. >> nawaz: we want to take a step back now from the specifics of the allegations against ett kavanaugh, and look at what we know about how survivors of sexual assault cope with the trauma.es ent trump's tweet questioning christina blasey ford's claims because if it wasa bad as she says," she would have reported it at the time,

set off alarms for survivors and theicates. thousands of people shared their own experiences on twitter,ha using thtag "why i didn't report." we begin with one woman's story. chessy prout was a freshman in atgh school when she was raped by an older clas she spoke to authorities, brought charges, and slafered a backsh.se the rew national attention. she went on to write a memoirri about her exce and started a support network for survivors and their families. she joins me now. chessy prout, welcome to the "newshour". thanks for being with us. we want to ask you about your about youro writ story in the first place. it must have been incredibly difficult to relive some of ose moments. why did you do it? >> first of all, thank you so much for having me here today. telling your stry can be really difficult in the first place, even writing it down,at acknowledging ou lost control, that somebody took advantage of you in a reallyrs al and hurtful way can be hard to even admit to youself, but following in -- in the days

following my assault, i jut couldn't keep it in any longer. i knew that something really, really wrong happened me and i needed to get it out. so i told my mom, my mom told my counselor, and my counselor was mandated to report it to the police. so in writing m memoir, i really wanted to show what was going on inside my mind, insid my brain a sexual assault survivor. too often people don't afect on the aftereffects of the sexual assault on the survivor and how much it really tak from a survivor to survive and then keep on living life and to keep on pursuing justice in the aftermath. >> io wrote about this moment in the book immediately aft your assault, and i wonder you could elaborate on it a little. you said the first couple of things you felt were shame and humiliation, those were among the first two things. why do you think that's what you felt? >> shame and guilt are really

i mmon responses to a sexual assault. dn't want to admit to myself that i had lost control of my body. and after my assault, i was mediately greeted by frends from the stairwell when i was leaving the mechanical room, and that kind of put -- shocked me into this mindset that i ad to pretend everything was okay. it was graduation ekend for my older sister and i didn't want to make a big deal about what had happened toe. i didn't want to make the weekend about me because it was a weekend about my sister and my family was there, and, so, i felt i had to keep this to myself, and i felt that it was my fault. >> you mentioned your mother was the first person you decided to say something to. we hear a lot about people's decisions, why they do and don't report similar kinds of situations. what was that decision-making process like for you how did you weigh whether or not to say anything? >> at first, i did tell a couple of close girlfriends in my dorm,

and then i told -- hypothetically, i told the situation hypothetically to an advisor in my dorm when she heard me have a paic attack next door and she was the one who told me i should call m mother. my mom and dad had always been open with me and my younger and older sister about anything, that we could come abto them ut anything but we never had a specific talk about consent or healthy relationships in that sense. so i had a healthy, interesting relationship with my mom and i was able to talk to hoar about it because of that.s >>rd spread that you made this allegation, you went to a small school, called ani elte institution in new hampshire, what was the reaction like amon st of the school and the rest of the community? >> i mean, immediately after the assault when i told my close friends, they were all extremely concerned for my well being. they noticed that somethingas wrong, but in the months after when i went home for the summer

antalked with the police and the case kind of moved forward into something lina a cri case, something very serious, i think the community took a step myck and wanted to support perpetrator instead of me because it's so much easier to believe that a young woman is capable of lying than it is to believe that a young man who is held at such a high standard is capable of something so horrific and disgusting. >> what was it like for you to get that kind of reactio >> it s incredibly painful and hurtful and really rnfusing f me because i constantly wondered, this is not right, i am a victim of a crime and, yeto seems to see it that way. i mean, the fact that alumni and students and parents at the school decided to raise -- or chose to raise $100,000 for my perpetrator's defense fund, i mean, that showed a lot about how the st. paul's community

reacted to my sexual assault >> the case that you mention moved forward, it got a lot ofal natiattention, but this all sort of happened before what we are calling the "me too" movement began. i'm curious, as you watched the news unfold the last yer so, tuning it's any easier for people now to come forward as you did? >> i think the "me too" movement kind of makes it easier for tocertain groups of peoplcome forward and disclose their stories. it only makes it easiefor a certain cultural group. we've seen this blow up in hollywood and lots of people of privilege be able to be able to share their stories, but the "me too" movement't hasnotten to a lot of different communities who have many cultural barriers to rep sexual assault. just in the last couple of months, i was speaking to just some students from a public school in washington tee see and we asked them how has th the met "me too" movement changed the way you and your friends talk about these issues? toey said, we don't talk about the "m movement, that's

not applicable to us. >> i want to ask you, because your attacker was eventually acquitted on rape, convicted on three counts of misdemeanor assaults. with the trial behind you ande convictions, do you have any sense of tclosure? t is a tough question. i mean, i feel as though i did all i cou and what i could to help myself seek justic and that i had the support network, i had a supportive detti, prosecuting attorney and family who helped me find and seek stice in that way. i mean, i did what i could and i feel a little bit safer for it, knowing i used my voice and my privilege to use my voice to help make sure he never does this again. >> chey prout, thanks for sharing your story with us. >> thank you so much for having me.on >> nawaz: wenue our look now at the complexities of reporting sexual violence withe veronilliere, a clinical

and forensic psychologist who works with victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. for being with us. we're having this conversation here and as a country around an allegation made by christine blase ford eout somthing that happened 30 plus years ago and that has give an lot of people reason to cast doubt among its veracity. what do we know statistically abouo when people che or don't choose to come forward? >> well, what we know is that mo people ner come forward when it comes to our definition of coming forwar disclosure, which means to law enforcement. most victims never report to law enforcement or pursue any kind of legal solution or officia reporting to the sexual assault. it's one of the most underreported crimes that we have. >> you just heard chessy prout there share her story. she's 19 years old now. she was 14 at the time of her

assault. is there any correlation that w know otween the age of an alleged victim and whether or not they choose to share what happened to them with others or report it? >> i'm not sure there is probably some corps lag -- w correlatioh age because, when you're assaulted as a child, as you become an adult, you mase to tell because you're more empowered, you have a greater support system, you're not racked by the feelings of help lesess, and you cognitively and emotionally understand your assault more readily an thoroughly, but the rappings with the perp the thetionship and status wi perpetrator have a lot more to do with the choices of reporting the than age. a child who may be sexual assaulted by a stranger may report more quickly thameone sexual assaulted by a family member or a loved one or someon trusted ineir family or

community. >> i want to be clear, of course, the proceeding between judge kavanaugh and blase ford is not criminal, but if there ie a hearing tstify and take questions, there basically will be two conflicting accounts from what we know so far. fromexyour rience, is that soars of a productive way to move things forward? what can be the conclusion at g the end of the hearke that? >> well, in a positive way, if the hearers of the acco understand sexual assault, understand victim behavior and understand perpetrator behavior withoutt being clouded and mudded by misinformation, like if it was that bad it would have been reported, or ideas that minimize or diffuse what sexual ossault is and that, when we carry a narrativf sexual assault that includes pen

treation and violation and weapons -- penetration and ns, that'sand wea the bar we define sexual assault with, if we understand that non-penetrative offenses can be frightening, attempts can be frightening, any violation of somebody's physical integrity can have profound and longerm effects, and perpetrators don't appear like a certain type, they don't seem like a certain way. the assumption that we knoaw peopleund us just because we've had interactions is false an offenders tend to rely on the idea that we can know somebody or what they're like in private or behind closed doors, so thea y build blic persona of niceness, politeness an integrity while they may be doing all kinds of thaiption in their private life ewhere othr people don't know. so if we allow information to guide our decions based on that kind of really common sense that people have private selves,

then something can come out of a hearing. but if we judge people's "credibility" on misinformation, faulty expectations of victim response anda behavior and denial that nice looking peole with status or power could be bad people or perpetrators, then we're going to have reiteration of the mess and misinformation that has efftively facilitated sexual assault for decades and decades. >> veronique valliere, thank you so much for your tie. ank you. >> nawaz: and of course, most of the tention around judge kavanaugh is focused on the allegations of assault. but, his views on other issues will return front and center if his confirmation goes forwd. during his confirmation

hearings, kavanaugh was questioned about prior cases he dealt with when it comes to the question of birth control. his vote is considered pivotal to future supreme court rulings on the subject. as special correspondent sarah varney reports, there's already a major push at the state level to limit or restrict acces contraception. some conservatives are now hoping to take it further at the federal level with a supme court more amenable to their views. this story was produced in collaboration with our partner kaiser health news. >> reporter: 23-year old nikia jackson came to this clinic run by the obria group in lawrenceville, georg, outside atlanta, to get tested for a sexually transmitted infection. >> s.t.i.s. >> well, let me tell you what we have to offer here. >> reporter: millions of women like jackson could soon getei medical care at obria clinics, if c.e.o. kathleen bravo has her way. bravo is positioning her growing company to become a nationwide alternative to planned parenthood, but with one key difference-- obria doesn't offer

abortion, condoms or any kind of birth control, except ity awareness methods that many call natural family planning. un>> she can set up her ac >> reporter: she's a devout catholic opposed to contraception, whose own abortion decades ago shaped her anti-abortion sition. the company so far has 38 clinics in six state women can get ultrasounds and prenatal care, as well as tests for pregnancy, h.i.v. and cervical cancer. >> our ultrasound is a limited ultrasound. there's a $20 fee. r orter: but if a patient wants to prevent plygnancy, the option obria offers is ttural family planning, which requires women trair periods and refrain from sex when most fertile. the centers for disease control and prevention says when followedxactly, the method is 76% effective. bravo says more young women today are lookg for an alternative to clinical birth control. >> we're a holistic clinic. we do holistic care. we offer alternatives to the

pill, and i.u.d.s. i think that women feel very much empered by understanding how beautiful their body is de. i mean, it's exciting to know that, "wow, i understand now how my cycde works! i tand what's going on in my body." reporter: now, bravo is taking her vision to washington, meeting with federal officials who she hopes can help ramp up her company's expansion. >> life is winning again in america! >> reporter: with vice president mike pence, an evangelical christian,s a key ally, religious conservatives say this is their moment to shape women'u health care. >> there is not a science textbook in any of our schools that does not say that when the sperm joins with the egg, theres unique human being that is formed, and that is a different person. >> reporter: a former c.e.o. of a christian anti-abortoup, dr. diane foley is now the deputy assistant secretary for tre office of population affairs, which dibutes federal family planning funds to health clinics.as

he politics of abortion and contraception have converged, foley is one of several anti- abortion and abstinence education advocates in key federal positions. together, they've made fast work rolling back an obama-era rule that required employers to cover birth control in their health insurance plans. and they've proposed new restrictions aimed at closing planned parenthood clics and promoting clinics that do not offer the full range of contraception or aboion services. in many ways, those ideas have already been tested in texas. when planned parenthood clinics like this one became a target in texas, more than 80 family planning clinics around thean state-not just planned parenthoods-- were forced to close, and contraception became much harder to get. women across texas suddenly fund their birth control needs caught up amid tht against s ortion. >> the state of teally cut the family planning program, really slashed it, and changed a lot of rules. and those rules led to clinic closures. likethis center right here used to be the site of one of

our part-time clinics. >> reporte kathryn hearn, of access esperanza, says after texas lawmakers ashed state funding by 66% in 2011, four of her organization's eight sites closed, even though they never afered abortion care. the impact was swi widespread. researchers found the number ofs women on the mt effective forms of birth control-- i.u.d.s, implants and injections-- plunged by a third, and births by poor wn medicaid increased 27% between 2011 and 2014. hearns says 13,000 of her patients lost medical care. in the aftermath, clinics here became almost entirely dependent on a program called titlx, which pays for birth control and sexual health care for low- income women. but now, they're bracing for new rules proposed by the trump administration that would divert some title x money to clinics that only offer natural familyd

planning, anuld make it nearly impossible for thosefe gettinral title x money to refer patients to abortion providers. hearn says clinics like access esperanza that offer the full range of f.d.a.-approved birth control could be replaced by those like obria. e so today, a woman can c into a title x clinic, any clinicn the united states, in texas, and be offered a wide range of contracepti t methods. wise proposed rules, she could walk into a title x clinic and only be offered abstinence. "well," she says, "i'm married." or "i'm in a relationship. d ths not work for me. i need real contraceptive care, i need real help." and so with thesosnew rules, thare the changes. >> reporter: ofelia alonso says it's already difficult for many llyoung women in texas to he difference between so-called crisis pregnancy centers and mecal clinics. the 22-year-old community

inorganizer with texas rissays young texans don't have all the informatiothey need to make informed decisions. >> abstinence only, and then, crisis pregnancy centers, anti- abortion propaganda, defunding our family clinics, you kn? so like, what is left for us? what are we going to do? we're going to have these, like, weird centers, where you can't get anything? >> reporter: butomen seeking ntraception have to go somewhere, and one alternative, she says, is to cross the nearby border into mexico to buy birth control. >> but it shouldn't have to be that way. like, we shouldn't have to travel to another country to get what we need. >> reporter: so some patients, like claire hammons, have looked for other alternatives. she runs a hotel in llano, a small city with no full-service women's health clinic. the vast geography here, combined with widespread clinic closures, has led to so-called contraception deserts.ow as this map in blue, some ten million texans live at least half an hour from a clinic, a

common standard used to determine health care shortages. hammons lives in one of these contraception deserts, and when she couldn't afford health insurance, she turned to the internet for help. and now, she gets her birth control straight from the mailbox from a san francisco- based company called nurx, and pays about $15 a month. >> so, pretty much every three months, they send this to me in the mail, this package. >> reporter: she can message with her nurx doctor, jessica rubino, who sits in austin. rubino reviews hammons' medical history, and renews her prescription without any additional cost.sh sees what happens to women who live in contraception deserts. >> i'm also an abortion provider, and i do that outside of nurx, at another facility. and i have patients, i had one last week who drove to see me, five hours. and the entire reason that she came to see me for the abortion is because she didn't have any accesso contraception. reporter: that lack of access worries physicians in many clinics, like the people's community clinic, that receive

title x funding.ha kami geoffrabeen meeting them. she runs the group that decides which clinics in texas receive federal money. she says if the trump administration's overhaul of title x succeeds, it will undermine the goal of the program that the federal government has operated since the 1970s. s we know that every dollar we spend on title x saves $7 across other government programs, including medicaid. we avert medicaid bihs very frequently by contracepting clients and preventing unplanned pregnancies. >> reporter: but back in suburban atlanta at the obria medical clinic, kathleen bravo says it's me for companies like hers to put a bigger mark on reproductive heth care, and the company is launching a $240 million capital campaign to open more clinics. >> if obria is a comprehensive imary care clinic for women, that is an alternative model too planned pare, that we have a choice, we're in! we're all for it. >> reporter: but exactly what "comprehensive" means, and the

care women can receive at title x clinics, will likelye decided by the trump administration in the coming months. for the pbs newsur and kaiser health news, i'm sarah varney in mcallen, texas. >> nawaz: now, we turn back to the controversy surrounding the confirmation of supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. and, to the analysis of shields and ponnuru. that's syndicated columnist mark shields, and ramesh ponnuru of the "national review." david ooks is away. gentlemen, welcome. let's jump right in. the biggest story of the week in washington judg're kavanaugh. having this conversation at the unfortunate intersection of high stakes politics and w we handle sexual violence in america. rameshrepublicans are in charge, running the show.

how are they handling it? o i would say things tk a marked turn for the worst when president trump decided he was tired of being responsible and sober mined, whichch must have ed, and, instead, decided to attack professor blase ford, saying that, if this is a real thing, she should have come forwardecades ago, whch anybody who's familiar with these cases ups is not the wayth e things work. so i think that's a real black mark on the republicans and i know a lot of republicans including senator collins were really smarting over that remark d wanting to distance themselves from it. on the other hand, you look at the democrats, and they haven't been coving themselves in glory either. senator feinstein's handling of the allegation, sittiit for two months, essentially, wax almost icable, and you've got various senate democts who are prejudging the case, as some senate republicans are, too, saying theyalready believe the

allegations. >> what do you think? ifpou're a ublican in 2018 and in the eve of an election that is increasingly looking pessimistic by numbers for the republicans, the last thing you want to be talking abt is women and sexuala buses and recalling i the anta hill hearings and having as your spokesman a man who has been 19 times accused of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, the president donald trump. it's not a message you want d it's not a messenger. this is more than aboutrett kavanaugh, this hearing that's coming up isly essentiabout david against goliath. we're going to hear from professor ford for the first time, and that will determine how the country respond but before then, think the

line indicated that hit me is polls that suggest that wome en re upset about the charges and the resnse of the republicans than any other group, and you recall, inthe 2016 election, donald trump carried women who had not been to college by a 61 to 34 margin decisively. hillary clinton carried the majority of women who went to llege. if non-college educated women are responding to this charge in the sense that sometis wrong and that this is a society that is indifferent and intolerant of women and the abuse they'vsuffered, this is nothing but bad news for the republicans. it's not where they want to be. >> so how do they handle this? o pathis is about optics, right? we're talking about there couldg be a heanext week, we don't know where this stands. we have three men who could be questioning dr. ford who were there in 1991, right, questioning anita hill and did

not handle it wellback then. how did they move forward? how canthe hearing they will be moving forward to come degree and not alienate thigroup. >> we have to remember the optics have to take a back seato goe facts, and it'g to be very hard to determine the facts, but the senators need we go andseem to be going in, uallybut mostly to act going in trying to determine the facts. we have sworn statements from judgkavanaugh, from mark judge, from an unnamed third party. we will presumably gea sworn statement from the accuser as well, professor blase ford, a then we will have to do what we can to figure out who's telling the truth. >> do you think the way they presented it so far enforces the message that we take it seriously and have an intention to get to the bottom of this? we heatcd mcconnell say earlier today judge kavanaugh is going to be confirmed. >> right. i think it's one thing to say that, based on the evidence you've heard so far you are

inined to go with one or the other, but i think it's a mistake to close your mind toto the possibility you will get more information.if that's the ce, you have to ask why the hearings at all. >> we have a poll, shows publicly, look, there has been an actual increase in opposition to judge kavanaugh over the last month, up 9 points. at some point, does he become a political liability? >> i'm not sure politicalil liy. i think the subject is a political liability for repuicans and, obviously, if he's stayed with it, yes, he becomes a political liability i think the hearing -- ramesh is right, the republica the democrats have basically taken their position, put on their uniforms, at least the partisane the group yet to make a decision nd this will look at the hearingsthe hearings will be determinate. it really isn't as much about

judge kavanaugrdas professor is she believable, sympathetic, is she convincing? a you knod the president saying why didn't she come forward, why didn't she go to the f.b.i. when she's 15 years old. firsall, i'm not sure we're talking about a federal offense, t, secondly, if anything we've learned through the pain and torment of the catholic clergy sexual abuse is people out of the pain and embarrassment andse humiliation ane of fear don't come forward. the department of justi' own knurls say 22% of rain victi ever come -- rape victims ever come forwa ird. realis david against goliath. the focus is on her. the qution is, is she believable, is she convincing? i wasn't sure mark judge had signed a sworn statement. >> he made a statement to the judiary so that's a

potentially legally actionable document. >> he didn't want to talk about it. >> this is e other- individual >> his not testifying to me is absolutely irrational. >> one of the things that's most diaying about thisentire debate is almost everybody's views about what did ordidn't happen 36 years ago lines up perfectly with what they think ought to happen to roe v. wade now and that's not the way it should be. >> nawaz: you're saying it's boo political to have a discussion aut it. moving on, monday president trump said he's going to be identifying documents related to the russia probe. today e backtracked, punted to the department of justice, saying they're going to review it before wtake any action here. ramesh, what happened over the lastweek? >> well, there's a lot of pushback against the idea of declassification, particularly the idea of a d of

unselective and indiscriminate declassification. but, look, the president has a dysfunctional relationship with his justice department. nd know that, we've known that for some time, i think this is just one more instance of that happening. ananother instance of h making a grand statement and not llowing through. >> viewing publicly the limited education of donald trump. i mean, he learned this week from allies, from very important sources within the united states government, whom he has to trust, that this is bad policy, that what you're doing is not remply revealing secrets, you' compromising sources, and the collection of intelligence is dependent upon a network of relationshipof trust, of belief, of confidence that you're not going to be madeie public, and a among others, just told donald trump, this is just an absolute

reckless risk withhiin s own administration important figures stood up on this and i think that's what happened. >> so president trump wil loom large over the midterms just weeks now. things have shilyfted dramatic in the last few weeks. what's it looking like now for republicans? >> i think it's bleaker for republicans than it was a week ago, and this is in spite of the fact thackt the sarket is at an all-time high, mong other factors. the lowest number of people in america applied tore unemployment benefits in any year since 1968, when the economy was e-half its size in number ofjobs. but donald trump is toxic. american voters do not like him. when askeda very simple question, i like blank and agree mostly with hs policies, i like and don't agesee with polii

dislike blank akend disim and agree with his policies, 70% of americans say they do not like donald trump. i contrast this with ronaldd reagan who har worse economic conditions in 1982, when prime interest rate was at 21.5%, unemployment, highestea dins the gt depression, and ronald reagan, 70% of americans liked him, and that is what they're finding. erendum, thef midterm election is a referendum on the president, on his performance and the man himself. that's why are ronald reagan had republicans like him and trump is a problem for republicans this year. they have to defend him. three-quarters of republican r candidatning for reelection have never with a publican in the white house, always run against barack obama, and that's a liberating thing. it's very defensive when you're trying to defend what donald ump did, for example, on

tweets. >> bad for republicans?ec midterm ons usually go badly for the party who has the white house because the opposition is revved up and your side is enmpl president trump has revved up the opposition and telling his side this is all propaganda, the elections are going swimmingly, don't worry about it. the combination is very damaging. if they allow kavanaugh to go down to defeat, the demoralization could get worse. >> support him? if i were a republican running for offi, what i would want to do is talk about the economic conditions, talk about controversies that play to you and try to keep trump out of the conversation as much as possible because you face the constant probm which he's still an unpopularr pesident. >> ramesh ponnuru, mark shields, good to talk to you.

>> nawaz: now to a new film opening that features some legends of the screen. jeffrey brown got a preview earlier this month at the toronto international film festival. >> brown: in what he says will >> robert redford is for rest tucker, red of what becomes dubbed the over the hill gang. was tht resistible to you? >> yes, because i'm over the i was veacted to the idea a ll. that a guy robbed banks. ?omebody said do you rob banks to make a living he said, no, i rob banks that had a living. life.t loved his >> brown: "the old man and e gun" is directed by david lowery

and features casey affleck as a small-time detective eag to nab the elusive bank robber. it's based on the true story first told by author david graham in the "new yorker" magazine. >> i don't believe a word you say.en >> also opword another acting great sissy spacek. >> i'm the only thing in it that's not true.>> brown: spacek is known for numerous performances over the years including "carrie" in 1976, and lorta lynn in "coal miner's daughter." ♪ ♪ >> excuse me, need some help? now 68, she plays jewel who recently lost her husband, meets redford's forrest tucker by iccident and isn't sure what to make of hm. >> the thing i needed to make eure of is did i believe h

robbed banks. >> prove it? yeah. ou want me to prove it? eah. i just though was a line. i just thought he was trying to be cute an unny, which he was. >> kind of a weird pickup line but a charmer. >> it worked. >> brown: also in this film, a lot, especially your character, about getting away with something. t's always been appeali to me. >> brown: why? it's just fun to try to getit awaysomething. it's a fun concept. >> brown: yeah. particularly if it doesn't get dark or harsh. the whole idea of this film is whatever these characters were doing, they had fun. i like that idea, particularly in these dark times that we're living in. we're living in such dark times. and one of the other appealing parts of this film was that it's a film thint, durg these dark times, brings a nice light into something, it's ndery upbeat i think that's pretty healthy right now. >> brown: th movie is a real meditation on aging, is it not?

both of your characters, how to age gracefully, what to do asag yoe? >> i don't spend a l of time thinking about that. >> brown: you don't? not about aging. whether i'm graceful or not, i just don't want to nkibout it. >> brown: but when you have to play a character. >> i think the character doesn't think about it either. he just goes about what he loves doing. >> brown: do you think about it? ab i'm a woman. of course i thinkt it. it's a bummer. (laughter) no, actually, i thinthis is just up with of my favorite times of life. you know, you get respect, it's amazing. >> isn't that nice? t is nice. getting old is not so bad. >> brown: in fact, the two have never before acted together. >> what i do when the door closes is jump out the window. >> brown: on screen under director david lowery, they have an easy-going, natural chemistry and egg each other on. >> we had so much fun doing the scen tell me what that is, then.

>> this? yeah. let's take this place. this place inot my style. >> the first day we worked ond it, we dt in little tiny pieces, an it was just kind of driving us crazy. we came back to tat and finally said, david, can we do it all in e? >> yeah. and when we did it all in one, it just went to new places, don't you think? >> o absolutely. you're right, the timing has to feel right. >> you could improvise what you were doing as long as yyeu sta with the context of the characters in the story. >> cut, nailed it. >> brown: is actg easier, harder, having done it so long, having done so many -- >> well, it's always ben hard but you want to make it look easy. that's the objective, you want to make it lok easy. >> and sometimes you just get swept iay and i thnk it's like when the scene plac plays you. then when you finish, they say, let's do it again, do the sam

thing. what happened? >> i don't know what to do. you live for those moments where you're swept away and youo loseself in the moment and in the scene. >> brown: along that line -- along that line, being in the moment is part of what an actor is, to be in the moment. if you're really in the moment, oo means things will bese enough for you to improvise if you have to, if you're in the moment. as long as the moment's real, you just walk in, real calm. >> in the old than and the n, robert redford the actor plays a man who just can't stop doing the one eing that givs him life, even if it is something that lands him in jail every so often. but redford the man announced this will be his final role. he's going to stop.l weve that part of the conversation in our next report. for now, i'm jeffreybrown from the toronto ternational film festival.

>> breakg news late this evening with a new statement from the sene judiciary chairman. lisa desjardins is here with the update. lisa, what do we know? >> more political drama, chuck grassley extended the deadline for the dr. blase ford team to respond to his office forwhat a hearing should look like. she had not responded by the earlier deadline today. they have till 10:00 tonight and, if they do not respond, what's interesting, chuck dwralz said he has set a possible ote for monday on judge kavanaugh's nomination. he's upping the stakes an putting more pressure on blazey ford's team to respond. we will see what they do. >> that is the senate judiciary drawing a firm line in the sand. >> tint's right. i it's a game to see if a hearing happens and if it doesn't who gets the bla >> do we know anything else about if ford's team will respond? o, yamiche alcindor has reached out to her team and we have not received a response yet. >> lsjardins staying on

top of this fast-moving story. and filly tonight, happiness in honduras, and an update to a story we reported on tuesday. tonight, marianita ponac herrera is bhome with her parents. thespictures are from the airport in san pedro sula, honduras, late this afternoon, where six-year-old marianita war gaed up in her father's arms. she was reunited with her family after spending the last 3.5 months detained in the u.s., one of hundreds of children held under the trump administration family separation policy. she and her father, misael, crossed illegally into south texas this past june, where they were separated. he was deported; she was sent to a facility in new york. her father told the newshour that there is a long road of healing ahead for the family, but that "everything is left to god-- god's time is perfect."e erican civil liberties union told the newshour that nothing had anged legally this week to compel her return. we will keep you updated as

their story continues. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm am nawaz. have a great weekend.an you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin? >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to t 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 world.ww atewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible bthe corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your p station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc pt ned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

hello, everyonend welcome to "amanpour & co." and here is what is coming up. she's in a league of her own when it comes to the team of rival of presidential historians. dorris kearnsoo gin joins me talking about her new book. the unlikely global scess of haifa al-mansour, the best known movie director of saudi arabia. also, tonight, thenited states spends far more on health care than any other developed country. yet, the