captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, asu ect in custody: federal authorities arrest a southa florn in connection with at least 13 bomb packages addressed to centics of prestrump. then, stories from the migrant caravan as it continues to move north towards the u.s./mexico border. >> there is a big humanitarian problem going on in central america. the violence, the criminality, the governments are so s,rrupted. all of these familhey are scared out of their wits to stay over there. >> woodruff: and it's friday-- mark shields a david brooks analyze a full week of news and what it says about this moment in american politics. 'sl that and more on tonig

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>> woodruff: a break in the bomb scare case. the f.b.i. says a tell-tale fingerprint d today to the prime suspect, even as suspect packages kept showing up around thnacountry. awaz begins our coverage. >> nawaz: federal authorities confirmed today that cesnt sayoc of avea, florida has been arrested and charged in connection to a serif mail bombs discovered this week, taeting prominent democrat the arrest of the 56-year-old ends a five-day, nationwide manhunt. attorney general jeff sessions. >> let this be a lesson to anyone, regardless of their political beliefs, that we will bring the full force of law against anyone who attempts to use threats, intimidion, and outright violence to further an agenda. we will find you, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. >> nawaz: sayoc was identified using a fingerprint recovered

from one of the bombs, and a d.n.a.ample from a previous arrest. he now faces up to 58 years inpl prison for mulfederal charges, outlined by u.s. attorney geoffrey berman. >> charged with five counts that include illegally mailing and interstate transportation of explosive and threatening a former president of the unit states. >> nawaz: his arrest comes after three more bombs were intercepted in mail facilities in new york city, florida, and california today. the first, addressed to former director of national intelligence james clapper. the second, to democratic senator cory booker of new jersey. and the third, to democratic senator kamala harris of mblifornia. in all: 13 pipe sent to senior democratic figures and vocal critics of presiden trump have bscovered this week. ndmocratic leaders-- former president obama,ice president biden, former secretary of state clinton, congresswoman maxine w and senators booker and harris. pa senior officials-- clapper, and former c.i.a. chief john brennan, whose packages

were botsent to cnn, and former attorney-general eric holder. and prominent supporters ofl libeuses-- investor george soros, and actor robert deniro. biden and waters were sent two packages each. images from today show law enforcement examining a white van in the parking lan auto parts store where sayoc was taken into custody.ow the van wi papered with pro-trump and g.o.p. stickers, images of targets over pictures of president obama and hillary clinton, andne sticker reading "cnn sucks." authorities say it's too early to discuss sayoc's motivation. but there is one common thread. ball of sayoc's targets hn critical of president trump, and all have been the subjects of the president's ire. these terrorizing acts are despicable and have no place in our country. >> nawaz: at a white house event today, president trump hailed the arrest and said the u.s. cannot allow political violence. >> bottom line is that americans must unify.

d we will show the world that a were united together in peacemo and love and h as fellow american citizens. >> nawaz: but earlier, heke dismissively sf the attacks as "this bomb stuff" and complained that the story is slowing republican momentum in the mid-term elections but the democratic governor of new york, andrew cuomo drew a straight line from the attacks to the president's rhetoric. >> it's not a coincidence. there are no coincidences here. so should e president act more responsibly? yes. should he act less politically? yes. should he be more concned with safety as opposed to electoral affect on some convoluted strategy? yes. >> nawaz: democraticde congresswomabbie wasserman- schultz agreed. her florida office was listed as a return address on the packages. >> this is a time when no matter what your political persuasion is, we nd to turn the volume down. we need to have a civil discourse. we need to be talking with one

another. >> nawaz: as he left he white house late today, the president was asked directly about his rhetoric. >> i think i've been toned down. i could really tone it up, i think the media's been very unfair to me. >> nawaz: authorities warn the investigation is active and going, and that more packages could be uncovered. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna waz.oo >>uff: so what more is known about the suspected pipe bomber and the state of theio investig for this we turn to mary mccord, who helped lead the department of justice's national securityg division dure obama administration; it focuses on terrorism and other significant national security threats. and j.m. berger. he h written extensively abo political violence. his test book, "extremism" w recently published by mit press. he's also a research fellow at

vox-pol, a european ion academic initiative to study online extremism. we welcome both of you to the prograto mary mccordou first, what's your reaction about what we know so far about this man, the suspect. >> well, it does seem like it was extremely good and fast work by the fib and other local and state law enforcement that assisted. they got lucky by the fact that the suspect left a furyk int on one oe packages and is somebody known to law enforcement for whom his fingerprint was in the database. so congratulations, of course, to all the inredible law enforcement for solving this so pidly. but the investigation will go on to make sure that there are no others involved, no other bombs out there already in the stream of mail or in delivery services, and, you know, that no one else at this suspect is working

with. >> woodruff: j.m. berger, it is the case thats investigation continues. with we are looking at one person, far. don't know if he's the only one involved. but looking at his portrait, there's been some description of him as a loner, someone who did have some arrest record, most of it minor off but what do you make of him h, the person who's coming through here? >> well, he's definitely somebody we know om his criminal record had a past history of violence, you know, and when we se acts that are terrorist in nature, as this attack is, we often see somebody who has that kind of background. what we see from his social media post, we've seen three of his accounts so far, very right-wing oriented, veryt pro-presidump, and they're very threatening covelet he engaged with and threatened a wet of people wh democrats or on the left in some way orin

hollywood kind of celebrity figures. >> woodruff: in staying with you, j.m. berger, did that make it -- in your mind, does that make it easier to identify him, to find him, ultimately, whether they decide whether he's guilty or not? >> well, i think, certainly, the fingerprints and the dna are thn con cliewfs ev to find him quickly. there is a lot of this kind of content online. likely, we have a major problem on social media platforms withra ing and potentially filing content. so to try to approach it from searching the sociamedia site of things is a needle in a haystack kind oforoblem. >> wdruff: mary mccord, how do you connect the dots anre, again, based on what we've seen of hid his strong interest, apparent strong interest inf politics, much it, of course, pro-president trump. how does that -- what does it add up to at this point for you? >> well, what it adds up to,

really, is this a case, i think, that has every indication of being a case of domestic terrorism, and we don't have, i deral criminal code, a crime of domestic terrorism by that nam there are other crimes, and i would be interested to see as the dvestigation proceeds a as the prosecutors at the u.s. a attorneys offid the department of justice take the to the grand jury, whether they might not add some other charges, charh s sucas use of a weapon of mass destruction weapon of mass -- weapon of mass destruction, which is a terrorism offense not labeled as domestic terrorism, but it's a terrorism offense. so thiis the kind case where if we had a federal crime of domestic terrorismthis kind of a case would be fitting to dnsider for indictment that time of a charge. >> woodruff: j.m. berger, as we said, your specialty, you've done so much work looking at extremism. does theurrent hyperdivided political environment of the

united sates, does it tend to, in a situation like this, exacerbate people's tendencies who may have already had a tendency t be on the extremist end of the spectrum? >> i think it does. you know, we have a lot of research on this subject of how rhetoric affects behavior, and some of it is incon cliewfs, as far as whether, you know, extremists -- just exposure to extremt rhetoric without exposure to a social network makes someone proneo be violent. but we know extremist rhetoric and ideologies shape violence. you can see cleart this man's actions was shaped by whad prt trump said about his opponents, the selection of his targets does not really lend itself to a lot of other explanations. he was -- we can see in social media he was very invested in conspiracy theories and that may

help shape the action he took. but those conspiracy theories are very much in sync with the president's rhetoric. so i think there is a legitimate issue that we should be talking about here in terms of how the current litical environment is affecting people's behavior. >> woodruff: mary mccord, what about that, the connection between the political environment, the broader chpolitical environment, wis very divided at this moment, as we approach the mdterm elections, and the tendency on the part of some people to be prepared to take extreme action like this? >> well, i would agree with a lot of what jay has said. we've seenac this,in national security, we see this in international terrorism as well we see an extremist viewpoint and then a radicalization toware violhat starts with somebody having certain types of ideologies and, then, as they progress toward extremism, sometimes, not always, they will radicalize toward violence. and now were seeing that here with some of the extremism in

the united states right no, i happen to be doing this interview from charlottesville where, you know, just a little over a year ago we had white supremacists and neo-nazis marching through the streets an engagingolence. so their activity has been not condemned maybe as forcefully as it shoulhave been by some of our leaders, and i think what we're seeing potentially with this case in, aga, someone who has espoused certain views, political views, and has a discomfort or is very unhappy with those who criticize the current president and criticize hipolicies and this person has taken his extremism to the next level, and he has really radicalized and seems to, by his actions, want to intim intimidate or coarse people into not speaking out or exercising their right to freedom of

speech. >> woodruff: j.m. berger, abat's your main question you have at this poinut this case? >> what we will be looking for is to find out wether he followed a specific ideology.ia the social meccounts we've seen so far are very undirected. there's not a clatar indn he was involved in a particular brand of exteremism and whther he was involved in an extremist community. i think it's likely we will fand he other social media accounts not under his name, not as easy to find and once we see those we'll see a better sense of what motivated him. >> woodruff: j.m. berger, mary mccord, we thank you both. >> thank you. in the day's other news, the tion has posted its best back- to-back quarterly, economic growth since 2014. the u.s. commerce dent says between july and september, growth ran at an annual rate of 3.5%. that followed a second quarters when the rate tter than 4%. this was the last major look at the economy before the d-term elections. the economy news was not enough to stop another sell-off on wall

street. amazon led the way down with ani weak es report. the dow jones industrial averago lost nearly 30ts to close at 24,688. it had been down mor 500 points, earlier. the nasdaq fell 151 points, and the s&p 500 slipped nearly 47. turkey moved today to try to extradite saudi suspects in the death of journalist jamal khashoggi. the saudis have admitted he was murdered at their consulate in meistanbul, and they have 18 suspects. meanwhile, turkish president recip tayyip erdogan told supporters that the saudis must produce the body. >> ( translated ): as a result of the meticulous work carried out by our police, judiciary and intelligence, the incident has been brought to light to a large degree.

and we can say it's now evident that he is killed t where is he you need to show the body. >> woodruff: erdogan also said the saudi chief prosecutor will arrive in turkey on sunday, asat the investn progresses. meanwhile, khashoggi's fiancee, hatice cengiz, said she will not accept an invitation to visite the whuse until she thinks the u.s. is serious aboutim solving the there's word that russian president vladimir putin hasit been i to visit washington after the new year. national security advihn bolton announced it today, in the former soviet georgia. there was no word on whether putin will accep president trump held a summit with putin in finlan july. he also talked of inviting putin during the summer, but shelved the idea after heavy criticism. india warn today that air quality in new delhi has plummeted to the worst possible category officials said dangerous particulates in the air are more than six times what is

considered safe. it is caused in part by seasonal burning by farmers. and, conditions are expected to worsen, as huge fireworks displays send more smoke into the air during a major hindu festival. and, back in this country, the ashes of matthew shepard have been interred in washington, 20 years after the gay college student was beaten, tied up and left to die, in laramie, wyoming. his killing became a watershed event in the movement for gay rights. today, 2,000 filled washington national cathedral for a service of remembrance. his father said his son now has "a home safe from haters." the two assailants are serving life in prison. heill to come on the newshour: we catch up withigrant caravan moving north through mexico to the united states. a west virginia democrat running in the mold of president trump? mark shields and david brooks break down political divisions

in america. and our fall films series showcases an intimate look at alzheimer's. >> woodruff: for more than and week, thouof migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers fleeing central america have been part of a now well-known "caravan", making its way s.rough mexico toward the border. it's become a focus of president trump, as he seeks to stop the ravan's progress.ma of these travelers are escaping rampant violence and economic privation in their homelands.n: >> schifvery night they come together, feeling safer in a large group, searching for some sleep. this is the central square of mapastepec, 70 miles north of the mexico/guatamela border, and

their shoes are worn from the walk-- many have already been on the road for 500 miles. they've picked up friends along the way, and take a quiet moment to themselves.23 ear-old karla cruz might keep in touch with her boyfriend back home in honduras, but her pes are northward, in the u.s. she's brought only we can carry, and fills a bag that was her blanket.s she jokeout her d.i.y. bedding to beat the loneliness. and they set off at 3:00 a.m. to rat the heat. cruz knows theseoads and towns well. this is her fifth attempt to get to the u.s. tie's been arrested three s, and had to turn back twice. but she says tffs time feels ent. >> ( trslated ): around the bend there could be criminals waiting for you. you have to go aund them. you have to go around immigration. but now we're going a legal way. they are opening the doorso us and no one is stopping us. we're going in unison, together. >> schifn: during the day she s,sts in temporary shelter

where infants wear their american icons and dreams around their necks. cruz's dream is reunification. 15 years ago, her mother moved to texas, leaving cruz behind when she was just eight years old. >> ( translated ): you don't have the words to say it becaus' also so young. so it's terrible how parents abandon their children for a better future. the truth is, i'll be content with just seeing my mom. even if it means i'll get deported. well, after 15 years, don't you think i do deserve a smile?if >> schn: the caravan began in honduras two weeks ago andqu kly grew to 7,000. it shrunk to 4,000 after many chose to board buses that returned them home. and while most of the migrantsop talk about, their critics ullk about threats. >> that is an ason our country. and in that caravan you have you have some very bad people

anowe can't let that happen we need a wall built fast. >> schifrin: today in calexico, cafornia, workers finished new section of that wall, inaugurated by secretary of homeland security krtijen nielse the administration announced it is sending 800 additional troops emto the border and given wide latitude. >> we do not have any intention right now to shoot at people. they will be apprehended, however. but i also take my officer and agent-- their own personal safety extraordinarily seriously. they do have the ability of course to defend themselves. >> schifrin: for raul marques, what's most important fits in his backpack, and his hand he carries his one-year-old son. marques says he lived in theu. until eight years ago, when he was deported after two d.u.i.'s. he says he was trying to rebuild his life in guatemala, until gangs killed his wife.he >>told me that if i wasn't going to cooperate with them that my son was going to be

next. they were going to cut his head off. so right when this was going on that's when i heard about this caravan. >> schifrin: guatemala and its neighbors are the most violent place on earth outside of war zones. they know the u.s. doesn't accept economic asylum cases, and so they admit they might have to try and cross illegally in smaller groups. still, they have a message to president trump. >>t translated ): i w go see my mom, i want to get ahead. i want to maybe finish university. i want to, maybe, learn his language. and that he also understand that we're not criminals. we're people who want to better ourselves. >> schifrin: they still fa a long journey that is physically, and politically, treacherous. but they say they take strength from their numbe, and their hopes. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin.

>> woodruff: now, a look at a surprisingly competitive congressional race unfolding inr westnia, where a democrat is making noise in a district president trump dominated. yamiche alcindor has this report. >> alcindor: a democrat in trump country, and some voters considering a leap of faith. at bridge day, in fayetteville,i west vira, tens of thousands of people came out to watch base jumpers, and talk about a surprisingly competitive race. democratic state senatorichard ojeda and state delegate carol miller, a repuican, are fighting to win a seat inou congress once t to be solidly red. in 2016, donald trump beat hillary clinton in this district by 42%. >> we're going nothing but thean filthy ricthe dirt poor. >> alcindor: but ojeda, a 24- year army veteran, has managed to make is race a nail biter. >> i'm a umwa man, we need you.

>> alcindor: miller, a businesswoman who owns several car dealerships and bison farm, declined to be interviewed. but in ads like this, sheio stressed her cn with the president. >> a woman that works very hard for you, carol miller. >> alcindor: at bridge day, that endorsement seemed to carry significt weight. >> it would be carol miller and that's a vote for mr. nald trump. that's m entire reason for voting for her. >> alcindor: others were unhappy with the direction of the democratic party.y >> tft me my morals. i think they're getting very weak on the second amendment.%. i'm pro life 1 >> alcindor: that, in part, has led to the shifting political landscape in west virginia. west virginia was a democratic stronghold. but, republicans have made major inroads into this state. now democrats are wondering whether a candidate like ojeda may be a mel for taking back control in this state and across the country. ty we got to get back to what the democratic pareally wasou we create opportunities for those who live in poverty.

>> alcindor: at rallies and in book videos, ojeda rails against corporate money and lobbyists. >> they're bootlickers, ladies and gentlemen. >> alcindor: he's won the arbacking of the state's lgest coal and teachers' unions. he also supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and legalizing recreational marijuana.t, jeda voted for president trump. i happy with him now? i'm not. but the thing about it is i'm willing to stand in a corner will throw stones at me for supporting donald trump. but i'll tell you what. where i come from, the coal mines are operational. >> alcindor: is there anything about him personally that's changed that made you not imnt to support >> when you're the president of the united states, you're the president over every single citizen in the country, not just the republicans. t your cell phone away. be the president. i want to make surour water

and air are taken care of. i want to stop those things that cause those issues, but i still think there is a way to mine our coal. if you want to come down here and pull the plug on coal, bring me something down re so that my coal miners can transition and i don't mean minimum wage jobs. >> reporter: and he spared little cticism for many of his fellow demo >> alcindor: but ojeda has spared little criticism for mano of his fdemocrats who he says have forgotten about west virginia. >> let's go ahead and start about why democrats lost power. ow why? because they sucked. they sucked. they got to the point where they were in office for so long. people finally got tired of it and they got kicked to the curb. >> he talks like them, he dresses like them and expresses the anger that they feel. >> aindor: mike plante is a longtime democratic strategist based in charleston. >> for a docrat to reach across and get enough republicans to be successful. you have to be seen as somebody who's not part of the potical establishment that people have

lost confidence in. >> alcindor: brandon blankenship understands that appeal. he grew up in a staunchly conservative family and has been a republican all his life. but after running into ojeda at a restaurant and talking to him for an hour, blankenship dided to vote for him. >> even if i don't agree with everything that he says. it means more to me that you do. i need you to believe in what you're saying. not just say it because you think it's what people want to s ar. he believes what hying. >> alcindor: blankenship, no relation to don blankenship, the coal mine owner turned political candidate, works as an e.m.t. but says he and his wife don't have health insurance. he's hopin a public insurance option will lower health care prices.>> get to see these patient's hospital bills and their ambulance bills. for eight hours in a hospital. it would wreck my family for the next nine months.do >> alc other republicans have painted ojeda as ay socialist and s policies will cost taxpayers too much. nod the president himself has

criticized his dem >> you can't have that person in congress. thaty.erson is stone cold craz >> alcindor: despite their differences, some think ojeda echoes president trump's brand of politics. carol pittman supports ot da and presidump. >> they are not gointo sit around and just talk really mild and calm and say oh everything is going to be o i'm going to do this i'll do that. no. give me some excitement. >> alcindor: republican david roby disagrees.'s >> theo comparison between the two. do i like everything trump does? no. but, you know, that's just who he is. you take the good with the bad. what he's done positive for the country outweighs anything negative he's said or done. >> alcindor: the father of five works for the department of veterans affairs. in his spare time, he and his wife raise chickens and grow vegetables. inside the family's greenhouse, roby explained his support for carol miller.

>> carol miller is ttome of a job creator. r husband several car dealerships. she has a bison farm. she employs people through there. >> alcindor: like ojeda, roby is but they disagree on politics. b >> he's makiically the usual politician promises. i'm going to this, i'm going to do that, i'm going to do this. how? severance tax? i mean how are you going to pay for all these grand ideas? >> alcindor: polls show only single-digits separating ojeda and miller. democratic strategist mike plante says this race should send a message ahead of 2020. >> democrats forgot how to tell a compelling narrative along with the data. you look at trump's message. you know make america great again very simple very compelling aspirational tords fight like hell and let your constituents know that's what you're doing. >> that's what i believe in, that's why i'll die a democrat. >> alcindor: in less than two weeks, west virginians will have than answer as to whether strategy succeeds.

for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor in yetteville, west virginia.et >> woodruff: move beyond west virginia for a look at this moment in american politics with thanalysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shield columnist david brooks. and welcome to you both. so, clearly, a lot of relief at the suspect has been arrested in connection withpe these ombs. it turns out, mark, that this is somebody who is a big spporter of president trump. we don't know much more than that at this point. h he is a suspect. but what does this say about this moment in american politics? >> well, what it says, judy, i think, more thananything, not foing the suspect, other than what i've read, is that donald trump is a different generous type of president. we are used to apt in time oft

tragedy ting aside any partisan hat. randall reag at the time of challenge, speaking of the deaths of astronauts, saying they bro the surly bonds of earth and touched the face of god. i mean, it healed the nation, it reached out to the nation. it issiis from mr. trump. in fact, this morning, at 3:00 in the morning, 3:00 a.m., do you know where your president is, our president was tweeting and lamenting the fact that all this bomb talk han rfered with the republicans' early voting and had changed the political dialogue. so i think that's what we've learned, and it's conanfirming at the same time, upsetting. >> woodruff: david, what do you make of how the president'so talked this, handled all this? >> in the last 24 hours, he's been ok i. he sa's a despicable act and calling for unity but tht's following three years of distinctions of us-them. thinki it's not only republicans. steve -- there was a republican

shot from the left. for the country to move forward, it's saying you need to destroy the other side and that's not what politics is. it's a competition between partial truths, competing val systems. the second thing is politics, for some people, has becomeo their idtity form. this guy's truck or van was just covered with theckse stis, some of them with crosshairs onf democratures. and that's when, if you try to make politics your idol, you're asking politics to bear noorn it can bear, and you're headed for an eggly place, and, so, we've entered a spot where we have these distinctions and then people catastrophizeing if the other de wins, the country is off to ruin, and neither of those things are true. w druff: we continue don't want to make more of this thane what know, but there does -- this seems to be a moment of

particular vitriol outth on campaign trail, to some extent, that is the way the president has talked about this aravan of people coming up through mexico, migrants froem central rica. and there have been other steps that thelepublican iticians and democratic politicians have taken to stir people up. i mean, are there any guardrails right now? >> well, judy, terrible part about our politics is that the dominant rule is if it works, emulate or try to simulate it, and i thnk, right now, i'm in ohio, and i think the senate race is a perfect example of that, a coongressman a republican nomination by almost behaving like a mini trump, but he will be beaten badly by sheridan brown because there is only one trump. donald trump has been doing this 25 years, he's practiced at it, but make no mistake abo it,

there will be knock-off trumps, people trying to do it, thre will be democrats trying to say tis is the way to do it, and it does work until it doesn't work, and i think it's not worng, quite frankly, when the president refuses to accept the responsibility ronald reagan laid down, that bill clinton di aflahoma city, that george bush did in the wreckage of 9/11 with t first responders, to heal the nation, reach out to the other side, to offer an arm around the shoulder rather than point ago finger of blame. >> woodruff: david, er a negative or positive, we have polling results that remind us again how much president trump is a factor in these elections. we look back, and this was the "newshour" npr marist poll, we look back at how much people said president obama was a factor in 2014. 28% said he was a major factor compared to 44% for president trump today.in we'r different time. >> yeah, and those numbers are low. you know, people don't nt to

admit they're actually betting on the presient when they a. 80% is really who trump is and he represents a fenundl shift in how the country sees itself, how we see our foreign policy, how we se our identity. he's a very talented, cultural poker, so a lot of identities sues, a lot of cultural issues are poked about the way he talks rout the caavan, men, women, race, and, so,e's prented really a fundamental challenge, first taking on the republican party d the challenge to the way either party defined theun y and themselves and morality basically. so he's started thi revolutionary force and it's not surprising the election would revolve around him. i think it's a mistake personal that the democrats are countering him by running on healthcare and some of th pre-existing conditions and some of the obamacare benefits. i think the democrats make a mistake when they say we can win elections by material benefits and then they don't understand why they lose

the working class because they say, what's the matter with kansas, we offer the benefits and they didn't vote for us, 's because most vote on cultural identity and not on benefits. so when democrats go to materialism and donald trump goes to culture it plays more into his hand.o >>druff: what do you make about the way democrats are responng to president? >> let me disrespectly disagree and tell david to keep his eye on kansas in 2018. he may have a new theory after november 6. i think democrats have shownle remarkiscipline by not chasing down every rabbit hole donald trump ies to suck them into. think what the president proposed. proposed, last time i checked, he was going to have a new tax bill introduced before election day, even though congress is not in session, a 10% across the board cut for working familie somhing that was forgotten in his major tax bill. then he was going to cut the

price of prescriptiodrugs across the board. then he's on the caravan. you name it, he's there. ani think theemocrats have shown an uncharacteristic discipline by staying on healthcare. republicans land on repeal and replace. they tried very hard to repeal. they had no replace and, now, as americans are aware of pre-existing conditions and what it means to cover people who do have a pre-existing condition, and the insurance companies didn't do that voluntarily and aren't going to do it again unless they're forced to by law, all of a sudden republicans are ming up all over the board across the country with individual stories, how they had a child or a nephew or a brother or a sister, and they would never repeal this. so i thnk quite to the contrary. i think the democrats have showd uncharacteristcipline, and trump has been all over. there's been no theme for ti republican party. >> woodruff: so he disagrees with you. >> astonishing. (laughter) i'm not going to say it's going to be a republican year, but i

do think people tend to vote on values, and i do think identity issues, and, so, watt we've seen is in the areas where, frankly, trump is culturally repulsive, the democrats are doing very well. but to me th democrats had an historic opportunity to win ove t of centrist places and make inroads into red places where a lot of the people just don't like the cut of the guy's jib and they probably won't do too well in the sene and a chance they may actually lose some senate seats. so this was a pentially realigning election because you have a president who is phenomenally unpopular. and running on big spending versus tax cuts, w're back in a normal republican-democrat field and that's likely to more 50/50. >> woodruff: speaking of tax cuts, i want to share with all of you, this is a look at the new jersey senate race. they h a debate this week, our lisa desjardins was one of the she helped moderate it. here's an example the exchange between the cbent

senator mob menendez and his republican challenger. >> new jersey is so overtaxed. i go all around this state. i dot meet one person who says taxes are too low in new jersey. everyone says whertaxed. an you pay your tax bill, remember, senator menendez has voted for over 500 tax increases in his tene, including increases taxes on your social security check. >> what we shouldn't have is a $2 trillion tax bill that my ponent supports and that he helped the person who drove the tax bill be in office, the president of the united states, donald trump, and, now that the$ ha trillion unpaid for, what's the republican leader of the is that say? as sn as this election is over, we have to go entlements, medicare, medicaid, social security. >> woodruff: as you see, mr. hughen, the republican candidate challenging bob menendez. mark, they did come back to taxes. it's one of the things david was

just saying is not going to beve terribly effecor democrats this year. >> no, i mean, i think the new jersey rates, i think, have to be understood that bob menendez, the deocrat in the state, when democrats talk about winning back the house, the three keystone worner stone to that strategy are california, pennsylvania, new jersey, add to it today iowa,ssibly, but those are the states where the democrats are going to pick up the majority of their seats. so the fact that the race is close isct a refn more than anything else on not simply the republican challengepaign where he's been very deep pocketed and run a very strong campaign, but bob mendez, as you recall, had a hung jury on his own conspiracy and corruption charges, and i think that's what this race is about ues. than any national iss i just say to david, pre-existing conditions is avi value, d

you know, it isn't just, you know, whether we're going to k frens after the prom is a value, you know. heothcare is for peple who can't afford it is a value. it's a real value. >> woodruff: mark, this is a family show. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry.'t i shoulave done that. >> well, just on the erwy debate, it strikes me what we just heard in that clip was republican promising to cut taxes and the democrat saying this guyill take away your medicare entitments. that's debate we have been having since maybe 1956. to me, trump represents a shift in politics as it's more what do we think about immigration and government control, it's big verse small government, and tkes a while for other races to adapt to the new field, but i think donald trump and global populists around the worldrm changed the of the debate and what we heard there could

have been said anytime the last 30 or 40 years.dr >> wf: he's changing basically the political poles. >> no question, judy, in 2010,mn when mitt was the republican nominee, there was a despread consensus of immigration as an issue. the republicans were essentially the republican position was they were for more liberalized immigration perhaps than the democrats e ro were concerned about immigrants representing threats on hourly jobs. but, at the same time, only 4% of republicans considered a jb issue. this is now donald trump's party. 23% of republicans nerw cons this the top issue in 2018. that is donald t.mp's par that isn't the republican party of ronald reagan or the republican parfty george h.w. bush or the republican party of mitt romney. so david's right, there is a change, and donald trump, when a this race isbout him, he -- i will say this, we have seen

probably ihink the last press conference with sarah huckabee sanders as the press secthtary, no it reflects on her. donald trump is now the press vows voice othis administration. you may have noticed at the the white house now he's the one who holds the press conferenc and holds hostage democratic senators who happen to be standing there at the same time. so this is written, produced and directed, th administration, is government, by donald trump. >> woodruff: we come back to th same central point david. >> yeah and you see how he goes back to the caravan again and again, an issue made to order for him. to mes , it' exaggeration. we've had refugees come to this country before, we haven't had the national crisis for it or had to send down the national guard, we can handle it if it's 2,000 and if they really are refugees and need protection eke we can handle it. but it's being played out as an invasion from soe barbarians. so that's the issue for him right now.

>> woodruff: and on that note, we're going to thank you both. david brooks, mark shields, thank you. >> thank you. , judy. >> woodruff: next, our fall film series continues. tonight, "what they had." it is the story of a family coming to terms with the mother's oncoming alzheimer's. jeffrey brown has our look. >> brown: set in chicago, "what we had" is the story of a family coping as their mother begins to suffer from alzheimer's. first-time director elizabeth chomko wrote the screenplay based on her own family experience. >> i was devastated by my grandmother's diagnosis just because she was someone i so looked up to and felt so close to and really assumed that that would be the sort of end of her personality and the end of her

spirit. >> brown: the film opens with the elderly ruth, played by blythe danner, wandering out into the night. daughter bridget, played by two- time oscar winner hilary swank,e rns home to help the family decide what to do next. >> i felt the most vulnerable that i ever have as an actor in the role because it was playing someone that i felt was so similar to me. just a woman finding her way and for so long. women are just by nature e nurturers and we take cof people.t it's jat we do and it's what we're taught to do. so at what point do you say this isn't right for me and i need to take care of myself first and stop pleasing other people in order to live my most authentice >> brown: so did you also bring some personal experience to all of this?

>> my dad got a lung transplant and i was his sole caretaker. so i took time off and i was helping my dad for three years and i think it was-- definitely helps derstand what a crisis like this is. and it helps to remind you to be living in the moment and thatl >> brown: michannon plays ruth's son, nick. >> it's about the cycle of giving and taking care that happens in familie you know, you're born anbeyou need taken care of and then as you grow up you learn how to take re of yourself. d you learn how to take care of other people and then eventually you find yourself in a position where you need to be taken care of again. >> elizabeth, she's such a smart writer. and with-- you have to have i think levity or you t right? just like -- >> well yeah if you just come it from like a straight up, oh isn't this sad, isn't this all

vior you then you wind up with like a hallmark of the week. >> my grandmother didn't want to be coddled like, she wanted to be treated like she always was and you know, we were a family of teasers and laughers and like, and i think when yo your heart is closest to breaking is when you're laughing loudest, you know? at least that's how it is with the people that i love. >> brown: the movie explores changing circumstances and how they impact family members differently. >> it deals with so many layers of life. but again with levity. there's parts of it that areud laugh out unny and it's unexpected and that's what i love in movies-- the unexpected. >> yh, there's a spontaneity to it i think which is because it's scripted but it feels like it's happening as it's happening. >> brown: but when you'rmaking a film that really just goes to this kind of not only familyna c but the loss of identity right? it's kind of hard stuff. >> it's a coming of age movie

which we keep talking about whaa that for everyone. we're all coming of age in our own way and our own whatever me that is. i feel like every year i'm trying to figure myself out. you know not jusfor a teenager or someone in their 20s. it's like we're continually evolving and trying to figure out what's rig and what's best for us. >> brown: best for the characters and best for the actors playing in these roles. >> there's two kinds of people that get in acting. they're people who are very focused on you know, there's a certain concept of narcissism or vanity or like i want to be famous, i want to be in the spotlight and then i feel like there's people get into acting because they're just genuinelys curiout other people and they just pay a lot of attention to like what's going on tound them andy have a lot of empathy. >> i became an actor because i love people and i love their stories and i love what makes them unique and i love what makes them similar. i mean we're all striving to either love or be loved in one way or another and all circumstances may be different

but the feelings behin are the same. >> brown: "what they had" includes footage shot by chomko's grandfather >> they just feel like family, like a scrapbook you know? md they, for me, also represent like these missiory -- these flashes of memory that right before her lucid moments these little flashes of memory, >> brown: moments that chomko wanted to ensure s t preserved. film is really inspired by memory.ed i think i realhen i saw my grandmother losing hers that memories are this gift and that we really take them for granted or at least i had taken them for granted beuse they go away no >> brown: "what they had" is in select theaters now. for the s newshour, i'm jeffrey brown at the toronto international film festival. >> woodruff: finally, the latest

in our brief but spectacular series where we ask interesting people their passions. tonight, actor hasan minhaj of "the daily show" on tackling serious topics with the tools of comedy. we are the franchise player. then if it doesn't work out with us, they keep drafting and that's what second, third and fourth c tgrew up in davis, california, which is sort oe forgotten p >> i grew up in davis, california, which is sort of the forgotten part of california. i had a very unique relationship with what it meant to be, you know, a brown kid in america.my ad really has this lens through which he sees america where he sees it through eyes of an immigrant. he's so gratefbe here and so he's willing to go through whatever it takes to survive and

be successful here. he's will to pay the american dream tax whereas r me as a first generation child of immigrants, i actually have the aucity of equality. the american dream tax is sort ofhis concept that i came with where i noticed that my dad, when he would see either microaggressions or full on aggression happen in america, he sort of considers that to be the cost, f entry. u're going to endure, you know, racism of bigotry or microagressions and if it doesn't kill you, well you know, it's worth it. pay the tax. when i told my dad i wanted to pursue comedy, he said ¡do you have a drug habit?' jon stewart to me was kind of li comedy dad. i don't think my parents thought he was a comedian.ly i legitimahink that they held him to the same esteem as like a dan rather. i was like, ¡dad you know the show is a comedy show right? and he was like, ¡no, no, no, no it'such more than that.' usually you get to pick or

choose one or the other. you either work on stuff that's meaningful but not funny ony that's fut not meaningful. the daily show's one of the rare cases in show business where you get to do both people turn to political aatire shows ually get the news and i talk about specific issues in regards to bigotry, racism, islamophobia. so a l like, ¡what's your hot take on this?' and i'm like, ¡hey man, i've got to internalize this and like think about it before i can just like be the nelson mandela to this issue, yogaknow?' jo me this really great piece of advice. you know, there is no joke or tv show that will solve these problems. art, music, culture, all of these things they're kind of lightning rods that strike people's hearts at the right moment. hopefully that song or that movie or that show, strikes at a moment and strikes a chord in people that makes them take action. but the necessary condition is the action of people, not a tvjo show or .

so i appreciate everybody being ¡you're my voice!' but i'm just a very small piece of the larger puzzle ochange. my name is hasan minhaj, and acthis is my brief but spear take on political comedy. >> wdruff: you can watch all our brief but spectacular episodes at pbs.org/newshour/brief. ne, whatewshour on explains the solid growth in u.s. g we take a closer look on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. finally, a program nece, with the on almost here we will be in florida where i will anchor a special edition of the pbs newshour on monday >> campaigning is almost don stop sanctuary cities. can the democrats take the house? >> i am pro union. i was a member of a union. >> will republicans hold the senate? >> some of the policies that he has established have been very good. >> issues on a collision course

i one state. >> but at the end of the day, real change is brought from voting. >> a special edi of the "p newshour," bateground florida, monday october 29th, only on pbs. >> woodruff: join us monday for this special newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you and see you soon. >> ajor funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin. >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >>

he william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made porible by the corporation public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. terrorism strikes america with a political bent. who is responsible foranhe pipe bombthe poisonous political atmosphere? i speak with a former counterterrorism offial. plus, the c.i.a. director th has heare khashoggi killing tapes and she briefs president ump. former british ambassador on what this all means for n saudi/westerrelations. also hotly consted mid-term elections in florida, could up-end american politics, our alicia menendez with an insider's view. and a movie actor for more inan half a century still strong. the unlikely career a cockney superstar, sir michael caine.