captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna naw. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: cafornia burning. across the state, wildfires engulf tens of thousands of acres, and force mass evacuations. then, democracy in action. several key races from the midterms remain too close to call. we take a look at the latest from georgia, florida and arizona. it's friday. mark shields and david brooks break down the election, the firing of the attorney general, and more. plus, a personal history. one family looks back at the legacy of world war i, a hundred years later. >> my mother was very proud of him, and i am. he's the family hero, isn't he? i think he was very brave. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major fding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> consumer cellular believes that wireless plans should reflect the amount of talk, text and data that you use. -we offer a variety of no contract wireless plans for people who use their phones a

little, a lot, or anything in between. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james. >> t.he ford foundati working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these instituons: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was ma possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: fires across california are wreaking havoc and devastating communities.

e -called camp fire, north of sacramento, has so far left five people dead, and has grown to more than 100 square miles. in southern calirnia, 150,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. william brangham starts us off. >> brangham: this is the northern california town of paradise, completely ravaged by a sudden, devastating wildfire. >> we lost everything, trailers >> brangham: fire officials say it began as a camp fire that grew out of control, and quickly burned several thousand structures in its path as it spread across butte county, which is about 100 miles north of sacramento. the fast-moving flames quickly forced officials to order the entire community of 27,000 people to evacuate yesterday... >> basically the whole town's on fire right now. >> brangham: ...the smoke turning early afternoon into wemhat like pitch-black night. panicked residents fled by car only to find themselves stuck in chaotic traffic jams. >it> it's defy on all sides

of us now. >> brangham: some abandoned their vehicles and ran for their lives, as wind gusts up to 33 miles per hour fed the flames. but today, officials said they've aeady found bodies among the burned-out cars. >> it looks like the fire came from the east and came straight tthrough town all the waythe west. big box stores, mcdonalds, safeway, other subways, buildings, offices all along ngclark road, completely efed, gone. >> southbound from feather river hospital on pence is all bloed by fire. >> brangham: tamara ferguson, a nurse at a nearby hospital, shared this video as the fire closed in, trapping staff and patients inside. in a facebook post, she wrote her goodbye to her family and friends. thankfully, local police were able to evacuate the hospital soon after, rescuing every patient and staffer, including ferguson.

so far, the fire's burned more than 70,000 acres, and new evacuations were ordered today. >> this town of paradise was state officials described "catastrophic" losses, and said rescue efforts were ongoing. m>> tagnitude of the n that we're seeing is really, again, unbelievable. the fire weather conditions are e axtre we're seeing it from border to border. >> brangham: in southern california, 60 mis s an hour guom intense santa ana winds have fueled what began as two small brushfires into fast- moving flames that quickly scorched a combined 20,000 acres. the two bles, the woolsey and hill fires, are continuing to tear through forests and communities about 40 miles northwest of los aeles. they've burned around 75 homes and forced residents to flee as the flames push toward the pacific ocean. >> it's just devastating, what you take for granted every day being able to come home and rest your head on a bed.

and it's gone. >> brangham: just before dawn oday, the woosley fire jumped a major artery here, highway 101, fororcing new evacuatiors for the entire beachside community of malibu and its 13,000 residents. fire officials said people >> we ask that our community members heed our direction and warning, leave early. each of our communities should be ready to pack up and go in a moment's notice. >> brangham: along the border of ventura and los angeles counties, more than 75,000 homes are under evacuation orders. that includes e city of thousand oaks, still reeling from the mass shooting where 12 people were killed by a l gunman at a lobar on dadnesday night. y, fire crews tried to put out the flames in what remained of homes. across the two counties, more thiran 3,000 fighters are shetruggling to containires in what's been described as "horrific" conditions of hea winds and low humidity. both are expected to last into next week.

for the pbs newshobr, i'm williagham. >> naw: for more on what residents and fire officials have been through in recent days, i am joined on e phone by jeremy seigel of pbs station kqed. he's been reporting from butte county, the area of the cp fire, north of sacramento. jeremy seigel, thanks for making the time. you have covered wildfires in the past. what's unique about this one? >> well, as i was driving up, mean, just the intensity of the smoke. it was even flowing into the bay area. it was smokey down. there as i gotto close this region, it just became grayer and grayer, more smoke, and even as i was driving up the area, i was on what i thoug was a state route based on what i had looked at, and when i got closer to the area of paradise, it was completely blocked off by police. and you saw flames on the side of the highway. i started to see some of the confusion that residents have

seen around here where th think they're taking the right road out of an area, they think they're evacuating the rig way and find there are flames right by or even on the road they were taking >> nawaz: as you said, it's not just the intensity of the fires, it was the speed with which they spread that seemed to catch so many people by surprise. what hoes that mean abow people were able to evacuate in advance? >> it meant a lot of people were squared. a lot of peoe were confused. i spoke to one woman who tried to evacuate. she was following evacuation as she was driving away from her home near the community of paradise that you've b hearing about a lot of the destruction in. she was driong on the rad and she got to a point where th e road was closed. eventually she and a group of people were told by fire officials to essentially shelter in place in a rite aid inside of a storefront. they were stranded there for the entire evening. she told me that she w in there with other people, she

thought that she was going to die, tert she was nevgoing to see her family again until early this morning a group sheriff's deputies from verrounding areas came and sa the group of them. >> nawaz: jeremy, some folks who track these kind of wildfire, because they are nothinnynew, is therething unique about what we're seeing now? >> well, what we're seeing right now is an increased frequency of these wildfires, especially these wildfires that are sweeping through sometimes highly densely populated areas. we're seng these high-intensity, extremely fast-movi these areas that are called the wildland-urban interface where people are living close to densely forested areas. that's wt's unique about this fire, and it's what we're seeing more of in northern california. >> nawazofjeremy seige pbs station kqed. thanks for your time. >> nawaz: in the day's other news, president donald tmp

signed a proclamation today effectively blocking immigrants who illegally cross the southern u.s. border, from seeking asylum, a legal protection for those fleeing violen persecution in their home countries. the ban will not apply to unaccompanied minors. the measures take effect at midnight tonight and last 90 days, though ty could be extended. this afternoon, the american civil liberties union, the southern pover law center, and the center for constitutional rights filed a federal lawsuit challenging the president's proclamation. mr. trump today seemed to try and put some distance between himself and matthewhitaker, whom he appointed as acting attorney general earlier this week. speaking to reporters on the white house lawn before aving for a world war i ceremony in paris, mr. trump said he hadn't spoken to him about t mueller investigation. >> i didn't know matt whitaker. he worked for attorney general sessions. but matt whitaker is a very smart man, he is a very respected man in the law enforcemencommunity, very respected at the top of the line. >> nawaz: in an interview last month, mr. trump told fox news that he did know mr. whitaker,

calling him a "great guy." senate my leader chuck schumer sent a letter to the president today, sayinwhitaker must go through the senate confirmation process if he is to serve as acting attorney general. whitaker's public criticisms of counsel robert mueller's investigation has also raised concern, since he will oversee the probe his new role. a federal judge has temporarily blocked construction of the controversial ystone oil pipeline. judge brian morris of montana's u.s. disict court overturned president trump's permit for the pipeline until the ministration conducts a complete assessment of its environmental impact. the decision is csidered a victory for environmental and indigenous activists. president trump said today the decision was a "disgrace," and thousands of jobs were on the line. mr.ed trump contio criticize journalists in the white house press corps today, insulting one reporter and calling another's question "stupid." he also refuted claims that a video tweeted by press secretary sarah sanders swing cnn

reporter jim acosta at wednesday's press conference was >> nobody manipulated it. give me a break. see, that's just dishonest reporting. all that is, is a close-up. i watched that; i heard that last night. they made it close-up. they showed it close-up. >> nawaz: a video expert told the associated press that a frame-by-frame comparison shows discrepancies between the original version and the one sent out by press secretary sanders. in her forthcoming new memoir "becoming," former first lady michelle obama tackles a range of topics, including president trump. ma criticized mr. trump for leading the so-called birther movement that called into question her hu former president barack obama's, nationality. she wrote, his loud and reckless innuendoes, was putting my family safety at risk. and for this, i'll never forgive him." nded tosident res reporters this morning, suggesting her comments were prompted by the book publisher and attacking her husband's

policies. the florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to prominent democrats and critics of president trump was indicted in new york federal court today. caesar sayoc faces 30 charges dethat incttempted murder. he is being held in new york without bail. if convicted, he could potentially facup to life in prison. ovseas in somalia, islamic extremists set off four car bombs in an appart suicide attack in the capital mogadishu today, killing at least 20 and wounding 17. t bbs went off outside a hotel near a somali police building. extremist group al-shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo and defense secretary james mattis met with their chinese counterparts today in washington. secretary pompeo criticized beijing's policies in the south china sea, but said pressure by china on north korea was critical for ensuting denucleari.

tschina reaffirmedommitment to denuclearization, and said u.s.-china trade issues can be resolved. item's back to work for su court justice ruth bader ginsberg, who ry urned home toter a brief hospitalization. justice ginerg's nephew said the 85-year-old is working, and "cracking jokes," after a fall t hhat fractured three ribs this week. supreme court sessions resume on late this month. and on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average lost 201 points to close at 25,989. the nasdaq fell 124 points to close at 7,406. the s&p 500 fell 25 points. however, for the week, all indexes were up: the dow up 2.8%, the s&p 500 up 2.1%, and thnasdaq up 0.7%. still to come on the newshour: tensions rising over several still-undecided midterm election races. we remember the victims of the latest mass shooting in the ited states.

mark shields and david brooks offer their perspective on the week's political news. plus, much more. >> nawaz: it's three days after the midter in several states still don't know who will be representing nuthem in congress come y. lisa desjardins reports on the ongoing, and contentious, ballot-counting proces >> desjardins: in florida, political deja vu and discontent, with protests today outside the broward county elections offic as officials review which remaining ballots to count. >> here we go again. >> desjardins: this as republican governor, and u.s. ssenate candidate, ritt has seen his small lead over democrat, and current senator, bill nelson, decrease.

scott and his allies question why his race has narrowed two counties, while the other statewide race, for governor, has not changed as much. last night, scott took the exrdinary step of filing a lawsuit and calling for ate involvement with officials in broward and palm beach counties. >> tonight, i'm asking the florida department of law enforcement to investigate this immediately, and i am considering every single legal option available. >> desjardins: as of this afawternoon,nforcement officials said scott had not yet asked for an investigation in inwr the drama has been magnified by president donald trump, who de aegations of fraud over twitter, though he offered no he spoke to reporters this morning. >> rick scott, who won by-- you know, it was close, but he won by a comfortable margin-- every couple of hours, it goes down a little bit. >> desjardins: the nelson campa aign, while preparing f

statewide recount, read a statement: >> clearly, ricscott is trying to stop all the votes from being counted, and he's impeding the democratic process. rd>> dess: democrats blame poor ballot design in broward county for discrepancies. the box for the senate re sat underneath a long column of instructions, and they argue many voters simply missed it. similarly, the state's governor's race is so close that if ahe current margin holds, recount will be automatically triggered there as well. this, even though democrat andrew gillum conceded to onrepublic desantis tuesday night. florida is not alone in the vote counting battle. in georgia, democratic gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams is pursuing multiple lawsuits. she has fallen further behind in votes in the past day, but is ng to turn that around and force a runoff election. and in arizona's back and forth u.s. senate race, democrat kyrsten sinema currently is edging out republican martha mcsally. but, election officials say ballots will continue to be counted through next week. adrian fontes with maricopa county, near phoenix, pointed to outdated technology.

>> so, this is a very old system, and it was designed for a much, much smaller jisction. we are now ne of the biggest s jurisdicti the united states of america. >> desjardins: finally, in calirafornia, several house s remain too close to call, and officials say it might be december before there are official results. to answer some of the lingering questions about midterm vote ting, i'm joined by tammy patrick, a senior elections adviser at the democracy fund. she previouslyorked as an election official in maricopa county, arizona-- one place at the center of thiseek's ongoing ballot countin .thank you for joining let's just start with some basics. ehat ballots are left to b counted right now? are they provisional? ire they absentee? and can you rnd us what the difference is? >> absolutely, and thank you for having me. so all across the country, election officials, not just in the jurisdictions you highlighted, are still coubanted

ot, both the ones you mentioned, absentee, as well asv ional ballots. semantics in elections are very critical. absentee ballots c vote-by-mail ballots thatoters received prior t election day. they registered and returned it in a tr ely mat an appropriate, under-law manner to have their votes counted. they're egible to be counted. even though there are hundreds of thousands if not millions oft ballots ere turned in on election day or right up until election day, so those ballots take some time to process and need to be worked through and counted. >> those returned by mail or in person? >> absolutely. depends on the state law. in the states you mentioned here, arizona, florida,gieor those could be turned in at election offices. in arizona they could drop them at the polls on election day and haveal boxes for those vote-by-mail ballots. thovisional ballots are ballots a voter had a challenge or

an issue. they weren't registered, wrong precinct. so that's why they need to be looked at after electn day. >> what's wonderful about you is you can take us behind the curtain of what sms like a mysterious process. you brought a few photos of counti of provisional ballots in 2012. i was astounded how many provisional ballots were involved here. >> we had about 122,000allots in the 2012 election that were strictly provisional. and that's whit did not surprise me to see them line ing llways here. it did not surprise me they're still counting inch 2012, we had about 600,000 ballots in the same time frame that we're talking about now. >> so this isl?orma >> this is normal. so when voters given anni oppor to receive their ballots before election day and return them up to and until election day, we have to still have time to count theatm. and why when you have hundreds of thousands in the case of maricopaounty, 500,000

people who don't turn them in until monday or tuesday's election, it will takeafome time r the fact. and in most cases you'll have not jueet days butks to be able to make sure that everyd vad eligible vote gets counted. we also have ballots comingn by military and overseas voters, and that's a critical element, as well. >> soart of this is how you do your job, the process as it's seemsed to be, but it there is also a political element every year in terms of whether there is enough time to count the votes before they'osre su to be certified. we saw lawsuits in florida and in arizona over when the counting should start and stop. we also saw the president, thern go of georgia, one of the senators from florida say that democra are trying to steal this election without offering yy proof. how think we should draw the line between a legitimate elections question and what might be political fear mongering? >> well, i think it's important for everyone to know that

election is a process that's laid out statutorily or by administrative rule of law ofw is proceeds. e even if it's not a close election, me process is going to take place in a close election and an elecon that has a wide margin, which is the election administrative prayer, mathe margi of victory be wide. so some people, they did not have their prayer answers. >> they're not wide. >> they're not wen some places. >> does it matter if someone like the president is saying wnhout evidence that he tks fraud is happening? what does that do? >> i do think it'important that people in positions of power or authority, whether it'n a presor a governor or any other elected official, if you are give an podium, a pulpit or a microphone, you need to take that responsibility very seriously when you call into question and challenge and incite any sort of doubt into the foundational aspect of our ds.emocratic proc

it should not be taken lightly. people are doing that now. and so as a voter, how can you have confidence that, in fact, that is just a partisan or a political move rather than a realth truly indicatiois there were issues, and what i would say is that it's important to know that the process is taking place where you are. it'smportant know if equipment and things are being audited and being validated, and tn if you have any questions, to call up your local eofficialand watch on tv, follow them on twitter. many of them are posting how veey're doing their procedures with facebook nd what have you. so you can get into the process itself. >> so know theules and pay attention to the equipment i think. tammy patrick, thank you so much for join us. >> thank you so much f having me. s>> nawaz: another maoting

in america has left yet another criommunity stricken with. want to take a moment t remember the 12 people killed on wednesday after a gunman openedi fire at the bone bar and grill, in thousand oaks, california. cody coffman had just turned 22 years old, and was in the process of joining e army. his father, jason, talked to reporters on the scene. >> he was on his way to fulfill his dream of, of serving the country. first thing i said was, "please don't drink and dre." last thing i said was, "son, i love you." that was the last thing i said. >> nawaz: ken dunham was also searching for his son, jake dunham, after his son's friend alerted him to the shooting. he tried to reach jake repeatedly. before the victims were named, he told nbc news, "i keep calling but there's no answer." jake was 21 years old. 23-year-old justin meek waa bouncer at borderline, and broke windows at the bar to help eople escape

meek was a recent graduate of california lutheran university, and as a social worker, helped support families of children wspitial needs. sean a48, also worked as a bouncer at borderline. he recently changed careers, and had opened a coffee shop earer this year. one of adler's childhood friends told the "new york times,"" when we were younger, i got picked on. sean was my protector, i needed t" so badly at that time." sergeant ron helus was a 29-year veteran of the ventura county sheriff's office, and the first officer on e scene. helus, who was planning to retire next year, rushed toward the shooting and exchanged gunfire with ththshooter inside bar. his friend, sheriff dean, delivered the news. >> sergeant helus died at the- the sergeant passed away at the hospital... about an hour ago. >> nawaz: dan manrique was a

marine corps veteran who worked for a veterans support organization, team red white and blue. the group released a statement yi, "dan's life was dedicated to serving others during his military career and beyond." alaina housley, 18, was a freshman at pepperdine iversity, and the niece of actress tamara mowry, who confirmed her passing with this statement: "alaina was an iyoncrediblg woman. we are devastated that her life was cut short in this manner." 21-year-old blake dingman also died in the shooting. his younger brother, aiden, o postedstagram this message, "we tried for hours and hours to get in uch with blake and got no response. blake, i love you so much, and miss you me than you can imagine." noel sparks was a camp counselor for her church ya th program and udent at moorpark college. her best friend, whom she met in bible study, told reporters," sh.lived and loved like jes she was genuinely caring and

loved seing people." telemachus "tel" orfanos was 27 years old. last year, he survived the route 91 las vegas massacre america's worst mass shooting, only to die this week in thousand oaks. this was his mother's message: >> i don't want prayers. i don't want thoughts. i want gun control. and i hope to god nobody else sends me any more prayers. >> nawaz: kristina morisette was 20 years old and worked the front de as a cashier at borderline bar and grill." i saw kristina walking around rit ght beforeppened," a friend said." it still seems like a dream." 20-year-old marky meza jr. was raised in santa barbara, and also worked at the restaurant, as a busboy. his family said "marky was a loving and wonderful young man who was full of life and ambition." he would have turned 21 in less than two weeks.

>> nawaz: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: d a family history of wor i, 100 years after the war's end. and, how a man in his 60s went from a careein carpentry to blues stardom. it's been a dramatic week in politics. thkfully, we have the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist m aark shield "new york times" columnist david brooks. welcome to you both. yohappy friday. may remember there was an election earlier this week. yesterday lisa desjardins and our political team did a wonderful breakdown looking at the new congress. she called it a generational change, a lot of turnover, and demographic change, too. so david, let's start with you. looking forward, how do you see this new congress being able to

actually legislate? >> well, occasiolly you get a class that defines a generation. so 1974 you at that watergate babies. 1984 you hat newt gingrich. in this wcould have the trump babies. it's a hopeful crass for two reasons. it's much mor diverse, it looks the way america actually looks. secondly, it's reasonably moderate. one of the things we've seen over the last two dayis analysis of which kind of democrats won, and in general the progressive, the ones endorsed by the more progressive groups did not do well. those endorsed by the centrist new democratic groups did very well. so i happen to think the s moving toparty the left, but a lot of democratic voters not moving to the left. they tended to give some pretty big victories to moderates. >> nawaki i'm p up some

optimism. >> it's refreshing optimism. i think it was a a significant election. what i was most larld -- alarmed by was the president's nouncement that it was a great victory for republicans. the republicans lost more seats than they didnder ronald reagan or george w. bush, both of whom accepted the fact that the party had suffered a shellacking. and i was particula brly stru the president's reaction at the post-press conference. gene mccarthy, the late senatofrom minnesota once described a mean political opponent as being the type of person who after the battle is over comes down from the hills and shoots te wound, and that's exactly what donald trump did the next da he went after, named, and shamed republicans who had lost, and the lone black republican woman in the congress, mia love, he went after personally and said,

mia showed me no love and in that sense, i just never have seen anything like . the election was about donald trump. 65% of the voters sd itas about him. and his dominance of american politics to me was complete in the sense that states could almost trace -- track the republican vote for senate or jor office with donald trump's favorable job rating in that state. in ohio, for example. i think the victory, david, he may disagree, but i think it was a enormous political victory for nancy pelosi. she was the one who passed healthcare in 2009 almost single-handedly. the party paid for it in 2010. and ironically, 2018, it was the issue that democrats rode back. i thought she showed iron discipline by keeping the party

on that is. i think it's significant. 33 of 34 women elected to the house for the firste were democrats. >> nawaz: so both of you have noted that demographically there were huge shifts with this new congress. >> absolutelazy. >> nbut they were largely in one party and not the other. david, what do you make of that looking forward at our biggest and strongest two party, one path is moving toward master representation and one not so much. >> well, couplehings, first, donald trump seems to have lulled himself in with 45% of the electorate. and so he's built some pretty rong barriers. it's hard the see people leaving and coming in. second, it should be said for all there was ae wave or a huge surge in turnout for the mocrats, there was also a huge surge in turnout for the republicans. to me that is basically the white working class saying, we're still hurting. some of it may have to do with the kavanaugh hearings and things like that, but life in rural areas is still marked by

huge numbers of men outside the u labor force. ve jobs that are part-timelo and of economic strain. those people came out because they're still hurting. now, can this party get outside that 45%? i don't thi so. i think trump has really walledn himself ithe party is a trump party. george bush and john mccain and every other republican spent so much capal trying to win ener hispanics, trying to reprthe new america, asian americans, all the groups, and in a stroke, i think donald atrump has ended mybe two or three decades of efforts in that direction. >> nawaz: does that make harder for these folks who are being sent t washington to do their job? >> i think so. donald trump ran on immigratir , and lot of people, that was... that threat of both a demographically alteredountry, t also a threat to their jobs and a threat to what they feel is their safety appealed to

them. that's why i disagree with mark on healthcare, even though the democrats -- i still think if you look around the world, what'st'he issue t dominant in country after country? it's national identity. who e we as nation? and that's the fundamental issue. trump has one answer. i think democrats are still going to have to come up with a different answer, which emphasizes diversity. >> nawaz: i wan to ask you, mark, when democrats won control of the house, they also won the power to lauh investigatns into this president, subpoena powers, et cetera. the president has already promised a war-like posture the democrats start to investigate his personal and financial dealings. how does this play out? >> well, i mean, the president t has to be suret his troops are behind him. i'm not as sure that republican senators like cory gardner in colorado, who is up in 2020 or susan collins many maine, who is up in 2020, are goingo be knthusiastic about joining loc step support of the president and his positions. just to pick up on did's

point, i do think immigration is a major issue. i think it's been cavalierly dismisseby th elite, special on the democratic side. it's a legitimate issue and a real issue. i think the democrats have come up with a response. tbut the democrats can the agenda. this is a midterm election. it's a referendum on tnt presi f do think that if the democrats come outis stronger, although they're going to -- the fragmentation, the pollerization of a primary, a contested primary, which will try and pull the party to the left.no there'uestion about it. >> nawaz: i want the move on b the oth story, the forced resignation of attorney general jeff sessions and the appointment of his replacement mark who has been openly hostile to the specinsal c's investigation, that is matthew david, senator collins, who mark

dust mentioned, proposed legislation that would protect robert mueller. how do you see that moving rforward? ublicans move to do that? >> i was struck by how aggressive she was and signals from new senators like mitt romney taking her si these sorts of things. hewonder if there will be a loosening in lock-step loyalty to trump now, especially hey're not in solid red states, look around, i have to establish some distance, and there may be a weakening in the loyalty there. so i sort of expect that to heppen, but, you know, donald trump does wha wants. and he's wanted to get rid of sessions for the longest time. and he went against i think members of his own administration, membn s of his rty and said, i'm going to do what i want, and i'm going to pick somebody to protect me. what strikes me about trump's attit general is that all power is personal for trump. >> that's right. >> you have to be loyalty to me. it's not about the institution of the justice department or the institution of the federal government, it's about me.

and so i think he just doe even see the possibility that somebody like jeff sessions could be serving a difrent yalty than personal loyalty to donald trump. >> nawaz: what duds that meafon something like the mueller investigation, for theofntegrity hese institutions? >> first of all, amna, matthew whitaker's days are numbered at the justice department. when donald trump said tod that he wasn't sure he'd ever met him, after praing him as a great guy the last month in an interview, he's distancin himself. loyalty is strictly a one-way street with donald trump.si jeff ss was the first and only senator for a long time who trendorsed donals candidacy, and yet he disparaged him in conversation as being a dumb southerner and even worse, and thees one ng of this is that jeffessions, sean spicer and rence priebus now will b spared that abuse, that daily

ridicule that came fmhe president. i just... to me it's beyond comprehension that you would treat people like this and expect -- david's point about the justice department being a personal attorney who works for you i think is absolutely on spot. i mean, this iss hiproach. it has always been his approach to the justice department. w and ts an attorney general who is his attorney general, non the attorneyal of the united states. >> nawaz: david, very quickly, i want to touch on what was a very contentious press conference between the president and members of the press corps earlier. it ended with one of the members of the white house press corps having his credentials results. i've covered countries where that hapens and now it's happening here freakily.

i. >> i thought that was a distrarks what's not silly is picking out three african american reporters and ridiculing their questions. that's donald trump. sometimes questions are unpleasant, and the president's job as a public serve. is to answer the questions. and going off on the press in a much more frankly bullying posture has been against "these people." we all know what what h means by these people. >> those three reporters are april ryan, ay fill im, and our own yamiche alcindor who were singled out for particular insult and derision from the president. >> particularly yamiche, and it's true of april ryanbb andy phillips, but yamiche asked a legitimate question about nationalism and the encouragement of sympathy that he gave to right nationalism,

and we already are aware of support, echoes of support forr him ese groups and individuals, and so he immediately tacked her f a racist question. i mean, this is the oldest igambthe world. he does it over and again. it's a bullying tactic. it's a mean-spirited tactic, and it's... to me, i shows the pressure that he is feeling from this defeat that he sufferedon tuesday. i thought we got a little peek into how he treats those around him in the white house by the way he treated those in th press. the jim acosta thing is unrgivable. to use a doctored tape from inf wars to someke the case hoat he had mistreated this white intern, which he did not do, i don't know, i just wish sam donaldson and helen thomas had a shot at this guy.

>> mark shields, david brooks, good to talk to you as always. >> nawaz: it was the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month... is sunday marks 100 years since the end of world war i. at the time, it was believed to be the war to end all wars. 17 million people were killed in four years of conflict. for most, it is a piece of history, but for many families, the loss continues to resonate. nspewshouial correspondent malcolm brabant is part of one uch family, and he brings us this very personal report about his great-grandfather. >> reporter: in my mum's modest home in eastern england, there is a gallery of those taken early. her first grandchild, her husband, and on the fireplace, the grandfather she never met: corporal charles swansbury of

the royal fusiliers regiment. >> my mother was very proud of him, and i am. he's very brave. >> reporter: before enlisting in the british army, charles snsbury worked for the metropolitan railway company in north london. ivit'ually certain he drove this very engine, saved from the scrap yards when steam died outo and now operl again on a heritage line. swansbury never went beyond the railyard. pohe was a shunter, tioning the engines and carriages in the sidings. today's engineer alex alder endntirely underswhy charles swansbury volunteered when war broke out.oi >> this job day in day out every day, for some it must have been very exciting.or he majority it must have been extremely bore, fordrs exn extremely dull. you were given this job and stuck with it for life some to be offered the job to gos oversd do something honorable and prove yourself a respectae figure in your family, for some that must have been a huge opportunity.

>> reporter: swansbury was 26, with three children. railmen, like coal miners, were vital for the war effort, and weren't required to enlist. but, he was blamed for a number of derailments, and was in trouble at work. >> don't put it in. >> it's the truth, mum. >> you can't put that in. >> you have t it's the truth. it's out there. it's the truth. >> people are digging dirt out of everybody these days. now that's not right. >> but -- >> no, that's not fair.le [whistounds] >> carried along on >> reporter: carried along on a wave of patriotism and pradopaganda, swansbury for the front lines in belgium and northern france, and four years of carnage. ntthe vors are venerated as lions led by donkeys-- the generals. historian glyn prysor follows a line of training trenches near my home west of london. how should history judge the d donkeys, the allmmanders? >> they were to fight a modern war without the understanding of

how a modern war works o. mathe things they tried to do in the early years of the conflict, they didn't have the equip or the weaponry or the technology to succeed. what you endedp witwere really huge casualty numbers for minimal games in terms of yardage age territory. >> reporter: nowhere epitomizes that futility more than the somme region of france where ceshawansbury had his first real taste of action. on the first day of the somme, 20,000 british troops we killed, 40,000 were wounded, and only three square miles of territory was captured. across britain today, there are art installations represenng the rivers of blood. david carter is a specialist in the history of swansbury's regiment. >> they were told, form a line, march slowly forward, and you will be okay. and unfortunately the germans hadn't read that part of the script and were ready with machine guns coming out of their trenches. >> these were only kidsu. how would feel if lukas

went? >> reporter: my 19-year-old son las is walking hallowed ground, where 800 troops from newfoundland in canada went over the top of the trenches on july 1st. the next day, only 68 answered the roll call. >> if you look at the devastation of life, how many lives were lost here. just imagine t weapons and the technology that we have now, just imagine the millions that could die if something like this breaks out agai >> reporter: swansbury's unit was one of the few to capture r objective on the somme but they lost one in four of their men. >> from reading ls ters and diarn have written, they only knew what was happening in cvery small area around them, probablyple hundred yards either side of them. they would see their friends being n.wn d i suspect it was only afterward the reaization what a escape they hadsell. some of the psychological problems occurred years afterward. >> this is a card sent o mum.

>> it's heartbreaking, isn't it. please send me back my daddy. >> reporter: in 1917tanks broke the stalemate of trench warfare. swansbury fought alongside them n at cambrai iance and poelkappelle in belgium, where this replica was built by johan vanbeselaere. >> there were automatic gun, barbed wire, and ey cd go straight through the barbed wire. they were immune for autatic guns. >>st reporter: the cycare passing along a ridge near poelkappelle that was held by rmthe s. this was part of the infamous quagmire known as passchendaele. >> if you fell off the duck board, the chances are you would drown. it was so bad that i men did fall in, actually getting them out was incredibly difficult, and often they didn't bother. >> reporter: in june 1918,

>> reporter: in june 1918, corporal charles swansry was awarded britain's third-highest honor for bravery. n historiavid carter believes he earned the military medal during an attack on lug farm. we identified the general location in northern france, but the farm is no longer there. hardbury's story has be to document precisely because a building containing his and other records was bombed during the second world war. it could have been capturing machine gun posts. it could have been for the way in which he conducted himself during the course of the battle. but unfortunately the citations were burned with the medal in 1942, so we'll never know. ge>> reporter: by this sthe dynamic of the war had aucompletely changed bec of the involvement of the united states. under the leadership of general john pershing on the left, american troops, fresh and thenthusiastic, demoralize germans, who by now had been forced to send old men and boys fto tnt. >> they were a really effective

fighting force, and the germans really had no answer to the overwhelming weight of american firepower. the battles werencdibly bloody. about 120,000 casualties in just over a million men in the field. but the americans played a significant part in tra ol allied advance that led to victory. >> reporter: with victory just eight weeks away, charles swansbury's luck ran out here in northern france in september, 1918. wa charles swansbury's uni trying to create a system of trenches, and during this period they suddenly got shelled really heavily. >> he was identified as being killed on the 5thnd on the memorial, which means that somebody came back and said, "i saw him die." >> my grand mum told me she had two or three dreams about my granddad. she was walking backward and the church doors closed and she knew he was dead.

but they came with a telegram. >> going down with the sun in g,the mornine will remember them. >> we will remember them. >> lest we forget. >> let's we forget. >> reporter: and so st. mary's church in harrow, close to swansbury's former home, where men from the parish wilorl be h this sunday, 100 years after the armistice, in a commemoration organized by michael chandler. >> i think it's important to remember their contribution. it took away a whole generation. thank you very muc gr>> reporter: the phoh will help worshippers put a face to a name engraved next to the altar alongside his younger brother frank, who died in 1918 after losing his le. >> terrible. where on earth did you get these? >> reporter: unfortunately,

they're replicas. the whereabouts of the originals is a mystery. brmefore leaving the battlefields, we had one remaining duty at the ploegsteert memorial for soldiers with no known grave. >> i tnk to see the thousands of names up here and going to all the unmarked grahams has reallyiven me a perspective of the waste of life that happened during the war. e don't think anyone has learned anything from ast 100 years, and i think in a lot of ways it still could happen again. i think the world is more divided than it has been in very long time, and something like this could very easily happen again. rl>> reporter: c swansbury fought for the circle of life, not the circle of death. fihis generation's sacs molded today's attitudes.

we disdain deference. wens don't trust politic we question everything. lld perhaps, those values save our children. for the pbs newshour, i'm malcolm brabant in flanders. >> nawaz: let's end this week with a little inspiration: the unlikely story of robert finley. in just over three years, the 64-year-old blues guitarist and singer has gone from working as rpa ter to performing across the country. he sat down with willia brangham before a recent show at wash, d.c.'s anthem theater. let's have a listen. ♪ ♪ ♪ medicine woman. have mercy on my soul ♪ >> i'm a 64-year-old great

granather, and i'm just getting ready to rock. ♪ how could you be so cold i got a burning fever ♪ every night you've got the power ♪ to make it all right >> my name is robert finley. i was born and raised in a little town called winnsboro. i'm a sharecropper's son. i guess you could say we're one of those sharecroppers that really never got their share. ♪ i'm going to love you forever if you'll just set me free ♪ i started playing music all my life since i was old enough to remember i played in the military. i happened to be the leader ofar the my band when i was in

germany. ♪ you know just how to hook me up ♪ but when i started to try to do the vilian band, there wasn't as dependent. the drummers, theass man can't make it and stuff like this. thatigot frustrating to me. it couldn't keep me busy enough to make a decent living. >> reporter: in the mid-19 70s, funnily stepped away from music. ecame a carpenter, luke his father, but then in 2015, he began the lose his sight. >> i got to where i couldn't see well enough to make accurate cuts. , youe price of lumbe can't afford to keep making

miscuts. ♪ back to your mind so i was forcedhen to retirement because of my sight on the carpentry. and i just went back to my music. >> brangham: that same year 2015, finley was discovered playing on the streets of helena, arkansas. before he knew it, he was recording with dan auerbach and opening for the biggest names in music. >> i'm going from the sidewalk to the broadway stage in less than three years. ♪ you got to take it wheu can get and get illn while you can ♪ it's a whole lot dferent crawling up on a stage than crawling up on top of a house, i'll tell you that. >>rangham: funnily's second

studio album gone platinum is now out. you can catch him live around the country. ♪ get it while you can for the pbs "newshour," i'm william brangham. >> nawaz: that is a great w to start the weekend, and this is the newshour for tonight. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm an nawaz. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and see you soon. >> major funding for the ass newshour heen provided by: >> financial ervices firm raymond james. >> bnsf railway. onsumer cellular. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressi problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the w foundation.ora hewlett for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporti

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 bpossibthe corporation for public broadcasting. annsd by contributo your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour proctions, llc captioned by

nd hello, aelcome to amanpour. here's what's coming up. from firing his attorney general to bashing the press. what if president trp is heading this nation into a constitutional crisis and we don't even know it? i asked a constitutional expt, harvard law professor that question. also ahead, mexico gives shelter the migrant caravan escaping bru brutality. pl, fighting for social justice in the trump era, activist educators and