captioning sponsy newshour productions, llc >> brangham: good evening. i'm william brangham. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: tragedy on the border.ld a seven-yearigrant girl dies of dehydration and exhaustion while in u.s. custody. it's friday. mark shields and david brooks analyze what the latest revelations from the mueller investigion mean for the trump presidency. plus, join jeffrey brown on a weird, wonderful trip remote town in texas that's now a haven for the arts. >> you're aware of the p tsage of time sun arching across the sky. you don't get thatesn a lot of pl and i think people who are open to tt experience, settle int it. and they find the inspiration of that. >> brangham: all that and more, on tonight's p newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪mo ng our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data.um

co cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> financial services firm raymond james. wi the ford foundation. working visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these ititutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporfor public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. b ngham: president trump may have another legal problem to ponder.

federal prosecutors in new york are reportedly investigating his inaugural committee, and whethee it received l, foreign donations. the "wall street journal" andme the "new york say the inquiry is in its early stages. meanwhile, president trump's former attorney michael cohen ii ing again that candidate trump directed hush money payments to two women before the 2016 election. cohen spoke in an exclusive interview with abc news' george stephanopod us. he denting on his own, as the president has repeatedly hiaimed. >> first of all, n at the trump organization was ever done unless it was run through mr. trump. he directed me, as i said in myu alon, and i said as well in the plea, he directed me to make the payments, he directed me to become involved in these matters. oh brangham: in response, the white house called a "self-admitted liar," and said he should not be taken seriously. the president tapped budget chief mick mulvaney late today, to be acting white house chief

of staff. the announcement came in a tweet. mulvaney will take over when john kelly leaves as chief of staf at the end of the year. the u.s. border patrol is defending its actions after a seven-year-old guatemalan child died in detention this month. the girl and her father were picked up after crossing thew border in xico. officials say she did not appear ill at first, but her temperature spiked, and she died within hours. it turned out she'd had no food or water for days. we'll have more on this, as part of a broader update, after the news summary. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo today condemned china's detention of two canadian citizens. the two were picked up after zhnada arrested chinese tech executive meng w. she's accused of violating u.s. trade sanctions on iran. pompeo and defense secretary james mattis met today with their canadian counterparts. the canadis insisted they're acting strictly by the book. >> in canada, the has been to this point, no political

interference in this iss at all. for canada, this is a question of living up to our international treaty obligations and following the rule of law in canada. >> brangham: canadian officials have also objected to president trump's saying he might intervene in meng'case, if it helps clinch a trade deal with china. separately, china annoced today it will suspend $126 billion worth of tariffs on u.s. autos and auto parts. the moratorium is for 90 days, trade talks proceed. israeli security forces rounded up dozens of hamas militants in the west bank today. it followed a series of shooting attacks on israelis this week. the crackdown sparked battles between israeli soldiers and palestinians throwing rocks. palestinian officials said a enager was shot and killed. u.s.-backed kurdisfighters have captured the last islamic state stronghold in eastern syria. ofey had battled the militant

group for controhe town of hajin for three months turkish president recep tayyip erdogan threatened again today to attack the kurdish fighters that he regards as terrorists.ey tuaid he also discussed the situation with president trump, by phone. in france, a frth person has died from wounds suffered in tuesday's mass shooting in strasbourg. that word cafa as the city's med christmas market, which was the scene of the attack, reopened for business, amid heavy security. the suspected gunman was killed by police last night in strasbourg. brish prime minister there may pressed on today in her bid to rework a brexit deal. but, leaders from theuropean union gave her little hope. french presidentmmanuel macron said it's time for the british parliament to accept the deal, or not. the european council's president, donald tusk, underscored that point, at meetings in brussels. >> i have no mandate to organize any further negotiations.

of have to exclude any kin re-opening our negotiations on the withdrawal agreement. but of course, we will stay here in brussels, and i am always at prime minister theresa may's disposal. >> brangham: at one point, may had a heated exchange with european commission president jean-claude juncker. he had dismissed britain's demands as "nebulous and imprecise." negotiators at u.n. climate talks in poland agreed today to extend their meetings through sunday. they're trying to finalize a "rule book" for meeting global wakeing goals. sticking points include how to create a global market in d carbon credits, ether to compensate countries alreadyli damaged byte change. back in this country, gisconsin's defeated republican governor signed ation that weakens the powers of the incoming democraatc governor and rney general. scott walker dismissed criticism that the move was a power grab

by repubcans. and, he sparred, long distance, with incoming governor tony evers. >> these bills don't fundamentally change the power of, not just the next governor, but any governor treafter, going forward. they just make sure that we have transparency, accountability, that we always look to protect the taxpayers and that we have a sense of stability going forward in state government. >> this legislation was created without accountability and transparency. so what i've said all along is still true-- the will of the people was ignored. >> brangham: the new laws restrict early voting and limit the new governor's ability tot enrtain administrative rules. democrats and advocacy groups are expected to challenge the laws in court., also todchigan's republican governor rick snyder signed bills to scale back laws on the state minimum wage and paid sick leave. republicans passed the bills in a lame-duck session before snyder leaves office.

he, too, is being succeeded by a mocrat. general motors has announced it's adding 2,700 jobs to offse planyoffs. the automaker said last monthac that 3,300ry workers would be let go when it closes four different u.s. plants. now, g.m. says most of those employees will be offered one of the new jobs-- but some ll have to relocate. president trump and lawmakers have sharply criticized the plant closings. and, on wall street, weak economic figures from china and europe sent stocks tumbling again. the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 500 points to close at 24,100. the nasdaq fell 159 points, and the s&p st0 slipped 50. ill to come on the newshour: a young child's death draws heightened attention to the u.s.-mexico border. a look at why enrollmentn the affordable care act is down. and, much more.

>> brangham: today, the department of homeland security confirmed the death of a seven-year-old guatemalan girl who last week was apprehended after crossing the border illegally with her father. amna nawaz is here to walk us through what happened,hat this story can tell us about ths governmeorder patrol policies. amna, what can you tell us about what happened to this poor dirl? >> we haails. officials today held a call and tried to answer reporters questions then. we know she was seven years old, traveling from guatemala withhe r father. she made the 3,000-mile-plus journey with about 300-plus people and they were apprehended on the night of december 6, 9:1d antelope wells, new meco, by bored control agents. the crucial part of the

timeline, w talking about the next morning, december 7, 4:30 a.m., the first time a bus had been available to transport this little girl named jack lean with her father. 5:00 a.m. before the bus leaves, the father tells the agenshe is sick and vomiting. the bus continues to move to what is the clost border patrol station, an hour and a half away. at 6:30, she arrived and received medical care for the first time since arriving in the u.s. at 7:45, and she's no longer breathing by the time she gets to the border patrol station. 7:45, an air ambulance is called to transfer her to a trauma unit in el paso. she arrives, was dehydrated, ain,ling around the relying on a ventilator by that point. the next morning, december this 7-year-old girl dice. why did it take so long to get her medical attention? this is why a map is useful to

see what we're talking about. the base, antelope wells, new mexicoinis a remote part of the country. there is water on site. we d't knoif jacqueline had any. there is no medical staff there. from the bae they have to drive 95 miles to the closest border patrol station, 95 miles of no fa tilts, towns or medical support along the way. d.h.s. says everyone t initially screened, she wasn't sick at the time, the father didn't flag she was unwell. when they got on the bus, one bueto shuttle everyone, ty did all they could with the resources they had, they said. >> brahgham: it seems a relatively small response knowing d.h.s. knows people are coming in places like this. is d.h.s. sayingw we knore because we know these people are arrieng? >> not rly. in terms of resources, there were four border agents there, one bus we medti we know they regularly handled

groups this size. they say they getaround 100 to 300 people at a time. the numbers of children they renne countering are going up. take a look at the other graphic we'll show you now. this is what they call family unit app hedges, adults aarriving with children, that's been going up steadily in the last four mons. last month, 52,000. that's been going up since 2012. basically, they say when the threats changed in central americ so did the demographics of the group arriving here. the difference is we as a government, with we asntry haven't been doing anything to change how we're receiving them and caring for thm, even though we know that they are coming. if you want to understand how the administration is viewing this, take a listen to how deputy white house press secretary hogan responded earlier today when he was asked about jacqueline's death. >> the southern border is an horrific situation, no two ways out it, and it's a sad time but it's also senseless, it's a

needless death and it's 100% preventible. >> does the administration take responsibility for a parent taking a child on a trek through mexico to get to this country? >> no. they made dealer responsibility i not with them for failing to provide adequate care, but to the parent for brig them to forward to in the first place. >> brahgham: separate from this twrearnlingsd know there are lots of concerns aut all the other young people kept in ss. custody. you have been doimuch reporting on this. what is the status of those other people? >> we should mention there's an investation into this young girl's death led by the inspector general. we also have more migrant children in u.s. government care than ever before in history, ability 15,000, and we also know they're staying in our carelo er, and that's because this administration has put into place rules that revent the and slow their release to family members who usually have been coming forth quickly t them. children stay in our care and

custody about 60 days in a system not designed to keep children long term. the administration requiresnd fingerprintsackground checks for people stepping brward and then arrest a lot of those people on this of their immigration status. >> brahgham: the people coming forward y to saying tnt to sponsor the child are getting arrested? >> yes, based on their immigration status even thoughth have no criminal history. and it's happened again and again. we know more children will be arriving and we're not prepared to hand them. a story fi heam the advocate on the border interviewing migrant children taed to a someone from guatemala and said why do you do this? the girl said they were going to kill me. if i died, i was going to die trying to live. that little girl was nine years ol the she said if she had to make the journey again, she would.

>> brahgham: amna, thank you very much. b ngham: for most americans, the enrollment period to sign up for insurance plans under the affordable care act ends tomorrow. john yang has a look at the numbers so far. >> yang: william, the latest government figes show that as of last saturday, more than 4.1 million people had signed up for a.c.a. coverage. that's down nearly 12% from last neyear, and the number of enrollments is down almost 20%. this, despite stable premiums and more plans available. now, millions more are expected to sign up or be re-enrolled by tomorrow's deadline. to discuss what's going on, we're joined by julie rovner, chief washington correspondent for kaiser health news. julie, thanks and welcome. why is enrollment down from last year? >> well, there are a lot of aren't. a big one, of course, is that mngress last year repealed what's called thdate

penalty, so if you don't have health insurance, you will no longer have to pay a tax penalty for not having it, though a lot of people don't even knowt. tha the economy is bert. more people have jobs. they don't need their own health insurance. there are smaller things in virginia, they're expanding medicaid, so you've got tens of, thousaore than 100,000 people who were getting aca coverage who wilnow be able t get medicaid, and the trump administration allowed these short-term plans, these alternative kinds of plans that might be cheaper if you're healthy, and there ar osome numbpeople who are probably going to sign up for there plans instead, so are a lot of things contributing to this. >> so even though ollment is down, it doesn't mean necessarily that coverage is down. >> we won't find that out or several months but, yes, enrollment is down and some people could be getting alternate coverage. >> brahgham: what does this tules about the health of the aca? >> it's more resilient than people thought. it was predicted when congress

got rid of the penalty for not having insurce, the bottom would fall out of the market. and while enrollment is down, the bottom is not falling out of the market, which comes as a bit of a surprise to people. seems more the subsidies that can help people buy insurance that are keeping people there rather than the possibity of a tax penalty if they don't buy it. >> brahgham: the bottom not lling out, does th mean the marketplace are stabilizing. >> yes, and insurers are starting to raise money, and this year some didn't rse premiums and more insurers are coming into the market, so there are more choices at sort of less rapidly rising prices. so, yes, the market is in better shape, certainly than it was last year. >> and the deadline tomorrow is for the federal marketplace. >> that's right, for the states, the federal mar there are very large states including california, new york, massachusetts, where the deline is in january, so, in most states tomorrow, is the deadline, but in about half a dozen states in washington, d.c., it is later. so you will still have a chance

to sign up. >> brahgham: we won't know final numbers for a while. >> no, we won't know finas numbr a while. some millions of people will bee reenrolled at oint if they don't come to the marketplace and choose a new plan, they wi be renewed into the old plan. >> brahgham: people who want to renew i the federal marketplace before tomorrow's deadne go to -- >> health care.gov. if you get in the line, you ll be able to enroll even after the deadline. >> brahgham: julie rovner ofer kaealth news, thank you very much. >> you're very welcome. >> brangham: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: a recent investigation reveals troubling details about the sandy hook shooting. representatives carlos curbelo and mark sanford reflect on their time in congress. and, how a remote texas town transformed into an artist colony.

today marks the 6th rsary of the massacre at the sandy hook elementary school inn, newtonnecticut. 20 children and six adults were murdered. dit was an especially tou there today, since the school had to be evacuated this morninn after receivg a bomb threat. officials later said it was not credib sent home out of caution and sensitivity. this wk, the "hartford courant" newspaper published a report about more than 1,000nt docurelated to the killings and the killer, adam lanza. the storpaints an even more chilling picture than we knew, a rigid and angry individual struggling with lonelinesshe disdain for and multiple psychiatric problems. pulitzer-prize winning reporter josh kovner wrote some of thve "courant's" ge, and he joins us now. josh, thank you very very much for being here. this report that you have put t is just a harrowing read, detailing the extenof the

troubled mind of this killer. can you just give us a snapshot of the things that you found? >> it was a sense of greater, deeper extent of his obsession and compulsive disorder, his crippling problems that he notel juing eevery day. his meticulous fascination with marder and gun play, a very detailed spread sheath that he put together. we hadn't seen that before. his eling,is ambivalent sex wall. hes feeling about ped feeli had a soft spot about that. his feeling if a doctor touched him during a physical, it was tantamount to rape. the expression of surprise and

concern from a psychiatrist who interviewed him when he was4, the psychiatrist seemed to bewh saying are you doing being homebound with homebound instruction, you're not in school? this is a catastrophe for you. you need to be in the main stream. and adam, his remarks as captured in that report, were, as he said, rigid, robotic. he was asked about friends. he said, what culture are you talking about what 14-year-old would say that? he said outright that he had scorn for humanity, he had no use for relationships. it was the extent of the darkness and the dark world view. >> it really is the whole thing a harrowing chronicle that u've reported. after these kinds of tragedies, we as a society always look for

the flags that could have been missed. whatedeople might have not to say, you know what, this really is a danger, this person really is a potentir. dan and i think it's important to say, too, that we know that many people whouffer from mental illness, the vast majority will never becomolent. but in the case of this young man, were there warning signs,ba lookin, now, that could have tipped people off to what was coming? >> well, some of the signs could have tipped people off and tmotivated them to ge him more help, maybe an in-patient situation coupled by meaningful outpatient, and things have grown up in the mental health field since in the last six years. peer advocacy, people helping people who have been through it, trauma-informed therapy. they used to tiptoe aroun trauma, n they confront it directly. ef you had any trauma from th divorce of his parents, some of

these things could have been addressed. but through no fault of anyone's own, schools, counselors, parents, psychiatrists operate in silos, and wasn't doe always talk with the other, and he excised between them, among them, and nobody nailethe whole picture. and maybe that's impossible, but that could be something to aspire to is better communication among good-intentioned, smart people who are trying to help youngsters. everyone has to communicate. >> some in the newtown community, as yoknow, are distressed that you guys put out this report in thway thatou did and when you did. and i know you and yourd colleagues talhot about this and thought -- talked a lot about this and thoht about this long and hard. can you explain why you felt this was important to do? >> epfully, there's -- hopefully there are some recognition and evention aspects of this once you get beyond the emotional

core. my heart goes out to those parents. u know, they have been very brave, they've done a lot of good things, brought a lot of added value to that community and the gun debate. but once you get beyond and start to reach out to the lighter audience, there was some fairly positive feedback about providing some kind of a road map for, perhaps, to prevent the next adam lanza. you know, hopefully we created a body of knowledge about this shooter, and the next one won't come up the same wae did. >> brahgham: josh kovner of the hartford, courant. thank you very much. >> you're more than welcome. o brangham: on capitol hill this month, dozelawmakers are packing up their offices, including more than 70 house

republicans who are either retiring or were voted out in this year's midterm elections. our lisa desjardins sat down with a pair of those departing members. two very different types of w republicanse seats will now both be blue. mark sanford represents , south carolina. he's a member of the o nservative freedom caucus. and, carlos curb a moderate who represents southern florida. have both spoken with the republican president, an initiative wrom both of you have been opposed and also attacked by this president. how privately do other members of congress see this president, what are they saying in private? >> if you're committed to the truth, if you are committed to ing sincere, that means you're going to disagree with people, and sometimes it means you're going to disagree with the president of yourtywn par now, the problem is, these days, that's viewed as unacceptable. you either have to be 100% with someone or you're an enemy.se and we'rng that across our

politi, by the way, not just in the republican party, not just with this president, and that's very dangerousa >> it's polarized as i've ever seen. i have been involved in politicn south carolina for a long while, what he said about one o camp versus thher camp is real and dangerous. so, when an issue is hot or popular, you can't push politicians away from the microphone, but when it's not -- and this is one of those times that would fit in that category -- people are reticent about speaking out. >> is there a courage issue about republicans speaking upt for whthey think the truth is? >> i think there is a courage issue in congress. people are more and more riskpl averse e. pare more and more in this for a career and notservice, so they at this as a job they have to protect, no matter what, and i think that distorts your ability to make sound decisions. it certainly makes it harder foe you tosincere and honest and transparent about what you think

and people. >> in the past few days, we've seen a jury convict a white ctionalist of murder for when he drove into wd of protesters in charlottesville last year. following these stories, i'veed tao republicans who say they think the idea of racism os over some think white nationalism doesn't exist. where is your pare ty on racand hatred right now? >> there are in the jobs out there in i've which part of the country and everpart of the world. i don't think, in any way, the republican par etyndorses, supports or condones the work of white nationalists or any other nut job group out there. >> but the question is, iths e republican party doing enough to stand up to it and prevent it and stop it? >> again, i've got my sphere of influence and it only goes s far. all i know is i've spoken outn

vociferouslyis topic in as much as it's arisen. if you look at the healing tha took place in chartse charts -- sharlston where a white nationalist type came into a church and shot dow number of parishioners, what he intended for that turned out to be an embrace for good for community, black, white,ll, who came together. >> it's a large party of men, especially for those returning to congress. why is that? >> clearly, the party nes to do a better job to welcome in loople from all over america who like america looks. i'm a conervative-leaning republican hispanic, so that earned me getting rejected by the congressucnal hispanic . i applied to join and they said

i wasn't welcomed there. >> becau it's all dvrntle democ. right. you think that's what it was. their bylaws said theisre bipa. i think they didn't want to include me because, for them, diversity is only important inso cases, not when it app lies to them. but the truth is that there are a lot of spanic-americans who are center-right who lieve in the republican party's message of growth and prosperity and small, responsible government. a lot of these are people who fled big, oppressive governments, yet they don't feet welcome party because some, like the president and some of our lleagues, use rhetoric that is really offensive to some people, that diminisheseople. >> you have advocated for a carbon tax. you want action on change. that puts you in the minority in

your party. why is it do you think republicans havvreally mo more away, even, from discussing climate change?ol is this a icy debate? is it politics? is it both? adly,is is an issue that, has been demagogued, like so many others, and a lot of republicans back when al gore adopted thiscause jusassumed they must be opposed to it, and some special interest groups ized on that to really widen the divide between republicans and democrats. t what i've tri do here in congress over the last four years is undo that process and just have a rational conversak on. let's lo the facts, let's look at the science. >> congress passed two of the largest spending bills in history. republicans used to be the party that was all about cutting the defici as a deficit hawk, what has happened to the republican party on this issue? p >> i think tsident's been

particularly destructive on this issue.ri when, the presidential primaries, he basically said we're not going to deal with entitlements which is the real driver of spending at the federa level, and when people see it now, they see there's not going to be any presidential support, they leave it alone because they know it's a political impossibility, at that point. we do soowt our peril. i believe that we're walking away towards the largest financial crisis in the history of our country. i think it will parallel the great depression. ue and here's another iss where i think there's a lack of honesty in politics. the truth, is from what i can tell and from my time here, that she party that cares about deficits and debt the minority party. no matter which one it might b >> you've talked a lot about truth and honesty. honestly, is this it for politics for the two of you? >> ithere's ever a guy who's learned never to say never, it's

me. (laughter) it's something of a lazarus, deadnd over, dead anover, dead and over. but i believe so, is the answer to the question. >> i think there will be another politil chapter in m life. i don't know when it will be, but i do sense that i have it hn me, the passion for it, the love for it and, even now as a pritivate cin, i'm going to continue affecting for the issues -- advocating for the issues that are important to me, whether climateigimmtion, this issue of sustainable government and the debt. so i'll louis my vote but not my voice. congressman carlos curbelo, congressman mark sanford, thank you very much. ng >> bm: from the political fallout of robert mueller's investigation to the senate sending a strong message to

saudi arabia, it has been a busy week here in washington. to help us understand it all, we turn to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. gentlemen, nice to see you both. so we have, according to the president's tweet, a new acting chief of staff, mick mulvaneyy. that means certainly the storm is over pennsylvania avnue, right? >> yeah, i don't know why he was actibu. he was theget director, member of congress before that from south carolina. he was on the sup fiscal hawk side of the ideological spectrum sth and generally well regarded in the house, around the house, in washrsgton, knows the pla p in washington. brahgham: he's the guy. seems like a solid pick. c the question this person protect donald trump from himself, and i would say that's an open question. you have to see. you have jhn kelly, a big tough guy who had the general grasav and sometimes trump would defer

but even at great personal cost to general kelly. we'll see if mulvaney has that. >> brahgham: mark, what do you think? >> he wore two hats. he was budget management omb rector and also took over the consumer protection finan bureau. two things, would seem the largest growth in the natio debt in a time of prosperity in the world's history. usually when the oes down, it's a time of economic traction and things aren'tl, going wel government spends, we've had war, peace, prosperity, and the debt reach historic highs, even moreis torque highs. that's the first plus. the second is the consumer mansion protection bureau which . mulvaney was wearing the second hat, had the largest drop in morale in any government institutisn. >> thihe bureau that's supposed to protect from predatory bhaincht predatory lenders, student loan exploiters

and all sf other people, and his job the was basically t dismantle it. so, you know, based upon that performance, so far, it's perfect for the trump administration. >> so maybe you would like to keep him in the white house. >> i think is a good fit i mean, i would say if you're expecting a life expecty slightly shorter of that than a second lieutenant in combat, it's n a job of longevity. >> brahgham: this week we saw, the tail-end of last week and this week, a greater understanding of these hush moneopayments that were made these two women so they wouldn't talk until the somewha troubling stories about thers intions with donald trump. we now have two people who were in the room who say thacat idate trump were there and they were clearly paying this money to direct these women toui be to protect the campaign. david, the collective response from the g.o.p. seems to havebe a collective shrug of the

shoulders. is that what we are toecxpt now? >> yes, these are felonies. they are felonies, so the they e i e taken seriously. characteristicallyent a lot of time with republicans on capitol hill this week and they are keeping their head down. the senate has become the think tank. they sit round, not pass a lot of legislation, they are thinking about the future of th republican party and policy so they are probably trying toan the future post-president trump, and they're probably trying to come up with policies abon fore policy, the things government used to do, a w all the prests to ask about is trump and i think they're frustred. so collectively, you think they decided to think througholicy and decide what conservatism mek s and will tout trump when forced to but try to do other things in the mean time. >> brahgham: sit okay for the

president's party to put their heads down when talking about potential felonies? >> i think it's fair to ay theris no republican party, it's a trump party, and you have 95% of self-identifying republicans sathey approve of the president's job, they say that's what their loyalti is. a pol party is a coalition of people who -- you know, disagree on some issues butor agree on and they organized these winning elections, and the passing policy or establishing policy, changing policy, and this is- l party. isaean, we it this week with the weekly standard in busweine, ee it with republicans on capitol hill, you do not dissent. there is no g. mccarthy in thepa republicanty. >> from within. there is no movement withi the republican party. they keep their heads down. theyre not part of us. i'm thinking beyond, and the

fact is that it's now a republican trump cult, is what it is, and they're not looking for converts, they're not trying to build a colition larger, they're looking for heratics, and they're drumming people out of the ranks, whether mark sanford we saw earlier tonight, whether the weekly standard magazine. you know, if you don't buy intoo e programcan't even be a part of the team. >> to mark'point for those people who are not aware of this, you were one of he founding members of the weekly standard. this was the magazine of conservative thoughd, for many, there were many writers within that magazine who were very critical of the president. is mark right that this is yet another sign ohe implosion of the conservative party? h, i think so. you know, the standard was the greatest collection ofalent, concentrated collection i've ever been around. when we strted with charles, we

had bob kagan, a prominent foreign policy writer, we had a eat collection of peoe but what defined it is we were not team players. so there was a random fluorescence of opinion, a lot were very good, and the standari was killedweek for three reasons, i think. first, because it was not a trump and thaturt ith subscribers, second the ownerd didn't understat opinion magazine is and they were trying to get it to hiring a.m. ra rado jocks. they were getting stiffed by the itor and past editor and current editor saying that's not who we are so they didn't understand what an opinion organization is. there's the possibility people were buying and serious possibilities and that was prevented by the owner so in a sense they've murdered itll intentiopartly because

they want to keep the list and partly maybe out of vengeance or something. gt the death of it is a blow to the idea that yoo into this business not to be a party player and a cheerleader for a party, but you go because you value a set of ideas. so i find mysf angry about it, and i think it's a great loss r america. >> brahgham: mark, let's shift to the democrat. there's been a lot of questions about how the republicans are responding to the president. there is also a question of are the democrats responding effectively. we saw nancy pelosi secured her position as the speaker, and a lot of demnrats were cheered this week when they saw her performae with the president and chuck schumer in that remarkable scene in the oval office where they had this fight about the border wall. do you think the democrats are rising to thoccasion? >> rising to the occasion of -- >> brahgham: the trump moment. certainly based upon the unprecedented and unorthodox

session in the white house where the president invites in the cameras, doesn't tell anybody, and all of a sudden you're sir ing there with the leaof the democrats in the house and the senate and you're going against donald trump, who's a master of that forum, and i thought nancy pelosi won two out of three. she pinned him. she had him on facts. she said you've got the house, you've got the senate, let's vote on it right now, mr. president. you really think -- you don't have the votes, mr. president. and she corrected him on tax, which, of yours know, is, i guess, very few people -- he n esn't take correctell, he doesn't take correction from a woman well, but i thought she did it with great respect. it's always mr.si pnt. he's calling her nancy. you know, it's sort oa arm over the shoulder, this one of the guys.at but demoare in a political quandary. i mean, i think david mentioned earlier the evidence is piling

up against donald trump, but the political -- donald trump had a very low level of expectation coming in. unlike jimmy carter, he didn't say i'll never lie to youte, ity was not his strong suit. it was dismay but not total astonishment about these about him. it started out you will have to ask michael cohen about these payments, then really preservins famiity and well being. then who's michael cohen? then michael cohen was doing this on his own. then there's nothing wrong wit. >> brahgham: the president's lawyer then this week saying it wasn't a crime, no one got killed or hurt. >> really, w treduced ito the most elementary of new york street crimes. so that, to me, the democrats, there is not the will, i don't think, in the country now to impeach them and i don't think there probably is evidence, but there is certaiy mounting

circle sense thathis is not missing the tip of the iceberg. >> brahgham: david, what doe you make of democratic response to the president. >> i don't know if they're strong enough, but the g republicans are organizt that moment of how we're going to handle the showdown and call schumeowdown and pin it on the democrats, but the president said, no it's mine and understood cut the message of his own party. >> brahgham: mark sh, broodavid brooks, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> brangham: and now, we take a haok at how art and culturs brought new wealth, and newes challeto a tiny town in west texas jeffrey brown has thar report. it'sof our series, "american creato." >> brown: welcome to marfa, texas. dusty ranchlands surrounng a tiny rural town near the mexican border.

and, an internationally-renowned art mecca. it's sometimes weird, often wonderful, definitely far off the beaten path, some three hours from the nearest major airport. >> you can get from new york to paris, seated and eating dinner, faster than you can get from new york to marfa. so you got to make the commitment to come here. >> brown: jenny moore is director of the chinati foundationa sprawling museum created from an old army fort on 340 acres. >> you have time here. you're aware of the passage of time by the sun arching across the sky. you don't get that in a lot of places. and i think people who are open to that experience, settle into it.an they find the inspiration of that. >> brown: chinati, and the whole marfa phenomenon, began with the arrival here in the 1970s of artist donald judd, a leadingn figureat became known as "minimalism," art stripped down

w basic forms. judd wanted out oft he saw as the stifling new york art scene, as he explained in an 1983 newshour interview. >> for manyears, i've been r oking for empty land that had not been damagedstroyed, and didn't have too many people. and i finally realized that there was a large space in west texas. >> brown: that space-- and the landscape itse-- would become the inspiration and home to large works by judd and other noted artists, including roberfl irwin and dain. >> look at what humans can do. they can come to aenvironment like this, which people assume is sort of harsh, and look at the incredible beauty and potential here, and manifest it a a way that you can always come back think about what the art means, what the experience means, what it means to have land and space and time. i think that's what's so significant about it. >> brown: judd also bought up once-grand buildings in downtown marfa-- vestiges of an earlier, boom era for the town, when

ranching and agricultureri d. these, too, became work, esexhibition and living sp all part of a vision that artists could create their own world. judd's daughter, rainer. ha>> he felt very strongly the idea of seeing one artist's single work makes it hard to comprehend what the artist is working on, or thinking about. that you actually need to see art in multiples, in a great number of works in one space. >> brown: rainer and her brother flavin now head the judd fountion, which oversees the father's work and legacy, and is w renovating the original spaces for public visits. >> his idea was that when you want to know about art of that time, of his time,tuhen you can ly come to marfa, and see his work in a situation that he wanted it seen. judd foundatn was born out of a sense of being empowered as an artist, that "i can do this, i utn have spaces, and i can

my art up." >> brown: donald judd died in 1994. his vision grew into something he might not recognize, a "new marfa," as artists and non- profits moved in. tourists came from all over the globe, hip restaurants, galleries, and hotels opened. fashion and travel magazines featured it. celebrities posted instagrams. very modelecame t of the arts as economic engine in rural america. in new marfa, even the mayor,ma ane nafziger, is an artist. >> the economic impact of tourism on marfa is enormous. and the outgrowth of that, having a large creative culture here, has also changed the community and some of the ways that some of the acts that are available. am>> brown: and the movies back. marfa had once been best knownet as theng for the 1956

film, "giant." in 2007, thescar-winning "no country for old men" was filmed here. ancherip love, a local and head of marfa's one bank, had a bit part. >> what i learned about the wholexperience is that actin is best left to the professionals. >> brown: love, whose family has had a ranch he for generations, remembers when judd first came to town. despite some initial skepticism from so-called "old marfa," he says, for the most part, the changes have been good. >> my texas pride, i can never admit needing to be saved. but i shudder to think what it might be like if judd dn't come along. it has certainly enhanced the cultural lifestyle here, and all the things that go along with the cultural life. the restaurants, the music events. i mean, it's made living heren richer t has been in the past. >> brown: but while life may be richer, it's also far more expensive, and marfa's art-led

growth has brought unintendedco equences. housing prices have skyrocketed, as demand from wealthy newcors has soared. in a town where the median income sits around $40,000,it caused major problems. >> when people talk about gentrification, you're thinking usually of an urban setting.w 're seeing it in the middle of rural texas. >> brown: sandro canovas has worked in west texas for more than a decade, building and repairing homes made of adobe, historically owned by marfa's majority-hispanic polation. y adobes gained popularitwith outsiders, the county raised property taxes on the homes, move canovas says hits the wrong people. >> it's displacing mexican and mexican-american families. the lo is not only that these people leave. it's also the cultural loss of the plac >> brown: the effects are felt elsewhere as well. oscar aguero is superintendent of the marfa independent school district, with around

340 students, more than 90% hispanic. >> i have several teachers that live, you ow, 30 miles down the road in alpine, where it's a little more affordable. i did have one teacher living in presidio driving the hour drive. so for us, the housing of teachers has been a problem. >> brown: moreover, with marfa real estate prices so high, the school district is now classified by the state as being "wealthy." >> we're paying nearly about a half a million dollars back to the state. that's coming out of our localat funds could be using for our students. >> brown: yeah, i mean, because you don't have a rich population. >> no, we don't, you know. 76% of our students are .economically disadvantag so, which means that they fall under the free and reduced lunches. so, you know, half a million dollars that give them for educations could go a long way. >> brown: still, aguero saysso his schools enefit from the art boom here-- a partne foundation brings artists into

the classrooms. his own daughter, in face now wants to artist. >> forhe younger generation, you know, they're getting to grow up withhis culture that is world-known and is amazing, and they're able to see things and hear things that you wouldn't see in a small, ruralwn >> brown: for the residents here: an unusual mix and a delicate balance of what art can do for-- and to-- a small town. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in marfa, texas. >> brangham: finally tonight, we close with a remembrance of the great singer nancy wilson, who died yesterday. wilson was a legend who crossed so many different styles and won over a generation of fans. wilson released more thanum 60 a in a career spanning five decades. she won three grammys, and had

many hits. she was a civil rights activist who marched in selma. she hosteder own tv variety show in the 1970s. but, it was her ability to dazzle audiences across so manyi l genres-- jazz, pop, broadway standards or ballads-- that really set her apar in fact, she called herself a song stylist in 2004, when jeffrey brown interviewed her, he asked what she meant by that.>> ive me the freedom to be a pop singer, r&b singer, jazz singer. it's really about the lyric, a opposed to the melody. and that's my approach to the music, is lyrically. i love the song, i love what it says. and i think "song stist" gives me the freedom to sing all kinds of things and not be put ia box, necessarily. >> brown: what makes a great song? >> i want to tell you a story. i want the song to have legs. i want it to mean something to you ten years from now. it's kind of like acting.

you know, you go there.vi you do littlettes, each song is a play. that's always been my approach i it, you know. n close my eyes and go where that song goes.♪ ♪ (singing)♪ ♪ >> brangham:ancy wilson was 81 years old. on the newshour online right now, across the country, but especially in ruraregions, having a reliable vehicle can make or break your health. in kentucky, we meet patients who dependn the transportation

from medicaid to get their esseial care, and how a possible change could affect them. that and more is on r website, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm william brangham. have a great weekend. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> financial services firm raymond james. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and w of these institutions

and friendof the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to yourbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

she is among a diverse group of congress members shaking up capitol hill. she made lgbt rights a part of her platform in the race and won. and mounting concerns over how tech companies handl free speech and data privacy. plus a state bill to build housing near transit hubs that died in the legislature earlier chance.ar gets a second could it help alleviate california's housing crisis. hello and welcome. we begin with a newis if a of capitol hil this midterm election, democrats fought to regain a majority in the hyse b flipping republic