captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour toght: democratic lawmakers pledge to investigate a report that president ump directed his former lawyer michael cohen to lie to congress about plans for a trump tower in moscow. then, the white house announces plans for a new summit with kim jong-un, as north korea's top nuclear negotiator visits washington. plus, it's friday. david brooks and ruth marcus break down the stalemate as the government shutdown enters its fourth week. and, rising above racism. how black hockey players, from youth leagues to the n.h.l., are confronting hate on the ice. >> it's disgusting. thought when it happened was, i mean, i'm not

really that surprised. like, it's kind of a thing thati that goes on. >> woodruff: allhat and more, tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> text night and day. >> catch it on replay.

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station fromiewers like you. ank you. >> woodruff: the partial shutdown of the federal government is now four weeks old, but leaders in washington are no closer to a solution. instead, there is more fallout from president trump move to bar a military flight for house speaker nancy pelosi and a congressionadelegation. they had planned to visit afghanistan and nato headquarters in brussels. today, pelosi accused the white house of leaking the group's alternate plans to travel by commercial flight. >> we had a report from afghanistan that the president outing our trip had made the scene on the ground much mor dangerous. perhaps the president's inexperienced people around him though should have known that, because that's very dangerous. >> woodruff: white house

officials called pelosi's claim "outrageous," and they deniedg leakything that endangered her delegation. meanwhile, the president twe ted this evenit he will have a sejor announcement on the shutdown and borderity, tomorrow afternoon. this as the u. senate recessed th no plans to go back into session next week. president trump is facing reports that he told his former lawyermichael cohen, to lie to congress. buzzfeed news sayshat it involved negotiations to site a trump hotel in moscow. presidential lawyer rudy giuliani flatly denied it today, but house democrats vowed they will investigate. we will take a longer look, right after the news summary. amid news the shutdown and investigations, the white house has announced plans for a second summit with north korean leader kim jong-un. it came after a north korean envoy visited the white house today. the summit is set for late february, but there is no official word on a location. we will have a report from foreign affairs correspondent

nick schifrin later in the program. the united nations' human rights t fice is demanding that zimbabwe's governmd a violent crackdown on fuel hike protesters. u.n. officials say security forces are using fear and timidation, and conducting door-to-door searches at night. more than 600 people werehi arrestedweek alone. the government has also ordered a total internet blackout.ot in b colombia, the death toll from a car bombing rose tor 21 people ght. dozens of others were wounded in the coun in 15 years.t attack the thursday blast targeted a police academy. officials said today that the bomber was a member of colombia's last remaining rebel group,nown as "e.l.n." back in this country, anti-abortion activists staged the 46th annual "march for life" in washington. thousands walked from the national mall to the supreme court, after vice esident

pence touted the trump administration's anti-abortion policies. >> we know we still have much to do, so we urge you to stand strong, stand with that love and compassion, as you stand for life, and know that we will stand with you until that great day comes where we restorehe sanctity of life to the center of american law. >> woodruff: president tmp addressed the crowd in a pre-recorded video message. he promised to veto any legislation that-- in his words-- "weakenshe protection of human life." teachers in los angeles staged their own mass rally today. they've been on strike for five days, demanding higher pay and new limits on charter schools. negotiations have now resumed with city officials. los angeles has the country'snd seargest public school s system, wie 640,000 students. california has begun cleaning up after a series of storms dumpedv

rain and snow this week. six people were killed, and more than a dozen had to be rescued from flooding rivers. the latest of those orms is sweeping across the midwest nonight. it could wallop thheast with two feet of snow on sunday. there is word that sony music's r.c.a. record label has parted ways with musician r. kelly over allegations of sexual abus it was widely reported today that the company cut ties with the grammy winner. the move follows a documentary that featured multiple women accusing kelly of abuse. and, in economic news, the u.s. chamber of commerce and more than 380 other business groups urged an end to the governnt shutdown. they said it is doing significant damage. the head of the new york federal reserve branch said the shutdown r uld cut growth this quar up to 1%. but, wall street shot higher today, on new optimism about

u.s.-china tra.de tal the dow jones industrial average gained 336 points to close at 24,706. the nasdaq rose 73 points, andth e s&p 500 added 35. still to come on the newshour:ak laers call to investigate if the president instructed his lawyer to commit perjury. plans for a second nuclear ecmmit with north korea. the shutdown's eon the people who live and work in the washington, d.c. metro area. plus, much more. >> woodruff: iis a bombshell from buzzfeed news that has prompted outcries from capitol hill. if true, it could be the most damning set of details yet tying president trump to an impeachable offense. lisa desjardins begins witwhat we know, and the response from lawmakers.

>> desjardins: a new, serious friction point between the white hoe and the capitol, as democratic lawmakers react to the report that alleges that president trump ordered his attorney, michael cohen, to lie to congres >> if the facts are true, this is suborning perjury. >> desjardins: rhode islandav democrat cicilline spoke on cnn. he's on the judiciary committee, the committee with jurisdiction over impeachment. >> i think there's no question this is an impeachable offense. and it's, again, just one more data point about what was the reason that they were trying so hard to keep this russia meeting and this russia relationship so secret. >> desjardins: the democratic diciary chairman, jerry nadler, said in a tweet thatct dig a subordinate to lie to congress is a federal crime, t d he promised investigations. the buzzfeed repleges that mr. trump personally directed cohen to lie about plans to build a trump tower inw. no other news outlet has confirmed the stery. it comes a cohen pleaded

guilty in november to lying to congressional intelligence committees about the so-called "moscow project."ow cohen isooperating with federal prosecutors. buzzfeed says cohen was not a source for the story. the president's current attorney rudy giuliani denied the repatt and, in a ent, called it "categorically false." on fox news, white house deputy pressecretary hogan gidley questioned buzzfeed's reporting. >> this is absolutely ludicrous, that we are giving any type of credence or credibility to a "news outlet" like buzzfeed. >> desjardins: but, gidley did not specifically deny the story. >> you're saying the president didn't tell michaeatcohen to do >> i'm telling you, this is why the president refused to give any credence or credility to news outlets. >> desjardins: at a virginia food bank today serving furloughed workers, the top democrat on the senate intelligence committee, mark warner, talked to reporters.if >> i don't knohe new report about cohen being told to lie by the president is true or not. we'll have to ask mr. cohen that.

but it sure as heck explains why michael cohen lied in earlier testimony to our committee. >> desjardins: he added that the committee is arranging for cohen to appear again next month.pb for thnewshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff:et's hear now from capitol hill. opresentative jamie raskin of maryland is a membthe house democratic leadership team. he also serves on the judiciary commite. he formally was a professor of chnstitutional law. thank you very mor joining us. you said earlier today that if this is true, it would be an impeachabloffense. how so? >> well, we know it's true because of coursthe republicans impeached bill clinton over telling one lie about one sexual affair. anthis is about organizing a whole pattern of lies in order to dceive the congress of the anited states about a matter of national securita matter that goes to the heart of

american national sovereignty. so lying and obstruction of justice has figured cntrally in the impeachment that we've seen in modern times that is in thent nixon impeachnd of course in the articles of impeachment brought against clinton. so they are both articles that were brought against nixon and articles brought against cli obstruction of just tea and lying were central. so i think everybody viewshe president's involvement in lying to congress and saw borning perjury as certainly a statutory felony violation under federal law but also a major constitutional offense against the rule of law and our >>constitution. oodruff: suborning perjury means telling someone else to lie before congress or fore a jury. congressman, what is it exactly in this newf inormation that you think makes it something th is

an impeachable offense. what is it exactly? >> let's start with th we don't know whether or not this is true. all we have is one news report about what one witness has said. now obviously 's the key witness and michael cohen was the president's personal lawyer but what cohen is saying is that the president urged him counseled him and essentially conspired with him to lie before congress. and sobodrneing perjury a coaching someone to lie in a sworn context is itself a federal criminal offense. it is a felony. but more importantly when you think about the whole context of it, constitutionally it's a serious betrayal of theid prt's oath of office. the president is sworn to take care of the laws flatefully executed not to take care the laws are betrayed and violated

and is is a rak betrayal of the presidential oath. >> woodruff: so when you were asked about a similar question last month i think after th report had come out that michael cohen said that the predsident irected him to make payments to two women who allegehy had had affairs wit the president. at that point in december, you said that youn' didthink that that constituted an argent for impeachment. you said, i'm just quoting u you said it's a very hevy constitutional remedy. but you're saying now this is different. >> here's the thing. i thought that the republicans completely overreached when they impeached bill clint for telling a lie about sex. it didn't go to the hea of the rules of law and the constitutional system. and so i don't think the president should be engaged in campaign finance violations and cover ups. i don't think he should beo havingney beyond the

contribution limits channeled into the payoff of mistresses. i don't think he should be involved in making illegal corporate contributions, etceteal. having saiof that, that related to the suppression of news of affairsith the various mistresses. i think that's a much closer question. n don't think that the president should be involvedt. he wasn't president at the time. i think it's more arguablt re you have a situation where the president is actually coaching and urging and suborning perjury and i don't think anybody democratic, republican, independent green or whatever sees that thing other than the owe phelps that goes to the violation of rule of law and betrayal of his presidential oath. >> woodruff: just very quickly. we know there's a difference saying something that's an impeachable offense and perceiving should bennderta to arry out impeachment, the impeachm tt process.

ere any doubt in your mind that that process should go forward now?l, >> we'm glad that you make that kiz tinction, used -- distinction, judy just because a lot of people have not been making. because it's impeachable doesn'r necey mean you move to impeach because the impeachment remedy is very muh part of the constitution. it should not be a fetish for us but it should not be a taboo either. we have to view it tool within the toolkit but it's a decision of a mixed queson of law and public policy. it's a question of law because we want to know whether or not 's violated basic legal obligations. but the question of public policy too because we have a full public agenda we're trying get done in terms of prescription drug prices and health reform and .so on >> woodruff: very quickly. what about the white how argumentcongressman, michael cohen is just not to be belioned. he is sowho has already lied to congress. why should he be believed now? >> well i think the president's

lie s over 4500right now certainly over 4,000. that's not the veracity of a report es pecially if it'out the president himself. but this is why we have courts and this is y we have congress and this is why people swear under oat for those who take the truth seriously, these are very serious allegations, and to those who take the rule of law ntriously these are very serious allegations and wed to pursue them with the full investigative apparatus of theco ress of the united states. >> woodruff: representative jamie raskin of maryland, thank you. >> thank you for having me, judy. >> woodruff: last june, president trump and north korean leader kim jong-un held a historic mting in singapore.e

since then, gotiations have bogged down. as we reported earlier, the white house announced today that a second summit is planned for the end of next month. nick schifrin has the story. >> schifrin: today's announcement came after torth korean chief negot kim yong-chol met with secretary of state mike pompeo, and u.s. special envoy for north korea, steve biegun. and then they went to the whites house to meet ent trump. that's where press secretary sarah sanders spoke about the u.s. policy of combiximum pressure and diplomacy. >> the united states is going to continue to keep preand sanctions on north korea until we see fully and verified denuearization. we've had very good steps and good faith from the north koreans in reasing the hostages and other moves, and so we're going to continue those conversations. president looks forward to the next meeting. >> schifrin: that next meeting will occur, possibly in vietnam, at the end of february-- about eight months after presidentum and kim jong-un agreed in singapore to establish a new relationship and build a lasting peace.

kim committed to work toward complete denuclearization. president trump committed to providing the north security guarantees. since then, the two sides have camade no new agreements ty out that broad framework. but, they are far from the 2017 drum beats of war, when president trump promised "fire and fury," and north korea promised to envelop u.s. territory guam. throughout that time, the commander of u.s. and alliedfo es in south korea was vincent brooks. general brooks joi me now from austin. o he retirjanuary 1, and this is his first interview nce retirement. general brooks, it is a pleasure to welcome you to newshouric >> thank you good to be with you. >> let's talk about the news for the day first of all. do you believe it's a good idea for there to be a second summit. >> i do. i think the dilogue part pressure and dialogue is a critical aspect of this. witht conversation we go right back where we were in 2016 and 127 with the great potential of miscalculation on those actns.

i think it's good and important to recognize any decision made in innovator koreaout the -- farther cree ais made by kim young an himself.e the fact het his representative kim young cho to car the message that he's still open is a good thing. >> let's talk aout kim jong-un himself. utere's a debate in washington as you know abis intentions. do you believe he's serious about getting rid of his clear weapons. >> i do. i think the dance is going to be very important though. as we think how we go from where we were to where we all want to be. first we oughto take him at his word. it's not an easy thing to accept especially given the track record of north korea but this is a new leader in rtkorea and this is the first episode he's gone through with the national leaders indeed e's evidence that he's serious about committing to what he said.r ample, he's now gone 415 days without a str

provocation, test or demonstration. i think that's a signal by itself that kim jong-un has moved in a diff.erent directi >> there's skeptics about this approach that he's buying time. you called him a new leader. does he want a new he are lationship fundamentally with the u.s. >> i belie he wants a relationship. that's at the pace of the interaction that i believe was perhaps restarted today with his meeting in washington. can trust be built sufficiently to overcome so many decades of distrust and expectation of failure. that's the challenge that's ahead right now. >> let's talk about some of the mechanics of how tol rebil trust -- rebill that trust and what is talked about at the second summit. what do you think his priorities are. is it sctns relief or political declaration to end the war which the u.s. debating right now.

>> i think the broader aim is to have a completely new sociy relationships with north east asia and with that there will bn suboe actions like the specific decisions you made reference to that will get us toward that. what the sequence is going to be, that's whati think we have the significant work to be done ahead. >> i want to go back to september 2017. the north koreans set off a hydrogen bomb, launched intercontinental missile that could hit the united states. w thheard from secretary of defense james mattis. >> any thr ut to theted states or its territori cluding guam or our allies will be met with a massive military response. we are not loto the total annihilation of a country, mely north key korea. ions said we have many op to do so. >> how close were the united states and north korea to war? >> i'd say we were close. but this is the nature of being ose to war

i think it's important that digging a little bit nick and that is the capability to go to war was clearly there. the military preparations were also there. we were posturing in a number of distant ways, logistically, policy wise, the concentration of all of the u.s. mility services and the battant commands was focused on thiob m in the event we ended up where we did not want to be.e eater danger in all this was the potential for miscalculation and that is that de would perceive the actions of another or the other in such a wayh tat they presume that there was something hostile >> what might have been the spark that led to the.s. decisions to go to war. >> the spark could have been any action without explanation or dialogue that was misconstrued. it could have been something as small as ordering all of the non-combatants, thoseivilians

who are in south korea either part of famiies of government, government workers who were not mission essentir o even those who are expatriates of some sort ordering their departure from the republican of kore >> you mean u.s. decisions that would have led to the northec koreanion. >> it could have triggered a north korean reaction looking for that signal as a very significant move by the united states that would be preparatory to military action. that didn't happen thankfully. >> how close was it to hadiening. >> wen't see the spark. it was clearly being discussed in washington and in other capitols. at that time we did not have an ambassador in seoul. i spent quite a bit of my owns time having cussions with ambassadors, foreign ministers, defense ministers of various countries around the world who have citizens in the republican of korea wondering whether this is going to happen or not. >> among the scenarios you would atnsider, do any of them include

the u.s. tacking first. >> the entire array was planned and make sure we were presented for whioatever decthe to presidents i was serving made together. that could include a unilateral decision made by either one of the two presidents. i think it's very important to w understand a commander serving two presidents during that entire time. >> meaning the south koreaen presid on your joint forces command. >> south korean president ande esident of the united states, absolutely. >> the u.s. suspended the major u.s. south korean militarya exercise well as a number of smaller exercises. in your opinion has that degraded readiness. >> in real terms there's no substitute fr e most credible realistic scenario you can train in less the conditions of actual combat. so an commander would say yes, the answer is yest . t's put that in context.

so this has to be room for diplomatic maneuvering, diplomatic action to occur. and if creating leverage attraction comes from the suggestion for the exercises, it's a risk th has to be consciously taken and it was. the commands then have a responsibility of find -- commands then have a responsibility of finding other ways of readiness less than the optimum method. that's what's going on we have graidges leaders out there who is going to find ways to keep the edge of this swo sharp while at the same time having been told to put it to sleep for a period of me nev forgetting how to use it. d at's the way i describe it and that's what happere but it does create a new challenge how you maintain that readiness and make sure the credible threat still in tact. >> we'tll leavehere general vincent brooks. thank you very much. nick.ke car thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us. utming up on the newshour:

david brooks andmarcus analyze the political stalemate over the shutdown. plus, rising above the racism that black hockey players face. but first, as the partial government shutdown nears the one-month mark, many of the hundreds of thousands ofederal workers in and around the nation's capital are feeling the impact. in washi than 7,500 workers and contractors have applied for b unemploymeefits. but as lisa desjardins reports, the shutdown is also putting a strain on local charities and businesses. >> desjardins: for three-year-d jah russell, this is fantastic. her dad, de'von russell, has been home to play with her day after day. that's the only bright spot for de'von, who otherwise wishes he was somewhove else. >> imy job. i love the people i work with. it's like my breath of fresh air being able to get out of the

house and work and make money every day. >> stahl: he makes that moneyit as a secguard here, the now-silent smithsonian museum of natural history in downtown washington. it closed two weeks ago as part of the government shutdown,g leavrkers without jobs, and tourists like susan blake from indiana without a usstination. >> my family lovesms. we would spend days in the smithsonian. so we'll just have to make a trip back. >> desjardins: it is more serious for de'von, of course. he lives paycheck to paycheck and hasn't had one for a week. he's filed for unemployment.ed >> i have cards. i have loans. i have my phone bill, rent. car note, car insuranc >> desjardins: de'von is in one of the hardest hit groups-- federal contractors. there are as many as a few million of them who work for private companies, paid by the government by the job. permanent federal workers have

been guaranteed back payw y a w, but contractors likely will never get back their lost wages.ss for them, it'stially a temporary layoff. do you have money for next month's rent? >> right now, no. everybody wants their money when its due. >> desjardins: about 15 miles away, across the street from the closed, snowy gates of the qithsonian national zoo, a local bakery is mueter than usual. owner yael krigman calls herself a recovering attorney.al she left a bigy to start this business. and while she and her staff are at work making dozs of cakepops and bagels, empty streets from the shutdown mean an almost empty store. >> when the gates are closed, people don't just come in like they should. so we've definitely noticed it. >> desjardins: yael's nut-free bakery went from thousands of customers a day during the december holiday rush, to almost no one in the weeks since the zoo closed. >> the effect goes far beyond the federal government. small businesses all around this city, and even the country, are probablyeeling the effects.

>> desjardins: yael says she's getting by. she feels othe have it worse, and gives free sandwiches to zoo staff working withoupay, and free cake pop classes to any furloughed worker. but at some point, if this continues, it's a problem. >> baked by yael is my passion, but it's also my only source of income. and the same is true for many of my employees. we have three dozen people on staff at baked by yael. i want them all to stay, and int hem all to be able to pay their bills. >> desjardins: o of the greatest pressure points of the shutdown is here, d.c.-area food banks, like the capital ea food bank. the.o. radha muthiah: >> the magnitude oneed is something that we haven't seen before. >> desjardins: during this shutdown, the food bank has seen demand jump 20% over last january-- more than 600,000 extra meals. they're sorting donations for new, temporary opened for federal workers at local grocery stores, and thosei s need a lot of donations.

the food bank expected 1,2 t peopir first weekend, but saw twice that show up.rd so this sa, they're planning on 4,000 federal workers eding food help. it's been interesting, and in some ways disheartening, actually, to hear some of the conversations that we've heard as people wait in line. i overheard someone say that they felt so guilty taking this food, even though ey needed it desperately. >> desjardins: both sides in tho sh are holding firm. president trump is demanding $5.7 billion for a border wall or barrier. democrats are saying no way. the two sides have not even talked seriously for a week.ul new polls cod put more pressure on lawmakers to make a deal. so who do americans hold responsible? in a pbs newshour-marist poll released this week, 54% of americans blame the president. but 31% blame congressional democrats. back at the bakery, yael issues an invitation, saying, if congress and the white house want a negotiating table, she's

got one for them. >> i think they should sit down. i think they should see how this is affecting their constituents, and work out a deal. and understand that there are breal people being affect this. >> desjardins: waiting at home, de'von russell says he's just frustrated-- especially with the president. >> ielieve he's being selfis at this point. he's... he's like my daughter, at this point. he wants something...rd >> dess: who's three... >> who's three. he wants something. he can't get it. he's throwing temper tantrums. he can't get his way, soe's making everybody suffer. >> desjardins: he hasn't missed any bills yet, but his creditors en't backing off money d soon. >> i just think everybody needs to come together and come up with something that will be good for everyone. so everybody can just return to their everyday lives. >> desjardins: you just want to get back twork? >> i just want to get back to work. as good as it is being here with my daughter, i just want to go back to work. >> desjardins:or the pbs

newshour, i'm lisa desjardins in oxon hill, maryland. >> woodruff: they're smiling. so the shutdown was just one of a handful of major stories this week trattle washington and point directly to the oval office. to help make sense of it all, the analysis of brooks and marcus.k tht's "new ymes" columnist david brooks, and "washington post" columnist ruth marcus. mark shields is away. hello to both of ydo. so the shu. david, they're at it again this week but no movement. is one side, we saw what thets poll resre saying but is one side winning this or not? >> no. they're all losing. it's gone from like junior high reod fight to grocery sto fight. it gets worse. i don't want to get too grand yes. it will lead to world war i where one side thinks surely the other side will cave.th are both vastly misestimating the other side. neither side thinks they'rego g to cave. they both think the other side

will cave. we're moderately hopeful in the last couple eks that's all evaporated for me. i blame trump mostly. i blame the republicans and the senate a lot i really especially a key leader who can get us out of ths grid lock is the republicans taking control of the sene and saying we're going to go forward with something. if trump and pelosi want to come with us, that will be good. there has to be somway forward to get out of the grid lock. >> woodruff: mitch mcconnell says he's not ing to touch in until he knows what the ll sign.t >> indeed. his view is let everybody else work it out. when i was negotiating and finding deals, that was with the democratic president so now l the democratic leader chuck humer let him handle it. it's solvable and intractable. it's solvable because of david's

optimism and intractable because there's nothing to gain with your own base you hae worry about by solving it. you started out by saying that nothing happened but i think as david said actually something did happen this weeek, w went gobackwards. it worse. >> woodruff: forgive me. >> or a week ago. >> woodruff: now we are told the president's going to make a quote/unquote announcement about all this tomorrow. somebody was speculating maybe he's going to annnce an ergency. the government's going to take over this and do it sell. there's a lot of reason to think he mightot do that. >> i hope he won't. major announce's are in the minds of those doing the announcing. just the statement restatements over and over again. we could see that i don't know. i would be surprised if he did the ergency thin. there's just so much upset even in the republican party about that. if there's anything that would lead to the weekend the republicans being stuck with trump's position, that would do

it. >> woodruff: ruth, you don't see any inkling that one side is feeling more ht than the other side. >> i don't. i think they are ech dug in. they want the solution but they want the other person, the other side to blink first. i thought earlier today i was worried i ts beio negative so i did a round of phone calling on the hill. what i discovas that i simply wasn't being negative about it. i talked b folks i'en around for all these shut dons, this is the worst i've seen itse and i don'a way out of it. i almost wonder if there s uldn't be some elementch as people would balk at the notion of declaring t emergency at this point since it seems so bleak to get out of it i'm not encouragin that. i think it would be dangerous and constitutionally dangerous but we have to find some way out of whis. druff: maybe it is world war i all over again. so the other thing that happened over night, david, as you have

this report, only one news organization so far that buzzfeed is reportingor accng to law enforcement sources is saying that the investigators have evidence that the president told his former attorney michael cohen to lie to congress. >> this is significant for a ouple reasons. this is somethiat the president committed by the vious stuffnlike pr and it's a bit of he's president of the united states or running for office and he puts u. national interests behind his own interests in getting the trump tower built in massachusetts could you. these are both very -- moscow. in the isn't sing agreement months and months ago this was right out there in the open for all of us that cohen lawyer said he lied ton cogress because person number one donald trump told him to do it and he didn't have the strength to resist. so that suggests there's some meat to this. buzzfeed is a real organization ould be said. the final thing that's of interest to me in the buzzfeed

report you can't tell whether they have written evidence. they say there's a trove of documents and e-mails and texts but there an actual peace of paper with donald trump saying lie to congress. that would be pretty exclosive. >> woodruff: or a recording. >> or a recording. let there be a tape somebod said. if true, this is beyond explosive. it's not just an impeachable offense but an offense you could acally imagine even with republican congress not justim aching the president if it was left up to a democratic house but convicting him andre ving him from office. it would require not only for it to be true but for it to bemo evidence that' than simply a swearing contest between one person with a history of less than truth telidng, the prt. and another person who is an admitted liar, michael cohen.t so noe business witness for the prosecution or theac

iment prosecution but if you had evidence to back it up, lltis is rereally a serious allegation. >> woodruf talking to jamie raskin who is involved in the house leadership a few minutes ago, it looks atleast if the democrats are talking about an investigation. whether they move on to impeachment. >> right. a lot of this is about putting the democrats where they are we really going to impeach or not. do we want to imh or vote him out. which is better for the country. whether or bet it would be er for the country but as the evidence mounts you really have no choice. >> it's interesong. i knw many democratic members of congress who believe as dav said, they would be better off running against donald trump than against whoever will put in his place. as jamie raskin was sggesting, this is an insult to the very constitutional system, the notion that you could as a

sitting president soborn perjury about not just about a geeral matter of government but tell somebody to liin order to protect your own business interest and your own private nduct. that cnot be allowed. it can't be allowed is bill barr for attorney general are questions that now sound press yent. >> woodruff: david it looks like a number of democrats who want to be president themself i aiting whether there will be impeachment proceedings. they're out on the campaign trail, either formed an exploratory committee or they said i'm running, we can name d w of them, elizabeth warren last week and you e former more of san antonio, mr. castro. u have this week both tulsi

gabbard -- just to name a few. is there anything coming through. >> yes, which is i'm sorry. they're all apologizing for something. bernie sanders is apologizing because his campaign had alleged sexual huh ration.r jillibran is sbecause she supports begun rights and others are sorry because of their stance on gay marriage. the democratic party has moved left so all the candidates arell catchingnd apologizing for the past views. this suggests that not and datss in the same place with their personal convictions all the time. >> it's so mazing. i'm struck looking at this grouu that entioned simply by their diversity, we'ren a new era being a woman running for president doesn't mean you're this sort of unique standout in the field but there's a whole flock of them, being african american, being hispanic american. it's a new world that's in the democratic party.

we're not going to see anotheric democratict that is a two-way guy ticket i think not just in 220 but going forward. and the shape of this emerging democratic field is an illustration of that. >> woodruff: they'll be ak what their messages are other than the apology but we're all at this point they do need to be saying something. >> yes. tnd interestingly, i think they all recognize they need to be saying something that is not simply just get ri of that trump guy. so they need to be talking about incoming equality, they need to be talking, there's a lot of talk about trumpish talk about rigged systems and rigged systems rigged against the little guy. that's what we hear from elizabeth arren. what i'm waiting for in this field, though, is for it to get even bigd to say whether some of the big guns come in and those particularly watching right now is the former vicejo

presidenbiden who seems to be edging closer and closer to this who really would be the sort of one of these things it's not like the other in this field in terms of a much bigger presence. >> woodruff:presencewood. >> wouf they're all- >> i was struck by the language by gillibrand, a new leader of diversity and identity or populism and is there a difference between those two different messages. maybe you can do them both but thfemessage will be difnt for different candidates. >> woodruff: i want to bring it back quickly to the republicans anthe vice president and vice president's wife second lady karen pence, david, who announced this week at first it sounded like an innocent announcement,he's going back to her love of teaching art but it returns out she wants to teach at a christian school in the washington d.c. suburbs which happens to have a policy of no

accepting employees who are lgbtq. what do you make of the pdecisn by tce family. >> well first, i wouldn't be a member of any schools or organizations that made that policy and don't support that policy. on the other hand this is actually a test issue. it's a test issue between n-discrimination against people of sexual orientation and liberty on the o. every orthodox christian jewish muslim organization has similar views a sexualid some people hold those faiths deeply and relly and to say ty're not out to practice their faith is a problem. that's a real problem. also having organizations that discriminate is also a proem so i've been struck frankly by the press corps who don't think this is a prootblem. , it's a complicated issue how wtry to reconcile these two different liberties. >> woodruff: ll ask you to do this in 20 seconds. >> really complicated one piecee of iwe're going to be

debating for the nurse years to coex. -- for theyears to come. karen pence has what she wants does this school and chawsms the right to believe what they want. but my right and the right of many americans to find that really offensive toe eoo are gay, to people who are trans, to people th supreme court have said have a right to mary each oth. >> woodruff: thank you both. david brooks and reul ruth marc, more next week. thank you both. >> woodruff: 60 years ago todayh the nationkey league's race barrier was broken by willie o'ree, thleague's first black player. but one ugly incident in ant reouth league game showed how players even today face racism on the ice. amna nawaz has the stohow

one young man and his team chose to rise above it. >> nawaz: a rinkside view, and an insider's tour with the washington capitals. a dream come true for 13-year- old divyne apollon. what is it you love about playing hockey? >> everything. i was at an ice rink once, and there was like a hockey lesson or something like that, and i wanted to try it out. so i did, and i enjoyed it. >> in the first day, he fell about 25 times, he fell.gh and i thhe was going to leave. he got off the ice with the biggest grin on his face. "i love it, daddy!" ever since then, he's been on the ice. >> nawaz: divyne plays with a ndryland youth team called the metro maple leafe's spent five years learning to play-- and love-- the game. buhe's also learned the ha truth about being a black player in a mostly-white sport. that truth hit hard last month, when an opposing team taunted him with racist jeers. >> you can tell that the tension was starting to rise in the first period. >> nawaz: divyne's coach, brad

howington. >> and next thing you know, he's got two kids mauling him, and then he fends himself. ll admit, i saw the anger in his eyes, i saw the children, you ow, consoling him, and i just threw me into a tailspin. i had to calm myself down. es>> nawaz: divyne's teamm leapt to his defense on the ice. ncd their story caught the country's attentioluding capitals' players john carlson and devante smith-pelley, who immediately responded. >> we'd like to invite your entire team. joy the game. ( team cheers ) >> you feel for divyne. he's still a kid. so what i can do is show what a good samaritan does, by inviting him. maybe brings him a little joy and sheds a little light on this terrible scenario he was in. >> it's gross.

its disgusting. but what i first thought when it happened was, i mean, i'm not really that surprised.ke it's... that kind of thing still goes on. >> nawaz: their outreacho divyne followed fellow n.h.l. star p.k. subban's dispatch to another black youth player facing racist taunts in detroit. >> as long as you're breathing in this world, you've ndt to believe in yourself let nody tell you what you can sd can't do, especially because of the color of yon. >> nawaz: though the ranks of black n.h.l. playe have grown over the 60 years since willie o'ree broke hockey's race barrier, even superstarsy-ike smith-pewho helped propel his team to last year's stanley cup title with breath-taking goals like this: >> score! >> nawaz: ...continue to face the same racism that divyne did. >> what i want him to know-- that type of thinking, that's

not how the majority of people are thinking that's a small group of ignorant people, ignorant kids. and your team showed you that the majority of people don't think that way.>> awaz: divyne's dad says he's been here before. >> he's my third child. so, my two daughters play tennis as well. so we dealt with some of that. also, in tennis, you see some of that with some, you know, some, rt-country-club" didn't want us there. you know, we kind of got the cold shoulder a lot of times.ea it wasng with that, is why i taught them that as well when we play tennis, because we meet sports at play aren't quote-unquote traditional black sports. >> nawaz: so he's worked hard, he says, to brace his son for the discrimination he may face, on and off the ice >> listen, it's not your job to deal with the adults or the refs or anything like that.la even thers, your job is just to dominate. that's your job as a player. i told them, listen, you'rein plchess. you've got to think about what you're doing. you react to it, to the references, the reaction, not the action you want, you want to focus on staying on the ice as long as possible. that why i don't want a life. you know, you get older in three or fou driving the police for whatever reason, which happens often.

you can't just react like that. >> he tells me about it and says when i'm on the ice, ignore it and just keep on playing. but then when i get off, tell an adult or tell somebody immediately. >> nawaz: how hard is it for you to do that? >> it's not super difficult, because it's something that i've been taught. >> nawaz: did you hear from other folks that they re surprised? >> yes. like, the team family members. i was surprised. >> nawaz: really, why? >> because they just didn't know what i did, and i'm younger than they are.ay so i thought m that would be something they knew. >> nawaz: by the time divyne an hiammates visited the capitals, millions around the world have heard his story. cameras now follow his every

move for the soft-spoken teenanit's a lot todle. but the final horn signals a chance for these kids to be kids. divyne and his team tour the capitals' locker room, and are soon joined by a parade of superstars, delivering divyne's favorite player, alex ovechkin. goalie, braden holtby.ns veteran dean brooks orpik. and, the men behind it all, carlson and smith-pelly. despite the caps' loss to the st. uis blues, this room is all smiles. >> how'd you like the game? >> it s good! it would've been better if they'd won, though. >> nawaz: for divyne, s the dream-- to one day play in the n.h.l. a dream he refuses to give up. have you ever for a second thought about stopping? >> no. >> nawaz: why not? >> because i put too much time and effort into it. and i love it too much to give up on it. >> nawaz: for the pbs newshour,

i'm amna nawaz in washington, d.c. er woodruff: thank you. and finally a dit story about ice. a small community outside portland, maine got a lot of attention this week for a particularly frosty-- and rare-a naphenomenon. the newshour's julia griffin, with the help of maine public, televisiplains. >> reporter: the icy oddity in westbrook, maine this week made bystanders stop to t.e a second lo it wasn't the moon, or an alien spacecraft, but a huge, circular disc of ice spinningso- slightly in the prespscot river. residents saw the disc form slowly over the course of a few days. >> about a week or sthago, i notice small round piece of ice. and it would be swirling counterclockse, just slowly. >> reporter: since then, the disc ballooned to 0 re than et across, rotating like a giant lazy suzan. >> i think the ducks andhe seagulls are enjoying the natural amusement ride going on in the middle of the river.

it's been great. >> reporter: it isn't the first e me spinning ice circles have been spotted in ver, but it is the biggest anyone in westbrook can recall. >> it's a spectacular n of this. i don't think i've heard of anyt of them re as large as the one near westbrook. >> reporter: ted scambos is a senior research scientist at the university of colorado boulder. he said ice disks e rare because they require the right combination of temperature, river she and water speed. >> what you need is an area that has freezing conditions-- but just barely freezing nditions-- and a river with the right kind of bend in it, so that you get a large eddy that's almost circular. >> reporter: and in those conditions, small pieces of ice can begin to solidify into a solid plate. >> and once they do, they're going to get, sort of, shaved a littleit, as they go around the riverbank each time, and that's what makes that perfect circle. >> reporter: but just like ice itse froze wednesday, a development that didn't surprise scientists like scambos. ephemeral, and it's great that

people are appreciating it while it's happening, because it won't last long. they either break up by melting or they freeze up harder to the banknd then break up in piec later on. >> reporter: and that might happen soor than westbrook residents would like. while a paddleboarder was able to free the disk tlorsday, ng it to spin again, a winter storm expected this weekend could break it apart or. bury it in s for the pbs newshour, i'm julia griffin. b woodruff: a spinning story. and a quick updaore we go tonight: a white former police officer was sentenced this evening in chicago to six years and nine months in prison for the second- degree murder of a black teenager, laquan mcdonald. jason van dyke shot mcdonald 16 times in 2014. yesterday, another judge acquitted three current and former officers of a cover-up in the mcdonald case. and that is the newshour for

tonight. i'm judy woodruff. w have a grekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs bnewshour has been provid >> on a cruise with americanui lines, you can experience historic destinations along the mississippi ver, the columbia river and across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of all ships explore americ landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> babbel. a language program that teaches language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the william and floratiewlett foundaon. for more than 50 years,

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hello, everyone, and welcom& to "amanpoo." here's what's coming up. >> it's getting pretty dire. ain of the federal shutdown intensifies. security at airports gets worse, just as security is in the news again, with a deadly attack on american troops in syria. i'll speak with the to republican congressman and -- >> no one cares because we were black girls. >> r. kell one of r & b's most successful singers faces a reckoning. over years of alleged sexual abuse of underaged girls. i speak with the fnder of the me too movement tarana burke., ples facebook need to be broken up like a 19th century oil monopoly. why