captioning spoy b newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy wdruff. on the newshour tonight: democratic lawmakers pledge investigate a report that president trump directed his former lawyer michael cohen to lie to congress about pls 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 vernment 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. but what i first thought when it happened was, i mean, i'm not , ally that surprised.

li's kind of a thing that,oe that still gs on. >> woodruff: all that htd more, on t's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving o economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> text night and day. >> catch it on replay. >> burning some fat. >> sharing the latest viral cat!

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thank you. >> woodruff: the partial shutdown of the fedel government is now four weeks old, but leaders in washington are no closer to a solution. instead, there is more fallout from president trump's move to bar a military flight for house speaker nancy pelosi and a congressional delegaon. 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 more dangerous. perhaps the president's inexperienced people around him though should have known that, because that's very dangerous. >> woodruff: white house official "outrageous," and they denied

leaking anything that endangered her delegation. meanwhile, the president tweeted this evening that he will have a major announcement on the tyshutdown and border secu tomorrow afternoon. this as the u.s. sen ne recessed wiplans to go back into session next week. president trump is fac hg reports thtold his former lawyer, michael cohen, to lie to congress. buzzfeed news says that 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 of thehutdown 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. i the summset 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 office is demanding that azimbabwe's government en violent crackdown on fuel hike protesters. u.n. officials say security forces are using fear and intimidation, and conducting door-to-door searches at night. more than 600 people were arrested this week alone. the government has also ordered a total internet blackout.ol in bogota,bia, the death t.ll from a car bombing rose to 21 people overni dozens of others were wounded in the country's inadliest attack 5 years. the thursday blast targeted a poli academy. officials said today that the bomber was member of colombia's last remaining rebel group, known as "e.l.n." back in th-a country, anrtion activists staged the 46th annual "mar for life" in washington. thousands walked from the national mall to the supreme court, after vice presidt 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 restore the sanctity of life to the center of american law. >> woodruff: president trump addressed the crowd in a pre-recorded video message. he promised to veto any legislation that-- in his tection "weakens the p of human life." teachers in los angeles staged their own mass rally today. they've been on strike for five ys, demanding higher pay and new limits on charter schools. negotiations have now resumedal with city offi los angeles has the country's second largest public school system, with some 640,000 students. california has bafun cleaning up r a series of storms dumped heavy rain and snow this week.

mox people were killed, an than a dozen had to be rescued from foding rivers. the latest of those storms is sweeping across the midwest tonight. it could wallop the northeast with two feet of sw on sunday. there is word that sony music's r.c.a.ecord label has parted ways with musici r. kelly over allegations of sexual abuse. 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 government shutdown. they said it is doing significant damage. the head of the new york federal reserve branch said the shutdown could cut growth this quarter by up to 1%. but, wall street shot higher today, on new optimism about u.s.-china trade talks. the dow jones industrial average

gained 336 points to close at 24,706. the nasdaq rose 73 points, andp th500 added 35. still to come on the newshour:ll lawmakers to investigate if the president instructed his lawyer to commit perjury.pl s for a second nuclear summit with north korea. hethe shutdown's effect on people who live and work in the washington, d.c. metro area. plusmuch more. >> woodruff: it is 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 with what we know, and the response from lawmakers.

>> desjardins: a new, seriousic on point between the white house and the capitol, as democratic lawmakers react to the report that alleges that president trump ordered his attorney, michael cohen, to lie to congress. >> if the facts are true, this is suborning perjury. >> desjardins: rhode islandic democrat davidline 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 judiciary chairman, jerry nadler, said in a tweet that directing a subordinate to lie to congress is a federal crime, and he promised inveigations. s the buzzfeed report alleat mr. trump personally directed cohen to lie about plans to build a trump tower in moscow. no other news outlet h ennfirmed the story. it comes after coh pleaded

guilty in november to lying to congressional intelligence committees about the so-calledt. "moscow projec cohen is now cooperating with federal prosecutors. buzzfe says cohen was not a source for the story. the president's current attorney cdy giuliani denied the report and, in a statemenled it "categorically false." on fox news, white house deputy press secrety 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 michael coheto do that? >> i'm telling you, this is why the president refused to give any credence or credibility 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. >> i don't know if the 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

iemichael cohen lied in ea testimony to our committee. >> desjardins: he aditd that the coe is arranging for cohen to appear again next month.ho for the pbs ne, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: let's htor now from cahill. representative jamie raskin of ryland is a member of th house democratic leadership team. he also serves on the judiciary committee. he formally s a professor of constitutional law. rthank you very much fo joining us. you said earlier today that if this is true, it would be an impeachable offense. how so? >> well, we know it's ue because of course the llpublicans impeached bi clinton over telling one liese about onual affair. and this is about organizing a whole pattern of lies in order ut deceive the congress of the united states ab matter of national security and a matter that goes to the heart of

american national sovereignty. so lying and obstruction of justice has figured centrally in the impeachment that we've seen in modern times that is in the nixon impeachment and of course in the articles omef impea brought against clinton. so they arboth articles th were brought against nixon and articles brought against clinton obstruction of just tea and lying were ce so i think everybody views the president's involvement in lying to congress and saw borpeng ury as certainly a statutory felony violation under federal law but also a major constitutional offense against the rule of law and our constitution. >> woodruff: subning perjury means telling someone else to lie before congress or a befoury. congressman, what is it exactly in this newma infon that you think makes it something that is

an impeachable offense. what is it exactly? >> let's start with thi ds. n't know whether or not this is true. all we have is one news report abt what one witness ha said. now obviously it's the key witness and michael cohen was the president's personal lawyer but what cohen is saying is that the president urged him andun led him and essentially conspired with him to lie before congress. and soborneing perjury and coaching someone to lie in a sworn context is itself a federal criminal offense. it is ay. fel but more importantly when you think about the whole context of it, constitutionally it's a serious betrayal of theoa president' 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 this i a rank betrayal of the presidential oath. >> woodruff: so when you were asd about a similar estion last month i think after the report had come out that michael cohen said that the president had directed him to make payments to two women who allegedly had d affairs with the president. at that point in december, you said that you didin't thnk that that constituted an argument for impeachment. you said, i'm just quoting u you said it's a very heavy medy.itutional re but you're saying now this is different. >> here's the thing. i thought that the republicans completely overreached when they impeached bill clinton for telling a lie about sex. it didn't go to the heart of the rules of law and the constitutional system. and so i don't think the president should be engaged in campaign finoance vlations and cover ups. i don't think he should be having moy beyond the contribution limits channel t

ine payoff of mistresses. i don't think he should be involved in making illegal corporate contributions, htcetera. having said all of, that related to the suppression of news of affairs with the various mistre i think that's a much closer question. i don't think that the president ould be involved in it he wasn't president at the time. i think it's more arguable.ou but hereave 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 anything other than the owe phelps that es to the violation of rule of law and betrayal of his presidential oath. >> woodruff: justery quickly. we know there's a difference saying something that's an impeachable offense and perceiving should be un to arry out impeachment, the impeachment proanss. is ther doubt in your mind

that that process should go forward now? >> well, i'm glad that you make that kiz tinction, used -- distinction, judy just because a lot of peopleave not been making. because it's impeachable doesn'n necessarily ou move to impeach because the impeachment remedy is very much part of the constitution. it should not be a fetish for us but it should not be a taboo either. we he to view it as a tool within the toolkit but it's a decision of a mixed question of law and public policy. it's a question of law because we want to know whether or not he's violated basic legal obligations. the question of public policy too because we have a full public agenda we're tryingd to gne in terms of prescription drug prices and health reform and so on. >> woodruff: very quickly. what about the white how argument, congrsman, michael cohen is just not to be halieved. he is someone whalready lied to congress. why should he be believed now? >> well i think the president's lie is over 400right now

certainly over 4,000. that's not the veracity of a report especialo if it's abut the president himself. but this is why we have courts and this is why weave congress and this is why people swear under oath. for those who take the truth seriously, these are very serious allegations, and toe tho take the rule of law seriously these are very serious legations and we intend pursue them with the full investigative apparatus of the o congrethe united states. >> woodruff: representative jamie raskin of maryland, thank you. >> thank you for having me, judy. >> wdruff: last june, president trump and north korean leader kim jong-un held a historic meeting in singapore.

since then, the negotiations have bogged down.re as wrted earlier, the white house announced today that a second summit is planned for the end of next month.if nick sn has the story. >> schifrin: today'sam announcementafter north korean chief negotiator 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 white house to meet president trump. that's where press secretary sarah sanders spoke about the cys. policy of combined maximum pressure and diplo >> the united states is going to continue to keep pressure and sanctions on north korea until we see fully and verified denuclearization. we've d very good steps and good faith from the north koreans in releasing the hostages and other moves, and so we're going to continue tho conversations. and the 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 presidentki trump anjong-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 made nnew agreements to carry out that broad framework. but, they are far from the 2017 drum beats of war, when president trump promryed "fire and and north korea promised to envelop u.s. territory guam. throughout that time, the commander of u.s. and alliedn forcesuth korea was vincent brooks. general brooks joins me no austin. he retired on january 1, and this is his first interviewe sitirement. general brooks, it is a pleasure oo welcome you to newshour. >> thank you nick, to be with you. >> let's talk about the news for the day first of all. do you believe it's a good id for there to be a second summiti o. i think the dialogue part of pressure and dialogue is a critical aspect of this. without cotersation we go ri back where we were in 2016 and 127 with the great ptential of miscalculation on those actionsh

k it's good and important to recognize any decision made in ioovator korea abut the -- farther cree ais made by kim young an himself. the fact he sent his representative kim young choal to carry the message that he's still open is a good thing. >> let's talk about kim jong-un himself. there's a debate in washington as you know about h intentions. do you believe he's serious about getting rid of his nuclear weapons. >> i do. i think the dance is going to be very important though. as we think how we go from where we we to where we al want to be. first we ought to 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 north ea and this is the first episode he's gone through with the national leaders.s indeed theridence that he's serious about committing to what he said.pl for ex he's now gone 415 da without a strategic provocation, test or

demonstration. think that's a signal by itself that kim jong-un has moved in a different direction. >> there's skeptics about this approach that he's buying time. you called him a new leader. does he want a new he e lationship fundamentally with the u.s. >> i believehe 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 >> let's talk about some of the mechanics of how to rbill trust -- rebill that trustnd what is talked about at the second summit. what do you think his priorities are. is it sanctions relief or political delaration to end the war which the u.s. is debating right now. >> i think the broader aim is to have a completely new society

relationships with north east asia and with that there will bc subordinatons like the specific decisions you made reference to that will get us toward that. what the sequence is going to be, that's what i th hnk weave 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.a then we from secretary of defense james mattis. >> any threat todhe uni states or its territories including guam or our allies will be meth a massive military response. wehre not looking to total annihilation of a country, namely nrth key korea. as i said we have many optio to do so. >> how close were the united states and north korea toar? >> i'd say we were close. but this is the nature of being close to war. i think it's important that

digging a little bit nick and that is the capabity to go to war was clearly there. the military preparations wereso here. we were posturing in a number of distt ways, logistically, policy wise, the concentration of all of the u.s. military services and the battant commands was focused on this problem in the event we ended up where we did not want to be. the greater danger in all this was the pot fentir miscalculation and that is that one side would perceive the actions of another or the other in such a wayt thaey presume that there was something hostile >>d different. hat might have been the spark that led to the u. decisions to go to war. >> the spark could have been any action without explogation or di that was misconstrued. it could have been something as small as ordering all of the non-combatants, those civians who are in south korea either

part of families of government, government workers who were not mission essential or even those who are expatriates of some sort ordering their departure from the republican of korea. >> you mean u.s. decisionshat would hve led to the north korean decision. >> it could have triggered a rth 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 happening.se >> we didn'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 ent quite a bit of my own time having discussions with ambassadors, foreign ministers, defense ministers of various countries around the world who c hatizens in the republican of korea wondering whether this is going to happen or no >> among the scenarios you would consider, do any of them include ace u.s. attng first. >> the entire array was planned

and make sure we were esente for whatever decision the to presidents i was serving made together. that could include a unilateral decision made by either one of the two presidents. o think it's very important to understand i was amander serving two presidents during that entire time. >> meaning the south korean president o your joint forces command. >> south korean president anden the presof the united states, absolutely. >> the u.s. suspended the major u.s. south korean militarywe exercises asl as a number of smaller exercises. in your opinion has that degraded readiness. >> in real terms there's no substitute for the most credible realistic scenario you can train ess the conditions of actual combat. so any comander would say yes, the answer is yes.s but let that in context. so this has to be room for

diplomatic maneuvering, diplomatic action to ocurc and if creating leverage attraction comes from the suestion for the exercises, it's a risk that has to be consciously taken and it was. the commands then have asp sibility 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 way to keep the edge of this sword sharp while at the same time having been told to put it to sleep for a period of time never forgetting how to use it. that's the way i describe it and that's what happened here but it does create a new challenge howa you maintain t readiness and make sure the credible threat it ill in tact. >> we'll leave it thre general vincent brooks. thank you very much. >> take care nick. thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: david brooks and ruth us

analyze the political stalemate overhe 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 of federal workers in and around the tion's capital are feeling the impact. in washington,.c. alone, more an 7,500 workers and itntractors have applied for unemployment ben but as lisa desjardins reports, the shutdown is also putting a strain on local charities and businesses. >> desjardins: for three-year-h old dessell, 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 somewhere else. >> i love my job. i love the people i work with. it's like my bath of fresh air being able to get out of the nehouse and work and make

every day. >> stahl: he makes that money as a security guard here, the now-silent smithsonian museum of natural istory in downtown washington. it closed two weeks ago as part of the government shdown, leaving workers without jobs, and tourists like susan blake from indiana without a destination. >> my family loves museums. 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 for a week.ad o he's filed for unemployment. >> i have credit cards. i have loans. i have my phone bill, rent. car note, car insurance. >> desjardins: de'von is in one of the hardest hit groups-- feral 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 pay by aut

new law,ontractors likely will never get back their lost wages. for them, it's essenti temporary layoff. do you have money for next month's rent? >> right now, no. everybody wants their money when itdue. >> desjardins: about 15 miles away, across the street from the closed, snowy gates of the smithsonian tional zoo, a local bakery is much quieter than usual. owner yael krigman calls herself a recovering attorney. she left a big salary tart this business. and while she and her staff are at work making dozens 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 ey should. so we've definitely noticed it. >> desjardins: yael's nut-free obakery went from thousan customers a day during the december holiday rush, to almost no o in the weeks since the zoo closed. >> the effect goes far beyond thfederal government. small businesses all around this city, and even the country, are probably feelinghe effects. >> desjardins: yael says she's

getting by. she feels others have worse, and gives free sandwiches to zoo staff working without pay, 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 ial want theto be able to pay their bills. >> desjardins: one of th greatest pressure points of the shutdown is here, d.c.-area food banks, like the capital area food bank. c.e.o. radha muthiah: ed>> the magnitude of the s something that we haven't seen before. >> desjardins: during this shutdo, the food bank has seen demand jump 20% over last january-- more than 600,000 extra meals. they're sorting donations for new, temporary sites teny've for federal workers at local grocery stores, and thosed sites lot of donations.

the food bank expected 1,200ir people their weekend, but saw twice that show up. so this saturday, they're planning on 4,000 federal workers needing food help. >> it's been interesting, and ih some ways rtening, 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 they need it desperately. >> desjardins: both sides in thh shutdown ading 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. new polls could 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.am but 31% congressional democrats. back at the bakery, yael issues hi invitation, saying, if congress and the house want a negotiating table, she's got one for them.

>> i think they shouldown. i think they should see how this is affecting their constituents, and work out a dea and understand that there are real people being affected by this. >> desjardins: waiting at home, de'von russell says he's just frustrated-- especially with the president. >> i believe he's being selfish at this point.he ... he's like my daughter, at this point. he wants somhing... >> desjardins: who's three...'s >> whree. he wants something. he can't get it. he's throwing temper tantrums. he can't get his way, so he's making everybody suffer. se desjardins: he hasn't m any bills yet, but his creditors aren't backing off money due soon.in >> i just 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:ou just want to get back to work? >> 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: for thebs 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 to rattleashington and point directly to the oval office. to help make sense of it all, thanalysis of brooks and marcus. tht's "new york times" columnist david brooks, andpo "washingto" columnist ruth marcus. mark shields is away. hello to both of you. so the shut down. david, they're at it again this week but no movement. as one side, we saw what the poll results areing but is one side winning this or not? >>o. they're all losing. it's gone from like junior high food fight to grocery store fight. it gets worse.wa i don' to get too grand yes. it will lead to world war i where one side thinks surely the other side will cave. b they ah vastly misestimating the other side. neither side thinks they're c going e. they both think the other side will cave. we're modately hopeful in the

last couple weeks that's all evaporated for me. i blame trump mostly. i ame the republicaand the senate a lot. i really especially a key lead who can get us out of this grid lock is the republicans taking control of the senate 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 befome waward to get out of the grid lock. >> woodruff: mitch mcconnell says he's not gong to touch in until he knows what the president will sign. >> indeed.e his w is let everybody else work it out. when i was negotiating andnd g deals, that was with the democratic president so now let the democrati leader chuck schumer 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 have toorry about by solving it. you started out by saying that nothing happened but i think as david said actually something did happen this week, we went backwards. it got worse. >> woodruff: fogive me. >> or a week ago. >> woodruff: now we are told the president's going to make quote/unquote david a major announcement about all this tomorrow. somebody was speculati maybe he's going to announce an emergency. the government's going to take er this d andit sell. there's a lot of reason to think he might not d >> i hope he won't. major announce's are in the minds of thoseoing the announcing. just the statement restatements over and over again. we cout see that i doow. i would be surprised if he did the emergency thin.ju there't 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 ooump's position, that would do it. >>uff: ruth, you don't

see any inkling that one side is feeling more heat than the other side. >> i don't. i think they are each 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 was being to negative so i did a round of phone calling on the hill. whati discovered wasat i simply wasn't being negative about it. i talked to folks i've been around for all these shut dons,i ththe worst i've seen it and i don't see a way out of it. i almost wonder if there wouldn't be some element as much as people would balk at the notion of declaring the emergency at this point since it seems so bleak to get out of it. i'm not encouragin that. i think it would be dangerousd nstitutionally dangerous but we have to find some way out of this. >> woodruff: maybe it is world war i inl over aga so the other thing that happened over night, david, as you haveis eport, only one news organization so far that

buzzfeed is reporting accordi to law enforcement sources is saying that the investitors have evidence that the president told his former attorney michael cohen to lie to congress. >> this is significant for a couple reasons. this is something that the president committed by the president unlike previou and it's a bit of he's president of the united states or running for office and he pu u.s. national interests behind his own interests in getting the trump tower built in massachusetts could you. these are both very -- moscow. s in the isn'ting agreement months and monthsgo this was right out there in the open for all sa us that cohen lawyed he lied to congress because person number one donald trump told him to do it and he didn't have the strength to resist.su so thagests there's some meat to this. buzzfeed is a l organization should be said. the final thing that's of interest to u in thezzfeed report you can't tell whether they have written evidence.

they say there's a trove of documents and emails and texts but is there an actual peace of paper wi donald trump saying lie to congress. that would be prey closive. >> woodruff: or a recording. >> or ac ding. let there be a tape somebody said. if true, this s beyond explosive. it's not just an impeachable offense but an offense you could actually imagine even with republican congress not just impeaching the president if it was left up to a democratic house but convicting him and removing him from office. it would require not only for ib true but for it to be evidence that's more than simply a swearing contest between one person with a history of less than truth telling, the president. and another person who is an admitted liar, michael cohen. so not the business witness for the prosecution or the impeachment prosecution but if you had evidence toit bac up,

tis is really really a serious allegation. >> woodruff: talking to jamie raskin who is involved in theer house leip a few minutes ago, it looks at least if the democrats are talking aboutn 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 oro nt. do we want to impeach or vote him out. which is beter for te country. whether or not it would be better for the country but as ae evidence mounts you ry have no choice. >> it's interesting. i know many democratic members of congress who believe as david said, they would be better off running against donald trump than against wevo will put in his place. as jamie raskin was sug this is an insult to the very constitutional system, the notion that you co aa

sitting president sobornerjury about not just about a general matter of government but tell somebody to lie in oder to protect your own business interest and your own private conduc that cant be allowed. it can't be allowed is bill barr for attorney general are questions that nowound press yent. >> woodruff: david it looks like a number of democrats whoo want president themself is not waiting 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 nae a few of them, elizabeth warren last week and you had th former more of san antonio, mr. castro. you have this week both tulsi gabbard -- just to name a few.

is therye anthing coming through. >> yes, which is i'm sorry. they're all apologizing for something. bernie sanders is apologizing because his campai had aleged sexual huh ration. jillibran is sorry because she supports begun rights d others are sorry because of their stance on gay marriage. the democratic party has moved ft so all the candidates are catching all and apologizing for the past vesws. this su that not and dates stay in the same place with their personal convictions all the time. >> it's so mazing. i'm struck looking at this group that you mentioned simply by their diversity, we're in 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 t flock em, being african american, being hispanic americanwo it's a newld that's in the democratic party.go we're nog to see another

democratic ticket that is ay two-y ticket i think not just in 2020 but going forward. and the shape of this eme democratic field is anil stration of that. >> woodruff: they'll be asked utat their messages are other than the apologye're all listening. at this point they do need to be saying something. >> yes. and interestingly, i think they all recognize that ted to be saying something that is not simply just get ridf that trump guy. so they need to be talking about incoming equality, they nee be talking, there's a lot of talk about trumpish talk about rigged systems and rigged systems rigged against the little guhay. that'swe hear from elizabeth warren. what i'm waiting for in this field, though, is for it to gett even bigger an say whether some of the big gunsome in and those particularly watching right now is the former vicede president joe who seems to be edging closer and closer to

this who really would be thert f one of these things it's not like the other in this field in terms of a much bigger presence. >> woodruff:presencewood. >> woothdruff:'re all- >> i was struck by the language by gillibrand, a new leader ofe diversity and ity or populism and is there a difference between those two different messages. maybe you can do them both but the message will be different for different candidates. >> woodruff: want to bring back quickly to the republicans and the vice president and vice president's wifeecond lady karen pence, david, who announced this week at first it sonded like an innocent announcement, she's going back to her love of aching art but it turns out she wants to teach at a christian school in the washington d.c. suburbs which happens to have a policy of not

accepting employees who are lgbtq. what do you make of thdecision by the pence family. >> well first, i wouldn't be a member ohany scools or organizations that made th at polid don't support that policy. on the other hand this is actually a test isse. it's a test issue between non-discrimination against people of sexual oritation and liberty on the other. every orthodox christian jewish muslim organization has similar views on sexuality and some peopleoold thse faiths deeply and really and to say they're not out to practice their fai is a problem. that's a real problem. also having organizations thamit discte is also a problem. so i've been struck frankly by the press corps who don't tnk this is a problem. it's not, it's a complicated issue how we try reconcile these two different liberties. >> woodruff: i'll a you to do this in 20 seconds. >> really complicated one piece' of issue going to be debating for the nurse years to

come. -- for the next years to come.ha karen penc what she wants so 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 to people wh are gay, to people who are trans, to people the supreme court have said have a right to mary each other. >> wdruff: thank you both. david brooks and reul ruth marce ext week. thank you both. y woodruff: 60 years ago today, the national hocague's race barrier was broken by willie o'ree, the leag's first black player. but one ugly incident in ath recent yeague game showed how players even today face racism on the ice. amw nawaz has the story of 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 lessonor omething 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. and i thought he was going to leave.he ot off the ice with the biggest grin on his face. "i love it, daddy!" ever since then, he's been on the ice. a nawaz: divyne plays wit maryland youth team called the metro maple leafs, and he's spent five years learning to play-- and love-- the game. but he'slso learned the hard 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. >>'snd next thing you know,

got two kids mauling him, and then he defends himself. i'll admit, i saw the anger in his eyes, i saw the children, you know, consoling him, and it just threw me into a tailspin. i had to calm myself down. >> nawaz: divyne's teammates leapt to his defense on the ice. and their story caught the country's attention, including capitals' players john carlson and devae smith-pelley, who immediately responded. >> we'd like to invite your entire team. enjoy the game. ( team cheers ) >> y feel for divyne. he's still a kid. so what i can do is show what a good samarit does, by inviting him. maybe brings him a little joy d sheds a little light on this terrible scenario he was in.>> t's gross.

its disgusting.ir but what i thought when it happened was, i mean, i'm notsu really tharised. like, it's... that kind of thing still goes on. >> nawaz: their outreach to divyne followed fellow n.h.l. star p.k. subban's disto another black youth player facing racist taunts in detroit. >>s long as you're still breathing in this world, you've got to bieve in yourself and let nobody telyou what you can and can't do, especially because the color of your skin. >> nawaz: though the ranks of black n.h.l. players have grown over the 60 years since willieo' e broke hockey's race barrier, even superstars like smith-pelly-- who helped propel his team to last year's stanley cup title with breath-taking gos 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. >> nawaz: divyne's dad says he's been here before. >> he's my trd 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, maybe, "insert-c didn't want us there. you know, we kind of got the cold shoulder a lot of times. w it was dealih 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 hiscson for the mination he may face, on and off the ice. >> listen, it's not your job to deal with the adults or the reft or anything lit. even the players, your job is just to dominate. that's your job as ar. i told them, listen, you're playing chess. you've got to think about what yore doing. if 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 four yeardr and you'll be ing the police for whatever reason, which happens often.

you can't just react like that sa he tells me about it an when i'm on the ice, ignore it and just keep on playing. but then when 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 somethingauhat i've beent. >> nawaz: did you hear from other folks that they were surprised? >> yes. like, the team family members. i was surprised. >> nawaz: really, why? >> because they justt know what i did, and i'm younger than they are. so i thought maybe that would be something they knew. >> nawaz: by the time divyne and his teammates visited the capitals, millions around the world have heard his story. cameras now follow his every move.

for the soft-spoken teen, it's a lot to handle. but the final horn signals a chce for these kids to be kids. divyne and his team tour the capils' locker room, and are soon joid by a parade of superstars, delivering divyne's favorite player, alex ovechkin. balie, braden holtby. veteran defensemoks orpik. and, the men behind it all, carlson and smith-pelly. despite the caps' loss to the st. louis blues, this room is all smiles. >> how'd you like the game? >> it was good! it would've been better if they'd won, though. >> nawaz: for divyne, this is 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. >> woodruff: thank you. and finally a differeny about ice. a small community outside portland, maine got a lot ofn attentis week for a particularly frosty-- and rare-- natural phenomenon. the newshour'sulia griffin, with the help of maine public television, explains. >> reporter: the icy oddity in westbrook, maine this week made bystanders stop to take a cond look. it wasn't the moon, or an alien spacecraft, but a huge, circular -sc of ice spinning ever- slightly in the presumpscot river. residentsaw the disc form slowly over the course of a few days. >> about a week or so ago, ill noticed this sound piece of ice. and it would be swirling counterclockwise, ju slowly. >> reporter: since then, the disc ballooned to more thacr 300 feets, rotating like a giant lazy suzan. >> i think the ducks and the seagulls are enjoyamg the naturaement ride going on in the middle of the river. it's been great.

>> reporter: it isn't the first time spinning ice rcles have been spotted in the river, but it is the biggest anyone in westbrook can recall. >> it's a spectacular version of this. i don't think i've heard of anya of them that alarge as the one near westbrook. >> reporter: ted scambos is a senior research scientist at the university of colorado boulder. he said ice disks are ra because they require the right combination of temperature, river shape anwater speed. >> what you need is an area that has freezing conditions-- but just barely freezing conditions-- 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 little bit, they go around the riverbank each time, and that's what makes that perfect circle. r orter: but just like ice itself, the disk's movement soze wednesday, a development that didn't surprientists like scambos. >> these things are very ephemeral, and it's great thatpe le 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 bank and then break up in pieces later on. reporter: and that might happen sooner than westbrook residents would like. while a paddleboarder was able to free the disk thursday, allowing it to spin again, a winter storm expected this weekend could break it art or bury it in snow. for the pbs newshour, i'm julia griffin. >> woodruff: a spinning story. and a quick update before we go tonight:e a whrmer police officer was sentenced this evening in chicago to six years and nine months in prison for tond- degree murder of a black teenager, laquan mcdonald.so 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. kem judy woodruff.

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tonight on questioned newsroom, four weeks and counting. we'll look at how the long shutdown in the nation's hisry is facting californians. also utility giant pg & e is planning to file for bankruptcy what it means for customers, clean energy goals and victims of wildfires. hello and welcome to newsroom. i'm thuy vu. asked esday nancy pelo the president to delay his state of the union. she said without reopening the nment there would be security