captioning sponeored by wshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: in the hot seat. house democrats, now in control of oversight, grill acting attorney general matthew whitaker about his role in the . eller investigation. then, amazon c.eff bezos accuses the "national enquirer" of extortion, claiming the tabloid threatened to publish amtimate photos from his exital affair. and, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks join us to discuss the state of the union, the deepening political crisis in virginia, and the deadlineo prevent another government shutdown. plus, a changing sou country music artist kacey dssgraves is up for four grammy awar this weekend. the singer has made waves in nashville with her unorthodox style, taking cues from pop and

electronic music on her new album. >> i want to reach beyond country music-- and, not leave cootry music behind, i want take it with me. i want to... i want to take my version of it to peoplwho normally would never even consider listening to it. >> nawaz: all that and more, on 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. >> ordering takeout. >> finding the west route. >> talking forours. >> planning for showers. >> you can do the things you ouke to do with a wireless plan designed for with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> babbel. a language program that teaches alnguage, like spanish, french, german, itn, and more. >> american cruise lines. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour.

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for blic broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs u.ation from viewers like you. thank ti >> nawaz: attorney general matthew whitaker insisted today that he hasn't "interfered in any way" in special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. his much-anticipated testimony came during an oversight hearing before the house judiciary committee, now controlled by democrats. lisa desjardins reports. >> congresswoman, i am the acting attorney general. >> desjardins: the temporary head of the department of justice faced a long-blding barrage from house democrats. >> congresswoman, i have not-- ( cross-talk )) ( gavel >> witness will... witness will answer the question as asked, please. >> desjardins: the focus? n,ecial counsel robert mueller's investigatnd whether the department of justice ever tried

to help president trump or tried to target him. >> did you discussivr share your e opinions of the special counsel investigation with the chief of staff, trump d mily members hers? >> did rod rosenstein give the special counsel the authority to investigatspecific americans? >> desjardins: whitaker, who oversees mueller's insisted he has done it by the book. >> there has been no event, no decision, that has required me to take any action, and i have not interfered in any way with the special counsel's investigation. >> desjardins: democrats pressed on whether he's talked to the president... >> it's a "yes" or "no" question: have you communicated anything you learned in that briefing about the investigation to president trump, yes or no? >> as i said today in my opening remarks, i do not intend today to talk about my private conversations about the president of the united states. but to answer your question, i have not talked to the president of the united states about the special counsel's investigation. >> desjardins: meanwhile, some blicans openly bristled. >> we started this hearing at 9:30 this morning. it's now 12:30 in the afternoon,

sid i haven't seen you field a ngle question from the other side of the aisle about any of the enforcement priorities of the department of justice. >> desjardins: whitaker may not be in the hot seat much longer. the nominee to permanely r justice, william barr, could be confirmed nextpbeek. for thnewshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> nawaz: federal prosecutors are looking into whether the "national enquirer'snt company breached a cooperation agreement in how it handled a story about billionaire amon c.e.o. jeff bezos. bezos says american media inc. tried to blackmail him, after he inarted investigating how the tabloid ob his private texts and photos. a.m.i. insists it "acted lawfully," and pledged investigate. we'll take a closer look at the blackmail allegations after the news summary. the supreme court has temporarily blocked a louisiana law that would have required abortion providers to ha admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. in a 5 to 4 vote late thursday, chief justice john roberts split with conservatives on the bench to join the court's four liberals. the court also ruled last night

to deny muslim inmate domineque n y's request to have an imam in the executamber with him in alabama. u.s. humanitarian aid meanwhile, headed for venezuela, has arrived at a colombian border city. the trucks, packed with much- needed food and medicine, have been bloed from entering venezuela, amid that country's political crisis. but, opposition ader juan guaido promised the assistance will get there. roanwhile, embattled president nicolas mansisted that the u.s. is using the aid deliveries to topple the venezuelan government. >> ( translated ): our national sovereignty is made vulnerable with a show called "humanitarian aid," and our peace is threatened by the government of mr. donald trump, who, last ienday in a televised inte ratified his threat of a military invasion against venezuela. >> nawaz: over 40 countries now recognize juan guiado as venezuela's interim president. back in this country, a second woman is now accusing virginia's democratic lieutenant governor justin fairfax of sexual

assault. meredith wson said fairfax raped her in 2000 while they were both students at du university. fairfax strongly denied the allegation. meanwhile, virginia's democratic congressional delegation is now calling for the state's governor, ralph northam, to resign over a racist yearbook photo and an admission he once wore blackface. the democratic lawmakers did not armand the resignation of attorney generalherring, who also admitted to wearing blackface once in college. instead, they asked that herring's conversations with state leaders continue. a phoenix care facility, where an incapacitated woman was raped and lategave birth, will soon be closing. hacienda healthcare said keeping the center open was no longer sustainable. but, state regulators opposed the closure, a warned against transferring its 37 remaining witients elsewhere. the nurse charge sexually assaulting the 29-year-old woman pleaded "not guilty" earlier

this week. another 1.7 million vehicles in the u.s. are being recalled to replace faulty air bag inflators made by takata. this latest recall impacts models fm subaru, volkswagen, b.m.w., mercedes, tesla, ferrari, and daimler vans. hethe defect is blamed for deaths of at least 23 people worldwide. hundreds more have been injured. stocks were mixed on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 63 points to close at 2506. the nasdaq rose ten e ints, and thp 500 added nearly two. and, two people 're remembering tonight... british actor albert finney has died at his home in london after a brief illness. he burst onto the scene in 1963 as the lead in "tom jones"-- a nole that earned him the first of five oscanations. finney went on to appear in a okde range of movies, from "erin ich" to the james bond film "skyfall." here he is as detective hercule t irot in the 1974 film "murder on the oripress."

>> the actual murderer was tried, sentenced and electrocuted. but he was only the number two, the subordinate of a boss whom at first he was too terrified to identify. ocly on the eve of his elecion did he give the name of the boss, who by then had disappeared with ransom money. >> nawaz: albert finney was 82 years old. and john dingell, the longest serving member of congress in u.s. history, has also died. the michigan democrat passed away thursday night at his home in detroit. judy woodruff remembers the influential politician and his bgacy. >> woodrufn in colorado, jot raised in michigan and washington, d.c. david dingell jr. was the son of a 12-term congressman. dingell joined the army following the attack on pel harbor. he returned to washington to earn a dree in chemistry and law from georgetown. but, after the death of his father in 1955, 29-year-old dingell followed in his political footsteps, winning

a special election to succeed john sr. he became known as a deal maker, chairing the energy and commer committee, and working on major pieces of legislation, from the 1964 civil rights act to the clean air act and the affordable care act. >> a bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by john dingell sr. in 1943. 65 years later, his son continues to introdut same bill at the beginning of each session. >> woodruff: by the mid-'90s, dingell earned the title of dean of the house-- the longest- serving mber. the michigan congressman went on to serve for nearly 60 years before retiring in 2015. >> i put myself to the test. and i want to know, when t time comes, whether i can live up to my own personal standards

as a member of congress. am going to give the last that i can assuredly gi the last that i can proudly give to my people. >> woodruff: dingell's wife, debbie, now represents his born district, after winning the election to fill his seat in 2014. for years after, dingell remained activon twitter, where he developed a loyal following for his cuttg wit and partisan banter. reacting to a number of whit house resignations in 2017, dingell tweeted, "truman installed a bowling alley. carter tried solar panels.um is fully invested in a revolving door." ( applause ) and, for his life's work in the house, president obama awarded the dean of the house with the presidential medal of freedom in 2014. >> his life reminds us that change takes time; it takes courage and persistenc

but if we push hard enough and long enough, change is possible. >> woodruff: john dingell was 92 years old. >> nawaz: still to come on the newshour: amazon c.e.o. je bezos claims he was the target of attempted extortion. more evidence linking the saudi crown prince to the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. a mother who lost her child to ede opioid epidec speaks out on the urgent neo solve the crisis. and, much more. >> nawaz: now, jeff bezos, the head of amazon and owner of the "washington post," is going to war with one of the most wl- known and criticized tabloids over what he says is blackmail. it's a most unusual showdown, and set amid a complicated political backdrop involving president trump. "extortion and blackmail." that's what jeff bezos-- the world's richest man and head o

the online retail giant amazon-- says he experienced at the hands the "national enquirer" tabloid. in a blog post, bezos says that the "enquirer" threatened to publish nude photos of him, unless he stopped investigating gew the tabloid obtained his private text meswith a woman with whom bezos was having an extramarital affair. bezos's post includes emails from the "enquirer" that warned it "may publish the unpublished materials" if bezos spoke out. bezos who also owns the "washington post" acknowledges in his post that he's come under the ire of president trump, who is often critical of the "post" and claims amazon is "scamming" american taxpayers. >> the post office is losingns billf dollars, and the taxpayers are paying for that money, because it delivers packages for amazon at a very below cost. >> nawaz: last month, mr. trump even commented on news of bezos' divorce. >> i wish him luck.

it's going to be a beauty. >> nawaz: days later, when the "enquirer" published some of the apzos exchanges, president trump ared to praise the tabloid on twitter. he wrote, "so sorry to hr the news about jeff bozo being taken wrwn by a competitor." bezoe that david pecker, c.e.o. of the "enquirer's" parent company, american media inc. or a.m.i., recently entered into an immunity deal with the department of justice. a.m.i. has told federa prosecutors that the company "coordinated" with the trump ofmpaign to buy and then bury a stor woman who alleges to have an affair with mr. trump in 2006. nd's a practice often referred to as "catchill." in this case, to influence the 2016 presidential election. in his post, bezos acknowledges a.m.i.'s role in "the process on of president trump and his election campaign." and he writes, "i also won't participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks, and corruption."

federal prosecutors are now reportedly reviewing whether the "enquirer's" handling of the bezos story violated pker's immunity deal. bezos also says the "washington post's" coverage of the murder of saudi dissident jamaal khashoggi last october "seems to have hit a particularly sensitive nerve." bezos adds, "mr. pecker and his company have also been alvestigated for various actions they've taken on bof the saudi government." since bezos' post, journalists-- including ronan farrow, say they too have been blackmailed by a.m.i., aftereporting on the president's relationship with a.m.i. in response, amerin media inc. says it "acted lawfully" while reporting the story, and said it would investate the matter. for more on this, i'm joined by jim rutenberg, who is following all these developments for the "new york times." jim, welcome back to the "newshour". you heard there jeff bezos has called this extorte's called it black mail. you have been talking to a lot of people reporting this oudot which know if that's true?

>> the truth is we don't really know whether that's.rue it's a big deal. the allegations are quite serious. a.m.i.'s future depends on it. its officersability to stay out of criminal hot water is dependent on that question. they are definitely in an uncomfortable place here. they were seeking to trade something of value or something that could cause at least great harm to mr. bezos and that is tothese compromising praphs and, in return, they were asking e r something for them, him to quit mese accusations against them. so that could fit under more than one statute that would cover extortion, which can be prosecuted. awaz: and, of course, the question being does that violate the terms of the immunity deal that they previously ha. but let's spend a moment here and just pull apart a little bit of this vin diagram of these overlappinersonalities and

relationships here. let's start with donald trump anjeff bezos. lay out for us here what is the basis of the conflict between the two men? >> the real basis of the conflict imrbezos owns "the washington post." "the washington post" has had a great journalistic resurgence, that resurgence has come, at least in mr. trump's view, at ing own expense, so attack mr. bezos has been a go-to move for mr. trump. and what mr. trp has done is brought in amazon, which is not tte owner o of "the post," so trump isked his business and melded the two together that amazon is on the take, not paying its fair share of taxes, all these allegations. mr. becoz has phased into ts thursday far by just stand big journalism and the truth and sort of, you klyw, apple ply -- pie. so ts is a new recommend in

this latest phase. >> nawaz: what about the the c.e.o. of a.m.i.? what's his relationship to donald tmp? >> right now it's complicated because to have the prosecution deal you refereeynced. o back several decades. i put myself in the camp that has beenkeptical of the idea that they were in cahoots on this story against mr. becoz, but, a, i rule nothing out ever with any of the characters, but, wb, it's quite concevable and just speculation that mr. pecker may have seen story as having a fringe ben if the of signaling to president trump that he will still go after his enemies. >> nawaz: why is it you're skeptical about that at this point? >>ooperation agreemts have a way, when your testimony is being used against the other person, has a way of putting rifts in friendships, and that investigate continues. and mr. pecker's cooperation with the southern district of new york has been very important, it has confirmed a lot of the allegtions that he

been made against president trump and his campaign in terms of imoper campaign spending, those allegations, of course, made by the president's former lawyer michael cohen who isn't exactly a choir boy and can't really snd out theren his own as a credible witness without thtae very imp backup mr. pecker at a.m.i. have provided. -m nawaz: before we go, we saw a lot ofls mr. bezos posted. inw widespread is that practice? >> my repor fortunately or unfortunately a year in the making, fis that is fairly common, a.m.i. plays a really rough game and the question here is going to be did that rough game stray into criminality. i would predict, before this is over, when you have someone like mr. bezos with the means to keep going after a.m.i., we m hearing more about these kind of

tactics, involving people fe hadn't heam before. so this still has some ways to go. >> and you will be following it all and wee following your reporting. jim rutenberg of the "new york times." thank you so much. thank you. aw >>: it's been more than four months since "washington post" columnist jamal khashoggi was murdered in the saudi consulate in istanbul. thyu.s. intelligence commun assessed the powerful crown prince of saudi arabia, mohammed bin salman, likely o the killing, which roiled relations between washington and riyadh, and between the white house and catol hill. here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: last night, the "new york times" reported that before khashoggi was murdered, mohammed bin salman, known as m.b.s., was recorded on intercepted communications saying he would "use bullet" on khashoggi if the writer did not stop his criticism of the saudi government. mark mazzetti is the paper's washington investigative

correspondent, and wrotehe piece. he joins me now. mark, thank you very much. how did the intelligence community record this and how and when did ty find it? >> well, it appears to have come in r thetine monitoring that the national security agenof does of a looreign leaders. they record phone calls, they record e-mails, and a lot of the times the messages and the communications are just stored nfr a later date, when a policy-maker wantsmation about a world leader or some other more urgent q. so the khashoggi murder created that whe the intense agencies are going back on years of commications to determine leaders' culpability in the crime. it's my understandin this conversation came up and was analyzed some time in the weeks after the killing and was produced in a report in the last month or so. >> reporter: a few of us met

with the saudi arabian minister of state for foreign affairs. we asked him about your piece. he said "i can't comment on reports based on anonymsoous ces, many reports with anonymous sources have not panned out." d then he kept saying, when oliver north was engaged in iran contra, did ronald reagan know? these things happen, mistakes happen, this was done outside the scope of authory. what's your response to that? >> i thought it was a curious analogy to use because, after years of investigation, they got pretty close to become showing that reagan knew, it seems, but puing that aside, mean, clearly the strategy from the beginning he is to protect the crown prince, isolate him from this what jay bare said today was a mistake, clearly it was a heinous crime and tarnished the image of saudi arabia. so although the saudi story gehs chover final, it has been consistent in one fact, the

crown prince knew nothing about it. >> reporter: rashing rashing o -- mark mazzettiof the "new yd reporting. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> schifrin: now, for the reaction on capitol hill to the jgoing story of mohammed bin salman aal khashoggi, i'm joined by our congressional correspondent, lisa desjardins. thank you very much for ing there was a deadline for the administration to report to congress on what it thinks at repod secretary pompeymit to sent a let tore the senate foreigrelations committee which you just obtained saying the u.s. was the first nation to take acon and designate 17 saudi individuals for sanctions and that we've aggressively used e global program under which the sanctions were enacted and that's about it. what's the reaction on capitol hill? >> that letter essentially iat the report he president was required to give. this report was triggered by the ranking and chairman of senate foreign lations last fall, and they had 120 days to look into

this idea of the khashggi murder, and we now have a two-paragraph thsponse after 12 120 days, and the response so far is furious. we have ffe firstial responses from patrick leahy, democrat, he was one to have the ones that requested this. he goes so far to say if the president ignores basically the mandate of holding someone responsible for the murder, white house will share the blame for attempting to cover up the crime. we will hear frore republicans who requested this report or this letter. we heard from he new senat foreign relations chairman of idaho, he said he ac knowledges the letter and expects a more detailed briefing, and legislation has been introduced on this issue, i expect more to come. speak of staff, they're not aware what that legislation would mean. but the entire senate voted unanimously that the crown prince of saudi arab was personally responsible for this

murder. >> reporter: do we know what is moree?to c >> i think we know something next week. the house is expected to vote on a resolution on the related issue yemen,nd we exp the house to pass a resolution requiring the withdrawal of u.s. forces from yemen, this is something the senate passed last year, so this is something that would be action and not just a symbolic passing back and forth of letters. it's something to watch. >> reporter: lisa desjardins, thank u very much. >> you're welcome. >> nawaz: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: mark shields and david brooks examine the week in washington. and, singer kacey musgraves on her expansive view of what country music can be. we continue our coverage of the opioid crisis that has afflicted so much of the country, and tonight, william brangham looks at the frustration and anger of

many family survivors who are not satisfied with the national t sponse. it's parof our periodic series, "america addicted." >> brangham: the death toll om opioids is much higher than many americans realize. em truly is a public health ep. estimates are that more than 400,000 americans have died since the crisis began, and in 2017 alone, more than 47,000 people died of an overdose. but among the grieving mothers and fathers who are living this crisis everyay, there's a growing sense that this epidemic isn't being taken riously enough. that was the focus of a recent series by the associatss called "the left behind." it featured many of the parents ceo are now burying their children at an unpnted rate in modern american history. as one mom in the series put it: "where is the outrage ?" we're going to talk about that tonight. claire galofaro is one of the reporters on that series, and she's been covering this epidemic nationally for the a.p. and, cheryl juaire is one of

those parents. her 23-year-old son, corey, died of a heroin overdose in 2011. ever since, she's led a group of mothers working to call attention to this crisis, to reform addiction treatment and to pursue action against t drug-makers. welcome to you both. toclaire galofaro, i'd lik start with you first. do your series, you really mented this growing sense thong parents all over the countr they feel that the country has kind of moved on from this crisis.yo couljust give us a sense of the reporting, what you've found? >> s thank you for having us on, william, i think it's a really important story. u know, i think one father who is actually in cheryl's group told me a story that he thinks sort of symbolizes this growing sense of frustration. he was on a sge a rally g at was intended to kind of end the stayi surrounding addiction, he had buried his own son, and he looke out over the

crowd and he recognized everyone. s joe's mom, there's kim's father, and he realized they were all parents of other people who had alsod d from opiate overdoses, and he thought, you know, welready know this. we don't need to learn in lesson, we already learned it the hard way, where was everyone else? and that was sort of the sense of frustration i picked up from atso many parents this crisis is being sort of largely overlooked by the general population, people arewareof it but they're not angry about at in a way that's really commiswith the scope we're facing today. t lot of people have described it to me as sf what we experienced in the '80s and '90s when we faced the aids epidemic, and that disease ke this one impacted very stigmatized people, it killed by zee tens of thousands before an

orgaactivist group "act up" really started making a lot of noise, made peoplery a enough to demand that the govement, the medical community invest the tens of billions of dollars required to really turn back the tide and, you know, i think most public health experts would tell you at what we'reacing today is just as daunting as that alidemic was then. >> reporter: sheon again, i don't know how to oupress how sorry i am for what you've been tgh, and it's remarkable what you've done since that tragedy ed your family and the loss of your son. i'm curious, claire is describing this sense of outrage parents feel. is that accurate? is that how you feel? >> that's accurate. when i started to group "en sharing" we were inviting in one mother and one father te another, and day after day, i

would hear sries of their children and how they died, and most of them started with, as we know, in this epidemic, 0xycontin from a surgerof some sort, and they were outraged and they just don't know what to do with it because nobody's listening. it reporter: and what is that, if you have an opportunity to talk to the american public, what do you think that they need to acknowledge, to recognize? >> they need to acknowledge that our children were good childr. they got addicted to a drug that was pushed on them and evtually went to heroin and eventually died from that -- from that drug. >> reporter: claire, in your wporting, when you were talking to paren had lost their children, if many of them had ngid their children were struggith their addictions, they didn't know haere to turn, felt adrift,

didn't knowt treatment to pursue, that they were really struggling with thatle w process. >> so many of them described for me this moment after their child died wre they reflected at what they had been through and arrived at the question of why was that so hard that our treatment system is so fragmented and so broguen? it's almost impossible for these parents to navigate. there ardetoxes, rehabs, treatment facilities, some of them costing tens of thousands of dollars, and, you know, these parents are desperate, they're willing to do anything. they think their kid might die any day, stg they mage their homes, they cash out their 401ks, all for a treatment that sometimes, a lotof times, does not meet what is considered the gold standard of treatment, medically assisted treatment. t their children relapse, and they stas whole crazy, chaotic cycle over again, eight,

nine, ten times in some cases, and when they haveo moment emflect on that, they wonder why our treatment sys as difficult to navigate as it is. even now, 20 years into this crisis. i think what a tot se parents say is that, you know, with a crisis this big, we need to thinkig. we need a comprehensive plan. this is going to take tens of billions of dollars to fix, to end long-term sustndined g, if we really want to start taking this epidemic seriously. >> reporter: cheryl, i know that part of the work that you're doing is opening up youru phones and home and your life to parents who have been through the horrble tragedy that you have been through, and i'm just curious how you do as a parent, i can't even imagine dealing with the loss of one of my own children, le alone trying to help carry the grief of so many other people. and how do you do that? >> when my son died in 2011,

like i said, it was at the beginning of the epidemic, and i knew noby who had lost a child, let alone to addiction. so for t next couple of years, i suffered in my grieflone, until, one day, i met a couple of other moms who had lost their child as well. because of that suffering, i knew what it felt like. i knew that deep feeling, and i didn't want anyone to have to tel that asong as i did alone, at just -- that just makes me want to go out there and find tm and lt them know that they're not alone. o reporter: cheryl, i know as pa your activism you are also now protesting against purdue pharma, inarcular, the manufacturer of 0xycontin, which was one of ithe orating factors in this entire epidemic. what do you want from purdue pharma? >> i want them held responsible for what they've ne to this country.

they created the opioid richard sackler is a reckless .riminal, as he called our childr evey pushed their 0xycontin on ybody to try to get more ddictedo make them longer and to eventually die, is what happened to all our soildren. yes, we're fighting them. what i would like to see is i would like to see the sackler family in jail. they made $4 billion off ouycontin, and, eventually, the long term, i like to see the death penalty given to that family. >> reporter: all right, cheryl juaire and claire galofaro, thank you bothor f talking with us. >> thank you. , william. >> nawaz: purdue pharma and richard sackler and a son of thi

have denied wrongdoing or malicious intent inthe selling of 0xycontin. pharma says it's taken steps to stem the opioid crisis and says there were multiple factors and parties that contributed to the cries. the company and family are embrled in multiple lawsuits around the country. >> nawaz: virginia, and the country, weigh the transgressions of the's top leaders in a moment of reckoning. and in washington, democrats flex their new power in the house, starting with investigating the president. bringing us to the analysis of shies and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist vid brooks. welcome to you both. lehappy friday. s start in virginia. i want to bring up a couple of tweets quick because we have had

late-breaking news on this. there has been a second allegation of assault against lieutenant governor justi fairfax leading to former governor terry mccul mccull lufo call for his resignation. he says he doesnv't bele fairfax can effectively serve the people. fax has also issued a statement in response calling the allegations an obvious -- vicious and coordinated smear campaign ohestrated against him, and he says he will not resign, so, mark, start us off here. there's a lot happening in virginia, still. it's still evolving, what do you make of how it's handled by leader there so far? >> terribly. it's been wisely said when the democrats organize a firing d uad, they first form a circle, and i wousay that's gone on. i think each of the cases has hd be treateparately. i do think that governor north

northam -- politics, to begin with, is not brain surgery. it's about addition, not subtraction. it's about a party that welcom people to its ranks, that warmly embraces newcoepers and ats converts happily and finds common ground. a losingolitical party is one that spends time, energy and effort hunting downnd heratics banishing them to the outer darkness because they continue subscribe totally to the percthved wisdom. democrats in virginia played that second role. in ralph northam, a popular vernor who had secured passage of medicaid for 400,000 virginians, something long promised, who had run against the n.r.a., gave them an f rating, he took them on, universal background checks. gssegregated day, sunday

morning, bel to 60% african-american with an african-american pastor, and all of that is forgotten a tossed aside blithely because of one year bookpage which was feteful, hurtful and indecember ible. i thought the stampede on the part of national democrats and including democrats as honorable tim kaine, the former governor and senator of virginia, to toss him out and demand his resignation is likely unacceptable. >> nawaz: do you think it's a stampede? >> i did. men ha a lot of b behavior. maybe we should have women leading our states, that might solve these problems. i ink the justin fairfax case is suddenly looking to be the much more of the serious of the two to me. there's multiple women making legations with some suggestion

there is contemporaous evidence he assaulted them. that was the most serious one to p. he's in the postil he might have done an actual crime. i'm alys rea to call for resignations, it makes people feel good, but i really believe in investigating. someone should investigate that one. it the northam case, we spoke abouriefly because the news had just broken last week,e use what he had done was appalling and hateful. i think in a lot of these cases, there should be a path to redemic. it should involve an apology, a lifetime or decade of years of service in the call and northam's record on civil rights is quite good. whatever hateful thing he may or may not have done as a med student, ihink he should get leniency and continue his good work. to me to destroy a reasonably dood career over this thing is

probably not -- w not have a surplus of good people in public life. >> nawaz: i wonder, though, mark, because the democratrely on votes from minority voters, african-americans, in particular, inirginia. aden you have herring and northatting wearing black face and northam admitting in awkward conversation, isn't there moral high ground somewhere. >> the attorney general turns out to be the real ace of the week, but he demanded that the governor resign for his year ok picture then remembered photographic evidence of his doing something similar i not identical when he was at the university of virginia and he's been far more fulsome, articulate, almost ol' quint in his apology.

so now it comes down to not the act itself, and i agreeith david, what the lieutenant governor, the allegations against the lieutenant gi ernor, an, are potentially criminal. we're not talking about bad taste or insensy itivr racial insensitivity. so i do think that they are very different charges. >> and it should be said -- i mentioned the road to redemption. frankly, to be honest, it's not white people who are in the ansition to offer forgiveness. the african-amerommunity is the one that was wronged by this, and, so, it's trying to work with them and sort of humble oneself before them that is the ultimate court here and that would be a good role for any governor in any state to do that. >> northam had the endorsement of every frean lmaker in the -- every african-american lawmaker in the state when he began, he's not unfamiliar with that constituency. >> nawaz: in the house,

launching oversight investigation into the trump organization, threatening . it sustainable? what's going on? >> i wonder about the wordst ination. are we investigating or having just television shows? matthew whitaker was in t hearings today. the guy is going to be out of office probably in a few days because bill barr is going to become thecting attorney general, probably, so what was the purpose of that show? when you get a televised notrings, they'r investigations they're shows. i was reading exactly la hais' memoir last week and she describes her senate career as a series of confrontational moments n a hearig that were televised and for a lot of members now that is what being in congress is. so sometimes you get real investigations but i'm dious we'll see a lot of actual investigating. >>awaz: looking for answe or just putting on a show, mark?

> both, both. i will say thimean, i think the democrats won last fall because of healthcare, because republicans tried to repeal healthcare. i think ther democats ought to spend time, effort and energy trying to guarantee that th peverage be available and ally pre-existing conditions which the republicans were ready to repeal. i think they ought to be rain lie minimum wage. changing people's for the better but guaranteeing that isbert mueller continues unimpeded in investigation and is given the resources and authority necessary to do it. amt david's right, they can't resist thea and lights, just like us. (laughter) >> nawaz: i want to ask you about the news yesterday, a couple osupreme court decision came down. one that caught a lot of people's attention, one blocking a law that would have closed a

lot of abortion proders in that state. i mentioned in the context of republicans having weathered the storm around brett kavanaugh ceinking he would make the differn decision like. this john roberts was the swing vote in thiscase. what do you make of that? >> the chief justice has been time and again sorof the ballast on the court. i don't think there's any, questi saw it at the state of the union address as well, that the question is going to make abortion, particularly late-term abortion an issue in 2020. he was a conrt, he was saul on the road to damascus in 2015 and became an arden pro-life candidate. he won 80% of the vote of white evangelicals along the way and, quite bluntly, late-term abortion, 1.3% of all abortions, is unpopular with americans. it is not -- it's not unlikely immigration. if yim think ogration as grabbing children out of their

mothers' arms, then everybody in the world is on the side of the immigrant. but if you see it as caravan mmarauding toward the border, there was all of a sudden skepticism about immigration. i think the same is true on abergs and thidea of a child full term being plucked from the womb and not being gen life i think is an issue that donald trump quite blunty wants to run on in 2020, and he can point that kavanaugh and gouch were on his side, the side of the angels, i guess he would call them, in the decision. >> nawaz: before we go, i doeft have much time i want to give both of you an opportunity to weigh in on this. we dd lose john dingell this week and we don't have much tim but i want to ask this there is anything you want to share? >> my tribute is he was a great tweeter. one year he wrote everything is

a balaam or a random thing. for what it's worth, i would watch a gorilla channel. i like the way an older guy adapts nto medium. >> nawaz: what about you? he was a giant, he truly was.ce they asked what the jurisdiction of his committee was, where he held hearings and brought to heel captains of industry andle ctors in every possible activity and he saidlen et is any jurisdicti, but said his proudest moment was voting for the 1964 civil rights act. the air is cleaner, lives are richer and country the healthier because of john dingell. >> nawaz: we are indebted, indeed. mark shields, davidros, thanks very much. always good to talk to you. >> nawaz: finally tonight, this sunday, the 61st annarl grammy

kick off in los angeles. one artist a lot of people have their eyes on is kacey musgraves, nominated for four awards and also performing at the show. jeffrey brown caught up with musgraves at a recent performance at the anthem in washington, d.c. ( ♪ "slow burn" ) >> brown: the song "slow burn" opens kacey musgraves' show on her sold-out tour and her new album, "golden hour." ♪ i'm gonna dit my way it'll be all right ♪ if we burn down and it takes all night ♪ it's a slow burn >> it's just kind of a musing on myself, and just, kind of... when i was making thalbum, kind of where i was mentally, just thinking that, like, it's not always about just getting to the end or getting the biggest, the fastest. it's about taking your time and really enjoying the journey there.

♪ ♪ >> brown: just 30 years old, the texas-born musgraves seems to be enjoying her journey in music-- and doing it on her own terms, making the music she wants while defying exctations for both country music as a genre and for herself. ( ♪ "follow your arrow" ) >> brown: her debut studio pabum, 2013's "same trailer, differen," included the hit single "follow your arro" a song that encouraged women to break the boundaries set by others. ( ♪ "follow your arrow" ) ( ♪ "merry go round" ) >> brown: "merry go round" found similar inspiration, and earned her a grammy for best country t year, in addition to best country album. ( ♪ "merry go round" )

( ♪ "high horse" ) >> brown: but with her new album, "golden hour," she's eaching for a new and broader audience, anding the sounds and expectations of a country music record... ♪ "high horse" ) >> brown: ...with songs like "high horse," veering into pop and electronic music. and it's garnered huge critical and popular support. ( ♪ "high horse" ) >> definitely with this record, i was like, i want to reach ountry music, but i want to take-- and not leave country music behind, i want to take it with me. i want to... want to take my version of it to people who normally would never even consider listening>>o it. rown: yeah, why was that important to you? >> i kept imagining just reaching places that i've never been and reaching people thaev i've... that've never heard of me. but at the same time, itas a very inwardly-focused album, and

ngwas really thinking a lot about my fee i was feeling, like, really open enough to share them. >> brown: you said youd to take "my version" of country music to people. what does that mean? what's your version? >> well, my version of country music is largely comprised of an inspired bthe roots of the genre. i grew up singing, like, very traditional country and western frsic, like, literally yodeling, wearinge and cowboy hats. i mean, singing songs-- >> brown: which you did in the first few albumsright? >> i did a little bit, yeah, more so than this. and i've always been inspired by this huge range of other things. i grew up listening to sade and... oh my gosh, alison krauss and fleetwood mac, dolly parton, the bee gees. and i'm like, where can-- i love ogen heap, i love daft punk. like, where can these things all live together? you know, so i guess it is country music to me, in the sense that it's... it's storytelling. s d there are country instrume it, but it's a di.erent version of country

i don't know really even how to describe it. ♪ ♪ >> brown: so what does a song have to have for you, work for you? >> that's inteassting. a songo have some element ruth to me, lyrically, f me to be able to sing it. i don't just get in there and go, "oh, i want to write a song about a lady named debbie, and she's going through this and this and this." it starts with me. it's got to... it's got to come from here, or i can't sing it. it's not going to be believable. ( ♪ "butterflies" ) >> brown: new songs, like "butterflies," reflect her newly happily-married life... ( ♪ "butterflies" ) >> brown: ...and also her own

prsonal transformation, facilitated t by the use of psychedelic drugs, which, she says, help take her out of daily routines, for a wideview. ♪ ♪ for me the times i have experienced that in small doses, it's really done a lot for me ♪ ♪ i was hiding in doubt till you brought me out of my >> brown: one thing not much evident here: direct references >> social issues or politics. ou know, we're so beat over the head by everything negative these days, and you know, just astonished by, like, just all this unbelievable stuff that happening socially, politically. just, like, it's a tumultuous

time. >> brown: which you're part of, and you feel... >> i feel it, and i think a lot of the youer generations really feel it. s d, i mean, everyone does. and i think that observer and as a writer, it could have iren really easy for me to go thattion. but i just think that sometimes we need an escape from it. and it's weird because as the world was kind of turning in a more chaotic direction, it's when i've somehow finally found my own lite bit of peace and happiness. and so that's what i wanted to share. ♪ ♪ ds brown: kacey musgraves is up for four grammy awalbum of the year-- a category comprising all genres; best country solo performance for the song y "butterflies;" best counng for "space cowboy;" and best country album. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown.

♪ ♪ >> nawaz: and we have more from kacey musgraves online, where she recommends some of the artists she grew up listening to. that and more is on our website, www.s.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. m anma nawaz. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, have a great weekend and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: a >> on cruise with american cruise lines, you can experience historic destinations along the mississippi river, the columbia river, and across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of small ships explore american landmarks, local cultures and

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. hello, everyone and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. north korea the sequel. asonald trump prepares to meet kim jong-un aga i a willcome cohen if the president can achieve denuclendization also keep his promise to end america's foreign wars. >> the judges didn't thing sex disi discrimination existed. >> then the 85-year-old supreme court justice, we're look into the life of ruth bader ginsberg with the authors