captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: house democrats introduce legislation to block president trump's declaration of a national emergency, which would fund the construction of a wall at the southern border. then, an on-the-ground report from venezuela, following hardline supporters of president nicolas maduro, as they organize militias amid political chaos there. then, a conversation with playwright tarell mccraney. his new play, "choir boy," tells the story of a black, gay student making his way through an all-male boarding school. >> at its root, that's the main question about "choir boy:" how much space can we make for each other in our community, and our legacy, and our futures?

do we make enough space for the people who are different than us? >> woodruff: and, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks are here to consider the democratic response to the national emergency, and bernie sanders's entrance into the 2020 race. 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

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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: democrats in the u.s. house of representatives are set to try to terminate president trump's national emergency declaration. it would divert pentagon funds to build a southern border wall. but democrats introduced a resolution today to block the move. at the white house, the president promised to veto any measure passed by congress to block his emergency declaration. >> will i veto it? 100%. 100%. and i don't think it survives a veto. we have too many smart people that-- who want border security, so i can't imagine it could survive a veto. but i will veto it, yes. >> woodruff: later, in a visit to laredo, texas, speaker nancy pelosi said there is no national emergency, and that mr. trump

created a crisis. >> but we will be fighting him on this usurpation of power in the congress and in the courts. and so this is a path. i don't expect him to sign it but i do expect us to send it. >> woodruff: meanwhile, pentagon officials briefed congressional staffers today on how they might implement the president's order. lisa desjardins spent part of her day at the pentagon. and she joins me now. lisa, what are you learning about when the pentagon plans to try to implement what the president wants? >> i spoke to the same senior pentagon officials who briefed congress. they told me this -- right now, they are assessing exactly what projects that are needed at the border. they're working with the department of homeland security on that. they think, within weeks, they will have that list. then, judy, to my question about timing, they said they think, within months, they hope to be

ready through an expedited process to begin some construction. >> reporter:. >> woodruff: so if they're going to take this money to use it to build a border wall, where is it coming from? >> well, there are two large parts from the department of defense. one has to do with how they fight trafficking. that is nebulous, we'll watch that closely. the other is specific. it deals with military construction projects that been banned but not yet begun. i was able to obtain a list of 400 projects that meet that deciption. this was a large universe. not all of these will be chosen. when we ask dod today of how they're narrowing the universe and whether they would delay or cancel, they said there is one pot they will not use that is funding for military housing which has been in the headlines because there is substandard housing that needs repair. also because they won't use that, they could use funds for

schools, hospitals, many other facilities, things that are popular. the states that have the most numbers of projects, california maryland, alaska, and north carolina, red and blue states alike. >> woodruff: as we reported lisa, the house is reported expecting to plan to block what the president is doing with the declaration. assumeing they do, what will be next. >> it will pass tuesday is what we expect in the house. then under the special provision triggered by the national emergency, this goes straight to the senate and mitch mcconnell must hold a vote within 18 days. it is expected to pass there. it needs republican votes but already we know a few republican senators pushing back on the national emergency. the question in chambers is once it gets through congress, is there enough support to override a veto. a lot of pressure on republicans over this. we're going to watch very carefully. >> woodruff: fascinating. lisa desjardins, thank you for your reporting.

in the day's other news, the trump administration announced it will bar family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, if the clinics receive federal funds. abortion opponents praised the move. abortions rights supporters condemned it, and are certain to challenge it in court. a california couple who chained and starved many of their 13 children at their home pleaded guilty today to torture and abuse. david turpin appeared stoic as he entered his pleas in riverside. his wife, louise turpin, cried. they will spend at least 25 years in prison. police found the children after one escaped and called for help. they ranged in age from 2 to 29 and were starving and living in filth. the r&b singing star r. kelly will face multiple counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving victims who ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old. he was charged in chicago today, with crimes going back at least as far as 1998.

kelly is 52, and a grammy- winning artist, but accusations of sexual misconduct with minors have followed him for years. he has his initial court appearance tomorrow. at the vatican, a landmark summit on sexual abuse by clergy turned to the question of accountability today. indian cardinal oswald gracias called for acknowledging decades of cover-ups, and for reporting abuse cases to police. >> the sexual abuse of minors and other vulnerable people not only breaks divine and ecclesiastical law, it is also public criminal behavior. the church does not live in an isolated world of its own making. those who are guilty of criminal behavior are justly accountable to civil authority for that behavior. >> woodruff: the response of abuse victims was mixed. some argued out that cardinal gracias himself has failed to confront abuse in the indian church. soldiers in venezuela opened

fire near the brazilian border today, amid opposition attempts to bring in humanitarian aid. witnesses said at least one person was killed and several wounded. the government has threatened to close all its borders, in a bid to block u.s. aid. meanwhile thousands of venezuelans are fleeing on foot. we will have a look from inside venezuela, later in the program. a new report finds that iran is still complying with the 2015 nuclear accord. the international atomic energy agency said today that the islamic republic's stocks of nuclear materials remain within the agreed limits. that is despite the u.s. withdrawing from the pact last may, and re-imposing sanctions. israel's first lunar mission is on its way to the moon. the lander was aboard a space-x rocket that blasted off from cape canaveral, florida last night. the non-profit group behind the project celebrated. >> i witnessed "apollo" landing as a child, and i dreamed to be

at this situation of launching my own spacecraft. i have been working in the project for five years. i joined five years ago, and we were dreaming about this moment. >> woodruff: the "apollo" missions of the 1960s and '70s made the trip to the moon in three days, thanks to giant "saturn 5" rockets. without that kind of boost, the israeli craft has to orbit earth in growing circles, until lunar gravity finally pulls it in in april. back in this country, police in jupiter, florida are charging new england patriots owner robert kraft with soliciting prostitution. they say that he was captured on camera at an illicit massage parlor, as part of a crackdown on sex trafficking. the charge is a misdemeanor. the 77-year-old kraft denied any wrongdoing today. the actor jussie smollett's

character has been cut from the season's final two episodes of the "empire" tv series. the executive producers announced it today, after chicago police charged smollett with staging an attack on himself. smollett's lawyers say he maintains his innocence. on wall street, stocks gained on hopes that the u.s.-china trade talks could reach a deal before more u.s. tariffs take effect. the dow jones industrial average gained 181 points to close back above 26,000. the nasdaq rose 67 points, and the s&p 500 added 17. and, ten u.s. airmen from world war ii were honored today for sacrificing themselves to save a group of english children. on february 22, 1944, the crew deliberately flew their damaged plane into trees, to avoid a park. today, u.s. and british aircraft made a special fly-by over sheffield in tribute, as thousands looked on.

tony foulds was one of the children whose life was spared that day. he's now 82. >> i would never, ever dream of taking my own life like these did. i feel, and i've always felt, that i killed these. it's something i've always thought. i've always had guilt in my mind. >> woodruff: foulds lobbied for years to have the americans honored. he also tends a small memorial to them, in the park. still to come on the newshour: the shifting messages on u.s. troop withdrawal from syria. supporters of president nicolas maduro form militias in venezuela. a new development in the sex abuse case against hedge fund manager jeffrey epstein. and, much more. >> woodruff: today, the trump

administration made it clear that it would not withdraw from syria-- at least, not completely. that is a change from the plans president trump announced in december. to talk about the future of the u.s. mission there, i'm joined by our nick schifrin. nick schifrin, hello. what exactly is the u.s. announcing? >> the administration says they will keep a couple mon troops in northern and northeast syria and a couple hundred troops in southern syria, and so, let's separate those two to understand it and let's zoom out to understand northern and northeast syria first to understand where the battle against i.s.i.s. is. in 2014, this is the height of i.s.i.s., 30,000 square miles they controlled across syria and iraq. today the self-declared caliphate is down to just a few miles. i.s.i.s. fighters have had a chance to dig in for years. it's very difficult fighting and civilians are trying to evacuate and the fighting has hat to pause. but it's only a matter of time before the battle is over and

the u.s. has won, the caliphate will have been defeated physically. that is the fact the president used when did he made this pronouncement on twitter in december. >> our boys, our young women, our men they're all coming backs, and they're coming back now. we won. >> the problem with that is even without land, i.s.i.s. contains the capacity to be an insurgency, it contains the capacity to keep on fighting. the military, by the way which wasn't informed by military made the announcement, always said id needed time to stabilize the area to make sure i.s.i.s. wouldn't return. the problem is who stabilizes if u.s. troops leave. the brits and phench would not do it if the u.s. left, turkey is not capable of doing it alone and would attack u.s. partners anyway, so white house and defense officials admit that turkey, u.k. france, israel the kurdish partners all said don't leave. so it took a few months but

today president trump basically retreated fra from his previous language and said this in the white house white house we could leave a small force along with others in the force, whether n.a.t.o. troops or whoever it might be, so that it doesn't start up again. and with tha i'm okay, because it's a small tiny fraction. >> officially the number the 2200. right now there are 3,000 because the military says it needs to plus-up to draw down to pho hundred. >> woodruff: you just talked about the need to stabilize what is there and others would need do that, right? where does that stand? >> it's not clear where that stands. that's the problem. today you're seeing defense officials meeting with their turkish partners and white house official tells me there's some hope to get the brits and french to take this over because it is a necessary effort. but we heard from the foreign secretary of britain say the other day there's "no prospect of british forces replacing the americans in syria." so the administration still has

this problem, and it is a big problem. judy, a senior defense official this week told me that i.s.i.s. insurgentsy still had millions of dollars, thousands of fight and was actually strong than in 2011 when it was known in al quaida in iraq before the u.s. withdrew from iraq. so i.s.i.s. is still a potent force. >> woodruff: there is sill a force of some u.s. troops in southern syria. where does that stand? >> a couple hundred troops in southern syria at base called atan right along the jordanian border. this is along a route iranians have used to smuggle weapons all the way to beirut. it will stay open and the mission will be to try to counter the iranian influence in southern syria a very difficult mission. two different missions but still inside syria. >> still inside syria. >> woodruff: nick schifrin,

thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: as we reported there was violence on the venezuela-brazil border today as opposition groups try to bring aid into venezuela. there is also a confrontation brewing on venezuela's western border with colombia, where american-supplied aid is waiting to flow into venezuela. juan guaido, the opposition leader the u.s. recognizes as president of venezuela, is hoping to push supplies across that border tomorrow. so far, that aid is being stopped by the government of president nicolas maduro, who still enjoys substantial support inside the country. tonight, with support of the pulitzer center, special correspondent nadja drost and videographer bruno federico take us to meet some of those still pledged to maduro, and to what they call the "revolution," led by his predecessor, hugo chavez.

( chanting in spanish ) >> reporter: at a subway station in caracas, volunteers ask passersby to sign a petition demanding the united states keep its hands off of venezuela. >> ( translated ): let's sign for peace! sign in support of the motherland and against the yankee intervention! come on, grandma, let's sign. >> reporter: in the last three days, this team has collected 9,000 signatures. >> ( translated ): we want to support our president with signatures. we don't want them to take him out because maduro is really the president. how can they take him out when he legally won? >> reporter: for the six million of 20 million eligible voters who voted for maduro in national elections last year, it is unfathomable that the president of the opposition-led national assembly, juan guaido, might get away with assuming the presidency of venezuela. and, while backing for president nicolas maduro has plummeted across the country, he still manages to count on a swath of the population for support. particularly in poor areas like antimano, that benefited from

the largess of maduro's predecessor, hugo chavez. here, chavismo, the brand of socialism popularized by chavez is still a force strengthened in reaction to the growing power of the opposition, backed by the u.s. and over 50 other countries. communal council leader reina lira guides us through this neighborhood center, a cornerstone of community organizing and government services. it offers residents preschool, internet, and classes, like this exercise group for grandmothers. people wait their turn for a basic medical consultation, and eyeglasses. chavismo in action. >> ( translated ): on some days, material doesn't come, but when it comes, we are attended to. now i can see, thanks to the revolution. >> reporter: lira, and many other chavistas, suffer the same hardships as anyone else, but they don't necessarily blame maduro. the president and many of his followers have blamed the economic crisis on an "economic

war" waged by the u.s. in an attempt to destabilize the country. >> ( translated ): even when they are attacking him in a brutal way, blocking him economically and with all the goods that can't arrive president nicolas is putting in his best effort. he doesn't make food expensive, he tries to raise salaries, and he gives us subsidies. >> reporter: projects that benefited the poor didn't exist when lira grew up. she remembers christmas without gifts, and not eating three meals a day. but she saw her life and her neighborhood change for the better after chavez became president. >> ( translated ): as the poor we were re-vindicated. we became able to study when before we couldn't. venezuelans didn't have immediate medical attention, and when the revolution came, they had a doctor at their side. >> reporter: many venezuelans continue to credit chavismo with redistributing the country's oil wealth through social programs and giving the poor a voice in venezuelan politics. but the economic crisis has been a crisis for chavismo support. maduro's followers are a minority, but a passionate one. for lira, her debt to chavez guarantees her continued support

for the government. >> ( translated ): i think those of us who have stayed loyal to the revolution is because we feel the motherland in our veins. the love for chavez and for the revolution can't be bought. >> reporter: the more the revolution is threatened, and the greater the efforts to unseat maduro, the more dedicated their support of him. ronny gutierrez is a welder in the neighborhood. his work clothes belie his other duty: heeding the call to defend the revolution. >> ( translated ): we go about as civilians without anyone noticing us. you come here and don't know i'm a militia. that's how i surprise the enemy i come from behind and disarm them. that is our work. >> reporter: every saturday, the volunteer militia do training exercises, but today, hundreds of them march through the streets of antimano, sending a message by their sheer numbers. last year, maduro announced a campaign to raise the number of

militia to two million to confront the united states. the large civilian militia is an annex to the military, open to anyone, even those lacking military training. a schoolteacher during the week captain luisa yaguara has both ideological and military training behind her. she doesn't want a military invasion, but says she and nearly two million militia are ready. >> ( translated ): we'll arm men and women so that no yankee boot steps here, and he who does, dead he will be. >> reporter: the strong u.s. support for juan guaido's effort to take the presidency from maduro, and concern over threats to national sovereignty, can bring even those critical of maduro to the side of defending his right to the presidency says sociologist margarita lopez. >> ( translated ): sectors who have been loyal to chavez become unified. there are some dissidents and critics of maduro who won't support the opposition because the opposition has been bought off by imperialism. >> reporter: yet it's the

chavistas who are most unyielding. in a stronghold of chavismo, the neighborhood called "23rd of january" blankets a caracas hillside. it was from here that thousands of residents came down the hills to confront the police when chavez was captured in an attempted coup d'etat in 2002. today, their chavismo is partly defined by the way the community has organized to resist the economic crisis. in the face of food scarcity and skyrocketing prices, this community has created a project to try to guarantee its own food security, involving farmers outside of caracas to grow crops and sell them directly to the community, avoiding the use of intermediaries, so the community can buy their goods at lower- than-market prices. and as you can see, it's a very popular option. about 1,000 families come to this market every week. ana marin is a leader of a chavista neighborhood collective that started the market. marin says the poor did better until the economic crisis hit. >> ( translated ): the crisis came, the economic blockade sanctions, and internal

corruption that means that a lot of government policies don't reach the people. >> reporter: nevertheless, they are ready to defend what they gained from the revolution. >> ( translated ): if the opposition takes over the government, we are not afraid. we will keep resisting because we are going to defend our accomplishments. because they have cost us lives. >> reporter: far down the hill in central caracas, near the presidential palace-- home to maduro for now; coveted by juan guaido-- maduro backers on motorcycle taxis gather. the head of this group, gustavo martinez, says the current threat to their president has put them on the alert. >> ( translated ): we carry out permanent monitoring in this municipality and at the national level. it's vigilance to defend the peace of our people, so that no one from the opposition puts on riots and disturbs venezuela's peace. us motorbikers, we are ready. >> reporter: amid all the uncertainty of who will govern venezuela, and how, one thing is certain: chavistas won't let the government be toppled without a fight. reporting from caracas with bruno federico, i'm nadja drost for the pbs newshour.

>> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: mark shields and david brooks analyze the latest political news. and, a conversation with playwright tarrell mccraney on his play, "choir boy." but first, a federal judge ruled yesterday that prosecutors, led by labor secretary alexander acosta in 2008 when he was u.s. attorney in florida, broke the law by concealing a plea agreement. as amna nawaz reports, the sex crimes case involved more than 30 underage victims. >> nawaz: the plea deal a decade ago for billionaire hedge fund manager jeffrey epstein reduced charges of federal sex crimes with a potential life sentence in prison, to lesser state charges of soliciting a minor and just 13 months in county jail.

epstein was accused of building a vast network of underage girls, some as young as 13-- girls he sexually abused in his florida mansion, and allowed other adult men to abuse as well. in 2011, acosta wrote that he was not aware of the full extent of epstein's abuse when he struck the plea deal. many of the details only came to light late last year, when the "miami herald" published an extensive investigation, including interviews with dozens of victims. the work was led by reporter julie k. brown, who was awarded the george polk award earlier this week. and julie k. brown joins me now. julie, welcome to the "newshour". it's an extraordinary piece of reporting. it boggles the mind, though, why it took so long to come to light. so just start there. tell us how did you first learn about this story? why did you start to dig at it the way you did? >> well, you know, pieces of this story, the outline of this story had been known for many many years. a lot of journalists had written about this deal, sort of

scratching their heads ability how could something like this happen. and, when alexander acosta, the miami u.s. attorney in miami was nominated by president trump last year as labor secretary -- or in 20717, rather, as labor secretary, i sort of wanted to hear what he was going to say when he would be asked about this case, and i was kind identify stopshed that he wasn't account much about it alall and the answers that he did give really weren't responsive to the questions he was asked. and, so, i thought, you know, it's been a long time -- this was before the #metoo movement, but i kept thinking, i wonder what these victims, these girls, at the time, they were 13, 14 and 15 now in their late 20s and 30s, are thinking about the fact he has advanced so far in his career after, in essence in their minds, betraying them. so i said about trying to -- i set about trying to find out who

these victims were and eventually, convinced just a handful of them quite frankly to go public works but i smoke to many more than a handful of them. >> reporter: and the details they share in the interviews with you are so incredible jaw-dropping, and the consistencies across so many of their stories. i want to share a quake piece of one interview from one woman you interviewed, virginia roberts, and here's what she said used to happen at epstein's house. >> it ended with sexual abuse and intercourse, and then a pat on the back-- "you've done a really good job," like, you know, "thank you very much, and here's $200." you know, before you know it, i'm being lent out to politicians and to academics and to people that-- royalty-- and people that you just... you would never think, how did you get into that position of power in the first place, if you're this disgusting, evil decrepit person on the inside?

>> reporter: julie, women like virginia lived for over a decade knowing the u.s. attorney alex acosta in this case declined to prosecute the man who abused them. when you first approached them, were they willing to talk to you? >> no, that was probably the hardest part, trying to convince them to trust me because a lot -- as i mentioned there has been a lot written about the case. they have never really spoken publicly because, quite frankly, they felt that their story likely had never been told, so part of what i did was i did some homework on it, i interviewed some sexual assault survivors and some counselors to try to prepare me not to interview them in such a way as to get to the root of their trauma without retraumatizing them, which was a delicate balance. >> reporter: help us understand that because obviously, in your series of reports, you lay out the physical evidence, the witness testimonies everything there was to build a case against

epstein. how do we understand this decision not to prosecute? what do we know about what happened behind the scenes before acosta made that decision? >> we actually know a lot because these girls, after the deal was signed, they filed a federal lawsuit against the government alleging and claiming that they violated the crime victims rights act because they didn't inform these girls of this plea bargain, and they kept it secret and as part of this lawsuit, the government had to turn over a lot of e-mails and letters, and those e-mails and letters showed a pretty collegial relationship between the prosecutors and epstein's lawyers. >> reporter: and we know now the federal judge yesterday said the way the plea deal was signed without notifying victims was illegal. sarah sanders at the white house was asked about that today because as we noted mr. acosta was the labor secretary under president trump and she said

it's something they're looking into. but from the victims' perspectives, what do they want to see happen? what does justice and accountability look like all these years later? >> they really want to see him go to prison. they want to see him punished for the crimes that he committed. we know because of evidence that has come to light over the past several years that he wasn't just doing this in palm beach. he's accused of trafficking girls in new york and other places around the world, and you know, the question that's out there is why haven't federal authorities reopened this case or at least opened a new case in another jurisdiction? and i think that these women feel that prosecutors in the justice department have just worked to help cover up this case rather than expose and, you know, what epstein did and to find some kind of justice for

these girls. >> reporter: a lot of questions still remain. julie k. brown. it's an incredible piece of reporting you've done for the "miami herald." thank you so much for being with us today. >> thank you. >> woodruff: one more news development this evening. president trump announced on twitter that he is nominating ambassador to canada kelly craft as the u.s. ambassador to the united nations. aides to both the president and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell recommended craft for the job. she is a prominent republican donor. as house democrats gear up to fight president trump on his emergency declaration, 2020 democratic hopefuls gain a new challenger in their ranks: senator bernie sanders. for analysis on this and more it is time for shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks.

hello to both of you. >> judy. >> woodruff: so let's talk about, mark what the democrats announced today. they said they were going to do this, but they officially put word out today they were going to vote on tuesday basically just to negate, cancel what the president is trying to do declare a national emergency to find money to pay for a wall on the southern border. is this a smart move? >> is it a smart move? well, it will pass the house. there are 226 co-sponsors right now. nancy pelosi does something well, she does loot of things well, but she knows how to count, and the question is how many republicans. there's one at this point from michigan, but others who will come over. >> woodruff: only one. at this point, that's right. so then it moves to the senate. i mean, i think it's a moment of some truth, reality for republicans. i think susan collins of maine has already indicated her own opposition to the president's position. i think corey gardner of

colorado up for a tough race next year may be another and there may be others as well. i think our system works best when there's a vitality and energy in all branches. i don't think there is any question that this is protecting the institution. i mean, when the president goes ahead and appropriates money that was denied by both the democrats and the republicans in the conference, most recently you know, i think it's a question of prerogative and responsibility and authority. >> woodruff: so, david, do the democrats have a real shot at blocking what the president wants to do? >> no,, because they would have to get a veto-proof majority, and if they get it out of congress, donald trump will veto it. it may pass the senate. there were six or seven, when he declared the emergency, six or seven republicans said i don't likely think it's a good idea, and they may wind up voting against it. if you're going to vote against donald trump about anything, it's the easiest.

you can say it's not about ideology or the wall it's just about congress and the way we -- it's about the constitution. they all took an oath to swear allegiance to the constitution and the constitution says congress has the has the power of the purse. if it was a unanimous vote, it would get 90 votes. but there's a weird -- you know you bug them about. this there's a level of supine passivity, a learned helplessness, where it doesn't even cross the mental barrier that maybe i should buck the president on this one. >> woodruff: you're talking about the republicans. >> yeah. you would have to do studies on mall-treated pets or something, like why don't they get up and do something? but it's not even in their brain register, it's just i go along right now, i just go along. and it's not even a conscious choice anymore. >> woodruff: doesn't have anything to do are w reelection or anything like that? >> of course it does, that's the

animal instinct at play. i think the voters of ohio would understand an occasional vote against the president. there is not an issue a lot will be voting on, it's a procedural issue. >> woodruff: no chance they could override? >> first veto of the president's administration. i don't see a to two-thirds being there. there may be a reach in the house if enough republicans screw up the courage to do so. but i think the mark sanford experience just haunts republicans, it terrifies them. they look over their shoulder, they syesha dose ton wall in the sunshine. mark sanford, the wormer republican governor, congressman from south carolina whom the president just absolutely kind of trashed and endorsed his up to then previously unknown opponent in the republican

primary and mark sanford went to defeat. >> there's one more reason. they have no power now. they gave gave athe power of their leadership to nancy pelosi and mitch mcconnell. so they gave that away a long time ago. they're doubly bound into this learnedthis -- learned helplessness. >> woodruff: benders announced officially this week he's going to run again for president. this time it's a little different. >> it's a lot different, judy. the very same people who wrote bernie sanders off in 2015 in our profession are writing him off again in 2019. bernie sanders is cranky, bernie sanders is not well-groomed bernie sanders just connects with voters. i mean, in the summer of 2015, he on successive nights in port

lrntiond seattle and louisiana -- this is august of 2015 -- drew crowds of 27,500 15,000, and 28,000 into arenas. the idea of a democratic event in los angeles is basically dinner at george clooney's house with stephen speilberg and barbra streisand singing. >> woodruff: well, for some. yeah, but democrats don't do big events, and bernie connected. i just point out he raised $135 million in small contributions. he really changed it. he raised 50 million more than donald trump did in continue contributions. it was a remarkable performance and he did connect. but it is different. he doesn't have a single identifiable flawed opponent at this time. he's competing -- i mean, because donald trump is seen as so vulnerable, every democrat who isn't under indictment or detox is basically running for president. it seems that way. >> woodruff: i mean how

different is this field, david? >> compared to past? it's pretty different. one, it's hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice. you get that moment of excitement, and it's -- it goes away. john mccain caught lightning in a bottle in 2000 and won the nomination later. he was the shiny new penny when running tbenls hillary clinton last time. now there are a lot of people with similar policy positions as bernie sanders. they're younger more diverse, in the case of elizabeth warren, more substantive. it's hard to see the avenue he had before, but you would think a younger, more diverse version of bernie sanders would be the ticket. >> woodruff: and republicans, mark, jumping all over the fact that bernie sanders is a democratic socialist and they say they are happy to point out that there are several of these

democrats, who you mentioned, who are veering in some of the positions they are taking in the direction, republicans say, of socialism. >> i just pointed out to david that catching lightning in a bottle, i don't know if you covered reagan 7 '76 and '80 campaigns -- >> woodruff: david was too young. he was still in grammar school. >> judy creeping socialism, i first heard it when i was nine years old. it was a charge of conservatives, republicans against terrible ideas like social security and medicare and medicaid and national parks and you name it. it's all creeping socialism. it's socialistic until it's accepted and passes and people actually like it enjoy it, it becomes part of their life, and donald trump, in 2016, as you recall, promised not to touch a single grey hair on the head of

social security and medicare. in the capitalistic system with the eight-hour workday and five-day work week, the true believers of capitalism object and yell in pain. but i just think americans are very pragmatic that the idiolog believes it works. most has worked for americans. >> woodruff: you're a long time defender of socialism. >> i am, back to 1948, the communist manifest o. very fine document, by the way. (laughter) it's craziness. i would make a distinction between government that provides a safety net for people when bad things happen to them they can't do anything about when they're born in less fortunate circumstances, so if you want

tax credits, signed sine me up, rage subsidies, i'm for all that, but i think you find americans don't like government taking over large sectors of industry and complicated sectors of our society. when benders has medicare for all, they're going to take away your private health insurance. i think you will find people like private health shorn's. when the green new deal takes over, people will be suspicious that government is competent to do that. so there are two ways the government will be active. it needs to be active in mending inequality and redistributing money for the middle class and working poor. in my view and a loft americans' view, it does not need to be acting in taking over a lot of private sector activity. >> that is not the majority position of the democratic party.

the green new deal is aspirational, i don't think it's pragmatic by any means. when you talk about socialism, people get upset and understandably so. i think you're talking about healthcare as the democrats did in 2018 and the republicans said take it away under donald trump and millions of americans were without healthcare who had it under barack obama. you know, that becomes a different debate than talking about medicare for all. >> what sentence did barack obama say more than any other if you got healthcare, you can keep healthcare, we're not going to change your healthcare. and that's all gone. medicare is now the standard democratic position. >> i really question whether it is, and whether it will be. but, i mean, i don't think -- i think it really is a strong man to do the socialist thing, and -- >> woodruff: there is excitement, though, among some of the younger democrats. >> no question. i mean, i agree on that, but i don't think you can look at the

new green new deal and say i'm going to run on that in iowa in 2020 and be the nominee or be the winner. i just don't think you can. i mean, that's a very pragmatic and practical decision. >> well, kamala harris seems to be. cory booker has made gestures, elizabeth warren. >> i would also point out as peter hart the great pollster said, numbers at this point in any presidential race are the equivalent of being written in wet sand at the ocean's edge. >> woodruff: poll numbers? poll numbers. it's talking about who's ahead and isn't. at this point the last time there was a republican president seeking reelection is george w. bush, the leading democrat was joe lieberman who eight contests later had not won a single delegate. >> woodruff: if we haven't learned to be humble about polls by now --

>> humility is what's recommended. >> woodruff: mark shields david brooks, thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: coming to terms with their identities as young men move through high school is one theme of the hit broadway play, "choir boy." jeffrey brown reports how celebrated playwright tarrell mccraney is busy writing more work r film, television and the stage, as part of "canvas," our regular series on arts and culture. >> brown: the new play "choir boy," is set in a mostly black, all-male boarding school... >> my mother would never! >> brown: young boys yearning and learning to become men. they-- and the play itself-- use music to express joy and sorrow anger and pain.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> it's a play with music, but it's not a musical. i think folks don't even recognize that the young men singing on stage have very little help. there's no orchestra. it's just them singing with each other, making those harmonies. so that in itself is sort of astonishing. but the nakedness of it, the sort of bareness of that is what's always been thrilling about what negro spirituals are. >> brown: the 38-year-old mccraney, author of eight previous plays and winner of a macarthur genius grant, burst onto the national stage as the oscar-winning co-writer of "moonlight," a film based on his own life growing up gay in liberty city, miami. an outsider in his own community and the wider world. in "choir boy," he gives us "pharus," an astonishingly

talented, curious and seemingly confident 16 year old, who happens to be gay. jeremy pope plays pharus in a sensational broadway debut. >> thank drew for letting me live alongside these others boys who don't have a problem displaying ill will towards me. but if i remove one of them from my persons without somebody drawing attention to my swiss or wrist, i need to be put down? >> brown: pharus is a scholarship student with little support from home, hoping for a chance at bigger things through this prestigious school. but this is a place where his sexuality is not acknowledged. >> what is vital to the story, and personal, is that pharus is chosen to do his talent, and to only bring your talent and not to bring the rest of you. and that, i feel like that has been something that has happened to me my whole life. if it's not my blackness, if it's not my queerness--

it's like, just bring the talented part of you, don't but just bring the talent. come do the thing we ask you for and leave the rest at home. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: pharus is a character we don't often see on stage, and certainly not on broadway. for mccraney, he's a modern embodiment of the long but unspoken history of the black church and the music that sustained so many. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> oftentimes the folk who lead us in singing those songs at churches are young queer men. and it's something we don't talk about. it's something we don't mention in public. and sometimes we admonish those same queer bodies, who are often very gifted at singing and preserving that legacy. when i was commissioned to write a play, i wanted to write about what does it mean as a community, the black community, to pass down this legacy, this very treasured legacy, to these bodies that we sometimes often don't even regard as full human

beings. >> i did not kick that mean boy out of the choir because he could sing better than me. >> brown: >> brown: in "choir boy," pharus, still so young, is confronted with painful choices that will play out for the rest of his life. >> if you're from where people like pharus and myself are from the options that are coming before you are limited, in terms of what you can be in life, or what you see that you can be. what you're told that you can be. what infrastructures are there that you can actually achieve. and you have to make those decisions pretty early, because the other options are, here's this drug gang that you can get a part of. >> brown: that's a hard place to be, especially if you're 12 or 14. >> and many young people grow up in that environment even now. i think it's important for me to keep shining a light on that. >> brown: mccraney's writing is now showing up in a variety of forms, including a screenplay for the new netflix film, "high flying bird," by director steven soderbergh. and, a new tv series, titled "david makes man," is in production for the own network, with oprah winfrey and michael

b. jordan as executive producers. in addition to all that, mccraney heads the playwriting department at the yale school of drama. do you see a connective thread in your work? >> oh yeah, for sure. i know that i'm consistently working in a place of love and community, consistently working about black people in particular. only by bringing your full self by only bringing your true idiosyncratic self, the weird parts of you-- i had a professor who'd say: bring yourself, warts and all to the table-- do you get the most out of your art. >> brown: and what is it that you want people to walk out of the theater with? >> when you walk into "choir boy," i hope you walk in hungry for some questions, and then i hope you walk out full of questions. especially about how much room we make for each other. at its root, that's the main question about "choir boy:" how much space can we make for each

other in our community, and our legacy, and our futures? do we make enough space for the people who are different than us? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: "choir boy" runs broadway through march 10. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in new york. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> woodruff: across the country this weekend, many pbs stations will air a black history month special, "an evening with ken chenault," the african american who was chairman and c.e.o. of american express for 17 years. jeffrey brown is back with a preview. >> brown: making history accessible and available to all is the goal of the history-makers, a chicago-based

oral history project collecting the stories of african-americans from all around the world. accessible online, free of charge, the collection includes a range of people, some famous, some not so. president barack obama and his wife michelle, actors marla gibbs and ruby dee, captains of industry like communications mogul kathy hughes and earl graves, and many others have shared their stories. julianna richardson is the organization's founder and joins me now. welcome. >> pleasure to be here. >> brown: tell us first about the idea behind histriel-makers. how do you think about it? >> the goal was really to create the nation's largest african-american video oral history air kiefs. there had been virtually no attempt to record the black experience with the first voice since the w.b.p.a. slave narratives. there were 2400 slaves interviewed in the '30s as part of the w.b.p.a. project. >> brown: i named some well-known names but how do you

pick? >> we're looking for leaders in many ways, but we really look through people's lives to help tell a more complete history of the african-american experience and now we've done 3,200 interviews. >> brown: 3,200. 3,200 interviews in 413 cities and towns across the united states and some abroad. >> brown: so you have one coming up airing on pbs. >> yeah, we're so pleased about that one. >> brown: the businessman ken chenault. >> yes. >> brown: tell us about that one. >> ken chenault, a lot of people don't know his story, though he has been the well-known leader of american express, the c.e.o. he went to harvard law school and was really wanting to practice law. >> brown: and rose to quite a business career. >> oh, quite a business career. >> brown: we've got a short clip. >> what company has tried to focus on is reinvention and transformation, and i feel i

played my part while i was there, but i think what's also important was the commitment that the company had to service which really resonated to me because we only did well if we served people well. >> brown: what have you learned after so many of these conversations and profiles? >> we've learned that the african-american experience is very diverse, a lot more complicated than, you know, we know. a lot of things that people don't know of, like we were recently in alaska, you know and people were laughing, like what about black alaskans? it's too cold up there! but the black alaska story goes back to the mid 1800s. >> brown: yeah. so we've -- i would say that the 20th century is really profoundly impactful. >> brown: one personal note i want to add for our audience is my colleague and gwen ifill was

the long-time host for many years. >> we owe a lot to gwen and miss her still. she was our anjill and interviewed eartha kit and diane carol. >> brown: it meant a lot to her. i remember her telling me about it all the time. >> i think her project is increasingly important in terms of being able to show val you. >> brown: the history-makers julianna richardson. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: how nice to remember that series. gwen, so important to her. and that is the newshour for tonight. don't forget "washington week" later this evening. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday. for all of us at the pbs newshour, have a great weekend. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language program that teaches

real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. babbel's ten to 15 minute lessons are available as an app or online. more information on babbel.com. >> consumer cellular. >> bnsf railway. >> american cruise lines. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> yo

hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> pope francis summons the cardinal to finally get to grips with the church's sex abuse crisis. his ally, cardinal blase cupich, the archbishop of chicago, tells me what they hope to achieve. as new allegations of priest abuse against catholic nuns surface, i'll speak with a former insider about how to bring lasting change. plus -- >> i got divorced. stronger now. >> remaking a classic sit-com for modern times. our alicia menendez speaks to the producer behind "one day at a time."