po captioning snsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newsho" tonight, outrage and disappointment. survivors criticize pope francis for notaking enough action to .onfront sexual abuse in the church then, we are on the ground in venezuel protests to deliver aid turn deadly as vice president pence vows new sanctions, adding pressure to an already embattled president maduro. ry ( translated ): the situation in the cous chaotic, everyday we are worse off. we work three times as hard to live worse. a lot of work, less monedr >> wf: plus amy walter and tamara keith are here with a close look at a busy weekend of 2020 democratic presidential candidates on the trail. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."

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>> american cruise lines. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. pr >> thiram was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thanyou. >> woodruff: president is on his way to vietnam tonight for his second summit with norte korean lkim jong un. the president left today for hanoi.

but he has played down any talk of breakthroughs on getting kim to give up his nuclear weapons. the two leaders first met face- to-face last june in sinpore. as the president left, democrats in the u.s. house of representatives prepared to try to block his national emergency declaration. the emergency would let mr. trump redirect federal money to construct a wall along the mexican border. texas congressman joaquin castro authored the democrats' resolution, and appealed today for support in tomorrow's vote. >> today we ask all members of congress to respect the rule of law with us. ofto respect the separatio powers enshrined in our constitution and to support this resolution. sident is successful in getting his way on this, rest assured he will come back. he will try this again. >> woodruff: meanwhile, 58 former national security

officials from both parties have also written a letter insisting there's "no factual basis" for national emergency to build the wall. the u.s. has ramped up sanctions on venezuela, aimed at president colas maduro's allies. the targets are four state governors who blocked humatarian aid convoys over the weekend. the sanctions came as vice president pence arrived colombia today. he met with president duque and juan guaido, the venezuelan opsition leader. pence promised $ million in humanitarian aid to help venezuela's neighbors handle a flood of refugees. u.s. envoy zalmay khalilzad me today with a taliban founder for the first time ahead of the latest peace talks on afghanistan. khalilzad and mullah abdul ghani baradar sat down in doha, the capital of qatar. a taliban spokeman suggested the meeting would produce results. khalilzad tweeted that it could be "a significant moment."

back in this country: howling winds blasted the mid-atlantic and northeast today, knocking out power to thousands and grounding hundreds of flights. hurricane-force wind gusts piled up mounds of ice along lake erie's shores. in hamburg, new york and elsewhere, the ice threatened lake-front homes. in providence, pennsylvania, people woke up overnight, to the sounds of trees crashing down ei homes. >> we were sleeping in the house. t we hea wind. all of a sudden, we heard a couple branches hit the house. and then just this horrific boom. you heard plaster al the place. gke up to find a tree com through my closet, about three feet off the floor of the bedroom >> woodruff: over the weekend, the same system touched off tornadoes in the south, and triggered widespread flooding. alabama declared an emergency. a former trump campaaffer is suing the president, claiming

that he kissed her without consent. alva jnson says it happened in florida, in august of 2016. she also pointto at least a dozen similar claims against mr. trump. the white house says johnson's accusation is absurd, and that other campaign workers say it never happened. r&b singer r. kelly pleaded not guilty today to multiple charges of sexual abuse. his brief court appearance in chicago followed hisrrest friday. he is accused of abusing four young women and girls, three of whom were under 18. kelly spent the weekend in jail, on $1 million bond. the u.s. military academy west point suspended classes today to address sexual assault and harassment.at after a pentagon survey found reports of assault andnt harassose 50% since 2016. the one-day stand-down included talks to cadd group

toscussions. and, on wall streey stocks managed only small gains, despite president trump's move to delay new tariffs on importsc frna. the dow jones industrial average was up 60 points to close near 26,092. the nasdaq rose almost 27 points. and the s&p 500 added three. still to come on the "newshour," rvivors speak out over lack of action on sex abuse from pope francis, violent clashes in ainezuela over humanitaria the trump adnistration rolls back funding for clinics that provide abortions, and much more. >> woodruff: pope francis endedn nprecedented vatican summit focused on clergy sexual abuse by insisting the catholic church end it's long history of

covering up child sexual abuse. the pope called for an "all out battle," but stopped short offi offering spe after four days of meetings. becky ianni is a board member of the support group "survivors network of those abused by iests." she is also a survivor of childhood clgy sexual abuse herself. being here. what was your main takeaway from these meetings that the vatican hosted? >> that we're in the same situation that we were before it started. we went in hoping that there was goog to berete action. we went in hoping that they were going to come up with a placks and actually -- plan of action and actually take action, but instead they came up with 21 reflection poindt an pope francis on the last day came up with eight guidelines, and one was as simple as what is the seriousness of this problem? as a child of eigwhen i was abused, i knew it was a sin and it was wrong. y don't they know that now?

why does that have to be a guideline? >> woodruff: one to have things that was reported is the pope was using this meeting to try to persuade the bishops and other leaders in the church that they needed to change their approach and become morebl accoun rather tha than ordering this by changing the rules. buzz that the wrong approach at the outset? >> i think the pope has the ultimate authority here. i think he put it back in the hands of of the bishops, but t bishops don't have that authority. the pope can right now today fire a bishopho covers up abuse. he could tell them to turn over all their fil he did neither of those during this conference. he talked about self-accusation, like they're supposed to accuse themselves. i don't think that's going to drk. we have had thrades of dealing with this abuse in the united states, and some of thesj countries art beginning. how many kids are going to be abused while they come up with new procedures? >> woodruff: so was there anything positive thatout of this? i mean, did you hear a higher

les l of consciousn the part of the pope? what did you mary that gives you any truast? >> i sister von cars, one of the sisters who spoke during the summit, andhe spoke to the bishops about how they needed to do something, and seeing a woman speak, to me, was encouraging. i was encouraged to hear -- palled but also encouraged to hear cardinal marks talk about documents being destroyed,nd saying that out loud lead me to is there going to be more transparency? but overall, i don't think much happened. i don't think we cameith anything that's going to protect a child. >> woodruff: well, you mentioned the cardinal sking about documents being destroyed, what was the reaction to that? >> it's ama able acknowledge. >> it is, but i don't think it's a surprise to victims. we aays thought if they're not hiding, they're destroying them, and he also said maybe they were

never documented. so how many times has a survivor gone in and talked to a church official and it doesn't getit n down or put into a file that we can later find? we don't now because they have been so secretive for all these years. >> woodruff: do you think it's realistic to expect this pope with this set of leaders in the church, in the catholic church right now to order them to say we're changing the rules, we're changing the law of the catholic church, and this has to change immediately? >> i don't know that it has to change immedately, but do i think he can take actions right now. he could fire a cardinal, and i ink that would send a message out to all the other cardinals and bishops, you better not cover up abuse, it's not going to be tolerated. i think myal own perspinion is we're going to have to rely on secular authorities. i don't see the church changing anytime soon and i think we're going to have to rely on the attorney generals and law forcement to keep the church accountable. >> woodruff: and you're speaking about the united states now, or are you saying around

thworld is this. >> i think around the world. i think you could say that we need to rely on them. look at the story in venezuela where a deaf onennage, there were so many victims there,nd it wn't the church that exposed and stopped it, it was se government thattepped in. >> woodruff: but how can you be sure that law enforcement is going move in? because, in so many countries, the catholic church is a very, you know, has extraordinary power. >> you know, there are no guarantees, buha you know, we n't seen the church do anything either, and i think that -- i hope the church does w something, bhave not seen the church take actions, and it is worrisome in some of th countries where the catholic officials are so engrained with the police, and forth, but, you know, we as an organization can hope to continue to hold them accountable and to do what we can to protect children. >> woodruff: and just veryic y, are you and others in your organizations, other organizations o represent survivors speaking now to the

vatican to let them know what you think out this meeting? >> yes, and we sent pope francis a letter before it started and weutlined five things that we wanted him to do. and, so, he hair has those five things, and we would like to see him still do them. >> woodruff: beckthem. >> woodruff: becky ayani, network of those rviving abuse by priests. thank you very much. >> thank you for having m >> woodruff: as we reported, vice president pence was in colombia today to press thcase against nicolas maduro, the manb running co's starving neighbor to the east: venezuela. confrontations on the border between the countries erupted ast weekend as what was political fight over humanitarian aid bece violent. th support of the pulitzer center, special correspondent

nadja drost and videographer bruno federico have been reporting from venezuela for us the last two weeks and they were in ureña, venezuela saturday. it's b the struggle between maduro, and juan guaido, the opposition tional assembly leader t u.s. recognizes as rightful president of venezuela. >> reporter: the town of ureña on the border with colombia, was the front line on saturday in the battle between the two leaders for control of venezuela. and the weapon of choice: humanitarian aid for the so-called "women in white," pacifist demonstrators who've helped lead protests throughout the country, their mission was ear. >> ( translated ): the plan today is to reach e heart of the military. if the military don't consent, ifhey don't see in us the reflection of their mothers, daughters, wives, of whoever suffers, we will have to use force.

lo>> reporter: they're folng a plan devised by the man they now consider their president, juan guaido: try to peel away support of president nicolas maduro from the military to allow aid into the country. and that meant going up against the national guard, military and police sent in the hundreds to guard the three bridges. >> ( translated ): we've had so much taken away from us, to the point th we don't have fear. >> reporter: but the women in white had little chance to make it to the heavily guarded bridge. by early morning, clashes had already broken out between protestors and the national guard. as protestors push down, and the national guard come forward, the confrontations have turned violent,ith rocks and molotov cocktails thrown from one side, and met with tear gas and rubber bullets from the other. but no matter what happe today, protestors say they are

determined to reach the bridge to help bring humanitarian aid across the bridge venezuela. among them was a member of the opposition-held national assembly, joaquin aguilar. >> ( translated ): the goal is to reach the bridge and allow the entrance of humanitarian aid, to break the barrier of repression that the regime of nicolas maduro is imposing on the venezuelan people. >> reporter: as the national guard took to the streets and started firing at protestors with rubber bulls, many of them were rescued by mobile units of volunteer nurses and brought to the nearest safe house before being transferredhi toprivate health clinic opening its doors to anyone injured. by noon, volunteer doctor solaris medina reported 40 injuries of protestors, all by rubber bullets. end of day, the tally had reached 150 for that clinic alone. on the colombian side of that bridge, one truck carrying american-donated aid inched into venezuelan territory before it burst into flames. it was unclear how the

started, but opposition leader juan guaido blamed maduro for the fire. the searing image the latest in what has become ovviolent fight aid in the country. while the opposition blames maduro for not allowing shipments food and health suppes donated by the u.s.-- seen by the maduro's government as their numbee enemy-- the government says the rt to force in aid is a form of foreign intervention and threat to sovereignty. >> ( translated ): if a person wants to bring across goods, they have toe subject to inspection by authorities. what can not be permitted-- no country would do this, least of all the u.s.-- is to open a passage, and open the way to whatever may be. >> reporter: after guaidoed himn january 23, the military did not rally to his side as he hoped. aid then became a mechanism to force the military into a corner: either disobey maduro and let the aid pass, or prevent it, with the repressive tactics the government is known for. while the venezuelan red cross has offered to administer i

whatever as in the country, it has refused to participate in an operation where alleged political motivations eclipse humanitarian ones. >> ( translated ): if we participate in an activity ofti pozed aid, we are straying from our fundamental principles. the trust that we are acting with impartiality andde ndence are the principles that guarantee us access to communities.no >> reporter: est and political victor alvarezj is concerned the outbreak of violence over aid could become the pretext for more violence. ( translated ): this reaction of violent repression can plant a seed in international public opinion that in venezuela therea is a blo, and so that could justify a military intervention from other countries.fe that is the . >> reporter: following the outbreak of violence on the idrder, guaido was in bogota today with vice prt pence at a meeting of regional nations, almost all of which have demded maduro leave. jesus farias, a member of the

government party said this is the latest in a long string ofti u.s. provos: >> ( translated ): when they talk about dialogue, the only dintogue there is that presi nicolas maduro should go. first it's said in tted states, and then it's said here. what is the justification?" we don't want to prolong the suffering of venezuelans," but you're ready for there to bear and a military intervention? that doesn't generate suffering? >> reporter: earlier this month, president donald trump announced a new series of broad sanctions againezuela that included tough measures against the country's all-important oil industry: asset seizures and export sanctions that could cost it $11 billion in lost oil revenue. despite offers of aid from the u.s., the sanctions are expectei to nearly rate the nduntry's ability to import much-needed foodedication. hyperinflation has meant that average venezuelans caford to buy medication, driving this woman to beg for antibiotics on a cas roadside.

her son has spina bifida and club foot. once able to get medication, now she needs any help she can get. and her needs supersede politics. >> ( translated ): what i think is, my mind is totally blocked. i don't speak, say anything, opinionate. and i can't say i won't receiv help, i always accept whatever help i get. >> reporter: maduro continues to deny a humanitarian crisis, but it is clear that venezuelans are in de need of food and inside the public hospital in the border town of san antonio de tachira, the corridors and rooms are largely empty. patients either don't come because they know the hospital can't to treat them,r they cross to colombia. dr. william bahoque shows entire units of the hospital that have been closed. >> ( translated ): a lot of patients arrive in a serious state, and they die on the way here because even the ambulances aren't properly equipped to attend to a patient in a grave state. and then here, a lot of people die because we don't have the necessary equipment nor medical

supplies to stabilize them.>> eporter: doctors here often ask patients to buy their ownl medicapplies.s thousandof venezuelas walk across the bridge into colombia every day. t situation in the country is chaotic. every day we are worse off. hope of prospering, let alone surviving, in their country, everyday we are worse off. we work three times as hard to live worse. a lot of work, less money. er reporter: edwin perez and his family traveled 4 hours to arrive at th vital crossing. as a bus driver, along with his wife, a nurse, they can't make ends meet. this family may make their way to peru, but they have no idea where to go after they css the bridge. edwin's wife, niurys yeguez: >> ( translated ): we are risking practically everything. we left it all behind: our house, our work, our car. just to leave everything suddenly because you can't get what you need.'s o upsetting.

>> reporter: one day after their crossing maduro closed all lande bordering other families who could not flee with no options. for the pbs newshour, reporting with bruno federico, i'm nadja drost in urena, venezuela. woodruff: a new rule from the trump administration would change what kinds of famniy pl clinics can receive federal funding. it is being celebrated by conservative anti-aborti groups and raising alarms among abortion rights groups. e william branghlains: >> reporter: the rule change involves title 10, the federal program providing birth control and reproductive health care to an estimated four million low inco women. the new rule says any group receiving title 10 money has to be physicay and financially separate from any group that provides or refers women for abortions.

the change is expected to the administration and conservative groups counter that they simply want to support centers that put greater emphasis on ratufamily planning and abstinence counseling. start with first of two views. doreen doreen is senior director of government relations for erconcerned women of aica. welcome to the "newshour". >> thank you. >> reporter: so i knw your organization was strongly supportive of this rule chan why do you think it was a good idea? >> it's important to realize the title 10 program from inception made it clear abortion is not a method of family planning. this rule is another opportunity to make that statutory restriction a reality, and i think it's important that peoplt understand tha family planning program, the contraception, the education, the other screenings, the other things that are really important for women and low-income women,

for any woman, will continue to be the bedrock of that who is all about. and, so, we're now going to be in a place where organizations that may have commingled those ttivities are going to ha make a choice. >> the main organization you're talking about he is planned parenthood. they'd argue that this is an attempt to zero them out, and they argue that what happens to all the other services th they provide in communities with lots of low-income women, are there enough groups that could fill the gap if they suddenly have to go away? do you worry that's a possible concern? >> well, i don't worry because, right now, we have federally-qualified healther centers all he country that could be a part of this tiogram and do provide services through thee ten program. we have other organizations that have applied and maybe they haven't been the ones that have been selected but a just as qualified. rememb, this is a small amount

of federal dollars, you know, considering the amount of health services that go out for family planning in communities, whether through the states or other organizations. >>eporter: do you think th organizations -- some of the organizations you're describing mighbe some of thes so-called crisis pregnancy centers which really try to talk women out of having an abortion. do you think tase orgnizations should have ac access to federal money? >> wl, i think it's all typ of providers that want to serve women and do what's best for their health and well being and the health of their child would be a part of this program. i don't necessarily either -- would even characterize them as talking women out of abortion. i think we want to provide reali honest infor about what abortion is and, unfortunately, i think that planned parenthood has made abortion the bedrock of their siness and, because of that, that's just what they do, and that's wha they're known for, but it may not be the right thing for every woman who mayb is in an unintended pregnancy

situtlion. but the ten program needs to be very clear in its mission, and its mission is to provide family planning services that do not consider abortion a method of family planning. >> reporter: as you say, abortion isn't the right thing for every single woman, but, under these rules, any organization that receives federal money can't talk about abortion at all, can't provide abortion at all, can't even mention it, and do you really think that that isov ing for a woman an wcurate and appropriate representation ofhat she should choose for herself? >> well, i don't think, william, you've actually accurately, you tow, suggested that -- well, you maintat they couldn't even talk about it, and that's just not the case under ths,e ruo let me be clear about that. >> reporter: page 19 says a title ten project may not perform, promote, refer for or support abortion as a method of family planning nor take any other affirmative action the assist a patriotic to securer such an abtion. >> well, that's true in terms of referring to a clinic that does

abortion. they're not required to do that any longer. that is something they were required to do, but it doesn't preclude them from counseling on abortion if a woman would want to know about abortion as an option. that's very important and it's important to say that because planned parenthood has said there is a gag order rule hereth an's just not true. counseling for abortion can still take place -- >> reporter: only if a woman comes in and says, i want to have an abortion, though. >> if she asks for info about that, and then the clinic could also say, you know, we don't have that as a part of what we do, and she can find another location that can. i men, there are many wa of finding that information this day and age about places and what they. do we all have the internet, so that's always a poibility. >> reporter: doreen doreen, concerned women of america, thank you very much. >> thank yo william. >> reporter: as we discussedis ule change will have a big impact on planned parenthood. that organization does perform abortions in addition to other

health servings. joining me is dr. leana n, the president of planned parenthood. dr. wen, thank you very much for being here. i'm curious, you'vrd this conversation and the supporters of this rule change. what is your reaction? >> my reaction is that we have to talk about the real impact of e title ten gag rule and who it will impact, which is four *+ million women and families with low income. title ten was intended to serve those who orthowise would have trouble accessing healthcare. e,'s families with low incom it's people who live in rural areas, it's people who don't have health inse'rance, andre talking about breast and cervical canceouscreenings, s.t.i. and h.i.v. tests, about preventative care, affordable birth control, and the titan ten gagou ruleld dismeant the safety net program, and the impact is going to be putting women's healthcare at risk all across the country. for so many patients who rely on title ten, we are their onlyea

sources ofthcare. >> reporter: but supporters of this believe if funding goes the other organizations that those other organizations will fill the gap and take up the other servicous worry will disappear. >> but that's not what the evidence and sciencw us. we know that, when people cannot go to their provider of choice, they delay care or go without care altogether. we saw what happened in texas when politicians forced planned parenthood health centers to goes, and f30,000er women got access to healthcare. in iowa, when o health centers were forced to close, again because of restrictive laws tha politicians passed, we saw that the rates ofexually transmitted infections skyrocketed. this is about people's lives. in this country, we have he unmet need, and what this title ten gag rule does is to punish those who already face a disproportionate barrier whent comes to healthcare. >> reporter: if this rule changeoes forward and youre required to be financially andly

physiceparate, what would that mean to planned parenthood clinics all over the country? >> i want to talk abut what this means for patients, for peop's healthcare and what it means for patient rights, because the title ten gag rule so has a gag which is to prroibit doctors and nursesm telling our patients full and accurate medical iormation. that compromises the oath that i took when i became a doctor. you can'be telling patients, well, i can't give you referrals, go look at the internet yourself. i mean, that's just not appropriate. it's preventing us. it's having president trump and the trump adminidoration telling ors what we can and cannot tell our patients about their alth options. that's why over 100 physician and public health groups oppose this gag rule, including the american medical association, the american nurse's thsociation, and it is somg that we as planned parenthood will not stan.d for

>> reporter: dr. wen, if the rule proceeds as planned, though, what might that mean for clinics? would u have to simply forgo that money or would you go through the process of trying to somehow disentangle your facilities financially and physically? >> planned parenthood will notag acceptd funds. we will never enforce our nurses and physicians to censor themselves, and we would never ask patients to come to a health center that provides them with inclute and inaccurate medical information. that's just not who we are. if the title ten gag rule were implemented, we know that fewer health centers would acceptnd these and, as a result, its patients are going to suffer because patients wll not have access to the care that they need. we as planned parenthood, thgh, will fight back thrugh every avenue because it's our promise to our patents that we will be here for you. >> reporter: dr. leana wen,

president of planned parenthood, thank you very muc >> thank you. >> woodruff: it is a crowded group of >> woodruff: it is a crowded group of democrats vying to take n president trump in 2020. the road to the oval office gins n a handful of key primary states, and the ndidates are already out in full force. s it is a questionovering over this democratic 2020 field, whether you're elizabeth warren stping over the weekend in new hampshire or exactly comal s in iowa. how to balance appealing progressives in the party versus the moderate today warren, a senator from massachusetts made her own stand on her own campaign financing. she says she's swearing off fancy reception or big-money tuned raisers only with people who can writthe big chec.

the broader politicainflnce is part of her pitch. >> the time has come that we have to acknowledge that a vernment that works only for the rich and powerful the corrupt. >> woodruff: harris, a senator from calfornia, spent her weekend in iowa, in a cnn interview, she distanced herself from a label some in her party are embracing. >> in terms of where i am, who i am, i am a progressive democrat. i am a democrat, a proucrd de, i'm not a socialist. >> woodruff: the first caucus state also got to see former housing secretary juliaán castro for the first time as a candidate, as well as hawaii congresswoman tulsi gabbard. two other declared cllengers, minnesota senator amy klobuchar d new jersey center cor booker made stops in other states holding early contests, south carolina and nevada

respectively. it was an active weekend, too, for other democrats who could in the race eventually. ohio senator shard brown visited nevada, bill deblasio was in iowa, and so were michael bennett and former governor john hickenlooper from colorado. hickenlooper told democrats a governor like him might be a better fit for the white house. >> i think a lot of peoplen congress arereat up at comng up with vision at debating the issues. we need dreamers and debaters. i'm a doer. >> woodruff: he and other would-be candidates have said they could reach their final decision tune. and that brings us to "politics monday" with amy walter of the coop"cook political rt" and the host of politics with amy walter on wync radio and tamara keith of npr, she co-hosts the nrp politics podcast. hello to both you have.

it's politics monday. we mentioned ten candidates, we may have left somebody out. our apologies, if we could. help us understand, what a candidates trying to do at this stage of the campaign. it's late february. t right. so it's early. there are important things to be done this early on. i ons testing out your message, working on,e intcting with voters, figuring out who you a and answering the question why are you running for president. also they're trying to sfferentiate them srveli trying to find a way to rise up in what is already an incrfiibly largd and likely growing. >> it's so early. i don't remember it being thisac crowded anve and this early to have this many candidates going into places like iowa and south carolina and to have the lines getting into some of these events snaking around the corner a yearrom the primary. eth just goes to show you howat serious demo voters in those states or voters who are

interested in looking at these democratic candidates are. aam, sorry, you have -- it's little bit like spring training. you're trying out all youren diffpitches and seeing what works and what doesn't, but it's because you have a wide-open field. there is really no obvious frontrunner. joe biden starts off the top of all the polls in large part because he's the bestid-known cae in field. there's no guarantee his standing on top of the polls icks once we get the whole field in place and the campaigns really start. and tam made the point about everyby is trying to find their lane. democratic voters are trying to figure out what they want. do they want the most liberal candidate? do they want the candidate who's most likely to beat donald trump? do they want a pragmatic progressive? do they want a doer? a dreamer, as john hickenlooper said, and there's everything and a lot in between for voters. >> woodruff: so, tam, arehey

differentiating themselves? this is a finding your way with the blindfold on enterise, isn't it? >> well, it is a little bit. so elizabet elizabeth warrenas a cup of the things to differentiate her she's put out plans for a couple of items, a wealth tax, a childcare plan, and she's talking about fundraising and not taking money from big money donors. at the same time you having other candidate fferentiating themselves on policies but also sheer numbers, on their ability to raise money. bernie sanders came out of the gate with this block busting fundraising number, kamala harris has a big number and amy klobuchar had pretty solid first-day number as well. woodruff: what you both are saying is they're testing the waters. they don't know which one of these is going to appeal the most. that's right. mean, we've talked about this before and i'm sure we're going to talk about it again, when you listen to primary voters right now, either in polling or

talking to themne-on-one, this idea about somebody who can beat donald trump goes to thethop of list, ahead of everything else. now, can beat donald ump or most electables is in eye of the beholder. one democratic strategist says their favorite candidate is the most electable. but what's unique is the president himself wiget involved in these primaries. >> woodruff: you think? you think s? right, he will be live-tweeting these debates, and we've never seen anything li that. so voters are actually going to get a chance to see how their favorite candidate really matches up with donald trump before they're the nominee. >> woodruff: really does stand up to him.d, am, this conversation, we heard a little bit of that from cam cam -- from kamala harris, e they democratic socialists where bernie sanders, is the complete posite of that? do they need to differentiate

themselves in that regard right now? bethe president is already pointing to all democrats and saying they're all socialists. >> and president trump has madea it very that he would love to run against socialism, and not the way bernie sanders defines it or the way democratd wofine it in terms of, you know, medicare for all or some of these other social programs. he wants to run against red socialism, and he, is i mean, looking forward to it. and democrats are still work on their answer. bernie sanders has been answering it for years, and other democrats are trying toow figure out to not repeat the word "soialist" while saying what they believe in policy-wise or how to define socialism. one fascinating thing is younget voters tehave less negative views about the term "socialism "than older voters.

>> woodruff: amy, have you heard democrats come up with a formula that basically inoculates them against this republican charge? >> there are also democrats who say this attack on socialism c ju't going to work. you know, i remember back in 2016 when a t of us, me, probably, said, you know, voters are going to be repelled by a republican candidate like donald heump who says the things says about immigrants, abouslt s, about women -- actually, that didn't matter as much. in 2018it was nancy pelosi is the boogie person, and we're going to push away voters from democrats by using her name a lot, by attaching nancy pelosi to all these democratic candidates to portray them as far too liral and out othe mainstream. so the best-laid plans, these eas about howou are going to position, but it goes to the heart of what the white house strategy is for 2020, which is

it's not really about the president meeting the aters where th in the middle, it's pushing moderate voters away from demobcraty calling the demoats out too -- too out of step. >> woodruff: quickly, do we see the formation of wt president trump's argument is going to be? >> yeaar this is the stages of it, but when you hear him starting to say finish the wal instead of build the war, that's 2020. when you hear him talking about socialism in a state of the union address, that's 2020. >> yeah, absolutely, and hoping thatn still talk about a good economy and checking a loft of boxes off which ishy you're hearing about a china deal and north korea all this week. >> woodruff: i delivered on all the things i said i was going to. >> correct, correct. >> woodruff: amy walter, tamera keith, thank you. >> you're welcome.

>> woodruff: it was a night to celebrate the best of film. and it came at a moment when hollywood is evaluating how to promote diversity. a the 91st acawards showcased the triumphs, but eksn't without controversy. in recent we sat down with a number of the nominees. amna nawaz is re to take a laok at the ceremony, part of "canvas," our regur arts and culture series. ( applause ) >> regina king! >> reporter: a host-less night at the oscars with winners that spannerace, gender and ltures. the four main acti awards went to mahershala ali for "green book." >> oh my god >> reporter: rami malek for his portrayal of queen's lead singer freddie mercury in "bohemian rhapsody." and regina king for "if beale street could talk," based on edmes baldwin's novel of a love story nearly destry racism and hate in 1970s new york. >> remember, love is wha brought you here.

and if you have trusted love this far, don't panic now. >> reporter: king spoke with the newshour about the film earlier this month. >> it is, as a black american, just a reminder of how resilient, you know, we are, when you look at our history, and that love is a universal thing, love pushing through trauma. >> reporter: olivia coleman took home her first oscar for best actress in "the favourite." and ruth e. carter and hannah beachler became the first african-american women to win best costume and produion sign respectively for "black panther." carter spoke to the newshour about wanting to showcase the tiversity of black culture, blended with futurthemes. >> this was an opportunity to take, you know, th tafro-future aesthetics of africanpo dias and infuse it into this culture, and bring it to life in that way >> oh! >> rorter: and winning his first academy award, director

spike lee. for "blackkklansman,hich a black detective goes undercover an infiltrate the ku klux in the 1970s. the ceremony also reached across cultures. >> he would remind me of a great xhosa phrase: "abelungu abazi ubu ndiyaxoka." >> reporter: comedian trevor noah, who's from south africa, played an inside joke in his native tongue xhosa, pretending e say one thing but actually saying, "white peon't know i'm lying." >> ya se puede hablar español en los oscars. >> reporter: and spanish speakers celebrated their recognition, too. >> muchas gracias a mexico. >> reporter: alfonso cuarón won best director, cinematography and foreign film for "roma," a semi-autobiographical depiction of his childhood in 1970s mexico. while viewers saw wider representation within the winners and the films themselves, the academy did not go without criticism-- namelyfo r the best picture winner "green book." spike lee and others slammed the award, calling the film a too familiar story of a white person saving a black person from

peril. we turn now to two of our frequent guides to the movies: mike sargent is chief film critic of wbai radio and co-president of the black film critics circle. and, ann hornaday, chief film critic for "the washington post." welcome back to you both.wi let's star the "green book" which is where our piece left off. a couple of the headlines coming out of last nighrt's mony. this proves hollywood is still a cork for white siors, another headline why doos cars, keep falling for racial reconciliation faint sissments there's an argument to be made maybe the "green book" wasn't maybe the best pick. what do you think of that conversation? >> i think it a little overloaded. it's an honest movie. c's a buddyomedy about, you know, two men traveling in the jim crow south, so, obviously, it is abod racism, racial reconciliation, but i don't think it ever s b out the answer to those things or to, you know, to cure racsm or to,

you know, i think lot of vitriol is sort of centered around it that it maybe never really deserved. it's a small movie with modest aspirations, very much elevated by its two strains perfmaes from the main stars. it's a family comedy. it's a pg-13 movie you can take your entire family to so it's important to bear in mind what a movie is trying to achieve ands judge it on te merits rather than what we're bringing to it. >> reporter: what do you bring the criticism, they say some of the facts were bent to fit av good narr that's not anything new in hollywood. is t criticism fair, you think? >> you have to look it from two fir seskts. ive a blacm critic. i know i'm in the minority. i love the film, but in't know another black critic who did, they all hate it and for all the tropes, the mike savior,

the magical negro, all that, and i understand it and they're all valid point, but i think the problem here is not that it's not historically accurate, but this is not the don shirley story. sure, don shirley is more interesting than nick, but it's not about that. it's about when these two men meet, the relationship they had and the affect they had on each other. this is not a film for black folks. it's a film for white fols, and a film that the criticism has been that it spoon feeds racism. you kn dw what, youo have to spoon feed racism to people who don't see it or who don't necessarily acknowledge it. >> but i will want to add that the audience i saw it with was makessed audience and everyone in the room was enjoying it. >> oh, i saw it with friends anv they it. >> i think the american viewer responded incredibly positive to this flm, and even especially older people who do remember that time have said, even though it's idealized and

sentimentalized, that it does -- you know, it has something to contribute to our understanding of that history, especially when you think of bringing young people in and just getting them started this road to understanding, you know. >> reporter: let me ask you, a lot of headlines out of this last night had to do with a celebration ofit dive a number of firsts took place on stage, a number of people weus don't ally see walking across the oscar stage. one of the points we wereg talkout earlier, one to have the diversity angles that hasn't gotten a lot of atntion was the fact the movie centers is story of an indigenous domestic worker. how organic it felt to have som many people frdifferent countries. it was a very global oscars this ar and i think that'sa direct effect of the new members that have been coming into the ademy over the past few years,

we focus opened race and gender but it's become a much more international organization and cosmopolitan, and i think they're pulling their lens back in a really great way to find film and cinematic stories everywhere, and from a whole bunch of people. just seeing hannah bechler and ruth e. carter up there, and all these visions and voices, they're not there because of what they are, they are there because a what they maked the specific talons and visions they brought to that hope, and i hope that's what we're all going for. >> reporter: the fact that alfoo cuaroón won last night moans that five of the last sixt irector oscars have been won by mexican film-makers, which is sort of extraordinary in and of its . at the same time you look at representation in hollywood.u. l.a. was an annual report looking at hollywood diversity based on 2 t7 films inir

latest 2019 report. but you look at who's represented in all film roles, only 5% of all film roles were for latino characters, vastly undeepresented when it come to people on the screen. how do you reconcile the two stories? >> by nominating "roma," nominating it in multiple tegories and by the few directors that are there giving them a lot of accolades and acknowledging they do great work. that's the onlyay to acknowledge it. or reconcile it. the academy reflects hollywood in genera they said it's an mostly olderwh e male clufnlt well, that's who's running hollywood. it's only beginninto change, and that's why we're seeing the nominations we're seeing. if you lookt the amount of people in the best picture who were people of color who directed these films, that's a

first. ruth carter, that's a first. the director of spiderman into theve spide, that's airst. mahershala ali winning two oscars, only denzel has done that. it's glass half empty or ful. >> reporter: what the futureos e oscars will hold, mike sargent, ann hornaday, thank you. >> woodruff: questions of race and power are obviously not limited to the movies. in tonight's "brief but spectacular," we hear from cultural theorist, author and professor brittney cooper. she calls on us to look at the past during this black history month and recognize change should not always be gradual. cooper recently came out with " new book, "oquent rage: a black feminist discovers her

superpower."la >> i'm a feminist, capital b, capital f. i'm unapologetic black and i'm unapologetic a feminist. and look, depending on what circles you're in, it's hard to be both those things at the same time. but, i think that being both those things is the that will save us. if time had a race, it would be white. white people feel like they own time and control history and there's a way that even if you go back to the early westernha philosopherseverybody loved, my least favorite is george know, "africa is no historic part of the world." ,so, in the 1700s and 180 various groups of white, european men got together and justecided that africa didn' matter in the span of world history. i mean, talk about havg some cojones. time has a history and so do black people. and part of the reason we have, for instance, black history month in this country is because we literally he to make the argument that black people have actually done things that are

n significant to the creat the nation-state, and it turns out if we didn't have things like black history month, apparently people would not believe that black people were actually significant historical actors. we keep on re-litigating basically the 1860s in this country. we have racial animus the likes of which we have not seen in my lifetime. a resurgence of law enforcement engaging black folks in ways that are often deadly and often with impunity. white people dictate pace of social inclusion. and they do so by saying, "we'll get there. why are you trying to push us so fast?" that kind of pushing back the e ock, which is a phrase that we use all me, is a way in which those in power like to say to those of us who don't havewe power, "e going to determine not only what you get, but when you get it."at and s the critical difference between young activists who are in the street saying "change it no change it today! we don't want your gradualism." th remind me of the debate over slavery in this country and

ending slavery. in the 1800s, there were gradualists who said, "n"we want tolavery, but we want to do it in steps. so, we'll free you, but you know, can you work 10 years? can we sort gradually phase you out of slavery?" and there were others who said"" we're going to pass this amendment and at that mont, you will be free." and for those of us who continus uggle, the white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchapower structure, mediate freedom is what we want. gradualism does not serve us. there is a truth-telling that happens at that nexus ofd blackness minism. at that space of having to work twice as hard to get half as far, which is a black proverb, at that space of knowing that so often, you can be the dopest chick in the room and i'll give it to the mediocre white man in the room. putting those things together gives you a clarity and a vision about where we can go if we stop oppressing black folks and women and gender non-conforming folk. h d so, black feminism taught me

that and it can teu that, too.pe i'm brittney cand this is my brief, but spectacular take on my eloquent rage. >> woodruff: you can watch additional "brief but spectacular" episodes on our website, pbs.org/newbrief. r forhat's the newsh tonigh i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see yo soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, ke spanish, french, german, italian, and more. ssonsl's 10-15 minute are available as an app, or online more information on babbel.com. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular.

>> american cruise lines. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> supported by the john d. andn catht. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. anbsby contributions to your station from viewers like you.u. thank captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you'

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -today, on "america's test kitchen," we're cooking sous-vide. dan makes bridget perfect seared steaks. k adam reveals his top p for sous-vide machines, and elle and julia reveal the sects to perfect soft-poached eggs. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kiten."