caning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: gjud evening, i'm woodruff. on the newshour tonight, moreee than two after the deadly 737 crash, questions remain about pilot training and boeing's relationship with the f.a.a. then, brexit on the brink-- pre minister theresa may agrees to step down if parliament passes her deal to leave europe. plus, an unorthodox idea to fight climate change, and cool the warming planet, but could it work? >> geoengineering seemed like a bit of a crazy ide but there was a taboo and i uink taboos are unhealthy and my view is we shouerstand it better to see just how crazy it really is. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com. >>upporting social trepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing countries.

on the web alemelson.org. >> supported by the erhn d. and cae t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> a with the ongoing suppor of these institutions: >> this program was made possib by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: battle lines are being drawn in washington in a renewed battle over health care. president trump underscored today that his administration b wik a court fight to kill obamacare. he spoke as he met with the wifa of venez opposition leader, and he lauded a legal challee by states to the

affordable care act. >> we think it will be uphel i we thiwill do very well in the supreme court. and if the supreme court ruless that obamacaret, we will have a plan that is far better than obamacare. >> woodruff: last december, a federal judge in texasawuled in thatit, and invalidated the entire a.c.a. this week, the trump justice department asked a federal appeals court to uphold that ruling. but senate minority leader chuck schumer pushedack today, from the senate floor. >> if the republican party wants to be, in donald trump's words, the party of healthcare, god help the middle class. god save the middle class. god save people withti disabi. god save the hundreds of millions with preexisting nditions. >> woodruff: senate democrats are now pushing to bar the instice department from he to dismantle the affordable care act. president trump demanded today that russian troops leave

venezuela, and he said, "all options are open," if they don't. some 100 russian soldiers arrived in venezuela over the weekend. moscow backs president nicolas maduro's regime. the u.s. supports the opposition leader's claim to power. british prime minister theresa may has announced she will step down early, if parliament approves her brexit plan for leaving the european union. she gave no specific date. lawmakers have twice rejecteds maan, and today they held we'll get the details, later in the program. in mozambique, the first cases of cholera were conftoday, after a tropical cyclone ravaged the country. authorities reportedcases in the port city of beira, which was all but leveleby the storm. emergency responders quickly began efforts to contain the deadly disease, which spads through contaminated water and food. a zambiqan health official warned the country should brace for much worse. >> when you have one case you

have to expect that you will have more cases in the community. therefore, the health workers c are there in tmunities, work in the communities, how to organize them, how tprevent, how to treat water and everything to prevent the spread of the cholera. >> woodruff: the world health organization has warned of a "second disaster" if a cholera outbreak spreads. back in this country, a neo-nazi supporter, james fields, pled guilty today to federal hate crimes, in a deadly car attack in charlottesville, virginia. it happened at a white nationalist rally in 2017. fielled heather heyer and injured dozens when he drove hir car into courotesters. a state court already convicted him of murder. the pittsburgh city council voted today for new gun-controlr me, including curbs on military the move follows last year's massacre of 11 worshippers at s

the tree of liagogue. the bills are set for a final vote next week, but ghts supporters say they will challenge the measures in court. the head ou.s. customs and border patrol is warning that a surge of migrants hapushed the agency to its breaking point. kevin mcaleenan confirmed today that 750 agents are being reassign to deal with the influx. he said he's hoping to prevent new tragedies. >> with these numbers, withse these illnwe're seeing at the border, i fear it's just a matter of time. continued inaction by congress is going to continue to put people at risk-- the vulnerable migrants on the journey in mexico as they cross our border in increasingly hot weather,nd our own personnel. >> woodruff: the agency says it detained 3,700 migrants on monday alone, the highest one- day total in a decade. a federal judge in washingtonoc has d work requirements

for medicaid recipients in arkansas and kentucky. the federal-state program provides health care for the poor.ju the found today that work requirements pose obstacles to receiving care, and that officials have not addressed that problem. education secretary betsy devos today defended her calnd federal funding for the special olympics. she said the organization gets matr private support, and t other programs need federal money more. devos sought the same cut for the last two years, without success. this time, it sparked a storm on social media and fro congressional democrats. on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average lost 32 points to close at 25,625. the nasdaq fell 48 points, and, the s&p 500 slipped 13. and, the search is on for the grave of anne bradstreet, the first published poet in north america.

she became a sensation with a 1650 book of poetry, but her burial site was lost to history. professors and students at merrimack college in massachusetts hope to find it in nearby north andover, and help to restore bradstreeplace in american literature. r:ill to come on the newsh lingering questions still surround the boeing crash in ethiopia.p the trministration's policy agenda now that the mueller investigation is over. a surprising plan to combat climate change, and much more. so >> woodruff: boeinht to reassure the aviation industryng and the flublic today that s is sufficiently fixing its air control syst the 737 max jets that are suspected to have played a role in two recen plashes.

the company said it is close to submitting softwe updates to the f.a.a. for review thiseek. this all comes more than two weeks since a 737 max operated by ethiopian airlines crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 on board. and, as amnaawaz tells us, it came as the acting head of the f.a.a. was called before a senate subcommittee this afternoon for a hearing. >> nawaz: senators pursued several lines of inquiry onti qus now part of the national conversation. were there adequate safety inspections for the 737 max initially by regulators? are the regulators too close to the industry itself? and have cost considerations affected safety? we're going to look at all of that as well as what boeing pledged. the aerospace giant said the flight control system, which has been suspected of pushing the max jets downward in those crashes, will now be triggered by two sensors instead of just one.it maneuvering of the plane will not be as dramatic. and there will be some newco

uter training for pilots too. our own aviation specialist, les o'brien, has been watching all of this and joins me from san francisco. miles, good to talk to you. you heard what boeing has now proposed. do those proposals quiet the concerns? >> it's going to help, amna. and i think this ida tht only one sensor was feeding that software, which could, in effect, take control of the aircraft and send it into a nose dive was a fundamental flaw. that's a sine-int failure, and so insisting that two sensors can check each oher, feed that system, and that if there's a discrepancy, it can discount that, say key factor. also, one of the things that pilots assume in these cases is that if they pull bak on the bke, the wheel, in that situation, they' able to over-ride what the system is doing to the aircraft. in this case, the mcas system that was designed as this anti-stall measure may have had a little too much authority.

they comuldn't oveit. so i think this will help. it will quiet some fears. we have to watch to see how this is implemented. it will take some time before it's fully brought on aboarto the fleet. >> nawaz: miles, there are some questions on pilotto training. there was a recent report that sparked concern in the simulated recreation of the lion flight, pilots had less an 40econds to react and over-ride the system. what did you hear about pilot traini that addresses that concern? >> well, it's interesting, because every pilot is trained todefeat what is called "runaway trim," meaning the aircraft's automatic system are adjusting the pitch in the air. it's a procedure which, number one, they might pull back on the but they would have two switches they can disconnect. that's the same procedure the pilots would use in this instance. the question is, did the flight crews fully rewhgnize that is was happening in that case? in the case of lion air, they had very little dime

anything about it, recognition of rcognize the problem, identify it, and take the action that would prevent it.ha sohappens in this cases like this, amna, is the pilots have a difficulty diagnosing tat's really going on with the aircraft, focused e wrong thing, and in the meantime, the airplane crashes. years ago there was an eastern airlines l10-11 thatashed into the everglades. the piles were focused on a broken landing gear light that was out, and they lost altitude and flew rig into the everglades because they weren't focused on the big picture. the problem is you have to identify things so quickly. >> nawaz: so there were a couple of specific safetyt features tme up in questions todd. senator markey was asking one particularly pointed line, focusing in on two things that he says are not required safety neatures, one called the aoa indicator-- thegle on attack indicator-- and another warning light. was put something pretty firm questions to the acting administrator of the f.a.a. let's tack a listen what he had to say.

>> should all of the safety features been mandatory that could have alerted pilots and mechanics to issues with the sensors? should they have been mandatory? yes or no. >> senat, safety critical pieces of equipment on an aircraft are mandatory. that's what certification does. >> sho fuld the.a.a. ban the practice of aicials slil safety features a la carte tone the air yes or no. >> senator markey, i will tell you at if there is any manufacturer that sells a safety critical part a la carte, we will not permit it. >> nawaz: miles, the question there is were busins priorities put ahead of safety priorities? what did you make of that? >> the airlinustry, when in doubt, generally will take the cheaper route if it can. it's a tough business. it's a competitive business, and they will meet the reuirements. having said, that airlines in

the united states-- american airlines a tng them, hadhese indicators on the cock spit display for the pilots to make a decision one way or the othere if, number othe wing was at the right altitude, and numb two, if there was a discrepancy between the angle of attack indicator. yes, it's good to have those kinds of safety measures. they should be mandated but ally, fo example, those two angle of attack instruments should haveha been feeding automatic system in the first place. so the real question is who is deciding what is mandatory what is optional here? in many cases it seems faz that decision lies more in the case with the manufacturer of the airline and less with the f.a.a. and that's an important thing we need to ok at-- whos actually regulating these things, makinthese very critical decisions as an aircraft is brought to market. >> nawaz: another line ofti quing, the alleged coziness between the regulators, in this case the f.a.a. and the airline industry, and how that may have impacted the f.as.a

reluctance to ground the planes, even after a number of other countriehad grounded them. how did you take the questions and the answers in today's hearing? >>, you've got to look at the origins of the f.a.a. it was the oldivil arnautics authority, which was creat to promote and regulate aviation. on its face, that is a conflic i erest. there is a fundamental conflict in the f.a.a.'s mission, which is tries to sort out. but it doesn't always work out so w on top of that, they're underfunded, do not have enough people to be on the factory floor every moment being a part of every single desion in creating a complex airliner. and so what they do is they give a lot of authority to the manufacturer ielf to regulate itself. so there are conflicts of interest embedded in conflicts i erest here. it probably would be wise to give the f.a.a. a little more funding and a little more manpower and person power to actually be on the ground helping make these decisions and actually regulating in a more

meaningful way. >> nawaz: miles o'brien with important context for us there in san francisco. thank you, miles. good to talk to you. >> you're welcome, amna. >> woodruff: the white house and congress are still digesting the attorney general's summary of the mueller report. but lawmakers are pushing forward on a range of issues including health care, family leave and climate change. lisa desjardins and yamiche alcindor have been covering this from both ends of pennsylvania avenue and are here now. hello to both of you. yamiche, i'm going to start with you, and let's start with health care. we know that yesterday the trump administration weighed in on age federal ju ruling that essentially threw out the entire affordable cacret. what is the president's plan for health care? >> the president has put republicans in a difficult althtion when it comes to he

care because he's determined to repeal the affordable care act.e he't actually have a plan to replace it. now, the president said today that if ths lawsuit gets all the way up to the supreme courty eventusome time in the future there, will be a plan put in place. but i've been talking to white house aides all darey, and t is no plan right now. and that's particularly how republicans got in this situation in the first place, which is that the affordable care act is still here. becaused last time they tried to speal the affordable care act, john mccain anme republicans and all the democrats said if you don't have a plan to replace people's uhealth care, you can'tt take it away. now, it's also important to note that as the president takes this stance on this lawsuit and saying that the judge's ruling should stand, there e people inside the white house, politico and others report, that say this is not a good idea, including the attorney general and the secretary of health and human services. but the acting chief of stff, mick mulvaney, he was on the hill before he came to the white house, and he made a career of saying, "we should repealam

are." >> woodruff: lisa, this is an issue we have been talking about for years. and a lot of reaction today on the hill, on capitol hill. is there some kind of a consensus about which way to go forward politically for both parthes? >> i think is consensus only on the politics today on the hill, and that is that this is bafor republicans. democrats i spoke to today felt like this was amazing, incredible timing. they felt ovebyrshadowehe mueller report conclusions, and sort of trying to figure out what they were going to do on that. now they feel e president has de a political mistake on health care, trying to end a whole system without-- without, as yamiche said, having a plan to replace it. republicans, the only difference between them, is how concerned they are about this. some are very concerned, bike maine's sus collins. she's about to write a letter to the attorney general. others think if the courts, if they do overrule the affordable care act, will give us time to replace it. it's not clear that's true.

i asked, i said, "the preside wants to make health care a republican party another the party of health care, is that possible?" he laughed and he said, "no, that's as if saying the democrats will be the party of defense. there is no world in which our party is thea health carety." >> woodruff: let's talk about another subject, conversation about the family leave. we are seeing something new, lisa, you pointed that out to us from republicans. they're coming at this frome multiple dions. what are you seeing there? part of it is talking about paid e, when a parent has to take time off for the birth of a ild or another family mmber issue. what do you see? >> look at this interesting picture from today. thwe is a news conference t to early today with four republicans, two of them very recognizable. there you have mitt romney and marco rubio, former presidential candidates, both of theve ing a plan that would give parents a way to ensure they received some dined of salary while they took upo three months off. i want to look at what thee republicans oposing specifically. they would propose to fund this

by allowing people to borrow from their social security e future.in th that would mean that those parents who take that benefit now would haveeewer bnefits or delay their retirement later. here's the deal: democrats think that's a terrible idea. they, instead, wout to fund a kind of child or parental leave bydemployer employee payroll taxes. so, judy, what's interesting here is the two sides agree it's united states is behind the rest of the world in terms of giving parents time off. very big disagreement on how to pay for that time off. >> woodruff: yamiche, what about the white house? s?w do they see th do they possibly support a version of this? >> the president and the president's daughternd whi house adviser ivanka trump both back thed in in theory and concept but they haven't made clear what they actually would nt to see happen. ivanka trump has made this a signature part of her time at the white house. she said the tax cr wdit th given in the last tax bill to companies that would provide family-- paid family leave. that wasn't enough, that republicans really do need to

come up with a plan. the president also said during the stattof the union, "i wan to see a family paid leave policy in a bill passed at some point." however, the president's budget, if you read it closely, it saysh states should come up with that policy, and i'm going to leave it to them. so what the white house is essentially saying is, grs, this is t idea, but we're going to go ahead and slide this off to the states and you guys will figure it out. >> wo tdruff: so let'salk about, in the time we have left, climate change.t lot of ground we're covering today-- health care, liimate change. , we reported yesterday the green new deal voted down in the senatee but today wee both parties out there talking about various other climate change ideas. etat do we see in the politics? >> there is song to be said for the conversation is actually starting to happen on capitol hill from both sintes. and i to point to some video of nancy pelosi the day after the defeat this one version of the green new deal in the senate. she comes out, holds a press conference, unveiling democratic legislation that is much more limited on the climate.

let's look athat tht legislation would do exactly. this is called hr-9. this bill is very limited. it is their first proposal of the congress. pelosi would block withdrawal from the paris climate agreement, and this bill would tell president trump he has to come up with a plan to cut emissions. i asked democrats why they feel they don't to have to come up llth a plan. they said, "wthe president would excuseexecute this. we think it's his responsibility." obviously, some pol thriks. it's interesting, judy, republicans have a couple of plans of their own.fr it varie the right, steve scalise who just wants to talk about energy. and lamar alexander who is usinh word "climate change" now.h >> president sees the green new deal as something he can us politically in the 2020 campaign. yesterday he had lunch with g.o.p. senators. he told them beat up the greent new deal beep it around. i want to use that as part of my campaign. o e face of the green new deal,

representative ocatez, they see her as someone she can demonize and say shs trying to make america a socialist country. it's also important to nod notethis president has said climate change is a hoax. he's also backed a lot of regulations on the environment being pulled bac so his he's not just saying this in practice and in rhetoric. he's actually doing policy. and he sees that as a promise that was kept-- pulling outs oft the paris cl accord. he sees that as something he ran on and that he did. so climate chae is not, again, an issue the president has actually come up with a plan on. woodruff: don't beat it up too badly. we're going to remember that. yamiche, lisa, thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: the u.k. parliament attempts to find a path foard on brexit.

a new book about the influence of chief justice john roberts on the supreme court. and a greek tragedy is updated to reflect the syrian civil war. as we heard, there's been some debate on capitol hill about how y tackle climate change. but truthfully vttle legislation is going to pass in the foreseeable future.at yet clchange's impact is growing around the world. the federal government's own assessment found climate change is already costing the u.s. hundreds of billions of dollars and having a major effect in parts of the country. some researchers argue the problem is getting so seriouss that ime to start exploring ideas that have long been seen as far out and potentially loaded with other problems and consequences. but times demand new approaches to lower the earth's temperature.o' milebrien is back with a report.ar it'sof our "breakthroughs" reports for our regular series on the "leading edge" of

science. >> reporter: engineer david keith has run the numbers on climate change, and for him the bottom line presents a stark reality. >> even if we eliminate emissions, wsimply stop the imate problem getting worse. we don't make it any better. reporter: the planet is already in trouble; there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and human civilization has done precious little about it. as you can see, these trendlines have a lot of inertia. so even if we stopped using all fossil fuels tomorrow, there's still so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the problem will persist for decades. >> we do need to dve emissions zero, but we also need to reduce the risk from the co2's thn the air. >> reporter: so keith is asking some big questions: like whaif could suck carbon dioxide out an the air? it may sound likmpractical idea, but he has some proof of

concept. it's a prototype plant in canada but by carbon engineering, company keith founded. it extracts carbon dioxide out of thin air. the pure co2 is then combined with hydrogen to synthesize fuels, gasoline diesel or aviation kerosene. choose your grade. >> that fuel didn't co from the ground. all the carbon that you released thburning it, you took fro atmosphere when you made it. so in the net, there's no carbon emissions and that's a way to help decarbonize. >> reporter: so what if we don't decarbonize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to avoid dire consequences? david keith is leading research into a drastic measure to turn down the global thermostat. it's called solar geoengineering. the idea: inject large quantities of sulfur dioxide, or maybe another aerosol, into the stratosphere using high-altitude

aircraft. this should lower global temperatures by flecting sut.ight away from our plane it sounds like an idea hatched by a james bond villain, and david keith is keenly aware of that. >> geoengineering seemed like ac bit ofzy idea. but there was a taboo and i think taboos are unh and my view is we should understand it better to see just how crazy it really is. >> reporter: indeed, he's been exploring this idea since 1989, and over the years, it's made him a bit of a scientific pariah >> senior colleagues would tell me this woulruin my career or people would kind of like move away from me in the elevator. this topic was just toxic and the mainstream climate science community just didn't want to talk about it. >> reporter: he may not have had scientists on his side, butee nature hasrunning solar geoengineering experiments for millions of years, in the form of volcanic eruptions.

when the really big ones blow, h sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, six to 30 miles above us. >> it gradually turninto aerosols. it turns io small droplets; liquid droplets of sulfuric acid and those droplets reflect away sunlight. and that reflectn of sunlight cools the climate and we see that after big volcanic eruptions. >> reporter: when mount pinatubo bl its top in 1991, global temperatures cooled one degree fahrenheit over the subsequent 15 months. david keith thinks humans can do the same. >> if we decide to maintain theo and not have a serious research program, then what we give to our kids is ignorance and they'll still make decisions, but they'llake decisions without knowing. >> reporter: maybe that's why the "snicker factor" is starting to fade. ha we're not going to limit the risks of climate ce to even reasonably safe levels by reducing emissions from burning fossil fuels alone. >> reporter: climate scientist peter frumhoff is director of

science and policy at the union of concerned scientists. >> and so therefore, we're looking at ahole range of hard choices about how to pull carbon dioxide atmosphere at scale. kid maybe, just maybe, to begin to think about mim volcanoes by injecting reflecting particles into the stratosphere. that's a terrible idea, but people are beginning to give it some attention. >> yeah, it's really changing. suddenly many more of the kind of the environmental leadership and sort of science policy thought leadership take this seriously. it really feels very different even from a year ago. >> reporter: but the devil, as always, lurks in the details. one of the big questions: could it make the climate worse in some places, betr in others? >> it has all kinds of unclear mifications. we don't know what the regional changes in rainfall patternslo migh like. >> reporter: that's just one of the possible unintendedco equences of solar geo- engineering. other questions: how would it affect agriculture? how would any aerosol interact

with the gases already present in the stratosphere? and could there be some unwelcome byroducts? that's what davicokeith and his eague frank keutsch are trying to determine. a in the lab, th testing various aerosols to see how they might behave in the stratosphere. sulfur dioxide may be a good reflector, but it also reacts with and reduces the ozone layer, and causes acid rain. so they are considering alternatives the leading contender: calcium carbonate. >> these calcium cbonate particles certainly will not c ve the same chemistry as this concentrated sulfuid particles. what we don't know is "how do theyctually react?" because it could be that they fiact even worse. >> reporter: to out they are planning an atmospheric experiment called scopex. no launch date is set, whenever it flies, they hope it wi answer some important questions. this is an artist rendering of

the scopex project. and next to me it's pretty impressive, ki of big. but of course, relative to the size of the atmosphere is miniscule. above me is a high-altitude balloon, and right now it's lifting scopex into the atmosphere. it will rise into the stratosphere, about twice the height of where airliners fly. once scopex is here in the ratosphere, it will release a small amount of calcium carbonate. the onboard propellers mix the experiment into a plume less than a mile in length. >> this is a tiny scale thing. we're talking about injecting less than a kilogram of aerosols. so, this in noay alters the climate. it's simply a scientific experiment to improve our knowledge of how some future aerosol injection scheme might alter the climate and impact the he stratosphere. >> reporter: but to make sure, an independent panel of scientists will review everything befe launch. they will evaluate the potential

risks along with the rard; the data and lessons learned could be huge. now the particles are interacting with sunlight and the atmosphere. as the experiment plays out, scopex isn't far away. when the time is right, the gondola is lowered right into the mix. here a suite of sensors can determine chemical composition and refltive properties of the plume. the experiment's done, there goes thearachute, and this valuable data is on the way home scopex is a small scale experiment designed to test the unintended consequences of a really big idea. but perhaps the greatest unintended consequence of geo- engineering might be in the realm of psychology. if we know we can do it, will we use it as an excuse not to reduce our fossil emissions? for the pbs newshour, i'm miles o'brie

>> woodruff: in london, lawmakers and theresa may's government are trying to overcome deep divisions to set a final path forward on brexit. today mrs. may promised to i resiparliament supported her version of the united kingdom's divorce from the european union. but members of parliamenhave their own ideas, and just minutes ago, voted on different versionsf brexit. nick schifrin sorts through today's developments, during one of the most important weeks in british politics, in decades. >> schifrin: judy, the debate over brexit has divided the british people, and political parties. for two years, parliament has been unable to come to any kind of consensus. today, lmakers are trying to change that by voting on eight different versions of brexit. t i'll gthe results in a minute, but first, listen to today's appeals unity made by

members of parliament: five minutes to midnight for this parliament, for this government, and for oudecountry. weperately need to find a way out of this mess. our country has spent two years tied up in knots by the prime dnister's incompatible r lines. >> after years of paralyzing conflict, we have a moral duty to open our minds this afternoon and reach for a compromise that will allow us to puthe interminablerexit row.e >> are beginning to talk about actually being able to take disionfounded on some sort of cross-party consensus and me search for majority that can be sustained. >> schifrin: that call for ntnsensus did not mute any mouths in parliame but it apparently fell on deaf ears because take a look at the results of tonight's votes. option one: leave the european union without a deal.

result: rejected. options two through five were versions of a softer brexit, meaning a closer relationship with europe. those included a frictionlessit relationshipthe e.u. an option to remain in the e.u. single market an opposition to negotiate a permanent customs union. and option four, the labour party's alternative described as ena close aligwith the e.u. all of those were rejected. option 6 rejected. and option seven, a second refereum, like the one tha launched this process in 2016, but only after thearliament inn dorsed a deal result, rejected. and option eight a wfosh lisr people who want a complete divorce from the e.u., result: rejected. what does it all mean? for that we tuto allie renison, the institute for directors, the oldest siness

uganization in the.k. why no consensus in parliament today? >> i think it's a reflection of the fact that thetovernm went head long into this negotiation without actually trying to figure out if the was a consensus in parliament. you had the option party, thebo party, saying for quite some time, it was not going to back her deal unless it met the kind of test it wanted. but there wasn't a lot ofhi re across the aisle. and lo and behold, the deal has been rejected twice. it actually potentially mkes getting the deal through-- this is a separate process-- potentially re likely. i think the very close votes, even though there wasn't clear majority for something other than no deal, reflects the fact that there are lot of conservative m.p.s who were thposed to the deal who may think because o close results if they don't back deal, they may get eye longer extension, facil taight another referendum, and we may have a vote on the deal on friday and

that laib really close call. >> schifrin: as you say said, there is a parallel process for theresa may's version or bexit. the government said, look, parliament, you can can't come to a consereus, so, there, you should entors theresa may'sf versiobrexit. that has to happen, coordination to the e.u., this week. as you said, it could happen friday. do these votes mean she actually has votes to pass that-- her version of brexit, give than it would be the third time that she'actually brought it to vote? >> not necessarily. now, the numbers have been shrinking every time. that's not because the opposition paanies have been y less opposed to the deal, but more because the closer we get to an exit date and potentially, particularly because parliament keeps voting against no deal, ir think are a lot of parliamentarians in the conservative party are worried they will lose brexit all together. the one big question is the party that props up the conservative party in government, and that is the of the in unionist parties in

ireland. they feel it treats northernd irelfferently. it keeps northern ireland tied under an insurance policy if c th't sort the irish border.'t they darticularly like that. those numbers, because we have what's called a hung parliament in the u.k., minority government supported by this other unionist party, means it's very, very difficult to actual call. the prime minister has said she distribute want to bring the deal back until she absolutely has th numbers. but there may be a case of better late than never. you have to try it ge through on friday. the only other, i think, concert about t is the speaker of the house has said you can't actually vote on something more than twice, cettainly if i looks the exact same. there is a question mark aboutth speakary impartiality and whether he will block the deal coming back a third time. >> schifrin: if the deal can't be brought back a third time or she can't get it through, does that mean awe longer extension? >> it looks more likely.ar ther some conservative m.p.s who are sanguine and okay with deal who think the

prime minister should ignore parliament's votes against no deal because technically it's nonbinding and they think the government should act. that would be a big deal for theresa may. she said she will listen to the willf the parliament and t only thing so far express is the opposition of no deal. and we know from the conditions want e.u. set out last week in t agreeithis extension, the only other outcome if they don't vote for deelt this week is a longer extension where you have to payment in european elections. that's obviously a politically fraught issue on this side of the pond because af lopeople who voted don't want to be in a situation where three years having voted to leave the european yub we are stillep electing resentatives to the institution. >> schifrin: quickly in the 30 seconds we have left, is this going to lead to some kind of more dramatic moment, for example, another generaln electione u.k.? >> i think potentially because- and ve had some of the prime minister's own members of her party saying effectively, if you can't get the deal through,

rf you cannot get you legislation relating to the deal through, you can't govern, and, therefore, you need ano election. the question mark being, does a general election actually solve anything in the long run? >> schifrin: and that is the big question. allie renison, head of e.u. and trade policy for the institute of directors, thank yovery much. >> woodruff: there have only been 17 chief justices of the united states. the current one, john roberts, is serving an increasingly critically role, as the vote that could tip the balance, oneh way or the, in many high- profile cases to come. what drives his decision-making? and how has he carried out thef duties of a chstice over his 13-plus years on the job? that's at the heart of a new biography: "the chief: the life and turbulent times of chief justice john roberts." it's author is veteran supreme

court analyst, joan biskupic. hello, joan. welcome to the program, and congratulations on the book. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: why now? he's been on the court, as we said, for over a decade, bu presumably many years ago. he's 64 years old. >> that's exactly right. >> woodruff: why now? >> i started this book in 2015 when justice scalia was still alive, anthony kennedy was innt l, and i wanted to look at how a chief o chief justice mans tensions between e right wing and the left wing and how john roberts, who so many people don't understand and recall onl from his 2005 confirmation hearings, what he was all about, whatakes him tick? should he be defined by his 2012 health care decision? or should he be defined by so many of his rulings on the right king? and as i was wo on this book, so much changed. justice scaliaied, and then just this summer, anthony kennedy leaves, and suddenly, my subject becomes not just the

chief justice buthe controlling vote on the bench. >> woodruff: and as you said, so many people feel they don't know him. do you think you know him aft spending time with him on the book and otherwise? >> well, i definitely know him better. i think i understand more his sense of drive, his determination, his focus, hisef rt at control. but he is very guarded, and in our sesions, he was very guarded throughout. re has a barrier around him. >> woodruff: youte extensively about growing up. i mean, his early years, coming to washington as a young mahen. as here for years before he went to the court. and bringing this-- is very solid core of conservativeef bewith him. where did that come from? >> his sense of timing was amazine judy, because h-- he came from conservative roots. and he emergemeat a tihen the country is becoming more conservative. nald reagan wins in 1980, and when he gives his inaugural

speech, john robertss isli ening to him, and he says, a felt the call." and his first joter his judicial clerkships was working in the reagan administration for ken starr. he became a real lieutenant of the reagan agenda, and alwaya had t emphasis reinforced through the years. >> woodruff: in recent years-- and you mentioned the health care, the affordable care t decision, where justice it's chief justice came down on the side of president obama and what he had done with the affordable care act, people questioned is he-- is he the conservative that they thought he was? >> well, in that vote, as my book lays out, he originally wanted to strike it down. that's how he cast his vote in the conference, the private conference with his fellow justices after the three days of oral arguments. and then he changes. he decides he doesn't want peto l the entire obamacare

law, and hewitches hivote not once, but twice on different elements. and then starts to work with two of the liberal justices. and the outcome is exctly te opposite as it might have been. and i think that-- tha reputation he got from that ruling as much more of a moderate sticks in the public mind. but, judy, if you look at things like his votes on race ors, are he is much more hard-core conservative. >> woodruff: should we look for him to be the voice of the court in the middle, of in the future or not? >> i think that's exactly what's going to happen now. because think of where we were 2 12. it was an election year. all eyes were on the court. things seemed very polarized. but how quint it seems looking back now, 212-2019. things are all the more president donald trump has increasingly politicized the

judiciary. and i think john roberts feels much more of an institutional sense of mission here, and he's so aware of his key vte ine center. so i think he will constantly bgage in aalancing act between his coservative roots-- will he hue in that dirllection- or he think more of the reputation of the court and, frankl his own reputation? >> woodruff: so it's that he's been b affect the times. >> i think so. >> woodruff: that he's living through. >> yes. think about what he said lastve er when he rebuked president trump when he said, "there are no obama judges. there re no trump judges. there are no bush or clintones ju to try to correct what the president was saying when he was crigeticizing judbased on the president who appointed them. but the truth sjudof that al these individuals come to the supreme court chosen by a presoent with certainlitical desires. >> woodruff: but in so doing,

he's also angered many conservatives who thought they could count on him to always abe reliable conservative vote. is he prepared to stand up to that? >> in 2012, when he voted the way he did, justice john paul stevens said to me, "that took a lot of courage because he knew he was going to beangering his base." and he knows thot. he kws he'sangering the base as he goes along, the base--n frankly, it't his base anymore. asinou remember the rallyg cry of ransuded to be "no more david souters," the appointee of george h.w. bush who ended up more liberal there was an interest among advisers not to have someone who would turn outike john roberts. >> woodruff: and you also had a sentence that sticks out near the end of the book, you write, "some associates do not trust roberts and think his diffidence is treejic, that he is notys alcting in good faith,

that he is not an honest broker." >> thads true, that's true, some of it is the fallout from the health care decision when he swited his vote two ties. part of that reserve that he has and that sense of-- tre's a perception that he's cagey, frankly, that he is more strategic and tactical than straight forward. and i think the public might think that would be just how liberals perceive him.ua but he acy has plenty of skepticism from those to his right. and, look, they're appoint forward life. there's incentive for them all to get along but there still is lingering distrust up there.ci >> woodruff: fting. it's a fascinating book. "the chief: the life and turbulent times of chief justice john roberts." joan biskupic, thank you. >> thank you, judy. al

as speorrespondent malcolm brabant reports, a therapeutic drama program in glasgow is using an ancient play by onripides to help a group of syrian refugees reith their pasts. it's part of our ongoing arts and culture series: "cvas." >> deraa, without it inhabitants. cold, destructive, frightening, dark, armoured. reporter: last minute rehearsals in glasgow for hebadi alone of the stars of an ancient greek play called the trojan women. the drama has been adapted to include the personal stories of the cast, none of whom have acted before. heba is recounting a scene in her home town of deraa, where e syrian uprising began. heba was 13 years old when her school came under attack from forces of president bashar al assad.

>> our classroom was surrounded by glass and the mortars started, so it was not a safe place at all. and we needed to leave the school very quickly. s it whard to see my teacher so scared. and i thought, i'm going to die. >> beautiful. very good. well done. you know, when you do it properly, the hair on my arms, really. >> although the trojan women is ay that is over two and a half thousand years old, it's an eternal play, it speaks about eternal truths of war. >> reporter: producer charlotte eagar began running therapeutic drama projects in a jordanian refugee camp six years ago. she sees parallels between the syrians' plight and that of the trojan women, who were enslaved after their city was overrun by the greeks and all the men were killed. >> it's all about death, exile, rape, murder, loss, everything

that happens to any innocent people in war. t the army's response, was supposed to prot. they were killing us instead. i wanted to scream, i child, you should protect me. >> the way therapeutic drama works from a psychological point of view is if the participants can identify with the characters iney are playing, they work their own storie the text of the play. so for them it helps them to ger he trauma they have undergone, and it also means creatively they put on a very powerful performance. >> reporter: psychotherapist sanaa al froukh helped translate the play, an extraordinary feat, as she only started learning english a year ago when she moved to this village north of glasgow. she was a teacher in deraa when her school was attacked by assad's troops and she witnessed pupils being killed. as she says on stage, it generated the type of fear that

made her sick to the stomach. >> we are people witdignity. and we have to support our children. this generation shld havgood future. no one can take this right from us. although we lose our country. but we need peace. and that's our right. i saw yosasters. cannot imagine how you can speak about your children who's died. no one will give you your son or daughter again. yes, we can stop? >> reporter: mohammed was a ilor in syria. he spent two years hiding in a cellar. when heventually emerged, he was arrested and was tortured. but he escap to egypt. >> ( translated ): for me what's important, for me today, is i'm sending a message that there are innoce folks that get killed in wars who have no affiliation with the regime or the

opposition. w people gted in war whose main concern is to feed their kids, and take care of household. >> reporter: most of those involved in this project were among 2,000 syrians flown to scotland under the u.n.'s refugee resettlement program. some support the assad regime. others oppose the dictator. for a while the gulf in political opinions caused tensions amongst the case in syria, thfferences could end in death. t but hey've managed to resolve their conflicts and to s.spect each others' opini so in a small way, this play being staged in eastern glasgow has generated harmonious co- existence. >> we are not saying that the opposition is good or bad. we are only speaking about what we have suffered, our personal suffering. >> he is right. let him speak. >> reporte this two day production and nine months of drama workshops beforehand cost sull into six figures.

a large portion waidized by glasgow city council. this, at a time when local authority spending in britain is under severe pressure. but cocilor jennifer layden believes it's been a good investment. >> i think pting in extra money to these causes helps to raise the profile and raise awareness of the plight at refugees and asylum seekers go arough when they come across from other countri seek sanctuary in our city. >> you know wese the word refugee as a kind of label, we see these people on the news, they look foreign, there are que a lot of them. t actually, they're just you and me. that's who they are. so, what i'm hoping and this is iwhat we've had in the pa that the audience will watch this play and will see themselves reflected in the mirror of humanity essentially. >> reporter: and judging by the full houses and the audience reaction, the producers and cast achieved their objective. >> when you witness things through the media, it feela little bit faceless and it feels

like very, very far away, whereas when you're in a theatre and its live and so close you can almost touch it, it re sinks into your heart.>> eporter: the producers want to tour britain to spread the word. >> i teach my children every day, how they can be leaders. anywhere. with any people. it doesn't matter where. it doesn't matter with whom. but you have to be good person. because that will change the world forever, and that will give each one peace. t >> reporte peace that sanaa craves for her five children is here in abundance in her scottish village. she says syria will always have a big pl her heart, but scotland is where the family's future lies, so they are staying here to contribute to thevi country that pd sanctuary. for the pbs newshour, i'm

malcolm brabant in scotland. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. m judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> ordering takeout. >> finding the west route. >> talking for hours. >> planning for shower >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv

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