captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff.he onewshour tonight: the ntird time is not the charm-- britain's parliame again 'sjects prime minister may plan to break away from the european union. then, fleeing home-- we kick off a series of reports from honduras on what is drivingmi ants to make the dangerous journey to the u.s. >> it's like one boy told us, "why am i leaving?" "because, in my neighborhood, you're more likely to ot than to find a job." >> woodruff: and it's friday. mark shields and david brooks are here to discuss the fallout from the mueller investigation, the latest calls to undo heah care, and the race for 2020. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> woodruff: the u.s. attorney general will give congress a partial version ofhe mueller report, by mid-april. william barr sent word today in a letter to the chairs of thse house and nate judiciary committees. he wrote that the full report runs nearly 400 pages, and that "everyone will soon be able to read it on their own." but he also said he is redacting grand jury and intelligence informion, among other things. barr has already said special counsel robe mueller found no conspiracy or coordination between the trump campai and russia, but reached no conclusion about whether the president was guilty of obstruction of justice. in response, the president sad he has great confidence in barr. but e house judiciary chair- jerry nadler-- said democrats still want the full report, by april 2nd. ident trump is now

threatening to close all or part r of the u.s. southern borxt week unless mexico immediately halts illegal immigration. hessued the new ultimatum today, during a stop at lake okeechobee in florida, and hean focused on carcoming north from central america. >> mexico is tough. they can stop 'em, but they chose not to.ey now e going to stop 'em. and if they don't stop 'em, we're closing the border. we'll cl we'll keep it closed for a long time. i'm not playing games.me co has to stop it. >> woodruff: the president said any border closure could include all trade with mexico. in response, mexico's foreign minister said his country does not act on the basis of threats. britain's lawmakers today voted --wn an agreement for leaving the european unior the third time. prime minister theresa may had t promisquit, if her plan finally passed, but it was not enough. britain now faces the prospect of crashing out of the e.u. without any agreement-- in two weeks' time. we'll have a full analysis,

after the news summary. in algeria: hundreds of thousands of protestered the streets in central algiers-- demanding that president abdel aziz bouteflika resign. it was the largest turnout since protests began six weeks ago. the 82-year-old bouteflika has since dropped his bid for a fifth term. but crowds are demanding his immediate ouster without the >> ( translated ): w a the people reject this regime, and in a civilized, democratic way. jo why would you stifle them in their own country? >> woodruff: at one point, police fired tear gas and rubber bullets after some in the crowd threw stones.te there were ps in a number of other cities, as well. health officia in mozambique have confirmed 139 cases of cholera in the wake of a tropical cyclone two wks ago.

the outbreak was first declared on wednesday, with just five confirmed case hundreds of thousands are at insk from the deadly water-borne disease, especiallhe ravaged city of beira. the world health organization says it will start mass vaccations next week. thousands of stusknts in germany ped school today to demand action on climate change. they marched and carried signs that said, "i want snofor christmas!" it was part of a movement begun by a 16-year-old, greta thunberg, who's from sweden. she spoke at the famed brandenburg gate in berlin. >> the older generations have failed tackling the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. when we say to them that we are worried about the future of oura civion, they just pat on our heads saying, "everything d will be fi't worry."

>> woodruff: the berlin protest was one of more than 20 across germany. pope francis mandated today that vatican personnel and diplomats report sex abuse claims immediately. if they fail to informan prosecutors, they could be fine or fil time. the new law directly affects vatican city, but it is meant ta odel for the catholic church around the world. back in this country: the alorgia state house gave f approval to a ban on abortions-- once a fetal heartbeat is detected. that can be as early as sixre weeks in aancy, and it would effectively outlaw all abortions in the state. several republican-controlled states have imposed strict abortion curbs, hoping to get the issue back before the u.s. supreme court. president trump is losing another cabinet member: linda mcmahon is resigning as head of the small buness administration. mr. trump announced it today at his mar-a-lago estate in florida. mcmahon will now chair the pro-

trump campaign fundraising group, "america first action." her departure leaves four women in the trump cabinet of 22 members. the president's top economic adviser, larry kudlow, urged the federal reserve today to cut interest rates by half a point. later "the washington post" president tweeted "the washington post" fed's rate etkes have been a mistake. meanwhile, wall stlosed out its best quarter in years. the dow jones industrial average tined 211 points to close 25,928. the nasdaq rose 60 points, and the s&p 500 added ne9. all three indexes had double- digit gains for the quarter. ill to come on the newshour: brexit remains uncertain as mier, as parliament again rejects the primster's plan. how the battles over heainh care are plout in court. why migrants are forced as flee hondurfter threats of extortion and death. plus, much more.

>> woodruf as we just reported, the british parliament today rejected prime minister theresa may's proposxit deal for the third time. she lost by nearly 60 tes-- 286 to 344-- although that margin was narrower than her previous two attempts. she vowed to keep trying to convince parliament to approve her version of the u.k.'sfr divorc the european union. but leaders are deeply divided, er the prime minister's promise to soldier on, calls for a new election, revoking brexit entirely, and a second >> this government will continue to press the case for thebr orderlit that the result of the referendum demands. >> the house has been clear this deal now has to change.

there has to be an alternative found. and if the prime minister can't accept that, then she must go, not at an indeterminate date in the future but now, so that we can decide the future of this country through a general election. >> i suggest to the prime minster we now must look seriously at the option revocation. >> the way out of this impasse, as many of us en saying for months and months and months, we must vove a people's now. >> woodruff: that clear lack of consensuhas not only prevented brexit from proceeding, but it's frustrated members of the cabinet, membersanf parliament, the british people. today thousands filled the streets outside parliament to protest for brexit. demonstrators argued the u.k. was supposed to leave the e.u. today, and chanted the slogan, "leave means leave." to sort all this out, we turn to robin niblett, the director of the london think tank, chatham house.

"obin niblett, welcome back to "the washington po "newshour". so please explain why did it fail again today? >> well, for "the washington post" simple reason that theresa may has been unl ablto convince, most importantly, thef democratic uni "the washington post" party, "the washington post" irish group that are supporting her their opposition has given coverage for another 30 or so considered m.p.s, a hard core of very strong brexiteers who say her deal is too soft that they believe will stop "the washington post" brexit they want. "the washington post" labor party remained strong. she was only able to pull over five labor mp.s from "the washington post" other side. the net-net is she's lost again but it's be a change from a 230-seat loss, 149-seat loss, annow a 48-seat loss, so it's

getting close -- 58-seat loss. closer but still far away. >> woodruff: "the washington post" deadline is gone away and now "the washington poap" deadline iil 12. why that date? well, what's important is that "the washington post" gene 27 states have said theey given a new brexit date of april 12 because that would fall one day after by"the washington post" date which "the washington post" british parliament would have to call for parliamentary elections. they said if you want us to nd "the washington post negotiation beyond april 12, you need to participate in "the washington post" eurean parliamentary elections taking place between may 23rd and may 26, the latest date by which "the washington post" british parliament can set "the washington post" process in moon through elions is april 11. so donald tusk has caldle a special e.u. summit for april 1e

inration for what shea see "the washington post" british government wl tell them and they will decide what they will do next. >> woodruff: one cli after another. "the washington post" e.u. is saying we could extend this but only f a meaningful reason. what does that mean? >> well, they've got a feel thau they're notst going to get dragged into sort of endless months of brtish parliamentary being stt ck. they w know that, if they're going to extend it, it's for a puose, and "the shington post" kind of purpose we talk about here is if "the washington post" prime ministeri d to call, for exale, -- is if e minister decided to call for an example for a deal, or since last weekendr monday the votes taking place and are coming is there are likely to be a big change that she could go back to the gene council with, might

there be call fo a second referendum, might there be a future deal that parliamencan get behind even if theresa may has not gone behind it. those arof the kin changes. >> woodruff: in terms of monday next week, dos anyone of those choices have the makings of a consensus? >> well, none of them got through when they were voted on, on wednesday, this week. that was, however, an exercise of throwing paint at the wall sand seeing which sticks. the one that came closest to having a majority is wht's called having a permanent customs union, tying a brexit print, britain that's left, in a trading relationship of a customs union. the one that got the mot votes even with opposition was for a

confirmartro referendum, labor-makers may accept the deal if it's put to a referendum for e british public to remain if they don't want theresa may's deme. that also close. so parliament is trying to find its way around to a solutione that doesn't going back fully on the last referendum, doesn't mean giving brexit which is trying to tweak theresa may's deal that looks softer or could come up with a referendum. those seem to be the two options emerginghe strongest. >> so there could another referendum but it would be ar different mat. what about theresa may herself? what is her fate coming through this? >> she has said that if people back her wiihdrawal dealf they simply back the process of prinleaving the e.u., she will step down as the leader of theva consve party if conservative m.p.s an opportunity to elect a nw

leader who would then negotiate the future relationship. you have to remember, all we're trying to do here is leave and is actually get the leaving part done. the future relationship, although a vague political declation, is still there to be negotiated. lo she said back my deal, i'll step down, i'l let somebody else come forward. th she's a very precarious position imoment. she just wants to deliver brexit, then steback. >> robin niblett, all on the edge of our seats. thank you for helping make it understandable. >> woodruff: it's safe to sayth when this week started, few expected the never-ending battles over health care to move front and center once again.en but prestrump tried to do just that when he said repeated-- including just today-- that he wants to try

again to repeal and replace the affordable care act, often referred to as obamacare: first by winning having congress pass a replacement plan. we should note, no such plan exists yet. in the meantime, his administration has continually tried to chip away or knock down parts of the health care law through execute action. but, as amna nawaz tells us, at pair of importurt rulings this week determined the administration went too far. >> nawaz: a federal judge blocked new work requirements tfor medicaid recipients states-- kentucky and arkansas. judge james bosberg ruled that coadding those requirementd prevent people from getting heal care coverage, and coverage itself, he said, is the core tenet of medicaid. the trump adnistration has so far allowed eight states to implement those work requirements for ae-bodied residents. seven other states have also applied to do so. arkansas was the first state to implement them. in his ruling, the judge cited the impact on medicaid cipients in arkansas, including a man named adrian

mcgonigal. this fall, catherine rampell went there to talk to him and working.the program wa here's some of what she found. >> well, i just got out of the hospital.ep >>ter: adrian mcgonigal's life is coming undone. >> they were wanting me to stay longer, but-- >> reporter: in the past few eveks, he's lost his job, his health insurance his feelings of self-worth. >> without my medication, ile can't really good, so. >> reporter: he's worked all his life. but now, at the age of 40, he's entirely dependent on people like his mom to get by.e and he blames s. department of health and human farvices. >> your status aas? >> the arkansas works is concerned. >> repter: this summer, he had a decent-paying job at a chicken plant outside bentonville. but whenhe trump administration allowed the state of arkansas tompose new work requirements on medicaid, he, like many medicaid recipients, a got confusut how to report his hours. >> i thought that everything was good about this. i thought it was jusone-time deal, that you report it, and

then that was it. >> reporter: he was wrong. he w supposed to log those hours online every month. he became one of the 12,000 people that the state has booted from the medicaid ro the last three months. >> how do i get my insurance ck on? >> reporter: he discovered this only when he went to fill prescriptions at this drug store and the pharmacist told him, "sorry, your coverage habeen canceled." >> and that it was going to be like $340 for onof the dications, and like $80 for the other one. >> reporter: so, he left empty-. handed this was a big deal, because mcgonigal has severe c.o.p.d., a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. without his meds, he landed in the hospital multiple times and missed a lot of work. bs supervisor tried to accommodate him,ut he wasn't healthy enough to perform his job. so he lost it. he's n part of a lawsuit against the federal government, charging that his story is aio cary tale. his lawyers say it proves k y adding worrequirements to aal insurance program can backfire actually make it

harder for the poor to hold down a job. >> nawaz: since catherine filed that story, about 18,000 arkansans lost their medicaid coverage.00 of them have re-applied. and arkansas governor asa hutchinson says more than 70,000 have moved off medicaid rolls. governor hutchinson was not available to appear on the program today.of but here's somhat he said yesterday. >> i contend the judge is wrong and i'm urging the department of justice and secretary azar to appeal the ruling and to seek an expedited appeal of the district court's decision. it iimportant tomphasize today that i remain fully committed to a work requirement, and we are in this for the long haul because we believe it is the right plicy for our kansasenk who want to word need more training and more opldrtunity. i shadd that

president trump and his administration remains ctomitted as wel this work requirement. >> nawaz: there was a second desion yesterday related t healthcare law from another federal judge. he ruled a trump administration effort was illegal. the administration had allowed small binesses to pool together and offer health insurance plans that avoid some of the law's requirements. the judge called it "clearly an end run around the a.c.a." let's take a look at all of this, starting with thbigger decision on medicaid. and for that, i'm joined by catherine rampell, who is also a columnist for "the washington tst." catherine, welco the "newshour". we heard the story about adrian mcgonigal you told from last fall. give me a sense how unique was his storks the set of circumstances at allowed him to fall will you the cracks? >> i will say that when we visited arkansas, we heard from a lot of people who were confused about the requirements, how they were to be record, if people were goi to prove that they were actually abiding by the requirements, as well as a lot of lack of awareness about

whether the requirements even existe so he is byno means unique. even though who were aware the requirements existed expressed concern about the ability to meet them. people were working but maybe not enough hours oe r peoth trouble with transportation. >> walk me through the judge's decision this week that blocked arkansas, right, from continuing that program and also blocked kentucky from implementing the same work requirements, what was e co justification from blocking those, from the judge's perspective?ua >> this is ay the second time, to be clear, that a judge had determined that kentucky could not implement its work requirements program despite having gotten approval from the trump administration to do so. basically, the judge was objecting to the fact that, while the executive branch has a lot of authority to impleme new rules around medicaid or around other kinds of federal programs, they would have to be

in accordance with the core tenant of whatever law authorizes the existence of those types of programs. so in the case of, medicae core tenet of medicaid is to the provision of healthcare to the needy, this is what the judge cited iniohis dec he said that by putting these kinds of restrictions on th medicaid program or at least to the medicaid expansion program, that was nurthering, again, this core purpose of the medicaid law.ul >> so we spoint out people who advocate for these work requirements, you talked to some of these folks in arkansas, we heard governor hutchinson there, including the president, they say it inentivizes beneficiaries to lead healthier lives, they say steps like this willmelp to lift soe of these people who may be stuck in poverty out that lifestyle. and i'm wondering, based on what you saw and the people you t talked to ouere, did you see that happening? was that sport the >> in the case of arkansas, for example, the state didn't allocate any additional funding

for job trning programs or job search programs or anything along those lines? this new set of requirements, of course, was intended to incentivize people to g out and find work, but theproblem with that as a construct, i guess, is that most peore who ae enrolled in medicaid were w.h.o. are not disabled are already rking -- either they're working, looking for work, or they have other kind of exemption like they're a full-time regiver, for example, that allows them to -- that basically fulfills the idea that the program is intended to be furthering in terms of incentivizing people to get to work w the problem saw in the case with adrian mcgonigal is that there are a lot of people who are on medicaid for whom medicaid enables them toork. they are getting healthcare, they're getting prescriptions that allow them to hold down a job.

so there are cases where the intention of this new progr is actually backfiring, in a sense, that people who hrk been g, by having their medicaid coverage taken away, are having more difficulty holding down a job. >> take us to a big-picture view. t we've heard fr trump administration, they want to continue to press forward wimple meaning the work requiremeves. there are l states who have applications pending. how is this going to play ou, especially when you look at the larger affordable healthcare and benefits now. >> actually today the trump utministration approved a waiver for another stateh, which os doing a partial expansion of medicaid for it tmplement a similar medicaid work atquirement program. so this is no sig this point the trump administration isrs reg course. it looks quite likely that these decisions will be appealed. they may ultimately make their way up to the supreme court, and the other states tt are stll

getting their waivers considered have not shown any sign that they are, you know, liky t reverse course at this point. but you never know. it could be that these legal rulings make them revisit, but s we havenen that at this moment. playedly a battle to b out in the courts, and you will be trackg it as well. catherine rampbell with "the washington post.b thanks fong with us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: now to the immigration turmoil at the u.s. mexico border, where customs and border control officials say they are on track to make 100,000 apprehensions this month alone. many of those people come from central america, and even as the president again threatened this week to withhold aid and shute rder because of the migration, his administration

gned a pact with several of those same nations to bolster their internal security. with the support of the pulitzer center, special correspondent marcia biggs, and videographer julia galiano-rios, recently traveled to san pedro, sula, in nyhonduras, to see why so re fleeing their home. >> reporter: they came from far and wide, migrts from all parts of honduras, gathering at the bus station in san pedro sula. settling in for a long night of camping out before a dawn departure. it wasn't clear why or who maden the decisi but eight hours earlier than n anned, this caravan of families set off oe harrowing journey to the united states. it wasn't long before the weather turned nasty, but the people pressed on. some have suggested that the caravans were organized by political activists, but there was no organization here, only

desperation. they were supposed to leave at 5:00 in the morning tomorrow, they left at 9 pouring rain.liyove wit s,nd they don' w ere they're going, they're just following the crowd, hoping for a better life. "i know it will be difficult," says 19-year-old alicia, cradling her eight month old baby, "but i want a better life for my son." olman del cid says he had no choice but to start walking witv his wife andchildren. >> ( translated ): it's too dangerous here, we can't stay here. there is no work an ti can't affopay the extortion. >> reporter: their numbers were nothing like the some 7,000 that marched through central american into mexico last october. estimates put this group at around a thirdf that, but they are no less determined. yolandgolnzalez has worked as a human rights activist in honduras for the last 17 years.

>> ( translated ): it's like one boy told us, "why am i leaving?" "because, in my neighborhoodke you're more to get shot than it is to find a job." whre you ask people why they leaving, or why, once deported, they try to go bac the story typically starts with "i'm leaving for economical rsons." but when you start to inquire further, they say, "i had my bodega, but i lost it because of extortion, violence and because i don't have anyone to report to, who can protect me. i can't go to the police because the police won't protect me, anh 's more, i'm afraid of the police. therefore, i have no other choice but to leave. and if i get deported, i will try again." >> reporter: san pedro sula used to be the murder capital of the world, held hostage by gangs, the most prominent: ms-13 and the 18th street gang. but a crackdown led by the government of president juan orlando hernandez, fueled byrs american dolhas led to a

much touted decrease in homicide rates-- down over one-third since 2011.ye the people still live in fear. but we keep hearing that the homicide rates are down, that crn.e is down, violence is d do you not believe that? >> no. >> ( t translated ): i thire are a lot of tricks there. sometimes a half-truth is more harmful than a lie. the homicide rate started to fall when the counting methodology changed. now only police n give that before, the data was compared with other sources, now it's just one source. >> reporter: representatives of the government did not grant our intervw requests. but everyone we spoke to talked about extortion by gangs, a concept so normalized, it's referred to as war tax. as we drove arou some of the poorest neighborhoods in san pedro sula, we saw home after home abandoned by those whoff couldn't ad to pay.

33-year-old gabriella gonzalez to one of those people, too scared of the ganget us show her face. she lived illegally in the usei fot years, finally making enough money to buy three cars nyd start a small taxi com she returned to her country full of hope. >> ( w translated ): it wel during the first year. by 2014, i started to pay the first idr tax. by thee of the following year, i got the other war tax. then it was two war taxes. wendured, i thought i could. when i got the thi tax, i said no more. >> reporter: to pay one war tax is normal, but you jusdn't handle three. >> ( translated ): yes. they don't ce if you're sick, if you have someone in the hospital, if your car broke down. even if you don't want to be involved, they'll get you involved. do you understand? when they look for you, they already know all your moves. >> reporter: do you know of other people that haven't paid the war tax? >> ( translated ): people who are now under the ground.

>> reporter: she says husband got sick last year and they got behind in their payments. a truck pulled up to their home and five men got out, giving them 15 minutes to come up with the cash. they stalled them and then ran. vewhat do you think would happened if you hadn't run away, if you hadn't left? >> ( translated ): i wouldn't be sitting here telling this story. >> reporter: they are now living in hidg. gabriella's changed her hair and rarely goes outside. she and her mother run small restaurant out of the house, but today, we were the only customers. they sold their nest egg of taxi cabs, keeping one just for emergencies. a constant reminder of the hope they once felt, which was dashed in an instant. >> ( translated ): on one sunday afternoon we made the decision to leave, running away from your own country. i'm telling you, iinouldn't be sihere. my whole family would be under the ground. because, this has happened to other families who didn't pay the war tax. they start by taking your work,

your income, then they take your life. >> reporter: like most hondurans we met, gabriella never filed a report and, therefore has no evidence of the threats. yolanda gonzalezays reporting crime accomplishes n. >> ( translated ): i understand that in the united states when people are apprehendedare told, "but you didn't file a report." of course, if you casually ask someone here why they didn't file a rept they may tell you, "what for, when it doesn't do anything?" >> reporter: we went to talk to police in rivera hernandez, one of the toughest areas controlled by gangs. they took us to some of the areas they say they've taken back. we've been in this neighborhood several times, always with members of the local community. and it's been really difficult to film, highly sensitive, because they kept saying the gang is always watching. now we're here with police. and of course the access is great, but nobody will talk to us, everyone has retreated into their homes. there's a real culture of mistrust.

they took us to an area which they say used to be a dumping ound for bodies. they're proud of the lowered murder rates and claim to have taken back this neighborhood. but it's practically deserted.e while vernment statistic on violence may be down from a tak in 2011, the murder rate here remains amo highest in the world and it's fear that drives people out: we were told that five families from this street alone left on theatest s ravan. gabriella's sister american citizen and has filed a petition to bring her to the us legally. but gabriella says that she can't wait any longer and will try to go anyway, even though it may hurt her case if she tries to cross illegally. have you heard what people are frying in the united states about people comin honduras? >> ( trslated ): that they treat us like animals. that we are going to contaminate the united state that most of us are bad people. it's not like that. as with everything else in other countrs there are bad people and good people.

>> reporter: are you worried about what will happen to you when you get there? you could detained, you could be separated from your grandson? >> ( translated ): yes. yes, it worries me. it worries me a lot. because i know that they won't understand my situation. >> reporter: even though you know you may not make it, you're still going? >> ( translated ): yes. for my children. i know they are going to have something better, in every way. you don't have the freedom for that here.t you don'have the freedom for anything. >> reporter: a week later, ndbriella left honduras with her daughter and grason, setting off for the brutal journey north. r the pbs newshour, i'm marcia biggs in san pedro sula, honduras. >> woodruff: and an update, sie marcia filed her story unlike so many who try and fail, gabriella actually made it acss the border. she is currently in the u.s. and beginning the process of a applying flum.

tomorrow, the series continues on "pbs newshour weeke" with a closer look at one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in san pedro sula and how members of the community are trying to help those left behind. from the attorney general's handling of the mueller report to the renewed battle on health care, it has bn a busy week in washington. here to help us understand it all-- syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. hello to both of you. so we now just in the last fewhe hours haved from the attorney general that we are going to see this almos 400-page report, but with redactions. all he's saying he's said so far is he shared some principal conclusions. based on that, what do we make of it? >> ihink barr's doing a good

job. he got the headlines out of the way right away, which is all he can do. he's gone through a nearly 400-page report, he can't release evaurything bec there are ongoing investigations he can't compromise and there are soces and efforts so he had to take time, but he made it very clear it's going to be release, he's made it clear he won't give the white house an early shot that will allow them to claim executive privilege and it will be out in a few weeks, so overallg as a professional. >> woodruff: professional, mark? >> very much. bill barr has an earned reputation in washington of being a square shooter ad fa guy and he's living up to that. i mean, there were questions surrounding his taking of the job because it's looking like he had a jo application when he sent this extended memo to the white house, doubting t -- doubting the authority and the purview of the special counsel and the rtular investigation, but i just think it's we democrats have been asking for, it's what the

republicans have been asking for, it's upwt the president's been asking for. >> woodruff: you said, david, you're confidente's going release most of it but he said sons,tions for security rea for legal reasons and also personal reputation. there was a poll done in the last few days that we did in conjunction with that were and marist, people were asked should the full report will be seen, 75% said yes, and more than half of republicans said we should see the fulreport. >> that's sort of the good news. i was more struck by 40% thave the republicans don't want tot. see the repor who are the we don't want any information party? that sinemed kind of surpr to me, but i did think it was inevitablehat we talked about this a couple of weeks ago that this was going to come out. when a prosecutor indicts not a normal human being, they should not release the information if there's no indictment. but this is not strictly a criminal cas a this is a cabout the behavior of the administration, the behavior of the nation's highest elected officials and

voters have a right to know beyond legal or illegal the nature of the administration. let's face it, mueller halls had an eye on to the administration that no other reporters have had, nobody halls had. will telus which things voters will make their minds up in a couple of years. >> woodruff: the attorney haneral is signaling with this letter to congresshe is going to leave things out that are part of grand jury -- >> of course, that's a rule that's been cited, the rules of sylv procedure, criminal procedure, that you have to keep that secret testimony before a grand jury. this is going to get oute , the whhing is going to get out. so if he holds back substantial, significant, relevant information, then he's putting his own reputation on the line. i question whether he's going to do it. the fact mentioned at the otset that he's got the question

whether in fact executive privilege, the white house does it. that's a pretty big weapon he has. >> woodruff: and i notice that he said -- he said, although thr ident would have the right to assert privilege, he has stated publicly he intends to defer to me and, accordingly, he says there are no plans to submit the report to the white house. >> it should be said overall that just the country, whatever yothink of donald trump or not of donald trump, we've averted a lot of disasters. it would be frankly a disaster to learn theresident of the united states is colluding with a foreign enemy. it would also be a disaster to get into a claim of executive privilege as happened in watergate and we're mired into years-long or months-long legal inght, so so far we're avo what could be worst of all the situations. >> woodruff: you've had thid prt saying i have been common rated and cleared by this and the people who criticize me are all wrong. >> that surprised the dickens out of me, judy. to be very blunt about it, what

donald trump has done, in the words of daniel patrick monahan, he has defined deaf yensy down. he did chest pounding, spike thn football, on ts that his campaign chairman is a convicted felon,is principal advisor of national security is a convicted felon,is deuty campign chairman and personal lawyers are all convictedfelons. is hasn't happened in any administration in the history of the country including richard nixon's,nd he goes before the republican senate luncheon last tuesday and they givhim standing ovation, a standing ovation. iean, that is divining deviant deviancy down. on this broadcast a week ago, i think we're in total agreement,

barr i an honest and professional lawyer and is today. >> woodruff: but he did clear -- and he did clear thet president,ast according to these conclusions by the attorney general, conspiracy, no conspiracy of that, or they didn't use the word collusion, but coordination with the russians and then he went on to say no evidence ofy an obstruction of justice. so the president can say -- >> he can say that d a lot of people got out ahead of the evidence and claimed there was collusion and claimeds an agent, that he had betrayed the country, and they did therir cause t harm because they allowed donald trump to say, see, they were wrong, ahey were wrong. for donald trump to claim he's therefore exorated is exact opposite of the truth for reasons enumerated. i was struck about the reaction two democratic presidential cndidates, saturday after we le nned there waso report of collusion, beto o'rourke still

went out and said he had collusion anda inccurately described what donald trump had done with the russia's. pete buttigieg who is also ruing said why don't we talk about the issues voters caedr about and why people felt like they had to vote for trump.id one cae was focusing on the scandal, and one was focusing on the issues people were going to decide, and that's decision democrats and we in the media have to make, what yissues do we pattention to and what do we give weight to and i would say the latter ar more valuable. >> i would agree with david. i just will say there isn't conclusive evidence of collusion but -- de woodruff: but the pre did not submit to an interview. >> but this is also a president in his campaign at actively sought the interference of a foreign government and welcomed it and sawro nothing with it in corroding and eroding america's trust in our syste

and attacking democratic i mean, the fact that he saw nothing wrong with it is notno - i'talking about criminal, but it is of interest and of importance andt does signify something about the individual. >> mike who sits in this chair sometimes says trump is a stooge of a foreign power but not an agent of a foreign power, so if >>at's your victory, that's your victory. oodruff: you mentioned, david, some of the democrats talking about issues and some ringig voters are not up to me the mueller report when i'm out on the trail. the president turned to healthcare after this in an interesting way, said his administration is trying tope completely re the affordable care act, obamacare. but he also said the republicans will be the rty of healthcare. >> after he is the president of hue multiand modesty -- humility andodesty. (laughter) i thought and other republicans

thought it was bewildering, mccarthy in the house -- it's not an issue of what he hasor credibilithere the party has led in any glorious way, not one he's ruon before. it seems to be running into a. mine fie mitch mcconnell said he's not oning to help write a republican piece of legisla so they could come up with a plan, but why donald trump thinks this is the right move for him or his party is something of a mystery. ot's always an error for the president to try define his motives and strategy because there's usually nothing bck there, it's just things coming out. but it's a weird chapter in hi presidency. >> woodruff: and, mar the democrats, we're looking closely at what the democrats areaying about healthcare from medicare to all to various other, you know, iterations of that. are we seeing something emerge from the democrats that's going to helthem, help e of them on the campaign trail? >> help one of them.

i think we've learned last november, judy, that itl heped democrats, healthcare was the most important issue in 2018. the democrats won the largest popular majority in a congressional el history of the country. there is no plat n thanald trump can come up with or anybody else can come up with that's to the right of the affordable care act. it was drawn as michael bennett from colorado said, from mitt romney's plan in massachusetts. so there is ant lot of wiggle room to the right of some master nservatives. and the fact is donald trump and the republicans havachieved almost the impossible. they have made the affordable care act, obamacare, which ina know drives trump around the bend when he hears obamacare used, but they've de it popular for the first time. the majority of americans have a favorable attitude toward the affordable care act, who never had it once itawas pssed during the obama years.

so, to me, this is beyond -- politically -- ethically, it's not worse than attacking john mccain seven months dead, but politically it's worse and these are two major missteps by donald trump, ti formed litical genius. >> woodruff: you do have some republicans pointing to demoats talking aght about medicare for all and say that's socialism,h-ha. they're talking socialism, we want to let you keep your doctor. >> i think the docrats are making a terrible mistake if it's medicare for all. the stick trice to hae increased tax bill is massive. there are lots of people in this country, 70%, who are happy with the private health insurance. to take it away from them are perilous in the extreme. it would be a massive destruction. before you get to mede icr all, there are lots of things to do to expand coverage.er are catastrophic coverage and incremental things. it's been interesting to watch the presidential candidates go for maximum medicare for all.

nancy pelosi is nog talk about more incremental and realistic and policy, more intelligent. the obamacare, there's more influence on the body to do more with medicare. it's still an issue. so some movement around there. taking aw medicare forl would be political suicide. >> woodruff: 10 secondsdi apolis i-- nancy pelosi is th grownup in the room, right politically and substantivets. the democre the party who believes in healthcare and believes in extending it and the idea of going m foredicare for all now might be a nice talking point to a liberalroup, also not a realistic political proposal, and i think that, youi know yourself on the defensive just as donald trump did on this issue, the dmocra are going to take an issue to their advantage and putes themsen the offensive. >> woodruff: mark shields, david brooks, we thank you.

>> woodruff: for some artists, telling their personal story is best done through song. jeffrey brown went to dripping springs, texas, recently to hear a veteran singer-songwriter la out e chapters of her life-- and draw her audience in. it's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas. ♪ ♪ >> brown: patty griffin is known for creating indelible characters in her songs, singing other people's stories. but in the new song "river", the character is mucmecloser to ho. >> oh, i am writing about myself ere. >> brown: you are. >> i'm writing about my emotions.th

emotions of this thing that i'm in called life.wn >> bwe met griffin, who just turned 55, on a glorious day in theexas hill country at stranch called camp lucy ranch, home to a small feal, an offshoot of the much larger south by southwest in by austin. for griffin it was a first chance to perform music from her self-titled new album, songs written in a more introspective mode, in the wake of her recent bout with breast cancer. ♪ >> there was definitely a reality check for me. there's lots of them as your get older. this one wasery specific: "you will not be getting out of here alive, by the way. you better start living the life you want to live." and that kind of thing, so that

sharpened, i think, my writing a little bit more to sort of sitting down and figuring out where you are now, and writing truthfully from that point. ♪ >> brown: griffin grew up in a small town in maine. her grandparents and father immigrated from ireland. ged several of the new songs speak to that heri she was one of seven children,ha inenging circumstances.ot when sheick, she looked back. >> i was having a conversatiho with my mom, still alive. i was saying, "you know how when we were growing up and we just didn't really have aey?" she said, "you mean, we were poor." yeah, like that. and i decided to bring that into the rerd. ♪ >> brown: that came out in theg lovely se wrote and

performs with guitarist david pulkingham, "mama's worried." texas has been griffin's home for many years, a muhome: the venerable pbs show "austin city limits." the new record is her 10th studio album, as she's built a faithful following in folk and americana circles. she's won a grammy, and had her songs covered by many leading artists. and she's now reaching several generations of fans. >> i've been told that my sic's been played at funerals, deaths, births, weddings. weddings i find very surprising. i only have one love song, but they've used it at weddingit >> brown: bunly takes one. >> it only takes one. , that's doing something. those are big moments.op soully it's stirring some things up inside. like billie holiday's voice for

me-- i get it now. she goes dp, so you can go with her there. and she's kind of holding you there with her, and it's auge gift. and mine's not exactly like that, but i aspire to that sort of thing. >> brown: in fact, griffin lost her voice for a period during her sickness and feared it might not return. diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, she's now cancer-fre following surgery and radiation. >> one of the things that i've ned in the last few years is to stop being so damn critical of my own work. listening, without a voice, listening back to the work i've done. i just went, "wow that was pretty good. i don't know why i didn't like that." >> brown: and what did you hear in your younger self going back d listening? >> something kind of magical.

i feel like it came, i've got something in my blood. i feel like i come from some really magical people. i mean, i can play guitar, and a can stand treet and sing, and i know how to do that.ha and that'si'm hoping is that people will come listen toh shows, and if i can write more songs that would be wonderful. and at's all i want. i don't really want much more of it than that, just to keep goin a little bd have a little bit more time doing it. >> brown: patty griffin is on s ur across the country and abroad through tmmer. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown at camp lucy in the texas hill country. ♪ >> woodruff: such a lovely work. and that's the newshour for tonight.ju i'm woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company," here's what's coming up. >> the objective we should all have is being able to deliver brexit and guaranteeing to deliver io e british people. >> round and wround we go and where brexit will end up nobody knows. long time torrey politician kenneth clark, known as the father of the british house of parliamentells me what's wrong with uk politics. then, facebook now banse wh nationalism and separatism. but is the real solution to break up big tech? s kasher joins me. and -- >> politics has become so polarized and