captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: the next wave of wirelesslo tech. i sit down with the chairman of the f.c.c., ajit pai, on the future of 5g communication in the united states.th , as students at georgetown s iversity vote to start a fund for the descenda slaves, a look at where 2020 democratic presidential candidates stand oa reons. and, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks on the latest coroversial statements by the president on immigration. plus, celebrating loretta lynn. an all-star cast of country musicians pay tribute to the legendary singer, who at 87, reflects on how she got to the top. >> you have to be smart.

hard wor and smart. that's all it takes. if you've got a little talent, l you can gog way if you're smart, and put the work in it. >> nawaz: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major fundiws for the pbs ur has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> text night and day. >> catch it on replay.e

>> burning st. >> sharing the latest viral cat! >> you can do the things youh like to do wwireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer clular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> babbel. a language program that teaches spish, french, italian, german, and more. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.

and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: president trump says c he is "stronglsidering a plan to move detained migrants into so-called sanctuary cities, to punish political rivals who've opposed his immigration policies. the president-- who spoke to reporters during an event at the white house-- had this message for leaders who buck his policies: >> they want more people in their sancary cities? well, we'll give them more people. we can give them a lot. we can give them an unlimited supply. and let's see if they're so happy. they say "we have open arms." they're always saying "w"have open arm let's see if they have open arms. >> nawaz: earlier, house speak nancy pelosi condemned the president's idea. >> it's just another notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the united states, and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a country, as a people, to address who we are: a nation of immigrants. >> nawaz: there are also new

reports involving the new actino land security secretary, kevin mcaleenan. the "new york times" reportedt presidump urged him to close the u.s. southern border sooner than the president had said he might, during a trip there last week. the "times" and cnn both say the president then offered to pardon mcaleenan if he ran into legal trouble or was jailed because of the move. separately, nbc news reported administration officials have discussed a plan to send more u.s. troops to the border to build tent city detention camps for migrants. some 5,000 troops are already deployed there, mainly t reinforce existing barriers. tithe fight over the extra of wikileaks founder julian assange has intensified. assange was arrested yesterday in london on u.s. charges of conspiring to break into a pentagon computer. today, britain's oppn labour party urged its government not to extradite him to the u.s. re twitter, labour leader corbyn said assange is being targeted f of u.s. atrocities in iraq and afghanistan."

his party's spokeswoman for domestic affairs echoed those concernsefore parliament. >> it is this whistle-blowing activity into illegal wa, mass murder, murder of civilians and corruption on a grand scale that has put julian assange in the crosshairs of the u.s. administration. >> nawaz: assange had lived in ecuador'embassy in london since 2012, until the country revoked his asylum yesterday. in a washington federal court today, former obama white house couneg craig pled not guilty to lying about his embbying work in ukraine. the investigation d from umecial counsel robert mueller's probe into former campaign chair paul manafort's ukraine lobbying. in that same probe, political consultant samuel patten was sentenced today to three years probation for helping steer funds from a pro-russian ukrainian politician to president trump's inaugural committee. he pled guilty last august for failing to register as a foreign agent. in sudan, the ruling military council annound today that it

will not extradite deposed leader omar al-bashir, but will try him at home instead. the military council plans to run the country for the next two years. but, thousands of people demonstrated in artoum today, to reject the military's ruling authority and demandilian government. >> ( translated ): the head of the military is acting under which constitution? we don't knowhat this constitution is, because they canceled the constitution, and they stopped all the government sectors. >> nawaz: later in the day, sudan's defense minister announced on television that on's agreed to step down as the country's transi leader. demonstrators also took to the streets of algeria today, after thatountry's president, abdelaziz bouteflika, stepped down last week after ruling for 20 years.nd thousaof protesters marched in the capital city of algiers k,r an eighth straight wee carrying signs and chantingin slogans demandpolitical change. florida prep school administrator mark riddell pled guilty today in boston federal court to taking entrance

exams for stents in a massive college admissions bribery scheme. prosutors said the 36-year-o harvard graduate was typically paid $10,000 per test. riddl could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. georgetown university could come the first college in the nation to mandate reparations for descendants of former slaves sold to pay f the school's debts. its undergraduate students voted yesterday to increase tuition by about $27 per semester for the fund. the referendum still requires the approval of the university's board directors before it'll take effect. we'll have a look at the political conversation around reparations, later in the program. ageneral electric will pa $1.5 billion fine to settle an investigation into defective subprime mortgages it offered before the 200financial crisis. the department of justice announced that today the move resolves claims that g.e. hid the poor quality of the loans from investors.

the company did not admit to any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. and, banks pushed stocks higher on wall street today, erasingch f the week's losses. the dow jones industrial average soared 269 points to close at 26,412. the nasdaq rose 37 points, and ne s&p 500 added 19. still to come on tshour: f.c.c. chairman ajit pai on what 5g technology will mean for e u.s. where the 2020 democraticpr idential candidates stand on reparations for slavery. mark shiel and david brooks on the president's latest stand on immigration. and, much more. >> nawaz: president trump today announced a series of moves to boost the development of next generation, high-speed mobile networks in the u.s., known as 5g. 5g, which stands for theh

fineration of cellular networks, could eventually work as much as 100 times faster than current networks. its reach grows, 5g wou weave its way into an ever wider swath of the economy including health care, energy, transportati such as self- driving cars, and much more. many experts say the u.s. has been slow to get into the game. but the present said the f.c.c. would work to make it easier for companies to do so. that includes freeing up high frequency airwaves, or spectrum, to carry 5g. and the f.c.c. plans to spend $20 billion over ten years onpa ing 5g broadband for rural communities who don't have access to high-speed internet. i ajit pthe chair of the f.c.c., and he joins me now. >> welcome to the "newshour". thank you for haing me on. so i want to ask you about what one of your democratn colleaguese f.c.c. saidab t our efforts to get in 5g. she said we havdone moe harm

than good. says we need to expand the network. how do those things expand your ability? the independent observers believe that the united stated is is in the lead when it comes to 5g. cysco put out a report saying north america led by the united states would have twice as many 5g connections as asia by 2022.c the ressaid the united states is in the lead in 5g. over the last week, ctia pointed out the united states will have 92 pe de ploiments in the united states by end of 2019, which is almost twice as many as any country in the world. on tuesday, a report pointed out 5g job listings in the united states increased 12% in the last three weeks. these are indie sha that we are in the lead of but we want to maintain the lead. >> nawaz: deployment with is one thing, consumer use is

another. we have no nestic manheufactures of equipment to lead 5g. we're holding theine on foreign equipment and the u.s. won't allaw faway, which is a serious concern. don't those stand in your way? >> not at all. other suppliers in the world don't present the same security challenges as certain compaes do, and that's part of the reason we are in the lead despite there are countries and mpanies that may pose security risks. we have made sure our supply chain s integrity an that's why going forward and working with some of our cunterparts, we've emphasized the choice on 5g is not one betweenurity and deployment. you can have the two go together. >> nawaz: the costs, at&t and verizon have rolled out 5g in some select cities. verizon is going to charge customers more to upgra phone and have a more expensive plan to use theervice. when you rolled back net

neutrality rules you said other service providers would be able to offer cheneaper int was rolling back a call? >> no, you couldn't have 5g if you had heavy handed regulations. the point was to make sure everybody got the same service. 5g promis faster services, 100 times faster speeds. many more app services, the likes of which we can't conceive today. we want a market based approach thatr0e79s wireless ownvairks we want it to happen here in the united states. you can't ha it if you have the government sitting in charge of how they operate. >> nawaz: it's going to cost more. how is that bet around cheaper? >> i disagree the early stages of 5g, we'll see different types of business models apecially in rural areas where we're talking about precision agriculture, fixed wireless services for parts to have the country where you can't

get a fier line, these are applications that will be tremendously beneficial foran consumer part of the reason why we want to maintain u.s. leadership. we want our consumers to be able to benefit first from that novation. >> nawaz: you mentioned reaching some rural communities. that $20illion will go to extend broadband services to those communities, but why will it take $20 billion of basically government subsidy to dome ing the internet service provider should hare been doing y? >> unfortunately the reality in the country is many places with sparse populations, relatively lower incomes, wee the business case deployment for a private business might not be there, and that's part of the reason why,ma decades ago, congress made a bipartisan decision toenrust the f.c.c. with a universal service fund, fund thatp promotes cital and operational expenditures to small compa looking to build out broadband in some parts of the country. i said this has to the top priority in closing the digital

divide. i have been to very remote places in this country and i can tell you there is a lot of human capital on the shelf in thesesm l towns and part of the reason i made the announcement today. i want them to be participants in as opposed to spectators of the digital economy. >> nawaz: a broer concern about ag, the internet isn't all good. out there concerns ab hacking, security and privacy. so in the rush to build and be the leader in this spadce an expand this network here in the united states, what are you doing now, what specic steps are you taking to safeguard against those concerns? >> many steps. first and foremost, we are working with other federal partners. the cyberserity and infrastructure security agents of the department of homeland security which leads in some of tissues, we're so participating in technical stanrd setting bodies. 5g will incorporate the protocols for securitas edposed to the 4g where we tri to backfill in terms of security

solutions. we want it fast and secure. >> nawaz: you've said you hoped the pr wivate sectuld step in and serve some of the underserved communities, and not just in rural areas, but also in urban communities. what are you doing to make sure that happens? >> we have a lntt diffe initiatives to make sure lower income areas even urban aren't left on the wrong side of the digital divid>>-- awaz: what about the private sector? >> we adopted one-touch make redsy to allow competitive fiber providers to gain cheaper ac to utility polls which is one of the biggest cost elements of building ght broadband in urban areas. three years ago, i proposed and bipartisanrs mem of congress proposed tax incentives for companies to buil infrastructure in unserved urban areas. i truly believe there's a lot oa cal tall, entrepreneurship and innovation that can happen but can't if there 't a digital connection.

we want to change that, and that's why working wingress and interested stakeholders we are taking action. >> nawaz pai, thank you for being here today. >> thanks for having me. >> nawaz: as we reportedgr earlier, unduates at georgetown university voted to create a reparatns fund that, if approved, would be the first of its kind. as yamiche alcindor reports, it's also become an issue on the campaign trail, where it hasn't always been front and center. >> america was founded on principles of liberty and freedom, and on the backs of slave labor. >> alcindor: an unexpected 2020 topic: reparations. >> until that original sin is addressed, we may think that we're moving forward as one .ation, but i don't think we ever really will >> alcindor: now, on theca aign trail, there are repeated questio about how to deal with the lasting impact of slavery. >> do you think there should be

actual monetary payments to descendants of slaves?or >> do you sut reparations for slavery? >> about reparations. >> alcindor: from progressives to moderates, democratic candidates are jumpio this decades-long debate. columbia university's john mcwhorter: >> what they're doinaying, in the way that it happens to be the fashion in 2019, rather than 2009, of saying, "i am concerned with the plight of black america," and i'm glad that they are. >> what i'm tired of doing is admiring the problem. >> alcindor: the issue has become a hot topic, but there's no agreement on a solution, or even a definition of the term itself. eva paterson is a founder of the ual justice society. >> for centuries, kidnapped africans worked for free to make americgreat, and to make businesses very wealthy, and we recouped none of the benefits. in addition, centuries of discrimination andias have also put african americans in a very untenable situation, and so reparations are a way to make whole.

>> alcindor: some candidates want to study the issue. hawaii congresswoman tulsi gabbard is a co-sponsor of at house bill thauld look into and come up with suggestions for reparations. senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts is backing that legislation. and senator cory booker recently introduced a senate version of that bill. >> this conversation cannot just become a political box-checking exercise, or a litmu, without meaning.ld the t policies we're talking about right now can't just be about sentiment or about acknowledging the past. they need to be about actually balancinthe economic scales and confronting the biases that exist right now, in the present. >> alcindor: if elecd, former housing secretary julian castro plans to create a task force. >> if, under the constitution, we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn't you compensate people who actually were property? >> alcdor: other presidential hopefuls are talking cash. a one school of thought is to

amass all that mon put it into housing, education, health and the like. anotr school of thought has the whole ea of "40 acres and a mule," which would now i think translate into 4acres and a tesla-- which would mean that individual black people who could ow they were the descendents of enslaved people would get checks. >> alcindor: candidate mariae williamson is an author and spiritual adviser. she wants to appoint a council ld allocate $100 billion to projects that would help african americans over ten years. >> it's a ral argument. if i take $1,000 from you and then i apologize to you, wouldn't you also feel... "thank you, i appreciate the apology, and i'd like my money ba e." >> alcindorepreneur andrew yang wants to create a universal basic income. every american, regardless of race or income, would get $1,000 per month.es >> theway we can empower

african american businesses is to put money into the hands of african american consumers. >>lcindor: he believes tha money, or dividends, could help move the country toward reparations. california senator kamala harris tis also pushing a plan t would benefit people of all races. her bill gives a tax credit to middle class americans. >> people aren't starting out on the same base, in terms of their ability to succeed. and so, we have got to recognize that and give people a lint up. >> alcr: then there is senator bernie sanders of vermont. he rejects thepadea of direct ents to descendents of slaves. >> what about straight cash payouts? >> no. >> alcindor: sanders says w heill help all oppressed communities by taking on big banks and other entities he argues hurt thosgroups. >> i think what we have got to do is pay attention to distressed communities: blackco unities, latino communities and white communities, all over this country. >> alcindor: mcwhorter believes policies like that have be happening, and are already a form of reparations. >> affirmative action in all of its effects is reparations. black history month is reparations. the fact that we're having this conversation and taking

reparations seriously can be seen as reparations. welfare reform, which enabled more poor people, and it was aimed mainly at black people to take advanta of welfare in the late 1960s. hoat was reparations. the only thing is, things weren't officially titled reparations for slavery and jim crow. >> alcindor: others argue policies that are not race- specific c't be called reparations. again, eva paterson: >> i think it is foolish to say that if we help all people, we'll help african americans.ou ifook at any programs that have been instituted in our country, when you lump everybody in, white people get a leg up. it's just the way it is. it doesn't mean they're evil. the system is set up to privilege and favor white people. >> alcindor: minnesota senator amy klobuchar argues, parations can be done without exchanging money. >> i believe we have to invest in those communities that have en so hurt by racism. it doesn't have to be a direct pay for each person. but wh we can do is invest in

those communities, acknowledge what's happened. >> alcindor: as an alternative, she points to investments in community college, childcare and a higher minimum wage. fellow midwesterner pete buttigieg also doesn't back giving out cash. he does think policies should address inequities created by slavery. >> i absolutely believe that we need to have some kind of counting for the persistent racial inequities today that are pthere by design because t and present racism. and so, it means our policies and our policy interventions on berything from criminal justice to housing need toe designed in such a way, they're targeting those areas in our emy and our society. >> alcindor: former texas congressman beto o'rourke is also against cash handouts, but told iowa voters recit's important to "confront the truth" about how black americans are treated. washington govnor jay inslee does not have a policy prescription, but he told the newshour last month, something should be done to makep for

the history of slavery. >> and the kind of things we should do, i think, should focus on ending inter-generational poverty. >> alcindor: some, like mcwhorter, don't think reparations will benough to remedy that history. >> unless a person could, after reparations happened, look america in the eye edand say, "america has tu corner on race. serious progress has been made." the cond shoe has dropped. if people couldn't be itmfortable saying that and really sitting ind feeling it, then i'm not sure why we should go through trying to get reparaons at all. >> alcindor: one veteran politician, still weighing whether to run for the democratic nominatn, is facing criticism for past statements. in 1975, then-senator joe biden told a delaware newspaper, "i don't feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. i feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sinw of mgeneration. and i'll be damned ifeel responsible to pay for whatea happened 300 ago." for democrats running in 2020,

it remains to be seen whether reparations will become a litmus test. >> nawaz: stay with us.ng cop on the newshour: a conversation with susan page, on her new biography of barbara bush. and, country legend loretta lynn celebrates her 87th birthday i nashville style. and now, to the analysis of shields and brooks. that syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. >> nawaz: i want to pick up where yamiche's report left offy you've hr own evolution in your views on reparatio. how should people today look at comments made by mr. biden years ago.

>> i think it's ridiculous to judge somebody by a statement in 1975. i was in junior high school. people change their minds and people should be allowed to i support reparations, but it's noan act guilt, it's a show of respect that injunationtieses minorities of the african-american people in our society have suffered for hundreds of years, not just? slavery or re lining, but respect. and we do it as an act of resetting and regard. the practice qualities of doing that are hard, but i changed my nd about it because it feels like we're in a makeup on race. the actions of trump hacreated a movement which says aggressivv measuresto be take ton make sure we're all part of a country. >> i think it's non-starter,

an issue in 020. i think david mas a legitimate point, a moral point, anthical point. i think politically, you have a choice, especially beginn with joe biden. you either have converts or you have her ticks in polu itics. y that person was wrong and, therefore, they are doomed to perdition and kp them away from me, converts those who come and join our side and are welcome and sit in te front row. and joe biden's record on civil rights, i think, speaks louder tethan the one quo from 43 years ago. and you have a choice in politics, you calook forwa or backward. and i thi, in 202 this is not an issue that comes up voluntarily on the part of voters. i think david raises the question it is next to impossible to do it. i mean, the african-american girl wo graduated from citadel

who's father is a dentist andla mother is er is not in the same position as somebody who is a direct lineal descendent of discriminati and servitude. it is -- what works in this country is whe we conclude -- include everybody in a program, and there'no question t african-americans have suffered economically, socially and politically, but it ought to be a policy that's direto lifting up all those who la behind, who have been, through no fault of their own, left behind and hurt and i think that means spending more money, it means anen invesin city schools. there's no reason, as john mccain said, that a bad congressman should earn more than a good school teacher and n that's a good place to start. >> we've seen it coming up on the campaign trail. i want to ask you about some of the people who make the decision about who makes their way. there is a fascinating analysis in the "new york tim" looki at who those democratic voters

really are, and i think some people might be surprised at what was in there. some of the loudest voices on soci media, theery progressive voices are not necessarily representative of the who. >> yay! (laughter) >> nawaz: one number that stood out, amoong democrats w self-identify as moderate or conservative, 29% the democrats are on social media, 53% of other democrats identifyy that did that surprise you? >> no, it really doesn't. i thought it was a great piece and good for the "times" for putting that on the front page. we're forcing people who read the "times" "times," including myself, to address this reality. the loudest voices are not necessarily representative and,m y cases, as those who read twitter, no, tere's no satisfying them. so, you know, youni give, wait a minute, what about nine more? so i think the problem fo the democrats, as charlie cook put it very well, the analyst, heid

5% of the people are against donald trump. 35% are for him. there's 20% wh are out there. if you win 10% of them, you wonn a lide, you get 55% of the vote, but those people are notw onter, that 20%, and they're not into the exotic, erotic issues that excite so many of the activist docrats. >> nawaz: you looked at the numbers, david. what did you make of them? >> it's true. twitter is not realit we pray that to be the case. >> nawaz: you. but i guess i think two things, the people on twitter, the hard core people, they want a culture war. a lot of democrats want a lot of economic change, policy changes, but a lot on twittish want culture wars. so anservative that was big was chick-fil-a getting disinvited from some airports because the owner of chick-fil-a gave money to the salvation army

cting progressively incor because it's a religious organization. that's what ives conservatives up the wall is because they can't practice their faith, ando democrats don't care about at issue. just because social media are ai mi doesn't mean they can't drive the train, and if candidates are afraid of angering them and feel theyave to tow certain lines because of abuse, then the passionate minority drives the train. >> nawaz: social media, the esident was talng about an issue key to his heart and campaign moving forwardor 2020 as well, and that's immigration. i want to show you the tweet from this morning, was talking about a proposal to bus detained migrants into sanctuary cities. he said we are indeed as reported giving strong consideration to placing illegal aliens into sanctuary cities. this was a proposal the white ated, said they flo considered and rejected it.

the president is still talking about it. what do youange of that? >> he confused twitter with reality that you can do a twitter prank and own libs andrg the fact there are human beings at stake here. he's furrer insulting a goup he's insulting consecutivively for three or four years. we have chaos on thean borded could place a system in place so we actually have the bor under control. we could expand the detention centers, send more judges to ta care of the backlog, give counselors to the people so the know how to woe system, we could do a lot of things to make the situation on the bor functioning and that's what a normal president would be focused on, what a governor would be doing and mayor is doing. postead of doing actualicy, he's treating it all as a twitter game to make his base feel good about themselves.ow >> nawaz: we he reasons it was pushed back on is because it was illegal. when the president was on the

border with kevin mcaleenan, he asked kevin to close the border earlier than expected and said he would pardon him if he wre to act illegally and prevent migrants from entering, all rethrts that came out lat afternoon. just weigh in on this. what do you make of thireports and the allegations made here? in from all we know about kev mcaleenan, he's talking to the wrong guy, donald trump, when he makes that sort of an offer. he's a law-abiding law person. as far as president trump is concerned, i mean, david's ri tt sense that the presidency and the white house is abo a else a place of preeminent moral leadership, and there has been none. david pointed out the democrats have an obligation,hich th do, to help formulate that new policy of immigration. i point out that twice in the

last te years passed in the senate overwhelmingly comprehensive immigration reform. we passed it with 80% of the votes being for democrats and the 14 republicans who dared to te for it in the senate, john mccain is gone, jeff flake is gone, dean heller is gone, lee ayot is gone, bob corker is gone. they haven't been released by pro consensus, pro-compromise immigration supporters. so i raise that, that the democrats do have a sp isn't, but, i mean, when you don't even get a vote in the republican house under george w. bush who pushed for, to his credit, and for barack obama who pushed for it through the senate in both cases, you know, we' got a problem in this country and it's a moral problem, a as well, and ile don't think we should hide from that. >> when you look to what's happened at d.h.s., immigrations big part of what they do.

you take a look at the shakeup of what hap it's easy to forget these things happen. this was just this w sunday the homeland security secretary was out tuesday the acting deputy of homeland security, wednesday the immigration and customs enforcement acting director. what does the shakeup mean? >> the president adopted a policy on immigrants in centraln america based ruelty and deterrence. if we're cruel enough, it will deter them from coming and that the not the case. we have 700,000 or 800,000 people seeking asylum. they were trfong to solve r the wrong problem. the idea of deterrence failed, the situion is worse. the president first blames the people in the agency for not carrying out his cruelty and then blames them for the situation being worse. you have a lot ofe pople, some cooperated with the cruel policy, some didn't want to, ane at t of the day they couldn't take it and he was sick of them, so you have a failedg

policy beamed on the enactors, basically. >> nawaz: another list goes beyond d.h.s.nt there are cur six agencies with acting leaders. we talk a lot about the stability and the chaos within this admk.inistration, ma what does this mean for an administration? does it mat >> it means two things. first of all, it means this administration of donald trump -- that's what it is, i mean, it's his will, his whim, his predilections, and the attention span that he has, that's what it is. as far as acting secretaries, they don't have the full legal authority of a confi secretary. there is logic to our system, when somebody is confirmed bye ited states senate after hearings and a vote in the senatend, as a consequence, they are limited. so pow is with the president, but, at the same time, amna, what it mea is, ironically,

that the power likely devolves to senior professional public servants, civil servants, which is the last thing in the world that donald trump or, you know,t most ele officials of conservatives want and, youak know, they areg the decisions, they are the decision-makers. but it's a terrible way to run a company, a bahseball team, ore united states of america. >> nawaz: we don't have much time. i want to get your take on one t laing. looking ahead to next week, the department of justice said we should probably expect some version of special counsel robert mueller's report.ur that's, of c, in the hands of attorney general william barr right now. he had this tosay on capitol hill earlier this week.in >> i think spdid occur. well, let me ask -- the question is wheth it was adequately predicated, and i'm not suggesting it wasn't adequately predicad but i nee to explore that. i'm not talking about the

f.b.i., necessarily, but a intelligenencies more broadly. >> nawaz: mark, he was talking about spying on the trump. campai what did you make of that statement by a.g. barr? >> based upon his record in the george hsh administration and conversations with him, i gave him the benefit of the he has surrendered that benefit of the doubt. when you start talk about spying and you give a green light to donald trump to start into his conspiracy theories again, you have been irresponsible. i thought his answer,n particular on the affordable care act and its su suspension - or elimination, actually, byt cocision which he is now advocating as attorney general of the united states inr carying out the 19.9 million people would lo their health insurance, he says, oh, no, the president has a great plan to include s.e-existing conditi i'm sorry, it was irresponsible

to use the term "spying" and "unfair" and "inaccurate," anthi k he really has hurt his case and made himself ama spokfor the white house. >> nawaz: 30 seconds, david, has he lost his cedibility >> not entirely. he is one for dropping tidbits and nolat exping. it was wrong to make that decision. we'll know a lot more in a week, and if he release as pretty full report, we'll say he seems sort of objective. we have to hope for tht. >> hope, hope, hope -- >> nawaz: we're going to endis onversation. >> on hope. >> nawaz: i'll take that. >. this plce cled hope. >> nawaz: i will take that. mark shields, david brooks,yo than >> thank you. >> nawaz: next week marks a year since the death of barbara bush. a new biography, "the matriach" by susan page of "usa today," reveals thheartache and happiness that shaped the life of a woman who left on indelible

mark on modern american hiufory. judy wootalked with page recently, for our "newshour bookshelf." >> woodruff: susan page, the book is the matriarch barbara bush and the making a american dynasty. thank you for talking with us.p what sonal biography this is. i think this is the most personal i've ever read of ala firsdy. you say she was probably the most underestimated first lady of our prornd era. what did you mean? >> people thought they knew barbara bush. they thought she was approachable, warm, and a oud ofother with the white hair, and she was all those things, but she was more than that, in ways i think most americans didn't realize. she was a hugely influential political advisor to her husband and to her son. she spoke with them behind the scenes on issues like confronting the aids crisis or dealing with the e the cold war. there are ways in which she set a standard for her family, led

this remarkable am family that i thought was a story that ought to be told. >> woodruff: you write she raised in a family of privilege, but she had a difficult relationship with her mother that had an effect on her the rst of her life. >> she had a toulationship with her mother. her mother would make fun of her weight and compare her to her older sister martha who was very pretty, on the cover of the college issue of "vogue," and i think this left a wound on barbara bush she had for her whole life. >> woodruff: and that stayed t th her. what abr relationship with her husband? they were 16 and 17 years old when they met, they married just three years later, and it was ar ge for the ages. >> they met at this high schoo dance at the greenwich country club. i asked george h.w. bush, do you remember what caught your eye that night? and he said, she was so beautiful. nsey had a long marriage, 73 years, ups and dobut they were fiercely devoted the one another at the end, and in the interviews i did with her,

clearly, her health was failing. she was not afaraid of deth. the only thing that worried her, i thought, was the idea she would die before did and he would be left alone. >> woodruff: a wom strong personality and, yet, for much of his career, she followed him she went along on the assignments or appointment and took care of the children. >> she was a woman of her generation and she did follow. when he decided to move to texas, she said i always wanted to live indessa, which i suspect was not entirely true, but over time, th became equal partners. over time, he came to trust her voice and judgment, and even when facing the biggest decisions, for instance what to do after the irqianvasion of kuwait, she would be one of five or six people in throom wit him as he debated what to do. >> woodruff: and, susan, you had remarkable access to her. you interviewed her a number of times.co yoered her years ago and close to her death had access to

our diaries and came across the remarkable personal inudrmation. the he had ongoing with former first lady nancy reagan. >> all these years later, 92 years ol f andailing health, she became very animated when she talked about her views of nancy reagan. they had a terrible relationship. they were very different women, very different priorities, and she kind of bit her tongue, i think for years, witanh nancy rewhen nancy reagan was whrst lady and she was second lady. the bushes moved out of the white house, evicted by bill clinton, came back to houston, twdays later, nancy reagan called to try to explain away an interview in which she explained how the bushes had treated ronald reagan after he left the white house. barbara bush had enough and said, to nabs nance, i'm tired of hearing frm you, don't call me again, and said she heardr anotone ringing and hung up. >> woodruff: she raised hers

children, stay at home mother. she had conflicted feelings out the women's movement. >> the early days of the women's movement raised questions about the value of the choices that e had mad she walked the walk of a feminist, strong-minded, independent, notdo frapeak up, but she refused to talk the talk. we have one iterview where i said i think you're a feminist, don't you? and she refused to say that and i finally gave up anid sad you're being very slippery about this. rud she said, yes, i am. >> wo: and she was a republican, married to george h.w. bush, andyet, susan, you write she had views about waabortion in a surprisin. >> you know, when i was going through her diaries, i hopped her diaries from 1980 when her husband was making his first bid for presidency. in the diary i found four pages, folded over, yell load, tucked inside, i pulled them out. in the top was wrtten in her hand thoughts about abortion. this was in essence a letter f

hers she tried to sort out her views on abortion, and she drew lesons fro for this from te life and death of her daughter robin. she said when e was born felt her soul enter her body, and when she died felt her soul leave her body, and, therefore, abortion isn't murder and should be left to the mother at the bottom to have the four pages, she wrote, needs lots more thought. >> woodruff: but it was one way inhich she did go against republican orthodoxy. she was a supporter of republicans until the last president -- repubocan presidenf her lifetime, donald trump. >> she was not a supporter of donald trump. for one thing, donald trump had befeated her son for the nomination in 2016t she also had written years earlier that donald trump was a sybol of the greed of the 1990s. she said that in her diary at the time. she worried, i think, about th direction of the party and about

the quality of the amerin political debate and, in the last interview i did with her in february of 2018, i said, do you still think you're a repubd can? e said, no, i would probably say not. ou woodruff: talk to us, finally, susan, her husband. he did outlive her by a number of months, but he never got over her death, did he? >> no, and he wanted to go ba to kennebunkport, i think, one more summer and he was able to do th. an aide told me he was sitting on the pomp at kenthnebunkport last summer aftraer bar had gone and remembered when lkey agreed to get married pau walking up the driveway, two teenagers with an understanding they were going to be together forever. >> woodruff: i rememb said i didn't get down on my knee but we knew we would be married. susan page, a wonrful book, "the matriarch: barbara bush and the making of an american dynasty." thank you. >> thank you, judy.

>> nawaz: the songs of loretta lynn have spanned generations of country music fans. millions more came to know here story through 80 film, "coal miner's daughter." this sunday, one of thgreatest figures in american music turns 87, and loretta lynn is a woman who knows how to celebrate.ff jey brown joined her in nashville. it's part of our ongoing coverage of arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ yeah, i'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter ♪ >> brown: it was a birthday bash unlike any other, as the matriarch of country music was feted for a career that's already spanned six decades. >> happy birthday. >> happy birthday, ms. loretta. >> happy birthday. ♪ happy birthday to you >> brown: but this year, loretta lynn claimed, marked a first. >> this is my first birthday party i ever had.

brown: oh really? >> yeah. when i was a little girl, mommy would say, "well, today, you're fi years old." next time, "today you're six." i never had a birthday. >> brown: well, now you deserve g , i guess. >> well, i'm lovin. ♪ you've come to tell me something you say ♪ i ought to know >>ntrown: a who's who of cou music, and 12,000 fans, filled nashville'bridgestone arena in early april, to mark lynn's 87th bthday. it was her first public appearance since suffering a stroke in 2017. ♪ i'm here to tell ya, gal to lay off of my man >> brown: serenading her, stars likeiranda lambert... ♪ amarillo >> brown: ...and all-time greats george strait... ♪ and there's nothing cold as ashes after the fire is gone ♪

>> brown: ...trisha yearwood, and garth brooks. talking with us backstage before the show, lynn said all thisgias beyond ing, when she was growing up in the tiny coal- rning community of butche holler, kentucky. what was the hope, what was the dream, what was the ambition back then? >> you know, you never dare to dream big, because, where have you been to dream? how could you dream when you've never en nothing, or never been nowhere? never been to town, so you didn't dare dream.wn >> broas captured in a pbs "american masters documentary," at 15, loretta married olir lynn, known as "doolittle." she had four children by age 22, and twins ten years later. it was a marriage of professional partnership, great love and plenty of turmoil. ♪ lyin', cheatin', woman-in ch honky-tonkin', whiskey- drinkin' you ♪

>> brown: and she put it all in her songs. good and bad, huh? >> oh yeah, and you know, it didn't make no difference what i wrote. if it was out him, he would say, "it's a hit, honey." the last song i sung him, when he died, and he said, "honey, it's a hit." >> brown: what do you think he would be saying tonight? >> he would be so proud of me. oh yeah, he'd be partying, man, he would be down here raising all kinds of heck. t ♪ "honky tonk girl" ) >> brown: her firshit, "i'm a honky tonk girl" came in 1960, and set her on a trailblazing path-- first woman in y music to write a numbehit song, "you ain't woman enough to take my man." first to be named country music association entertaineof the year, and to have more than 50

top-tewhcountry hits. 's the key to writing a good song, what does it have to have >> it's have the heart, and soul, of a person that's writing it. >> brown: that sounds , but it can't be simple to capture the real person. >> it's not simple, becae it's hard on the writer. i used to lock myself up, shut myself ia room, before i would get through with a song. i wouldn't come out until i got it wrote. >> brown: and en did you know that you had it, that it was done? >> well, i would know when i had it done. if you don't know when you have it done, you shouldn't be writing. ♪ oh, but i don't think you can but you ain't woman enough my man ♪ >> brown: she was a strong voice our women in a conservative industry, a powerh in a business run by men, making rself a multi-millionaire. you know, we all know you as a great artist, but i understand you've always been a great businesswoman, as well. >> pretty good. >> brown: you took care of

things? >> yes, i did. >> brown: because you had to? did you have to learn how to dot >> if you're hungry, yeah. you learn how to makving, if you're hungry. ♪ i've lost everything in this world, and rl♪ now i'm a honky ton >> brown: it was an inspiration to womenho followed, like martina mcbride. >> she was really one of the eifirst woman that sang about stuff other than just being somebody's love interest. she sang about her as a woman,ha and the thingsshe was going through, and the things that she was facing, and living with a man, a not-perfect relationship, and songs like "the pill," and just really groundbrking stuff. >> brown: and it reached to the other side of the world, where a young keith urban played lynn's songs in cover bds growing in australia. >> she's talking about home, and

she's talking about drms, and she's talking about heartbreak, and she's talking about desire, and love, and just dtruction, and all of it. it's global.wn >> bbut urban had a slightly more direct reason for being here tonig. >> hey keith, this is loretta. and i'm having a birthday, and i want to see your butt there! >> brown: you get that call, an, you'reight? you got no choice. ♪ oh! louisiana woman ♪ ♪ mississippi man! s brown: onstage, there were duets made famou lynn and conway twitty. ♪ ♪ >> brown: and a version of controversial 1975ong, "the pill," about birth control. ♪ >> i love her songs because she bleeds her heart outr songs. like, you feel that's real. she felt that. she knows that. she's telling yothat.

you can believe that or not, she doesn't give a ( bleep ). but it's real. >> because she was kind of like living her whole tth in the fullest space she could, meant that the rest us in her wake could be ourselves. i mean, it's just, i owe her the space stand in. ♪ ♪ >> brown: lynn herself told us she's not done-- she's working on her next album. so what's been the key to surviving and thriving for so long in this business, as a s songwriter, asr, as a businesswoman? >> hard work, and smart. that's all it takes. if you've got a little talent, you can go a long way if you're smart, and put the work in it. >> brown: the night's grandna ? "coal's miners daughter," of course, with t star of stars joining in. at first she seemed to have forgotten her own words, but a few lines in, she was ready, and

♪ ♪e ng it through to the end. d ♪ a longoe in the field' corn >> brown: for the pbs wshour... ( eers and applause ) >> brown: ...i'm jeffrey brown in nashville. >> nawaz: d online, we have more from loretta lynn and the standout moments at her birthday bash. that's on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm anma nawaz. have a great weekend. thank you, and good night.

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♪he >>o, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." re's what's coming up. >> the threats, they're very real. almost every one is connecteto iraq. ke>> secretary of state mi pompeo ratchets up the pressure on iran. andhe white house named its revolution a guard corps a terror group. in a rare interview with a top iranian official, i ask could tensions be reaching the boiling point? and wikileaks' julian assange arrested in london, faces charges in the united states. s side is citing first amendment issues. i speak with legal journalist emily bazelon. then cindy mccain, widow of the late senator john mccain, keeps hisy leg alive supporting veterans, spreading democracy, and pushing back against esident trump.