captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc g >> woodrufd evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: c democrats gress weigh their options for investigating mpesident trump, including whether to beginchment proceedings. then, another abuse crisis engulfs the catholic church, as nuns begin to speak out about the sexual vlence they have endured at the hands of priests. >> anybody who wants to become a nun, wants to serve, and wants to give herself to god. and that's why it's so easy to abuse nuns. because they are so ready to listen to others, who tell them how they are supposed to be. >> wsdruff: plus, for million of adults in the u.s. who lack issic reading skills, ther already little funding to provide the services they need.

now, budget cuts threaten adult education further and the second chance that literacy represents. >> once you learn english, you can participate in a much moreay meaningful w. you can participate in community meetingsand neighborhood associations. the people who came to portland5 adult ed tenears ago are some of the pillars in our community. >> woodruff: all that and mobs, on tonight newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin? >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> ordering takeout. >> finding the west route. >> talking for hours.

>> planning for showers. >> you cano the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> babbel. a language program that teaches spanish, french, italian, german, and more. >> and with the ongoing support of thesenstitutions: t s program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station thank you. like you. >> woodruff: democrats in the u.s. house of representatives have struck the latest blow inna their subptruggles with the trump administration. the house voted today to let committees sue agencies and witnesses who defy subpoenas. that includes the attorneyli

general, w barr, and former white house counsel don stgahn. president trump in again today that a key part of his deal with mexico, to curb migration from central america, has not yet been revealed. on the white house lawn, he repeatedly held up a single piece of paper, and said, "that's the agreement that everybody says i don't" a blown-up image of the document showed writing that said mexico aganed to a regional asylum and, posbly, to new laws. president trump and democratic presidential candidate joe biden fired new broadsides at each other today, on a day when bothi men caed in iowa. the former vice president currently leads the democratic field. but, as he left the white housed mr. trump caim a "loser" and a "dummy." >> i'd rather run against, i, think, bidan anybody. i think he's the weakest mentally, and i like running against people that are weak mentally. i think joe is the weakest up here. d he looferent than he used

to.s he afferent than he used to. he's even slower than he used to be >> woodruff: biden answered in ottumwa, iowa, branding the prident, "an existential threat to this country." >> this is a guy who does everything to separate and frighten people. it's about fear and loathing. it's about what he calls people, the names he calls them. no president has done something like that, for god's sake. i mean, it's bizarre, and it's damaging. and so i think he's genuinely a threat to our core values. >> woodruff: the two men also traded jibes over trade policy, and who has done more to help farmers. the nation's largest protestant religious denomination, the southern baptists, opened their d nual meeting today, focu sexual abuse. hundreds of church leaders and faffers have been accused sexual misconduct over the last two decades. the agenda athe meeting, in birmingham, alabama, includes

making it easier to expel churches that mishandle abuse claims. meanwhile, u.s. catholic bishops convened in baltimore, under pressure to deal with their own ng-running clergy abuse scandal. at issue is how to hold bishops accountable if they fail to address abuse cases. the head of the conference, cardinal daniel dinardo, isel hiaccused of improperly handling a case in texas. in hong kong, new protests geared up against extradition proposals that could extend china's control over the territory. hundreds gathered as the city's legislature opened debate this evening. the crowds oppose extraditing hong kong residents to the mainland, to face crim charges. china defended t a proposals. o rejected u.s. criticism. ( translated ): i want to stress once again that hong kong's affairs are purelya' chinternal affairs. no country, organization or individual has the right to inteene.

we express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the u.s.'s irresponsible remarks on hong kong affairs. >> woodruff: hong kong lmakers are due to vote on the extradition issue next week. in south korea, a human rights group says that it has identified hundreds of public execution sites in north korea. it cites interviews with more than 600 north korean defectors. they report that north korean leader kim jong-un is using executions as intimidation, with family members of the coemned often forced to watch. today, president trump cited a "beautiful, warm letter" he received from leader kim, and said that under his leadership, north korea has great potential. back in this country, comedian jon stewart blasted congress atp a hearing onol hill on helping 9/11 responders with mealth problems. stewart is a long-dvocate

of that cause, and he appeared before a house subcommittee. but, most of the members were his turn to speak came-- and he denounced them. >> behind mea filled room of 9/11 first responders. o and in frome, a nearly empty congress. sick and dying, they brought themselves down here, to speak to no one. >> woodruff: in fact, 12 of the subcommittee's 14 membd attend parts of the hearing, but many had left for other hearings when stewart spoke. tomorrow, the full house is expected to prove paying health benefits for 9/11 responders for the next 70 years. flooding rain this spring may take a heavy toll in the gulf or mexico this su the national oceanic and atmospheric administration

reports the so-called "dead zone" in the gulf could reach near-record levels, roughly the size of massachusetts. scientists say that runoff from all the rain is feeding algae at will rob marine life oxygen. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average lost 14 points to close at 26,048. the nasdaq fell a fraction, and the s&p 500 slipped one point. and, the u.s. women's soccer leam began its world cup t defense today, in france, with a record-breaking win over thailand. fe final was 13 - nil. alex morgan scorede times to lead the onslaught. overall, the u.s. tallied the most goals ever in a single match in women's world cup pla the americans play chile on sunde . still to c the newshour: how will democrats move forward in their investigation of president trump? sitting down with 2020 democratic presidential

candidate, massachusetts congressman seth moulton. catholic nuns speak out, after years of sexual abuse by priests. the hardships faced by adults who lack basic reading comprehension skills. and, much more. >> woodruff: democrats on capitol hill are still grappling with questions of whether to pursue impeachment againstt presidump. speaker of the house nancy pelosi was asked today why she supports congressional investigations into the president, but not a formal impeachment inquiry. >> so the question you ask, do we get more by ving an inquiry? some say yes, some say no. >> if a majority of your caucus wants to go forward with an impeachment inquiry, would you go for it? >> it's not even close in our caucus. >> but eventually? >> why are we speculating on

hypotheticals? what we're doing is winning in court. the path that we're on is a path that, i think-- look, i want to tell you something. ( crosstalk ) there is nothing as much, as divisive in our country, in my view, than impeachment. >> woodruff: and our ngressional corresponden lisa desjardins, is here with me now. so, lisa, we've just heard what speaker pelosi is saying. so tell us what exactly are the house democrats doing or not doing today. >> well, let's talk about the resolution that the house passed toddes this is a rlution that democrats refer to as "civil contempt," but what it really does is itgives democrats house hommittee chair men the power to move forward w civil lawsuits. they want to do that in order to try to compel testimony from court from the witnesses who have so far refused to talk to them. on that list, at the top of that list, is former white house counsel, don mcgahn, but also on tst is the current attorney general himself, bill barr. and basically, judy, dlimocrats this because it will give

this power to committee chairman. publicans say that's exactly the problem-- that it's too much power incommittee chairmen hands. it's not clear when the committee chairmen will file the lawsuits, but i'm sold they're interested in doing klit quic >> woodruff: what's the plan the democrats have. and what are these documents that they now are goingo have permission to see that have to do with the mueller investigation? >> i was able todo some god reporting on these documents. these documents are available starting today only to members of the house judiciary committee and only in a secure setting. they cannot take them out of tht dent of justice. now, also, we don't know how many documents there will be.il theybe given to these members in sort of trawrchs. they won't get all of thwm no, because the department of justice has to go through and make sure execprivilege is honored, all of those kinds of things. but they can start looat them now. they're not sure what's in there. they think perhaps interview transcripts, other evidence that led to the mueller report. we'll find out more maybe in the days ahead.

as to the democratsacy plansju now,y tinclude looks at these documents, holding morely hearings, probssuing more subpoenas and probably because of that going to court more often. so it is aong-term plan, and there is no plan for formal impeachment inquiries right now. >> woodruff: so let's talk about the politics. what are the democrats thinking in terms ofimpeachment, both , om inside the caucus, what the members are thinkit also what they're hearing from their constituents. >> that'erthe thing. is so much pressure on many thieves members, especially in the more liberal, morecr deic districts, they say they are getting hundreds of rsone calls from their vote saying, "we would like this president impeached. what are you waiting for?" it's very different inmoderate districts. swing diswrictz democrats may be vulnerable, they're hearing impeachment as well,t they're hearing that perhaps that could be a negative, that democ are moving too fast, look like they're thndictive. bupressure is also coming from chitty chairmen who are

frustrated because they haven't been able to get answers they want. in all, jude i, they're in a fficult position. i did see some discipline today. those who want impeament inquiries seem to be doing down a little bit, going with ploas' plan, which is just investigate. i heard a strange quote from a freshman democrat, he told me formality, formal impeachmentee prngs. that's all relative. i don't know what that means. it shows they are having troub explaining this to some people. >> woodruff: as the speaker usaid the contry is divided on this. >> that's right. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins, thank you. >> woodruff: seth moulton, a democric congressman from massachusetts, is among the crowdefield of candidates running to claim the democratic party's nomination for president. a former marine who served

four tours in iraq, moulton has made service and national security central elements of his campaign. congressman seth moult joins me now. welcome to the newshour. >> thanks, judy. th's good to be here. >> woodruff: so ins crowded field of democrats, more than 20 of you, what makes you the person to take on donald trump? eral otherere are sev candidates who as young as you are. there are several who have served in ate military. unique? >> i think donald trump is going to be more difficult to beat than many democrats ink. and to do so, we need to build a coalition, a coalition that includes everybody in our party, plus those independent obama trump voters ands even diaffect republicans, and that's hard to do. but that's exactly the job they in irq. and unluke any other candidate in this race, i led troops on the ground, had to build a coalition of people from all over this coury in my platoon-- different religious eeliefs, different political beliefs -- and them to not just vote for me but actually to risk their lives for what we were trying to do. i'm also takinon donald tru in his job not just as president

but as commander in chief. i think that'whactuallere he's weakest, and i think we need to do that if we're going to win. ab>> woodruff: let's talkut something that's before the congress right now in many ways, and we just talked to our correspondent, lisa desjardins, that is the question of impeachment proceedings s you'd they should start right away. speaker pelosi is saying no, let's hold off. why is her argument wrong? >> well, she makes actually a very good argument on the politics, which is that maybe the politics make this tricky, and i undstand that. i accept that that might be the case. but how about just doi right thing on principle, on the oath that we swore not to protect our political party but to protect and defend the constitution of nied states? the principle is very clear here. i mean, half the president's campaign team is in prson. his campaign chairman is in prison. you can't read just a page ofut the exe summer of the mueller report and not say that just by the facts, we should be having this debate in congress and before the american people. >> woodruff: let's talk about

some of the isues congressman-- as i said you served active duty. you've just talked about that, gives you soiae crede when it comes to national security. in a nutshell, what is working with the trump administration foreign policy anwhat's not working? >> well, there's almost nothing that's working. he is puting us in tremendous danger around the globe. the one thing i will give him credit for is for standing up to china because china is a serious long-term economic and national security threat to the united t states but hitics are all wrong-- throwing around tariffs, not working with our allies. it's exact let's wrong approach. we should actually be building coalitions in the pacific. acific version a p of nato to help containt rise of china and north korea. we suld be strength nin t iran deal not pulling out of it and starting a war. we shou be strengthening nato to deal with the next generation of threats from russia, whih is--h are coming through the internet not by rollingnk tanks into eastern europe. trump is doing none of these

things. he's just disparaging our allies and, fraly, cozying up to our enemies all around the globe. >> woodruf veterans-- you ve talked, of course, about veterans. you're a veteran yourself. president trump says that he more than any other president would take care of ameri's veterans. >> well, he's failed to do so. he's failed to do so. i mean, we still have historic rates of veteran suicide. president trump thinks thatpa iotism is hugging the flag. that's not true. patriotism is fighting for what the flag stands for.is and s a man who dodged the draft, let someone else go in his place when iwas turn to serve the country. i think that's wrong. and i think it's a good tngi that unlike any other candidate in this race, the first time that i have ake a decision involving the lives of young americans and live with the consequences of that decision won't be when i'm sitting in the situation room at the white house. i've made those decisions bere, and i can talk wih credibility about our national security and making the harced chabout when we go to war and. when we do not. >> woodruff: some domestic

issues: health care. are you for the so-called public option. >> that's right. >> woodruff: whereas, many of your fellow candidates say they favor a government-run single-payer health care system. what's wrong with their idea? >> well, i'm the only candidate in the race that gets arn gont-run single-payer system because i made a commitment to keep going to the v.a. forca my healt between when i was elected to congress. and i've seen the good, the bad, the ugly of that system. that's why i'm with president obama. his plan, admittedly was not passed. it was to have a public option that would compete with private-sector plans. >> woodruff: the original plan. >> that's the original plan. that's what we should have today. there are this somethings thel v.a. does l. they negotiate prescription drug prices, which medicare does not. but i also had surgery at the v.a. a few years ago and was literally sent home with the wrong medications. that's not the health care that erybody in america deserves.

>> woodruff: the economy the otheabay st, massachusetts candidate in the race, elenizabh waas talked about what she calls a "wealth tax" a special tax on people who have save the overs $50 million, an annual tax. do you agree with her about that? >> it's not nice idea about theute noaboutbut youcan't make. we need to enforce the tax system toik ma it far. right now, almost every american is paying more taxes than amazon, netflix, delta airlines combined. there are true inequities in our tax system. what we need to do re make everybody is paying their fair versus not pit the poor the wealthy or anything like that, but just make sure everybody is on equal playing field. and if you do hard work for a living, you're going to pay the same taxes as someone who is just trading money on wall streh. right now,'s not the case. upon that's what we need to fix. >> woodruff: senator warren argues you need to raise this money to do some of the great

things democrats want to do. >> i agreeit that. but i'm not going to put forward a tax system that will not work and her system has been proven ineffective in other cotries around the world. i like the idea of it, but it won't work. what will work is raising the corporate rate back up to 25%. a'm for that. it's raising thete on investment money so the capital gains tax is comparable with whatou make in a payroll tax, so if you're doing hard work you're going to pay the same rate as people trngmoney. that's basic fairness. that's what we need in the system. >> woodruff: something else. we know president trump ist famous for png labels on people he doesn't like. today and recently he called j biden-- he called him "1% joe, sleepy joe," and today i think he called him weak. today joe biden called the president an existential threat. do you think democrats have to come up with a way to label the president, or can democrats be above the frey? >> no, i think that's kind of a

waste of time. this is the dirty politics the president plays. weateed tuke about we're going to do in the country. we need to put the president in place. we cignore him. he's the commander in chief of the united states and he's a real threat to our couney. that's t but let's talk about how we are going to lead. let's talk about how president trump has failed in his policies, about how romised a tax cut for the middle class but just gave it to the rich. how he prod to take cares of veterans but he's failed at the v.a., pw heromised to give health care to everybody but his administration has spent years trying to take it away let's focus on where he's failed as president, where he's failed as demander in chief and then talk about our vision for t that's what i'm doing in this campaign. >> woodruff: congress seth moulton, looking to win the democratic nomination, thanks very much. >> thanks, judy. >> woouff: this week, catholic bishops are meeting in baltimore

to discuss the priest seabuse crisis in the catholic church. and new rules on reporting that abuse go into effect thrghout the church. they are the most concrete steps the tican has taken to count priest sex abuse and cover-ups. most of the attention has focused on child victims. but, as special correspondent christopher livesay reports from the vatican, now, in the #me-too era, there's a growing chorus of nuns speaking out as srs of abuse, as well. >> reporter: they're known as brides of christ, revered for their quiet service, not for speaking out. but that's beginning to change. >> i joined the convent in 2003, and i was raped in 2008. >> reporter: raped, she says, by a priest. a devout catholic from germany, doris wagner was 24 years old, living and working at this religious community just outside the vatican.nd >>e came into the room.be

closed the doond him.y was sitting onght hand. and he just started to undress me. >> reporter: when she told her superiors, she says the priest went unpunished, allowing him rape her again and again. this whole tim the perpetrator s still living in the same... >> yeah. >> reporter: so you had to seeis your r.. >> every day. >> reporter: every day. >> he was preaching chapel. he was giving me holy communion. he was sitting at breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, at the same table. i was ironing his shirts. >> reporter: story after story like wagner's is reaching a crescendo. india, a bishop currently faces charges for repeatedly raping a former mother superior. and a recent investigation by

the associated press found cases of abuse across four continents. now, the vatican can no longer ignore the scandal. this year, pope francis made a shocking admission and acknowledged what had been a longstanding dirty secret in the roman catholic church-- that p soests had sexually abused nuns. it was a stain the church could keep under wraps. that is, until the #me-too era. now, religious women are beginning to speak out, and a #nunstoo era has been born. helping break down that wall of since was, of all things, vatican magazine: "donna chiesa mondo," or "women church world." its l-women staff included former editor lucetta scaraffia. she listened to hundreds of stories from nuns, and in february, published an article accusing the all-powerful priesthood of not on exploiting them for sex, but first and foremost, for their labor. >> ( tranated ): it happens as

high as the vatican ministries, anere women carry out secretarial work translations, but they can never be promoted, and the men get all the credit. they also exploit nuns as housekeepers. they do all of the cleaning, prepare all the food, without fixed hours, all day, every day. priests see this almost as their right to take advantage of women. >> reporter: they're not paid for their work. there's no chance of advancement. some people have likened this mistreatment to slavery. is that accurate? >> ( translated ): that's accurate. given this habit of servitude, it's easy to understand how it can morph into sexualoi extion. >> reporter: doris wagner says that's what happened to her inme c i was only working in the kitchepping vegetables. anyone who wants to become a nun wants to serve, and wants tolf give hero god. and that's why it's so easy to abuse nuns. s because they aready to

listen to others, who te a them how th supposed to be. ain and again, i was reproached for not sitting right, talking right, because some man in the house had a.roblem with >> reporter: they had a problem with you? >> they were, in a way, attracted to us. >> repter: and this was your fault? >> this was our fault. >> reporte she says it was also her fault when she reported the priest's advances to her female superior. >> she became furious! she literally jumped on her feet and was shouting at me, and she was very angry with me, and she said, "you are dangerous for m! leave him alone!" >> they tell them, "keep quiet, or our congregation will be persecuted." these women can't even contemplate leaving, becausee they don't hy alternatives. they have no trade, no support group. they've severed ties with their

so they are forced to endure this abuse, that often leads to pregnancy, and the priests or bishops force them to have abortions. >> reporter: nuns are forced by the fathers of these children,ts by prito have abortions? >> ( translated ): yes.e and thor women now have to live with the anguish of having committed a mortal sin.es we have manymonies from nuns who had more than one abortion in thisr:ay. >> reporestimonies that became too much for the vatican to handle, she says. soon after they were published, the director of the vatican newspaper, andrea monda, toldth he he would now be sitting in on the editorial meetings of her women's magazine. monda denies any interference in the editorial process. >> ( translated ): there was an effort to suffocate our voice. so we decided, before we're suffocated, it would be better for us to resign. >> reporter: and almost all of the women did indeed resign. change, she says, is happening, thanks to nuns speaking out.

this year, the vatican held an extraordinary summit on sex abuse by priests. some of the most powerful testimonies there came fm nuns, such as sister veronica adeshola openibo from nigeria, who read the riot act to a room full of the most powerful men in the catholic church. >> i think of all the atrocities we have committed as members of the church. i say we. not they. we. >> reporter: openibo sits on the ive board of the international union of superiors general, which counts some 450,000 women religious leaders. it's recently called on nunshe acrossorld to report abuse, and held a rare meeting in rome, whesu pope francis, ounded by nearly 1,000 sisters, once again confessedre that priestsbusing nuns. >> ( translated ): i'm aware of the problems. it's not just the sexual abuse of nuns. you didn't sign up to become someleric's housekeeper. no.

>> reporter: on the sidelines of the meeting, the executive board agreed to an iromptu discussion with me. >> the church has had so many cases, and has been dending itself. like on a football fie >> reporter: can you provide ann sight into what the pope could do to fix this problem? >> i think i know what we could do. we need to create a culture of care. care at every level. an open space. it's not shameful. >> and also to be able to say who the perpetrator was. we would not want that pern to continue hurting other sisters. >> we can be a dangerous memory. we can call the church to what they are professing, that they want to see changes made, but they don't happen. >> reporter: right after the meeting, pope francis made a surprise announcement, andew

issued aule calling on local dioceses to create public and "easily accessible" offices to receive abuse claims.o the rule ays out a way to proceed when prelates are accused of a cover-up or carrying out abuse themselves. it's perhaps the pope' concrete attempt to battle abuse. but crits say the law has a major weakness: it still keeps the handling of cases within the church, as opposed to involving outside authorities, and does not detail anypecific punishments for prelates, like the one who raped doris wagner. >> they should find whoever is a perpetrator or protected perpetrators, and make sure they are legally prosecuted. >> reporter: something that never happened to her rapist. instead, she says he's still a priest in the same communi today. the trauma was so unbearable, she says she almt committed suicide, one day when she was high up on a balcony, inside the

papal palace, right in front of the pope. >> and i could jump on the square. it would have been so easy. you know, i had my leg already halfway up the wall. >> reporter: instead, she decided to speak out. r was a long process, that eventually led to aving religious life. today, she works as a headhunter back in her native germany, and hopes that young women enteringo thent today do so with open eyes. he should be aware that sexual abuse of nuns exists. if victims don't speak out, perpetrators will just go on. so i actually have the responsibility to speak. reporter: for the pbs wshour, i'm christopher livesay,n rome.

>> woodruff: adults often go back to school to get a better paying job. but one important, and often- overlooked, segment of the population a those who struggle to read or do basic math. they can't read a street sign, a pay stub or a menu., every yeousands of these individuals overcome shame and fear to go back to school. but inadequate funding and long waiting lists have made thr struggles even harder. maine is one of the few states where the governor has proposed increasing funding for adult education. special correspondent kavitha cardoza, of our partner "education week," reon those efforts, part of our regular segment, "making the grade." >> the two-digit numbers from my, by my... r orter: carol palmer is 63. she graduated high school years even though she couldn' read or write.lw >> is read backwards.

i ended up going to l ed class because i couldn't do the hework, and i didn't get n to do it. >> reporter: palmer developed several coping skills to hideou the fact shen't read. >> if i went to the grocery store and i couldn't know how to spell peas, i'd find a picture and then i'd knoit was that. >> reporter: gail senese heads adult education in maine. she says a lot of people hide the fact they can't read. they're so ashamed. >> we've had students who didn't even want to tell a spouse for years that they were kind of d,king it. "i don't like to r'd rather watch television." or "you pay the bills, its just easier that way." it's isolating because you don't want your secret to be found out. >> reporter: palmer's at the third grade level no and dreams of being able to read books to her grandchildren. she's not alone. >> spruce mountain adult education has grown almost 200% in the last three years. >> reporter: robyn raymond runs this program.

she says the increased demand for classes is because local paper mills went to automation, or moved jobs overseas also, there's less demand for paper. so, positions that paid well even if you didn't have a high school diploma, vanished.>> month after i started, verso paper laid off 300 workerr their mill. a year later, they ended up clying off another 200 workers. >> reporter: milings caused a ripple effect throughout this region. >> it does tend to look like a ghost town. here's the site of the old o'ss mill, thateen gutted and run down, so it's now a scrap yard. t reporter: the need for adult education isst concentrated in maine, where manufacting was the backbone of the middle ass. hundreds of adult education centers across the count help with everything from high school completion to resume writing to job training. but an area that's often overlooked is basic reading and math. >> 36 million adults in the s.

lack the basic literacy skills that they need. >> reporter: sharon bonney heads the coalition on adult basic education, a national nonprofit. >> these are folks at the lowest literacy levels. they can't find a job, or if they find a job, it's at entry level, minimum wage jobs. >> reporter: she says of the 36 million, adult education programs across the country only serve 1.5 million because of funding. federal dollars have not kept up with inflation. >> historicay, funding has actually been about half what i st 15 years ago. so we are only able to serve a percentage of what we were 15 ars ago. >> reporter: state and local funding has also seen cuts. nney says some people don't realize how big a need there is. others feel adults have already had a chance at an education. a trump administration proposal atr next year has called for an almost 25% cut to adult education programs. advocates say thst would be deing.

so states already have lon waiting lists, some have cut back classes, and others have had to increase student fees. many adult learners have an added challenge. they need to learn to speak english. >> these are our graduates from last year. >> reporter: anita s onge is the director of portland adult education, which serves 2,000 students, mostly immigrants. some were doctors and lawyerin their home countries. others never got a chance to go school. st. onge says they offer classes from 8:00 in the morng to 8:00 at night. >> some of our classes have 30 in a classroom, so they're quite full. our stents have lives. they have children, they have families, they have jobs. sometimes they have two and three jobs. >> i have a fever. >> reporter: this beginning english class allows students to practice spebeing. >> i remthe challenge we have to arn one word everyday. >> reporter: 27-year-old divine mushiya is from the democratic republic of the congo.

>> all i knew to say was "hi" and "good morning!" even when you go out and peoplen trtalk to you, you cannot answer them, because you don't un that was really hard. >> reporter: she starts work in4 a factory 0 in the morning, so she can come to classes at night she's slowly getting more fluent. >> wheyou learn english outside, you don't know vocabulary, how to use correctly thword. so coming here was very helpful for me. when my english get better, i get a promotion! it was really great. >> he has a backache. >> reporter: st. onge says h students say they want to feel more integrated into the fabrice of social >> once you learn english, you can participate in a much more meaningful way. you can participate in community meetings and neighborhood associations. the people who came to portland

goadult ed ten, 15 years are some of the pillars in our mmunity. >> reporter: advocates also say giving adults a second chance aa an eon makes economic sense. better jobs, more taxes, less reliance on social services. adults who are poorly educated are also less likely to be involved in their child's education, and less likely to volunteer or vote-- all of which have implications for the entire country. crawford can trace her family back five generations inn ma she's 45, and struggled through school before dropping out. she couldn't fill out forms, couldn't read road signs, couldn't help her kids with >> i felt really upset and just kind of stuck in the box of not having that education that i nted. i felt worthless. >> reporter: three years ago, she enrolled in adult education classes. she reived her high school equivalency diploma.

now, she's a school custodian, a job she wouldn't he qualified for in the past because she needs to read and write every day. >> you have to know everhing that's labeled, because some chemicals can be really harmful. some you can't mix together. >> reporter: crawford orders cleaning supplies, reads machinery manuals, and fills out accident reports. she says her life now is a dream come true-- a stable job with benefits. >> if i didn't have that, i wouldn't have my smile today. i'm always smiling. i can't stop, even if i cry! my life back then, i was an ostrich in the ground. and my life now? i am bloom and blooming! >> reporter: for the pbs newshour and "education week," i'm kavitha cardoza in portland, ine.

>> woodruff: ever since the febrry summit in vietnam between president trump and north korea's leader, kim jong-un, u.s. officials say the two sides have not been talking. but toda president trump revealed he received a letter from kim. and president trump also extended an olive branch to kims a promise not on him, using his family. that news was revealed in a new stok out today, and nick schifrin has thay. >> schifrin: kim jong-un has gone fm privileged son of a dictator, to mostly-anonymous student in switzerland, to commander of a military with a thermonuclear bomb, to scribe of whatresident trump calls "beautiful letters" to the white house. he is only 35, and leads one of the most opaque countries on the planet. perhaps that's why the c.i.a. recruited his half-brother. the book, out today, reveals that news, and tries to makes

clear kim's history an motivations, and also reveals what life is really like in north kore it is called "the great successor, the divinely perfect destiny of brilliant comrade kim jong-." the author is anna fifield, the "washington post's" beijing bureau chief. thanks so much for coming on the newshour. >> thank you. >> let's start with the news today, kim jong-un's half-brother was providing information to the c.i.a. that was something you first revealed. president trump was asked about that today. and he was also asked about a letter he's received from kim stng-un. so let's take a to that. >> i just received a beautiful letter from kim jong-un, and i think the relationship is very well, but i appreciated the letter. i the information about the c.i.a. with respect to his brother, or half-brother, and i would tell him that would not happen under my-- under my auspices. that's for sure. >> schifrin: president tru saying he would not recruit a member of kim's family for

spying. remind us, who was what did he provide to the c.i.a. and remind us how he died sopublicly? he was the firstborn son of the leader kim jong il, according to the hierarchy of korea, he should have been the successor, the firstborn sun. he was not. he apparently fell out of favor, and he putmself into a kind of quasi-exile after 20. until his younger brother, kim ong-un, became the leader of north korea at thd of 2011, and then he seems to have rlly fallen out of favor. he started to publicly criticize his brother in quite oblique rms, but stilt leader brooks no criticism. even that was too much. and what i discovered in these cof reporting this book was that he had become an informant for the c.i.a. and that he was supplying information about theregimeto american intelligence services.

he would meet them in various locations in southeast asia, and in fact, on the day he di when he was killed with a chemical weapon here, had $120,000 in cash in his backpack. b>> schifrin: he was kill foreigners. that was the first time the north korean regime had donen that and an assassination like this so brazenly. the great sucessor is called that, of course, because you mentioned kim jong-un's father, which he-- whom he succeeded. and you talk about how the succession was risky, and this crackdown on any dissent, even smembers hifs family, part of kim jong-un's power from the very beginning. and you call him the most machiavellian leader of our time. >> right. so kim jong-un was only 27 years old when he became the leader of north korea. and this family has kepa hold on this country for 70 years by propagating this myth that they are some kind of quasi-deities

who havthis divine right to rule. so he very much gains his legitimacy from this family line from being the sion of this family. he was staking his claim to ther leip, and he wanted to get rid of any detractors, anybody who might rival his claim to be the leader of the north korean regime. d his brother who had the same divine blood pump thriewg his veins was clearly a rival. he dispatched with him. but kim jong-un also got rid of his unc quite early oin the second year of his regime. the uncle was accused o having too much power or trying to amass power. so kim jong-un was very kind of shrewd and ruthless in how he got rid of anybody o cou pose a threat to him and his hold on power. >> schifn: and yet you right how he took power, unlike his father and his grandfather before him, at a young age.n kim jongs so young. and, therefore, he had to do more than survive. he had to gi as you put it,

give his own people a sense of a bettth life. anat in part led to economic changes and an opening up that we haven't seen before, right? >> very early on, in 2013, he said north rreans will neve have to tighten their belts again. , first of all, he tended to the nuclear program. now that that's all done and he has credible nuclear threat, he's really turning all of his attention to the economy as a way to pve that lie is getting better under him. so he i tol rathe markets on a much greater base than ever before, and is a real kind of nascent entrepreneurialism in north korea where individual people are able to go out and trade and maney for themselves and to be more independent of the stte. that is changing, and it's moving in that direction. and this has given people more freedom from the state d more ability to make their own living. >> schifrin: himself, talk about how secluded

his childhood was. d one of your interesting source, talk about the japanese chef. >> so kim jong-un, when he was growing up, didn't have anybody else to play with, so when this japanese sushi chef arrtived make schussy for the royal household, kim jong-un seems to have kind of taken a shine to him as somebody interesting and eccentric and spent a lot of time with him. they flew kites it is. he went out fishing with him and he told me, when i ha met m in japan, he would catch fish from the boat, and kim jong-un would come along and take the fishing pole off him and brag , i caught a fish! i caught a fish." and take the crit for this. he was somebody who was used to being doted upon and havg his own way from a very early age. >> schifrin: fast forwarding to today, does the boy who wason doteand who claimed to catch fish he didn't actually catch, is he going to consider giving up his nuclear weapons in

talks with the u.s., and is he going to keep talking with s.e do you think? >> there is no way he is giving up his nuclear weapons. he has put so much energy int o thclear program because it gives him a lot of legimacy in this militaristic regime. it's a way for him plcate the hardliners. often, something that is notgn reed about north korea, is that this nuclear program is a great source of national pridet amone ordinary people, even amongst people who defect and don't likeghe reime, they're still proud that north korea has managed to develop this nuclear program that south korea and japan have not. it was in 2011 when he was taking over the leadership thati the arab was happening, and he saw what happened to muammar gadaffy in libyawho had given up his nuclear program in a deal with the u.s. soy i cannot see a situation where he gives it up entirely. but i can see a situation where he gives uphi som, he makes

some gestures. he may give up some harare, some of these missiles. because i think he does want these diplomatic talks with the united states to continue beuse he wants sactions relief. he wants to groat economy, and he can't do that while the sanctie s arin place. >> schifrin: an insight into kim jong-un's motithtions. book is called "the great successor." the author is anna fifield. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we continue our series now on the best summer entertainment. tonight, jeffrey bro w gets a prevhat's to come the biscreen, from the blockbusters, to movies not to miss. it is part of our arts and culture series, "canvas." b wn: as always, blockbuster series will dominate many theaters this summer. but there aralso a number of smaller films that may whet your appetite. t

l us more, ann hornaday, the chief film critic for the "washington post," is back with us. she joins us this evening from baltimore. and nice to see you again. so, start with some of the biggies. "avengers: endme" is out and it's really big. what else do you see coming that you're interested in? >> well, you know, this is the summer of the sequel-prequel/ reboot-remake. i counted more than a dozen movies that are based on something else, and something that we're all familiar with, but two that really i ha very high hopes for are "toy story 4"-- anything with a four at the end fills me with fear usually, but the people at pixar are so good with their stories. >> a great day in class and we're going on a road trip. road trip. >> vacutation! >> something really weird happened-- bone made a friend in class. >> oea she's alr making friends. >> no, no, she literally made a new friend. hey! it's okay.n comet. that's it. come on.e thu go. come on. there.et you out of

you got this. good, good. everyone, i want to you meet... forky. >>at that! >> look how long his arms are! >> i mean, they really make sure that script is solid before they oceed. so i do have cautiously high hopes for that one. and the "lion king" is a live action remake of the classicta animated disne. this is directed by jon favreau, who i think just did a spectacular job with "jungle book," sort of in a similar mde. so, and this hasust an amazing voice cast, with beyonce and donald glover and many others, sohose are the two i have eye on. >> brown: how about a slightly smaller scale? i mean, one that's getting a lot of attention, of course, is "rocketman," the elton john film. you know that one. what else? >> yeah. that's a lot of fun. one that i have kind of a crush on right now is a raunch-com called "booksmart." it's a coming-of-age movie in the tradition of a "fast times at ridgemont high" or "dazed and confused" or "super bad," but this features two young women,

beanie feldstein and caitlin deaver, who are really charming as these two girls seeking a night of debauchery in modern day l.a. >> we haven't done ag! we haven't broken any rules. >> okay, we've broken a lot of rules-- one, we safake i.d.s. >> fake college i.d.s so wege cat into their 24-hour library. >> name one person whose life was so much better because they broke a couple of rules. >> micauseo. >> he broke an art >> it's the directorial debut of the actress olivia wilde. i think she really makes a very assured, very graceful directing debut with this movie, suli wod encourage people to check this one out. it a lot of fun. >> brown: there's one called "the kitchen," right? >> im very intrigued by this this stars tiffany haddish and melissa mccarthy, as well as elisabeth moss. but in a drama. and this is set in the 1970s, in hell's kitchen. it's based on a graphic vel, so it's not based on a true story, but it sounds very

reminiscent of the westies and the gang-land wars and competitions thawere going on in hell's kitchen in that era. it's such an evocative atmosphere and environment, that i-- and i can't wait to see what melissa mccarthy and tiffany tihaddish do in a more dra setting. >> brown: and then, if we go even smaller, to some of t independents, there were a few you were interested in that came out of sundance. >> yes, there were two in particular that got a lot ofom buzzg out of park city in january. one was called "the last black man in san francisco," starring jimmy fales, directed by joe talbot, who got an award at sundance for this movie. it's about a man sort of navigating this rapidly gentrifying san francisco that's being priced out of any kind of livability for normal people. >> i'm the last one left. >> it reminds me of thematicallb a litt of "blindspotting," a movithat i was a huge fan of last year, and again this got incredible positive buzz coming out of sundance. i'm very much looking forward to that. another one called "the

farewell" with awkwafina, who a m lot of people remember fr scene-stealing performance in "crazy rich asians." this is sort of a serious comedy about a chinese family who leard that their grandmother is facing death, and want to give her a weddingo sort of send her off with-- without telling her that she's actually dying. and so, it kind of has, again, it reminds me a little bit of maybe "the big sick" in terms of the tone. so i have i have high hopes for this one too. >> brown: what about documentaries? it strikes me that there's so many good on out and they continue to come. what's new, what's coming? >> one, "maiden," which just made a sensation at the toronto film festival last year. it's about the first all-female team to sail in the whitbread yachting race, a really grueling long sailing race. and it just, it has ated audiences on the festival circuit. t and then ot i saw recently at the maryland film festival here in baltimore, again out of

sundance. it's called "cold case s aboutkjold," and i the death of the u.n. chief dag hammarskjold in 1961, which for many years has been since suspected to have been a murder. ruand this movie takes the crime genre into completely untold territory. it's very unsettline, very well and a really excellent, i think, excellent piece of non-fiction storytelling. >> brown: just as you briefly and, does summer matter anymore as a season? how do studios think about it? how doou as a critic think about it? what do we look for in the summer now? >> well, i do think it matters, and it's that season has been extended. but what fascinates me is that it has really become a documentary seon. i mean, last year, the summer saw these breakout hits like "r," "won't you be my neighbor," "free solo," "three identical strangers." and i guess the term of art for that is counter-programming, right? so people don't really want to go to a spectacle or a blockbuster. it's a chance for these smaller

movies that connect on a human level and become really big hits and punch far above their weht. so that's always what i look forward to. >> brown: all right.ho anaday of the "washington post," thanks very much. >> thank you.oo >>uff: so many movies, so little time. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. ce consumer cellular. >> financial serfirm raymond james. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new rk. supporting innovations in

education, democratic engagement, and the aderncement of itional peace and security. at carnegie.g. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers likyou. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh

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