captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, more controversy in the cabinet. amid growing calls for his resignation, labor department head alex acosta bres silence about his role in the jeffrey epstein sex trafficking case. then, strain on the special relationship. the united kingdom's ambassador to t u.s. resigns after criticizing the trump administration, and the vorite to be britain's next prime minister declines to defend him. plus, champions come home: as the u.s. women's soccer team llebrates victory in the world cup, what will theacy be for american women's soccer?an the science of smoking and the potency of pot.

how marijuana use affects adult and developing brains.ha >> we know tt there are likely negative effects if is becomes a regular part of one's routine when we're neurodevelopmentally vulnerablej that is, we'ret stille growing up, weder construction or half-baked, better way to put it. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs new >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or onli. more information on babbel.com.

th supporting social entrepreneurs anr solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and deloping countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing pport of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. urand by contributions to bs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> woodruff: for nearly an hour today,abor secretary alex reosta answered questions about a plea deal he broas a federal prosecutor in florida more than a decade ago. at the time, financier jeffrey epstein received aentence that critics have called unusually lenient. earlier this week, federal prosecutors in new york brought new charges of sex trafficking against him. acosta defended his handling of the case. >> we believe that we proceeded appropriately. based on the evidence t just my opinion but in the shared affidavit, based on the evidence there was value to getting a guilty plea and having him register. i understand what the victims say and i'm not here to say i con stand in their shoes or that i can address theierns.

t i'm here to say we did w did because we wanted to see epstein go to jail. he needed to go to jail. >> woodruff: here with us to dig into secretary acosta's comments, and other developments in the jeffreypstein case, are our own yamiche alcindor, who was at secretary acosta's news conference this afternoon, and jessica roth. she was previously a federal prosecutor in the southern district of new york, where epstein's case is being tried. she is now at the yeshiva university cardozo school of law. hello it to both of you, yam itch, i will turn to youfi t, you were in the the room today when secretary acosta was answering those questions, as we id, for about an hour. here is what he said. wheniou asked him about hs message to victims of jeffrey epstein. >> the message to victims, the message is he needs to come

forward.r i heard this ng that another victim came forward and made horrendous, horrendous allegations. allegations that should never happ to anyman much less a young girl. and as victims come forward, these cases can be brought. and they can be brought b the federal government. they can be brought by state attorneys. and they will be brought. >> woodruff: soia mitch, what more, yamitche, what did esad add to what we just heard. >> secretary acosta wanted to offer a defense of the handlg of the controversial 2008 plea agreement with epstein. what he said i victims need to have the responsibility to come forward. my question to hi d w you have anything to say to these victims, do you have anything say to the president who i am told encouraged to you hold this press coference, acosta said he wasn't trying to send a signal to the president. but the president wanted him out in front, talking to e

cameras, talking to reporters to see how he would handle the backlash and criticism been getting all week. t is also important to note acosta used some same reasoning the president used yesterday when he de fended the s bor secretary. he said today ts a long time ago and that this case, whh might have been handled differently in 2019, he also said that victims are viewed differently. but he did i did.i regret what he didn't say he would do anything differently. he also did not offer an apology. instead what we have is acosta really coming forward and sayina i did the besti could do. and essentially he did nod to the president wanted him to talk about this. but we're going to have to watch ofd see kinow this moves forward. >> woodruff: before i get to some of the rticulars of what he said, we know a number of democrats, anti-trafficking groups have been calng on him to resign from office. yamiche what di acosta id today about his ability to do his job? >> secreiry acosta said he dd the best that he could do and as a result, he can be trusted to

protect trafficking victims. he also handed out court documents where he was essentially making the case that the victims in 2008 were reluctant to come forward. he also made the case that. so vic tirms weren't told about the plea agreement because prosecutor gwere trying toet some sort of monetary compensation for them. but especially he didn't really say look, thises with a sweetheart deal, i would do things differently. there are a l of people that are very angry at this, jeffrey epstein was able to go in and out of prison, still go to work during this plea agreement, this time he spent in prison. secretary acosta didn't really go forward and answer the question of how people should vici that spec plea agreement. so i think there are still some questions on whether or not secretary acosta will be answering those questions. because we know that this backlash is going to continue. >> woodruff: jessica roth, let this.ring you int what did you make of his answers today that he spent an hour trying to-- or at least answering reporters' questions.

what did you make of that. and did he answer your own questions about that plea agreement back in 2008? >> so i thought spent a lot of time at the press conference today shofting blame other people. e seemed to be blaming the florida stosecutors for not having pursued serious s enough charge nsetheir own case. and certainlily asserted that bufor his offices' involvement jeffrey epstein would not have pled gu ailty to state felony and would not have been subject to prison time or having to register as a sex offender. so in a sense he was shifting blame to the state prosecurs o initiated the case saying they weren't tough enough in the first insltance. he talked about even the florida state grand jury not having reurned serious enough charges in the first instance. so shifting blame to te state prosecutor, to the grand jury and also it to the victim. in talking asamitche said about how some of them were not willing to come forward and he talked aboutow they were

inconsistence-- inconsistent in their staement. there shifting of blame, also sharing of blame in the sense of trying to make itl cear that this was a group decision within his office incding the prosecutor, for the ultimate o al that was reached. >> woodruff: you ad told us you had a question about the fact that he met, acosta met privately when thi was being worked out, with epstein's attorney. did he have an adequate explanatn for that toay? >> he did address that today. he real downplayed the significance of that meeting. he acknowledged that the meeti happened one-on-one at a hotel. he explains the reason he had it one-on-one at the hotel is because i believe acosta said he was at a conference and it was 7 a.m. and he said you don't open the u.s. attorney's office vat 7 a.m. to hae a breakfast meeting. you have it where you are. he said that the meeting happened after the deal had alreiay been negd, so we really shouldn't attach any significants to the fact that it happened one-on-one. and he said we lived in a city

where people have breakft meetings, essentially, all the time. but i didn't find it satis factory because as i understand the time line here, the deal may have been negotiated but it wasn't, if you will, a done deal at the time thahe had the meeting. epstein was continuing to appeal the decision with regard to that negotiation up the chain at the department of justicee and thplea in state court had not yet been entered as i understand it. so i think st a little bit disingenuous to say that there no significants to that meeting having occurred because essentially everything was already done, that was of significants at that tim quickly jessica roth, if you could ask secretary acosta a question yourself what is still outstaing in your mind abo what happed? >> well, one thing he did nod address adequately in my mind is why the nnprosecution agreement granted immunity to unnamed coconspirato e ofpsteins. that is a very broad provisionn'

and it wadequately explained. he said in response to a question about that, well, we were focusing, if you will, on the most culpable person who was epstein who was the top of the conspiracy. and there is no question that epstein was the most culpable peon but by immunizing some named people which occurred but also anyone o was a potential coconspirator, that really precluded the idea of cooperating other concirators against epstein which would have been a critical thing to pursue a more serious case agast epstein, so he didn't explain that provision and he didn't fully explain why they pursued such a lenient deal. >> woodruff: finally quickly back to you, where does this go for secretary acosta what is the white house saying now? >> this is really going to be an issue that secretary acosta is going to have to continue to deal with. house democrats on the house oversight committee say they want to hold hearings and have

acosta testify. white houschief of staff mick ldlvaney said acosta did an excellent job, he eporters that on the hill. the white house has nod saidan hing, president trump has not said anything. we have seen president trump come to the defense of cinet secretaries and after seeing them not really de fend themselves in the way he thinks is aequate, then fire thm. so i think secretary acosta still is in a place where the president is still evaluating him. so we will have to watch closely what the president says and does about secretary acosta. right now his job is secure, i'm told by sources but that is ju for right now. that could changes in the next hour or next minute. >> wdruff: yamiche and former prosecutor jessica roth, thank you. >> thankou. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the deral reserve gave

the strongest signal yet that an interest rate cut is coming, likely, later this month. it would be the first since 2008. fed chair jerome powell testified today before the u.s. house financial services commite. he suggested growing economic concerns make the case for a rate decrease. >> we think that uncertainty around trade policy and also global growth. that uertainty is we think weighing on the domestic economy. >> woodruff: as powell gave his opening remarks, a screen behind him showed a running list of president trump's criticism of the fed and its rate increases. committee chair maxine waterscr and other des cited reports that the president has talked of firing powell, but he id he means to serve his full, four-year term. u.s. customs and border protection agency reports a sharp drop in unaccompanied migrant children being held ro the border p the agency said today the number

has fallen to 200, from as high as 2,700 last month. it credits an infusion of funding from congress. the reportollows a storm of criticism over children held in crowded, unsanitary conditions. california will the first state to give medicaid benefits to young adults living in the u.s. illegally. democratic governor gan newsom signed the bill tuesday. it makes all low-income residents under 25, eligible for medicaid, regardless of immigration status. california already covered everyone under the age of 18. communities along the gulf of mexico, from mississippi tote s, are bracing for days of downpours from a tropical weather system. new orleans was hit by flooding today from a storm that dropped up to eight inches of rain, and another foot could fall by monday. louisiana's governor says the already swollen mississippi river could overflow levees guarding the city.

we don't know yet where this storm is going to land but we be a big going t storm, a significant rain and storm surge event. wind is possible however, not just with respect to possiblect tornadicity which we've been advised about, but-l straige winds could potentially be strong as well. >> woodruff: forecasters say the tropical system could grow into a hurricane by this weekend. the united nations warned today that climate change is hurting efforts to end extreme poverty and prent hunger. in a new report, the u.n. blamen world gonts for not doing enough to address planetary heating.ha it says leader not been "ambitious enough" to deal with rising temperatures, ocean acidity and the loss of species. r puerto rico, the f.b.i. today arrested two fornior officials for allegedly steering federal funds to unqualified contractors. they are a one-time education

secretary of the u.s. territory, and a former head of its health insurance administration. just a month ago, congress approved new hurricane relief funds for puerto rico. a federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit that charged president trump is illegally profiting from his washington, d.c. hotel. the city, and the state of trump is argued m violating the constitution's ban on taking benefits from foreig governments, because foreign officials pay to stay at his hotel. a three-judge panel ruled today they lacked legal standing to pursue the issue. the u.s. women's national soccer team celebrated a world cupth victory today parade in new york city. fans lined the route, confetti fell and air horns blared as the players' floats passed. llboth players and fans caed for pay equity with men's soccer teams.

we'll look at the team and its potential legacy, later in the program. on wall street today, stocks made modest gains on t news that the federal reserve appears ready to cut interest rates. the dow jones industrial average gained 76 points to close at 26,860. the nasdaq rose 60 points, to a new record high. and the s&p 500 added 13. and, veteran tv, stage and movie actor rip torn has died after a seven-decade career. he gained his greatest fame in the 1990's winning an emmy as a bombastic tv producer on "the larry sanders show." he also played "agent zed" in the first two "men in black" movies. rip torn was also an outspoken civil rights. he was 88 years old. still to come on the newshour: the forces within british politics that may have brought down a top diplomat.

marijuana on the mind-- whatci neurce can tell us about pot's effect on brain activity,u an more. >>doodruff: it was unvarnis and direct diplomatic analysis from one half of what's knowas "the special relationship." and it was never meant to be public. in a series of leaked diplomatic cables back to london,ublished over last weekend, sir kim darroch, britain's ambassadoto the u.s., variously described eesident trump and his wh house as "insecure," "inept" and "incompetent." a few days later, president trump said the feeling was mutual. >> the ambassador has not served the u.k. well, i can tell you that. we are not big fans of that man and he has not served the u.k. well.

>> woodruff: just yesterday president trump tweeted that darroch is a "very stupid guy," and again, criticized british prime minister theresa may for her handling of brexit negotiations. but the final straw came last night, when boris johnson, the frontrunner in the race to replace theresa may, refused to say he would not fire darroch as ambassador. s later, darroch, who ha been britain's ambassador to the u.s. since 2016, resigned. in a letter, he wrote: "theio current situis making it impossible fore to carry out my role as i would like." today british prime minister theresmay expressed support for darroch. >> sir kim has given a lifetime ofomervice to the united kin and we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frank . >> woodruff: and earlier today, johnson seemed to backtrack.

>> you weren't going to back him, you said last night you b weren't going k him. >> no, on the contrary, my view is that it's wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena, that's what i think. >> woodruff: now, the view of this diplomatic rift from sir peter westmacott, who among his postings as a british ambassador and diplomat served as kim darroch's predecessohere in washington from 2012 to 2016. >> sir petter westmacott, welcome back it to the program, did ambassador darroch have to accept down today. >> thank you, judy. .> woodruff: did the ambassador have >> it seems to me that it was his choice. it was his choice to do so. he was not recalled, he wa asked to resign. but i think that he had concluded that there preson his family and his ability to do the job, because h was being frozen out of access to the white house for the time being, anyway, and perhaps the final straw as you put it, of noticing

be the next british prime minister wasn't going to back him on television last night made him feel, i think it's probably best if i stasi assign-- and we resolve this by somebody else being appointed to take my place. soe id he hav go, no. it was his choice. personally, i regret it be i don't think an ambassador doing an excellent job should be drummed out of office for doing nothing wrong am but i think it was his decision, as i say. >> woodruff: what does it say, thgh, that bore is johnson who is seen as the frontrunner, thet favori win, the race for prime minister did not vigorously stand by him. >> i think it takes a straight-- at domestic politics which are frankly a bit of a mess. we have had three years going in circles trying to work out how to make brexit happen and also m now in tddle of the leadership contest to determine

who the next prime mnister is after theresa may. bore is joh bnson, frontrunnt needs the support of the right wing, ha line brexit ears within his party when the votes are cast in the coming days and i think part of this is that kim darroch has been accused offt being n brexit and proeuropean and so on. so i think bore is jhnson was not going to support the ambassador unequivly. and he thinks he has a close relatiship with donald trump and thinks that will be important when he becomes prime minister, ifhe becomes prime minister. and that this may be the key to making a success of brexit with nice new trade deals. so i suspectt was patly that he wasn't going to get on the wrong side of the president. this morning asked about t he seemed to be taking another view. there ws, after all, very strong support in parliament for kim darroch, for the position he had been left in, and i think for the principled way he

decided to resign and standid for the public good. >> woodruff: is it significant, though, that in terms of overall wat boris johnson did that he seems to be deferring to the united states, hes?resident trump's wis >> i think you need to keep in mind what is this all about. this is about a totally improper and probably illegal leak of some s-nsitive communications. that is the heart of it and then it is also, i would say in part, about a versharp, programs overreaction from the presidentn day's tweet is one thing but two and three days on t and ver rude remarks about trump-- about kim darroch and there may, much ruder about things he said about otr head ofgovernments and representatives, that he said far, who have behaved far, far worse. i think that is part of it. that boris johnson part of it is, in a sensea sideline. but i think what we have seen is

an indication of the importance he attaches to getting everybody to support himithin the conservative party when they vote for the new leader of their party. that is what it is about. >> woodruff: is there informed guessing, speculation or solid reporting right now in lasndo to how these sensitive secret cables were made public. >> yes, there is a imreat deal, judy t is pretty unprecedented. not totally. you ha had wikileaks dumping lots of cabs in the united states. we have had people from time to time making public documentsul that snot be made public. and some of these were quite sensitive, but they were not earth-shattering. one member of the senate said to me yesterday, this seems to mebe uneporting based on it typical bridgrstatement so i think there was nothing there that was tremendously alive or

to cause offense.nk so i that is what kim was doing. who did se, who cauthe leak, we don't know. there is an inquiry taking place at the moment. it looks as though he has beet n qu in this battle for the future of the conservative party. oand the battle abut whether professionals should still be in charge of key negotiations, representing the british imoft. or whether there should be more political appointments because there is gossip, that one of the reasons why thiwas done was to get kim out of a job to stop any ordinary other diplomat, ssh like me getting a job in his place. and ensure that there was a protrump, probrexit politician installed in his place. but at the moment we ho don't know. that is why the inquiry is so important. >> woodruff: and finly just quickly, as a diplomat, do you, is this episode going to make it less likely that diplo the mats ake going to be willing to spe candidly in their commune kietions back to their own

government? >> i think that is a real risk. to be honest, we've seen this before, after wikileaks and after one or two other lea which have been made over the last few years, i've noticed colleagues otmine feeling t they better be very wary of what they commit to print rather than what they say person or sometimes over a ecure ksh-- i'm hoping this inquiry will get to the bottom of it and show this ise a off course by some political, political rategy or maneuver. and that it does not become a symptom of a different culture which means that officials can folt do their jobs, cannot tell truth tooker with, cannot tell honestly what theyonhink is goinn the country, where they are based as diplomats. >> because if this is prt of a new culture, and not a one-off, that it certainly will, as you suggest, make people less willing go their jobs properly and they will be of much less value to the governments that therepresent

abroad. >> woodruff: sir peter westmacott, former british 578 bas dor to the united ates, thank you. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: the legacy of the u.s. women's soccer team for the future of the sport in america. how major league baseball is reckoning th the brutal injuries caused by foul balls. and designing a house that produces more energy than it uses. all this week, we're looking at the impact of the wave of marijuana legalization. one of the key questions manywh are asking iher marijuana is generally more potent now and whether that poses an increased health risk. it's also coming amid debates around the larger benefits andri s of marijuana. for our "leading edge" segment, miles o'brien sifts through ther

sciencnd what's known, and not known, about these claims. it's part of a close look at "the green rush" aroe country. >> reporter: for connoisseurs of cannabis, these are heady times indeed. >> it's pretty much like toys r us for adults now. wi reporter: we caught up levon at a jammed dispensary in leicter, massachusetts. he had just bought some cannabis oil and a pre rolled joint.on >> nreally gets in trouble with this. it's nice not being hassled ld thingse that just for smoking weed. am reporter: the state is g 11 and the district of columbia that have legalized recreationaa use of marijor those 21 and older. >> so, can't complain there one bit. so, looking forward to enjoying this when i get home. >> reporter: massachusetts is among 47 states that have sanctioned cannabis for medical purposes as well. it's a stark contrast from the days of reefer madness, the war

on drugs andhe vilification of a plant that humans have used for more than 2500 years. precious little of it informed by research. >> what an insult it will be to what we are and whence we came if we do not rise up together in defiance against this cancer of drugs. it was much more motivated by, again, sociopolitical pressures if you will. not a ton of real scientific data, a lot of assumptions were made. >> reporter: neuroscientist iaaci gruber is an associate professor of psyy at harvard medical school, and director of the marijuana investigations for neuroscientific discovery .program at mclean hospit she has been studying how cannabis affects the human brain for more than two decades. >> we're still playing catch-up in terms of trying to understand, what wreally need to understand about cannabis and cannabinoids and how they work. >> reporter: she's doing her best to fill theaps of understanding by imaging the

brains of teens and emerging adults; some heavy cannabiswh userstarted very young, and others who are weed free. when they conduct cognitive tests, their brains look very different. they use different regions to get the job done. >> these patterns of activations suggest there is really something different in the way they're processing the information. >> reporter: the data suggests that heavy recreational use ofca abis during adolescence and emerging adulthood inhibits the lvelopment of the prefron cortex, the decision making center of the brain. and gruber also reports evidence of changes in the whiter - which connects various regions of the brain. the white matter in pot users is less organized and coherent. these individuals also self report more impulsive behavior. >>ow some things, for sure. y know that there are lik negative effects if cannabis becomes a regular part of one's routine, when we're

neurodevelopmentally vulnerabl at is, we're just still growing up, we're under construction or half-baked, better way to put it. >> reporter: and the pot is much stronger than it was a taneration ago when it coned on average, about 5% t.h.c., the psychoactive main ingredient in marijuana. today, the plants themselves have been bred to much more potent, 12% h.c. on average. strains over 20% are widely available. but that is still not enough for dario and his friends. they frequently use highly concentrated cannabis ts known as shatter, oil and wax with average t.h.c. levels of more than 50%, up to 80% and even higher. they prefer the coentrates in part because they get more buzz for their buck. >> the high is a little different, i would say. and you definitely get higherf the oil, which is

enjoyable, for sure. >> reporter: but what are the consequences of this hi-test high? the data is scant. >> do they simply use less of a more potent product to get the same effect? some studies have actually reported that and some others have reported not so much. so, i think that's a type of investigation i very much like to see done.r: >> repormportant, but right now, impossible. despite the trend toward legalization by the states, marijuana is still classified by the federal government as a schedule one drug, meaning it pposedly has no currentl accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. this makes it very difficult for researchers to do their work legally. cannabis used in scientific studies must be acquired from a government sanctioned grow sitet he university of mississippi. and it only produces flower, not the high concentrate products. there is an urgent need to do this science.

dost ongur is chief of the psychotic disorders division at mclean hospital. >> research is showing that if you're smoking weed that is high in t.h.c., the odds of developing a psychotic disorder are higher than if you're smoking weed that's low in t.h.c. there is a lot of compelling evidence but it's not necessarily final. >> reporter: they're seeking clues by studying the way our nervous system interacts with cannabis. the internal wiring that regulates our perceptions and thoughts is not continuous, the nerve ends are called neurons, the gaps, synapses. the electrical current is rsansmitted across the synapses by chemical messenalled neurotransmitters. our bodies naturally produce cannabinoids to help regulate the flow of these neurotransmitter >> when somebody smokes cannabis, you are ac introducing chemicals that can hijack that system that's controlling brain chemistry. so, it appears that duome critical period in brain

development, cannabis has this effect on the brain that actually disrupts normal functioning and predisposes rdpeople to a psychotic di whereas in your 30s, it doesn't have the sameffect. >> reporter: in all of this research, it's difficult if not imessible to tease apart ca and effect: does cannabis triggethese disorders, or do people with these problems gravitate toward the drug? o and has taken a look at the implications of long term onrecreational cannabis ushe fully formed adult brain. but recently staci gruber has taken a look at medical marijuana among adults. and she has some surising conclusions. >> we're seeing improvement in cognitive performance, specifically on tasks requiring executive function. we're also seeing improvements in clinical state. so, significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms after only three months and really important, we've seen some very striking decreases in the use of conventional medications. >> reporter: benefits as opposed to the detriments she has

documented in young people using pot heavily to just get high. steve mandile is a regular medical marijuana user.uc >>better. >> reporter: in 2004, while a serving in ty in iraq, he got in an accident that left him with an excruciating back injury. and a long list of prescription painkillers. >> over a 10-year pei had taken 57 different medications, nine different opioi i believe in 2009, i was just gettinon to fentanyl. i did six years onentanyl, oxycodone, for mchronic pain and breakthrough pain. >> reporter: it was a struggly, but he fineaned himself off of opioids, and now relies mostly on medical marijuana, which unlike those prescription painkillers, has never caused an overdose death. but government studies show 9% of those who use marijuana will become dependent on the drug, much better than alcohol, at

about 23%, or cocaine, 21%, but it is not risk free. steve mandile is well aware of all of this, but remains convinced cannabis has made nearly every aspect of his life better. >> every person suffering deserves a choice and let's stop looking at this as the initial idea back in the '30s where this is something that's terrible, it's going to ruin the world. let's get past all the stigma. let's focus on the facts. >> reporter: once vilified, buti now into the mainstream, cannabis is neither totally bad nor completely benign. it turns out weed is as much about shades of gray, as it is green. for the pbs newshour, i'm miles o'brien in boston.

>> woodruff: the u.s. women's team, wod cup champions once again, was feted with a party in new york today. as amna nawaz tells us, it's part of an ongoing celebration of their historic run and wider legacy, not just on the field, but by fighting for pay equity and for their outspoken role. >> nawaz: thousands of fans from around the country turned out to honor the women's team this morning as they paraded up new york's "canyon of heroes." mayor bill de blasio presenteder the plwith symbolic keys to the city. team co-captain alex morgan thanked the crowd. >> thank you all so much, i think that we have been known as america's favorite soccer team. utheers) but from here onwe'll just be known as america's team.

he had beat the netherlanders 2-0 with more than 16 million viewers in the u.s. alone. but even as the celebrations began, the victory led to chants in the stands for equal pay. >> equal pay! equal pay! equal pay! >> nawaz: in march, ammbers of the ued the u.s. soccer federation for gender and pay discrimination. the feration says the difference in pay is due to higher revenue fromen's games. but financial statements from the federati show that between 2016 and 2018, the women's games generated nearly $50.8 mlion in revenue, while men's games brought in $49.9 million, a difference of just $900,000 one key reason for the pay gap: team much larger bonuses for world cup play. the men could earn about five times more for winning the cup, which translates into hundreds o of thousandollars more per player. there's another gap in prize

money awarded by fifa: for their victory this year, fifa will pay the women's team $4 million. it paid $38 million to the men's french team for winning last year. throughout their run to the championship, members of thee women's team hceived some pushback and criticism, including from president trump. gan rapinoe, the team's top scorer and most outspokendr leader, sed the pay issue directly in front of the u.s. soccer federation's president today. >> there's been so muches contention in last years. i've been a victim of that. have been a perpetrator of with our fight with the federation, sorry for some of the things i said. not all things this conversation is the next step. we have to collaborate. it takes everybody. >> nawaz: let's go a little deeper on these pay equity issues, and the overall legacy of this team. n is back with

us. she's a sportswriter and columnist for "usa today." welcome back. >> great to see you, thanks. >> so you wrote in your latest colume for "u.s.a. today," a bit of a prediction, you said the u.s. women's team will win equal pay from the u.s. soccer federation, why, why is this the moment? >> certainlyhe pr tsunami that is hitting the soccer federation and being in new york for t parade, as i was, and seeing the reaction and then seeing the poor president of u.s. soccer have to get up there, not only mispronounced megan rapinoe's uame, probably not the name yo want to mispronounce, but also the equal pay and the boos, but the notion that you will fight this tide, rapinoe is just k beloved in thiirks the thnifestation of title 9 signed by richard nixon way they win, this incredible show of fearlessness and confidence, and they're going to be denied? i just don'tee that-- see th whatting in 2019.

>> they have the influence and the leverage. you say they deserve to be paid more than the u.s. men but will settle forit equ so getting more people to watch, they are winning more, why settle for equit should they be asking for more. ld i think it would be a start anyway, they she getting more than the men, based on, thj "the wall strernal" reporting now that game revenue, the women over the last three years have made more than then' team, obviously success, off the charts, the u.s. women winning their fowrtd world up. the u.s. men not even making world cup last time. and just the tv ratings and the jersey, the women's jersey being now the most popular and the best sales of any jersey nike has ever had. all of these things. ort again, it should bebut i think they would take equal just because they have had such a long fight and long slog to gret to this point. >> can what they accomplish here extends beyond soccer, will it impact how oter female ad lets are paid. >> i think so. we are at a tipping point. 20 years ago brandi class tain,

women's world cup, thats with a revelation, this is an affirmation, 20 years later. these women are here to sairks i think it is not a reech to st this against the back drop of a hundred women in congress and 125 women in the senate. and the metoo story, even though that is not what this t women speaking out and not being denied. so i see that. i see this, that equal pay chani that we hea the stands the other day in france, can i hear that at wnba games, at tennis matches, you can hr that all around the country, and frankly the world over the next few years. >> you mtioned the meement when megan rapinoe participating in that political conversation along thway. she was one of the firstat etes to take a knee in protest during the national anthem. she wrote an essay about why she did it. she said she hasn't experienced overpolicing, racial profiling or sight of family member bodlyy g dead but i can't stand by when people have toeal th that heartache. her influence in particular,

compared to other people on the team has extended beyond socce >> she has an incredible-wawhat ever shs to do, she can do it the battle with donald trump, i don't think we can make a point about how little this was if it was huge. and the nact she is fighting with the president and then she's gog out and performing on the field the way she did. that was the stuff of billie jean king or muhammad ali it was really that amazing. and to see now the tesay to the president we're not coming to the white house, which they have said, that is rebuke that is unprecedented by a national team it is one thing nor a dommest particular team to not t the white house but a national team, red white and blue dending not to go visit the american president, that is extraordinary. >> you metioned brandsi chastain. all of us remember that moment in 1999. she had the last penty kick gensz china. she wins the u.s., their world cuititle back then,ps off her shirt. everyone celebrates. the whole crowd erupts too. did it take that moment to imet

to this moment today. >> it is a great point, absolutely, stepping stone, title nine being signed by nixon in 7 250e. billie jean kig beating riggs. serena williamnus williams, other things, now 450er we are with this thing. i think history books will report this as not just great moment in. >> it took 99y for that first found facial. >> absolutely, one generation to the next. >> thank you so much for being here. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: a second sports story tonight, but of a different nature. major league baseball is at its halfway point for the season, marked by the annual all-star game last night. even as players are smashing a record pace of home runs this season, john yang looks at lingering questions around the

league about other line-drive hits that injure fans.g: >> yant was the annual showcase of baseball's best players. but amid the fanfare of last night's game in cleveland, the league is facion renewed quesabout ballpark safety, sparked by a number of dangerous incidents this year. perhaps the most prominent was in maywhen a two-year-old girl was struck in houston. ofthe ball came off the ba chicago cubs outfielder albert almora, whwas visibly shaken >> i'm at a loss of words.being a fatherf two boys, obviously, i want to put a net around the whole stadium, but y'know man... i don't know, i'm sorry. >> yang: a lawyer for the girl's family said she suffered bleeding and swelling in her brain. a 2014 bloomberg news analysis estimated that more than 1700 fans are hurt each year by foul balls, home runs and some broken bats during games and battg

practice. last august, a9-year-old woman was killed by a foul ball at dodger stadium in los angeles. that was even after all major league teams extendeprotective netting to the far ends of their dugouts. as for future net extensions, m.l.b. commissioner rob manfred has said he doesn't expect teams to change their netting until at least the end of this season. in june, he said: "we do havefa that are vocal about the fact that they don't want to sit behind nets.k i that we have struck the balance in favor of fan safety so far." still, a number of teams have announced planto extend their tting, including the dodgers, the washington nationals and the chveago white sox, who will nets from foul pole to foul pole. the washington nationals are id to be the first team to extend the protective netting at their stadium this season. they plan to have it in place for their next home game later this month.

ff passan covers baseball for espn and joins us now to talk about this. thanks so much. this incident i in houst may, this is not a new phenomenon, as we say, the woman actually died at dodge erstadium last year. why did this incident in how long ton become-- houston become the cat list for this-- the cat lust for this discussion. >> i think it was because its with a small child. i was on the field, i was about 20 feat away when he hit that ball. and luld you see amost instantaneously he saw it going for the girl. and it is lke his eyes laserred in on her and when he saw it hit her, he was crest fallen t wasen heart bro the whole stadium went silent. and right after the game that day, chris brie anti, chica cubs star says to me we need netting around the whole stadium, albert stoles that

ssh-- the entire chi cli cubs team is saying t is a problem. we don't want to be the people causing these sorts of injuries. and it is significant, i think, that you say the wastohi nationals are doing it, and the chicago whit sox, chicago cubs lt done it yet. houston astros haven't done it yet. those are the two teams invthold day. and the teams coming and sayingn we are gto make this a priority, really is staggering. >> i want to follow up on that point. did you say the netting is going up only in a handful of balls. pa why are teams so reluctant to take this step? >> pi wish hi a good answer. i have asked clubs. i asked the commissioner of baseball rob manfort yesterday, that very question. why haven't you as the person who is the shepherd of this sport, as the person who is in arge of selling this game to fans and saying we want ball parks to be safe, we want your

experience to be gre, why vnlt you-- why haven't you sai teams everyone is going to put up netting at some point. ghy don't we just get that out there rinow. and i will be honest, there are no gooerd an and that is the part of it that i really still don't understand. how a grouping of companies in major league baseball that are worth about $40 billion when you put them all together, can put themselves at risk forhis bads of public relations. and the fact that we are even talking about this still, a month plus aftert happens. t manfortlked about fan resistance. but the most expensive seats in those ball parks are behd the plate covered by netting and the nhl has now had netting up behind the goals since the 2002/2003 season and it it has had no effect. what do you make of that? >> it is a giant ocean of il

logic. the idea that these remarkably e pensive seats that go for $1,000 hava worse view becau of some setting than seats that would be on the side t is just not true. your eyes adjust. anybody who has sat behind tting before knows that. what it is, is there are a few people out there still who wan f to catchul balls. that is what this coes down to. when you are at a baseball stadium, balls get hit into the stands. and it is some people's dream to catch a foul ball. and all of those peo the question, there is not a rhetorical yes, i ask the question and spend five or $10 for a stamped official major league baseball or watch a child get hurt that is the vlue proposition we're talking about right here. and i understand catching a foul ball say great exce and all. but if i am trying toalance a kid or an a cult or anyone potentially getting hurt with catching a foul ball, i din't that is a very difficult

choice to make. >> jeff passan of espn, thanks so muc h >> thanks foving me. >> woodruff: to he and cool buildings takes up an astonishing 40% of energy used across theorld. it's a figure that grows only more troubling as climate change continues to threaten the planet. there is an architect who is trying to change not only how much energy a building consumes but how much it produces. from pbs station wgbh in boston, cristina quinn has this story, part of our ongoing coverage of arts and culture, canvas. >> reporter: on a quiet sidential street close to harvard, this pretty nondescript house is known as house zero. why is it called house zero? >> because there are a lot of zeros.

the house doesn't use almost any energy for heat and cooling. it has zer it doesn't have any electrical light during the day. reporter: no lights, no h-vac system and barely a utility bill. the goal of house zero is to produce more energy than it consumes, ultimately providing power to the grid. architect ali malkawi of harvard's center for green buildings and cities s relies only on fresh air and natural light. and it's quiet. >> it is because we don't have y pumps. it's very much listening to the outside. windows open, close. it's very gentle.ht >> reporter: rthere's no hum, no machines whirring. it is ve quiet but it's comfortably quiet. >> it's amazing, because we don't notice this unless wsee. most of our environment has humming noises, and you get accustomed to it. >> reporter: windows ope automatically if it starts to get a little warm or stuffy. and they're framed by panels

that provide shade.ts oue, the solar chimney makes sure the inside stays ventilated. during extreme temperatures, geothermal pumps are used tohe cool or heat touse through the floors. but what is a solar chimney? >> it's a chimney that allows air to move freely without mechanical systems. it allows air to be drawn from the outside, and people to be ventilated, without mechanical systems in the lower parts, where you can't do cross >> reporter: all of this, though, relies on really smart technology. under the floors and throughout use zero, there are five miles of cables and hundreds of nsors capturing data like air flow, temperature and co2 levels. put on a pair of augmented reality goggles, and you canee actuallyt. >> now all the information we are getting from the house is being pulled into a giant database. reporter: no one actually lives here. edhouse zero is a lab desio help the next generation of architects design and build houses that don't rely on energy. malkawwants students and researchers to think of

buildings as living, breathing structures that interact naturally with their environment. >> we're basically demonstrating in this building that just naral ventilation is such easy thing to do. but can it be controllable?d the same time we're saying okay, no, this is good. can we even go beyond that, n we scale it up? right, with very simple technologies. >> reporter: while the cost of incorporating this technology into a new hou would not significantly add to its price, malkawi and his team are still developing the software to make it ready for the mass housing market. as people become more concerned about their carbon footprint, many elements could become standard in architectural design. for the pbs newshour, i'm cristina quinn in cambridge, massachusetts. >> woodruff: and a late breaking development on our lead story tonight. a former palm beach state attorney strongly rejectedet

sey of labor alex acosta's account today of his role in th jeffstein investigation. in a statement release evening, former state attorney barry krischer said a federa a indictment wndoned after "secret negotiations" between epstein's wyers and acosta. this conflicts with acosta's explanation that epstein's sentence was less than he had hoped for. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. bs>> major funding for the newshour has been provided by: y. text night and day. >> catch it on rep >> burning some fat. >> sharing the latest viral cat! >> you can do the things you like to do with a wireless plan designed for you. with talk, text and data. learn more atular. consumercellular.tv

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