captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the trump agenda-- the white house backed down on adding a citizenship question to the census as immigratn and customs enforcement prepares to start mass raids as early as this weekend. then, a conversation with secretary of veterans affairs robert wilkie on ensuring that those who served the country in the armed forces receive the care they need. plus, the green rush. the next in our series on the changing landscape of legal marijuana. as become a multi- billion dollar industry. >> there might not be a larger wealth generating opportunity that'll see in my lifetime again. i mean it's staggering what can be built in this industry right

now. >> woodruff: all that and more p on tonight'sbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> kevin! >> kevin. >> advice for life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life converlations in a new uage, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performae and financial teracy in the 21st century. rp

>> carnegie ation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and curity. at carnegie.org. >> 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 like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president trumpba says he'ing down from his legal fight to add a controversial citizenship question to the 2020 census. the supreme court had already ruled that the administration's previous explanations did not

stify adding the questio in remarks in the white house rose garden late today, the president said he is pursuing new avenues to get that information. >> we are pursuing a new option to ensure a complete and mely count of the noncitizen population. today, i will be issuing an executive order to put this very planinto effect immediately. i am hereby ordering every epartment and agency in t federal government to provide the department of mmerce with all requested records regarding the number of citizens and noncitizens our country. they must furnish all legallyib acce records in their possession immediately. will utilize these vast federal data bases to gain amp full, te and accurate count of the noncitizen population, including data b maintained by the department ef homeland security and th

social security administration. we have great knowledge in many of our agencies. we will leave no st >> woodruff: we turn now to three of our newshouren correspo. yamiche alcindor, who is at the white house. plus, amna nawaz, and lisa desjardins. the studio. yamiche, let me come to you. the president had been, it seems, determined to add this citizenship question one way or e other to the census. now he's backed down. why? >> this is a big loss to president trump and he's essentially admitting he can't argue for the citesenship on to be added to the census without jeopardizing the census itself. the supremcourt ruled the administration's reasoning was essentially contriefd and they were arguing the voting rights act needed to be better enforced, the voting rights

that's supposed to prevent discrimination in voting. the president is now saying they can't do itiaithout essey putting at risk the census. the census is already being presented.th critics sa is a chilling effect because the census is tied directly to how we stribute money, how we draw congressional lines and tied to the electoral college. so there is already some people fear an effect where immigrants won't want to fill out the census. but the president is saying he can't get done what he wanted to do. >> woodruff: by asking all these government agencies to turn information about citizensc izens to the commerce department, what exactly is the president trying to do?en >> the presis asking every single agency in the federal government to turn over wharte records they have on citizenship or non-citizenship to the conerce department so they have some sort of data base where they can make an official count of who's an immigrant and not an immigrant in this country. that being said, theropare

who say this is about the president in some ways spreading sphere in the immigrant community. immigration activists say this dovetahs with a lot of er things the administration is doing, it's not happening in a vacuk . so you lo the idea the president is trying to change the way asylum works in this country. the president is also now targeting immigrant families more some sort of mass raid going on this weekend. so people say this is rt of the president really trying to strike fear into the hearts of immigrants and that is, unfortunately, working. yamiche, we'll try to come back to you in a minute. amna, you have been lking to homeland security officials. what do we know about whether there may be massive roundups or raids of immigrant over the weekend? >>the pr mass raids like this before. it looks more likely now for a few reasons.

i.c.e. says it's targeting people who are undocumented here and given final removal ordaner, that mthey came to united states, made a claim of protection, asylum or something else, that was denied and are ready to be deported. there is a backlog of seval hundred thousand of people. it's an enormous undertaking to run this kind of raid. 000 people are expected to be targeted in cities acrossco try. weeks of investigation to verify where they live, verify addresses, me sure the kid won't be abandoned or not picked up at school. >> woodruff: they areilies they are indeed. a senior d.h.s. official said the border crossings dipped last month, taking pressure off the enti syste they're no longer served past capacity in terms detention. they believe they have the space to get the people derickstain them and deport them through the proper channels. a lot of the orders are issued

in absentia, meaning people weren't in the court if when the orders were issued by a judge. people don't know if they're pposed to be deported. this happens a lot in immigrant mmunity. there is already a legal challenge to protect them frortm deion. >> woodruff: the trump administration says this is not new, previous admins tration haunded up immigrants before. what's the truth? >> that's absolutely true. president obama earned the nickname deporter in chief because he deported more people than any evious president. 2,000 people doesn't seem like a many it's a lot for a sort period of time. they have the capacity to do that. in detention, there have been so many co tcerns aboutse conditions, allegation of abuse squalid conditions, how children are properly quaird for or -- cared for orn not dedepositions, there is concern about adepositionle people being

brought into into i.c.e. custody >> woodruff: lisa, democrats in congress are pushing back. what are they doing. >> is this we're seeing democrats flex more e,zort of phase two of how they're trying to confront this president as the opposition party. we saw today the house judiciary committee authorize for 12 very highanking current and former trump administration officials. this icludes jared kushner, almost former campaign manager corey lieu wan -- lewandowski ese directly talk about the zero tolerance policy and child separation at the border. these democrats are saying we have not gotten satisfying arntses from homeland security or the trump aministration from terms of what is it doing, is it legal and they will now subpoena these officials. the trump adnistration says ey don't feel they need to comply with these subpoenas, so democrats are al taking

another step there. next week they have announce they did will take a vote on the house floor to file criminal contempt against attorney general barr and also the cobuerce secretary wiross for their noncompliance in the view of the house with subpoenas about the census question.so his is kind of a close as to clear con at as you can get legislative sense. now, then that goes to the courts, and this takes a lon time to enforce, but democrats are stepping things up. one other note about the i.c.e. raids, you hit on a key point, republicans todaynotably, are a little nervous about the i.c.e. raids because they are worried, in their community, they have seen labor shortages, evenin past raids under obama affect familiesnd communities in different ways and they are concerned how this will be enacte i talked to multiple republicans who are you be insured and worried about how this goes and are watching crefully.

>> woodruff: interesting. being watched from so many fferent directions as if this weren't enough going on at the white house today. yamiche, ie ant to cock to you, because the president hosted something the white house talked about. is is a summit to discuss social media and what is allowed and teat isn't. us about what took place there at that gathering. >> the goal of the social media summit at the house was to argue conservatives are being unairly targeted and vatted scraitd goetz by social media giants like facebook and twitter. neither company was invited to the gathering. the president said he wants to vite them later open. the president says we don't wano e censored as pro republicans, people who are pro-life and pro trump, their accounts are being taken down. there are people who disagreement there are people who say this is a gathering of far right indiduals and bad actors. one person at the white house

was a twtter user that spreade idea that kamala harris wasac not benough because her mother was indian and faer jamaican. a lot of people thought this wasn't a good gathering, and other people shld have been more invited, it should have been a more inclusive setting. overall, there are a lot of complaints, but in a few weeks, there will be a few social media people coming to the white house. >> woodruff:ia mix you've done ngporting about the gathe and the language used today. >> some of the people wh self-identify as conservative or identify by people who tra extremist or dangerous rhetoric as alt- right or extremist were beoked at online as well. the institute for strategic dialogue looked at a lot of the language that previously existed only really on the far right fringes has become much more

mainstream, particularly through the use of social media. so that was something they were a watching and end they have been seeing increasing around the world but really here in ts u.s.ll. >> woodruff: disturbing. news on so many fronts today. thank you all three. amna nwaz, lisa desjardins, yamiche alcindor at the white house, thank you. >> thanks. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, a verbal battle ed today between u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi and progressives in her democratic party ranks. on wednesday, pelosi warned freshmen members alexandriaz, ocasio-corte ilhan omar, ayanna pressley and rashida tlaib against criticizing partya mos. but ocasio-corteintold "the waon post" that "it was just outright disrespectful. s the explicitgling out of newly elected women of color."

today, pelosi refused to address the claim directly, but also, fused to back down. >> thetook offense because i addressed-at the request of my members-an oensive tweet that came out of one of the member's offices that referced our blue dogs and our new dems, essentially as segregati our members took offense at that. i addressed that. how they are interpreting and carrying it to another place, is up to them. >> woodruff: another progressive, congresswoman pramila jayapal of washington state, also ched pelosi. jayapal said, "i don't think the speaker is used to having a group of members with bigger twitter followings" than she has. there's been a new confrontation in the persian gulf, this time, involving iran andritain. the british navy says threeir ian vessels tried today to block a british tanker from leaving the gulf. john ray, of independent television news, reports. >> reporter: the oil tanker british heritage, intercepted by

iranian patrol boato, which trieorce her into iranian waters. the rescue, according to the same ministry of defenseun ac a royal navy "hms montrose" escorting the tanker.s she put f between the two sides, trained her guns on the iranians and radioed a warning to back off. >> obviously very concerning developments, but i'd of the royal navy. and the role they played in keeping british assets shipping safe. continuing to monitor the situation very, very carefully. >> reporter: it is the latest ratcheting up of tensions. just last month the iranians shot down a u.s. drone over the same stretch of sea. the u.s. blamed tehr attacking six oil tankers in may d june. and last week british royal marines stormed an iranian tanker near gibraltar, suspected of breachingyrian sanctions.

an act, as thilatest drama unfolded yesterday, iran's president hassan rouhani warned britain would pay for. from washington tonight, the president tweeted "it the brits and french and germans are coming around to the idea thatre the iraniansp to no good." the u.s. is now planning a multi national force to monitor the gulf, britain must decide what role it might play in an escalating crisis. w druff: that report from john ray of independent teleision news d iran hied the british allegations, and says it made no attempt to interfere with the british ship. the man chosen to lead the u.s. military argued today that leaving afghanistan, as president trump wants, would be a mistake. army general mark milley had his senate confirmation g on his nomination to chair the u.s. joint chiefs of staff.

he told senators that he and other military leaders will speak plainly to the president, even if that means telling him that he is wrong. >> arlington is filled with our comrades. and we understand absolutely full well the hazards of our chosen profession. we know what this is about. we're not going to be intimidated into making stupid decisions. >> woodruff: if confirmed, milley would succeed general joseph dunford as chair of the joint chiefs. the nominee for vice chair of the joint chiefs, air force general john hyten, is facg allegations of sexual misconduct.re the associated reports ntat a senior female officer says hyten made un sexual advances, and tried to derail her career when she refused him. the air force has found insufficient evidence to take any action. but it is unclear if the nomination will move forward. tropical storm "barry" formed off louisiana today, and forced

evacuations of up to 10,000 people. the slow-moving storm could hit land as a hurricane south of new leans on saturday, dumping up to 15 inches of rain. louisiana's governor john bel edwards said today he does not expect flood waters to top levees. but new orleans mayor latoyall cantarned the city's pumping system could be overwhelmed. >> we cann the water levels and the waterfalls that e expected to hit the city of new orleans. we need you to understand this and again be prepared to shelter in place. >> woodruff: the storm could pose the biggest test yet to flood-control measures made in new orleans after the hurricane "katrina" disaster, in 2005. the white house today abandoned a plan aimed at cutting drug costs for people on medicare. it would have lowered out-of- pocket costs by letting consumers have rebates that drug

makers now give to insurers. the proposal foundered on fears that iwould drive up medicare premiums, and end up costing nearly $180 billion over 10 years. on wall street, the end of that white house drug plan helped health insurers, and the broader market racked up some new records. the dow jones industrial averagn 227 points to finish ,000 for the first time. the nasdaq fell six points, but ale s&p 500 gained six, an hit a new high. and, a japanese space successfully landed on an teroid today, for a seco time, and collected samples. touch-down came on a space rock, 180 million miles away. the probe settled in a crater it created to get at underground lrbris. the "hayabusa-2"dy collected top soil from the

asteroid. it is set to return to earth next year.on still to comhe newshour: secretary of veterans affairs, robert wilkie on the challenges of caring for those who served. making sense of the billions of dollars pouring into legal marijuana, and much more. >> woodruff: last month, the u.s. department of veterans affairs launched its community care program, a major expansion designed to give veterans access to private doctors to decrease wait times for health care. but veteran's rights groups say the program's goals are unrealistic, and offload the department's responsibilities to the private sector. the $51 billion measure signed by president trump builds on legislation passed in 2014ra called "ve choice", which

allowed veterans to seek private carees that came innse to a scandal at the phoenix, arizona, medical center where at 40 veterans died waiting months for appointments. the dertment of veterans affairs is the government's second largest agency, with more than 300,000 empyees and an annual budget of $200 billion. running it all is robert wilkief the secretareterans affairs. and we welcome you to the program. >> thank you for having me, judy. >> woodruff: so you stepped into this job, you werhe ved over to the v.a., you haveou been there now coming up on a year. have you been able to make significant progress? >> i hope so. i think what we've seen, and i think validating those changes, said, v.a.'s been pretty quiet. we're embarking on the mostor trantive period, at least going back to the g.i.

by our reform it libertarian v.a. it is not me giving a veteran a card and sauing goin the private sector and prosper. what it does do is puts veterans on theame plain as neighbors, giving them access to emergency care hkeeping thoiment ve emergency rooms and promoting holistic care by doing that. the other thing it does, is offeof veterans the optio going into the private sector only when we can't provide them what theyeed. >> woodruff: as you are aware, a number of vetyerans' advoc groups are saying the intention may be good but what is happening, many veterans may end up in the hands of private healthcare providers whose care is not as con,sistent, not frankly, as competent as what they might get at the v.a., at the v.a. needs to do a better job of overseeing all this. >> i think we are. we don't allow people intoour system unless we have fully

vetted them. >> woodruff: you mean in the private sector? >> in the private sector. >> woodruff: okay. e have just certified 4,500 urgent care facilities across the country, my goal is to certify 7,000. but what we ie seeins veterans voting with their feet. i've seen the explosion in requests for urgent care. i haven't seen plosion in requests for other medical care in the private secto our statistics show us that ouri veteran action rate is at wi all-time high, about 89.7%, so they're votin their feet to stay with us. >> woodruff: but, at the same time, you have veterans' groups -- you know, we talked to them -- >> right. >> woodruff: -- a number of them saying the responsibility here ultimately lies with the varntle and they want to makeh surev.a. isn't trying to push the responsibility off on wmebody else. l, it's an interesting argument because it's a variation on the privatization argume which is raised when mission was brought up in the congress, and this is an act that oy had four negative

votes in the united states senate. i just presated the lrgest budget in the history of this department to then cogress, $220 billion, calling for 390,000 employees. that's a very strange way to privatize care. i think we're expanding care and we're expanding care in a good way. >> woodruff: mental health, a big part of this story that we're talking about. mental health problems for veterans are enormous in this country, still. suicide rate among veterans has been at a distngurumber,0 a day. why has that been so hard to tackle? to>> i think it's been har tackle because the majority of those veterans who are taking their lives are no tt part e v.a. system. now, some of them are on activeu , some are in the guard. a significant number come from the environment -- frm the vietnam era and have had no

contact with us of their own volition. oujob is to, number one burks again a national conversation, and if we just focus on the lasr ic act in a veteran's life, we'll never get anywhere. we have to look at mental health. we're not even at the sputnik stage in this country when it comes to talking about mental health. the other thing we need to do is take a hard look at addiction and how we treat those who need care for pain and make sure that they're not addicted to the ced sin that's -- to the medicine that's supposed to help them e. we know president trump signed a proclamation, made moves with regard to suicide among veterans last spring, but still this is an entrenched proem. should president trump make a high profile speech and raise the visibility of this? >> i think he has. i thilnk by caling attention and calling forth a whole of government approach to suicia in a that we've never had it, he is raising the profile oi

thsue. i sit at the head of a task force that includes h.h.s., h.u.d., n.i.h., indian health, and the goal ito have this national conversation at the end of the process, open the aperture in terms of financial in allocations of the countries, tribes and elements to help us adress this issue. one thing we've done that'sch ged, we provide same-day mental health services, we've spen tens of mels of dollars of outreach. >> woodruff: homelessness is one of the ways those with mental illness deal with what they're ing through. president trump made a comment not lang ago talking at homelessless broadly, he edescribed it as a nw phenomenon, almost politically

aimed at him. do you agree with s interpretation? >> i spree homelessness is part of this continuum we have to deal with when it comes to not ly taking care of our veterans but also in addressing suide. it's knew? >> no, i wouldn't say it'ws ne, but i will say the numbers have gone down. several years ago, we were looking at hundreds of thousands on the street. today we're look at triage tragically about 40,00 but cities like atlanta, houston, new orleans, have eliminated veterans homele tbhises getsing in touch with governmentald non organizations. most of our homelessness is concentrated on the west coast. >> wodruff: and you feel progress? >> much progress. 40,000 compared to the huneds of thousands a few years ago is progress. but we still have to work at it. >> woodruff: women, they are the fastest gowing demographic in the u.s. military. more women serving in combat

an ever before, more women becoming veterans, coming under the purview of the v.a. what we're hearing from some of the veterans' groups is women veterans say when they go into a treatment center they often feel disrespected, even hostility toward them. a month ago atu s was done by an intern watchdog group thatd fore harassment of women and men at the v.a. over a recentea twoperiod than any other government agency. pull that together. >> well, if you look at tha udy, the harassment is not pming from v.a. employees. i can't change theerception of older veterans who are not used to seeing women in uniform. what i can say is that, in this budget, nine and a half billion is set aside for women's care. each one of our hospitals has a women's clinic. the culture is changing rapidly. the notion that i as a youngster would have ever seen women wearing the red ret of my

father's 8d airborne division would have been unheard of. today, they are. i think the miliry, as a whole, is changing with that culture, and v.a., now with 10% of those weerve being veterans and having those clinics in all of our spitals, is changing with those times. >> woodruff: but how do you change those att witudes? change that by it's a cultural change, and you also change itn by coonting those who engage in that kind of behavior. again, it's not ourp emloyees. it's people who come in. and there are still elemes in this country who refuse to accept that the times have changed thateomen ararriors on the front line in numbers that we've never experienced before. >> woodruff: and what about the the harassment inside veterans -- >> well, wn we see it, we act on it, and i've read that report.ai it is an instance of people who have not caught up with the times, but it's certainly not a part of ourem

oyee makeup. >> woodruff: robert wilkie, who is now coming up on one year as secretary of veterans affairs, thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. thank you very much. >> woodruff: now, the latest in our series "the greerush." as marijuana legalization hasth swepcountry, investors are seeing green. in cifornia, new companies a scaling up operations while some smaller businesses are fighting for survival. economics correspondent paul t solman h story, part of his regular reporting, "making sense." >> so we have about 60 to 70 different strains at any given time. ia reporter: at "east of eden" in salinas, califopick your cannabis flower. any flower, labeled by brand and 9.h.c. punch. >> berry o.g. isso you can

get really high off of this, i take it. >> anything above 25 will sell out almost immediately. >> reporter: paul henderson, formerly with goldman sachs, no. o. of grupo flor, which owns two dispensaries and will open 18 more within a year. >> we'll do around, right now, about 1.3 million a month in sales. >> reporter: right here? >> this store alone, yh. >> reporter: and grupo flor isn't just retail. in a few years, the firm become one of california's largest cannabis companies: frti retail, to ction... to manufacturing... and distribution. cofounder mike bitar had been in commercial real estate. >> i just happened to stumble across cannabis and saw how lucrative it was and realized we should get in the business.or >> rr: were you a user? >> no. i didn't see the difference, unfortunately, between heroin and marijuana. >> reporter: well, he soon did. by 2016, when californians voted to legalize recreational adult marijuana use, bitar and partners had already snapped up one and a half million square

feet of greenhouse space-- lying o llow since the cut flower business emigrateduth america. they'd g >> there might not be a larger wealth generating opportunity at i'll see in my lifetime again. i can, it's staggering what be built in this industry right now. >> reporter: $18 billion was i investcannabis last year alone. and, says industry researcher john kagia, big time players are moving in. >> constellation brahe world's largest alcohol company, and altria, the world's largant tobacco co both making but you've also seen companies like molson coors, lagunitas brewing company, c.v.s. and walgreens getting into this space. >> reporter: this is the "green rush," chasing an estimated $350 billion in annual global sales.i kagia thinks aion within 15 years. in santa barbara county, acres of white structures house some of the biggest growsn the world. grupo flor is rushing to keep up. >> welcome kdra! (applaus a

>> reporter: recent operations meeting: new employees, new dispensaries. >> they're targeting this location to be the location for celebrities. >> reporter: and, over speakerphone. pe greetings from colombia. >> reporter: newtions overseas. >> we incorporated grupo flor colombia in february... we're also looking at mexico and last but not least we've been looking at asia as well. >> reporter: in salinas, fences block the product from public view while razor wire and guards e high-profit plants from thieves. >> a farm like this is ever flowering. we're always cutting and always harvesting.e >> reporter: fops a year in this greenhouse, says grupo flor's gavin kogan, versus justo one or this is one of the firm's seven california sites. w >> right nt's happening in california is aggregation. companies are acquiring other companies if we don't cultivate, we lose our supply chain and we can t crushed out. >> reporter: crushed out like oliver bates.

so you've been cultivating marijuana for 25 years, now out of business and broke?si >> now out of ss and broke. >> reporter: bates grew cannabim for years in tterey county hills near big sur. bueswith legalization came r and regs. >> outside investment came in and lobbied their interest and made sure that in the new regution that only commercia greenhouses were allowed to grow cannabis. >> reporter: so you cannot have an outdoor farm in monterey county? >> yes. a i've been giviy weed. all my weed. i can say a pound of mine made it to the grammys and it was a big hit. >> reporter: but it.s not legal >> not legal yet. >> reporter: what are you doing for a living now? >> reporter: i'm actually not a makiiving right now. >> reporter: how are you surviving? >> i'm broke, day by day, you know and really help, help from friends at this point. >> reporter: further north in humboldt county, outdoor is okay, but costly. dylan mattole had to run a

licensing steeplechase. >> we're probably in it about 00,000.or >> rr: $100,000 and how much of your time? >> well about three years of full time. >> reporter: really? >> absolutely. for many people it wasn't evenom possible to beiant in the sense of dealing with the regulatory requirements for roads, water, grading, even operating a small homestead farm for many years it just it wasn't it isn't feasible to move on. >> reporter: what's more,ince the 1960s, rural, rugged, way out-of-the-way humboldt has attracted government-leery homesteaders whorew pot illegally. to no one around here does regulation ctupliance come lly. ga a lot of the, you know, as we would call them farmers here have been doing this for a long time, generations, and the culture was to keep your head down, mind your own business. >> reporter: and having nothing to do with the man, ri >> but having nothing to do with the man. >> reporter: there are thousands of cannabis farms in humboldt but just a tiny fraction have been licensed.

>> where this is going to end, i couldn't say quite yet but it is a it's a it's a voidnd a vacuum that is not going to be readily filled. there is not a huge economy in humboldt county currently outside of cannabis. >> reporter: and small farmers like mattole, licensed and now growing above board, face other hurdles. >> there currently still is zern bankinhe cannabis todustry. so imagine tryintart a small business from the ground up funding it entirely on your own withouepcredit. >>ter: grupo flor's gavin kogan sympathizes. >> this is really difficult to do. it takes a lot of capital. regulations are heavy. we're overtaxe and so where i really feel the toin coming for small farmers is that they're havinace the obstacles we face without the capital and without the people and the business know-how to really do an effective job. >> reporter: and without the cost advantages of the black market frowhich they've come. nikki lastreto's mendocino farm is now legit.

but most of her neighboring farmers aren't. atd they pose as much of a threat as her corp competitors, she says. >> right now they're able to sell at 1500 where we're getting after all the expenses involved, the taxes cetera and the packaging about 900 a pound. >> reporter: and if you're a seller on the black market you don't pay taxes >> you sell it on e black, you just do like the old days. you just grow it in seclusion, hope the cops don't find you, med find a buyer and they right up. they pay cash. it's out the door.r: >> reporo permits. >> no permits no licenses no taxes. the only the disadvantage the black market has is of course like the old days they have tot worry abe cops. they have to worry about helicopters circling overhead, getting busted. >> reporter: you're in the oddon posiow very odd of rooting for the helicopters. >> it's difficult though because you know they're our friends, they're our neighbors.ed it is what we o do. so how can i judge them.ac >> reporter:in monterey county, where only greenhouse growing is allowed, oliver bates lobbies to make outdoor grows legal.

and what does he think of large new operations like grupo flor? le i am furious that they had no respect for the hat brought this to them. >> reporter: the people who paid their dues? >> theeople that paid their dues, the people that spent their lives hiding in the bushes from helicopters feeling like they were criminals, and for that i'lbe forever furious >> reporter: lawyer and grupo flor cofounder gavin kogan is conflicted. >> i spent most of my spent most of my time as a cannabis attorney representing small growers. it affects me, to be seen as a threat and someone who i against their interests because i don't conceive of myself that way. >> reporter: but he is a threat, due to the economies of scale of industrial production as prohibition comes to an end. for the pbs newsho, this is business and economics correspondent paul solman in northern california.

>> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour:st the cartooehind the only nationally run comic strip about a latino family. and a grammy-nominated artist gives her brief but specta take on finding her identity through music. t first, the record-setting wave of women elected toss congas a defining feature of the 2018 midterms.6 but of themen sent to the house of representatives, only one was a republican. and the party's efforts to court more women hit another setback this week, when political newcomer joan perry lost her g.o.p. primary race in north carolina capitol hill correspondent lisa desjardins is back. she spoke earlier with ebrepublican congresswomane lesko of arizona's 8th district. >> thank you for joining us, congresswon. first of all -- >> thanks for having me. >> reporter: what do you think happened in nrth carolina and

how significant was that? >> well, you know, i really want to scapport repubwomen. we lost ten republican women in the last electionc cyle. since i'm a republican and i'm a woman, i'm really going to try to wok rd to recruit more women and make sure they get elected, and, so, i had donated to joan perry, but i congratulate mr. murphy, and i think he's going to win. i look forward to woirkingh him and getting to know him better. >> reporter: i know you've heard thnumbers before, bui want to look at the republicans in the house now. if you lk at all the women in the house of house of represent, it's a rcord number women, 89 democrats, just 13 are republican women. then if you look at the composition of each political caucus or conference, 42% o all the democrats in the house are somen, but for republicans it' just 7%. >> i know, it's sad. we need to increase the number. >> reporhr: why is? well, i'm the bipartisan w

co-chaan of the women's caucus in congress, and, so, yeah, it a little one-sided because i try to get all my republican women to our different events, but th lot more democrats. you know, i don't know the answer. i think one of the answers is recruiting republican women f heavily republican ditricts because we had a lot of women that lost that were in swing districts and the democrats, quite frankly, tried to take us out, so tnthat they could inue the narrative that there's more males in the republican party than women. reporou know, whatever narratives you are eooking at, the numbers especially from enter of women and politics from rutgers, they looked at who was running last year, and just on the ball los, democrats had four times aw mamen running, and i know from covering republicans for years, bei there, grassroots, women are doing the work in thel rean party, they are there on the local level, i see them.

my question to you is why are they not getting on thel balot? why are they not running? >> you know, i don't know the answer to that, and it may have to do with recruiting or just showing people like me and tryi to get re republican women in leadership positions. i mean, lizheney is in a leadership position right now, and maybe as more women se t it's possible and that there's republican conservative women out there, then i think more people will join our ranks. i sure hope so because, you know, can get a little loely over here, i've got to recruit more republican omen who are conservatives. >> reporter: i've heard you and others say you don't think there should be an advantage to being a woman, people shuldn't vote for someone just because they're a woman, but could there be a disadvantage to women in politics that they need to mak up for? >> when i served in the arizona state senate and ho, u really

saw no difference between how i was treated as a woman versus a man, but i have to tell you, there is a little bit of an attitude here that i found with some congressional members, both on -- well, mostly, que frankly, that i worked with on the democrat side this time, that are kind of con descending to me in different roles, and i pointed it out to them, and i did not let them get away with>> it. eporter: on the republican side, covering kong last year was hardot to notice when republicans were in charge just three out of 21 imhity chairs were women, and many of your strongest female leaders left the house for positns elsie. do you feel like the men in the house repubcan caucus promote women enough? is there space for you too leadu >> i think w need more of us. we just need more women and, as that happens, well naturally have more republican women in leadership and in chairmanship roles. if any of the republican

tnservative women are ouhere listening, please, reach out to me, i'd love to talk to you. >> reporter: congresswoman debbie lesko of maricopa county, arizona, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the comics can be a pleasant diversion from the headlines on the front page. but john yang introduces us to one comic strip writer who says he has a duty to reflect reality. it part of our ongoing art and culture series, "canvas." >> yang: for hector cantu, saturday mornings begin in a coffee shop near his home in suburban dallas. it may look like he's just passing time with his wife, linda, reading the newspaper. but he's really hard at work, looking for ideas for the comic rip he writes called "baldo."

>> most everything you see inco thc has to be generated in some kind of way that i see so many elements coming together. whether it's newspaper stories i read, stuff i see on tv, books i'm reading, real lifents. >> yang: since "baldo" debuted yin 2000, it's been the o nationally syndicated strip about a latino family. it centers around baldo bermudez, a teenager who's into girls and rs. he lives with his little sister. >> gracie is a srt young girl. she likes to read, she likes knowledge. >> yang: their dad, a widower. >> dad is the consertive, traditional dad. >> yang: and their great aunt, tia carmen. pau. yang: cantu is mexican-american. he grew up in south texas, crazy about comics. while working as a magazine editor, he took a shot at his dream doing a daily cartoon. was it always going to be a latino family? >> oh, yeah, absolutel it was an area that i thought i

could write about, a family that i thought i could write about in the comics page where no one else was like that. >> reporter: over the years, latino fans have told him how c-ch it means to them. >> i was at a con last year when some young lady cameme up to and she said, "are you the guy who does 'baldo?'" i'm like, "yeah that's me." and she couldn'telieve it. she pulled out of her bag a sunday comic that had been clipped out of the paper andt said id been on her wall >> her and her dad would read the comics together and her dad had passed away. it meant so much tacher-- the chrs and the connection with her dad and how she grew up she started crying and it was just such a tod hing moment. realized that comic strips can touch people in a pretty significant way. >> yang: because comics have to be quickly understood with lile explanation, cantu sa they relon stereotypes. it's a tricky thing to do. i mean we we decided early on tj stay away frt the taco jokes or the mexican food jokes.

it does take away some of our tools in that tool chere it's like a cheap laugh, it's an easy laugh. but i've kind of discovered there are jokes you can do that don't poke fun at the culture, they me celebrate the culture. >> yang: and cantu feels ali responsibity to have baldo inhabit the real world. in a two-week storylinin december 2017, baldo's best, friendcruz, reveals he is a" dreamer," brought to the united states by his parents illegally when he was a child. >> we have baldo and cruz walking down the street." cruz, are you undocumented?"" i'm a dreamer."" how old were you."" i was five when my mom and dad leave.""ad and you couldn't stay home alone on your playstation?"" uh not an option." >> yang: cruz tells the story of how he came to the united states. don't remember much about getting here. i remember walking a lot, sleeping on the ground and i remember my dad's promises. when we get there.

i'll get you an ice cream, i stpromise. the ory continues." dude, i've been learning aboutwa my rights sincs eight. i had to know exactly what to do if i came home from school and my parents had been taken away"" on the very last day. baldo and cruz are walking down the street.¡ i feel bad fore y parents. maey made a mistake. it was hard but they chose to come here because theyove this country. and now thiss my home. this is where i'm from. i'm american and that means i'm a rvivor." politics, like immigration and the drear issue, is so much a part of so many people's lives, to me it has tbe a part of the comic strip. if there's a sense of duty, that may be it: of reflecting what a lot of people this country go through every day >> yang: even more dramatic was the 2007 april fool's day strip:

immigration and customs enforcement officers wrongly accuse tia carmen of being in the country illegally and take ay in handcuffs. >> it was just meant to be a gag. but we got so many emails from people saying, ¡how could you do this to tia carmen? she's such a lovely lady. she's like a friend, she's like my next door neighbor.'mo and th they said that, the more i said.¡ tly-- that's the point.' >> yang: "baldo's" illustrator he lives in florida, cantu in texas. they collaborate over the internet. they've only met in person about a hath-dozen times. comic strip appears in nearly 200 nspapers across the country, including the "new york daily news," the "washingtonan postthe houston chronicle. >> i just realized the other day that we've been around for 20 years and there are kids out there who are 18 and 19 years old who have grown up withe aldo

their whves. they've grown up with these characters in the paper every day. >> yang: characters who don't age a y over the years: frozen in time on the comics page-- and in hector cantu's imagination. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang in richardson, texas. >> woodruff: raised in mumbai, singer-songwriter falu came to the united states to pursue her career in music, which includes a mix of indian classical and american pop-rock. her latest work, "falu's bazaar," was nominated for a grammy this past year for best chilen's album. in tonight's brief but spectacular, she gives her take on finding identity throh music. 18 i first started performing when i was arounears old cause in our culture i would teach, don't let us perform until you're almost re

sos studied music for 16 ho a day for 10 years before even seeing the microphone. ♪ ♪ my american influences in music are very subtle but very strong. so althougi studied indian classical music. my music is a mixture between indian classical and american pop rock. and we have crted a genre called indie, hindi. ♪ ♪ i grew up in a city called mumbai in india. i had a huge culture shock when i came to america because i grew up in reach additional family and when i came to new york, my entire universe has changed. i felt like i cameplo a differenet. when i came here instead of thinking in my own native

language, i it's somethi clicked and my thoughts became in english and that's when i started writing songs in english even though they were based on 5,000 year old indians scales, call the ragas, lyrically they we all in english. ♪ ♪ my son, when he became four or five years old, came home and asked me questions like, mom, why is our food dofferent or why e speak a different language at home? to givhim his identity at such a young age, the only way, the only answer had was through music. music was somethinthat i could tell him very clearly that it is okay to speak a different language. it's okay to eat different food. it's okay to draw from both cultures and have your own identity as an american indian child growing up in new york city. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ i was nominated for the 2019 grammy for best ildren's album. going to the grammys, being the only indian woman, that really meant that i was welcomed in this country. my culture was welcomed. r my south asiants were welcomed. my story was welcomed. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪u my name is fd this is my brief, but spectacular take on finding my identity through music. >> woodruff:ou can find additional brief but spectacular episodes on our website, pbs.org/newshour/brief. on the newshour online right c now, we takeser look at a new state department commission tasked with examining the global definition of "unalienable htrights," and what that m mean for human rights around the world. that and more te on our web pbs.org/newshour. and that'she newshour for

tonight. gam judy woodruff. join us online and here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new la,uage, like spanish, fren german, italian, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possibley the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. >> does it give you some kind of comfort that you critics are coming from both sides?se >> no, becau could still be wrong. >> this is not how border crossings people coming into the u.s. seeking asylum what it looks like, but th may be her best chance to get past the guards now. >> plump won the congressional district overwhelmingly by 20 points. the questions whether the enthusiasm for president trump will convert into enthusiasm for a different republican. >> if a presidency that interferes in a 2016 election and possibly ai mdterm has an attack on democracy --

y captioning sponsored newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

> hello and welcome to "amanpour & company." this week we are dipping into ack atchives and looking some of our favorite interviews of the year. here is what's coming up. >> i just want forgiveness really from the u.k. >> foreign-born isis fighters and their brides wan toome home as the caliphate collapses, but should they bellowed to return? then is cancer a test of character? howne woman's diagnosis opened her eyes to tha controversial take. she explains in her book,ve thing happens for a reason: and other lies i've told." plus, the chasm widens between thenited statesnd europe. has the western allianc suffered lasting damag