captio sponsored by newshour productions, llc: >> nawod evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, congress and the white house reach a two-year budget deal, avoiding a shutdown, but growing the federal deficit. then, britain's new boss. controversial conservative boris johnson will be britain's new prime minister. what that means for the bitter debate over brexit. and, when the school bus is the classroom. we ride along with a preschool on wheels, serving students in need of crucial early education. >> we're looking for communities that have a need. so it's going to be generally your lower income areas, or areas that do not have access to preschool. >> nawaz: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> and with the ongoing suppotu of these insons: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributionsur pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> awaz: a changing of the guard at 10 downing street. onexit hardliner boris joh has been chosen as the next prime minister of britain. his fellow conservatrty members overwhelmingly voted for him, in a result announced today. johnson has promised to deliver britain's departure from the europe union-- with or without a deal-- by the end of october. we'll take a closer look aall of this, later in the program. in the day's other news: the head of the f.b.i. declinede to discusspecial counsel's russia investigation on the eve of robert mueller'own testimony to congress. mueller is scheduled to appear tomorrow before two teuse comm. today, at a senate hearing, f.b.i. director christopher wr did offer general praise of mueller under questioning by democrat mazie hironawaii.

>> do you consider mr. mueller to be a person of integrity, objectivid professionalism in your experience with him? >> in all my experieith him over the years, i've considered him to be a consummate professional and a straight shooter. >> nawaz: wray also said the is no doubt that russia will try no interfere with the 2020 presidential elect. that, despite u.s. sanctions and election security efforts. the justice department has opened an investigation of big ndchnology companies, a whether they illegally stifle competition. d department statement issue late today doesn't name names, but it does reference "search, social media and some retail services online." that could include alphabet, amazon, facebook, google and others. ino rico, trouble erupted overnight after monday's march of half a million people in san juan. policeired tear gas as protesters set fires in the streets. the crowds vowed more demonstrations until governor ricardo rossello steps down.

rossello lost virtually all suort after leaked message showed the governor and aides insulting women, gays, a hurricane victims. today, a judge issued search warrants for their cl phones.en power has be restored in much of venezuela after a crippling blackout on monday. electricity returned to parts of caracas in the early morning, and today traffic lights and subways were working for the morning commute. gornment officials blamed "electromagnetic attack" on the hydroelectric system. opponents cited mismanagement and corruption. it was the second blackout since march. china today accused the u.s. of stoking pro-democracy protests in hong kong. millions of people have filled the city's streets in recent weeks, and over the weekend, some of the protesters vandalized the local chinese government office. today, beijing claimed, without evidence, that the u.s. is involved. >> ( translated ): there are

very obvious signs that foreign forces are manipulating,pl ting and even organizing relevant actions. china will not tolerate any foreign interferenceng kong affairs, nor will it allow any foreign forces to disrupt ong kong. we advise the u. take back the black hand that meddles in hong kong. >> nawaz: the u.s. has called oo kong's governing body to respect freedom of speech and assembly. back in this country the trump administration is expanding fast-trackrt deions for migrants who entered the u.s. illegally within the past two years. officials say the new rule could remove nearly 300,000 migrants without letting them go beforemm anration judge first. the change took effect today, but civil liberty andat immin groups said they would sue to block it. the senate has overwhelmingl voted to permanently extend benefits for 9/11 first responders. w the bil ensure a fund for first responders to receive health care benefits for 9/11- related deaths and illnesses until 2092. jon stewart has become an advocate for the bill and spoke

after today's vote. >> i will always be so to have been associated with it, and you can never repay all at the 9/11 community has done for our couny, but we can sto penalizing them, and today is that day. >> nawaz: to date, more than ied forpeople have app payments from the fund. but it began running low on money, and administrators had sharply cut benefits. for the first time in seven months, there is a permanent head at the pentagon. the senate today confirmed mark esper as secretary of defense by a vote of 90 to eight. esper had been army secanretary before that, a defense industry lobbyist. genel james mattis resigned defense secretary back in february.ti esper's confir today ends the pentagon's longest run ever without a confirmed secretary. a federal judge in northca lina approved a settlement today that lets transgender people use bathrooms matching

their gender identity. the agreement ends a lawsuitat hallenged north carolina's so-called "bathroom bill" from 2016.ed that bill liathroom use to a person's sex at birth. a person's sex at birth. democratic governor roy cooper approved the settlement over the objections of state republican leaders. and, on wall street, upbeat earnings reports helped push stocks higher. vethe dow jones industrialge gained 177 points to close at 27,349. the nasdaq rose 47 points, and the s&p 500 added 20. still to come on theewshour: what's in and what's out. breaking down the newly announced budget deal. the united kingdom gets a new prime minister as the brexit deadline nears. what to expect from robert mueller's long-awaited congressional testimony. venezuela's former spymaster spks from here in the u.s. after defecting from the maduro regime. and much more.

>> nawaz: it is often easier to spend money than it is to save it. that seems to be at the heart of the new two-year budget deal crafted by t white house and top congressional democrats. in a nutshell, spending on both domestic and military programs will go up, and debt ceiling a limi suspended until after the 2020 election. our own always, is here to break it all down for us.ow break itfor us. what's in the deal, and what's not? >> let's start with the big numbers. first of all, amna, this does raise the debt iling for two years. that's one fiscal crisis averred for now. that's good. so, right now in the law there are about 10% budget cuts that fere going to hit most o government, the military and non-military alike this. deal removes those budget cuts altogether. let me show you what it does instead. t's look at current spending right now broken down by defense

and non-defense. defense, more spending now. here is what this budget deal does. it increases both t ofse just a little bit. but that matters, amna, because right now we are in a time of deficits some what this is a deal so that republicans get more money for defense. democrats get more money for non-defense. but it does add a lot of r ink the picture for everyone. it does mean a shutdown in september is less likely, but it is still possible. >> nawaz: so not totally averted but ls likely. so a lot of numbers in there. remind us, why does all o this matter? >> i'm so excited to talk about. this because everyone thinks spending is so nerdy, but this is one of the maint ways t government touches people and affects the contours of this nation. a few example, the military needs these two-year budget guidelines to have stability and plans. the same for most agencies. this could mean a pay raise for military and other members of vernment staff. this is also one of the largest spending bills in the history of

our co on the other side, it could add about $1.7 trillionon with a "t" dollars to the debt which is now at a record 22 trillion someba cally congress is making a very easy short-term decision, adding to a long-term problem. >> nawaz: la, you roared on these before. it's worth noted budget battles ha previously brought the government to a standstill. that doesn't happen. is this a sign of a new a of bipartisanship in washington? >> i would love to say yes. anere is some hope, but i don't think this wa compromise, because both parties just gave each other more money. you get $100 billion. you get $100 billion. it was more a collaboration than compromise. there is some hope, however, in the fact that secretary of the treasurynuchin and nancy pelosi, the democratic speaker, somehow quietly found a way withou drama to steer a major deal, not just through congress, but get the president on board without wavering, and that has beenlusive for everyone,

including the white house. that's a big deal that mnuchin figured out how to get the presidenon this deal with no questions. that's hope for the future. >> nawaz: we will take that as a sign of hope. that's the one big takeaway. s, thank you much. >> my pleasure. >> nawaz: three years of tumult in the u.k. took yet another tumultuous turn today, as boris johnson was ected conservative leader to replace theresa may as prime miniaser. mrs. may casualty of the chaos sparked by btons vote to leave the e.u. from london, special correspondent ryan chilcote begins our coverage. jo>> is this your dream at a nightmare time, mr. johnson? >> reporter: he's one of britain's most eccentric and recognizable politicians, from ndhis trademark mop of bloe hair tockurning mundane public events into comedy. the new conservativety leader, and thus, incoming british prime minister,

beat out foreign secretary jeremy hunt, winning two-thirds of the vote from about 160,000 ni his fellow conservatives. >> we are going to this amazing country and we are going to take it forward. i will work flat out from now on buwith my team that i wild. i hope, in the next few days, to repay your confidence, but in the meantime, the campaign is over and t work begins. >> reporter: the 55-year-old johnn served as mayor of london, and preceded hunt as foreign secretary under the woman he replaces.in he'll norit what some are calling the biggest british challenge since world war two: exiting the european union. even so, he maintained his optimism today in london with his trademark bravado.l >> i say to the doubters, dude we are going to energize the country. we're going to get brexit done on october 31st. we are going to take advantage of all the opportuties that it will bring in a new spirit of can-do. >> reporter: outgoing prime minister theresa may's efforts to secure a brexit deal werere

soundly cted by parliament three times, ultimately leading her to step down. she's pledged to give her full support to her successor. johnson was one of the country's most vocal advocates for leaving the e.u. during the country's 2016 referendum, striki a populist tone. critics, though, call him an opportunist: he reportedly prepared speeches supporting both potential outvomes in that . johnson could tempt to amend the u.k.'s withdrawal agreement with the e.u. and push that hothrough parliament, evenh the e.u. has repeatedly insisted it's not open to renegotiating. failing that, he's threatening to pull out of the bloc without a deal. even though the u.k.'s oicial economic watchdog has warned a no-deal brexit would plunge the british economy into a recession. and mostembers of the house of commons, including many members of his own party, oppose leaving without a deal. at the same time, johnson faces

a separate uphilbattle to gain the public's trust and confidence after a string of gaffes and offensive comments. >> he's very much like trump, he says one thingay and another thing the next. he really has no regard for politics or the peoplet all. >> reporter: back in the u.s., president trump tweeted his congratulations to johnson, and added "he will be great!" johnson will officially become prime minister tomorrow in a formal hand-over of power. >> nawaz: ryan, on the top of boris johnson's priority list has to be brexit, rit? theresa may tried and failed to negotiate a deal is. there any sign that boris hnson can succeed where theresa may failed? >> that's going to be tough. look, there are only two do it. one is to go back to the european union and renegotiate yhe deal that theresa ma reached with the e.u. so far they're saying that they'rnot going to renegotiate anything. in fact, their chief negotiatorw

todated that he looks forward to facilitating the ratification of the deal, t meaning the det they already have. so it doesn't look like there's much of a window there. o ther thing he culled do is on october 31st, in 100ays time, as he has promised, he could take the u.k. out of the e.u. without a deal. that's the defaulposition. if he doesn't get it ratified in parliament, th there is many of the people in parliament are very against that idea. th think that it would be economically very damaging for this country for that to happen. and even within his own party, many of them say they will fight him if he trie do that. so that leaves one more option.l that's to general election and hope that next batch of parliamentarians that get voted in,pp a, t the conservative and b, support his plan for brexit. both of those are not a given. >>awaz: ryan, it's notable that president trump was first to congratulate boris johnson where. do you see theationship between the u.s. and the u.k.

going from here? >> boris johnson will appreciate that. the u.k. needs a trade deal with the united states. hpresident trump has sai wants to do a trade deal with the u.k. it's particularly important given the fact that the u.k. is planni to leave the european union. that said, i think boris johnson will be perhaps leery of getting too buddy-buddy with president trump. president trump is not particularly popular in the united kingdom.ut he was here a a month ago, and if you'll remember, the polls then said only 1 in 5 people in the u.k. support his policies. and even in the conservative party that boris johnson leads,l they lean atle bit further to the left, maybe perhaps closer to the democthan the republican party. >> nawaz: that is ryan chilcote reporting for us in london., thanan. let's take a deeper look now at at boris johnson's rise to prime minister means for the future of the united kingdom. anand menon is professor of inropean politics and foreign affairs ats college in london. anand menon, welcome to the news hour. i want to ask you, you saw an

chilcote's report there. same question, just to get your taen it comes to brexit, is there any chance that boris johnson couldan succee negotiate a deal? >> well, i very much green with ryan in the sense that the problem is we have ars new but -- a new prime minister, but the structural constraints remain the same as we had with theresa may. the three option, we leave with, a de without a deal or we stay in the europe europe. we have parliament in which there are no majority for any of those outcomes some we wait with interest to see if there is anything prime minister johnson can do to shift the dial. >> woodruff: when you look specifically at what johnson has said in the past, can you walk us through where he disagreedh withdeal that theresa may had negotiated? >> well, the first thing that's worth sayinghat ultimately, boris johnson voted for theresa may's deal. so one of theossibilities i suppose is that he comes back tt

parliament something that looks very much like the deal she negotiated, tries to claim that he's made some significant difference to it and tries to get it through again. in the campaign fore leadership, however, he changed his tune a little bit and he said that what he wants to do is get rid this infamous irish backstop. the irish backstop exists to prevent the need for a border on the island of ireland tween the north and the south. it does so by keeping the whole of the united kingdom within some.u. rules and inside the e.u.'s customs union that limbs our ability afterex to sign trade deals. he wants that scrapped. the problem is that the eurunean on is showing absolutely no willingness whatsoever to go along with that. they're saying, the deal on the table is a t deal that theresa may negotiated, and that includes the backstop. >> nawaz: it's worth ohnoting thaton doesn't have a conservative majority in parliament. he needs a coalition to movehi an forward. how does that dynamic inform how he's likely to act?

>> well, since that election of 2017, one of the problems that the conservative party has faced is they are dependence for their majority in pent on the democratic unionist party, and the democratic ionist party has specific interests when it comes to the politics of northern ireland. it looks very much as if prime minister johnson is going to turn to the d.u.p. again for their help, and of course new york so doing,me what thas is that any kind of backstop that looks like northern ireland is are slightly dif status to the rest of the united kingdom will be unacceptable to them. as ryan said, one option face manage johnson is to have a general election aan try and the numbers in parliament. the problem there is that politics in united kingdom at the moment is unpredictable, so many m.p.s with what usually would have been considered se majoritie of 10,000, 15,000 now y they fear losing their seats that that would be a real gamble.

>> nawaz: johnson it's worth noting was also the foreign secrety for a while. from what he has said. from what he's done in the past, do you expect britain's foreign policy moving forward to be very different from the way in the past? >> well, first thi, let me say, it is worth stressing to the american audience just the degree to which atbrexit dom everything in this country, and breck yet dominated the adership extension to t excludes of virtually everything else. so we haven't heard much on foreign policy. what i would say is the new prime minister, as soon as he enters treat, which we expect to be some time tomorrow afternoon, faces a foreign policy dilemma, which is iran. as you know, the united states has decided that iran is in breech of its obligations under the nuclear deal. the european unions are saying they're not. to date the united kingdom has stuck with the european, saying they want to preserve the nuclear deal. now, that presents mr. johnson with an immediate problem. the one hand, as we heard from ryan earlier, this

brexiters think a tre deal with the united states is a necessary way forward once we leave the european u ton. other hand, policy to date has been to stick with the europeans in opposition to the united states in policy on iran, and that is a dilemmthat mr. johnson is going the face from his first $1kr in office. what is he going to choose? we don't know. >> nawaz: we only have 30 seconds left, but i do want to s maething clear here are. you basically saying because brexit is such an enormous dealt because he meal with it, because he's stepping into exactly the same conditions that theresa may l,eft behi could boris johnson have a similar fate to theresa may >> well, the amazing thing at the moment ise simply do not know what is going the happen. it is quite possible that hend will tryget a deal through and fail, absolutely, because the numbers aren't there in parliament. at that point we don't know. there is thsse ility boris johnson ends up being the cian oft serving politi all time. he has to survive until november

to avid that fate. >> nawaz: amna nawaz from kin's college in london, thank you very much for join us. >> nawaz: it took two years, 448 pages, and then, just a nine-minute speech. but tomorrow, former special counsel robert mueller will face questions from lmakers. but members of congress are not the only ones with questions. lisa desjardins is back to run through what viewers like you have been asking. >> desjardins: this room is pty today. tomorrow, it will be full of people, and questions for robert mueller. there are many. our viewers alone sent us nearly 2,000 examples of what they would ask. those questions ca from every corner of the country. our viewers wrote in from nearly anevery state, places larg small. a few came from other countries too: canada, the u.k., taiwan. what are the key issues r mr. mueller? what matters most?

let's start with one of the biggest issues over tomorrow's hearing-- a question we heard again and again. >> if mr. mueller s not bound by the o.l.c. guidelines to not indict a sitting president, >> would he ha been indicted >> desjardins: "o.l.c." is an abbrevia lot.hat may come up a it's the office of legal counsel, in the department of justice, and it sets many of the ground rules for the agency. this key question surrounds maybe the most-quoted line from the report-- "while this report d es not conclude that the president commitcrime, it also does not exonerate him." >> if we had had confidence that the president clearly d not commit a crime, we would have said so. we did not, however, make a >> desjardins: why no conclusion? mueller did not say directly, but pointed out an opinion from the o.l.c. "concludes that a

sitting president may not be prosecuted." this has been an overriding question for democrats since the day the report came out, when e house democratic caucu leader joined judy woodruff. >> woodruff: so you're saying you don't accept his conclusion that he couldn't-- or, rather, you don't accept what he said, that he couldn't reach a conclusion about w ther or not there was obstruction of justice committed? >> to me, that's not the end. that's just the beginning of what needs to come next. >> desjardins: another overarching issu- here's leslie smith of oakland, california. >> were you impeded in your investigation in any way? >> desjardins: this is fascinating because the most damning parts of mueller's report lay out evidence that the president tried to end or impede mueller's investigation itself. ( gavel ) >> desjardins: democrats, led b rk's jerry nadler, have told us questions abthe president impeding mueller will be a major focus, including testimony from formewhite house counsel don mcgahn and former trump campaign manager corey lewandowski that the leesident tried to fire or limit special counsel mu be ready to hear about two other people in the trump universe:

paul manafort, who was trump's campaignhairman, and michael cohen, who was his longtime lawyer and fixer. both were part of mueller's investigati. both are now in prison. and, in his report, mueller laid out evidence the pre may have tried to tamper with their testimony by offering pardons.e me with mueller will be evenly split between democrats and republicans, and we may see more questions about mueller himself. we go to hawaii and ken doyle. >> following the firing of f.b.i. directojames comey, did you inquire about or seek to be named f.b.i. director? >> desjardins: the president and republicans have long said mueller and his team were biased, including this sertion. >> he wanted to be the f.b.i. director, and i said no. >> desjardins: the report disputes this charge, citing former white house advisor steve bannon as saying that not come in looking for the job. >> the corrupt cabal that we see, of strok, page, mccabe, comey, and others... >> desjardins: republicans, ledg

rgia's doug collins on the judiciary committee, may ask about other charges of bias as well, and point to something other than obstruction. >> he also made it very clear there was no collusion. >> desjardins: mueller concluded there was no evidence ofcy conspiy the trump campaign, but there will be a number of questions about the specifics-- the contacts between the trump campaign and russiansn es.ding russian operativ this raises another key set of questions, about what russia did. joan murdoch of pennsylvania wut l: >> do you think the public debate over section 2,he obstruction section, has overshadowed the detaiand importance of section 1, which all about how the russians interfered in our election in 2016? >> desjardins: this is part one of the report, about the russians, but it will likely come up the most in part two of the hearin when the house intelligence committee takes over. >> thank you. we'll come to order. e >> desjardinect many questions about what mueller learned about the russians activities igeneral, but also expect that he may not be able

to answer some questions publicly. this section of the report is the most highly redacted, because of investigations still underway. lawmakers have just five minutes each tomorrow, about as long as this story. they will have to chose between hundreds of choices and topics. some people want to ask about the president:sk >> i'd like tor. mueller why he didn't subpoena the president? >> desjardins: or attorney neral: >> mr. barr said you and he had a disagreement regarding the law of the production of your report. what was the nature of that disagreement? >> desjardins: and some, about how mueller is doing. ou>> has the spotlight on caused you any stress or health issues? >> desjardins: and still others about the point of this report. >> after the findings, do youfe this report is worth all the time and effort that's been spent by our politicians? desjardins: scores of questions for one man, who will be back in a very hot spotlight tomorrow. i'm lisa desjardins, for the pbs newshour. >> nawaz: let's examine how theg

white house ting ready for mueller's testimony tomorrow with yamiche alcindor. yamiche, let's jump right in. there's been a lot of talk about the potential impact of imat mueller tey. what do we expect im to say? >> in his testimony before the house, robert mueller wants to stick to the confines of the 448-page report that he and his team compiled. a spokespersot for rob mueller told me he wants the stay within "the four walls of the report." he is also -- robert mueller is also going to be wanting to enter to the congressional record the actual report to really underline and double down that point. thatsaid, i'm told he will have a short opening statement. he's been preparing with people th worked for him at the special counsel's office to really figure out and hone in on at he can and can't talk about in this setting. he also wants to really be thinking about how to not g yond the report. and as a result, what's going to be interesting is after that short opening statement, democrats and republicans are going to be posing questions. democrats are going to be trying the pushhim a little b past the report, they're going to be

trying to figure out why he didn't subpoena th president. also why he didn't make a decision on obstruction of justice. publicans will be having their own points. i'm told republicans are likely going to hone in onis hiring process and why he may have hired people that didn't like the president or that donated to hillary clinton. democrats tell me there is not going to be any surprises that they expect, but that said, we got a really big surprise today, of course, the day before robert mueller is supposed to testi. that surprise was that robert mueller wanted to enter as a witness and have a sworn witness next him, a long-time aid to robert mueller and is described as a deputy special counsel robert mueller. robert mueller wanted aaron to speak next to him because i'm told he wantedto zebl talk about personnel issues and the hiring process to take some pressureueff of roberter. the committee, of course, said, no, you cannot do that. as aon result, a zebly will sit ongside robert mueller as his counsel, but he'll be to talk to aaron, ask him

questions, and confer if there is something he wants to talk about that may be outside therv w of the report. but the fact that we got this big surprise the day before the testimony sa there could fireworks we don't see coming. >> nawaz: some last-minute developmen behind the scene there. there is also the issue of this letter, yamiche, that the idea sent to mueller offering him some guidance on the testimony. how could what they laid out affect what he does or doesn't say? >> the department of justice has leaned in on robert mueller to stick to what's in the reporllt. robert m agrees he wants to stick to what's in the report, but the department of justice sent a letter to make that crystal clear to robert mueller. here are some things they told him. they told ro,rt muell "any testimony must remain within the boundaries of your public report, because matters within the scope of your investigation were covered by executive privilege. the letter also cautioned against discussing "redndted portions testifying about information protected by law enforcement, deliberative process, attorney work product and presidenti communication

privileges." tsd lastly, a key part for the president, democ say, robert mueller should not talk about "uidharged indls." now democrats will say the president is an uncharged individual, and enhough robert mueller and the department of justice are on the same page, the department ofg justice sendis letter shows they're concerned. >> nawaz: finally, yamiche, house?out the whi the president has said he might watch some part of the hearing. what is at stake for president trump tomorrow? >> this is going to be a big, televised event, largely focused op whether or not president trump directed the lie or whether or not he was trying to turn down and close down the investigation as robert mueller was eally caringout his duties. so democrats have been telling me over and over again, a lot of people don't read the book, but they watch the movie, so democrats say evenrt if ro mueller says nothing new, they're hoping that millions of new ;)ñ robert mueller talking about the presiden what democrats sayis bad behavior coming out of the white house. that sd, i recently talked to

the president and put the question to him. i said mr. president, are you concerned about robert mueller testifying? are you going to wat it? president trump says he's not moanning to watch the entire robert mueller tes. but he will watch a little bit of it. he said he's not concerned and he thinks democrats are really wasting their time here. lod that it's really going to come down to hiing like a president that's being harassed by democrats or going too far. that said, the white house is still concerned. they will be focused in on this tomorrow.al as iys of washington. >> nawaz: our own yamiche alcindor will be covering that hearing tomorrow. thank you, yamiche. and join us tomorrow morning. our live covage of the mueller hearing starts at 7:40 a.m. eastern online, on oursi we our live coverage of the mueller hearing starts at 7:45 a.m. eastern online on our website at www.pbs.org/newshour, and on our social media channels, like youtube. then, tune in right here at 8:30 a.m. on your local s station, when judy woodruff leads live coverage of the former special counseifl teng before two house committees. check your local listings.

>> nawaz: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: the new trump administration rules that may make millions ofb americans inel for food stamps. and, a preschool on wheels becomes a driving force in communities with no access to childcare. economically, venezuela has collapsed, with severe shortages of electricity, food, gas, and medicine. politically, the country's fates nclear, with president nicolas maduro facing off agait the us-backed, nationa assembly president, juan guaido. maduro has clung to power, largely through the y of key military and intelligence figures. but in april, some of those allies flipped, leading a failed attempt to oust him. one of them is now in the us, and he spoke with our own nick schifrin.ri >> sch for decades, general manuel ricardo cristopher figuera was the loyad r to the venezuelan

regime, and last year became the feared intelligence chief whose agents punished the regime's opponents. but he says he saw the shortages of food, patients protesting and dyg from a shortage of medicine, and children playing in the dark because of aor ge of power. and now he blames the country's mals on the corruption of president nicolaro and his family. >> ( edanslated ): having wo firsthand with nicolas maduro, after telling him about all the corruption that i saw, i realized there was no will, too much evil, and too much sire r power. nicolas maduro's son has a personal assistant who has several coanies that contract with the state. >> reporter: it seems that the family of nicolas maduro was benefiting economically from their power, and taking money away from the government >> ( translated ): they use the platforme state. they use the central bank of venezuela to pull gold out of the country. c

i haveled this system of government a criminal enterprise. why? because all contribute to corruption. they are all accomplices. i have also apologized because i have some responsibility. i was part of that regime, but once i realized the mess of the entire tragedy for the people of venezuela, i decided to step forward and oppose this criminal enterprise. >> schifrin: do you feel like you did enough to resist initially? >> ( translated ): i was part of a structure that is not in favor of the interests of the peopleco and d have done more. >> schifrin: he did more on ril 30, when juan guaido announced a revolt. their plan required two senior officials to flip: supourt chief justice maikel moreno, and defense minister vladimirpe padrino why do you think it failed? >> ( translated ): the excessive ambitions of maikel moreno. he wanted to be president. but that was not in the plan. what was proposed was to oust maduro and appoint a new national electal council, call elections, and try to reorganize the state and free statens

institut. >> schifrin: today, figuera is in the u.s he asked us not to disclose his location, for fear of regime retribution. after you fled, was your deputy killed? >> ( translated ): i placed him at the head of delicate and sensitive investigations. surely they discovered that he had sensitive information and made it seem he broke into a motel and shot himself. that was a simulated suicide. >> schifrin: do you thinhe was killed in order to send you a message? >> ( translated ): not only just me. it sent a message to me and all who dare to go against nicolas maduro's criminal enterprise. >> schifrin: but figueradmits he facilitated that enterprise. nme u.n. recently detailed thousands of govt human rights violations such as torture and kidnapping, including by the intele institution he led, the sebin. >> ( translated ): i carry the cross on my back because there are many people who have suffered at the hands ple of that institution. i do not like to address the

issue of torture because i think it's very grotesque. we have seen films. we read books of what bad peoplo do, evile, when they have a prisoner. >> schifrin: did you mistreat people and do you think about that, and do you regret that? >> ( translated ): yes. let me repeat. i am sorry and i do have regrets. i've asked forgiveness from people because i was part of those structures that are supporting maduro,lthough i did not directly order torture, or torture anyone. >> schifrin: was there any debate within the maduro regime about how to treat some of these prisoners, and how to treat their political opponents? >> ( translated ): no. the orders were nicolas maduro directly. he gives the order. >> schifrin: why should we believe youwh? should we believe your story if you participated in some of these acts? >> ( translated the majority of the people who say that are journalists or social media inuencers, or they have so political agenda outside the country. and it's difficult for them to believe me because i had no

contact with anyone outside my country.e in fact, i am st military personnel they expected would turn against maduro. >> schifrin: you had sanctions on you imposed by the united states accusing you of torture the united states has lifted those sanctions now. >> i am announcing today thatit the states of america is removing all sanctions on general manuel christopher figueroa. >> schifrin: do you think the u.s. should forgive any of the pele who committed some of these acts so long as they work to oppose maduro? >> (no translated ): i hav committed any crime. i was punished for being part of a criminal structure. bu crime. not committed a people who have committed crimes must be brought to justice. i know there are accusations towards me in the hague. appeaam willing to before the court. they have to prove that i did those things. >> schifrin: maduro remains in power, largely thanks to military support and the support

of allies russia, the iranian- backed militant group hezbollah, and most importantly, cuba. did you have to go through a senior cuban officl in caracas in order to go through maduro? >> ( translated i had relations with a colonel who was on the first ring of security for nicolas maduro. safety equipment was provided by raul castro to maduro.at irst there were few men, maybe 15.fo now they've inrmed me after the events of april 30 thatxp numberded, and there are about 200 cubans dedicated to the safety of nicolas maduro. >> schifrin: secretary of state mike pompeo and the u.s. have led an international pressure a campaigainst maduro, incling heavy sanctions.ds and hundf thousands of venezuelans have poured into the street to support guaido. it hasn't been enough to oust maduro. >> ( tranated ): on the subject of protest, it has not been strong enough because people go out to protest, but thenhey have to stop to survive, because their salaries

are not enough for food, they cannot afford to dress. >> schifrin: why do you think there have been no attempts since april 30 to try and oust maduro? >> ( translated ): because of fear. they are afraid. >> schifrin: maduro accuses u.s. intelligence of plotting a coup. figuera says they're not. but he is cooperating with them. >> ( translated ): by atoviding infon that they have about financial movements, they can corroborate some things i've said. with accurate informatcon, they caribute to maduro's departure from power so he can be tried before international justices. >> schifrin: have the s. intelligence officials you speak to gone one step further, and supported a dict intervention against maduro in venezuela?

>> that's not the idea. it's a problem we venezuelans have to solve. however, maduro, with hi attitude of contempt for the people of venezuela, he is legitimizing any action we hav d to get out. >> schifrin: there are many stories that c.i.a. have considered sending guns into venezuela and contributing to the violent overthrow of maduro. >> ( translated ): i do not think that is more intense than the activity of cuban intelligence or intelligence of chinese or russian intelligee. >> schifrin: later, he asked to provide a firmer denial of c.i.a. involvement inside veneela. >> ( translated ): no. no the is not. the united states has been very careful, because in their history there have been problems. >> schifrin: despite venezuela's conditions today, he still ,efends his original mentor former president hugo chavez. >> ( translated ): chavez played a political role in a stellar moment in history, but that's now been left behind. maduro uses tricks and who has betrayed chavez, imaduro. i am a venezuelan, bolivarian,

fighter for justice and a believer of democracy. >> schifrin: so do you think indemocracy can be restore venezuela? >> ( translated ): yes. that is why we are fighting. at's why i dared to leave my country: to seek help, to restore democracy as written in our constitution. >> nawaz: the trump administration announced new ngrules today that would c the way some people can get food stamps, which are known as snap benefits. currently, about 36 million americans receive this help buying groceries. as william brangham ports, the administration argues this change will save billions of s llars, by removing milli people from the food stamp rolls. >> brangham: that'right, amna. the administration argues it needs to close a loophole in tho

food stampam that allows some people with savings and other assets to get benefits that the administration argues they don't deserve. in a call yesterday, agriculture secretary sonny perdue repeatedlyited the case of one retireminnesota millionaire named rob undersander. this is him in a video produced by a conservative advocacy group. undersander was able to enroll in the food stamp program and says he received benefits for almost two years. he says he did it to prove a point and gave the money to charity the administration said closing this loophole would save two point five billion dollars and remove about three milon people from eligibility. joining me now is elaine waxman, she's a senior fellow at the urban institute where she studies federal food programs like the snap program. >> thank you for having me. >> brangham: so if these rules go forward, the administration says about th e millionpeople will be booted out of the food stamp program. what do we know about who tse

three million people are? >> so what we know about those who areikely to be affected by the rules change should it go arrough is that they typically working families. they have low earnings, because they can still qualify for snap benefits. but they are disproportionately working. they also disproportionately tend to have children some in both cases these are groups of people that the admintration tiply talks about in terms of wanting to supportra and ence work. unfortunately both of ose groups are likely to be hurt. >> brangham: why does theni adration hold up an example as this minnesota millionaire as someone who clearly has plenty of assets. he's retired, so he didn't have a lot of y income. they hold up that gentleman as an example of why they need to cut these other ram?le off the pr >> i think it's a little bit of a distraction. because what we know from u.s.d.a.m.'s own dataha is less than 1% of snap benefits go

people who have incomes above the federal poverty line. so we're reaching exactly the audiences we want there is no evidence of widespread fraud. and it's allowed states to be responsive to families that are maarning a little bit more income and at risk of losing benefits. if they get a 50 cent an increase in their wages. if that happens and they lose sn tap benefits,y may actually be worse off. those are the kinds of things that states have been trying to avoid. >> brangham: one of the arguments that the administration seems to be making is that states need to do a better job of checking people's assets. again, this is seemingly someone who has whnked a considerable amount of money. is the argument for not making sure people have no assets before you gra them food stamps? >> so if you think abouit, we want people to have some level of assets, because that is theib

uffer against unexpected emergencies. for example, among seniors, we are very concerned that they may be in a position of having to spend down their limited resources without any opportunity to replace that with earnings. we want people to be able toge cover emy room visits or a car repair that allows them to go back ngo work without g into debt. so this is a program that has allowed the relaxation of some of thosessets. and also it has reached exactly the population that we want to help serve, which is again those people who are really working hard tomprove their outcomes. ism we shold say for the record we asked the agriculture second second -- secretary to come on the program.li he dd that invitation. the administration is arguing that the economy is doing well. unemployme is low. it's okay, it's appropriate the makehese types of cuts to

this program. >> so here's where we are. even though the ecomy is improving, we still have 36 million people who qualify for snap. we know that people are getting work at higher rates, but the kinds of work they're getting is not necessarily high paid and not stable hours. that's ngat we're fa in the absence of a dramatic change in people' circumstances, which we're not seeing in this current economy, if youna terminatep benefits, we can anticipate that more people will be food insecure and more people will be in poverty, because we know from research that snap come batshose two things. we really worry about, that because food insecure families are more likely to experience hospitalizations. children are less likely todo well in school, seniors who are food insecure are more likely tr haveic health problems. so we might save some money inic one paar aspect of our expenditure. it will fill up somewhere else.

brangham: elaine waxman of the urban institute, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> nawaz: preschool can provide children with solid and lasting foundation for success later in life, but fewer than half of all four-year-olds in the u.s., just 43%, have access to a public preschool, and that rate varies by state. some rural or low-income areas have no option at all. one community outside denver, colorado has found an innovativ bring education to students-- with a classroom on wheels. we visited the mobile preschool at the end of the school year in may to see the impact it's having on the kids and families it serve it's part of our education series, "making the grade." >> ready? >> nawaz: most weekday mornings for ashley parke and her son, clinton, begin the same way-- >> all right, i'll be back, guys. with a short walk to the school

bus. >> and then we got to go left. left. that's right. c> nawaz: but this bus won't bring clinton tool. it is the school. ttro-fitted into a classroom, and parked in thisrnton, colorado mobile home community, this shuttle-bus is the only viable childcare option for some young children like clinton. if the bus wasn't here, would he be in another school program? >> probably not, because it's expensive. i don't know that we could afford to send him to another program. >> nawaz: the school on wheels sets up each morning beside this park. eight children, ages three to six, attend the morning session. most speak spanish at home. this community is over 9 latino.te hers allie davis and christy feller lead them through their day, with attendance... ...songs... ...and a weather report.

>> nawaz: raise your hand if you're excited to come to school every day. everyone's cited? >> nawaz: while the students head to recess in the park,da s shows us how they fit an entire classroom into a small space. >> we have littlchairs that pull out. >> nawaz: so you have to stay organized. >> yes, everything has a sce, >> nawaz: the bus was a labor of love for alexa garrido and rany elissa, a husband and wife team who first spent years builng a tutoring business. they worked in over a dozen school districts acros colorado, but often struggled to find space. >> the l full.ies were always the rec centers were not spaces we could use. so, because we were doing that, we had decided, well, we'll make it mobile >> nawaz: they saw a need, they

say, to offer education early in wechild's life, to address education gaps the trying to close later, in middle or high school. es we're looking for communi that have a need. so it's going to be, gerally, your lower-income areas, or areas that do not have access to preschool. and also if cost or transportation is a barrier to them, this is where we work with thcommunities and schools. we can identify those areas. >> nawaz: using their own moneyo and somets from their tutoring business, they bought the bus at auction, gutted it, and outfitted it with all the amenities of a modern classroom: a smartboard, bluetooth ioning, andir cond a bathroom. but, they needed support from the city, and permits to park the bus. they found both with the help of daniel dick, the mayor of neighboring federal heights, colorado. >> it is a city with great difficulties, limited opportunity for employment, many of them he language es. so we start with the difficult, and have to figure out ways to raise that level.

and the best way to do it is to provide for a better future for our children. it will make the entire difference in whether they're successful or will fall through the cracks. >> nawaz: data actually shows that, here in adams comany communities live in so-calledrt "child care de" where the number of preschool age children far exceeds the number of available child care slots.e studies xed on whether preschool gives a lasting academic edge. but, reliable child carepr ides benefits that extend beyond tests and report cards. ex a lot of that traces back to something we calutive functioning. >> nawaz: katie hamm is the vice president for early childhood policy at the center for american progress. >> children are arning really critical socio-emotional skills during this time, and that includes things like self-

regulation, learning what behaviors are appropriate. >> nawaz: ashley parke says preschool has already made adi erence in how clinton navigates the world. >> he's learning to use hi voice-- "don't do that," "i don't like that," or, "can we play," just learning, "hey, what's your name, want to be my friend?" he's learng a lot of the social stuff here. >> nawaz: experts like hamm agree, the gold standard is a full day of preschool-- more than the half-day sessions kids attend on the bus. >> that doesn't mean that you shouldn't start somewhere. if you have communities that are isolated, that aren't receiving any type of preschool, starting a part-time program where you're it is certainly a value add. >> nawaz: in the afternoons, the bus parks in a sond location, for another session with eight more children.

the older kids will go on to kindergarten in the fall. the younger ones will return for another year of preschool onwh ls. meanwhile, rany elissa and alexa garrido have purchased a second bus, which they hope to roll out in metro denver before the next school year. >> we've got parents that haveon conversawith us about how great it was, right, the experience, to he what they had here, and be able to go back to kindergarte but also to be able to come back to us for support for their kids if they stilneed it in, in the elementary schools. >> our hope is that we get an opportunity, right. because we're in their community and that we can see them as they grow, right? for, for however long that they're here in the communities, that we're be able to be a part of their life, and they really want to come back. >> nawaz: fothe pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz in adams county, colorado.

>> nawaz: join us tomorrow bright and early for special coverage of robert mueller's testimonbefore congress. we begin by answering your questions facebook, youtube, twitter and instagram at 7:40 a.m. eastern. then at 30 a.m. eastern, judy woodruff anchors our live coverage of the hearings beforeo twe committees. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. join us all day tomorrow, online and on-air. for all of us at the pbs newsho, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbsne hour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches a language program that teaches real-life conversations in new >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james.

>> theord foundaton working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation r blic broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbr station om viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productionsllc

♪ ff woodru: i'm judy woodruff and welcome to this pbs newshour special, inside the report. the spotlight turns to the u.s. capitol as former special counsel robert mueller is set to testify before two committees of the eshouse of representat when his redacted report was publicly released in april, mueller indicateitthat it speaks folf. but the report is 448 pages lg. it is dense, and many of us don't have time to read it from cover to cover, itso my colleaguesany oflisa desjardins and to william brangham decided to dig into what it does, and does not say. they begin with the question of russian interference in the 16 presidential election narrator: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by...