captning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: evaluating the wreckage. as hurricane dorian makes landfall in north carolina, rescue teams in the bahamas o those affected by the deadly storm. then, it's friday. mark shields and david brooks on the democrs'lans for climate change, republicans' canceling primaries, and funding the border wall. rger showcase for the arts. an insiders tour of the kennedye er's first expansion in 50 years. >> as we looforward we know that people want to be more connected to the art and theor artists, to beimmersed in it and to participate in it. >> woodruff: all that hd more on ton's pbs newshour.

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banks on its list of victims. still, it doled out surprising damage today. john yang is in nasshe, where he wathe hurricane's progress. >> yang: dorian roared ashore at cape hatteras, its fir landfall in the u.s. after devastating the bahamas days befo. sustained towinds had droppe 90 miles an hour, just half what they had oatnce been. but governor roy cooper waed those in the hurricane's path to remain on high alert. >>he danger right now is t rising storm surge of fose to n feet and flash floods as the hurricane churns along the coast. >> yang: one area of greatest concern was ocracoke island, about 40 miles southwest of pe hatteras. the low-lying, 16-mile-long barrr island was quickly inundated, with rising water

trapping hundreds of people who chose not to evacuate. a search and rescue team is on the way. we estimate about 800 people remain on the island during t storm, and have heard reports from residents who say the flooding tre was w catastrophic. >> reporter: more than 330,000 homes and businesses across across the carolinas and southeastern virginia had lost power. virginia bea saw strong winds and large crashing waves along the shoreline. helsy rain atriggered flash flooding. farther south, clean-up efforts were underway in charleston, south carolina. residents took down plywood from store windows as crewsorled ed away downeanches under sunny skies today.e but in th battered northern bahamas, massive piles of debris as far as the eye can see. hundreds of people on abaco island gathered today at the damaged airport,esperately

hoping to cape to nassau.es >> we have no power, no water, and it's bad. ost,ything we have everything is damaged. >> it's chaos here and the pnhce is ubitable, nobody can liveere. so, we're trying to get out and they only have limited ways of getting out here. >> yang: small planes were able to evacuate some of the elderly and the sick a few at a time. for those unable to leave, aid groups were starting to arrive- with mucheded food, water and supplies. tom cotter is director of emergency response and preparednebass for the g relief organization project hope. >> this is the real deal. there is no searching for the disaster. the disasts erry apparent. every street is affected, every person is affected. this is an incredibly dire and uation.sit >> yang: cotter described the extreme challenges that he and his team encountered. >> it's really hard too an island and it's really hard to get to an land with an airstrip that has bed heavily

damad is limited in what kind of planes it can get. all we want to do is get supplies aesnd rnders on the island and we have to do a small bit at a time, instead of thean large qud tities we woule if it was easier to get in and it's all because of the storm that the access is li tted. >> yang: u.s. coast guard has also been helping.s first ponders back from a mission today spoke of traumatic cases. >> injurieflto the head by ng debris, people were crusheby cars, by buildings, multiple fractures to le, any limbs. anything. it was bad. >> yang: and for all of the survivors, the emotional toll looms large. again, tom cotter. >> the mental trauma of this, it's as severe and it's as important to address as the physical trauma that people might have perienced. everybody knows somebody who's been rlly affected by this storm and again witha communtions down, a lot of people don't know if their loved ones are alive or not alive." >> yang: and for some, dorian is still a thl reat in the making. rnings and watches have now

been posted from delaware to nova scotia, canada, as the hurricane drives northst. here on the edge of the nassau airport, these twowo big air conditioned tents being set up as a transition center for evacuees from grand bahama island and abaco. this is not a government operation. this is bying done rivate citizens, local charities, local civic groups and n.g.o.s. inside are clean clothes if people need them, food and water if they nehe baby supplies if they need them,ushions to li all t things, in short, that people we talked t earlier today outside the government evacuation center in nassau sathey wish they had there. most importantly, according tota the people wed to outside the govedenment center, inside are pleas for peop to help them find places to live in case they don't have friends and milies here in nasaw.

they're reaching out to real estate agents who rent out vacation hes here, to who tells who have empty rooms, to anyoneacho might have a to offer. >> woodruff: and, so, john, what about those people you spe with who had been in the government shelter? what did they say it's like there? how is it? >> reporter: it's a big sports arena. we weren't allowed to go in but talked to people as they came out. they s people are justying on the floor of the arena. we spoke to one woman divinia consultant who lost her home on abaco. shndwas actually able to s one night in nassau with some friends, but they could only host her for that one night, so she went to the shelter to look for help. there was no help to be found, she said. they said the social services people from the governmen told her she had to go to an office some distance ay to try tofi housing. so there's a lot of frustration assistance.about the lack of

>> woodruff: and, john, you've also, we know you have been talking to people who have been litelly trying to get on t one of the other islands whereto their family members, loved ones are. >> reporter: that's right. again, private efforts where the governmenteems to be a little slow. most of these people, especially here who are being evacuated from abaco, especially, are just people who get flown off the island on private plas, eight-seat, 18-seat planes. these are planes either about $2,400 round trip orost of private plane pilots themselves fly over land and just sayan get on board, i'l take you to nassau. i asked if that's how divinia bethel got out. i said, did myou know t or anybody on that plane? she said, no, but it waona seat

a plane off of abaco, and, so, she took it. >> woodruff: john, in connection with that, you've told us earlier today you've really been struck by theen cls of this community in the bahamas. >> reporter: it's>> amazing. you walk around, andverybody knows somebody, has family, has some connection, has friends on either grand bahama or abaco. my reports that nassau has been relativel y unaffected, and that largelye, the damage here is very little. >> and just quickly, john, i heard -- we heard the challenges that tom cotter, of project hope, is facing. we know there's some vid that shows the sheer devastation people a dealing with. >> woodruff:. >> reporter: it' amazing to look at the pictures. i've covered mostlydo tna, i haven't covered a lot of hurricanes, and i'm used to from abaco at tornadoes, housesg

splintered, just flattened, big pieces of equipment, in thisse ig yachts, big boats picked up and moved, resting against buildings. but in tornadoes, it's a relativelh narrow area, the p of the tornado, which can be, pick and choose, you have a house devastated on one side of the street and left standing touched on the other side. but these pictures from abaco it is huge areas, fields leveled. as tom cotter said in t taped piece, he's seen a lot o disasters in his work, but this, he said he's seen nothing like this. >> woodruff: john yang reporting for us from nassau in the bahamas. john, thank you so much. >> woodrf: william brangham gets another report from the region. >> brangham: let's find out some mo about the relief efforts from government officials in the region. elizabeth rileexis the deputy utive director of the caribbean disaster emergency management ancy, the agency ordinating response and assessmentns teams to theshard hit areas.sh joins me from the island of

barbados. here. yovery much for being i wonder if you could give us a sense of how things are now. >> based on the input from reports from our team on the ground the relief effort commenced in th two northern islands of the bahamas that have been impacted. what we understand is that the rol caribbean cruise line is providing meals for those persons who have been impacted on grand bahama at this time. >> reporter: the official death toll we know is still vers low, but we'reing lots of reports that people traveling victims in many, many locations. is it your sense that this could still be a much more grave disaster than we know thus far? >> i t the indications from the government of the bahamas specifically through the minister of health, have pointed in that direction, and ihi,

as the recovery effort continues, we wi get a better sense of how many persons, unfortunately, that have lost their life in this tragedy.hi >> reporter: we've also heard reports that people are trying to get out to the island to try to check on missing family members and some people are private planes to take them out there. is transportation still proving to be such a challenge for you? >> whahas happened is that there's been significant congestion in the airspace around both grand bahama and abaco simply because persons are anxious to find out about relatives, so they're chartering flights to go. while this is well-intentioned, what it does d is to create a high level of congestion in thee airsnd, unless this is regulated, it could potentially cause some constraints also in

the relief efforts. t >> reporter: hat your sense of why some n.g.o.s are reportedly ao having a hard time getting out to do their work? >> well, i think one of thes questithat should be asked is whether the n.g.o.s are coordinating their efforts e the government of the bahamas because the government of the bahamas isin charge of the response effort, and it is very important for n.g.o.s or any other entity which comes in with the good intention of supporting or assisting to touch base with, plug into and, very importantly, coordinate withhe national emergency operation center. so once they haade that connection to the nationaler ncy operation center, then all of the logistics around sequence in support,g sequenc flights or vessels, et cetera,te that can be coordinated. if actions are being underte

on the side of the nationalco ordinaton efforts, it is likely that it mayet some challenges in access. >> reporter: lastly, what are the biggest challens going forward from today on? >> well, i think the immediate issue would be really getting the immediatef to those persons who require it. a couplehat there are of areas which are still posing someer challenges inms of access, shelter of the population is incredibly important, especially in a situation whereom h have been stroyed and other areas of shelter have been destroyed in countries. so theersons who are now exposed are theriority. >> reporter: elizabeth riley, helping coordinate the relief efforts in the bahas. ank you very much. >> you're welcome. thanks for having me.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, u.s. businesses slowed their hiring in august amid global economic weakness and the tariff war with china. labor deprtment reports employers added a net of 130,000 jobs, fewer than expected. that total included 25,000 workers hired for the 2020 u.s. census. the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, even as more orople started looking for the chairman of the fedel reserve, jerome powell, is playing down the risk of recession. he spoke at a conference in switzerland today, and gave an despite some uncertainty.ahead, >> our main expectation is noter at all that ll be a recession. i did mention though that there are these risks and we're monitoringve the carefully

and we're conducting poly in a y that we'll address them. but no, i wouldn't see a recession as the most likely outcome fo mr the united statesr for the worleconomy r that matter. >> woodruff: the fed cut short- term interest rates in july, and is widely expected to do so again this month. the taliban staged another fatal assault in afghanistan today amid growing questions about a potential e peal. the attack killed two people in the western province of farah, and fighting continued in the city, hours later. meanwhile, afghan president ashraf ghani postponed a trip to washington next week. his government says a potential u.s. agreement with the taban in hong kong, some 2,000vil war. pro-democracy protesters surrounded a police station and subway stop innfew contations with police. rubbers answered wi bullets, tear gas and pepper spray, and the demonstrators used umbrellas shield .hemselves they also rejected promises to

kill a much-criticized extradition law. >> ( translated ): the governnt is one that doesn't listen to the voice of the people. it doesn't have a mandate from the people. all it lisns to is the central people's government. this is an issue that, during the lasttwo to three months, everyone has been able to see really clearly. our gvernment is not work for us. >> woodruff: the protesters are now caing for an investigation of alleged police brutality and for direct elections of city leaders. the one-time strongman president ofsimbabwe robert mugabe died. he led the african nation's black majority to power in 1980 and ruled fofor 37 years, being driven from office. john ray of vindependent teon news" looks back at mugabe's life. >> repeter: this is how ended his days. in resentful retirement in a hospital in singapore, 5,000 miles om the country he

berated and the nation he enslaved. robert mugabe was already a faded force wh we conducted what would be his lastie intervl , a virtprisoner at his sprawling mansion, the infamous "blue roof." but he was as defiant as ever. >> reporter: the jubilant crow that celebrated the end of his reign didn't agree. he had led theto ruin. long gone, the youthful hero of the freedom struggle that ended white rule in rhodesia, and founded a new nation with a new name. but zimbabwe's new leader was ruthless from the start. opponents. to slaughter at least 20,000 died. >> as long as dissidents come from a particular area we will send troops to that area. >> reporter: nor did racial reconciliation last. w he drohite farmers from the land and handed it to political

cronies but as the farms burned, zimbabwe starved. an era of anhyper-inflatiod empty shelves. his opponents took a beating, but mugabe had a scapegoat. >> we are not a british colony, you must know that. we are not a btish colony. >> reporter: but the grinding poverty saw his people flee in their tens of thousands. the end he was ousted by his protége and rival emerson mnangagwa, who paid is tribute tonight. >> reporter: but from the bloodshed in zimbabwe's first est-mugabe election to th crackdown on protesters made desperate by unemployment and soaring prices, this nation

still liveunder the shadow of its founding father. woodruff: robert mugabe was 95 years old. mexico now says the number of migrants aerrriving at its bordr with the united states has fallen more than 50% in the last three months. the foreign minister announced today thatome 64,000 people were stopped in august, down from more than 144,000 in may.an mexico deployed thousands of flow of migrants, after president trump threatened tariffs. back in this country: the trump administration oped a legal assault today on calirnia and four auto makers over emissions standards. the u.s. justice department notified ford, honda, volkswagen and b.m.w. that thst are being inat ed for possible anti- trust viol.atio in july, the companies adopted california's rdissions stan which are tougher

than those the administration favors. and, on wall strs t, the dow jodustrial average gained 69 points to close at 26,797. the nasdaq fell 13 points, and ths&p-500 added two. still to come on the newshour: the psycholohecal trauma of separating children at the border. mark shields and david brooks break down the week's news, funding decisions for the border wall andemocrats' plans to address clinimate change. de the new wing of the kennedy center for the performing arts. >> woodruff: there have been a number of accounts from medical professiond als vocates warning of the health risks of detaining migrant children and especiallyep aboutating them at the border from family members.

this week, we received the first substantiated report from a government agency looking at the mental hea for migrant kids in u.s. facilities. as lisa dedisj tells us, the report by the inspector general of the u.s. health and human services department included a look at what happened last year when the president implemented a "zero tolerance" policy. >> desjard at all children in h.h.s. care. some arrived on their own, others were separated from their parents. r the latter especlly, it points to a number of disturbing effects: accounts of inconsolable crying among children, heightened anxiety and feelings of abandoent. some showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, even refuing to eat. and that cthomes after enduring extreme duress in the home countries they left behind. the inspector general's office visited 45 facilities between aust and september 2018 and spoke with clinicians and other professional staff.

ann xwell is the assistant inspector general for evaluation and inspections who worked on this report and she joins me now. thank you. this report is not easy to rd. i want to start b talking about the children who the u.s. separated from their parents, specifically among the many quotes here, an example, just one of a seven or eight-year-old boy, the report shes as under the delusion his father had been killed and believed that he also would be killed. can you talk specifically about how family separations seem to affect these? children >> yeah, from what we heard from the staff we interviewed, who were the staff that worked rectly with thesect children, is the children who were separated at the borderrom their parents experienced heightened fear, sense of abandonment and en posttraumatic stress disorder. we heard from a medical director,exfople, that separated children wod often talk about physical symptoms as a manifestation of their psychological pain. >> reporter: what does that mean, for example?

>>eaning they would talk about their chest hurtin hurng when ty were medically fineey or couldn't feel their heart or enery heart beat hurt them. >> reporter: youoned in one report the children feltd terrifand felt they couldn't distinguish between healthcaren workers d the membersf the immigration teams who may have separated them. more broadly, there is a debate overall about wh these children are coming to this country in staffers who have perhaps thehe most firsthand experience with those kids and wrehat they saying. there's one line here who says ssme children wit the rape or murder of family membeg rs fleereats or threats against their own lives. what kind of trauma is involveds with these knd were our facilities ready to handle that? >> the facility told us that they were unprepared to address the intense trauma that children suffered. as you mentioned, they separated fromwere often fleein their home country.

they often suffeatd thto their safety on the journey. of course, for some children, they experienced the additional separated from their parents as they came into this country. >> reporter: and children's witnessed family members murdered and rape, some of them were telling staffers.as they the trump administration would like to detain mierlgt families right now that is limited to 20 days under court order out ofnc n for the kids. what did you learn about how the length of stay in detention may be affecting children? >> right, so justo be clear, we looked at h.h.s.acilities and how long they could be in immigration detention. but you'rebsolutely rght to point out that what the "frontline" staff told us there is a negative consequence on children'senl health and

behavior the longer they are there. >> reporter: in seven days,ha they saw or starting to change. >> even children who came into care with pos tv outlook and good coping skills became disillusioned after they were in care for a long time and they saw increased hopelessness, increase activities like self-harm and suicidal ideation. >> reporter: it's signifusant beyou also looked at theoo policy here and also the staffers told you they saw changes. can you talk specificay out how policy affected the number of children, how long they were there and how old idthe were last year? >> sure. challenges of providingenlhe health care for children was challenging in 2018 but duh to the policy changes, one the institution to have the zero tolerance policy which rapidly increased the number of separated children who were in care, and other changes to the sponsor assessment process which

lengthened the time children were in care. >> rororter: ir to leave care, there was a new requirement that squponsors ormi members would have to be fingerprinted, and how did that affect the length of >> that's right, there's always a balance. the department wants to make su s that children aree when they are released from o.r. care and, to do that, they institute in 2008 policies which parents need to be fingerinted, which new, and all the adults in fingerprinted as well, that resulted in an enormous amount of fs ingerpriing through which created a bottleneck which slowed down the process, and people also believe it made responses not willing to come forward. >> reporter: and the stay was the kids.to months not days for what happens now? >> we're taking practical steps assist the facilities in overming the challenges they laid out for us, and we believes

these aps that can be taken in conjunction with experts in the field to donate strategy to help support these facilities and change the outcome for these children. >> reporter: thatounds louike that's going to take time. that's a lot of process. what about the kids now? >> well, some of the steps that we have recommended that the departmen take, they have, in fact, already instituted. aiso they dd for us a plan of action, including things like hiring a new mental health clinician to guide ohersight and help support the facilities, they also are partnering with clinical experts to create more traiand trauma-informed care. so some of these things can be handled in a very immedteay. you're right, though, some of the challenges are more longerm and the department is committed to addressing those over time. >> reporter: lland ann max with the inspector general's office of h.h.s., thank you forn g us and your work on this. >> thank you for an ginterest topic. i appreciate it.

>> woodruff: the federal s vernment warned americans not to use e-cigaretllowing several mysterious deaths linked to vaping. the centers for disease control also said there are 450 cases of a lung illne in more than 30 ates tied to vaping. there are more questions than answers so far. william brangham is back now with more on this stery. >> brangham: that's right, judy. health offlsicay they do not yet know the definitive cause behind this lung illness, and no specific vapg device or >> at least four deaths have been linked to vaping and a fifth is und investigation. lison aubrey of national public radio is covering this and joins me now. welcome. >> thank you. >> reporter: so what is the saying.the investigators are oday they basically came out and said we still do not know what is causing thes illnesses,

very frustrating for them, butey do know more about who has gotten sick. let me paint a picture here. we are talking young men,av age age 19, more than 80% of the cases in illinois andsi wisc, men. so these are people who are vaping t.h.c. and notine, sometimes combinations. >> reporter: so the marijuana vape pen andhe nicotine? >> well, putting t.h.c. into the vape, right. so vaping t.h.c. or other abinoids, cbds. sometimes nicotine and cannabis, so all kinds of mix and match. it's very, very tilt to hone inn one thing and, so far, they say they don't see one substance that is linked to all of the illnesses. >> reporter: i'm curious because new york state officials seem to indicate that some vitamin e substance might be indicated. federal investigators are not echoing that? >> they're looking into a whole range of compounds. in new york, they say its a

focus. they found a lot of concentrated vitamin e in thc vaping cartridges. basically they're saying these are not cartridges coming from medical dispensaries in new york. roducts,e black market stuff people are buying off the streets. very high concentrations ofut vitamin e. some people may thk, wow, vitamin e is a vitamin. well, it's fine to take as a dietary supplement or a lotion, not fine to inhale and ingested in high levels when it makes it right into the lung can cause damage. >> reporter: so possibly five suspected deaths here but hundreds of illnesses. how do these illnesses present and what do they look like? >> sure. typically what they are seeing is people feel aittle bit sick and then progressively have shortness of breath, chest pain. by day six or seven, they presented to an emergency room

and, from there, it can get worse. oftentimes they're being intubated or need help breathing. some have ended up in the i.c.u., and they don't know what kindf long-term damage might be done to the lungs. they just doowt >> reporter: you touched on this before that there are commercia vaping products like jule and blu that are e-cigarettes you can buy and in states where it isca legal yo black market of home brew kits. do regulators know if it's the black maet products? >> they don't know. they're looking aa range of things here. people have spoken up. keep in mind, these are 19-year-ld men who were asked ask, you just got really sick, what are you putting in your vape cartridges? it's hard to get an answer.

in some cases people handed over what's left in the vaping cartridges and that's how investigators are analing this, and they're finding people have used 12 or se different kinds of d.h.c., 12 or 13 different kinds of nicotine products, so it's difficult to find out there is there one combination or combinations ofsu tances leading to these illnesses. >> reporter: so the c.d.c. says now, until we geto the bottom of this, don't smoke e-cigarettes. >> they are recommending people stay away from e-cigarettes. they say if you have been using them to stay off cigarettes, turn to something else, until ey know what's going on, until this investigation points to a substance or a product, they're recommending people not vape. >> reporter: allison aubrey of npr, thank you so much. >> thank you. o

>> woodruff: nowe analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields animd new york columnist david brooks. hello to.oth of y it's good to see you on this friday. there's so much to talk about. mark, i want to start with you about this hurricane dorian, we have been watching it for well over a week, almost two weeks. you have scientists talking mor openly now about whether these hurricanes are connected to climate change, to global warming, and you have got democratic candidates foe president, mf them coming out with pretty aggressive positions on climate. thisomething that's realistic for democrats? does that mean they think theye mo likely to win over voters if they talk about climate? >> i'm not sure they see it as a greatinning issue, i think they see it as an important issue. i would sayoc among dtic candidates, first of all, they all agreehat there is climate

change. all the deniers are on the other side, they're not in the democratic field or the democratic party right now. two, that it's manmade, man contributes to it. i think those areta two imp differences that go undebated democrats assume that. and you're right, they got into a competition, and the gravity of the problem is real. i mean, you've gotou- nowe got 72% of people saying storms are stronger, andf half o them believe that climate change is contributing to that. i mean, so you've got, i think, a growing public awareness. the fear for the democrats a ve practical level is they get into a bidding war. i mean, bernie sanders now has a $16 billion -- >> trillion. -- excuse me, trillion-dollar tag on it, and youear from a political perspective, judy, at you get into unrealtyic

promises -c- unrealis promises like the republicansti w to have an outright repeal on abortion and balancing the budget and that's the problem democrats have. >> woodruff: more than htaf ing about a tax on carbon dioxide pollution. that's the breakthrough. most economists think a carbon ta cforbon mechanism is the way to. go let the markets figure it o no politician says that because taxing this stuff is politicallo lar or moderately. we have five democrats, kamala harris, and elizabeth warren said, yeah, i'm for that, they didn't elaborate, but f me it's an important break through and political courage and extremely politically risky. bernie sanders is not so much for carbon pricing but for

he utilitieslizing so that's a break. i give them a lot credit. the debates this week, the solutions are at least equal to the size of the problems, but whether it can fly in the fall where donald trump runsgainst a carbon tax on you driving your car, that can be a political risk. >> woodruff: tonight, the white house, the president is tweeting out a video, a video tweet where he's doubling down, david, on his defense of his forecasting some date last weekend that alabama was in the eye of hurricane dorian. this has been a big subject for the pres this week. but is this something you think we have made -- that too much has been made of? we haven't reported on it on certainly watche and it's a remarkable scene. >> i know. noe storm ois rightr arizona right now. (laughter)

you know, on the one hand, we've made too much, butt's a line on a map and it's sort of an onion article. on the other hand, i is dona trump being donald trump. >> woodruff: right. a, refusing to admit an error when he made an error. b, telling his staff to pretend an error had not been made and, c, spreading false information which he picked up o tv. the president is briefed. one weather n he saw on cnn said this, but it is clear that was not the true story. the primary responsibility to have the president is to protect weather report but turns outone that's not right, it's going up the coast. so donald trump is being donald trump. the question is do we always react to his exaggerations and lies again and again and again? maybe that's the right thing to do just t preserve norms. it gets a little old, though. >> woodruff: mark, somebody in the white house drew the line we just showed.th >> somebody sharpied and i don't know who in the

white house draws with sharpies. (laughter) i'll say this,ud it was bizarre in this sense, alabama for some reason occupies an normsly noimportant emotional a political and sentimental spot in the president's galaxy of affections. it was there he had his llrst in mobile where jeff sessio endorsed him in the he returned the election to thank him. he got a bigger percentage of the vote in alabaa than anybody since richard nixon against george mcgovn in 1972. but in the process he ge short shrift and ignored the plight and the suffering, not simply the human tragedy from the bahamas, but constituen in important states in florida and north carolina, and he just seems absolutely absorbed with it, when he could just say, gee, you know, thankoodness, i'm happy to report, relieved to

report i was wrong, and alabama was spared, and thank you, god, and roll tide. >> woodruff: one other thing that thei presidentd this week that's got an lot of aotention and certainly made a lot of democrats unhappy, david, but even some publicans, the president announced he is diverting money from more than 125 military projects to build a portion of the border wall, something he promised to do, he's talked about it now for two .nd a half yea is this -- again, is this something thea president cn help himself with politically by doing this or has he stirred up hoet's nest by taking it into his own hands where money >> he stirred up a nest of extremely weak butterflies becae i don't think republicans are really going to do much, they're not going to sting. t i think, onst balance, it's probably politically beneficia to him. he said i'm going to build a

wall. to me it's arack pot idea, but he's at least going to get to go to the voters and say, we're building the wall. it wouldn't surprise me if they reapportioned money and piled a few more billion on to the national debt. so they may getheir money and trump will get his wall and we'll pass more money down to the next generation. >> i'm tired o all public pay empty words about thank you for your service, how much we i mean, it isn't simply the military who served, their s famived, okay.ll 1.1 n american children have a parent who are sool children ithe military service, so they move an average life.x to nine times in their n, it's new schools, it's a new adjustment. the whole family is serving. and all this business about how gratefulat we are, it isn't shot

shrift, it's just a total indifference, it's a callousness romiseo honor an empty that he said he's going to build 500 miles and at the most 165 miles of fence in the most optimum conditions of his edge. it is outrageous and indefensible. >> woodruff: we're talking about schools, c daycaters for military families. >> and repairing facilities that are in serious disrepair. you know, kids having lun in buildings that weren't intended as lunch rooms. you know, just the whole thing. so let's not pretend that we honor those who serve. >> woodruff: meanwhile, david a, we'ro hearing just today in a report by politico that the republican national committee, which, of course, is covery closely tied to the white house, is seriously looking at having at least four states cancel their primary presidential

primaries, their caucusein 2020. we're talking about south carona, kansas, a couple of other states. we don't know how many more states. >> mark could do it, another sign of democracy thriving in america. you know, this is not a sign of political self-confidence. >> no. that donald trump is unwilling to have any competition. it's a sign of fear of some sort of weakness, and shutting down the democratic process so you can get 100% is something we associate with north korea, so it's just -- it's just a shocking disruption. >> i didn't ayknow until tow much he really does admire kim jong un. judy, what it comes down to, under party rules, 15% of te vote, if you get 15% of the vote in the primary, you get delegates. so whether bill wellsoe or walsh or anybody else who runs and gets20%, the idea of donald trump having a non-donald trump

delegate at the republican national convention in 2020 is unthinkable, is inconceivable and unacceptable to him, so it's being saying no primary. >> woodruff: the republican national comttee say this is commission republicans have done in the past, they've canceled >> it's a disadvantage for viinia. this is the one chance you have to update your list is a prima because there's no party registration, so you find out who your party members are, who's going to vote in then primary and so forth. it's a terrible dservice to your primary just in the service of the vanity of one manf: >> woodr just when washington is looking really attractive to all of us, we no w hat a minute left in the program, but, david, we've got, w, 13 republican house members including five from the state of texas who are saying they don't want to be in congres, they don't want to run again and serve. >> yeah, and i don't think this is because ty fear losing.

it's no fun to be here, no fun to be in the m minority, no oneo fly home and dodonor calls. the people running for office actually want to make change. >> let's be honest, donald trump if republicans criticize, they know what awaits them and there hasn't been a raise in eleven year people aren't happy, citizens aren't. when you can make more money outside than inside, and david'h about being a minority, once you have been a committee their in the house osef repatives to be a back bench minority meaner you're powerless, you're a eunuch at a social occasion. (laughter) >> wdruff: in fairness, we should say a few democrats have

said they're not running either but there are many more democrats than republicans in the house. >> aittle ece of trivia, there are more democrats still left from '94 when the republicans swept the house than there are republicans. democrats like being in the house floor. >> woodruf,f: mark shields david brooks, thank you. >> woodruff: the john f. kennedy center for the performing arts re in washington has expanded for the first time in its 50- year history. jeffrey brown takes us behind the scenes as the national arts institution launches weeks of free public events tomorrow. the report is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." >> brown: a weekday rehearsal by the national symphony orchestra, under the baton of music director gianandrea noseda. ♪ ♪

and, one floor down, dancers finalizing their choreography for an upcoming performance. nothing unusual, but here at the kennedy center, as at most other major performing arts centers, all this is typically behind- the-scenes, off-limits to visito. now, opportunities to watch artists at work, hear lectures, participate in workshops on a regular basis, are all part of what kennedy center president deborah rutter calls a "21st century arts campus." >> the kennedy centewas opened in 1971 when the world was different. the way in which the society and our culture was engaging withfe the arts was dnt. it was much more of a spectator sport. in this tianmeas we look forward, we know that people want to be more connected to the art and th immersed in it and to participate in it.

>> brown: "the reach," named in honor of president kennedy's aspirationalision of the arts and in capital letters to signal something big in the nation's capital: a new nearly five-acre expansion we visited as construction was being completed. three pavilions containing ten interior multi-use spaces above and below ground. and double the outdoor spaces for community and arts programs, including films on an immense video was . also, gard walkways and paths that lead to a pedestrian bridge campus to the potonedy center riverfront. the project cost $250 million from private philanthropy. it was designed by architect stephen holl, known for his use of light and angled walls. >> we wanted them to be very porous and very open. and our architects were just in line with us. and every single ndace has a wi that allows you to peek in and see what's going on.

one of the things that i loved about steven holl's design is how he chang the ceiling as well as the floor and the walls. so you're having a new experiencewn-- >> b i can hear a little music in the background, too. >> no matter where you're walking or working, too. >> brown: that is the rehearsal? >> so you will kppw things are ing here as well. >> brown: a big idea here: find neways to welcome younger audiences and vehers who may elt left out. the john f. kennedy center for the performing arts opened in 1971 as a living memorial to the slain president. ♪ ♪ it was and is imposing, with grand hallways and thetrers housing aditional high arts such as the washington opera and the national symphony. it regularly presents the world's greatest artists as well as special, nationally- cognized programs such as the kennedy ces nter honors and the

mark twain awards. criticism: when it opened, theof ne york times architecture critic dubbed the building, designed y edward durrell stone, a pstompous "embarrassm"" and "national tragedy." and it's long struggled with a sense of isolation, a geographic and elite isnd, apart from the surrounding city. to counter that, the center began its popular and free "millennium age" performances and has widened its programming with the help of prominent artists suchs jazz pianist jason moran and rapper and producer q tip, as well as classical stalwarts yo yo ma and renee fleming. "the reac" is intended as the next big leap forward. >> the reach has formal studio spaces, classroom spaces that invite a differe level of community interaction. so now we have a space that's more of an incubator, that's more of a laboratory.

brown: mark bimuthi joseph is a dancer, poet and theater artist, and also a leading arts administrator. he recently left the yerba buena center for the arts in san francisco to joithe kennedy center. we talked in the so-called" moonshot" experimental art space about his hybrid role as vice president and "artistic director of social impact." >> that's the transition between a performing arts center that shows art and a performing arts center that sees itself as an and so part of my gig is to design and administer programs that maximize cross-sector conversation and maximize this idea that we don't just watch culture, we make culture. so it becomes more a workshop space thance a por witness, although you can witness lots of great art here, too. indeed, "the reach" is opening

with a 16 day free celebration of performance. but it's also offering new programs for the local community to allow students like risingor high school senna irwin to work with professional dancers. so how's the new space? >> i love it. personally, it is the biggt thing i've ever seen. wow. >> brown: a new "culture caucu"" will bringn 15 area artists to and a "social practiceowcase, residency" will create art in and for oinmmunitiehe washington, d.c. area. all ideas to address problems ma arts organizations are wrestling with today, asraditional audiences age and younger generations spend more time alone on their screens. what's the central problem for performing arts institutions today in america and american lture? >> i think we need to underscore the joy of being together, to

that social infrastructure that is so impot rtd that in some ways is missing in our lives. >> brown: inevitably, too, when it comes to the arts in the nation's cital: the political divisions that seep into everything today. i ked marc bamuthi joseph how that impacts his thinking abou"" the reach." >> truth and memory are tenuous resources tein the current clima and that does make me sad. m so in that vacuum wh le memory is atle more tenuous and history is more vulnerle, is a realm of ideas that somebody has to propagate. someone has to be responsible, noonly for the moral infrastructure of this country, but the infrastructure of imaginatioatn. and it's not going to be a art center, then we're doomed. >>rown: to which one might say, in hope: let the festivities begin, which they

will this weekd. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffy brown at the john f. kennedy center for the d.c.orming arts in washington >> woodruff: we close with our >> woodruff: before we go, we want to take a moment to thank one of our ow jeff rattner is retiring after more than 30 years of working behind the camera at the newshour. we wilmiss you, jeff. but wish you well on this next adventure. and that'sewshour for tonight.fo i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com.

>> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. foundation.m and flora hewlett for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at wer.hewlett.org. >> and with thofongoing suppor hese institutions and friends of the newshour.

tonight on kqed newsroom, the high profile ghost ship warehouse trl comes to a sudden and. acquittal for one of defendant in a mistrial for the other. the next democratic debate is next week. if the democratic party frto tured to be president trump? we will hear from congressman and former presidential candidate, eric. is opening night for the warriors, new billion-dollar waterfront arena in san francisco. it's not all glitz and glamour. welcome to kqed newsroom. we begin tonight with the verdict in the month-long ghost ship trial. this stems from the warehouse fire the claimed 36 lives in oakland in december 2016. yesterday, jerry handed down a mixed verdict. they ruled that ma