captioning sponsored by nehour productions, llc >> woodruff: i'm judy woodruff iin des moines, iowa wher an interview today, former vice president joe biden said thatis chief rival, elizabet warren, is "making it up" with her medicare for all cost projections, and he weighed in on the impeachment vote. do you believe the president is involved in a cover-up? >> yes. >> nawaz: and i'm amna nawaz. also on the newshour tonight: "the view from ukraine." how people there are reacting t to their counting center stage in america'sac iment inquiry. and, it's friday. are here to look at the nexton phase of the impeachment inquiry and the 2020 race. and, a place to stay, with a chance to rebuild. how a community in nashville is opening doors for women battling addiction and trafficking. >> i don't want you to worry

out how you're going to pay your rent. i don't want you to worry about how you're going to buy groceries. what i want you to worry about is how you're going to heal yourself. >> nawaz: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> when it comes to wireless, consumer cellular gives its customers the choice.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: news from the -mpaign 2020 trail tonigh beto o'rourke is dropping out of the democratic presidential field. the former texas congressman tweeted late today that he has ended his run. he said his campaign does not have the means to move forward. 16 democrats are still in the race, including foer vice president joe biden. he spoke with judy woodruff today, and we'llave that interview after the news summary. h the u.s. econo turned in better-than-expected jobs numbers for october. that's despite thousands of general motors workers being counted as unemployed during a rike. the labor department reports that employers added a net of 128,000 jobs. in addition, jobs numbers forep august and smber were revised upward by 95,000. unemployment for october rose slightly to 3.6%, still near a 50-year low. the jobs report went down well on wall street. the dow jones industrial average

gained more than 300 points to close at 27,347. the nasdaq rose 94 points to finish at a new high. and the s&p 500 added 29, also reaching a record close. california's war with wildfires eased a bit today, but officials warned the danger is far fromre over, and fire kept busy. >> reporter: windsow dyingt. down, but firefighters in southern california still faced ora fast-moving brush fire of los angeles overnight. >> all we can do is pray and hope and rely on their profsionalism, and they're doing a great job. >> reporter: the srecalled maria corched nearly 9,000 acres in ventura county, fueled in part by the flaable oil in eucalyptus trees. >> this is a ranching community with a lot of avocadosnd citrus orchards in the area. and a lot of times, they use the eucalyptus for wind breaks. theconditions are very extr for wildfire conditions.

>> reporter: about 2,300 homes and other buildings were endangered, and 8,000 residents were ordered out. elsewhere, fire crews made more headway, even as "red flag" communities north and west of l.a. to the east, in san bernardino, families have returned home, but someound nothing left. >> it happened so fast, we didn't have a chance. we didn't have a chance at all. and it hurts because ia laptop that has my kids' pictures in it when they were little. they are irreplaceable. that'shat hurts. >> reporter: in northern california's wine country, nearly 200,000 people have also en allowed back. anwhile, utilities are ending more of the blackouts that affected hundredfoof thousands. the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy.az >> nhalloween storms swept the eastern seaboard overnight, killing two people and knocking out power. the outages affected half a million customers, from southo carolina tmaine. in central pennsylvania, meanwhile, a tornado tore trees

out of the ground and off roofs from homes. the storms also unleashed flooding in pennsylvania and new york state. in iraq,entral baghdad witnessed its largest rally since anti-government protests began a month ago. thousands of flag-waving demonstrators filled tahrir square, bringing traffic to a standstill. tey called again for an e government corruption and economic hardship. at least 350 people were wounded by security forces. tens of thousands of people also turned out today in islamabad, pakistan, demanding that prime minister imran khan resign. crowds chanted in the streets yias hundreds of vehicles the black-and-white flags of a hard-line islamist party arrived in the city. they charged that khan's government has let them down. >> ( translated ): people were told, e will build a new pakistan." but after almost 1.5 years, the governme has failed to deliver, so now all the opposition parties are demanding this government should resign, due to his faire.

>> nawaz: khan has said he is noworking to improve the e, and today refused to step down. back in this country, president trump named a new acting secretary of homeland security.c chad wolf rently an undersecretary in the thpartment. he will be the ferson to head homeland security under mr. trump. also today, president trump has nominated dr. stephen hahn to lead the food and drug administration. .dhn is currently chief medical executive at theanderson cancer center in houston. the f.d.a. has had an acting commissioner sin april, and today was the deadline to name a prmanent replacement. a new federal ruposed today would let faith-based agencies exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual parents from adoptions, and still receive federal funding. the white house said it would let more agencies help children. l.g.b.t. groups said it would leave fewefamilies eligible for adoption or foster care. google announced today it will buy fitbit, the maker of wearable fitness technology. the deal is valued at $2.1 billion.

the move aims to give google and parent company alphabet a boost in the intense competition over smart watches alth trackers. and, president trump is changing his permanent residence from trump tower in new york to mar-a-lago, in palm beach,fl ida, after he leaves the white house. he announced it on twitter last amnight, at the same time ng new york's democratic leaders and tax rates. new york governor andrew cuomo fired back with a stt that said, "good riddance." still to come on the newshour: one-on-one with former vice president biden on why he's seeking the democratic nomination. what ukrainians think about impeachment investigation a an world away. "rebuilding hope." a community organization in nashville offers solace to survivors of trafficking. plus, much more.

>> nawaz: and now to iowa, where our own judy woodruff sat wn with former vice president joe biden earlier today. >> woodruff: most of the democratic candidates for president are here in des moines, iowa tight for a dinner to rally thr party and fire up their voters. no one has more on the line than former vice president joe biden, who is making his third run for president in this state, and facing stiff competition from rivals who right now are ahead of him in the polls. i sadown with him this afternoon to talk about the challenges he faces. vice president joe biden, thank you ry much for talking with us. let's start with impeachment. this is an historic week. the house te. you are one of the few people who was around for both the nixon impeachment and the clinton impehment. you know the seriousness ofis so my question is, do you believe that the focus shoul

narrowly be on ukraine and thebo conversation you, investigating you? or should it be broader, to include the muller report, potential financial impropriety? >> i think it has to include it all. look, as you know, judy, an impeachment is a difficult thing for a country to go through, even t impeachment process. it's not like you look forward to that. ppos of constitutional responsibility, and the house has no choice but the move forward, and i think it has to look at all the things they said because i said at the outooset - >>uff: all of the things. >> yes, all of the things. the financial impropety, the actions of -- well, what they laid out. i think they had the obligation to do that under the constitution, and it could be difficult, but i thinknohey have choice if the constitution requires it. >> woodruff: so that's different from the house

approach. right now they're saying narrowly ukraine, so that was the clarifi. >> whatever they decide for them to do is for them to decide to do, but therare other ways he has stonewalled, the administration has stonewalledud ing the mueller report and possible conflicts of interest, but, look, their job can to take on their constitutional responsibility and j myob is to beat him. >> woodruff: the phone call between president trump and thef presidenkraine, now there were white house aides saying there was material left out of the ranscript of that call. do you believe the president is involved in a coverup? >> yes. look, you have some of e finest people in the administration feeling they have to come forwarand say exaly what they heard and what they knew. the idea that someone would invite a foreign power intoour

election and, in the pro,ce would hold, apparently, the allegation of some within the administration who heard the aid, military aid voted for by the congress whle ukrainians are dying in the easte ukraine in order to take on russians so are therll killing them, killing these people is just -- i -- it's one of the things that no president that i'm aware of has ever thought of doing. >> woodruff: but is there a danger in this impeachment nocess in that ow we see the vote was almost entirely along party lin, president trump is saying this is all about democrats trying to make up for what happe1d in 206, that they're audit out to get him, th they're trying to baically overturn the election, plus he's sayingt's never been done an election year.

could this end up hurting?t >>uld. but we have -- the house has -- they have a constitutional responsibility.id imagine if youn't investigate this. what does that do to future thesidents? if we have an person like one thing gwashington, in-- the fact, warned us about in his farewell address is republics fall because of intveion from foreign powers, foreign powers in our eleor process. that's exactly what's apparently happened here. they have to investigate it, even if it is politically damaging. >> woodruff: let's talk about we're in iowa. >> yes. >> woodruff: you know the state well. you ran for president twice you ran as barack obama's vice president, running mate twice.n you have to w here. >> well i think i will win here. the iowans are -- there's a basic pattern, they take a long

time to make up their minds and there are three or four of us basically in a deaheat right now in the polling data and -- >> woodruff: but you ae running third or fourth in several polls andv fie points behind elizabeth warren in one pollnd beind pete buttigieg. >> be honest. it's one point. be means a statistical tie. you knowter than anyone there's a magin of error 3 to 4 but it's not unusual.. that's how the primaries work in iowa. beating elizabeth warren in double digits most places. i'm not loking at the polls. what i'm looking at is do we have the resources, the organization, and am i getting around enough to make my case, and i think we can do that. >> woodruff: your favorite question, your age. you were asked about president jimmy carter's comment not long ago that he doesn't think president after 8t the job

is too demanding. you were asked and said no but the experience counts. but the "new york times" had a story yesterday saying that af number oemocrats are worried, and i'm just going to read about what i says have been your uneven performances on the debate stage and verbal miscues as a campaigner preventing you from presenting a strong and confident presence as a candidate. look at me. okay? the fact of the matter is that the people who -- they went out and found people who said that. i don't doubt people said that, but i have not -- there are a significant number of people, overwhelming number of people haven't wried about any micue or not. look, this is for the voters to decide. take a loolo at me, see if i have the energy, see if i know what i'm talking about, and make their judgment. and it's just simple and it's as complica wd as that. druff: the economy, new jobs numbers out today look pretty good.

the unemployment rate is staying low, 3.6%, as lowas i50 years. hand.dent trump has a stron >> you're absolutely wrong about that. go back to your ow neighborhood, find me middle class folks who think they're better off. find m folks who think their children are better off thaney re. do you think they will actually benefit from what's happening here? t.'re now in a position where wages are stagn they're going up slightly but not enough. part-time workers aring counted. i mean, look, the numbers i don't look at. what i look at is what i hear in the street and look at in my own neighborhood. all the studies show if a middle class person got a bill for 400 bucks in one month, they would have to borrow the money or sell something. that's not itc that's not security. so i think that that's what thee will decide.

i think middle class is being b leind, and working people are being left behind by thse policies. >> woodruff: democrats in the past have been identified as the working people's party. you're lunch pail joe, that'sw u've run in the past. but people say the democratic party has come the party of the elite, academics, well-educad, liberal folks, while the republicans, yes, they have the weinlthy bs owners but also the working class and voted for donald trump. >> that's not accurate. they haven't gt the king class. they dug into some of the working cla in america because tey felt like they weren't being paid ation to, they felt like we weren't paying attention to their concerns. look, what's happened around america is look at the efforts to help prentunions from organizing. look at the efforts that now you have togn noncompete

agreements at a fast food chain so you don't go across down and get another job at anoth fast food chain. american workers are being stifled. it has to end. when the middle class does better and union organize, everybody does better. the poor do better, the middle class maintain and the rich do very well. >> woodruff: but my point is sthe democratic heart h not -- is not seen anymore as excsive the home for the working class. >> joe biden's democratic pas y is and thaat it's going to be. watch, look at the numbers, how i beat trump in pennsylvania, ohio, in minnesota in all those middle cla ss, working class states. run against me. don't want to >> woodruff: so much to ask you, healthcare. >> yes. >> woodruff: elizabeth warren put out an estimate today for the cost of her medicare for all plan at 20 trillion. in the past the estimates have been 34 trillion. she's talking about making it up

with the difference of targeted defense spending cuts, wealth tax, cracking down on tx evairdz. >> she's making it up. she's making it up. look, nobody thinks it's $2trillion. it's between 30- andtr $4lion. every independent study that's taken a look at this, there's no way o even bernie lks about the need to raise middle class taxes, he can't meet the cost of it. we have to restore obamacare, provide a public option, further subsidize the ability to gt into a goal plan, my plan will cost 750 billion over ten years, not 3.4 trillion pear and can be done now, not in four, eight or ten yee rs likthey're talking about. >> woodruff: if the democratic aminee for next yer supports singer payer medicare for all,

is that an automatic loser for democrats? >> let me put it this y, i think it is going to be very difficult to even get a that.ratic congress to vote for i think it's going to be very difficult to get democrats towh vote for than they find out what the cost is. the net increase in wh of pocket for them, counting what they're saving in healthcare costs is gog to be up exponentially. some of the recent studies show you would have to increase the withholding tax by % to get there. >> woodruff: another subject, the president's son-in-law, jared kushner, he told a reporter this week who asked him about your criticism of him that he has spent a lot of time in e white house, and i'm quoting him, cleaning up the messes that you left behind and, in particular, i'm quoting, the reforms enacted by this administration, the trump administration, he said roll back a lot of the very harshwe laws the created and partially written by vice presideye biden over 20 s ago which put a lot of african-americans in prison and really destroyed a generation l

and did of harm to our country. >> lk, i thought he was foreign policy guy, i didn't know he was also criminal justice person. look, i gue the best way to answer the question in a short amount of time, why is it that i get overwhelming support froem african-american community when the law was written, why was it thate th members of black caucus supported it? why was it that the black mayors why is it thave morerted me? support from the african-american community today than everybod else combined. >> woodruff: back to the ukraine controversy, your son, huntu have been asked a lot of questions about this, but my question is both of you ha w said yld not as president have your children, have him or your children involved with foreign countries. my question is, if it's not appropriate if joe biden is president, why was it apprriate when you were ce president?

>> well, number one, no one's establhed that he did anthing wrong or that i've done anything wrong, period. i carried out the policy of the united states of america, our allies, the international monetary fund, the e.u., in dealing with acorrupt prosecutor, period, number one.o i did not knw he was on the board of that company and, in fact, no one's aserted on the board that there was anything illegal on the board or he did anything wrong. >> woodruff: if he had would you have sangd it was wro >> it's not wrong. his words speak for themselves. he wish realized how thugs like rudy giuliani and his cronies and thcronies of te president would try to paint it. the fact is there's beenothing established he did anything wrong. the reason for saying my children would not benvved in foreign affairs and in any affairs is because of what's han,ened in this administrat this administration. i want to make sure everyone

understands that there's going be a hard, fast rule, no one in my family will be involved in anything. they'll not have offices in the white house, they will not sit in on cabin meetings, they will not have foreign interests, and the fact is that all of what's been said, as you observed -- i'm not asking you to agree, but as you observed -- has been basically usually instream reporters say, and trump said butt's not true. it's been a lie. why is he doing it? he doesn't want to run aainst me. period. >> woodruff: we also talked about several foreign policy hot spots that he would have to deal with as president. there's news this week to the extent that some of the democrats are saying that if -- because of israel's settlement policy that they wou look at cutting off military aid to israel as a resultt.f tha

>> that would be a tragic mistake. i strongly oppos israel's settlement policy on the west bank. ve made that clear to bibi when i was vice president, i made it cystal clear to the israelis, but the idea that we would cut off military aid to an ally, our only true, truey al in the entire region, is absolutely preposterous. it's beyond my comprehension anyone would do thdrt. >> wf: this is an administration that, as you know, advocated moving the capitol of israel from viewrms to tel aviv. if you wre elected president, would you reverse that? >> not now. i wouldn't have done iin the first place. >> woodruff: very last question, campaigning in iowa. you have been campaigning in the state for a long time running r president. have you changed the way you reach out to people and the way

you connect? >> no, i haven't. everybody knows i mean what i say. the problem is i say all that i mean. what i find isthat the value set of iowa people are a little like where i was raised, whether scranton or claymont, they do think honesty matters, theyht think straorwardness matters. they do think it matters whether or not you treat people with respect, and i just think that, for me, i am who i am. the good news is everybody knows who i am, and thead news is they know who i am. my weaknesses are real, my strengths are real, and i think right now, i hope, that the strengths i bring to this contest are ones that are most needed by the country and are needed right now. but we'll see. this is a marathon. >>oodruff: vice president biden, thank you. >> thank you very much, judy.

>> nawaz: the eastern european nation of ukraine has featured in much of the coverage of the u.s. house impeachment probe.e, at hkraine is consumed with its war against russia. they've been fighting for control of ukraine's etern flank. it's the biggest challenge for newly-elected president volodymyr zelensky, a former comedian. nick schifrin talks to an journaliste front lines, but first looks at the situation on the ground. ( explosion ) >> schifrin: ukraine is the onlr counin europe at war. f for the laste years, ukrainian soldiers have faced off against russian-backedpa ratists. they have fought in farmland, and in muddy trenches are throwbacks to wars of 100 years ago. 13,000 people have been killed, their families still mourning. millions have fled their homes, families separated across the the donbass, in ukraine's easts along the russian border. but now, ukrainian soldiers are

showing their weapons to international inspectors, then pulling back from one and possibly two spots along the front lines. yr's an effort by ukraine's new president, volodelensky, to conclude a war tat's challeng core of his government, already fighting a send war against corruptio journalist natalya stanko has covered both wars, and last week received the international women's media undation's courage in journalism award for enduring threats while exposing government corruptio welcome. as you've noticed, here in the u.s., we have been very focused on the ieachment process. certainly washington is focused on the impeachment process. u.s. impeachment process. on the >> no, in ukraine, this is not the main topic for the journal is the main topic now,is a war in eastern part of ukraine,

in donbass, as you mentioned, between russia and ukraine. and today, this is like the main topic of this withdraw tros in the contact line in one of the hotspot, troops should to step back for one kilometers. like a pro-russian separatist should step back for one kilometer. and the ukrainian soldiers should also step back for one kilomete ukraine accept this. in but this is like the one reason for the meing with the ukrainian president, mr. zelensky, russian president vladimir putin, consulate germany's angela merkel and the president of france, mr. macron. >> schifrin: so presidentky zeles trying to find a peace process solution for the war in the east. but meanwhile, the war rages on. how hot are things on the front lines there? >> that this is like hot nflict. this is not frozen conflict, of course. and also, we have many problems with, like, how people can cross checkpoints between the occupation territory and donbus and territory which are controlled by ukrainian

e vernment and ukrainian army, because many peove, like, relatives on one side or another side. and like one, maybe 100,000 t people cros line every day. government is not ofainian course, dealing with the war in the east, but also a war on corruption. how endemic is corruption in ukraine? >> actually, he became the president because people of ukraine decided that they don't want to see this old politicians who were corrupted and who are corrupted. icd that's why they decided, okay, like, i cred the ukrainian people and decided that, okay, let it be this new guy from nowhere. from comedy. but not someone who was in >> schifrin: there is so much corruption in ukraine. obviously, so many people don't want it to be reportedt want you to report on corruption. what challengeinhave you faced eporting on corruption? this story about secret compound

in this spot of ukraine" and secret service called me, like, the enemy. and they call me that, i shouldn't, like, cover these stories. and also, many like trolls. they wrote me, like, messages that i should be in this secret compound, in this secret prison. also, because i do wrong things and some comments was even worse about, like, someone should kill or something like this. >> schifrin: you know, of course, we can't talk about corruption in ukraine without lking about some of the politics here. president trump alleges that his possible opponent in the 2020 election, joe biden, when he w vice president, was running ukraine policy under the obama administration, his role and hunter biden's role in ukraine during 2016. what is the ukrainian government s oked into those allegati president trump?

>> we don't ve any cases against the former vice president joe biden. and we don't have any against hunter biden. no. some politicians once want ander they ask the g prosecutor to reopen this cases. but now, general prosecutor t don't s. >> schifrin: and can you explain the connection that many peopleu aine have to the west and how they see the u.s. contrasted >> nobody believes putin, of course, in ukraine. and even, i think ukrainian president zelensky doesn't lieve putin. protect ourselves s wart to against russia. and that's whye need this military aid from the u.s. >> schifrin: natalya stanko, deputy editor in chief, public television for moscow. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> nawaz: in nashville, there's

an unusual program that helps women in recovery make a newt st life. as john yang tells us, it's powered by a sense of sisterhood, and a boutique line of home and body products. this sry is part of our look at poverty and economic opportunity, "m.asing the dr" >> good morning. >> yang: it's the morning rush at thistle farms in nashville, tennessee. the cafe is open forfast, while the adjoining shop sells hand-crafted home and body prodts made across the stree but first, workers gather in a circle for a moment of reflection. >> good morning, i'm jennifer, on the development team, i'm a 2012 graduate. >> good morning, i'm kristin, 2015 graduate. >> yang: thistle farms is no ordinary business. it's a non-profit staffed by women who have battled

trafficking.exual abuse or >> come next month, i'll have five years clean. ( cheering ) >> yang: for these women, thistle rms is more than just a paycheck. it's a lifeline. >> the love, the compassion that i was shown... >> yang: kimberly simkins works on the production line two years ago, she was in the throes of addiction. >> it was either, i was going to make a commitment and get this right and really try to rebuild and reshape my life in the path that it was on, or i was going to give up and die in addiction. >> yang: thistle farms' two-year program provides gacup housing anss to free therapy and medical care. shamika simpson, who works on the logistics team, is about to graduate. >> i got so used to living life eyes wide shut.d, like, with my just living life... you know,ot you'reeeing anything. and i lost touch of everything. i lost my kids, you know, they were taken by the state, and then dysfunctionality just became a way of life.

>> yang: she says not having financial worries allowed her to focus on her recovery. >> what they taught me is, i ydon't wantou to worry about how you're goint to pay your i don't want you to worry about how you're going to buy groceries. what i want you to worry about is how you're going to heal purself. >> yang: episcopest becca stevens started the program 22 years ago, driven, she saysby her own history of being sexually abused as a child. >> it was awful, it waalscary, bu there's some gifts in it. i can use it for good. i can transform it. i can do all kinds of stuff, but i don've to "get over it." >> yang: at first, it was just a single home providing shelter and a safe place to recover. five women came in, all with criminal histories of trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. and everybody stayed. nobody left. >> yang: the business came later. f

r years into it, we're like, we can not talk about that we love women if we're not erned about their econom well-being. nobody would hire them. they had no work experience. k thw how to hustle. and that's when we thought, we'll just start our own company and make something beautiful for people's bodies. >> yang: thistle farms aims to do well by doing good. in the last fiscal year, product and cafe sales topped $4 million. nts for about 70% of the total operating budget.le in 2017, thiarms c.e.o. hal cato led a $3 million expansion. t re are a lot of businesses that have a mission. we're a mission with a biness.re we're not o make candles, you know. that's not what we get up every y y. we get up every make candles because we know the sale of that candle is going to help the next woman come in and be a part of this community. >>ang: bill and evie harma sell thistle farms products at their store in lynden, ilshington. they came to nas for a first-hand look.

>> we recognize that women especially have a hard time finding a place where they can thrive. we have so much to learn about how can we make this world work for these women, and becca has figured out how to do it. >> yang: cafe manager angela camarda didn't go through the program, but she has her own history of drug addiction d time in federal pron. en she applied for a job at thistle farms, she found a welcoming environment. >> my boss told me whenever she interviewed me that it didn'ter mahat my past was. that has nothing to do with this job. tell me what you're doing now. tell me what you do for your recovery now, and how you take caref yourself. >> yang: women in the program say the most powerful thing it provides is a feeling >> and when my sister from may, she looks at me in tearsn running down her face. she's like, you've finally found your people.

yeah, i did. >> yang: from a single residence, thistle farms has grown to five homes ine, nashviut the demand is still far greater. >> honestly, some of the women die waing to get in this program. on average, there's over 100 women on the waiting list. it says that the demand is far exeding our resources. >> yang: thistle farms now has more than 50 affiliated groups across the cntry, and 30 more partners around the world, from rwanda to ecuador and cambodia. >> it's ver going to be the woman just comes off the streets by herself, because e didn't get out there by herself. it took a whole community of brokenness to get her out there. so why can't there be this whole beautiful community welcoming her home? >> yang: women about to graduatt from t farms are looking toward the future. kimberly simkins plans to pursue a degree in clinical social work. >> i would like to think that i am some sort of mentor. that the things that i experienced in the program and i've been through and was able to push through all of thond challengesomplete the

program, that it's going to give motivation to somebody else, like, hey, she did it. maybe i can do it. >> yang: shamika simpson's future includes her children, to were returned to her l year. >> it taught me how to be a mother again. all my kids are back now, so doors that i thought were shut forever have opened ck up. >> yang: opened with the power of sisterhood, and the support of the community. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang in nashville, tennessee. >> nawaz: this week marked an historic moment. for only the fourth time in u.s. history, the house of representatives has passed a resolution formalizing public

impeachment procures against the president. meanwhile, the race to head the democratic ticket in 2020 continues. here to help make sense of it all are marcus and gerson. that's "washin columnist ruth marcus, and syndicated columnist michael gerson, also with the "washington post." mark shields and david brooks are away.th you re here, happy friday and thanks for being here. >> good to be here. a lot to cover. let's start with the little bit of news we have on the impeachment process. there's reporting of details from the testimony earlier this week from lieutenant colonel vindman. it's being reported now that he as a member of the national security staff in thee white hos on that call between president trump and president zelensky and he was instructed after that call by a top whiteer house laot to discuss that call with anyone. when you take into accrtnt all the reof the testimony this week, what are your takeaways? >> well, for a conversation the president told us was so perfec he's going to read to us in a fire side chat, there certainly was a lot of alarm about this conversation. it's difficult toll whether

this was lawyer being careful and just simply telling theop he advises not to make more of this conversation than there was, or whether this was a lawyer trying to cover u and conceal this conversation. it's one of the many things that we need to know more about, andeth one of the many things t at we've learned in the last several weeks thally makes this h impeachment inquiry so central and so essential and just means that we cannot aveout eyes from this and go on with the election as if we didn't know what was gong on here. >> reporter: the president phone call.g it was a perfect vice president pence says there was no quid pro quo.re the information we get seems to contradict the claims. >> i thi it's fair to say the professionals, the non-political appointees inolved in this concerned mporaneously wheneply

they found out about it and brought it to superiors and didn't get much result. even the political appointees didn't exonerate the president, they actually pretty much confirmed the account from the whistleblower. so the effect of all this iso take away the argument no quid pro quo. that argent doesn't wok anymore. it's been deflated and defeated. republicans have been driven to otherother positions because ths been ten away. >> reporter: i completely agree with mhael, asked a answered on quid pro quo, that was the significance this week, mot only ambassador taylor fro the previous week but tim morrison, another aid at the national security council, reaffirmed quid pro quo. e second question, is o if you don't have -- if there's no ro quo argument, do yo have the unfairness argument,

that's the other significance of this week is we finally have the debate about whether we should have had it earlier, a resolution that will set forwa what the procedures should be going forward. republicans are claiming this is deeply infair and the the whole thing is tainted by the previous unfairness, but i oess i wuld ask them if they had -- if the impehment inquiry came upith video of the president shooting in one in the middle fifth avenue, would they say we should ignore that because the proceedings were unfair? they weren't and tdny sho ignore anything and they've set out fair proceedings going forward. wes, what about the proc here, michael, because that is sort of the cor republicans protest at this point, right, that the process has been unfair, and it looks like we're moving into a public hearing setting now. what about protests, are they valid? >> it seems basically fir at they've outlined, as far as the judiciary committee, the

president can bring and challenge witnesses. far as the transcripts and other things, so there's a degree of transparency that makes intuitive sense. >> nawaz: but -- but the republicans throve to talk about the process because they don't want to tk lout substance. they're happy to talk about process in this case because their arguments are pretty weak otherwise. >> nawaz: if the procedures weren't fair, they weren't failr for linton because they're the same procedures. >> nawaz: let's a you how theye going over with the american public. we heard judy ask this of vice president biden earlier, is there a potential cost. we saw the house vote along party lines. the new numbers from "the washington post" and abc news, people asked should congress impeach and remop president trom office, that's a different bar, obviously, impeach and remove, but the country is very evenly divided when it comes to that. what do you say to that, ruth, is there a political cost forth

ho is moving forward for democrats? suggested this before, itand i doesn't tter. his conduct is serious enough that it needs to beken seriously. political costs are not. the other thing i would sa if you look at the numbers which show a very divided country, but look back at numbers from july before the ukraine story broke when the request was asked not whether he should be impeached and removed from office which i a dramatic outcome but whether there was an impeach inquiry ing forward. the number was 37%. so from 37% supportinan inquiry going forward to 49% supporting and removing him from office, that's a traumatic change and the reason is because the facts have emerged that people understd this is something serious going on. >> nawaz: moving into next week, key white house officials have been invited to testify, we'll beyou thin hearing next week and could it change the narrative at all? i hink that bolton holds a

lot of power in his hands right now. i don't know when he might appear but this is a case where ehe coulnfirm a lot of things and have some significant move into the public hearings, some of these witnesses like t thelieutenant colonel will be great. >> in his dress blues. imagine that. >> exactly. foard to that, ink, andn look some of those witnesses will be very e iffective. ould be remiss if i didn't ask youbo the 2020 race. the field has been narrowed by one on the democratic primary front. to o'rourke announced today he is dropping out of the race though it is difficulto accept, it is clear to me now the campaign doesn't have the means to move forward successfully. what does that say to you? >> he does haven't the mo cney. thowded field has made it all but impossible for individuals who might have otherwise broken through to break through. beto o'rourke, just two years ago, was the new thing, but this

cyclwthere's a n-new thing in m e form of pete buttigieg, and he -- rry, in a sense, that he didn't make the decision to run for the senate in texas again because i think he would have had a better shot at that and i think it might have been better both for him and the >> he took positions in the campaign that would make a run in texas impossle, in my view. when you come out against tax exemptions for churches that disapprove gay marriage, and gun confiscation, you know, i think ump's support survives on fear and he justified those fears for a lot of people.i ink it's better for the democratic party that he's gone. nawaz: wt does it say about him leaving now? where do his supporters go? giving the movement we've seen off the fundraising numbers, we saw judy asking vicn president biout some of the struggles he had with fundraising, some would say a meager 15 million in the last quarter, kamala harris restructuring her campaign,

probably under finsucial pr there, too, this is a key moment in that race. where es hirowd go? >> there's some winnowing going on in the race. i don't think his crowd is large enough to make much of a difference, to be honest, but he aepresented sort of a liberal idealism in thee and, you know, there are others that take that up. a candidate that has risen over the last few weeks and months is elizabeth warren, and she now has her plan about how to pay for medicare for all, and i the reaction to that, thews way the viettle on it is going to determine whether people think she can win or not >> and very briefly, 30 seconds, has she done a good job of defending that now? >> kudos to anybody who puts out a plan with meaonhe bone and explanation for what she thinks it will cost and how nge's g to pay for it. but i quote nancy pelosi an medicare for all, tere's a

comfort level people have with and if that's to be phased out, have one biat would do that just and she questions whether you could n the electoral college with, that, that's going to be a serious question. >> nawaz: we'll continue thi thank you so much for being here. ruth marcus, michael gerson. to >> nawaz: finallght, a film out today shows abolitionist harriet tman in a new light. as i found in a recent conversation with the director and star of "harriet," there is so much more to her personal story and historical role than is usually told. it's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." born around 1820 to enslaved parents, araminta ross, known as "minty," braved a 100-mile journey north to freedom as a young woman in 1849. shbegan her new life with new name-- harriet tubman-- then returned to the south dozensf

timesto free more than 300 enslaved people throughout her lifetime, including her own family, along the network of abolitionists and safe houses known as the underground railro. e continued to lead in the fight against slavery as a spy in the civil war. and, she went on to become one of the only american women to lead an armed expedition. after the war, tubman returnede to her h auburn, new york, where she died in 1913 at the estimated age of 91. the story of the underground railroad's most famous conductor is now being told in "harriet," a new film, which is also the the big screen.i'man'story on joined now by the director, kasi lemmons, and the star, cynthia erivo. welcome. >> hello. >> nawaz: kasi, let me start with you. there is enorms responsibility and pressure that comes with telling this story for the firsi in this way. how did you approach this story?

>> i was definitely intimidated at first, but i was also very excited for the opportunity. and i figured, if i kept harriet as my north star, you know, just really focused on the research, really focused on the connection that i was making with her, then i would be okay. you know, it kd of it alleviated some of the nerves. >> nawaz: there is very much a biographical elemento this. there's a historical element to this. this is also very much an action film. ( laughter ) there is a lot of activity. you see not just what the work is, but how she did it. what did you do to do th, to prepare for a role like this and how do you-- how ddo that? >> i mean, it's the conversations kasi and i had. it's the research you do-- you do the reading.th you make sur you mean even taking a look at pictures, imagery, you know, studying her face. we tried to find out what her voice could sound like.e how shuld speak, the cadence that she would probably use. working on the physicality. and because of what was in the

script, i was able to figure out the kind of run she might have. things like, when does she trip? is it-- is it an even run? does she?in is it more fem and i wanted to make sure that people saw her femininity. so you have to throw that in as well. you do a lot to make sure yound connect ithose are the things that thrill me. >> nawaz: this is always the story, though. someone's years after they've passed their historical bones there, you need tolesh them out with detai and color and dialogue. and there are a lot of characters in there. for example, william still, which wenow played a central role in maintaining the records of the underground railroad. how do you decide where the line is between sticking cl historical fact and then taking some artistic liberties? >> well, you can stick very close to historical facts, and like, you might know that she and william met at a certain time. but you're going to have to fill in some of the dialogue. >> would you like to pick a new name to mark your freedom? most ex-slavesho, and ten what? >> they call my momma rip, but her name's harriet.

i nt my momma's name and my husband. "harriet." to what i noticed atched.ement it's very much told through a female gaze. a lot of storiesbout enslaved people we hear come from men. and in this role you've got a strong female character, even in the time when she delivers her most impassioned speech. it's about the rape of young girls. it's about children being separated from their mothers. was that a deliberate choice? >> i thi it was definitely deliberate on her part, but it was, for me, essential, because i think too often we have these stories about women and they aren't coming from women's voices. and we don't have enough of it. >> there's nothing more you can do. >> don't you tell me what i can't to. god was watching but my feet was my own, running, bleeding, climbing, nearly towin nothing eat for days and days, and i made it. >> we specifically wanted to talk about

>> we specifically wanted to talk about, you know psychological torment of seeing your sisters sold away or a mother. singer daughters sold, older betweenhaving to choos running and leaving their children. eru know, those kind of decisions were it in her story, and were so full of pain and so, i thought, relevant >> nawaz: there's also this part which i love, was sort of surprising to me. there's a love story inspires her, that sort of guides her journey from the beginning, which is not how most us learn about the story of harriet tubman. why was it important for you to flesh out that part of her life? to see that of here we don't get i think we see this picture. we know of her as the hero. we know that she's done all this work, and we know that she is the strong, strong woman. but we don't get to know that she was loved, and was in love. thing that sort of it makes her real and grounds her and says to us thashe was human, and that the things she went through were, were human things. and she was an extraordiry being. >> nawaz: kasi, i have to ask you.

some of the criticism has been much of the atrocity and the actual horrors of slavery inha america, you know, people may see the scars that, that resulted from that horror and atrocity.ow but you don't ow it came about. that had to be a deliberate choice on your part. tell me why. >> and a lot has been done with opthe cruelty to enslaved 's bodies. and it'seen done veryy. beautifull but i also i focused on what anybody would say about harriet tubman story. so if you were to talk about harriet, you would say she escaped slavery. she went back to liberate others. i focused on the burbs of freedom. i really did it's about it's about escape. it's about what e woman was willing to do in order to be free. the work and she, she's willing to die for it in liberating others. so the freedom, the liberation, the return. that's what i focus on.mo >> nawaz: the is "harriet." cynthia erizo and kasi lemons, thank you for being here. >> thank you.

>> nawaz: coming up later on "washington week," robert costaa will look historic week in washington with a roundtable of some of the city's best repoigers. that's t on these pbs stations.mo and ow, tune into newshour weekend saturday. we have a repo on sending drug addicts to jail, for rehab. check your local pbs listings for that. and that's the newshr for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided : >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundion.org. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50ears, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better

world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation fora public broing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by ,newshour productioc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, eryone, and welcomeco to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> so whatt is a stake is our democracy. >> the impeachment inquiry moves into a more public phase but not before another key witnessif tes behind closed doors. we disse it all with longtime congressional expert norm ornstein. >>and -- >> w this much away from not having anything. >> california burning as es temperatur keep rising. the fightto to accepting a new normal. >> harriet tubman. >> the heroic story of harriet tubman of i'm joined oy the stara reting h new film, jr.thia erivo and leslie odom an >> what my warning was don't draw attention to yourself.dy you're alr