captioning sponsor by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evenin i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the impeachment trial of predent trump. what you need to know at the start of this historic week. then, guns drawn but no violence. protests in virginia target new moves to limit firearms. plus, on the ground as austral is burning. miles o'brien explores the threats of a fute of widespread wildfires. >> it's difficult to s we're in recovery while we still have a fire that could burst out anywhere over the next six wks and actually cause a similar devastation where it's not burned now. >> woodruff: and, our politics monday team is here to break down the upcoming impeachment trial and the latest from the 2020 campaign trail. all that and more on tonight's

pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: k >> before we talout your investments. >> what's new? audrey's expecting. twins. garnets. we want to put money aside for them so changof plans. all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> change in plans. okay. mom, are yo painting again? s,u could sell these. >> let me gueshange in plans? at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a cm before a political storm-- on the eve of the next phase of the impeachment trial of president trump, lisa desjardins reports on how both sides of the fight

are staking out their positionsa >> desjardinuiet capitol, no tv cameras, just cell phones were present to capture the house impeachment managers walking to survey the senate chamber this morning. meantime, movement from the white house as well. the president's legal team, led by white house counsel pat cipolle and the president's personal lawyer jay selow, laid out its first official legal defensof the president in a 110-page legal brief sent to the senate today, attorneys rejected the house articleof impeachment as "flimsy" and the product of "brazenly political act by house democrats."br thf has two key substantive defenses: first, it argues the president trump "did not condition security assistance or a esident meeting on announcements of any investigations," as the articles of impeachment assert. second, that president trump "did not commit 'obstruction' by blocking testimony and documenta "legal rhts anprivileges."

the brief does not deny the president tried to pressure ukraine to open investigations into the 2016 election and former vice president joe biden and his son hunter. instead the white house argues that pressure was legal and legitimate. sunday talk shows, wherele on several, including former harvard rsofessor alan witz also argued that wrong or not, the president'swe action not impeachable. >> you have a lot of evidence, disputed evidee, that could go th ways, but the vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the cotional criteria for impeachment, and struction of congress. >> desjardins: this came two days after house democrats filed their own 111-page brief. led by intelligence chairman adam schiff, the house team is pushing to get more documents that the c.i.a. ann.s.a.terday

specifically are withholding >> the intelligence community i reluct have an open hearing, something that we had done every year prior to the ump administration, because they're worried about ng the president. >> desjardins: meantime, capitol hill is beefing up security ahead of tomorrow's trial, with extra fencing and security. >> woodruf and lisa joins me now. >> woodruf lisa, just in the last few minutes, you learned more about what to expect tomorrow from leader mcconnell's office. >> a important documents. senator mcconnell jt released his proposal for these trial rules. we looked over it, it's four pages long. we'll take you through it in just a second. first, let's talk about tomorrow because that's when they will debate those rules. here's what will happen tom when they convene in this trial at 1:00 eastern time. all w tomorre expect just to be about process, the trial rules. democrats can ndopose aments to senator mcconnell's ideas. get two hours of debate for each amendment they propose. so it could be a longay

because i think democrats will have many amendments they want to propose, at least a few. then only the attorneys and manars can argue the case. senators cannot deliberate out only theanagers e making the case about these resolutions. now let's talk about what senate majority leader mitch mcconnl is pposing, something we have been wait week, more than that. a good basically, arguments looks like will be about 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. each afternoon. he's giving each side 24 hours to present their arguments over two days, about 12 hours for looks like house managers will be presenting their case wednesday and thursday of this week. the case to remove the president, the case defending the president then likely would be presented by president trump's attorneys friday and saturday, again, looking like those wou be least 12-hour days. that does not include breaks during all that time, i remind

you, judy, senators must sit in their seats and they cannot ask questions. they will be able to ask questions next week. they can write the questions down. w looks like thl have a day or two of questions then. >> woodruff: lisa, thesere very long days, till 1:00 a.m. potentially in the morning, but may not go that long, right, we don't know. agers will be up to the ma if they want to use all their eame on the house side, same for the president's they can use up to 24 hours and less if they choose to. >> woodruff: both sides filed their so-called legal briefs. what are we seeing in terms of their arguments? we've heard some of that in their report. >> you will se somof the argument in what the president did. we'll see th founding fathers quoted on both sides. movements are higsthly cted at the capitol. i want to show you a picture of

the press gallery, a magnetometer. it doesn't fit in, the scenery. every reporter will have to go through that both when they'reri en the chamber one by one, and it's going to make movements difficult. reporters can't have device in the chambers like senators.t the noto is a copy for senators to leave their cell phones at the door when they enter the chamber. jdy, reporters, this is reriction i've ner seen, we'll not be able to move around as senators can. it will be hard for us to communicate with senators often even if they take breaks. our access is severely limited. we'll see how that chnges over the weeks. it raises questions about how we learn about the proce because we won't hear from them and we'll have trouble accessing them. >> woodruff: for sure, and we'll follow whatever you canin learhe coming days. lisa, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. please join us tomorrow for our special live coverage of the impeachment trial of president trump starting at 12:30 p.m.

eastn. in the day's other news, >> woodruff: in the day's other news, thousands of gun rights demonstrators flooded the streets around virginia's state capitol in richmond today. mny carried military-style rifles as they protested gun- control asures proposed by the state's democratic leadership. police maintained tight security, but no major incidents were reported. we'll have an on-the-ground reportrom richmond, right after the news summary. in iraq, at least three people have died and dozens more were broke out between anti- battles government protesters and security forces. demonstrators clogged baghdad's security forces, who returned fire with live rounds and tear

s. health officials in china today confirmed an outbreak of viral pneumonia there can be transmitted by humans, raising the risk it could spread this weekend, the of corona virus infections tripled to more than 200 people. three patients have died. c travelers acrona are being screened amid the world's largest annual human migration >> (ttranslat ): since theidays. outbreak of corona virus, china has taken a serious, earnest and professional attite to actively deal with it, worked out a strict prevention and control plan, spared no effort in treating patients and properly managedhose who had close contact with the patients. >> woodruff: officials believe the outbreak started last month at a fresh food market in erntral china. china is banningin single-

use plastics in major cities by the end of the year,nd phasing them out nationwide by 2025. the move, announced sunday, is aimed at tackling the country's severe pollution problems. in beijing today, many residents welcomed the ban, which ranges from plastic bags to utensils. >> ( translated ): there is some inconvenience, but thell environmental ion is so serious right now. our food and our health are both so i feel the ban on plastic is good and i support it. >> woodruff: other plastic items will be phased out in threes- wafirst in larger cities and then in smaller towns.in meanwhilhailand, pollution cavels soared todaas toxic smog shrouded ittal city. the haze has blanketed the area for more than a week. it's largely caused by vehicle emissions and smoke from the burning of farm fields. volunteers cleared dry leaves enfrom those areas to prevt bushfires. and children in bangkok woreas face to school out of

precaution. hundreds of centraamerican migrants tried to cross into southern mexico by river today after officials denied theat a rder bridge. throngs waded from guatemala to the mexican border, where mexican police in riot gear met them. mexico has cracked down on migration after president trump threatened sanctions and tariffs. and, back in this country, the nation commemorad the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king junior today, more than 50 years after his death. president trump and vice president pence visited a washington memorial ng the late civil rights icon.an communities across the country, from colorado to texas and south carolina, held marches and parades. still to come on the newshour: guns in america-- protests in virginia over moves to limit access to firearms.au ralia faces a bleak future as wildfires continue to burn across the country.

from nixon to trump. a prominent republican on this impeachment moment and much more. >> woodruff: gun rhts supporters gathered in huge numbers today in richmond, virginia. they're protesting a we of gun-control measures being proposed by the newly-electedit democratic majin the state. william brangham is in richmond today. nick schifrin will talk with him from the scene in a bit. but first, william has this report. >> brangham: they started gathering before dawn. they've come on charter buses from every corner of the state and beyond. thousands and thousands of gun- rights supporters coming to virginia's capital

governor ralph northam, citing violent threats from out-of- state militias, banned all firearms from the capitol grounds. but outside that area, many come here today to protect.e >> i don't want the government taking my right. liberty. my god-given right to protect myself d >> branghaocrats swept the last election, winning control of the virginia statehouse for the first time in over 25 years. after a mass shooting in virginia beach last year where 12 people died, demoran and won on a gun control platform. among the laws democrats are considering are a suite of gun contl measures, including an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for nearly als sales, acalled red flag laws where officials can temporarily take gunfrom someone deemed to be dangerous. patrick hope is a virgia democrat who chairs the house's public safety commtee. he's championed several gun

control measures, and says he'se been threateneuse of it: >> there's more than 100 people who die every single day and what you see on the news are the mass shootings, but what you don't see are the number of shootings in communities of color, neighborhoods, of the suicides because people have access to guns. and there are too many guns that are readily accessible to too many people. >> brangham: when the democrats won, and made all those promise of what they wnna do, what was your reaction? >> made me sick.th its just s're doing is just so illegal, and there's no calling them on it. >> brangham: steve clark owns and runs clark brothers, a 60 year-old gun store and shooting range in warrenton, virginia. he says democrats mistakenly blame the guns for violencemm ted by people. >> if you're drunk and you run over somebody, if you're mad anr you run omebody -- in new york, when the guy took a box truck and drive, drove down rough the bicycle path a killed all those people on bicycles or pedestrians, they go

after him. it's not the truck. i don't care how safe you're trying to make things. the second amendment says you can't touch the guns. and if you've got a problem of people killing somebody else with whatever they do it, the person that did its responsible. the gun has nothing to do with it. >> brangham: in the last few months, gun rights sporters across the state have flooded city and county offices, protesting the democratic >> let us provide our own defense. >> i think it was a wakeup call for a lot of people. >> brangham: chris murphy trains people in gun safety in central virginia. he says the state's long history of strong pro-gun rights lulled many into complacency. >> the biggest reaction i've seen has just been shock. kind of a disbelief tha it's gone from zero to 60, as it were. >> brangham: now, over 100 cities and counties in virginiaa voted to become what some call "second amendment

sanctuaries"-- places where newly-passed gun laws will not sheriff scott jenkins of culpeper county says he won't enforce any law he sayis unconstitutional, and he says there's limit to the number of local gun owners he would deputize to help him block thosn laws from enforced. auxiliary deputieslpepper.ds of >> what we're doing is standing for the constitution and the rule of law. we're the people that want to hold our government accountable and we're the people that want it to play by the rules and tori respect outs. and that's not happening. >> brangham: patrick heeling and april quinn both live in culpeper. patrick was the one who first petitioned his commissioners to defy the gun controlaws. >> there are over 20,000 g laws on the books, as they say. and so it's alrey illegal to kill someone or to rob someone s or to ething of that nature.

so these laws don't do anything but hurt law abiding citizens, which ta away my ability to protect my family. >> brangham: you have the saying, we think theislature constitution gives us this ability to curtail the sale of guns to certain people under certain conditions. you believe that this is a clear violation.al isn't it nathat the courts would handle that? >> that's how things have played out. yeah, but again, the language is unambiguous and clear. it's not subject to interpretation-- "shall not be fringed." toyoknow, i didn't have o to law school to figure out what that means. b ngham: while there were concerns over outside militia groups showing up and causing, problee several hundred or so we saw were heavily armed but peaceful. this group calls themselves the ohio patriots. with so many armed protestors, many gun control groups decided to stay away today. but we did meet this group from representing "rch for our lives"-- the youth movement that

ose after the parkland school massacre. >> i was one of the youngest counter-protesters in charlottesville at 17 years old. >> brangham: nupol kiazolu is a 19 yeaold college student from hampton roads virginia. >> i lost my father to gun violence when i was eight years old. >> brangham: but for the tens of thousands of second amendment supporters who came out today, they're not open to any compromise. >> they can take my rights and your rights. this is about the idea of erica, and if we lose that. we lose that. >> it's important to hear theai attitudes t gun control. the months recent poll of virginia voters sho overwhelming support of gun control. 86%, 70%, over 50% for many to have the measures that thecr

deic legislature is proposing here. we heard one set of voices against gun control, but virginia voters have been polled, they also support gun control. nick. >> reporter: n the leadup today, there were concerns about violence, insurrection,et the day seems as it's ending peacefully? >> that's correct. as far as we could tell, there was no violence whatsoever tod and everyone is glad to hear that. there were an enormous amount oi a members here, heavily armed, armed to the', really. many of those militias behave themselves perfectly well. we know from some of the insignias h saw, some of te militias who were here espoused violent anti-government rhetoric, but none of that wasma fest today. the overwhelming majority of people we saw were regular virginians who care a lot about out to voice their opposition ta th they're seeing come out of the legislature. >> and when it cmes to the

opposition, william, there are more than 100 virginia cities and counties who have all said,e rdless of what the legislature passes, they're not going to enforce any new gun control laws. how real is that threat? >> it's a very good question because we don't know w much of that isymowlism and many of that is really going to show up in practice, where the runn hits the road. the lawmakers we talked to, mocratic lawmakers, think it'el larg a symbolic statement. that it's not really going to -- that when push comes to shove, that law enforcement officials will actually follow the law. according to legal experts that we've spoken with, these are not really legally binding votes that are taken. they are symbolic votes, but' many people wve spoken to says important for us tend it's registered in the vast majority of counties in this state that we don't like overhearing coming out of there legisla >> william brangham in richmond,

thank you very much. >> you're wcome, nick. >> woodruff: it's been an awful summer with extreme weather and rrible consequences in australia. thunderstorms and hail have been pelting eastern sections of the country. but strong winds have also created dust storms. drought conditions and the problem.s remain a major this fire season and its impact is hardly over. miles o'brien has been reporting from there for us and the as htells us, this fire season and its impact is hardly over. >> reporter: the bunker gear is hung and dry at the bairnsdale fire department in east for now, the calm after the firestorm 10 days earlier. captain aaron lee, his 12 yearso ryan in tow, took me to the spot in nearby sarsfield where they waited and watched

the flames approach. >> we had a lot of vehicles parked here like oin first rally the fire was put wherever straight right ahead o >> reporter: so, you're looking at the fire? we're like pointed toward the fire. >> we're basically looking at thfire. >> reporter: nearby the fire is still smolderingn a peat bog, when it roared in, it took 20 homes, but lee and his brigade all volunteers who lefeir own families and homes behind, worked tirelessly, saving countless others while constantly facing instant decisions on where to take a stand. >> you have to protect the assets where possible with what resources you've got, and sometimes, aets aren't defendable. we've literally have to be able to decide can't defend that because it's too risky for us.r: >> reportet the command post firefighters still have their hands full coordinating the fight against uncontained wildfires covering a huge swath southeast australia. across the country so far this

fire season, more than 24 million acres have burned,tw killdozen, destroying 2000 homes. the fires have also taken a terrible toll on wildlife, injuring and killing millions of the unique species that live on this island continent. brett mitchell is the incidentmm der. >> so, we've all been fighting these fires since november. so, fatigue is a real issue we have to manage. we do have teams coming in from canada and united states to give great.it of relief, which is i really appreciate that assistance. but we can also get new starts as well. so, lightng can start new res as well. so, we're not only dealing with these particular fires, but quite often even in ja we can get over 100 new fires start. >> reporter:the unprecedented fires come amid record drought and heat. farmer john white is the mayor of the shire of east gipland. >> it's been extraordinary and people who have known the bush all their life have just described the fire behavior as something they've never seen before.

i think, in terms of area, it has possibly burnt close to 60% of our area. >> reporter: mayor white is grateful his fellow countrymen have rallied to help frs like him in this time of great need. on saturday, a convoy of trucks carrying hay rolled into town with a police escort to speed the way. besides agriculture, this area depends heavily on tourism. but with the fire looming, authorities were forced to evacuate 30,000 people enjoying the christmas summer holiday. businesses on main street are invite the tourists back.n to >> it's difficult to say we'ree in recoverwh still have a fire that could burst out anywhere over the next six weekc and ally cause a similar devastation where it's not burned now.r: >> reporte fire has always been a part of the landscape here in australia but this year. it's differe >> the fire season of 2019 in australia is really a perfectma storm of c events, to be honest with you.

a historical climatologist at the university of melbourne. she says a stronger than normal shiftingcean current called the indian ocean dipole is at play. like el ninon the pacific, the dipole changes winds and sea surface temperures. this year it has blown warmer water toward africa, allowin colder water to surface near australia. the colder air there contains less moisture and fewer clouds, creating dught conditions. meanwhile, the air above antarctica became unusually warm, which triggers windier conditions for australia. t and all s happens as the climate steadily warms. >> so, we had tinder-dry forests. we had really strong winds. we had a temperature o climate that's a degree warmer than it was 60 years ago. and all of those things combined just made it, just made it exactly right for a devastating bushfire season. exactly right to change thee

public discourse on climate change her australia generates 80% of its electricity with coal and gas.it s the world's third largest exporter of fossil fuels.un the y's prime minister scott morrison has a longke history oficism and denial fires rang, is ning het with the hopes to evolve climate change policy. amanda mckenzie is leadi advocate for action on climate change in australia. >> i think the fires have changed erything. we don't know just how much that it has impacted people yet, but the trma will go on for some time and i think it will t ndamentally change how australians looke issue of climate change, but it also will federal government.at the >> reporter: here in southeast australia it is impossible to ignore the crisis at their front door. and while there is some evidence opinions may in fact be changing, not everyone recognizes the urgency.hi >>has sort of become a

generational thing in terms of people picking up on it. i'm not a skeptic but i hope they're wrong. i really do. i hope they're wrong because that would be a disaster for the planet. >> reporter: do you worry about ryan's future and what this-- as the trends go up. what that might mean for living in australia? there but how much of it isange actually having effect of what we're doing here. d >> i base isions on information. if i got the information and i will make that decision basically.m so, if id the right information, i might be less skeptical. there is some evidence that the political inertia on climate change may have met its mathtch his wildfire season. sunday, the state environment minister for new south wales where i stand now matt keen in the same party as scott morrison said many members of his party

have widesprd beief they'd like to take greater action on climate change. the prime minister's response, no one at the federal level even knows that environment minister. judy. >> woodruff: fascinating. and,iles, tell us about the situation there right now. >> well, there's been rain over the weekend, and that's helped a bit for the firefighters, allowed them to contain some everything out, and by no means does it solve a drought that haa lasted three y. and the rain does have -- it's a two-edged sword, i'm standing here, you can see the soil behind me. it's pretty ch stripped, denuted, and too much rain can lead to mudslides, flash floong, windy condition, and rain leads to thunderstorms, thunderstorms lead to lightning these blazes.at started many o so it gives and it takes away, and people here are hunkeredt down because still early in this fire season. judy? like a long road back.

miles o'brien reporting from australia, from new south wales. thank you, miles. >> you're welcome, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newsh our politics monday team breaks wn the impeachment trial and the latest from the campaign trail. and on this martin luther king day, fighting r equality in the workplace. before we look ahead tthe political stakes of the upcoming impeachment trail, we want t step back to listen to lessons of the past. william cohen offers a unique perspective: he was among a handful of republicans on the u.s. house judiciary committee to vote in 1974 for the impeachment of president nixon. he went on to serve as secretary of defense for president clinton, which turned out to be during his ieachment. and secretary cohen joins me

now. thank you very much. >> good to be with you. >> woodruff: would have been asked this question a thousand times -- you're a freshman o membcongress, serving in the judiciary committee, how hard was itto against your party and vote to impeach >> people tend to forget, it was very partisan back in 1974, as well. tensionsere high, passions were certainly high as well. there were bomb threats, death threats, a lot going on, but it wasn't as deep and angry as oit isday, and we didn't have necial media back then, and we didn't have fos back then. i think the combination of foxd and social m has contributed to driving us even further enart, making us angrier ev than we were in the past. so it's a different atmosphere. it's difcult for members of congress to go against president trump. he punishes anye who criticizes him, and even hisown intelligence community, his

own -- our upinstitutions are being politicized on a regular basis. from looking at the intelligence community, looking at the military, looking at the justice department, you go through all of the institutions, and anyone who disagrees with him is publd,ly shamed. o, it's more difficult for members today to go against him, and there aren't as many "moderates" left in the republican party to make a difference. >> woodruff: you're saying it was hard for you but you're saying it would be harderoday. i know it's impossible to compare extly these cases against president nixon, against president clinton and now president trump, but how do you see the strength of these cases against each one of these presents, president trump compared to the others? >> well, if you look aes prent nixon, what did he do to abuse his office? he suborden surgery, paid hush money. used the c.i.a. to interview with the f.b.i., created an enemies list.

so you look at the actions heto , they were directed toward making sure that he was going to cover up the misdeeddone by the plumbers. with respect to president trump, he also engaged in similar type conduct, namely to try to cover up what, in fat, he did, in the way of trying to force a foreign government to engage in activity that would help him politically. so he's using the political process, his power as president of the united states to use it for a personal goal, and that is, to me, an im-- an impeachable offense. i think the evidence is there now but i think many of the members of the senate want more evidence.e i don't think rules have been put in place that will >> woodruff: that's what i want to ask you about because, the majority, they have a narrow majority, but are they ing to be willing, some of them, enough

of them, do you think, to agree to wit tnesses, to agr allow more evidence? >> well, it remainso seen. i think all of those who were not in primarily red states ally are in a mordifficult position. i think the only advice i giv to them is do what you think is right, listen to the evidence.re if there any questions you need to raise, call the witnesses to clarify them. i look from it as a person who srosecuted cases and who defended ca, and, to me, the evidence is very clear. when you look at what the president did in his perfect phoniecall, i bel it was perfectly corrupt. i believe it was very clear what he had in mind in terms of, i need a favor, though, having in place his attorney and others to do all the work necessary toe ve the professionals who would say, mr. president, this is not right. >> woodruff: but do yough believe now some of the republicans we're looking at, ehether susan collins who worked

for you when youe in the united states senate, went on the succeed you in the senwhe, her it's mitt romney or any of the other republicans, are going to vote, ultately, for witnesses and potentially even to impeach? >> i don't know. but i ink -- i think they have to consider the consequences. they may say and listen to the republicans on this thing, saying, well, number one, the evidence isn't tre. we obstructed the evidepre or the esident obstructed the evidence but the evidence isn't there. number two, if the evidence is will, it's not an impeachable offense. number three,e think yu've exceeded your authorities and never should have become the investigator -- you have all those issues. ultimately, if they vote, in my judgment, to saydo we't need additional witnesses, i think more evidence is going to come out. it will be quite damning and damaging, and then they wi be called upon by the constituency and say why didn't you go forward and ask for at leastde more ee so you could be more informed so we could be

they will have to deal with that and that's up to them. >> woodruff: they were sworn an oath by the chief justice john roberts who said do you swear to deliver impartiality justice? will they do that, in your view? >> i don't know. all i know is they ha to say to themselves that i have an obligation, i've taken this oath, i believe in the constitution, i beliis is the constitutional issue, i believe that the president was r either rightong. he either had innocent intent or he had corrupt inten based on his past performance -- and here i would g back, just look at the record, whenever any official went against the president, he fired them or rced thr resignation. so it's clear to me that, by his actions, the intent is clear and, when you look at that phone call and you look at whans

ze is saying near east to get the wit tnesso say we need zelensky, to say this on the record that he will initiate a public investigation, then i think it becomes very clear what what he was trying to do andd that so to use his office toa achievrrupt purpose, namely taxpayers money torc enand reinforce his support for theeelection. >> woodruff: former defense secretary con william cohen. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: thank you. >> woodruff: as the impeachment trial is set to start this next ease, we do not want to l focus on the race for the white we are today, exace year from the next president's inauguration and two weeks from the iowa ccuses. but as amna nawaz reports, in

south carolina today, a show of unity among the democratic ntenders hides deeper divisions on the trail. >> nawaz: a rare sight on the 2020 democratic campaign trail-- the presidential candidates all linking arms and shaking hands, to honor the legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. after a week-long feud about senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders appeared to reconcile, even as sanders' critics said he dismissed sexism in politics. >> do you think that gender is still an obstacle for female liticians? >> the answer is yes. but i think everybody has their own sets of problems. i'm 78 years of age. that's a problem. >> nawaz: warren rwhen pressed orters, didn't take the bait. >> i have no further comment on this. i have been friends with bernie for a long time, we have worked togeth on many issues, and i've said all i'm going to say. >> nawaz: the progressive ceasefire comes as a new fight brews-- this time between

sanders and formes vice ent joe biden. >> what is your stance on social security? >> nawaz: biden was on tow defense inafter a deceptively edited video, circulatedn twitter by a senior sanders campaign advisor, appeared tshow biden praising entlement cuts. >> paul ryan was correct when he did the tax code, what's the first thing he decided we had to go after?ec sociality and medicare. >> nawaz: the full 2018 speech ryan, then the speaker of the house. on saturday, biden sanders campaign of misleading voters. >> i have been a gigantic supporter of social security from the beginning. it's a flat lie. they've acknowledged that this is a doctored tape. and i think it's beath and i'm looking for his campaign to come forward and disown it. >> nawaz: but sanders didn't back down from the attack. >> that's just not true. it was not doctore >> nawaz: and suggested biden was the one not being truthful.

>> on sue of socl security, time and time againbe joe biden ha clear in supporting cuts. >> nawaz: in this final push before the iowa caucuses, other candidates urged democrats to stay united. former south bend, indiana pete buttigieg said the focus should be on beating donald >> i know that theof the competition will i'm sure continue to have all kinds of effects as we go into the caucuses and beyond,ut hopefully we can keep our eye on the bigger picture because there >> nawaz: billionaire tom steyer agreed. >> this is going to be everyone getting together and making this happen together or it is not going to happen.az >> naw: with just two weeks the crucial first-in-th nation contest, over half of iowans remain undecideor open to changing their minds about a candidate. even the "new york times editorial board was split on their endorsement. they backed botharren and minnesota senator amy klobuchar on sunday, declaring, "may the

best woman win." for the pbs newshour, m amna nawaz. s >> woodruff: that brings politics monday. that's amy walter of the "cookrt political reand public radio's "politics with amy walter." two weeks from the iowaes caucshe's joining us from f s moes. and tamara keithr is here with me. she co-hosts the "npr politics podcast." hello to both of you. it's two weks from today those iowa caucuses. let's start by talking about the race. aim, you're there in des moines. ecauseyou're indoors b it's a pretty cold time in iowa. where does the race stand right now? >> judy, it is just as confusing being here as it is reading about it or watching the polls from washington, d.c. voters here really are torn we, in washingtoink two weeks, that's right around the why haven't you m your mind?

here they feel like they still have a good amount tim vet all of the candidates, to that last decision. and to make i've talked to a number of are voters whare going to gore into caucus night still not completely sold on one candidate or the, othd they're going to watch. remember, when you're at a cauc w, you're sittith neighbors, friends, others who e in your area, and can be persuaded by thople, ultimately, to vote for one of those two candidas that they are deciding between. >> woodruff: they take the process very seriously. tam, you have been there a lot. you're not there right now, but you have been there a lot this cycl why is it taking them so long? >> i think part of it is that a lot of vte focused on this idea of electability, of beating pretdent trump. that is sort of an amorphousy thing and, at iven moment, any one of these candidates may seem like the mostct elele

until they rise to the top and get beaten up a little bit in the pcess. and voters just, that i have spoken to, they've changed their minds so many tfferemes, and, as amy says, they're very much open to persuasion. there's no, like, far and away frontrunner at this point. there's sort of an upper tirr, but it isn't set in stone in any way. >> woodruff: and, , amy, as amna was reporting, we've seen this over the last week or so, this rift play out between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren, now there seems to be a nesomething going on between -- there is something going on between bernie sanders and joe biden. how much does all that ay into voter decisions, do you think? >> well, with four candidates really bunched at the top -- biden, buttigieg, sanders, warren -- we can't quite figure out -- no one has figured out at is going to help one of

those candidates ultimately normally, by thi time, you can sort of feel maybe a trend starting or maybe someone having some momentum, as we get into these last days. you just don't feel it now -- ain, i've only been here a couple of days so don't want to make too much of ablanket statement, but i think everyone is trying to find a way to break out. one of the ways to do that is te show difes between you and your opponent. for bernie sanders, the debate over social security and medicare goes not just to that issue but really toea the of the argument that bernie sanders has been making now for years which is that he is the most authentic candidate, the candidate who will not compromise on core issues. everybody else in the race either has been willing to compromise in their career, they've taken positions that now they say they would not ory won't pledge to do the sorts of things that bernie sanders is .ledging to so to make that really clear-cut here in thesea lst couple of

weeks, joe biden really leaning into electability, really focusing on the fact he mentioned in south carolina this week that it's not just putting him on the top to have the ballot to get a dem ocrat e white house, but with biden on the top of the ballot,t's also going to help candidates underneath. if you want a democratic senate, he says, you wa m on the top of the ballot, because i will erlp to bring those oth democrats along, especially in those states that aren't quite blue buare leanin red. >> woodruff: some of these candidates looking at bere sanders and saying the inflexibility they think is going to hurt him. >> right, and this is not the first time thadet san or his surrogates in campaign have gone after biden recently. this is part of a series attempts to draw a contrast. it's kind of suing because biden and sanders couldn't be more different.t if you look policy or look at the iraq war, look at a- -

medicare, for instance, medicare for all, but even though they are so vastly different, a large share of voters say they're their top two choice. >> woodruff: yeah, so go figure. >> right. >> woodruff: so turning quickly, you turn to impeachment, tam. du are here, you have been following theecision we heard earlier from lisa about what t tomorrow's goilook like, how leader mcconnell wants this to play tth in early days. is one side or the other looking like it has a greater burden at this point? >> and i was in a briefing today with people o were wking with the president's legal team. they are perfectly happy with the mcconnell rul that -- th arguments going possibly till 1:00 in the morning. they are totally fine with that. i think that the reality is that, unless something very dray acquitted.appens, he will be in some ways the democrats have a very high burden.

the removal is there basically is no democrat that wold argue they have enough problems to cross over toemove him from office, so part of their goal is to get as much in the record as possible and put republican senators, many up forti reel, not just trump, but to put them in a rough spot. >> woodamy, how does it look from where you sit? >> it's not a topic yourea that much about and i think for so many voters it's like watching a baseball game where you ow what the fial score ll be, so you wonder should you really tune in to watch the eni re process. o think there is a worry here from folks who where fns of some of the senators who have to go back to washington, that they are going to be blanked out for these really critical weeks. i dode won does it really matter whether or not they show up here, after all, if you turn on television in dmoin- - des moines, they have lots of ads so they have a presence

remember the peopo show up at the caucuseare a very small percent of the ove democratic electorate. voters, so they ahe people showing up, going to the events and seeing these candidates one on, they are usng these events to make their decision. so not being here carries mor weight than, say, a traditional primary. the otr important piece is not that the senators are trapped in washington and can't come to iowa, but they have to be silent during thisntire tria this is not something like the kavanaugh hearings w senators were getting a really and those clips t aired on the news over and over again. they are basically -- you know, they are basically off the air and out of people's minds -- or at least out of their tv sets, maybe not out of their minds -- but they're nott getting t level of coverage they would be getting if they were in iowa or if they were doingng somet back in washington where they

had an ability to make their case. >> woodruff: just aut 20 seconds. this is very different from the usual run up to the io caucuses where some of the candidates can't talk. >> and guess what? we've never had impeachment andt an en in the same year. i mean, if this really goes until 1:00 in the morning or late at night, these candidates won't evente able to go on lae night tv. >> woodruff: think about that and what that means >> think about that. >> woodruff: well, 's all going to unfold in the days and hours to come. tamera keith, amy wlter, in iowa, thank you both. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: on the day martin luther king's birthday is celebrated, we end with reflections from hollywood talent lawyer nina shaw. we profiled her as part our facebook watch series, that moment when. shaw is an african american at the forefront of the

entertainment industry's me too movement and a trailblazer who shares what it has taken for her to get so far. >> i remember being at a meeting at 2h century fox many, many as ago, and getting int real argument with the lawyer and he g up and he threw a file at me. i mean, it w a big, heavy file and i just ducked. and i just remembetethinking ards as i was heading back to my office, like that s like a truly screwed up thing to do the guy physically assaulted me. and that i didn't think to call him out on it and will call his superiors or anything like that. i ways think like, you guy are smart and you're good at what you do and you're successful, but i don't think you could have lived my li and still be in this room and i lived my life and i'm in this room and you had eve advantage in you're in this room. so in my mind, that makes me not

so much on par with you, but quite frankly a little bit better than you.at >> welcome to oment when. i'm steve goldbloom. nina shaw is an entertainmentla er who grew up in the harlem and the bronx against the backdrop of the civil right movement, and today represents some of the industries most prominent artists, from lawrence fishburn to ava duvernay.po we to her about her experience in the business and efforts to bring equalitacinto the work >> the environments i have o worked in haen been often been scarrinifferenthave ways. but in my mind they don' compare to the environments that so my women work in where th are actually physically unsafe. i was among the women who were invited to the first time's up meeting. i had already been a bit of a rabble rouser at, you know, inou speaking up something that people didn't like, didn't want to hear.

so i spoke of the fact that if you go to your agent's office, dd you sit in that room, you are the only person of color, you know that is wrong. you know that is unacceptable. and it is your job to say that to the people who represent you. the "new york times" ended up picking up the speec and think the title of the article was something like, ä voice from behind the scenes ks tough questions. i mean, i remember i got back to my office and immediately the word had spread and a number of agents called me and said, "i heard you told our clients to fire us all." and i said, no i didn't tell your clients to fire you, i told you to hire someone who looks like your clients. we're all fighting for the sameh g, which is the end of inequities based on gender and race i had very clear sense when iup was growinhat, and things that were happening to me and the things that i could take advantage of were all based on the sacrifices of other people.

bli always felt this incre duty and i, and, and it probably nls because these things were discussed so opein my household about what was going on in the civil rights movement of that era. i always tell this story about how when my mom was doing chores, i would sit at like the end of an ironing board or i would sit onki stool in the hen and i would read the new york times to her and people uld say, oh gosh, your m must have really wanted you to and no, my mom jused to of that. know what was going on in the new york times and she couldn't read it herself because she was doing something se. that's how she, fully integrated us into the world. i alwa had this sense of you really had to be a clear advocate for yourself because no one else igoing toate for you. >> what does it feel like to walk into the room and be the only woman and sometimes the only woman of color? >> unfortunately, up until recently, it has felt entirely normal. it has often felt sad and isolating.

and it has always been something who come behind me, or after me. you can be more open todi rsity and inclusion. but i think the toughee every time you wal a roomrtable. and everyone in that room looks just like you. you need to squirm. you need to feel like, this room doesn't work for me. because i think it's only when we reac that point of discomfort, when we reached that noint of feeling like, you what? this is not good. it like i'm in a room that's too cold or too hot. and you need to feel it the minute you walk through theor and i think until that happens, we're not going to.ee real chan >> woodruff: and that's th newshour for tonight. please join us tomorrow morning for our the impeachment trail of president trump starting atas 12:30 p.m.rn.

i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs, newshoank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: along the columbia and snake rivers, travelers retrace the routes forged by lewis and clar more than 200 years ago. american cruise license flee to victorian style paddle wheelers and modernver boats travel through american landscapes toar historic lan where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of "pbs newshour." >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. mipporting science, technology, and improved eco performance and financial

literacy in the 21st century. >> supported by the john dt.and catherinacarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program way made possiblee corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company." here'shat's coming u >> most parents would rather poke themselves in the eye with a fork than talk to their bo children porn. >> author of the definitive guide book, "boys & sex." will not return to criminality.es >> tendeis the antidote to toxic masculinity. founder of home boy industries brings hope where it's rarely seen. the idea behind the blue zones is to reverse longevity. >> lessons on longevity from people across thworld who live the longest, healthiest lives.