ioning spoponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the trump.hment trial of president what you need to know at the start of this historic week. then, guns dra but no violence. protests in virginia target new moves to limit firearms. plus, on the ground as australia is burning. miles o'brien explores the threats of a future ofre wide wildfires. >> it's difficult to say we're in recovery while we still have a fire that could but out anywhere over the next six weeks and actually cause a similare devastation wh's not burned now. >> woodruff: and, our politicsay moeam 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: >> before we talk about your investments. >> what's new? audrey's expecting. twins. garnets. we want to put money aside for them so change of plaigns. >> all, let's see what we can adjust. >> change in plans. okay. mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plan a at fidelity,hange in plans is always part of the plan.

>> the william and f 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 madeth possible bcorporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your p station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: a calm before a political storm-- on the eve of the next phase of theen impeactrial of president on how both sides fighteports are staking out their positions.

>> desjardins: a quiet capitol, hono tv cameras, just cells were present to capture the house impeachment managers walking to survebethe senate chthis morning. meantime, movement from the white hoe as well. the president's legal team, led by white house counsel pat cipollone and the president's personal lawyer jay sekulow, laid out its first official legal defense of the president in a 110-page legal brief sent to the sene today, attorneys rejected the house articles of impeachment as "flimsy" and the product of "a brazenly political act by house democrats." the brief has two key substantive defenses: first, it argues the president trump "did not condition security assistance or a president meeting on announcements of any investigations," as the articles of impeachment assert. second, that president trump "did not commit 'obstruction' by blocking testimony and documents and rather w asserting his own "legal rights and privileges."

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 legitimate.as legal and the defense team wnd visible on talk shows, where several, including former harvard professolsalan dershowio argued that wrong or not, the president's >> you have a lot dence,able. disputed evidence, that could go both ways, but the vote was to impeach on abuse of power, which is not within the constitutional criteria for impeachment, and obstruction of congress. >> desjardins: this came two days after house democrats filed their own 11page brief. led by intelligence chairman adam siff, the house team is pushing to get more docunts schiff told abc news yesterday at the c.i.a. and n.s.a. specifically are withholding >> the intelligence community is

reluctant to have an open hearing, something that we had done every year prior to the trump administration, because they're worried about angering the president. d jardins: meantime, capitol hill is beefing up security ahead of tomorrow's trial, with extra fencing and security. >> woodruff: and la joins me now. >> woodruff: lisa, fust in the la minutes, you learned more about what to expect tomorrow from leader mcconnell's office. >> and important documents. senator mcconnell just released his proposal for these trial rules. we looked over it, it's four ges 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 tomwhorw they convene in this trial at 1:00 eastern time. all ofomorrow we expect just to be about process, the trial rules. democrats can propose amendments to senator mcconnell's ideasev y time they do that, it will get two hours of debate fo each amendment they propose. so it could be a long day because i think democrats will

have many amendments they want to propose, at least a few. then only the attorneys and managers caargue the case. senators cannot deliberate out loud. kily the managers will be the case about these resolutions. now let's talk about what senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is proposing, foreleg for more than a good week, more than that. basically, argumen looks likewi be about 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. ea afternoon. he's giving each side 24 hours to present their argents over two day about 12 hours for each day of arguments. oks like house managers will be presenting their case wednesday and thursday of this week. the case to remove the esident, the case defending the present then liely would be presented by president trump's attorneys friday and saturday, again, looking like those would be at least 12-hour days. that does not inclu breaks duringll that time, i remind you, judy, senators must sit

their seats and they cannot ask questions. they will be able to ask questions neth week. can write the question down. looks like they will have a day or two of quenssthen. >> woodruff: lisa, these are very long days, till 1:00 a.m. potentially in the morning, but manot go that long, right, we don't know. >> it will be up to the manager if they want to use all their time on the house side, same for they can use up to 24 hours and >> woodruff: both sides filed their so-called legal briefs. what are we seeing in rms of their arguments? we've heard some of that in theirrt re. >> you will see some of the argument in what the president did. we'll see th founding fathers quoted on both sides. movements are highly restrict at the capitol. i want to show yoaicture of the press gallery, a

magnetometer. it doesn't fit in, in the scenery. every reporter will have to go through that both when they're c entering tmber one by one, and it's going to make movements difficult. reporters can't have device in the chambers like senators.is the next phot a copy for phones at the doorn theycell enter the chamber. r jdorters, this is restriction i've never seen, we'll not be able to move around as senators can. it will be hard for uso communicate with senators often even if they take breaks. our access is severely limited. we'll see how tha ot changr the weeks. it raises questions about how we we won't hear from them andse we'll have trouble accessing them. >> woodruff: for surd we'll follow whatever you can learn in the coming days. lisa, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. please join us tomoriaw for our splive coverage of the impeachment trial of president trump starting at 12:30 p.m. eastern.

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 measures proposed by the state's democratic leadership. police maintained tight security, but no major incidents were reported. we'll have an on-the-ground report from richnd, right after the news summary. in iraq, at least three people have died and dozens more were wounded today after new battlesr e out between anti- government protesters and demonstrators clogged baghdad's streets and threw rocks at security forces, who returned fire with live rounds and tear gas.

health officials in china today confirmed an outbreak of viral pneumonia there can be transmitted by humans, raising the risk it could spread quickly. is weekend, the number o corona virus infections tripled to more than 200 people. three patients have died. travelers across chinaeing screened amid the world's largest annual human migrar on for the luw year holidays. >> ( translated ): since the outbreak of corona virus, china has taken a serious, earnest and professional attitude to actively deal with it, worked out a strict prevention and control plan, spared no effort in treating patients and properly managed those w had close contact with the patients. >> woodruff: officials believetb the ak started last month at a fresh food market in central china. china is banning certain single- use plastics in major cities by

the end of the year, and phang them out nationwide by 2025. the move, announced sunday, is aimed at tackling the country's severe pollution pblems. in beijing today, many residents from plastic bags to utensils. >> ( translated ): there is some convenience, but the environmental pollution is so serious right now. our food and our health are both affected. good and i supporton plastic is >> woodruff: other plastic items will be phased out in threein waves-- firsarger cities meanwhile in thailollution levels soared today as toxic tyog shrouded its capital the haze has blanketed the area for mo than a week.ge it's l caused by vehicle emissions and smoke from the burning of farm fields. volunteers cleared dry leaves from those areas to prevent bushfires. and children in bangkok re face masks to school out of precaution. hundreds of central american

migrants tried to cross into southern mexico by rer today after officials denied them at a border 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 commemorated the life an legacy of rtin luther king junior today, more than 50 years after his death. president trump and vice president pence visited a washgton memorial honoring t late civil rights icon.it and comms 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.a austraces 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 rights supporters gathered in huge numbers today in richmond, virginia. they're protesting a wave of gun-control measureseing proposed by the newly-elected democratic majority in the state.an william am is in richmond today. nick schifrin will talk with hie from t 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 exercised the rights they've come here today to protect. taking my right.the government my liberty. my god-given right to protect myself >> brangham: democrats 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 yere 12 people died, democrats ran and won on a gun control platform. among the laws democrats are considering are a suite of gun control measures, including an assault weapons ban, universal background checkfor nearly all sales, and so-called red flag laws where officials c temporarily take guns from someone deemed to be dangero. patrick hope is a virginia democrat who chairs the house's public safety committee. he's championed several gun control measures, and says he's

been threatened because 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 youar don't sethe number of shootings in communities of suicides because people have access to guns. and there are too many guns that are readily accessible to too >> brangham: when the democrats won, and made all those promises of what they were gonna do, what was your reaction? >> made me sick. its just so they're doing is just so illegal, and there's no calling them on it. >> brangham: steve clark owns and runs clark broers, a 60 year-old gun store and shooting range in warrenton, virginia. he says democrats mistakenlyth blamguns for violence committed by people.ru >> if you're and you run you run over someb in newmad and york, when the guy took a box truck and drive, drove down through thbicycle path and lled all those people on bicycles or pedestrians, they go aftehim. it's not the truck.

i don't care how safe you're trying to ke 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 supporter across the state have flooded city and county offices, protesting the democ proposals. >> let us provide our ownfe e. >> i think it was a wakeup call >> brangham: chris murphy trains people in n 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. just kind a disbelief that it's gone from zero to 60, as it were. cities and counties in virginia have voted to become what some call "second amendme sanctuaries"-- places where

newly-passed gun laws will not be enforced.er f scott jenkins of culpeper county says he won't enforce any law he says is unconstitutional, and heays there's no limito the number of local gun owners he would laws from being en.m block those >> i will swear in thousands of auxiliary deputies in culpepper. >> what we're doing is standing r the constitution and the rule of law. we're the people that want to hold our government accountable and we're thpeople that want it to play by the rules and to respect our rights. and that'sot happening. >> brangham: patrick h and april quinn both live in culpeper. patrick was the one who first petitioned his commissioners to defy the gun control laws. >> there are over 20,000 gun laws on the books, as they say. and so it's already illegato kill someone or to rob someone or to do something of that nature. so these laws don't do anything

but hurt law abiding citizens, which take away my ability to protect my family. >> brangham: you have the democrats in the legislatureng sawe think the 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. isn't it natural that thcourts would handle that?>> hat's how things have played out. yeah, but again, the language is unamguous and clear. 's not subject to interpretation-- "shall not be infringed." i didn't have to go to law school to figure out what that means. w >> branghale there were concerns over outside militia groups showing up and causing problems, the several hundred or so we saw were heavily armed but peaceful. this group calls themselves the io patriots. with so many armed protestors, many g control groups decided to stay away today. but we did meet this group from representing "march foour lives"-- the youth movement that arose after the rkland school

massacre. >> i was one of the youngest counter-protesters ines charlolle at 17 years old. >> brangham: nupol kialu is a 19 year old 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 rits and your rights. this is about the idea of america, and if we lose that. we lose that. >> it's important to hear the attitudes against gutrol. the months recent poll of virginia voters ows overwhelming support of gun control. 86%, 70%, over 50% for many to have the measures that the democratic legislature is

proposing here. we heard one set of voices against gun control, but virginia voters have been polled, the also support gun control. nick. >> reporter: in the leadup today,here were concerns about violence, insurrection, yet the day seems as it's ending peacefully? >> that's correct. as far as we could tell, there was no violence whatsoever today everyone is glad to hear that. there were an enormous amount ob militia s here, heavily armed, armed to the', really. many of tho militias behave themselves perfectly well. we know from some of the insignias we saw, so of the militias who were here espoused violent anti-government rhetoric, but none of that was t manifeay. the overwhelming majority of people we saw were regular virginians who care a lot about the second amendment and t me voice their opposition to the laws they're seeing come out of t legislature. >> and when it comes to the opposition, william, there are more than 100 virginia cities

and counties who have al said, regardless of what the legislaturpasses, they're not going to enforce any new gun control laws. how real is th threat? >> it's a very good question because we don't know how much of that is symbolism and how many of that is really going to show up ian prctice, where the runner hits the roawm the ers we talked to, democratic lawmakers, think it's largely a symbolic stathment. it's not really going to -- that when push comes to shove, that law enforcement officials will actually follow the law. according to legal expertshat we've spoken with, these are not really legally binding vtes thatre taken. they are symbolic votes, but many people we've spoken to says symbolism matters and it's important for us to have registered in the vast maity ofounties in this state that we don't like overhearing coming out of the legislature. >> william brangham inon ric thank you very much.

>> you're welcome, nick. >> woodruff: it's been an awful summer with extreme weather d terrible consequences in australia. thunderstorms and hail have been country.eastern sections of the but strong winds have also created dust storms. drought conditions and the bushfires remain a major prlem. this fire season and its impact is hardly over. miles o'brien has been reporting from there for us and the weather app, my radar. as he tells us, this fire season and its impact is haver. >> reporter: the bunker gear is hung and dry at the bairnsdale re department in east gippsland, australia.no fo the calm after the firestorm 10 days earlier. captain aaron lee, his 12 yearan byd son ryn tow, took me to the spot in neararsfield where they waited and watched the flames approach.

>> we had a lot of vehicles parked here like our first rally point. the re was put wherever straight right ahead of us. >> reporter: so, you're looking at the fire? we're like pointed toward the fire. >> we're basically looking at the fire. >> reporter: nearby the fire is still smoldering in a at bog, when it roared in, it ok 2 homes, but lee and his brigade all vonteers who left their 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, assets aren defendable. we've literally have to be able to decide we can'tefend that because it's too risky for us. >> reporter: at 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 re season, more than 24 million acres have burned,

killing two dozen, 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 incident commander. >> so, we've alleseen fighting fires since november. have to manage.a real issue we we do have teams coming in from o canada and united statesve us a bit of relief, which is great. i really appreciate that assistance. but we can also get w starts as well. so, lightning can start new fires as well. wso, we're not only dealih the particular fires, but quite often even in januar we can get over 100 n fires start. >> reporter: the unprecedented fis come amid record droug anheat. farmer john white the mayor of the shire of east gippsland. >> it's been extraordinary and people who have knn 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 farmers like him in this time ofreat need. on saturday, a convoy of trucks carrying hay rolled into town with a police escort to speed the way. depends heavily on tourism.rea but with the fire looming, authorits were for evacuate 30,000 people enjoying businesses on main street are hurting, but it's too soon toin te the tourists back. >> it's difficult to say we're hin recovery while we stie a fire that could burst out anywhere over the next six weeku and actually c a similar devastation wherit's not burned now. >> reporter: fire has always en a part of the landsca here in australia but this year, it's different. i>> the fire season of 20 australia is really a perfect storm of climate events, to be honest with you. >> reporr: linden ashcroft is

a historical climatologist at the university of melbourne. she says a strger than normal shifting ocean current called the indian ocean dole is at play. like el nino in the pacific, the dipole changes winds and sea surface temperatures. this year it has blown warmer water toward africa, allowing colder water to rface near australia. the colder air there contains less moisture and fewer clouds, creating drought conditions. meanwhile, the air above antarctica became unuslly warm, which triggers windier conditions for australia. and all of this happens as the climate steadily wms. >> so, we had tinder-dry forests. had really strong winds. we had a temperature or a climate that's a degree warmer than it was 60 years ago. and all of those things combinet just madjust made it exactly right for a devastating bushfire season. >> reporter: and it might be actly right to change the public discourse on climate

change here.ra aua generates 80% of itsit electricy with coal and gas. it is the world's third largest exporter of fossil fuels. the country's prime ministersc t morrison has a long history of skepticism and denial of climate science, bu the fireraging, is now saying hee hopes to evoimate change policy. amanda mckenzie is leading advocate for action on climate change in australia. >> i think the fires have changed everythi. we don't know just how much that it has impacted people yet, but the trauma wilgo on for some time and i think it will fundamentally change how suaustralians look at the of climate change, but it also will change how we look at the deral government. >> reporter: here in southeast ignore the crisis at their front door. and while there is some evidence opinions may in fact be changing, not everyone recognizes the urgency.so >> this ha 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 becauseld that we a disaster for the planet. >> reporter: do you worry about - an's future and what thi the trends go up. what that might mean for living in australia? >> yes, there is climate change actually having eff what is we're doing here. >> i base my decisions on information. if i got the informaakon and i willthat decision basically. so, if i am fed the right information, i might be less skeptical. there is some evidence that the political inertia on climate change may have met its match with this wildfire season. sund, the state environment minister for new south wales where i stand now matt keen inth same party as scott morrison said many members of his party have widespread belief they'd climate change.eater action on

the prime minister's response, knows that environment minister. judy. >> woodruff: fascinatingll and, miles, s about the situation there right now. >> well, there's beenn over the weekend, and that's helped a bit for the firefighters, allowed them to contain some places, by no means did it put everything out, and by no means does i solve a drught that has lasted three years. and the rain does have -- i's a two-edged sword, judy. i'm standing here, you can seein the soil beme. it's pretty much stripped, denuted, and too much rain can lead to mudslides, flash flooding, windy condition, and rain leads to thunderstorms, thunderstorms lead to lightningh and that' started many of these blazes. so it gives and it takes awaan people here are hunkered down because it is still early in this fire seson. judy? >> woodruff: still sounding like a long road back. miles o'brien reporting from

australia, from new soth wales. thank you, les. >> you're welcome, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us, comi up on the newshour: our politics monday team breakse downmpeachment trial and the latest from the campaign trail. and on this martin luther king day, fighting for equality in the workplace. before we look ahead to the political stakes of the upcoming impeachment trail, we want tost 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 impeachment. and secretary cohen joins me thank you very much.

>> good to be with you. >> woodruff: would have been asked this question a thousand times -- you're a freshmangr member of cs, serving in the judiciary committee, how hard was it to go against your party and vote to impeach president nixon? people tend to forget, it was tery partisan back in 1974, as well. ions were high, passions were certainly high as we. there were bomb threats, death threats, a lot going , but it wasn't as deep and angry as it is tod, and we didn't have social media back then, and we s didn't have fox newck then. i think the combination of fox and social media h contributed to driving us even further m aparing us angrier even than we were in the past. so it's a different atmosphere. it's difficult for members of congress to go against president trump. he punishes anyone who criticiz him, and even hisow intelligence community, his own -- our upinstitutions are

being politicized on a reul basis. from looking at the intelligence community, looking at the department, you go through all of the institutions, and anyone who disagrees with himis publicly shamed. and, so, it's more difficult for members today to go agast him, and there aren't as many "moderates" ft in the difference.party to make >> woodruff: you're saying it was hard for you but you're saying it would be harder today. i know it's impossible to compare exactly these cases against president nixon, against president clinton and now presidt trump, but how do yo see the strength of these cases against each one o these pridents, president trump compared to the others? >> well, if you look at president nixon, what did he dos to abuse hi office? money. borden rgery, paid hush ed the c.i.a. to interview with the f.b.i., created an enemies list. so you look at the actions he

took, they were directed toward making sure that he was going t cover up the misdeeds done by the plumbers. with respect to president trump, he also engagedn similar type conduct, namely to try to cover up what, in fac d heid, 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 s,procis power as president of the united states to use it for a personal goal, and that is, 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. ui don't think the rles have been put in place that will allow much fleoobility. >>uff: that's what i want to ask you aout because, right now, repthlicans are in majority, they have a narrow majority, but are they going to be wilng, some of them, enough of them, do you thin agree

to witnesses, to agree to allowe more ee? >> well, it remains to be seen. i think all of those who were not in primarily red states position.e in a more dif i think the only advice i give to them is do what you think is right, listen to the evidence. if there are any questions you need to raise, call the witnesses to clarify them. i look from it as a person who prosecuted cases and who defended cases, and, to me, the evidence is very clear. when you look at what the president di in his perfect phone call, i believe it was perfectly corrupt. i believe it was very clear what he had in mind in terms of, need a favor, though, having put in place his attorney and others to do all the work necessary to remove the professionals who is not right.. president, th >> woodruff: but do you believe right now some of the republicans we're looking at, whether susan collins who worked for you when you were in the

united states senate, wt on the suceed you in the senate, whether it's mitt romney or any of the otcaher repub, are going to vote, ultimately, for witnesses and potentially even impeach? >> i don't know. but i think -- i think cthey he sider the consequences. they may say and listen to the republicans on this thing,ng sawell, number one, the evidence isn't there. we obstructed the evidencid the prt obstructed the evidence but the evidence isn't there. number two, if the evidence is will, it's not an impeachable offense. mber three, we think you've exceeded your authorities and never should have become the investigator -- you have all those issues. ultimately, if they vote, in my judgment, to saye don't need additional witnesses, i think out. evidence is going to come it will be quite damning and damaging, and then they will be called upon by the constituency and say why didn't you go forward and ask fo at least more evidence so you could be more informed so we cod be more informed?

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 swr to deliver impartiality justice? will they do that, in your view? >> i don't know. all i know is they have to sa to themselves that i have an obligation, i've taken thisie oath, i be in the constitution, i believe this is the constitutional issha, i believethe president was either right or wrong. he either had innocent intent or he had corrupt intent. based on his past performance -- and here i would go back, just look at the record, whenever any official went against the president, he fired em or forced their 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 what s

zelensky iying near east to get the witness toy we need record that he will initiate a public investigation, then i think it becomes very clr wh the president had in mind and what he was trying to do and that so to use his office topt achieve a corurpose, namely taxpayers money to enforce and reinforce his support for the reelection. >> woodruff: former defense secretary con william cohen. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: thank you. >> woodruff: as the impeachment trial is set to start this next not want to lose focus on the race for the white house. were today, exactly one ye from the next president's inauguration and two weeks from the iowa caucuses. but as amna nawaz reports, in south carolina today, a show of unity among the democratic

contende hides deeper divisions on the trail. >> nawaz: a rare sight on the 2020 democratic campaiil-- 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 electability, progressive senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders appeared to smconcile, even as sanders' critics said he sed sexism in politics. >> do you think that gender iscl still an obsfor female politicians? >> 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, when pressed by reporters, didn't take the bait. >>n have no further comment this. i have b for a long time, we have worked together on many issues, and i've said all i'm going to say. >>awaz: the progressive htasefire comes as a new f brews-- this time between sanders and former vice president joe biden. >> what is your stance on soal

security? >> nawaz: biden was on the defense in iowa after a deceptively edited video, circulated on twitter by a senior sanders campaign advisor, appeared to show bid praising entitlement cuts. >> paul ryan was correct when he did the tax code, what's the first thing he decided we had to d after? social secury dicare. >> nawaz: the full 2018 speech shows biden was actuallyryocking then the speaker of the house. on saturday, biden accused tnd s campaign of misleading voters. >> iave been a gigantic supporter of social security from the beginning. it's a flat lie. they've acknowledged that this is a doctored tape. d i think it's beneath and i'mok forward and disownaign to come >> nawaz: but sanders didn't back down from the attack. >> that's just not true. it was not doctored. >> nawaz: and suggested biden was the one not being truthful. >> on the issue of social

security, time and time again joe biden has been clear in supporting cuts. >> nawaz: in this final push before the iowa caucuses, other candidates urged democrats to stay united. former south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg said the focus should be on beating dond trump. >> i know that the heat of the competition will i'm sure continue to have all kinds of w effectgo into the caucuses and beyond, but hopefuy wean keep our eye on the bigger picture because there >> nawaz: billionaire tom steyer agreed. >> this is going to be everyone getting gether and making this happen together or it is not going to happen. j >> nawaz: wiust two weeks before the crucial first-in-the- nation contest, over half of iowans remain undecided or on to changing their minds about a candidate. even the "new york times" editorial board was split on their endorsement. they backed both warren d minnesota senator amy klobuchar on sunday, declaring, "may the best woman win." for the pbs newshour, i'm amna

nawaz. >> woodruff: that brings us to politics monday. that's amy walter of the "cook political report" anic radio's "politics with amy walter." two weeks from the iowas caucuses, shining us from des moines. hand tamara keith of npr e with me. she co-hosts the "npr politics podcast." hello to both of you. it's two weeks from today those iowa caucuses. let's start by talking about the race. aim, you're there in des moines. i see you're indoors because it's a pretty cold time in iowas where he race stand rht now?>> judy, it is just as confg being here as it is reading about it or watching the polls from washington, d.c. voters here really are torn about what t do. we, in washington, think two weeks, that's right arthe corner. why haven't you made up your mind? here they feel like thy still have a gooamount of time to

vet all of the candidates, to see more candidates and to make that last decision. i've talked to a number of democrats who do believe there are voters who are going to go into caucus night still not completely sold on one candidate or the other, and they're going to watch. remember, when you're at a caucus, you're sitting with f neighboriends, others who live in youarea, an can be persuaded by those people, ultimately, to vote for one of those two candidates that they are decn.iding betw >> woodruff: they take the process very ser yiously. ta have been there a lot. you're not there right now, but you have been there a lot this cycle. y is it taking them so long? >> i think part of it is that a lot of voters are f on this idea of electability, of beating president trus. but thatsort of an amorphous thing and, at any given moment, any one of these candates may seem like the most electable until they rise to the top and gebeaten up a little bit in

the process. and voters just, that i hav spoken to, they've changed their minds so many different times, and, as amy says, they're very much open to persuasion. there's no, like, far and awa frontrunner at this point. there's sort of an upper tirr, but it isn't set in stone in y way. >> woodruff: and, so, amy, as amna was reporting, we'vseen this over the last week or so, this rift play out between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren, now there seems to be a new somethin going on between -- there is something going on between bernie sanrs d joe biden. how much does all that play into voter decions, do you think? >> well, with four candidatesly reunched at the top -- biden, buttigieg, sanrs, warren -- we can't quite figure out -- no one has figurgo out what ig to help one of those candidates ultimately

break through. noally, by this time, you can sort of feel maybe a trendng starr maybe someone having some momentum, as we get into you just don't feel it now -- again, i've only been here a couple of days so don't want to make too much of a blanket is trying to find a way to break out. show differences en you andis to your opponent. for bernie sanders, the deb over social security and medicare goes not just to that issue but really to th heart of the argument that bernie sanders has been making now for years which is that he is the mostnd authentic ate, 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 or ty won't pledge to do the sorts of things that bernie sanders is pledging to do. to make that really clear-cut here in these lat couple of

weeks, joe biden really leaning into electability, really acfocusing on the ft he mentioned in south carolina this week that it's notpu justing him on the top to have the ballot to get a democrat in the white house, but with biden on the top of the ballot, it'also going to help candidates underneath. if you want a democratic senate, he says, you wannt me ohe top of the ballot, because i will help to bring those other democrats along, especially in those states that aren't quite blue but are leaning red. >> woodruff: some of these candidates looking at bernie sanders and sayi t inflexibility they think is going to hurt him. >> right, and this is not the first time that sanders o his surrogates in campaign have gone after biden recently. this is part of a series of attempts to draw aontrast. it's kind of surprising because biden and sanders couldn't be more different. if you look at policy or look at the iraq war, look at any -- 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 choic >> woodruff: yeah, so go figure. >> right. >> woodruff: so turni quickly, you turn to impeachment, tam. you are here, you have been following the decisn we heard earlier from lisa about what tomorrow's going to loke, how leader mcconnell wants this to play out in the rly 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 who we working with the president's legal team. they are perfectly happy with the mcconnell rules that -- the arguments going posibly till 1:00 in the morning. they are totally fine with that. i think that the reality is that, unless something very dray dramatic happens, he will be soquitted. so i ways the democrats have a very high burden. the removal is there basically

is no democrat that would argue they hve enoughroblems to cross over to remove him from office, so part of their goal is to get as much in the record as possible and put republican senators, many up fort reelection, ust trump, but to put them in a rough spot. >>, oodruff: aw does it look from where you sit? >> it's not a topic you hear that much about and i think for so many voters it's like watching a seball game whre you know what the final score will be, so you wonder should t you reale in to watch te entire process. i do think there is a worry here from folks who where fans 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 doe wonder, ds it really matter whether or not they show up here, after all, ifou turn on television in dmoin -- ads so they have a presence here. remember the people who show up

at the caucuses are a very small peent of t overall demoatic electorate. these are the most active peters, so they are thople showing up, going to the events and seeing these candidates one on onethey are usi these events to make their decision. so not being here carries more weight than, say, a trational primary. the other important piece is not that the senators are trapped in washington and can't come to iowa, but they have to be silent during this enre trial. this is not something like the kavanaugh hearings wherese tors were getting a really big soapbox to make their case d those clips got aired on the news over and over again. they are basically -- youknow, they are basically off the air and out of people's minds -- or least out of their tv sets, maybe not out of their minds -- but they're not getting that level of coverage they would be getting if they were in iowa or somethingre doi back in washington where they had an ability to make their

case. >>oodruff: just about 20 seconds. this is very different from the caucuses where some of the candides can't talk. >> and guess what? 've never had impeachment and an election in the same year. i mean, if this really goes until 1:00 in the morning or late at night, these candidates won't even be ableoo on late night tv. >> woodruff: think about that and what that mans? >> think about that. >> woodruff: well, it's al going to unfold in the days and hours to come. tamera keith, amy walter, in iowa, thank you both. >> you're welcome. luther king's birthday isartin ollebrated, we end with reflections fromwood talent lawyer nina shaw. rwe profiled her as part facebook watch series, that moment when. shaw is an african american at entertainment indu 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 20th century fox many, many years ago, and getting into a real argument with the lawyer and he got up and he threw a a fime. i mean, it was a big, heavy file ani just ducked. and i just remember thinking afterwards as i was heading back to my office, like that was like a truly screwed up to do the guy physically assaulted me. and that i didn't think to call l him t on it and will cs superiors or anything like that. i always think like, you guys are smart and you're good at what you do and you're successful, bui don't think you could ha lived my life and still be in this room and i lived my life and i'm in this room and you had every 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. >> welcome to that moment when. i'm steve goldbloom. nina shaw is an entertainmentho lawyerrew 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.r we spoke to out her experience in the business and efforts to bring equality into the workplace. >> the environments i have worked in have often been psychologically bruising, have often been scarrinin different ways. but in my mind they don't compare to the environments that so many women work in where the tually physilly 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, in speaking up about 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, and you sit in that room, and you are the only person of color, you know that is wrong. you know thais unacceptable. and it is your job to say that to the people who represent you. the "new york times" ended up picking up the speech, and i think the title of the artle was something like, ä voice from behind the scenes asks tough quesons. i mean, i remember i got back to my office and immediately the agents called me and said, "i heard you told our clients to fire us all."an i said, no i didn't ll your clients to fire you, i told you to hire someone who looks like your clients. we're all fighting for the same thing, which is the end of inequities based on gender and race. i had a very clear sense when i was growing up that, and thingsn that were happto me and the things that i could take advantage of were all based on the sacrifices of other people. i always felt this incredible duty and i, and, and it probably

was because these things were scussed so openly in 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 on a stool id the kitchen would read the new york times to her and people would say, oh gosh, your mom must have really wanted you to tknow about news and all t. and no, my mom just wanted to know what was going on in the new york tim and she couldn't read it herself because she was doing something else. that's how she, fully integrated us into the world. i always had thisense of you really had to be a clear advocate for yourself because no one se is going to advocate 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 it has often felt sad and isolating. and it has always been something

that i don't want for the people who come behind me, or after me. you can be more open toy diversd inclusion. is, is you can be uncomfortable. ooery time you walk into a and everyone in that room looks just like you. you need to squirm. you need to feel like, this room doesn't worki or me. becausink it's only when we reac that point of discomfort, when we reached that point of what? this is not good. it's like i'm in a room that's too cold or too hot. and you need to feel it the minute you walk through the door. and i think until th happens, we're not going to see real change. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. please join us tomorrow morning for our special live coverage of the impeachment trail of president trump starting at 12:30 p.m. eastern. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and aere

tomorrow evening. u r all of us at the pbs newshour, thank d see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: along the columbia and snake rivers, travelers rthe routes forged by lewis and clark more than 200 years ago. american cruise license flee to victorian style paddle wheelers and modern river boats travel through american landscapes historic landmarks where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of "pbs newshour." al >> and by thed p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21 century.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -today on "america's test kitchen," becky shows bridget how to make the perfect herb-crusted pork roast, adam reveals his top pick for pot holders, dan uncovers the science of bubbly beverages, lisa reviews glass water bottles, and elle makes jngia roasted fingerotatoes