captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evendrg. i'm judy wf. on the newshour tonight: >> the question from senatondrs krameroung is for the counsel for the president. >> woodruff: questions of impeachment. senators continue to put thepr ecution and defense to the test, while the greater question of witnesses looms. then, on the ground in iowa, where the race is tight, and the first in the nation democratic primary caucuses are only a few days away. and, an unlikely weapon inns the fight agthe climate crisis: peer pressure.it how keeping upthe joneses can keep carbon emissions down. >> i see my neighbor put on a solar panel onis roof. well, maybe he knows something i don't know. and bere you know it, there's a nucleus in our neighborhood. we've all got solar panels. >> woodruff: all that and more,

on tonight's pbs newshour. ajor funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> on a cruise with american cruise lines, you can experience historic destinations along the across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of small ships explore american landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways.er aman cruise lines. proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> fidelity investments. >> collette. >> bnsf railway.

>> consumer cellular. >>arnegie corporation of n york. supporting innovations in engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org.on >> and with thoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possibley the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. senate may be on the eve,tates tonight, of deciding whether to call witnesses, beforepr decidig ident trump's fate. but first, the senators spentmo

long hours today posing questions to lawyers representing the president and the managers from the house of representatives. amna nawaz begins our coverage. >> nawaz: on this, the last day of questions in the impeachmen t trial sident donald trump, the battle of words began well lead house manager, adam schiff. >> yesterday, the psident's defenders argued that a president of the uniates could do whatever he wanted to secure his reelection. >> nawaz: that was a reference to this argument, made by alan dershowitz: >> and if a president does something which he believes will help him get elected, in the public interest, that cannot bee nd of quid pro quo that results in impeachment. >> nawaz: this morning, dershowitz tweeted to clarifd writing, "i t say or imply that a candidate could do anything to reassure his re-

election, only that seeking help in an election is not necessarily corrupt." when today's session began, the spotlight was on truth... >> lord, keep them from fear, gh they believe that your truth will triumph thrhem. >> nawaz: ...though the senators' questions reveed very different ideas on how to get ths e. especiallybigger question looms: whether or not 51 senators will vote to allow witnesses, like john bolton, whose upcoming book reportedly confirms president trump linked u.s. aid to ukraine to an investigation into a possible political rival, former vicese ent joe biden and his son d nter. democrats contin build the case for more evidence and wionesses, as with this ques from senator baldwin, fielded by house manager, jason crow:

>> given that the whithouse later respoded. manager schiff >> nawaz: republicans, as with this question from senators kramer and young, teed up the president's team's to respond. >> is the esident the first innocent defendant not to waive his rights? ad the answer is obviously no. we heard managerr say, "only the guilty hide evidence." "only the guilty don't respond to subpoenas." and manager nadler-- excuse me, manager schiff-- say, "this is not the way innocent people well, of course, that's contrary to the very spirit of our american justice system. >> nawaz: house manager schiff expresd frustration over the ght to enforce for subpoenas, now unfolding in court.

>> so the judge says, "if the congress can't enforce its subpoenas in court, then what re?edy is the and the justice department lawyers' response is "impeachment.ac" iment! ( laughter ) you can't make this up!: >> nawpublican senator rand paul left the chamber to share his frustration, after his question, reportedly naminrathe alleged e whistleblower, was rejected. >> the presiding officer declines to read the question as submitted. >> my question's not about the whistleblower. my question's about two peop b who are-- han overheard talking about impeaching the president, years in advance of a ocess, that was then created to get the impeachment process >> nawaz: back in the chamber, both sides warned senators about the precedent they set in this trial. the president's team argued that convicon would undo a mocratic decision. >> that we are literally at the dawn of a new season of elections. i me, we're at that season now. and yet, we're talking aut impeaching a president.

>> they want no slow it down and take up the electionier and continue this political charade. it's also wrong.wr it's alsng. let's leave it to the people of the united states. >> nawaz: house managers countered, an acquittal would endanger democcy. >> simply to try to cheat in the next election. this is not a banana republic. this is the democratic republic of the unite it's wrong.merica. >> nawaz: how those warnings resonated with senators, and which version of the they believe, will be revealed in their upcoming votes. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: a o lisa desjardinsnd yamiche alcindor are at the capitol today, and with me now. so lisa, we are listening as the estimate question and sws continue, but we also are

watching closely to see about the decision on i witnesses. annow you and the rest of the team have been looking at that. >> that's right. we have a lot of reporting today, including from daniel bush. they heard from one of th leading senate repubcans, senator john barasso, who says avey're confident thy do the vote to block witnesses. i have now had conversations with half dozen other source, both republican and democrat, who confirm that. theyicdo believe repus are on their way or do have the votes to block witnesses. one of the key swings seems to be senator lamar alexander of tennessee. as two sources say, they believe he is now in favoof locking witnesses. he has not made that announcement. his office has confirmed that, but that seems to be one of the forces leading this newfound confidence for the republicans on this question. >> woodruff: so yamiche, what are they saying at the white house about their ability to block witnesses, to make sure that witnesses are not

>> last week the white house was feeling very, very nervous about going to be able to block witnesses. that has completely changed. talked to a senior white house source today who is working on the president's legal team. that persond, we're going to be cautious. it's till the senate. nothing is settled until there is a actualte but we feel better than where we were yesterday. he said, now, are we where we want to be? not yet. they said they're willing at senator alexander. this is a senator ws close to mitt romney, and as a result, they're wondering whether or not he might change his mind, but they're feeling as though the president will get what he wants, which is the trial to be over by this week and for him to be able to have a state of the union address where he can say, i was acquit. the democrats impeached me. they tried t remove me from office,ut i'm still here. other things to note, i had a pretty tense exchange with kellyian conway, hia senior house councilor.

i asked her about public statements that former chief of staff john kelly, general jo kelly, has said he believed john bolton if th manuscript he's written says that the president tied aid to democrats. she wouldn't answer the question but shen said, i don't make anything of it, but i do respece l kelly. we want to not attack the people who say they believe john bolton. >> woodruff: lisa, given all of this, you're talking the democrats. how do they plan to approach c these neple day, and what could now lead to an acquial of the president? >> well, i get a sense of discouragement from some senate democrats behind closed doors, but they also say the fight is not over. they hope to still sway some votes their way. if they do lose the votes on witnesses expected tomorrow around dinnertime, i then -- we expect senator schumer on behalf

of docrats tbegin filing a series of motions at some point. he has a few o he can do that.en one opportunity could be the motion to acquit the president itself. this gets a little widey, jt ud, at motion is amendable. that means in this trial saet, demots can propose as many amendments onas many topics as they want, including john bolton. we may see repeat of that very long night w had last week. also on the hordes, we se another divide potentially. house speaker nancy pelosi said ld beoes not lieve it wou an acquittal without any witnesses. that seems to be filtering teino the se independent angus king of maine is saying now it would not be an exoneration with no witnesses. so even defining what has happened could be another division in the country after this trial. one more thing, judy, i think that sena republicans are consering seriously the idea of an investigation of the bidens in some form, a hearing, a more formal investigation?

i don't know, but it's 'ssomethg thn the air right now ter this trial is over. >> woodruff: fascinating some yamiche, meantime, the president himself has taken off for michigan and iowa today. what ig he sayinabout this trial right now? >> well, both he and his legal team are saying this a trial that's going well for em. alan dershowitz was tweeting today. he said essentially his statements are being taken out of context. yesterday he got a lot of pushback because he id the president going after something that's in his interest d in the interest of the country can be one in the same. he got a lot of pushback. as a result he's been trying o really make the case that he's being taken out of context.we f seen in the senate trial several members of the president's legal team also doino that. but onhe president, of course, the president has been many michigan. he was supposed to be ralking aboute, but he then turned to impeachment and said this was all a disgraceful thi that was happening in our nation. where he will have a cpaign

rally. but again, the president is focused on impeachment. gettingeelected next year, he's still very much focused on making sure that his legacy remains intact and he's not going to be removed from office. the white house has lt al along that he would be acquit. but this feels even better for the white house, that they might not have to deal with witnesses or deal with the court fight when it comes to bobassador john on. so they're feeling great tonight. you can expect that the spirits as he goeo iowa.d >> woodruff: all right. terrific reporting from both of you. yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, we thankou. and now, i'm joined by two people who have been analyzing this trial with us since day one, or at least the last few hours:ma aret taylor. she was former chief counsel and deputy staff director for the senate foreign relations committee. she is currently at th brookings institution, and senior editor at lawfare. and, john hart.

he worked for then-congressman tom coburn, republican of oklahoma, during the impeachment of president clinton. welcome to both of you. it's good toave you with us. let's talk about today and think about you both have been paying attention closely to th questions the senators have been posing back and forth, taking turns from each party. john hart, are we learning anything new from this exposition, if you want the call >> well, judy, i don't know that we're learning a lot new, but i think both side are doing a very good job of delivering their talking points. the talking points, democrats are sang that the republican don't want witnesses. and republicans i thinnehave a good job describing this core argument that this whole procesis a charade and it violates what some senators have called the golden rule of impeachment, and that golden rule says impeachment has to be bipartisan, and republicans, of course, have played video of nancy pelosi, chuck schumer saying that in effect, that an impeachment that is partisan on its face is illegitimate. m so w see a win for republicans, but this is a loss

for our republic. >> woodruff: margaret taylor, what about... what do you see new that's illuminated here that we didn't know before, much of anything? >> i have a slightly different view. while we have seen questions that arque repetitivetions that do allow the parties to repeat the talking points that they havdone before, what we also saw from a fe senators, in particular some republicans, sometimes on a bipartisan basis asking some questions tat lead me to thinkth they'rking, what happens after this trial is over. so, for example, a group of republicans ask the parties, you ow, is there legitimate situation where a president could request a foreign government announce an investigation into a u.s. citizen when there is no investigation going on by u.s. law enforcement? is that --is there ever an appropriate rattle time for that? another example that i thought iseresting is that senators

on a bipartisan basis were asking about what about this mixed motives question, when a president is ing something that is withi his constitutionally assigned duty, if he has a corrupt motive but also potentially a non-corrupt motive, does that matter? so what i see is senators looking beyond what the writing is on the wall. the esident will almost certainly be acquitted, but they are looking beyond and saying,hi what doesmean for the norm for our country and our democracy going fo >> woodruff: john hart, as we move closer to votes on all of this, whis mattering more? is it the interpretation of the constitution, or is it the facts as each sigh sees it? what do you think? >> i think what matters more for the country is the constitution. as margaret indicated, there is a very healthy discussion about what precedents are being set as we have this discussiord what is stanf impeachment. the founders created a system with impeachment where it is a

political process. they put it in the senate so that it would be a decision made by elect officials. the burden is one e people. it's for us to decide what behavior we tolerate. so in some degreess been a productive conversation, but it's been highly partisan and poisf:ous. >> woodrf you look back to the nixon process, which didn't lead the impeachment because he stepped down, te parties came together ultimately, not all, but a number of publicans joined with democrats. it was different. >> yes. that's true. and you know, we're in really seeing that here. but i guess my hope going forward iserhat ahis is over senators can get together, figure out what they might agree on in terms of what isri appre behavior for the president going forward. >> woodruff: margaret, what about this queion that i posed to john about wt ultimately is going to mattermore, is it the facts, is it politics, is it the constitution, al >> so my view is that the arguments madeere in particular by professor

dershowiy tz actuallll have a long lifetime i suspect, because they're now... this theory of what the president can do is now going to be a large part of the sort ofmall cannon of presidential impeachments. so i do think that where the legal a wuments abot the constitution requires will actuallyloom large going forward. i think that's going to be very important moving forwardoo. >>uff: john hart, as somebody who worked in the senating we mentioned you worked for many years for former nator tom coburn of oklahoma, what's it like siwh the senate they are facing a pretty -- not prey, vry consequential vote like this d they probably have a sense that it's going to go down the way it's going to go down. >> i think ere is a lot of reflection. there's a lot of pressure. there's a lot of fatie,ort mpers sometimes. i think what's interesting and

troublin about where we are right now is that it has gotten so poisonous and sopartisan, and i think it's degenerated a few times. when coburn, he was in the house during the clinton impeachment. he ended up supporting the impeachment of president clinton, but tois credit, he sounded the alarm on the partnership 20 years ago. he went to his leadership and, sae can't just run on impeachment. what is our agenda? and newt gingrich said, well, ll clinton has already motivated our base for us. in hindsight, history has not been kind the that impeachment,t becauseally started by -- there was a movement. to describe bill clinton as an illegitimate president. weday that's exacy what hav what we should fear, losing isn't fun, but what's worse thac ons with consequences are elections without consequence, and null fight the results of a election are very grave and serious thing. >> woodruff: ve quick question to you, margaret. s you weing some of the process procedures tomorrow

could beehind closed doors is.a healthy for the country that the american people may not be able toee the final deliberations here? >> it's a very good question. sometimes senators behind closee doors ca much more frank with one another when they feel that not all their constitues are watching with every eye on them. so actually, closed-door deliberations can be fua he thing. if senators want to find a way forward to figure outomort of cathartic moment to have. however, i don't think it will be healthy if americans don't havea rally good understanding of why their senator made the decisi that they made. senators obviously i think will need to go outnd explain to their constituents what their vote, is and i do hope that is done in an open session. >> woodruff: margaret taylor, john hart, very good to have both of you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: appreciate it. >> woodruff: please continue to

tune in to pbs as our special live coverage of the impeachment trial continues tonight. w and then agan it resumes tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern-- that-- and online on our website or youtube. woodruff: in the day's her news, while the sena focused on impeachment, thhouse of curtail the president's war-t making powers. majority democrats repealed the 20 authorization of the war in iraq, and barred funds forn military actainst iran. the bills have little chance in the republican-run senate. the world health organization has now declared the coronavirus outbreak in china to be a global health emergency officials in china confirmed re than 7,800 cases toda

with 212 deaths. the w.h.o. said the virus is spreading worldwide, despite china's effos. >> it's not, actually, because china is not doing what it can. 's actually doing more than what china is required to do. this is to protect, especially, countries with weaker health systems. and to prepare for that. >> woodruff: meanwhile, healthre officialrted the first case of the virus spreading person-to-person in the united states. a chicago man contracted it froi hi, who had been to china. the u.s. now has six confirmed cases in all. back in this country, a woman who says president trumpaped her is asking to have his d.n.a. tested. columnist e. jean carroll says 1990s.sault occurred in the her attorneys say th d.n.a. may be on the dress that she was wearing. carroll has su mr. trump for defamation, after he accused her of lying about the alleged attack.

the states of virginia, nevada, and illinois filed suit today to force rtification of the equa rights amendment to the u.s. constitution. the 1972 amendment guarantee equal righ for women. on monday, virginia became the 38th state to ratify-- the number needed for ratification. the u.s. justice departmentys t is too late, because a deadline set by congress expired decades ago.nu ther of u.s. troops injured by iranian missile attacks in iraq this month hasag risen. the chair of the joint chiefs, that more than 50 were hurt.day milley said the injuries were mild, and defense secretary mark esper dismissed criticism of president trump for calling them "headhes." >> he is very concerned about the health and welfare of our service members, particularly those who were involved in the operations in iraq, and he understands the natu of these injuries. >> woodruff: separately, esper

said the pentagon asking permission from iraq to deploy missile defense batteries at bases housing american troops. life expectancy in the u.s. is on the rise again, forhe first time in four years. the centers for disease control and prevention reports that babies born in 2018 are likelyab to livt 78 years and eight months. the slight irease is du largely to declining deaths from cancer and drug overdosesp . the trministration moved today to resha medicaid, and curb feder spending on the program for the first time. the plan allows some federal funding to be converted into so-called block grants, giving states more control. federal share.t limits the are now covered under medicaid. the u.s. economy grew 2.3% last year-- the slowest rate since

president trumtook office. commerce department numbers today showed business investment band consumer spending hah dropped. and on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gaid 125 points to close at 28,859. the nasdaq rose 23 poind the s&p 500 added ten. still to come on the newshour: how peer pressure can help stem the threat of the climate crisis. a report from iowa, with just days to go before the first vos of the democratic primy. and, much more. >> woodruff: with just a few days to go beforthe iowa presidential caucus, president trump landed in des moines this evening toy supporters. national correspondent stephanie

sys at the site of the ral at drake university. hi, stephanie. so the rally hasn't started yet, but tell us about the atmosphere. >> well, it is just electric. these rallies feel like rock concert i andhink that is by design. as soon as you walk into thane auditoriumby the wa, there are more than 7,000 people that can fit into this iauditorium, and i imagit will be packed as these trump rallies are. but as you walk in thereare bright lights and rock music blarg through amplifiers. they amp up the crowd th,is w and you can really feel th energy. president trump is due to speak here just hours after he gives a speech in michigan in which he's expected to out the that free trade deal that he signed with mexico and canada. we would expect that he would also tout thenat accomplis here at this rally. you know, i spoke to a trump supporter right before i came on the air, and he compared donald

trump to garth brooks, sayingru, "president is to garth brooks of politics.wa h all this interested in politics. he didn't even vote for trump in 2016, but here he is at this rally planning to vote for trp in the election in november because he feels like he speaks to him and he feels like hewas never interested in politics until this candidate took the stag. this ral, judlso a reminder of whoever ends upe being th democratic standard these raucous, highly energetic rallies of several thousand people that is undoubtedly p t of thetrump campaign strategy four days ahead of the iowa caucus to remindolks of the muscular support that he has nine points in 2016.he wo >> woodruff: and that reminds me, stephanie, you have beenin tato voters who are going to those democratic caucuses.an

what you tell us about the state of their race? >> well, i'll tl you, we have been to six presidential campaign events in the three days, and those events contrast greatly with what we're seeing at this rally, so it seems like the strategy for the democratic candidates this week is to hold small, intimate events where they can get their message across where thecan make eye contact with voters, where they can shake their hand, maybe answ q a fstions at town halls. you'll hear about them talking -- you'll hear them talking about substantive policy issues, the policy platform, and every single one of them will talk about beating trump. we did attend one of vice presidenjoe biden's events again, it was in a high school gymnasium. abou175 people gathered it was a highly staged event. and every single tceime the president mentioned "beat trump" that's when he got the biggest

applause line. as you know, judy, the pol right now showing a very tight race at thtop. but you really get the sense that candidates are desperate for every single vote, and, in fact, after vice president biden gave this grand speech, he got h veble message at the end, which was please help me. i need you to vote on monday. >> woodruff: stephanie sy, fascinating, reporting from des moines just a few days ahead of the caucuses. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: we return now toe the latest on ronavirus outbreak. william brangham has a closer look at toy's developments.t' >> brangham: tright, judy, we've seen this past week the rapid spread of this virus in china, and i escape to at least 14 other nations. as we reported before, the w.h.o. has declared this a global public health emergency,

and we've now seen the first confirmed person-to-person transmission here in the u.s. this all means, weto what dr. anthony fauci. he's the director of the nationgy institute of all and infectious diseases at the n.i.h. dr. fauci, welcome back to the news hour. we've seen this first case, a 6 60-something year old woman who went to china, got the virus, came home and apparently infected her husband once shewa back here. we know how viruses operate, especially among people who are living tother. on some level this is to be expected, but peopl seeing this news, what would you say to them for their alarm and their >> you know, i think you just said it. this is something to be expected when you have someone who is in very close contact with another individual that is infected. it is not surprising that there's transmission. the thing at would be of concern and that we're watching very carefully is what you call

sustained transmission from one person to another to another to another. the system here right ow is that that individual who w just recently infected from a person who acs ally infected in china, came here, and then infected a close partnerthat individual is now under isolion, and the contthts whom tt person came into, those individuals are now beingr ed. so the public health system is now on top of that what the concern globally is, the rapidsustained person-to-person-to-person transmission, which is going o rightnow, certain to a great degree in china, and the reason the w.h.o. declared this a public health emergency of international concern is because in trother cos outside of china, we're starting to see that stained transmission from person to person to person to person. that's the thing yoneed to be concerned about. but right now the risk in theta

uniteds is still low. but with the same breath i say that, i say we are taking this very, very seriously as public >> brangham: in your presstists. conference earlier this week, you kept stressing the need fo more information, for more data, for more samples to come out of china. are you getting the cooperation and the information and the sharing you need from chinese officials to best do your job? >> you know, the answer is yes, but i think we can doetter. if you compare the transparency during the sars outbreak in 2002, everyone realized that they were egregiously non-transpart and that delayed things a long time. that's different now. they really are being open, but what we would like to see is the actual data and tofhe patterns disease that are going on there oursels, because what happens there wll inform us better as to what our policies will be

here. so it looks like wee getting many that direction. the w.hmm o. -- w.h.o. is getting a group put together to go there, hopefully including us, that would actually take a first hand, on-theground lo at the data. g brangham: there is a fair amount of modelming out of hong kong and other parts of the world looking at the current thread and indicating thais may turn into a real global pandemic. do you weave that's true, or do to make that call?'s t >> no, i think you have to be realistic and say it possible that it could turn into a global pandemic. that's the reason why we're doing everything we can to prevent that. i think to deny the possibility would be unrealistic. and that's the reason w wre preparing for the worst. whether it's going nto hap, we have no way of predicting what the odds of that are. the chinese are doing rather dramatic things to try and contain that within their own country. thede of locking down 50

million people to prevent thei r frng in and out of certain areas is a very, very dram way to try and containq-that. what we're doing here is the typical, classical public health measure, trying the keep people who arenfected out of the country, and then if someone does get in, to isolate them and to prevent them from infecting. othe hopefully those public health measures will work. but we still need to prepare for the worst and we know we are s king tnd the general public of the united states and are taking this very, very we seriously. >> brangham: in just the short bit of time we have left, i imagine that this has got to be difficult for you, dealing with these fears about handful of virus cases here in the u.s. when we have another virus, then uenza virus, that has already sickened millions of americans. that's ten 8,000 temperature's lives here in this country alone.

how do you help americans balance those concerns and risks over the fear of a virus coming here versus the one we already have? >> well, i think we have been through this many times in so many other situations. the fear of theunknown and what might happen almost always supersedes the concern of something that actually is ppening and causing a lot of damage. and you're absolutely correct. a are in the middle flu season, an we have more disease even,ath from flu than you know new york some countries even have with this outbreak. so the eissue is w should concentrate on protecting oursves from influenza, which we know is patterned at the same time as we prepare for something that we're in the familiar with, bcause it's and-new inf'section. it a balance. >> brangham: anthony fauci, >> good to be with you.

>> woodff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: writer malcolm gladwell gives his "brief but spect" take on talking to strangers. and, the u.s. postal service debuts a new forever stamp, as we celebrate the life of ournd frgwen ifill. election voting certainly can be affected by our peers, our friends, our neighbors that is also true with some of our economic choices, and what we buy. tonight, economics correspondent paul solman explores how those forces could potentially be marshaled for other constructive purposes it's part of our regular series, "making sense." >> the man in the middle is the hidden camera subjec he has just arrived from an employment agency. >> reporter: 50 years ago, allen tame by today's standards--

using the hidden camera technique pioneered on histv how, "candid camera." ♪ now the test is progressing >> reporter: in this bit, an unsuspting job applicant arrives for an interview. fellow applicants in the waiting room-- funt's undercover confederates-- start disrobing. ♪ people will follow obediently♪ >> reporter: economist robert hs frank calls eer-pressure- like phenomenon "behavioral contagion." but it doesn't just lead to humiliation... >> are you ready? >> reporter: ...or explain thees bad outcf mob behavior. contagion" could be a key toal solving our st pressing problems-- even climate change. >> shifts in public opinion occur very rapidly, very unpredictably. and it's because what i think about somethg depends on what people around me think about it.

>> reporter: consider same-sex 20 years ago, justut of ten americans supported it. today, a solid two-thirjods ty is in favor. frank's new book, "under the influence: putting peer pressure to work," argues that behavioral contagion can be a force for environmental good. it's an about-face, seeing asit how he's been g for decades about how keeping up with-- or ahead of-- the joneses has been an economic plague. luxury fever, published in 1999, explained a decade in which house sizes doubled compared to homes in the 1950s. s.u.v. sales quadrupled. >> the reason we buy such heavy cars, the reason we build such big houses, is that other people like us have begun doing that. >>eporter: even tiny trumansburg, new york, near cornell university, where franke te has its share of mcmansions.

>> that was built in 2007. it is approximately 4,200 square fe. >> reporter: par for the course, says realtor lindsay hart that's what people wanted. >> reporter: and why did they want it? >> the people at the top led this charge. and they d what people do, when they get more money in every ratum-- they build bigger when they have more money. >> and as these bigger homes re being built, i think that pushed up the standard for the nterage square footage of a home and what people >> so the norm just shifted upwards. >> reporter: luxury fever. financially dicey... environmentally damaging, as bigger hoes and vehicles absorbed more resources to but look, says bob frank, since we're hardwired to take our cues om others, why not put behavioral contagion to good use? and we can, he says. >> the contagion works in bh directions. the rise in s.u.v. ownership was explosive. some bought them; others felt compelled to do liwise. when some abandon them, the decline in s.u.v. ownership will

be jusas explosive. >> the trend is now smallhoer s. >> reporter: in the same local development where mcmansions once bloomed, the latest model is half the size, reflecting a nationwide trend. is it chic to own a smaller home now? >> it's definitely not seen as a negative. so i guess, sure, i guess "chic" uld be a good word for it. >> that's right. it costs much less to heat a small home than a b o. but the more important eect is the influence that they have on s.her >> reporter: consider those solar panels, says frank. a i see my neighbor put on solar panel on his roof. well, maybe he knows something i don't know. and before you know it, there's a nueus in our neighborhood. we've all got solar panels. >> reporter: well, not exactly. bob frank wanted to put solar nels on his roof, but the house didn't get enough sun. there was, however, an ternative: buying panels in a solar farm, an array that doesn't power his house, directt feeds electricity into the local grid.

>> i don't think i want to call myself a solar power magnate, but i own a she of it. >> this is a map of most of the installations we've done. >> reporter: joe sliker runs renovus, a solar energy firm in ithaca that counts bob frank as a customer. is is ithaca here. >> yeah, this is ithaca in the center area. >> reporter: the point is, when you zoom into downtown... >> you've got one, two, three, four, five, six different two-block area. >> reporter: and outside of town, peer pressure also seems to work. >> five, l within about three blocks of each other. >> reporter: and even in the woods. >> there's one customer that could have solar on hinging post road, and that's where it started. and then the neighbors all tried to get it and couldn't-- oo reporter: because it's shaded? >> too shaded, yep. but these customers have all put their panels on solar farms instead. >> reporter: do the neighbors brag to each other >> yeah. oh, it's a "keeping up with the joneses" thing, for sure. >> reporter: keeping up with their economizing, too, another aspect of peer pressure. >> the cost of solar in the last seven yearhas dropped by about

80%. at this point, solar is the cheapest form ofthlectricity you can get. >> reporter: of course, all this depends on having enough peers. the six degrees of kevin bacon. >> the idea is that any actor,. alive or dead, can be connected to me through our work in six steps or less.to and i'm goinive you an example. rudolf valentino in 1922 was in "beyond the rocks" with gerude astor, who did "daddy long legs" in 1955 with james cromwell, who was in "beyond all boundaries" in 2009 with me. that gives rudolf vantino a "bacon number" of three. ( laughter ) >> the fact that we are vastly more closely connect to one another than anyone everag ed really is the heart of why we influence one another so strongly. >> reporter: so then, buying smaller cars or houses, putting up solar pels-- will behaviorl contagion alone save us? don't we need policy as well to

rescue the earth? >> yes, we should crge people for discharging co2 into the atmosphere, just as economists have said forer. what's new in the story is that the effect of doing that will be agines.bigger than anyone that's a whole area that's ripe for progress in economics. increasingly, electric billsing. show how your usage compares to the neighbors. and, in a case of corporate contagion, amazon, google, microsoft, and starbucks have all recently made big pledges tu t their carbon emissions. one last question, though-- if bob frank's own roof isl- paee, how can he be the pro-social typhoid mary who i positivefects his neighbors? turns out he just had to done what he lefrom this story: put up a sign that he's gone solar too, with panels down on the farm-- even more cost- efficient there, by the way, than on his house.e for bs newshour, correspondent paul solman, in

and around ithaca,ew york. >> woodruff: each week on "brief but spectacular," we >> woodruff: each week on "brief but spectacular," we invite you walk in the shoes of someone new. tonight's episode features author malcolm gladwell, who tells us what to look for when meeting someone for the first time. his latest book is called "talking to strangers." gladwell also hosts the podcastt "revisioistory." >> what i leenned about our unters with strangers is that we're in too much of a hurry. we seize on what availableit evidence ihere and jump to conclusion, and we are probably not as aware as we should be in thatocess.y mistakes we make every time you meet someone nee, th is a thrill of anticipation. you're presented with a puzzle, which is who is this person,

what do they want, what are they like, whte motithem? it's easy to create the illusion of intimacy and cate the illusion that you understand the person that you're talking to, but you should be careful, because you probably don't. when a judge confronts a defendant in an attempt to decide whether they should be given bail or not, how good are prey at making that judgment? they're trying tict is the person so dangerous that they shouldn't be released or so no dangerous that you should. you discover that judges do a very bad job of that, and that's because they're human being, auburn human d beingsng a bad job of summing up in ae- nute conversation between a defendant and a jung. the judge doesn't nearly have enough details to make lea reasonnd accurate assessment. i think we should be aware that a lot of what we consider to be conflict is not colict. it's misunderstanding. the story of sandra bent may be the most heartbreaking of that series of high-profile encounters from law enfcacement

and af americans. she is aoung woman who was pulled over by a police officer. she was distressed and h thought she was dangerous. those are two extremely very different consequences. >> you just opened my car door. you're threating to drag m m out ofy own car. >> get out of the car! >> she was futhhest thing of a threat, but he per cede it that way. that ended in tragedy. we have an enormous amount of curiosity. thatrives u to reach conclusions. i don't mean to temp theircu osity. i mean to extend it. replace human ju, but tonot assist it. we're starting to do that with things like art officiawh intelligenceh are just ways of helping human beings correct for some of their biases. we are trusting engines. that's a good thing. at's an easy thing fr me to accept because i grew up in tario in th'70s.

it's very easy to accept the fundamental notion that we'rtte off trusting strangers. we have to slow down and take our time and be willing to conside the possibility that people are more complicated than we assume. my name is malcolm gladwell. this is my brief but spectacular take on talking to strangers.>> oodruff: you can find more on our website atcular" essays www.pbs.org/newshour/brief. some people leave a mark long after they're goneen. fill is one of them. and today, her smile can stick to any message you write.en my fwas honored with a forever stamp, and the moment was celebrated at her spiritual home. it was an event that drew stamp collectors...

>>nond so, because of the hor she's receiving today, i wanted to come to the ceremony. >> woodruff: ...and gwen ifill fans, from far and wide. >> a stamp is something yoteput on your o send to your friends. people all over this country will be doing that, and they're going to know why i chose the gwen stamp, because she was thoughtful, she was kind, and she was dedicated to the american public. >> woodruff: >> woodruff: the us. postal service officially unveiled the "gwen ifill black heritage forever stamp" at tia dedi ceremony at the metropolitan a.m.e. church in washington, d.cr, gwen's brotert, accepted the honor on behalf of the ifill family, and recited a poem he wrote. >> it is titled "gwen forever." e.wen's smile. her confident sm compassionate, consoling, cognizant, beams out at us.po erity has given its stamof

approval. when we have something to say that's too difficult or complicated to express in a text or over the phone, she will be with us. our memories, now directed andp, shill fade over time, just as our lives will. but gwen's image, legacy, spirit, will endure forever." >> woodruff: gwen's stamp puts her in tpantheon of other black trailblazers honored with a stamp, including rosa parks, dr. martin luther king, jr, ida b. wells and jackie robinson. former attorney general eric holder was one of gwen's closest frids >> today, more than ever, in this city, at this time and on this day, the need for her is painfully acute. this is a time for jourlists to be brave, manding, unyielding, persistent, and committed tothharintruth

with the nation. >> woodruff: gwen's career in journalism began in newspapers: the "baltimore sun," the "washington post" and the "new york times."d she television in 1994 with a stint at nbc news. >> even marginal progress could be affected... >> woodruff: then it was on to pbs, in 1999 moderating "washington week in review," and becoming one of the fst black women to host a national political program. >> and to our new senior correspondent, gwen ifill. welcome. >> woodruff: here at the newshour, for 17 yea her work took her around the country... >> this weekend, the political yin and yang of a crowded field all descended on iowa at once. >> woodruff: ...reporting on singing legends...dow >> how do you handle the weight of the diva-ness of it all?

you have a lot of flair. >> woodruff: ...moderati vice presidential debates... >> i want to talk to you about aids. not ai in africa or china, but right here in this country.an >> woodruff: .interviewing heads of state. >> the notion that somehowa amer somehow in decline is just not borne out by the facts. >> but it resonates among a lot of aggrievedpl p who are voting in big numbers for donald trump. >> woodruff: in 2016, at the age of1, gwen died of cancer, devastated. colleagues and fans as she rose higher in her career, gwen mentored many aspiring young journalists,y especiamen of color. her pastor, the reverend william h. lamar iv, said gwen believed her connections to african american communities was essential. >> gwen did not seek nor did sh accept the tantalizing offer to graduate from her blackness.

gwen found gifted black women,ed and opdoors for them that she had to kick down. >> woodruff: during today's ceremony, gwen's work and values also were recognized by two former presidents, obama and clinton. longtime journalt michelle norris was one of heesr cl friends. >> it is fitting that gw's image is on a stamp, and that stamps are the way that we communicate and remain connected with each other. because gwen was one of those people malcolm gladwell might call a connector she loved bringing people together. >> woodruff: her cousin, sherilynn ifill, president of the n.a.a.c.p. legal defense fund, and many others treated the day as a celebration. >> nothing has done more to heal the pain of losing her than those three simple words. "gwen ifill forever." and at this moment in our country, those words mean so

much. for our famllily, "gwen i forever" means that our parents' and our grandparents' struggles were not in vain. they live on in each of us, forever. >> woodruff: the gwen ifill black heritage stamp went on salet u.s. post offices nationwide today. >> woodruff: it was a beautiful ceremony today. i was gwen lives on inside each one of us at the newshour every day. and online, you can find a link to watch the whole ceremony for gwen.n that'surebsite, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that is the newshour for now. you can continue watching our ongoing special coverage ofhe impeachment trial this evening, on your pbs station or online on our web or youtube pages, andng again staromorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern. i'm judy woodruff. for all ofus at the pbs newshour, thank you, and we'll see you soon.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> before we talk about your investments-- what's new? >> well, audrey's exnscting... >> t >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what w can adjust >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you cod sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, a anange in is always part of the plan.>> american cruise lines. >> bnsf raway. >> consumer cellular. >> collette. >> the ford foundation. working with vionarieeson the frontlof social change worldwide.

>> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and imprrfed economic mance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was mae possible by rporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbv station frwers like you. thank you. ns

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♪ hello,nd everyone, a welcome to "amanpour & co." here is what's coming up. this is a total disastrous situation which is a serious departure of what the whole international order iabout. >> palestinians reject the u.s peacplan. the rest of the region is lukewarm. we'll hearrom the palestini prime minister. and -- mr. speaker, let's be clear, this is a problem that's bedevilled the world for decades. no peace plan is perfect. >> the british prime minister supports trump's plan while also seeking a post-brexit u.s. trade deal. but is this in britain's best interest? former u.k. foreign secretary philip hammond join membership on the changing