judy: good evening. on the newshr to lead, ending america's longest war. the u.s.-taliban agreement that could end 18 years of fighting in afghanistan. then, amna nawaz catches up with jusda's democratic voters hours before they head to the polls. >> if you are not ainformed person, you are letting that pass you by. judy: plus, inside venezuela, the suffering children endure as the economic freefall wears on. >> i've had girls with lower cognitive abilities and learnis procescause the lack of a proper diet. they've fallen asleep in the kindergarten area. judy: all that and more on

tonight's pbs nehour. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has bn provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. onnectshe engine that us. >> when it comes to wireless, consumer cellular gives iom custs the choice. our plans give you as much or as little as youant and our u.s.-based customer service team is on hand to help.

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i'm stephanie sy. we will return to judy woodruff after these headlines. u.s. intelligence agencies the presidential campaign ofaid democratic candidate bernie trump.s inddition to president the sanders teash confirmed a gton post report today his campaign received a briefing about mosc's efforts. in california, the vermont senator warren russiat to stay u.s. elections. we will have more on russia's activities in this election year later in the program. there's been a potential breakthrough in the war in afghistan. if it holds, the u.s. and the taliban will sign the first phase of a peace agreement. that could pave the way for ar broaal to end the 18 year long war. u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo released a statement saying challenges remain but the

progress provides hopend represents a real opportunity. we will take a closer look at afghan peace prospects after the news summary. hethe worlth organization warned today that the window of opportunity to containio the internl spread of the coronavirus is closing. south korea has come the latest front in the outbreak. the company declared a health emergenc multiplied.re have officials closed schoo and band services at a church that most of thsick attended. >> no one has entered the church since tuesday. we did disinction work twice. right now, all the work is complete. stephanie: in china, the number of new infantions fell for her day. chinese officials have recorde over 76,000 cases.

moreen than a d deaths so far have been confirmed outside of mainland china. in syria, government-backed russian warplanes targeted the last rebel held areas. insurgents and government favces blasted artillery. turkeys president again called for an end to the syrian backed offensive there to stop the growing humanitarian crisis. iran held its parliamentary elections today and what is seen as a referendum on hard-line leadership. tehran band 7000 potential candidates from running, including many moderates and reformists. in tehran, those who came to vote said they are feeling the strain from u.s.ns sanct that sent iran's economy into recession. >> is the first time i'm voting for a parliamentary candidate.

ngi know a y candidate that i think understands our pain very well. they shod create good jobs for us young people and make housing affordable. stephanie: back in this country, new york rape trial is deadlocked on two ofri the most s counts. they carry a maximum sentence of life in prison the jurors have reached a verdict on the other three charges, but that has not been made public yet. the judge ordered the jurors to resume diberations monday. democratic presidential candidate michael bloomberg today offered to lift nondisclosure agreements for three women who worked for his company. the women allege he made inappropriate comments to them. the move comes after elizabeth warren fiercely criticized the confidentiality agreements at the last democratic debate.

wells fargo agreed today to pay $3 billion to setd e criminal vil probes into its sales practices. the company acknowledged its employees opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts in an effort to meet unrealistic sales goals. still to come, the breakthrough cease-fire deal that could end america's longest war. where nevada's democratic voters stand just hours before caucusing begins. and much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington. judy: we return now to our top ory, the agreement announced today by the united states and the c talibld put an end to the war that america has been

ghting in afghanistan for more than 18 years. nick schifrinoins us now with more details. nick: the peace deal begins with the kind of test, a seven-day test toede violence. if that succeeds, the u.s. and the taliban will sigace deal designed to end the u.s. for more, we turn to barnett bin. he was advisor of the state department and helped design their plan tongage with the taliban. thank you very much. welcome back. you have been involved in previous attempts to try and bring peace to the taliban. how serious is this one? >> this is the most serious attempt so far. the u.s. and taliban are going to sign an agreement which is the roadmap to a fuller agreemen

this is the first time that i can say we are really starting the pee process. nick: there is what was nounced today, a one-week rection in violence. this requires the taliban to reduce violence. do we know if the taliban are serious about reducing violence >> it requires both sides reduce violence. apparently they are serious about it. we will see. they negotiated over this longd rd and over specific terms. it is not just andugreement to violence. there is a fairly complex technical agreement. that implies that they committed, but we will see if they are capable. nick: the comexity is in part

because there might be other violence in thcountry not sparked by the taliban and the u.s. and taliban have created a kind of communications channel the u.s. c check if any of the violence is the taliban a opposed to isis. doou believe that channel will work, and how serious could oilers be? >> i'm not really aware of how that channel would work, but i think both sides have an interest in making it work. as you mentioned, the islamic state is active in afghanistan as wl. they are opposed by the united states, the afghan government, and the taliban.plus, the reduce is not a it covers attacks on large units, but not every small

skirmish. it will require -- there certain will be some incidents of violence. we will have to make a judgment whether the talibane hde a good-faith effort to comply. nick:udgment will be from both the americans and the afghans, and if it succeeds, we are sipecting a peace deal to be ed by the united states and the taliban. the first priority for the u.s. has always been renouncing terror. relationshipsn between the taliban and al qaeda in the pas do you believe the taliban are serious about assuring al qaeda can have no safishaven in afghn? >> i think they are serious abt assuring that al qaeda will not be able to attack anyom other country fghanistan. it is a little more ambiguous

whether they will allow people to stay there. but the taliban no that if al eda is active in afghanistan while they are in power or sharing power, then the country gawill once become an international pariah and will not receive the aid iteeds as one of the poorest countries in the world. to gain power in afghanistan without foreign assistance is almost worthlessecause of the poverty of the country. nick: the next step is talks between the taliban and afghan government. perhaps march 10. onean of the steps is the af government needing to releaseli n prisoners. could that issue derail those talks before they even begin? the u.s. negotiators agreed to the release of those prisoners, which the u. does not control.

that means the afghan government now has considerable leverage to extract some further concessions, which it would be crazy not to use. i would expect some delays. it simply is not possible to process the release of 5000 at most, the process will get started. i think the afghan government will probably make certain demands before it carries out its part of that agreement. nick: quick last question. president ghani declared victory. his main rival said that he actually w and that he created his own government. reis t an afghan government organized enough to lead these talks? >> the talks will be led on the non-taliban inside by a delegation representing all

politicalors that support the islamic republic of afghanistan. nick: barney rubin, we have to leave it there. thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. judy: as we reported earlier, that his campaign ld byconfirmed u.s. intelligence officialthat russia plans to disrupt the democratic primary. president trump pushed back on the intelligence com's assessment of russian interference in his campaign and accused democrats of starting rumors. the president's remarks come on the heelspl of mulreports of u.s. officials telling lawmakers that russia is actively trying to help the president get reelected. yamiche alcindor takes it from there. yamiche: for more i'm joined by

laura rosenberger. she was a foreign policy advisnt to hillary c's 2016 presidtial campaign and servedta in the department during the obama and bush administrations. what more k do w about the efforts against the unid states andhahas changed since 2016? >> the efforts that weee i the reports about trying to help president trump and interfering in the democratic pmary are consistent with the same things we saw in 2016. the intelligence community assessed that russia had three goals. trying to divide americans, tryingo weaken their faith in our institutions, and to boost president trump 2, who in t6 elections, the intelligence community assessed that head developed a preference for.

what we see is a continuation of the same intentions. some of the broad scale dauma manipulation is something we don't see as much anymore, but we still see effort to use social media to divide americans, to drive conspiratorial narratives, and tu undermine americans trust and faith in our insons. yamiche: you mentioned social media companies tryingtter protect themselves. how ready is the united states? >> i think that we have seen sts by the social media companies since 2016. we have seen steps by the government. it all falls s these are issues where coordination is completely essential to crying out the kinds of sophisticated effts to detect these operations. that reqcores very clear dination mechanisms within government, between t

government and private sector, and within the private sector. they remain largely informal. as 've seen with the president's actions to firehe acting dni in light of these reports, his role is really to coordinate the intelligence counity's work. that is exactly a move in the wrong direction. the washington post i reporting that intelligence officials believe that russia is trying to get bernie sanders to win the democratic primary. he released a statement. he said in part, i don't care who putin wants to be president. stay out of american elections.l as president i make sure you do. how do you s think bernieders is factoring into russia's plans? >> first, i think that is a

really important statement from senator sanders. very clear msage to vladimir putin that weighing in on erican elections is not something that will be tolerated by him and by thamerican people. for me it is about dividing democrats from one another, potentially suppressing terminal -- turnout for theominee, and making us doubt the processes that elections are meant to be about. yamiche: the president has called reports that the intelligence community believes russia is meddling in the election as rumors spread by democrats. what impact could it have if the president is seen as politicizing the intelligence community? >> when we look back at what has been done over the past few years, my view is that one of the greatest hindrances to doing more has been the politicization

of this issue. i think it is deeply damaging ckd leaves our country vulnerable to at yamiche: thank you for joining us. judy: stay with us. coming up on the newshour, mark shields and david brooks breakdown the contentious race among the presidential hopefuls. inside venezla, a look at the theirof children there as country collapses. and major league baseball under fire for its handlg of the largest cheating scandal in years. the nevada democratic presidential caucuses take place tomorrow. the action is already underway th a massive number of voters who turned out early. as amna nawaz reports, it is the

first contest with a diverse population that closely represents the demratic party. we are makg sure everyone is up-to-date. amna: for a few hours every few weeks -- >> are you registered to vote? amna: 17-year-old jamie martinez takes l to the streets of ea vegas. registering new voters before saturday's crucial caucuses. >> i think votang is so impo there's people before us that weren't able to vote. amna: martinez has been working to mobilize the state's latino community and make sure the candidates are fisused on their es. alvarado is the group's nevada state director. >> iigration continues to be the number one issue. they care about health care.

they care about the environment. they care abt the effects of climate change. amna: statewide in nevada, latinos comprise 29% of e population. african, 10%. asian americans, nearly 9%. in north las vegas, massachusetts senator elizabeth warren rally supports, criticizing former new york city mayor michael bloomberg's stop and frisk policy and its effects on communities of color. >> what to do about all those latinos and african-americans that got smmed over the hoods. amna: on the campus of university of nevada las vegas, pete buttigieg sits do with the black law students association. caleb green is a grad, now an attorney in las vegas. >> a lot of top issues for me

our environment, what we are going to do as far as the climate, making those changes, the economy. naam: chinatown, joe bid courts voters at an asian american pacific islander event. >> we are going to guarantee the best for everybody. because the people who come are resilient. amna: she is here to try to figure out who he can support. >> given the situaon rht now, i think i'm not decided. amna: meanwhile, multiple candidates made sure to show up and show suort for another key voti block. members of the powerful culinary workers union, some of whom are as part of is week labor dispute.

but looming over nevada's caucuses is the long shadow of iowa, the confusion over a new app that resultedn chaos. democratic national committee chair tom pez promised a different ending in nevada. >> what do you say to voters? >> we have gone to school on iowa and we have a great team of folks. we are continuing to makeev sure yone is prepared for saturday. amna: but tre are some firsts that could complicate the process. the state is using a new caucus calculator preload onto ipads and distributed to volunteers. last week, nevada democrats hosted over 50 training sessns like this to prepare precinct chairs. >> it is wonderful that they have these trainings. informed and i want to know what i'm doing.

amna: this new system was put in place after the state scrapped plans use the same app iowa used. olalso, the state will beng in results from early voting. >> we've been in line for about 20 minutes. i thinket it has been going smooth. >> amna: nearly 75,000 people stood in line to vote early this year. compare thato 2016, when a total of 85,000 turned up to imucus. brian is a first voter. >> i feelomfortable that my vote will be represented, even if my candide doesn't win, i still feel like everything that i've beenhrough has been fair. amna: also among those early voters was jamie martin's. >> why did you decide to very early? amna the sun is setting in las

vegas, but martinez makes sure she doesn't miss a single potential voter. >> when you're not informed, you are just letting stuff happen. nt to let stuff ppen. judy: none of was reporting from las vegas. that brings us to the analysis of shields and brooks. mark shields and new york times company david brooks. ofhello to botou. activity revving uin nevada. the caucuses are tomorrow. where does this race stand right now? we are two days out plus a little from the debate of wednesday night and about to face the third contest. >> bernie sanders had an awesome week. the polls have him up 13 in nevada, which is very impressive for a multi-candidate race. in the debate, he does what he does, but almost every other

candide took a step backwards. klobuchar and mayor pete had a little feud. bloomberg had his nuclear meltdo. warren performed very well in theebate, performed very well on behalf of bernie sanders. she basically adopts the same and attacks everybody else on the base of that narrative, but i don't think she's having -- helping herself. she's acting as a surrogate for bernie sanders. i think his grip on the nomination is much tighter than was. judy: bernie sanders in the strongest position now? >> i hate to agree with you, but his assessment o is very good. michael bloomberg was not the michael bloomberg we had seen on television. ckba obama's best friend, always being praised by barack obama, sed new york city, the

one guy g who coutoto with donald trump -- he couldn't go toto with elizabeth warren. esh dominated him. she dominated the stage. she certainly was the dominant figure in that debate. bernie sanders, the front runner , really escaped almost unscathed. lyit was tmazing. i think it was a damaging experience for bloombe whether it was devastating will debate.rmined in the next he was counseled that these questions were going to come up. whether it was arrogance, dismissiveness, whatever, he answer that was plausible and convincing and believable. >> part of it is practice. he doesn't even do medi interviews particularly well.

all the otherav candidates been playing this game for a year now. when you are on that debate stage, you are not thinking. you are repeating something you've said before. what strikes me also, sanders tells a very clear narrative. corporations screwing us. .at is cle everybody gets it. i don't think anybody else on that sge has it that clear. artrump had a carrative. cultural elites are ruining life arrest. having that compelling clear narrative is a great advantage. demoats have the mental equipment to go after a billionaire. is baked into the belief system of the party. at struck me is that they don't quite know how toake down sanders. >> it absolutely eludes me. for the first time, the

affordable care act is nowpr at 55% al. donald trump, under donald trump, for the first time in 10 killed care than the year before -- have health care than the year before. thee affordaare act is popular. democrats are talking about just getting rid of it. it makes republicans are on the total defensive on this issue. it is an issue that works for democrats, that voters deeply re about, and there they are. as aar as the poiut bernie sanders, the deflt mood of bernie sanders is angry. he is the angriest front runner. i don't know how long that is going to wear.

i don't know how long that is going to wear on the campaign trail. judy: it has brought him this far. >>ut there a never concede strategy and the bernie bros who abuse anybody on twitter who res to criticize the campaign, maybe they are russianots, that was one of the more bizarre lines of the evening. judy: speaking of bernie sanders and the russians, late today, we lened that first a news report and sanders confirmedt, that his campaign, he's been briefed by intelligencebo officials the russians trying to help his campaign. so it is not jumt president >> it happens to be the fact that the two campaigns that a russia trying to help are the two campaigns that might end up with the nominati i still remain skeptical of how

effective the russians are at pushing peopl to change their there is no magic formula for that. we try every weekend it doesn't work. i'm not sure the russians are really effectively changing a lot of votes. i wish the intelligence agencies would tell us what they are doing. they say they are undermining s.stitutions, spreading conspiracy theor i would love to know, what do i look out for, what do do, how can i tell? they have beenoo vague about what is happening and what countermeasures we can take. judy: they talk about taking disinformation and repeating it through cial media. one of the things we can do as a peoe is just past what the house has passed, that any mpaign that is approached by a foreign power to help it in any

way has to report . that has died in the republican senate, killed by mitch it is unthinkable, if you really take the sense osi the pnt of the united states is told that a foreign power is interfering and trying to change the sacrament of democracy, which is our public voting, the secret ballot, they are trying to tamper with it, and what is his t action? furye foreign power, anger? no. whdivulged this? a decorated admiral who took this as a public servant and honored his constitutional responsibility to inform the congress of the united states. that is just unthinkable. judy: you are contrasting the president' sanders.ion to bernie >> to his credit, having

ymhoned in moscow in 1988, you have to explain that someday , and the trip to nicaragua, but he came out and said, no way. you stay out and if i'm president, i'll make sure. that was a strong stement, the kind you would expect from any political leader of either party , and the president of the united states refuses to give. >> and appointing someone with no experience, who is politicizing that relationship even more. judy: many things to ask about, but thisk was the w the president's longtime friend roger stone, sentenced to prison by a federal judge in washington. remains to be seen whether the president is going to pardon his sentence, but what thpresident did do was pardon or commute the

sentence ends of 11 individuals who seemed to all have some coection with the trump white house. what do we make of this? is the president within his por to do this? >> the naked politicization of this, again trump has really been unleashed by impeachment. his behavior has shifted. much more attacks on institutions of our society. the only person i know is mike milken among those who have been pardoned. i tarught then was legitimate in that case. as far as i can see, he's really dedicated the last 20 or 30 years to serving the public, nning think tanks, so in cases like that, a pardon doesn'the sm likeorst thing. judy: how do you see this?

>> withernst and rob portman ann collins, that similar experience going through impeachment, he is unfettered. he is only around enablers now. there is nobody to hold him back. argue another point of view, and what they have in common, fraud, tax deception, and ability to augive money to republicans. there islmost a self identification with many of these cases. th president has not gone arund on some of these actions. ali think that it is not a question- i don't know mike

milken, but he certainly did chan american finance. they called him the junk-bond ng. judy: just to get -- >> just to get back to roger stone, it is hard to think of somebody fewer redeeming qualities. esthe ent has surrounded himself with shady characters and roger stone is the most shady. judy: and this is the third individual considered close to the president who has been sent off tot prison, time when there's a lot of focus onid what the prt can do. he has the power to commute sentences, to pardon people, and at the end of the clinton administration, there was a flurry. >> just one thing about the democrats. the democrats, after that

debate, are in danger of there is a page in american histor, the revolutionists sought the active alliance with the king of france and charles the third in spain, monarchies, help them. but they had a similar objective, to defeat the king of england, the monarch. the democrats, they better come tother in a hurry. their sole purpose in 2020 is to defeat the monarch, to defeat donald trump. judy: we hear you. mark shields, david brooks, thank you.

we continue now with our series inside venezuela. the onceriealthy south an country is now in economic freefall. tonight we h explore that crisis affects millions of children facing hger, disease, and violence. special correspondent marsha bigs reports on what it means to be a child today in venezuela. >> six-year-old winston should be in school. instead he and his older brother are helping their father with what isowaily work. sifting through the trash at this garba dump. a major city in western venezuela. jose h saysused to sell coffee and cigarettesn the street, but because of hyperinflation projected thisear to be as high as 500,000%, he kept losing money.

now he spends his days searching for plastic to sell so he can buy food for his family. >> befor people could work. there was cash in the street. sthere oney to be made. now it is the opposite. >> many neighbors in venezuela have always been poor, but people say they got by with help from the government. they say things have changed. gutierrez says the free food enfrom the govert only comes once a month and only lasts around two days. in a nearby slum, edward and his brother told me they forgo school every day to go to the dump to look for food. 12-year-old edward tells me, but it didn't sit well. i had a st >> he says the food that he got that time was bad, but most of the time the food is good, so he

gkeepsng back to the same place. >> we saw signs of malnutrition everywhere. distended bellies from a lack of protein. stunted growth. diarrhea. as well as prentable diseases like scabies. children across venezuela are facing a crisis from every angle. food, health, education, and violence. leading to fears of a lost geration and a bleak futur for the country. one immediate impact, classrooms across venezuela are emptying out as families leave or decide they can't afford the transportation, uniforms, or enough food to send their children to scol. those who remain are often too hungry to learn. >> i've had lower cognitive abilitie and learningrocesses because of the lack of a proper diet. they have fallen asleep in the kindergarten area. >> teachers are also leaving.

venezuela has lost as much as 40% of its 370,000 teachers in the last three years. at this school, we sat down with two teachers who remained. they 2 say students are enrolled in this girls school up to grade six, but onlyd aro 60 actually attend. why aren't they coming to school? >>ecause of the reality we are living in. many aren'the coming because aren't getting enough to eat. they say, i can't bring my dauger in today. many times we go on foot and the girls haven't eaten yet. >>sny chil't here today. she's in the fifth grade. >> why? >> she's not c live very far from here and

sometimes there's no breakfast. >> what is the future for a child in venezuela? rnt now i l that you have what is their futuvenezuela, so >> i don't see a future. >> one organization trying to combat the hunger crisis and much more, caracas living together. which sponsors community run food banks. each day, children line up for a hot meal. ndjust one of thouof food banks that have sprung up across the country in the last few years. san diego garcia says they are not even close to meeting the need. >> c theldren that do not eat cannot develop. during the first years of development, it is fundamental to have food, to develop brain

functions, to be able to learn, to develop social interactions. the problem we are having right now, the biggest setbacks we have. >> we went back to his office, where santiago showed us some drawings made by kids in the community. they were first ahied to draw an they wanted. the drawings were bright and colorful. >> we asked t tmdraw the things they didn't like. here, you have a house. you have a gun here. thiss a rifle. it was surprising that the kid knew the brand of the rifle. >> h venezuela become one of the most dangerous countries in the world. santiago says this combination of lack of food and eascation and pee violence means children often end up with only bad tions.

>> what will happen with the kids that grew up in this situation? we are living in a crisis. if you don't have any food tomorrow, then your priority is finding that food now. the fastest way to obtain that food for tomorrow is probably joining a gang. >> that is what many do, including orlando antonio. today he works in a bakery in caracas, but he grew up a world away, in one of the toughest slums in caracas. he never graduated from high did most of the kids stay in school? >> no, they also dropped out. some of them are dead now. from my group, there's only three or four left. >> because they were wanted by the police. and when they find someone, they kill them. >> in 2015, the government

responded to risin pviolence withicy known as heavy hand, sending speal police units into violent areas to crackdown on gangs. decreasing violenc lastlicy with year the united nations released a damming report on the extrajudicial killings of young men. >>very time i came down the street, the police messedme with i grew up thinking about that. >> what made you want to leave that life? >> my mom. >> why? what >> was so worried about me. she was even losing weight. >> but many more do not make it out. in a village outside caracas, another mother mak an extra cup of coffee every morning and gingerly places it next to the photo of her son. >> is a way to keep his memory

ive, and i feel good abo it present, like he' here drinking his coffee. >> she says jose was at his home when special forces burstein, demanding inrmation about a car theft. within moments, he was dead. chshot in the t. this video was posted on facebook by police officers claiming that jose was part of an aed band that fired on them first. that video was later taken down and reportedly came from another earlier incident. she saysn she tceived another video. this one clearly depicting her son sitting on armed and begging for his life. >> maybe that is what breaks my heart. what was my son thinking about in those last minutes, knowing he had no way out, and without anythinone >> jose left behind his mother,

two brothers, and a nine-year-old dghter, who likes to visit her dad at the cemetery. >> we never thought thisul tragy happen to us. a tragedy can happen to anyone. and in this country, tragedies happen, but the important thing is we don't know why. >> back at the slum, as we were wrapping up our day, we stumbled on yet another scene of desperation. dozens of children lined up, empty bowls in hand, waiting for a food bank to open. the food eventlly arrived, rice and beans paid for by an american donor and handed outzuy his veneelan son. each child weighted his or her turn. one more meal for these a childn anountry in need. for the pbs newshour, i am marsha bigs in venezuela.

judy: at baseball spring ustraining, the talk illy about hopes for the season ahead. john yang reports that as exhibition games get underway, the focus is on 2017. the year of one of the game's biggest scandals. john: that was the year the houston astros won the world gaseries and invesrs say the year the team used a schemeo tell their batters in advance what pitches the opposition was about to throw. last month, baseball commissioner robert manfred punished the team, its field manager, and general manager, but did not discipline any players or do anything with the world series title. that has playe on other teams speaking out. >> is don't think it hoy value.

you cheated and you didn't earn it. itasn't earned. >> i thought manfred's punishment immunity.giving them these guys were cheating for three years. >> i fl like every single guy over there needs a beating. it is wrong. they are messing with people's careers. john: the former toronto blue jays pitcher who lost his j after a bad outing against the astros is suing the team for unfair business practices. jeff passan covers major league baseball for espn. he joins us from the astros training camp. it has been six weeks since the commissioner issued his report on the cheating scandal. why are the players still so angry about this that they are still speaking out? >> they are angry for a number of reasons. they feel at the astros

apologies were hollow, that the contriti was fake, and that they are not really mad or sad or even feeling bad aut the fact that they cheated. and beyond that, there has been a lack of punishment. you can argue that the astros paying a $5 million fine or giving up some draft picks was good enough for the team. you could argue that jeff lou no and aj hinch losing their js was punishment as well. but the players got no suspensions whatsoever. between that and the world series title not being stripped, the iren has b significant and has not abated. john: the commissioner said that this w a player driven scheme, so why w >> it is interesting that you have a player iven scheme with

zero punishment for the players, but that was really the reality. back in september of 2017 sthe boston r had a light punishnt for sending signals from their video room t oan apple wattheir bench. the commissioner sent a notice to all 30 teams saying, it is incumbt on you as the general manager and manager to tell your players that discipline can happen. that message was never relayed to astros players and under labor law, the ck of notice for potential punishment is grounds for a case being thrown out. john: so now that the angers here, are there any indications that commissioner manfred understands this, and what can he do about it >> his back is against the wall at this point. soed much animus is guoward

him from both players and fans. and there is certainly the possibility that he could reverse his decision on stripping the astros of the championship. it would again what he has said publicly, that he doesn'a want to starippery slope of rewriting history. is understandable considering baseball's history in which barry bonds, the single-season home run record holder, did so under the suspici of using steroids. if you take away the championship from the astros, why aren't you going to take away the home run title from barrbonds? that is not something manfred wants to do, butme it is ing he has to be thinking about, and something people in his inner circle have suggested he consider. john: exhibition games begin this weekend. could this spill out onto the playing field? >> it is a possibility. i've spoken with a number of players who said, we are looking

forward to playing the astros, to try and put out frontier justice by hitting them with a fastball. rob manfred has already put teams on alert, saying if you intentionally throw a baseball at a player, the discipline is goerg to be significantly hi than the typical three to six game suspension. this itself angers players because th understand, if they throw at houston astros batters, the suspensions they get for doing so will be longer than ane ofstros served for cheating during the world series winning season. john: thanks so much. judy: interesting. and on the newshour online, we took your questions about the novel coronavirus, incheding whyou should buy a mask to wear in public spaces. you can watch lliam brangham answer your questions on our website.

that is pbs.org/newshour. next on washington week, esident trump is fuming over intelligence reports of russian election interference. robert is joined by a roundtable journalists to dissect it all. and we will be back right here on monday with a look at thesu s of the nevada democratic caucuses and what they mean for the presidential race. that is the newshour for now. i'm judy woodruff. thank y and good night. major funding forho the pbs ne has been provided by -- >> colette guides travelers to experience the world in more lan 160 destinations across five travel style small-group explorations. inclusive tours feature local guides, cultural experiences, and accommodations. since 1918, colette has guided travelers aroundhe world.

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[female announcer] funding for "overheard with evan smith" is provided in part by hillco partners, a texas government affairs consultancy, claire and carl stuart, and by laura and john beckworth, hobby family foundation. [evan smith] i'm evan smith, he's an award winning poet whose memoir, "how we fight for our lives" has st been published. he's saeed jones, this is "overheard." (upbeat music) smith] let's be honest, i this about the ability to learn or is this about the experience of not having been taught properly? how have you avoided what has befallen othernati? you could say that he made his own bed, but you caused him to sleep in it. you know, you saw a problem and over time,ook it on. let's with the sizzle before we get to the steak. are you gonna run for esident? i think i just got an f from you, actually. (laughing) this is "overheard." (audience applauding)