captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonigh prepare o for anutbreak. the centers for disease control warns americans to expect coronavirus to spread in the u.s. then, on the ground in south its primary choicee formero make vice president joeupiden's longtirt may be slipping. >> i think if joe biden doesn't show well in south carolina, then everyone will make the assumption that he's beyond his, beyond his time. his time has passed >> his time has passed. >> wdruff: plus, inside venezuela. as the crisis-torn nation's health care system unravels, the sick and vulnerable fear for their lives even within the hospitals.

>> ( translated ): this is war. we are at war. but this is something unseen-- you don't see grenades but they are killing us. ey are killing our future, they are killing our children. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> maj funding for the pbs newsur has been provided by: cruise lines, you can experience historic destinations along e mississippi river, across the united states. american cruise lines fleet ofor small ships examerican landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines. proud sponsor of pbs newshour.

s>> consumer cellular off no-contract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the things you enjo whether you're a talker, texter, of everything, ourbasedor a bit customer srvice team is here to find a plan that fits you. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informmm and engaged ities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible bthe corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: new urgency is

easing over the risk of china's viral outbreak sng to the united states. top federal health officials said today that americans should brace for a possible pandemic.l and, wreet reacted with another big sell-off, despite president trump's claim that things are under control. meanwhile, the virus has peaked in china, but other hot spots are emerging, includin, where the deputy health minister appeared ill at a briefing on monday, and confirmed today he is infected himself. in all, 16 people have died in iran. back here in the u.s., much of new language and c fromcused on covid-19 could spread morehow widely here; what that mightme for daily life, and whether the trump administration is asking congress for enough mone to dth the outbreak.in lisa desjajoins me now.

hello, lisa-pi. packoodruff: a lot to here.the day started out, a brig for u.s. senators and a briefing for reporter you were on that call. it all added up to a rising sense ofoncern about what's going on. then you have essentially the centers for diyiase control it's not whether this virus is going to spread, it's when. so put it tog >> it's astounding. those are the exact words we heard from c.d.c. and h.h.s. officials. they are ready the say it's in the a question of if. 's a question of when thehe virus will hie and how severely it will impact americans. what we heard from them today is a call saying that the pandemic has not arrived here, but aall for americans to pay attention pandemic could arrive. as if a we don't know where, which city. some cities may be harder hit thanthers. we don't know how long it would . but this is a call for community preparation. we heard this, preparation

advisoryies from the c.d.c. they're advising us to start consider, at we need thraise our own level of hygiene, including washes our face, washing our hands, covering our uths and noses when we cough and sneeze. they thi americans should start considering in the long term options if they need to work from home or options if schools or childcare facilities close. why did they change this? why is this level orn con higher? they say because they're seeing countries.s spreading in other it is not spreading here now, but they say this disease is spreing in a way that they believe may make it now not just likely but almost inevitable that it will come here. >> woodruff: this will get everybody's attention some this is a briefing by one set of officials. other administration officials somewhat different tone. >> these early in the day briefings kind of raised ala bells on capitol hill. and elsewhere.

later in the day we had health and human services officials sort of have a sort of more sober tone,ay, listen, we want people to be prepared. that later in the day briefing. see if you can hear the difference in tone. >> i think to help amricans frame what to expect, it's helpful to think about a bad flu year, the idea of exactly what that will look like in the united states isrd to say, and, of course, the images we've been seeing from china fromi huovince are quite different from what we would >> my public health worker knows this is a tricky moment. theyoon't want people tanic. they do want people to prepare. but they are raising the alarm leve at's why you saw these two different tones, wanting to mak americans a concerns and then dialing it down to make sure they don't go too far. >> woodruff: make sure people don't panic in ef>>ect. es. >> woodruff: meanwhile, separately from althis, you have now what appears to be a conflict between some members of congress and the white house,

the administration, over how much money is going to be needed to deal with hat y come. >> woodruff: that's right. the president has requested $2.5 billion in authorized fus. we'll talk through the breakdown of that money. it's important. but he's also expressing right now, which is differentis than what many senators felt after they exited their briefing, especially democratic senators. let's play a sound bite from prdaident trump in the lasty when he was in india and then from democtic senators about howh they thinkings are going. >> it's very simple. let's see how it all works out but i think it's going to work out fine. i hope some we're working very hard. we've spending a tremendous amount of money alss >> i jut have to say, i'm very concerned about this administration's attitude toward this. if a pamdemic is coing and we're disregarding scientific evidence and relying on tweets

and an emergency supplemental without details, then we're not stockpiling those things we know we high need for this or for any future pandemic. i'm deeply concerned we're wayig behind theball on this. >> the president could have been meant to be we ashtiewrlg, democrats and others thinks he's not going far enough. let's talk about the money he's requesting. the whithouse is requesting $2.5 billion, but only $1.25 million is new money. he wants the take funding thatwo d go to prevent an ebola outbreak. there is another $500 million,t it's nlear where the white house would get that from. he would move that from other health program, you ditch. members of congress say, that's not necessary. we wl give you more money. you should request more money. it's in the clear why the white house is taking this exact stance, and until the white house sorts out exactly what itn wants fromess, this money is not going to start coming. >> woodruff: is it clear what

the public health sector needs in owier to death what's coming and what the price tag is? >>e're starting to get a picture of one of the priorities, vaccines and trying to work through vaccines. but today dr. anthony fauci told reporters also that it's going to be a year to a year and a half for a vaccine for the coronavirus to be available. he also said this astounding thing, and he said, "we think the virus will still be here in a year or a year and a half." so this is slong-teuation for the united states. another big priority is public health workersohat. is the f line, and they are the most vulnerable, getting making sure they have the ability to test in their conounities. rightesting kits for this virus are not in many places in this coury, and they ahave to go back to the c.d.c. soon they're hoping to expand the testing ability in this country. >> brangham: >> woodruff: we have seen in other outbreaks likei ths, the folks on the front line in the public health sector are often

the ones who become ill themselves. >> that's right. >> woodruf lis desjardin thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, wall street was convulsedi agby fears of economic disruption from the coronavirus outbreak. the dow jones industrial averag, lost 879 poilosing at 27,081. it is down a record 1,900 points in the last two days. the nasdaq fell 255 points, and the s&p 500 gave up 97. president trump wrapped up his visit to ind tonight, with a state banquet in new delhi. earlier, he toured the grand palace, with first lady melania reception.praised their he declined comment on new violence over a citizenship w that excludes muslims. n but inew delhi's streets, cars

were charred and fruit stands wrecked after hindu mobs attacked muslims. at least 10 people died in the last two day liberal justices ou.s.acked two supreme court today. sonia sotomayor had complained the court is too often intervening in the administration's favor, before cases play out. ruth bader ginsburg criticized then-candidate trump back in 2016.es the ent suggested they should not hear cases involving him. >> i just don't know how they can not recuse themselves for anything having to do with trump or trump-related. the right thing to do is that, now as a supreme court justice is a different standard, but at the same time, i think it's a higher standard in a certain sense. l >> woodrufer, the president tweeted that the judge and jury foreman in the roger stone case were "totally biased." the trump ally was convicted of lying to congress and witness

taering. the supreme court today barred a mexican family from suing over a cross-boer shooting that a u.s. border patrnt, standing on the texas side of the border, killed thear d, 15-year-old boy in 2010. the court's conservative majority ruled 5 to that regulating the conduct of border pe national security.iae in sfierce fighting rocked idlib province again, with both government forces and rebels capturing key towns. the assad regime's offensive in idlib, backed by russia and iran, has displaced nearly a million people since december. displaced syrians near the tuish border organized a protest today, amid desperate conditions. they waved opposition flags and chanted songs. >> ( translated ): today oure protest,e gathered here to tell the whole world, that even if there is just one inch of syrian land left, we wl continue to say "down with bashar al-assad, down with

russian criminality, down with iranian criminality." >> woodruff: idlib is the best stronghold in syria. turkey has demanded a halt to the syrian offensive there. s the u.te department says afghanistan will postpone the inauguration of presidt ashraf ghani to a second term. both ghani and his main rival claimed victory in last september's election. it has been widely reported that u.s. officials fear the dispute could disrupt peace efforts with the taliban. former egyptian president and longtime u.s. ally hosni mubarak ed today. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports his passing came almost a de after he was ousted from power in the arab spring uprising. 11 schifrin: in january 20 the edifice of hosni mubarak's egypt crumbled. he'd been called a mh.ern-day phar but the millions who filledar cairo's tahrire exposed a

country weakened by decades of his corruption and cronyism. and the following month, many l yptians celebrated his f the bih of democracy. >> ( translated ): everyone in egypt is so happy now, a new change, freem and democracy. that this country is really ours. >> schifrin: butike much of the arab spring, elation preceded oppression. a democratically elected president was overthrown in a coup by former army chief and today's president, abdel fattah el-sisi. mubarak outlived the revolution that overthrew him, buwas only seen in court. and while he was humbled, to the end he was defiant. force and became vpresident to anwar sadat, taking over after sadat's 1981 assassination. rehe was initially considea charismatic reformer, an fashioned himself the only guarantor of egypt's and the middle et's stability, as he told newshour host charlayne-g huntlt in 1993. >> the sbility of this part of

the world cannot be maintained without egypt.k i don't thinat it will be in the interest of the west or the united states that egypt be unstable.ch ifrin: but mubarak'sau stability watocracy. he jailed political opponents without trial, andis police committed widespread torture. poverty increased, and the availability of breaummeted. and when that privation combined with corruption to hspark the 2011 protests, security forces killed hundreds ofemonstrators. in 2012, mubarak defended himself from has sickbed. heentenced tlife in prison but successfully appealed. he later was senteed to threen years in prion corruption, but was released in 20. he died today in this hospital, remembered most not for his autocratic rule, but the protests that ended it. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin.dr

>> wf: hosni mubarak was 91 years old. back in this country, an investigation of opera star placido domingo has found extensive allegations of sexual harassment. more than two dozen people told a ion for opera performers that they witnessed or fell victim to the miscondo t while domid the washington and los angeles operas. he apologized in a sta today. e drug-maker mallinckrodt is the latest to announce a major the english company said today it will settle hundreds of u.s. wsuits for $1.6 billion. it is also filing for bankruptcy protection. mallinckrodt is one of the highest-volume producers of opioids sold in the u.s.ta 39s opened an investigation into e-cigarette maker juul labs today. the effort will examine whether juul targeted young people and made misleading claims about nicotine content. thacompany is already facin

battery of lawsuits. and, tusands of revelers filled new orleans today for mardi gras. it came after two people had been killed by floats inarlier parades. today, there were incidents. instead, bystanders waved and cheered as marching band performed and elaborate floats moved through the city. still to come on the newshour: south carolina voters make up their minds as the dtic hopefuls take the stage tonight in the next debath. questioninattorneys on both sides of the case of convted rapist harvey weinstein. and much more. >> woodruff: former vice president joe biden has long staked his claim on winning

uth carolina. but vermont senator bernie sanders has been steadily gaining on him in the polls there. and as our yamiche alc reports, voters in the "first in the south" democragrc primary arpling with who they will pick this saturday. >> alcindor: south carolina, long-considered joe biden's firewall. but, is it still? the former vice president has been hoping black voters would tve him the momentum to w nomination. in this state, they make up 60% of democratic primary voters. t since the fall, biden' support here has dropped nearly 20%. >> we are putting togeer an unprecedented multigenerational, multiracial political movement.c >>dor: sanders, the race's frontrunner, is now within single digits of biden in the palmettotate. >> we are very energiz because it's very rare we see somebody with a track history that bernie sanders s. and somebody like that, it makes

us very passionate. makes us very hopeful. >> alcindor: some of biden's most faithful supporters sound ncerned. >> i would have followed joe biden right up to the gates of hell. >> alcindor: jake ferguson is a 64-year-old black veteran, father of six and grandfather oi . older voters like him are central to biden'sase. in 2016, jake wanted biden to run for president. but now, he's not so sure. >> my inference is that hes not showing the desire or the want to be president. he's kind of thinking he's entitled to this democratic nomination and even more so than that because he was barack obama's second chair. he thought he was automatically entitled to the afrierican vote. it don't work that way. >> alcindor: his 3mmyear-old son,uel, disagrees. >> i for one, i personally am backing joe biden because he seems like he's best positioned to defeat dona trump.

>> alcindor: still, emmanuel said he understands why millennials like him are more likely to support sanders. polls show biden with a 25-point advantage over sanders with voters 50 and up but sanders is 40 points ahead of biden with voters under 35. de i love to hear bernie s speak. i think he is puttinfinger on the pulse of the average american and can read that heartbeat very well. i think at this point, bernie sanders is making a lot of wonderful promises but doesn have the ability to back them up. he's writing checks he can't >> alcindor: emmanjake also have their concerns about other candidates. on former south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg: >> he has some issues in one being experience that i can't reconcile at this point. >> marijuana arrests for african-americans increased under his tenureship as mayor. senator amy klobuchar:ta >> i do think she's got to make sure her ideas on prosecution ol crimustice reform are

clearly stated. b >> alcindo the younger ferguson admits he's also worried about biden. >> i think if joe biden doesn't show well in south carolina, then everyone will make the assumption that he's beyond his, beyond his time. >> hisime has passed. >> my job is to take on mr. trump and kick his ass on the economy. ke alcindor: jake says he how billionaire tom steyer goes after president trump directly in his political ads.ee those ads havefilling south carolina's airwaves for months. this past sunday morning, biden tried to bring some of the fire jake has been looking for to black churchgoers in north charleston.av >> youin your hands the power, unlike antime in a long time to determine who the next democratic nominee will be. >> alcindor: after the service, biden tried to calm concerned moderates in south carolina, and beyond. narrow win in south carolina would also mean that you would be willing and ready to fight

subsntially to win in super tuesday. >> i'm not going to-- >> alcindor: voters shouldn't be worried. >> i'm not. i'm not going anywhere. i'm going to stay in this l.r the long h i think we'll do well here. i think we'll win here. and i think this could end up being a race between me d bernie before it's over. >> alcindor: he also weighed in on young voters who are fueling. sanders' r why do you think you're not doing better among young voters, especially voters of color and young black voters here in souto na? >> bernie has had a campaignw going r four, six years. he's been working as a good organization. and i started very late in terms of young voter that's been his base where he and so but i'm goicompete for that. >> alcindor: that will be a tough competition for bide j >> i don't s biden as our new future, as our new president. i don't think that his values are where my generation of people want to see the world go to. >> there is no way to progress without being radical. >> alcindor: first-time voters kristen graham and r williams say their experiences as queer, black women have

sanders.heir support for >> it was expected that i get an education. but there was no financial background or backing for me to get there. t >> alcindor:hat includes sanders' plans to cancel student loan debt, address systemicsm rand implement medicare for all. graham says she lost an aunt because doctors didn't take her health problemseriously as a black woman. >> she kept going to the hospital and kept going to doctor visits. something was wrong and she didn't know what it waer she had an un her intestines and then it ruptured. and she's no longer with us today. >> alcindor: with sanders inching toward the democratic nomination, super tuesday can't come soon enough for both women. >> i see that the momentumfis tely on his side. and i just am very hopeful that he keeps that up. >> alcindor: if sanders does get to the nomination, that worries the fergusons. >> bernie sanders can't beat

trump because bernie sanders is not a democrat. he is in the process of hijacking the democratic party. >> alcindor: jake is most concerned about sanders' medicare for all plan. >> i've d two shoulders replacements, two hip replacements, d it all happened under obamacare, okay? and now this guy sanders, this independent, until it's no longer convenient to him, comes along, he says we'll all want to get medicare for all. ar alcindor: but, for him, the choice will be cn a race between senator sanders and president trump. >> i will have to eat my words and vote for bernie sanders, but please don't put me in that position. >> alcindor: still, jake rd.ains undecide and he's not alone. one in five democratic voters here haven't made upheir minds. this state will play a pivotal role in the 2020 race. >> woodruff:nd yamiche alcindor joins me now from charleston, south carolina.ya

che, hello. so you clearly have talked to a lot of voters while you've been down there the last few daatys. lse are they telling you besides their views of the candidates that is important to them in this primary? >> bla ck voters insouth carolina want people all over the country to undstd that african american voters not a monolith. they have a range of concern,h everything frolthcare to education to women's issues. the divisions i'm seeing in south carolina are both working in favor for and agast joe biden, who is seen as the front-runner here in the state of south carolina. g course, he's up aainst bernie sanders, who has also been making gains nationally and in other races. what you see is if you're someone who is a fighter,nt someone who to see someone get in the mud with donald trump, who wants to see somebody defend himself and o wants to see somebody radically change the systems around us, then you'ni someone who likes b sanders. if you want someone who you'refa statesman, who seems more reserved, you're someone who likes joe biden. those are e decisions 're seeing here in south carolina.

>> woodruff: so the deate tonight, yamiche, i know you have been talking to some of these candidate to their campaigns, what should we expect? >> well, if thete first deas a contentious one wth small battles, what we expect tonight is an all-out war o bernie sanders. he's going to be center stage, judy. he's go hng to be banked onis right andis left on elizabeoe warren andiden. on the ends of the stage, you will see two billionaires, tom omberg,and michael blo and all of them are focused on making people understand that bernie sande is too radica and he's trying the hijack the democratic party. i spoke to tom steyer and pete buttigieg who are making sure they want folks plain the people that they think bernie sanders is polarizing. they also think thty have pu out ads to explain to south carolina why they oulnotbe voting for bernie sanders. i have talked to aides to bernie sanders, who'tell me that hes ready. he understands that he's the front-runner. he understands hves going to arget on his back. we should also expect bernie sanders to push back very, very hard when he's attacked tonight. >> woodruff: and yamiche, one

other thing i want to ask you about, prominent south carolina democrat congressman james clyburn, he's of course in thele ership in the house of representatives, he is expected to endorse joe biden tomorrow. what are people saying about that? how much difference is that expected to make? >> joe biden was clling south8s carolina his fire wall for months, scene in the last few days he stopped using that language and he stopped using that language because he understands that his lead has narrowed substantially. now he's up against bernie sanders who has made aloft gains with young voters here. he's looking for someone to help him get over the finish line here. losing south carolina would be detrimental to his capaign, aides tell me. jim clyburn, endorsing him tomorrow, which is what we expect him to happen, is going to help him among establishment democrs who se jim clyburn, a longtime south carolina democrat, who they look to and say, ifyim clburn is backing joe biden, i'll go with him, too. i was at a ate paty dinner last night, there was a lot of

love in the rom for jim clyburn, and joe biden and jim clyburn embraced very long in front of these democratic voters someou're seeing in jim clyburn trying to help joe biden, who is strug until south carolina even though he's expected to win a state by a nor row margin. >> woodruff: interesting the timing coming the day after the debate and just a few days before the primary. all right. yamiche alcindor reporting for us fm charleston, thank you. >> thanks much, judy. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour:in de venezuela-- a healthcare system in tatters as patients fear to go to the hospital. a day after harvey weinstein's conviction by a new york jury, there's a larger conversation happening about what it could mean for the legal pursuit of other sexual assault charges, and whether it changes how

judges, juries and prosecutors approach these cases. amna nawaz spoke with two key case and the larger picture.his a warning: this segment includes sensitive subject matter. >> nawaz: judy, weinstein was convicted on one count of rape and on a second count of committing a criminal sexual act. but he was acquitted on three other counts, including the mosr serious chargeatory sexual asult. cyrus vance jr. is the manhattan district attorney who brought the case.ns he js now from new york. district attorney vance, thanks for being with us. we are talking about one of the most famous, most powerful men certaiy in hollywood, maybe the country. to the defense's point, do you think it is possible thaint hary ein got a fair trial? >> i do think harvey weinstein got a fair trial. the judge was very careful in extensive voir dire or make sure that they explored

whether there was bias or inability for jurors to provide an impartial review of the evidence, and the jury was selected as a result of teir answers. i have no indication that the jurors did anything but thir s thb, which was focus on the evidence or lack of evdence and come to a decision. >> nawaz: you spoke yesrday of the impact you think this verdict could have. you said that in this day and question aeged victims in theto same way in future cases. what did you mean by that in. >> in heamination of the survivors during the weinstein trial, the was a lot of victim blaming, a loof harsh which i don't think, number one, was particularly effective. i also think really was cowlt productive to the defense. the survivors who were asked these questions, they obviously

responded with honesty, often wth emotion. a difficult and a grueling experience for them, and at the e d of theay, i don't believe that is necearily the most effective way toe cross-exama survivor of sexual assault as a defense attorney, having been a defento ey for 2 years myself. >> nawaz: we should mention, you had a chance to prosecute harvey weinstein back in 2015 and you declined to do so. that was despite having an audio recording in which weinstein adtted to groping model amber guttierez. back then it was part of an nypd sting operation. you said at the time there was insufficient evidence. at evidence did you have today in this case that you didn't have back then? >> well, what we had in this case were clear inations of and reports of sexual assault, including rape and oral unwanted sexual conta, which is the basis of the criminal sex act. so we had some very compelling

evidence from six survivors, and a range of documentary and other witnesses to testify. so i think thhe case -- is case that we just tried with mr. weinstein was a difficult case, no doubt about it, and yet it's a case that we had confidence in that were wto take this to a jury, that the jurors would be able to seeth througmyths that were thrown up about victims of ssexual assault and lten to the women and as the jurors did, believe th. >> nawaz: but back in 2015, you had an audio recording and you had witness testimony. wait a mistake not to prosecute him back then? >> i think the 2case was evaluated by the head of our secondse crimes bureau who had 40 years experience.di sha thorough investigation. the case had more information that was relevant to it beyond the recording itself, and her recommendation revealing all the evidence was that it was a case

that we should not bri wng. th the by sis of the decision. secondly i think we're dealing with twdifferent time periods. 2015 and now 2019. and what was known about harvey weinstein in 25 is certainly not what is now known about harvey weinstein since 2017. >> nawaz: well, i think a lot of people out there, women who have come forward with allegations in the past who statement.gree with that ey would say mr. weinstein's alleged crimes were known for years and yeyoars. said he was committing these crimes for decades. the question is do you think if something is different, what exactly is difficult? >> the evidence we had and buil during the course of our investigation is differen the number ofvi surrs who came forward is different. d i also think that the way the public and a jury receives this evidence at a trial is different. we have seen in the last several years in our sex crime

prosecions that there is i think a greater awareness se jurors and tho are evaluating evidence that victimf exual assault, survivors don't always react in the sa or predictable way. some continue contact with the abuser, d we saw that in the westein trial that just ended. so i think there has both been a public shift in understanding and other significant differences between now and 2015. >> nawaz: that was five years ago. that was before really "me too,h movement. e we know it today had taen hold, before moan 80 women in that time period came forward with allegationsagainst mr. weinstein. do you think today it is easier in some way to prosecu these kinds of crimes? >> jurors listening to evidence are going to be better educated and more understanding of the ways in which survors of

sexual assault behave after an assaul rape doesn't occur principally between strangers. 85% of those who are sexually assauld are, in fact, known to be abuser. there are many instances, as i said, where those who are the victims of sexual assault maintain contact with the abuser new york some instances because la work-d responsibilities. so, yes, i think it is a - think the atmosphere and the landscape is more open to listening to survivors of sexual assault and peefg them. nawaz: i need to ask you, e, those statistic have been around for years. we've all known them. that's always been the case about the way survivors of sexual assault, they know their attackers and tend to stay in contact with them. do you think faingo prosecute those crimes earlier allowed for more crimes to be committed in the meanwhile? >> well, our office prosecutes

about 6 sex crimes a year. over the course of ten years, that's about 6,000 sex crimes that our office has prosecuted. think we arn aggressive ofce. we have very experienced sexr crimessecutors, and we do the very best that we can on the evidence that we have, most ofs the memb the sex crime unit are women who are career prosecutors who have committed their professional life to doing this work. so the n answer to your question, i think we do the very best that we can with some very professional and very good trial attorneys. >> nawaz: that is manhattan distri attorney cyrus vance joining from new york today. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> nawaz: now let's discuss this with one of weinstein's defense attorney, donna rotunno. she joins us from new york. donna, welcome to the news hour. in response to the verdict you said in a statement the are issues in the trial that "prejudiced" your client's abaity to have his cse fairly judged. you are taking this up with a higher court we should poi

out, but in what way do you think the jury or this court were prenl dissed toward mr. weinstein. >> i don't know if mr weinstein could have found fair jury anywhere frankly with the media coverage that has happened for the last two years with the fac at especially in new york every day he's a headline, he's on the cover of thepost," he's a headline in the "new york times," "the daily" news, "the ilyeast," buzzfeed." it was very difficult. when we questioned jurors, not one of the jurors had not heard of mr. weinsteek out of the of jury selection. so i think we were nut in aff ult position from day one. >> nawaz: but he was convicted rges.o cha they also acquitted him on two charge, so is it fair to say ey prejudged him when they acquitted him? >> they i acquitted him on three charges actually and convicted him on two. what thiwas about was the evidence was not there to support a conviction. i've said that from the very beginning. i know when i first got invhiold incase everyone thought

that was a crazy statement to did play out and the witnessesal did testify, i think that becamt a li more clearer. i little more clear should say. in this case the pressure i think on the jury made them look at this case and not worry about the lack of evidence, and theywo ied more about the court of public opinion. what i found most interesting was as the jurors were walking out, they didn't look at harvey, they didn't look at the prosecutor press.looked at the that told me a lot. i think they were concerned about coming back with finding of not guilty on all coui nts. do think that the sort of split verdict shows us that there was definitely some doubt back there. >> naw: there was a lotof attention paid, you're right about that. i want to ask you about reports at came out mi-trial, because you were criticized about the way you were questioning soe of those witnesses. people said you went very, very hard, in particular jessica man. at one point she was crying so hard the proceedings had to stope you were qioning her about why she continued to be in touch

with mr. weinstein even after the rape, asking him for professional help and staying in toh with him. why did you think that was an important line of questioning? how did that help your defense? >> well, i don't know how it is not important. of course no of us know what happens in those rooms. we have no idea. we're not. there i'm not there. you're not there, the judge, the jury. what we do know is every piece of evidence that we had documented after the fact. and soo not look at the totality of the circumstances to determine what really took place ino that rom seems remiss, and, attorney, i go into court and i have to defend my client. i have to ask questio that have not been asked. i have to ask questions that are i have present evidence that wasn't presented. when you look at how these cases get to the point of going to trial, there's a grand jury process.and when the prosecutort jessica mann before the grand jury, she didn't tell those grand juries that she had had sexual relations with him after the fact that were consensual in

2016. e didn't tell the grand ury about the e-mail communications. so, you know, theyold this story in a vacuum. the first time we were able toth brinfull picture to light was the trial. at that point so much had already been written on it it was almost as if it was an afterthought. >> nawaz: you mentioned some things we know. we also know statistically that most sexual assault survivors know their attacker in some way. we also know you can ve a consensual sexual relationship with someone and still be raped by them. what is do you think the appropriate level of contact between someone like jessica mann d mr. weinstein? >> i don't know who can sayap what'sopriate and what isn't appropate, but we have a five-year period ofat communn that continued after the fact, and this is not something where, you know, we talk about domestic abuse d situations whi't equate in any way to this. that's someone who lives in a home with somebody, maybe has children with somebody, that maybe financially dependent on somebody. that's not the case here. jessica mann, you know, benefited from mr. wei in certain way, but definitely not

in ways that affected her ability ve a life or have a job. you know, she asked him for help in multiple different avenue, whether it was help me get a job or help get into a private club or help me with my car, an contact, seeking out, the way she spokabout him to other people, the way she spokabo him to thairnses, the way she defended him to her boyfriend. this was not incidental contact that someone has because they feel like they need to maintain a decent relationship. this far surpassed that. >> nawaz: related to the trial but not directly, you got a t of attention for an interview you gave to "the new york times." it was about the casend about the trial, but she ended the interview by asking you if youe had ever bthe victim of sexual assault. you said, "no, i have not," d then you said, "because i would never put myself in that position." i have to ask you, do you believe who a jury decided were

raped and assaulted by wervey stein, put themselves in a situation for that to happen? >> well, i have to say, thquat tion was asked to me solely. that question was not asked tohe me about opeople. it was not a commentary on anyone else. it w not a commentary on, you know, specific victims in any way. that was a questiked to me and, you know, for me, i would rather fight to my deathhan be tt in a circumstance where somebody was goio sexual assault me. that's an meswer from you know, having nothing to do with anyone else. >> naw: let me ask you about what mahattan district attorney sy vance said. in this day and age, he said things are different how people things have changed in the last three and four years. do you believe this verdict, and i ask you because you've defended a number of people accused of sexual misconduct, do you believe this verdict changes how sex crimes are viewed and handled in our legal system in. >> i hope not. i hope not, because if we don't

look at individual cases on their merits and we don't look at evidence particular to a specific defendant and a specific case and wart putting things under some umanskulin a way we shodo things, that would be scary for you, scary for me, and skai already pi anyone charged with a crime in this coune y. >> at thsame time, we know that allegations of rape and sexual crimes e vastly underreported. don't you believe there should be some weght given to the credibility of women when they come forward with these allegation >> well, you know, we have a presumption of independence in our country, and the presumption mof innocence is that eone charged with a crime has the right toe viewed as anin cent person. there is not a prurm shun that someone is telling the truth. so to say that we should just walk enter a courtroom and let someone tell their story or their version of the events without questioning that version puts us all in opardy. i don't think we should be able to give more credibility to someone just because they say they were sexually assaulted.

i will always refer back to the duke lacrosse team. if we did that in that case, you would have that whole entire group of young men at the time sitting in the penitentiary. so i think we have tbe very careful. it's a slippery slope. >> woodruff: donna rotunn defense attorney for harvey weinstein, joining us from new york. thank you for being with us. >> i appreciate it. thank you. >> woodruff: we now return to our series, inside venezuela. the south american country is in the midst of a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis, and under that weight its healthcare system is collapsing. with support from the pulitzer center, special correspondent marc biggs went undercover t film this report. and warning: this storyis containsrbing images. >> reporter: thiphotograph was taken just five years ago.

happier and healthier times. but now, jose rodriguez is dying. two yearago, he was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis and only six months ago found t he was actually suffering from a different lung infection. his daughter paula conchila is a nurse but stopped working to take of her father. >> ( translated ): that'anwhy i feel sy because i've tried to help him but it's iossible. i don't have the supplies. >> reporter: jose is on a treatment with several different meditions, including an antibiotic that costs around five dollars, the mohly minimum wage in venezuela. >> ( translated ): if we spend money on the medicine, thewe don't have any money for his supplies. plus, with the cost of transportation when i have to take him to the doctor. we don't have money to pay for all this. we have different jobs but it's not enough. this country is killing us. reporter: and venezuela's health care system is incapable

of saving them. a shortage of drugs, doctors and nurses, and even clean water had led to an ic of illnesses, a lack of treatment-- a complete brkdown. and families like jose's no longer trust the system. >> ( entranslated ): that pa you're describing-- he's one of thousands. we as doctors have observed this, before they went to the hospitals.to now they prefeie at home. urgeon iner: dr. dora colmenarel maracaibo, the second largest city in venezuela.oi once aboom town, now in ruins, paralyzed by a gas shortage.bl and rollinkouts, which leave the city in the dark on a daily basis and are catastrophic foa hospital. >> ( translated ): we are living like we were living in the 19th centur when the hospals didn't have water, when there was no electricity. >> reporter: she took us undercover into a public hospital to show us just how bad it's gotten. we had to conceal our identities

ndd shoot on cell phones a hidden cameras because of government-supporting vigilantes called colectivos stationed in hospitals. they're often armed and monitor who comes and goes. >> it was risky for me, of course, but i don't have anything else to lose, i don't have athing else to lose. >> reporter: this is the emergency room: overcrowded with people, only open during the day and lacking proper supplies or even air conditioning. often patients are forced to navigate up and down staircases, sometimes climbing as high as nine floors, with no functioning in one maracaibo hospital, the elevator was working but a dialysis patient was crushed last october when the elevator w plunged as sheas trying to exit. >> ( translated ): the elevator cut her in half. all of this because of the lack of maintenance. to go there is threat, and nothing changes, she died and that's it. one more. >> reporter: was the investigation or anything done

about this?an >> ( ated ): no, no, no. they tried to keep everything under wraps. and in time it jus>>disappears. reporter: we reached out to the ministry of health but received no response back in the hospital, we found emt,y shelves, broken equipm the ceiling was caving in, and a pharmacy with almost no medicine. entire sections are lock t and abandone remains of a functioning healthcare center. many of the doctors ve left too. at public hospitals like this one they earn less than $10 a month, and faced with these conditions, many have alread joined the almost five millionne elans who've fled their country dr. colmenares says of year's graduating class of 800 doctors at the university where she teaches, only 80 remain. and that's not to mention all the techs, nurses, and support staff who have also left. >> ( translated ): 90% of the labsn this state are closed because there are no lab

chemicals, and most of the professionals o manage the labs have left. x-rays, in this state, 95% don'. wo we don't have scanners or m.r.i.'s. >> reporter: and it's not just in maracaibo. in the country's capital, caracas, again undercover, we dr. gabriel romerocenter with there was only one funng x-ray machine and one ultrasound for the entire hospital.s there running water.at no soap no w to keep things clean, that's why it smells so bad in here. this has been shut for a year because of water damage. this is empty. the radiotherapy department is empty of patients. dr. romero says this technology is antiquated. this machine came from argentina 15 years ago and only serves as palliative care. some machin't work at all. dr. romero says there is no

money for service, so machines and technicians sit idle f years. >> i don't have the key. >> reporter: you don't even have the key to this room? >> no. >> reporter: how long has this door been shut? s >> five yearen years. >> reporter: five years? and the 100 or so patients that used to be there daily are gone to another hospital or not getting treated at all. chemotherapy, but for aeive treatment that requires a consistent drug regimen, there is not a consistent supply ofug "my brother had to bring chemotherapyedicine from houston because we don't have it here," says this woman, who has lung cancer. all these women brought their own supplies-- rubber gloves, intravenous tubing, even hospital gowns.th woman is doing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.d she ring her own water. her own toilet paper, and her own chemmedicine. and her own cup to go to the

bathroom in. the women say they are too afraid to use the bathrooms, for fear of infection. this is all a far cry from the system hugo chavez promised in 1999, when he became president, and enshrined free healthcare into the country constitution. he made progress when times were good, but today, in this crisis, everything depends on what a patient can afford. and this health crisis is affecting the peoplepihavez chamed: the country's most vulnerable. for children, ring malnutrition and the lack of vaccines and treatment mean a mse in preventable diseases like dengue fevearia and scabies. 13 year old jenire loves minnie mouse, rabbits and theolor pink, but right now she can barely speak. a few months ago, she developed a lump in her eye. her mom took her to a hospital in maracaibo, but because there

were no specialists on call, she was told to wait and see. >> ( translated ): and all th" said was: "t's wait. let's wait. but while waiting, it grew more in her eye, until they realized wasn't what they thought, but rather an aggressive tumor, something li>> cancer or so. eporter: while they are grateful that she is finally getting treated here in caracas, it's tooosate. she willher eye. how do you feel knowing thaten this could hav prevented? >> ( translated ): well, this is quite a difficult situation for me.d took her to see doctors and more doctors, and nothing happened. it's hard to see her like this, see r suffer and cry for so much pain. that's tru not easy. it's an experience that i really hope no one else has to live through. >> reporter: back in macaibo, at the rodriguez home, the family is desperate for help. jose has trouble swallowing food and is wasting away. >> ( translated ): if you know somebody who can help us, i will really thank you. we need help.

we need an oxygen tank, a bed with an orthopedic mattress. i ne a mattress for him to avoid bedsores and i need the food supplement; this is the most urgent. >> reporter: we asked dr. colmenares where they could find an oxygen tank in mao. she wrote back that she didn't know.a ek later, we learned that mr. rodriguez died. dr. colmenares says he's just one of thousands who are too sick, too poor, or too afraid to come to the hospital for trtment, and so won't be d in official statistics she blames the regime of president nicolas maduro for what has become ofezuela's althcare. >> (anslated ): i think that our hospitals have become extermination camps. the people that go there know they a going to die there. >> reporter: what you're describing to me sounds like things i have only seen in war zones. >> ( translated ): and this is war, we are at war. but this is something unseen -- you don't see grenades but they are killing us. they are killing our future,

they are killing our children. >> reporter: she says she stays to fight for change the regime of president nicolas maduro, and to keep cari for this vulnerable population. for the pbs newshour, i'm marcia biggs in maracaibo, nezuela. >> such an important a >> woodruf that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs e newsho, thank you and u soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been proved by: >> collette guides travelers to experience the world in more than 160 destinations, across five travel stylou, like small explorations. their inclusive tours feature local guides, cultural experiences, meals and accommodations. since 1918, colette has guided travelers around the world. learn more atma collette.comgroup

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support ofhese institutions and individuals. og >> this m was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by g media acceroup at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> harvey weinstein, guilty as charged, otwo of the five counts.nt we dig io what this verdict on sexual assault means. an-- >> the president of the united states of america, mr. donald trump. >> india says namaste trump, while the mocrats trying to replace him at home in a critical voting phase. we talk to the president's top i campaign comtions strategist. plus -- >> i think democrats, we have not spent enough time, and i think this is fair to say to thp in the obama administration, myself included, cused on the actual blocking