one giant leap for mankind. geoff: i'm geoff bennett. amna: i'm amna nawaz. in a historic first, former president donald trump faces 37 felony counts in connection to his withholding of classified documents. geoff: david brooks and ruth marcus weigh in on the political impact of donald trump's indictment. amna: the movement to return land forcibly taken from black and indigenous people in the united states gains momentum. >> first century, our government at every legible -- every level has enacted policies to dispossess black people of land

and steal their wealth. >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. >> actually you don't need vision to do most things in life. yes i'm legally blind and yes i'm responsible for the user interface. data visualization. if i can see it and understand it quickly, anyone can. it's exciting to be part of the team driving the technology forward. people who know no bdo. -- know bdo.

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the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. the justice department has formally accused former president donald trump of grossly mishandling classified documents. the newly unsealed indictment lists more than three dozen counts in damming detail. geoff: they allege that mr. trump showed casual indifference to protecting secret material, defied demands to return the records and asked aides to hide them. >> a first for the department of justice. special counsel jack smith announced the indictment of a former president. donald trump. 137 counts. >> today and indictment was unsealed charging donald j. trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

>> he took no questions, but the unsealed indictment spoke for him. in words and photos, it alleges trump kept classified documents including military secrets in places like bathrooms, showers and a ballroom at his florida estate. the indictment centers around testimony from trump attorneys about trump's own words, alleging he bragged about possessing a senior military officials plan of attack and then went oto say, as president i could have declassified it. now i can't. it's still secret. later he told attorneys, wouldn't it be better if we just told them we didn't have anything here? last night former president took to social media and railed against the indictment as a political hit job. >> our country is going to hell and they come after donald trump , weaponizing the justice department, weaponizing the fbi, we can't let this continue to go

on because it's ripping our country to shreds. we have such big problems and this shouldn't be one of them. i just want to tell you i'm an innocent man, i did nothing wrong. >> today trump's lawyers announced they are resigning, citing the case is entering a new phase. they continue to defend him permanently -- verbally on television. >> it is unreal in terms of the weaponization of the department of justice. >> the indictment comes after two years of events starting five months after trump left the white house. when the national archives emailed his team asking for some missing records. after some back-and-forth, his team handed over 15 boxes. archives found nearly 200 classified documents and within weeks notified the fbi. the fbi says it learned of more

documents being withheld. in may, a grand jury subpoena them. in june, trump's team turned over more documents but the fbi states it more were still being kept from them. then the fbi used a warrant to search mar-a-lago. they found classified documents including top-secret ones. the indictment is multiple layers of unprecedented. just a former president but is party's leading candidate to capture the white house. gop opponents responded. >> no one is above the law. >> mike pence previously was cleared from the investigation after turning over classified documents he found at his house. he did not weigh in on trump's guilt or innocence. >> from my years serving on the

national relations committee on the congress, the handling of classified materials of the united states is a serious matter. >> others spend more time on the attack against the doj like tim scott. >> as president of the united states, i would purge all of the injustices and impurities in our system so that every american can have confidence that they will be seen by the lady of justice with a blindfold on. >> florida governor ron desantis said the weaponization of federal law enforcement is a threat and there's been an uneven application of the law. one candidate said trump should end his campaign. asa hutchinson said in a statement, the criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. but the highest ranking republican in power called the indictment unconscionable.

he said he wanted accountability and repeated another theme, writing that joe biden kept classified documents for decades. secret documents were found at president biden's washington-based think tank and his delaware residents, but he quickly handed them over and has cooperated in that investigation. the department of justice has a separate special counsel investigation for the biden documents. trump has been summoned to show up in court on tuesday in miami and his attorneys have said he will be there. amna: to dive deeper into the unsealed indictment and how it all fits into the public drama that has unfolded over the last year, we welcome national justice correspondent carrie johnson. we have been following the work of jack smith for over six months now. what stood out to you about what he said and how he said it?

>> one of the things that stood out was jack smith making a case about the gravity and the scope of these criminal charges. he said there are laws in place to protect defends information for a good reason. it's really about protecting the information security of the united states, and our foreign partners. the way and which former president trump allegedly stored these top-secret papers willy-nilly in his resort in florida put all of that at risk. jack smith also talked about having one set of rules for everybody and that the laws apply to people equally, perhaps nodding to the fact this is the force -- first federal case against a president. he praised the fbi agent's for doing diligent work and said he hopes to take this case to trial in a speedy fashion. amna: the scope and the details of the indictment were really striking.

49 pages, 37 counts. they include things like willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements and that detail in the indictment, they had pictures, text messages, transcripts of audio reporting's -- recordings. what does that tell you about how they will try to prove the case? >> there is a mountain of evidence in part because they received a ruling from a district court judge here in washington that allowed them to pierce attorney-client privilege. thus allowing donald trump's attorney to testify about notes he gave him. we have a tape from one of the people donald trump allegedly showed secret material to in 2021. there is just so much evidence

here including those photos of how these papers were stored and trump's role starting on the day he left office in packing documents to being present at the time the doj searched mar-a-lago. amna: i want to ask you about walt nauta. what are prosecutors alleging he did? >> he is the aide who allegedly helped move boxes of these documents to and from mar-a-lago. when he was confronted with these questions he allegedly lied to the fbi which forms the basis of the false statements charge. he is also charged with a number of other smaller charges with respect to concealing documents from the feds. he faces a very serious case. he's going to be in court alongside the former president.

amna: we saw the report on the response we have heard from mr. trump. what else are you hearing from his legal team and what's the timeline ahead? >> the special counsel says he wants a speedy trial. we will see how many motions the team wants to throw out. if the special counsel gets his wish, we could have a trial later this year. certainly in the heart of the presidential campaign while donald trump is the front runner for the nomination. amna: national justice correspondent carrie johnson, thank you. geoff: for legal analysis of the charges mr. trump faces, we turn to own a hathaway and jamil jaffer.

thank you both for being here. i want to start by reading from the indictment. i want to start with page two because we learn precisely what donald trump had in his possession. information regarding defse and weapons capabilities of the u.s. and foreign countries, u.s. nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the u.s. and its allies to military attack and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack. given the scope of the allegations, what strikes you? >> 102 documents found at the trump mar-a-lago residence after he turned over the documents to the fbi saying he had returned all the documents to the government. in the indictment itself, 31 documents listed.

of that, 10 were sensitive information. another eight special access. these are the most sensitive documents the government has. donald trump has them sitting around mar-a-lago, withholds them even after being asked for them by the government. that's a problem. geoff: page eight of the indictment shows the departments and agencies from which the documents originated. what are the national security implications here given the way that they were stored and to whom mr. trump allegedly showed the? >> it's really extraordinary. the kinds of secrets that are in these documents are among the most closely held secrets u.s. government has. they are information relevant to ongoing preparations for

military operations, documents that relate to the military capabilities of our foreign allies and adversaries. the u.s. nuclear program. it's really the most tightly held secrets the u.s. government has an information that could do extremely serious harm to u.s. national security and the range of agencies mentioned in this document gives you an idea of how serious this really is. geoff: we heard lisa report that two of mr. trump's attorneys resigned. we also learned the case will be overseen at least initially by the judge who made a number of controversial rulings in the early stages of this investigation and had to be overruled the 11th circuit for overstepping. >> obviously it says something not good for president trump.

-- just yesterday was on cnn defending the president. we don't know what it means, but it means something. i think we can expect the judge to be fair. she has a reputation for being fair. that being said, she did enter some rulings that were controversial and ultimately was reversed by 11th circuit and probably understands now that the court is watching this case closely and will keep an eye on it. geoff: mr. trump has been saying for months that he was within his rights to take these documents. he suggested that he effectively declassified them with his mind. >> if you are the president of the united states you can declassified just saying it's declassified. it doesn't have to be a process. you are the president. you make that decision.

geoff: fast forward what cnn reported. they obtained a transcript of a july 2021 meeting where he is discussing a classified document about attacking iran. the transcript is also included in the indictment. he is saying of this document, i just found it, is not it amazing. except it is highly confidential secret information. how damaging is that potential he? >> this is extraordinarily damaging for the president. it really shows that even if he claims that he declassified these documents somehow by thinking it and not actually notifying anyone, which doesn't actually constitute actual declassification, but let's just imagine we ran with his argument. he is admitting outright that he knows that he didn't declassify these documents and there are documents in possession -- in

his possession that remain classified and he can't show to anyone because they remain secret. he's undercutting one of the key arguments he's been trying to make all along. he's undercutting his own lawyers that are going to try to make arguments that he didn't violate the espionage act. he's making an admission on tape. it's very hard for the defense. >> the idea that you can declassify something just by thinking about it is completely wrong. the president does have broad declassification authority. we saw him take a picture with his iphone of a highly classified image and tweet it out. once you leave office, you don't have the authority. this tape has him admitting it. he knew it, he still showed it to the folks at that meeting.

he said, do not get too close, i can't show you this, it's classified. geoff: this has drawn comparisons to hillary clinton's use of a private email server. now president joe biden. what makes this case different? >> a few things. hillary clinton obviously did the wrong thing having that email server. president biden shouldn't have had those documents at his facilities. in the case of biden and pens -- pence, both own up to it. there was some effort, the server was wiped. in the case of president trump, the documents were withheld. they even had attorneys sign a document saying we have turned over everything and then we found another 100 to documents. boxes were moved.

that evinces a decision to withhold documents. that's why these charges are there. it's the facts about what happened late out in the indictment. if these facts are proven, it's going to be very hard for a jury not to convict. geoff: we expect mr. trump to appear on tuesday in court. help us understand why the special counsel chose to bring these charges in florida and what will you be watching for? >> the reason these were brought in florida is because the charges all center around the retention of the documents in the decision to obstruct justice and misrepresent the information trump help. all of these are things that happened in florida. what's interesting is that the charges do not include the removal of these documents from the white house. they don't have anything to do with the transport of the documents tflorida. they really focus on the holding of those documents in florida

and what the president did after the federal government continually asked for those documents. there was repeated requests for these documents in the president in florida continually refused to hand those over. everything in this indictment took place in florida and that's why the cases is being brought in florida. even though they certainly knew this was going to lead to a less favorable jury almost certainly. it's a more heavily republican area than they would have had if they had brought the charges in washington, d.c., but they had to do it because it is conduct that took place in florida. geoff: what's your assessment of the chores -- choice of venue? >> by having in florida, they may trade something off at the end of the day they get the case

to move forward as quickly as possible. the defendant in this case has a right to a speedy trial so we will move this thing forward. i have no doubt that president trump's legal team will try to -- you have a sitting president whose justice department is prosecuting the leading candidate on the others. this is a politically fraught investigation prosecution. it's a real challenge. geoff: thank you both. amna: evidence is growing that an explosion rocked a dam in southern ukraine just before it collapsed. u.s. spy satellites detected the blast. norwegian research group size seismic data also showed an explosion.

the collapse of unleasedunleashy russian day lodz -- deluge. >> an enormous amount of challenges remain. i'm sure not matter how difficult they may be, we will overcome the consequences of this disaster and all russian people. amna: the white house said fresh intelligence indicates iran is helping build a drone factory near moscow. the goal is to ensure a steady supply of weapons to use against ukraine. smoky skies partially cleared today in much of the u.s. eastern seaboard. their quality alerts remained enforced. officials in canada reported the arrival of fire crews from the u.s. and elsewhere will help contain fires in quebec. more fires spread across the

western province of british columbia, adding to the worst start ever for the wildfire season in canada. in china, severe flooding swamps part of the -- swamped part of the country's southwest. state tv showed rescue workers wading through flooded streets to free people from their cars. forecast calls for more rain across southern china in the coming days. ethnic clashes in south sudan have killed more than 40 people. doctors without borders say violence erupted thursday, home to thousands of displaced people in the region. a new attempt at a 24 hour cease-fire is set for saturday. two months of fighting have displaced nearly 2 million people. wall street managed fractional gains on a quiet day of trading.

the nasdaq rose 20 points. the s&p 500 added five. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: former president donald trump raises question -- the indictment of former president donald trump raises questions. new york times columnist david brooks and ruth marcus, columnist at the washington post. before we jump into the details of this case, i would like to have you reflect on the gravity of this moment. >> i think gravity is really the right word to use. it's a somber sobering moment

for the country. we have never been to this place before. we have been on the brink. nixon was almost indicted. people forget clinton faced the prospect of indictment. and reached a plea deal. but we have never crossed this rubicon. i think it's important that we did it on this set of facts. i thought that was true before i saw the indictment. there can't be one set of laws -- one set of laws has to cover everybody. so i'm relieved that the rule of law looks like it's prevailing here, but that relief is really tempered by sadness that we had a president of the united states at a potential future president that has brought us to this terrible state. and also real sadness about the volcanic response, just inherent instinctive supportive nests,

political polarization from his party and what that's going to mean for an already divided country that's going to be further polarized. >> -- geoff: a sad day. how do you view it? >> this morning i was blase. and then when the indictment came out, i was like there is always another layer down with this guy. what shocked me in particular was the nuclear programs, our own vulnerabilities, sharing our iran plans with buddies on the golf course. i don't see those as documents. those are human beings. those are american lives. people helping the united states around the world put at risk. american soldiers and marines and airmen put at risk. so the lack of reverence and responsibility for the people serving under his command is just so offensive. and then i had this thought --

he's just a mean boy. he's like an eight-year-old boy. he wanted these documents for some willful reason. could not admit error. my friend said whenever there is a situation where donald trump has to be equal with everybody, he will ride roughshod over that system. and behave in a way so that i'm not equal to everybody else. it's just me. it's greek in its exposure of his character flaws. geoff: a south florida grand jury brought this indictment. special counsel jack smith's decision to bring charges in what is effectively donald trump's home turf, what do you see athe political significance of that? >> i think there is potential legal and political significance that combine. when donald trump is cornered, he yells rigged. it's a rigged jury, election,

judge. this won't stop him from yelling that, but when he has this judge who is clearly not just a trump appointee so trump empathetic in her previous pass at this case, it's going to be harder for him to try to smear her as some apparatchik of the justice department. and similarly with the jury, it's a south florida jury. it's going to be harder for him to complain, although he will, about unfair treatment from them. i think that actually strangely helps prosecutors tamp down some of the public reaction to the case. geoff: what about that? it makes it harder for donald trump to make the argument. that he is being railroaded when it's happening on his home turf. >> you went to law school, i didn't. i don't know how you get a fair jury.

is anybody in this country not have an opinion about donald trump? i don't know how that's going to work. he's going to make the argument and a lot of people are going to accept the argument. your job is to take this day and say, that is not -- this guy is not qualified to be president. ron desantis and rick scott are all jumping on the weaponizing the justice system, mike lee in the senate. glenn youngkin, the supposedly mature and moderate governor of virginia said selective prosecution. so the party is rallying around. one of the things donald trump has been having trouble doing is raising money. the thing he knows that will help him raise money is getting indicted. he got indicted in new york and raised $12 million. as soon as that comes down, he is got a video, the direct mail. he's using this as a political

gift, which for the time being it seems to be at least in the republican party. >> we knew he would, but the really sickening thing is the rest of the party rallying around him. we all know they are doing it because they understand it to be in their political self-interest. if i had a superpower, i would wield it to ban the word weaponization. what's going on here is the opposite of the weaponization of the weaponization of the justice department. merrick garland stepped aside from this case and brought in a career prosecutor. the weaponization of the justice department happened under the former guy, not this guy. geoff: the alleged offenses strike at the core of some of the most somber duties of the presidency including the protection of the country's most vital secrets. but donald trump's rivals are willing to overlook that, how do

they make an argument for their candidacies and what does that say about the field given this is the job to which they are applying? >> i think it says something about the field but it also simultaneously says something about the base and something about donald trump's hold o a significant part of his party's voters. we are going to find out. he could get indicted in the middle of fifth avenue and continue to be teflon and not be affected by this. i'm really curious what david thinks about this about whether the sheer weight of these numerous indictments, i am not a fan of the manhattan indictment but that is there, we are probably going to see something in georgia relating to january 6 and there could be more after that. at some point will the republican party base say enough

is enough, we can't risk a third try with this guy? there's no evidence of that so far. as the rest of the party just reflexively rallies around trump , the leaders, i think that makes it less likely that we will see that more healthy reaction. geoff: how do you think this will play out in the race? we have never seen american president face charges as he's trying to recapture the white house. >> the republican party is always about to tire of donald trump in that day never arrives. 's clearly stronger now than he was six months ago. the first indictment irly help 10. i don't think this one will help him in part because there are a lot of military folks in the republican party and they kno how serious classified information is. i think there will be some lingering effect. the only way it could possibly

hurt donald trump is not somebody saying, see, he is a bad guy. you could make the case, he is just got so much baggage. he's a great guy but he just can't win in the fall. you can make that argument without getting in the way of the core trump narrative. the they are out to get us narrative is thick in the republican party, with a lot of justification, by the way. geoff: the white house was taking a business as usual approach to these decidedly abnormal circumstances. president biden was giving a speech about his legislative agenda when word of this indictment came down. is there a risk of the message getting drowned out? >> if you had a gun to my head i could not have told you what joe biden was doing today.

of course their messages going to get drowned out on a day like today. is it terrible for a white house to have its message drowned out by the news that its chief opponent is being indicted on very serious charges? is handling the most highly classified information, obstructing justice, lying to federal investigators. that's not a bad news day for the white house to have whatever it was doing, infrastructure or whatever you talked about. i think president biden is doing precisely the right thing by business as usual. this is not his thing. he's not commenting on it. he's not anywhere near it. geoff: president biden told reporters that he has not and will not talk to the attorney general about this. >> that's appropriate. i think biden is underexposed. his staff is still protective of him. he is much murder and public than a lot of people think.

i do think they need to get -- let him get out more. it's not good for the presidency for him to be that much in the shadow of donald trump. geoff: couldn't he tell the staff if he felt that way? if he agreed with you, could not he tell them i don't need to be so protected? >> you would think so. from what i hear inside the white house, he is not a doddering old grandpa. he can be a very tough boss and a mean guy. maybe he wants to be as quiet and enclosed as he has been. geoff: david brooks and ruth marcus, thank you for being with us from this historic into the week. -- end to the week. amna: as cities and states

across the country consider various forms of reparations, california has led the way and returning land to the descendants of the dispossessed. that includes african-americans and native americans. the wealth, the community and the opportunities lost are not easily recovered. >> the story of bruce' speech is a story about what could and should have been. over 100 years ago, and industrious black woman in southern california dreamt of owning a beach resort was refused whenever she tried. willow bruce eventually acquired land in manhattan beach, telling the los angeles times in 1912, i own this land and i'm going to keep it. she and her husband charles built a lodge, a place where black vacationers could enjoy your stay at the beach. >> they were having a beautiful time and they built it to share.

because whenever people came to california, they want them to ha somewhere to go. >> when i think about charles and willow bruce, i think about entrepreneurs, black excellence, community. >> the reality is the bruce's and their patrons were wealthy. >> a stately photo of the bruce's on their wedding day, decked out in finery, foretold the makings of a power couple. the display of black success outraged the white neighbors and powers that be. >> in light of harassment, violence, their business just got more and more successful. the city of manhattan beach hatched a scheme to take the property via a racially motivated eminent domain. >> the bruce's dream was stolen, their property seized for a pittance in compensation, and only after they sued.

>> from right here to this building here. >> community activist kevin ward first learned of the beach in 2017. >> this country often tells us that we are lazy and don't work hard enough, and here we are in the 19 teens and 20's and these couple -- this couple did exactly that, only to have that land stolen and to die as cooks in someone else's kitchen. >> ward began campaigning for the land to be returned to the descendants of the bruce's in 2020. she succeeded. >> first century, our government at every level has enacted policies to dispossess black people of the right to own property and create wealth. and what was so powerful about the return of the property of

the bruce family is we see a path forward to finally counter some of those false narratives. >> as unique and complex as the deal is, it does offer a path forward. not least of which are the original inhabitants of los angeles. before spanish missionaries arrived, the tongue via -- ton gva roamed the land stretching from the coast to the mountains. >> we have been systematically erased. we were enslaved. >> samantha johnson recently became the land return coordinator, a job she could only have dreamed of as a child. >> this land was returned, which i was not expecting in my lifetime. >> the 1 acre property was

transferred last year by a jewish landowner whose own family faced oppression. johnson said the protests that erupted after the police murder of george floyd raised the nation's consciousness. >> it made people more aware of all of the injustices that happen in america. >> council meetings and holiday parties were held in a borrowed space. >> i think it was a taco parking lot. >> the altadena property which overlooks a scenic canyon marks the first time in nearly 200 years the tongva have legally owned land. >> this is the only place we can plant native trees with full sovereignty. >> work is underway to remove

the overgrown invasive species. the resilient oaks will remain. they wl host tribal gatherings and education programs. >> the beautiful thing about this land is there is a lot of hope for restoration. >> so-called land back agreements are still rare. the city of oakland recently returned 5 acres of a local park to the east bay ohlone tribe. in l.a., different groups are looking for more opportunities to acquire land. >> it's not really just about the land. it's preserving what's left of our land. >> long before the land back movement had gained traction, angie burns sought to lease this property.

it was the early 1990's. the springs had fallen into neglect. a small museum on the land shows the journey. >> when i stood at the gate and saw this area, i was so upset. i couldn't believe it. that's an archaeological and historical site. >> the los angeles unified school district which built a high school next to the springs agreed to lease the site for a dollar a year. >> this is the medicine garden with many varieties of medicinal plants. >> the president of the foundation says the land is now abundant with native plants and pristine drinking water. >> would you like to try some? >> now is the time for the land to be returned. >> this is a sacred site. this is our place of worship. you have your temples and

churches. what do we have? >> ramirez says the wii is debatable. >> it becomes contentious i think. how do you compensate this group and neglect somebody else? is that fair, is that just? >> patricia bruce carter, a distant relative was at the ceremony in 2022 when county officials returned to the land to the direction descendants. she thinks about what could have been if the land had remained in the family's hands all along. >> at this time there would have been multiple hotels and beachfront properties. just living the life. >> a lifeguard administration and parking lot stand where the bruce's resort did.

the defendant's lawyer said it would not be easy to develop. so less than a year after the land was returned, the recipients of the land decided to sell it back to the county. for nearly $20 million. >> as an attorney, my responsibility is to advocate the interest of my clients. as a citizen and an african-american citizen, i think that's an important question. who are the benefactors of restitution? who should be the benefactors of reparations? >> this is not the outcome community activist javon board wanted. >> i wanted to see strong young black entrepreneurs take up space here and be able to build and develop here. like the bruce's ones were able to do.

the family won, but the community did not. >> the work will continue. the reckoning far from over. geoff: we will be back shortly. take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. amna: a chance to offer your support which helps keep programs like this one on the air. geoff: we take a second look at my conversation with margaret cho, a trailblazer in the world of standup comedy, now celebrating 40 years of making people laugh. i met up with her recently at the warner theater in washington, d.c. for our arts

and culture series, candace. live and live it is the name of margaret cho's big performance. she has woven comedy through her standup, acting and even lgbtq activism. >> we need to recognize that a government that would deny a gay man the right to bridal registry is a fascist state. >> from standup specials to psycho in 2015 to starring in the groundbreaking 90's tv comedy all-american girl, inspired by her standup routines about the culture clashes between her traditional korean mother and herself, a fully americanized daughter. >> he's a doctor. from a good traditionafamily. >> to appearances such as her

emmy nominated recurring role in 30 rock playing kim jong-il. she knew from an early age growing up in san francisco, comedy was her calling. >> it was just a recognition more than anything that it was what i would grow up to be. i think a lot of people have those feelings when playing as a kid, like i want to be a fireman or a lawyer. i had those kinds of really childhood aspirations to be a comedian. but it was a very visceral knowledge of this is my job. oddly because i was not a class clown. >> who were here early influences? >> joan rivers ultimately, because she was so incredibly

elegant but also crass. she was finding a way to be crass, which is pretty incredible in the 70's. for women and in comedy. and for television the way it was. >> she was one of your mentors. some of the advice she once gave you is we are the type of girls who don't find our place when young. the funny ones, the odd ones, the weirdos. we are seeing a little later. >> she was very right about how we become more and more visible the older we get, and she would say to me, we are like the girls who were ugly in high school. and i'm like, watch your mouth. it's a funny thing of when you realize that we actually grow in value as we age. it's a powerful thought that we can really embrace that power. i think she was very right about

that. >> do you view your standup act as being part of your activism? >> yes. my stand-up comedy is the main channel for my activism. it's the way that i am an activist. bob hope was lending his sense of humor to the cause, although my cause is somewhat different, but not really that different. it's about sting morels -- boosting more row -- boosting morale. >> her comedy is nothing like bob hope. crass and vulgar are some of the words used to describe her humor. i asked her about that approach. >> i have in trying to hit high and menlo. high-minded is like looking

towards fighting for equality, fighting for rights for the queer community, trans lives, drag, all of these things in a very noble effort. then undercutting it with the most crass explicit foul joke that you can have that center. a very highly minded idea. my feeling of i'm trying to make this -- it's like a sunday or something. once the cherry on top to be a really noble effort. >> when you live together, set x -- sex takes on a whole new dimension. i feel like a prostitute takes on really low rates. >> you have been open about your

addiction issues. how does that journey show in your work? >> it's important to talk about mental health because it's inherently really funny. it's inherently full of mystery and terrifying. >> in what ways? >> to me the closer we are to death, the more we can laugh in the face of it, the more strength we have to carry on living. so the humor is really the coping mechanism of the spirit. >> i never saw asian people on television or in movies. so my dreams were somewhat limited. i would dream, maybe someday i can be an extra on mash. >> you have been doing this for 40 years. what's your greatest accomplishment? >> inspiring comedians like joel can booster and bowen yang to

further greatness. that they were able to see me and recognize that this is what they wanted to do. so yes. the reason allie long exists. the reason that aqua fina is out there. all of these comedians i think were inspired by me and that's my greatest achievement. amna: tune into washington week for more analysis of the week's political news. geoff: our colleague is moderating tonight. what can we expect? >> i will be speaking with some of d.c.'s sharpest reporters about the historic indictment of former president trump and what it means for our country and the 2020 for political landscape. amna: watch pbs news weekend tomorrow for a look at what you

need to know about the spread of lyme disease this summer. geoff: there is more online including a story about a group of cyclists from the cherokee nation taking on a grueling seven state journey across the trail of tears to reclaim their own history. amna: a four-week outcome we want to welcome a new member of the newshour family. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin is now the proud father of isabel. he tells us isabel, his wife and new big brother noah are all doing well. welcome to the world. geoff: that is the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the behalf of the entire team, have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by.

>> moving our economy for 160 years. the engine that connects us. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation. working for solutions to protect water during climate change. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better

world. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

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that's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here is what is coming up. ke i'm going to have an g g accident happen. >> swabs of north america choke on fog. what the wildfire haze has about wildfire. then, just as for george floyd. minnesota's attorney general, keith ellison, with a new book on the fight of his life, ending police violence. ou