fred de sam lazaro: in downtown beijing on the 20th floor of a high-rise, one of china's senior environmental reporters is becoming a buddhist. [doorbell rings] liu jianqiang: hi. fred: hi. liu: fred? hi. fred: good to meet you. liu: nice to see you. fred: likewise. liu jianqiang is an investigative journalist. his first story about the environment was an exposÉ about illegal dam construction on the upper yangtze river. it made national headlines. his hard-hitting stories eventually got him fired, so he continued his work as the beijing editor of china dialogue, an online international journal. [liu speaking chinese] fred: but t after 10 y years of reporting, he was feeling burned out.. [liu speaking chinese] translator: i think that our environmental activists and those who work for public welfare need more powerfulul spiritual supppport. why? every day what we do mamay be gooood deeds which h give us positive energrgy, but meanwnwhe what we are facing is thee darkest side of the world. every day what we see is polluted air, polluted rivers, and the slaughter of wild animals. this kind of n

in his final report from el salvador, fred de sam lazaro visits a garment factory that hires workers are normally left out of society, inclung ex-gang members. it's part of fred's series "agents for change." >> reporter: 50,000 t-shirts and sweatshirtbuzz through the sewing machines this factory every week, bearing thseals and mascots of some 1600 u.s. universities: princeton, c michigan, kenylege. each one, it seems, a reminder to general manager rodrigo lanos of what el salvador desperately needs. >> if you have an educated population, you can do something with the country.ep >>ter: and you don't right now? >> 70% of the population have not finished school. >> reporter: it'one consequence of the brutal civil war in the 1980s from which el salvador has never recovered. 75,000 people died, many more were displaced. many migrateto the u.s., and many of those deported back here have been responsible for escalating gang violence that has given this country the world's highest homicide rate. >> we are one of the few being left behind. we have to unite as a country and put a plan together

salvadorspecial correspondent fred de sam lazaro focuses on workers who arcaught in the middle of trying to e out a living while maintaining their health. this report is part of fred's series "agents for change." >> reporter: the cutters begin early, trying to sneak a couple of hours before the tropical sun begins to scorch the sugar ce fields. it's dirty, brutal work that requires the stana of the young and physically fit, the exertion likened to running a half marathon every day. but 20 years ago, doctors began noticing an alarming increase in the number of these young workers across central ameca who were coming into hospitals with a mysterious, ultimately fatal kidney ailment. dr. ramon garcia is a kidney specialist in el salvador's capital, san salvador. ve>> seven to eight deaths day in this small country. it's 10 to 12 times more than the expected death rate. this is a silent massacre. >> reporter: adr. garcia and others began to investigate, they discovered that on some farms, nearly one-fifth of sugar cane workers were suffering from nronic kidney disease eve though they had non

for the pbs newshour, i'm fred de sam lazaro outside nta ana, el salvador. >> woodruff: fred's reporting partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. >> woodruff: it waanother whirlwind week in washington: ; other high-profile departure from the white houesh scrutiny over the president's son-in-law; and an escalation in the war of words between mr. trump and his attorney general. all this, as the president made surprise declarations on trade and gun control. isat brings us to the anal of shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. welcome, gentlemen. so so much going on this week, o barelywhere to begin. at the white house, mark, the president' closest aide announced she's leaving. he has a con son in law under a lot of scrutiny over alleged conflicts of interest. he has a chief of staff raising questions again about how he handled the firing of an aide over domestic abuse and on and on. the leaks seem to just be flowing in a gusher every day. what matters in all of this? >> w