here to tell us what we know at this moment, our own john yang. john, this looks like a bolt out of the blue. what have you learned? >> jonathan: it was absolutely out of the blue. it was after the white house press was told there would be no more news developments for the night. sean spicer walked into the briefing room with a very brief statement saying that president trump had fired james comey on the recommendation of the attorney general jeff sessions and the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. we're slowly getting bits and pieces of the reasons why, the letters that sessions sent to the president recommending this move and rosen sten's memo recommending it, as well. it appears to center around comb yeah's handling of the investigation into hillary clinton's e-mails, ironically enough, that his announcement, his holding a press conference in july clearing her but also criticizing her at the same time. usually they don't make statements like that. usually they just say the investigation is closed, no charges have been brought. rosenstein sa

i'm john yang. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> 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 of these institutions and individuals. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org - [jim] coming up: the performance poet turned rapper watsky pulls no punches in his first collection of essays. all of his work is characterized by witty wordplay and disarming honesty. - i'm trying to do self-examination, i'm trying to meditate on what i really think. doesn't always mean i'm giving the most intelligent analysis of a situation, but i am trying to at least examine what i really think about stuff

i'm john yang. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> 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 of these institutions and individuals. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh

newshour, i'm lisa desjardins >> woodruff: and we are joined now from the white house by correspondent john yang, john, a few other threads we want to pursue right now. one the president was asked earlier this week by senator lindsey graham for a letter to certify that -- to explain what his connections are to russia. now you've seen that letter, what does it say? >> it's from his tax attorneys. they looked at the past ten years of his tax returns. they say they show no investments in russia, show no loan payments, interest payments to lenders from russia. they say the only income was about $12 million in 2013 for the miss universe pageant and the proceeds for a $95 million sale of a florida estate to a russian billionaire. but tax experts say that this is not conclusive, that there are many other ways that the president could have dealings with russia that are not included in this letter. >> woodruff: now, john, separately, another issue that's come up in all this back and forth we've just heard from lisa has to do with the white house press briefing, and the president had something interesting

we turn to our own white house correspondent john yang.arately the washington post has a story about a senior advisor to the president currently in the white house who is now a, quote, person of interest in this russia investigation. >> that's right judy, the significance is someone still in the administration is reported to be a person of interest in this investigation. before we knew about subpoenas for mike flynn, the fired national security advisory and for manafort the leader of the campaign. the postsaid their source wouldn't describe that any further give them any more details. there are also indications of the postsaying this investigation is beginning to intensify, moving to a new phase of actually interviewerring witnesses issuing subpoenas, justing a grand jury, and sean spicer responded to the pos story saying any investigation will prove there is no conclusion between the campaign and the other government. >> woodruff: after the president takes off on air force basair force1. how are they dealing with this? >> there is an inte

. >> mayday in john yang, another opportunity for the regime to stage a -- in pyongyang, another opportunity for the regime to stage a demonstration of military prowess. pyongyang says it intends to speed up the pace of its nuclear program. north korea's repeated missile tests are alarming its neighbors, including japan. japan sent a naval warship to escort and protect a u.s. supply ship. the move is symbolic. it is the first time japan has involved itself in an operation of this nature since the country moved away from its purely defensive military doctrine last year. it is exactly the kind of proactive behavior washington wants to encourage and its allies, as mike pence has stressed. mr. pence: the president has been very clear. whether it is our allies in europe, south korea, or japan, we expect other countries to do more. reporter: the u.s. is also seeking to widen cooperation with other countries in the region, including the philippines. on sunday, president trump invite it president rodrigo duterte to washington to talk about the threat posed by north korea. host: let's go to washingto

. >> woodruff: we turn now for the latest at the white house and on capitol hill with our own john yang lisa desjardins. john, let me start with you. it's been about 24 hours exactly since this decision came down. what have you learned in the interim about where this all started, what was the genesis of it? >> well, white house officials describe it increasingly angry and frustrated president newscast couple of weeks, angry and frustrated that comey was appearing before congress, talking about the f.b.i. investigation into possible russian collusion with the trump campaign during the election last year, but not offering any new details. the president felt that there was nothing there, there, and it was time for it to be over. but according to deputy principal assistant secretary-- sorry, principal deputy press secretary sarah sanders, the president did not ask for the rationale to fire comey on monday when he met with attorney general jeff sessions and deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. she says that the two justice department officials are the ones who brought up their exwrnz come

john yang reports. >> to the extent of my ability, i am not going to stop trying to find the truth. >er: the story of seth rich's death is a story of how "fake news" spreads, from websites and online forums like reddit, to prime-time cable tv. >> murder investigation. >> reporter: early one morning last july, 27-year-old rich was found fatally shot near his washington, d.c. home. politics had drawn the omaha native to the city, and he was working at the democratic national committee when he died. the case is still unsolved. d.c. police theorize it was a botched robbery, the latest in a string of attacks in the neighborhood. as rich's family and friends mourned, he became the subject of a baseless conspiracy theory. the claim was that he was the source of the d.n.c. emails about hillary clinton's campaign that wikileaks released later that month. >> a private investigator says there is evidence to show rich was communicating with wikileaks. >> reporter: last week, fox's washington station broadcast an interview with fox news legal commentator rod wheeler. >> you have sources at the f.b

the white house's reaction to john yang's rhetoric has been mixed. reporter: the supersonic bomber is capable of flying intercontinental missions without refueling, penetrating sophisticated enemy defenses. yesterday, two of these jets went over the korean peninsula in a training drill with south korean and japanese air forces. the deployment of the bombers, they decided to counter the missile launch by north korea. south korean officials say it is on standby. >> i confirmed they have early -- using equipment that is currently installed. in the midst of the increase of deployment, u.s. president donald trump said he would be honored to meet with kim jong-un. the white house quickly brought up the prospect of that meeting taking place anytime soon. >> the key part of the president's statement was, under the right circumstances. and those circumstances do not exist now. it is consistent with what secretary tillerson said the other day. if north korea continues to have a degree of provocative behavior, though circumstances will never be there. reporter:

i'm john yang. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: questions of loyalty and the law. some republicans begin to break ranks, joining democrats calling for an independent counsel after reports the president tried to stop the f.b.i. investigation into his former national security adviser. then, how this latest bombshell raises questions of obstruction of justice. we break down the law, and why it's not always a clear offense. and, how business between two men is improving race relations in athens, georgia. >> we have cuisine from everywhere around the world. live entertainment on any given night: you can find hip hop, comedy, singer songwriters. we want to be a place for everyone, not just anyon

the law is the law. >> yang: ironically, the careers of james comey and robert mueller once again intertwined. johnlin, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> yang: and now we turn to, continuing on this story, we turn to congressman adam kinsinger, a republican of illinois. he called today for a special counsel. representative cinsinger, what's your reaction now to the appointment of former f.b.i. director robert mueller. >> well, i was surprised. i was surprised in a good way. i think this is the right thing to do. the reason i called for it today with the revelations of the supposed memo yesterday, the questions that have been arising, i just came to the realization-- and i've always said from the beginning it's american people deserve the facts. whatever they are, whoever they exonerate or whoever they indict. the american people deserve that. and this had become way too political. any new story, any new piece of information that had come out, you know, the left screams-- some on the left mention impeachment right away, some on the right say it's fake news, and neither is true. so

john yang, lisa desjardins. and now what this means for the function and stability of the trump presidency. we turn to man who has had a front row in the white house. leon panetta was chief of staff for bill clinton. he then served as director of the c.i.a. and secretary of defense in the obama administration. secretary panetta, thank you for talking with us. so as somebody who has had a top job, the top job at the white house as chief of staff, as we said at the pentagon and c.i.a., how do you read how this comey episode has unfolded? >> well, it's a very confusing picture obviously, because a number of reasons have been presented as to why it's happened. but, you know, deep down there's no question that however it happened, and for whatever reasons it happened, that this has undermined the credibility of a very vital national security investigation, and somehow that credibility has to be restored. >> woodruff: how has it undermined that credibility? >> it's undermined the credibility because obviously the f.b.

john yang has our report. >> reporter: it was the first on-camera white house briefing in more than two weeks, but topic "a" was still the russian connection. press secretary sean spicer brushed aside reports that presidential son-in-law jared kushner met the russian ambassador in december, seeking to set up a direct line to russian president vladimir putin outside normal diplomatic channels. >> i think that assumes a lot, and i would just say that mr. kushner's attorney has said that mr. kushner has volunteered to share with congress what he knows about these meetings and he will do the same if he's contacted or connected with any other inquiry. >> reporter: the "new york times" reported investigators are also looking into a meeting kushner held with the head of a u.s. sanctioned, state-owned russian bank. and, cnn reported that during the presidential campaign, u.s. intelligence intercepted russian officials saying they had potentially "derogatory" financial information about mr. trump and some top aides. this morning, the president tweeted, "russian officials must be laughing at the

john yang at the white house, lisa desjardins at the capitol. thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the chair of the house oversight committee, jason chaffetz, announced he's resigning at the end of june. his decision came as the committee is investigating the trump campaign's contacts with russia. the utah republican said he wants to spend more time with his family and possibly run for governor. one person was killed and 22 hurt in new york's time square today when a car plowed into pedestrians. the driver, a 26-year-old navy veteran, was taken into custody and underwent tests for alcohol and drugs. the car drove the wrong way up a street, then up on the sidewalk, for 3 blocks, and finally came to rest with two wheels in the air. police said there's no indication that terrorism was involved. the founder of fox news, roger ailes, died today. he transformed the business and built the network into a dominant presence, but his career ended in scandal. p.j. tobia has our report. he has dramatically and forever changed the political and me

john yang reports. >> reporter: president trump crossed the imposing security wall separating israel and the west bank to meet with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas in bethlehem, part of mr. trump's quest to jumpstart long-dormant israeli-palestinian peace talks. >> i intend to do everything i can to help them achieve that goal. president abbas assures me he is ready to work toward that goal in good faith, and prime minister nethanyahu has promised the same. >> reporter: abbas outlined what's called the "two-state solution": the palestinian homeland on the territory that israel seized 50 years ago in the six-day war. >> ( translated ): our fundamental problem is with the occupation and settlements, and failure of israel to recognize the state of palestine in the same way we recognize it, which undermines the realization of the two-state solution. the problem is not between us and judaism. it's between us and occupation. >> reporter: later, speaking in jerusalem, mr. trump acknowledged there would be hurdles. >> both sides will face tough decisions. but with determination, compromise

we begin our coverage with a report from john yang. >> yang: amid the pomp of president trump's arrivalemony in israel, an issue of policy that's confounded presidents for generations-- the israeli-palestinian conflict. >> we must work together to build a future where the nations of the region are at peace, and we have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace to this region. >> israel's hand is extended to all nations, including the palestinians. the peace we seek is a genuine and durable one in which the jewish state is recognized, security remains in israel's hands and the conflict ends once and for all. >> yang: the warmth between the two men was evident, as was the israeli prime minister's pleasure in both the change of u.s. presidents, and a new direction on iran. >> i want you to know how much we appreciate the change in american policy on iran. i want you to know how much we appreciate your bold decision to act against the use of chemical weapons in syria. i want to tell you also how much we appreciate the reassertion of american leadership in the mi

i'm john yang. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: another stunning revelation. the "new york times" reports that president trump asked james comey directly to shut down the f.b.i.'s investigation into michael flynn, according to memos kept by the former f.b.i. director. then: >> the president wasn't even aware of where this information came from. he wasn't briefed on the sources or method of the information, either. >> yang: shooting from the hip. president trump's reported disclosure of sensitive intelligence to russian diplomats in the oval office sparks a firestorm of questions, and calls by lawmakers for a full transcript of the meeting. then, amid growing tensions,

speaking on sunday, us president donald trump again warned john yang not to go ahead.you also, i do believe the president of china, a very respected man, will be happy. ifjohn yang is worried, it is not showing it. today they vowed to go ahead with the nuclear tests, at any time and any location. this all comes two days after north korea tested another of its growing family of ballistic missile. the fifth test this year. meanwhile the us carl vinson carrier battle group has finally arrived in waters off the korean lindsley. the huge ship and escorts are potent symbol of american‘s military might. what are they there to do? president trump not giving many clues.|j what are they there to do? president trump not giving many clues. i don't know —— don't want people to know what my thinking is. for the first time the president acknowledged the terrible consequences of a military strike against north korea. massive warfare, with millions, potentially millions of people being killed, that trumps trade. tensions are now higher than at any time since the korean dictator came to

john yang of the pbs news hour. the president has described yet again today as mad, things aren't going his way, frustrated that in his view his staff can't properly manage things and he is, yet again, lashing out on twitter. in addition to threatening the former fbi director he tweets this. maybe the best thing would be is to cancel all future press briefings and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy. we should note the man elevated to acting director of the fbi says, quote, highly significant. first, the president completely blows away the credibility of his vice president, leaders of congress, senior staff by changing his story. i want to start with this morning. the prts of the united states on twitter essentially threatening the former fbi director and suggesting that there might be, there might be recordings of these conversations. now, i don't say this to be f p flippa flippant. i don't know what to believe out of this white house given the last 72 hours. a, it's a threat, and, b, it's taped? >>

saying he had proposed a budget of -- to share the reporting and insight abby phillip, amy walter, john yang, and karoon of the "washington post." that was remarkable. this was full throat the. a lot think what is hillary clinton going to do in her political retirement. that's not retirement. as she spoke at this commencement, a budget of -- and she said in her view he's a threat to society. let's listen. >> there's something else. as the history majors among you, here today know all too well, when people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society. [ cheers and applause ] >> if you're a trump voter out there, you're probably saying sore loser. but we didn't know how active and how aggressive she was going to be. that was something else. >> yeah. and i still -- i mean, i think hillary clinton is doing something that she probably does best, which is sort of encourage people to do more. i think i consider that speech to be sort of like a cheer leading act for the resistance on the democratic side. because the one th

john yang has our report. >> yang: the race between democrat rob quist and republican greg gianforte was upended in its closing hours when "guardian" reporter ben jacobs tried to ask the republican about the health care bill. jacobs was recording the conversation. >> we'll talk to you about that later. >> yeah, but there's not going to be time, i'm just curious... >> okay, speak with shane, please. i'm sick and tired of you guys! the last guy that came in here, you did the same thing. get the hell out of here! get the hell out of here! the last guy did the same thing. are you with the "guardian?" >> yes! and you just broke my glasses. >> the last guy did the same damn thing. >> you just body-slammed me and broke my glasses. >> get the hell out of here. >> yang: gianforte's press secretary said "aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene." but a fox news team witnessed the confrontation. >> but i did see the whole thing when gianforte grabbed him by the neck, both hands, slid him to the side, body-slammed him, and then got on top of him and started punching, and

industry in beijing held a press conference accusing the cia of putting to attempt the leadership in john yangobal news, 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 euros an analyst in more than 100 20 countries. i am nina melendez. this is bloomberg. anchor: nina, thank you. we are counting down to some of the major market opens. david, we saw the rebound in oil. just the s&p 500 closing above 2400. first time ever. are we going to see gains continue here in asia? david: good morning. there is certainly an execution that we will see some of those gains feedthrough into trading in asia when things get underway in just under 30 minutes. traders say they are looking for more strength in the hang seng and india's nifty 50. a lot of that being driven by the gain in the oil price. 500,w the nasdaq, the s&p hit that overnight. stocksportantly, energy at the 2% gain. has all been given by the agreement between russia and saudi arabia to extend the production curves for nine months, which is certainly more than expected, so yes, we are seeing expectations that those a stronger oil prices will feedthroug

was called the sunshine policy, where soul talked tojohn the sunshine policy, where soul talked to john yangwhat with that do to the relationship with washington so that is the big question. the head of the terror group islamic state has been killed in a raid by us forces. there was a raid by special forces killed in a raid by us forces. there was a raid by specialforces in killed in a raid by us forces. there was a raid by special forces in the eastern part of the country in which he died. two us army rangers were killed in the gunfire. france's newly elected president has promised to fight the divisions which have undermined the country following the victory over the far right‘s marine le pen. the conservatives have recommitted to be idea of net migration being reduced the tens of thousands. however, they have failed to meet this in previous manifestos. labour are to meet this in previous manifestos. labourare campaigning to meet this in previous manifestos. labour are campaigning on health today to tackle childhood obesity by banning all junk food ads today to tackle childhood obesity by