>> not one bit. >> schifrin: and why not? >> again, i am that small cog. i do what i'm suppose to do, when i'm supposed to do it. and i do it well. i do it damn well. >> schifrin: in her 2017 evaluation report, her commander wrote she "embodies the qualities the navy seeks in its future leaders" and "strongly h recommende for promotion. last year her commander wrote she ranked in the top 1% of her peers. and in the category of military bearing and appearance, she "greatly exceeds standards." for winters, that appearance has been hard fought. she was born male. >> i just never -- it was never me. r never saw myself. looking in the mirr so long, and not seeing oneself, in a way, your own body like completely betraying you. >> schifrin: what did you see when you looked in the mirror? o not me. it was scary forng, so many years oabjust not being to relate to the person looking back at me. >> schifrin: through her mid- 20's, she was self-destructive. she would ive fast and not re if she crashed, or even died. and then, this ment -- her first hormone therapy pil

. >> schifrin: what does the water mean to you?>> t's freedom. wi schifrin: for as long as petty officer megaers can remember, she's felt compelled to serve on the water and in the military. >> i joined the military to serve my country. t my father was service. he joined the army right out of high school. i wanted to follow in his footsteps. >> schifrin: those footsteps took her onto the george h. w. bush aircraft carrier. she works in information technology. >> roughly 5,000 people coming together putting bombs on aircraft to getting i.p.sh services to a ip. it's a lot of cogs and a lot o l people doing of great work. >> schifrin: have you ever thought about your contribution to the military as different from any other sailor? >> not one bit. >> schifrin: and why not? >> again, i am that small cog. i do what i'm suppose to do, when i'm supposed to do it. i and i well. i do it damn well. >> schifrin: in her 2017 evaluation report, her commander wrote she "embodies the qualities the navy seeks in its future leaders" and "strongly recommended" her

nick schifrin sat down with him today to discuss how he views >> schifrin: mr.chairman, it's a pleasure. thank you very much. let me start with the news. the president felt compelled sterday to come out of t white house and say, "i am not a russian agent." the president's rhetoric is often defensive of president vladimir putin, and the president of the united states often reflects russi priorities. rhetorically. do you believe the president of the united states acts in ways that hel russia? >> you know, i really don't. he has a list of things that he's done, as far as russia is concerned. these are not good people that we're dealing with, and we know we're dealing with, and we know it. the president knows it. we put sanctions on them. we're going to continue to do at. so as far as russia is concerned there is no feeling in this town by anybody that i know of that we're dealing with human beings that can be trusted or that we should be embracing. >> schifrin: president trump has parroted russian propaganda about the soviet iasion into afghanistan, about montenegr

nick schifrin reports. >> schifrin: today, outside a florida urtroom, in front of a raucous crowd, the who brags about having the ear of the president luxuriated in the spotlight. >> the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. >> schifrin: roger stone l-s surrounded by some wel wishers... >> we stand with you! >> schifrin: ...and a chorus of critics... >> lock him up! schifrin: ...just hours he was arrested in his south florida home, as seen on cnn shortly after that, special counsel robert mueller's office unse charges stone with one count of obstructing an investigation, five counts of false statementsf and one counitness tampering. >> i will plead not guilty to these charges. i will defeat them in court. i believe this is a politically motivated investigation. >> schifrin: the indictment focus on the relationship wi wikileaks head julian assange, and damaging emails released by wileaks: >> wikileaks has released what appears to be transcripts... >> now, these wikileaks're ases have rocked the campaign... >> schifrin: in 2016, wikileaks published emails th

as well. >> schifrin: the u.s. imposed sanctions on maduro and his leadership.ff u.s.ials say depending on maduro's response, they could impose an oil embargo that would likely collapse the state.fi instead, u.s. als hope maduro heeds the protests, and the military withdraws its support. maduro will fight, but he faces a perfect storm of economic pressure, international condemnation, a popular opponent, and the mobilizati of his own people. ckr the pbs newshour, i'm schifrin. >> woodruff: as we heardrl r, many federal workers are nearing a boiling point as this shutdown drags on. there are many efforts around the country to provide some help and relief to workers -- too many to count and show here. but amna nawaz gives us sampling of what's being done. >> nawaz: pop-up food pantries set up across the u.s. are distributing free meals fedetl employees going withou a paycheck. in a numbeof airports around the country, airlines and executives he set up food banks to help t.s.a. workers on the job. >> they have children

here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: on a stage in downtown caracas, in front of a crowd of thousands,year-old juan guaido raised his right hand and administered his own oath of office. e ( translated ): i swear to formally assume wers of the national executive as the president in charge ofa. venezu >> schifrin: around the capital and coun y today, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions ofll venezuelans d in support of guaido and called for a change in government. >> ( translated ): that is thy we are hersupport our national assembly, the only legitite power for the 14 million venezuelans. >> schifrin: nuns demanded freedom, and other protestors demaed president nicolas maduro step down. >> ( translated your time is up, and your cabinet's. understand this: venezuela has outgrown you. >> schifrin: venezuelans have protested before, but this time the usually fractured opposition has a consensus leader. until recently guaido was relatively unknown. but he has criss-crossed the country speaking against maduro, asking for suppo from the international community, and venezuela's powerful mil

nick schifrin brings us one of their stories, with a family that is just now going public. >> schifrin: when majd kamalmaz wasn't throwing the football, hiking up a mountain, or fishing in the ocean, he was with his brood of grandchildren. >> he was an amazing grandather. we have family in indiana, texas, iowa d virginia, and he was the glue that brought everybody together. az>> schifrin: khalid kamas majd's son. and when majd wasn't with his children and grandchildren, he was lping other people's children who'd suffered through conflict or natural disasters. >> he had a big heart, and he couldn't help seeing anyone in pain. he saw a shortage and felt there was a need, and we was an vocate of that need. >> schifrin: after the war in bosnia, the tsunami in indonesia, and hurricane katrina, he led an n.g.o. that treated children who needed help. in 2012, he told an arab news outlet how children can be resilient, with their parents' support. >> ( translated ): the parents should always stand with their children. this gives the child confidence in his or her family and ensures they c overc

he's been in power since 2013, and, as foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports, madurhas presided over an economic catastrophe. >> schifrin: inside venezuela's supreme court today, president nicolas maduro walked into a w hero'selcome, greeted by a phalanof patriotic children. and as seen on state tv, he swore to build what he called 21st century socialism. t while he flashed the sign of a victorious nation, his critics say e's created a failed stat. w t used to be latin america's wealthiest country, citizens lack basic necessities. venezuelans in caracas have demanded access to a supermarket,ven if the shelves were empty because of a shortage of food. patients have protested a shortage of medicine. children play in the dark because of a shortage of power. and a shortage of water means venezuelans bathe with runoff from a mountain. 170 miles southwest of caracas, in the farmland of cojedes state, 32-year-old luis cortes otaiza represents the countr lost hopes. he's the son of a farmer and was successful, until hyrinflation and vernment regulations raised costsbove revenue

nick schifrin has the story. >> schifrin: since the end of the cold war the u.s. built missile defenses primarily to counter rogue states. prday the u.s. expanded the ram's ambition. >> our goal is simple: to ensure that we can detect and destroy why missile launched against the united states, ae, anytime, anyplace. >> my fellow americans. >> schifrin: president trump's words echo president reagan's from 36 years ago, when he launched the strategic defense initiative, that imagi shooting down nuclear weapons frompace. >> we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies. >> schifrin: today's missile defense reviewalls for space- bathd sensors, and to study e possibility of space-based interceptors, like lasers aboard satellites. u.s. oicials say the new policy responds to new russian technologies, including a hypersonic missile a russian animation showed speeding around missile defenses. china is also pursuing hyperson and advanced cruise missiles, said acting secretary of defense patrick shanahan. >

and that will wor schifrin: the number one goal has been to destroy isis. >> correct.dr schifrin: and the wial plan requires turkey to go in and help with that effort, or complete that effort. turkey has called syrian kurds, the u.s. partner whom you mentioned, terrorists. is turkey focused on destroying isis, rather than attacking the syrian kurds, and is it capofble oing that by itself? >> the tur, in my judgment, are not as sophisticated as they should be in dealing with the kurds.ig paint all the kurds with the same brush. with the turks, they are allies of ours but we cannot condone nor will we condone them goin in and doing atrocities against the kurds >> schrin: one of the ministration's goals in syria is to evict iran. that doesn't necessarily have to thppen with u.s. troops, but do you worr the removal of u.s. troops from northern syria reduces the leverage of diplomatic efforts and economic effort to try to evict iran from syria? d >> i woubt that you can argue, 2,000 troops there we ifuld get that job done. >> sn: secretary of state pompeo delivered a compre

foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin reports. >> schifrin: on a wintry monday morning outside white house, the president of the united states decred, i am not a ssian agent. >> i never worked for russia, and you know that answer better nean anybody. r worked for russia. not only did i never work for russia, i think it's a disgrace that you eesn asked that on. because it's a whole big fat axax. it's just a ho. >> schifrin: president trump was ding to a "new york time report the f.b.i. opened a counter-intelligence investigation into whether mr. trump was "knowingly working for russia or had unwittingly fallen der moscow's influence." the bureau opened the counter- intelligence investigation after president trump fired f.b.i. director james comey, and suggested to nbc news he did so atto end the russia investn. >> i was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you ow, this russia thing with trump and russia is a de up story. >> schifrin: today, president trump accused the f.b.i. officials wh

>> schifrin: thousands of protestors filled caracas, calling for presidennicolas maduro's ouster. they braved physical threats to request new, free elections,thnd e transfer of power to national assembly head juan guaido. today guaido's supporters chanted that when he declared himself interim president last week, he brought back hope, as he was mobbed with cameras. >> ( translated ): i'm protesting because i want my >> schifrin: since the latest round of protests began last week, human rights groups say at least 35 people have been killed at security forces. today's demonstrns were smaller, but spread from areas that were once government strongholds, to elite caracas neighborhoods. "new york times" reporter ana vanessa herrero was there. >> the opposition asked everyon for twurs to stop what they were doing, and for exampleva here, it's a p hospital in the capital city. in the east side of the captial toty. and we can see d, we can see nurses, stopping their jobs, stopping their day to day lives to protest against nicolas maduro. >> schifrin: maduro relies on the military's suppor

foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin tells us who he is, and wh amounts of hope and fear. >> schifrin: jair bolsonaro rode into office in the back of a a rolls royce, on the back of widespread anger at brazil's elite. and with the help of pomp and circumstance, the former army captain became brazil's first modern right-wing leader, as an unabashed nationalist. >> ( translated ): this is our flag, which will never be red. >> schifrin: red as in socialism, and red as in the rty of his political opponents, former president luiz inacio lula da silva, whis in prison, his successor, who was impeached, and most recent president michel temer, who was accused of corruption and embraced bolsonaro before he spoke. >> ( translated ): i stand before the nation today, on the day the people became free from socialism... ...free from the gigantic state, from the politically correct. the ections gave voice to those who have not been heard. >> schifrin: his supporters call myth, a reference to the almost mythical status bolsonaro achieved after surviving aem ser stabbing, and to his middle name: messia

ng schifrin: the economic free- fall is from faloil prices, and failed economic policies. the government printed more money and bills became so worthless, women turned them into art. inflation could hit 10 million percent.an that's howbolivars it costs to buy a chicken. it takes a stack of almost worthless paper, to buy topailet r. all of it sparked the region's largest ever exodus. more than three milln venezuelans have fled their homes and created a humanitarian crisis, says woodrow wilson center senior advisor ben gedan. >> the conditions in venezuelae heartbreaking, in terms of the collapse of the medical system, the extraordinary levels of violence. it's become apocalyptic to live in that untry. and then the conditions that these migrants find themselves in neighbong countries. >> schifrin: maduro was re- elected la may in a presidential election the u.s. called un-free and unfair. he's maintained power through s,corruption and ruthlessn says gedan, who was president obama's national security council uth america director. >> the president of venezuela has been willing

n schifrin: on a street i northern syria, the restaurant where u.s. troops were having a meeting, is gutted. the building facade is crumpledi and the rostained with blood. a closed circuit camera video posted to twitter shows the street before the attack, and the moment of the explosion. after, a u.s. military hecopter evacuated the wounded. atese photos posted on facebook last month show .s. troops do in manbij. they conduct patrols in a local trrket, speak to residents, and y to maintain stability in a city liberated from isis more than two years ago. in 2014, isis contolled huge swaths of syria, in black. today, the u.s. and its local allies have seized all but this area in the east. today's attack in manbij is hundreds of miles away. but isis claimed responsibility. and a u.s. official says isis ed at least six major attacks in the last few weeks. but today at the state department, vice president mike pence repeated the administration's claim isis was vanquished. e we're now actually able to begin to hand off ght against isis in syria to our hoali

:. >> schifrin: david o'sullivan, e.u. ambassador to the u.s., thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the revolving door of those in president s orbit has sparked a boon in thoks attempting to offer inside accounts of perhapmost tumultuous campaign, transition and presidency in modern american politics. out this week, "let me finish: trump, the kushners, bannon, new jersey, and the power of in- your-face politics." its author, former republicanrs new governor chris christie. he ran for preside in 2016, then became a vocal supporter of mr. trump and, for a time, ersaw the president elect's transition team. governor christie, welce to the "newshour". there's so much ground you cover in this book, so many stories,er s one anecdote i want to ask you about, though. you say this is a perfect capsule of president trump. this was the first you have been with him. you had dinner with him. it was 2003. afterwards, a woman comes up, was a fan of his, wants to take a picture.en he camera doesn't work, what happens? what does

l >> schifrin: pelan is a former marine who served two tours in iraq before he was court maialed for related to larceny. during one of those tours, he vacationed in moscow, the beginning of what his family calls relar trips. he lives outside detroit, and works for the automotive supply company borg warner as its director of global security. today, he's held at this detention facility in moscow. after his arrest last week on ansuspicion of spying, rus media today announced he was charged with espionage, and could facep to 20 years in prison. yesterday in brazil, secretary of state me pompeo said the u.s. was seeking more information.ea >> we've made to the russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges. i come to understand what it is he's been accused of and if the detention is not appropriate we will demand his immeate return. >> schifrin: shortly after, u.s. ambassador to russia jon hunstman visited whelan in prison, and a state department spokesperson said, "ambassador huntsman expressed his support for mr. whel and offered the embassy's assistance through the

whelan's family." >> paul's a kind and a generous person. >> schifrin: paul's twin brother david gaveterview to cnn,e leased a statement saying paul was in moscow for a wedding and that "his innocence is undoubted." he was asked to come and help whelan visited russia often. he supported the country's most famous soccer team. and he supported president trump. whelan had a profilevan russia's eqnt of facebook. on election night 2016, he wrote in misspelled russiaward president trump." and on inaguration day, he wrote, "god save president trump." >> schifrin: whelan's arrest c could nected to the u.s. government's arrest of russian citizen maria butina. last month she pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of the kremlin to influence u.s. polics. she had met with republicans such as former wisconsinve or scott walker. whelan's family insists he was not working for the u.s. government. why did russia arrest paul whelan? how likely is it that he really is a spy as the russians claim? for that we turn to john sipher, a 28-year veteran of the c.i.a. who was based in moscow in the 1990s. he sub

nick schifrin has the story. >> schifrin: today's announcement came after torth korean chief negot kimg-chol met with secretary of state mike pompeo, and u.s. special envoy for north korea, steve biegun. and then they went to the whites house to meet ent trump. that's where press secretary sarah sanders spoke about the u.s. policy of combiximum pressure and diplomacy. >> the united states is going to continue to keep preand sanctions on north korea until we see fully and verified denuearization. we've had very good steps and good faith from the north koreans in reasing the hostages and other moves, and so we're going to continue those conversations. president looks forward to the next meeting. >> schifrin: that next meeting will occur, possibly in vietnam, at the end of february-- about eight months after presidentum and kim jong-un agreed in singapore to establish a new relationship and build a lasting peace. kim committed to work toward complete denuclearization. president trump committed to providing the north security guarantees. since then, the two sides have camade no new agreeme

we will have a report from foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin later in the program. united nations' human rights office is demanding that azimbabwe's government en violent crackdown on fuel hike protesters. u.n. officials say security forces are using fear and intimidation, and conducting door-to-door searches at night. more than 600 people were arrested this week alone. the government has also ordered a total internet blackout.ol in bogota,bia, the death t.ll from a car bombing rose to 21 people overni dozens of others were wounded in the country's inadliest attack 5 years. the thursday blast targeted a poli academy. officials said today that the bomber was member of colombia's last remaining rebel group, known as "e.l.n." back in th-a country, anrtion activists staged the 46th annual "mar for life" in washington. thousands walked from the national mall to the supreme court, after vice presidt pence touted the trump administration's anti-abortion policies. >> we know we still have much to do, so we urge you to stand strong, stand with that love and compassion, as yo

here to help navigate the contradictions, ouforeign affairs correspondent, nick schifrin. nick, hello. so let's start with north korea. we know the president has emphasized dialogue with the north. what is the intelligence community saying? >> the intelligence community has long been sceptical that north korea would ever be willing to give up its nuclear weapons because they assess that north korea believes those weapons are an essential deterpght. that's exactly what wey.eard to let's listen to the director of national intelligence, dan coates. >> kim jong-un continues to demonstrate openness to the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. having said, that we currently assess thanorth korea wil seek to retain its w.m.d. capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival. >> so that scepticism is ontrast toin president trump's opting mitchell. president trump has said thatn kim jongs serious about denuclearization. let's talk history here. th

ni schifrin. >> thank you very much. >> nawaz: stay with us.ing up on the "newshour," how fresh faces in congress could change how washington works; and a new documentary sheds light on recordiist r. kelly's history of abuse. thoncivil war in yemen will enter its sixth year.th tens of sands have been killed amid fighting between houthi rebels and yemen's government, backed by a saudi-led coalition that is supported by the unitestates. disease and an acute hunger crisis have kisaed untold ths more. and for children in yemen, thesp war hitsially hard. their losses can be profound-- none more so than the deaths of, or abandonment by, their own parents. from the rebel-held capital, sana'a, special correspondent jane ferguson reports. >> reporter: as the winter sun ris over yemen's ancient capital, sana'a, boys at this orphanagplay soccer while they wait for their breakfast. when it comes, it's a humble meal, just lentils and bread. but it's hot, and they are happh toe it. the littlest boys eat separately, one of them sent to collect the bread each

but as nick schifrin reports,ar therquestions about whether the military is undercounting. >> reporterur years ago, isis controlled territory across iraq and syria the size of belgium.he today,roup has lost 99% of that land, and eight-millionlo people ner have to live inside the so-called islamic state. the u. has achieved that success thanks in large part to a massive air campaign. in iraq and syria, the u.s. has launched 31,6 air strikes in a sempaign the coalition describes as the "most pren history." but this weekend, the u.s. admitted that thosair strikes accidentally killed 1,139 civilians. how did they arrive at that number? and is it accurate? to explore those questions i am joined by larry lewis, who ud to lead the defense department's efforts to prevent civilian casualties. he was also the state department's senior advisor on civilian protection, and is now research director at the cente for naval analyses. larry, thank you very much. k.lcome bac you and i have talked about how this is probably an undercount, that $1,139, and oe of the main reasons is buildings, something alm

months or longer to talk about this i'm joined by our foreign affairs and defense correspondent nick schifrin the president's national security advisor john bolton is in the region now, in the middle of a trip o tey and israel. what does he have to say about this? >> there no different on the top line. b joton said yes the u.s. will withdraw troops from sir e.u. but put conditions on the withdrawal that could take months if not years let's gisten to john boltonen to what he had to say yesterday. >> we will dis ss the president's decision to withdraw but to do so istn northsyria in a way to make sure i.s.i.s. is defeated and to make sureth thatdefense of israel and our other friends in the region is absolely assured, and to take care of those who have fought with us against i.s.i.s. and other terrorist groups. >>o those are three conditions. one, the defeat of i.s.i.s., that's been consistent throughout. two, defense of israel, that means countering iweran. we talking about iran before the sound byte. he said all u.s. troops will stay in syria till iran leaves syria and a whi house official sa

in november, khalilzad spoke to the newshour's nick schifrin: >> we want a peace that is worthy of erifices that have been made for the past 17 years, meaning especially that afghistan does not become a platform for international terrorists against the united stes. >> yang: the u.s. envoy also says the taliban must agree to a ceasefire, and to deal directly with the afghan government, something it has refused to do. on sunday, khalilzad briefed ghafghan president ashraf i on the talks. today, ghani said a final agreement must protect the rights of afghans. >> ( translated ): our commitment is to provide peace and to prevent any possible disaster, but there are values that are not disputable, such as national unity, nationalig soverey, territorial integrity and a strong central government. >> yang: in washington, acting defense secretary patricksh ahan hailed the tentative framework. >> it' >> yang: he also said he has not been asked to prepare a plan to withdraw the 14,000 u.s. troopsa inhanistan. president trump has oftenex essed frustration with the long-running afghan war, and the

olympic skier michela schifrin was denied a record equalling eighth win in the world cup slalom by a tenth of a second racing in dense snow full of the austrian result a flash how the hope of surviving the twenty three year old in an extremely close finish race first than shifrin but it was just not enough lava is the first skier to beat the american in a women's slalom since the start of last season and in an interview with us ski and snowboard shifrin said i'm dead i'm done we have a short bit of time for some rest and some training before crump lats and that's really good because if we had to race tomorrow i don't think i could do it it's a bit mixed emotions yes fifteen hundred ths of a second is so small and there is some disappointment but i've also been ahead of petra by the same small margin and shiffrin went on to praise petra in a tweet posted a few hours ago saying it was a fight indeed congrats to petra looking forward to the next one but first some sleep since her debut at the olympics shifrin sleep patterns have got nearly as much attention as her when she reportedly ge

now is the ski defeat everyone is talking about us the lympics mckayla schifrin was denied a record equalling eighth win in the world cup slalom by a tenth of a second racing in dent snowfall in the austrian result a flash how much of lava in slovakia beat the twenty three year old in an extremely close finish. raced first than shifrin but it was just not enough as the first gear to beat the american in a women's slalom since the start of last season she celebrated with a fight found in smoke. all right that is all useful for now jay thanks very much and that brings us to the end of the. back and a little bit. of news. culturally i believe the muslims had a far greater effect on europe than europe the middle east. the crusaders fault for all she was all because they failed to recognize the moment. enough it was in the the list campaign of colonization that exploded religion in the name of the cross the crusades an arab perspective the final episode liberation at this time. until now in the coverage of latin america most of the world was covering khuda taz tragedies quakes and that was it but

classics shutting out schifrin see who's denying the american an event called it going world cup with peter with all the action ahead in spain. whether online i want to start here on my laptop with a tweet or you can join us on send there was the a rush of adrenaline will be called this is the moment that to me i've been waiting for this is a dialogue the government has codebase and an eagle protest and instructing police to these things to disperse the crowds everyone has a voice for votes for lots of different reasons what's the difference types of bricks or join the global conversation on al-jazeera. arts or. and there again you're watching our sister as a reminder of our top stories this hour and the government protesters a keeping up the pressure on president to step down he addresses supporters in khartoum refusing to quit and blaming the economic problems on foreign interference . british prime minister treason mayors insisting there is no alternative brecht's deal and she tries to persuade parliament to support it. debating the agreement which sets out the terms of persons dep