william brangham begins our coverage. >> as you all know from personal experience, families currentlyling with the worst drug crisis in american history and world history. >> brangham: president trump, flanked by survivors, first responders and family members impacted by opioids, declared a public health emergency. >> this is national health emergency. what we have seen in our lifetimes nobody has seen what is going on now. as americans we cannot allow this to continue, it's time to liberate our communities from this scourge. we can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic. >> brangham: the president spoke of the severity of the crisis, which claimed the lives of at least 64,000 people last year, which has stretched the ability of first responders and filled treatment centers to capacity nationwide. but the president also told a more personal story: about his own brother fred, who died after his struggle with alcoholism. >> he really helped me. he had a very tough life because of alcohol but it was tough thing he was going through, but i learned a lot because of fred. >> brangh

i want to ask you about william brangham's reporting, but tam let's start with the news today, that isdictments and the plea agreement. is there a sense from the white house, from the hill, from capitol hill that this is a big moment politically or just another day in the life of this ongoing investigation? >> the white house is treating this sort of like they've treated other big rev regulations saying, oh, this pop dop russ guy, he was just a volunteer for the campaign and, hey, look, the charges they announced, he just pled out to misleading the f.b.i., that doesn't have anything to do with the campaign. as the legal experts you had open made clear, that's means he's cooperating and they're in these -- in these documents, there were all kinds of connections, e-mails, various documentation of him clueing in top leadership at the trump campaign. as for the hill, republicans have been relatively quiet. paul ryan earlier in the day said something like he's not going to let this thing get in the way of doing the work for the american people, taxes, and there were a couple of republicans

. >> woodruff: we'll learn more about that later in the program with william brangham.spoke about healthcare, the failure of republicans to repeal and replace obamacare. >> this came during the cabinet meeting earlier in the day. he made it sound like the breakthrough was imminent on the short-term fix to bolster the affordable care act and then on a long-term bill to destroy the affordable care act and replace it. >> people have a short-telterm x and then a long-term fix and that will take place probably in march or april, we will a solid vote. it will be probably 100% republican, no democrats, but most people know that's going to be a very good form of health insurance. >> our colleague reports from comip talking about a bipartisan short-term fix, negotiations or talks between lamar alexander and patty myrrh are are showing progress. the longer term fix, the suggestion is, according to lisa desjardins, that the president may be pushing an idea that is not fully baked on capitol hill. >> woodruff: so separately, john, the president was asked about those well publicized

william brangham visited boston, massachusetts, a state that's seen a dramatic rise in opioid deaths,e than 2,000 people last year. it's the focus of our weekly segment on the "leading edge," and part of our series, "america addicted." >> knowing that that next bag is going to kill you, it doesn't matter, because you're addicted. it certainly didn't stop me. >> brangham: kelsey, who asked we not use her last name, began shooting heroin 12 years ago, when she was just 15. earlier this year, she overdosed here in the bathroom inside boston's healthcare for the homeless, which sits on the city's south end, an area known as "methadone mile" for its cluster of treatment centers. >> one afternoon i was walking along and i looked on the ground and i found a bag, and it had six bags of dope bagged out. i was like, oh, cool. i did it, and all of the sudden, the next thing i know, i'm waking up in the ambulance. >> what's your name? >> brangham: her story isn't unusual. just a few miles away, a man is found unresponsive. he's revived using naloxone, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses, unti

william brangham has that story. >> a train derailment in tennessee. >> some routine road maintenance lead to a squabble. >> we have breaking news to tell you about-- this is out of bethesda tonight. >> brangham: night after night, the country's largest owner of local tv stations, the sinclair broadcast group, reaches over a third of homes across the nation. >> a compromise plan for the controversial conseus inn. >> brangham: most of us think of local news as just that-- local. they're local stories, produced and reported by local people. but if, last week, you tuned in to, say, wvtv, sinclair's station in milwaukee, you saw this: >> does the president have to repeat that fact, day in and out? >> brangham: that's boris epshteyn, former member of the trump administration, and now chief political analyst for sinclair. and here he was again on wear in pensacola: >> the president stating the fact that the fringes of the left and the right. >> brangham: and on ksas in wichita: >> are both capable of hate and violence, does not mean he is condoning any of it. >> brangham: and again, and aga

william brangham explains how some of those weapons were likely modified to increase the horrendous death toll of the concertgoers below. >> brangham: you can hear it in those horrible cell phone videos from sunday night. ( gunfire ) that rapid fire is virtually impossible for one person to do, unless you're using a fully- automatic weapon. fully-automatic means one pull of the trigger fires a continuous stream of bullets. it continues firing until you release the trigger, or run out of ammunition. that's certainly what the video from las vegas sounded like, but it's been illegal to sell automatic weapons since 1986, when ronald reagan signed a law that banned them. they were considered too deadly for civilians to own. existing owners in most states were grandfathered in, and those can be sold, but no new sales to civilians have been allowed since. so how was the killer able to shoot so many rounds, so quickly? one clue is right here. this is one of his guns from that hotel room. see this part of the gun? that's an added modification known as a "bump-stock," and it's likely one of the way

william brangham recently traveled to rhode island, to see a program that deploys former drug users to. it's part of our ongoing series, "america addicted." >> i lived down here for years, on the street. >> brangham: lived right here? >> i did, yep. >> brangham: 30-year-old jonathan goyer has spent more than half his life addicted to drugs. >> i struggled with opiates and addiction of cocaine, of benzo's, such as xanax, klonopin, ativan, struggled with alcohol, struggled with crystal meth, bath salts, hallucinogenics, tranquilizers. >> brangham: that's a hell of a menu. >> it is. >> i planned on dying. that was my plan. so i continued to use drugs until hopefully death arrived at my doorstep. >> brangham: 32-year-old roxanne newman also spent years on the street, addicted. >> i've had people, when they want to hurt me, they'll say, you know, "you're a junkie. you're a crack head. you're a prostitute. you're a hooker." >> brangham: but today, after long and difficult roads, goyer and newman are both clean. and now, they're helping others battle their own addiction. >> have you thought a

william brangham brings us up to date. >> brangham: two years ago, we went to colorado to tell the storya badly-wounded young marine veteran and his wife. they wanted to start a family. but as you'll see, the challenges facing them-- physical and financial-- were daunting. all newlyweds face challenges, but jason and rachel hallett have more than most. jason is a triple amputee. back in 2010, as a 19-year-old marine, he lost two legs and one arm when he stepped on an i.e.d in afghanistan. >> when 9/11 and everything happened i had a little bit of interest in joining the military but as soon as that happened, everything was circling around me joining the military. >> brangham: after his injury, jason had multiple surgeries at various u.s. military facilities. he hadn't been in touch with rachel since they dated back in the eighth grade. but in the hospital, he looked her up on facebook. >> he sends me this friend request a couple years after i had kind of given up. and when i saw what had happened i just started crying and messaged him right away and sa¡' well, we've got a lot to catch up

william brangham begins our coverage. >> brangham: it was an evening of country music in las vegas, fansording the scene with cell phones. ( gunfire ) then, the rapid fire of gunshots. there was momentary confusion as country music singer jason aldean ran off the stage. >> aldean left the stage and then everybody started fleeing. and we started fleeing. we had to hop a gate to get out. it was crazy. i've never seen anything like that in my life. >> brangham: for approximately 10 minutes, bullets rained down on the crowd of 22,000 people. some ducked for cover, some tried to shield loved ones. others ran for shelter in nearby hotels on the famed strip. the gunman had taken up position on the 32nd floor of the nearby mandalay bay hotel and had a clear view of the open concert down below. police scrambled to identify his position, amid the chaos. >> we got shots fired, sounded like an automatic firearm. >> we have an active shooter, we have an active shooter inside the fairgrounds. >> i see the shots coming from mandalay bay, halfway up. >> one suspect down inside the room. zebra 20 has one

for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham. >> woodruff: and now to our series of conversations on theure of the democratic party. i sat down with democratic congressman ruben gallego at the walter cronkite school of journalism. he has represented phoenix in congress since 2015, and is a marine corps veteran who served in the iraq war. i began by asking him what's at stake in the fight over healthcare. >> well, what's at stake is the rising premiums on millions of americans, and according to the c.b.o., one million americans not having health insurance next year in 2018. the lamar swrld-patty murray compromise seems good on paper. it's going to pay out the subsidies for the insurance market for the next two years. it does give some flexibility to states about what is covered and how the money is used. i'm waiting to see what-- what those details are. >> woodruff: so let's talk about your party, the democrats. it's been almost a year since the democrats took a serious drubbing in the 2016 elections. what shape is the democratic party in now? >> well, certainly, i think we're in better s

william brangham has the story. >> well, i worked for 25 years here. >> brangham: one of the most powerful in hollywood, harvey weinstein, has been fired from the influential film company he founded. he was out just three days after this bombshell report in the "new york times" detailed three decades of sexual harassment allegations against him from scores of women who worked with or for his company among those going public: actresses like rose mcgowan and ashley judd, both of whom detailed unwanted sexual ncvaes and harassing behavior. the times reported that weinstein has reached private settlements with at least eight different accusers over the years. >> i was so shocked i could not believe what i was witnessing. >> brangham: this morning, journalist lauren sivan went on megyn kelly's show alleging that weinstein cornered her a decade ago and performed an obscene sexual act in front of her. >> more than the disgusting act which was gross it was the demeaning part of it all just 20 minutes earlier we were having this great conversation. >> brangham: his first company, miramax, founded b

william brangham brings us the latest. >> brangham: many puerto ricans are still in the dark, without electrical power. hundreds of thousands still have no access to running water, and the rebuilding of the countless damaged homes, roads and facilities is just beginning. the associated press reported yesterday that almost half the sewage treatment plants on the island are still out of service, increasing the risk of contamination and disease. i'm joined now by david begnaud, a correspondent from cbs news who's been reporting there since the storm hit, and is just back from his latest trip to the island. david, welcome to the "newshour". i wonder, we saw many of your reports and others of people still three weeks out from the storm who are still drinking from streams and creeks. you heard i mentioned this a.p. report about fears of contamination. how are people getting water now? >> the governor of puerto rico said this morning he's aware of those reports and they're looking into it. what's concerning, william, is three weeks after the storm and at least a week after the allegations fi

william brangham has the story. >> brangham: the president's executive order makes two principal moves: it changes the rules over what are called "association health plans"-- these would allow some small businesses to buy cheaper insurance plans that provide fewer benefits and protections. it also expands the time frame for what are known as "short- term insurance plans," which are usually used by people as a bridge between jobs. under the obama administration, these plans could last for just three months. president trump expanded those plans to a year. critics argue these changes will pull younger, healthier people out of the a.c.a. marketplace, leaving behind older, sicker people who will then face higher prices and fewer options. the president, however, argued these changes were crucial to help save an already troubled marketplace: >> premiums have gone skyrocketing. but today, one third of all the counties in america have only a single insurer selling coverage on an exchange and next year it looks like only half of all counties in our country. think of that-- all of the counties, o

william brangham has our look at how people on the frontlines of that battle are responding. >> branghamlaration of a public health emergency over the opioid crisis, president trump said the country needs to do a lot of things, from ratcheting up treatments to racking down on illegal drugs. he also said we have to do more on prevention. he called for the creation of national advertising campaign to help young people make better decisions. >> this was an idea that i had where if we can teach young people not to take drugs, just not to take them, when i see friends of mine that are having difficulty with not having that drink at dinner, where it's literally almost impossible for them to stop, i say the myself, pwhy would that be difficult? but we understand why it is difficult. the fact is if we can teach young people and people generally not to start, it's really, really easy not to take them. and i think that's going to end up being our most important thing. >> brangham: joining me now are two men who have thought a great deal about helping others avoid addiction. gary mendell is the c.e

william brangham has the details. >> brangham: until recently, consumers who signed up for checking accounts cards gave up their right to be part of any class-action lawsuit brought against that company. most people had no idea they'd given up this right, because banks and other institutions tuck what are known as "abritration clauses" into those long, fine-print agreements we all sign without really reading. the consumer financial protection bureau had passed a rule saying that arbitration was unfair, and groups deserved their day in court. but then last night, the senate overturned that rule 51-50, with vice president pence casting the tie-breaking vote. so what does this actually mean for consumers? to help us understand that, we turn to bloomberg's elizabeth dexheimer. welcome. so what does this 15 mien for consumers? >> so the status quo you just described will continue. you mentioned it's arbitration agreements. these are very common and when you open a checking account or a credit card, you typically sign a contract with this clause that says you will not join together with other cons

william brangham has an update. >> brangham: given what happened when recent hurricanes hit texas, florida puerto rico, it's easy to lose sight of the u.s. virgin islands where 100,000 american citizens live. they were hit by two category-5 storms in the span of two weeks. progress is being made, but there's a long way to go. on st. john, for example, power is largely still out for everyone. electricity is quite limited on st. thomas and st. croix, too. many structures, including two hospitals, schools and police stations, were destroyed. for a look at the latest, we talked by phone with a state senator on the island, janette millin young. senator, thank you very much for being here. i wonder if you could just start off by giving us a sense of what daily life is like there now. >> daily life continues to be a struggle for many people here in the united states virgin islands. if you were here, the optics would tell you a little different, because we've started to... it seems like it's normal because we're in traffic, the plants and the trees and everything is turning green again, but the li

amber robins, our health and media fellow, joined william brangham on facebook live to take your questionsice? washing your hands and getting vaccinated. >> as a family doctor, i could not get away without saying vaccinations are a great way to prevent getting viruses like hepatitis a. since they have come out, in the mid '90s, the hepatitis a vaccine has decreased the amount of hepatitis a that we've seen by 95%. that is a huge number. >> sreenivasan: you can watch more of their conversation on our facebook page: facebook.com/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm hari sreenivasan. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh