Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20180106

Pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. Babbels 1015 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. More information on babbel. Com. Funding provided in part by 20th century fox. The post, in theaters everywhere january 12. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump faces new revelations tonight about whether he tried to obstruct an investigation of alleged russian ties to his campaign. Both the New York Times and others report he had his white House Counsel press attorney general Jeff Sessions not to remove himself from overseeing the probe. The attorney general did step aside, after which former f. B. I. Director Robert Mueller was named special counsel for the investigation. Today, the president ignored shouted questions about the reports as he left the white house. We will look at this in detail, after the news summary. Also today, republican senators are asking for a federal investigation of the former British Intelligence agent who last year compiled a dossier about President Trumps ties to russia. They say that Christopher Steele may have made false statements. Meanwhile, the f. B. I. Has reportedly revived its review of the Clinton Family foundation. President trump has pressed for an investigation of whether donations were tied to government actions while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. The foundation has denied wrongdoing. Bonechilling temperatures as low as minus30 gripped the east coast today. The cold wave followed a huge winter storm that brought more than a foot of snow and flooding and disrupted travel. In philadelphia today, people braved icy arctic conditions with wind chills down to minus25. Others were still stranded at airports in newark, new jersey, and elsewhere. Well, ive been here since yesterday, and three flights have been canceled. There is nothing i can do. Im trying to get to london, but no joy. So here we are, trying to get another flight. I think the snow is not the big deal, but like, the wind seems to be very violent. So i can understand, can just stress everyone out and shut down everything. Woodruff overall, at least seven people have died in weatherrelated accidents. Forecasts predict the coldest conditions to hit over the weekend. The u. S. Economy added more than two million jobs in 2017, but ended the year with relatively modest gains. The Labor Department reports that following a surge in november, employers added a net of just 148,000 jobs in december. Still, the Unemployment Rate held steady at 4. 1 for the Third Straight month. The jobs report kept a new years rally going on wall street. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 220 points, nearly 1 , to close at 25,295. The nasdaq rose 58 points, and the s p 500 added 19. In afghanistan, the death toll climbed to 20 in a Suicide Attack on Security Officers in kabul. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the thursday night bombing. Broken glass and branches were strewn across the scene where the attacker blew himself up. Officials say he targeted officers who had gathered to monitor protests by shopkeepers. North and south korea have now agreed to hold formal talks on tuesday, their first in more than two years. The announcement today said the focus will be on the north competing in next months Olympic Games in the south and on improving relations. Reaction in seoul was cautiously optimistic. translated its positive. It will be very good if the relations can improve gradually towards a conciliatory tone. That would help global peace and the local economy, especially from a business persons perspective. Woodruff the announcement came hours after the u. S. Agreed to postpone military drills with south korea until after the olympics. President trump will spend the weekend meeting with republican congressional leaders in an effort, they say, to map out their 2018 agenda. The talks are expected to focus on infrastructure, immigration and the budget, among other issues. And, the Worlds Largest ice festival has opened in northeastern china. More than 2,000 huge, carved sculptures are on display in harbin, constructed of ice from a nearby river and illuminated with colorful lights. The festival continues through february. Still to come on the newshour new reports shed light on whether President Trump tried to interfere with the russia investigation. I talk to former tv anchor Gretchen Carlson about her fight against Sexual Harassment, and the miss america pageant. Mark shields and david brooks analyze a full week of news. And, much more. Woodruff as the investigation into ties between the Trump Organization and russian officials by special counsel Robert Mueller continues, the New York Times is reporting on the frenzied days around attorney general Jeff Sessionss decision to remove himself from overseeing the inquiry, and President Trumps firing of thenf. B. I. Director james comey. Our correspondent William Brangham has more. Brangham the report paints a revealing portrait of trump and his inner circle in those crucial early days of the russia investigation. To break down the revelations and what they mean for the president and the man investigating him, im joined by Julie Hirschfeld davis, White House Reporter for the New York Times. And, jack goldsmith, professor at Harvard Law School and cofounder of lawfareblog. Com. He also served as assistant attorney general for the justice Departments Office of legal counsel, during the george w. Bush administration. So, julie, i wonder if you could just start off. This story had so many interesting at the tails to it and helped tell us a little bit more about what may be an obstruction of justice case. Give us some of the details you guys reported. Well, what were learning is more about what the special prosecutor Robert Mueller is looking at as he tries to figure out whether there is a case for obstruction of justice, and one of the key things my colleague matt schmidt and the rest of us learned in the course of reporting the story is we had known before that the president was very upset that attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from the russia investigation. What weve found out now is he actually dispatched the white House Counsel don mcghan who is the top lawyer at the white house to essentially lobby Jeff Sessions not to do that. He had been considering it. He sent mcghan to try to talk him out of it, and, when that failed, trump really erupted in rage and said he wanted a protector just like previous president s. He felt he wasnt being personally protected in the way he wanted to be. He said where is my roy cohn, referring to his former personal lawyer who was also the top aide many decades ago to general mccarthy when he was doing the anticommunism hearings. So we learned about that and the degree to the lengths to which the president tried to keep sessions in control of this investigation. We also learned about the way white house lawyers were trying to manage this idea that they knew the president had to fire the f. B. I. Director. One of the lawyers in the white House Counsels office knew that he wanted to do this, that he was considering it and had told the president that he needed a reason, if he wanted to fire the f. B. I. Director. He subsequently researched that and found out it was not in fact the case but deliberately kept the information from President Trump because he was afraid he would act on it and go ahead and fire jim comey which, of course, he did. Were also learning more about the justification that the president sort of and his top aides were trying to put in place for getting rid of comey. We know Jeff Sessions dispatched an aide to go to capitol hill to see if there was any dirt they could dig up on comey, ostensibly i would assume to discredit him before they let him go. Brangham jack goldsmith, why do these elements stand out the you and why . Well, they are all three interesting tidbits, but im not sure how much they add to what the president himself has also admitted to in his tweets and discussions about a possible obstruction of justice charge. We know from the president and lots of previous reporting that the president s very strongly against the investigation, that hes angry at sessions for doing it. We know he fired comey because the president told us so in connection with the russian investigation. There is a lot of interesting detail in the story that gives a lot of richness to what we already know, but im not sure it advances our understanding of a possible obstruction of justice charge. Brangham and again, we should say we really dont know if mueller is pursuing an obstruction of justice, but you are awe lawyer who served in the plt and the d. O. J. The president and the d. O. J. , do these elements add up to what feels like an obstruction of justice case to you im not sure and heres why. First of all, there are legal complications for mueller to bring an a. G. Case a obstruction of justice case. There are tricky things. Obstruction of justice is when someone tries to impede an investigation with a corrupt purpose. Its a very tricky and difficult legal problem to know what that means when its the president basically trying to influence an investigation even of himself because the president s at the top of the executive branch. He has the authority of fire people and in some sense to direct organizations so he has at lot of authority to control the executive branch. On the other hand, there are things the president could do that would constitute obstruction of justice. The problem is knowing whether trump who has been so overt in admitting his reasons for doing this because he thinks that the whole investigation is a sham and the like, whether that amounts to obstruction of justice and, moreover, even if it does, and we dont know what mueller knows, there is the department of justices position is a sitle president cant be prosecuted. I believe mueller would abide by that. So i think all of this investigation thats looking at possibly obstruction of justice is more for a report that would be sent to congress and plek consumption and congressional consumption for possible impeachment proceeding. I think mueller will indict the president. Brangham there is other information in this report and prior reports that must pertain to the letter that President Trump apparently drafted when he was putting out his rationale. This would be a letter sent to jim comey saying im firing you. We reported assistance of this letter some months ago and it basically was a letter the president put together with steve miller his Senior Advisor in consultation with his soninlaw Jared Kushner but basically laying out the reasons for firing comey. This may have been in that period of time under which in which he was under the impression he need add reason beyond i just dont want him there and im firing him and it talks about the investigation being a complete fabrication and makes it very clear what, as jack said earlier, the president has actually said publicly which is the reason he was firing comey or one big reason is he didnt like the russia investigation, he didnt thik it was he thought it was baseless and that that was really what was largely behind his decision to try to get rid of him. Brangham jack goldsmith, i know that you believe that the details of this letter and the involvement of Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein, thats much more interesting to you what the Deputy Attorney generals role in this justifying how comey got sacked is all about. Can you explain . Yes. I actually think this is the most interesting revelation in the story. So the Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein is acting as attorney general for purposes of supervising mueller. He was the one who appointed mueller because his boss sessions recused himself. So rosenstein is actually supervising mueller in his investigation and mueller is ostensibly investigating whether or not, at least according to reports, whether or not trumps firing of comey was an attempted obstruction of justice. So it makes that problematic so what makes that probable max is rosenstein was also involved in the firing of comey. He wrote a letter to the president theying the memorandum is the what he relied on, the reason he fired comey. Then it turned out it wasnt. The memorandum dumb was contextual for the president. The New York Times said rosenstein before he bro his memorandum to justify the president firing comey knew the president was motivated to fire comey because of the russia investigation, that seems to put rosenstein right in h the middle of what mueller is investigating and seems to be a conflict of interest. Its a puzzle to me. Rosenstein says if he has a conflict of interest that he will recuse himself. So its a puzzle how he can supervisor an investigation that seems to be investigating something he was involved in. Brangham jack goldsmith, Julie Hirschfeld davis, thank you both very much. Thanks. Brangham thank you. Woodruff the National Reckoning that has been building around Sexual Harassment and misconduct has led to high profile firings, resignations and settlements. Now, theres a growing focus on how to change culture and the law. Gretchen carlson has a unique Vantage Point on all of this. Her decision to file a Sexual Harassment lawsuit in 2016 against her former boss, roger ailes of fox news, turned out to be a harbinger of what lay ahead with the Harvey Weinstein revelations and all that followed. Ailes died last year, and fox reportedly settled for 20 million. Carlson subsequently left fox. And last fall, her book on her own experiences was released, titled be fierce. Now, a former miss america herself, carlson was named chair of the Miss America Organization last week in a move to change its culture. She joins me from connecticut. Thank you for being here. Congratulations on being named to this position, but it has to be a hard time to step into this role when there was frankly such a messy situation at the Miss America Organization. Yes. Well, judy, great to be with you. Ive always admired you from afar, so thank you so much for having me on your program. This is a call to duty for me as a former miss america i felt this call to help, this is a volunteer position. Ive had a lot of those kinds of positions over the last 18 months. Really ive turned my life into helping other women and now trying to do what i can to empower women and help all the volunteers within the Miss America Organization as well. Woodruff there were emails, vulgar language used by the former executives at the organization. Did it feel like an organization that could be sustained . Well, i certainly know that well be able to sustain it. If theres been one consistent thing in my life its been that when a challenge is in front of me i put 120 effort into it and make sure it happens in a positive way. The one thing that people dont know about the Miss America Organization potentially is its a total grass roots community. It starts with volunteers in local communities and then in the state pageants. And there are thousands of people across the country who love this organization and give their hearts and souls to it. So i figured what better role than for me to also be a volunteer as chair to come in and do my best as were in this cultural revolution right now of the metoo experience to also play that out in the misamerica organization and Miss America Organization and focus on that team of empowerment for contestants as well. Woodruff what do you say, Gretchen Carlson, to folks who ask do we need a miss america policy in this country because, after all, it object fys many parts of who a woman is. Of course that particular area that gets criticism is the swimsuit category and i will be taking a very serious look at that. Listen, miss america gave me amazing life skills. I challenge anybody to get up on a stage in front of millions of people and answer questions and perform your violin talent as i did. I entered this program because i was a serious classical violist. That was going to be my career, and talent was worth 50 of my points in miss america. Its a scholarship program. I was a student at Stanford University in oxford and when i went back after my senior year after being miss america, my parents were so grateful i used 50,000 i won to pay for the rest of my education at stanford. So this is whats happening for thousands of women across this country, and im going to work as hard as i can to make sure that thats the message getting out about this organization. Woodruff and if you emphasize that instead of the swimsuit part, are people still going to watch shnchts oh, well, you know, well see. Im planning to reach out to experts in all those fields to peg if out whats best to get people trd, but im not worried about that at all right now. What im worried about is wrapping my arms around this organization, getting up to speed as quickly as i can, getting just exactly the right people in place to help me on this mission, and i think whats amazing is right now on the board, its four former miss americas. You know, this is the Perfect Place to start, and then we are going to branch out and find experts in every field to help us on this mission. Woodruff lets talk about the Metoo Movement beyond that. A number of highprofile men are have lost their positions, been publicly drummed out of wherever they were working, but i think everybody now agrees more than that has to happen. There needs to be there need to be measures take ton make sure women arent subjected to this kind of behavior in the future. Do you see progress on those other fronts now . I do. So heres what ive learned over the last 18 months since i jumped off my own cliff all alone by myself with no safety net below. First of all that courage is contagious. You hand it to one woman. She hands it to the next and the next, and look where we are today. We are in this cultural revolution where women are seeing that there are consequences. There are good consequences for them when they come forward but ms potentially bad consequences for the perpetrators, and thats been whats exhilarating for more people to feel the courage to come forward. But solutions are not just onepronged effects. Listen, i have been working on capitol hill to change laws, thats a part of the process. Its incumbent in on businesses to put more women in high positions and pay them fairly because when you have more women in high profile positions Sexual Harassment doesnt happen. Its incumbent on men to when us. Most men want safe working environments for women, but they need to be encouraged to be our allies in the fight. Those are three ways to change. Its the way we raise our kids and especially our sons. So all of these things have to come together in order to find solutions. Woodruff i want to ask you about some of the work youre going on capitol hill around getting employers to stop using these forced arbitration agreements that include nondisclosure clauses that dont allow women to talk about what happened. Do you see genuine progress there . I do, judy. I mean, its amazing. You know better than anybody that things dont happen quickly on capitol hill and oftentimes nothing happens on capitol hill. So i was so proud that, last month, i was able to get a bipartisan bill in the house and senate open these forced arbitration clauses to take them away with dealing in Sexual Harassment and discrimination cases. Its a very narrow bill. The next step now either than getting both parties together which was so monumental is to have hearings on this, and already weve had a company like microsoft step up to the plate and say were not going to have these forced arbitration clauses in our employee contracts anymore, and im hoping that more companies will find the courage to do the same thing. Really, the reason that we want to get rid of these is because it keeps this issue in the shadows of secrecy and, so, if you think about the power pendulum inside of a company, you have the perpetrator here and the woman who has to remain silent and nobody ever knows what happened to her, so if we took that silence away, look what happens. Were now on an even Playing Field and i think it will totally change the cultural dynamic. Woodruff you know, at the same time, were hearing, were seeing some progress in different areas. Youre also starting to hear people complain, well, that this movement may have gone overboard, that minor transgressions, people just trying to be friendly is being lumped in with heinous actions like those of either roger ailes, Harvey Weinstein. Is there a danger, Gretchen Carlson, that it all gets lumped together and, in the end, damage is done that shouldnt be done here . You know, certainly, judy, there has to be a difference in degree. Sexually assaulting somebody is a totally different crime than saying i like your dress. So, yes, i agree with you on that. However, i will tell you that the thousands of women who reached out to me after my story broke in july of 2016 which was really the impetus for my book be fierce because i wanted to give them a voice finally, the thousands of women who reached out to me from every career and state, their stories were so horrific that there was no grey area, judy. It wasnt i like your dress. It wasnt those kind of comments. It wasnt i like your hair. It was egregious things like, when i want to get a raise, my boss asked me to get up on the desk and spread em, and that was just a couple of years ago. That was the majority of the stories. Im sorry to be so vulgar, but i want to be clear that these stories, 99. 9 of them were so over the top, and theyve all been shrouded in secrecy, and, so, now were seeing the light of day, and i certainly hope that we dont get away from how serious most of these stories have been. Woodruff so do you think this is going to stick . Is this a movement thats here to stay . Well, i have been calling it a tsunami, a tidal wave or what other analogy you want to use, also a cultural revelation and revolution. I really believe it will be hard t put the genie back in the bottle now. I think when you give the gift of courage and it becomes contagious, this is what were seeing happening. The final Tipping Point for me, judy, is getting men to stop being bystanders and turn them into allies. So thats really my call to action. Woodruff Gretchen Carlson just named chair of the miss america imaginent, thank you very much for talking to us. Thanks for having me. Woodruff popular unrest in iran continues to spill into the streets. The nationwide protests have raged for more than a week, exposing deep economic rifts, especially among the Younger Generation who struggle to find work and build a future. Hari sreenivasan explains what is fueling this resentment toward the regime. Sreenivasan overnight, video posted by protesters showed crowds in tehran, shouting death to khamenei the countrys supreme leader. But by morning, a different cry worshippers chanted death to america at friday prayers, and a hardline cleric accused social media networks, based in the u. S. , of fueling the unrest. translated it was cyberspace that was kindling the fire of the battle. It was cyberspace that every moment said where protesters were gathering, and what slogans they were chanting. Sreenivasan so far, these protests lack the scope of the 2009 green movement, that saw hundreds of thousands accusing thenpresident ahmadenijahd of rigging his reelection. This time, demonstrations have swept irans provinces, mostly outside tehran, for the last week, spreading to some 80 cities and towns. Its in some of those areas where the countrys economic stagnation is most sorely felt. President Hassan Rouhani had promised the 2015 nuclear deal would jumpstart the economy by lifting punishing sanctions. Instead, Growth Continues to lag, food prices have risen and youth unemployment may run as high as 40 . translated it is their duty to hear us out. It is not acceptable for them to sit in their offices and not be aware of the prices of chicken, meat or rice, or not know how tough it has become for people to make a living. translated these shouts should be heard by officials. Unemployment is taking over. What wrongs have the young done to not be able to work . Sreenivasan the government has responded by organizing mass shows of support in cities across the country. One such rally was staged in mashhad, the same city where the protests began eight days ago. Officials have also ordered a security crackdown. This cell phone video shows a volunteer force affiliated with the powerful revolutionary guard standing watch in the city of zanjan. But many in tehran say repression is not the answer. translated people should be able to come out easily and voice their concerns in crowds, peaceful protests and demonstrations. This should not be taken away from them. If these protests were calmer, i believe we would have better results. Sreenivasan despite such sentiments, there has been violence. In isfahan province, people set fire to a Police Station and a national bank. A university of tehran professor, sympathetic to the regime, blames western media for ignoring the violence and misrepresenting the protests. Iran is a very normal society. It has people who are upset with different issues, like in any normal society. And they express them both at the ballot box and peacefully. And the rioters are not reflective of the will of the majority of iranians. Sreenivasan other analysts say frustration with president rouhani and the islamist regime is real, and change is overdue. He hasnt been able to provide the opportunities that people are wanting. The only silver lining, if you like, is that rouhani may well use the protests, and also the as a Pressure Point to push the hardliners and the leader towards accepting more reform and more change. Sreenivasan this afternoon, the u. N. Security council met in emergency session to discuss iran, at washingtons request. U. S. Ambassador nikki haley called the situation troubling and dangerous. For the pbs newshour, im hari sreenivasan. Woodruff next, the analysis of shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields, and New York Times columnist david brooks. So, david, the lead of the program tonight is what i guess a lot of people in washington are reading and talking about right now are these russia revelations, what the president did or didnt do in trying to pressure the attorney general to stay involved or not in this investigation. Then other stories keep coming out. We talked about it a few minutes ago in the program. But are we really learning more about what President Trump did . Well, we knew that he really wanted to squash this investigation, but i think what were learning is a lot of the details, a lot of the efforts that he made, the letter he wanted to write, his attitude toward government. To me the most astonishing quote of the whole deal is hes saying where is my roy cohen and roy cohen was Joe Mccarthys henchman, more or less, and hes basically an and a mentor in donald trump, it should be said, later in life. So he thinks government is sort of a family mafia business, and he can shut it down, and loyalty to the don is the primary value here. To me that was a mind boggling quote because most people consider roy cohens role with joe mccarthy as a shameful moment in history, not something you want to emulate. Woodruff so, mark, are we learning more here . I mean, the stories are coming almost by the bushel full and everyone of them has more information about what happened. Yeah, were certainly learning im trying to separate is stories right now, but were learning the president was deeply involved in trying to divert attention on that return flight from his european trip in july, you know, that its a matter of personal urgencyto him. And what which just sets off ararms. I mean, why, what is it . I dont think there is anywhere near a smoking pistol or anything of the sort on him and russia, but theres no question of his hypersensitivity, concern, involvement and unseemly involvement in trying to divert attention and send the attorney general out as his personal attorney. I mean, he really views the attorney general of the United States not as the department of justice but as a personal attorney and is somewhat upset he does havent the same relationship with Jeff Sessions that he perceives john kennedy had with Robert Kennedy who was his brother and campaign manager. Woodruff and he said barack obama had a closing relationship. In his view, eric holder did what president obama wanted him to. Thats a bit of a stretch. The relationships between president s and attorney generals have generally been fraught because they have a role of being appointed but semirepresenting their agency. So its a history of fraughtness. Trump seems to not understand the history. To me its a mistake to think because hes covering up there was an underlining crime visavis rust, thats a unilateral ty in Donald Trumps mind that doesnt exist. There may be more to do with money laundering, the charges about deutsche banc that have been floating around as well, than the russia story in the past. He said dont look at my tax returns, which is a signal hes worried about, if anything is less russia and more of the financial shenanigans. Woodruff while we wait for that, mark, what we do have this week and watt is coming out today, tomorrow and the next few days is this bombshell book by michael wolf, fire and fury, about the trump white house. Some pretty disturbing portraits that are painted in there of the way the white house operates, what the people around the president think about him. There have been some questions about michael wolf and the kind of work he does as a journalist, but when you look at least in the excerpts i havent read the book yet but when you read and hear the excerpts about the language that people around the president use about him, it has to be concerning. It has to be concerning, judy. And what surprises me most of all is the political equivalent of the dog not barking in the night. There is no counteroffensive. There is nobody with an anecdote about, no, no, youve got the president all wrong. He goes up with the briefing books at 9 00 at night and comes down at the next morning and asks the most penetrating questions with the anecdotes in the margin. Theres none of that. I mean, i didnt say that. It wasnt in the record. And what is most alarming is that the anonymity of the consensus that this does describe the president and the only person whos been really fingered so far is kate walsh who was there briefly as deputy chief of staff to reince priebus. But, you know, Rex Tillerson kind of stands as the beacon. I mean, he was the one who got nailed early saying the president was a moron and never backed off. He never denied questioning the president. What emerges, very honestly, is a picture that is, you know, at the very least disturbing and distressing. I mean, its a man without curiosity, its a mon who doesnt read a man who doesnt read, and its a man with an Attention Span of a rabid teetsy fly. Woodruff today, it was said its like working with a child. I find ut more subtle. There is two issues. One is michael wolf himself. I dont know what to believe in the book because i dont think he practices the kind of journalism we practice. He doesnt practice the kind that would allow you to work in the New York Times, the wall street journal, pbs. Many of the things he reports are true and many are fictionalized and a lot of things all throughout his career, this is not a new thing with him, some of the things in the book are factually completely inaccurate. Some of the things ring false to me. Maybe somebody told him, he put it in the book before checking it out. When i started my career in chicago, we had a phrase if your mom tells you she loves you, check it out. So im dubious about accepting everything. Nonetheless, the picture confirms what we already knew and i think there is a general sense the president is unfit, they do treat him like a child. Its too simplistic to say its like the madness of king george. I talked to a lot of people who said yeah, he was well infovrmd in the meeting and ran a good meeting. Whether you approve of his policies, the change of the pakistan policy, defensible, they passed the tax bill, they are doing the regulatory and judicial stuff. Its not completely dysfunctional. They are getting stuff done. So i think he has severe mental flaws, but the picture thats coming out that hes completely off his rocker i think thats overly simplistic and underrettes mates him. Woodruff well be interviewic Michael Wolff monday night. Well ask him how does he know this was the real deal, that it wasnt made up in any way. Mark, the president s reaction to this has been over the top. I mean, he called steve bannon whos quoted in it a lot and i guess who gave Michael Wolff a lot of the access has basically banished him from trump world for the time being. So what does that do . I mean, the bannon has been the trait gist, hes been out but now seems to be truly out. They had this plan. They were going to unseat all the establishment republican senators who were up for reelection this year. I mean, where does all that go . Im not sure. Im really not. I mean, i think bannon is an interesting figure. I think he had was guilty of overreach. I mean, he either encouraged or allowed discussion about running for president , his being president , which was beyond delusions of grandeur for somebody, a, who has never run for school board, city council, Library Board anywhere, and no one is kind of seen as a charismatic candidate. But, judy, i dont think theres any question that the explosive in this book, as far as donald trump is concerned, whether the charge is about the meeting, that donald trump, jr. Hosted with Paul Manafort and others at the trump tower with the russians and called it traitorous. Steve bannon, whatever his shortcomings and i think they are man test, is somebody who has worn the uniform of his country, did serve at the pentagon and has a gravidas on these matters that nobody in that meeting had or understood. Woodruff its a bannontrump split consequential. It is consequential. In the short term it will upset the mainstream republicans which they have been trying to do. I think the in the long term, paradoxically, everyone is saying bannon is out and finished, but bannon or populism has real roots in the country. It was pat buchanan was spokesman before bannon and andrew jackson, if you want to go back. So that tendency in the party whether led by bannon or not will continue. Its much bigger and broader than trumpism. Theres not a big movement to have narcissistic billionaires in the white house. There is a big movement to have a populist style of government. In some way if bannon can continue to lead that movement, i dont know if he will, he could have longer staying power than donald trump. Bannons principal problem is hes got a movement funded by it politicrats and theres no economic base in terms of support, i think there is electoral support. Woodruff joe biden was on the program last night. I asked him about running for president. He says hes not making a desuggestions this year. I asked about his age and whether that would be an issue. He would be 78. He laughed it off and said, sure, its a factor, but he sad donald trump will be 75. Heres another part of our conversation. This was about a minute ago i wanted you to listen to and talk about at the other side. What about, Vice President , this split that many say isnt going on inside the democratic party, that there are a lot of democrats who are saying weve got to be more progressive in our thinking, weve got to be outspoken about it, youve got the Hillary Clinton, joe biden wing of the party and then the Bernie Sanderselizabeth Warren section of the party. Hue do you see this going . My positions are a hell of a lot closer than Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on a lot of the economic positions. I sat with bernie. Im the guy who told him you shouldnt accept any money from a super pac because people couldnt possibly trust you. How would a middle class guy accept but heres the point, this is a false debate. I show up, wherever i go, and i talk about the need for a womans right to choose being protected, i talk about the need for us to be open arms for immigration. I talk about all the things we talk about in terms of the minority communities, what we need to do, and i also talk about, in addition to that, i talk about the fact that i know you have a problem. Here is what were going to do. This should be free college education, for gods sake. Why dont we talk about it . All weve got to do is eliminate one loophole, stepped up bases, you can pay for every kid in america to go to Community Colleges for free who is who, in fact, qualified. So and by the way, theres never been a consistency before. Woodruff so, david, i should have talked to him around his book which is on the death of his son bo, but he was ready to talk about politics, and youre hearing him say, hey, i can do it all. I can talk to lirms, i can talk to to liberals and moderates and conservative. That was not the philosophy of an arm chair quarterback, that was a guy who is actively involved. His heart seems to be very much in running for office. Woodruff he was engaged. He was engaged, as joe biden is. There was at least, i thought, an implicit criticism of the deplorables, of the elitism that was described in the Clinton Campaign and a reminder that labor is prior to and preexisting capital and capital only exists as a result of and following the work of labor. That was Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and i think its something the democrats forgot in 2016. Woodruff well, he is giving a lot all of it a lot of thought. He said hes not making a decision this year, just focused on the midterms. We shall see. Mark shields, david brooks, thank you. Woodruff science has shown that music has a way of invoking memory. It has been used to help people suffering from dementia to become more aware of their surroundings. Tonight, a story about a california nursing home using Music Therapy on residents once considered unreachable. In collaboration with inewsource in san diego, Joanne Faryon explains how music is offering a new way to connect. Reporter at 44 years old, Steven Nelson has lived at the Villa Coronado Skilled Nursing facility for almost seven years. He was shot five times and beaten in a nightclub in san diego. He is unable to move his body, except for his left hand. He doesnt speak. Hes kept alive with breathing and feeding tubes. Just how conscious steven is, how aware he is of his surroundings or even himself, is unclear. Something happens when steven listens to music. It makes him smile, and calms him, because there have been times when steven becomes so agitated hes fallen out of bed. He is one of ten Villa Coronado residents with traumatic brain injury given an ipod as part of a statewide experiment. Researchers want to know whether music can replace antipsychotic drugs and restraints for nursing home residents prone to agitation. And so far, with stephen, it seems to be working. Chris walker runs Villa Coronado. We werent sure we were going to put a bunch of headsets on people and there was no reaction. Reporter he jumped at the chance to try something new on a Patient Population that receives little or no therapy. People who, for the most part, live the remainder of their lives in beds, unable to interact with the world around them. When you see someone go from nonparticipating in anything to, to all of sudden smiling and nodding their head, and really seem as though they are reacting to the music. Reporter more than 4,500 men and women living in 300 california Nursing Homes are taking part in the study which was designed for people with dementia. Were going to try to show an association between the use of the Music Program and whether or not it reduces their aggressive behavior. Whether they can come off from their antipsychotic medication. Once we put the ipod on her, she started shaking her feet, moving her head. It was amazing. Reporter the idea of using music in Nursing Homes took off after this documentary debuted a few years ago. Music has more ability to activate more parts of the brain than any other stimulus. Reporter . And launched an International Music and Memory Program in thousands of Nursing Homes. New Research Suggests Music Therapy could help with recovery in people with coma or in a vegetative state. It may even help diagnose consciousness, which continues to mystify scientists. Studies have consistently shown high rates of misdiagnosis in vegetative patients, indicating there is more likely a spectrum of consciousness. That is they drift in and out of consciousness. Caroline schnackers is an associate clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at u. C. L. A. Her work has demonstrated a 40 to 50 error rate in determining consciousness. So half the time, youre misdiagnosing patients . Yeah, so half the time you might think that your patient is unconscious although he is conscious or showing signs of consciousness. Yeah, this is mind boggling. Its very challenging. Reporter the impact of misdiagnosis can affect medical treatment, end of life decisions, and its especially important when it comes to predicting a patients chances of recovery. The patient in minimally conscious state has more chance to emerge or get better than a patient in a vegetative state. Reporter in other words, if a patient is sometimes conscious, like steven, as opposed to never, there is hope. Stevens mother, gloria hawkins. Whats his official diagnosis . Hes in a vegetative state . Yep. Thats it. Reporter stevens current physician is dr. Ken warm. He practices Family Medicine and admits the nursing home does not have the resources to evaluate patients for consciousness. Then his diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, is it relevant . Is it true still . It would be a lot of splitting of hairs, because hes responding in a very limited fashion. Reporter after the interview, i asked dr. Warm to check the latest notes and diagnosis on stevens chart. And i went and reviewed the criteria for persistent vegetative state, and its very clear that he doesnt fit that. Reporter i cant help but reporter he said steven had made enough progress over the years, that now, he is more likely in a minimally conscious state. But, its difficult to know for cetain. Theres so much unknown about their cognitive function. Reporter researchers at u. C. Davis plan to have initial results of their nursing home study by the end of the year. But regardless of whether music is able to replace medication, Debra Bakerjian says shes certain it can improve quality of life. I was almost in tears doing this interview with an activities director in a nursing home, who was sharing how excited they were at their nursing home about the response of the residents, and what he told me was, they just come alive. Reporter this was steven before the shooting, singing to his grandmother on her birthday. Gloria hawkins knows her son will never be this steven again, but she wonders whether, with more therapy, he might be capable of interacting with the world around him, outside of this nursing home bed, in a more meaningful way. She believes steven can hear and understand her. Thats what keeps me going. I know hes in there. Reporter and shes certain he can hear the music. Reporter for the pbs newshour, im Joanne Faryon in san diego. Woodruff for all the parents of teenagers who have wondered about their sons and daughters being cranky and moody there may be a partial remedy afoot. Social scientist wendy troxel believes at least some of the explanation has to do with how early many teens have to get up in the morning to go to school. Heres her humble opinion on why its time to consider a change. Like many parents, each weekday morning its my painful parental duty to rouse my sleeping teenager out of bed at 6 00 a. M. For me, this daily battle is a particularly tough pill to swallow, because im a sleep researcher, so i know far too much about sleep and the consequences of sleep loss to be doing this to my own son. But its not just my kid who is being deprived of sleep. A whopping 90 of teens fail to get the nine to ten hours of sleep per night that they need to function at their best. When teens dont get the sleep they need, their brains, bodies, and behavior suffer. Around the time of puberty, teens experience a delay in their biological clock, which determines when they feel most awake and when they feel sleepy, so teenagers are hormonally programmed to stay awake later and sleep in later. If, every day, you had to wake up hours before your natural biological clock told you its time to wake up. Its kind of like everyday jetlag. So its not surprising that many teens are sleepwalking through school, in a daze until third or fourth period, and at least 20 are regularly falling asleep in class. The consequences of teen sleep loss go well beyond the classroom, contributing to Many Mental Health problems, such as depression, substance use, and suicide, that skyrocket in adolescents. But these changes at home can only do so much, because even if we really want to give our kids the opportunity to get enough sleep, the real solution is to make sure school does not start before 8 30 a. M. For middle and high school students. Kids are more likely the show up for school on time, ready to learn and more ready to graduate, their physical and Mental Health improves and communities are safer because car crash rates go down. And as if those benefits werent enough, we found delaying start times could give a boost to the u. S. Economy by increasing students academic performance and potential lifetime earnings. So monday morning, when its time yet again to rouse your sleeping darlings, think about the tremendous power of sleep and think about what a gift it would be to allow your children to wake up more in sync with their own biology. Woodruff wendy troxel. A lot of people would cheer that on. Thats the newshour for tonight. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you, and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by babbel. A language app that teaches reallife conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. Babbels 1015 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. More information on babbel. Com. Funding provided in part by 20th century fox. The post, in theaters everywhere january 12. Bnsf railway. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The william and flora hewlett foundation. For more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. At www. Hewlett. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. 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 access. Wgbh. Org youre watching pbs. Hello and welcome to kqed newsroom. Im thuy vu. Coming up on our program, a California Republican and democrat have a bipartisan plan focused on tech firms that rely on foreign labor. Californias market for legal Recreational Marijuana kicked off this week. Well hear from experts about the high stakes and potential pitfalls. But first hes brought us to the brink of nuclear war. If youve watched any cable tv recently, youve probably seen an ad calling for the impeachment of president donald trump. The ads were paid for by billionaire tom steyer. The former Hedge Fund Manager is one of the top donors to the democratic party. He has poured millions of dollars into get out the vote