Ukrainfor election help. And that the white house tried to cover it up. On thursday, the acting director of national intelligence, joseph mcguire, testified before congress about the complaint which he called itote unprecedented. Enters on a phone call the president held with the ukraine president in july where he asked him repeatedly to open a corruption investigation into his 2020 president ial rival, joe biden. Ea on tuesday, house r nancy pelosi announced the start of a formal impeachment inquiry against the president accusing him of betraying his oath of office. Impeachment inquiry quote a e witchhunt and attacked the credibility and character of ujoining us now via skype from washington dc political reporter jessica taylor. And here in studio the editor afer. Cs and government, Scott Jessica taylor and scott shafer, thank you for being here. Scott, of course given californias representation and congressional leadership, we are playing a prominent role in this. Nancy pelosi today accused william barr of going yerogue. Sherday accused the white house of trying to cor up the president s alleged abuse. She is all in, and she was not all in on an impeachment inquiry a week ago. So give us some insight into her change i of heart. Think it is personally speaking nancy pelosi wouldve liked nothing more tha to impeach donald trump and he has offended her politically, ethically, and every way in terms of his style and politics and everything, but she is ntan inhe political person. She understands in order for something as serious as impeachment to go forward, there has to be something ibtha is ta, understandable, and provable. I think the caucus was really nervous because pelosi wants to preserve and grow her majority in the house. There were some new members of congress who just goected and knocked off republicans and purple districts. And she was worried and they were worried that pursuing impeachment, at least using it after the mueller report, would not go ove well in th districts. She worried about those candidates losing for reelection. Everything change this week with the whistleblower report and the testimony from the acting National Security intelligence director. This is something that isala moking gun and easy for the public to understand. The key is that seven of these moderates wrote and oped piece in the washington post, seven people withNational Security including gil cisner nd Orange County and said now is the time we have to act. In the meantime, republicans want to paint nancy pelosi as caving to the more progressive elements of the mocratic part is that fair . I think that as scott mentione when these moderate members who had cia backgrounds or military backgrounds wrot this oped, this felt like where this sort wall that had been sort of protecting this began to fall. When you have these more moderate members that were willing to stick their t cks out,seemed like things were moving within the caucus in a way that she could not ignore. I also thing for democrat too, this a much easier case to prosecute to icthe puthan the whole russia scandal was because that was very convoluted. Peop are thinking, okay, this is in the past, but now you liciting help from a foreign government. I have this whistleblower. They have this partial readout of this call. So i think wecan see public sentiment shifting as well. We had our own npr pbs news hour poll that came out this week with the public is split on impeachment. I caution that polling in the nt heat of the moit is always a bit tricky. I thinmiin the weeks we can see how this moves. But before i think the public was more against impeaching trump. I do think there sort of evidence of public sentiment shifting as well as when you look at the things that are laid out before them and it sort of felt like democrats had no choice other than to act if they were going to follow what was in the constitution, really. Maybe there is evidence of public sentiment shifting, but is there evidence of sentimen i shiftithe Republican Party . As usual, they are rallying around the president , but are you noticing anything different in the way that they might be defending him or any cracks at all . A lot of senators yesterday were sort of declining to comment, saying they did not read the whistleblower report that had been declassified when it is less than 10 pages long. I ad it in 10or 15 minutes and less. They are on recess now for a few weeks. So we will see what kind of il pressure could up in their districtsand states and things too. But you have a lot more people either say no comment or avoiding it. E the people who sort of republicans and have come out against him or want more answers are the ones who have past like mitt romney and ben sasse nebraska and will heard who sits on the Intelligence Committee but he is a republican who not only sits in ua swing district but retiring and also a former cia officer himself. What are the risks then to democrats for pursuing this strategy as you see it . There are considerable risks. First of all nancy pelosi knows the reason she is in charge of speakers the midterm went well for the democrats in large measure because they were focused on things that voters in particular. Care so the risk is, if democrats are seeing is shifting focus away from something and voters dont care so mu about it, that was what happened with the mueller report. It never really capture the publics imagination. Voters just did not care about it and the mocrats were smart in the midterms not to focus on it. The risk is going into an Election Year where your have this sense of gridlock of course and partisanship. Trump is alady blaming democrats for keeping the do Nothing Party even though the houshas been passing all kinds of legislation on gun control and other things. This could sort of bea moment where the voters look at everything in congress and soto of return their corners and tribes and and sort of say like a pox on all your houses. I think that is the risk for democrats. I think pelosi has come to the conclusion that you cant let the risks stop you. This is the job of congress, oversight, and the details of this case are so egr they felt no real option but to act. Jessica taylor, what you think about the risks to the nation . We talked a little bit about the risks for the democratic party. But there is a cost to pursuing something as volatile and plunging washington into crisis mode. There is a cost to the public. Our politics is so divided. I think it is hard to see how t i mean, there is certainly d part of the public that is calling for this that we have seen democrats for a long time. I think you know, the rule of law being under assault. If you see trump, he sort of is built to this in a way, doing thin outside of the norms what a president would do. It is okay. He let this slide and what else could happen in a way. We certainly saw there was back lash to republicanpuwhen they ued impeachment against president clinton in 1998. So i think skthere are in that. Our nation is also at a very different place th we are, and certainly there wi people like we have seen most republicans in congress that still continue to defend trump. I was going to say also the nature of this incident with the ukrainian president , if you read whthe tleblower complaint, it is very well written and very cautious. It is very specific. I think what we are seeing behind the sceneseaand jessica can about this for being in dc more than i am but many people the National Security ra Law Enforcement aps who are career people who have served under republican and democratic administrations word, who are e offended. To the president reaching out to a foreign country to get help with the political adversary this country. I nyink there are people who are offended by the notion of the u. S. President doing that, irrespective of their own clinical persuasion. Jessica, who are we going tof see teng before congress . I think we will see the dyuse subpoena certainly giuliani. They want to hear from attorney general william barr who is also named in this complaint as somebody that could haed been invo possibly people that were in the room for this. I want to hear quickly from both of you. Your guess on if democrats will vote to impeach. If so, by one . Jessica . I think they probably will move forward. Honestly, with the timing that e we can , it could be right as voters are voting in iowa and New Hampshire next ar. I spoke to congressman congressman eshoo and she said she expect articles of impeachment to be voted on mbby deceer. Scott shafer and jessica taylor. Thank you to both of you. Kyla johnson trammell is the an superintendent of oa unified school district. As the districts top administered her, she oversees 83 Public Schools serving 87,000 children. Ed march it renegotiata contract with the teachers who went on a weeklong strike to demand higher wages and smaller class sizes. The district is also facing funding deficits of millions of udollars, which has prompted layoffs, School Closures and mergers. Kyla johnson trammell. Endent to say that you are dealing with a lot an understatement. So tell me, given those challenges, what are your priorities . We have three main priorities aligned to our steadfast to which is creating a fullservice Community District in our believe is really that we have the best chance of serving all children by serving the whole child. We do that by really focusing on longstanding partnerships to make surecathat we use all the resources that we have within the city to serve the nearly 37 thousand students and famili in our city. To get to that and realize r mission ansion, we have three priorities, which are around improving and having high quality and sustainable schools n every neighborhood, fiscal vitality, and organizational llness. You mahard decision that one way to reach her goals is to close schools. So what you say to parents that are tiving a hard understanding that this is the way to go. You heard at board meetings, frustration from parents who have been very tense at times and children has been in tears. How doncyou respond to ns that this may not be the right direction . I would say one thing through the citywide plan, it lovers. F three one of those is some of the decisions around consolidations and closures. But also, within that plan, it is a ancus on merger expansions. So even within our first cohortinalthough that did ude a painful closure, which is not something i take lightly or the board take slightly aat anyone on staff take slightly. But it also included an expansion of one of our more successful high schools that already has a 90 graduation rate. At the end of the day, what are students and families are seeing is that we want more polity options within our stem. So this smalhool actually is one of our high demand high schools and the model is really around kids having an internship experience built into high school. So within the plan, we are also looking at where we have quality programs that ar expand so we can offer more of expand shose seats to students. It is a blend of both. For parents who are y scratching their heads shutting down a Successful School like kaiser elementary, what you say to them . That is not so much around shutting down the schoole relocating the school in an area where we have more families so that more of our families have access to e program. This move about saving money as well . It is a bit more nuanced than that. As most schools in california, the root issue is we simply dont haenough money in the state of california, reitrdless of the ia that you look at. We either fall 46, or 47 or 48 compared with our fundingof others in the state. That is the root. We have many our community and across the state californat are really advocating for more money. But in addition to that, every district has to look at othe numbstudents that you have in a district and the number of schools. There is a hu cost to n any school, whether the school is fully enrolled or under enrolled. So within our system, and largely our elementary schools, we do have many schools that are under enrolled. So what that means is e that we not able to resource each school to the magnitude that he want we believe a fullservice community school. We believe that our students and families have support around mental health, have support around electives. To students and families. We want to make sure that we have arts in our schools and make sure we have atsports. What means from a financial perspective is e is even schools we have, we need to resource them even deeper so they can really realize on the vision. So having to consolidate is not about putting money in a piggy bank but being able to redistribute in the most effeive way so thatch school gets more resources to create a Better Program so that we have mofamilies coming to not just a Certain Group of elementary, a Certain Group of middle and high schools, but all of them. You say the state needs to do moremm what about ities . In june, for example, voters in geles soundly rejected a ballot measure to raise property taxes to help the district, and that was ri something that di officials were hoping would get past and hoping to pay for teacher raises. So what does that tell you about your ability to be able to afford the raises say that the teachers need in oakland and also just about voters willingness to put in a little we actually had pretty ts . Solid parcel tax history in e oakland. We hasure g which actually provides us some support around performian arts, music,libraries. We have g won which was recently paed, so that is actually helping us with the raises andit goes partially to our middle schools to help electives and the other part goes to salaries. And then we ve measure m which is another parcel tax. All of that is just for our high schools to support the pathways in learning. And then we haasure j in the past which is around facilities. So i think there is a tension point. I think piece just around the cost in the bay area leaving la aside and e bay area anhow expensive it is, people are looking at that additional cost around taxes. But people are also seeing without having riety in a Public School system that that has effects on anybody when we think about having a strong democracy and when we think about wanting tohave a strong and thriving city. The financial problems of the district have been well documented. What have you been doing toin address the that were called out in the Alameda County grand jury report around mismanagement of funds, waste around contracts, and things like that . What are some of the you are addressing that with a the alamcounty Financial Officer that is with the district right now . Number one ki would say that altueda county is ly a decision i made to actually have a closer partnership with d our alcounty of education, and actually, my three priorities were me coming into this role and being a product of this district where i was the teacher when we first went into state receivership. I was the teacher who had a pink slip because we had a make massive cuts. I became a principal and had to lay off my class of five staff because we had to have a cu massiv so for me, the grand jury only substantiated what i was able to see and experience actually being an employee in the systeme on sc issues. Yes. But one thing you can point to is an accomplishment. One is an increase in our reserve. Wh i took over thposition, we were at. 67 in our reserve. That is actually below what you are required to have as a district of our size. Your are supposed to have a minimum of 2 . That is portant because when you drop down below the minimum, it means you are at risk of state takeover shippen at risk of running out of cash. Now we are at about 3. 5 , which feels like a lot when we think about the amount of money we have overall, but it just means stable place. Ightly better so super intended kyla johnson trammell. Thank you. For decades National Geographic explorer and el photographer has tr the world documenting cultures and traditionsng in of disappearing. His latest book, mask, is a collection of stunning images. You spent more than 30 years capturing these ross Six Continents from remote in new guinea to cedar forests in british columbia. He hopes his portraits not only help preserve mass rituals but also remind us of our shared connection with the world and the stories we tell about our place in it. Joining me now is photograer and author iechris re thank you. How would you describe the power of ncmasks . Ever i traveled to new guinea about 30 years ago in the mid80s, i was transfixed by the power of the mass, mask and the Spiritual Energy of them. Iowhen these ancient tradl cultures put these masks on the becomes something else, the spirit of the forest or the spirit of the land and the ocean. It is absolutely remarkable to see. So the minute i started seeing these remarkable mask rituals and dances starting first in new guinea, i knew i would spend most of my life, ofe rest my life really following the tradition of the mask rituals around the world. It was amazines what do rituals tend to be about . How are ey used . Good question. Multiple purposes around the world, but i think the occurring theme that i consistently see is a disability to be a part of an initiation ritual from chilood into adulthood orwa adulthood into ior like status and not only for men and in many cultures women wear the sks as well. And then also, the kind of connection and Spiritual Connection to the afterworld and to the otheworld and if there is a disease or a drought going on and they will put the masks on and make some sort of connection with the spirits of the forest, the animal spirits and try to balance out the problems within their communities. What is the uimportance of seeing these masks where they are used . You photograph them being used, so how does that compare to th hanging in a museum for example in the message sent to their . Ec ely. I think that is crucial. We have all seen many of these masks hanging in the great museums here in d n francisco w york and paris. But what that does is really kind of disconnect people from the spirit and the purpose. So my whole role was to go to these cultures. To see the dances and in the still photographs to evoke the nse of what it is and why it is here. It is very important for me when i set up doing a photo shoot is to scout e location, and the location speaks about that mask as much is the mask. So often i will use the ou moodiness of or sunsets in sunrise. That bit of information that surrounds the mask is e crucial to viewer in getting the essence and the sense of spirit. A museum can often send the message that it something from long ago. What were some of the most recent images you took . As ealy as this january, we were in europe, in and around christmas time. There is a wonderful festival that happens up in the unhigh ins of austria and switzerland, bavaria, eastern germany and the masks that go back to prechristian and pagan and when christianity arrived and these pagan rituals as of if the children did not behave if the children had done poorly would run around the village and sort of chase the kids and put the fear of devil into them. And then slowly, ever so slowly, christianity came in and the whole concept of saint nick and father christmas and santa claus came into being. But still in modeeurope today, you have these festivals that are alive and thriving up in the mountains of europe. Were me of the rdest communities to gain the trust of . I imagine is a white man goryg ing to access some of these rituals, there were some suspicions. Absolutely. I think each culture had its particular set of challenges, if you will. But i think the most important thing for me is to have time and to build up a level of trust. There are a ny communities and t of the north American Communities and up in canada, and some of the cultures in sri lanka and india, there was an inherent and rightly deserved sense of suspicion. I needed to prove myself. I am fine with that o mathese projects take 10, 15, 20 years. This one has taken 30 years. It is meet with the community and doneven bring my camera. Meet themand express what im doing and maybe show them some of my other books and build up that level of trust,thso with native american community, it took five or 10 years of communication, patient understanding, to get to the point where i said, okay, we are interested in talking, and especially with the community uin canada up on alert bay whic is in the northern part of Vancouver Island on the we went. We met, and they agreed. Once they agreed, then i was free to come into their incredible cultural centem and work with on picking the masks, taking them out of the center, and again putting them t into conwith the ocean in the forest. How do you account for your own lens so to speak . What i mean is the cultural experiences that you have had that will inevitably influence what you find that is worth photraphing or publishing or even beautiful . Exactly. Father had a job where i lived in australia, africa, england. Especially when i was a young child, my father would goin out these isolated areas of australia, working on the oil rigs. So i was hanging around with aborigine children at 6 to ar old. I began to realize the power of their voice, their traditions. Somewhere along the way, i knew i wanted to a photographer. I really committed myself to a lifetime of putting on adlm ional cultures that are on the edge of something. Maybe it is a the end of their culture in the sense of many of thchildren are moving the city, but i found that there was a huge revitalization going on. This burst of energy that so many of thunger generations uthe kia po in brazil, they wan to do e dances. They want their culte to be alivd well into the 21st century. What is your goal . My goal for masks is to show people who are interestg in look it that these rituals are alive. They are not dying. They are in danger, but they are not dying. And there is a vibrancy and a huge burst of Cultural Energy going around on the edges of the frayed map of the world. That there are cultures out do there stilg the dance deep in the forest. Thank you. You are very welcome. You can meet chris and hear more about his book, mask tomorrow at 4 00 p. M. It book passage. For moreinformation visit book passage. Com. That will do it for us. As always you can find more of our coverage at tran03enewsroom. I am nina kim. Thank you for joining us. [music] battle lines are drawns President Trump faces m impeachment. Robert costa. Welcome to washington week. The actionsf the tru presidency rev rled dishonorable fact of the president s betrayal, of his oath of office, betrayalf our National Security, and betrayal of the tegrity o our eleleions. Therefore, today, im announcing the house of representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. A whistleblower complaint sparks action in the house. Under scrutiny,xchanges bebeeen president tmp and the president of ukraine. Did esident trump abuse his power . Republans fight back. This phone calls a nothing in terms of a quid pro quo. The president of t united stat not