a safe environment is important and many of these other schools just aren't safe. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. >> 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. >> woodruff: the polls have now closed in nearly all of the states that voted today. and as expected there are two big winners so far tonight. on the republican side, the associated press has projected donald trump rolling to wins in alabama, georgia, massachusetts and tennessee. and the ap is also now projecting trump the winner in the virginia primary. he is leading in virginia, but the race there remains too close to call. but the television networks now project ted cruz has won the primary in texas. on the democratic side, hillary clinton is having equally big night, she's been projected the winner in alabama, arkansas, georgia, tennessee and virginia. and now she's just been projected the winner in texas as well. clinton has leads in the democratic primary in massachusetts, but that's still too close to call. bald has won the primary in his home state of vermont in the last few minutes hillary clinton spoke to supporters at a victory rally in miami. >> we're going to work for every vote and we will need all of you to keep volunteering, contributing, doing everything you can, talking to your friends and neighbors because this country belongs to all of us, not just -- [ cheering and applause ] not just the people who look one way, worship one way or even think one way. [ cheering and applause ] america prospers within we all prosper. america is strong when we're all strong. [ cheering and applause ] and we know we've got work to do. but that work is not to make america great again, america never stopped being great. [ cheering and applause ] we have to make america whole. we have to fill in. fill in what's been hallowed out. >> woodruff: our brand new correspondent john yang is there at the clinton speech and -- addressing the crowds behind him talk to you john about the numbers that she's racked up so far tonight and that's about six states so far, one for bernie sanders. >> reporter: it is very impressive night. she has just marched through the south in a way perhaps not since general sherman with a lot less destruction. she's going to end this night pulling away in a very big way from bernie sanders in the delegate count. this really is a pivot point for her campaign. it now appears that she is going to be able to pull away from sanders, from the challenge that bernie sanders mounted in a very surprising way in a lot of ways. and her remarks tonight she really has pivoted toward november. pivoted toward the man who appears to be leading the way in the republican campaign, donald trump. using his own words saying, we don't need to build a wall. we need to tear down barriers. saying that we, america, has never stopped being great. america needs to be made whole again. donald trump will of course be here in florida -- is here in florida in palm beach as well tonight. he is also racking up some significant and impressive wins tonight. he is on his way to sweeping every state outside of ted cruz's home state of texas. he has now fought off challenge from cruz in virginia where cruz's strength -- i'm sorry, mario -- marco rubio in virginia is rubio strength in the northern suburbs around washington. appears to give trump a challenge. both of these campaigns now appear to be on their way, trump is poised to deliver what could be a knock-out blow two weeks from tonight in big contests in ohio and here in florida. gwen, judy. >> woodruff: john, it's judy, we did hear hillary make that pivot about we need is more love. talking to any of her sporters are how to now focused on the republican race as well? >> that's what now looking toward taking on trump. i think there are some mixed feelings whether he's going to be an easy candidate to take on on whether because of the way he has tapped into the frustration and anger in a lot of ways of bothers -- of voters there are some perhaps some mind fields there. but i think that for the most part the people we talked to here tonight feel that he has going to be an easy candidate to take on because of some of the things he said. but i got to tell you, judy, from watching donald trump this year he -- or any other politics he's done things that would have disqualified him. that would have made him sort of lose a campaign. but it only makes him stronger in a lot of ways. his supporters like the fact that the establishment candidates are criticizing what he's saying and they like the fact that he doesn't seem to care what other people think about what he says. this could shape up to be the most interesting year in a long, long time. >> woodruff: well, john, it is getting a little more challenging for donald trump. we are now able to report that the associated press is projecting ted cruz will win not only his home state of texas, but the adjoining state of oklahoma. where he did put in some time this week so that is one state outside, that means ted cruz now won three states if you add in iowa where their caucuses kicked off. john yang, we'll be talking to you throughout the night. john reporting for us from hillary clinton's headquarters there in miami, thank you. in today >> ifill: in the day's other news, president obama and senate leaders met face-to-face over the vacancy on the u.s. supreme court, but resolved nothing. the president laid out his thinking in the oval office session, but republicans remained opposed to any nomination this year. that drew a new blast from democrats. >> and we're going to continue beating the drums. all we want them to do is fulfill their constitutional duty and do their job. and at this stage they've decided not to do that. i think they are going to wait and see what president trump will do i guess as far as a nomination. >> ifill: back at the capitol, republicans said they're not budging, and they rejected the democrats' criticism as so much political point-scoring. >> think a democrat majority in the senate would be confirming a republican president's nomination in the last year of his term? of course not. this is going to be decided by the american people and the next president, whoever that may be, will fill this vacancy. >> ifill: the white house said the president is reading files on potential nominees, but does not yet have a "short list" of candidates. >> woodruff: another big swing on wall street. stocks surged higher today, after construction spending in the u.s. jumped in january, to the highest level in eight years. the dow jones industrial average gained nearly 350 points to close at 16,865. the nasdaq rose 131 points, and the s&p 500 was up 46. the battle between the fbi and apple over unlocking a terrorist's iphone played out before congress today. the two sides argued their points before the house judiciary committee, as hari sreenivasan reports. >> the tools you are counting on us to keep you safe are becoming less and less effective. >> we're doing this because we think that protecting the security and the privacy of hundreds of millions of iphone users is the right thing to do. >> sreenivasan: fbi director james comey and apple lead counsel bruce sewell used the hearing to lay out the cases they're making in federal court. the fight centers around an apple iphone used by syed farook last december in san bernardino, california. he and his wife, tashfeen malik, shot dead 14 people. federal agents have been unable to access the phone's content due to apple's encryption, and comey says it bespeaks a larger problem. >> all of our lives are on these devices which is why it's so important that they be private. that also means all of the criminals, pedophiles, terrorists lives are on these devices. and if they can't, they are warrant proof, even a judge can't order access to a device, that is a big problem. >> sreenivasan: a federal magistrate in california has ordered apple to create special software that will help unlock the san bernardino phone. comey acknowledged today that would set a precedent, he argued it would be limited. but apple c.e.o. tim cook has warned it could be used to compromise hundreds of millions of other iphones. again, bruce sewell. >> the tool that we're being asked to create will work on any iphone in use today. it is accessible, it is common, the principles are the same. so the notion that this is only about opening some lock or is there is some category of locks that can't be opened with the tool they're asking us to create is a misnomer. >> sreenivasan: apple says it's prepared to take the fight to the u.s. supreme court, if need be. in the meantime, the justice department is also seeking court orders for 15 apple devices in other cases. yesterday, a federal magistrate in new york ruled in favor of apple, in a drug prosecution, saying the government is trying to gain "impermissably absurd results." >> woodruff: separately, attorney general loretta lynch warned against letting apple alone decide the outcome of the encryption debate. she spoke in san francisco, and called for cooperation between silicon valley and washington. >> ifill: the international criminal court has brought its first-ever charges for destroying ancient cultural sites. a radical islamist, ahmad al- faqi al-mahdi, was formally accused today. the case stems from the july 2012 destruction of ancient mausoleums at timbuktu, in the african nation of mali. al-mahdi's defense lawyers suggested they'll try to justify his actions on religious grounds. >> woodruff: in pakistan, tens of thousands of conservative muslims protested against the execution of a policeman. he was hanged in rawalpindi for killing a governor who opposed a law that mandates death for insulting islam. mourners walked for miles through the streets of rawalpindi today amid tight security. they chanted support for the police officer, and for the law against blasphemy. >> ifill: the migrant crisis in greece grew ever more dire today, and the u.n. refugee agency warned of humanitarian disaster. james mates of independent television news traveled to the greek border with macedonia, where growing numbers are stranded. >> reporter: outside and looking in, almost 10,000 refugees and would be migrants, whose dreams of a new life in northern europe are now blocked by razor wire and armed police. only a few weeks ago, they would have been waved through this border crossing, and basked northwards towards austria and germany. when the austrians started saying no, the domino effect rippled back towards greece. "open the borders," they chant, as they sit across the main north-south railway line. but those days may be gone for good. well, it's past midday now, we've been here most of the morning and so far not a single person has gone through this gate. no explanation as to why it's shut. yesterday, these people rioted. today they're waiting patiently, but it's not getting them any further. and judging by the military hardware that's been rolled into place, the macedonians are serious about this. and we saw czech, slovakian and austrian police here reinforcing their macedonian colleagues. every country on this balkan route seems to want it shut down. we met the behar family. six young daughters who've been here for 10 days already. their tiny cousin andy has spent precisely half his life in this camp. and they want him out of here quickly. they don't speak much english, but know what they want most. >> please open the door, macedonia. >> please. open macedonia. please. open macedonia. >> reporter: and still they come. along the railway lines, and by foot on all roads leading northwards. a bottleneck becoming more congested every day. at some point, something is going to have to give. >> ifill: meanwhile, nato's top commander in europe, u.s. air force general philip breedlove, warned the refugee flow is "masking the movement" of islamic state militants and others, and setting the stage for an attack. an update the a story we reported last night. late today the governor of south dakota vetoed a bill that required transgender students to use the bathroom of their birth sex. the legislative fight had gained national attention. >> woodruff: and, astronaut scott kelly returns to earth tonight after setting an american record for the longest continuous stay in space. kelly handed over command of the international space station yesterday. he's been in orbit 340 days, and sent back a gallery of out-of- this world videos and photos. a russian, valeri polyakov, holds the record for longest space flight by any human, at 437 days. >> ifill: still to come on the newshour: full coverage of super tuesday, from reporters on the ground. and, in-depth analysis from mark shields and david brooks. plus, the challenge of educating students with special needs without holding other students back. new results to share with you now, bernie sanders is the projected winner in oklahoma. so far, however, been a rough night for senator marco rubio. who is yet to win a state. but speaking to his supporters in miami a short time go he vowed to supporters to keep up the the fight. >> five days ago we began to explain to the american people that donald trump is a con artist. and in just five days we have seen the impact it is having all across the country. we are seeing in state after state he loves to talk about polls, we are seeing in state after state, his numbers coming down, our number is going up. [ cheering and applause ] and two weeks from tonight right here in nor, we are going to send a message loud and clear. we are going to send a message that the party of lincoln and reagan and the presidency of the united states will never be held by a con artist. >> woodruff: that was marco rubio speaking just moments ago in florida. we know florida is the next big state coming up in two weeks, but tonight texas had the most delegates at stake, ted cruz is the projected winner on the republican side while hillary clinton is projected to win among the democrats. texas is where we find amy walter of the "cook political report" of. so, amy, we've been watching -- we did project ted cruz to win in the state of texas and in oklahoma. he is now won three states, marco rubio, he's talking a big game but he hasn't won a state yet. >> reporter: that's exactly, right. i think the sound that you may be hearing is the sound of the so-called marco-mentem going thud. a lot of talk by folks in the establishment that it was time to rally around marco rubio, he was putting up pointed message against donald trump in way no other candidates had been able to do. there was the thought that he was the only candidate who could put together a coalition and coalesce that anti-trump constituency that is clearly not happening. i think we're also looking at a state like vermont where john kasich is going to do very well not just that cruz is winning two states and rubio coming up short. but his rival on that so-called establishment side also may be doing better than marco rubio. >> woodruff: one other thing you like to do is dig into these exit polls find out a little bit more about the voters who actually went to the polls. one of the thing i found interesting is that the issue of immigration, which so defined donald trump l who is having a great night is not the topic u in almost any of these states that we're looking at so far. >> reporter: i can't believe you said that i was just -- thinking about that. on the same wave length that's exactly what i was looking at. issue of immigration has gotten so much attention and yet innings it poll after exit poll even state like texas only a smaller group of republican voters said it was their top issue. it's the economy, it's the deficit, it's getting washington back on track those are the issues that voters are really keening in on. that's obviously where donald trump has been very successful to make america great again slogan hits all of those points. the other issue, once again, is that voters, republican voters, are somewhat split on the idea whether they want someone with experience or someone who is an outsider, they are leading more towards outside smear times, two, three, five percent more. 89 the difference is that donald trump dominates in that outsider category and in the experience category not one leader there, there's not one candidate that does as well as donald trump does in the outsider. other thing that i'm looking at that i think will be interesting as we go down the road, i'm trying to compile the question of, would you be satisfied with donald trump as your nominee. they asked this question on the exit poll. in a state like virginia where rubio came up short, looks like maybe his strongest state but still came in second. that's a state where a majority of republican voters said they would be dissatisfied with trump as nominee even in texas. 50% questions r dissatisfied. the question for donald trump isn't can he win, and rack up delegates, it's, can he put this party back together. a port that is clearly very divided over the idea of donald trump as the nominee. >> woodruff: amy, we'll see the polls up talk to you some more, thanks a lot, amy walter. >> ifill: we turn now to virginia, a key swing state this fall, where a mother and daughter see the democratic race through diffeerent, generational, lenses. >> i'm 19 years old. i live in falls church, virginia, and i'm advocating for bernie sanders to be next president of the united states. >> i'm the mother of four children. i'm voting for mrs. hillary clinton. i feel like she has plenty of experience. me and my daughter, we like to talk a lot about issues. we have more than a mother and daughter relationship. we are friends. >> i go to george mason university. i'm in my second semester, freshman year, and i'm a government and international relations major. it took me about an hour and a half to get to school. lots of time i like the read my textbooks, which i try to do, but if i get bored, i read the newspaper. i definitely would love to be like a senator or someone high up. there i get this rush when i hear about politics and watching the news. it's my passion. >> i'm a stay-at-home mother. my day starts early in the morning. i have to do my job at home, cleaning, cooking, preparing their beds. when i came to the united states, i did not have any health insurance. >> we'd go to the doctor, but i would never see you at the doctor and dentist. it makes sense now. >> now i feel happy to have obamacare, very important issues that mrs. hilly is talking about. >> a lot of my friends are government majors. we sit and discuss what's going on around the world. we're advocating for what we think are solutions to the main problems around the country. >> i will do everything that i can to rid this country of the ugly stain of racism. >> bernie sanders came to george mason university. there was a girl who went up there and asked him about the rhetoric, and he embraced her in a way that made me feel like he was embracing me. it's kind of scary, going to school wearing a scarf. there's always this paranoia that follows you around. when he was speaking, he was like, that shouldn't exist. i have a friend whose dad works over 70 hours a week at taxi driver. as someone who needs a job for extra expense, it's hard to know why we're not living comfortably. >> i want every kid in america to know they will be able to go to college regardless of the income of their families. >> bernie, when he says he wants the make college free, it's a very personal issue, because i think education is important for everyone. >> hillary clinton has realistic ideas. she does not say she will make college free. she says she will make it affordable, which is easier to believe, right? yeah. uh-huh. >> i am a proud, lifelong fighter for women's issues, because i firmly believe what's good for women is good for america. >> as a future politician, of course i try to change my mom's mind. i want her to believe what i believe in, but i think it's great she has her own opinions as well. it is really important to see a woman in the white house. it doesn't have to be hillary. i could be the hillary of tomorrow. >> woodruff: and now we turn to hari sreenivasan to see what social media data may reveal about today's super tuesday vote. >> sreenivasan: thanks. today voters raised their votes. will their demographics give us clues on how they will vote? according to the census, more than 60 million americans are old enough to vote in super tuesday states. that's more than one quarter of the country's voting-age population. in many ways these voters offer the widest cross section of america that we've seen so far this election cycle. for example, the states voting tonight include a wide range of incomes. alaskans have a median household income of $71,000. while arkansan households earn on average a little more than $41,000, far less than the national median household income. what information are these households searching for and talking about? according to data from google's newslab, donald trump was the most searched republican candidate across super tuesday states. when people in today's contested states were searching for information on the democratic candidates, more people were searching for bernie sanders than hillary clinton. search results also showed a geographic split. sanders' information was sought in states that were north and west, such as vermont, minnesota and colorado. even texas and oklahoma. while clinton was being searched for more in places like arkansas, georgia, tennessee and even virginia. as in contests past, what's on the mind of the voter and the conversations they share across social media depends on where you look. across the deep south, christianity was the biggest conversation driver on facebook in relation to politics this election cycle. among facebook users in super tuesday states overall, the most talked about topics were racism and discrimination followed by christianity and guns. if you look north and to the states west of the mississippi, the biggest concerns were wall street and financial regulation, while facebook users nationwide weren't talking about this issue, they were concerned about the economy and jobs. and further north the most significant topic to alaska's facebook users was border security. >> ifill: and now, a bit of a history lesson. william brangham reports on how super tuesday has come to play a critical role in the presidential nomination process, and why it can make or break candidates. >> brangham: you know what day it is. >> hello, virginia! >> i love you. i love georgia. >> minnesota can make history. >> god bless the great state of texas. >> brangham: super tuesday, the single biggest voting day in the 2016 presidential primary contest. what makes it so big? well, it's been known to effectively seal the deal or signal the end for candidates vying for their party's nomination. >> the primary voting day finally arrived today. >> brangham: first modern-day super tuesday happened in 1988 when a whopping 20 states, mostly in the south, held primaries on march 8th of that year. the idea was inspired by a group of moderate southern democratic governors who were frustrated by what they felt was their lack of influence in national elections. larry sabbado directs the center for politics at the university of virginia. >> they wanted to move the democratic party more to the center so it could win a national election. that was the origin of super tuesday, to put the southern states in the early part of the calendar so that ideally, in their view, a more moderate candidate would receive a big boost from that particular day's voting. >> brangham: but the plan backfired. the southern governors hung their hopes on al gore, but he split votes with jesse jackson, but that led michael dukakis to first place finishes in texas and florida, and he became the nominee. >> the unintended consequences of reform. their plan didn't work, pure and simple. i think they were surprised that gore didn't do better than he did, and that weren't too keen on michael dukakis, who was boosted at least as much by super tuesday as any other candidate. >> brangham: since then, super tuesday and the momentum that comes with it has been a good predictor of eventual party nominees. >> i think the only tuesday more super than this tuesday will be tuesday november 5. that's going to be super. >> brangham: in 1996, then- republican senator bob dole swept the field and forced his then-rival businessman steve forbes to withdraw two days after their super tuesday matchup. and in 2000, then-vice president gore did the same, with 81% of democratic delegates up for grabs on super tuesday, he effectively locked up the nomination. >> ifill: gore's victory was a sweet one. he swept all 11 primary states and five contested party caucuses. >> brangham: and then 2008, the super duper tuesday where more than 20 states voted. the results only predicted the nomination for one side. >> woodruff: democrats hillary clinton and barack obama are pretty much in the same position they were when super tuesday began. >> brangham: then-senator barack obama narrowly edged out then- senator hillary clinton on the all-important delegate count, but not enough to clinch the nomination. that same day senator john mccain emerged as the clear front-runner for the republicans. >> we're going to win today, and we're going to win the nomination and we're going to win the presidency. >> brangham: on this super tuesday, ten states have both republican and democratic primaries or caucuses with delegates at stake, and, yes, they're mostly in the south. republicans also have a caucus in alaska, while democrats will also caucus in colorado and american samoa. >> this is one of the most important days of the calendar. it has come at a moment when both parties are poised to move in a certain direction. >> brangham: on the democratic side, hillary clinton has widened her delegate lead over senator bernie sanders, with her dominating win in south carolina last weekend. and donald trump boasts a double-digit margin over the rest of the g.o.p. field. >> it certainly will be a milestone along the way toward a trump nomination or alternately toward having one of the other candidates, possibly marco rubio, begin to suggest that he can catch up to trump or at least force a contested convention. >> brangham: a contested convention? remember, super tuesday was designed to prevent just that. while that may be working for the democrats, for the republicans, this super tuesday may do just the opposite. for the pbs "newshour," i'm william brangham in washington, d.c. >> woodruff: and it would not be super tuesday without the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. point in the evening where we are watching donald trump, what, six or seven states we've called for him. he's lost it looks like oklahoma to ted cruz as well as texas. but donald trump still going to be able to come out of tonight feel pretty good about everything. >> those of us who are hoping for -- looking for silver linings. did better than where mitt romney was four years ago. that's from the eye dominant. if you want to look for avenues for nontrump candidate he's still losing terribly among women, college educated people, some of the traditional weaknesses are there. advantage he has going in to that i would say, cruz and rubio both have plausible cases where they should be the trump alternative and judging by tonight cruz has the stronger because he's actually won somewhere and rubio has not. >> woodruff: also add that we're talking about half past 9:00 eastern time still polls to close, but i think it's fair to say that marco rubio who hoped to at least chalk up some sort of a win tonight, didn't necessarily pull it off. at least he hasn't so far. >> gave a good run in virginia especially in the suburbs where if the establishment of the republican party lives anywhere, it lives in washington suburbs. and he ran up the score. but he could not catch donald trump. i think donald trump when he wins as he did so resoundingly in massachusetts, in virginia, he won narrowly but alabama. he won across the board where democrats win and where republicans win in the fall. it showed depth and breadth. >> woodruff: ted cruz is holding him off. >> ted cruz makes the stronger ways right now. it's tough, marco rubio looks great on paper unfortunately never gets beyond the silver medal he just can't get to first. and you got to win. he hasn't. tonight was his shot, i thought virginia especially. and it didn't come -- >> it's make or break in rubio for florida. right now according to polls trump has double-digit lead. one thing rubio has done you wouldn't want to bet the house he found argue: this argument that trump is a conman you look at trump university that he takes people's money, story of his life in case after case that's a cleaner case against trump that anybody has made so far in this campaign only five or six days old. maybe he can keep making that, maybe be some sort of new scandal. but if trump wins florida looks very nominee-like. >> just one point do you think it could be the classic example of rubio hitting trump and cruz being beneficiary? >> that's one of the worries if you go after -- if a goes after b, c is the beneficiary. just wonder if they will see some -- >> look at the way cruz did not do well in certain states. he did well obviously in texas and oklahoma not in the south. >> that's exactly right. >> because did he not do well folks who do not go to church. there's sort of as we've seen all year with cruz there's a limit to his support even in places where he does well. >> woodruff: late deciders go towards rubio. >> but what you're seeing is the republican establishment embracing rubio more comfortably than they are cruz. yet as we're just saying tonight cruz is the one who is putting some wins on the board. >> that's because if you look at the betting markets, trump is like 80, rubio is 14, cruz still down around 4 because of that ceiling. if you're republican office holder you've got two weeks. >> woodruff: that long? >> until florida or whatever. you've got short window of time if you want to prevent trump. you either activate yourself or give up. tonight's results will see what the metal is inside the republican office holders. >> do you feel better with cruz than trump if you're on the ballot? >> if you're a united states senator hard to get around. >> woodruff: let's talk about the democrats for a moment. it's interesting that bernie sanders and his remarks tonight came out and basically said, the revolution continues but he didn't say his campaign continues. and he didn't have any -- he didn't have lot of marks beyond his home state tonight. >> no, he won oklahoma. last thing i saw in massachusetts was dead even. but hillary clinton did very well. she ran up very strong numbers, particularly in the south. the red states, democrats aren't going to carry. but they send delegates to the convention. she did very well. she did very well with her strength. democrats' problem is turn out. just isn't -- whatever else to say about republicans generated interest and enthusiasm, the democrats hasn't been the case. >> woodruff: is that something that can be changed, david? the republican primary has been a spectacle. it's just -- people can't take their eyes away from it. if hillary clinton is facing donald trump how does she -- i guess she becomes part of it. >> she began the strategy -- not gee began she continued it. with love and tenderness. i think that is a good strategy whether -- throw out the same pattern where she does rell toughly poorly among folks under 35. and super well among folks over 50. >> woodruff: not so well with men. better with women. the gender gap. >> huge gender gaps. the question is, whether if you're going forward to the fall to mobilize young people and get independent. >> woodruff: talk more about that line, which hillary clinton started saying the week before, we don't want to make great again we want to make it whole. donald trump's is i'm not for whole i want great. >> it's working. when you get democratic victory party at any point and crowd is chanting "usa." spontaneously. it didn't sound like it was rehearsed. that's pretty good. the democrats now become the party, at least at this stage of the election, where they're embracing america, where they're not -- don't knock america we think america is -- may be has protection but we think it's pretty damn good not this basket case republicans -- trump in particular describing. we are great, we have -- whole is not the word. is a word that, i don't know what it is. make america complete or whatever. whole is not a good word. >> woodruff: i guess my question about hillary, i don't want to jump the gun on this, does she run the risk, david, if she tries to talk about love and the rest of it and not confront donald trump head on does she risk what happened to the other republicans? >> what a good story if i could toot your horn on the clinton strategy about trump. they decided with bill very much in the lead that he was real menace have to go after him not to take him lightly, not to think he would self destruct. play the temperament game she has better temperament and more confidence unvailing quote after quote that reek of bigotry and misogyny. the key thing, you're not playing republican primary you're playing with independent voters and suburban nights going to be more offended,000. >> woodruff: one thing, about to break apart. is that true or is it just visceral disbelief about donald trump success. >> well, the question of what republicans believe. a continuum since ronald reagan. and perhaps it's been paralyzing to some degree. but what the republicans stood for and that has come totally unglued. whatever else -- republicans have been the party of free trade, of immigration, whatever donald trump is, he's neither of those. he repudiates them openly and repudiates those that support him. he's very much against any -- when you call it neo-con foreign policy, exercising american muscle and influence, he's on the opposite side of that. whatever the republican contact and covenant has been, he totally ruptures if doesn't dismantle. >> the rhetoric. the people have always had tough primary sites. but the rhetoric now at different level, if marco rubio calls trump a con man how does he endorse him if he has to. >> woodruff: chris christie managed to work that out. >> the rhetoric has gotten -- i think lot of republicans are think holy crusade to save the party from donald trump. a lot of republicans who have trouble endorsing. my mind still dog elk going to convention in the summertime and it could be for donald trump. that's very hard to imagine with all the republicans that we know who really are alarmed, menaced and think the party and country is in peril. >> woodruff: you silly republicans holding off declaring that they will never -- there are a few, but many are holding off saying that, i would never vote for donald trump or support donald trump. >> somehow they're going to try to staunch what they fear would be massive losses up and down the balance. >> woodruff: one really quickly about. that up and down the ballots. where do you see the greatest risk? >> if i were republican? >> yeah. >> being on ballot with donald trump. i think the senate -- you can kiss the senate goodbye if donald trump is nominee. anything can happen. six months is a lifetime in politics right now -- that's attitude among republicans. >> woodruff: mark shields, david brooks, thank you. holding you two to your word we'll see you later. >> ifill: tune in tonight for more shields and brooks, plus the latest results this super tuesday. we'll have special pbs news hour coverage at 11:00 p.m. eastern. >> woodruff: finally tonight, we take a break from politics. four decades after the federal government established special education services for students with disabilities, school districts around the country are still trying to live up to the law. last week, we showed you some of the progress. but there are still big challenges ahead, and in some cases, questions about how well those efforts are working. special correspondent john tulenko of education week has the second of two stories he filed from california, part of our weekly education series, making the grade, which airs tuesdays on the newshour. >> reporter: in los angeles, the nation's second largest school system, it took a class action lawsuit filed in 1993 to bring attention to the failures in special education. teachers weren't trained, records weren't kept and thousands of students were not receiving services. sharyn howell, the district's special education director, says progress has been made. >> we've come a long ways. even at that point in time in los angeles school district and in other school districts, special education, it was still thought of as this was a very separate group of students and most of them were in segregated classes someplace. >> reporter: but not anymore. today, many of the problems have been resolved, especially when it comes to inclusion. in 2003 about half of all students with disabilities were taught alongside their non- disabled peers, for majority of the day. now it's 90% for students with learning or speech and language disabilities. for other special education students, there's still a ways to go. 17-year-old leo villegas who has down syndrome, spends most of his day in a separate classroom. but even that's beginning to change. >> i want leo to be included in the community. i don't want leo to be segregated all the time, i mean come on! >> reporter: rosie villegas is leo's mother. >> i want other students, other people to see leo and accept leo the way he is, even if it doesn't work, to try. >> reporter: at his mother's insistance, leo is in a few general education classes like economics, but not without support. >> reporter: monet gothard is with leo all day, to help with his behavior, and class work. >> i was reading a story to him and then he was answering reading comprehension questions. >> reporter: how often is leo doing the same things as the other students in class? >> well, for it to be meaningful for leo at the level that he's at, the work has to be modified. >> it's a good buzz word, gen ed, it's good to put the kids in gen ed, gen ed; i don't know if it's for everybody. >> reporter: most of the time, leo is in ross kramer's class together with other students with intellectual disabilities. >> i don't myself usually send kids to general education unless it's part of the meeting and the parents insist on that happening. >> reporter: why? >> because i don't think they could access the curriculum as well. a lot of the work is being spoon-fed and done to them, what are they retaining, what are they getting from that? >> reporter: others see it differently. >> that young man, when he leaves school he's not going to a special education job. he's not going to a special education movie theater. it's important for our students to be in that community of individuals that they're going to spend the rest of the their life with when they leave us. >> reporter: with that in mind, los angeles has been phasing out schools that serve only students with disabilities, like mcbride special education center. there we met brandon buschini. would you like to go to a regular high school, yes or no? brandon, a 20 year old high school senior, has physical and cognitive delays that prevent him from walking and speaking. he's been at mcbride since he was three years old. so you would like to stay here for school? >> yes. >> reporter: his mother agrees. >> i'm not against inclusion at all. i actually wanted him to be in a "regular school" when he was small. it's just that based on his needs, it's not the appropriate place for him. >> reporter: brandon requires a full time health care aide in addition to other assistance. >> he needs an occupational therapist. he needs a speech therapist. he needs a teacher that's working with a speech therapist to be on the same page. he needs an environment that he can access with his wheelchair. and you don't find that anywhere else. >> we can make all those things available in a general education campus. why would we not give those students an opportunity to have exposure to their general education peers. >> i would say that their job is to educate my child and my job is to socialize my child. a safe environment is important and many of these other schools just aren't safe. >> reporter: many buildings aren't even accessible, lacking basic accommodations like ramps. fixing that could cost over a billion dollars, twice as much as what's been budgeted. brandon's school is already equipped. but what about academics? what are your education goals for brandon? >> working with the right teachers to actually access brandon because brandon is fully capable of understanding in real time what's happening, but due to his developmental delays it makes it difficult for all of us to communicate with him. >> reporter: so brandon is fully there, shouldn't he be taking regular classes? >> it depends on the teacher and it depends on the services. that's where it becomes a little bit tricky. >> reporter: because getting services isn't easy, even for parents who support inclusion. >> constantly there is a fight with the school district because they're saying, "yes we are providing service," when they're not. for example, leo has an hour speech a week. first i call and say, "what is the day that my son is going to be getting service?" i go there and the speech therapist is not there. >> what you're raising here is outcome 13. outcome 13 is the measure the school district has not been able to achieve. >> reporter: david rostetter, who was brought in by the courts to monitor special education here, is referring to the final requirement of l.a.'s long- standing lawsuit: at least 85% of students must receive 100% of their services. >> the best the district has been able to do is to be on average with service provision, 72% of the students receive 100% of-- is absolutely, completely unacceptable. >> reporter: speech therapist ashley hall has 55 students between two schools-- that's about 11 students per day, plus at least an hour on paperwork, parent meetings and not to mention lunch. >> so there are days that we have to accommodate the children in different ways. so maybe a child who you would see 1 on 1, or 1 on 2, ends up being in a group of children with 4 or 5, and they don't necessarily get the time that they need. >> lowering caseloads would be a significant help. i had about 36 students when i was at a private clinic, and we saw success much more rapidly. >> they lose speech therapists every year over this. you can't perform in that environment. >> we know that no matter how much work we do, there are always going to be teachers or administrators or parents who are going to push us and say what you're doing is not right, and that's okay because it makes us think about what we're doing and it makes us really make sure that the programs that we do have meet everybody's needs. >> reporter: for brandon buschini's family, it's imperative he receive services. his mother and other parents have turned to the courts to keep schools like his open. >> this kind of speaks to the level of the law breaking. >> reporter: l.a. unified declined to comment on the lawsuit, which is awaiting a court decision on whether the case will move forward. in los angeles, california, i'm john tulenko of "education week," reporting for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: and back to the super tuesday primary. it has been a big night for donald trump. the republican front runner. he did congratulate ted cruz for his wins in texas and oklahoma, trump is speaking now at news conference in palm beach, florida. >> i'm a union fire, people will find that a little bit hard to believe but i am. once we get all of this finished i'm going to go after one person that's hillary clinton. on the assumption she's allowed to run which is a big assumption, i don't know that she's going to be allowed to run. and i think that's frankly going to be easy race. you see the polls i beat hillary in many. i don't think marco will be able to beat her. in all fairness ted will have a hard time. but ted add least has shot at last he's won a little bit. i just tell you this, we are going to be a much finer party, a much -- going to be a unified party. to be honest with you, we are going to be much bigger party. and you can see that happening. we're going to be a much bigger party. our party is expanding. >> woodruff: recapping the results for this super truce day, donald trump captured massachusetts his rival ted cruz won texas. and neighboring oklahoma. democrat hillary clinton also won in texas and swept five more southern states. and her rival, bernie sanders, won oklahoma and vermont. his home state. and that's the "newshour" for now. i'm gwen ifill. >> join us for the "newshour" special coverage of super tuesday that's later tonight at 11:00 p.m. eastern. for all of us at the pbs "newshour" thank you we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> 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 this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. >> divide deepens. the fight between apple and fbi moves to capitol hill. now lawmakers are starting to take sides. super tuesday. for stocks the dow soars. the nasdaq has its best day this year as march comes in like a bull on wall street. crown jewel. why today's texas vote is the biggest prize for presidential hopefu hopefuls. all that and more on "nightly business report" for tuesday, march 1st. good evening and welcome. the bulls charged wall street to start the month of march. one of the biggest contributors was apple. today, that company'sd