sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. the trump administration tried today to regain its footing following yesterday's knock-down blow on capitol hill. facing certain defeat, house republicans abruptly withdrew their bill to replace president obama's affordable care act just before it came to a vote. embattled house speaker paul ryan said, "we're going to be living with obamacare for the foreseeable future." in a tweet this morning, president trump vowed to revisit the issue, saying, "obamacare will explode, and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for the people. do not worry!" and vice president mike pence, talking to small-business owners in west virginia, promised the fight to replace obamacare will go on. >> yesterday wasn't a victory for the american people it was a victory for the status quo in washington, d.c. and it was a victory for the disaster of obamacare. but i promise you, that victory won't last very long. ( applause ) > >> sreenivasan: many of the nation's governors who feared rising costs under the house bill weren't shy about expressing their views. ohio republican john kasich tweeted: "now we have a chance to do it right." but california democrat jerry brown warned in a tweet: "we must gird ourselves for the battles yet to come." traveling in brussels, republican senator john mccain said, "doing nothing is not the answer after this setback." >> obamacare is imploding, so we need to continue our effort to make sure that all americans have access to affordable healthcare, which is not the case today. >> sreenivasan: vermont senator and former democratic presidential hopeful bernie sanders couldn't hide his satisfaction the bill had failed. he tweeted: "our victory in defeating the disastrous trump- ryan health care plan is the result of millions of americans standing up and fighting back." chastened republican leaders say they plan to get right back it with the next item on mr. trump's agenda. house ways and means chairman kevin brady of texas said in a statement: "full speed ahead with president trump on the first pro-growth tax reform in a generation." joining us now to discuss the implications for the trump administration as it tries to move forward is newshour weekend special correspondent jeff greenfield. so, it was not a good day. paul ryan agreed about that and president trump sort of did. who was hurt worse? >> first of all, any time the trump-friendly "drudge report" puts the hindenburg explosion on the front page, it's kind of a clue things didn't go well. i think the fallout will hit the congress and the speaker. a lot of what he did was mystifying. a lot of the policy in the health care repeal was in direct contradiction of what the president said in terms of insurance for everybody. and then the end lts and unsuccessful attempt to feed the freedom caucus, the most conservative hard-right group in the congress, not only didn't work, but then alienated two dozen moderates. whether this means that the people who have been suspicious of ryan, the breitbart folks, are going to suggest his speakership is endangered. i don't think we know that yet, but i think that he took a real hit this week. >> sreenivasan: what about the white house? >> well, of course, if you listen to truc trump, you know, everything worked out fine, but that's donald trump. here's what i think is at stake here-- the whole argument here made "i am the outsider. i am the deal cutter. i know how to get things done and cut through the morass of washington" has clearly taken a hit. i think the second thing, although why this should have been a surprise to anybody, is donald trump-- let me be blunt about this-- simply doesn't care about the policy implications. it's about winning. it's about beating his enemies. it's about looking successful. so for the republicans who are now saying, "all right, we'll do tax cuts. we'll do infrastructure." how are they going to deal with a president who really isn't interested in the details of things like tax cuts and how we get infrastructure. >> sreenivasan: you've watch aid few presidents now coming out of the blocks, all of them have some speed bumps. but compare this rash in last 60 days to previous presidents. >> you're quite right. bill clinton had the attempt to end the ban on gays in the military. john kennedy had the bay o bay s in april of 1961, which really caused him to take a very serious rethinking of his relationship with the c.i.a. the spate of them, you know, the travel ban, the second travel ban that's in trouble with the courts, the hiring and firing of national security administrative michael flynn, the still-unanswered questions about russia. and i think this one goes to the heart of what people thought was going to happen, you know, right out of the blocks, he said-- he now says he never intended to-- never promised repeal of obamacare quickly. year, he did. and so what the president is now facing is a challenge to the very premise of his election, as i said earlier, "i can get things done." and when you realize the health care repeestles the precursor to things like the tax cut plan, how are they going to do that in the absence of repeal? year, he is now facing-- not to mention the approval rate which is are dismal, historically dismal-- he's facing very tough road. just one quick thing, though-- we journalists are the olympic champions in the jumping to conclusions. if this were september of '18, the republicans would be facing a disaster. we have a year and a half to go. after what we lived through the last year and a half, you want to tell me we know what's coming? >> sreenivasan: we don't. alall right jeff greenfield, thk you. yesterday afternoon, soon after the republican healthcare bill was pulled before any vote took place, president trump indicated that the focus will now shift to reforming the tax code. treasury secretary steven mnuchin echoed that sentiment at an event earlier in the day, saying he would push for comprehensive tax reform for individuals and corporations before the congressional recess in august. mnuchin said that the president wants a tax cut for the middle class, not the top 1%. just how that process will begin and how complicated it will become are open questions. joining us from washington, d.c., to discuss what lies ahead for tax reform is nick timiraos of the "wall street journal." so, secretary mnuchin says, it is easier to reform health care than the tax code? >> yeah, that's-- that's what he said. and, you know, there's an argument that he made which was along the lines of, look, taxes are something republicans are on the same page on. everybody is going to want lower taxes. it's a visceral thing for republicans. i think the challenge here is that the health care debacle has reminded everybody that the details do matter. because republicans for years took vote after vote on repealing obamacare. it was something everybody said they wanted to do, just the same as all republicans say we want to lower fangsz we want to lower the corporate tax rate, to make investment and u.s. businesses more competitive. the problem is going to be the same. the details matter. and we don't have a lot of details yet from the administration. so, you know, the ball is kind of on the tee for them here to swing away and propose something, but we don't yet really know exactly what they want. and once you put those details out there, you give people, you know, a target to start shooting at. >> sreenivasan: one of the proposals we've heard repeatedly from republicans is to lower the corporate tax rate from, say, 35% to 20%. but that comes with its own consequences. >> right. you lose a lot of revenue. and republicans are talking about doing this using the same kind of procedural vehicle legislatively that would allow them to bypass the 60-vote threshold in the senate so that they can do this on a party line vote. but that procedural hurdle carries its own kind of complicated set of rules, including you can't add to deficits beyond 10 years. >> sreenivasan: does it get harder to do this after health care? >> well, speaker ryan said that on friday. he said that this does get harder because there were certain taxes in obamacare that they were going to repeal. they're not going to repeal those now. i think it adds to the urgency here. there will be a greater impetus because republicans are going to want to show they can get something done. president trump is going to want to have a sign. i think the other question is-- you were talking about tax reform. there is a difference between tax reform and tax cuts. and you hear the president a lot saying he just wants to cut heck out of taxes. he wantaise big tax cut. that is different. so it could be that the administration decides, look, we're just going to try to cut taxes here. we'll deal with the deficits later. you know, we'll propose maybe growth estimates that show that the deficits won't matter as much because we're going to grow the economy more. but that's another area where you're not quite sure yet if republicans are all on the same page. >> sreenivasan: nick timiraos of the "wall street journal" joining us from d.c. thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> sreenivasan: u.s.-backed iraqi troops have temporarily halted their months long attempt to retake mosul from isis militants following reports their attacks have caused heavy civilian casualties. the u.s.-led coalition is investigating reports that two recent air strikes on west mosul killed more than 100 civilians and injured many more in recent days. associated press journalists report seeing at least 50 bodies pulled from wrecked buildings. the top united nations humanitarian official in iraq said today she was "stunned by this terrible loss of life." up to 600,000 civilians are believed trapped in west mosul as the fighting intensifies. today marks the 60th anniversary of one of the founding treaties of the european union. and to mark that occasion, the leaders of the e.u.'s 27 remaining member states met in rome in the hopes of shoring up unity in the face of rising nationalism and the impending exit of the united kingdom from the union. the leaders signed a declaration reaffirming their unity and allowing member nations more freedom in determining their own policies and alliances. during the summit, european council president donald tusk warned against further fracturing of the union. >> europe, as a political entity, will either be untied or will not be at all. >> sreenivasan: outside the summit, thousands of demonstrators gathered, some to express their support for the european union and some to voice their opposition. demonstrators also turned out in london today to show their support for the european union. about 50,000 people marched through central london to protest brexit, britain's impending exit from the e.u. organizers of the protest considered delaying the march because of wednesday's terrorist attack but eventually decided to go ahead, saying, "we will not be intimidated." children in 29 california neighborhoods have been exposed to levels of lead higher than those in flint, michigan. read more at www.pbs.org/newshour. the country of south sudan gained its independence from sudan in 2011. but two years later, this new nation of more than 12 million people became embroiled in civil war. the conflict has led to a man- made famine, accusations of mass rape and ethnic cleansing, and a massive refugee crisis. today, south sudanese refugees are flooding into its closest neighbors, sudan and uganda, and also into the central african republic, the democratic republic of the congo, ethiopia and kenya. in tonight's signature segment, newshour weekend special correspondent simona foltyn reports from south sudan on the growing humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: in juba, the capital of south sudan, this united nations camp was supposed to be temporary. but after more than three years of a brutal civil war, people continue to flock here for safety. today, more than three million people, almost one-third of south sudan's population, have been forced from their homes. half of them have fled to neighboring countries like uganda. the rest are internally displaced, like john janoub. he arrived here with his wife and daughter last year when fighting spread to their hometown called yei in the southern part of the country in a region called equatoria. >> when we heard the gunshots, people started running. people are running anyhow. so, me, i escaped. i went to the riverside. we were very many in the river. then, the bullet is passing from up. even some of the bullets were falling near us. >> reporter: the civil war originated in a power struggle over the country's top post between south sudan's first president, salva kiir, and his former first vice president, riek machar. as both men mobilized support along ethnic lines, the conflict pitted kiir's tribe, the dinka, against machar's, the nuer, turning it into a broader struggle over land and resources, including oil. the two leaders signed a peace deal in 2015, but it collapsed nine months ago when fighting resumed in juba. machar fled and is now living in exile in south africa. when president kiir's government troops reached yei, janoub thought his family would be spared. like most of his tribe, they had remained neutral. but to his horror, janoub saw government troops set fire to his home. >> reporter: janoub says seven members of his family and several neighbors died in the fire, and then the soldiers went after him. >> reporter: janoub managed to escape with the help of friends. for three weeks, they walked through the wilderness until they reached this camp. and the people who killed your family, were they soldiers? >> reporter: they were wearing uniforms? >> reporter: why would they do that? >> reporter: most of the government soldiers are dinka, which has fueled perceptions of ethnic cleansing. >> reporter: when i caught up with a spokesman for the government troops, known as the sudan people's liberation army, or s.p.l.a., he denied that abuses are happening in a systematic way. >> reporter: despite the recent surge in violence, the government says that it's committed to the peace deal, and it has been urging people to leave this camp. but attacks on civilians have been a hallmark of this conflict, and with ethnic strife on the rise, there's simply no confidence that it's safe to go outside. the united nations is warning the surge in violence and ethnic targeting of civilians could spiral into a genocide. david shearer leads the u.n. peacekeeping mission here. >> we certainly have seen communities that have had to either flee from where they are living, houses burned, women raped, people killed in large numbers. >> reporter: earlier this month, the u.n. report of the commission on human rights in south sudan found most of the atrocities have been committed by government soldiers against civilians thought to be supporting rebel forces. the u.n.'s 12,000 peacekeepers are supposed to prevent such atrocities. but most of them protect the u.n. camps. and shearer says government troops often block access elsewhere. >> the government doesn't want us to go into particular areas because there are military operations going on, and they believe that we will get in the way of their military objectives. it's not a systematic denial of us going into opposition areas; it's more of us getting in the way and seeing what's happening on the ground with regard to military operations that are ongoing. >> reporter: flying two hours north of juba to rebel-held areas, i passed over the town of wau shilluk, which government forces attacked in february. it looks like parts of the town were burned to the ground. i landed in the nearby town of kodok on the west bank of the nile river. as the cultural and political capital of the shilluk tribe, this used to be a vibrant town, but much of the population has fled. government forces are stationed just on the other side of the river nile, which is effectively the front line. over the past weeks, there has been intense fighting just an hour south of here, and many fear that the town of kodok could be hit next. the south sudanese government blames the rebels for provoking the fighting in this region. rebel commander major general peter otar laa sees the situation differently. >> ( translated ): it was the government army that came and attacked our positions as well as the civilians at wau shilluk. >> reporter: otar laa says rebel forces will continue fighting until opposition leader riek machar is allowed back into the country. >> ( translated ): the international community has the ability to make peace either by force, through negotiations or any other means. but if they just sit back like in july when dr. riek machar was pushed out, then we don't expect peace to come. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people fled the most recent fighting in wau shilluk by walking for days to escape the front lines. they carried whatever they could grab when their villages came under attack. most have taken refuge in this forest. this woman collapsed. her mother said she hadn't eaten for three days. everyone here is visibly exhausted, having slept for weeks out in the open. alisa padaw is also coping with the loss of her youngest son, killed when the government shelled wau shilluk last month. he was only 12 years old. she also has two teenage sons who are missing. >> ( translated ): when the shelling hit, the hot soil fell on me and burned me here on my chest. then, immediately, our house started burning. >> reporter: since leaving wau shilluk, padaw and her family have survived mostly by eating leaves. they left all their harvest behind when they fled for their lives. >> ( translated ): we came with empty hands. we left all our things there. when we go to sleep, we just pray to god that he will assist. when the day comes, we look for the leaves and the fruits from the trees. >> reporter: the u.n. says 100,000 people are at immediate risk of starving to death due to a manmade famine, the civil war having prevented farmers from planting and harvesting for three years. aid from the u.n.'s world food program has started trickling in, but the u.n. says the government has prevented its delivery to civilians in rebel- controlled areas. while they wait for aid, padaw and her fellow villagers find ways to keep going. during the attack, her neighbor, youssuf, ran and grabbed one thing he thought necessary to survive. >> ( translated ): i'm making this fishing net, so when the rainy seasons comes, i can fish here. that way, i can get something to eat for myself and even these children here. >> reporter: but it will be weeks until the rains come. in an attempt to feed themselves, the displaced try to sell their other belongings. even that would earn them enough to buy only a few days' worth of food. the u.n. is now warning that 5.5 million people-- half the population of south sudan-- are at risk of severe food insecurity this year. >> this is pbs nrwshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: more details are emerging about the homegrown terrorist who killed four people near the british parliament this week. saudi officials have confirmed that years before the attack, he taught english in saudi arabia on two different occasions between 2005 and 2009. the british-born convert to islam also visited saudi arabia for almost a week two years ago. they said 52-year-old khalid masood, who was shot and killed by police, had no criminal record while in saudi arabia. the islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack, saying masood was an isis" soldier." a u.s. and british ban on large electronic devices on flights originating from several predominantly-muslim countries took effect today. the u.s. ban includes eight countries, including turkey, qatar and the united arab emirates. homeland and transportation security officials ordered the ban after u.s. and british intelligence noted what they said was an increased terrorist risk to commercial airlines. electronic devices larger that a mobile phone must be placed in checked baggage on flights bound for the united states and the u.k. from the affected countries. frustrations are high at ataturk airport in istanbul, where some turks questioned if the ban is meant to undermine the turkish airline industry. former penn state president graham spanier has been convicted of covering up child abuse allegations from 16 years ago. yesterday, a jury found spanier guilty of one count of child endangerment over his handling of accusations against jerry sandusky, the former penn state assistant football coach who was convicted of child molestation in 2012 and is serving a 30-to- 60-year prison term. a 2001 email from spanier to university administrators showed that he had approved a plan to handle the case internally without alerting state officials of the abuse. spanier now faces up to five years in prison. his lawyer has said that they will appeal the case. >> sreenivasan:-- tomorrow's program, how ireland is preparing for the financial fallout from brexit that's all for this edition of "pbs newshour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the john and helen glessner family trust-- supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ i've never known a girl ♪ that makes me feel the way that you do ♪ ♪ you're alright... announcer: get ready for the return of "motown 25," here on your public television station. ♪ now it's the same old song ♪ but with a different meaning since you've been gone ♪ ♪ now there's some sad things known to man ♪ ♪ but ain't too much sadder than ♪ ♪ the tears of a clown ♪ when there's no one around ♪ baby, everything is alright ♪ uptight, outta sight that's mary wilson.