JUDY WOODRUFF: Good evening.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: on the brink of a deal.
Congress and the White House inch closer to an agreement on border security to avoid another
government shutdown.
Then: one-on-one with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as he pushes European allies to take
a harder line with Iran.
Plus: when clothes are the canvas.
We catch up with Ruth Carter, the costume designer behind "Black Panther," now up for
an Oscar.
RUTH CARTER, Costume Designer: The process of creating superhero costumes is very different
than tailoring a suit.
And so that process was new to me.
But as I got into it, I could see that there were lots of things where I could implement
my ideas and my art.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All that and more on tonight's "PBS NewsHour."
(BREAK)
JUDY WOODRUFF: Congress is still waiting tonight to see if President Trump will back a border
security deal.
He called today for building a southern border wall as hard to scale as Mount Everest, amid
reports that he will grudgingly accept something well short of that demand.
Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins begins our coverage.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We're going to look at the legislation when
it comes, and I will make a determination then.
LISA DESJARDINS: For a second day, President Trump wouldn't say yes or no on the border
deal negotiated in Congress.
As he met with the president of Colombia, Mr. Trump was cautious and complimentary both.
DONALD TRUMP: We will be looking for land mines, because you could have that.
It's been known to happen before to people.
I appreciate all the work the Republicans have done, because they're really going against
a radical left.
It's a radical left.
LISA DESJARDINS: At the Capitol, congressional negotiators worked on final issues and tweaks
to the bipartisan deal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged criticism of the bill from the right and the left.
REP.
NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), Speaker of the House: As with all compromises, I say to people,
support the bill for what is in it, don't judge it for what is not in it.
We can't pass it until it's ready, and when it's ready, we will be ready to pass it.
LISA DESJARDINS: The chair of the House Democratic Caucus, New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries,
was equally optimistic.
REP.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), New York: The overwhelming majority of the House Democratic Caucus will
support this legislation that will be presented on the House floor tomorrow.
Beyond that, we will see what the president does, but I'm hopeful that he will sign this
into law.
LISA DESJARDINS: House Minority Leader Republican Kevin McCarthy was also hopeful.
REP.
KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), House Minority Leader: If the language comes out the way the structure
is told to me, I would support this.
LISA DESJARDINS: On the Senate side, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged both parties
had to give and take to get to this point.
SEN.
MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), Majority Leader: Neither side is getting everything it wants.
That's the way it goes in divided government.
If the text of the bill reflects the principles agreed to on Monday, it won't be a perfect
deal, but it will be a good deal.
LISA DESJARDINS: Meanwhile, the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, appealed directly
to the president.
SEN.
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), Minority Leader: In politics, to quote the rolling Stones, you
can't always get what you want.
It's time to put the months of shutdown politics behind us.
LISA DESJARDINS: With just two days to go before Friday's midnight deadline, President
Trump has said this: He doesn't want to see a second government shutdown.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And Lisa is here with me, along with our White House correspondent, Yamiche
Alcindor.
So, Lisa, what is the best you know, you can tell us about when we're going to see this
bill, and what's in it and what's being negotiated still?
LISA DESJARDINS: I have been just checking with sources, hearing back from them.
It looks like they do expect us to see the text tonight.
That time keeps slipping back.
I'm now told hopefully by midnight, so it's going to be a very late night.
If that happens, if we see the text tonight, then we also expect votes tomorrow, at least
in the House and possibly in the Senate as well.
But, Judy, tomorrow is tricky because there are two funerals for departed members of Congress,
one for John Dingell here in Washington, another in the afternoon for Walter Jones in North
Carolina.
Many members are flying to that funeral.
They will go to that funeral and return to Washington, and only then can the votes begin
on this package.
Now, as to what's in the package, what are learning today, a couple of new things.
We know that this deal includes a 1.9 percent pay increase for federal workers, also $1
billion for the census.
That's something they have been asking for and even more.
And, Judy, it's interesting.
It's very specific about that border barrier money we have been talking about.
It says 55 miles, 45 miles for land fencing, and 10 miles for levees.
One other thing.
There are still negotiations going on tonight between leadership sources over two things,
one, whether contractors should get back pay as part of this deal.
The other thing, should the Violence Against Women Act be extended as it is, which Republicans
want, or should there be more restrictions on, say, weapon ownership by potential abusers?
That's what Democrats want.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Fascinating, how these other issues arise in a situation like.
So, Yamiche, the big question still on everybody's mind is, what is the president going to do?
What have you learned about whether he is inclined to sign it or not?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: The president has not decided whether or not he will sign this bill.
And, ultimately, it doesn't look likely that there is going to be a shutdown, but the government
is not out of the woods yet.
I have been talking to conservatives all day, and they say that the president likes a little
bit of political theater.
They think that the president likes the drama.
He likes the idea of his opponents waiting until the last minute to know what he's going
to.
And they think of this as the president really looking as he wants to be a negotiator who's
unpredictable.
But the White House pushes back on that image.
When I talk to aides, they say the president hasn't made up his mind because the text of
the bill hasn't been received by the White House.
They say once that text is received, White House aides are going to comb through it.
They're going to then make a presentation to the president, and the president then is
going to look for sweeteners.
Some specific things that he's looking for, the number of immigration judges that are
included in the bill.
He also wants to know exactly what the wall money can be used for.
They want to know, where can we put this wall, exactly where can the materials come from?
It's really interesting that the president is weighing those options.
The bottom line here, though, is the president doesn't know what he's going to do.
There's been a lot of back and forth on whether or not the president intends to sign this.
But, as of this hour, the president has not made up his mind.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, you mentioned, Yamiche, the wall.
We know the president didn't get all the money that he wanted for the wall.
And yet the White House is saying that they're still going to go ahead and build more of
a barrier.
How do they plan to do that?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, the White House is really unhappy with the number they're getting
for this wall number -- I mean, for this wall funding.
The president is not happy.
He wanted $5.7 billion.
Instead, he got $1.37 billion.
The White House is looking at this idea of whether or not he can pull from different
funds.
The president hasn't decided which pot he's going to pull from, but the key question is
who does he want to make mad?
On the one hand, conservatives tell me that the president would look very happy to his
base and it would be very good for his base if he pulled money from the DOD or the Army
Corps of Engineers or possibly even disaster funding just to say, I signed this bill, I
made the deal, I avoided the shutdown, but, by the way, I also still got my money for
the wall.
However, Republicans on Capitol Hill might be very angry at that.
I'm thinking of senators from states like Texas.
If the president takes money that was made -- that was supposed to be used for hurricane
funding or flooding and says, you know what, I'm going to build my wall, that could really
be a really political land mine essentially for people on the Hill.
So the president's going to have to decide who he wants to make mad and whether or not
he thinks he can be a winner with wherever he pulls the money from.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa, that brings me to you.
What is Congress' role as he looks for that money?
LISA DESJARDINS: It depend on the source of money.
There is some money from drug seizures and from some powers the Department of Defense
has in the war on drugs that it seems the president might be able to take initially
without approval.
But there is a lot of all these other funds are called transfers, reprogramming.
And, traditionally, each Appropriations Committee in Congress must approve that.
Well, now, one of those appropriations committees is run by Democrats, the House Appropriations
Committee.
Democrats say they will object.
Where does that go?
Probably to court.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, watch this, for sure.
We will be watching.
LISA DESJARDINS: Yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Lisa Desjardins, Yamiche Alcindor, thank you.
And we will talk to the Senate's number two Republican, John Thune, a little later in
the program.
In the days other news: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to limit U.S. involvement
in the war in Yemen, in a rebuke to President Trump.
It would force a withdrawal of U.S. military assistance to a Saudi-led bombing campaign
against Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.
The measure goes to the Senate now, where a similar resolution passed last year.
The White House has promised to veto.
We will hear reaction to this from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in our interview.
That airs in just a few minutes.
President Trump sought today to step up the pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas
Maduro.
He said again that he is looking at all options if Maduro refuses to surrender power.
But at a congressional hearing, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee warned
against using the U.S. military in Venezuela, unless Congress approves.
REP.
ELIOT ENGEL (D), New York: I want to make clear to our witnesses and to everyone else
watching, U.S. military intervention is not an option.
Congress decides when, where and how the U.S. military is used around the world, and Congress
wouldn't support military intervention in Venezuela.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful
leader.
A former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer has been charged with revealing U.S. national
defense secrets to Iran.
Monica Witt defected to Iran in 2013.
The Justice Department announced the indictment today.
It said that she also helped hackers target her former colleagues.
Witt remains at large.
The socialist government of Spain may have to call early elections after it lost a crucial
budget vote today.
Catalan separatists joined conservatives in opposition.
The Catalan deputies are unhappy with the government's refusal to consider an independence
referendum for their region.
Back in this country, New Jersey's Roman Catholic Diocese named more than 180 priests who have
been credibly accused of sexually molesting minors.
The allegations span several decades.
Many of those listed are now deceased.
Others have been removed from the ministry, and some have been charged with crimes.
Separately, the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, named 42 accused priests.
The superintendents of the U.S. service academies faced bipartisan criticism in Congress today
over sexual assault and harassment.
A Pentagon study last month found a 50 percent jump in incidents at the schools in the last
two years.
At a House hearing, California Democrat Jackie Speier said she's putting the academies on
notice.
REP.
JACKIE SPEIER (D), California: This isn't a blip, a MeToo bump or some accident.
It is a clear illustration of a destructive trend and a systemic problem.
It's time for us to recognize that this is a crisis.
And I intend to watch it like a hawk.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The ranking Republican on the committee joined in, saying the problem needs
immediate attention.
An investigation has found that no evidence that Catholic school students used racist
or offensive language in an incident at the Lincoln Memorial.
The encounter last month involved teenagers from a school in Covington, Kentucky, and
Native American activists.
Videos of it quickly went viral.
The investigation was done for the Catholic Diocese of Covington.
Brock Long is resigning as head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He notified his staff in a letter today.
Long's departure comes several months after an investigation found that he misused government
vehicles.
He agreed to reimburse the government.
NASA said goodbye today to its Opportunity rover, after nearly 15 years of exploring
the surface of Mars.
The golf-cart-sized vehicle was launched in 2003, alongside its twin, Spirit, for a mission
of just over 90 days.
Instead, Spirit lasted until several years ago, and Opportunity carried on until a ferocious
dust storm last June.
JOHN CALLAS, NASA: We tried valiantly over these last eight months to try to recover
the rover, to get some signal from it.
We listened every single day, and we heard nothing.
And so it comes time to say goodbye.
But we want to remember the 14-and-a-half years of phenomenal exploration.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We're sad too.
Opportunity set endurance and distance records, and along with it -- along with Spirit, it
found evidence that water once flowed on the surface of Mars.
Longtime conspiracy theorist and eight-time presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche has
died.
He was known for extremist views and outrageous claims, including one that Britain's Queen
Elizabeth was a drug trafficker.
Lyndon LaRouche was 96 years old.
T-Mobile and Sprint pledged again today not to raise prices for three years if their merger
wins federal approval.
But Democrats at a House hearing questioned whether the Trump administration would hold
the companies to that pledge.
The merger is worth $26.5 billion.
It would unite the nation's third and fourth largest wireless carriers.
And on Wall Street, stocks made modest gains, over optimism about U.S.-China trade talks.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 117 points to close at 25543.
The Nasdaq rose five, and the S&P 500 added eight.
And a wire fox terrier named king is this year's top dog at the Westminster Kennel Club
dog show in New York.
The 7-year-old won best in show last night in the nation's most prestigious canine competition.
Overall, more than 2,800 dogs took part.
Wire fox terriers have won Westminster 13 times, far more than any other breed.
They have it wired.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": a wide-ranging conversation with Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo; Republican Senator John Thune on the effort to avert another government shutdown;
forms of universal health care pick up steam among Democrats; and much more.
We return now to the negotiations over border security spending and another looming federal
government shutdown.
For that, I spoke just a short time ago to Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota.
He is the Senate majority whip, his party's second highest ranking position.
Senator Thune, thank you very much for joining us.
So, first of all, how confident are you that President Trump is going to seen on to this
agreement?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE (R), South Dakota: Well, Good evening, Judy.
Pretty confident, but,you know, of course, until we actually have the final text, and
the president comes out and says something definitively, I think we're just going to
wait and let him make that announcement himself, but the indications are positive.
I think that he probably realizes this is the best deal he could get under the circumstances.
And the negotiations have concluded.
We have got to avoid another government shutdown, which would happen at midnight Friday, if
this deal isn't agreed to.
So I'm hopeful that the president will come around and at some point announce his intention
to get behind this, but, like everybody else, he wants to see the details.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, as we all know, the president didn't get as much money as he wanted for
a physical barrier, a wall.
And he's saying he's going to find that money elsewhere.
How much other money is available to him, and from where?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: I think that what they're talking about doing -- and, of course, this would
be not in the context of an emergency declaration, which would be a different, entirely, conversation,
but I think in terms of unobligated balances, reprogramming that could occur, that the administration
could find, the dollars that they could move around a little bit, I'm not sure exactly
what that number is.
We have heard estimates, but I think it would significantly increase the amount that he
could put toward border security.
How much would go toward a wall, I don't know, but I think the hard number that we know about
is the one that's in there.
And that's the 1.4 or thereabout billion dollars that he can use for the physical structure
that would be along the border.
But there's more to it, obviously, than that.
And I know that he's interested in getting as much funding as he can to build as much
of that structure as possible.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we have been hearing perhaps as much as a couple of billion dollars
the president would be trying to find elsewhere.
Do you have any idea where the money could come from?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: Well, there are several accounts that have been mentioned, and -- but, you
know, I don't know exactly where they're talking about going to get it.
There, of course, has been some talk about Defense Department dollars and perhaps being
able to reprogram some of those.
I think, in the end, to get significant amounts of money, he would probably use the emergency
declaration.
I don't know exactly what he's going to do at this point.
And I think it's probably anybody's guess.
But I know that his administration is looking carefully at these various accounts to try
to determine if there are additional dollars that could be added to the amount that's going
to be appropriated by Congress.
How much that is and where exactly it comes from, I hate to at this point speculate about
that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Is that something congressional Republicans would support?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: It depends a lot on where it comes from, and, again, and which authority he would
use.
A lot of our colleagues are very sympathetic to what the president's trying to accomplish.
They want to ensure that he has dollars to allocate to border security and to deal with
the crisis there.
But, at the same time, you know, what authority gets used, where the dollars might be moved
around from will have a lot to do with, I think, the kind of support that he might enjoy
among Republicans in the Senate.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Separate question, Senator.
Do you see this agreement as expanding ICE detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
and, if so, by how much?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: I think -- and, of course, there have been a lot of discussion about the numbers,
and both sides have talked about a slightly different number, but I think it's all in
the ballpark of the 40,000 to 50,000 bed range, which would be comparable to what we have
today, with some flexibility to go up maybe a little bit beyond that.
I have seen numbers in the range of 58,000 or so.
I think the flexibility is important, but I think in terms of the overall amount that
would be allocated toward detention of illegals who are here and criminal aliens in some cases,
it is comparable to what we're looking at today.
JUDY WOODRUFF: How much of a priority is that for you, Senator?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: Well, I think it's important that we not cap it.
I was very concerned about the proposal the Democrats put forward that would have, in
law, capped that amount.
I think previous administrations have had the flexibility, based upon what the need
is, to be able to move some money around and make sure that there's enough, you know, detention
beds for that population.
And I think it's an issue that's a part of this discussion.
I think, for a lot of our members, the physical structure, the barrier, is probably the number
one priority, but this obviously is a close second in the minds of a lot of people.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Senator, still another subject, and that is Democrats are saying
they would like to find money to give back pay to federal contract employees who were
affected by the government shutdown.
They are pushing for this.
Where do Republicans, where do you stand on that?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: Well, I -- what I have maintained throughout this entire process is, when you
have a government shutdown, nobody wins, and there are a lot of people who are harmed by
that.
And you want to make sure that you do everything you can to make them whole.
And I guess I would include contractors in that group.
The question, I guess, is how best to do that.
People who enter into contracts with the government aren't always working, and would they have
been working?
What's the duration of some of those contracts?
There are a lot of questions that I think have to be answered to figure out how you
would reimburse or make whole government contractors.
There is a reason they're contractors.
They're not as federal employees.
They're not full-time federal workers.
They are working on contract, and sometimes those contracts go in spurts.
There may be times when they're heavily engaged in some activity on behalf of the federal
government, but at other times they're not.
So I think making those determinations makes this a little bit more this a little bit more
complicated, but I think there is an interest certainly among a lot of members on both sides
of the aisle in seeing that people who are -- depend upon the federal government and
were harmed by the shutdown, that they be taken care of.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Republicans would be open to the idea, you think?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: Well, I think there are -- yes, I think there are Republicans who are open
to that idea, yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, when do you think this could pass the Congress, if -- assuming
it keeps moving as it is?
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: If we get the paperwork filed by late this afternoon or early evening, it
would set up, I think, potentially votes tomorrow in the Senate.
We could move first.
The House could move first.
I don't think that's been determined yet.
But if the Senate did move first, you know, we have to have consent to do that.
And if we have consent, we could move fairly quickly and send it to the House, and they
could process it sometime tomorrow.
But that assumes, again, that the paperwork gets wrapped up, and that they get the details,
the actual legislative text, made available to members for them to have an opportunity
to review.
And, hopefully, that will happen soon.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And then we wait to see what the president does.
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: And then we will wait and see.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, Senator John Thune, thank you very much.
SEN.
JOHN THUNE: Thanks, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Democrats in Washington are making health care a top priority.
And calls for Medicare for all or some form of universal health coverage are growing louder.
But, as special correspondent Sarah Varney reports, Democratic governors and mayors aren't
waiting.
They are pushing ahead with urgency, signing executive orders and unveiling proposals to
corral costs and bring health care to those who remain uninsured.
California Governor Gavin Newsom laid out some of his ideas in his state of the state
speech last night.
Our story begins in California, and was produced in collaboration with our partner Kaiser Health
News for our weekly series on the Leading Edge of science, health and technology.
SARAH VARNEY: Sandra Yamileth Lopez works at one of San Francisco's most celebrated
bakeries, Tartine.
She fled horrific violence in Honduras and applied for asylum in California.
She can work legally, but, like many new immigrants, it will be years before she's eligible for
Medicaid or federal health insurance subsidies.
So, she enrolled in Healthy San Francisco, a pioneering program that guarantees health
care to any uninsured city resident.
Lopez says she can live her life again.
SANDRA YAMILETH LOPEZ, Healthy San Francisco Patient (through translator): I often dreamt
about what had happened to me.
So they tried to give me sleeping pills and medicine to calm me down, because, when I
walked through a crowd, I felt as if something could happen to me.
I mean, I was psychologically traumatized.
SARAH VARNEY: Healthy San Francisco started in 2007, under then Mayor Gavin Newsom, years
before the Affordable Care Act, when universal coverage was an audacious and radically liberal
goal.
Partially funded through employer fees, the city reorganized its public health system.
Patients like Mario Goes were moved away from expensive and overburdened emergency rooms,
and into primary care clinics.
They get visits to specialists, prescription drugs, and, perhaps most importantly, protection
from massive bills should they need emergency care.
After most of Obamacare went into effect in 2014, most Healthy San Francisco patients
enrolled in Medicaid or bought subsidized private plans.
But about 13,000 remain, those who earn too much for Medicaid, but still can't afford
private insurance, and people like Juan, who are undocumented and barred from federal public
assistance.
He's been recovering from a heart attack under the watchful eye of a cardiologist and he's
now back at work in a local warehouse.
He takes a number of prescription drugs that he couldn't otherwise afford.
MAN: Just want to make sure that you can continue to get those, those medicines.
SARAH VARNEY: But here's the dilemma: He's only covered inside the city limits of San
Francisco.
It's not portable health insurance.
Juan wants to move to San Diego to care for his aging mother, but then he will be out
of the program and unable to afford his medications.
Is this hundreds of dollars a month or a few dollars a month?
JUAN, Healthy San Francisco Patient: Some of them some of them over thousands of dollars
a month, yes.
And if I don't have that coverage, in San Diego, I would have to pay for it.
And if I don't take that medication, it's like -- it could be life-threatening.
SARAH VARNEY: Some three million Californians remain uninsured.
About half don't have legal status, like Juan, and the rest can't afford the sky-high cost
of American health care.
SEN.
BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont: Now is the time to get it done!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SARAH VARNEY: Fury over those costs, even for those with insurance, has energized Democrats
who want the U.S. to have universal health coverage, like all other industrialized nations.
But there are many variations: single-payer, Medicare for all, plans that would largely
do away with insurance companies or employer-based coverage, others that would simply regulate
them more closely.
Now that the former mayor of San Francisco has become governor, Newsom says he wants
to make California a testing ground for universal coverage.
GOV.
GAVIN NEWSOM (D), California: Premiums are going up, deductibles are getting higher,
people are feeling stress and anxiety about what's happening or not happening federally.
And they're concerned that things will get worse, not necessarily better, in the medium
term, and a lot worse in the long term.
SARAH VARNEY: Newsom has asked the Trump administration to allow California to pursue a single-payer
system.
Since that's unlikely to happen, he's pursuing other options by creating what he says is
the nation's largest prescription drug purchasing pool to negotiate drug prices, restoring the
individual health insurance mandate, letting undocumented young adults up to age 26 into
Medicaid, and giving state subsidies to 250,000 more middle-income Californians.
GOV.
GAVIN NEWSOM: You look around the rest of the world, they're just rolling their eyes,
higher life expectancy.
They do chronic disease management better than the United States for roughly half the
price.
You look at quality indexes, we dropped to 37 in the world in our quality index last
year, below Cuba and Costa Rica.
This is ludicrous, and so it's incumbent upon governors, mayors to take the lead, in the
absence of the federal government doing its job.
SARAH VARNEY: And that's happening across the nation.
In Washington state, New Mexico, Colorado and elsewhere, Democrats have put forward
a flurry of proposals to expand access and restrain health care costs.
And, in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio is promising health care to undocumented immigrants
and those who can't afford insurance.
BILL DE BLASIO (D), Mayor of New York: There's enough people in this city who don't have
any health care coverage to fill the entire city of Milwaukee or the entire city of Baltimore.
There's just a vast number of people.
SARAH VARNEY: It's a total of some 600,000 New Yorkers.
De Blasio recruited Dr. Mitch Katz, the public health mastermind behind Healthy San Francisco,
to build a similar program in the city's five boroughs.
They plan to pump more than $100 million a year into the city's financially strained
public hospitals and clinics and actively enroll the uninsured into a program called
NYC Care.
That includes struggling young people, like freelance musician and composer Andrew Sharkey,
who has Crohn's, a serious bowel disease, that has gone untreated.
He dropped his coverage in 2015.
ANDREW SHARKEY, New York City Resident: I just didn't know where the money was going
to come from.
I was working two jobs.
They were both part-time, so they didn't have to pay into my insurance.
SARAH VARNEY: Under de Blasio's plan, Sharkey would have a regular primary care doctor and
treatment from specialists and access to prescription drugs.
Word about NYC Care is already spreading among the more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants
in the city, like Antonio, who asked us to use only his first name.
He thinks de Blasio's plan would simplify his life.
He could focus more on his health and work, and less on the endless paperwork that comes
with being uninsured.
ANTONIO, New York City Resident (through translator): Oh, my God, that is going to be a great change
for everyone.
Now, when I go to an appointment, I need to be running around from social workers, to
organizations, to find a way to reduce those bills.
SARAH VARNEY: Americans already pay for undocumented immigrants when they come to the emergency
room, says Mayor de Blasio.
BILL DE BLASIO: Let's face it, we kind of kid ourselves in this country about the reality
of health care.
So, right away, we have got 12 million, maybe even more, undocumented folks who are part
of the fabric of the United States of America, and who need health care because they are
human beings.
But in all of our policy-making, we deny their existence.
This is the greatest don't ask, don't tell you have ever seen.
We should have universal health care nationally.
We should have single-payer.
We should have Medicare for all.
But, in the absence of that, health care has become this luxury item for so many people.
SARAH VARNEY: Universal health care polls well with American voters.
But the Trump administration says, if it became a national policy, it would consume the federal
budget.
Seema Verma runs the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the Trump administration.
SEEMA VERMA, Director, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: It's fiscally unsustainable.
But to make matters worse, it would destroy Medicare for the seniors who have spent their
whole life paying into it.
SARAH VARNEY: And some Democrats are voicing warnings of their own.
Former Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, was forced to abandon his attempt to bring
single-payer to his state.
PETER SHUMLIN (D), Former Vermont Governor: What I realized, and I think a lot of legislators
too, did was, hey, if we don't get costs under control first, instead of getting that premium
increase in the mail, you are going to get a tax increase passed to your legislature
on an annual basis.
And there aren't very many politicians from any party who want to be raising taxes at
the rate of our current health care inflation.
SARAH VARNEY: Fifteen percent every year, 18 percent.
PETER SHUMLIN: So, 15, 12.
Can you imagine the politicians going, hey, this is fun?
SARAH VARNEY: As Democrats across the country and in Washington push ahead with their health
care agenda, patients like Andy Sharkey are listening carefully.
For the "PBS NewsHour" and Kaiser Health News, I'm Sarah Varney in New York.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Stay with us.
Coming up on the "NewsHour": students around the country respond to gun violence one year
after the tragedy in Parkland, Florida; and the Oscar nominee behind "Black Panther"'s
costumes.
This week marks a year since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, that took the lives of 17 students and educators.
Tomorrow will be a day when many survivors take time again to remember, reflect and grieve.
We wanted to take some time tonight to hear from students around the country.
Our Student Reporting Labs network spoke to high schoolers from a number of states, including
California, Michigan, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.
We also heard from some college freshmen who recently had graduated.
We asked students to talk about whether they felt safer or not, what had changed at their
schools, and how they were being heard, and some of the larger concerns on their mind.
Here's a sampling of what they had to say.
KIM LEADHOLM, Student: The students of Parkland and the Parkland movement helped me change,
because they really let me notice that my voice matters, that the youth voice matters,
and that, although we are not legislators and political officials, we still can have
our opinion and voice heard and can make a difference in regards to changes in our political
platform.
MEMPHIS CLEVELAND, Student: Obviously, Parkland was a really big turning point in this, but
it has happened in a lot of different places that, you know, maybe we don't hear about
every day.
But because of Parkland, so many things have changed, even in my smaller school.
ELLIOTT CORBIN, Student: I have definitely become more paranoid in school a little bit.
Like, right after it happened, everyone was a lot more paranoid than they are now.
It's kind of washed away a little bit, but definitely a little bit more paranoid about
going to school.
LAUREN BAYLESS, Student: Since the mass shooting in Parkland, I have definitely always been
more aware of my surroundings, and I have definitely changed my mental state to, whenever
I go into a room, think of where the exits are if anything did happen.
JOSE LOPEZ, Student: My school upped its security.
And I see more security guards and personnel around.
And while it doesn't make me feel safe, it's nice knowing they're there.
JACK BRAITHWAITE, Student: They have installed locks on the doors where someone has to buzz
you in to get in to the school on every door.
The doors are locked all the time.
I know, in our class, there is a gate that is down all the time now.
KAILA HARRIS, Student: They have been a lot stricter on, like, hats and hoodies and not
having them on in school, or big jackets, just in case someone could be holding, you
know, a weapon or anything in them.
HENRY KLEPPEL, Student: I think the most depressing thing about the Parkland incident is that
I don't feel, and, in general, schools don't feel incredibly different, and it's almost
as if it's just another shooting.
JAMES ABBOT, Student: I actually feel unsafe, a lot more unsafe after Parkland, just because
a lot more kids realize they have the opportunity to shoot up a school.
They have -- they all have the opportunity.
You know that it's not that hard to get a gun, and a lot of kids know that.
And they just -- it's scary to think that there's kids out there that know that that's
a choice.
FERNANDO CIENFUEGOS, Student: A major change that I hope to see is a universal background
check.
To my knowledge, I know that, in some states, you're able to go to a gun show and just purchase
a weapon with no background check.
I think that's a very dangerous thing to think about.
MEMPHIS CLEVELAND: People are seeing it.
The people that are making the laws and the people that are changing the way we see these
things, they're actually taking a step forward and doing something about it now.
Even if it is just the seed, we're still going to be acting upon it.
And it really has done a lot in the face of lawmakers and people that can make change.
KIM LEADHOLM: I feel hopeful that I will feel safer in the future.
I think that the conversation is starting.
And the idea that there will be gun restrictions and a safer future in our country is there,
and it's possible, but I don't think we're there yet.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, in Warsaw, Poland, the United States is leading a first ever conference
on Middle East security, with more than 60 countries in attendance.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the conference's co-host.
Earlier today, he visited U.S. troops stationed in Northeast Poland, near the Russian border.
He then attended a meeting on the war in Yemen that included officials from Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates, which are leading a coalition fighting Iran-aligned rebels in
that country.
U.S. officials are discussing multiple topics, but the focus has overwhelmingly been Iran.
I spoke to the secretary of state from Warsaw just a short time ago.
Secretary Mike Pompeo, thank you very much for joining us.
You are in Poland for a meeting to discuss the future of the Middle East.
What do you want to come out of this meeting?
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. Secretary of State: Well, Judy, thanks for having me on this show.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak with your audience.
We have gathered 70 nations to talk about how we achieve Middle East stability and prosperity
and peace.
As you know, this region is fraught with risk.
And we will spend tomorrow, and we spent a good part of tonight talking about the various
risks and how this coalition -- how different countries from every continent, save for Antarctica,
can come together and deliver on Middle East peace.
We hope to walk away from here with a number of ideas and plans.
We hope to have follow-up meetings where we can truly begin to deliver on something that
the Middle East certainly needs and the world will benefit from as well.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, we are told that a number of key Middle Eastern and European officials
decided not to attend.
There are some countries represented at a lower level.
How does that affect your ability to move this forward?
MIKE POMPEO: Judy, this event's been absolutely historic.
It's the first time we have put it together.
And, even tonight, it's the first time in a quarter-of-a-century that you had a prime
minister of Israel in the same room talking about threats in the Middle East with senior
Arab leaders from all across the Middle East.
It was truly remarkable.
It was historic, 70-plus countries gathered together, all sharing ideas.
We come from different backgrounds, we come from different places, we see these risks
differently, but, tonight, I think we began a conversation which will lead to really good
outcomes all across the Middle East.
JUDY WOODRUFF: You mentioned the prime minister of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu.
He, just a short time ago, was quoted as saying, tweeting that the countries were there to
discuss their common interests of war with Iran.
Now, they later changed the wording to say common interests of combating Iran.
But is that the focus?
MIKE POMPEO: Well, it may not surprise you, Judy.
I was out with American soldiers on freedom's frontier today.
I didn't have a chance to spend a lot of time on Twitter.
So I haven't seen those remarks.
No, this gathering is certainly about Middle East peace and stability.
You can't talk about that without talking about the threat from the Islamic Republic
of Iran, whether it's Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis -- I call them the three H's -- whether
it's their work against the Iraqi government, trying to harm the independence and sovereignty
of Iraq, whether it's what they're doing in Syria today.
There are shared interests there between the Saudis, between the Emiratis, between the
Bahrainis, the Jordanians, the Israelis.
All understand that their nations are at risk from Iran.
And the Europeans heard tonight as well, their nations are at risk as well.
Iran is conducting an assassination campaign throughout Europe.
This is a global phenomenon.
The threat from Middle East instability is real.
And you can't possibly talk about it without talking about the enormous influence that
Iran has had in the Middle East, none of which has been for good.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, Mr. Secretary, we know you have appealed directly to the people of
Iran.
But a question that has been raised is, how can you expect them to support this, when
many of them wanted that nuclear agreement to go forward, many of them just don't want
to be seen as supporting the U.S. right now?
How -- is that a tack that you think you can count on?
MIKE POMPEO: Judy, we don't expect the Iranian people to support the U.S.
We expect them to take care of their own country.
We hear from Iranians all the time at the United States State Department.
They're wholly dissatisfied with the conditions that are inside of their country.
They watch the kleptocracy that is the clerical regime there.
They watch it squander money around the world.
And they watch it get their brothers and sisters killed in wars all across the region.
And for what?
For the IRGC, for Qassem Soleimani, not for the benefit of the Iranian people.
So, what we want the Iranian people to do is not support Europe or support the United
States or anyone else.
We want the Iranian people to have the opportunity to live in a prosperous, peaceful society,
and one that is controlled by their desires, their wishes.
And if we can get that, I am very confident that these behaviors that we see in Iran will
change dramatically.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And one other question, Mr. Secretary, about Iran, and that is, it's been
pointed out that the U.S. singles out human rights abuses in Iran, but does not do so
with regard to countries like Egypt, like Syria, like Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates.
How do you reconcile that?
MIKE POMPEO: I mean -- I mean, Judy, your statement is just false.
You reconcile it by going and looking at our record.
We have made very clear that the failure to observe the most basic fundamental human rights,
treating human beings with the dignity and respect which they are entitled by nature
of their humanity, the United States calls that out wherever we find shortcomings, whether
that's the Muslim leaders that are being held in detention camps in China, or what's happening
in Iran, or any other country where we find it, North Korea.
The list goes on.
The United States is very consistent.
And we ask every nation to treat their people with the basic human rights to which each
of us is entitled.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, one of the countries that conversation has led to has to do with
the war in Yemen.
And you may know that, just a short time ago, the U.S. House of Representatives, where you
previously served, passed a bill basically saying that the U.S. can no longer put money
toward the military effort, the U.S. -- the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Is this a -- how much of a rebuke, of a setback is this to the president?
MIKE POMPEO: Look, members of Congress -- I was one -- they get to vote the way they want
to vote and pass resolutions that they want to pass.
That's certainly their right.
You should know that we listen to them.
I meet with senators and members of the House of Representatives all the time to talk to
them about a range of issues.
And we certainly hear their voice with respect to Yemen.
But just tonight, Judy, I was with four ministers from the Emirates, the Saudis, and Britain,
U.K.
We met with Martin Griffiths from the U.N., who's working to solve this problem in Yemen.
We have two problems -- three problems, really.
The first problem is al-Qaida, still there.
The United States is doing its best to take down that terror threat.
The second problem is Iran continuing to fund the Houthis.
If you want to know who's causing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, you need look no further
than the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Judy, for an example, how many dollars has Iran provided for humanitarian assistance
in Yemen?
I can tell you.
Do you know?
JUDY WOODRUFF: I don't know.
MIKE POMPEO: It's zero.
How much money -- how much money have the Emiratis and Saudis provided?
The Americans, the Brits, Saudis and the Emiratis are doing everything we can to take down the
threat from the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, while Iran fuels it.
It provides missiles to the Houthis that they launch into airports in Saudi Arabia and the
Emirates.
These are the challenges in Yemen.
These are the challenges that this administration is determined to push back against.
And we're going to keep at it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we assume this legislation will go on to the Senate, which passed similar
language not very long ago.
So, we will watch to see what happens.
Just finally, Mr. Secretary, I want to take you to North Korea, which, of course, is another
major focus of yours with this upcoming meeting between President Trump and the North Korean
leader, Kim Jong-un.
There are reports now that the International Atomic Energy Agency may be allowed back into
North Korea.
Can you confirm that?
MIKE POMPEO: No, ma'am, I can't.
I can't confirm that for you this evening.
What I -- what I can tell your viewers is that President Trump is heading there on the
27th and 28th to Hanoi to have a second conversation with Chairman Kim Jong-un.
And we really hope that we can make progress, a significant step towards denuclearizing
the Korean Peninsula.
That will reduce risk.
It will reduce all the tension that's been along that border for far too long.
And then we hope we can create a brighter future, a much brighter future for the North
Korean people as well.
That's the mission that the president has given me.
And it's one that we hope we make significant advance on at the end of this month.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, we will certainly be following that story.
And we will be following your travels in Europe today.
We wish you -- we wish you safe travels.
Secretary Mike Pompeo, thank you very much.
MIKE POMPEO: Thank you, ma'am.
Have a good evening, Judy.
So long.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally, we continue our look at some of this year's Academy Awards nominees.
When it comes to film, we often spend much of our time talking to actors, writers and
directors, but there are so many elements that go into the making of a movie.
"Black Panther," which was widely praised for its messages, its vision and style, certainly
drives that point home.
A key part of its look comes from Ruth Carter, who is nominated for best costume design.
Jeffrey Brown traveled to Los Angeles to talk with her about her craft for our new regular
series on arts and culture, Canvas.
JEFFREY BROWN: By now, it's well-established: "Black Panther" has been both a box office
blockbuster and historically groundbreaking.
LETITIA WRIGHT, Actress: Ooh!
The entire suit sits within the teeth of the necklace.
JEFFREY BROWN: And more than half-a-century since Marvel Comics first introduced the fictional
African nation of Wakanda, the film featured a new look that has itself become a cultural
phenomenon.
Ruth E. Carter not only helped bring to life the latest iteration of the "Black Panther"
suit.
She also designed some 1,500 costumes for the film.
The goal, she says, was to make fantasy familiar.
RUTH CARTER, Costume Designer: We have to really base it on real life in order for people
to believe it.
It's not a place that we can make so completely a fantasy that it feels like it's a sci-fi
or it's a fantastical place that no one could go to.
We base it on so many rooted ideas and cultural things, that people feel like they can actually
buy a ticket and fly to Wakanda.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: To that end, Carter researched and found inspiration in the real Africa and
its people, such as the Dogon of Mali, the Tuareg in North Africa, the Himba of Namibia.
The costumes, and the film in general, also celebrate the concept of Afrofuturism, a blending
of technology and futuristic themes with black history and culture.
Carter points to the costume of Ramonda, King T'Challa's mother, as one of her favorites.
Both her intricate crown and shoulder mantle were 3-D printed.
RUTH CARTER: We still really want to honor what the fans believe that Wakanda is.
And, in that way, it stays really rooted in the superhero realm, in the comic realm, in
the fantasy realm.
But this was an opportunity to take you know the Afrofuture or the aesthetics of African
diaspora and infuse it into this culture, and bring it to life in that way.
The process of creating superhero costumes is very different than tailoring the suit.
And so that process was new to me.
But as I got into it, I could see that there were lots of things where I could implement
my ideas and my art.
But it's very intimidating at first.
JEFFREY BROWN: Intimidating, until you get over it?
RUTH CARTER: Until you get over it.
JEFFREY BROWN: Ruth Carter grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, in an artistic household.
She was introduced to drama through after-school programs, and studied theater arts and design
in college.
Now 58, her big break into Hollywood came through Spike Lee, with whom she's worked
on many films, including "Malcolm X," which brought the first of her now three Oscar nominations.
At the time, she was first African-American to receive a nomination for costume design.
Among her many other films, Steven Spielberg's "Amistad," Ava DuVernay's "Selma," and Lee
Daniels' "The Butler."
RUTH CARTER: This was Oprah's.
And this was Cecil Gaines, who was played by Forest Whitaker, who was the butler.
JEFFREY BROWN: Some of her creations are still housed at the Western Costume Company, a massive
shop and warehouse in North Hollywood where we met and talked.
I'm not sure that many people, myself included, understand your job.
RUTH CARTER: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: Costume designer.
RUTH CARTER: Yes.
JEFFREY BROWN: How do you define it?
RUTH CARTER: A costume designer is a storyteller.
She tells or he tells stories through wearable art.
And it's not only just like buying a shirt and a jacket or creating something original.
It's also giving it a little bit more of a story.
It's just not 2-D. A costume designer's job doesn't end with a photograph or a sketch.
There is that part that makes it come alive.
And that's molding and shaping and creating a character, composition, color palette.
All those things come into play.
JEFFREY BROWN: This is not a field, this is not an industry that's been very inclusive
historically.
RUTH CARTER: Right.
Yes.
JEFFREY BROWN: Why is that?
What did that mean for you coming up and finding your way?
RUTH CARTER: I guess, as I entered Hollywood, I didn't see very many people like me, even
though I looked and researched if there were.
And there was maybe one doing television.
There was another person who was supervising, but not really in a design capacity.
And I was really firm that I wanted to be a costume designer once I landed in Hollywood.
JEFFREY BROWN: Beyond the individual films, Carter says she's felt a larger mission, to
help create an authentic portrait of African-Americans.
RUTH CARTER: People think I got into this industry because I like fashion and Dior.
But it was really you know James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez that told
these rich stories that really made me want to get into theater and made me want to be
a part of this.
And I found that costume design was a way where I could be an artist and a storyteller,
and contribute to a medium that I felt had had a great voice.
JEFFREY BROWN: So, what does the Oscar nomination mean for you?
RUTH CARTER: I have been reflecting on that quite a bit.
It means that I'm an example to a lot of young girls who -- wow, I'm getting choked up.
Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
RUTH CARTER: You know, a lot of young girls who, like me, want this for themselves, this
profession, want to get into it, and really kind of don't know how, but are maybe forging
their own way.
I feel like I represent, like, that hope that they can go to the highest level.
JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Ruth Carter, congratulations to you again.
Thanks for talking to us.
RUTH CARTER: Thank you.
Thanks so much.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And we will continue our coverage of the Oscars later this week, hearing from
Regina King, star of "If Beale Street Could Talk."
And that's the "NewsHour" for tonight.
I'm Judy Woodruff.
Join us online and again here tomorrow evening.
For all of us at the "PBS NewsHour," thank you, and we'll see you soon.