RETHINKING COLLEGE - Why Need for Remedial Math

In high school I 'majored' in math (including college prep classes), the problem is a failure of today's high school education programs.

"Many college students struggle to pass remedial math.  Do they need to?" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2019

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SUMMARY:  Colleges created remedial education classes to ensure students were sufficiently prepared for more advanced material.  But increasingly, there’s a sense that remedial courses are hurting the prospects of the students they are intended to help.  As a result, some California colleges and high schools are rethinking their approach to teaching math -- with encouraging results.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

TEAMSTERS - On Trump's Tariffs

"Why the Teamsters president supports Trump’s new tariffs" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2019

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SUMMARY:  Workers, jobs and wages are central to the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, in which the two countries have exchanged tariffs and threats recently.  Though many Americans fear that they will be the ones to pay the price for the friction, Judy Woodruff talks to James Hoffa Jr. president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, about why he thinks the tariffs are a “good idea.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION - Chinese Company Huawei

"Why the Trump administration is so concerned about Huawei" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2019

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SUMMARY:  The Trump administration has urged other countries not to allow Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to build the next generation of mobile networks.  But concerns about Chinese state influence on Huawei aren't necessarily shared by allies.  Amna Nawaz reports and talks to Robert Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for cyber and international communications and information policy.

TRUMP'S MARCH TO WAR - Iran

"U.S.-Iran tensions continue to rise after apparent attacks, military deployments" PBS NewsHour 5/14/2019

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SUMMARY:  Over the past week, the difficult relationship between the U.S. and Iran has become even more strained.  The Trump administration warned of severe consequences for any Iranian aggression, while Iran has threatened to exceed limits on its nuclear program.  On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said rebels in Yemen believed to be backed by Iran staged an attack.  Judy Woodruff talks to Nick Schifrin for more.

SYRIA - War Criminal Bashar al-Assad's Prisons

WANTED - Dead or Alive

"In Syria, more than 100,000 have entered Assad’s prisons — and never returned" PBS NewsHour 5/13/2019

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SUMMARY:  While one phrase of Syria's brutal nine-year civil war may be concluding, the systemic forced disappearance, torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of Syrians has not ceased.  Amna Nawaz talks to Anne Barnard of the Council on Foreign Relations and formerly The New York Times about the staggering inhumanity of Bashar al-Assad's regime and what accountability, if any, it will face.

TRUMP DIPLOMACY - Meeting With Hungarian Prime Minister

"Why Trump’s meeting Hungary’s Orban is a ‘bit controversial’" PBS NewsHour 5/13/2019

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SUMMARY:  President Trump welcomed controversial Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the White House Monday, breaking with recent presidents who shunned the right-wing nationalist.  Like Trump, Orban has made restricting immigration a cornerstone of his agenda.  William Brangham talks to Charles Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations and Georgetown University about the significance of the alliance.

William Brangham (NewsHour):  For people who have not been following Viktor Orban's career or really appreciate where he sits in the orbit of European politics, tell us a little bit more about him.

Charles Kupchan, Georgetown University:  Well, as your piece said, he starts off as a disheveled liberal post-communist progressive.

He has one bite at the apple as prime minister from '98 to 2002.  And then he comes back in 2010.  And he's been there ever since.  And he essentially tracks from the left to the right to the further right over the course of his political career, and, in many respects, is a person that's ahead of his time, in the sense that he became anti-immigrant, anti-Europe, close down the borders, take over the media, compromise the independence of the judiciary, well before it became mainstream.

You now see it happening in Poland, in Italy.  The far right is gaining ground in Germany.  It's a widespread phenomenon.  He was in many respects the person who blazed that path.

William Brangham:  Former Trump senior adviser Steve Bannon once referred to Viktor Orban as Trump before for Trump.  Is that an accurate characterization of him?

Charles Kupchan:  There's no question that there is an ideological affinity between Trump and Orban.

There is, I think, an effort to create what you might call an illiberal alliance, in which Trump sides with Orban, Salvini the head of the League in Italy, Kaczynski the head of what's called Law and Justice Party in Poland, Alternatives for Germany in Germany, the National Rally in France.

They're trying to create a political movement that pushes democratic politics to the right and in the anti-immigrant direction.  I don't think it's any accident that this meeting today occurred less than two weeks before votes for the European Parliament.

It's a bellwether election.  No question that the far right, the anti-E.U., the anti-immigrant forces will gain ground.  The question is, how much ground will they gain?  How much influence will they wield in the new [EU] Parliament?

TRUMP'S TRADE WAR - Impact on Americans

"What Trump’s trade war with China means for American consumers" PBS NewsHour 5/13/2019

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SUMMARY:  The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies is escalating, as China announced it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, in response to tariffs President Trump levied Friday.  Trump remained confident about the U.S. economy’s overall strength, saying “I love the position we’re in.”  But will American consumers?  Judy Woodruff talks to The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Ip.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 5/10/2019

"Shields and Brooks on Trump’s subpoena standoff, China trade war" PBS NewsHour 5/10/2019

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SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s political news, including 2020 Democrats on the campaign trail in Iowa, the standoff between Congress and the White House over the Mueller report and subpoenas, President Trump’s trade war with China and escalating tensions with Iran.

Judy Woodruff (NewsHour):  And now to the analysis of Shields and Brooks.  That is syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Hello to both of you.

So, before we turn to all the whatever we want to call it that's happened in Washington this week, Mark, let's talk a minute about Iowa.  We heard this voter tell Amna, this is really hard.

I don't know why it's so hard.  There are only 23 candidates.

Mark Shields, syndicated columnist:  That's right.

But that is — Amna captured the Iowa essence.  I mean, these people take their responsibility very seriously.

Judy Woodruff:  They do.

Mark Shields:  It's not casual.  They are gatekeepers.  Between Iowa and New Hampshire, they are 1.4 percent of the population of the country, and unless you finish in the top three in Iowa and the top two in New Hampshire, you will not be elected President of the United States, based on the historical precedent.

And that's why it makes sense for both Mr. Castro and Mr. O'Rourke to be spending time there.

Judy Woodruff:  They get one-on-one time.

David Brooks, New York Times:  Yes.

If you love politics, this is the time go, actually, right now, because there's like crowds of three or eight.  And there are candidates everywhere.  You can drive to — in beautiful weather and see beautiful candidates.

And then it all peaks at the state fair, where they all sort of congregate.  My most profound political coverage moment was covering Gary Bauer, who was running in the Republican primary, as he toured a refrigerated railway car with the Last Supper carved in butter in life size.

And that was politics at its best.

Mark Shields:  Yes.

Judy Woodruff:  That was the state fair.

David Brooks:  That was at the state fair.

Judy Woodruff:  Which is coming up in August.  We have already got it on our calendar here, here at "NewsHour."

Mark Shields:  Raise the cholesterol level of the entire state and press corps.

Judy Woodruff:  All right, so now tear ourselves away from Iowa, Mark, to talk about what's gone on in Washington this week, this escalating battle between the Congress and the White House.

Just today, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the House, Richard Neal, is subpoenaing the secretary of the treasury, the head of the IRS, to go after the President's tax returns, this on top of subpoenas for the President's son, subpoenas for the attorney general.

What do we make of all this?

Mark Shields:  Well, I mean, we — I think it's approaching almost situational overload, in terms of — we're talking about subpoenas from committees, including the House Intelligence Committee, the House Banking Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the — across the board.

And now we have the Intelligence Committee in the Senate, as you mentioned, led by Republicans, that have subpoenaed the President's son.

I just think, Judy, that, in a strange way, this plays to Donald Trump's strength.  I mean, Donald Trump lives in chaos.  I think it's sort of almost an emotional and technological and intellectual overload, given the fact that we're on the cusp of war in Iran, in Venezuela, in a showdown with the Chinese.

I mean, there's just — but this is what he thrives on.  And I think there's a — almost I dare you to impeach me attitude that's prevailing.

Judy Woodruff:  Overload, you mean for the American people?

Mark Shields:  For the American people and for the — this isn't — the system wasn't intended for this.

I mean, this isn't the way it's constructed, that we can deal with crisis upon crisis upon crisis.

Judy Woodruff:  David, the Democrats say they're very serious about all this.  They want this information.  They want this testimony.

I mean, are they pursuing the right strategy for them?

David Brooks:  No.

Well, neither side is.  It's the complete breakdown of the checks and balances system.  The President has to say, Congress, I need you.  I need you to oversee what I'm doing.  I need you to correct for my imbalances.  And so I'm going to cooperate with you.

And that's just the normal way we do business.  And the Trump administration is not doing that.  So that's the first crisis.

The second is, if you're going to do oversight, you got to oversee.  You got to try to say, I'm at least going to try to be a productive force here.  But what we're seeing on the side of the Democrats is an escalation of the passion.  And it's just become an attack machine.

And so there's just a lot of — there's a lot of talk now about jailing people.  There's a lot of talk about just holding multiple people in contempt.  This fight over the redaction is the wrong fight to have.

Judy Woodruff:  Of the Mueller report.

David Brooks:  Of the Mueller report.

The administration has offered to show of the volume two, which is about obstruction, the vast majority, 99.5 percent, to least the elite Democrats.  And that wasn't good enough.  And so there was a little negotiation, which broke down.

But, to me, that — just issuing orders of contempt, which may go forward, just freezes everything.  It just pushes everything into the courts, and we sit there and do nothing for a couple of years.  And so there's a way to do this, and there's a way not to do this.

So there's a lot of error on the Trump administration.  But, nonetheless, I think the Democrats across the board and across many committees are sort of walking slowly up toward impeachment.  And we could end up in impeachment.  And I do think that's what Donald Trump…

(CROSSTALK)

Judy Woodruff:  But, Mark, we had on the program last night Jerry Nadler, who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee…

Mark Shields:  Yes.

Judy Woodruff:  … who essentially said, if we don't carry out our responsibility, we're not fulfilling what the Constitution, what the founders wanted and expected Congress to do, which is have oversight over the executive.

Mark Shields:  That is a — it's a legitimate argument, make no mistake about it, I mean, that if you lay down a precedent that, literally, that this precedent can — this President gets away with what he's getting away with, and the Congress does nothing, then that certainly lays the precedent for the next President.

I think, just to add to what David — the point David made, Donald Trump, according to USA Today, which has established a database, has been a plaintiff or a defendant in 4,095 lawsuits.  Now, think about that.

I mean, that's an awful lot.

Judy Woodruff:  Over his career.

Mark Shields:  Over his career.

I mean, about employment, about contracts, about subcontractors, you name it.  He'd been — and you talk about litigious.  He enjoys this.  I mean, he thrives on this.  This is modus operandi.

And I really think they're playing to his strength, quite honestly.  And he's — and he's sitting there, quite honestly, Judy, with 91 percent approval among Republicans.  And just, I think, intimidates his own party.

Judy Woodruff:  But, David, are the two of us saying Democrats just drop this?

David Brooks:  No.  No.

Judy Woodruff:  What should the approach be?

David Brooks:  No, they should be in the business of trying to inform the American voters.

And so getting Mueller to testify…

Mark Shields:  Absolutely.

David Brooks:  The fact that Mueller may not testify is outrageous, and Mueller should testify.

Mark Shields:  Yes.  Yes.

David Brooks:  And so they should be in that business.

But, basically, what they're doing is walking up toward the line of impeachment.  And you can see the passions rising, as they get further and further down that line.  And there's a difference between going toward the prosecutorial impeachment, and having hearings to educate the American voter.

And when you get down one path, you're really trying to appease the part of the party that wants — that wants impeachment.  And the problem, when you try to appease that part, you end up emboldening, and you just turn it into an attack game.

And what Donald Trump wants — who would — who does Donald Trump want to be his foil, his opposite member?  Does he want it to be the Presidential candidates, most of whom are kind of attractive, who he is actively running against, or would he rather run against Congress?  Of course he would rather run against Congress [the House].

Any President would.

Judy Woodruff:  But, Mark, I mean, I just — I come back to what the Democrats are saying is, we want this information.  The administration is saying, we're not going to give it to you.

So how does it ever get resolved?

Mark Shields:  No, there's no question that they're playing — they're playing absolutely hardball, is the administration.  And they're being — they're not being respectful of the law in the least.

I think, Judy, you have to make — the difference is, the Russians were involved in this election in 2016, make no mistake about it.  Our intelligence agencies have all concluded that unanimously.  They were around in 2018.  They all got all the way into a county in Florida, into its official site.

Judy Woodruff:  Right.

Mark Shields:  So that is a legitimate area.

What, are we going to have American elections for Americans and not interference?  That — and nobody could argue with that, save Donald Trump.  I mean, his own administration is mindful of that.

Judy Woodruff:  And you're saying that's what they should be talking about, rather than…

Mark Shields:  Yes.  I think that's where they ought to be going.

Judy Woodruff:  Let's turn…

David Brooks:  There is even a weird moment where a senator started acting like a senator, Richard Burr, the Republican from North Carolina…

Mark Shields:  Richard Burr.

David Brooks:  … who wants to bring Don Jr. in to investigate that exact question.  The rest of the Republican Party went crazy because he was acting like an actual senator who wants to get to the bottom of a very serious issue.

Mark Shields:  And, Judy, I would point out that his own colleague in — Thom Tillis in North Carolina, who had written a very straightforward op-ed page piece in The Washington Post opposing Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency on building the wall, and then caved like a $4 suitcase when Donald Trump objected, went after — went after his own colleague, Richard Burr, and criticized him for leading a bipartisan investigation.

Judy Woodruff:  I'm thinking of a $4 suitcase.

Mark Shields:  OK.

MASTERWORKS - All Rembrandts Exhibition

"For the first time ever, ‘All the Rembrandts are on display in Amsterdam" PBS NewsHour 5/10/2019

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SUMMARY:  An extraordinary new exhibition in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum marks the first time the museum’s entire collection of Rembrandts is available to the public.  Titled “All the Rembrandts,” the show commemorates the 350th anniversary of the Dutch master’s death and sheds new light on his personal life.  Jeffrey Brown speaks to art historians and walks the streets that fostered Rembrandt’s creative vision.

VOTE 2020 - Democrats, Ideals vs Electability

"With 2020 Democrats, Iowa voters weigh ideals vs. electability" PBS NewsHour 5/10/2019

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SUMMARY:  There are still nine months before the first votes of the 2020 presidential election, but the contest to win the Iowa caucuses is well underway.  Each of the more than 20 Democratic hopefuls has visited Iowa already, with eight campaigning there in the last week.  Amna Nawaz spoke with Iowa voters about why choosing a candidate is especially difficult this year and how they’re planning to decide.

UN REPORT EXTINCTION - Trafficking Tigers

"The brutal ‘industrial enterprise’ of black-market tiger trafficking" PBS NewsHour 5/10/2019

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SUMMARY:  It’s estimated that there are fewer than 4,000 tigers remaining in the wild today, compared to roughly 100,000 in the early 1900s.  More tigers now live in captivity than in the wild, and many of those live in so-called “tiger farms,” where they are bred, raised and slaughtered for their body parts.  William Brangham talks to The Washington Post’s Terrence McCoy, who visited such farms in Laos.

NETHERLANDS - Waste Not Economy

"Dutch businesses work to test the concept of a circular economy" PBS NewsHour 5/9/2019

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SUMMARY:  The Netherlands has become a global leader in implementing the tenets of a “circular economy,” a radical new approach to sustainable living that focuses on reducing consumption, minimizing waste and reusing nearly everything.  As Jeffrey Brown reports, some Dutch companies are repurposing discarded materials into other marketable goods, but it can still be a challenge to convince investors.

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS - Fear in the Classroom

#StandAgainstNRA

"Another series of school shootings highlights the challenge of keeping students safe" PBS NewsHour 5/9/2019

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SUMMARY:  Two students at a high school outside Denver allegedly opened fire during class on Tuesday, killing another student.  In North Carolina just a few days earlier, two students were killed and four injured by a gunman at UNC Charlotte.  Amid a pattern of school violence that has become all too familiar, Judy Woodruff talks to John Ferrugia of Denver’s Rocky Mountain PBS and Education Week’s Evie Blad.

MEGAFIRES - Predicting Wildfire Movement

"How scientists are trying to predict wildfire movement" PBS NewsHour 5/8/2019

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SUMMARY:  It’s been six months since the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned 19,000 structures in November 2018.  But even at the peak of the inferno, some scientists moved toward it, in an attempt to understand more about the intensity and spread of the flames.  Science correspondent Miles O’Brien has the harrowing inside look.

TRUMP - His Financial Details Expose the Con

"What new financial details reveal about Trump’s business empire" PBS NewsHour 5/8/2019

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SUMMARY:  Congressional Democrats are expected to decide Thursday whether to go to court to obtain President Trump’s recent tax returns.  Though there has long been curiosity over Trump’s taxes, which he declined to release in 2016, interest in them resurfaced after a New York Times investigation uncovered past tax records and large business losses.  William Brangham talks to Times reporter Ross Buettner.

MUELLER REPORT - Constitutional Crisis?

"Is showdown over Mueller report becoming a constitutional crisis?" PBS NewsHour 5/8/2019

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SUMMARY:  The showdown between the White House and Congress over the Mueller report is escalating even further.  House Democrats took initial steps to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt Wednesday, with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler calling the decision "grave and momentous."  Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Judy Woodruff and Yamiche Alcindor to discuss.

"Nadler says Democrats are fighting a ‘tyrannical administration’ on Mueller report" PBS NewsHour 5/9/2019

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SUMMARY:  Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) blasted President Donald Trump on Thursday for refusing to cooperate with various Democratic-led congressional inquiries into his administration.  “You cannot have a democratic government … if the executive denies all information,” he told PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff, suggesting that backing down from a fight would be giving in to a “tyrannical administration.”

“We are in a constitutional crisis because of the administration’s contempt for law, and their refusal to obey the law,” Nadler said, mentioning the Trump administration’s refusal to deliver the President’s tax returns to a House committee, as well as the decision “to defy all subpoenas from the House.”

Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said the Trump administration has “turned the Justice Department, who is supposed to enforce the law, into an agency for defying the law, as the personal property of the president.”

On Wednesday, the committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, in reaction to a Justice Department decision to withhold the full, unredacted Mueller report from lawmakers.  The White House also announced it is invoking executive privilege over the report.  Any ensuing legal fight between Trump and House Democrats could drag out for months or years.

But Nadler on Thursday expressed confidence that the courts would not favor Trump in the anticipated standoff over the balance of power in government, and predicted that Congress’ authority to compel information would be upheld, saying “the law is quite clear.”

Nadler said he hoped the outcome would be “a swift court order with compulsion behind it.”

“There’s no question legally we’ll win,” he told Woodruff.  “The question is how long it will take.”

TRUMP'S TRADE WAR - Motivation?

"What’s behind Trump’s trade war with China" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2019

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SUMMARY:  Chinese and Trump administration officials are supposed to meet later this week to hammer out a trade agreement, but the challenge may be more difficult now that Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.  NPR’s Laura Sullivan talks to Yamiche Alcindor about how Trump’s more hawkish advisers are influencing his policy to depart from that of previous administrations.

RETHINK COLLEGE - State and City College Funding

'How dare they obstruct the power of DeVos!' (sarcasm off)

"For these states and cities, funding college is money in the bank" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2019

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SUMMARY:  A majority of American college graduates leave school with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.  The issue of paying for college is so concerning that several 2020 presidential candidates have proposed forgiving student debt or making public colleges free.  But as Hari Sreenivasan reports, some states and cities aren't waiting, and are instead developing their own college funding plans.

MUELLER REPORT - Stating the Case by Former Federal Prosecutors

Supporting the truth about Trump.

"Why hundreds of former federal prosecutors disagree with Barr over Mueller report" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2019

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SUMMARY:  The Mueller report continues to generate legal debate.  Several hundred former federal prosecutors published a statement this week asserting that President Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice, were he not the sitting President.  William Brangham talks to Paul Rosenzweig, who worked with independent counsel Kenneth Starr on the Whitewater investigation of President Bill Clinton.

BURMA - Journalists Freed

"Why these reporters spent 18 months in a Burmese jail" PBS NewsHour 5/7/2019

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SUMMARY:  After nearly 18 months, two Reuters journalists have left prison in Myanmar.  The crime that put them there: Revealing information the country’s government wanted to suppress, about its persecution campaign against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority.  John Yang talks to Priscilla Clapp, a former U.S. diplomat who served as chief of mission in the American embassy in Myanmar, about the developments.