Somebody. You cant just turn away and say, okay, its not my problem. Woodruff all that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Xq institute. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff the spotlight was on President Trump today, as he took the stage at the annual conservative Political Action conference outside washington. He touted his agenda and called some news outlets the enemy of the people, before a crowd of activists who have at times viewed him with a skeptical eye. John yang reports from the conference. Our victory was a vicotry for our values. Reporter President Trump moved today to put his brand on the conservative movement, stressing his populist, nationalist vision of america first. There is no such thing as a global anthem, a global currency, or a global flag. This is the United States of america that im representing. Im not representing the globe, im representing your country. Reporter speaking at the conservative Political Action conference or cpac in a packed hotel ballroom, the president said he is transforming the Republican Party. The g. O. P. Will be, from now on, the party also of the american worker. If you look at how much bigger our party has gotten during this cycle millions and millions of people were joining. I wont say it was because of me, but it was, okay . Reporter mr. Trump told the enthusiastic crowd he would soon sign a new temporary travel ban a Signature Campaign pledge replacing an executive order the federal courts put on hold. And in a matter of days we will be taking brand new action to protect our people and keep america safe. You will see the action. I will never, ever apologize for protecting the safety and security of the American People. I wont do it. Reporter while some Conference Attendees said they have reservations about another key trump policy opposition to multinational trade deals it doesnt dampen their support for the president. Everything he said, i agree with, you know . With the exception of maybe some of the trade stuff, so you know, i cant get 100 from him, cant get 100 from anyone, but, but overall, i was very pleased. Reporter others said mr. Trumps election is redefining the Republican Party. I think theres a lot of people that have the conservative values. I mean, they just havent come out of the closet. You know, they were kind of keeping low before, but theres a lot of people ive talked to that said theyve come out since trump won, you know, since the election. Reporter the president also devoted much of todays speech to a favorite topic lambasting what he calls the fake media. Im against the people that make up stories and make up sources. They shouldnt be allowed to use sources unless they use somebodys name. Reporter his latest target a cnn report that f. B. I. Officials refused the white houses request to knock down reports of alleged conversations between Trump Associates and russian intelligence officials during the 2016 campaign. Before this mornings speech, the president tweeted the f. B. I. Is totally unable to stop the National Security leakers that have permeated our government for a long time. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on u. S. This afternoon, the trump administrations relationship with the White House Press corps hit another stumbling block several news outlets, including the New York Times, cnn, and the los angeles times, were excluded from an informal, off camera briefing with press secretary sean spicer. Conservative News Organizations were allowed in. White house officials offered no immediate explanation. For the pbs newshour, im john yang, at cpac in oxon hill, maryland. Woodruff theres been much reaction late today to the decision to ban some Media Outlets from the briefing in the press secretarys office, often called a gaggle. Two prominent organizations, the Associated Press and time magazine, chose to boycott attending the briefing in solidarity with those News Organizations. Sally buzbee is the executive editor and Senior Vice President of the Associated Press. She joins me now. Sally, thank you for being here. Why did the a. P. Not attend that briefing . We think the public deserves as much access to the president and other governing officials as possible. When we find ourselves in a situation where National News organizations seem to be being deliberately excluded with, we k thats dangerous territory. Woodruff are these behaviors, rules different from Previous White House rules . There is alwayshysical limitations on access. There is always compromises that we make and sort of concessions that are made for physical limitations and other things. I think when you get to the point where there are News Organization that seem to be being deliberately excluded, we think thats different. We felt today is different. Woodruff that hasnt happened before, to your knowledge . I cant speak for all of history. In the access fight we have been engaged in for many decades, this felt very different today. Woodruff for those who dont know the news media, whats the problem for the press if the white house says well talk the some News Organizations and not to others . Obviously the white house has the right to do what it wants, and in situations where there might be individual reporters that makes sense to talk to if its economic news, but this was a general briefing where they are talking about issues that cover a wide range of topics, and i think the thing that the public should think about is, if there start to be exclusions and favorites picked and things like that, essentially all access in the end is probably going to suffer. Woodruff sally buzbee, i want to ask you about something the president said in his speech at the conservative conference. He talked about was critical of the news media. He said some reporters make up news and they make up sources. He went on to say reporters should not use sources unless they name those sources. I want to ask you about that in context. Say for a story that ran late today by the a. P. , an internal report done by the department of Homeland Security, saying there was insufficient evidence to show that citizens from the seven muslim majority countries named in the president s travel ban pose a Terror Threat to the u. S. Now, your organization ran that story late today. There were no named sources. So is this a story you stand by and how do you explain this to people . Absolutely we stand by that story, we think its an important story. Reporters attempt at all times to talk to them with their names attached because that obviously is the gold standard. If there is information that you cannot get any other way and you know that its factual information, not spin, but someone is in a position to know what theyre talking about, we think that information is critically important and the public needs to know about it. Its actually very difficult to get the government to tell you what theyre doing. We fight for information and facts every day. We have for decades. Its really a struggle to get factual information ability what the government is doing. It really is our mission to find out what the government is doing, the thoughts theyre having, the decisions theyre mull i didnt think, and express that mulleying and impress that to the public and thats why we use anonymous sources. We dont like it but sometimes thats the only way to get facts to the public. Woodruff does the a. P. Have a plan of what to do if President Trump continues to be as tough as me is on the news media right now, talking about fake news, saying reporters are making up stories and sources . I think we think a fight between the government and any Government Official and the media is unfortunate because we think people should be focused on the the actual factual things that are going on. I will say that we are going to do what we always do, which is we are going to fight like mad to find out whats going on in terms of facts, and we are going to report that to the public and we are going to do that every sinkle day and we are not going to stop. Thats our plan. Woodruff sally buzbee, executive editor of the Associated Press. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Woodruff in the days other news, at least 68 people are dead, after a pair of Islamic State bombings in syria. They happened near the northern town of albab, which turkish and syrian fighters retook from isis just yesterday. In one attack, a suicide car bomb exploded outside a security checkpoint. Most of the dead were civilians, who were lined up for permits to return home. Iraqs air force struck Islamic State targets in syria for the first time today. Warplanes hit two towns, in response to recent isisclaimed bombings in baghdad. Iraqi forces are also battling isis back in their own country. Troops pushed into the first neighborhood of western mosul, as part of a nowsixday offensive. The u. N. Says about 750,000 civilians are trapped in the area. Malaysian toxicologists have now determined that a chemical weapon was used to assassinate north Korean Leader kim jong uns halfbrother. He was attacked at a crowded airport in kuala lumpur. Margaret warner has our report. Reporter its the latest stunning twist in a murder case already brimming with mystery. Malaysian police now say kim jongnam, estranged half brother of north Korean Leader kim jong un, was killed by the deadly nerve agent v. X. Two female assailants, caught on surveillance cameras, allegedly rubbed the poison on kims face in an airport, two weeks ago. Theyre both under arrest, along with several North Koreans living in malaysia. translated the chemical is illegal. It is a chemical weapon. We are investigating how it entered the country. Reporter the discovery of the nerve agent has deepened speculation that the north korean regime was behind the apparent hit a charge pyongyang has denied. According to the centers for disease control, v. X. Is among the most potent nerve agents in the world. It is odorless, and tasteless; tiny amounts can kill in minutes. Producing it requires sophisticated equipment. Experts say that points to north korea, which has reportedly stockpiled the chemical. Jean lee is the former Pyongyang Bureau chief of the Associated Press. She spoke to us via skype from seoul. The other thing that it obviously confirms to us, if it indeed is the work of the North Koreans, is that they are making chemical weapons and that they are willing to use them reporter malaysian authorities said they began to suspect v. X. Was used after one of the attackers fell ill. So who was their target . Kim jongnam was the eldest son of former north Korean Leader kim jongil, and once considered his heir apparent. But after he was caught trying to enter japan illegally in 2001 reportedly to visit disneyland he fell out of favor. His halfbrother kim jongun ascended to power when their father died in 2011. Kim jongnam had been living in exile. Jean lee says the young north Korean Leader might have seen his halfbrother as a threat to his legitimacy perhaps he was angry that his halfbrother had been speaking out against the regime. This of course is illegal under north korean law. And it could have been a strong message that he was sending to North Koreans overseas, including his brother, including defectors. Reporter the younger kim has purged relatives within north korea in the past. He had his uncle executed in 2013. Malaysian Officials Say they will decontaminate the airport to eliminate any residual trace of the nerve toxin. For the pbs newshour, im margaret warner. Woodruff so far, there have been no reports of any innocent bystanders in the airport falling ill. Back in this country, the f. B. I. Is investigating a possible hate crime, following a shooting in kansas this week. 51yearold Adam Purinton has been charged with killing an Indian American engineer wednesday night. A second Indian American man was wounded. Purintan is accused of opening fire at a bar outside kansas city. A bartender said he used racial slurs. Today, the victims brother called on Indian Officials to act. Government should voice out this strongly because our brothers, sisters and our relatives are there. And if you really look into this incident, this is not done by a teenager or a burglar, or Something Like that. Woodruff after the shooting, purinton was found and arrested in missouri. Today he was extradited back to kansas. And, stocks edged higher on wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 11 points to close at 20,821. The nasdaq rose nearly ten, and the s p 500 added three. For the week, the dow gained a percent. Both the nasdaq and the s p 500 added a fraction of a percent. Still to come on the newshour a look at the future of the Democratic Party; Grassroots Efforts to derail the trump agenda find inspiration in tea party tactics; mark shields and david brooks take on the weeks news, and much more. Woodruff novembers president ial defeat, along with years of losses in congress, governors mansions and statehouses have left the Democratic Party with less power at the federal and state level than it has had in more than 80 years. As the Democratic National committee prepares to elect its new leader this weekend, we want to assess the state of the party, with jaime harrison, the chair of the South CarolinaDemocratic Party and, until yesterday, a contender for the job himself; and Symone Sanders, shes a political strategist for priorities u. S. A. And former National Press secretary for senator Bernie Sanders president ial campaign. And we welcome both of you to the newshour. Im going to start with you, jaime harrison. What should the message of the Democratic Party be right now . Well, hopefully tomorrow, judy, the message is a unified one. We really need to have a chair right now to help lead the resistance, to push back against donald trump and the rabber rab rubbing stamping Republican Congress we have right now. We have seen unprecedented things over the course of the past few weeks. The first time in the history of this country a Vice President had to pass a tiebreaking note for a nominee h. For the first time we have someone like Jeff Sessions in the Justice Department leading that effort. An Antisemite Steve Bannon in the white house with the president s ear. Time and time again weve had these issues with this administration. The democratic message is enough is enough. It is time to really put america back on the right track and that means eventually getting rid of donald trump and the Republican Congress. Woodruff that is mostly an antitrump message. Symone, is there a positive message for democrats . Definitely. I think there is tremendous opportunity for democrats now. You can see in the streets across the country, whether its the airports, whether the womens march, town halls during this recess, people, democrats, republicans, independents, are standing up and saying they want to hold elected officials accountable and they care about the issues. So democrats need to focus on the overall message of explaining who we are as drnlings what does it mean to be a progressive and now democrats will fight for the American People. I believe we have to beat back donald trump, but we did that during the general. Priorities, their role with you to make donald trump unpopular and they succeeded but we know Hillary Clinton is now not the 45th president of the United States. So folks want to hear more than the other guy is bad, they want to know what democrats will do for them. Thats the challenge the party sees Going Forward. Woodruff looking forward to the results in november, whats more important f