wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight. heavy airstrikes continue across gaza as thousands of civilians crowd into ever-shrinking safe zones in the far south. amna: we speak to the foreign

minister of saudi arabia about the war, and wider diplomatic challenges in the middle east. geoff: and who gets access to medical treatment for drug addiction highlights the racial inequities of the opioid epidemic. >> there's still this thought opiate use disorder have to be controlled in a way that white people don't. that black people are not as trustworthy with their medications. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson. >> it was like an "aha" moment, this is what i love doing.

early-stage companies, that energy energizes me. these are people who are trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs, it is the same thing. i am helping people reach their dreams. i am thriving by helping others every day. people who know, know bdo. ♪ >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. more at kf.org. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible

by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contra viewe -- and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ geoff: welcome to the newshour. the u.s. vetoed a united nations security council resolution today that called for a ceasefire in gaza. the u.s. was the lone "no" vote in the 15-member council. amna: the move came as the u.n. and others are ramping up already dire warnings of humanitarian catastrophe if more aid isn't sent into gaza soon, and if the fighting isn't stopped. according to the hamas-run gaza health ministry, nearly 17,500 palestinians have been killed since the october 7th hamas terror attacks against israel. and the israeli air and ground campaign is not slowing down. in southern gaza, explosions shroud the skyline from afar, and up close shake the streets. israel has ramped up its airstrikes across the strip,

hitting 450 sites in just 24 hours. more destruction means fewer places to shelter. hundreds of thousands of palestinians are now crammed into a fast shrinking space. younis al-halabi finished morning prayer with his family when a strike hit his home. >> this is not a life. death or destruction, it's all the same. those forced out of their home might as well be dead. amna: in central gaza last night, people in yaffa hospital were given 30 minutes notice to evacuate before an israeli airstrike. today many returned, including the elderly, to sleep in the halls, among broken glass and shattered medical equipment. >> nowhere in gaza is safe. amna: before the u.s. veto, u.n. secretary general antonio guterres urged the security council to vote for an immediate cease-fire, warning gaza's

humanitarian system faced a higher risk of total collapse. >> we anticipate it will result in a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into egypt. amna: in the north, israel's mission to "eradicate hamas" intensified. more images circulated today showing palestinians detained by the idf, stripped of their clothes, some blindfolded, and crammed into military vehicles. the idf says it will continue to make sweeping group arrests. >> we're talking about military aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago. now, those individuals will be questioned and we will work out who indeed was a hamas terrorist and who is not. amna: but the killing of palestinians who are not affiliated with hamas continues to far outnumber those who are. yesterday, celebrated poet and palestinian academic refaat

al-areer was killed in an airstrike at his home in gaza city. two years ago, during the may 2021, conflict, newshour's john yang spoke to al-areer by phone. >> we believe our struggle is part of a global struggle, the historical struggle around the world of the indigenous peoples around the world. amna: on october 10th, al-areer had given this interview to reuters. >> israel wants us out of palestine or kneeling in submission, in total subjugation. palestinians are looking forward to a future with equal freedom, equal rights and freedom, and that is not much to ask. amna: after news of his death broke, fellow palestinian poet mosab abu toha shared al-areer's last poem called "if i must die." >> if i must die, you must live to tell my story. amna: in the occupied west bank, 6 more dead after a gunfight

following a israeli raid on the faara refugee camp. military raids here have surged dramatically since the october seven hamas attack beard -- 7 mass attack. in tel aviv the wail of sirens sends crowds running for shelters as hamas continues to fire more rockets toward israel , many intercepted by its iron dome. at the funeral of idf soldier gal eisenkot, wails of sorrow. his father - israeli war cabinet member gadi eisenkot - delivered the eulogy, for a son killed in combat yesterday in gaza. senior officials mourned with the family in the most high-profile loss for the idf so far. ♪ geoff: in the day's other

headlines, the latest jobs report out today shows the u.s. economy is still holding its own without sliding into recession. the labor department reported employers added a net 199,000 employees in november, helped by the end of the auto workers and actors strikes. the unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent, down from 3.9% in october. unemployment has now been under 4% for nearly two years, the longest stretch since the late 1960's. a federal appeals court largely upheld a gag order on former president trump today, in his 2020 election interference case. the ruling backed a ban on attacking court staff and potential witnesses. it said incendiary comments pose "a significant and imminent threat to the criminal trial process in this case." the court did allow criticism of jack smith, the special counsel who brought the case. mr. trump could still appeal to the supreme court. a pregnant woman in kentucky is challenging the state's

near-total ban on abortions. the woman, identified only as jane doe, filed suit today, arguing the ban violates the state constitution. the state supreme court had already barred doctors from suing on behalf of patients. the american civil liberties union says this suit meets that standard. >> jane doe has courageously stepped forward as a directly impacted pregnant kentuckian to challenge these abortion bans and try to restore abortion access in the commonwealth. geoff: the kentucky suit comes one day after a texas judge allowed an abortion for a woman whose pregnancy could endanger her life. the long-running court case over separating migrant families at the border to deter immigration is finally ending. a federal judge in san diego formally banned the practice today, for eight years, under a settlement involving migrant families. some 5,000 children were separated from parents under then-president trump.

he has not ruled out reinstating the policy if he is reelected. in michigan, a teenager was sentenced to life in prison without parole today for killing four students in a school shooting. the gunman was 15 when he carried out the attack at oxford high school in 2021. today's sentencing followed hours of statements by survivors and family members, including the father of a boy who was killed. >> we want you to spend the rest of your life rotting in your cell. what you stole from us is not replaceable. but what we won't let you steal from us is a life of normalcy, and we'll find a way to get there through forgiveness and through putting good into this world. geoff: the gunman's parents face trial for involuntary manslaughter for allegedly neglecting his mental health and making a gun accessible. an american jailed in russia -- paul whelan -- made an anguished appeal today for u.s. officials to win his release. the former u.s. marine has been held for five years and is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage.

in a statement, he again denied spying and said "my parents are quite elderly and i have given up hope of seeing them again. the russians have ruined my life." the u.s. state department said this week that moscow rejected a proposed deal that would free whelan and american journalist evan gershkovich. russian president vladimir putin confirmed today that he will run for another term, a decision that was long expected. he's already been in power for nearly 25 years. today's announcement came at a moscow ceremony where ukraine war veterans praised putin and urged him to run again. the kremlin claimed it was all spontaneous. >> i will not hide the fact that at different times i had different thoughts. you are right. this is a time the decision need to be made. i will run for the post of president of the russian federation. geoff: putin is now 71. over the years, he has supported amendments to the russian constitution that could let him stay in power into his mid-80's.

people suffering from sickle cell disease may have new hope. the fda today approved two gene therapies for the painful, inherited blood disorder. most sickle cell victims are black, and the u.s. has an estimated 100,000 cases. the gene therapies are designed for those 12 and over with severe forms of the disease. on wall street, stocks moved higher after the november jobs report. the dow jones industrial average gained 130 points to close near 36,248. the nasdaq rose 64 points. the s&p 500 added 18. the countdown to reopening france's famed notre dame cathedral one year from now has begun. the roof and spire were badly damaged by a fire in 2019. today, in paris, president emmanuel macron climbed scaffolding to check out the progress. he called it "a wonderful image of hope" for all of france. and after -- and actor ryan o'neal has died.

his career took off with the tv serial "peyton place" in the 1960's. he went on to star in the 1970 romance film "love story", and later, played opposite his daughter tatum o'neal in "paper moon". ryan o'neal was 82. still on the newshour, the checkered safety record of the osprey aircraft fleet that's been grounded. what we know about the latest charges against hunter biden. and david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the latest political headlines. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: foreign ministers from several arab allies of the united states are in washington this week for meetings with the biden administration about the israel-hamas war. nick schifrin sat down earlier today with saudi arabia's foreign minister, prince faisal bin farhan al saud, to discuss that war, and the kingdom's role in the region.

nick: mr. foreign minister, welcome to the newshour. you are here in washington. you are calling for a cease-fire. the u.s. is not. what is your message? >> our message is that too many civilians have already died on october 7, and since. we have now seen a level of garbage that is unprecedented, that is unjustifiable under any pretext of self-defense. so we need to find a path out of this conflict, and therefore we think there should be a cease-fire that can allow us to address the dire humanitarian situation. we are not just seeing people dying from israeli bombs were from the fighting on the ground, we are seeing people dying know of the leases -- dying now of diseases such as cholera. we have to protect civilians. nick: the u.s. is vetoing the security council resolution.

does that mean they are not on the same team? >> unfortunately we are seeing cease-fires as somehow a dirty word. i honestly can't understand that . usually when there is a conflict in the international scene, we are always looking for a way to end the fighting. we are very disappointed the secured he council has not been able to take a firm position and we disagree with the u.s. that this resolution deserves -- does not deserve to go through. nick: you are chairing the arab islamic ministerial committee. what will you do concretely in response to, to be honest, it sounds like the u.s. not lessening? >> we will push this important message, that too many civilians already died. there is no reason for more civilians to die. more importantly, this continuing military operation and level of civilian casualties does not serve anybody's interests, including the interests of israel. nick: some officials tell me

that your public calls do not match your private calls to destroy hamas. >> there is no dual message. what we say in private and public is the same, not just for the kingdom them above for all of the arabs. i am proud that what we are saying in public and private is the same. i cannot say the same for some of our western counterparts. nick: meaning what the united states says in public and private? >> it is not the united states or any particular country. i am saying some of our western interlocutory's are saying things in public that they are not saying in private. nick: the secured he counsel was told there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in gaza. in northern gaza, 90% of those remaining there spent at least one full day and night without food, 22 of 36 of gaza's hospitals are not working. is there will among arab nations

to step in with a humanitarian plan to help gaza? >> the situation is extremely dire. we have already stepped up as arab countries and others. we have provided significant quantities of aid. this aid is being restricted from going into gaza, it is being blocked and obstructed. i was struck a week or so ago when i was at the un security council, the israeli representative said "humanitarian aid is important, but more food, water and medicine will not bring us a solution." what is a solution? nick: gazans tell us they feel abandoned by the arab world. they are angry the war continues. do you feel you have let them down? >> i think they are justifiably angry that they are suffering while the international community has let them down. the established mechanisms for international security and peace have not acted. this is a failing of the entire international community. we all bear that burden. nick: are you worried that the

israeli defense forces are waging their campaign in her way -- in a way that would prevent your vision from being achieved? >> this is a critical concern that we have. the issue of dead babies in gaza, collapsed buildings, just like the images of october 7 have been shocking to the israeli public, the images since are chucking not the people in our -- are shocking not just to people in our part of the world but all over the world. they are losing their trust in not only the two state solution, but the argument for peace in our region, but they are also losing their trust in the international systems of security and legitimacy. that i think is a danger to us all. of course there is the risk of extremism. there is the risk of lone wolves

or others being driven to violence by these images and scenes of civilian suffering. nick: is there a risk that as the gaza war goes on, you could refuse to re-begin talks to normalize relations with israel and everything associated with that deal? >> we are convinced that the only solution is peace. this is the strategic choice we have made in saudi arabia and all of the arabs have made. when saudi arabia opposed the first and should've to the -- first initiative to 2022 and beyond. we will engage and are ready to engage with a two state solution. nick: this is a little different. this is normalizing relations with israel, getting a security guarantee from the u.s., getting an enrichment nuclear program from the u.s., giving palestinians not sure exactly what.

are you willing to restart those negotiations, or at some point those negotiations become impossible given the nature of the war? >> we are focused on ending the war now but are very interested in moving the cause of peace forward. that is what we were working on before and something we continue. both in my engagements with the administration and congress, i hear a clear message that peace is the answer. that will need a palestinian element. that will need us to move irrevocably to a palestinian state. nick: does the kingdom, does the crown prince consider their to be -- consider there to be a possibility of going to israel to make the piece you are talking about? >> the priority now is stop the killing. hopefully after that we can focus on moving forward. peace means dignity and prosperity for the palestinians and a state in which they can

have those and that will allow them to live in the region along with israel in that peace and dignity. nick: are there any arab governments willing to come into gaza, as the u.s. is requesting, as some kind of peacekeeping arrangement after the war? >> we have made two things clear, that we cannot talk abt the day after in gaza without talking about palestine as a whole. that is the unified position of the arab world. we cannot talk about the day after without an end to the fighting, because we don't know what does the day after look like? what does gaza look like? nick: the houthis from yemen have launched cruise missiles toward israel, even hijacked a commercial vessel in the red sea and sent drones toward u.s. ships. how concerned are you by these attacks and what messages are you delivering? >> we are clear that escalation is in nobody's interest. that is the message we are sending very clearly. we hope that we can focus on

ending the situation in gaza. the risks of this conflict continuing and this conflict spiraling are significant and real. we are committed to ending the war in yemen. we are committed to a permanent cease-fire that opens the door for a political process and will continue to work towards that end. we are fully engaged in that. i don't think we are going to see a significant risk that right now. nick: mr. foreign minister, thank you very much. ♪ geoff: the u.s. military announced earlier this week that it would ground its entire fleet of v-22 osprey aircraft. that's while they investigate the cause of last week's crash off the coast of japan that killed all 8 service personnel on board. the military took the extraordinary step of grounding

the fleet after an initial investigation found something wrong with the aircraft itself that led to the crash, and not errors by the crew. the crash last week was just the latest for the osprey with a nearly quarter long -- a nearly quarter-century long checkered record. >> as each service conducts operational safety reviews within their fleets, each will reevaluate their respective grounding bulletins and determine timelines for resuming flight operations. geoff: no other american military aircraft does what the v22 osprey can, take off and land just about anywhere, lifting off like a helicopter. but when it's rotors are tilted forward, it can fly fast and far like an airplane. almost all of the military services rely on ospreys. for the marine corps, it is there were course. the navy flies -- it is their workhorse. the navy flies supplies.

all told, there are about 400 ospreys in the u.s. military, and there have been 10 fatal crashes killing 57 people over the past 23 years. an investigation of two crashes in the year 2000 during test flights found the marines had cut corners during the trials. this week's grounding is not the first. ospreys were grounded in february due to ongoing issues with the tilt rotator's clutch. last year the air force grounded its fleet for the same reason. >> it is so challenging a mechanical standpoint two. this platform. you will have issues from time to time. geoff: brian alexander is a former army helicopter pilot. he is now a lawyer who has were presented family members of loved ones killed in osprey accidents. he says unlike other aircraft, the osprey is much harder to lend safety when -- safely when there is a major failure.

>> when something goes wrong, it is unlike an airplane where you usually are at tremendous altitude with a lot of options to get to a safe landing area, or even a helicopter which is much more challenging and risky, but you have autorotation capabilities. that is not the case for the osprey. >> the utility this aircraft brings to the military is enormous. it really gives you a complete new operating world. but we are paying the price for it. geoff: rex was a fighter bomber aircraft pilot during the vietnam war, and after he flew helicopters. he later worked for the pentagon and evaluated the osprey as it was being developed. he says the most recent crash was likely due to problems with the clutch. >> given the eyewitness accounts of seeing the aircraft tumbling and spinning, the only way you can explain that is if an engine

was lost or was surging and the interconnecting driveshafts were severed. geoff: in 2003, he wrote a memo called lingering safety concerns of the v22. he noted that the side-by-side engines made the aircraft prone to roll at times. high vibrations from the engines would cause parts to fail. the high downwash from the rotors would kick up dirt, making it hard to see. >> that was 2003. here we are in 2023 and we basically have seen a spate of accidents, all linked to these 506's i outlined in that memorandum. geoff: we asked the marines to respond to what we were told. in a written statement they said the osprey has a 10 year average mishap rate of 3.28 per 100,000 flight hours and that the 10 year total marine corps average mishap rate is 3.36 per 100,000

flight hours. they say there is no evidence that last week's crash was caused by a clutch problem, but they theorize that clutches that have been installed for a lengthy time need to be replaced. in the meantime, as the military tries to get to the bottom of what caused the most recent crash and find a solution, the ospreys will remain grounded. ♪ amna: the cdc says synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, contributed to about 75,000 overdose deaths in the united states last year. it's a crisis that hits every demographic group. but there are large racial disparities between who is offered the most effective treatment, and who isn't. william brangham reports for our ongoing series, america addicted and race matters. >> i would travel from washington dc as far as the

california to participate in large tournaments. william: kevin hargrove has spent much of his life teaching and competing in martial arts. he loved the discipline, and the combat, but now, this 66 year-old says his main fight is with pain. >> i've broken just about every bone in my body except my spine, my skull and my pelvis. that is where i was originally introduced to tylenol threes, tylenol fours, percocets. the doctors would prescribe them for me. william: he started on prescription pain medication as a teenager. those pills later became a habit he could not quit. by his 40's, his life was spiraling down. >> when you are going through codeine withdrawal, it is the same exact thing as going through withdrawal from a drug, say, heroin. they are opiates. william: hargrove has no permanent home, still struggles with opioid addiction, and often

has to sleep under a bridge in washington dc. once a month he makes a long commute to go see the man who is trying to help him get a handle on that addiction. >> i'm great, thanks to you. william: dr. edwin chapman. >> we are just going to get your medicine put in. william: chapman is an addiction specialist who has been treating mostly african-american patients with opioid use disorders for more than two decades. >> we have lost some patients. we just could not stabilize. william: chapman prescribes all of his roughly 200 patients a drug called buprenorphine. combined with another drug, its -- it is known as suboxone, and it helps people withdraw from opioids, and reduces their cravings. it is one of three federally approved medications to treat opioid use disorders. hargrove has been a patient of dr. chapman's since 2017 and now takes suboxone, on his own, four times a day.

>> what role do you see suboxone playing in his life? >> it's a lifesaver. i would dare to speculate knowing what has already happened, i don't think kevin would be here without it. william: but earlier this year, hargrove had to switch his medicaid-funded insurance to a insurer that no longer covered that full four doses of suboxone. when he was taking only three, his cravings went up, and he relapsed. buying on the street what he thought was codeine, but were counterfeit pills, laced with fentanyl. he overdosed, but thankfully his sister found him. >> she told me my eyes went up into my head. i start slurring my words, and the next thing she knew, i was on the floor not breathing and no pulse. william: hargrove was saved by paramedics who used the overdose reversal drug, narcan.

you have this drug that you believe is really helping your patients, and they struggle with access, insurance, paying for it, how common is that? >> it is every day. we see about 20 patients a day. eris no standard of care, and that is what we are concerned about, the fact that everyone should have the same rules and we should be able to dose everybody up to the maximum dose that we think they need , because it saves lives. william: hargrove's story is unfortunately a familiar one, particularly for black americans. across the u.s., overdose deaths among black people are rising faster than any other ethnic group, but they are far less likely to be prescribed these medications that are proven to treat opioid addiction. a recent study shows that white patients received those medications up to 80% more frequently than black patients. >> there still remains very

considerable barriers for black people compared to white people in accessing medication for treatment treatment -- for addiction treatment for hope we it -- for opiate use disorder. william: dr. ayana jordan is an addiction psychiatrist who teaches at nyu grossman school of medicine. she says black patients are often treated differently by addiction providers. >> there's still this thought that black people who have opiate use disorder have to be controlled in a way that white people don't. that black people are not as trustworthy with their medications, that they won't be able to handle it, that they'll sell it. and what we've seen is that's not the case at all. william: this bias, she says, stems from several factors. only 5% of all physicians in the u.s. are african-american, and black patients are less likely to have access to doctors who are authorized to prescribe buprenorphine. on top of that, pharmacies in black neighborhoods often don't carry addiction medications. >> if you're a black person who

has a substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, who also needs access to medication, you are not going to feel empowered to come out and ask for help because you already know that people are going to treat you differently. they're going to stigmatize you. william: studies have found that white people are 35 times more likely to receive buprenorphine than blacks. the roots of this disparity date back several decades says helena hansen, the author of the book "whiteout: how racial capitalism changed the color of opioids in america." why is it that there is such a huge racial disparity in who gets buprenorphine? >> the medication itself was introduced and legalized as a doctor's office based treatment for opioid use disorder as a response to a suburban, quote unquote, suburban perceived as white opioid crisis in the late

1990's to early 2000's. so this was rolled out as a treatment for a very specific clientele. william: hansen says this results in black and brown patients often being left with only one medication treatment option, methadone. a medication that works, but comes with many more strictures. >> if you are on methadone treatment in this country, you're restricted to a very small handful of clinics that are directly licensed and regulated by the dea that require you to come in every day to be watched, taking your medication to ensure that you're not diverting the medication, not swallowing it, and perhaps trying to sell it on the street. you're going to be subject to regular urine testing. it's a much different feeling than being in a private office with a personal doctor. >> you have not had any trouble with your diabetes or blood pressure. william: at dr. chapman's office in washington, his mostly

older patients have lived difficult lives. many have been homeless or spent time in prison, but here, they not only receive buprenorphine, but also have regular physicals and can get mental health care as well. >> i want to see just once in my life how to live. william: dr. chapman says this is all particularly important in washington dc, where black people account for more than 80 % of all opioid overdose deaths since 2017. >> when we look at overdose death statistics, we see that generally only one out of 10 has actually been on medication assisted treatment. so there's an obvious gap there. william: for kevin hargrove, he is now back on his regular four dose regimen of suboxone, and working every day to maintain his sobriety. >> if it was not for dr. chapman and not for me taking the

suboxone, i would have been dead a long time ago. william: for the pbs newshour, i am william brangham in washington d.c. ♪ geoff: hunter biden has been indicted on nine tax-related charges, including three felony counts, according to documents filed yesterday in a federal court in los angeles. according to federal prosecutors, the president's 53-year-old son, quote, engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in taxes that he owed from 2016 through 2019. prosecutors allege that he instead spent hundreds of thousand dollars on drugs, escorts, and exotic cars. npr justice correspondent ryan lucas is with us. the charges are spilled out in -- are spelled out in a speaking

indictment in that it is extraordinarily detailed. what is the special counsel in this case alleging? ryan: that this was a four-year scheme hunter biden followed in order to not pay some $1.4 million in taxes. he says that hunter biden in essence cheated his own payroll company in its tax withholding process in order to not pay these taxes. it says instead he was using this money to pay for various women, to pay for escorts and girlfriends, for luxury cars. there is one instance in the indictment in which it said he spent $1500 on an exotic strip club. there is another instance in which he paid $11,500 on an escort for two nights. the document is a speaking document. it provides a lot of detail, a lot of it sorted and salacious -- sordid and salacious into

what hunter biden was spending his money on instead of paying taxes. geoff: this case was on the verge of being resolved in july when that plea deal fell apart. what would have been two misdemeanors are now, what, six demeanors and three felony counts. it raises the question of why the doj will have been willing to offer a plea deal in the first place. ryan: this was something the special counsel was willing to resolve only five months ago in a plea deal in delaware. it would have resolved two misdemeanor counts of tax charges as well as a gun count. instead what we have is three gun charges in delaware that the special counsel brought earlier this summer. hunter biden has pleaded not guilty to those. what was said last night in response to the new charges, this is all material that the special counsel has had for five years. there is no new evidence, and

yet now we have nine new charges. geoff: this indictment does not allege any connection to or involvement by president joe biden. you mention hunter biden's attorney. he said in a statement, if hunter's last name was anything other than biden, the charges would not have been brought. is he right? wooden averages citizens face charges like this, especially after hunter biden paid back the taxes? ryan: there certainly are avenues for resolving this. there are civil procedures that many cases like this are resolved in such a manner. this is up to the justice department on how it wants to resolve these cases and what prosecutors can point to is the fact there were four years in which hunter biden was supposed to file taxes, in which he had money and says in order to pay these taxes, instead of doing so it says he was spending them on

personal expenses that ultimately was money that should have been going to the u.s. government. geoff: what consequences does hunter biden face potentially? do you have a sense on when this case would start? ryan: the justice apartment says he faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted on all counts. there is no indication when all of this will get underway. his gun case in delaware is set for a hearing this month. lowell has said he intensified -- he intends to file motions to dismiss that case. they are having every indication at this point that hunter biden intends to fight these tax charges. geoff: npr's ryan lucas, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. ryan: thank you. ♪ geoff: for more on the political implications of the new charges filed against the president's

son and other major news, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's new york times columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. good to see you both. let's start with the latest legal trouble facing hunter biden with the important context that hunter biden is a private citizen. he does not work in the white house for his father in the way jared kushner and he ivanka trump did. -- and ivanka trump did. the indictment does not implicate joe biden, yet this will add to the problems for the white house as republicans zero in on hunter biden's dealings as part of their own investigations. >> which have been going on for years. they have been using the president's troubled son to sully the president. so far they have come up with nothing, even though next week they will apparently be voting on authorizing an impeachment inquiry, trying to make connections that are not there.

when you read the indictment and hear about the indictment, it is bad. it is not good at all. it's but we are talking about -- i am glad you put that proper context there. he is an adult. he has not held office, he has not sought office, he has not worked for his father. the only thing is that his father is president of the united states. he is being held accountable. i agree with abby lowell that if his last name were not biden, he probably would not have had these charges, they would have worked it out, but he's facing the consequences. he's going through the legal avenues afforded to him. for republicans to try to make a connection between hunter biden and trying to say that if you will go after trump, why shouldn't we go after biden? these are two completely different cases. geoff: the flipside of the

statement, that if his last name was not biden he would have no charges, the flipside is that if his last name was not biden he would not have made $11 million in five years with overseas board appointments. david: i was just about to say that. [laughter] politics is now a game of narratives. the republicans got two of their narratives totally supported this week. the first is that the progressive elites have gone bonkers. the testimony of those three university presidents underlined that story. the hunter biden story, i agree there is nothing connecting, but republicans tell the story that washington is full of people selling influence and are fundamentally corrupt and running around like mini jeffrey epsteins. that hunter biden story looks bad from that context. he made money because his name is biden. he lived a lifestyle that is offensive, let's put it that way.

we were talking earlier, somehow he withdrew $1.6 million from atm's. how did he do that? it underlines the story that washington is fundamentally corrupt. that is a story republicans like to tell. geoff: let's focus on biden's push to push aid for ukraine which stalled in the senate, largely because of senate republicans want tougher immigration restrictions. it was president biden that decided to link money for israel with money for ukraine and money for taiwan, to link all of that to money for the southern border, in large part to address the crisis but also to entice republicans to support it. was that a mistake? jonathan: sure, he's boxed in, but was it a mistake to go before the american people and say to the republicans let's make a deal, i'm willing to talk, let's come up with something so that we can address the border but also get vitally

needed funding to ukraine and israel and taiwan, two that are in active wars, and one that could be. that was the right thing for the president to do. i don't understand why republicans won't take yes for an answer, especially when they are trying to jam through a policy change, and a policy change that democratic and republican administrations have talked about and fought over for at least two decades and have gotten nowhere. if they will not take the president up on his offer to negotiate, whose fault is that? is it the president for willing to make a deal, or the republicans saying they would like to play more politics with this while democracy is on the brink in ukraine? geoff: the white house makes the point that it was the right thing to link all of those

issues because in their view they constitute emergencies. david: i thought it was the right deal at the time. the normal thing is you have a bunch of issues that are somewhat related on security, so you put it in one package and everybody gets a piece. the downside is if it doesn't go through, everyone loses. we are now facing the real possibility of that. if we don't support ukraine, it is a disaster for the american reputation. it will be a disaster for america's budget because if vladimir putin takes ukraine, you think defense spending is high now? it is a disaster to our allies that we cannot be trusted. it is a disaster to xi jinping who sees that the u.s. cannot defend its allies. nonetheless, i differ with jonathan in that i think the republicans have thrown a bunch of different ideas on the table for the southern border, adjusting asylum roles, all sorts of proposals -- asylum

rules, all sorts proposals. i think the democrats should hop on as much as they can because the border is a genuine national crisis. it is the democrats' biggest political liability. if there is any possibility for a deal, i think the democrats would be smart to say we and the republicans take coownership of the border, otherwise it is peerless for joe biden's reelection -- it is urlesque for joe biden's reelection chances. geoff: the republicans had a debate this week and the knives were out for nikki haley. how do you think she fared this past week? jonathan: i think she fared fine. when you are the focus of everyone's attention on a debate stage, that means you are the top of the pack, although the person that is really at the top of the pack was not there. they are fighting over second-place. was it last week or the week before, david, you were talking about nikki haley's slow and steady rise through this race,

and we saw it again this week. nice for governor christie to defend her honor after being ripped to pieces by vivek ramaswamy, but as we have seen through all the debates up until this week, she is more than capable of standing up for herself. geoff: donald trump was not there. he appeared the night before in a televised town hall with sean hannity. hannity gave him the chance to reassure the american people that if reelected he would not abuse power, he would not use his time in office focused on retribution. here is how donald trump answered that question. mr. trump: he says you are not going to be a dictator are you? i said no, other than day one. we are closing the border and drilling, drilling, drilling. geoff: your response? david: i take him literally but not seriously. i think it was a joke. i think he was just playing to the crowd. i think he was telling a joke

but it is still true that there are policies that he and people around him have been embracing for six years now which are clearly authoritarian, and he is likely to be more authoritarian now than even when he was in 2016. geoff: as you gave that answer, jonathan's mouth was agape. [laughter] david: i saw it in my peripheral vision. jonathan: he's not joking. and if he is joking, the joke is not funny. we have seen over the past few weeks, story after story, about things that donald trump has said or things that are happening behind the scenes, things he wants to do if he gets the second term, that should make every american's blood run cold. the front page of the new york times two or three weeks ago detailing the immigration policy they want to institute on day one. the project 2025, which

basically wants to set up a turnkey operation for any conservative president to come along and do all sorts of things to remake not just american government american democracy. donald trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he gets another opportunity to be president. pretty much every day for the last two or three months, in detail. and anyone who does not take him seriously is not taking the danger that this country faces seriously enough, because he can joke all he wants, i'm going to be dictator but for one day. it is not for one day. he told us he will be a dictator. it will be his presidency, if we can call it that. geoff: is it too late to stop donald trump? for those republicans that detest him, for those concerned about his impulses toward authoritarianism, and for those

concerned he will lose another election for the party, he is 50 points ahead of the rest of the pack. is it too late to stop him? david: i give nikki haley a 10% chance.something could happen . chris christie could get out of the race, ron desantis could get out of the race. you could get the whole republican party supporting her, but even still a 10% chance. geoff: david brooks and jonathan capehart. thanks as always. ♪ amna: now, a newshour tradition: each year, we ask the defense visual information distribution service at the pentagon to produce holiday songs, with service members singing. on this second night of hanukkah we present "ocho kandelikas" by the composer and singer flory jagoda. it is originally written in

"ladino", which is judaeo-spanish. ♪ [singing in ladino]

♪

♪ geoff: that is my new favorite hanukkah song. [laughter] amna: mine too. geoff: tune into washington week

with the atlantic later tonight on pbs. jeffrey goldberg and his panel discuss the fight over funding u.s. allies and border security. amna: and tomorrow on pbs news weekend, an in-depth look at a newly fda-approved treatment for sickle cell disease. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. have a great weekend, and happy hanukkah. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support

of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson, and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and 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. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >>

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. cliques hello, everyone, welcome to amanpour and company. here is what is coming up, senate republicans block foreign aid finding, leaving ukraine's survival at stake.he d