♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff bennett is away. on "the newshour" tonight -- a grim milestone in gaza with the death toll surpassing 20,000 less than three months into the war. a recording surfaces of former president trump pressuring michigan election officials to not certify the 2020 vote. what it means for his 2024 campaign and the nation's

democracy. and, ever wondered where lost luggage ends up? during the busy travel season, we visit the store that sells all the unclaimed baggage. bryan: what our guests have in common is, is they love the thrill of the hunt. i mean, you never know what you're gonna find. ♪ >> major funding for "the pbs newshour" has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy goldman and kathy and paul anderson. >> it was like an a-ha moment, this is what i love doing. early-stage companies have this energy that energizes me. these are people trying to

change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs it is the same thing. i'm helping people reach their dreams and i am thriving by helping others every day. people who know know bdo. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. ♪ >> and with ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- and friends of "the newshour." ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you.

thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. the united nations security council came together today to approve a resolution calling for more humanitarian aid to flow into gaza after a week of delays. the u.s. abstained from the vote, which did not demand a ceasefire. meantime, american officals are saying iran was deeply involved in the planning of attacks against commercial shipping vessels in the red sea. john: bodies and burials overwhelm gaza. officials of the hamas-run health ministry say the death toll has passed 20,000. after another air strike, anwar dhair buried the next generations of his family. anwar: my daughter, her husband, and this is my grandson, he was a baby, 4 months old. john: those lucky enough to survive still face a bleak fate. the few remaining hospitals don't have enough staff or supplies for meaningful treatment.

this school has been turned into a field hospital. dr. al-hourani: we can't do anything but gauze and disinfectant, we don't have anything else. we call on everyone, the whole world to support us in providing medical equipment, providing medicines, lifting the siege on gaza. john: staff at the al zawayda clinic provide what care they can, but without enough early childhood vaccines, these children will be far more susceptible to illnesses like polio or measles. lama: shortage of childhood vaccinations, especially those who are newborn babies aged one and two months. john: clinic psychologist waleed omar hamdan said he worries about the long term consequences -- mental as well as physical. waleed: things were fragile somehow before the war, and during this war, things became even worse. the number of psychiatric cases among children, adolescents and adults has increased significantly.

john: but even with the best medical care, gazans can't recover without food and water. international aid organizations estimate that half a million people are starving in gaza, and say the situation could collapse into famine. mahmoud: actually, we have many problems, even if we provide food, but we have many problems, we have no access to gas. so we go to streets to gather wood to burn the fire and cook the food, and also a huge number of families and we don't have food that is enough for them. john: aid trickles through the rafah crossing and newly open kerem shalom, but once inside gaza, aid workers struggle to reach those who need it. israeli officials say there is no shortage. col. tetro: in terms of food, the reserves in gaza strip are sufficient for the near term. >> the result of vote as follows. john: after many delays, the united nations security council

approved a resolution calling for much more humanitarian aid for gaza. the united states and russia abstained after a u.s. veto of a russian amendment calling for a ceasefire. amb. thomas-greenfield: while we are encouraged that the council spoke out on this humanitarian crisis, we're deeply disappointed. appalled actually, that once again, the council was not able to condemn hamas' horrific terrorist attack on october 7th. john: today, a southern israel kibbutz said it had determined that one of its residents an american-israeli citizen, was killed in the initial hamas attack october 7. kibbutz nir oz said hamas took 73-year-old gad haggai's body to gaza. in a statement, president biden said, "i reaffirm the pledge we have made to all the families of those still held hostage -- we will not stop working to bring them home." with american support, the israeli offensive pushes forward, determined to complete its mission. as christmas nears, the region prepares for a different kind of

holiday. near bethlehem's church of the nativity -- revered by christians as the traditional birthplace of christ -- rubble takes the place of christmas lights, a gesture of solidarity with gaza. father thaljieh: art is a message, whether it is a painting or art through rocks, it's a message and this message is that people can see the real scene, that christmas comes during war and hardship. john: for "the pbs newshour," i'm john yang. ♪ amna: in the day's other headlines -- the supreme court won't expedite a ruling on former president trump's claim of presidential immunity for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. special counsel jack smith had requested the supreme court fast track its decision so the trial could begin in march, ahead of next year's presidential

election. the issue will now be left to the u.s. court of appeals. it could still work its way up to the supreme court, eventually. wisconsin's supreme court today overturned the state's republican-drawn legislative maps. they ordered new district boundary lines be drawn ahead of the 2024 election. democrats had argued that the maps were unconstitutional because they weren't contiguous and gave republicans an unfair advantage. president biden issued pardons for thousands of people convicted of using and possessing marijuana on federal lands and in the district of columbia. it expands on a similar move he made last year, part of his pledge for criminal justice reform. mr. biden also granted clemency to 11 people serving "disproportionately long sentences for non-violent drug offenses." a fierce pacific storm unleashed downpours and strong winds on the deserts of southern california today. the same system inundated the los angeles area yesterday,

triggering flooding and road closures and wreaking havoc on holiday travel plans. the storm is expected to move into southwest arizona and taper off. the czech republic is reeling after its deadliest shooting in history. a gunman opened fire yesterday at a university in prague, fatally shooting 14 people before killing himself. dozens more were wounded. mourners gathered today at a makeshift memorial near the scene of the attack. they lit candles and reflected on the shooting's impact. daniel: what happened yesterday was as a czech, especially in the city center, hearing, i was on the other side of the river, and hearing gunshots pops, not knowing what's going on. and then a flurry of police cars passing by was absolutely surreal for me. amna: authorities say the shooter was a student at the school, but they're still trying to piece together a motive. they believe he killed his father beforehand, and possibly two other people last week.

in ukraine, russian drones pounded buildings in the capital overnight and regions farther south. the strikes tore through the top floors of an apartment complex in kyiv. officials say more than two dozen drones flew towards the city, though most were shot down. more were intercepted in odesa and mykolaiv, where debris damaged a granary and other port facilities. (unless otherwise noted back in this country -- trading was light on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 18 points to close at 37,386. the nasdaq rose 29 points. the s&p 500 added 8. and nothing spreads holiday cheer quite like a winning ticket in spain's annual christmas lottery. in madrid, crowds dressed up for the big draw. this year's total prize pot reached a record-breaking $2.8 billion dollars. the top winning ticket holders took home $440,000 apiece. confetti fell and champagne flowed as the lucky numbers were announced. the spanish christmas tradition

dates all the way back to 1812. still to come on "the newshour" -- david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on this week's political headlines. a review of films that stood out in a year plagued by the writers and actors strikes. and u.s. troops spread some christmas joy in the form of a song. >> 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: a report out of michigan further pulls back the curtain on former president donald trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. the detroit news listened to a partial recording of a phone call between trump, republican national committee chairwoman ronna mcdaniel, and two local election officials from late november of that year. in it, trump and mcdaniel can

reportedly be heard pressuring the republican chair and another member of the wayne county board of canvassers not to certify the election results there, despite no evidence of fraud. william brangham has been tracking this story today. good to see you. what exactly were president trump and ronna mcdaniel trying to do on that call and what impact could it have on the larger election? william: here's what we know. joe biden won michigan by about 154,000 votes but at the time of the call michigan had not certified those votes. madge and you are these local election officials and the phone rings and it is the president of the united states and chairwoman of the republican national committee and they are saying don't certified those votes, there has been rigging going on, we will send lawyers. imagine the power dynamic difference where the president is asking you to do this. donald trump in the past had

made many unfounded allegations about voting in detroit, which is where this county is, saying dead voters had been voting and none of that was true. michigan was about to announce results and canvassers did try to resend their certification but it was too late. michigan was declared for joe biden and michigan was critical for joe biden selection win. this phone call seems to be another effort by the former president to stop that fact from becoming reality. amna: we know there are a lot of ongoing efforts to hold president trump and his local allies accountable for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. how does this fit into those larger efforts? william: this phone call is similar in a way to what we know came out of georgia, where there is a state case against the former president, where he called election officials in fulton county and said can you find the 11,000 votes. there's also a federal case brought by special counsel jack

smith charging him with four felonies and in the indictment it does cite trump's alleged use of deceit to try to fool and persuade state election officials to overturn elections. this county is not in the indictment but we don't know if that will end up in evidence in that case. one former prosecutor i talked to today did suggest that ronna mcdaniel could become a co-conspirator in the federal case in one count of that case. if it can be proven if she knew that there was no voter fraud but was urging election officials to not certify. still waiting to see on that. amna: have we heard anything from ronna mcdaniel or president trump on the call? william: no one disputed the contents of the call. a spokesperson for former president trump reiterated the ongoing light, that the election was stolen and thus he had every

reason to make a call to election officials to stop that. ronna mcdaniel made a somewhat similar argument, she argued "what i said publicly and repeatedly at the time is there was ample evidence that warranted an audit of that vote. -- that vote." again, no election fraud found in michigan. estate review run by republicans found the same. joe biden won michigan fair and square. amna: in this case, the efforts didn't work, but if there was a similar pressure campaign in our upcoming presidential election, is our election system better prepared to handle it? william: this is an enormous ongoing concern.% last year in michigan, a past allow that said canvassers can only certify a vote based on the

vote tally, so michigan seems to have headed this off. that a lot of other states, georgia, north carolina, wisconsin, where similar rules are not being enacted and chicanery could occur. amna: i've been covering all things legal matters around mr. trump, and the supreme court declined to fast-track the case against him. william: special counsel jack smith had asked the supreme court to essentially leapfrog an appeals court there was ruling on this motion that the president had made the sweeping assertion that because he was president he was immune from any alleged crimes he might have committed. jack smith said i know there is an appeals court working on this but i need the supreme court to look at this more quickly because this is urgent for the

nation. the supreme court said we are not going to do it, the appeals court must rule. the reason this is a victory for trump is it delays the process, which we know his legal team wanted to do in all of these cases, delay as long as possible. the appeals court will rule, it may end up before the supreme court but not right away. amna: thank you for making sense of it all. william: my pleasure. ♪ amna: award winning gazan poet mosab abu toha lost his home, some of his friends and family members in the last two months. on november 17, he himself was detained by israeli forces on his way to the rafah border, as he tried to evacuate gaza with his family, and was released only after international outrage. he's now in cairo with his wife and three kids, and joined me earlier to talk about what he left behind, and what the future

holds for his homeland. mosab, welcome to the newshour. thank you so much for joining us. mosab: thank you for having me. amna: take us back, if you can, to november 19th. your son is an american citizen. so you and your family were trying to evacuate, headed down to the rafah border. you were stopped by israeli forces. what did they tell you about why you were detained? mosab: i was taking the salahadin street. the street that should have been a safe passage for people to evacuate from the northern part of gaza through the southern part of the gaza strip. on the way, there was a line and there was an israeli soldier calling people by description. so when it came to me, he said the young man with a black backpack and with a red haired boy, put the boy down and drop all your things and come join the line. there were about six snipers aiming at me. so i put the boy down and i dropped everything. and then i joined the line of the people.

and then i was undressed in front of a jeep behind the wall. everything was confiscated from me, including the passports. and then i was blindfolded and handcuffed. later, i knew that i was taken to beersheba about about 2 hours away from gaza. without knowing anything, without having the blindfold or the handcuffs removed. so i spent personally about 50 hours without seeing anything, without being able to remove it or to move my hands. amna: you were taken to a detention center in southern israel. you were kept there for two days. what was that treatment like? and at any point did anyone say why you were being held? mosab: they first accused me of being a hamas activist. i was beaten very hard. i was slapped across the face. i asked them if they have any proof. and he slapped me across the face. he said, you give me proof that you are not hamas. they didn't have any evidence.

i asked them if they had a photograph, a video, a satellite. anything that shows that that what they are saying is correct. but it turned out to be that they were just taking me and they knew who i was, because my son was is an american citizen and we are his family. so the names that were listed on the rafah border crossing were cleared by the israelis. they were just taking me to just treat me as as bad as they could. amna: were you alone during this whole time? mosab: no. so when i was taken, there was about i mean, in the line before we were undressed, etc., there were about at least 70 to 100 people. and then when we were taken to the detention center, there were about 116 people. into the next day on monday, i heard that there were new people and the soldiers next door were making fun of the detainees. they were asking them to repeat arabic children songs. my wife told me that she used my phone, which she kept with her.

she used my phone to contact my friends. friends from sanding -- cnn, from the new yorker, the washington post, the new york times, and everyone of them, and to whom for whom i wrote to during the genocide in gaza. every one of them wrote about my kidnap and they asked for my third release. and i would like to thank everyone who who helped me get out as soon as possible. and i ask everyone in the world to work very hard, to get everyone out. amna: mosab, we are speaking today as the home you left behind is virtually unrecognizable. and it's now at the grim milestone of over 20,000 people killed. what is it like for you to hear that number? mosab: i can't believe what i am seeing or hearing. i'm now here in cairo, unable to do anything to protect my family. and the fact that i was unable to do anything while i was in gaza. now i'm also again helpless to do anything to help and support my family in gaza is very, very devastating. it's really very hard. with each step i took outside of

gaza, i knew that i was kilometers away from my family in gaza. amna: i know you've lost dear friends and neighbors in this war so far. you posted a video of you reading part of a poem by one of those friends, a very famous poet and essayist. the poem is called if i must die. here's a clip of you reading part of that poem. mosab: "if i must die, you must live to tell my story, to sell my things if i must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale." amna: gaza's storytellers, are among those who are dying poets and essayists and photographers and journalists. what's the impact of that? mosab: well, the impact that israel wants to see is that no one talks about about gaza. neither the gazans or international journalists. they want to kill people in gaza and they don't want the people to describe what happened. so they want just to bury this story and bury their people with it. which is, i think, the worst the crime that could happen in

history. amna: as you know, israeli officials, and i have to say, israelis i've spoken with say they cannot go back to the way life was before october 7th, having lived through those hamas attacks. and they want to see hamas gone. how does this end? what do you see ahead? mosab: i think we can be true about saying that. but i would like to say to them and to the whole world that we have been unable to live at all. i mean, in gaza and the west bank, palestinians in the diaspora, they have been unable to live at all. we need to live a decent life just like the one we are trying to have after killing us. amna: i know when you left, you were fleeing with really just what you could carry. and i wonder what it is you brought with you. mosab: i brought my wife with me and my three children, and a copy of my poetry collection. only one copy. i lost every book that i was trying to go to to compile on my bookshelves. every time i traveled to the united states, i went there three times. every time i went, i came back

to gaza with the with dozens of english books, especially ones signed by author friends. but now, when i got out of gaza, i only had one copy of my book, which was published last year in san francisco, and i only got out only with my clothes. amna: you're in cairo now. what's next for you and your family? where will you go? mosab: well, i have three options. one is going to the united states, which is something that i'm not willing to do right now, because my family, my family and also my wife's family are still in mortal danger. we can we can hear about any momentwe can we can hear about something bad from them. just like i learned today about the death of a very close friend of mine who used to be a farmer and a very excellent soccer player. the second option is being here in cairo for for a job opportunity. and the other the third one, which i hope will happen soon, is returning to gaza and reunite with my family. and hopefully we are not going to miss any one of them.

amna: thank you so much for your time. we're thinking about you and your family. please stay safe. mosab: thank you so much for having me. ♪ amna: this year the transportation security administration says it's screened a record number of passengers, and if the past is any guide, will handle millions of bags this holiday season. but a small fraction of them will go missing and unclaimed. where do all those lost bags end up? stephanie sy has this story. stephanie: stuffed bunnies, fancy suits, and pink platform pumps. welcome to the country's only retailer of lost baggage. just off the road in the small city of scottsboro, alabama, the unclaimed baggage store has everything anyone would need --

except, almost all of this once belonged to someone else. jennifer: i love to see the items that come from all over the world. some of the musical instruments are just amazing. stephanie: jennifer kritner has been working here for twenty-six years. she encourages shoppers to check out the store's museum, where some of the more eccentric items found in baggage are displayed. jennifer: an autographed michael jordan basketball is also among my favorites. i'm a huge basketball fan, so that stands out in my mind. stephanie: she says almost all checked bags, 99.5%, end up back with their owners after the flight. but some bags don't. after airlines launch a three-month search to reconnect the owner to their lost bag, the store steps in to purchase that fraction of a percent of bags that are orphaned. jennifer: our team of openers, that's what we call them, they open the suitcases and they really mine and explore those bags for treasurers. these items, they're lost and they're unclaimed. and we need to figure out, can we resell this item?

do we need to recycle this item, or is this an item that can be donated? stephanie: nashville resident sheila allen has been shopping here for over twenty years. she says the discount prices keep her driving back. sheila: it amazes me//the things people put in their suitcases for checked luggage. like this diamond ring that i have on. it's a heart shaped diamond ring. it is a cluster of stones. a year or so ago, i bought a pair of sandals that had never been worn. i paid 20 bucks for them and when i looked the brand up online, they started at $120. bryan: what our guests have in common is, is they love the thrill of the hunt. i mean, you never know what you're gonna find. stephanie: bryan owens' is the owner and ceo of unclaimed baggage. in 1970 his father doyle started the company, borrowing a pickup truck to transport his first load of unclaimed bags.

bryan: our inventory, i've always thought about it like an archaeological dig. the bags, and the lost and found items that we're seeing now are different in many ways than we saw 10 or 15 or 20 years ago. we are seeing more bags come through our facility in the last couple of years than we have ever seen in the company's history. stephanie: last year, some 26 million pieces of luggage were lost, delayed or damaged, the highest number in a decade. nicole: people still kind of reeling from covid staff shortages, a lot of expertise lost in the industry. and we've seen a surge in mishandled baggage. stephanie: nicole hogg is the director of baggage at aviation data company sita. she says after high lost luggage rates the last few years, new data shows signs of recovery. nicole: what airlines are doing is investing in tracking devices, which gives full visibility of the bag throughout the whole journey from the time , that the bag is checked in, to when it arrives and is in the

hands of the customer. you can track your pizza, you can track your amazon delivery. and, you know, customers have put a lot of pressure on the airlines and the industry to be able to have that visibility available. stephanie: still, for those passengers that can't find their bags even temporarily, the feeling of dread doesn't easily subside. brittany: i've never seen so many suitcases in my life. they were just everywhere. stephanie: last december, tampa-based school teacher brittany loubier-vervisch's southwest flight was canceled. while at the tampa international airport looking for her own missing suitcase, she decided to help others find theirs. brittany texted around seventy people after finding their phone numbers on luggage bag tags, an act of service that got her anointed online -- the luggage angel. on the receiving end of one of those messages was taira meadowcroft, a missouri-based librarian. taira: i get this text message and i'm like, that's weird.

i was staring at it who is this? , and so i texted back and i said, thank you. i'm very thank full for this. here is a gift card. because i was like freaking out. brittany: i could have been, you know, scrolling through my phone the whole time that i was waiting there. but instead i wanted to do something productive and helpful, especially, you know, with the holidays then. and travel is so stressful for so many people. so i did what i could to help. stephanie: now a year later, brittany has some advice for the frequent traveler. brittany: the easiest thing really is to have something like one of these little, you know, these things that goes under handle. you can get it custom embroidered with your name. i learned to mark your bag. stephanie: back in scottsboro, alabama, sheila allen is still shopping the items others have left behind. she has this travel advice. sheila: i make sure when i travel, not only do i have tags on the outside of my suitcase, but tags on the inside of my suitcase as to where i'm going, where i can be contacted. so, yeah, i don't want to find my stuff here.

stephanie: she says if she ever loses a bag she'd come right back here looking for it. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. ♪ amna: an overwhelmed immigration system. a court ruling to keep donald trump off the ballot. and new details about his efforts to overturn the last election. to discuss it all, 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. we are seeing record daily encounters at the u.s. southern border again, immigration is an issue as a concert for americans has been rising. when people are asked what they think the most important problem the country is facing right now, the top one is government and

poor leadership and in immigration is second. that's followed by the economy and inflation. negotiators from the senate who went home still have a chance to continue talking. do you see them getting anything done? jonathan: in the spirit of christmas i want to say yes but i the time they get something done, christmas will have come and gone. this much i know -- they are trying very hard. this much i also know -- if they do indeed come up with a deal, it will be a deal that folks on the far right are going to hate because it doesn't go far enough from their perspective. and those on the left and in the democratic party, their hair is going to be on fire because it will probably go too far. but because it is attached to aid for ukraine and israel and taiwan, the imperative to getting this done so high that i think the negotiators will come

up with a bill that will require a lot of people on both sides of the aisle to swallow a bitter pill if they want to get this done. amna: do you agree? david: i think we are closer than we've been since the bush administration. a lot of people have a lot that they need from this bill. the biden administration is way behind immigration. biden was slightly behind immigration in 2020 and now like 30 points behind, even with immigrants themselves. the political pressure is awesome. then you look at chuck schumer and mitch mcconnell, kyrsten sinema, everyone saying the right things and the details are the details, immigration being what it is, but i think so many different constituencies get some thing out of this, i think it's more than we've seen in decades. amna: the same -- the cynical view is the more it's a problem is the more republicans can leverage it. david: there's some truth to

having an issue but i think for people like kristin seminar -- kyrsten sinema, and you look at the individual issues, people at the border, people having real difficulties, tomatoes people are not looking for -- to me those people are not looking for an issue, they are looking for help. jonathan: i agree with that and let's look at a more cynical view, republican governors sending migrants from their states to northern cities, to cities run by democratic mayors and thus using immigrants, using human beings for political purposes, using them as pawns in their political gains and i think that's also why we see concern about immigration rising up to the top, including places like new york city, where republicans like to do it as you

are a sanctuary city, you should take care of this, but in order for those things to work, things need to work at the border. this is a problem that is not one of president biden's making, to your point. we haven't been this close on an immigration deal since president george w. bush. it has bedeviled republican and democratic presidents some plea because the incentives have not been there to do anything about it. amna: nothing changes substantively at the border until congress acts. all of these forces have allowed president -- former president trump to double down on anti-immigrant messaging. he has been echoing nazi propaganda by saying immigrants have been poisoning the blood of our country. got about three weeks ago before the iowa caucuses and i need to point out that language is resonating among likely gop caucus-goers.

this latest poll from nbc, they found 42% said those, the made the more likely to vote for former president trump. jonathan: i'm not surprised by that at all. it takes me back to the 2016 campaign when there were a lot of stories that quoted people who went to his rallies, why do you like donald trump? he says what we are all thinking, he says what i can't say. it left me to wonder, what can't you say? he has called mexicans rapist, he's called for a muslim band during his campaign. he was president for four years. we know what his singing is. in these rallies when he talks about immigrants, he talks about poisoning the blood of our country and he spells out, they're coming from africa and asia and south america. he doesn't say is they are coming from europe. for him, immigrants are people who come from anywhere that's basically black or brown.

let's not forget what he said when he was president, how he derided immigrants from "s-hole countries." he is using this hitler-esque language and we should take that seriously. he is saying it over and over again, it is terrible for local discourse and our country, built by immigrants and in slave labor. david: i thought the comments were of horns and horrible and donald trump has a way of tapping into some of the darker underground rivers of american history and this is an example. we should not ignore the statistic i said a couple minutes ago which is that his support among immigrants themselves is surging so there is an actual issue here.

you have that 42% number. 42% at least of iowa republican caucus-goers are trump supporters so they will be pro-trump no matter what. so i think it is abhorrent but we should not reduce the issue to those of court comments, there actually is a core problem. amna: i want to get you to weigh in on colorado, the supreme court they're basically saying mr. trump is not eligible to appear on their primary ballot, citing the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment. similar legal efforts underway in the number of states, likely headed for the supreme court. is this an issue you think the court should be deciding or the voters? jonathan: yes. [laughter] in the short term i think it's an issue the voters should decide because the guy is at least right now leading in the

polls, on his way quite possibly to become the next republican nominee, and we are less than a year out. i say the courts should have a say because this is a question that's not been tested yet. even though the framers foresaw a trump like character trying to come into power in american politics, that person has never tested the system the way donald trump has, the system has never been required to answer the question until now. for the good of the country, let's have this conversation. these two things can happen at the same time. amna: do you agree? david: no. [laughter] why are the populist movements? a lot of people in a lot of these countries think a highly educated cohorts of in this case americans have created an elite

class, they control the media and the universities in the increasingly control the courts and a lot of americans say they have too much power and we will have an uprising. you have a series of judges with ivy league law degrees that say sorry, we are taking you off the ballot. that would explode this country. in my view, under the most dubious possible circumstances. has he been convicted? has he been charged with violating the insurrection act? no. to me it would look like and i think it would be an elite power grab. i assume the supreme court will throw it out anyway. amna: we should point out there are a diversions of opinions even those who think he is unfit to be president. jonathan: a quick point, let's remember the colorado case has been brought by republicans.

amna: worth noting, thank you. we are heading into christmas we get and you both dig into some of the toughest issues of our time, which we so appreciate. it is a season of peace, goodwill toward men and women and also a season of hope. i need to ask you both, what gives you hope in this moment? jonathan: i was gonna go to david first. [laughter] no, for me, and i mean it in all sincerity, the american electorate give me hope. i know some folks might not agree with that but in 2022, during the midterms, the electric show they are nuanced and sophisticated. they might not like the economy but they don't like what republicans have in store for the country. it's my sincere hope that the american electorate one year from now would have saved american democracy and the idea of democracy for the rest of the

world. david: candy canes, you know the dancing santa? how can you not be hopeful? i am filled with ecstatic exuberance. [laughter] amna: i did not think this would end with you imitating a dancing santa and for that i am grateful. thank you so much. over the holidays, you might have some time to catch up on new films at home or to venture to the theaters. to help guide us on the best ones to add to your list, jeffrey brown speaks to two film critics on their top picks of the year for our arts and culture series "canvas." jeffrey: union strikes caused delays and other bumps in the road in hollywood this year. but some films still stuck out from the crowd.

to tell us about this year's best films, i'm joined by justin chang, film critic of the los angeles times, and linda holmes, host of npr's pop culture happy hour. nice to see you both. justin, why don't i start with you? why don't you give us a couple of your favorites? justin: hi, jeff. my favorite movie of the year really snuck up on me. it's called "all of us strangers." and it's the latest from the english writer have -- writer-director andrew haigh. , it tells the story of a lonely screenwriter who's played in a quietly gut wrenching performance by andrew scott. i don't wanna say too much about it. it's a gay love story. it is a drama about parent-child reconciliation. it's also, and this is not a spoiler, it's a ghost story. i haven't seen a more intimate movie this year. what makes it work, i think, is that it's really hauntingly ambiguous on one hand, but it's completely emotionally direct and satisfying on the other. and it features what is for me, the acting ensemble of the year

with not only andrew scott, but also paul mescal, claire foy and jamie bell. a very different movie that i also loved is "the zone of interest," which is jonathan glazer's chilling and searing drama about a nazi commandant and his family living next door to auschwitz. this is a movie i hesitate to describe as a holocaust drama because it so completely subverts what we've been conditioned to expect about holocaust dramas. it is very much about the banality of evil. but the movie itself is never banal, and it's the opposite of holiday cheer this season. but it is a movie that i hope audiences will embrace the challenge of, because i think it is rewarding to watch. jeffrey: so linda holmes, do you have any cheer for us? those were two independent and pretty heavy films. what's on your list? linda: i did love a lot of heavy films this year, but i'm also happy to provide a couple that have maybe a little more cheer. i am one of the many people who enjoyed "barbie."

i very much admired all the crafts that were on display in that film. the production design, the scoring, the costuming, all of that stuff i thought was wonderful. and i think the story in the end just was much more interesting. greta gerwig in writing and directing that just did much more with it than maybe people expected. jeffrey: it really struck a chord. linda: absolutely. i mean, theatrical distribution still needs some big hits. that's still a really good thing for theaters, and i was really happy to see that happen. another one i would mention is "the holdovers," which is from alexander payne. people who are stuck over the -- it's about these three people who are stuck over the holiday break in a school. and it is paul giamatti as this very grumpy teacher. and then one of the kids that is in his class and then the woman played by da'vine joy randolph, who plays the woman who runs the food service. and they all get stuck there. i think it's a beautiful movie. it's very generous to its

characters. and to me it's warm without being cloying. that is how i responded to it. jeffrey: i'm just thinking about "barbie" getting back to this big and small and that moment of "barbie." and i think you had "oppenheimer" as one of your favorites from the year. that moment of "barbie" and "oppenheimer," was that a how does it feel now? was it a one off? did it had a lasting effect? justin: it's hard to say. i mean, it did feel like one of those unpredictable and perhaps unrepeatable phenomena. i remember going into a theater not even to see "barbie" or "oppenheimer," both of which i enjoyed very much in different ways. i went to see another movie and just seeing theaters like crowded on a monday night. and i think the lessons of both these movies is that personal vision and big budget blockbuster filmmaking can and should merge together in a way that they so rarely do.

my concern about it is that it was so heartening to see two filmmakers that i respect as much as greta gerwig and christopher nolan succeed in this way. my fear is that it just contributes to the event-ization of movies. i love event movies. i love being enthralled with an audience to a really big, glorious vision. but as a film critic, i'm concerned with the audience going to movies on a regular basis to make it a regular part , of their entertainment diet rather than just an exception. but what a glorious exception it was. jeffrey: you want to give us another one that fits any category you like. i mean, what are you telling people at this time of year that you should see? linda: i cannot resist bringing up one that i really liked, that i know just and didn't like at all. sometimes that's the most interesting. which is "saltburn," which is this very extravagantly vulgar, loopy thriller that was made by emerald fennell, who made "promising young woman" a couple of years ago. >> my parents, they've got problems. >> what do you mean, problems? >> i don't think i'll ever go

home. linda: very divisive movie. i knew walking out of the theater how divisive it was. i've actually really enjoyed talking to people about it. i've heard a lot of smart people who can't stand it and really smart people who thought it was terrific. it's my favorite thing that happens is when people have smart conversations about divisive things. jeffrey: ok. justin, you can either push back on that or maybe go positive and come up with another one that divided people but you liked. justin: in the spirit of holiday charity i will say that while i , did not like saltburn as linda says, i do think that rosamund pike gives one of the great comic performances of the year in it, and jacob elordi, who was also great in sofia coppola's priscilla really does terrific work in saltburn as well. linda: very generous. justin: you're welcome. another favorite of mine to branch into animation is the boy and the heron, which is the latest and maybe the last, although we've heard that before, from the 82 year old japanese anime master hayao

miyazaki. if you like spirited away and princess mononoke and howl's moving castle and other miyazaki films, it's a safe bet you'll like this one, too. it's a gorgeously drawn and surreal and inventive piece of animation, but what makes it so moving is it's also very much the story of an older man, perhaps miyazaki himself, looking back at a younger version of himself and asking questions like, how do we reconcile the pain of the real world and the escapism of fantasy? it's a beautiful film, and i think a profound one, too. jeffrey: and just in our last minute, linda it's hard to talk , about this year without, of course, thinking about the strike. do you see any impact now or are you looking for it to come or where has that left things? linda: you'll see some films that are delayed. there are some that are already being delayed. so it's going to take a while for the schedule to kind of reset. but i you know, i was so heartened by the fact that, you know, we've mentioned just a handful of movies here, but there are so many that were great this year that are still coming out. american fiction is great.

i like the iron claw, which is about to come out. jeffrey: justin, brief last word? justin: i am just heartened by the fact that even though the as devastating as the strike was, you know, i think writers and actors are happy to return to work. and i think they've seen that the power that solidarity can accomplish and that they can and should be remunerated in accordance with their work. i mean, they make this business run. and so it's just a shame that it took the devastating losses and just pain of the strike in order to accomplish that. so but hopefully this season will be a good one for all of them. jeffrey: all right. justin chang of the los angeles times, linda holmes of npr pop happy hour. culture happy hour. thank you both very much. linda: thank you. justin: thank you for having me. ♪ amna: we close tonight's program heading into christmas weekend with a newshour tradition. each year, the pentagon's

service produces a holiday song with members of the military singing. tonight we have "oh come all ye faithful" with a bit of a twist. ♪ ♪ >> ♪ o come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant o come ye, o come ye, to bethlehem come and behold him

born the king of angels o come let us adore him o come let us adore him o come let us adore him christ the lord ♪ ♪ ♪ saying choirs of angels sing in exultation sing all you citizens of heaven above

glory to god glory in the highest o come, let us adore him o come, let us adore him o come, let us adore him christ the lord ♪ ♪ ♪ o come, all ye faithful joyful and triumphant o come, o come ye to bethlehem o come and behold him, born the

king of angels o come, let us adore him o come, let us adore him o come, let us adore him christ the lord ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ amna: how is that for holiday spirit? ever wonder what our favorite holiday traditions are here at the newshour? on our tiktok account, my colleagues and i weigh in on everything from caroling to fruitcake. be sure to tune into washington week with the atlantic tonight

on pbs. jeffrey goldberg and his panel discuss the colorado supreme court decision to leave trump off the ballot and what 2024 could bring. and tomorrow on pbs news weekend, the promise shown by one transatlantic flight that could help the aviation industry lower emissions. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> 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 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. at hewlett.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 contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

>> colorado throws a wrench into donald trump's plans. >> he is not a qualified candidate in the state. if the u.s. supreme court does not take the case or interbeing, he will not be on the presidential primary ballot. >> the supreme court ought to take this up as soon as possible. >> 2020 four was