amna: evening. i'm on another vase. -- amna naawaz. geoff: on the newshour tonight, russian opposition leader alexei navalny's reported in siberian prison sparks a global outreach to hold vladimir putin to account. amna: the u.s. seeks to reassure nato allies as former president trump threatens to attack nations that do not pay out. -- pay up. we speak with the estonian prime minister about the allies.

>> these statements are making us worried because the united states has been the biggest ally. geoff: and a judge hands down a more than $350 million penalty and limits how former president donald trump can do business in new york because of civil fraud. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style, all with cunard's white star service.

>> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy and the robber and virginia schiller foundation. >> the john s. and jam es l. knight foundation. fostering engaged communities. 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 contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

geoff: welcome to the newshour. a new york judge has issued a steep penalty to former president trump for inflating his wealth to deceive banks and others. we will have more on that in a few minutes, but first to russia, where alexei navalny is reported dead this evening. amna: russian authorities claimed he died early today at the remote arctic prison where he was often held in isolation. the 47-year-old anticorruption campaigner and politician had for years exposed the hidden fortunes of many top russian officials, including vladimir putin, incurring their wrath. president biden said the news of his death in russia where many opposition figures have been killed did not surprise him, but it did outrage him. he went from being vladimir putin's staunchest critic to leading russia's strongest anticorruption movement and eventually russia's most prominent political prisoner.

>> i believe, i am confident and declare they are not the masters of our country and never will be. and a huge number of people agree with me. amna: russian prison authorities say he died in the arctic circle where he was serving a 19 year sentence on extremism charges seen as politically motivated. prison services said navalny fell ill after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness. he was last seen in yesterday's court hearing, alive but gaunt after three years in prison, and seemingly laughing and well. his wife took the stage at the munich security conference hours after he was reported dead. >> cannot believe putin's government. they always live. but if this is true, i want putin and his entire entourage to know that they will bear

direct response ability for what has happened, and this day will come very soon. amna: at the white house this afternoon president biden was unequivocal. >> make no mistake, putin is responsible for navalny's death. amna: alexei navalny was born outside of moscow. in the late 1990's, uribe law degree and -- he earned a law degree and grew into russia's most well-known political opposition figure crusading against corruption. he called vladimir putin's united russia party the party of crooks and thieves. he led mass protests in 2011 and again in 2012, when it was clear president putin would regain the presidency. our margaret warner interviewed navalny then. >> this is not an election. this procedure is aimed at only one thing, the appointment of

prime minister putin once again for president. seemingly for life. amna: in 2013 he broke into politics with a mayoral run in moscow. though he did not win, he beat the incumbent putin back to mayor. -- putin backed mayor. house arrest followed in 2014 for embezzlement and convictions on fraud and money laundering, charges navalny denied. despite being barred from running, in 2016 he announced he would run against vladimir putin for the presidency in 2018. more arrests and repression followed. a 2017 detention for an unsanctioned rally. one of the country's largest opposition demonstrations in years. 187 cities, tens of thousands of russians all protesting corruption. despite repeated threats, navalny forged on with his anticorruption foundation, investigating russia's elite and bypassing state run media with youtube videos garnering

millions of views. >> this is our country and these swindlers are stealing our money. everyone should fight however they can. amna: his fight nearly killed him once already. in 2020, navalny was in a coma for two weeks after being poisoned by a lethal nerve agent. russia denied poisoning him but a recorded call to a russian intelligence agent, featured in this 2022 cnn documentary, revealed the poison was planted in his underpants. >> [speaking russian] amna: despite being evacuated to germany for treatment, he made the decision to return to russia in 2021. he was jailed as soon as he landed in moscow and has been behind bars ever since. today, hundreds gathered across european cities, chanting anti-putin slogans and blaming him for navalny's death.

even across rsia, where dissent is punished, residents mourned his death. >> he has a russian patriot. he wanted the country to become better. amna: navalny himself saw this day coming. >> my message for the situation when i am killed is very simple, don't give up. amna: for more on navalny's death and legacy, we are joined by andrew weiss. he served in the george w. bush and clinton administrations. he is now with the carnegie endowment for international peace. thank you for being here. andrew: it is good to be here. amna: knowing navalny's work and the threats he phased, were you surprised to hear this news? andrew: alexei navalny has cheated death multiple times. the kremlin gave its all by trying to poison him. but an assassin squad has been stalking navalny and his wife in the months prior. the fact that it told years of pressure on him, the physical toil, we still do not know exactly what happened at the

prison, we may never know the exact circumstances of his death, but he was put in the most difficult situation imaginable. amna: his death is still yet unconfirmed. do we have any reason to doubt this news? andrew: i don't suspect alexei navalny is still alive. amna: does the timing of his death stand out to you as significant? we are talking as world leaders gathered in the munich largely to counter russia. does that say anything to you? andrew: it is unclear if this was a deliberate act on the people of this important gathering in munich where vladimir putin delivered a thunderous speech in 2017 and basically was signaling to the world that russia would be on the march and would not put up with western prussia on it any more. russia is feeling emboldened. the war is starting to cut their way.

we have a presidential candidate in the united states who openly embraces vladimir putin and wants to support russia's line on ukraine. we have deadlock in the u.s. congress over continued military and economic support to ukraine. so we are seeing a moment of great defiance. amna: tell us more about navalny. he is easily the most prominent political opponent in russia. why was he seen as such a threat to putin and the kremlin? andrew: put this in perspective. russia's leader has stayed in power for nearly a quarter of a century by a lack of alternatives. vladimir putin and his political team have cleared the landscape of any significant opponent save navalny. and now for years, going back to the time when navalny was first put in prison in 2021, they have made sure this person could not challenge vladimir putin. there was no expectation putin would let navalny out as long as

he was sitting in the kremlin. at the same time, there is a sadistic glee where the kremlin has prompted russian opposition politicians, has tried to show how tough they are but has been very sadistic in applying selective pressure and trying to show the average russian, keep your nose out of politics. the cost is going to be too great. amna: what about the movement he built? is there a navalny in waiting in russia? andrew: unfortunately there is not. the russian opposition such as it was has fled the country in the wake of russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion into ukraine. the movement was under intense pressure from russian authorities, even in the months and years leading up to the attempted assassination of alexei navalny in the summer of 2020. the movement is largely in exile. you see it in its continued work on youtube. there are no grassroots politics. and the russian popular reaction

to navalny is one of passivity, inertia, and conformism. you don't see grassroots opposition to the putin regime. the putin regime largely sleeps comfortably in its bed. amna: you heard his wife say the kremlin must be held responsible. what does that look like? how should allies respond? andrew: president biden was pretty clear that the u.s. and our european partners have put unprecedented economic pressure on the russian government as a result of its aggression against ukraine. we have seen a war that has cost russia dearly. there is not a lot left in the toolkit in terms of further economic sanctions that will make vladimir putin cry uncle. i think we need to be braced for a long-term confrontation with russia. this is a formidable country that has an intense grievance against the united states. it has shown that it is willing to do pretty much anything to push back. amna: in the 30 seconds or so we have left, how would you

summarize what is navalny's legacy? andrew: one of tragedy. i think it is incredibly bleak right now. russia is largely aging and sitting on the sidelines politically. ople have gotten used to things that should not be acceptable. atrocities on the streets of major ukrainian cities and towns , unprovoked aggression against a neighboring country not looking for trouble. what we see is that alexei navalny was a symbol of hope for people, that there could be generational renewal, but the hard men in the kremlin have no interest in hope happening. amna: thank you for being here. andrew: thank you, amna. amna: let's turn to nick schifrin in munich for the annual security conference. nick, how did this news about alexei navalny land in munich? nick: it was a real shock wave,

the best way to describe it. i was with the congress as the news came in and it was received with horror that quickly became grief mixed with doubt about whether this was actually true. many have worked with navalny and his staff for many years. many of them started putting together statements that would blame putin and the kremlin though there is no official confrontation. it also instantly changed the conversation. as you know, a lot of the conversation coming into the conference was about former president donald trump and his comments about nato and the u.s. failure to deliver from congress absolutely vital military aid to ukraine that it needs in the next few weeks, and instantly the conversation became instead about russia and putin. amna: much of that conversation focused on former president trump and ukraine, but what about the conversation about former president trump and nato and ukraine? where was that today?

nick: still going through the halls of this international security conference, and perhaps it is no surprise that at an international security conference, most of the audience believes in international security cooperation. perhaps vice president harris earlier today was playing to the crowd when she suggested former president trump, whose name she did not actually use, was the outlier for suggesting that the u.s. should not defend countries that do not meet the 2% gdp threshold of defense. vice pres. harris: however, there are some in the united states who disagree. they suggest it is in the best interest of the american people to isolate ourselves from the world. let me be clear, that worldview is dangerous, destabilizing, and indeed, shortsighted.

nick: one of the attendees here is the estonian prime minister. i asked her earlier tonight to first respond to the news about alexei navalny. >> putin's playbook has not changed. we have seen a long list of political competitors he has eliminated. this is not a surprise considering he has been torturing navalny for years already. this is the way dictators work. in the dictators' handbook, what do you do? eliminate all the alternatives so the cronies around you, when they see you are going in the wrong direction, they have nowhere to turn to because there is no alternative. nick: was navalny murdered? >> i can't say that. we don't know. we don't see. but it is clear that the intention of the poisoning that took place some time ago, the imprisonment and the way he was

treated there, he was not treated well. nick: this week the estonian foreign intelligence service released a new assessment saying russia is preparing for a military confrontation with the west in the next decade. what is that based on, and can it be prevented? >> it can be prevented if we invest in our defense. if you think about the aggressor, the aggressor takes the step of attacking somebody when he thinks he can win because the other side is weaker. we have not taken the defense seriously enough, and that means all the nato allies have to do more. reporter: i want to ask about the u.s. is the united states a reliable partner? >> of course, all of these statements from the united states are making us worried because the united states has been the biggest ally. the only time article five has

been used is when u.s. called us. this is something we need to do together. i mean, when you have aggression that pays off, some part of the world, it will invite other aggressors in the world start wars elsewhere. nick: does europe need to assume that the united states cannot defend europe and cannot provide europe a nuclear umbrella anymore? >> i don't think so. we have the agreements in place in nato. all the structures are in place. what we have to do ourselves is to do more. like i said before. but the united states has been a reliable partner. and we hope they will be in the future as well. nick: you say we hope. former president trump has said twice now in the last week or so that perhaps the u.s. should not defend nato allies

that do not meet that 2% gdp threshold. perhaps the u.s. congress can restrain a future president trump from leaving nato, but isn't the damage already done, isn't the damage to article five the doubt that is being sown that the u.s. would not come to nato's allies? >> it has been a wake-up call for many european countries that have not done enough, and i think it is a positive thing, if they start to do more. but statements like this, we are watching them and trying to figure out, but this is not a surprise. presidential candidate trump, when he was president, he had the same ideas. but what i was going to say is over 60% of american experts go to europe, not to asia. to europe. it is to the benefit of your people, your jobs, your

employment, your prosperity, that we are really tied to each other, so if something happens in europe, it has a clear effect on the american economy. nick: the u.s. house of representatives so far has not accepted anymore military aid to ukraine. in eastern ukraine, we are already seeing a region about to fall because of a shortage of ukrainian weapons. and there are worries that without this military aid, ukraine will run short of air defense and the next few months. some are worried ukraine will lose the war if the u.s. house does not send the money. do you share that concern? >> definitely we have to help ukraine, and we have to help them more, because they are defending their country. if you think about the countries

in the ramstein coalition supporting ukraine militarily, the combined defense budgets are 13 times bigger than that of russia's heavily inflated one. nick: but without the u.s., doesn't that number change dramatically? >> europe has done more than the u.s., but america has an important share. it is something we have actually calculated. if all the ramstein coalition countries were to commit to 0.25 percent of the gdp military to ukraine, this breaking point for the war could be there. nick: ukraine has been sent more than $80 billion of military aid from the west. this past year, it did not achieve its lowest goals for the counteroffensive. what can it achieve with more military aid even if the house releases it that it has not already? >> if they have long-distance weapons, if they have real

weapons to defend themselves, then they can push back russia. the breaking point in all these elements could be much nearer. of course we can't also say, let's walk away and you get this territory and aggression pays off. if aggression pays off, it serves as an invitation to a -- to use it elsewhere. then we will wake up in a much more dangerous world. nick: how do you see the war ending? >> i see the war ending with russia going back to russia. that is very simple and easy. nick: prime minister, thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ amna: in a stunning financial blow, a judge in new york fined donald trump and his business associates more than $350

million, ruling they engaged in a years long efforts to inflate the value of their assets. the judge also barred donald trump from serving as an officer or director of any business in new york state for three years. the new york attorney general who prosecuted the case celebrated the decision today, saying in a statement, "no matter how powerful you think you are, no one is above the law." the former president blasted the ruling in a statement on social media, writing, "the justice system in new york state and america as a whole is under assault bipartisan, deluded, biased judges and prosecutors." william brangham has been following the case closely and joins us now. william, by all accounts, a fine of $350 million is a punishing financial blow to former president trump. tell us more about the judges ruled today.

william: this is a stunning legal and financial blow to the former president. donald trump himself is ordered to pay more than $350 million. his two sons each have to pay $4 million. trump's chief financial officer has to pay a million dollars. donald trump is barred from running any business in new york. his sons are barred for two years. the judge also ruled that an oversight monitor will stay on her job. she will also have the authority to appoint an independent compliance monitor who will keep an eye out going forward. there is no doubt that donald trump will appeal this ruling but based on a statement of his own assets from this trial itself, this penalty could basically cost though former -- the former president all of his current, available cash savings. amna: in prosecuting this case,

letitia james argued trump and his associates committed repeated fraud. the judge agreed. can you remind us specifically of what mr. trump and his associates were found guilty of doing. william: the prosecution, and now the judge affirms this, that over a decade long period, the trump organizations inflated the assets of their holdings. they put out statements that exaggerated their true net worth. they did this so that banks and insurance companies would look at those companies and say they are rosier than was true. over the years they have benefited enormously from what the judge called blatantly false financial statements. for example, they tripled the square footage of a luxury penthouse. they said real estate projects that were not completed were completed. they said they had millions of

dollars in cash on hand that they could control when they could not. the judge was withering towards the former president and his company, saying they were unwilling to acknowledge this fraud and were not willing to about -- t-- to vow to do differently going forward. in his ruling he wrote, "their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. they were accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. the documents proved those over and over again. donald trump is not bernard made off, but the defendants are incapable of issuing the error of their ways." the judge in his ruling issued this large financial adjustment against them and barred them from working in new york state for years to come. amna: william, thank you so much. reporter: you are welcome. ♪

stephanie: here are the latest headlines. two juveniles have been charged in the shootings at kansas city's super bowl parade. they are accused of gun violations and resisting arrest and more charges are expected. the shooting came wednesday outside kansas city's union station as the parade was winding down. one person was killed. two people were injured. president biden issued a cease-fire in gaza and biz in a netanyahu -- benjamin netanyahu pushed back. they had a phone conversation overnight. netanyahu dismissed pressure, saying israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the palestinians. later, president biden focused on halting the fighting.

pres. biden: there has to be a temporary cease-fire to get the prisoners out. i am still hopeful that can be done. and in the meantime, i don't anticipate -- i'm hoping -- that the israelis will not make any massive land invasion. stephanie: the un's international court of justice rejected south africa's call for urgent action to safeguard rafa, and evidence emerged that egypt is building a buffer zone along the border with rafa. it is feared an israeli attack there would drive more than a million refugees into egypt. satellite images show plots of land being leveled on the egyptian side and the makings of a concrete wall. earlier this week, cranes were seen working in the area. spillover tensions from the war in gaza roiled the red sea again today. missile fire from who the fighters -- houthi fighters in

yemen targeted a vessel. they have links to iran and have demanded that israel end its war on gaza. ukrainian troops have run short of ammunition, and tonight there army chief said in a social media post that troops are withdrawing to avoid encirclement after a four month battle. ukrainian president below to near zelinski -- ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy has made security deals with two european allies. in paris today, zelinski signed a long-term military package with the french president. in berlin, he reached an agreement with german chancellor olaf scholz. he also expressed hope that american help will still come through. >> i expect the united states will not drop out. there are some hotheads in the u.s. involved in the political

process. despite the complexities and the house of representatives, i expect a pragmatic american approach will be found and they will be protecting the security of the world. stephanie: japan's space agency successfully launched its new flagship rocket today for a test flight one year after the first failed due to ignition trouble. the rocket lifted off from southwestern japan for a two hour flight, a bid to restore the country's aging space program and i practiced launch orders from global clients. still to come, president biden visits ohio one year into the long recovery from a toxic train derailment. we look at the week's political headlines. and the iowa phenom who broke the ncaa women's basketball record for most career points. >> 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.

geoff: it is been more than a year since a toxic train derailment devastated the small ohio town of east palestine. the initial fire and controlled burn of chemicals a few days later left residence concerned for their health and safety. after much anticipation and some criticism, president biden visited the community for the first time today. president biden met with officials on the ground who updated him on their ongoing cleanup efforts. pres. biden: we tested the air, water, soil quality. we provided emergency loans for local businesses. but there is more to do. geoff: the president pledged support and that he is holding norfolk southern accountable. pres. biden: there are acts of god. this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable. geoff: but for former east

palestinian resident lonnie miller, the president's visit was too little too late. >> it has been more than a year. we needed him last february. he could have stepped up and demanded more help for us and not forced us to go to norfolk southern for help. geoff: the rail line runs across the street from the home miller shared with her husband and son who grew up admiring the train. she said her family's feelings changed after the fiery the rail meant. >> the thing that we would love watching outfront from our living room window is now the thing that most terrifies us. i am terrified it will happen again. geoff: she is now packing up the last of her belongings from the house she lived in for 30 years. her family took out a loan to relocate 10 miles away. >> our house has been on the market for over 100 days.

we have not had a request for a showing. it kills me because i loved it so much and nobody wants it. geoff: miller has grown distrustful of norfolk southern and resents her government has directed her till ask the railroad for help. >> we are being told to go to them, the ones that did this to us. we should not have to go to them for help. geoff: since the derailment, norfolk southern has pledged to make it right and says it is given the town more than $100 million of community support including an upgrade to the city park. some residents are receptive. >> i think the railroad is doing the best they can. they are putting more money in the park than the whole town is worth, except for the love of the people in the town. you've got to give them credit for that. >> they have not left town. they are not leaving town. could have had somebody just go

inside the railroad. they did not do that. some people spend the rest of their life trying to chastise them. >> some of us want to move on, and then there are other people who want to fight about everything. and it is very divided right now. geoff: but for barb, 30 year resident of ease palestine, watching the division in her once close-knit knit community play out has been painful. she is most concerned about the perception of east palestine, now best known for being the site of a toxic train derailment. >> i don't think this town will ever be the same. i think we are going to be feared for a long time. people will believe whatever they want. geoff: just blocks from her home, she turned her crafting hobby into a business, selling her wares in a shop just outside of town.

but she has noticed an uneasiness in her customers. >> i have run into some people that say, where are you from and i would say east palestine and they would put my items back, because they are afraid that something is in the fabric. and it hurts. geoff: for ashley, the fear is warranted. >> these are the symptoms they have experienced. almost everything. geoff: concerned her community's health issues were being ignored, she started compiling the symptoms residence said they were experiencing, including her own. she lived two blocks from the derailment site. >> i could only last in town for about 10 minutes before having serious issues. in early february i was vomiting after i went into my house. it was that intense. geoff: for the last year, she has been living in a hotel nine miles outside of east palestine with her boyfriend and seven-year-old son. she is hesitant to sell her home

. she says it is not safe to live in. norfolk southern has been paying for her expenses, but she is not sure it will continue. >> people walking into their homes having nosebleeds, chronic problems, memory problems. this should be taken care of differently. it feels like you have to beg the person that did this to do something for us and it's not ok. geoff: for now her family lives in limbo with an uncertain future ahead. one year later there are still many questions about safety standards for all trains, especially ones carrying hazardous materials. we are joined by secretary of transportation pete buttigieg. i want to start with one of the questions we heard most often from folks in east palestine , and that is why it took president biden more than a year to visit. sec. buttigieg: the president went at the invitation of the mayor.

the commitment of this administration to the people of east palestine did not end when the media firestorm left. it continues, and we will be with the people of east palestine for as long as it takes. there are different sides to the response. the epa is holding norfolk southern responsible for the cleanup. fema has been involved. for our department, the process is making sure things like this can't happen again, which is why we have taken so many steps on real safety policy and are pressuring congress to do more. geoff: despite intense scrutiny from regulatory agencies since the derailment, rail accidents have increased. what accounts for that? sec. buttigieg: we are doing everything we can with the authorities that we have. focused inspections. a new role requiring emergency as gabe breathing apparatus to

protect crewmembers on trains creating these hazardous materials. safety advisories, other measures. but the simple reality is we need a stronger hand and congress should give that to us with the bipartisan railway safety act. i will give you just a couple examples. one thing that legislation would do is lift the statutory cap that prevents my department from finding a railroad anything more than low six figures, even for an egregious violation that leads to a fatality, which is enough to get multibillion-dollar corporations to change their behavior. it would also accelerate the adoption of safer equipment and standards that on our own would take too long or we lack the authority to do. there was a lot of noise about this a year ago. but one year later, i think because of intense lobbying against this by the railroad industry, it has been difficult to get many members of the congress on the record on whether they are for or against

this safety act, though it had democratic and republican cosponsors at the time. geoff: i spoke with the ceo of norfolk southern on this program about the bipartisan real safety act, and he said he supports what he calls a data driven safety standards like more heat sensors on railways, but he does not support the proposed mandate to have at least two crewmembers on trains. the industry wants to have in most cases one engineer on trains that could be miles long. the train that the rail was almost two miles long. -- that to rail -- sec. buttigieg: you have a train that is two miles or longer, we want to have more than one human being on that train. we are continuing to work with authorities to advance in rule frozen during the trump administration to make that possible during a regulatory authority, but congress can make that happen much more quickly,

and that is one of the provisions in the railway safety act. we are not talking about an industry that is hurting for the ability to put human beings on the job. they have cut thousands of railway workers out of the workforce and are incredibly profitable, some would say ridiculously profitable today. the idea that they want to go even further and have these trains going through american communities with just one person on board, i think it flies in the face of common sense. geoff: the industry has lobbied against this bipartisan safety bill, and for the most part they are largely self regulated and self policed. what more can you do in terms of accountability to hold the industry accountable, or are your hands tied without action from congress? sec. buttigieg: how hands are limited without congress. we are advancing all the tools at our disposal, regardless of

what congress does. there were other things congress did to reduce our department's ability to press things like the adoption of safer tank cars that would be less likely to rupture in a crash. the railroad industry is famously one of the most powerful in this country. it has wielded power in this country famously since the 19th century. but there were a lot of people who stood up in the wake of what happened in east palestine i -- a year ago saying we have to do better as a country. the question is, where are they now? geoff: we appreciate your time. sec. buttigieg: thank you. ♪

geoff: from the reported death of outspoken putin critic alexei navalny, to donald trump's latest legal blow, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. president biden said today there is no doubt that vladimir putin's government is behind the death of alexei navalny. i want to start with your reaction and assessment of the implications. >> it was shocking because of who navalny was in terms of opposition. a well-known opponent of vladimir putin. but also because of the timing. the munich security conference is happening right now. it is the most important gathering of national security and foreign policy leaders from around the world. and the announcement of navalny 's death came a few hours before vice president harris was

supposed to speak, which was known. mrs. navalny was there to do a panel with former secretary of state hillary clinton. this comes after we had been listening to donald trump saying if nato does not pay its bills, then russia can do whatever the hell they want. this sends an incredibly chilling message to the world that vladimir putin probably feels very emboldened. and when there is a major candidate running for president of the united states saying what he is saying, putin probably feels confident that he will have a friend in the white house and can do whatever he wants. geoff: we heard andrew weiss say earlier that there is a suggestion that the u.s. will be locked in a confrontation with russia for years to come.

what does this suggest about vladimir putin's grip on power? >> he is an expansionist and an authoritarian. from jimmy carter until about george w. bush, american foreign policy thought it was important to champion democracy. after iraq, we have stopped. but every country in the world still believes in democracy. that is a reminder to me that we are not going to invade countries, but we should be on the right side of history. we should use whatever realm we have to put democracy back in action again to the center of american foreign-policy. as for vladimir putin, he is who he says he is. the ukraine is a start, the polish people are worried for a reason. in retrospect, it looks terrible that we did not give the ukrainians every weapon system

we ended up giving them eventually back when they had momentum. geoff: we can add to this news what we learned this past week, that russia is reportedly developing space-based capability to take out satellites with a nuclear weapon. how will the u.s. respond? how will this affect the ongoing debate on the hill about ukraine aid? >> in my heart, i hope it would change hearts and minds, that would change the political dynamic, but i don't see it changing anything. the characters up there are unmoved by fax -- unmoved by fax, unmoved by the united states for filling its commitments to ukraine. fine, maybe they do not care because president biden is the one who says that what is happening in ukraine is a war between democracy and autocracy,

but at some point they are going to be faced with the realization that if ukraine falls, than they are going to be talking about poland or estonia or the other baltic states. i would hope that the idea of a nuclear space weapon would turn them around, but not with these folks. geoff: do you think this would help focus the minds of people in congress? >> i was surprised at capitol hill last week. but the republicans in the house or two coalitions with different approaches. one is a skinnier bill where it would be $60 billion in military assistance. there is another section that says if we can get concessions from democrats on immigration to let people remain in mexico while they await asylum claims, we will give them the whole foreign aid package. there is still a lot of momentum. that did not need to happen. i am more optimistic than i was. geoff: special counsel david weiss charged a former fbi

informant with lying about president joe biden and his son hunter's business dealings with the ukrainian energy company burisma. it undercuts a major aspect of republican impeachment inquiries into president biden. what do you see as the fallout, jonathan? >> in a perfect world, the chairman would say we are done here, our chief person we have been arresting everything on was caught lying to the fbi, we are done, we are going to go focus on some other things. but when you ignore the facts and are devoid of shame, you can do whatever you want. but we are hearing is we are going to forge ahead. i guess i am the dour one at this table when it comes to congress and particularly the republican majority. it might change the conversation

around this table, but it is not going to change anything in terms of the course of action already underway on the hill. geoff: is your view equally as dower? >> no. what we have seen with the smirnov case where he was lying, and you have the people claiming election fraud in georgia, we are saying that the trump administration attracted a lot of con artists, and those con artists are now running up against the legal system. the legal system does not work by epistemic nonsense. you have to have evidence. you have to make claims and claims are tested. we are seeing a lot of people in trump world running against that and being blown away by the system. geoff: the judge has ordered former president trump and his companies to pay more than 300 -- more than $350 million in this civil fraud case. a major financial blow, but also to his persona, having built his

brand on building a successful businessman and leveraging that into the white house. >> and as a result of these court cases, he is still making money. every time there is a ruling or judgment against him, there goes a fundraising email asking for money for his campaign. i can't remember if it is his daughter-in-law who is now the incoming vice chair of the rnc who says we are going to use every dollar we have in defending donald trump. larra trump, his daughter-in-law. -- lara trump, his daughter-in-law. you hit on the key thing -- this judgment hits at his idea of himself, a very wealthy man. it is why he went to all of those hearings when he didn't need to be there, because that, for him, is the existential threat. we will find out if he does have nearly a half million dollars to put up to fulfill this judgment.

and when you add on the $83 million judgment in the e. jean carroll case, we are talking more than half a billion dollars that he is liable for. we are about to find out if he actually has the money. >> cafe billion dollars is real -- half a billion dollars is real money. >> this is the case they got under his skin, because it goes to his core. i think people can understand -- the guy had three sets of books. he had the baker books where he inflated assets, the irs books where he deflated assets, and he must've had the real books. people can understand that is fraud. and if he has to pay the money, i think that will be bad. he said he has $4 million roughly. we can expect he has inflated that money. if he cannot come up with the money, in this case, they will

start seizing assets. imagine what that will do to the trump psychology. and then you get the part already in the judgment which is that he cannot be a businessman in new york state for three years. this is the family business. the family got kicked out of the family business. all these to me are psychologically derailing things for donald trump. i would expect we are going to have some sort of counter reaction, and i don't know what it is going to look like, but i suspect it will be there. geoff: and you have a judge rejecting his bid to toss the hush money case that was expected to start next month. that was expected to be the weakest of all the cases, but looking at the totality, what will the net effect of this be? >> he is going to be in a courtroom. we will go from the theoretical to the real. i am looking forward to it because the dude needs to be held accountable in a court of law. geoff: jonathan capehart and

david brooks, have a good weekend. good to see you. ♪ amna: caitlin clark is now the all-time leading scorer for ncaa women's basketball. the iowa superstar made history last night when she broke the record on her home court, leading fans to erupt in cheers. just over two minutes into the game, caitlin clark sank her signature shot, a deep three-pointer, and claimed her place in history, upsetting now wnba player kelsey plum's 2017 record. plum had 3527 career points in 139 games. clark has scored 3569 in just 126. clark needed eight points to

break the record. she scored 49 and led the hawkeyes to a decisive win over the wolverines. during the game, a quick timeout to celebrate clark. >> you knew i was going to shoot a logo three for the record. come on now. reporter: after the game, the 22-year-old reflected on what this means to her. >> i'm very grateful to be surrounded by those that have been my foundation. reporter: and for the history of the sport. >> so many have come before me and laying a foundation for women's basketball, and that has to be celebrated too. reporter: that includes lynette woodward, who holds the all-time division record by 1981, before the ncaa included women's sports. and pearl moore, the overall record holder with 4061 points. records aside, clark is widely seen as a once in a generation talent. >> caitlin clark is one of the

most transcendent scorers. she is a complete player. beyond that, she has attracted so much attention to the game and brought new eyes and viewers in a way i do not think we have seen anyone do. reporter: sold-out arenas, long lines and record-breaking viewership. a phenomenon dubbed the caitlin clark effect. >> the way she has been able to do this in her home state is really special and people have been able to resonate with it. people come from all over to watch her. reporter: just 100 points shy of pete maravich's all-time scoring record, and with the possibility to lead the hawkeyes to their first ncaa title, all eyes are on number 22. amna: i had a chance to see her play in person. i have to say she is a real deal and a joy to watch. geoff: be sure to tune into

"washington week" tonight on pbs for a discussion of president biden's tough words for russian president vladimir putin. geoff: hamels -- amna: and on saturday for pbs news weekend, nick schifrin, sits down with egypt's foreign minister as the war in neighboring gaza drags on. and that is the newshour for tonight. geoff: thank you for joining us. have a great evening and an even greater weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- 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, 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. thank you. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington, and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

>>

♪ franklin: president bide within lashes out at rushier after putin's top critic dies in jail. presidident biden: putin is responsible. franklin: and calls on the house to fund criminal funding for ukraine. president biden: the failure to support ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. franklin: all this comes days after donald trump's criticism of nato