tonight on kqed newsroom, donald trump becomes the third u.s. president in history to be impeached by congress. will democrats face the backlash next year at the polls. also, a controversial navigation center fothe homeless is set to open here soon in san francisc. we'll talk with the mayor about the center and other efforts ton combat homels in the city. >> and the holidays are around we'll hear from food experts onn fud tasty ways ma savors c of the season. good evening, welcome to ed newsroom. we begin with impeachment and the latest presidential debate. on wednesday night, after hours of empassioned appeals, the house of reesentatives passed two esarticlof impeachment against president trump charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of

congress. two democrats joined republicans in rejecting th articles while a third democrat cast his vote against the obstruction charge. also this week, seven democratic presidential hopefuls headedto california for a dete at loyola marymount university in los angeles. this time, it mayor pete buttigieg on the defensive clashing with senator warren over a rarecent fund iser held in napa valley. with me now is senior political writer for the san francisco chronicle, joe garafoli and l.a. times political reporter melanie mason. angeles. s us by skype from los welcomto you both. >> thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> great tohave you both here. joe, i want to start with you and we're going to do a bit of a mea culphere. am i crazy, it almost feels like there was not an impeachment of pra ident thick week. >> i felt the same way. we saw the adnes, president impeached. part of that, you know, is the

historical import, of couron, of three presidents to ever be impeached and at the same time, we knew this was coming for weeks. >> uh-huh. >> and we know where it's going. there is no suspense. >> there is an aspect climbatic thing happening. >> yes d we knowhow the storiens. it's too hard to get worked up about itcept for a couple of plot twists. >> speaking of where it's going, melanie to you in los angeles. speaker pelosi made itclear show may wait before handing over the articles of peachment to e senate. what is the strategy there in your view. i mean what is show think something. >> i think -- thinking? >> i think there are a couple of things at play. nancy pelosi is master technician of the legislature. counterpart in the senate, the republican leader, are masters of the arne process ease and the ways to dominate legislnging. it's fascinato watch the two of them square off. so i think byholding these

articles of impeachment, perhaps she's trying to get leverage when it comes to the trial, for example, perhaps she's waiting for some of the court deses to deif key trump administration officials will, in fact, havey to test as the house tried to get them to do. i think a lot of it is also tting under the president's skin, which the speaker really does have quote an ability to do. so the fact that we know the to the senate trial. ve quickly he thinks he will be cleared and in his words, exonerated in that senate trial, the fact that she's denying him the quick resolutions is probably a way to i rk him a bit. >> joe, what do you think at demogain by holding off on sending the articles over, if they end up doing that. >> i am baffled wha side gains. this to be over quickly. the republicans want it to be over quicklye they want the in a bow, the president 6on rated, let's move on to the elect.

the democrats, they ha won. they won their round. they, the president has been ac imd. >> uh-huh. >> and there is nothing more they can gain. it goedownhill for them. i get what pelosi is doing to try to stretcout the trial longer, but to what end. >> yeah. >> to what end. and you can have the campaign starting. you will have several senatorrings off of the campaignjurail to act as rs in the campaign. i don't see what the democrats win by agging it out. >> melanie, i want to ask you about public opinion. scating to see the poll from abc news and "the washington post" on the eve of impeachment. showing that americans are split on whether president ump should be moved. i want to ask you why do you think democrats are having a hard time hemaking case? >> well, i think there are a couple of things at play. the first, this is a irly complicated circumstance we're talking about. right, you're asking the american public to keep track of a lot of did tails about who

in ukraine talked to whom in the adnistration at what point and what was demanded and what was t. even though ink the house democrats did a fairly good job in presentlinear sort of narrative, still fairly complicated. but i think anmore that, it really reflects the major partisanship we're seeing across the country right now. the divisions have hardened so much, i think itwould take overwhelmming, stunning evidence to sway people from either side. i think people are really committed to their red or blue team. i am not sure the facts would sway them one way or another. >> is hard to disagree with that, melanie. we're going to switchgears and talk abo last night's debate. the first held here in california. at loya mary point unloyola marymot in los angeles. joe, i want to read what you had, basically in the the moderators for the debate the eve of the debate. you said start with what californians feel is their top

challenge. housing and homelessness. the questions on the topics have been rarer than a sub$2,000 rental and no questions on those stopics. were yprised in. >> zero. i was surprised. i was very was -- it's too bad for the di moderators thethat and us, too bad for e candidates. california starts to vote the same day as the iowa caucuses they want to show what i they know about california and how they derstand their oblems. they didn't get a chance to do n'that. they dt talk about homessness or housing and there is a quick talk about wildfirecland ate change, other than that, nothing about california. >> melanie, where do you think california was in this debate? what happened? >> that is surprising when it comes to housing d homelessness. the candidates have housing and homelessness plans, which is kind of a rarity for a national campaign. so it's not like they would no the have been prepar talk about the issue, if it was

brought up. perhaps they deserve blame for not thwedging issue in. lord knows a politician can find a way to get to the talking point, if they want to. i was surprised it was not something coming up from the moderators. it seems like a gimme, being out here in california. >> melanie, was there a clear winner in your view? >> i think severapeople walked away with a good night. i think the thing that jumped out was former vice president joe biden. i think this is one of his crispest, clearest debates. he had issues in the past debates of garbelling what he was trying to say. i found his answers to be concise and i found them to be pretty strong. i think that also, it was interesting to watch senator amy kobuchar from mihaesota who we been hearing on the ground in iowa for wes now, you n't count her out. show has the strong connections with rural voters and is putting the intime there. i think she showed a feisty sensibility specifically after going after petebuttigieg that

could sway some people into the final month of decision. >> how do atyou view >> i agree on the klobuchar point. twenty% of voters have no opinion of her. just like 20% have no opinion of mayor pete, surp singly enough. >> uh-huh. >> and klobuchar helped herself with the, and she had the most speaking time aft nit as well. mayor pete didn't have a good night. he was attacked for his lack of experience. he is mayor of e city that smaller than antioch, a suburb in the bay area. soand they went aftehim about that. >> how do you think he faired in response to e attack on the one cave in napa valley fund raiser? >> yes. yes. yes. that was not on my bingo card. neither was purity test. >> no, it s not. of course, some people in northern california are saying, hey, that is the proper way. the. >> th northern californiaians. and no, that is going. that may hurt him with the

progressive base because billionaires and millionaires are demonized in the trdemocrat el. and so to see, you know, this is something that has been brewing for weeks on the campaign trail. warren has been going on about it and it was callout in the open. he had to explain himself. the explanatn was that is the system we have, i am going to raise money and not go with oneh g behind my back. it was not a good look for him. >> before we let you go, joe, is want to you what you think the hokeyiest question of the evening was? >> the hokeyiest question, no doubt, was t the question ab what would you like to apologize for or what gift you would like to give. i can't wait to hear your response to this. know you're going to love this. the gendered response wegot, the female candidates, you know apologized, you know. warren said sometimes i come on too strong. the male candidates didn't apologize for anything. andrew yang said buy my book.

mel, come on>> what do you thin >> i think the breakdown of the gender responsewas stunning, and i think in the moment, was crazy on deadline it didn't land th me. and then there were some smart analysis pieces. the aty after pointed out and, man, the idea that you ha these two accomplished women senators and their first instinct is to apologize ng forgetworked up. they fight too hard or whatever. it signs like whhe hillary clinton,she was asked what her biggest negative was that show cared too much. the fact that women's instinct a was logize and the men was to self-promote. could write a whole gradschool thesis on that alone. >> we're going to leave things there, thanks to both yo for joining me. joe garafoli, writer at the san los angeles, via maskype, melan son of the l.a. times. have you both. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you. by the end of this month, a

200-bed homeless navigation center on san francisco's embarcadero will open the doors. the mayor london breed efforts to block its r, construction by neighbors who fear it will increase crime and drug use in the area. the supervisor matt haney introduced the legislation to secure sites in their district for silar shelters. more than 8,000 people in san francisco are homeless and nearly 20% increase from 2017. joining me now is san francisco mayor london breed. welcome to you. >> thank you. >> we have to start th this sort of lightning rod debate around the navigation center. i wanted to begin by asking you if you have been surprised by the tenure of the opposition? >> well, probably just disappointedpe i understand thatle who may not be familiar or comfortable with what they believe a traditional homeless shelter is near their home, i

ncern. ou know, it could of >> uh-huh. >> and that is why we had so many community meetings. that why we tried to explain to people that this is different than what we have done before. i have not deviated from my commitment that i made from day one to change how we provide shelter to homeless people. it can't just be in g.the even it has to be 24 hours and has to lead to something more permanent. so, we need to adopt is new motto and move it forward and provide opportunities all over san francisco. and it opens at the end of the year. a couple of days from now. it's designed to house 200 people. it's initially going to house 130 people to me undetanding. >> yes. >> why is that? >> people think we can open th places and like magic, they have staff and the resources that they need. people need to be hired and we need to make sure there is staff 24 hours. we want to make sure the number of people workinin this

facility meets the need of the hundred or 200 people that are going to be housed there. so, that just takes time. it's a very challenging process and very costly one. and it's just not as aseasy opening the beds and filling them and thinking we have sufficient staffing, too, to tom accommodate >> the criticism has been while you're doing this run-up, as man as 70 people who could be sheltered won't be sheltered. and what people are saying is that that meet have to do with this this -- this opposition from the neighborhood is so powerf and vocal fromthe neighborhood. >> we have an affordability crisis because we don'have enough housing, period. where do you think we get people to hour for this particular purpose? they don't just magically fall out of the sky. we have to w intervpeople and make sure they're qualified. we have to make sure they can work with the popution, which

can sometimes be quite challenging. people who suffer from mental illness and substance use disorder. people with real challenges. we have to make sure, and we have been working on ensuring there are staff available for this particular navigation center. it's not about trying to, you know, appeal to anyone. it's about being responsible and making sure we have what we need to make sure that it's a safe place for people to be. the commitments the city have made are fulfilled. >> and what has this experience taught you? i mean you were booed at meetings over this navigation center. >> it was not the first time an it won't be the last. the fact is, you know, we have to dothis. and i am not afraid to take a chance. i am not afraid to do what is necessary. i understand, look, this is not always a popularity contest. i am not here to be a mapolitic r. i am here to be a mayor that delivers on making san er francisco be what that means is in the

process, i am going to pass off some people. i am going to make some people happy. i can't do my job based on popularity. the focus has to be changed and moving san francisco forward. taking the risk and not being afraid to be booed or criticized or put down. e the end of day, we're going to be able to provide 200 new shelter beds. that is really what my goal is.n to provide oppoies to deal with the number one issue that we face in the city s that everyone taabout every day. and that is homelessness. >> speaking of goals, you have u set a very ambione of e eating 1,000 beds for homelesshow feasible you think goal is in practice? >> well, this year w this new navigation center, we have 566 towards thatgoal. we just announced another 75- bed transitional aid youth shelter. that is 75 beds.

we have a couple of others in the pipeline. al. e on the way to meeting the i am excited and grateful to so many people who have been involved in is process and helping to identify the locations. work wi non-profit service providers. the process. the fuffing. all of the ent layers that go into moving this forward. i want to eabe you know. having shelter beds t.is import having house -- housing, safe affordable places for homeless people tocall home, but average everyday san franciscans working in our restaraunts and driving our buses who are taking care of the city, people working in shelters. key have to make re they have, we have to make s have places to live. building houses faster has to be a top priority for us as well. >> and you're looking to make a really big hire in this area with a director your housing and community development office. how is that search going so far. >> we, hopefully, will be able to make a decision on that somer

time early income ye >> can you give us a sense of what qualities you're looking for in a candidate? >> i want some know who isve creainnovative and who understands the need to not only build affordable housing faster, but someone who understands the purpose of preservation of existing so many opportunities that we miss are looking us in the eye e where peare currently living. affordable housing all over san francisco. in the western edition where i you go up, properties that are extended past their lifetime that need to be repaired, we want to make sure we protect existing people in thei current homes says well as building more housing faster. >> i have a few seconds left with you. quickly, because president trump made a big issue out of homelessness in the state and in your city, in our city, wonder if you would ever trk wi president on this issue. would you accept help from him?

>> well met be heclear. hopefullrealizes he is the president of all of the united states, and not just who he talks la on a rebasis or tweets at, what have you. anyone willing to help us with this issue providing resources changes to policies that work for san franciscthat is who i am willing to work with. someone who genuinely cares about addressing the issue. sadly, time and time again, he's not proven he is someone who believes that. because he's attackingfrancisco speaker of the house nancy pelosi. it's all political and unfortate. we have yet see anything that has given us any indication he's going to ttdo anything . >> all right, mayor london brd of san francisco, it's a pleasure to have you. thank you. >> thank you. look around and the sights and sounds of the season abound from christmas trees trenchling with lights to skates carving figure 8es on as ice stores beckon shoppers

with gift ideas day and night. it's time to savor the festive flavors of the holidays best served warm in the company friends and family. with me to talk about food and cooking this seasonare sunset magazine food editor ellen fort and the chef and owner of prairie restaurant anthony strong. welcome to you both. >> thank you for having us. >> good to be here. >> we're going to start with top simple holiday tifor the season. let's go to you first, ellen. >> i can give a lot cooking tips. one thing people forget about and can affect the rest of the day is to not get hungry. that is -- hangry. that is t get hungry and angry. plan ahead whole you're cooking and ve a big cheese board. plenty of snacks. it's if up to put together a cheese board with a bunch of different fruits and slice madet and stuff. it can save the day when everyone is circling around. lot of time. .

how but, anthony? >> along the s.same li make it easy on yourself and interactive with your iends instead of trying to land an 8- course menu. bo crab and crack it together corating party or make dumplings or latkas, something t gets everybody involved so it doesn't fall on one person making dinner. >> right. thinking to the actual meal you're preparing, i happen to get stressed ouamwhen i cooking for a lot of people. for stress basset cans like me, what do you recommend, ellen, tocoo some of the ing for the bird or side dishes to get some of that going. a couple of days ahead of time. >> i recommend having plenty of things to set aside the night about of. onhristmas morning, i will have done a sausage casserole and put it in the fridge the t nifore knowky get up and

put it in there and do the whole morning section of things. anything the education that that yourecan ly prepare and, semble, i think, is the gem. >> uh-huh. >> how but? >> lyi compleagree. i always recommend to anyone hosting's party to order some takeout ahead of time so you're fed and ready to go and you're not worried about feeding you. you're going to be so l busy doing those other things, sometimes you forget toet. >> i am not mistaken, you have young kids, right? >> i do. yes. >> i have young kids and i want to include them, don't get me wrong, but they can provide distraction when you try to cook. >> yeah. >> what do you recommend for ge theming involved but not too involved? of nothing sharp or hot, courseeveryone knows that. in my personal life, i can't give them anything to measure. they can't measure anything. and i always recommend giving them things like herbs, pick

the lees off of the parsley and thome. you know. help me peel the oranges. anything they, parsley and thyme, you know. doesn't involve the integrity of the recipe. it's great but also kind o hard. >> yeah. all right. >> honesty. th well, one ofthings i think kids love to do. you see the kits everywhere you go during the holiday season, the gingerbread kits. anthony, you're sort of a connoisseur, if not a full-yoon know, expert at making gingerbread houses. i want toask you about, if you could begin by describing the y gingerbread houses learnd to main the last few years. >> i am t noa connoisseur, aut definitelinerd. i kind of went down the rabbit hole a few years ago and started nerding ouon gingerbread houses. i did e four stories tall and systolic to define gravity. >> the piping, if i am not

mistaken. >> tops of piping. yeah. and tons of piping. this year's house,we're teaching classes every saturday in december. >> at the restaurant. >> at the restaurant and people can come in and decorate. >> one of the thin interesting to me is you describe the process similar to construction, o posed to cooking. tell me about that. >> for me, straight up construction. we even make the gingerbread so durable, you can't crack it with the hammer. >> the intent is not to eat it. >> yeah, yeah. >> and just for vee look. >> i to slap the children's hands,way. when are we going to eat it? never, like so hard. >> light get real for a moment. i want yoto be honest. tell me your top holiday e.cooking deba >> oh, no. >> you want to go to you, first, ellen? >> sure. a couple of thanksgivings ago, i had an ambitious project. i didn't want to do a regular turkey, i decided do a turketta, in the style a of

porketta. you get the turkey dress, butterfly, and roll it up and tie it, the next day, s everyon the house and the guests were there and it was super bu. i wain full, going forward mode. i had this big boiling pot of oil. so, i dumped it in it to fry it and it displaced like half of al the oil over the stove top. >> oh, my gosh. >> and over evything. it was really a nightmare. not only because it was dangerous, but then i had to clean oil out of every crevace of the stovfor a long time. don't do that. >> that is painful to hear. anthon can you top that? >> i can barely, no. i can't top that. >> it was good. >> landed on the table? >> okay, there is a redeemable end to that story. what is yours? >> the holidays are a big deal , we tend to get in a lot of luxury ingredients. one year for new year's, we got

a bunch of white-and-black truffles. to keep them safe, i put them in the corner at the top of the refrigator where no one would find them. >> uh-huh. >> low and behold on new year's eve, as we're setting up for new year's eve nighi found out one of the prep cooks in the morning opened up the ntainer and was liwhat are the ugly weird smelling anthing threw them in the trash. they were long gone and i ended up having to hustle around the city buying truffles from a couple of other >>restaurants. oh, my gosh. >> they were gracious enough to sell them to us. >> i thk they're cheap and affordable, right? >> they're supercheap. >> before we go, won't to talk about the gifts for the holidays that might help the cooking process along is season. ellen, you put together a gift guide for the people like me wa who are behind on the

holiday shopping. for things ople can use as they're doing the holiday prep, what are some of the items on that list? >> if someone doesn't have one, you have to buy it for yourn friend is a cast ifriend. >> uh-huh. >> they lost forever and become an heirloom. once they're good in season, you can cook anything in it. like a staple. the other thing that fun is a japanese butterknife. of the fridge, you can't spread it, it has holes in it and curls the butter, making it easy to spread. one of those things you won't buy for yourself. fun and useful. >> and you can never have to much butter. anthony, how but? >> i go for microplan. >> all right. >> and describe what that is r ople. >> they have many different varieties. they're super sharp graters and zesters for cheeses and all of that stuff. >> it's great to have you both here. ellen fort is the food editor at sunset magazine and anthony

strong is the chef and owneat prairie restaurant. thank you to both of you r coming in. >> thanks for having us. happy holidays. that is it for us. you can see more of ellen's gift ideas at ansunsetgift.com you can find more on us at kqed.org/newsroom. we'll see you the new year.

robert: president trump confronts impchment and history. >> our founders' vision of a republic is under threat. that is why today as speaker of the house i solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the united states. robert: president trumps impeached.ol triggeringical war in the house. >> i will fight this on process which has been deplorable. robert: on the campaign trail. >> nancy pelosi's house democrats he planted themselves with an eternal mark of shas. and it' a disgrace. robert: and in the senate -- >>his particularouse of representatives has let i partisan rage create a toxic