captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc judy woodruff.ood evening, i'm on the newshour tonight... >> the most important question is the question you must answer today. will the president, and the american people, get a fair trial? trial of president trump.chment abuse of power and obstruction of congress. the senate opens the next phasef ts historic session. we break down the day's highlights. p shington. away from president trumrives in davos, switzerland, touting the s. economy a denying the risks of the climate crisis. plus, amid a humitariane, catastro fragile life for those who survive. heartbreak and hope in northern syria. >> ( translated ): in my village i used to play with my friends at school.

my friends were killed in a airstrike, and i survived, then came here. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> on a cruise with americ cruise lines, you can experience historic destinations along the mississippi river, the columbia river and across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of small ships explore american landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> consumer cellular believes that wireless plans should reflect the amount of talk, text and data that you use. s offer a variety of no- contract wirelesans for people who use their phone a between.a lot, or anything in

to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewersike you. thank you. >> woodruff: it has been all impeachment, all day in the united states senate. the lawmakers have spent hours debating the rules that will govern the trial of president

trump. nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> schifrin: for the first time this century... >> you will do impartial justice according to the constitution and laws, so help you god? >> schifrin: and the third time >> all persons are commanded to keep silent, on pain of imprisonment. >> schifrin: the senate launched a presidential impeachment trial white houscounsel, pat pollone: >> the only conclusion will be absolutely nothing wrong, and that these articles of n impeachment begin to approach the standard required by the constitution.if >> sn: lead house manager and chairman of the house intelligence committeedam schiff:ha >> conductabuses the power of his officfor personal benefit, that undermines our national security, that invites foreign interference in our democratic process of an elecon. co is the trifecta of constitutional muct justifying impeachment. >> schifrin: at question, whether president trump abused

his power by pressuring ukraine to announce investigations into the 2016 election andemocratic presidential candidate joe biden, by withholding $400 million in military aid that ukraine uses in its conflict with russia. and whether esident trump obstructed congresby refusing to hand er documents and blocking senior officials from testifying. >> when the president places himself beyond accountability, above the law, cannot be indicted, cannot be impeached, it makes him a monarch, the very evil against which our constitution and the balance of powers it carefully laid out was designed to guard against. >> schifrin: four thousand miles away, president trump feted world leaders in davos, at the world's premiere economic forum. he predicted his exoneration. >> i'm in europe today because companies into our country with thousands of jobs, millions of c jobs in maes. so, that whole thing is a total

hoax. so, i'm re it's going to rk out fine. he schifrin: senators today will be voting onrial rules. originally, senate majority leader mitch meaonnell wanted side to present for 24 total hours, across two days. under pressure from te republicans, he changed that to 24 total hours, over three dayse he also althe house impeachment investigation to be admitted as evidence. the rules allow for this morning's opening arguments, each sides' presentations, senator's written questions submitted through chief justice joen roberts and vote on allowing additional evidence and witnesses. >> that's because it sets up a structure that is fair, even- handed and tracks clstely with recedents that were established unanimously. >> schifrin: mcc supported by president trump's personal attorney jay sekulow: >> we believe what senator mcconnell has put forward provides due process, allows the hearings to proceed in an orderly fashion.

>> schifrin: in 1999, senators approved the first phase of the clinton impeachment trial, 100 to 0. this time the vote's expected to senate minority leader chuck schumer accused republicans of manipulating the clinton trial rules.ow >>eader mcconnell just said he wants to go by the clinton rules. then w did he change them in ur important ways at minimum to make the trial less d transparent, less clear th less evidence? schifrin: democrats tried to amend the rules to subpoena white house documents, and urged senators to vote to interview witnesses and read documents blocked from house democrats. >> you must allow to c relevant witness. >> schifrin: president trump's impeachment was the fastest in history, and republicans accused democrats of a rush to jgement against a president they always

wanted impeached. al>> they're not here to sne election. they're here to steal two elections.it buried in the small print of their ridiculous articles of impeachment. they want to remove president trump from the ballot. >> schifrin: this trial's jurors are senators, two thirds of whom would have to vote to convvet and reresident trump from office. trial, so they visinside the microphones outside. democrats said the senate should hear witnesses. >> everyone who has gone under i haven't seen anyone under oath who's defended him. i've seen lots of people not under oath defend him, but lets put some pple under oath and see how they do. >> schifrin: most republicans criticized the house of representatives' investigation and house speaker nancy pelosi. >> we're going to be fair, we're gonna do our job. let me say it again, the house proceedings were rigged, speaker pelosi rigged them.ge

they were as ras a carnival rintoss. >> schifrin: but moderatin republicans dicated they might be willing to hear from witnesses, inclung former national security advisor john bolton, who reportedly calumd president s ukraine policy akin to a drug deal. >> i think its imptant to hear from john bolton and perhaps other witnesses, the defense and the osecution, the right tim for that vote, for that decision is after the opening arguments, that's how the process was caied out in the clinto impeachment. >> woodruff: for views now from both ends of pennsylvania avenue, i'm joined by our white house correspondent yamie alcindor and lisa desjardins at the capitol who was in the room today. so lisa to you first, nick was repoing on this change that the majority leader mitch

mcconnell made early in the afternoon in the rules governing the tri. at is that going to mean exactly going forward? >> well, it's very significant in terms of the calendar but first of all let's go over really quickly what the chae do exactly. it moves from -- itllows each side up to three days of presentation. it was just two days. at meant those were going to be two very long days possibly going to 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. in the morning and now it will shorter days ending in the evening. also the change meant any ncevious house-gathered evi will now be admitted as evidence for this trial. that was w something mcconnes going to require a vote for. now the evidence which includes asou know almost 4,000 pages of witness testimony will be entered into the record nor trial. what's it mean for us watching the trial? it could be a little bit longer. let's look at the schedule going lead. if they wrap up rules debate

we expect the next three days will be when the house managers and democrats present teir case r removal of the president. then saturday is when we expect the president's team would begin their defense of the president. they could have up to three days. we're not clear if the white house team and president's team hwill choose ve three days. if they do it will go to the middle of next week. after that as nick reported, senators can ask written questions. that could ask a couple days. judy, the bottom line is nowtee have the bidea the trial could wrap up next week toward the end of next week only if they decide not to call witnesses and that's an open question righnow. >> woodruff: and lisa, much of getting to what you'realreportig waabout, much of today was about whether new evidence should be admitted or whether that'd depend on what the house was able to deermine in its investigation. how is all that turnindout an

talk about the precedent for that. >> right. 's very important. both sides are going to say they have their case based precedent. we look at the witnesses and something that is unique about this trial is the facthat house democrats would have liked to have goten testimony from several whi house witnesses and were unable to because the president blocked them and they're arguing he has that privilege as an executive and they believe the witnesses es cially john bolton the former national security adviser and mick mulvaney, acting chief of staff, have information what the president wasdoing and believe the senate can compel that testimony. is there a precent bringing in new evidence the house was not able to get? yes, there is that precedentu and when look at the rule, it's very clear that the senateo 100 years , the senate 40 years ago said each senat determin determines if they want it call witnesses or not. the question whether it's fair

and appropriate. clearly the framers, the reul makers for hun -- rule makers have said the senate as the tright to determine it's each senate. >> and finally to you, lisa, there's something yocan see in the senate chamber we watching on television or online couldn't see and that's thfaces of many of the senators. how were they reacting? what were they doing during this entire thing. i s a silent drama from all 100 senator you could say this was something senators took seriously. all the senators were alert at the beginning. i'm told by daniel bush now in the chamber, there are my more yawns as the day goes on. it stood out some senators are taking copious notes. ose are swing senators the h senator from u and maine and lindsey graham and who is paying attention the most alertly andi think it will bear out throughout the trial.

we'll see questions next week in how the senators handle this will make a bg difference. it is an unusual scene for sure. it's haro describe but it's most like watching a church se ice from afar. one senator said they thought they would be okay with 12 hours of listening to this testimony before they had to sit in the chamber for two hours. they said they think maybe a shorter session will be better >> woodruff: all right. we'll certainly see in the coming days and quickly to yo, homiche, with the change in the resolution arounthis trial's been conducted, all the push fordemocrats, by democrats for witnesses for evidence. how's the white house reacting to that? >> democratic aides are casting this as a major concession by so connectnd working with ey're republicans and mitch mcconnell. the fact there'll be automatic

evidence from the hou seto the trial means what the white house has been saying is unfair od not pa due process will be given as evidence to the senate. the other thi to note as lisa said, john bolton is turning out to be a key person and there's reports the white house is making plans in case john bolton gets to testify and said he would if subpoenaed by the senate and it means the white e hoy push for john bolton to testify behind closed door s but it amay mean the white house will continue to try to block witnesses an possibly block john bolton in another way and it's a big deal and change on the white house's side. >> woodruff: separaty, yamiche, we did hear today from the preelident's legal cou and the deputy legal counsel and his personal torney, what we are we learning about the strategy the president wants to put forward here?e whatarned today is that

the white house legal strategy is going to be along gaining the me defense president trump has been putting up on social media and interviews which is it's a perfect call and did nothing wrong. it's all about democrats wanting to undo the 2016 election and make sure he doesn't get re-elected in 2020 and interesting to see pat cipollone talking on the senatoor because house democrats are pushing for him to recuse mself saying he's in fact a fact witness and shouldn't be involved in the trial and the white house ha been pushing back and pushing for am schiff should be recusing himself. let's listen to what mark short, president's defens to say with the process. >> we finormous hypocrisy in the house committee you went through a white house where they were denied to cross-examine

witness or bring in witnesses because we were tol has to be rushed as quickly as possible yet what you hear from mocrats today is that senate republicans are moving too quickly. >> so a fact check there. they're saying the whiteavouse didn'tan opportunity to present witnesses or cross-examine. in fact the white house deced they did not want to be part of about the way the process went but did have input in the house side. >> woodruff: yamic alcindor, thank you. and we have the host of washington peek ons pb. hello, bob. i know you've been talking to both sides of the white house and hill on the e big debover witnesses. who's going to be called and who isn't. what are you learning? >> beyond the proyedings toda, the real debate on capitol hill right now is about witnesses and will democrats or republicans make any concessions athis

point. for now there's no agreement. senate deprmocrats haveosed they want top trump administration officials current and former likejohn bolton to testify. so far republicans are only moving forward with floating the idea otrading munhunter biden fr john bolton's testimony and democrats ared resistant a don't believe as the relevant to the trial and not engaged in talks with republicans. >> woodruff: so right now a standoff is what it sounds like. >> it's a stand off but i just led a stoy for the post and another story how some democrats may want to stinrt thiabout cutting a deal with republicans on witnesses. one thing to pay atention to is could democrats engage on a deal some kind of arrangement where republicans would get a witness they'd want hunter biden, joe biden, someone related to burisma in the ukraine matter or not. and that's a choice both parties

will have make. >> woodruff: so interesting. that brings to mind of course mjoe biden hiself in iowa campaigning. right now while sever his leading rivals in iowa are frankly stuck in the senate for this trial. you've been talking to the biden campaign. what are they saying about all this? >> in talking to the biden campaign in the last few hours it's clear they feel good about president biden is in the hawk eye state seeing him move up in the polls though center sanders and warren have done well. they don't i republicans are negotiating in good faith untilo it becomes thesibility of a biden family member testifying they're not goi to engage in any serious way. >> woodruff: all right, robert costa reporting for us from the

washington post. thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we turn now tove l individuals who have extensive experience working in the senate and in the house: martin paone, the democratic senate secretary from 1995 to 3 2008, isyear senate veteran who sat beside senator tom daschle, the senate minority leader, during president clinton's impeachment trial.y he is currennior advisor at prime policy group in d.c. elizabeth chryst, the ican senate secretary from 1995 to 20, is a 26-year senate veteran. she sat side senate majority leader trent lott during president clinton'rrtrial. she's tly a principle at congressional global strategies. thmargaret taylor worked o senate foreign relations committee from 2013 to 2018 deputy chief counsel, then democratic chief counsel and deputy staff director. margaret was also an attorney at the department of state for ten years.

she is currently a governance studies fellow at the brookings institution and a seor editor at lawfare. and john hart worked forto congressmacoburn, republican of oklahoma, during the clinton impeachment trial. he is currently a g.o.p. consultant for mars hill strategies, working on congressional campaigns and for corporate and non-profit clients. >> you've been here with me during our live coverage today. we appreciate your sticking around. i know you'll be here on into the evening. what i want to get a sense from u and startin with you mart ?aone what do you think was accomplished tod we saw the majority leader mitch mcconnell pull back a little one the rule wanted to employ. will itterially changes what unfolds. >> time will tell. senator mcconnell is pragmatic and knew he had to make the an

changeprobably heard from colleagues and if he did they'd be okay. he went on to the first vote and the it was a stricky -- strictly party line vote. he seems in control. we'll see how the votes go today into tomorrow and the key votes will occur next week after people have had a chance to give theiarguments both sies. we'll see if enougrepublicans vote with the democrats to call >> we saw mitchcconnell pull back and then the vote on whether documents uld be subpoenaed and the vote was li along partes. >> i stink we expect to see -- think we exp ect to seeveral more of these depending on how you want to look eight and all p bety line and prior to the close of business today hopefully we'll get to see the vote on the rules to outline thf

next handfulays leading up to and including the questioning period of the senators. it's important for the viewers to know the last tie they did this in the impeachment h administratione were 150 questions if theat sens. tea omportant to -- it's important to get to that ahad the senators ask questions and is there a need for more evidence or more witnesses. that's the way it wet during the clinton trial and what the majority leader's trying to t through today as long as the da will be. >> woodruff: we know they're trying to settle the rules s questiday. they were debating the last timr weable to pay attention to the senate floor and were debating another amendment by the minority, the democrats asking for a subf poena state department documents. we expect that's going to go along a party lie vote as well. at the end of the day, if it's l

all pare, what's that tell us? >> it tells us this proceedings is really turning out along party lines just as the hou it was largely a partisan process. it's looking like it's now going to be largely a patisan process in the senate as well. it's i guess hard to exactly where we'll be at the end of 24 hotentially of argumentation by both sides. 16 hrs of questions from senators to the parties. it's hard to say. right now what we learned today is both sides are really drawing lines where they are and what their argumentsill be and previewing some arguments i'm sure we'll see again. in addition to being an argument about process, it was also a preview of the substantive arguments we're likely to see going forward. >> john hart, party line so far

as far as we can see and yet there'd going to be an opportunity for questions. could that tell us something different? that happened were53-47.otes that means there's 20 votes short of removing him frm office and in a tie it doesn't prevail having additional witnesses. even if mitt romney and susan collins vote for additional witnesses the motion still would not carry. we have not seen any movement or shift from where we were. >> woodruff: to call additiol witnesses you need how many votes? >> 51. >> woodruff: it's possible.we now that's possible. it would take a few republicans to join with dmocrats forhat to happen. we know it's a possibility. >> it's a possibility but at this point probably unlikely and there's been a lotf focus on he's a wild card ll. a former national security adviser who's been allegedly at the centtter of this .

he may not say things that are m favorable torats necessarily and may come at the cost of hunter biden or joe biden. it's not a clear-cut win for democrats t more witnesses. >> woodruff: i want to ask each one of you about somthof one of them marty paone is y. executive privilege. heard it from the president's attorneys we don't have to share information it's within te president's prerogative to keep to keep privileged conversations privileged and nfidential. >> every administration always tries to wrap themselves around executive privilege to protect themselves from intrusive congresses and the supreme court in the nixion tral ruled the

good of the country overwhelmed that. i don't think much will change as john and liz and everybody's pointed out. will the chief justice want witnesses. >> woodruff: if you wentom 47 -- >> -- to 50. t> woodruff: i want to ask you, margaret, about. >> for the viewership you saw argumentation back and forth talking about the term executive privilege. i saw the parties talking past each other almost. executive privilege is a constitutionally bad privilege though it's not recognized in the congre the court recognized it but it's a limitiv ege as the supreme court has also said. it's qualified and limited in

what the house managers are saying this president has asserted such a broad notion, such a absolute notion of executive privilege so as to obstruct thee o of congress. that is the basis for article 2, the second article of impeachment. they're talking about it in a different way on both sides. it's the heart of it. they're saying it's not an absolute it's been used as a limiteprivilege. this president is using it in an unlimited way and that's unacceptable. >> woodruff: how much of a debate, of a question will it be in coming days? >> i'm guessing not much of a real debate because they talk past each other and they're not lawyers and it will come coun -

down to is the process fai you say it's not and i say is >> woodruff: the democrats keep staying wait a minute, if you're tying we're going to have the argument and whe arguments are over, then we'll have a vot whether thould be evidence of witnesses. some people would say it sondu like putting the cart before the horse. >> republicans are saying it's the house's responsibility when they bring impeachment they need to bring their case and the attorneys said it's not e senate's job to relitate what the house failed to do and nancy pelosi withheld the articleof impeachment for 33 days which dermines her argument this is an urgent threat to have presidt trump in office. >> woodruff: narty paone what

about that the cart before the house if you want to characterize it that way. was adopte100-0 pretty much t lined it up the samway. you had the 24 hours, the 16 t hour motion to dismiss. the house manager made a motion to call witnesses. we'll see how it goes. >> woodruff: you're saying it's not a strong argument for the democrats to make. how do you see at margaret? >> for americans watching this, the important thing to keep in mind is that respective roles of the house and senate.he soouse has the whole pow of ieachment. as a lawyers we think of that as the indictment phase. gathering enough evidence to say has something happened? ththe's enough toink something has happened here. then the trial phe asgenerally

the senate has the sole power te try impeachment would be rare and witnesses called and flushed out. intuitively someone's going havo to reconcilwe think of what a trial is here. if the president's team and new witnesses because that's the senate's role it's at odds of the republicans and president's team areiled to explain why it's improper to get documents. >> in the clinton impeachment the president sat for depositions. e starr report and everybody sat down for depositions. in this case you have the white house stonewalling subpoenas where in the clinton administration they all went out and witnessed. >> let me add to that, this is the fastest trial in history.e

other people hid at. the house trial. 78 days the use had their play in ths and all but the last six the pesident couldn't call witnesses or cross-amine or documents. that's the polar opposite of what happened during the clinton trial in the house of representives. his almost team was involved every day. it makes hasn't in e house coming here and then have you senator mcconnell mirroring how thsenate olution was done previously that's where we are. >> woodruf a different set of circumstances but some thread our way through those in the coming days. thank you all. john hart, elizabeth chry, party paone and par gret -- margaret taylor and we'll see

you >> woodruff: and youou join our ongoing coverage of the senate trial for the remainder of the evening, check your local listings for that, and online on our website or youtube. and again tomorrow, wednesday, when the trial resumes at 1:00 p.m. eastern. >> woodruff: while the impeachmt trial dominates the spotlight in washington, the president turns his focus to touting the amican economy. he flew to europe for the annual meeting of the world's busess and economic elite. newshour special correspondent ryan chilcote reports from davos, switzerland. >> reporter: high in the swiss alps, six time zones east of thn white hous10 months away from the election, president trump took his campan to the world economic forum in davos, switzerland. mr. president, with your trialge noing underway, why is it better to be here in davos than in dc? >> well, we're here meeting with world leaders, the biggest, most important peoplhe world and we're bringing backus

tremendousiness to the united states and they're all here to see. the other's just a hoax. it's been going for years and frankly it's disgraceful. and we look forward to being here. >> reporter: the president addressed just over 1000 of the world economic forum's delegates. >> when i spoke at this forum two years ago, i told you that we had launched the great american comeback. today, i'm proud to declare that the united states is in the thmidst of an economic boo likes of which the world has never seen before. >> reporter: mr. trump touted his administration's recent progress with the two trade als, and achievements th the u.s. ecomy. >> in just three years in my administration, 3.5 million people have joined the workfoe. ten million people have been lifted o welfare in less than three years. >> reporter: befe the

president arrived today, news crews were already on the prowl, but not for him. ceking her second appearan at the world economic forum, swedish climate activist greta thunberg stole some of the limelight today, warning participants not much hasch ged since she addressed them last year. i >> our houstill on fire. your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. and we are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else. >> reporter: in his speech, president trump appeared to take aim at the 17 year old. >> to embrace the possibilities of tomorrow, we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apocalypse. 0t>> reporter: this is the year the world's rich and powerful have gathered in davos. most of them are by definition, globalistssupporters of free trader. p today, tsident met and discussed trade with three of them-- from pakistan,th

switzerland aneuropean union, with whom the president said he's confident he can strike another deal. if he doesn't, he said he'll look at slapping tariffs on european cars. >> we expect to be able it make a dealeurope, and we the european union we met with, as you know, and we hery good talk. but if we're unable to make a deal, we'll have to do something becae we've been treated ver bad for many years on ade, and >> some like josef stiglets disagreed with the economy. >> the employment ratand the ac on of the >> while unemployment is low, much lower than h europe. is so the mischaracterization of the state of the american economy and how well the typical american is doing was very strong.

i've been going to davos for 25 years. this was the most lukewarm reception to a major public figure i've ever >> reporter: in an unusual twist today, a local newspaper reported swifo officials had ed an apparent spying operation by two russians posing as plumbers in davos, who theyin suspecnded to "bug the e rum." russia called thlegations absurd. the present returns to the world econom forum tomorrow. and yet, he's unlikely to forget about allegations that led to ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky, who the president is accused of trying to blackmail in exchange for dirt of joeil biden,also be in the building. ryan chilcote, for the pbs newshour in davos, switzerland. >> woodruff: in the day's other

news, an outbreak of viral united states.hina spread to the federal health officials confirmed a seattle-area man brought the virus back fromnt l china. he is now hospitalized in good condition. t re isn't a risk level that suggestions people should be doing anything differently than they normally would.th like i sai is not a moment of high anxiety. we should all do exactly what ws aldo which is this is flu season so we wash our hands, we cover our mouths when we sneeze. >> woodruff: airports and several major erican cities are now screening arrivals from >> woodruff: meanwhile, in china, the death toll grew to six, with nearly 300 confirmed cases. in wuhan, where the outbreak

began, city workers sprayed disinfectant, and the mayor pledged to contain the virus. north korea is warning it no longer feels bound to refrain from testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. thregime today blamed washington for ignoring a year- end deadline to make pgress on a nuclear deal and ease sanctions. a north korean official the u.n. said his country may seek what he called "a new path." in iraq, fresh street battles broke out in baghdad bween protesters and police. at least two of the demonstrators were killed. security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets as crowds demanded the government's resignation anan end to corruption. milar unrest flared in southern cities. a member of iran's parliament has now offered a $3 million boun to anyone who kills president trump. mee lawmaker represents the province of qaseem soleimani, the general killed in a u.s. air

strike this month. but in geneva, the american ambassador to a disarmament conference, dismissed the threat. >> it is just ridiculous, but it gives you a sense of the rrorist underpinnings of that regime and that regime needs too change its beh its behavior is what has got them to this point and again, we hope that they learned a lesson by what's happened recently.n' >> woodruff: igovernment gave no indication today if it supports the threat on president trump's life. a necaravan of migrants has been stopped along mexico's southern bder. hundreds waded a river from guatemala on suny, but mexican troops blocked their way. families waited there todaol monitored bye in helmets and body armor. most were sent back to their home countries. back in this country, the democrats' 2016 presidential minee, hillary clinton, went after vermont senator bernie sanders, her former rival and 2020 hopeful. she told an upcoming hulu

documentary that "nobody in congress likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done." clinton would not say if she will endorse sanders. the u.s. supreme court has put off a new challenge to obamacare. the justices declined today to grant a fast-track review, preventing any decision before the november election. a lower court ruled the entire law invalid after congress gutted the individual insurance mandate. two major auto recalls are in the works in the u.s. toyota says an electronic glitch deploying in 2.9 mgs from vehicles, going back to 2011. honda wants to replace potentially dangerous air bag inators in 2.4 million old vehicles. and, on ll street, stocks fell on fears that the viral outbreak

in china will hurt economi growth there the dow jones industrial average lost 152 points to close at 29,196. the nasdaq fell 18 points, and the s&p 500 slippeeight. still to come on the newshour: heartbreak and hope amid the humanitarian tragedy of northern syria. and how the humble polaroid camera predicted our instagrammable world. >> woodruff: the war in syria has waged for almost nine years and claimed millions of lives. northwest idlib province is the last refuge for many syrians opposed to the regime of president bashar al-assad. meanwhile, in the northeast,is

kuforces are dealing with a new reality that includes farc fewer am allies. nick schifrin is back with this update. >> schifrin: in this camp in thick.province, the mud is the morning walk to get water, ishrough what seem like permanent puddles. life heris defined by the mud. it's where boys, will be boys. and where little girls in flip flops try not to slip, hanging onto tents that have become their homes. they are the displaced families who've fled to idlib because it was the last place to flee to. the displaced children who've seen things no adult should ever have to see. >> ( translated ): we were displaced to this camp because of the airstrikes and the there is too much mud. there is no school. in my village, i used to play with my friends at school. my friends were killed in an airstrike and i survived and came here.

>> schifrin: in this camp, children become caregivers. and they heat their hands on a blackened outdoor tea kettle. this family has been living here since may. >> ( translated ): it is very difficult to walk because of the mud. ee tent does not weather cold or storms. we don't have proper stoves for heing. d as you see the conditions are terrible. my children are always sickus beof the cold. >> reporter: nearby, this woman tells us she fled her home as it was bombed in the middle of the night. >> ( translated ): it is too much cold and mud here. i am getting sick altime. i pray that we won't be flooded because of the rain. my fear is that we will getan floodedrown. i hope that i won't drown and die in the flood.ng >> i've been go syria multiple times in the past seven or eight years. this is the worst i've seen in terms of the inability of the international community to accommodate to the needs of the displaced. >> schrin: zaher sahloul is a

doctor in chicago who regularly returns to his native syria to help. these scenes were all filmed by him. the kafr yamhoul camp has more than doubled in population in see last six months, becau russiaand syrian jets followedid refugees to b. there's supposed to be a ceasefire. but the airstrikes are relentless. in december alone, at least 65 children were killed or injured. and they're trapped between the regime and russia from the south, and the closed turkish border in the north. hureds of thousands are settling close to the border, but turkey already has four killion refugees, and its doors are locked, sayssh president recep tayyip erdogan. >> ( translated ): this ceasefire must be conducted in a way to prevent 400,000 peoplefr reaching our borders. >> reporter: and for those peedle still in idlib, they to survive both the airstrikes, and illness. in the camp, sahloul treatedul whomever he >> everyone had some respiratory some of them had a

some of them had infections. .some of them had pneumon of course, everyone had psychological trthma because of recent displacement. >> schifrin: many famiiles have been forced to flee the airstrikes, multiple times. a local humanitaupan group set ents in under a stadium's grandstand. and in a nearby formerchool, children with american superhero backpacks walk where the wal are full of holes, and where outside the windows, playgrounds have long been abandoned. e ry deserted building, every old school, every mosque were converted to teorary shelters. it was very cold in the building. there was this old piano that the children were trying to play with, but it was a scene like you are in a horror movie. >> schifrin: 1000 miles away in northeast syria, the map is very different. the american footprint has 5dropped from 1000 to abo. they're deployed with the mostly kurdish syrian defense forces.

but since turkey's incursion in november, things have become >> you have this casserole of flags within several hours driving. we saw a syrian regime flagged a vehicle. we saw a russian flagged vehicle. and then wsaw a u.s. convoy. >> schifrin: gayle tzemach lemmon is a senior fellow at the council on foreign relations, and visited the region jist before chras, her eighth visit in the last few years. she says the majority kurdish forces, the s.d.f., are maintaining a fragile stabilisy. >> i remarkable testament to the ability of the s.d.f. who fought isis alongside theo americans,ep in place a very fragile, pretty endangered, but still very real governance. >> schifrin: but the s.d.f. is distracted from its fighy against isise incursion of turkish forces who consider them terrorists, and a displacement crisis. >> if thforces who are fighting isis now also have to defend themselves, and to deal with roughly 200,000 or so who

are estimated to have been displaced by the incursion, you can imagine that the fight against the islamic state doesn't become secondary, but it is competing with survival in terms of priorities for these folks. >> schifrin: lemmon met with s.d.f. commander mazloum kobani, who spends much of his time negotiating with the multiplede militiarieoyed to syria. >> so far, it looks like a lot of deconfliction and a lot of discussion with russia. there's a lot of conversation going on. erthink that mazloum no lo has illusions that the americans are going to protect the syrian ku but he does ask that the americs stay right. 's very clear in our conversation until a politicales pris in place. >> schifrin: but that political process is completely stalled. d so, idlib's displaced children spend every nig around the campfire. sahloul is with th, trying to find lightin darkness. >> we have children of this camp who have been here for about a lyear or so and they are beautiful and cute.

>> schifrin: they sing a song called my homeland about survival and happiness. and that's where, in their innocence, these children find resilience. they use the mud that define their camp to draw pictures. and leave their nd prints. and turn hardship into hope. >> most of the cldren adapt to their situation very quickly. and they laugh they smile. they play.in they they dream of future. >> schifrin: but they still live inyria, where most of thos dreams are nightmares. and while e adults try to distract the children with shadowboxes, the monsters here, are all too real. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin.

>> woodruff: finally tonight when it comes to photography, we're all pretty much living in the "insta" world. we want our pictures now or never. many think it was polaroid that set us on that path with itsti first revoary camera, dating back to 1947.e the museum at ssachusetts institute of technology is now telling the story of h polaroid era began, and the artists whwere there to make it happen. special correspondent jared bowen of publimedia station wg boston reports as part of our ongoing series on arts and lture, canvas. answered the call of the wild.it chuck close used it to get up close and persal. william wegman thought it was horseplay. it was the poloid camera. it changed everytho photography, >> you can see around me on the walls all kinds of surfaces, a all kinds of ways of manipulating the materials.th

k probably it drove some of the engineers that polaroid mad, because the artist were just ignoring the rules and just making it up. >> reporter: here at the m.i.t. museum in cambridge, massachusetts, just a few blocks away from where the polaroid came was invented, are decad of polaroids. virtually from the day it was born, artists were given cameras and film to experiment says starting with ansel adams. >> he was the bait. ansel getstiery excited at s. he said, "oh, you should use this. you should use it in the theater! you use it in astronomy!" he gets really excited. >> reporter: the polaroid camera bypassed the entire ocess of developing film. ter the first me ever, artists had an immedook at their work. >> it was a very small thing yoo coul in the hand, but you had to participate in the making of the picture. the thing whirred and clicked. the picture came out and developed slowly. and that was described as magic. >> i'm going to take a picture now jared.

>> reporter: do you want me to pose for you?>> es please. okay... okay. and it's going to take probably 20 full minute but that blue sheet is the opacificaon and in a couple of minutes this will emerge. so i'm going to--ep >>ter: 20 minutes?! all!now it's not an instant at >> reporter: deborah douglas is the purveyor of polaroid at the m.i.t. museum. land, owner of an innovation lab who conceived of an instant a camera in 19 lauhed it into top secret development. >> it's called sx-70. s for secret, x for experimental, and 70 cause that's the number, could have1, been 68, 69,2. >> reporter: the camera was an mechanics and chemistry. >> all the little molecules are ing around and it says, "oh, i need a red one here, a yellow one here, blue one here." d just like your television, that can combine red, green,n

blue, uh our screen and miraculously create the full spectrum. >> reporter: the first polaroid went osale iboston the day after thanksgiving, 1948.ol itout in hours. in marketing.t actually believe he was even skeptical of his owo any's efforts in that front. he said "you just have to have a feel for this." this proved, by the way, very influentiato a generation of entrepreneurs, most notably steve jobs and apple. >> reporter: well we're sitting on this floor right now that we ouldn'tll recognize, we? >> yes, there's a rainbow stripe. and so it's not coincidental that at the first apple logos are rainbow stripes. that is an intentional homage to edwin land. >> reporr: of course the cool quotient came from the artists, who were given cameras and film to take the technology wherever they wanted. >> it freed you up from all those chemicals and ocesses in e labs and everything else. you could control it all yourself. >> reporter: artist tom norton

had his go at polaroid in the early 1980s. >> it was a vertical format. and i didn't want that, i want dancers to be jumping left- right. and so the only way to do that is to uh have a mirror system, so i made a mirror system that, the camera was actually facing sideways. >> reporter: else dorfman would use the polaroid for portraiture. with polaroid, andy warhol could be even more prolific. d barbara crane could revel in color. >> these people felt they were .art of a community. they weren't alo so you didn't just do your photographs, bring them to polaroid and-and forget about them, they would enter into the collection >> reporter: as we see here, in that's still develeciation do we have to? >> no you don't have to shake it! in fact, the engineers hated that! >> reporr: for the pbs newshour, i'm jared bowen in cambridge, massachusts. >> woodruff: and on the newshour online, meghan markle and ince harry's decision to renounce

their royal titles has sparked conversations about the current state of the british monarchy, tyas well as race and idenn we take a look at why "megxit" marks a crossroads for the country. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. tune in starting tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern as our special live coverage of the impchment trial of president trump continueon pbs. and if you're not by a tv, join us online at our website or on youtube. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbsne hour has been provided by:

>> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new rk. pporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public brocasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc

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> hello, everyone. anwelcome to "amanpour and company."he 's what's coming up. >> do you solemnly swear -- >> in washington, senators prepare for jury duty, while he flies off to join world leaders in switzerland. we ask whether putin's russia is making hay out of this dc dysfunction. plus, imperfect union, steve inskeep tells me about his new book on america's power couple and impeachments past.> en -- >> i would show up at major holidays and i would get friends together and we would go to a nagogue. i was proud to be jewish. >> sarah horowitz tells us what led to her own spiritual awakening.