judy: good evening. i am judy woodruff. on the "newshour," elusive deaco ress struggles to pass a long-awaited pandemic relief bill as millions deal with onomic stress. thci, getting the vac. the challenges ahead for distributing shots in the u.s. amid ever-increasg infections and deaths. plus, on uneven impact. los angeles goes into lockdown asront-line workers and communities of color bear the brunt of a coronavirus surge in california. > the deaths are tragic, and both in black and brown ghcommunities, you have death rates. judy: it's friday.

we break down congressional nsnegotiatpresident elect biden's cabinet picks, and the s ump campaign's effo undermine the election. all that and more on tonight's pbs "newshour." ♪ announcer: major funding fewor e pbs "nshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160

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judy: in a closely watched decision, the u.s. supreme court tonight has denied an attempt by the state of texasrt sup by a large number of republicans, t to overtur election results and joe biden victory. here terhelp us uand what the justices decided and more are lisa de chardin, yamiche alcindor, and john yang. what was the court being asked to do, and tell t us why have ruled. john: texas wanted the court to say that the elections in fourst that joe biden turned frt, republican to democ wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, and georgia, that the elections in those states were unconstitutional. they want to the court to bar those states from using the results of the ections to determine the electoral votes aninstead order the state legislatures in those states,

to determinehe electoral votes that those states would cast, but the justices said essentially that the election laws in the other states were none of texas's business, that texas was not qualified to bring this suit. in the words ofhe order, texas has not demonstrated an interest in the manner in whichnother state conducts its eleions. judy: i was just reading the very short decision. it was only the matter of a couple of paragraphs, but what did we learn about the thinking on the part of the nine justices? john: nju a lot. it's a very short order. we don't even know the vot we do know that in this case justices thomas and alito on very technical and procedural grounds said they wouldave let this lawsuit go rward. texas wanted them to do, bar the

states from using the election results for the electo votes, and they would n say, would not offer any views about how they would he decided this case after they heard the not a lot of visibility on what ththinking was. judy: so many eyes on this, trying to understand every wd in this decision. yamiche, as we know, president trump signed on to this lawsuit by texas. 160-some republican members of the house. how importt was this suit to president trump and his attempt to overturn election results? yamiche:hi case the supreme

court just ruled on was credibly important to the trump campaign. the president called it the bigs oning this case was possib the most important election case in the history of the united states, and the supreme court is effectively ending the president's efforts election overturn in the courts. the president said tha the supreme court was his backup plan if he lost. he said he would onle able to se if there was some sort of election rigging. court after court has told the president he needs to show evidence, and whatriking about this decision is that the three supreme court justices president trump put on the supreme court bench they are not dissenting with this decision. this is in line with other trump-backed judges not siding with the president when it comes

eto horts to do this. critics of the president said he is trying to use the courts to steal the election. opwe should remind that joe biden is leaving -- leading in votes, and it seems clear joe biden will be the next president of the united states. this court decision makes that even more of a possibility. i've been texting with people close to the president. we aren't hearing anything, but the feeling is solemn. they are ang at the idea that the president is going to have to leave office. it judy: does look le the end of the road for this court case. we still know they are trying to overturn decisions in ste legislatures as recently as today, but i want to get to lisa. two thirds of the republican members of the house signed onto this case. te u what the motivation was

and where they stand on all of this. lisa: some of them argue that state election officiat too far, but others were arguing that they needed clarity on the election itself, and it does seem in rejecting this lawsuit that sreme court -- that the supreme court is giving some clarity. i've gotten reacon from some republicans, one of them telling me they are relieved that this is something that backs up our institutions of government. nancy pelosi sent out a letter saying that the lawsuit was an act of flailing gop desperation. i went back to her office. her spokesperson texted me bk to words -- as expected.ju : it was the house republican leadership cvolved

in thirect? lisa: that is correct. kevin mccaschy and steve ise, his deputy, both signed l on to thsuit. mccarthy is not only the house leader. he's a close confident to president trump himself. judy: a very important decision by. the supreme cou thank you for reporting on this, yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, john yang. stephanie: i am stephanie sy with "newshour" west. we will return to judy woodruff afr these headli os. the u.s. i the verge of rolling out a covid-19 vacne as the number of daily infections shattered records. as the food and drug admistration prepares to

approve pfizer's inoculation, there e reports the white house ordered the agency's head toor authorize it todaesign. fda commissioner stephen hahn played that down, calling it an untrue representation of a call he had with chief of staff mark meadows. in other developments, new york governor andrew cuomo suspended indoor dining in new york city beginning monday. 0 in new york city, you put the cdc caution on indoor dining together with the rate ofsi transm, that is a bad situation. theti hospitalis have continued to increase in new york city. we said we would watch it if the hospal rate did not stabize. we would close indoor dining. stepnie: we will have more on the program.ort later in the u.s. senate approve a sweeping defense funding bill. it's worth $740 billion and

includes a 3% military pay raise. it received enough support to override the president's opposition- to threat. we will havete more on this the news summary. president-elect jo biden introduced five more of his cabinet picks today and ohio congresswoman marciaudge promisedal to combat ra inequity at the department of housing and urban development. >> the crisis of injustice that has forced communities of color make it in america with one dream tied behind their back. each crisis chips away at their hope, at the promise of our

nation, but i believe hope is on the way. stephanie: former obama national security advisor susane r pledged to expand opportunity as the head of the president elect's domestic policy council. she noted her family historygr s thddaughter of jamaican immigrants and a descendent of enslaved people. >> for far too many, the american dream has become an empty promise, it a cruel mockery of lives held back by barriers new and old. that is not good enough for any american. stephanie: meanwhile, president trump held no public events, bun cod to dispute the election results on twitter without evidence. the trump administration has carried out its tent as could -- tent executionar this and killed hi daughter in 2002.

he was put to death thisng eve after the supreme court refused to block the execution. this was the trump administration's second federal execution this week. three more are scheduled for january before president tel biden takes office. european leaders pledgedo cut issions by 50% by the end of this decade. >> now that we have secured the funding,e have the means for our actions. all eu countries shod benefit from the transition with economic growth, a cleaner environment, and healthier citizens. the european green new deal will be our strategy. stephanie: some environmental groups like greenpeaced that emissions need to be cut by 65% to sufficiently tackle

climate change. hong kong democracy ac jimmy lai has been charged under a controversial national security law. halocal mediaed lai onsu icion of colluding with foreign forces. this evening, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo said the charges should be dropped, and he should be released immediately. ctif con, he could face up to life in prison. trading was light on wall street. the dow jones industrial gained 47 point. the nasdaq fell 28 points, and the s&p 500 shed four. still to come on at theew our," covid vcines could begin as early as next week amid ever-increasing infections and deaths. los angeles county goes into lockdown as the hospitals fill up. plus, much more. ♪ announcer: this is the pbs "newshour" from weta studios in

washington and in th west from the walter cronkite school ofna josm at arizona state university. judy: the expected approval of pfizer's new vaccine has stirred excitement aboutts the first s being delivered next week to a select number of people. it comes as multiple news organizations reported that president trump's chief ofre stf ened to fire the fda commissioner if approval was not granted by the ctose of business y. the fda denied those threats were made, and late today, the government announced itmi would buy 10ion more doses of a vaccine made by another company, moderna. we have been learning about delays with other vaccine candidates. william brangham looal at those ies. william: the speed ofenaccine develohas been unprecedented, but there have been some setbacks.

send no fee and glaxosmithkline said the launch of their vaccine will be delayed after it did not generate a simficient enough ne response in older people. the u.s. and other governmtts expected t vaccine to be part of their arsenal. that follows results with astrazeneca's vaccine and amid other qutions about whether the federal government missed an opportunity to buyh eno doses of pfizer's vaccine. amatthew harper enior writer who covers this.r thank you ing here. let's start off first with this glazo news. these are companies with a long track record of developing vaccines, so there was some surprise about theseiccups. are these to be expected? matthew: absolutely. this is what we have been expecting all along.

in drug development, it is 90% of projects that fail. this would normally be a small hiccup because normally drug companies do not have to t delir se kinds of time frames. it really is impressive that 'this kind of thing didn'happen with the mrna vaccines b pfizer , by entech, or moderna. william: as we mentioned, there was a problem with astrazeneca. they might have to redo some of that. does that mean thy are lik going to have to do another set of trials before that could be rey? matthew: we are going to have to see. the rial in the u.s. of the original dosing scheme is still ongoing. it's not clear if those results are statistically diffent, or whether it was the amount of vaccine, but it is a potential delay. the efficacy of the dose that was being tested initially was a

little more than 60%, which would've been good if we hadn't heard about theze pand moderna results. iawilliam:wi it should be said that delays should be expected. but there had been hopes that some of thesemi vaccinet be available sooner. matthew: that is a big problem. the ones that are most effecti the easiest -- most effectiveas are not the est vaccines to make. they are also not the easiest vaccines ttransport. the pfizer vaccine needs to be kept supercold. theo sfi vaccine, that was ing to be a billion doses. the a easiest one to make and was the one that was gng to be without

profit distributed around the it's not great news that those are moving more slowly. judy: -- william:elp me understand what might be confusing. if we have moderna and pfizer in d hand, ose seem to be effective vaccines, why do we need these other ones? matthew:es the sim answer is don't have enough, even for the u.s. remember, you need to doses of each, and you shouldn't assume each dose will make its way into an arm there will be things los translation. we need more volume. there may be advantages to some of these vacnes. the big answer is that we just don't have enough. wiiam: thanks for helping us wade through all of this.

the impact turn t of covid's resurgence in many states, and take a loo how it is hitting california hard, despite the state's succes california broke new records with the virus this week, leaving officials -- leadird officials to restrictions and more than 90% of the state. stephanie sy reports that in los angeles county, fs nt-line workd communities of color are bearing the brunt of the pandemics a to. stephanie: at the ucla medical ovcenter,-19 patients are often the first scene in the greg moran works.ere dr. stephanie: >> most of those people, we do a swab on them. we checked their oxygen level, and send them home. stephanie: too many have ended

up in the icu. >>rs in my 20 yf being an icu pulmonary specialist, this is the worst i've ever experienced. stephanie: this man had pneumonia, brought on by coronavirus. he was placed belly down, a technique doctors have fnd can help to oxygenate blood. critically ill patr room of they often require being placed on a mechanical ventilator. stephanie: a critical shortage of those who can deliv floor oxygen is a bigger problem than physical capacity. >> and certain disasters, if there is an earthquake, we can bring people from outside. this is a disaster happening simultaneously acroshathe world. ste: compared to a month ago, l.a.nt c has five times the rate of hospitalizations and deaths.mes the number of dai

at a daily briefing earlier this week, greif overcame the health director. >> over 8000 peoe -- sorryer -- 000 people who were beloved members o a their famili not coming back. stephanie: new restrhitions beganweek and most of california. all restaurant dining, even outdoors, is banned. beach going is ok, and also now playgrounds, but only after annt outcry from pa some question the lockdown. >> they are putting on a lot of weight, and he started getting bored. we have things to do. it's very confusing. stephanie: where there was an existing gap between how covid affected people of color and white people, the latest surge shows a chasm.

the latinx community in los angeles is really experiencinghis third surge, if you will, but the deaths are just tragic. stephanie: l.a. county reports it is seeing new covid cases among latino residents at more than double the rate of white residents. >> i lost my job. stephanie: theandemic has torn apart jaclyn gonzales's life. >> to the point of the covid, i had reduced hours. kids were unable to go. d nobody with with to leave my kids. stephanie: she said she was to leave her job at mcdonald's, and now she is

homeless and living in a shelter, which makes her and her children more vulnerable to controlling the virus. stephanie: barbara campos isrehe executive or of the east los angeles women's center. >> for many of our filies, they don't have the rent to pay. adding that to whatever hardships they had before, and multiplied.f covid, this is stephanie:stephanie:ll of these problems will continue to get worse unless more people follow prevention guidelines, which is why outreach workers armed with informationalfa flyes aring out to hotspots from shopping centers to streets. >> we hope to educate people and m to get the practice better behavior. stephanie: some outreach workers have not had an easy go. jasmine florez said onof her colleagues was fla-- spat on. >> turned around and coughed really hard. he just left. suephanie: is there a trust

between some of these communities of color and government? >> there are trust issues for generations, and i think surveys of latinx and african-american communities makear it chat people are skeptical of the vaccine. stephanie:ong-standing inequities in health and education, and the undertow of pandemic fatigue have culminated in a perfect storm. >> i don't want to be an alarmist, but we are struggling, and i see this on a day-to-day basis. we really are grappling with not only ts burden of patients we have to take on, but the sheer amount of time we've been under this stress. canceled, and if things get worse, the next step would be to

ration health care. for the pbs "newshour," i am stephanie sy. judy:e now, invisittacks on american spies and diplomats. it's a medical mystery that is wrapped in the age-old and high-stakes spy games between the u.s. and russia. here's nick schifrin. nick: sleeplessness, headaches inability to walk, memory loss, cognitive difficulties. across two years and three continents, dozens of intelligence officials and sdi suffered medical

conditions that derailed assignments and their careers. last weekend, the national academies ofciences released the first authoritative government report concluding the victims were mostly hit by directed pulsed radiofrequency energy. the author was professor david wellman. >> that form of microwave radiation is not terribly common. is sometimes used, for example, in radar systems. it sometimes is used in clinical memedicine for tre of certain elements, but it is not common around us or in the world we normally frequent, and that is what makeit unusual. >> the message, someone may have pointed a nonlethal weapon at u.s. government employees inar order to them, and some former intelligence officials say the perpetrator was likely russia. to talk about this, we talked to mark, a former

clandestine oicer in moscow when he experienced these symptoms. what did the attacks feel like? >> the night in a hotel room in moscow, i wi never forge it was frankly terrifying. i didn't hser a n but i did wake up to something, which turned out be intense vertigo, ringing in my ears, incredible nausea. i couldn't stand up. i spent a long time in war zones in iraq and afghanistan, and this was clearly the most terrifying moment of my life. >> what has happened to your career since? >> by july of 2019, i had to i was in a senior intelligencese ice. i had a highly decorated career. by that point, i couldn't do a full da's work, and i missed

i don't think i am in as bad of shape as some other individuals afflicted by this, but i have a headache that never goes away. 'i' had it for literally three years at a three or four level, and its chronic pain.>> do you s perpetrated by russia? >> p there is historiccedent of russians doing nasty things to u.s. officials. number two, there has come to be a strong cirthmstantial case it is the russians. i have to be careful to honor my search -- secrecy. i's bee reported that the cia conducted on investigation using some techniques that we could call geo-fencing and in essence found that as other officers have been affected by this, they saw the travel of russian intelligence officers very close to those locations. ulmately, a strong rcumstantial case has been

made. at the very least, it warrants further investigation. >> do you believe this is ,ngoing, and do you believe in multiple locationcluding in the united states? >> i do. i know of several cases that occurred after myself. i am aware that these are still ongoing. there a case at reportedly did occur in the united states. i ve no doubt that this is still occurring, and i think you are going to see more attention paid t to individuals who hs happen to them. >> what is the connection between the initial victims of this, you and the other victims, in terms of what kind of work you were doing? >> myself and other we were all senior cia officers. most of us, traveling overseas in which we were going to discuss with partners ors.o to

talk to overnment officials about the russians, and so i think that lends some credence to the idea that the russians would kw we would be traveling. >> a biptisan group of senators have pushed for not only the release of the report we are talking about, but for the victims to get medical attention. do you believe the administration has blocked the medical attention? >> within the cia's operational directorate to come up to the top levels, everyone has believed something has occurred and have been helpful. in the department of state, senior medical officials have been less than stellar in their reaction to this. there have to be reformed so that officers afflicted by this get proper medical care. >> i should note there is an on the record statement at the cia sent me. "cia'eefirst priority has and continues to be the welfare

of all of our officers." the state department also says it takes diplomats' health seriously. do you believe the u.s. government has taken your health seriously, and going forward, are you going to get the medical treatment that you asked for? >> to answer your first question, i tnk no, they did not. the cohort hit in havana and china, i don't think they were treated with respect or the proper medical care, and i certainls not. it took me, an unpredented step -- i went public with this, and to do that was a difficult decision, but i had to do it because i needed to get proper medical care. in the future, even now with the tide turning, it's because of the publicity. i am going to walter reed, which is a world-class traumatic brain injury program. >> the fact we are talking about

this and the fact thatpp this to you and others, do you believe that could affect cia recruitment inhe future? >> i don't think so. i don't think thishould stop anyone from wanting to undertake public service. in fact, the opposite. i think ithould get people gry. my reaction to this wouldse be, ploin the federal government, the intelligence services. >> mark, thank you. >> thank you, nick. judy: the effects of mass incarceration in this country are felt by many more people than those convicted of crimes. our journalism reporting -- training program explains how the criminal justice system can create obstacles for kids and families. arit'sof our series all this

week, "searcng for justice." d >> it's estimaat nearly half of all u.s. children have at least one parent with a criminal record, and for the families, the negative effects extend faration beyond time served. the family had a hard time finding a home laster. more than once, they were set to move only to find out their rental application was denied. howt didel to pa up all of that stuff, and then unpack and repack? >> it was kind of hard. where we were before, it was pack together. we were hoping to move to someone or -- somewhere bigger. e >> we met all nancial requirements. credit was great. lwwes paid rent on time.

there was something preventing us. >> that something was her husband's criminal record. >> it says, have you ever been arrested or convicted of a felony, and you h be to check th. >> by this time, shead become a successful lawyer and prominent activist. he was named by "time magazine" as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, working to restore voting rights to felons in florida. she h been a part of that work, advocating for changes to thest criminal jue system, but rental applications kept getting denied. >> we hme to com and tell the kids, this house didn't go through. tthe ironng about it children, we celebrated, desmond got his own day. >> looking back on that and the

work you do, how does that feel? are you angry? >> it makes me more upset when e think about people who are not as fortunate or don't have the time or the resources to keep going back and forth. ot>> she says they finally approved for a place after she went directly to the owner of a home they were interested in and shared a letter with the family, along with press clippings showing their accomplishments. >> no one should have to do that to have affordable or safe housing, but that was our reality. >>he's no shame in having a parent with a criminal record. >> some kids, they don't really want to talk about it. th think it's bad. they feel embarrassed,utt's not something you should be embarrassed about. >> they are prevented from finding homes and houses. i think that could have been a

missed opportunity to talk to our children, and that's what i'm hopin -- >> i am mary williams. judy: can't take a moment now to to covid-19.f those we've lost guadalupe bay perez had an entrepreneurial spirit. he spoke little english when he left mexico for the united states in t 1990's. he started a business selling froz ice. every summer, the 62-year-old

created long lines of customers in ccago eager to try his bold flavors. geneus and thoughtful, guadalupe bay always shared what he had with others. he offered food or jobs to friends in need, and for his five children, he worked tirelessly and spared no expense to help them succeed. she loved to laugh and be silly, especially with h children and grandkids. her son said she made it easier for people around her ax. a hard worker with a green thumb, she turned her home vegetable garden into a successful business. it was a founding vendor at the columbia farmers market in missouri. even at 71, she woke up at 5:30 evy day for the morning service.

77-year-old paul foley junior felt a tesponsibilityo give back to his country. he was a lieutenant in the army d served in the korean demilitarized zone. mostec rtly, he worked as an elections judge in chicago. family was the center of paul's life. it was important him that everyone's voice was heard. pharmacist ed mcfall spent more than a half-century fighting to bebriner health care. his work took him to oklahoma city where he served on the board of the oklahoma health care authority. former governor david walters says he was struck by ed's knowledge. his career also brought him to

his wife. upthe reconnected at a pharmacy convention and were engaged within a week. the 76-year-old father and grandfather spe his free time fishing, traveling in his rv, and driving his boat on the la. 64-year-old keith jacobs had an artistic eye. keith was a photographer whohu loved capturinn emotions and would tell everyone to have a picture-peect day funny, witty, and kind, he was dedicate to his family above all else. known by his loved ones as a simple man, keith would oftenis tell h daughter, make sure you are a good person first, and as always, we want to think family members for sharing these stories. our hearts go out to you as well as all of those whoost loved ones in this pandemic.

now to the analysis of shields "new york times" columnist david brooks. o helloth of you. let's begin with the news, the supreme urt saying they do not e ve standing to take this case filed by the st texas in the four states that votedlts for joe biden. there were 17 states. two thirds are republican members of the house. the supreme court has thrown it out with dissent by justices alito and thomas.

david: the courtas system on in there, and all threed trump-appoinustices sided with the minority. it's written in the constitution that ste legislatures get to control their ownct ens, and texas doesn't get to tell michigan and other states whether there elections are firm or not. it was outrageous suit from the beginning. the shameful things i26 house republicans signed onto it and a bunch of attorney gen it's a party that has lost any touch with docracy. trumpianity is a strange religion, and the judicial branch has stayed true and faithful to the meaning of the cotitution. judy: as you watch this drama unfold, what do you make of it supreme court has d in?the

mark: i think we are in the final chapter, judy. at lea i hope so. i don't ask if other people onag the others te with me. i do ask that you believe in the position you te, and this was example of be hypocrisy on the part of house republicans. ather 153 safe republican seats,e and they terrified, the members, of a primary. donald trumpupporter.ry to buy a republicans are in a terrible position. want the truely voters, the 11 million he brought in a four years ago, but they don't want donald trump. they desperateum want donald gone. the last thing in the world they want to doin ir his wrath

for fear he will do to them what he did to jeff sessions, and that is punish them for not being 100% trumpists dyin the process, are they doing damage to the democracy? david: immense damage. they are calling into question the election. where will we go going forward? they are trying not to alienate trump voters, but republican telling his story, and they are telling his comeback story. they are giving him a pretext to continue to ru in 2024. if they wanted to get rid of donald trump, this was the worst way to do it. they've signed ontohe gospel, and now they are stuck with it.

judy: do you see long-lasting damage? is this something tcat the countrget through? mark: beyond th politics of it, the position taken is undemocratic. it is hypocritical. it's just indefensible. i would assume that republican house members from michigan and wisconsin and georgia and pennsylvania that signed onto this suit would summarily resign from the house. criminal election.elected in a certainly this ilgality they allege out of thin air wasn't limited just to the presidential vote. i just find it beyond -- when i say they want the trump voters without donaldhe trump, can't wait for donald trump to be gone.

they quiver in fear about him. they are terrified. it is not born of affection or high regard. it is born rank fear. that has to beea dng for every republican in the house who signed on. z chene the third in the house, did not. good for her. judy: let me ask you about oimething congress is not, and that is finding a way to come up with relief, help for people suffering in this pandemic they have come down to the wire. they'veigured out how to fund the government, but they still don't have covid relief. what is the hold up, and do you see them getting through that?

david: if the faith ogod collapses, the church collapses. if our faith intu our inson collapses, our nation collapses. th unwillingness to gicognize the macy of use on the others is part of it. finally had a legislature behave like it is supposed to behave where we had eight senators who cated a compromise, along with eight other members, and they created a very good compromise on how to get covid relief. nancy pelosi and chuck schumer said, this is our framework. mitch mcconnell won't go there. he says that compromise will not work with republicans. mitch mcconnell's position won't work with democrats.that is whas

for. it's anotfur piece of a amentally broken political system. judy:ee do you a way through this? mark: i do. it's unthinkable to me that they will not pass a covid relief bill. we are talking about americans on the eve of christmas without the resources to feed their children, to heat their homes, to pay their rent. weng aren't talbout a major stimulus. we are ng about human rvival and dignity. i can' believe mitch mcconnell w and republicae consumed by this. if you are kelly lefer or david perdue running in those special senate eu ctions, and ve to defend the stumbling block to sending the

erican families i desperate need at christmas time , i don't think so. finally, urgency and political survival willntervene. what threatens mitch mcconnell is a leader needs to be able to deliver his troops. oehe't have a majority of his caucus. david is right about the represent a threat tohey leadership. i give speaker pelost crer accepting the act of the bipartisan negotiation, but mitch mcconnells going to be held hostage by those against negotiating a fair deal, there poes your power. the perception or is power. if i think you have power, you do. if enough people think you hav

power, you do. once there are doubts about your power -- that is where mcconnell finds himself right now. judy: in the time we have left, i do want to ask you about president-elect biden. he's been introducing more of the top people in his administration. wthe one is getting the most criticism or attention is lloyd austin, the retired army general, to be secretary of defense, but there are others. a number of familiar faces from the obama administration. what do you make of some of the senior pix he has made so far? david: joe biden has picked pehele he knows. pent time with lloyd alston in iraq when he was vice president. he spoke denis mcdonough who is one of the most fundamentally decent people i've ever met in public life. these are good people, but very familiar.

susan rice on of the domestic side. ey are people he knows, he trusts who will be ready on day one. it really is obama 3 into that sense.on i share somerns with lloyd austin. there's reason we have this rule and tradition that you don't have generals switching over to theefse secretary. it's about picking people who have distance from the current military brass. there must be a loli of qed people like michelle flournoy who could be secretary of defense. i don't see why we run this risk of traversing what is a sensible principal. judy: what is your assessment of some of these biden pix so far?

rk: in dramatic contrast to his predecessor, joe biden was knocked by his political opponents having spent 47 years in washington. he knows these people. he has worked with them. he knows their strengths and weakysses. if t are lemons, it's because joe biden picked to them. i really think the strength of the nominees is that joeid nominates them. that's the accountability of a presidential leade i remain impressed by them. i would point out that anybody that is left over from the stimulus, the original bailout, will be in the stewardship of janet yellen as secretary of treasury.

i think they will spend it wisely and well and quite humanely. judy: on that note, we think you both, mark shields, david brooks. have a great weekend. monday, we begin a new series reporting on an underreported health crisis putting america's children at risk. >> inpe a countryed by a pandemic, fears of another pandemic. childhood trauma, the consequences can be life-changing. the pbs "newshour" takes a closer look at this silent epidemic in this new"i series, isible scars: america's childhood trauma crisis." stephanie: now a news update.

a covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the united a states president trump said in a video that the first shot would be administered in the next 24 hours. the food and drug administration granted emergency use authorization to the pfizer/biontech vaccine. th is the "newshour" for tonight ending on a note of eppe. i'm nie sy. have a great weekend. announcer: major funding for the pb"newshour" has bn provided by -- >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> we want to put money aside for them. >> let's see what we can adjust. >> change in plans. >>aiom, are you painting >> let me guess, change in

plans. >> at fidelity, a change is always part of the plan. announcer: consumer cellular, johnson & johnson, financial services firm raymondes jam. ine william and flora hewlett foundation, adva ideas and oupporting institutions support a better world. ♪ >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutis to the world's most pressing problems. skolfoundation.org. announcer: and with the ongoing support of these institutions, and friends of the newshour.

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tonight on kqed newsroom. what happens when all of california's intensive care hospital beds i have failed? when will the state begin receing vaccines? we asked to healthcare workers is burning questions mr. struggling parents struggling to find child re. waste oak with how the coronavirus has exposed the system they say is unsustainable. >>natural splendor in california history combine for this week's look at something beautiful. >> welcome to kqed newsroom. i am priya david clemens.