captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: deal or no deal. congress struggles to reach an agreement to provide covid relief, and a last-minute scramble to fund the government. then, "hack attack." new reports detail a broader scope of the major cyber attack against the united states than originally believed. plus, a covid success story. despite relatively few resources, senegal has been a model of combating the coronavirus. >> transparency and communication has been extremely important. there is a credibility of the authorities in discussing openly what's happening.

>> woodruff: and, it's a very special shields and brooks you will not want to miss, as we honor mark shields' decades of friday night analysis. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> johnson & johnson. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> woodruff: down to the wire. the united states may just narrowly avoid another federal government shutdown this friday night in december, as members of congress still don't have agreement over funding and a new round of covid relief. with just hours to go, we get the latest from our lisa desjardins and yamiche alcindor. hello to both of you and lisa they have been negotiating for day after day, tell us where does it stand, what is the hold up? >> reporter: this is auto mong the more strange negotiations i've seen in congress, there's urgency and hesitancy. let's look what the sticking points right now are that are holding up this relief package. at the top is federal reserve itself. federal reserve powers that it has now for pandemic relief dealing with the markets, republicans are worried that fed may try to use those powers next

year. they're adding language to try to block that democrats say that is actually a problem for the biden administration and republicans are going too far. that is the biggest block of the deal right now, that's why i'm talking about it. there are still limits on -- about food relief that could go out that some conservatives in the house are nervous about as well as $90 billion for fema that could could help states but there's a question how it's distributed. direct checks spin form, also unemployment help lot of help for small businesses. the reason that we're even have potential deal because of b bipartisan work earlier this month and last month and those bipartisan senators and house members, judy, are urging house and senate ladiers to get this deal done. >> woodruff: lisa, rind us

while they are still haggling over this, remind us what this means for the americans who need help. >> reporter: well there one thick i can report some of the food aid that is set to expire from the u.s. department of agricultural on december 31 even if it gets renewed there will be a lag in trying to process the next ex tension. some some food banks could suffer regardless of what congress does. they want to talk about congress is now coming close to shut down deadline tonight let's look at the house floor right now members of congress are voting on a two-day funding bill just to get them flew the weekend to finishegotiations. if you break down what is happ happening here the deadlines for funding our government is 11:59 tonight in east coast time. two-day funding bill they want. after the house passes it the senate must also pass it. all senators must agree. rye now it looks like that will happen by midnight but we're

watching closely. >> reporter: i know you'll continue to keep a close eye on it. meantime, yamiche, as they are continuing to negotiate on capitol hill where is the president, we haven't heard from him on this topic, what has he been up to? >> reporter: it's sort of a remarkable situation as lisa is talking about the fact that there is urgency. what you see from president trump is anger coarsing through him. he's focused op his open political future, the fact that he has lost the 2020 election trying to figure out ways to win back the 2020 election. the president is not at all involved in the covid negotiations or telling the american people that the vaccin is safe. instead what the president is doing is pleading, going after key political enemies including at points of republicans, mitch mcconnell who has said, congratulated joe biden oncoming

the president-elect. the white house says there is sect mnuchin he's been in negotiations on capitol hill. white house chief of staff has been up on capitol hill but there have been months of negotiations and president has sort of taken a step back from this. another thing to note that the coronavirus vaccine is something that all leaders across the aisle are trying to sell to the american people. trying to educate them about the safety and the real impact that the virus is having on america and fact that the vaccine -- you saw vice president mike pence be inoculated with the vaccine. we saw house speaker nancy pelosi, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, so many others, president elect joe biden is expected to get the vaccine next week as well as vice president elect harris. the president hasn't gotten the vaccine and white house won't tell us when he's going to get it. all they will say he's open to the vaccine. a lot of critics is say

dereliction of duty on the president's part. reporter: meantime you've been watching closely as the transition to the biden administration, we understand there's been friction now between the pentagon and bide biden -- incoming biden team, tell us about that. >> reporter: that's right. has been going fairly smoothly but a big stumbling block. acting secretary of defense, chris miller, gave a directive to all pentagon officials saying do not at all negotiate or do not all work with the biden te team. this was a statement that he said a few minutes after the news was breaking he said, quoted, after the mutually agreed upon holiday pause we will continue with the transition and meetings are remain committed to full and transparent transition. the big problem is biden campaign says he's not telling the truth. here is what the executive

director of the biden >> let me be clear, there was no mutually-agreed upon holiday break. in fact, we think it's important thatriefings and other engagements continue during this period, as there's no time to spare. and that's particularly true in the aftermath of ascertainment delay. >> reporter: what you see there is biden team saying we have not agreed. time is of the essence, also talking pockets ever resistance other parts of the trump transition team including at the environmental protection agency as well as office of budget and management. the problem here is that the president sources tell me is not providing lead are ship we saw other presidents including president obama and president bush, 41 and 43. mostf the time presidents take the lead say their staff need to work on this trnsition but the president has not done that. >> reporter: smuch to follow. we thank you both. yamiche alcinder and lisa desjardins.

thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. food and drug administration moved to clear a second covid-19 vaccine for emergency use-- this one from moderna. meanwhile, a number of states said that their allotments of pfizer's already-approved vaccine have been cut. the trump administrationays the company is having production problems. pfizer says that it's waiting for federal instructions on where to ship the doses. federal officials closed the washington monument today. several staffers there were exposed to the secretary of the interior, david bernhardt, who tested positive after leading a private tour of the monument. an interior department spokesman said that the site will reopen on monday. the u.s. supreme court today dismissed a challenge to president trump's plan to exclude undocumented immigrants

from the 2020 census. the court said that it's too soon to rule because no one knows yet w many people would be excluded, or how it might affect the allotment of seats in the u.s. house of representatives. the u.s. president is taking heat tonight for not addressing a wide-ranging hack of u.s. government computer systems. russia is widely suspected of carrying out the attacks, but mr. trump has so far said nothing publicly. house democrats were scathing in their criticism today, after a classified briefing. >> his complete passivity and disregard for the national security here are astounding, you know, even on trumpian standards. but essentially, it seems to me like he's unlocked all the doors and thrown open all the windows. >> woodruff: at the white house, spokesman brian morganstern defended the administration's handling of the hack-- and the

president's response. >> i wouldn't get into private national security briefings of the president, but i will say he's up to speed, and his team is working very hard on it. if he wants to speak directly, as opposed to through hiteam, of course that's the president's prerogative. >> woodruff: several top trump advisors have spoken about the hack, but they have declined to blame russia publicly. a u.s. senate report tonight charges that boeing improperly coached government pilots in a key test after two deadly crashes of the 737 max. the commerce committee republicans say it was part of a too-cozy relationship between boeing and the federal aviation administration, and it cites systemic deficiencies in the f.a.a.'s oversight. the f.a.a. has approved the 737 max's return to commercial

flights in the u.s., after being grounded for 20 months. new satellite images from iran show fresh construction at a key nuclear facility. the underground "fordo" site is located about 55 miles southwest of tehran. the photos were obtained by the associated press. iran has steadily resumed nuclear activities since president trump quit the 2015 nuclear deal. the united states today barred china's largest maker of computer chips, s.m.i.c., from buying advanced american technology. the u.s. commerce department said that the company has close ties to the chinese military, which the fi denies. china's foreign minister denounced the move. >> ( translated ): we urge the u.s. side to stop over- stretching the notion of national security. stop the arbitrary suppression of chinese companies. >> woodruff: along with s.m.i.c., more than 60 companies, most of them chinese,

were added to the u.s. blacklist today. in afghanistan, a bomb rigged to a rickshaw killed at least 15 children today, and wounded 20 others, amid a surge of violence. it happened in ghazni province, in the east, in an area controlled by the taliban. the militants said it wasn't a bomb, but a weapon that the children found, and that accidentally went off. more than 300 nigerian boys have returned home safely, one week after they were kidnapped by islamist rebels. the students arrived today in the capital of katsina state. they had been released late thursday by the group boko haram. the state governor said no ransom was paid. back in this country, new york city investigators say at police used excessive force against cial justice protesters last summer. today's report finds n.y.p.d. officers were un-prepared and under-trained, and inflamed tensions.

protests erupted after police killings of george floyd in minneapolis and breonna taylor in louisville. and on wall street, stocks pulled back, waiting for congress to act on economic stimulus. the dow jones industrial average lost 124 points to close at 30,179. the nasdaq fell nine point and the s&p 500 dropped 13. still to come on the newshour: new reports detail a broader scope of the major cyber attack against the united states. we remember more of the many remarkable lives lost to the pandemic. despite relatively few resources, senegal has been a model of combating the coronavirus. and, we honor mark shields and his decades of analysis. >> woodruff: the reverberations

>> woodruff: the reverberations continue about this large-scale computer hacking operation that infiltrated the networks of several government agencies and thousands of private companies. william brangh talks with the head of one of the nation's top tech firms about this crisis. >> brangham: that's right, judy. the u.s. government's cyber- security team continues to try and determine exactly who's responsible for this hack. varied repts have all pointed to the russian government, microsot, which built the systems for the majority of computers in the u.s., said they too found malicious software in its system. in an open letter on their website, brad smith, the company's president, called this attack a "reckoning," and wrote, "it represents an act of recklessness that created a serious technological vulnerability for the united

states and the world." and he joins me now. brad smith joins me now. welcome to the "newshour," mr. smith, great to have you here. you said that this attack should trigger a reckoning, by whom and about what? >> i think it's a reckonin reckr all of us. certainly a reckoning not just those in a tech sector that have a critical role to play but for federal government as well. what we're seeing is an attack that disrupted the entire technology supply chain by planting malware into network management software from another company that found its way on to the computers of probably 18,000 enterprises around the world. unlocked the door then we've seen what is probably in a tell generals agency go through that door and then further exploit the systems, extract information from we've already identified more than 40 customers including multiple parts of the united

states governmt. so it put at risk our economy then put at risk an in jeopardy our national security, it shows us that we need to do more really work together differently to better protect the nation's defense. >> i know your firm is doing a good deal of detective work s. there anied that vulnerabilities on your own systems contributed to this or were in ways made this hack more likely to occur? >> we found no that have there were any vulnerabilities in microsoft products or services, or that our products or services have been impacted in any way or used as the attack vector, so to speak. we do have more than 500 security engineers at microsoft working this week to sift through data, take the telemetry that we get back from our customers, identify who has been compromise. most importantly work with them to put their security back in place. >> in that open letter that you

posted on your site, you said that one of the things we need to do more broadly is to tighten the international constraints on nation states th might be perpetrating attacks like this. do you really think that that could be useful deterrent? we have been after the russians and chinese for different types of espionage, cyber espionage, not necessarily been that effective. >> i think it's a serious ongoing problem that requires a multi-facetted response. starts with better sharing of intelligence between the government and private setor and frankly learning the lessons from the 9/11 commission. we would all be well served to read that report again. because what it said was that the only way to protect the country from these kinds of foreigthreats is to better share intelligence. so that's the first thing we need to do. then we do need to quip the government with a range of tools

so it can respond appropriately. all the way from public attribution to sanctions to in some cases stronger deterrent responses. that will ultimately be the kind of decision that the president of the united states needs to make, the more tools that are available the stronger defense we have, the better the country will be served. >> brangham. how much of the responsibility calls on companies like yours to build everore robust systems to defend against these types of intrusions? >> i think in many ways we have the first responsibility. it is a responsibility that impacts every company in the technology sector, and that is part of what is illustrated he here. this was an attack that exploited the software of a network management software company that most people were not familiar with. but it shows that we all can do more to work together. and that is a key lesson. ultimately a shared responsibility with the

government as well. >> brangham: one of the things that you also pointed out which i don't think people appreciate is that growing network of private companies that can be hired to outsource cyber espionage and in filtration, how do we address that? those private enterprises that make money by doing these types of attacks, they might not respond to diplomatic or economic pressure the same way a nation might. >> i think it is a serious additional part of the problem. because the truth is, there are only a few governments in the world that are sophisticated in terms of internal talent to engage in these kinds of attac attacks. but we're suddenly seeing the emergence of these new companies that are a bit like 21st century mercenaries, they are for hire, help governments attack others. we should put them out of business is the short story. if we have strong december mic mick -- domestic laws in all of the world's democracy these case

are going to have a much more difficult time engaging in this kind of conduct. so this is i think ripe for a new diplomatic initiative by i incoming biden administration, with our nato allies. it is ripe i think for additional action by congress to put this where it should be, which is clearly out of bounds. >> brangham: this attack went on for months that we know of. these attackers were very patient, they were very stealt stealthy, only after many months being in these different company systems did we find out about it. isn't it possible that there could be other attacks currently going on that we don't know about yet? >> unfortunately this attack is ongoing. unfortunately this is a very sophisticated actor. we should of course assume that this is not the only attack that this particular intelligence agency is interested in pursui pursuing. should assume that there are

other governments that are equally sophisticate and we should assume that advances in artificial intelligence are going to make these kind of attacks even more powerful and even more sophisticated than they are today. in short, we have our work cut out for us. >> how long do you think it will be until we can really get to the bottom of this, both disentangli the damage that was done and find out what might have been taken from all of these companies, but also to figure outhether there are still in filtration, is that are going on, they're still lurking in these systems. former white house homeland security advisor said this uld be years to get this job done. >> i think that the first part of this, identifying who has been victimized, getting these actors out of their networks, that's probably an exercise that takes weeks and months. that part probably doesn't take years. but we do have years of work ahead of us. in some cases there may be some institutions that will want to fundamentally rebuild the way

their networks work because of this. but i think the bigger, long long-term challenge frankly something that is going to last for the rest of our lives is the need for us as a nation to constantly innovate. because our adversaries are innovating. >> brad smith, president of microsoft, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. >> woodruff: the month is barely half over, and has already seen a staggering rise in the casesnd deaths across the u.s. from the pandemic. we want to take this moment to as we do every friday, to honor five individuals who have lost their lives. here are their stories. linda benson could be quiet at first, but had a bright and inviting smile.

her daughter said she loved to tell jokes. as a single mom in her 20s, linda bought a typewriter so she could work at the local newspaper. she spent over 30 years there, working her way up to supervising classified ad sales. with her two children, she frequented the movie theater and the nail salon, and enjoyed road-tripping around her home in oklahoma city. her seven grandchildren said she was like a second mother. linda was 74 years old. 69-year-old robert roy rackleman's identity was his music, his family said. for nearly 40 years, robert opened up his winter haven, florida gage studio for thursday "jam nights." ♪ ♪ he collected numerous instruments, teaching himself to play. later in life, robert embraced other passions, like photography, and meals on wheels, incorporating musical

performance into his deliveries. a husband and father to two, robert's family described him as outgoing and gentle. reverend wilbert robertson, a member of the sisseton-wahpeton sioux tribe, built three baptist churches in north and south dakota from the ground up, alongside his wife of 59 years. they met while serving in the air force. wilbert served during the korean and vietnam wars. he was reserved, generous and caring, his daughter said; a man of character who people turned to for advice. wilbert was 86 years old. melinda roellig's parents always knew their daughter had a future in music. by three years old, she could already sing on key. she excelled at the trumpet in her high school and college marching bands, and earned a master's degree in music education. melinda spent more than a decade teaching art and choir in her

hometown, clarksville, indiana. the 37-year-old was a kind, outgoing and encouraging teacher who always looked for new ways to engage her class. she even brought in many of her own books for students to read and borrow. among them, her favorite series, "harry potter." sister beverly hindson turned hospital rooms into sacred spaces. a founding member of the detroit children's hospital's pastoral care department, sister beverly spent 32 years comforting children, their families, and even staff during difficult times. sister beverly was known by the kids as the "queen of fun." she played with them and supported them during treatments. sister beverly was 73. we want to thank all the family members who shared these stories

with us, made it possible to tell these stories. our hearts go outed to you as to all who have lost loved ones during that pandemic. >> woodruff: for much of the pandemic, new zealand has been praised for its handling of covid-19. earlier this year, "foreign policy" magazine ranked it number one in the worlfor the effectiveness of its response. perhaps more notable was the country that came in second: the west african nation of senegal. special correspondent frede sam lazaro has our report. it's part of his series, "agents for change ♪ ♪ >> reporter: music is one of senegal's best-known exports, and an array of its stars quickly came together in song early in the pandemic, led by grammy award winner youssou n'dor. ♪ come fight this fight

we can do it ♪ >> reporter: "we can do it," they sang. and from all accounts, they have done it, at least thus far. a nation of 16 million senegal has seen jusover 17,000 covid cases, and a relatively low 355 deaths. experts say it reflects this former frenccolony's decades of experience fighting infectious disease. >> we have been facing several epidemics in our country, but also helping other countries. we are into that business in senegal for more than 125 years. th preparedness and preparation to set up a good early warning systems has been also critical. >> reporter: dr. amadou sall heads the dakar-based pasteur institute, a world-renown laboratory that's been at the frontline of infectious disease: dengue, zika, and yellow fever, for which it was an early developer and producer of vaccines. most recently, ebola gave senegal a rehearsal for covid.

in 2014, as ebola killed thousands in neighboring countries, senegal mobilized swiftly, containing it to just one case. similarly, with covid, senegal shut down its land borders as well as air travel. it launched campaigns to improve hygiene and imposed curfews. those slowed, but, critically, did not shut down the economy, says bilali camara, an infectious disease physician with the united nations. >> the guiding step which they ve undertaken since the beginning is to get really the right balance between the economic issues d the public health issues. >> reporter: public health issues were tackled quickly, he says, with mask mandates and hygiene and distancing messages, helping flatten the infections curve without stressing the country's limited medical facilities. experts also give senegal's government high marks for how it is communicating with the public. each morning, the health ministry announces daily infections and deaths by location, along with any

relevant news updates. that messaging been critical to earning public confidence, says pasteur's dr. sall >> i think transparency and communication has been extremely important. there is a credibility of the authorities in discussing openly what's happening. >> reporter: and in this predominantly-muslim nation, that credibility is significantly enhanced when the message also comes from mosques, says the u.n.'s dr. camara. >> traditionally senegal has had this reputation, aually, to listen to their religious leaders. >> reporter: and you say that if you want to bring large-scale behavior change, you need to consult with religious leaders, and the government has done that in this case? >> yes. >> reporter: after closing for several weeks early on, mosques were reopened in may and religious leaders promised strict adherence to safety protocols.

this large dakar mosque looks pretty crowded during friday services, but has actually restricted occupancy to a fourth of its 8,000-person capacity. so far, there have been no infection spikes tied to any religious gatherings. abdou kadre fall is an elder. >> ( translated ): everyone brings their own mat and we keep our distance, use the alcoholic hand gel. it is a source of pride for us that the faithful heed the recommendations that come from the religious leaders and the authorities. >> reporter: however, despite efforts to keep the economy going, the pandemic has taken its financial toll. >> ( translated ): covid has put the country in slow motion. we were struggling financially. now it's a disaster. >> ( translated ): it is difficult for us taxi drivers, since people are not going out much any more. >> ( translated ): we are used to going out in the street to

the market, to be close to each other. but covid changed all that. i want to tell the world that doing all these things will beat the disease. >> reporter: meanwhile, the pasteur institute is working with a british biotech company on a low-cost home test kit for covid, and it hopes to be tapped to manufacture vaccines when their production is scaled up. >> i just want to come back to this vaccine accessibility, which is critically important. and that can be done and make possible only if you have a consensus of the global level. >> reporter: to bring this global pandemic under control, he says it's critical that africa not be elbowed out by wealthier nations in the scramble for available vaccines. for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro. >> woodruff: and now we've come to the moment that i hoped wouldn't ever come-- when we say

our farewells and pay tribute to mark shields as our regular friday night analyst, alongside david brooks. before we hear from the two of them, we want to share with you a look back at mark's remarkable run. >> finally tonight, some friday night conversation and analysis with and from gergen and shields. >> shields and gigot. >> woodruff: analysis of shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brooks. for more than 30 years, mark has provided critical context and perspective to some of the most historic moments in american politics. impeachments. >> the attitude in the country remains that bill clinton lied. they don't want him to leave. >> woodruff: war. >> war should not be the first resort; it has to be the last resort. >> woodruff: white house firsts. >> this is a person of enormous talent. >> woodruff: and the current president... >> donald trump is criminally incurious.

>> woodruff: there from the beginning, his wife of 54 years, anne shields. tell me what you remember about the early days of mark doing the newshour. >> whenever there was big political news, they would call mark, and it just kind of migrated eventually to a friday night regular venue. mark liked it, and i think lehrer liked it a lot. so that made it a go. >> as seen by the gergen/shields 1988 politics observation team. >> woodruff: mark became a weekly guest on "the macneil/ lehrer newshour" during the 1988 presidential election. he brought a wealth of experience on democratic campaigns: in '68, robert kennedy, in '72 edmund muskie, and four years later, mo udall. >> it's the absolute authenticity of the guy. >> woodruff: to our co-founder, robin macneil, mark embodied the

goal of the program. >> jim lehrer and i set out to say, hey, talking heads are some of the most valuable ways human beings communicate and why not make the most of it and get the best talking heads we can? and so mark fitted perfectly into that. >>oodruff: he's challenged his conservative counterparts on the issues. >> my favorite moments in television have been friday nights with mark shields. >> woodruff: david gergen was his first sparring partner, sharing the desk with mark for six years. what is it about him that you think makes him different? >> you know, he knows a heck of a lot more about politics than i do. but he had a humility about him, as well as that irish wi that just made him-- he was a great, great partner. judy, something else on television, as you know, it can be a very competitive, highly competitive field. and often you may be paired with somebody who you can't quite

trust. you never know when you're going to get a knife in the back. i always knew with mark, i could totally trust him. >> woodruff: there have been heated moments. >> mark and i went at it last week because we passionately disagree-- >> woodruff: our current pair, mark and david brooks, were at odds on e war in iraq. >> i mean, what are we going to do afterwards? who is going to be with us? are we going to be the first western christian pro-israeli occupying force, military occupying force of an arab nation in that region? >> there's about 12 questions there, david. >> i'd say they're all irrelevant. >> woodruff: still, he's always kept it fun. mark, they spent three hours talking. so what do we assume has taken place here? >> well, we assume, first of all, judy, that this week will be a yawn. ( laughter ) >> woodruff: so we can all go home. >> well... >> woodruff: you're not supposed to say that, mark. and kept it civil, whether with us at the newshour, or at cnn's "capital gang," where he debated the late robert novak, alongside a good friend, my husband, al hunt.

>> we've spent, judy, thousands of hours together, literally thousands of hours together. dinner with you and anne. we did a 17-year program together, conventions, out there on the campaign trail, and 30 years of georgetown basketball. i have learned a lot. and wow, it has been fun. >> woodruff: so, it's hard to condense mark shields into one conversation, much less an answer, but you are such close friends with him. what sets him apart? what makes mark special? >> he's always interesting, interested in a lot of different things, but those things that he's really nterested in, politics and family and faith and sports, he just-- he gets deeply engaged. he's not a passive observer. and we don't need passive observerfor things that matter. sports matter, judy. >> woodruff: that love of sports even inspired a "shields and brooks" spin-off. >> this is the double header. it was in the newsroom, very casual. no scripts, no interviews, no

notes. they both just sat down and we riffed. where we talk about the sport of politics, and politics of sport. he could also drop the velvet hammer on just about anything, not just politics. >> that's typical of you. you like everything except america. i like american sports. basketball. >> woodruff: he's become family to our newsroom. >> what was it like to work with mark shields? "it must be heaven" is usually the comment that i got. and it was heaven. >> i'm not sure, in the past 30 years, that i've met a more gracious, kind person to work with. >> even as a young, green reporter, he really listened to what i d to say, was so respectful, so interested in my take, and that really stood out to me. >> mark always brings a really great energy in with him. and no matter what is going on with him, he always asks, how are you? and he means it. and it's sincere and earnest and it's unselfish. he is a man of deep aracter and integrity, and i cherish our

friendship. >> woodruff: he's beloved by his current and former producers, even for his strict pre-show routine: >> there is a small audio booth down the hall from the studio, and the control room where, that's his office. that's where he sets up. >> you have to have the blue paper, you have to have the highlighters in various colors. >> i remember getting a call from him one day, be like, "just a reminder, i like this on blue paper in this format and please keep them stapled." >> woodruff: and also for his one-liners-- >> he caved like a $2 suitcase. >> one friday night, i was doing the political rap with mark, and the lights went out in the studio. we just kept talking because mark said, "we're always in the dark, anyway." it's a funny line, but not true. mark shields, at least, was never in the dark. >> woodruff: a lot has changed in the last year, as "shields and brooks," and the world, have gone virtual. mark, how is it going?

>> well, judy, i'm rreading tolstoy for the third time. ( laughter ) no i'm not. >> woodruff: through it all, he's been with us, guiding us through an election like no other in our lifetimes. >> there is no more fundamental right than the right to vote, but the right to vote means nothing unless it is counted. >> woodruff: and with that, it's time for the final friday night analysis of shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. and, before i go any further, i want to make it clear, mark will continue to be part of the newshour family as an occasional contributor. we'll have him back when there's a major political event and he wants to weigh in. but mark, before i let you and david speak, i want to say, what an utter joy it's been for me to work with you over the years, to be the beneficiary, along with our audience, of your wisdom, your brilliant inshts, and as we heard in the video,

your humor. we've all learned from you, it's impossible to put it into a few words, but the entire newshour family owes you a great debt of gratitude, and we will miss having you with us every week. now, i'm going to let you speak. mark, what did you think about the video? >> judy, it was like reading david's column, i just regretted that my parents weren't alive to read it, enjoy it, because my father would have enjoyed it and my mother would have wanted to believe it. just thank everybody for their over the top and too generous remarks. it's been 33 wonderful years. it's been a great privilege and just enormous fun.

that's that's what it's been. >> woodruff: david, what did you think. did you hear anything that rang true to you there? >> everyone knows mark, mark is mark. when he calls to told me the news a couple weeks ago i told him the blunt truth. mark is the best colleague i've ever had at any level of journ journalism or o or any line of work. i've been been around somebody who generates so much warmth and treats everybody with so much respect. i figure we haven't talked about this, your parents loved you really well. when you were a kid and you've been sharing it with the rest of us in the years since because you just walk in a room with a projection of warmth and respect that people respond to. that little column i wrote about you, it was the number one piece of the site today, because people want this. people are hungering for trustworthiness and deency. and it's been a great blessing in my life to be alongside you

for the last 19 years. >> thank you, david,. >> woodruff: mark, we're sharing all this with you because it's all true. but i know there's something that you want to say tonight, because you've spent all these years thinking a lot about american politics and this country. so i want to give you a chance to talk about it. >> that's kind of you, jew do. thank you, david. i have to say david has been the most generous and ideal partners for the past 19 years. judy once at thanksgiving what i was thankful f, one of the thing i listed was that all the time together i said dumb, stupid, probably just aptly i inappropriate thing never once did david take a cheap shot. it's not in him. not in his character. he's been a source of great

company, been a source of great wisdom. he's my friend. and i treasure him. i thank yo for those kind remarks. i grew up when man in the white house said, measure of our progress is not whether we had the abundance of those who have much. but whether we provide enough for those who have little. it's a very straight forward, from roosevelt the other kind of guide post for me in politics this i learned from my mom and my dad, my family, was that everyone of us has been warmed by fires we did t fill. and everyone of us has drunk from wells we did not dig. tother we can't do less for those that come after us, together we can do so much more. and it's as straight forward as that. i believe politics is a peac

peaceable resolution of conflict among legitimate, competing interests. and i don't know know, the nation is big and drawling, this great continent which we occupy, i wold resolve our differences except through the commitment, the passion, intelligence, the courage of those who are willing to practice the political process and achieve compromise. it does require courage, it does require hard work and city generals. so i -- and in tell generals i like people who run for political office, puts me in a very small category and the example i use is, if david and i were -- i like people who run for office f. dav and i were the two finalists to be the regional sales manager of the acme windshield wiper company and david rightly got the promotion and i didn't, the

hometown paper announce, they wouldn't add that shields was passed over because of lingering questions about his expense accounts or erratic behavior at the company christmas party. in politics. everybody that you sat next to or baby-sat or sat next to in study hall. i respect and admire those who run and loses and nobody ever did it better than old friend of mine, who lost very close state senate race in los angeles. the local announcer stuck the microphone in his face to say something he said very straight forwardly, the people have spoken. it is wonderful, does nothing more fun than a political campaign. i urge everybody who hasn't been involved in one to try and do

so, because you get all these people submerging their own -- something larger. and working long hours, their personal and professional lives. on one 12-hour period elections have been rightly called a on one-day sale. you find out whether you won or you lost. and you have friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime. i like politics, i believe in politics. i think politics is awfully important to the well being of our nation. >> woodruff: and mark, one of the things david wrote about you in his column today, that there's this basic trust or basic decency that you believe exists ineople who serve in public life.

i think right now there's a lack of faith that that's there. i'm curious as you take this next step in your life are you optimistic about the country, about what lies ahead, what do you see? >> i think optimm is the defining carable materialistic of america. with the exception of those who were here when columbus arrived. every american himself or herself immigrants or direct descendants of immigrants. to leave friends and family and familiar surroundings to strike out across the sea or continent to a place that you never met, to speak language in many cases you've never heard is an act of enormous courage. also a statement of found optimism. and continues to be founded on

daily basis by op so mitch. i am not a pollyian that. but when asked by our leaders and past leaders reached out and asked us collective sacrifice for the common good, americans have responded rather remarkably. and i recall when john kennedy was president and formed the peace corps. one young man was volunteering they asked him why, he said, nobody ever asked me to do anything unselfh or patriotic. president kennedy asked me. i think when -- or america ask asked. optimistic about joe biden because he's not a wall builder he's a bridge builder. he's somebody who extends that

hand of friendship and we'll find out if the folks on the other side of the bridge will come a third across or half way across. i'm hopeful. i really am. we've done great things. saved great lakes we've done wonderful things. rebuilt a war-torn europe we have. we got tbe real estate wear of that. >> woodruff: as we continue this conversation, mark, i bring david in, i also want to ask love of your life, anne shields which who i think is nearby you celebrated your 54th wedding anniversary. anne, she's coming in right now. going to take her place next to mark. wee making room for her. david, i want you to reflect a little more on what this means as we say goodbye to mark on

friday. >> first i want to say i've been extremely highly of mark, he's a wonderful guy. he never -- world record for marrying i pay tribute to him. it was truly remarkable time. i would say that like all of us were formed by a certain era. in mark's case it was period i think when he was a hill staffer in the mid '60s. government was working, g.i. bill had worked. the civil rights act, voting rightvotingrights act, fair hou, government was doing a lot of stuff, people were compromising and working. so you had a sense that this was a noble activity. politics and power involved in it is a means to an end. the end is comforting the unfortunate, serving the marginalized, aging a war on poverty. and so you had the sense that this is not just some game. this is a noble profession

because it's about achieving for people who need a hand up w. that came a feeling that you were there to serve the underdog that came deep sense of the quality. i was a kid who had hubert humphrey poster on my wall who mark probably knew. so that was inspiring. it's holistic way to think of politics. i speak to young people all they have known is broken politics. and i try to restore, it wasn't always broken. and that there's a way to bring it back to it's not broken aga again. we go through cycles and we'll come back and fix politics that's broken. but mark just comes from that era. like his neck ties. >> woodruff: we hope the broken politics are not behind us, mark reminds us that

everything good is possible in the future. as we say goodbye to mark, and to anne shields, on this friday night, i just want to express to you what you've meant, mark, again to us and to our audience. we have received thousands of comments, literal lea since we announced earlier this week that this would be your last friday night. you're going to continue to show up on our air when important things happen. so you leave with our love and our affection and our eternal gratitude. mark shields, there with the love of his life anne shields and david brooks. thank you. >> thank you, judy. thank you, david. see you, mark. >> see you david. >> woodruff: that is the >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe and good night. >> major funding for the pbs

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