captioning sponsoredy newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening, i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is off. on the newshour tonight, an explosion in nashville-- a major blast dages dozens of downtown buildings in what police are calling an intentional act. then, waiting for a pardon-- despite the political controversy, how the president can change lives by commuting criminal charges. >> ae need to come together collecti to work on bringing more men and women home to their families. >> nawaz: and it's friday. david brooks and karen tumulty break down the week's news and look back at the year in politics. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major fding for the pbsne

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fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: d friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public bd adcasting. contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: federal auths are investigating a christmas morning explosion that rocked dodtown nashville and appea to be intentional. the earlmorning blast left fires and a smoky scene above the city. at least 20 buildingin the ea were damaged and three people were injured. police said they were sponding to a call of shots fired when of an at&t transmiarked in front

building. the r.v. was playing a recordin warnople to evacuate in the next 15 minutes before a bomb exploded. scene for the a.p. and joins me now. almost everyone what do we know about what happened n the explosthorities are investigating

said it looked like a bomb went off mostly abandoned walking around in shock staying in hotels downtown there were no deaths so far

ground right nows whate feeling on the rdound right now int again a ear >> we'll be follthe story. updates. i'm sure kimberlee kreusi of the associated press joining us from nashville tonight. >> nawaz: in the day's other news, beginning on monday, travelers from the united kingdom must present a negative test within three days of flying to the united states.

the u.s. centers for disease coerol and prevention made announcement last night to help prevent the spread of new,hi ly contagious covid variants in britain. that ces as the u.s. death toll neared 330,000. and hospitalizations nationwideo hit a new high yesterday, more than 120,000. we'll take a closer look at the devastating toll the pandemic has taken on los angeles county later in the program. about 1,000 british soldiers worked to clear a huge backlog of trucks in southeast england today, amid efforts to contain the new covid variants. some 4,000 drivers are stillr stranded neae english channel, awaiting coronaviruss test be able to cross into ance. meanwhile, in south africa, at least 15 people have died in recent weeks waiting in longsc lines for viruenings at crossing points, sometimes for days. local media said they passed away due to exhaustion, poor health, and a lack of facilities as they were trying to rch zimbabwe. this year's christmas

celebrations around thd were unlike any other, against icthe backdrop of the pand from the philippines to bethlehem, worshippers attended scaled-down services, seat sparsely and wearing masks. in rome, lockdowmeasures left the normally-crowded streets of st. peter's square eerily qut. inside the near-empty basilica, poperancis delivered his annual message virtually, and appealed for unity. >>translated ): i beg everyone, heads of state, companies and international organizations to promote cooperation and not competition, to find a solution for everyone, vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy in all areas of the planet. the most vulnerable and needy must be first. >> naw: president trump spent the holiday at his mar-a-lago resort in florida. he spoke with american service members stationed around the rld in a private teleconference. more than 250,000 people acrosse the notern u.s. woke up without electricity today. a massive winter storm downedpo

r lines throughout pennsylvania. heavy rainfall triggered flooding in some communities. snow fell from new york to the mountains of north carolina, while parts of new england had wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour. crews in southern california battled to contain a wildfire today amid dry and windy conditions. they worked through the night, after more than 7, a0 residents around the camp pendleton u.s. marine corps base were forced to evacuate. the so-called "creek" fire has burned more than 3500 acres so far, a is only 35% contained. in ethiopia, the red cross reported the death toll from wednesday's massacre in thepa wester of the country has now risen to 222. more than ,000 people have fled the area due to the violence. meanwhile, ethiopia's electol board has scheduled the country's national election for next june, as political and ethnic conflict rages in several regions. and, a passing to note tonight:

legendary boston celtics player k.c. jones has died in connecticut, after battling alzheimer's. the often-overshadowed point guard won eight n.b.a. championships in the 1960s. later, he transitioned to the sidelines with as much success, winning another two titles as jones is one of onen players in history to win championships in college, along olympic gold medal.k.a an jones was 88 years d. still to come on the newshour:e desplitical controversy, how the president can change lives by commuting criminal charges.an director details t dramaticin covid cases. ulvid brooks and karen tumty break down the week's news and look back at the year in litics. and much more. >> nawaz: it is a unique power

>> nawaz: it is a unique power of a president, and often draws criticism. the ability to pardon criminals can be politically motivated. as michael schiller from reveal from the center for investigative reporting lays out here, pardons can also change lives. >> it's the battle of indiana, the undefeated charles duke tanner. >> reporter: charles "duke" tanner staed out in gary, indiana's youth boxing and golden gloves. he turned pro at 18, and was undefeated in the ring. >> oh, he caught him with a right hand, timed it perfectly did duke tanner! >> reporter: tanner s on track to be a cruiser-weight title contender, before it all came it's been 16 years since his last fight, and he spent most of that time in federal prison. >> this call is from charles tanner, an inmate at a federal prison >> reporter: hey duke how are you? >> oh man, another blessed day n, another day closer to coming home. r

orter: in 2019, he called me from allenwood correctional facility in pennsylvania. he had already served 14 yeaof for his firsnse, a non- violent drug trafficking charge. >> i was of five kilos and more powdered cocaine. it.y gave me a life sentence for i had life without parole. the only way home was in a casket. >> reporter: there was one other way, a presidential pardon. he subtted a petition to the pardon attorney's office at the department of justice. >> if i could talk tpresident trump, just tell him i'm seeking this clemency, based off o change, hope and the possibilities of making americ great again. >> reporter: there are a lot of people waiting to hear back froh pardon attorney's office, it has more than 14,000 pending petitions. duke tanner, to me, was somebody who stood out head and shoulders above so many cases that i, i receive. >> reporter: amy povah helpedta er file his clemency petition. >> t for tanner.

>> reporter: after serving nine years for a non-violent drug crime, she got clemency from president clinton herself. when she got out, povah started the can do clemency foundation using the knowledge she gathered in the prison law library. >> i don't think we need to be putting first offenders in prison for life, for nonviolent drug offenses. and he had so many accomplishments at a very young age that defined who i felt his aracter was. he was probably at the very top of our list of worthy clemency candidates. >> reporter: what wereome of the things you were up against? >> the office of the pardon attorney rides inside the partment of justice. and our experience is that very few precutors who put people in prison are inclined to want to release them. >> reporter: she says this conlict of interest has bro the system. >> it's kind of a very unfair, biased process where somof the best candidates don't make ito

the white house and frankly, some questionable ones do. >> reporter: sam morison worked in the pardon attorney's office for 13 years. it decides whether to recommend tfor or against clemency president. >> they don't review these looking for good cases t recommend. they look, they review them looking for a reason to say no. so there are vanishingly few favorable recommendations in a commutation case. >> reporter: a commutation gets you out of prison, a pardon restores your civil rights, both are forms of presidential clemency. president obama gave more than 1,700 commutations, and 212 pardons, primarily to non- it was the most presidenal clemencies in decades.s >> thapretty good number. that's a lot. i grant you that. but if you compare it to the size of the federal prison potlation, it actually isn' all that historically significant. >> reporter: morison is ti private prac now, submitting petitions to the pardon attorney's office. he says the allenges are made worse by its secrecy.

>> they won't talk to applicants they won't share the government's views on a case with an applicant or his attorney. >> that allows them to pretty much say whatever they want in one of these recommendations without any oversight at all. >> repter: many of president's trump's clemencies have gone to friends anpolitical allies who never applied through the pardon attorney's office in the first place. that's what made tanner's case so surprising. >> my case manager came with the officer and they stopped by my cell. so they were like "hey tanner w needlk to you." he said, you got to go home. you know, the president signed off on youwe got to get you off the complex. he signed off on you to get out of here three hours ago. >> reporter: a little over a ar after our first conversation, on october 21st, president trump signed tanner's clemency warrant. athe walked out of prison same day.t >>ally didn't hit me until i samy son the following day that i was free.or >> rr: he knows how lucky he is to have a second chance.

>> that second chance to be with my son. i don't think nothing in the world in my life is gog to ever top that. i can go win the heavyweight or and i will not feel like i felt that day. >> reporter: so why duke tanner? the pardon attney's office declined to comment. we know he was one ove non- violent offenders serving long seatences who were released day, less than two weeks before the election. this video of tanner reuniting with his son was used in a campaignd for president trump. >> thank you president trump, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, alaiseo and glory go td. >> reporter: now tanner isome in indiana. this was his fst time back at the gym where he started his career. >> this is the guy who used to i started training monday with my son and started my diet now. so i can really hit the gym and start getting it going.

>> reporter: according to an a.c.l.u. study, black men are 20 times more likely to get life thout parole for non-violent crimes than whites. former federal prosecutor mark osler thinks clemency is the way to reverse unfair prison sentences from the war on drugs. >> clemency has to be part of the measures that we take to address mass incarceration. our clemency system is broken and it needs to be fixed >> reporter: what's the danger of not having a functioning pardon system? >> the problem with not having come out of balance.things ed has to embrace justice and mercy, we ne both. and clemency is the vehicle for mercy. >> repter: osler sees an opportunity for president elect joe biden. >> there is a simple fixor clemency. process, and we nehave aation clemency board that would review the cases to make president.tions directly to the >> reporter: sam morrison agrees. >> what i would recommend that president biden do is that you take something very much like

the pardon office an reconstitute it somewhere else. i actually agree that prosecutors should have a voice in therocess. they just shouldn't be the only voice. >> reporter: tanner israteful to all the people that helped him beat the odds. >> and as we hold each other's hands god, we know that our hands are in your hand. and we celebrate god you bringing your son me, god. >> reporter: he is working to convert this baseball stadium in gary, indiana into a pop-up boxing ring for his return to pro-sports next fall. he's got theupport of state senator eddie melton. >> what could a major fight do for gary?e what better pl come and show that we can give it back. >> reporter: tanner went from a cell in a federal prison to a white house christmas party in a matter of weeks. his plea to the president, use your power to let more people out of prison. w need to come together as a collective to work on bringing more men and women home to their families. >> reporter: tanner is fortunate enough to be one of the people that president trump has granted clemency to so far.ti with littl left in the white house, there are still

14,282 petitions pending.pb fonewshour and reveal, this is michael schiller. >> nawaz: as we've been reporting this week, california is an epicenter of covid infections in the u.s. right now, the state has been averaging about 40,000 new cases a day over the last we passed its two millionth case since the pandemic began. about 20,000 people are hospitalized with covi and i.c.u.s are near capacity in some areas, with roughly 4,000 patients around the ate. los angeles countywhich includes not just los angeles but many other cities like pasadena, inglewood and santa clarita, is struggling mightily. hospitals have had to divert ambulances in some cases and redirect them to other facilities. dr. christina gawley is the oiunty's health services director and she me now. dr. gorley, welcome to the newshour and thanks for making

your hospitals arely strained. you have used the wordov whelmed. what does that look like inside? what kind of steps and decisions keare hospitals having to ow that they weren't making before? pressure right now, and it's the staff within them who have working hard over the past nine months that are feeling all of that stress at this time. the i.c.u. at medical surgical units and emergency departments are full. as you mentioned, ambulances are often being diverted, a largeto number of casether hospitals that are close by. but that'songer drive time. and even when they get to a hospital, they're often having to wait seral hourffload patients because the emergency departments can't take them. and this affects patients with covid and non-combat alike because of how many covid patients are in the hospitals. about a ird of all patients in the hospitals right now in los angeles county have covered. it really doesn't leat much room for patients with other conditions or injuries.

>> nawaz: doctor, do you know what's behd these numbers? what is driving the surge you're seeing right now? >> there are so many factors behind this. certainly, i think some people have called out the r and i think that's part of it. both just the that type of air and help having it that the virus transmitted a little bit more easily. people being pushed inside with the slightly colder weather, even though it's stillfo caia, people are still moving inside a little b more. but more than anything, i just think it's the amount of intermingling that is happening within our communities. and we see images of this every day on the news. los angeles ternational airport is crowded with large numbers of people traveling, see images of crowded shopping, mall parking lots, a number of people out holiday shopping here about holiday parties and get- togethers. raising concern for the weeks ahead and is certainly similar. similar things to this is what happened over thanksgiving is what caused us to be in this situation that we're in today. >> nawaz: dr., can you tell us a little bit about the patients that you're seeing? obviously, when they come to the hospital, they need that critical care, but is there a

patient profile? e they usually a certain age from certain communities? what are you seeing?>> ell, one of the underlying stories of this pandemic is how much it's hurt, vulnerable populations, low income populations and communities of arlor. they've been thest hit throughout this entire pandemic. latin communities are getting infected and dying at rates that are three times that of white communities and asian communities. and black african-american individuals are dying at twice the rate as their white counterparts. there's so many reasons behind this. a lot of the structural and institutional racism and reasons behind these higher posure rates and higher death rates. but we as a society and a community really need to come together to help all of the people out there in the community. i will say, though, as much as it affects vulnerable populations, it is affecting everybody. and we see people of all ages within the hospitals, certainly many more of them are a little bit on the older side. but there's countless stories of

people who are 30 years old, 35, 40 years old, with no underlying believe that they have aeason to serious course with covid. and they're coming into the hospital. ey can't breathe. they're not doing well on any of the interventions that can bedo to try to keep people breathing without mechanicalat ventn. and then we get to the point where they have to be ventilated at the hospital. and these are scary situations to be in the intensive care unit with a tube down your throat breathing for you wi or seven or eight lines coming out of your body.ca these are scar situations for the individuals and their families, and it can affect anybody. en nawaz: we've heard from communities expeng surges throughout the pandemic that it's not necessarily bed capacity that worries them. it's staffing that you can have overflow rooms and turn beds as needed. but staff gets sick and a staff get overwhelmed, you start to run short are you worried about having the staffing that you need to meet this surge? >> yes, this is a big worry.

and it's t things. it's what you mentionethe fact that health care workers are aople just like anyone el they get infected with covid in their communities just like anybody else. and when we have our highl trained health care workers, are out with covid or out on quarantine orders, that leaves less staff to care for the patients with at the hospitals. and then also that'sombined with just the fact that there's a large number of patients coming in and there's only so many of those highly trained staff to be able to care for patients, particularly the ents that need that i.c. level of care. it's still about a quarter of the patients, plus or minus that they get admitted to the hospital need that critical level of care. and one thing i want to say is just, you know, i've hearder stories nd over again about how health care workers are heroes. and i know a lot of peopleth believ. but at the same time, it does feel a little bit over the past month or so that those words ring a little bit hollow, that fwhen we see those images people intermingling, we see people not following the public

health interventions, that itel starts to iscouraging for the health care workers when they're putting their lives on the line out there working in so many ways within our hospitalsr to care ople in the midst of their pain and suffering. i uld just ask that everyo come together and really show that health re workers are heroes by following the public heal interventions that keep people safe. >> nawaz: dr. christina, health seices director from los angeles county, thank you so much for being with us. and we wish you gooduck and safety in the weeks ahead. >> thank you very much. happy holidays. >> nawaz: and now to the analysis of brooks and tumulty that's "new york times" columnist david brooks, and karen tumulty of the "washington post." welcome to you both. and thanks for being here with us on this christmas day. david, i want to start with you, because, finally, finally, we bill.a covid relief funng republicans and democrats

ernaged to find a way to come togeand compromise. and the time couldn't be more dire. millions americans' benefits will expire tomorrow. at the last minute, of course, the president eps in and says the direct payments are not big enough. what do you make of how the president chose to intervene in the ocess at this time? >> first i want to say karen nd i did notoordinate our poinsettias. that was just a coincidence.au ( ter ) you know, to me, this is-- you know, what trump did was trump day.e end of the i think the expectation is that his attempt to sort of throw a monkey wrench was just more noise and that he'll sign this there are certainlt of republican senators telling him to sign it because it's so necessary. to me, the big story out of this was that we had a grop f people in the-- not only in the center about the all ovecor ress who wanted to do a deal, anhthere's a ting called "the problem solvers caucus" which is bicameral, senators and house members, democrats, republicans. and they set out theframework to the deal. and i was on ia call with about

15 or 20 of them eabout a k ago, and they were charged up because they were charged because for the first time this a long time something got done, and they want to carry that over intohe biden administration. so to me, we can look at the mess. we can look at how it took us a ridiculous amount of time. it's probably too small. but at least something was accomplished, and it was accomplished by people who wanted to craft a compromise. >> nawaz: karen i want to talk about the biden administration, the incoming administration in a moment, but wh you look at th president's message, how he hose to intervect himself into e conversation. these negotiations have been going onfor months. the white house was involved in those talks. what do you make of how he chose to step in with this message? >> well, it'ss atonishing. he's absolutely correct that these direct payments are e ofequate, given the siz the need. but it would have been nice if he would have spoken up while his own administration was negotiating this packa and so, david's right, you know. as of tomorrow, we haveg somethke 14 million

americans losing unemployment gobenefits. thrnment could shut down on monday. on new year's eve, more than 10 million americans are in danger of being vulnerable to evition when the moratorium expires. and the president spent today not trying to work on a new framework for all of this. he spent the day on the golf course, complaining that he wasn't getting enough republican supporin his efforts toov turn the elections, and retweeting complaints that his wife is not on enough mazine cover spops it really is sort of hard to take seriously his complaints that there's a problem wi this bill. >> nawaz: david, the president to, veto the massive militaryise spending bill. and he's triggered a possible override vote in the congress early next week. it would be tvehe firstto override of his presidency. do you think that the

that spending bill will still vote for it now, will stand up in opposition to the president? >> i think so. there is just so much in there th needs to pass in port of military pay, defense against russian cyber incursions. i think there s a lot f bipartisan support for this. this was trump partly wanting to honor our confederate heroes. this was partly trump justwa ing to throw a monkey wrench in things. i think he's de tcidt his gambit for survival in a biden president again, is that he's the guy who shook up the system. so in the lastfew days, maybe in the last four years, maybe at a peak that the republicans are not sticng with him, but maybe to underline the sense he is thh gushook up the system. he has thrown a lot of vetoes around. i think this one will be overridden and the worst will be avoided. but it's him-- it's td of four years of narcissism and he's ending on a high note. >> nawaz: karen wht, about the point david made earlier,

about the fact that we don't see a lot of big momes in bipartisan legislation these days. this covid relief deal was a sign that this can be done. it's not regular legislative process by any stretch. but what es that mean for the incoming biden administration? does it look like lawmakers are ing to be more willing to work across the aisle and get things >> well, this is inly-- was the entire premise of joemp biden's gn for president. this was the premise on which he ran, that it is still possible to have bipartisan compromise in ofngress, and doing it the old-fashioned waorking from the center out. a number of us were on a call with the president-elect on we hesday, and, you kno was-- he was holding this up as a real kd of example of the kinds of things that it is still possible achieve. now, a lot of people, including a lot of people in his own party, think that's naive. but this-- he says, "i know how

to do this." >> nawaz: david, i believe you were on that call as well. what was youwar tak this message that president-elect biden can be the one toget people to cross the aisle and continue to work together. are they still holding on to that confidence and optimism? >> yeah, i was really struck by biden's confidence on thacall. he said, "look, i beat all these primary contenders. i won the presidency by seven million votn es. i've bing this a long time. i know how to get this done. he has tremendous faith in himself. he's trying to coordinate between the center of his partye and th of his party. he's pretty confident where he is, center left, is exctly where the country is. i would say the six or seven of us on the call, some of our colleagues were not as optimistic that things would get done as president-elect biden was. i lean a little on the bidendi ction, maybe more than a little on the biden direction. i do think there are a lot ofho senatorsre tired of not getting to vote on their bills because all they did under mitch mcconnell was do judicianf mations. a lot of house members who are

just tired that all the power in congress is concentrated in either the speaker's office or the senate or majority leader's office. people realize this is a closely divided congress. they can stop stuff. i do think they want to do their jobs. just to do nothing, which isn sort of what they've been doing. imistic. of o and as biden says, he has good relationships with a lot of people, including mitch mcconnell. >> nawaz: karen to-- sorry, karen, go ahead. >> well, the other thing that's important here is theeed and the urgency at this moment is so great. >> nawaz: it's a point we captain make enough upon i do want to ask you abo another point david made, which was biden does occupy this center-left space. he's getting asot of psure already from the left wing of the party to take big action early on things li climate change and immigration, and to do so through executive action. now, this admistration has triggered a lot of conversation around the limits of presidential power.

do you think that biden is likely to use some of tho presidential powers early to make those big cha inges ear his administration? >> i asked him exactly that question. and he said there will be a number of ecutive orders that he does on dejay one-- roining the paris climate accord, giving some help to the dreamers, undoing some of the loosening oa environmregulations that happened on president trump's watch. but he also that he is not going to have a heavy tprint with executive power. he is not, for instance, going to go out there and forgive 50,000 dlars in stude debt, like some people would like to see. he said, "i am not a fan of the imperial presidency." and the other thing he realizes if he pushes hard with his he-- executive power, he is goingto inflame capitol hill, and he is going to make it that much

harder to get anything done inso thist of bipartisan model >> nawaz: i have to ask each of you, in the few moments we have left, as we're speaking o this christmas day, this holiday is different and difficult in so many ways. and so i'd love to hear from each of you-- david, i'll start th you-- how are you spending this holiday and looking back at 2020? >> i'm here with my wife. it's just the two of us. and i think what surprises me most-- i mean, one should mention, first, the deaths and the sadness and the trauma-- i miss big christmas parties. t never thought i would say tha because, you know, they can be kind of a chore. but we're sort of testosterone deprived, and the little thrill you get walking into a crowded room with family and friends is something i'll miss. 's the quietude. i've taken this row too far. i want to get off walden pond. >> nawaz: karen, how about you? >> i agree. so msuy people areffering so

much. so i don't want to sound like i'm, you know, dwelling in self-pity here, but i do look forward to speoing anther christmas with my sons, with my daughter-in-law. we all opened our presents today on zoom. it was jt my husband and me here, but i want to be here next chstmas to do it up big. l nawaz: i want to end on one last analytite here, dare i ask you to make a prediction of what we'll see in the final weeks of the trump presidency. karen, what do you think? >> iink it's a pretty safe prediction-- it's going to be chaotic. >> nawaz: "chaotic," that is the word karen is going to leavt us david what, about you? >> narcissistic. one important point biden made is it's not a black box going on in the administration but there e a lot shadows. the incoming team doesn't know what's out there. and he said one of the reasons he picks experienced people is

people to know where everything is buried because the trump admistration is not helping. it's melting down from the top and bottom in all particulars. >> nawaz: there will be a lot of news fo sure inthe weeks ahead and the months ahead. and i'm so grateful to both you for joining us on this day to break it all down. karen tumulty and davibrooks, thank you for being with us. >> merry christmas. >> nawaz: this holiday sson, more than a million americans will have an empty seat at the table due to covid. as we do every friday, we want to take a moment to tell you out five people who lost their lives to the pandemic. here now are their stories.

darlene peters had an infectious laugh, her daughter said, she was compassionate and grounded in her catholic faith. raised on the swinomish reservation in washington state, darlene became a mental health counselor for the tribal community after receiving her masters degree in 2016. described by a friend as non- judgmental, honest, and a great public speaker, darlene was 58 years old. 71-yeaold manuel zuniga lived the american dream, his daughter said. manuel, called max by those who knew him, was born and raised in teile. his father's death when max was just 13, he took on the responsibility of providing for his family. left chile for america over 50 years ago and settled iernew jersey, he worked long hours at a warehouse, never wantg his children to strugg like he did, according to his daughter. outside ofork, max had a colorful life, a weight lifter in the '80's, a lifelong lover

of music and a committed father with a big heart, his daughter said max was always there r those in need. julia francis wishnevski was quiet, but warm, her daughter said. the illinois native was married in 1932, and she and h husband lived and worked together on a farm.a ther to three daughters, and eventually a great-great grandmother, julia is described as supportive and caring. she loved playing cards and bingo, and she was a great cooma wh dessert with every meal. julia was 108 years old, and said the secret to her long life was "hard work." there wasn't a dance floor that javier semerene wouldn't dance wouldn't deliver a, hishere he family said. he was outgoing, charming, and smiled with his whole heart. javier was born in caracas, venezuela and moved aroundic south amas ahild for his

father's work. javier raised his own kids in south florida, and his own hrreer took him around the globe with his wife of decades. his family called javier a world citizen. he was 55 years old. 92-year-old bill braithwaite lived his life in the service of others, his daughter said. it was the 4-h club, a youth ganization for kids from farming families, that sowed the seeds of service. it's also wherhe met his wife bill went on to become a lawyer, settling in illinois, he was a mentor to many and a champion of his community, serving as the attorney for his town of north barrington for over 50 years. he was once named "man of the year" for all his service. described as warm and generous, bill was a devoted husband, father and grandfather and was known for leading with his heart. as always, we are so deeply grateful to the friends and

family who share those stories and memoriesi us. you are all in our thoughts this holiday season. >> nawaz: a deeply american story, showcasing great american artists: the new film, "ma rainey's black bottom" is available on netflix now. jeffrey brown reportfor our ongoing arts and culture series, canvas.ey >> if ant to call me mother of the blues, that's alright with me, don't hurt none. >> brown: "ma rainey's black bottom" is about music and race, sorrow and survival. seon a hot summer day in chicago 1927, in a sll recording studio, it doesn't travel far in either time or space, yet somehow speaks to something much larger of the

country's deep pain. director george c. wolfe. >> so much about america is unresolved and so much of this film is about that which is characters, inside of america. and so the chance that these intrinsically american stories, these intrinsically african- american stories are going to be shared all over the worlis a great thing. >> brown: it's also a chance to celebrate and honor three great american artists, all now gone, beginning with playwright august wilson. the play, "ma rainey's black bottom", first produced on broadway in 1984, is part of wilson's epic cycle of ten plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th ctury, each t around some aspect of black american life.on wiied in 2005 at age 60. four years earlier, he spokeat with thegwen ifill on the newshour. >> i am a black american ulaywright. i 't be anything else. i make my art out of black american culture.ll

it'sut out of the same that's who i am and that's who i write abou >> white folks don't understand about the blues. they hear it come out but they e.don't know how it got th >> brown: one hallmark of wilson's plays: the power and poetry of his language. in the film version of "ma rainey", viola davis plays the title character. >> the blues help you get out of bed in the morning. you get up, you ain't alone. there's something else in the world, something been added by that song. >> it encapsulates exploitation, liberation of the music, violation of the spirit, what the blues does to the human condition, all in th one speech.wh an you have a thrilling actress like viola davis do it,

it becomes, you surrender to it. and then you pull back and go, oh my god, the worldthe iverse just expanded while she was talking.e >> brown: al woman on whom the story is based, gertrude¡ ma' rainey, also expanded theer universe of an music. called "the mo blues", she performed with the likes of louis armstrong, mentored a young bessie smith. she worked for years in chicago but spent much of her life in the south. her columbus, georgia home is maw a museum. she was businessand star. >> she put on shows, i tnk there were like-- we see just a hint of it-- sometimes the shows she put there would be 50 performers. so sheas like, she was the southern black ziegfeld, if you will, in terms of genre and very successful. >> brown: the film is set around

one of her chicago recording sessions. in the mid-'20s she recorded nearly 100 songs and had numerous hits. whites controllethe business, but ¡ma' controlled the music. >> we'll be able to go when madam says we're ready and that'she way it go around here. >> there's jim crow laws,nc there's ng going on, but in the south she's her own entrepreneur. she learned, she owns two theaters. she toured around in the north, she has to deal with the white power stcture in order to do >> brown: finally, the most recent loss: chadwick boseman, who died this year of colon ncer at age 43. as a young actor he played icone of acan life: including jackie robinson, james brown, and in 2017, thurgood marshall. when i talked with him at the time, he told me of his approach acting the silences as well as the words. h>> that's actually just d, if not harder, than having the huge speech at the end or the closing statements.as

>> brown: itust two years ago that he achieved international stardom as the black panther, commanding his world, and the seen. >> what is you? i don't see your name lights. >> brownkin "ma rainey's blac bottom", his final role, boseman plays levee, a young horn player with a deeply scarred past in the south. >> i got talent! if my daddy knowed i'd turn out like this he'd namede gabriel. i'm gonna get me a band and make records. i done give mr. sturdevant some of my songs and he say he gonna let me record ¡em when i get my band together, i just gotta finish this last song.yl i got >> everyone got style. style ain't nothing but keeping the same idea from beg to end. everybody got it. >> everybody can't play like i do. >> brown: what made him a great actor? what is it that makes somebody stand out like that? >> he was deeply dedicated to his craft. i think he was totally in touch being.ho he was as a human i think there was a grace to him that was phenomenal.

because it's a character who ist d ig and charming and arrogant and foolish s a vision of what music should sound like in the future. and at the same time, he's deeply scarred by these thin he witnessed when he was a young boy.ch and then witwick, you have this extraordinarily charismatic actor who is also a deeply complited actor. and so he brought all of that to make this character sing w ph the pain asibility. >> brown: lost greats, a renewed classic." ma rainey's black bottom' is the second in a planned 10-part film project capturing the richness of august wilson's work. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown.

>> nawaz: this year, your holiday table is probably looking very different from last it's most likely that your holiday table is in a completely new configuration this year. much fewer places. maybe a ipad or computer screen on the table, zooming in a loved-one from far-away. the fact is, that is a tradition that happens every year for many families. tonight, nadia owusu shares her humble opinion, that immigrantst already kn ways to bridge distance. >> for some, the prospect of spending the holidays apart from their families feels like tooci much to bear, ly after this challenging year. thing to do. considering the immigrant experience can help put that sacrifice in perspective. my father was a united nations moved back and f betweenb, we europe and east africa. at 18, i moved to new york for

university, and i've lived here my whole adult life. members of my immediate family live in ghana and the unid kingdom. many of my close friends in new york are immigrants from alle around torld, and we commiserate about missing important momen and celebrations, such as anniversaries, mileston, birthdays, and weddings. we have supported each other loved ones have fallen ill orour passed away and we have not beer able tel home. we miss going to the market with our grandmothers or watching soccer games with our siblings. but my immigrant friends and i also share stories about how weo manage nurture deep distances.ips across great we create rituals. a friend of mine and her mother in mexico city regularly prepare meals together over the phone from the same recipes.is every chas, my cousin laura in london chooses a dif19ferent s hip-hop song and writes christmas lyrics to it. all of us around the world watch her perform it over skype st chs eve.

this holiday season we'll find time on ne year's day to make a toast and share resolutions. throughout t year,ver the phone and internet we're intentional about coming together as a family to tell stories and imagine and plan our next in-person reunion. the immigrant experience reminds us that there are many people who endure much lonr separations from loved ones than are currently being called for by public health experts. so stay home, and just knothat not traveling does not have to mean cancelling the holidays. it doesn't hve to mean being alone. aw >>: we end with a newshour tradition. each year, we have asked the department of defense and its

defense media activity agency to spread a little holiday cheer and record service members singing a christmas so. from members across the esrvices, here is a reprise of one of our favor"carol of the bells." ♪ ♪ ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares awayas ♪ chriss here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old ♪ ding-dong, digd that is the song ♪ with joyful ring ♪ one seems to hear, ah words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from ♪ filling the air oh, how they pound ♪ oh, how they pound raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale telling their tale ♪ gaily thering while people sing ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here rr♪ merry, merry, merry, christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas

♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares away ♪ christmas is here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is e song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from everywhere ♪ filling the air oh, how they pound raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale telling their tale ♪ gaily they ring while people sing christmas is hereheer ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells s all seem to say throw caay ♪ christmas is here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the song all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer ♪ from ever from everywhere ♪ filling the air oh, how they pound ♪ oh, how they pound raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and daleei telling tale ♪ gaily they ring while people sing ♪ songs of good che christmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry

christmaser ♪, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares awayas ♪ chriss here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from everywhere oh, how they pound raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale telling their le ♪ gaily they ring while people sing ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bel♪ all seem to say throw cares away ♪ christmas is here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer f ♪m everywhere from everywhere ♪ filling the air oh, how they pound ♪ oh, how they pound ♪aising their sound o'er hill and dale telling their tale ♪ gaily they ring while people sing s ♪gs of good cheer christmas is hereme ♪ merryy, merry, merry christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas

♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares away ♪ christmas is here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and oldek nd the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from everywhere oh, how they pound ♪ oh, how they pound raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale telling their tale ♪ gaily they ring while people sing gs of good cheer ristmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ mer, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ their joyful tone to every home ♪ ah, ah, ah ding-dong, ding-dong ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong hark how the bells ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong >> nawaz: can't think of a better way tclose out this christmas day broadcast. as always, our thanks to

everyone featured in that video for eir service and for helping to spread a little holiday cheer when we need it most. if you need another reason to h smild to the newshour online right now. we spoke with 11 artists and on the newshour online right now, we spoke with 11 artists and writers over the course of y thr about what objects helped them get through 2020. read more about the mementos that they found meaningful this year, and learn how to submit your own, on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz, thank you for joininomus. ll of here at the newshour, merry christmas and happy holidays.sa please sta, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding fhe pbs newshour has been provided by: >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins.

>> okay.e in plans. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing planpa is alway of the plan. >> the william and fra hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideaand supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.or

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions t and friends newshour. >> this progralewas made possy the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thk you. >> at the pbs newshour, we have a long tradition of reporting on the events tht define our times. new times have led us to find new ways to do what we do best. now, more than ever, we seek answers to the tough questions. >> the unitedtates is still not testing per capita. >> woodruff: and get you information you can trust. >> we are the pbws neshour. >> woodruff: week nights on pbs.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

- hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour company." this holiday season, we're inging you some of ou ffavorite interviem the year, and here's what's coming up. tonight we turn to some of the best historians of our time to make sense of this extraordinary year. amid blackives matter, carol anderson and eric foner join me to discuss a juneteenth likeo other. timothy snyder tells me why his own brush with death taught him that health care is in fact key to american freedom. and jon meacha-rd annette gordond speak to our walter isaacson about thomas jefferson and america's moral reckoning. [upbeat music] - [narrator] "amanpour & company" is made possible by the anderson family fund, sue and edgar wachenheim iii,