captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioning sponsored by ewshour productions, ll pctns >> nawaz pctns >> nawaz: good evening, i'm amna nawaz.>> judy woodruff is off. on the newshr tonight, an a explosion in nashville-- a major blast damages dozens of downtowg buildiin what police are calling an intentional act. then, waiti for a pardon-- despite the politicaler contr, how the president can change lives by commuting criminal charges. >> we need to come together as a collective to work on bringing more men andomen home to their families. >> nawaz: and it's fridy. david brooks and karen tumulty deak down the week's new look back at the year in politics. a all th more on tonight's pbs newshour. >smajor funding for the pb newshour has been provided by:

♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org.amio ight foundat.

fostering informed and engagedt. communities. more at kfrg. >> 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 pbr station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: federal authorities morning explosion that rocked downtown nashville and appeared to be intentional. the early morning blast left fires and a smoky scene aboveth city. at least 20 buildings in the area were damaged anthree people were injured.e police said they were responding to a call of shots fired whened they saw an r.v. parked in fronf they saw an r.v. parked in fronf building.

the r.v. was playing a recording warning people to evacuate in the next 15 minutes before a bomb exploded. kimberlee kreusi was on then now.e for the a.p. and joins mec kimberly, welcome to the newshorr. and thankseing with us. the authorities in nashville briefed everyone earlier today to update them. we expect another update laterr tonight. but what is the latest? what do wenow about what happened? mean, we still dot know a lot. we have sources now that can confirm human remains have been found at the site near where the explosion took place. unfortunately, we don't know much more about if this is avia tim or connected to the explosion, but right now,, authorities are investigating and sent those remains off to the coroner's office to be investigated further. >> nawaz the eyewitnesses have described the scene liketh sog you would see in a horror movie. the nooshvilt mayor said

looked like a bomb went off. the area is cordoned off.e are telling people to stay away. upper down there.do tell us what the area looks like now. >> it was an extremely somber event walking downtown on christmas day in nashville, in a city thatbeas already heavily hit this year.r. and it was mostly abandoned, thankfully. but the people who were out there, who just were-- were walking around in shock.. a number of people weighed whether or not they should travel. they were staying in hotelsot downtown. they didn't know if they coulds get back into downtown nashville if they left. some confusion and a t of uncertainty. >> nawaz: we know dozens of residents there have bn evacuated, as you mentioned,ed there weren't many people there. lucky it happened on a holiday flrp no deaths so far. but for all of this to happen on christmas morning, at the end of this particular year, what the feeling on the ground right now? >> you know,t the nashville mayor, john cooper, he has called h20 probably thedest hit year for this city.

and he's marking, you know, not just the b pandemic, we had a fatal tornado come through here in march, and now, you know, for to come at the end, you know, it was just marking yett again a hard year. there's a reason they call itng "nashville st a lot of people coming together.r. the first people reaching out t me weople trying to figure out how to help.p. while it was a dark day, someme people weretill trying to find a little bit of hope and help people out. >> nawaz: we'll be the story for updates. that is kimberlee kreusi fromm the associated press joining us tonight from nashville. thanks to you.y >> thanku. >> nawaz: in the day's other news, beginning on monday, travelers from the united kingdom must present a negive covid-19 test within three days of flying to the united states..

the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention made the announcement last nighto help prevent the spread of new, highly contagious covid variants in britain. that comes as the u.s. death toll neared 330,000. and hospitalizations nationwide hit a new record high yesterdayh more than 120,000. we'll take a closer look at thet devag toll the pandemic has taken on los angeles county later in the program. about 1,0 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 still stranded near the english channel, awaitincoronavirus tests to be able to cross into france. meanwhile, in south africa, at iast 15 people have died recent weeks waiting in long lines for virus screenings at crossing points, sometimes for days. local media said they passed away due to exhaustion, or health, and a lack of facilities health, and a lack of facilities zimbabwe. this year's christmas celebrations around the world were unlike any other, againstot

the backdrop of the pandemic. from the philippines to bethlehem, worshippers attended scaled-down services, seated sparsely and wearing mas. in rome, lockdown measures left the normally-crowded streets of st. peter's square eerily quiet. inside the near-empty basilica, pope francis 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 ia all of the planet. the most vulnerable and needy must be first. >> nawaz: president trump spentw thholiday at his mar-a-lag resort in florida. he spoke with american service members stationed around the world in a private teleconference. more than 250,000 people across the northeastern u.s. woke upho w electricity today. a massive winter storm downed pennsylvania.hroughout

heavy rainfall triggered flooding in some communities. snow fell from new york to the mountains of north carolina, while parts of new engadof wind gusts up to 65 miles pernd hour.ws cn southern california battled to contain a wildfire battled to contain a wildfire they worked through the night, after more than 7,000 residents in and around theamp pendleton u.s. marine corps base were forced to evacuate. the so-cald "creek" fire has burned more than 3500 acres so50 far, and is only 35% contained.d in ethiopia, the red cross reported the death toll from western part of thtry hashe now risen to 222. more than 40,000 people have fled t area due to the violence. meanwhile, ethiopia's electoral board has scheduled the country's national election for next june, as political and ethnic conflict rages in several and, a passing to 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. chaionships in the 1960s. later, he transitioned to the sidelines with as much scess, winning another two titles as their coach. jones is one of onlyn even playersstory to win championships in college, along. with the pro league, and an olympic gold med. k.c. jones was 88 years old. still to come on the newshour: despite political controversy, how the president can change lives by commuting criminalmu charges. los angeles county's health director details the dramatic surge in covid cases.da id brooks and karen tumulty s reak down the week's newand look back at theear in politics.mo and much e. >> nawaz: it is a unique power

>> naw: it is a unique power of a president, and it often draws criticism. the ability to pardoinals can be politically motivated. as michael schiller from revl from the center for investigative reporting lays ouc here, pardo also change lives. >> it's the battle of indiana, e undefeated charles duke tanner. >> reporter: charles rtuke" tanner s out in gary, indiana's youth boxing and golden gloves. a he turned pro18, and was undefeated in the ring. >> oh, he caught him with a right hand, timed it perfectlyn did duke r! >> reporter: tanner was on track to be a cruiser-weight title contender, before it all came crashing down. it's been 16 years since his last fight, and he spent most oe that te in federal prison. >> this call is from charles >> this call is from charles prison. >> reporter: hey duke how are>> you? >> oh man, another blessed day man, another day closer to coming home. >> reporter: in 2019, he called

me from allenwood correctional facility in pennsylvania.ad he had alserved 14 yearser for his first offense, a non- violent drug trafficking charge. >> i was found guiltby a jury of five kilos and more powdered cocaine. they gave me a life sentence for it. i had life without parole. i had life without parole. casket. >> reporter: there was one other way, a presidential pardon.rd he submitted a petition to the pardon attorney's office at the department of justice. >> if i could talk to president rump, just tell him i'm seeking this clemency, based off of change, hope and the o possibilitimaking america great again. >> reporter: there are a lot of people waiting to hear back from the pardon attorney's office, ih more than 14,000 pending petitions. >> duke tanner, to me, wasnn mebody who stood out head and shoulders above so many cases that i, i receive.r:i >> repormy povah helped tanner 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 gathere in the prisow library. >> i don't ink we need to be putting first offenders in prison for life, for nonviolent drug offenses. and he had so many accomplishments at a very younga age that defed who i felt his character was. he was probably at thvery top of our list of worthy clemency candidates. >> reporter: what were some of the things you were up against? >> the office of the pardonde >> the office of the pardonde department of justice. and our experience is that very few prosecutors who put peoplei prison are inclined to want to release them. >> reporter: she says this conflict of interest has broken. the syste >> it's kind of a very unfair, biased process where some of the best candidates don't make it to the white house and frankly, some questionable ones do.

>> reporter: sam morison worked in the pardon attorney's office for 13 years.th it decides w to recommend or or against clemency to the president. >> ey don't review these looking for good cases to recommend. they look, they review themvi looking for a reason to say no. so there are vanishingly fewory fale recommendations in a commutation case. >> reporter: a commutation gets you out of prison, a pardonof restores your civils, both restores your civils, both clemency. president obama gave more than 1,700 commutations, and 212 pardons, primarily to non- violent drug offenders. it was the most presidential clemencies in decades. >> that's a pretty good number. that's a lot. y i gra that. but if you compare it to the population, it actually isn't all that historically significant.re >> porter: morison is ins private practice no submitting petitions to the pardon attorney's office. he says the challenges are made worse by its secrecy. >> they won't talk to applicants

or their attorneys. government's views on a case a withn applicant or hiswi attorney. >> that allows them to pretty much say whatever they want in one of these recommendationsy r without any oversight at all. >> reporter: many of president's trump's clemencies have gone too friends a political allies who never applied through the pardon never applied through the pardon place. that's what made tanner's case so surprising. it>> my case manager camethe it>> my case manager camethe cell. so they were like "hey tanner we need to talk to you."ne he said, you got to go home. you kn, the president signed off on you, we got to get you off the complex. of here three houro. to get out >> reporter: a litt over a year after our first 1sconversation, on october president trump signed tanner's clemency warrant. he walked out of prison that same day. >> it really didn't hit me untiw iy son the following day that i was free. >> reporter: he k iws how lucky to have a second chance.

>> that second chance to be with my son.in i don't nothing in the world in my life is going to ever top that. i can goin the heavyweight or l atever world title tomorrow. and i will not fke i feltd that day. >> reporter: so why duke tanner? the pardon attorney's office a declineto comment. t we know he was one of five non- violent offenders serving longnt seces who were released that day, less than two weeks before the election.e this video of tanner reunitingth is son was used in a campaign ad for president trump. >> thank you president trump, thank you so much from the bottom of my heartall praise anglory go to god. >> reporter: nowner is home in indiana. this s his first time back atis the gym where he started his the gym where he started his >> this is the guy who used to i started training monday with my son and started my diertnow. so i can really hit the gym and start getting it going. to>> reporter: according n a.c.l.u. study, black men are 20 times more likely to get life

without 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 beart ofs ha the measuat we take to address mass incarceration. our clemency syem is broken and it needs to be fixed >> reporter: what's the danr of not having a functioning pardon system? >> the problem with not having clemency work is that things co out of balance. has to embrace justice and mercy, we need both. mercy, we need both. mercy. >> reporter: osler sees an opptunity for president ele joe biden. >> there is a simple fix foror clemency. the problem is the evaluation process, and we need to have a clemency board that would review the cases to make recommendations directly to thec oresident. >> reporter: samson agrees.. >> what i would recommend that president biden do is that you take something very much like the pardon office andso reconstitute iwhere else.

i actually agree thattu i actually agree thattu in the process. thejust shouldn't be the on voice. >> reporter: tanner is grateful to all the people that helpedpl him beat the odds. >> and as we hold each other's hands god, we know that oou hands are inhand. and we celebrate god you bringing your son home, god. >> reporter: he is working to te reporter: he is working to gary, indiana into a pop-upin boxing ring for his return to pro-sports next ll. he's got the support of state senator eddie melto >> what could a major fight do for gary? what better place to come andat show that we ve it back. >> reporter: tanner went from a cell in a federal prisono ais white house christmas party in a matter of weeks. his plea to theresident, use your power to let more people out of prison.eo >> we need to comtogether as all tive to work on bringing more men and women home to their families.an >> reporter:r is fortunate enough to be one of the people that president trump has granted clemency to so far. with little time left in the, white housethere are still 14,282 petitions pending.

for pbs newshour and real, this is michael schiller. >> nawaz: as we've been reporting this week, california is an epicenter of covidte infections in the u.s. right now, the state has been caveraging about 40,000 nes a day over the last week and passed its two millione since the pandemic began. about 20,000 people are apspitalized with covid, and i.c.u.s are nearity in some areas, with roughly 4,000me patients around the state. los angeles county, which includes not just los angeles but many other cities like pasadena, ingwood and santa clarita, is struggling mightily. hospitals have had to divertdi ambulances in some cases and redirect them to other facilities. dr. christina gawley county's health services director and she joins me now.el dr. gorley,me to the newshour and thanks for making the time. your hospitals are clearlyta

strained. you have used the word overwhelmed. what does that look like inside? what kind osteps and decisions are hospitals having to make now that they weren't making before? >> hospitals are under so much pressure right now, and it's the pressure right now, and it's the 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 departmentse are full. as you mentioned, bulances are often being diverted, a large number of cases to other hospitals that are close by.er but that's lorive time. and even when they get to a hospital, they're often having to wait several hours to offload patients because the emergency departmentsan't take them. and this affects patients with covid and non-combat alike because of how many covid patients are in the hospitals.sp about a third of all patients in the hospitals right now in los angeles county have covered.'t it really doeeave that much room for patients with other conditio>> or injuries. awaz: doctor, do you know what's behind these numbers?

what is driving the surge you're seeing right now? >> there are so many f behind this. certainly, i think some people i think that's part of it.r and both just the that type of air d help having it that t virus transmitted a little bit more easily. r ople being pushed inside with the slightly colather, even though it's still california, people are still moving inside a little bit more. but more than anything, iytust think it's the amount of intermingling that is happening and we see imagesthis every day on the news. los angeles international airport is owded with large numbers of people traveling, see images of crowded shopping, mall parking lots, a number of people out holiday shopping here about out holiday shopping here about togethers.a all of this is what is raising concern for the weeks ahead and is certainly simil. similar things to this is what happened over thanksgiving isd what cau to be in this situation that we're in today. >> nawaz: dr., can you tell us little bit about the patients that you're seeing? toobviously, when they comhe hospital, they need that, critical care, but is there a patient profile? are they usually a certa age from certain communities?mu

what are you seeing? >> well, one of the underlying stories of this pandemic is how much it'hurt, vulnerable populations, low income populations and communities of color. they've been the hardest hit throughout this entire pandemic. latin communities are getting infected and dying at rates thaa three times that of white communities and asianan communities.ri and black n-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 reasona behind these higher exposure rates and higher death rates. but we as a society and a community really need to come a together to he of the people out there in the ugmmunity. i will say, t as much as it affects vulnerable populations, it is affecting everybo. and we see people of all ages within the hospitals, certainly many more of them are a little t on the older side. but there's countless stories of people who are 30 years old, 35, 40 years old, with no underlying

medical conditions, no reason te eve that they might have a serious course with covid. serious course with covid. hospital.sp they can't breathe. the interventions that can beanf done to try to keep people w breathihout mechanical ventilation. and then we get to the point where they have to be ventilated at the hospital.ar and thesscary situations to be in the intensive care unit breathing for you with six or seven or eight lines coming out of your body. these are scary, scary situations for the individuals and their families, aec it can afanybody. >> nawaz: we've heard from communities experienci surges throughout the pandemic that it's not necessarily bed m.capacity that worries t it's staffing that you can have overflow rooms and turn beds as needed. but as staff gets sick and a staff get overwhelmed, you start to run short. are you worried aut having thet staffing that you need to meet this surge? >> yes,his a big worry. and it's two things. it's what you mentioned the fact

that health care workers are people just like anyone else and tiny get infected with coviov their communities just like anybody else. and when we have our highly trained health care workers, are out with covid or out on o quarantine orders, that leaves lesstaff to care for the patients with at the hospitals. and then also that's combined with just the fact that there's a large nber of patients coming in and there's only so many of those highly trained o rtaff to be able to care patients, particularly the patients that need that i.c.u. level of care. it's still about a quarter ofu. the patients, plus or minushat they get admitted to the hospital need that critical level of care.e and ing i want to say is just, you know, i've heard stories over and over againow stories over and over againow are heroes. and i know a lot of people believe that. but at the same time, it does feel a little bit ov past month or so that those words ring a little bihollow, that when we see those images of people intermingling, we see people not flowing the public health interventions, that it starts to feel discouraging forl the care workers whenen

they're putting their lives on the line out there working in so many ways within our hospitals to care for people in the midst of their pain and suffering. i would just ask that everyone come together and really showho that health care workers are eroes by following the public health interventions that keep people safe. >> nawaz: dr. christina, heath services director from los angeles county, thank you so much for being with us. and we wish you good luck and safety in the weeks ahead. >> thank you very much. hpy holidays. >> nawaz: an now to the analysis of brooks and tumulty. that's "new york times"'s columnisdavid brooks, and columnisdavid brooks, and post." welcome to you both. and thanks for being here with us on thidchristmas day. id, i want to start with you, w because, finally, finally, we have a covid reliefunding bill. republicans andemocrats managed to fi a way to comewa

together and compromise. and the time couldn't be morean dire. dire. will expire tomorrow. at the last minute, of course, the president steps innd saysmi the direct payments are not big enough. what do you make of how theen preschose to intervene in the process at this time? >> first i want to say karen and i did not coordinate our poinsettias. that was just a coincidence. ( laughter ) you know, to me, this is-- you know, what trump did was trump at the end of the day. i think the expectation is that his attempt to sortrow a monkey wrench was just more noise and at he'll sign this at the end of the day. there are certainly a lot ofai republican senators telling him sign it because it's so necessary. to me, the big story out of this was that we had a group of people in the-- not only in theh center about the all overes conwho wanted to do a deal, and there's a thing called "the problem solvers caucus" which is bicamal, senators and house members, democrats, republicans. and they set out the frameworem, to the deal. and i was on ia call with about 15 or 20 of theabout a week

ago, and they were charged up because they were charged up because for the first time this a long time something got done, and they want to carry that over into the biden admistration.io so to me, we can look at the mess. we can look at how it took us aa ulous amount of me. it's probably too small. but at least something was accomplished, and it was accomplished by people who wanted to craft a compromise. about the biden administration, the incoming administration in a moment, but when you look the president's message, how he hose to intervect himself into t conversation. these negotiations have been hs.ng on for mo the white house was involved in those talks. what do you make of how he chose to step in with this message? >> well, it's astonishing. he's absolutely correct that these direct payments arect inadequate, given the size of the need. but it would have been nice if he would have spoken up whilehi own administration was and so, david's right, you know. as of tomorrow, we have sometng like 14 million americans losing unemployment

beerefits. the gent could shut down on monday. on new year's eve, more than 10 million americans are in nger of being vulnerable to evictione when the matorium expires. and the president ent today not trying to work on a new framework for all of this. he spent the day on the golf course, complaining that he support in his efforts tou overturn the elections, and retweeting complaints that his cover spops it really is sort of hard to take seriously his complaints that there's aco problem with this bill. did make good on another promise to, veto the massive military spending bill. and he's triggered a possible p override vote in the congress early next week. it would be the first veto override of his presidency. o you think that the republicans who first voted for that spending bill will still

te for it now, will stand up in opposition to the president? >> i think so. there is just so much in there that needs to pass in support of military pay, defense agnstpp russian cyber incursions. i think there was a loof bipartisan support for this. this was trump partly wanting to honor our confederate heroes. this was partly trump just wanting to throw a monkey wrench things.ch i think he's decided that his gambit for surviv in a biden era, and maybe running for president again, is that he's the guy who shook up the systeme so in the last few days, maybe in the last four years, maybe at a peak that the republicans are not sticking with him, but mae to underline the sense he is thu o shook up the system. he has thrown a lot of vetoes h around. i think this one will ben overridden andhe worst will be avoided. but it's him-- it's the end of four years of narcissism and he's ending on a high note.he >> nawaz: karen what, about the point david made earlier,ab ut the fact that we don't see a lot of big moments in

days.tisan legislation these this covid relief deal was a l a sign that this can be done. it is a crisis. it's not regular leslative process by any stretch. but what does that mean for the incoming biden administration? does it look like lawmakers are going to be more willing to wor going to be more willing to wor done? >> well, this is certainly-- was the entire premise of joe biden's campaign for president. this was the premise on which he ran, that it is still possible to have bipartisan compromise in congress, and doing it the d-fashioned way of worki from the center out.t. a number of us were on a call with the president-elect on wednesday, and, you know, he was-- he was holding this up as a real kind of example of thehi kinds ofs that it is still possible to achieve. now, a lot of people, includile 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 your takeaway?ta this message thatid prt-elect biden can be the one to get people to cross the together. continue to work are they still holding on toane that confidee and optimism? >> yeah, i wareally struck by biden's confidence on that callo he said, "look, i beat all these primary contenders. i won the presidency by seven million votes.e million votes.e time. i know how to get this done.in he has tremendous faith in himself. he's trying to coordinateoo between the center of his party and the left of his party.tyy. he's pronfident where he is, center left, is exactly where the country is. i would say the six or seven of us on the call, some of our us on the call, some of our optimistic that tngs would get optimistic that tngs would get was. i lean a little on the bidenre ion, 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 t because all they did under mitco mcconnell waudicial confirmations. a lot of house members who aret jred that all the power inr

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. th can stop stuff. i do think they want to do their jobs. they don't come to washington just to do nothing, which is sort of what they've been doingu i'm sort of optimistic. relationships with a lot ofoodti people, including mitchcl mcconnell. >> nawaz: karen to-- sorry, karen, go ahead. >> well, the other thing that'st important here is the need and the urgency at this moment is so reat. >> nawaz: it's a point we captain make enough upon i dopt want to ask you about another point david made, which was biden does occupy this center-left space. he's getting a lot of pressure already from the left wing of the party to take big action early on things like clilite change and immigration, and to do so through executive action. now, this administratiohas triggered a lot of conversation around the limits of presidential power. do you think that biden is likely to use some of those

presidential powers early to make those big changes early in his administration? >> i asked him exactly that question. i and he said there will be a number of exetive orders thatde he does on day one-- rejoining the paris climate accord, giving some help to the dreamers,me undoing some of the loosening of environntal regulations thatvi happened on president trump's watch. but he also id that he is notid going to have a heavy footprinto with executive power. he is not, for instance, going to go out there and forgive 50,0 dollars in student deb like some people would like toli see. he said, "i am not a fan of thee imperial presidency." and the other thing he realizes and acknowledged is that if he-- if he pushes too hah his executive power, he is going to inflame capitol hill, and he is going to make it that much hardeto get anything done i

this sort of bipartisan model that he is holding up.> h waz: i have to ask each of you, in the few moments we this christmas day, this holiday is different and difficult in so many ways.d i'd love to hear from each of you-- david, i'll start wngh you-- how are you spen 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. i never thought i would say thao becauseknow, they can be kind of a chore. but we're sort of testosterone deprived, and the little thrillr you get walking into a crowded room with family and friends is something i'll miss. it's the quietude. i've taken this row too far. i want to get off walden pond. i want to get off walden pond. you? >> i agree.: ssomany people are sufferin much. so i don't want to sound likeop

i'm, you know, dwelling in self-pity here, but i do look l forward to spending another christmas with my sons, with my daughter-in-law. we all opened ourresents today on zoom. it was just my husband and me here, but i want to be here next christmas to do it up big. >> nawaz: i want to end on one last analytical note here, dare i ask you to make a pion of what we'll see in the final weeks of the trump presidency. weeks of the trump presidency. >> i think it's a pretty safe prediction-- it's going to be chaotic. >> nawaz: "chaotic," that isarha the word is going to leave us with. david what, about you? >> narcissistic. one important poi biden made is it's not a black box going on in the administration but there are a lot of shadows. 't knowoming team doe what's out there. and he said one of the reasonsai he picks experienced people is because it takes experienced ople to know where everythingop

is buried because the trump administration is not helping. it's melting down from the top and bottom in all particulars >> nawaz: there will be a lotaw of news for sure in the weeks ahead and the months ahead. d i'm so grateful to both of you for joining us on this day break it all down. karen tumulty and david brooks, >> merry christmang with us. >> nawaz: this holiday season, more than a million aricans will have an empty seat at the as we do every frie want to take a moment to tell you about five people who lost their lives to the pandemic. here now are their stories. darlene peters had an infectious

anugh, her daughter said, she was compassionatgroundednd in her catholic faith.ra sed on the swinomish reservation in washington state, darlene became a mental healthhe counselor for ribal community after receiving her masters degree in 2016. described by a friend as non- judgmental, honest, and a great public speaker,arlene was 58 years old. 71-year-old manuel zuniga lived 71-year-old manuel zuniga lived bid. manuel, called mthose who knew him, was born and raised in chile. after his father's death when max was just 13, he took on the responsibility of providing for his family. max left chile for amover 50 years ago and settled in new jersey, where he worked lo hours at a warehouse, never wanting his children to struggle like he did, according to his daughter outside of work, max had a outside of work, max had a in the '80's, a lifelong lover of music and a committed fatherb with heart, his daughter

said max was always there for those in need. julia francis wishnevs quiet, but warm, her daughter said.id in 1932, and she andusbandrried lived and worked together on a farm. a mother to three daughters, an eventually a great-greatot granr, julia is described as supportivend caring. she loved playing cards and bingo, and she was t cook who made dessert with everywh julia was 108 years old, and was "hard work."to her long life there wasn't a dance floor that javier semerene wouldn't dance on, or a dinner table where he wouldn't deliver a toast, his family said. he was outgoing, charming, and smiled with his whole hrt. javier was born in caracas, venezuela and moved around south america as a child for his father's work.is javier raisedwn kids in

south florida, and his own career took him arnd the globere with his wife of three 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.hi it was the 4-h club, a youth organization for kids from farming families, that sowed the seeds of service. it's also where he met his wife of 69 years. bill went on to become a lawyer, settling in illinois, he was a mentor to many d a champion of his community, serving as thes 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 hisfo heart.s ways, we are so deeply grateful to the friends and family who share those stories

.nd memories with you are all in our thoughts this holiday season. >> nawaz: a deeply american story, showcasing great american artists: the new film, "maar rainey's black bottom" is available on netflix now. jeffrey brown reports for ourrt ongoingand culture series, canvas. >> if they want to call me mother of the blues, that's alright with me, don't hurt none.ri >> brown: "ma rainey's black bottom" is about music and race, sorrow and survival. set on a hot summer day in chicago 1927, in a small recording studio, it doesn't travel far in either time ort space, yemehow 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 thism f about that which isfi unresolved, inside the characters, inside of america. rid so the chance that these intrinsically an stories, these intrinsically african- american stories are going to be shared all over the world is a great thing. >> bwn: it's also a chance t celebrate and honor three great american artists, all now gone,, ginning with playwright august ginning with playwright august the play, "ma rney'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 century, eaca set around some aspect of black american life. wilson died in 2005 at age 60. four years earlier, he spoke with the late gwen ifilln the newshour. >> i am a black americ>> playwright. i couldn't be anything else. i make my art out of black american culture. it's all cut out of the same

cloth, or so you will. that's who i am and that's who i write about. d >> white fol't understand about the blues. they hear it come out but theyn don't how it got there. >> 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 p 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 byha song. >> it encapsulates exploitation, liberation of the music, violation of the spirit, what the blues does to the human condition, all in this one and when you have a thrilling actress like viola davis do it,s it becyou surrender to it.ec

and then you pull back and go, oh my god, the world, the m universe just eanded while she was talking. >> brown: the real woman on whoy the ss based, gtrude'i b ma' rainey, also expanded theal universe of american music called "the mother of the blues", she perfmed with the likes of louis armstrong, mentored aoung bessie smith. she worked f years in chicago but spent much of her life in the south.ge her columbusgia home is now a museum. she was businesswom star. >> she put on shows, think the were like-- we e just a hint of it-- sometimes the shows she put on there would be 50 performers. so she was like, she was the 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 controlled the business, but 'ima' controlled the music. >> we'll be able to go w madam says we're ready and that's the way it go around t here.ys >> there's jim crolaws, there's lynching going on, but o in the south she's her own entrepreneur. she learned, she owns two theaters. she toured around in theorth, she has to deal with the white power structure in order to do what she does. mo> brown: finally, the st recent loss: chadwick boseman, nwho died this year of co cancer at age 43. as a young actor he played icons of american life: including brjackie robinson, james n, and in 2017, thurgood marshall.e i talked with him at the time, he told me of his approach as the words. silences as well >> that's actually just as hard, if not harder, than having the huge speech at the end or the closing statements. >> brown: it was just two years ago that he achieved

international stardom as the black panther, commanding his world, and the screen. >> what is you?t i doe your name in lights. >> brown: in "ma rainey's black bottom his final role, boseman plays levee, a young horn player with a deeply scarred past in the south. >> i got talent! ou my daddy knowed i'd tur t like this he'd named me gabriel. i'm gonna get me a band and makn records. i done give mr. sturdevant some of my songs and he say he gonna i t me record 'iem when i get my band together, st gotta finish this last song. i got style. >> everyone got style. style ain't nothingeeping the same idea from beginning to end. everybody got it. >> everybody can't play like i do. >> brown: what made him a great actor?t what is it tkes somebody stand out like that? >> he was deeply dedicated to s craft. i think he was totally in touch with who he was as a human being. i think there was a grace to him that washenomenal. because it's a character who is

bright and charming and arrogant and foolish and has a sion of what music should sound like in the future. and at the same time, he'sed deeply scay these things he witnessed when he was a younw boy. and then with chadwick, you havd this extrarily charismatic actor who is also a deeply complicated actor. and so he brought all of that to make this character sing with the pain and possibility. >> brown: lost grearenewed classic." ma rainey's black bottom' ishe econd in a planned 10-part film project capturing the richness of august wilson'swo k. 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 thatour holiday table is in a completely new configuration this year. much fewer places. maybe a ipad or cn puter screen e 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 immigrants already know the ways to bridge distance. >> for some, the prospect of spending the holidays apart from teir families feels loo much to bear, especially after this challenging year. thing to do. considering the immigrant experience can help put that my father was a united nations official, and for his job, wefo moved back anh between 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 famil live in ghana and the united kingdom. many of my close friends in new york are immigrants from allwo around thd, and we commiserate about missing important ments and celebrations, such as anniversaries, milestones,nd birthdays, a weddings. we have supported each other through worry and grief when our loved ones have fallen ill or passed away and we have not been able to travel me. we miss going to the market with our grandmothers or watching soccer games with our siblings. but my immigrant friends and i deso share stories about how we manage to nurtur relationships across great distances.we create rituals. a friend of mine and her mother in mexico city regularly prere meals together over the phone from the same recipes. every christmas, myn laura in london chooses a different0s 19ip-hop song and writes christmas lyrics to it. all of us around the world watch her perform it over skype onhr tmas eve. th oliday season we'll find

time onew year's day to make a toast and share resolutions. throughout the year, over the phone and internet we're intentional about coming together as a family to tellt stories and imagine and plan our next in-person reunion. the immigrant experience reminde the immigrant experience reminde who endure much longer separations from loved ones than are currently being called for by public health experts. so stay home, and just know that not traveling does not have to mean cancelling the holidays. it doesn'have to mean being alone. >> nawaz: we end with a newshour tradition. each year, we have asked thead department of defense and its defense media activity agency to spread a little holiday cheer

and record service members singing a christmas song. from members acss the services, here is a reprise of one of our favorites, "carol of" the bell ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares away ♪ chrintmas is here ng good cheer ♪lv ♪ to young and old meek and the ld ♪ ding-dong, ding-donge o that is ng ♪ with joyful ringin all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to h words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from everywhere ♪ filling the air oh, how they poundyw ♪ oh, how they pound raising their soundhe ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale ♪ gaily they ring wle people sing ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, mer christmasri ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet♪ilver bells

ll seem to say throw cares away ♪ christmas is herelv bringing good cheerll ♪ to young and old meek andhe bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dongbr that is the song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of od cheer ♪ from everywhere fromar everywhere ♪ filling thair oh, how they poundhe raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale telling their tale ♪aily they ring while people sin ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merryin christmasch ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares away♪th christmas is here bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the songnd ♪ with joyful ringng all caroling oh, oh ♪ one seems to hearh words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere fm everywheres ♪ filling the airm ♪ oh, how theyoundhe raising their sound ♪ o'er hill and dale eylling their tale ♪ gaily they ringr while people sing ♪ songs of good cheere christmas is ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ merry, merry, mer, merry

christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say ♪ all seem to say ♪ christmainis here brigood cheer ♪ to young and old meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is theong ♪ with joyfuling all caroling oh, oh, ahth ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from everywhere s ♪ filling the air oh, w they pound raising their sound t ♪ o'er hill and dale ♪ gaily they rtale while people singll ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here ♪erry, merry, merry, mer christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells throw cares awayy ♪ christmas is heree bringing good cheero ♪ tyoung and oldm meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-donggi that is the song ♪ with joyful ring all caroling oh, oh, ah ♪ one seems to hear words of good cheer everywhererywhere fromro ♪ filling the air oh, how they pound ♪ oh, how they pound raising their sound telling their tale ♪ gaily they ring while people sing ♪ songs of good cheer christmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merryc istmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas

♪ hark how the bells sweet silver bells ♪ all seem to say throw cares awayst ♪ chs is heresw bringing good cheer ♪ to young and old c meek and the bold ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong that is the song b ♪ with joyful ringng all caroling oh, oh, ♪ one seems to hearit words of good cheer ♪ from everywhere from o everywhere ♪ filling the airnd oh, how they p ♪ oh, how they pound raising their sound raising their sound telling their tale ♪ gaily they ringr while people sing ♪ songs of good cheer g hristmas is here ♪ merry, merry, merry, merry christmas ♪ merry, merry, merry, mey christmas ♪ their joyful tone to every home ♪ ah, ah, ah ding-dong, ding-dong ♪ ding-dong, ding-dongoy hark how the bells ♪ ding-dong, ding-dong >> nawaz: can't think of a better way to close out thisr tmas day broadcast.az as always, our thanks to everyone featured in that video for eir service and for

helping to spread a littlefo holiday cheer when we need it most. if you need another reason to smile, head to the newshour online right now. we spoke with 11 artists ando the newshour online right now, we spoke with 11 artistsar and writers over the course of this year about what objectshe ped them get through 2020. read more about the mementos that they found meaningful this year, and learn how to submit your own, our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz, thank you for joining us. from all of here at , newshour, merry christmas and newshour, merry christmas and please stay safyo and we'll see soon., 'll >> major funding for the pbsen newshour has rovided by:ts >> grandpar >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> mom, are you painting again?p

you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan. t> the william and flora hewl foundatio for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting ions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. eaan institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entreprleurs and their ions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing e pport 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 ou.>>n thank you. >> at the pbs newshour, we have g long tradition of report the events that define our times.a new times have led us to find new ways to do what we do best. now, more than ever, we seek answers to the tgh questions. >> the united statess still m not testing per capita. >> woodruff: and get young information you can trust. >> we are the pbs newshour. pbs.oodruff: week nights on captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc

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>> the american exceptionalism that i grew up with, of the cold war,eptionalism the american exceptionalism of the 1990s, i do think has outlived its usefulness. ♪ >> hello and welcome to "gzero world."ia i'bremmer, and in case there's any chance you didn't realize that the u.s. presidential election is fast cproaching for two years now, the countless rols, the e-mails, the tweets and tv ads are ther remind you. today we're talking about what the election means to the rest of the world and how u.s. foreign policy could change if joe biden wins. i'll break it down with anne-marie slaughter, who was a top-level we are talking about what the election means to the rest of the world. i will break it down with a