♪ judy: good evening. i'm ju woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight. chaos and consequences. more arrests as calls for justice intensify in the wake of the capitol riot that led to the president's second impeachment. then, willful neglect. the former governor of michigan rick snyder is charged with criminally mishandling the deadly and destructive flint water crisis. and, cutting ties. a growing number of businesses distance themselves from the president and the republican party following last week costs violent insurrection. >> this is significant that so many corporations would do this.

those when you look at their history are donating to republicans. judy: all of that and more on tonight "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> twins. >> we could be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plans. >> consumer cellular, johnson & johnson, financial services firm raymond james, bnsf railway, the kendeda fund, restoring justice -- committed to advancing

restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and from contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: it is hard to keep track

of all the twists and turns in washington right now. it feels that each day brings a new historic moment. the coming week does not appear to be different. to help us make sense of it all, r yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins join me now. yamiche, i'm going to start with you. after this terrible, terrible attack on the capitol last week, a lot of people are wondering about security, of course, for the inauguration. what more can you tell us about the plans, and not only here in washington, but in cities around the country? yamiche: well, federal officials are working very, very hard to ensure a safe inauguration, but they're tracking a number of threats, both to the capitol in washington, d.c., as well as in other cities and state capitols. today, vice president pence visited the fema headquarters, and, there, he met with a number of high-ranking national security officials, including the ad of the secret service, the head of homeland security, as well as the head of the

-- the fbi director, rather. what vice president pence said was that he is really pushing all of these agencies to make sure that they're confident that they can find a safe way to have an inauguration for president-elect biden and vice president-elect harris. he said, specifically, americans deserve a safe inauguration. he also said at some point that this inauguration was going to be in keeping with our history and tradition. that is notable, given the last few days and weeks that we have lived through here, with president trump, of course, upending all sorts of tradition in this country. another thing to note is the fbi director, who said that he was confident that the fbi would be able to find anyone who was threatening the inauguration or other cities, he has been warning police officials around the country to be vigilant and to be in contact with the fbi if they see any threats. he's saying that they're tracking a number of things, including threats to congress members' homes, as well as threats to different buildings and state capitols. one other thing, i spoke to a source who was familiar with the inauguration planning, and they

told me that the family members of both vice president-elect harris and president-elect biden are being warned specifically to stay in their hotel rooms in d.c. unless they're going to the inauguration. that is a difference from the past inaugurations. they were, of course, going to be told not to go too far because of the pandemic. but now they're being told, unless you're going to the inauguration, stay in place, especially, as we know, the national mall is shut down for most of the public. this is really d.c. becoming a fortress, and federal officials trying their best to track threats, while also keeping people safe. judy: so very different, yamiche, from previous presidential inaugurations. as a reminder of just how much the incoming president has on hiplate, he's not waiting in one respect. yamiche, we know that, tonight, he's going to make remarks. he is going to roll out his proposal for dealing with both the economic and some of the health aspects of the covid pandemic.

what do we know about what he's going to disclose? yamiche: that's right. amid all of these security threats, president-elect biden said he's very focused on the covid-19 pandemic, making that his top priority. tonight he's going to lay out a $1.9 trillion plan for covid relief, if we can put it up for people. it is called the american rescue plan and it includes $400 billion to fight covid that's to mount a national vaccine program, as well as containing and beating the virus. $1 trillion in direct relief to americans. that is workers and families who are struggling, including people who are most impacted by existing inequalities. as well as $440 billion in relief to communities and businesses. now, the biden team says they don't have a specific guideline -- timeline for congress, but they say that the need is urgent to pass this. they will have to juggle that with an impeachment trial, but the biden team is really

focusing on that. when you look even more into this plan, they want to take on covid. they want to specifically focus on ramping up testing. they want to ramp up vaccines. and they also want to try to get schools open. they will have $1,400 checks to individuals. that's increasing the stimulus checks to $2,000 overall, because $600 were passed last time. there's $400 in unemployment insurance supplement adding $100 , to the $300 that was enacted. what biden is saying tonight, and what he is going to say tonit is that this is the most pressing concern. even though we have lived through the siege on the capitol and all the other things that are going on, he says he's laser-focused on the pandemic that is, of course, killing some 4,000 people a day. judy: it is on the minds of everyone right now. to you now, lisa. as yamiche mentioned, this, of course, has to pass the congress. he can't just wave a magic wand. congress has a lot on its plate, as we have mentioned, whether or not there's going to be an

impeachment trial. what does it look like for the biden covid package and everything else they have to deal with? lisa: the first thing we have to talk about is the timing of the senate impeachment trial. here is how it would work. how speaker pelosi will set the timing. as soonish she transmits the article of impeachment to the senate, by the senate's rules, it must hold the trial the next day that it meets. the next day that the senate right now is scheduled to meet is january 19, the day before inauguration. if the speaker would transmit the article that day, then the actual impeachment trial could and would, by senate rules, have to start the day of inauguration. this is an idea senator mcconnell, i have confirmed, has sent around to senate republicans. it is up to speaker pelosi to

decide the timing. and there is also another option, that republicans and democrats in the senate could agree on a different timeline for the trial, but that doesn't look likely. we expect the trial soon. there is another issue -- another concern at the capitol brewing, growing cases of the coronavirus again, and some of them seemingly directly linked to last week's riots. i want to show a picture of four members of the house who have contracted -- who are covid positive. three of these were in seclusion together with unmasked republicans, and a fourth may have been as well. we are still waiting for details. judy: so much to follow. it is the health of the members as well as what they have to do in their jobs. but, lisa desjardins, yamiche alcindor reporting on it all. thank you both.

stephanie: i am stephanie sy with newshour west. we will return to judy woodruff after these headlines. president-elect joe biden has given the speech that yamiche previewed earlier. included in his stimulus plan is raising the national minimum wage to $15. the federal minimum is currently $7.25. coronavirus depths in the u.s. are nearing 390,000 tonight. that includes another 3900 deaths wednesday. members of the w.h.o. arrived in wuhan china today where it began. scientists caution their work will take time. >> after this initial mission, we would be on the way and in the coming months, hopefully

completed by additional studies. stephanie: beijing has still not said if the w.h.o. investigators will be allowed to gather evidence. two former state health officials in michigan were charged with involuntary manslaughter today in the flint water crisis. it involves nine people who died of legionnaires' disease from contaminated water. former governor rick snyder is facing misdemeanor counts of willful neglect. we will get details after the new summary. new york state sued new york city's police today, charging excessive use of force on racial justice protesters last spring. the attorney general said it is a long-standing problem. >> the nypd has continuously engaged in similar unlawful, excessive force and false arrest practices while policing large-scale protests. even though the nypd knew this, they failed to put policies and procedures in place and the

discipline officers to correct these egregious actions. stephanie: mayor bill de blasio says he agrees on the need for reforms, but that a lawsuit is not the answer. in uganda, a presidential election went ahead today after widespread violence aimed at the opposition. military forces patrolled polling stations in kampala. voters waited in long lines and with little social distancing. the president has held power since 1986 and is running for reelection. back in this country president-elect aydin tapped david norquist to be acting defense secretary on a temporary basis. he is now temporary until lloyd austin is confirmed i the u.s. senate. austin needs a congressional waiver because he has been retired from the army less than seven years.

the trump administration loosening more environmental protections in its final days. the fish and wildlife service said millions of acres of pacific northwest forests will be open to timber harvesting, more than 1/3 of the spotted owl's habitat. 965,000 filed unemployment claims last week, the most since august. the chair of the federal reserve, jerome powell, said industrial output may recover soon. >> the key thing is, maybe we can avoid a lot of the damage to people's lives, what we call labor market scarring. it amounts to people losing the life they made in the workforce. stephanie: also said the fed does not expect to raise interest rates soon. it looks as though 2020 has tied

2017 for the hottest year on record. nasa reports worldwide temperatures kept rising in 2020, despite the fact greenhouse gases dropped due to the pandemic. joanne rogers, widow of fred rogers, died. she was an accomplished pianist, in addition to being the wife of the star of the show "mister rogers' neighborhood." stilted,, the former governor of michigan is charged with mishandling the flint water crisis. many businesses distance themselves from the republican party. the capitol riot raises questions about the future of the gop. >> this is the "pbs newshour" f rom weta studios in washington and from the west at the walter

cronkite bureau at arizona state university. judy: let's get the details on the flint, michigan story where today's state prosecutors file charges against a number of high-ranking government officials. john yang has our report. john yang: it's one of the worst public health failures in recent history, the contamination of flint, michigan's drinking water, blamed for at least a dozen deaths and health problems for countless others. today, nearly seven years after the flint water crisis first emerged, prosecutors announced 41 criminal charges against nine former state and city officials. michigan solicitor general fadwa hammoud -- >> we may never know all the names of those who had their lives and livelihoods destroyed by this man-made crisis. although the criminal justice system alone cannot remedy all the suffering that every person endured, we took our part

seriously, and we hope others will do the same to ensure that this never ever, ever happens again. john yang: among those charged, former governor rick snyder. he pleaded not guilty this morning to two misdemeanor charges of willful neglectf duty. each count carries up to a year in prison and a $1000 fine. his attorney called the charges wholly without merit. two others, including former state health director nick lyon, were each charged with nine counts each of involuntary manslaughter, felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison. both pleaded not guilty to all counts. the indictments say they failed to protect the public health after state-appointed officials switched the city's water supply in 2014 from lake huron to the flint river in a cost-cutting move. the more corrosive river water damaged the city's aging pipes, causing lead to leach into the

drinking water. ariana hawk's son suffered from blisters and skin rashes. when we visited her home in 2019, she told us the lingering effects included a loss of trust. are you angry? >> of course i'm angry. i am more upset and hurt. it is hurting because they are people we trust every day. john yang: tests today show flint's water is safe to drink, but work to replace the city's damaged pipes is still incomplete. flint activist -- >> it seems we have been forgotten. nobody is sitting in jail. if i poison deal, we would -- i would be sitting in jail. we are coming up on years of seven being in a prison where we can't even be safe in our own homes. then, of course, under covid, we have all been locked indoors, and we're stuck using this water. john yang: compounding a situation that still dominates life in this majority-black city. in november, the michigan

attorney general announced a $600 million fund for families in flint to settle civil lawsuits from the water crisis. approval of that plan is pending from a federal judge. sandra jones is the executive director of the r.l. jones community outreach center in flint. it is based at the greater holy temple church of god in christ, where her husband is a pastor. sandra, what was your reaction when you heard the news today about the criminal charges against these former officials, including the former governor? sandra jones: long time overdue. this time, i hope and pray that it sticks. john yang: two of the people, including the former health director for the state of michigan, were charged with involuntary manslaughter, ni counts each. sandra jones: it is what it is. so many people were affected. these were lives. we are not talking about property.

we are talking about human life. i applaud her for what it is she is doing. she has my support. john yang: i have to ask you. there are some lawyers who know more about this than i do who say that it may be tough to get convictions in some of these cases, particularly against the former governor rick snyder, because it has been so long. it has been seven years since his action or inaction that he's charged for. have you thought about what it might feel like, how you might feel if the former governor and if some of these other officials are acquitted in court? or do you think it is enough they have to stand up and face these charges in court? sandra jones: no, it isn't enough that they have to face the charges in court. that is not enough. how could that be enough when

you look at children that are five years old that have cognitive skill problems, children whose parents have not been able to potty train them at the age of three? how is it enough when you have adults who had lesions all over their bodies, and now they have different kinds of allergies that they have got to live with the rest of their lives? we really don't know what the long-term effects that lead actually has, because, after 28 days and you have ingested it some of us don't even actually , know if it's affected us or not. i don't feel sorry for them. i hope she has enough information to be able to bring these charges and have these stick. john yang: so, you're not going to be satisfied until you get convictions out of this? sandra jones: some form of penalty needs to be made.

i'm not talking monetary. i think that when you know something that will create a physical condition in a human body, and you have the ability to do something about that, where you put money above human life, oh, yes, you need to pay for that. i can't tell you what the penalty should be, because i'm not proficient in that area. i can only tell you as a human being who has worked in the cold, in the heat, in the snow, in the rain, in all types of weather, at 73 years old when i started this, i was in my i'm 60's. 73. today was our water and food distribution day. when you have residents still lined up for over a

mile-and-a-half just to get four or five cases of water, because either they have been affected by the water or they don't trust the water, seone needs to take accounbility. michigan has had other cities since our water crisis to have been affected one way or the other, but their water has been affected. guess what? those cities have been cleaned up, cleared up, and everybody's on their way. we're the only ones still limping. john yang: you talk about the children, the long-term effects your church still giving out , water and food every week. can you envision a day when this is just a unpleasant incident in the history of flint, rather than a here-and-now problem? sandra jones: no, i cannot envision that day.

i am going to share with you why. when these people come through the line, they come in all kinds of conditions. they start lining up at our church at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. until i see all of the pipes in this city changed out, until i see the residents and our lines start getting shorter and shorter and shorter, then maybe i can look up and feel that things are going to get better. but i don't see it today. john yang: sandra jones from the greater holy temple church of god in christ in flint, michigan, talking about the ongoing problems there. sandra, thank you very much. sandra jones: and thank you very much for checking with us today and still caring about the problems that we're facing in flint, michigan. much appreciated. ♪

judy: since last week's riots at the capital, more and more companies are cutting ties with donald trump. in a number of days, dozens of corporations suspended political contributions to the 147 members congress who refused to certify the election of joe biden. paul solman looks at what's been happening behind the scenes. it's part of his ongoing reporting for making sense. paul solman: judd legum writes a political newsletter called popular information. judd legum: and we do a lot of work about corporate responsibility. paul solman: when republican senators said they'd challenge the electoral college results -- judd legum: we started pulling all of the fec records to see what corporate pacs had been donating to that group.

protesters: usa! usa! paul solman: and then along came the riots. he wrote to 144 companies to ask if they would continue to donate to the eight senators who supported president trump's election fraud claims, supported them even after the capitol had been breached. judd legum: because all of the 144 companies had supported one or more of those senators in the 2020 election cycle. paul solman: results? judd legum: we got at first a trickle of people. paul solman: blue cross blue shield, commerce bank, the marriott hotel chain announcing they were suspending donations not just to the eight senators, but to all 147 members of congress who voted against certifying the election. judd legum: and i thought, well, this is significant, especially corporations, even when you look at their history, are donating 3-1, 5-1, 6-1 to republicans. but, really, it was marriott who i think kind of shook the corporate world and then it just snowballed and avalanched, and now people that we never even contacted are getting in touch, and they want to make a

statement. paul solman: when the trickle became a snowball, what did you think? judd legum: as someone who followhow these corporations operate, i really couldn't have conceived last week that so many corporations would do this. actresses: happy new year! paul solman: companies like hallmark, maker of greeting cards and schmaltzy movies. >> i have done things that i never would have imagined. paul solman: one of four dozen companies suspending all political donations. but hallmark, says legum -- judd legum: demanded a refund from their home state senator josh hawley. it's a powerful signal from one of the largest employers in kansas city saying your senator is no longer , acceptable to us. we don't want anything to do with him. tom glocer: given the sometimes anodyne statements that you see inside hallmark greeting cards, to come out so eloquently and so pointedly against the administration, i thought was very courageous.

paul solman: tom glocer, the former ceo of thomson reuters, met with a group of ceos last week and again yesterday. tom glocer: the mood even in a week had gotten much firmer that the right thing to do was to impeach and remove trump, even with a few days remaining, and that business had an important voice. paul solman: company after with the president, deutsche bank, his biggest longtime lender. pga of america. tom glocer: stripe, the payment processor, says, we're not going to allow our private service to be used to buy, let's say, trump paraphernalia. ditto shopify, which provides the e-commerce foundations for a lot of those organizations. ken langone: i feel betrayed. paul solman: even ken langone of home depot, a trump supporter for years, denounced him yesterday. ken langone: last wednesday was a disgrace and should have never happened in this country. if it doesn't break every

american's heart, something's wrong. it breaks my heart but i did not sign up for that. >> hello i'm mike lindell, , inventor of mypillow. tom glocer: with the exception of perhaps mr. pillow, i would be surprised if any company exec now thought that the best thing for his or her company was to was to support this administration. sheila krumholz: this is so unprecedented. paul solman: and, says sheila krumholz, who researches money in politics -- sheila krumholz: for some members of congress, this ban on corporate pac support will really hit them in the wallet. it will be a very meaningful loss. paul solman: if the ban lasts, that is. right now it is fallow season for electioneering. sheila krumholz: this is january of the off election year in a midterm election cycle. but, in 2022, when primaries are under way and the november election looms, these companies will be askefor support. paul solman: so, is it all just a p.r. move, companies seeming

to have a conscience, until they need legislators once more? no, says ex-ceo glocer, there's a deeper motivation. tom glocer: businesses generally don't like to bring politics into their companies. partly they don't want to antagonize customers or even their own employee base. but when the attacks go to the heart of the social fabric, the democratic norms of the country, which would make it impossible to run a business, then i think businesspeople reluctantly do show up. paul solman: last question for sheila krumholz, do you think this could be a bad thing, in the end, by making corporations more political? sheila krumholz: corporations are already political. they will be seeking access and influence with members of congress, including these objectors, as long as they have jurisdiction through their committee assignments. on the other hand, they're seeking to retain customers, who might be in a mood to punish them if they go back on their

pledge and begin supporting these members again. paul solman: for the "pbs newshour," paul solman. ♪ judy: the events at the capitol in the past week, beginning with a violent mob and ending with a impeachment of president trump, second have exposed deep rifts within the republican party. with mr. trump set to leave office next week, we discuss what's next for the gop with lanhee chen. he's a fellow at the hoover institution. he has also advised several republican presidential candidates including mitt romney and marco rubio. and gary abernathy, he's an ohio based writer and contributing columnist to the washington post. hello to both of you. welcome back to the newshour.

before we talk about the future of the party, let's talk about what happened last week, the assault on the capitol and then, just yesterday, the impeachment of the president. what's your reaction? lanhee chen: well, it's been such a tumultuous and heart-wrenching last week. i mean, i think you had a clip earlier of ken langone, who said any american who looks at that and doesn't find themselves affected in an emotional way, it's hard to fathom that. and i do think that that has really driven some of the changes we have seen in opinion even within the republican party, eveamongst elected officials who we thought were going to be loyal with donald trump to the end. that has really forced a change in thinking, even among some whom we never expected to see that from. the events of the last week truly have been consequential and important, not just for this moment that we're in, judy, but also for what is to come for the republican party in the months and years ahead. judy: well, let me try you, gary abernathy.

what's your reaction to what happened last week, the assault on the capitol, and then the impeachment of the president, second impeachment? gary abernathy: it was a sad day. it was frightening to watch. i think a lot of trump supporters are kind of torn right now, because they almost feel like they have stood by him for four years, and so they have to keep standing by him. i think that's the wron attitude. i'm glad donald trump was president for four years, but since he lost the election, i'm very unhappy with his behavior since then. i have called on him from the day the race was called for joe biden to admit defeat, to accept it, to participate in the transition. he has done none of that. my dividing line with trump is from the day the election was held, and the voters said, we're going to go a different direction, and he needed to except that. -- accept that. instead he played the whole, the election was stolen, and there's

been fraud. none of these things has been proven true. then you had thousands, tens of thousands of people in washington who were big supporters of his, and instead of calming them, he helped incite what happened. i am not laying it all at his feet. people who stormed the capitol are to blame for storming the capitol, but donald trump, as president, i think, had a responsibility to calm those waters, and he went the opposite way. he will pay a political price for that, as i think he should. judy: lanhee chen, now that he's impeached, we're waiting to see what happens in the senate. how much difference will it make for the party, for him? clearly, if he's tried and convicted, even after he's left office, that's a huge change in his stature. what does it mean that he even has to go through this. lanhee chen: well, i think the critical question is whether, in fact, he can be convicted and then, subsequently, if there are

a majority of senators who wish to bar him from future office. that would be an event of great consequence, obviously. i do think, at some level, donald trump is going to continue to have influence. i think that influence will diminish as his time in the presidency, as we get further from that time and people are able to reflect on how chaotic this post-election period was, but really the entire term of his presidency. and thinking about what the lasting impacts of that are on the conservative movement, on the republican party, i do expect that support to erode as time goes on. there is still going to be some percentage of republican voters who adhere to president trump, who believe that he is the right messenger. certainly, if the senate does, indeed, vote to convict and subsequently to bar him from office, that would be a major blow, not just to donald trump's political fortunes, but also to his personal future, his ability to continue to monetize his time in the presidency, and everything else that he might have wished to do after he left office.

judy: gary abernathy, what about that? how much clout will donald trump continue to have? to some degree that depends what the senate does. gary abernathy: i think that's true. now, i'm in the camp that agrees with scholars who say, look, the whole idea of impeachment is to remove a president from office. he is going to be removed from office by the voters in just a few days. i don't believe you can have an impeachment trial. i don't blame the house for impeaching him. what happened was horrible. i think there is an emotional impeachment going on right now. i don't think you can convict him after he's no longer in office. there is no point in that. let me tell you something. he still has tremendous support in the republican party. someone asked me, gee, are we going to end up with a democrat party, a republican party, and a trump party? i said you could but the

, republican party is going to be pretty small, because when you look at the polls and see 85% support still in the republican party for donald trump, that's pretty impressive. judy: lanhee chen, what does the republican party look like with that much support still? i know you are saying he may lose some of that but the , numbers gary is citing are pretty impressive. where does that leave the republican party? lanhee chen: yes, ty are impressive today. i don't know how durable that pport is when the man is no longer in office. fundamentally, i think the challenge for the republican party is this. for the last several years, it has been a party essentially supportive of whatever the president and his administration did. that leaves them in a position without power in the executive branch, without wer in either branch of congress. i think the republican party has to return to the question what it's for, what exactly the vision of governance for conservatives looking ahead.

that has to be the basis of any electoral renaissance we're going to see for the republican party moving ahead. and i tend to think that donald trump's appeal with the passage of time, with space from the presidency, and everything that we have seen, i think some of that support erodes. that happens naturally for a lot of politicians who are out of the spotlight in a way that a president is constantly in the spotlight. i suppose what we see today will necessarily be a reflection of where the party stands, let's say, a year or two years from now, when we're in the wake of yet another midterm election. judy: and just in literally 15 seconds, gary abernathy, republican party in some trouble in the months and years ahead because of this? gary abernathy: yes, but i do think it's important to remember this. the things that donald trump, the things that brought him his support, those aren't going

away. i don't think trump will be the messenger for the party four years from now, but i think a lot of the things he stood for will be, and it will just be someone else carrying that mantle. judy: gary abernathy, lanhee chen, thank you both very much. good to see you. gary abernathy: thank you, judy. lanhee chen: thank you. ♪ judy: as the days dwindle in the trump administration, they are still issuing rules and regulations, sanctions and designations that could have impact both abroad and at home beyond the end of the administration. here now, william brangham. william brangham: thanks, judy. it is somewhat customary for a president at the end of their term to issue a slew of orders and mr. trump is no different, but from iran to yemen, from china to cuba, and on the environment, this administration is issuing orders that could have deep, long-lasting impacts. our nick schifrin is here to help me unpack some of these. nick, before we get into the

specifics, when you look at the overall sweep of what the trump administration is doing, is this just normal diplomatic business that happens at thend of every administration, or is this different? nick schifrin: longtime diplomats call the slew, as you just called it, of moves, william, somewhat unusual because most administrations do hold off on major policy decisions as they're heading out the door. senior trump administration officials insist to me that they have been pushing these policies for months, if not years, and are making them publicly, with the hopes that they survive the transition. they do have political side effects. they can hamstring the biden team and allow politicians from the trump administration to criticize biden if he changes their policies. william brangham: so, let's walk through some of those major ones. let's start with china. nick schifrin: yes, perhaps the most significant moves have been on china. just this week, the department of homeland security banned all cotton and tomo from xinjiang.

that is the ostensibly autonomous region where beijing systematically persecutes the uyghur muslim minority, including what the u.s. calls widespread forced labor. earlier today, i spoke to customs and border protection executive assistant commissioner brenda smith. brenda smith: we have worked over the last really almost two years to identify specific entities that use forced labor. now we believe it's at a scale that the entire region is really implicated or at high risk of using forced labor in those production processes. nick schifrin: now, because of complicated supply chains, it is nearly impossible to actually enforce this action. but, by doing so, it is forcing companies to examine and change their supply chains. that means this decision could affect 20% of the world's cotton. now, there are also white house moves, including executive orders that would restrict americans from investing in certain chinese businesses, and bans on chinese apps. then there is taiwan. for decades, the white house has

restricted bilateral meanings and the status of its diplomats that work on taiwan as part of its relationship with beijing. last weekend secretary of state mike pompeo declared any restrictions "null and void.” the trump administration, frankly, had already been pushing the boundaries on those restrictions, but the state department basically decided to blow them up, rather than rewrite them. pompeo gets to criticize the biden team for being soft on china if they go back to the old restrictions and biden officials who i have talked to have said that they will respect traditional guidelines on taiwan, although, william, i should say that members of that team have long promised to confront beijing and support taiwan. william brangham: a lot of moves on that front alone. let's shift to the middle east. we know iran that has been a preoccupation of the trump administration, and, since the election, it sounds like that has not changed a bit. nick schifrin: yes, the trump administration has sanctioned more than two dozen iranian entities since the election on

, top of 1,500 sanctions since 2017. the most significant rhetorical flourish was pompeo tying iran to al-qaeda. sec. of state mike pompeo: al-qaida has centralized its leadership inside of tehran. nick schifrin: now, that is an analytical conclusion that former intelligence officials tell me is more of an opinion than a provable fact. but perhaps the most controversial decision made has been about yemen, where a war has killed hundreds of thousands of peopl a saudi-led coalition have been trying to unseat houthi rebels who took control of the capitol back in they are backed by iran. 2014. now, this weekend, pompeo declared the houthis a terrorist organization. that decision was quickly and widely condemned by humanitarians, who say it will only make the world's worst humanitarian crisis worse. take a listen just this morning to world food program head and former republican governor david beasley briefing the security council. david beasley: it's going to be catastrophic. it literally is going to be a death sentence to hundreds of

thousands, if not millions of innocent people in yemen. it needs to be reevaluated, and, quite frankly, it needs to be reversed. nick schifrin: all of this has been happening as iran has taken major steps to advance its nuclear program just in the last few weeks, including enriching uranium to 20%. critics of these moves describe them as an attempt to tie biden's hands ahead of promised diplomacy with iran. administration officials say they're finally making policy decisions they have been pushing for months. william brangham: nick, the secretary of state also put cuba back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. what is the rationale for that and what does that mean for the biden administration? nick schifrin: yes, you will recall obama visited havana, normalized relations, and removed cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. the trump administration spent four years undoing that effort, leading to last weekend's announcement. the state department cited cuba's harboring of rebel

leaders from colombia, as well as some american fugitives, and its support for nicolas maduro in venezuela. but the administration had already imposed many of the restrictions on cuba that come with being a state sponsor of terrorism, william, so there's no large practical impact. critics say, once again, it's designed to be a bit of a spoiler for the biden administration. william brangham: and these changes, these last-minute changes, also echo what the trump administration has been doing on the environmental front as well. nick schifrin: yes. very quickly, william, we have seen a lot of push on environmental regulations from the trump administration in the last four years. these new regulations follow that pattern, governing everything from greenhouse gas emissions, safety of chemicals, migratory birds, who gets to profit off federal lands. not only are some of these last-minute moves controversial, of course, the arctic drilling, but, also, critics say that the way some of these moves have been made will make them very difficult for the biden administration to undo.

william brangham: nick schifrin, thanks for keeping us abreast of all this. nick schifrin: thank u. ♪ judy: final tonight, we turn to civil rights activists ruby bridges who writes her story in a new children's -- children books, helping adult years will listen. telling her story is a special correspondent who followed in bridges' footsteps when she, along with hamilton homes, desegregated the university of georgia. this is part of our race matters solution series and our arts and culture series, canvas. >> we want to look at this together. reporter: ruby bridges name is synonymous with civil rights,

seen in this norman rockwell painting, the problem we all live with. she became the first black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in new orleans at six years old. she had to be escorted by federal marshals as she walked past loud and unruly protesters and into the elementary school. 60 years later, bridges has written to and for children. she describes it as a call to action and contains historical phot of her pioneering time. pioneering history is still being made and remembered, including a photo illustration that went viral after the election of vice president-elect kamala harris, walking alongside the shadow of ruby bridges. >> ruby bridges, on behalf of my generation of civil rights pioneers, thank you for paving our way.

you have written other books, but this one is specifically aimed at readers who may be as young as you were when you first took those historic steps when you were six years old into the elementary school. why did you do this book and do you see similarities between then and now in some ways? ruby: absolutely. back in march i was sitting in front of my television, on lock down, because of the virus, like everybody else. i witnessed this young man's brutal death, mr. floyd, right in front of my face, like so many people did. i was so disturbed by it and it didot know how to react or what to do. i felt i had been spending so many years talking to kids about the country and i knew they were

watching this as well and probably wondering what was going on. the majority of my time i talked to kids and explained to them that racism has no place in the minds and hearts of kids across the country, yet they were witnessing this. i was very moved by what i saw after his death. i saw young people take to the street. i felt the torch had been passed and now they had a causeo get behind. when dr. king was assassinated, i felt like we should have picked that torch up and kept it moving. even my own experience after going to the school, it was something that happened, no one talked about it in my community, my neighborhood. it was swept under the rug and life goes on. i happy now to see all of a sudden activism is cool again. it should have been from 1960

until today. we did not do a very good job of passing those lessons onto that generation. reporter: let's talk about teenagers and others in their 20's, the big multigenerational, multiracial protests, going on. there are deep divisions, from politics to even wearing masks. how do you explain that? ruby: we cannot be a hopeless people. we have to be hopeful. we have a lot of work to do. we all saw that. this last election showed us how divided this country is. after president obama was elected, it seemed to racism raised its ugly head again. i think having a black man elected as president riled that

element up all over again. they felt like, we cannot have this happen, yet it did. all we needed was for someone to come along and add fuel to that fire. that is why we are so divided today. reporter: one of the things you say in the book is, you believe racism is a grown-up disease. you are talking to the children now. you say, we adults must stop using you, our kids, to spread it. it is we adults who pass racism on in so many ways. i hear people all the time say, i want to do something about it, but don't know what to do. ruby: we all know none of our kids are born not liking the kid next to them. they are born not knowing anything about racism or disliking someone because of the color of their skin. it is learned behavior.

if it can be taught, it can be taught not to be that way. reporter: you mentioned your children. you have four black boys and your eldest was involved in an unsolved murder. what is advice to mothers like yourself and those protesting the murders of black men especially, but also black women? ruby: that is a parent's worst nightmare. my son's murder was never solved. we know the people who took his life looked exactly like him. there are so many parents out there like myself who have lost children my son's age, or even babies. gun violence, which is very disheartening, is an issue we have to deal with as well. whether it is like the murder that happened with my son, or murders like george floyd.

if you are passionate about it, you need to do something about it. ruby: --reporter: i am impressed with your passion and then moved by it. is there anyplace you could share with us from your book? ruby: yes, i will do that. when i think about how great this country could be, america, land of the free, home of the brav i think about what dr. martin luther king jr. said about being great. everybody can be great because everybody can serve. you only need a heart full of grace. really it is that love and grace for one another that will heal. reporter: ruby bridges, it has been a pleasure to see you. you are a hero for all time.

it will always be your time. thank you for joining us. ruby: thank you, such a pleasure to see you again. judy: thank you ruby bridges. words to live by. as we just heard about young people being key to the future, we have a special inauguration event tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we the young people is a "nshour" report with issues gen z care about, hosted by omni nevada. it features students, teachers, teen fact checkers. here is a preview. >> more americans voted in the 2020 election than ever before. >> the aftermath showed how divided our country is. >> they stormed the capitol building. >> we are seeing real and deadly consequences of misinformation.

>> and discussed -- disgust in our institutions. >> despite the government, we do our work. >> we want to see our country heal. >> i voted because people i care about are in danger. >> i want to make a better generation for the future. >> as we confront the pandemic, racial injustice and economic crisis, we must remember what is important to us. >> we the young people of the u.s. want a better future together. judy: that is 7:00 eastern on our website and youtube. that is the "newshour" for tonight. i am judy woodruff. join us here. please stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by --

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>> if you love to shop for the freshest food with the widest selection, when in budapest, head straight for the central market built in 1897. it's easy to spot because it's the largest indoor market in the city, and i'm here today to look for inspiration for creating a hungarian-inspired menu. ♪ i've never shopped or cooked in hungary, so i'm meeting my friend joseph, who's a local hungarian chef. where should we start? i love to travel the globe in search of new food and wine discoveries. for me, it's about more than returning home with a handful of new recipes. it's about taking the spirit of austria... of italy... of greece... and of the danube river and injecting some of their magic into our everyday lives. food has a unique ability tons