captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: the tipping point. negotiations go down to the wire at the global climate summit, but meaningful agreements remain elusive. then, ethiopia in crisis. the regional war in tigray spills over into the rest of the country, and ensnares innocent civilians. >> i think ethiopia is the most alarming place in the world at the moment, and tigray is probably the worst place in the world to live in right now. >> woodruff: and, it's friday. jonathan capehart and gary abernathy discuss the new, even sharper divides in congress, and the political implications of ongoing inflation.

all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity wealth management. >> johnson & johnson.

>> financial services firm raymond james. >> b.d.o. accountants and advisors. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: diplomats and negotiators from nearly 200 countries struggled to reach a global accord on reducing emissions to ease the impact of climate change.

today was scheduled to be the last day of the so-called cop26 summit in glasgow, scotland, but word came this afternoon that deep disputes over financial aid, fossil fuels, and future commitments, meant the talks would spill over into saturday. top officials said it was important to keep negotiations going. franz timmermans represents the european union. >> the whole of humanity is in danger, and the ones who are in immediate danger are the ones living on small island states in the pacific and the ones in the caribbean, who is suffering every year with the weather becoming more and more erratic. so, i think there's a lot of people who are already suffering now. but the whole of humanity will be suffering dearly if we don't change our behavior. >> woodruff: william brangham is covering the latest on these lks, and files this report from glasgow on how this day has gone, and the issues that divide countries. >>rangham: athe scheduled last day of this summit began,

glasgow's weather matched the mood outside. as attendees filed in, a few lone protesters stood watch. tom deacon came to encourage greater action, but he isn't hopeful. >> i'm 40 years old, and this has been going on since i was eight years old. this "process" behind us. we're here at cop26. this is why i've got a banner that says “how many cops to arrest climate change?” one should be the answer. like, we should not be here at cop26. and still, it's failing. >> brangham: inside the cavernous halls, negotiators worked all morning, wrangling over the precise wording for the conference's final joint statement. a draft version of that document, released early today, includes language urging countries to phase out the use of coal, and questions the need for billions of dollars in subsidies to fossil fuel companies. it was less clear about how much aid would be provided to the developing nations that are suffering the present-day impacts of climate change. saleemul huq is a bangladeshi

scientist and researcher who's been to every one of these conferences. >> the last hours of the cop is where the final political horse-trading takes place amongst the ministers who are here in glasgow. and-- and some issues will go to heads of government. you know, mr. kerry will call mr. biden and mr. biden will call president xi, and they'll sort a few things out that have to go up to that level. always happens that way. >> brangham: many of the activists, crowded inside today, wanted negotiators thinking about the future, but acknowledging the present. miriam talwisa is an activist from uganda. >> the solutions coming out of here should be reflective of two realities: the effects and damages and losses from the change in climate are here today; and the future is unknown. >> brangham: benjamin ryan yawakie is an indigenous activist from minnesota.

>> so much at stake given the situations we have in minnesota. a drought last summer, historic drought. we had a heat dome. the closing of the boundary waters canoe area. all these things are coming to a head, and it's coming to our communities. >> brangham: at noon, a planned walkout began. hundreds of civil society groups, n.g.o.s, and activists from all over the world marched out of the conference hall, en masse, all holding onto a long red ribbon. outside, they joined a large demonstration that had formed on the perimeter of the conference. the speakers, protesters, and signs all demanded action. at one point, the protest was joined by the so-called “red brigade,” a group of climate- minded street-performers. as the day wore on inside, some ministers and negotiators acknowledged their work was far from finished. >> the text is the bare minimum we need to walk away with.

we need to hold the line. we owe our children, our grandchildren. >> brangham: the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, said the world was watching. >> if it doesn't get across the line, it's only going to be because of a lack of political will, political determination, and political leadership. well, this generation of young people are watching. let's not let them down. >> brangham: the day ended as it began-- a small crowd of protesters outside, negotiators continuing their work inside. >> woodruff: and william joins me now. so, hello again, william. it looks as if these negotiations are going past the deadline. >> braude: that's right, judy. on some level, this is to be expected. this happens at a lot of these urn conferences. there are just so many details to get through. you mentioned some of them. the first and foremost is what's called the emissions gap, that is the chasm -- and it is a

chasm -- between what nations pledged to cut with their emissions and what is needed to cut with emissions to get down to stopping the planet from warming an additional 1.5 degrees. that has been the whole goal. one minister today said that the target of 1.5 degrees is hanging on by its fingernails. another issue is the issue of subsidies and this is somewhere around half a billion dollars that governments all around the world give to oil and gas companies to subsidize their work and keep gas prices low. john kerry today referred to these subsidies as the definition of insanity, but the language in the draft report issued this morning is a little fuzzy on what we ought to be doing about those subsidies. and there is this issue of aid to the developing world. wealthr nations promised $100 billion but they have failed to deliver on that. according to their own

reporting, they've failed by, say, $20 billion. ox fem estimates that's $80 billion they're short. so lots of issues to work out. >> reporter: we're seeing a consensus position on fossil fuels now seems to be softening, and we understand there's been difficulty even in getting this language in these agreements in the past. why? >> braude: you're exactly right, judy. it is striking that at the are at the 26th climate conference and there is still this intense debate about minuscule language changes ward fossil fuels. we know they are the prince the driver of climate change. one of the factor, and there are in many, is that the oil and gas industry is influential. global witness did an analysis and showed that the oil and gas industry has more representatives here than compared to any other contry. so their interests are being looked after and lobbied on behalf of. it's also important to remember

this process all goes under consensus. there are 200 nations here and they each have to agree to this. so some nations that don't want to see progress made, they can hold the progress up and they have been. we'll see what happens. the next draft data, the next draft document comes out tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. >> reporter: into the weekend, william william reporting from glasgow. thank you. >> you're welcome, judy. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, longtime trump adviser steve bannon has been indicted on two counts of contempt of congress, after he defied a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the capitol insurrection. meanwhile, former trump white house chief of staff mark meadows failed to appear for his depositi before the panel today, prompting calls to hold him in contempt as well. president biden has nominated

dr. robert kayliff to head the food and drug administration. the agency has been without a permanent leader since the president took office in january, amid the strain of fighting covid-19 and rolling out vaccines. if confirmed, it will be kayliff's second time leading the agency. white house officials today estimate that more than 27 million americans have now received a covid-19 vaccine booster shot. that comes hours after colorado governor jared polis signed an executive order making every adult in his state eligible for a booster. that goes beyond current federal guidelines, and was triggered by the state's recent spike in covid cases. tensions are high on the border between belarus and poland, as thousands of migrants remain stranded trying to cross into the european union. russia sent paratroopers to join in military drills with belarus today, while poland and neighboring countries ramped up

their security forces. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken said belarus' actions-- including those of its president alexander lukashenko-- were concerning. >> i am not going to preview or get ahead of any possible sanctions, but we are looking at various tools that we have. and of course, this is broader then the effort to use migration as a political weapon. it goes to the conduct of the lukashenko regime in belarus, and denying the citizens of belarus the democracy to which they are entitled. >> woodruff: the e.u. and the u.s. are preparing to widen sanctions against belarus, accusing president lukashenko of using illegal border crossings to retaliate against e.u. sanctions on his regime over human rights abuses. qatar agreed today to represent u.s. interests in afghanistan. the gulf nation will provide consular services for american

citizens who remain there, and others who want to flee taliban control. the u.s. closed the american embassy in kabul in august. the biden administration estimates that several hundred americans are still in the country. a myanmar court today sentenced american journalist danny fenster to 11 years in prison with hard labor. the charges against him include incitement for spreading false and inflammatory information. he faces additional counts of terrorism and treason. human rights watch officials denounced the move, and warned that the country's military rulers have not been deterred by foreign sanctions. >> it's clear that danny is being made an example of, and what it shows is that the military junta do not care what the international community thinks. what it also means is that these targeted sanctions against senior officials in the military and the junta are not enough, and the international community

needs to do more, and act, instead of, you know, just making these concerned statements. >> woodruff: myanmar's ruling military has arrested about 100 journalists since taking power in february. fenster's sentence is the harshest so far, out of seven convicted journalists. back in this country, a los angeles judge ended singer britney spears' conservatorship. spears now has control over her own medical, personal, and financial decisions, for the first time in 14 years. hundreds of her fans celebrated the decision outside the courthouse, cheering and dancing to her music. johnson & johnson announced today that it is splitting into two blicly-traded companies. the division that sells band-aids, listerine, and over-the-counter medication will separate from its pharmaceutical and medical device business. the company says it hopes the shift will help them better

serve consumers and drive profitable growth. for the record, johnson & johnson is a newshour funder. there are new signs of turmoil in the u.s. job market. the labor department reported a record 4.4 million americans quit their jobs in september. that is roughly 3% of the u.s. workforce. and, stocks edged higher on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average gained 179 points to close at 36,100. the nasdaq rose 156 points, and the s&p 500 added 33. still to come on the newshour: several high-profile athletes' resistance to vaccines highlights the nationwide divide a new book details the approach to the middle east of former secretary of state henry kissinger. a small, remote town in alaska connects to the internet for the first time. and, much more.

>> woodruff: tonight, the united nations tells pbs newshour that the ethiopian government promises to ease its de-facto blockade on the northern territory of tigray, where hundreds of thousands are facing famine after a year of conflict. nick schifrin has the story. >> schifrin: on tigray tv, tigrayan forces and their allies advance south. and, as they get closer to addis ababa, the capital and the country are increasingly at risk. but while the ethiopian government says addis and its bustling markets are safe, and rallies residents to decry what it calls fake news, the international community fears

for the future, as secretary of state tony blinken said today. >> i am very concerned about the potential for ethiopia to-- to implode. >> schifrin: the crisis began last november, when tigrayan forces who used to run the country attacked a federal outpost. federal forces, and their allies from neighboring eritrea, and the amhara region, waged a scorched earth campaign, and occupied parts of tigray. but in late june, tigrayan forces pushed federal ethiopian soldiers out, and kept going, from tigray into neighboring amharra and afar, and now, toward the capital. they allied with the small oromo liberation army, seized two key towns, and are within 200 miles of addis ababa. >> the threat to addis is an existential threat to the country. an attack on addis is-- is not that unlikely. and it's a very, very, very dire prospect. >> schifrin: martin griffiths is

the u.n.'s top humanitarian official, who just returned from a trip to ethiopia. he visited during furious diplomatic efforts between the two sides, led by u.s. special envoy jeff feltman, and african union envoy and former nigerian president, olusegun obasanjo, who this week addressed the u.n. security council. >> the window of opportunity we have is very little, and that the time is short. >> he's trying to get an agreement of the simplest and most immediate kind. that's why he talks about a halt to the fighting. he's not talking about a cease- fire, he's talking about a halt, a stop, knock it off now, a pause, so that humanitarian assistance can be delivered. >> schifrin: that humanitarian assistance is needed desperately. the u.s. says as many as 900,000 tigrayans face famine, hospitals are running out of medicine, and there are hundreds of victims of rape. >> the women are still, after these many, many months, so traumatized that it's difficult

for them to speak. we said to the women, "what do you want for your children?" the answer that they gave us was, "we want food." they have no horizon, beyond survival, beyond tomorrow. they weren't even thinking about a future. they were thinking about today. and i think that was perhaps the most shocking example of the depth of need in tigray. >> schifrin: griffiths has been a humanitarian for decades, and visited many of the world's worst humanitarian crises. but, he says, tigray is among the worst, because of the war's expansion, and what the u.n. calls a de-facto blockade by the ethiopian government. >> the distress of those women is a distress you see across the province. that's why the desperation for humanitarian agencies is to try to get food and medicine and supplies and therapy and counseling and safety. those people who've suffered far too much and who are, of course, utterly innocent of any causes

of this conflict. i think ethiopia is the most alarming place in the world at the moment. and tigray is probably the worst place in the world to live in right now. >> schifrin: and yet, earlier this month, the ethiopian government detained 70 truck drivers under u.n. contract who would have been delivering aid, and 22 u.n. staff and their families, before releasing 12 of them. the ethiopian foreign ministry accused the u.n. workers of "participating in terror" and disrespecting the country's laws. >> ( translated ): they are not in space, they are in ethiopia. they have to respect ethiopia's law, one by one. if they don't respect the law of the land, they will be legally held accountable. >> schifrin: the ethiopian government has said that they are detained because of "participation in terror." has the government provided any evidence of that? >> no, no evidence is being provided to us of that. they were doing their jobs, and carrying out their responsibilities to the united nations. >> schifrin: this week, amnesty international accused tigrayan forces of gang rape, looting,

and physical assaults. the u.n. says all sides have committed "unprecedented brutality." but finally, a possible positive step-- the ethiopian government told griffiths, aid will be allowed into tigray. >> the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of ethiopia gave us-- me included-- his decision to allow the trucks to move. well, let's see. let's-- let's hope it happens. but the problem is this: the war is going on, and the war is threatening addis. there's no doubt stopping the fighting is the imperative right now. >> braude: tonight there's no official agreement to top to the fighting or allow the aid in that millions of people so desperately need. for the pbs "newshour", for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: throughout the pandemic, many celebrities

have encouraged people to get a covid vaccine, often showing themselves getting a shot. but there are others, such as singer nicki minaj, who have spoken out against vaccinations, and even spread misinformation. that is happening as well with some high-profile athletes who have a prominent public platform. john yang has the story. >> yang: speaking with reporters in august, green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers implied he was inoculated against covid-19. >> are you vaccinated, and what's your status on vaccinations? >> yeah, i've been immunized. there's guys on the team that haven't been vaccinated. i think it's a personal decision. i'm not going to judge those guys. >> yang: but after testing positive, the reigning league m.v.p. was in required isolation for last sunday's game against the kansas city chiefs. on pat mcafee's satellite radio show last week, rodgers acknowledged he is not vaccinated. >> i believe strongly in bodily autonomy, and the ability to make choices for your body.

>> yang: rodgers said he has concerns about all three federally-approved vaccines, and was denied league approval for an alternative treatment, which he said he underwent in consultation with joe rogan, the talk show host and prominent vaccine skeptic. this week, rodgers was back on mcafee's show, with a different play: >> i made some comments that people may have felt were misleading, and to anybody who felt misled by those comments, i take full responsibility. >> yang: rogers is one of a handful of high-profile professional athletes who have either declined to get vaccinated, or be fully forthcoming about their status, in spite of league rules and local vaccine mandates. brooklyn nets point guard kyrie irving has yet to play a game this season, because new york city requires anyone entering an indoor arena to show proof of vaccination, and the team won't use him only in games out of the city. nets head coach steve nash:

>> i support the decision. if things change, we'd love to have kyrie back. >> yang: rodgers is paying a price. a green bay-based health care provider, prevea health, ended its nine-year partnership him, saying it "remains deeply committed to protecting its patients, staff, providers, and communities amidst the covid-19 pandemic. this includes encouraging and helping all eligible populations to become vaccinated against covid-19." and this week, the n.f.l. fined rodgers $14,650 for breaking league rules by not wearing a mask when talking with reporters, and attending an event with other players outside team facilities. the packers were fined $300,000 for not policing his behavior. rodgers could be cleared to play in this sunday's game against the seattle seahawks. will leitch is a contributing editor for "new york magazine."

will leitch has been writing about the issue. some people are talking about the rodgers case, casual football fans. why do you think aaron rodgers' case is resonating so much? >> aaron rodgers is a quarterback in a lot of ways people thought they knew. he offered to take off a year in n.f.l. to host "jeopardy." not someone you would assume of a vaccine skeptic. he's outgoing and on social media. he's progressive on some topics. he was eloquent during the racial protest last summer of talking about him supporting social justice. for a lot of people, i think there was a notion rodgers was the "smart" quarterback and was very ahead of the game and was the quarterback who was considered different than a dumb jock stereotype. he was a good "jeopardy" host.

>> braude: we mentioned the fine, $14,000. he is in the second year of a four-year, $134 million contract. the same week the n.f.l. fined a cowboys player, council members d. lamb, for wearing an untucked uniform, that fine was $20,000. what do you make of that? >> well, on one hand, i think -- you know the packers were also fined for not having some of the protocols in place. i think, you know,eth not actually -- you don't have to be vaccinated to play in the n.f.l. i think that's been a loss. i think the idea people think there are more unvaccinated players in the n.f.l. than there are. rodgers didn't break any rules by not being vaccinated, but by not wearing the mask, it was a minor thing, and generally the way the packers kind of run their program. but i think the issue and why they didn't fine him too much is basically what he did was he deceived people and, frankly,

deceived people in a press conference, which i'll say if the n.f.l. started fighting people f that, it would be a lot of fines. i would say the protocols that he generally, the team is seen to have -- the team surely knew he was not vaccinated. the n.f.l. knew he was not vaccinated. >> braude: talk about the incident with khyri irving. the n.f.l. commissioner said he would prefer to have a vaccine man date but the players objected. what does that say about the balance of per in professional sports these days? >> players unions i think are wary of any sort of management having any extra power over labor than they already do. i sort of understand that in a macro since. a lot of players will argue and leitch will argue as well, in a lot of ways the n.f.l. and the n.b.a. don't have vaccination problems. the n.b.a. has 96% of its players vaccinated.

the n.f.l. hasn't 6% of its players vaccinated. you and i have should feel so fortunate to be around 95 to 896% of people vaccinated. high profile cases like rogers and irving that make people think there is some sort of larger issue. i think leitch would argue and i think fairly they have not actually had mandates but had buy-in to a degree that's much higher than the general population. people think, oh, here's this n.f.l. player or n.b.a. player, why is there a vaccine resistance in sports? there really isn't, except the high-profile things make it looks like there is. >> braude: in his high profile response, aaron rodgers hit the hot buttons. he talked about cancel culture, woke mobs, a media witch hunt, and you also talked about how he had been on racial justice and black lives matter and khyri irving had been on black lives matter. is this, in some sense, be seen

as a logical extension of players speaking out on social issues? >> certainly, i think that -- this is the age of player empowerment and there are a lot of positives to that. we spent a lot of the last year and a half saying listen to athletes, they have stories to tell, they're from communities that have been overlooked for a long time. there's a down side. it's the influence they have. they have always had the influence. charles bargely said i'm not a role model. we encouraged athletes to spike their minds. sometimes they already eloquent and talk wisely about issues that affect them, and sometimes they're going to quote joe rogen talking twice. there's a down side to rodgers, i think he is resonant so much that it feels like a surprise. we learned something about an athlete that we thought we knew and it's very different than the perception we had of that

athlete. >> will leitch, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. thank you for having me. >> woodruff: as president biden prepares to sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on monday, and the first redistricting maps are passed in states across the country, many americans have turned their focus to the rising cost of ods, from food to gasoline. here to discuss all this and more, we are joined by capehart and abernathy. that is jonathan capehart of the "washington post," and gary abernathy, an ohio-based writer and contributing columnist for the "washington post." david brooks is away. it's very good to see both you have. >> you, too, jude. judy.>> woodruff: a lot of bierntship in this city. there was a bipartisan vote ter we finished our conversation last friday night

passing, and it is headed to the president. but we have to point out, most republicans ended up in the house voting against it and then you had president trump saying he was ashamed that the 13 republicans who voted for it should be ashamed of themselves. so how bipartisan was it? >> well, it was bipartisan in that you did have 13 republicans vote for it and at a time when we don't see this sort of thing anymore, that should be applauded, especially now that those 13 are getting threats. they are getting threatened, their committee assignments are being threatened, some are getting death threats. one of the colleagues called them traitors for voting for something that generations of republicans supported, even the former president, even donald trump, the big joke was infrastructure week was every week during the trump administration, talked about it all the time, and now that it's happening in the biden administration, it's something

that's bad. this is a great thing for the country. >> woodruff: how bipartisan? is it a great thing and how bipartisan was it truly? >> it should have been much more bipartisan. it should have had many more republican votes. it was a great thing. long overdue. i don't like the price tag. $1 trillion is a lot overmoney. but we have to understand there's been years and years where we've necked this so this is money we should have been spending all along. i think a lot of republicans were conditioned against it because for so long it was yoked to the other bill, to the build back better bill. they felt one would lead to a victory for the other and the build back better bill is an entirely different animal. when they uncoupled that, when nancy pelosi uncoupled that from the other bill, republicans should have voted for this a lot more than they did. so i think it's very disappointing, and jonathan's exactly right. president trump was an advocate for the infrastructure spending when he was in office, and it's

a bit hypocritical to be against it now. >> woodruff: speaking of lack of partisanship or lack of bipartisanship, this was a week for some pretty ugly rhetoric, jonathan. we had congressman paul gosar of arizona posting this video cartoon of him killing another member of congress, congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. he said it was all about her position on immigration. then separately, we have this new audio recording of president trump defending the crowd back in january in the attack on the capitol saying hang mike pence, his own vice president. and his argument is this is just common sense, they were angry, they were worked up. where are we with all this? is there any turning back? >> i don't know if there's any turning back.

and i say i don't know if there is any turning back because there is an incredible silence among republican leaders. leave aside donald trump. no one's surprised to hear what he had to say about hang mike pence. the problem is and the question is where is house minority leader kevin mccarthy. "leader" is in his title. he should have said something immediately about congressman gosar. he sowf said something immediately about congresswoman marjorie taylor green calling the 13 republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill "traitors." he should be continuously out there saying this is not who we are as republicans, a party, as a caucus because, if the leader of the caucus doesn't set an example rhetorically or even by his actions, then the paul

gosars and the marjorie taylor greens are given, no pun intended, green lights to keep going the things they are doing which is creating an atmosphere of menace around the capitol that's been there since january h. cory bush moved her office from congresswoman greens. green's gotten in fights with several congressmen and she has been able to because kevin mccarthy has not said anything and the idea he hasn't said anything about the gosar video that twitter had taken down tells me how concern we should be about speaker mccarthy if the republicans take the house midterms. >> woodruff: gary, do you see a turning back from this kind of language? >> i hope there's a turning back and i think that it needs to come from everybody in congress

saying, wait a minute, i'm in the united states congress, i'm not a 12-year-old playing some kind of video game here. i don't want to be accused of both sidesh-ism here, and i will be anyway, but i think back to a lot of the memes and so on that members of the democratic party were retweeting about trump when he was in office that are pretty disgusting. i think of nancy pelosi, after trump finishes a state of the union address, dramatically ripping up the pages of his address. these are all things that we should be a little bit better than that in congress. these are members to have the un --members of the united stats congress who should not be engaging in these 12-year-old antics. >> gary, there's a big difference -- >> there is a big difference. -- between standing up at the end of the president's speech and ripping it up because -- i remember that speech, there was a lot in it to be angry about in terms of who we are as the american people -- there's a big

difference between that and a member of congress putting out an animated video superimposing the face of someone from the opposing party where that person is killed. also, we didn't mention how there's also a figure with the president's face who was also attacked in that video. that's not the same thing. >> i'm condemning all of it, jonathan, i agree with you on tat. but i'm saying if you thinketh all one way, that's what i'll disagree with. >> woodruff: and turning back, you're saying you hope, you hope. >> yeah. >> woodruff: totally changing the subject, inflation. we got bad numbers this week about how fast it's rising in the country. jonathan, it's bad news for all americans, and politically it's not good news for the president. what are his options when it comes to this? >> gosh, when it comes to inflation, i'm not sure. one thing all of us around this table know and that most americans don't or

understandably don't care, the president doesn't have any control over the economy. presidents can crow about great numbers and folks will give them credit. presidents complain about bad employment numbers and people will be angry. people will be angry because inflation is high, they're seeing it in the gas pump, grocery store, furniture stores, new and used cars. i don't know what the president can do that is going to squash this. this is the highest it's been year to year in 30 years, and what actually makes this even more concerning is that while the president is saying, you know, oh, this is temporary, meaning maybe six months or so, but this is not in isolation only in the united states. 24 hours after the u.s. announced its inflation number, so did japan and china. they also had spikes. japan, the highest in 40 years. so this is a problem for the

president. it is. >> what is the problem. and i'm going to disagree that there's nothing the president can do. i think one thing you can do immediately is not spend another $2 trillion that we don't have. it's kind of economics 101 that one thing that leads to inflation is deval ewing the dollar, and when you're spending trillions of dollars -- let me be fair, it wasn't just a democrat thing. the republicans did this last year, too, and the response to covid, which a lot of us feel like was an overresponse and a lot of spending that didn't need to be done because there were a lot of shutdowns that needed to be more targeted than just shutting everything down and spending trillions we didn't have to make up for it, but the repubrepublicans were in on thio last year, so i'm not giving them a pass, but when you say you want to spend money we don't have, another $2 trillion, that's going to raise prices and make inflation even worse. >> let's not forget there are

supply chain issues involved which has nothing to do -- >> woodruff: shipt backed up in port. >> ships backed up in port, but also because to have the pandemic, shortages in labor, having people who can take things off those ships. so that's part of it. woodruff: and we reported today a record number of people quitting their jobs again last month, which, you know, may have something to do. >> people are quitting because jobs are so plentiful so they have choices, and i read i think a "post" story today about how people are quitting in part because they can get a better job somewhere else and, so, they're doing it. >> yes and no. lots of people are quitting their jobs, but there's a labor shortage. i mean, where the jobs are where most people don't want to go, it seems. >> woodruff: last thing i want to bring up, we're not going to be able to cover it in two minutes, but it's redistricting infamously after there's a census, every state has to redraw the lines for congressional and legislative districts. jonathan, just quickly, it's

been -- there's been a lot of partisan gerrymandering districts that don't really reflect where people live. is it going to gelt any better this year or where are we headed for? >> no, it's not going to get better, because this happens every ten years. gerrymandering is a bipartisan effort. republicans if they're in control they draw lines that favor their democrats, the democrats do the same. what would help this is if kong would have passed the original freedom to vote act which would have set up non-partisan district commissions, but that went down in a ball of flames. >> yeah, and i'm someone that always says there's no really such thing as a monparents committee commission, anything like that. this happens every ten years. i will say this -- every ten years -- now, if you look at every two years, yes, there's a 90% lerecollection rate in congress, but every ten years a

huge turn around. we have a more diverse congress and more women in congress than we've ever had, so it changes despite everyone's best efforts to keep the things the same. >> woodruff: ohio 54% revs won and occupy 70% of the -- >> that's because they win the key victims. i remember in the '80s when the democrats controlled the key seats and they drew the districts to gerrymander. to the winner goes to spoils and the ability to draw districts. >> woodruff: thank you both. appreciate it. >> woodruff: former secretary of state henry kissinger was a central character in israel-arab peace negotiations.

during nixon and ford admins. a new book, "master of the game: henry kissinger and the art of middle east diplomacy," chronicles the challenges and strategy behind the scenes. i spoke earlier with author and former u.s. ambassador to israel martin indyk earlier. martin indyk, welcome to the newshour. it's very good to have you with us, congratulations on the book. let me ask you about what you've written here. we know henry kissinger, enormously influential figure in american foreign policy, and yet he's been out of office for what, over 45 years. and people think of him, many do, in connection with china, vietnam. but you've chosen to focus on the middle east. why? >> well, two reasons, judy. and thank you very much for having me. the first is that kissinger's time as secretary of state, his four years as secretary of state, was essentially consumed with middle east peacemaking. and that's not commonly understood. and although there have been

many books written about kissinger, nothing has gone-- you know, i've been involved in peacemaking, both in the clinton administration and then in the obama administration. and-- and, in the clinton administration, it all blew up in our face. and in the obama administration, when i was a special envoy for israeli-palestinian negotiations, it failed again. in fact, the parties were further apart at the end of the negotiations than at the beginning. and that was the last netiations that's been held. so, i wanted to go back and try to learn from the master of the game, as the title of the book, how to make peace and how not to make peace, because he was so successful at laying the foundations of the arab-israeli peace process back in the 1970s. >> woodruff: you say he was successful at laying the foundation, and yet, peace still eludes the middle east. there have been a movement here, a movement there, but it still isn't a reality. and you write about the-- the art of diplomacy, as much as the

strategy that he pursued. why does that matter? >> well, first of all, significant progress has been made. it depends on how you look at the glass. but the peace treaty between israel and egypt, and the two agreements that he negotiated between israel and egypt, laid the foundations for the peace treaty, took egypt out of the conflict with israel. and then, he also, kissinger also negotiated a disengagement agreement between israel and syria, which has lasted to this day, despite the collapse of order in syria itself. and those agreements enabled the israel/egypt peace treaty, eventually the israel/jordan peace treaty. the sticking point is with the israelis and palestinians. and-- and kissinger's approach was-- i think what we can learn from thaperiod-- he was very cautious, incremental.

he invented the concept of step- by-step diplomacy, because he was skeptical that both sides werectually ready to make the sacrifices that could produce agreement. and therefore, he thought it required time and getting the parties used to making concessions to each other. and yitzhak rabin-- ironically, because he had stood up to kissinger in the days when he was secretary of state-- when he became prime minister, adopted a kissingerian approach. and after rabin was assassinated, we-- and i was part of that effort-- we jumped to try to end the conflict. and every president since has been trying to end the conflict. and that was something that kissinger would have never done, because he didn't believe the parties were ready. in fact, he was very wary of presidents who-- american presidents, who sought immortality by seeking to grasp the holy grail of israeli-palestinian peace.

so that's why i think the major lesson from his approach was, we need to take it more gradually, step by step, incrementally, and rebuild the confidence and trust. >> woodruff: is that still what henry kissinger believes should be done today? i know you, martin indyk, have written recently that you think the biden administration needs to take an approach like henry kissinger's. >> well, they essentially are, having exhausted the other possibilities. you know, joe biden was vice president when i was the envoy working with the secretary of state, john kerry. so he saw up close how far the parties were apart. so he's not enthusiastic to try to grasp that holy grail. in fact, he's got other priorities in other parts of the world, with the rise of china and climate change and so on. but the israeli government isn't prepared to move forward, because it's a left/right coalition, and thecan't agree on what the outcome should be. and the palestinian authority is

divided from gaza, with fatah and hamas fighting. so-- so this is a moment in which kissinger's incremental approach really makes sense, >> woodruff: one other element of kissinger's approach was the essential nature of having the united states involved, of having an american role in the peace process. can there be peace in the middle east, in his view, without a heavy american hand? >> the united states was a critical player because only the united states could persuade israel to give up territory, which lubricated the peace process. and that remains the case today in the central israeli- palestinian conflict. israel controls all of the territory. and there is no other country other than the united states that can persuade israel to do it. and the book shows the way in which kissinger used his arguments, not an imposed

solution, but argued with the israelis, with golda meir and yitzhak rabin, often using his arguments like a battering ram, until he finally wore them down and convinced them that it was in their interest not to trade territory for peace, but to trade territory for time. time to exhaust the arabs and get them used to israel, living with israel. time for israel to strengthen itself so that it could make the concessions for peace. and-- and he was immensely successful, in that regard. but the basic reality is still the case, that the united states is the only country that can influence israel to make those kinds of concessions. >> woodruff: it is quite a book. martin indyk, "master of the game: henry kissinger and the art of middle east diplomacy." thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: while many areas across the u.s. have been upgraded to high-speed internet, there are still pockets that are in a broadband desert. and that includes many rural alaska communities. greg kim of alaska public media reports on one town that is finally getting connected. >> reporter: shawna williams is a parent with a full-time job in akiak. she's also in school to get her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. and, there's an added challenge. she attends her classes by phone. >> so, i have the meeting id memorized. because this is the most reliable way to join class. > reporter: she tried to use video so she could see what her teachers were writing on the board. but, she says, her connection just kept freezing. >> every so often it'll load and say "your internet is unstable." all the audio and the video

stop-- it's just unreliable. >> reporter: in-home broadband internet is not available in akiak, or anywhere in the yukon delta. that has made it increasingly difficult for people there to participate in all aspects of modern life. williams is one of the few people in akiak who has home internet. it's far below broadband speeds, and comes with data limits. for that, she pays over $300 a month. >> on top of fuel costs, food costs, electricity, you know, we just barely make it month to month. >> reporter: later this month, broadband internet will reach every home in akiak, and her bill will be a quarter of what she pays now. internet speeds and data limits will double. a combination of factors have made broadband in rural alaska possible. a company called oneweb that operates low-earth orbit satellites to deliver broadband launches its service this year, and akiak is one of its first customers. the federal government also made huge investments in expanding

akiak is also using coronavirus relief funding to pay for its broadband project. akiak chief mike williams sr., shawna's dad, says the effects of the pandemic motivated the tribe to act quickly. >> we may be forced to do a lockdown again. but we're going to be prepared this time. >> reporter: akiak has also created a non-profit organization to show other tribes in western alaska how to follow their blueprint to bring broadband to their communities. 17 tribes haveoined. in the month leading up to broadband going live in akiak, technicians installed antennae receivers on all the homes in the village, to prepare them for broadband access. for lena foss, having internet access at home will mean opening up a world of knowledge. foss says once she has broadband, she'll finish fixing her dryer, and anything else in akiak that's broken. >> all this broken stuff would probably be fixed by youtube. i would probably start a small business, calling it "youtube

fix-it-all." >> reporter: foss wants to be able to bank, and file her taxes online, like everyone else. she also has native allotment lands that she wants to research online. >> i want to teach my younger children, because when i pass, it'll be their land, and they need to know. internet will open my eyes. i know it will. >> reporter: for decades, much of rural alaska has been left behind, as the rest of the world has become increasingly digital. people in akiak are excited to catch up. for the pbs newshour, i'm greg kim in akiak, alask >> woodruff: such an uplifting story, thank you. and don't forget to watch "washington week" tonight. moderator yamiche alcindor and her panel analyze president biden's push to advance his "build back better" plan, as soaring inflation mounts, and discuss the committee investigating the capitol attack's week of subpoenas and fights over executive privilege. that's tonight on pbs.

and tonight, we are remembering our beloved colleague, gwen ifill, whom we lost five years ago this sunday to complications from cancer. she was 61. we miss her curiosity. her humor. her fairness and integrity. her guidance. her tough questions, and the way she went about answering them. we try to carry those things forward every day, on air and online. and, in that way, r spirit is very much still a part of this program, as it is for the many, many journalists across the country she mentored or inspired over the years. we miss you, gwen, and hope we're making you proud. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the landscape has changed, and not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented, with a more flexible

workforce, by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again, for whatever happens next. >> people who know, know b.d.o. >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems--

skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

welcome to "amanpour & co.". here's what's coming up. >> it's supposed to return is in the states. >> trump called america out, now biden wants back in to the iran nuclear deal. talks are said to resume with the new hardline government in tehran, and i speak to their lead negotiator. then we have to bridge the gap to where we are and where we need to be if we're going to cut emissions in half by 2030. >> i'll ask australia's buy billion mining titan andrew forest about his green conversion and if he can help bridge that gap as governments try to bang out a

final climate agreement. >> i he