geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the “news hour” tonight, president-elect donald trump chooses anti-vaccine activist robert f. kennedy jr. to lead the nation's health agency. we delve into the former presidential candidate-turned trump supporter's record. geoff: republicans retain their majority in the house, giving the gop full control of the federal government. what they could do with their newfound power.

amna: and a trend that's on the rise since the overturning of roe v. wade, women being prosecuted for what they do while they're pregnant. >> this has caused so much strain on my family. on my kids. it's affected me so much, me mentally and emotionally. like, i will never be the same. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "news hour" has been provided by. >> a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymondjames financial advisor gets to know you, your passions, and the way you enrich your community. life well planned.

>> on an american cruise lines journey, along the legendary mississippi river, travelers explore civil war battlefields and historic riverside towns. aboard our fleet of american riverboats, you can experience local culture and cuisine, and discover the music and history of the mighty mississippi. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of "pbs news hour." >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy, and peace. more information 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 by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the “news hour.” tonight, president-elect donald trump continues to roll out nominees to his cabinet. robert f. kennedy jr. is mr. trump's pick for secretary of the health and human services department. amna: mr. kennedy ran for president in 2024, first as a democrat, then as an independent, before dropping out in august and endorsing then-candidate trump. he's also an anti-vaccine activist, and has pushed several conspiracies about the covid-19 virus, including that it was designed to target certain races. to help us understand the impact of this nomination, we are joined by white house correspondent, laura barron-lopez. if kennedy is confirmed to lead

hhs what kind of power does that give him and what has he said about some of the other agencies that would be under his charge? laura: it will give him a lot of power. being the secretary of hhs would be overseeing 13 agencies under hhs including the centers for disease control, the national institutes of health, and the food and drug administration. and rfk junior has said he wants to fire experts at a number of these agencies. >> in some categories their entire department selected nutrition departments, the fda, they have to go. they are not doing their job. they are not protecting our kids. laura: rfk junior also recently said the trump transition needs to act fast because they have to be ready with their own loyalists so that on january 20 thirst 600 people are going to walk into offices at the institute and they are going to be fired.

one source close to him told me he wants to focus on more standard priorities like stricter food requirements in terms of food health safety and the health effects of photos -- robert f. kennedy, jr. has spread a lot of conspiracy theories, things like baseless claims that vaccines caused autism. he has blamed school shootings on antidepressant use and claimed the fda is actively suppressing use of raw milk. public experts have warned that drinking raw milk can lead to illnesses. amna: you have been talking to public health experts. what kind of impact are they saying kennedy could have on american south and preparedness for another potential pandemic? laura: rfk junior has spread a lot of conspiracies but he is also said that covid-19 was engineered so that that way jews and chinese people would be immune to it.

i spoke to the executive director of the american public health association and he said rfk junior's anti-vaccine rhetoric and the potential policies he might prioritize could have very dangerous ramifications. >> rfk junior has been on the record after saying there is no safe and effective vaccine. and because of that people are not going to take vaccines. even if he were to change his tune and promote vaccines no one will know what to believe. so he is not the person for this job. he has no medical training or skills. and he is not a well trusted individual. because of that we are going to see more people get sick and i am really concerned more people are going to die. laura: dr. benjamin set a lot of what the federal government does is by influence and not necessarily regulation. when health guidances are put out or encouragement of an education of the public to receive vaccines and so doc

errors in pediatricians say there are big and dangerous ramifications when someone like rfk junior says people should not take vaccines. ramifications where there is a down take in the number of people and children who get polio and measles vaccines which can lead to death. amna: we have seen a number of names put forward by trump. where does kennedy's nomination fit into those picks? is there a pattern? laura: above all asked trump is prioritizing loyalty and services close to the trump transition told me that donald trump promised disruption to the status quo. that rfk junior is a very disruptive force. and that donald trump wants d.c. to be scrambling so that when you look across these that is what he is focused on. amna: also today trump announced he is nominating jake lytton as u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. laura: clayton served as chair

of the sec securities and exchange commission during donald trump's first administration. clayton has no criminal law experience and he will have to shift to work on that for what is known as the sovereign district, one of the most independent districts in this nomination. this role is notable because this office handles a lot of high-profile cases. the big question with this nomination is does clayton held donald trump percy what he campaigned on in terms of prosecuting his enemies. another announcement we just got moments ago was that donald trump has nominated todd blanche to be deputy attorney general. the second highest ranking official at the justice department. todd blanche is donald trump's personal attorney who represented him for 18 months during the criminal hush money trial in manhattan. when it comes to responses to a lot of these nominations so far,

we had one that are lisa desjardins got from senator bill cassidy, a doctor, in response to rfk junior. he is the chair of the -- he said ultimately he is open to rfk junior's nomination and he wants to learn more about it. that is what we are hearing a decent amount from republicans. they are open to a number of these nominations, despite the fact that none of them are qualified and have no experience. amna: we have also just gotten word that trump has nominated former congressman doug collins to be his v.a. secretary. the shape of this next administration is coming together. laura barron-lopez, always good to see you. laura: thank you. ♪

geoff: house republicans will maintain their hold on the lower chamber next year, giving republicans a political trifecta in washington, controlling both chambers of congress and the presidency come january. our lisa desjardins has been following it all, and joins us now from our pbs news super screen. so republicans retain control of the house. what are the margins looking like? lisa: we have had changes in the last day with the association -- republicans have 218, the exact amount they need for a majority. democrats 209. there are eight races for the house of representatives left to be called. at this moment the associated press map is zero change. the exact same distribution in the house right now according to their calls. there are some races that are going to a recount. we are waiting for some vote counting in ranked choice as well. but these eight races that are

left, who is leading in them? four democrats are leading in them, and how about it, four republicans. so that gets us basically to the same exact pattern we have right now in the house. let's look at some races called just today. this race in oregon. the happy valley up here. this is a democratic flip. the co-owner of four mcdonald's restaurants was able to flip this district. a very hard-fought race. democrats happy about this. one place where democrats are more concerned and republicans are happy is in alaska, where the grandson of former senator is ahead by four points. this is a ranked choice state, so they will now count people's second choice. that is five percentage point. for mary to hold onto her seat she needs to win a huge

percentage of that and that will be hard to do. geoff: i know you have been talking with lawmakers as they take in some of donald trump's nominations including matt gaetz as attorney general. what are you hearing? lisa: matt gaetz is a controversial figure. he has some allies in congress but he is someone who has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and talking to the senate, they are taking pause on this, especially with the news that the house investigation by the ethics committee has been hanging over him. there is reporting the house ethics getting ready to reveal their report on him. now, that report is no longer in play because of his resignation which was official today. i talked to some u.s. senators. they will decide whether matt gaetz becomes attorney general or not. among republicans, there is divide over how much scrutiny he should get. let's listen. >> my presumption is that, listen, he's the leader of my party, trump. he just won a resounding victory. i support him and his agenda. i think he should be able to choose his cabinet. >> he's a smart, clever guy.

i usually vote for cabinet picks of all presidents. but in this case, hearings will be in order. he'll have some hard questions to answer. we'll see how it goes. lisa: let's talk about the confirmations. anyone would need 50 votes. republicans have 53. listen, by my count there are at least 10 or maybe more republicans with doubts about this candidate right now. senators ernst and mullen told me they don't think he has the votes. geoff: we will see how this nomination progresses but how could it play out? lisa: first up is senate judiciary committee where all of the senators, republicans, told me that they will want hearings with matt gaetz. no bypassing it. we are watching senator cornyn, senator kilis, senator graham. and because of the new majority they will be a new member of this important committee not yet named.

also we had a social media post from an attorney representing a young woman who has made accusations against matt gaetz. he is writing that they want this excess committee -- ethics committee report to be revealed immediately, the report they have been working on for months. geoff: even though matt gaetz has resigned, could they still release the report? lisa: democratic senators have written this letter in the last couple of hours asking the house release that report. the house ethics committee generally does not release reports after someone has resigned but there is precedent. can they release the report? yes. but they meet secretly, we don't even know when. will they release a statement? often instead of a full report they will release a statement. this is a maybe. now we're hearing from some senators that they may want to subpoena the house of representatives for this ethics report about this important top prosecutor position.

that is an unprecedented idea. as you can see, we are in for a lot of questions and tricky times ahead. geoff: indeed. lisa desjardins, thanks as always. lisa: welcome. ♪ amna: now for the day's other headlines. starting in the middle east, syrian state media says that israel carried out two airstrikes today, killing at least 15 people. the attacks happened in the capital city of damascus, and in one of its northwest suburbs. israel has ramped up attacks on iran-linked targets in syria, since the october 7 hamas attacks on israel. israeli military officials claim they struck strongholds of the palestinian islamic jihad, which supports both hamas and hezbollah. >> we are identifying rockets and other weapons that hezbollah is launching at israeli

territory that were manufactured in syria and given to hezbollah from syria. we will attack all infrastructure we identify in syria whose purpose is to produce weapons for hezbollah. amna: explosions also rumbled through the suburbs of lebanon's capital, beirut, where israel has carried out intense bombing for a third-straight day. state media said a separate strike in the east killed at least nine people. also today, human rights watch accused israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the gaza strip. the group points to the forced displacement, by israel, of nearly two million palestinians, amounting to what it called ethnic cleansing. israel has rejected similar such accusations in the past. suicides within the u.s. military increased last year, continuing a long-term trend the pentagon has struggled to bring under control. a defense department report out

today shows there were 523 suicides reported in 2023. that's up from 493 such deaths in 2022, when the number of suicides had actually gone down. most of the 2023 cases involved young men who used a firearm. the long-running rise in suicides comes despite efforts by military leaders to expand mental health assistance and gun safety education. new jersey is under a drought warning as parts of the northeast experience the driest conditions they've seen in nearly 120 years. unprecedented blazes are burning in places that haven't seen significant rain since august. that includes a brush fire on the northern tip of manhattan. it's now contained after a fireboat shot water onto the flames. meantime, new york and new jersey officials have brought charges against two people accused of starting separate, smaller fires in those two states. the pentagon is pouring cold water on recent reports of alien sightings.

in an annual report on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or uap's, defense department officials say they've discovered no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity, or technology. but, the report acknowledges 21 cases that merit further analysis. this comes after congressional hearings yesterday on reports of uap's, often referred to in the public as ufo's. one former defense department official insists that the government knows more than it is letting on. >> let me be real. uap's are real. advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe. furthermore, the u.s. is in possession of uap technologies, as are some of our adversaries. amna: yesterday's hearing comes more than a year after a whistleblower accused the pentagon of running a secret ufo retrieval program, which the pentagon has denied.

the satirical news publication the onion is buying alex jones' conspiracy theory platform infowars for an undisclosed price after a bankruptcy auction. families of sandy hook school shooting victims helped to complete the sale. jones owes them more than $1 billion in defamation judgements for calling the elementary school massacre a hoax. the father of one of the victims said, quote, the death of infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for. the ceo of the company that owns the onion says they plan to re-launch the website in january with satire aimed at conspiracy theorists. >> by the end of the day, it was us or alex jones. that's who could either continue this website unabated, basically unpunished for what he's done to these families over the years, or we can make a dumb, stupid website. and we decided to do the second thing. amna: within hours of the deal's announcement, the infowars website was down and jones was broadcasting from what he said was a new studio. a bankruptcy judge has ordered a hearing on the sale after jones

challenged the terms of the auction. turning to the economy, the number of americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to a six-month low. first-time jobless claims dipped by 4000 to a total of 217,000. that's slightly lower than expected, and signals ongoing stability in the u.s. labor market. separately, wholesale prices ticked up .2% in october when compared to the month before. economists say higher costs for services are behind the latest rise. on wall street today, stocks ended lower after fed chair jerome powell signaled there's no need to rush further interest rate cuts. the dow jones industrial average fell more than 200 points, or nearly .5%. the nasdaq gave back more than 120 points on the day. the s&p 500 also ended in negative territory. and lindsey vonn is coming out of retirement, and heading back to the slopes. the three-time olympic medalist bowed out of competitive skiing in 2019, after a record-setting career that included 82 world

cup wins, and a range of serious injuries. now, at the age of 40, she'll return to the u.s. ski team just in time for the world cup circuit this winter. vonn had partial knee replacement surgery earlier this year. she says her training sessions have been pain-free. still to come on the “news hour,” what we know about trump's controversial choice for director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard. house minority leader hakeem jeffries discusses democrats' priorities and his new children's book. marines reflect on the brutal battle for fallujah in iraq 20 years later. >> this is the pbs “news hour” from the david m. rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: we are going to take a closer look now at president-elect donald trump's

pick of former democratic congresswoman tulsi gabbard to be the next director of national intelligence. if confirmed, gabbard would oversee 18 intelligence organizations, including the cia and nsa. but her nomination is expected to set off a confirmation fight since she has no experience in the intelligence world and has been accused of defending dictators and parroting russian disinformation. we're joined now by michael leiter, former director of the u.s. national counterterrorism center, who served in both the bush and obama administrations. thank you for being with us. donald trump has made clear he wants to clean house and overhaul the nation's intelligence services. we also know he is rewarding fealty as he staffs these top positions. help us understand in that context what he sees in tulsa gabbert serving as director of national intelligence. michael: as you noted, president-elect trump is clearly

looking for people loyal to him. i am not sure that is fully different from any other president. there is probably an extra concern for intelligence positions because at their very core, the director of national intelligence and director of the cia, although of course loyal to the president, are also there to, as everyone has said, speak truth to power. make sure they are providing an objective analysis of the circumstances and allowing the president to make the policy choices he is empowered to do. and some of the concern here is whether kelsey gabbert has the expertise and experience but also the inclination to speak truth to power. geoff: the role of director of national intelligence was created after 9/11 because there was a concern other intelligence agencies were not sharing information. information had been sideload. help us understand what the dni

actually does. michael: the director of national intelligence, the dni, was a result of decades of challenges and fights between the intelligence organizations, the fbi, cia, national security agency. those were epitomized in the failures of the weapons of mass destruction debacle in iraq and 9/11. the dni was supposed to take this large enterprise, coordinate budgets and efforts, and make sure the president and the cabinet had the best intelligence possible regardless of where it came from. and making sure that different views were coming to the president. it has been the subject of criticism over its 20 years as being overly bureaucratic and not efficient. but i think those core needs for the intelligence community to be well coordinated and to make sure that differing views are presented to the president, that

is still critical. the president will probably see the dni as fulfilling its role for if it is necessary at all. geoff: tulsi gabbard has echoed russian began to, is a conspiracy theorist -- echoed russian propaganda, being friends with war criminals. john bolton said she should not even sit for a senate confirmation hearing until the fbi investigates her because he said she presents a national security threat. is that a concern you share? michael: i am very concerned with anyone in any position who is not thinking very critically and questioning what enemies of the united states like vladimir putin and bashar al-assad say to them. any official needs to realize

that the leaders of other countries will try to manipulate our leadership for their benefit. i think it will be up to her to prove that she was just echoing their propaganda, but she can actually reflect critically as an intelligence officer and will listen to all of the analysts who serve the u.s. government and she will ultimately get to make her own judgments she absolutely does need to be free of any influence from foreign governments. that should be true of every u.s. official. geoff: what might a second trump term mean for intelligence sharing? will our nato allies be as willing to share closely held secrets, sources and methods? not just because of tulsi gabbard potentially, but donald trump's own cavalier approach to guarding classified documents? michael: your question is critical and the critical

premise is that we do rely on our allies. whether it is the united kingdom or countries around the world, to share with us intelligence to protect our national security interest. the u.s. has a terrible record of protecting secrets. there is legitimate concern that a trump administration will have challenges with that. ms. gabbard does not have a history of working in this so there will be real concern both from allies and also within the intelligence community. she is going to have to establish to the senate that she can protect our nation's most sensitive secrets and the secrets of our allies. because otherwise we will ultimately be weaker, have worse intelligence, and it will harm our national interests. geoff: michael leiter, thank as always for your insights. we appreciate it. michael: my pleasure. thanks. ♪ amna: plans for president-elect

trump's return to washington, and the republican party's return to power, are well underway. but for democrats, who are now in the minority, the path forward is not as clear. representative hakeem jeffries of new york is the house democratic leader, and he's also the author of the new children's book, "the abc's of democracy." he joins us now. good to see you. so, you said earlier today that you don't think rfk junior is qualified to serve in the role that mr. trump has selected him for as hhs secretary. what is it specifically about him that worries you and do you think he will be concerned? rep. jeffries: trump was very clear, he promised the american people that we would have the best economy, the best border security, the best military, and the best administration. we all have to ask a simple question right now. is robert f. kennedy, jr. the best qualified person in the

united states of america to be the secretary of health and human services? is he the very best available to the incoming president to look out for the health and the safety and the well-being of the american people? of course not. and so the question has to be asked, why? why this nomination? and why some of the other nominations? our hope as democrats is to work together with the incoming administration whenever possible to make life better for the american people. we are also committed to strongly disagreeing and pushing back against the extremism whenever necessary. amna: i want to ask you about matt gaetz, who you know from serving within the house. he has been tapped to be attorney general. abc news is reporting late today the woman who is at the center of a justice department sex trafficking probe into him, that she testified to the house at this committee that was also investigating him and she testified he had had sex with

her when she was 17 years old and in high school. that report is citing sources familiar. i want to get your reaction to that. do you believe the house ethics report suld be made public, and should that testimony disqualify him? rep. jeffries: transparency is always the preferred approach. particularly it comes to high-level government positions such as the department of justice or the dni or the department of health and human services and a wide variety of other positions the incoming president is preparing to fulfill. in terms of the house ethics committee, it is traditionally operated in a strongly bipartisan way. and it is my hope that the democrats and republicans on the committee will get together, it is my understanding they may be meeting as soon as tomorrow, to try and figure out a path forward. if there is information they can present to the american people. i will not get ahead of that discussion, but i do place my

trust in both the principled democrats and the principled republicans who are on that committee to do the right thing so that the american people have all of the available information necessary and so do members of the u.s. senate. geoff: do you think that report is necessary to be made public before he is considered? rep. jeffries: seems like a reasonable suggestion that has been made by some members of the united states senate. but let's see with the ethics committee does before members of leadership way and aggressively one way or the other. amna: republicans have officially won control of the house, meaning they have a governing trifecta. it has now been more than a week since election day. so you have had some time to reflect. does it surprise you, the success they had in this last election, and also that mr. trump himself in his third run, knowing all we know about him, that he was able to win the popular vote? rep. jeffries: we will see where

that ultimately lands and i think election at the popular vote level will be closer than is being projected right now. amna: but he could still win it. rep. jeffries: correct. notwithstanding how that turns out, he had a decisive electoral college victory. we have to ask how did it happen and how do we prevent this kind of outcome that has so many americans disturbed, from ever happening again. my view is that we have to work decisively to address the economic challenges that everyday americans are facing in this country. far too many people are struggling to live paycheck-to-paycheck. all across america. in urban america, suburban america, rural america, exurban america, small-town america, and the heartland of america. and we are prepared to work with the incoming administration to decisively deal with that issue. it is clearly an issue the american people have said loudly and clearly around inflation and

high prices, we need washington to act. amna: you said is win left people upset but most of the american electorate back to him and they are not upset about this. this is what they wanted. did that outcome surprise you? what is your take away from that message? rep. jeffries: my take away is, at least as democrats, we have to do a better job of communicating we are in lockstep with the american people who want to see decisive action as it relates to lowering housing costs, lowering gas prices, lowering food prices. amna: this was a messaging failure, you are saying? rep. jeffries: we are going to assess qualitatively and quantitatively so that what happened on election day -- and we are in the middle of that process right now. what is clear is the american people want and deserve decisive action. far too many people believe that the american dream is out of reach. that is not acceptable in a country that has given us the

greatest middle-class in the history of the world. amna: let me ask you about what americans are seeing in the last few days. there is a very dramatic split screen. you have a republican party that has just won control of both chambers of congress and the white house, they have hit the ground running, the next government is coming together. then you have a democratic party that seems largely leaderless for the party, and really rudderless, directionless, still figuring out what to do next. what is the case you'll make for why you should be leader when house democrats vote on their leadership next week? rep. jeffries: i will make that case internally and i have not officially announced my candidacy because i'm in the middle of having conversations with the various -- amna: is there a chance you don't run? rep. jeffries: what i will say is that house democrats clearly over performed the national environment. those are facts. this is not a decisive electoral victory for house republicans. when donald trump was sworn in

as president in 2017, there were 241 house republicans and only 194 democrats. when donald trump is sworn in this time around, not withstanding the presidential wave election, at most there will be 222 republicans and 213 democrats. it is a close margin. we fell a few seats short and we are going to work to rectify that situation so we give ourselves the best possible opportunity the next midterm. amna: it is safe to say this is not the political landscape you thought you would be releasing this book under. but you do right in the introduction that america is at a fork in the road. which direction will we choose? does this last election answer that question for you? rep. jeffries: no. i think with the book is in part about is the fact we have had a 248-year journey as a country,

the greatest democracy in the history of the world. throughout that journey of course there are trials and tribulations and there has been turbulence but there has been american values that have been a consistent part of that journey. as we are processing this particular electoral result, we have to lean into those values and lean into the strength and resilience of our institutions, of what we have been about as americans as we approach our 250th birthday on july 4, 2026. and hopefully i have laid that out as an illustrated book for people of all ages, with a focus on our younger americans, our children, and on those who are processing this moment and where we go from here. amna: that is the house minority leader hakeem jeffries joining us tonight. always great to see you here. thank you for your time. rep. jeffries: thank you. ♪

geoff: in the first year after the supreme court ended the federal right to an abortion, a record 200 women faced criminal charges for behavior related to pregnancy, abortion, pregnancy loss, or birth. the supreme court decision emboldened prosecutors to develop more aggressive legal strategies to charge and imprison pregnant women and new mothers. but even prior to the overturning of roe, hundreds of women faced such charges. special correspondent sarah varney traveled to south carolina to speak with one family still grappling with the impact. sarah: there's an empty seat at the table every time lauren smith and her family go out for lunch in greenville, south carolina. in 2019, lauren delivered a healthy newborn baby she named audrey. a few days later, a case worker told lauren she would not be bringing her home. >> i was completely blindsided. never in a million years would i have thought that's what would have been told to me.

never. it was so bad i couldn't even, like, look at diaper commercials. i would just cry. sarah: a urine drug screen taken without her permission showed she had used marijuana sometime during her pregnancy. after two rounds of drug testing, her baby tested positive for thc, a compound found in marijuana. how did you think about marijuana use in your pregnancies? all of them? >> it was a way for me to be able to keep food down. i worked full time up until i was seven months, so dealing with all the discomfort and the pain, it helped. it helped with my anxiety, my depression. sarah: the cdc cautions against using marijuana during pregnancy, but it says that more research is needed to fully understand the impacts of thc on fetal development. still, six months after giving birth, lauren was arrested and charged with felony child neglect. she has waited five years for a trial set for next month. she faces up to 10 years in prison. >> this has caused so much

strain on my family, on my kids. it's affected me so much, mentally and emotionally. like, i will never be the same. sarah: and lauren is just one of hundreds of women across the country who have been arrested or lost custody of their children for reasons related to their pregnancies. >> there are these women that are being surveilled and charged and sentenced in these ways. sarah: michele goodwin is a law professor at georgetown university and author of the book "policing the womb." she says these cases rely on a legal concept called fetal personhood, a once fringe idea now at the center of anti-abortion advocacy. the fetal personhood movement aims to grant full legal rights and protections to fetuses, and in some cases, embryos. about a third of states have established fetal personhood by law or judicial decision. and goodwin says this concept applies to more than alleged drug offenses. >> so if a woman is driving a

car and there is an accident and it's perceived that she was not acting responsibly enough, considering that she is pregnant, that is enforced upon her. if there is an instance in which she is in some form of a fight, which we've seen, and she has en injured by another party, that she is the person who is responsible because she's been negligent towards fetal life. sarah: brittany overcome with emotion. just last year, brittany watts in ohio was arrested on charges of abuse of a corpse after she suffered a miscarriage in the bathroom of her home. and in 2022, hali burns in alabama was arrested when she tested positive for what her lawyers argued were legally prescribed substances during her pregnancy. >> that's one of the problems with these laws, is that they're selective.

they select out women because of their condition, which is unlawful. sarah: between 1973 and 2023, at least 2000 women were investigated, arrested, or prosecuted for circumstances surrounding their pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes. >> if you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it's hard not to view it as it's really actually about control of women. sarah: dr. katrina mark is director of the support clinic at the university of maryland, which offers care for pregnant and postpartum women who use drugs. she says separating mother from baby can cause lifelong trauma for everyone involved. >> separating that child from its mother is almost always going to be worse than the risk of that baby being exposed to any drugs that the mother took. disruption of that maternal and infant bond really increases the risk of neurologic and behavioral problems and relationship and social problems for that child for the long term. sarah: and she says since the overturning of roe, pregnant women and mothers are under even more intense scrutiny. >> scaring the mom to the point

that she's not coming to get health care during her pregnancy or not disclosing her drug use so that she can get the support and treatment that she needs. none of those things are protecting the baby. putting the mom in jail and taking the baby away is not protecting the baby. there are lots of unsafe things that women do during pregnancy. i might recommend that they take a certain medication for diabetes and they don't take it and their sugars are really high, and that's very harmful to them and their baby. but no one's putting them in jail or taking their baby away. >> we strongly support the idea that a child is a person in utero. sarah: south carolina state house representative john mccravy founded the family caucus, an influential anti-abortion group of lawmakers in a state with the third highest pregnancy-related prosecutions. he believes these types of laws serve as a deterrent to drug use. >> you use the carrot and the stick, you know, the stick is hanging over my head, if i don't get clean, if i don't get rid of this drug use, then i'm going to

go to jail and i might lose my child. but if i test negative, if i do a good job of getting clean, i'm going to get to lead a normal life with my child. so, it's a powerful thing. sarah: lauren smith says she did pass repeated drug tests, and attended required parenting classes. but she still does not have custody of her daughter. >> with the drug testing, it was so demeaning. but i was willing and happily going to do it. if it meant getting my daughter back. i would have given my left toe if it meant being reunited with her. sarah: representative mccravey says he's not familiar with lauren's case, and that the system in place protects children in south carolina. he says it should be up to social services if women in these situations can see their children. but he believes there should be a limit to the state's role. i'm curious if you're worried about the sort of slippery slope, that you have good

intentions to start with, but that this program could expand to a kind of surveillance of pregnant women. >> if you have a child that's been in danger, the state has an interest in protecting that child and doing what it needs to do. but i would never be in favor of a program that would go around testing women that are pregnant for illegal drugs and trying to make a big deal out of that. you know, i think that would go too far. sarah: attorneys for patients caught up in these cases today, though, say the practice of drug testing pregnant women without their consent remains widespread. did anybody ever ask your permission to test your urine? >> no, no, ma'am. sarah: or to test audrey? >> no. sarah: today, lauren's daughter audrey is a healthy 5.5-year-old who lives with her paternal grandmother. lauren has little contact with her. and the delay in her trial has made it difficult for her to even get a job delivering groceries. >> being able to instacart.

i was told i can't do due to my background check. being able to find adequate housing for myself and my children. it's affected in every way, every background check that i do, it comes up on every job i apply for. sarah: she says every day, she thinks about seeing and hugging her daughter. >> am i unworthy of being a mother to my daughter? am i unworthy of being in her life? i've missed everything. i've missed every first there is to miss. i will be reunited with my daughter. and i don't care how long that takes. it's already been 5.5 years, but i'm never going to stop fighting. sarah: for the pbs “news hour,” i'm sarah varney in greenville, south carolina. ♪ amna: 20 years ago this month, u.s. marines began fighting the largest urban battle since the vietnam war. more than 12,000 american, british, and iraqi troops fought for fallujah, just west of baghdad, which had become an insurgent stronghold. now, in collaboration with the

news organization the war horse, nick schifrin spent time with the marines who still remember, and feel that battle like it was yesterday. nick: section 60 of arlington national cemetery is filled with men and women who never returned from afghanistan and iraq. it is filled with sacrifice. it is filled with memories. 20 years ago, corporal mike ergo, and the men of alpha company, 1st battalion, 8th marine regiment, assaulted fallujah. their mission, take the mayor's compound in the city center. the fight was through narrow streets. >> that was incoming. incoming. nick: it was deadly, and as seen in this bbc footage, dangerous. >> i'm fine, man. >> i ran off first and took a couple of steps and immediately tripped and fell on my face. and i looked to see what i'd fallen on. and it was a body of an insurgent.

nick: then-21-year-old ergo and the team's mission was to clear the city of al-qaeda backed insurgents, without overwhelming airpower. so they went house to house. >> originally before we deployed, we were still concerned about winning the hearts and minds of the iraqi people. and so we obviously didn't want to destroy it, to save it. and as we walk through the city and we're clearing it, house to house, i had already developed the sense that i was expendable, just like my teammates were. nick: we spoke in the national museum of the marine corps in quantico, virginia. a new exhibit dedicated to the battle for fallujah mimics its streets, down to the trash. war can be imitated, but it cannot be recreated. >> i felt the woosh of air going by me, of bullets creeping between my point man and i. and i just assumed that was it. the door opens and they toss a grenade out and we clear the area. and i make sure everyone gets out, especially the guys on the stairs.

i turn around, the explosion happens and i get a little shrapnel in my body and most of it's stopped by my armor, but a little piece of it gets into my neck. >> at any given time, there may have been a half dozen 360 degree firefights going on in our narrow sector. nick: then-31-year-old aaron cunningham was alpha company's commander. fallujah was the largest battle that he, or any of alpha company, had ever fought. >> brutal. absolutely brutal. it was a close fight. imagine turning a corner, and see how close you and i are? that's how close. and the toughest guy wins that fight. nick: and not everyone came home. in six weeks of combat, the battalion lost at least 20 marines. alpha company lost three, including lieutenant dan malcolm, the company fire support team leader, shot in the back while briefing cunningham. >> just a good, a good man.

he was killed in the execution of this job, and he was doing it admirably. that's one of the many pieces of my soul that got left in that city. you can't leave an environment like that without some trauma. i mean, it exists. nick: 15 days later, lance corporal dave houck, from the first battalion 8th marines, died in fallujah. he was ergo's friend. for years, ergo was too overwhelmed to visit his gravestone. on this visit, he released 20 years of grief. >> you know, i asked my friend robbie, hey, where's dave? you know, because i just wanted to see him. and he was like, didn't make it, man. he got shot. and i think it's just that surprise. just, thinking i was out of it. thinking he was out of it. made it safe. he didn't.

nick: and you never got to say goodbye. >> never got to say goodbye. never got to go to a funeral. i mean, never really got to tell him how much he meant to me as friend. so, i did today. nick: and behind every marine lost, there is a family, often themselves lost. >> bradley was a rebel with a cause. after 9/11, he was determined to go into the service. and i was determined he was not. and he won. but he was part of something bigger than him, and i think that's what he really wanted. nick: kathleen faircloth is the mother of alpha company's lance corporal bradley faircloth, killed in fallujah on thanksgiving day. his death sent his mother into despair.

>> bradley was my reason. he was all the stuff that made me get up and function on a daily basis. and so once he was gone, it's just completely deflated. and waking up pissed me off. and i tried repeatedly over and over to not wake up. i'm like, god, you know, come on, give me a break. there's lots of people dying. i bet they like live living. you can take me. if you got a quota to fill, i'm raising my hand. get me out of here. and the days just kept going, like, ugh. you feel like such a failure that you cannot end your own life. nick: since 9/11, american service members and veterans have been four times as likely to die by suicide than in combat. war shadows its survivors, long after guns go silent. ergo returned from iraq in 2005. >> i would ride my motorcycle, blacked out, come in and out of consciousness as i was riding

around and hoping someone would hit me, hoping i'd drive off, you know, the corner -- took a turn too hard and be done with it. nick: and yet, battle breeds brotherhood. and two decades after fallujah, alpha company held a reunion. they are linked by loss, but also love, that can help heal. they call kathleen faircloth squad mama. she calls them the family that saved her. >> i would die for them. willingly die for them, in a heartbeat. if it would help them, i would lay down my life for them. because they would never know what they did fome. they will never know, you know, that they -- they can't. they sent me flowers the first mother's day. sometimes knowing that there's somebody on the other side of the america that might come and go, hey, mama, what are you doing? you know what i mean? and i can't pay them back.

but i would die for them if it helped, willingly. in a heartbeat. nick: mike ergo healed at home. >> one day my wife told me that, you know, she couldn't go down the path with me anymore in terms of how much i was drinking and using drugs. she said i'd have to make a choice and either keep using, or choose her. and i stopped drinking and using drugs on july 11 of 2012. nick: your wife saved you? >> my wife saved my life. if she hadn't had the courage to to tell me, demand that i stop, i would not be alive. there's not a doubt in my mind, i would be dead. i'd be a statistic. nick: and now, ergo has transformed his pain into purpose. today, he directs a v.a. vet center to help veterans who suffered like him. >> i talk to men and women and help them understand that there

is good stuff right below that hurt, and that if they have the courage to feel some more discomfort, it's almost like washing out an infected wound. it's going to sting a little at first, but we're going to make the result even better and help them connect to their values, the things they love, the people they love and care about, the person that they want to be. and so, that became my new mission, my new why, is to help other people feel that hope again. nick: and that, he says, is the best way to honor those who never came home. for the pbs "news hour," i'm nick schifrin, in arlington, virginia. geoff: and that is the “news hour” for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire “news hour” team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs "news hour" has been provided by.

♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf. the engine that connects us. >> i absolutely love my job, because i love the people i work with. everyone is trying to connect on a personal level. >> we look out for one another. we love to see our teammates thrive. >> you don't have to change how you walk, you don't have to change how you talk. >> we can bring our authentic selves to work and do our best stuff. that's joy.

>> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the "news hour," including leonard and norma klorfine, and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. and friends of the "news hour." 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 performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

>> y

hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour & company, here is what is coming up. >> congratulations, we look forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition. >> keeping with trent tradition, biden welcomes tom to the white house amidst some unorthodox cabinet pics. i speak to former pentagon official and trumpet backer