amna: good evening.

i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett on the "newshour" tonight, the house ethics committee fails to reach agreement on releasing the findings of their investigation of former congressman and nominee for attorney general matt gaetz. amna: donald trump picks former pro wrestling executive linda mcmahon to lead the department of education. what she's likely to prioritize at the agency trump pledged to eliminate. geoff: and, we report from haiti on how sweeping gang violence has devastated daily life. >> i am crying because i can't live in this misery. i don't have milk for my little one. now the children are suffering. sometimes i can't even feed them. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by. >> consumer cellular. how may i help you? this is a pocket dial.

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macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these 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. ♪ amna: welcome to the newshour. another key nomination made today by president-elect donald trump, as questions and concerns continue to swirl around others. mr. trump today announced matthew whitaker as his pick to be ambassador to nato. whitaker briefly served as acting attorney general during trump's first term. geoff: meantime, vice president-elect j.d. vance, along with mr trump's controversial pick for attorney general, former congressman matt gaetz, met with republican senators on capitol hill today. the meetings come amid mounting pressure on the house ethics committee to release a report looking into several allegations against gaetz, including sexual misconduct. npr congressionareporter

claudia grisales joins us now from the capitol. good to see you. the house ethics committee said they didn't reach an agreement as to whether to release the report looking into the allegations against the congressman. help us understand what the pressure points are. >> what it boils down to is a partisan divide at this moment on the house ethics committee. we saw the chairman and representatives come out and say no agreement was reached. we saw an angry outgoing representative from pennsylvania susan wild saying that didn't represent what went down in that room and she felt the trade by his remarks, basic -- basically betrayed by his remarks. talking with a republican source, republicans concerns were that the report is not finished and there is no precedent to release an

unfinished report. geoff: there is so much focus on the house ethics panel report because the trump transition team hasn't signed an agreement with the justice department that would allow the fbi to vent his nominees, ending 60 years of precedent. you have democrats, senate democrats who wrote a letter to the fbi asking for the complete file of the fbi prior investigation into matt gaetz. what is happening? >> there are many forces at play . many people want to get their hands on the report. senate republicans want to see what is in the ethics report. i talked to senator cornyn of texas after meeting with matt gaetz today, who is here at the capital. he maintains that they need to learn more about what is going on with gaetz's background and the claim. he says he assured gaetz this is

the beginning of the process and everyone deserves a fair shake. senate democrats are interested in getting the background. we see it on the house side, house democrats moving forward for a privileged vote to try to force this on the house floor and see if a vote could force a roof -- release of the report. ethics will meet again on december 5. geoff: jd vance took matt gaetz around the senate then met with senate republicans trying to build support. how did the meetings go? were they persuasive? >> it is clear no one in terms of those who have raised concerns like john cornyn and other members who sit on the judiciary committee, who would be very involved in the process, they haven't signaled this is a done deal. they are saying we need to let the president-elect have a fair shake with his nominees, and have the nominees get a fair shake as well. it is the very beginning, but

there is already a lot of focus on this and concerns in terms of how nominations like gaetz can move forward. geoff: donald trump is nominating the very types of people he said he would when he was a candidate, people who he knows well and are loyal to him. people who would potentially disrupt and dismantle parts of the government he views as suspect. in the case of dr.o oz, pete hegseth and matt gaetz, people who trump views as effective on television. how are these nominations landing with republicans? >> he is going with what he promised, in terms of what he wanted to see and the people he wanted to see make the kind of changes he envisions for our government agencies. so it is making reality his campaign promises in terms of shaking up washington. there is a lot of shaking going on here right now, but there is

also concerns in terms of the pentagon and concerns with that nominee to lead, the next leader of the pentagon as well as gaetz as we have talked about. and dr. oz in terms of what changes, and tulsi gabbard with concerns about intelligence that i'm hearing about from republicans. geoff: thanks for being with us. amna: as claudia referenced, the ethics committee largely operates in secret. democrats and republicans are always equally represented on the panel, with five apiece, regardless of which party is in power. they conduct their work and investigations entirely behind closed doors, without public notice, and generally avoid sharing details outside of finalized, published reports. but this investigation, and its potential to upend the nomination of former congressman matt gaetz, is straining those norms. house speaker mike johnson has called for the report to be

buried, while senate democrats are looking into whether they can subpoena it. rep. mark desaulnier of california was in the room today, one of the five democratic members. he joins us now. congressman, thanks for being with us. welcome to the newshour. >> thank you for inviting me. amna: your colleague on the committee susan wild confirmed there was a vote and committee members disagreed over whether to release the board. we are breeding both between the lines, can you confirm it was a deadlocked boat and republicans voted to not release? >> i cannot. the rules of the ethics committee are that i can't talk to you about anything that happened in the room and that is deferred to the ranking member and the chair. i can talk generally about what i think is happening. which we are trying to work

through consensus, as we always do. it is 5-5 but republicans being in the majority have the chairmanship, so we are trying to work through it and i have faith after today that we will ultimately get to a point of transparency, not as quickly as i and my colleagues would like but i have faith we will get to where we need to go. the senate and advised and consent role needs all the information available to them before someone is nominated to attorney general. amna: congresswoman wilde said the committee will meet december 5. what happens then? what happens between now and then that could break the impasse? >> there is questions about whether the report is done or not. there is a difference of opinion as has been expressed by the ranking member and the chair as to whether it is done. i support releang it but if there is more work to be done, i am ok with that.

we take a little longer to get consensus as to the next step and my view is that should be releasing the information. amna: i take that to mean you believe the report is done. there is disagreement as to whether the report is finished. >> mr. gaetz has been under investigation for some time by the ethics committee about his role as a member of congress. the only thing different about this is, everyone before who didn't have the report released to the public, resigned and wasn't nominated and never went on to serve in public office again. this is different because he has been nominated for attorney general of the united states. amna: what is at stake? there is an incoming nomination for the next attorney general that is incredibly consequential and powerful. you were asked about this and you said the scope and scale and

danger to this is higher than anything i have ever lived through. what did you mean? >> i meant the attorney general of the united states, in a time in our country's history where there is little trust in the congress, i feel very strongly that our ultimately -- our ultimate job on the ethics committee is to keep an eye on the public's trust in the institution and specifically in this instance, the 10 members on the committee on ethics. amna: your committee has been looking into this since 2023. the question is at this point, if you are deadlocked and it doesn't seem like there will be a break in the impasse, you have worked on this for 18 months and don't have a report to show for it. does that cause people to question the relevancy and potency of the committee? >> i like the ethics committee to a grand jury.

we are not meeting in secret, we are meeting in the context of, those are the rules and there are reasons for those rules. the process is different because the times are different. the process is different because of the outcome of the election, to be honest, and the winner of the election, mr. trump, picked this person who is under investigation. the issue is the trust by republicans and democrats in the institution, average voters don't trust us now and it is important for us on the ethics committee to rise to the occasion and make sure we are honest with the american public. amna: thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. thank you.

♪ geoff: president-elect donald trump's pick of linda mcmahon as the next secretary of education is already raising alarm bells among critics, who feel the role should go to someone with more experience in education. but her appointment has also been met with praise by supporters, who see this as a win for parental rights and school choice. the former professional wrestling executive led the small business administration during trump's first term before resigning in 2019. this time around, she's set to head an agency that trump has repeately pledged to dismantle. for more, we're joined by jon valant, director of the brown center on education policy at the brookings institution. thanks for being here. it is useful to look at these selections in context of what mr. trump has said about these agencies. health -- help us understand linda mcmahon as his choice to lead a department he says he

wants to get rid of and allow each state to handle education individually. >> there is an irony to selecting a secretary of the department that the incoming administration is looking to dismantle. they are unlikely to be able to do that because eliminating the department would require an act of congress, senate filibuster and there is no democratic support and there would likely be republican opposition. i don't think they are thinking in terms of how to eliminate the department with this pick. it is also the case that linda mcmahon has little experience and expertise in education. she has more experience working in the first trump administration but is not one that seems to understand the issues when it comes to education policy. geoff: students with disabilities and their families in particular would experience the ripple effects if the administration really does make good on its promise to reduce

the federal government role in public education. >> when people talk about eliminating the department of education it is important to ask what they mean. if they are talking about eliminating the department and all the programs the department administers, it would be catastrophic for all kinds of students. students with disabilities are certainly one. they receive protection from legislation and resources. students in poverty are another, they receive resources that they really need. the trump administration can't come in and do that and in fact, those programs are hardwired into legislation that predates the department of education, part of the reason we have the department is they administer those programs and these are programs we needed someone to administer. it would be catastrophic if we were to go in that direction. i'm skeptical because there would be a democratic opposition

in students with disabilities and in poverty don't just live in blue states. they live across the country. a lot of republican members of congress are sensitive to the impacts that move would have on their constituents. geoff: linda mcmahon supports will choice, -- school choice and the republicans have talked about cutting federal funding for programs teaching critical race theory, gender ideology, any lesson deemed inappropriate. there is a push to restore what many conservatives see as the fundamental right to pray in school. at the heart is a fundamental disagreement about the role of public education. >> it is easier to understand the attacks on the department of education as being an attack on a symbol of public education generally. may be the most important policy trend around the country when it comes to education is in a lot of states, red states and a couple purple states, they have

pushed towards essentially universal school vouchers. those programs are very different from the voucher programs of the past and that they are available to all families regardless of income, and they don't have many restrictions at all either on the families using the vouchers or the schools receiving the vouchers. what we are seeing is a push from republican party and the trump administration away from public schools and into private schools, whether they are religious or not. geoff: how have the culture wars broadly affected public education and how is it evolving? >> this has been a difficult few years for schools across the country. it started or ramped up with a covid induced school closings and after that, we had a wave of culture war battles related to gender and race especially. it -- at minimum it has been

incredibly disrupting when we have had to focus on what our big issues for schools. even today, we haven't nearly recovered the lost learning as the result of school closings. on top of that, we have issues with absenteeism, politics and post rating -- infiltrating schools. in addition to that, it is not just a distraction but often, students who feel targeted by these culture war battles, if you are transgender in schools right now you are hearing the messages and seeing those tv advertisements we saw throughout the campaign and there is likely a direct impact in addition to the more general unhelpful distraction. geoff: is there a connection between federal involvement in schools and student outcomes? >> the federal government is a relatively small player when it comes to funding schools. it puts about 10% of funding into the school system. the funds it puts go

disproportionately into the areas in greatest need. if we rely on state and local sources of funding we would have an education system that vastly over funds wealthy areas and part of the goal of the federal role in funding schools is to offset some of that inequality. what we know from a lot of research is that when we put resources into schools, particularly when we put resources into schools that serve students in poverty, it has benefits for those students and society at large. geoff: thank you for your insights. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. ♪ geoff: the day's other headlines start in the pacific northwest. communities are cleaning up after a so-called bomb cyclone unleashed torrents of rain and fierce winds overnight, killing at least two people.

[sirens] geoff: authorities in the seattle area responded, as trees smashed into cars and toppled power lines. more than half-a-million homes and businesses were without electricity as of this morning. forecasters say there's a risk of excessive rainfall from washington state to northern california through at least friday. climate change is making hurricanes notably stronger. that's according to a new study published in the journal, "environmental research: climate." researchers studied 40 atlantic hurricanes over a period of six years, and found them to be 18 miles per hour stronger than if climate change had not been a factor. in real-life terms, that's the difference between a category two hurricane and a category three. warmer oceans were cited as the primary cause. today's findings add to other studies that say climate change has made hurricanes intensify quicker, and move slower. the biden administration has given ukraine a green light to

use american-supplied, anti-personnel land mines. that's on top of the anti-tank mines it already provides. it's the second major policy shift in as many days, after the u.s. agreed to let ukraine strike deeper inside russia with u.s. missiles. anti-personnel land mines are often criticized by human rights groups, because they can endanger citizens long after conflicts end. but defense secretary lloyd austin said the american versions would be safer because they would deactivate over time. speaking today in laos, secretary austin explained why they're needed on the battlefield. >> because the russians have been so unsuccessful in the way that they have been fighting, they've kind of changed their tactics a bit, and they don't lead with their mechanized forces anymore. so that's what the ukrainians are seeing right now, and they have a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the of the russians. geoff: meantime, the u.s. embassy in kyiv was shut today

amid warnings of a significant russian strike on the ukrainian capital. this afternoon, the state department said it's expected to re-open the facility tomorrow and resume normal operations. the united states has vetoed a u.n. security council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between israel and hamas in gaza. it's the fourth time the u.s. has blocked such an effort since the onset of the war more than a year ago. deputy u.n. ambassador robert wood said the u.s. could not support the measure because it did not link the ceasefire to the release of hostages held by hamas. >> these two urgent goals are inextricably linked. this resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the united states could not support it. simply put, this resolution would have sent a dangerous message to hamas, "there's no need to come back to the negotiating table."

geoff: as the council met today: israeli aistrikes killed some 15 people across the gaza strip. one attack hit this school, where displaced palestinians had been sheltering. hospital officials say two women and a child were among the dead. meantime, in nearby syria, state-run media says that an israeli aistrike killed 36 people in the historic town of palmyra. the israeli military declined to comment on the reported strike. while in lebanon, u.s. envoy amos hochstein wrapped up two days of cease-fire talks with hezbollah, and signaled signs of progress. he now heads to israel where he'll meet with prime minister benjamin netanyahu tomorrow. a venezuelan man was convicted today of killing georgia nursing student laken riley. jose ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without the possibilty of parole. the 26-year-old was found guilty on 10 counts, including murder, aggravated battery, and kidnapping with bodily injury. the case was a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration

in the lead-up to the u.s. elections. ibarra entered the u.s. illegaly in 2022, and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case. comcast is planning to spin off most of its cable networks into a separate, publicly-traded company, as it shifts its focus towards streaming and other revenue sources. the new entity would house some of the company's best-known brands, including msnbc, cnbc, and usa network, among others. but it will keep its peacock streaming service, as well as bravo, which generates a lot of its streaming content. it will also hold onto nbc universal properties like nbc news, nbc sports and universal studios. comcast says the change, if approved, will take about a year to complete. u.s. wildlife officials are trying to protect the world's tallest animal. a new proposal from the u.s. fish and wildlife service would classify three populations of giraffes as endangered.

giraffes of course are not native to the u.s., but officials hope the move will reduce poaching of the animal in africa by restricting imports here. that includes giraffe body parts, and products like rugs, jewelry and shoes. the giraffe conservation foundation says there are only about 117,000 such animals worldwide, down about 30% from the 1980's. on wall street today, stocks drifted a bit, with the major markets ending mixed. the dow jones industrial average added nearly 140 points, or about 0.3%. the nasdaq slipped around 20 points on the day. the s&p 500 added less than a point, so virtually flat. and president biden turned 82 years old today, the first sitting u.s. president to ever hit that milestone. family, friends, and colleagues, past and present, paid tribute on social media, including vice president kamala harris and former president barack obama. the previous record holder for oldest sitting commander-in-chief was president

reagan, who was 77 years old when he finished his second term. still to come on the "news hour", transgender americans share their concerns about the incoming administration's threats to rollback their rights. and, an annual festival celebrates the music and poetry of the late leonard cohen. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from the david m rubinstein studios at w eta in washington and in the west, from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: we're going to take a closer look now at gang warfare in haiti, which has rocked the struggling nation for years, displacing over 700,000 haitians. the united nations security council met today to discuss the violence, and whether to upgrade a police mission deployed earlier this year to a peacekeeping operation, as the chaos and street warfare has reached a new and terrible level. despite that multinational

security mission that deployed in june to try and restore some order, large parts of the capital remain under gang control, and violence is endemic. special correspondent marcia biggs and videographer eric o'connor recently traveled to haiti and have this look at the depth of the crisis. marcia: downtown port au prince, deserted after years of gang warfare. 85 percent of the city is held by various armed groups constantly battling for control, terrorizing contested neighborhoods with a scorched earth practice of kidnapping, rape, and murder. no one in the city remains untouched. >> i had no choice but to join them, in order to stay alive, to save the life of my child, and also to avenge my mother and my father. marcia: this 41 year old single -- widowed mother asked us to

protect her identity. she says in 2020, she was living on a front line between two gang territories when bandits attacked her home and murdered her mother, father, and husband in front of her. she fled with her teenage son, and members of the gran ravine gang gave her a choice. >> they asked those who want to stand and fight, to fight. i chose to join with my child. marcia: how do you survive? >> when a vehicle with goods is passing by, we hijack it, or we kidnap you. we demand a ransom, you pay us, and we release you. but if you refuse, i have to kill you to take what you have. marcia: have you ever killed anyone? >> many times. marcia: and how does that feel? >> you forced me to kill you. i asked you for something, and you didn't give it to me. i've gotten used to it, it's nothing for me now. marcia: what was it like the first time? >> well, i couldn't sleep for 3

to 4 weeks. but now that i have gotten used to it, it's like a game for me to kill you. marcia: it's been nearly five months since a kenyan-led u.n. multinational security support mission arrived to re-establish security in haiti. it's a force meant to be made up of 2500 security officers from various countries. but the mission is critically underfinanced, and so far, only around 400 have been deployed. still, force commander godfrey otunge maintains that they have made huge strides with the little they have. >> we pacified the airport, outside the airport. this road outside the airport. when we came here, people are not using it as it is currently, it's full of traffic. we've gone to downtown. marcia: but downtown is a no-go zone. >> it is a no-go zone for the people that didn't see the way it was before we came. marcia: we went out on patrol with kenyan forces to check out some of those no-go zones, areas still under gang control.

>> we pacified this road, especially this road that leads from this junction to the u.s. embassy. it was not passable because of the gangs. now, we need to pacify, and now dominate, dominate those areas. marcia: we pass the u.s. embassy, whose staff can only come and go with armored cars, and where the u.s. ambassador admits to having limited contact with gangs to ensure their security. gang members try to slow the patrol with roadblocks and burning tires, but kenyan forces remain resolute in their mission. what do you say to those who are holding back the resources, who are dragging their feet about getting you what you need? >> this is the time for action, because whatever voluntary contribution they put into the trust fund is what propels this operation. so once we get all those in terms of air support, maritime capability, personnel, the

equipment that we requested, it will be fireworks. because i know where i want to go. i know where i started. i know where i am. and i know where i want to go. marcia: one place the mission still hasn't gone, cite soleil, where gangs were born decades ago. we were able to access it with the non-profit organization way to health, which provides medical care and food to children there with the tacit permission of the g-pep gang. we're in a tap-tap, which is a pickup truck that's covered. it's a lot safer to be in a tap-tap than in our own car, because members of the g-pep gang know this tap-tap. we cross the frontline between the g9 and gpep gangs, nicknamed the death crossroads. last year, g9 blocked all other roads to the gpep territory, and raped or murdered anyone who tried to get out. once in gpep territory, we switched to motorcycles, because a river of sewage and garbage makes the road impassable for cars. a physical reminder to all, how forgotten this neighborhood is.

we arrive at way to health's makeshift clinic for sick, malnourished children and their mothers, victims of poverty and nonexistent healthcare. this baby likely has typhoid. her mother was killed, so she's being cared for by her aunt, who says she does the best she can. >> sometimes, when the baby cries, i don't have enough money to feed her, so i beg in the street. we sleep in the public square. marica: the people here are really struggling. they say they have no services, no electricity, no water, no schools, no hospitals. this area has been attacked many times. everyone here has been a victim. at every turn are footprints of homes burned down, now marked by string. bullet holes puncture all remaining facades, remnants of horrific battles that took place between g9 and gpep. >> i lost 2 brothers during the war.

we found the body of one of them. the other one was burned. people had no choice but to try to escape in the ocean, but many people died because they didn't know how to swim. many children died that day. marcia: during one of those attacks, seven men stormed into pierreline jules' home. she was raped, along with her mother and her niece. >> they had balaclavas, they were hooded. i could only see their eyes. i was really sad. i was crying a lot. but thank god, they didn't kill me. marica: when she showed up at the way to health clinic last year, she was a shell of herself. >> i kept this as a secret with my family, and i am telling you. i didn't tell anyone else what happened to me. marcia: but maybe the same thing has happened to your friends. >> yes. some friends of mine were also raped. i don't talk about my problems

to my friends. i'm a woman with a lot of secrets. marcia: nearby, children play where the river of sewage empties into the ocean. most of the homes burned down have never been rebuilt. those families now sleep in the street. over 700,000 people in haiti are now homeless because of gang violence. without any formal camps set up to house those displaced, many of them have begun taking shelter in schools across port au prince. they are desperate for food. with no running water or soap, disease and pests run rampant. the children are eaten alive by bedbugs at night. most of the women we talked to had been raped. some are now pregnant. macricia athis lost her husband when gangs attacked her home last year. she and her four children now sleep in this former classroom, with 46 other people, every night. >> i am crying because i can't live in this misery.

i don't have milk for my little one, one can of milk. i used to be able to find a can of milk. now, the children are suffering. sometimes i can't even feed them. marcia: a couple of months ago, she went back to check on her home, only to find it still occupied by bandits. they raped and beat her for six hours before letting her go. does it bother you that members of your gang may be raping women? >> no, because the other gangs came to our territory and did it to us. they take a 7-8 year old child and rape her. it will never bother me. you made me cry, i'll make you cry, too. marcia: what could the state do to end the violence? >> the state should start with their high ranking officials first, because they are the ones who set it up. we don't take the streets of our free will. where do we get weapons? how can i buy a kalashnikov?

how can i buy an m16? no, they must start with themselves first before that could change. as long as they bring us weapons, we will take them. marcia: what do you see in your future for you and your son? >> we will not surrender ourselves to the state. if we fall, we fall together. if we survive, we survive together. marcia: in a state incapable or unwilling to combat such brutal resolve, violence begets more violence. for the pbs newshour, i'm marcia biggs in port au prince, haiti. ♪ amna: president-elect donald trump made rolling back transgender rights a key issue in his campaign. republicans spent more than $200 million on ads targeting trans individuals, while trump himself

promisedo limit access to gender affirming healthcare, and to prevent trans athletes from participating in school sports. here's trump back in february of 2023. >> i will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. i will then ask congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures, and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states. amna: his election has communities of trans people and their allies fearful of widespread discrimination and a loss of health care access. polls show that more than 60% of americans support protecting transgender people from discrimination. but they've also found that 55% believe support for trans rights has, quote, "gone too far." we spoke with three americans, a parent of a trans daughter, the

executive director of a trans crisis hotline, and a two-spirit activist and parent to a two-spirit kid, a term used by indigendous people that acknowledges the diverse nature of gender and sexuality. >> i'm sarah adams, proud choctaw person and i am two spirits. >> i'm the parent of a trans child. >> my pronouns are he-they. my -- i'm the executive director of trans lifeline, a grassroots nonprofit that supports trans people in crisis. >> there is an overwhelming sense of fear, and we have conversations about, they need access to health care, gender affirming care. i work primarily with youth and that is a big concern, safety in schools is a huge thing.

>> we saw over 800% calls increase on the day of the election results. that was a very sobering number. >> i think there is a portion of americans out there that don't want to learn and stay ignorant when it comes to gender. they are very black-and-white. they are like there are only boys and girls. >> we are trying to figure out how to maintain access to a basic services. much less, services to thrive. it is about survival right now. >> we are told our bodies are not ours, that we don't get the right to decide how we exist in our own bodies. no matter how much we fight for people to see us as human, we are up against this idea that trans people are not human. >> raising a trans child is such a joy. she has taught me so much about

the human soul and how to love, and loving unconditionally and not judging a book. and she is just funny and smart. she is a normal kid. but this is not normal parenting. i have to vet anyone, like hairdressers, dance studios. i want to ensure my child is going to be around safe people. >> eikeri the weight of these -- i carried the weight of these kids with me, there well-being and their struggles. i don't take that lightly. we have a responsibility to them. some of the things being spoken about what will happen with the trump presidency, with gender affirming care being available for anyone come i think for a lot of them, they were thinking 18 is the magic age.

when i get there, this whole world will open up to what is available. the thought of that light at the end of the tunnel, when that goes out, that can create this vacuum for hope. >> i think my biggest fear is that we won't reach the people that need us the most in times like this to remind them that there are trans people that believed they deserved to live and we are happy they are alive. >> it is hard to hate up close. if you met my children, you would want to protect them. they are children. amna: we're joined now by orion rummler, lgbtq+ reporter for the 19th, to break down the potential impacts of all of these policy promises. welcome. thank you for being here. you heard a lot of the fear in some folks' voices about what is to come. what can we expect from a second truck -- trump presidency when

it comes to the rights of trans individuals? >> in terms of what's easiest for the administration to accomplish on its own is restricting federal funding, medicaid and medicare, hospitals performing gender affirming care for trans youth. that is a specific promise from the trump campaign. he made other suggestions that would expand to other agencies, like the justice department being asked to investigate big pharma about providing gender affirming care. that promise wasn't limited to just youth, so i would expect restrictions immediately for medicaid and medicare for youth. it remains to be seen how it applies to adults in terms of investigating all hospitals giving this care. amna: he talked about a national ban on gender affirming services for minors, cutting federal funding to providers who offer

that care. what do with mean for anyone seeking that care? >> in practice, if the administration pulled federal funding to hospitals receiving medicaid and medicare, that would restrict access to trans youth trying to get puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, that would restrict their access and it is something we have been seeing in 26 states throughout the country. in a way, this is an environment a lot of trans youth are already living in. i would be interested to see how a national ban would play out in states that have put forth protections for trans youth like california. amna: there are rollbacks he has talked about, protections for transgender students in particular dealing with the education system. when it comes to sports, what have we heard from the incoming president? >> pay would reverse the biden

administration interpretation of title ix, which under this administration of lies to lgbtq students protecting them against discrimination and the focus from the trump campaign would be preventing trans girls from playing in girls sports. because these are broad protections, this could implicate all lgbtq students at schools where it can be a learning place, if they don't have a safe environment at home, school is where they go to feel affirmed. amna: there is a proposal we have seen in which incoming president trump said he would ask congress to pass a bill establishing a rule that the only gender is recognized by the u.s. government are male or female as assigned as -- at birth. what are the implications of a change like that? how much support is there for legislation like that? >> that one is a broad policy

statement. to me, that threatens directly the x gender marker on passports, meaning if you are non-binary or gender nonconforming you can put that on your documentation. that would threaten rules under the biden administration making it easier for trans people to update the gender on their passport or social security. right now it is easy to do. i'm sure that would be restricted under a trump administration. amna: we have seen the only incoming trans member of congress targeted by representative nancy mace, who introduced a bill to ban her or any transgender woman from using women's bathrooms on capitol hill. our people watching what is unfolding on capitol hill and in washington? how is that resonating? >> trans people are absolutely

watching this. i was struck when i was in delaware prior to mcbride's win on election night, i met a trans couple who traveled from california to delaware to knock on doors for mcbride and that was a moment where i was like this is a national campaign. this is not just a state campaign. which it is, but trans people across the country are watching mcbride and how these politicians are treating her as she steps into this political space, making history amid a congress that is likely going to be one of the most anti-trans congress as we have had in terms of there are many anti-trans bills that haven't gone anywhere but now, republicans have a majority in both houses and i expect those to move forward. amna: thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you.

geoff: in death, leonard cohen is having a re-birth. the legendary singer is being remembered by older and younger generations alike for his timeless music. special correspondent mike cerre went to the annual leonard cohen festival recently to hear why. it's part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> ♪ yeah, i've heard that there was a secret chord that david played, and it pleased the lord. ah, but you don't really care for music, do you? ♪ >> singer. poet. lover. monk. leonard cohen, still very much an enigma for his longtime faithful following, and a new generation of converts, just now discovering him.

>> welcome to the san francisco leonard cohen festival. >> glad to be here. >> since leonard cohen's death in 2016, there has been no shortage of tribute shows, music compilations, and interpretations of his work. this annual three-day leonard cohen festival in san francisco features his music and poetry, performed by local musicians and poets, many of whom had never had a chance to experience his performances in life. >> i think after leonard passed, i think people are eager to keep his memory alive, and the passion that he brought to his words and poetry and music. and it's a little cathartic, to revisit it annually. >> there's so much comedy and humor in what he said. >> clay eugene smith started the festival in 2018, soon after leonard cohen's death at age 80. he also performs in it, with an a cappela men's choir sporting cohen's signature fedoras and suits, whose repertoire is exclusively leonard cohen music. calling themselves "the

conspiracy of beards," they've been performing at clubs around the san francisco bay area for more than two decades. >> ♪ i remember you well in the chelsea hotel ♪ >> they held impromptu, memorial concerts at local transit stations the night cohen died. >> i think his passion for poetry, his words that draw on questions, a little bit of religion, a little bit of politics, you know, diving deep into those things and not having all the answers. >> ♪ if you want a lover, i'll do anything you asked me to ♪ >> their sister acappella chorus, "the conspiracy of venus," highlighted cohen's collection of love songs, originating from his poetry, like most of his music did. >> if i knew where the good songs came from, i'd go there more often. >> i see him mainly as a poet

of, you know, lovers, a troubadour of broken hearts. >> genny lim came of age in the 1960's and 1970's, listening and performing leonard cohen's music as an aspiring folk singer herself. equally inspired by cohen's poetry, she became a poet instead, and is currently san francisco's official poet laureate. >> ♪ and you want to travel with her and you want to travel blind and you know that you can trust her because she's touched your perfect body with her mind. ♪ [applause] >> thank you. >> what makes him so special is, his songs are like journals of his life. and because they're so deeply personal and intimate, they become universal because

everyone can identify with his struggles, his conflicts, his love affairs, his heartbreaks, his grappling with his spirituality, and his self-criticism as a human being. >> writing songs with someone is an intimate process. you have to shed the ego and take risks. having been invited into leonard's "tower of song," i got to know him well. >> sharon robinson was a co-songwriter on one of leonard cohen's albums. she traveled with him on his first international tour, starting as a back-up singer with his band, and played with him on his last. since his death, she has created her one woman show of leonard cohen's music, writings and friendship. >> well, he was mysterious and enigmatic, but i never let him know that.

i always just treated him as a regular guy. somehow, from the beginning, we had a rapport that was kind of just an automatic thing. he said many times that he can spend years on a song and that's true. i feel very privileged to have been given these words to write music. these words that leonard had worked on for years. >> ♪ hallelujah ♪ >> filmmakers dan geller and dayna goldfine documented the making of "hallelujah," cohen's most popular song, for their recent film, "hallelujah, leonard cohen: a journey, a song." >> i think there is something about that song in particular that spans so many different considerations in leonard's life his philosophical and religious and sexual, you know, complications that are evoked in the song and using it as a way into his mind.

>> that record album never came out in the united states. why? >> no. columbia records refused to put it out. >> rejected by his record company, cohen eventually self-published "hallelujah." the film also covers cohen's three-year sabbatical from his music career, to study as a buddhist monk. while other artist's versions of "hallelujah" made it a hit and one of pop music's most copied songs. >> so many different artists were covering it that, uh, and it was showing up in generation after generations, animated films, whether it was "shrek" in 2000 >> if you're a 20-year-old who has not found love, a 30-year-old has found love and challenges in relationships or a 50-year-old dealing with the loss of a parent or you're dealing with your own mortality, leonard can be with you for your whole lifetime. >> for the pbs newshour, i'm mike cerre in san francisco.

♪ geoff: there's a lot more online, including a look at how the amplification of violent and hateful content on instagram fueled rising hate crimes in india. that's at pbs.org/newshour amna: be sure to join us tomorrow night when unseated senator sherrod brown of ohio sits down to discuss the future of the democratic party. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. for all of us at the pbs news hour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding has been provided by. >> on an american cruise lines journey along the columbia and snake rivers, travelers retrace the route forged by lewis and clark more than 200 years ago.

american cruise lines fleet of modern riverboats. traveled through american landscapes to historic landmarks, where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy build their and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >>

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