wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. ♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the “newshour” tonight. tech and trump. billionaire elon musk tries to drum up support on capitol hill for slashing government programs. while bitcoin spikes on news of

a crypto-friendly presidential appointment. how mr. trump's picks to head the nation's intelligence agencies appear poised to radically shift the way those departments operate. >> it's not really clear with these people yet whether their goal is just to get real loyalty for donald trump or whether it's to destroy these organizations. geoff: and a palestinian chef who ran a soup kitchen in war-torn gaza is killed delivering aid to a hospital -- in what his family says was a targeted israeli drone strike. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive.

a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions, and the way you would rich work community. life well planned -- enrich your community. life well planned. >> carnegie corporation of new york. 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 them by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

geoff: welcome to the “newshour.” it's been a busy day on capitol hill, where the people president-elect donald trump has tapped to slash government spending -- elon musk and vivek ramaswamy -- met with house and senate republicans. the two were recently selected by trump to lead the so-called department of government efficiency. meantime, pete hegseth -- mr. trump's nominee for secretary of defense -- continues to face an uphill climb on his path to confirmation. our lisa desjardins joins us now for the latest. let's start with vivek ramaswamy and elon musk. what were they telling congress they went to do? >> this was an unusual day on capitol hill. these two men were the center of political gravity. we saw them crisscrossing capitol hill.

they met only with republicans, but scores of them including speaker johnson and incoming senate leader shawn fain. -- sean thune. republicans say they felt hurt. most of them but not all were enthusiastic about cutting government. his goal is getting on a trajectory toward a balanced budget. that has significant consequences if the u.s. is to get there. their stated goal of cutting to trillion dollars overall is enough, ambitious. they say they want to cut the federal workforce. they also want workers to work more from the office. vivek ramaswamy and elon musk did not speak in public but ramaswamy spoke at a foreign and said that is not just about cutting costs, but changing government. >> i think part of the project

of thinning out the federal bureaucracy, that's less about the head count expenses and it's more about actually respecting the rules of the road in the constitutional republic. i'm hopeful it's going to even be good for many of the individuals who may make a transition from government service back to the private sector. >> government workers do not think it will be good for the workers if they are laid off and they are taking action no to protect them. they signed a deal with the biden administration to set up telework. geoff: what more have you learned about how these two men operate and how they intend to run. only congress has the authority to create new agencies, and this department of government efficiency does not exist. >> this is the question i have the hardest time getting an answer to. what is the department of government efficiency? it is not a commission. this was established by president-elect trump just using

this title. it is not an official commission, a government division. musk and ramaswamy have announced an end date for it. what is this exactly? what is the structure. there were not clear. i asked jim jordan is the subject to freedom of information requests, whether are doing? she said i do not know. i asked if this will be government funding? not clear. it is two billionaires who are advising and will come up with a set of recommendations. the only structure is the congressional caucuses that have just launched, and they did that purposely. that is coming to bolster this idea. geoff: bring us up to speed on the nomination of pete headset. -- hegseth. he faces a number of allegations

that have imperiled his standing. >> she was on they hosted a meeting with senators all day long. hegesth spoke to cameras briefly today and explained his argument for keeping his nomination. >> i'm a different man than i was years ago. and that's a redemption story. and i think a lot of americans appreciate and i know from fellow vets that i've spent time with, they resonate with that as well. you fight. you go through tough things and tough choices on behalf of your country. and sometimes that changes you a little bit. >> he met with senator mike rounds of south dakota, a republican. he has someone seen as an important person to watch, sometimes moderate and how his opinion. he told reporters today after the meeting hegesth -- hegseth went a long way in getting a support. he can only afford to lose three republican senators, and write no more than that has problems

with his nomination. he is taking the spotlight off of other potential nominees like kash patel who is starting to gather support. pam bondi, she is also gathering support and has been on the hill. geoff: thank you as always. meantime, the world's largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin hit a record high -- rising above $100,000 for the first time yesterday. and it came just hours after president-elect donald trump announced crypto currency advocate paul atkins as his pick to lead the securities and exchange commission. trump, who saw crypto as a scam a few years back, is now a full supporter and took credit for the surge on his truth social platform, saying “congratulations bitcoiners -- you're welcome!” atkins was an sec commissioner under former president george w. bush, who favors lighter

regulation of financial firms. for more on crypto's soaring values and the trump-atkins connection to all of this, i spoke earlier today with david yaffe-bellany, technology reporter covering the crypto industry for the new york times. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. geoff: so first, for the unfamiliar, explain what it means that bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark. why is that significant? >> it's really, it's really an important symbolic threshold for bitcoin. i mean, this is an investment product that started at $0 of value, and you know over the the last 15, 20 years has risen to become one of the most successful assets in the entire financial system. and so it's really the kind of culmination of an extraordinary roller coaster ride that that's been going on for a while, and, you know, it's a sign that this is part of the financial system now. it's not, you know, a passing fad. it's something that is here to stay and that really holds tremendous real world value. geoff: since donald trump's win a month ago, the price has

surged by some 45%. how much of this run up has to do with him and his team. it has a ton to do with donald trump. i mean, it's not entirely a trump phenomenon, you know, this run up started before the election, after financial firms began offering investment products tied to bitcoin that sort of need crypto a little bit more accessible to the public, but trump has really given it the most significant boost of the year. on the campaign trail, he said he was a bitcoin believer. he said he would start a kind of national bitcoin stockpile, you know, the government would kind of buy bitcoin, and that just created a tremendous end -- amount of investor enthusiasm in the industry, and it's what has propelled us to to the last couple of days with bitcoin surging past 100k. geoff: and yet it wasn't that long ago that we were covering the collapse of ftx and the industry seemed to be in a slump. what happened? what changed so quickly? >> yeah, absolutely. i mean, it's worth remembering that in the relatively short history of crypto, there have already been several boom and bust cycles, and so this kind of fits that pattern, and we could

well head for another bust at some point. and so i don't think people should assume that bitcoin will stay at this high level forever necessarily. but, but what's changed is that, you know, traditional financial firms, you know, black rock, fidelity, franklin templeton have started offering exchange traded funds tied to bitcoin. they basically allowed, you know, traditional investors who might not want to experiment with cryptocurrency. they've given them kind of a way to gain exposure to the bitcoin market, and that's driven a whole lot of new investment into the crypto world, and that kind of tied to donald trump's enthusiasm for crypto, his promise to end some of the regulatory crackdown on the industry has kind of driven the price way up. geoff: let's talk more about paul atkins and his connection to crypto and how his leadership of the sec might be different than the current chair, gary gensler. >> yeah. so, gary gensler has been the

number one villain of the crypto industry for the last few years. it's really kind of hard to overstate the amount of animosity that the industry feels toward him, and that's because he's sued crypto companies, argue that they're violating securities rules and essentially put the industry in a position where it could be driven offshore. the expectation is that paul atkins will significantly deviate from that approach. he is somebody who has worked closely with the industry in the private sector, who served on the advisory board of a crypto industry alliance, and so crypto companies and founders are very enthusiastic right now. they're expecting him to kind of abandon the gensler approach and really take a much kind of lighter touch, uh, approach to the crypto industry. geoff: and what more do we know about donald trump's change of heart on crypto over the last year or two. >> yeah, i mean this is something that i think people sometimes look past, but, you know, when he was president during his first term, trump said things like bitcoin's a scam, you know, it's designed to undermine the us dollar, and he really pivoted on the campaign trail this year. the obvious explanation, i think, is that the crypto

industry has been spending a huge amount of money on campaign contributions and you know, has really become kind of a financial heavyweight in politics. and so there was sort of a kind of opportunistic element to trump's pivot on the issue, but he's also said that, you know, he genuinely changed. -- changed his mind about crypto that his sons, including baron, are super enthusiastic about the technology and that they kind of talked him into kind of being more enthusiastic about it. geoff: david yaffe belloni of the new york times, thanks for your insights this evening. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. ♪ correspondent: i'm vanessa ruiz in for stephanie sy with news hour west. president-elect trump announced tonight he is appointing venture capitalist david sacks to be the white house crypto and artificial intelligence czar. trump said sacks will be tasked with creating a legal framework for the crypto industry to thrive. rebels dealt another serious blow to the syrian government

today by capturing a key city in the center of the country. opposition forces took control of hama, north of damascus and one of the few cities that's remained largely under government control since the civil war started in 2011. the northern city of aleppo fell earlier this week as the opposition launched a major operation against the regime of bashar al-assad. john yang has our report. correspondent: after two days of fierce fighting as the opposition dealt with both the regime -- and russian airstrikes today, the city of hama in central syria fell to opposition forces. locals -- and others across the nation, rejoiced. in hama, a key strategic hub in the fight for syria -- lies at the crossroads of aleppo and damascus, assad's base of power. on the m5 highway, a vital route connecting syria's northern and southern regions.

it is also home to the hama military air base, and now both the base and its stockpile are in the hands of the opposition coalition, led by the hayyat tahrir al-sham and syrian national army opposition groups. the city had been in the regime's hands. for the past 13 years of civil war -- until today. how big a deal is it now that the rebels grab hama? >> it's a huge deal. pushing further south. the rebel forces are now into what's called the spine of the country. it really is where the two parts of syria that the two, the neck and the in the base of syria connect. and that's why it's strategically important. correspondent: andrew tabler is a senior fellow at the washington institute and the former director for syria at the national security council's middle east affairs directorate during the first trump administration. >> what this at a minimum, will do is it's causing a major contraction, probably the biggest contraction since russia entered the conflict in 2015.

most likely, it will lead to a different configuration of the de facto partition of syria, which has been in place for well over a decade. and whatever american administration decides to do, the incoming trump administration will have to deal with that. correspondent: russia and iran have long had a stake in the syrian civil war -- and have steadfastly supported assad's regime. but now their support is waning at a crucial time. >> the most important thing that turned that turned the tide here was iran's weakening over the last year following the october 7th, 2023 hamas attacks. that has distracted iran. it's depleted it. there are different questions about why russia is not intervening more forcefully. so either they don't want to or they can't because they're busy elsewhere in ukraine and overstretched as the iranians are. correspondent: the capture of hama comes as part of the

opposition's lightning fast offensive down northwestern syria. they are now just 25 miles from homs. syria's third-largest city. and the opposition's next target. >> homs would be a game changer because it is. and so the capture of homs would be a major which would actually put damascus in jeopardy. and i think it would cause a real panic among the regime. correspondent: and so, the battle for syria and its future continues. for the pbs newshour i'm john yang. correspondent: after his prime minister was ousted by his parliament, french president emmanuel macron has vowed to stay in office until the end of his term. the no-confidence vote in the national assembly yesterday forced prime minister michel barnier to step down after just three months, the shortest tenure of any prime minister in modern french history. it also left the country without a functioning government. in a fiery, defiant televised address, macron blamed the chaos on opposition lawmakers for putting their own interests above the country.

>> yesterday the government lost a no-confidence vote, despite the concessions made by barnier because far-right and far-left joined together in an anti-republican front. i will never take the blame for the lack of responsibility of others, and notably lawmakers who chose, knowingly, to bring down the government of france. correspondent: macron said he will name a new prime minister within days. in new york city, the manhunt continues for the suspect who stalked and killed united health care's ceo brian thompson yesterday. today, the nypd released this photo taken in the lobby of a nearby hostel of a man wanted for questioning in connection to the killing. law enforcement officials also said shell casings found at the scene were inscribed with the words deny, defend and depose. some of those are terms associated with ways insurance avoids paying claims. though police say they are still working to establish a motive for the killing.

the secret service is promising to work for -- reform how it operates months after a gunman attempted to assassinate former president trump. ronald throw face to grilling from a bi-partisan house task force investigating the shooting. lawmakers pushed for answers about communication failures between secret service and local police, and how agents missed or didn't speak up about glaring security vulnerabilities at the rally. congressman jason crow press the acting director. >> can you speak to that culture and how you change that culture, so that folks speak up, and everybody's empowered to make necessary changes on the spot if they need to. >> we have to get back to that, and i think training, which touches everything from the cradle of your career, all the way to the end of your career. training is where we need to make that investment. correspondent: the department of

justice has found memphis police routinely used excessive force and discriminated against the city's black residents. that's after a 17-month investigation prompted by the fatal beating of a black man, tyre nichols, during a traffic stop last year. the report said memphis officers cite or arrest black people for things like disorderly conduct at nearly 4 times the rate of whites. it also found officers would punch or kick people who were already handcuffed or restrained. today, doj's top civil rights attorney said that was a breach of public trust. >> the practices i described however violate the constitution and federal law. they harm and demean people and they promote distrust, undermining the fundamental safety mission of a police department. correspondent: memphis' mayor says the city has already made improvements to its policing,

and pushed back on the need for the city's police to be under federal oversight. still to come, president elect trump's transition team agrees to background checks, but concerns remain abouu.s. security interest. a new documentary examines the first trump's administration migrant separation policy. >> this is the pbs newshour from the david rubenstein studio and from the west at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: amnesty international is accusing israel of committing genocide in gaza and is calling on the us to block weapons transfers. in response, israel's foreign ministry called the nonprofit deplorable and fanatical, and said its report was entirely false and based on lies. for the last two months, israel has been waging a new operation in north gaza. nick schifrin has the story of

one palestinian man whose family says he was caught in the crossfire. correspondent: in north gaza, mahmod almadhoun, fed the famished. they called him chef mahmoud, for running a soup kitchen for the most vulnerable. his team filmed these scenes for us back in march, providing sustenance to stop starvation. he told us, he had to help. >> when you think you're going to die you want to start serving and helping others. it's like a new lease on life. correspondent: more recently, he opened a school, with a sign on the roof in hebrew and english: please don't bomb. and that's him in red wheeling in water, and providing much needed produce, to the besieged kamal adwan hospital. >> we hope for more vegetables for the sick and the injured and the children and medical staff. correspondent: that was his last public statement. four days later, on the morning of november 30, almadhoun's

family says he was killed by an israeli drone. his 15 year old son omar, seriously injured beside him. a few weeks before, his family says the school he'd opened, was also attacked. for two months, the israeli military has waged a new operation in northern gaza, targeting what it describes as members of hamas, some who participated in the october 7 attacks. they have uncovered weapon stockpiles, including bombs as seen in this captured hamas video, and what israel called a hamas rocket launch site. >> we will reach any location where the enemy places launch facilities or anything that fires toward the citizens of the state of israel. correspondent: israel also says at kamal adwan hospital, it has facilitated the evacuation of patients, and delivery of fuel, medical supplies, and food and water, and accuses hamas of stealing aid. but us officials say as israel has tried to evacuate the entire area it has not allowed in, nearly enough aid.

so almadhoun was trying to provide what he could. he leaves behind his wife alaa and 7 childrenthe youngest, aline, barely two weeks old. >> at kamal adwan hospital day after day he brought food, gave money to those in need, the young, the old. this is a great honor that mahmoud was martyred as he fed the people. i hold my had high for him. correspondent: when i spoke with mahmoud earlier this year, i also spoke to his brother, honey amadou, who joins me now. he is also the director of philanthropy at unrwa's independent american arm. honey ahmadinejad, thank you very much. thanks for being here. let's talk about your brother. tell me about him. tell me about the work he was trying to do. >> my brother mahmoud is a great guy. he's my baby brother. he started a soup kitchen when he couldn't. we couldn't figure out how to feed our family, our neighbors. he started cooking, like, for a dinner or lunch for people that

we knew all our lives. and he cooked for 120 families, ate. and then he thought, this is it. but then kids showed up to the house asking for food. and he said, hey, let me figure this one out. so he's a business guy. he would go and like, if he finds potatoes, he would buy whatever the dealer had. and at the time, there was no pasta or rice . thinks of potatoes was a big deal. he bought it and cooked for the family, for the neighborhood. he started serving up to 600 families every day. and it's just beautiful because i work for usa and we couldn't because israel banned on their way from working in north gaza. early on, we pivoted to do small shop, you know, soup kitchen like the gaza soup kitchen. and unfortunately, things did not turn the way that should turn. correspondent: we heard from him a little bit in the story we just played about why what motivated him? what do you think motivated him to do what he did? >> he just saw a problem and he

wanted to solve because, you know, we knew we have the means. i live in the us and people were sending money in my private bank account and zelle, hey, go figure out how to get food to people. it was hard. there is no banks. there is no phones that we work in at the time. but then he figured out a way to do it, you know, leaning on the local farmers, leaning on their nature. you know, when it rained, he had a lot ofeafy greens that he could find and just chop and cook up. literally, he would go, a.t.m., my mom would wash the veggies and cook. but then eventually he hired a lot of people that, you know, because we wanted to scale and we expanded beyond beit lahia, where we started. and unfortunately, things, you know, instead of celebrating my brother's achievement and enjoying a possible cease fire, now we have to mourn his life. correspondent: tell me about how

died. >> it was saturday around 9 a.m. local time. he left the third or fourth shelter at his base that he walked about 30 yards or less outside the house and a drone was waiting in the neighborhood and just shot at his feet. and the explosion was led to his death. basically, you know, he died on the spot. our friends who saw him tried to rescue him. they thought they could save his life, tried to take him to one hospital where he was headed. correspondent: the very place he was trying to help >> to help. he was he wanted to make sure they got the produce because the day or two days before he ordered the last shipment produced, that's largely restricted to north gaza. and they couldn't because there was sniper fire. and you don't really believe it because this is turned into a legend. this guy is always there with videos and solving problems and people really lean on him to provide those meals. and sadly, we buried him. and he leaves behind a legacy that's respected across the globe, people who are mourning him, who live in the us and people who live in palestine, but also seven kids. correspondent: i reached out to the israel defense forces and

they said they were formulating a response on your brother's death but have not, as this moment provided me any response. and as i mentioned in my story, what the context is, is there's been an operation in northern gaza that the israelis have launched for the last couple of months, jabalia, beit hanoun around the hospital where your brother was helping. the fighting has been fierce. israel says that it is targeting hamas fighters, targeting hamas ammunition, infrastructure. but as i also pointed out, us officials say that israel has not allowed enough aid into northern gaza. how short of basic necessities, as far as you can tell, are the people living in north gaza? >> it is real. we feel it. more families have to be fed, and we work together to provide those meals. now, eventually what's in gaza is there is really not much food left.

there is probably canned meat. there is some lentils that. what's feeding the north right now? some flour, however, in the south, they're running into crisis with flour. we're one bag of flour that's about 50 pound bag of flower will bring about $2,000. that's -- that's a lot. and you could buy the same back here for $15. correspondent: and the problem with the black market. israeli and u.s. officials admit, is that criminality has skyrocketed, especially where you just mentioned, southern gaza, central gaza. there's not a lot of security at all. and that has led some other organizations to stop even delivering aid at all. in terms of your family. will you guys try and continue your brother's legacy? >> my brother always finished his videos with saying two things. i send my love to all my friends in the united states, and he would say in arabic, mr. marine, we will continue and we are trying to do this. we expanded our operation in different parts of north gaza. that means we have now three active full soup kitchens in north gaza and two in the south. i look forward to the day we're

not expanding because the need is gone. and you've mentioned the criminality. i do want to people, you know, like think it's complex road. these are organized criminals that somehow the israeli army is turning a blind eye to. this is not somebody who is, you know, it's not rocket science. these people carry guns within ten meters away or 20m away from the israeli army. if they wanted to stop these criminals, they can. but they choose to look the other way, creating that massive need we see in both north and south gaza. i pray we're close to a cease fire, but it's sad because i'm not going to celebrate the ceasefire with my brother mahmoud, who was my partner during these difficult times. thank you very much. >> thank. ♪ geoff: many of the people president-elect trump is

selected -- has selected to head up his next administration have promised to shake up long-held norms and that could have wide-ranging implications for u.s. security interests. laura barron-lopez delves more into those selections. correspondent: donald trump's picks to lead agencies that will oversee intelligence and law enforcement communities have heatedly expressed contempt towards the agencies they are nominated to run. for more i am joined by a retired cia operative who worked for nearly three decades at the agency and i was a fellow at the event to counsel. thank you for joining us. first let us talk about tulsi gabbard and kash patel. tulsi gabbard is nominated to be the director of national security. patel has been nominated to direct the fbi. gabbard in particular has labeled the cei and defense

department filled with rogue agents. what impact with these people have on the agencies? >> it is not clear with these people yet whether their goal is just to get real loyalty for donald trump or destroyed these organizations. steve bannon and others say they want to destroy the administrative state. some of the comments patel and others have made our that they went to fire a lot of people. gabbard and trump all the cia a rogue organization. in the 1970's senator frank church called the cia a rogue elephant, enters point wise of the cia was involved in illegal and unethical activities for the 1950's and 1960's, so they investigated that. later on he came back and said i changed my opinion on this. it was that presidents had

unfiltered power. presidents could add to the cia to take action that they did not want to go to congress with or the public with, so this was more about untethered presidential power. correspondent: how could i director gabbard or director patel affect relationships with sources and spies? >> that is a good point. the cia runs intelligence operations all around the world. foreign organizations and foreign partners provide the bulk of the information that this government gets. our fans in britain, around the world share information that is very sensitive for them, so they are going to have to ask themselves are we now working with the professional, serious organization or any organization about partisan politics and cronyism and corruption? i worry some of the people who

give us important information will hesitate to do that if it is seen that these organizations are no longer professional but more just partisan weapons for president trump. correspondent: president-elect trump up is because transition team signed a document with the justice department, a memorandum of understanding, and what that does is people who need security clearances will be able to get security clearances and be investigated for those clearances, but that does not mean that all of donald trump's nominees are going to necessarily undergo a thorough, broad fbi background check, and i spoke to a former fbi special agent, nt said there is a big difference between fbi background checks and those conducted by outside sources. >> it is really important, and farming it out to another agency or doing it through a private entity, were not going to get

the objective perspective you will get from the fbi. the reality is that the folks that are conducting these background investigations, a lot of that may be trump supporters, but the fact is they do their job in a neutral and objective way. correspondent: a source close to donald trump's transition said that if the president-elect is not want the nominees to undergo background checks than they will not undergo fbi background checks, so what does that mean if these nominees and others do not ultimately go through that kind of check? >> my understanding is that memorandum is to provide fbi background checks for nominees so that the senate can do its constitutional duty when they decide whether to approve or not approve these nominees. for intelligence professionals, background checks are a step further. the intelligence community often do their own background checks,

so it is sinful background check. it is polygraphs, going through your bank accounts, reporting all foreigners, all of your professional correspondence as be looked at, so it is really intrusive. if you will come in and lead an organization that has every person from the lowest to the highest has to go through this every day for their entire career and you say the you do not need a background check, that is failing leadership 101. these organizations are like the military. they are hierarchical. people get more senior positions by experience and expertise, and when you parachute people from the top that do not have expertise and are not willing to do these background checks, you are in a tough position in terms of leading these organizations. correspondent: thank you for your time. >> my pleasure.

thank you. ♪ geoff: on a recent evening in washington d.c. local lobbyists watched the d.c. premier of a new film from a renowned documentarian. i recently sat down with one of the executive producers of the film, separated. >> systematic separation from children from parents. officially it wasn't happening. but it was happening. correspondent: the new documentary -- separated -- is a searing exploration of the first trump administration's zero tolerance immigration policy at the us mexico border, which forcibly separated over 5,000 migrant children from their families, who illegally entered the country. directed by the legendary documentarian errol morris, the film is based on a book of the same name by nbc news journalist jacob soboroff, who is also one

of the film's executive producers. >> one of the things that so often gets lost in conversations about trump's family separation policy is that harm to children was the point. it was, in fact one of the civil servants who you speak with in the film says that it was meant to terrify parents from making that trek from those northern triangle countries to the us. >> based on the facts that we know, which are first-hand interviews with civil servants who tried to stand up and stop the policy and in fact help the policy reversal, we know what they wanted to do. they wanted to hurt kids in order to scare other families from coming to this country and scare congress into enacting more restrictive immigration laws. it's exactly the way that they drew it up and exactly what they wanted to do. correspondent: one of the civil servants who offers a firsthand account is jonathan white, who worked for the office of refugee resettlement. >> the unaccompanied children program, which i worked in, was essentially hijacked for a purpose for which it was never intended. nor authorized in law. it was a program designed to be

a child protection program for children who entered the united states without parents. and it was instead used as a tool to take children from their parents. ♪ correspondent: since there's no footage of the actual family separations, the film includes narrative vignettes depicting the forced separation of a mother and son who illegally crossed the border. one of the questions i had during this entire process, the family separation process, was like, what about the guards? what about the people who worked at these facilities? what about the civil servants who were really tasked with overseeing this process, separating infants from their parents? how did they grapple with this? >> you know, many of them carry out the orders and many of them didn't stand up and protest, but some of them did. and especially within the department of health and human services. correspondent: soboroff says it was career officals like white and his coworker jallyn sualog who pushed to reverse the policy, and later faced the difficult task of reuniting children with their parents.

since there was no formal process of tracking family separations. >> when you have a two year old, their assessment form in the system, doesn't have that much information. what's your mom's name? mom. like every mom, their name is mom. correspondent: and he connects trump's policy to decades of punitive immigration laws enacted under both republican and democratic administrations. >> bill clinton built the first wave of order walls. george w bush exponentially increased the size of the border patrol, created dhs in the wake of 911. barack obama deported more people than any president in the history of the united states of america. they called him the deporter in chief. and that's why like that donald trump was able to take away 5500 children from their parents in an act that a republican appointed judge called one of the most shameful chapters in the history of our country. correspondent: so it was the systematic separation of children that was new. the fact that there were these state created orphans that was

new under trump. >> one hundred percent. and i hear often from people back then and even today saying, well, obama did this or this happened under biden to point the finger in every direction, but there never was until the 2017, when the pilot program was implemented in el paso, a deliberate and systematic attempt to rip parents and children apart from one another as united states immigration policy. and there hasn't been since. correspondent: he says the biden administration failed to take action that might prevent it from happening again. president biden, he had called the practice of family separations criminal. promised a thorough investigation. to this day, no one has been held accountable. why? >> i remember you in some of those press conferences pressing on this exact topic. correspondent: during the campaign you said that practice was criminal, can you commit, will you commit to making sure the trump administration officials responsible for that policy will be held to account? pres. biden: i'll commit that our justice department and our investigative arms will make judgments about who is responsible, how they're responsible and whether or not the conduct is criminal across

-- criminal, but there will be a thorough, thorough investigation about who is responsible. >> what's been done to this day is absolutely nothing. nobody's been held accountable for the policy. and now some of the people responsible for it are going to be in some of the most senior positions in the incoming trump administration. immigration in the eyes of the biden administration became a political liability. and so they backed away. they backed away from financially compensating these families. they backed away from any idea of a criminal prosecution of people responsible for it. and i think history will remember that. correspondent: president-elect donald trump signaled he would declare a national emergency, and use the us military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants when he takes office. there's been so much outrage fatigue since then. trump has already promised mass deportations, but if we see a policy similar to the family

separation policy, i mean, how do you think the american public will respond? >> mass deportation as family separation by another name. it's not ripping away children from their parents at the border, but it is taking parents away from children in their homes and at their schools and in the interior of the country . i think when they're reminded of what that really means, the american people will respond in the same way that they did to family separation, because it's not about politics. it's about people. correspondent: what do you want people to take away from this film as they watch it? >> that people remember their power and how people stood up in that moment, in the summer of 2018 and forced the trump administration to stop something that was universally condemned. and as we go into yet another trump administration, where they're talking about doing a policy that would be orders of magnitude greater when it comes to disrupting the lives of immigrants in this country. if it turns out to be family separation, the people still have that power.

correspondent: separated has screened in select theaters across the country and airs on msnbc on december 7th. ♪ geoff: and we'll be back shortly with a look at some of our student reporting about gun violence. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps to keep programs like this one on the air. ♪ geoff: for those staying with us, nearly one-third of large u.s. firms are exploring new work schedules for their employees. economics correspondent paul solman takes a look at some companies that are trying out a new four-day, 32-hour week with the same pay. >> at metro curing in denver the

food pantry is crazy busy. there were 45,000 visits last year. the ceo felt overworked and overwhelmed. >> i worked far too many hours. hunger has been steadily growing. i do not see us making progress, and so that landed heavily on me. >> and i many of her coworkers. >> we were experiencing burnout and feeling like we were treading water around our mission. correspondent: cory overseas food procurement and distribution. >> we have had four different food access managers and did as 100,000% and a burnout factor with three previous ones. correspondent: she almost quit. >> burnout among nonprofit ceos and employees was higher than any other industry.

probably four out of 10 left the field. correspondent: instead she took a sabbatical and came back with the proposal, a four day work week. >> if you can have a more balanced life and work fewer hours you bring more creativity to your job and more efficiency, and those hours that you do work mean more. correspondent: alex runs research and innovation at a nonprofit four-day week global. >> if you are in any industry you have concerns about recruitment or sustainability, a four day week is a great way to address all of those challenges simultaneously. correspondent: a shorter work week is hardly a new idea. in 1930 given increasing productivity economist john maynard keynes oversaw a 50 hour work week in 50 years. richard nixon predicted a four

day work week and not too distant future. thanks to covid companies have begun to shift. the pilot began in late summer. the staff worked monday through thursday and took fridays off. 32 hours of work, same pay. to get their work done in a few hours employees turned off their computer alerts and reorganize their time. >> setting aside concentrated blocks and how to make meetings that are normally one hour into 15 minutes. correspondent: a shortened week increases focus. >> if i have to be here monday through friday i am likely to take that outfit i were sitting and drinking coffee or 15 minutes stepping outside for a cigarette. correspondent: integrity roofing also tried a four day week. >> there are so many tangible,

tactical ways you can give you a team back that additional eight hours of time. correspondent: the ceo says their staff focused on ties in the morning pushing meetings to the afternoon. >> they lose about two hours of efficiency during the day, so for a lot of us a four day week is already here. correspondent: in surveys completed in february employees reported well-being improved. just a percent were highly or very satisfied with their work balance. at the end that felt -- rose to 86%. >> having four days and did through the weekend, it is rejuvenating on all levels. correspondent: the results did not surprise him. to get his firm helped run it 2022 tribal -- trial of 61 british firms that show to to

out them productivity when their hours were reduced. >> managers and companies reported people were collaborating better and were happier in the office. correspondent: add integrity pro roofing a strictly four day work week did not work year-round. >> roofing and construction tends to be seasonal. correspondent: so employees work fewer hours during the off-season. doc out the summer and fall is our busiest season, so there were times when we need to ask our team to be flexible and come back to a five-day work week when we are experiencing high volume. correspondent: she remains committed to a shorter week for her employees the rest of the year. >> time is our most precious resource. if there are any ways we can give them some additional time, that is what we wanted to focus on. correspondent: at metro curing

the four day work week created problems of its own. >> we rely on donations and grant funding to exist in the way that we do, and they do not have a four day work week. there are deadlines that are due on friday. i often missed emails that come in friday. we need to be available for some bigger deadlines. correspondent: as a result the ceo still has to put in hours on fridays. >> i do not know all of us are to 32 hours to get. 35 hours is better than the 50 hours i was working prior to this trial. correspondent: metro curing plans to make the shorter workweek permanent as that work out the details. >> it may not be exactly like we have done the trial. maybe we go to a 35 hour work week. correspondent: different schedules. >> may be one team works a different set of days than

another team. correspondent: and that flexibility may help with retention. cory think she will last longer than her predecessors. >> i feel very good. i am not leaving. correspondent: scrivener buff to the burnout trend thanks in part to the four day work week. ♪ geoff: gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in the u.s., but much of the news coverage about it is made by and for adults. that's why our journalism training team, student reporting labs, handed cameras to 14 student journalists from across the nation to make stories about what it's like to grow up in this generation. their work is part of a new documentary, “run, hide, fight: growing up under the gun.” in this excerpt, student

journalists alexis and brianna schmidt talk to their classmates at michigan state university about what it's like to live through a mass shooting. >> keep your hands up if you have experienced a lockdown drill before the age of 18, the age of 12 and the age of six. >> before you learn abc, you learn how to run, hide and fight. and that's where we failed. >> gun violence has become tragically familiar to people like maya manuel, a student at michigan state university. on february 13th, 2023, three students lost their lives to a gunman. during the shooting, students received text messages from the university instructing them to run, hide and fight. >> academic building and then later at a student union. >> i'm alexis schmidt. >> and i'm brianna schmidt. >> we're twins and student journalists who started attending michigan state a few months after the shooting. we wanted to talk to other students about their experiences

with gun violence. >> how do you think that, like msu students' perception of safety, like on campus changed? >> you're trying so hard to get your degree. trying to go back into classes was so difficult. every student, every janitor now had to figure out a new way of thinking, because it was no longer, i'm listening to your experience. it's, i am understanding your experience. >> for other students like kylee osage, this was not their first experience with the trauma of a mass shooting. she was a senior at oxford high school in 2021, when a gunman opened fire inside the school. >> four students died that day and seven others were injured, including kylie. >> she spent two months in the hospital and physical therapy recovering from her injuries. she had to learn how to do a lot of basic things again, such as walking and brushing her hair. >> i came to michigan state and i was so scared, you know. living with ptsd like that is

hard. i would always tell myself, like, this is never going to happen to you again. the fact that it happened to you once is crazy. like it's never going to happen to you again. just relax. and then it happened to me again. people have to, like, wake up and realize that like this is bound to happen to everyone if there's no change. i live in an all-boys hallway. you know, boys are like, very loud and they love to, like, slam their doors. anytime that happens, it definitely, like, alarms me and i have to, like, calm myself down again, tell myself it's just boys. >> for maya, the shooting has pushed her to become an activist. >> i hate that we have to beg for safety, but i love that we can come together and treat each other with empathy. i want us to take that pain and i want us to push that into other change. >> despite her own pain, kylie hasn't given up hope for a safer future. >> there's positive things that can come from every story. you know, because there's so many negatives of the situation, i think if you're able to, you show some strength. i think a lot of people can bounce off you. it's important to kind of radiate that positivity around

you. >> for pbs news student reporting labs, i'm alexis schmidt. >> and i'm brianna schmidt in east lansing, michigan. geoff: the student reporting labs documentary “run, hide, fight” is available to watch now on our youtube page and the pbs app. and that's the news hour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years, bnsf, the engine that can

access. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour, including leonard and norma korfline and the judy and peter bloom 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 and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ this is pbs newshour west from

the david m. rubinstein studio in washington d.c. and from our bureau of journalism at the walter cronkite studio at arizona state university. ♪ >>

♪♪ -"cook's country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table. we're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes. we go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.