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: jeff bennett. anna nevada is away. on the newshour tonight, in an unprecedented move, romania's election results are thrown out because of russian interference, putting the nato member country and its western allies at a crossroads. we examine the changes robert f. kennedy, jr. could make to

federal food regulations if confirmed to lead the nation's health department. and minnesota's first transgender legislator discusses the political backlash against trans rights, and whether democrats are pulling support in the wake of election offices -- election losses. >> this cascade has been coming. i think with the recent election and what we are seeing in the court, it's going to really crash down. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour, including the robert and virginia schiller foundation,

the -- >> the john s james l knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged communities. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. vanessa: i'm vanessa ruiz, in for stephanie sy. here are the latest headlines. new york police and federal

agents say they are gathering more clues on the gunman who fatally shot a healthcare ceo in manhattan this week. the search has now become a nationwide manhunt. new york city's police commissioner said today investigators have "reason to believe" the suspect left the city. they are attempting to track the gunman using a trail of surveillance videos, a burner phone, and a water bottle believed to have been dropped when he fled the scene. also tonight, police recovered a backpack in central park they believe the suspect left behind. no arrests have been made in the killing. also in new york, the most serious charge of manslaughter has been dismissed against daniel penny, a man accused of using a fatal chokehold on a mentally ill and unruly subway passenger last year. the jury today became deadlocked on the charge, which could have sent penny, a marine veteran, to prison for as many as 15 years. jurors have been deliberating since tuesday, and were told by the judge to keep deliberating on a second, lesser charge of

"criminally negligent homicide" when they return next week. overseas in syria, rebels are seizing more territory and are now closing in on the country's third largest city of homs. if homs is lost, it could be a crippling blow to the regime of embattled president bashar al-assad. the insurgents, led by a jihadi group known as hts, already successfully captured the major cities of aleppo and hama earlier this week. they've reportedly taken over two towns just north of homs today. [gunfire] that's where eyewitness video showed the rebels celebrating as their convoys sped through the streets with little resistance from the syrian army. the insurgents have vowed to continue their steady march toward the country's capital of damascus. russia, a key ally of president assad, has warned russian nationals to leave the country. another of syria's allies is iran, and today, the u.n.'s

nuclear watchdog warned that tehran is poised to "dramatically" increase its stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium. rafael grossi told reporters today that iran has started efforts at several nuclear facilities to more quickly enrich uranium. iran has denied it's pursuing nuclear weapons. grossi's comments came just hours after iran said it successfully carried out a space launch with its heaviest payload ever, something western experts believe is to improve tehran's ballistic missile program. a surprising turnaround in south korea. the leader of president yoon suk yeol's own party now supports impeaching him. just yesterday, that same leader said he opposed impeachment. the about-face from ruling party leader han dong-hoon makes suspending yoon from office more likely. han said the president poses a "great danger" to the country. >> the president is not even admitting that it was wrong to declare martial law.

therefore, if president yoon suk yeol is allowed to continue running the government affairs, there is a significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law. vanessa: with chants of "step down," many south koreans have joined the growing chorus of officials in calling for yoon's removal, taking to the streets for a third straight night. the national assembly will vote on them preaching -- on impeaching president yoon within a matter of hours. he said he would accept whatever fate they choose. the u.s. job market bounced back in november from a major slowdown the month before. the economy added 227,000 jobs, far more than october's revised total of only 36,000, when two hurricanes and worker strikes held job creation down. and the unemployment rate rose, but only slightly, from 4.1% to 4.2%.

the u.s. government has ordered testing of raw and unpasteurized milk for bird flu after the virus has spread to more than 700 herds of cows in 15 states. testing will begin in six states -- california, colorado, michigan, mississippi, oregon and pennsylvania -- to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy. officials say the risk to people from bird flu remains low. a federal appeals court today unanimously rejected an effort by social media platform tiktok to overturn a law that would require it to part ways with bytedance, its china-based parent company. the law, signed in april, says tiktok in the u.s. must find a new owner by next month, or be shut down nationwide. tiktok is expected to appeal to the supreme court. still to come on the news hour, david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines. and the rebirth of detroit's

michigan central train station serves as a microcosm of the city's evolution. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour, from the david rubenstein studio and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: a member of the nato and the european union took a step nearly unheard of, throwing out the results of an election. that's what happened in romania, a country vital to ukraine's efforts against russia and hosts u.s. troops. romania's constitution annulled the results because of what the sitting government calls a vast influence effort by a foreign actor to boost the candidacy of a candidate dubbed pro-russian. as nick schifrin reports, the effort was largely run on tiktok.

nick: in 2024, when a romanian strongman wants to prove his manhood, he goes on tiktok. his opponents say if this campaign looks like the kremlin's playbook, it is because he admires russian president vladimir putin. >> he is a leader. he loves his country. nick: he scorns nato and ukraine. >> ukraine is an invented state. nick: and he dabbles in conspiracy theories. >> did man reach the moon? i don't think so. nick: he was also largely unknown, one of 14 candidates running in romania's presidential election. on november 5, he pulled under 1%. three weeks later, he won the first round with 23%. romania's government says that victory was thanks to foreign influence, and for the first time in the country's history, they declassified intelligence documents that describe a campaign to circumvent romanian law to boost his popularity.

the government says that campaign relied heavily on a well coordinated popularity boosting campaign on tiktok. romanian intelligence says tens of thousands of tiktok accounts activated before the election, some after laying dormant for eight years, and "the activity of the accounts would have been coordinated by a state actor." >> georgescu was supported by a state that nato described as the most significant threat to nato. that state is russia. nick: romania's ambassador to the united states. >> there are many things that would be shaken if this guy had become president. a puppet in russia's hands, which would be a disaster for our security, for our economy, for our alliances, and for our future. >> romanian intelligence

describes a network of tiktok supporters, some paid by a shell company that soon disappeared, all instructed to post unified messages about what they want out of a leader, a family man who is honest and patriotic. these avoided georgescu's name, skirting tiktok's policy on political content. instead, they relied on hashtags and bots to leave pro-georgescu comments, spreading throughout romania. >> at least one tiktok account used by a romanian citizen to promote georgescu on social media was financed with over one million euro. nick: the secretary of state, antony blinken, earlier this week -- >> romanian authorities are uncovering a russian effort, large and well funded, to influence the recent election. nick: local and u.s. authorities called out pro-russian actors influencing recent elections in

romania's neighborhoods, moldova, and using tiktok, in bulgaria. >> tiktok needs to step up resources to counter information operations. nick: this week, parliamentarians in europe challenged tiktok executives. >> 95 content moderators, 6000 in europe. what the hell were they doing during the elections? >> our line of sight goes to our platform, and activity taking place on our platform. we don't know what's happening offline. nick: georgescu described the decision to annul the first round and delay the second round as a state coup. >> the rule of law is in an induced coma, and justice is subordinated to political orders. nick: some centrist parties also condemned today's court ruling and argued popular disaffection with the government opened the door to an outsider's campaign. >> there was a very real networking process of mobilizing

disenfranchised groups across the regions of romania and across the diaspora. >> this is the director of the german marshall fund for the black sea region. >> grievances from the regions, from rural communities, from categories of the public that don't feel they are taken seriously with regard to the decreased standards of living, with regard to their fears, uncertainties. so there's a lot of fear that the russian actors are exploiting. nick: today's court decision cannot be appealed. but it has not blocked the appeal of georgescu tiktok videos that continue to gain views. for the pbs news hour, i'm nick schifrin. ♪

geoff: president-elect trumps nomination of robert f kennedy junior raised questions about his history of opposing vaccines and put a spotlight on a number of other comments he has made, including about what millions of americans eat and drink each day. for more on those claims and what the science says, here is william brangham. william: robert f. kennedy jr. is trained as an environmental lawyer, but in recent years he's focused almost exclusively on public health, and he's stirred a great deal of alarm with some of his claims. so we're going to dive into a few of them here to better understand what the research tells us, what those claims tell us about kennedy, and what this could mean for americans should he get confirmed as health secretary. let's start with ultra-processed foods. kennedy has vowed to remove them from school lunches. >> we are literally poisoning our children systematically and for profit.

william: ultra processed means foods that have been altered in a factory with added dyes, sweeteners, or preservatives, and they tend to be high in calories, sugar, fat and sodium. this category contains a lot of things you would expect -- sodas, frozen pizzas, hot dogs -- but also things you might not expect, like flavored yogurts, plant milks, whole grain breads, and cereals. the u.s. has been slower than other developed countries to regulate ultra processed foods, even though the consensus on their health impacts, including from the national institutes of health, is quite clear. >> there's very strong scientific evidence about this, the link between consuming ultra processed foods and a wide array of health outcomes. in addition to that, there's a large body of observational studies that show links between ultra processed foods and things like type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and also mental health. william: kennedy's attempt to regulate these foods would likely face opposition from

well-funded industry groups, politicians, as well as members of the public who may lack access to affordable, healthier food. and some worry that his approach -- he's vowed to fire anyone at the food and drug administration who stands in his way -- could be counterproductive. >> we are not doing enough. that's clear. i am very concerned about the idea that rfk jr. would wipe out entire branches of the federal government or kick out the scientists who've been working on these issues for ages because those are exactly the type of experts that we need. we could end up worse off in the long run than we are now. william: now to raw milk. that's milk that hasn't been pasteurized, which means heating it to about 161 degrees fahrenheit for 15 seconds to kill viruses and bacteria. in recent years, a small online community has argued that raw milk contains good bacteria and pasteurization kills nutrients

that can help prevent asthma, allergies, and illness. >> this is why you should be drinking raw milk. >> it is easier to digest. >> it has active and bioavailable enzymes, probiotics. >> raw milk also contains over 700 species of bacteria. lisa: -- william: kennedy recently wrote that he'll end the food and drug administration's "war on public health," including its "aggressive suppression" of many things, including raw milk. yet there is no evidence for any of these beneficial claims about raw milk, while there's plenty of evidence that drinking it increases the risk of food-borne illness from things like salmonella, listeria and e.coli, which can be deadly. >> we have 100 years-plus of data showing that there is the potential of pathogens present in raw milk, so there's a risk, and no study has yet shown any nutritional benefit, and in

fact, most of these claims can be debunked. >> children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems are the most at-risk from infection, and the recent bird flu outbreak presents yet another risk to consider. while there are no known cases of humans becoming infected from drinking raw milk, scientists warn the virus seems to concentrate in the udders of infected cows. and at least one raw milk producer in california recently issued a recall after detecting bird flu in its product. >> fortunately, pasteurization inactivates it. so we have a simple technique that kills the pathogens, and thankfully now it kills this avian flu virus that could be present in milk. and the levels are high. this is not a trivial amount. william: now, could kennedy change the rules on raw milk? the federal government doesn't determine whether it's legal to sell. that's left up to the states, and most states do allow it to be sold at some level. but since 1987 the fda has

prevented raw milk from being sold across state lines, so that's something kennedy could impact. >> it would lead to increased sales of raw milk, for sure, and it would increase the amount of food illnesses and outbreaks. william: finally, let's talk about fluoride in drinking water. just before the election, kennedy posted this on x, vowing that the trump administration would advise u.s. water systems to remove fluoride, which he called an "industrial waste" associated with a number of health conditions. backing up a bit, fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that's commonly found in soils and rocks, and since 1962, the federal government has recommended adding it to drinking water to strengthen the enamel in our teeth to help protect against tooth decay. >> the cdc has hailed flora dating -- fluoridating public water systems to be one

of the greatest achievements in public health of the 20th century. and that's because having fluoride in water has reduced dental cavities, especially in children. but at the same time, it's also true that that value of fluoridated public public water is much less now that we do have fluoridated toothpaste. william: the amount of fluoride is important here. since 2015, the cdc has recommended 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. an nih review this year showed that at twice that level, there are impacts on children's iq and development. it's important to note that those studies mostly looked at other countries where levels are higher, but there have been higher levels in some communities in the u.s. the environmental protection agency currently requires that officials keep levels below four milligrams per liter. >> this is an issue of dosing but i think it's also an issue of informed consent. i can understand why there are activists who are saying, well, i just didn't know this. and had we known that the level of fluoride in our community water system is higher than what's recommended, maybe we

would have taken different steps during our pregnancy or with baby formula. and i think that that kind of nuanced communication needs to happen. and without it, that actually breeds distrust. william: ultimately, the decision to fluoridate drinking water and how much is left to states and municipalities, which follow federal guidance, so there, kennedy could influence what local authorities ultimately choose to do. overall, public health voices say on this issue and others, kennedy has a record of combining good information with bad. >> but then he also has views on issues like vaccines that simply are disproven by the science, and i'm very concerned about someone like that who basically is an activist and not a scientist holding the position of overseeing our nation's scientific and medical and public health agencies, because ultimately a person overseeing these agencies should be guided by science. william: in our next explainer,

we'll dive further into that issue, kennedy's many years opposing vaccines. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham. ♪ geoff: president joe biden's pardon of his son hunter has drawn scrutiny from both sides as several of president-elect trump's picks continue to face heavy scrutiny on capitol hill. on that and other issues shaping the tranistion, we turn now to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's "new york times" columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for "the washington post." good to see you both. let's start our conversation with the sweeping pardon of hunter biden, which is notable because he came to office vowing to restore the justice department's independence, and he repeatedly said he would not

commute his son's sentence. was it justified, and what is the lasting impact? jonathan: it was justified. when the president said he would not pardon his son, the facts on the ground were completely different. it was the middle of a presidential campaign. he was a candidate for president, did not want to be viewed as interfering. he's no longer the candidate. his vice president is the nominee. i'm 99% certain that president biden was hoping vice president harris would win and this would not be an issue, but when the person who won the race won the race by vowing a campaign of retribution, revenge, naming the biden family in general, and hunter biden in particular, as groups of people he wanted to go after if he won the election, of course the president looks at the facts -- i cannot allow that to happen to my son. i understand the criticisms the

president is taking, but for some democrats to be complaining about, you have ruined norms and given him an avenue, have they not been paying attention to donald trump? either during the campaign or his first go around? these are the same people who would be yelling at biden had he not done something and president trump took action against hunter biden. why didn't you save your son when you had the opportunity to do so when you were president? he's done it. geoff: what about that, david? do the intervening events, the reelection of donald trump, the fact that hunter biden would be at the mercy of a trump justice department, and trump was clear about seeking revenge against his perceived enemies, the bidens chief among them, does any of that change the calculus? david: not to me. he was already convicted and was going to be sentenced. it is not a trump thing. that was already happening. for biden, it became less politically painful to do it, so he did it. democrats have been running

against corruption, nepotism, all the bad things trump has done, and to run against those things, you have to have a place to stand, a place to stand on legitimacy. i do care about norms. our democracy is built on laws but within the way the government functions, there are norms of behavior upon which our democracy depends, and one of those norms is that we have a pardon. the president gets the pardon power, but he cannot abuse it by just taking his family out of the picture. in my view he cannot abuse it by giving pre-pardons to people who have not been convicted. the way democracies fall is the practices that make the democracy work get slowly abandoned step-by-step. and obviously donald trump is abandoning those norms leap by leap, but it's important to me that we have one party that does defend those norms, defends their legitimacy, and does not go in for freewheeling nepotism.

geoff: there's the defense of norms and we have heard the republican party say it's joe biden who has politicized the justice department, not donald trump. whether that's accurate or not, it certainly could be politically effective, especially if donald trump does what he says he intends to do, issue pardons for the folks connected to the attack on the capitol on january 6. jonathan: he said he intended to do it. he's going to do it. whether president biden pardoned his son or not, trump is going to do it. no one is going to be surprised. i take your point about the erosion of norms. at a certain point you have to stop bringing a melon bollard to a knife fight. geoff: how should democrats think about that? you could argue donald trump has benefited from this asymmetry in our politics. it feels like there is one party held to account to preserve the norms and standards a of doing things -- standard way of doing

things in washington. david: yeah. i think throughout the years the justice department has done a reasonably good job of having neutral law. they indicted and convicted donald trump. they did not go with trump on whether the election was stolen. they indicted and convicted lots of january 6 people. the thing we have to defend is the justice system, and defending the justice system as an objective, truth-seeking institution seems to require that as many people as possible treat it as a truth seeking enterprise. if you give pre-pardons, like they are talking about now, you are accusing people who did not do anything and say the law does not apply to you. if trump goes after people -- liz cheney did nothing illegal. she will have her day in court if such a thing happens and i think she will be vindicated. she has not done anything close to illegal. geoff: the thinking among some of the white house is that just the idea of a trump administration launching an investigation, whether or not it leads to a prosecution, is

reputationally damaging and also costly, so you pre-pardon these folks to get around it. jonathan: i understand the motivation behind the administration and president looking into this, thinking about it, even putting it out there that they are talking about it, which to me this story feels like a trial balloon. i would not be surprised if it doesn't happen. maybe they offer it and give the option to the folks -- you don't have to take it, but it's there if you want it. for some people, weighing the choice between having to sort of admit to something you didn't do or bankrupting your family, that's a hard place to be, and having that option might be something people want, but if the president does not do it, great. if the president does, not too thrilled about it. it doesn't make too much sense to me. i'm not a lawyer. but i understand the motivation. geoff: it would be a novel use of presidential power. let's put it that way. let's talk about pete hegseth.

donald trump's pick to lead the pentagon is looking to shore up faulty support from senators that he was accused of sexual assault, drink to excess, was ousted from two nonprofits for mismanagement. the vice president elect, is standing by hegseth. here's what he said earlier today. fans id -- >> importantly, hegseth will get his appearance before the armed services committee, not a sham hearing before the american media. we believe that pete hegseth is the right guy to lead the department of defense. that's why president trump nominated him. we're not abandoning this nomination. geoff: what does this nomination and the defense of hegseth tell you about how donald trump is thinking about his second term? david: first, it seemed like hegseth, all the stories came out and trump was waffling. they floated the idea of ron desantis getting the pick. but then hegseth did the smart thing. he attacked the media.

he had these meetings on capitol hill surrounded by reporters and lavished in attack. geoff: even though he was in the media. he was a fox news personality. david: that's questionable. he was in the media. so donald trump said he's bashing the media, i like it, so he successfully rallied the administration. but as jd vance just said, this will not be decided by those of us in the media, it will be decided by the confirmation hearing and fbi report. if he does poorly in the hearing and he becomes unpopular, he's in a vulnerable spot. it is tragic because the pentagon is in desperate need of reform, and you only reform an institution when you know something about it. pete hegseth does not have that knowledge. jonathan: the key thing about the fbi vetting, it's one thing -- sham trial by the media, you go before the confirmation hearing. bashing the media is great, but once you start filling out that fbi vetting form and having interviews with the fbi, one

thing that folks don't realize is lying to the fbi is a felony . so hegseth is being pushed into this corner where we will see if he gets out, but he should not be secretary of defense by a longshot. geoff: we saw elon musk and vivek ramaswamy on the hill. they are leading this effort to cut spending and reshape the way the federal government works. i saw a quote from louisiana senator john kennedy, known for his folksy sense of humor, and he said this about this effort to cut government spending. he said, "my experience has been trying to convince people to cut government spending is like going to heaven. everybody is ready to go to heaven. nobody wants to make the trip." it's a great line. do you think they will have any success at this? david: they could have some small successes but they are talking about cutting $2 trillion, and that's literally impossible unless you go after social security and medicare. they are not going to have that kind of effect. when you actually want to trim

government spending, sometimes you have to spend more money in order to do that. most of the government is a checkwriting machine. either the defense contractors or senior citizens and everybody. but if you are going to supervise the contracts, you need more people working for the general accounting office and other places that will make sure the money is well spent, so you have to hire more people. it does not work the way ramaswamy is talking about the way it works. it does not work the way elon musk is talking about it. nonetheless, there is so much room for reform in the way the government is working that they could have some small and significant successes. geoff: what is your prediction? jonathan: it ain't ever going to happen. good luck to them getting congress to agree to cut something in their district. geoff: jonathan capehart and david brooks, thank you so much. >> thanks. ♪

geoff: the issue of transgender rights has rarely been so prominent in american politics. there were arguments this past week at the u.s. supreme court. william brangham is back to talk with one pioneer about how she sees this current moment. william: my guest is no stranger to both the triumphs and vitriol surrounding transgender rights in america. two years ago, leigh finke became the first trans-person elected to the minnesota state legislature. even though she endured numerous threats, she leveraged her position in a democratic majority to pass legislation protecting other trans people in her state. nice to have you on the program. you have been in office almost two years now, but this is a seemingly very fraught time for trans rights in this country with this past election and all those attacks. the first openly trans member of the u.s. congress and now the supreme court case this week.

i wonder how this has been for you the last few months? rep. finke: it's been a lot, and thank you for inviting me and having trans voices on your show. i think what we have seen over the last couple months is a compounding pile of difficulty for a community that is very small. we've received so much outside attention given the impact and size that we have in the communities we exist in. we are struggling, trying to figure out what this will mean. william: you were here while the supreme court was arguing this case. that centered around tennessee's attempt to ban trans care for trans children. the justices had a lot of different arguments about that case, and i wonder, listening to what they had to say, what stood out to you? >> what stood out to me is we are trying to figure out a

very complicated answer to a very simple question, which is that gender affirming care is health care and health care decisions belong to families and doctors and not to politicians or the courts. we do not do this for other forms of health care. there is a specific reason the trans people's health care is under the microscope that it is, and it's because we are trans. there is no way to understand this other than discrimination based on our identity. and this question continues to be asked, continues to be litigated, and now is in front of the supreme court. it's incredibly difficult to hear people finding reasons to further discriminate and alienate trans people, especially our kids. william: it also seemed the justices wanted to talk about other trans-related issues, bathrooms, sports. do you feel like this is just the beginning of an ongoing cascade? rep. finke: yes. this cascade has been coming. i think with the recent election

and at the court, it's going to crash down. there is no reason to be talking about trans kids in sports. that is not a problem. there is no reason to be talking about trans people using the bathroom. that is not a problem. the only reason we are here is because it is politically valuable, and until the conservative, republican institutions realize that this is a human -- that they are hurting human people and not just making hypothetical political arguments, they are going to continue. william: we have certainly seen those. representative nancy mace in congress. as soon we had a trans member of congress, she introduces a bill to ban trans people using bathrooms that don't conform to the sex of their birth. president trump has vowed to get trans kids out of children's sports. i mean, do you think this is, again -- it seems like the gop is very interested in pursuing this issue, even though you are arguing it's not really an issue. rep. finke: it is not an issue.

we have existed. we have existed in the culture, whether or not other people have noticed. now that our visibility is here, there's a push back and that pushback it is getting extreme. you mentioned nancy mace and her -- it was a historic moment for us to have a congressperson elected in sarah mcbride and she did not even get to be sworn in before she had the whole apparatus of the republican house majority centered on her specifically, dehumanizing her, taking away her fundamental, basic dignity. it's beyond reproach. william: president-elect trump spent tens of million dollars attacking kamala harris over her stance on trans rights, and some democrats are arguing that democrats embrace of trans rights cost them this election.

massachusetts congressman seth moulton said the democratic party is out of touch on trans issues and said, "i have two little girls. i don't want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a democrat, i'm supposed to be afraid to say that." what do you make of that argument? rep. finke: it's wrong. it's hurtful. it's despicable to hear coming from someone inside of the democratic establishment. the national democratic party has accepted trans people into their coalition. we have been part of not just their voting base, but they have embraced us and protected us and moved to have us be protected under their banner. if they are going to adopt the framing of republicans, which is what congressman bolton did in that quote you just read, they are going to try to embrace the dehumanizing and missed entering -- misgendering language of the

republicans, then it's going to be more and more difficult for trans people to remain a willing partner in that coalition. 90% of trans people voted for kamala harris. we are small, but we are mighty and we hear that. we hear that and we are worried about what it means for the future. william: representative leigh finke of minnesota, thank you for being here. rep. finke: thank you. ♪ geoff: a restoration of past glory, a renovation toward future growth. the consequences and conflicts in the present. that's the story of michigan central, a grand old and now new addition to detroit's economic and cultural life. arts correspondent jeffrey brown reports for our arts and culture series, canvas. >> we spent a lot of time researching the different types of materials. jeffrey: above soaring ceilings, all around, columns, ornate chandeliers, arched windows. this is the grand hall of detroit's michigan central, a

historic train station newly restored to glory. lead architect richard hess is with the firm quinn evans. >> this is the original tennessee rose-colored marble flooring. jeffrey: much of it reconstructed as it was, though not the old wooden benches, on which several thousand travelers once waited every day. >> all these benches were gone. but we wanted to keep the reflection of what was here before and sort of that token of memory. jeffrey: like the ghost of a bench. >> yes. it's like the ghost of a bench, that's a great way to put it. jeffrey: the ghosts, both friendly and destructive, are everywhere, flitting through hallways and history. the original 1913 building, located in detroit's corktown neighborhood, and designed by the same team behind new york's grand central, was the gateway to the city, a symbol of its industrial power, then the fourth tallest building in detroit, the tallest train station in the world. but as detroit's fortunes changed, michigan central became

a different symbol, of decline. after the last train left in 1988, the station sat abandoned, and came close to being torn down. a scene of decay, broken glass and walls, a derelict graffiti heaven, water damage throughout, as hess saw on his first visit here in 2011. >> the entire basement area was flooded with water, millions of gallons of water. it's pitch black. there's no windows, there's no lighting. really spooky, calm, and you raised up the flashlights, and right on the column in front of us it was spray-painted -- "this is where you die." chills immediately went up my spine. spine. i said, that's it. i'm out of here. i want to go. but that was my first impression of the train station. jeffrey: in 2018, ford motor company bought the building, with an eye toward a major contribution to detroit's revitalization, and restoration began for real, testing its structural integrity, studying archives to

match materials, or replace lost items, a vast project involving engineers, designers, historians, hundreds of construction workers and craftsmen. several examples of what was were left on view -- a graffiti hallway, columns pitted by water. >> you wanted us to see the damage? >> telling the story of michigan central station, not just the way it was 100 years ago, but also what happened to michigan central during its time that it was abandoned, was really important. jeffrey: but this is more than just a nod to the past. the station will house offices. ford has already moved into several floors and, eventually, retail, art spaces, a hotel and plenty more. and crucially, ford also bought and restored another landmark building next door, designed by famed architect albert kahn and opened in 1936, first as a post office, then book depository for

detroit's public schools. it was abandoned in 1987 after a fire left it ashell. now it's been remade into newl ab, a home for innovators and tech start-ups. mary culler is president of ford philanthropy and headed the michigan central and newlab project. >> the vision has always been about creating an innovation, tech, and cultural hub that not only talks and thinks about sort of, what are the jobs of the future, but how do you bring people together to really solve the biggest problems? and, you know, those cannot be solved alone. so bringing together, think about it, corporations, start ups, nonprofits, artists, all kinds of people that are all under the same roof, thinking about what those problems are and thinking about how to solve them for the future, it's really a dynamic and energetic place. >> they are good friends of mine so i go up there sometimes.

jeffrey: 32 year old darren riley, a graduate of carnegie mellon, is one of newlab's young core of entrepreneurs, as cofounder and ceo of just air, a company that provides data on air quality, for use by government agencies, public health services, and individuals in the community suffering, as he does, from asthma and related problems. it's a business with a social impact goal. >> i dedicated myself after college that i'm only going to focus on problems that actually move the needle on the people that i love. i think a lot of times when we talk about technology, we don't think of how we make sure it's inclusive, not only inclusive, but actually solving the problems that hit home for those marginalized communities. jeffrey: he's also a founding member of "black tech saturdays," where people come together to share knowledge of technology and how to start and grow companies. >> we are seeing it make a real impact. we have a community through ups and downs. through ups to celebrate you, cheer you on. and in the downs, to say keep going.

>> inevitably, this is a story of ups and downs amid change, as michigan central's revitalization now brings more change to the surrounding neighborhoods, including historic mexicantown, named after the influx of immigrants who settled here beginning in the 1920's to be part of detroit's industrial growth. tomasita alfaro-koehler, known to all as tammy, has had a front row seat from the time she first worked in her grandparents store, honey bee market. >> michigan central is my front yard. jeffrey: it's quite an imposing building for a front yard. >> it is. people would say that needs to be torn down. it felt hopeless, but in my heart and my husband's heart, we felt like this area could come back. >> tammy and husband ken koehler bought honeybee in 1996, and it continues as a thriving and much loved local market. today, she says, the streets are

safer, and across the street is a new apartment building. at the same time, some older customers and surrounding business are being priced out. the challenge, she says, finding a balance. >> you can't just come in and say, all of the sudden, change the whole look of the city, without considering the old, because we have a history. and we're thankful for the investments. we are all thankful for the investment, of the new that came in, but at the same time you have to appreciate the old that sustained the city and kept holding onto the hope that it could be better. jeffrey: while all this plays out, michigan central is now a prime example of a growing, and, says architect richard hess, welcome trend in urban design. >> today, for the first time ever, there is more work in the architectural community on existing buildings, on adapting existing buildings, than new construction. it's been a huge swing over time.

but there are so many benefits. >> those include sustainable building practices as well as ties to community history. and speaking of history, there's a hope to bring back train service to michigan central one day as well. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in detroit. ♪ geoff: we will be back shortly, 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. ♪ for those of you staying with us, the late show's stephen colbert and his wife evie are sharing the ingredients that make their partnership work, especially in the kitchen.

amna nawaz met up with them earlier this year to discuss their new cookbook, "does this taste funny?" here is a second look at that conversation. amna: at new york city's porch light bar -- stephen colbert: i have never been interviewed in a bar before. this is nice. >> what is this dessert? amna: over a spread of southern specialties -- >> biscuits and honey. amna: stephen and evie colbert talk about their shared love of their shared hometown, charleston, sout carolina, where they first met in their 20's and inspired this book. the book, a compendium of everything from seafood specials and party food to desserts and drinks, started coming together during covid. the colberts, along with their three mostly grown children, were locked down together in their charleston home. the family turned their focus to a joint project, compiling recipes of the food they loved and the stories behind it. >> it's as much about your family history as it is about the food. is that fair? >> yeah. it's about the lives we live to

-- we lived growing up there, not just the food. >> when we started, we gathered up recipes we have fed our kids for years but also reached out to family members. one of the things that was fun for me was i worked on it with my mother. we would go hunting. she cannot remember. for example, her pickled shrimp recipe. we made it for her four times. she kept saying that's not quite right. stephen: the book is dedicated to evie's mom not just because she was a great hostess and cook of her own, but because we were writing this book near the end of her life. >> she was not well so i would be with her and it was something else to talk about, which was nice for her and for me. i think neither one of us knew where we were headed in the future, but it gave us a moment to be together. amna: food is at the heart of major moments for the couple, including when they first met.

you talk about how you knew she was the one you were going to marry. did you cook for her to woo her or no? stephen: no. i don't think i was very good. there's a recipe in charleston. it's a shrimp dip but we call it shrimp paste because everything in charleston has to have an old name. our family made shrimp paste in the recipe was terrible. the first thing i made for evie was trimmed paste, not the most attractive sounding dish. i use canned shrimp. it was terrible. >> there were budget constraints. amna: the first meal evie cooked for stephen, cheese biscuits. stephen: her family would make thousands of cheese biscuits. >> it's a family recipe. my mother did it every christmas all year long. it was her go-to. someone is coming over, you can put a plate of those out. like on our first date, i wasn't ready. stephen: so i went into the bar with her dad. >> you have to make them white.

stephen: you, miss. lovely to meet you. >> lovely to meet you. amna: the book is not their first collaboration. that came during pandemic lockdowns, when evie jumped into to help stephen host of the late show. >> we call it the ed sullivan's island theater. amna: was that your first professional time working together? >> it was. >> we were terrified. i was terrified. >> it really was. there were funny moments that were slightly stressful where he would turn to me and say something like, i cannot hear tom hanks, and i would say i don't know what to do. stephen: because she was my crew on the couch with a headset and all these wires around her. she's like, i don't know what buttons to push. >> we won by numbers you have never even heard of. we got smeventeen percent, 100 didgeridoo. amna: stephen colbert is back to doing what he does best, bringing levity to a heavy time

and sometimes heavy topics. is there such toxicity around the discourse sometimes? do you find that it's harder today to be funny about what's going on in the world? stephen: it is a gift to us that we get to do the jokes for the audience and realize we are not crazy and these things are also resonating with the audience, but toxicity itself is worth making fun of. the fact of how bad things are is something you have to make fun of. >> is it the kind of thing where he leaves it all at work, or do you talk about these things at home? >> we talk about it a lot. >> we have always been news junkies. >> we have always been news junkies. but we do talk about it. stephen: tbs news hour, number -- pbs news hour, number one. >> how are you? >> the late show on cbs is number one among all late-night shows, some of which are struggling with the changing landscape. audiences may come to colbert for the laughs but seem to be

staying for more. >> we have to learn more about trust and peace and learning about each other rather than -- amna: rare moments of engaged conversation like this from his recent interview with nancy pelosi. stephen: as you can see from the continuing protests out there, that answer is unsatisfying to some people. >> there were these pro-palestinian protesters, and she said i cannot hear what they are saying, and you took a moment to make sure they heard the questions they were asking. why? stephen: i want to be respectful to my guests, but i promised the people who protested during the first act that i would ask the questions if they would listen to what she had to say. also, there's no way to move on from a subject unless you address the subject. amna: that feels like something you may have learned in 30 plus years of marriage. stephen: yes. it is good to address the subject. >> and listening. what you did so well at that moment, that is what conversation is about. we have to listen to the issue that's bothering someone so you can respond to it.

i think that's also in our marriage. you have to listen and be able to respond, and i think we have managed to figure out how to do that. stephen: sorry, i missed some of that. amna: there are more collaborations and laughs to come as the two run a production company together. such a pleasure. >> cheers. ♪ geoff: there's a lot more online, including our pbs newsweekly program that looks at some of the biggest stories from around the world this past week, from the civil war in syria to cyber threats stemming from china. you can find that on our youtube page. and be sure to watch washington week with the atlantic tonight on pbs. moderator jeffrey goldberg and his panel discuss pete hegseth's imperiled nomination to be

secretary of defense and biden's possible use of preemptive pardons. and on the next pbs news weekend, how tree farmers in north carolina overcame the devastation from hurricane helene together trees to market and even send one to the white house. that's tomorrow here on pbs. and that is the newshour tonight. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us, and have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson, and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive

together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >> this is pbs news hour west, from the david and ribbon signs at weta in washington, and from our bureau at the walter

cronkite of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪ >> you are watching pbs.

jeffrey: will pete hegseth and his mom convince key republican senators that he's a changed man? donald trump is standing by his choice for secretary of defense, but is there an expiration date on this nomination? tonight, nonstop drama around trump's cabinet picks, as a former republican standard-bearer says goodbye to washington.