good evening. geoff gref i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. and syrians return to their home.

geoff: one billionaires effort to buy the effort to keep it up and running. >> autocratic surveillance-based secretary nolg. it is doing damage. amna: and widespread anger and distrust of the health insurance industry after the health care's c.e.o. >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the "newshour," including jim and nancy and the robert and virginia shiller foundation, the judy and peter, upholding freedom by spreading

democracies at home and abroad. >> and fostering informed and engaged communities. 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. amna: barely a week after president assad fled the country, syrians welcomed the first friday prayers of the new

syria today. geoff: there are many unanswered questions but one thing is for certain and syrians are returning their homes from the southern regions to the airchg chent city of aleppo. there is uplayings. and we are in aleppo. you were there. what did you hear from the people you encountered. >> quite astounding to be on the streets and see the level of celebration and the people who are out there who have been and those who have come home. aleppo was the first major city that the rebels took a week ago now and extraordinary fall and the first couple of days were difficult because the russians were bombing here and now there is huge freedom and optimism and

friday prayer is important and many of the rebels and vast ma diswrort having been giving thanks and waving flags and wonder around and lifting up children and taking photographs and taking selfees with western reporters and anything goes and this is the first friday prayer. >> people are now returning to homes they fled years ago, how is that going? >> a huge amount of joy as families reunite as they come home and discover their homes in pieces and they fled of heavy bombardment and the countryside of damascus and i have been

going through those areas and they explore the remnants and remembering the family members and the experiences they had there and picking through the rebel and crossing borders that were impossible. and powerful stories from people when cities began to fall last week and people said we can go home and they said you don't have the right i. d. and it's not over. it's you can drive down road and overwhelming joy as people are able to go home and fled. >> how is the international community engaging with this major change in syrian governance. >> the international community

has completely abandoned syria. that red line if assad used chemical weapons america would be forced to act and nothing was done. there has been little reaction. and people feel abandoned and there is an opportunity to get involved in a new syria. three key issues. the first is the is on the terrorist list. and the sanctions and syrian refugees and been suggestions from the u.n. special envoy and reconsider that because they have been trying to say we will continue to be liberal here and embra brace all minorities and will be difficult to run in syria. sanctions similarly, syria has

suffered so much, the economy is in dire straits and people haven't been able to leave their homes. removing those sanctions will bring prosperity which is the best chance and people have opportunity and that's what they support rather than being disgruntled. it is another switch and incredibly complicated from the u.s., u.n. and e.u. and they are invested with trade and borders and lots of engagement and agreements going on behind the scenes and the e.u. countries and turkey and if they can create a peaceful situation where the economy can recover and people have good lives they

will send syrian refugees back home. many of them want to go home if it is a safe place. >> special correspondent reporting tonight from aleppo. >> thank you. amna: . stephanie: here are the latest headlines. the consulting firm mckinsey will settle a federal investigation into its work into purdue pharma. it worked with purdue to improve sales including a 2013 to turbo charge sales of oxycontin. the company apologized saying our past work for opioid manufacturers will be a source of regret for our firm.

the lawyers said it will deter from other companies. >> this was not hypothetical or marketing. it was a strategy and executed and it worked. the strategy resulted in oxycontin that was unsafe and new unnecessary. >> mckinsey won't do any work on controlled substances for a period of five years. the state of texas is suing a doctor in new york for mailing abortion pills. paxton said he prescribed drugs. the lawsuit seeks thousands of dollars in damages. it marks one of the first challenges to shield laws in states like new york designed to

protect physicians who provide prescriptions on-line. eanl american who was impripped in syria, the associated press said timmerman has been flown to jordan and he was freed after rebel groupsous ted assad and opened the prisons. the 29-year-old was detained after crossing in a pilgrimage. russia launched a barage of 200 drones and ballistic missiles across ukraine and one of the heaviest bombardments. ukrainian shut down but many shot homes. people took refuge to escape the

strikes that have been more as winter sets in. russia forces have gone to pok kosk and lies in ruins and residents flees. >> how would one live here. no heat, no like that. we will leave tomorrow. the russians have positioned themselves behind our house. >> it is an important transportation and supply route for the army. it would be a biggest set back. president macron has selected bayrou.

and that was prompted by fierce budget dispute. he has been in french politics and cleared of embezzlement over parliament funds. carl congresswoman pelosi was hospitalized. the 84-year-old was traveling as part of a delegation when she fell down the stairs at the pal ace. a spokes person said she will be unable to attend the remainder of the congressional visit. the drinkware brand stanley has recalled 2 1/2 million travel mugs. the recall is the switch back and trigger models. the company says it can shrink

when exposed to heat. 38 people worldwide reported burn injuries. 11 of them wired medical attention-t contact them. and the aing chent artifact as jesus christ crown of thorns was returned to notre dame and saved from the flames that destroyed the cathedral. the twisted brand of branches is encrusted and its authenticity has never been proven but it is an art artifact since the king. the public can view it started january 10. we examine the critical that turkey and its neighbors can play. david brooks and marcus weigh

in. and the artist known for her portrait of michelle obama talks about how she approaches her work. >> this is the pbs "newshour". the fall of assad is rippling throughout the middle east. turkey announced it will reopen its embassy tomorrow and anthony blimpgen has been traveling in the region. and he reiterated what the u.s. hopes to see in syria. >> in all of this, what is happening in syria has importance and significance with iraq and along with many other

countries in the region will make best efforts to support the syrian people as they emerge. >> the greater middle east, we turn to james jeffrey, ambassador and special during the trump strition and wilson. so the end of the assad regime is not only. syria's neighbors and turkey respectfully and they helped to overthrow it. what does it mean? >> what it means for turkey and just like for the people of syria as we saw and for everybody else around syria is a very good thing compared to the

awful situation we had in the region and particularly in syria before. but turkey it shares the desire to have the islamic state elements still in syria destroyed and keep iran that is now out, out of the long-term to diminish russia's influence but turkey wants to get the 3 plus million refugees back once it is stabilized and to ensure that the p.k.k. offshoot oural jie -- >> the kurdish ally. >> they don't want to form a state within the state unless a threat to turkey and it is to secure the southern border. >> when it comes to the kurdish and that is the closest ally to

fight and what is going to be the policy? >> jake sullivan made it clear when this came up we have a deep and he used the word resolute position to work with them as long as a, there is no effective central government in syria, and b, we need to fight against the islamic state. and we never signed up for a kurdish state be holden to the p.k.k. in northeast syria. they have to work this out. we, however will help them. amna: secretary blinken made a surprise visit to iraq and that with the stressed that syria should not become a platform for terrorism. is there a model for syria?

>> there is a resolution, 2254 that kerry negotiated with the prime minister and laid out what tony blinken is saying a democratic inclusive reconciled syria with a new constitution that can live in peace. iraq has achieved that. the problem is and this is where iraq is interesting. iraq is under pressure from iran from its proxy network with syria not being on iran's side, iraq has new options and will be interesting to see how we work with the iraq yeas. amna: turkey has been a big winner and iran is a big loser

and they are backing assad for years, how do you like at iran snr. >> iran is a looser and comparable to 1973 and the bib regulates of kuwait and not only lost in syria and gaza and lebanon and hezbollah and it lost in its war with israel. it's only ally is the houthis. amna: the proxies through hamas and houthis and what does it mean for israel? >> israel is in an extraordinarily secure place. i think the first indication of that will be a rapid movement if hamas or what is left of hamas

will play along for a ceasefire because israel doesn't have to deal with gaza because it has other rules chasing its shred. amna: and just a matter of weeks, the president-elect tweeted, he wrote, syria is not our friend and united states should not have anything to do with it. do not get involved. you serched in the trump administration, how do you take that message? >> hesitant to predict what donald trump will do. that's not very different from his position when i was working with secretary pompeo. i would argue very productively. i would argue we are going to

stay out of it of not doing another iraq. trillions of dollars, hundreds of -- massive boots on the ground. he twice decided we shouldn't be in syria, but he was persuaded by his advisers and cross alone and our interests are significant. he kept those troops there and the other policies from the trump administration continued by the biden administration has helped produce the syria and collapse we have seen today. amna: thanks for your insight. geoff: congressional lawmakers

told apple and gool go they must remove. a federal appeals upheld a law to sell it in the u.s. or face a ban. the app is used and lawmakers argue that the chinese relationship threatens data privacy and national security. there are lots of questions about what will happen to the app or who can buy it. frank is leading a group of investors and executive chairman of mccourt. tiktok bietdance says it has no plans to buy the app and unlikely to approve the sale. so why do you see an opening

here? >> we believe the government's case would be upheld and we believe when push comes to shove the app will be sold. it won't be sold with the chinese ag gore right. that is international prohibit and we are interested in buying u.s. tick tok and we have a stat to integrate the user base. we think there is a high likely likelihood there will be a sale. and hopes it won't be shut down and president trump doesn't want to see a ban either. geoff: what conversations have you had?

>> we are opening the lines of communication now that the judges have made their rulings and we just want to make sure that the president-elect knows there is an alternative here that is a real win-win. the chinese government can win and keep it and president-elect trump can fulfill a desire to stop the app from being banned and the american citizens can be protected and remove the national security threat and the user base on tiktok can enjoy the. geoff: predicting what users want to see, doesn't that make tiktok less desirable? >> it makes it less valuable and

the thing is great but so is democracy and so is civil discourse and information ecosystem and gets us smarter. so the point here is, we want to move the user base over to a new stat that is not driven by a top-down. the current architecture is where we are surveilled and they are applied and where we are manipulated and the national security threat that has become and we don't want it nor do we need it. we don't think the internet should be and new upgraded internet where we control our identity, our data and relationships. and we get to do it.

geoff: china changed its laws back in 2020 to block the sale of chinese technology to an american buyer. have you had any conversations with officials in beijing? >> we would like to have a conversation with them, but again, we are not buying the back end here. we are not interested in replicating a top-down technology that takes advantage of american citizens. we would like to stop the exploitation. this tiktok problem is to turn it into ain opportunity to use this moment to have an internet. and people can choose and in exchange they get a free app or

an internet where they can be empowered and reclaim their dat datedda and control it and receive data for it. geoff: what is this version? >> very similar experience in terms of what the app feels like and how it is used. but in this new version, tiktok 2.0, they will be in charge of their data and own their relationships andmon advertise their data. before we made this bid, i had 20 with the biggest fleuners. i wanted to know what they thought about the app and how it might be improved and we learned from them a few things and what we learned is they are not thrilled of how it works because

they don't understand why some of the content they put on tiktok becomes viral and other very similar content they put on tiktok doesn't go viral. they have no idea what is working and why. and more importantly, they don't know who their community is. geoff: frank, thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. the murder ever nighted health care c.e.o. has a similar anger with the american health care system. william has more. >> today in a new york city time op ed the c.e.o. of united

healthcare parent company know h system does not work as well as it should and we understand people's frustration. no one would design a system that we have. it's the system we have that people feel is the system we are rigid. wendell potter worked for the insurance company cigna. great to have you on the program. we shouldn't have to stipulate this. murdering a health care executive is completely unacceptable. online discourse following that murder is ghoulish and ghastly. as someone who spent years working within that industry what has your reaction been to see this angry and fury? >> you know, it hasn't surprised

me. it was a matter of time. it is tragic this circumstance is. someone is murdered. but this has been building for a long time. in the industry, i knew people didn't like us or the work that we did and for good reason because we as a matter of business denied necessary care for years and years and years. and also people paid money out of their pockets before coverage is kicked in. and people aren't getting the care despite increasing premiums and i can assure you they spent an enormous amount of money to keep it in place because it waist rewarding for the shareholders that own these companies.

>> there have been some people who said they don't condone the shooting, denial of claims and financial impedements is its own kind of violence, what do you think of that? >> there is proof to that. i have said something comparable. this was a violent act. every day across america and this has been the case, i don't think it is hype earlbole that these companies have acted with violence. because they have through delays and denials have shortened the lives of many americans and made americans suffer because of these delays. i talked to patients all the time who told me about having to trying to get the treatments from their doctors but delayed

for months and months and months in many cases and it is debilitating pain but these companies are able to keep a distance from that and sadly, we are seeing it bubble over into ways i never seen before. >> the murder was not a customer of united united healthcare but it is the nation's largest insurer and has the highest rate of denying claims ahead of the industry average and that rate of denials has been increasing, do you have a sense fy that is? >> the rate of denials because of pressure from wall street. brian thompson was in new york to speak at investor day which is the most important day on insurance company's existence as united health.

so is cigna. i planned those days and it is an opportunity to tell shareholders to plan to reward them with the profits or hope to achieve in the future. that's what is moist important and trying to satisfy wall street's expectations every three months, that means you have to take some actions that are going to result in people who are lowering their health plans and not getting meddling care. they have one of two waist. one is to reduce or control the unit cost of goods and services. so they focus on reducing a utilization or making it more difficult to get the care. >> we live in a capitalist and these are for-profit companies.

voters have been presented with single payer medicare for all options and never taken on a groundswell of support really and how do we take on the change if we are having to operate in this for-profit system we are operating in? >> one of the ways we are operating and one of which the government would play in a significant role, these companies spend money on propaganda campaigns to scare people away from reforms. i often said that my title should have been vice president of propaganda. i spent enormous on lobbying to protect what is a status quo. it hasn't been that many years

we had big massive corporations controlling assets to care but only in recent years these corporations move into this space. >> great to speak with you. thank you very much. amna: chris wri will be be stepping down before donald trump and sparked debate of how he should have handled his departure. we turn to the analysis. "new york times" columnist david brooks and ruth. great to see you both. i want to play for you the comments he made to the bureau

in which he announced his decision to step down in january before trump fires him. >> in my view this is the best way to avoid going deeper into the fray and enforcing the values that are so important. >> david how does leaving early, how does that keep the bureau out of the political fray? >> beats me. he had no good options and worst of all the options and people worked hard to make the f.b.i. nonpolitical and this f.b.i. is a powerful organization which is easily abused and we have these 10-year terms and the f.b.i. director doesn't turn over with

the president. and if donald trump wants to ruin that he should have to aggressively fire wray and open the door to what donald trump wants to do is not the right way to keep our institutions normal. amna: you saw the reporter on journalism in democracy i wrote, he would have had wray should have let him fire him. and your column, you wrote this. protecting the bureau and the country would be better achieved by standing up to trump and not enabling him. >> i agree 100% with david. this should be and has been an a political job. no one was fired except for one

person who was scorned by the bush administration and fired by the clinton administration after an extensive finding of wrongdoing that may look minor in comparison to some of the things until donald trump came long and he has done it twice. but wray ka pit you lated and obeyed in advanced and without imposing any cost on him. and that is separate and apart from the caliber of the person that donald trump wants to replace him with. and i think the both of us have the same attitude that isn't a nonpolitical appointment but here we are. >> this clears the path for kash patel. he has pledged to reform the

bureau and published a list of enemies in his book. david rntion do you see anything in the way of his confirmation? >> he has met with some of the key senators, but the ones he has met with, they seem fine. and my own reading of the situation is that the republicans if there are dissenters, he is the third priority, imimagine r.f.k. and pete hegseth and gabbard. what i'm curious about is how effective he will be or how they will be. what you learn being president. there is passive aggressive behavior. the burr you burst.

kash wants to get rid of the headquarters. really? you think you have the a built to do that. i don't think we will see political opposition and how the agencies respond when these sorts of people lead. >> would you take wray stepping down early and patel taking on the job. >> read kash patel, he has his enemies list in append discs b and talks about closing down the headquarters. it is going to be difficult and appropriately difficult because the men and women of the f.b.i. are professionals and sworn to uphold law. and kash patel can't say david brooks. they have to have a predicate to do that and there are standards.

but hoping that those standards can hold up against a sustained political onslaught across the board is a dicey situation and i agree with david about the likelihood of kash patel and probably will be confirmed, i think it is unfortunate we are here. >> new takes on polling and half of all u.s. adults said they are not confident of him picking well qualified people. 17% said they approve. and on his pick for health and human services, 30% approve, 42% disapprove. what do you take away from those numbers? >> hegseth and kennedy, that

means a lot of people who voted for trump are not on board for these guys. that is what to watch. 17 million people who voted for trump in primaries and 79 people voted for him. a difference between 17 and 74. and they didn't vote for this. and wanted to get back to the economy of 2019. and trump overreaches his mandate and he tries to deport for people living in this country and how much outcry and public opinion will serve as a break. the stock markets when he does some things, but there are not an interm and i'm thinking there will be external resistance for

people who didn't sign up for all of this. >> i think for this reason. the trump voters signed up for disruption but i don't know if they signed up for this much disruption. they didn't know it was matt gaetz, tulsi gabbard and r.k.k. junior and one of the things in that poll, 2-10 said they have little to no confidence in trumps choices and 4-10 only moderate. amna: i want to ask you about and the conversation i just had on the thompson murder and his alleged murder is a folk hero and not in the dark corners but

in mainstream discourse and what you make of that conversation and what you are thinking as you watch it unfold. >> represence i believe. this is beyond the bounds. we don't kill people in this country. i am struck by the class dynamics. where brian thompson -- his dad worked in a grain elevator and goes to ohio state and comes from a middle class background and elite east but the kid who grew up who went to a fancy prepare school and he is the outsider, it is a cartoon of the way some of our politics have drifted with the various extremes and i have my family

had coverage by united healthcare. but it is the simple fact their profit margin is 6% which is low. other people in the industry have margins 1%. the people are not the insurance companies but the providers and doctors. and maybe spread some of the rage around. amna: get your take on this as well. >> one of the things that alarms me here is the degree of rage. we had moments of rage against the health care machine and coverage. but i worry that the this disturbed young man and the parent belief that people are treating his behavior and this

cold-blooded murder is not just at anger at the health care system and what kind of road range nation and that should scare all of us. amna: thank you so much. >> she has painted portraits of michelle obama. but much of her work is filling in absences. senior arts correspondent talks with the artist and the first major exhibition covering her career "canvass." >> they look at us and we at them. a young man in stars and stripes and cowboy hat.

>> my figures they are not painted. these aren't passive portraits but steady there to geaz upon you. and we should find our humanity in each other. >> the first major survey is at the san francisco museum of modern art. some shows scenes at the beach or the playground or individuals in brightly colored clothing. "americans subject lime." >> excellence of what it is to be an every day american and make the people go around. all of these people are parts of that.

because we can think of all of the big names in the big h of history but the hill h makes everything. >> and recently as her studio in jersey city, new jersey. and she mixes her pains to concoct her color. >> this is my happy place. >> in a storage place ready for use. >> this is my favorite color. eat your veggies. mint green. >> i see. >> here she has created the works. most prominently, her portrait of michelle obama in quiet contemplation, the first black first lady toe receive such a

commission and briana taylor shot and killed by louisville police in 2020 on a botched raid in her apartment. >> she was an every day american girl and living her life in the pursuit of the american dream. >> most of her work is of every day people and can be called portraits they are not portraits of individuals she is painting but characters she is imagining. black americans rarely. you refer to them as arcotypes. >> because of that absence, they have to represent so much more than themselves. i think they have to. the girl next door. the farmer, for example. they are standing in history top represent the stores of those

that came before them and the stories of those that will come after them. >> you refer yourself as an american realist. >> yeah. i was doing what andy wyatt does and harper is doing. i'm painting an american moment. and within that, there is the black american identity. >> which is not there for the most part. >> the work in our history is a corrective narrative but a history of a celebration. >> she casts people. some from life and some from casting agencies and dresses them in clothes she collects. >> this is my costume selection, what i used in paintings.

>> she found this dress on ebay. >> i like the flowers, the color, the story that it could tell. >> the story it could tell. >> the clothes tell the story in the painting. >> and several paintings made her own versions of iconic photographs and this from 1945. now two black men in a work titled "for love and for the country." note the skin tones, which she starts from shades of gray. >> when i'm mixing the color of the complexion, from a darker gray to a later gray. i use warm colors and i mix it with the black and the skin

glows. >> the result of her choices recognizable black people but in a subtle crucial way that are not about race first. >> maybe we don't have to start there but start with humanity and a girl with a red wig. she is a grunge girl. she was living in her authentic self. that is the universalism and people should look that may not look like them but feel the humanity. >> her exhibition is at san francisco's modern museum of art and the natural portrait galler

youry in washington, d.c.. >> be sure to "washington week" with the atlantic on pbz and lisa is at the desk and they will discuss how to pass donald trump's legislative agenda. >> how hurricane helene caused the shortage of i. v. fluids. >> we want to take a moment to honor very special to this broadcast. behind every camera and smooth transition and seamless movement, one person behind the scenes our stage manager loretta rogers who is retiring after 38

remarkable years. >> she was one of the very few women of color working in television production. over the years she had a standard for excellence in a number of different roles from this broadcast to high stakes political debates, from performances at the white house, to concerts at the u.s. capitol and much, much more. since 1992, the production union shop steward. >> loretta has been the steady hand guiding us through breaking news and interviews always with grace and always with precision and quiet strength that will forever inspire us. >> we at the "newshour" are what we are. you care about this team and this legacy will live on.

>> on behalf of us at the "newshour" and the millions of viewers, we thank you. this program is stronger because of you, loretta. >> we will miss you so much. and retirement, relaxation, joy and lots of new adventures. thank you. thank you. [applause] >> and that is the "newshour" for tonight. >> on behalf of the entire "newshour" team, thank you for joining us. >> 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 and dear and camilla george smith. working for solutions to during

water change. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. 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 from viewers like you. thank you. this is pbs "newshour" west from the studio at weta in washington

and the walter krorchgite -- cronkite school of journalism.

lisa: in just over one month, present elect donald trump will be sworn into office again. he and his great congressional allies -- and his congressional allies want to hit the ground running. but republican lawmakers are quickly confronting divides over where to start, as well as how and when to pass