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. amna: good evening. geoff: on the news hour tonight multiple people are killed in a mass shooting at a christian school in wisconsin adding yet another community to the list of those embroiled by gun violence. amna: we are in a syrian town where the uprising that toppled assad began.

as that nation charts a new path. geoff: and in his first news conference since the election, president elect donald trump details his agenda. announcer: 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 leonard and norma klorfine and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. the william and flora hewlett foundation. four more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to support a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and

institutions. ♪ ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "news hour.” at least two people were killed and six others were injured at a private school in madison, wisconsin, this morning. amna: the suspected shooter was also found dead at the scene. officials told the associated press she was a 17-year-old female student at the school. authorities are now investigating her motive, and another american community is

reeling from mass gun violence. in a tragic scene far too familiar in america, police this morning rushed to respond to reports of an active shooter, this time at the abundant life christian school in madison, wisconsin. police say a teacher and a teenage student were killed. two other students were in critical condition this evening. madison police chief shon barnes. >> to be honest with you, i'm feeling a little dismayed now, so close to christmas. every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. these types of trauma don't just go away. and we need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened. and, right now, my heart is heavy for my community. amna: officers say the shooter, who they also confirmed is dead, was a teenage student at the school, a small private institution in a residential madison neighborhood serving 390 students from kindergarten

through 12th grade. chief barnes said that officers did not fire their weapons today and found the suspect, who used a handgun in the attack, dead inside the school building when they entered. a motive is still unknown. this year alone, across the u.s., more than 150 people were killed or wounded in at least 83 school shootings according to cnn. at a reunification center set up by police, students' families gathered for the latest updates. bethany highman, parent: i had to get here as soon as possible. amna: bethany highman's daughter attends abundant life christian school. bethany: i bring my daughter to school knowing well that this happens in the world, that people are struggling. and i pray for my daughter's safety. >> i hoped that this day would never come in madison. amna: this afternoon, madison mayor satya rhodes-conway delivered this plea to the rest of the country, as her city becomes part of a growing list that no community wants to be a part of. satya rhodes-conway: it is not

something that any mayor, any fire chief, any police chief, any person in public office ever wants to have to deal with. and so i will ask our entire community and our entire country to do whatever we can to make sure that no public official ever has to stand in this position again. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy we news hour west. here are the latest headlines. in the french territory of mayotte, where officials say the worst storm in almost a century has devastated the archipelago. the main airport and hospital were damaged and access to food and water are limited. french president emmanuel macron said he will declare a national morning period and will visit mayotte soon. william brangham has this report.

william: as cyclone chido thundered across mayotte on sunday, locals cowered in fear. the eye of the storm took a direct route over the two tiny islands between mozambique and madagascar. >> it was the wind, the wind blowing. and i was panicked. i was screaming because i thought it would be the end for me. william: john balloz took this video after surviving the storm. the official death toll is only about a dozen so far, but officials fear hundreds or even thousands might be found dead as the storm clears and relief and recovery efforts begin. nearly 320,000 people live in the densely populated 144 square miles of mayotte. the french military has a large presence on nearby reunion island, another french territory. soldiers and aid teams deployed from reunion, while the french interior minister made his way

to mayotte to rally relief workers. >> there are still mountains to move, so everyone needs to mobilize. everyone needs to be at their post and be professional. no panicking. no rushing. william: on reunion, arnaud danilala was still waiting to hear if his brother and other family members in mayotte made it safely through the storm. >> when you see houses destroyed, you also see a lot of dead people, so it could be a member of our family. so, yes, we're worried about that. william: mayotte is the poorest french territory and the poorest place in the european union. in brussels today, the french foreign minister said he would be asking for help from the e.u. to rebuild. >> all my thoughts this morning are with our compatriots in mayotte, who are suffering the tragic consequences of the disaster. the government and state services are fully mobilized to provide support, reinforcement and security. william: for the "pbs news hour," i'm william brangham.

stephanie: in the days other headlines, health officials in gaza say that more than 45,000 palestinians have now been killed since the start of the israel-hamas war. family members held funerals today for some of the 13 people killed in an israeli airstrike on a school turned shelter in khan yunis. hospital officials say that six children were among the dead. israel claims that hamas fighters were using the shelter as a command center. across gaza, palestinian civilians, lamented the death and suffering caused by more than 14 months of war. >> we have nothing to do with everything that is happening to us. we did not do any wrong in order for this to happen. innocent people die who aren't connected to what is happening, children, women, babies. a boy is born and, two or three days later, we find him as a victim. stephanie: gaza's health ministry says the real death toll may be higher than 45,000 because bodies are trapped in places that medics cannot

access. the ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count. separately, israel's defense minister said today that negotiators are closer to a cease-fire deal now than at any time since a temporary cease-fire took effect in november of last year. two men were arrested today on charges they exported sensitive technology to iran, used in a drone attack that killed u.s. service members and jordan earlier this year. three army reserve from georgia were killed and dozens of other service members were injured when the drone crashed into their living quarters. one defendant, a dual iranian-american citizen who worked in a massachusetts-based semiconductor company. the other is an iranian citizen, arrested in italy and now faces extradition to the u.s.. ukrainian and u.s. military officials say some north korean troops were killed or wounded while fighting alongside russian forces this weekend.

12,000 dprk soldiers have joined the effort in recent weeks. ukraine's military intelligence agency says 30 north korean troops were killed or wounded in the kursk border region, where russia has tried for months to repel a ukrainian incursion. the white house added that north korean troops are now on the front lines of the war. in canada, the country's finance minister is resigning from the cabinet, raising further questions about the political future of prime minister justin trudeau. chrystia freeland cited differences with trudeau over how to confront donald trump's threat of tariffs as a reason for her departure. freeland also served as deputy prime minister and had long been one of trudeau's most powerful and loyal allies. her sudden departure further isolates trudeau, who is facing calls from within his own party not to seek a fourth term. trudeau says he plans to stay in his role into the next election, which must be held before october.

back here in the u.s. new , jersey's governor says that drone detectors have found "little or no evidence" of anything dangerous or threatening from a series of suspected drones spotted in the skies above his state. phil murphy also called for congress to give local officials more authority to deal with the drones. they were first spotted in mid-november and have sparked growing fascination and frustration ever since. yesterday, senate majority leader and identify the aerial drones. >> is not a bird, it's a plain, it's a drone. and when it comes to drones, people in the new york area and all across the country have more questions than answers. stephanie: national security officials have stressed that the drones do not pose a threat to public safety, nor do they appear to be signs of foreign interference.

a new york judge denied today president elect trump's bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed. the judge rejected trump's claim that a supreme court ruling granting him immunity for official acts applied to the case. the jury convicted trump in may for falsifying records related to a $130,000 payment to adult actress stormy daniels. trump's lawyers are pursuing other arguments for dismissing the case. a former fbi informant has pleaded guilty to lying about a bribery scheme involving joe biden and his son hunter. aleksandr smirnov admitted to a felony charge related to the made-up story, as well as tax evasions stemming from a separate indictment. smirnov had told his fbi handler in 2020 that the bidens had received $5 million each from executives at the ukrainian energy company burisma back in 2015. that false story was central to a republican impeachment inquiry

in congress. smirnov faces up to six years in prison. he will be sentenced next month. former tv host carlos watson has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison over charges related to his failed start-up ozy media. the 55-year-old was convicted last summer of conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges. prosecutors had accused watson of playing a leading role in trying to deceive ozy investors and lenders by inflating revenue numbers and hyping up deals that were not finalized or even real. watson has denied any wrongdoing and has challenged his conviction. still to come on the news hour, how ceos of many major companies are trying to curry favor with the incoming administration. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political headlines. an arizona farmers are forced to adapt their agricultural practices because their main water source is drying up.

>> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: for the first time since he fled the country, he ruled with an iron fist and the willingness to kill his own people to stay in power, former syrian president bashar al-assad was heard from today. in a statement from exile in moscow, assad said -- quote -- "at no point" did he consider stepping down or seeking refuge, but said he was evacuated from syria by russian forces after he left damascus for his family's hometown near syria's coast. geoff: assad also said that the country has, in his words, fallen into the hands of terrorism. that's a reference to the forces that led the lightning campaign that marked a new chapter in syria's rebellion and now apparently leads that devastated nation.

but the seeds of that revolution were sown just to the south of damascus in the city of daraa by students and young people back in 2011 as the arab spring took hold across the middle east. special correspondent simona foltyn reports now on how the city that fostered uprising now celebrates the deposing of a dictator. simona: this is where it all began, the writing on the wall that sparked a revolution. in early 2011, mouawiya syasneh, then a 15-year-old student, scribbled a prophecy on the walls of his school in the southern city of daraa. >> the first wall we wrote on was here. we wrote "down with the regime" and "freedom." and on that wall over there, we wrote, "it's your turn, doctor.” simona: the title doctor referred to assad, an ophthalmologist. the graffiti, sprayed on both the school's inner and outer walls, was an unimaginable act of protest in assad's repressive syria. >> when we were little, our

parents used to tell us, don't speak about politics. the walls have ears. simona: but mouawiya and his friends had been inspired by the arab spring. strongmen had already fallen in egypt and tunisia. little did they know that they'd be the ones to predict, albeit much later, assad's overthrow. >> we didn't think it would lead to this. we were watching the protests in tunisia, the freedom that the regime had fallen. so we wrote, "it's your turn, doctor," on our school walls. but we didn't expect it to erupt this way. simona: the graffiti was quickly erased by authorities, the pupils arrested and tortured. >> i was in prison for 45 days. there were a lot of different types of torture, beating, electrocution, any kind of abuse you can think of. we were tortured a lot. simona: it was the government's cruel treatment that fueled the anger across syria, exploding into calls for systemic change. after his release, mouawiya went on to join the armed opposition. >> we want security and safety

to return to syria and that we rebuild it with our hands. we defended our land, our country, our honor for 14 years, and thank god we remain steadfast and prevailed. simona: now, students in daraa can flood the streets without fear of arrest and torture. the city of daraa is where the syrian uprising began. and, today, people are once again protesting, but not against the new government. they're enjoying their newly found freedom of expression and they're celebrating the overthrow of bashar al-assad's regime. >> this is a protest of victory. we got rid of the tyranny of bashar al-assad, the pig. thank god we got rid of him and life has returned. and, god willing, syria will be rebuilt. simona: for the first time in their lives, they can stand freely in their squares and raise their voices. >> now life is great. before, you would go to damascus. you were afraid.

you would go to daraa, you were afraid. our country was condemned. now we can go anywhere we want. simona: and that's exactly what they do. public squares are brimming with all that was suppressed for decades, the voice of justice getting louder as they chant. many approached us, wanting their opinions heard, keen to speak for the first time with western television. mohammed is an economic student at the university here. he looks forward to finally leading a normal student life. >> our ambition was to wield a degree, that our weapons would be knowledge and the pen. we didn't want to bear arms and fight, but this regime forced us to do that by arresting and killing innocent people and children. simona: in the mosque from where the first protest emerged in 2011, rebel leaders gather for a prayer. yassin al-nassan is a commander in one of the many rebel factions that emerged to fight

assad's brutal crackdown. he has just returned from idlib after years of exile from daraa. >> we went to idlib after big pressure on us to evict us from this land. we wouldn't have left otherwise, but we started to organize ourselves and to prepare ourselves for the return to our land. simona: yassin al-nassan left daraa in 2018 as part of an ultimatum: stay and lay down your arms or transfer to the northern province of idlib. what may have looked like a defeat at that time became an opportunity that paved the road to victory. the factions united under the leadership of hay'at tahrir al-sham, or hts, the leading armed opposition group that controlled idlib before it launched its surprise offensive earlier this month. >> the offensive was a surprise for others, but not for us in the north. we were waiting for it to start, but we chose the right time. simona: now all the factions

will become part of the ministry of defense. >> there are no more factions. there will be a proper organized army which will incorporate those who volunteered to defend this country, and we will finish with the factionalism and chaos. simona: indeed, the power struggles that weakened the opposition in the past appear to have diminished. inside the city's main government complex, fighters from the south and north mingle with one another. >> yesterday, the guys from the north came and we merged with them. and now we work together. simona: anas al mahamed is from daraa and the commander in another rebel group. he appears to recognize the leadership of hts. >> we tried many times to overthrow the government, but we didn't have the capabilities here, neither the weaponry nor the organizational capabilities, so that we could achieve what our brothers and sisters achieved in the north. our people in the north had enough time to train and prepare for this powerful work. simona: it remains to be seen how long this unity will last. but, in daraa, where the uprising began almost 14 years

ago, there's a firm desire to put down the guns for good. for the "pbs news hour," i'm simona foltyn in daraa, syria. amna: now, from the far south of syria to aleppo in the north, where we find our special correspondent, leila molana-allen, tonight. she and her team also spent time in latakia on the coast earlier today. so, leila, as we heard from ousted president bashar al-assad for the first time today, tell us more about what exactly he had to say. leila molana-allen: so, indeed, this was the first time that anyone in syria has heard from him since, as everyone thought, he fled on the 7th of december, when it became clear that rebels were about to take damascus. everyone thought that he got on a plane to moscow with his family, but he has released a statement today claiming that actually he went north to latakia, that's the alawite heartland, the sect that the assad family is from, and went to a russian base called hmeimim with his allies there, hoping to regroup and firm up those lines with the syrian armed forces. but he says, when it became clear that all the armed forces

had laid down their weapons and the rebels were taking the entire area, the russians evacuated him out on the sunday. now, he says that he never had any intention to flee his country, that he's always supported his country and never sold it out, and that he only went to russia because it became clear that nothing more could be done in terrorism, as he calls it, these rebels had taken over the whole country. now, he closes by saying that he doesn't, it seems, plan to come back because, once terrorism has taken over a country, there is no place for leaders there, but that he hopes that one day syria will be free and independent again from these rebels. of course, many people in syria would say that for the first time in more than half-a-century, syria is free and independent of the assads now. amna: and, leila, tell us more about that alawite heartland in which you spent time today, where the assad family is from, and where, as you say, he passed through as he fled damascus on his way to moscow. what did people there tell you about how they view the fall of the assad regime?

leila: so, latakia is this area on the coast. between latakia and tartus, there are multiple russian bases, so it's an area where the russians have reinforced and, of course, supported the assad family and the regime for many years now. it's also where the assad family comes from. they come from a little village called qardaha, and we went there today in latakia district. and, in fact people there weren't mourning the family at all. the tomb of bashar al-assad's father, hafez, has been burnt to the ground and it's covered in graffiti from rebel fighters, and there were people asset-stripping the assad's family house, simply taking what they had to get them through the winter. because what people there say is, we are incredibly poor. the alawite minority that he says he supported actually, other than his immediate family and supporters, he left us all to rot here, incredible poverty that we saw. he put us against the other syrian people, so we couldn't support them, and said that the sunnis would come and kill us like isis had, and yet actually he did nothing for us and we're glad to be rid of him and we want syria to be reunited again. amna: meanwhile, the sunni rebels who overthrew the assad regime now have to set up a government, actually run a country. how is that process going, leila?

leila: so, this is a big question, of course, because what's happened is, this incredible rebel sweep through the country, but they don't have that much manpower. part of why they were so successful is because essentially the syrian regime forces laid down their weapons. many of them were conscripts who didn't want to fight in the first place and couldn't stand up against these rebels. but they swept down. they don't have enough manpower right now to run the whole country, to man the whole country. so they're going to have to make decisions pretty quickly about whether they're going to bring other groups on board, potentially bring former soldiers on board, potentially work with the kurds in the northeast. we are starting to see a little bit more organization. when we came through the border from lebanon a week ago, there wasn't a soul on the syrian side. hts has now said that, from tomorrow morning, all the borders with turkey, jordan and lebanon will be closed on the syrian side until they have managed to make some sort organization to have visa stamps again, to have people manning those borders. we're also starting to see more checkpoints popping up now, where people are searching cars. these fighters are allowing people through quite freely, but they are checking who is traveling. and one of the reasons, of course, is that they're trying

to apprehend people from the assad regime's time who are responsible for crimes against the syrian people. and that question of justice is going to come in pretty soon. how will justice be administered? we have seen a couple of administrators from the regime tackled and dragged through the streets with violent treatment. hay'at tahrir al-sham saying, we don't want that, we want proper justice here. and just a few little concerns starting to pop up about this liberalization agenda, people not sure if it's really true, some women starting to report problems, some female judgesto y fighters they won't be allowed to keep serving. now, that could be individual fighters, but pretty soon the commander of hts, ahmed al-shar'a, who has renamed himself from his former jihadi name, is going to have to make some decisions about how he's going to institute discipline among these fighters if they're going to properly organize the country. amna: special correspondent leila molana-allen reporting from aleppo, syria, tonight. leila, thank you.

today, at his first news conference since winning the 2024 election, president-elect donald trump spoke about a number of his policy priorities and answered questions on a wide range of issues. geoff: despite the potential u.s. ban of tiktok next month, mr. trump said he had what he called a warm spot in his heart for the popular social media app. that's after winning a larger share of gen z voters than he expected in this year's election. and that's as the chinese-owned app asked the supreme court today to block that law that could result in a u.s. ban. amna: when it came to foreign policy, mr. trump declined to say whether he'd spoken with russian president vladimir putin since the election. but he did reiterate his goal to end the war in ukraine as quickly as possible, adding that ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy should be prepared to make a deal. geoff: and he criticized the biden administration's recent decision to allow ukraine to

fire u.s.supplied long-range missiles into russia. >> i don't think they should have allowed missiles to be shot 200 miles into russia. i think that was a bad thing. i don't think that should have been allowed, not when there's a possibility -- and certainly not just weeks before i take over. why would they do that without asking me what i thought? i wouldn't have had them do that. i think that was a big mistake they made. geoff: mr. trump also weighed in on a defamation lawsuit he settled with abc news for $15 million. the suit followed an abc segment earlier this year in which george stephanopoulos said mr. trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer e. jean carroll. a new york jury found him liable for sexual abuse. amna: the $15 million will be contributed to trump's future presidential foundation and museum. mr. trump was asked about the settlement and whether he plans to file similar suits against other news outlets or individuals. donald trump: i think you have to do it because they're very dishonest. you need a fair press.

and the press is -- no, i see others. i have a few others that i'm doing. i'm going to -- as an example, we're bringing -- i'm doing this not because i want to. i'm doing this because i feel i have an obligation. amna: following this all closely is new york times reporter david enrich, whose upcoming book "murder the truth" explores challenges to press freedoms. david, welcome to the "news hour." thanks for being with us. david enrich, author, "murder the truth: fear, the first amendment, and a secret campaign to protect the powerful": thanks for having me. amna: so let's start with that abc news settlement. they're paying $15 million in that settlement, plus a million dollars for mr. trump's legal fees. they also added an editor's note on the interview page web site. it reads thusly: "abc news and george stephanopoulos regret statements regarding president donald j. trump made during an interview by george stephanopoulos with representative nancy mace on abc's 'this week' on march 10 of 2024.” david, how strong a case did mr. trump have in this lawsuit? and how usual is a lawsuit like

this in the first place? david: well, lawsuits like this have become increasingly common. and this is a tactic that trump decades ago began pioneering. and he has just been banging this drum more and more loudly ever since. and it's a tactic that's caught on, especially in maga circles, but really, politicians, business leaders, companies, big organizations are increasingly using defamation threats and defamation lawsuits as kind of a cudgel to attack unfavorable news coverage. and the reality in this case is that, according to everyone i have spoken to, trump's case against abc news seemed not great. and there are very strong protections built into the first amendment and how it's interpreted by the supreme court that give the media and others a lot of leeway when they are scrutinizing powerful individuals, no more so than the president-elect of the united states. and it's basically meant to prevent exactly this type of lawsuit. so i think abc had a pretty good chance of prevailing in court if

they had wanted to let it go that power. amna: my understanding is, the bar for defamation in particular is high for public figures. so what do we know about why abc did decide to settle? david: that is a very good $15 million question right now. and it seems like -- based on the reporting we have done and just talking to people, it seems like they were just very reluctant to have a long legal battle with the president of the united states, which is understandable, right? but it also sets the precedent, potentially, that it really could embolden other political leaders, including trump himself, to really double down on this tactic. so i think there are a lot of people in the first amendment community and certainly in the media that were very surprised and quite troubled by this decision to essentially concede this to trump so early on in what could have been a yearslong legal fight. amna: you also heard there mr. trump saying today that he might go after other platforms, other

individuals, including social media influencers in the same way, not just journalists, so suggesting a much broader use of these kinds of lawsuits. what's the potential impact of that kind of statement? david: well, i think it potentially sends a really chilling message to anyone who wants to not only scrutinize or criticize the president, but really anyone else who is influenced by trump. i mean, already we have seen in the past couple of years a real explosion in the use of legal threats and lawsuits against not just journalists, but everyone. and it's not just people on the right going after people on the left. this is at times a bipartisan trend, where litigation is seen as a solution to shut people up. and i think that's something that we are unfortunately probably going to see a lot more of in the years ahead. and it's not something that is just the mainstream media that's going to be affected by, potentially. and we have -- there's -- as trump said today, there are -- it's possible he would go after

people with huge followings on social media or on youtube, things like that. so i think it's potentially -- the ramifications of this are possibly quite broad. amna: well, specific to news organizations, we should note that mr. trump has another pending lawsuit against cbs news' "60 minutes." he said today that he might think about suing the des moines register as well. is there legal precedent that we should be thinking about or considering for how these kinds of cases might be handled? david: well, the most important legal precedent is a supreme court case from 60 years ago, new york times v. sullivan, which basically created a very high threshold for public figures like trump to prevail in defamation cases. the problem is that -- or maybe not the problem, but the fact of the matter is that, in recent years, trump and many of his allies, including two supreme court justices, have expressed a willingness, if not a desire, to reconsider that 1964 decision. you and so that really -- there's the possibility here that not only will trump and his

allies start bringing more and more of these cases, but that some of the historical protections against these cases having a chilling effect are going to start being chipped away at by the -- by federal courts. amna: that is david enrich of the new york times, author of the book "murder the truth.” david, thank you for your time. really good to talk to you. david: thanks for having me. thank you. ♪ geoff: during his press conference today, president-elect trump also discussed how ceos and business leaders from wall street to silicon valley are rushing to meet with him and build personal relationships in the weeks before his inauguration. mr. trump took note of just how different a tone it has been compared to 2016. >> the first term, everybody was fighting me. in this term, everybody wants to be my friend. people want to get along with me this time. well, they have gone through four years. and it wasn't easy for me, but

it wasn't easy for them either. and that's a great thing, though. getting along is a great thing. geoff: to break down why, we're joined now by brian schwartz, white house economic policy reporter at the wall street journal. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. geoff: so you actually wrote about this for the wall street journal in a piece with the headline "the week ceos bent the knee to trump.” whether it's apple ceo tim cook, mark zuckerberg of facebook, amazon's jeff bezos, what are these ceos hoping to gain or perhaps trying to prevent? brian: well, it's those few and many more have been reaching out and engaging with donald trump since his election day victory, along with his advisers, right? and most of it feels like this kind of first move to cozy up to trump as he prepares to be sworn in as president. but when you talk to people privately about this, many executives have concerns over trump's proposed tariff policies.

he's been talking about that in throughout the campaign. he talked about that at the press conference today. and it's this idea that he's going to slap tariffs on goods coming from china, possibly from mexico and canada. and, keep in mind, many of these ceos either do business in china or they know people or close to business leaders who do. and i think that's pretty notable. so my sense on this is just this is just the beginning of kind of an engagement with trump directly, not necessarily entirely with his advisers, but there are some meetings going with his advisers as well, to start the process of trying to push back on some of these tariffs that are likely to come. geoff: what is fundamentally different about this kind of outreach that we're seeing now, these ceos to donald trump, as compared to ceos with presidents past? brian: well, you could compare it directly with president joe biden. you just didn't see this. i mean, let's be very clear about it. yes, he had various meetings that were all out in the open with ceos. you name them, jamie dimon, and big bank ceos would meet with joe biden, and all that's out there. but they did not have this much

of a close relationship with the president. it just didn't happen that way. and with donald trump, that's been a different story since 2016. these executives have had direct access at times to the white house. you mentioned somebody like tim cook. i mean, after the first election in 2016, cook was in regular contact with trump. the same thing now recently, as we reported, with jeff bezos. he's been in contact with trump and people close to him like jared kushner. so the reality is, is this type of system was just not in place with joe biden, and it is with trump as he starts to head to the white house. geoff: and your recent reporting looks at the limits to that kind of influence. tell me more about that. brian: well, when you look at the tariff situation, for instance, there's been for weeks this effort to try to talk with trump or talk with trump's team on how to kind of maneuver the president-elect when it comes to tariffs. and the message from advisers to corporate leaders or their consultants has been really clear.

right now, as of today, trump's not getting off this track of using tariffs, at least from a negotiating or a threat perspective, right? we don't know exactly if he's going to follow through with every single tariff threat that he's put out there. but trump and his team have made it extremely clear that, right now, tariffs are going to be some form of a policy tool in this next administration. and for corporate leaders, that could be a problem, because, if you're looking for some sort of exemption from these tariffs, and there were exemptions in trump 1.0 for certain companies, there are still question marks as to exactly how you're going to approach this administration and make the impact that you're looking to have when it becomes to avoiding the impact of those tariffs. geoff: and, brian, the president-elect has also vowed to expedite federal permitting for companies that invest at least $1 billion in the u.s. and, today, he announced the japanese company softbank was making a $100 billion investment in a number of u.s. projects. what are the implications and possible complications of an approach like that?

brian: yes, i listen, i saw that, and i was pretty -- i was surprised when i saw him put that out on truth social, because it seems like that would have to be a move that it would have to be approved by congress. i understand republicans control congress, but that would have to shift the type of approval process we're alluding to here to a degree that i don't think is -- can be done by purely executive order. and it's interesting. we have some reporting where doug burgum, who's very close to a bunch of oil ceos and he's the nominee to be interior secretary, when he saw that while with his team, he privately acknowledged that he was really impressed with that decision. and i think -- in that announcement. but there are still questions as to whether trump is going to be able to move ahead with this and enact such a change to the approval process, particularly around land grants and around oil and energy regulations surrounding those types of decisions. geoff: yes, advocacy groups see this as making an end run around environmental protections. brian schwartz of the wall street journal, thanks so much for being with us. brian: thank you.

geoff: trump's cabinet pigs have been meeting with senators on capitol hill and his team has been preparing the agenda. we turn to amy walter and tamara keith. good to see you both. mr. trump's nominees have been on capitol hill trying to woo senators. and president-elect donald trump was in mar-a-lago and he said he believes rfk junior, if confirmed, will be less radical then you would think. bring us up to speed on where the nominees stand in terms of the transition and the republican senators they have been meeting with. >> the nominees have been making

the rounds. it is standard. some things are very normal, and making the rounds to different senators trying to answer their concerns is a thing that happens every time there is a new nominate. what is different is that republican senators do have concerns with some of these nominees. they are not necessarily voicing them publicly as much as you might think in part because there is not a lot to be gained from that. and so they are talking a lot about wanting these nominees to have a fair hearing. and having a confirmation hearing, a fair hearing, i think that what we don't know yet is what are those hearings going to be like? and are any of these candidates going to take all of these questions they are getting and realized -- this is all going to be out in public later.

we expect donald trump will get the cabinet he wants but maybe not the entire cabinet. and someone like rfk junior is an interesting case. he is pro-choice. that is something that republicans could have concerns with. we have not seen a massive lobbying effort on that from conservative groups but it could happen. we saw mitch mcconnell say that polio is real and the polio vaccine saves lives. you are seeing hints of pushback. geoff: and there is the question of -- what do the american people make of this? and 55% of those polled lack confidence in donald trump assembling a good cabinets. -- cabinet. this is remarkable as the same voting public that delivered him

the electoral college on popular vote is turning around saying we don't have any confidence in him putting together a well-qualified cabinet. what is that about? >> we have to be careful with the wording of polling. i like to look at a time series of polls. cnn came out with a poll asking a similar question but phrasing it differently. basically saying -- do you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the transition? these numbers go back to bill clinton. a couple things you can see. the first is his approval of how he is handling it is lower than any other president who has come in in their first term. this is not his first term so nonconsecutive terms, we don't have any history with that. we have seen people like barack obama coming in with an approval

in the 80's. what is different though from the first trump 1.0 is that he is getting much higher marks this time around. right after the election in 2017 he was only getting 46%. by the time we got to january, only 40% approved. he is at 55 percent approved. a lot of it is based on -- it feels normal. it didn't in 2017. nothing was normal then. rolling this out it looks very familiar. i also think that tamra is right, while there seems to be some cushion for donald trump and the focus has been all on republicans, i think we have to remember that we have no idea how voters are going to react

one -- once they see these people themselves. right now they are just meeting with republicans. but democrats get to ask questions also. and the response of voters -- i did not know about a lot of this and that will be critically important. geoff: there is a difference geoff: there is a difference one between trump 1.0 and trump 2.0. the first administration and second. what are the fundamental differences? >> the first time around they were flying by the seat of their pants. they were figuring it out as they went. they did not know where the light switches were in the white house. they were figuring it out and it took about a week until they came out with the first offer at a travel ban, keeping president trump's promise.

a travel ban for people from seven muslim majority companies. -- countries. it was immediate chaos at the airports peered the department of homeland security officials did not know what they were supposed to be enforcing. the executive order took effect immediately. the government did not know what they were defending. ultimately it was thrown out by , the courts. it took almost six months to have that in place. they have learned. they have spent the last four years planning for what they would do if they were back in the white house. they have written executive orders. they know how to pull the levers of government in a way they didn't before. and donald trump is also different. he is more confidence. he knows he doesn't have that much time. he is immediately a lame-duck. not running again. he has a narrow margin in the house and the senate. and they intend -- they talked about shock and awe last time,

now stephen miller is saying it will be like a bolt of lightning. geoff: the fact that donald trump is a lame-duck, how does that change the dynamic and the fact that the american electorate is used to him? he is a known quantity. >> and that is important. we look to the first midterm election as a good marker as to how the american public is judging the president. and that president readjusts on the fly after the results of that election. if you are donald trump, whether the republicans gain or you -- four lose seats in the house and senate is not impacting your future legacy. what will influence his legacy is what will happen in the first two years. and the thing that is more

likely to get in his way then control of congress or people within his own party rejecting him is the courts. so many of these things will end up being handled by the courts. >> we could see him issue an executive order taking away birthright citizenship. it is in the constitution but it doesn't mean they won't try to test it and get it to the courts. in many cases the court is the goal. geoff: and there is the question of job performance. he gave an interview with time magazine talking about grocery prices. he said it is hard to bring things down once they are up. he is in tune with this issue -- >> i'm looking to bring prices down. the border and more than immigration from they like to say emigration, but i break it down more to the border but i want to work on the border and

groceries. geoff: and when he was campaigning he said a lead me and prices will come tumbling down. it is the difference between campaigning and governing. how might democrats make this a liability for him? >> as the biden administration learned and democrats learned, the president doesn't have control over the price of stuff and prices are not coming down even as inflation comes down. we won't go back to the 2020 costs of these grocery items. what we are seeing in the data is that democrats are more pessimistic about the economy even though nothing has changed in the last month. looking about how they felt about the economy in october and now. republicans are more optimistic. where independence sit will be critical to watch. they are a little more optimistic but not dramatically so. if you are a democrat you are not just looking at if prices go

down but what are the priorities for republicans. legislatively you have tax cuts and trump on record saying we will do more cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals and that will be a challenge for republicans to message. geoff: amy walter and tamara keith, our things to you both as always. -- our thanks to both as always. ♪ amna: yuma county, arizona is known as the winter salad bowl. from lettuce to cilantro to broccoli, the region produces almost all of the leafy green vegetables consumed in the u.s. during the winter. farmers rely on the colorado river. as the west contends with drought and climate change, they have had to adapt. stephanie sy has worked. >> i'm going to guess five days ago.

stephanie: on a crisp november morning and introduction of how to grow vegetables in the sonora desert >> right now we would be harvesting this crop at peak majority -- maturity next week. stephanie: the chief agricultural officer jb smith, which grows vegetables on 8500 acres in yuma county, arizona. i'm standing in the field of lettuce but am surrounded on all sides by desert. how does this make sense? >> very fertile soil. this valley -- they are all formed by the river. stephanie: that is the colorado river which starts in the rocky mountains and once flowed so abundantly to this region that it would occasionally flood. >> there is all of this sediment from flooding over the years. it built up these very rich soils in this area. stephanie: that plus the consistently mild and sunny winters in southern arizona has made lettuce growing growing a cash cow.

>> you could say that you want to grow them in florida which is great if they don't get hurricanes. there are other places that keep trying but they cannot grow consistent quantities and the quality that the country needs. so if you want lettuces in the wintertime or broccoli, you have to come to the desert. >> these sprinklers are something we have implemented in the last two years. reporter: the farmer said the winter climate and irrigation practices produce a better harvest and better yields. >> being able to have such consistent whether is what allows us to micromanage our farming practices. reporter: meaning it is sunny all the time. >> we average three inches of rain a year. but consistent sunshine is the trick. reporter: but the climate is creating problems. the colorado river is major reservoirs reached historic close a few years ago.

a multiyear drought continues to squeeze supply and the west. -- in the southwest. scientists say rising temperatures have supercharged the drought in the west causing the last two decades to be the driest in at least 1200 years. at the same time the average flows from the colorado river which these crops rely on our down by about 20%. for several decades farmers managed to get more crop for drop by adopting newer technologies to stay ahead of the >> dwindling water supply. >>if you look at the statistics, we have increased production for the last 30 years. high density beds and different genetics and satellite driven equipment and we are producing more crop per drop than anywhere in the u.s. reporter: the law of the river governs how the colorado's

rivers are allocated with most going to arboriculture. farmers have senior water rights meaning if there were ever mandated cuts they would be the -- they would be among the last to be forced to comply but the river is so depleted that even they are starting to worry. the head of arizona's agricultural department -- is there a sense that those rights are in peril? >> there is a lot of competition. and on a lot of different levels. reporter: scarcity has led to heated negotiations between states and tribes and between growers and growing cities. the river is over allocated. >> their will, point where the water availability would be so finite that it might have come

down to a choice of growing crops or shuttling water off to the different cities that get colorado river to keep them alive. reporter: he says yuma has long had a target on its back. >> it has some of the oldest and highest priorities on the colorado river and yet they are at the end of the river. right over there it goes into mexico. you can have the best rights in the real but if the water is not flowing down to you, there isn't a lot you can do. reporter: in 2022 when we saw it got near deadpool, was there panic in the area and was it a wake-up call? >> it was a wake-up call to the whole region. there was a call from the bureau of reclamation have to reduce water use by 20%-40% which is a huge thing. yuma agriculture put together a plan to try to navigate and not

have fallowing farmland take land out of production as the answer but to be more efficient with water and continue raising food because it is a national security issue to have our own food supply. reporter: this last year's snows in the rockies may of bought farmers time but john dinsmore said he is not burying his head in the sand. >> the science that leads us to the new practices is helpful as well is the science that gives us a forecast. it can be scary but you have to have hope. reporter: he says they will continue to take it season by season for as long as the winter salad bowl is on the menu. for the pbs news hour, stephanie sy in yuma, arizona. ♪ amna: and that is the news hour for tonight.

geoff: for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thank you for spending part of your evening with us. announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- ♪ supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions -- ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein

studio at weta in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> you are watching pbs.

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