♪ anchor: tonight, after a chaotic week in congress, the president signs a pending bill that avoids

a government shutdown. it has been a year ravaged by war, leaving millions of children in urgent need of help. and how climate change is pushing a rare suit be she's of dear to the brink. >> the longer you live here, the longer you want to protect them. ♪ >> major funding has been provided by -- and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your station by viewers like you. thank you. anchor: good evening. president biden signed a short-term spending bill this morning that avoids a government shutdown. final congressional approval came just after the midnight deadline. the measure extends current government funding through mid-march and provides billions of dollars in disaster relief to hurricane survivors. lawmakers refused a core demand to raise the nation's debt limit.

our congressional correspondent followed every step of this process on capitol hill this week. why did this take so long? why was this so hard? >> such a good question. i think in the end this was an inexperienced speaker who went way too far in making commitments to democrats that he did not know he had the votes for. we know the vote of approval from trump is critical in congress. speaker johnson spent days negotiating with democrats. that bill was much maligned because of its size. but a lot of the things added to that bill were bipartisan policy in nature. there were a few things in there that some republicans cannot stomach. speaking to committee chairs who are republicans, they said johnson did not keep them on formed on what is going on. he was talking to democrats when

he did not have the votes to do it. it was like one member of the family agreeing to buy a house on a handshake and not telling the spouse that they are doing it not having the money to do it. anchor: we are just a few weeks away from republicans claiming the white house, house, and senate. what does this tell us about republicans? reporter: it tells me that this is a group that has within it core constituencies that are not going to compromise. that has to do with the debt and the deficit. we sell republicans voting against that. it is important to note that this is a group who is saying they don't want to compromise on spending. they might be able to risk a shutdown. they stood up to president trump because they believe these things.

this is a group that again and again risks turmoil. the other thing we learned is that president trump has a sway but not all of this way necessary to push dozens of republicans away from their core values. we saw fiscal conservatives vote with their principles versus voting with trump. anchor: one of the voices who helped sink the first big deal you spoke of was elon musk. what is his role say about all of this? reporter: such a fascinating conversation. in the halls of congress, this was the conversation that senators were bringing up. how influential is he really? he was the first rock in the avalanche that toppled that

initial bill. he had a very powerful role in that. we also soy limitation to his influence that was important. no one really listens to his tweeting. lawmakers told me it only goes so far. they are not taking them seriously and anything he says. anchor: what should people be taking away from this past week? >> we have had an exhausting year. but voters still want washington to act in a different way. people need to be ready for disruption to continue. speaker johnson cannot lose anymore republicans.

january 6 is today congress is supposed to certify the election. it is possible that could happen without a speaker. anchor: thank you very much as always. reporter: you are welcome. anchor: germans are mourning the victims of an apparent attack at a christmas market. church. when a man drove his car into a crowd of people. the suspect surrendered to police at the scene. he has lived in germany for 20 years. a review of social media accounts said he shared and to islamic statements. >> is now important that we clarify the situation. and that this is done with the most precision and accuracy.

we must understand the perpetrator, his actions, his motives. investigators say the attack may have been motivated over treatment of refugees. a missile fired by yemen landed in tel aviv overnight. they say they were aiming for a military target. the idf says they hit a playground and a school. lindsay von is back on the slopes. she finished 14th in a race in switzerland. she had knee replacement surgery this year and started competing again. baseball legend ricky henderson has died. he was major league baseball's all-time stolen bases leader. he played on nine teams over 20

years. he would've turned 66 on christmas day. still to come, a surge in cases of pneumonia in young children. how a young -- warming planet is threatening a tiny dear in the florida keys. >> this is pbs news week and from our studio in washington. anchor: the israeli army says it delivered food and water to gaza today. the crisis continues to deepen. i spoke with someone who

recently traveled to the region. what stands out is the most graphic manner. 70% of buildings have been damaged. disease is rife. talk about the situation in gaza. the war has been going on for more than a year now. is there more than just helping things at the margins that unicef can do now? >> everyone has been told that around five hundred trucks a day are required. that is the number.

in november, we saw an average of 65 per day. when there is an occupying power , they have the responsibility to facilitate aid. but when there is political will, we saw children vaccinated against polio. that shows what can be done. anchor: the children who do survive in gaza, you talk about the horrendous death toll. children needing care but not getting it. those who survive, but i have permanent effects? >> there are thousands of children who require medical evacuation. they somehow survive. when these children get to hospital, they are getting the most incredible care available.

they need medical evacuation. i met a girl recently. her house was struck. there was a terrible fire. her mother was mostly unconscious. they had medical evacuation denied multiple times. finally around six weeks she received medical evaluation but it was too late. she died in jordan after being therefore a matter of days. as heartbreaking as that story is, it is not unique. it is a story told hundreds of times across gaza. it is so unnecessary that these children are not able to leave. it is not a logistical problem. it is not a technical problem. it is simply a problem of political will. anchor: have you talked to the israelis or is it possible to talk to them about this to see

if they can somehow alleviate the suffering? >> there have been discussions of the highest level. no, no answers. we see children who somehow survived her in this attacks dying. anchor: the situation in lebanon, are there more restrictions there on the ability to help? >> much less so in lebanon. our response with partners and government was enormous. we are not restricted by security or roads being bombed. that enables us to reach children with lifesaving support. anchor: i know you did not go to syria on this trip but unicef has teams there. what do you hear about the situation on the ground? >> you have millions of children who have gone through years of war.

whoever takes power there, they have to prioritize the children. that simply has not happened for many years. there is a willing population ready to rebuild despite the horrors they have endured. anchor: what other situations and individuals from what he saw in gaza stand out in your mind? >> so many. if i think about my recent trip there, there was a seven-year-old girl. i met her in her tent. her home was destroyed in an air raid. her foot was badly injured. her foot had to be antedated. in any other normal scenario, her foot could've been saved. i could physically watch her coil when she would hear planes or drones. she is still living in that hell as we speak. those cases are thousands and thousands there are so few moments in gaza that bring any

joy. i met a little boy in a hospital. because i had seen so many horrors, i got a sense of it. he had a spark in his eye. he had some burns from a fire. he was not too badly injured. i saw the adult with him, a neighbor. the boys entire family had been killed. mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, grandparents. i never thought i would hear a story like that where the entire family apart from the child had been killed. i have now heard that story more than a dozen times in gaza. everyone of them breaks your heart. but they are no longer remarkable. anchor: is it possible to say that there is a single greatest need or a thing that has to be done or should be done first? >> it is a cease fire.

it all starts with that. as we speak, there is still bombing. it is an average of 35 girls and boys killed every single day. for 13 months. anchor: thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ anchor: just-in-time for the holidays, a rise in cases of a contagious lung infection across the country is causing alarm, especially for parents of young children. we speak with a infectious disease specialist about what is behind the spike. reporter: the colder months usually mean more time indoors and higher rates of respiratory illnesses like the flu and covid.

now the cdc is tracking uptick in cases of walking pneumonia. the respiratory illness usually sickens school-age children and teens. this year, toddlers are being hit the hardest. an infectious disease specialist joins us for what is walking ammonia and how does it -- no moan yet and how does it differ from others? >> essentially is causing a more mild course of illness. if you think about of a typical case of pneumonia, the walking cause is caused by a micro bacteria. you will see a gradual onset of a few days. you start to feel poorly. you start to get a cough. you start to get a fever. over a few days, you get a fever, headaches, muscle aches, and then a pretty bad cough. reporter: what we know at this

point about why toddlers and other young children are being affected so much this year compared to previous years? >> when you speak about mycoplasma, every three to five years there is a cyclical increase in cases. normally no matter what happens, every three to five years we see a rise. we really did not see that as expected during covid. right now because we have a higher number of susceptible people, you tend to see that there is a lot of higher cases of severe illness. that is why we are seeing it a lot in the toddler population as long -- well as the classical school age population. reporter: talk contagious is this? >> it is pretty contagious. when you look at how it affects families. if it enters a family, you expect that about 80% of the other kids in the family will get sick and 40% of the adults

will get sick. probably all of us classically will get this three times in our lifetime. one time during our childhood, one-timing we are adults, and probably one time when we are elderly. reporter: given that we are talking about a post-covid spike , are we seeing similar increases in other respiratory illnesses as well? >> definitely. the other thing we have seen this year that has had a rather high spike in cases has been whipping golf. -- whooping cough. it is something we get vaccinated for. typically that will have an increase in the number of cases every four or five years. we have seen a very high increase in the number of cases. probably about three or four

times over what we expect. probably because of a lack of increased number of cases and the challenge to the population during the covid years. reporter: what should parents be looking forward to spot whether this is walking ammonia or something -- pneumonia or something similar to the common cold? >> and the common cold, you're really not going to have a fever. a kid with mycoplasma, you are more likely of complaining about feeling achy and you will see more run down. typically it will be associated with a fever. when the fever persists a little bit longer than what you would expect from a virus, that is what you might worry about. when you see a child acting run down, has a fever, it is time to call your pediatrician and see if they need to get tested and if they would need antibiotics. reporter: we know some measures

like washing your hands can reduce illness. does that still apply for other respiratory illnesses? is it things people can do to mitigate these cases? >> definitely. as we enter respiratory season, whether you talk about covid, the flu, this ongoing mycoplasma outbreak, the other viruses we tend to get, all of those commonsense measures should be employed. washing your hands will be imperative so you are not taking viruses you pick up on a table and take it up to your face. making sure that you are covering your cough if you are sick is definitely a big thing. it is really those commonsense measures that will protect viewers from all of these illnesses. from the viruses we tend to see around this time of year. reporter: thank you so much for

explaining all of this for us. >> thank you for having me? ♪ anchor: there is a type of white tailed deer that is unique to the florida keys. it has been on the endangered species list for nearly 60 years and only about 800 of them remain. it's habitat is on the growing threat from rising sea levels. we have the latest on our series saving species. reporter: these tiny deer roam freely across front yards and gaze on the roads in the florida keys. >> they are very gentle. the longer you live here, the more you want to protect them. reporter: it is the smallest subspecies of the north american white tailed deer. they are about the size of a golden retriever. >> they only come to about 30

inches at shoulder height. they are substantially smaller and they are only down here in the florida keys. reporter: the first written record of them came from a 16th-century spanish shipwreck survivor. they currently live on about two dozen of the keys 1700 islands. swimming and waiting between them and living in the mangroves , pine rock lens, and freshwater wetlands. it is those very habitats that are under threat. >> until now, these animals have been doing well. it is only now that this is being undone. reporter: th ek key deer was in danger of disappearing in the 20th century.

the construction of a highway in the 1920's cut their habitat in half. poachers from cuba were a further threat. that changed with the creation of a national refuge for them in 1957. now a warming planet threatens that progress. the sparkling waters that surround the florida keys may be a major tourist draw, but the national oassociation insists t5 years time, sea levels around parts of the keys could rise up to seven feet. rising sea temperatures will increase the severity of storms and hurricanes, both of which damaged the deer's habitat. >> we are not getting our arms around the climate change challenges nearly fast enough.

i expect to be standing in a foot of water. and then to be waist deep. at that point there will not be viable key deer populations in the florida keys but they will probably be rescued by bringing them into zoos. i think that is a very sad outcome for a very interesting, iconic florida keys species. reporter: even with rising seas all around, for yokels -- locals , it is still a species worth saving. >> some estimates are that the earth is losing thousands of species a year. is one little deer that is already very limited going to make a difference? biologically, probably not. physically and personally, living among them, i think yes. it makes a difference. i think we should try to preserve them.

♪ anchor: that is pbs news week and for the saturday. for all of my colleagues, thank you for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding has been provided by -- >> friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible for all. with no long-term contracts from a nationwide coverage, and 100% u.s.-based customer service support. consumer cellular, freedom calls. ♪ >> 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 station by viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> you are watching pbs.

[rick] bermuda, a beautiful remote paradise set in turquoise seas. this tiny territory in the atlantic ocean is full of rare treasures, coral reefs, pink sands,