♪ ♪ amna: good evening. geoff: on the news hour tonight as emergency crews rushed to contain catastrophic wildfires

across los angeles, residents come to grips with the devastating loss. >> it is a paralyzing time because you don't know which way to go. amna: a judge gives donald trump no punishment in sentencing of the hush money case leading to his 34 convictions. geoff: jake sullivan reflects on his time in the biden white house and weighs in on the incoming donald trump administration unconventional foreign policy tactics. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- friends of the news hour including jim and nancy build their and the robber and virginia schiller foundation. the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at

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♪ announcer: 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. firefighters are making progress in the battle against a series of catastrophic wildfires around los angeles but new blazes have popped up and more than 10,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed. amna: at least 10 people have been killed and there is more dangerous ahead. california governor gavin newsom said the state will conduct an inquiry into many questions about water supply that left some hydrants unusable. we have this on the ground report. reporter: the palisades are

gone. that is a direct quote from the councilwoman we introduced you to in the p send you can see the distraction behind me. there are a few pockets where miraculously some homes were untouched but the councilwoman said there is not a single elementary school in the pacific palisades still standing. she also said there is not a lot to come back to. the water is unusable and the air is toxic. amna: so many layers of devastation. on top of all this we know california has an insurance crisis. how does it play into the rebuilding efforts ahead? reporter: there are countless residents in the pacific palisades that are either not insured at all or underinsured because many companies refused to provide fire insurance to these homeowners knowing this is a high risk wildfire area. some residents including the couple we spoke to this morning

say a have a california coordinated insurance plan of last resort which is a very expensive plan that not everyone has and they are almost surely not going to recover enough funds to rebuild. it is a real concern, what the pacific palisades will look like going ahead. the councilwoman said los angeles did not have the resources to fight the fire alone and they will not have the resources to rebuild and recover alone. amna: stephanie sy reporting on the devastating wildfires in california. thank you to you and the team. geoff: prolonged drought and santa ana winds set up extreme conditions fueling the devastating wildfires. conditions compounded by climate change and today researchers from noaa and nasa underlined that point releasing analysis showing that 2024 was the hottest year in recorded history dating back almost 200 years.

the 10 warmest years on record have occurred in the last decade. to break down the report and its implications we are joined by gavin schmidt, the director of the goddard institute for space studies at nasa. thank you for billy -- being with us. let's talk first about the wildfires because they are uncommon in the winter months. help us understand the factors that came together that contributed to these devastating wildfires in los angeles. >> fires need a number of ingredients. you need fuel that is going to burn. you need fire whether which is the dry air, strong winds that are most conducive to allowing wildfires to spread. and you need an ignition source. the climate aspect of this is very much both in the fuel load and the fire whether aspects. in southern california we used to think the late fall as being

fire season but now fire is season stretches out all year because the temperature is and the driving out of the land -- drying out of the land surface have increased. the other part is the fuel load. we are seeing a whiplash between extreme weather events like multiple atmospheric rivers at the beginning of last year and extreme dry events and it has not rained in the loss angeles area -- los angeles area for months. and all of the growth has dried out providing a perfect storm for fires this season. and now in the wintertime, when you get strong santa ana winds coming off the cold mountains into the warm basin, that has

provided an extra component of fire whether. and we are seeing the results. geoff: if our baseline is changing and these events are becoming more common, what more can we do to mitigate it? >> we can mitigate things long term by reducing the greenhouse gases we are putting into the atmosphere. until we do that temperatures will keep rising and we will keep having announcements about record warm years. the impacts of the temperature change on rainfall, seawater rise and heat waves will get worse. there are local adaptations that we can do to prevent the worst things. we can build better in the same way that we built better for earthquakes. we can build better for fire prone environments. we can try to manage things but a lot of this is beyond our

control. geoff: as we mentioned nasa and noaa rigged -- released a study showing 2024 was the hottest year on record. what does the data tell and what are the implications? >> the biggest story is the long term trends. we have warmed roughly 1.5 degrees centigrade since the late 19th century. that is about halfway to the pliocene which was a period of about 3 million years ago which was about three degrees warmer. there was no ice in greenland and the arctic forest went up to the arctic ocean and sea level was something like 80 feet higher than today. we have gone up half that distance in 150 years. what our data shows, everyone's

data shows, is we are having an impact on the climate. this is not minor but a big deal. and the ongoing trend that we see clearly in the data, it really started in the 1960's and has been relentless and perhaps increasing in the last few years , it is abundantly clear. geoff: quite the warning. gavin schmidt, director of the goddard institute for space studies at nasa. thank you for being with us. amna: a technical difficulty kept us from bringing the report filed by stephanie sy on the ground in california and here now is that reports. reporter: winds started to ease giving fire fighters a window to continue making progress on fires that burn for a fourth day around los angeles. the eaton fire northeast of the city and the palisades fire are there largest but others have

popped up including the kenneth fire in the san fernando valley. that fire prompted evacuations at last night and burned about 1000 acres before fire fighters brought it under control overnight. officials warn were then 57,000 structures remain at risk. karen bass defended the response of the setting. >> we are doing everything we can to bring the situation under control and success has been reported. that is our number one job, to protect the homes of people and peoples businesses and to rebuild los angeles. >> i knew with the way the wind was that things could change on a dime. reporter: she saw plumes of smoke coming over her home in malibu. she fled and watched through her security camera as the flames crept closer vote the feed went black. she hasn't been back yet but new

brits have sent photos that show workmen means of her house. -- but neighbors have sent photos that show what remains of her house. >> it has been surreal and deeply devastating. it is happen to so many people. with that perspective, i've been able to carry on. there are other moments where i am like -- i have nothing. everything we had is gone but for the few stupid things we grabbed on the way out. reporter: they have been staying at a hotel trying to figure out what comes next and reflecting on the community they have lost. >> it is a paralyzing time. you don't know which way to go. one thing that has hurt my heart is it seems people view the palisades and malibu as an enclave for a that can afford to use their millions to rebuild in

silly places and go about their lives. but my experience of our neighborhood is very different. people that have been there their whole lives. these are real people that of lost everything. they will have a hard time for the next months and years ahead. reporter: we are getting our first real look at the extent of the devastation here in pacific palisades. tracy park represents pacific palisades on the los angeles city council. >> what happened was not unpredictable. we already know when there is a wildfire event. our communications systems go down. we know we have traffic bottlenecks. to see the same issues repeat in what has now become the most devastating natural disaster in los angeles history is incredibly frustrating. reporter: park says the fire department's budget is

inadequate for today's needs. >> we have about the same number of firefighters and fire stations in los angeles that we did 60 years ago but our demands for service have tripled. there are 4 million people in los angeles. we have about 100 fire engines and ambulances out of service sitting in a maintenance yard because there are not enough mechanics. and in the city we need at least 62 new fire stations to meet average daily demands in our city. 62. i hope this is a wake-up call for all of the leadership in the city of los angeles that this chronic underinvestment in critical infrastructure and public safety cannot continue. this has to be our number one priority. reporter: with more than 150 thousand people still under

evacuation orders robert loomis says a nighttime curfew will resume. >> we are not doing this to inconvenience anybody. we ordered people to leave and i want them to feel confident that we are doing everything we can to secure that reporter: at least 20 arrests have been made for looting or thefts already according to the county sheriff and in addition to local law enforcement natural guard troops are patrolling streets. in a briefing today and the oval office joe biden got an update on the fires and said his administration is working with president-elect trumps team. >> they know everything we are doing. reporter: in los angeles tracy park laments the future of the pacific palisades since many residents, especially those under or uninsured may never be able to rebuild. >> the reality is that palisades will look and feel different.

god does probably end up at nash that is probably inevitable as people decide whether to rebuild. -- that is probably inevitable as people decide whether to rebuild. ♪ geoff: we start the other headlines in venezuela. madero was sworn in for a third six-year term following last year's widely disputed election. he took the presidential oath this morning and declared victory last summer though the u.s. and others recognized the opposition leader it moon go good solis -- it gonzales. >> this constitution is

victorious and venezuela is at peace. this act is possible because venezuela is exercising its national sovereignty, popular sovereignty and national independence. geoff: the swearing in comes a day after the key opposition leader was briefly detained during an anti-government protest in caracas. she posted a video slamming his inauguration. >> today maduro consolidates a coup d'état in front of venezuelans and the world. they crossed the red line that makes official the violation of the national constitution. they trample on our construction . -- they trample on our constitution. geoff: the u.s. has criticized the detention and today joined canada, the u.k. and the european union and announcing a coordinated round of new sanctions on venezuela. the u.s. raised the bounty for

maduro's arrest. the biden administration is extending humanitarian protections for hundreds of thousands of venezuelans already living in the u.s. who fall under temporary protected status. today the department of homeland security extended their stay for another 18 months. the measure affects about 600,000 venezuelans and 200,000 people from el salvador as well as ukrainians and sudanese. officials cited political uncertainties and the dangers of war in offering the extensions. president-elect donald trump tried to scale back such protections in his first term. the israeli military struck houthi targets after the drones -- after they launched drones at israel targets. thealso today the israeli

army confirmed that a body recovered from gaza was that of a hostage. israel says the 23-year-old was found in an underground tunnel earlier this week alongside the body of his father. they were kidnapped together during the hamas tovar a seventh attack. the biden administration announced new sanctions against russia's energy sector hoping to deliver a massive blow to its economy over the war in ukraine. it punishes two of russia's largest companies and entities that do business with russia. they also targeted a fleet of vessels that moscow has used two eva previous sanctions. officials say they are the most significant measures to date. but they acknowledge it is up to the incoming administration to keep the sanctions or scrap them. more than 80 million americans are underwent -- winter weather alerts as a massive snowstorm pushes across the south.

in northwest arkansas they are digging out from more than six inches of snow. officials warn of dangerous roads from missouri to atlanta, georgia. children took advantage of canceled classes by going sledding. schools were closed for millions from texas through the carolinas. for than 2000 flights were canceled nationwide as the storm trudges north and east. north carolina governor warned that people that travel will have treacherous travel. >> at this time our greatest concern is road safety. the following -- the thawing and refreezing leads to ice. geoff: the storm has already dumped more than a years worth of snow on cities like memphis and little rock. parts of the mid atlantic will also see you snow this weekend. on wall street a strong jobs report sent concerns about rates

cuts. the dow jones industrial average sank more than 700 points. the nasdaq lost more than 300. the s&p ended in negative territory. a violin made by a craftsman is -- $18 million when it goes to auction next month. ♪ geoff: it was crafted in 1714 during what is considered the violin makers golden era. he gifted the violin to the new england conservatory in boston where he had studied. proceeds of the sale would go to two student scholarships. the u.s. supreme court hears arguments about whether banning tech dock violates the first amendment -- whether banning tiktok violates the first amendment and capehart --

-- >> this is the pbs news hour from the rubinstein studio at weta in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: president-elect donald trump was sentenced today in new york stating months after a new york yuri found him guilty of 34 felony accounts falsifying business documents to cover up an extramarital affair. but granted the president-elect what is called an unconditional discharge, a sentence that affirms he is a convicted felon it faces no further penalties, fines or any time in jail. we were in court in new york this morning and joins us now. william, tell us more about this unconditional discharge. how did the judge explain his rationale for what some are calling a lenient sentence on

one hand this was not a surprise. the judge telegraphed us in a memo earlier. this is a relatively rare situation. to have a conviction of 34 convictions and faced no probation or fines. the judge in describing today said that on one hand this was a trial that was very ordinary. it unfolded in an ordinary way. the jury was selected. the lawyers gave their arguments and witnesses were heard. and a verdict was reached. but he said because of the defendant it was an extraordinary trial and sentencing him would be the same. he said if donald trump had been a regular citizen, he would've likely phased much harsher panelist meant for the -- much harsher punishment for the crimes but because he is about to become president it comes with a enormous protections of the judge said granted by the constitution, other courts and

recently interpreted again by the supreme court last year. he argued that this was the only course he could really take. but he did say the protections given to the president do not excuse it the underlying crime. let's hear more of what he said today. >> the protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. they do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify their commission in any way. the protections are a legal mandate which pursuant to the rule of law this court must respect and follow. amna: that is an interesting clarification. we should note that mr. trump was not in the courtroom. the judge had given him the option of dialing in remotely. but what did he say? reporter: donald trump connected to the courtroom via a video

link from mar-a-lago and he said what he has always said. that this was a political witchhunt and a rigged case against him. he said he is completely innocent of the charges which he argues are bogus. he denies having relationship with stormy daniels. he falsely blamed collusion between the local prosecutors and the department of justice. he said notably that the voters had been the ultimate jury nationwide and that they had looked at the case and those others against him and he said they have indicated him. >> it has been a political witchhunt. it was done to damage my reputation. and so i would lose the election. it didn't work. amna: even facing no penalties, no jail time, no fines, this is not a day that mr. trump wanted to see happen or thought should happen. reporter: he fought this in

every legal avenue q could as is his right. he appealed it to this judge and an appeals court in new york and even this week to the supreme court which rejected it last night in a 5-4 votes. there was also an unusual phone call that donald trump had with samuel alito this week ostensibly to talk about a job referral for a man that is being considered for a job in the trump administration. many government ethics experts say that to have a sitting supreme court justice on the phone with the president-elect on the very same week he is appealing to them to delay sentencing certainly raises eyebrows. again samuel alito said they did not talk about this whatsoever come it had not been filed at that point when they had this conversation. donald trump did not want this day to cokme because until it

happen he was not considered a convicted felon and now he is and that is not a label and incoming president wants a fixed to him for entering the white house. the last thing the judge said to donald trump today was -- sir, i wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office and with that donald trump's video link disconnected from the courtroom and that was the end of the day today. amna: godspeed indeed. william brangham reporting from new york city. thank you. reporter: thank you. ♪ geoff: in a matter of days one of the most popular social media apps in the country could be forced to pull the plug if the supreme court doesn't grant it a legal reprieve.

john yang is here to explore tiktok's legal battle. reporter: while the justices heard arguments over the looming tiktok ban insoutside some inflr on the steps to livestream their support for the platform. there are more than 170 million tiktok users in the united states and in last year's presidential campaign both campaigns used it to court younger voters. congress passed a law banning it on january 19 unless its parent company sells it. bobby allen covers technology g for npr and marcia coyle is our supreme court analyst. what does this law do on the 19th? the tiktok lawyer said that it would go dark. >> on january 19 apple and google will be forced to remove

tiktok from app store's meaning new users cannot download it and bytedance cannot send software updates. and web hosting services will have to sever ties meaning it will not have any cloud supports. that will be a huge problem for the people taking videos, and trying to use tiktok because it will cripple the infrastructure. reporter: what were the justices focusing on in the arguments today? >> they were focused on the reasons that congress and the administration have given to justify the law as bobby just stated it. it had to do with the fact that the chinese government, through its close alignment with bytedance, the china-based owner of tiktok, may engage in covert content manipulation as well as its collection of the data of private citizens, americans, about 100 77 million americans

and their contacts and use both of those to undermine national security. reporter: there was also a first amendment argument. >> the guts of the case is whether the law itself violates the first amendment speech rights of tiktok usa and the users of tiktok called create doors those that put content up on tiktok. -- called creators, those that put content up on tiktok. there was a lot of skepticism about the first justification, the chinese government engaging in covert manipulation of content and whether there actually was a speech interest here to look at as some of the justices said. chief justice roberts said congress didn't care about the expression on tiktok meaning the speech or the ideas on tiktok.

congress didn't want to stop tiktok. what it wanted to do was stop china's control of tiktok. he was very skeptical there was a speech right here. there were justices that did recognize there were speech rights a longing to tiktok usa and the users of tiktok that they questioned, for example, justice elena kagan questioned whether the speech restrictions were really substantial because the law itself was targeted at bytedance and its two vestige. reporter: where the justice is more skeptical of one side or the other? did they tip their hand? >> i think they were tough on both sides. but i think what resounded most with the justices were the second interest that the government offered for the law, the collection of the private

information of american citizens. justice brett kavanaugh for example said it is a huge concern now and in the future. the government pointed out that private data could be used by china in the future to blackmail future cia officers, it could be used to try to turn certain americans into espys. -- into spies. when you look overall at the arguments, that is something that may persuade a majority to uphold the law. reporter: and if that happens, if the law is upheld, is there any indication what tiktok and its owners will do when the 19th approaches? >> tiktok and bytedance are in a really precarious amount of uncertainty right now. if the law is upheld, president-elect donald trump will not yet be in office and

between january 19 and when donald trump is sworn in on the 20th, there will be a 24 hour window of limbo. i have sources in google and apple that say, we have heard from our general councils that we are not about to be out of compliance with a federal law on the books. so they are planning, those tech companies are planning to remove tiktok on the 19th. and if the law is upheld, can donald trump extend the deadline? this came up in the court today and how do you extend the deadline on a band that is already started? a lot of unknowns. but it could get really serious really fast for tiktok. reporter: at the end of last year the president-elect filed a brief in the court asking them to delay this so he could negotiate a deal. is there a chance he -- if the law is upheld, he might not

enforce it? >> he started the tiktok ban movement but now he wants to be the savior. it is within the realm of possibility that he instructs his justice department to not enforce the law. if you look at the language of the lot it puts a lot of leeway in the hands of the president. the president will be the one interpreting and instructing his administration to enforce the law so a lot will come down to what donald trump will do once in office regardless of what the heart -- what the high court says. reporter: thank you both very much. ♪ ♪ amna: on monday president biden will give a farewell speech at the state department focused on his foreign-policy legacy.

earlier today nick schifrin sat down with one of the key architects of that foreign-policy, the national, jake sullivan. reporter: today you are imposing the largest sanctions yet on russia's energy sector including two of the largest oil producers and ships that constitute that shadow fleet that senior officials say will cost russia billions of dollars per month. why are you taking that step now? >> if we had sanctioned russia's oil 18 months ago at a time when oil prices were high and gas prices were high there would've been a spike at the pump in a way that would've put pain on working people in the united states. today oil prices are lower and the oil market globally as well supplied. you have an opportunity to hit putin in his pocketbook without heading the american people and theirs. what we are giving the incoming

administration is leverage in a negotiation as they set up for diplomacy. reporter: the kremlin said putin was open to speaking to donald trump and last night donald trump said a meeting was being setup. senior officials say you don't know exactly what russia wants out of any negotiation on ukraine so is the meeting worthwhile? >> as long as ukraine is determining its destiny and we are not dictating it for it unto me d -- than to me diplomacy is worthwhile. reporter: the administration isl announcing new sanctions and visa restrictions on maduro and his team. why not cancel the licenses that allow chevron and other energy companies to operate in venezuela that provide the regime its money? >> we are trying an

approach that focuses on the individuals for the brutality and repression and she him that was the president -- and sham that was the presidential election last year. those sorts of sentients. targeted sanctions are the best way to put the pressure on and create a circumstance in which positive change comes to venezuela. reporter: if the goal is to put pressure on, surely the best way is to cut off revenue. >> we have been squeezing venezuela economically including the oil sector and it didn't work under president trump. the kinds of sanctions that were previously in place did not have the intended effect. reporter: the leader of the opposition was temporarily kidnapped yesterday. what is your warning to the regime about her safety? >> we have communicated to the regime that we expect that she will not be harmed. reporter: you said you have

taken actions in result to -- in response to chinese hackers. what actions are you taking? >> we are making it harder for china to be able to execute this. i would point out that there are two forms of threat. one is the salt typhoon and the other is the placement of disruptive malware on critical infrastructure. that could lead to physical effects if in fact there was a disruptive or destructive cyberattack against an energy grid or water system or what have you. reporter: is china capable of that? >> we should be concerned about the possibility that there can be actual disruptive or destructive effects. reporter: what warning have you given to beijing? >> very directly at very high levels we have laid out what would unfold from there in ways that i do think the p.r.c.

understands. reporter: millie's negotiators are trying for a cease-fire in gaza which would pause -- middle east negotiators are trying for a cease-fire in gaza. president trump has threatened all -- breaking out. >> if we get a deal, everyone and their mother can take credit for it. i would be happy. we are close but not there yet. reporter: president biden will give a speech about his foreign-policy legacy. i want to start in afghanistan. do you sit back today and think about how afghanistan broke down and think you could have done something about that? >> is the united states better off because we are no longer at war in afghanistan? the answer is an emphatic yes. this war would be entering its

25th year and we are much better off that is not happening. of course i think there are things we could have done differently at the time in the execution. when we decided to actually execute the drawdown of the embassy -- at the time we did not want to accelerate the drawdown of the embassy because we did not want to create a panic that would cause a collapse of the government. looking back the government collapsed anyway. therefore the obvious conclusion is, even if it runs the risk of inciting that kind of panic, you have to go faster. reporter: a new study says today that the death toll cited by palestinian health authorities, 46,000 is a dramatic undercount. is israel's response in proportion? >> hamas attacked israel killing 1200 people. hamas retreated act a civilian

population. it used hospitals, schools and other civilian facilities for military purposes. it doesn't lessen their responsibility to minimize civilian harm. for those that say cut off the weapons to israel you have to remember that sitting in my seat i was watching israel get attacked by hamas and by has bala, by the year militia groups and -- and by has bal -- has ezballah and she him militia groups. reporter: if you had given ukraine more weapons for the 2023 winter when russia was able to cede those lines, do you think you might've avoided the war of attrition that ukraine seems unable to win? >> we gave them what they needed at the time to press the advantage. here is what happened.

they ran into minefields. massive russian minefields and were never able to get through them. though minefields had been seeded long before the war began. we worked at every stage to put the tools in the hands of brave ukrainian soldiers on the front lines to protect their country. and we believe that in doing so we helped save this country and swore russia's -- and thwart russia's ambition to take it off the map. reporter: is it wise to take the nato guarantee off the table. are there others that you think could create the just peace? >> you cannot really have pees unless you have some degree of confidence -- you cannot really have peace unless you have some

degree of confidence. i think putin -- it wouldn't make him more likely to do a deal. you have in the incoming president someone who cares very much about the art of the deal and has literally written the book on it. reporter: you helped fashioned the foreign policy of the middle-class. is the fact that the middle class in the election appeared were concerned about inflation and did not choose kamala harris -- is that a sign that at the very least the argument you have been making did not take hold? >> president biden's investments are manufacturing and investment based. his investment in protecting the

united states against unfair chinese economic practices and has protection of american technology -- these are steps that will play out over the course of a decade or more. the clock on those and on the election are not entirely aligned. reporter: what do you wish you had more time to accomplish? >> the list is long. i ask myself simple questions. our our alliances stronger than we found them? yes. are our enemies weaker? yes. have we kept the united states out of work? yes. are the basic foundations of american power more robust and resilient today? yes. i believe we are handing off a strong hand to the next team. reporter: jake sullivan, thank you so much. ♪

geoff: from a day of remembrance for president carter to president-elect from being sentenced in court we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. david brooks and jonathan capehart. good to see you both on this friday. president-elect donald trump received the first ever criminal sentence for a former or incoming american president, so-called unconditional discharge in his hush money case. we are in an era where the word unprecedented has been worn down to a close shave but what should we make of the fact that donald trump will be the first president to take office with a criminal conviction? >> donald trump wanted the whole thing wiped out. in our country the presidency under the constitution as interpreted by the supreme court

has protections. we don't want to live in a society where presidents face possible prosecution for the things they do in office or on the periphery of the office. i thought making him a felon, he cannot hold a gun and there are a few restrictions there but not sitting in jail struck me as a balance between the needs of the system and the needs of our democracy. geoff: donald trump is vowing to appeal the conviction. but there are people that look at the case and say that donald trump walks away with a punishment that is less then what one would receive for a speeding ticket. >> this hush money case was the case everyone said was the -- case. of -- donald trump was indicted four times and this was the least important and yet, it is the one case where donald trump was held accountable. the one case where he was

brought to trial before a jury of his peers in new york city and was found guilty 34 times. i think that is great punishment. what is also great punishment was today's sentencing where the judge said, you are going to be president and will go to jail but you are a convicted felon. so for the rest of his life every story written will have to mention he is a convicted felon. if not on the first reference then by the second reference and that is fitting and just. do i wish the other three cases had gone to trial and he had faced accountability on those? yes, but this will do. geoff: it is striking, the proximity of the sentencing and the inauguration. on january 10, donald trump was subject to a jury verdict and in 10 days he will become the guardian of the nation's laws as he assumes the powers of the

presidency. >> that strikes me as odd. he is a precedent setter in all sorts of bad ways. i think he is probably guilty in all four cases. he doesn't respect the law. if you are someone that regards the presidency as a piece of personal property and is not willing to abide by the code of ethics we surround the presidency with, what is coming in the second term. we shall see. >> and to that point, keep in mind, who is going in the justice department with him? the lawyer that was with him today for sentencing. all of his personal lawyers are in top positions in the justice department. geoff: there was a rare show of independence from the supreme court when we saw chief justice roberts and amy coney barrett side with the liberals.

what can we learn if anything about the way the court ruled in this case and what it suggests about other cases involving donald trump? >> someone once said john roberts could've been the greatest chief justice in history if he only had a court vibe and he doesn't so he is a loan operator. amy coney barrett has repeatedly shown destines between herself and donald trump. brett kavanaugh may have shown some separation. but especially with coney roberts -- coney barrett and roberts you have some not willing to toe the line. geoff: donald trump wants to make america bigger. he has talked about obtaining greenland from denmark and wants to reclaim the panama canal and wants to turn canada into the 51st state in addition to wanting to rename the gulf of mexico.

it is unclear how serious he is. he talked about wanting to take greenland in the first administration. what should we make of this? >> [laughter] look, i'm going to take a page out of rachel maddox's book which is don't listen to what they say but pay attention to what they do. he can talk all sorts of smack about greenland and gulf of america and making canada the 51st state. but, until he actually does something, if he does try to take greenland were rename the gulf of mexico or if he does try to act on these things he is talking about, then i will take him seriously. this is what i learned from the first term, we will drive ourselves crazy if we react to everything he says. geoff: the outgoing canadian prime minister justin trudeau said -- this is all a

distraction. take a listen. >> president trump who is a very skillful negotiator is getting people to be somewhat distracted by that conversation to take away from the conversation around 25% tariffs on oil and gas and electricity, steel, aluminum. geoff: there are plenty of reasons for the u.s. to be interested in greenland given all of the mineral resources there and the fact that china dominates rare earth mineral production. is this a distraction? >> the talk of getting greenland is a distraction like invading québec. it should be said that greenland is more important because of climate change and a lot of the navigational lanes that go through there but denmark that been wonderful to the u.s. making sure our rights are protected so we have no beef

with denmark. and sing with panama. of course it would be a problem if the u.s. could not use the canal but panama has operated completely professionally. there is no problem. justin trudeau is right these things are to the side but the tariffs are real. and declaring a trade war on our two closest allies and neighbors is a cataclysmic policy. and whether we go ahead and impose tariffs on canada, one of our main trading allies, with justin trudeau out, there is a reason he is confronting that because it is a catastrophe. geoff: your reflections on the state funeral yesterday for jimmy carter. some have argued that carter was misunderstood and underappreciated. >> that is the beauty of being out of the white house and having time and history build up

around you and change the way people look at your presidency. and he lived to 100 years so he got to see 40 years of reinterpretation of his presidency while he was still alive. yesterday's funeral is like washington's version of a real housewives reunion harkening back to a more genteel time though donald trump was there. you have all of these people who are upholding institutions, upholding civility and honoring a former president who when he left washington was reviled, not popular at all. and yet in the national cathedral we saw official washington and all of his living predecessors there to honor him. geoff: the five current and former presidents were there to honor one of their own. a lot of interactions to parse.

you have mike pence and donald trump. donald trump and obama. george w. bush greeting the president. how does it all strike you? >> it was like watching a russian novel. the count is out the ball and there is anna karenina. it was like 30 years of our political lives in one room. you think of the drama between them. all of the -- it really was a dramatic novel. but there was a bit of nostalgia. i think about this all the time --were the 70's worse or better? on matters of crime, divorce rates from a societal break down, the 70's were worse but they did have republican senators that told richard nixon that he needed to resign.

geoff: david brooks and jonathan k part, thank you as -- jonathan capeheart, thank you as always. ♪ geoff: watch washington week this week with jeffrey goldberg and as piano as they discussed donald trump's recent threats against allies giving new meaning to america first. amna: and on pbs news week and come chemical found in schools and businesses that the epa says presents an unreasonable risk to human health. that is the news hour for tonight. geoff: for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thank you for spending your evening with us. announcer: major funding has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including kathy and

paul anderson and george smith. ♪ the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the news hour -- ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs

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