>> good evening, i'm geoff bennett. >> i am on none of oz. the details between israel and hamas after overcoming last-minute complications. >> the supreme court clears the way for tiktok to be banned in the u.s.. >> and how businesses are preparing for the tariffs

president electro has promised to impose. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by. friends of the news hour. including jim and nancy build there. in the robert and virginias schiller foundation. the judy and peter bloom koblar foundation. approving freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on the voyage with cunard, the world awaits. the world of flavor. diverse destinations. and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style.

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prisoner exchange deal with hamas after prime minister benjamin netanyahu signed off on the agreement last night. >> the deal would go into effect sunday local time. in a moment, nick schifrin speaks with the united nations coordinator for humanitarian relief who has just been appointed envoy for middle east peace. but he starts with this report on the tense hours before the fighting is expected to stop. >> tonight in gaza, one of israel's final strikes as prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the cabinet debate the cease-fire expected to begin on sunday. the culture minister. >> we hope in the future we will be able to finish the job in gaza. this is something we want to do, but now we want to bring our people back home. >> gazans who today are still grieving their dead. still desperate for food. they know the war could resume after the six week cease-fire. but there's cautious hopes these

scenes, this deprivation will soon be passed. >> they said there would be a truce, we were so happy we could not sleep all night and all day. we are exhausted from our exhaustion. our youth is gone. our lives are gone. our world is gone. >> you can't take out 10, 12, 1500 people. >> president biden said he pushed benjamin netanyahu to be restrained in gaza. >> can't be carpet bombing these communities. and he said to me you did it. you carpet bombed berlin, you dropped a nuclear weapon. you killed thousands of innocent people. that is what we came up at the u.n.. >> it is the u.n. planning to surge humanitarian trucks starting sunday.

joining me now is -- who just today was named u.n. special coordinator for the middle east peace process, adding that portfolio to her other job, the u.n. senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for gaza. welcome back to the news. congratulations on the new job. you entered this peace process job with a transformed region. iran in its proxies on the back foot. a new u.s. president was close to the israeli government. the arab world's willingness to normalize israel if israel takes steps towards a palestinian state. do you see this as a moment of opportunity for the peace process? >> we have gone through deep crisis in the region. this is indeed a moment of potential opportunity. we all need to seize the moment. starting with the crisis in gaza. securing success for the implementation of a cease-fire. looking at a horizon alongside

the establishment of a viable independent palestinian state. >> the current israeli government has resisted the two state solution and some of its members are talking about annexation in the west bank. where does that leave the peace process? >> the prospects of the realization of a two state solution. even further out of sight. coming back to your organization -- your original question, a historical moment with potential new opportunities. but it depends on many factors and political will and leadership to see this through. >> the cease-fire agreed on by the israeli cabinet which allows for a humanitarian surge into gaza. is that you and ready, and are there conditions in gaza that would allow for the humanitarian surge to arrive? >> the u.n. is as ready as it can be. there is a lot of work ahead of us.

conditions in gaza are appalling. it will be hard to deliver aid as we would like. we don't have a mechanism on law & order because we don't have clarity on what the governance will be for and in gaza. in recent months it has been difficult to work not just because of the fighting that goes on, but the criminality and looting that takes place. that does not disappear overnight. so we have to work in very insecure conditions. i don't expect we will see miracles on day one in gaza. as a collective effort, everybody is working to prepare to make sure we try as best as possible. >> can you describe the scale of the scarcity in gaza? >> nowadays, we are surprised seeing children wearing shoes in gaza. there is no winter clothing, no shelter. it is ramshackle at best. adults go by with one meal a day max. mothers save food from their mouth literally to give it to

their children. children spend their days rummaging through garbage pails. looking for anything that could be tradable. but to imagine gaza where the population was well-educated, children thrived, and were always hoping for better, all that is gone. physically and mentally. you can see in the destruction of the facilities. normal, basic human requirements. that is the challenge. >> in addition to the massive surge, a senior administration official says it calls to clear rubble and rehabilitate hospitals and bakeries. >> there is a tremendous task ahead regardless how that works. we need to clear rubble. the equipment needs to get in. the staff needs to be vetted. same for the rehabilitation of not only hospitals, but health points across the gaza strip.

hundreds of organizations are active and willing. they depend on the improved -- approved import of the goods they need to do the job. that is a matter of time. assets, technical support, and money. >> beyond what we have been talking about, phase 3 calls for the reconstruction of gaza. the scope is absolutely overwhelming as we even saw today with new before and after satellite photos released above gaza. two thirds of all structures destroyed. do you believe gaza can be rebuilt? >> it is our collective responsibility. we were not able to stop the war. children need to go to school, learn, pregnant mothers need to be seen by doctors, give birth in decent conditions. the story goes on. in the 21st century, i believe we can do it if we want. and we owe that both to israeli citizens and the palestinians. >> thank you very much.

>> the negotiations that led to the israel cease-fire agreement took months and months. in the room and at the center of the talks representing the u.s. was brett mcgirt, white house coordinator for the middle east and north africa. welcome to the news hour. >> thank you for having me. >> you have been on the frontlines of these efforts to end this war. take us inside the negotiations. if at any point over the last several months, did you worry you would never get to a deal? >> the president laid out the framework at the end of may. the israelis agreed to it. in august, we thought we were getting close to a deal. the u.s., egypt, qatar, we put together a mediator proposal to bridge differences. hamas never accepted the deal. hamas never agreed to receive -- release hostages on its terms, which was basically for the

israeli forces to totally leave gaza, put a cease-fire, and go back to october 6. no is really government was going to do that. we had six hostages killed in a tunnel underneath southern gaza, including an american, hirsch goldberg. we pretty much concluded with the leadership of hamas and given the regional situation at the time, in which hamas believed a multi-front war that had been open against israel at the behest of iran, it was not going to do a deal. so we had to change the equation. that is really what we did. israel began its campaign in lebanon. that has been quite successful. that removed the threat from hezbollah. it isolated hamas for the first time. the leader of hamas was killed in gaza around the same time. that also removed a critical obstacle.

december after the lebanon cease-fire is when we engaged intensively. >> a lot of attention paid to the unprecedented coordination between the outgoing biden administration and the incoming trump team specifically between you and mr. trump's envoy, steve would cost. how did that work? how do you are present two leaders with different worldviews toward the same goal? >> i think it is historic, effective. steve became a close partner of mine. safe to say a friend. shortly after the election, president elect trump came to see biden in the oval office and set the tone. we will have a seamless transition and try and work together where we can. i spent most of the last six weeks, first in cairo, then indo hall, nailing this down. it was at the end of december, this was a critical point -- for the first time in a year,

hamas agreed to a list of hostages it was prepared to release in the first phase of a deal over six weeks. after that happened, and they had not done that until that point, we were then in the bargaining to close it. the palestinian prisoners and hostages. some details of the cease-fire, the redeployment of israeli forces. we thought we could actually get this done. >> but the deadline with the incoming administration. president elect trump said there would be hell to pay if the hostages were not released by the time he was sworn in on january 20. what do you believe would have happened if the hostages were not released by inauguration? would the war have escalated? >> first of all, there has been hell to pay. looking back 18 months, those who decided that was an opportune moment to launch a war against israel paid a very heavy price.

the deal is difficult. any deal like this is difficult. but israel, it is difficult. many palestinian prisoners, many hamas prisoners will be released under the deal. the israeli government is debating it now as we speak. because it is a complex deal. i'm very confident they will. >> president biden spoke about the deal since it was announced. in an interview, he said within the first 10 days of the war, he met with benjamin netanyahu. he said you can't be carpet bombing these communities. benjamin netanyahu said you did it, referring to the u.s. bombing in world war ii and the nuclear bombing in japan. other justifying the massive casualties to come. >> the discussions in the early days was about the extreme difficulty of an enemy that has

hundreds of miles of tunnels underground and a civilian population that is not allowed in those tunnels, and has nowhere to go. how do you do this? >> more than 46,000 palestinians dead. the vast majority women and children. i guess the question left for the u.s. to answer is it proportionate question mark or those deaths proportionate for the attacks on october 7? >> we just negotiated a cease-fire, if it goes through three phases chamoli hope it will end the war. the only way to in the war was hostage deal. >> hamas has reneged as well. we know benjamin netanyahu is under pressure back in israel from part of his government that does not want the deal. how tenuous is this cease fire? >> we work tirelessly to nail down every single conceivable detail. every palestinian prisoner that will be released.

the rules of the road for the cease-fire, exactly where israeli forces will be and will not be. what hamas can do and what they cannot do. the provisions for humanitarian aid. it is all outlined, it is clear what the parties need to do. i think the deal has broad support among the israeli people. and the gazans who have been living in hell. we have said that multiple times. this will bring needed relief. finally a cease-fire, stopping the war. >> brett mcgurk, coordinator for the middle east and north africa. thank you for joining us. >> thank you so much. >> moments ago, we received word israel cabinet has approved the cease-fire agreement.

>> today, the supreme court unanimously upheld the law that threatens to shut down the wildly popular social media app tiktok as soon a sunday. the justices ruled free speech rights must yield to concerns chinese control of the app creates a national security risk . with three days left in office, president biden said the enforcement of the ban will now fall to the incoming trump administration. our white house correspondent has been covering this and more and joins us now. let's start with this tiktok decision. it is not the content that is the issue, it is the ownership in the judgment by u.s. officials and lawmakers that presents a national security threat. how is the biden administration going to handle it? ask the white house issued a statement saying president biden believes tiktok should remain available to americans, but simply under american ownership, or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by congress in developing this law.

it is about the ownership. president elect trump said in a post his decision on tiktok will be made in the not-too-distant future. he has to review the situation. ultimately, as the current white house said, it will have to be implemented by the incoming administration. >> today, the ceo of tiktok mother who was invited and will attend the integration alongside other tech leaders, posted a message on that platform. >> the tiktok ceo posted on crediting the president elect today. >> on behalf of everyone at tiktok and the users across the country, i want to thank president trump for his commitment to work with us the finest solution that keeps tiktok available in the u.s. >> as you said, him along with other tech moguls like elon musk and mark zuckerberg plan to be in attendance. >> biden white house will not enforce the tiktok ban it signed into law read instead the unilaterally declared the equal

rights amendment is now the law of the land. tell us about that. >> the president believes the equal rights amendment is a ratified addition to the constitution after virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020. the e.r.a. bans discrimination based on sex. it was first passed in 1972. the deadline for e.r.a. ratification was 1979. it was extended to 1982. congress missed that deadline by decades. >> this is entirely symbolic? >> it is symbolic, has no effect read the person in charge of certifying the amendment is the national archivist. in december, she said ultimately it is up to congress to extend the deadline. without it happening, the e.r.a. is not actually ratified. >> we also saw, as if it wasn't enough, hhs published the next

list of drugs for medicare price negotiations. i see 15 drugs. break down is here. >> 15 new drugs part of the negotiations allowed in the inflation reduction act. to date, 25 drugs total are up for medicare price negotiation. the announcement includes those epic and will go v. all 25 drugs make up 25% of spending. the new prices are set to take effect in 2026 and 2027. medicare only covers the popular drugs. if you have a pre-existing condition like diabetes or heart disease, it is not covered only for weight loss. other drugs included in that negotiation list include drugs that treat cancer, asthma, and arthritis. >> president elect trump talked about repealing the law that allows for these negotiations. rfk junior, who could be confirmed the next hhs

secretary, has opposed some of the drugs on that list. >> much of the medicare negotiations is set in that law. president elect trump could decide he doesn't want to be at the negotiating table and take a more industry friendly stance. when it comes to the ability for the next administration to decide more expansive coverage for bows and pick, they may be feeling pressure from today's announcement and the fact president biden already has a regulation in the works. they will decide whether or not to finalize, expand coverage of these weight loss drugs to medicare and medicaid. so more people would qualify for the drugs under those programs. >> there was also an historic clemency announcement. >> a historic day on this front. let's go through the numbers. president biden issued 2500

computations for nonviolent drug offenses. that means president biden has issued more bidens or commutations more than any president. in december, he set a record for 1500 commutations. we can expect more preemptive pardons. biden was seen as architect someone in his party of mass incarceration because of the crime bill he was part of today's actions represent a big shift for president biden. they also represent a big focus on the sentencing disparities for crack and cocaine related to crime. many scholars i spoke with said they can be legacy defining. >> thank you for the reporting. we appreciate it. >> today, another of resident elect trump's picks for key cabinet positions faced questions from senators on

capitol hill at a confirmation hearing. kristi noem is governor of south dakota and is being considered to run the department of homeland security. >> please stand and raise your right hand. >> south dakota governor kristi noem is already known on capitol hill. she personalize her biography today. >> i'm a wife and a mother and a grandmother. a farmer, rancher, business person. if served in our state legislature and congress for eight years, and a governor. >> and she's president elect trump's run the department of homeland security. if confirmed, she will oversee 200 40,000 employees tasked with securing the country from threats, dominating the conversation, border security, including trump's plan for mass deportations. she said she would prioritize criminals. >> getting criminal aliens off of the streets and out of the country will help american communities be safer again.

>> at the border, she said she would sharply limit legal parole and asylum programs as well as ending the cbp one app used by asylum-seekers. she was asked about the role of trump's borders are, who does not need senate confirmation. she did not answer if he would give direct orders to border agents. >> the president will be in charge of the border. >> she got praise from the republican side. >> it is great you are governor and bring that expertise to the table. >> emme kratz questioned her experience and readiness. senator andy kim asked for her list of top extremist threats to the u.s. >> since i'm not in the world today, i should not get into specifics -- you can at least get into specifics about what organizations are out there. >> all the terrorist organizations that have always threatened the u.s., i would say hamas, isis. continuing down that path of those terrorist organizations. >> she aimed to reassure them, saying she would administer the office fairly.

>> i will deliver the program according to the law and it will be done with no political bias. if the programs change or you decide to change the rule of law, i will follow that. >> or confirmation is expected in the next week or two. for the pbs news hour, lisa desjardins. >> president elect trump said he and chinese president xi jinping will solve many problems together after the leaders spoke on the phone today. in a post on his truth social platform, trump said they discussed balancing trade, fentanyl, tiktok, and many other subjects. president xi jinping congenital -- congratulated trump and said china hopes for a good start to the china-u.s. relationship. trump has threatened to slap 60% tariffs on chinese imports coming to america, but spoke highly of his past relationship with china's leader. the call comes has china reported a third straight annual decline of population last year.

figures showed an overall population of just over 1.4 billion people at the end of 2024. that is down by nearly 1.4 million from the previous year. experts say people are living longer but has not offset a decline of new births as young people focus on work rather than starting families. china announced its economy grew 5% last year. slower than the year before, but in line with beijing's targets. in moscow, the leaders of russia and iran deepened their countries ties today. russian president vladimir putin and his iranian counterpart signed a comprehensive strategic partnership tree. it covers trade and military cooperation plus areas like education, science, and culture. it comes as both countries face damaging western sanctions. the u.s. has accused iran of

providing drones to russia for its war in ukraine. both countries have denied this. back in this country, ohio's lieutenant governor will fill the senate seat left vacant by vice president elect jd vance. governor mike dewine announced his choice after months of speculation. the republican is a former house speaker and senate -- secretary of state. vance served in the senate for less than two years before being tapped to run for president electron. a special election will be held that november to fill the last two years of his six-year term. firefighters in los angeles are taking advantage of more favorable wind conditions today. they battle blazes that have been burning for more than a week. at last check, the palisades fire was 31 percent contained. the eaton fire, which has devastated the community of altadena, was 65% contained. calfire officials warned the

gusty santa ana winds will pick up again next week, putting tens of thousands of angelenos at risk. >> with the weather we have, we will take over spite from the active burning conditions we have had. in the near future, we can be back in the critical burning conditions. >> the wildfires have killed at least 27 people, destroyed some 12,000 properties so far in the los angeles area. spacex says a fire may have caused its starship rocket to break apart during its test flight yesterday. the booster made it back to a landing pad safely. but the rocket broke up about eight minutes after liftoff. i witness videocon debris from the spacecraft raining down over turks and capos in the atlantic. flights near the falling debris had to be diverted. the faa ordered spacex to investigate what went wrong. on wall street, stocks rallied to close out the week. the dow jones industrial average jumped more than 330 points.

the nasdaq surged nearly 300 points, 1.5%. they also closed firmly in positive territory. acclaimed british actress of stage and screen, joan plowright, has died. >> if you would despise me, i would forgive him. but if you love me to madness, i will never requite him. >> one of the greatest actresses of her generation, she wanted tony award and two golden globes over a second -- seven decade career. she was also the widow of actor laurence olivier, her partner in art and life. they were married for 28 years and worked on a number of plays. she enjoyed success late in life and films such as 101 dominations and enchanted april, which garnered her an oscar nomination. she described her beginnings on stage as a passion, an outlet, and a calling. >> i think there was a rebel always inside. but i think i never had the

total confidence to behave as i felt. until i was allowed onto the stage. to come out in other characters. >> she was made a dane commander of the british empire in 2004 for her lifetime contributions to the arts. dane joan plowright was 95 years old. still to come on the news hour. david brooks and jonathan capehart offer their takes on the end of the biden administration. and amanda gorman shares her new poem about the california wildfires. >> this is the pbs news hour from the david m rubenstein studio in washington, and the u.s. walter cronkite school of journalism at nona -- arizona state university. >> countries and businesses around the world will be watching to see just how quickly president elect trump imposes new tariffs when he takes office and how steep those tariffs may

be. pbs special correspondent in washington post columnist catherine rappel reports how some companies are already repairing -- preparing. >> this is one of our newer products made with our new comfort technology. >> when donald trump won in november, rick's first call was to china. >> called our major supplier, found out how many could take before they close for chinese new year. we bought 30,000 pair that day. >> trump threatened 60% tariffs on chinese made goods. which might include all the shoes his company sells. >> we import, distribute around the u.s., men's and boys issues. we call it affordable comfort fashion. >> shifting production here is not an option given labor costs. >> over 200 operations, and there is a lot of labor in the making of shoes. >> there's no factories here to

move production back. we don't have the option. >> stacking up early was risky. his shipment may not arrive before new tariffs start. >> tying up to capital, paying storage, making decisions on what you think the consumer will buy well in advance of what they decide they want to buy. sometimes you are wrong. >> we see about a 20% increase in booking relative to expected. >> brian peterson is ceo. >> there's a lot of uncertainty about where the tariffs will become aware they will land. they are probably coming, so the easiest thing to do is move the goods in early and get them here before the tariffs hit. >> firms look for creative ways to duck future tariffs. >> they have all sorts of strategies to help you with tariffs engineering pre-you can change the components of your product or if they are 51% polyester versus 49%, that is a different duty code. >> after trump's earlier trade wars and covid, many companies

began moving their supply chains. but mostly not to the u.s.. >> the biggest winner was vietnam, mexico probably up there. it has moved for many years because of the cost of labor. a lot moving to thailand, malaysia, cambodia. india. >> but these moves carry geopolitical risk. >> jordan, which is a peaceful place surrounded by all kinds of conflict. a number of our customers who set up manufacturing to take advantage of free trade agreements found it is not that easy. >> their new location can get hit by tariffs. >> we have been working to onboard this factory about two years. >> jenny goodman cofounded a hospitality worker company with her partner. they thought they were smart to diversify production away from china and columbia. >> mexico was sort of a buffer for that should there be any issues moving forward. >> in november, trump threatened

huge tariffs on mexico. >> it feels like why comeau. >> she produces 10% of their products, the more expensive seasonal fashion collection in new york. >> are you trying to find alternatives domestically? >> not at the current moment. we feel we are at max capacity with what we can produce based on price sensitivity of our customer and skilled labor. it is like every time we lose a seamstress, it takes a while to replace somebody because there is not a huge pool of skilled labor anymore here. >> tariffs threats have stressed their business. >> we have really big orders we have been working on for about 15 months. we have quoted those orders sourcing out of our factory in china. if there's a 10% increase in our margin is slim, that could impact whether we have to raise prices or take a worse margin hit. >> their mexican factory partner agreed to absorb some of the

tariffs risk. some costs would have to get passed on to customers. they might find that hard to swallow. >> we are already in this period trying to combat inflation. especially in our industry. everything has gotten more expensive. the uniforms have gotten more expensive, the labor has gotten more expensive. so the tolerance for large increases in prices would be challenging for us. >> research on trump's earlier tariffs found they were mostly paid by american businesses and their customers. >> what we saw using tens of thousands of records was the price we paid the exporters did not change. so we believe they were passed through 100% to u.s. importers. >> mary lovely studies trade at the peterson institute for international economics. >> washing machines, we saw an increase -- increase in price. the south korean made washing machine was more than $1000 higher.

the domestic made machine was also higher, as was the dryer. even though there were no tariffs. >> trump's plan for a 20% across-the-board tariffs and a 60% tariff on china suggest price increases for consumers could be large. >> the burden on the average family would be a minimum of $2700 a year. estimates include those increases in domestic prices as well. going up to $4000 and above for the average american household. >> this will all ricochet back to u.s. companies. >> some people will be pushed out of the market. they will not buy at all. others will buy fewer of whatever item it is. either way, the company will be selling fewer items, have slower growth, and many will have fewer workers. >> there will be some domestic winners. >> anything that makes it more expensive or difficult for someone to import products we make domestically helps us.

chaos in general helps domestic manufacturers. i hate to put it that way. >> union where produces hats and bags three decades ago. >> in 1992, there were well over 1000 hat manufacturers and bag manufacturers. but there are probably four or five hat factories left and may be about 15 or 20 bag factories. >> he has seen a lot in that time. >> we use to rent this space in the production floor over there to a biker gang. >> turns out new jersey has geopolitical risks. >> the biker gang said this neighborhood is not safe and we will put an end to all of that if you give us this space for our club. and we do have one remnant from them being here, this stripper pole in the middle of our cafeteria. >> what happened to the gang? >> they got trouble with local authorities and had to leave.

>> most american consumers don't care about that jersey authenticity. >> a lot of people are very pro-made in usa that are not buying made in usa goods. they don't really think twice about it. consumers are generally driven to buying the least expensive thing. >> their biggest clients are unions, the military, and organizations that care about cobranding with the made in usa label. like political campaigns. >> this is one of the most popular hats we ever made. we ended up making about 5000 units a day of the baseball hat. >> he predict a boom in usa made products in the next few years. >> that is being driven by this very strange, perfect storm of events coming our way. one is the usa's 250th birthday. the u.s. hosting the world cup, the u.s. hosting the olympics. which definitely drives demand for us.

>> he things tariffs will give them an added boost. even though his machinery comes from abroad. >> we pulled forward a purchase of equipment from canada to beat the clock on tariffs. then we paused any additional purchases until the situation works itself out. >> ramping up production won't be easy even with tariffs. >> we've had difficulty recruiting workers. and we are in new jersey, new york, a large immigrant population. we find it harder to hire people who want to work in a factory. that is part of the issue. >> he's investing in what might be the key to make u.s. manufacturing more competitive. robots. >> we are automating our bag production. that will reduce our labor costs down to like 15% of the cost of a bag. it will have a tremendous difference. >> how much will the tariffs actually cost companies? consumers? workers? we will find out.

for the pbs news hour, catherine rambo in newark, new jersey. >> with one administration leaving office in, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. in mr. biden's final week in office, a lot to talk about. these managed to push across the finish line a cease-fire deal in the middle east, starting to cement his legacy with the primetime oval office farewell address. let's start in the middle east and the cease-fire deal. the war began on his watch. relentlessly focused on pushing through some kind of deal. how critical was it for mr. biden to get this deal before he leaves office? >> very critical. some people look at it through the lens of he's trying to get this done for his legacy.

we have been watching the president since october 7. he's been working, the secretary of state had been working overtime to get the deal done, get a cease-fire done, the deal that would have the hostages released. i think it was critical for him with trumps inauguration coming, let's get this done, let's get these people home. >> the idea we have been reporting on this that it was a result of coordination between bidens team on their way out and trump team before they have come in. what does it say to you? x it was unusual 1 -- was on the show earlier. he was there. elsewhere where the trump people. they were working together. the trump people said it was the biden administration. the junior partner here. but i think it was donald trump's pressure that really sealed the deal. they had to swallow a lot for this deal. they are treating away a few

hostages, a few dead. in exchange for terrorists, a lot of them. the thing that worries me is a quarter that separates gaza from egypt through which military supplies can go into gaza. that may go to hamas or gaza hands. so it is a high price. there is no celebration. on the other hand, the war is over and some of the suffering, and the gazans can go back. it is a major accomplishment on a bipartisan basis. >> i will just say the deal is a three-step deal. the first step might be the easiest. we are not out of the woods yet. >> and it has not gone into place either. holding our breath. i know you were both watching as he spoke to the nation for the fifth and final time from the oval office. here in part is what mr. biden had to say. >> today, taking shape in america. extreme wealth power to

influence that threatens our entire democracy. the basic rights and freedoms. and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead. >> for a final address, it is much less about listing accomplishment, more of a warning from the future. was it expected from the president. >> he did town his accomplishments. as he did when he announced his candidacy for the 2020 election, he got into the race because he was concerned about the future of the country. it is rather fitting, but also sad that he's leaving office with really big concerns about the country. concerns i think we should take to heart and keep our eyes open. talking about an oligarchy, we are working to see some of the world's richest people, richest men there at the inauguration for donald trump. and what that means for

americans, how they get their news information. i think the president was getting at. >> george washington, entangling alliances, dwight eisenhower, military-industrial complex. there is an oligarchy, but it is completely bipartisan. most people in this country are democrats. i speak in aspen every year, i thing i know something about billionaires. there used to be one republican, this guy named fred malik, who unfortunately has left us. but hollywood, new york, san francisco, these are democratic places. the democratic party has about half of this country, so there is a democratic oligarchy and republican oligarchy. so to say it is all because of elon musk, that is part of it. there are a lot of billionaires on the democratic side. the thing about biden, we go around the country, followed him for decades now. he's done a wonderful job over

the course of his career. and i go around the country, new york state or ohio, there are manufacturing jobs coming back or you did but frank, his job was to fight to end authoritarianism. the whole thing was to preserve democracy. the election of donald trump suggested to some large degree he failed at that large mission. in some sense, a wonderful guy who has been a great public service. but there is a sadness and a tragedy at the end. >> i don't know if it is so much he failed, but he did try. people criticized him for talking about it. even some of us in the media. i go back to a question i asked i believe around the table when we were here for our marathon election night coverage. i wondered if these results, the american people gave up on democracy, or wanting to try this authoritarianism. this guy who has told us what he wants to do, let's give it a shot. that is what concerns me the

most. >> we did see the contours of a potential trump administration with the confirmation hearings, a slew of them unfolding on capitol hill. take a look here at the list. you saw among them the nominees for secretary of defense, secretary of state, attorney general, intelligence, economy, national security leaders. too many to name here alone. what did you make of the way they unfolded, particularly among the most contentious was pete hegseth. >> i was more or less appalled by that hearing. china -- we are walking toward a war with china. the secretary-general said we have to get into a war mindset. china is building landing craft where they can invade. weapons with the force of nuclear power to wipe out our military software. people are warning they are looking for first stage nuclear attack on us. h.r. mcmaster said that. it is the most dangerous security situation is world war

ii. what is pete hegseth talking about? wokeness in the military. how trivial. and frankie, the democrats, what are you going to do -- how does drone warfare affect our confrontation -- >> that is mr. trump's pick to be the secretary of defense talking about wokeness. >> exactly. it is not a pro-trump speech i'm in the middle of. but what are the democrats focused on? women in combat. if a woman qualifies, she should be in combat. is it as important as preventing world war iii? no. talk about it. talk about the big issues of the day. at the very end, a few democratic senators, tammy duckworth among them, asked questions. but you have to say overall, republicans are more intellectually serious at that hearing. they asked about the hearing, the big substantive issues. but mostly, if we sidestep the major crisis. >> how did you look at the hearings? >> senator duckworth was going

to be my touchstone. because she did basically a pop quiz on pete hegseth. you will be doing negotiations, negotiations with asean, name the nations of asean. and he could not. that is outrageous. and the fact he was picked to be the head of the defense department's part and parcel of what trump has done with virtually all of his nominees with the exception of maybe rubio, burgum, and a couple of others. put people who -- put people in places who look good who will also do his bidding. >> will he get confirmed? >> oh yeah. >> would you agree? >> may be. >> before we say goodbye, we talked about how the election will determine the course of this nation's future for the next several years. as we transition from one government to the next, how are you looking at this? >> with recognition donald trump is the most consequential

american politician since ronald reagan. we have seen a major shift, basically the 50 years joe biden was in office, liberal nationalism, the respect for institutions, the attempts at bipartisanship. have a system in place from 1945 to 2016 that trump said we are taking it out. and the fact he's reelected and about to take office and use it to wipe out a lot of things, including civil service percentage, that is a gigantic pivot in american history. >> this is why i believe what we are about to endure, i have great trepidation. he's promised to do a lot of radical things. if he does even half of them, this country will be very different in four years. >> jonathan capehart, david brooks. you will be with us on inauguration day and many weeks and months to follow. we will talk about all of it.

and of course, david and jonathan will be back with us with many others on monday for live coverage of donald trump's second inauguration. it will begin monday at 10:30 a.m. eastern on pbs and streaming on our youtube channel. and before we go, we want to take some time for reflections about how people are coping with the devastating california wildfires. the renowned poet laureate and los angeles native amanda gorman has penned a heartfelt tribute expressing her fears and hopes for community. i spoke with her yesterday. >> welcome back to the news hour. thank you for joining us. you are a los angeles native. you live in the pacific palisades. tell us how you are doing, if your home is ok, and what it has been like to watch all of this devastation and loss unfold in a place you call home. >> thank you for asking.

i'm blessed, saved, my family is safe, but it has been devastating. i think on a communal level to see this amount of damage and loss in a city that we love. l.a. is incredibly strong and resilient. it has been amazing to see the way people are coming together. but we have a really long trek ahead of us. >> tell us what led you to write this poem. >> when the fires broke out in los angeles, i was in new york city by accident. i happened to be doing some press. when i saw the amount of ruin and wreckage, i felt hopeless and helpless that i could not be there with my city in that moment. but i wanted to process the grief i was feeling as an angeleno. so i wrote the poem for myself to work through what i was feeling and decided to share it in the hope it might bring some

warmth and spirit to a time that feels really hard for californians right now. >> for anyone who has not had a chance to read it, share a few lines maybe? >> i will share the last few lines. today, we mourn. tomorrow, reborn. we end the burning, the friend, the hurting. men's those who face the flame through the claim our city's name. a revelation that only this place tells. to find our angels. all we need do is look within ourselves. >> this clearly resonated so much with so many people. you shared it online, as a fundraiser essentially for the fire response. you raise over $100,000 in aid. where is that going to go? >> i was so happy to use this poem just to do my small part.

it is going to go to the california fire foundation which supports firefighters and their families, people impacted by fires in california. the amount of response raising over the course of just a few questions. but there are so many other ways angelenos in the country are showing up, by volunteering, donating, given time. it is really heartwarming. >> all of this moment of loss. also talking about this new book . calling it a tribute to women's impact in power and resilience. why this message right now. >> i really wanted to come out with a children's book now more than ever that emphasized the importance of uplifting young girls and their allies. because i felt we are living in a time where that is incredibly necessary to make sure that

young girls voices are protected and celebrated. because we are seeing so many spikes in bullying, gender-based violence, all those things. i was curious what would happen if there was a children's book that would cross gendered lines said we are all in the same boat, we are all in this together, and we are much stronger as a unit then we are separated by gender or sex. >> author and poet amanda gorman. thank you so much for making sure we are turning towards the light in these dark times. we appreciate it. nice speaking with you. >> thank you. ♪ >> and be sure to watch washington week with the atlantic on pbs. moderator jeffrey goldberg and his panel look at what to expect on monday when trump returns to

the white house. >> pbs news week and, nearly 75 years after a woman was executed for spying for the soviet union, a recently declassified document has her son pushing the white house for an apology. that is the news hour. i'm geoff bennett. >> i am on none of oz. thank you for watching us and have a great weekend. >> 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 kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation. working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world.

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 station from viewers like you. thank you.

hello, everyone. welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. a bloody day in gaza as the israeli cabinet delays a vote on the cease-fire agreement outgoing u.s. secretary of state antony blinken talks through the post-conflict phase of the deal