♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends,

whether you'll fit in, and here i feel like it's so welcoming and such an inclusive place to work, you just feel like you're valued. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> i'm christian fraser with caitriona perry. this is the context from washington. >> i donald john trump do solemnly swear. >> that i will faithfully execute. >> that i will faithfully execute the office of the united states. >> the office of president of the united states. i will also declare a national energy emergency.

we will drill, baby, drill. if you don't make your product in america, which is your prerogative, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff. different amounts. >> a set of pardons for peaceful pro-life protesters. >> they should not have been prosecuted. this is a great honor to sign. >> joining us on the panel. enjoy cheney, democratic strategist and founder on joy strategies. and julie harris, president of the national federation of republican women. ♪ >> a very warm welcome to this special edition of the context from washington. it is friday. we are at the end of president trump's first week in office. we will be reflecting on how it has gone and what it might tell us about his next four years in

office. >> 33 executive orders and counting. countless speeches. we were promised it would be fast and furious. we are sure to get that. a first quick quote from our panelists. a lot of chat to contextualize all of this. but briefly, julie as our republican, how was it? >> the niv was fantastic. even with the disappointment of not getting to be on the capitol grounds. there was plenty of festivities going on. president trump is moving fast. like most americans, i work during the day and run home at night to see what has happened. [laughter] >> what about you, julie? >> i work in the day and run home at night to see what happened. we probably agree on some things , others we probably have differences of opinion. it has been quite the week. i spent the week in florida. not here.

there is a lot to talk about in the hour. >> you at least missed out on that absolutely freezing, terrible weather. >> we however, did not. >> i'm sorry for the people who came and did not get to see it. no matter how you feel, it is un-american moment. >> the spectacle is fantastic. president trump is on his first trip away from washington dc today. he visited north carolina to see for himself the areas that were ravaged by hurricane helene last year. he's now en route to los angeles, where the wildfires continue to burn. the president wants more federal aid for north carolina but has threatened to withhold disaster relief for california. >> i'm stopping at north carolina first because they have been abused by what has happened. should have been done. a lot of things should have happened that didn't. we will fix it.

california, just to revert to it for a second. millions of gallons of water are waiting to be poured down through already the half pipes that are already built. they have been up 40 years. about 20 years ago, they turned off the water. in the meantime, you don't have water in the hydrants, in the sprinkler system. it is the craziest thing i've ever seen. everyone is trying to figure out why they are turning to back they say it is the delta about it i find that hard to believe. >> perhaps something of a surprise, the president invited the california senator adam schiff to fly with him to california. the oval office on monday. he called adam schiff scum. an imitation the senator declined on the grounds of their important conversation -- confirmation votes. we are expecting governor gavin newsom to meet the president at the steps of air force one where he landed about three hours time.

to be a party to that conversation. with us is a former member of the los angeles city council and county board of supervisors. thank you for being with us. let's start with where we are. get an idea of what the firefighters other -- are facing at the moment. >> things have improved exponentially in the last 48 hours. we are expecting rain tomorrow evening. it will be the first rain in los angeles since last may. things as far as firefighting is concerned are on the right track. >> we have heard so much from president trump about how he sees the situation in los angeles. he keeps saying how badly los angeles has been created talking about no water in the fire hydrants in the reservoirs. what is your assessment of that. we have heard firefighters say the scale and the pace these

fires have spread have made it impossible to get a handle on them. >> nobody turned off the water. three blocks away from my own home, there was a fire the other day, yesterday. the fire-floor working. it was fine. the problem with the pacific palisades fire on water was there was so much water being used, the water pressure dropped. this was a problem we had before that needs to be corrected. it is not because water was turned off. it was brought in from other water purveyors during the fire. but it was not being able to get the water up to where the fire was. the palisades are almost sealevel. the fire was maybe 1000 feet above sea level. the pressure to pump the water up when so much water was required and so many fire trucks

and firefighters were trying to access the water, it created a lack of pressure and a lack of force in the water. this should not be the case. it is not because anybody turned off the water. it is because the system was not working to purvey the water to the elevation it was required. we had a fire here in 1961. maybe the most significant fire at the time. we had the same exact problem. it was corrected in the vail area, about three miles east of the palisades. why they didn't have that corrected in the palisades is going to be the subject of a deep investigation because it never should have happened. >> president trump also points to some environmental regulations. particularly the one designed to protect the tiny fish and how it is storm water at the start of the season ends up getting pumped into the ocean rather than into the area.

what is your view of those regulations? should they stand or is it time for a review? >> i'm not -- i'm not going to show disrespect to the president of the united states. i don't think he's as infinitely familiar with the water systems in california and southern california as we are locally. there are environmental regulations all over the country. environmental regulations in california to protect wildlife, fish, all of that. it does not reduce the amount of water available. nobody turns on their water faucet in los angeles today and does not get water to come out. one needs to take what you hear from this administration with a grain of salt and wait until you get to the facts. the amount of water available is not in question. how you get the water from point a to point b in a fire that was massive and a windstorm that was

unprecedented, hurricane force winds, having to get the water from sea level to hundreds of feet, thousands of feet above sea level, that is the thing. no one is excusing that. you should be able to get the water from anyplace in the city to wear a fire is burning. it is not because of lack of water. >> the former member of the los angeles city council and los angeles county board of supervisors and member of the democratic party. thank you for joining us. >> before we move on, the president's talk about stripping fema of its powers in the way it channels moneys to these natural disasters. is it a small political move? they are able to blame congress if money does not arrive where it is supposed to. he's bringing it closer. >> i think he's taking response ability. he went to north carolina to make sure north carolina's new they were not forgotten.

i know a lot of people in north carolina who feel let down by fema. as far as los angeles, i was there. the second week of january. i heard some of the local reporting and the fire chief. whether it was lack of water or lack of pressure, the fire department went to the -- hydrants and had no water. they said we don't know how the water gets to the hydrants, we expect it to be there. whatever the reason, there was lack of water. >> we heard talk about that a moment ago. on monday, president trump declared a national energy emergency. he's convinced the price of oil and gas is pushing up the cost of transport heating, farming, and manufacturing, which has been passed onto the consumer. today it goes back to a familiar theme. >> opec to stop making so much money and drop the price of oil. because they have it nice and high. if you have it high, the war will not end so easily.

opec should get on the ball and drop the price of oil. in that war will stop right away. >> in president trump's eyes, he probably sees it as a win-win solution, tackle inflation at home. but cutting energy prices is skeptical. united states already the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas. the world is not sure, the fossil fuel, the markets that say the demand and supply, we are waiting to see the expansion of production might drive down prices. it also eats into the profits of the big oil and gas companies. at the same time, he rolled back the green energy initiatives, pulled out the u.s. from the paris climate agreement. let's speak with a former u.s. administration climate advisor paying for the post in 2017 over donald trump's policies. thank you for being with us on the program.

let me start with what he is proposing. it is an energy crisis. is it how you see it? >> there is an energy crisis. but largely a crisis of pollution. ample supplies of fossil fuels. today it is cheaper to build a new clean energy powerplant, wind or solar, with or without energy storage backup. that is cheaper than operating an existing fossil fuel plant. the crisis is on the other foot, if you will. >> this issue of reducing prices is a very complex picture. as i mentioned, oil and gas prices are set by the global market. if america pumps more, does it bring down the price? >> no it doesn't. we are essentially awash in oil and gas right now. the global market does set the price at all of the local hubs. in houston, the northeast, the

west coast. it is not about supply, it is really about record windfall profits emboldened by this administration. >> there are concerns when it comes to the demand for electricity, just now being driven primarily by data centers and increased manufacturing. that is already straining the electrical grid. we have seen evidence of that. the sum is not always reliable. >> i would disagree with reliability. there's a difference between predictable and reliable. what we have seen in the markets moving ahead on green energy in the u.s., california, new york, washington, new mexico, scotland, england, as well. if you plan for when the solar in the wind is on and you build it in diverse supply. often meaning solar, offshore wind, backed up with storage.

california, texas, and new york are racing ahead on storage and finding it is easy to build, comes in more quickly than fossil projects, and gives you high levels of certainty. i would say the reverse is true. the places that he raced the clean energy transition are seeing much more predictability of prices. things like the ice storm that shut down natural or fossil gas in texas. they are really the big disruptors in the system. >> good to have you on the program. thank you for that. >> do you worry is a democrat donald trump is not picking an all green agenda? >> yes. the fires are because of global warming. because we have a climate crisis in our country. pulling out of the paris accords, pulling back on the green new deal, clean energy projects, to see those projects

criticized, the president should be looking to the future. it is not just what we have today, it is what we need in the future. finally, there will be transition issues. nothing will be perfect. people have to adjust to a new normal. it is what we need to make sure our children are not looking back and saying why don't you begin this earlier? ask a lot of those policies are baked into the inflation reduction act, which can be undone by a legislation, not executive order. some things are protected. >> some things are protected. there are things the president can always slow down through executive orders which he will try to do. things his political appointees and agencies might seek to slow down. always future funding for things. but the inflation reduction act president biden signed will have long-term effects. we hope to be supportive of these efforts in the future.

>> i'm confused by donald trump's climate policies. sean hannity is against any solar panels, any windmills. he says they are killing the birds, killing the whales. on that issue, he sounds like an environmentalist. on the other he talks about america having the cleanest air, washing water down the rivers into the pacific. and let's get rid of the smell fishing california. he's opened up pristine natural reserve. he's all over the shop when it comes to his environmentalism. >> i want to quote him on the paris agreement. he signed all of his -- some of his first executive orders. he said the paris climate accord ripoff during his early remarks at the audience, the u.s. will not sabotage our own industries while china pollutes with immunity.

>> that is not true, china is racing ahead. we will get left behind. >> i don't think so. when you look at the american voters. not just american voters, probably worldwide, this discussion sometimes gets way over the average person's head. not because they are not smart or could not study it, but because everything you do, you almost have to be an expert to have a meaningful discussion to what comes down to who they trust the most. who they trust the most to protect the economy and the environment. and america spoke overwhelmingly that it was donald trump. they may not be able to debate it with the experts, but they voted with who they felt they could trust. >> the science shows climate change is a real thing and impacting our planet. our people just putting the economy before those environmental concerns? >> i don't think they are putting it before.

i think they're putting it equal. i think they want to see china do their fair share. it seems it is always america the world comes after when talking about cleaning up the climate or reducing emissions. i would say the emissions under donald trump's first term or better than in a long time. it is the americans trust donald trump to move our country forward. >> there is so much we will get through. we will talk about that. we want to get through the other issues he has talked about this week. a short break for the moment. you're watching bbc news.

>> welcome back. talking about what president trump has done. a busy newsweek in the middle east as well. the president will be encouraged about the cease-fire he has taken for credit -- credit for

is holding. he said he's not confident it will hold. tonight, four hostages they intend to release on saturday as part of the ongoing cease-fire agreement. all female soldiers taken from the military based on the seventh of october. they were all freed in exchange for 180 palestinian prisoners held in israel. >> if and when it happens, it is the second such exchange since the cease-fire came into effect. they will provide more information about the remaining 26 hostages due to be released over the next five weeks. it is unclear at this point whether that information will include names or just a number of living or dead hostages they are still holding. >> let's go to jerusalem and speak to our correspondent. what can you tell us about the latest situation tonight? the hostage exchange set for tomorrow.

>> yes it is. hamas have given for women due to be released on saturday. mayor from a significant place, which is a military facility just over the fence from gaza. it was completely overrun by hamas fighters on october 7. it is an interesting location because there was based surveillance units made of women who were looking out for signs of. they did have fears about what they were seeing and reported they could be some sort of attack. it seems those warnings were not acted on. that is what happened. around 60 israeli soldiers said to have been killed. others taken hostage. hamas sang four of the young women will be freed. we have had some reaction from the group that supports the

families of the hostages saying clearly they welcome this news. but the families have a very nerve-racking night to see whether or not they are released tomorrow. >> thank you very much for that. >> of those who have not been returned, some are u.s. citizens, officials think four of them are dead. we think two of the three will be released over the next 42 days as part of the first phase. that could mean one american is left behind. there will be an enormous political risk for donald trump. >> i think we will get that one as well. it is very sad and heartbreaking. you look at the lopsided trade of the jewish versus palestinians. but that goes to the value of the jewish people in israel. they are willing to make that kind of trade. you look at who they are trading

for, palestinians have been convicted of terrorism and murder versus the innocent israelis who were taken from their homes. >> on one issue when you talk about innocent israelis. i have been listen to the former prime minister who is pleased to hear the hostages are coming back. he likes the support of the trump administration. he's concerned. he's not opposed to the operations going on in the west bank because he thinks there is a terrorist threat. but he's concerned there is a an extremist aspect within the settlement movement in the west bank and settlers have been targeting innocent palestinians in these villages in the west bank. he's critical of the decision to remove the sanctions from some of these. was it the right decision trump took, given how difficult it is to restore trust? >> i think trump has made the right decision. he told the american people what he was going to do. he did not hide any of this.

donald trump already had one term. we are not dealing with someone who needs on-the-job training. he's got some of the best experts advising him. so i'm going to put my trust in donald trump right now as far as israel is concerned. israel is special to me. i daughter studied her senior year there. it is a part of the region i love. love the jewish people and palestinians. my daughter studied arabic and attended a palestinian church and was in their homes and fed by them. i love the whole region, jews and palestinians. >> i put my trust in god, not donald trump. but one of the reasons we had such a lopsided numbers there are so many palestinians who have been arrested. by israel. that is why the number is lopsided. >> terrorists. >> they are not all terrorists. and let's be clear, the

palestinian side might say the same things. there are really innocent people, tens of thousands of innocent palestinians who have killed in palestine. we grieve for their families. i know your daughter does as well. >> there was a cease-fire. prior to the attack on october 7. they broke the cease-fire. >> this is an ongoing battle. >> on the issue of prisoners, there are prisoners being held, not all terrorists. there are children. >> that is what the news is reporting. i would want to see the facts. >> are you saying children are not involved in terrorism? young youth in occupied territories in gaza. they are not all terrorists. >> it would be hard for anyone to make the case israel is not one of the freest, most democratic countries in that region. they have more freedom and religious read -- freedom than their neighbors to them.

humanitarian aid they give to the palestinians cannot be denied. >> people cannot really be free when they are given everything by someone else. and when their egress is determined by another country. that is not freedom, julie. i would say donald trump would even say those prisoners are terrorists. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends,