amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the news hour tonight, the white house defends the legality of a sweeping freeze of federal spending after a judge orders a pause on the action. amna: global experts sound the alarm about how u.s. spending cuts could impact health around the world.

>> it's a big deal and this will not be easy to recover from, with real harms we're already seeing. geoff: and, president trump orders the pentagon to abolish diversity and inclusion programs in the military. ♪ >> 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 charles kettering foundation working with inclusive democracies. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation.

supporting engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the news hour. president trump's efforts to put the brakes on government spending that was signed into law has hit a stumbling block. amna: a federal judge ordered a

temporary halt on a sweeping white house plan to pause funding for all federal grants and loans. the funding freeze was laid out in a memo from the office of management and budget late yesteday and was set to take effect today. as laura barron lopez reports, that led to a flurry of confusion and clarifications. >> good afternoon, everybody. laura: at the first white house briefing of the second trump administration press secretary karoline leavitt address an unprecedented order by the white house to freeze all federal assistance. >> is there a responsibility of the president and administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. it means no funding for illegal dei funding, the green scam that cost american taxpayers tens of billions of. dollars it means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across federal agencies. laura: she said the pause would

not affect individuals receiving direct assistance from the government, but did not answer which specific programs including medicaid were affected. the action created widespread confusion. in a statement provided to the news hour, meals on wheels, a nutrition program which delivers food to millions of seniors said, the lack of clarity and uncertainty is creating chaos for local providers. not knowing whether they will be reimbursed for meals served today, tomorrow. who knows how long this could go on. after the briefing they clarified mandatory programs like medicaid and snap will continue without pause. the freeze could still affect trillions of dollars of federal assistance ranging from funding for disaster relief to health research infrastructure projects and beyond. >> is it woke to fund cancer research, or to rebuild an unsafe bridge? laura: on capitol hill this morning senator democrats lambasted the freeze calling it an unlawful overreach for

disregard already passed by congress. >> no matter how much he may believe he does, the president does not have the authority to ignore the law and we will fight this in every way we can. >> they froze it? i'm glad. laura: at the gop policy retreat in florida house republicans deferred to the president. >> let's wait and see what the result is. i'm sure we will work together on the right solution. laura: legal challenges have begun. new york attorney general letitia james announced a lawsuit to block a funding freeze. >> the president does not get to decide what laws to enforce and for whom. when congress dedicates funding for program, the president cannot pull that funding on a whim. laura: as some programs remain in limbo, the agencies in a follow-up memo, said they had to report to omb in 10 days of any federal programs and halted

promote gender ideology or abortion or related activities. the justice department announced it fired more than a dozen officials who worked with special counsel jack smith on the two federal prosecutions of president trump. in the white house briefing room, karoline leavitt was asked if trump directed the firing. >> this was a memo that went out by the presidential office in the president is the leader of the white house, so yes. laura: u.s. immigration and customs enforcement made 179 arrests yesterday, the most in a single day since trump returned to the white house. the crackdown resulted in more than 3500 arrests since last thursday. they said undocumented migrants with no criminal record will be deported and ignored the administration's does -- decision to allow raids near churches, schools and hospitals.

>> what is the standard, to go into an element you school? we heard this will provide a chilling effect of parents in the school drop off line. >> it should not be a chilling effect unless your child is a terrorist or public safety threat. if they are a national security threats, they should be afraid because we are looking for them. laura: this as kristi noem addressed dhs staff after joining i.c.e. for a raid in new york city. president trump's cabinet further solidified. >> in this boat the nomination is confirmed. laura: the senate confirmed fox news host to be the transportation secretary. also hearings for more controversial pix like rfk and tulsi gabbard are scheduled later this week. amna: it was set to take effect at 5:00 p.m. today but a judge

in d.c. temporary blocked the action. geoff: tell us more about this judge's ruling. amna: the district judge said there has to be a pause on this freeze president trump was trying to institute across loans and grants. this order only applies to a pause of disbursements in open grants. this blockade is only going to be until monday, february 3, when this judge will hear more arguments about the legality or non-legality of this action the white house has taken. this after a lot of confusion across organizations that rely on this federal assistance. geoff: members of congress said medicaid payments had been affected in their states and the white house had said it would not be affected. give us a sense what programs are affected. laura: we don't have a sense.

we asked the white house for a comprehensive list and they did not provide one. a top aide trump blamed the press for the confusion but medicaid websites went off-line, according to democratic senators. republican leaders in louisiana asked the white house for more clarity. there appears to be a pattern here, which is that stephen miller has said, and others in the trump white house, that they don't believe the impoundment control act is constitutional. they don't believe other laws they are potentially violating his constitutional. they believe the president does not have to follow them. geoff: thank you. amna: to understand the impact of this sweeping pause we are joined by democratic congresswoman rosa delauro, the ranking member of the house appropriations committee. thank you for joining us. i am sure you have seen a judge issued a temporary halt on the implementation of this freeze on

federal funds and grants until february 3 hearing. it was supposed to go into effect at 5:00 today and it will not. what is your reaction to that news? rep. delauro: a very positive reaction. thank you, it is great to be with you. this is outrageous what the trump administration is trying to rob appropriated funds. there is a process we go through in the appropriations bills and to get them passed, you have to have buy-in from republicans, democrats, the senate, the president signs the bill and those are to be administered by agencies. that is where we are. outrageous. i'm delighted this judge understands this needs to have more debate, clarification and

we need a hearing on it. in the meantime, we can provide all the information needed to talk about what will happen. what happens to the american people, hard-working people? amna: let me ask you about what we have already seen today. the white house said it is a temporary pause. they also said assistance going to individuals would not be impacted. they sent a facts sheet which said medicaid and snap benefits or food stamps would not be impacted. funding for pell grants, headstart, rental assistance, would not be paused. is that consistent with what you have seen in your state? rep. delauro: no. just off the press conference our governor and attorney general, the fact is, direct federal aid connecticut is $14.3 billion, all of which is in jeopardy.

they cannot pick and choose what they want to fund or not. the congress has power of the purse by virtue of the constitutional and article i section 9 clause 7, no money shall be drawn from the treasury but in cases of appropriation. we voted on these bills, they were passed, the money is there. they cannot be deciding because they had a backlash that they are going to redirect, not going to take money from this effort, but from that? hell no. amna: we did speak to a constitutional expert and he said in his view, this move is unconstitutional. here is what he said about why -- >> the 1974 impoundment control act is basically intended to create a process where if the president wants to not spend money congress has appropriated, he's supposed to go to congress and tell them why and then give

congress 45 days to either agree with the president or disagree with the president. we've seen none of that here. the president does not have the right in the first place to decide for himself what the spending priorities are going to be. that's literally congress's job. amna: i guess the question is, is there anything lawmakers can do about this right now? rep. delauro: we are working with, in concert with, the lawsuits that are out there with our attorney general and others around the country, with nonprofit groups we represent. and we will look for legislative opportunities for what we can do. but in the meantime, you probably have seen what the administration has put out, what

they are doing. they are going to cut the green new deal. there is no green new deal. that is a done deal. they talk about a woke agenda, whatever they think that is. amna: i hear your concerns and i know there are a lot of questions and uncertainty around this now. i need to ask, in many ways we knew this was coming. trump when he was running for office in 2023 said he would do this. here is how he put it -- pres. trump: when i return to the white house i will do everything i can to challenge the impoundment control act in court and if necessary get congress to overturn it. we will overturn it. amna: what can be done about it? how can you make sure you don't allow more of your power to go to the executive? rep. delauro: we are not going to do that. you heard the constitutional attorney talk about that this is invalid. the supreme court has spoken out

on the impoundment. he did that in conjunction with, i believe, was it ronald reagan, and said it is not inherent in the constitution for the president to have this power. amna: but you are saying it is now a matter for the courts? rep. delauro: we are going to fight this battle before the courts. the fact is, he does not have the power. supreme court, government accountability office, department of justice, have all spoken out on this issue over the years. but you know what? you know what this is about? this is about america's hard-working families. this is about a family who wants to send their kids to school, who has a child who has may be developmental disabilities and they need to go to special education. this is about local law enforcement.

this is about defunding the police and our firefighters, cutting off that money. the violence against women act, the funding for that. our community health center which for millions of people across this country's primary health care. that would cut off the funds and freeze the funds for these groups. for state opioid response grants. are they going to reverse themselves on all of this? they cannot pick and choose what they want to fund or not. that is the purview and power of the u.s. congress. amna: democratic congresswoman rosa delauro of connecticut joining us tonight. thank you for your time. rep. delauro: thank you. geoff: for a g.o.p. perspective we are joined by congresswoman nicole malliotakis of new york. she is at the republican house

retreat in florida tonight. understanding trump believes he has a mandate the administration wants to make sure federal funding is in alignment with his agenda items, it is a core constitutional principle that congress gets to decide how to spend taxpayer money. it is one of the separations of powers. do you have concerns about the president's actions? rep. malliotakis: congress does have the power of the purse. that is why we allocate the funding and determine what levels to what agencies. the difference here is, he is talking about grants and loans decided by bureaucrats. it is not congress, and this is one of our pet peeves with the process. we have too many federal bureaucrats sitting behind a desk, not in touch with our constituents, that are making decisions on how these grants are issued and what organizations. i think it is warranted there is a pause so we can reflect on how

this money is spent. also i think president trump is in his right to say he issued 350 executive orders over the past week. a lot of them would mean certain programs, dei, green new deal programs, would not be eligible any longer for federal funding. to put a pause, to review, to make sure grants that are issued, our precious tax dollars, which are limited, are being sent to organizations that are in compliance with the trump agenda and executive orders he has issued over the past week. i think that is a fiscally responsible thing to do. we are stewards of taxpayer money and want to make sure the money is spent properly. geoff: understanding that trump rejects biden's climate initiatives there is no green new deal, but how is this not an

encroachment on the purview of congress given this funding was approved by congress and signed into law? rep. malliotakis: because we are not talking about the funding level, that is not changing. we are talking about the way these grants are issued. it is not congress. when we do earmarks, that is congress deciding which organizations or projects in our district are receiving funding. these are grants being issued by federal agencies and who is making that determination? it is not congress, but bureaucrats sitting in these agencies. the american people voted for a new congress, a new white house, and a change in policies. they do not want to see their tax dollars, when we have a $37 trillion debt going to these left-wing programs that were approved under the biden administration when they were in

power. geoff: the white house says this pause will not affect americans who receive direct payments from the government. there are nonprofits i imagine your constituents rely on like meals on wheels, especially serving older americans and those at the margins who say they are concerned about their funding and their ability to meet the needs of those they serve. what would you say to them? rep. malliotakis: i don't think the president issued an executive order in the last week that affects meals on wheels, nor do i know that they were expecting a grant from the federal government. this is a pause to review the money that is supposed to be going out. it is appropriate to make sure people's tax dollars are used appropriately and in line with policies of this administration and executive orders put in place over the last week.it is as simple as that . if they are not violating executive orders, the money will

flow to them. geoff: i want to ask you about the immigration raids we have seen in new york city and others across the country. nearly 1200 arrests on sunday alone and nearly half those detained do not have criminal records, according to a senior trump administration official. how does that sit with you? rep. malliotakis: they are criminals and that is why they were arrested. they have been arrested for all sorts of crimes. you look at the list in new york city alone. we had an ms13 gang member and a guy from the dominican republic wanted for two murders, you have sex offenders, all kinds of criminals and gang members taken off the streets. these are not innocent people and anyone acting like they are is not being honest with the american people. these are hardened criminals, gang members.

there are suspected terrorists in the mix as a relates to new york city alone. my constituents who have dealt with havoc on our streets because of the criminal element allowed to enter into this country under the biden administration are quite pleased they are seeing these individuals were dangerous and committing crimes being detained and deported. i would urge my mayor, nypd, my governor to comply with these detainers and not stand in the way of federal law being enforced. we have thousands of crimes. geoff: that is not what the senior trump administration official is saying. nearly half of those detained do not have a violent criminal record. their only offense was coming across the border illegally and that is a civil offense, not a criminal offense. rep. malliotakis: that is not my understanding at all.

my understanding is, they are going after criminals and those i have seen are dangerous and committing crimes. we have tens of thousands of people who committed horrible crimes. in new york city alone.we have to make sure those people are removed. my constituents see it every day, read about it. there have been cops assaulted by people in the country illegally, people stabbed, a woman set on fire by somebody on the train and died, by the hands of someone in the country illegally. cops shot at by people in the country illegally and murder committed in nyc by people in the country illegally. it has to end. that is who this administration is prioritizing. if you are seeing something else, i would love to see that source. geoff: ok, that is congresswoman nicole malliotakis of new york.

thank you. ♪ we start the day's other headlines with a growing crisis in congo. a rebel group known as m23, which is backed by rwanda has claimed the critical city of goma in the country's east. it's a major trade center, home to about 2 million people. hundreds of thousands have been displaced during a decades-long conflict, which the u.n. calls one of the most serious humanitarian crises on earth. the taking of goma was met with protests in the capital, with demonstrators targeting foreign embassies including france, the u.s., uganda and others. they accuse the countries of supporting rwanda, which they say has fueled the conflict. >> what rwanda is doing is in collusion with france, belgium, the united states of america, and others. congolese people are tired. how many times do we have to die and in how many days? geoff: rwanda has denied

supporting the m23 rebal group, but admitted to keeping troops and missile systems inside congo to protect its own borders. the u.s. state department advised american citizens today to shelter-in-place, and to leave the country while they still can. oklahoma's board of education voted unanimously today to require parents to provide proof of their child's immigration status when enrolling them in public schools. under the proposed rule, parents would have to show a u.s. birth certificate, passport, permanent resident card or other legal document. those without legal status can still enroll. but school districts would be required to report the number of those without documentation to state eductation officials. at a press conference today, oklahoma state school superintendent ryan walters explained why thinks the data is -- why he thinks the data is necessary. >> we want to make sure that all that information is gathered so that we can make decisions on where resources go, where personnel goes, and we can continue to make sure that oklahoma is leading the country in education reform.

geoff: today students and parents protested the board decision. they still need approval from oklahoma's legislature and governor. in hawaii, one of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting once again. nearby webcams captured the kilauea volcano spewing lava as high as 120 feet in the air today. the hawaiian volcano observatory says it's the seventh eruption since december. they have lasted anywhere between 13 hours to eight days. officials say high levels of volcanic gas are a primary concern for anyone in the area. but the lava does not pose any risks to homes or businesses. on wall street today, stocks recovered some ground after yesterday's turbulence in the ai sector. the dow jones industrial average added more than 130 points on the day. the nasdaq jumped nearly 400 points, regaining a good chunk of monday's losses. the s&p 500 also ended firmly in positive territory. and, the most visited museum in the world is getting a much-needed renovation.

>> [speaking french] geoff: if you don't speak french he said long live the louvre's , new renaissance. with those words, french president emmanuel macron announced the project today, in front of the museum's most famous resident, the mona lisa. the plans include giving the da vinci masterpiece her own dedicated room. the project is expected to take up to a decade, and cost hundreds of millions of euros. the musem's last upgrade dates back to the 1980s, when the iconic glass pyramid was installed. since then, it's become plagued by outdated facilities and overcrowding. still to come on the news hour, southern california eyes the extent of its long recovery from this month's deadly wildfires. and we sit down with grammy winning jazz vocalist samara joy who's up for more awards on sunday. >> this is pbs news hour west

-- news hour from the rubenstein studio in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: the uncertainty around the trump administration's funding phrase is alarming many in the world about global health because it could affect key programs overseen by the u.s. agency for international development or usaid. the state department issued a waiver on its pause of foreign assistance in some circumstances including for life-saving medicine and medical services, but the waiver explicitly excludes activities that involve abortions, gender or dei programs and there is concern about how their freeze will affect other programs. for more, we turn to dr. atul gawande, who oversaw these programs as assistant administrator for global health at usaid during the biden administration. thanks for being with us.

dr. gawande: glad to be here. geoff: you had a $10 billion yearly budget, more than 2000 staff in over 65 countries and there was a stop work order just met this evening with a waiver which suggests the trump administration is rethinking their approach. as best as you can gauge it, what is the impact? dr. gawande: i hope they are rethinking. the stop work order that came in with the president's signing of an executive order on january 20, already we have seen the shutdown of major programs. i'm talking about assistance for the global hiv program. their central information systems were turned off yesterday. the distribution of drugs were ordered to stop and that affects 20 million people who require access to those drugs for

staying alive. but the waiver hopefully opens the door for that work to resume. but we don't know. it has been disruptive on several other fronts. the waiver does not seem to include programs that would eradicate polio, that are stopping tropical diseases that have been nearly eliminated like river blindness. around outbreaks. there was an episode in the congolese, a report of an ebola outbreak. that ability to have surveillance and partnership with w.h.o., that is not waived. organizations like usaid are not permitted to have committed occasions with w.h.o. that means cricket processes --

critical processes that keep america safe from outbreaks and give us the flu vaccine that w.h.o. coordinates through its influenza network, those capacities are locked and frozen. geoff: a trump administration spokesperson said this about the funding phrase -- president trump stated clearly the u.s. is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the american people, reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hard-working taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative. react to that characterization of the work of usaid. at first glance there is no direct return for the american people. dr. gawande: a couple things. one, every administration does a top to bottom review of spending, but you do not need a pause to do that.

it is enormously disruptive. you are seeing the dismantling of major functions in u.s. agencies. this is not just about policy and whether these programs are one way or the other. usaid is a cornerstone of national security. these are networks of hundreds of thousands of people, supported by awards and grants, working on behalf of the u.s., in cooperation with other countries, in areas of neutral interest. it is work like advancing agriculture, advancing markets and development, as well as economic and health developments. programs eliminating hiv, stopping tb, malaria, so it does not affect us and improves the world overall, that is a core

set of work and not some woke ideology. the u.s. has had an american center of health innovation and public health that has led the world, doubled life expectancy and this work, putting it aside, shutting it down, seeing there have been layoffs and dismissals, more than a thousand staff have been sent home. many of them fired, in the last 48 hours. that process is still underway and is a major concern. geoff: what would you say to those who hold the worldview that the u.s. should not be in the position to always have to step in and solve public health crises around the world, problems the u.s. did not create, and that there could be private organizations, philanthropies or other countries that should step in to fill the void? dr. gawande: outbreaks happening

around the world are ones that affect us no matter what. for example, avian influenza, bird flu, killed an american citizen on home soil. we have monitoring for where it is moving around the world in 49 countries and that has been shut down. staff have been sent home without pay. you start degrading and losing those people. you have to work around the world to advance health. you can't just advance health within the borders alone. geoff: thanks again for your insights. we appreciate it. ♪ amna: president trump has signed an executive order directing the pentagon to end all programs that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, known as d.e.i.

the order says the initiatives undermine military leadership, lethality, and force readiness. here's nick schifrin on the debate those programs have inspired, and what they have tried to do. x diversity, equity and inclusion is vital to making us a stronger, more unified navy. nick: for years, the military has argued diversity, makes it stronger. >> the tuskegee airmen broke the color barrier. america's women broke the gender barrier. nick: for the last five years, initiatives begun under the previous trump administration, and expanded under the biden administration, have argued equity and inclusion builds brotherhood. >> we understand the value and importance of taking care of people. nick: and the military has celebrated how it has expanded representation of women and black and hispanic service members, and leaders. >> research shows that organizations that demonstrate dei have higher, organizational effectiveness and innovation. >> there is no justifiable

reason for discrimination read -- discrimination t.he military -- discrimination. nick: the military described dei as a of historic efforts to fight racism, including as one of the first american institutions to integrate. pres. trump: here is a big deal, merit. our country is going to be based on merit again. can you believe it? nick: but president trump has argued diversity efforts are discriminatory, and distract from the military's core mission, an argument echoed by now secretary of defense pete hegseth. >> the dei policies of today are not the same as what happened back then. they're dividing troops inside formations, causing commanders to walk on eggshells, not putting meritocracy first. that's the indictment that's made by those serving right now. nick: in one of his first posts as secretary, hegseth wrote, dod doesn't equal dei. president trump's executive order prohibits the military from promoting quote divisive theories, abolishes dei offices, and gives the secretary of defense 30 days to create detailed guidance.

for perspective, we get two views: retired brigadier general chris walker had a 40 year career in the air force and was a senior advisor on diversity and inclusion from 2021 to 2023. he is on the board of advisors of stand together against racism and radicalism in the services. and retired colonel diane ryan had a 29 year career in the army, including as a professor at west point and the army war college. she deployed to iraq and focused on psychological operations. she is now an associate dean at tufts university. thanks to both of you and welcome. the president and his allies argued the department of defense spent too much money and time on d.e.i. projects and that has reduced the lethality and readiness of the troops. do you agree? gen. walker: i absolutely agree. china is serious about what they are doing and every dollar they spend is to be able to not only

mitigate our military power, but defeat it. any dollars worth spending not trying to keep up or surpassed china will keep our troops, our sailors, our marines, our airmen in mortal danger. i don't think this country is ready to watch an aircraft carrier sink to the bottom of the sea. we need to spend every dollar we have to be so awesome china would not even try. geoff: are these programs a waste of money? col. ryan: i don't think so at all. dei, diversity, equity and inclusion was part of talent management come about leveraging the talents of all our people and recognizing the different strengths people bring to the fight. it is leader development. we can certainly look at how the money is being spent, but to say

they are all bad and let's put our money into technology and things related to the fight, we forget all our fighting is done by people and we need to invest resources into building those teams. geoff: there are a senior military leaders i have spoken to that believe some of the criticisms of the d.e.i. efforts are making either women or minorities in the military nervous and turning off people who do want to fight to read what is your response? gen. walker: anybody who really wants to fight will not be turned off by any of it. anybody who i call a buttkicker, is not turned by any of this. to my colleague's comments, being a leader means knowing how to respect people.

you do not need d.e.i. training for that. i reject all of what i call the propaganda. nick: why do you even need d.e.i.? col. ryan: because people are coming from all other places, it is a rapidly changing environment. i would like to look beyond training and think about policies that help people. they help people will do things they might not have otherwise and as effective doing. a good example is uniforms. i fought for 30 years, trained in uniforms not designed for me, my body type. in the last 10 years we changed that and created helmets for women and body armor for women. women are achieving things they never could have achieved before, so that is in -- an example of an equitable investment that raises the bar for everybody.

especially in our deteriorating civility in the usa think setting standards, commanders paying attention to this, measuring it and putting resources to it is a good investment in our people. nick: i want to ask both of you about recruiting. you believe these efforts could impact recruiting? col. ryan: yes, i can't tell you how many times someone has come up to me and made those assumptions that if you let your kid go in the military they will be mistreated. i think some of the rhetoric we are hearing over the last couple weeks, would certainly strike fear in me as a parent, worried my kids are not going to be treated the way they deserve to be treated if we allow this kind of rhetoric to persist. nick: are you worried about these efforts affecting military recruitment? gen. walker: i have heard the opposite over the last four

years. i have heard from literally hundreds of vets who say they don't want their kids in the military now because it is not about military. i'm hearing from youngsters and parents saying, now i will let my kids go in. one last point. we have to do it like professional sports does it. start inspiring kids that age 10, whether they go in the military or not. have competitions with aviation, cyber. some will choose the military, some will not. but we can get the michael jordans of the world because that is what we need in order to keep china from rising. nick: thanks very much to both of you. ♪

amna: recovery efforts are underway in southern california as the fires that ravaged the state have now largely gone out. william brangham is reporting from the los angeles area and has been speaking to people who are hoping to get back to their homes to see the damage. he joins me now to break down the latest on the ground. tell us what you have been hearing from folks on the ground about the recovery efforts and what they are going through right now. william: it is a mixture of shock and grief and sadness from everybody we have talked to, as you would expect. all the people in line behind me are residents of the pacific palisades. as of noon yesterday they have been granted permission that if they go to this checkpoint, prove they lived in this neighborhood, they can get in to see their homes, many of them seeing it for the first time. we have been with some people as they go through and see what is left of their homes.

you can only imagine the difficulty. imagine if you were to see your home that you lived in for decades and it is now just this twisted, destroyed, toxic pile of debris. we went with one woman today who winter home of 47 years, a home she raised her kids in. she was walking around the perimeter and found a tiny child's tea set she had been given when she had been given when she was four years old. that was one of the few things that survived this fire. all sorts of emotions for people. where are they going to live? rebuild? will insurance pay for any of that? it is a complicated, confusing time for people. amna: what about the official response from authorities? are they still saying it is too dangerous for everyone to go back? william: they are saying that and it is a source of frustration for people.

there was a community meeting sunday were residents vented frustration that things were going to slowly. they wanted their properties cleared out so they could figure out what the future holds. local officials are saying, your properties are full of toxic debris. until someone, a contractor or the epa can get in there and get chemicals, solvents and battery acids out of the ash, we cannot clean the property. it is that tension where people want things moving faster and officials are saying it is not safe to go back. it is still a real point of contention. amna: there has also been talk about blame and the response and the recovery. we saw trump blaming california for mismanaging water resources, even though that has been disputed by state officials. what do we know to be true and what do we not yet know? william: the president has made

many accusations blaming state and local officials for management of fires, diverting or withholding water. state officials say there is no evidence any of those actions had any bearing on this fire whatsoever. president trump last night said he sent u.s. military to california to open some water taps to release water. state officials say the military was never sent to california and water supplies are plentiful here. that said, governor gavin newsom ordered an investigation into why there were reports fire hydrants in many places in los angeles were under pressure, low pressure, when they needed them most to fight the fires. many experts said it is a function of the way this municipality was built. it was built to fight a couple smaller fires, but nothing on the scale that unfolded here three weeks ago.

there is an investigation underway for that. the larger public policy issue state officials have to deal with is the simple fact they have been permitting people to live in increasingly dangerous places, tucked up into the woods, hills and forests where everyone wants to live because it is beautiful here in southern california, but those places become a tinderbox under the right circumstances and that is what we saw. amna: william reporting on the latest on the recovery efforts in los angeles. thank you. ♪ geoff: already a three time winner, jazz vocalist samara joy is up for two more grammys at sunday's awards ceremony, while her latest album is receiving critical acclaim and creating more awards buzz. all that and she is only 25

years old. senior arts correspondent jeffrey brown has more for our arts and culture series, canvas. ♪ >> ♪ you stepped out of a dream ♪ jeff: samara joy singing a jazz standard "you stepped out of a dream." following in the footsteps of legends like dizzy gillespie and john cole train, the bronx native recorded in inglewood cliffs, new jersey. >> ♪ i want to take you away ♪ jeff: earlier this month she returned to talk about her meteoric rise, surprising since her introduction to jazz came in 2017 when as a high school junior she was invited to sit in on a jazz practice. soon she was listening to ella fitzgerald and sarah vaughn. what grabbed you?

samara: the pure emotion combined with technical prowess of all the musicians and the creativity and seemingly never-ending ideas. jeff: you heard that and thought? samara: maybe i could do this. i will give it a try. jeff: hooked, joy enrolled in the state program at the university of new york at purchase. by 2019, her professors were so impressed with her abundant talent, they encouraged her to enter the coveted sarah von local jazz competition. she won and used the prize money to finance the recording of her debut album samara joy in 2020. a year later she leveraged videos of her performing going viral on social media to embark

on a first european tour. >> ♪ did you miss your train were you caught in the rain ♪ jeff: her second album anger a while was a critical and commercial success. in february 2023, joy took home two grammys for best jazz vocal album and best artist. a big win for the jazz community. samara: i have been singing all my life, my grandparents, my father. >> it helps us to know what to say in jesus' name, amen. samara: its roots stemmed from a three generation family tradition of expressing deep christian faith through gospel music. her grandmother and grandfather started the family tradition singing in the philadelphia gospel group. her father, who we met at the

family's favorite bronx restaurant, is a professional musician who has performed in front of audiences around the world. he toured for many years with a gospel star. what has it been like seeing your daughter rise like this? >> it is the essence of what dreams are made of. i often go between tears and smiles when i think about it, having an opportunity to see her perform. there is always something about her performance. jeff: his daughter has grown more come to bowl incorporating gospel roots into her jazz sound. samara: when i was first starting to listen to jazz, because it was the only genre i was listening to, i felt i did not apply as much of what i learned growing up to that. jeff: you are treating it as something new? samara: yeah. and i felt i already had a grasp on it.

jazz was the thing i had not been exposed to. now i feel like i have a grasp on both and it does not seem fake or like i'm doing it because i can, but because it is meant for something, to express a certain story. jeff: a story joy shared in the relief -- release of her christmas ep, a joyful holiday. five standards and a christmas carol recorded by joy and family members. some even joined her on a national tour in december. you are not only seeing her. >> how cool is that? singing is what a mcclendon is born to do. it is what dreams are made of. jeff: as well as fulfilling a mcclendon family dream, the

album garnered two more grammy nominations for best jazz vocal album and best jazz performance. while also introducing joy to an even wider audience. >> there are people saying, this is my first time going to a jazz concert in life. you are my first and i saw you on tiktok. some parents say, my kids introduced me to you, and i'm a fan. i've never been into jazz, ever. jeff: some of the songs on her new album, portrait. samara: ♪ time and time again ♪ jeff: you are writing more lyrics, music, why? samara: because i want to. if not now, when? dizzy, miles, all these wonderful musicians were very young when they started to

contribute so by the time they got to their 30's and 40's they were sure and established in their sound. i want to put my best effort forward to figuring out what it is i love about it and how to make it better, so 20, 30 years down the line, i have a better sense of my writing and composition style. but the crafting of it starts now. jeff: it is nice to think about those things sitting here, in the place where some of it happened. samara: yeah. and to record and here was a dream. jeff: all this is still new to you, the attention? it has been fast, right? samara: faster than i ever imagined. jeff: you are surprised? samara: yes. i knew i loved to sing. i knew my family had a beautiful

legacy of music, but i never knew where it would take me. jeff: she begins a five-month world tour in february including a debut at carnegie hall on april 30. for the pbs news hour, i'm jeffrey brown in inglewood cliffs, new jersey. geoff: her artistry is somehow fresh and timeless. amna: a joy to watch. geoff: latebreaking news. the trump administration offering severance pay to federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by february 6, according to an email obtained by the news hour who says the offer would be work -- worth nearly eight months of their salary, part of trump's effort to overhaul the u.s. government. it is unclear where the funding for those buyouts would come from. amna: and that is the news hour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your

evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style. all with our white star service. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy and peace. more information at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >>

here is what is coming up. on holocaust memorial day, we hear stories of resistance, first from double survivor, who survived both the holocaust and