♪ geoff: good evening. i am geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight. robert f. kennedy jr. faces tough questions over vaccine skepticism and medicaid reform at his confirmation hearing to lead the department of health and human services.

geoff: president trump signs the first bill of his second term into law --- cracking down on undocumented immigrants. we check in on the nation's rapidly changing policies and what options remain for immigrants seeking entry into the u.s. >> there is no pathway to asylum at a port of entry or any other manner in the united states. amna: and the pentagon revokes the security detail for general mark milley, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff who served under and has been critical of president trump. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by. >> on an american cruise line's journey travelers experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england

islands. our fleet of small cruise ships explores seaside villages and historic harbors where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs "newshour." >> in 1995, two set out to make wireless coverage affordable for all. u.s.-based customer support. consumer cellular. ♪ >> the judy and judy blume colder foundation. the walton family foundation. working for solutions so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the john d. and

catherine t. macarthur foundation. more information at macfound.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. ♪ amna: welcome to the "newshour." after widespread confusion, the trump administration today walked back some of its message about a funding freeze on trillions of dollars of federal grants and loans. geoff: this afternoon, the white house said an office of management and budget memo, that outlined a temporary pause on many government funded programs, was rescinded. but press secretary karoline leavitt later said that would not stop the federal funding

freeze tied to president trump's executive orders. laura barron lopez has been following this back and forth. our viewers could be forgiven if they are confused by all of this. clear up what you can for us. laura: the memo said nonprofits, agencies, state officials were uncertain and confused because the white house officially had only specified medicare and social security would not be touched and then later clarified medicare and snap will not be touched as well. after 24 hours of chaos and facing two lawsuits, omb said they were rescinding the memo and white house press secretary said this should end the court case. other white house officials said this was a move to get around the lawsuits. they said over and over again it does not halt the federal spending freeze and white house official said the memo ultimately serve its purpose. amna: you mentioned the white

house thought rescinding the memo could stop the legal backlash. does it? laura: no. a second federal judge today plans to issue a restraining order against the funding freeze. this was due to a lawsuit brought by attorneys general over a number of states. judge mcconnell said the memo was hugely ambiguous and it is a distinction without a difference. the white house is facing two restraining orders from two judges in two different lawsuits that are temporarily stopping the funding freeze. essentially the heart of the matter is that memo, whether in effect or rescind it does not change the way judges are viewing the lawsuits. geoff: bottom line, what does this mean for people concerned about programs? laura: it has done little to ease confusion and fear.

white house official said meals on wheels, a program that delivers food to seniors and some disabled people would not be affected. meals on wheels said that is not how they are approaching this. they said they are still flying completely blind. while all of this is happening federal workers are also facing a lot of confusion because the office of personnel management, essentially the government's hr, since in email to employees seeking mass resignations, saying you can say yes up to next week. if they agree to take this resignation, they can potentially work from home but it is not clear exactly how the white house is able to do this. geoff: laura barron-lopez, our thanks to you as always. laura: thank you. amna: meanwhile, on capitol hill, one of president trump's most consequential, and controversial, nominees made his case for the top job at the department of health and human services.

geoff: in his first of two hearings, former environmental lawyer and presidential candidate robert f. kennedy, jr. took tough questions from senators, as he also faces blistering criticism from his own family. here's lisa desjardins. [applause] lisa: robert f. kennedy, jr., president trump's pick to lead the department of health and human services, greeted with applause and fanfare. he described his mission, and concern, about america's chronic health failures. mr. kennedy: today, americans' overall health is in grievous condition. over 70% of adults and 1/3 of children are overweight or obese. lisa: kennedy has won supporters in part by railing against processed food and the pharmaceutical industry as health catastrophes. but he has also sparked concern, evident by rows of doctors and nurses in the room to oppose him. he addressed his controversial record on vaccines, before loud protests interrupted him. mr. kennedy: news reports have claimed that i am anti- vaccine

or anti-industry. i am neither. >> you are! mr. kennedy: i am pro safety. lisa: it's a change from his past words and tone. mr. kennedy: they poisoned an entire generation of american children. lisa: kennedy has a long history of vaccine skepticism, the washington post found dozens of disparaging statements including , about routine childhood vaccines -- like for for measles, mumps and rubella - at times wrongly claiming that vaccines cause autism. mr. kennedy: what is the cure for measles? chicken soup and vitamin a. all of my kids are vaccinated. lisa: today kennedy put his views this way. mr. kennedy: i will do nothing as hhs secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines. in my advocacy, i've often disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. well, i'm not gonna apologize for that.

lisa: but democrats railed against him as someone with dangerous health theories. >> did you say lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon? mr. kennedy: i probably did say that. lisa: and as someone, they say, who is posturing to get this job. >> it doesn't matter what you come here and say that is not true. unlike other jobs in, were confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death. lisa: his first of two days of testimony, today's is the more important. the senate finance committee is the only one that will vote on his confirmation to oversee one of the largest budgets in the u.s. government, including medicare, medicaid, the food and drug administration and the centers for disease control. republicans largely asked friendly questions, and defended president trump's nominee. >> we believe in science. i'm thankful that you do too. lisa: but democrats hoped to crack that unity by pointing to his past support of abortion rights. >> i have never seen any major

politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when trump asked you to become hhs secretary. lisa: republican senator steve daines asked if kennedy might try to limit pills, mifepristone, used for early pregnancy abortions. mr. kennedy: president trump has asked me to study the safety of mifepristone. yes, i have not taken a stand on how to regulate it. lisa: but democrats fired back. >> here are the safety studies that tell us mifepristone is safe and effective. lisa: kennedy ultimately suggested more pilot programs. not in the room - but part of the nomination fight has been kennedy's caroline kennedy, cousin caroline kennedy, daughter of former president , john f. kennedy. in a scathing letter and video recording previously she urged senators to reject his nomination. >> bobby himself is a predator. lisa: kennedy accused rfk junior of being an exploiter. >> it is incomprehensible to me

that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of america's life and death situations. lisa: but republicans cast him as a nonpartisan attempting to bridge the divide. >> i thank you for that. i truly appreciate what you are doing here. lisa: elsewhere on capitol hill, two more nominees with smoother paths to confirmation: wall street executive - and cryptocurrency backer - howard lutnick to run the commerce department, and former senator kelly loeffler to be in charge of the small business administration. and, more picks getting green lights -- pam bondi to be attorney general advanced , through committee, a step closer to the job. lee zeldin to head the environmental protection agency was fully confirmed by the senate. for the pbs "newshour," i am lisa desjardins. geoff: for more are joined by dr. paul offit, director of the vaccine education center at the children's hospital of philadelphia. thank you for being with us.

dr. offit: thank you. geoff: we heard rfk junior insist if he has confirmed he will not try to take vaccines away or impose obstacles to vaccine access. do you buy that? dr. offit: not for a second. he has told you who e is for the last 20 years. he has been a vigorous anti-vaccine activist. he said he thinks no vaccine is a benefit. he said he thinks the polio vaccine killed more people than it saved. he does not think the hepatitis b vaccine works. he is suing the maker of the hpv vaccine. he thinks vaccines are causing chronic disease in children and if he is in a position to do so he will do everything he can to make vaccines less affordable and available. geoff: you try to say several times he was for vaccine safety and suggested that is not the same as being opposed to vaccines. how does that strike you?

dr. offit: what he is is he is for studies that prove this science resistant belief he has. he continues to claim vaccines cause autism, although dozens of studies have shown vaccines do not cause autism. he talks about caring about vaccine safety, he does not. he cares about trying to find studies that support these beliefs that have been refuted by scientific studies. he wants the kind of studies that prove them right although those studies do not exist in good journals. geoff: if he is confirmed he would have control of a sprawling bureaucracy of an annual budget more than $1 trillion, responsible for funding the health care care of millions of americans. at a certain point during the hearing he appeared to mix up the federal programs medicaid and medicare. what questions does not raise for you? dr. offit: it has not been his focus.

over the last 20 years with his work on children's health, his focus has been primarily on vaccines. he is more recently adopting the make america healthy a kennedy at right kinds of foods. that sells -- make america healthy again and eat the right kinds of foods. we do not want him to be in the position to be in charge of any of that, whether nutrition or medicare or medicaid. geoff: his focus on nutrition, chronic health conditions and a push against processed foods. you say there is no benefit if he is confirmed. dr. offit: not him. his point is right, that we spend a lot of money per capita on health care yet if you look at us compared to other developed countries we are far down on the list in terms of longevity and infant mortality so we can do much better. i agree. we can eat better, exercise

better, do a lot of things that make us healthier. drink less, smoke less. he is not the guy to head that because he has fixed believes that are resistant to science. if you show him he is wrong he will not believe it because he holds onto these believes like religious beliefs. geoff: he said food regulators are too close to the industries they are supposed to hold to account. does he have a point? dr. offit: it is always about the science. these are certainly the people who make foods make money, people who make vaccines make money from making vaccines. it is always about the science. this notion these industries are too close to regulators sounds good but it what it boils down to is what is the evidence that has made a difference? the evidence that means we have vaccines that are unaffected for

food that is unsafe. show that rather than vague handwaving that there is a vast conspiracy that means to do us harm. geoff: dr. paul offit, thank you for your time and insight. dr. offit: thank you. ♪ amna: we start the day's other headlines in northern india. authorities say at least 30 people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede during the world's largest religious gathering. tens of millions of hindus have made the pilgrimage to the city of prayagraj for the maha kumbh festival. hindus believe that a ritual bath at the meeting point of some sacred rivers can wash away past sins, and stop the process of reincarnation. authorities say the stampede broke out when people tried to jump a line of barricades. [sirens] amna: responders rushed people to hospitals as others tried to escape the crowd. some survivors say their family members are still missing.

>> we were walking when people started pushing aggressively which led to everyone falling. then people started stepping and walking over us. nobody helped us to get up. my father has gone missing. amna: officials say the situation is now under control. the festival happens every 12 years. more than 400 million people are expected to attend this year, over a period of about six weeks. the state department raised its travel advisory for the democratic republic of congo to its highest level today, advising americans not to travel there. the warning comes as the m23 rebel group is reportedly claiming more towns in the eastern province of south kivu. the rwanda-backed group had already captured goma this week, saying they had restored "peace" to the city. meantime, soldiers fighting for congo -- including foreign mercenaries -- laid down their weapons at the border with rwanda today. armed groups have long battled for control of eastern congo, which is rich in vital minerals.

back in this country, federal prosecutors are dropping all criminal proceedings against president donald trump's co-defendants in his classified documents case. walt nauta, mr. trump's valet, and carlos de oliveira, his mar-a-lago property manager, were charged with conspiring to obstruct the fbi's investigation into the president's hoarding of classified documents. if approved by an appeals court, today's move would effectively end the entire case. separately, mr. trump appealed to overturn his conviction in his new york hush money case. he was sentenced earlier this month to what's known as a "unconditional discharge," making him the first person with a criminal record to step into the presidency. former new jersey senator bob menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his bribery conviction today. he was found guilty last year of acting as a foreign agent of egypt, and accepting bribes of cash and gold bars, in exchange

for political favors. court sketches showed menendez in tears as he addressed the judge today. but the judge told him, you stood at the apex of our political system. somewhere along the way you lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good. the long-time democratic senator maintained his innocence outside court, and claimed he was the victim of a "political witch hunt." >> president trump is right, this process is political, and corrupt to the core. i hope president trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system. amna: earlier today, two of the former senator's codefendants were also sentenced. new jersey businessmen received sentences of seven and eight years respectively. stocks slipped after the federal reserve held steady on interest rates. the dow jones average fell more

than 130 points on the day. the nasdaq is back 100 points. the s&p 500 also ended in negative territory. and we are officially in the year of the snake as lunar new year festivities take place across the globe. in beijing, people rang bells and lit incense to ward off people's spirits and wish for good fortune as they celebrate what is also called the spring festival in china. ♪ in hong kong, hundreds of performers took part in a night parade near the city's famous harbor. and the streets of new york gave way to colorful dragon figures and fireworks to mark the occasion. the lunar new year is considered a time to wish friends and loved ones good work and prosperity for the year ahead. still to come on the "newshour,"

national test scores paint a bleak achievement picture in the aftermath of the covid pandemic. we remember more of the victims of california's devastating wildfires. ♪ >> this is the pbs "newshour," from the david m rubenstein studio and weat washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: president donald trump has signed the first a of his second term. it is an immigration action that will change how ice can arrest migrants. the lincoln riley act, named after -- the laken riley asked allows for the detention of undocumented immigrants charged with crimes related to theft. it also allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government if they think the states have suffered due to failures to enforce immigration

laws. the president also announced an executive order to open a 30,000-bed detention center at guantanamo bay for deported migrants. amna: the action the president has taken in his first days in office extend far beyond legal immigration, closing the door to legal pathways to immigration as well. laura barron-lopez is back for a closer look at how migrants have been navigating the changes. laura: the trump administration has shut down or indefinitely halted most legal avenues for migrants to come to the u.s. we both pathways include a mobile app, humanitarian parole for migrants from countries, all refugee admissions in a protected status extension for more than 600,000 venezuelans. joining me to discuss the impact is the director of advocacy and legal services from el paso, texas. and the president and ceo of global refuge. thank you so much for joining.

jennifer, i want to start with you on the biden-era phone app that allowed migrants to schedule an appointment at a legal entry point to be processed by border officials. tom homan was recently asked about this. >> all appointments of the cbp app have been canceled. what should people do who are seeking asylum? >> go to the embassy, go to the port of entry. you should not come to this country and asked for solomon the first thing you do is break our laws. laura: what legal options do migrants have at this point? are there any options to claim asylum? >> at this point in time, no, there is no pathway to asylum at a point of entry or any other mentor in the united states. i need to correct the record that cbp-1 was the legal way

until the 20th of this month with the suspension of cbp-1, that was very much a legal system. it was enacted by president biden at the time that required information ahead of the appointment, showing up at the point of entry and then you were subject to a screening. now that that has been taken away, we have no pathways. laura: the president also halted all refugee resettlement and funding for organizations like yours. explain the scope of who is impacted and what this means for refugees who were ready to come to the u.s. and those already here. >> it is having a sweeping impact. i will acknowledge that confusion rules the day but we are seeking clarity on what this means for our afghan allies, refugee families. it has been difficult to overlay the executive orders against the

stop work order, against the agency's waivers and the federal injunction. what we do know is a could have an utterly devastating impact for families already here. global refuge alone is serving nearly 6000 people who would be impacted. these are refugees relying on our assistance to secure housing, health care, and rolled their kids in school. this is after they went through a legal pathway, years waiting in the third country or refugee camp after going through extreme vetting. they jump through every legal who we put in their way -- every legal hop we put -- every legal hoop we put in their way. laura: all those refugees have been put through extensive vetting. what are you hearing from immigrants in el paso about how they are feeling with this shutdown? >> there is so much fear, so

much confusion. it has been very difficult to try to disseminate accurate information. we have also seen a drop in school participation. students are not showing up at school due to fear. we have seen drops and individuals attending community services, people are scared to come to their legal appointments with us to talk about their cases. it is devastating. our roll in the meantime is to try to provide some sense of security and a promise that we are not going anywhere while we try to figure out what will happen next. laura: what are you advising immigrants do, the ones stuck in limbo the do not have the pathway through cbp one? the ones who had their appointments to claim asylum and go through the process canceled? >> these conversations have been difficult. there is a team of us going into juarez to explain what the

current situation is. the answer is we do not know what will happen next but at this point in time it does not look like your appointment will be rescheduled. we are advising families to make safety plans, to decide where they can go next, to get their children safe, secure housing. there is a lot of life planning that needs to go on for individuals who never intended to remain in northern mexico but were hoping they would find safety with that appointment to come to the u.s. laura: the president has also shut down humanitarian parole for migrants from cuba, haiti, nicaragua, venezuela and the extension for hundreds of thousands of venezuelans who had temporary protected status. what signal does it send that the u.s. is not open to people fleeing danger? >> these types of decisions have a devastating impact for people who have built their lives here.

many have fled on hardship, political violence, food shortages, collapsed economy. it is not just a 600,000 venezuelans who are impacted. these are families, workers, parents of u.s. children who now face the terrifying prospect of being forced to return. it is such an important emphasis in explaining that although there has been so much focus on the response to undocumented immigrants, unauthorized migration, the brunt of these orders seek to dismantle illegal immigration systems. what that means issue throw wrenches into gears that started working in creating functional and orderly legal pathways to the u.s., it means -- the approach will lead people who in some cases are so incredibly desperate because they are fleeing for their lives and the

lives of their children, what happens is that out of fear will do whatever it takes to reach safety. what that means is many will pair their life savings to cartel smugglers. that is how u.s. immigration policy can end up pushing people toward exploitation and ultimately line the pockets of the very transnational crime organizations we are trying to fight. laura: thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: overnight secretary of defense pete hegseth remove the security detail protecting former chairman of the joint chiefs mark milley. he had that security not only as a former chairman but because he faces ongoing threats for his involvement in the 2020 u.s. drone strike that killed a top iranian general. hegseth also pulled his security

clearance. >> and the pentagon today for the portrait hung of the 39th army chief and snap, there is a blank wall. where the portrait hung of the 20th chairman of the joint chiefs, there is a blank wall. now the trump administration is doing more than painting over mark milley's legacy, it is threatening to punish them for comments like this. >> we do not take an oath to a king or queen or tyrant or dictator. we do not take an oath to a wannabe dictator. >> the secretary of defense pete hegseth directed the defense department inspector general to consider an investigation into milley's conduct despite a previous report that exonerated him. >> if you undermined the chain of command which general milley did under the previous trump administration we will review those actions inside the defense department. >> the pentagon also stripped

milley of security detail although the threat against him from iran and his role of the death of soleimani is still active. the senate intelligence chairman confirmed it this weekend. >> intelligence in the last few days, the threat to anyone involved in president trump's strike on soleimani is persistent, it is real. >> president trump chose milley as his chairman, seniormost military advisor but the two eventually clashed, especially over milley's initial presence with trump in 2020. when trump appeared near the white house after protesters demanding justice for george floyd were cleared by police. >> i should not have been there. by presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of military involvement. >> after january 6 milley said he called his chinese counterpart to avoid conflict. he called it approved communication. trump in 2023 called it an act

so egregious that in times gone by the punishment would have been death. president biden pardoned milley so he cannot be court-martialed. any decision against him could reduce his rank, even in retirement. geoff: for perspective on this we turn -- he served as the undersecretary during the first trump administration. he also had a 25 year career in the navy, serving as its top lawyer in uniform. i want to start with your reaction to the trump white house ending general milley's security detail, revoking his security clearance and the defense department opening an investigation into his background for the apparent offense of his personal disloyalty to donald trump. >> i have mixed emotions. this may, surprise, sadness. i think many assumed the

rhetoric during the campaign was just that -- rhetoric. the president's promise for retribution was rhetoric. unfortunately, with the executive orders indicates it was not rhetoric. we should take him at his word. what he says regarding getting even with others he perceived slighted him or criticized him is very real. removing general milley's security detail causes threats to him and his family. most threats are ongoing. those threats came because he performed his duties as an army officer. the country owes him that protection. to remove the protection now is just shameless. geoff: the new defense secretary pete hegseth was on fox this evening and he accused general milley of breaking the chain of command while serving under president trump in the first term. what impact might that assertion, that accusation have on the inspector general

investigation, and how might that impact pete hegseth's recommendation to donald trump once this investigation ends? >> you have asked the right questions. first of all i do not understand how it the chain of command. general milley as the chairman of the joint chiefs was not an operational chain of command. the chairman's duties are to advise the secretary and president on military matters. he does not command any forces. i do not understand how that impacted the chain of command. perhaps the secretary misspoke or the secretary does not understand the chain of command. i think it sends a terrible message. not only does it send a message that retribution toward general milley for what he is perceived to have said but i think the messages to others currently serving on active duty in senior positions. if you do not toe the line, if you do not line up with what this administration wants, you run the risk of the same retribution the general milley is the subject of.

any good leader wants to surround themselves and empower those who work for them to be in disagreement. to offer alternatives. challenge assumptions. that is not with this administration seems to be signaling to senior military. it seems to be signaling you better get in line or we will come after you. geoff: if that is the message this administration is sending, how do you think serving officers might receive it and respond? >> i think it will be as shocked as i am. first of all that they are removing the protection. second of all they took the photos down. i cannot think of anything more petty than that. finally, they are threatening his retirement great. there is a process for that and that process involves the secretary of defense analyzing whatever report he receives in making a recommendation to the president. it sounds like the secretary has prejudged and has in mind what his recommendation will be before there has been an investigation. geoff: what are the practical

effects of this kind of political retribution? what are the real negative consequences that could result from this? >> i think it is chilling. it is chilling for unvarnished recommendations to criticize assumptions, offer alternatives. it creates an atmosphere of just yes men and women. "yes, mr. president. yes, mr. secretary. whatever you think is right, we will do." geoff: jim mcpherson, former under secretary of defense army. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. ♪ amna: american students continue to struggle in both reading and

math and the gap between the highest and lowest performing kids is widening to historic levels. that is according to new data from a national test administered to fourth and eighth graders known as the nation's report card peered across-the-board test scores remain below pre-pandemic numbers. compared to 2019, fourth-graders draw three points in math and five points in reading. eighth freighters dropped eight points in math and five points in reading. the lone exception was a slight uptick in fourth grade math results compared to 2022. we are joined by the governor of colorado and the chair of the national governors associating. he is leading a bipartisan education policy initiative. thank you for being with us. >> pleasure joining you. amna: the federal government spent $190 billion with schools across 2021, moving out of the pandemic. a lot of people thought that would help us see a bounce back from those pandemic numbers.

aside from fourth grade math, we did not see that. why not? >> here is what was announced today and why this is news. this is called the nation's report card. the same test given to fourth graders, eighth all 50 states. we normally have states standardized testing but they are different from state to state so it is difficult to compare. that is why this nations poor kurt -- report card is so important. what we did with our gear funds, some of the one-time funds you mentioned over the last couple of years, we were able to target them around the areas we thought were mostly improving. he identified areas like math, fourth grade and eighth grade. . we saw significant improvements in colorado. it is a question of how we can target the resources we have toward those who most need it to

be able to achieve at grade level. it should not just take the federal government doing this. states are major funders of education. for most states like colorado it is between a quarter and a third. states and governors really need to step up and drive better results in the schools because we have the leverage of being funders of our schools across our state's. amna: does that say to you the fact we saw the clients everywhere else and you site improvements in colorado, are you worried the funds might not have been used the way they could or should have been across-the-board? >> there were some bright lights and we always try to learn from the bright lights. louisiana was another bright light of significant increases. what you try to do is say, look, here are some examples of what works. part of what we used to federal money for were bright spot awards.

we had schools in colorado, even during the pandemic years that had significant increases in improvements in student achievement. wow, we need to elevate that. we give them awards of $50,000. we try to learn what the practices were that led to increases in student achievement. accountability matrix, they improved. try to spread the best practices to other schools across the district. you look for bright spots. at the same time you look for decreases. what does that show the red flashing light on? amna: the other alarming trend in the data is the divergence between the highest and lowest achieving students. eighth grade math results for example it shows the highest achieving students, kids in the 90th percentile, they bounced back since 2022. students in the lowest achieving percentiles, they are still

seeing alarming learning loss. what you think explains the difference? >> where we think we can make a difference is afterschool hours. additional tutoring. support afterschool. we did a master license for some of the best mathematic software. professional development to drive interventions to make teachers be able to teach even better in those areas. another one we did in colorado that we are beginning to see the results -- we instituted universal free preschool two years ago. though students are now. they show up in fourth grade. a high-quality early education prevent some gaps you mentioned, mainly for low income and english language learners. it prevents the gap from occurring in the first place. amna: while i have you, governor, i need to ask about it story reported on, robert f.

kennedy, jr., we saw some tough lines of questioning from your fellow democrats, including fellow colorado senator michael bennett. you have bucked your party. you said you support his nomination. why? >> i did not get to watch the nominations. we are focused on issues in the state and improving education and reducing health care costs. i hope we have someone we can work with who is critical of president trump's last head of the agency, a pharmaceutical lobbyist who became the head of the agency. the fox guarding the hen house. i hope they can be more independent and we can continue to work with the department of health and human services on the waivers we need for flexibility on medicaid spending into import lower-cost drugs from other countries. we have a pending application. amna: i want to ask you on the

immigration front, there has been a lot of talk about the city of aurora in colorado. there were headlines about a pending ice raid. president trump focused on this city and said it was taken over by venezuelan gangs. it was reported that the ice operation was called off due to leaks. what can you tell us about what you have heard? are colorado law enforcement officials working with federal officials? >> i can tell you shockingly little because the administration did not reach out to us about any action in colorado. we do not know exactly what they are planning, if they are planning on going after criminals, we are ready to help however we can to locate people who violated our laws, whether they are american citizens or immigrants. we want to make sure we can apprehend criminals and keep colorado safer. there has been zero communication about us -- with

us. amna: when you look at details of enforcement operations, shouldice agents be allowed onto school grounds in colorado or to arrest parents at pickup and drop off? what are you supporting or not supporting? >> i supported kamala harris for president. we had executive order under president biden around safe spaces. ice could not go into schools or churches. that was rescinded by president trump. ice agents are not prevented from going into schools and churches. many of our school districts have been very active in making sure that students and families know their rights and that principals and school clerks know exactly what to do if ice shows up. amna: that is the colorado governor joining us tonight. thank you for your time. good to speak with you. >> thank you. ♪

amna: now we continue with a remembrances of the 29 people who died in the southern california fires. the los angeles county medical examiner's office is working to identify victims with some still classified as unidentified does. tonight we remember seven individuals recently identified and the legacies they leave behind. ♪ carolyn burns, who was bedridden, was considered at risk missing person the day after the eaton fire broke out. the los angeles county examiner confirmed her death. she was 56 years old. 75-year-old oswald was known to many as ozzie. he loved jazz music and his dog, who died with him. his niece told reporters he was

the "fun uncle." barbara lewis died in the eaton fire. she passed away in her home january 15, according to the medical examiner's office. she was 84 years old. diana webb had lost contact with her family on january 9, two days after the palisades fire broke out. she died at her home in malibu. she was 82 years old. 86, settled after emigrating from costa rica. her family try to reach her home as the blaze spread but fire was on all sides. we are all saddened by the news but rejoice in knowing she is with the lord. laura had been an at risk

missing person before authorities confirmed she died in the eaton fire. she was 71 years old. betty died in the palisades fire. her neighbor, joy, wrote on facebook that she was the sweetest lady who made the best brownies and lemon bar and made beautifuls cards for her neighbors. she was 94 years old. ♪ geoff: how about a moment of uplift? a viral online phenomenon claims to have further open the door to human-k9 communication. buttons that allow dogs to seemingly talk with humans. amna: are all these button

enthusiasts barking up the wrong tree? ♪ >> it has been a fascination of ours for generations. getting man's best friend to talk. >> i would like to play ball. >> i like the purple bird in the window. >> and for good reason. millions of us live with and love the dogs in our lives, including me. we want to know what they are thinking. >> we love dogs and we love bonding with them. while we know they understand is pretty well, many of us still struggle making sense of what they want. >> he studies animal communication. he is a cognitive scientist at the university of california san diego. >> when you see a dog scratching at the door you might know they want to get out but you do not know why they want to get out. >> our furry friends have remained frustratingly mum.

that is until this dog stepped onto a button and into online fame. stella's dog mom is christina. she is a speech pathologist who got the idea for these dog buttons after working with nonverbal children where she would use a tablet to assist them in communicating. >> at the same time i brought a puppy home who was bursting with communication that led me to the question, if dogs can understand words we say to them why can't they say words back? what if they had a different way to talk? >> the idea behind these buttons is putting a word or phrase you use all the time with your dog. for my dog that could be -- >> go for a walk. or -- >> want a treat? >> every time i do that course of action i push the button. the hope is that someday macy would push the button to communicate back with me.

>> spending weeks demonstrating her buttons for stella with no results. she was about to call it quits when stella seemed to get it. >> she started looking at the button and looking up at me. >> you are so close. >> that is when i knew there was some potential and i kept going with teaching and then a week later she said her first word outside. >> let's go outside. >> her blog and social media videos have drawn millions of viewers, including a cognitive scientist who was skeptical. i was like, well, there is one dog doing it and that is great but we know there is a history -- that history was complicated. >> that history includes a horse who wowed audiences in the early

1900s for seemingly being able to do math. it turns out he was just picking up subtle cues from his handlers. but the buttons kept growing in popularity. >> i dog, we friend. >> i had no business teaching my dog how to talk. i was not a speech language pathologist or a scientist but what the heck? >> alexis and bonnie were inspired by christina. she started posting bunny's progress online. after six years of steady work bunny knows over 100 years and she claims uses them in novel ways. >> one of the most powerful moments was when she had a fox tail embedded in the webbing between her paws. she went over to the board and pressed ouch. i said, where is your ouch? she said stranger paw.

she used ranger in a way i had never modeled it -- >> videos like this one crazy online. over 8 million people follow bunny and divide on tiktok. she wrote a book and has inspired millions to try this. >> you want treats? >> cats, otters and potbellied pigs are experimenting with the buttons? this sudden growth in button users gave an opportunity. . a large-scale study of button communication focusing on dogs. >> our plan of having some participants turned into more than 10,000 from 47 countries and is the largest animal communication study ever attempted. >> over several months the team collected and analyzed millions of button pushes and hundreds of hours of videos of dogs using them.

the conducted control behavioral studies. a first finding published in august concludes that dogs can comprehend specific words and offer contextually appropriate responses. but he said that is still a far cry from proving they can use actual human language. >> i do not see the evidence the dog's ability understanding language and anything close to the way you and i ours we talk together. >> he studies dog psychology. he directs the k9 collaboratory at arizona state university. he said dogs using the buttons are fine but do not get carried away with what is really going on. >> i do not think inside the mind of a dog there is a human mind desperate to get out. i think inside a dog's head there is a dog's mind and a dog's mind has its own way of communicating. >> when my dog wants to communicate she is hungry, she

nudges my elbow with her snout or stands by her food bowl and it is crystal clear what she wants. >> that is a beautiful example of what how you have learned your dog's language. your dog has a way of communicating with you about the desire for food. he would not gain anything by training your dog to press buttons that would said the same thing. >> for christina, who now sells her own line of button boards, they are a way of enriching and deepening our relationship to these animals that have lived alongside us for tens of thousands of years. >> buttons will never replace body language. they are another tool that gives a lot more clarification for both the dog and the human. >> want a treat? for the pbs "newshour," from the new frontier of human-k9 communication, i am william. geoff: how many of those buttons are you going to put in your house? amna: all of them.

the dog needs new buttons -- treat and now. geoff: that is the "newshour" for tonight, i am geoff bennett. amna: i am amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire "newshour" team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding has been provided by. >> a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage, the world awaits. a world of flavor. diverse destinations. and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. an british style. all with the white star service. ♪ >> friends of the "newshour," and the robert and virginia

schuler foundation. the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. 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. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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>> hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour & company . here is what's coming up. i terminated the ridiculous and incredibly wasteful green new deal . i call it the green new scam.