geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "news hour" tonight, businesses are hit by new tariffs that the united states is slapping on mexico and canada in what's become a global trade war. >> canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight.

geoff: ukraine scrambles to salvage its fractured alliance with the u.s. after the white house suspends military aid to the country. amna: and, president trump prepares to give his first address to congress since returning to office as he slashes the federal workforce and reshapes american foreign policy. ♪ >> 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. >> i absolutely love my job because i love the people i work with. everyone is trying to connect on a personal level. ♪ >> we look out for one another.

we love to seek our teammates thrive. >> you don't have to change how you walk, how you talk. >> we can bring our authentic selves to work and youdo our best stuff. that is joy. ♪ >> the charles f. kettering foundation. working to advance inclusive democracies. learn more at kettering.org. >> the john s. and jane l. knight foundation. 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. amna: welcome to the "news hour." ahead of the president's address to congress tonight, the white house is implementing two new policies with global consequences. geoff: the trump administration is halting military aid to ukraine. and it's imposing new tariffs on mexico, canada, and china. that's sparked a wider trade war and sent markets plummeting for the second day in a row. we start tonight with the economic fallout. hours after the new tariffs took effect, a blood rebuke from america's second largest trading partner. >> even though you are a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. geoff: speaking directly to

president trump, canadian prime minister justin trudeau announced tariffs on more than $100 billion of u.s. exports in the coming weeks, a quarter of which take effect immediately. >> canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight. our tariffs will remain in place until the u.s. tariffs are withdrawn. geoff: the new u.s. tariffs in effect today impose a 25% tax on imports from canada and mexico, and raise duties on chinese goods to 20%. >> there may well be short-term price movements, but in the long term, it is going to be completely different. geoff: commerce secretary howard let nick defended the tariffs and said they could be lifted later on. he argued today's policies tied to the flow of fentanyl into the u.s. from china and across the borders with canada and mexico. >> we need to see material reduction and autopsied deaths

from opioids. this is not a trade war. geoff: trudeau says canada stepped up its efforts to control fentanyl and only a tiny fraction of the drug sees that u.s. borders comes from canada. mexican president claudia sheinbaum announced were teller tory steps to be announced on sunday. >> it is by no means are purposed to start an economic or trade competition which unfortunately and regrettably is the opposite of what we should be doing. that is integrating our economies more to strengthen our region. geoff: in beijing, china retaliated with tariffs up to 15% on u.s. farm exports. >> the countermeasures china has taken are entirely justified and necessary to safeguard its own rights and interests. geoff: trite among the u.s., china, mexico and canada totals more than $2.2 trillion across a wide swath of goods. for example, the u.s. imports of cell phones, computers and other

electronics from china. lumber from canada. and much of its produce from mexico. more than 20% of the cars, suvs and pickup trucks americans by come from canada and mexico. markets tanked again as a number of business groups and retailers warned the pain of a trade war is about to hit. >> if there's a 25% tariff, those prices will go up. geoff: brian cornell said his company imports much of its winter produce from mexico. >> those are categories where we will try to protect pricing but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days. geoff: the impact is not limited to consumers. president trump's tariffs had wall street spooked for a second-straight session today. the dow jones industrial average dropped 670 points on the day. the nasdaq ended 65 points lower after flirting with correction territory earlier in the day. the s&p 500 also ended lower, and has now erased all its gains from after trump's election. soon after the markets closed

down, commerce secretary howard lutnick told fox business that president trump may offer some kind of relief to canada and mexico from part of the tariffs tomorrow, but he offered no details. for the moment, those tariffs are in full effect. we spoke earlier about the consequences with roben farzad, economic analyst and host of public radio's "full disclosure." roben, thanks for being with us. roben: thank you, geoff. geoff: so, we've got the makings of a potentially devastating trade war. china and canada will impose their own tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of u.s. goods in response to president trump's tariffs. mexico plans to announce new levies soon. lots of uncertainty being wrought by all of this. what stands out to you? roben: we're living in the essay section of an ap history exam in, what, year 2050. i mean, that's the thing. it's like you can learn from history and we were only so analogous to the last time the united states slapped the world with so many tariffs, kind of it caused a full-throated trade war

the way we're seeing right now, but i'm still saying that there's a wait-and-see approach. certainly, the first thing to react, markets. we saw the bond market price in more likelihood of recession. we saw the stock market tumble the last few days. we see retailers, producers, farmers and the like come out and anecdotally suggest that they're stressed, but it really hasn't had time to hit yet. the true economy and for consumers to feel it. geoff: yeah, that's the big question right now. what's going to be the impact? our team spoke with steve lamar. he's president and ceo of the american apparel and footwear association. here's what he had to say. >> mexico specifically, you've got this very strong partnership between the u.s. and the mexican textile apparel industry. we ship a lot of yarns and fabrics down in mexico. they're converted into garments and they're brought back up to the united states. of course, our textile industry, they need all the export markets they can get and when we turn around and create this huge obstacle to that market. we're undermining not only the ability of our industry to create good jobs on both sides

of the border, but also to -- for the textile industry, a partner of ours, to create good jobs as well. geoff: so, he's making the point that the north american economies are so interconnected. i mean, what might be the impact on the average u.s. consumer? roben: well, there's a false nostalgia. i think donald trump, you saw in his press conference, he says there's an easy answer to this. build it, kind of soup to nuts here, integrate across the board. don't just be sending it back and forth the border of mexico, canada, whether it's textiles or autos. i will say there's tremendous slack in the system. you could always turn to a bangladesh or cambodia, el salvador. there are other markets that are very willing to take the raw materials and turn them around back to us. but if you look at the likes of walmart and target and gap and the various apparel manufacturers, towel makers, they have long-standing, you know, relationships that took 20-plus years to source after nafta that they're suddenly going to have to scramble and say, wow, i can't get this done,

and you know it's brutal. i mean, walmart is going to say, well, if you can't get it done, who can? and this is where it becomes self-defeating for us. it ends up hurting our farmers, hurting the ones that churn out the cotton, the hemp, the various other raw materials that go into these textile products, for example. geoff: well, the conservative-leaning "wall street journal" editorial board has weighed in, and they published an op-ed with the headline "trump takes the dumbest tariff plunge." and there's a line in here that stood out to me. it says mr. trump is volatile and who knows how long he'll keep the tariffs in place. wars are easy to start, not so easy to end. how might this end, roben? roben: it's interesting. it speaks to an old kind of chamber of commerce wing of the gop. you and i have talked about it before where, you know, at least very quietly, you were grateful for immigrant labor. you were grateful for the gains from trade that you would see, the fact that you could go to a walmart and buy a $20 dvd player because so much was manufactured in china and abroad. there was always a dividend for

the american consumer, which helped the american consumer, you know, build her quality of life, the things that she could afford and that freed up money for other things, but it points to a kind of a long-lost fissure in that party because very much the business chamber of commerce wing has been muted. you're seeing even with jamie dimon, the king of wall street, the ceo of jpmorgan, say, you know what, there's going to be tariffs and we got to take it. we got to take this bad medicine. it's not going to be the end of nd of coalition comes outich afterwards and say, well, look, see what you wrought, there's a better way. geoff: we've also heard president trump say that he wants the fed to cut rates. do you see a scenario where the fed would cut rates if these tariffs are proved to be a real drag on the economy? roben: i mean, if we shoot ourselves in the foot and push the economy into a recession, then that would help snuff out inflation and then weakness becomes -- and unemployment spiking and credit quality

deteriorating and you'd see all sorts of worrisome indicators and layoffs and pink slips going out. well, that's a pyrrhic victory. i don't know if that's something -- that's kind of a roundabout way, but let's not forget that trump hasn't been in office for all that long, and this is already kind of bent the theme of the economy away from a worry i think about inflation to on the margin worries about a recession. you see where consumer sentiment is. you see the report from the atlanta fed that if it's something that he wanted to do, i think they're easier ways of maybe, you know, putting slack into the economy than throwing the entire global economy into disorder. geoff: roben farzad, host of the podcast "full disclosure." thanks for being with us. roben: thanks, geoff. ♪ geoff: it has also been a dramatic day for the administration's policy on ukraine. president zelenskyy today expressed regret for how his oval office meeting with

president trump melted down on friday, and echoed president trump's language about hoping to end the war and sign an economic deal. amna: but, zelenskyy made his statement after the trump administration paused all military aid that has helped the country survive russia's full-scale invasion. here's nick schifrin. nick: in kyiv tonight, a mea culpa. >> we can only regret what happened at the white house instead of our negotiations. but we must find the strength to move forward, to respect one another. >> you're buried there. your people are dying. nick: since friday, u.s. officials have been wanting ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy to apologize and indicate a willingness to ceasefire, which he did for the first time today on x. he wrote, "the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky -- a ban on missiles, long-range drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure, and truce in the sea immediately, if russia will do the same." zelenskyy also pledged to sign

an economic deal that would pay half of all revenue from ukraine's critical minerals, including this titanium mine, to an investment fund jointly owned with the u.s. it would upend decades of u.s. precedent, forcing the invaded, not the invader, to pay up. but, it would also mean the u.s. was invested literally in ukraine's future, as the two presidents celebrated before friday's meeting blew up. >> it's a big commitment from the united states. and we appreciate working with you very much. nick: but the deal does not come with security guarantees, and ukraine argues only a strong defense can end the fighting long term. since russia's full-scale invasion, the u.s. has appropriated more than $180 billion to ukraine, $66 billion in military aid. today, the u.s. is responsible for 20% of ukraine's military supplies. perhaps most critically, air defense, including the patriot missile system.

a senior ukrainian official says ukraine can survive without most american weapons, in part because ukraine has mastered modern war's most important weapon, drones. >> this is not 2022 anymore. our resilience is stronger now. we have the means to defend ourselves. nick: but still, the u.s. decision has left ukraine's defenders offended. >> at first, the u.s. were with us, and now they don't even want to recognize russia as an aggressor. in fact, the u.s. changed sides. nick: echoing that soldier, a senior ukrainian official told me that after the white house confirmed the pause of u.s. military assistance last night, ukraine felt betrayed. he said, "in the war between ukraine and russia, the first surrender was the u.s." but, he and other ukrainian officials i spoke to tonight said they hoped president zelenskyy's message could lead to the economic deal being

signed and expressed gratitude for their cooperation with the trump administration. amna: thank you. for more on this, we turn to retired lieutenant general doug lute. he served in both the george w. bush and obama administrations on the national security council staff and was u.s. ambassador to nato during the obama administration. welcome back to the news hour. always great to see you. the white house says the freeze on military aid to ukraine stays in place until president trump determines ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations. what is your reaction to that? gen. lute: i think nick cover to immediate impact pretty well in his reporting. we should remember that this is not the only time that aid from the u.s. has been paused or suspended. we went through a six-month period last year where there was a cease in aid because of congressional debate and so forth. the immediate impact will be on high-end air and missile defense

systems that protect ukrainian cities. the patriot missile system is probably first and foremost. obviously, there's intelligence sharing that has been going on and intelligence gathered from very sensitive collection sources. it will be interesting to see if that sharing also ends. there are three things that will somewhat moderate or mitigate the impact. first of all, ukraine has ramped up its own indigenous defense industrial base. they produced one million drones on their own last year. drones now dominate the battlefield. the europeans can cover some of this cap is the u.s. departs. finally, the very much depends on the battlefield dynamic. does the tempo of the war remain the same words they hoped for a cease-fire, which between the gap is less than sikkema get. -- less than significant. amna: is the u.s. asking enough

of russia to get them to the negotiating table? gen. lute: this is one of the curious dimensions of the trump approach which seems to be removing leverage from russia and pressuring ukraine. you saw just a couple weeks ago that the defense secretary announced three no's with regard to leverage on russia. no u.s. troops as part of a cease-fire enforcement arrangement. no return of ukrainian occupied territory, sovereign territory. and no hope that ukraine will join nato. that is curious because typically in the pre-to goshen e-negotiation phase, the sides try to gather leverage rather than sacrifice it. amna: we have read repeating demands of u.s. officials about more gratitude from president zelenskyy. it has come up since the white house meeting. is that a productive tact to take with an ally/ ? gen. lute: perhaps it would be if it were true but it is simply

not true. i don't know of a single public engagement with americans or with european allies or with the united nations where president zelenskyy has not started with making the point, begun his engagement with gratitude and thanks. so, i just don't think it is accurate. amna: president zelenskyy seems to want security guarantees upfront first and then to talk about negotiations and a cease-fire. president trump and his team want to talk about the cease-fire first. for a word tar that is now in hs third year, what is wrong with that approach? gen. lute: president trump said security is the easy part. he implies getting to the negotiations is the hard part which is what is working on now. that is simply not zelenskyy's and the ukrainians experience. they have 11 years of experience

of numerous signed agreements between ukraine and russia which have repeatedly been violated. yet, their country has no security. so, it is quite understandable that zelenskyy requires something more, something more credible to guarantee his security before he launches into cease-fire. amna: do you see this moving into negotiations, and if so, who has the leverage going in? gen. lute: the leverage is a big thing now. as we have discussed, i think we have unnecessarily sacrifice some of our leverage upfront. i found zelenskyy's statement today very interesting. he offered some good ideas. what would typically be called confidence building measures. the exchange of prisoners. a cease-fire of long-range strikes. a cease-fire at sea. with these sorts of introductory measures, beginning measures can be set in place, maybe we can build some momentum towards talks. amna: retired lieutenant general doug lute, thank you for your

time. always good to speak with you. ♪ we start the day's other headlines iwth a massive storm system that's rumbling across much of the country, stretching from chicago all the way down to the gulf. >> this is what we are seeing. >> whoa! amna: the most severe thunderstorms are carving a path across the south tonight, leaving toppled buildings, debris, and more than 350,000 people without power from texas to mississippi. the weather system hasn't brought just rain. it's also kicked up blinding dust storms across parts of the southwest. and, it's threatening to put a damper on mardi gras festivities in new orleans tonight. officials moved up and shortened the city's two biggest parades, hoping to wrap things up before high winds move in.

turning overseas, arab leaders from across the middle east endorsed a plan today to re-build the gaza strip. the measure would allow the territory's two million palestinians to remain in gaza. it's a counter-proposal to president trump's vision, which calls for removing palestinians from the area and creating a beach destination. experts warn could such a plan would be a war crime under international law. at today's summit in cairo, egyptian president abdel-fattah el-sissi laid out his $53 billion plan under which hamas would cede power to an interim, independent administration. >> the plan starts with immediate relief operations and early recovery efforts, leading to the full reconstruction of the enclave. egypt calls for adopting this plan at our summit today and mobilizing regional and international support for it. amna: the president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, was also there.

he told the summit he's ready to hold elections as early as next year if "conditions allow." the palestinians have not held presidential elections in some two decades. in serbia, at least three lawmakers were injured after chaos erupted in the country's parliament today. opposition lawmakers threw smoke bombs and flares as the chamber was set to vote on a measure that would increase funding for universities. they say the session was illegal and that parliament must first confirm the resignation of the prime minister and his government. los vucevic stepped down in january after months of anti-corruption demonstrations related to the collapse of a train station canopy that killed people. opposition parties say the government has no authority to pass new laws and are calling for new elections. the u.s. senate has voted not to move forward a bill that would've banned transgender student athletes from participating in women and girls' sports.

>> three-fifths of the senators, duly chosen and sworn, not having voted in the affirmative. the motion is not agreed to. amna: the measure needed 60 votes to proceed. it failed along party lines last night. the house has passed similar legislation with two democrats supporting that bill. republicans, led by president trump, have frequently leaned into the issue of transgender athletes, framing it as unfair to women and girls. democrats argue that such measures distract from more important issues facing the nation and could further isolate transgender youth. an investor group led by u.s. firm blackrock is buying two ports at either end of the panama canal. those terminals are currently operated by the hong kong-based group c.k. hutchison. they've been at the center of a dispute between the trump administration and panama, as president trump accuses china of influencing the critical

waterway. last month, panama's president denied that china had any control over canal operations. the roughly $23 billion deal requires approval from panama's government. now for some "egg-citing" news about two love birds who've found fame online. bald eagle power couple jackie and shadow of california's big bear valley are now proud parents of two baby eaglets. yesterday, a livestream showed cracks in two of their new eggs. then, just before midnight, new life entered the nest. over 80,000 viewers tuned into the livestream this morning to watch the protective parents admire the eaglets and monitor a third egg, which is expected to hatch in the coming days. congratulations to jackie and shadow on the new members of their family. and, from the beginnings of life to the passing of another. robert clark has died. he was elected mississippi's

first black lawmaker of the 20th century in 1967. a teacher and descendant of enslaved people in a deeply-segregated state, clark was ostracized by his colleagues, forced to sit by himself in the house chamber and at official dinners. but, clark rose to the second-highest leadership role in the statehouse, a position he held until he retired in 2004. his son, bryant clark, who took over his father's seat says robert clark died of natural causes. he was 96 years old. still to come on the "news hour," what to expect from president trump's address to congress. mexico argues against gunmakers in the u.s. supreme court. plus, much more. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m. rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

geoff: president donald trump is just hours away from addressing a joint session of congress where he's expected to tout his administration's accomplishments and lay out his agenda for the rest of the year. amna: but as we've been discussing, his high-profile speech comes at a delicate time -- on day one of a new trade war he started with america's top trading partners, and as europe is scrambling to fill the void in aid for ukraine now that trump has ordered an end to u.s. military support. geoff: let's turn now to capitol hill. we'll hear from lawmakers with opposing views. first up, senator eric schmitt, a republican from missouri. welcome back to the "news hour." sen. schmitt: great to be with you. geoff: president trump decision to slap major tariffs on mexico and canada. he's doubling the tariffs on chinese imports. it is a move that has a lot of americans nervous, is reflected in the markets. at the time when americans are dealing with high housing prices, high grocery prices,

inflation is as stubborn as it is, why is a trade war the right approach right now? sen. schmitt: you should look at these things into separate buckets. as it relates to china, president trump did this in the first term. we didn't see inflation. we try to rebalance the skills a little bit and we saw record wage growth among every demographic. we were doing quite way. joe biden kept them in place. as it relates to canada and mexico, this is about them to deal seriously with not just illegal immigration at the southern border and northern border, but as it relates to fentanyl. people might dismiss the idea that the northern border is that much of a problem but the truth is we have seen a 2000% increase in the last year. it is enough to kill about 9.8 million americans every year so it is a serious challenge. that is what this is about. my hope is that canada and mexico will come to the table. i think you are also seeing some indications that companies are taking notice of this. honda is not going to be

building a manufacturing plant in the u.s. mercedes-benz is also looking to this. that the end of the day, this is about us being treated fairly from an economic perspective and dealing with this fentanyl streaming across the borders. geoff: canada and mexico are not just canada's biggest trading partners, they are missouri's biggest trading partners. you have an active agriculture and manufacturing industry. a lot of jobs depend on those industries as well as grocery bills. what have you heard about from your constituents? sen. schmitt: i think people just want us to be treated fairly. when you look at these reciprocal tariffs, we want to be treated the same way they are being treated here. that is what this is about. for a long time, including in europe, they been ripping us off. you cannot sell an american car effectively in europe. it is important to keep into context, like president trump's first term, this trade policy is not in a vacuum. when you have the idea of

controlling government spending, which president trump is talking about, and also unleashing domestic energy production, that is why you didn't see inflation. that is what you did see inflation under joe biden which as you saw a bunch of government spending. the covid spending was through the roof. and declaring war on domestic energy production rose the cost of everything at the grocery store. i think president trump will stick up for americans by saying treat us fairly, lower your trade barriers, or we will treat you the same way you treat us. geoff: the ceo of target said today that prices will likely go up as a result of these tariffs. the ceo of best buy says price increases are highly likely. how much economic blowback can republican sustain either from the markets or from americans when we start to see these prices go up? because tariffs are definitionally a tax. sen. schmitt: what i keep telling you -- obviously, you want to make this about rising costs. we seaw that under joe biden

when we didn't have this. we have been treated unfairly by a lot of our so-called allies. president trump is trying to rebalance that. if we produce more energy and cut government spending, ok, that is what drives inflation. if people feel that in their pocketbooks, that is what caused the price of everything to go up at the grocery store. you look at the polling numbers over the weekend, president trump has a record high approval rating. much higher than joe biden's. i think the american people are ready for somebody that will stand up for them. you look at the other policies president trump is taking on. i heard you talking about the democrats, all of them voting against banning transgender athletes competing against women. the democrat party is so out of step with where real america is on virtually every issue. it is why they lost badly in november. president trump is doing all the things he talked about on the campaign trail, including cutting government spending. if you look at the polling numbers, it does not support the argument that people are not happy with this.

they want someone to disrupt washington that has not been working for working families. sen. schmitt: let's talk about the polling numbers because according to a new pbs news/marist poll, his job approval remains underwater. 49% disapproval and americans are saying the country is moving in the wrong direction. it is not exactly a reflection of the mandate president trump says he has. what do you ask for hear from him tonight to help set a course going forward? sen. schmitt: at the he's going to talk about the early successes we've had. you see a record low number of border crossings now because it turns out if you have a president that actually enforces the laws on the books, you won't have mass migration like we saw the last four years where 15 to 20 million people came here illegally. i think he's going to talk about what that looks like moving forward. he's going to talk about the record investment. in the first month, we have seen $1.7 trillion worth of investment, whether it is apple, mercedes-benz, high-tech

semiconductor chips, building those facilities here. america is a place where you can do business. we have to extend those tax cuts. i think he's also going to talk about a change in direction on foreign policy. the core interests of the u.s. will reign supreme. europe needs to step up in a much more meaningful way for their own defense and we need to focus on the homeland and for china. it is a realist point of view and i think he will talk about a return to common sense that having some policies like getting rid of divisive dei which is inherently racist. geoff: thank you for your time. we appreciate it. amna: now for a democrat's take, we are joined by representative pramila jayapal of washington. she's also the chair emerita of the house progressive caucus. welcome back to the "news hour." thank you for joining us. rep. jayapal: thank you for having me. amna: we saw hakeem jeffries speak to democratic lawmakers and he said for tonight, it is import to have a strong, determined and dignified democratic presence in the

chamber. we have heard from some of your colleagues that they are boycotting tonight. will you be attending nand wh y? rep. jayapal: i will be there because i was there in the gallery on january 6 when donald trump and insurrectionists try to take over the people's house. i think it is import for us to reclaim our house, reclaim our chamber. to sit there and be able to very seriously react to and hear what donald trump is going to say. i believe it is going to be a set of lies that he's going to be spreading that are completely divorced from reality. and i believe that once again, he will tell the american people that he's doing things for them, when in fact, two thirds of the american people know he has done nothing to lower costs for the american people. in fact, what he's doing with this indiscriminate trade war, he is levying taxes because that is what a tariff is. it is a tax and working families across the country so that he

could pay for the billionaire tax breaks that he wants to continue to give to his billionaire buddies. i think this is devastating what is happening to workers who are being fired, for not being respected. to democracy. to our government. and most of all, to people's pocketbooks. people are seeing raised prices. the stock market is in a slump because donald trump is once again destroying stability for working families across this country. amna: with tens and millions of people potentially tuning in to watch tonight, you will be in attendance, what does it mean in your own words to seriously react to what he's saying? do we expect democrats to be loudly booing to some of his remarks or sitting silently? with so many people watching, what is the message you are sending tonight? rep. jayapal: i think we will be sitting silently. it has always been republicans who have tried to disrupt democratic presidents. that is the history of joe

wilson, representative joe wilson yelling "you lie" at barack obama. the history of marjorie taylor greene yelling consistently at joe biden. i think what you will see tonight is democrats reclaiming the chamber in a very appropriate, dignified way that says to the american people, here is the contrast. democrats are about protecting american families, about protecting working families benefits, not slashing medicaid, not slashing social security. making sure our aviation safety is protected. that is why my guest tonight is the fabulous president of the flight attendants union, 55,000 members across this country who work everyday to take care of the public safety even as donald trump is firing so many people within the aviation safety arena. amna: the choice of alisa slotkin to deliver the democratic response. she has a strong national security background. she won an open seat in a state

that president trump won. why slotkin and what is her message tonight? rep. jayapal: she's terrific. she was a colleague of mine in the house. i think she has shown how you can absolutely win districts and states that donald trump won with a strong message that is about protecting the public. making sure that republicans are not able to slash these incredible programs and benefits. to deliver tax breaks for billionaires. i am glad she will be doing it. i am looking forward to see what she has to say. she knows how to win a swing state like michigan. amna: thank you so much for joining us. rep. jayapal: thank you. geoff: and for more on the president's address to a joint session of congress tonight, let's bring in our white house correspondent laura barron-lopez and our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins. both of them on capitol hill. amna: laura, give us a preview of what we should expect to hear from president trump tonight. laura: we expect president trump

to address this ongoing effort to strike a peace deal between ukraine and russia. one thing to watch for is whether or not president trump decides to continue to criticize ukraine. the president has repeatedly said ukraine has started the war which is false. the other thing we are watching for is how he talks about his deportation plan. that is something that is expected to be part of his speech. the president has been frustrated with the pace of deportations by his administration and tom homan said today that the administration needs more money from congress for flights and for beds to carry out their deportation plan. the president is expected to continue his attacks on transgender people as he moves to rollback rights for them across the states. this is a population that represent less than 1% of the american people. all of those policies are represented in the guests that the president has invited tonight, which include the mother and sister of laken riley, a young female nursing student who was killed by an

undocumented immigrant. the president also invited january littlejohn who alleged her kid's schooled allowed her daughter to socially transition without her parental consent. at the time, the school's guidelines allow this and she sued the school district but ultimately a federal judge dismissed that. geoff: it has been a whirlwind six weeks since donald trump took office. huge cuts to the federal workforce, huge tariffs today. what kind of pressure is this administration facing? laura: there's a lot of questions that americans are asking about the economy, as you know. consumer confidence is down. i was talking to a number of economists who said there is no flashing red lights, but there are warning signs. the stock market took a hit after the president announced these tariffs that went into effect. so, the longer that those tariffs come, that could potentially cause lasting economic damage. amna: we know you have been

talking to some of your democratic sources, lisa. what are you hearing from them about how they plan to respond tonight? lisa: it is a very big night for president trump and for republicans, but you can argue it is equally a big night for democrats who have needed to find their footing after losing the election in november. they realize this and they have been paying a lot of attention to how they handle tonight. for one thing, they have -- the democrats on the hill held a flurry of events that i. i want to show you a couple of them. you can see senator chuck schumer, the senate leader, on the capitol steps railing against trump's actions so far. on the right, house democratic women are wearing pink tonight. you will see that in the chamber, led by katherine clark, the house democratic whip. they want people to see democrats have more women in the chamber than republicans do. they also want to show themselves as a force. as you said, this is all happening as we see cuts, as we

see not just reactions from lawmakers but protests around the country from federal workers were protesting trump's actions. here, we saw some protests in washington. across the country yesterday, fired federal workers, people who have seen pay cuts, all of them starting to come out in slightly larger numbers around the country. today in the last day, i can report one agency, the general services administration that handles real estate, they have now told employees there will be cuts as well as social security and others. that is hanging over all of this. amna: lisa and laura on capitol hill for us tonight. thank you to you both. ♪ amna: mexican officials argued today at the u.s. supreme court that american gunmakers should be held liable for cartel violence in their country.

geoff: mexico is seeking billions of dollars from several major u.s. firearm manufacturers and one gun wholesaler in an effort to be reimbursed for costs related to gun violence in that country. stephanie sy has more. stephanie: the mexican government estimates that 200,000 firearms are smuggled into the country from the united states each year, and the vast majority of guns found at mexican crime scenes come from the u.s. mexico argues that american gun manufacturers are aiding illegal sales to mexican criminals, and it claims cartel violence is directly connected to those sales. a 2005 law generally shields firearms manufacturers and others along the supply chain from civil liability, but mexico is trying to argue for an exception. joining me now to discuss the suit and today's supreme court hearing is chip brownlee. he's a reporter with "the trace," a non-profit news organization that covers gun

violence. i am sure you listened to the arguments this morning. even the typically-liberal justices did not seem convinced by the mexican government's arguments against smith & wesson. "news hour's" supreme court analyst marcia coyle told me that the majority of justices seemed skeptical that there was a direct connection between the gun manufacturers and the injury mexico claimed. why did they seem to face such an uphill battle? chip: one part about the protection of law for commerce and arms act is it requires for there to be an exception for someone to sue a defendant in the gun industry, they have to prove that the defendant violated a state or federal law. and that their violation of the law was a close cause to a harm that has been alleged. i think what happened here is essentially mexico laid out this pretty broad case that hundreds of thousands of guns are

smuggled from the u.s. to mexico every year, but the actual link between the gun manufacturers and the guns on the ground in mexico that wind up in the hands of cartels, that link was not exactly clear. i totally agree. i think listening to it, you saw most, if not all of the judges seeming skeptical of mexico's argument. i think we could see even a unanimous verdict in this case. stephanie: what is mexico accusing the gun manufacturers of doing that would amount to aiding and abetting and make the case an exception to that 2005 law? chip: mexico is essentially alleging that the gun manufacturers and distributors are marketing their guns to the cartels. one example is this colt handgun that was marketed as "el jefe," which literally means "boss," but it is a term that refers to a cartel boss. another thing that was alleged is that the gun manufacturers are refusing to make changes to

their weapons, like making it harder to deface a serial number which serial numbers are very important when you are tracing a gun. also, the general marketing of these weapons as military style or military grade weapons which would make them better or seem better to the cartel. stephanie: if the justices don't decide in favor of mexico, and we do expect a decision in by the end of june -- if the gun companies don't address their concerns, if u.s. courts are hamstrung by the 2005 law, what other options are there to stop these guns from getting into the hands of violent criminals? chip: if the supreme court rules against mexico, that could essentially make it much more difficult for these types of civil lawsuits to be brought against the gun industry. that would result in a situation where if you are actually going to stop any of this trafficking, you have to do it through a law enforcement means. that would require the atf, the

border patrol, the other federal law enforcement agencies to do more to stop this. i also don't think we have seen any kind of significant funding put towards that. the atf's funding and their personnel have been cut in years past. i think the only other option really is the law enforcement angle but the resources are not there. stephanie: we hear nonstop about drug trafficking and human trafficking at the southern border. those are top priorities for u.s. politicians. does that discussion need to include how american policies are arming the cartels? does gun smuggling have a direct impact on crime in the u.s.? chip: absolutely. that is part of the argument mexico is making. somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 guns flow illegally across the border and those of the guns that cartels and other violent groups in mexico are using to perpetrate their violence. i think the argument is if you

are able to cut off that supply, then you could potentially end up in a situation where there's less fentanyl trafficking, less human trafficking coming across the border. you could mitigate maybe some of that violence that is the root cause of migration in general. i think mexico is making this argument that it could be good for the u.s. if they were to win this case. stephanie: that is chip brownlee with "the trace." thank you so much. chip: thank you. geoff: and we'll be back shortly. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. amna: it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like this one on the air. ♪ geoff: for those staying with us, an encore of a region-wide art collaboration.

pacific standard time, or pst art, is comprised of some 60 art institutions in southern california. amna: senior arts correspondent jeffrey brown sampled some of it last fall for our arts and culture series, "canvas." jeffrey: everywhere you look, light amid the darkness. illuminated manuscripts glowing, even shimmering objects. most from medieval times. a few created by contemporary artists. it is all part of an exhibition in los angeles called "lumen: the art and science of light." the wording of that subtitle is critical. catherine fleming is president and ceo of the getty trust. >> art and science may look like things that do not go together but they do. these are both modalities of thought or of expression that are concerned with some of the most profound and basic questions. jeffrey: in fact, lumen and

seven other exhibitions are just part of an enormous project that encompasses more than 70 museums, galleries and public spaces all over southern california, featuring some 800 artists, all brought together under the title pst art, art and science collide. the getty took the lead and provided some $20 million in grants to institutions large and small to curate their own exhibitions. >> to have all of these different entities working on a common theme but in their own way, there is just the theme and all of the people who are participating approach it from their own vector. i think that is what makes it so incredibly rich. jeffrey: there was a wide range of responses. among them, the natural history museum takes a new look at old ways of exhibiting the natural world. commissioning contemporary artists to reframe dioramas. at the huntington, an exhibition called storm cloud showed how

the industrial revolution changed life, and how artists and writers capture the environmental and other impacts. self-help graphics and art at community arts center looks at land contamination in present day los angeles. >> all of these things reflect a zeitgeist of fear that we have drifted too far away from the world of which we are a part, and i hope of showing a way to reconnect to it. jeffrey: at the grand library and art center in glendale, a direct connection between artists and scientists from nasa's jet propulsion laboratory for an exhibition titled "blended worlds." collaborations that bring together science and art to see the world, make that worlds, a little differently. in this work conceived by david bowen, working with scientists

and jpl data systems architect. >> one of the questions we had, maybe the seed of the question was how do we bridge a gap of 140 million miles between mars and the earth? and if we were to bridge that, what would that look like, what would that feel like? jeffrey: the result is called telepresent wind. a sculpture where we see earthbound grass dogs from minnesota swaying in the wind of mars. or at least from tiny motors using data of actual wind speed on the surface of mars, gathered by the perseverance rover. his job is to transform and analyze data gathered from mars. bowen's is to bring the data to life. >> i would call it a ha hybrid mash-up. we are taking something familiar, we are taking these very unfamiliar landscape and kind of mashing them into

this hybrid of something you would never see, but hopefully have a familiarity to it that helps you think, oh, that is with the wind is doing. >> i have been so used to looking at the data in terms of numbers and printouts and graphs on the computer. here was the data alive in front of me, so it was absolutely amazing. jeffrey: that is pretty cool. if you look at this, is this art or science? >> this is definitely art. yeah. >> it is definitely science to me. [laughter] i'm sorry. >> no, i was too strong. i think it is a mix. >> i think that is the beauty of it. it is these different disciplines coming together. jeffrey: also in the pretty cool realm, the solo exhibition called "open," a work by an icelandic danish artist.

a leading contemporary figure who often uses light, shadows and elements of the natural world as materials. >> it looks like a big sun, but it is cluttered with trash. that way, it is an exploration. exploratory, investigating something. what does it mean to actually look at something? that way, they can go hand-in-hand. when i make a kaleidoscope with mirrors, it is a little bit of a science experiment. jeffrey: it is also a way of grasping something that can feel very abstract and faraway like climate change. these paintings were made through mixing paint with large pieces of glacial ice. as the ice melts, it pains its own work. >> it is easy for me to say to people that here's an opportunity to maybe explore the boundaries of what you normally see. are we good at imagining things?

sometimes things are hard to understand, like the climate crisis. well, we should work a little bit on our imagination to understand of what i can actually imagine to deal with it. jeffrey: with so many exhibitions, pst art is likely impossible for any one person to take in as a whole. but there's plenty of opportunity to choose your science, your art and combination of both. both new and into the future. for the "pbs news hour," i'm jeffrey brown in los angeles. ♪ amna: be sure to tune in later tonight. we'll be here with live coverage of president trump's address to a joint session of congress. >> president trump is off to an astonishing start and has congress in his corner. >> we are delivering on the

mandate that the american people gave. >> democrats are pushing back. >> it is unacceptable and un-american. >> we are going to fight in every way we can. >> what are the president's next plans for the american people? a pbs news special, president trump's address to congress tuesday, march 4, 2025 at at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 8:00 p.m. central. geoff: you can watch that right here on your pbs station or tune in to our youtube channel, which has continuing coverage starting right now through the presidential address. and that's the "news hour" for tonight i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire "news hour" team, thank you for joining us and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- ♪

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