♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett on the "newshour" tonight, ukraine signals it's open to a 30-day ceasefire after meeting with u.s. diplomats, who are pushing to end the war russia started. amna: president trump and vice president vance push lawmakers to get on board with a resolution that would avert a government shutdown.

geoff: and months after the devastation of hurricane helene, many residents of western north carolina are growing increasingly frustrated with a lack of help from the federal government. >> i thought fema was going to step in and help us. i mean, i thought they were going to offer a shelter. i mean, listen, we had no where to live. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by. ♪ the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the news hour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. >> the john s in july foundation, fostering informed

and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> 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 see our teammates thrive. >> you don't have to change how you walk or talk. >> we can bring eric -- our authentic selves to work and do our best stuff. that is joy. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ geoff: welcome to the newshour. after 10 days of u.s pressure on ukraine following a disastrous oval office meeting, today the u.s. and ukraine appear to be back in sync. amna: following a meeting in saudi arabia, the u.s. has restarted military and intelligence aid to ukraine, and the u.s. will present a joint u.s.-ukraine proposal to moscow, for a ceasefire. here's nick schifrin. nick: in saudi arabia today, a breakthrough. the ukrainian delegation today made something very clear. they share president trump's vision for peace. nick: the national security

advisor and secretary of state met with ukrainian counterparts for seven and a half hours and afterwards said the u.s. and ukraine were on the same page. >> we made an offer the ukrainians accepted which is entering into a cease-fire and immediate negotiations to end the conflict in a way that is sustainable. nick: the u.s. agreed to lift a pause on military aid and intelligence cooperation to the ukrainian military. >> there is a big difference between the last visit at the oval office and this. so this is a total cease-fire ukraine has agreed to. hopefully russia will agree to it. nick: that tone -- >> you are gambling with the lives of millions of people. you are gambling with world worth three. nick: a far cry and perhaps a rehabilitation after the oval office train wreck. president zelenskyy spoke tonight. >> ukraine is ready for peace. russia must also show whether it is ready to end the war or continue it.

the time has come for the whole truth. nick: senior advisor steven witkoff will meet with russian president putin to present the u.s.-ukraine proposal. >> the best goodwill gesture the russians can provide is to say yes the offer the ukrainians agreed to stop the fighting and get to the table. if they say no, we know what the impediment is to peace. nick: a crucial rhetorical shift acknowledging ukraine's perspective and request for long-term military assistance. >> real negotiations to end the conflict in a way that is acceptable to both sides, sustainable and ensures stability and security of ukraine. >> as long as it is not undercut by moscow, it is a good day with historic significance. nick: john herbst's former u.s. ambassador to ukraine and the director of the atlantic councils center. russia has shown no public

willingness to drop its goals and ukraine and former minister sergey lavrov mocked zelenskyy as a war marker. >> zelenskyy declares he doesn't want to truce until the u.s. guarantees in the event something happens, they will bomb russia with nuclear weapons. >> i don't think who putin wants to agree -- putin wants to agree to a cease-fire. he wants effectively -- effective control over ukraine. we will see if he crosses trump and may be more importantly, what president trump does if putin publicly refuses to make peace on the basis of this proposal. nick: guaranteeing that peace will fall mostly on europe. french president macron posted military leaders who are developing plans to support ukraine's military for 15 years. the french defense minister. >> since 2008, we saw the

russian strategy and action with unfortunately cease-fires that haven't been respected. we will refuse any form of demilitarization of ukraine. nick: until then, the war rages. ukraine launched its largest drone attack into russia in the war. ukraine has been trying to bring the war to regular russians' bedrooms. the drone hits inside apartments in the moscow suburbs. but russia is making its own gains, raising the russian flag and kursk, occupied by ukraine. russian soldiers this week said they walked a 9 mile natural gas pipeline to surprise ukrainian soldiers from the rear and devastating villages. the war has taken a terrible toll on land and lives, and now there is a tentative step to negotiate its and. i'm nick schifrin.

♪ geoff: we start the day's other headlines with the latest volleys in america's trade war with its northern neighbor. the white house says a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum will go into effect at midnight tonight, for canada and other u.s. trading partners. that's after trade advisor peter navarro said the u.s. will not be doubling those tariffs after all. earlier in the day, president trump wrote on his social media platform that he's adding an additional 25% tariff on such products, starting tomorrow. mr. trump said this was in response to the province of ontario raising prices for electricity coming into the united states. following trump's warning, ontario's premier, doug ford, wrote on social media that the province had agreed to suspend its 25% surcharge on exports of electricity to michigan, new york and minnesota. all this back-and-forth added to

the unease on wall street. the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 500 points on the day. the nasdaq slipped about 30 points, but ended off its lows of the day. the s&p 500 flirted with correction territory during today's session, before ending about 40 points lower. the national transportation safety board is recommending a ban on some helicopter flights around reagan national airport in washington, d.c. it comes as part of their preliminary report on the january collision between an american airlines jet and a black hawk helicopter that killed 67 people. ntsb chairowman jennifer homendy said today that under current protocol, helicopters flying a certain route can come within 75 feet of aircraft landing at the airport. >> 75 feet is very close. that is far too close of a proximity. we have stated it's an intolerable risk to aviation safety.

geoff: federal aviation officials had restricted helicopter flights around reagan airport immediately following the crash. now, flights are put on temporary hold when helicopters need to pass by. in the uk, police arrested a 59-year-old man on suspected manslaughter, in connection with yesterday's collision between two ships in the north sea. one sailor is presumed dead, while the 36 other crew members were safely rescued. aerial footage showed the cargo ship adrift and still on fire in some places, 24 hours after it rammed into a stationary tanker. that vessel, which had been transporting jet fuel, now has a huge gash on its port side. its owner said it's unclear exactly how much fuel spilled into the sea. environmentalists fear the crash could have lasting impacts on wildlife, including fish and seabirds. former philippine president rodrigo duterte has been flown to the hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity before the international criminal court.

a jet said to be carrying duterte was seen departing from the philippine capital, manila, after his surprise arrest by police. the icc is investigating the violent anti-drug crackdown during his time in office. thousands of people were reportedly killed by his police forces. the 79-year-old has always defended his methods. today, he questioned the reason for his arrest in a video posted by his daughter on instagram. >> what is the law and what is the crime that i committed? >> you have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty. geoff: duterte himself withdrew the philippines from the group of countries that recognize the court's authority back in 2019. but judges at the icc say their case is valid, beacuse their -- because their investigation involves killings that took place when the philippines was still a member of the court.

in the middle east, israel has killed at least eight people in the gaza strip over the past 24 hours, adding pressure to an already fragile ceasefire with hamas. the newshour captured this footage from a checkpoint, where an israeli attack killed five palestinians while they were inspecting their destroyed home. that's according to our reporter on the ground. the israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants engaged in suspicious activity. the ceasefire has held since january, but talks over entering a second phase of the truce have stalled. in greenland, residents voted in early parliamentary elections today, with president trump's ambition to take control of the island firmly on their minds. >> we don't want to be a part of the usa for obvious reasions, like healthcare, and trump. geoff: while they're not actually voting on joining the u.s., greenlanders will choose lawmakers who will shape the debate on that issue, plus future independence from denmark. the self-governing territory is

home to some 56,000 people. unofficial election results are expected tonight, but they won't be certified for weeks. most of the world's population is breathing polluted air. that's according to a new study from the swizerland-based monitoring database iq air. out of 138 countries monitored, chad, congo, bangladesh, pakistan, and india have the most pollution. only seven countries meet the who's clean air guidelines. they include australia, new zealand and estonia. and only 17% of cities meet that bar, with los angeles having the dirtiest air in the u.s. air pollution is believed to kill an estimated nine million people each year. still to come on the "newshour," the teamsters union president on the new labor secretary and president trump's economic agenda. we look back, five years after covid-19 was declared a global pandemic. and taking stock of the cultural heritage lost in california's devastating wildfires. ♪

>> this is the pbs news hour from the david rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism that arizona state university. geoff: president trump's cabinet is now complete. the u.s. senate late yesterday confirmed president trump's final cabinet secretary in a broadly bipartisan vote. former oregon congresswoman, and now labor secretary, lori chavez deremer, picked up support early on in the nomination process from labor groups including one of the largest unions, the teamsters, with its 1.3 million members. we are joined now by teamsters president sean o'brien to talk about that and more. welcome back to the newshour. let's talk about the contribution -- the confirmation. you said the teamsters were influential in president trump's selection of her. why is she the right choice for labor secretary?

>> she is the right choice. she has always been pro-worker, the daughter of a teamster and she was the right choice, the only choice. we lobbied president trump very hard saying, stating our case that he made promises and commitments and he lived up to commitments and we have a seat at the table and as a result of secretary deremer's vision we have a seat at the table. geoff: how can she champion is what you see as prounion policy and an administration that has taken antiworker stances? >> she will have pressure from the administration. the number one thing, we rallied in labor after the election to support her confirmation. i think it was the second most bipartisan confirmation.

so we have credibility and influence and i believe through conversations with her leadership, and consulting with unions like the teamsters and other labor unions, we will not only be able to work with her, we will hopefully able to -- be able to work with the administration. geoff: unions have backed the democratic party for decades with a steady stream of money, voters, and volunteers. the last election saw a realignment, trumps coalition including rank and file union members. you are in touch with your membership. what do they make up the first two months of the administration so far and the response from democrats as well? >> it hasn't been a subtle beginning. but the reality is, the democrats as i have stated in many platforms, forgot who they represented.

the democrats were too focused on social issues, which are important, but our members are more concerned about the economic issues. the democrats seemed to want to tell people how they should vote, and my membership is very active, they are very intelligent, and people don't like to be told what to do. the democrats have a lot of work to regain the confidence of working people especially our members, but the republicans have work to do because they made a lot of promises during the election, promises that they want to be the party for the working class people so we will have the ability to hopefully rebuild a democratic party that represents the core values of working party and work in conjunction with republicans. and look, i think by the vote of secretary deremer and the cooperation, we had 17 democrats

that broke ranks, told about no no matter what. that is a great sign and a rule -- our goal is to get both sides to collaborate. it will be issues we don't agree on, but there will be lots of issues that we can work collectively on to effectuate positive change for working people. geoff: one issue will certainly be tariffs. teamsters is an international organization, as you make clear. when you think about the domestic impact, how are you using your influence with the administration to mitigate the outcomes on the folks who represent and affected sectors=? >> the tariffs are controversial but what is important, you can look at the good side and the bad side of tariffs. what is important to us and working people in unions is to bring back manufacturing and industries that were allowed to

go to foreign countries, where we can put people to work, create a middle-class, and give people opportunities and industries that once thrived in the u.s. so that is a positive. as far as taxes in canada, mexico or anywhere else, china, it is going to be a wait and see and what effect it has on the economy. i'm confident that if it is as negative as people portray it, people should get back to the table and figure out what is in the best interest of americans. geoff: do tariffs represent the most effective strategy to reassure manufacturing to the u.s.? which donald trump has said is a goal of his? is there evidence that? >> i think if tariffs play a role where it is too expensive to import products from other countries and it will be cheaper to manufacture them and create jobs that were lost as a result of bad trade agreements that were made in the early 1990's,

that would be a positive thing, creating jobs in america. geoff: teamsters president sean o'brien, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. ♪ amna: late this afternoon, the department of education announced plans to cut nearly half of its employees, over 1300 people. it is the latest move by the trump administration to dramatically reshape the size and scope of the federal government. lisa has been tracking these changes and joints we now. we know this is a huge cut. the president says he wants to try to eliminate it altogether. what is the impact? >> mitchell spoke to reporters, this is major earnings. these will be the largest cuts

that the department of education has experienced since it was created. let's look at what we know. we are expecting 1300 people to be fired, that is a termination. that is in addition to over 500 people who took different offers, like the fork offer to leave early. we put that together and what you have is a department of education that will see a total work force cut of about 50%. to be one of the largest cuts we have seen in reduction of force in federal history for one agency. the usaid had a major cut. workers today didn't find out about this, they may be learning about it now as i speak. but they did receive any mail telling them they had to leave their offices in washington by 6:00 and the doors would be shut and for security reasons, the email said, they were not allowed to return tomorrow. offices in the washington area will be closed tomorrow for the

department of education, the official on the call with reporters saying that is for safety reasons. they didn't take questions, so we don't really understand. one note, they plan on closing department of education facilities in a number of cities. they mentioned new york, chicago, boston and washington, going from three buildings down to one ultimately. amna: we will keep tracking back. another story, the house of representatives passed out plan to avert a government shutdown. there were republican holdouts, even as late as this morning, who changed their mind. what happened? lisa: our producer was in the halls talking to a number of members who said i'm undecided, i'm not sure what i'm going to do. they had to get this perfect and house republicans did. this was a big victory for mike johnson and donald trump and it was trump and vance who helped secure the victory. vance spoke the republicans, put

on the pressure and got every republican except for one, thomas massie, a guaranteed no, to push this through. so a big win for republicans i know it goes to the senate. amna: there was one democrat who voted for the bill. what do we expect to happen in the senate? lisa: jared golden of maine is a moderate, the only one who voted to pass this and he set on social media didn't think it was perfect but he didn't want to shut down government. he criticized democrats, saying their messaging was inappropriate and he felt like they were saying outlandish and inaccurate things about the bill. he said not perfect but he doesn't want to shut down government. the senate are leaving town and daring senate democrats to shut down government. i don't think they will. usually this goes the other way but we are on track for the build class. amna: lisa desjardins covering latebreaking news, thank you.

♪ geoff: it has been more than five months since hurricane helene devastated several states across the southeast. and in north carolina, where helene killed more than 100 people and caused nearly 60 billion dollars in damage, many of the hardest hit residents have grown increasingly frustrated with fema, a federal agency that's also been in the crosshairs of president trump. the president is also expected to sign an executive order that could reshape how disaster relief is administered by placing more responsibilities on states rather than the federal government. william brangham reports. wiliam: this is part of the roof. in black mountain, sam returns to the scattered remains of his home. >> right in front of us, that is more of my house.

>> the memory of what hurricane helene did in september is fresh in his mind. >> i was asleep. my bed was right about here. i was awakened by the vibration of the house being hit. a mudslide coming down behind the house. not me out of bed -- knocked me out of the bed and the whole house with me and it went down the mountainside. william: he broke 18 bones, including 11 ribs, and punctured his lungs. it would take about 30 hours before he was evacuated and flown to the hospital, where he spent the next several weeks. >> i built this with my own hands 28 years ago. anyway, we will start over. william: starting over hasn't been easy. like many of his neighbors he didn't have flood insurance, so within a few days of the storm,

he says his sister began reaching out to fema to help him apply for assistance. >> basically i went four months without hitting one phone call -- getting one phone call returned from fema. they said who are you? your application was withdrawn. what do you mean? it shows here you withdrew your application. i didn't withdraw my application. >> who would think there would be a hurricane in the mountains of western north carolina? who would have thought that? william: her home in marshall was also inundated with floodwater and plastered with mud. the storm destroyed almost everything her family owned. while they have flood insurance, she says the payment they received went to their bank to cover their mortgage. >> the water in this room was about up to right here. on this window. william: she applied to fema for help and within a few days got a one time $750 payment for

immediate needs, and later, her family received another $3000. >> i thought fema would step in and help us. i thought they would offer us shelter. listen, we had nowhere to live. they did not even give us a motel voucher william: deremer -- helene damaged thousands of homes. you hear frustrations for many in this rural stretch of the state. residents complain of a bill will during amount of red -- but will during amount of red tape. >> fema has been a disaster. william: it has been a target of president trump who pushed to reform or even eliminate the agency. >> i would like to see the states take care of disasters. let the states take care of tornadoes and hurricanes and all of the other things that happen. >> there was an expectation among people in the community that fema would do more.

william: this local lawyer in black mountain, north carolina, has been helping residents apply for assistance. she has heard plenty of anger toward fema, but she says because helene delivered a devastating blow, it was difficult to reach people in need. >> we have 2000 landslides in western north carolina. we were cut off by the interstate on all sides. we had no rail. for a short time we had no access to even our airport, because there were no communications. given the challenges they were facing, i think fema has done a good job. >> she says there are valid criticisms of fema, but she argues individual states cannot on their own cover the costs or the manpower needed to handle the growing toll from natural disasters. >> north carolina is not equipped to fund that recovery effort.

we certainly don't have the ability to mobilize personnel to respond to a disaster of this magnitude the way the federal government does. >> people were without internet and power for weeks. some people even months without power and internet. it was almost impossible to go online and apply. william: becky and her husband were away on vacation during the hurricane. when they return home to the town of marion, they found a tree had torn through their roof, causing over $120,000 worth of damage. insurance coverage for upstairs and roof but none of the flood damage. she applied for fema assistance and received $750 and hotel vouchers and has been fighting with fema ever since for more. >> personally i don't think fema needs to be abolished. there are good things that come from fema but as far as helping citizens after a disaster, after

everything, the storm is over and we are trying to get back to our normal lives, that is where we need top-down reorganization. william: according to fema, the agency helped over 150,000 families in north carolina. a spokesperson told the news hour that over $800 million has been approved to support recovery. $167 million have come since president trump took office. she says some of the frustration comes because fema is the main public face of disaster response. plus, she says many of the agency's work is invisible. >> most people don't know what fema does to support the local government effort to respond to the disaster. so the laundry and shower stations, debris removal, the road repairs, the water system

repairs, all of those things get reimbursed most of the time to the local government for fema. william: back in marshall, didi and her family are living in a donated rv. a local nonprofit helped rebuild their home and her anger towards fema has only grown with time. >> fema? that is the biggest joke. i wish president trump would redo the whole thing to wear everybody gets treated fairly. some of us need the assistance from fema that have gotten nothing. william: as for sam, after months of waiting, fema accepted his application and last month he moved into a trailer the agency provided. it gave him $56,000 for his losses. >> in my opinion, maybe i'm just

different, at least it is something. they don't have to give anything. if i'm getting that towards purchasing a new home because it is a down payment or whatever, i'm grateful. william: for the pbs news hour, on william brangham. ♪ geoff: today marks five years since the world health organization declared covid-19 a global pandemic, the day everything changed. in a quick succession of events, schools and businesses shut down, lockdowns were put in place, travel halted, and hospitals were over capacity with sick americans who hoped the virus would go away in a matter of weeks. but it didn't. globally, covid-19 has killed more than 7 million people, including more than 1.2 million americans, in the process leaving lasting marks on how we connect, work and live.

we're joined by dr. ashish jha, dean of the brown university school of public health. he was the covid response coordinator at the white house for former president joe biden. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me back. geoff: it is easy to think of covid as something in the rearview that we moved beyond. 6500 americans died from covid since the start of the year. what bastions remain about the disease -- questions remain about the disease, the virus and treatment? >> we are in a better place than we were five years ago. while it continues to be around, the population is largely affected -- that is largely affected our elderly and immunocompromised who are not up-to-date on vaccines. we have a strategy how to manage the virus moving forward that is not disruptive and doesn't have to because serious illness and death. geoff: what about long covid?

what progress has been made in treatment on that front? >> this is something we haven't made as much progress as we need to. let's talk about long covid. most people who have long-term effects of covid got infected relatively early in the first or second year. thankfully, people getting covid infections now are not very likely to end up with long covid. the problem is we haven't figured out what is long covid? it is probably not one condition, it is probably several conditions. nih i think hasn't done enough to test treatments for these populations, to really understand what we can do to help them get better. geoff: five years on when we think about what worked in terms of the response, what lessons carry forward in your view? >> there are lots of things that happened in five years and a lot of things that we got right and things we got wrong. when i think about big themes, when we lean in on the scientific process, we did well.

we built a vaccine in a short time period. president trump deserves a lot of credit for that. got the vaccines up to hundreds of millions of americans. president biden deserves a lot of credit for that. we did therapeutics well. we were clearly, there was a substantial amount of mistakes. the way we handled schools was a disaster. most schools should have opened by fall 2020 and i think i will have lasting impacts. we need to look back at this time with a clear eye about what went well, what went wrong so we make sure we do better next time. geoff: what about vaccine mandates? was that the right approach? >> i thought initially they were. clearly they saved lives in the short run -- and we have mandates, it undoubtedly saved lives. unfortunately it sowed the seeds of distrust that we continue to see today. this is one of those things

where i was positive about that initially. i have wondered, was that the right answer? was the long-term cost of those mandates worth it? in the moment of crisis you want to save lives and i understand why it was done. i think it has had a lot of negative long-term effects. geoff: a survey last month found big differences between republicans and democrats about how public health officials responded. 35% of republicans thought they did a good job. neither president trump nor biden received good ratings. 55% of all adults felt the media exaggerated the risks. what do you make of that? it is public trust broken for good and had we get it back? >> festival, i hate -- first of all, i hate that it is partisan. public health hasn't been partisan throughout american history so this is an unwelcome change. i do think we can get it back. we can acknowledge mistakes

public health experts and officials made. i think that is an important start. i think we can work in those communities to address big public health issues. we work with religious leaders, trusted messengers, political leaders and build back trust and convince people that public health has been this incredible boon for human longevity over the last 100 years. it can and will be again. geoff: there is the potential for a wider measles outbreak, worries about bird flu presenting in humans, the attitudes and approach of rfk junior as hhs secretary. what are the stakes and locations? >> i'm very worried. secretary kennedy said he was pro-vaccine, yet is short tenure as the health secretary has not been reassuring. he has been incredibly i think the most generous thing we can say, he has been confusing.

the bottom line is we need a secretary who is really committed to modern medicine and vaccines. geoff: always a pleasure to speak with you. thanks for making time for us. ♪ amna: january's eaton and palisades fires in southern california killed at least 29 people and left thousands without homes, juggling insurance claims and questions over whether to rebuild. another huge loss amid all the rubble, the legacy of historic buildings throughout los angeles county. senior arts correspondent jeffrey brown has this look for our arts and culture series, canvas. jeffrey: first, of course, come the individual lives, livelihoods, and homes. an enormous devastation measured in thousands of very specific losses. but the story of a community, a city, a region, is also told

through its cultural, historical and architectural heritage. and here, too, the recent los angeles fires have been devastating. adrian scott fine is president and ceo of the los angeles conservancy. >> los angeles is many things, and certainly that is the case for the palisades and altadena. it's not one thing, it's layers of history. you have to work for it a little harder to understand its story, its heritage and why it's important. but it's here. and i think, now we're understanding just how important it was and also so much we've lost. jeffrey: in normal times, the conservancy works to bring out that story, documenting and preserving buildings and other parts of the culture. now, it's a documentation of loss, just beginning to assess the possibility of rebuilding and restoration. >> within almost a blink of an eye, everything that really forms the ingredients of your community disappears, those places and spaces, i think people understand how important

they actually are in our lives. and we all, i think for myself and others, just understanding the losses here, also realizing that we take heritage and these places and spaces for granted, that i'm now lamenting that i didn't visit some of these places or i didn't fully experience seeing them before they're gone. and i don't think i'm alone in terms of processing that right now. jeffrey: major losses include structures within the will rogers state historic park in pacific palisades. originally built for the famed actor and humorist, it became a beloved getaway for generations to hike, picnic, enjoy movie nights and even polo games. >> this is a seminal part of the story of the palisades. a figure like will rogers, sort of this folk hero, actor, beloved figure for his time period. and this was his ranch, his house. the main barn burned and other buildings as part of that historic homestead.

and that was hugely significant in terms of the loss. the land is still there. but the buildings that really helped tell that story are now gone. jeffrey: also gone, buildings and housing developments that have made los angeles architecturally unique, the 100 year old nature friends club house in sierra madre, a bavarian style lodge that had been a sanctuary for nature and art lovers. tahitian terrace mobile home park along the beach in the palisades, an ocean view for hundreds without the multimillion-dollar price tag. 20 of the 28 so-called "park planned" homes in altadena, a groundbreaking social experiment of prefabricated homes for working class families designed to foster a connection between nature and neighbors. >> certainly, there's places that are the architectural icons, and those are the ones that are kind of easy to grapes -- grasp and understand why they're important. but it's also community churches. we have a number of churches

and synagogues that have been completely destroyed through this fire, and those are community touch points. those are the things that people are so incredibly connect to in terms of feeling like it's part part of their home. same goes for schools that have been destroyed through this fire. jeffrey: some architectural icons survived, including the eames home in pacific palisades, designed and constructed in 1949 by husband and wife charles and ray eames, two of the 20th century's most influential designers, to serve as their home and studio. also preserved, others of the so-called case study houses, from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, originally designed to be models for affordable post-war homes for family living, and the burns house, designed by famed architect charles moore. what's the task now for your conservancy? >> our goal is to try to help the buildings that did survive that were only damaged and to bring in resources, whether it's a preservation architect or a

structural engineer that can help an owner figure out how do they rebuild. what's the next step? how do they stabilize the building that is still standing? the unfortunate reality that we're seeing is most of the buildings, the historic buildings or entire neighborhoods were completely decimated. and so that is a much different concept in terms of what does rebuilding look like, in terms of how do we rebuild with heritage in mind? how do we rebuild with the people that were there before and allow and want to ensure that they come back and it's really built on that foundation. i think that is something everyone is grappling about, what does that look like? how long is that going to take? jeffrey: is it too early to think about rebuilding some of these cultural heritage sites, especially from a safety point of view? >> i don't think it's too early but i do think we need to take a beat and really think through about what does this look like. it is also raising new questions about, you know, in an

environment that we're dealing with now and knowing that wildfires are likely in the future, how do we rebuild in a way that is safer, more resilient, more fire retardant in terms of this? so i think it's raising lots of questions that, you know, we need a thoughtful process. jeffrey: the conservancy is just starting to go into impacted areas and is creating a complete map of heritage sites and resources. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. ♪ amna: and we'll be back shortly, but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. geoff: it's a chance to offer your support, which helps to keep programs like this one on the air. ♪

amna: for those staying with us, we have a second look at the growth of offshore wind farms, and the questions surrounding their impact. geoff: science correspondent miles o'brien takes us to new bedford, massachusetts, where local officials are trying to find a balance between greener, renewable energy and a potenial impact on the fishing industry. >> in the early 19th century, new bedford, massachusetts was one of the wealthiest cities in the country because of a grim industry. it was the whaling capital of the world. the oil produced by carcasses lit the eastern seaboard before the transition to fossil fuels. >> ironically, the city is on the cusp of being a center of energy once again. this time the resource is blowing in the wind.

tall pylons at the marine terminal are the most conspicuous features in an evolving harbor. an economic transition spurred by the energy transition. there are cranes everywhere. >> they are remaking the sport. >> we are. >> the mayor took me on a cruise around the harbor. >> you've got construction up and on the harbor. what is the total dollar amount right now? >> about $1 billion. >> with that happened without wind? >> most of it would not. we are playing to our advantages and that is what you see here. >> the mayor is in a political tightrope. the wind industry he has been supporting for a dozen years is caught in the net of opposition from the economic engine that has propelled new bedford for the last century. >> we don't know, are the shells i harvest going to be in the same spot. >> cassie and her family fish

auction on the east coast. 70% of scallops on your plate first land here. new bedford is the most lucrative fishing port in the u.s., but this scalloper is wary of what may lie ahead. in raising your concern now you are trying to get ahead of this. is that the idea? >> get out ahead is an interesting way of saying it. i envision we have steamroller's coming to steamroll our fishery and we are trying to steer them. i don't think we can stop them. >> he is asking the wind industry to slow down and allow some time for scientists to do some solid research to try to uncover the unintended consequences of wind farms in the ocean. this marine biologist at an oceanographic institution was piledriving for data. beneath the surface, flounder,

lobster and scallops, getting blasted with a lot of noise to see how they respond. >> we have cameras and sensors on animals under the water. to measure their behavior and their physiological responses to this. >> they have been conducting tests like these for three years. they started with squid and black seabass. >> can we say for certain that causes stress on these animals? >> it depends on which species and the context. >> and what they are doing. >> squid are sensitive to sound. but maybe squid couldn't care less. >> scallops closed tight whenever a piledriver strikes. >> the response repeated again over hours and days, can be stressful to the animals. they will be more susceptible to predation. >> he is hopeful his work will lead to an informed construction strategy.

things like limiting piledriving to when squid are mating, avoiding scallop beds and ramping up the sound gradually. there are lots of missing pieces to this puzzle. 27 miles off the coast of virginia beach, brendan is angling for answers. he is a fisheries biologist with the nature conservancy. this is the site of the coast of virginia offshore wind farm. when complete, it will be the largest in the u.s.. he and his team are catching seabass and attaching acoustic tanks to the. >> this is the part that might be uncomfortable for some viewers. >> the system allows him to attract the fish. in addition, he installed hydrophones to measure the underwater sound. >> awesome. >> comparing the spikes in db to the movement of the fish may fill in some blanks. >> maybe they will hunker down

near the sea floor and if that happens, how long does it last? another possible responses that black seabass and other fish might leave the area when piledriving happens. >> it is likely they will come back. he says the fish are attracted to the turbines, which become artificial reefs. while scientists try to get data, many opponents of offshore wind are peddling alternative acts. donald trump has vowed to try to stop offshore wind mill construction. this is why the mayor in new bedford has carefully tailored his pro-wind argument around economic development, jobs, jobs come another climate emergency. you think -- he thinks this has created support of the political winds have shifted in washington. are you worried that offshore wind is still, excuse the expression, not on firm ground politically? >> it begs the question about

how rapidly they will deploy. it is here in the united states and here to stay. the horse is out of the barn and it is a question of how rapidly the horse is going to run. >> for now, it is a one horse race. electric vehicles and artificial intelligence are fueling a dramatic increase in demand for electricity. in september microsoft announced a deal to reopen a mothballed nuclear reactor at three mile island, pennsylvania to power data centers. besides that, you're in the northeast, there are no other renewable options on the horizon. for the news hour, i'm miles o'brien off the coast of massachusetts. ♪ geoff: now to a 20th century physicist who made enduring but largely overlooked contributions

to her field. amna: john yang has this look that originally aired as part of pbs news weekend's ongoing series, "hidden histories." >> over the course of her trailblazing career, chien shiung was known by a number of monikers. the first lady of physics, the queen of nuclear research, the chinese mercury. she was one of the most influential consists of the 20th century. she changed our understanding of subatomic particles. at a time when it was rare to educate girls in china, she studied physics at national central university, graduating at the top of her class. with the financial support of her uncle, wu came to the u.s. and in 1940 earned her phd at the university of california berkeley. she couldn't find a research position at a university, so became a teacher.

she was the first woman and princeton university's physical -- physics department. in 1944 she was asked to join the faculty of columbia university to become a senior scientist on the top secret manhattan project will stop the government's world war ii effort to develop an atomic weapon. her work primarily involve uranium enrichment and radiation detection. columbia, where she worked until retiring, was the site of her more significant work. a theoretical physicist asked her to come up with a way to test a theory on the behavior of subatomic particles. the results of her method, known as the wu experiment, shattered a fundamental concept of nuclear physics that had been universally accepted for 30 years. they were awarded the nobel prize in physics but wu,, like many women scientists of her

day, was left out. in a speech in 1964 she asked whether the tiny items in nuclei or the mathematical symbols or the dna molecules have preference for either masculine or feminine treatment. her 1965 book "beta decay" is standard reading for nuclear physicist. her work wasn't recognized for the nobel prize which he earned many honors including the national medal of science in 1985 and the first wolf prize in physics in 1978. in 2021, 24 years after her death in 1997, she was honored with a u.s. postage stamp. for the news hour, i'm john yang. amna: you can watch more of pbs news weekend's hidden history segments online at ubs.org/news hour. geoff: finally, we want to mark the passing of a familiar, furry face here at the news hour. lisa desjardins' cat, rocky, appeared behind her when she reported from home during the pandemic, and beyond.

the short-haired tuxedo cat amassed quite a following, with viewers often writing in to ask after him. rocky passed away today, and will be missed. amna: that is the news hour for tonight. geoff: star spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the news hour has been provided by. >> in 1990 52 friends set out to make wireless accessible for all. with nationwide coverage in 100% u.s.-based customer support, consumer cellular, freedom calls. ♪

>> in our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that can access. >> two retiring executives turned their focus to greyhounds, giving former race dons a real chance to win. a raymondjames financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose and the way you get back. life well planned. >> corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy and peace. more information at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

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hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour & company, here is what is coming up: >> a future without the united states in nato? former head of the alliance james that maps out how europe is preparing for that scenario. then: deadly violence in