news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs.president biden leaves office, he's been exercising his presidential clemency powers. just this week, he commuted nearly 2500 non-violent drug offenders' sentences. it was, he said, “an important step toward righting historic wrongs.” he's also being asked to right what some see as another historic wrong and exonerate ethel rosenberg. she and her husband, julius, were executed in 1953 after being convicted as soviet spies in a sensational atomic espionage case at the height of the cold war red scare. while historians regard julius rosenberg as a soviet spy, his wife's role has been debated for years. and a document declassified last year is seen as the strongest evidence yet of her innocence. robert meeropol is the younger son of julius and ethel rosenberg. he and his brother michael have worked for decades to clear their mother's name. first, can you tell us about this document, what is it and what does it say? mr. meeropol: what is remarkable about this document is first of all who w

weeknights on pbs.many believe we're living in the golden age of scams. romance scams, investment scams, fake job scams. even the most skeptical among us are falling prey to increasingly sophisticated frauds. one particular scam called pig-butchering has cost victims around the world an estimated $75 billion in just the last four years. ali rogin has more on what it is, and how to avoid it. ali: pig butchering investment scams have exploded over the last few years. named for the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter, the scheme often starts with a simple "hi" or a seemingly innocent wrong number text on messaging platforms like whatsapp. before they catch on, victims can lose hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. in 2023 alone, americans reported losing $4.6 billion to investment schemes. and it's not just the targets that are being harmed. the imposters on the other end of the line are often human trafficking victims forced to run the scheme by large crime syndicates in asia

rubenstein studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs. as artificial intelligence increasingly becomes part of daily life, both its benefits and its pitfalls are becoming apparent. take medical centers. many of them use an ai powered tool called whisper to transcribe patients interactions with their doctors researchers , but have found that it sometimes invents text. it's what's known in the industry as hallucinations. that raises the possibility of errors like misdiagnoses. garance burke is an associated press global investigative reporter who's been looking into this. i first want to give folks an example of what researchers found. here's what a speaker said. simple sentence. and after she got the telephone, he began to pray. but here is what is transcribed. then he would, in addition to make sure i didn't catch a cold, he would help me get my shirt, and i was he began to to pray. now, what sorts of other hallucinations have been found? garance burke: yeah. so in talking with more than a dozen engineers and academic researchers, my co r

support the defunding of pbs?> look, i think it is totally healthy to have a channel which is dedicated to serious programming. i think many of the historical program that's have been on pbs are remarkable. >> but this debate has come back again. senator cruz and senator mike lee have renewed calls to defund pbs. what side of the coin do you come down on now? >> i would like to see if there is a transition to a privately funded pbs and if there is an away to create an endowment or a tax advantage to enable pbs to be privately funded. you look at the number of billionaires we have now. that should not be that hard. if harvard can get $50 billion in their endowment, pbs could probably build a pretty good endowment. >>> as you look forward and as this documentary continues to stream and be available on pbs, what is your message to those in the republican party who doubt the value of legal immigration? >> my message is look at your neighbors. look at members of your own family. look at folks you go to church or synago

news weekend in washington, home of the pbs news hour, weeknights on pbs.n: the national minimum wage was established in a landmark labor law that president franklin roosevelt signed nearly 90 years ago. today the minimum wage is just over $7 an hour. but a provision in the law allows employers to pay certain workers with disabilities less than that. ali rogin is back with a conversation with maria town, the president and ceo of the american association of people with disabitlies. it's part of our series "disability reframed." ali: maria, thank you for joining us. why is it legal for some companies to pay some workers less than the minimum wage, which right now is $7.25? what's the history of this rule? maria: well, in 1938, in during the new deal, the united states passed the fair labor standards act, which sounds very good. and in many ways it is. it outlawed child labor. it established the 40 hour workweek. and within the fair labor standards act, there is a section that allows employers to pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage. and this wa

on pbs.n: president-elect trump's inaugural committee has smashed fundraising records, racking up more than $200 million in pledges. dontions have come from leaders of big tech, financial services and telecommunications. some of those companies have federal contracts or are big federal contracts or are regulated by the federal government. ali rogin spoke with craig holman, an expert on ethics and campaign finance rules for public citizen, and cecilia kang, who covers technology for the new york times. ali: thank you so much for being here. craig, you put together a research document on the inaugural committee fundraising. who is donating? craig: it is shattering all records this time around. the trump inaugural committee originally targeted $150 million to spend on the inauguration which by itself would break records. then they upped it to 200 million dollars because money started flowing in and now we know is going to be around $250 million. it shatters all records in terms of spending but a

eastern on pbs and streaming on our youtube channel. and before we go, we want to take some time for reflections about how people are coping with the devastating california wildfires. the renowned poet laureate and los angeles native amanda gorman has penned a heartfelt tribute expressing her fears and hopes for community. i spoke with her yesterday. >> welcome back to the news hour. thank you for joining us. you are a los angeles native. you live in the pacific palisades. tell us how you are doing, if your home is ok, and what it has been like to watch all of this devastation and loss unfold in a place you call home. >> thank you for asking. i'm blessed, saved, my family is safe, but it has been devastating. i think on a communal level to see this amount of damage and loss in a city that we love. l.a. is incredibly strong and resilient. it has been amazing to see the way people are coming together. but we have a really long trek ahead of us. >> tell us what led you to write this poem. >> when the fires broke out in los angeles, i was i

pbs news hour obtained the memo and it says the u.s."shall not provide foreign assistance funded by or through the department of usaid without the secretary of state's authorization," and "for existing foreign assistance awards, grant officers should issue stop work orders." it says within 30 days the department will develop review standards and with an 85 will have a comprehensive review and with 180 -- within 180 days all foreign assistance will be aligned with donald trump's vision. every dollar being spent is being caused. there are a few examples -- few exceptions. emergency food assistance. geoff: what programs could this affect? nick: everything, including security assistance around the world. $40 billion is generally the total that is cited in terms of total foreign assistance. about half of that is military assistance, so this affects security assistance to ukraine, taiwan, jordan. these are key u.s. allies and partners around the world. and it is not just weapons but things like training. so security assistance is police. ther

the pbs news hour, i'm stephanie sy.start the day's other news with two announcements from the food and drug administration aimed at protecting americans' health. first, officials are banning red dye number three from food for its potential cancer risk. it was banned in cosmetics nearly 35 years ago. the dye is now found in some sweets, flavored beverages, and oral medicines. regulators gave food manufacturers until 2027 to remove it from their products. the fda also proposed a rule today to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine levels. officials say that smoking is still the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the u.s. they estimate the rule could help nearly 13 million americans quit within a year, if implemented. >> today's action is a pivotal step toward reducing these monumental adverse health effects and the more than $1 billion spent a day in this country on smoking related health care costs and lost productivity. amna: the agency announced the plan in the final days of the biden p

for the "pbs news hour," i'm nick schifrin.: for more on all of this, we turn now to two "news hour" regulars, david makovsky of the washington institute for near east policy and hussein ibish of the arab gulf states institute in washington. thank you both for being here. hussein, we will start with you. president biden today made clear that he laid out the precise contours of this agreement back in may. right. geoff: it was, of course, almost agreed to in july. why now? hussein ibish: well, and even it had antecedents going back to january and even november of 2023. so these ideas have been around for a long time. but i think the two inflection points are the election of donald trump and the pressure he put on prime minister netanyahu, which builds on pressure from the israeli public and the israeli military to make such a deal. i think trump was very clear that he did not want this war to go on during his inauguration. and on the other hand, a major change of power within hamas, inflected mainly by the fall of the assad regim

that book was paired with a groundbreaking pbs documentary of the same name.our decades later, williams returns with "new prize for these eyes," a powerful and timely update that looks at the new 21st-century civil rights movement. juan williams, welcome to the "news hour." juan: my pleasure, geoff. thanks for having me. geoff: what about this current moment inspired you to write a follow-up to your 1987 book, "eyes on the prize?" juan: you know, boy, in 1987, that's a way back. geoff: almost 40 years ago juan: yeah, exactly. so 40 years ago, i wrote "eyes on the prize: america's civil rights years," and it was accompanying a pbs special of the same name that was a great success. so now, 40 years later, here i am. and i'm saying to you, i think we're in the midst of a second civil rights movement. and i've written a book called "new prize for these eyes: america's second civil right, the rise of america's second civil rights movement." and the key here is that if you think about "eyes on the prize and the civil rights movement,"" the mid-20th century, in some

for the "pbs news hour," i'm nick schifrin. approved a police reform agreement yesterday with the federal government 4.5 years after the murder of george floyd. stephanie sy has more now on the context around that deal and others like it. stephanie: amna, the agreement, known as a consent decree, allows a court-appointed monitor to oversee changes to the minneapolis police department. among other directives, it requires officers to intervene when they see a colleague break department rules. if approved by a judge, it would become the 16th such settlement that the department of justice is now enforcing with police agencies. but the future of federal oversight over local police is murky, as president-elect trump gets set to return to the white house. for more on all this, we're joined by alex del carmen. he's a criminologist at tarleton state university in texas and has served as a consent decree monitor himself. alex del carmen, thank you so much for joining the "news hour.” so, as you know, this consent decree in minneapolis is

for the "pbs news hour," i'm fred de sam lazaro in washington.'s reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. amna: a globally-renowned artist who uses elements of the natural world to make us see that world in new ways. senior arts correspondent jeffrey brown spoke with artist olafur eliasson for our arts and culture series, "canvas." jeffrey: for nearly six months in 2003, the sun set inside a giant hall in london's tate modern museum. an artificial effect creating a strange otherworld, made from hundreds of lamps, a mirrored ceiling and a mist machine. called "the weather project," this art installation was a sensation, attracting some two million visitors. its creator, artist olafur eliasson. olafur: my art is, there's sort of -- what does it mean to see? what does it mean to experience? can i see my own seeing? you know, maybe it's not what i am looking at, but maybe it's the looking itself. wow! jeffrey: can i see my own seeing? olafur: yes. what is imagination? are we good at

. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> cunard is a proud supporterpublic television. on a voyage with cunard the world awaits. a world of labor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style. all with cunard's five-star service. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy, and peace. more information at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting at a by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. israel's cabinet has delayed a vote until tomorrow on the ceasefire deal struck yesterday to suspend the war in gaza and swap hostages and detainees. amna: prime minister benjamin netanyahu blamed hamas for the delay, saying the militant group was trying to change the deal, a charge hamas denied. meantime, american and egyptian mediators met in cairo to discuss

for the "pbs news hour," i'm malcolm brabant in auschwitz-birkenau.again here tomorrow night when we will have a look at efforts to end diversity and inclusion programs in the military. 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. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style. all with white star service. ♪ >> in 1995, two friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all. with no long-term contracts, nationwide coverage, and 100% u.s. customer support. consumer cellular, freedom calls. ♪ >> the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corpor

." ♪ go tell it on the mountain ♪ - [margaret] the iconic pbs documentary series on the american civilhts movement "eyes on the prize" was an instant blockbuster when it aired in 1987. then washington post journalist juan williams wrote the book that accompanied the series. - one of the ironies of writing this book at this time is that it hasn't been done before. here we have what i think is sort of the quintessential moment of modern american history, the civil rights movement, - [margaret] now williams is writing about what he calls the second civil rights movement. - [protestor] black lives matter. - [protestors] black lives matter. - [margaret] his book, "new prize for these eyes," carries the story forward into the 21st century. - when you think about civil rights today versus the names of the past, the dr. kings and the like, it's a huge difference. the agenda is not being set by one group of people here. and oftentimes it can become diffuse as a result. - [rally attenders] usa, usa. - [margaret] as donald trump and the maga movement return to power, on the same day america celeb

thank you. >> this is "pbs newshour" west from the david m. rubinstein studio at the university of washington and from walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] (bright regal music) - cooking is really at its best when it's shared. oh, wow. so i'm off to visit inspiring communities across the country to see how food brings them together. that's a bit of all right. - oh yeah! - exploring some exciting places. extraordinary, it's huge, isn't it? - look at that. beautiful. - i can think of no better place to be. while sharing mouthwatering recipes of my own.

thank you. ♪ ♪ >> this is pbs news hour west, from the david m.in washington and in the west at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪ ♪ (soaring instrumental music) - cooking is really at its best when it's shared. (drums bang) (mary gasps) wow. so i'm off to visit inspiring communities across the country to see how food brings them together. (people cheer) that's a bit of all right. - hey!

pbs news hour obtained the memo and says the u.s.ent "shall not provide foreign an assistance funded by or through the department and usaid without the secretary of state's authorization and for existing awards, grant officers shall immediately issue a stop work orders." with an 85 days it will complete a comprehensive review and within 100 days, all u.s. foreign assistance will be aligned with president's vision. every dollar being spent is now being paused with few exceptions. foreign military financing for israel and egypt and emergency food assistance around the world. geoff: what programs could this affect? >> everything including security assistance around the world. $40 billion is generally the total that is cited in terms of total foreign assistance. about half of that is military assistance. this affects security assistance to ukraine, taiwan and jordan. these are key u.s. allies and partners around the world and it's not just weapons, it's things like training. on top of military assistance, what the u.s. calls security ass

american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour. >> the ongoing support of these individuals andnstitutions. and friends of the news hour including leonard and norma, and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "news hour." the trump administration ended week one with a friday night mass firing of more than a dozen lead inspectors of government oversight, a weekend uptick of immigration arrests, and a day-long fight over deportations and tariffs with colombia. amna: president trump is meeting tonight with house republicans at his golf resort in miami. moments ago, he addressed the gop lawmakers as they gathered for their annual strategy retreat. >> if we do our job over the next 21 months,

for the pbs news hour, i am jeffrey brown.w been two weeks since the wildfires began ravaging parts of southern california. at least 27 people have lost their lives and officials say -- lives as we learn more about the victims, we remember some some of those who were lost and the legacies they leave behind. we begin tonight with these nine stories. 55-year-old randall my body was an avid surfer and life of the party, according to his mother, carol, who begged him to evacuate the last thing he told her was "pray for the palisades and pray for malibu. i love you." anthony mitchell, 60 seven, was a retired amputee. his son, justin, was in his early 20's and had cerebral palsy. mitchell was waiting for an ambulance to evacuate them. mitchell's daughter told reporters "he was not going to leave his son behind no matter what." victor shock, 66, lived in altadena and died with a garden hose in his hand. he was shy in nature but had a deep affection for his sister, who attempted to get her brother to safety before barely escaping hers

for the "pbs news hour," i'm nick schifrin. roger carson's work over the last five years as is no special presidential envoy for hostage affairs has led to the release of a number of americans held by countries like venezuela and iran. he was also part of a team that negotiated brittney griner's freedom as well as a complex multi-country deal that led to release of evan gershkovich, alsu kurmasheva and paul whelan from russia. carstens is leaving his job in the coming days and he joins us now. ambassador, welcome back. in the middle east this is obviously a multiagency effort not only to negotiate a cease-fire but secure the release of hostages. we understand the president said a deal is close, possibly this week. has either party taken this deal? do you see it happening? mr. carstens: you have to be optimistic in these cases. it's hard to tell whether the sides are going to narrow the gap that has been between them in main part because we have been close before and have not been able to do it. we remain hopeful. i've had a cha

for the pbs newshour, i'm fred de sam lazaro in washington.ng is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. amna: americans lined up at the u.s. capitol today to pay their respects to former president jimmy carter. the 39th president lay in state at the capitol rotunda for a second day ahead of his state funeral tomorrow. geoff: the service will take place in the morning at the washington national cathedral. we'll be here with live coverage. >> is being remembered for his presidency and what he achieved after his presidency. many looked up to him. >> he's always been a hero of mine. >> he's always been a great man. >> he was a great humanitarian. reporter: a pbs new special. remembering jimmy carter. thursday, january 9, at 9:00 p.m. eastern. amna: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> travelers experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england islands. our fleet of

for pbs news hour, i am laura baron-lopez.'s a portrait of an artist capturing parts of his own history and ours. he's been doing it since childhood and is now in the spotlight with his first national touring exhibition. senior arts correspondent jeffrey brown talks with vincent valdes, for our arts and culture series canvas. jeffrey: the paintings are often large in scale, almost cinematic in effect. the imagery, confrontational, packing a punch. 120 works, now at the contemporary arts museum, houston, by artist vincent valdez. this is art as provocation? vincent: it's art as truth. it's the truth the way that i see it. it's the truth that, based off of my recollections and observations, my hard examinations about life in the world beyond these studio doors. jeffrey: the exhibition, titled, "just a dream," presents 25 years of work. series of paintings, or what valdez sees as chapters, that look at both personal and collective histories. it is his first major survey, a chance for the 48 year old artist to take stock. vincent:

. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "news hour" has been provided by. >> carnegie corporation of new yorking to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy, and peace. more information at carnegie.org. 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.” answers slowly began to trickle out today, after the deadly new years truck attack in new orleans. officials revised the death toll down to 14 victims, plus the suspect. they also gave more details about his activities in the hours before the attack. laura barron lopez begins our verage from new orleans. laura: as the sun rose over new orleans this morning, the french quarter, known for its parties and bustling crowds, was eerily quiet. and under tight security. residents, business owners, and tourists, coming to terms with the deadly new years attack on bourbon street. >> sadly, this attack in my opinion was not

for the pbs "news hour," i'm laura barron-lopez.more on the life and legacy of president carter, we're joined by our own judy woodruff, who has covered jimmy carter since before he was elected president. amna: also presidential historian barbara perry, from the miller center at the university of virginia. geoff: and stuart eizenstat, who was domestic policy adviser to president carter and, as you heard, spoke at the funeral today. welcome to all of you. your remarks at the funeral service today, you said you sought to redeem the carter presidency and reframe the public understanding of it. in your view, his accomplishment were more enduring than most modern presidents. what inspired you to have that as your message today? stuart: it has always rankled me that people say he is the best ex-president we have had, and that is probably true, but that is an implicit way of saying he was not a successful president. i meant by redeeming that it is now time after the election loss we suffered for sure, and after over 40 years 10 times more t

. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> is a proud supporter of publicevision. on a voyage with kunod, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style. all with their white star service. >> in 1995 two friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all. with no long-term contract, nationwide coverage and 100% u.s.-based customer support. consumer cellular. freedom calls. >> the charles f. kettering foundation working to advance inclusive democracies. >> the judy and peter bloom kovler foundation strengthen democracies at home and abroad. the walton foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the john d. and catherine macarthur foundation co committed to building a more just and peaceful world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank yo

that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer:sentation of this program is provided by... brett: you know as someone coming out of college it can be very nerve-racking not knowing what to expect, whether you'll like your job or not, whether you'll make friends,

american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour.he ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including leonard and norma and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. the william and flora hewlett foundation. advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.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. >> welcome to the news hour. dangerous when conditions are picking up speed and threatening to spread fires in southern california. geoff: four of the major fires have burned through more than 62 square miles already. that's larger than the size of san francisco or paris. at least 24 people have died, about two dozen more are missing, and a number of communities have been reduced to ash. officials say they're worried that death toll will grow this week. >> in los angeles county, it is fi

lisa: for the "pbs news hour," i'm lisa desjardins. and joining me now to discuss today's confirmation hearing is republican senator jim banks of indiana, who serves on the senate armed services committee and was in the room today. senator, welcome to the "news hour." thanks for joining us. >> good to be with you. amna: so mr. hegseth faced some pretty tough questions today on the past allegations of excessive drinking, his infidelity, and judgment, management inexperience. how do you think he handled those questions today? >> i thought the hearing went exceptionally well for pete hegseth. the democrats were looking for a gotcha moment, and they were trying to land a blow. but they couldn't do it because they keep manufacturing and repeating anonymous sources and allegations. and at the end of the day, we walked out of the room, and i thought pete, who had momentum going into the hearing, had even more momentum coming out of it. it went very well for him. he focused on the issues, why it matters that we send a secretary of defense who'

american cruz lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour.ngoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including leonard and norma klorfine and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. ♪ the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to support a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the news hour. congress certified donald trump's election victory. amna: as lisa desjardins explains it was a routine procedure a moment in striking contrast to the violent insurrection of four years ago. reporter: an unusual scene, a winter storm all but shutting down the nation's capital. but congress at work with the historic charge, counting electorate votes. >> the votes for president of the united states -- reporter: certifying

. >> this is pbs news weekend from my studio in washington. many of us know formaldehyde is a clear chemical with a powerful smell that permeates high school biology labs. it is found just about everywhere, including a lot of things that are in your homes and offices right now. this past week, the epa evaluation said it poses an unreasonable risk to human health. last month, an investigation concluded that it causes far more cancer than any other airborne pollutants. they say not enough is being done to address the risk. we mentioned some of the places. how pervasive is formaldehyde? >> it is incredibly pervasive. it is essentially ubiquitous. indoors, the concentration is particularly high because lots of products do that. it is pretty much everywhere outdoors. the epa analyzes toxic air pollutants and estimates for cancer risk for each one of them. ideally they are supposed to limit the exposure to these chemicals so that they cause no more than one case of cancer in every million people exposed. for most of the dozens of toxic air pollutant

in washington, home of the pbs news hour.he cdc says that nationwide, the number of people going to doctors with things like the flu, rsv, and covid, is surging. what better time to check in with an epidemiologist. it is what we are seeing now the standard respiratory virus season or is there something unusual going on? >> like you said, it is no doubt ugly out there. there are a lot of sick people with coughs, fever, sore throat. especially in the south and hi west. these levels are not unusual. we have seen the same level of sickness before the pandemic. what is unusual is that covid is not necessarily dominating. the main culprit right now is flu. it accounts for many more hospitalizations. this is definitely a shift from the past four years. anchor: what do we know about booster shots and flu shots and what effect that is having? >> unfortunately vaccination rates are sub optimal. only one in four u.s. adults has the covid vaccine. lesson 50 cent -- 50% of americans has the flu vaccine. this is far lower than our goal of

for the "pbs newshour," i'm lisa desjardins.: and let's dive a little deeper into what we heard from president trump at davos today. david wessel is a senior fellow in economic studies at the brookings institution. welcome back to the program. >> good to be here. geoff: so president trump speaking to the davos elite, among other things, he blasted european regulation and trade policies. your assessment of his speech and how do you think it landed in the room? david: well, it seemed like a speech designed to appeal to an american audience, our tough president telling our allies what they need to do. he was giving instructions left and right. it was typical trump, a bit of hyperbole. he accused canada of running a $200 billion to $250 billion trade deficit with the united states. the actual number is $45 billion. and i wasn't in the room, but i can't imagine -- i don't think they were surprised, but these are the people who prosper from globalization. and he was basically making the case, america first. geoff: the carrot-and-stick

thank you. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour west from the david m. in weta in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] jeff: one of donald trump's most controversial cabinet picks will try to win over the senate next week, when confirmation hearings begin. for the national security nominees, their hearings come at an awkward moment, just as trump is threatening allies and friends from denenmark to panam, giving new meaning to the term "america first."

geoff: for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thank you for spending your evening with us.s been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including kathy and paul anderson and george smith. ♪ the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the news hour -- ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ ♪ >> >>> hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour & co." >>> here's what is coming up,

for the pbs "news hour," this is fred de sam lazaro in washington.is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. and he joins me now to discuss more of his reporting. so fred, as you noted, usaid administrator samantha power declined to participate in your reports. has there been any response from the agency since? fred: we did hear from a usaid spokesperson taking issue with a comment made by walter kerr of unlock aid, and issuing a statement that said it was incorrect to state that only 10% of usaid's total assistance funding reaches local communities, meaning in the countries targeted. and the statement goes on that this grossly misstates usaid's work, which reaches hundreds of millions of people around the globe every year. well, there's no dispute about reaching a lot of people. it is close to $40 billion, after all. when it comes to the number, taking issue with how much money is actually spent locally, there is a lot of opacity. it's a very elastic number depending on who is interpreting it.

for the pbs newshour, i am malcolm brabant in ipswich. world's most famous classical pianists lang lang discovered his passion for piano while growing up alongside other musicians in china. today, he stands as a globally acclaimed classical pianist whose extraordinary talent has led him to perform with diverse musical legends, from the prestigious philadelphia orchestra to contemporary icons like coldplay and metallica. tonight, he shares his brief but spectacular take on loving what you play. langlang: it was like having a toy in my hand when i started. it was like " the nutcracker" by tchaikovsky. ♪ so i grew up in china, in the northeast region, shenyang, a very industrial city, big factory. every day, i hear music from everywhere. the chinese traditional orchestra, where my father was a principal. i was in beijing at the age of nine, and i got fired by a piano teacher there. she was kind of very skeptical of my piano style, and that was very difficult for me. i thought my piano career is over. ♪ so when i was 17 years old, i have this

. >> major funding for the pbs news hour provided by. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour. >> the charles f kettering foundation looking to advance inclusive democracies. >> the john s and james l knight foundation fostering engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and 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 unprecedented warnings about wind conditions have residents around los angeles on high alert again tonight, while firefighters work to control major blazes that have destroyed communities and taken at least 24 lives. amna: more than 40-thousand people have applied for fema assistance already. los angeles mayor karen bass issued an executive order to remove red tape and speed up rebuilding efforts. and governor gavin newsom suspended state rules to make it easier for students to attend school i

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. >> this is pbs news weekend from our studio in washington, home of the news hour. >> tomorrow marksars since the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol building, a day that shook the city emanation. a mob of term supporters smashed their way into the capitol building, believing that the election have been stolen. a bipartisan senate report found that at least seven people lost their lives in connection with the attack. years later, the legacy of that day and what it means to our country remains a bitter partisan divide. joining us to discuss our journalists who were there that day. and they have been covering its impacts ever sent. our pentagon reporter and an npr reporter. you were both therefore years ago. -- there four years ago. how does it stand out to you? >> i was covering trump's speech. there was a sea of people. i was interviewing everyone. they were all respectful. people were laughing and joking and waving to each other. it was like a storm was coming in. there was a sense of anger and bad energy. she called me. she was in the middle of the mob. >> i was there with another

. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism... park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues... the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. more at macfound.org. the heising-simons foundation, unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. learn more at hsfoundation.org. and by the frontline journalism fund with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. and from the charina endowment fund. additional support for this program is from the hollyhock foundation. >> hurricane dora out in the central pacific, now just directly south of the hawaiian islands, but it is pretty far south of hawai'i... >> narrator: the day of the deadliest american wildfire in more than