laura barron-lopez begins our coverage. barron-lopez: this morning, president donald trump touching down in western north carolina, stop number one of a cross-country disaster tour. hurricane helene brought historic, catastrophic floods to the state last september. four months later, trump again made the recovery political. on the tarmac in asheville, trump questioned the need for a federal response. donald trump, president of the united states: to have a group of people come in from an area that don't even know where they're going in order to solve immediately a problem is something that never worked for me. i'd like to see the states take care of disasters. let the state take care of the tornadoes and the hurricanes and all of the other things that happen. laura barron-lopez: shortly after, trump said he would sign an executive order to gut fema. donald trump: i think we're going to recommend that fema go away. laura barron-lopez: eliminating the agency would take an act of congress. and while fema assists states in disast

our white house correspondent, laura barron-lopez, joins us now for more on that hearing. d us of who russell vought is and what the omb does across the federal government. laura barron-lopez: the head of the office of management and budget, geoff, is not usually a household name, but it is an incredibly important position in the white house. and the head of the omb oversees spending and can review all regulations across agencies that agencies write, is in charge of the president's budget policy, and is often involved in hill negotiations. now, when it comes to russell vought, vought served in this role, as you noted, geoff, during the first trump administration. and he wrote a project 2025 chapter specifically on transforming the presidency and expanding its powers. and in the time between the first trump administration and now this incoming one, he was head of a conservative think tank center for renewing america. and at that think tank, he drafted hundreds of potential executive orders and memos in preparation for a second trump administration. geoff: and you were, of co

laura barron-lopez has the latest from louisiana. trains of music once again drifted through new orleans' french quarter. while bouncers checked id's and patted people down. but even as people returned to bustling bourbon street for its nightlife, bars and live music, there were reminders of wednesday's terrorist attack that killed 14 people. since then, makeshift memorials have sprung up near the site. flowers, candles, crosses, and notes left for those who died. earlier, sarah colbert, who lives in new orleans, and her mother, janeal colbert, who was visiting from los angeles, stopped to pay their respects. they were among the throngs of party goers who packed bourbon street on new year's eve and said they missed the attack by an hour. sarah: the people here, the victims were people that we , walked amongst, people that we saw could have been someone that , we saw dancing and admired as we people watched on the street. it hits real close to home. we were right there at it. janeal: i thought man, if we would have been here at that ti

amna: that is our white house correspondent, laura barrone-lopez. thank you. laura: thank you.: more on on president trump's move to pardon or commute the sentences of the more than 1500 january 6 defendants. mass clemency for his supporters like david dempsey, who was sentenced to 20 years for two counts of assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon, seen here outside the capitol threatening to lynch elected officials. proud boys member dominic pezzola who was serving a 10-year sentence for being one of the first to break into the capitol, using a stolen riot shield to break a window. scott miller, who can be seen in the brown jacket near the entrance beating police with a pole. he was serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence. and jacob chansley, otherwise known as the qanon shaman, who plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding after trespassing on capitol grounds. for more on the implications, we are joined by former gop congressman and advisor to the house january 6th committee, denver riggleman. welcome back to the news hour. >> thank you for having me. g

laura barron lopez begins our verage from new orleans. 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 against new orleans, it was against the nation. and sadly, it occurred here. >> we can't replace these lives, but we can make it better than we found it. and i think that's what new orleans is great at doing. laura: while the city grieved, law enforcement officials pieced together a picture of the suspect, 42-year-old shamsud din jabbar, a u.s. born army veteran. >> this was an act of terrorism. it was premeditated and an evil act. laura: christopher raia of the fbi's counterterrorism division said the agency now believes jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from yesterday. raia detailed the latest timeline at a press conference this morning. he said jabbar rented the white pickup

here's laura barron-lopez with more. >> ready! step! ready! step! dent jimmy carter's final journey home. with the morning sun beaming down on the east front of the u.s. capitol, the late president's casket made its way to washington's national cathedral for the high honors, and solemn ceremony, of his state funeral. soaring hymns echoed through the grand space. thousands gathered in the pews for the culmination of more than a week of tributes for the soft-spoken southern democrat. speakers celebrated carter's deep faith, honored his military service as a naval lieutenant, and saluted his devotion to service more than politics. his grandson, joshua. >> my grandfather spent the entire time i've known him helping those in need. he built houses for people who needed homes. he eliminated diseases in forgotten places. he waged peace anywhere in the world. wherever he saw a chance, he loved people. laura: another of his grandsons, jason, remembered the life of a humble and decent man. >> in my 49 years, i never perceived a difference between his public fac

geoff: ok, laura barron-lopez, our thanks to you, as always. hank you. ♪ stephanie: here are the latest headlines. roughly 30,000 people are under evacuation orders tonight is a fast-moving wildfire burns in the hills lining the coast of los angeles. this evening, california governor gavin newsom said the palisades fire has already destroyed many structures but did not give an exact number. at least 13,000 structures are threatened of the wind whipped plays. fire crews are trying to contain the fire which has exploded in size to more than 1200 acres since igniting this morning. the national weather service is warning of life-threatening, destructive gusts of wind in the coming days. the windstorms could be the worst in a decade. smoke from the blaze can be seen for miles with traffic jammed up as locals try to flee the area. meantime, a so-called polar vortex is bringing below-freezing temperatures as far south as the gulf coast. the frigid air comes as millions in central and eastern parts of the country dig out from a winter storm that snarled

i'm laura barron-lopez.eoff bennett and amna nawaz are away. on the "newshour" tonight, new year's celebrations turned to horror. a driver tore through bourbon street in new orleans, killing and wounding multiple people in what's being investigated as a terrorist attack. after decades of work, jimmy carter's goal of eradicating a tropical disease appears within reach. we examine the lasting global health legacy the late president leaves behind. and new research shows exercise could be the most potent medical intervention ever known. euan ashley: stressing our bodies with exercise in just the right amount actually prepares our bodies to deal with the stress of everyday life. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> working to advance inclusive democracy. >> of holding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. looking for solutions to protect water during climate change, so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur found

i'm laura barron-lopez. geoff bennett and amna nawaz are away.ight, new year's celebrations turned to horror. a driver tore through bourbon street in new orleans, killing and wounding multiple people in what's being investigated as a terrorist attack. after decades of work, jimmy carter's goal of eradicating a tropical disease appears within reach. we examine the lasting global health legacy the late president leaves behind.

i'm laura barron-lopez. geoff bennett and amna nawaz are away.ight, new year's celebrations turned to horror. a driver tore through bourbon street in new orleans, killing and wounding multiple people in what's being investigated as a

our white house correspondent, laura barron-lopez, has more. pete hegseth's nomination to run the pentagon, a number of misconduct allegations have surfaced against the former fox news host. these include excessive workplace drinking, financial mismanagement of organizations he's led, and sexual assault. according to a police report made public last november, hegseth is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 in a california hotel room. the woman said hegseth took her phone and blocked her exit. it was first reported to police by a nurse after a patient requested a sexual assault exam. hegseth settled with the woman, but denies any wrongdoing. i'm joined now by gretchen carlson, former fox anchor and co-founder of lift our voices, an organization dedicated to ending non-disclosure agreements in the workplace. gretchen, thank you for joining. after some initial concern from republican senators about these allegations against hegseth, it seems as though many are prepared to vote to confirm him. what does it say that an allegation of sexual

laura barron lopez begins our coverage. this morning, president donald trump touching down in western north carolina, stop number one of a disaster tour. hurricane helene brought catastrophic floods to the state november. four months later, trump again made the recovery political, questioning the need for a federal response.. >> they have a group of people that don't even know where they are going. i would like to see the states take care of disasters, the tornadoes and hurricanes. laura: trump said he would sign an executive order to gut fema. eliminating the agency would take an active congress. fema only assists in disaster response at the request of governors. >> you need your riverbanks fixed. you need a lot of roads fixed and we are going to get it done in rapid time. laura: all this in washington. >> we will stand proudly for families and life. laura: the annual march for life, where trump made an appearance via prerecorded video, crowds of antiabortion protesters watching on. >> we believe every child has the right

our white house correspondent laura barron-lopez has more on the impact of this purge. ave of dismissals began on friday night and span various government agencies, including the department of defense and department of health and human services. even some members of the president's party are suggesting the firings violate federal law, which requires congress to receive at least 30 days notice and reasons for removal. mark greenblatt, who was fired from his post as inspector general of the interior department, told the "news hour" earlier that he was heartbroken when he received notice of his firing friday night. >> the biggest fear that i have is, frankly, is the politicization of the inspector general community. i think this should send up some some red flags for the american taxpayer. we have to make sure that the mechanism of the inspectors general is independent and apolitical. laura: to discuss the impact of this decision, i'm joined by glenn fine, former inspector general for the department of justice in the clinton, bush and obama administrations. and he served as

our white house correspondent laura barron-lopez joins us now. were the other takeaways from the press conference today? laura: this was one hour long rambling press conference and he talked about using force to gain control over countries and territories. he raised the possibility of using military force to secure greenland and the panama canal, and also talked about using economic control to acquire a canada. and renaming the gulf of mexico as the gulf of america. he also says all hell will break out of hamas does not release hostages by the time he takes office. he said he wants to use tariffs at a high level against denmark to try to pressure it, to cede control of greenland to the u.s. on the idea of the annexation of canada, outgoing prime minister justin trudeau outright rejected it on x, saying there was not a snowballs chance in hell it would happen. geoff: as the president-elect was talking to reporters, judge aileen cannon temporarily blocked the release of special counsel jack smith's report. what did mr. trump had to say? laura: he c

laura barron-lopez reports. >> preserve, protect, and defend. >> preserve, protect, and defend. >> theonstitution of the united states. >> the constitution of the united states. >> so help me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. laura: president donald trump's improbable comeback now complete. >> i stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do. in america, the impossible is what we do best. laura: from attempting to overurn the legitimate election results four years ago to embattled criminal defendant and convicted felon to president of the united states once more. today marked a political turnaround not seen in modern times. trump's second inauguration also had an atmosphere not seen in decades. outside, the west front of the capitol, where inaugural ceremonies are typically held stood nearly empty. with a temperature below freezing, the cold weather moved the inaugural ceremonies indoors for the first time in 40 years, where trump took the oath of office in the capitol rotunda. images that echoed ronald reagan's s

jeff is back with us, along with laura barron-lopez of the pbs newshour and cnn's lauren fox. laura, you, uh, what do you take away from not necessarily just donald trump's reaction, because that's pretty predictable. but the overall political consequences or the political reality that got us here. >> i mean, what's striking here is that, yes, donald trump is claiming that it's not that somehow this was democrats lost or that the case was lost. well, it wasn't lost on merits. >> i mean, he is convicted. he was he's a convicted felon now entering the white house, and he's trying to spin it to say that somehow he's not guilty. that's not the case. but i think that, you know, there was polling during the election that showed that people didn't necessarily want someone in the white house who they thought had committed a crime or who they thought would go against the rule of law, or who they were worried about potentially pursuing, pursuing authoritarian measures. and despite all that, even though some voters expressed worry about it, they still ultimately voted for him. and i think

our white house correspondent laura barron-lopez joins us now for more on the hearing.russell vought is and what the omb does across the federal government. >> it is not usually a household name but it is an incredibly important position in the white house. the head of the omb oversees expending and can review all regulations across agencies, in charge of the president's budget policy and often involved in hill negotiations. when it comes to russell vought, he served during the first trump administration and wrote a project 2025 piece on expanding powers. he was head of a conservative think tank center for renewing america and there he drafted hundreds of potential executive orders and memos in preparation for a second trump administration. geoff: you are of course tracking his confirmation hearing today, what stood out to you? >> republican senators welcome this nomination -- welcomed this nomination, focusing more of their questions on how omb and the trump administration would slash wasteful spending but democrats pressed him on his track record, when he was omb dire

our white house correspondent laura barron-lopez has been tracking it all. and joins us now.an a day into mr. trump's presidency, we have seen some legal pushback to some of these immigration related executive act -- executive actions. what's the latest? laura: there are lawsuits filed already by the aclu as well as 18 attorneys general and democratic stead -- in democratic led states, challenging that executive order you just talked about that is attempting to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents who were born in the united states. many legal experts say that executive order defies the 14th amendment. there is no lawsuit against donald trump's other executive that declares a national emergency at the border, which would allow him to bypass legal statutes and use military and send troops to the border. sending military to the border is likely to also be fought in court. it could clash with an 1870's law that prohibits active military from being in force -- from enforcing civilian laws. many of the immigration advocates that we spoke to today said th

cnn's jeff zeleny, laura barron-lopez of the pbs newshour, and leigh ann caldwell, now of puck, you have done also extensive reporting on this issue throughout the campaign. the politics of it, the policy of it. can you just give us your top line view of what we saw over the weekend? >> well. >> what we're seeing is. >> priscilla is saying, is this all of government approach? essentially. a lot of other agencies being involved, including the justice department, in carrying out these deportations and, yes, tom homan is saying it is just being focused on public security threats, national security threats. but there are other migrants getting looped in here. and he said that they're they're definitely not going to stop arrests if migrants are if migrants who have no criminal record are caught up in these. so there's that. but there's also this other big story when it comes to immigration in terms of shutting down all legal pathways, essentially, effectively, all legal pathways have been shut down. and when tom homan gave an interview with abc over the weekend, he said, people just need to c

laura barron-lopez, cnn political commentator and former democratic state representative from south carolina. bakari sellers, and politics reporter for semafor shelby talcott. good to have you all here on this eve of another inauguration. i'll begin with you, david. on this point, trump was promising this is his quote by tomorrow evening, the invasion of our border will have to come to a halt. and then raids could be obviously underway as early as tuesday. any concerns about overpromising and under-delivering on that timeline? >> no, i think look, laura, i think you'll even see raids tomorrow. i think you'll see raids very, very soon. tom homan has been out and about talking to people. i think the border will, you know, will be sealed tomorrow. there will be literally a new sheriff in town in terms of enforcement of the border. and so i think that will become effective immediately. what i think is going to take a long time is obviously the mass deportations they're talking about. right. there's a million plus 1,000,005 or so adjudicated folks who have been adjudicated and ready to be sent ho

joining me now to discuss this is a panel of terrific reporters, mark caputo of axios, axios laura barron-lopezthe pbs newshour, cnn's jeff zeleny and npr's ayesha rascoe. jeff, i want to start with you. can you speak to this because you follow donald trump on the campaign trail? i mean, we all did. but about what we're seeing now and what it should mean and how people should be feeling about it, particularly if they were paying attention during the campaign. look, if anyone was paying attention, as you said, i mean. >> president trump at the time, former president then president-elect trump talked about that he would free the january 6th hostages. in his words, they were not hostages. they are not hostages. they were defendants in criminal cases. many people who were at the capitol on january 6th, 2021, were not arrested and charged. those who were arrested and charged were adjudicated and found to be guilty. the ones who were and some are serving sentences. he's been talking about this for a long time. what i was struck by last night at the white house as i was watching the president sign the