captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> o'brien: good evening, i'm miles o'brien. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, republican leaders scramble to keep momentum on their massive tax bill after an eleventh hour victory in the senate-- a look at what's inside the sweeping plan. then... >> hillary clinton lied many times to the f.b.i. and nothing happened to her. flynn lied and they destroyed his life. >> o'brien: ...president trump pushes back on the f.b.i. as the probe into russian meddling brings down his former national security advisor, reaching the administration's inner circle. plus, protecting the pope-- how fighting the mafia helps rome combat the threats of terrorist groups targeting the vatican. >> what you can do is prevent. you prevent by controlling the territory. trying to listen to whatever you can. >> o'brien: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, help

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> o'brien: good evening. i'm miles o'brien. judy woodruff is away on the newshour tonight: california wildfires rage out of control. thousands are forced to evacuate around los angeles as winds continue to fuel the flames. then, we continue our series on iran's rising influence in iraq. tonight, how the battle against isis has brought iran further inside iraq's security operations. >> reporter: before u.s.-backed iraqi forces launched an operation to take back mosul from isis, it was the p.m.f. that cleared out isis from qayyara and many other towns on the outskirts of mosul. >> o'brien: and, making sense of the tax cut experiment in kansas. what the nation can learn from one state's attempt to grow its economy by extending massive tax cuts to businesses. >> what has always been a draw for kansas is the quality of life, the stability here, excellence of our public school system. and by cutting into those basics, we really have shot ourselves in the foot. >> o'brien: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding

i'm jane o'brien. thanks for watching "bbc world news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and stay up to date with the latest headlines you can trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> o'brien: good evening. i'm miles o'brie

. >> sergeant o'brien with the montgomery county police department describes the scene late saturday night in the 1600 block of rockville pike. they were investigating a fatal crash where a suspected drunk driver shot this man as he drove his moped home from work. after blocking the crime scene on rockville pike with barricades, including a dump truck for safety, the reconstruction unit began their painstaking work to locate and preserve evidence. o'brien says those officers were then themselves endangered not once but twice by two more impaired drivers. >> both individuals were arrested for suspicion of driving under the both submitted to alcohol testing which showed they were well over the legal limit. >> o'brien notes the moped -- it's uncomfortably close to the spot where an officer ws struck and killed right around this time two years ago. >> i'd be remiss to say that -- one mile north of this collision as a result of a drunk driver. >> we are told that that woman who drove at a high rate of speed into the crime scene here just 20 years old. live in rockville, jackie bensen, new

. >> reporter: john o'brien with the collision reconstruction unit described the scene in the 1600 block of rocco pike. his team was investigating a fatal crash where a suspected drunk driver struck 56-year-old ross stanley redler as he drove his moped home from work. the driver left the scene but he was located by officers a short distance away. after blocking the crime scene, the collis work to locate and preserve evidence. o'brien says those officers were then themselves endangered not once but twice by two more impaired drivers. >> both individuals were arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. both submitted to alcohol testing which showed they were well over the legal limit. >> reporter: o'brien notes the moped collision scene is uncomfortably close to the spot where a montgomery county officer was struck and killed by a drunk driver two years ago right around this time. >> i'd be remiss if i didn't note that the last officer who died in the line of duty died one mile north of this collision. as a result of a drunk driver. >> reporter: the woman who was charged with dr

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> o'brien: good evening, i'm miles o'brien. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, republican leaders scramble to keep momentum on their massive tax bill after an eleventh hour victory in the senate-- a look at what's inside the sweeping plan. then... >> hillary clinton lied many times to the f.b.i. and nothing happened to her. flynn lied and they destroyed his life. >> o'brien: ...president trump pushes back on the f.b.i. as the probe into russian meddling brings down his former national security advisor, reaching the administration's inner circle. plus, protecting the pope-- how fighting the mafia helps rome combat the threats of terrorist groups targeting the vatican.

katie o'brien and katie colloton are one third of the improv group known as "the katydids."e sit down with the katies for tonight's spotlight. let's take you to viva hollywood for more. ♪ >> katie o'brien has chosen a wonderbly -- a wonderfully -- >> a wonderbly -- we're off to a great start. a wonderbly -- [ laughter ] >> okay, stop. >> wonderfully. >> katie'b >> you second guessed yourself when you say it again. >> this sweater really represents o'brien because it says, like, "hey, i'm a cool chick, i'm a hip chick, i love to have fun." but then there is like, "i don't know, i'm sorry, i'm motioning right here." >> she's basically grazing my breasts. >> but there is still a conservative put together, i know what i'm doing. >> this is actually a perfect katie colloton outfit. >> oh, here we go. >> because katie colloton is basically, and i mean this with love, is a hip grandma. >> oh, no. >> and what i mean by that, and it is true -- colloton's very sophisticated, but has a little bit of pizzazz and is also showing off the shoulders. >> your shoulders are everything. >> i'm

i'm soledad o'brien.elcome to "matter of fact." this year, retailers have found hiring to be a tough job. retailers aren't alone with the u.s. at what economi call full employment. labor experts say there are 6.1 million unfilled job openings nationwide. many are in manufacturing. with an estimated 3.5 million manufacturing jobs needed over the next decade, almost 2 unfilled because of the lack of as jessica gomez reports, those numbers are foand the schools te workers, to be creative. jessica: it's crunch time for manufa at moraine park technical college graduation is just days away but there's little concern abo isar. the offer came just seven months her two-year program. >> i would say 80% to 90% of our students are currently working employers work around their full-time school schedule. soledad: mechanical design students jake fendt said his employer gave him th home untile graduates. >> it's a student market right the students can get what they -- jessica: jeremey wichman is getting exactly what near

in o'brien, nobody disputed that o'brien's burning of the draft card to protest the vietnam war was expressive. it was core political expression. but what the court did was it didn't say, well, how expressive is it? is it artistry, is it not? is it core, is it not? it said what is the state trying to do here? because it's expressive conduct. and if the state's seeking to regulate conduct, then the fact that it has an incidental effect on mr. o'brien's expression is not a problem as long as the state has a content-neutral reason for regulating that conduct. justice breyer: i take justice gorsuch's question and substitute for the kkk a religious group, bizarre perhaps, but a religious group that unfortunately has the same beliefs as the kkk. it doesn't -- then you can ask your question mr. cole: right. justice breyer: and the answer is they do have to sell it to them, right? mr. cole: i think if the discrimination is based on a -- a protected characteristic, yes, they can't say because i object to the message that equal treatment sends, right? piggie park objected to the message that equal treat

i'm soledad o'brien, wishi a peaceful new year. next week on "matter of fact." ♪ [captioning performed by the nati caption cont if yyou need to stay downeaway from it. call 911. let our first responders come out and handle it. police and fire will respond as well as pg&e. pg&e will make the scene safe. ♪ and you smell gas, your first step is to get out, travel to a safe distance until you can't smell the gas anymore, and then call 911. the first responders will come out, and they'll make it safe for you and your community. ♪ "asian pacific america." and welcome to i'm robert handa, your host for our show here in nbc bay area and cozi tv, and this is our starting point for our show on the three remaining japantowns in los angeles, san francisco, and of course here in san jose. and what better place to start than the japanese-american museum in san jose. so, stay with us. ♪ ♪ jim nagareda: san jose is probably the most traditional of the japantowns, and also we're in the original location of where japantown was.

soledad: i'm soledad o'brien. welcome to matter of fact. alabama voters will elect a u-s senator on tuesday in a contest with huge implications for the nation, the g-o-p, and the balance of power. democrat doug jones, a former prosecutor, is running against republican, judge roy moore in a tight race. moore faces multiple credible accusations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls when he was in his 30's. allegations he denies. allegations, that until last week, kept president trump from endorsing moore. now, the president has reversed course, endorsed moore, and triggered funding from the republican national committe if moore wins and is seated, he could be investigated by the senate select committee on ethics and the senate has the power to expel him. to talk about the constitutional powers that govern congressional ethics, university of alabama law school professor and noted constitutional scholar, dr. ron rotoszynski. is joining us. today he's in phoenix. nice to see you, sir. thank you for being with us. let's begin with the constitu

♪♪ soledad: i'm soledad o'brien. welcome to matter of fact .rly nine million childrenn the u-s are at risk of losing health care coverage because congress has failed to reauthorize the children's health insurance program, or chip. the program expired on september 30th. it's astounding because both republicans and democrats support the program that mak sure kids get health care if their parents can't afford insurance but earn too much for medicaid. six states will run out of funding by the end of the year, basically in two weeks! 30 other states, and washingt d.c. say they can only get to march. groups like the children's health fund, which provides care to kids with the least access, say without funding, progress on children's health will be lost. dr. marcee white is a pediatrician and the medical director for the children's d-c. >> many o on this program to ensure thr pediatricians, they can get receive immunizations to keep them healthy and ready to learn in the classroom. so many states are reducing the number of children and famili that can

reporting from washington, i'm jane o'brien. a dramatic change in u.s. policy.sident trump recognizes jerusalem as the capital of israel. he says it is the right thing to do to resolve the peace process. >> it is time to officially recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. jane: wildfires rage near los angeles. nearly 30,000 people are forced from their homes. hundreds of buildings are destroyed. one ofs is littlefoot, the world's oldest and most complete skeletons of a human who lived in africa more than 3 , million years ago. ♪ jane: welcome to our viewers on public television in america, and around the world. in middle east peace negotiations there is no more-sensitive issue than the status of jerusalem. the israelis claim it as their capital, and the palestinians view east jerusalem as the capital of a future palestinian state. president trump says his decision today to recognize it as israel's capital was a overdue step, and the right thing to do. bbc's north america editor reports. >> the president, signing this or that reclamation has become commonpla

jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. you have been watching newsday.re we go, let's take a look at these pictures. and the astronauts on the international space station have been enjoying a bit of a treat — their very own pizzas. they were sent pizza bases and toppings to assemble to their own requirements, before warming them up ready to eat. they look great, despite zero gravity. stay with us. hello. this is the point where this week's weather begins to get considerably more dramatic. and this is the driver of the change, this curl of cloud on the satellite picture, a deep area of low pressure which has been named by the met office, storm caroline. nothing will happen much on wednesday morning. feeding in a lot of cloud and some mild air. temperatures as we start the day, eight, nine, ten across the south—west. expect cloud. the odd patchy rain and drizzle that the 11 degrees for plymouth. cardiff, similar. across west wales, starting to turn quite breezy by this stage. the wind picking up in northern ireland and this area of wet weather will slide i

that's not governed by o'brien. we're going to make an exception. but in this -- justice breyer: how do we do that? you know, we can't have 42,000 cases, each kind of vegetable justice breyer: that the preparer or thinks is something special. so here, is it an answer that satisfies you to say, well, you see, here, of course, all custom goods, all custom goods have an element of expression. an artisan is not quite the same as an artist, but an artisan can be a great artisan and can produce good things. but where the clash is between an important public policy, the policy of opening the doors to everyone, including minorities, in the public commercial area, well, there the speech element of the artisan is not really sufficient to outweigh that. now, that's pretty straightforward. and i don't know how it fits within the law and the so forth. but if you're looking at the policies here, it seems to me the cases do support that. and they do have to leave open the instance where the speech goes farther than just preparing a specially-shaped cake, admitted

jane o'brien has gone to meet the musicians.ne band has been responsible for providing music for the white house and the president ever since. i feel that weight of history every single day. you know, when you step foot inside the executive mansion, you have the responsibility of setting the tone for whatever that is happening at that time. it's exhilarating. there is this sense of electricity that happens inside the white house. and a lot of times, it is driven by music. music at the white house, the subject and title of a new book, is shaped by two centuries of tradition and the presidents' taste. thomasjefferson played the violin. jon quincy adams, the flute. many presidents played piano, from truman to nixon. a wonderful story about richard nixon played the piano with pearl bailey singing. and of course we all know about bill clinton and the saxophone. early performances took place behind closed doors, but in recent decades, technology has ensured that the white house is, indeed, america's stage. president harry truman demon

the role was maggie o'brien.le here. [ laughter ] >> seth: woo! maggie! >> yeah. that was it. and that was sort of fun. but i really haven't done one. and when i saw the short film that frankie shaw, who is the -- >> seth: she's the star of the show. we saw her in the clip. >> yeah, beautiful young actress, 31 years old. she wrote it, stars in it, directs it, she's absolutely amazing. and i saw a short film she did and she facetimed me instead of an interview. she facetimed me and said, "would you do it?" i said, "i'll do anything you want because you are what, you know, feminists have hoped would come along 20 years later." >> seth: oh, that's really exciting. >> she really is. she's a phenomenal girl. >> seth: now, from the clip, we can all see you -- you wear a sort of gray wig on the show. does that give you -- >> that's actually my real hair. >> seth: oh, it is? okay. [ laughter ] >> it is. >> seth: but it's made more gray than it is in real life. >> not really. >> seth: okay. [ laughter ] >> now that i'm do

coming up on the newshour: miles o'brien walks us through this year in science.roadway musical that is already being considered an award contender. but first, the links between housing and health. a recent study found that african americans who move to less segregated neighborhoods see significant improvements in their blood pressure. previous research has also shown that children who move to more affluent neighborhoods are much healthier. across the country, local leaders are responding to these findings by giving poor families more choices in where they live. sarah varney begins our report in st. louis. this story was produced in collaboration with our partner, kaiser health news. >> reporter: it's been three years since civil unrest erupted in ferguson, missouri, after a white police officer fatally shot michael brown, an unarmed black teenager. but, for one family, those turbulent days have led to much quieter nights. how are you? >> good. >> reporter: jennifer cummings moved in june into this government-subsidized apartment in the upscale st. louis suburb of

let's give a round of applause for john o'brien. -- john hope o'brien. >> it's really hard to speak publiclyand she did a great job. need it read one note, it was all from your heart. i want to thank the manager for this wonderful store, barnes & noble's. [applause] >> thanks for being here. we're honored to be here. i want to thank c-span for recording this and getting the word out about what we are doing and the crew that is part of the atlanta process i have been speaking over the world, 100 countries i've had a chance to travel to, countless cities and i get to see all of the reflections of us. what's interesting is that it's the messages universal. the last time i spoke in new york city the audience was mostly mainstream. this audience is mostly of color. what's beautiful as some people would say we don't read books, but the reality is the number one group of book buyers are black women. if you look at what has propelled this book and what got my facebook page for 11000 followers a week of financial literacy is primarily people of color who decided to take their life back. you should be

the project sponsor met briefly on site with the manager of o'briens. the bar was really busy when they were in there. the manager gave his e-mail address, followed up a couple times but didn't hear back from the manager on that. as i said it is not technically a place of entertainment but the project sponsor did meet and discuss the project. they are solidly in support of the project. finally south side spirit house and harlot didn't get back to us after a couple of attempts to reach them. in a moment you will hear from salter and associates who analyzed the impacts on the guests and occupants. i hope i am not ruining the surprise the report concluded there won't be any impacts on total guests or new residents. the residents in particular are so high up that they are way above any of the entertainment noise. i guess the last thing i will say the transit center district plan envisioned the transformation to a 24 hour neighborhood with fantastic opportunities for a full range of uses including entertainment, and we think in this spirit the project with a

more joy, joy reid working late and back with me, tim o'brien.ll the feelings, all of your analysis. >> all the feeling. >> of this. >> yes, yes. >> but these polls are funny because as you know they often follow the president. >> yeah. >> billy on the street and puts a mike in people's face on camera and name a person. the president. >> right. >> but that tendency has run into a brick wall for some reason this year. >> it's interesting. no matter which way you look at the poll, as true admiration or name i.d., it is going to drive donald trump insane either way. tim's a better expert on dromp's psyche and the fact is donald trump is either less popular and loved by -- than barack obama and drives him crazy. negatively obsessed with obama or less well-known than barack obama. >> that also hurts. >> painful. >> on the women, because the kay gallup asked this, most admired man and woman. hillary clinton up there. michelle obama behind her. behind her, oprah winfrey, elizabeth warren and angela merkel. you think about alabama where women and specifi

i'm soledad o'brien. we will see you back here next week for "matter of fact."ng and prosper. [captioning performed by the onsible for ♪♪ >>> this we could on "extra," jennifer lawrence and ang lee know jolie. how justin timberlake, brought down the house. >>> the real tonya harding and the movie tonya harding, together at the premier of "i tonya," renee is there and her video cam is rolling. >> did she give you any feedback? >> taylor swift's big return debuting her new song. ♪ ♪ today's inside jingle with all the star. will ed shearan be the royal

miles o'brien, cnn aviation analyst for pbs newshour. miles, explain this to me because, listen, i remember talking and interviewing the previous nasa administrator and it's been a goal all along to get bootprints on mars in our lifetime. what's new about this, first and foremost? >> footprints on the moon, brooke. they're talking about a moon landing at least in general terms, and while nasa was sent on a course to go to mars and create an orbital weigh station on the moon, the idea of putting on the moon, no buck, no buck rogers and talk is cheap in space and it's easy to make directives, but at nasa's current funding levels, the idea of going to the moon which -- and landing and putting footprints and flags there as is suggested, probably $100 billion proposition just on its own right, could very well derail that larger effort to go to mars, and that's always the concern. does the moon become a weigh station, a hopping off point or might it become a dead end? >> last quick question because you heard the president mention jobs. jobs. t

miles o'brien reports that at the same time, he's also concerned about a backlash where some patients't get the pain treatment they need. this is part of our weekly leading edge science series. >> reporter: spend the day with physician jim baker, and you will understand america's opioid crisis in a uniquely professional and personal way. he lives in holden, massachusetts, a norman rockwell town just north of worcester. idyllic as it seems, there is death all around. >> in that time it took us to go around this block, of a minute, including my house right there, four deaths and one person in recovery. and so, this is holden. >> reporter: less than a year ago, death by overdose came to his family. he lost his son max, or macky, as his family called him. he was 23. >> mackey was a sensitive, caring, warm, brilliant young man. he was so smart, it was scary. >> reporter: he always enjoyed music? >> yeah. he started playing seriously when he was about ten, and he would play every day, multiple times a day. >> reporter: and because he was the drummer, the band played here. jim baker can reme

. >> i'm soledad o'brien. welcom to matter of fact. a pressure packed december on capitol hill. the republican congress, pushing tax reform. driving toward a deal with democrats to prevent a government shutdown. hammered by requests for more disaster relief funding. add to it, allegations of sexual misconduct piling up against the politically po. and revelations that congress quietly paid out millions frome harassment settlements. several foreman staffers have a accused veteran congressman john conyers of making unwanted sexual advances. a report said he made a female aid $27,000 to settle a complaint. the complaint the office of compliance. that to the tune of 17 point 2 mi dollars -- over the last 20 melanie sloan, is an ethics lawyer, who worked with conyers on the house judiciary committee in the 19-90s. laac being "increasingly abusive" to her, behavior she says wasn't "sexual harassment" but was she joins us now. nice to have you. thanks f -- bringing the complaints forward? >>i tr went to my supervisor who i th congressman and that didn't make a difference. i went to a le

the bbc's jane o'brien takes up the story. jane: a meeting at the broken bridge, a fitting place to reunite a broken family torn apart by china's one-child policy. jane: the rendezvous was planned by katie's birthparents, who were forced to abandon her just after she was born. >> i don't get emotional in these types of situations, but for my birth mom, she was actually really sad in a lot of ways. she just kind of help them meet -- held me and sobbed for like a half-hour. jane: a day later, kati visits her parents at home, and a check -- they chat for the first time with her adopted family in the u.s. >> "thank you very much. we are taking care of katie." >> we are also very grateful to you for giving her life. jane: this is where the story began. he really just wanted my forgiveness. it was just really interesting, because i understand for him why he needed forgiveness, but for me, i didn't feel like i needed to forgive them for anything. from my perspective, i understand their situation as much as i can. and like, yeah, they

for the pbs newshour, i'm miles o'brien. >> woodruff: as we heard earlier, russian interference in lastr's u.s. election continues to sow political division here. but what motivated the man the u.s. accuses of ordering that hacking? special correspondent nick schifrin now, with more on what drives mr. putin. >> winston churchill once called stalin's russia a riddle wrapped in a mystery. julia loffee tries to unwrap where that riddle stands today in her new cover story "what putin really wants." julia loffee joins me in the studio today. thank you very much. >> hi. >> many in the u.s. see russia right now as very strategic, as organized, but you write that russia's weaker, and almost more emotional than we see it. why is that? >> because that's, in some ways, deeply cultural, and it's also the kind of leader vladimir putin it is. he tends to leave as many options and doors open as he can, and then he'll make aistition at the last minute, often in a very emotional way. for example the invasion of crimea, the invasion of ukraine, the decision to interfere in the american election, again, w