. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. germany has accepted more than a million asylum seekers in the past year, and today anti- immigrant sentiment was on display there in response to new year's eve assaults on women, allegedly by migrants. in koln, germany's fourth largest city, hundreds protested against the new migrants and refugees, who are mostly fro

and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.ou. >> woodruff: the first two weeks of 2016 will go down in wall street history-- for biggest losses to begin a year. stocks plunged again today as oil prices fell below $30 a barrel. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 390 points to close below 15,990. the nasdaq fell 126 points, and the s&p 500 dropped 41. since the year began, the dow and the s&p are down 8%. the nasdaq is off 10%. we'll get a full report and analysis after the news summary. the obama administration has ordered a nationwide pause on issuing new coal leases on federal land. that's while the department of interior reviews whether coal companies are paying enough in royalties to the government-- and what the environmental effects are. roughly 40% of the coal produced in the united states is mined on federal lands. in chicago, protesters frustrated by police killings made their views known today. dozens of black ministers boycotted an annual martin luther king junior breakfast mayor rahm emanuel hosted this

go to pbs. starting last weekend, all the first run "sesame street" episodes are on hbo. carter evans has that story. sesame street >> reporter: "sesame street" is taking a detour from its pbs home of 4 1/2 decades to the ritzier neighborhood of bo. >> from what we know, the show is not going to be markedly different. we understand there is going to be increased budgets, so they may be able to do certain things, but the essence of what makes "sesame street" "sesame street" is going to stay the same. >> reporter: this is what "sesame street" looked like when it made its debut in november of 1969. in terms of production value, it's a far cry from this new bigger version on hbo, which is even a step up from recent years on pbs. >> some of the effects of puppetry might be a little more sophisticated. you can make the argument that "sesame street" has worked for as long as it's been on the air, why tinker with it? more sophisticated, they're used to seeing things a little more real on camera. >> did somebody say i needed help to save the day? >> hbo's brand right now is adult

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. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: a blizzard is bearing down tonight on washington d.c., and states to the north and south. the snow moved in this afternoon, shutting down schools, government and transportation, and canceling thousands of flights. forecasters warning that by this time tomorrow, they'll be measuring in feet instead of inches. with store shelves nearly empty, and road crews gearing up, millions across the eastern u.s. waited for the worst. forecasters are predicting one of

next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, alison stewart. >> stewart: good evening. thanks for joining us. after a year of campaigning, the first voting of the 2016 race for the white house finally begins in 48 hours. republican and democratic voters in iowa will meet in party caucuses monday night to choose their preferred standard bearers for their party's presidential nominations. most of the major candidates were in iowa today f

next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. judy and josh weston.wartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thanks for joining us. rare winter flooding continues to threaten the midwest, and hundreds of residents remain evacuated from their homes. after 10 inches of rain fell in three days last week, cities in illinois, missouri, and arkansas along the swollen mississippi and other rivers are in danger. today, illinois governor bruce rauner toured flooded areas and act

next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: lewis b. and louise hirschfeld cullman. bernard and irene schwartz. judy and josh weston. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the citi foundation. supporting innovation and enabling urban progress. sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new york, megan thompson. >> thompson: good evening and thank you for joining us. this weekend's massive winter storm set records along the east coast, burying some places in as much as three feet of snow by this morning. the storm is gone now, and today emergency crews were working to bring some normalcy to the 80- million people affected. officials warn the work is far from over. the newshour's ivet

. >> woodruff: 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, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: persian gulf powers saudi arabia and iran stared each other down today in a full scale diplomatic confrontation. the struggle pitted sunnis against shiites, and persians against arabs, and has other nations choosing sides. anti-saudi protests brought thousands of shiite iraqis into the streets of baghdad today, outside the heavily fortified "green zone" that's home to the u.s. embassy. but the saudis were undeterred, as foreign minister adel al-jubair made clear in an interview with reuters. >> we decided to cut off all diplomatic relations with iran. we will also be cutting off all

. >> woodruff: 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, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: at least 37 dead,)á snow to remove. that was the tally today as the eastern united states struggled to recover from a weekend walloping. with snow plows, shovels, and shoving, it was another long day of digging for millions of people. and the first attempt at getting to work since the blizzard hit. >> it's just really, really bad. i've never seen it like this before in a long, long time. >> i didn't think it was going to be this bad. like, no transportation? really? like, not everybody has a car. >> woodruff: for many, the wintry blast made for a three day weekend, at least, with businesses shuttered and schools closed from virginia to n

all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: wall street mounted a comeback today-- one day after its worst losses since september. a rebound in crude oil prices sent energy shares higher, and the broader market followed suit. the dow jones industrial average gained 227 points to close near 16,380. the nasdaq rose almost 89 points. and the s&p 500 added 31. >> woodruff: goldman sachs agreed to settle long-running federal and state investigations for $5.1 billion. it stems fro

. >> woodruff: 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, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: at least 37 dead, business and government disrupted, uncounted tons of snow to remove. that was the tally today as the eastern united states struggled to recover from a weekend walloping. our apologies, we have a report and's going to bring that to you in a moment but standing by is the mayor of new york city whose city was hit as hard as any place by this storm, mr. mayor, thank you for joining us. just how big is the challenge at this point? >> well, judy, new york city is coming out of this pretty quick am we certainly have some parts of the five boreeaus where we have more work t

. >> ifill: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: call it the great fall. an explosive new sell-off hit the chinese market today, and routed stocks around the world. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average lost 392 points to close at 16,514. the nasdaq fell 146 points, and the s&p 500 dropped 47. we'll look at what's going on in china, after the news summary. and in the day's other news, a powerful truck bomb in libya killed at least 47 people and wounded more than

. >> woodruff: 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, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: washington and tehran faced each other in a new light today, but it was clear that decades of division will not disappear overnight. the latest point of dispute: new sanctions that appeared, even as old ones melted away. hari sreenivasan begins our coverage. >> sreenivasan: the new sanctions -- aimed at iran's ballistic missile program -- sparked fresh criticism from tehran, after a weekend of milder words. >> ( translated ): the islamic republic of iran, as it has made clear in the past, will respond to such acts of propaganda and harassment by following its legitimate missile progr

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. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the december jobs numbers are in, and they show employers were in a hiring mood. according to the department of labor, monthly surveys found that u.s. businesses added a net of more than 290,000 positions. the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5%, as more people went looking for work-- and found it. we'll hear from the secretary of labor, thomas perez, after the news summary. president obama has vetoed a republican bill that would have repealed the "af

. >> sreenivasan: 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. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: american consumers spent less, businesses invested less and companies exported less. as a result, the economy slowed markedly in the final quarter of 2015. government data released today put overall growth at an annual rate of just 7-tenths of a percent, from october through december. for the year as a whole, the economy grew 2.4%, about the same as the previous year. wall street rallied on the news, hoping that weak growth might de

. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour haseen provided by: >> 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, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: gunmen burst into a shopping mall in iraq today, killing at least 18 people and wounding 40 others. the islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attack in baghdad. it began with a car bomb and suicide blast at the jawhara mall. that touched off a 90-minute gun battle before security forces gained control. to the north, another suicide attack killed two dozen people. ten more were killed in other bombings. food and medicine finally got through today, to a syrian town that's slowly starving to death. an aid convoy was

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. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.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. thank you. >> woodruff: wall street took a beating today, in the face of growing worries about slumping oil prices, a slowdown in china and global growth. the dow jones industrial average lost almost 365 points to close near 16,150. the nasdaq fell nearly 160 points, and the s&p 500 index dropped 48, in what wall street calls a "correction," a decline of 10% or more from a recent peak. it lasted less than 24 hours. iran's seizure of two u.s. navy boats, and their 10 crew members, ended today in the persian gulf. they'd been held on farsi island, after

. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: iran picked up 10 u.s. navy sailors and their two small boats in the persian gulf today. u.s. officials reported one of the boats had mechanical trouble and ran aground. it happened near farsi island. the pentagon said the vessels were moving between kuwait and bahrain at the time. afterward, officials said, iran's foreign minister assured secretary of state john kerry that the sailors and their boats will be handed over promptly. >> woodruff: the persian gulf incident came as president obama was putting the finishing touches on the last state of the union address. he's expected to use the prime- time speech to talk about where he sees the country headed for years to come, including after he leaves office. but house speaker paul ryan

. >> woodruff: 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. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.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. thank you. >> woodruff: it began on january 2nd, when an armed anti- government group took over a national wildlife refuge in eastern oregon. then, late yesterday, the standoff suddenly lurched into violent conflict. and today, questions swirled about what happened, and what happens next. after weeks of waiting, federal and state officers corralled the militia leaders during a traffic stop. >> looked like they were making some arrests and clogging up the highway. i am glad to see an end to this. hopefully it is an end to this. >> woodruff: th

. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> 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 you. >> woodruff: more people and places along the snowbound east coast got back to normal and got back to work today. but the death toll rose to 45, and in washington d.c., especially, there was still a lot of digging out to do. the nation's capital lurched slowly back to life on this third day after the great blizzard. federal offices remained closed, but work crews were out early to clear more snow, and the mayor sounded cautiously optimistic. >> we have finished two full days of plowing and removal and our crews made good progress through the night. they've gotten down to asphalt on all major arteries, >> woodruff: washington's subway system was also back to near- normal operations, albeit with some delays. but many side streets remained unplowed, and emergency ma

. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> 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 you. >> woodruff: the u.s. supreme court has set the stage for a major, election-year decision on immigration policy. the justices announced today they'll consider whether president obama overstepped his authority when he allowed millions of people to avoid deportation. we'll explore this in full, right after the news summary. there's word that three americans who disappeared in baghdad last week, were kidnapped by a shiite militia. reuters reported that today, citing iraqi and u.s. sources. it said the group is backed by iran, but that u.s. officials don't think iran was involved in the abduction. iraqi civilians are being killed at a "staggering rate" since the rise of the islamic state group. a u.n. report now says at least 18,800 iraqis died from

. >> ifill: 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. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.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. thank you. >> woodruff: wall street spent another day on the down side, and the only question was: how low would they go? the dow jones industrial average was off 550 points before a late rally. it ended with a loss of 249 points to close at 15,766. the nasdaq fell five points and the s&p 500 dropped 22. all this was driven by another sharp drop in oil prices to just over $26.50 a barrel. >> ifill: numbers of a very different sort are also in, and they show 2015 was earth's hottest year on record. scientists at nasa and noaa -- the national oceani

. >> woodruff: 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. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.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. thank you. >> ifill: the earth rumbled today in north korea with a big bang that shook capitals around the world. the communist regime declared it had carried out a thermonuclear explosion, which if it turns out to be true, would represent a quantum leap beyond anything it's managed before. the nuclear news was trumpeted on north korean state television. >> ( translated ): the first hydrogen bomb test was successfully conducted at 10:00 on january 6th, 2016. >> ifill: state t.v. also showed photos of the north korean leader, kim jong un, sign

. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> 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 you. >> woodruff: the president was by turns tearful and tough today, as he pushed a plan to regulate more gun sales. he said he's targeting transactions at shows and flea markets because congress is afraid to cross the gun lobby. the national rifle association answered that the proposals are "ripe for abuse." we'll have the story in full, after the news summary. in the day's other news, an american soldier died in a firefight in southern afghanistan. two other u.s. service members were wounded, along with several afghan soldiers. pentagon officials said it happened in helmand province, and the fighting continued for hours. >> yes, there is fighting on the ground as we speak which is why it's hard for us to have every single detail as to what's transpired, and there's

. >> ifill: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: the flood tide along the mississippi river and major tributaries has finally begun to crest in places today, but for many people, relief arrives too late. towns in whole sections of missouri and illinois are under water, with at least 20 dead and untold millions of dollars in damage, and it's not over yet. the scenes of soaking wet destruction are everywhere across southern missouri: homes flooded, roads washed out. >> this is devastating here. this is five feet higher than the past record and just total devastation. >> ifill: the deluge turned runways into islands at this airport, and strand

. ♪ [theme music playing] announcer: "pbs previews the best of pbs indies" was made possible in partcontributions to local pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. provocative, inspiring... and deeply profound, these are some of the ways critics have described the films you're about to see. welcome to a special preview of some of the best new independent documentary films coming to your pbs station. you'll meet the filmmakers as they tell us what it took to bring these amazing stories to life and get a sneak peek at their remarkable work.

. >> sreenivasan: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: the mid-atlantic and northeast braced today for a blizzard that could affect 50 million people. the storm is set to start tomorrow afternoon and continue into sunday. forecasts call for up to two feet of snow in the washington, d.c. area. that has sent people rushing to grocery stores, as road crews ready their equipment. and governors in virginia, north carolina and maryland have declared eme

three weeks later someone spotted pb. but pb wouldn't go to anyone until he saw family. >> he ran up to me as i was bending down. he jumped right into my arms and i just started sobbing. >> i was like oh my goodness. it was him. he smelled so bad. >> by the time he was found pb was severely dehydrated and covered with fleas he had also lost half his body weight. pb is expected to be okay. >>> facebook is facing a glitch. the site asked people to join but the website has only been up for six and most users are not over the age of 46. >>> what happened to a polar bear cub when a polar bear's cub didn't care for her anymore. >> meet zaden, his due date was january 1st. >>> the zoo in columbus ohio released new video of its adorable cub getting cozy with his cuddle buddy. the zoo brought in a team to care for him. >> i will be her cuddle buddy. she's so cute. >> she's so cute. >> until she gains a few pounds. look at those paws. end of those -- claws i guess. yeah. >>> new year, yes, new year new start. do you have resolution