rubinstein studio in weta in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalismuniversity. ♪ [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."

. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from the david and rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in thethe walter cronkite school of journalism from arizona state university. geoff: the uncertainty around the trump administration's sweeping funding freeze is also alarming many in the world of global health since it could affect key programs overseen by the u.s. agency for international development, or usaid. late today, the state department issued a waiver on its pause of foreign assistance in some circumstances, including for "life-saving medicine and medical services." but the waiver explicitly excludes activities that involve abortions, gender or dei programs. and there's still concern about how the freeze will impact other programs. for more, we turn to dr. atul gowanday, who oversaw these programs as assistant administrator for global health at usaid during the biden administration. thanks for being with us. dr. gawande: glad to be here. geoff: you managed global health initiatives. you had a $10 billion yearly budget, more than 2000 staff in over 65 countries and there was a stop

. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in thefrom the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: one of president elect trump's most controversial nominees was the first to basis scrutiny of a senate confirmation hearing. pete hegseth has room to introduce himself to the country. 55% of americans don't know enough about him to have an opinion, 19% hold a favorable review of him, and 26% have a negative impression. geoff: the nominee was questioned today about alleged sexual and financial misconduct, as well as a concern that he lacks the experience to manage the defense department's more than three million employees. hegseth has denied any wrongdoing. congressional correspondent lisa desjardins reports now on how hegseth handled the hearing room spotlight. audience: usa! usa! usa! lisa: supporters chanted as the defense secretary nominee took the hot seat. pete hegseth, u.s. defense secretary nominee: when president trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warri

. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: as we have reported, a federal judge today temporarily blocked president trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship, the first legal test for the president amid his flurry of week one immigration actions. birthright citizenship was enshrined in the constitution in 1868 and upheld in a landmark supreme court ruling in 1898 in the case of a young chinese american cook named wong kim ark. today, nearly two dozen states are suing president trump over his order to end it. washington state is one of them. and attorney general nick brown joins me now. attorney general brown, welcome to the "news hour.” thanks for joining us. nick brown, washington attorney general: thank you for having me. amna: so let's begin with that news today of the federal judge in seattle temporarily blocking president trump's executive order and calling it blatantly unconstitutional. what's your reaction to that ruling? nick: well, we'

. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: a new china-based artificial intelligence start-up is shaking up an industry known for its rapid innovation. it's called deepseek, and its biggest advantage, analysts say, is that it can operate at a lower cost than american a.i. models like chatgpt. it's already the top download in the apple store, sudden popularity that's disrupting markets, especially the tech-focused nasdaq, and it's raising lots of national security questions about china's progress amid a global race to develop artificial intelligence. gerrit de vynck is a tech reporter for the washington post and joins us now. thanks for being here. gerrit de vynck, tech reporter, the washington post: of course. geoff: so, explain for the unfamiliar, what is deepseek, this new chinese-based a.i. start-up that's the source of such consternation in silicon valley? gerrit de vynck: yes, so i mean, people are maybe familiar with openai or the maker of chatg

. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in thet from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: america's long and close week where our neighbors to the north dispatch firefighters and air guns who help with the wildfires. but canada's assistance comes at a unique time when president elect donald trump is threatening to impose the tariffs on canadian imports and calling canada the 51st state. canada's ambassador to the united states joins us now. welcome to the news hour. >> thank you. amna: let me ask you about these comments. what is your response to those comments and how are they resonating in canada? >> i think that canadians to your second question have enjoyed a little bit of teasing back and forth for a while. there's a pivot more recently that's been a bit tougher and i think that's probably landing less well but what really matters here is that the president-elect is a negotiator and is trying to set the stage for a discussion and clearly wants to have a discussion with us around things t

rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west at the walter cronkite school of journalism ativersity. >> as we reported earlier, the trump administration ordered all federal employees who work in diversity equity and inclusion roles to be placed on paid leave starting today. in a memo issued by the office of personnel management, agencies supervisors are also asked to submit a written plan by the end of the month for dismissing the employees. part one of the administration's efforts to upend dei efforts nationwide. jeff green covers dei for bloomberg and joins us now. welcome to the news hour. thanks for being with us. so, the memo tells agencies to put the staffers on paid leave by 5:00 today. a plan to fire them they need to have by next friday. in the way of one example, there is a watchdog group called american transparency that says the department of health and human services alone employs 294 dei staffers, but do we know how many federal employees we are talking about? >> we don't. it is one of the things we are trying to figure out. the scope is not clear but it is lik

. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from the david rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the westr cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: today, canada's justin trudeau announced that he intends to resign as prime minister and leader of the liberal party, under tremendous pressure from his own caucus and among his closest allies. here's part of his remarks making the announcement earlier today. >> i have always been driven by my love for canada, by my desire to serve canadians and by what is in the best interests of canadians. and canadians deserve a real choice in the next election. and it has become obvious to me with the internal battles that i cannot be the one to carry the liberal standard into the next election. amna: trudeau will remain prime minister until the new liberal leader is selected by the end of march, as his party prepares for a formidable challenge the next election later this year. i'm joined now by professor roland paris, director of the graduate school of public and international affairs at the university of ottawa, and a former seni

rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalismona state university. amna: as part of his executive orders issued yesterday, president trump also delivered on the campaign promise to withdraw the united states from the world health organization. the white house accuses the who of mishandling the covid-19 pandemic, biased towards china, and says the u.s. is forced to pay more than its fair share to support the international organization. for more on the potential implications of this, we're joined by a law professor and director of the world health organization collaborating center at georgetown university. lawrence, welcome back. thanks for being with us. in a washington post op-ed today, you said leaving the who would be what you called a great mistake that would hurt americans. how so? what is the potential harm here? >> thank you for having me. i believe this is a truly historic decision, the united states really formed the world health organization in 1948 and has been its most influential and greatest funder for 75 years. this

. ♪ >> this is "pbs news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknightsohn: as 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 a

. ♪ >> this is "pbs news weekend," from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington, home ofews hour, weeknights on pbs. william: 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 sc

. ♪ >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in theter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: facebook and instagram's parent company, meta, announced today it's ending third-party fact-checking on its platforms, calling the decision a return to a -- quote -- "fundamental commitment to free expression.” meta's fact-checking program was rolled out in the wake of the 2016 election. ceo mark zuckerberg said today the rules had become too restrictive and prone to overenforcement. mark zuckerberg, ceo, meta: we built a lot of complex systems to moderate content. but the problem with complex systems is, they make mistakes. even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, that's millions of people. and we have reached a point where it's just too many mistakes and too much censorship. the recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritizing speech. so we're going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression our p

the first amendment and capehart -- -- >> this is the pbs news hour from the rubinstein studio at wetad from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: president-elect donald trump was sentenced today in new york stating months after a new york yuri found him guilty of 34 felony accounts falsifying business documents to cover up an extramarital affair. but granted the president-elect what is called an unconditional discharge, a sentence that affirms he is a convicted felon it faces no further penalties, fines or any time in jail. we were in court in new york this morning and joins us now. william, tell us more about this unconditional discharge. how did the judge explain his rationale for what some are calling a lenient sentence on one hand this was not a surprise. the judge telegraphed us in a memo earlier. this is a relatively rare situation. to have a conviction of 34 convictions and faced no probation or fines. the judge in describing today said that on one hand this was a trial that was very ordinary. it unfolded in an ordinary way. the jury was se

. ♪ this is pbs newshour west from the david rubenstein studio at weta in washington, d.c.hool of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ -"cook's country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table. we're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes. we go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook.

rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalismuniversity. geoff: today marked a national day of mourning for the funeral of the late president jimmy carter. amna: but it was also a day to remember and celebrate the life and legacy of the nation's 39th president, a man who served only one term, but who forged an enduring legacy as a selfless humanitarian, and a winner of the nobel peace prize. here's laura barron-lopez with more. >> ready! step! ready! step! laura: president 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.

rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalismuniversity. amna: with calmer winds, fire crews are making progress on containing some of the major fires around the los angeles area. but dry conditions and forecasts of strong winds next week suggest more dangerous conditions ahead for weary angelenos and firefighters. new video showed the depth and scope of the fire devastation along the malibu coast. more than 80,000 people remain evacuated, and some are growing frustrated they can't return to check on their homes. local authorities said today that residents may not be able to do so for at least another week. >> there are areas that we are holding because we believe there may be deceased victims there. we have to hold for the right time and the right resources to process the scene correctly, and that's going to take a little while. amna: so far, at least 25 people are dead and dozens still missing. while the fires have brought vast destruction and loss, we've also witnessed the best of humanity. californians stepping up to help the

rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalismsity. amna: president joe biden's five decade-long tenure in public service comes to an end later this month, spanning four years as president, eight as second in command, and many more serving his home state of delaware in the u.s. senate. to examine the president's time in office and his legacy, i'm joined now by two reporters who have covered his career extensively. dan balz is chief correspondent for the washington post, and has covered mr. biden for decades. and annie linskey covers the white house for the wall street journal. welcome to you both and thanks for being here. a mr. biden has spentmna over half his life in public service. first elected when he was 27 years old to a delaware county seat. three years later becoming one of the youngest senators in u.s. history. in those early years how did he put his stamp on washington? dan: his career almost ended before it started because of the tragedy of his wife and daughter being killed in an auto accident and his two sons being i

rubenstein studio at weta in washington, and from the west at the walter cronkite school of journalismate university. geoff: in 1987, journalist juan williams helped illuminate the civil rights movement with "eyes on the prize," a groundbreaking book that brought history to life and became an essential chronicle of the fight for racial equality. that book was paired with a groundbreaking pbs documentary of the same name. now, nearly four 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 t

. >> this is the pbs news hour from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the westwalter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: the lumbee tribe of north carolina got a major boost this week in its decades-long fight to become a federally recognized tribe. president trump yesterday signed a presidential memo directing the secretary of the interior to submit a plan for full federal recognition of the tribe. that status would unleash hundreds of millions of dollars in support for the 60,000-member lumbee. their chairman, john lowery, joins us now. thanks for being with us. john lowery, chairman, lumbee tribe of north carolina: thank you for having me. geoff: so, how confident are you that this action by president trump will finally result in the recognition that your tribe has sought for more than a century now? john lowery: well, we are very confident. as you may know, we have been through the united states house numerous times over the past decade, and we have always seemed to come up short on the -- in the united states senate. and we hav

. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from the david m rubinstein studio at weta in washington and from thealter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: tonight, president biden plans to deliver a primetime farewell address to the nation. earlier today, in a letter released by the white house, the president said that americans emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure since he took office. for more, we're joined now by white house press secretary karine jean-pierre. thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you so much for having me. i appreciate the opportunity. geoff: president biden has dedicated 50 years the public service as he prepares to exit the white house and conclude his career, what's the message that he hopes to leave with the american people tonight? >> i think what you said in that letter the president wrote that came up this morning with a fact sheet of over 100 pages laying out what he has been able to deliver for the american people in just four years, he's done more than most presidents have done into terms. i think -- obviously i will

rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalismona state university. amna: apologiesamna: for earlier technical difficulties. we're back with lisa desjardins who has been reporting on capitol hill in the wake of president drums pardons of january 6 rioters. what are you hearing in terms of how lawmakers are reacting to this pardons? lisa: democrats openly outraged over the pardons. republicans are also privately, most of them that i spoke to, are unhappy and frustrated. that they are navigating this world where donald trump is the president and the leader of their party. they are navigating the idea of how to express this in public. these are people who personally were fearful for their lives by the same attackers. they know police officers who were harmed, over 100 of them harmed. these are people who were pardoned, who smashed police officers with bats and the like. today, we did hear some republicans coming out a little more, trying to navigate this world and expressing that they are openly frustrated. >> i am about to file two

. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in thealter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: president elect donald trump is still several days from reentering the oval office, but some of his nominees for cabinet posts work sitting in committees for some of the busiest days in u.s. confirmation history. from the nation's top diplomatic post to the company -- country's top law enforcement officer, they ran the gamut from cordial to confrontational. amna: florida senator marco rubio would helm the state department and former congressman john ratcliffe would run the cia. they went before senators on the formulations and intelligence committees this morning. quick sigh get bilingual protesters. amna: president-elect donald trump's choice for u.s. secretary of state am a senator marco rubio, sailed relatively smoothly through through his nomination hearing before the foreign relations committee on which he served for 14 years. man: sir, welcome to the other side of the dais. >> on may 27 in 1956 from cuba. amn