captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: a strong report. the latest jobs numbers show the economy's unexpected resilience in the face of the omicron variant. we speak to the white house chief of staff about the president's economic and other domestic priorities. then, zero covid. the chinese government continues its strict pandemic policies, with an ambitious quarantine system, to keep the virus out of the olympics. >> they use that to showcase the superiority the-- its political system, the chinese model-- and if they give up, you know, that's tantamount to admitting that they have failed. >> woodruff: and it's friday. jonathan capehart and gary

abernathy consider the president's nominees to the federal reserve board, and efrts to combat rising crime rates. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> care.com. >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org.

>> 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 u.s. labor market proved to be far stronger than expected last month, despite the omicron surge. employers added 467,000 jobs, as the economy picked up momentum. the labor department also said that there were a total of nearly 700,000 more jobs created in november and december than initially reported. wages grew by 5.7% last month, compared to a year ago-- a good gain, but still below

the rate of inflation. and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly, to 4%, as more people returned to the job market. president biden took note of the big gains this afternoon. and i spoke with ron klain, the white house chief of staff, a short time ago. >> ron klain, welcome to the newshour. this is a day of good news, about jobs, these are numbers the administration has to be happy about not just last month but november, december. how much of this can the if the take credit for? >> look, it's ffers an accomplishment of the -- first and foremost an accomplishment of the american people. our business sector our workers everyone coming together to do this. but i do think the president deserves a lot of credit for the policies we put in place that made this recovery possibility. the rscue plan in march that

got america off and going, that made policies, have really restored our manufacturing strength and the bipart sedan infrastructure plan that's got a lot of americans out there working building you bridges, roads, airports, all these critical things. so it's been a strong economic policy that hassen unleashed the policy, the creativity the energy of the american people. >> woodruff: at the same time, there is already speculation this could lead to higher than expected rate increases by the federal reserve, in march. how concerned is the white house about that? as you know the american people say they are very worried about inflation. what the of can the president do about that? >> first of all about the federal reerve decisions. we have a policy we don't comment on what the fed does, they are independent, they do what's best they think for america, in the monetary policy. the president has sent five

distinguished nominees, i hope they will be confirmed, some are continuing some new members to manage the critical issues the fed manages. in terms of inflation, you heard the president talk today about the pain they feel at the gas pump the negotiate store. his agenda on capitol hill to bring down the everyday costs america are facing. to cut the cost of childcare, to cut the cost of prescription drugs, to cut the costs of health insurance, of elder care for people taking care of elderly relatives and family members. there is an agenda we have up on the hill to really reduce the everyday prices the american people face. i'll let the fed do it's job, we're going to do our job. >> woodruff: legal me turn you ron klain to covid. it appears the number of cases of omicron is receding, as it goes, the united states is

facing 900,000 deaths from covid. more than half of those since president biden took office. to what extent is that as a result of the delay addressing the need for more tests on covid? and frankly just understanding the seriousness of omicron? >> well, judy i don't think anyone has or hasn't perished from covid because of the lack of a test. i think we have people per irk from covid because they haven't been vaccinated. what we know is vaccinated people, particularly fully vaccinated people who have been boosted which we've made available now for many months, those people have a very, very, very small chance of severe illness or death from covid. the people who are dying from covid now are overwhelmingly people 0 who have not been vaccinated. that vaccine is available at thousands, tens of thousands of locations nationwide, free of charge. almost always without even a wait. same thing for booster shots. and so woe need to continue to do the work of getting more and more americans vaccinated. we really made it as available

as possible. it is free. it's it is safe, it is fda approved and we need to see more americans get vaccinated. >> woodruff: at the same time, ron klain i'm sure you're aware, there is criticism of the administration for mixed signals on boosters last year and mixed signalsrankly on who's in charge around what the american people should do. how do you answer that? >> well, judy i think that's ridiculous. jeff seins has been director of the covid response since the early day of the administration. when we got here less than 2% of amicans were fully vaccinated. that number is now over 210 million. there were zero at home tests when we took over. zero. we now, hundreds of millions of tests available for people for use at home. available every single month. we made tremendous progress on

the booster shots. they were approved here this fall and almost 90 million americans now have gotten the booster shot. so we've done our jobs in terms of advancing this covid response, making the tools available for people to manage the covid response. we have 75% of adults fully vaccinated. that last 25% needs to get over the finish line. they need to take advantage of the resources we provided, again, these free vaccines available within five miles of the homes of 92% of americans. we've made the vaccines available, we've made the boosters available we need the american people to take advantage of them. >> woodruff: turning you now to the supreme court vacancy with the retirement of stephen bryer. reernl senators are now saying ron klain that the fact that the president has said he promised he's going to choose a black woman, for this position, that

if -- it's become a affirmative action pick. would it have been better for the president to simply not make that promise and then appoint a black woman? >> well i think what would be best judy would be if senators waited to see the president's nominee to hear who she is what her credentials are what her qualifications are before they say that they're going to vote against her. that seems to be the fair thing to do, to give someone a fair hearing and judge that person once she's put forward to the senate. the president's commitment is the same as ronald reagan's commitment to put the first one on the supreme court, when he nominated sandra day o'connor, or judge president trump when he put amy coney barrett on the supreme court. she will come before the u.s. senate and i think that she will earn a lot of votes in the

senate, based on the fact that she will be incredibly well qualified for the supreme court. >> woodruff: so many things to ask you about. i've got two final questions. one has to do with ukraine. the president told the president of ukraine last month, with 100,000 russian troops on the border, that there's a distinct possibility they will invade in the month of february. is that still the president's view? >> well, it is certainly possible they will invade. those troops are massing on the border. only vladimir putin knows whether he will send them across the border and when. we certainly want ukrainians to be prepared for that possibility. we've sent troops over, obviously done a lot of work with our allies to be prepared for that possibility. we're deploying u.s. troops to eastern europe to make sure our nato allies are secured. we're rallying the allies around

the possibility of sanctions if president putin makes this historic and tragic mistake. we're ready nor whatever president putin does and we're engaged in active gloams to try to prevent this tragedy from unfolding. >> woodruff: and finally a question about you ron klain. again you know a number of news reports in recent weeks about the role you've played as chief of staff, such a visible role. there are not just republicans but a number of democrats saying that it's you who has pulled the president too far to the left. that's hurt his agenda. they say that you've harmed the president's relations with and irritated leading democrats on the hill, spieker pelosi, senator joe manchin. how many personal responsibility do you think you shoulder for where president biden is today? >> well i'm proud of my role work here at the white house helping president biden achieve the successes we've achieved.

he's passed more legislation his first year than any president in history. thanks to very close work with speaker pelosi, and we've got senator manchin's vote on the infrastructure bill, on the number of federal judges we've confmed to the bench this year so i think we're producing results to the american people, that includes the jobs report we started talking about today. i'm proud to play a role on at, i'm proud to work with an amazing team, there's too much focus on me. they're delivering for the american people every day along obviously with the leadership first and foremost with the president and vice president harris. i think we're delivering for the people and i think we'll be judged fo our results. >> woodruff: rorn klain, the white house chief of staff, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you judy.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, the republican national committee censured two g.o.p. members of congress for taking part in the investigation into the january 6 assault on the capitol. representatives liz cheney and adam kinzinger are the only republicans involved in the congressional probe. the r.n.c accused them of "participating in a democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse." former president trump and his running mate are clashing over the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. former vice president mike pence insisted today that he could not have blocked congress from certifying the results, in his role as president of the senate. speaking in florida, he rejected mr. trump's false claims to the contrary. >> president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn the election. the presidency belongs to the american people, and to the american people alone.

and frankly, there is no idea more un-american than the notion that any one person could choose the american president. >> woodruff: the former vice president's remarks were his strongest rebuttal yet of mr. trump, on the events of january 6. that giant winter storm sweeping across the u.s. dumped more than a foot of snow across the northeast and new england today. airlines were forced to cancel another 3,400 flights. new york governor kathy hochul warned that ground travel is not safe, either. >> what is really treacherous-- this storm is throwing everything at us. we have snow, we have freezing rain, we have sleet, we have icy roads. our biggest concern right now is ice on the roads. >> woodruff: ice also took down trees across the south and central u.s., and more than 370,000 homes and businesses lost power, from texas to new york. the u.s. death toll from covid-19 has reached 900,000.

that is based on a count by johns hopkins university. it comes even as new infections are falling in 49 of the 50 states. also today, austria became the first country in europe to impose a strict vaccine mandate for most adults. it takes effect tomorrow. russia denied today that it is planning to fake an attack by ukrainian forces to justif invading ukraine. the russian foreign minister called the u.s. allegation "an absurdity." meanwhile, russia's president vladimir putin met with china's president xi jinping in beijing. they affirmed support for each other's agendas, on taiwan, ukraine, and other issues. we will get details after the news summary. the winter olympics are officially underway in beijing. president xi presided over a gala ceremony today. officials of the u.s. and other countries boycotted over china's authoritarian policies. the "bird's nest" stadium hosted

the spectacle, but spectators were limited by covid restrictions. back in this country, democrats in the u.s. house of representatives pushed through a bill to funnel billions of dollars into the u.s. semi-conductor industry. they said the measure takes on china and its repressive policies, but republicans argued it is toothless. they spoke on and off the floor of the house. >> congress will show the american people, and the world, with clarity of purpose and the courage of our convictions, that we do not take our global leadership for granted, that we will not miss the opportunity to strengthen american industry and create jobs of the future for our workers. >> pass a bill on the floor of this house that has literally no chance of checking china, holding them to account, ensuring that they no longer continue to carry out the atrocities that they're carrying out. >> woodruff: the senate passed its own bill last summer.

the two measures now have to be reconciled. a georgia man and his son, convicted of chasing and murdering ahmaud arbery, have withdrawn guilty pleas to a federal hate crime charge. greg mcmichael gave notice of his decision last night; his son, travis, did the same today. earlier this week, a federal judge rejected their plea agreement. a federal jury in new york convicted attorney michael avenatti today of wire fraud and identity theft. he was accused of cheating porn star stormy daniels out of nearly $300,000. the money was for writing a book about an alleged affair with former president trump. in puerto rico, more and more teachers joined growing protests for higher wages and better working conditions. officials said 70% of teachers were absent from work, and some schools had no teachers at all. a federal control board has approved a fiscal plan that falls short of the teachers' salary demands. and on wall street today, stocks

turned in mixed results. the dow jones industrial average lost 21 points to close at 35,089. the nasdaq rose 219 points. the s&p 500 added 23. for the week, the dow gained 1%. the nasdaq rose 2.4%. and the s&p 500 was up 1.6%. still to come on the newshour: the leaders of russia and china forge a closer bond, raising eyebrows in the u.s. another police shooting in minnesota prompts calls for reform. plus, much more. >> woodruff: the presidents of russia and china, as we reported, met today, and

reaffirmed their desire to have closer ties. the meeting comes as russian troops continue to mass on the border with ukraine, and after weeks of intense negotiation between russia andhe u.s. and nato. amna nawaz has that story. >> nawaz: that's right, judy. in a joint statement, both countries said they "oppose further enlargement of nato," and called on the alliance to abandon its "cold war approaches." the statement also said that china is "sympathetic to and supports the proposals put forward by russia to create long-term, legally-binding security guarantees in europe." so, what does this all mean? for that, we turn to elizabeth wishnick, a senior research scientist at the center for naval analysis, a navy-funded think tank. she's on leave from montclair state university, and has written extensivelabout russian/chinese relations. elizabeth wishnick welcome to the newshour. thanks for joining us. that jointly statement earlier had some thinly veiled swipes at the u.s. and its allies. step back here and tell us what

are we seeing here, what's driving the strengthening of the russian relations now? >> the strengthening has occurred over the last several years even prior to the russian annexation of crimea in tweant. the financial crisis in 2008 when russia and china saw there were real problems in the international order, at least in the economic orderand they hoped to gather to create some alternatives. and so they began to expd their partnership at that time, but certainly, there has been a deepeng of the partnership over the past eight years or so. >> reporter: well, what does all this mean in real-world terms especially at this moment? for example if russia were to invade ukraine do we know what

china would do? >> well let'look at what china did last time. in 2014, china was in the a rough spot because china has long standing positions supporting territoriality integrity and against the splitting of territories and so forth. so when a resolution came up in the u.n. security council in march of 2014 china abstained instead of supporting russia on that resolution. so i think china will try to thread the needle carefully this time. as well, should that situation arise, and i think a war in ukraine does not in china's interest. they have economic ties to ukraine and other connections to ukraine with the belgian road initiative their trade and transit initiative that wants to connect china to europe and ukraine is one of the hubs that it hopes of to use for that. so i think xi jinping is hoping that there is a peaceful outcome

to this crisis. >> at a time of rising tension between the u.s. and russia and nato what does china get from this? what does president cpi get from showing there is a strength between his country and russia now? >> apart from china russia doesn't really have a lot of friends in the arena. so russia is the major partner that china has, it shows that china is not isolated on the u.n. security council, russia has provided some key weapon systems to china that improve china's position in the indough pacific region -- ind offerings-pacific region and they use one another to reinforce their understanding of the global norms that they would like to see. so norms at a allow more space for authoritarian states and the

ability to define some of the rules of the road that they think would benefit them. >> reporter: so elizabeth there are those that look at this moment and say that it's actually very dangerous in a lot of ways. they see two autocracies, the united states can't fight against two powers like that. one analyst said it's the greatest threat the u.s. has seen since the beginning of the cold war, do you see it that way? >> i certainly see this as a precarious moment with emotional 100,000 russian troops poised on the border with ukraine. but i don't know that we are going to automatically see a two-front crisis here. i think that the comment you alluded to refers to the prospect of some chinese action against taiwan occurring while the world is distracted by th

russian threat to eastern ukraine. and i -- to ukraine. i don't see that as happening because china has long standing interests in what it calls the reunificatn of taiwan which it it considers a renegade province. this is such an important interest to china i don't see it tied to putin's opaque plans for ukraine. china and russia don't always walk in lock step on all the interests they share in common, although they feel work against thep. >> reporter: that is elizabeth wishnick from the center for naval analysis joining us tonight, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me, it's been my pleasure.

>> woodruff: the city of minneapolis is once again at the center of controversy after a young black man was killed on wednesday by the police, as they executed what's called a "no-knock warrant." this killing is raising further questions about that particular tactic, and police policy more broadly. william brangham has our report. and, a warning: there is some very disturbing video in this report. >> brangham: it was early wednesday morning when the minneapolis police department's swat team executed a no-knock warrant as part of a homicide investigation. police entered the apartment, announced their presence, and approached 22-year-old amir locke, who was sleeping under a blanket on the couch. locke didn't live in the apartment-- he was just visiting. and, he wasn't even named on the warrant. but, he had what his family says was his legal, permitted handgun with him, and when police saw it in his hands, they shot and killed him. the whole event took just a few seconds. police body cam otage was not

released until late last night. here's what it showed. again, some people may want to turn away for about ten seconds. >> get on the ground! ( bleep ) ( gunfire ) >> brangham: at a press conference last night, minneapolis' interim police chief amelia huffman described how she interpreted the video. >> as they proceeded toward the back of the apartment, as you saw in the video, there was a couch, and you can see that there's a form under a blanket or comforter that begins to rise up. the officers were approaching, they were giving commands to "show your hands, show your hands," and as they got close, you can see, along with an individual emerging from under the blanket, the barrel of a gun.

>> brangham: separately, locke's distraught parents described their son today as a law-abiding citizen, a legal gun owner, and someone who had deep respect for law enforcement. amir's mother, karen wells, spoke earlier today about her heartbreak, and what she wants to see happen. >> i should not have to be here. i should be able to facetime with my son, like i did last friday. i should be able to tell my son that "i love you" and he says "i love you, too." at the end of the day, i believe that he was executed by the m.p.d., and i want the police officer that murdered my son to be prosecuted and fired. >> brangham: for more on this case, i'm joined by amy forliti. she is a reporter for the associated press, based in minneapolis, and she has been following all of this closely. amy, thank you very much for being here. could you just tell us what else we ought to know, what we do and

do not know about this tragedy? >> there are many unanswered estions still at this hour. a development tht just happened recently as we learned that the search warrants in this se that were being executed are now filed under seal in court. so that's not something we will have immediate access to. where. >>reporter: as we heardthere amir locke's mother saying she wants the police officer who shot her son to be arrested and prosecuted. i know there's an ongoing investigation, state attorney general is involved, what else is that looking into specifically? >> well, that investigation will look into whether the officer was reasonable in his use of force, whether he prceived a threat, and as the police chief, the interim police chief said yesterday, that the officer made a split-second decision when he saw that gun. and perceived there was a threat. and made the decision to shoot. and so that's something that the prosecutors will be looking at

very carefully as they're trying to assess whether this officer should be charged. in minnesota officers are allowed to use deadly force if they have a reasonable reason to fear that their lives or the lives of others are in danger. >> reporter: it seems like the no-knock warrants, where the police don'tave to identify themselves until they are inside a building seems to run headlong into the second amendment which grants the right of people to have guns to defend themselves. i mean if the police suddenly appear in your home and you don't realize you're in the middle of a sleep as it seems to be in this case, mean there seems to be a real conflict there. >> in fact one of gun rights group, if minnesota gun owners caucus released a statement saying amir locke would have done what any gun owr would do in that situation. they said he legally had a gun, he was allowed to have it. he was awoken from what appeared to be a deep sleep. someone kicked the place -- the sofa that he was on, there was

confusion, shouting all around him. he grabbed a legal means of defense and assessed the situation. and they say that that -- he had every right to do that and it's something any gun owner would have done in a situation like that. attorneys for locke's family are saying unfortunately in cases where gun owners are black it often ends in tragedy like this. >> reporter: we have seen other instances where these no-knock warrants have turned deadly and i know there was a lot of talk about trying to reform that practice. but it seems like there's certainly more to be done on this front. >> right. and that's another thing that has come up today. the minneapolis police department did update its policy on no-knock warrants after the may 2020 death of george floyd and they updated their policy to say when they execute a no-knock warrant they have to first announce their presence at the threshold and continue to announce their presence as they

are searching a residence or a warrant. they have to give people time to respond to the fact that they're there. statewide in minnesota there was limitation and restrictions placed on no-knock warrants. but today the governor and other law enforcement says it's time to revisit that. >>reporter: in min amsterdam the second trial involved in the killing of george floyd is going forward, there was the dante rice case that happened there and now this tragedy happens. i'm curious from your reporting how is the community responding, are people worried about protests and unrests happening? >> i think protest and arrest, there is always a possible. there are some protests planned and by all accounts those are likely to be peaceful but activates who have akd it out already, are saying there is an

overwhelming sense of acre and police are lying to the community yet again. they say that in this case because of the narrative that came out initially when police announced that this killing happened. they -- their news release called amir locke a suspect at first. and they gave a narrative where they said that he was pointing a gun in the direction of officers. and when you look at the body camera video and a still image that was released alongside that activates are looking at that and sayingt doesn't look like he was pointing a gun at anyone. now police are countering that by saying the officer who he was pointing a gun at is not in the frame of the video but for many people impacted by this that doesn't seem to be enough and they're not buying it. >> reporter: all right, amy forliti of the associated prets thank you. >> and just a few moments ago the mayor of minneapolis issued a moratorium on no-knock

warrants. >> woodruff: the beijing winter olympics officially begin today-- the second games during the pandemic, and hosted by the country where coronavirus originated. china's hard-line policy on containing the virus has included vast lockdowns of millions, and severe restrictions for its citizens. nick schifrin reports on an olympics in the era of covid, and how measures designed to keep athletes safe, are also silencing beijing's critics. >> schifrin: for the 2022 winter games, the olympic mascot might just be a man in a hazmat suit. beijing airport staff greet all athletes, covered head to toe, and administer athletes' third covid test in five days, before they can even arrive at the ultimate sporting test. >> it's called the closed loop, and we really actually do hope it's fully closed. >> schifrin: joanne firesteel reid and deedra irwin are biathletes, a combination of cross-country skiing and

shooting. before they left, they embraced china's covid restrictions, known as the closed loop. they sent us videos of their welcome wagon, fully space- suited; a police-escorted bus ride to their hotel; and finally seeing the slopes inside the olympic bubble, where it all felt worth it. >> we're totally okay with getting the really obnoxious p.c.r. tests that hurt our brains for a whole day. ( laughs ) obviously, police escorts are a little different, but i think they're trying to keep us safe, and they're trying to keep us healthy, and that's all we can ask for. >> schifrin: already, they've spent nearly three months isolated from their families. and, within their team bubble, reid and irwin have their own mini-bubble. >> the only person that we can take our mask off in front of when we're indoors is our mini- bubble, so that would be my roommate, deedra. >> we really want to-- wanted to close our bubble, and make sure absolutely no chance of getting covid. >> schifrin: the olympics' closed bubble means wire fences separate events, and the

athletes' village from the rest of the city. inside the loop, athletes can check out anything they like, but they can never leave. a canadian journalist posted a photo from inside her room of packing tape blocking her exit for minutes, until her airport test came back negative. and, anyonwho tests positive is immediately quarantined. >> i'm not sure i can handle 14 more days... >> schifrin: belgian skeleton athlete kim meylemans said she her second test came back negative, but was denied permission to isolate in the athletes' village. >> we're not sure i will ever be allowed to return to the village, and obviously, this is very hard for me. >> schifrin: after the video, authorities relented, and defend their procedures as necessary. >> ( translated ): we have been making effective measures, and everything is under control. without safe games, there would be no games. >> schifrin: it's not only

inside the games. the country maintains one of the world's strictest testing schemes and lockdowns. just last month, because of a few hundred cases, 20 million chinese were ordered to stay in their homes. >> they simply do not want to give up what they already have achieved. >> schifrin: yanzhong huang is the council on foreign relations' senior fellow for global health. he says china sticks to the zero-covid policy not only because it's kept cases relatively low, but also for politics. >> they use th to showcase the superiority of the-- its political system, the chinese model-- and if they give up, you know, that's tantamount to admitting that they have failed, and their system is no better than the u.s. >> schifrin: but the system requires harsh lockdowns. last month in xi'an, a city of 13 million in central china, this woman was refused care for two hours. she was eight months pregnant, and miscarried. in another video, a woman says her father had a heart attack and died when he was blocked from all of the city's

hospitals. and, anyone infected, or deemed a close contact, was forcibly bussed to quarantine centers far from the city center. >> after xi'ang, with thanks to the social media, all this reports about all this dark side of the zero-covid strategy. now, people increasingly feel this is like excessive. >> schifrin: and china used its covid controls to further restrict. for nearly two years, chinese have needed green codes on health-tracking apps to travel. yellow or red means you can't travel. in beijing, the app tracks everyone's movements, and authorities say it prevents outbreaks. but, in an interview over secure messaging app from beijing, human rights lawyer wang yu told us it's used to control critics of the communist party. >> ( translated ): from october to december, during that period of time, i was unable to apply for a health declaration, even though i didn't go to any high- risk areas. >> schifrin: wang represents persecuted minorities and government critics.

in 2015, she was the first of more than 200 activists and lawyers arrested in what became known as the "709 crackdown." she spent more than a year in detention. do you think beijing is manipulating the covid app in order to prevent you from traveling because of the nature of your work? >> ( translated ): when i encounter restrictions, i ask if there is any legal basis for these restrictions. they immediately say, because you asked so many questions, we will change the color of your health code to yellow or red. this is how they threaten and act against you. using the codes is actually how they manipulate and control. >> schifrin: the government has long controlled wang and other critics' movements. but, under covid, it's gotten worse. >> ( translated ): because of the pandemic, people face even more restrictions on their liberty. even if most people do not agree with the lockdowns, they do no dare say so. you should all know, no one has freedom of speech. if you say something against government policy, you will be suppressed or persecuted.

>> schifrin: for athletes who've been training all their lives, today is a dream come true. but, some of the steps beijing is taking to keep them safe from covid, are also used to keep its beijng's critics silent. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: and we now turn to the analysis of capehart and abernathy. that is jonathan capehart and gary abernathy, both columnists for the "washington post." david brooks is away. jonathan i want to start with some news that former vice president pence made today. he made a speech, a lot of people were watching to see what he would say. and what caught our attention is, he said president trump is wrong to say that he could have

overturned the results of the 2020 election. he said it's time to turn to the future. what does this say about the state of the republican party when you also have what, the republican national committee today censuring liz cheney and adam kinsinger working on the january 6th investigative committee? >> capehart: judy, it shows that the republican party is undergoing a huge crisis. in various forms over the last year with less heat than he did today but saying inflate-out that donald trump is wrong and that vice president then vice president pence had no ability, no power whatsoever, to overturn the will of the american people, is the clearest break we have seen between the two. and it says to me that the former vice president has decided with whether i run for

president or not, i can't win over donald trump. i can't win over his people. and so right now, the focus is, stay in the party, and do everything i can to shore up that side of the party. and it's that side of the party, adam kinsinger liz cheney both republican members of congress were censured by the national party. but that is the fight. it is the pences, the cheneys, the kinsingers, and i'm sure a whole lot of other unnamed folks and i'm sure donald trump those people within the republican party are taking it down a very dangerous road not just for the party but for the country. >> woodruff: gary abernathy, what crisis as jonathan said? >> abernathy: i agree with much of what jonathan said. what does the republican party stand for? i wrote a piece last week that

it doesn't need to figure it out this year but except it needs to spend 2022 divorcing itself in donald trump slowly but surely. i've always admired pence for saying what he said, he said it very strongly today. i think the party's wrong to try to discipline liz cheney and adam cin kinsinger. i think that's a mistake. i think the republican party is slowly and surely trying to -- i disagree with jonathan on one thing. i do think pence has a chance to peel away some folks. trump people have to give mike pence a lot of credit for the role he played in helping to elect donald trump, successes trump had at is president bus yes, there is no doubt the republican party is trying to figure out what it is and what it is going to be going forward and i think at time goes by it will come to the conclusion

feignfully for a lot of people that it can be the party of trumpism but not with trump. >> woodruff: just quickly to both much you, jonathan this does not put an end to questions about what the republican party is going to do with donald trump? >> capehart: oh, no. and the fact that there are still arguments within the party over whether -- over what to call the january sixth insurrection. just goes to show just in high relief, what this identity crisis is. you have the kinsingers and the cheneys in particular who are making it clear that what happened on january 6th was an affront to the constitution and an affront to american democracy and that a functioning national party should have no -- shsht give it any -- shouldn't give it any quarter, you anyone who subscribes to that any comfort. and the fact that we are evening having this conversation just goes to show how far gone the republican party is.

>> woodruff: gary abernathy, there is so much attention to who president biden may appoint to succeed stephen bryer.they have said it would be a black woman, he did appoint three economists, sarah bloom raskin, philip jefferson, lisa cook, republicans in the senate gary have gone after all three of them, questioned their qualifications and especially gone after lisa cook and questioned whether she has the credentials to be a member of the federal reserve board. what is it say about the ability of a president to argue, i want diversity on the federal res

reserve? >> abernathy: well i think it's okay to question people. these were high profile positions, i don't think that necessarily implies or insinuates anything other than political ideological differences. but judy i would like to see us get back to the place where you know partisanship is okay when it comes to when you win elections, when you win elections you also win the right to do certain things. you win the right to make appointments to boards and to the courts of people who you want. and i'd like to see us get back to the day where the opposition party respects that and says even though that's not who we would appoint, that's not who i would like to see there, i respect the fact that you've won the right to make the appointment of whoever you want, and i'd like to see us get back to where we don't have to worry, gee, is this a 50-50 senate when it comes to approving appointments? because you respect the process. you respect the fact that joe biden won this election.

so he can make the appointments that he wants. and i would like to see it when a republican is president some day i'd like to see democrats say we know you're going to appoint conservatives to these boards and to the courts, but you know what you won, we're going to respect that and we're going to vote for that person. >> woodruff: jonathan, that is not where we are. we are watching a lot of criticism for these three employees and especially lisa cook. jacq>> capehart: why it is, the immediate first question is are they qualified or are their qualifications are questioned. when that person of color and particularly lisa cook? are overwhelmingly qualified? it is galling and it is ridiculous. and these questions start to, more from are they qualified to see in these positions to

questioning their humanity. i mean in lisa cook we're talking about somebody with a bamplet from spellman, a ba from oxford, a ph.d. from the university of california at berkeley. the obama white house council of economic advisors, she is on the federal reserve board in chicago. this is someone who is imminently qualified and yet when we're talking about someone's qualifications it's all focused on her. i don't think -- it is not coincidental that she's black and it's not coincidental that she's also a brak woman who is being put through this. i just have to say as an american and certainly as an african american, it pains me to see someone who works so hard, who's given so much to the people and the institutions she's worked with, but also, to her country. to then have to sit before members of the senate, who question who she is, what she's done and what value she brings.

how these folks, anyone who sits before these confirmation hearings is able to sit through that, and not just lose it to defend themselves and to defend where they come from and who they are is a testament to why they should be confirmed to the positions that they've been nominated to. >> woodruff: the last thing i want to turn both of you to and that is a subject in the news this past week. rising violent crime in the country especially homicide in new york city, mayor eric adams had president biden come and meet with him and talk with him about what's going on and what to do about it. here is just an excerpt of what president biden had to say when he was in new york city this week. >> you know, mayor adams, you and i agree. the swer is not to abandon our streets. that's not the answer. the answer is to come gether, police and communities building trust and making us all safer.

the answer is not to defund the police its to give you the tools, the training the funding, to be partners to be protectors and the community needs you. >> woodruff: how do you see, gary, how this discussion has evolved, because after the death of george floyd a lot of conversation about the need for police reform, of course mayor adams is coming at it with a different approach. where are we headed on these issues, on this issue? >> abernathy: i thought president biden said the right thing yesterday when he said, we don't need to defund the police. but i also think it's kind of sad that he had to say it. i think it's unfortunate when a president, the if the has made a rule when it comes to this, is setting the tone. you need to say you know what, we support our police departments. when someone calls 911 we want someone to come. the fact that there were members of his party calling a couple of years ago for defunding the

police, you know both in congress and at the city level, and he has to come out and say and to his credit, i mean to be fair, i've never heard president biden has always said, we don't need to defund the police but it's a shame he is in a position he has to do that. he has also talked a lot about gun control. i don't think guns are the problem, people using the guns are the problem. a gun has never gotten up and walked out and killed anyone. it's the people who would use guns for violence judy and we need to look at the root cause of that. we know we have a drug problem. i was looking in an article just a little while ago of record-amount of fentanyl coming down, that leads to gun violence. i'm glad president biden said what he said yesterday. again i think it's unfortunate he is saying we shouldn't defund the police. that should be obvious, of coursee shouldn't defund the police. >> woodruff: jonathan, 30

seconds left to talk about how this debate has shifted. >> capehart: it's shifted one on defunding the police, no one's serious out there, wants to defund the police. i think what president biden and certainly mayor eric adams are trying to do, they are trying to walk this line of supporting the police but also supporting communities who have serious concerns about how the police do their jobs in terms of protecting the community. i think the two of them want to make the police in the community partners. and in a lot of places around the country, they are. but as we have seen, especially tonight, in minneapolis, with william brangham's report, there are serious issues. >> woodruff: it's such a big subject and i know we're going to be coming back to it. thank you both, jonathan capehart, gary abernathy. thank you.

>> woodruff: for 30 years, dr. joel shamaskin was a primary care physician in rochester, new york. then he received a life-changing a.l.s. diagnosis in 2016. tonight, he offers his "brief but spectacular" take on living with a.l.s. >> the first winter after i wa diagnosed with a.l.s., i was admiring the snow-covered pines near our home, and recall wondering how many more times i get to enjoy that. but as seasons pass and years pass, i realized i wasn't dying from a.l.s., i was living with it. >> i'm a retired primary care physician. was unfortunately forced to

retire early because of my a.l.s. diagnosis six years ago. people inevitably lose the ability to walk, move, eat, speak, and breathe. unfortunatel there is no known cure. shortly after my diagnosis, i knew i wanted to get involved in the a.l.s. community. i liken a.l.s. advocacy to a long-distance relay, where they know they're working for the same goal. after my diagnosis, i could feel myself internalizing the identity of a disabled person. i look at people in wheelchairs and i feel this connection to

them, and... i think about the things that i know my grandchildren get out of seeing me with a physical limitation. i know that they're watching me, gives them a respect for people who have physical differences, so even though i can't run around with them, i'm giving them something that's less tangible. after i'm gone, i think that the way i've lived is what i want my kids and wife and family to remember.

my name is joel shamaskin, and this is my "brief but spectacular" take on living with a.l.s. >> woodruff: what a gift. thank you. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> care.com. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org.

>> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's mt pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> 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 fr viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh acce

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company,". >> combined arms, offensive capabilities. >> and as the u.s. sendsore troops to support nato allies, moscow's ambassador to the eu, vladimir chizov joins. >> the vast majority of afghans at risk are still in afghanistan. >> how america betrayed its afghan partners, a journalist joins me on his gut wrenching reporting. plus -- >> i feel like i'm doing the right thing, finally taking the step to hold these folks accountable. >> the star witness in trump's impeachment, alleges a conspiracy intimidation. alexander vinman tells why