Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20161119

And the lessons she taught us. All that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge of your future. 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 trump transition is accelerating this evening. The president elect announced his choices for three top positions today. They are republican senator Jeff Sessions of alabama, for attorney general, retired Army Lieutenant general Michael Flynn for National Security adviser, and u. S. Representative mike pompeo, republican of kansas, for director of the c. I. A. Well take a closer look at all three men, after the news summary. Separately, the president elect has reached an agreement to resolve three lawsuits over his trump university. New york states attorney general announced the 25 million settlement today. Mr. Trumps lawyers have squared off with students who say the forprofit school failed to deliver the Real Estate Investing education it promised. The u. S. Justice department has begun looking into charges of harassment and intimidation since the election, and whether they constitute federal hate crimes. Thereve been incidents targeting muslims and blacks, including in schools and churches. Attorney general Loretta Lynch spoke about the situation, in a video statement today. We need you to continue to report these incidents to local Law Enforcement, as well as the Justice Department, so that our career investigators and prosecutors can take action to defend your rights. We will continue to enforce our nations hate crimes laws to the fullest extent possible. We will continue to uphold our conviction that all men and Women Deserve to lead lives of safety and dignity. Woodruff lynch pointed to a new f. B. I. Report showing a 67 increase in hate crimes against muslims in 2015. She called it deeply sobering. Theres been a surge of Migrant Deaths in the mediterranean this week. The u. N. S International organization for migration said today that 365 people have been lost, trying to make the crossing from libya to italy. Hundreds of others have been rescued, after at least six incidents, mostly involving flimsy rubber rafts. U. N. Officials call it a calamity in plain sight. For the year, more than 4,600 have died up sharply from last year. The World Health Organization has declared the zika virus is no longer an international emergency. But it said it was still working on containing the virus, calling it a longterm problem. The c. D. C. Urged pregnant women to continue to avoid traveling to areas with local zika transmission. The legendary texas heart surgeon dr. Denton cooley has died. Cooley performed the First Successful human heart transplant in the u. S. In 1968. And he implanted the worlds first artificial heart a year later. In all, cooley performed some 65,000 openheart surgeries over four decades. Denton cooley was 96 years old. In Economic News volkswagen announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs worldwide, as it tries to recover from an emissions cheating scandal. 23,000 of the jobs will be in germany. Volkswagen says it expects to save more than 4 billion in the restructuring. The company also said its adding 9,000 jobs to work on electricpowered cars. Stocks closed lower on wall street today, led by losses in the health care sector. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 36 points to close under 18,868. The nasdaq fell 12 points, and the s p 500 slipped five. For the week, the dow gained a faction of a percent, and both the nasdaq and the s p 500 rose around 1 . Still to come on the newshour more on the president elects newest appointments and how they may shape domestic and foreign policies, reflections on possible changes in Immigration Enforcement we examine an aspect of the trump agenda, and much more. Woodruff now, for our in depth look at president elect trumps latest picks for top jobs in his administration. We start with senator Jeff Sessions, one of the most conservative u. S. Lawmakers, and potentially the nations next top Law Enforcement official. John yang begins. Reporter nine months ago, Jeff Sessions became the first senator to back candidate donald trump. I am pleased to endorse donald trump for the presidency of the United States. Reporter today, president elect trump picked him to be attorney general. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions iii was first elected to the senate in 1996, and is known to have good relations across party lines. In the 1980s, as a reagan appointed u. S. Attorney in alabama, he had made his name as a tough, aggressive prosecutor. In 1994, he was elected Alabama Attorney general. In the senate, sessions became a member of the Judiciary Committee the same panel that rejected his nomination to be a federal judge in 1986 over accusations he had made racially insensitive comments. I am not a racist. I am not insensitive to blacks. Reporter sessions denied making some of the comments and said others were taken out of context. Hes been a leading voice against illegal immigration. In 2007, he dealt president george w. Bush a painful blow, helping defeat a bipartisan bill that would have created a Guest Worker Program for undocumented immigrants. Youve got to have this amnesty. Youve got to give up, and well have amnesty. And in exchange for that, you guys, well have a legal system that will work in the future. But it wont work. Reporter last year, he opposed the nomination of Loretta Lynch whom he would replace as attorney general over her support for president obamas executive orders on immigration. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff for more on the president elects pick for attorney general, we are joined by carrie johnson, justice correspondent for npr. Carrie, welcome back to the program. Thank you, judy. Woodruff so what is senator Jeff Sessions reputation in washington . 69yearold senator, member of the senate more than 20 years and pretty well liked across the aisle he felt has a significant Law Enforcement battleground serving as u. S. Attorney in alabama for 15 years earlier in his career. Hes very tough on immigration and pretty tough as well on law and order, the dined of message we have been hearing from donald trump on the campaign trail. Woodruff fill out the picture. Who are groups who are saying nice things about him, who support him . The heritage foundation, very conservative think tanks here in washington, and people who oppose immigration and opening up the immigration system. On the other hand and also Donald Trumps team, i should say that they point out that he has been a close ally of president elect trump for a long time, and they call him a great legal mind. Woodruff and he is, as we should point out and i think we have, he was is first u. S. Senator to come out for donald trump. But talk about now some of the civil rights organizations, pro Immigration Reform groups that have come out against him. What are they saying . The naacp Legal Defense fund, the aclu all have come out and said this is a very inflammatory pick at a time when racial tensions are already high in the country because of policeinvolved shootings of unarmed africanamericans, that to pick somebody with this record of making racially insensitive statements is going backward, not moving forward. Also, judy, the human rights campaign, the biggest lgbt advocacy in the country has given him a zero for his Voting Rights record on those issues. Woodruff there was a federal Court Appointment in 198630 years ago, he was rejected for that, how unusual was that . Breathtaking. As you know more than anyone, the senate usually takes care of its own and has a strong record of backing picks from the president. This was a Republicancontrolled Senate Judiciary Committee who voted him down. Jeff sessions now sat on that committee including its top republican. Woodruff over the years hes had time, served in public type and served in the nate senate for almost 20 years. What has he done . How has he voted that would help us understand what his position is today on civil rights . Well, the trump team today on a call are reporters pointed out he helped sponsor congressional medal for rosa parks, voted for attorney general eric holder, and they say he has voted to authorize the Voting Rights act in the past. However, civil Rights Groups would tell you what when the supreme court, in their view, gutted the act three years ago, Jeff Sessions celebrated that. Woodruff what is the worry in the Civil Rights Community about him . The worry is the voice of the Justice Department over the last eight years in trying to calm the nerves of the country very aggressively investigate Police Departments for Excessive Force and violation, the worry is under Jeff Sessions the Justice Department Civil Rights Division would stop doing that work, it would stop doing work to protect voters and instead perhaps focus on disability cases, religious freedom cases and the like and move away from what their view is as the center of the lane for civil rights in this country. Woodruff and carrie, what about with regard to immigration . Whats the concern on the part of the Immigration Reform people . So donald trump and Jeff Sessions have both been antiimmigration for a long time. The difference is the white house and the attorney general have a lot of power in this regard, and if donald trump gets his way and Jeff Sessions is confirmed, Jeff Sessions will control the immigration courts in this country which hear deportation proceedings, decide whether people can be granted asylum and whether they have to remain detained while their cases are pending. Woodruff you said several times the president and the attorney general had the power without the involvement of congress to make a lot of decisions that could potentially undo what weve seen coming out of this administration. Is there a speculation about what could happen quickly in this administration . Absolutely. Among the things, judy, that civil Rights Groups are talking about now is sort of assertive interpretation of laws that the Justice Department and the Education Department in this administration use to extend protections to transgender students in schools, that could be wiped away with the change of power in the white house and the Justice Department. Woodruff you mentioned with regard to civil rights and i think we were talking about with regard to police use of force and the steps that have been taken by this administration to work with Police Departments to do more community policing, for example. Well, my sense is that senator session and president elect trump will want to partner with local police, not overseers or investigators of them, and that means some of these investigations and potentially some criminal charges go away in the federal system. Woodruff carrie johnson, justice correspondent for npr, thank you so much. Thank you. Woodruff and we turn now to the other major appointments made today. Again, john yang brings us some background. Reporter its a plum job for an ardent loyalist. Michael flynn was one of the highest ranking former military officers to endorse candidate donald trump. The retired Army Lieutenant general was outspoken in condemning hillary clinton. We do not need a reckless president who believes she is above the law. Lock her up, thats right. Yeah, thats right, lock her up. Reporter he held a variety of senior posts during the afghan war and became the top u. S. Military Intelligence Officer there. In 2012, he became the head of the Defense Intelligence agency, only to be forced out two years later, amid reports hed been fired over his combative style reports he disputed. After that, flynn became hotly critical of the Obama Administrations pursuit of islamic radicals. Last february, he went further, tweeting that fear of muslims is rational. Meanwhile, republican congressman mike pompeo of kansas is president elect trumps choice to be c. I. A. Director. A graduate of west point and harvard law school, he was elected to the house in 2010. He gained prominence as a sharp clinton critic on the House Select Committee on benghazi. And, hes an opponent of the iran nuclear deal. In addition, pompeo has said that Muslim Leaders who dont denounce terror attacks are potentially complicit. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff we look now at the choices with democratic congressman adam schiff of california, the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on intelligence. And Michael Ledeen, a scholar at the foundation for defense of democracies, a Non Profit Organization here in washington. Hes also coauthor with retired general Michael Flynn on the book the field of fight how we can win the global war against radical islam and its allies. And we welcome both of you back to the program. Thank you for being here. Michael ledeen, you wrote that book together with general flynn. You know him very well. What do you think of this pick . I think its a great pick. He has various qualities that you really want in that job. Number one, hes very straightforward. Hes not tricky. Hes not guileful. Hes not afraid to give bad news to his superiors, hes proven that. Secondly, really its unusual for a military man, he doesnt care about rank. His career is, if he finds some Second Lieutenant whos good at something, hell stick with that guy rather than look for some full color something. Woodruff kingman schiff, whats your congressman schiff, whats your idea. Hes made incendiary remarks about the entire religion of islam. At times failing to distinguish between the practitioners of that faith and al quaida and i. S. I. S. Thats a narrative that i. S. I. S. Likes to play into that there is a clash of civilization that its the west against all of islam. Unfortunately, a lot of things general flynn said over the years play into that narrative. Im also concerned, though, you have someone with a temperament that when he was running Defense Intelligence agency was volatile, oftene often erratic d temperament problems. Woodruff does general flynn have the temperament to be National Security advisor where you have to weigh so many different competing interests. Well, i think so. He totally transformed the way we do intelligence on the battlefield, first in afghanistan and iraq. The methods he inherited had been in place for a long time and he transformed them. As for islam, if you will read the book, the field of fight, you will find that he does not condemn islam in its entirety, that he condemns radical muslims, that he has a lot of supportive words both for groups, individuals and countries that are moderately islamic, like indonesia, like singapore and so forth and goes on at great length. Woodruff congressman schiff, lets pick up on the coment you made that he made remarks about islam, essentially saying the entire religion is what we need to worry about. But we hear Michael Ledeen saying thats just not the case. Michael must have written those chapters in the book that express a different view because if you look at what comes directly from general flynn in his tweets and other comments that we should rashly fear all muslims, those are very damaging statements, and i think coupled with a president elect who talked about banning all muslims, this is deeply destructive to the country, to our work with our muslim allies and plays into this narrative that al quaida want to tell that its us or them, that muslims dont have a home in the west. But beyond that, if you will look at his coziness with the kremlin, he shares that with the president elect. Putin is not our friend, and i want someone, a National Security advisor whos willing to tell the president , notwithstanding your predisposition to want to get along with this guy, he is invading his neighbors, bombing civilians in syria and he is not your friend. Woodruff coziness from the kremlin and vladimir putin, Michael Ledeen, how close is he to the russians . We know he gave a speech and paid by a russian entity for that. He was brought to a conference. Its normalnormal if you go to a conference your expenses are covered. He was hired through a speaking bureau and got a normal speaking fee. Nothing untoward about that. To his face, he called putin an enemy, so all this talk about flynn being soft on the kremlin and so forth is nonsense and the people who say it, im sorry to say it hurts me personally. The book calls putin an enemy of the United States, in those words. This is, to my way of thinking, just a misunderstanding of flynn. The muslim thing is a misunderstanding. Notwithstanding the book, thats not the way general flynn has been talking during the last year and, in fact, when general flynn was asked as indeed the president elect was asked about russians hacking into democratic institutions, something the director of National Intelligence was confirmed was ordered at the highest levels of the kremlin, the president elect with the support of general flynn disavoid that intelligence and said we dont know, could be russia, china, a 400pound man. If general flynn is willing to disregard good intelligence when its counterintuitive to the interests of the president elect, nats a real problem. Woodruff we need to move on to talk ability congressman mike pompeo, chosen to be in charge of the c. I. A. Michael ledeen, d do you know h . Hes real american. Hes heartland. Hes very smart. Hes extremely hard working. Hes been terrific on iran. Woodruff mean weg know hes been very critical of the iran well, hes one of the members of congress that uncovered the iranian cheating, some of the secret deals that were made that congress hadnt been told about, they uncovered that in vienna and i. A. E. A. Woodruff what is your comment on him . I know mike very well and i like him. I think hes a very bright, hardworking guy and i think hell do a good job at the c. I. A. He can be very partisan. On benghazi, we had strong differences. He was beyond the point of where the majority was and issued a separate opinion not thinking the majority opinion was harsh enough on the secretary. So he can p be very partisan, but, at the same time, i am confident he will set that aside. He will have to. The c. I. A. Requires somebody to be vehemently apolitical, nonpartisan and i think he has the capability to do. They well be learning more about these two gentlemen in the days and weeks to come. Right now we want to thank both of you, congressman adam schiff and Michael Ledeen. Thank you. Woodruff and online we take a closer look at the relationship between trump chief strategist Stephen Bannon and the controversial media outlet breitbart news. Woodruff stay with us. Coming up on the newshour david brooks and ruth marcus take on the weeks news, and a personal newshour tribute to gwen ifill. But first, our coverage of the agenda of president elect trump, and the potential impact of some big changes. One of the major themes of his campaign was cracking down on immigration, not just of those who are undocumented, but also hundreds of thousands of people whove obtained temporary legal status during the obama years. Now, those young adults are uncertain and anxious about whats to come. Jeffrey brown has the story. I was 11 years old when i immigrated to the United States. I didnt know what being undocumented was. I didnt even know that a piece of paper can actually determine my whole future. I thought that working really hard throughout high school would give me the same opportunities that you know most most ones that graduated, you can go to any college you want, you can go study upstate. Reporter 21yearold diana chacon has come a long way from her birth in lima, peru. Shes now a student at the John Jay College of criminal justice in new york. But her path forward could get much tougher. Chacon is a recipient of daca deferred action for childhood arrivals an Obama Administration policy that allows undocumented immigrants who entered the country as children to work and study here legally on a temporary basis. If there is a young person here who has grown up here and wants to contribute to this society, wants to maybe start a business that will create jobs for other folks who are looking for work, thats the right thing to do. Daca changed my life. It allowed me to be involved in school more, spend more time doing my class work assignments, spend more time applying for programs, and just get involved in my community in general. I stopped making excuses for who i was and what position i was in. I was so encouraged to keep going. I was encouraged to pursue law school. I knew that all the things im doing to this point were projecting me into a better future, a better life. And all of thats gonna change because, you know, now donald trump is president. Reporter unable to get immigration legislation passed, president obama used his executive power to create daca. Now, just as easily, it could be undone. With enormous potential consequences for chacon and the 800,000 other recipients, known as dreamers. Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation that is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Reporter in addition to building a wall, donald trump as a candidate made the repeal of daca a top priority. And since the election, dreamers and other immigrants have protested across the country. Teresa galindo, who brought her two sons to the u. S. From mexico after her husbands death, marched at a sunday midtown manhattan rally. Her youngest, carlos, now 31, was just two years old when he entered the country. translated it wasnt their fault and its still not their fault. Theyre here because i brought them, when they were very young. I did it as a mother to give my kids the best. I wanted to, and i still want to give them the best. Back in my country i couldnt even give them an education. Reporter carlos got his education, and four years ago became a daca recipient. He now works at an Immigrants Rights Organization in Staten Island, helping others find legal and other resources. His own uncertain future, he says, now informs his work and activism. So if daca is repealed, what would happen . I dont know. And thats the scary part. Its a little bit frightening. But were gonna fight. Right . If they take it away we demand something better. Reporter but what does that mean, you know fight, what would you do . Go out. The Dreamer Movement has been alive since 2001. Daca was not given to us because the president woke up one day and said, i really feel for you youth. Im gonna give you daca. We fought for it. There was a lot of civil disobedience. There was a lot of organizing. And i think that just means were going to do that to a bigger scale now. Reporter Staten Island is home to a fast growing immigrant community many, like vargas, from mexico. Its also the only one of new yorks five boroughs to vote for donald trump. And its not hard to find trump supporters, like Sebastian Demetrio a 78yearold veteran, bagel shop worker and himself an immigrant from eastern europe. I came here legal. My father was working here, i came as a legal immigrant. A lot of people are sneaking up in this country. Theyre taking our jobs. And i think we need a change. Take care of your own people first before you take care of the other people that dont belong in this country. Reporter Staten Island city councilman joe borelli served as a cochairman for the trump campaign, here in new york. Its the sentiment that we ought to be a nation of laws. You know, Staten Island is a place that many immigrants come to. Of course new york is broadly the home of immigration to this country. The majority of people who come to new york as immigrants come here through a legal process, just like many peoples ancestors did through ellis island. 50 of our Small Businesses here in new york city are owned by people of color or some combination thereof. They are making new york great. And they are making america great. As long as you follow the rules you should be welcome here. Reporter his message to constituents fearing deportation now . I would tell these people to relax slightly. And i understand its concerning. But they should wait to see what the administration puts forth. Reporter in his first televised interview as president elect, mr. Trump pledged to focus first on deporting immigrants with criminal records. Hes yet to clarify his position on daca. Diana chacon has no criminal record, but shes hardly comforted. When youre deporting one undocumented person, youre basically deporting everybody else with that person. Not physically, but emotionally like its that baggage thats left behind. Its not just me. Its not you. Its everybody who is gonna be affected indirectly. And separating families, separating friendships, separating communities, in my eyes its a form of violence. Reporter for now, she remains focused on her future. I dont want to think that because my life is in somebody elses hands at the moment means that i dont have control over it anymore. I am so much more than just a narratives that are out there, about me, about my community. Thats something you cant control. But what i can control is how im gonna go about it and how im gonna take the few next steps. Im not gonna let one piece of paper define me. Im not gonna let a president define me. I cant. Reporter from new york, im Jeffrey Brown for the pbs newshour. Woodruff and that brings us to the analysis of brooks and marcus. Thats New York Times columnist david brooks and Washington Post columnist ruth marcus. Mark shields is away. Happy friday to both of you. So president elect trump, david, making these three big announcements today in the National Security arena after we heard who a couple of people are going to be around him in the white house. What do we make to have the choices, starting with today . If you thought donald trump was going to be swallowed up by the conventional Republican Party in washington, youre wrong. Hes governing exactly as he campaigned. The people are explicitly referencing the policies he took on the campaign. Well have a very Different Administration from the normal Republican Administration let alone the democratic administration. Second, i have to say they have good resumes. Pompeo, flynn, its not like theyre just out of the wilderness. These are people who have been around power and probably are not going to be automatically incompetent at their jofnlts the third thing to say is they have Donald Trumps charm, which is to say they are extremely sharpel lowed individuals. And its like hes taken all the hard and bad bosses in the world and so far is bringing them together. So if they work as a team, maybe they will be a very tough team, but they could work on each other, and it could be hard to hire people under them because these are people famous for being really hard on those around them. Woodruff ruth, what do you make of the National Security picks . Disturbing on general flynn and less disturbing on congressman pompeo. I think its important to understand donald trump is president elect and he has the prerogative to pick people who will implement his policies and who have his confidence, but i dont look at it just as the National Security team, i look at it as a whole, and im very worried he is picking people he talked on Election Night about the need to bind bind the wounds of division. I think hes picking people who potentially will pour salt into the wounds of division and who are reinforcing some of his worse tendencies ather than buttressing him and surrounding himself with people that bring capability that he may be lacking in. So the three that most concern me are general flynn, senator sessions and steve bannon at his right hand in the white house. Woodruff who comes from breitbart news. Which raises i saw commentary, david, maybe there is Good Cop Bad Cop thing going on where donald trump picks Reince Priebus chairman of the republican part to be chief of staff and then steve bannon. Bannon, i do not approve of his News Organization or judgments, but he is something he is a pure populist, a pure antiestablishment. For example, there was a rare interview he gave where he talked about having a trilliondollar Infrastructure Program. That would be a big shift in our National Debate and i think it might be a good idea, well get a lot of democrats on board, and i think the Silver Lining for those of you who did not approve of donald trump is there are a lot of policies in his canon that do mess with our categories and that kind of big Spending Program would be one of them. Woodruff what can you do you think . Im having a hard time seeing the steve bannon Silver Lining even with the Infrastructure Program pause his web site and own history has been so divisive, so hurtful to people of minorities, people of other faiths. I think having somebody like that in the white house, i understand to the victor goes the spoils, but bringing someone inside the white house you will be listening to is a bad thing and then layering on to that i think two people who are the wrong people in the wrong jobs. You want somebody who is going to be your National Security advisor who is going to be temperate, an honest broker, who will be able to take information and give you sort of this is what everybody is saying. That is not from the people ive spoken to today, what general flynn is all about. And similarly with senator sessions, i was around for his confirmation hearings as judge. Both in those and in his performance as senator. Going to the Justice Department, sort of same idea, if he were up for secretary of defense, i might not have this issue, but were a country facing enormous racial tensions, really difficult questions about criminal Justice Reform and tensions between minorities and police and here he is with a long history, wrong person, wrong job. Woodruff how much of a worry is that, david . I think it is a worry. This few past weeks, months, years, maybe centuries have been rifed with racial deposition and this seems set to exploit and exacerbate that. I think thats going to be one of the most likely and ugliest features of the campaign. As i said on the program last week, im trying to give a pause. The guy was elected and, as i say, hes been extremely consistent with his electoral campaign, hes being awe then tock what he ran on and got elected. So i agree with ruth, i think these people deserve to be confirmed. I dont think there is anybody who doesnt deserve to be confirmed. The bannon point, hes had a tiny circle of trust. I cant imagine being in the trump cabinet will be a very important job. This will be a White House Administration with a teeny group of people surrounding him maybe his family maybe. Woodruff his family is on the transition team, his children, soninlaw, ruth, his daughter ivanka and husband Jared Kushner were in the meeting yesterday with the japanese prime minister. I mean, what are we to make of this . So, again, quite disturbing. I do not begrudge anybody relying on their Family Members for advice. Politicians regularly rely on Family Members for advice. But donald trump is in a unique position here. First of all, he has told us that he is going to solve and i dont think its a good solution his problems of conflict of interest in his business by turning over the management to his children. Okay. Maybe thats adequate from his point of view, but now hes simultaneously turning over the management to his children and bringing in his children, first three of them, to the transition, and then apparently tapping his soninlaw, married to one of the people whos going to be managing this business and dealing with the conflict that way, to bring them into the white house. Thats number one. Number two, in this small circle, you want a president without governing experience to be surround bid people with experience in governing. Instead, its insular trump surround bid his family. Woodruff does that bother you . Well, what bothers me is the intermingling of the business and Public Service aspect of this. So i do agree with that. But i do think, if the Family Members choose one side or the other i would have no problem with ivanka serving on white house staff, frankly. Theres a rule against it now, in theory serving in the cabinet, at least, not in the white house, passed after bobby kennedy. I think thats a dumb rule. If the president wants to have a Family Member executive of a small business, i dont have a problem with that. I think ivanka would be a good influence on the administration. But hes so businessminded, as long as were constantly asking is he trying to make a buck off this and promote his hotel with this, thats just a corruption of what we think of as Public Service. Woodruff i wanted to ask you both about the dls and where they stand now, back on their heels. But i really want to leave time attend for a few minutes to ask you about our friend, you both knew her well, gwen. Daid, you were close friends. Ruth, youve worked with her for so long. Rut, you go back to, what, early days at the the Washington Post. I can tell you the exact dae, it was my first day at the Washington Post, september 4, 1984. I drove out to princ prince geos county, upper marlboro, m. D. , walked into the bureau and there was gwen ifill with this luminous smile david wrote so beautifully about, and we have been friends ever since. She went to the New York Times, so we covered the white house together, and im particularly remembering one Christmas Eve in little rock in 1992 after the clinton election, i think gwens editor sent her a bottle of champagne which we drank out of teacups because i think the restaurant was dry. And finally its thanks to gwen that im sitting here tonight because mark was going to be away one day and jim said, hey, how could we broaden the circle and bring people in and gwen said what about ruth . I know im not only person for whom she went to bat and said why dont we expand the field of people that we use, and, so, i will misher and im thankful to her. Woodruff she had an eye for talent and were glad youre here, too. And david, she was so fond of you. And, well, write this column and thats the way i ended it which i think is a point that true is nobody reminded you of her. You never thought, whos kind of like gwen, whos the next best gwen . There is no next best gwen. I think whats unique about her was this combination of intense strength with intense warmth. And, you know, one of the toughest hours of tv i ever had and maybe the best was on meet the press. I did a show sometimes called inis in the morning and tim did that show and David Gregory and he said racist things and i didnt realize he already said racist things about her and she was on the show and she was super tough on us. But intense warmth. I have a photo on my phone of you and gwen doing an exploding fist bump at the convention and shes laughing and dancing in her chair and the warmth and the smile, you two were so in tandem. John dickerson at cbs said you could read a book by the light of her smile and i think we all agree with that. Ruth marcus, david brooks, we thank you. And with that, before we go tonight, we wanted to let members of our newshour family past and present, on camera and behind the camera pay tribute to our colleague, gwen ifill, who passed away earlier this week. Shell be remembered at services this weekend here in washington. Personally, im the luckiest person i know because i had the privilege of being gwen ifills friend and her sidekick at work. She was like a magnet. People just wanted to be close to her because she instinctively cared about how they were doing. We joked. We were like an old married couple. We werent afraid to say the really important stuff to each others faces, like youve got salad in your teeth, or where did you find those fabulous earrings . As a work partner, she was the ultimate, holding me and everyone else here at the newshour to the highest standards. Her mantra was assume nothing. How do you know . I can hear her asking. Boy, do we miss her. There is an empty place in our hearts, but well carry on as gwen would want with a commitment to being thorough, being fair and to shedding light rather than heat on everything we cover. What i learned from gwen as a journalist is to never accept the easy answer. There is often another layer to a problem, there is often another motivation driving someone behind an issue andeth our job to find out what that is. For every story you need to think about what is the question thats important to ask and why does it matter. No matter how complicated and how fraught the conversations i had with people, gwen taught me how to listen. Mr. President , you said a few minutes ago there is a professional ladder in this business, but as a journalist of color, what she impressed upon me as a friend and mentor is that its not just musenough to climb that ladder, its about making sure that you pull someone else up, and then they pull someone else up along the way. Its no longer an exception to see a black woman who looks just like me anchoring the nightly news, reporting on Foreign Policy and politics, but that is the norm. Race and gender doesnt dfine my reporting, it adds to it, it strengthens it. Determined and focused despite what naysayers may have to say about you and your work. Believe in wonder. She taught me to be bold. She taught me that black women are magical. We heard that there was an opportunity for her to come possibly to pbs to do Washington Week, but even possibly be a correspondent on the newshour. Linda winthrow the executive roader of the newshour and i had dinner with gwen and talked about her coming aboard as a correspondent and she accepted. And to our new Senior Correspondent gwen ifill. Welcome, gwen. Thanks, jim. And there she was, one of us. She was a superb professional, somebody who understood the need to be civil, who understood the need to be honest, the need to do your homework and the need to be tough when required, to be soft when required, and more importantly always to be yourself, which gwen always was. Gwen ifill was a class act. Everybody who spent any time with her both professionally and outside the studio was aware of the fact that she was a consummate professional. Gwen taught me to keep digging, that even when i thought all the questions had been answered in a story that there were always more questions to ask. To always ask, so what, how does the story affect people across the country and why should they care. Always remember the importance of words, the right words at the right time. We shared a journalist passion for explaining to our audience how the world works, but with honesty and care, not cynicism. The most precious of all was her wise counsel, reminding me in tough times to remind on family and friends and say they were the greatest source of gwens gusto and joy. Gwen taught me in the for than 30 years we knew each other the value and the power of friendship. What did i learn from gwen . She reinforced in me the difference a smile could make in someones day. Kindness and curiosity are the best tools we have to love and to live. Live with integrity and grace, all the time. When her strong compassionate heart stopped beating on monday, those of us who knew and loved her, her friends and her colleagues and the audience as well knew that our own hearts had taken a direct hit. She was our inspiration. Shes the person who told us that the work we did really mattered. She was a stickler for accuracy, and she was also a funloving, lifeaffirming, deeply religious friend, and im going to miss her very much. Gwen taught me that has a woman in a challenging profession, i had a responsibility to help other women succeed. She also taught me to never underestimate the power of a great necklacers that learned print is business casual. She always said, i like your haircut whenever i got a haircut and that hair was really important. I learned a lot from gwen professionally and personally, but i also learned how to let off some steam, and the best way to do it is to give a good upper cut to bozo. Gwen taught me never to call her gwennie. Many years ago on radio, they say it was easy, just fake sincerity. Gwen never faked anything. Bold assertive, confident, professional and funny. Do you have an opening. Im just saying i could do it. She made her career in the Old Fashioned way, earned it on a road made far tougher by her being black. A footnote to this story i feel the outpouring shows how vitally she connected with the audience but it may also show in this time politically which feels like a world turned upside down that she provides an emotional outlet for people who prize the diversity of American Society and, in her career, a symbol of the values they want to hold on to. What gwen taught me was grit, grace and gratitude, what i call the three gs. We were doing her last stand up ad at the africanamerican museum, and she basically motored through it and did what i call, she chose happy. This is an amazing place, chocked full of the expected and the unexpected. She always saw the bright spot, even when she wasnt feeling well towards the end. I love it. And also a fun lesson on the road, whether New Hampshire primary or something else, bring red wine and twizzlers. Gwen taught me, put hot sauce on my eggs. Gwen taught me to pave my own way. To understand people, its not just having empathy thats enough, but its really to put yourself inside their situation, to understand what they were going through. The sweet spot for gwen was covering politics. Why is there and we know it was very difficult for her giving that up as she battled her illness in the last weeks. Well also remember gwen for that beautiful wide smile, along with her devotion to high standards of journalism made her a very special colleague and friend. Part of what gwen taught me from watching her at the 2004 president ial debate she moderated with cheney and edwards and raised the question of startling high rate of h. I. V. Among black women in america. What should the governments role be in helping to end the growth of this epidemic . Neither of them had any idea what she was talking about. What gwen taught me in that moment was that bringing uncomfortable truth and facts to people in power is what a journalist is supposed to do. Gwen taught me that you can always find some kind of diversity, a woman or a person of color, to speak on almost any issue if you just make enough phone calls. Gwen taught me you shouldnt only tell a story with a critical eye, you should want your audience to care. There could be a special relationship between an anchor, reporter and her crew, and whether it was mere at w. E. T. A. Studios or whether we were on the road doing the Washington Week show or at the conventions, she took care of us and we took care of her. Gwen was a huge fan of the show hamilton. There was a line from the show hamilton i cant stop thinking about since the days of her death. It says legacy, what is legacy . It is planting seeds in a garden we never get to see. Theres a huge hole in our news room and in journalism in general without gwen. She was one of a kind. But she planted a lot of seeds. She was a mentor, guide, friend so a whole slew of journalists. She made time to offer advice, be a sounding board, cheerleader, ally. Gwen taught me to trust myself, how to be gracious under pressure. Gwen taught me to not only strive to be good at your job but have fun request it. She wont be replaced. Shell be in our hearts forever. For years we had lunch every week, a chance to get out of the office and talk. At a certain point we realized we developed a pattern. One of us would start with a problem, minor grieve answer, something at work, too much work, the other would listen, go along with it a bit and point out how petty in complaint was and get us to where we always ended up in those conversations, how lucky we are to do what we do. We took turns doing that for each other. I know she did it for me. Its my turn here even in Great Sadness to say how lucky i am to have known and worked with my friend gwen ifill. I always had this sort of eddy haskel kind of thing with gwen. I would say, good evening, miss ifill, and good night, miss ifill, and im not going to say goodbye, miss ifill. Woodruff and gwen lives on through every one you just heard and so many more. And we have one more tribute to gwen online. Our beloved friend and colleague was such a force that a full moon the supermoon drew closer to earth on her last day of life. Please tune in for a special Washington Week later tonight. Gwens dear friend, Michelle Norris leads a panel of those who knew gwen well. On pbs newshour saturday as iraqi kurds continue the fight against isis in mosul, some on the front lines are also hoping to win their independence. And finally, before we go, we want to take a moment to celebrate a woman very special to us at the newshour marge hubbard, as she embarks on a new adventure. For 15 years, marge has been our maeup artist, making us look good every night. Shes off to spend more time with her family, including the holidays with her grandchildren. Best of luck, and thankyous overflowing, marge. We know youll keep in touch. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Have a great weekend. Thank you and good night. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by lincoln financial is committed to helping you take charge of your future. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. 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. Captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org this is nightly Business Report with Tyler Mathisen and sue herera. Reversing course. Why ford decided to keep production of one of its models in kentucky. Record week. The stock market is hitting new milestones, but did it come too far too fast. Fifth avenue frenzy. With one week until black friday, this is not much cheer among one of the most prominent corridors in the country. Good evening, everyone. Welcome. Im sue herera. Tyler mathisen is off tonight. It was a week of records with the dow, nasdaq and small cap russell index reaching new all time highs. But we begin with ford, which is