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Judy the evidence is mounting tonight that an Iranian Missile knocked a passenger airliner out we the sky thi near tehran. Iran denies it but t United States and several other. Overnments say it is highly Like Foreign Affairs correspondent Nick Schifrin begins with this report and a warning, some of the scenes in the story could be disturbing to viewers. Nick there were no survivors. 176 lives lost, lving behind only family photo scrapbooks, charred shoes, the remnants of a plane and now, western Officials Say the ukrainian passenger jet thatent down was shot down. At 6 12, a. M. Local wednesd the flight tk off from tehran down for bound for kiev. Contact was lost. S. Intelligence officials and a Senior Administration official tell pbs newshour the u. S. Assesses iran fired a russianmade Missile Defense system, mistaking the jet for a u. S. Military jet. Five hours before, at 00 a. M. Local, irans military launched more than a dozen Ballistic Missiles that u. S. Forces in iraq. Intelligence officials assess after this attack, iran was on high alert, fearing u. S. Aircraft could attack inside iran. U. S. Officials say the assessment that iran shot down the plane is based on photos, radar data and satellite information including infrared detection ofhe missile launch. More than 60 passengers were canadian, and Prime Minister justin trudeaume benron. We have intelligence from multiple sources, including allies and our own intelligence, the evidence indicates the plane was shot down by an iranian surfacetoair missile. This mayell have been intentional. Nick President Trump hinted it was iran but talked about the human toll. It is a trac thing. But somebody could have made a stake on the other side, could have made a mistake. Nick irans Civil Aviation authority deni the accusation, saying it was physically impossible for a missile to have hit the plane. Theme dealed tonight of what appears to be a misle hitting wne plane and other videos show the plane going nd the impact caught on a cctv camera. The ukrainian Prime Minister didnt blame iran but called for an international investigation. Undoubtedly, the priority for ukraine is tusidentify the of the crash. We will find out the truth. Judy nick joins me along with our aviation correspondent. Hes in florida. To both of you. Next, you have talked to experts. What did i say . Nick there were questions about the system iran was using and user ever. The u. S. Intelligence assessment is that this was an old russian short range missildefense system. The hardware on the system is abconsidered relatively re, but the Computer Software is not as sophisticated as that ftware. It is about knowing which plane is in the sky. The experts i spoke to, and they are experts, outside the government, they said maybe the software couldnt determine which kind of plane it was and that is where you get user ever. The time user error. The time the operator had to do this was second hours after the major iranian attack on u. S. Bases in iraq, fearing there could be u. S. Jets, military jets in the sky, this is the fundamental nature of conflict. Thisti calcu miscalculations can happen and it happened to the u. S. 1988, the u. S. Warship was skirmishing with iranian boats in the persian g actually accidentally entered iranian waters when it bought it ryscovered an iranian mili jet coming towards the ship. Civilian jelly a it didnt know what it was so it fired 298 people died in that mistake the u. S. Made. Judy from a civilian aviation perspective, what are the questions that are being asked about this . An important question is, iran w on high alert in the wake of the missile attack in iraq. A prudent thing to do would have been to make it a nofly zone for civiln or liners at least in the immediate aftermath of that. You have a system that is old already. We do not know how well maintained it was, how the software was working or what it was doing. We dont know how well trained the crew was but we know they were on hairtrigger alert. Theivilian or craft has a transponder and it would have kicked out crucial information on what it was and what it was not, but the civilian and military system, wherever you go in the world, is notatel inte. That can cause trouble on a good day. This was not a good day. Judy nic, what is iran saying and doing . Nick iran denied thngaccusation cout of u. S. Intelligence. The head of the Civil AviationOrganization Called them illogical rumors. That is what he said. Ai theyother civilian airliners were in the air at the same time and the plane didnt go down immediately but it was hit or some kif chanical failure, that is what iran is saying, and tried to rn back to the airport. Iran said it was willing t work with ukrainian authorities but this is crucial, iran said it is not willing to han over the black boxes to u. S. Officials. Judy help us understand why those black boxes matter in understanding how this could of happened. The objecve data in the black boxes would be able to settle that dispute. The iranians say it was impossible for them to shoot it down. That is patently not true. The aircraft was 4000 feet above the ground, well within range of surfacil to air mi. That is wrong on the black boxes will settle it because there may be cockpit voice recordings that could be ccial and it is important those boxes end u oin some kinective hands so the world can make an assessment. Judy the question of nofly zones, for both of you, people are asking in retrospect, why were passenger planes, civilian aircraft flying in a place where basicallthere was war . Ck good question. We know u. S. Officials were saying avoid that airspace. They were saying that in the days leading up to this accident , as we believe this was an t we dont know why iran hadnt decided, why not create a nofly zone . As miles was saying, it would have beea prudent effort and obviously would have saesd lot of l judy do i hear you saying if iran had done that, civilian rcraft would not have been flying . Wrecks correct. Correct. Look at the u. S. After 9 11. There was a nofly zone. It is the prudentnd to do in a situation where everybody is on hairtrigger alert. Thatasidnt happen in this and the fog of war took over. Judy such a tragedy. brien, Nick Schifrin thank you both. Judy it has been just a week since President Trump orderea drone strike that killed a rainy in general iranianse general soleimani. Congress is reexamining the president s authority in ordering attacks. Lisa is here to address this, and what we know about upcoming impeachment in the senate. Lisa, welcome. The houses voting on whether to sidents ability to take military action against iraq. Whctly does this measure do and how much teeth does it have . Lisa a this is norge resolution, only just over four pages long, but it is powerful. The house asserted its war powers, voting to limit, i is worrying the engagement of hostilities in or against iran, this resolution would say the president cant engage with iran unless two things happen. There is a declaration of war by congress or there i an imminent threat. Both of those are in this. Onquestion, it is a concurrent resolution. That is a special resolution the president doesnt sign it onl has teeth of the senate also passes a concurrent resolution that is not the current plan in the senate. Those who tnk the president needs limits on the engagement with iran, like tim kaine of virginia, they are going a different route. They will n proposemal resolution that the president would have to sign it would limit his powers. That is because it would get a fast track in the senate. That kind of resolution has an easier vote. That kind of vote as soon as next week in the senate. Both chambers are moving right now in dcussing, debating the president s war powers. Judy this raises questions about the role of congress in u. S. Military to deployment overseas. What did President Trump say about his justification for doing this on his own without congress . Lisa Nick Schifrin reported on the night of the strike, what we were hearing from the department of defense. The administration has since told congress it has two justifications. Number one, the article to power of the president from the constitution as commanr in chief, his power to protect u. S. Forces from imminent threat. The other rationale is that 2002 authorization of military force, which was about iraq and Saddam Hussein and fighting terr, talking about Saddam Hussein having protected al qaed leading up to 9 11. It was primarily about Saddam Husseint. The argum, this happened on iraq must territory iraqs territory although it was a strike against aitiranian authlabeled a terrorist. Judy what is the thinking in ngress . Lisa there is concern that congress has let many president s go too far and not expressts own oversight of war powers. Right now there is a divided over whether this justification legal. Lets hear from a leading republican and democrat on the issue, especially the 2002 a umf. There is a clear Legal Authority going back were the president has the ability to take action against terrorists in iraq. Presidenobama used that authority, which we supported. President trump used that authority to take out soleimani. That auation never intended, even as bad as it was then, given weapons of mass destruction, never authorized the use of force against any country, any hostile country or any country that had personnel or officials or a presence in iran or any other country. Is a debate over th authorization of military force. That applies, but i want to point out imptant reporting out the idea of immanence and article two powers. E des differ on this. Republicans think there was an imminent threat. I talked to republicans and democrats who we t briefed. Thd me that evidence is publicly available evidencso the idea thaimani and those who backed him and those he directed had been increasingly hostile to america, that there was a trend leading to certainty by some, a debate by others, thate was going to act again. It wasnt necessarily a special kind ofio attack or notific it is what he had been doing in public that the president is arguing led to an imminent threat judy that is a larger question, but the bigger question, u. S. Engagement overseas going back many years. Give us the historic context. Li everyone agrees that congre has been seeding more and more power to the president s because how the system is designed. Th constitution says congress can declare war. However, the president is the commanderinchief and has mood usedor broad powers. Congress is divided, and when they have been, les talk about conflict not congressionally approved, the korean war and vietnam war. This is where we have seen president s flex this military power. World war i and world war ii, the gu war led by president george h. W. Bush, the response to 9 11, have been approved. Back to 9 11 and terror proval, that is what has been stretched since then to apply to all of these conflicts. Yemen, syr, niger, all around ldthe w both parties have a real question about whether that authorization needs to endnd perhaps a new one begin or congress flex more power. Judy finally, aside from all of this, there is the question of an impeachme trial in the senate. Remind us where that stance. Lisa it mcconnell dsnt have any special information, but did tell republicans today, senate republicans, that they should fe rea a trial to begin as soon as next week. We are waiting to see how House Speaker pelosi transmits the e ofcles as well as the n her managers. She said today she will probably do that soon that we dont have anything on that timing. I think it wont be this weekend, but next week, everybody shoulde ready. Judy looking like next week. Lisa it is up to Speaker Pelosi but that is when mcconnell tells senate republicans. Judy thank you, lisa de chardin. Desjardins. Stephanie good eveng, im ephanie sy. We will be back with Judy Woodruff after this. Inrst, an update to our top story, the iranianted investigators from the u. S. And canada to join the probe of the jet crash. Canadas Transportation Safety board accepted, and is planning on sending an investigator to thcrash site in iran. As we reported, 63 canadians were on board the plane. The u. S. National Transportation Safety board issued a statemen tonight, saying it has designated a representative to the investigatn, and is evaluating its level of participation. Sastaying in iran, mixed ms tiover cing followed from continuinge fallout from u. S. Killing of general qasem soleimani. President Hassan Rouhani warned of a very dangerous response ifs the u. S. Strgain, but a top revolutionary guard commander took a harder line, saying the missile attacks on heses in iraq hosting u. S. Troops were onlyeginning. This slap by iran was a sign for another operation. The next actions must be taken by resistance cells in the region, and those actions will be taken. Stephanie meanwhile, President Trump said there is no need for. Furthe action, but he suggested he could order new strikes if circumstances change and he said, quote, i wouldnt even mind doing it. Boeing sent Congress Hundreds of pages internal messages tonight that reveal damaging conversations between employees mocking the fedel aviation ministration. Boeing said they regret the content of the communications and will take disciplina action against those involved. In britain, the house of commons gave final approval to leang the eu on january 31. That followed the sweeping victory by prime minisr Boris Johnson and his ruling conservatives in last months elections. The bill becomes law once the house of lords gives its pro forma consent. Officials in southeastern australia ordered new evacuations before a new round of high winds and extreme heat. T tempes could top 110 degrees tomorrow. In new south wales, firefighters have been using controlled burns this week, in hopes of denyingfu for the approaching flames. The fires have killed 27 people so far. The Trump Administration proposed a Major Overhaul ofta environmassessments for a wide range of projects. It would eliminate or limit reviews for oil pipelines, some roads, and other construction. President trump and transportation secretary elaineh said too often, crucial work is hampered by red tape. We all care about the environment. What we are talking about are cumbersome, unnecessary, overly burd outdated regulations. Many of these regulations have not been updated, modernized, in decades. Stephanie we will look at the details of the proposal later in the program. White house officials said today construction on a southern border wall will now resume. A federal Appeals Court wednesday allowed t use of 3. 6 billion in military Construction Funds to p f wall sections. Separately, migrant detentions at the borderai fell in december to 40,600. That is down from 144,000 last may. California could become the first state in the country to make its own brand of prescription drugs under a proposal governor gavin newsom is expected to unveil tomorrow. In an effort to drive down rising healthcare costs, the Governors Office said the state would contract with generic drugmakers, increasing competition d lowering prices for everyone. Facebook reaffirmed today that it will notct ban or check political ads. The social media giant said it will add socalled transparency features to give users slightly more control about how Many Political ads they see. In contrast, google impose limits on political ads and twitter has banned them out right. Still to come with Judy Woodruff, why this weekend arens in taiwan arm about more than just the future of the island. The environmental implications of a major white house policy shift. Making sense of the success of la vegass powerful culinary workers union, and more. This is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at university. Judy er vin taiwan and elect their next president saturday. Her decades, their status has been a contentious issue between the u. S. And mainland china. The communist government in beijinconsiders taiwan a breakaway province natds to come under its control. The u. S. Considers the island a real democracy, and pledged to defend it against the mainland attack. The election could determine the fate of taiwan and have major impacts on u. S. China relations. Special correspondent debbie ago