PBS News Hour - Full Show - January 14, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

Wednesday on the News Hour, as the unrest continues in Iran, President Trump seems to tamp down his threats of military action. Disagreements remain after a meeting between the White House and officials from Denmark and Greenland, a territory Trump wants to control. Plus, more immigration raids and the ongoing fallout from the killing of a U.S. citizen by an ICE agent keep the Twin Cities on edge. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz. And I'm Jeff Bennett on the news hour tonight. As the unrest continues in Iran, President Trump appears to tamp down his own threats of military action. Fundamental disagreements remain after a meeting between the White House and officials from Denmark and Greenland, a territory the president has said the U.S. should control. And more immigration raids and the ongoing fallout from the killing of a U.S. citizen by an ICE agent keeps the Twin Cities on edge. This morning when I left in my house, I was like, am I going to see ice? I don't know.

Are they going to rest to me? I don't know. And that's what, you know, the entire Somali community and community of color feeling now. Welcome to the news hour. For days, fears and tensions have racked the Middle East. And we're witnessing unprecedented protests in Iran, a deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities and threats to intervene by President Trump. But tonight, President Trump said Iran's crackdown had

eased and suggested his focus was no longer a military strike. Nick Schifrin is here following all of this for us. So Nick, what did the president say this afternoon? The president said that the killing in Iran is, quote, stopping and that Iran would not follow through on the first execution of a protester, which we expected today. And this is crucial, Jeff, because the president, for days, has been warning Iran, threatening Iran, that if Iran killed protesters, which Iranian forces have done by the thousands, and that if Iran went through with that execution that we expected, quote, we will take very strong

action. So by saying this today, the president at least appears to be no longer focused on a military strike. Does this mean military action is now off the table against Iran? We're going to watch and see what the process is, but we're given a very good statement by people that are aware of what's going on. Are they still considering military actions? Is that still a threat? talking about a lot of executions were taking place today. We were just all no executions. I hope that's true.

The president even went so far as to say that protesters in Iran have been shooting back. That is a point that the Iranian government has been making, that hundreds of security forces have been killed during these protests. So what's actually happening on the ground, Jeff? Last night we spoke to an Iranian inside Iran who said that there have been fewer protests over the last few days, but only because the crackdown has been so real. Ruthless, activists say at least 2,500 people, perhaps many times that, have been killed and simultaneously Iran launched an unprecedented internet crackdown.

So take a listen now to human rights activist, Royo Boromond, who leads the Abduraman Boromond Foundation. They have been very brave, but there is a point where they ask themselves, okay, you know, we are going out and each time one third of us is not coming back. They have used either machine guns or similar arms to kill in numbers. So that means that people who have come out have seen a lot of deaths. I don't think this is over, but I think that it will come down for a while. As Boraman put it tonight, Jeff, people are focused on counting and burying the dead.

And Nick, what have you learned about the military preparations for this moment and how the U.S. the U.S. perceives the threat. Yeah, so let's talk about short term. The short term for the U.S. has been the protests, of course. And a U.S. official tells me that the military response that they've been considering really goes from a range of light to heavy. Light could be an attack on the security forces that are specifically targeting, specifically killing these protesters.

The idea would be to send the message to these protesters. We know who's killing you, and we've got your back. The medium option would be to expand that, and that would to go after all security forces in Iran, clearly trying to destabilize the regime and the security forces themselves. And the heavy, that would be to target Iran's nuclear and missile program. That would go well beyond the protests, of course. A U.S. official also tells me tonight that the U.S. believes that Iran's response to a U.S. military strike would be heavier than what we've seen in the past.

attack last June on the U.S.'s largest base in the Middle East. You see that there last June, Al-Udid and Qatar, all of those missiles were shot down. Jeff, and that's why you saw the U.S. acknowledged today that they partially evacuated Al-U.D. because of that threat. But again, long-term, there are other considerations that the U.S. is really focused on. Same goals as before. An Iran without a nuclear program. An Iran without ballistic missiles. An Iran without funding terrorism across the region. And on those missiles, recently, the DIA said that by 2035, Iran could have 60 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Today it has zero, and so in the long term, that is what the U.S. is focused on.

And clearly, if the president has taken military action off the table, at least for now, right now, that is still what the U.S. is going to focus on, making a deal over nuclear weapons and missiles. Meantime, Nick, U.S. officials announced they're moving to phase two of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. What does that look like in real terms? Yeah, very quickly, senior U.S. officials just got off the phone with reporters announcing tonight that they had technical governance set up for Gaza and that the president was going to be sending out invitations to join the Board of Peace. That's what will oversee Gaza's reconstruction. The vague idea, taking a look at the map for how this would work. You have this yellow line in Gaza, which you see right there. Phase two, the idea is to rebuild eastern Gaza. On the right there, you see in the red, allowing Palestinians to cross over from the west to the east. And the idea is that as they cross, they would be handing their weapons over through some kind of gun buyback. But that is very far from where we are now. The reconstruction of Gaza, you look at that.

Rafah, that looks like a moonscape right now. The other challenge, of course, Hamas has not agreed to demilitarize U.S. hoping that today's announcement at least will show they've got momentum toward governance, even if they don't have a final deal to demilitarize Hamas. Nick Schifrin, our thanks to you as always. President Trump said today that he hoped for a resolution on his threat to annex Greenland. That followed Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio meeting with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland at the White House this morning. But Trump again registered his concern about a perceived threat to Greenland from Russia and China.

Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark. And the problem is there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia. or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there's everything we can do. Danish foreign minister Lars Lukir Asmussen said after the meeting that a working group would be established to discuss a broad range of issues. He also said it was clear that he and his colleague did not manage to change the American position and that it remains clear that Trump wishes to conquer Greenland. But the people in Greenland and NATO member Denmark reject that, and the threat has deeply

rattled the rest of the alliance. For more on all of this, we turn now to retired Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer from 2021 until January of 2025. He was the chair of the Military Committee of NATO. Admiral Bauer, welcome to the News Hour. Thanks for joining us. Amna, good evening. So let's just start with your reaction to those meetings today between Danish and Greenlandic officials and the Trump administration, and the Danish foreign minister saying there are fundamental disagreements that remain between the parties.

Well, those remarks are for him, of course, but this is not a new thing. The United States tried a president in, I think, 1867 or something, tried to buy Greenland already. And so this is a longstanding wish from the U.S. to have more influence in Greenland. And that is because of the strategic positioning of geography of Greenland. If you look at the map from the polar circle, then basically you see that Greenland is in between Russia and the United States. And what we see as a result of the global warming is that the waters north of or the polar in the polar region are warming up. And therefore the ice is melting. And those waters will become navigable.

And that is good news for the merchant vessels that China wants to use to bring its goods that it produces to Europe and the United States, but if merchant vessels can navigate through those waters, then also naval vessels can navigate through those waters. And that would allow the Chinese and Russian Pacific fleet to actually come to the North Atlantic much faster than via any other route. And that is, of course, a strategic risk. May I ask you, though, about the perceived threat right now? Because Let me just play for you how President Trump talks about the threat from Russia and China at this moment. Here's what he said this week. We need that because if you take a look outside of Greenland right now, there are Russian destroyers,

there are Chinese destroyers and bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place. We're not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland, and that's what they're going to do if we don't. Also, Admiral, today, the Danish foreign minister said this on that same topic. Take a listen. It is not a true narrative that we have, you know, Chinese warships all around the place. According to our intelligence, we haven't had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so. So, Admiral, who is right on this? When you look at the landscape right now, are there Russian and Chinese warships all around Greenland, as President Trump says?

I hope you understand that since I left NATO, I'm no privy to any longer to intelligence as I was in that job. So I can't compete with the people in office, both in Denmark and the United States. But what I do know is that the Russians are allowing the Chinese to enter their waters. And they are doing this for a couple of years already. They have combined air patrols with long-range reconnaissance aircraft from both air forces, Russian and Chinese. They operate together with their coast guards. And this is not just to study polar bears, as General Grinkovich, as Supreme Allied Commander Europe said, this is to prepare militarily as well.

So this is preparing the grounds. This is getting to know the grounds. This is gaining intelligence, gaining experience. gaining experience in difficult waters, difficult weather. And so for the Chinese, this is a great opportunity where the Russians, for a very long time, didn't allow anyone in those waters. And now, as they are becoming more and more

the little nephew in that relationship, because of their dependence on China, because of the Ukraine war, where China basically not only gives political support, but also all the role materials and the parts for the weapons and sensors and ammunition that Russia is building for that war. So the Russians are so dependent on China

that they have to allow China into the Arctic. And I think that is what President Trump is so worried about that it is not only Russia that is patrolling those waters and is getting access to those waters, but it is increasingly also China. So as I'm here, you're saying there's a growing threat and there could be a threat, a growing threat against Greenland, Would Article 5 protections extended from Denmark, which is a NATO ally, would those not be enough to protect Greenland?

Or do you support President Trump's argument that it needs to be under U.S. control to be adequately protected? I don't think it's necessary that it is under U.S. control. This is a territory of the Danish kingdom. Greenland is part of that. So it is part of the Danish kingdom. And therefore, it is up to Denmark and together with Greenland to work on that. But in terms of the strategic importance of Greenland and the waters around it, I understand what President Trump is saying. I cannot comment on the intelligence, what he is referring to. But I agree with him that increasingly the Arctic is an area where there is no longer high-north,

low tensions. This is an area where we will see rising tensions in the next couple of decades because of the strategic importance, the melting ice, and also, of course, all the raw materials that are available there, oil, gas, but also a lot of other stuff that can

be found there. It's a rich area in many, many areas. So I think that is the reason why everybody is concerned, and that is the reason why now NATO is, if you listen to, the second Secretary General of NATO, Margreuter, he's talking about a new activity, Arctic Century,

where more and more NATO members can join for activities in and around Greenland to make sure that we have ice on what is happening there with the Russians and the Chinese. Admiral, I have less than 30 seconds left, but I have to ask you, it's a strange situation here with the U.S. threatening to annex Greenland. Would that trigger U.S. action in Greenland? Would that trigger a NATO response? Are you worried about the strength of the alliance here? I think the United States needs as stable and secure Arctic

as they need a stable and secure Atlantic Ocean and as they need a stable and secure Europe. And I think NATO is too important for the U.S. to have it fall apart as a result of an attack from one ally on another. So I think it is that bad the results of such an attack that it will not be in the interest of the U.S. to do that. I think NATO is too important to let this happen. That is retired Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer joining us tonight.

Admiral, thank you so much. Good to speak with you. Good night. In the day's other headlines, the Trump administration is suspending the processing of visa applications for citizens from 75 countries. That includes green cards, fiancé visas, and certain kinds of work visas. Among the countries listed by the State Department today are Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Iran, and Iran. Russia. In a statement, the State Department said the pause is meant to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits. The new policy starts January 21st.

It will not apply to those seeking non-immigrant visas or temporary tourist or business visas. Michigan Senator Alyssa Slotkin says she is under federal investigation for her involvement in a video telling U.S. troops to resist illegal orders. The Iraq war veteran and former CIA analyst organized the November video in which she and five other Democratic lawmakers told military personnel not to follow orders if they are unlawful. President Trump and his aides have called that video seditious. In a video posted to social media today, Slotkin said the president is using the federal government to go after his critics.

To be clear, this is the president's playbook. Truth doesn't matter. Facts don't matter. And anyone who disagrees with him becomes an enemy. and he then weaponizes the federal government against them. It's legal intimidation and physical intimidation meant to get you to shut up. Three other lawmakers who appeared in that November video also confirmed today that they've been contacted by Trump officials.

It comes just days after Arizona Senator Mark Kelly said he's suing the Pentagon over its efforts to punish him over his involvement. The U.S. Supreme Court today revived a Republican congressman's challenge to Illinois law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted after election day. The case was not about the ballots themselves, but whether candidates, like Congressman Mike Bost, have the right to such challenges. The state had argued that allowing the suit would open the door to more election-related cases. The court also cited with police today in a case that would allow officers to enter a home without a warrant in emergencies. It stems from an incident in Montana involving an army veteran

who police feared was suicidal. In Thailand, at least 32 people were killed today when a construction crane collapsed onto a moving passenger train, causing it to derail. The crash site was a mess of mangled steel with crushed railway cars scattered along the tracks. The enormous red crane was being used to construct an elevated section of a new high-speed rail project.

On the ground, rescue teams scoured the wreckage for survivors intended to some of the 60 people who were injured. Eyewitnesses recalled how it all unfolded. I heard the noises screeching and then bam, bam, bam. When the dust settled, I saw the top of the train carriage. I heard people shouting, save the children first. I saw them pulling many people out. Thailand's Prime Minister visited the scene after the crash and called for an investigation.

Verizon says its engineers are working today to identify and solve a nationwide outage to its wireless data and voice services. According to the tracking website, Down Detector, more than 180,000 users reported outages at one point a day from Seattle to Atlanta to Boston. Many users reported showing zero bars on their phone or SOS, which indicates no connection except to make emergency calls. But New York emergency officials said the end up. outage even affected some users trying to call 911. The U.S. housing market slumped for a fourth straight year in 2025. The National Association of Realtors said today that the number of existing homes sold last year totaled just over 4 million virtually unchanged from 2024 and still at 30-year lows.

It comes as prices remain high. The median home price for all of last year rose to around $414,000. There are signs of hope, though. last month were the strongest in nearly three years when taking into account seasonal factors. Luxury retailer Sachs Global filed for bankruptcy protection today. The apparent company of retailers like Sachs Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman has been struggling amid increased competition and a heavy debt load following its acquisition of Neiman Marcus in 2024. Sacks says its stores will stay open as it restructures under bankruptcy protection. Meantime on Wall Street today, stocks were down as

bank and tech shares took a hit. The Dow Jones Industrial average slipped around 40 points. The NASDAQ dropped more than 200 points. The S&P 500 also ended lower on the day. Still to come on the news hour, an FBI raid of a reporter's home raises concerns about the intimidation of the free press. Pressure and partisan divides billed in Congress over several major pieces of legislation. And how a small tweak to U.S. laws could have a huge impact on hemp products. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington, headquarters of PBS News. It's been just over a week since an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, setting off large protests in the Twin Cities and nationwide.

Since then, the presence of immigration enforcement officials has only grown, leaving Minnesota communities on edge. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro begins our coverage with this report. The images are now familiar across the Twin Cities. Federal agents making a stop. Observers rushing to the scene with whistles and car horns. Scuffles breaking out with agents deploying pepper spray or tear gas. And an endless standoff between protesters and officers

at the federal building which serves as a base for the immigration crackdown here. It's unconscionable to not stand up and say this is wrong. This is wrong. This is part of democracy. In recent days, hundreds of additional agents have been sent to Minnesota, on top of the roughly 2,000 already on the ground. That's more than the size of the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments combined. In a statement to the news hour, the Department of Homeland Security says it's made over 2,000 arrests throughout its largest operation in history, adding, quote, this is just the

tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, in a truth social post today, President Trump said he's cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary states. That's after saying on Tuesday, quote, fear not great people of Minnesota, the day of reckoning and retribution is coming. Fures have risen steadily in Minneapolis and St. Paul since Renee Good's killing. Business at many local immigrant-owned shops has plummeted in recent weeks, down in some areas at least 80 percent, according to. to one report. DHS told the NewsHour, removing dangerous criminals from our streets

makes it safer for everyone, including business owners and their customers. At the Park Avenue Church just steps from where Good was shot, the tension is palpable. We gather today with heavy hearts. Jennifer Ikoma Muchko is a pastor at the more than 100-year-old church.

Her grandmother was one of more than a hundred-and-twenty, thousand Japanese Americans interned during World War II. My legacy is to call people of all different backgrounds to fight now for who are the marginalized, who is being targeted right now. Just as I asked Ikoma Muchko about what comes next, we were interrupted by the sounds of car horns and whistles outside. Agents were raiding a house across the street from the church and a crowd. crowd had gathered. When officers emerged with two handcuffed young men, tempers flared.

Agents fought with observers. They deployed pepper spray, tear gas, and flashbanks as Ikoma Muchko watched nearby. At one point a woman tried to drive past the scene. Authorities smashed her window, dragged her from the car and detained her. She shouted that she was on her way to a doctor's appointment. The episode lasted more than 45 minutes, and when it was over, local resident Will Verme was gone. His wife, Heather Mainz, believed he was one of the first people arrested. I'm worried about Will, but I also know he'll be fine.

He's a citizen for the folks who don't have those privileges. I can't even imagine what they fell in this situation. Verme was released after about eight hours at the federal building without being charged, bruised, but otherwise all right. They were asking people to move back. I guess I wasn't quick enough for them. It didn't appear to be a well-run operation inside the building. We were walking through and the agents that were escorting me

didn't actually have the ability to get into the detention area. They had to wait for someone to let them in. DHS said agents ultimately detained four, quote, illegal aliens who now face removal proceedings. It said the crowd impeded operations in that the woman in her car ignored multiple commands by an officer to move her vehicle and was arrested for obstruction. In all six, quote, agitators were taken into custody for assaulting law enforcement. PBS News' Liz Landers asked White House water czar, Tom Homan, about the incident.

There are Americans who see this and say this looks like Putin's Russia. What is your response to that? You know, if they let us in their damn jail and stop being in Sanctuary City, we could arrest the bad guy in the safety and security of the jail. But because they normally release them, now we got to go in the community and find them. Then they're mad we're in the community. Were you surprised at what unfolded right outside your church? It was a battle scene. I had this moment where I didn't bring my cell phone and I just lifted up what I had and I lifted up my hand. And I looked over and I saw a neighbor I didn't know lifting up the middle finger. There

is protesting, there's observing and there is prayer and all is going to be needed. But now as the As the crackdown widens many Twin Cities residents, including U.S. citizens, fear they could be targeted. I was going this way. Like Nimco Omar, who was surrounded by at least three federal agents on a sidewalk Sunday. I was like, what is happening? What did I do? Because at the first, I wasn't thinking ice.

I was able to take out my phone because in kids, you know, they kidnapped me. So, you know, later on there was, you know, something at least. So that's why I recorded. All right, can we see an ID please? I am U.S. citizen. I don't need to carry around an ID in my home. This is my home. Where were you born?

This is my home. Where were you born? Minneapolis is my home. The agents ultimately left after one of them took a picture of Omar, seemingly checking it against a government database. This is my home. This is where I belong. In quiet Minneapolis neighborhood, I should not be seen, you know, a soldier walking and asking me to

walking and asking me to give him an identification. DHS told the news hour, quote, those who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear. But after agents left Omar on Sunday, she said she was shaking and began to cry. The shock has stuck with her. This morning when I left in my house, I was like, am I going to see ice? I don't know. Are they going to rest to me?

I don't know. And that's what the entire Somali community and community of color feeling now. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Fred DeSam-Lazero in Minneapolis. And Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Undertold Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. For more on ISIS operations in Minnesota, I'm joined now by the state's Attorney General. That is Keith Allison. Attorney General Ellison, welcome back to the News Hour. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. So I want to begin with a little legal news today because I know your office had asked a federal judge to temporarily block a surge.

of ICE agents to the Minneapolis area. The judge declined to rule today, giving DOJ until Monday to respond. So does that mean that another surge of agents is on their way? And what are you anticipating in the way of the size and scope of that new surge? Well, it certainly does mean that they have a little bit more time to search, which concerns me because the searching they've done so far has been destructive, not helpful. to anybody. It has risked public safety. It has depleted public resources. It has increased fear. It has eroded Americans' confidence in their government and has been wholly a failure in every conceivable way.

So I am a little disappointed, but I believe that this is a wonderful judge who's a deeply thoughtful person who really just wants to make sure the best decision she can make, and that takes time. No doubt, however, that time is of the essence, right? And we need relief from this surge, this dramatic escalation founded on lies and untruths, which is doing so much damage. I also want to put to you another piece of news today. We heard from the Border Patrol, Bovino, who said on Fox, the Department of Justice is also sending additional prosecutors to Minnesota to

process those immigration cases. What's your reaction to that? Well, I mean, quite honestly, I mean, I'm not shocked because, you know, the president Trump is making sure that he is targeting our state, which is odd because we are not a state that has the most immigration in America. Many other states have dramatically higher rates of immigration than we do. We do have some, and we're very proud of our neighbors who've chosen to make America their home. But I guess I'm not surprised that we're getting unwarranted, unasked for attention from President Trump. He's made it very clear that because he believes that he won Minnesota three times, but in fact lost it. He's upset about that. It's repeated that numerous times.

So we expect the persecution will continue while he operates the way he's operating. You heard there the borders are... Sorry, go ahead. Or until a court tells him he can no longer do it. Well, you probably heard in our report there, the borders are Tom Holman telling my colleague, Liz Landers, that this is about what they call their... your sanctuary policies in Minnesota and Minneapolis. Specifically, there is this idea of not honoring an ICE detainer, meaning if there's an undocumented person in city or state custody in Minnesota, they're not handed over to ICE. And I do want to point out that you did issue in a formal opinion last year.

You wrote that Minnesota law prohibits law enforcement from holding someone on an immigration detainer if the person would otherwise be released from custody. So what does that otherwise released from custody mean? Do you ever hand people over to ICE or not? Well, what it means is that we comply with the law and the Constitution of the United States of America and the state of Minnesota. And I would submit to you that Minnesota is not a sanctuary city. claimed to be a sanctuary city. We've never claimed to be a sanctuary state. What we do is we

devote all of our state resources to state matters and that the federal government has its responsibility. We don't interfere with them, but we don't devote state resources to federal projects like immigration enforcement. So this idea of some sort of a, of a, of a, some sort of a sanctuary state is a misnomer. We've never claimed that. And I think it's wholly, I think the voters and the pet taxpayers of our state expect that the resources of our state will be devoted for the purposes of our state and that the federal government, they're paid to do their job. And, you know, we don't interfere with them doing it. We also don't do their job for them. Before we go, I want to briefly ask you, too, about the ongoing investigation into the shooting and

killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent. I know Minnesota officials were shut out of the federal investigation. Your office has since launched essentially a parallel probe. You've probably seen the news of DHS saying that the ICE officer was injured and suffered internal bleeding. My question to you is, are you going to have any access to any of these medical records, the agent, any other evidence, body camera footage? And if not, how can your office carry out a thorough investigation on this issue? Well, you know, I'll just point out that all we've been asking for is a fair, free, open investigation, how they would make such a claim without producing a medical record to prove

it, I find curious. And, you know, why in the world they would not just do the investigation. We've heard that the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Department, has been excluded from doing the investigation. These people know the most about these cases in the federal government, yet they're not doing the case. And at the same time, they're stopping the state from doing the work that we're supposed to do. I do not necessarily take the word of those people. I'll take the word of a trained medical professional who's made a diagnosis and a medical record made for the purpose

of, you know, diagnosis and medical treatment. But I'm not going to just take the word of some name was faceless bureaucrat who's, you know, just, I don't know. But, I mean, let me just say this. I find it interesting that the federal government, the federal authorities shut the state of Minnesota out from the investigation, will not let the most expert people in their own institution investigate the case, but like to send out little pieces of information that they believe benefit them, like the video. that is purported to be from Jonathan Ross and now this non-medical personnel giving testimony

or giving public statements about medical conditions. So I'll stop right there. That is Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison joining us tonight. Thank you. It's good to speak with you. Thank you, ma'am. In a highly unusual move, the FBI searched the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation involving a government contractor

accused of mishandling classified information. Agents executed a search warrant at the home of Hannah Natinson, who has been reporting on President Trump's overhaul and downsizing of the federal government. They seized her phones, laptops, and a smart watch, though agents reportedly told Natinson she is not the target of the investigation. The inquiry centers on a system administrator in Maryland who has been charged with unlawful retention of national defense information. Press freedom advocates are sharply criticizing the search, warning it represents a dangerous escalation that threatens investigative journalism and raises serious First Amendment concerns. We're joined now by Gabe Rotman, Vice President of Policy at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me. So the criminal complaint against this contractor does not mention any ties to the Washington Post reporter, yet the Attorney General, Pam Bondi on X, said that the search was requested, by the Pentagon at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. So what questions does that raise? And what concerns does the FBI search of her home trigger more broadly?

Well, so I think there's two points to make there. One, it is notable that the Attorney General's pointing out that the Department of Justice has a suspect in custody and in fact has charged that suspect. And so it raises the question, as to why the Justice Department and the FBI would take the extraordinary step of executing a search warrant at the home of a reporter

and seizing her electronic devices. The other point that I would make here is that this is actually something that we haven't seen before. Again, we're talking about the FBI raiding the home of a journalist in a national security leak case. At the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press where I work, we track these cases

closely. We are not aware of another case where the Justice Department has executed a search warrant in a national security elite case against a journalist or against a news outlet. It's unprecedented. And we hadn't seen this before because Attorney General Pam Bondi reversed protections that had previously discouraged such seizures. Is that right? So the closest analog to this case that we're aware of is a then Fox News, correspondent named James Rosen, who had his search warrant executed for his email back in 2010 during the first Obama administration. That was hugely controversial at the time.

It led the department to reform its existing policies on how it handles these types of investigative steps. But I think what's really important to note is that even in that case, we were talking about two days' worth of email. Here, the Justice Department has seized her work computer, home computer, her phone, and a smart watch, and the volume of that information is orders of magnitude more than what they got in the Rosen case. The other thing to note about the Rosen case is one of the reasons it was controversial is because there is a federal law passed in 1980 that is supposed to restrict the ability of law enforcement

at the federal state and local level to do newsroom raids. That law can only be pierced if the department argues that the journalist has committed a crime. In the Rosen case, that case was so controversial because the department said it had no intent to prosecute Rosen, but at the same time it represented to a judge that Rosen had, that Rosen had violated the espionage act. There's concern that the same thing has occurred here, in part because of the way that Attorney General Bondi has revised those internal policies. In your view, is the administration trying to send a message here with this search? I can't speculate as to the motives of the administration, but we know from long experience that when the government seeks to investigate and intrude into the news gathering process, especially when it comes to interact.

between journalists and confidential sources, that confidential sources are going to be less likely to come forward with information that the public needs to hold the government accountable. Noah Rotman, thanks again for your insights and for coming in. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. GOP leaders in the Senate today squashed a Venezuela war powers resolution after five Republicans voted to advance the measure last week.

That, combined with articles of impeachment, introduced against DHS Secretary Christy Noem and threats to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress, made it a busy day on the Hill. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardin has been covering all of this and more from the Capitol where she joins me from now. Lisa, it's good to see you. So let's start with Venezuela, that big Senate vote today about blocking President Trump from using the military in or around the country without congressional approval. What do we need to know? Right. That effort is now over. President Trump is unrebuked now because of Senate action today. What happened was Republican leaders found a workaround, essentially a procedural

way that they could sidestep this vote altogether, a point of order. And they took a point of order by convincing other senators, other Republicans, that this vote was not in order in the means they were taking it, because, in their words, there is not a conflict that the U.S. has. The U.S. is not actively engaged in Venezuela right now. Effectively what that did, Omna, was it gave those Republicans on the fence, some of them a way out. So what happened was we had two Republicans flipped their vote from last week to this. Let's take a look at who those are. Those are Republicans, Josh Holly of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana. They supported this resolution overall, but today they voted to set it aside. There were still three Republicans who

voted yes, though. Those were Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. So, Omna, what this means, as I say, is that the war powers remain completely intact for President Trump. He can use whatever military might he wants or not, but he knows that Congress is watching him. The other issue here is there really was no thorough debate, which is what those senators said they were fighting for. All right, Lisa, take us to the House now, a major issue there. The expired Affordable Care Act subsidies, I know millions of people are watching this and tracking it. You spoke to senators involved in those talks. What did they tell you? This will actually brief. Those talks right now are at a standstill. Those bipartisan senators

talking to them, they've agreed on some broad outlines of an extension, two years, with some more limitations, but mostly moderate limitations. But they've hit some hard walls, including debates over abortion policies. We'll be watching it closely. But right now, the truth is, the path for extending these subsidies is getting narrower and narrower, and it may disappear in coming weeks. We mentioned in the intro to this conversation, talk of impeachment, but not for President Trump. Tell us about that. Right. We're talking about Homeland Security Secretary Christine Nome. Today, Democrats led by Illinois Representative Robin Kelly filed articles of impeachment against her on several grounds, including that she has violated the public trust in the way she has put ICE officers

around the country, in their words, violently acting against U.S. citizens. There are other articles of impeachment here as well. But the Homeland Security Department responded quickly saying this is not legitimate, in their words. This is what a spokesman said precisely, said how silly during a serious time as ICE officers are facing a 13th, that 100 percent increase in assaults against them. Representative Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks. Representative Kelly, for her part, responded to that. Secretary Nome, you have violated your ultimate. of office and there will be consequences. I am watching you. Members of Congress are watching you. The American people, most importantly, are watching you. And most of all, we are not liking

what we're seeing. If you believe impeachment is silly, then you are not taking your job or our Constitution seriously. This is privileged so Representative Kelly can bring up that on the House floor any time going forward. And lastly, Lisa, we know House Republicans are preparing to take action against former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary, Hillary Clinton. What should we know about that? Quickly, this is from the House Oversight Chairman James Comer. He said he will hold a vote next week on holding them in contempt because they have refused to testify behind closed doors despite the committee issuing a subpoena. This is related to the Epstein investigation.

But former President Clinton said, no, he questions that. He says they are being held out among all those subpoenaed for specials. treatment that he questions, and he also criticized the committee for not pushing hard enough to get out more of the actual Epstein documents from the Department of Justice. So we will keep watching this. Busy day, as we said on Capitol Hill. Lisa Desjardin, covering it all, as always. Lisa, thank you. You're welcome. Tucked into legislation that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last fall was a provision to change the definition of hemp. It was a small tweak involving minute measurements, but one

that could have a huge impact on the booming market for hemp products. Jeffrey Brown reports now from Kentucky. Inside a 25,000 square foot facility in Louisville, adult-use gummies are being churned out at cornbread hemp. Supplements with flavors like blueberry and blood orange have CBD, a compound that advocates site for its therapeutic benefits, including combating anxiety, insomnia, and inflammation. But they also include THHH.

which has an intoxicating effect. Though popular confusion abounds, they're not made from marijuana, but from another variety of the same plant, hemp, and they're fully legal for now. This is the first step. This is a super sac of our hemp produced grown here in Kentucky. Jim Higden is co-founder of cornbread hemp.

Then here's our certificate from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture that certifies that the DHC content is well below that 0.3% standard, that we need to make sure that we need to make sure that this remains a federally legal product. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp after decades of prohibition because of its connection to marijuana. In fact, the plant has been cultivated in Kentucky since the 18th century. Hemp grows so luxuriantly in Kentucky that harvesting is sometimes difficult.

Including during World War II when the fibers from the plant were crucial to the war effort, turned into rope, textiles, and even parachute webbing. As for the United States Navy, every battle, It was these types of industrial uses that advocates like then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cited in supporting hemp legalization seven years ago. But that also brought unexpected consequences as the popularity of CBD grew and entrepreneurs created products that extract the small amount of THC and hemp, bringing a boom in products like gummies and beverages that can get you high.

It's a surprising marketplace that people didn't realize existed. We've recently expanded and built out our gummy production facilities because of the popularity and the projections of continued popularity of these products. We've invested considerably in this facility here in Louisville. The seven-year-old company employs more than a hundred people, and today legally ships its products to almost every state in the country. But that legal future is now in jeopardy. Unfortunately, companies have exploited a loophole in the 2018 legislation by taking legal amounts

of THC from hemp and turning it into intoxicating substances. The senator who championed the legalization of hemp led the recent effort to change the definition of it, citing how products like gummies have been too accessible to children. Starting in November, hemp will no longer be defined by just the amount of THC by weight in the dry hemp plant. Instead, federal law will limit all synthetic cannabinoids and the amount of THC in the final product being sold. The goal to get intoxicating hemp products off the shelf. What will the impact be on your company of this change? If we can't diversify into products that do not contain any hemp, then it will mean

the end of the company. It will certainly mean the end of every product that we currently make. The industry does have its supporters in Washington, including Kentucky's other senator. The numbers put forward in this bill will eliminate 100 percent of the hemp products in our country. But not all parts of the hemp industry are convinced this rule change is a death sentence. We've been operating in this facility since 2018. Chad Rosen is founder of Victory Hemp in northern Kentucky, which turns hemp seeds into non-intoxicating protein powder and oil, another of the many uses of hemp.

This is not a ban on the entire hemp industry. It clearly defines that products from industrial hemp, as defined by those grown for the grain and the fiber, are not getting banned in any fashion. And we're not celebrating the cannabinoid sector, potentially facing extinction. But we are happy that industrial hemp has gotten some real regular definition. He sees a huge potential for products like his, as well as other innovative uses of industrial hemp, like using the fiber for building materials and even as a sustainable lightweight alternative

to plastic in auto manufacturing. There's a lot of assumptions that come along with hemp, and part of half of what we do is just navigating the true story. We're constantly trying to impress on people that it's different genitals. different agronomy, different processing, different products, different consumer experience. And so for that, the regulatory framework needs to be considered very different. We've grown a little bit of everything in the past. Eighth generation farmer Brian Furnish, who grows tobacco and many other crops on his Kentucky farm,

sees hemp as incredibly valuable. I've said if I was stranded on an island, what plant would I want with me, and I would want hemp? Yeah. There's so many dynamic uses of it. get the food from it and get the fiber from it. You can get what I call the dietary supplement medicinal side out of the oils. And he grows hemp for many uses, straddling different sides of the market, including supplying raw material to victory hemp, while also growing for the cannabinoid market.

That part of his operation is now in flux well before the new law goes into effect. It's just so much uncertainty right now. I'm not even sure when I can ship this product. And even if I ship it, my price is already falling 40%. Furnish's family operation is currently sitting on 600,000 pounds of harvested hemp, piled in barns like this and bagged with nowhere to send it. On our farm alone, current prices will lose about $450,000 on this product so far. And I don't see the prices coming back.

I just hope we can ship it and get rid of it. Could you survive with just the industrial hemp market? No. Furnace is open to regulation but thinks the new rule change will cripple an industry that was just starting to mature. I agree with the principle of what they were trying to accomplish, and that is trying to keep high THC products out at children's hands. But the new law that passed, the THC per container, is so low that we can't meet that,

even the naturally occurring in a plant. But hemp's not going away. Even the cannabinoids are not going away. The issue is where does the consumer get the product? My fear is that it will drive a lot of people to go back underground to get product from their street dealers. D.D. Taylor runs a consumer hemp shop in Louisville. She's also president of the Kentucky Hemp Association. In 2023, the group worked with state legislators to address concerns about the products, to restrict sales to those under 21 and mandate lab testing. Rules that will now be superseded by the new federal rule change.

And I don't take any pain medicine. She worries for her customers like Charles Wempe. When I go home, I'm going to be able to relax. I'm going to be able to maintain. I'm going to be able to play with my grandkids, all because of this. Wampi is a Republican who voted for Mitch McConnell, but says he's disappointed in how Congress has changed the rules. Until they sit in somebody's seat, they'll never realize. And I'm going to tear up because this helps me.

that people do not realize it. It's a shame. Is a compromise possible? Recently, President Trump asked Congress to reconsider the recent hemp pool change, and legislation has been introduced that would accomplish that while also adding age restrictions nationwide. But with the planting season right around the corner,

the timeline for farmers here and around the country is very tight. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Jeffrey Brown in Kentucky. And that is the NewsHour for tonight. I'm Omna Nawaz. And I'm Jeff Bennett for all of us here at the NewsHour. Thanks for spending part of your evening with us.