PBS News Hour - Full Show - January 2, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: January 3, 2026

Friday on the News Hour, President Trump threatens to intervene in Iran if the regime cracks down on protests sparked by economic turmoil. Amid canceled performances and plummeting ticket sales at the now-renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, we have an exclusive interview with the man Trump picked to lead the institution. Plus, why this flu season is so bad and what you can do to protect yourself. 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. Jeff Bennett is away. On the news hour tonight, President Trump threatens to intervene in Iran if the regime cracks down on protests sparked by economic turmoil. Canceled performances and plummeting ticket sales royal the now renamed Kennedy Center. We speak with the man President Trump hand-picked to lead the institution. And why this flu season is so bad and when. you can do to protect yourself. Even if you're in a part of the country that's starting to experience a rise in influenza cases, not a bad idea to go get vaccinated because it'll protect you against the tail end of the flu season. intervene in Iran if the regime kills peaceful protesters, which it has already done. Over the past six days, demonstrations that started in Tehran have spread throughout the country.

The Iranian government has cracked down as it has in the past. Protests in Iran are now in their sixth day. What began as a response to skyrocketing inflation has now transformed into a national call for systemic reform, expanding from Tehran's Grand Bazaar to nearly 17,000. provinces across the country. At least 44 people have been arrested so far, including Kurdish activist Masazadei, and at least eight people have been killed, including a 15-year-old child. In the streets, protesters chant death to the dictator. And students have now joined the demonstrations, as in recent uprisings, young Iranians are on the forefront.

Iranian President Massoud Pazeshkian says he has, quote, tasked the Minister of Interior to hear the legitimate demands of protesters through dialogue. Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arakchi, and President Trump traded statements. Trump posting this morning, quote, if Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Arakchi responded, calling Trump's statement reckless and dangerous. For more on the protests, we turn now to two people who follow developments in Iran closely. Roya Bureman is the co-founder and executive director of the Abduraman Boreman Center. That's a nonprofit promoting human rights and democracy in Iran.

And Holly Degress is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. That's a think tank in Washington, D.C. Welcome to you both. And Holly, I'll begin with you because we have seen. large-scale demonstrations in Iran before. How do these protests today compare to those we've seen in the past in terms of the scale and also what sparked them? Well, these protests are significant.

They're the largest since the 2022 woman life freedom uprising. And while they were triggered by a different event, an economic one related to the collapse of the Iranian Rial against the U.S. dollar on December 28th, the grievances of the Iranian people taking to the streets are very much the same, which is. systemic mismanagement, corruption, and repression. And for them, they see that all their woes and problems are with the Islamic Republic itself. And that's why you're seeing all these anti-regime trance coming from the people, because they believe that the Islamic Republic needs to go. And they've felt this way for a very long time now.

Roya, what about you? As you watch these unfold, what stands out to you about how the protests are evolving, especially the fact that they're coming online now just a few years, as you As Holly noted, after those 22 women life freedom protests after the death of Masa Amini. It is surprising the intensity of the repression of the 22 protests and following the 22 protests was such that one would expect people to need a few years before forgetting and recovering before coming out in the streets. So it is early, if you will, based on. the experience we have from previous years. But at the same time, the situation, the economic situation is so bad.

The inflation is so bad and so many people are living under the poverty line that these outbursts are not surprising in that sense. And the fact that they happen more in areas where the people are much more vulnerable economically and socially is also significant, I think. Holly, Roya mentioned there the brutality of the crackdown to those 22 protests. Are you worried and do you expect that we'll see the same from the Iranian regime this time? And also, are there demands from the protesters that this regime can actually meet? Well, we've seen the brutality of the Islamic Republic for 46 years.

We talked about the 2022 uprising. And the UN fact-fighting mission at the time found that the Islamic Republic had committed crimes against humanity against the protesters during women-life freedom. So they do have that ability to crack down on the same matter. And one of the tools of repression that the Islamic Republic uses is mass executions. We've seen that in 2025, they had the highest rate of executions in over a decade with 2045. And so this is a tool that they use to silence dissent in exactly what they'll be doing. And in terms of addressing the needs of the protesters, we've seen President Massoud Pesachkandhui on X, which is blocked by the Islamic Republic.

And Iranians have to use circumvention tools to get online that they would meet the needs of the protesters. But the truth is their needs cannot be met by the clerical establishment because they have not had opportunity for years to make changes and they have not. and Iranians believe that reform has been dead for a long time. Roya, what about the reaction that we've seen from the U.S., specifically from President Donald Trump, threatening U.S. intervention if peaceful protesters are killed? Is that kind of response something that protesters want to see,

and you think there's a real possibility there for U.S. action? Statements by the U.S. presidents matter a lot, and they matter in the sense that you, also have to understand that the battle that the Iranians are fighting is a battle that is physical in the street in which they have their lives to offer and some stones probably, but the state has resources and has arms and has foreign support. And in that sense, when leaders of democracies pay attention to what's happening, it strengthen the morale of the public So it has to be clear what the statement of the president means.

Does this mean that they're going to bombard somewhere? Does this mean that they, you know, the end game would be to overthrow the Islamic Republic? I think these are very sensitive times. Iran has passed laws to punish with deaths. Very peaceful activities that are related to protest or related to information. about protests as acting in coordination with a foreign state and a hostile state basically can lead any action to the gallows. So in that context, these kind of statements have to be not vague and very clear about what consequences the leaders of a country will face

if they continue to shoot people. But attention to victims is good. That is a something that the state doesn't want because the state wants to say to the people fighting in the streets that you are alone, no one cares. Holly, I'll give you the last word here. How do you look at the threats made by President Trump? And do protesters want to see some kind of U.S. intervention? It's really hard to interpret what the Trump administration actually wants to do with any action, if at all any, and I think that if they were not to act on their words, and there was a mass

crackdown, this can very much be similar to the Obama administration's red line for Syria. So, I mean, it's a really mixed bagged about how the president wants to respond, but we've also seen precedent where he has responded by assassinating, being Khrushchev's commander Ghassim Soleimani, January 3rd being a six-year anniversary, attacking the country's nuclear facilities. So he's a real meverick when it comes to this sort of thing. Holly Dagress and Roya Boramon, we thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

Thank you for having us. were killed and more than a hundred injured when the Constellation Bar in Krasmontana went up in flames. Officials say the handheld sparklers were placed on champagne bottles and raised too close to the ceiling, which was coated with sound dampening foam. These are birthday candles that you can buy in shops, and we all have access to them. As for whether or not they can be used in enclosed or confined spaces, the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are also looking into safety measures on site, like fire extinguishers and proper escape routes. Meanwhile, a memorial has been set up in town to honor those lost, even as the painstaking task of identifying the victims continues.

Many were in their teens and 20s. For this mother, wanting to learn the fate of her 16-year-old son, the weight is agonizing. It's unimaginable to tell ourselves that we'll live without our children. that our child has burned in a fire on New Year's Eve. We don't know how and when they will be identified. We gave our DNA. Now it's a question of waiting long hours to try to know where our children are. The majority of those who were injured are Swiss nationals.

Others are from neighboring France and Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Six have yet to be identified. In Mexico, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck outside of the United States struck outside the resort city of Acapulco today, leaving at least two people dead. Oh, it's trembling. To be in tranquillidad. Where's it? The quake struck as President Claudia Scheinbaum was giving her first press briefing of the new year.

She called for calm and exited the room with aides and journalists. Elsewhere, footage shows cars shaking as the tremor struck, while eyewitness video caught parts of buildings falling. of buildings falling to the ground. In Acapulco itself, tourists and workers evacuated hotels and found themselves on the streets. Mexican authorities reported at least 500 aftershocks after the initial quake. Ukrainian President Volodemir Zelensky has named the country's military intelligence chief as his new chief of staff. Zelensky says the appointment of General Kirilo Budanov is meant to emphasize Ukraine's

focus on its security, defense, and diplomatic efforts. Budanab is one of Ukraine's most recognizable wartime figures and has frequently warned of Russia's long-term intentions towards Ukraine and the region. Also today, two Russian missiles struck a multi-story building in Kharkiv and northeastern Ukraine. At least 19 people were injured, including a six-month-old baby. The FBI says it's thwarted a potential New Year's Eve attack in North Carolina. arresting a man who had allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State Group. 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Officials say Sturtevant shared his plans to attack a fast food restaurant and a grocery store with undercover FBI agents. A search of his home uncovered further evidence of his intentions. They found hammers and knives hidden under his bed. They found notes where he plans his attack in detail. his attack. He was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die. And we're very, very fortunate. They did not. According to court documents, Sturtevant faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. We have an update now on a story we reported last month on tariffs. The Trump

administration is now backing off plans to impose steep levies on Italian-made pastas. Italy's foreign ministry says the U.S. will now impose tariffs of between 2 and 14 percent on more than a dozen pasta producers. That is a far cry from the 92% rate that the U.S. had threatened in October, which would have come on top of the existing 15% on most European Union imports. The Commerce Department says that the lower rates come after Italian exporters had addressed concerns about unfair prices. Tesla is no longer the world's best-selling electric vehicle maker as sales declined for

the second straight year. The automaker says it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2020. 2025. That's down 9% from 2024, and that lags behind Chinese rival BYD, which sold more than 2 million vehicles to take the top spot. Analysts say that Tesla suffered from ongoing consumer backlash over CEO Elon Musk's political activity, plus the expiration of a $7,500 EV tax credit. Tesla shares fell around 2.5% following the news. As for the broader markets, stocks on Wall Street posted an uneven start to the new trading year. The Dow Jones Industrial average added more than 300 points.

The NASDAQ ended just a touch lower, slipping about six points. The S&P 500 posted a modest gain of around 13 points. Still to come on the news hour. What's behind a dangerous spike in flu cases this year? Plus, David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the latest news, and they look ahead to the new year. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenst. studio at WETA in Washington, headquarters of BBS News.

First, a takeover of leadership, then a renaming, as the Kennedy Center became the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. And now canceled performances. Amid all that, ratings for the televised Kennedy Center honors, hosted by the president himself, showed a big drop in viewership and overall ticket sales are reportedly way off. short, the turmoil continues at one of the nation's preeminent arts centers. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown begins our update. It's part of our Art and Action series exploring the intersection of art and democracy and part of our canvas coverage. Chuck Red on the vibraphone. He was scheduled to perform with his

band at the Kennedy Center on Christmas Eve but decided to cancel the concert. Within days, others followed, including the Cookers, a jazz ensemble scheduled for New Year's Eve show. In a statement, the group said they remained committed to music that, quote, reaches across divisions rather than deepening them. Also canceling a January performance, Alabama folk singer Christy Lee, stating, when American history starts getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else's ego, I can't stand on that stage and sleeper.

bright at night. And the New York Dance Company, Doug Verone and Dancers, canceled a planned April show. The moves followed the mid-December renaming of the Kennedy Center and after President Trump's appointment of a new board and leadership last February, naming himself as chair. At that time, prominent artists including Renee Fleming and Ben Foltz, resigned from their positions at the Kennedy Center. others, including Rianan and Giddens, canceled shows. In response to the recent cancellation by Chuck Red, the center president Richard Grinnell threatened a $1 million lawsuit. Earlier this week,

I spoke with choreographer and dancer Doug Verone and asked about his decision to cancel. You know, it wasn't an easy decision, and it was, I felt a long time coming. We watched all the changes that occurred when the Trump administration took over the Kennedy Center, the releasing of of the bipartisan board, the firing of many employees, including the entire dance staff. Yet I still believed that bringing the art was important for us. The Kennedy Center has always stood for excellence in the arts. It was named after President Kennedy, and he believed that the arts were at the center of all of our culture, all of our nation, renaming it.

Donald Trump Center, it seems to go completely against every principle and every mission that the center stands for. I couldn't put myself or my dancers into that building right now. But where is the balance for you in bringing your art to people, which is presumably what you do, what it's all about? Absolutely. And then making this decision to not put your art before the people at the Kennedy? In the conversations that I've had over the last couple of months, I sort of have always believed that the art should be paramount. It was the reason why we didn't cancel a long time ago, that the power and the truth of the art was what I wanted to put on the Kennedy stage. And the audiences that would come to it would hopefully take that strength away. But it is

this act from this president that has pushed me off the cliff and has made it impossible for me to do that. A statement we received from the Kennedy Center accuses you and others who have canceled of doing this for political differences and of failing to meet the basic duty of a public artist to perform for all people. What's your response to that? I think that he probably has not done his research on myself and my company. We have been performing nationally and internationally for the last 40 years. Many of our international tours have been supported by the State Department under presidents, both Democratic and Republican. I am honored as an artist to bring my work all over this country to red states, blue states, rural, urban areas, and to have that art be part of a dialogue of how we talk about our differences,

and share the way we live and think. I've been dedicated to that for the past 40 years. You will take a financial hit from this. What's the impact on you and your dancers? We'll be losing about $40,000 from this engagement. And that equals about three weeks of work for my dancers. So I will have to let them go in April, unless we can find some monetary form to replace that.

That's not good. It's not good allowing my dancers to go back on unemployment in these really tenuous economic times. And what kind of response have you had from them, from others around the world, and from the other arts groups? Well, the dancers were part of this decision. Everyone supports it. We've had a tremendous outpouring of support from the dance community, from other artists, from all around the world, actually, people I have never met, people who have never seen the dance company itself congratulating us on our integrity to pull out at this particular

moment. So I'm proud of the decision that we've made. And have you heard from the Kennedy Center? And do you anticipate legal action from them? I do not anticipate legal action. The dance companies that were part of the presenting series this year, all included a clause in our contracts that allowed us at our discretion if we felt that our reputation was being affected to pull out without cause. So that is in our contract. If they want to legally take us to task for that, I'm happy to have lawyers look at that. All right, choreographer and dancer Doug Veron.

Thank you very much. Thank you. And joining me now from Hermosa Beach, California, for an exclusive interview is Richard Grinnell. He's president of the newly renamed Trump Kennedy Center. Last February, he was named interim president by the board that was appointed by President Trump. Grinnell also served in Trump's first term,

including as ambassador to Germany, an acting director of national intelligence. Ambassador Grinnell, welcome to the News Hour. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for asking us. I want to begin by just giving you the chance to respond to what you just heard there from Doug Verone, from others in the piece reported by Jeff Brown, a number of artists who chose to cancel or pull out of performances, citing both the president's takeover of the board

and also the renaming of the center. What's your response? Well, first of all, I would note that in the entire package and in the questions, there wasn't a single question about the finances of what's going on. And I've noticed at PBS, for instance, you all haven't covered any of the finances in terms of the situation that the Kennedy Center has found itself. The Trump Kennedy Center is in a very different position than the previous center was. And I would say that we have a phenomenal situation financially with the current Trump Kennedy

Center because President Trump is a phenomenal fundraiser. And what we've been able to do is look at ticket sales, donors, as well as corporate sponsors and come up with a holistic approach to how you look at the arts. When I arrived at the Kennedy Center, the then Kennedy Center, we were paying staff with debt reserves. Now I understand that there's a lot of reporters who don't understand finance and who don't understand what paying for staff with debt reserves mean. But it seems to me that reporters who are interested in the full story should look at the full story of what's been happening in the arts.

I don't quote the New York Times that often, but just about two months ago, the New York Times did a front page story saying that Broadway was dying. Ticket sales were in the tank. This is a phenomenon that's been going on for decades. Arts centers are struggling. And the only way that you can go forward and have an arts institution that's financially secure is to look at the holistic aspect. At the Trump Kennedy Center, we have 19 unions. It's incredibly expensive to go and put on performances. We cannot have unpopular programming that doesn't pay the bills.

What I said when we came, and by the way, I didn't cancel. a single show at all at the now Trump Kennedy Center. Well, I want to ask you about that, if I may. When you look at ticket sales, when you look at ticket sales and you look at donors and you look at corporate sponsors, you have to come up with revenue neutral programming. We live in a world where you have to think about finances. We don't have unlimited funds. I appreciate that response.

And I want to ask you more about both that, the programming and the finances. Because as you've noted, there's been a lot of reporting around the ticket sales. There have been specific ticket sales windows that were reported on. The Washington Post said at one point that ticket sales in September and October were at a 43% unsold rate as compared to just 7% the year before. That's not true, you're saying. That reporting is wrong. Okay. But the New York Times also reported the venue income fell around 50%.

If I may, let me just ask this, because as you note, you're sort of rolling out a different revenue model is what I'm hearing. So are ticket sales down? Is that confirmed or not? Well, first of all, let me just say this. I find it to be outrageous that PBS is not reporting on the phenomenon that arts institutions have been having for decades. Now, I do note that the chairman, the previous chairman. The previous chairman. But please continue.

That's not what I said. You may have expansive arts programming, but you don't consider the finances. But let me just note one thing. The previous chairman of the now Trump Kennedy Center is David Rubenstein, and I understand that he's given you millions and that the room that you're sitting in is named after David Rubenstein. So I don't begrudge you that you can't go after a big donor and say that his financial management of the then Kennedy Center was something to look at. You can't touch that. I get that because he's a very big donor. But again, when I arrive, let me finish. Let me finish. So is named for David Rubinstein.

You invited me on. You invited me on. Let me speak. When I arrived at the then-Kennedy Center, we had no money in the bank, and we, again, we were paying staff with debt reserves. That's immoral. You cannot run an institutional. Let me give you one more example.

94 people were employed in the development department, which is how you raise money. since President Trump has arrived at the now Trump Kennedy Center. We've raised more than $130 million, blowing away all other fundraising. And that's corporate donors who are coming back because they trust the programming. We've got the Stuttgart Ballet and the Vienna Philharmonic. I will give you the individual that you just interviewed. I will give you that we cannot do programming that loses money. He was losing money.

The $40,000 that he was talking about was what we were paying him, and he didn't have ticket sales that were proper. Again, though, I didn't cancel him because he was scheduled by the previous regime who had a different criteria. Understood. My criteria, President Trump's criteria, is different. We cannot have arts institutions that lose money because you have programming that is woke or not popular. Ambassador, your team has... I understand. And your team has made it clear to us. There are obviously artists who have no problem performing in this Trump Kennedy Center. You pointed out in your team rather in a note to us, Miranda Lambert, Brooks and Dunn, Cheap Trick, all just performed in December for those artists who are pulling out themselves, citing the renaming of the center, citing the fact that the president took over the board and made himself chairman. Are you saying that all of those performances were losing money for the Kennedy Center? No, I don't really understand that question.

What I'm saying is we've changed the programming so that with ticket sales, you have to combine donors and corporate sponsors. In today's world, let me just educate you about arts institutions. No art institution is able to pay for programming with ticket sales alone. That's not how the future is going to be for arts institutions. It's extremely expensive. You need to have donors in corporate America who come forward and say, we like this programming. We want to write a big check and we want to support it.

Again, we have 19 unions at the Trump Kennedy Center, and it is incredibly difficult to pay for any programming with just ticket sales alone. The fact that... All I'm telling you is that we are in great financial shape since President Trump came. Again, $130 million raised in 10 months. We've still got two more months to go. You've made that point, sir. We're going to blow the fundraising records off the door.

The fact that the viewership were the Kennedy Center honors were down so dramatically, some 35 percent in terms of viewership, this was the honors that President Trump himself said he handpicked most of the honorees, he hosted himself. As a steward of this institution, does all of this, the backlash, the headlines about artists pulling out, the fact that so few people paid attention to the honors, does that worry you? Well, let me challenge you on that again. the biased fact that you just thought that you were giving.

If you go to CBS, they will tell you that the CBS, Trump Kennedy Center honors this year, tied for number one in its demographic. I looked at the numbers for PBS's NewsHour That is separate from the fact that the numbers dropped from last year, which was what I asked in my questions. No, no, this is, no, this is what I'm trying to say to you, if you'll understand this.

TV viewership year after year is dramatically, going down. Your programming has lost a ton of viewers. CBS, ABC, NBC, every year are losing viewers. More people are going online. So all I can tell you is that this year, CBS said that the honors tied for number one in the demographic. That is something that we're very proud of. It was also, well, what I'm saying is, is in the context, we won, we tied, and we were the most popular for that night. That was on a Wednesday night. What you're trying to compare is apples and oranges to a Sunday night, which is different, which was last year, when there were a lot more viewers on television. In case you don't realize, television is a dying medium, and every single

year, if you look at the numbers, viewers are dropping dramatically. I have got, you know, nephews and nieces who won't even watch television because they're just doing things on their phone. So the digital content is different, and you didn't quote that, because digitally, President Trump, the Trump Kennedy Center, and the Kennedy Center honors this year, which is now the Trump Kennedy Center honors, did phenomenally well. How did they do online? Can you give us a number? Well, I would just refer you to CBS.

Don't take my numbers. CBS is saying that it was tenfold compared to what any other year that they compared it to. So it digitally, it really took off. Ambassador Grinnell, there is so much to talk about here. And as I mentioned, we do cover the arts quite a bit. So I'll just say, we do welcome you back anytime as we continue our coverage of this. But while I have you, I do want to ask you about another part of your previous portfolio, and that was related to Venezuela.

I know that you did work on the Venezuela file earlier in the year for President Trump. You have met with Nicolas Maduro. Holistically, when you look at the actions of this U.S. government, what do you think the goal of the policy? is. Is it to remove Maduro from power? Well, look, I work for President Trump, and on this issue, I'm going to give him maximum flexibility, and I'm not going to say anything about the policy. Okay. Ambassador Rick Grinnell, is currently president of the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center.

We thank you for joining us. Please do come back and join us again soon. I definitely will. Thanks for having me. We are entering peak flu season, and a new flu variant known as subclade K is spreading quickly across the country, driving a sharp rise in illness and hospitalizations. Public health officials say this current wave may last for weeks to come. William Brangham has the latest. That's right. Omna, just this week, according to the CDC, flu activity is high or very high in 32 states and

jurisdictions. That's nearly double from the week before. More than 7 million people nationwide have been infected, and over 3,000 have died so far this season. Only about a quarter of adults and just 17% of children have received the flu shot as of November. So for more on the variant and what to look out for this flu season, I'm joined by Andrew Peckle. He's a virologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Andrew Prakash, thank you so much for being here. We know flu is a shapeshifter. It's why we have to design a new vaccine every single year.

But this particular strain, this subclade K, is proving to be quite a challenge. Tell us a little bit about it. Is it more contagious? Is it more dangerous? Yeah, well, the first thing we know about this subclade, K virus, which is part of a larger group of viruses we call H3 and 2 viruses, is we know that it has mutations at a couple of what I call hotspots on the virus that are the targets of your immune system and that can generate those protective antibodies that minimize infection and

disease. So this clade K virus has changed from the viruses that circulated last year. and importantly, that it's also has changed based on the vaccine that was distributed earlier this fall in this still available. So we think that the first thing that's going on with this K virus is more people are susceptible because it's found a way to evade that preexisting immunity in the population that is induced by either infection or by vaccination. So is that why we are hearing reports that the current flu shot that people can get at the drugstore is considered not. as effective against this particular strain? Yeah, this year is what we call a mismatch between the vaccine strain and the circulating virus. We know there's a few mutations that will cause some of that vaccine-induced immunity

to not recognize the currently circulating virus. And what usually results from that is we end up seeing a drop in the vaccine efficacy, particularly against infection. Now, it's important to note that even in the year, year when there's a mismatch of this sort, we oftentimes still see a signal of protection against severe disease that's associated with vaccination. So just because there's a mismatch in this clade K virus doesn't mean you shouldn't take the vaccine. If you haven't gotten the vaccine already, it's still a good idea to take it. There's still time to get some protection out of it

for the rest of this season. Yeah, the influence of vaccine takes about two weeks for you to generate a strong immune response to it. Flu seasons usually last anywhere from four to six weeks or longer. So even if you're in a part of the country that's starting to experience a rise in influenza cases, not a bad idea to go get vaccinated because it'll protect you against the tail end of the flu season. I want to ask you a question about public health messaging. Recently, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services,

one of the most prominent doctors in the Trump administration was on TV and he was asked about flu prevention. And he ticked off a whole slew of things that people should do, getting more exercise, getting more sunlight, eating well, taking vitamin D, sneezing into your elbow. The only thing he said about the vaccine, the flu shot was something like, we know it doesn't always work that well and it's controversial. What do you make of that as a messaging strategy? Well, you know, certainly the healthier that you are, the better it or you will be at fighting off an infection. But there's nothing really controversial about the influenza vaccine. We know that it works. We know that it's safe. It does vary from year to year in terms of its

efficacy, but that's primarily because we have to choose a flu vaccine six to nine months before our flu season in order to have enough time to manufacture enough vaccine to distribute. And with this clade K variant, for instance, it emerged after the vaccine was chosen for the Northern Hemisphere last February. So there really was no chance for us to make a better matched flu vaccine because of that manufacturing issues. So again, the vaccine works. It could be better, but certainly it works, and there's no reason why most individuals shouldn't take the influenza vaccine. So who is most at risk from this flu right now? Well, everyone can get infected, but when it comes to that severe disease, we're seeing a typical

pattern, which is young individuals, pediatric populations, kids under the age of 11 are one prime area that is suffering from severe disease. And then individuals over the age of 65 are also suffering from more severe disease. Now, it's important to note that right now the data is saying that we're seeing a lot of flu cases and a proportionate rise in the amount of severe cases. So we're not seeing any data so far that says the K-variant is more dangerous to people than other H3N2 viruses that we've seen. It's just that more people. It's just that more people are susceptible and therefore we'll be seeing more cases and a corresponding or proportionate rise in the number of severe cases. Do we know why some areas seem to be having bigger outbreaks

than others? Yeah, we think that every year influenza, particularly here in the U.S., it appears in different states at slightly different times of the year. New York was unfortunate to be one of the first states that really got hit by this Claude K virus. And so we've seen the most experience in the U.S. in New York in terms of how quickly that virus can spread and how many cases it can cause. Over the last two weeks, we've seen many states that have gone from basically no cases or very few cases to a very high number of cases. And we'll probably see the rest of the country see the same thing over the next two weeks or so. So it's not uncommon. to see influenza appear in different states at different times,

sometimes that's just bad luck. That's where the virus lands first and starts spreading first, and then it moves from that area into other parts of the country. All right. That is Andrew Pachosh of Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health. Thank you so much for being here. My pleasure. 2026 is expected to be an eventful year, both at home and abroad.

For more on what's ahead and to look at this past week of news, we turn now to the analysis of Brooks and K. Part. That is, New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Kepart of MS Now. Great to see you both. Happy New Year. All right, let's kick this off by talking about the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine. We've seen a lot of headlines this week, and I need to start there because that war is about to mark four years in February.

We saw the new year begin with a massive Russian drone barrage in Ukraine, hundreds of strikes in that country. We saw President Zelensky and President Trump meet at Moralago last weekend, say there's progress on a peace plan. This week we saw a special envoy Steve Wickoff continue to hold calls with Zelensky and other European officials. And in his own New Year's address, Zelensky said that the peace plan is 90% ready. So, David, when you take all of this and you look ahead, do you see progress being made?

Is 2026 the year that the war ends? Possibly, but I'm color me skeptical. I mean, this is the year we'll find out whether the international community can respond with effectively when one nation tries to conquer another. And unfortunately, what the Trump administration has done recently has been pressuring Zelensky

to make concessions, slow walking the weapons we've been providing for them, putting him in a tough position. He makes some concessions. And then in theory, give him in turn security guarantees. And it's supposed to be like Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, security guarantees of some number of years, 15 or 20 or 30. Article 5, an attack on one. Is it a attack? If Putin attacks Ukraine, then we're at war

with Russia. That's it. So if you believe the U.S. is going to go to war over Ukraine and send troops or airports or airplanes, well, I'd ask you to talk to people who've done business with Donald Trump before, because he will break that. That is a purposeless guarantee. And Putin didn't like the way NATO was stretching eastward anyway. Why would he accept Ukraine to have an effective NATO guarantee? He will not accept this. One of the things that it's reminding people of is at the end of the Clinton term, the second Clinton term, he really wanted to have a peace with Israel and Palestine.

It was absolutely the right thing to do. But Yasser Arafat was never interested because he didn't think Israel was a country. Vladimir Putin does not think Ukraine is a country. And so you can't argue people into a peace they do not want to have. So I'm extremely dubious that this is going to work. Jonathan, are you any more optimistic about what's ahead in this year? No, especially picking up on something David just talked about, you said at the very beginning about the international community,

being able to help Ukraine, or I can't remember exactly what you thought, but I immediately wrote down, how does the international community, and particularly the Europeans, how do they respond to all of this? and come to Ukraine's aid without an effective partner in the United States, without an effective partner in the president of the United States. To David's point, Donald Trump, President Trump,

is not the most reliable negotiator. If he tells you at 9 o'clock that this is the deal, by 9.15, it could be something completely different. And so in the end, I will be keeping my eye on whether the Europeans can stand on their own and on their own in a way that can effectively help Ukraine without any kind of solid commitments or assistance from the United States. When you step back and look at this war for just a moment, because there's been a lot of

questions about to whom President Trump has been listening, right? He changes his tack based on the last phone call he had, it appears sometimes, and also the amount of influence that President Putin clearly has over the process. Is there credit to be given to the White House here, David, at least for keeping talks going, for keeping some kind of process on some sort of rails? Is that something they should be given credit for? Yeah, I think they really want peace. I think Trump genuinely wants peace.

And I think he's obtuse about who Vladimir Putin is. I think, as we saw in the Oval Office months and months ago, he's morally uninvolved in the stakes of this contest. Like, Zelensky is a democratically elector who's elected leader whose country was invaded. And he just doesn't seem like there's one side that's kind of on the side of right in this war. But I do think they've tried hard. I do think all the envoys, Jared Kushner, all these guys, Witkoff, all these people have been there, are probably sincerely motivated. I just don't think you can have peace with Vladimir Putin.

And so to me, it's a characterological misdiagnosis of who this person is. I just wonder if President Trump really wants peace or surrender, or does, is there a distinction? Does he see a distinction between the two? In terms of what Ukraine is willing to concede to in this case? No, what he wants. I mean, David just said, you know, they're really pushing hard for peace. And sure, but at what cost? Does it require, would peace require surrender on Ukraine's part?

of territory already taken by Putin, taken by the Russians, or any other kinds of concessions that Ukraine would have to take in order for their to be peace. I see the plan's 90% there we will see in the weeks and months ahead. I do want to turn to some of the political pressures President Trump's been managing here at home as well, though, because he did issue his first two vetoes of his second term this week. Both are bills, we should point out, that passed Congress unanimously. One was funding a clean water pipeline in Colorado, the other protected tribal land in Florida. And you're probably seeing there have been some lawmakers, including Republican Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Bobert,

who suggested that the vetoes could have been some kind of political retaliation. She was one of the only Republicans to sign a petition that forced a vote on releasing the Epstein files. And a very strong Trump ally, a former elections clerk official in Colorado, is still in prison in her state, in Colorado, convicted of state crime. federal pardon does not apply. Jonathan, I'll come to you first on this. Do you believe the president is vetoing unrelated bills for political retribution? Gee, yes.

Yes, I do. From the reporting, I saw the bill that he vetoed, that water project, $55,000. So not even a drop in the bucket of federal spending. But also, let's not forget that Congresswoman Bobert was that one member of Congress back in November who was called to the White House Situation Room and talked to about her signature on that discharge petition. She left and said, no, I'm still, I'm not removing my name. I'm still doing this. That was the petition to release the Epstein files. Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, I'm sorry. Yes, to release the Epstein files.

And so now we see this action by the president specifically at her state. How could I not view that as retaliation? How could she not view that as retaliation, even though she asked the question rhetorically? David, what do you make of this? One thing I like about Donald Trump is you don't have to guess. It's not like a psychological who-done-it about why he does things. In the other case, the Florida case,

it was extending rights to a tribe of Native Americans, whose name I now will not try to pronounce. But he said it out loud. He said this group of people has opposed my employees. immigration policies. And if you're not on board with the Trump policies, then you're not getting the money. And so it's not only retribution, though, it's the cash register. How do you get people to give you money so you can have Lee Greenward perform at the Kennedy Center, for example? It's you give them people who give what you want, you give them reward. People who don't do what you want, you punish

them. So you have to have the cards and leverage. So it's not only retribution, it's about leverage. It's about doing things, not only in this regard, but in all sorts of regards that will punish people who oppose Trump policies. Well, what about Congress's role? These were unanimous bills in Congress. Do you see Republicans moving to override those vetoes, David? Again, I've been waiting. I mean, we've seen some profiles encourage microscopically around the Republican Party, but not so much in Washington. There have been a few cases. And it's weird that the people who are the bravest are Marjorie Taylor Green and Lorraine and Lauren Bobbitt. These are the hardcore, like they are out there doing what they want to do, and God bless them, I guess.

But I don't see this getting on. Jonathan? Congress has been the staffing arm of the Trump White House since President Trump took the oath of office. So I don't see Congress doing anything to roll this back. And if they do, great, I would love for them to prove me wrong. speaker johnson if you're watching well look it's our first time getting to sit down and chat in uh 2026 which promises to be a very very busy year i'm going to ask a very dangerous question which is whether either of you care to look ahead and make a bit of a prediction in terms of

what's ahead in terms of the big stories you think will be paying most attention to or one we don't even see coming around the corner just yet who wants to go first jump paula wait no david After you, Alphonse. Oh, my word. Look, I am a perennial optimist. We are rolling into a midterm election year where my optimism demands that I see a future where Democrats retake the House,

suddenly turn the engine of the Article I, powers of the House back on with oversight and accountability, finally doing things to not just rein in this president, but to also exercise their powers as a co-equal branch of government. That is what I'm looking forward to in this year. And also, I'm looking forward to the American people making their voices heard at the ballot box in November, but throughout the weeks and months ahead as things happen in their communities and in their states that they like or don't like and take to the streets and make sure that people are watching and people know that they either like or don't like what's happening.

David? Yeah, I think this will be the year we figured out what AI effect does on the labor markets. It'll be the year where we find out why China is beating the world in industry after industry and what are the effects of that. I agree with Jonathan, the Democrats will agree take the House. But I would say the thing I'm most interested in and most excited about is that 2025 was a pretty bad year for those of us who sit around talking about politics. But it was okay for the economy.

The last quarter three growth rate was 4.3%. But socially, it was a very good year. So we saw suicide deaths down. We saw violent crimes down. We see opioid addiction down. We see obesity down. We see social isolation down. Social media use down.

So a lot of the damage that happened to the fabric of American society over the last 10 years, people are beginning to respond and they're beginning to figure stuff out so longevity was going down now longevity is going back up again and so I think America is socially healing and those are the things you can extrapolate from because those trends

are not just blips those trends I think are longstanding and we could see 2026 as a year of more political depression don't get too cheered out I was going to say but mind me have some social healing here's to a little more social healing for us all David Brooks Sonathan

Capehart. Thank you to you both. Thanks, I'm good. And be sure to watch Washington Week with The Atlantic tonight right here on PBS. Moderator Jeffrey Goldberg and Thomas Friedman of the New York Times discuss why 26 could be a dangerous year on the world stage. And watch PBS News weekend tomorrow for a look at Sanford. Francisco's lawsuit over ultra-processed foods. And that is the NewsHour for tonight.

I'm Omna Nawaz. On behalf of the entire NewsHour team, thank you for joining us and have a great weekend.