GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "News Hour" tonight: The death toll from the Los Angeles area fires rises, as high winds complicate efforts to combat the devastating blazes.

GEOFF BENNETT: We look at the practical implications and potential roadblocks of president-elect Trump's stated desire to buy Greenland.

SHERRI GOODMAN, International Military Council on Climate and Security: China has increasingly been seeking investment in Greenland and in other parts of the Arctic.

And I think the U.S. is eying minerals.

AMNA NAWAZ: And Trump's nominee for secretary of defense faces an uncertain confirmation process amid accusations of sexual misconduct.

AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Dangerous wind conditions are picking up speed and threatening to spread devastating fires in Southern California.

GEOFF BENNETT: Four of the major fires have burned through more than 62 square miles already.

That's larger than the size of San Francisco or Paris.

At least 24 people have died.

About two dozen more are missing and a number of communities have been reduced to ash.

Officials say they're worried the death toll will grow this week.

In Los Angeles County, it's fire versus firefighters.

After making some progress taming the blazes this weekend, strong Santa Ana winds were expected to pick back up today,fanning the flames and making it harder for crews to extinguish them on the ground and from the sky.

ANTHONY MARRONE, Los Angeles County, California, Fire Chief: The anticipated winds combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County critical.

GEOFF BENNETT: In all, some 8,000 firefighters are battling the two major wildfires in the area.

As of this morning, the enormous Palisades Fire was 14 percent contained and the Eaton Fire was 33 percent contained.

With harsh conditions in the forecast through Wednesday, the city remains on high alert for the fires to worsen or for new ones to ignite.

L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley: KRISTIN CROWLEY, Los Angeles City, California, Fire Chief: We're not in the clear as of yet and we must not let our guard down, as we have right now extreme fire behavior.

GEOFF BENNETT: The fire started last Tuesday and spread quickly.

In the days since, more than 150,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their neighborhoods.

In Santa Anita, near the Eaton Fire, volunteer Angelenos showed up at this parking lot turned donation center, dropping off essential supplies by the truckload, bottle water, diapers and clothing for those who need it most.

JENNIFER DENHARTOG, Volunteer: I just needed to come out and do something to help people.

I don't -- sorry.

I feel so bad for the people, so just wanted to come help somebody.

It's all I can do.

I can't give a bunch of money, but I can come and give my time.

OBIAGELI UGURU, Volunteer: I think the whole city is affected, whether you have actually had your belongings burnt or not.

So, I mean, you can smell the soot in the air, and we're just wanting to get out and do something, like, feel active, that we're actually giving back in some way.

GEOFF BENNETT: To the west, at the edge of the Palisades Fire, dozens of cars lined up this weekend, people hoping to return to their homes to assess the damage and retrieve personal items.

But after hours of waiting, all were denied entry due to hazardous conditions.

AVANTI PRASANNA, California Resident: There's a thankfulness that at least for now my house is still there.

GEOFF BENNETT: Twenty-nine-year-old Avanti Prasanna considers herself one of the lucky ones.

Still, she described a deep communal sense of loss.

AVANTI PRASANNA: I grew up in the Palisades.

My elementary school is gone.

My high school is half gone.

Most of my friends have lost their homes.

So, it's still heartbreaking, even if your house is there, to know that what I always thought was one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Los Angeles is just gone.

And it'll never be what we knew it as.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order, suspending the state's landmark environmental laws, as people take the initial steps to rebuild their homes and businesses.

He spoke about it on NBC's "Meet the Press."

GOV.

GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We have got to be thinking three weeks, three months, three years ahead at the same time we're focusing on the immediacy, which is life, safety and property.

California leads the nation in environmental stewardship.

I'm not going to give that up, but one thing I won't give into is delay.

Delay is denial for people.

GEOFF BENNETT: Officials say that residents will be allowed to return only when it's safe.

They also expect the death toll will rise as search crews continue to identify victims in the fire zone.

ROBERT LUNA, Los Angeles County, California, Sheriff: People are saying, I just want to go look at my house and I want to see what's left.

We know that, but we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.

Please be patient with us.

GEOFF BENNETT: With a dangerous fire weather forecast expected to extend at least through Wednesday, let's turn now to California's state fire marshal, Daniel Berlant, for more on the conditions and the unprecedented challenges that firefighters continue to face across the region.

Thanks so much for being with us.

DANIEL BERLANT, California State Fire Marshal: Thanks.

GEOFF BENNETT: These fires remain largely uncontained and you have got millions of people in Southern California who are forecast to be in critical fire risk zones, as we said, at least through midweek.

What are the persistent challenges that your crews are facing at this moment?

DANIEL BERLANT: While we are making progress on a number of fronts on the current fires, as you mentioned, we are gearing up, we are preplanning for significant winds over the next couple of days.

That may not only hamper the efforts that we have been making on the Eaton Fire and on the Palisades Fire, but it could, if there is a new ignition throughout Southern California with these winds, could lead to another major destructive fire or many of them.

And so we are working with our local partners prepositioning even more fire resources so that, if a new fire does break out, we can quickly respond to it.

GEOFF BENNETT: What about the availability of water?

That was a major issue early on.

What's the latest there?

DANIEL BERLANT: Yes, well, there's been some early reports on the first night on water pressure.

Obviously, the sheer number of fire hydrants that were being used to battle this fire put a huge strain on the watering system.

And so we leaned in and very quickly mobilized 140 additional water tenders.

That's additional to what was on the initial attack from L.A. City and L.A. County Fire Department, bringing in water trucks to ensure that there was plenty of water to help battle these fires.

Many of our wildland fires, we don't have fire hydrants to access in mountainous or inaccessible terrain.

And so we often use other tools that our firefighters carry to help us towards our containment efforts.

But bringing in all types of resources has been focused from night one of this fire.

And now that we are a week in, we have continued to see that mobilization pay off, over 1,000 firefighters today on the front lines from other states, the military, the National Guard all assisting with this.

These resources, again, are making a difference.

GEOFF BENNETT: One thing we have heard from other fire officials is that, beyond just battling these blazes, you're also having to compete with misinformation online.

How is that complicating the response effort?

DANIEL BERLANT: Yes, there is a lot of misinformation out there.

Now, the governor launched a Web site to provide facts to the public.

It's difficult in times of disaster for people to always understand exactly what's happening, the first 24 hours questioning why there was no aircraft over the fire and not understanding that, when you have hurricane-level winds, you cannot only not fly fire retardant aircraft effectively using that retardant.

It never is even able to make the ground.

The wind just dissipates it, but, also, it is unsafe for our pilots at that level.

And so we have been really working hard to try to ensure that we're getting information out, focusing in on what matters.

And that is the people that are immediately impacted by this wildfire, making sure they have early evacuation information, making sure they have clear directions on what to do while we work to make sure everybody in the region, in our state, in our nation know what's happening in this natural disaster.

We have to focus on the people that are immediately impacted by the wildfire.

GEOFF BENNETT: Looking at the weather forecast, am I right in assuming that it could take toward the end of the week before any of these fires are contained?

DANIEL BERLANT: It is very likely, not knowing what the winds will actually do on the fire the next couple of days, that we will be on the front lines of these fires for several weeks to come, if not several months.

Obviously, we will work very hard, as we have been, towards full containment efforts, but it is way too early for us to estimate exactly when that might be.

Right now, firefighters are continuing to mop up hot spots, continuing to extinguish flare-ups that are occurring, building containment line all the way around that fire, all despite continued abnormal temperatures and conditions in the month of January.

And then the winds that we have been discussing, that too is only going to challenge us.

And so we are working as hard as we can to make sure that we get containment on these fires, but it is too early to know exactly when that might be.

GEOFF BENNETT: A weeks- or month-long firefighting effort, is that right?

DANIEL BERLANT: Very easily.

Now, we are looking -- while we are focused on the next several days with strong winds, we're continuing to monitor the long-term weather forecast.

We could experience rain.

We are leaning in hard with making sure that we're assessing the burned areas, that we're working with our partners for flooding concerns, with debris removal concerns.

And so we may very quickly in the next couple of weeks shift from a firefight to a flood operation.

And, obviously, there's a number of other state agencies and entities that play a critical role in that effort.

So the natural disaster, if you will, may be months in the making here and in the work to fully contain it, as we potentially transition to -- from wildfires to flooding.

Again, work happening now, though, to try to shore up and protect the communities before that rain does occur.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, our best to you and your colleagues.

California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant, thanks again for your time this evening.

DANIEL BERLANT: Thanks.

AMNA NAWAZ: We start the news with the release of the special counsel's report into Hunter Biden.

David Weiss said that the criminal charges against the president's son were -- quote -- "the culmination of thorough, impartial investigations, not partisan politics."

But he added that President Biden's pardon of his son in early December means he cannot say if Hunter Biden should have faced more charges.

The report comes at the end of a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden that included charges related to gun and tax crimes.

Turning now to President Biden's legacy on the world stage, the outgoing commander in chief defended his foreign policy record during an address at the State Department this afternoon.

Biden highlighted his administration's efforts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and he defended the chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which has been a common target for his critics.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: In my view, it was time to end the war and bring our troops home.

And we did.

I commend the courage of all those who served in Afghanistan.

We grieve all 2,461 Americans who made the element sacrifice in the longest war in American history.

And I grieve those brave service members whose lives were lost during the withdrawal.

AMNA NAWAZ: Biden also said that the U.S. and its global alliances are stronger than they were four years ago, and that he's leaving the next administration a very strong hand to play in world affairs.

The Biden administration is proposing new export limits on computer chips that are used in artificial intelligence.

The framework would put restrictions on the number of chips that go to roughly 120 countries, but nearly 20 nations would be exempt, including allies like Japan and Britain.

The regulations also keep in place existing bans on U.S. adversaries such as China and Russia.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the goal is to safeguard A.I.

tech and -- quote -- "ensure that it stays out of the hands of our foreign adversaries."

But industry advocates say the rules might disrupt supply chains and hurt U.S. companies.

It'll be up to the Trump administration whether to follow through on the restrictions.

China's exports grew sharply last month, as companies rushed to lock in orders ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Exports jumped nearly 11 percent in December, beating expectations.

That capped off a year that saw China's trade surplus reach nearly $1 trillion.

Analysts believe American shoppers are stockpiling Chinese goods while they can.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese imports upwards of 60 percent once he takes office again next week.

In South Africa, at least 100 people who were mining illegally have died after being trapped underground for months.

That's according to a group representing the miners, which says a cell phone sent to the surface contained videos showing dozens of bodies wrapped in plastic.

It's believed they died of starvation or dehydration.

The abandoned gold mine has been the site of a standoff between police and miners since November, when authorities first tried to force them out.

South African officials are working to bring the survivors to the surface.

Illegal mining is common in parts of South Africa.

The Supreme Court said today it won't hear an appeal from oil and gas companies who want to block lawsuits related to climate change.

The order allows a case to proceed from the city of Honolulu that aims to hold BP, Shell and others libel for billions of dollars in damages linked to climate change.

Also today, the court denied a Utah lawsuit seeking to take control of nearly 19 million acres of land from the federal government.

It also sidestepped two gun-related cases, one in Maryland related to handgun licenses and the other a challenge to Delaware's ban on assault-style rifles.

And the court upheld a state House district in North Dakota that's located on an American Indian reservation.

In space news, meanwhile, Blue Origin called off the debut launch of its massive new rocket early this morning minutes before blast off.

Standing 320 feet tall, the uncrewed New Glenn is the company's first rocket that aims to bring satellites into orbit.

WOMAN: OK, we have just been getting an update for mission control.

We are sending down today's launch attempt.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today's liftoff was canceled after launch officials reported unspecified technical issues.

New Glenn is Blue Origin's attempt to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets, which have dominated the commercial market for such launches.

Blue Origin is headed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos.

Officials have not yet announced a new launch date.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed to start the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 350 points on the day.

The Nasdaq fell about 70 points, as investors turned cooler on tech stocks.The S&P 500 managed a slight gain of just nine points.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Canada's ambassador to the United States discusses tensions with the incoming Trump administration; the chief U.S. hostage negotiator on efforts to bring detained Americans home; and our Politics Monday team weighs in on President Biden's final week in office.

America's long and close relationship with Canada is on full display in California this week, where our neighbors to the north dispatched firefighters and airplanes to help with the wildfires.

But Canada's assistance comes at a unique time, when president-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose state tariffs on Canadian imports and dismissively calling Canada the 51st state.

Kirsten Hillman is Canada's ambassador to the United States.

She joins us now.

Ambassador, welcome to the "News Hour."

Thanks for being here.

KIRSTEN HILLMAN, Canadian Ambassador to the United States: Thanks for having me.

It's great to see you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let me ask you about these comments from president-elect Trump calling Canada the 51st state, talking about annexing Canadian territory.

What is your response to those comments, and how are they resonating in Canada?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: Well, I think that Canadians, to your second question, have enjoyed a little bit of teasing back and forth for a while.

There's a pivot more recently that's been a bit tougher, and I think that's probably landing less well.

But I think really what matters here is that the president-elect, he's a negotiator, and he's trying to set the stage for a discussion.

And he clearly wants to have a discussion with us around things that matter to him, like the border and perhaps other issues around the economy.

And we're ready for that discussion, and we're not -- I think it's important not to confuse maybe some of the dynamics of setting himself up for that discussion and really the substance that has to come next.

AMNA NAWAZ: You called it teasing and also this pivot.

And we should mention, after Prime Minister Trudeau announced that he was stepping down, it seemed like Mr. Trump doubled down on a lot of that language.

He's also talked about using economic force to annex part of Canada.

He's talked about buying Greenland, controlling the Panama Canal.

I mean, what do you make of all that expansionist language?

Is it posturing or is there a real threat there?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: Well, I can't speak for Greenland or Panama, but, for Canada, my impression is -- and we talk to people around him, and we worked with him.

I have been ambassador since the previous Trump administration and worked with him under the NAFTA, the renegotiation of the NAFTA.

I think he is -- as I say, he's a negotiator, and he has -- he's positioning himself for the beginning of those negotiations, as are we.

And I just look forward to actually getting down and talking substance with the United States.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, in terms of how you're getting ready, obviously, these two nations are each other's largest trading partners.

Mr. Trump is threatening 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports.

What would be the impact of tariffs of that size on Canada's economy, and how would Canada respond?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: So, first, I think it's important to point out that, when this proposal, if you will, came from the president around potentially adopting 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian imports into the United States, it was on the basis of border security.

And since that time, we have listened to what he said, and we have put forward a very expansive $1.3 billion plan to buy new helicopters, additional physical resources, additional personnel.

We are proposing, and the U.S. incoming administration has reacted very positively to that, a Canada-U.S. task force, a strike force on the fentanyl crisis.

So we are trying to lean in to actually a cooperation, a partnership on a topic that's very important to us.

This border, it's got two sides.

It's as important for us for that border to be safe and secure and crime-free as it is for Americans.

So, just to put that on the table, that is our first effort in preparations for these discussions.

And for -- so far, the people we have been able to talk to about it, I think, are reacting -- like Mr. Homan, are reacting very positively.

The tariffs themselves would be very difficult.

Canada is the number one customer of the United States.

You sell more to us than you sell to any other country in the world, more than you sell to Japan, China, the U.K. and France combined.

So we are a very important source of sales and exports for American people, and, likewise, obviously, the United States is a very important customer for our products.

So it would be mutually very difficult.

It would immediately raise prices.

There's no question about that.

Prices at the pump would go up.

Prices across consumer goods would go up.

Prices for businesses would go up.

And it would be very, very difficult for us.

It would be very difficult for Americans as well.

AMNA NAWAZ: It's been reported that Canada is planning retaliatory tariffs as well.

What would those target?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: Well, I don't think we can answer that yet.

I think we have to see what actually happens.

We are prepared for any scenario.

Last time, when the previous Trump administration put tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, we responded in a measured, equivalent way.

We didn't escalate, but we didn't back down.

And I think that Canadians expect that of their government.

So we will be prepared for any scenario.

But, honestly, it makes no sense for us to get there.

It makes no sense.

We are trying to make both our countries stronger.

We have mutual competitors.

We have mutual adversaries.

We should be working on really finding a way to lean into President Trump's agenda for energy dominance.

Canada, one-third of what we sell to the United States are energy products.

And those products keep the price of energy low in the U.S. so that's where we want to be paying attention.

AMNA NAWAZ: In terms of what's ahead, and I know you don't serve an individual.

You serve the office.

You serve your nation.

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: But, obviously, Mr. Trudeau is stepping down.

The Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, who's drawn comparisons to Mr. Trump, is poised to win an expected election in the spring.

What could that mean for the future of these two nations' relationship?

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: Well, in my experience -- and I have worked with the U.S. for almost my entire career under Conservative and Liberal prime ministers in Canada and under Democrat and Republican presidents here.

And we always work it out because it's so important.

So we will always do a lot together.

We have millions and millions of our citizens working together every day, and they're the foundation of the relationship.

And our leaders, they will serve those relationships because those relationships make both our countries stronger.

AMNA NAWAZ: Canada's Ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman.

Ambassador Hillman, thank you for being here.

KIRSTEN HILLMAN: It's a pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: Today, president-elect Trump's allies in Congress proposed a new bill dubbed Make Greenland Great Again.

It's meant to expedite a negotiation process with Denmark, which protects Greenland's autonomy, given Mr. Trump's repeated desire to buy the Arctic territory.

Meantime, Greenland's prime minister said today that while the massive island is not for sale, Greenland would work with the U.S. Nick Schifrin has this look at the isolated, but strategic polar outpost.

NICK SCHIFRIN: It is the world's largest island, majestic, magical, remote and rugged, an ancient part of the planet crucial for contemporary national security.

SHERRI GOODMAN, International Military Council on Climate and Security: It is a key part of the Arctic region that protects access to the U.S. homeland.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Sherri Goodman is the secretary-general of the International Military Council on Climate and Security and a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

SHERRI GOODMAN: It has long been a place where we have defended against Soviet missiles during the Cold War through a large base in the northwest of Greenland, now upgraded to a space base today.

At Greenland, we are able to defend against Russian or Chinese incoming attacks.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Greenland sits in the middle of the shortest route between the U.S. and Europe and hosts the U.S.' northernmost base, now called the Pituffik Space Base, home to a ballistic missile early warning system.

It's also home to untapped riches beneath the ice, oil and gas, iron ore and gold and rare earths, whose promise is creating a race among the great powers.

SHERRI GOODMAN: China has increasingly been seeking investment in Greenland and in other parts of the Arctic.

And I think the U.S. is eying minerals for batteries, for advanced technologies, and to power the clean energy economy.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. President-Elect: We need it for national security.

That's for the free world.

I'm talking about protecting the free world.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Last week, president-elect Trump pitched buying Greenland to protect against Russia and China.

DONALD TRUMP: You don't even need binoculars.

You look outside, you have China ships all over the place.

You have Russian ships all over the place.

We're not letting that happen.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Greenland's been part of the kingdom of Denmark since 1721.

Today, it's a self-governing territory that gained autonomy in 1979.

And while Greenland and Denmark said they're not open for purchase, they might be open for business.

METTE FREDERIKSEN, Prime Minister of Denmark (through translator): The United States is our closest ally, and from our side we will do everything we can to continue to have close cooperation.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But Trump also refused to rule out trying to seize Greenland with the U.S. military.

DONALD TRUMP: I'm not going to commit to that now.

It might be that you will have to do something.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And that led to European warnings, even comparing Trump's threat to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

JEAN-NOEL BARROT, French Europe and Foreign Affairs Minister (through translator): You are asking me if I think the United States will invade Greenland.

The answer is no.

Have we entered an era that sees the return of the survival of the fittest?

The answer is yes.

It is out of the question for the European Union to let any nation in the world, whichever it is, and let me say starting with Russia, to attack its sovereign borders.

SHERRI GOODMAN: Putin would like nothing better than to continue to drive a wedge between the United States and its NATO allies.

So, in that sense, I think this type of discussion is very unhelpful.

We're not going to be using military force to take over Greenland.

We're using military force to defend against Russian and Chinese actions in and around Greenland.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But this isn't the first time Trump has expressed interest.

DONALD TRUMP: Essentially, it's a large real estate deal.

And strategically for the United States, it would be nice.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And Trump wasn't the first American president who thought that.

In the 1860s, the Andrew Johnson administration bought Canada and considered buying Greenland.

The Truman administration secretly offered Denmark $100 million in gold or to swap parts of Alaska.

But the island's national security importance has accelerated as its ice melts, thanks to climate change.

DAVID HOLLAND, New York University: Land is very valuable since they stopped making it.

And so the idea that new land can appear is an enormous resource to anyone.

NICK SCHIFRIN: David Holland is a New York University professor of environmental sciences.

He's visited Greenland 30 times and has dedicated his life to decoding the Arctic and its long-term impact on the planet.

DAVID HOLLAND: Greenland is perhaps now likely to melt significantly, if not completely, and to become an island without ice.

And you scale it 1,000 years, that is a lot of change in sea level, a lot of change in the global coastline.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And possible change to the climate that could be so accelerated and dramatic, it inspires Hollywood dystopias.

DAVID HOLLAND: When you remove a mountain, because Greenland is a mountain, more than a mile high of ice sitting north of the U.S., and so weather patterns will be changed by the removal of that mountain range.

"The Day After Tomorrow" is really a story about Greenland and the ocean adjacent to it and how critical and special that place on Earth is to our climate.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Greenland is so large, it serves as a kind of thermostat that keeps the climate balanced.

If it melts, the thermostat could break.

DAVID HOLLAND: If you abstract and look at Earth from space, you see Earth as a blue and white sphere or marble, and the white reflects all the sunlight from the sun back to space and the blue parts absorb a lot of heat.

We are in danger of losing the ice and changing the color of the Earth, such that it becomes effectively more blue or green and absorbing a lot more heat.

And that change is far bigger by many times over than the change to the greenhouse gases.

NICK SCHIFRIN: All of that might not be at the top of the new administration's mind.

Trump has dismissed manmade climate change as a hoax.

But the ice is melting, and that makes this enchanted land ever more crucial and coveted.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

AMNA NAWAZ: Roger Carstens work over the last five years as the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs has led to the release of a number of Americans held by countries like Venezuela and Iran.

He was also part of a team that negotiated Brittney Griner's freedom, as well as a complex multicountry deal that led to the release of Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan from Russia.

Carstens is leaving his job in the coming days, and he joins us now.

Ambassador, welcome back.

Thanks for being here.

ROGER CARSTENS, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs: Yes, thank you very much for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, in the Middle East in particular, this is obviously a multiagency effort to not only negotiate a cease-fire, but secure the release of the hostages, including seven Americans, we understand.

The president said earlier today a deal is close, possibly this week.

Has either party, Israel or Hamas, taken this deal?

Do you see it happening this week?

ROGER CARSTENS: I think you always have to be optimistic in these cases.

You have to want to get to that end, and, hopefully, that informs the negotiation.

It's hard to tell whether these sides are going to narrow the gap that's been between them, in main part because we have been close before and have never been quite able to do it.

Obviously, we remain hopeful.

I have had a chance to talk to the families about this.

I mean, their hearts are breaking.

They can see how close the deal might be.

I was just in Israel last week meeting with my counterparts in the Israeli government, as well as other nations who have, I would say, entities like mine, SPEHA-like entities.

And we're all waiting, really just, like, I would almost say wringing our hands hoping this can get done.

And nothing would make me happier than to conclude this job watching people leave Gaza and come -- and going back to their homes.

AMNA NAWAZ: In these final days, though, we should point out, as the next administration comes in, how do you make sure that the incoming administration adheres to any deal that's made with this one?

I know your successor has been named.

Have you been in contact with him about this?

ROGER CARSTENS: You know, I have.

I have had many phone calls with him, exchanged messages and such.

I will have a chance to meet him in a day or two.

He's very well-informed.

He has, I would say, an extensive background in negotiations.

And I think he's going to do a fantastic job.

AMNA NAWAZ: We should know, by the way, that is Adam Boehler, I believe his name is.

ROGER CARSTENS: Boehler, yes, Adam Boehler.

AMNA NAWAZ: Boehler, yes.

He's a CEO of a health care investment firm Mr. Trump has named, yes.

ROGER CARSTENS: Adam Boehler.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

ROGER CARSTENS: One thing, we're giving him a good team too.

Over the years, we have been able to build a good team at the State Department that handles these issues.

And he's going to be coming in and taking charge of that.

And I'm going to wish him the best.

And I will be always a phone call away if I can be helpful.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, in a number of countries, we know Americans are still held, including in Afghanistan.

There are U.S. citizens being held by the Taliban government, a man named George Glezmann, and two men who we have interviewed here on the "News Hour," their families, Ryan Corbett and Mahmood Habibi.

You know, the president spoke with their families over the weekend.

And the Taliban, we understand, have been pushing for the release of a man named Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, who's held at Guantanamo Bay, described by U.S. officials as a senior aide to Osama bin Laden.

You were in Doha earlier this month.

Did you offer to the Taliban to release Rahim in exchange for freeing these three Americans?

ROGER CARSTENS: Well, Amna, I would love to tell you a little more about it.

But, to my mind, this is a negotiation that's in train.

It's still in motion.

In a perfect world, we will somehow be able to close the gap between us and the Taliban and I will be on a plane heading to another country to bring those Americans home.

Having said that, we're not there yet.

We're working on it.

But as far as the specifics go, it's best not to talk about it in public.

AMNA NAWAZ: Is there any deal in which you negotiate for less?

And they seem to be pushing for this one senior Afghan, Rahim, as I mentioned.

Is there any deal in which not all three Americans come home?

ROGER CARSTENS: Again, I wouldn't want to get into the specifics just because that negotiations, it's ongoing right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: Onto Syria.

I need to ask you about Austin Tice.

At the end of last year, you did travel yourself to Syria after the Assad regime had fallen, part of the effort to find him and hopefully bring Austin home.

He's a journalist who's been held there since 2012.

In the month-plus since the Assad regime has fallen, have you learned anything else about where he was held or where he might be?

ROGER CARSTENS: Let's say, in the run-up after Damascus fell on the 8th, we were able to find a lot more information.

We were also able to take information that we'd had for years and try to overlap it and overlay it to get a sense of where he might have been held.

I think we came up with a list of about six places that we believe Austin may have been held or had some sort of relation to.

And from probably the 8th of December until about the 20th, we were working with people on the ground who could in fact go to the prisons, the secret prison sites, and conduct investigations, look around, find paperwork.

We went, as you mentioned, on the 20th.

We had a chance to look at a jail cell that we believe had a high probability of having held Austin, filmed, looked for DNA samples, looked, recorded, gathered evidence, along with a wonderful team from the FBI.

And, right now, what we're doing is receiving tons of information from people on the ground that will eventually inform our search once we're able to put U.S. boots on the ground, hopefully, I would say, in the coming days or weeks.

AMNA NAWAZ: So U.S. officials are not on the ground right now?

You're relying on NGOs, media, other partners on the ground?

ROGER CARSTENS: Correct.

Correct.

AMNA NAWAZ: Is that right?

ROGER CARSTENS: Yes, that's correct.

Eventually, we're going to get the U.S. Embassy reopened, I would imagine, or we will have a chance to put some U.S. teams, hopefully from the FBI, to work with the interim government in conducting these searches.

But other than the visit that we had on the 20th and one or two other visits that have taken place after that, we just don't have an enduring presence to conduct the search.

AMNA NAWAZ: I mean, you take a step back and look at the work you have led over the last five years, I know the State Department just put out this plan about how to reduce the risk of U.S. citizens being detained overseas.

ROGER CARSTENS: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: There's a line in there that stood out to me.

It said: We want to deter and prevent wrongful detention by raising the cost for those states involved."

You have seen, as well as I have, this recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal about how the Venezuelan regime, Nicolas Maduro, has actually been ramping up his detention of a number of foreign nationals, including American citizens, some 50 foreigners since July.

It seems like leaders are taking away the opposite lesson, that they're incentivized to hold hostage American nationals.

How do you impose a cost to deter that from happening?

ROGER CARSTENS: First off, let me gently push back on your assertion.

I'd say the data does not back up that some of the deals that we have had to make to bring Americans home is actually increasing the amount of people that nation-states are taking hostage.

Maduro might be a notable exception, but for the most part, our numbers have been as high as 74.

They have gone down to a very small number at this point.

But in terms of raising the costs, if you can, I would say, number one, build a multilateral coalition that can work together to impose costs, to share information, to, I would say, enact preventative measures, then that's a good step.

Secondly, we want to, I guess, expand the U.S. toolkit.

We have always been very quick to use diplomacy in terms of our national elements of power, but there are other tools out there that we need to create and, I would say, strengthen, and that could be across the information space, economic, financial, legal.

There are other tools out there that we're going to be growing to build just kind of -- I guess, put the lid on this horrific -- this action.

But we're also working with our multilateral partners to do that as well.

And, additionally, we're trying to create partnerships that will allow us to warn people from doing this.

And that's with the private sector and with nongovernmental sources as well.

And, lastly, we're working on strengthening legal norms so that eventually we have like an ecosystem of organizations, government and nongovernment, that can create the mechanisms that will one day put this to rest.

AMNA NAWAZ: Ambassador Roger Carstens, the now outgoing special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, thank you so much for joining us here at the "News Hour."

ROGER CARSTENS: Very grateful for being here tonight.

Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: This week, confirmation hearings will begin for a number of president-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees.

Tomorrow, Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump's controversial pick to lead the Defense Department, will face questions from senators on the Armed Services Committee.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Since Pete Hegseth's nomination to run the Pentagon, a number of misconduct allegations have surfaced against the former FOX News host.

These include excessive workplace drinking, financial mismanagement of organizations he's led, and sexual assault.

According to a police report made public last November, Hegseth is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 in a California hotel room.

The woman said Hegseth took her phone and blocked her exit.

It was first reported to police by a nurse after a patient requested a sexual assault exam.

Hegseth settled with the woman, but denies any wrongdoing.

I'm joined now by Gretchen Carlson, former FOX anchor and co-founder of Lift Our Voices, an organization dedicated to ending nondisclosure agreements in the workplace.

Gretchen, thank you so much for joining.

After some initial concern from Republican senators about these allegations against Hegseth, it seems as though many are prepared to vote to confirm him.

What does it say that an allegation of sexual assault does not appear to be disqualifying?

GRETCHEN CARLSON, Journalist: It says the power of Donald Trump.

That's the first thing that I would mention.

But it also is frustrating for those of us who work in this advocacy space to see that even allegations of drinking too much or mismanaging other nonprofits that Hegseth ran, that those seem to climb to the top of the list ahead of any kind of a sexual assault or sexual harassment claim.

We have worked incredibly hard over the last eight-and-a-half years since my story at FOX News to change the culture, and we have made amazing, great strides.

We have passed two bipartisan federal laws to get rid of these kinds of silencing mechanisms.

But changing culture is incredibly difficult, and that's what we're up against right now, mixed in with a tremendous amount of pressure politically.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And your organization sent a letter today to the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying: "Support of Mr. Hegseth's nomination would fly in the face of the Senate's intent in passing two bills," which you just mentioned that were signed by President Biden that make it easier for victims to tell their stories.

How does it fly in the face of their intent?

GRETCHEN CARLSON: You know, so many Americans are, quite honestly, tired of politicians because of the hypocritical nature of many of them.

And I think this is this is a pure example of that.

All 100 senators voted for the Speak Out Act back in 2022, which would give women voice and get rid of pre-dispute NDAs in the workplace.

So I find it very hypocritical and disingenuous that now they wouldn't have any interest in finding out more about what this woman might have to say from the event in 2008.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In terms of the NDA in this sexual assault allegation, the woman who accused Hegseth signed one, but Hegseth's attorney Tim Parlatore said last month that the NDA is no longer in effect.

TIMOTHY PARLATORE, Attorney For Pete Hegseth: I sent notice to her attorney that agreement is no longer -- has any force and effect.

So there is no NDA to release her from.

And if she wants to go and talk about it, she can do it.

I mean, certainly she would do it at her own peril of a further defamation lawsuit.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Given your experience, Gretchen, as the survivor of sexual harassment in the workplace, why do you believe that eradicating nondisclosure agreements is critical?

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Well, first of all, that is -- you could argue, is witness tampering with a threat that, hey, we will let you out of your NDA, but, if you do speak, we will sue you for defamation and you will be in more trouble.

I mean, that is -- that's the old-school way of approaching survivors.

Number two, this woman has been in hiding ever since this story came to light because she's seen what happens to women when they come forward.

We have made great strides, but women are still penalized.

And so this is not about her not wanting to tell her story.

The greatest solution for this would be if members of the Senate would meet with her privately and not subpoena her in front of the entire world to be shamed potentially, but to talk to her privately and see what her side of the story is and then make their determination about what they think about that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Gretchen, are you concerned as well that Hegseth, in particular, would be head of the Pentagon and that strides made to combat sexual harassment and assault for women in the military could be impacted by this?

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Yes, of course.

I mean, the majority of people that we hear from in this world about sexual harassment and sexual misconduct are from members of our military.

And many of these senators who are going to be making these decisions have been very proactive in trying to pass laws to make the military safer for women.

So I'm going to point out that Senator Joni Ernst, I know a lot of responsibility falls on her shoulders, but she's a sexual assault survivor.

She's also a combat veteran.

And she's also been instrumental in trying to pass legislation to make military women have a safer environment.

So I would hope especially she, along with men in the Senate as well and other women, that they would take a real close look tomorrow when they start this hearing, and that they would not overlook putting somebody in power who has these kinds of allegations against him and then would be in charge of rectifying these kinds of allegations if they come forward.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Hegseth is not the only one to face sexual assault allegations.

Trump himself is accused of sexual misconduct by two dozen women.

And at least two other appointees or nominees, Elon Musk and RFK Jr., faced sexual misconduct allegations.

What does it mean for the future of the MeToo movement that these men could fill some of the highest positions across government?

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Well, let me just be clear.

I will never give up this fight.

I have been doing this for eight-and-a-half years, and I'm accompanied by so many other people who are also fighting against this wrongdoing.

It may seem like a setback for the movement, but, no, we have made tremendous strides in these last couple of years.

I mean, women are actually being believed and there are consequences for predators.

At the same time, it is completely upsetting that these would be nominees and that they would be overlooked by members of Congress as -- or that their actions would be overlooked.

That is completely frustrating and disappointing, but it should not signal that this is the end of the movement.

We will continue our fight every single day.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Gretchen Carlson of Lift Our Voices, thank you for your time.

GRETCHEN CARLSON: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Biden has just one week left in office, and the raging wildfires in California have become fodder for political debate.

For the political stakes of the moment, we are joined tonight by Tamara Keith of NPR and Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News.

Amy Walter is away.

With a welcome to you both, Tam, as we continue covering these destructive wildfires out West, the state's governor, L.A.'s mayor, they are really fending off attacks from Donald Trump and his allies, namely Elon Musk, who are blaming them for the destruction.

Help us understand how this is unfolding, and what's at stake if Donald Trump, who this time next week will be president, if he cuts off or withholds federal disaster relief.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Yes.

And, to be fair, they are also fending off criticism from residents of their own states... GEOFF BENNETT: That's right.

TAMARA KEITH: ... who are frustrated with the response.

And there are also the reality -- the reality is that these fires moved so fast and so furious, it was like hundreds of simultaneous house fires that they were trying to fight.

So there's only so much that can or could be done in that moment.

But yet the politics broke out immediately.

I mean, the fires were zero percent contained when the politicization of the fires was well under way.

The question is, what does that mean for California?

And it probably does not help California that there is a Republican trifecta in Washington, and California is a blue state, and where this happened in California is a blue part of a blue state.

And Trump in the past has openly speculated about not helping states that he didn't agree with or withheld a major disaster declaration in Washington state for an extended period of time back when he was president.

It's not -- he isn't projecting exactly what he would do this time.

President Biden has in some ways tried to lock it in.

We will see if he succeeds.

But he has offered the state of California 100 percent coverage of recovery efforts from the federal government.

Normally, it's a split, like 75/25.

And President Biden has come out and said it's 100 percent for 180 days.

He's not going to be president for 180 days.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, here's how Governor Newsom responded to the political attacks from Donald Trump while speaking to "Meet the Press" yesterday.

GOV.

GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I called for him to come out, take a look for himself.

We want to do it in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist.

He's the president-elect.

I respect the office.

We have a president of the United States that within 36 hours provided a major disaster declaration over a text.

We had support from the president of the United States, Joe Biden, with 100 percent reimbursement, all the resources you could hope for, imagine, constant communication.

I'd like to extend that to the president-elect.

GEOFF BENNETT: And we learned today that Mr. Trump reportedly plans to visit California soon.

Andrew, from your perch on the Hill, it appears congressional Republicans are trying to or at least they say they want to condition some of this aid.

Tell me about that.

ANDREW DESIDERIO, Punchbowl News: Yes, look, Speaker Mike Johnson has said that that's a possibility.

He also floated the idea, for what it's worth, of attaching it to a raising of the debt ceiling, which I will just plant the marker right now, is highly unlikely.

That will not work.

It will not happen.

That is not the vehicle for it, in other words.

I do think that Russ Vought, who is Trump's nominee for OMB director -- this is the office that controls all of this aid that goes out, both domestic and foreign, by the way.

He's going to get questions about this at his confirmation hearing on the Hill this week.

And I will say too that Senate Republicans, who we just talked to earlier this evening on the Hill, made very clear that they're not really comfortable with this idea either, including, and especially, I should say, people like Senator Rick Scott from the state of Florida, for example, who deals with these natural disasters on a yearly basis, Senator Thom Tillis, who just successfully pushed for a major disaster relief package for his home state of North Carolina, due to, of course, the hurricanes that ravaged the western part of his state as well.

So we're seeing these Republicans who have traditionally supported disaster aid without conditions when and where it's needed come out and say, hey, that's not a good idea.

And I will note too, the filibuster still exists in the Senate, and Democrats will not vote for disaster aid that has conditions on it, especially in the manner in which some congressional Republicans and President Trump might be suggesting.

GEOFF BENNETT: At the very least, that would be precedent-setting.

ANDREW DESIDERIO: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk about President Biden's farewell this week.

He has two speeches planned, one he delivered today about his foreign policy achievements, as he sees them, another Wednesday night from the Oval Office.

Help us understand how he's trying to craft the public perception of his presidency as he exits.

TAMARA KEITH: He is trying to write the first draft of his legacy.

Obviously, a lot of other people are writing first drafts of his legacy as well, and they aren't exactly as rosy as he describes it.

But he today said that America has more friends now than it did when he left.

He talked about what he wants Donald Trump to continue of his policies.

There's probably likely going to be a very strong break from many of Biden's policies, like on climate, for instance, and A.I., things that Biden name -checked today.

The speech Wednesday in the Oval Office, it really is sort of this formal, traditional farewell address.

However, Biden also, just a couple of days ago, was asked if he's going to go quietly into the night or whether he's going to speak out against Trump or speak out in his post-presidency, and he's like, I'm not going to be quiet.

We will see.

We will see what the appetite is for commentary from President Biden once he's no longer in the Oval Office, but he is trying to cement his legacy to say that America is already great, that it doesn't need to be made great again.

GEOFF BENNETT: I know you're paying close attention to the dozen or so confirmation hearings that are set to happen starting this week for Mr. Trump's Cabinet nominees.

Senator John Cornyn jokingly referred to this as a train wreck of confirmation hearings, given that they're just coming back to back.

We were reporting earlier, our Laura Barron-Lopez did, on the Hegseth confirmation hearing in particular.

ANDREW DESIDERIO: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: What will you be watching for?

ANDREW DESIDERIO: Look, this is a nomination that Republicans think is safe at this point, but that Democrats are using tomorrow's confirmation hearing for to advance a narrative about him, so that they can say, this person is unqualified, he's unfit.

They're going to bring up the allegations of sexual and financial misconduct.

They have got a lot of women on that committee in particular who have been outspoken about this, for example, Senator Mazie Hirono from Hawaii, Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, who herself was injured in combat.

They have got -- Democrats feel like they have the right message on this and the right people to deliver that message.

Whether it's going to make a difference at this point is unclear, but they think that tomorrow is one of those rare confirmation hearings that could actually matter, where the responses from Pete Hegseth and in turn from Republicans both on and off the committee could actually make a difference in terms of his confirmation prospects.

I will note that Republicans on the Armed Services Committee have already noticed a vote for his -- a committee vote on his nomination for next Monday, which is Inauguration Day, at around 5:00 p.m.

It'll be members only, limited staff allowed in the room.

That is going to be presumably when and where they vote on Pete Hegseth's nomination to advance it to the Senate floor.

Based on the composition of the Armed Services Committee on the GOP side, I don't see any potential no-votes there, so he will probably be fine advancing out of committee.

The real problem is on the floor.

Republicans at that point will have 53 seats, of course, a 53-seat majority.

They can lose no more than three votes.

And so there's a number of people we're going to be watching for.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Tam, the idea here is to get as many people qualified as humanly possible -- confirmed as humanly possible on day one.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes.

And Trump had two confirmed on Inauguration Day last time.

I think his team wants a higher number than that, though it's not -- really not clear that's possible.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tamara Keith and Andrew Desiderio, thanks to you both.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

ANDREW DESIDERIO: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.