GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "News Hour" tonight: The cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas moves closer to being implemented after overcoming last-minute complications.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Supreme Court clears the way for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. AMNA NAWAZ: And how businesses are preparing for the tariffs that president-elect Trump has promised to impose.

AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Tonight, Israel's Cabinet is considering the cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed off on the agreement last night.

GEOFF BENNETT: The deal would go into effect Sunday local time.

In a moment, Nick Schifrin speaks with the United Nations coordinator for humanitarian relief, who's just been appointed envoy for Middle East peace.

But he starts with this report on the tense hours before the fighting is expected to stop.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Tonight in Gaza, one of Israel's final strikes, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Cabinet debate the cease-fire expected to begin on Sunday.

Culture Minister Miki Zohar: MIKI ZOHAR, Israeli Culture and Sport Minister: We hope that, in the future, we will be able to finish the job in Gaza.

This is something that we want to do, but now we want to bring our people back home.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Gazans who today are still grieving their dead, still desperate for food, know the war could resume after the six-week cease-fire.

But there is cautious hope these scenes, this deprivation will soon be past.

TAMAM ABU WARDA, Displaced Palestinian (through translator): When they said there would be a truce, we were so happy we couldn't sleep all night and all day.

We're exhausted from our exhaustion.

Our youth is gone.

Our lives are gone.

Our world is gone.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: You can't take out two, 10, 12, 1,500 people.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Last night on MSNBC, President Biden said he pushed Netanyahu to be restrained in Gaza.

JOE BIDEN: I said, you can't be a carpet-bombing in these communities."

And he said to me: "Well, you did it.

You carpet-bombed" -- not his exact words, "But you carpet-bombed Berlin.

You dropped a nuclear weapon.

You killed thousands of innocent people, because you had to in order to win a war."

I said: "But that's why we came up with the U.N." NICK SCHIFRIN: And it is the U.N. planning to surge humanitarian trucks into Gaza starting Sunday.

Joining me now is Sigrid Kaag, who just today was named U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, adding that portfolio to her other job, the U.N. senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza.

Sigrid Kaag, thanks very much.

Welcome back to the "News Hour."

Congratulations on the new job.

You enter this peace process job with a transformed region, Iran and its proxies on its back foot, a new U.S. president who's close to the Israeli government and the Arab world's willingness to normalize with Israel if Israel takes steps toward a Palestinian state.

So do you see this as a moment of opportunity for the peace process?

SIGRID KAAG, U.N. Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza: Well, I think we have gone through a deep crisis in the region, and this is indeed a moment of potential opportunity.

We all need to seize the moment, starting, of course, with the crisis in Gaza, securing successful implementation of the cease-fire, but looking at the horizon, which is the safe and secure Israel, alongside the establishment of a viable independent Palestinian state.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The current Israeli government has resisted the two-state solution, and some of its members are talking about annexation in the West Bank.

Where does that leave the peace process?

SIGRID KAAG: It's meant when the prospects of the realization of a two-state solution even further out of sight.

But coming back to your opening question, are we at a historical moment, potentially with new opportunities, I would say yes, but it depends on many factors, and, above all, political will and leadership, to see this through.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The cease-fire that has been agreed upon by the Israeli Cabinet today, which allows for a humanitarian surge into Gaza, is the U.N. ready, and are there conditions in Gaza that will allow for that humanitarian surge to arrive?

SIGRID KAAG: The U.N. is as ready as it can be.

Obviously, there's a lot of work ahead of us.

Conditions in Gaza are appalling.

It will be very hard to deliver aid as we would like to.

We don't have a mechanism on law and order because we don't have clarity on what the governance will be for and in Gaza.

In recent months it's been extremely difficult to work, not just because of the fighting that goes on, but also the criminality and looting that takes place.

That doesn't disappear overnight.

So we have to work in very insecure conditions.

I don't expect that it will see miracles on day one in Gaza.

But, as a collective effort, everybody is working to prepare to make sure we try as best as possible.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Today, can you describe the scale of the scarcity in Gaza?

SIGRID KAAG: Nowadays, one is surprised if you see children wearing shoes in Gaza.

There's no winter clothes.

There's no shelter.

It's ramshackle, at best.

Adults go by with one meal a day max, and mostly it's not a hot meal.

Mothers save food from their mouth, literally, to give it to their children.

Children spend their days rummaging through garbage belts, looking for anything that could be tradable.

But to imagine a Gaza where the population was well-educated, children thrived and were always hoping for better.

All that is gone physically and mentally.

And you can see that in the destruction of the facilities, normal, basic human requirements.

That's the challenge.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In addition to the massive surge of humanitarian aid, a senior administration official says the deal calls for efforts to clear rubble and rehabilitate hospitals and bakeries.

How will that work?

SIGRID KAAG: That's a tremendous task ahead, regardless of how that works.

We need to clear rubble.

The equipment needs to get in.

The staff needs to be vetted.

People need to be able to work.

Same for the rehabilitation of not only hospitals, but I would say health points across the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of organizations are active and willing.

They depend on the approved import of the goods they need to do the job.

Then it's a matter of time, assets, technical support and money.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Beyond what we have been talking about, phase three of the cease-fire agreement calls for the long-term reconstruction of Gaza.

And the scope there is absolutely overwhelming, as we even saw just today with new before-and-after satellite photos released above Gaza, two-thirds of all structures destroyed.

Do you believe that Gaza can be rebuilt?

SIGRID KAAG: I think it's our collective responsibility.

We were not able to stop the war.

Children need to go to school.

They need to be learning.

Pregnant mothers need to be seen by doctors.

They need to be giving birth in decent conditions.

And the story goes on.

And in the 21st century, I believe we can do it if we want to.

And I think we owe that.

We owe that both to Israeli citizens and we owe it to the Palestinians.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Sigrid Kaag, thank you very much.

SIGRID KAAG: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: The negotiations that led to the Hamas-Israel cease-fire agreement took months and months.

In the room and at the center of the talks representing the United States was Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

He joins me now.

Brett, welcome to the "News Hour."

Thanks for being with us.

BRETT MCGURK, White House Coordinator For the Middle East and North Africa: Amna, thanks so much for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So you have been on the front lines of these efforts to end this war.

Take us inside the negotiations, if you can.

At any point over the last several months did you just worry you were never going to get to a deal?

BRETT MCGURK: The president laid out this framework in May, at the end of may, and the Israelis agreed to it.

And in August, we actually thought we were getting close to a deal.

The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, we put together what we called a mediator proposal to try to bridge some differences.

I have to say Hamas never accepted the deal.

Hamas never agreed to release hostages, other than solely on its terms, which was basically for the Israeli forces to totally leave Gaza, permanent cease-fire, and go back to October 6, kind of bygones be bygones.

And no Israeli government was going to do that.

And then we had six hostages killed in a tunnel underneath Southern Gaza, underneath Rafah, including an American Hersh Goldberg.

And we pretty much concluded that, with the current leadership of Hamas, and given the regional situation at the time, in which Hamas believed that a multifront war that had been opened up against Israel with the behest of Iran, it was not going to do a deal.

So we had to change the equation, and that's really what we did.

Of course, Israel began its campaign in Lebanon.

That's actually been quite successful.

That removed this threat from Hezbollah, and it isolated Hamas really for the first time.

And, of course, the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, was killed in Gaza around the same time, and that also removed a critical obstacle.

So, December, after the Lebanon cease-fire, is when we reengaged very intensively.

AMNA NAWAZ: There was a lot of attention paid, of course, to the unprecedented coordination between the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump team, specifically between you and Mr. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff.

How did that work?

I mean, how do you represent two leaders with very different approaches, very different world views towards the same goal?

BRETT MCGURK: Well, yes, I think it's historic.

I think it's effective.

Steve became a close partner of mine, I think it's safe to say a friend.

Shortly after the election, remember, president-elect Trump came to see President Biden in the Oval Office, and President Biden set the tone.

Look, we're going to have a seamless transition, and we're going to try to work together where we can.

And I spent most of the last six weeks, first in Cairo, then in Doha, kind of nailing this down.

And it was at the end of December, Amna.

This is a critical point.

It was at the end of December.

For the first time, for the first time in a year, Hamas agreed to a list of hostages that it was prepared to release in the first phase of a deal over six weeks.

And after that happened -- and they had not done that until that point -- we were then in the bargaining to try to close it, what is the exchange, Palestinian prisoners for hostages, some details of the cease-fire, the redeployment of Israeli forces?

And we were really kind of then in the stages that we thought we could actually get this done.

AMNA NAWAZ: Brett, this deadline, of course, with the incoming administration, we saw previously president-elect Trump had threatened that there would be hell to pay if the hostages weren't released by the time he was sworn in on January 20.

What do you believe would have happened if the hostages weren't released by inauguration or aren't released, if the deal wasn't done?

Would the war have escalated?

BRETT MCGURK: Well, first of all, I mean, I think there has been hell to pay.

And looking back now 18 months, I think those who decided that was an opportune moment to launch a war against Israel have paid a very heavy price.

Look, this deal is difficult.

Any deal like this is difficult.

I have done a few of them, nothing kind of this dimension.

But, for Israel, it's difficult.

Many Palestinian prisoners, many Hamas prisoners will be released under the steel.

And the Israeli government is debating it now as we speak, and going on hours, because it's a complex deal.

And they should debate it and they should approve it.

I'm very confident they will.

AMNA NAWAZ: President Biden has spoken about this deal since it was announced.

In an interview just last night, he said that, within the first 10 days of the war, he shared this for the first time, that he met with Netanyahu, and he told him back then -- quote -- "You can't be carpet-bombing these communities."

He said, Netanyahu said back to him, "Well, you did it," referring to the U.S. bombing in World War II and the U.S. nuclear bombing in Japan, in other words, justifying the mass civilian casualties to come.

BRETT MCGURK: The discussions in those early days was about the extreme difficulty of an enemy that has hundreds of miles of tunnels underground and a civilian population that, of course, is not allowed in those tunnels, and that has nowhere to go.

And how do you do this?

AMNA NAWAZ: For now, at more than 46,000 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them women and children, I guess the question now left for the U.S. to answer, is that proportionate?

Were those 46,000 deaths proportionate for the attacks on October 7?

BRETT MCGURK: Well, we just negotiated a cease-fire, ultimately, we hope, if it goes through all three phases, that ends the war.

And the only way to end the war was a hostage deal.

AMNA NAWAZ: Hamas has reneged before, even attempted to in the last few days.

We know Mr. Netanyahu is still under pressure back in Israel from a part of his government that doesn't want this deal.

How tenuous is this cease-fire?

BRETT MCGURK: We worked tirelessly to nail down literally every single conceivable detail, every Palestinian prisoner that will be released, the rules of the road for the cease-fire, exactly where Israeli forces will be and won't be, what Hamas can do, what they can't do, all the provisions for humanitarian aid.

So it is all outlined.

It is clear what all the parties need to do.

I think this deal has broad support amongst the Israeli people, and, of course, the Gazans who have been living in hell.

We have said that multiple times.

This will bring relief, needed relief, finally, a cease-fire, a surgeon aid and stopping the war.

AMNA NAWAZ: Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

Thank you so much for joining us, Brett.

Good to speak with you.

BRETT MCGURK: Amna, thank you so much.

AMNA NAWAZ: And just moments ago, after I spoke with Brett McGurk, we received word that Israel's Cabinet has now approved the cease-fire agreement.

GEOFF BENNETT: Today, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law that threatens to shut down the wildly popular social media app TikTok as soon as Sunday.

The justices ruled that free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the app creates a national security risk.

With just three days left in office, President Biden has said that the enforcement of the ban will now fall to the incoming Trump administration.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has been covering this and more and joins us now.

So, Laura, let's start with this TikTok decision.

And we should say for the unfamiliar, it's not the content that's the issue.

It's the ownership and this judgment by U.S. officials and lawmakers that presents a national security threat.

How is the Biden administration going to handle this?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, the White House issued a statement today.

And, in it, said that: "President Biden believes TikTok should remain available to Americans, but simply under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by Congress in developing this law.'

So, as you said, it's about the ownership.

President-elect Trump said in a TRUTH Social post today that his decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future.

He has to review the situation.

So, ultimately, Geoff, as the current White House said, this is ultimately going to have to be implemented by the incoming administration.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I saw today, Laura, where the CEO of TikTok, who was invited and will attend Monday's inauguration alongside other tech leaders, he posted a message on that platform.

What did he say?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right.

TikTok's CEO Shou Chew posted on TikTok, crediting the president-elect earlier today.

SHOU ZI CHEW, CEO, TikTok: On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And as you said, Geoff, Chew, along with other tech moguls like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, plan to be in attendance at the inauguration Monday.

GEOFF BENNETT: So the Biden White House says it won't enforce this TikTok ban that it signed into law.

Instead, they unilaterally declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is now the law of the land?

Tell us about that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, the president-elect - - President Biden believes that the Equal Rights Amendment, the 28th Amendment, is ratified, is a ratified addition to the Constitution after Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020.

And the ERA, as many know, bans discrimination based on sex.

It was first passed in 1972.

The deadline for ERA ratification, though, Geoff, was in 1979.

It was extended to 1982.

So Congress missed that deadline by decades.

GEOFF BENNETT: So this is entirely symbolic?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Exactly.

It is symbolic.

It has no effect.

The person in charge of certifying and publishing the amendment is the national archivist.

But in December, she said, Colleen Shogan said that ultimately it's up to Congress to extend that deadline.

And without that happening, this ERA is not actually ratified.

GEOFF BENNETT: We also saw today, Laura, as if all of that wasn't enough, that HHS published the next list of drugs for Medicare price negotiations.

I see 15 drugs here on this list.

Break down what's here.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right, 15 new drugs today as part -- that negotiation was allowed under the Inflation Reduction Act.

And to date, so far, 25 drugs total are up for Medicare price negotiation.

And the announcement today includes those popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

All 25 drugs make up 30 percent of Medicare spending.

And the new prices are set to take effect in 2026 and 2027.

And we should note that Medicare only covers those popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy if you have a preexisting condition like diabetes or heart disease.

It's not covered only for weight loss.

And other drugs that were included in that negotiation list include drugs that treat cancer, asthma and arthritis.

GEOFF BENNETT: President-elect Trump, though, has talked about repealing the law that allows for these negotiations.

And RFK Jr., who could be confirmed, the next HHS secretary, has opposed some of the drugs on this list.

So what does that mean for this?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So much of the Medicare negotiations is set in that law.

But president-elect Trump could decide that he doesn't want to be as aggressive at the negotiating table and take a more industry-friendly stance in those negotiations.

Now, when it comes to the ability for the next administration to decide more expansive coverage for Ozempic and Wegovy and these weight loss drugs, they may be feeling some pressure from today's announcement and from the fact that President Biden already has a regulation in the works that they will decide whether or not to finalize that would expand coverage of these weight loss drugs to Medicare and Medicaid, so more people would qualify for these drugs under those programs.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there was also an historic clemency announcement from the White House today.

Tell us about that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So it's a historic day on this front, Geoff.

And let's go through the numbers.

Today, President Biden issued 2,500 commutations for nonviolent drug offenses.

So that means that President Biden has issued more pardons and commutations than any U.S. president.

In December, he had a record -- set a record at that point for 1,500 commutations.

And we can expect more preemptive pardons to be coming.

Biden was seen as the architect by some in his party of mass incarceration because of the '90s crime bill that he was a part of.

But today's actions represent a big shift for President Biden.

And they also represent a big focus on the sentencing disparities for crack and cocaine-related crimes.

So many of the legal scholars I spoke to said that today's actions could be legacy-defining for President Biden.

GEOFF BENNETT: Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks so much for all of this reporting.

We appreciate it.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today, another of president-elect Trump's picks for a key Cabinet position faced questions from senators on Capitol Hill at a confirmation hearing.

Kristi Noem is the governor of South Dakota and is being considered to run the Department of Homeland Security.

Here's Lisa Desjardins.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Governor Noem, please stand and raise your right-hand.

LISA DESJARDINS: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is already known on Capitol Hill, but, today, she personalized her biography.

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): I'm a wife and a mother and a grandmother, a farmer, rancher, businessperson.

I have served in our state legislature, in Congress for eight years and also a governor.

LISA DESJARDINS: And she is now president-elect Trump's pick to run the Department of Homeland Security.

If confirmed, she will oversee 240,000 employees tasked with securing the country from threats, dominating the conversation, border security, including Trump's plan for mass deportations.

Noem said she would prioritize criminals.

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: Getting criminal aliens off of our streets and out of the country will help American communities be safer again.

LISA DESJARDINS: At the border, Noem said she would sharply limit legal parole and asylum programs, as well as ending the CBP-1 app used by asylum seekers.

She was asked about the role of Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, who does not need Senate confirmation.

Noem did not answer if he would give direct orders to border agents.

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: The president will be in charge of the border.

LISA DESJARDINS: Noem won praise from the Republican side of the dais.

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): I think it's great that you're a governor and you bring that expertise to the table.

LISA DESJARDINS: But Democrats questioned her experience and readiness.

Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey asked for her list of top extremist threats to the U.S. GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: Since I'm not in the role today, I shouldn't get into specifics with you, but I think... (CROSSTALK) SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): Well, you can at least get into specifics about what organizations that are out there.

So I just wanted to get a sense of your knowledge of the organizations.

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: Yes.

We have all the traditional terrorist organizations that have always threatened the United States.

SEN. ANDY KIM: Such as?

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: But I would also say -- I would say Hamas, ISIS, continuing down that path of those terrorist organizations.

LISA DESJARDINS: She aimed to reassure them, saying she would administer the office fairly.

GOV.

KRISTI NOEM: I will deliver the programs according to the law and that it will be done with no political bias.

And if the programs change or if you decide to change the rule of law, then I will follow that.

LISA DESJARDINS: Noem's confirmation is expected in the next week or two.

For the "PBS News Hour" I'm Lisa Desjardins.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: President-elect Trump says he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will solve many problems together after the two leaders spoke on the phone today.

In a post on his TRUTH Social platform, Trump said they -- quote -- "discussed balancing trade, fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects."

For his part, President Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and said that China hopes for a -- quote -- "good start of the China-U.S. relationship during the new U.S.

presidency."

Trump has threatened to slap 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports coming to America, but he's also spoken highly of his past relationship with China's leader.

The Trump-Xi call comes as China reported a third straight annual decline in population last year.

Figures out today showed an overall population of just over 1.4 billion people at the end of 2024.

That's down by nearly 1.4 million from the previous year.

Experts say that people are living longer, but that hasn't offset a decline in new births, as young people focus on work, instead of starting families.

In the meantime, China also announced today that its economy grew 5 percent last year.

That is slower than the year before, but it's in line with Beijing's targets.

In Moscow, the leaders of Russia and Iran deepened their country's ties today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a -- quote -- "comprehensive strategic partnership treaty."

It covers trade and military cooperation, plus areas like education, science and culture.

The pact comes as both countries face damaging Western sanctions.

The U.S. has accused Iran of providing drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Both countries have denied this.

Back in this country, Ohio's Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted will fill the Senate seat left vacant by vice president-elect J.D.

Vance.

Governor Mike DeWine announced his choice today after months of speculation.

The 57-year-old Republican is a former Ohio House speaker and secretary of state.

Vance served in the Senate for less than two years before being tapped to run with president-elect Trump.

Husted will serve until December of 2026.

A special election will be held that November to fill the last two years' Vance's six-year term.

Firefighters in Los Angeles are taking advantage of more favorable wind conditions today as they battle blazes that have been burning for more than a week.

At last check, the Palisades Fire was 31 percent contained.

The Eaton Fire, which has devastated the community of Altadena, was 65 percent contained.

Cal Fire officials warned that the gusty Santa Ana winds will pick up again next week, putting tens of thousands of Angelenos at risk.

ROB CLARK, Fire Behavior Analyst, Cal Fire: With this weather that we have here, we will take a little respite from the active burning conditions we have had for a couple days, but, in the near future, we could be right back into those critical burning conditions.

AMNA NAWAZ: The wildfires have killed at least 27 people and destroyed some 12,000 properties so far in the Los Angeles area.

SpaceX says a fire may have caused its Starship rocket to break apart during its test flight yesterday.

The booster made it back to a landing pad safely, but the rocket broke up in space about eight minutes after liftoff.

Eyewitness video caught debris from the spacecraft raining down over Turks and Caicos in the Atlantic.

Flights near the falling debris had to be diverted.

The Federal Aviation Administration today ordered SpaceX to investigate what went wrong.

On Wall Street today, stocks rallied to close out the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 330 points.

The Nasdaq surge nearly 300 points, or about 1.5 percent.

The S&P 500 also closed firmly in positive territory.

And acclaimed British actress of stage and screen Joan Plowright has died.

JOAN PLOWRIGHT, Actress: If you would despise me, I would forgive him.

But if he loved me to madness, I will never requite him.

AMNA NAWAZ: Considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation, Plowright won a Tony Award and two Golden Globes over a seven-decade career.

She was also the widow of actor Laurence Olivier, her partner in art and in life.

They were married for 28 years and worked together on a number of plays.

Plowright enjoyed success late in life in such films as "101 Dalmatians" and "Enchanted April," which garnered her an Oscar nomination.

She described her beginnings on stage as a passion, an outlet and a calling.

JOAN PLOWRIGHT: No, I think there was a rebel always inside.

But I think I never had the total confidence to behave as I felt until I was allowed onto the stage, and it could come out in other characters.

AMNA NAWAZ: Plowright was made a dame commander of the British Empire in 2004 for her lifetime of contributions to the arts.

Dame Joan Plowright was 95 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart offer their takes on the end of the Biden administration; and Amanda Gorman shares her new poem about the California wildfires.

GEOFF BENNETT: Countries and businesses around the world will be watching to see just how quickly president-elect Donald Trump imposes new tariffs after he takes office on Monday and how steep those tariffs may be.

"PBS News Hour" special correspondent and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell reports on how some companies are already preparing.

RICK MUSKAT, President and COO, Deer Stags Concepts, Inc.: So this is one of our newer products that's made with our new S.U.P.R.O.

comfort technology.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: When Donald Trump won in November, Rick Muskat's first call was to China.

RICK MUSKAT: Called our major supplier, found out how many more pair they could make for us before they closed for Chinese new year.

And we bought 30,000 pair that day.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Trump has threatened 60 percent tariffs or taxes on Chinese made goods, which might include all the shoes Muskat's company, Deer Stags, sells.

RICK MUSKAT: We import and distribute around the United States both men's and boys' shoes.

We call it affordable comfort fashion.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: He says shifting production here is not an option, given labor costs.

RICK MUSKAT: Shoes have over 200 operations and there's a lot of labor in the making of shoes.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Plus: RICK MUSKAT: There's no factories here to move production back, so we don't have the option.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Stacking up early was risky.

His shipment might not arrive before new tariffs start.

RICK MUSKAT: You're tying up your capital, you're paying storage, and you're making decisions on what you think the consumer is going to buy well in advance of when the consumer decides what they want to buy.

And sometimes you're wrong.

RYAN PETERSEN, CEO, Flexport: We see about a 20 percent increase in bookings relative to expected.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Ryan Petersen is CEO of Flexport, a trade and logistics company.

RYAN PETERSEN: There's a lot of uncertainty about where the tariffs will be, where they will land.

But one thing you know is, they're probably coming.

And so the easiest thing to do is, if you can, move the goods in early and get them here before the tariffs hit.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Firms also look for creative ways to duck future tariffs.

RYAN PETERSEN: Customs workers have all sorts of strategies to help you with tariff engineering.

You could change the components of your product that, if the components are 51 percent polyester versus 49 percent polyester, that's a different duty code.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: After Trump's earlier trade wars and COVID, many companies began moving their supply chains, but mostly not to the U.S. RYAN PETERSEN: The biggest winner for sure was Vietnam, Mexico probably right up there.

And it's continued to move for many years because of the cost of labor.

So you see a lot moving into Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, India, throughout Latin America.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: But these moves carry geopolitical risk.

RYAN PETERSEN: Jordan, which is a peaceful place, but is surrounded by all kinds of conflict.

And so a number of our customers who set up manufacturing in Jordan in order to take advantage of free trade agreements quickly found out, oh, wow, it's, like, not that easy.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Their new location could get hit by tariffs too.

JENNY GOODMAN, Co-Founder and CEO, TILIT: So we have been working to onboard this factory in Mexico for about two years.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Jenny Goodman co-founded TILIT, a hospitality workwear company, with her partner, Alex McCrery.

They thought they were smart to diversify production away from China and Colombia.

JENNY GOODMAN: So Mexico was sort of a buffer for that should there be any issues in Asia moving forward.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Then, in November, Trump threatened huge tariffs on Mexico too.

So it feels a little bit like Whac-A-Mole.

JENNY GOODMAN: Yes, a little bit like a Whac-A-Mole.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: TILIT does produce 10 percent of its products, the more expensive seasonal fashion collection, here in New York.

Are you trying to find alternatives here domestically?

JENNY GOODMAN: Not at the current moment.

We feel that we're pretty much at max capacity with what we can produce domestically, based on price sensitivity of our customer and skilled labor.

It's like, every time that we lose a seamstress, it takes a while to find and replace somebody because there isn't a huge pool of skilled labor anymore here.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Tariff threats have stressed their business.

JENNY GOODMAN: We have some really big orders that we have been working on for about 15 months now and we have quoted those orders sourcing out of our factory in China.

So if there's a 10 percent increase and our margin is slim because it's a huge order, that could really impact whether we have to, A, raise prices or, B, take an even worse margin hit.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Their Mexican factory partner has agreed to absorb some of the tariff risk, but some costs would have to get passed on to customers, and they might find that hard to swallow.

JENNY GOODMAN: We're already in this period where we're trying to combat inflation, especially in our industry, because everything's gotten more expensive for restaurants.

The butter has gotten more expensive.

The uniforms have gotten more expensive.

The labor has gotten more expensive.

So the tolerance for large increases in prices would be really challenging for us.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Research on Trump's earlier tariffs found they were mostly paid by American businesses and their customers.

MARY LOVELY, Peterson Institute for International Economics: What we saw using tens of thousands of customs records is that the price that we paid the exporters didn't change.

And so we believe that those tariffs were passed through 100 percent to U.S. importers.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Mary Lovely studies trade at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

MARY LOVELY: Washing machines, we saw an almost immediate increase in price.

Many of them are made in South Korea.

The South Korean-made washing machine was more than $1,000 dollars.

But then also the domestic-made machine was also higher, as was the dryer, even though there were no tariffs on dryers.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Trump's plan for a 20 percent across-the-board tariff, plus a 60 percent tariff on China, suggests price increases for consumers could be large.

MARY LOVELY: The burden on the average family would be a minimum of $2,700 a year.

Estimates that include those increases in domestic prices as well go up to $4,000 and above for the average American household.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: This will all ricochet back to U.S. companies.

MARY LOVELY: Some people are going to be pushed out of the market.

They just won't buy it all.

Other people will buy fewer of whatever item it is.

Either way, the company is going to be selling fewer items, have slower growth, and many of them will actually have fewer workers.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: There will be some domestic winners.

MITCH CAHN, President, Unionwear: Anything that makes it more expensive or difficult for somebody to import products that we make domestically helps us.

Chaos in general helps domestic manufacturers.

I hate to put it that way, but... CATHERINE RAMPELL: Mitch Cahn founded Unionwear, which produces hats and bags in New York and Jersey, three decades ago.

MITCH CAHN: In 1992, there were well over 1,000 hat manufacturers and over 1,000 bag manufacturers when we started.

But there are probably four or five hat factories left and maybe about 15 or 20 bag factories.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: He's seen a lot in that time.

MITCH CAHN: We used to rent this space and the production floor over the right over there to a biker gang.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Turns out New Jersey has geopolitical risks too.

MITCH CAHN: The biker gang came to us and said, this neighborhood is not very safe, and we will put an end to all of that if you just give us this space for our club.

And we do have one remnant from them being here, which is this stripper pole in the middle of our cafeteria.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: So what happened to the gang?

MITCH CAHN: They got in trouble with the local authorities and had to leave Newark.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Most American consumers don't care about that Jersey authenticity.

MITCH CAHN: There's a lot of people who are very pro-made in USA that are not buying made-in-USA goods, and they don't really think twice about it.

Consumers are generally driven to buying the least expensive thing.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Unionwear's biggest clients are unions, the military, and organizations that care about co-branding with a made-in-USA label, like political campaigns.

MITCH CAHN: So this is one of the most popular hats that we ever made.

We ended up making about 5,000 units a day of this baseball hat.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Cahn predicts a boom in USA-made products in the next few years unrelated to tariffs.

MITCH CAHN: That's just being driven by this very strange, almost perfect storm of events that are coming our way.

One of them is the USA's 250th birthday.

One of them is U.S. hosting the World Cup.

One of them is U.S. hosting the Olympics, which definitely drive demand for us.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Cahn thinks tariffs will give Unionwear an added boost, even though his machinery comes from abroad.

MITCH CAHN: We pulled forward a purchase of equipment from Canada to beat the clock on tariffs, and then we paused any additional purchases until the tariff situation works itself out.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Even with tariffs, ramping up production won't be easy.

MITCH CAHN: We have difficulty recruiting workers, and we're in New Jersey, New York, with a large immigrant population, a lot of people with experience selling.

We find it harder and harder to hire people who want to work in a factory.

That's part of the issue.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: Cahn is investing in what may be the key to making us manufacturing more competitive, robots.

MITCH CAHN: We are automating our bag production.

That will reduce our labor costs down to, like, maybe 15 percent of the cost of the bag, and that's going to have a tremendous difference.

CATHERINE RAMPELL: How much will the tariffs actually cost companies, consumers, workers?

We will soon find out.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Catherine Rampell in Newark, New Jersey.

AMNA NAWAZ: With one administration leaving office, and another coming in, we turn to the analysis of Brooks and Capehart.

That is New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post.

Great to see you both.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Hey, Amna.

DAVID BROOKS: Good to see you.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, in Mr. Biden's final week in office, a lot to talk about.

He's managed to push across the finish line a cease-fire deal in the Middle East, started to cement his legacy with a prime-time Oval Office farewell address.

Jonathan, let's start in the Middle East and the cease-fire deal.

This is a war that began on his watch.

We know the U.S. has been relentlessly focused on pushing through some kind of deal.

How critical was it for Mr. Biden to get this deal before he leaves office?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: I think it was very critical.

I know some people look at this through the lens of, well, he's trying to get this done for his legacy.

And if you have been watching the president, excuse me, since October 7, he has been working.

The secretary of state had been working overtime trying to get a deal done, get a cease-fire done, get a deal that would have to get the hostages released.

And I think it was very critical for him with Trump's inauguration coming.

Let's get this done.

Let's get these people home.

Excuse me.

Go ahead.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, the idea, we have also been reporting on this, that this was as a result of coordination, right, between Biden's team on their way out and Trump's team before they have even come in, what does that say to you?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, it was unusual and refreshing.

Brett McGurk, who was on the show earlier, he was there.

And then elsewhere in the Middle East was the Trump people.

And they were both working together.

And the Trump people very graciously said, it's the Biden administration.

They're the senior partner.

We're the junior partner here.

But I do think it was Donald Trump's pressure that really sealed the deal, because Israel had to swallow a lot for this deal.

They're trading away a few hostages, some of them dead, in exchange for terrorists, a lot of them.

And so that -- Israel didn't want to do that.

The thing that worries me is the corridor that separates Gaza from Egypt, through which supplies -- military supplies can go into Gaza.

That may go into Hamas or Gaza hands.

So it's a high price.

But I think - - and so there's no celebration in Israel.

But on the other hand, the war's over.

And some of the suffering will go back and the Gazans could go back and begin to rebuild their homes.

So it's a major accomplishment on a bipartisan basis.

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: But I would just say that this deal is a three-step deal.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: And this first step might be the easiest one.

So we're not out of the woods yet.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's right.

And it hasn't gone into place just yet either, we should note, so holding our breath.

Meanwhile, I know you were both watching, of course, as he spoke to the nation for the fifth and the final time from the Oval Office.

Here in part is what Mr. Biden had to say.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, for a final address to Americans, it was less about listing accomplishments, really more of a warning for the future.

Was that what you expected from the president?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Actually, I did.

And he did tout his accomplishments, but, as he did when he announced his candidacy for the 2020 election, he got into the race because he was concerned about the future of the country.

And I think it's a rather fitting, but also sad bookend that he's leaving office with really big concerns about the country, concerns that I think we should take to heart and keep our eyes open, because -- he's talking about a oligarchy.

We're about to see some of the world's richest people, richest men there at the inauguration for Donald Trump and what that means for Americans, for how they get their news and information, a whole host of things, which I think the president was getting at.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, what do you make of that?

DAVID BROOKS: Well, of course, it's normal for presidents on the way to have to do a big warning, so George Washington, entangling alliances, Dwight Eisenhower, the military-industrial complex.

So he did oligarchy.

I think he's right.

There is an oligarchy, but it's completely bipartisan.

Most billionaires in this country are Democrats.

You go to - - I speak at Aspen every year.

I think I know something about billionaires.

And there used to be one Republican, one Republican, this guy named Fred Malek, who unfortunately has left us.

But, like, the Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, these are Democratic places.

The Democratic Party has half the country, but about 75 percent of the GDP of this country.

So there is a Democratic oligarchy and a Republican oligarchy.

And so to say it's all because of Elon Musk, well, that's part of it, but there are a lot of billionaires on the Democratic side.

The thing about Biden is, we go around the country, we have followed him for decades now.

He's done a wonderful job over the course of his career, just a wonderful job.

And I go around the country in New York state or Ohio and there are manufacturing jobs coming back.

But as Frank Foer wrote in "The Atlantic" today, his job was to end -- to fight authoritarianism.

The whole thing was to preserve democracy.

And the election of Donald Trump suggested to some large degree he failed at that large mission.

And so, at some sense, a wonderful guy, he's been a great public service, but there's a sadness and a tragedy at the end of it.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: I don't know if it's so much that he failed, because he did try.

And lots of people criticized him for talking about it, including those of -- some of us in the media.

But I go back to a question that I asked I believe around the table when we were here for the marathon election night coverage, that I just wonder if, with these results, the American people just sort of gave up on democracy, or wanting to, hey, let's try this authoritarianism, this guy who has told us what he wants to do.

Let's give that a shot.

That's the thing that concerns me the most.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, we did this week start to see the contours of a potential Trump administration with the confirmation hearings, these slew of them unfolding on Capitol Hill.

Take a look here at the list.

You saw among them the nominees for secretary of defense, secretary of state, attorney general, intelligence, energy, economic, national, security leaders, too many to name here alone.

David, what did you make of the way they unfolded, in particular, probably among the most contentious, for Pete Hegseth, his nominee to be secretary of defense?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I was more or less appalled by that hearing.

China is -- we're on the walking tour to war with China.

The secretary-general of NATO said, we have got to get in a war mind-set.

China's building landing craft to where they can invade Tehran.

They have got microwave weapons that have the force of nuclear power to wipe out our nuclear -- our military software.

People are warning that they're looking for first stage nuclear attack on us.

H.R.

McMaster said that a couple weeks ago.

And so it's the most dangerous security situation since World War II.

And so what is Pete Hegseth talking about?

Wokeness in the military.

How trivial.

And, frankly, the Democrats, what are they talking about?

Could they have said to Pete Hegseth, what are you going to do about -- how does drone warfare affect our confrontation with China?

AMNA NAWAZ: If I may, that is Mr. Trump's pick, though, to be the secretary of defense talking about wokeness, right?

DAVID BROOKS: Right, exactly, exactly.

AMNA NAWAZ: OK. DAVID BROOKS: I'm not -- this is not a pro-Trump speech I'm in the middle of.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: And -- but then, what do the Democrats focus on?

Women in combat.

Now, I happen to support the idea that a woman, if she qualifies, of course, she should be in combat.

Is that as important as preventing World War III?

No.

Talk about it.

Talk about the big issues of the day.

At the very end, a few Democratic senators, Tammy Duckworth among them, asked some big, serious questions.

But you would have to say, overall, the Republicans were the more intellectually serious group at that hearing.

They did ask about shipbuilding.

They did ask about drones.

They asked about the big, substantive issues.

But, mostly, we sidestepped the major crisis in front of the Defense Department.

AMNA NAWAZ: How did you look at the hearing, Jonathan?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Look, Senator Duckworth was going to be my touchstone, because she did basically a pop quiz on Hegseth.

Can you name -- you're going to be doing negotiations.

You're going to be doing negotiations with ASEAN.

Can you name the nations of ASEAN in your response?

And he couldn't.

That's outrageous.

And the fact that he was picked to be the head of the Defense Department is part and parcel of what Trump has done with virtually all of his nominees, with the exception of maybe Rubio, Burgum and a couple of others, is just put people in places who look good, who will also do his bidding.

AMNA NAWAZ: Will he get confirmed?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Oh, yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, do you agree?

DAVID BROOKS: I agree.

AMNA NAWAZ: Before we say goodbye here, we have talked a lot over the last two years about how this election would determine the course of this nation's future for the next several years.

As we transition from one government to the next, David, how are you looking at this?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I go with the recognition that Donald Trump is the most consequential American politician since Ronald Reagan.

We have seen a major shift, basically, the 50 years that Joe Biden was in office, liberal internationalism, a respect for institutions, at least attempts at bipartisanship.

You had a system in place from 1945 to 2016 that Trump said, we're taking it out.

And the fact that he's reelected and now about to take office and use executive orders to wipe out a lot of things, including the civil service potentially, or parts of it, that's just a gigantic pivot in American history.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: And this is why I believe that this -- what we're about to endure, I have great trepidation.

I mean, he's promised to do a lot of radical things.

And if he does even half of them, this country will be very different in four years.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan Capehart, David Brooks, and you will be with us on Inauguration Day and for many, many weeks and months to follow.

We will talk about all of it.

I thank you both.

Always good to see you.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Thanks, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, of course, David and Jonathan and many others will be back with us on Monday for live coverage of Donald Trump's second inauguration.

That's going to begin Monday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern right here on PBS and streaming on our YouTube channel.

And before we go, we want to take some time for reflections about how people are coping with the devastating California wildfires.

The renowned poet laureate and Los Angeles native Amanda Gorman has penned a heartfelt tribute expressing her fears and her hopes for her community, and I spoke with her yesterday.

Amanda Gorman, welcome back to the "News Hour."

Thanks for joining us.

AMANDA GORMAN, Author and Poet: Thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So you are a Los Angeles native.

You live in the Pacific Palisades.

Tell us how you're doing.

Tell us if your home is OK and also what it's been like just to watch all of this devastation and loss unfold in a place you call home.

AMANDA GORMAN: Thank you for asking.

I mean, I'm so blessed.

I'm safe.

My family's safe.

My house is doing OK, but it's been just devastating, I think, on a communal level to see this amount of damage and loss in a city that we love.

L.A. is incredibly strong and resilient.

And it's also just been amazing to see the way people are coming together.

But we have a really long trek ahead of us.

AMNA NAWAZ: So tell us what led you to write this poem, "Smoldering Dawn."

AMANDA GORMAN: Well, when the fires broke out in Los Angeles, I was actually in New York City just by accident.

I happened to be doing some press there.

And when I saw the amount of ruin and wreckage, I felt so hopeless and so helpless that I couldn't be there with my city in that moment.

But I wanted to process that grief that I was feeling as an Angeleno.

And so I wrote the poem for myself just to work through what I was feeling and then decided to share, it in the hope that it might bring some warmth and soul and spirit to a time that feels really hard for Californians right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: For anyone who hasn't had a chance to read it yet, would you mind sharing a few lines, maybe?

AMANDA GORMAN: Absolutely.

So I will share the last few lines.

"Today, we mourn.

Tomorrow, reborn.

We end the burning, befriend the hurting, mend those who face the flame.

We reclaim our city's name, a revelation that only this place tells.

To find our angels, all we need do is look within ourselves."

AMNA NAWAZ: This clearly resonated so much with so many people.

You shared it online.

You shared it as a fund-raiser, essentially, for the fire response.

You have raised over $100,000 in aid so far.

Where is that going to go?

AMANDA GORMAN: Well, I was so happy to be able to use this poem just to do my small part.

And it's going to go to the California Fire Foundation, which supports firefighters and their families and people impacted by fires in California.

And so the amount of response that I got to this poem raising over those course of just a few days was amazing.

But there's also so many other ways that Angelenos and the country are showing up by volunteering, donating, giving their time and their resources.

So, across the board, it's been really heartwarming.

AMNA NAWAZ: In all of this moment of loss, I know that you're also talking about this new book you have out, "Girls on the rise."

You're calling it a tribute to women's impact and power and resilience.

Why this message right now?

AMANDA GORMAN: I really wanted to come out with a children's book now, more than ever, that emphasized the importance of uplifting young girls and their allies, because I felt we're living in a time where that's incredibly necessary to make sure that young girls' voices are protected and also celebrated, because we're just seeing so many spikes in bullying and gender-based violence and all those things.

And so I was curious what would happen if there was a children's book out that across gendered lines said, hey, we're all in the same boat.

We're all in this together.

And we're much stronger as a unit than we are separated, as it were, by gender or sex.

AMNA NAWAZ: Author and poet Amanda Gorman, thank you so much for making sure we're all turning towards the light in these dark times.

Really appreciate it.

Pleasure to speak with you.

AMANDA GORMAN: Nice speaking with you too.

Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: And be sure to watch "Washington Week With The Atlantic" tonight on PBS.

Moderator Jeffrey Goldberg and his panel look at what to expect on Monday, when Trump returns to the White House.

GEOFF BENNETT: And on "PBS News Weekend": Nearly 75 years after a woman was executed for spying for the Soviet Union, a recently declassified document has her son pushing the White House for an apology.

And that is the "News Hour."

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us, and have a great weekend.