Mark shields and david brooks take on the republicans tax bill victory and review congress as it heads home for the holidays. All that and more, on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. The ford foundation. Working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump signed the republicans 1. 5 trillion tax overhaul into law today. He marked his first major legislative victory in the oval office, and said the numbers will speak to americans, despite polls showing the bill is seen unfavorably. I think its selling itself. Its becoming very popular but i think it will really, youll see something when they open up the paycheck. Thats when youre going to start to see it. By signing it now, it kicks in this year. Woodruff the president also signed a spending bill to keep the government open into january. It includes additional money for missile defense. Afterward, mr. Trump flew to florida to spend the holidays with his family, at his maralago resort. He will stay there until new years day. Members of congress headed to their homes for the holidays after passing that government funding bill last night. But the senate balked at voting on a Disaster Relief bill worth 81 billion. Lawmakers also put off action on protecting young immigrants from deportation, and providing longterm Health Care Funding for poor children. Democrats are pressing republicans not to wrap up investigations of russian meddling in the 2016 election. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter today to speaker paul ryan. In it, pelosi says, political haste must not cut short valid, investigatory threads. A number of republicans are saying, however, it is time to finish the probes. It turns out that Russian Hackers targeted at least 200 journalists, publishers and bloggers, starting in mid2014. The Associated Press reports today that they were the Third Largest group hit, after diplomats and democrats. U. S. Intelligence agencies say the hackers acted on behalf of the russian government. The u. N. Security Council Voted today to impose tough new sanctions on north korea. They curb the norths oil imports and force its overseas workers to return home, cutting off a source of hard currency. The u. S. Drafted the measure, and Ambassador Nikki Haley said its unanimous approval shows the level of international outrage. Should the north korean regime conduct another nuclear or Ballistic Missile test, this resolution commits the Security Council to take even further action. It sends the unambiguous message to pyongyang that further defiance will invite further punishment and isolation. Woodruff the resolution was triggered by north koreas latest Missile Launch last month. New fighting erupted today between Israeli Police and Palestinian Protesters in gaza and the west bank. Gazas Health Ministry said two palestinians were killed when Security Forces used live ammunition and tear gas. The israelis said they responded to violent riots. Protests began after President Trump recognized jerusalem as israels capital. In spain, catalonias bid for independence appeared to gain new momentum after separatists won a majority in Regional Elections. Jonathan rugman of independent Television News reports from barcelona. Reporter it looks like spanish victory, when in fact, its the opposite. One prospain party took 25 of catalonias vote last night, but thats not enough to form a government, so the single biggest Political Force here was putting a brave face on defeat. Instead, a ragtag bunch of independence parties has confounded the might of the spanish state. Their vote is slightly down on two years ago. With their leaders jailed or in exile after spain imposed direct rule, the turmoil of the last few months has barely dented them. And so carlos puigdemont, the deposed catalan president , is likely president again, though he didnt tell his Party Workers here last night if he would dare return. Mr. Puigdemont was accused of running away to brussels, but catalans dreaming of independence have shown they dont care. This morning, he said he would meet the spanish Prime Minister anywhere but spain, and that he wants his old job back. Despite all the force come from the spanish state, violence, oppression. Despite this, we are stronger than ever. Reporter and spains Prime Minister is weaker than ever, weakened by a Regional Election he himself called. The divisions are huge, he said, ruling out independence once again. translated i will make an effort to maintain dialogue with whatever government comes out of these elections in catalonia. But i will also make an effort to see that the law is followed. Reporter what is staggeringly absent here is any sense of compromise. Spanish unionists are still banking that the sun will set on the dreamers, the more turmoil they seem to create. For now though, the indepentistas believe they are on the up. What doesnt kill you makes you stronger, the saying goes, and theirs is a dream refusing to lie down and die. Woodruff that report, from Jonathan Rugman of independent Television News. Back in this country, a published report finds an exodus from the federal Environmental Protection agency since President Trump took office. The New York Times says more than 700 employees have left, including more than 200 scientists and Nine Department directors. The report says that most will not be replaced, as administrator scott pruitt scales back the e. P. A. s work force. Several former miss americas are calling for the pageants c. E. O. And others to resign over vulgar, sexist emails. They circulated among c. E. O. Sam haskell and board members, and targeted former winners with sexual slurs and other demeaning comments. The organizations tv partner cut ties with the pageant overnight. The Digital Currency bitcoin plunged again today, to just over 13,000 in value. It had surged this year from about 1,000 dollars to nearly 20,000, but it is down nearly 40 this week. Meanwhile, stocks slipped in quiet trading. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 28 points to close at 24,754. The nasdaq fell five points, and the s p 500 slipped one. And, hall of fame sportscaster dick enberg has died of an apparent heart attack at his home in san diego. Enbergs career spanned 60 years, calling super bowls, olympics, final fours, baseball and football with his signature cry of oh, my the San Diego Padres even stamped it on the field when he retired last year. Guess itd be the obvious what i, i should say now, but its already out there on the grass. Oh, the heck with it. Im going to say it anyway ohh, my cheers and applause woodruff he left a mark. Dick enberg was 82 years old. Still to come on the newshour the u. S. Confirms multiple ground operations in conflict ridden yemen. A pattern of Sexual Harassment at ford auto plants. Immigrants seeking political asylum, separated from their children. And, much more. Woodruff the war in the middle eastern country, yemen, grinds on, well into its third year. Houthi rebels control much of the countrys northwest, including the capital, sanaa, while a saudibacked government and al qaeda hold sway elsewhere. William brangham has the latest on the u. S. Role in this conflict. Brangham in december alone, according to the u. N. , 136 civilians were killed in air strikes by the u. S. Backed, Saudiled Coalition. One airstrike cost this man in northwest yemen dearly. translated they targeted my house while there were 18 to 20 guests. The whole family was inside, as well as all our cattle. Everything is gone, theres nothing left. Brangham and on tuesday, the houthi rebels, whom the saudis are fighting, fired another Ballistic Missile from yemen towards the saudi capital of riyadh. The missile was intercepted by the kingdoms air defenses, and the saudis claim it was manufactured by iran, which is backing the houthis. This was the second failed attack on riyadh by the houthis in as many months. The Trump Administration has also repeatedly called out iran about its involvement in the conflict, a point driven home dramatically by u. N. Ambassador nikki haley last week. These are the recovered pieces of a missile fired by houthi militants from yemen into saudi arabia. The weapons might as well have had made in iran stickers all over. Brangham meanwhile, the yemeni people continue to suffer. This week, according to the red cross, the country registered its onemillionth case of cholera. Health Officials Say it is the fastest spreading cholera epidemic in history. And at the same time, millions of yemenis also live on the brink of famine, a crisis thats been worsened by the saudi blockade of ports and border crossings, which has limited food and humanitarian supplies. On wednesday, the Saudiled Coalition announced it would keep the houthicontrolled port of hodeidah open for a month to allow aid into the country. The port had been closed for most of november. Yesterday, Deputy Assistant secretary of state Tim Lenderking welcomed the news. The first thing we want to see is ships actually moving into hodeidah port, offloading, providing fuel, water, supplies for the yemeni people, filling the hospitals with fuel so that medical supplies can be dispensed. Four u. S. Cranes will be on their way very shortly to hodeidah. We want to see them installed. We want to see them playing a central role here in offloading ships. Brangham while the u. S. Is the largest donor of aid to yemen, u. S. Arms manufacturers, with approval from the u. S. Government, also supply the Saudiled Coalition with bombs, and u. S. Military jets refuel those coalition bombers and fighter jets. On thursday, u. S. Central command announced that it had also carried out multiple ground operations and more than 120 airstrikes in yemen this year, those apparently against al qaeda leaders. Last summer, the Trump Administration announced the potential for billions of dollars of new arms sales to saudi arabia, arms that will no doubt add to the civilian death toll. Which, according to the u. N. , is over 5,000 and growing. For the pbs newshour, im william brangham. Woodruff to help explain the complex situation in yemen, im joined now by james jeffrey. He served in several senior positions during his 35year career as a diplomat, including u. S. Ambassador to turkey and to iraq, and as president george w. Bushs Deputy National security adviser. Hes now at the Washington Institute for near east policy. And, stephen seche. He was Deputy Assistant secretary in the bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the state department of state, responsible for u. S. Relations with the gulf states and yemen. He served as u. S. Ambassador to yemen from 2007 to 2010. He is now at the Arab Gulf States Institute in washington. And we welcome both of you to the program. Ambassador seche, ill start with you. Why has this war dragged on and on . What is driving it . To a large extent, the reason the war continued in this fashion is because it sits in a corner of the globe which has nod produced the kind of migration in europe that the war in syria has. Therefore the alarm raised about the war in yemen is far diminished than that of the conflict in syria. So that being away from the public eye and not creating that sense of prolonged and protracted threat worked to a disadvantage and all the people of yemen suffered in the back pages of the newspapers and not as much coverage on television. Woodruff is this a war between the factions in yemen or a proxy war between saudi arabia and iran . Both. Only about five yemenis and ambassador seche understand whats going on in many groups inside yemen, but rather like syria and lebanon and iraq, this is part of an overall conflict in the region between iran on the one hand and saudi arabia, the u. S. , israel and most of the rest of the region on the other. Woodruff whats the main grievance, ambassador seche . The saudis are saying iran is threatening the region. The iranians are doing what theyre trying to do through the houthis who are also shia, the shia militia there. Who has the upper hand in this argument . I think its important to start with the fact that the houthis who are a part of yemens fabric of society have serious longstanding grievous with their government and with the saudis, for that matter, too. So this is kind of where the houthis are coming from and theyre trying to grab their part of yemen and its power structure. The saudis feel alarmed and with reason by the fact the houthis have taken over the a lot of the military weapons in yemen and territory and exercise a real threat that saudi arabia finds intolerable and i agree it probably is. Woodruff it started more internal, ambassador jeffrey, but has grown to be this more regional war. Right, but, i mean, you have to point fingers. The main reason its grown to be that is the iranian strategy to infiltrate into failed states, and this is a good example of it, lebanon was in the 1980s, find groups not always shia that it can support and then create subgovernments and sub militias within societies, i saw that very personally in iraq, that are more loyal to tehran than their own capitals of beirut, damascus, baghdad or sanaa. Woodruff ambassador seche, do the iranians pose the threat the saudis and others say they do in the region. Im not so persuaded is iranians are the engineers behind this. This is a homegrown revolt with the houthis. The iranians and saudis have gotten more involved and i think of the two rivals are seeing yemen as an arena where their interests can be served. But the humanitarian thats occurred is direct result of three years of saudi airstrikes. 15,000 airstrikes conducted over yemen, a country smaller than the state of texas, over a threeyear period. Woodruff why has this grown to be the humanitarian crisis it is, ambassador jeffrey . Its one thing for two sides to fight each other but the civilians have taken the hit, for the most part. In almost every conflict ive seen in the middle east, the conflicts are actually fought out not in the desert but in the Populated Areas and all sides use unrestricted air strikes to make up for typically a lack of infantry troops. The saudis in these airstrikes killed according to the u. N. Report in october some 3,000 civilians. Thats a big number but its not all that different than what weve killed in the conflict against i. S. I. S. And iraq and syria in the past three years. But the u. S. Is part of this coalition with the saudis that helped lead to the civilian casualties. Right, and the reason for that, though, is the saudis and the u. S. Fear, the two sides arent equal, iran, and saudi arabia. Iran is a long way from saudi arabia. Hezbollah had their own legitimate grievous against israel and their own governments, but they became a front for iran. They have over 100,000 missiles aimed at israel. Its an existential threat. The saudis fear for good reason the same thing in yemen. Woodruff but youre saying that fear is overblown. I think the fear is genuine. I think it is not equate the fact that iran has come in here to try to become the arch enemy they are already of saudi arabia, but the houthis need to be dealt with as a nationalist movement on their own. The ironies are taking advantage, exploiting a situation which has been created to their benefit. Low investment and high reward for the armies here. The saudis need to fipg out what to do to distract themselves because theyre getting dug deeper in the muck of this war and they have a lot of things on their agenda that need attention and resources. Woodruff do you believe the saudis will see a way to extract themselves . They havent demonstrated that interest yet nor have the hoots. Both sides need to realize the only way they have their interests served is negotiating out of it. There is no military victory. The saudis cant win it and the houthis just need not to lose it. Woodruff do you agree the saudis cant win with is this. Absolutely, steve has the right way forward. The only problem, the saudis cant do this if theyre going to face a future with hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands of longrange missiles in the hands of houthis with iran aiming at capital riyadh up. Woodruff where do you see this going then . I see the United States finally coming up, which we havent yet, with a real policy of trying to deal with iran in the region, the whole region not just yemen or syria then telling the saudis, look, we have a program, we understand any solution has to exclude keeping a lot of iranian missiles, ie, a repeat of what we have in southern lebanon today, but quid pro quo you have to deal with the houthis. Woodruff but that would involve,