Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Xq institute. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. 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 elect trump filled up another cabinet seat, while some of his supporters aggressively challenged recount efforts in three states. The Newshours John Yang has our report. We are going to appoint mad dog mattis as our secretary of defense. But were not announcing it until monday, so dont tell anybody. Reporter president elect trump scooped himself thursday night, making his choice public in cincinnati, the first stop of his thank you tour. He met with retired general james mattis last month in new jersey. He is the real deal. He is the real deal. Reporter mattis retired as a fourstar general three years ago, after four decades as a marine. He headed u. S. Central command until 2013, in charge of operations in iraq and afghanistan. He would need a special congressional waiver, because federal law says a defense secretary has be out of uniform for at least seven years. In cincinnati, mr. Trump pledged to ease still simmering post election tensions. Were going to bring our country together. All of our country. Were going to find Common Ground and we will get the job done properly. Reporter but at harvard university, top officials of his campaign clashed with Clinton Campaign managers at a normally civil, postelection review. Clinton aides said the Trump Campaign fueled racism. I would rather lose than win the way you guys did. Do you think i ran a campaign where White Supremacists had a platform . Youre going to look me in the face and tell me that . It did, kellyanne; it did. Really . And thats how you lost . Do you think you couldve just had a decent message for white workingclass voters . Reporter there were also sparks when clinton aides noted that their candidate won more votes than the president elect. You guys won. Thats clear. You won the electoral college. Thats the currency. Lets also be honest. Dont act as if you have some popular mandate for your message. The fact of the matter is that more americans voted for Hillary Clinton than donald trump. Hey guys, we won. You dont have to respond. I mean, seriously . Reporter today, Trump Supporters moved to block recounts in wisconsin, pennsylvania and michigan. The president elect was in new york today, meeting with longtime supporters republican senator david perdue of georgia and former u. N. Ambassador john bolton. His schedule also included an unusual suspect senator Heidi Heitkamp of north dakota a democrat. For the pbs newshour, im john yang. Woodruff well have much more on the mattis pick right, after this news summary. Late today the Transition Team reported president elect trump spoke by phone with the president of taiwan. It is a highly unusual move. The u. S. Cut formal diplomatic ties with taiwan in 1979. In the days other news, the economy posted solid job growth for november, with the Unemployment Rate hitting a nineyear low. The Labor Department reported u. S. Employers added about 178,000 jobs, and the Unemployment Rate dropped to 4. 6 , largely because many people stopped looking for work. Stocks were mostly flat on wall street today, in spite of that betterthanexpected jobs report, but crude oil prices posted their biggest weekly gain since february of 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 21 points to close at 19,170. The nasdaq rose four points, and the s p 500 added less than a point. For the week, the dow gained a fraction of a percent, the nasdaq fell nearly 3 , and the s p 500 slipped 1 . House lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a nearly 619 billion bipartisan defense bill today. It will give u. S. Troops their biggest pay raise since 2010. It also prohibits the pentagon from closing military bases, and the prison at guantanamo bay. While most members of congress supported the bill, some criticized it for including over 3 billion more in war funding than last years budget. It stops the troop reductions in our armed forces, thereby increasing readiness while reducing stress and strain on our force and the families. Instead of writing blank checks to the pentagon, Congress Needs to live up to its constitutional obligation to debate matters of war and peace. We need to rip up the 2001 blank check for endless war, we need to stop funding wars without end with no debate on the cost and consequences to our troops or the american people. Woodruff the senate is expected to vote on the bill next week. Officials in gatlinburg, tennessee raised the death toll from days of fierce wildfires to 13 people today. Thousands of residents also returned home for the first time to survey the extent of the devastation. Officials said the number of damaged homes and buildings is now close to a thousand. In indonesia, 200,000 people flooded jakarta today to protest against the citys christian governor, who is being prosecuted for allegedly insulting the koran. The sea of conservative muslim demonstrators gathered peacefully to demand the governor be jailed for blasphemy. Ten people were arrested by police, who accused the dissenters of using the protest to overthrow the government. And, Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 680,000 vehicles for potentiallyfaulty seat belts. The recall affects its midsize sedans, like the ford fusion and lincoln mkz, that were mostly sold in the u. S. The automaker says the seat belts might not restrain passengers in a crash. Still to come on the newshour who is mad dog mattis . Trumps choice to head the defense department; dakota pipeline protestors facing a deadline to clear out; cubans think back on Fidel Castros legacy, and much more. Woodruff so, who is the man president elect trump has picked to be his secretary of defense . Whats his track record, and how does he think the United States should confront the threats it faces . For that, we turn to two who know retired general james mattis well. Steve simon was the senior director for middle eastern and north African Affairs on the National SecurityCouncil Staff during the obama administration. Hes now a visiting professor of history at amherst college; and Michael Gordon has covered general mattis as a reporter at the New York Times. For years, gordon covered the pentagon, and now the state department. And we welcome both of you to the newshour. Let me start with you, Michael Gordon. Tell us what you know about james mattis beyond what we reported a moment ago. Well, hes certainly an unconventional choice for secretary of defense simply because hes only been out of the military for three a marinee commander in the hottest wars that weve had over the past ten years iraq, afghanistan and ran the Central Command which oversees both those wars, and thats a position that also involved him with a lot of diplomacy in the region, i think. But hes famous for a lot of his mattisisms. His sayings. When i was in iraq, there was a sign on one of the outposts that said, be polite, be professional, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. I mean, that pretty much expresses mattis approach. He was prepared to use violence to achieve ends in war but also sought to work with the population and to, you know, constrain the violence as much as possible, which wasnt always easy in an environment like iraq. Woodruff steve simon, what would you add to that and where did the nickname mad dog come from . Well, ive never seen him in combat so i dont know how mad a dog he can be, but certainly in his capacity as commander and seen your u. S. Official dealing with National Security issues, i never saw him than anything less than selfpossessed and having a cool head. Im not sure where that epithet comes from. Hes also known by soldiers who work with him and for him as the warrior monk because he does have a somewhat monkish temperament. You know, hes in some ways really into, you know, selfdenial and focusing on his troops, and that has won him a dwreel of loyalty, which will stand him in good stead if hes confirmed by congress as doctors of se de fence. Woodruff secretary of defense. Woodruff Michael Gordon, you said as the leader he would be prepared for violence but what is his view of the role of military in carrying out Foreign Policy . Well, as steve pointed out, hes not a onesided person. Every military person has to execute military operations, which means you have to fight, and fight to baghdad or in afghanistan and all these environments wasnt easy. Hes also famous of his study of military history, his thousands of books, the fact he claims not to own a television, thats where the warrior monk comes from. But he has views on Foreign Policy that really put him i think in the mainstream. For example, he doesnt want to rip up the iran agreement. Hes criticized the agreement. He said he wished it would impose stricter constraints on Irans Nuclear program. He said just walking away from it would work against american interests and the allies would never go along with that. Hes against torture and president elect trump remarked on that. He argued against using that. He argues its simply not effective. And hes wary of russia, which, you know, president elect trump, at times, has implied that hes sympathetic with Vladimir Putin or might want to Work Together with Vladimir Putin and sir. I cant i think mattis would be extremely skeptical of that kind of approach. Woodruff fill in more of that picture, steve simon. How do you see mattis aligning with what we know of what donald trump thinks. Well, hes a bit of an awkward fit primarily, i think, because he does support u. S. Compliance with the deal negotiated with iran to contain its Nuclear Program and to block its pathway towards a bomb. He has referred to it as providing what hes called a nuclear pause, but not a nuclear halt, and said, effect, a pause is better than nothing. Where he does differ, i think, from the Outgoing Administration is his view that, even as the United States maintains its commitment to the deal it negotiated, that it pushes back on irans regional maneuvers, and i think, by that, jim mattis would point to do things, one is syria where the iranians are very deeply involved, and the other is in iraq where the iranians gained a great deal of influence after the u. S. Overthrew the regime of saddam hussein. And i think as center of Central Command, james mattis is aware of the fact many deaths of u. S. Servicemen in iraq were attributable to weapons designed or provided by iran. Woodruff Michael Gordon, people are talking about the fact that, if hes confirmed, hes going to have to have this exemption from the law which says military people who are few than seven years out of the military cant be secretary of defense. How do you see him running that department, coming from the military . Well, first of all, i think the waiver will go through senator mccain who chairs the armearmed services committee, ss he supports it. Senator hill brando poses it but thinks he has enough support. I think he has enough experience running the large organizations, ranking the Central Command, the joint forces command. That requires a certain amount of bureaucratic capability and finesse. So i think he, in his own mind, understands i mean, he would be the first person since George Marshall to do this that there is a responsibility on him to try to run the department as a civilian that hes only been for three years and not as a military man. Woodruff steve simon, how do you see that, because there has been this tradition that is in law that somebody whos been in the military recently shouldnt be running the pentagon, how do you see him fitting into that . Well, look, hes going to have to deal with issues he hasnt had to deal with as a combatant or unified commander. R d, weapons acquisition, largescale budget issues, you know, personnel issues of an immense scale, in addition to being a politician in his dealing with congress in particular, hes going to have to learn how to deal effectively with a white house staff. That can be a challenge, especially in an Administration Like the one thats shaping up, i think. And hes going to have to be a diplomat as well. Now, ive seen him work in a diplomatic mode, and i think hes gifted in that domain. I dont think hes going to have a problem there. So, all in all, you know, i would say that he has good prospects for success. Woodruff steve simon, Michael Gordon, as we learn who general james mattis is and he has confirmation. Thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff even as temperatures in north dakota are plunging into the single digits, the fight over the Dakota Access oil pipeline is only intensifying. William brangham is here with more. So, william, i understand theres a deadline coming . Brangham thats right. Starting on monday, anyone at the large protest camp in north dakota will be considered trespassers and could be arrested. Thats according to the u. S. Army corps of engineers. For months now, thousands of people calling themselves water protectors have gathered to stop the pipeline. They say its destroying lands that are sacred to the Standing Rock sioux, and that a leak could threaten the tribes water. Despite the army corps order, and a similar one from the governor, protestors say theyre not going anywhere. David archambault ii is the chairman of the Standing Rock sioux. I spoke with him earlier today, and i asked with the deadline looming, and reports of 2,000 veterans traveling to north dakota to support the protestors, did he fear monday could get out of hand . No, i dont. I dont believe that anything will happen. I believe that the corps of engineers is not going to come in with force, and i dont think the State Government is going to come with force, and i know that the veterans are coming to stand with peace and prayer. Their presence is symbolic. Its representing the men and women who fought for this nations freedom, and theyre coming here to let the nation know that its not right to treat indigenous peoples, to treat tribes in this way. We have to start listening to tribes. Thats very symbolic for us to know that our veterans, the ones who fought for this nation, are coming. Theyre not coming to start a war. Theyre coming to let the world know that they, too, stand with us. December 5th, its not going to be a showdown. Its just going to be another day. Brangham so if protesters do stay there, i mean, the governor and many others have said it is just not safe with subzero temperatures out there to sleep out on the plains like this. My comment to that is its not safe for Law Enforcement to spray water on water protectors in sub freezing temperatures. Thats not safe. Its not safe to fire concussion grenades at crowds. Its not safe to fire rubber bullets and target peoples heads, thats not safe. People are there, and they are ready for this. They knew that winter was coming. They have some temporary shelters that are very insulated and warm, and they are taking care of each other. They know how to check on each other, and they know what to do in case of an emergency. So it is a safe place for individuals to gather and pray. What is not safe is the way Law Enforcement has been using aggression and weapons on unarmed people. We spoke a few weeks ago with the c. E. O. Of the Company Building this pipeline and he argues that your concerns over a leak into your water supply are over when. He says this will be brandnew pipeline, state of the art, all Safety Measures and you need not be as concerned as you are. I understand, and then why not put it north of bismarck . Brangham thats where it originally would go. Hell say it cant go there because to have the population of the community, the environmental impacts, the sacred sites that are there, the wetlands it has to cross. These are all the same concerns we have, its just that we are the numbers show that were a lot fewer, so if the pipeline and if there is no worry, if the safeguards are there, then relocate it to that location. Thats okay. Brangham but the company says the pipeline is not going to be rerouted, the governor says the pipeline wont be rerouted, president obama will soon be out of office and president elect trump made it very clear this pipeline will be built. As long as i look at it, as long as the pipeline is not under the river, there is still hope. Its unfortunate this nation continues to treat our tribe and tribal nations around this country in this manner. We have every right to protest this pipeline. We have indigenous lands, we have ancestral lands, we have treaty lands. The pipeline is 500 feet from our reservation border, and history will show that the federal government, the