Much great stuff is out there. Its ridiculous sreenivasan all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by we can like many, but we can love only a precious few, because it is for those precious few that you have to be willing to do so very much. You dont have to do it alone. Lincoln financial helps you provide for and protect your financial future because this is what you do for people you love. Lincoln financial youre in charge. Supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems skollfoundation. Org. The lemelson foundation. Committed to improving lives through invention. In the u. S. And developing countries. On the web at lemelson. Org. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Sreenivasan from president elect trump today, an announcement of new jobs coming to the u. S. Theyre from Telecom Giant sprint and oneweb, a Satellite Firm that plans to offer low cost Internet Access around the world. Mr. Trump spoke at his mara lago resort in florida, and said its all part of a japanese billionaires pledge to invest 50 billion dollars in the u. S. We have a combination of sprint for 5,000 jobs, and thats coming from all over world, and theyre coming back into the u. S. Which is a nice change, and also one web, 3,000 jobs, its a new company. Sreenivasan separately, the president elect accused president obama of making inflammatory statements and throwing up roadblocks. He tweeted thought it was going to be a smooth transition not later, though, he told reporters that its all going very, very smoothly. President obama has designated new National Monuments in utah and nevada this evening. The bears ears monument in utah, covers more than 1. 3 million acres of tribal lands, with an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites. In nevada, the Gold Butte National monument will cover 300,000 acres. Its near where Rancher Cliven Bundy led a standoff with federal agents in 2014. There was talk today of a nationwide ceasefire in syria, worked out by turkey and russia. The staterun Turkish News Agency reported its happening, but the two governments would not confirm it. Syrian rebel leaders called such talk premature. Meanwhile, turkey said again it is still opposed to keeping Bashar Alassad in power. Russia supports the syrian president. Russian search teams have recovered the second flight recorder from a Russian Military plane that crashed into the black sea. All 92 people on board were killed in sundays disaster. Crews pulled the second recorder from the water today, and investigators voiced hope that its data is intact. translated the handles are not broken, which is the first sign showing that probably, it isnt damaged inside, if there wasnt any impact of the saltwater, then the tape will be in a good condition. Sreenivasan two russian news outlets reported that just before the crash, a cockpit crew member yelled about a problem with the wing flaps and then shouted that the plane was falling. German authorities have detained a second suspect in the attack on a berlin Christmas Market last week. Prosecutors say the tunisian man was a contact of anis amri. He is believed to have driven the truck that killed 12 people. Amri was shot dead last week by police italy. Its unclear what role the new suspect might have played in the berlin attack. Greece says it plans to build smaller detention centers, to improve Living Conditions for migrants on outlying islands. The Greek Migration minister the goal is to reduce crime and speed up the asylum process for some 15,000 people. Meanwhile, another 48 migrants were rescued today between the greek island of chios and the turkish coast. They were packed on to a rubber dinghy. Back in this country, the man convicted in a Church Massacre in South Carolina says he will not present witnesses or evidence, as he faces a possible death sentence. Dylann roof spoke as his own attorney at a hearing in charleston today. The punishment phase of his hate crimes trial begins next week. The jury already found roof guilty of killing nine black worshippers in 2015. Wall street sold off today, after a sharp drop in home resales for november. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 111 points to close at 19,833. The nasdaq fell nearly 49 points, and the s p 500 dropped almost 19. Still to come on the newshour the increasingly complex relationship between the u. S. And israel. What will it take for donald trump to keep his promise to drain the washington swamp . A look back at 2016 through the lens of science, and much more. Sreenivasan tensions flared again today between the Obama Administration and the Israeli Government of Prime Minister benjamin netayahu. The verbal fireworks came after the United States abstained from voting on a United NationsSecurity Council resolution which condemned the continued construction of settlements on the west bank. Today secretary of state john kerry joined the fray. Margaret warner begins. Warner it was a parting warningshot that pulled no punches friends need to tell each other the hard truths, and friendships require mutual respect. Warner secretary of state john kerry today blamed israels most right wing government ever for expanding jewish settlements into palestinian areas in a way that will make a twostate solution impossible to achieve. Here is a fundamental reality if the choice is one state, israel can either be jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it wont ever really be at peace. Warner that, he said, is why the Obama Administration chose not to veto last fridays u. N. Security council condemning settlement building as illegal. The vote in the u. N. Was about preserving the two state solution. Thats what we were standing up for israels future as a jewish and democratic state, living side by side in peace and security with its neighbors. Warner kerry, who spent years trying to broker Israeli Palestinian peace, firmly denied israels charges that the u. S. Helped draft the resolution. Kerry pointed to the relentless growth of jewish settlements east of the 1967 border into formerly palestinian territory of the west bank captured by israel in the six day war. There are 270,000 more jewish settlers in the west bank today than in the early 1990s, he noted 100,000 more than when president obama took office. Its not just a question of the overall amount of land available in the west bank; its whether the land can be connected or is broken up into small parcels like swiss cheese that could never constitute a real state. Warner israels Prime Minister fired back that the speech focused obsessively on settlements. I must express my deep disappointment with the speech today of john kerry, a speech that was almost as unbalanced as the antiisrael resolution passed at the u. N. Last week. Warner earlier, his government delayed approving nearly 500 new israeli homes in disputed East Jerusalem. Todays exchange closes out a rocky eight years between the Obama Administration and netanyahus government. The u. S. Has given israel the most military aid ever. Yet last year netanyahu went around the white house to try to get congress to undercut the iran nuclear deal. Hes now counting on the next u. S. Administration. Last week, president elect trump called for the u. S. To veto the u. N. Resolution. And before kerrys speech, he tweeted we cannot continue to let israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. Stay strong israel, january 20th is fast approaching mr. Trump has pledged to move the u. S. Embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. And, he plans to nominate david friedman, a firm supporter of expanding settlements, as ambassador to israel. Sreenivasan for more on kerrys speech, the u. N. Security council vote and the state of u. S. Israel relations, we get the views of two men with extensive diplomatic experience in the middle east. Retired ambassador James Jeffrey was assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, and was u. S. Ambassador to iraq from 2010 to 2012. Hes now at the Washington Institute for near east policy. Ilan goldenberg was part of secretary kerrys negotiating team during the 20132014 final status talks. Hes now at the center for a new american security. Gentlemen, i want to ask you boitd, ilan goldenberg, i want to start with you, whats your reaction to kerrys speech today . I think it would be a more meaningful speech perhaps two years ago, and at the it of the day, its a swan song at the very end, but there are still some very valuable things in it. Kerry led what was only the third time ever that weve had final status negotiations between israelis and palestinians over the entire course of the history of the conflict. So i think he had things the add. I think it was important in the context of the Incoming Administration that, you know, openly questioning whether or not well continue to actually support this twostate solution given who they have nominated to be the next ambassador to israel. And in this context, i think more than anything what shown through is somebody who worked for kerry on these issues both in the senate and at the state department was the man clearly deeply cares about the issue. He clearly cares about the future of the jewish state. And he was really willing to go out there, despite a lot of criticism, and say this. And i also thought the other thing id say about the speech was it was much more balanced i would argue than the u. N. Security Council Resolution really did address both the question of palestinian incitement and support for violence, which is a key problem and a key obstacle in the future of the twostate solution, but it also gave the most eloquent explanation weve seen of what the problem with the settlement enterprise. Is you cant have a situation where you have 90,000 Israeli Settlers now living outside areas that even israel acknowledges will be part of a future palestinian state, and you try the remove just a few hundred of them as israel did a couple months ago and is still debating, and it causes a huge political crisis. How are you ever going to get to a situation where you can actually get to a twostate solution or move the types of populations youre going to have to move to get to that. Sreenivasan jeffrey, your reaction . Let me start with the good. Kerry finished with a sixpoint way forward which reflectings long standing u. S. Policy, but it was done in a balanced and comprehensive way. So thats on the good side. Less good is the language of his explanation of what the United States was doing in the u. N. And what our basic policies are. Ilan is right. Kerry was much more temperate than that frankly crazy u. N. Resolution, but he still made the same error, which is to blame the entire problem in the Peace Process on israel and these settlements, and that isnt the only problem, and secondly, to elevate this israelipalestinian dispute to one of the key threats to security in the middle east. Good grief. We just saw what happened in syria with aleppo. We have isis still on the road. We have russia intervening in the region. This is not on anybodys toplevel priority list in the middle east. Why the administration at this late hour went into this thing the way it did, totally exasperating the israelis is beyond me. Sreenivasan James Jeffrey, there have been u. N. Security Council Resolutions that have come and gone for years and years, why did this have the diplomatic Ripple Effect its been having in. Good question. Ive been back all the way to 1947 and u. N. Resolution 181. Never have i seen language like this that the u. S. Let go through. Illegal acts by the israelis, flagrant violation of International Law and on and on and on, imperilling peace. I went back to resolution 660, which was what the u. N. Did when saddam marched into kuwait. That resolution is not as strong as this one. Its that kind of blaming israel for everything thing that is emotional, has launched this reaction in israel, and it will not help the cause of peace. When Palestinian Leader abbas gave his reaction to kerrys speech, he gave the usual boilerplate about how if israel stops the settlement, we will continue to Work Together under International Lawful now that resolution is International Law, and it basically condemns the major israeli negotiating point, trading land for peace, into the category of illegal occupation totally. Sreenivasan ilan goldenberg, is there a significant change in the relationship between the United States and israel, as margaret pointed out in her tape, we just approved 38 billion in military aid. I want to go back to the last point jim made. I agree with a lot of what he has to say. But i dont think this resolution fundamentally changes International Law or standing. I think the language in it comes directly from the u. N. Security Council Resolution 465, which used the exact same language when discussing settlements. Obviously theres problems with the language and the fact that, you know, the resolution does not differentiate between East Jerusalem and settlements that are deep in the west bank. I think ideally it would be good to have that kind of language, but its just not true, that language does not exist in any u. N. Security Council Resolution. You cant get the Security Council to agree to it. Thats why you have kerry alternatively coming through and laying out the american position afterward, which very clearly talks about swaps that are agreed upon between the parties and addresses that concern. And actually even the resolution itself, to some extent, addresses that concern. It says that swaps will be part of. Will have to be agreed to between the parties. I really question the notion that this resolution fundamentally reorients overall the negotiating terms of the twostate solution, but i agree that the u. N. Security council is ultimately and has been quite antiisrael in its various positions over the years. The reasons to abstain is because the language wasnt american policy and because the venue is not as credible as it could be if it were more balanced in its approach and actually dealt more seriously with other issues that jim mentioned, like syria and didnt single out the israelis. So i would argue that the language doesnt fundamentally change anything. Settlements are still a huge problem. But at the same time, you know, yes, settlements are still a huge problem, but still this is better than any of the alternatives i saw out there. Sreenivasan James Jeffrey, this is the strongest alliance thats existed in the world for decades. How does what happened in literally one couple of sentences at the u. N. Security council with only about three or four weeks left in an administration change that alliance . It wont change the alliance fundamentally because well have a new administration that gets to start from zero, but it will start with a new international status. Heres where i would disagree with ilan. Hes right about 465. He forgot to add that has passed 36 years ago. Since then we havent seen any language like this. That language does have an impact at the International Level as israel tries to formaggioal and informal alliances on things like the might against isis in the sinai with egypt, one of the countries that sponsored the resolution, and deacon flyckt our operations in syria and lebanon with russia. These things do count in international relations. This is a very bad steph. Sreenivasan James Jeffrey, ilan goldenberg, thank you both. Thank you. Sreenivasan we turn now to domestic politics and potential changes ahead under a president trump. Specifically, changes in washington, where mr. Trump has pledged to drain the swamp. Lisa desjardins reports. Desjardins he repeatedly rallied supporters with around the promise, as candidate and as president elect my contract with the American Voter begins with a plan to end government corruption. And to take our country back from the special interest. I want the entire corrupt washington establishment to hear and heed the words. Were going to drain the swamp of corruption in washington, d. C. Desjardins and as president elect, donald trump has laid out some specifics. Consider trumps contract with the American Voter, the blueprint for his first 100 days as president. Amending the constitution to put term limits on members of congress, six years tops for house members, 12 years for senators. A little further down theres a fiveyear ban on white house and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government. And just under that a lifetime ban on his white h