AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Be On the "NewsHour" to in retaliation for the deadly attack on American troops.

AMNA NAWAZ: A stronger-than-expected jobs report shows the resil but raises concern that the Fed might not lower interest rates soon.

GEOFF BENNETT: And South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn discusses President Biden' outreach to Black voters ahead of Democrats' first official primary.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): You have got to get boots on the ground, and we have got to make a significant in (BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

The U.S. has started a serie both Syria and Iraq tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: The bombing is in retaliation Am erican soldiers and wounded dozens of others in Jordan.

Nick Schifrin has been reporting on these fast-moving developments and joins us here now.

So, Nick, wh What can you NICK SCHIFRI seven locations in Iraq and Syria.

And the targets included command-and-control and in facilities with missiles, rockets, drones that these groups have been using to target U.S. soldiers.

The National targets were specifically connected to attacks to U.S. troops in the region.

There have been more than 160 attacks on U.S. troops across Iraq and Syria, including the one this weekend that killed three U.S. soldiers.

But the targets tonight went further than any U.S. strike, that map righ the attacks that these proxy groups have launched against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.

But what was significant about tonight's U.S. strikes is that the targets went beyond these proxy groups.

The targets That is the part of Iran's th e U.S. says provides weapons, intelligence, and training to these groups.

And what's significant about that is, it's the first time in the last three mont have seen these attacks that the U.S. have attacked Iranians.

These are Iranians, Iranian weapons, Iranian si Yes, they are connected to the proxy groups, but they are not the Iraqis and the Syrians who are actually pushing the button.

These are Iranians.

And that is Also significant about these strikes, Amna, the States in order to attack Iraq and Syria, also something we have not seen.

A senior defense official told me that, strategically, it is a bit of a sign to Iran that -- a reminder that the U.S. has the ability to fly these bombers, as well as the fact that the bombers bring heavier bombs to hit the underground facilities that the U.S. wants to hit, although Kirby on the record just now denied that they were trying to send any message to Iran tonight.

And the officials tonight reiterate something that we have heard from U.S. officials in the past, that this is the -- quote -- "first tier" of a multitier response.

As President Biden put it today: "Our response began today.

It will continue at times and places of our choosing."

And, Amna, the day began with a reminder for the commander in chief about the loss led to tonight's strikes.

It is one of the military's most solemn rituals, at Dover Air Base in Delaware in chief paying respect to the soldiers whose sacrifice was ultimate, three caskets, holding Staff Sergeant William Rivers, who today received a posthumous promotion, and Sergeants Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett, all three from an engineering unit based in Georgia.

They were killed last weekend in their beds in Tower 22 in Jordan by a drone that U.S. officials believe was Iranian.

Iran's military showcased some of The group that the U.S. says fired it is part of the pro-Iranian proxy umbrella group Islamic Resistance of Iraq.

U.S. officials indicate they did Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran.

In recent days, Iran seems to have sent signals of de- The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says Tehran is slowing the speed at stoc uranium, which it would need if it decided to produce nuclear weapons.

And Iran's supreme leader reportedly urged the government to distance itself from it proxy groups, including another member of the umbrella group Harakat al-Nujaba, which vowed today to keep attacking U.S. troops.

Today, before the strikes, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated tha sought nor would shrink from war.

EBRAHIM RAISI, Iranian President (through no t initiate any war, but if anyone wants to bully, Iran will respond firmly.

NICK SCHIFRIN: U.S. officials say they still don't have any sense at this moment of casualties at these sites, whether civilian or militant, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Nick, you mentioned the administration desc response.

What does that mea NICK SCHIFRI They haven't But when I t kinds of targets that the next few days could perhaps include.

So tonight's targets were storage facilities, as we talked about, command-and-control centers.

That is distinct from targeting leadership.

So that would be another step that the U.S. Th e U.S. insists -- or U.S. officials I talked to insist that they do not pla Iran itself.

But the stri The ongoing U.S. and U.K. effort in Ye have launched three dozen attacks on U.S. ships and international shipping lanes.

And U.S. officials are telling me tonight to expect some kind of strike or some kind of concerted effort to continue to degrade the Houthi ability in Yemen.

As for Iran's response, of course, it's too early to know that.

But the administration officials I speak to say that they hope that this is calibrated.

They hope that it's calibrated to try and stop these attacks from continuing without sparking any kind of war with Iran.

There's the question of whether there's any diplomatic tal States and Iran.

Tonight, John between Iran and Washington.

But, again, what Washingto Iran.

AMNA NAWAZ: Nick, thank you so much.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: The monthly jobs report today indicates that hiring is continuing at a strong pace.

U.S. employers added 353,000 jobs last month, double what many The unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent.

And the latest report found that 3.1 million new jobs were created last am ong the best years for job growth since 1999.

A federal judge in Washington has postponed former President Donald Trump's March trial on charges he sought to overturn the 2020 election.

No new date has been set.

That comes as a federal appeals court ha over his claims of presidential immunity.

Meantime, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willi having a personal relationship with a special prosecutor she hired for Mr. Trump's Georgia election fraud case.

Willis insists there's no basis to California is bracing for a second atmospheric river storm to dump more rain and snow across that state.

It's expected to a Ocean.

It comes on in Long Beach, with first responders rescuing people stranded in the floodwater.

A Ukrainian intelligence official says Russia is refusing to return the bodies of scores of Ukrainian prisoners of war who allegedly died in a plane crash.

Moscow claims it was transporting them on a military aircraft last month when Ukraine shot it down, which Kyiv denies.

Meantime, at The Hague, the U.N.'s top court of Ukraine's genocide case against Russia.

In Kenya, a truck carrying liquid petroleum gas exploded overn at least three people and injuring 280; 24 of those are said to be in critical condition.

Cell phone video caught a fireball erupting from a gas depot late last night.

Gas cylinders were thrown into the air, sparking more fires in that neighborhood.

Firefighters battled the inferno for hours.

WALO BRECKY, Nairobi, Kenya Resident: I saw peop They had small babies carrying.

I saw girls and boys were bleeding.

Like, the -- it was so ter -- it was so bad.

It was a bad experience.

I saw a man who was bleeding, li GEOFF BENNETT: Kenyan officials say the gas depot was of its proximity to residential areas.

North Korea fired more cruise missiles off its It was their fourth round of cruise missile tests so far this year.

That came as leader Kim Jong-un ordered his military to ramp up their war preparations North Korean state media published these photos of Kim touring naval projects at a shipyard.

Kim has increasingly focused on strengthening his country's navy in recent months.

Tesla is recalling virtually all of its vehicles sold in the U.S. over the size of their dashboard warning lights.

The National Highway were too small and could raise the risk of a crash.

The recall affects nearly 2.2 million Tesla vehicles from model years Strong tech earnings boosted stocks on Wall Street today.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 134 points to close at 38654.

The Nasdaq climbed 267 points.

The S&P 500 added 52 to notch a new record high.

And two passings of note tonight.

Actor Carl Weathers died in his sleep Thursday.

The former professional football player became a Hollywoo taking on a number of iconic action and comedy roles for TV and film.

He was best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies opposite Sylvester Stallone.

And, more recently, he starred in the Star Wars series "The Mandalorian."

Carl Weathers was 76 years old.

And legendary radio host and social activist Joe Madison has died.

Known as the Black Eagle, he hosted a popular live morning show on SiriusXM radio for years, tackling human and civil rights issues both on and off the air.

While an official cause of death was not provided, Madison had fought a yearslong battle wit prostate cancer.

Joe Madison was 74 years Still to come on the "NewsHour": El Salvador's vice p election and controversial crackdown on gang violence; how Taylor Swift became the latest target of right-wing conspiracy theorists; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today's job report shows the labor market was running hot again last month.

And it's been resilient for months, despite recession predictions last year.

The unemployment rate has been below 4 percent for two consecutive years, a record we haven't seen in over 50 years.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve indicate interest rates.

Joining us n Welcome back to the "NewsHour."

Thanks for joini AUSTAN GOOLS me back.

AMNA NAWAZ: these numbers tell you about where the economy is right now?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: It still feels strong.

I mean, the headline number was If you peel back the onion a little bit, it's not as strong as that headline number advertises, because a lot of the increase in jobs were part-time jobs.

So, if you look at the -- let's call it the total hours worked, th as just the number of jobs was up.

But it's still very strong, and it's in the better than expected as well.

So, both sides of that have been quite positive.

AMNA NAWAZ: It's worth noting the projections for today's jobs numbers were off quite a bit again, and predictions about a possible recession last year were also off.

What is it about this economy right now that makes forecasting so hard?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: It's always hard.

It's always hard to forecast, and an to it.

So this was a miss to the downside We came in with a very strong number, almost double what was expected.

But when you come out of such a weird moment as what COVID was, we probably shouldn't be surprised that our models aren't that great at figuring out what's going to happen.

AMNA NAWAZ: At the same time, we know mortgage rates, car loans are still very high.

We know the Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that rate cuts won't happen in early spring, as many had hoped that they might.

Does today's report line up with that, You still think it's too soon to lower rates?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: As a member of our hands ahead of time, when we got weeks and months of data to come in.

We ought to base those decisions on how the actual data come through.

I think more and more progress like what we have seen on inflation and on jobs is what we need to see to feel comfort that we're on target.

As you know, the law, the Federal Reserve Act, gives the Fed a dual mandate job to maximize employment and stabilize prices.

And that's what the Fed has to pay And so far, it's been going pretty well.

The year 2023 by that dual mandate goal wen And we just want to make sure that we're on path to see that.

AMNA NAWAZ: Inflation has been coming down.

As you mentioned, the jobs numbers are good, ev eryday lives that remain really tough, grocery prices in particular.

We know they jumped 25 percent over the last four years, and they remain high.

For millions of households, that is it.

That's a critical everyday financial pinch, So for the people who see headlines that say the economy is strong, t back and don't feel it every day, what can you say to them about when that will chang AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Yes, look, it's a perfectly fair point.

And we -- look, we went through a period where inflation was wa than where the Fed's target is or where we want it to be.

And price levels are still elevated.

The question is, is that the thing that drives vibes, or do vibes lag actual conditions?

I don't totally know the answer to that.

I know that the Fed job, like I say, by law, is maximize em rate down to 2 percent.

And that's what the Fed is going to b How that falls out in the vibes and the price level is a - the Fed can't really adjust that without using its one instrument.

It just has the one instrument of raise rates or lower rates.

If you're trying to get the price level back to what it was some years ago, yo have to just crank down the economy to do that.

So that's not in our card deck.

AMNA NAWAZ: I got to ask you too.

All of this is unfolding, of An d you know well the intersection of presidential politics and economi in the administration.

Former President Trump is again Hi s latest statement says this.

He says: "I think he's goi the Democrats, I think, if he lowers interest rates.

It looks to me like he's trying to lower interest elected."

What do you say to a political lens?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: W And the Fed is totally tr They put out the minutes and later will put out the full trans And just know that the Federal Open Market Committee has by law dual mandate of what they look at.

It bases the That's what will drive what the Fed can do.

AMNA NAWAZ: When you look at the big picture now, i Congress or the president should be using at this moment, in your view, to keep the economy moving in the right direction?

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Well, as yo of just monetary policy.

We don't weigh in on fiscal policy or congressional Th ey can do whatever they feel is appropriate.

And our conditions -- I say it's sort of the Midwest motto, we take the conditions as they come.

There is no There is onl And we will deal wit AMNA NAWAZ: That is Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Mr. Gillespie, thank you so much for joining us.

Pleasure to speak with you.

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: My pleasure.

Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: South Carolina voters h Democratic primary of the year.

Four years ago, Black voters in South Carolina fu eled in large part by an endorsement from Congressman James Clyburn.

That South Carolina victory put then-candidate Biden on a path to the White House.

I spoke with Congressman Clyburn earlier today about the president's standing among the Democratic base and with Black Americans in particular.

Congressman Clyburn, thanks so much for being with us.

REP. JAMES CLYBUR GEOFF BENNET but, more broadly, a December Associated Press poll found that 50 percent of sa id they approve of President Biden, but that's compared with 86 percent who said the same thing back in July of 2021.

What do you think accounts for that slip in support overall?

REP. JAMES CLYBUR I think that people expressed themselves at No w, back at the time this poll was taking place, I was asking questions about people who believed what they were seeing on social media.

The best example I know is on student loan debt relief.

Joe Biden had promised that, and that was a big, big deal in the African American community.

And when he offered his programs to reduce or eliminate that debt, he got sued.

And that lawsuit was lost.

And everybody focused on the fact that he lost the lawsuit.

Nobody focused on the fact that there were four other categories that he was working on which had resulted in $137 billion in debt elimination for 3.7 million people.

That was not being reported.

And there was ne Emanuel Church.

I introduced him that day, and An d I brought that up.

Immediately, they started Fo und one young lady at South Carolina State, my alma mater, whe afternoon.

She had gott And these kinds of things have people thinking that Joe Biden had not kept any promises.

People didn't tie these programs like the Rescue Act, the largest infrastructure bill in the history.

Now here in before.

That is beca that to him, insulin $35 a month.

My late wife was spending upwards of $800 a month on the insulin for the diabetes that she lost her life to.

Now you're saying, people on Medicare, you got So these things were not being reported to the American people sufficiently.

Now that people are hearing about them, you're getting the word out, not to mention the job support this morning, double what people had projected, the growth in the economy last quarter double what people had projected.

Joe Biden is doing what he said he would do, and the American people are beginning to feel it.

And that's w I guarantee you, Check the Black precincts tomorrow nig of Joe Biden.

GEOFF BENNET ability to reach Black voters and that the campaign, in your words, needed zo ne.

What more sh REP. JAMES CLYBUR out there using our own methods of getting it out there, using social me stuff, using boots on the ground.

Look, this campaign is going to be won on turnout.

Now, how best to turn voters out?

I maintain that the best way to turn voters out is not on television.

It's on the ground.

You have got to get boots on the ground.

And we have got to make a significant in GEOFF BENNETT: Congressman, there was a moment during the 2020 campaign when then-candidate Biden referred to himself as a transitional candidate, a bridge to the next generation of Democratic talent.

Of course, President Biden has su pport him, but who question, given his age, why he didn't pass the torch.

(LAUGHTER) REP. JAMES CLYBUR Is it transition for four years or for eight years?

He is a transitional president, moving from the debacle of the a foundation for the future of our party.

And he is going to pass the torch to a younger generation, to a more progressive genera And -- but he's not going to do it on anybody else's timetable, but his own.

And so I don't know why people think they have a right to tell you how long the transition period ought to be.

GEOFF BENNET South Carolina's Democratic primary, but what do you hope the overall mess out of South Carolina tomorrow?

REP. JAMES CLYBUR will pick freedom and democracy over autocracy any day.

This is about the future.

And I hope the time wi have a responsibility.

This is not the Democratic Th is is this country's responsibility to maintain this democracy and to maintain the freedoms.

And I would hope that that's the message that comes out tomorrow night.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is South Carolina Democratic Congressman James Clyburn.

Thanks so much for your time.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: This weekend, El Salvador is holding its general election, and all eyes are on incumbent President Nayib Bukele.

He came to power in 2019 and has since overseen a vast a terrorized the nation for decades, arresting more than 75,000 people.

His popularity has soared, but his government has been accused of mass human rights abuses and dismantling democratic institutions.

Judges allied with Bukele reinterpreted a constitutional ban on reelec his path to run for a second term, along with his vice president, Felix Ulloa, who sat down with me in San Salvador earlier this week.

I asked him how long his country can continue with mass ar FELIX ULLOA, Vice President of El Salvador: This is a big change.

And this happened because our policies regardi in the community, and the decision by the president, Bukele, to face this challenge.

For us, when we took office, it was the first challenge to bring back the peace, the harmony to the communities that were under the control of the gangs.

So, once we declared the war against the gangs in year 2022, we started dealing with these criminal structures.

Now we have over 76,000 captured inmat And the issue of the sustainability of this process, as we said, is now in the hands of the population.

Because now the people tru AMNA NAWAZ: At the same time, you have gone from having the highest murder rate in the world to now having the highest incarceration rate in the world.

The criticism is that there are a lot of innocent people being rounded up and detained.

I mean, can you continue with that?

FELIX ULLOA: Take a look to the big picture.

We have so far 76,000 inmates.

From those, most of, 90 percent of them are verified that they belong to the gangs and to the criminal structure.

AMNA NAWAZ: Ninety per FELIX ULLOA: Ninety percent, because from ov er these two years that the state of exception was in place, more than 6,000 has been released, because they prove in court that they were innocent.

AMNA NAWAZ: But 6,000 people -- if I may, that's basic people that you're rounding up -- is innocent.

FELIX ULLOA: That, we will see AMNA NAWAZ: Is that FELIX ULLOA: We are human beings, and human beings make mi AMNA NAWAZ: What about those who have yet to be released, those who are still detained?

FELIX ULLOA: I mean, it's part of the job.

I mean, if you is enemy of the good.

If you want to do it p So you have to do your best, and you have the duty and the res your mistakes.

AMNA NAWAZ: mass hearings are now acceptable.

FELIX ULLOA: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: Yes, absolutely.

AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: Absol El Salvador... AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: in court.

You have to So we modified this responsibility, which is -- in the past was pe AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

FELIX ULLOA: How l It will take 100 years to do that.

So the only way is to proceed and to charge the structure.

AMNA NAWAZ: The criticism, as you know, is that this denies people due process, that there's no way hundreds of people can get a fair trial at the same time.

What I hear you saying in your mind, though, is that the end justifies the means.

Is that correct?

FELIX ULLOA: What I'm saying century.

If you were I am a lawyer.

And I study AMNA NAWAZ: As a lawyer, could you defend 900 people at the same time?

FELIX ULLOA: Yes.

Why not?

Because you You are defending on AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask about another reform that I know has gotten a lot of attention?

FELIX ULLOA: Yes, of course.

Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: That was lowered from the age of 16 to 12.

FELIX ULLOA: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: Help us understand why that was necessary.

FELIX ULLOA: Yes, do you know why?

Because young peop And they went to kill you, and they were sent to kill people, because the leaders of the gangs, they understood that, under 16 years old, they were not charged as an adult.

So they sent the kids to kill people.

AMNA NAWAZ: So they should be charged FELIX ULLOA: I mean, tell me, what else could you try?

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: them?

FELIX ULLOA: But this com two, three, four homicides.

And the law, the general terms or escaping of the justice.

Now we try that.

We close that.

The -- it wa And then we close that loophole.

AMNA NAWAZ: As you men FELIX ULLOA: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: it was very clear that it did not allow for cons That all changed in 2021, when Supreme Court magistrates who were appointed by President Bukele, they reinterpreted that clause to say he could run again.

So here we are now.

You and he are both ru Do you worry that it weakens the Constitution to have judges who are President Bukele change it in his favor?

FELIX ULLOA: No.

I mean, do y the member -- the justice of the Supreme Court were appointed by President Trump?

No, I mean, this is the way that the system... (CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: No, no, no, what I'm saying is, it works and in the democratic process.

These Supreme Court chambers, th They said -- you can quote that, Article 152, Number 1.

You check that, you will find the legal base to run for President Bukele, because that article said, the person who is in the presidency, if he wants to run for another period has to fulfill two conditions.

First, he should be in the first term, because, if h And, second, he has to take a leave of absence.

AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask you, when the court ruled that this Constitution was coming out, U.S. officials came out and said that decision undermines democracy.

Do you agree FELIX ULLOA: AMNA NAWAZ: FELIX ULLOA: Absolutely, absolutely, 100 perc AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask how you would charac and the U.S.?

FELIX ULLOA: We have an excelle And in the past, there were or the envoys from the administration here, they were too junior.

They didn't understand what was going on.

They came, they were going to the backyard.

And that's when the president said, no, you're not coming to th This is a sovereign country.

So, once we respect each o I mean, for us, the United States is one of the most important all You know, our population, a fifth percent of our population lives in the United States.

What we want is to maintain a good relation with a state which has our ally, our friends.

And we want -- as the president said, we want to be partners.

Let us treat as partners.

So, in doing that, to do business, you have to mai And that's we are maintaining now with this U.S. administration and whatever could be elected in November this year.

I mean, because it's not a matter of politica We're not Democrats.

We're not Republicans.

We respect a AMNA NAWAZ: Vice President Felix Ulloa, thank you so much for your time.

Really appreciate it.

FELIX ULLOA: My pleasure.

GEOFF BENNETT: On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs upset the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

But some of the That's singer Taylor Swift.

And, as Laura Barr around the music icon and her football star boyfriend.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: From country sweetheart to pop icon and billionaire megastar.

ALISON STEINBERG, One America News Network: We all know Taylor Swift openly perpetuates all the mainstream liberal talking points.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Now the center of JACK POSOBIEC, Conservative Activist: They're gearing up for an operation Swift in the election.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX News Anchor: big guy up.

The most unpopular president o ARIAN FOSTER, Former NFL Player: That's what practice was about.

It was about practicing the LA URA BARRON-LOPEZ: A joked that the NFL was scripted.

Then, on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs upset the Baltimore Rave NFL changed the script to capitalize on these two, Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

ALISON STEINBERG: It's a to excite their base into coming out and voting.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And, more recently, a new Right-wing news pundits are now calling the Swift-Kelce spectacle a psychological operation staged by Democrats to give Biden a big boost in his reelection bid.

JOAN DONOVAN, Boston University: We live in a world that is animated by chaos for the most part and conspiracy theories help explain that chaos.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Researcher Joan Donovan has been studying online disinformation for years.

She says conservat their followers.

JOAN DONOVAN -- is really that Taylor Swift, who had endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, is likely to continue to endorse him.

I think deeper, in a his very pertinent amongst the right-wing because of all of the history that has gone on with Black Lives Matter and Colin Kaepernick.

So it is a definite draw for this audience to critiqu in terms of U.S. culture.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And chimed in, tweeting: "I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl.

And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped up couple this fall."

Donovan says over time, conspiracy theories JOAN DONOVAN: Once you search for that kind of conspiracy on a place like YouTube, the recommendation algorithms are going to keep rewarding and reinforcing that behavior.

So it actually becomes very hard to leave a conspiracy theory behind because of the way social media is ordered.

Unfortunately, what it does to our mainstream as a journalist, because so many people are talking about it.

But I do think there's room for social media companies to look more c and see what it is that they're reinforcing, so that fringe conversations don't become fodder for mainstream news.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: She says facts related to big the Biden campaign hoping for another Swift endorsement, and the Swift-Kelce relationship being worth millions in brand value for the NFL can quickly shift into full-blown conspiracy theories.

At any rate, For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, today, a Pentagon spokesperson, when a of a Department of Defense psychological operation to get President Biden reelected.

One senior administration official telling Politico -- quote -- "The absurdity of it all boggles the mind."

Congressional gridlock on key issues like immigration and taxes are being affected by the 2024 presidential race.

For all of this and more, we turn to the an That's New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart, associat The Washington Post.

Good to see So, I want to star strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

This response, we should say, is expected to be just the beginning of a longer response.

David, you first.

DAVID BROOKS: I We have got to do -- I think, be strong and show r defense, freedom of the seas.

But you don't want to sow chaos.

And so I think what the administration has done is hit the Iranian-backed militias without hitting Iran itself, which Lindsey Graham and a lot of other Republicans, will say we should have hit Iran.

I have become a little to solve your problem, to seek some permanent solution.

And that's what Israel is trying to do with Hamas.

Maybe they're right to do it.

I think they But the idea that we can so work.

And so this GEOFF BENNETT: Jon JONATHAN CAPEH But I also would add that the timing is interesting because today we had -- excuse me -- today, we had the dignified transfer of the bodies of the three American service members who were killed.

You had the secretary of defense there on the tarmac for this very solemn ceremony.

You had the president and the first lady there at Dover Air Force Base for this solemn ceremony, carried -- I think it was carried live on television, but it was carried in full when the video came in.

The entire nation And then the world found out that the United States responded I think that that sort of timing, plus the use of B-1 bombers in this operatio a very clear signal to the region, but also to Iran that the United States isn't messing around.

GEOFF BENNET proxy war with Iran to become a more significant conflict They don't want to draw the U.S. into a wider war in an already un How do they head off that possibility, when it appears to be inching closer?

DAVID BROOKS: With Goldilocks, just right.

And Iran, to be fair, has sent some messages that w That doesn't mean they won't want it someday.

And so the historian Hal Brands or two, which said, go back to the 1930s.

There were three regional conflicts.

Japan was sweeping through Chin Germany was obviously establ And then Italy was trying to establish a fascist empire in Africa.

And what happened over the next few years was, those three separate regional c coalesced into one big conflict, which we called World War II.

And so what we need to prevent is that Iran, China, and Russia will not coalesce int anti-liberal, completely violent moment.

And that's why I think this moment is so fraught.

And I think it's why the Biden administration has tried to be st middle of it, not to spark that kind of coalescence.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: But also keep in mind that th time, apparently is the beginning of a campaign that the administration has been signaling for a while, that this could be an ongoing campaign that could last weeks, if not longer.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, as one official put it, this is the beginning of the beginning.

Let's shift our focus to domestic matters, namely, the South Carolina pr the first primary on the Democratic nominating calendar.

You might have seen that interview with Congressman Clyburn ea President Biden is expected to win South Carolina, obviously.

But in what way is this a test of his support and enthusiasm, David, movin DAVID BROOKS: Yes, well, and Joe Biden won among young Black adults in 2020 89 percent.

Now he's down to 60 percent with young Black adults.

So that's a significant loss.

That's a lot o So he's got to somehow reestablis And I was very struck in your inte issue.

And I think I think Gaza has turned So they have got to win them back.

And I think Clyburn put it well, which is that y election who they're going to vote for, they're not thinking about who they're going to vote for.

They're thin And so I thi When they're actually in the going to be a very different decision-making process.

So we shouldn't confuse polls today from an actu GEOFF BENNETT: Do Democrats see it that way?

I mean, because they have between popular policies, as they say, popular Biden policies and the fact that President Biden isn't getting credit for them.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Look, they don't know this already, to David's point about once people get into the voting booth and they have the choice between President Biden and Donald Trump, African American are pragmatic voters, probably the most pragmatic voters in the American electorate.

We're used to not getting everything that we want all the time.

And yet, when we go into the voting booth and have to click the lever and vote for someone who we think is going to best protect our families and our interests, that's when the pragmatism kicks in.

I can understand people being upset about vo ting rights, criminal justice reform.

But when you're faced with an existentia could do if he gets another term, Joe Biden looks even better than he does now.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk about a couple of the legislative priorities that are being affected by this campaign, namely, the tax plan.

The House voted on Wednesday evening to pass a $78 billion bipartisan tax would temporarily expand the child tax credit, restore a number of business taxes -- business -- or, rather, tax credits for businesses, and the vote was 357 to 70.

You would be hard-pressed to find 357 members of Congress who agree on what day it is, and yet you had 357 members of Congress agree to move forward with this bill, and yet it might not go anywhere in the Senate, at least not anytime soon.

DAVID BROOKS: Yes.

And I unders the fall of an election year, but this is -- but we're in the beginn So if the entire year, we're not going to pass anything because we might want to help somebody, that seems awfully cynical, especially at a point tax credit, which is a -- which, when it was briefly expanded under Biden early in the administration, lifted three million children out of poverty.

That's reality.

And then we may get to it, but the othe of as the global chaos bill, where we're helping Iran -- well, we're helping Ukraine, we're helping Israel to beat Hamas, and we're securing the southern border.

And if we're going to tolerate global chaos for another few years because we don't want to help our opponent or ourselves, that's just the obscene politicization of the legislative process.

GEOFF BENNET with the tax bill.

JONATHAN CAP GEOFF BENNET that he didn't think it was in Republicans' interests could be a win for President Biden in an election year.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: What it shows is, both between the tax bill a the tax bill coming out of the -- roaring out of the House and being blocked in the Senate by Senator Grassley, the immigration bill in the Senate that no one has seen yet, and yet you have got the speaker of the House and Donald Trump trying to kill it before it gets out, Congress is broken.

Congress is broken.

The House is The Senate is br And really what we're seeing, to the word, metastasization of what happened when Justice Scalia died.

President Obama nominates Merrick Garland to be the Supreme Court justice -- the Supreme Court nominee, and Senator Mitch McConnell, I think he was majority leader at the time, says, eh -- and it was February -- no thanks.

We should wait for the presidential election.

Look where we are now, where legislation can't even get out of either c would give a win to the president, never mind the American -- real American people who would be helped by both pieces of legislation getting out and getting to the president's desk for his signature.

GEOFF BENNET report tonight about Taylor Swift being targeted by right-wing talking heads suggesting that she's part of this conspiracy to help President Biden get reelected.

What is the political utility of targeting the most popular entertainment figure in the world?

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNET DAVID BROOKS: Yes, w purposes, to feed communism, defend free market capitalism, and celebrate an America where a wholesome pop star fell in love with an attractive football player.

Like, this is as Americana as you can imagine.

And yet what's happened under Trump is abnormality, like, a detach into conspiracy mongering.

And then what's also happened showmen who want to generate buzz.

And what's a better way to generate GEOFF BENNETT: David?

I'm sorry.

Jonathan.

(LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAP make Carrie Mathison go, oh, come on.

I mean, this is insane.

I can't help but laugh, to the point of crying, but then crying to one of the two major political parties in this country, where you have a guy who ran for president, who ran the Republican nomination saying that this is all part of a plot for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, so that she could come out on the field and nominate -- and endorse the president with -- people, just pass the immigration bill.

(LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAP And let's have a real conversation, instea happening on the right.

GEOFF BENNET fan.

DAVID BROOKS Yes, no, sometim (CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNET DAVID BROOKS She speaks for me.

Like, she wears shor I wear T-shirts.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS I'm on the bleachers dream waiting for has been here the whole time, and story of my life.

But I will say, my favorite lyric is -- I'm gettin (LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNET Continue.

(CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNET DAVID BROOKS altruism, like some kind of congressman.

That is a great lyric.

It shows she's (LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS So I will vote for anybody Taylor tells me to.

So... GEOFF BENNET JONATHAN CAPEHAR GEOFF BENNET JONATHAN CAP (LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNET Well, on tha DAVID BROOKS: Thank you.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Thanks, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: Have a good weekend.

AMNA NAWAZ: And be sure to tune into "Washington Week With The Atlantic" tonight Mo derator Jeffrey Goldberg and his panel will discuss the U.S. response to Iran-backed groups killing U.S. troops and rising tensions in the Middle East.

And on "PBS News Weekend," as part of our series on saving species, William Brangham dives into scientists' drastic measures to save coral reefs.

CINDY LEWIS, Director, Keys Marine Lab: We had ocean temperatures like down in 30 feet to 60 feet of water that were 92 degrees.

That's like hot tub weather.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Ci It's typically a research facility, but last summer it became a triage center.

CINDY LEWIS: What it looked like here in a matter of the first two to three weeks, when they were bringing 5,000 corals and more that were transported through here, it looked like a giant coral mash unit with people running in and out with coolers of water and getting corals into their tanks and everything else.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's coming up tomorrow on "PBS News And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNET Have a good ev