GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Be AMNA NAWAZ: On the "News electoral contest of the 2024 campaign.

GEOFF BENNETT: The actions of Iranian-backed grou of drawing the United States into a wider regional conflict.

AMNA NAWAZ: And the politics of immigration become deadly.

A woman and two children drown trying to enter the country, while a standoff betw and federal officials escalates.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

The 2024 presidential election officially kicks off tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: Some Republicans are enduring frigid weather to participate in these caucuses.

Lisa Desjard LISA DESJARDINS: We're in Western Warren.

This is one of over 700 caucus sites around th dropping.

Now, Iowans a caucus like this.

This is not normal.

The 2024 Iowa caucuses probably won't for this, a weeklong arctic blast with record-setting snowfall, powerful gusts and windchill readings in the 40s below zero.

It all choked campaigns to a near-halt at one point, and when candidates th e storm still took center stage.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the Uni When everyon GOV.

RON DESANTIS voice heard tonight?

NIKKI HALEY I will tell you, you a LISA DESJARDINS: And the weather is just one piece of an extra weird elec DONALD TRUMP: We're in Iowa.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) LISA DESJARDINS: O roughly 30 points.

DONALD TRUMP: Ask yourselves more, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSanctimonious, or President Donald J. Trump?

I can tell you right now... LISA DESJARDINS: It's not clea only one question, Trump or, as his two main opponents argue, not Trump.

GOV.

RON DESANTIS issues, criminal trials.

NIKKI HALEY: I agree with a lot of his But rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him.

You know I'm right.

Chaos follows him.

(APPLAUSE) LISA DESJARD DON BUHROW, Donald Trump Supporter: There I have been a Trump supporter ev DENISE NELSON, Donald Trump Supporter: He is a man that stands behind his word.

He will get the job done.

VALERIE SUTT I really do.

He's still the He is, in my opi LISA DESJARDINS: Working mom Valerie Sutton means that.

She's the latest generation to run her family's over-100-year-old gree Trump's America first push, to her, made the world safer and the American economy stronger.

Sutton sees his main challengers, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N.

Ambassador Nikki Haley, falling short.

VALERIE SUTTON: What I think about Nikki And that is another thing that I really like about Trump, is that he's a businessman, and I think that the government needs to be run like a business.

LISA DESJARDINS: Her business is in Dallas County, critical terri suburbs meet some of rural Central Iowa.

One of the fastest growing places in the country, Trump won the 2016 general elec 10 points.

But in 2020, It's a national harbinger.

And if either DeSantis or Haley has an like Dallas.

DENNIS MANDS LISA DESJARDINS: And tha and his wife, Sherrie, a retired teacher, both Republicans for Haley.

DENNIS MANDSAGER: Well, the first thing that really caught my attention was her position Ukraine.

I'm deeply concern Ukraine.

SHERRIE MAND more liberal than our governor's.

Sherrie and Dennis each voted for President Trump in 2020 and they know he GO P race now.

SHERRIE MANDSA I would go with a third-party candidate versus An d I would never vote for Biden.

LISA DESJARDINS: Why a SH ERRIE MANDSAGER: I don't like his attitude He 's always calling people names.

And, as a teacher, you teach yo LISA DESJARDINS: In Iowa, even supporters of his opponents ask about Trump.

CHRIS GARCIA, Ron DeSantis Supporter: Why haven't you gone directly after him?

GOV.

RON DESANTIS LISA DESJARDINS: That's wh o's lived in and around Dallas County his whole life and plans to caucus for DeSantis.

CHRIS GARCIA: He united Florida, and he did a good job of it.

But you know what he does?

He does what he tells he's going to do.

LISA DESJARDINS: Garcia voted for President if he wins the nomination, but he has reservations.

CHRIS GARCIA: He says some things that I don't know where I think he talks out of the side of his mouth before he realizes what he says.

LISA DESJARDINS: It's DeSantis who essentially bet it all in Iowa, both in time and money, a bet that's paid off in some cases.

TIM GORRE, Ron DeSantis Supporter: The -- so it's kind of like they made this effort to call on me.

And I talked to them.

And I told them I would give LI SA DESJARDINS: But it is Haley who has rise MARK JORGENSEN, Nikki Haley Supporter: I have been a Trump guy.

And if he wasn't so divisive, I'd be a Trump guy again.

But Nikki Haley's got similar thoughts.

LISA DESJARDINS: And also from some never-Tru LYNH PATTERSON, Nikki Haley Supporter: I'm actually a Democrat that changed my registrat to be Republican, so I can caucus for her.

LISA DESJARDINS: That is the strange political landscape of Iowa and 2024, a hu stling to shake as many hands as possible, but who still can't match the draw of a single Trump event.

Kelley Koch KELLEY KOCH, Chairs, Dallas County, Iowa, Republican Party: GOP Initially, I think a lot of people were naive that the MAGA gri way.

As we march closer to caucus, And then one by one, you see these candidates not polling, not getting traction.

And they leave, and I think they underestimated the MAGA grip.

LISA DESJARDINS: Iowa likes surprises, Huckabee in 2008, Santorum in 2012.

But this year, the weather has shocked, with Trump clearly aware of turnout risks.

DONALD TRUMP: You can't sit home.

If you're sick as a dog, you say, dar Even if you vote and then pass away, it's worth it, remember?

(LAUGHTER) DONALD TRUMP CHRIS SIEDLIK, Donald Trump supporter: I'm thinking about i You know, it just depend So, I'm going to see, wait and see.

LISA DESJARDINS: Millions of dollars in a year of campai Iowa that could determine if Republicans have a real race for president.

Now if the temperature drops just a few more degrees, this will in fact be the coldest Iowa caucuses on record -- Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, the big questions to expectations.

What's your report LISA DESJARDINS: Well, Ron He's counting on that to get his voters out.

But I will tell you, when I have gone to his even I have been to places where really they were handing out yard signs and people weren't picking them up.

So it is a real te Nikki Haley, in contrast, has the smallest operation Things have been turning her way.

The question is whether she has enou She's been asking members of Congress, fo been reporting, around here.

President Trump, he's counting on t But one thing he needs to watch out for is that he is more at risk for a factor that affects rural voters.

They are more like perhaps, of going out in the cold weather.

One other factor that could affect every Would you rather go out in this cold or watch a football game toni One more thing, Amna, that I think I can't overstate, there is a real sense of almost in Iowa now.

We have rarely seen any yard sign And I talked to one voter who said there's a thickness in the air, a sense of deja vu, no matter who you support, that they're going over the same fights again and again, not really as much excitement as I have seen in the past.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Lisa, we know there are 99 counties We know our audience can also follow along as those results come in tonight.

If you were them, what are some good counties to zero in on and track?

LISA DESJARDINS: Oh, I love talking about the county-by-county map.

Let's start over west, one of my f This is a rural county.

Donald Trump had a big night there in 2 He lost the state overall to Ted Cruz in the caucuses got to have a big night there tonight.

I'd watch that early to kind of Te d -- Ron DeSantis was there today, though, thinking perhaps he can make up ground in that conservative area.

Let us go east Those are counties that were very close between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

Marco Rubio also did well there.

Those are places where, if someone breaks River counties on the east.

And then, right where I am, al so Dallas County.

These are the po If Nikki Haley is going to have a bi So stay tuned.

AMNA NAWAZ: All Lisa, thank you.

We will be c And you can follow the live caucus results on our Web site and during later tonight right here on PBS.

GEOFF BENNETT: The same deep freeze that's put Iowa on ice has millions of other Americans in its grip as well.

Most of the country shivered thro with at least six deaths blamed on the weather.

William Brangham has the story.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Snow removal crews ar for the Iowa caucuses tonight.

They are not alone.

Across the country, at least 150 million over the weekend and into today.

Apart from the east and West Coasts, every region of below freezing.

In Great Falls, Mo Even fire trucks froze over.

Cory Reeves, the city's mayor, CORY REEVES, Mayor of Great Falls, Montana: It's bitter, bitter cold.

In fact, it's deadly if pe appropriately, things to that nature.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That ris CORY REEVES: Almost every neighborhood has elderly people living in t around here.

And I think it's We stop over.

We just make WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Oregon, high winds, snow and ice left close to 100,000 cust power in the Portland metro area.

Lake-effect snow brought whiteout conditions to Buffalo, New York The NFL playoff game between the Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed from Sunday to this afternoon.

And with Highmark Stad to help shovel out the stands.

And some even got a free ride.

MAN: We're going all the way WI LLIAM BRANGHAM: Further south, the intensity of this States like Tennessee and Arkansas are facing snowy roads and freezing temperatures.

The frigid air stretched down into Texas, initially prompting fears of a repeat of 2021, when millions lost power and hundreds died.

While Texas' grid seemed to be holding up so far, windchills aren't ex up anytime soon.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Willia GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: Hamas released video that purportedly showed the bodies of two Israeli hostages.

They were identified as Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky.

The two were seen Sunday in an earlier Hamas video pleading for a cease-fire.

The Israeli defense minister said today that option is off the table.

YOAV GALLANT, Israeli Defense Minister (through translator): The release of hostages only happen as a result of military pressure.

Hamas is severely beaten by Israeli forces.

All that's left for them is to lash out at the sensitive ne psychological abuse.

GEOFF BENNETT: A thi She said the others were killed by airstrikes.

The Israelis flatly denied it.

It's unclear under what conditions At the same time, the Gaza Health Ministry reported the Palestinian death toll to date has topped 24,000.

U.N. agencies are warning of widespread f aid.

They blame c The mounting desperation was evident Sunday when thousands of Palestinians swarmed trucks that did manage to get to a Gaza beach.

Some climbed onto the vehicles trying to get to food.

NOOH AL-SHAGHNOBY, Gazan Photographer (through translator): This has come here for flour.

Some will die.

Some will fa Some will ge Everyone is Each one of them is ready to die as long as GEOFF BENNETT: Overall, U.N. officials say less than a quarter of aid convoy Northern Gaza this month.

In Israel, a car-ramming attack north of T today.

Police say a people.

The suspects For a second day, Houthi rebels in Yemen have fired on a ship in nearby waters.

A missile hit a U.S.-owned cargo vessel today in the Gulf of Aden.

The U.S. military's Central Command reported no injuries or significant damage.

An American destroyer was targeted Sunday despite last week's U.S. airstrikes on Houthi sites.

Ukraine's mi an early warning radar plane and a command-and-control plane.

That comes as Kyiv is laboring to keep the world's focus on the war.

At the same time, in Geneva today, U.N. officials said there's severe competition for humanitari help for Ukraine.

MARTIN GRIFFIT Coordinator: not because we think the needs are diminishing or the war is getting any better for the people of Ukraine, but because we need to prioritize.

GEOFF BENNETT: More than six million people have fled Ukraine during nea of war.

Another four The U.N.'s children's agency, UNICEF, reports nearly 100 are in dire need three months after a powerful earthquake there.

U.N. officials estimate 21,000 homes were destroyed, leaving families to endure the harsh winter in temporary shelters.

Many health facilities and schools were also demolished In Guatemala, progressive Bernardo Arevalo has officially been sworn in as Th e ceremony took place shortly after midnight after opponents had delayed his oath-taking by 10 hours.

Arevalo celebrated the moment af BERNARDO AREVALO, Guatemalan President (through translator): On this transcendental day, we advance along the path that many of us have carved with effort.

It fills me with deep honor to assume this high responsibility, demons democracy has the strength to resist and that through unity and trust we can transform the political landscape.

GEOFF BENNET Here at home, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from a Washington area hospital today.

He'd been tr to tell President Biden or the public for days.

Doctors say Austin's medical prognosis is excellent.

And communities across the country celebrated this Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday with parades, prayer and service.

President Biden volunteered at a hunger relief warehouse in fresh fruit.

And Vice President Dr. King would have been 95 years old today.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Tamara Keith and Amy Walter weigh in on the wh y a $100 million donation is a game-changer for historically Black colleges and universities; and a new book dispels myths about human evolution and the female body's role in it.

AMNA NAWAZ: The Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility, according to Iranian state media.

It's just the latest in a series of attacks by Iranian and Iranian-backed militia across the region since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and Israel launched its response in Gaza.

Hezbollah in Lebanon a in Yemen have lobbed missiles toward Israel and continue attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

For more on Iran's objec at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

So, Karim, before we get into the details of s with Iran, just broadly speaking, what's Iran's objective?

What's the strategy here in the use of these proxy militias?

KARIM SADJADPOUR, Carnegie Endowment for Internatio I would argue, since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, th world that have had a more clear and consistent grand strategy over the last four or five decades.

And there's esse Number one, Iran is intent on evicting the United States Number two, they're intent on replacing Israel with Palestine.

And, number three, they want to help defeat the U.S.-led world order.

So, I would argue Iran and all of its regional proxies share these -- all these three objectives.

AMNA NAWAZ: Use of those proxy militias also gives them some degree of deniability.

The fact that they claim responsibility for this attack on the U.S. Consulate in Northern Iraq as quickly as they did, what does that say to you?

KARIM SADJADPOUR: Iran has a pretty -- is oftentimes a pretty good judge of U And so the fact that they are publicly claiming credit for attacks on U.S. outposts in the region probably means that they don't fear conflict with the United States, because they know this is a Biden administration which is intent on trying to de-escalate and avert conflicts in the region.

And, in some AMNA NAWAZ: So we know that Iran also in Yemen.

How is their relationship wi And how is it the same?

KARIM SADJAD It's the most powerful of Iran's proxies.

And it's essentially part of Iran's Revolutionary It 's really a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iranian state.

The Houthis are being trained by Hezbollah.

And over the last decade, their relationship with Iran has grown much closer.

And so, at the end of the day, Iran doesn't micromanage these proxies.

It doesn't call up Hezbollah or the Houthis or the Shia militias in Iraq and tell them what to do on a day-to-day basis.

But it certainly macromanages those groups.

And those groups, as I mentioned, they share America from the Middle East and replace Israel with Palestine.

AMNA NAWAZ: But the fact that we have seen this ramping up of the Houthi attack Red Sea, the ramping up of Hezbollah attacks across the border with Israel, is t coordinated through Iran in any way?

And could they call them off if they needed to?

KARIM SADJADPOUR: I think there's no Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has come out and said that all of Hezbollah's funding comes from Iran.

We know a giant chunk of Houthi funding comes Ha mas' military budget, 80 percent comes from Iran.

So this is not simply charity that Iran is offering its proxies.

This type of aid and support, military support, comes with major strings attached.

So, if Iran ordered its proxies to cease all attacks on U.S. interests on Israel, I expect that they would do so right away.

AMNA NAWAZ: Karim, tell me le ads them to think this is the right strategy right now.

KARIM SADJADPOUR: Well, the Iranian regime is deeply unpopula It's essentially a socially authoritarian police state with a failing Very few Iranians want to continue to live under the Islamic Republic.

But the reality is, as long as this Iranian regime remains in power, there's never going to be real, meaningful stability in the Middle East, because this is a regime which really thrives with regional instability.

The countries we have been talking about today, Yeme all essentially failing states.

And so Iran has more effectively figured out ho actor in the region.

It thrives on this instabili AMNA NAWAZ: That is Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Intern Peace.

Karim, thank Good to spea KARIM SADJAD Politics Monday GEOFF BENNETT: Let's dive back into the b That's the Iowa caucuses and the official start of the Republican nominating process.

For analysis, we're joined by Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, Tamara Keith of NPR, and Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa and Iowa PBS.

Kay is in Des Moines tonight.

And, Kay, we wil What has this final day of campai impact so far of the snow and these bone-chilling temperatures there?

KAY HENDERSON, News Director, Radio Iowa: Well, that is the big question, because the caucuses begin in just a couple of hours, and we don't yet know whether it will be a determining factor in dampening turnout.

I did talk to some Republican Party officials today, and they ex robust, primarily because of the organizing that's been going on, on the ground by the Trump campaign and the DeSantis campaign, and perhaps these late deciders who are jumping on the Nikki Haley bandwagon.

There was a Des Moines Register/NBC News poll that c she was now in second place among likely caucus-goers.

The question is just if those likely caucus-goers are going to actually become caucus-goers.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Amy, that poll that Kay mentioned, that raised a lot of eyebrows, because, as she mentioned, Nikki Haley is now -- at least according to the poll, was second to Trump, but above DeSantis.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: That's Th at's right GEOFF BENNET AMY WALTER: It's -- like windchill.

And, in fact enthusiastic are you about your candidate, not surprising, 49 percent of Trump voters say, I'm very enthusiastic; 23 percent of DeSantis voters say that.

For Haley voters, only 9 percent said they're extremely enthusiastic.

Now, a vote's a vote, whether it's enthusiastic or not.

But, usually, the more enthusiastic you are about your candidate, the more go ing to want to brave that weather.

And Kay also made a point too that, when it comes to o there early and has really -- much different than, say, in 2016, is much better organized on the ground.

And the DeSantis c organizing there.

So, when it comes to the w organization is going to be the difference between a few points on one end of the final number or not.

GEOFF BENNET You raise an But ground game, campaign infrastructure is so Do traditional models of campaigning, especially for Republicans, does it even matter?

Does it have the same utility in the Trump era?

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: You know, in 2016, f President Trump, he campaigned in Iowa by bringing a helicopter to the Iowa State Fair.

He didn't follow the rules of Iowa.

And he came in second.

And he became president of the Un And he has only gotten more popular with b But his campaign, as Kay said, has built an organization.

They are doing the ground game thing.

All of these rallies that he's been having ar They're called commit to caucus events.

They have had these videos up on the screen to caucus.

And you saw this is that important,which is to say, he is playing the game, even though he is this dominant force, in part because his campaign knows that they need him to dominate the caucuses.

They need him to dominate these early primaries and caucuses, so that the race is basically over before his court issues become even bigger issues.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Kay, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who's backing Ron DeSantis, she is trying to raise expectations for Donald Trump.

She said: "I think it's going to be bad for President Trump if 50.

He's not mee past several months."

It's clear why she's doing t She's in the DeS But does she Is there a b KAY HENDERSON: Well, we could go back to the la by 12 or 13 percent.

But the Trump campaign, I think, is aiming for something obviously a little bit mor generous than that.

The polls show that But, obviously, the governor is trying to make the case that, if he does support of a little more than a plurality, at least half of Iowa Republicans, what kind of signal does that send to the rest of the country, that maybe Iowa Republicans were open to a different kind of candidate than Donald Trump?

And that should send a message, she argues, to the rest of the country that, take a look at these other candidates.

GEOFF BENNETT: What about Nikki Ho w strong of a showing do they have to put up tonight to AMY WALTER: Right.

I think, for he has the endorsements, not coming in second place would really just be a death knell to his campaign, very hard for him to make the case that he should go on.

Now, look, if he comes in a close second, and this is -- and it is a lot closer than, say, the polls suggest it will be, then he can make the case that, you know what, it should be the two of us going one-on-one, rather than Nikki Haley versus Donald Trump.

For Nikki Haley, a close third is enough, I think, of a story because we know she's polling so well in New Hampshire.

Remember, at this point, even DeSantis i He's not spending any money in New Hampshire.

He's not polling very well in South Caro GEOFF BENNETT: Right.

AMY WALTER: that... GEOFF BENNET AMY WALTER: TAMARA KEITH AMY WALTER: (LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: GEOFF BENNETT: Well, the Republicans have What do the numbers tell us when you dig deep, Tam?

TAMARA KEITH: Well, what really stands out bet it all on Iowa, who's been competing hard, who's basically moved to the state.

But in terms of ad spending, him -- Ron DeSantis and his super PACs have not spent the most money in Iowa.

In fact, Nikki H they have spent more than Ron DeSantis.

And a lot of that has come in the got more money through fund-raising.

And then Trump has spent about $18 million.

So Haley spent 37 and her super PACs, DeSantis 35, Trump at But he can just have a rally and 1,000 people will show up, while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, mostly Ron DeSantis, are going county by county by county, the Machine Shed and Pizza Ranch, and they're getting 150 people at a time.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Yes.

Kay, we have What are you KAY HENDERSO That's a county that Trump barely won last time around in 2016.

And DeSantis and Haley have both spent a lot of time there over the past few weeks.

I will be looking at Linn County, the Cedar Rapids area.

Donald Trump finished third there.

Both of the DeSantis and Haley ca And then, if you look back at 2022, Kim Reynolds' victory as Iowa governor was really fueled by just an overwhelming majority of wins in rural Iowa.

Those are areas that Ted Cruz did well in, in 2016.

So, if Donald Trump starts rolling up numbers early in some of the small counties, that would be a good sign for the Trump campaign.

GEOFF BENNETT: Thank you all.

Great conversation.

Kay Henderso AMY WALTER: Thank you.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

AMNA NAWAZ: Following the death of three migrants, including two children in the th e southern border, a dispute between Texas state and U.S. federal officials has intensified.

Laura Barron-Lopez has more.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The Pa ss, Texas, at a section of the border recently seized by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Texas officials physically barred federal Border Patrol agents from entering Shelby Park, where they tried to respond to a distress call, according to the Homeland Security Dep The Texas Military Department said the migrants had already drowned by the time Border Patrol agents requested access, calling claims that agents were stopped from saving the migrants' lives wholly inaccurate.

Joining me to discuss is Democratic C border district.

Congressman Cuella I should note that your colleague Republican for an interview tonight.

But your district neighbors What have you heard from state and federal officials about the REP. HENRY CUELLA week, and that is bar and kick out the Border Patrol agents and remove equipment, like the scope truck that they had.

The scope truck is a v That's to make sure that they survey the border, the river.

And I think that scope truck would have played a very important role when they got this distress call.

Now, because The state is now defending and deflecting on what happened.

And if they would have just allowed them to do -- the Border Patrol to do its work, we would not be talking about this story, except maybe a mother and an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy would have drowned, as other ones have drowned.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Homeland Security is now threatening legal action if they -- if Border Patrol is not granted access to this Shelby Park in Eagle Pass.

But I wanted to get your reaction from -- on Governor Greg Abbott, his tweet last night.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott pushed back on what you accounted as the incident.

And he blamed President Biden for the drowning, specifically saying: "The fact is, the deaths are because of Biden's open border magnet."

What's your response to Governor Abbott?

REP. HENRY CUELLA and then we saw that something else happened, contrary to what the state had said.

We're seeing the same thing here.

We would not be here if the governor were kick out Border Patrol agents, remove their equipment to monitor the river.

We would not even be here talking about that.

But he's doing everything, what I call That is, instead of communicating, coordinating with the Border Patrol, he's kicking out the very agency that's empowered under federal law to stop illegal migration, to provide humanitarian relief, like in this particular situation.

And here we are.

Here we are.

We would not b Now, I feel bad for the men and women, the Guard that are there, because, if you look at it, they really have two bosses.

They have the governor and they have the president The president can come in and federalize the Guard, and I don going to do that.

But we're now playing a of Texas.

LAURA BARRON Migrant crossings surged in December, Congressman, and then they recently dropped again just this month, specifically in Eagle Pass.

And you're sometimes at odds with your own party on immigration.

Is there more that you think President Biden could be doing to mitigate crossings at the border?

REP. HENRY CUELLA Look, you know me.

I have been pull factor out of the way.

The reasons the numbers have gone dow It's not because we added border wall or the buoys.

What happened, it's very simple.

The Mexicans started doing th always a correlation.

If the Mexic people a day, we now have 2,800, 3,100 people a day.

And that's what's happening.

It's a combination of th they can take a very dangerous trek and come to the border and ask for asylum.

And the bottom line is this.

The bottom line is this.

It's -- to the migrants also, the migr route.

When you put people get desperate, but you cannot do this.

You can see people die when they take this dangerous LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Congressman, Senate negotiators are still working on a potential border deal.

It would potentially be attached to funding for Israel and Ukraine, and it would include more money for Border Patrol, as well as significantly possibly change asylum law.

If the Senate passes this, do you have any hope that House GOP will take it up, considering that leadership, Republican leadership there, has said that they would likely reject it?

REP. HENRY CUELLA I don't think they have re I haven't seen the text.

And I'm trying to I saw what the Republican leadership said, including Speaker Johnson, where they said that they would reject it, and they're going to wait for Trump to get elected as president.

Seriously?

If there's a If there's a crisis, we ought to be voting on this.

And keep in mind that, the last two years, we have added $2.4 billi That's a 15 percent increase.

Except for two Republicans that are still ther voted adding money, the last two election -- the last two appropriations bills.

And now they're saying, oh, this is not good enough for us.

So either it's a crisis or it's not a crisis, but you can't be against have not even personally seen.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Cong REP. HENRY CUELLA GEOFF BENNETT: The United Negro College Fund has received a $100 million grant to help increase endowments for historically Black colleges and universities.

The donation from Lilly Endowment is the single largest unrestricted private grant the organiza has ever received in its 80-year history.

And its sole purpose is to increase funding for each of its 37-mem We're joined now by Michael Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF.

Dr. Lomax, thank you so much for being here.

MICHAEL LOMAX, President and CEO, United GEOFF BENNETT: You have called this $ now, historically Black colleges and universities haven't had shared endowments.

How do you intend to leverage this funding?

MICHAEL LOMAX: First of all, there is a big HB CUs' endowments are significantly lower than their non-HBCU peers.

If you add up the endowments of all 102 HBCUs, you get to about $4 billion.

Harvard's got a $50 billion endowment.

So we have really got to close that gap.

We have got to close the wealth gap fo And a handful of the institutions keep getting all the money because they're their well-known brands.

Morehouse, w (LAUGHTER) MICHAEL LOMA that really need support.

And so one of the ways we felt that we could wa s by creating a pooled endowment for the 37 members, private institutions that are members of UNCF.

So we're going And we just got this $100 million from Lilly, which will become the mi llion pooled endowment.

And why a pooled endowment Well, a pooled endow can't make really good investments.

But if you have $370 milli it.

And, over ti the money out, only spend a certain percentage of it every year that they have earned in the prior 12 months.

GEOFF BENNET They represent 3 percent of all institutions of higher education, yet produce percent of Black college graduates, 40 percent of Black engineers, 50 percent of Black lawyers, 50 percent of Black doctors, 80 percent of Black judges.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNET MICHAEL LOMAX: Yes.

Yes.

GEOFF BENNET of the Supreme Court striking down the use of affirmative action in college admissions and the conservative backlash to teaching about race in schools?

MICHAEL LOMAX: Yes.

Well, look, Long overdue that they should get the recognition that they're getting today.

Yes, they're getting more attention and more young people want to attend these institutions But what we have to realize is that the students who come most to HBCUs are low-income first-generation students.

And so they of attending a private institution or even a public one.

So we're trying to say to this country, Black colleges and their students Th ey want a hand up.

They want someone to h return on the investment.

You used the term that w They have been doing that, and they have been doing more with less.

It's about time they got to do more with more.

GEOFF BENNETT: The higher enrollment presents MICHAEL LOMAX: Yes.

GEOFF BENNET Others are trying to improve their facilities and their infrastr and to keep pace with the demand.

What are you heari (LAUGHTER) MICHAEL LOMA to spend a whole lot of time doing what I do, going out and raising money.

And at the same time, they have got to ensure that they're doing what their primary purpose is, and that is to provide a competitive education for young people, and to do it in a supportive and embracing environment.

We saw recently in the issues ar affects Black students.

It really affects a sense that their -- these institutions are not really there for them, that they're there on sufferance, as opposed to on merit.

And I think there's a real challenge for a lot of American higher educatio have become so exclusive that the people that they're there to serve don't feel a sense of connection.

So what we k And those first-generation Black students whose families don't have a lot of tradition of sending people to college and they're not viewed as outsiders, they're viewed as the reason for the institution.

Given that, there's a real challenge fo And that's why endowments are so important.

Now, I would just say something We have a $1 billion capital campaign under way.

GEOFF BENNETT: Where are you in that pursuit?

MICHAEL LOMAX: We're at GEOFF BENNETT: OK. MICHAEL LOMA a greater understanding of the value of the work that we do.

The $100 million from Lilly Endowment is a -- it's a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

I just need to raise another $450 million and I will meet my floor.

But it is just that.

It's a floor.

It's not a c GEOFF BENNET Dr. Michael Lomax, thanks so much for bei MICHAEL LOMAX: Thank you very much, Great to be wi AMNA NAWAZ: We often talk about human origins as the evolution of man, but what if we saw it as the evolution of woman?

A new book argues for a better unde for our present.

Jeffrey Brown explains.

And it's for JEFFREY BROWN: Where do we come from and how did we evolve in are today?

It's a story New York.

Human origins.

CAT BOHANNON Yes, here we JEFFREY BROW of looking at human development.

CAT BOHANNON: We have a lot of stories We especially have a lot of stories about the evolution of humanity and its poss past.

But, weirdly You know what I mean?

But, increasingly, in ma putting that female back in the picture.

And that actually changes how we tell that story.

JEFFREY BROWN: Bohannon tells the story in "E Years of Human Evolution."

In fact, with personal whimsy as well as sci a creature she nicknames Morgie, perhaps the first ever breast-feeder.

CAT BOHANNON: It's delightful that the reason someone like me might have breasts is because there is this little weaselly creature 200 million years ago living under the literal feet of dinosaurs and she starts lactating.

And that's why, right?

So that's just f JEFFREY BROW more into the tale of the human species as a whole.

CAT BOHANNON: It's really rewarding to remember how deeply ancient these thi the body is in many ways a unit of time, right, with different things that arrive at different points in time, that this human brain is incredibly recent, right, and that my digestive system is incredibly ancient.

These Eves are meant to give us co me from and how that story still shapes how we live in them today.

JEFFREY BROWN: For Bohannon, whose Ph.D. research was in cognitive psychology and literature, a fundamental problem, an example of how hominins and early humans learned to problem-solve, is in childbirth.

You say we're one of the worst.

We are terrible at CAT BOHANNON: Oh, ye Yes.

JEFFREY BROW CAT BOHANNON: Absolutely.

And we do that by having It 's kind of what we're always doing.

We're always finding b JEFFREY BROWN: She took us a long way back.

CAT BOHANNON: How you doing, Luce?

How's it hanging?

JEFFREY BROW All bones here are actually casts.

The actual Lucy of the species Australopithecus afarensis was disc in 1967.

Bohannon's focus, Lucy CAT BOHANNON: The pelvic opening has narrowed, wh here, instead of down here.

And some really, r as we do.

She had the She had big babies and had a hard JEFFREY BROWN: Right, which a lot of women will relate to.

CAT BOHANNON: Yes, I did that twice.

I'm good.

Yes.

So, but the million years ago.

And the current theo JEFFREY BROWN: Lucy had a midwife?

CAT BOHANNON: Lucy had a mi She was small.

She was furr She was very But she had a midw of vulnerability, to get them out.

Yes.

Yes, yes, ye And that's a JEFFREY BROWN: Bohannon loves that famous first scene of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."

But she want of the female body can change how we think of the development of other traits, such as language.

CAT BOHANNON hunting, shouting directions across... JEFFREY BROW Isn't that t CAT BOHANNON: It's a commo JEFFREY BROWN: OK. CAT BOHANNON But remember that all of these mixed-sex members of a group.

And when you look at the evolution of language a childhood story very quickly.

And, frankly, most of the time that This is when -- you're connected, literally connected, many hours a day to a face which is communicating with you at those critical moments of brain development.

JEFFREY BROWN: Bohannon's book, which synthesizes the work of hundreds of sc them women, raises numerous such examples.

But it also raises critical implications for women's health today and addresses the male norm that has traditionally guided medical science.

CAT BOHANNON: That, for a very long time in biology and in biomedical research, we're mostly studying male subjects.

That's how we control for estrus, the messiness of tha literally out of the equation.

And we're only just starting to fi This is kind of a paradigm shift, kind of a sea change.

And we don't entirely know what biological sex differences are go yet we will know the more we study it.

JEFFREY BROWN: We still don't know?

CAT BOHANNON: Absolutely not, that work right now, which is why this book can even exist.

JEFFREY BROWN: She points to the growing awareness of different res opioids, for example, and the need for better guidelines to distinguish between them.

CAT BOHANNON: Because we live in the bodies we do that have this deep evolutionary time, our health is affected by how well we understand that history.

Our medicine is shaped by how well we're able to incorporate better knowledge about literally what these things are.

And what we are is made of where we c JEFFREY BROWN: Deep time down to the present day in a still-developing story of evolution.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

GEOFF BENNETT: Remember to stay with us for live coverage of the Iowa caucus results starting tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

AMNA NAWAZ: And that is the "NewsH I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNET We will see you later toni