In the day's other news: Wall Street stormed
past another milestone, led by tech and health
care stocks.
The Dow industrials soared 322 points to close
well over 26000.
That's just eight days after it first passed
25000.
The Nasdaq rose 74 points, and the S&P 500
added 26.
Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona denounced
President Trump today for his attacks on the
news media.
On the Senate floor, Flake said using terms
like fake news and enemy of the people recalls
the Stalinist era in the Soviet Union.
SEN.
JEFF FLAKE (R), Arizona: It is a testament
to the condition of our democracy that our
own president uses words infamously spoken
by Joseph Stalin to describe his enemies.
This alone should be the source of great shame
for us in this body, especially for those
of us in the president's party, for they are
shameful, repulsive statements.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The White House dismissed Flake's
criticism, and said that he is just -- quote
-- "looking for some attention."
It turns out the White House directed its
former chief strategist Steve Bannon not to
answer various questions yesterday before
the House Intelligence Committee.
The focus was possible collaboration between
Russian officials and the Trump campaign.
The Associated Press reports that Bannon's
attorney relayed the questions on his phone
in real time to the White House Counsel's
Office.
Presidential Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
said today that it is all part of exercising
executive privilege.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, White House Press
Secretary: This time, it was something that
was relayed via phone, and, again, was following
standard procedure for an instance like this,
and something that will likely happen again
on any other number of occasions, not just
within this administrations, but future administrations.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The House Intelligence Committee
is now moving to subpoena Bannon and compel
his testimony.
It is also reported that Bannon has now agreed
to be interviewed by special counsel Robert
Mueller, without a subpoena.
President Trump charged today that Russia
is helping North Korea obtain crucial supplies
and evade sanctions.
In an interview with Reuters, he said -- quote
-- "What China is helping us with, Russia
is denting."
The president also warned that the North is
-- quote -- "closer every day to being able
to fire a nuclear-tipped missile that can
reach the U.S."
North and South Korea have agreed to form
a unified team for next month's Winter Olympics,
hosted by the South.
Their athletes will march together during
the opening ceremony, and form a joint women's
ice hockey team.
The two nations have been holding high-level
talks to ease tensions.
Today, the president of South Korea hailed
the developments.
MOON JAE-IN, South Korean President (through
translator): If the South and North form a
unitary team and participate in the Olympic
Games, I think it will become an historic
moment.
Not only Koreans, but people from all over
the world, will be moved to see such an historic
moment.
It will be a great start to resolve inter-Korean
issues.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Korean agreement must still
be approved by the International Olympic Committee.
A former CIA officer is being linked to a
major loss of U.S. informants inside China.
Jerry Chun Shing Lee was arrested Monday night
in New York.
He is officially charged with having names
and phone numbers of CIA informants and other
secrets.
The New York Times reports that China began
hunting down U.S. informants in 2010.
In Syria, the leading Kurdish party appealed
to the U.N. Security Council today to prevent
an attack by Turkey.
That came as Turkish tanks deployed along
the Syrian border.
The Turks insist that a Syrian-Kurdish militia,
backed by the U.S., is linked to Kurdish rebels
inside Turkey.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
said today that the U.S. military will remain
in Syria for some time to come.
Back in this country, the aftermath of a winter
storm paralyzed parts of the Deep South again
today.
A thin layer of snow and ice wreaked havoc
on the region's roads, and Louisiana, Georgia,
and North Carolina all declared emergencies.
Western North Carolina got eight inches of
snow.
GOV.
ROY COOPER (D), North Carolina: The snow's
pretty, but don't be fooled.
You don't have to brave the roads if you don't
have to.
And we don't want people to get in trouble.
We know from our state troopers that accidents
can happen when we have snow and ice on the
road.
JUDY WOODRUFF: In Louisiana, New Orleans had
a record low of 21 degrees.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi also broke a record,
with 13 degrees.
At least 10 deaths are being blamed on the
storm.
The state of Michigan has awarded $1 million
to a Detroit man wrongfully convicted of murder.
Desmond Ricks spent 25 years in prison.
He was released last May after new tests showed
that the bullets from the victim's body didn't
come from Ricks' gun.
He accused Detroit police of switching the
bullets.
Democrats have scored another election upset
in a Republican stronghold.
It happened Tuesday in Wisconsin.
Patty Schachtner beat out Republican Adam
Jarchow in a special election for a state
Senate seat.
President Trump won the district by 17 points
in 2016.
Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole accepted
the Congressional Gold Medal today, Congress'
highest honor.
House and Senate leaders presented the medal
at the Capitol to the longtime member of Congress
and Republican presidential candidate.
Dole, in turn, gave the credit to those who
worked for him.
BOB DOLE, Former Presidential Candidate: I
have always said that you're no better than
your staff, and I thank them for all they
have done for me over the years.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Dole is 94.
He represented Kansas for 35 years, first
in the House and then in the Senate.
And one of the world's leading AIDS researchers,
Mathilde Krim, died on Monday at her home
in New York state.
Krim was a geneticist who led the drive against
AIDS when it surfaced in the 1980s.
She warned against hysteria over how the AIDS
virus spreads, as in this "NewsHour" interview
from 1985.
MATHILDE KRIM, AIDS Researcher: It is not
contagious at all through casual interaction
with people in normal social conditions, such
as living in a household with a patient, or
meeting patients on the bus or on the working
place or in school.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Mathilde Krim was 91 years
old.
