♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on "the newshour" tonight. as the war in gaza rages on, we speak with a former israeli hostage in her first, exclusive interview since being released by hamas. >> for the 51 days that i was there, there wasn't a minute that i thought that i'd ever come back alive. geoff: harvard's president resigns after accusations of plagiarism and criticisms of the university's response to the war

-- the israel-hamas war. amna: and big cities in the united states contend with an influx of migrants, including thousands sent north by republican governors. they struggle to provide enough health care and housing. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including catherine and camilla and george smith. >> pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. life, well-planned. the john s and james l knight

foundation, fostering inform, engage communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and 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. amna: welcome to "the newshour." hamas confirms tonight that one of its top leaders has been killed in lebanon, possibly signaling an escalation of the

israel-hamas war beyond gaza. he's identified as saleh arouri, who headed hamas operations in the occupied west bank. geoff: hamas officials say arouri and six other militant figures died in an explosion today in beirut. lebanon's state news agency reports they were in a building that was hit by an israeli drone attack. hezbollah, a hamas ally and militant group also backed by iran, called it a dangerous development and vowed to retaliate. amna: news of the death came as hamas insisted again that no additional hostages would be released until there is a complete cease-fire in gaza. meantime, the the palestinian red crescent reported an airstrike blasted its headquarters in one city, killing five people. they were among thousands of refugees sheltering their. >> we are civilians of the red crescent. we are this place from gaza city. we escaped with our children from death to the south as it is

supposed to be safe. they are liars. there is no safe place and all of gaza. geoff: the gaza health ministry reported 200 people were killed in the latest 24 hour period, putting the overall death toll over 2000. amna: former president trump formally appealed to the supreme court of maine, asking to be restored to the state ballot. the supreme court had ruled he violated an insurrectionist ban against holding office. mr. trump is expected to appeal that to the u.s. supreme court. russia fired hypersonic missiles that ukraine's two largest cities today and i stepped up winter assault. the attacks killed five people and injured at least 130. two cities work targeted by missiles that can travel it 10 times the speed of sound. air defenses shot down many of them, but falling debris caused widespread damage. the death toll from powerful earthquakes in western japan has

climbed to at least 55. aerial video showed the scope of the damage from the quakes and a fire in ishikawa prefecture. tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed. japan's prime minister said it's a tremendous loss. >> i have received reports that very large-scale damage has been confirmed so far, including numerous human casualties, building collapses, and fires. as for the power outages, water outages, and communication disruptions that are currently occurring, workers have been on site and are in the process of restoring them. amna: rescue team still have not been able to reach some of the hardest hit areas due to blocked or damaged roads. in south korea, the leader of the main opposition party is recovering after he was stabbed in the neck today. police say an unidentified man asked for an autograph, then lunged at him with a knife before being tackled and arrested.

authorities say they are still investigating the motive. heavy downpours have inundated parts of eastern australia, with two months' worth of rain in just three days. queensland and new south wales have gotten the worst of it. officials there are urging people in low-lying areas to move to higher ground. the relentless rains have cut off roads and flooded fields, and another 14 inches of rain is expected over the next 24 hours. back in this country, federal prosecutors have fleshed out their bribery allegations against new jersey senator bob menendez. a revised indictment filed today says menendez took bribes to induce a member of qatar's royal family to invest millions in a real estate project. the veteran democrat has pleaded not guilty in the case. on wall street, stocks began the new year by giving back some of last year's gains. the dow jones industrial average nudged 25 points higher to close at 37,715. but the nasdaq fell 245 points, 1.6%.

and, the s&p 500 slipped 27 points. and, a passing of note -- healthcare reformer doctor sidney wolfe died monday in washington, of brain cancer. for more than 40 years, he ran the health research group for the consumer advocacy group public citizen. during that time, he focused on exposing ineffective, dangerous and overpriced drugs. doctor sidney wolfe was 86 years old. still to come on "the newshour." a japan airlines plane bursts into flames after a collision on -- the price of buying versus renting changes the housing cost-benefit analysis for many americans. the son of renowned singer-songwriter john prine discusses finding his own voice. plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour, from w eta studios in washington, and in the west, on the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state

university. amna: for 40 years, aviva siegel and her husband keith lived at kibbutz kfar aza not far from the gaza strip. during the october 7th hamas attacks, they were both taken hostage. on november 26th, after 51 days in gaza, aviva, a 62 year old israeli kindergarten teacher, who was born in south africa, was released. but her husband, who is american and israeli, is still being held hostage. in her first interview aviva siegel tells "the newshour" about surviving october 7th, her time in captivity, and what she wants to happen next. we spoke earlier today, and i began by asking her about the day hamas attacked. >> well, the first alarm came at 6:35, and we ran into our shelter and would close the door, we closed the window. and then there were explosions all over and alarms all over. we started hearing gunshots, and

we understood that something is happening. i was very, very scared. but they said don't worry, it is like. in they just open the door and all came in and took us. they were like monsters. amna: the moment that door opens, what goes through your mind? >> i was hysterical, and i started screaming. i screamed. i didn't even feel my body, and that i was out of my body, walking with them and doing what they told me to do. they took me to the car and off we went. amna: they drove you and your husband in your own car to gaza?

do you know where you were taken? >> keith wanted to run away and i told him, don't run away because they will shoot us. they pushed keith and they broke two of his ribs, and it was terrible at the beginning. he could hardly move and he could hardly sit and he could hardly eat, and i was very worried about him. and when they shot us, they shot his hand. amna: were you kept in the same place your entire captivity? >> we were moved 13 times. we were down underground and we could not breathe and we were sure we were going to die. for the first 31 days i was there, there wasn't a minute that i thought i would ever come back alive. we were scared all the time. amna: you said you removed 13 times over your 51 days in captivity, buildings aboveground and underground. tell me about underground, we've heard about the hamas tunnels.

what was it like? >> we would climb down and go down and go down lots and lots of stairs. there was no oxygen. so they left us there, just stuck in a very, very small place, with a toilet but no water, with no food, no water. they just left us there. amna: tell me about how you were treated by the men who held you hostage. do you would -- did you witness any violence while you were there? >> lots of violence. he could not understand why they were rehabbing the way they behaved -- while they were behaving the way they behaved. they were five minutes sort of like people, and for two hours there -- they were very mean and horrible to us and chanting at us and told us to keep quiet.

they let us lie down and not even move and not even talk. most of the time we could not even talk, we had to whisper. we just had to sit or lie down, not move, and just wait for the time to go by. amna: you mentioned the cruelty of your captors. as you have probably seen, there has been a lot of reporting and testimonies documenting specifically the sexual violence perpetrated against women on the day of the attacks, on october 7. i'm sorry to ask it this way, but do you know anything about that kind of violence perpetrated against women, either on that day or during your time in captivity? >> i'm lucky that i was not touched. but i do know that it is true. i was there, and it's true. and it's terrible. and i don't want to talk about it. amna: i just want to be clear,

he knew say it's true, you are talking about what you witnessed during your time in captivity, not on october 7, is that correct? >> correct. amna: so you've probably seen some of the reporting is that one of the reasons hamas may be reluctant to release some of the women they are holding is because of the violence perpetrated against those women during their time in captivity. do you believe that to be true? >> i think so. amna: is there anything else you think is important for people to understand? >> i think the world has to wake up. girls aren't to touch. nobody should touch anybody without permission. and we need to get them out. we need to get them out as quick as possible because they have been there for 88 days, and that's enough. amna: you were held for 51 days. during some of the most intense bombing campaigns by israel, did any of those bombs ever come

close to where you were? >> very close. one of the towns, the whole house was shaking. they said it felt 100 meters to us. when we moved from there, we could see that the building that was next to us was finished. it was just on the ground. lots of them fell next to us. they bombed all the time. night, day, every minute. amna: did you think you might actually lose your life in one of those bombs? >> all the time. geoff: you were released on sunday, november 20 six. it was part of a temporary cease-fire. there was a release of dozens of hostages released in exchange for palestinians being held in israel. at what moment it hit you that you were finally free? >> only when the red cross moved

me to the israelis. that was the only time i believe that it was going to happen. the evening before, he came and said, tomorrow you are going to israel. so i said i'm not going without keith. but he said keith won't come, he needs to stay here, and you are going. and i said no, i want keith to go with me. amna: review and keith being held at that time? >> we were held together until nearly the end. amna: how did you process that? what did you talk about with him? >> we didn't talk about it at all. we did not think ever that we would get out. we thought we would die there. the hamas people told us all the time, you are not going back to israel. you will go to europe, because there is no israel anymore. israel has been destroyed. the whole world has been bombing

israel. israel is finished, so you've got no place to go back to. and i believed them. amna: in the moment when they moved you to be freed, did you have to say goodbye to your husband in that moment? >> i said sorry, i'm going to say goodbye to keys, because he was in a different room. and i just pushed him and ran to keys. i gave him a big, huge hug and said you be strong for me, i will be strong for you. because i didn't know if i will ever see him again. and i didn't know if it was the truth. but that's what i did. and then i moved out with my head up and i said i'm going to be strong for keys, and that's what i did. and i'm strong for keith now, and i want him back. he is 64 years old. he has health problems, and he needs to be out now with all the other hostages. 88 days.

there has been a month that nobody has been released. and if they did it once, that means they can do it again. the need to get them out now, before it's too late. we need keith home for the family. he needs to see his grandchildren. i asked his granddaughter that is eight today, what kind of grandfather was keith? she said he was the best grandfather in the world. and that's keith. he is kind. he is soft. he is special. he is such a giving person. and everybody loves him. we love him, i love him, grandchildren need him, his kids need him. he needs to come back now. amna: what has every day since you were released been like for you, knowing that keith is still held hostage? >> terrible. i'm just so sad.

and i have to be strong because i have four children to look after and to be their mom. and i want to be strong for them, and a promised keith i'm going to be strong for him. i can't explain what a horrible feeling that is, leaving him there. amna: there have been a few exchanges, as you mentioned, already. but it has been several weeks there has been no hostage release. do you think that is? -- why do you think that is, why has it come to a standstill? >> i have a feeling that netanyahu wants to keep the war going because he wants to win the war. but he can't keep the war going and get the hostages out. he needs to go to a cease-fire and then get them out, and he needs to get them out now, as quick as possible. because 88 days are enough. amna: are you worried that prime minister netanyahu is prioritizing winning the war over bringing the hostages home? >> i've got a feeling that's why

the war is continuing. he wants to win the war. amna: but do you think he is prioritizing that over bringing hostages home? >> i'm not a politician, and there's things i don't understand. but i do know that there needs to be a cease-fire for them to come out. and there isn't a cease-fire. amna: but at the same time the war does rage on. some 21 thousand palestinians have been killed in response to that one attack. mostly women and children. i just wonder how you are watching and processing all of that while your husband is still held hostage there. >> i want to ask biden and all the leaders of the world to make this world a better world for everybody, for every country, for every mother that has a child, for every grandfather and grandmother that has grandchildren. amna: it's not president biden who has launched this campaign,

though. what would you say to your own government about its response in gaza since the october 7 attack? >> i want to say that all the leaders of the world need to get together and be strong enough to stop wars all over and stop the war with hamas. so innocent people will be able to just live lives like our life was before. want to ask biden to lead it, because he is the leader of the world. and to put pressure on netanyahu to stop the war and bring them home. we need keith home. amna: today marks 88 days that your husband has been held hostage in gaza. if you could say anything to him right now, what would you say? >> that i love him, and that i want him back. we are doing everything we can. we are not politicians. we are doing everything, our whole family, my daughter's, our

whole family. we are doing everything we can so keith will come home, because we need him with us, and he needs us with him. amna: thank you so much for joining us today. we are thinking of you and your family and keith. we hope to speak with you again soon. thank you. ♪ geoff: after weeks of intense scrutiny, harvard president claudine gay resigned today. william brangham has the latest. william: gay's resignation came after she was scrutinized over two different issues. she was heavily criticized for her testimony during a congressional hearing about rising anti-semitism on college campuses, and harvard's response to it. separately, critics alleged she plagiarized some of her her academic writings, and revealed examples where she did borrow some exact language from other

scholars. gay denied plagiarizing anyone, but said she would add more citations to some of her previous works. she was the first black leader of harvard, and now has had the shortest tenure of any harvard president. harvard's provost and chief academic officer, alan garber, will serve as interim president. hilary burns of the boston globe joins me now. claudine gay was under fire for weeks, but seemed to have kept her job until today, when you plagiarism -- new play derision -- new plagiarism revelations emerged. >> it was a series of interlocking crises since the october 7 hamas attack on israel, she has been criticized for not doing enough to combat anti-semitism on campus. and then there was the botched congressional hearing on

december 5. she survived that hearing largely because of support from faculty and students, but in recent weeks, there has been a near constant drumbeat of plagiarism accusations. william: on the plagiarism accusations, some of her supporters said everyone needs to recognize these were ideological opponents of gays who were bringing out these accusations and their push for diversity at harvard. if i was a student at harvard and had done some of the things she has been found to have done, what would have happened to me? >> that's a good question. students at harvard face disciplinary proceedings when they are huge -- when eric use. plagiarism is taken very seriously. there appears to be a double

standard, here is the president of the university with dozens of accusations against her work. william: i want to read an excerpt of her resignation letter. she said, it has en distressing to have dbt cast on my commitments to confrting hate into holding scholarly rigor. two bedrock values that are fundamental to w i am, and frightening to be suggested to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus. the harvard corporation alluded to the racist vitriol that him -- had been directed to gay as well. many of her supporters say you cannot overlook the fact that this is a black woman was subject to all of these attacks. >> that's right, many people we have spoken with have pointed to the racial animus involved, and criticism of her at large. i think that the fact that the

plagiarism accusations were first reported by a conservative outlet and then pushed out by conservative activists, creates a feeling there is a political agenda at play here. i think that really confused members within the harvard community who said on the one hand, some of these accusations look serious, and on the other hand, we don't want politicians or anyone outside of the university meddling in our business and telling us what to do. william: i want to double back to the issue of the anti-semitism by harvard. as you mention, there was his criticism of anti-semitic incidents are happening at harvard and the university's response to it, as well as her congressional testimony, which as you alluded to, she seemed to be making responses to whether

it was ok for anyone on campus to call for the genocide of jews. what is your take on how central that was to the attacks on her and to her eventual resignation? >> well, we don't know exactly at this point what the straw that broke the camels back was. but we know that coming before the plagiarism accusations, it was coming from a damaged seat. she was already facing so much backlash for that congressional hearing, and donors and alumni were bare and happy with how things were going at harvard. they solve very frequent pro-palestinian rallies, big rallies with over 1000 students participating, that were calling for a cease-fire. and they were questioning how this pro-palestinian point of view could be so mainstream at harvard. so it has been a really complicated and tumultuous path

for her since october 7. and the scandals have really overlapped at this point. william: hilary, we really appreciate you helping us navigate all of this. thank you very much. ♪ geoff: a fiery runway collision at a tokyo airport stunned the world today with dramatic imagery. what's more stunning: hundreds of passengers survived and managed to get off safely. but five crew members on a coast guard plane involved in the accident were killed. neil connery of independent television news starts our coverage with this report. >> japan airlines flight 516 bursts io flames as it lands at tokyo's haneda airport. it collides with a japanese coastguard plane on touchdown.

fire spreads along the airbus a350 carrying 379 people. this is the scene inside. panic as the flames get nearer. the pilot manages to keep control bringing the aircraft to a gradual halt. as smoke begins to fill the cabin. as cabin crew respond, one child calls out, please get me out of

here quickly. as fire envelops the fuselage the 367 passengers and 12 crew start fleeing the intense heat and smoke down emergency chutes, with just moments to spare. it's a miraculous escape. with everyone now off, fire crews battle flames so fierce they burn through the plane's structure. five people on board the coastguard aircraft which collided with the airbus were killed, its pilot survived but suffered severe injuries. it was taking aid to victims of yesterday's powerful earthquake. japan's prime minister fumio kishida offered his condolences to the five people killed who he said had lost their lives trying to help others.

he also praised the japan airlines crew and passengers for their calmness. investigations are now getting underway. as the remains of japan airlines flight 516 lie smoldering, the 379 people who were on board are overwhelmed with relief they survived and walked away from this. geoff: our own aviation correspondent, miles o'brien, joins us now. we know that the crew members aboard that japanese coast guard plane tragically died in the collision, but that the 379 passengers, including eight children and the crew aboard the commercial plane were successfully evacuated. tell us how they pulled that off without further tragedy. >> it is extraordinary, and there's a lot of factors that come into play here. there is a certain amount that

is a technological story. some of it is crew training and execution. and ultimately, it was the passengers themselves who took it upon themselves to act in a way that would save themselves. talking about the technology first, the aviatio industry spent decades trying to make airplane interiors less flammable. that bought time. the flight cabin crew in particular vesely did their job well. they are not only there to serve us drinks and snacks. ultimately, the passengers were not pulling down their carry-on bags, they just did what they were told, they turned around and got out of that plane, and they did it in under 90 seconds. it proves that it can happen that a plane with upwards of 400 people on it in flames can be an

accident where no one gets hurt. it is extraordinary. geoff: tell us about the design and manufacturing of this aircraft, how exactly did buy them time? we saw how the cabin was engulfed in smoke, and then after the passengers made it off, that was when the plane was just enveloped by flames. >> years ago, there were a series of accidents that would've been otherwise survivable, were it not for the fact that there was not much attention paid to the flammability of the interior. the faa and other entity spent a lot of time testing for alternatives. the airline industry responded and regulations changed. that is a significant piece of the story. it really is a matter of just providing a little bit of time, and that's all they needed. the fact that in 90 seconds, upwards of 400 people could get

out, it seems like it wouldn't work, but it did. geoff: japanese authorities say there will be a full investigation. based on what we know right now, what factors could've contributed to this collision? >> it's clear someone was in the wrong here, whether it was air traffic control, the crew on the airliner, or the japanese coast guard. we don't know, but what is helpful in this case is tape recordings of all the on board conversations, at least on the airbusa 350, and people will testify in all the locations. so we will figure out what happened. the coast guard crew, for example, they were involved in trying to get supplies subsequent to the earthquake and tsunami. how fatigued or stressed where

they? had they done multiple missions that day? that is something that may want to look at. was there confusion about the clearances that were given? you have one controller on the tower frequency talking to the landing aircraft, another controller talking to the aircraft that was taxing on the ground. so confusion can arise there. so there's any number of ways that this could go awry. but i'm very certain they will figure this out. geoff: are there any takeaways for the u.s. aviation industry? >> officially, this is not a u.s. accident. it was a french maid aircraft, landing in japan, with a british made engine. so it's not as if u.s. companies will be party to this investigation. as you and i have been talking about these past months, there have been several near misses in

the united states. there are a lot of factors, including lack of staffing among air for traffic controllers. whatever comes out of this, i guarantee be in the category of lessons learned for the entire aviation industry. when people say things happen miraculously in aviation, i don't believe that. it's hard work, and frankly, it's the hard lessons from things like this. geoff: miles o'brien, thank you for joining us. ♪ amna: over the weekend, a number of buses carrying migrants who'd recently crossed the u.s. southern border were headed to new york. but they were diverted instead to new jersey. it's most recent effort by officials to manage a crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of migrants arrive in northern cities, more than 160,000 to new york alone since the spring of 2022.

william brangham is back and reporting this week on how two different cities are handling these new arrivals. the begins tonight, in new york. william: it's a modern-day ellis island, 19 stories tall, in midtown manhattan. the once grand roosevelt hotel, is now the first stop for many newly arrived migrants to new york city. >> they'll be more than 500 asylum seekers that will enter those doors today. william: doctor ted long is an executive with the city's hospital system, which runs the arrival center, and many of the city's shelters. covid shuttered the roosevelt, but since opening to migrants last spring, more than 85,000 have filed through here. dr ted long: we've learned a lot about the specific needs of asylum seekers. every part of the arrival center will bring it up front how we can help you to address those needs. william: after registering, asylum seekers move to a former ballroom for health screenings and optional vaccinations. elsewhere, there's information about immigration and work laws.

and under a painting of bandleader guy lombardo, who rang in new years eve here for decades, migrants are offered passage to somewhere new. >> if we're able to identify friends or family that you want to go to we'll buy your ticket anywhere in the world. william: long says up to a quarter of those who arrive in new york city choose to leave within 24 hours. but for those that stay, housing is the biggest single support the city provides. one of the reasons new york has been such a magnet for migrants is that this city has a longstanding tradition of offering shelter to anyone who requires it. but now, after their -- after 40 years, that commitment may be in jeopardy. over the last 20 months, the shelter system in new york city has basically doubled. more than 67,000 migrantsare now housed in shelters, massive temporary tent camps, and hotels. that includes people like dayana, an asylum seeker from

colombia, who's being sheltered in a bronx hotel with her husband and two children. she takes her 11-year-old son to public school in manhattan, an almost hour-long commute on two subways, early enough so he can eat the free breakfast school provides. dayana: the school has been a great help to us. they've been like angels who've swooped down from the sky. william: they fled home in 2022, after she says her husband received death threats because of his work as a community organizer. she says the school is a rare source of stability. dayana: i don't want to continue disrupting their lives. the journey from colombia to here has already been very tough on them. william: providing all this support has not been cheap. city officials estimate this current migrant influx will cost more than $12 billion over three

years. in november, democratic mayor eric adams announced budget cuts, and warned more were likely. eric adams: i don't have deportation powers. i don't have the power to turn buses around. i don't have the power to say we're not going to give you some form of housing. i don't have any of that power. and all i have the power to do is to balance the budget. >> immigrants are not safe here! william: in some neighborhoods, migrants have been met with outright hostility. >> they don't belong here on staten island. they definitely don't belong here in this neighborhood. william: last week, mayor adams started requiring busses that are transporting migrants, many sent from texas, to give advance notice of their arrivals. like other mayors, adams blames the federal government for not doing enough, but is also critical of border state officials like republican governor greg abbott of texas. >> this is a national problem. this has only been exacerbated by governor abbott's cruel, inhumane politics.

>> the lead importer of migrants to new york is not texas, it's joe biden. william: amid record numbers of migrants crossing the us-mexican border, governor abbott is unapologetic about transporting some people north. >> what you're dealing with in new york is a tiny fraction of what is happening every single day in the state of texas. it's a crisis. it is chaotic. and it must stop. >> i don't actually consider it a crisis. to me, this is the nexwave of people becoming new yorkers. william: brad lander is the city's comptroller, an elected position that's the chief financial and accountability officer. brad: new york city lost 400,000 people during the pandemic. william: people moving away, moving out. brad: that's the history of new york city. it is a short term cost and we need more help than we're getting from washington especially and from albany. but it's not the primary driver in the budget gaps.

william: given the level of services that you all are offering, how long can new york city keep doing this, at this capacity? >> well, one of the big problems we have in new york city is that we are out of space. everybody that you see here sitting in these chairs now we don't have a placement in the new york city system yet. we need the resources to keep up with the lifesaving care that we offer to people every day here. william: but new york city is also trying to change a key part of its support for migrants. this fall, officials asked a court for more flexibility when it comes to the city's so-called right to shelter rule. officials argued that 1981 rule governing the homeless is " outmoded and cumbersome in the face of the present migrant crisis." brad: it is a struggle for the city to find new hotels and new shelter. but it's a mistake to respond to that challenge by trying to end the right to shelter, folks will wind up sleeping on the street instead of in shelter.

and for families especially, i mean, this is what really breaks my heart. william: starting as soon as this week, the city will enforce a time limit for families, making those like dayana's re-apply for shelter after 60 days, potentially moving them to any shelter in the city. and even further from her kids' school. dayana: we don't want to disrupt anything else for them. we as adults try to make everything seem ok, we put on a brave face and try not to make things seem too negative. william: with no agreement in congress around border policies or additional funding, asylum seekers like dayana, and the cities supporting them, remain in limbo. for "the pbs newshour," i'm william brangham in new york. amna: tomorrow william continues his reporting from chicago, where texas officials have been flying migrants in recent days.

geoff: is it better to buy or rent a home? buying has almost always been favored over renting when it comes to housing. for generations, the prevailing wisdom has been that renting is wasting money. but what about now, with a tough real estate market characterized by elevated listing prices and interest rates? david leonhardt has long covered this issue for the new york times. he's the author of the book on the economy called, ours was the shining future: the story of the american dream. thanks so much for being with us. considering this daunting real estate market, limited inventory, interest rates for 30 year fixed somewhere between 6.5% and 7%, and a median u.s. home price of $420,000, what is a prospective homebuyer to do? is renting these days a better option? >> for most people it is a better option, that is if you don't already own.

for people who don't yet own a home and are trying to make a decision about the economics of renting, i think i understand why people have so long been down on renting. there has even been some shame associated with renting. think it is important to say, for most people who are trying to figure out whether to buy or rent, renting is a smarter option financially. you will save money. there's a reason so many americans rent. it helps to get out the message that people should buy rather than rent, when in fact, many people should rent. geoff: on the other hand, rents are sky high right now. the national median for a one-bedroom apartment is roughly $1500 amia -- a month. in new york city, it was $4300 a month. isn't that throwing away money in the sense that you are not

building equity? >> it's important to remember all the ways you throw away money by buying. there is a very large fee, often tens of thousands of dollars, that goes to a real estate agent. that's throwing money away. you are paying the bank huge amounts of interest. that is throwing away money, giving it to a bank. you have to do repairs when you own a home, often repairs it don't really add to the value of the house, like if your roof is leaking, you have to fix it, you have no choice. and finally, there's the opportunity cost. if you didn't use all that money for a down payment, you could've invested in the stock market or invested in other ways. so it is true that renting involves throwing anyway, but so does buying. geoff: why are home prices so high right now? it strikes me that with high

interest rates, that should suggest that demand would be lower, and sellers within have to cut the price of the home in order to drive up demand, but that's not happening. >> the way you describe it is exactly the way the market should work. but the housing market is bizarre and psychology plays a big role. a lot of people say i'm not willing to accept less than a certain price for their home. maybe they think about the price they bought it for and they add on the cost of all the repairs and renovations they have done. people sam just not willing to accept less than 350 thousand dollars, or 850 thousand dollars, or whatever, for their house. so when they don't get the offers that they want, they pull their house off the market and think, i will put it back on later. so housing ends up having an artificial quality in which prices don't fall until there is

reduced demand. if you are a would homebuyer, you have the worst of both worlds. interest rates are low, but prices have not fallen. so you really have to pay a huge amount to buy a home. not forever, but in the short or medium term, renting makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. in the northeast, on the west coast, and major markets like atlanta and dallas and places like that. geoff: the worst of all worlds is a good way to describe it, especially for first-time millennial homebuyers. data shows 20% of men between 25-34 live with their parents, a number that has ticked up since the 1980's. what are some of the cultural costs of this country's housing crisis? >> it is difficult for people to get launched into their lives. i think multigenerational

households are fine, even good in some cases. throughout history, multigenerational households allow families to spend more time together. if younger people want to leave their house and they can't, that is a problem, because you want people to do what they want to do. what we have seen is that we have a large amount of generational inequality in our country. i understand that older people may have their own frustrations, but older people have had a lot of benefits of the american economy. they got to buy in the housing market when it was cheaper. got to buy into the stock market went as much cheaper than it has been over the last decades. and it has been much harder for young people to get themselves established. high home prices are another example of generational inequality. they serve to aggravate generational inequality. geoff: thanks so much for your

insights. >> thanks for having me. ♪ amna: 28-year-old singer-songwriter tommy prine recently made his debut at the grand ole opry. that his artistic journey would bring him there was by no means assured. special correspondent tom casciato has the story for our ts and culture series canvas. tom: listening to this in los angeles, you might think tommy prine was born for the stage. >> when i was little, i just thought that's what the world was. all my parents friends were uses in's and songwriters. saw was like, ok, cool. i'll play music. >> his debut album has a song that makes his boyhood sound

idyllic. >> on the album art cover is me looking up at some trees. for the first 12 years of my life, me and my brother and my parents would go to ireland for the summers. those trees i'm looking at are the trees that me and my brother jack used to climb. >> then came adolescence, and with it, punishing self-doubt. >> just the whole idea of becoming an artist and being able to sing and play and write songs just sounded like an insurmountable feet. i think a lot of it is because my dad was always honest about his journey. what happened to me was like stardust, and a fragment of more stardust. >> there was a certain amount of skill involved. >> i agree, there was definitely

some talent mixed in there with some luck. >> tommy's father, john prine, is among the most renowned songwriters of his generation. his music cast a long artistic shadow. would you say that you were repressing something in yourself at that time? >> to put it lightly, yeah. >> was the thing you were repressing that? ? you wanted to be an artist >> i think so. i was horrified to admit that to myself. >> tragedy struck in 2017. he lost one of his best friends to addiction. ♪ >> he wrote a song describing his downward spiral. >> i wrote it in my early 20's. i was partying really hard and doing a lot of stuff i shouldn't be doing. i was just turning into a man

that i had never wanted to be. i was ashamed of myself, essentially. and is through a lot of gnarly, dark experiences, i woke up one day and i think i recognized something in myself, that nothing felt right. >> he continued writing songs no plan to release them, when tragedy struck again. 2020, john prine, a two time cancer survivor, passed away early in the covid-19 pandemic. >> on that day, the world lost one of the best songwriters ever. >> tommy wrote a song for his father, but first, this. there's a picture of you and your brother and your father. what is up with the bear suits? >> me and my brother just went

to target. i dad was like, he loved christmas. he essentially waited all year for it to be christmas again. we just thought it would make him a smile, so we got that, and he loved it. >> did you have a close relationship? >> with my father? yes. ♪ i mean, everything got flipped

on its head when i lost my friend and then i lost my dad. i think music really saved my life. >> it was his music that led to a call from two friends in nashville. >> i was working at a gift shop at the time at the country music hall of fame. they were like, hey buddy, we love you, we think you should quit your job and become an artist. we agree that's what you should do with your life. >> in 2022, he married his wife, savanna. they have been friends since they were 13. >> she was with me through all of the ups and downs. i say music saved her life, but i think we all know who really saved my life. >> you might say friendship is what has kept tommy prine afloat. he tours with another childhood friend, on guitar. and he's got a song that sums up

the whole journey from self-doubt to self-expression. he wrote it at the virginia farm where johnny cash and june carter once lived. >> the song itself is kind of like a proclamation of me putting aside the fear of being an artist, and putting aside the notions that people might have about my job, and just saying i'm going to get over everything that was thrown my way, and i'm going to get through it by playing music. by being the most authentic version of tommy that i can be. >> walking not in his father's shadow, but walking next to him. geoff: that is the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm in the wilds.

on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, how can i help you? >> you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that's kind of our thing. havea nice day. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security, at carnegie.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.

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[u] - hello everyone and welcome to amanpour & company. here's what's coming up. a vote for women's rights in iran and around the world as the nobel peace prize goes to jailed iranian activists, narges mohammadi. corresponded jomana karadsheh interviewed her via letter and audio recording before this announcement. we have that exclusive report and we look back at some of christian's reporting on the iranian women fighting for their future. then the supreme court returns for a new term. as controversies cast a shadow, we look at the cases coming up with constitutional law professor, gloria browne-marshall.