wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight. the president meets with congressional leaders to try to strike a funding deal. we ask the former head of nato what's at stake for ukraine. >> it's detrimental for the u.s.

national security interests if russia wins this war. amna: the united states declares houthi militants in yemen a specially designated global terrorist group, part of its broader response to numerous attacks on ships in the red sea. geoff: and a supreme court case involving a small fish could have big implications for the limits on federal regulations. ♪ major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style.

all with cunard's white star service. ♪ >> the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the john d and catherine t macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound. org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

geoff: welcome to the newshour. congressional leaders are returning to the capitol after spending the afternoon negotiating with president biden at the white house. at stake, funding for ukraine, israel, and additional border security measures. amna: this, as congress faces a separate funding deadline friday and potential government shutdown. lisa desjardins is here to help us understand what's standing in the way of a deal. good to see you. this white house meeting on ukraine and border funding, who is in the room? and are they making progress? lisa: this was not just the party leaders in each chamber, macconnell, schumer, but also the heads of all the relevant committees. these are the heavy hitters all together in the room. i want to remind people of the simple problem. ukraine, our ally, has been at war for almost two years. if we do not continue funding them they will have serious weapons issues at some point. they say that is coming sooner rather than later.

at the same time, our own southwest border has been overwhelmed in past weeks and months, and many on capitol hill are saying we need to do more. while leaders came out of the meeting generally positive, saying they agree both of these things have to be done, when you listen to sound from the senate floor, you can see that the key differences still remain. >> at stake is the security of our country, the survival of our friends in ukraine, the safety of our friends in israel, and nothing less, nothing less then the future of western democracy. >> we understand that all these things are important, but we must insist that the border be the top priority. i think we have some consensus around that table. everyone understands the urgency of that. amna: the problem is what house republicans want to do with the border is different than what is going on in the senate. the senate talks, day after day,

over border security continue. senator chris murphy says they are getting closer and closer, but he acknowledges this continues to happen. senator schumer thinks they have a good chance of getting a deal next week, perhaps on the senate floor. but he said that is a greater than 50% chance. amna: in the meantime we are just two days away from a potential partial government shutdown. where do things stand on that? lisa: right now the temperatures in the house and senate are warm toward this deal emerging for short-term spending that would kick funding into march. we will have to see the voting. i think the senate could move as soon as perhaps tonight or tomorrow on these deals. since things are going ok, i want to reflect on how we got here. we don't always look at what the problem is in the capital. they are trying to pass 12 different appropriations bills. the senate has been passing bipartisan bills, 12 of them out of committee. the house however, their committee bills were partisan.

nearly only republicans on those bills. they only managed the past 10 out of committee. both chambers have problems getting all of those bills out of the chambers altogether. the result is that we have not had any spending bills passed congress this year. this has happened for many years, but we just assume they cannot get it done. the senate was able to pass some bipartisan spending bills earlier this year, but the partisanship overall shut that process down. amna: another issue you are tracking, they are talking about a potential deal on some tax cuts, some for businesses, some for struggling families. lisa: this would be expanding the child tax credit and ultimately meaning more money, especially for lower income families, millions of kids would benefit. this was a huge poverty reduction effort. also would be good for many businesses, 20 million jobs or so could be affected by these tax credits. there were two prime

negotiators, jason smith on the house side, republican, and ron white of the senate committee. they say they are ready to go. my sources say the house committee could pass this as soon as friday. even there are some who have questions about this deal, right now it feels like it is moving along. it would be a big bipartisan accomplishment. amna: lisa desjardins, thank you so much. lisa: you're welcome. ♪ geoff: in the day's other headines, a new winter storm iced over much of the pacific northwest. parts of washington state and oregon were coated with snow and up to an inch of ice. it closed government offices, grounded flights and cut power. snow even extended into northern alabama, and bitter cold again gripped the nation's mid-section. the move in maine to toss former

president trump off the state 's primary ballot is now on hold. a judge today blocked maine's top elections official from barring mr. trump on the grounds that he engaged in insurrection. that's until the u.s. supreme court rules in a similar case in colorado. in her ruling, the judge said the pause "will promote greater predictability in the weeks ahead of the primary election" on march 5th. a federal judge threatened today threatened today to throw mr.trump out of his defamation damages trial in new york. it came as the writer e. jean carroll charged that he lied about her after she accused him of rape. during carroll's testimony, the former president could be heard grumbling and saying "witch hunt" and "con job". when the judge warned he might be removed, he shot back, "i would love it." the trial is meant to determine how much mr. trump has to pay carroll in damages. in the republican presidential campaign, florida governor ron desantis is pulling back from new hampshire, six days before the state's primary. "newshour" has confirmed that

he's shifting most of his staff to south carolina for its primary on february 24th. desantis finished a distant second in iowa, and is running far behind in new hampshire. medicine for israeli hostages held by "hamas" has arrived in gaza tonight. it's part of the first deal between the two sides since a week-long ceasefire in november, and it also calls for more aid to palestinians. the medicine arrived in egypt today and headed for the rafah crossing into gaza, amid warnings that much more is needed. the un secretary general issued a fresh appeal in davos, switzerland. >> i repeat my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in gaza, and a process that leads to sustained peace for israelis and palestinians, based on a two-state solution. that is the only way to stem the suffering and prevent the spillover that could send the entire region up in flames. geoff: meantime, air strikes and artillery kept pounding parts of gaza, and the israelis said they killed more than 30 militants in the city of khan younis in 24 hours.

the gaza health ministry said nearly 24,500 palestinians have died since the war began. britain's king charles will undergo surgery next week for an enlarged prostate. the king is 75. buckingham palace said today his condition is not cancerous. the palace also said that kate, the princess of wales, is recovering from abdominal surgery and that her condition is also non-cancerous. she could be hospitalized for two weeks. china reports its population declined in 2023 for the second year in a row. its total population fell to 1.4 billion. deaths rose sharply to 11.1 million as china ended its sweeping covid restrictions. and, births dropped more than 5 %. the seventh straight year of decline. it all adds to concerns about growth prospects for the world's number two economy, with fewer workers and consumers and the rising costs of elderly care and

retirement benefits. the biden administration is calling for a crackdown on overdraft charges at the nation's biggest banks. the consumer financial protection bureau is proposing capping fees as low as $3 . currently the average tops $26 . major banks say they already cut fees, so there's no need for new regulations. and on wall street, stocks slipped again over concerns that strong december retail sales could fuel inflation. the dow jones industrial average lost 94 points to close at 37,266. the nasdaq fell 88 points. the s&p 500 was down 26. still to come on the "newshour". why a growing number of men in the u.s. say they don't have close friends. school administrators work to keep students in class amid chronic absenteeism. and a pacific northwest artist illuminates life's simple pleasures with just a knife and paper. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and

in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: today, the biden administration re-listed yemen's houthi rebels as a "specially designated global terrorist group." it's aimed at deterring further attacks by the rebels on shipping in the red sea. today's announcement is a partial reversal for the administration. nick schifrin talks to the top state department official overseeing yemen policy, about today's move and the ongoing tensions. nick: today's designation follows more than 30 attacks by the houthis on commercial shipping in the red sea and gulf of aden, and three rounds of airstrikes in the last week, by the us and the uk targeting houthi capabilities. despite those airstrikes, just today a parent houthi drones and missiles hit at least two ships. tim lenderking is the us special envoy for yemen, and joins me now. why has the biden administration relisted the houthi's as a

specially designated terrorist group? tim: the reason was to try to get at the problem, which is the houthi attacks on international shipping. it is not american or israeli shipping, it is international shipping. having a problem of this scope, which is global in its dimension, bear in mind that 15% of international commerce flows through the red sea. 30% of container traffic. so the fact that the houthis have struck at ships that affect 50 different countries, we made every effort to show this is an international problem and requires an international response. nick: are these symbolic? the houthis have been sanctioned for years and it has not changed any behavior. tim: no, i don't think it is symbolic. i think it will have direct impact. it will have impact on houthi finances, on the ability of entities to do business with the houthis. i think there will be an impact. nick: why not then relist them

as a foreign terrorist organization, as the trump administration did? essentially a higher level designation? tim: we felt the foreign terrorist organization designation was not something that was appropriate to the current circumstances. maybe we would go to that, but i hope we don't have to. what the sddt does, as you mentioned, is prohibit certain types of interactions from the houthi organization. but it also gives us more flexibility to have carveouts and licenses so that essential commodities, food, fuel, humanitarian supplies, can continue to reach the yemeni people. there is no desire to hurt the yemeni people who have already suffered from eight years of war. nick: we will get to those carveouts in second. was it a mistake for the biden administration to delist the houthis on literally day one of the administration? tim: i don't think so. i think the biden administration

assessed the situation very quickly, decided yemen would be a priority within the international foreign policy. and because of i think the attention we have given to the yemen problem, we have been able to carve out with the u.n. and yemeni parties a truce that has lasted almost two years. a true end to most of the fighting inside yemen. it is a very significant development. we have been able to continue pushing humanitarian supplies. now these houthi attacks on international shipping jeopardize that truce. nick: i want to talk about your efforts to find a durable peace in yemen. first, two thirds of the country needs humanitarian aid. despite the administration's effort, we spoke to humanitarian groups today and they said any designation could have a "chilling effect on commercial shippers and banks that these organizations need to feed the people of yemen." so why take any step that could

put that aid in jeopardy? tim: the goal is to not harm or create obstacles in the well-being of the yemeni people, but it is to get at the problem, the houthi attacks on shipping. those attacks are creating problems for humanitarians. they are driving up shipping costs, preventing ships from moving into areas like gaza which desperately need more humanitarian assistance. it may be an imperfect solution, but i think we are trying to get the message across to the houthis and any other actor that would decide to carry out its own particular agenda against international shipping, that this is not something that the u.s. or international community could tolerate. nick: over the last week the u.s. and u.k. launched three rounds of airstrikes on houthi drones, missiles, air defense capabilities, the very things the houthis have used to attack ships. the houthis launched two strikes

today. what evidence do you have that these strikes have degraded houthi capabilities? tim: the strikes that the u.s. and u.k. have launched have certainly hit their targets. i think it is the hope of all of us that we are not getting into an open ended conflict. that is definitely not the intention of the united states. the united states wants to hit those capabilities that are responsible for the attacks on international shipping. i think we have been quite disciplined so far about keeping within those there he will defined parameters. nick: how many rounds of airstrikes do you think you need in order to degrade houthis to the point where they cannot continue to do what they have been doing on shipping? tim: this will not be military action alone. i think diplomatic activity will continue, strong messaging and outreach to the houthis, see what combination of pressures and incentives will get us back

to inability where the international community can focus on the peace effort in yemen and move away from this conflict and the attacks on shipping. nick: could the military strikes have an impact on peace efforts you have helped lead from the u.s. perspective, which have had a lot of success? could the military strikes imperil that progress? tim: we remain 100% committed to the peace effort. we want to get back to that focus, that whatever else is happening in the region, that yemen can see in and to the conflict -- see an end to the conflict that has dogged it. the yemen internal peace process is at its best point in the eight years of this conflict. we can begin to see an end to the war. there is a roadmap that the parties have agreed on. we have to get away from the attacks on shipping and get back to a focus on the peace effort in yemen. nick: does that empower the houthis, who at least publicly have not shown the willingness?

tim: i think the peace effort will have a moderating effect on the houthis. no party on this roadmap gets everything that they want. the houthis are going to have to show compromise. there are things they want in this roadmap. they have incentive. they are looking for international legitimacy. i think the roadmap is one way they would derive that. the international committee has been strongly committed to this roadmap. nick: special envoy for yemen, thank you very much. tim: thank you. ♪ amna: as we reported earlier my critical aid to ukraine is still being held up in ongoing negotiations over funding for border security. earlier today i spoke with a former nato secretary-general about what this means as russia's war in ukraine enters its third year.

thank you so much for being here. welcome to the newshour. >> thank you for having me. amna: i want to ask about u.s. lawmakers' inability to reach a deal on immigration that would allow ukraine aid to move forward. you said you would advise democrats to accommodate republicans on the border, get the aid flowing. i know you are meeting with house freedom caucus members tomorrow. what is your advice to them? >> my advice would be to do what to ensure that ukraine wins the war against russia. because it is detrimental for the u.s. national security interests if russia wins this war. we cannot allow putin any success in ukraine. amna: there is a very real chance that former president trump will be the republican nominee, that he could win in november. if aid for ukraine does not move forward under the biden

administration, do you believe it could move forward under president trump? >> we don't know. i am skeptical. amna: when you look forward into the months ahead and what could happen in the u.s., you said even if mr. trump does not win, you said his nomination alone could be a geopolitical catastrophe. why? >> because i have seen the fact that he probably will be nominated as the republican presidential candidate, already that has changed the way international actors take decisions. they try to hedge their bets. in europe for instance, there is a great concern that a new administration might be more inward looking, more isolationist, that they will

leave europe behind. i don't think that would be in the interest of the united states, to weaken its alliance across the atlantic. on the contrary, we should strengthen the transatlantic alliance. amna: can i ask you about what we have seen in the u.s. public, which is some decline and support for continuing the same level of u.s. funding for ukraine? and specifically this idea that european nations should be doing more. should europe be bearing more of the security burden, especially when it comes to ukraine? >> yes, and we are doing so. latest figures demonstrate that europe has now overtaken the u.s. when it comes both to military assistance and direct financial assistance. amna: late last year, right? >> yes. we are speaking about real money. when it comes to the military, according to those figures,

europe has contributed 54 billion euros. the u.s., 44 billion euros. i appreciate that the europeans contribute more. we should do so. but, it cannot replace a continued u.s. assistance. we need both. we need sophisticated weapons delivered by the united states. and we need more weapons. we need to lift all self-imposed restrictions on weapon deliveries to ukraine. so the mantra that we will help ukraine for as long as it takes, it should be replaced with "we will give to ukraine all it takes to win the war." amna: there has been a lot of criticism that had the u.s. and nato allies done that sooner, ukraine would be in a different position. it took 300 days into the war for the u.s. to provide long-range missiles president zelenskyy had been asking for.

was that a mistake? >> yes. i mean, it is a sad story to see our hesitation. and the reason why the ukrainian counteroffensive had been so difficult and so modest is that we took much too long time to take necessary decisions. you cannot win a war by an incremental step-by-step approach. you have to overwhelm and surprise your adversary. we failed to do that. amna: can i ask what impact the israel hamas war has had on all of this? there has been the argument that the u.s. and the world cannot equally provide support to two ongoing wars, and the idea that putin banked on the west losing interest seems to be coming true. what do you see to be the impact of that war? >> we have seen how putin has

exploited the situation. after the outbreak of the israeli-hamas war, we have seen an intensified russian offensive against ukraine. a swarm of drones have hit civilian targets, civilian infrastructure in ukraine. so no doubt that the war between israel and hamas serves the interests of putin. and overall, what you are seeing is an emergent what i would call -- is what i would call an emerging axis of autocracies of russia, iran, north korea. this is exactly what is at stake. we have to counter this axis of autocracies, and we should never forget that the world's

democracies represent more than 60% of the global economy, of the global gdp. so if we stand together, if we cooperate, then it represents a formidable force that will create a lot of respect in patient. amna: the former nato secretary-general, thank you so much for being here. it was a pleasure to speak with you. ♪ amna: the supreme court today heard arguments about whether a group of atlantic herring fishermen should be required to pay for a costly monitoring system on their boats, or whether that requirement is governmental overreach. but as william brangham reports, the outcome of this case could have enormous impacts, far beyond the fishing industry. william: at issue here is what's called the "chevron deference" -- named after the oil and gas

company whose case created this legal precedent. it says if there's a dispute over some ambiguous regulation, the "deference" should go to the government agency whose experts wrote the rule. that's what those fishermen are arguing against, and they're being supported by industry groups who also want to curtail regulation. if "chevron" is knocked down, it could upend rules governing nearly every slice of american society: health care, environmental and workplace protections, public education, banking, and more. to understand what's at stake, we're joined again by npr's carrie johnson, who was at the court for today's arguments. thank you so much for being back again. sticking with this fisherman's case, can you explain what the arguments were in their case and how chevron was applied? carrie: these plaintiffs are a small group of fishermen based in the northeastern united states. a few years ago, the fishery

service put forward a regulation basically requiring them to have professional observers or monitors on their boats, sometimes on an overnight basis, to make sure they were following the rules, and that they should have to pay for the monitors to the tune of about $700 a day, which basically is too much money. they say it was never clear that congress intended for them to have to pay, so they took this case all the way to the supreme court, arguing that the federal agency had overreached against them. william: i see. so in that case, chevron, the ruling was that the government agency wrote this rule, but that is the rule and the agency gets to determine that. carrie: that is right. in this case the lower courts determine it was either a reasonable or clear mandate under the law that these fishermen would have to pay. they firmly resisted that and took this case all the way to the supreme court, where it ended up today. william: you can see why

business interests do not like this idea of some agency basically winning every tossup over a fight over regulation. what is there broader argument about this deference principal? carrie: ultimately they say this is a matter of the executive branch of the government, unelected federal bureaucrats taking power that should belong to the u.s. congress and to some extent to federal judges, who all along have interpreted the law and who can interpret these regulations just fine on their own, without any input from federal agencies. they say that for many years now, almost 40 of them since this case was decided in 1984, it has upended the balance of power between the branches. it has put a lot of onus on small businesses like these fishermen and others to defend themselves against federal agencies when they have a hard time winning there. this case was supported not just

by these small fishing industries but a number of very large conservative legal foundations, groups like the gun owners of america, a trade group for e-cigarette manufacturers and others, just showing how sweeping this case could be if the supreme court decides to overrule that precedent from years ago. william: let's talk about that, because the opponents of overturning chevron, many environmental groups, consumer protection groups and others, argue that this would in essence sow chaos. why do they say chevron should stay? carrie: they basically argue there is a hidden agenda in this case beyond the herring fishermen, who are the plaintiffs. that is they want to paralyze or cripple the bureaucracy so that federal agencies cannot make rules on major problems in american life, things from air pollution and may be eventually even artificial intelligence as

justice elena kagan raised today , to health care. they say if you return these decisions to unelected federal judges, something like 800 of them around the country, it risks people's medicare and medicaid programs, very complex programs that mean a lot to people's lives. being decided one way in one state and one way and another state. that could really sow chaos for people's lives, just in their personal pocketbooks, as well as for environmental regulations and workplace protections. you just cannot have a system where the regs mean something in one state and something else halfway around the country. william: in his confirmation hearings, now justice cortege expressed -- justice gorsuch expressed a great deal of skepticism and others have shown antipathy to regulation. from your reading of the arguments today, do you think the conservative majority is

going to strike it down? carrie: we heard keep skepticism from justice neil gorsuch today. he raised a lot of tough questions for the solicitor general. justice kavanaugh was also skeptical. justice alito along the same lines. and clarence thomas asked a few questions too. those are for votes. i did not hear a clear fifth vote. one of the trump appointees, justice amy coney barrett, raised the specter of getting rid of this president might mean inviting floodgates of litigation from thousands of litigants who had their cases decided based on this principle over many years. and that really swamping the courts and potentially the justice department. it is not clear to me. there are five votes to overturn this president altogether. it may be that the court chips away further at the president -- at the precedent. william: thank you as always. carrie: my pleasure.

♪ geoff: american men are stuck in what has been dubbed a friendship recession - with 20% of single men now saying they don't have any close friends. and more than half of all men report feeling unsatisfied with the size of their friend groups. i recently traveled to phoenix to take a closer look at the implications of male loneliness and how some men are confronting it. >> a great way to start off 2024, just another made up. geoff: on a recent night in phoenix, a group of men gathered on a rooftop bar to talk about their goals for the new year. >> i am training for a half marathon, my first one ever. >> spend more time with family. i have my godparents, my grandfather. he will be 91 this. >> make moments like this where i can sit and talk and look for mentorship and even offer it.

geoff: this friends group was started by 38-year-old quincy winston. after leaving the military, winston moved to minnesota and -- to arizona and started working as an i.t. specialist, but for years he struggled to find friends here. were you feeling lonely and disconnected? >> definitely, especially when it came to having male friends. i did not have any. that lack of connection put me in a place where i didn't know exactly what to do about it. geoff: so in march of 2022, winston turned to the social media platforms meetup and decided to invite other men to a local restaurant. >> we want to a restaurant and i didn't know who would show up or if anyone would show up. geoff: sounds nerve-racking. >> mmhm. [laughter] and it was. it was awkward. but once the guys came in, and hearing some of their

explanations, i found out we had a lot more in common than i thought. geoff: seven men showed up for that first event. >> are you guys warm? geoff: which winston says only happened because of his wife. you encouraged him to form this group. >> i wanted him to have a social life outside of us doing things together all the time, which was great, but i still felt like he needed to have guy friends. >> she made it very evident that i needed to make some friends. go disappear. [laughter] now you have some friends, yes. come back, but, go. chicken needs a little more time. i am grabbing the hotdogs. geoff: the men still meet up once a week for activities like this backyard barbecue. winston's meet up group now has nearly 130 members. it speaks to the need for connection that your group is that big. is that how you see it? >> yeah, it does. with all the technology that we have to keep us more connected,

to where we can communicate instantly with anyone anywhere, but if you notice we don't talk as much, we text more. a lot gets lost in translation because we just don't have that physical connection. >> i'm the newest member of the group and also one of the oldest members of the group. geoff: connection is what this 61-year-old robert montgomery was looking for. what motivated you to join this group? >> i said i needed friends because i did not have any. i got tired of being isolated at home all the time. i worked at home by myself and i did not like that. i can't do this anymore. [laughter] geoff: montgomery is certainly not alone. only 21% of men in the u.s. say they get emotional support from friends every week. that is compared to 41% of women. >> sometimes as men we struggle to say, i need you. geoff: richard is the author of "of boys and men: why the modern

mail is struggling, why it matters and what to do about it." what is driving male loneliness? why do men have such hard times forming friendships and keeping them through life? >> you cannot neglect a friendship, you have to work at it, you have to find the time. my observation is that many women are just better at doing that and building it into their lives. geoff: he also says over the last four decades, there has been a steady deterioration of male friendships. >> for men under the age of 30, 15% say they do not have a close friend. that is up from 3% in 1990. so we have a really difficult challenge of helping men to find places, spaces and ways to be with other men. geoff: last year the u.s. surgeon general issued an advisory, outlining the devastating health effects of loneliness and isolation,

including increased risks for heart disease, strokes and dementia. while men make up slightly less than 50% of the u.s. population, they now account for nearly 80% of all suicides. >> i think these statistics on young male isolation and relatedly suicide rates is part in parcel of this displacement of time away from friendship. geoff: what should we be doing to reverse these trends? >> we need to be intentional about male friendship. we need to be intentional about combating against male loneliness and that we have to create spaces that are not going to create themselves. geoff: that is at the heart of a nonprofit that began in australia in the 1990's and nowo has -- and now has 27 locations across the country. the goal here, to reach older men, who now have the highest rate of suicides in the u.s. >> i had no idea other men like

myself, when they retire from work, they lose their work friends and then most men struggle to get a circle of new friends. geoff: 74-year-old phil johnson started several men's sheds around minneapolis. a couple times a month, these mostly retired men come together to work on projects and chat. >> men feel more open about talking to guys like themselves about health concerns they may have. >> a couple years ago, yeah. >> so the research shows over and over again that men do best when they are doing something and they can do it together. geoff: it is a chance for men to share a laugh but also seek advice. >> we tackle some tough problems like suicide, which is higher in retired men. we have had three men that i know of that have lost their

spouses, and there is always going to be someone else in the group who can say, here is how i did it, here are some ideas. >> no, you are not alone. you have brothers. you have a tribe. you have a family away from home. geoff: back in arizona, i was invited on a morning hike with quincy winston's friend group, an outing organized by this 29-year-old who says joining the group has exceeded his expectations. >> it has grown so much. we have been able to meet so many quality people who actually want to be vulnerable, talk about the things we like to talk about, about our life, build that genuine connection with one another. geoff: it is exactly what winston said he hoped for when he created the group. >> we need each other and we need the support to encourage and motivate other ment o -- ot her men to seek friendship.

geoff: winston wants to expand his group beyond the phoenix area so that meet ups like this can become more common across the country. for the pbs newshour, i'm geoff bennett in phoenix. ♪ geoff: chronic absenteeism is a problem for school districts and students nationwide. while some states have seen modest gains, the situation has grown significantly worse since the pandemic. nearly 30% of students were chronically absent during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the most recent federal data. that's defined as missing at least 10% of school days. it can have major consequences for student achievement and much more. and many districts are struggling with it, including missouri. our communities correspondent gabrielle hays joins us from st. louis.

give us a sense of the state of chronic absenteeism in missouri and across the country based on your reporting. gabrielle: it is important to understand that in missouri we are trailing national data. it is not much better, but it has not gone back to where it was. the most recent numbers we have seen from our state report card point to nearly a quarter of her students across missouri being absent. now, if we're comparing this year, last year, as you've noted what we're seeing nationwide, we've seen very, very modest gains. but again, the place of concern for our school administrators and experts is that those numbers have not returned to what they were pre pandemic. and that is something that is especially of concern. not just in missouri, but nationwide. so much so that we have seen the white house come out on this not just last year, but even today, emphasizing the issue of chronic absenteeism across the states.

and across the country. geoff: what did they say about the impact that absenteeism is having? gabrielle: today we heard from the white house from the education secretary, from governors across the country, and they know just how big this issue is of chronic absenteeism and what it means for students across the country. they really honed in on the fact , how can our nation's students learn if they're not in the classroom, and emphasized the need for some sort of roadmap to help states navigate some accountability when it comes to that. we heard especially from domestic policy adviser neera tanden on this. >> absenteeism can account for up to 27% of the test score declines in math we've seen and 45% of the test scores declines in reading respectively. we know that from the council of economic advisers and deep research they've done. the truth is we simply cannot accept chronic absenteeism as the new normal.

gabrielle: now i want to emphasize something that i heard, you know, not just from school administrators, not just from the state and not just from the white house, but from researchers that have emphasized this as well. are these long, far reaching impacts of chronic absenteeism and what that can mean to students, and they have linked this not only two things like its effects on mental health, but also the ability of a person to earn a living long term. geoff: so what are the barriers keeping students out of the classroom then? gabrielle: that's a really good question. one thing that is imperative to point out that administrators have pointed out to me and experts is that we're talking about barriers that young people face even before the pandemic that pandemic may be made even worse. attendance works, which is a national organization that works at this issue, calls them root causes.

so we're talking about anything from child abuse to not having access to transportation, to not having access to stable housing. so if you add a global pandemic to all of these root causes, it makes for a very rough scenario. for a lot of our young people who are not showing up to school. heady chang, the executive director of attendance works , spoke to me about this and of the importance of understanding what these barriers are. >> a major challenge in our work on around attendance is that people's reaction to when kids miss school, often in this country we think it's because the kid and family doesn't care. this is not about whether you care or not. this is about whether you face barriers or challenges and issues coming to school. gabrielle: this is a big thing that chang stressed to me that in order to really take a look at this issue, it has to go beyond the numbers. the numbers are a good start, but it has to go beyond the numbers and misconceptions about why young people aren't at school. geoff: so how are schools

handling this and what do experts say needs to be done? gabrielle: i think on one hand, you know, school districts have told me they're really just trying to communicate and learn as best they can why students aren't showing up so they can help them. but but chang really emphasized to me that there needs to be more data. there needs to be more investigation into what this looks like and why it looks like it so that once we have all of the numbers to know how far this goes, that we can work together to solve it and really attack this as a case by case basis, because every student is different, and every story is different . geoff: our communities correspondent in st. louis. thanks so much. ♪ amna: paper cutting is an art form that is believed to date back to the invention of paper itself in china around 2,000 years ago. since then, many cultures around the world have developed their own unique styles. special correspondent cat wise

recently visited an artist whose paper cutting is inspired by the natural beauty and the people of the pacific northwest. it's part of our arts and culture series, canvas. cat: every morning, artist and author nikki mcclure takes a long walk in the woods surrounding her home in olympia, washington. she feeds the birds and wildlife that dwell here. and spends some time on the beach, just steps from her front door. inspiration for her art is everywhere. >> by the time i've taken that walk, an idea or a story will have shown itself to me. and then i sit down and work. cat: mcclure begins with a sketch which she transfers to black paper and then begins to work her magic with her knife. cut by tiny cut for nearly 30 years, mcclure has revealed the

world she sees and the creatures in it. >> my work is generally usually all one piece. it's all connected because we all are connected. cat: mcclure is the author and illustrator of 15 books, and she has collaborated on several more, including the new york times best-seller "all in a day" with author cynthia rylant. she also sells her original paper cut art, prints, and a yearly calendar. mcclure's deep connection to nature and her surroundings can be traced to her early years in olympia, when she studied natural history at the evergreen state college. >> i just kept drawing and drawing and drawing and drawing every stick, every leaf, every insect, every bird. it focused and trained my eye to see details and then train my hand to draw those details. cat: after graduating in 1991, she began working at the washington department of ecology and was immersed in olympia's vibrant music and art scene. >> we all lived downtown and

these apartment buildings kind of all together. it was so spontaneous and alive. and the way that you communicate was through song or through art. cat: for a time, mcclure also wrote and performed music and lived next to one of the most famous musicians to come out of olympia during that era, kurt cobain of the band nirvana. >> i moved into this house and kurt lived behind and i shared the wall, and i could hear him play his songs through the wall. seeing them play, there was this strong connection in this house. ♪ cat: after deciding to become a full time artist, mcclure began experimenting with paper cutting. she self-publishing her first book "apple" for children in 1996. >> i found that making art was a more calming way to communicate.

i am singing my songs, but there is a child in the lap in a home, and it's ultimately like, that's where i want to sing my songs. they call these x-acto knives, but they're not really exact. they have this, you know, a mind of their own sometimes. cat: on a recent morning, i joined mcclure at her desk as she worked on a piece that might end up in a future calendar. >> this was this one morning where i was swimming and i had my arms in front of me. the way that the water was making my arms, they were all squiggled. they were no longer solid even though i knew they were solid. cat: how do you know where to cut to make the image reveal itself? >> i don't. you just have to trust it. [laughter] what i really like about this process is that there are so many mistakes made. cat: really? nikki: and you are making

mistakes over time in the sense of, that did not work out. but you just keep going and really it's just a piece of paper. cat: but oh, what she can do with a piece of paper. many of her works are focused on her experiences as a mother and raising her son, finn, with her husband jay t. scott, a woodworker in olympia. nikki: it is such a remarkable gift to participate in this life as it developed and formed and grew and started asking questions like, mama, is it summer yet? mama, is it summer yet? not yet little one, but the buds are swelling, soon new leaves will unfold. mama, is it summer yet? not yet, little one, but the squirrel is building her nest. soon her babies will be born. cat: mcclure highlights a family as they prepare for a

celebration. >> basically tells a story of this family, and here they are right here. they are going from grandma's house all the way across town to this cake, because there will be a big party at grandma's house later. here is my friend's pottery studio. cat: but many of the characters and businesses are inspired by our mutual hometown, olympia. >> sometimes i row into town and i would go to the bookstores here. cat: the real bookshop is one of local businesses mcclure hand delivers her calendars to every year. >> i brought you more calendars. cat: andrea griffith is the store's owner. >> nikki's work feels like olympia. it is so tied to the natural world, and i think she teaches us how to see things here. cat: like many in olympia,

griffith says she feels a connection to mcclure and the life experiences she reveals through her art. >> last month's calendar was an image of her son's boat sailing away because her son is going back to college. he is leaving, so i think we are all a little sad. i guess what i want people to come away with or to feel when they look at my work, there is a sense of place where you can calm down, slow down, to just take a moment. our lives are so fast. everything is just now, now, now. but we forget even what time of season it is. the picture can transport them to a quiet, slow, still moment. just for a brief second. cat: mcclure has been on illustrations for a new book

which will be released in march. for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise in olympia, washington. ♪ geoff: remember there's more online, including a look at a new ban on transition related healthcare in louisiana, and the response from trans kids and their families. that's at pbs.org/newshour. amna: and join us again here tomorrow night, when we'll delve into why the biden administration is considering banning menthol cigarettes. and that's the newshour for tonight. i am amna nawaz. geoff: i'm geoff bennett. have a great evening. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy build

their and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. >> consumer cellular, how may i help you? this is a pocket dial. well, somebody's pocket, with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. funding for america at a crossroads was provided by -- and with the ongoing support of these individuals and additions. -- 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. ♪ >> the pbs newshour has a rich legacy of in-depth reporting, strong storytelling. >> only four people have sat in that chair before us and the enormity of this moment is not lost on me. people turn to us because they know they can hear from trusted sources of information and news. >> that won't change a bit, even as the faces behind the desk change. geoff: good evening, i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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