away. on the newshour. president biden pushes back at the special counsel's comments on his mental fitness that the white house calls gratuitous. a climate scientist million dollar legal victory shines the light on conservative attacks on science. the father of a palestinian-american teenager killed in the west bank

remembers his son. >> my son was full of life. 17 years old, always happy. never say anything to hurt anybody's feelings. he had dreams. you took all that away from him. ♪ >> 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 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. >> the john s and james l knight foundation, fostering informed communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> welcome to the newshour. on thursday, special counsel robert hirsch's report concluded no criminal charges were warranted against president biden for his handling of classified documents. however, the report made several references to president biden's age and called his memory into question. the president shot back last night. >> i'm an elderly man and i know what the hell i'm doing, i'm president, i put the country back on its feet. >> laura brown lopez has been following this and joins me now. the president spoke directly to the nation about this report. a heated press conference. why? >> sources told me the president felt compelled to respond. he wanted to highlight there were no charges, my people of that, and point out the differences he handled his documents and the way former president trump handled the classified documents. basically that he cooperated and gave them back. former president trump didn't. they wanted to dispute

editorializing his memory and age and thought it would be a good time for him to take question. >> he's not been criminally charged. what did the president highlight. >> the president wanted to talk about where the special counsel said he did not willfully retain classified documents, classified documents, as well as others. there was no real evidence to say the president intentionally did this. he also got emotional about parts of the report that had to do with his son, beau biden. specifically the report said the president did not remember even within several years when his son died. when the white house was angered by that, the president was angered by that. you saw that in his remarks. the white house basically felt -- the white house official told me the special cnsel was

performing for mob republicans and it was time for the president to respond. >> very strong emotional response. the white house continued to respond. they are announcing a task force. what would that do? >> it would review the presidential transition process. specifically how classified documents are handled during that transition. transitions can get messy, people can make mistakes. biden is going to appoint a senior government official to oversee the new task force that would make recommendations. >> what about the wider democratic party? x democrats were quick to point out the mental fitness and misspeaking is not just president biden, it is something that is also a problem for former president trump who has mixed up foreign leaders. >> victor or von, did anyone hear of him? one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world.

he's the leader of turkey, fronts on both russia. >> victor or bond is not a leader of turkey, he's the leader of hungary. president trump has also mixed up nikki haley and nancy pelosi. democrats were really upset about the report. i spoke to congresswoman debby dingell who said she was so upset, she wanted to share with me this personal detail that president biden always checks in with her this week every year because it is the anniversary of her husband's death. she occupies his seat in congress. it is also very close to beau biden's birthday. >> it has been plaguing the president, through his reelection campaign. how is this resonating among voters? >> democrats admit they will have to confront it head on. i spoke to the congressman who ran the 2012 campaign. he said voters need to see more of biden. >> americans will have questions. age is an issue for both

candidates. part of how you address as a former campaign manager, transparency is important. people need to see the president doing his job. where joe biden is the best is talking to average americans. the more he can do that, the better off he is. i think some of the problem has been -- it is always these scripted moments or these white house moments. voters want to see him out with them talking about these. >> i also spoke to a democratic party chair that said every time they knock on doors to talk to voters, voters ask about why didn't joe biden retire and pass the torch to the younger generation? across the board, the democrats i spoke to said the campaign need to take it on. when they take that head-on, they pivot with age comes experience.

>> thank you as always. today, israeli prime minister bennett and netanyahu ordered the military to develop plans to evacuate rafa, the southernmost city in gaza. its pre-october 7 population was 100,000. gazans from all around the strip have filled tent cities. more than half of the 2.3 million people have fled. even before today's order, israel has been maintaining pressure on rafa, launching dozens of airstrikes. at the same time, there is progress on talks that would pause the fighting. nick schifrin is here with more. you have new details on the hostage negotiations. what do we know? >> a u.s. official confirms bill burns, director of the cia, will head to cairo to participate in another round of negotiations over a hostage deal.

he's been the crucial u.s. official leading those negotiations. as a reminder of how we got here, israel agreed to a plan negotiated by the u.s., qatar, and egypt for a six-week pause that would be extended in three phases of hostage releases. hamas' counterproposal require an israeli draw from cities and all of gaza. israel interpreted that counterproposal as hamas remaining in power after the war. u.s. officials tell me why that was going on, there has been progress in those negotiations in the last few days. despite his public statements. he called the counterproposal delusional. and what you mentioned at the top of this threatening to expand the war into rafa. burns is hoping to maintain that progress that officials tell me has been made in the last few days but also keep pressure on benjamin netanyahu to take these negotiations seriously.

the question is will he allow his chief, the head of mossad who has been leading the israeli negotiations, to go to cairo to keep the negotiations going? as we have talked about, the u.s. believes even a temporary pause is the key to unlocking its broader goals across the region. gaza reconstruction, gaza governance. the big goal, two state solution between saudi arabia and israel. >> netanyahu is threatening to expand the war, not posit, let alone stop it. how difficult will it be in a place like rafa? >> difficult. as you pointed out, more than one million people are living in rafa. more than 10 times the pre-october 7 population. u.s. officials insist israel does not have any military plans ready for rafa, let alone any plans to deal with those civilians as the deputy state

department spokesperson said yesterday. >> we have yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation. and to conduct such an operation with no planning and little thought in an area where there is sheltering of one million people where there will be a disaster. >> they had planned to make the statement before the briefing. that is a shift for the administration. warning israel not to conduct an operation it should not launch. we also heard president biden making his most pointed critique of how israel will launch the war. >> the conduct of the response in the gaza strip has been over the top. initially, the president of mexico did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian

material to get in. i talked to him, i convinced him to open the gate. innocent women and children were also in bad need of help. >> part of that soundbite was president biden mixing up lcc for the president of mexico, the president of egypt. u.s. officials believed benjamin netanyahu is serious about going into rafa and they really wanted to make the point it was a bad idea. they also make the point benjamin netanyahu behind-the-scenes is negotiating and making progress for that pause in gaza to release the hostages. they say he is trying to maintain his coalition. it includes far right politicians who threatened to leave the coalition if he presses pause on the war. the question that we have tonight is will benjamin netanyahu try and achieve his military goals in the coming days or weeks, or will he embrace the possibility the war could at least pause?

that is what the u.s. wants to open up those larger negotiations across the region. >> we will see where the negotiations lead. thank you. in the days other headlines, president biden huddled with germany's chancellor on getting new military aid to ukraine. the president said it would be close to criminal neglect if congress fails to act. he said u.s. and european support is vital to let ukraine defend itself against russia. the senate is working on a $95 billion package for ukraine and israel after republicans blocked a separate bill this week. russian president vladimir putin urged the u.s. to get ukraine to agree to peace talks. he spoke in an interview with tucker carlson which aired last

night on the tucker carlson network website. he also sgested a prisoner swap for evan gershkovich. the wall street journal reported jailed in russia. vladimir putin's remarks were dubbed into english. >> by the end of the day, it does not make sense to keep it in russia. we won the u.s. special services to think about how they can contribute the goals our special services or pursuing. we are ready to talk. >> gershkovich has been held since last march on espionage charges, which he denies. in pakistan, independent candidates backed by former prime minister took a surprisingly strong lead today in elections for parliament. he himself is in prison and banned from running. allies claim 95 of the 235 seats with most of thursday's results reported. as the outcome became clear, the former prime minister reversed course and called for a coalition government. back in this country, former president trump is celebrating

more election wins as he works to clinch the republican presidential nomination. he swept all the delegates in last night's gop caucuses as the only major candidate taking part. he's also one caucuses in the u.s. virgin islands. earthquakes shook millions across hawaii in southern california. the first struck the big island of hawaii on the southern flank of mono lowa. the second hit near mountable -- malibu. there were no reports of major damage or injuries. on wall street, big tech stocks led much of the harkin -- market higher, but blue chip lead behind. the dow jones industrial lost 54 points to close at 38,671. the nasdaq rose 197 points. the s&p 500 added 28 and closed above 5000 for the first time. and a passing of a note in the arts. famed japanese conductor seiji ozawa has died in tokyo after

suffering heart failure. he led the boston symphony orchestra for 29 years until 2002. his animated style captivated crowds. he broke barriers for east asian musicians. here he is in 1975 conducting the symphony in symphony number two. ♪ seiji ozawa was 88 years old. still on the newshour. multiple governors turned down a summer food assistance program, putting millions at risk. david brooks and jonathan k partway in on the week's political headlines. best-selling author quan the alexander on his new collection of black poets work. podiums of hope, hard, and heritage, plus much more.

rex this is the pbs newshour, from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> a long legal battle ended yesterday when a jury found two conservative writers had defamed the prominent climate scientist michael man, awarding him $1 million in damages. amid increasing attacks on science, william brangham looks at what the verdict means. >> over his long career, michael man has been an influential contributor to climate research as well as becoming one of the most effective communicators about climate change's impact. he's also face considerable black -- backlash. in 2012, a policy analyst compared him to a child sex abuse her, saying instead of molesting children, he molested and tortured data. another called his work fraudulent. he sued them both and yesterday

after 12 years, he won his case. turning now to another prominent scientist who is also endured this kind of vitriol. he's the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine and codirector of the texas children's hospital center for vaccine development. it is great to see you again. i know you are in very different fields. i have to imagine there was a small sense of victory you must have felt seeing michael man when the defamation case. >> absolutely. the attacks, another is a convergence of the attacks on climate science with the attacks on biomedicine. in some cases, it is coming from the identical forces. i think the message for this week is -- remember, the attacks denigrating science and trying to undercut science both for climate science and biomedicine is not just about the science.

it has now gone the next step to attack the scientist and portray us as public enemies. that really starts to get dangerous. both michael and i are stocked regularly. we received threats online, phone calls to the office, sometimes physical confrontations. it has gone to the new level. i think the reason the court victory is important is it sends a signal that while it is fine to disagree with the science and express skepticism, it crosses a line when you are attacking scientists and putting us in danger. >> can i ask what that is like? you spend your career trying to create medicines to help humanity, which you have clearly done. then to be attacked like that and to worry about threats to your life, wonder what that is like as a professional? >> it can be demoralizing.

i did my md and phd 40 years ago to make vaccines for global health affordable for the world that the big pharma companies would not make. we made vaccines for parasitic inventions, reaching 100 million people or more. i always consider it something that is important and meaningful to make the world better. the idea that you would be attacked for it, it can be demoralizing. but second, to actually feel like you are in danger and some level, your family is in danger, that is really worrisome. that is why the court ruling this week is kind of a line in the sand to say stop. trying to disagree, but when you attack scientists, you are affecting not only the scientific field, but sending

chilling messages to future generations of scientists that this is not something you want to go into. >> michael man said he hopes that this sends a message that falsely attacking a scientist is not protected speech. is it your sense this kind of a victory will serve to blunt that army of people who are sniping at you all? >> i don't know. is it a one off thing or will it be more enduring? i think it is too soon to tell. first of all, resorting to the courts is nobodies first choice. in michael's case, he had to go through 12 years of this. who wants to do that? if you gave me the choice, do i want to spend my day developing a new human hookworm vaccine that is looking promising to benefit the hundreds of millions who suffer from hookworm anemia on the africom -- african

continent, or do i want to make cold calls to plaintiff attorneys? it is no contest. i want to be a scientist. this is saying something else. we don't have the systems in place to protect scientist. and having to find attorneys and suing people is nobodies first option. >> i have to mention a lot of these attacks that have come anonymously driven has become even harder to defend yourself. michael man had at least two people who signed their names to the vitriol they spewed at him. >> it is coming from all sectors. it is coming from foreign actors. we know there are bots and trolls coming from putin's russia. in some cases, anonymously. other cases it is coming from

bloggers and podcasters who are making a living targeting science and scientists. and now it has even gone the next level, where we are actually seeing two u.s. senators boasting about how they target scientists. same with some members of congress from the house freedom caucus. and there is a whole system in place at fox news to amplify this. the point is there is an entire ecosystem of attacks on science, which i kind of understand, but also the scientists. when they start portraying us as public enemies, that puts us in danger. >> good to talk to you, thank you for being here. >> a new federal food assistance program is aiming to reduce child hunger by giving low income families money for summer groceries.

but only those who live in certain states will have access to that relief. john yang explains. >> many children who qualify fos would lose that benefit when the school year ended. now a new program aims to bridge that gap by giving needy families $40 a month for each child eligible while the school is not in session. money to buy food and grocery stores, farmers marke, or other approved outlets. it is called summer ebt for ectronic benefits transfer because the money is electronically loaded onto cards like debit cards. 35 states have signed up for the program. aiding an estimated 21 million children. but 15 other states have said no , excluding about 8 million children. christo fitzsimons is director of child nutrition programs for the food, research, and action center, and atticus -- advocacy group that reduces poverty related hunger. how big a problem is it for needy families to lose that

benefit when school is not in session? >> we have millions of families who rely on free and reduced lunch during the school year. when the school bell rings, they lose access to those meals. during the summer, we see an increase in food insecurity, kids gaining more weight. there is a true medicine amount of stress on families when they need to replace breakfast and lunch is they could rely on during the school year. it is a huge hardship. the summer ebt program is an amazing opportunity to make sure kids are not going hungry during the summer. >> before the program, was there any way for children to get free or reduced price lunches? x we have a summer meals program that will continue. in a lot of ways, it is an amazing program. often it combines activity and average may for kids with meals but has served a fraction of the kids who rely on free and reduced price meals. and we saw food insecurity go up. summer ebt is designed to bridge

the gap. >> and the other programs, they would have to go to a location rather than have the money go to the parents? >> that is right. it is great when there is a site in the community and families are going to be able to pick up meals in rural areas. but summer ebt is really the easiest way to get resources to families to purchase food. >> 15 states that opted out of the program, what reasons did they give? >> there were a lot of reasons. they can come into the program in 2025. the door is open. we encourage them to consider it. it is a relatively new program. states are in plummeting it for the first time this summer. some states needed a little more time. states also have to provide 50% of the admin costs. it is taking states a little bit more time to figure out where the money is coming from. we are hopeful by 2025, all states will be in the program. did some governors have

philosophical differences? a couple governors came out at expressed concerns about the program. iowa, nebraska, but we are hopeful when they take another look at the program, they will reconsider it. some things they said like it was a pandemic era program, that is not true. we had an issue with summer hunger since i started working there 25 years ago. it continues every summer when families lose access to those meals. hopefully in 2025, the states will take advantage of this tool to make sure the kids in their state are not going hungry. >> this summer, 15 states opted out. millions of children beyond the reach of the program. what are your worries about those children? >> the concern is food insecurity will go up again in those states during the summer. we encourage families to access the summer meals program. they are still available in those states. they provide an important resources for family.

>> one governor who said no was governor reynolds of iowa. she said rather than creating a new program with what she said would be a new bureaucracy, she thought the administration should give states flexibility under current programs so they can do this on their own. what do you say to that? >> the summer ebt -- summer ebt program has been piloted for more than a decade. the pilots have shown food insecurity goes down when families have access to it and nutrition goes up. it is technically a new program in that it is available to all states nationwide this summer. but it has been piloted because we knew there was a problem during the summer and congress acted about 10 to 12 years ago to actually pilot it. those evaluations show what an amazing program it is. >> earlier you said during the summer, children gain weight. is it because they are eating unhealthy? >> airing the summer, kids lose

access to reduced free summer meals. they have standards for nutrition and are some of the healthiest mills kids are eating. so they can be summer -- less active during the summer. i know people think kids are at the park and we have visions of the summer for kids. they may be less active. if families are struggling to put food on the table, if you provide more resources to them, they are likely going to spend it on healthier food. >> looking more broadly, beyond schoolchildren, where do we stand on food insurity in this country for the general population? >> food insecurity did go up in 2022. the most recent data we have continues to stay with us. there are a lot of ways to combat it. one of the easiest ways to combat it is to give families more resources to purchase food. >> crystal fitzsimons, thank you very much. >> thank you for having me.

♪ >> the new orleans community is mourning the loss of a palestinian-american teenager killed in the west bank last month. the 17-year-old is one of the 94 children among the 370 palestinians killed in clashes on the west bank since october 7, according to the united nations. in late january, over 100 cars formed a motorcade in his memory on a new orleans highway. i spoke with his father earlier this week from the west bank. i asked what happened to his son. >> knowing what happened is my son was traveling from one piece of property to another pres -- another piece of property with a friend, me, and another friend to do a barbecue. as he was traveling, i think he was ambushed by a retired police

officer, a soldier, we are not sure. it was three different weapons used. he was hit with 10 bullets. four are very clear to the driver side. two to the passenger side. the passenger duct, he's 16 years old, an american citizen. he was traveling towards the village on a dirt road from the mountain. that is when he was struck and lost control of the car and flipped three times, four times. then came to a stop. >> how did you learn your son had been killed? >> one of my friends called me and said your sons truck had flipped on the dirt road. i asked where and he told me where. we rushed over there and that is how i found my son, in the car shot in the head. >> israeli officials have said they launched an investigation.

are they sharing any of that information on the findings with you? >> they have not shared anything with me personally. they say they did, but they have not. they know who did it. they made comments to me that they know who did it, but he's not under arrest until they finish their investigation. i'm not sure why. >> do you trust the results of the investigation when they will be complete? >> i don't trust anything that they do. i hope my government can step in and do their own investigation so we can come to a conclusion who shot my son. >> when you say your government, you are referring to the american government? >> yes ma'am, i'm an american citizen, been there since 1996. five of my kids were born in the u.s. in louisiana. my wife is an american citizen. my government is america. my son was born and raised for 16 years in louisiana. i'm seeking help from my government, from my president to seek justice.

you moved your family to may of last year. tell us a little bit why. >> i was in palestine. 25 miles away from jerusalem. my dad was born here, his dad was born in the 1780's. i wanted to bring my kids to spend a little bit of time here. this is what happened in the first nine months. >> you mentioned you are seeking help from the u.s. government. who you have been in touch with, who has reached out to you are what you heard from the american government. >> i have been getting calls from the consulate here, trying to reach to senators, congressmen, trying to put pressure on the israeli government to allow us to do an investigation to see who did that. all i have seen is a comment from the white house speaker, that was it. i have not seen anything yet. there is no movement.

>> can i ask about your family? i know he has several siblings. how are they doing? >> it is a bit tough for my wife. i have two daughters. eight and six years old. i have a 12-year-old boy and a 21-year-old boy. it is a bit tough. my eight-year-old keeps asking me -- i don't understand what happened. i keep telling her what happened. politely trying to explain to her he is in heaven. she still says i just don't understand, can you explain it to me? i don't know the answer to that. >> mike harley has been reporting on your son's death from new orleans. he spoke to the vice principal of his school, who said he was larger than life, and called him a big teddy bear and said the school is reeling after his death. what do you want us to know

about your son? >> my son was full of life. 17 years old, always happy. never said anything to hurt anybody's feelings, no matter who it is, no matter what color he is, no matter what religion he is. he plays football, full of life. he went to muslim academy schools, he went to grisham, brother martin school. he had dreams of engineering. they took all that away from him. >> what does justice look like for you? >> there is no justice. we lost humanity. my government, my president, we claim democracy, we claim human rights, and we claim nothing should be done against humanity. now our own guns are killing our own children. my son is a big example. it should not matter if he is an

american citizen, from mexico, if he's latin, chinese, white, jewish, muslim, children should not be killed. people should not be killed for no reason, like my son. >> thank you for your time and for joining us and sharing the memory of your son. >> thank you. ♪ >> the special counsel's report on president biden's handling of classified documents draws a spotlight on concerns about his reelection campaign. on that and the other major political stories shaping the way, we turn to the analysis of brooks and kay park, new york times columnist david brooks and jonathan k part. associate editor for the washington post. great to see you both. special counsel robert hurt released his report on the

present's handling of the classified documents. the investigation found some classified documents during their search. this was at president biden's delaware home, a tattered box in a garage among others. he concluded the evidence was not sufficient for criminal charges. what was your reaction to that decision and how it is being received? >> great the decision -- not charging the president, terrific. the other thing about the report that is good is compared to contrast it. president biden versus what former president trump did. that is the thing everyone needs to remember. when classified documents were found at the home and other places of president biden, president biden and his administration cooperated. gave them back. they had the authorities do searches. when documents were found or believed to have been at the

former president's residences, he stonewalled. he lied about handing them over. that is why he was indicted. that is why anyone trying to complete the situations is being disingenuous. that is what i have to say about that. >> we know the special counsel went to great lengths to say there were several material distinctions between the cases. is that resonating with the public? >> i think so. i think people know the mar-a-lago case is more serious. biden was sloppy. he did share classified material with a ghost writer, apparently. i think it was unattractive of him to blame it on staff. maybe staff with partially to blame. i don't think that is what leaders do. they don't blame the team. nonetheless, he cooperated. they were sloppy. he said let's rectify this. and if donald trump, when they came to him about his documents and said i cooperate, he probably would not be in the mess he is in. >> the special counsel chose to

comment -- comment on biden's memory function, saying he had significant memory problems. he wrote mr. biden would present himself to a jury as he did during our interview of him as a sympathetic well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. what did you make of that inclusion in the report? your face perhaps says it all. >> that wasn't the only place where he talked about the president's age. i thought those reports were supposed to be just the facts. that was gratuitous. the other ones were gratuitous. we spent way too much time talking about this president's age. i will say it again. when ronald reagan was the oldest person to ever be in the white house and run for reelection, i don't recall a lot of people in his own party talking about the fact we need to get another person, he's too old.

what the council did was feed lines to republicans who want to make the president's memory and capabilities, and whether he is senile a talking point, gives them some fodder. what he's also done is given bedwetting democrats another reason to complain about the president's age. meanwhile, they are not focus on the fact that 82-year-old president of the united states has an incredible record in the three years he's been president. i wish people would focus on that. the fact he mixed up the president of egypt with the president of mexico, i did the same thing around this table when talking about the governor of virginia. i said governor northam, your heads popped off like who is he talking about? >> former governor, and you are not the president of the united states. >> one can dream. >> he did see as you mentioned,

president biden coming out in a fiery press conference. he referenced one of the mentions the council made about his failure to remember when his son died. have a listen to how the president responded. >> how in the hell dare he raise that. when i was asked the question, i thought to myself it wasn't any of their business. i don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away. >> the white house used the word gratuitous. was it? >> two thirds. the special counsel talked about the age because his job was to think about how jury would think. the argument was the jury would not commit the guy because they think he would be well-intentioned with memory problems. prosecutors are also not allowed to insult people who they don't charge. because the people they are insulting don't get their day in court to fight back. this is prosecutable standards. i think he very much went over the line on that. on the age issue, i have been

interviewing joe biden for 30 years. he's not as quick as he was. age is a factor. you have to think 86 will be if he's reelected. a totally legitimate issue. his staff thinks it's a legitimate issue because they act like he's a big problem. i have a son who turned on the 7 -- he turned on the super bowl interview. your guy's behind. you have a chance for an easy interview to talk to tens of millions of people and you turn it down because they are cautious that staffing c will say something stupid. my opinion based on my own direct contact and reporting is his memory may sometimes slip but his body -- judgment is good and he actually runs the white house. he's in charge of that administration, he's sharp enough to do that. will he and five years? it is a legitimate issue. >> we were talking about this. i want to get your take on another issue. the supreme court did hear arguments related to the

colorado case seeking to remove former president trump from their primary ballot. it doesn't seem like they are likely to do that based on the concerns we heard frothe justices. what is your take away how the justices are looking at it and the impact? >> if we were to judge the arguments on their face, it seems like we are headed to 8-1, a unanimous decision to keep his name on colorado's republican primary ballot. it might be the one and only time we get a unanimous decision. especially thinking about the fact it is a 63 conservative majority where the pendulum swings from justice brown jackson all the way to the six conservatives on the far right. yet it seems they are all pretty much in agreement. that is what i found, the most takeaway -- amazing takeaway. >> there was no way the supreme court was going to want to get involved in the election.

i was comforted by the lines of questioning. particularly the idea justin roberts said is not to power states. the 14th amendment is there to take power away from the states and give it to the government. the idea each state gets to choose who can be president, can choose for the other states, it just doesn't seem like a smarter argument. i believe this whole issue seems to be about to go away. >> i want to ask you both about the year that was this week in congress. it felt like everything -- we came as close as we had in decades to actual immigration reform. failed when republicans backed away for performance of negotiating. what is your takeaway? >> it says to me once again that speaker johnson is not in control, mitch mcconnell is not in control. senator langford, who negotiated with murphy and cinema is not in

control. donald trump is in control. donald trump signaled before the text was even presented weeks earlier don't do this bill. and the bill, even though it got 67 votes, even if it gets out of the senate, it is not going anywhere in the house. that is what is so unfortunate about what is happening. we decide the competence of speaker johnson and the mess he had to deal with in his own chamber. nothing is going to get done. >> did republicans miss their best chance for some kind of border bill? >> for sure, for a generation. trump said election asus to pass the bill, and they did. i wish that was all it was. it is deeper than that. republicans are not only bowing to trunk, he is in their brains, they are thinking like trump. how does democracy work? a negotiation, they meet, you hope to improve on the status quo. it is most one-sided compromise

i've ever seen. the republican party got pretty much every thing, democrats got nothing. republicans say i cannot support this because it doesn't have everything i want. that is trump smith of the dictator, i will come in and you will get everything you want. they are beginning to think like trump. on foreign policy, i'm a conservative, i was reading for for decades, ronald reagan, john mccain, mitt romney. these were internationalists. they believe america has a role in conserving a stable world order. have a majority of republicans in senate and a majority in the house who want to cut the ukraine funding bill. the ultimate isolationist act would destroy american credibility and sentence the nation to servitude. the fact it is the republican party i thought it was on shock about and i remain profoundly shocked. >> were you shocked the same way? >> no. i saw this coming.

the thing that worries me the most is what happens on march 1. what happens on march 8. if we are going down a road where we are doing a government shutdown, we cannot get out of it. >> thank you so much, great to see you. >> carmi alexander, an award-winning author and producer has released his latest work. an anthology by black poets called this is the honey. i spoke to him earlier as part of the arts and culture series, canvas. carmi alexander, welcome to the newshour. >> good to be here. >> this is a collection of contemporary black poets. the title of the book comes from a poem included by mahogany l brown, the first lines are so beautiful. there is no room on this planet for anything less then a

miracle. we gather here today to revel in the rebellion of the silent tongue. why did this give you the title of the book? what did you want to put out into the world? >> the idea we deal with drama and trauma, but there is also triumph. we deal with low, but there is also wonder. amidst all of the divisiveness, the uncertainty in this world, i wanted to give us something to uplift us that would give us that hope to bring us together. >> how do you pick poems? how did you invite people to be part of this? >> i view this book like you would a day in your life. wake up in the morning, the sun is out. the first section of the book will be poems of hope and promise and joy. you greet your family, the people you love, the people who love you. and of course, you go out into the world and you are dealing with the craziness, so you have poems that challenge us.

next you have to take the lunch break. in my case in corporate america, i'd go to the restroom and chill a little bit to get my bearings and say a prayer. you will have your devotions. the last part of the book is you come home. it is a long day, you eat food, you are grateful. i think about that as a metaphor and i start looking for poems and poets that fit. >> incredible work here. a poem from sre, one of my personal favorites. ruth foreman, the eight line poem that is powerful. you have an original poem here as well. it is called how we made you. tell us about that. >> stephanie, my wife and i, we were married 24 years. when the uncoupling happened, i did not want my daughter to think it was the divorce that defined us or the things that did not go right. i wanted to let her know it was not about the storm, but about the rainbow.

that we love each other, we are good friends and we built a lot together. we built a beautiful daughter. i want to focus on that, it is really all about love. >> what was it like after she read that poem? >> has she read it yet? when i wrote that memoir, i had to go to the counter. my kid comes in, she says we are studying memoir in school. how cool would it be if i read your memoir? i'm not going to do it, but how cool would it be? i doubt she has read it yet. >> it has been about a year since it has gone out. an intensely personal blend of poetry and prose you put out in that memoir. all this time later, what is it like to have in the world? >> that is a great question. i have wrestled with realizing

this book is out in the world still. because it is a memoir about these challenges i've had with the fact in 2017, my marriage started breaking down. my oldest daughter and i had an argument that just blew up into estrangement. all of these things happened. writing in the book allowed me to deal with it to heal from it and get on the path to figure it out. now the book is out. i'm a much better person. but i'm like the book is still out. hopefully it helps people and offers insight. >> you are nothing if not prolific. award-winning new york times best-selling book the crossover has made it to a disney plus series that one your first emmy. what was that like? >>omebody asked me if it was a dream come true to win an emmy award. i was like no, it was never a dream. i wanted to write good books. the fact this book that got rejected by 22 publishers, that

this book which came out 60 -- six or seven years ago won an award for a tv adaptation speaks to the power of poetry to me. how it can translate and transfer across different mediums. i think ultimately is it about making us better. hopefully the tv show did that. the me did that for me. >> you have been carrying it around. i will show people you with it on your lap on the flight home. tell me about that. >> they made me check the bag. i wanted to put it in the overhead and it did not fit. i said let me take something out. and i did. >> that is a flex. >> it did not fit. >> all of your work, all of your writing is grounded in who we are as a country and where we are. i remember reading the op-ed for the los angeles times earlier this year on mlk junior day.

the first protest he went to in 1978. for how long, not long call in response. you said there was hope embedded in those words. you wrote in the war room of the red white and weary blues, we become pioneers in this renewal by awakening are conscious, summoning our courage, and trading the stony road through a tunnel of hope. where do you find that hope today? >> i still find it in words. i still find a world of possibility in language and literature. i think when a child sees themselves in a book, the broke -- book is a mirror. it shows who they are and what they are capable of and gives them some sort of expenses outside of what we are thinking. when you show the child a book, the book can be a window. it can show someone else or another community.

ultimately, these words can connect us to ourselves and to each other and allow us to become better human beings. because we are empathetic and connected. so for me, that is where the hope comes from. it comes through the power of words to make us imagine a better world or a different world. >> the book is this is the honey. thank you so much. great to see you. >> thank you very much. >> be sure to tune into washington week with the atlantic tonight on pbs. i will be joining jeffrey goldberg and his panel to discuss donald trump's influence on the collapse of the bipartisan border bill and the latest concerns about president biden's age. and don't forget to watch saturday's pbs news weekend for a look at the increased role of tech companies and social media in this year's election. and that is the newshour for

tonight. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. including kathy and paul anderson and kamila and george smith. the walton foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ >> and friends of the newshour.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. a historic day at the supreme court. can colorado kick trump off the ballot? a look at the arguments with political commentator john avlo then -- >> what they're telling us is things are going to get a lot worse and cause great havoc. but there is great hope. >> former vice president al gore joinse