geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the “newshour” tonight, a celebration turned deadly -- kansas city reels after a shooting at its super bowl parade. geoff: a new york judge denies former president trump's request to delay a criminal case that stems from alleged hush money payments. amna: and shelling and air strikes between israel and hezbollah escalate, endangering civilians living near the border with lebanon. >> it's very hard to survive this.

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more at kendedafund.org. 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 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”" kansas city is coping tonight

with the aftermath of the super bowl parade shooting that left one person dead and 22 others injured. half of them were under the age of 16. geoff: it was at least the 48th mass shooting in the u.s. already this year. and it left local officials asking themselves about what more they could do to protect the public when there was already a heavy police presence at the event. it was a morning that began with revelry. nearly one million elated fans of the kansas city chiefs lining the streets on wednesday. as players atop a double-decker motorcade wrote out the high of their historic super bowl win. >> let me hear you one time! geoff: the victory lap culminated outside union station where massive crowds gathered for one last rally with their home team. just minutes after it ended the area, still packed with people, the celebration turned deadly.

pops of gunfire send the crowd into a panic. fans suddenly found themselves scrambling to find cover. >> the only thing i really saw was it became chaotic. and i hear down, everybody down. at about the same time i see the swat team jumping over the fence and i'm like ok, this might be real. this is supposed to be a celebration for everybody. it was devastating. geoff: the shooting claimed the life of a popular community radio dj. she hosted a weekly show that brings traditional mexican music to the radio waves of kansas city. one of her children was reportedly shot in the leg. in total, 22 people were injured by gunshot wounds. investigations are still unfolding but authorities have ruled out terrorism. >> there was no nexus to or homegrown violent extremism.

this appeared to be a dispute between several people that ended in gunfire. geoff: police detained three people, two of them minors, and recovered several firearms from the scene. but not without the help of some brave chief fans. cameras got the moment when he held down and tackled the man. >> i didn't hesitate. just do it. as i am tackling him i see his weapon either fall out of his hand or out of his sleeve because he was wearing a long jacket. so when i saw that hit the ground i was like, we have to take this guy down. geoff: city officials say the shooting happened despite the presence of 800 members of law enforcement. today, the mayor says he has no plans to cancel any large-scale events, including an upcoming st. patrick's day parade. >> there is a gun violence challenge in this community and

many others and a gun violence challenge as it remains to other events. that does not mean kansas city will stop having major events. we will do all we can to make sure geoff: people are safe. geoff:for now a community is still reeling by another high-profile event marred by gun violence. ♪ amna: in the day's other headlines, israeli forces raided the main hospital in southern gaza, a day after ordering thousands of refugees to leave the complex. the target was nasser hospital in khan younis. the israelis said they had credible intelligence that they might find the remains of dead hostages. >> because hamas terrorists are likely hiding behind injured civilians inside nasser hospital right now, and appear to have used the hospital to hide our

hostages there too, the idf is conducting a precise and limited operation inside nasser hospital. amna: the raid followed overnight shelling that left one hospital ward in chaos. one of the surgeons said one patient had been killed in the strike. houthi fighters in yemen fired on another british freighter today, in the gulf of aden. a british security firm says the bulk carrier suffered minor damage. yesterday, the u.s. military staged four strikes on houthi sites inside yemen. the group is aligned with iran, and says it's retaliating for israel's offensive in gaza. in the war in ukraine, russia and ukraine traded missile fire, adding to the civilian death toll. the russians struck kharkiv in the east, zaporizhzhia in the south, kyiv in the north, and lviv in the west and killed at least five people. and moscow reported a ukrainian missile hit a shopping center and a school stadium in belgorod, in western russia. at least six people died there.

the white house has confirmed that russia is developing a space-based, anti-satellite weapon. that comes after republican mike turner, house intelligence committee chair, had warned of what he called a serious national security threat. today, john kirby, the national security council spokesman, said the intelligence is still classified, but he did give some details. >> i can confirm that it is related to an anti-satellite capability that russia is developing. this is not an active capability that's been deployed. though russia's pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone's safety. amna: kremlin officials dismissed the reports as a malicious fabrication designed to get congress to approve more aid for ukraine. lawyers made closing arguments today in new york on whether officials from the national rifle association engaged in years of lavish spending. former ceo wayne lapierre and three other nra executives are accused of misspending millions

of dollars on luxury trips, expensive gifts, and meals. the state filed the charges as part of a civil lawsuit. in greece today, lawmakers legalized same-sex civil marriage, the first orthodox christian country to take that step. the center-right prime minister wrote the bill and addressed parliament before the vote, followed by lawmakers who opposed it. >> it is something that our constitution provides for, it is something that our system of government requires. people who have been invisible will finally be made visible. >> in the name of human dignity, in the name of respecting the sacred institution of marriage and the greek orthodox traditions, and in the name of protecting defenseless children, vote against this disgraceful bill. amna: the legislation also grants parental rights to same-sex couples with children. a new effort is underway tonight to put the first privately-owned lunar lander on the moon.

intuitive machines of houston launched its odysseus spacecraft early today on a space-x rocket that blasted off from cape canaveral. it's expected to attempt a moon landing next thursday. in economic news, japan has now officially fallen into recession. that's after new data showed the country's economy contracted for a second straight quarter. and on wall street, stocks moved higher as interest rates eased on the bond market. the dow jones industrial average gained 348 points to close at 38,773. the nasdaq rose 47 points. the s&p 500 added 29. still to come on the "newshour," the push for diversity at colleges and companies comes under siege. the state of arizona becomes a model for mental health hotlines. and a new film documents how some of the greatest pop stars came together for one night in 1985 to make history.

>> 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. amna: a judge in new york city today ruled donald trump will go on trial next month to face felony charges that he falsified business records to cover up a sex-scandal in order to protect his presidential campaign. the judge rejected trump's motions to dismiss or delay the case, and told lawyers to prepare for trial starting march 25. the former president attended the hearing today, and again criticized the case against him as politically motivated. >> they want to keep me nice and busy so i can't campaign so hard. but maybe we won't have to campaign so hard because the other side is incompetent. amna: our william brangham was in the courtroom this morning, and a me now. of all the current cases against the former president, this was the oldest and now the first to go to trial. what are the charges that former president trump is facing? william: let's go back in time

to 2016. the presidential campaign is nearing the end, trump versus hillary clinton. the access hollywood tape has just come out and right around that time trump's fixer michael cohen pays stormy daniels, a pornographic film actress, $130,000 to stop her from going public with her story about having big sexual relationship -- having a sexual relationship with donald trump. michael cohen says donald trump told him to make that payment. trump is elected and in the white house,, then trump reimburses michael cohen that $130,000. it is at that point the manhattan disick attorney alvin bragg argues donald trump committed fraud. he is arguing he falsify business records to cover up

that payment. why he gave that payment in the first place, why he was reimbursing michael: and why michael cohen was paying him in the first place. he is charged with 34 counts of falsifying records and basically arguing that trump was trying to hide this fact from voters and thus this is an election related crime. the legal analysts i have spoken to know that these are relatively low level felony charges the for former president is facing. even he -- even if he were convicted and all of them most believe it is very likely the former president would be facing any prison time. amna: this case in new york was always expected to take a backseat to the federal case in washington on election interference. how did this end up going to trial first and what does that mean for the case? william: the d.c. january 6

election case being brought by special counsel jack smith was always supposed to go first. it was originally scheduled to start in three weeks on march 4. but former president trump claimed presidential immunity and he appealed this. the judge overseeing the d.c. case rejected that. a d.c. appeals court rejected that. but that appeal is now before the supreme court of the united states. and so in that delay is how this case has now reinserted itself into the schedule. in fact today the judge who is overseeing the stormy daniels case noted that he had been in touch with the judge overseeing the d.c. case to talk about the scheduling. he argues he can now get this hush money case in new york started and completed before the d.c. case. now, some of the d.c. case is resting on what the supreme court does.

if they pick it up than the d.c. case could be delayed for months. we just do not really know. as you played the clip from trump at the beginning, trump's lawyers all along were arguing it is fundamentally unfair to put donald trump on trial for this case in the middle of the election. they say he should be out campaigning in states all over the country, not sitting in a courthouse. but the judge said no, justice is not going to wait and the trial starts march 25. amna: i need to ask you about the election interference case in georgia. the district attorney there fani willis, is now facing allegations of having an improper relationship with one of her lead attorneys. that air -- there was a rather contentious hearing on that today. what can you tell us about what happened? william: contentious is the gentlest way to refer to that hearing today. as you said, the fulton county

district attorney fani willis is facing these allegations that were brought up by one of the 19 defendants in her cute racketeering elections interference case in georgia. one of the defendants said you are having an inappropriate relationship with the lead prosecutor you selected to run the case. and that with his salary he is taking you, fani willis, on expensive vacations all over the country and that is a clear conflict of interest and you should be disqualified from the case. today, the judge overseeing this held a hearing to try and get to the bottom of this. and willis in the lead prosecutor who she was having a relationship with, a man named nathan wade, they both admitted as they had previously, that they had had a romantic relationship, but they both re-asserted the relationship did not happen until after wade was hired. so the thought that she was

intentionally hiring a boyfriend to then reap the benefits of it was false. former colleague of fani willis's testified that she believed the relationship had started many years before wade was hired. fani willis in later testimony said that was a former colleague who led been asked to resign because of poor performance, implying she was a disgruntled former employee. i want to play one click from today. there was an incredible amount of back and forth. conflict with the lawyers in the judge. fani willis herself on the witness stand really pushing back on this. let's play this one clip to get a taste of what this was like today. >> you've been intrusive into people's personal lives. you're confused, you think i'm on trial. these people are on trial for stealing an election in 2020. i'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. william: more testimony will occur tomorrow. judge mcafee will decide in the

end whether or not fani willis has to be removed from this case. amna: that is william brangham joining us from new york tonight. thank you so much. william: you are welcome, amna. ♪ geoff: the special counsel in the hunter biden investigation has charged a one-time informant with lying about president biden and his son. alexander smirnov is accused of falsely claiming that a ukrainian energy firm paid the bidens $5 apiece in 2015 and 2016. laura barron-lopez is here to explain the charges and how they undercut a key part of the house republican impeachment inquiry into president biden. so what is the doj alleging? laura: special counsel david weiss has charged alexander smirnov with two counts,

alleging he has made false statements to a government agent, and a falsification of records in a federal investigation. and in this indictment the doj is saying that the defendant's story to the fbi was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred but at a later date than he claimed and for the purpose of pitching service and products, not discussing bribes. essentially everything he had detailed to the fbi was a fabrication. geoff: these allegations had become a flashpoint in large part because you had people like james comber and other house republicans saying that these allegations approved president biden was guilty of bribery. so what does all of this now mean for the house impeachment inquiry into president biden? laura: james comber in addition

to senator chuck grassley and jim jordan repeatedly were trying to get a hold of this information that the fbi had from smirnov, the allegations he was making just last summer. comer was calling this informant alexander smirnov a trusted and highly credible informant who had been used by the fbi for decades. so this was a central basis of the house republicans' entire impeachment inquiry into president biden, what they said was the justification for launching that impeachment inquiry. their response to this indictment is they said they were essentially misled by the fbi, that the fbi had had this source for years and that they were simply just adding their information from this document the fbi had. geoff: and the fbi is now using memos that congressional republicans released as part of their indictment against

alexander smirnov. what do you see the other potential fallout here? laura: democrats are saying that the entire basis for the house republican impeachment inquiry into president biden is on shaky ground. they have no evidence whatsoever because one of the biggest pieces they said was evidence of a bribery scheme is now being called into severe question by the justice department, saying it was all a lie. this comes after witness after witness including some of hunter biden's business associates have testified -- have been deposed by the oversight committee and by the committee overseeing this. and have essentially said there was no evidence president biden was involved in any of hunter biden's business dealings. this comes a few weeks before hunter biden is set to testify to the committee. geoff: thank you so much for getting us up to speed on all this late breaking news. laura: thank you. ♪

geoff: as the war in gaza rages, tensions are escalating on israel's northern border. israel and lebanese hezbollah, the iran backed group there that the u.s. labels as terrorists, have traded fire since the october 7 terrorist attack. nick schifrin speaks to israelis who live near the border about the threat, their forced displacement, and how their government has responded. nick: for more than a century, tal levitt's family has called this valley home. metula is israel's northernmost town, where levitt runs a farm 500 feet from lebanon, 500 feet from hezbollah militants on the other side of his apple orchard. too close for comfort. >> we are neighbors and they see us all the time. what we do, where we go, what we make. nick: and since october 7, they've been seeing, and striking. on october 14, a rocket hit his orchard.

and last week, in response to an israeli attack in lebanon, tal himself was the target. this is the aftermath. his kitchen ceiling, collapsed. it was a direct hit, straight through his roof. >> they saw me go inside to my home. and i go out, after two hour, they throw a rocket through my home. they think i'm inside, but when i go, they not see that. nick: metula is in the lower galilee, about 30 miles north of the sea of biblical renown and is the only israeli city surrounded by an international border on three sides. it's been around for more than 120 years. the levits are one of the 20 founding families -- that's his great grandmother in metula, in the 1890's. tal levit is a 6th generation farmer. that's him in the middle when he was four years old. but now he has to start from scratch. >> my home is crashed, and you know, i need to make a new home. to build everything new.

nick: for more than four months, israel and hezbollah have traded fire. israeli airstrikes into lebanon have killed hundreds of hezbollah fighters and dozens of civilians. the deadliest strike was yesterday, it killed 10 and blew out an apartment complex. israel said it killed a hezbollah commander. hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets into israel. many are intercepted by israeli air defense, but others have killed nine israeli soldiers and six civilians. hezbollah leader hassan nasrallah promises more attacks until the war in gaza stops. >> [speaking another language] nick: hezbollah can, with precision, thanks to iranian technology. israel says hezbollah has 150,000 rockets and missiles that can reach 95% of israel,

including its largest city tel aviv. the u.s. believes neither side wants war, but the risk is high. toy israel's defense ministry released video of what it called an exercise for a lebanon war. >> we have no interest in war but we must prepare. the planes that are flying in lebanon's sky as we speak have targets. we can do copy-paste from gaza to beirut. nick: metula is now a military camp. the chief of army staff visited yesterday. the military has evacuated some 80,000 residents across the north. including levit's family. his wife and four children have lived in a hotel for nearly four months. >> my family, my kids, it's very hard to to survive this, but i tell them we don't have another place to go. we don't go to usa now, or europe, or something, we have israel. >> the government don't do the

things that they should do to our citizens and to our residents. nick: moshe davidovitz is the mayor of the northern community of mateh asher, and leads a council for northern israeli residents. he says trust between the government and those residents, has been broken. >> the government's supposed to give the residents security, and this contract between the government and the citizens does not exist. nick: france and the united states are trying through diplomacy to push hezbollah back at least six miles from the border. but u.s. officials doubt whether that can succeed with cross border firing. fighting that continues even today during our interview. >> now, now, there is a missiles shouting. i heard it just in this minute. now. we supposed to get to the shelters. nick: there's missiles being fired now? >> just now. yeah.

so i want to thank you. bye-bye. nick: and so the danger to the people and of wider war is inescapable. for the "pbs newshour," i'm nick schifrin. ♪ amna: the debate in colleges and universities over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, or dei, has been heating up around the country. and the backlash, politically and socially, to previous programs has been growing. as part of our ongoing race matters series, john yang unpacks the debate and examines the stakes in higher education. john: amna, utah's spencer cox is the latest governor to sign a new law banning any state funding for programs dedicated to promoting diversity, including at state colleges and universities. utah joins five other states -- florida, texas, north carolina,

north dakota, and tennessee -- that all have laws on the books restricting or banning dei. lawmakers in 25 states have introduced more than 70 bills targeting dei efforts at public institutions. the issue has flared up in the wake of the october 7 attacks in israel and the war against hamas. it's sparked debates over tolerance, inclusion, and academic freedom. shaun harper is the executive director of the race and equity center at the university of southern california. and greg lukianoff is ceo of the foundation for individual rights and expression, a free speech organization. shaun, what is lost when these offices are closed? shaun: first off, thanks for having us. an institution loses its fidelity to its mission. there are nearly 5000 colleges and universities across united states. most of them include some language in their missions about preparing students for

citizenship in a diverse democracy and other commitments to offering and assuring an inclusive learning environment for all students. that is lost as institutions walk back there commitments to dei. what is also lost is our ultimate contribution to the defense of our democracy. it is dangerous to send millions of college educated people into the world and into our professions underprepared to deal with the inequities that have long disadvantaged our democracy. john: to your view, why should they go away? greg: because they are threats to our democracy. the biggest threat we have seen our administrators themselves. we have had particular issues with dei administrators.

we had a case at the university of michigan where a professor was investigated by the dei apartment for showing the old othello from the 1960's with laurence olivier and blackface. e greater the relative size of dei, the more discomfort students field -- feel. this is one of the things that has been missing with mainstream coverage of this. john: what about that, threat to academic freedom, it creates a big bureaucracy? what do you say to that? shaun: i am a tenured professor who very much enjoys his academic freedom. so let me not be a hypocrite on this point. i think what is lost and misunderstood in these broad brushes with which dei gets mis-painted is that these occasional one offs are examples

of what is happening in every academic department, in every office, on every campus. that is just not the case. i have studied literally millions of college students. literally millions. on hundreds of campuses. and i have to tell you that students of color most especially are not feeling like colleges are as liberal and as welcoming and inclusive as the dei obstructionists are claiming them to be. the evidence is the exact opposite, as a matter of fact. there is not enough emphasis placed on dei. people who lead those offices often don't have the budgets and the staffing that they need to help the institution make good on the commitments that it has made to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion. john: greg, are you a diversity obstructionist? greg: i feel like a lot of what

i learned by the way we argue in academia today is you come up with greater and greater insult technology as if it is an argument. at ucla in 2020 after a student complained about a professor reading a letter from l ok which included racial slurs, he referred him to the dei office. so this is not an occasional thing. 2020 and 2021 were the worst years we saw for a professor cancellations in our history. as far as we can tell we have not seen anything like it since the law was established in 1973. so we have been in an academic freedom crisis and lately it has been very much directed at pro-palestinian voices, which we have been very busy defending. i do think that ultimately, it's not just the dei and the administrative bloat at universities are costing students more, they are in many cases under minding one of the fundamental functions of university.

john: i don't want to put words into greg's mouth but i have heard others argue against dei, saying colleges and universities are essentially indoctrinating students in left wing views. what do you say to that? shaun: listen, i am a past president of the american educational research association . i value research and evidence, not anecdotes. and i have to say again, that the research makes painstakingly clear that students of color and white students alike, the overwhelming majority of them do not feel like they are being indoctrinated. in fact, many of them tell us in our surveys and in our qualitative research that they don't learn enough about race and racism, about other dimensions of dei. the other thing that i will say about those who recklessly claim that there's just all of this indoctrination, i wonder, when was the last time they sat in

more than one dei program? how many programs have they actually sat in and been a part of? who were the presenters? were those presenters indeed indoctrinating people and insulting them and dividing them? is that a thing that happens in every dei workshop? does it happen in most dei workshops? i can tell you declaratively, in the ones we do here at the usc race and equity center across k-12 schools, higher ed, and corporations, that is not what we do here. and that is not how professionals experience what we deliver. john: these efforts against state dei programs are often described or framed as conservative political activism. is that fair or accurate? greg: i think that is relatively fair. and we have opposed, for example, the stop woke act in

florida, which we thought was laughably unconstitutional. because a lot of these attempt to get rid of dei administrators are constitutional, because administrators don't have special academic freedom. but some of these laws that restrict the laws of free speech rights of students, and curricular rights of professors. the stop woke act in florida it was unconstitutional, we have defeated it so far in court and it is currently on appeal. but there have been several attempts that have badly implicated academic freedom and every time does come up we find them in court. john: if dei offices do such good work and are so desirable, why are these laws passing? why this sort of backlash against dei? shaun: well, they are part of an actual politicized movement that is succeeding. there is a playbook that is being passed from state to

state, and to cities and towns within states. so there's a strategy that is absolutely succeeding. and that strategy is largely fueled by misinformation and disinformation about what is happening on campuses based on anecdotes, based on rumors. not based on robust samples of thousands and millions of students and higher ed workers. john: greg, i am going to let you have the last word. you reacted quite a bit there. greg: the research is actually very weak. the research indicating there has been a major threat to freedom of speech is extremely strong. in terms of the number of professors we have seen lose their jobs -- and to be clear threats come from both the right and the left. 200 professors fired since you saw the escalation of professors getting fired around 2014, 2017.

that's twice as many professors who were fired under mccarthyism. what is difference is the law is supposed to protect them now. i want to take this -- i want people to take this more seriously. there is no way to protect it with the massive bureaucracies we currently have. john: i am afraid we are out of time. but thank you both very much for a spirited discussion. greg: thanks for having me. shaun: thank you. ♪ geoff: since the launch of 988, the three-digit dialing code for the national suicide and crisis lifeline, millions of people have made contact with crisis counselors. call volume has jumped 40%, compared to when the hotline was a 1-800-number. but the supports and services available after someone calls 988 largely depend on the state where one lives.

stephanie sy reports on how arizona's crisis response network has become a leading model for crisis care. stephanie: music is how raquel medina makes sense of the world. but around six months ago, the music stopped playing. her obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety overcame her. >> i had been going through several nights where my emotions just became so big. definitely thoughts of suicide, for sure. thoughts of i'd be better if i wasn't around. stephanie: even in a state of crisis, three numbers came to her -- 988. once you texted that initial message, what happened? how long did it take for someone to respond? >> it was really fast. it was pretty much instant. she had stayed up with me for a

couple of hours in the middle of the night talking with me, texting, going back and forth. i explained everything and she was really supportive and really understanding. stephanie: the national 988 suicide and crisis lifeline has received more than eight million individual calls, texts, and chats since it came online a year and a half ago. >> that's a lot of people. and it just gives you some insight into the demand out there and the need for it. stephanie: bob gebbia, the ceo of the american foundation for suicide prevention, says with the number of suicide deaths increasing 3% between 2021 to 2022, the timing couldn't have been better. one of the largest crisis call centers in the u.s. by volume is in phoenix, arizona and is run by a nonprofit contracted by the state called solari. in just the past few months, solari has experienced an increase of over 1000 new monthly 988 calls. >> it's a 24 hour line. and we experience callers of all

shapes and sizes, at all hours of the day. stephanie: nicole harris is one of solari's clinical supervisors. >> i definitely have found a passion for working with the most underserved. those who have fallen through the cracks. those who are kind at the end of their rope and don't have anywhere else to turn. stephanie: it is really striking to see that constantly there are people in crisis. >> all of these calls involve a variety of situations. stephanie: harris's goal is to stabilize the patient over the phone, and that is what happens in just under 80% of cases. but when the person needs more help, solari can connect them to the next level of care. that happens at the dispatch center. >> they need an in person team to come out and speak with them. i am one of the members who will send a mobile team out. stephanie: arizona is one of 20 states that offer 24/7 mobile crisis teams. these crisis responders go out

on several calls a day throughout sprawling maricopa county. in this case, a mother whose son has a history of serious mental illness acting aggressively toward her. he's left the scene when they arrive, so they counsel the mom on what to do. with many states lacking mobile crisis teams, tragic outcomes have resulted from police intervention in psychiatric emergencies, says bob gebbia. >> if you look across the country in terms of less reliance on law enforcement, which is really not trained for in many cases, and also a drain on their resources, we seek to go elsewhere. but to have more mobile crisis trained mental health counselors, people who can go out, maybe in tandem with law enforcement, which is another model. but to have that universally available, it's not there. stephanie: the next step in the continuum of care in arizona is a crisis stabilization unit like this one, meant to be a safe place for people in severe psychiatric distress.

theresa costales is the arizona medical director at connections health solutions. >> it's a very unique system. it does not exist in other places. it's built out to treat severely mentally ill individuals in the community setting. stephanie: a flurry of activity occurs in this open office where physicians, nurses, and behavioral health specialists consult with social service workers and peer specialists. even though some patients have been brought by police, there's no law enforcement presence once they're here. >> if they're in handcuffs, we take those handcuffs off. stephanie: why is that important? >> well, it's important because we need to signify that you're coming into a place for treatment. we are not the police. this is not jail. you know, there's somebody who's coming in who is feeling increasingly suicidal. and maybe they're just very, very depressed and having these strong suicidal thoughts and

urges, maybe just attempted suicide. and a lot of those patients are coming in and they're not combative. they're sick right now and they need help. stephanie: crisis stabilization centers can keep patients in their observation units for 23 hours, during which most are stabilized. the hotline, mobile crisis teams, and the stabilization centers are a continuum of crisis care that andrew medina, the state's medicaid crisis administrator, says are exemplary. >> those three components operational 24/7, 365 days a year, 366 in leap years is really what sets arizona apart, because nationally, there are many, many states where those are operational between 8:00 to 4:00, not on weekends, you know, are manned by volunteer services. but here in arizona, for well over 30 years, we've created a system that's available to any arizonan whenever they need the help. stephanie: but the system isn't

perfect. 17-year-old calvin carbello spent a day in the crisis network that he'd rather forget. >> it was the start of spring break my sophomore year. covid, definitely. and then i guess it just took me a while to realize that it actually happened. and then family stuff. and then other stuff. it's just a lot at once. and you kind of shut down. stephanie: it was prior to 988, and his mom kelly had a hard time finding the state crisis number. >> when it came time to call for him, i froze. i think 988 would have been a much better option. stephanie: once she did locate the number, a mobile crisis unit was dispatched. a mobile crisis team comes out and you're glad to see them. and they are stabilizing you. but why did they decide to transport you? >> i was worried about taking my life and all that, and it was just -- i was like, i think i should probably go for my own sake. stephanie: you end up at what

are called stabilization, crisis stabilization centers. and what do you expect to happen there? >> to be treated like a person, i guess, not like a number. i got dropped off in this small little room with a bunch of other kids asleep in chairs. i was up all night and maybe slept for two hours, and then waking up to kids screaming about whatever in the middle of the night. it was bad. stephanie: calvin was treated at an urgent psychiatric care clinic in phoenix that accepts minors. mom kelly says there was little treatment involved, and that calvin says he was grouped in with neglected kids who had been dropped off by police. >> once they drop them off, they're done. they've been placed. and that is why that that's the whole reason for the stabilization unit is because they have nowhere for these kids to go. there's no homes. there's no room at the hospital. so it's not meant to be therapeutic. and it really should be. these are kids. stephanie: calvin has since gotten therapy and is looking forward to graduating from high school this year. andrew medina acknowledges there

are still areas for improvement. >> we recognize that every opportunity that we can do better by, you know, our communities, we are working towards that. stephanie: for raquel medina, the system seems to have worked. what would you have done had you not had 988? >> i don't know. i would have spent the night in tears, not knowing what to do, still in that dark hole. so i honestly have no idea what i would have done to get myself out of it. stephanie: the crisis care specialist she spoke to that night followed up later on and connected her to a list of therapists that take her insurance. >> my mental health is probably the best it's ever been since before i was 14 years old. stephanie: she's been working lately in a job that feels right too, helping others battling mental health challenges as a music therapist. for the "pbs newshour," i'm stepnie sy in maricopa county, arizona.

♪ amna: in 1985, the biggest american pop stars all gathered in one los angeles studio, for one night only, to record one song that raised tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid for africa. >> 1, 2. >> ♪ we are the world, we are the children ♪ ♪ amna: the story of how the legendary charity single we are the world came to be including never before seen footage of the recording session itself is the subject of a new document recalled, the greatest night in pop. the documentary is streaming on netflix now and every good -- and i recently spoke with its director. welcome back. thank you for joining us. >> it is great to be back here.

amna: what made you want to tell this story in the first place? >> it happened in a weird way. i was only two years old when the song came out. and it was a song i did not understand the global residence of the song. my parents who are vietnamese refugees, they spoke very little english when they came over but for some reason they had lionel richie records, kenny rogers records. so i remember the song always playing in the background and my house and in a bridge to my american side and my parents on the immigrant side. again, the song had a lot of residence -- resonance. but the film was conceived during the middle of the pandemic. i was watching a lot of things from the 1980's in the 1990's. i wanted to make something that was kind of familiar to people. we did not know what we were going to come out of after the pandemic.

and so creating a film that was really rooted in something that was kind of like a warm blanket was important to me. my producer julia nottingham approached me with this idea of the story of we are the world, and i found the story itself to be really fascinating. amna: the inspiration for the song itself, how that came to be, that is not really well-known. you tell the story in the film, but who first had the idea to record the song and how did the idea come up? bao: it started with harry belafonte, who had seen with the british artists had done with band-aid and also with watching a lot of these documentaries about what was going on, famine in africa at the time. we're kind of used to those images sadly these days, but in the 1980's when it happened it was a shock to everyone who saw those images. and harry belafonte, he says in the film, that he was sort of seeing white artists saving people in africa, but he was not

seeing black artists save the people in africa. so he started to assemble this team of lionel richie, michael jackson, through lionel's manager and that is out all got started. amna: the including in core -- this recording includes the biggest names at the time. michael jackson, stevie wonder, bob dylan, tina turner. it is incredible to see all these super stars the studio would know handlers, no press people, they are just hanging out alone. there is one moment that reveals some of the artists were starstruck themselves. >> diana walks up to darrell hall with her music in her hands and says, darrell, i am your biggest fan. would you sign my music for me? and we all looked around and said, holy moly. amna: in reviewing all of this behind the scenes footage, what stood out to you in seeing all

of these superstars in this environment? bao: these are the icons of icons, not just of this generation but the generation before and the generation after in many ways. and to see them really nervous around each other, excited, and fan boying and fan girling. but also very vulnerable. these are the greatest musical minds of the time, and to see them just sort of not performing at their best levels was really interesting. but i also found it really endearing how all the artists around them would help each other. there is a beautiful scene with bob dylan and stevie wonder that is one of my favorite scenes, where stevie wonder helps bob by mimicking his style. it's a really poignant scene that sticks out in my mind. amna: you also got many of these artists to talk to you today to reflect back on that time. lionel richie, bruce springsteen, cyndi lauper.

how hard was it to convince them to talk about it? bao: it was pretty difficult. it was sorta bit of life imitating art. it took lionel to make these phone calls and once he was lined up to help produce this project, everyone started to agree to be part of it. and one of the great things that we tried to do in the film was to shoot the interviews at the actual studio where it was recorded. so this event happened almost 40 years ago. so when people walk back into that room, a lot of their memories started flooding back. amna: there is a wonderful memory from huey lewis talking about how nervous he was to be singing in front of all these superstars. >> from that moment on, i was nervous out of my brain. amna: there are tons of moments like this throughout the film. where there moments from the behind the scenes footage you did not include that you wanted to? bao: i think film is a liminal art. i wish we could have included

all of the stories. we had a scene with more of the recording session artists. we had more of the actual recording itself with the stars. but for us it was important to find the heart of the story and i think we did so with this film. the film has been out for a couple weeks now on netflix and we have been getting some really great messages of how nostalgic the film is, but also how heartfelt it is. amna: it was almost 40 years ago, as you point out. i wonder on how you reflect on what it took for that moment to happen, and if you think something like that could ever happen today. bao: looking back at it now, it was such a unique moment in global pop-culture, because it really sort of -- everyone was focused on this moment. almost every radio station in the world played it at the same time. i don't know if you could really

do that today. i think it was also the feat of, it was such a surprising moment that came out of nowhere. i think today, there are ways to leak things, social media makes things more apparent. i think it is really unique, but i hope the film as a way to inspire a generation of artists to realize within their own power, that within their own talents that they can make a difference. amna: the film was the greatest night in pop, streaming now on netflix. the director is bao nguyen. always great to see you. thank you so much. bao: thank you, amna. amna: remember, there is much more online including a story that explores the science behind boil water advisories and how climate change and winter storms might make the problems worse. that's at pbs.org/newshour.

geoff: and join us again here tomorrow night, as we look at the cleanup efforts in east palestine, ohio, where a train derailed causing a toxic spill more than a year ago. and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire "newshour" team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the "newshour," including leonard and norma klorfine, and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. >> 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 ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these 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. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

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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. ♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. this is a great achievement, a great victory for ukrainians. >> ukraine says it sunk yet another russian warship, as the house of representatives prepares to block more military support. we have a special report. then, from the ice pack to the rain forest, red flags fly on a climate tipping point. as renowned scientist michael mann wins a victory in court against those who defamed him. and -- ♪