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. geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz on the "newshour" tonight, congressional leaders meet president biden to negotiate a spending deal and try to avoid a government shutdown in days. geoff: michigan democrats wonder how many will vote uncommitted in the state's presidential primary tonight to protest president biden's handling of the israel-hamas war. amna: and, outrage over the alleged murder of a university student by a venezuelan migrant fans the flames of immigration politics. >> we need to pay attention to

broader factors that contribute to this kind of senseless violence, rather than simply aiming our targets at immigrants. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson, and camilla and george smith. >> these are people who are trying to change the world. startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others every day. people who know, know bdo. >> a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage, the world awaits.

a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style. all with white star service. >> the john s. and jane l. knight foundation. more at kf.org. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals.

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." the top four leaders in congress met with president biden in the oval office today to discuss how to fund the government and what should happen next for u.s. support of ukraine. geoff: congress faces a number of crises this week as leaders race to meet deadlines, including one that could spark a partial government shutdown. funding runs out for parts of the government late friday, and as we've been reporting, ukrainians say without more u.s. support, they will lose the war. lisa desjardins has been following it all. she joins us now. so, lisa, this meeting was significant, especially for house speaker johnson, who of all the people in that room in the oval office is likely the one who determines how things progress. give us a sense of what happened.

lisa: it was significant. you're right. what happened here was a meeting that was serious. we know all the leaders came out, they said it was positive discussion, but it was in some ways intense. it wasn't a classical meeting in the sense that it was a little bit lopsided. you have the democrats in that meeting, including the president and senate leader for the republicans mcconnell, almost on the same page, that they want for a quick funding solution this week, and they also want to fund ukraine. on the other side is speaker johnson, who whatever he personally thinks has a problem that his conference hasn't decided what they want to do in the house. so, you could hear that optimism but also complicated tone as the leaders walked out. >> the meeting on ukraine was one of the most intense i've ever encountered in my many meetings in the oval office. the overwhelming sentiment in that meeting is we have to do ukraine now. there are other issues including border which we should address but not now. we want to fix the border, but it was also clear the speaker

did not give a reason why you had to do one before you did the other. >> the other big priority for our country, of course, is the funding of our government. and we have been working in good faith around the clock every single day, for months and weeks and over the last several days, quite literally around the clock to get that job done. we're very optimistic. i hope that the other leaders came out here and told you the same. lisa: you can hear that they're sort of testing each other. these are new relationships. but one thing they are going up against is the history here. let's look at the last year with the funding problems. here's what's happened just since september. in september, they passed seven weeks of funding in congress. november, they split up the bill. so, nine and 11-week extensions, and then in january, some more five and six weeks extensions that brought us to here. while there may be hope that these leaders can pass through bills this week to avoid that friday deadline, i don't know, by my count, they don't have enough time to have to pass a short-term resolution or we'll have a partial shutdown. geoff: what is preventing speaker johnson from moving more

quickly? is this all tied to pressure from donald trump and the maga wing of the republican party? lisa: absolutely. it is not just trump, but it is trump along with the hardline conservatives and the fractured nature, not just divided, of house republicans. they are in several groups. we talk about how speaker johnson who is just trying to keep his speakership going, could be ousted by any member bringing up a resolution to the floor. he has the trust and integrity portions with his conference, but they are not united. let me show you what i mean and what he's up against in terms of the different demands of house republicans right now in this current negotiation. there are some house republicans, freedom caucus members especially, who want border changes in any deal this week. there are others who oppose any short-term funding patch. there are still others, listen to this, who oppose the opposite. they don't want full funding bills because without those, maybe there'll be an automatic cut. and there are some that i've spoken to who would want a shutdown. they think that is good leverage for them. house speaker johnson is trying to negotiate all of this, but he's got to make a decision in the end. geoff: we heard chuck schumer

say the exchange over ukraine aid was one of the most intense scenes he's ever witnessed in the oval office. where do things stand? lisa: and he's a new yorker so i've a feeling that tells us a lot. house speaker johnson set essentially that ukraine is not his priority. he may agree in theory that it needs to happen but he has said america first, we need to deal with our problems first. that is a problem for ukraine specifically, but there are some in the house trying to work around him. i want to look at these two represent of -- jared golden and brian fitzpatrickl. they are right now working on a workaround to get a bill that would have about $50 billion in aid to ukraine in it. they believe it has a two thirds support needed. they would probably have to do that and go around speaker johnson. the question is what that topple his speakership or not? they say they are serious. when will johnson take action on ukraine? he said they will move in a timely manner.

i would have to look that up in a dictionary because who knows what that means? geoff: we expected action this week in the impeachment trial of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. at one point, the plan was for the senate to get the articles of impeachment delivered, they have to be walked over from the house chamber to the senate chamber. that didn't happen. where do things stand? lisa: this is another thread tied in with everything else. house republicans are pushing that back because they could have a partial shutdown this week. they think an impeachment of an officer of the united states would not look good. however, there are some senate republicans saying they want to make sure there will be a trial. here's the number two senate republican john thune today. >> i believe the senate needs to hold a trial. i think this is such a miscarriage of the law. and it is important that the united states senators sit in hear and the american people hear about this incredible crisis at our southern border. lisa: hear him saying this is about the crisis at the border.

democrats say he has done nothing wrong that there is a crisis. but the issue here is i think democrats, my reporting is want to move to not have a trial. they do not think there's reason for one. we're going to check in with that maybe next week, maybe the following weeks after we get past the other crisis. geoff: all right. following it at all for us. thanks so much. lisa: you're welcome. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with "newshour" west. here are the latest headlines. the pauls up close and we have the winners. president biden and former president trump won their respective parties contest, which was expected. the final vote count will be closely watched i both parties. israel and hamas cast doubt today on president biden's suggestion that a gaza cease-fire deal could be reached by monday. israeli officials said the remarks came as a surprise. hamas insisted it has not backed off its demands. but at the white house, national

security spokesman john kirby defended the president's statement. >> he certainly shared with you his optimism that we can get there in hopefully short order. but he also said, you know, it's not all done yet and you don't have a deal until you have a deal. we don't have one right now. but, we believe that we are getting closer. and while we don't want to sound too sanguine or pollyanna-ish about it, we do think that there have been some serious negotiations. stephanie: in ukraine, the military has retreated from more territory in the east after intense battles overnight. government troops withdrew from two villages outside of avdiivka, a larger city captured by russian forces earlier this month. the russians have stepped up their push as ukraine runs short of weapons and ammunition. a veteran human rights activist in russia was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for criticizing the war in ukraine. oleg orlov co-chaired the nobel peace prize-winning group memorial.

in his closing statement, he said he did not regret speaking out against the kremlin, and he denounced the war again before being led away. >> we live in the 21st century. those guys are going backwards, to 20th, 17th and even 16th. unfortunately, they are dragging our country with them, but we will win anyway. stephanie: a massive wildfire in the texas panhandle doubled in size to 400 square miles, fueled by dry, windy conditions. that blaze and others have forced disaster declarations in 60 counties. the flames have crossed into oklahoma, prompting more evacuations and road closures. victims of last summer's maui wildfire can start applying next month for compensation from a $175 million fund. families of those killed would receive $1.5 million. people who were seriously injured would get a share determined by a judge. recipients would waive their right to sue entities that contributed to the fund, including hawaiian electric and the state.

a federal jury in new york convicted two men of murdering hip-hop dj jam master jay almost 22 years ago. born jason mizell, jay helped propel the group run dmc to stardom, and into the pop music mainstream in the 1980's. he was shot and killed in his music studio in 2002. prosecutors said the motive was a drug deal gone bad. a washington man intends to plead guilty to killing as many as 3600 eagles and other birds and selling their prized feathers on the black market. federal prosecutors accuse travis john branson of a years-long killing spree on the flathead indian reservation in montana and other places. u.s. law prohibits killing or disturbing eagles without a permit. san francisco's board of supervisors apologized today to black residents and their descendants for racist laws and policies over the years. it was seen as a first step in the process of considering financial reparations. san francisco joins boston in

apologizing for its past treatment of black citizens. still to come on the "newshour," an idf soldier's video diaries offer a unique perspective on israel's war in gaza. skepticism grows over tech billionaires' plans to ease the bay area's housing crunch by building a new city. the story of an african-american woman who helped take down one of america's most notorious mob bosses, and much more. >> 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, voters in michigan are casting their votes in that state's presidential primary. and some democratic activists say they're hoping to send a message to president biden by voting uncommitted. it follows growing frustration among some muslim and arab americans over the administration's handling of the war in gaza. >> four years ago, i voted for

joe biden. it was important that we vote to get trump out of office. and today, i feel very disappointed in joe biden, and i don't feel like i did the right thing last election. geoff: we're joined now by michigan democratic party chair lavora barnes. welcome to the newshour. lavora: great to be here. geoff: this push by some democratic activists to urge voters to vote uncommitted picked up steam when it was launched earlier this month to the point where even mission governor gretchen whitmer expects a sizable number of protest votes against president biden's handling of the israel-hamas war. do you agree with that and what is your level of concern? lavora: i am so thrilled that so many folks are participating in this process. we fought hard to be an early state and have our voices heard early.

that's exactly what's happening. over one million folks grabbed ballots early on and voted, and i am happy these folks are reaching for the democratic ballot and participating in this process. i look forward to taking this enthusiasm and interest in the process into november where the question is joe biden versus donald trump. we know the answer is joe biden. geoff: maybe taking the democratic ballot but they are not voting for the candidate. lavora: they are making their voices heard. i am pleased that they are able to do that. that is part of this process. part of the reason we built this tent and wanted to be part of this process was to make sure the voices of michigan were part of the conversation and that is what happening. this president is listening. we are listening. you heard the president yesterday say he's expected to have some news about a cease-fire probably as early as next week. that is great news and a sign he's been listening to folks in michigan. geoff: as you said, michigan democrats pushed for the state's primary to be earlier this year

to give the state a greater voice in the overall electoral calendar and to really highlight president biden's perceived areas of strength. with black voters around detroit and union workers. there is a survey last month that showed president biden really has weak support from nearly all of the democrats key constituencies, black voters, voters between 18 and 29, and those holding college degrees. how was the party aiming to turn that around? lavora: that exactly describes my job. i'm organizing our team, our staff and leaders across the state. we have been talking to voters and we will continue talking to voters at the doors, on their phones, wherever we can find them to make sure we are telling the story of the biden-harris administration and what they've done on behalf of americans and michigan. think about manufacturing jobs they have brought back to the state. good union paying jobs. that conversation and also talk about the contrast between the

choice we have in november which is either joe biden or turning back the clock to donald trump. donald trump has been very clear about who he is, what he's done. they will tell the story of his record. we will tell the facts of who he is. what he said he will do. he wants to be a dictator. he is called people of color poison. he is not good for america or michigan. geoff: can president biden win michigan without the support of those arab american and muslim americans who say they are profoundly disappointed with what they see as his unwavering support of israel? lavora: we will continue having those conversations. the president will keep listening to folks and we will win in november, building that coalition we've had in place for several cycles now and making sure folks turnout to support the president. recognizing that otherwise we may end up with donald trump which is unacceptable. geoff: lavora barnes, thank you for your time. lavora: thanks for having me.

amna: the murder of a college student in georgia and the immigration status of her alleged killer have thrown new fuel into the heated debate over the u.s. southern border and the government's policies. >> at the university of georgia, grief hangs in the air. after last week's death of a 22-year-old nursing student. students including her sorory sisters gathered yesterday to remember riley. >> she showed incredible wisdom throughout her friendships. many of her sisters shared she was the best listener. she would allow you to ramble on about your life and she would soak it up intently. her wisdom flowed through all aspects of her life. >> riley's body was found in this wooded area on campus last thursday. her roommate reported her missing after she failed to return from her morning jog. a 26 rolled venezuelan citizen

-- 26-year-old venezuelan citizen was charged with her murder. in september of 2022, he was detained in texas after illegally entering the u.s. from mexico, but then released for further processing. students return to classes this week, but the community has been shaken to its core. riley's death is believed to be the school's first homicide in nearly 30 years. >> as a mom, i could not imagine something like this happened to my children. >> beyond campus -- >> a dangerous foreign national broke the law and suffered no consequences because of fringe policies the far left claims are compassionate. >> this is another senseless, preventable death because of this open border. >> conservatives and right wing media link the biden's administration immigration approach with her death. >> her death is a direct result of failed policies on the federal level. >> george's republican governor pointed to record high numbers at the u.s. southern

border. >> it is an understatement to say this is a major crisis. because of the white house's failures, every state as i have said repeatedly is now a border state. riley's murder is just the latest proof of that. >> on social media, former president trump said biden's border invasion is destroying our country and killing our citizens. and he reiterated his campaign pledge to seal the border and deport illegal criminals. the white house has expressed condolences to riley's family but has not responded directly to the republican accusations. all this as both biden and trump planned dueling border visits to texas on thursday of this week. to help with some context around these questions, around immigration and crime, i am joined by a professor of criminology, law, and society at the university of california irvine and co-author of the book "immigration and crime, taking stock." our thoughts are obviously with

the family of riley and her friends. i senseless loss of the young woman's life. authorities revealed her death was due to blunt-force trauma and the man we know accused is an undocumented immigrant. what did you make of the larger conversation around those facts right now? >> when i heard about this tragic event, my heart went out immediately. that is the first reaction i had. the second one is uh-oh, i hope this is not used as this -- this awful event is not used for political advantage and that appears that is what's essentially happening. we see tragic events become a sparking point for really restrictive policies aimed at immigrants. amna: i know in your work, you look exactly at this issue. going back even to the early 1900s, about the intersection of crime and immigration. oddly speaking, what have you learned? >> there has been so much

research that has been done on how immigration and crime are related, both among immigrants. are they more crime prone and does immigration to an area because crime to go up or down? more recently, there has been an exposure of this area because of public perception and interest. what is pretty amazing is across all this research by a large that immigrants do not engage in more crime than nativeborn counterparts and immigration can cause crime to go down rather than up. amna: does any of your research examine any differences between an undocumented immigrant and those that are legally here? >> that has become an increasingly important question. there are a handful of studies that have begun to do this using pretty sophisticated estimated techniques to identify the number of undocumented individuals and what those studies find is there is no

impact among undocumented immigrants. they are not engaging in more crime contrary to the public perception and it does not correlate with higher crime am a particularly violence. amna: we are hearing this argument that if this man had not been allowed to enter into the u.s., if he had not been allowed to stay, he could not have committed this crime and this young woman would still be alive today. are people making that argument wrong? >> it is not that that argument is wrong because essentially that is true, but i think it is misplaced because of the end of the day, if we really do want to cut down on crime in general, absent this one horrific incident, making restrictive exclusionary and harsh policies aimed at immigrants is really not going to yield the benefits of reductions in crime that many people believe, largely because as i just mentioned, immigrants

are not the ones engaging in crime. i would point out there has been a lot of instances of violence on campus with young individuals getting killed. tragic events, most of which are occurring by nativeborn americans. so, i think we need to pay attention to broader factors that contribute to this kind of senseless violence rather than simply aiming our targets at immigrants. amna: that leap from the crime of one person catalyzing to fear of an entire group or population, we don't really see that with nativeborn americans or white americans more broadly. is that something unique to immigrant populations? >> that is the interesting thing. i have never seen a headline that has read nativeborn american has engaged in this crime or that crime. what happens is most of the stories identify a person's immigrant status and link it with crime in headlines, social media, the news. that essentially reinforces the

public perception that both go hand-in-hand, when in fact, the data shows the opposite. it is an uphill battle in terms of public perception. amna: what should we expect to see in the months ahead? we are in an election year. immigration is a top issue for voters around the country. do you expect this conversation to continue at this kind of heated level? >> i think it will unfortunately for the exact reasons i mentioned early on which is this is an opportunity, an awful opportunity to seize on a political advantage. what i hope happens is that we identify places where we can improve things when it comes to immigration, but also do so in a way that makes smart policy, policy that will help things more broadly rather than simply use a scapegoat moment to make more restrictive policies that are not going to do much in the end for crime. amna: professor, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you.

geoff: now for a rare view of the israel-hamas war from an israeli infantryman. sam sank is a british-israeli whose period of service has just ended. in normal life, he works in information technology. for his months of fighting in gaza, he carried a small video camera, and special correspondent malcolm brabant sat down with him in london. malcolm: this is the video diary of the soldier behind the officer on the point. >> together with my brothers in arms, we're part of history. this will probably be a very significant event in history of the middle east, let alone israel. malcolm: master sergeant sam sank. >> it's also good for the world to see as well. and it shows, you know, the true experience of a soldier on the front line and maybe shows a

different side to what one sees through propaganda or social media as soldiers. and actually, as you can see now, i'm a real person with real emotion and real thoughts. yesterday was awful. this place stinks. the smell of dead bodies everywhere. not a great start. malcolm: sam sank went to war on october 7, immediately after the terrorist attack by hamas. after training in northern israel with his company or pluga, sank entered gaza several weeks into the conflict. >> we have just entered gaza. malcolm: and spent nearly two months there. >> here we go. here we go. yesterday was a really, really bad day.

two guys got injured, one quite seriously. was in helicopter to the hospital. both were shot in the back. malcolm: as second in command of his platoon, sank ventures forward to examine the entrance to a hamas tunnel beneath khan younis, once home to a quarter of a million palestinians. >> gaza is arguably one of the most dense places in the world, and hamas has decided to use that as a battlefield and to use human shields to protect themselves and to put all the civilians above the ground and all the ammunition and terrorists below the ground. rats. a few israeli soldiers were killed at that specific spot. so after weeks of fighting, we were able to locate the tunnel entrances.

malcolm: people who are watching that might think that you are cheering palestinians' homes being blown up. >> so, the context of that video is the tunnel being destroyed. and for us, it was a sense of achievement knowing that we had killed hamas terrorists that were still hiding underneath. and we had eliminated a big threat to our soldiers' lives. we're in central khan younis, east-central khan younis, in a new house, sitting here on guard duty with my main man, lesham. here you can see it's close to big mosque, very urban area. this is going to be our new home for the next few days. malcolm: sank's war is over. he's returned to his civilian job in i.t., and now has time to reflect. how can you justify all those thousands of women and children being killed during this conflict?

>> i don't think i can justify the numbers, but i can explain why that's happened. we are dealing with an organization that has decided to put civilians at the forefront of their bases, of their battlefield. welcome to southern khan younis. we're in a house. look at the lovely jerusalem decorations on the wall. arrived here yesterday. crazy, crazy dissonance. coming in to a more urban area like this was insane at night, seeing, going through the city, seeing destroyed buildings. malcolm: do you think there might have been a better way of fighting this war to to really

more accurately target those people who were responsible for starting it? >> i think if there was a better way of doing it, then it would have been done, because i trust in strategic command of the idf and israel to make the best decision, to protect its soldiers and to protect the palestinian civilians as much as possible. malcolm: do you feel as though israel has fallen into a trap created by hamas, because they knew that israel would come in and in the end, if it kept going, would end up perhaps losing world opinion? >> yes, for sure. hamas set the trap up. it's the ploy of hamas and other terrorist palestinian organizations have been using for many years. unfortunately, israel doesn't have a choice and has to move into that trap. because if, again, we want to defeat the enemy, destroy the terrorists, and bring our people back, we have to go into gaza.

the world, as i see it, will always be against israel in this conflict. antisemitism that exists. his is just our generation's persecution of jews. hopefully will be a couple quiet days before we're eventually supposed to leave. final shabbat in gaza. can't wait to go home. can't believe how long it's been. i am just counting down the hours. literally. everyone's making fun of me. i'm counting down the hours, but i'm desperate for this to be over. just want to get back to normal life. malcolm: do you think you could ever live side by side with palestinians? >> 100%. you look at conflicts that have existed over the history of the world. people that hated each other with a passion and are now living together in peace. whether i think it will be a happy peace, maybe not. but even a cold peace is better than what exists today. and yes, i truly believe it can happen.

and if the palestinians love their children more than they hate us, there will be peace. if they start celebrating life rather than celebrating death, there will be peace. malcolm: for now, such a peace remains in the realm of dreams, despite suggestions that progress is being made. for the "pbs newshour," i'm malcolm brabant. ♪ amna: cities worldwide are overcrowded, overpriced, and a source of global warming. the dream? build a livable, affordable, eco-friendly community. paul solman went to california to see the plans for one of those big dreams. but, there's plenty of skepticism about that vision and the developers behind it. >> it will be home to 9 million residents. paul: want a brand-new dream city built?

how about "the line" in saudi arabia? >> the line is 500 meters tall, 200 meters wide. paul: no cars, no carbon emissions, designed to host a population of nine million. well, maybe someday, maybe not. but a lot closer to home, and perhaps to reality, there's now "california forever," a planned cutting-edge community that has gobbled up 60,000 acres of farmland in solano county, an hour north of san francisco. >> we are building a new community in the bayrea. that is going to make it possible for a new generation of californians to realize the california dream the way that prior generations have been able to do it. >> this is the footprint they're presenting. paul: here's how the new community depicts itself in the plans shown to ronald kott, mayor of rio vista, population 10,000, which borders the 60,000 acres. >> surrounding communities come

here, do all the restaurants and shopping. everything is walkable. paul: housing for 50,000 to start, as many as 400,000 people eventually, with condos far cheaper than anything you can get in and around san francisco. 18,000 acres for the town. another 21,000 for a solar farm to power it, with energy to spare. >> we're in the heart of the new community. this would be medium density urban-form blocks of housing. and our downtown will be just a little bit this way from where we're standing today. paul: bronson johnson of california forever. >> when you're starting from scratch and you're building new water recovery plants and new energy plants, this can be entirely renewable and a sustainable model for the rest of the world. paul: in order to expand the project eventually, the group has made a series of legally binding promises to create 15,000 new jobs, spend $30 million to protect local

ecosystems, and allocate $400 million for housing assistance. >> homes that families can afford and safe and walkable neighborhoods. paul: moreover -- >> it gives people a chance to build generational wealth. paul: a historical problem for black people, says local real estate agent princess palmer. >> the down payment and the closing costs prevent people from being able to buy here in california. so, that would be an amazing opportunity that you just don't see right now in california. paul: local alix pate likes the project for a different reason. >> i have small children, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, and i have these concerns of where will they live and is there going to be housing for them when they are ready to buy? paul: so, the project seems pretty unobjectionable, right? of course not. there've been objections galore. like at this town hall meeting. >> how do you expect anyone in the county to believe what you are saying? paul: for years, a firm known

only as flannery associates quietly amassed tens of thousands of acres in solano county. no one knew why. only last august did "the new york times" report that flannery was backed by silicon valley billionaires, which ceo sramek now acknowledges. >> our investors are a group of californians who've decided to double down on the state. and so, they include laurene powell jobs, john dore, michael moritz, marc andreessen and the venture fund, andreessen horowitz. paul: and sramek only first appeared before locals in november. locals didn't like the secrecy and also worried about the strains that come with development, like water depletion. >> every drop of water in this county is taken. paul: catherine moy, mayor of fairfield, abutting the project. >> they do have some water that they havfrom the land that they bought. it's not enough for a city. it's not enough for that. so, they say they're going to buy water from elsewhere. ok, well, i bet they might, but

i don't think it's going to be enough. paul: but, says ceo sramek -- >> we have a water guarantee. for every single building we build, whether it's an office building or a manufacturing facility or a home, we have to prove that we have enough water for many, many decades, including through drought periods. >> this is my grandfather, one of his pals. paul: a little ways down the highway, rancher kathleen threlfall now tends the property purchased by her great-grandparents. >> when i come down the road, it is what everyone in the world wants. it is like the whole relaxation experience. i'm home and this is my place. paul: how long are you going to stay here? >> probably until i drop off the tractor or something. paul: so, offers to buy her 243 acres starting at $2 million now up to $4.5 million were non-starters. >> they have tried to buy my land. i have said no.

paul: why? >> why? this is my spot. paul: there's the phrase we all know nimby, not in my backyard. >> i hate the idea of being a nimby, i really do. paul: well, that's what you are. >> that's what i am. that's what i am in this case. yeah. in this case, i'm saying, this is not a good idea in this particular place at this time. >> i don't like being called a nimby either. paul: again, mayor moy. >> i'm just a person who grew up here. love this area and this is upending all of that. paul: there's one other big issue, the lawsuit. >> we have spent more on this lawsuit than what it would cost to get our kids through school. paul: that's a half-a-billion dollar suit against landowners who refuse to sell, claiming they colluded to inflate the

price. ian and margaret anderson and even distant family members have been forced to defend themselves. >> they just pulled those family members in as well, i think, just as a strong arm tactic to frighten people to sell their land. paul: the ceo's version -- >> we made an offer to the andersons. they made a counter offer where they asked for a very high price. we said no, thank you. we don't want to buy the property at that price. and the lawsuit alleges that s price-fixing conspiracy in order to force us to pay the higher price. paul: have you guys been colluding with other people to jack up the price? >> i've been a farmer in this area for 67 years, and i've never done any colluding in that realm in any way, shape or form. paul: as to the discussion of selling, given the costs of the suit, it was and remains a

painful one. >> it's amazing what a person considers doing when they are being asphyxiated. and that's what we felt was happening. there were many discussions between us about what's the right thing to do? do we do what's right for us and plant our heels? or do we think about the possibility to provide for our son in the future? paul: and to keep the tradition. >> keep the family operation going. paul: there must be a price at which you would sell, no? >> i take a little bit of offense to that because i wake up each morning looking forward to the farm day growing crops. >> i think there are some opportunities for our city. there are some warning signs for our city, too. paul: as mayor, kott is in favor of economic growth.

as a resident who treasures where he lives, not so sure. but in november, he and his fellow citizens of solano county will have to vote on preserving their backyard as is, or or opening it up to others. for the "pbs newshour," paul solman. ♪ geoff: and we'll be back shortly for the story of a woman who helped take down one of america's most notorious mob bosses. amna: but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your suort which helps keep programs like ours on the air. ♪ geoff: for those staying with us, in the 2000 years since the chinese invented paper and paper

cutting, artists around the world have developed their own unique styles. earlier this year, special correspondent cat wise visited an artist whose work is inspired by the natural beauty and people of the pacific northwest. cat: every morning, artist and author nikki takes a long walk in the woods surrounding her home in olympia, washington. she feeds the birds and wildlife that dwell here and spend some time on the beach just steps from her front door. inspiration for her art is everywhere. >> by the time i have taken that walk, a story will have shown itself to me and i sit down and i work. cat: she begins with a sketch which she transfers the black paper and then begins to work her magic with her knife. cut by tiny cut for nearly 30 years. she has revealed the world she

sees and the creatures in it. she's the author and illustrator of 15 books, and she has collaborated on several more, including the new york times bestseller "all in a day." she also sells original paper cut art. prints and a yearly calendar. her deep connection to nature and her surroundings can be traced to early years in olympia when she studied natural history of the evergreens state college. >> i just kept drawing and drawing every stick, every insect, every bird. it focused and trained my eye to see details. then, train my hand to draw those details. cat: for a time, she 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 nirvana.

>> i moved into the house and kurt lived behind and i shared the wall. i could hear him playing songs through the wall. seeing them play, there was a strong connection in this house. cat: after deciding to become a full-time artist, she began experimenting with paper cutting. she self published her first book for children in 1996. >> i found that making art was a more calming way to communicate. i am singing my song still, but a child in a lap at a home, that is where i want to sing my songs. they call these exact-o knives, but they are not really exact. they have a mind of their own sometimes. there was one morning where i was swimming and i had my arms in front of me.

the way the water was making my arms was that 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. what i really like about this process is there are so many mistakes made. cat: really? >> and that you are making mistakes all the time in in the sense of, oh, that didn't quite work out what you keep going. really, it is 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 with her husband, a woodworker in olympia. >> such a remarkable gift to participate in this life as a developed and formed and grew. started asking questions, like mama, is it summer yet?

mama, is it summer yet? not yet my little one but the bugs are swelling. so new leaves will unfold. mama, is it summer yet? not yet, my little one, but the squirrel is building her nest. soon, her babies will be born. cat: "in what will these hands make," she highlights a family and her community as they prepare for a celebration. >> this is the center map from the book. it basically tells the story of this family. here they are right here. they are going from grandma's house all the way across town to this cake because there's going to be a big party at grandma's house later. cat: the community filled with people who make things with her hands. >> here's my friend's pottery studio. cat: it is fictional but many of the characters and businesses are inspired by our mutual hometown, olympia. >> sometimes i row into town and

i would go over to the bookstore here. cat: the real browsers bookshop is one of the local businesses she hand delivers her calendars to each year. cat: 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. 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 revealed through her art. >> last month's calendar was an image of her son's boat sailing away, because her son was going to college. he's 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 is a sense of place and to calm down and to slow down. just take a moment.

our lives are so fast. everything is 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 working on illustrations for a new book, which will be released in march. for the pbs newshour, i'm cat wise in olympia, washington. ♪ amna: and now, the story of an african-american woman who helped take down one of america's most notorious mob bosses. john yang has this report at originally aired on "pbs news weekend" as part of our black history month series, hidden histories.

john: eunice carter always understood the power of public service. when she was seven years old, her parents, both social activists, fled the south after the 1906 atlanta race riots, moving the family to brooklyn, new york. >> she was ahead of her time. john: shakala alvaranga is the director of public programs at the mob museum in las vegas. >> her father, william hunton sr., founded the black division of the ymca. and her mother was a social worker, an activist and a political organizer. and she also worked for the ymca, its war efforts during world war i. and she was one of the women assigned to work with about 200,000 segregated black troops who were stationed in france at the time. so, her family history holds a lot of depth and a lot of

history when it comes to civil rights. >> so this is the example that carter is growing up in, and this is who she looks to for inspiration. john: jermaine fowler is the author of "the humanity achievements of black americans that history books have long ignored. her family also made sure she got a good education? >> she went to smith college. she was only the second black woman to receive a bachelor and a master's degree in four years. in 1921, she entered fordham law school as the first black woman to graduate from that school. john: she became an assistant district attorney, mostly working in what was then called women's court, prosecuting sex workers. her talents came to the attention of thomas e. dewey, then beginning his rise to national prominence as a new york state special prosecutor going after organized crime. carter joined his otherwise all-white, all-male team. >> they, you know, kind of had this unconventional relationship. but, dewey clearly knew how

talented and how educated eunice carter was. she was out in the community and a lot of people were talking to her. and, you know, they may have not felt as comfortable talking to the men about, you know, what they were doing. john: she was paid less than her male counterparts and passed over for promotions, but her experience in women's court gave her knowledge they didn't have. >> she noticed that women being arrested for prostitution from all over new york city were being represented by the same lawyers and the same bail bondsman. john: she meticulously followed the connections back to the reigning boss of mafia bosses, charles "lucky" luciano. >> luciano is this very savvy businessman, but he's also a ruthless mafioso. what we know of as the mafia today was started by luciano, who consolidated these blood feud and gangster families during the prohibition era into one centrally supervised

criminal syndicate. >> after months of interviewing and wiretapping, carter and her colleague at the time, they convinced dewey that organized crime essentially controlled the brothels. they would pocket about $40 of their $200 weekly earnings, and in contrast, luciano earned millions every year. john: carter spearheaded an investigation that included raids on brothels across new york city. the evidence gathered led to luciano's 1936 conviction on more than 60 counts of forced prostitution. he was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. this episode really helped establish thomas dewey nationwide. he ran for political office. he was a presidential candidate. how much credit did eunice carter get in all of this? >> we kind of see her overlooked. and it's really just within the last few years that we're recovering her legacy and her contributions to this case and

this grand place that she holds in american history in terms of prosecution and going against organized crime. john: after leaving the government, carter entered private practice. she was active in the ywca, the naacp, and was an advisor to the united nations. but it was her work in the luciano case, helping get justice for the women he abused, that cemented carter's legacy and earned her the title "lady racketbuster." >> she was able to really hone in and really put this case together in a way that only she could do. ♪ geoff: join us again here tomorrow night when we'll have a look at how some governors are trying to solve their states' problems at a time of intense political polarization.

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 -- >> consumer cellular, how may i help you? this is a pocket dial. well, i thought i would let you know that with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that's kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪

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. -funding for "armenia, my home," was provided by... and from these foundations and individuals. ♪