♪ geoff: good evening. amna: on the newshour tonight, the european unions top diplomats on global efforts to get more aid into gaza and to support ukraine. geoff: a settlement allows

florida teachers and students to talk about lgbtq+ issues. amna: and the pregnancy struggles about the is really survivors of october 7 and gazans under siege. >> i'm so exhausted. i cannot walk or get up to feed him or hold him. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ ♪ ♪

>> leading our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. announcer: the kendeda fund committed to restoring meaningful justice through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at candidafund.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. ♪ ♪

announcer: this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. chuck schumer is taking on israel's far right government over the war in gaza. amna: the highest-ranking jewish elected official in the united states delivered a scathing speech charging that prime minister netanyahu has lost his way in the military drive to crush hamas. chuck schumer said that in yahoo! and is government are an obstacle to peace and israel needed new elections. >> the netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of israel after october 7. the world has changed radically since then.

and the israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past. amna: netanyahu's political party shot back that israel is not a banana republic and that it's more a policy has wide public support. in gaza palestinian official said and aid warehouse was hit by an israeli airstrike killing eight people. the palestinian authority is getting a new prime minister but the choice may not satisfy u.s. calls for reforms leading to a palestinian state. the president named an economist to the post. he is a longtime ally to the president and whether he will undertake real change is unclear. a federal judge in florida has rejected former's motion to diskless -- to dismiss the classified documents case against him. stir trump is accused of illegally soaring -- storing

sensitive documents. the law is vaguely worded according to mr. trump. prosecutors disputed those claims and said mr. trump urged others to lie and cover-up. president biden came out today against a planned sale of a u.s. deal to a japanese firm saying it would harm american workers. i came as he came a campaign visit to saginaw, michigan aimed at raising support among black and union supporters. the vice president stopped in a clinic that offers abortion services. former donald trump treasury steven mnuchin has announced he is organizing a group of investors to buy tiktok. this comes after the house voted to ban on the app in the u.s. unless it cuts ties with its chinese owned parent company. they did not say who might be in

that investor group. in japan a higher -- a high court ruled that denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. the court has no power to overturn existing laws but it urged the government to do so. crowds in tokyo cheered and hailed the decision as a step towards equality but plaintiffs called it only a partial victory. >> i still think that we are so far behind other countries. we cannot be compared to them. it feels like japan is the only country that is not changing. though our society is changing, japan alone has not changed at all. amna: japan is the only member of the g-7 industrial democracies that does not have legal protections for same-sex unions. the elon musk company spacex reached a kind of milestone with the third test of its giant starship rocket but luck did not last. the unmanned spacecraft blasted

off from texas and had a flawless flight for about an hour. the rocket was destroyed as it headed for a splash down in the indian ocean. two previous tests ended in explosions after left off. on wall street, stocks lower. the dow jones industrial average lost 137 points. the nasdaq fell 49 points. and a passing of note. the leading civil rights activist of the 1960's, dorian ladner died in washington. she began fighting for justice as a teenager in her home state of mississippi. she was involved in every civil rights protest of the 1960's. she was 81 years old. still to come, outrage and concern over the treatment of black women in higher education. how quantum computing could help us understand more about the universe and beyond.

the mother of a slain journalist, james foley, discusses her new book out on her son and much more. ♪ l.a. this is the pbs newshour from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: the biden administration is struggling to find solutions to to foreign policy struggles. in each case it is working with the european union whose foreign policy chief is visiting washington. nick schifrin sat down with him today. reporter: we are joined by the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy for the european union. thank you and welcome back. let me start with israel and gaza. today, the senate majority leader, chuck schumer, made a speech saying that the israeli

prime minister has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in gaza which is pushing support for israel worldwide to historic lows. do you agree? >> well, i perceive a change in the mood of the public opinion in the u.s. with respect to what is happening in gaza. more and more people are feeling concerned with what, i certainly can call a massacre with 30,000 people killed. president biden and the vice president have been saying too many, certainly. and it is not just in the u.s., it is true that the whole world is concerned about what is happening there. reporter: the criticism of the majority leader was almost personnel to the prime minister. do you agree with his criticism of netanyahu? >> we at the european union have

priorities and one would be to look for a two state solution and give the palestinians the right to have their own land. we would prefer to have a leader that could be compatible with this approach. reporter: that sounds like you do not think that netanyahu is compatible with that approach? >> he has been saying that he is opposed to that solution. reporter: this week you told the security council that israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. >> there is starvation in gaza. there are 1000 people starving literally and among them many children and they are dying. why is there starvation? it is not enough humanitarian support entering to help these people. and why?

because israel is controlling the border and not leading in humanitarian support. so it is a logical consequence. you prevent humanitarian support from coming and people are starving. it is a logical cause and effect. reporter: but accusing them of using them as a weapon of war suggests they are doing so's purposefully. israel has said there is no restriction on the amount of aid coming in and they blame united nations. >> i don't think so. reporter: what is your evidence? >> there is a lot of evidence that the controls at the border prevent the support from coming in. i don't think israel can say they are doing everything to allow support coming into gaza. reporter: in the same speech where you accused israel as using food as a weapon of war, you did not call on hamas to lay

down weapons. >> come on, i say that every time. i say that the freedom of the hostages is a must. i have been saying and repeating and i don't care to say it again. hamas is considered a terrorist organization. they launched an attack that is completely unacceptable. and the hostages have to be freed. reporter: let's switch to ukraine. have you spoken to the speaker of the house, mike johnson to urge him to allow for a vote for the $60 billion military and economic aid support package for ukraine stalled in the house? >> not with the speaker of the house but i had the opportunity to speak with some members of the house on the republican side. and i tried to explain to him and ask him to explain to his colleagues -- just imagine what

could be the consequences of a blockage of american support to ukraine. just imagine tanks breaking the defense lines of ukraine. having to put a puppet government in ukraine. putting the people under an authoritarian regime and we know how that works. putting the russian army at the border of poland and the baltics. though security costs for -- the security costs for us europeans and for the u.s. of a russian victory in ukraine is so great and unbearable that i urge everyone to understand that the support to ukraine has to continue and not just for generosity for the people defending themselves from an invasion but also in our own interests. reporter: can the european union

provide military aid to ukraine that is in enough quantity to replace american military assistance? >> from the military point of view, no. you have been a stronger supporter because you have a greater capacity. no one can compete. and certainly, if you could stop doing that, no one else can take your place. reporter: there are already questions in europe about u.s. reliability. i have been told there is military planning in germany if the u.s. withdraws from nato. there are even people talking about the u.k. offering a nuclear guaranteed to europe. >> there is no alternative for nato to ensure europe of the territorial threat that russia presents -- russia represents. at the same time there is a growing feeling among europeans that we have to develop more of

our own capacities just in case. just in case in the future we should take more responsibility from our side. and this is not a bad deal. i think this war has represented a wake up for european strategic thinking. there is a general feeling among europeans that we live in a challenging world and we make peace on mung us but that is not a rule. reporter: and is it not just about the war but also about the republican nominee for the president of the united states donald trump who has questioned whether the u.s., if he was to be reelected would defend nato allies under article five. >> if donald trump is reelected, we will think about donald trump up for the time being we think about biden. reporter: thank you very much. ♪

geoff: students and teachers in florida can now discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in a classroom setting as long as it is not part of formal instruction. that is an important change part of a new settlement reached between state education officials and civil rights officials. here is stephanie sy. reporter: this may be a state law but it has reached beyond florida with other conservative states inspired by the prohibitions. what the law has meant in florida is teachers even afraid to use the words day or transgender when speaking to students outside the classroom or even celebrating their own identity or support of the lgbtq community with rainbow stickers. but with this settlement some of those concerns may be put to rest. joe saunders with equality florida told us this --

>> there is no question that following the settlement, students, teachers, parents of lgbtq students and lgbtq parents can say gay, can be gay, can be trans in florida's public school systems and not be afraid of the bullying and the weaponization of this law to lead to sweeping censorship. reporter: however, the law was not repealed and still for bids specific class correctly him dealing with -- curriculum dealing with lgbtq topics and the governor called the settlement a major win. i am joined by danielle pryor, an education reporter with the npr affiliate in orlando. thank you for joining the newshour. help us understand what this settlement changed. i understand the text of the law was altered. >> it actually clarified the

language of the law. the law was vague. moving forward as we heard in your clip, parents and teachers and students will be able to speak freely and write freely about gender identity and sexuality in classroom discussions, on essays and on projects. kids can read books again with gay characters, teachers can have gay state alliances and other lgbtq clubs at schools. it really gutted large parts of the law and clarified its. reporter: but the law remains in effect. what restrictions are still in place? >> the law still bans outright instruction about gender identity and sexuality in florida. that would include a class or a book or even a unit in a section of a textbook that would instruct people in any way about gender identity and sexuality. the law is still in effect as

well as a lot of the policies that were inspired by the law. like banding ap african-american history because there was a queer theory unit or making it so that sociology is no longer a core curriculum course for undergrads because it talked about human sexuality. so a lot of the law and the policies around the law are still very much in effect in florida. reporter: it seems both sides of this, lgbt q advocates as well as the governor seem to view this as a good thing. how do you figure that? >> basically, the law is not overturned and not repealed. it is still very much in effect which is a win for the governor and his party. this was a big win for his conservative base when it was passed. it is also a big win for lgbt q advocates, oaks that have lived under this law for two years and were afraid to be out publicly and a school system fearing what

might happen. this is a huge moment for the state of florida. reporter: you have been reporting on the impacts of this law. the impacts on kids and families who identify as lgbtq. what has it been like for them since the law passed? how did they react to the settlement? >> i've spoken to many, whether they are a student or teacher who are gay who felt they could not be gay. they felt they had to be in the closet or go back in the closet. they felt hurt and sad by the fact that a big part of their identity was something that was somehow not appropriate enough to have in order to schools. this is such a win and such a celebratory time and celebration for them. i spoke with several plaintiffs that were on the lawsuit that resulted in the settlement and they said their 10-year-old son

just said -- wow, does this mean that we can finally say gay? and look what we did this is a big moment for lgbtq people throughout florida. reporter: other conservative states used this florida law as a template for their own prohibitions. when it comes to florida, where does it go from here in terms of legislature that would impact their citizens? >> our last legislative session ended on friday and our strongest anti-lgbtq bills died in session. there is a trend we are seeing that this anti-lgbtq push that was so strong before is weakening in florida. i know a lot of the plaintiffs on the lawsuit and people that were a part of the settlement really hope people and other states are paying close attention because they say -- look what we were able to accomplish. there were protests at local high schools when the bill

became a law and obviously, the lawsuit itself shows that sometimes when you speak up and fight for a long time that things can change. they hope to inspire other people in states that still have strong anti-lgbtq laws in place and floridatself still has a lot of those laws in place. pings like a ban on gender affirming care. -- things like a ban on gender affirming care. we will have to see the ripple effect. reporter: danielle, thank you for your reporting. ♪ ♪ amna: of the many horrors endured by palestinians and israelis since the hamas attacks of october 7, perhaps none are more than -- are more acute than those of expectant mothers.

our special correspondent has been charting the progress of their pain, pregnancies, sorrows and joys. she brings us their stories now. reporter: each day in gaza, mothers search desperately for food for their children. by night, as israeli airstrikes pound the strip, they play -- they pray the children will live to see the morning. expectant mothers feared their babies will be worn at all. an estimated 50,000 women in gaza are pregnant with about 180 babies being born each day. medical staff report newborns being birthed on bloodsoaked floors and dirty bathrooms of overwhelm hospitals and cesarean sections carried out without anesthetic. three months ago she had an emergency c-section after she went into labor while fleeing heavy bombing in north gaza. >> they bombed all of the

hospitals in the north. the bombing was happening over our heads. reporter: her displaced family is living in filthy conditions so the wounds from her cesarean surgery have become infected. with medical stocks almost wiped out, she hopes the doctors will have enough antibiotics left to help her. >> i'm so exhausted. i cannot get up to play a role in my baby's life. reporter: trapped by bombing for weeks, three months pregnant, she finally made it here for a checkup. the doctors have devastating news. there was no heartbeat. and they have not been able to operate to remove the fetus because there are too many critically injured patients they have to treat first. if she has to wait much longer, sepsis could kill her. >> i have known for a month that my baby is dead and they still have not removed it because of

the numbers of people here. i am scared because i have to have an operation without anesthesia. the doctors say i may become poisoned by the failed pregnancy. reporter: nutrition, scarce clean water are leading to a massive rise of premature births and deaths of mothers and newborns. most of gaza's hospitals have collapsed thanks to israel's rial bombardments and the siege cutting off medical supplies and electricity. rafa's hospital is still hanging on. doctors and midwives do what they can to cope. this doctor is a resident pediatrician. >> there is a high percentage of critical cases coming in and a high percentage of death. a lot of women are giving birth prematurely as a result of fear and the war and chaotic

circumstances. after the women go home with their babies they come back a few days later because their babies are dehydrated or they have diarrhea. reporter: she was horrified at the condition she found mothers and children. >> it is unbelievable what is happening here at the hospital. the situation is very desperate. some of the mother's have not made it through giving birth. they require an immediate cease-fire so the fighting can stop so aid agencies can bring them the help they need. reporter: as hamas rockets continue to fall in israel, expectant mothers live in the shadow of the war. she is a midwife. at one of the largest in southern israel. the maternity clinic has been moved into a reinforced concrete shelter after multiple rockets hit the hospital. >> first aid for the women and the babies because anytime we

can hear a siren, we are not in a protected area, we need to run and women after birth with an epidural cannot run. >> maybe we will hear the sirens here. it is very emotional and a very stressful time. reporter: she thought she would not survive to see her second child born or be able to save her first. on october 7 she her husband and their toddler hid for a full day and night as hamas terrorists rampaged through their hometown on the gaza border killing everyone they could find. >> i find it extremely hard to talk about those hours. i sat there waiting for them to kill him. i could barely look at my son

because i understood that his life was about to end. imagine thinking that for 25 hours. reporter: in her second trimester as she grew weaker, she felt sure she would lose the baby. finally they were rescued by idf soldiers the next morning. the high school teacher used to be loyal to her call. now she does not know if she ever will feel safe again. >> everything has changed. i don't care about anyone in gaza anymore. i will not forgive them. when something like that happens, something deep breaks inside you. reporter: she says she will never go back. she has now had a baby boy and hope they will find a new home with what is left of their community. in gaza, displaced multiple

times under daily bombardment, new mothers have no safe to go but barely functioning hospitals haveto keep them. if they are lucky enough to survive a safe birth, they go home to filthy, freezing shelter is living on a day. baby formula has run out. to breast-feed mothers need 16 cups of water a day and gazans are lucky to find two. >> if people do not have sympathy for newborn babies, elderly and children living on the streets, i don't know what to say. reporter: she gave birth an hour ago but she has not been able to hold her baby yet. he is in intensive care. they are both facing life-threatening breathing issues because of the toxic smoke she has been breathing in from the improvised stove they use to keep warm. >> this pregnancy was really

hard on me. there is no food and i have not eaten in a week. reporter: she does not know how she will feed her baby or the other children in her extended family waiting in their tents. >> our kids do not deserve to live any of this, to be thrown into the streets without food, shelter or clothing. the rain and cold pour down on us and we have no place to take shelter and now i have given birth. god save us from what we are living. reporter: the u.n. has called gaza a graveyard for children. nearly 12.5 thousand children have been killed since israel's attack began, more than the total number of children killed in all of the global conflicts in the previous four years combined. mothers, desperate to keep their children safe, can do little but pray for an end to the nightmare. as the brutal war lurches on, hopes for a peaceful future of

palestinian and israeli children look starker than ever. for the pbs newshour, on the israel gaza border. ♪ geoff: the death of an administrator at lincoln university in missouri has sparked outrage and broader concern about their treatment of black women in higher education. antoinette bailey died by suicide in january and left scathing letter is where she alleged a pattern of bullying and harassment at the hands of the university's president. the president is now on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. that came weeks after harvard's president resigned under pressure. all leading to a dialogue about the particular challenges and pressures that black women face. we spoke to a few women about

this and here is part of what they told us. >> i am keisha thomas at the university of alabama at birmingham. >> my name is dr. candace parrish and i am a visiting assistant professor at the university, wilmington. >> my name is shaye crowder and i am an assistant professor with political science at loyola marymount university in los angeles. >> i certainly had not been exposed to a case as tragic as dr. bailey's although for those of us in higher education, especially those of us who are in senior positions or leadership positions, it is often a conversation around the chronic stress that we experience, the burnout that is experienced but also the isolation that has followed us

for our entire careers. >> i was very sad that it had gone so far and that she felt she did not have the resources or what she needed to overcome this sort of situation. and it got me thinking about how many more people like myself actually experience these sorts of travesties in academic out. >> i have absolutely experienced micro-aggressions with regard to the intersection of my race and gender. in my entire time and my phd program, there was never another black person above me or below me in american politics. and so it was a very isolating experience. >> i have had those experiences as have my colleagues and it is not simply within our career, it starts in college and graduate school and some of us even

earlier. and so, many of us see our education as an investment in our future and the futures of our families. >> in my phd program, it was a very tough experience in which there were several periods in which i almost quit. there was a lack of support and people in charge of my academic estimate as a phd student were manipulating things to go against my favor. >> with everything happening in the world right now, when there are four needed efforts on the part of individuals and institutions to attack the credibility of your academic work and it is always something that brings anxiety is, it can be particularly distressing. >> some of what we have talked about today, i have heard similar complaints from colleagues in law and medicine and industries across the board. i think higher education is

different because often times we are so severely underrepresented. >> i have actually stopped representing academic as a valid job and community position to young people who want to pursue phd's in teaching. i cannot vouch for their experiences knowing the horrible things that i have gone through and how much emotional time and space it has taken. geoff: let's talk more about the particular stresses that black women in the academic world face. the codirector of the life disparities lab at the university of texas at austin is with us. two consistent themes we heard from the professors, the sense of isolation and lack of support. how does that square with what you found in your own research? >> that is commensurate with what we are finding and the work we are doing right now of

collecting data on black women and -- in faculty on the tenured track. they experience isolation, feeling they are left out, networks are not available to them but to their colleagues and they have experiences of the lack of support and that is something that we are seeing in the work you're doing. geoff: we should say that academics can be a high-pressure, tense, some might say a toxic environment no matter one's background. what particular pressures do black women face in higher education? >> this speaks to what the women in the interviews were saying -- we tend to be underrepresented. we make up 3.7% of overall tenured track faculty in the united states. when we think about the high-pressure of the positions of being faculty members, this means that on top of being

researchers, successful teachers, we are also in a space where people might not even recognize that we are the only's. and that our experience is unique and we are more likely to experience racism and sexism and the intersection of those things and we are more likely to be cut out of networks because we don't fit because we are so underrepresented. there is a litany of different situations that make our experience as black women unique in these stressful conditions that we face as senior track faculty or faculty in higher education. geoff: what do viable solutions look like at this point? >> viable solutions would be, one, identifying the stressors that black women are facing and mitigate the situations they are in, protections for women experiencing racism, harassment and discrimination in the spaces and recognizing the fact that we

come from a historically disadvantaged group and are underrepresented. this means that in these spaces we are experiencing a lot of these kinds of stressors without the kinds of protections that we would like to see more of moving forward. geoff: how has the conservative crackdown on dei initiatives, how has that affected the effort to attract and retain black women in higher education? >> we are still in the nascent stages of this but i would say it is something that will continue to have a chilling effect on the ability to recruit and retain black women in academics. as was mentioned, can you advise women to go -- black women to go into these spaces when we are being publicly singled out and discredited and now without the kind of protections of dei,

which was, as a system, was there to help with increasing diversity and inclusion overall, bn gone, this means this could be a complicated situation for black women to be in without having the protections that might've been put forward by dei previously. geoff: we appreciate your insights and your time this evening. thank you. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: scientists, researchers at some big companies are eager to jump start the next generation of computing. one that will be more sophisticated and dependent on understanding the subatomic nature of the universe. it is a huge challenge to take this quantum leap forward. our science correspondent has more. reporter: it is a chandelier

that may soon shed light on the true nature of nature. a quantum computer designed to understand the rules of the physical world to find new ways to cure diseases, stop pandemics, develop renewable energy and tackle the climate emergency. >> if we want to understand nature, let's build a machine that works like nature. reporter: he is a senior vice president and the director of ibm research in yorktown heights, new york. computers today operate in the binary language of ones and zeors. fast and capable, sure but they are digital totems of reality. >> no matter how hard we try the best we can do is approximate the complexity of the world. quantum machines are the first acknowledging we have created that allows us to, by mimicking

the behavior of the natural world of quantum physics, to simulate it and understand it better. reporter: these intricate machines are designed to do just that. at the bottom are simulated atomic particles which act in mysterious, nonintuitive ways. the matter in which they spin and interact can greatly increase the capability and efficiency of computers. besides being a potential game changer for solving problems in the natural world, quantum computers may lead to greater optimization and manufacturing, logistics, transportation -- transportation and finance and they have the potential to challenge and revolutionize encryption. >> i believe we are at a revolution of the birth of technology. reporter: he is a professor at the pritzker school of molecular engineering and physics at the

university of chicago. >> i think our classical view of the world and classical modeling of the world has helped us quite a bit. but some of us think about this moving from a world of black and white and a color. reporter: he gave me a tour of his quantum measurement laboratory. what is the goal of the lab? >> we are developing new experimental techniques to be able to look at individual electrons and see how they convey quantum information. reporter: they combine -- and individual atoms and electrons. >> and measure their properties as a way to investigate them. reporter: so you are able to manipulate at the atomic level, you are controlling atoms -- >> with microwaves. reporter: controlling atoms is no small feat. it turns out q bits are very

delicate. >> we are in the google quantum ai lab and we are surrounded by a fleet of quantum computers. reporter: this physicist is a lead engineer for googles quantum computing enterprise in santa barbara, california. >> each one of these are protesting something different. reporter: they look like an espresso maker to keep their finicky q bits happy so they can continue to work on problems. they cannot be disturbed by noise. >> we want to make sure that the thermal noise is well below our quantum signal. we make our systems adder -- out of superconducting --. reporter: which means they have to be kept extremely cold.

simply sending commands to and receiving responses from qbits without disturbing them is a herculean task. >> we are learning about information that is so much more delicate. when we interact with these systems, we can alter it. reporter: the quantum computers that exist today are riddled with errors. researchers deal with this with sophisticated error connect -- correction techniques. but achieving an error-free quantum computer is their goal. >> the summit is to build an error corrected quantum computer. reporter: the race is on to be first and china appears to be a leader. it's announced investment is more than $15 billion. ibm and google don't share the amount they are spending internally on this research and

development but in may of 2023 the companies announced 100 $50 million gift to the universities of chicago and tokyo to try to keep pace with the chinese. >> you are probably standing between the two biggest quantum computers in the world. reporter: in yorktown, -- in yorktown heights, i met jay. the company is rolling out quantum computers that are not perfect but are built with some error correction. >> if we can increase the rate of what we can scale to make improvements, we will be at a point where these will be able to do something we could never do with classical computers. reporter: the company has already deployed more than 75 quantum computers. mostly users are trying to find ways to program these machines. it is entirely different from classical computer coding. >> it is definitely going to be

a huge competition. this is going to be the decade i think that quantum computing emerges as a technology that will be a permanent part of the landscape of the world of computing. but, the race has a connotation that you run something and it ends but i don't see this as ending. reporter: a reason -- researchers say this error-free quantum computing may be a decade away but the goal of solving huge problems with the smallest particles of the universe is alluring enough to quicken their work. for the pbs newshour, yorktown heights, new york. ♪ amna: tomorrow marks 13 years since the beginning of the syrian civil war. what began as a civil uprising

against president assad has now killed half a million people. one group fighting the regime is the islamic state who also targeted journalists. jim foley was an american journalist covering the war when he was kidnapped by isis terrorists in 2012 and publicly beheaded two years later. his murder shocked the world. a decade later his mother tells jim's story and how she came to be a leading advocate for when -- or americans being held hostage abroad. diane foley joins me now. welcome back to the newshour. you have joined us here on the newshour many times to talk about jim and the extraordinary work that you do. what was it that told you you had to pull this together in a book? >> i really think the way we remember where we have been and our challenges going forward is by telling stories. jim was a storyteller.

all that you do, you help us remember what is happening in the world. and jim, it was time. i was feeling like it has been 10 years and some people were children when this happened to jim and we have accomplished a lot as a u.s. government. i'm so grateful for all the good people that stepped up and made it happen and donated. but the challenges are great. i felt it was time to tell the story and learn from it, if you would, and to inspire others to take up the torch. reporter: even as we are sitting here, your eyes flicked over to the photo and jim's face. what is it like for you to see jim's face? >> he was the oldest of our five children, a beloved son and he has challenged me because i failed him. i did and our government failed

him. we failed. we failed these young americans, not just jim but also steve and peter as well as luke summers and others killed in the same timeframe. so we failed and we are learning. president obama set up the hostage fusion ce that still exists. we have a brilliant current hostage special envoy at the state department. more than 100 people have come home since 2014. a lot of good things to celebrate. but, the challenge remains. more countries are targeting our citizens and we are very challenged as the foley foundation as is our government to handle it all. reporter: you open this book at an astonishing moment which is when you sit down in the same room across the table from one

of the men that kidnapped your son and tortured him and pled guilty to the role he played in your son's death and one of the first things you say to him as you sit down is, good morning, you can call me diane. what made you want to sit down and talk to him? >> a lot of things. jim would've talked to him. jim would've wanted to hear him out. he worked with a lot of disenfranchised people like alexander who was so vulnerable to the radical issues but i also as a mom wanted to tell who jim was and i wanted him to be seen as a human being that made horrific choices. and it was good. it was good. i was grateful. god gave me the strength to do it. reporter: you write about yourself and your husband john and you say it is incredible what you don't know about your own child. maybe it is the same for every

parent but it struck us years later that we did not know him that well, not in his entirety, not until after he was gone. what did you learn about your son? >> jim was our oldest. we had four others so i was quite busy with the younger ones and working part-time. i love my work as a nurse practitioner. when jim came home, he wanted to interview us and know how we were and what was going on. and really did not share a lot about what he was up to. he really didn't share a lot. and it was really only after his death that i realized how many people he touched. how many lives he meant toward. i had no clue because jim never talked about it. reporter: you mentioned the foundation that now carries his name, the james foley

foundation. you have already changed how the u.s. government handles hostage affairs and you advocate for the hostages are broad. i see how hard you work and others that know the work see how your family has asked you to slow down. what keeps you so devoted and so dedicated and moving forward every day? >> i am challenged by the needs that continue. we have improved as a government but we have a long way to go. we have nationstates that are targeting our citizens. and wrongfully arresting them. we have to figure out how to deter this practice. we must. a lot of people are still suffering. and it is still hard to get the attention for fun -- for some of these families even with the wrongful detention practice. it is rather opaque.

we are struggling to work with the government to help people understand where they are in the process and what is possible for the government and what is not to. what we need third-party experts to help with. our government cannot do everything. it is partly our role, trying to help families figure out how to get the attention they need to bring their loved one home. reporter: what do you think jim would think of the work you are doing today? >> i think he would be doing some of it, to be honest, i -- although i don't think he would leave his beloved journalism. he believed in the power of journalism. and he believed we had to be in conflict zones and bear witness. he really believed in that. so i think he would be doing what he was doing and i think he would want someone to be advocating for those that are targeted and held hostage. reporter: the book is "american

mother" cowritten by collin and diane foley. it is always a pleasure to have you here. >> thank you so much. ♪ geoff: join us again tomorrow night for the exclusive interview with the department of homeland security secretary. that is the newshour for tonight. amna: on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. announcer: 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 enormous horrifying and the peter and judy foundation.

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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. visit ncicap.org] >> i am terribly excited to be the anchor of pbs news weekend. we have become known for independent, fact-based reporting. we are challenging to understand the world better. we present all sides of the story and take the time to put them in context. when viewers watch pbs news weekend, i hope they come away informed with a different perspective perhaps of what they thought before. ♪ ♪

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♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. >> when russian troops advance and its guns fire, ukraine does not have enough ammunition to fire back. >> time is running out in ukraine. defense expert dara massicot