Skip to main content

tv   PBS News Hour  PBS  March 22, 2024 6:00pm-7:00pm PDT

6:00 pm
>> good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: a i'm geoff ben net. the congress works to stop a
6:01 pm
government shutdown. amna: and kate talks about cancer. geoff: and republicans and democrats voicing concerns. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the "newshour" including jim and nancy doveman and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. >> along the legend legendary mississippi river, travelers explore battlefields and towns. aboard our fleet, you can experience local culture and
6:02 pm
cuisine and discover the history of the mighty mississippi. aerican cruise lines. proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> the john s. and james alnight foundation foster informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour." this program was made possible by the corporation of public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour"
6:03 pm
the federal government is hours away from partially shutting down as capitol hill scrambles to finalize it's 1.2 trillion spending deal. amna: it could cost the speaker his job. congressional correspondent lisa desjardins is here with more on the deal and why house republicans face the threat of another chaotic leadership surge. we're six hours away. where do things stand? lisa: 70% need funding or they'll shutdown this weekend. they passed that barely today. just five or six votes to spear. the senate needs to act. minute to minute decision. and it looks looks like we could get through that midnight hour without this getting to the senate other stoppers confirming -- two sides are not agreeing over amendments that they want to vote on amendments won't pass.
6:04 pm
this is all election year symbolic votes. but they can agree on it. adding to this, susan collins, her mother's funeral is tomorrow in maine. she's never missed a vote. so it's not a factor in what happens, but it is adding to the pressure of all of this. we could very well have a weekend shutdown. amna: you were reporting on the rebellion, the in-fighting among house republicans. speaker johnson is moving forward with this spending. but and one of his republican members is moving to oust him. >> as we were watching that floor vote to see if government would be funded. marjory taylor green the republican from georgia took a small piece of paper over to the hopper. it was a motion to vacate the chair. she says that she is now as they have the right turned new house rules, any member can raise this idea. she says she's not yet invoking
6:05 pm
it. she didn't call for the vote. but she intends to. you can hear the difference between her and other republicans as they came outside after this action. >> i do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and to throw the house in chaos. but this is basically a warning and it's time for us to go through -- through the process, take our time and find a new speaker of the house that will stand with republicans and our republican majority instead of standing with the democrats. >> it's not only idiotic but it actually does not do anything to advance the conservative movement and in fact, it undermines the country and our majority. >> so this again, puts us in a position -- the house has gone on recess. but when they come back, the position will have to deal with the speaker fight. marjory taylor green does not back down. the issue is does she have others back her right now. >> what does this mean going
6:06 pm
forward? >> lao let's look at the votes because things are tight in the house of representatives. when you're looking at the margins it has changed because ken buck has left. we have 213 democratses. that means the majority in the house is 216. johnson can lose just two republicans and keep his speakership with all republicans support or he will have to get support from democrats. i talked to tom swaze. he right away said i will support speaker johnson. there's one democratic vote but other democrats say if we want to support speaker johnson, we want to get something out of it. this will lead to days of instability. one thing is for sure marjory taylor green is going to make a loft money in funding off of this. amna: there was more news, that slim republican majority is about to get slimmer? >> this was such a dramatic
6:07 pm
friday. we had an unexpected piece of news from a very high profile republican member mike gallagher. he was on this program. i believe it was last week talking about the tiktok. but he's a rising star in the pear. 40 years old four-termer. we know he was going leave congress's term. he's leaving mid april. he does not want to be in the house any more. what this means is that narrow majority gets slim. let's look at the same -- slimmer. let's look at the graphic. now, it's down to 217 republicans. johnson could lose just one republican votan house. so on the positive side, they are going to have to work together, democrats and republicans to pass legislation. on the negative side they don't have a good history of being able to do that and it's an election year. speaker johnson is someone who talk about the bible. i hope he read the book of job
6:08 pm
because he's have so many political challenges. we'll see how he does it. amna: lisa desjardins, cover covering a busy capitol hill. lisa, thank you ♪ >> i'm stephanie sigh with "newshour" west. here are the latest headlines. the islamic state group has claimed responsibilities at a rock concert outside moscow. the russian state news agency reports that 60 people were killed. scores more were wounded. video shows the venue on fire before part of the roof collapsed. news accounts said gunmen in combat fatigues fired automatic wents and threw explosives. tonight, they told the "newshour" that the u.s. warned russian authority that is a terror attack was eminent. on tuesday, russian president vladimir putin labeled the warn ago blatant attempt to de
6:09 pm
stabilize russian society. a tense meeting today spotlighted the strains in u.s.-israel relations over the war in gaza. antony blinken spoke with benjamin netanya netanyahu. but he he insist on invaded rafa. >> i told him that i greatly appreciate that we've been standing together in the war. but i also said we have no way to defeat hamas without going into rafa. and i told him that i hope we will do it with the support of the u.s.a. but if we have to, we will do do it alone. >> later,en said it's and israel share the goal of defeating hamas but they differ sharply on the strategy. >> a major military ground operation in rafa is not the way to do it. it risks killing more civilians
6:10 pm
and wreaking greater havoc with the division of humanitarian assistance. it risks isolateing israel around the world and jeopardizing the security and standing. stephanie: meaning the death toll has passed 32,000 with more than 74,000 injured. russia and china vetoed a u.s. sponsored resolution support ago cease-fire in gaza and a vote today at the u.n. security council. ambassadors said that the resolution did not directly demand a halt to the fighting and would let israel act with immunity. >> this would definitively close the door when it comes to discussions about the need for a cease-fire in gaza. this would free the hands of israel and it would result in al of gaza and the entire population having to face destruction, devastation or expulsion. we are not guided by what is convenient for washington and its satellites.
6:11 pm
>> linda thomas greenfield said that russia and china oppose the resolution because it condemned the hamas attack on israel that killed 1200 people last october. more than a million people in ukraine lost power after a russian attack on the electrical grid. 60 drones and 90 rockets rained down killing that's five people. cell phone video captured missiles striking a dam. the dam was not in danger of collapsing. a merger that stands to greatly increase the wealth. former president trump could tone majority of truth social. but company rules bar mr. trump from second any of that stock for six months so he cannot use it to cover a fraud judgment of $454 million that's due monday. major league baseball has opened a formal investigation into
6:12 pm
allegations of illegal gambling and theft involving shohei ohtani and his interpreter. the i.r.s. has confirmed that the interpreter and an alleged illegal book maker are under criminal investigation. a pig kidney is transplanted into a human. david brooks an jonathan capehart weigh in on the headlines. and musician lenny kravitz on his new album, an international tour. >> this is pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> the princess of wales kate middleton announceed this this afternoon she's undergoing treatment for cancer. the news came amid rampant and often irresponsible speculation
6:13 pm
about her in the press and beyond. it came after missteps from the royal family about her where abouts and conditions. she shot a video message by the bbc studios at windsor castle. >> in january, i under went abdominal surgery it was thought my condition was not cans out test after the operation found cancer had been present. my medical team advised that i should under go a preventive course of chemotherapy and i'm now in the early stages of that treatment this came as a huge shock. and we -- william and i have be processing this for the sake of our young family. >> i'm joined by jeannie bond, thank you for joining us. as you know the princess hadn't been seen in public since december in the weeks since
6:14 pm
then, it's been filled with conspiracy theories and wild speculations about her absence. is this something that she or the palace wanted to release? >> i think the latter. i think we have -- we as a society really have forced a young woman who is 'em battling cancer at the moment and i think we have forced her into this situation. and i think it's very sad. i think we as a society should take a long look at ourselves because the trolls on the internet have put about the most ridiculous conspiracy theories consistently. we the mass media actually have given some of those theories air time which was entirely wrong. yes, i think catherine has been back into a corner and felt that she had to stand up and make a statement. it could have ban written station. but she's a courageous and
6:15 pm
confident young woman. and she decided to make the video hearse. i think -- herself. i think we have to salute her bravery as her father-in-law the king has done already. >> do you think it puts to rest those conspiracy theories? >> if this doesn't silence the conspiracy theorists then we as human beings have to they take a long hard look in the mirror. i knew diana, the former princess of wales and i watched her stand up and appeal for time and space because of her mental fragility at the time. and she needed time out from her public role. did we listen to her? no, we didn't. if we don't listen to this young woman asking for time, space and
6:16 pm
privacy, then there is something very, very wrong with the world. >> there was the matter during her absence of this photo which was released by kensington palace. it showed the princess of wales with her children. it was quickly pulled by news agencies after it was revealed that it had been manipulated. the next day the princess herself tweeted like many amateur photographers i do experiment with editing. i wanted to apologize for the confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday cause. this was a serious private medical concern. but from a public relations standpoint could the palace have handled this differently? >> the photograph i suppose was a mistake. cecil, a very famous photographer who took pictures of the royals for decades, he admitted he often touched photos up at prince edwards wedding to sophie, the photographer there
6:17 pm
that he transposed his head from a happier picture to put it on the wedding picture. get real. it was a ridiculous storm in in a teacup. another way of assaulting this young princess i think who is subsequently after that heard the very hospital where she was treated for abdominal surgery there there are allegations that members of the staff had after that tried to act -- access her medical records. she must feel assailed from both sides. >> jeannie bonds joining us from london tonight thank you so much. >> president biden's nomination
6:18 pm
of the first muslim american to a federal appeals court has come under intense criticism and appear to be in intense peril. laura? laura: president's biden nominee is a veteran lit gator, unanimously well qualified by the american bar association. but he's faced a barrage of attacks from republican senators which the white house says amounts to an isra ma phobic smear campaign. >> do you believe that zionist settler was a provocation that justified hamas' in the jewish land? >> is there any justification for those atrocities? >> i'll repeat myself, the events of october 7th were a horror. i have no patience, none for any attempts to justify or defend those events.
6:19 pm
>> and conservative outside groups have basically named him as anti-semitic besides being endorsed by a dozen jewish organization. i'm joined biotomy thy k. lewis house with appointed as manji by george h.w. bush. i want to start by asking you you recently sent a letter to chuck schumer and senate north leader mitch mcconnell in defense of adil shhh manji. why did you feel compelled to send that? >> i feel compelled to accepted that in what i feel like it's a base less attacks on mr. manji's character. i know they were initially
6:20 pm
routed -- rooted in his religious john. they have nothing to do with his competence, with his experience, with his qualifications to serve on the court i was honored to sit on for a number of years. and i just thought it's so outrageous that something had to be done and quite honestly it was an honor to have the opportunity to stand up on his behalf. when i have a sense that someone is being slandered and really torn down based on these kinds of untruths and bigotry and all of the horrible things that were said at the judiciary committee hearing and written about him afterward, there is no way i could stand by and allow that to happen. frankly, think think most americans feel the same wait a minute >> the attacks from republicans had an impact. this week catherine cortez masto
6:21 pm
came out against his nomination. she takes issue with his affiliation with a nonprofit organization called the alliance of families for justice. she states that this organization advocated for the release of individuals convicted of killing police officers. i cannot support this nominee. what's your response to her statement? >> well, my response is that i would hope that she would reconsider that position while there is still time to do so. her decision is respectfully rooted in the same kinds of base less lies and smears that the religious claims against mr. mappingy were -- manji were based with an se mitts and terrorists, none of which was true. the record clearly states that. the same is true here. the organization that we are
6:22 pm
talking about is a group of that reached out to mr. manji to ask for pro bono services on behalf of an inmate who had been murdered in the new york prison system. and this was not even a criminal case. it was a civil lawsuit that he brought. he achieved a land mark settlement on behalf of the family that not only helped the prisoner's family but also helped the prison. and in doing so helped prison guards because cameras were installed throughout the prison. this is honorable work. this isa the kind of work that we value, we encourage in our profession. >> and we should note that senator cortez masto has voted for that's one judicial nominee in the past that represented a man charged with murdering a police officers that was under the trump administration and so has senator ted cruz as well as a number of other republicans
6:23 pm
voted for judicial nominees who -- who were either represented people who were charged or convicted of murdering police officers. judge, i want to ask you -- it isn't new for judicial nominees to face partisan attacks. and so is in the price of politics now for judicial nominees? >> when i see this sort of thing happen, it is beyond politics. obviously, politics play play as role in judicial nominations and just about everything else that happened in the senate and in the house and in washington. but this is way beyond that. it's interesting that the other votes that were taken in connection with people who committed heinous crimes against police officers and they were voted affirmatively by senator cruz and by others, they were not muslims. we cannot allow ourselves to really debase ourselves by
6:24 pm
sinking to such a level. this is the first muslim nominee for an appeals court in the history of the united states. and under the thin pretext of these issues that had been thoroughly debunk, we have seen people decide not to vote in favor. and it's just a very sad moment. >> in your letter to senators schumer an senators mcconnell, you said that rejecting his nomination would have a toxic, long-term impacts on the entire federal judiciary. we need more diversity on the bench. what long-term impact are you talking about there? >> i know because i've been told by other members of the muslim faith in the wake of what has happened to mr. mangi and these are prominent muslim lawyers that they do not feel that it would be worth pursueing a
6:25 pm
federal judgeship in the climate and in this atmosphere. that is awful. that is terrible. and it should not be condoned. we need diversity in courts throughout the country because of the lived experienced that each judge, each person who serves brings. we see how that manifests at the united states supreme court level and -- and below. and it's very important that we have that. >> that's former federal judge timothy k. lewis. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> in a historic first a kidney from a genetically modified pig has been successfully transplanted into a human. the technique used in the
6:26 pm
surgery last weekend is a big step forward and could have wide implications. >> the patient here is a 62 year-old black man whose kidneys were failing and he was on dialysis for years. this kind of human to animal transplant is one that researchers hope to do more of because there aren't nearly enough human organ first the thousands of people in need. but putting animal tissue into humans is complicated. it rejects the tissue. they removed several gene to help with that rejection. massachusetts general hospital is where it took place. dr. riyeles. congratulation, i take it that the patient is doing well?
6:27 pm
>> the patient is doing extremely well. thank you for asking. >> and what is his -- so his prognosis normally if you had a kidney transplant how soon would he be gettin out of the hospital? and do you know when he will be getting out? >> yeah, so most patients remain in the hospital after a kidney transplant for about five to six days. in his case we're probably going to keep about a week or nine days just to make sure everything is ok. but all the sign that is we have so far in particular the blood tests and things that we follow are extremely positive. and he has been off dialysis since he got his transplant last saturday. >> that's amazing. before we get into some of the complexities we were truck to see how moved you were when you announced this breakthrough. i wonder if i had talked to you back when you were a younger man in meical school and i had told you that you could have cured someone's in-stage renal the disease with a pig kidney, what
6:28 pm
would younger you have thought about that? >> that that was just a dream, a big dream. and major will never happen. >> and what is it again for people who might have thought, well, i've heard that we can put parts of big hearts into people or other animal transplantations. what is it that has been a challenge that you were able to surmount here? >> if we go back 20, 30 years when the transplant started, there had been so many challenges. in particular what was mentioned before about the compatibility. and changing the d.n.a. to make animals more compatible. what made the change is the crisper technology and the transplantation in xeno transplantation. they were able to modify multiple genes in a short period of time which before was impossible. and permitted you us to make
6:29 pm
organ that is were compatible with humans. >> is that why you think that this case was successful when other previous attempts have not been? >> well, that's one point that's very important. the type of donor or began are we going to get? what type of gene modified pigs are donating? i think the second aspects is one what are the medications that we're going to give this patient so we can prevent rejection. the areas immune suppressant drug that is we use in the clinic do not seem to be effective in the case of xeno transplantation. what we had to do is adapt new drug that is were being developed. and for the first time we used one of these medications on the current patient. and i think that that was so far a success. of course, rejection takes time some of we have to follow this
6:30 pm
patient carefully. but -- the initial impression is only positive from our team. >> can you me understand a little bit the potential that you and your colleagues see for this type of thing? given the enormous need tense of thousands of people. and we know that big disparities in racial minorities in the country. >> yeah, those are -- those are huge. the disparity in kidney transplantation keeps increasing and as well as the organ shortage. so patients don't get referred for transplant. when they do get referred they wait on a waiting list years before getting a transplant. while they stay in dialysis their health deteriorates. while there are initial candidates when they first enter the list, if they wait four or five years, many of them will not be candidates any more. so i think what we hope to be able to do is that one first step in getting more organs for these paetschs so they can be transplanted in a timely manner.
6:31 pm
>> there have been a series of concerns that have been raised about useing gene edited organs about the potential for spreading animal viruses from animals to humans. how do you weigh those risks versus the potential that we're talk about here? >> that's always a major debate. so how high are the risks? what we have learned over the past 20 years with in animal studies is thatle if these pigs are grown in a very isolated manner with frequent testing, you're able to actually, you know, have a very low risk of infectionsle what was unique about the kidney are the pig is compatible and they did 59 modifications in the gene in some retroviruses that are present on the pig. so that creates an extra level
6:32 pm
of safety in terms of minimizing infections coming from the pigle we tested it for bacteria and virus that is could be present on the pig to make sure they're negative and that we assure. the risk we consider very low. but of course, this is the first time we're doing this in humans so we're going to be monitoring this very carefully. >> all right. dr. leonardo riyela. congratulations of this historic breakthrough. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> with house republicans facing yet another fight over who will lead their conference and a host of other political stories driving this week's news, we turn to the analysis of brook and capehart. that's david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for "the washington post."
6:33 pm
great to see you as always. house speaker mike johnson is speaking his first direct threat to his speakership after marjorie taylor green filed a motion to vacate for working with democrats to fund the government. >> the house doesn't have to vote on it until margorie taylor green says so. that means that he has this axe hanging over his head. >> the speaker has had this axe hanging over his head since he got the job. the conventional wisdom was because he's from that faction of the, you know, far right of the house, he will have a honeymoon period that he will be able to do that then speaker mccarthy wasn't able to do, or the things that made him lose his job. and what we're seeing now is -- and i think one of the last few weekends, few fridays where i was asked this question. i said he's living in fear.
6:34 pm
marjory taylor green decided that today is the day that i'm going to file this motion. she didn't file it as a privileged motion. if she really wanted him out, she would have done that and that would have forced them to get -- to -- to vote on it into legislative days. the way she's done it, they could punt it to a committee. and you know, that's where it would go to die. but he has always been facing this -- facing this threat now that it's out there. the key thing for me is what do democrats do? on that point, congressman t.burchett that if the house would have voted today it's entirely possible that hakeem jeffers would have ended as speaker. given how for that i row the major is. >> the antics that she's doing are driving good people out of the house. and so mike gallagher announced that he's going to leave next month. i've seen him present on china. it's like watch ago scholar pen.
6:35 pm
one of the finest lines in thousands. -- house. he's leaving. if it's just going to be crazyness, why stick around? that's the long-term effect on the country. i look at the upside of zoe. i think if johnson guess in trouble, democrats are always saying we'll vote for johnson if he brings the senate-ukraine aid bill up. if kit force the house to vote on that bill and to pass the ukraine aid help. he can do that with democratic votes. he would keep his job. and the country would be a winner. >> what are the incentives for democrats to help johnson out if it's need? >> it depends on who you ask. i reached out to some members. and what's interesting is the common refrain or the thinking that i've gotten back mostly is a stand alone ukraine bill.
6:36 pm
a few others said to -- not a damn thing. i was wonder if i could say the word damn on pbs. but there are democrats who no -- no, we're not going to do anything to help the speaker johnson. it doesn't matter what those individual members say to me. what really matters is what leader jefferies says because that's where the majority of the committee is going to take their lead. >> president trump has until monday covering the full amount of the 554 civil fraud case against him. if he cannot somehow find the money. leticia james might start ceasing some of his assets to help cover that. the presidency is short on cash and who has to find $454
6:37 pm
million. that's a serious liable. and it raises in this case some national security questions. >> yeah, i mean, i have a few problems with the seizure, the "associated press" did a good job. and in case where is there was no clear victim, they've never ceased assets before. and so if the people who claim a lot of this is a political witch hunt. i feel like it's kind of alarming that the trump case is not being treat as the other case. unless. it is what it is. he's got raise a lot of money really fast. it's on the market. suddenly it, $3 billion. it's troubling. i made 3.3 million ondollars. and it's valid at $3 billion. and that is already crooked.
6:38 pm
and them you take what desperate donald trump is likely to do. go to the saudis and get some money. it just opens up for a desperate donald trump, all sorts of corrupt possibilitieses. >> the anchor asked if he would accept money from saudi arabia or russia. here's how that played out. >> is there any effort on the part of your team to secure this money through another country, saab or russia has joy behar seems think? >> i can't speak about strategy that require certain things. and we have follow those rules. >> i'm curious of the word "strategy." i don't know. i think someone who is running if president of the united states should automatically say, yeah, i'm -- oh, i owe a half billion dollars.
6:39 pm
to foreign interference. we're not talk about any other regular person. and of course, he's going to take the money from wherever he can get it. that's been his entire career. i have to disagree with david -- no, take the properties. if -- if any of us at the table were in that situation we would be in serious trouble. and you know, it would be within the right of the attorney to say, you know what, we're going to take your golf club or your sour. i would love to see the ample g., the new york attorney do that because then it would be like the most tangible sign for the nation, the world and for donald trump that you have been held accountable. >> as we reported earlier, there was this u.s. sponsored resolution calling for an immediate seize far. failed to pass the security council today. it still marks david, a toughing of the u.s. stands by the bind
6:40 pm
administration which had vetoed to previous resolutions. how do you see this relationship and playing out? >> it's unprecedented that there's this much tension between israel and the united states. think the biden administration is right. they're right to demand. take a moral responsibility for the gazans, for the people who are there. they're also right that israel has to have a day after plan. and so all that, i i think the administration is pressureing. where i differ on their new policy that they should not have to go into gadda. >> 6,000 to 8,000 fighterrers. there's no possibility for economic reconstruction. if -- hamas emerging from the
6:41 pm
surviving and victorious. vest cannot go into rafa the way they can go into gaza city. and doing inefficient. it's terrible but they have to go there because they have to eliminate hamas to have a decent future. >> you know, p.d. bide season an old -- president biden is an old school competition. the two of them met 40 years ago when he was the junior senator from delaware. did president biden put too much stock in their personal relationship early on? >> >> hey, we've known each other for a long time. we're the united states. we're allies. please listen to me. listen to us. and what the prime minister has done time and time again in private but also im-- increasingly public is defy the
6:42 pm
president. defy united states. it explains why we've seen a pressure that you're talking about on the part of the united states towards israel. but i always -- i try to make a distinction here. there is, i don't think much taylor between the united states support for the nation of israel. what we are seeing however, is a lot of day lying, yawning daylight between joe bind and benjamin metal ha you. >> john capehart and david brooks. thank you, both. >> thank you, john. >> lenny kravitz has been czyz subsidy. another zip single set for release in major. earlier this month, he earned his star on the hollywood walk of fail
6:43 pm
i speak with kravitz in los angeles and we visit some of old work for this edition of "canvas". lenny kravitz seamlessly is rock, funk -- ♪ soul and r & b. ♪ >> resulting in a song uniquely his own. but the career spanning nearly four decades, he has not only captivated audiences worldwide it becomes a symbol of artistic authenticity and individualism. always effort less cool. we spoke with lenny kravitz
6:44 pm
about his life, career an new album at the el rey theater in los angeles. >> you music denies cat gore zation? especially later. or or an appeal to a specific audience. >> i never had the desire to do that thus me turning down those record deals when i was a teenager. >> it would have been easy to accept one. >> absolutely. and not only that, i needed it. i wanted it is badly. when you have people offering you at a young age we're going to give you money. we're going to give you the opportunity. we're going to go to europe and put you in the stud yo. and then you're going to go on tour. he's the these are the things that you're dreaming of as a climb. it came you, know, you can't
6:45 pm
make that music we just listened to. you make it. you have to do this because it is what works. this is the formula. this is what a black artist should be doing. this is what making hit records is. >> but there was always this feeling inside of me that when i was going to say yes, i shut down. my body would not let me do it i said no, each time. and i would walk off of the record labor. appear get back on that 212 bus. going down le brea yeah to wherever the hell i was going at the time. >> he took us to the bus stop for a transformative career that would solidify his status as one of the preempty innocent music of his team.
6:46 pm
starring let love rule. >> every time i pass this place, i always think about those days. >> your face lights up when you talk about it. it's incredible that you've never lost sight of this. >> no, i never will. it's all part of the adventure. i espn a lot of time sitting here and thinking life and making music and -- so it's very close to my heart. >> performance is ingrained in his d.n.a. his father was a tv news producer. his mother was an actress who found tv frame honorman lease' jefferson. >> are the howards an interracial a couple. ukrainian jewish and afro caribbean. they moved to los angeles when he was in high school. so what memories does this house
6:47 pm
old for you? >> this means everything. this is first home that we owned. we moved out here in 1975. but this became the certain of our -- center of our family functions and all the pears that my mom had with all of these black pioneers that were doing everything at the time in every field, you know? everybody's stuck together. everybody was extend family. and so everything happened in this house, man. >> as we were talk neighbors and old family friends came to say hello and catch up. lenny says he finds a comfort and a steadiness and values that shaped him from the start. >> in your book, you wrote that life is one of your on sits. jackson five and led it there.
6:48 pm
>> beautiful contrast and not having this wide range and not paying attention to so-called boundaries. gave me more colors to play with, more depth. so i would make miss stu and i thought people thought they shouldn't be all together. but that's what i was take. already lenny kravitz has made impresents in the realms of design, -- >> will i be girling tonight? >> save it if the end. >> lee daniels films precious and the butler. but even with four consecutive gram by awards, 11 studio al bombs, it hand been easy making a way in an industry that doesn't always value individuality. >> do you feel like the cultural gatekeepers had to catch up to
6:49 pm
you and what you're doing? >> i don't pay much attention to that. but like the people who influenced me, sometimes you just to be ahead of the game. and you may not get whatever, attention or accolades, you know, what ever it might be. >> it doesn't matter. it's about the journey, you know? >> do you ever feel under pressure appreciated for your contributions to music in the because i pressure it. i appreciate the life that god's given me and what i'm doing. and not that i need validation but when you will -- you have people that did give you that whether it's myles davis after he heard my first album or it was mick jagr or it was robert plant or it was prince or curtis mayfield, the people that taught you, the people that you look up to, they were befriending me.
6:50 pm
they were supporting me. they understood what i was doing. that gave me a lot of fuel. >> a and the whole reason i treat create and perform music is to amplify love. >> his love afather with music still hasn't lost its spark. >> how do you maintain that? >> 41 million records should. rock how do you then maintain that same creative spark? >> i think it's my love for music, period. i love music. i always have loved music. i was born to make music. music has created my life. it has brought me meaning and joy and purpose, and i think by nature, i'm an extremely grateful person. i wake up every day.
6:51 pm
♪ >> lenny kravitz's 12th studio office blue electric light. it's ahead of a world tour kicking off this summer. and online, you can hear more from lenny kravitz on the inspiration behind the one of my favorite songs is that belongs to you on our youtube channel. >> who's latest books seeks to unlock the secret language of communication. here he shares his brief but spectacular take on connecting others. >> the goal of a conversation is not to convince someone else that you're right. it's not even to come to agreement or find a common ground. the only goal of a conversation is to understand each other. >> so my relationship with small talk is that i used to be terrified of it. until i started doing this research. i learned. the key for small talk is to get
6:52 pm
deep as fast as possible. >> a deep asks know about their life and experience. but it can seem like oh, what made you decide law school. >> those are es questions to ask. but they invite the other person who they are in a meaningful way. >> what does that mean to you. i have nine siblings and as you might imagine, dinner time conversation was challenging. what i discovered is if i could make everyone laugh, it was like magic. and that's kind of one of the things that got me so interested in understanding communication. why sometimes am i able to do that? and then other times i want to connect with someone and i just can't. >> my book is called super communicators, unlocking the secret combination. this is why others can connect with others so much more. what we know about the science,
6:53 pm
behind conversation and how we can learn the skills that help us connect and have real meaningful conversations with almost anyone. the biggest road blocks is twofold. oftentimes you can do is just write down a couple of topics before we have the conversation. show the other person by asking questions that we're learn closely and we want to understand them. >> laughter,le 08% -- 8078% when -- 80% when we laugh it's to show they want to connect with us and you want to connect with them. almost there's practical conversations which is about decision-making and solving problems and making plans. there's emotional conferses where i might tell you how i feel. i want you to emphasize and listen. there's social controversies in
6:54 pm
which how we relate to ourselves and society >> communication is humans superpower. it's what allowed the homosapien to be more success. the more we understand how to take a conversation apart and fiddle with its gears. the more we allow our own instincts to come out and the truth is we were born to connect with each other. we just have to learn how to listen to that. my name is chars duhague. this is my spectacular take on super communication. >> you can watch more but brief and spectacular videos on pbs.org,/newshour/brief. >> we invite you to look at the growing trouble between the u.s. an gaza. >> we take a look at the working conditions of migrant farm labor
6:55 pm
and the role in the u.s. company. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your weekend with us. and have a great webby weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> it was like an aha moment. this is what i love doing. early stage companies have this. energy that energizes me. these are people who are trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs it's the same thing. i'm helping people reach their dreams. i'm thriving by helping others every day. people who know, know b.d.o. >> an with the ongoing support of these individual individuals an institutionses --
6:56 pm
institutions. >> the walton family foundation, working to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together >> william and flora hewlett foundation. more more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to help better the world at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour." ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting an by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. >> this is pbs newshour west
6:57 pm
from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walt er cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪
6:58 pm
6:59 pm
7:00 pm
>> u.s. support for israel and its controversial prime minister has long been a source of domestic political tension, but never like this past month. president biden and the democrats are critical. the republicans want to turn it intoed