wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. good evening. israel accepts responsibility for a strike that killed seven world central kitchen workers.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. there have been few incidents in six months of war in gaza that have created the level of outrage that leaders across three continents expressed today. amna: overnight, israel killed seven members of the charity world central kitchen, one palestinian and six foreigners, including one dual american-canadian, as well as an australian and europeans. the president of the u.s. called the group's founder, the chef jose andres, to express his heartbreak. israel called the killings unintended and vows to investigate. nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick: in the words of the world central kitchen, this was a targeted attack, a direct hit on the group's armored vehicle, incinerating everything and everyone inside, all that was left intact, a metal plate with the group's logo. they came here from all over the

world to feed the hungry. they weave in the white body bags worn by this war's more than 30,000 victims, among them, the group's palestinian driver, saif abu-taha. this was all a mistake, said israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> unfortunately, in the last day, there was a tragic incident of an unintended strike of our forces on innocent people on the gaza strip. this happens in war. we are checking this thoroughly. we are in touch with the governments, and we will do everything for this not to happen again. nick: but world central kitchen says it coordinated with the israeli military as the convoy left its warehouse in deir al balah by the sea in central gaza. israeli munitions hit an initial vehicle. the israeli newspaper "haaretz" reports that world central kitchen workers then moved to another vehicle that was struck, and then a third vehicle that was struck as they traveled on or next to the coastal road that israel designates for humanitarian aid.

damian sobol, world central kitchen: hello, everyone. damian checking in from cairo. nick: damian sobol from poland recently showed a warehouse full of supplies to feed 20,000 gazans. >> hey, this is zomi and chef olivier. nick: lalzawmi frankcom was known by everyone as zomi. she was australian, and in march showed off the world central kitchen's gaza chef and the meals he prepared. her friends said, when others faced their darkest moments, she was a shining light of comfort. last night both their passports were covered in blood. australian prime minister anthony albanese: anthony albanese, australian prime minister: this is just completely unacceptable. australia expects full accountability for the deaths of aid workers. nick: secretary of state antony blinken. antony blinken: we shouldn't have a situation where people who are simply trying to help their fellow human beings are themselves at grave risk. nick: multiple victims were british. prime minister rishi sunak: >> we're asking israel to

investigate what happened urgently because, clearly, there are questions that need to be answered. nick: the war in gaza has been the deadliest ever for humanitarian workers. the u.n. says at least 196 have been killed since hamas' october 7 terrorist attacks. u.s. officials cite poor israeli coordination and deconfliction. today, defense minister yoav gallant promised to establish an independent investigation and brief ngos on the findings and to open a joint idf international ngo situation room. >> we will get to the bottom of this and we will share our findings transparently. nick: back in northern gaza, amid the ruins of gaza city, lies the damage done to what was once gaza's biggest hospital, al shifa. the world health organization said today the heart of gaza's health system had been ripped out. the israeli military says a two-week operation by its equivalent of navy seals killed

or detained more than 700 terrorists hiding within the buildings. the palestinian health ministry says hundreds were civilians, and the u.n. says 20 patients died. after the world central kitchen incident, aid organizations are suspending their gaza operations, as the u.n. warns that gaza is on the brink of famine. for the "pbs newshour," i'm nick schifrin. amna: for more on this, we turn to sean carroll. he's the president and ceo of anera. that's a nonprofit helping refugees in the middle east. for the last six months, they have been delivering medicine, water and food in gaza, including some 150,000 meals a day. in sean, i just want to begin with your reaction to this news. what did you think when you heard about the killing of these world central kitchen aid workers? >> i thought, no, this can't be. how can this be? this can't be. this can't be explained. it can't be, and then devastation. world central kitchen are -- is a partner. they're colleagues.

they're friends. the people who were killed are people that our team in gaza work with. so this was devastating, devastating news. amna: and we should say too, you and your team know this loss. last month, you lost one of your team members, mousa shawwa, your logistics coordinator in gaza. he was killed in an israeli airstrike after sheltering with his family in deir al balah, after he'd been out distributing aid. we are so sorry for your loss. but i have to ask, do you believe it's possible for aid workers to work safely in gaza right now? sean: well, look, we have made a decision to pause our work. and that's not a decision we came to lightly. our palestinian staff who live in the communities, who work in the communities that are from and live in, they have never really had safety, but they kept going, and now this level of depravity and inexplicable killing. and i know there are questions and debates about whether it was intentional or unintentional. i think we need to ask ourselves, is one better than the other? if this was unintentional, how

could this happen? this was a clearly marked humanitarian aid convoy of three cars with world central kitchen logo and lettering clearly displayed. so how could it be an accident? and the evidence we have seen so far and what i have heard from our colleagues at world central kitchen suggested that it wasn't an accident, it was intentional. amna: well, let me ask you about that, because israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has, in fact, said it was an unintentional strike, that it was what he called a tragic accident. i know you cited some of the evidence why you believe it wasn't, but why do you believe israel would target humanitarian aid workers? sean: you know, i don't know. i think that's the question we all have to ask. and i think israeli society and the israeli government and the israeli military need to ask themselves as well, is this contributing to making israel and israelis safer? i don't see how it could be. so after the first reaction of shock and despair, the next reaction is, how could this be?

it doesn't make any sense. i can't make any sense of it. how would this be serving any objectives that make sense for anybody, for any side of this conflict? amna: netanyahu has also pledged a thorough investigation. u.s. officials have said today they hope it will be swift and that the findings will be made public. do you have faith that the israeli government can investigate its own forces in this case? sean: when an investigation is needed, the parties to the conflict, to the accident, to the incident, to the subject being investigated are not the best investigators. we should have an independent investigation. we would like to have it for our co-worker mousa shawwa, who was killed just under a month ago. we still don't have an explanation on that killing. this is an absolute minimum

requirement, certainly for world central kitchen, and -- but for all of us, because we're wondering, are we next? amna: sean, have you had communications directly with israeli officials about the safety of your team on the ground in gaza? sean: sure. we communicate all the time. we have to deconflict the areas we work, the shelters where our staff and their families are staying, where our staff are sheltering, our distribution centers, our cars. that all has to be deconflicted. we share the coordinates, the map coordinates of those. and we check in. we check in with them to verify or they check in with us? but we had a check-in from them four days before mousa shawwa was killed in an airstrike. and that and this world central kitchen killing now is -- makes us worried. it makes us feel like it's not working. amna: when you say it's not working, to be clear, you're saying you are in constant contact, groups on the ground are informing israeli officials about your location and your coordinates, there's no way you see israeli officials would not have known these were aid workers? is that what you're saying? sean: i mean, that certainly looks like the case with the

world central kitchen, very clearly marked cars in a three-car convoy. and this is something that's been an issue among many international ngos throughout the course of this war. and the deconfliction is actually done with the military, with the idf. and so the conversations and the communications feel like they're genuine, that we're all doing the right thing, and we're deconflicting, and we're getting things put into the system. but if people are killed, when they shouldn't be, then, obviously, we end up questioning whether this is working. and it doesn't seem to be working. amna: and what has been the response from israeli officials when you raise those concerns? sean: well, we don't -- we'd like a response on the death of our colleague. we don't have any response. there seemed to be interest initially when they mistakenly thought he was an american citizen. that interest seemed to lessen when we said he didn't have a u.s. passport. he's a palestinian. we don't have a response yet. i hope we will get a response. and i'm sure world central kitchen is very much going to be demanding an explanation for the death of their staff.

amna: that is sean carroll, president and ceo of anera, a nonprofit helping people in gaza, suspending operations for now. mr. carroll, thank you for your time. sean: thank you for having me. stephanie: the head of the israeli military issued a public apology late tonight for the airstrike that killed the seven world central kitchen aid workers in gaza. >> i want to be very clear, the stri was not carried out with the intention of harming wck aid workers. it was a mistake that followed the misidentification during the

war in very complex conditions. it shouldn't have happened. stephanie: the general vowed israel will improve the way it core needs a distribution because it will take immediate action to protect humanitarian aid workers. he set a thorough investigation will be completed in the coming days. in the day's other headlines: president biden and chinese president xi jinping spoke by phone in their first conversation since a summit in california last november. white house officials said the topics ranged from taiwan to fentanyl to artificial intelligence. they described the conversation as -- quote -- "candid and constructive," as the leaders try to tamp down tensions. >> we believe that there is no substitute for regular communication at the leader level to effectively manage this complex and often tense bilateral relationship. and both presidents agreed to pick up the phone and speak when needed. stephanie: as for xi, china's state broadcaster quoted him as saying that beijing and washington should make stability

in relations a priority. the president also hosts muslim american leaders for a meeting tonight and iftar dinner, breaking the day's fast during the islamic holy month of ramadan. the gathering was reportedly downsized after invitations were declined by some muslim american community leaders amid ongoing political tensions over the war in gaza. ukrainian military drones struck a major oil refinery today in a drone-making factory in what may be the deepest attack inside russia yet. the targets were near cities in tatarstan some 750 miles east of ukraine. initial reports said the attacks did no significant damage. cell phone video caught the moment one of the drones crashed, causing a large blast. an official on the scene said two people were injured. in turkey, a fire at an istanbul nightclub has killed at least 29 people. the blaze broke out today as the club was undergoing renovations while it's closed for ramadan. flames and smoke engulfed the

site and rescuers brought out the injured as the fire left the club in charred ruins. istanbul's mayor said the city had never approved the construction work. >> there's no application to the local municipality for renovation or construction. and, as it was below the ground level, the repair work wasn't visible. stephanie: there was no word on the cause of the blaze, but several people were detained for questioning. an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 struck off of southwestern japan late this evening. it rocked the entire island of taiwan, collapsing buildings there. a tsunami warning has been issued for the region and coastal areas in japan were ordered to evacuate. there is no word on casualties. back in this country, hundreds of thousands of people lost power across the nation's midsection as severe storms rolled through. in southern indiana, some homes had their roofs ripped away. and kentucky's governor declared

a state of emergency as communities cleared through debris scattered by high winds. in northeastern oklahoma, the storm front spawned three possible tornadoes. at least one person was killed. four more states had their say in presidential primaries today. connecticut, new york, rhode island and the battleground state of wisconsin. president biden and former president trump have already locked down their nominations. still, the contests are being watched for the degree of opposition both men still face within their parties. still to come on the newshour, the fallout around rap mogul sean "diddy" combs, who is accused of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking; the evolving role of america's first ladies; and author percival everett on his reworking of "the adventures of huckleberry finn" from jim's point of view. >> this is a pbs newshour, from

wta studios in washington, and in the west, on the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: a massive cleanup operation is under way at the site of the deadly bridge collapse in baltimore last week. crews are undertaking painstaking tasks, removing sharp, twisted steel and concrete debris from the port. no one knows just yet how long it will take to clean up the wreckage and reopen the channel. but the biden administration has pledged to help rebuild the bridge, and the president is expected to ask for more federal funding soon to make that happen. transportation secretary pete buttigieg is going to play a key role in all of this. and he joins us now. welcome back to the "newshour.” pete buttigieg, u.s. secretary of transportation: good to be back with you. geoff: the washington post reported that rebuilding the francis scott key bridge will take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. do you agree with that assessment? and how difficult will it be to get that funding, given congress' inability to pass much of anything these days? sec. buttigieg: that assessment

is certainly plausible. we have not yet seen a hard timeline. and, remember, there are a lot of things yet to be known, both in terms of the condition of the parts of the bridge that did not collapse, and in terms of the design of what will take its place. for example, one advantage of having a design that's identical or similar to the old bridge is, it could be done more quickly. on the other hand there may be advantages to having a different design. those are decisions that the state, under the leadership of governor moore, will work through. we're not going to dictate that. what we are going to do is make sure that there's funding and, whenever requested, technical assistance to help them get that job done. we have already moved the first $60 million made available through our emergency relief program. there is certainly going to be a need for more funding. we will do what we can with the dollars we have, but, if we need to turn to congress for more dollars, i hope and expect that that will be a bipartisan priority. if you think back to the minnesota bridge collapse back in 2007, it was a matter of days

before congress passed legislation to get more funding to make sure that they were able to rebuild that bridge. and a little more recently, the bipartisan infrastructure package itself was delivered with a bipartisan vote. so i know that this is a polarized time, but i'd like to think, if there's anything that democrats and republicans can come together on, it's supporting a part of our country that is hurting and getting infrastructure back the way it needs to be. geoff: will the administration waive certain regulations to speed up the process of clearing the debris and ultimately rebuilding the bridge? sec. buttigieg: we will tear down any bureaucratic or administrative barrier that we responsibly can. to be clear, this has to be done safely. it has to be done properly, whether we're talking about checks to make sure that taxpayer funds are being used the right way or any safety consideration. but within that and within the framework of the law, we're going to provide as much flexibility as we responsibly can because we have got to get this port back open and we have

got to get that bridge back up. the port reopening will, of course, come sooner than the bridge replacement, but both of those are important, not just for baltimore, but really for our supply chains, for the u.s. economy. we have got to do everything we can to get it done. geoff: i want to ask you about rail safety, because you announced a new rule today requiring two-person crews on railroads in a move to improve safety after that toxic derailment in east palestine last year. the railroads say that the size of train crews should be determined by union contract talks, and not by federal regulators, since there isn't enough data to support this notion that two-person crews are actually safer. what's your reaction to that? sec. buttigieg: i would start with common sense. the idea that you could run a two-mile-long train, maybe even a longer train than that -- some of them are getting closer to three miles -- and have only one human being on board that train, my guess is, most americans

would be surprised to learn that, until this morning, that wasn't already prevented. we're talking about the absolute commonsense minimum here of having two people on board a freight train that could be moving through an american community. and, again, these trains are getting to be two-miles-long or longer. now, this is something that was developed actually back in the obama administration, was the first work done on this. the trump administration halted that work. we picked that work back up even before what happened in east palestine, but our attention to rail safety measures, including this one, was, of course, supercharged by the national focus on railroad safety that east palestine brought. and that's just one of many areas that we have been working on. i also want to reiterate my call on congress to do more. they have a bipartisan railway safety act just sitting there waiting its turn. it's been more than a year since that ohio crash. congress needs to act. anything that doesn't require an act of congress, we're going to seek to do on our own here at the department, like today's rule. geoff: you know, it strikes me freight trains are getting longer in the u.s., as you say, in some cases three-miles-long.

you also have cargo ships that are in some cases now dangerously big, like the one that caused the bridge collapse in baltimore. in your view, are the modes of transport getting too big, or do we need to improve our capacity and our infrastructure to accommodate them? sec. buttigieg: i think it really depends on the mode of transportation. it's not automatically intrinsically safe -- unsafe to have a larger ship or a larger train or, for that matter, a larger vehicle or a larger aircraft. but it is very important that every step be taken to make sure that, as they grow or as they have any other feature that's different from before, that it is safer than ever. and that's where regulation comes in. it's vitally important that we maintain the pattern we have had in this country of making our modes of transportation more safe. and we still have a long way to go, especially on highway safety, but also in railroad safety. geoff: lastly, a question about

boeing. they're facing a significant safety crisis after that door panel flew off at alaska airlines flight some months ago. the company's ceo announced that he's leaving at the end of the year. the head of the commercial airplanes at boeing has already left. what concerns remain? is this leadership overhaul sufficient? sec. buttigieg: i would say it's going to take a lot more than what individual has what title at that company. and that's something i have communicated to the senior leadership at boeing. it's something that our faa administrator, mike whitaker, made clear after hisisit to their key manufacturing facility, and has put them on a 90-day clock -- we're roughly 30 days into that -- to put together a comprehensive plan. and faa is not going to let them increase their rate of production until and unless they demonstrate that they can do it safely. we're talking about operational issues. we're talking about observations that were caught in the audit on the shop floor, but we're also talking about culture. and i would say that whoever lines up at the helm of boeing, as well as their board and everybody up and down that

entire organization, they all have to be prepared to put safety first. so much depends on it. look, the aviation safety record of the united states of america is extraordinary. but there is nothing about that that guarantees that it'll be the same for the future. that's why every incident like this gets an extraordinary amount of attention. it's why boeing is under a microscope, and it's why it's going to stay that way as they work to demonstrate that they can safely increase their production. geoff: do you feel safe flying on a boeing-made jet? sec. buttigieg: i fly on a boeing made jet just about every other day. and, yes, every time i step on an airliner, i know that i am safe. and if i'm with my family, i know that my family is safe because of all of the work that goes into overseeing that, the work of the faa, the work of all of the professionals in the aviation sector, including, importantly, those flight crews on board, who do such good work. every time i get on that airplane, i know i'm participating in the safest mode of transportation in america, which is an astonishing thing, if you consider what air travel

is, flying through the air at nearly the speed of sound. but, again, you can't take that for granted. safety is not a destination. it is something that we have to continually work toward and reinforce. geoff: that is transportation secretary pete buttigieg. thanks again for your time and for your insights this evening. sec. buttigieg: thank you. amna: just last week, federal agents rated two homes of rapper and music mol sean "p. diddy" combs in los angeles and miami. combs is the subject of a federal investigation and already facing a series of civil lawsuits from several women and at least one man, alleging he either assaulted, abused or trafficked them. some of the accusations date back at least 30 years, and combs has denied all allegations. for the latest now, i'm joined by sidney madden, music reporter for npr and co-host of its podcast "louder than a riot.”

so, sidney, let's begin with those raids by federal investigators. what do we know about why they went in and what they found? sidney madden, npr music: well, it's not exactly clear what the charges are that prompted these raids, although we do know that, in the civil suits that were recently filed against him dating back last year that date back decades, there have been many allegations of sex trafficking in the midst of those civil suits, and that homeland security and federal agents do investigate those charges criminally. amna: so, sidney, remind us as well. now, there was a late 2023 lawsuit by mr. combs' former girlfriend cassie ventura that really opened the door for these other lawsuits to follow. what was so damning in that original lawsuit that prompted this cascade of lawsuits we have seen since? sidney madden: cassie ventura's original lawsuit, it really did open the floodgates, as you said, because it detailed almost

two decades of hidden coercion, abuse, assault, even rape. and it was kind of the dark side of their very public relationship and their working relationship in the music industry that dates back to the early 2000s. amna: and when we talk about these other lawsuits, how many more are we talking about? and are the allegations consistent across all of those will cases? sidney madden: so, as of this date, there have been five civil suits filed against diddy. and the latest one, again, as of this date, is filed by lil rod, aka rodney jones, who is a music producer who worked for diddy between 2022 and 2023. and jones is the same behaviors and indiscretions that have been that cassie and other people have claimed that the music mogul was doing all of this in time, things like using people on his staff for drug mules, things like pushing drugs onto multiple people on his

team, pushing people onto his team. lil rod accuses diddy of groping him, accuses diddy of having people on his staff proposition and sexually assault him, and he's accusing him of propositioning sex workers all throughout the united states to come to diddy and have alleged freak-offs. amna: as we mentioned, sean combs denies all of the allegations. have we seen any kind of a public response from him, though, online or in any other form to these accusations? sidney madden: it's been a lot of sidestepping, i would say, publicly from diddy. he broke his silence on social media recently by posting a lot of his children for easter sunday. he's been very jovial, i would say, publicly-facing, but diddy's legal team says they vehemently deny all of these claims and that the homeland security raids specifically were

a gross misuse of military-level force. amna: sidney, i think it's fair to say it doesn't get bigger than diddy in the music world. he works in -- moves in rarefied circles of entertainment and celebrity. have any of these allegations had an impact on those relationships, business or personal? sidney madden: definitely. i mean, the fallout from these allegations so far has definitely been a blow to diddy's business and his public reputation. so, since these allegations started to come out, he has stepped down as chairman of revolt tv, revolt entertainment, his news media channel. he's also sold off all of his shares of that. and he's parted ways with the liquor company that used to distribute a lot of his name-brand liquors and collaborations. and there have been a lot of people in the hip-hop space who have kind of just used this as a moment to say that all of these indiscretions that he's being

accused of are open secrets that have been proliferated in the music industry over the years. but what that fails to interrogate is how they have been able to operate as open secrets without anybody calling him out, for fear of losing here their proximity, their business, their just access to his celebrity. amna: what about that allegation of this being an open secret for so long? i mean, when you and i spoke at the end of 2023 after the ventura lawsuit, we talked about whether this was some larger moment of reckoning in the industry. and back then, you said it was too early to tell. but what do you make of that now? in sidney madden: now, i would say, i think, as more time has passed and more suits have been carried out, there are many more people in positions of power who are publicly distancing themselves from him. and in the hip-hop space, it's about money, power and respect. i would definitely say the fallout is happening. amna: that is sidney madden, music reporter for npr and co-host of the podcast "louder than a riot.” sidney, thank you. sidney madden: thank you.

geoff: now to a major development in the fight over abortion access. the florida supreme court late monday paved the way for the state's six-week abortion ban to take effect. but the justices in a separate ruling said florida voters will pcon protecting abortion access in november. lynda bell is president of florida right to life, one of the state's largest anti-abortion groups, and she joins us now. thank you for being with us. lynda bell, president, florida right to life: you're welcome. it's my pleasure. geoff: what's your assessment of this decision by the state's supreme court, on the one hand paving the way for the six-week abortion ban to become law in florida in 30 days, while giving florida voters the final say in november? lynda: yes, it seems a little bit contradictory.

but in light of the fact that we thought the privacy clause in the florida constitution would be stricken -- and so, basically, the 15-week bill was challenged based on the fact that they used privacy in the florida constitution to say that privacy includes abortion. the supreme court said, no, it does not. it does not include that. it was never meant to include that. so they ruled that. so once the 15-week bill was upheld, that allowed for the six-week bill that was passed last year and signed by our governor -- so that was what happened there. now, the other decision went 4-3, with the three women dissenting against the four men. and the three women thought that the ballot language should be struck because of the ambiguity and how vague and how actually deceptive it was. and even the majority, in the majority opinion, even in their opinion that i was reading, it ruled that, while it was quite ambiguous and vague, that it still shouldn't be struck, which really struck me very much. and i love the three women, their dissent.

i have actually put their quotes in my press release because they're saying that you expect us to not use the fact that we have used facts that we have used in the past under previous decisions. but let me just say this. this language is very dangerous. and it has loopholes enough for an elephant to go through. geoff: well, let me ask you this, ms. bell, because abortion had once been broadly accessible in florida. but florida governor ron desantis has now signed two major abortion bans, initially one starting at 15 weeks and more recently one starting at six weeks, before most women even know that they're pregnant. and donald trump has described a six-week ban as -- quote -- "a terrible thing and a terrible mistake." why can't republicans and anti-abortion advocates find consensus on an acceptable path forward, when overturning roe had been a decades-long pursuit among conservatives and anti-abortion activists? lynda: well, we pro-lifers -- we like to be called pro-lifers, rather than anti-abortion. but we are pro-life.

now, the anti-life community, they want abortion. it doesn't matter. they don't care. they want abortion through birth. so they want unfettered access. geoff: ms. bell, that's not true. lynda: it's -- this language right here does not stop that, because everything is to be determined by the health care provider. so the health care provider, when it says viability, what that means is, it's going to be determined by the health care provider. so abortion literally could go through birth. that is absolutely a fact. now, jumping into your specific question, the six-week bill provided for rape, incest, life of the mother, medical emergency, fetal anomaly. so there were very many exceptions in there for women who needed to have an abortion procedure in these very dangerous situations for them, because we're not just pro-baby. we're pro-woman. and we don't want any woman to experience anything that would be dangerous for them. so we in the pro-life community,

we love them both. we love both the babies and their moms. geoff: well, let me ask you this, because the data is clear that states with more abortion restrictions have higher rates of maternal and infant mortality. how are those outcomes consistent with your organization's stated goal of protecting the sanctity of life? lynda: well, i don't know that that data is absolutely correct, and so i'd love to challenge that data as well. in fact, i'm going to look into that data. geoff: it's from the commonwealth fund. it's an independent research organization focused on health policy. lynda: yes, i'd like to look at their base data first, because we have seen so many polls and so much data out that is very factually flawed. so i'd love to take a look at that, because i'm telling you, this amendment right here is dangerous for girls, it's dangerous for women, and it does nothing to protect anybody. what it does, it does -- it's not a pro-woman. it's not a pro-girl. it is nothing but pro-abortion. geoff: when this six-week ban takes effect, how life-threatening must a

pregnancy be to end it legally? lynda: rape, incest, life of the mother, medical emergency, fetal anomaly. i mean, anything that would be considered a situation, any kind of dangerous situation, that woman can have an abortion immediately. so, every single base was covered when it comes to protecting women's lives. geoff: that is lynda bell, president of florida right to life. thanks for your time this evening. lynda: thank you. amna: the first lady of the united states is often studied with a mixture of fascination and scrutiny. geoff: laura barron-lopez has more on a new book that looks at

the modern history of the role. laura: part policy messenger, part campaign whisperer, part style icon, expectations of america's first lady shape shift with each administration. in her new book, "american woman: the transformation of the modern first lady, from hillary clinton to jill biden," new york times correspondent katie rogers explores how each wife has brought something unique to this ever-changing role. katie, thank you so much for joining us. i want to start with your inspiration for this book. you mentioned that you have been fascinated with the role of the first lady for years now. why write this? where did it come from? katie rogers, author, "american woman: the transformation of the modern first lady, from hillary clinton to jill biden": i went to school in chicago, and the birth of my interest in first ladies grew from covering an exhibit at the field museum about jacqueline kennedy and how she used style to further american diplomacy abroad. she spoke french, and she convinced the french to send over the mona lisa across the atlantic so americans could see it, and i thought that was a really incredible thing for anybody to do in an administration, let alone the first lady. so i began covering the trump white house during the trump inauguration, essentially. i got moved down from the new york newsroom. and i gravitated toward melania

trump pretty immediately because there was so much about her i think that the public really didn't know, and there was so much about her that she wasn't willing to let the public know. so she was a really interesting figure to cover as a white house beat reporter. flash forward to the beginning of the biden administration. i was approached with an idea to do a jill biden book, as i had been approached before to do melania trump books, and i thought i would like to actually place them in sort of a lineup of women who've had this role since the turn of the century. laura: as you go across these first ladies in modern history, you write that the first lady's behavior is expected to -- quote -- "fit every prism of our kaleidoscope of expectations of american womanhood.” how do you find that the role of the first lady, particularly in the last 30 years, has changed? katie: they have all sort of struggled with this idea of whether they should work. hillary clinton told me even she said, "i considered it briefly, and then i quickly set it aside." she had a legal career.

michelle obama briefly considered trying to work, but put that aside in service of adjusting her two daughters to washington and making sure her husband had the best chance he could at winning. and jill biden is really the first one to successfully say, like, i really want to keep this part of my identity. so i think that is a key way the role has changed, where this is becoming now a normal conversation, rather than expecting them to sort of give away this chunk of their identity. laura: when you write about jill biden, you say that her story is modern. why do you say that? and, also, how does she compare to the others that came before her? katie: her story is modern because, a, to know anything about the bidens, you know how jill biden came to be in public life. he was elected to the senate and lost his wife shortly after in a car accident and his infant daughter. so, really, one of the key questions i had about jill biden is, who would come in and try to knit this family back together? that is modern, to have a nontraditional family. and that's something that a lot of americans can relate to, and it's not always something we see

with first families. living in a family where the north star is joe biden, and there's always a new campaign, and there's always a new ambition, to hold on to that as a ballast was really interesting and modern. and i think anybody in a relationship struggles to kind of figure out the dynamic, the power dynamic there. even melania trump, i think, there were questions about, would she do enough with her policy platform? was she supportive of her husband enough? did she not move to washington early enough? all of these women have to sort of make these trade-offs and be a political spouse, at the end of the day. that's -- they're not housewives. they're partners and advisers to the most powerful person on the planet. laura: you explore this idea of the different powers that first ladies can have, whether it's a campaigner like jill biden, but also diplomacy, like you mentioned with jacqueline kennedy. but when you're looking at these modern first ladies, how has the role been used to the president's advantage? katie: first of all, these women can go places the president

can't easily. so, before president biden was able to get to ukraine, jill biden secretly went into ukraine to meet with olena zelenska, the first lady of ukraine, to offer america's support and a promise that we were going to stand by them. and even during the pandemic, she was the one who was going to southern states, to deep red states, going to colleges and medical centers and holding people's hands while they got the vaccines. it's a powerful messaging role that can work and function on behalf of the west wing. and it's as valuable as any other principal, if it's used correctly or used effectively, i should say. laura: when you conducted all of the interviews that you did for this book, which first lady surprised you the most out of the five that you write about? katie: yes. well, what's interesting is, i didn't get to interview her. laura bush doesn't do many interviews, so i tried, but i would have loved to interview her because the bushes were in office when i was a teenager, and 9/11 happened when i was in high school. emotions were very high about

the wars we were engaged in. and it was all about him. so, as a journalist, returning to her really and exploring her tenure and her presence as first lady was super fascinating. their advisers told me she's really the one who was there to remind him where he came from. she was never somebody who wanted to be a policy heavy-hitter. she was there to sort of help her husband in any way she could, but she also became a wartime first lady overnight. and she took over the president's radio address, and she took over an initiative to support afghan women and girls. she launched the national book festival, which is still around. so she was really a productive first lady, even though i think at the time people thought of her as more of a helpmate or just a housewife kind of presence. she was super fascinating. laura: katie rogers, this is a fascinating book. thank you so much for your time. katie: thank you for having me.

geoff: it is one of the cornerstones of american literature, "the adventures of huckleberry finn" by mark twain. now a new novel takes another look and brings a little-heard voice to the forefront. jeffrey brown speaks to author percival everett for our arts and culture series, canvas. jeffrey: a trip down the mississippi river in 19th century america taken by a young white boy, huck finn, and an enslaved black man named jim running for his life. huck told the story in mark twain's 1884 novel. but what if jim had his say? >> it's only fair. jeffrey: it's only fair? percival: yes, jim, this character, who's become iconic in our literary landscape, has never had a chance to speak. jeffrey: in percival everett's novel, jim, or james, does in a voice that is knowing, funny, pained, and deeply humane, expanding the world everett first found in "the adventures of huckleberry finn.”

percival: i read an abridged version when i was very young. jeffrey: yes. percival: but when i was a teenager and i read it again, it had a lot more resonance, even though it was also problematic because of the depiction of jim. jeffrey: we joined everett at new york's renowned strand bookstore, where he was signing an enormous stack of his widely acclaimed new book. i have seen this novel described in different ways, a retelling, a reworking, a response to "the adventures of huckleberry finn." what do you call it? percival: well, i understand all those designations, but, to me it's -- and maybe i flatter myself in saying it -- i consider myself in conversation with twain. jeffrey: conversation? percival: yes. yes. i'm perhaps writing the novel that he was not equipped to write, and nor would he even imaginit, because his character is huck finn. it's huck's novel. but he could not occupy the psychic and cultural space that was occupied by jim.

jeffrey: author of more than 30 books, everett is a famously eclectic and inventive writer, taking on a wide range of genres and subjects, including sometimes race, as in his 2011 novel "erasure.” jeffrey wright, actor: why are these books here? actor: i'm not sure. i would imagine that this author, ellison, is black. jeffrey: it was the source for the recent film "american fiction" starring jeffrey wright that skewered the mostly white publishing industry for pushing black authors to write just one stereotypical black story. was that character in "erasure" at least partly you? percival: well, i have to admit that he's alarmingly similar to me. (laughter) jeffrey: alarmingly similar? percival: i wrote a novel about the greek god dionysus called "frenzy," and it was turned down by a couple of houses.

an editor came to me and said: "well, we turned your novel down.” i said: "yes, that's cool. i don't mind.” and then this editor said: "can you tell me, what does dionysus have to do with black people?” jeffrey: the assumption being that you have to be writing about black people? percival: well, yes. and i said: "would you have asked that of john updike if he had written this novel?” but that's the impediment to making art that so many writers of color run into, the expectations of what you can make, and also this notion of authenticity, missing the fact that black people are as diverse as white americans. what i love about this one is, he put mark twain in parentheses. jeffrey: yes. (laughter) jeffrey: so clemens first. percival: clemens first, which i always wondered on. jeffrey: of twain's novel, ernest hemingway said, "all modern american literature comes from one book called huckleberry finn.” everett acknowledges its importance. percival: instead of being a book about slavery, the way "uncle tom's cabin" is a book about slavery, this is a book about an american youth, about america itself being an adolescent, wandering through its own landscape, trying to come to terms with the contradictions of slavery.

that's a pretty remarkable novel. and it's pretty remarkable for its time, when you -- when you when you view it in that way. in that way, hemingway is right. jeffrey: in twain's book, jim speaks what the author called the missouri negro dialect. in everett's book, james learns to read, but only in secret. he has imaginary debates over the meaning of equality with the french philosopher voltaire. and the slave dialect he and all blacks use is a kind of second language, a correct-incorrect grammar, in james' bitterly humorous phrase, taught to black children to use in order to hide their real knowledge, their true selves, a survival mechanism in a brutal world of white dominance and violence. percival: any oppressed, enslaved or imprisoned people will find a way to communicate with each other in front of their oppressors where their oppressors have no entry into their language. that's what we do as humans.

that's our -- often, it's -- it takes the form of humor. fulfilling expectations is what will allow them to survive in this world. and so the way they speak satisfies the expectations of their oppressors. jeffrey: "with a pencil gained at horrific cost to a fellow slave," james tells us, "i wrote myself into being.” percival: it's the avenue to freedom. it's e avenue to self-actualization. what you can say to yourself about yourself will define you. jeffrey: there are passages here that are hysterically funny, laugh-out-loud funny. and then, within another short passage, the horror of slavery comes out. percival: my humor, ironically, as a child with shape much by twain. jeffrey: really? percival: oh, yes. i can cite the sources of my sense of humor, my father, mark twain, groucho marx and bullwinkle, my sources.

jeffrey: because you read twain in childhood? and percival: yes, "life on the mississippi" and "roughing it," i thought were hilarious, and hilarious because the humor resides in his observations, not in jokes. jeffrey: but tell me more about this mix of humor and horror. percival: if you get someone laughing, then you have removed some defenses. you have removed some walls. and then you can show them the bad things. to have someone ask themselves why they're laughing, then you have done something even better. i don't go to work with a message or a mission, but i do hope to generate thought. jeffrey: is that how you feel as a writer? percival: yes. i don't have any stake in what people think, but i certainly want to live in a world where people think. jeffrey: given where we started, the conversation that you wanted to have with mark twain, what is it that you hope readers will take from james? percival: that that landscape was not wandered alone by huck, that there was another agent there, someone with agency,

experiencing this role in a very different way. that wide-eyed, innocent american wandering through that landscape is certainly attractive and youthful and promising, but he's wandering through there with a victim who has built it for him. jeffrey: the book is "james.” percival everett, thank you very much. percival: my pleasure. thank you. amna: joan wicks is a sixth grade humanities teacher in los angeles who helped her students rebound from covid learning loss through her devotion and advocacy. the school was recently recognized with the california distinguished schools award. tonight, she shares her brief but spectacular take on inspiring a love of learning. joan wicks, humanities teacher: literacy is so important in raising the next generation of kids because we have never had a generation that's about to face what they're facing.

and i'm talking about something that we have taken for granted, like hanging on to our democracy. so kids have to be an educated and active citizenry to safeguard our country for the future. i'm not entirely sure that i chose to become a classroom teacher. i think it chose me. i specifically remember learning to read in the first grade, and i was so excited about that. it was like magic had opened up to me. i found school to be relatively easy because i was such a great reader, and that got me all the way through college. i work at a small charter school in south los angeles; 98% of our kids qualify for free and reduced lunch. we have about 35% english language learners. despite these demographics and statistics, there's a lot of hope in this community, and that's one of the reasons i love working there. the sixth grade students i'm teaching right now went home in the middle of the second grade during the pandemic, and that was a really critical time, because it's before most kids have become fluent readers. a good number of our students

came in reading on the third grade level, and they seem stuck there. one of the things that we do at our school to help young readers is, we provide intervention classes in reading and math for all of our students. so many people were worried about the kids, but they're rebounding and they're coming back with a vengeance. i feel like i'm witnessing a living miracle in south los angeles. my approach to teaching aligns with my approach to parenting, because i set very high expectations for my children. if you set that bar high, they're going to try to meet that bar. well, i have three children. gabrielle is in the film industry. my son, spencer, is employed at a major u.s. bank. and amanda was the inaugural youth poet laureate of the united states, and she's also published four books. so she's living a very successful life as a poet. the advice i would give to parents about sparking a love of reading and learning in your children is, you have to be that

person. children are sponges. they look to their parents for everything, the bad habits you picked up. even your little quirks, they will pick those up too. it's really important that kids experience what a library has to offer, because, aesthetically, libraries are beautiful. when kids see the beauty of books and beauty of the library and it's a comfortable space, that makes them want to learn and read and come back. so a library is a great place for parents to take their kids. i get so much joy working with these young minds and watching them grow. i keep coming back to the classroom year after year because i get as much from the students as they get from me. my name is dr. joan wicks, and this is my brief but spectacular take on inspiring a love of learning. amna: and you can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. geoff: while you are there, check out this story about the boom and tour is heading to oklahoma to view next monday's solar eclipse. amna: join us back here tomorrow

night for our report on major shifts in immigration, following asylum-seekers from around the world moving from mexico to the new u.s. border. that is a newshour for tonight. geoff: thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> travelers experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england islands. our fleet of small cruise ships, explore american landscapes, see -- seaside villages and historic harbors, where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> consumer cellular, this is sam, how may i help you? >> this is a pocket dial. well, somebody's pocket. >> with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that's kind of our thing. have a nice day. >> certified financial planner

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and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at the arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >> you're watching pbs.

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