on this edition for saturday, march 8th, the latest on the disappearance of that malaysian jetliner carrying 239 passengers and crew. germany's potentially pivotal role resolving the crisis in ukraine. in our signature segment, the connection between music and learning. >> the idea was never to make musicians. the idea was to build highly functioning, responsible citizens. >> next on pbs "news hour weekend." >> pbs "news hour weekend" is made possible by --

from the studios at in new york, hari sreenivasan. >> investigators are trying to determine what happened to a malaysian airline flight carrying 239 passengers and crew which disappeared without warning on route from kuala lumpur to beijing last night. several hours later, two oil slicks, each several miles long, were spotted in waters off vietnam. a possible sign the missing boeing 777 aircraft went down

near there. we have the latest from ben chapman of itv news. >> reporter: it was an anxious and anguished wait for a plane that would never arrive. families who came to beijing airport to select their loved ones slowly realized they were lost. in kuala lumpur where the plane took off, people clambered for information and hope. but there was none of either to give them. >> no use. still waiting. no news. >> reporter: the passengers were onboard this malaysian airline's boeing 777. tracking websites show that two hours into its journey 35,000 feet above the south china sea, it suddenly disappears off the radar. the pilots had not sent any distress signal. >> that indicates a catastrophic failure onboard the airplane.

we could be talking about anything from the failure of systems onboard the airplane right the way through to an act of terrorism. >> it was mechanical and pilot failures that were blamed for a similar crash five years ago when an air france plane disappeared during a storm over the atlantic. but this time, weather conditions were good. two passengers may have been traveling on stolen passports. but officials say it's too soon to speculate on the cause. >> we are looking at all possibilities. it's too early to make any specific remarks. >> reporter: and despite a search effort being coordinated across five countries, no wreckage has yet been found. although the vietnamese air force have found two oil slicks near where the plane went missing. tonight, relatives in beijing are being supported at a hotel. still unsure what has happened to their loved ones, but fearing the worst.

ben chapman, itv news. >> boeing is reporting that hairline cracks have been discovered in the wings of some of its 787 dreamliners now being built. 122 of the 787s are already in use around the world. but the company says it is confident none of those planes has the same problem. the wings are produced in japan by mitsubishi heavy industries and then flown to the u.s. boeing says they are conducting inspections at assembly plants in washington state, charleston, south carolina and at the mitsubishi plant in japan. the chief of the u.s. border patrol has issued a directive advising agents not to fire their weapons unless absolutely necessary. immigrant rights groups have criticized the agents for being trigger happy. according to the u.s. government, agents have fired their weapons 43 times since 2010. typically after being targeted by rock throwers along the border with mexico. 10 of the rock throwers have been killed. russia today dispatched hundreds of troops to an area

near the capital city of crimea. the ukrainian territory it occupied a week ago. reuters released these pick which you ares showing a convoy of about 65 trucks carrying troops to a military base there. they said the convoy was accompanied by eight armored vehicles, two ambulances and fuel tankers. ukraine said that one of its border patrol airplanes came under fire today while flying near crimea. it said no one aboard was hurt. we'll have more on ukraine right after the news summary. former nsa contractor edward snowden claims that before leaking classified documents to the press, he went to more than ten intelligence officials with concerns about the agency's surveillance techniques. he says none of them took any action. in written testimony to the eu released yesterday, snowden says he was warned, quoting now, not to rock the boat. and to let the issue be someone else's problem. the nsa declined to comment. for the first time in six

years an eu foreign policy chief is in iran for talks. katherine ashton arrived in tehran for meetings with high level iranian officials including president rouhani about that country's disputed nuclear program. her visit is a prelude to nuclear negotiations that resume on march 17th in vienna between iran and the world's six leading powers. back in the u.s., the annual capture and slaughter of bison in yellowstone national park has ended. more than 260 bison have been killed so far this year and a similar number have been captured and shipped for slaughter. it's all part of a plan to limit the bison population in the park to 3,000. ranchers near the park claim bison spread disease and reduce grazing land for cattle. wildlife advocates oppose the program saying there's room for more bison in the park. there's been a major archaeological find. a 3,000-year-old burial site containing the remains of five people has been unearthed in peru. archaeologists found tools,

necklaces at the site. it's believed to date from the pre incan area. it's the first time human remains that old have been found there. it's been a week now since russian forces occupied crimea, an area that's been part of ukraine for the last 60 years. publicly, at least, neither side seems to be giving ground. russia may be on the verge of annexing the region. and the west is imposing sanctions. one country might be uniquely positioned to help resolve the dispute. that country is germany. for more about this we're joined from washington by the executive director of the transatlantic academy and has written extensively about german foreign and security policies for many years. steve, why is germany uniquely positioned here? how could they break this logjam? >> well, they are by far the most important player in europe on russia and russia policy.

you really can't have a european position without germany on russia. of course, the european position is central to the american strategy. because we can't have a really effective strategy if the europeans are not onboard. secondly, the germans are a huge economic player in russia. by far the largest foreign player. so they have a lot of impact on russia. the russians listen to them because of this close economic relationship. and so the germans can, i think, speak to putin with a little bit more confidence, let's say, he would have more confidence in them than talking, let's say, to obama or to somebody from other countries. so they're increasingly important interlocular between the u.s. and russia. >> what do we know about merkel and putin? >> it's very bad. at least as bad as the obama/putin relationship. don't forget, she grew up in

east germany. putin was a kgb officer in east germany at the time. when they first met when she was chancellor, putin knew she had a big fear of dogs. especially big dogs. putin brought his big dog into the meeting to show her that he knew that and that he could intimidate her. she's also felt that when putin speaks german to her, she's being interrogated. on a personal level it's very bad. but merkel is a professional. she's a scientist. she's very rational. she's a politician. she understands that you have to separate personal feelings from political relationships. and she's done that as well. so she does -- i think she does that very effectively. >> wow. now, this is in the context of a u.s./german relationship that's gone through some strains. we've realized that one ally has been bugging the cell phone of the other ally. >> absolutely. that's a very important factor right now in this whole relationship on russia and crimea and ukraine. because the german/american relationship is really at a bad state right now. the snowden effect has been very

deep in germany. much deeper than anywhere else, really, in europe. you have to think, of course, about their history. not only the nazi past but the east german stazi. we're always listening into east german conversations. the germans are very sensitive. they also felt the u.s. was their best ally and really a friend. now they feel betrayed. they're kind of caught in the middle. they have a certain sense of distance from the u.s. they also have the strong economic stake with russia. at the same time, the german public and the german media are extremely critical of what's going on in russia and with putin in particular. so it's a very difficult time, i'd say, for them right now. but it's a very tough time for the u.s. to try to work with the germans given this snowden impact and the fact that they're still very disappointed in the obama administration. >> what are the germans doing right now? it seems neither germany or the u.s. want to take the lead on sanctions and possibly put their own companies and their countries at a competitive disadvantage. >> that's exactly right.

this is the important point that we have to keep in mind in trying to develop our own sanction policy. because we don't want to penalize our own companies. our economic stake is much smaller than the european or the german stake, but it's still there. there are certain companies that are trying to make -- they have some substantial investments, let's say, in russia. so i think that what the germans are trying to do is to try to find some sort of solution to send a signal to russia that this is being taken very seriously, but at the other hand, they realize that they're in a situation where they really can't afford to take serious economic sanctions because the impact on their account would be quite substantial. don't forget that they get about a third of their energy, their gas and their oil, directly from russia. so this would have a devastating impact on their economy. it's a bit like the u.s./china relationship. we have a lot of problems with the chinese but at the same time, we have this very strong economic relationship which really limits what we can do. >> how do those energy needs play into all of this? it seems there's a few european countries already asking for the u.s. to start selling them

natural gas. >> that's right. and we have a very difficult decision here. because we want to keep the natural gas here to keep our energy prices down. and this allows us to be more competitive in the international competition with german and european companies. so the more that we send to europe, the more that affects our economy at home. the other factor, of course, is gas prom is now threatening to cut off gas supplies to ukraine. a lot of the gas to europe goes through ukraine. the germans have a separate gas pipeline with the russians. so they're a little bit more immune from that. but i think overall, we are seeing right now that energy can be a major factor in how the russians try to destabilize ukraine and put pressure on the europeans and also put pressure on the u.s./european relationship. >> so what could germany do in these conversations with putin? >> well, i think what they can do, i really think the germans are going to have to be the intermediaries between the west and russia. i don't think -- i think the u.s. is too poisonous right now

in terms of putin's view of us. so i think they have to be -- to take the lead and to tell the russians essentially how serious this is and that they really are risking a much more serious breach with the west if they don't understand that they can't -- i think can't go beyond crimea. i think crimea is a containable situation. if the russians were to go into eastern ukraine, i think we're talking about a very, very serious unpredictable relationship. what the germans and the europeans are doing right now is threatening to stop -- they were talking about trying to liberalize visas with the russians into europe, into russia, into germany, sorry. they want to now suspend those discussions. they're suspending trade discussions. they're talking about going through this european union trade association with ukraine as a way of bolstering ukraine. so these are the kind of things i think that europe and the germans can do. >> steve savo from the

transatlantic academy, thanks so much. >> thank you. my pleasure. finally, our signature segment. tonight we take a look at the possible link between music and learning. according to the national endowment for the arts, there's been a sharp decline in the number of school music programs during the last several decades. what effect that's had on learning is difficult to quantify, but there is no evidence that practicing and playing music regularly does help children learn and helps low income children make up lost ground. news hour special correspondent josh aranson reports from los angeles. his story first aired in january. >> reporter: he lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods in los angeles. like many of her friends, she was struggling in school.

her interest in learning music prompted her parents to enroll her in a music program in their neighborhood called the harmony project. in the three years since, much has changed in her life. >> music is like a dialogue. because we can play a certain thing. let's say the violin can play something back. it can be the same melody, different notes. it's like a conversation. talking back and forth. >> reporter: serving more than 2,000 students with a budget of $2.5 million, the mostly privately funded harmony project is filling a gap in low income areas where schools have cut music education programs. students get at least five hours of music classes and rehearsals each week, year round. for poor students, it's tuition free, including their instrument. 59-year-old margaret martin started the harmony project in 2001. >> harmony project is a research

based program. we commit to our students for their entire childhood. >> reporter: the programs are started purposely in tough inner city areas to serve children of poverty. >> we know that dropout rates are about 50% in the neighborhoods where we build harmony project programs. more than 80% of poor black and hispanic kids do not read at grade level. >> reporter: it's well documented that children whose mothers have little education are rarely being read to and verbal interaction in those families is minimal. scientists believe that this not only puts them behind in school, but those children rarely catch up. because their brains are not developing as rapidly as the brains of more stimulated kids. >> early sustained music learning is actually the frame, the frame upon which education itself can be built for low income kids. >> reporter: margaret martin was convinced of that.

because of the graduation rate of kids who have gone through her program. this year, she says, 93% of them finished high school in four years and went to college. but martin acknowledges, she does not have the formal training to prove that music helps kids grasp language better and become more proficient readers. so she enlisted the help of this woman. her name is dr. nina krause. she's a neurobiologist at northwestern university. and for 25 years she has studied how the brain processes information. the neurobiology of auditory learning. no one has ever proven conclusively that music improves learning, and some studies have found no link at all. but after being contacted by martin, the northwestern scientist designed tests to measure the impact music had on this group of low income kids. dr. krause started in 2011 with a group of 80 students from an l.a. gang zone. the students came from similar backgrounds and were all motivated to learn music at the

harmony project. half the kids were selected to start music study then. and the other half, the control group, waited a year to begin. dr. krause's team took a mobile testing lab to l.a. at the beginning and then once a year for two years to assess the change in the kids' brain response. in specific areas important for good reading and good learning skills. >> ready, set, go. >> we ask them to listen to words or parts of words. >> imagine that you're at a party. there will be a woman talking and several other talkers in the background. >> we have them listen to sentences that are presented in noisy backgrounds and they have to repeat back as much of the sentence that they were able to hear. >> the pencil was cut to be sharp at both ends. >> the pencil was cut to be sharp at both ends. >> of course, the background gets noisier and noisier. it gets harder and harder to hear the sounds. >> a toad and frog each had to tell a tale. >> people who have had musical

training are better at hearing speech in noise. and it's not that different from what you're asking your nervous system to do when you're listening for a teacher's voice in a noisy classroom. >> especially true when a child is sitting in an orchestra and has to distinguish the sound he's making and his section is making from all the other sounds in the orchestra. >> exactly. >> so the red is the group of kids who have had music experience. and between year one and year two the perception in noise is a straight line up? >> mm-hmm. >> reporter: and the black line represents the control group that started music in year two. their comprehension of meaning in a noisy environment goes up only then. after they started music. >> and the kids who've now had two years of musical experience are continuing to make gains. music education is an important investment in teaching a child all kinds of skills.

>> reporter: dr. krause is still analyzing data. but she says preliminary findings suggest music may enhance the neurological development of kids in the harmony program who had been behind in school. >> you can document that kids who have had musical education now have nervous systems that respond more accurately and precisely to meaningful elements in language. >> in science, i have very low grades. once i started music, being able to practice and concentrating, my science grades have gone higher. and so have my other grades in other subjects. i would concentrate in my music. and it was something to be focused on and not be bothered by anyone. i was using that on my homework or in anything. science is now one of my best subjects. >> reporter: you like it now?

>> yes. i love it. >> reporter: what do you say to those who say, well, these kids all listen to music. they're listening to music all the time. why doesn't that work? >> nobody ever got fit watching spectator sports. plugging in and listening to music. it doesn't fix your brain. doing it transforms your nervous system. it makes you basically a better learner. >> reporter: who's to say that arts education in general, whether it's dance or whether it's painting, might be as beneficial as music in terms of developing learning skills for these kids? >> there have been a number of studies. and the language abilities seem to be strengthened by the music instruction more than the art. and so these language-based skills seem to profit from music instruction. >> reporter: the harmony project has 17 sites in los angeles and

1 in ventura. and there are 16 more in three other states. >> here we go. from the allegro. measure 37. >> reporter: what are the goals? where do you want to take this? >> oh, man. my dream is to build harmony project programs in inner cities throughout the country. because our students are achieving their unique potential. they are blossoming. >> reporter: find out how scientists, educators and musicians are collaborating to figure out how the brain is affected by music. visit newshour.pbs.org. join us tomorrow on air and online. we'll take you to one of the largest ukrainian/american communities in the nation. what they're thinking and doing about the crisis in ukraine. >> you feel like you want to do something. you can't do anything.

and you're hoping that you get some support from the world. >> that's it for this edition of pbs "news hour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. pbs "news hour weekend." i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com pbs "news hour weekend" is made possible by --

steves: venice's sleek and graceful gondolas are a symbol of the city. from the start, boats were the way to get around among the island communities of the lagoon. to navigate over shifting sandbars, the boats were flat-bottomed, and the captains stood up to see. today's boats still come with gondoliers standing up and no rudder or keel. they're built with a slight curve so that a single oar on the side propels them in a straight line.

the art of the gondola survives in the quiet back canals. in this shop, the workmen, who needed to be good with wood, were traditionally from italy's mountains. that's why they maintain a refreshing alpine feel in this delightful little corner of venice. nearby, in an artisan's workshop, visitors are welcome to observe as he provides for the city's 400 gondoliers. working with traditional tools, graceful oars are carefully planed to be true and properly balanced. and each walnut forcola, the stylized oarlock, is like a sculpture -- handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, and honoring the city's heritage.

a gondola ride is a traditional must for romantics. gondolas are moored everywhere. wait till early evening, when the crowds are gone and the light is right. find a gondolier whose personality you enjoy, settle on a price, and hop in. man: [ speaking italian ] steves: on a gondola, you glide through your own private venice, far from the hubbub of modern tourism. lonely bridges, canals without sidewalks, and reflections of once-upon-a-time grandeur.

explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. there are no wrong roads to anywhere. there's no accidents. as we go along there are course corrections that we can make. every experience that we have in our life is there to teach us something. announcer: join spiritual teacher and author dr. wayne dyer for an intimate conversation as he returns to pbs to offer stories of his own life journey and share his deeply held beliefs. dyer: i want to step back from my life because i know that there have been forces or powers or some kind of energy that has been impacting me throughout my entire life.