captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: violence on the rise in yemen, suicide bombers target mosques, leaving hundreds of casualties during weekly prayers. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. also ahead, fracking rules for federal lands new restrictions to regulate america's oil and gas boom. and it's friday, mark shields and david brooks are here, to analyze the week's news. plus: >> look, i am not an ideologue. i am an originalist. >> woodruff: reality and fiction take the drama of the supreme court to the stage in a new play about the combative conservative justice antonin

scalia. >> i tell people what they don't want to hear, that's what makes me a monster. that's how half the country see me: combative, law and order conservative. and that's what the other half sees me as a hero. >> woodruff: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: this was a day of terror in the capital of yemen. rebel t.v. in the city reports at least 137 people died, and some 350 were wounded in a wave of bombings. a stunned witness said: "blood was running like a river." >> woodruff: it was the deadliiest attack in decades, in a country torn by strife. the bombings rocked two crowded mosques during friday prayers. amid the carnage, men frantically tended to the wounded, blood and debris littered the street, and witnesses tried to make sense of what happened.

>> ( translated ): we were in the mosque during the sermon, we first heard an explosion outside, near the security perimeter. when the first explosion happened, they used the chaos and the vacuum to enter the mosque in the middle of prayer and blow us up from inside the building. >> woodruff: both mosques are controlled by shiite houthi rebels, who stormed the capital last fall and are said to have iran's backing. the rebels control a growing swath of northern yemen, and have extended their reach westward. they've battled the sunni- dominated "al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula," which holds sway in much of central yemen. adding to the chaos: the islamic state" group, also sunni, claimed today's bombings, and warned of a flood of attacks to oust the houthis. that drew a skeptical response in washington. >> it does appear that these kinds of claims are often made for a perception that they have, that it benefits their propaganda efforts. >> woodruff: the u.s. has

struggled to maintain any influence in yemen, through president abd rabbuh mansur hadi. forces loyal to him are fighting to maintain a power base in the south. >> woodruff: we'll take a closer look at the chaos in yemen after the news summary. iran, the u.s. and five other powers broke off nuclear talks in switzerland today. the iranian delegation returned home for the funeral of their president's mother. secretary of state john kerry said the discussions had been "very productive," and in washington, his spokesman urged patience. >> we're focused on the deadline at the end of march and that's why, you know, we have the intention to go back and resume talks so we're focused on that and focused on getting a good deal. >> woodruff: negotiations resume next wednesday. in the meantime, kerry is set to meet with his european counterparts in london tomorrow.

president obama called today for iran to release three american citizens. he timed the appeal to coincide with the iranian new year. one of the americans is jason rezaian, a "washington post" reporter being held on unspecified charges. the others are a former marine convicted of spying for the c.i.a. and a minister found guilty of setting up churches in iran. police in afghanistan have arrested seven people in the brutal death of an afghan woman. this graphic video shows a mob beating and kicking the woman yesterday. it happened outside a mosque in central kabul. the victim's body was later set on fire and thrown into a river. the crowd apparently accused her of insulting islam by burning a koran; a police investigator said she'd been seeing a psychiatrist for several years. >> woodruff: in india, a scandal has erupted over cheating on crucial high school exams. authorities said today more than 1,000 tenth graders have been expelled this week. the issue exploded into view

with video of dozens of people scaling the walls of a testing center in bihar state. they could be seen passing, or even throwing, answers to students through open windows. but the state education minister said it's hard to stop. >> ( translated ): there are more than 1.4 million students sitting for exams three to four people helping a single student would mean that there are a total of six to seven million people helping students cheat. is it the responsibility of the government alone to manage such a huge number of people and to conduct a 100% free and fair examination? >> woodruff: reports of cheating have increased since the government began offering cash to poor students who perform well. they have to pass the exams to continue their education. from rome to moscow, millions of people across europe were treated to a cosmic phenomenon today: a full, solar eclipse. people on the norwegian archipelago of svalbard had the

best view of all. it was one of only two locations on the planet where the moon totally eclipsed the sun. and, on wall street, it wasn't the eclipse, but a recovery in oil prices that led the broader market higher. the dow jones industrial average gained almost 170 points to close above 18,100. the nasdaq rose 34, and the s- and-p 500 added about 19. for the week, the dow gained 2%. the nasdaq rose 3%. and the s-and-p added nearly 3%. still to come on the newshour: power struggles, ethnic tensions and violence on the rise in yemen; new rules for fracking on federal land; the inspiring story of a teenager who opened up access to his school; mark shields and david brooks on the week's news; a new play dramatizes the life and work of supreme court justice antonin scalia; a look at important stories and news not trending online;

and, parents struggle with how to teach their children about racial profiling. >> woodruff: we want to take a closer look at today's violence in yemen and what it says about the state of the region. joining me now is nabeel khoury. he had a career in the foreign service and was the deputy chief of mission in yemen for the state department from 2004 to 2007. welcome to the program. >> happy to be here. >> woodruff: so a terrible situation today. over 130 were killed over 300 wounded, worse violence in decades. how do you explain this? >> well this attack was perpetrated against the houthi principal who are in charge in

sanaa. a soft target was chosen meaning a mosque where zadi go, a part of shiite islam they broke off shiite islam centuries ago. >> woodruff: so it's a vulnerable site, these mosques. >> they're vulnerable because they're not well protected. also i think the attackers probably i.s.i.s., need to inject a sectarian tone to the chaos and the fighting already taking place. up till now, yemenees have not likely been against each other. they're divided tribally and according to regions of the country, but the fact is the north has a lot of saidy muslims and the south sunni, and i.s.i.s. is likely trying to

play on that and recruit sunni fundamentalists. >> woodruff: i.s.i.s. having sunni roots. but, you know, today, i.s.i.s. made a statement claiming responsibility. from the white house, from the administration, we heard skepticism about that, that they weren't ready to accept. >> there's always skepticism when something like that happens and before any real intelligence comes in or any real indication, any real proof, but so i think, at this point, though, since i don't work for the white house, i can speculate and analyze. i think it's likely i.s.i.s. doesn't have a major presence in yemen but have declared the beginning of a cell for themselves there, they are competing with al quaida for influence and i wouldn't be surprised if it was a small group of them that did this. >> woodruff: how does that fit in with what i.s.i.s. is doing? we know they're very active in

iraq and sir. i can't how does this fit into that? you said they called it a "cell." does that mean they're tightly connected to iraq, syria, i.s.i.s., or not? >> well, they could be tightly connected or simply yemenees inspired by i.s.i.s. i.s.i.s. is north in syria and in iraq but declared they would like to establish an islamic caliphate all over the islamic world. so having a foothold in yemen would be good for the expansion. but yemen is so chaotic and there are so many fighting factions there that i.s.i.s. will probably not make a big dent there. >> woodruff: where does this leave the situation though in yemen, because you have the president who's fled the capital -- >> fled the palace in the south. >> woodruff: fled the palace in the south. you have al quaida in the north.

the houthis have taken over. who's in charge? >> well, the houthis are in charge in sanaa and north of sanaa all the way to the saudi border. but in sanaa itself, they are not fully in charge. they have taken over government offices and army barracks, but they are challenged every day. so for the south, in other words the areas in the south, there are factions all against the houthis but they are not united. >> woodruff: and what about the united states? the u.s. was seen as backing the president who's not in -- who's nowhere to be found now. what is the u.s. policy in yemen? >> well, the u.s. policy is to cling on to the legitimacy of the presidency of president hadi in yemen because he was genuinely elected by his people. the u.s. position is also to

cling to the national dialogue, the negotiations that have been going on between various factions of yemen led by the united nations envoy. but realistically the president of yemen no longer controls even a quarter of yemen and the atnal has come to an end. a struggle for power in yemen the husseinys are the strongest in the country. if they are not seriously opposed, they could take over the whole country. >> woodruff: so we watch to see how u.s. policy develops. >> the u.s. so far has not had any contacts with the houthis so them taking over the whole country is not good news for the u.s. >> woodruff: nabeel khoury, we thank you very much. >> happy to be here. >> woodruff: the boom in hydraulic fracturing in the

united states has transformed the energy picture. in fact, the u.s. is now poised to become the largest producer of oil and gas in the world. but there have been increasing worries about the environmental and health risks that come with that boom. today, the obama administration announced the first federal regulations for fracking. hari sreenivasan has the story. >> sreenivasan: fracking is a technique that involves injecting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to fracture shale rock and release gas and oil today's new rules regulate how the process should be done on federal lands. much more fracking is actually done on private and state property, but the regulations are seen by some as a template for wider drilling. they've been in the works since the president's first term. among other things, they'll affect the production of wells and what the industry must disclose about chemicals and wastewater in the process. we look at what's significant about them, and some angry reaction in a number of quarters. amy harder is covering it for the wall street journal and

joins me now. so, amy, help us understand why these new rules are significant. >> well they're significant because the federal government has not yet regulated hydraulic fracturing in terms of impact on groundwater supply so that's really at issue here. the administration first proposed the rules in 2013, we proposed them again in 2013, now with the announcement today we're seeing the final product of that. and while it only regulates oil and gas drilling on federal lands which accounts for 11% of the gas consumed in the country and 5% of the oil it's still significant because as you said analysts say this will provide a benchmark that states throughout the country will aim to meet. >> sreenivasan: what specific type of changes are people likely to see and how does it affect fracking? >> two big changes, one considered a win for the environmental community and one considered a win for the industry groups and oil and gas

companies. the final rule requires companies to disclose the chemicals that they use in fracking to an industry-run web site called frack focus, instead of directly to the government. now, environmental groups wanted that to be a requirement to disclose those chemicals directly to the government. so that was something the industry lobbied for and got. on the other side of the issue there is this new requirement that companies must include and have an above-ground tank to store after the fracking process. thapt that helps add to the cost of the regulation, almost double it to almost $11,000 per well, which is still quite a small fraction of what it costs to drill a well overall but that's something you can expect companies and states might push back on. >> sreenivasan: let's talk about the pushback. some lobbying groups representing oil and gas filed

suit to try to stop. this what are they concerned about? >> they're definitely prepared for the regulation because the lawsuit was sent out mere minutes after the final regulation was posted online today. they say that the rule has no merit and no reason to exist given that many states already regulate fracking and that's true. most states, especially those with most oil and gas resources, such as colorado, wyoming, texas and pennsylvania many of them already have pretty strict regulations. so that's their reasoning for why they don't think these regulations are necessary. congressional republicans also introduce legislation just yesterday evening that prohibits the federal government from regulating fracking as well. >> sreenivasan: what's the concern to the environmental groups? where do they think that government is not going far enough? >> the environmental group is a little bit more fractured. you have some groups, some environmentalists who say fracking is dangerous no matter what and it should be banned.

they want a victory on that from last year when new york moved to ban the practice which is the first state to ban the practice that has substantial resources. vermont also banned fracking over the last couple of years but it has no resources so it's primarily a symbolic victory for the environmentalists. >> okay. the environmentalisted wanted fracking disclosure to the federal government so they didn't get that. overall they're happy the regulation was released. it was delayed and we proposed for quite a while so i think they're happy it came out. >> sreenivasan: are there consequenceons capitol hill, ways around this either lobby is looking for. >> you saw the republican senator from from oklahoma he dropped a bill with support from every other republican in the senate that would ban the government from regulating fracking. i don't anticipate they could

get 60 votes, the required number of votes needed to pass the bill through the senate, but even if they did i'm pretty confident president obama would veto the bill. the republican controlled house also signaled they're planning some sort of legislative response. but i think overall their efforts are not going to succeed which is how many things in the energy environment space go along capitol hill. >> sreenivasan: amy harder of the "wall street journal," thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> woodruff: now how one student's efforts changed his high school in texas and made it more accessible for people with disabilities. it's the subject of nationally recognized video from our student reporting lab in austin. and tells the story of archer hadley, a teenager with cerebral palsy who mobilized the entire school community. today, our student reporting lab team arrived at the white house for the second annual student film festival.

the president congratulated the young producers for finding unique stories about the importance of giving back to one's community. over 1,500 schools submitted films, 15 were chosen. here is austin high school's winning video. my name is archer hadley. i have-- having cerebral palsy and living in a wheelchair is a completely different experience than anyone with a "normal life." because i'm disabled, independence is a little harder for me. one day, it was raining and as i'm trying to open the door water is gushing on my back, i'm getting soaking wet. i tried this for five to seven minutes, and i got really

frustrated, and that was when i realized hey, i have been to a lot of public places that have automatic doors, why can't i do something about this? >> when we first visited with archer about what his expectations were, he wanted to install automatic door operators on three doors. the cost for each of those doors was somewhere between 5,000 and $6500 per door in our original estimate. >> archer's idea was a wheelchair challenge, involving students to challenge others to spend a day in a wheelchair. if you challenge someone you need to pay $20. >> today i was nominated for the wheelchair challenge. all day i will be in the wheelchair. i can't get out of my wheelchair, i have to go in it to all my classes.

>> all participants thoroughly understand why we need the buttons now. >> obviously a lot of people came together to make this happen and this was really need to see. >> archer raised $87,000. not only did it go toward the original concept of three doors, it went on to be five doors. the challenge was to get all the work that was required for the project completed in the winter break period all of the work had to be ready for a celebration scheduled monday january 25 when school returned to session. anyone with heart anyone with determination, anyone with focus on achieving anything can achieve things beyond their wildest dreams. camper-- archer is an inspiration, an inspiration for me and for so many others. >> archer is giving back to his community by providing the ability for students and faculty

and any sits visitor who comes to our school feel welcome. this project will help the community for years and years to come. >> woodruff: to learn more about the newshour's student reporting labs project and see original youth-produced stories from around the country, go to studentreportinglabs.org >> woodruff: and to the analysis of shields and brooks, that's syndicated columnist mark shields and new york times columnist david brooks. welcome. let's talk about israel, its newly-elected prime minister, benjamin netanyahu or looks that way. he turned heads, david, just before the election when he said that he didn't believe, after all, that the palestinians should have their own state and, also, when he talked about arabs going to to

the polls in droves, that was a few days ago. yesterday, he was telling american reporters, no, he does think there could be a palestinian state. which is it? >> he's a fascinating figure. he's brilliant, isolated, inslayer -- >> woodruff: you don't mean that as a coample meant nixonian? >> he has a small staff, small circle, so i would differentiate the two statements. the statement about the arabs was voter suppression. in his electoral system, he's not trying to win over left votes, he's trying to get more right parties in his camp which he succeeded in doing. the stuff on the palestinian state is more complicated. it's been reported he's saying never will be a palestinian

state. that's not what i read or what i think he's saying. he's saying with the quote that today with the islamic on rise it would be a risk to have it today, i don't think he said forevermore. it's arguable whether with hamas and i.s.i.s. around whether there should be a palestinian state but its defensible. >> woodruff: you're saying it's consistent. >> i thought it was clearly a pander to the right, obviously. but was it outrageous? did h he say there should never be a pallets within state in i don't think he said hat at the height of the campaign. >> woodruff: mark. uncritically admiring supporters and friends of the prime minister that include

david, charles, mike huckabee, insist on comparing him to the incomparable leader of the british forces world war ii. i think we've established this past week for sure that benjamin netanyahu is no winston churchill. whatever else he, is he's not a wirnsen -- winston churchill. he violated the rule that it's better to lose an election than mislead the people and win an election. david's case is legitimate but there is no doubt his intention was to turn out the vote. his intention was to walk back from the 2009 position that he had taken when he then came out in favor of the two-state solution and he did it solely for electoral purposes solely to win an election and i think

arabs coming out in droves is so violating jewish values of welcoming the stranger and standing up for the outsider and defending the marginalized. this was classic us against them. this was the narrowest and meanest of politics to which jews sadly and tragically around the world have been subjected to and including this country and just to win a lousy election? he's a diminished man, i believe. >> woodruff: whatever you think about what he did, we now hear the obama administration saying they're thinking about going to u.n. to support the palestinians. is this an overreaction? does it make sense under the circumstances? >> i think it's overreaction. i agree with what mark said at the suppression of the vote and treatment of the israeli arabs, but the united states has said all along that a unilateral

solution is not a solution, it has to be mutually agreed. i just don't think that's a stable peace. ii don't think the palestinians are in this position they're in divided with hamas and the p.a. unwilling to recognize israel as a jewish state. they're a long way, fundamentalism is on the march, and a long way from getting to the place where palestinians and israelis can reach a solution. i think we're stuck here for a while given the current conditions on both sides. >> woodruff: the obama administration overreacted? >> i understand that the president is upset. i mean this has been a bipartisan issue for more than 50 years, support both democrats and republicans. netanyahu and his supporters in this country made it a partisan issue. he injected himself in the race

two weeks before the election. he injected to use it as a forum to attack the policies of the president. he did. now, i don't think he should make foreign policy on the basis of peak, but i don't think it can be overstated israel has been an embattled democracy that enjoyed overwhelming support of americans and has been a moral force and i think that's compromised as long as israel is an occupying power occupying the west bank where palestinian rights are abridged, that political and civil and legal rights are abridged and that is not -- that hurts israel. israel lost support, a majority of americans under the age of 30 opposed israel last summer in hamas, a battle in gaza, and are losing support in this country and will be further ice laid. >> one quick point about the

politics of resentment. this is a country of 6 million people, they need the u.s. it used to be bipartisan on israeli politics, you never want to mess with that relationship. i thought it would horrify voters more than it did the fact netanyahu was willing to do that. >> woodruff: to congress the budget republicans, we see what the republicans want to do with the budget. many are arguing we need to cut $5.5 trillion the next ten years, cutting medicaid and food stamps. democrats are screaming this is way too much. do you see balance here? >> this is happening on two levels, one is the grand vision level, what do you want, and the republican budget in the house has a grand vision. they're right to say we need massive chings to get the budget. the budget is rising up to 78% of the gdp way out in ten years. so they do need to do things. i salute the way they're

attacking some entitlement programs but are taking huge cuts from medicaid, the least fortunate and out of discretionary spend wig is already at his torque lows. so i agree the idea of due ting but it should be coming out of entitlements for the affluent and not out of discretionary, parks, f.b.i. and shouldn't be coming out of medicaid. i like their approach but just not the priorities they demonstrate in the broad rush. the narrow thing is over where to cut defense and the republicans are just hugely divided. >> i think they want to increase defense, judy. it's part of the republican creed and so the first time understandably they have a real advantage on national security and it's measured in the polls, what they hope would be a national security election, but also part of what has been a consistent republican position, and they now are more interventionennist party than at

anytime since george w. bush left office. at the same time you have the deficit hawks. they're given a bad name to smoke and mirrors. they say they will repeal the affordable care act and cut medicare and medicaid. the senate does not do that, the senate reps. they voted for it when they went in power but don't include it as part of their agenda when they are in power. so we're seeing a lot of back and forth. as long as reps won't raise taxes and as long as democrats won't in any way make en titlements based on need rather than just across the board i really think that we're doomed to this deadlock. >> this is like the middle east. both parties have to do it together because it's too painful to do it alone. so you have to get there and we're not getting there anytime soon. >> woodruff: the other story out of the senate has to do with upholding the nomination and

coffin nation to loretta lynch, the president's choice for the attorney general. mark, the air argument that democrats are making or that republicans are making is that we're going to hold this up until you pass the human trafficking bill. that's now being held up by language over abortion. is there a real difference here or is it pure politics? >> it's the senate at its worst. human trafficking bill was reported out unanimously. the hyde amendment which has been in office for 40 years, judy prevents the use of public friends except in the case of rape, incest or the life of the mother for abortion. it's on page 4, page 5 of the bill. it's there. then one of the pro-choice groups ever village atlanta gets

this language and it becomes a matter of faith for the democrats. you have to understand, the republicans are lock step on one issue, they will not raise taxes. democrats are in lock step on another issue, pro-choice on all cases in abortion. so human trafficking is lost. human trafficking is an outrage against any decent people. the victims are terribly terribly treated, whether in sex trade or whatever, this is a chance to get them back, to help them, to help local law enforcement, and the democrats are standing on one side and the republicans are playing games on other both sides playing games, they ought to pass the human trafficking and confirm loretta lynch. >> if we had a government that worked, they would say okay the attorney general has nothing to do with human trafficking we'll let her go through and the democrats will say the hyde amendment has loopholes and doesn't have much practical effect we'll let it go through and both things would get

through but we don't live in that country. >> woodruff: on a completely different note i want to say at the end this is college basketball march madness. i want to hear from the two of you in less than 30 seconds. who are you picking, mark. >> you're obviously talk about men's and women's. >> woodruff: i am. notre dame, both men and women number three seed and the key is 100% graduation rate in both teams which i think is standing aloan amongst competitors in division 1. >> mark bravely picking his own school. >> just happens. i'm sticking with catholics. it's a good year for catholics villanova. it's very evil to support kentucky they're an evil force in the country (laughter) villanova. i don't know if i'm sexist i've not paid much attention to

women's bracket so i'll be for connecticut. >> woodruff: along with other great schools. we'll continue this conversation next friday, david brooks, mark shields, thank you both. >> woodruff: next, the audience is the judge in the case of scalia v. scalia, a portrait of the supreme court justice opening tonight at washington's arena stage. jeffrey brown has our look. >> the court has been my theater and i have the costumes. >> brown: in the new play, "the originalist," the first thing you notice about actor edward gero is his striking physical resemblance to the character he's playing: the real-life supreme court justice antonin scalia. >> i tell people what they don't want to hear. that's what makes me a monster. that's how half the country see me: combative, law and order

conservative. and that's what the other half sees me as a hero. which am i? >> brown: as it happens, both the justice and the actor trace their heritage to nearby villages in southern italy, both are from new jersey, raised in catholic homes and schools. to really "be scalia," all gero had to do was take a short ride over to the supreme court, to watch him in action, to get the mannerisms down. >> he sort of closes his eyes a little bit, and heightens his sense of listening. >> brown: show me. >> well, you know, he will, he'll listen, and then when he hears something then he'll pounce, right? so he gathers up and searching for the right word, or for the logic of the argument, and once he grabs onto it, he'll launch and have a question. >> brown: antonin scalia, of course, is the famously

combative leader of the court's conservative wing, and currently its longest-serving member. a lover of opera, which the play uses to great effect and operatic himself in both charm and bluster. he's an intellectual powerhouse. >> look, i'm not an ideologue. i am an originalist. >> brown: and a firm proponent that judges should look only to the original text and meaning of the constitution. >> to interpret the constitution as written and as it was understood by the authors. the other side of the argument is obvious and wrong! those who say it must change with the times: it's not living, fashions change with the times the constitution stands! >> brown: playwright john strand says he was attracted to scalia's big personality, but even more to his centrality to so many issues in today's public life.

>> i think most people, if they saw that there was a play with justice scalia as the main character done at a theater in the united states, they'd expect to see, perhaps a hatchet job on the justice, because sure. >> brown: you were conscious of that? >> oh, very conscious about that, and it was never my intention to do that. i think it would be childish i'm much more interested in exploring who he is, and what his views are, and why came to those views. >> brown: in fact, what strand and director molly smith say they are examining here is the polarization of american politics today. >> and i think we are now in a place where audiences, and where artists, are really interested in the political system. why? because everybody sees it is broken. how can we fix it, how can we present, produce plays on stage that are about this subject? >> brown: the play explores this

by introducing a liberal law clerk played by kerry warren. she's a fictional character but scalia has on occasion hired liberal clerks. she's the opposite of scalia in every way, excerpt in her fierceness. >> about law and you, most polarizing figure in american life! >> strike the probably. do you have any other honesty to inflict? >> yes, sir. well? sir, ditest your rulings on just about every important topic -- abortion, gay marriage, gun rights, executive privilege -- >> affirmative action? , citizens citizens united capital punishment, the florida recount and others. >> detest? too strong? detest is good. let it stand. >> thank you. there's more. >> ah! there's more! >> you're a monster. do you have a habit of crossing the line, miss? >> i don't mean to be disrespectful sir.

"monster" was your term. i need to learn about monsters. >> why? because we most fear what we don't understand. >> brown: the two spar intellectually, but soon enough with respect and even developing a friendship. >> i thought if we have people who are at polar opposites, politically and culturally, socially, then we've got the possibility of exploring through those two characters how you take a step toward the other person whom you disagree with. >> brown: actor edward gero is used to such verbal jousting, and also caring about historic texts: he spent years on stage performing shakespeare. >> i was watching you do this, thinking the power and majesty often in shakespeare plays, and here you are, the power and majesty of the supreme court. >> there's no question they're analogous. the focus on language, and the listening. the people who inhabit these plays in shakespeare bear a great respect for the speaker they're searching for the truth of the argument, it's very

legalistic in that regard. >> brown: does scalia strike you as any particular shakespearian character? >> well, you know he played macbeth, so, and i think he's really proud of having done that. >> brown: over lunch recently, gero got to talk to scalia about shakespeare and more, though not about politics or the play, he insists. and, as he showed us in his dressing room, he was able to pick up a few more tips for playing the justice. for all the human focus in "the originalist" there's a lot of actual law, centered on the 2013 landmark ruling by the high court on gay marriage. the play uses scalia's own words from speeches and opinions. people who know him, lawyers, former clerks, biographers, helped ensure a level of accuracy and authenticity. as to the "originalist" himself there's no word yet as to whether justice scalia will

attend this play, in which he himself is central to the debate. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown at the arena stage in washington. >> woodruff: the end of the week is a good time for catching up on some weekend reading, gwen ifill recorded this look. >> ifill: now it's time for us to look at topics on the web that are of interest but aren't getting that much attention, what we call not trending. our guide is carlos watson, founder of the web site ozy. big story i saw on your web site first i found interesting from the economist. it's about reverse -- the reverse gender gap which is to say teenage girls globally are doing better than boys. >> big surprise. so the oecd think tank based in paris looked at 64 countries and found out once upon time we're

worried girls weren't getting enough attention, making enough progress, particularly in d-12, now they're outstripping boys sometimes in dramatic fashion, not only here in the u.s. but abroad as well. they've come even in math but when it comes to the social sciences, unfortunately and frankly some of the people saying unfortunately, it's no longer close. >> it's about rich poor countries? does it matter? >> it's a mix, primarily rich countries. but if you look at places that are on the margin, indonesia, turkey places with solid countries but not first world developed economies, you're seeing the gaps there as well. >> ifill: it doesn't mean there's been the gap in success in life to high ranking positions. >> it has traveled through college graduation. in many cases you're seeing women exceeding the number of men graduating by some 50% so it's not small and incremental. but when it comes to pay as you and i and my three sisters know

unfortunately, many women are still making 75 cents on the dollar, when equally qualified with men. >> another story that i thought was interesting that you don't hear that much about which is the immigration debate. we talk about the immigration debate a lot on this program and in this country but it's almost always about the role of latinos and the immigration debate but what you've discovered is it's actually indian americans actually driving loot of this conversation now. >> hidden muscle. indian americans who are only some 400,000 indian immigrants in 1980 now almost 3 million are playing high profile roles. nikki haley in south carolina and bobby gin dale looking for a run for president c.e.o. of microsoft, a whole wide range of people and the argument is they could play roles in 2016 and shifting and broadening that conversation some four out of five of the indian-americans are

in favor. >> ifill: are they driving outcomes? >> not so much the voting but maybe money and helping people think about the the value in terms of the contribution of new companies, of different kinds of workers, of making sure that people who come here and get university degrees but then take those skills back home don't always do so. by the way, when you think of indian americans, you assume all those are documented workers but not always. also there are a quarter of a million undocumented indian americans who are part of the story, too, and if we have a broader conversation about that they would be a part of that, too. >> ifill: interesting. fun story of the week. the bike caves which exist that i knew nothing of underground biking trails. huge. >> crazy. so in louisville, underneath the louisville zoo, no less, in a former mine, where in the 1930s, people used to mine for limestone and other kinds of things now people are coming to ride bikes, extreme bike riding. so you know the b.m.x. folks, i

know you're watching espn why would i ever doubt you popping wheelies and doing all the good stuff? folks are doing that, paying 15 20 $25, very inventive. kind of crazy, but it's underground. enough room for a couple hundred people, already. this place call megacavern has had 5,000 people coming from alabama, texas and all sorts of states. >> ifill: one in washington state as well. my question is why would you go all the way to kentucky to ride underground? >> the temperature is great. it's cool down there. second, they say that you can do it all day long so even when the weather is bad, even when it's snowy out. third remember all sorts of people these days are looking for unusual places to travel and this is a place. you know kentucky is not somewhere everybody goes except for kentucky derby and maybe this time around emarch madness, basketball season so a new reason to come to kentucky.

>> ifill: see a game a horse race and ride underground. >> the other funny thing, they have 4 million square feet. not only are people riding bikes underground but they're zip lining there as well. so lots of unusual stuff happening when you and i are watching the trending stuff. >> ifill: carlos watson with ozy, thank youing very much. >> woodruff: i want to see gwen popping wheelies. you can see more at pbs.org/"newshour". >> woodruff: finally tonight a special contribution to our series, race today, where we've been exploring how different generations see the issues making headlines. "the conversation" is a short film from the op-docs team at the new york times. directors geeta gandbeer and blair foster spoke to parents of

african american boys about the conversation they have with their sons on how to respond when stopped by the police. >> this is unspoken code of racism and white supremacy that says that my life does not matter. >> put your hands up and cooperate and say that i'm choking and still be killed and there's no repercussions. >> it's maddening. i get so frustrated and angry about having to prepare my kids for something that they're not responsible for. >> these are conversations that people of other races do not have to have with their children. >> the conversation with him was really just, look you're a beautiful young boy -- >> being african-american is a wonderful thing, it's a wonderful blessing, you have come from great people but it's also a hard thing. >> in america because of your

skin color as a black boy and as a black man, we are going to be dealing with a lot of danger. >> under no circumstance are you to talk to the police, if you're arrested, until i get there. >> do what they say. don't get into any arguments. >> make sure your hands are out of your pockets to they can see. >> these are the questions you can ask. this is who to call. this is what happens if this bad thing -- it's not like please, masser don't whip my! no, it's please, sir, what's your badge number? i'm going to film this. >> if you want police brutality to stop and treat yourself as a human being, you have to see yourself as a human being. >> you have every right that anyone else in this world does. >> what i love about you as my son is i remember when we thought about having you and you know, knowing that we wanted

you and watching you grow. >> you aren't a mohamed ali -- you are a mohamed ali a malcolm x, a martin luther king. >> you are an amazing human being. >> i'll do my best to make sure you're safe. that's it. i love you. ♪ >> woodruff: you can see the entire film along with additional op docs videos at nytimes.com slash/opdocs. >> woodruff: again, the major

developments of the day. suicide bombings in yemen killed at least 137 people and wounded 350 at two mosques controlled by shiite rebels. sunni militants of the islamic state group claimed responsibility. and the u.s. department of interior tightened the rules on oil drillers using hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," on federal lands. on the newshour online, yesterday on the show, we visited the town of port clinton, ohio, where increasingly the haves and the have-nots are becoming segregated. today, we look at how residents are trying to bridge that gap and how unstructured play is giving children from all walks of life the opportunity to engage with each other. read more about that community's class divide and how they're trying to combat it, on our home page. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and a reminder about some upcoming programs from our pbs colleagues. gwen ifill is preparing for "washington week," which airs

later this evening. here's a preview: >> ifill: challenges in israel and iran, money debates on capitol hill, and deep inside the 2016 campaign. bibi, budgets and big dollars. we take you behind the scenes, tonight on washington week, judy? >> woodruff: on pbs newshour weekend saturday, the story of an american army veteran who has joined a militia in iraq to fight isis and "defend christianity." >> brett says the international community, including christians in the united states, need to do much more to defend people he describes as "their brothers and sisters in christ," people now under attack here. >> what the message you are taking to the world? >> they need to open their ears. people are crying. they need to open their eyes. they need to help. we need funds, we need support. >> they don't just want to kick us out, they want to kill us and they are killing us. >> woodruff: that's tomorrow

night on pbs newshour weekend. and we'll be back, right here, on monday. with a look at shaken baby syndrome, the tragedy of dead children and misdiagnoses that have sent some parents to prison. that's the newshour for tonight, i'm judy woodruff, have a great weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: i.b.e.w. the power professionals in your neighborhood. >> lincoln financial-- committed to helping you take charge of your life and become you're own chief life officer. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, and mufg. >> build a solid foundation and you can connect communities and commerce for centuries. that is the strength behind good banking relationships, too. which is why, at mufg, we believe financial partnerships

should endure the test of time. because with time comes change and what matters in the end is that you are strong enough to support it. mufg -- we build relationships that build the world. >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is bbc world news america. i'm laura. strikes at yemen's capital. islamic state has claimed responsibly. boko haram is getting weaker by the day but what about the face of the kidnapped schoolgirl? >> it is good news. laura: it was a spectacle that had many staring at the sky. if you missed it, we will give you the best views.