captioning sponsor by newshour productions, llc g,>> woodruff: good evenin'm judy woodruff.he on tewshour tonight, wounded by the trade war-- the trump administration offers billions in relief to u.s. farmers hurt by the president's tariffs. then, the second part of our look at the growing awareness of fetal alcohol disorder. tonight: how families cope with the diagnosis. >> those kids are at such high risk of falling through the cracks because they look typical, people expect typical behavior from them but they've got a brain injury.oo >>uff: and, year-round learning. how some schools are doingway with summer vacation in order to achieve a more balanced schedule for students. >> today's american school calendar was created for the

19th century farm and factory economy and hasn't kept pace with the needs of our changingth economy anneeds of families in today's world. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newr. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> knowledge, it's where innovation begins. it's what leads us to ery and motivates us to succeed. it's why we ask the tough questions and what leads us to the answers. at leidos, we're standing behind those working to improve the world's health, safety, and efficiency. leidos.

>> kevin. >> kevin! >> kevin.ic >> afor life. life well-planned. learn more at raymondjames.com. >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spagesh, french, an, italian, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers lu. thank you.

>> woodruff: greece is a nation in mourning tonight, after wildfires killed at least 74 people near athens. they died monday when the flames, fanned by gale-force winds, swept through sea-side resorts. 200 other people were hurt. james mates of independent television news has our report from mati.or >> repter: as so often happens in these tragedies, it wasn't the intensity that killed, butch the speed at whey traveled. wildfires are a normal part of summer in the hills around athens. localsend to take little notice and only rarely have to leave their homes. what was not normal laight was a wind blowing t and pushing the flames directly toward seaside resorts perchedon he edge of the aegean. many realized too late the mortal danger that was racing towards them. one group of 26 people raced for the sea but just a few dozen meters short were cut off. reports suggest they died in a

huddle hugging each other. in the aftermath this morning, we found panagiotis dagalos hunting for any clue as to what happened to his wife, kaliope he told me how they and their child were caught in their car, surrounded by flames. >> the fircame here very quickly so we lost the chance to take the car and run ay because all the cars, you know, one car behind the other. and the road is blocked. the first thing we thought is how to get the baby and run away. but i think my wife didn't make it. >> rorter: 700 people are believed to have escaped the flames by jumping in the sea. it is truly tragic just how close some of the viims were to safety. they've cleared this now to the side of the road but this is the aftermath of the gridlock as people fled in panic looking for the safety of the sea. and despite e fact that the water's no more than 30 meters away some didn't make it. outside his house today, harris

told us how concern fo mhis dogs almoe him wait too long. >> i was staying with my dogs until the smoke got in the house. we were starting to suffocating and then we left the house with my dogs. but even this 100 meters that i had to do to reach the sea, was a very difficult task for me at that moment because the cars were burning. >> rorter: there will be thr days of national mourning and an almost unimaginable death toll from a fire like this. and en then, greeks are thankful this didn't happen on a weekend when the resort ofati would have been jam-packed with athenians escaping the city heat. one very small mercy. >> woodruff: that report from james mates of independent television news. a heat wave over asia is taking a growing toll. official record temperatures have claimed at least 80 lives over the past two weeks.

thousands ve been sent to hospitals. meanwhile, yet another heat wave is broiling the southwestern u.s., with triple digit readings. power grid operators in california are urging people to limit usage during peak periods to avoid blackouts. ineaos, hundreds of people missing after part of a hydro- electric dam collapsed last night. officials nfirmed at least two deaths. the dam complex was ouing built ineastern laos, and was hit by days of monsoon rains. the resulting delu engulfed whole villages and forced more than 6,600 people to flee. rescue efforts continued into the night. president trump toned down the tough talk on iran today. he had tweeted sunday night that if iran threatens the u.s., it could face, "consequences the likes of which few have ever suffered."y, toe addressed the veterans of foreign wars convention in

kansas city, missouri, and seemed to tout prospects for peace. >> and iran is not the same country anymore, that i can say. and we'lsee what happens. we're ready to make a real deal not the deal that was done by the previous admintration which was a disaster. m >> woodruf trump pulled out of the 2015 iran nuclear deal in may. the u.s. will begin reimposing sanctions in less than two weeks. on north korea, the president welcomed word that pyongyang may be dismantling its main satellite launch site. he said it shows his summit with kim jong un made a difference. the website "38 north" released new satellite images of the te. they show demolition of various facilities. secretary of state mike pompeo addressed the issue as he and fense secretary mattis m with their australian counterparts in palo alto, california. >> it'd be entirely consistent with the commitment that

chairman kim made to predent trump when the two of them were, uh, in singapore together. he made that commitment to them orally. we've been pressing for there to be inspectors on the ground wheh engine test facility is dismantled consistent with chairman kim's commi >> woodruff: on a related issue, president trump also said today he hopes the north will soon hand over more remains of americans killed during the korean war. he gave no timetable. israel shot down a syrian fighter jet today, and said the plane had breached its airspace. social media video showed contrails from two patriot missiles fired at the jet. the israelis said they first tried to warn the pilot off. g rian officials said the warplane was flyside syrian territory. they said one crewman was lled, and a second was missing. turkey and israel had a fiery exchange today, over a new d statute thatefines israel as a jewish nation-state.sh

in ankara, turresident recep tayip erdogan condemned the law in provocative terms. >> ( translated ): with this legislation, it is proved without doubt that israel is the world's most zionist, fascist, racist state. there's no difference between hitler's obsession with a pure race and the belief that these ancient lands are just for the jews. d the soul of hitler, who e world to a great catastrophe, has risen again wiin some of israel's officials. >> woodruff: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu fired back in a tweet that accused ergan of "massacring syrians and kurds." ivanka trump, the president's daughter and senior advisor, is shutting down her namesake fashion company. she cited the need to focus on her work at the white house. her brand had come under fire for manufacturing clothes in china. she also faced ethical questions about winning trademarks in china since her father took office. and, owall street, blue chips

advanced, on upbeat earnings reports. the dow jones industrial average gained 197 points to close nea 25,242. the nasdaq fell one point, and the s&p 500 added 13. still to come on the newshour: plans to prop up farmers hurt by the u.s. trade war. the white house threatens to take away security clearances from former top officials. the underestimated risks of drinking while pregnant, and much more. >> woodruff: president trump's escalating trade war with u.s. allies and china comes with a cost. today, the trump ainistration moved to mitigate the damage to one group: u.s. farmers. the department of agriculture announced it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to

offset the effects of tariffs. speaking before a group of veterans of foreign wars, mr.ar trumed his trade strategy is working. >> you have to see these trade deals i'm working on. they're a disaster. we're losing hundreds of billions of dollars with individual countries a year.we e making tremendous progress. arey're all coming. they don't want to have thosefs put on them. th're all coming to see us and the farmers will be the biggest beneficiary. watch. (applause) we're opening up markets. you watch what's going to happen. just be a little patient. >> woodruff: critics of the president's plan were quick to respond, with some of the harshest comments coming from members of his own party. i spoke with one of them, republican senator ben sasse of nebraska. >>sv whenever you'res having a g war, somethingxdñ is wrong, because when trade in theu

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some o tough business of sending us here. we should have mor open markets and more trade. >> amaka: filly, just to come back to today's move by the department of agriculture, thisl $12on in aid, you're saying that's not going the make any difference at all. >>cr alls the country, we have these prices at ten-year lows. we have lots oarmers in my state. they've been in my office three consecutive weeks. i have heard fromots of them

at home, heading to church and heading to the store and little league over this weekend. you have karyn bean farmers that are really scared becau those producers are looking at current stock market prices that are less than their cost of production, let alone making any money the pay for their kids' food. they're looking at losing money. so this number $12 billion, it's an attempt to put a bandaid on a problem that's muc much larger. the karyn bean- bean losses alone are nearly $12 billion this year. that's one product area. trade wars don't work. trade wars are never won.th 're always lost by both sides. we need more trade, not more bellose threatening.oo >> wuff: as of no signs, no signs this is a policy that will change. senator ben sasse of nebraska, we thank you. >> thanks f the invite.

>> woodruff: the white house announced yesterday that the president was consering revoking the security clearances of six former national security and intelligence officials who served in the george w. bush and obama administrations has set off a firestorm of criticism rberatentinued to re toda nick schifrin has the story. >> schifrin: as soon as sarah sanders announced former officials might lose their securitylearance, the response was rapid. today, speaker of the house paul ryan, said this about president trump's motives: >> i think he's trolling people honestly. s ifrin: i'm joined now by jeffrey smith, former general cosel for the c.i.a. he also held that role for theer

it is appropriate for the white house or the president to threat on the revoke former nationalcu ty officials clearance. >> no, it's not. inappropriate is too week aord in my opinion. i can understand why the president is angry, but the way to respond i to respond with factual response, not to seek to intimidate and bully thoseho have spoken out against him. former officials who have devoted their lives to this country, they do not deserve to be treated this way they have the right to speak, and it's highly inappropriate for the president to seek to intimidate or bully them. >> schifrin: what's the impact ,f this, not only on these former officiaut is there any impact on current intelligence officials who might brf the president or the white house? >> yes, i think there is. it injects an element of fear in the system. the clearance is essential to the performance of your job, and there are rules for how you get clearance, and there are rulesho fo clearance is revoked. the president has just publicl

said that these clearances must be revoked. that's never happened before, not even in the mccarthy or nixon era. and what that does is it cates an atmosphere of fear in the national security community that if an individual serving officer speaks even perhaps in private within the confines of his or her own agency, aal polit appointed person might listen to that and think they're being disloyal and report them and the president could say, well, that's... they should lose their clearance. this elementf fear is dangerous. and it will cause people to hesitate to tell the truth. >> schifrin: we hearde the whouse spokesperson on air force one talk about beginning the process. can the psident just do this? can he just say that the clearances should be revoked and would they revokeed? >> not without breaking all the rules that have been created by executive order. there is an executive order tt lays out the "adjudication guidelines" for how a pson is

evaluated for a clearance as well as what happens if a person no longer meets those guidelines. the president justimply can't say this person has revoked the clearances. if that's what he thinksul s happen, then he should issue a new regulation that says anyone who speaks and is critical of the policy of the government no longer is entitled to a clearance. >> on the otherand, doesn't the administration have a point? former officials orany former officials, don't they monetize their clearances? don't they use the clearances that they got in government in order to get private-sector jobs? doesn't the administration have a point there >> i'm not sure what the connection is between monetizing their clearances to perform legitimate work for companies or to advise the government and the criticism that ms sander made yesterday that they have somehow politicized their clearances. i don't understand the logic there. it is certainly true that when nmyou leave the govt you have a continuing obligation to protect classified information. if you disclose it, it's

crime. if you do any of the other you tothat could cause lose a clearance, alcoholism, drug abuse, financial problems, and so on, you could lose a clearance. but not forin speaking your not for criticizing the president, partilarly by former officials. they write books. they teach classes. they contribute to debate.n it's abuse of the president's powers, and i hope the agenciess willt it. >> schifrin: you used the word "abuse" there, but the president, the white house argues that whi these former officials are basically abusing the president. you had john brennan calling president trump's performance with vladimir putin nothing short of treasonous, jim clapper compared the president to a russian intelligence asset. is that appropriate for sior official is that language that's appropriate for senior officials to use? >> i willeave to them whether it's appropriate. i understand their concern about what the president is doing. my point simply is thathe president's response should not

be to seek to revoke their clearances, but he should respond in kind by saying, what you say is not true. but ny of his responses, it seems to me, ring hallow. his actions with respect to russia are notit consistent in my judgment, what really should be american interests, and it's inexplicable. these are officials who worry this country and ifat he is doing. >> sn: jefferey smith, thank you very much. >> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: so called "duck boats" underti sc for its safety record after a deadly accident. r-the pros and cons of yeaund school. and the looming deadline to re- unite separatemigrant families.

but first, the dangers of drinking while pregnant. amna nawaz reports from minnesota on the chas families face who are living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. the effects last a lifetime and there is no known cure. it's the second of her two stories on the subject. >> nawaz: the de campo salles house is a hive of activity. olivia helps out in the kitchena sha trains the family dogs.ei and over it all, are mama sue and mama jo, susanna and her wife, jo-lynn. their dream of starting a family came true when they adopted tasha from russia at just 18 months old. but back home in minneapolis, they noticed unusual behavior. >> she was not able to sit still like the other kids. she had a lot of sensory needs. she would cry for hours. i had to hold it really tight and rock her for probably an

hour and a half to two hours and she would not stop crying. >> nawaz: early on, doctors noted tasha's hyperactivity d inability to focus, and diagnosed her with a.d.h.d. but treatment didn't help. years and several tests later,en he was nine, tasha was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or f.a.s.d. >> it was scary. you know it's like ok what's her e at's her future going to be? you know what's xt 20 years going to look like. and you know from what we heard it sounded pretty bleak. but then once you kind of get past that first shock then you just dig in, get into gear and go. f nawaz: ruth richardson, the minnesota organization on fetal alcohol syndrome, says because symptoms can overlap with other disorders, doctors often miss an f.a.s.d. diagnosis. >> those kids who really have what we see as ainvisible disability where they don't have any of the sort of physical manifestations of the disability but they've got this brain

injury, those kids are at such high risk of falling through the cracks because they look typical, people hapect typical or from them but they've got a brain injury and because of that those kids are oftentimes set up for failure within our communities. ar nawaz: tasha is now 16 old. do you remember when your parents first told you about f.a.s. >> i think i was like nine and i was like i don't really care. so like i was young i was like ok i tught it was like a.d.h.d. but it didn't really affect me when i was younger it kind of sefected me more when i was like in high school bechen i really started noticing stuff >> nawaz: like what would you notice? >> i noticed that i got more angry and more irritable andmo impulsive. like there is this one time one of my friends dad me to jump t the bus window and so i did. >> nawaz: to jump out of the bui window it was moving? >> no it was like stopping. >> nawaz: still. >> yeah. >> nawaz: did you hurt yourself? >> no i didn't hurt myself because i'm a gymnast and everything. so i do the landing or whatever.

>> nawaz: olivia, who's also 16, joined the family a few years ago when she needed a stable place to live. she'd been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, but the de campo salles' knew her birth mother drank while she was pregnt and olivia was ultimately diagnosed with f.a.s.d. in 2015. >> i don't reay think about it that i have an f.a.s.d. really.s it'syou know i mean it anever really comes up atll i look perfectly normal to everyone else. >> nawaz: because doctors don't know how much alcohol can cause f.a.s.d., the official unguidelines say that no ais safe during pregnancy. still, according to the c.d.c., about one in ten pregnant women in the u.s. report having at least one alcoholic beverage whilpregnant. why? mixed messages from doctorho- not all ofadvocate for total alcohol abstinence, and from the media, where conflicting studies can lead to confusing headlines. pediatrician judith eckerle says because so my individual health factors play a role, the

safest medical advice is to avoid drinking at all during pregnancy. >> genetics, nutrition, age, how well your liver functions, how many pregnancies you've had. there are just so manyrent factors, that we actually do know impact, we just don't known what combinaor what exactly makes that child have f.a.s.d. or what prevents it. h nawaz: doctor yasuko yamamura is a specialist h risk obstetrics. when it comes to f.a.s.d.,he says, the assumptions, that younger, less-educated women are more at risk, are wrong. at the highest risk are college- educated women, over the age of 35. >> a lot of women will say there's no conclusive evidence abt a drink every now and again, so if i'm pregnant why should i change my behavior? >> you know i think the absence of conclusive evidence doesn't necessarily imply that there is evidence of absence of harm, right? so i think if they're properlyis educated and a by their ob provider that the safest coucoe

would be tletely avoid alcohol consumption during haegnancy, that many women would choose to followadvice. >> nawaz: because of inter ot from electicials years ago, minnesota today in many ways is on the front lines of f.a.d. in terms of resources and research. but advocates and medical experts say even nowheir single biggest hurdle is awareness. >> this is a disability that ham h stigma around it that it keeps people from talking about it.ig secrets and , those are things that keep people quiet. and it also keeps people from getting the help that they need. >> i just feltshamed. i felt the shame like you know who would drink alcohol when they're pregnant. >> nawaz: caropeterson lives in northern minnesota, with her daughter kylene, 27, and their dog, "papa jack". 28 years ago, carol unexpectedly became pregnant. >> i kept saying "this can't be right. it can't be true no." and then the thought came to me that i had been drinking. i had been drinking every day

d so i was scared. >> nawaz: as kylene grew, carol says she pestered doctors about developmental delays and behavioral issues. she would just start raging rage screaming trying to grabt you kick you, u. >> nawaz: for a few seconds, a few minutes? >> oh no. it would go on for hours, hours. >> nawaz: it took six years before kylene was officially wagnosed with f.a.s.d. >> they sent me hoh literature and i just i thought i am gng to learn this as well as i possibly can and do everything i can possibly do to help her and undo this, try to undo it what i had done. >> nawaz: why was it so important to you? >> i wanted her to have the best life she could have. i felt bad that i had taken something away from her. >> nawaz: all these years later, she sa her family still finds it difficult to talk about

kylene's f.a.s.d.r ughter will need lifelong support. right now, carol is her sole caregiver. >> sometimes when she gets angry with me or starthaving a meltdown she starts saying why did you have to drink with me. why d you do this. i'm mad at you. but for the most part she knows i love her. >> nawaz: a love, carol says, she hopes can make up for past mistakes. and a story she's glad to share, so that others won't do the same. r the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz in northern minnesota. >> woodruff: amna and our newshour team have more on the story behind the sto what they learned reporting on fetal alcohol disorder. you can read it online at pbs.org/newshour.

>> woodruff: for many years, duck boats have been a popular novelty tourisride in a number of places around the country. but as john yang reports, last week's deadly accint in branson, missouri is putting questions about the safety of those vehicles in the spotlight once again and some are asking whether they are properly regulated. >> yang: in indianapolis last night, a prayer vigil for nine members of one family killed in last week's duck boat tragedy near branson, missouri. safety experts say the dangers of duck boats have been well- documented for nearly two dedes. peter goelz was managing director of the national transptation safety board in the late 1990s. >> this was came out of the blue. we've seen this before and it's tragic that action hadn't beenke >> yang: the amphibious vehicles were built during world war two as military landing craft.

today they operate as land-and- water tourist attractions in many u.s. cities, including boston and washingto. late thursday, a duck boat tour on table rock lake in missouri capsized during a severe storm, killing 19 of the 31 passengers aboard. videshot by people nearby shba the doomed vesling near- hurricane force winds and quickly sinking as it takes on water. >> be advised we have strong>> ang: the boat's operators ventured out despite storm warnings. tia coleman lost nine family members, including her husband, and three children. only she and a nephew surviv. >> since i've had a home it has always been filled with little feet a laughter and my husband. i don't know how i am going to do it. >> yang: ripley entertainment, the orlando based owners of the duck boat that sank last week, said in a statement that they

"are cooperating with all deral and state authorities involved in the investigation." last week's accident was similar to a 1999 sinking in arkansas d at killed 13 people. that boat was outfwith a canopy roof, just like the one in last week's accident. after investigating the arkansas accident, the n.t.s.b. concluded that the canopy "was a major ".pediment to the survival of the passenge intended to protect riders from sae weather, safety hevestigaty passengers can be trapped beneathanopies as the boat takes on water and sinks. in the 1999 arkansas accihent, seven of3 dead were found still inside, four of them nned beneath the canopy. >> we found those to be a virtual death trap, thth those canopi in place, it was very hard if the boat went down for people to escape unless they were really goodwimmers or were sitting in the very outside

seats. the vehicle, which weighs over four tons, once it reached a ngcritical level of floodit sank very quickly. >> yang: the n.t.s.b.'s investigation led to several safety recommendations, including removing the canopies and improving the duck's buoyancy. the n.t.s.b. has no enforcement powers. >> we sent out 30 letters to the operators of duck boats at the time. 14 of them never responded at all. >> yang: the other 16 simply acknowledged getting the letter since 1999, more than two dozen other people have died in duck boatccidents both on land an water.at east three government agencies, including the coast guard and the national highway traffic safety administration,e shsponsibility for duck boat safety. b ause these vehicles kind of slip through the cracks in , rms of regulation and oversight-- you kn it a bus? is it a seagoing vessel?

who really calls the shots? they tend to get very little scrutiny. >> yang: until tragedy strikes, t did last week on this picturesque missouri lake, claiming 17 lives. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woouff: for many students and their families, summer is sacrosanct: a nice long break from school to recharge and refresh.ab but students it 4% of public schools in the u.s. attend schools that operate on a year-round schedule. supporters of the idea say they can stop a loss of learning and boost achievement especially for low-income students who need school meals over the break. special correspondent lisa stark of our partner education week visited one such school in holt, michigan, part of our weekly segment, making the grade.

c so everybody get a little space here so th get the proper grip. >> reporter: it's the start of summer break in holt, michigan and tennis cisn full swing. one of a number of summer activities on tap for middle schooler lucia frost who wasre y for school to end. so you're on summer vacation., >> y was great. it feels good. finally! >> reporter: but for her younger sister caico, class is still in session >> 77 divided, okay your turn, 77 divided by 7. >> reporter: caico's sl- sycamore elementary is one of two in this district that uses a so-called year-round, or balanced calendar. there are no additional school days, still around the typical 180, but tho days are divided up differently. in a year-round calendarsummer vacation is shorter, about half of the usual 10 to 12 wes, and there are one to two-week breaks sprinkled throughout the year. so what would you say to kids

who don't know about the balanced calendar? >> not enough time. i would tell them that it feels like you get more breaks, but you still learn as much as you need to be educated.om >> reporter:elly frost is a fan. >> i think it's nice for the i think that by having the shorter summer, i still think they're getting their freedom outside. >> reporter: some 3,700 schools in the u.s., around 4% of schools, use a balanced calendar. in some cases it's to manage overcrowding, to stagger schedules so one school can handle more students. but at many schools, such as sy, the hope is to boost student achievement, with more consistent education.t >> i think t gives us continuity and over time we can spread our learng out a little t and take things a little more deliberately. >> reporter: long summers though

are part of the e,erican culturnd can be a magical time for some families. any tempt to change the scho schedule often causes an uproar. here's harrd's jennifer davis. >> the current school calendar is so ingrained in themerican society and family life that it's very hard to chan. >> reporter: davis believes this school schedule is way out of date. >> today's american school calendar was created for the 19th century farm and factory economy and hasn't kept pace with the needs of our changing economy and the needs of families in today's world. >> i think the shorter summers are better for education. i think the longer summers, they're out too long. >> reporter: long summer breaks can be a time of learning loss, known as the summer slide, especially for low-income students who may not have the money for camps, classes or summer activities to keep their

minds active. every summer, low-income students lose about two monthsea inng skills, while middle- income students hold their own. in math, most students, regardless of income, lose some math skills. matthew boulay heads theme national slearning wisociation. >> the real proble summer learning loss, that is not simply summer, but the problem of loss summer after summer after summer. >> reporter:ycamore elementary hopes to reduce that loss withth e balanced calendar. it's the district's highest poverty school. over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. >> if we do the school the w we've always done it, we're going to get the same result we always have. so by changing the calendar, that's one thing that we can modify to potentially make a difference. >> reporter: district superintendent david hornak also heads up the national association for year round education.

he admits this schedule can be a tough sell, opponents argue teachers and students lose out on summer jobs, for parents, it may be hard to find childcare during school breaks, and coaches worry about scheduling high school sports. and in the summer, air conditioning can be costly for schools. hornak understands these concerns, but insists a balanced calendar just makes sense. >> i think that's something we should take a longer look at.re wepending millions and millions of dollars nationwide remediating the gaps that the traditional calendar in fact creates. >> reporter: at sycamore, internal measures show students here are not losing ground isring the summer break. principal steve ga says you can see the difference when students return after the short mmer vacation. >> we don't have a long six to eight weeks of trying t get kids cau. we start right off, second week, instruction starin after our ro are set. >> reporter: despite the

enthusiasm here fothe year- round schedule, the data on its effectiveness are ite mixed. it is not clear that going to a balanced calendar will improve learning or raise test scores. a 2015 study found although year round students pull ahead during the summer but students on a traditional nine-month calendar catch up andull ahead during the rest of the year. well it is basically the same 175 to 180 days spread out differently across the year, and since total instruction doesn't increase, total learning time doesn't increase either. >> reporter: sycamore has tried to add learning time, by offering voluntary academics and activities during school breaks but some researchers argue it's easier to boost instruction time without tossing out the traditional calendar by simply extending school hours, adding extra days and offering summersc ol. still at sycamore, they're convinced the year-round i

schedulewhat's best for students and teache s. r i lving shorter breaks more frequently, ieally feelte that it is bfor my, my level of energy and enthusiasm for teaching >> reporter: those regul breaks are a big hit with caico too. >> i really want to stay on the bala red calendar. orter: why? >> it just makes me more happy- >> reporter: so caico's just fine with waiting foher summer vacation, even as her sister i already off and running. for the pbs newshour and education week, i'm li stark in holt, michigan. th >> woodruff: nowlatest on families separated at the border. a federal court has ordered that more than 2,500 children between the ages of five and 17 separated under the president's

"zero tolerance" policy be reunited with their milies by thursday. but the trump administration has in a courtiling last night, the administration also indicated that more than 460 migrant parents may ha deported without their children. the federal judge overseeing the government's plans is g a hearing in san diego as we speak. and our amna nawaz has beenen first, you have some new information on how quickly some of these separated families are going to be reunited. >> that's right. the judge justn got a update from the government lawyer. that call is still ongoing. he's going an update as we speak. itsically they're dealing kds age 5 to 17, a group of 2,500 or sos. about 1,600 of those were declared eligible forun ication. the government said they've already reunified over 1,000 of ththe children. judge asked, do you expect to meet the deadline to have all of those kids who areligible reunited by thursday, that is

judge said. the the lawyer for the government actually said, yes, that is my understanding that will happen. that's surprising, because remember, judy, eve with the kids under five, they missed the deadline. they say they're going to meet . >> woodruff: so they're moving quickly. >> they are. >> woodruff: soack to this deportation argument. the aclu, the government, they're aaking theiruments. >> right now the big number is 900. the government says they have 900 parents who are currently slated for deportation. what that means under the cun rules, parents have basically two days to d gide, ing the heave with my child or without my child. leaving without the child means they go t another family member to, a sponsor, or they stay in government custody. the aclu is saying, they need more time. we want the extend that to seven days to give them time to meet with the kids, spend some time, talk to lawyers, figure out their options. the government is saying they don't have time or resrces to that. >> woodruff: what we were talking about a moment ago, it

turns outhe government may have already deported some 400ut parents witheir children. >> that's right. 463 was the other number in the latest filing that caught a lot of people's attention. interestingly, a few minutes ago in this latest call, the government still doesn't have a lot of informabout where those parents are or under what conditions they wered depor without their children. but you have to think back, the kids underive, of that group, which was a much smaller group, there were 12 parents in thatgr p deported without their children. the government said they had a lot of trouble finding them a trying to reconnect them with their kids. you can't imagine how they're going to do that with 463 in this case. >> woodruff: and as i understand it, the government is saying some of these parents said they were going... they wanted to leave without their children. what do we kno about that? >> that's right. all the parents have the optven to w reunification. 127 parents agreed toaive that right. judy, we have to remember, in some cases the parents have to make a call tha if i'm going to leave, maybe at least i'll leave

my child in perhaps safer conditions than the kids we were leaving in our home country. we don't have details beyond that in terms of the circumstances of them agreeing to do that, but that number right now is 127. woodruff: okay. finally, amna, you've been following what's been goingn with this little three-year-old girl separated from her grandmother almost five weeks ago at the border. >> that's right. >> woodruff: give us an update on sophie. >> so three-year-old sophie had another call with her mother yesterday. it was about ten minutes long.or her mother r that basically every time sophie cries and begs to come he each time they talk. her month continues to move through the process. they nowave caught the attention, this story, of a group called immigrant families 'stogether. it a small volunteer force that's connected sophie's family with a number of loc groups.t they now have some kind of financial support. there's a gofundme account that's started. they're helping to drive them around to lawyers' appointments. they're in the vetting process. sophie is now in about four and a half weeks.

there is no certainty athad. parents, her mother still has to be vetted for approval. sophie has to be approved for relief. there is still some unturnty ahead for this little girl. >> woodruff: the video we showed was you following the grandmother and sophie t asy attempted to come across trd some weeks ago. amna nawaz staying on the story thank you so much. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: now to our newshour shares, something interesting that caught our eye. brain mccarty's photographs cus on conflict zones as seen through the eyes of children. a five-year tour of an o exhibitihis work has already made stops in houston,te s and little rock, arkansas, and he shows no signs of slowing down. the newshour julia griffin has this profile. reporter: brian mccarty camera chronicles the horrors of war. but unlike other war

photographers, his subjects are plastic-- locally-found toys carefully arranged to recreate the experiences ofhildren traumatized by conflict. it's all part of mccarty's ongoing "war-toys" proje. >> "war-toys" is a photo series about children's experiees of war. through an art therapy based approach, children essentially become artirectors for my photos of locally found toys. m >> reportearty's photographs are based on drawings children do in art therapy sessions organized by aid groups and united nations agencies. then, with the help of dolls, tanks and other playthings from nearby vendors, he uses a camera's lens to tell the ild's story, often at th exact spot where the trauma occurred. >> i harness what they have witnessed, what they have been through and give it to audiences that normally maybe wouldn't look at these things or think about these things. >> reporter: the resulting

photographs depict the cost of conflict with a poignant dose of pop culture. b an ira haunted by the memory of soldiers shooting civilians at an islamiate- controlled checkpoint. a syrian refugee, isolated and plagued by survivor's guilt, after her family was kin that country's conflict. and the iraqi girl whose drawinl of a flower re a woman stoned to death by isis for not wearing the correct eil. since 20, mccarty and therapismyra saad have worked with hundreds of boys and girls from iraq, syria and other conflict-ridden nations in the middle east. >> ( translated ): it is about the bridge. it was destroyed. we crossed it while it was broken. i was dizzy. i was scared. >> reporter: wheer they draw literal representations or use symbols, like an uncolored elephant that represent a dead sibling, war-toys provides its young participants an outlet to process their emotions, and helps viewers relate to far off

tragedies. >> you get this thing where people no matter where they are, if they had been around toys, if it has been part of their lives growing up, they will connect to this, and especially again for western audiences where it is so easy to cast people in war zones, whether they be arab,ve kurdish, wha as the others. >> reporter: but staging nearly 150 photos in war-torns areas comes with its own hazards. mccarty must regularly navigate shrapnel and other rubble. he has been targeted bmic state snipers. o and e used only a flashlight to create aog phph of families sneaking out of isis territory, at thetr time, gering a camera strobe on the outskirts of mosul, iraq was considered too risky. still, mccarty hopes his efforts are worth the risks. >> i went in to this project, from a very academic, artistic point of view. all of that of went e window when i saw a little girl coloring in pools of blood for the first ti. you instantly become an activist artist, there is no way to not connect with this.

sorry, i am going break out, but yeah there is no way not to want to affect change and do what you can. >> reporter: mccarty posts many of his photographs his instagram page, and exhibitions of his work are planned in saginaw, michigan and beirut, lebanon next year. he hopes to expand his project to ukraine, african nations gripped by civil war and even portions of the u.s. plagued by gun violence. and with no obvious end to conflict in this world, war-toys could be an series that never concludes. for the pbs newshour, i'm julia griffin.

a film uncovers new cases tracking down survivors who were as young as ten when they were raped.>> there were 72 allegations of onploitation and abuse in the u.n.'s c mission between may and september 2004. >> all of this is a immoral completely at odds with our mission. >> u.n. secretary-general kofi annan sent his scial adviser to investigate. he was shocked by what he found. >> i listened to what victims were saying. it was really disturbing. i said it was akin to a lifeguard jumping into a pool and instead of saving someone who was drowning, they actually drown them almost. s ms to be as cruel as that.

>> reporter: fiv months later he published a report but criticized the u.n.'s ownve igations into alleged sexual abuse, but he said the main reaso offenders often evaded justice was because the u.n. had noriminal jurisdiction over its peacekeepers. >> the u.n. is not aovereign body at the most the u.n. can dismiss someone from service, but it cannot conduct its own trials.s thator the government themselves to do. if the state does nothing or shields thel, individ immunity exists. so it was these sorts of issues which i found astonishing at the time. >> amaka: "frontline" airs tonight on most pbs stations. on the newshour online right no >> woodruff: on thnewshour online right now, thousands of visitors flock to newfoundland every year to catch a glimpse of the dramatic icebergs off the coast. but taken as a sign of global warming and shrinking glaciers,

more icebergs aren't necessarily a good thing. we look at this booming tourism business our web site, pbs.org/newsur. and that'she newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbsyo newshour, thanand see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french, real-life conversations in a new language. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> carnegie corporation of new york. pporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement

of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. e >> and with going support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program way made possiblee corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org [ ♪ ]

wow, i see a recording of our history. joe watkins: they had rabbit-skin blankets, they had turkey capes. th was great! this is called cultural materialt - th is cultural material. - a human made that. where's the water? woman: this close to the great kiva, n it'sot impossible that it was special medicine. awesome! oh, beautiful. this would've been the largest building that anyone that came here would've ever seenn their lives. [ ♪ ] shot! justine shapiro: joe watkins... allan maca... meg watters... chelsea rose... jeff brown...