captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. the newshour tonight: the u.s. house votes on a resolution condemning hate. the democratic-backed move is seen as a rebuke ofre cowoman ilhan omar, accused by some of makingic anti-sememarks. then, two years into president oaump's "america first" ap to foreign trade, the u.s. hits the highest trade defi the nation's history. plus, there's been peace at the boer between the republic ireland and northern ireland since the 1998 good friday deagreement, but the brexite now threatens that stability. >> nobody envisaged, when the '98 agreement was put in place, that there would be a situation in which britain would be outside the e.u. and ireland would be in the e.u. so, this throws up all kinds of problems nobody had anticipated.

>> nawaz: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >>ajor funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ >> on a cruise with american cruise lines, you can experience historic dtinations along the mississippi river, the columbia river and across the united states. american cruise lines' fleet of small ships explore american ndmarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines, proud p sponsor newshour. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: the house of representatives voted today to condemn antiisemitism, maphobia, and all forms of hate, after an incident that exposed political rtult lis. it s when minnesota democrat ilhan omar suggestedrs israel's bacn congress may esve divided loyalties. democrats' initialution focused solely on anti-semitism, but that triggered a backlash from omar's supporters. we'lexplore the implications after the news summary. a new firestorm erupted todayic aroundel cohen, president trump's former personal attorney. last week, he told congress that hhas never sought a presidential pardon. but in a statement today, his lawyer, lanny vis, said the president's team was openly "dangling" a pardon last year, and cohen directed his previous lawyers to ask about it. that brought sharply different reactions from republicans and democrats. >> he sat there and said he never asked for a pardon, and he

had. but he lied. he didn't forget. he didn't fudge. he lied like a dog. and he lied like a dog to congress. >> the president is now directly implicated in the misuse of pardon power, very directly. offers of pardons ar like offers of money, or any other benefit, in return for perjured or false testimony. >> nawaz: meanwhile, cohen sued aythe trump organization t claiming it reneged on a promise to pay his legal bills. a jury in florida has convicted a fired police officer, noumanra , on charges of manslaughter and attempted murder, for killing a black motojost. cores was in a broken-down s.u.v. when raja came upon him01 in october prosecutors say the officer was , plain clothes, never identified himsed provoked a confrontation. raja showed no emotionthe verdict was read today. now, he faces a minimum sentence of 25 years. canadian prime minister justin trudeau denied today that heat

pressured hirney general to settle a corporate criminal case alleging bribery of libyan officials. last week, jody wilson-raybould accused trudeau's te of inappropriately interfering. she left her government role lastonth. in toronto today, trudeau blamed what he called an "erosion of trust" and "lack of communication." >> i continue to say that therep was no ipriate pressure. i'm obviously reflecting on lessons learned through this, and i think canadians expect that of us-- that any time we go through periods of internal disagreement and, indeed, challenges to internal trust, as we have, there are things that we have to reflect on and understand and do better next time. >> nawaz: trudeau said he argued for corporate fines instead of iminal charges, fearing conviction could cost thousands of canadian jobs, if the compane were bfrom future government contracts. olin france, meanwhile, ca cardinal philippe barbarin was

convicte in lyon today for not tporting a pedophile prie police during the 1970s and '80s. barbarin was given a six-monthis suspended sentence. he said he will offer his resignation to pope francis. >> ( translated duly take note of the court's decision. beyond my own wirsonal case, i first to express my compassion to the victims, and will keep them and their families in my prars. i have decided to go and see the holy father, to hand him my signation. he will see me in a few days. >> nawaz: barbarin is archbishop of lyon, and the sior catholic cleric in france. back in this countryfunerals began today for victims of sunday's tornado disaster in alabama. the storm killed 23 people in the beauregard community of lee county, with winds blasting at 170 miles an hour. the national weather service says severe weather is expected again this weekend, across the south. there's word that u.s. customs and border protection is

targeting a list of some 60 reporters, lawyers and activists. nbc news and others report agents have orders to detain and question them, if theybo appear aer checkpoints near san diego. the agency says it wants to ask about violence at the border in november. the american civil liberties union calls it an "outrageous violation" of first amendment protections. and, on wall street today, banks and tech stocks led the market lowe the dow jones industrial average lost 200 points to close at 25,473.aq the naell 84 points, andsl the s&p 500 id 22. still to come on the newshour: a controversl vote in congress to condemn hate. the u.s. reaches the highest trade deficit in its history. twhat brexit could mean f 20-year peace in ireland. the famed santa anita racetracr closes, aftee deaths of 21 horses. and, much more.

>> nawaz: we return to today's vote in the house on a resolution denouncing bigotry in many forms. nick schifrin looks now at the path to this divisive debate on capitol hill. >> schifrin: for years, minnesota democrat ilhan omar has criticized israeli policies. as a candidate, she argued, that criticism was not the same as criticism of jews. >> i see there being a difference between criticism of a country, criticism of its administration and its government, and criticism of the people and their faith. >> schifrin: but in february, republicans targeted her israel comments. and she said she was being btacked because, "it's all about the benjaminy," suggesting $100 bills created support for israel. when asked who she thought was paying u.s. politicians to beel pro-isshe replied, the powerful lobbying group aipac, the american israel public

affairs committee. her critics accused r of repeating anti-semitic tropes linking jewish influence to money. by the next day she deleted the tweets, but republican minority leader kevin mccarthy called them inappropriate. >> the language they are using is wrong. i would say their leadership is wrong for not anding up to it. it is unacceptable in this country, especially when you sit back and you tught about and you listened to what this country went through in world war ii. >> schifrin: the same day her own party issued a statement misaying her "use of anti-c tropes and prejudicial accusations about israel's supporters is deeply offensive." omar, who is muslim and black, issued a statement thanking her colleagues for "educating me on the painful history of anti-semitic tropes." she said, "i unequivocally apologize," but also criticized the roblematic role of lobbyists in our politics." it's not the first time she's apologized. during the 2012 conflict in gaza

between israel and hamas, she tweeted, "israel has hypnotized the world, may allah awaken the people and hem see the evil doings of israel." in january, she labeled that tweet unfortunate and offensive. but, president trump said those apologieweren't enough. what she said is so deeped sen her heart that her lame apology-- and that's what it was, it was s lame-- a didn't mean a word of it-- was just not appropriate. >> schifrin: nearly a month later, while at a bore with michigan democrat rashida talib, omar was asked about s. policy toward israel. >> i want to talk about theue political ine in this country, that says it is okay to for people to push for the allegiance to a foreign country. i want to ask, why it is okay for me to talk about the n.a., or fossil fuel industries, or big pharma, and not talk about a

powerful lobbying group that is influencing policy? >> schifrin: her critics called her reference to "allegiance" an anti-semitic trope, accusing jews of having more loyalty to each other than to their home countries. on the same day, a poster brought to a republican event in west virginia linked her to 9/11.'s by todote, democrats expanded their resolution from anti-semitism, to condemning gotry in many forms. speaker of the house nancy pelosi: >> it is in the spirit of unity as we come together in this chamber to condemn all forms of hatred, racism, prejudice, and discrimination with a hopefully single and strong voice. t >> schifrin: ae vote condemned anti-semitism, islamophobia and all forms of hate. now we talk to leaders of two

political jewish activist groups in washington. jeremy ben-ami is jeremy b-ami is founder and president of j street, which describes itself as a prisrael, pro-peace advoca organization. josh block is chief executive officer of the israel oject, which describes itself as an educational organization dedicated to informing the media and public about israel and the middle east. he worked at the american israel public affairs committee, known as aipac, for nearly a decade. block, let me start wit you. ilhan omar says she's trying to criticize israeli policy, she's trying to criticize the role of jewish lobby group, specifically there is nothing wrong with making policy concerns about israel known or even suggesting you think that the other folks iniche pol process are wrong. i think the trouble here is that thae's been a pttern of using specific language that seeks to marginalize and stigmatize jewish participation in the polical process in a way that's very dangerous for jews. this kind of language that we've

en seep into the process in the united kingdom is creating a climate that's unsafe jews. i think we need to be very conscious here of the need the stand up and make sure that the kinds of antisemitic language troaps, ideas, don't oud th conversation when it comes to the discussion of israel, which is a legitimate and impornt policy conversation to have. >> schifri, jeremy ben-a is the language dangerous? >> i think we can all agree there is serious anti-semitism in this country. t 's a scourge we'll continue to fight for the ref our lives and beyond i think, but the larger question for society right now is where does this atmosphe of hate and intolerance and racism come from? there is an atmosphere th i's been creat this country, and it starts at the top with the president of the united states. it has been created across the board. it's not simply about anti-semitism.pe it's affected ple of muslim faiths, people of color, and we have an atmosphere rig now that white nationalism, white supremacy coming from the right politically has created theat sphere in which we're

operating. that needs to be called out. >> schifrin: josh block, an we get to some of the substance of what ilhan omar is talking about. >> sure. i think problem of the framing of right-left is you get to the issue. the problem is anti-semitism. the language that seeks to ostrace e, delegitimd disenfranchise jewish participation in the political process. that language is insidious. it needs to be singled out and stopped. so when we then suggest that critics who have objected to ilhan omar's remarks in februaro were fthe right, they weren't. the two democratic members of congress who sparked th discussion were democrats. the concerns are being voiced by jerry nadler.d we mis the package earlier her tweet to seen a senior member nita lowey in which she accused her of being a dual loyalist. jeremy is right, there is a problem in our society. jews are targeted six out of ten motivatedeligious hate crimes. they are the number-one target per capita in the country.

that's been the case for two decades. it's not just since this last presidential election. we need to be honest about the viralty of the hate and confront it. we should be clear, all bigotry hand racis no place in this country. mi>> schifrin: jeremy beni want to bring the israeli government in this country. many journalists who have lived in jerusalem, accusing me, have been accused of anti-semitism for criticizing israeli policies. do you believe the israeli government has encouraged the idea that critics of israel are anti-semitic? >> i think there is pattern and there are some in israeli politics, i think there are some in the politics of this country, who do ty to weponize the charge of anti-semitism in order to shut down debate.e i think re are instances where language goes too far. , there agree with jo are those instances, but there are many other instances and many more ere th charge of anti-semitism is used in order to d legitimize the criticor the journalist or the person who

is talking, and it does shuebt downe. it stifles the discussion of the actual issues that matter. how do we best end the israeli-palestinian conflict? what are the actions that can be taken to help palestinians and israelis find a better future? sometimes we can't have that discussion becse first time you criticize israel you're called an anti-semite.ch >> sifrin: is that debate being scuttled by the the people using the word "anti-semitism." >> i think to sayriticism of israel is stifled -- the weaponization of this dialogue by folks on both the left and the right who seek to advance their political gains. you know, i think we ought to cus on repairing the breech and educating those abo need to engage in civil dialogue around these policy issues. now, again, i think it's certainly the case that we want to see ablution in ilhan omar's

views, but i have to say i'm deeply alarmed by the resistance we all saw in the democratic caucus to moving forward swiftly and clearly in the denunciation. the sir us t that took place i think is a concern for american jews. those of us who havana believed for for however many dec that the left would act unequivocally without deay t confront these things, we should pause and really reflect on where we are as a society and how much more we have to do. >> schifrin: jeremy ben-ami, i want to bring up president trump. you mentioned him befo. a couple of incidents here. during the campaign, he tweeted an ad with hilly clinton, there it is, most corrupt candidate ever side the star of david. his closing ad during the eampaign, i the we have som still, he talked about must be and global special interests over a video of those two people, prominent jews. more recently in charlottesville, when white supremacist chanted "death to

jews there," theresident said they were fine people on both sides. and more recently he suggested activist george soros who is jesh might have funded the campaign or the caravanrooming upmexico. is that accelerating anti-semitism? >> oh, absolately. i think he tone for the country is set at the top. unfortunately, i thiis president and some of the enablers around him and in this case unfortunately it is within the republican party and it is on capitol hill and in the white house, they are eaing an atmosphere in which this kind of hate is festering, anthe pittsburgh shooter was not motivated by tweets that were critical of israeli policy. the pittsburgh soter was nttivated by this atmosphere of anti-immigrants,jewish hatred that has been fomented and made possible. i don't seehe republican caucus engaging in the kind of condemnaon of the president that we see here.ri >> sch very quickly from both of you, are you worried that israel is becominpartisa

issue? we have a new generation of democrats, younger, moreiv progrewho are more interested in criticizing israel? >> i think there is a unanimous nsent census amo the american public that israel is one of our closest allies in the i we see strong bipartisan world. support for israel in congress. the u.s.'s relationship isn't just the u.s.-israeli conflict. >> schifrin: quick response. >> i think folks on the right are tryingrn to tusrael into a culture war issue rather than a serious policy discussion. >> schifrin: josh block of the israel project, jeremy ben-ami of j street, thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> nawaz: president trump has made the trade deficit a centrao s of his agenda. that's included a major escalation of tariffs and engaging in trade wars, especially with china. but the latest figures for the

past year show theverall u.s. trade deficit keeps growing. in fact, it rose by 12%, compared to 2017, and the trade gap is now the widest it's been since 2008. david wessel of the brookings institution back with us, to help unpack what's behind it,la and ther picture. davidwessel, welcome back to ths hour. help us understand, how did this g mber get so high? what's contribut it? >> basically, president trump's tariffs didn't help,ut the major story is our economy is stronger than some of the other our demand for their stuff is growing faster than their demand for our st tf. and e trade deficit, which is the difference between our imports and our exorts, is widening. >> nawaz: so the president has repeatedly talked and called it unfair. he said he was going to use those tariffs you just mentioned to try to close the g. we see it's gone the other way right now, but the studies you've seen so far shown a

bit of what the effects of those tariffs have bee what do we know about that? >> right. well, first of all, thees president deseome of the blame for, this because when you cut taxes a lot and stir the u.s. economy, peoy more stuff. when our budget deficit gets bigger, that tends to widen the trade deficit what the president sometimes talks about is that somehow china is paying these tariffs, but the recent studies to which you refer are trying to figur out, when you have these tariffs, who gets hurt? is it the exporting country or the u.s. consumers and w business are buying the stuff, and their bottom line is most of the burden is falling on us, the consumers and busofiness the united states. we're paying for for importedbe stufuse of the tariffs. >> nawaz: so the burden is falling to us, b t i'mso hearing you say we're consuming tsre than we produce. that sugge have the cash and the ability to be able to do so. so what is the trade icit say about the overall health or strength of our economy? >> well, you know, sometimes i

think the trade deficit is overemphasized as a measure of the economy's health. it does mean, as you say, that we're consuming more than we produce. we're lucky enough to be able to do that. it also means that we invest more than we save. we're borrowing a lot of the money to buy these imports. but i think the bottom line is aat there are good way bad ways to get rid of a trade deficit. a bad way would be we could have a recession. then we can't afford buy anything. a good way to get rid of the trade deficit would be for us tt save a l more or for us to get a little more competitive, make betr things, k more efficiently. so it's a sinal thawe have work to do on that front. >> nawaz: david, does thi t number syou there is any number for us to be concerned, or if it continues to grocow, d there be reason for concern? >> yes. if it continued to grow, thereon would be reor concern. at these levels it's not so bad. the problem is it's progobly g to get worse. because the rest of the world is not doing very well. china is slowing. china is actleually importings

from all its trading partner, not just from us, and today, for instance, the european cetral bank marked down its for for growth in europe. that means they'll be buying less stuff. the trade deficit will get bigger. at some point it could gt dangerously large, but we're not there yet. >> nawaz: we're not there yet. we'll cotinue to track i. david wessel of the brookings institution, thanks for your time as always. >> you're welcome. >> nawaz: in three weeks time, the united kingdom is supposed to leave the europeaunion, and still, there is no deal for that so-called brex. a major sticking point? the fate of the border between northern ireland, ich is part of the u.k., and the republic of ireland, an independent nation that will remain part of the e.u. how that border matter is resolved could also have major implications for the peace

forged 21 years ago, that ended the deadly uprising in northern ireland. special correspondent jane ferguson was born and raised in northern ireland, and rerned there to examine these tense and fraught times. >> reporter: as the sun rises over this corner of ireland, first light bathes an invisible frontier. it touches carlingford lough, just south of the border... ansreaches across to the hi of south armagh, in the north. it's a peaceful place scene. lbut this rugged, beautifd, straddling two nations, has a violent history.er h wasthat the deadliest branch of the irpublican army, or i.r.a., battled against british rule for some 30 years, beginning in the late these fields and lanes became so dangerous for british troops, ey could only deploy here safely by helicopter. "the troubles," as they were called, transformed this tranquil place into a war zone. asju young girl, growing up outside the small village of

markethill, in northern ireland, i watched how the violence of that time affected everyone. it is amazing for me to think what was normal life back then in northern ireland in the 1980s and 1990s. when i was just a kid here in my local village, the police station was attacked. it's just that compound over there. it was attacked by the i.r.a., and while that attack was taking place, i was in kindergarten, in the local villagechool here behind me. myself and my classmates were all evacuated. back then, normal life involved the threats of attacks and bombings and killings. protestant communities were mostly unionist, wanting northern ireland to remain a part of the united kingdom. catholic communities were irish nationalist for the most part, wanting all of ireland to be unified, free from british rulea more3,500 people died

during the troubles, half of them civilians. in 1998, armed groups andli cians agreed to finally make peace, and signed an t historaty called the "good friday agreement," that effectively ended northern ireland's bloody sectarian conflict. 20 years, and that pas brought stability. as long as both the republic of ireland and britofn were members he same european union, there was no need for a militarized border, and sectarian tensions between protestants and catholics eased, he political fight over brexit-- britain's exit from the european union--s threatening that precious harmony. that's because if the u.k. slices away all offiies to europe, the irish republic would remain inside the e.u., with a european border running across the land, separating the republic of ireland from northern ireland, which could mean new customs and security checks. it's something that would break the terms of the good friday gnreement.

that's already ring old tensions. >> one of the things the '98 agreent did is that it ended tolence, obviously, but it also made it possiblebe british or to be irish and not to be loyal or disloyal in northern ireland. >> reporter: professor margaret o'callaghan teaches irish history at queens university of belfast. >> nobody enviged when the '98 reement was put in place, that there would be a situation in which britain would be outside the e.u. and ireland would be in the e.u., so this throws up all nds of problems nobody h anticipated. >> reporter: during the troubles in northern ireland, british border posts were view provocative by irish nationalists.nt with iy politics, nearly everything becomes political. that's why peace only came after the border was made less visible. it's still here, but you would hardly know it. one potential lution to the border issue is being called the "backstop."

that would mean leaving northern ireland inside the e.u. economic zone, even though the rest of great britn would be outside. the customs borderould be an invisible line across the irish sea, giving northern ireland an economic special status. 's a solution that is rejected by unionists. >> what concerned us about thatu was it removfrom the united kingdom, and as we see, once you start to break those ties, no matter how subtly, ho behind the scenes, once you start to break those ties between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom, it is the start of a process and it's a process that we don't want to be a part of. >> reporter: in northern ireland many people earn a living farough farming, like my family. i grew up on thi in county armagh, and i returned here just as the deadline for making a deal with europe grows near. if trade agreements are severed with a hostile brexit, farmers here-- like my father-- will find themselves subject to tariffs on their goods being sold to europe. my father is also the presidente of tarmer's union in northern ireland. he says around half of all lamb meat frthern ireland crosses the border into the republic of ireland and ends up in france.

but our mbs leaving northern ireland and going to southern ireland would pay a tariff of about 35 to 40 pounds sterling per mb, and that would mean that, well, farming just wouldn't stand that. >> reporter: another fear new imports from other countries, like the u.s. free from europeans regulations on how animals are raised and rs here couldr find themselves undercut in price by foreign goods. >> the e.u. has quite strict standards, so they don't want american beebecause it's full of hormones. the chicken is washed with chlorine, so they don't want that. they won't allow that in. so that's a thing we are concerned about as wl. if the u.k. decided to drop the standards, then that would be a major difficulty for us.em >> reporter:ratic unionist party campaigned for brexit, and is a key partner in prime minister theresa may's governing

aralition; they say that frs should keep calm and farm on. >> we want to see a withdrawal agreement with the european union. we want to see that there is the protection and the certainty there for business above anything else. >> reporter: for unionists, however, there is another concern. to some of their rivals amongst nationalists, the discord over brexit could signal an opportunity.go the friday agreement includes a clause that calls for an eventual referendum, or poll, on removing the irish border entirely and uniting ireland. when northern ireland was formed almost 100 years ago, there was a clear protestant, unionist, majority, protecting the union with the u.k. over the years that majority has eroded, and is now almost gone. so far, no one has wanted to risk the delrtate peace in rn ireland since the good friday agreement by calling for ea unity referendum, but brexit debate has changed everything here. >> a hard border othe island of ireland cannot happen, will not happen, and is not an option. >> reporter: mary lou mcdonald is the president of sinn fein, traditionally seen a political wing of the i.r.a. >> if the british government insists on a reckless course of

action that brings a difficultyt good friday agreement and causes a hardening of the border, in thoseircumstances, the only democratically correct thing that they can do is put the issue of the border self to the people. allow the people to have their say in aeferendum, on a border poll.n >> reporter:united ireland? >> absolutely. >> reporter: a hard border in northern ireland would almost certainly re-ignite anger, but for now, the likelihood of an outright insurgenc low.n is is a return to violence realistic? >> no. i don't think that is realistic at all. i don't see a return to that kind of violence post 9/11, we live in a different kind of world. >> reporter:hat doesn't mean sporadic violence, less organized, would not be hissible. >> i it would be a very foolish, and a very reckless

person, that would gamble at all on stability. that would gamble in any way, however small, would take any chance with the peace that we have built. >> reporter: the memories of violence and loss, however, are still shp, and northern ireland's people know they have much at stake in the coming months, hoping their hard-won peace here can withstand the changing world around them. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson, in belfast, northern ireland. az >> na spike in deaths among race horses has triggered the indefinite shut down of one of the most famous tracks in the country. as john yang reports, it's shining a spotlight on questions abou racing's four-legged athletes.

>> yang: this was to be a big week at santa anita park outside los angeles-- a major prep race for the kentucky derby was setfo saturday. instead, it will be silent. all racing and training,fi suspended indetely. since december 26, 21 horses have died while training or racing. that's almost double the track's fatalities in all of 2018. the mostecent race fatality was this past weekend: a horse named eskenforadrink was in the lead, en she broke down. the four-year-old filly's ankle was injured beyond repr. she had to be euthanized. the spike in devastating bone fractures at santa anita is renewing focus on the rang industry's practices. publ attention was heightene in 2008 when the filly, eight belles, had to be put down aft finishing second in the nationally televised kentucky derby. santa anita is the home track

for bob baffert, who's trained two triple crown winners. >> we love these animals. we don't send them out there thinking something bad's going to happen, and it's stressful. >> yang: other horses have been injured, but not badly enough to endanger their lives. one is owned by larry peal. nning in a race, and then we found out after the race that it needed an operation. and it had a fractured knee, anp n the other knee. >> yang: some blame this year's unusually wet southernrn cali winter. >> i think the rain probably ha had someth do with it, these record amounts of rain. r yang: horse owner larry peal says all that wates left the track hard. >> the track is pretty much like the 210 freeway-- it's concrete. it yang: last week, santa shut forwo days so the main dirt track could be examined by experts.

>> we're looking at everything. ground-penetrating radar allows us to look through the layers.ay it's the what we check that the base, cushion and pad are all of consistent thickness. >> yang: after re-openin two more deaths, triggering the current closure. in a statement, a santa anita official said, "while we are confident further testing will confirm the soundness of the track, the decision to close ish the thing to do at this time." >> we readily acknowledge it's an athletic endeavor. injuries happen. you want to minimize the effect of the injuries and you want to stay away from the big ones. >> yang: animal rights protestors say horse racingti pracs in general are to blame. they accuse trainers of pushing horses too hard, and drugging injured horses to keephem running. >> outrage. i mean, one death is one too many. it should not happen. a lot of these beautiful animals e dead now. and who's going to answer to that?an >> 85-year-old santa anita park is one of the most storied tracks in america. in hollywood's golden age, it

was a gathering spot for moviecl royalty, likk gable and carole lombard, and marlene deitrich. wnbing crosby was a part oer. in modern hollywood, it's been the filming location for movies like 200s "seabiscuit." and now, after so many horses have died, santa anita is shuttered, with a date for its re-opening unctain. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> nawaz: generation z-- people born from the mid-1990s to around 2010-- make up a quarter of the u.s. population, and they're growing up in an increasingly cash-less society. how does that affect their relationship to money and finance? economics correspondent paul solman took a group of kids on a field trip, to find out.

's part of our weekly series, "making sense." >> so, anybody want ice cream? >> reporter: a chilly day in manhattan, but for ten- and 11- year-olds, there are no unseasonable treats. but the excitement for theow ups-- myself and personal finance expert beth kobliner-- w this a transaction with anfa unliar twist... this store doesn't take cash. ever. like a growing number of retail shops, it's plastic ile payment only. but cash-less was no problem for n'e kids, who of course we paying. what a you going with? >> cookies and cream with a sugar cone! >> reporter: but they're also growing up at a time when only one in three purchases is made with cash. so, we wanted to know: does an increasingly cash-lessconomy keep kids from grasping th basics of price and value? how much do you think these things cost? >> it tastes so good, i think it'll be, like, anywhere from

$3 to $7. >> reporter: but the kids say expensive compared to e cream truck... >> they only charge you $2.75. >> reporter: okay, so they're familiar with relative prices. but can they calibrate value? if i said to you, i'll give you $5.50, instead of the ice cream cone, which would you choose? the cone or the money? >> the money. >> reporter: you would; why? >> because i could get something else, and i could maybe get a cheaper ice cream. >> you can get the same amount, a bigger amount of ice cream, for $2.75 at trader joe's, or $3.99 at trader joe's, and then you can have ice cream for a whole week. >> reporter: i know wh going to do. i'll offer $2. who will still give me their ice cream for $2? what about a dollar? a dollar.

but in the end, two of the kids actually took my low-ball $1 iccash offer for half-eate cream, whose allure was apparently melting as fast asse the foodstuff . this suggested not only the economic conpt of diminishing returns, but also that hard currency has the same cachet, or more, than it did when beth kobliner and i were first lured into t sugar market. >> when i was little kid, about ten or 11, yeah, i remember going to the ice cream store, and my dad would give me $1. and ice cream then was 50 cents, and the sprinkles were cents. >> reporter: in my day, a quarter, by the way. an ice cream cone was a quarter. >> and i would get change. the whole transaction was reallr about ng addition, subtraction, numeracy. today, 70% of all our purchases are done online, or with cards >> reporter: how many of you have smartphones?on everof you. now, about half of ten- to 12- year-olds have smartphones, and gers have debit cards. so is cash arithmetic a lost

art? how many quarters in $3? >> 12! >> reporter: how many quarters in $3.75? >> 15. >> reporter: 15, very good. s can still count, witho burning much cash. but aren't they being suckered into spending, by switching to a credit card? >> i don't think i would be responsibl would just want to go around spending, spending it, on stupid stuff sometimes. >> reporter: isaac smith lewis' reluctance was echoed others. >> i'm going to be going on, like, shopping sprees and be, like, "okay, everything is on me." >> i can't use credit cards, because i would be, like, i'mgo g to buy that, i'm going to buy that, i'm going to buy that. >> money doesn't grow from trees. >> reporter: when it comes to credit cards, in fact, gen z-ers may be more pey-wise than their parents. dawood's mom, huda qatabi, for example:

>> i'm worse! ( laughter ) >> reporter: so are these gen- zers safe with their-- or their parents'-- money? no. take it one further remove, and to tech-savvy marketers, they're sitting ducks. that's because kids this age spend about six hours a day online, on average, much of it playing video games... and spending on them. the industry's new business model: selling itemsn the game. like the outfits the characters wear, also known as "skins," in the game sensation "fortnite." >> in-game purchases, i feel like, it's just like, "click, click." it's just not real money. >> inside the game, it's like j you'ret using game money. >> reporter: these kids aren't alone. facebook came under scrutiny earlier this year when documents revealed it made than $3million from in-app purchases made by mino and, as alice richelson told usy

these aren't aone-time charges. >> i got a subscription on a coloring app, and just kept taking money from every nth, and finally my dad found out and i got in trouble. >> yes. she somehow signed up on itunes for a bunch of games, some games that kept charging every month. and i didn't get the receipts. it wento her email. but i changed that now, so i didn't know that was happening. so, i shut that off, yeah. >> reporter: but when it comes to other in-game pur, jason richelson said...iv >> iin sometimes. >> reporter: why do you give in? >> because they keep bothering me. >> reporter: impulsive kids; pestered parts. all overmatched by online credit-- cash-free; card-free. and that's why the actual way we finally purchased our ice cream gave me pause.yo do not accept cash? >> no, we only take credit card, debit card, or apple pay.>> eporter: apple pay?

i don't have that? >> i have apple pay.r: >> reporobliner uses mobile pay apps, but she does have concerns about them.ud >> there is a that looked at mobile pay, and it turns out when you use your phone to buy things, you are morey to feel that you've got a good deal at that store. it like that magic wand; you're getting something for nothing; you're not giving up dollars. reporter: really? >> so stores really have an incentive to n let us use cash. >> reporter: even frndly cash- free stores like this one. as if the magic spell of i cream wasn't troublesome enough. for the pbs newshour, economic correspondent paul solman, reporting from manhattan's lower east side.

>> nawaz: and we'll be back shortly, with a judge who argues, our nation's prison problems start with the juvenile justice system. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. a ithance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> nawaz: for those stations staying with us, special correspondent fred de sam lazaro has this encore report from kenya's capital, nairobi, where mapping technology is helpingbr g services to some of the poorest people on the continent. >> reporter: in the that forms africa's largest urban slum, zack wambua's job is to keep an eye on the nooks and corns. he's with a group of residents in nairobi's kibera neighborhood who've beetrained in basic computing technology to record where things like electrlial lines, pubtoilets and community water tanks are, and, more critically, where they are

needed.ga >> so,, just pick a point here. >> reporter: on this day, he was checking on streetlight locations using a small gps device. >> these are t coordinates. >> reporter: so, having a light he is very important to th security of the families that live in this area back here? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: at the end i his day, thenformation is added to a database. it's all designed by an organization called map kibera, which provides the information free of charge, so that publican private groups can better provide services. at least 50% of nairobi's population lives in slums. and yet, until just a few yearse ago, bushborhoods like kibera behind me were blank spaces on official maps. mapping is one of several tech initiatives to bring attention t people in nairobi's vast impoverished neighborhoods, people like farida-gtei, a secondeneration kibera. reside orphaned at 13, she shares this tiny space with an aunt and

sister. she's 26 now, a singler who is determined that life will be far better for her ear- old daughter, amina. so, afr breakfast, she loads up her backpack and heads to class, a few miles and half-a- world from kibera, in one of nairobi's thriving tech hubs. she attends akirachix, a rigorous, post-high school program that trains young women from poor neighborhoods to be high-tech entrepreneurs. >> before i joined akirachix, i was just in the dark, in that i didn't see my life and i didn't know where i was heading to. >> reporter: so, what do you might want to do once you get? your diplo >> i want to build web sites. >> we're trying to see if we can start converting them not just to be women in tech, but, at the same time, to be the drivers and

creators of technology. >> reporter: linda kamau is a software developer and co- founder ofeckirachix. >>is a tool. and so, if you empower them with this tool that will help them get themselves out of the cycle of poverty, then you're showing them that there's a path that ey can take. there's something they can use to actually secure themselves. >> reporter: akirachix is one of several efforts to find answers in technology amid growing conctn about high unemploymen among young people-- it's about 20%-- to bridge the two worlds that farida atei inhabits. is initiative spun off from one of africa's most successful tech start-ups called ushahidi, witness in swahili. it was born ten yearago out of the deadly violence that followed elections in kenya and the limited mea coverage of them, says angela odour. >> most of us, myself, was stuck inur houses. we didn't quite know what was

happening in different parts of the country. so, what a groupf four kenyan bloggers did was basically come together andreate a platform that allowed for all ordinary citizens to send in either text messages, emails or tweets about ings that were happening around them. >> reporter: since then, the software company has grown exponentially, used in more than 160 countries. >> the magnitude-7 earthquake destroyed a quarter million homes. >> reporter: helping humanitarian organizations find survivors from the haiti and nepal earthquakes, for example, and the tsunami in japan. ushahidi software was also used monitor election irregularities in 40 countries, e past two here in kibera and across kenya. >> in 2013, where we received a text message about a group of people congregating around a polling station in a place called molo, which is known fort politicafe. and in a matter of 15 minutes,

police o >> reporter: beyond monitoring elections, technology is becoming a tool to bring accountability to those elected, says map kibera's joshua ogure. >> we make the invisible visible. and we show the world that this is what we have, this is what we don't have. and so the government, for exampl we can hold them accountable by saying, look, this is your responsibility. >> reporter: ogure also runs an online kibera news network. >> kibera news network. >> reporter: a modesifeffort to amthe concerns of ordinary citizens. there's some evidence of a response. >> in kibera, we have a deficit of secondary schools. >> reporter: vincent ayako is an aide to the member of parliament from this area. he says they used map kibera's data to get funding for a new high school. >> map kibera was able to provide us with a strategic direction to know which areas

needed mostly secondary schools. >> reporter: back at the idakirachix classroom, faratei also has some specific dreams for her future. s she sa'd like to develop a fingerprint technology to stopea people from ng water, a l g problem in her neighborhood. >> so, the owner wst use their fingerprint, and the water will flow to the pipe. >> reporter: so, you want to use tech to stop wateriracy. >> yes. and, immediately, when someone tries to put-- or tamph the fingerprint of the owner, e owner will receive a notification message. >> i know the internet of things is great, but it works outside w>> reporter: farida ateiill e on begin an internship with a tech company, thart, she says, of a journey out of the poverty and ssibly this neighborhood that she's known all her life.

for the pbs newshour, i'm fred de sam lazaro in nairobi, kenya. >> nawaz: on any given day, approximately 50,000 young people in the u.s.re held in juvenile prisons. johnnie mcdaniels, a judge in hinds county, mississippi, believes america's mass incarceration problem actually begins during teenage years. mcdaniels spent three years as executive director of the henley-young juvenile justice "brief, and offers thi tot spectacular" take. >> being a proseis about making sure that justice prevails.e i'm an absolvocate, and i advocated it from the courtroom, that if a person was not guiltyt or sng, the system is designed that that person should be let go. >> the criminal justice system was alys interesting to me. i'm the youngest of ten children

one older brother has had the misfortune of havi i got caught the criminal justice system, and actually went to prison. i would go and visit himith my mom at the state penitentiary in parchman. he would always give the most wonderful story when we were there with my mom. you know, "i'm doing fine, and, and, you know, i'm going tbe okay and, and, and they treat me nicely," and that type of thg. when she was gone, you know, you would hear the other side of itt you would he difficulties associated with being incarcerated in the state of mississippi. the difficulties associated with not havingroper legal representation. so i was always saying, you know, at one point, you know, i'm going to go to law school, and i'm going to be a grea defense attorney. i'm going to make sure that i can make a difference to people like my brother. as i stood in the courtroom, prosecuting young people between fe ages of 18 and 21, one the first dynamics that i absolutely encountered was, all of them have some type of involvement with the juvenile justice system. so, seeing that, i naturally begato ask questions about

what's going on with juvenile justice issues in jackson, mississippi, and found some pretty astonishing things in terms of the number of people who were not being adjudicated, the number of youne le who were not receiving the type of services that were necessary. the system not having the proper mechanisms in place to deal with the revolving door of juvenile justice absolutely problematic. many of those juniles have been the subject of some type of abuse; some type of neect, some type of trauma. that's why it's so importanto have the right type of mental health professionals in place, when you're dealing with juveniles who are engaged in the criminal justice system. if you allow it to just kind of not receive the proper attention that it deserv, you're going to have a young person who's gointo matriculate from age 13, engaging in behavior, all the way until they do something so unfortunate and sensational

that they're on the 5:00 evening news, and at that int, there is no more saving. i absolutely believe that we can divert and rehabilitate young people, so that we won't have so many people in the criminal justice system. if you don't get it right at the juvenile level, in the context of criminal justice,e never going to get it right at the adult level. m not talking about, you know, making communities unsafe. there's a way to do this in such a way that we can have smart justice, safe communities, but ndmake sure that our jails prisons are not full of people who shouldn't be there. n e is johnnie mcdaniels and this is my "brief but spectacular" take on the revolving door of ju justice. >>awaz: you can watch additional "brief but spectacular" episodes on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour/brief. and that's theniewshour for t. i'm amna nawaz. join us online, and again here morrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, and see you soon.

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hello, everyone, and welcopo to "amur" and company. here's what's coming up. the democrats cpllenging trn 2020. one of the most diverse fields ever. and one of the biggest outsiders, pete buttigieg, the small city mayor from the midwest, on w he should be the youngest and the first millennial president. then t middle east expert emma sky tells me the region is trapped in a time of monsters. plushe nuances of medical support at the end of life. dr. sunita puri tells our elysia mendez about the growth of palliative care.