captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on theewshour tonight: a dozen senate republicans break with the president, voting to overturn mr. trump's declaration of a nional emergency at the southern border. then, how indictments in the case of college admissions fraud expose disparities along race and family income lines at elite universities. plus, a business school that's free, aimed to help low-income people start a company without a loan. >> you have to borrow things and barter. you need to use your energy. but we haven't found a businessa that wt yet find a way to start for free. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been prov by: w >> on a cruih american cruise lines, you can experience historicestinations along the mississippi river, the columbia river and across the united states. american cruise lines fleet of small shipexplore american landmarks, local cultures and calm waterways. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs newshour. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> babbel.

a snguage program that teac spanish, french, german, italian, and more. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economice performad financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in e ucation, democratic engagement, and vancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.or >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals.>> his program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs statn from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff:resident trump has run into bipartisan push-back in

the united states senate over his national emergency. today's vote went against him, 59 to 41, and he quickly vowed a veto. congressional correspondent lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> desjardins: rebuking president trump, the republican- controlled senate voted today tc his declaration of a national emergency at the southern border. 12 republicans voted with democrats to terminate the president's order. maine's susan collins was one of them, arguing that the president was usurping congress's power of the purse. >> we must stand up and defend congress' institutional powers as the framers intended that we >> desjardins: the one dozen republicans who voted to end th presidenergency declaration were a spectrum of moderates, conservatives and libertariansd' hosting irelprime minister

ead of the vote, preside trump vowed to veto the measure, ssfending his declaration and saying it is addg a security issue. >> the worlds laughing at the laws that were passed, with respect to us, ande're going to have a very strong border very soon. we're building a lot of wall. there's a lot of wall gog up. >> desjardins: by declaring the emergency, president trump aims to move $3.6 billionway from other military construction projects and use it to build more border wall. the 1976 national emergencies act gives the president the power to declare emergencies, but there is debate over whether president trump is misusing that law. some republicans, like arkansas' tom cotton, say the president has the authority to address what they see as a real emergency at the southern border. >> it's not a constitutional on the, it's a crisi border, a crisis of american

sovereignty. when hundreds of thousands of foreigners arrive at the southernorder and demand try, that's not migration. that's an emergency and a threat to our sovereigntyes >>rdins: but democrats have said from the beginning, president trump's declarationnn was bothessary and illegal. tom udall of new mexico co-sponsored the resolution ending the emergency. >> what is at issue is our oatha to suppo defend the constitution, whether any president can toss congress aside and raid critical funds at will. we have an opportunity to stand up to an grab.titutional power >> desjardins: the vote today was the largest senate rejection of a trump administration policy so far, but fell short of the 67 votes needed to override a esidential veto. and one is coming, as president trump tweeted, adding an examation point to a singl word-- "veto!"

>> woodruff: and lisa joins me now, along with our white house correspondent, yamiche alcindor. "making the grade" pop-up busins school pops esplanade extravaganza hello to both of you. lisa, this was apparently a this was a bruising vote.ho these senatorsere on the fence were under incredible use,sure from the white h and just minutes before the vote in the halfour before the vote, senator thom tillis of north rolina changed his voe, judy. there were only a few reporters in the chamber at that point, and we all lked at each other and said, are we understanding this crectly, becau tillis wasn't just someone opposing the president, he wrote an op-ed in the "washington post" in february saying that this was a matter of constitutional imperative. he wrote it woulde intellectually dishonest to support this emergency declaration. why does he say he changed his vote today? well, he says he's in discussions with the president. he thinks they can change the entire way national emergencies

are approached. at the same time, conservatives have been very clear and have told himnkoint bhey want to run a primary opponent against him, perhaps mark meadows of north carolina. he says that'not the reason. maybe we'll learn more in a few days. i want tom turn fhim to a president who voted against the president. jerry ran of kansas wrote tis also unusual handwritten letter of why he voted to end the emergency claration, and note this line right here. he wrote, "i take one oath to, uphold the constitution of the united states. i believe the use of emergency powers in this cicumstance violates the constitution." his staff says moran took this o unusual st putting out his own handwriting because he wanted his voters to know howve personally invhe was. it's fascinating, judy, president trump won in kansas by 20 points. thom tillis, president trump only one by four points thre. what's the difference? thom tillis is up for reelection in 2020. jerry moran is not.

every republican up for reelectionoted with the president today except for susan collins. >> woodruff: very telling, very telling. yamiche, we know the president plans the veto this. he's made that very cle how is he dealing with these ?enators who went against him >> well, this was really a stunning rebuke of president trump deliver by members of his own party, and the president had been trying really, really hard to avoid this, and they had been calling the white house and aides and the presedent him, talking to lawmakers, urging them to not vote against the president. i want to read two tweets that i think really iculate the president's message to lawmakers. the first was before the vote.et he twe, "don't vote with pelosi." then after the vote, when it wae clear that thate was going to be doing that, he said, "i think all of the strong republicans who voted to support border security and are desperately needed wall." then he's saying thanks for sticking with me to the republicans who did stick with me, but he's not talking about

the 12 republicans who voted against him. the white house is also not really acnowledging these republicans who were using words like "dangerous" and account king" to describe president's national emergency declaration. i was speaking to a senior campaign official for the trump campaign. that person told me the optics of this are not great but that the great thin tabos is that there will not be a veto override and that the president has enough republicans sticking with him so that he doesn't have to face a fullbuke from congress. the white house also says thaten the pres is likely going to be vetoing this bill some time in the very, very near ture. there is no exact timing. it's important to note that president trump -- this is going to be his first veto. president obama had 12. the white house is saying, hey, this is part of the joe b. we h do this. >> woodruff: a new situation for thise prsident. yamiche alcindor, lisa dajardins, we thank youh. >> woodruff: in ths other news, britain's house of commons voted to seek a three-month

delay in leaving the europn union. the current date is march 29. lawmakers already rejected prime minister theresa may's brexit deal twice. they also voted against leaving the e.u. without a deal. aftetoday's vote, the opposition labour party leader jeremy corbyn said the burden is back on may, again. >> the last few days have also put responsibility on the prime minister, first to publicly accept that her "deal" and "no-deal" are simply no longer viable options, and secondly, to bring forward the necessary legislation to amend the exit date of the 29th of march. >> woodruff: prime minister may has indicated that she will seek a third vote on her brexit proposal next week. the u.s. house of representatives voted unanimously today that specialco sel robert mueller's russiaad report will bepublic. the non-binding resolution is meant to pressrae attorney gewilliam barr to release

he much information as possible. it is unclear ifenate will take up the issue. mueller interference in the 2016 election, and alleged co tusion with tmp campaign. former texas congressman beto o'rourke has officially enteredm the 2020ratic presidential race. o'rourke narrowly lost his u.s. senate bid last year, to republicanncumbent ted cruz. but his campaign mobilized young and minority voter and shattered fund-raising records. in a video today, he said he is ready to run for the wte house. >> this is going to be a positive campaign, that seeks to ing out the very best fr every single one of us, that seeks to unite a very divided country. we saw the power of this in texas, where people allowed no difference, however great or however small,o stand between them and divide us. >> woodruff: o'rourke is now one of more than a dozen democrats

running for the 2020 nomination. the u.s. peace envoy to afghanistan, zalmay khalilzad, was sharply criticized today over his handling of peace talks with the taliban. the afghan national security adviser accused him of stonewalling afghan s, with an eye toward taking power himself. he also warned that khalilzad is ving too much away to th taliban. the u.s. state department said it would respond in private. the connecticut stateme court ruled today miat gun maker ton may be sued over the sandy hook school killings in 2012. the gunman used remington's semi-automic "bushmaster" rifle to kill 20 children and six staff members. a lawy for victims' families said they will pursue wrongful death claims that the company orified the gun in its marketing. >> nobody is above the law. that's really the takeaway from the decision.

and even a gun company that is powerful, even a gun industry that is politically connected, and even in the face of some statutory protections, no industry is fully above the law. >> woodruff: remington has long denied it did anything wrong. it has also argued that federal law shields gun manufacturers from liability in most cases. state legislatures in arkansas and utah have approved bills to ban most abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. the restrictions, adopted wednesday, would be among then tougheste nation. arkansas' governor is expected to sig while utah's governor is still weighing his decision.f a wide swathe country spent another day under assault from a late-winter sto it brought white-out conditions and flooding in nebraska, plus heavy rain in the daand

iowa. in colorado, crews worked toop interstates after a blizzard and hurricane-force winds whipped through the region. meanwhile, a tornado touched ground in western kentucky, injuring one person. democrats in the u.shouse charged today that commerce secretary wilbur ross ed about adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. at a hearing, house oversight chair elijah cummings said documents show that ross pushed to add the question, and misle congress about it. missouri democrat lacy clay challenged ross directly, as tht sey defended his previous statements. >> i have never intentionally misled congress or intentionally said anything incorrect under oath... >> mr. secretary, mr. secretary. you lied to coress. you misled the american people. and you are complicit in the

trump administration's intent to suppress the political power of the non-white population. >> woodruff: democratshe citizenship question would discourage immigrants from taking part in the census. ross promised the census data will not be us for immigration enforcement. the u.s. supreme court will hear a gal challenge to the question, next month. "empir actor jussie smollett pled not guilty today to charges tathat he staged an allegeck in chicago. he said nothing publicly, before or after the hearing. inourt, his lawyer submitt the plea to 16 counts ofdi rderly conduct. smollett says he was attacked by two men shouting rial and homophobic slurs. police say he staged bid for publicity and better pay. the chinese telecom giant huawei has entered a not guilty plea tf chargeiolating u.s. sanctions on iran.

that came today at an arraignment in brooklyn, new york. huawei's chief financial officer, meng wanzhou, was arrested in canada in deceer, and is awaiting extradition to the u.s. on wall street today, the dow jones industrial average gained seven points to close near 25,710. the nasdaq fell 12 points, and the s&p 500 slipped two. and, former three-term senator birch bayh died today at his home in maryland. e indiana democrat ran for president, and led drives for a lower voting age and genderli eq. john yang has our report. we're running a good st third. >> yang: birch bayh's attempts to become president were both unsuccessful, but the consequencesdef the liberal crat's work are still felt throughout american life. ( yelling )e ope of women's college athletics is largely due to title ix, the landmark federal legislation that bayh championed.

i bars sex discriminationn colleges, and is used to combalt sexual assaun campus. >> ...to have a voice and to have an impact. >> yang: 18-year-olds arehe guaranteight to vote in federal and state elections, thanks to the 26th amendment to the constitution, which bayh helped draft in the midst of tha viwar. and he was the main architect of the 25th amendment, presidents the ability to fill vice presidential vacancies. its procedure for declaring sitting presidents unfit has been in the news, after disclosures that deputy attornro general rod senstein discussed it in connection with president trump. bayh was first elected to the senate in 1962. he was on the senate judiciary committee. >> let's have a truly independent prosecutor, not a special prosecutor. >> yang: ...and was a leading voice during watergate. he was defeated for re-election by dan quayle in the 1980 republican wave. s son, evan, later held the same senate seat.h biyh was 91.

for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang.f: >> woodruftill to come on the newshour: pbritish parliment votes h back a break from europe. co exposes disparities at elite universities. a free business school teaches how to start a compa without a loan. and,uch more. th>> woodruff: we return t political crisis in the united kingdom, as it grapples with how to leave the european union. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin brings us the latest. >> schifrin: this week, for the second time, the british parliament rejected the agreement prime minister theresa may negotiated with the european uon to leave the e.u. parliament doesn't have an alternative, but it has rejected the possibility of leaving without a deal, and today, lawmakers voted to delay brexit altogether. to help walk us through what

happened and what's likely to happen next, we turn to peter spiegle, the news edit "financial times," who joins me from london. >> schifrin: peter spiegle, thanks for being on the news hour. does ttension give the prime minister a lifeline, and is not guaranteed theu.econd will grant it. all 27 remaining countries have approve. this the message out of brussels thus far is this will be pro but you occasionally hear the french in particular but also the spanish saying, look, if yore going to ask for an extension, what do you need this for? you have to let us know you will come to some resolution, whi clearly at this point the brits can't do. is this a lifeline? yes d no. for two years theresa may has been trying to get a deal thugh parliament. she's negotiated for two years, and we're two weeks away and she still can't do it. the delay will allow her at least another couple months to try to keep pounding headhe against the wall, but there is no sign anyone is moving anywhere. so the question is: is it going to be a short extension where she tries to get her deal done in the next month or two, or ish

a long extension where the whole question of whether britain leaves at all comes into play? i think that's the question we'll face next week when thre is another vote in parliament on this deal.n: >> schifhe vote today was to extend until june 30th. that's important because it's right fore next euopean parliament session begins. what could lead to the delay being longer? >> well, look, the big announcement this week is she's going to try for a third time to bring her plan the parliament. it's probly going to be next tuesday, and he has said to the members of parliament, look, yoa a choice. you can either back my bill in this third vote, in which case we'll need a short, technical extension, probably until the european elections, which is may 23rd. gh'll push it thr parliament, get it ratified, push the legislation through, and that will be done an dusted. or, you know, we could befi inte. we could be years stuck in an extension, because as you said, the europeans have the elections

the may. the parliament sits in july. then they do the european commission. ery five years they reappoint the european commission. so britain has to paicipate in these things as an ongoing member of the e.u. the transes of theresa may hanging around this long as prime minister are very slim some you get a short and sweet and the deal goes through and britain leaves in late may, or, boy, you know, it goes hayre and we have no idea where this is going to end. >> schifrin: could that mean we get no brexit at all or asre yorred to earlier, a second referendum? >> what you hear when you talk to brussels -- i spent six years there -- the one thing they would be willing to wait for is some sort of democratic evnt. is it a second referendum where the british people are asked ye again,is the brexit you want, that kind of brexit, or stay in at this poi or you have a general election. the fact of the matter is theresa may no longer has a majoty in parliament. she's relying on a small northern ireland party to stay in government. you have a labour pwhich is coming around slowly but surely to backing a second referendum.

so why not bring it to the people? you have a brexit party in the tory party and what has increasingly become a second referendum party in the labour party. i think you're beginninghe hear a lot of rumbling in brussels if you can't solve this in parliament, the best solutiob wisome sort of democratic event, again, second referendum or general ele sction. ifrin: peter spiegle, news editor of the "financial times," thank you very much.e. >> my pleas >> wdruff: the college admissions scandal has sparked conversatis around the country-- not just about the scheme itself, bes much bigger ons about access, race, class and inequality in higher education. this week, the f.b.i. and department of justice detailed a sweeping cheating and bribery scandal involving parents d phigh-profile celebritiesaying big money to make sure their

children could get into some of thmost select universities w explore some of the questions this has touched oh daniel golden.ni he is a editor at propublica, and author of "the price of admission: how america's ruling class buys its way into elite colleges, and who gets left outside the gates." and, rashad robinson is the c president or of change, an organization focused on racial justice. with you. what do you think this scandal, as we said involving parents and coaches and one particularco ulting firm, says about inequality in american higher education? >> i think it highlights a lot of things that so many folks already knew but also brings to bear sort lef a wheries of questions about how large and how vast this is. if smeone like mr. singer could be able to get such access to

coaches, to admissions councilors, to parents, one has to imagine this can't be the only person that is sort of engaged in this type of behavior. so i do think it's incredibly important ase look at what's happened here that we just don't think about the exposure of this one idngle incts, but think about all of the ways that the rules and the structures within stem have allowed this to happen. the schools, who have in many ways tried to kind of lay the blame elsewhere, have created systems and structures that make it easy for these things to happen, having the option for access to polo and other sport't that dxist in urban community, don't exist sort of in widranges. so already creating tracks for rich students or wealthy, creating all of these avenues also for donations. >> woodruff: i want to ask you about that, systems an structures. daniel golden, you wrote in your book about the unfairness of many of the ways students of

privilege were getting into elite colleges, others being left out. what parallels do you see? what differences do you see between what you wrote about i 2006 and what's happening right now? >> well, this isnt eslly what i wrote about in my book but taken to a much moretr exe level. i primarily wrote about donations to universitiethat were used to facilitate admission of these children of the ri and famous. this is straight out bribery. u know, so i focused on institutional preferences like legacy preference for children of alumni who skew white and wealthy, or the athletic preferences or upper-crust sports that were just mentioned. this exposes those vulnerabilities, but it also goes way beyond that in the most the one thing it showcases that is particularly interesting is a sort of rise of these private

councilors who are paid by the wealthy to get their kids into college, and they're beholden to nobody, whereas a guidancdown hair in a high school, they need to find the fit for all the students, what's the best college for this or that student. these councilors are simply at the bethest of the wea as far as they can to get kids into college. >> woodruff: rashad robinson, whether it is donations by rents with large financial neans or whether it is the rise of, as daniel gol says, private councilors, is there a growing gap in this count between what some students and their families are capable of doing to get into schools and what others are capable of doing? >> well, it absolutely follows the growing inequality we see in this country and the way that policies from huge tax cuts to e sort of lack of access to quality education in high school and elementary school, the fact

that the funding o our schools travels along racial lines in so many ways. and since 1980 in this country, schools have become more and more segregated, a the opportunity that folks have once they leave those schools toe gt into or be seen by elite schools or colleges as a whole, all of that sort of plays into this. but once students get to these schools, sort of the ways that black students are sort of looked at and questioned about whether or nothey belong there, all the while so many of these big institutions accept more legacy students than they do accept black students, provide access to folks whose parents have already gotten through the door, and theety're onlyng through that door after their parents, not from what they have achieved on their own. >> woodruff: and that raises, daniel golden, something you wrote about this week, and that is while the number of -- the actual number of legacies or the u rcentage of legacies may be

shrinking, but yill have a problem with an advantage thatom studentsg from families of nts.s have over other stu is there a racial component to that? >> there is a racial component. the legacy preference for alumni childrisproportionately benefits whites. there is a proportion of legacy students at elite universities can be anywhere from 10% to 20% of the student body or even higher, and combined with these otherreferences, like those for the sort of aristocraticit sports, for development admits, kids of non-alumni who are rich and prepared to doate and other preferences can be a lot bigger percentage than tha and people tend to criticize traditional firmative action in a vacuum, as if the rest of the system were merit-based and affirmative action was the only preference that interferes with that. but actually, you know, it's

dwarfed we the combined prevalence of these other preferences that favor the rich and the whites. >> woodruff: only about minute left. but i want to ask each one of you very quickly, what mor needs to be done by these schools? because a number of these elite schools would say they ar trying to balance the studen they accept, that they're trying to get more students accepted and into their college population who come from backgrounds that are not privilegeed. what needs to be done, rashad obinson? >> untilese schools put even a percentage ofinffort o equity and fairness as they do into capturing that $1 million or $2 million donation from the 'trent with the kid with the 2.0 g.p.a. who shoule in their school, we're going to continue to have these problems over and over again, but be really clear that as this country changes and as diversity chatinges, organis like mine and others will be raising our

voices and holding tose institutions accountable. >> woodruff: daniel golden, how do you see what needs be done? >> well, i would love to see a fundamental revamping of adcolle ssions preferences. i would eliminate legacy preference. i would eliminate preference for athletes in sports that most kids don't get a chance to participate in. and in response to a particular scandal, i would advocate regulation asid lic of private college councilors. and obviously greater attention paid to recruited athletes in y'res of whether the profiles are legitimate or not. this case seems to show thatad theiission is more or less rubber-stamped wheenthey're recod by the coach, and that should change, too. >> woodruff: well, it is a big subjece'and one that w going to continue to look at as the conversation continues. thank you both very much. daniel golden and rashad robinson, thank you. >> thanks for having me.

>> woodruff: most people think you need money to start a compan but the "pop-up business school" is taking a completely different approach. our paul solman has the story. it is part of our ekly series, "making sense." >> people don't want to interrupt, so they do this weird hover, like waing for a gap. and, then kind of wait for the gap and they go "ha, ha, yes...r ( laug ) >> reporter: at a houston mall, zany british entpreneurship coach alan donegan, demonstrating how to network... >> there is going to be moment of awkwardness when you meet someone new. if you want it to be over, done quickly, go up to them and say, wai, i'm alan." >> reporter: thiday seven of a two-week "pop-up business school," which teaches the basics of starting aess on a shoestring. >> people think they need to borrow money to launch a business. >> reporter: they don't? >> no.

pretty much any business you can start for free. it's not as easy. you have to be creative. you have to borrow thi barter. you need to use your energy.bu we haven't found a business that we can't yet find a way to start for free.or >> rr: come on, really? >> reporter: come on. real s? >> i want rt ayvuánátááy >> reporter: but in the last seven years, donegan and team have held over 100 workshops for mostly low-income, wannabe entrepreneurs in a world that thinks you need money to make money. >> you don't want to put measure pressure on them and more debt on them. you want to help them make money rather than get in debt. >> reporter: the course is free thanks here in houston to sponsors like the houston housing authority, which recruited people from the ciy's poorest neighborhoods, like sylvia gilliam, teemingith ideas. >> i do holiestic health projects.nt i to do actually one-on-one health and wellness coaching. >> reporter: but the course helps her to focus on homemade soap and taught her the free ols to sell them. >> learn how the make a website

and jusbuilding relationships. >> reporter: another lesson, how to sell yourself. is there any advantage to being a tall entrepreneur? >> yes. people can see me coming and i n see them coming. >> reporter: the first six days were about creatg a company, finding customers. now it's time to actually sell in the mall. >> if you do a survey, people will be nice to you. if you go and ask your friends, they'll be mice to you. it's not good fedbek. you ask a customer to take their exney out of their pocket, they'll tell yoctly what they want. >> reporter: gilliam quickly discovered her soap samples looked good, too good. somebody actually ate one of these? >> yes, because they're all natural things in the kitchen, connected to food. i ha to letople know -- don't eat it. >> reporter: in her victim's defense, edible samples abounded. >> very nice. >> do you have hair on your chest? >> yes. >> okay. this wil put moreon it.

>> butterscotch, peach cobbler, chocolate caramel, ahese are butterscotch. >> reporter: kevin scott signs clothes, promotes events, and already has a houston following. >> i wanted toce conrate on one business and use it as a adel. even though i habusiness going, i didn't do everything 100% correct. >> reporter: sharon pollard was demoing dogma sawj. -- dog massage. >> reporter: i'm allergic, so i shouldn't -- >> i am too. my love overcomes it. >> reporter: pollard's mainro takeaway fthe course, how the start cheap. >> someone was selling this massage bed for doing facials. they couldn't sell it because it s some stains on it. well, i cover it up when i'm using it for dogs, so i got a massage table for $25. >> reporter: also over the ars, a drone flying school, an escape room, clo

entertainment, and balancing. >> there was a zombie fistn training lady. >> reporter: a zombie fitness training lady? how does that work? >> she would dress up as a zombie and chase you around the park, and you would run. and you would get fit. [screeching] >> reporter: no y, thoug donegan, but it turns out there is n a zombie fitness movement worldwide. seriously, though, how many of these ideas have become viable companies? >> in reading in berkshire in england, we tracked people over time after the event. we ran three courses. we had 335 people along to the three courses. of those, 122 started a business. 18 months later9% were still trading. i really do think that's because they started without debt, so they didn't have anything at the most vulnerable point of their business that would drag them

down. >> reporter: in houston, some seemed more vulrable than others. ilar,e mom nikea si despite a law degree, has had her struggles. >> the house burned down. we stayed in hotels. i could not afford that. i went to my church. they suggested the salvation army. ths.ived there for six mon >> reporter: she's now in public housing learning to concentrate her considerabl talents on a theater business to entertain kids. y >> the opportunre is meeting other people who are holding me accountable. >> reporter: crstal sipsi has learned social media marketing for her health and media >> there are pod groups that you can create among certain friends, and that helps kind of ast your information out a lot further. >> reporter: james barnett at the booth next door says that. that's myggest fan. >> reporter: barnett came to the mall at his dauurghter's ng to promote his specialty sauce. >> i have been making this sauce for years and giving it away. family friends sat, you ou

to sell this. tis stuff is good. >> i have been calling hime on one and filling his ear up with all kind of information i'm learning. >> reporter: calling h and coming home at night to advise her husband on his new business. me.every day she comes ho i get an earful. at least 45 minutes to an hourl until i faleep. >> reporter: the family was in a homeless shelter just a few years ago. now dais starting a youth sports program. >> i have been where these kids have been. i had a promising future in basketball. but since no father figure, no good role model to try to guide me to where i should be going, i took another route, stealing, breaking windows, just had nothing to do. so i'm trying to give kidsg someth do. some are being called to the streets in gang violence. it's just not what i want to

see. >> reporter: crystal sipsi is teaching her husband everything she's learning the p up school because his business could mean so much to hip and hers. as donegan puts it... >> we help people build businesses from something they loveo do. >> reporter: even those with no obvious resources at all. >> they ju have a one or they don't have technical skills. there are people without bank accounts, no e-mail addresses.te >> rep but they may be able to throw togetr some ingredients, add their own sweat equity, and sell. >> we have cream cheese,in jalapeno, h. >> reporter: some will take off. >> it's relly good. >> reporter: many won't, but, says donegan... >> ifou spend a week coming up with the idea and you launch, if it doesn't work, you've lost a bit of time, maybe a bit of pride, but we can pi you up and give you the energy to have another go. most people's successes aote n first business they run. should i do the hover on the fdge and wait? >> reporter: andhey know how to try again for almost

nothing, maybe they'll take another plunge. >> god's margarita. >> reporter: pbs news ours economrrespondent paul solman, sampling fair at the memorial city hall in houston, texas. >> woodruff: and now, a look at a unique way to measure air pollution. jeffrey brown traveled to the san francisco bay area, to meet an artist who is bringing sound to a usually silent problem. ur is part of our regular series covering arts and e, "canvas." ( chimes ) >>,rown: the ring is simple familiar, pleasant. ( chimes ) these bells look and sound just like wdchimes... ( chimes ) ...but they're not controlled by the wind at all. ( chimes ) this is "mutual air"... a sound installation in the bay area that measures air pollution.

>> it's the st shared resource in the world, in a sense. you can't help but share it. >> brown: rosten woo is a california-based artist and designer who's currely an artist-in-residence at san francisco's "exploratorium." celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the museum has placeh a heavy emis on climate science and environmental issues.wi woo came u "mutual air" as a way to make measurements and databout the air we breathe, more accessible. >> wt i tried to do is kind give a public presence to the air. >> brown: a public presence to the air? eah. >> brown: meaning what? >> well, i mean, the great cliche aboutir, right, is that, you know, you can't experience it, becauer it's so evresent. it's always around, always. but we don't ever reve a very dict indicator of, kind of the dynamic nature of the changes in that air. >> brown: the device uses a laesr sensor to detect parti in the air. it picks up particulate matter that's 2.5 microns wid.-- known as ppoint-5--

about one-30th the width of a hun hair. but at that size, scientists say, particles can worsen conditions like asthma, lung and heart disease. the bell, sensing a high level at particulate matter, releases a magnetic mallet trikes the metal pipes surrounding it. >> you really can think of it as, like, wind-cmes for air pollution. so, when it's going all of the time-- >> brown: wind-chimes for air pollution? >> yeah. soashen it's going off a lot you might on a very windy day, you'd have a sense, like, okay, this is, this is getting up to, maybe, not great or not healthy level of p.m.-2.5. >> brown: these are beautiful sounds. you even made them musical with the different levels of pipe. >> yeah. >> brown: why? if it's supposed to be kind of a, i don't know, warning? >> we wanted to be in this kinde of nether spaceen, we heard it a little bit, it wouldn't bother you. you don't fe like someone's, like, poking you. but if you hear it a lot, you know, it actually does become

kind of annoying, in the same wy the wind chime becomes annoying a lot. and we've actually-- there is on further out, so it's struck less frequently. but when it's very active, you hit this kind of slightlormore dint note. so, as it kind of gets into more dangerous registers of y particle know it becomes a little eerier, and it's in its to b and caste. wn: the bay area-- oakland in particulas some of the lowest air quality in the nation. giant ports, train tracks, crs-crossing interstates. woo anthe exploratorium have begun to install bells around the city. they plan toave 30 up in all. >> my hope is that it has a very subtle and slow effect, that people will kind of become aware of these eventually, they become curioush to read the sign, and kind of understandhat it is. and then thereafter, think about

>> brown: late last year, just weeks after the installation of "mutual air" began, the adliest wildfires in california history sweptrthrough the norn part of the state. the bells went off constantly. >> brownone site is the west oakland environmental indicators project-- an environmental justice organization that gathers its own data on air quality. margaret gordon is the director. for her, "mutual air" adds another tool. >> by having this data-- the data, the research and the maps-- we are being,le to pinpoint to the city, the state, the county where they need to advocate to do more emission reduction planning, such as making the port go totally electrified; bringing electrified trains, the cranes, the trucks; committing land for charging stations for trucks, so thosebeype of things. use of that, having that data, we're able to campaign and advocate for it. >> brown: i asked thston woo wher"art" comes in,

and ets advocacy. >> i think it kind of falls into the catchment of art, because it doesn't fit very neatly into, into other categories-- it's not strictly a public health program, it's not strictly, you know, a political project. >> brown: but is it a political act in some ways? >> i don't want to oversell it and say, lik you know, this is, this is a real political action. i think it-- having an awareness and a new knowledge of how, hown your unvironment is shaped, does it engender politics, does, does it kind of lead you then to like, have questions, like, why is this so? >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in the n francisco bay area. >> woodruff: and we will be back shortly, with a look at the price of privacy in this digital age. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. uf

>> woo for those of you staying with us, plastic pollution is now conhedered one ofargest environmental threats facing humans and enimals. amna nawaz has thire story about our global plastics problem. >> every day an estimated 750 tons of material goes through this process, and every step along the way, just like this one, is designed to remove one more material. today new innovative ways of reciulating our plastic are being road tested, literally in this case. this is th very first plastic road in the u.s. on the university of california san diego campus. >> w have some rk to do. >> reporter: toby mccartney is behind the british start-up that mixes recycled plastic pelletsp

into alt. >> the down side to waste plastics is it lasts for so long. a bottle will last for maybe 500 yearin what we're uis the ability of those plastic because they last long so lo but in our roads. we want our roads to last so long before they need any maintenance. >> reporter: roland guyer works at the univey of santa barbara. he says in the 70 years plastic has been around, we've created nine billion tons of it, most of which still exists. >> the only plastic that does not need to be disposed of is plasessic that was never madv son recycled material, you can't cycle it forever. >> reporter: so not all plastic are created equal. beccof fong seattle public utilities walked us through the city's growing recycling effort. it is geared to capture certain types of plastic. if it doesn't fi into those categories, it's not really recoverable. >> reporter: so seatettle starsmall and in july became first major city in the u.s. to baplall pasastic straws.

before th team could implement and enforce the straw ban, which also includes plastictensils, they had to get local businesses on board. >> for a lot osf buinesses, it hasn't been hard sell. for those who are concerned about the price po to work with them to find viable alternatives that don't impact their purse too much. >> repoeger: bob don is the president of ivers, an 8 80-year-old seattle seafood institution. >> we don't routinely put a straw in a drink. we ask everybody, would you like a straw, and they can always have one. these are the new compostable straws.re theyade from plants. >> reporter: but the compostable straws don't work fowahim in other ys. >> so i challenge you to suck a milkshake rough that straw and see if you can make it. >>hat's not easy. >> that's pretty hard. >> reporter: so he spe more

money and ordered bigger straws. since the ban, costs have gone up, but donegan budgeted around them by buying early and buying in bulk, so there's no use in complaining. >> put on your big boy pants and get used to it. everything the government doesn't isn't fair, but our customers expect it of us and we want to do what our customers want. >> reporter: seattle's effort cut back on plastic goes beyond restaurants. at safeco field, we get a look at the stacks of compostable items they now require vendors to use. last year the park recycled 96% of all waste. >> it's definitely more work to sort through the trash we have after the game, but we feel it's really important for our business and it's important because our fans are asking us. to do it >> reporter: all those compostable itemsnd up in piles like these at facilities like this, run by jason lens and his family outside of seattle. so what you guys do, how much of

a problem is plastic presenting? >> i would say it's, you know, it's not insaturmountable. he same time, it is definitely a problem.er >> report even here bits of plastic need to be sorted out. lens has been in this business since 2008 after expanding his sand and gavel company. so without the citiny askthis of you or showing there was a demand for, this you guys likeln wo be doing this? >> that's correct. feattle is a big pusher o organic diversion for compost, so that's why we're in this business. >> reporter: lens company now turns out hundreds of thousands of tons of compost morse yea and sells it. what is in here? >> these are bags of dirt i collected from various sites around the houston area. >> reporter: college student morgan vague had a hunch. if plastic really is everywhere,

maybe ineavily polluted areas bacteria have evolveat it, and maybe hose bacteria could take a bite out of our plastic problem. so she collected samples from some of the dirtiest places around her hometown ofouston, texas. >> you identify bacteria you want to oktake a closer t and put them in these test tubes. >> yes. >> the onlyood you give them is plastic. >> exact limp we're fortunate t that find someat did a good job. >> reporter: but vague found the bacteria works much too slowly to be useful just yet. >> how can we scale this up and t it to an applicable kind of stage, because right now it'jus bugs in a tube.r: >> reporteague says, yes, it's just one study in very early stage, but she'excited for where it could lead. >> i think we need more of these grassroots efforts and kind of thinking outside the box oras outside the c bottle and kind of saying, what sort of solutions can we find?

>> reporter: without meaningful solutions, experts warn our trajectory means more ndd more plastic on our land a in our water. according to one student current production trends continue, by the year 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in ourceans. guyer says one way to fix it, get rid of all single-use packaging that make up 40% of our plastic. >> reporter: that would make a huge difference. that would be -- i think it's really doable. i think many ways we can do it thill allow us to have the good life. >> reporter: to do that, s expert, it will take government, companies, and individuals working together, each taking small steps to bring about big change. n for the pwshour in santa barbara, california, i'm amna nawaz. >> woodruff: a top facebook executive in charge of all thein

productsnced today he is leaving the social media giant. it is e highest-level departure in years, and comes amidst mounting criticism of how the company handles users data. tonight, we hear from roger mcnamee. he was an early investor in facebook, still holds a stake iw it, but is n vocal critic. n" offers his "humble opin on how we need to stop being passive and decide how of our al information we want t share. >> data is replacing oil as them most valuable ity in our economy. unlike oil, where ownership is tied to the property under which it resides, corporations acquire highly personal data in the course of a transaction and assert ownership forever. instead of asking permission, corporations take what they wann challenge us to object. >> thanks to the proliferation of smart devices and low cost networks, the value of da is rising exponentially, while the cost of collecting it remains

relatively low. this has encouraged a range of surveillance schemes by internet platforms and vendors of smart devices, as well as mo aggressive marketing of data by brokers, cellular carriers, credit card processors and the like. consumers feed the machine because of the convenience it provides. people, have little say in this new data economy. vi are merely the subject, and increasingly, thims of it.er are few rules in this country when it comes to the gathering or urt of data. imt questions have never been asked. why, for example, is it legal to sell or trade data about our credit card purchases, personal health, geo-location, or internet activity? why is it legal for smart devices to listen in on us in our bedrooms and offices? why is it legal to collect any data at all about minors? why do data companies generallyi

bear nility when they take or use our data without permission? there are many legitimate uses of data, and many benefits to the consumer, like improved search results and relevant ads. but in today's wild west of data, the potential for harm is great.ex fople, it's not hard to imagine sites that track mouse movement will be able to discern symptoms of neurological conditions like parkinson's disease before the user is even aware of them. today, there is no requirement that the user be notified, but the site is free to sell that formation to the highest bidder, perhaps an insurance company who might raise rates or terminate coverage.an we are anflection point. data can be used to manipulate and control us. is that what we want technology companies must acknowledge their pod responsibilities. government must enforce a fairer

balance tween the interests of business and consumers. and consumers must recognize that convenience has a far greater cost than is advertised. >> woodruff: on the newshour online right now, one or two mediums? deep dish or new york style? we mark pi day with a tribute to the most math-savvy ways to order, slice and eat pizza. that and more is on our website, www.pbs.org/newsur. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at thean pbs newshour, k you, and we'll see you soon. m or funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel.ng a ge app that teaches real-life conversations in a new language, like spanish, french,l german, n, and more. babbel's 10-15 minute lessons are available as an app, or online. more information on babbel.com.

>> consumer cellular. >> american cruise lines. >> and with the ongoing supportt se institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. urand by contributions to bs station from viewers like you. thank yo captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media ac

♪ hello, everyone. and welcome to ""amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted department of justice. >> a major criminal investigation highlights the way can cheat d powerfu their way into america's top universities. brexitn britain, the train rolls on ever closer to the cliff. who better to talk about all of this? why the former pre dent of harvard and former u.s. treasury secretary, larry summers. and blessed relief from all of the above. ♪ music and conversation with pe