judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, on the edge. u.s., european, and russian leaders hold separate high-level talks in an ongoing attempt to defuse the tensions wrought russia's aggression toward ukraine. then, facing justice. jury selection begins in the federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted of murdering ahmaud arbery. and on the front lines, pharmacists struggle to keep up with demand for covid vaccines and other services amid widespread staffing shortage >> i felt like i was an octopus pulled in eight different directions and one of them is having to give vaccines. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."

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judy: it was a day for diplomacy on the ukraine crisis, from washington to moscow and beyond. all this as more than 100,000 russian troops mass along the border with ukraine. foreign affairs correspondent nick schifrin has followed the events of this busy day. pres. biden: i'm delighted to have the chancellor re today. reporter: across nearly 5,000 miles, from the white house to the kremlin. french president emmanuel macron met with russian president vladimir putin and expressed hope war could be averted. putin called the talks "useful." >> some of his ideas and proposals, about which i think are too early to speak, but i think these ideas could form a basis for our further joint steps. reporter: and new german chancell olof scholz met with president biden, and tried to present a united front. >> he has the complete trust of the united states. germany is one of our most important allies in the world. there is no doubt about germany's partnership with

the united stes. >> it is important that we act together, tt we stand together, and weo what is necessary together. reporter: but the unity rhetoric doesn't match the whole reality. germany prevents fellow nato members from sending german ammunition to ukraine. and germany refuses publicly threaten the german-russian pipeline nord stream 2, if russia invades ukraine. germany has indefinitely paused the certification process. the white house wants to use that pause as leverage over russia. today biden was clear and scholz switched to english to try and back him up. >> the notion that nord stream 2 would go forward with an invasion by the russians is just not going to happen. >> we will act together and we will take all the cessary steps. all the necessary steps will be done by all of us together.

reporter: the us and much of nato are trying to take military steps to reinforce the alliance. today american soldiers usually based in the u.s. landed in poland to bolster 1000 nato troops already deployed there. european countries are also reinforcing nato's eastern flank, with european jets, and european soldiers all an attempt to deter any war in ukraine from expanding into nato. but the russians continue to expand their military footprint on nato and ukraine's borders. the ministry of defense releases video nearly every day of troops practicing the tactics they could use if they invaded ukraine. u.s. officials tell pbs newshour russia now has nearly three-quarters of what they would need for a full invasion. and u.s. officials say if russian soldiers did invade, they could inflict catastrophic casualties, including 50,000 civilians, and cause millions to flee. the us also fears that russian soldiers could capture kiev and overthrow the government in a matter of days. >> he's in a position now to be able to invade. almost-assuming now that the ground is frozen above kiev.

he has the capacity to do that. reporter: biden also urged americans to leave kiev. >> i think it would be wise to leave the country. i don't mean-i'm not talking about our diplomatic corps. i'm talking about americans who are there. i hate to see them caught in the crossfire. reporter: but nothing is containing russia's military buildup, even as diplomacy continues. president macron heads to kiev, tomorrow. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. we'll return to the full program after the lastest headlines. several states moved to end covid mask mandates in public schools. new jersey democratic governor phil murphy announced his state's mandate will expire, one month from now. he cited declining infections. but murphy said those who want

to continue wearing masks are free to do so. >> a district reserves the right to keep something in place and secondly, i think most importantly, an individual based on their own health reserves that right and we cannot stigmatize a decision like that. stephanie: new jersey as one of a dozen states with a current mask mandate for schools. connecticut announced today that its requirement will end on february 28th, delaware and oregon said their mandates will end march 31st. we'll return to this issue, later in the program. the top science advisor in the biden administration resigned amid reports he bullied and demeaned staffers. he worked in the office of science and technology policy. the white house says the president accepted his resignation letter and thanked him for his work on the pandemic. a second man will plead guilty to plotting to kidnap michigan governor gretchen whitmer over covid restrictions.

in court documents filed today, kaleb franks says he and five others plan to abduct witmer. the fbi arrested the men in 2020 before the plot could be carried out. four of them still face trial. the u.s. supreme court today reinstated a republican-drawn map of congressional districts in alabama that a lower court had rejected. the 5-4 action means the new districts will be in place for the november elections. the lower court argued the map allows for only one majority black district out of seven, in a state where more than a quarter of the population is black. in an address to members of the canadian parliament, prime minister justin trudeau said this evening that the ongoing protests in ottawa against covid 19 measures, quote, have to stop. thousands of protesters have been railing against vaccine mandates and restrictions. we'll have more on this after the news summary. in madagascar are, more than 60,000 people were homeless with at least 20 dead after a

tropical cyclone struck over the weekend. the cyone made landfall late saturday and weakened as it moved southwest across the island nation. thousands of homes and government buildings lay in ruins along with crucial rice crops. it was the second tropical cyclone to strike madagascar this year. chinese tennis player peng shuai has again denied that she accused a chinese official of sexual assault or that she's in danger. she told a french newspaper that it was all, quote, an enormous misunderstanding. officials at the international olympic committee would not say today if they believe peng is under duress. >> we are doing everything to ensure that she is happy and i do not think it is up for us to be able to judge in one way, just as it is not for you to judge either one way or another her position. judy: men's individual figure skating is happening tonight

without american vincent joe. joe tested positive -- vincent zhou. zhou tested positive for covid, and posted a emotional video on instagram about his withdrawal from competition. he will also not be allowed to attend the ceremony tonight for the silver medal he won with team usa earlier this week. spotify says it will go on streaming commentator joe rogan's podcasts, at least for now. that's after rogan apologized for using racial slurs. he was already under fire for anti-covid vaccine comments. spotify ceo daniel ek td employees on sunday that silencing rogan is not the answer. he said, quote, canceling voices is a slippery slope. still to come on the newshour, states lift school mask mandates, intensifying an already heated debate. tamara keith and amy walter consider the latest political news. we examine the history of one of the nation's first majority black farming communities and much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from

wbt a studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: we return to diplomatic efforts underway to defuse the russian generated crisis over ukraine. nick schifrin has the story. >> after french president macron's meeting with russian president putin today, what are the prospects for easing tensions? and how are these talks viewed by the rest of europe? for that we turn to heather conley, president of german marshall fund of the united states, which focuses on improving transatlantic relations. she was a state department official on european affairs during the george w. bush administration. welcome back to the newshour. we heard from putin today during his press conference. putin said some of macron's ideas could represent future diplomatic steps. is that a sign that the prospects of russian invasion of

ukraine have been lessened? >> it is really unclear. we are not entirely sure what proposals president macron was bringing to moscow. he said in an interview before his departure that he was looking for a so-called new balance between sovereignty and peace. president macron has been investing in his personal relationship with vladimir putin, going back to 2019. he initiated a strategic dialogue. he is also about to run for reelection in april, so president macron sees a unique opportunity to promote a european approach to this crisis. he has been i think very disturbed that the united states and russia were seemingly to manage european affairs. this was a way for president macron to go directly to moscow, use that investment of the last several years.

he seems to be interested in accommodating russia's concerns about security guarantees. he walks a very delicate balance because he also travels to kiev tomorrow to talk to the ukrainian government. unclear what those five hours of talks produced, but it is clear vladimir putin would like to tease this out. continues to escalate forces tord the ukrainian border to apply forces on president zelensky and his government. meanwhile he is trying to tease out divisions between europe and potentially transatlantic divisions. if he creates a proposal that cannot be accepted by other members of the nato alliance. reporter: use adjusted yourself that emmanuel macron feels like the u.s. has gone over europe's head a he is trying to accommodate putin. that is not with the united states wants right now.

is this a moment of transatlantic division? >> we are not privy to that. we know that he did speak with biden before his trip. hopefully there was some conversation. we know the white house is very interested in de-escalation, in diplomacy. president biden certainly reaffirmed that after his meeting with olaf scholz. this is certainly a moment, but at what cost? we have other european allies that border ukraine, border belarus, that see this increased military escalation. they are very wary of potentially what macron is proposing. we have to be clear eyed about what he is able to achieve. reporter: macron is emphasizing

talks between germany, russia, and ukraine about the minsk accords to focus on trying to reduce violence in eastern ukraine along the border. today president putin said there was no alternative to those agreements. is that format a path toward de-escalation? >> that s been a format that has not produced diplomatic benefits. if anything, the cease-fire in eastern ukraine in don bosse -- in donbas has been violated every day since the minsk agreement's were formed. there were humanitarian checkpoints tallow citizens to cross between the line of contact, but unfortunately, the minsk agreement has not produced, if anything, the way the agreement was sequenced meaning the ukrainian government

has to give greater autonomy to centralization -- autonomy, decentralization to the occupied territories of eastern ukraine. the ukrainian government has to give them basically a vote, and only then can other issues be addressed. this applies enormous political pressure on the zelensky government, pressure he might not be able to survive. this is in part with the kremlin wants between the force accumulation on its borders, the covert hybrid activities inside, and applying a great deal of diplomatic pressure on the ukrainian government. vladimir putin is hoping this government may topple and that he can perhaps find another candidate that will be much more supportive of russia's goals and objectives for ukraine. reporter: thank you very much.

judy: canada is facing protests for a second week over vaccine mandates and other covid restrictions. trucks and periodic demonstrations have jammed up the country's capital city, ottawa, often with loud and disruptive honking. this afternoon, a judge granted a 10-day injunction saying truckers must stop that honking. but the larger protests and shut down continue. stephanie sy has the story. reporter: from quebec city to toronto to ottawa and cities in between, protesters are taking to the streets. blaring horns, waving signs and banners, and condemning canada's covid-19 restrictions. >> i am here to denounce that the unvaccinated for two years have been shamed. it goes against free no speech

in canada. reporter: protests are now in their 11th day. they initially started as a convoy of cross-border truck drivers demanding an end to vaccine mandates. on sunday, ottawa's mayor declared a state of emergency after the so-called freedom convoy paralyzed the heart of the capital city. as of january 15, all truckers entering canada are required to be fully vaccinated against covid. the u.s. has a similar mandate. nearly 80% of canada's population is fully vaccinated and canada's transport minister estimates about 90% of its truck drivers are. but the protests are no longer justbout truckers. other canadians have joined in, directing rage at prime minister justin trudeau and strict public health measures that provinces have put in place including mask mandates and limits on gatherings. >> we have had enough of all

those mandates that have no sense, no scientific evidence. people are fed up. reporter: prime minister trudeau who recently tested positive for covid has not responded publicly since last week. he voiced concern that protests have gotten out of hand. >> there is always a right to protest peacefully that i and others will defend fully as part of this democracy. there is not a right to incite violence, to perform acts of violence, or to spew hatred. reporter: hundreds of protesters have descended on ottawa alone. >> the protests have been disruptive and continue to impact the safety and well-being of residents. people who had the opportunity to voice their frustration against government policy, but as the saying goes, they have worn out their welcome. reporter: the city's police chief called acg could not manage. >> it has to stop. you're doing everything we can

-- we are doing everything we can. reporter: officers have begun removing truckers' fuel supplies to try to break up the protest after residents and businesses accuse them of not doing more to restore calm. meanwhile, signs that the freedom convoy movement may be spreading. in the last few weeks, dozens of organist facebook groups with thousands of members have popped up in support of the canadian truckers from around the globe. many voiced frustration with their own country's covid-19 restrictions and express other right-wing populist causes. some are starting to plan their own rallies. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. judy: the announcement today by

the governors of new jersey, connecticut, and delaware that they will soon end masking mandates in schools makthem the latest states to change their approach to covid. a debate around this has heated up in recent weeks. reporter: to be clear, the cdc end groups like the american academy of pediatrics continue to recommend masking in schools to reduce the spread of covid and they say the evidence is clear. but several states have either rolled back mandates or are considering doing so. a number of doctors have published opinion pieces arguing that masks are difficult for kids to use, detrimental to well-being, and may not prevent infections based on the data in other studies. so far it is a minority of jocks -- of doctors arguing this, but we are going to hear from one who cowrote a piece in usa today. she has written columns for usa today, the washington post, the atlantic, and others. she joins me now. welcome to the newshour.

in your latest piece, you cite the alarming mental health crisis we have seen among kids in america. the learning loss we also know is very real. but those are mostly related to school closures and lockdowns and remote leaing. asking specifically, what is the evidence that shows masking in schools is harmful for kids? >> two years of living in the pandemic has caused a lot of harm to children. it is difficult to quantify the losses, emotional and social toll, children have faced. but let's also recognize there is mounting data that our earliest readers have trouble when they don't see faces. children who are struggling with speech and language delay, children who have english as a second language, and every child who wants to connect with peers, mentors, teachers, it is really time to think about the fact that masks are not a harmless

intervention. when we have an intervention like masking as a mandate, it is imperative that we show that the benefits outweigh the risks. our oath in public health and mecine is first do no harm. in this watershed moment of the pandemic where omicron is starting to recede, it is time to appropriately balance risks and harms to our lowest risk population, and that his children. reporter: let me ask you what the cdc will say. they point to multiple studies they have put out. the most recent data says masks work. there are advantages to reducing the risk of transmission, protecting people who wear the masks. they say schools have not been hotspots because kids have been masking. counties where there was no mask mandates, they did see outbreaks. isn't that enough to say let's continue to keep as many kids as we can safe? . >> right, that is why my coworkers and i have dissected

these studies. the cdc studies they are citing have not controlled for community vaccination rates and that is a huge variable. we also see that yes, n95 respirator type masks can protect the wearer, but the data on cloth masks is weak. we just do not have real-world studies to show that masking kids in schools helps reduce transmission. reporter: so let me ask you about vaccinations because it is a key part of this argument. we know the uptick among younger kids is very low, about 22% of kids aged five to 11 who are fully vaccinated. before schools get rid of mask four masked mandates, do you recommend they require vaccines? >> it is important that parents recognize vaccines are safe and effective and widely available. as a doctor, as a mother myself,

i do recommend vaccination particularly for children at hyatt -- highest risk for poor outcomes of covid-19. if that child is particularly high-risk and is so hesitant about the vaccine, you can mask that child with an n95 respirator type mask. her member, the risk of covid-19 to most healthy children is very, very low. and on par with influenza. it is not the same virus but the risk is similar enough and the risk is dropping as omicron prevalence drops locally. reporter: let me ask about the concerns others have raised about messaging about the significance of covid among children. some worry it has been underplayed to some degree. >> tens of thousands of children have been hospitalized. with omicron we have been overrun with hospitalizations.

we know there have been over 1000 children who have died and again, not to make light of that number, we know adults have died in many higher numbers. reporter: it is absolutely true more adults have died, total deaths among kids zero to 17, now total 1200, and it is different when you talk about child death. what would you say to the doctor? >> i'm so glad you asked that question. every death of a child is tragic. no matter what the cause. wehould not be minimizing the trauma and loss to families who have lost a child to covid-19. we also note in 2020 two exactly how to protect those high-risk children. we vaccinate them, we boost them if they are at high risk, like the adolescents who have underlying cardiac conditions or medications. we vaccinate adults around them.

protecting unvaccinated children like the under fives is best done by vaccinating adults around them. in other words, we need to think broadly about protecting the populations. as the world health organization says in their constitution, health is not simply the absence of disease or infirmity, it is the state of mental, social, emotional, and physical health. and it is not easy in these very complicated times to balance all of those risks. but right now masking children in schools when masks are not clearly reducing transmission is not the way to save those lives of those vulnerable children or vulnerable adults. reporter: i have a feeling this is a conversation we are going to be having for quite some time to come. dr. lucy mcbride, i'm grateful to you for joining us tonight. >> thank you so much.

judy: pharmacists and pharmacy workers have gotten far less attention an other health care workers duringhis pandemic, but the stress and pressure they face has been intense. just weeks ago, as omicron was surging and many staff were getting sick, major pharmacy chains and independent stores had to reduce their hours, even close down at times. while that immediate situation s improved, staffing shortages and working conditions have been a problem throughout the pandemic. moreover, pharmacy technicians earn very little. here's some of what we heard from pharmacists themselves. >> my name is dr. bled tanoe. i am a pharmacist. i used to work for a major chain pharmacy here in oklahoma city. w i work inpatient as a pharmacist. >> my name is david hale.

i'm an overnight pharmacist working for one of the large national retail chains. i've been a pharmacist for about seven years now. >> hello, my name is dr. lannie duong, i'm a clinical pharmacist in california. >> hi, i'm dr. jennifer morrow. i am a pharmacist and up until december 2021 i was working at cvs pharmacy as a pharmacy manager. >> my name is ryan and i currently live in delaware, and i've been a pharmacist now since 2004. we've had a lot of influx of new customers, a lot more responsibilities such as covid testing, sanitation, procedures to keep everything safe for not only ourselves but the public, a lot more questions from the public, that means a lot more phone calls. we are also doing vaccinations, which have become a huge challenge to try to incorporate into our normal workflow of just being a pharmacist. >> having maybe think about 30 or 40 vaccines on top of your

daily work with the same amount of people for my store, was overwhelming. i felt that i was not living up to the oath that i took as a pharmacist to take care of my patients, but also to take care of my staff. >> pharmacists are capable of every job that we've been given and even more. we're trained to to help people diagnose or self-diagnose so that they can get the right over-the-counter medication or if it's time to go, seek further medical help. we're capable of giving all these vaccines. i'm just not capable of doing it all at the same time. >> the burden that we put upon ourselves as health care provids is that we want to provide the best care for our patients. but with an increased workload and not being adequately staffed, if we are forced to work quicker, i'm more worried that i'm going to miss something for one of my patients. >> because pharmacists are getting sick as well, we have been asked to pick up extra

shifts whenever possible. we have had pharmacists who had to come to work by sick -- while sick because they have not found anyone to cover their shift. >> if you have a doctor working on a loved one or a family member performing surgery, would you want the phone ringing in the background while the doctor is providing surgery to your loved one? you want that doctor having questions thrown at them, having the drive through being wrong, having emails pop up at you, having customers waving at you? it's challenging. >> i felt like i was an octopus pulled in eight different directions and one of them is having to give vaccines. now i'm even concerned i might give the wrong vaccine at the wrong time. the white coat that i would wear became so heavy to put on every day in the fear that i might be a danger to my patients instead of the safety net that they need. >> my decision to leave my

company was because i was afraid to harm patients. >> just the idea of going to work, i start to feel physically ill to the stomach, you know, back pain. and i do believe that from the anxiety and stress of having to go back into the fray, so to speak. >> i think what our world right now needs, as much as this vaccine, to help us get through the pandemic, is patience and understanding that every single one of us are being affected. pharmacist pharmacy technicians, uber drivers commodore dashers -- uber drivers, door dashers, your post offi workers, your doctors, everyone. we understand your frustration, but when you come in and see

someone behind the counter working for you, try to smile and be appreciative that that person is there for you. judy: we appreciate each one of those pharmacists speaking with us. cvs and walgreens announced increases in pay last year for technicians who earn around $35,000 a year or less. the major chains say they are trying to hire more people and offer bonuses. but pharmacy workers say they need more significant changes... in hours, working conditions and even better pay. jury selection began today in the federal hate comes -- hate crimes trial for three men already convicted in state court for killing ahmaud arbery. reporter: last month, travis mcmichael, greg mcmichael and

william roddie bryan were sentenced in a georgia state court to life in prison for chasing down and murdering arbery. the federal trial will look at whether the killing was racially motivated, which wasn't addressed in the state case. the justice department has charged the three men with hate crimes and attempting kidnapping. deval patrick used to prosecute these types of cases as former assistant attorney general for civil rights under bill clinton. he is also the former governor of massachusetts and now cochairs american bridge 21st century, a democratic party organization. very good to have you back on the newshour. the doj is prosecuting this as a hate crime. is it my understanding of the prosecutors have to prove that these defendants had racist beliefs in their heart when they committed this murder? >> that motivated the murder. there is evidence of this in this case and that in itself has

been deemed a federal interest deserving of punishment. reporter: if the state prosecutors had introduced potential racist motivation for this killing, the department of justice might not have been interested in pursuing this? >> such an interesting question and i bet it is the kind of question the department struggled with. to some extent, the racial animus in the state trial which was the straight prosecution for murder is not relevant. it is additional color but it does not make it -- it is not outcome determinate if you will. these are difficult cases. but they are important ones to bring because of the federal interest expressed in this legislation to punish racially motivated criminal behavior. that is what this was.

there was evidence of it available to state precutors, but they made a judgment not to use it. i am inferring because it was not necessary to prove the case that was before the state court injury. reporter: but help me understand the concerns. these three men have been prosecuted for murder, they are all going to go away for life in prison. so what is the importance of ringing a separate case that may not add anything to eir prison time? >> it is not just about adding to their prison time, although sometime it is. it is also making it clear that we are going to carry out and enforce that federal interest in racially motivated violence. that has been an issue in this

country for a long time, getting these laws on the books was a struggle for a long time. and you can imagine how situations go. sometimes let's suppose the decision had gone the other way and the defendants had been acquitted. will they then be arguing that the federal prosecution should not go forward? reporter: you prosecud a bunch of these types of cases. are these tough cases to prove? to prove the motivating intent behind the crime? >> yes. beyond the fact that there is intention, a lot of times juries don't want to hear about the racism. that has been true for a long time. let's just deal with the consequences, not let's deal with the reasons. for the motivation. that has been a blind spot if

you will for a longime in this country. these cases are really hard. at least when i was there, they are not pursued often. there is a difference to state courts to see whether state authorities are going to take the action and federal authorities do not have to bring cases quite as close. i can understand in this case why it is the federal prosecutor tried to reach a plea agreement. i can also understand why mr. arbery's mother said no. reporter: this was the plea agreement the men had said, we will plead guilty and admit we had racial animus in our minds and hearts when we committed the crime. a judge throughout that plea. -- threw out that plea.

>> correct. it is unusual to have a plea and have them admit to rial animus. very unusual. as i understand, the council for the family initially indicated a willingness to support the deal. but when misses arbery learned they would be serving their term in a federal prison, which is not a comfortable place, but a better facility than the state facility, she said no, and the judge expted that. -- accepted that. reporter: thank you so much for joining us. judy: as the republican party prepares for the midterm elections this year, the january 6 assault on the capitol and the subsequent investigation continue to loom large. the republican national committee issued a stunning

rebuke of two of its own last week, censuring representatives liz cheney and adam kinzinger for their work on the congressional committee investigating the capitol attack. the censure resolution referred to the events as, quote, ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse. the rnc later said they were not defending those who violently stormed the capitol, but the comment still sparked outcry from some in the party, including alaska senator lisa murkowski who wrote - "we must not legitimize those actions which resulted in loss of life and we must learn from that horrible event. here to help us understand the political impact of this and more, i'm joined by our politics monday duo. that's amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter. and tamara keith of npr. hello to both of you. good to have the back -- have the two of you together again.

i want to start with what the rnc had done at its last meeting. what are the political consequences of making this statement, issuing the censure? what effect could this have on republican candidates running for office? >> at the very least that statement was political communications malpractice. they used a phrase that can be used against them. whether that phrase will continue to be salient in november, it is not clear at this point. it is part of this broader thing that is happening. they censured the only two republican members of the january 6 commission -- or committee at the same time they also did this resolution. it is in line with this idea that if you are against trump, you are not a real republican. former president trump, anyone

who criticizes him, he calls them a rino, republican in name only, which speaks to the idea that to be a republican, you have to be loyal to president trump. judy: where does that leave republican candidates across the board? >> it is not very politically smart for a republican up for election this year to criticize donald trump or two get on his radar because he will want retribution. what we will see is something like we saw this weekend from senator marco rubio. he is up for reelection. he was asked about these comments over the weekend. what you saw him do was say, will of course somebody like mike pence should not have been able to overturn the election because i don't want to see somebody like kamala harris

making sure joe biden wins reelection. we don't want to empower a vice president because that would mean empowering the other side. also saying of course legitimate discourse is different from what happened with the violent attacks, but that was not everybody who was there on january 6, then bringing it back to democrats. let's are member this commission is not legitimate, a political sideshow. so doing everything they can to put -- republicans that is -- to walk this tight rope of saying not saying i agree with donald trump, but being able to instead put the onus back on democrats, try not to focus so much on trump and the 2020 election, try to make it about democrats and abou delegitimizing the january 6 commission in and of itself. judy: when it comes to the

january 6 committee, we have watched them for weeks, for months now, trying to get information, trying to get people to cooperate. then it seems we learn something most every other day about former president trump's efforts to stymie this. we had seen reportinof this, but now we see even more detail about how the former president just ripped up documents that could be important for the investigation that they are doing. >> document presentation was never a priority for the trump administration. one might argue destroying documents and using private phones for the public's business was part of the system of operation in the trump white house. they were reminderepeatedly, reprimanded for not staying in line with the presidential records act and they kept doing it.

in some ways, what we are hearing from the january 6 committee about documents taped back together is confirmation of something that was reported very early in the trump presidency about his tendency to tear up documents. we also know when he was in business he did not use email. he tried not to have a paper trail. this is par for the course for trump. the thing i would say that is more detrimental to the committee work is that there are people close to trump who are refusing to cooperate, refusing to testify or taking the fifth to protect themselves. >> the committee is plowing ahead. but it seems almost every other day there is news they are not getting cooperation. >> that is fair, but they also have gotten a lot of information. they have texts, they have documents. they have people who have come because they were subpoenaed or

have willingly come in and gave testimony. when you listen to what committee members are saying, at least on the recd is, we have a lot of stf here, there is a lot we can do with it. at the end of the day, when it comes to the preservation of records or whether there was any criminal behavior on the part of the former president, that is something that has to be referred to the doj, and of course we have another case going on down in atlanta where -- you know, a special grand jury ilooking into those allegations about president -- about the president pushing on the secretary of state and other election officers to find some votes for donald trump after the election was over. judy: very serious legal consequences depending on what happens. very quickly, president biden,

some commentators are saying with the start of a new year, with jobs numbers and a few other pieces of news, maybe there is an opportunity for the president to get a political reset and improve his fortunes? >> the thing is, you get a couple of small wins and you start to have a winning record. in particular, the jobs report that came out was very good news for president biden. it included revisions of previous months that caused everybody to say, oh gosh, the recovery is lagging, when it terms out job growth was strong. there has been something of a decoupling of job growth and jobs and the economy from the omicron variant which is different from previous waves of the coronavirus. but that is good news for president biden. judy: a precedent for a

president being able to turn his fortunes around? >> the polling and the president is not that good for president biden, at least in modern times. we have not seen a president substantially improve his standing with voters between january and november of an election year. this president has two challenges. one is to get his base more motivated and more engaged. january 6 committee as well as the supreme court nomination, that can potentially help motivate his base. the big challenge of course is independent voters. they were much more receptive to the president. they saw him in a much better light earlier in his presidency. spring and summer, things were going better. but now between inflation and covid and the economy, they have soured on him. those things need to be able to turn around in order for him to

win voters back or for democrats to win voters back in 2022 midterms. judy: those independent voters, we just keep watching them. thank you both. politics monday. the wave of migration across the united states in the mid-1800's included people looking to live in open spaces, with land to grow crops and the opportunity to have a better life. after the civil war, that included freed slaves and their families. fred de sam lazaro has the story of one kansas town that was established as a result. it is part of our black history month coverage and our ongoing series race matters. reporter: the kansas plains are filled with the lore opioneers

who in the mid- laid the 1800s foundation of what would become america's breadbasket. less well-known is the smaller wave of newcomers for whom the journey meant something more. >> it really represents african american experience in the west, leaving the war torn, volatile, jim crow south, and coming to experience real freedom. reporter: historian angela bates' ancestors were among an exodus of freed slaves who left the south in the years following the civil war. nicodemus was one of several all-black settlements that sprung up across the u.s. >> it was a dream before even martin luther king was born. and so it was a dream that actually became a reality. reporter: despite grinding poverty and a harsh climate, bates says, they forged a community here. >> it was a hard life building a town here, right? >> it was for any pioneer would no matter what col you were.

but for the african american that had endured slavery, i say it was easier. they had a choice. even though the hardships, living in hole in the ground -- in holes in the ground, which were called dugouts, that was better than living in an environment where you had no choice. reporter: by the early 1880s nicodemus had a population of about 500. it had a bank, post office, several businesses and was poised for more growth anticipating that the railroad would come through, the equivalent in those days of a town being hooked up to the internet for the first time. alas, the railroad decided to lay its rails a few miles to the south of this town. >> as soon as the railroad bypasses your town, your economic viability is definitely in question, and then nicodemus has started to decline. reporter: that was the fate of other all-black towns, most absorbed into larger municipalities or simply abandoned as residents migrated in search of work. for those who stayed on here in

nicodemus in the decades that followed, life here was a struggle, as it was for black farmers across the country--who were largely excluded from critical government lending and price support programs. >> so all this farmland here was black-owned at one point. >> at one point, all of . reporter: and now? >> maybe about 10%. reporter: johnella holmes is director of the kansas black farmers association. >> most of them that had to give up their land and their farm, they didn't walk away with a nest egg. >> what is the condition of black farmers today? >> dismal. they're still losing acres, they're still walking away from farming. the parents are no longer encouraging the children to go ahead and assume the debt and you know, and continue to farm. reporter: much of nicodemus lies in ruin today but for holmes-and others who call themselves descendants, there is something special about this place. that is why holmes moved back

after retiring from her job at kansas state university. >> both my parents grew up here. reporter: angela bates grew up in pasadena california but like her parents, felt the tug. >> and so when they moved away, they always came back, because this is home. home being our own all black town, and very proud of that. reporter: in the 1990's, bates led a campaign that successfully designated nicodemus as a national historic site sitememorializing the little-known black pioneer experience. as school children come on field trips and others gather for annual homecoming days held in the summer, they get a different take on black history. >> too often we look at slavery and as we look back and only see atrocities, but out of that came great things. it created greatness in people, tenacity in people. what they were doing out here on the isolated high plains of kansas was phenomenal. i'm proud of that legacy, it runs in my veins and makes me

feel that the whole world needs to know the story. reporter: out of a history defined by struggle, bates says she wants to create a future that can inspire hope. for the pbs newshour, i'm fred de sam lazaro in nicodemus, kansas. judy: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. and on the newshour online, nearly six months after a mass evacuation of afghans into the united states and elsewhere, many local organizations are stretching their resources to provide jobs, housing, food and other needs for the thousands of evacuees in need. read about how they're meeting those challenges at pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for

tonight. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding has been provided by. >> for 25 years consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that allows people to connect. we offer no contract plans and our team can help find one that fits you. ♪ >> bnsf railway. the kendeda fund committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world.

and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "america's test kitchen," dan makes bridget beef bulgogi, jack talks all about sesame products, and keith makes julia kimchi bokkeumbap. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitchen." -"america's test kitchen is brought to you by the following.