captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: tensions rising. president macron of france acts as mediator, traveling between russia and ukraine, in an effort to prevent war in eastern europe. we discuss this fraught moment with the french ambassador to the u.s. then, balance of power. the supreme court sides with the alabama republican party in a redistricting case, despite a lower court ruling that the new maps disadvantage black voters. and, behind the olympics. china's goal is for the games to bolster its international reputation, but activists denounce rampant repression and forced labor among the country's ethnic and religious minorities. >> we're at an important

watershed moment where consumers are going to demand to know that their cars or their coke bottles or their garments aren't made with slave labor in xinjiang. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> care.com. >> fidelity wealth management.

>> bnsf railway. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank yo >> woodruff: a whirwind week of diplomacy continued today, as french president emmaueul macron

visited the capitol of ukraine, kyiv, on the heels of a lengthy day with vladimir putin yesterday. as nick hifrin tells us, war in europe hangs in the balance, but the question remains-- is there a path away from a fight over ukraine? >> schifrin: on the second leg of a one-man diplomatic tour, french president emmanuel macron received a warm welcome today from ukrainian president volodomir zelensky. and in a joint press conference, macron said there was still time for diplomacy. >> ( translated ): our desire for the following weeks and months is for the situation to stabilize, and for us to be able to re-engage, a sustainable de- escalation. >> schifrin: but on the ukrainian border, russia continues to escalate, and today deployed more ships toward ukraine's southern coast. zelensky demanded that russia send its troops back to barracks, but also said ukraine wanted to talk. >> ( translated ): the first steps are what emmanuel mentioned. we have a platform, the normandy format. >> schifrin: the normandy format

was born in 2014-- ukraine and russia, in the same room with germany and france. they negotiated the minsk agreements, which called for a cease-fire in donetsk and luhansk, the breakaway regions in eastern ukraine backed by russia, and find a political solution. the minsk agreements require both sides to remove heavy weapons, russia to return control of the international border that separatists control, and ukraine's parliament to allow donetsk and luhansk“ self-government,” and reform the constitution to allow“ decentralization.” today, macron called minsk the best way forward. >> ( translated ): the minsk accords are also the best protection of the territorial integrity of ukraine. based on the commitment of the two sides, russian and ukrainian, we now have the possibility of advancing negotiations. >> schifrin: and yesterday, putin said ukraine had no option but to accept minsk's demands. using crude language. >> ( translated ): like it or

not, you have to suck it up. >> schifrin: but russia has never removed its weapons, or given up its control of the border, and ukraine's foreign minister dmytro kuleba today said handing over autonomy was dead on arrival. >> ( translated ): i have repeatedly said we are open for dialogue, but we won't cross our red lines, and no one will make us cross them. >> schifrin: macron says hs not trying to make ukraine do anything, but he has long cultivated a relationship with putin. in five years, the two have met dozens of times, including in versailles, the historic home of french kings. and in 2019, he hosted the only meeting between zelensky and putin, alongside then-german chancellor angela merkel last month, macron, who is nning for re-election, said the e.u. should hold its own talks with russia, rather than rely on u.s./russia talks to diffuse the crisis. >> ( translated ): for both us and russia, for the security of our continent, which is indivisible, we need that dialogue. we have to, as europeans, lay out our own demands, and p

ourselves in a position where we can make sure they're respected. >> schifrin: whether russia intends to de-escalate and respect demands for diplomacy, will be tested again thursday, when the normandy format meets in berlin. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: in the day's other ne, the c.d.c.'s director stuck by existing guidance to wear masks in public schools to guard against covid-19. dr. rochelle walensky spoke a day after four states announced that they will soon lift indoor mask mandates. she said she believes caseloads will fall below crisis levels, but, in her words, "we are not there right now." canadian officials warned today of mounting economic harm from protests against covid vaccinations. a truckers' blockade of central ottawa continued, despite the prime minister's demand that it end. and, since monday, trucks have tied up the ambassador bridge

between detroit and windsor, ontario. it carries 25% of all trade between the two countries. a split in republican ranks has widened over the january 6 assault on the u.s. capitol. on friday, the republican national committee censured two g.o.p. house members for taking part in the january 6 investigation. today, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell joined other lawmakers criticizing that move. >> the issue is whether or not the r.n.c. should be sort of singling out members of our party who may have different views from the majority. that's not the job of the r.n.c. >> jon: mcconnell also rejected >> woodruff: mcconnell also rejected the r.n.c.'s labeling the events of january 6 as "legitimate political discourse." he said, "it was a violent insurrection." in minneapolis, police have arrested a 17-year-old cousin of amir locke in the homicide probe that led officers to a fatal

encounter with locke. he was shot and killed by a swat team officer during a "no-knock" search last week. today, students at several high schools in the twin cities area staged walkouts. they demanded justice, and an end to "no-knock" warrants. a judgin michigan heard evidence today on whether to try the parents of an accused school shooter for involuntary manslaughter. james and jennifer crumbley face scrutiny for their actions leading up to the november attack. in court, a co-worker recalled talking with mrs. crumbley about her son's drawings of weapons, hours before he allegedly killed four students. >> she said that she felt like a failure as a parent, and she showed me a photo of what ethan had drawn at school. i said she should have brought him home. >> and why did you say that? >> i felt it was a disturbing photo, and i thought this child needed to be around family. that's what i would have done,

and i thought that-- i told her, i thought that's what she should have done. >> woodruff: defense attorneys argued today that the crumbleys had no idea there might be trouble. the u.s. house of representatives passed a bill today that would prohibit forced arbitration for claims of sexual assault and harassment. the long-standing practice often benefits employers, and keeps accusations from becoming public knowledge. the bill passed with substantial bipartisan support. the university of california will pay out more than $240 million to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit at u.c.l.a. more than 200 women claimed dr. james heaps, a former u.c.l.a. gynecologist, abused and groped them. they charged that the university ignored decades of complaints. retired pope benedict has acknowledged mistakes in handling sexual abuse by clergy when he was archbishop of munich. he asked for forgiveness today, but denied any specific wrongdoing.

in a letter releas by the vatican, benedict said, "i have had great responsibilities. all the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred." the white house sought today to move beyond the resignation of eric lander, president biden's top science adviser. he stepped down last night, over mplaints that he had mistreated his staff. officials had initially signaled he'd be allowed to stay. today, they said the president did not ask him to leave. >> from the outset, dr. landers' behavior was unacceptable. senior white house officials conveyed that to him directly at the conclusion of the investigation. he could no longer lead o.s.t.p. effectively, and he conveyed that in his letter. the president accepted his resignation. >> woodruff: when he was inaugurated, president biden had pledged that he would fire any abusive staffer on the spot. a bipartisan congressional commission is calling for a new rategy on the opioid overdose epidemic.

in a report today, the group envisions stepped-up law enforcement and diplomacy to shut off ingredients for synthetic opioids. it also calls for more treatment for addicts. the report advocates cabinet- level status for the white house drug czar. automakers hyundai and kia have recalled nearly 485,000 vehicles in the u.s. because they might catch fire even when they are turned off. the affected s.u.v.s and sedans are from model years ranging between 2014 and 2019. owners are advised to park t vehicles outside, and not in a garage. on wall street today, tech stocks and banks pushed the broader market higher. the dow jones industrial average gained 371 points to close at 35,462. the nasdaq rose 178 points. the s&p 500 added 37. and at the winter olympics, american nathan chen racked up a

world record performance in men's figure skating. chen scored the most points ever in the men's short program. he could wrap up the gold medal tomorrow. meanwhile, american-born freestyle skier eileen gu won gold for china in the women's big air competition. still to come on the newshour: congressman jamie raskin discusses his new book on the capitol insurrection. china is accused of using the olympics to cover up widespread human rights abuses. a former lawyer strives to make art accessible with lego exhibitions. plus, much more. >> woodruff: we return to the diplomatic efforts to resolve the russian-generated crisis over ukraine and the expansion of nato.

nick schifrin has more. >> schifrin: french president emmanuel macron's dual meetings with russian president vladimir putin yesterday in moscow and ukraine's president volodymry zelensky today in kyiv aimed to find common ground that could help de-escalate tensions in the region. so, what is the french president's vision for solving this crisis? for that, we turn to philippe etienne, france's ambassador to the united states. ambassador, welcome back to the "newshour". do you believe, after president macron's visit to moscow and kyiv, that we are on the path of deescalation and diplomacy? >> thank you for having me tonight, nick. well, at least the visit is an important one. the visits are important because those dialogue will be necessary to find the path to deescalation. and there was a third visit in germany after kyiv where president macron met with president duda, president and

chair, and chairman shuttles and the chair mern to have the e7. so they all went together in berlin. all this shows there was a unity, a coordination alliance between europeans and americans to go for a deescalation to have the situation. >> reporter: as you know, some in washington and kyiv in ukraine fear that president macron is more focused on reelection and putting europe in the center of the debate now that former german chancellor angela merkel is gone. so what ipresident macron really trying to do? >> this fear is completely unjustified. it's really important maintain this unity, and we are doing that. and what we try to do is to deter an aggression and to avod a war. then to keep our unity, our solidarity in a way which makes

us together stronger to deter th aggression, but then also to have this dialogue because if we don't speak with the russian leader, with the president of russia, how do you want to find this path to deescalation? and what is it it mean deescalation? it means also as germany and france are mediating in the eastern ukraine conflict in 2014, make progress in the implementation of the so-called minsk agreements. >> reporter: let's go into some of the specifics. you helped create the minsk accords, you were instrumental in those being written. they are diplomatic agreements and call on kyiv to give donetsk and wwthe special status. today we heard from ukraine's foreignments who said the autonomy for the regions are beyond a red line t thattenned cross. what is the solution.

>> both president zelensky and putin recommitted the countries to the implementation of the minsk agreement. we know it is a difficult subject for our ukrainian partners but we together with germany where they are in the normandy format also to engage with russia and to go on this way. >> reporter: how can you proceed when the minsk accords is calling for something kyiv itself does not want to provide? >> well, i cannot agree with you because today, during the visit to kyiv, the ukrainian leader recommitted, like yesterday in moscow, the president of russia also recommitted their countries to these minsk agreements. but we stand firm with the ukrainians in the way these agreements have to be negotiated. we will not accept some of the

requests, which are done, with i are being presented by the other side. >> reporter: the other side, of course, being russia. minsk calls for russian-backed separatists to fully lay down their arms and to return cotrol of the border between russia and ukraine that they can currently control. do you believe that ukraine needs to take the first step, needs to talk about its political part of minsk before russian-backed separatists take some of these military steps? >> everybody has to make his part. as i told you, the ukrainian government has always taken an important step recently, and the minsk agreements and the implementation of the minsk agreements, by the way, are not only about the political side, it's also about very important humanitarian subjects which are emboldened for those populations, and also about the

possibility to secure a cease fire, a complete cease fire. and there was in december at the last meeting of the advisors this commitment r a complete cease fire. >> but th is there a problem ofo goes first? >> there is a sequencing, which is very difficult. all those political agreements, very often, the most difficult issue is the issue of who's moving first, of course. but we are there together with germany to help ukraine and russia to move in this direction. >> president macron said today i secured an assurance there would be no deterioration or escalation from president putin. what did president putin specifically promise to do or not to do? >> you know we're meeting both in kyiv and in moscow, which were one-to-one, so i wasn't there and i can't be more

specific what -- our president macron said about what president putin told him. but, anyway, the unity and the coordination between alliances is also important on the side of the deterrence, and the deterrence of any aggression by russia. >> reporter: senior n.a.t.o. officials i spoke to say one of their goals now is to prevent any war in ukraine from spilling into n.a.t.o. do you fear that russia could use the war in ukraine to divide n.a.t.o., whether militarily through migrants or through eastern european n.a.t.o. members that have relationships with moscow? >> unity, solidarity is indeed a core issue, and we keep this very, very much in our mind. if russia wants to divide us, i don't think it will be a

ccess. but for keeping this unit will need indeed to reassuring the countries which are at the eastern border of n.a.t.o. this is the reason why different countries including the u.s. and france announced their availability or their decisions to take concrete measures and deploy troops in those countries such as poland and rumania. we are in france in estonia and we said we are pending a decision by n.a.t.o. to deploy troops to rumania. >> reporter: philippe etienne, ambassador to the united states. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: we are following a new ruling from the u.s. supreme court, that has important implications for voting rights in this country. the court late on monday

reinstated alabama's congressional map-- a map th a lower court had found racially discriminates againsblack voters. geoff bennett has more. >> reporter: judy, the ruling from a divided supreme court allows alabama to rely on a congressional map that a lower court said likely denied black voters in that state an additional member in the u.s. house ofepresentatives. republican lawmakers in alabama drew congressional districts following the 2020 census to give black voters control of one in seven of the state's congressional seats. as you can see, the new map has just one majority-black district in a state where more than a quarter of the population is african american. now, a three-judge federal panel ruled last month that the arrangement likely violated the voting rights act. the supreme court with its ruling furtr whittling away at that landmark 1965 law.

joining us now is janai nelson, associate director-counsel of the n.a.a.c.p. legal defense and educational fund. it's good to have you with us. and put, if you can, this decision into context for us. the supreme court vote was 5 to 4 with chief just john roberts, as you know, joining the court's three liberals in dissent. >> that's right. this case is an incredibly important one when we think about the number of voter suppression laws that are challenging voters of color in this country and the fraught redistricting process that often results incw that racial gerrymandering is still alive and well as well as violations to have votinrights act, as you mentioned. this case is one that resolves around the map that you displayed where 27% of the population of alabama is african-american, and, yet, only one to have the seven congressional districts is

majority black. we produced, in a seven-at a hearing with 17 witnesses and ample evidence for the court to rely upon, we produced eleven maps to show that there were ways in which the state of alabama could have drawn its districts in ways that complied with the voting rights act, complied with traditional redistricting principles and produced two majority black districts to elect congressional members. instead, the state of alabama packed black voters in a single district, and that denies them an equal opportunity to elect candidate of their choice. we brought this lawsuit not long after the census data was released in august, which, you know, sets off the redistricting process. we brought the lawsuit in november. we filed for an injunction in december, and the court decided this issue. i don't think the case could have gone any faster, and, yet, the supreme court decided that we were too close in time to the

upcoming elections to allow this injunction to stay in place. >> reporter: in practical terms, then, what does this mean for voters in alabama and for voters in other states where there are similar efforts to dilute the voting power of specific groups of people? >> you know, jeff, it means something quite disturbing for our democracy. it means that black voters, in fact all voters in alabama, will proceed to the primary elections and then the general elections and vote on district lines that a three-judge federal court has said likely discriminates against black voters. so the maps that will govern the elections for this upcoming midterm cycle in alabama are likely racially discriminatory, we believe they actually are, and we will continue to fight this and to go to trial and to continue to press our -- the merits of our claim.

but, unfortunately, our democracy was dealt a serious blow by denying black voters and voters of alabama an opportunity to correct their maps appropriately and have lines that are compliant with the voting rights act and that allow an equal opportunity for black voters to elect their candidate of choice. >> reporter: in the less than two minutes that we have left, i want to ask you about this argument that we have been hearing from people who say, you know, race shouldn't be a factor at all. in fact, alabama congressman mismo -- mo brooks, republican, said the concept blacks can only be elected in black districts and whites can have districts in which they get elected with racist. what do you think about that. >> hiit's a problem to think ths

because of their race, because of how they will vote and because we want to deny them an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice and i would only say that this issue went before a three-judge panel that contested of two appointees from president trump, all three judge also on that panel decided, based on the record evidence, that the maps of alabama likely discriminate against black voters. so that is my retort to the idea that race is not a factor in the districts drawn by the state of alabama. >> reporter: janai nelson with the naacp legal defense fund. appreciate your perspectives and your time this evening. >> thank you, geoff.

>> woodruff: congressman jamie raskin, a democrat from maryland, gained national attention in january 2021 when he was tapped to lead the second impeachment trial against then-president donald trump. representative raskin's appointment came shortly after the january 6 insurrection, and just days after losing his only son to suicide. congressman raskin is also a member of the house committee now tasked with investigating the january 6 assault on the capitol. and he writes about that day, as well as his son's battle with depression and his death, in his deeply personal new book, "unthinkable: trauma, truth, and the trials of american democracy." and he joins me now. congressman raskin, welcome back to the "newshour". you have spoken a number of times since january of last year about your son and what happened, and you've made it clear you don't want him to be remembered for how he died.

what do you want people to know about him? >> well, judy, thank you for having me. you know, of course, the people that tommy knew, his friends and his family, will always remember m and treasure him and love him for his brilliance, for his warmth, for his conviviality, but i think the most remarkable thing ability him was his surpassing in infinite compassion for the world, and he was a great champion of human rights, he was a great champion of animal right and welfare, and he felt the pain of the world and the suffering of other people, whether it was, you know, victims of the civil war in yemen or victims of bombings in different parts of the world.

and, he wanted our democracy to be on the side of social justice and peace for people here and all over the world. so i think that will be an important part of his legacy. we, of course, think about him every single day, we miss him sharply. he was an amazingly funny, lively young person. he was a poet, he was a playwright, he was a second year student in harvard law school when we lost him and, you know, we're trying to continue on in his memory and in his spirit. >> woodruff: and he comes through on so many pages of this book, even as you're writing about the work you were doing. i know as a parent myself, and i know parents watching have wonder how you and your family are doing right now. >> well, everybody is hanging tough, i would say. you know, the period of loss

with tommy wasadically intertwined with what happened exactly one week later on january 6th with the violent insurrection an attempted coup in the capitol. our younger daughter and son-in-law and older daughter were with me on that day so that was part of this period of family trauma. so we're all working to do what we can to keep tommy's spirit alive. the girls share a memorial fund that we set up, more than $1 million in contributions have come from around the world, and they have been investing it in earthquake relief in haiti and relief for refugees from afghanistan as well as for, you know, human rights groups and animal welfare groups, and we're also working -- and this is what i'm centrally involved in -- to

defend our democratic institutions and values against the continuing threats of authoritarian destabilization of our democracy. >> woodruff: and y i want to ask you about your work on the january 6th committee. i was struck in the book that you wrote that you were asked to take on this most difficult assignment at a time when you were going through such a terrible personal trauma and, yet, you talked about how having to deal with them both made it possible, in a way. >> well, you know, i wasn't really eating, i wasn't sleeping well, i was kind of drowning in my grief when speaker pelosi asked me to become the lead impeachment manager, and it was a shocking question for me, but i saw instantly that it was going to be the right thing to do, and the way that i record it in the book, judy, is i felt like speaker pelosi threw me a lifeline because that became a

sort of salvation and sustenance for me to be able to put the team together, to put the strategy together, to go through agonizing amounts of footage and photographs and video of what had taken place. but to devote myself really in honor to my son to saving our democracy. >> woodruff: on this january 6th committee, you're actively involved in that. you've said you think ultimately the truth will come out. do you think we're going to learn exactly what president trump's role, the role of other people around him were by the end of this investigation? >> well, yes, i do, because, in a democracy, where the people govern, there's a great hunger for the truth and you can see it every day. people want to know exactly what happened, what was the role of the proud boys, what was the role of the oath keepers, how were mbers of congress working with the president to try to

overthrow the election results and seize the presidency for another four years? how did a mass demonstration become a mob riot that injured and wounded 150 cops. people want to know the truth. to me, the real question is when will beknow the truth? will we get the truth enough we'll be able to overcome the resistance in trump's immediate entourage because the vast majority of witnesses have cord and comed over. we have more than 60,000 documents, more than 500 interviews and depositions with people, but it is that inner group of roger stone and steve bannon, the people around donald trump who have irk isled the wagons and that's the deep dimension to this. >> woodruff: if you can't get through them, to them, can you get at the whole story? >> well, large parts of the story we've gotten to. i mean, what i am focused on

which we have not been able to completely get is what was the paramilitary hierarchy, if you will? what was the operational direction of the violent attack on the capitol? so how did all these different pieces work together? there were street thugs, there were domestic violence extremist groups. people know there has been an indictment already handed down against the oath keepers, but there were lots of other groups like that, the 3 per-ers. the prouboys, the q anon networks, the first amendment pretore yum, how did all that interact? who was coordinating that? did that go to the top? that's why the stonewalling by trump and the former president's men has been blockading that final piece of it, in my mind. >> woodruff: you also said you

think, at the end of this, it should lead to a set of legislative recommendations, lead to legislation. and i want to ask you about the comment today about the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell who criticized the republican national committee, said they shouldn't have censured liz cheney and does that give you hope there will be support for whatever report comes out of the committee? >> i hope so. the censure and continuous hounding of liz cheney and adam kinzinger is scandalous and we'll look back on this as a period of terrible shame for the republican party. the party of ab abraham lincolng become the party of donald trump and maorie taylor green and supremacists who spout

conspiracy theories and q anon ideology all day. they've positioned them outside the nstitutional order. don't accept the constitutional processes, they don't accept the outcome of our elections and that means they're violating the precept of what it means to be a political party in the constitution of a democracy. so i hope that mitch mcconnell himself will completely come back to his senses and say this is all unacceptable, it's too bad in my mind that at the end of the senate trial of donald trump, when the vote was 57 to 43, mcconnell went out and basically agreed with everything the impeachment managers have been arguing. he said donald trump was himself actually morally responsible for everything that tk place, but he went back to a discreded argument ability jurisdiction, saying the senate didn't really have the power to try trump

then, to reject him the first day of the trial. >> woodruff: .jamie raskin, author of the book, book book, we thank you very much. >> my pleasure to be with you, judy: >> woodruff: the olympic winter games are being held, again, in an authoritarian state, raising questions for human rights groups, and for many american corporations. nick schifrin is back now, to shed light on what advocates say is china's exploitation of the games, as it tries to project the carefully-crafted image its leader wants the world to see. >> schifrin: on chinese state media, local uighur herdsmen fly the motherland's flag, and send off the pride of the nation, beijing's olympians. ( children cheering ) happy uighur children cheer on their classmates as part of a government effort to embrace winter sports.

>> hey, guys, i'm nancy. >> schifrin: and a uighur state media reporter visits the capital of the uighur region, to showcase how it celebrates the olympics. >> people in xjiang always look at their life with a happy heart. >> the chinese government has a history forcing people to make all sorts of propaganda videos and covering up what they have been doing to the people. >> schifrin: jewher ilham is a uighur activist, and from her base in virginia, works with the labor monitoring group, worker rights consortium. what's really happening in xinjiang today? >> people don't have to write-- don't have the right to practice their religion, their culture, speak their language. they are held in captivity, and people are not free to see their families or even in touch with their family members. i haven't heard a word from my father. no family members have been able to visit him. >> schifrin: nine years ago, ilham and her father, ilham tohti, a well-known uighur economist, were about to board a plane to the u.s. when both were detained. police let her go, but kept her father. >> that was my last goodbye to my father. my father was the one that

insisted that i should leave. he told me that he'd rather me sweep the street in the u.s. than me staying back in china. >> schifrin: tohti was found guilty of separatism, and sentenced to life. the u.s. says china has detained more than a million uighurs. many are forced to abandon islam, in what beijing calls "reeducation camps," but survivors like abdulsalam mohammad, back in 2019, called "prison camps." >> ( translated ): there is unimaginable oppression inside. every day, they'd toss us a little bread and water, so that we didn't die, and every day, they would interrogate 15 or 20 of us with unbearable brutality. >> schifrin: today, activists say the brutality has evolved into forced labor. factories, and fields, where uighurs work for little to no pay, and aren't allowed to go home. chinese authorities say their policies keep xinjiang safe from extremism. ey say the labor isn't forced; it's a jobs program, and helps

uyghur futures. and, they criticize anyone who says otherwise. >> ( translated ): those who fabricate lies on xinjiang always camouflage themselves with cloaks. no matter what cloak the liars may wear, their disguise is no different from the "emperor's new clothes" in the face of facts and truth. >> schifrin: but activists say the truth is, forced labor is expanding, to include olympic merchandise. the worker rights consortium says chinese clothing companies anta and hyx produce i.o.c. clothes with xinjiang cotton. the i.o.c. says it audited those companies and “did not find any forced, bonded, indentured or child labor.” >> the i.o.c. had not released or disclosed the auditor names or the factories that they have done the audits. and they also only listed two apparel companies and then stated that there is no forced labor in the uighur gion. and that is-- that's very questionable. >> the i.o.c. and the beijing organizers need to be able to say that those products are free

from forced labor, and they cannot. the olympic rings are supposed to be five continents. it's more like five rings of repression. >> schifrin: minky worden is the director of global initiatives at human rights watch, and the author of "china's great leap: the beijing games and olympian human rights challenges." she accuses beijing of using the olympics to “sports-wash” its human rights record, including by using a relatively unknown uyghur athlete to light the olympic torch. >> civil society leaders, lawyers, women's rights activists, journalists, and others have been arrested. and perhaps worst of all, china has been committing crimes against humanity in xinjiang. mass incarceration, torture, sexual abuse, and forced labor. these are all crimes against humanity that are completely antithetical to the olympic ideals. >> schifrin: last week, china's beijing 2022 spokesman denied any human rights issues. >> ( translated ): the so-called china human rights issue is a lie made up by people with ulterior motives.

many countries and athletes have expressed their support for the beijing winter olympics. >> the biggest problem is that the i.o.c.'s partner is the chinese communist party in china. and the chinese government is using these olympics as a way of saying that the international community supports the repression that it is rolled out in hong kong, tibet and xinjiang. >> schifrin: china didn't always consider olympic performance, or politics, important. but starting in the late 19th century, beijing focused on demonstrating strength. >> so the sports became a part of that obsession. so since then, the chinese tried to-- to prove to the rest of world, china was not sick man of asia. they could compete. >> schifrin: professor xu guoqi is a historian at the university of hong kong. he says now, with the 2008 games, and the 2022 games, beijing lieves the olympics show off the country's political and military strength.

>> international sports has become a major vehicle for china to achieve two major objectives: to search for wealth and power. >> schifrin: that includes power over international companies that sponsor the olympics. most top sponsors have chosen to stay neutral and maintain their sponsorship. it's a pattern repeated inside xinjiang, china's uyghur region. on new year's eve, tesla opened a xinjiang showroom, and posted photos of the opening ceremony. elon musk is tesla's c.e.o., and said ts of china on a 2020 automotive news podcast: >> china rocks, in my opinion. you know, the energy in china is great. people there are-- there's like a lot of smart, hardworking people, and they really-- they're not entitled. they're not complacent. whereas i see in the united states, increasingly, much more complacency and entitlement. >> schifrin: tesla, which did

not respond to requests for comment, also has a shanghai factory. its reliance on china reflects overall corporate dependence on chinese supply chains, especially for the rare earth metals required for everything from cell phones to batteries for electric vehicles. >> there's no question that certainly the non-chinese production of tesla is totally dependent on supply of inputs from china. >> schifrin: brian menell is the chairman and c.e.o. of techmet, a private company trying to secure rare earths ethically and sustainably. but china, often with little regard for human rights, has cornered the rare earths market. and therefore? >> it would be totally irrational for elon musk not to manage his positn, his-- you know, his-- his-- his relationships, in a way that took that into account. >> schifrin: human rights advocates hope consumer demand can change corporate behavior. >> we're at an important watershed moment where companies are not going to be able to put

their head in the sand, or their heads in the snow, for the corporate sponsors of the olympics. consumers are going to demand to know that their cars or their coke bottles or their garments aren't made with slave labor in xinjng. >> schifrin: for those with family in xinjiang, freedom required escape, and loss. >> the thing iemember at the airport-- i was crying, crying, and he told me, don't cry in front of them. n't let them think uighur girls are weak. he said it in uighur. he's like, be strong, my daughter, you're my daughter. you need to be strong. >> schifrin: what would you say to your dad, if you could talk to him right now? >> i might just come up to one-- one sentence: daddy, hang in there, i will get you out. >> schifrin: but for ilham tothi and so many other uighurs targeted by beijing, there's no way out. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: a merger of pop art

and surrealism has created a stunning entry in the world of contemporary art. as special correspondent mike cerre ports, the components in the work may look very familiar to many of you and might bring back some childhood memories. it's part of our arts and culture series, "canvas." >> reporter: the real "mona lisa" painting, it is not; nor is this your typical art exhibit and museum patrons. but this lego interpretation of the "mona lisa," and other famous art works, recreated by nathan sawaya, the leordo da vinci of lego art, might be as good an introduction to art history as any, especially for the uninitiated. >> how do you talk to a five- year-old about the "mona lisa" or the "venus de milo?" well, maybe if they see them built out of a toy they're familiar with, it at least opens the door. now, they see it as a work of art, and that's how you start the conversation. >> reporter: nathan sawaya's“ the art of the brick” traveling

exhibits have been generating new conversations about what constitutes art, drawing over ten million viewers across the country and internationally. >> and i had families tell me that they'd never been to an art museum before. and here they were, because of this art. as an art medium, it makes the art very accessible, because it's something so many people are familiar with. almost everyone has snapped a lego brick together, or maybe they've stepped on their kid's lego brick, but people are-- people know lego, and that makes the art very accessible. d on lego for entertainment as a child his passion followed him to college, law school, and as a creative release from his corporate attorney work-- until he started showcasing some of his creations online. >> i had no formal art training other than a few art classes, but i found that i had-- i would come home and need a creative outlet after long days at work, and sometimes that was painting, sometimes drawing and

sometimes sculpting. and i started getting commission requests. these commissions from folks all over the world requesting random things built out of lego, and i started taking on these projects. i was working full days at the law firm and then six hours at night fulfilling commissions. >> reporter: from lifesize batmobiles, to recreating the central perk set for the 25th anniversary of the tv series“ friends,” he only accepts commissions he finds artistically challenging-- which excludes buildings, or anything controversial, like political figures. many art critics believe that self-censorship makes his work more design than art, compared to artists like china's ai weiwie, who crafted lego portraits of famous dissidents. have you been accepted by the rest of the art world or is there still a little bit of, "oh, this is a novel"? we're-- we don't really nsider it real art. >> it's the art world! it's the art world, right?

it's a very interesting place, and it changes from time to time. when i started, i think i had a few gallery doors slammed in my face, or at least i was laughed out of the place, because galleries tended to think of, well, lego art was associated with what they saw at a toy store. and so, it wasn't until i was really able focus on creating human forms that had this emotion, that had something that was there for people to see and grasp on to, and react to that-- the art world started to pay attention a little. more people have contacted me about "yellow" than any other sculpture i've done. but i don't want to put too much pressure onto people seeing it as i see it. i want them to have their own role in interpreting it. that's why the name is so simple. it's just "yellow." it's not like "man opening his soul" or something that would point people in a certain direction. >> reporter: his latest collection is a series of endangered animal sculptures he

created, and photographed by dean west in their natural habitats to draw attention to their plight. >> because our feeling was, if we don't do enough to save the planet, all we're going to be left with are plastic animals. >> reporter: they're saying there's 20 billion lego bricks made every year. they're made out of plastic. what's the sustainability issue here? >> well, here's the great thing about lego, right? is that this toy-- my parents had this toy, and when they snapped those bricks together with my bricks, that snap together with kids bricks today, they all are still playable, right? they all still snap together. and so, it's not something that's going into landfills; it is continued to be played with. >> reporter: i have two grandsons and they're playing with legos all the time, and i'm stepping on them all the time. and after they've done the initial assembly of the set, then it falls apart. they've lost the bag; they don't have the instructions. is that where the creativity comes in?

>> i think there's this opportunity to start building again, and come up with whatever you can out of your imagination. and that starts at a very young age. i realized that this toy did not have to be just what was on the front of the box. if i wanted to pretend to be a rock star, well, just build a guitar. one of my mantras is "art is not optional." we have to have more creativity. we have to have more art in this world. and through research, i've realized, you know, kids in school, when they are exposed to art, they get better grades. when kids are creating art, their test scores are higher. their graduations are higher when there's art in their curriculum. but it doesn't even have to be lego bricks. just creating art is key, in my mind. >> reporter: the "art of the brick" exhibit in san francisco runs through may. another opens at chicago's museum of science and industry on february 10. for the pbs newshour, i'm mike cerre in san francisco.

>> woodruff: john nwosu, a school guidance counselor at garrett middle school in cobb county, georgia, has worked to make sure each of his students is equped withhe tools to succeed, in and outside of the classroom. tonight, he gives us his "brief but spectacular" take on advocating for equity in the school system. >> i'm a school counselor at a middle school. i have a ton of students who-- who-- who enter into the school system behind. from slavery, onto jim crow, onto red-lining and the g.i. bill only being given to certain groups and not others. and then, if you fast forward to now, we have mass incarceration. we have the war on drugs. that's, you know, disproportionately impacts other communities. and instead of kind of looking at that storyline leading up to now, we kind of just say sometimes that they "just don't have it," or those kids "can't behave," or those kids don't have people who care about them.

and i think it's so much deeper and more complex than that. >> you can't just talk about school in school, because people show up. sometimes they didn't eat, or sometimes they got into an argume with their parents before they get to school, and that's impacting how they perform in the classroom. so, we're trying to have a conversation about grades, but now this person is talking about, oh, "i don't get along with my brother and sister" or "i had an issue with my friend." if you look at the data, you see situations where some groups end up doing better than others. and it's a lot of times, at least in part, because people of color or people from other marginalized groups have to go through some of the same issues of proving that they belong in the space. there are teachers who identify things in black children that they don't in white children who are exhibiting the same behaviors. these are the same teachers who are writing referrals that lead to some students getting in trouble for things that others do not. i've had challenging

conversations with the principal in the building. but then, i've also worked to be in a position where i can come up with suggestions, or bringing people in who can come up with suggestions that can create that change. and i try to sit on committees and work in groups where policy is created. what i found is that, when we talk about implicit bias, we compare that to the things that we intentionally do versus the things that we've been sort of automatically conditioned to do. and we can create some dissonance to p to where people can really begin to question whether or not the things that they say they want to do are in line with the things they're actually doing. and then, after we kind of dig into implicit bias, i bring up the explicit stuff, because the part that is often left out is the critical race theory part. the part about the fact that our country was built on racism and the fact that that stuff still exists today and is perpetuating in really interesting ways. it's like a social full power to bring this stuff up. people look uncomfortable with

people, start feeling a little bit when you bring this stuff up. the biggest thing is acknowledging there's a problem. and especially if you're a white person, it's okay to be uncomfortable. we're all consuming these stereotypes and attitudes about race, and you're not a terrible person for having experienced that. my name is john nwosu jr. and this is my "brief, but spectacular" take on advocating for equity in the school system. >> woodruff: and such a valuable take. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> bnsf railway. >> care.com.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> the target foundation, committed to advancing racial equity and creating the change required to shift systems and accelerate equitable economic opportunity. >> 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productns, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs.

-sonora, mexico -- a wild, open, rugged territory, where the land is both beautiful and unforgiving. here in mexico's northern region, this land provides some of the country's best views and most tasured culinary traditions. iqué rico! oh, i'm so happy i tried this. and, at the heart of those recipes, pure sonora, with its extraordinary raw ingredients. today, those ingredients inspire me to cook a feast for my hard-working crew. excuse me. [ laughter ] sizzling ] and to get the most of the experience, i'm cooking at an hacienda right in the heart of the countryside, using ingredients straight from the land. up first, a traditional sonoran soup that is both homey and simple to make -- sonora's beloved caldo de queso. -it's a perfect caldo de queso. -mm!