judy: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. tonight, the crisis intensifies. russia's aggression toward ukraine destabilizes the region before an expected invasion. then a controversial decision -- , the olympic committee allows a russian figure skater to compete despite her rlier testing positive for a banned substance, but withholds medals until further review. and courting justice -- we , examine the life and career of one of the judges on president biden's short list for the supreme court vacancy. >> her experience as a public defender, and that is an unusual addition and i think a valuable perspective that could be on the court.

judy: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> it's the little things. the reminders of what's important. it's why fidelity dedicated advisors are here to help you create a wealth plan. a plan with tax sensitive investing strategies. planning focused on tomorrow, while you focus on today. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. >> consumer cellular bnsf railway

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station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: today in moscow, russia hinted that diplomacy could continue over the crisis in ukraine. and the german chancellor visited the capital, kyiv, ahead of a meeting with russia's president vladimir putin tomorrow. but could any of this diplacy forestall a russian invasion? the russian military is still increasing its preparations for war. again tonight, nick schifrin has our report. nick: nearhe belarus ukraine border, russia is preparing its troops, jets, and tanks. u.s. officials say the troops are in heightened readiness compared to even a few days ago and fear a military campaign could start any day. until then, there's still diplomacy. in kyiv, president volodymyr zelensky hosted german chancellor olaf scholz. >> furer military action

against ukraine would have serious political, economic and geostrategic consequences for russia. nick: today, germany sent additional soldiers and vehicles to lithuania to bolster nato's eastern flank. but germany has refused to provide ukraine weapons. and, in public, scholz will not threaten the russian-gman gas pipeline nord stream 2 if russia invades. >> he should sanction nord stream 2, so putin would not be able to blackmail europe with energy. nick: scholz will meet russian president vladimir putin tomorrow. today, russian foreign minister sergey lavrov told putin that diplomacy was still possible. >> being the head of the foreign ministry, i must say that there is always a chce. the german chancellor is coming tomorrow. it seems to me that our options are far from exhsted, but they should not continue indefinitely. nick: but the u.s. is still preparing for the worst. today, the u.s. closed its kyiv embassy entirely and moved operations to the western city of lviv, a decision that zelensky criticized. >> it's a big mistake that some

embassies moved to western ukraine. it's their decision, but western ukraine doesn't exist. it's a united ukraine. nick: zelensky has taken pains to urge calm, but there are signs of ukraine preparing for invasion. and ukraine's military launched its own exercises. u.s. officials fear moscow will use that training to claim a ukrainian attack on russian troops or russian allies. >> the russian media has been laying the groundwork for this publicly by trying to condition their public that some kind of attack by the ukrainians is imminent. nick: that is evident on the web site of r.t., formerly known as russia today, stories about british trained "saboteurs" planning attacks and american mercenaries preparing a provocation using chemical weapons. r.t.'s campaign is global. r.t. spanish reports similar stories. and, in december, putin said anti-russian sentiment in eastern ukraine could kill russian allies. >> i must also speak about

russophobia as the first step towards genocide. nick: and that leads to discussions on russian media about the military needing to fight a defensive war in ukraine, including by r.t.'s editor-in-chief, margarita simonyan. >> russians will not fight ukrainians. russians will defend other russians and ukrainians like them. nick: in a sea of kremn-influenced media, tv rain is an island of independence. masha borzunova hosts the show "fake news" that calls out russian state media propaganda. >> it is different speculations and manipulations around the topic of ukraine. that russia is the most harmless country in the world and that, ifnything happens, russia is ready to respond. nick: russian media portrays the ukrainn government as american-funded nazis, an attempt to rally russians with nationalist pride against a common enemy. >> these are constant parallels with the second world war that, right now, there are nazis in charge of the ukrainian

authorities, and it's em, not ukrainians, that the russian military will fight if something happens. nick: manipulated russian media stories that help make the case for war aren't new. in may 2014, dozens of pro-russian separatists died in odessa, ukraine. russian media exaggerated the attack, even using an actress to play a victim. we know she was an actress because she appeared in unrelated pro-russian stories as three entirely different people. tv rain isn't even on tv anymore, after cable providers stopped airing its content. in all, the kremlin has targeted more than a dozen critical newsrooms. >> by diverting attention from domestic problems to problems in ukraine, it is as if the state tv presenter is asking us, do you want the same thing to happen here? almost all independent media in russia have been declared foreign agents. yes, it is getting harder, but tv rain is still an independent channel, and i hope it will stay that way. nick: for more on all of this,

we turn to andrew weiss. he worked on russian affairs in both the george h.w. bush and clinton administrations. he is now vice president for studies at the carnegie endowment for international peace. andrew weiss, welcome back to "newshour." we will get to disinformation in a second, but let's talk about the troops on the border. u.s. officials tell me that those troops are increasing their readiness even in the last few days. but does lavrov's diplomatic reference today provide any kind of off-ramp? >> so, the russian government has been negotiating performatively. the issues that russia has put on the table are ideas and assurances that it knows it can't get. and the west, for its part, is also acting performatively, because we're in a situation similar to where you have a person who's taken hostages inside a bank. you want to keep them talking. you want to keep them on the phone. so, in the west's view, the best outcome here would be endless diplomatic discussions. i wouldn't focus on what sergey lavrov said. i would focus on vladimir putin

said. he repeated something today that he said back in december, where he basically said, if all the west is trying to do is draw us into an open-ended conversation that goes nowhere, that's a real problem. nick: and, certainly, we have seen a lot of calls, a lot of visits from western leaders. as far as you can tell, that's more about buying time than actually ongoing negotiations? andrew: so, i'm all in favor of having as many western emissaries go into russia all the time. that would be great. and tomorrow will be the german chancellor, scholz's turn. the issues here is that what russia wants is, sorry, what putin wants is, he doesn't want an independent, sovereign ukraine. and what we're seeing through all this discussion about nato, and why was nato ever expanded, and is there a threat to russia, it's a really good reflection of how effective the russians have been in making us talk about these issues on their terms. we haven't been talking about

the incredible hardship and pain that russia has caused through its military activities and other pressure against ukraine over the last years. we have only been talking about whether this kind of theoretical idea of ukraine joining the alliance sometime in the far distant future is a threat to russia. that's a framing that's very advantageous for the russians. and it really sort of completely cancels out the things that russia has done over the last eight years. nick: u.s. officials have been warning about a russian false flag, essentially a russian fake story or even an act in eastern ukraine that could create the provocation for war. and we have highlighted some examples of disinformation that's currently in the russian media. are those stories in the russian media effective at conditioning the russian public perhaps ahead of war? andrew: so, i'm concerned that the sort of general argument that people are focused on is the idea that there's this drumbeat in the russian media pulling the russian people

towards this war frenzy. most average russians have really tuned out the ukraine issue, and long ago basically have either decided this is a horrible issue, they'd rather not learn more about it, or they had bought into this kremlin idea that russia is being surrounded and victimized and that the u.s. is using countries like ukraine to put pressure on russia. i have no doubt that, in the event of a provocation, we would see some of these outlandish claims like thones you mentioned in your report earlier, for example, the idea that americans are bringing chemical weapons to the donbass. all those kinds of ideas are completely, transparently false. but it doesn't mean the kremlin won't try to use something equally flimsy to justify military action. nick: as we have seen the kremlin do in the past. their messages aren't new. but what is new, to a certain extent, is the u.s. trying to highlight them, trying to call out these plans for false flags, for example, which the u.s. has called out multiple times. does that have an impact, calling out what the u.s. says are the russian plans?

andrew: so, there's no doubt that, by trying to put vladimir putin a little bit in the hot seat, he may adjust his plans. he may make some sort of tactical adjustment. but vladimir putin here is the person who has all the leverage. he's the one who has the military tools. he has the geographical proximity. and he has this kind of personal quest to take over ukraine. so, the united states has only a limited amount of capability here to either slow him down or disrupt what he's doing. it's an admirable effort. but it's really hard to embarrass someone likely vladimir putin, who, after all, is responsible for so many problems, whether it was the shoot-down of a civilian jet airliner in 2014, or the use of a military-grade nerve agent to try to assassinate russia's leading opposition figure, alexei navalny, in summer of 2020. it is really hard to embarrass the kremlin. they have a tendency to out-brazen and to basically deny everything. i don't expect that to change in this very serious crisis.

nick: andrew weiss, thank you very much. andrew weiss: thank you. vanessa: we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. updating our top story, the u.s. state department late tonight recommends american citizens leave belarus immediately, due to russian military buildup along the belarus border with ukraine. meanwhile, the government of canada declared an emergency today, targeting demonstrators who have tied up the capital city of ottawa at critical border crossings. john yang reports. >> or the first time today in a bid to halt anti-vaccine protest, including the authority

to -- the federal government has invoked emergency -- the emergencies act to supplement provincial and territorial capacity to address the blockades and occupation. the police will be given more tools to restore order in places where public assemblies can constitute illegal and dangerous activities, such as blockades and occupations, as seen in ottawa, the ambassador bridge, and elsewhere. john: the move comes after police cleared the ambassador bridge between detroit and windsor, ontario, towing vehicles and arresting dozens to reopen the crucial link in cross-border commerce for the auto industry. but from ottawa to british columbia, truckers and others still blocked crossings at major trade routes and closed businesses in city-centers. >> the government's been misstepping this entire time. they have been enforcing tyrannical measures on people. they have destroyed families. they have destroyed their

incomes. people have lost their homes. john: what started as a protest against a requirement that canadian truckers to be vaccinated has spiraled into a larger movement voicing a more general frustration against pandemic-related restrictions. it's also been a hotbed for conservative and far-right activism. a recent poll shows the demonstrations are a vocal minority in canada, with almost two thirds of those surveyed saying they oppose them. >> it's just i feel like i'm living in a different country, like i'm in the states. it just makes me really sad to see all these people waving canadian flags, acting like patriots, when, really, it's kind of the most sad and embarrassing thing i have ever seen. john: today, ontario's premier announced the province would no longer require proof of vaccination to enter indoor spaces beginning in march. he insisted it had nothing to do with the protests. >> we're moving in this direction because it's safe to do so.

today's announcement is not because of what's happening in ottawa or windsor, but despite it. john: but the demonstrators' persistence has moved trudeau to call on sweeping, rarely used powers, which some say could further inflame anti-government sentiments. for the "pbs newshour," i'm john yang. >> in new york today, a federal judge announce he will dismiss sarah palin's suit against the new york times. he said the former alaska governor failed to prove the times acted out of malice. still, the judge will let the jury continue deliberating. he said the panel's verdict will likely play into any appeal by palin. federal prosecutors in minneapolis have rested their case in the trial of three former police officers accused of violating george floyd's rights. the government argued the men did nothing to prevent floyd's murder by a fourth officer in

may of 2020. the defense now begins its case. the federal hate crimes trial of three white men for killing ahmaud arbery got underway with opening statements today in georgia. prosecutors allege the men chased and shot him because he was black. the defense argued they focused on potential theft and not race. the defendants were already convicted of murder charges and sentenced to life in prison. a legal ruling dominated the winter olympics today. a sports arbitration body cleared the russian figure skater to go on competing while her doping case proceeds. the 15 year old tested positive for a banned drug as december. today the president -- booked outrage that no one is being punished. >> it is my opinion that the doping of children is evil and unforgiven and doctors and other

support personnel provided performance-enhancing drugs to minors should be banned for life. >> the international olympic committee says no medals will be given for any event that she participated in until the cases resolved. the 22 your mega drought in the american west is now the worst in at least 100 years. a study published today finds that last year in particular was one of the driest ever reported in the west. the authors conclude that human caused climate change accounts for more than 40% of thery conditions. still to come, the latest political news, the super bowl halftime show sparks more conversations about the nfl and race, and a new most him exhibit chronicles how love has been depicted in art throughout the

ages. plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from the walter cronkite school of journalism in arizona. judy: the russian figure skater finds herself surrounded by controversy and criticism at the beijing olympics. a broadcast in december that she failed has jeopardized russians -- russia's gold-medal in figure skating and the final on all this could take months. >> i'm joined by christina brennan who helped break some of the story. always great to see you. i wonder if you could start at the beginning here. this known skater who is by all accounts one of the greatest ice skaters of all time, she tested positive back in december for a

band drug, and yet we all have been seeing her on our tv screens performing at an incredibly high level. how is it that that happen? >> that's a great bastion, question the russians will be answering. it was n announced until february. we wanted to make sure you knew -- you want to make sure if you're posit -- or athletesre testing positive or negative beforehand. the news comes out, and now everyone is starting to investigate. it's kind of like the supreme court for the olympic games. today they ruled that she would be eligible to compete, so she gets that opportunity to compete in the women's competition on

tuesday and thursday. one last piece of news today, the international olympic committee set comes back and says you are competing there's , not going to be a medal ceremony, which of course, calls into question her eligibility and the fact that the ioc thinks that it may well be the case that when all is said and done, we find out that that doping violation is enough, that they would have to reorder the medals. so no, no medal ceremonies for her, which is highly unusual. >> and as you wrote in your column today, this certainly, i mean this whole sort of strange kabuki of where she competes, but if she medals or she wins that, we have to pretend that that's not happening until this other court rules. that this does an incredible disservice to all the other athletes who aren't in any way tainted by a drug doping scandal. >> oh, without a doubt. and of course, this russian issue has been haunting the olympic games since 2014 and and the ioc has never really punished the russians, and so now it is exploded on them. russian doping once again front

and center. so the u.s. team, in the team competition won the silver medal, which was a tremendous achievement -- they will not be able to celebrate that on the medal stand here. that same with japan winning the bronze. the concern of officials who i've talked to, william, is that if they went ahead with that ceremony, russia getting the gold, u.s. in silver and then japan bronze, well, when when the court of arbitration for sport takes us up again, which they will on the entire merits of the case, again, it gets very involved -- it could well be that the russians would lose that gold medal in the u.s. would move up to the gold. so instead of having the ceremony, the international committee does not want to have that embarrassment. but then what happens is, nathan chennd all of his teammates don't get a chance to be on that medal stand, and that is a real shame. the u.s. olympic and paralympic committee called it devastating, but that is where we are because of russia's misbehavior. william: can you help us

understand the drug that she tested positive for, that's a banned substance. what is it and what does it, theoretically, help an athlete do that gives them an unfair edge? >> yes, it's called trontazadine or tmz, and it is a banned substance. you cannot get it in the united states. it's banned both in competition and out, it increases blood flow to the heart, and it is seen as something that can really help with endurance for the athlete and also prevent fatigue. they're supposed to treat angina and heart issues. and of course, the question would be why would a 15 year old needed drug for angina? and and so and then there's the other part of this that i think it's important to mention she is 15, and there's a lot of sympathy out there for her and the fact that of course, now the adults in her life, her coach and the doctors and others are going to be investigated by both the world anti-doping agency and the russian anti-doping agency for this very reason. what were they doing? and then

they in fact, gave this illegal, banned substance to a 15 year old? william: i noticed today that sha'caari richardson, the fabulous american sprinter who was banned from the tokyo olympics for admittedly using marijuana after her mother died. marijuana, i have-- my understanding is, has no performance enhancing benefits, and yet she was banned is asking, how is this? how is this possible that that this woman, this young woman, is competing while i get banned foroing something that doesn't even help me? >> it's a huge issue, and this is a conversation that's happening all around the world with athletes as they react so negatively to this decision, allowing valieva to be able to continue to compete. the one one certain point here would be that the u.s. anti-doping agency - with richardson followed the rules. , it was heartbreaking to them, but they followed the rules with what's going on with valieva, the russians basically aren't following the rules. they just decided, hey, we're going to let her skate.

most of these countries would be sending the athlete home in shame, not russia. they are trumpeting her and again, using the 15 year old for their purposes, which is shameful and truly awful to see. but that's russia, and that's why they get in trouble. i think really, you can safely say william the the worst state sponsored doping since the east germans of 50 or 60 years ago. and yet here it was russia. it looks, at least for right now, getting away with it again. william christine brennan of usa : today. thank you souch for your time and for your journalism. >> thank you, william. judy: president biden plans to personally interew potential nominees to the supreme court this week and likely among them , will be federal judge ketanji brown jackson. jackson isn't new to supreme

court consideration. she was seen as a long-shot pick back in 2016 when former president obama was looking to fill a vacancy. this go round, she's seen as a leading contender. geoff bennett has this report on how she got here. >> i am evenhandedly applying the law in the case. geoff: ketanji brown jackson has a resume seemingly tailor-fit for the moment, harvard grad, supreme court clerk, and a federal judge with a deep history in public service. >> there is a direct line from my defender service to what i do on the bench. geoff: d.c. born and miami-raised, jackson stood out early, excelling in high school as class president and on the debate team. even then her goal was clear. she's quoted in her senior yearbook, saying: "i want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment." her teenage years were key to achieving that, as she put it in 2017. >> it was my high school perience as a competitive

speaker that taught me how to lean in, despite the obstacles. geoff: with honors degrees from harvard and harvard law, jackson scored three federal clerkships, including one under the justice she may now replace. >> justice breyer plucked me from obscurity and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. >> and i will say she is adored among the breyer clerk family. geoff: she made a lasting impression, said fellow breyer clerk and former acting solicitor general neal katyal. >> she is fearless. and, also, she's a real person. and, sometimes, that's not always true with supreme court justices, who live in an elite, rarefied atmosphere. but she's a judge who's never forgotten the human side of judging. geoff: she'd seen that human side up close, with family on both sides of the justice system, her brother working for the baltimore police department, and her uncle serving life for a cocaine conviction. >> justice demands this result.

geoff: she worked to understand and improve the system as a public defender and as vice chair of the u.s. sentencing commission. >> that is an unusual addition and i think a valuable perspective. geoff: margaret russell is a constitutional law professor who says jackson's criminal defense background sets her apart. >> there are many former prosecutors who are already on the bench. but what's interesting about a public defender, and really quite rare on the court -- it's been a couple of decades -- is that focus on the indigent defendant, someone who is really lacking an opportunity, often despised, often overlooked. geoff: on the sentencing commission, jackson continued that work, fighting for more equitable drug penalties. >> there is no federal sentencing provision that is more closely identified with unwarranted disparity and perceived systemic unfairness than the 100-1 crack-powder penalty distinction. geoff: that was the first of

three senate confirmations for jackson. in 2012, she was nominated to the federal bench in washington, d.c., introduced by then-congressman paul ryan, who's related to jackson by marriage. rep. ryan: but my praise for ketanji's intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it's unequivocal. she's an amazing person. geoff: she earned a reputation on the district court for being thorough and methodical. >> you can tell she has that speech and debate background, because she likes to engage with the parties. geoff: sanchi khare and neha sabharwal clerked for jackson, and say they were struck by her work ethic. >> one thing that she would tell us when i was clerking for her is that you can't always expect to be the smartest person in the room, but you can promise to be the hardest working. and she truly lives by that philosophy. geoff: and by the warm welcome she extended. >> and she came out of her office, huge smile, gave me a huge hug, and told me how excited she was that i would be

working for her. and that sort of set the tone for the rest of my clerkship experience. neha sabharwal: a memory that i had, that i still have of her is this relay race in which several d.c. circuit and ddc chambers participated. and at the judge's suggestion, we made matching t-shirts and set up a training schedule and lined up everyone in chambers to participate, because she just has so much spirit for everything that she does, and her diligence is really contagious. geoff: it was there on the district court that jackson sentenced more than 100 people and penned some of her best-known opinions. in 2017, she presided over the so-called pizzagate conspiracy case, delivering a four-year prison sentence for a man who fired his gun in a d.c. pizza shop, wrongly believing it was home to a child sex ring. and, in 2019 she ordered that former trump white house counsel don mcgahn comply with a congressional subpoena during the russia investigation.

siding against the trump administration, she plainly wrote: "presidents are not kings." >> one thing is clear. the 120-page ruling had a purpose. geoff: it came up at her third senate appearance, this one for the d.c. court of appeals, seen as a tryout for a supreme court hearing. >> i am both humbled and very grateful to be here once again. geoff: republicans took aim at jackson's public defender clients. sen. cotton: have you ever represented a terrorist at guantanamo bay? >> about 16 years ago, when i was a federal public defender. geoff: and her identity. sen. cornyn: what role does race play, judge jackson, in the kind of judge that you have been and the kind of judge that you will be? >> i don't think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that i have been and that i would be. geoff: behind her at those hearings her husband, dr. patrick jackson, and one of their two daughters. the pair met in college and were, as she says, an unlikely match at first.

>> he and his twin brother are, in fact, six-generation harvard. by contrast, i am only the second generation in my family to go to any college. and i'm fairly certain that if, you traced my ancestry back past my grandparents, who were raised in georgia, by the way, you would find that my ancestors were slaves on both sides. man: the yeas are 53. the nays are 44. the nomination is confirmed. geoff: she was ultimately confirmed with 53 votes, all 50 democrats, plus republican senators susan collins, lisa murkowski and lindsey graham. that put jackson, now 51 years old, in the seat formerly held by another supreme court hopeful. >> today, i am nominating chief judge merrick brian garland to join the supreme court. geoff: before then-president obama made that decision in 2016, jackson's 11-year-old daughter wrote in with her own suggestion. >> "dear mr. president, while

you are considering judges to fill justice scalia's seat on the supreme court, i would like to add my mother, ketanji brown jackson, of the district court to the list." geoff: six years later it seems president biden might be listening. for the "pbs newshour," i'm geoff bennett. ♪ judy: a supreme court vacancy, we just heard about it, and intraparty fight for control of the gop and a potential crisis in ukraine. as we do every monday, let's look at the political state of the recent week with amy walter and tamra of npr. i want to begin with jeff benish report just now on judge jackson. amy, this is one of three, we believe is one of three

finalists that president biden is talking to this week. as the white house thinks about who the pick is going to be, aside from clearly what kind of justice they will be, what are the political considerations? >> i think it is timing and impact. how quickly does this get through the process? obviously there are a lot of democrats who say we need this to go as quickly as possible, we can't waste any time. there is one democratic senator who is out for the next couple of weeks. democrats cannot afford any other things like that happening , having any vacancies among their own party. so that's one reason for the speed. the other is to get wind of when the president might say get it done as quickly as possible. the risk of going too quickly is that you maybe don't do as good vetting as you could have or should have.

there are gaps there. but i think the next thing, as i said about the impact, what impact is it going to have on the election, the fact that it takes place as quickly as possible also means that by the time we hit election day, this is probably really far back in the rearview mirror, it's not right on voters minds, and a lot of democrats would like it to be on the president's mind that he follow through on a promise he made on the campaign trail. but we also run the risk of overreaching, that the impact of going after her, whoever this woman may be that gets appointed, could end up backfiring and really engaging and enraging democratic partisans and turning off swing voters. judy: and based on your reporting, how do you look at what the white house is thinking

about and it makes it a very controversial decision? >> the white house is being very public about being very deliberate, about the president meeting with members of the senate from both parties to talk about considering a wide range of people. the white house putting out there that he was considering a wider range of candidates and much of -- than much of our reporting indicated they we. part of that is, no white house wants to make a mistake on what is one of the bigger decisions that president makes in terms of a nomination, the biggest nomination a president can make. no president wants it to blow up, but the numbers are such that it is unlikely that this is going to be a big fight. republicans have said they are not in for a big fight. so it truly is just a function of finding someone who will

handle herself well in meetings with sators and hearings and most of the people that are being seriously considered have already been confirmed to a lower court position. judy: how much does it matter to the white house whether republican votes are part of this final vote? >> i think it will be helpful for president who campaigned on being a unifier and has seen in the last year or so opinions about that unification or his ability to unify really trending very far down from where he started. and i do think it likely benets republicans as well, getting in a big ugly fight over a supreme court nominee doesn't necessarily help republicans and it could help engage the democrats in terms of election-year enthusiasm.

judy: i want to turn to one of the other be questions of today, in the republican party what has been former president trump's apparent firm, and question hold on his party. now we are seeing a rift open between him, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell in particular, on who should be the republican nominee in some of these key braces for 2022. is one side or another clearly going to have the advantage this year? >> in terms of the rift in e republican party, i think the midterms could begin to settle it, only if trump picks -- he has endorsed people up and down, depending on the state. the big question is, will the people that he has said he

wants, will they ultimately get the republican nomination in these various races, and will they win in november? and if the people he's endorsed don't perform well, that might give an opening to people like mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader, who can then say, maybe trump is an all-powerful. right now, trump's power is in the belief of everyone in the republican party that he is really powerful, and that power stays in place if his endorsement means something. so far, someone like walker in georgia, even though he wouldn't have necessarily been the most obvious choice as a candidate, but in other races the trump picks have and had great fundraisers. judy: how do you see the

political viability of the candidates that more moderate side of republican party is backing, by mitch mcconnell and others, versus former president trump's picks? >> trump has been winning these last few years either by intimidating candidates who are running -- are running for reelection, and it's had a real impact. someone like jeff flake from arizona doesn't run for reelection and democrats pick up that seat, and the georgia runoff elections in 2020 ended up costing republicans two senate seats and the majority in the senate. were already seeing mitch mcconnell trying to encourage governors, moderate governors like larry hogan or chris sununu in new hampshire, or resolve

doug ducey in arizona, to run, all of them, or most of them have been either personally attacked by the president for not doing his bidding, or for criticizing him, or he has been less than enthusiastic about them. rather than deciding to run, they said no, i will take a pass. that takes three important seats, not off the table, but their best candidates are on the sidelines. judy: what we are watching right now is mixed results and we have to say on the part of leader macconnell. amy, we all sympathize with the rain. only the echo of your beautiful children. thank you. ♪

judy: the super bowl was a close and compelling ftball game last night with the los angeles rams beating the cincinnati bengals3-20. as always, there was also a lot of attention around the halftime show. that was again the case this year with the program centered on hip-hop legends. coming at a time when the nfl's record on race remains under scrutiny. we look at the acid, the optics, and contradictions of that show. >> those icons were dr. dre, snoop dogg, mary j. blige, eminem, and kendrick lamar, with the special gue appearance from 50 sent. -- to discuss all that, i'm joined by the new york times culture critic wesley morris.

welcome back to the newshour. thanks for making the time. among the many reactions to the halftime show, some said it was like about a between doozy assem and the cynicism, that you could have all these too greats assembled, at the same time the stage they are on is hosted by the nfl which is facing years of allegations of racism. i'm curious which side you fell on as you watched it. were you enthusiastic, or cynical? wesley: every single year, at least since 2004, i believe that was the justin timberlake year. the halftime show becomes this ucible of not only what the nfl was about, but what this country stands for when it comes to the treatment of women, the treatment of african-americans. this year obviously was a big

deal for a lot of music fans and some pop music historians because pop music, instead of being in additive element to someone else's show, was a pop music oriented spectacle. that raises a lot of questions about what responsibility the artists had to bring up the nfl's questionable race hiring practices. it put a lot of pressure on the artist, in this case dr. dre, kendrick lamar and snoop dogg, who are all from south los angeles. in one since these artists are playing their own -- their hometown. so there is this sort of sweetness to what they are being asked to do. at all these artists in some ways intersect with the american political moment, especially

kendrick lamar. so they all knew what they were dealing with. with that said, i'm for the halftime show, but i'm also for the reality that the ground the show takes place has a lot of landmines on it. amna: and how do you reconcile the two? 2016 is when colin kaepernick first took a knee against police brutality against like people. he never plays a day again in the nfl. now you have the headliner of the halftime show, whose lyrics are still not loving the police. m&m takes a knee during the performance. wesley: i hear the complaint people have like the discrepancy with what can happen in a halftime show and what can happen in the field. the idea that you and i are having a conversation and the

nfl is really answering for much of anything, they get to have people like us have these conversations about what it is or is not doing, and i think the interesting and important thing is that it's going to force the league to explain why it's not following its own guidelines when it comes to hiring. i think it's up to the criminal justice system, it's up to the players to continue to speak out against things happening in the league. amna: so it's not just about the halftime show, right, 70% of the players are black, only one i believe coach right now is a black man. they will point to the entire super bowl as this cultural

moment where they had in racism messages in the end zone and performing the black national anthem. a lot of people will look at that in say, you need to do better. is that criticism fair? wesley: absolutely, yes. i do think that the criticism -- i don't know, it's an ongoing, i think the real question the league has to answer, is why it can be mostly black players and the people doing the work on the field can be mostly black, but you're telling me that nobody is od enough to run strategy on these teams?

or no black person is good enough to run strategy on these teams? i don't believe that the league believes that. it's exactly what happened to brian florez being hauled in for job interview. amna: wesley, thanks so much. always good to see you. wesley: thanks for having me on, a pleasure to meet you. ♪ judy: we haven't mentioned it yet, but as i'm sure everyone watching knows, today is valentine's day. and while you're thinking of your valentine, we wanted to share something that london's national portrait gallery has for the first time put on international tour, some of its works depicting love and desire. special correspondent jared bowen of gbh boston shares these love stories witus for our arts and culture series, canvas.

jared: at the worcester art museum, love abounds, romance is romanticized. this is what love looks like, even what it sounds like. >> how do i love thee, let me count the ways. i'm not even an english major and i knew that jared: the hand one. of elizabeth barrett browning, who wrote that sonnet, is cast here in bronze, held by that of her husband, fellow poet robert browning. lucy: we have not just the clasping hands. with them, we have the paired portraits of robert and elizabeth, both in their separate spheres, both independent minds, but inclining gently towards each other, reflecting their continuous support. jared: these galleries could also be described as love on the run. the art here represents centuries of some of the greatest holdings in london's national portrait gallery. but with the museum temporarily closed as part of a $47 million renovation, they're out on an international tour. it's launched in rcester,

massachusetts, under the banner love stories. lucy peltz is the show's curator, speaking to us from london. lucy: touring shows some of our absolutely cherished highlights and masterpieces that otherwise would rarely gon loan. and it's also been an intellectual project, because, for the first time, the largest and most important collection of portraits in the world, i.e., the national portrait gallery, has considered from the point of view of the role of love and desire. jared: it's love in the time of the renaissance, love among e ruins, and everlasting love. perhaps i'm asking you to play psychologist here, but can you tell me why i and so many others are just so mesmerized by a sleeping david beckham? lucy: i can tell you why 'm mesmerized by it. [laughter] lucy: he's very beautiful. i might imagine myself lying in bed just contemplating him, as i might do my own partner, and so the inmacy, and just enjoying

that sense of his ease. >> love has many facets and expresses itself in many ways and the way people express it are unique. we see very intimate moments and our own interests, sort of as a pop culture for the love of celebrities, and how do we consume the love of others? jared: she says john lennon and yoko ono cultivated their love for an eager public, while audrey hepburn positioned herself as a muse. claire whitner: you see this kind of multiplication of her public image in one particular photograph, getting at tt point of becoming a public muse, you know, someone that is the projection of mass desire. jared: here, love is manufactured, and it's messy. mary wollstonecraft ran away with the married poet percy shelley, finding both love and the inspiration for "frankenstein." then there's wallis simpson and

edward, duke of windsor, who renounced the british throne. this is cecil beaton's wedding day photograph. so why the long faces? it was taken just as he likely learned she wouldn't receive a royal title. and then there's the love saga of lady emma hamilton. known for dancing nude at private house parties, she was the muse of 18th century portrait painter george romney. she had numerous affairs with aristocracy, including charles greville. claire: but, ultimately, greville becomes tired of emma, and he sends her to live with lord hamilton, his uncle. he falls in love with her. and they get married. and all is going well, until horatio nelson shows up and begins this torr love affair. she bears his child. and lord hamilton, rather an separating with emma, decides that they're just going to all three of them live together in this sort of menage a trois. jared: and that's not even the love that dare not speak its name.

that was lord alfred douglas writing about his affection for oscar wilde, a love that landed wilde in prison, recalls lucy peltz. lucy: there's a lovely quotation by wilde from a letter to a friend after he comes out of prison, saying, "the very fact that he's ruined my life makes me love him more." jared: this being a british show, the fitting finale is the facade of the fairy tale, the ongoing one that has played out within the royal family. but, says peltz, it's one that implicates us all. lucy: the final section, love and the lens, which ends with harry and meghan looking absolutely besotted with each other, and what we know evolved, and whatever we may think of their decision, we think back to diana and the terrible events that befell her as a result of our desire as consumers of images of celebrity life, and

especially celebrity romance and celebrity heartache. jared: just one of the many love stories you will find here, for better or for worse. for the "pbs newshour," i'm jared bowen in worcester, massachusetts. judy: and if you can't get to worcester, that exhibit will next be at the baker museum in naples, florida, but you have to wait until early 2023. an online, as companies consider returning to the office, employees have not only tells precautions to consider, but also office dynamics, including bias and hostility around race. our digital anchor talked with an author about what everyone should know about talking about racism at work. you can watch that conversation at pbs.org/newshour. join us online in again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs

newshour, thank you, happy allen time stay, and stay safe. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> consumer cellular >> bnsf railway the kendeda fund subordinate china supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation

-- supported by john d. and the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation 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. >> this is pbs newshour west, from w eta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

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