captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: the invasion intensifies. russian forces attack a nuclear power plant in ukraine, risking a major disaster, as talks of a cease-fire fizzle, and ukrainians blame putin for the destruction of their country. >> day by day, hour by hour, second by second, he is destroying the city. >> woodruff: then, a strong report. united states job growth exceeds expectations, and unemployment drops-- but inflation still grips the overall economy. and, it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart discuss the american response to the war in ukraine, and president biden's priorities following his state of the union address. all that and more, on tonight's

pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine tt connects us. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> care.com.

>> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> b.d.o. accountants and advisors. >> 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 friends of the newshour. >> this program was mae possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: russian troops seized the largest nuclear power plant in europe today,

after attacking it overnight and starting a fire that stoked fears of a calamity. the fire, which was put out, was not in any of the facility's six nuclear reactors. meantime, the crackdown on information and dissent continues in russia. president vladimir putin signed into law a measure making it a crime-- punishable by up to 15 years in prison-- for contradicting official government pronouncements on the war. and, the flow of refugees fleeing ukraine continues. more than 1.2 million ukrainians have left their homes for surrnding nations. again tonight from lviv, in western ukine, nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> schifrin: for a moment, the world held its breath. last night, russia turned its guns on europe's largest nuclear plant, zaporizhzhia. by daylight, firefighters extinguished the fire at a training facility, but not the fear that this attack could have caused a disaster worse

than the 1986 chernobyl meltdown, the worst nuclear accident in history. chernobyl's destruction, also in ukraine, ensued from one reactor. the zaporizhzhia plant has six. >> by the grace of god, the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night. >> schifrin: the international atomic energy agency called it“" close call." officials say all the reactors remain intact, and radiation did not leak. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky called the attack“ terror on an unprecedented level,” and addressed russia, in russian. >> ( translated ): together, in 1986, we struggled with the consequences of the chernobyl disaster you must remember. and if you have not forgotten, then you cannot be silent. you must tell your authorities, you want to live. radiation does not know where the border of russia is. >> schifrin: the town around the plant had been resisting moscow's onslaught, with human barricades and trucks, as much people power as they could muster.

but, this is that same road today. russians captured the town and the plant after their missile strikes and soldiers left devastation. now, residents cower from moscow's military. >> ( translated ): armored vehicle is there-- >> ( translated ): keep quiet! >> schifrin: further south, the port city of mariupol, of half a million people, under siege. the city is witnessing some of the war's fiercest fighting, and unrestricted shelling. and the siege of mariupol is claiming mostly vilians. yesterday, the victim was a 16-year-old boy-- the father waits for the unspeakable. a city steeped in sorrow by the first week of putin's war. >> day by day, hour by hour, second by second, he is destroying the city. >> schifrin: sergei orlov is mariupol's deputy mayor. he says russia has targeted not only the city's infrastructure, but also markets, homes, hospitals, and schools. and for orlov, it's now become personal.

>> most of the buildings are destroyed. i don't have-- i don't have connection with my parents for three days. i don't know, do they live or not? >> schifrin: in the syrian war, there was a phrase to describe the syrian government and its russian allies' tactics, and that is "submit or starve." is that what you believe russia is doing to mariupal today? >> so, you can find in internet pictures of aleppo. and in two or three days, mariupol, it looks like the same we are afraid by our people because 400,000 citizens are blocked in t city. >> schifrin: u.s. officials say russia is making less progress in the north, where the convoy outside kyiv remains stalled, than in the south, where russia's seizure of kherson adds to fears that odessa is the next target, and could cut ukraine off from the coast. ukraine says these offensives can only be stopped with a no- fly zone, but nato officials in brussels are adamant, that is not an option.

>> we are not part of this conflict, and we have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond ukraine. >> schifrin: ukrainian foreign minister dmytro kuleba said, that wasn't good enough. >> we will continue fighting. but, help us. if you don't, i'm afraid you will have to share responsibility for the lives and sufferings of civilian ukrainians. >> schifrin: in ukraine's far west, civilians who've fled the fighting take shelter. this is an i.t. company, converted into a home for the displaced, where kids can be kids, and even share a smile. but the khankhodzhayev family-- like every family here-- has seen too much. the youngest, asiya, almost two. her grandma, the matriarch muhabat, 60. granddaughter kamilla, 14. how are you? >> i am happy that we arrived here, and nobody-- nobody get hurt. in kyiv, like, there were explodes. when i heard it, i panic.

i start to panic, i started to >> schifrin: and what about your brothers and sisters? what did they do? >> they hidi in the hallway. they really scared. scary noises, that something is going to explode every minute or second. i say that everything will be fine, and if they start to panic, they won't be able to run, or survive. >> schifrin: they fled through the chaos of kyiv's train station, and after they boarded, a russian missile landed nearby. >> i was so scared. everyone was scared. shock, nervous. we heard the explode, my sister started to cry, and said, i want to go home. it was scary because we see the light. everyone was on the floor, because everyone was scared. >> schifrin: the entire family fled uzbekistan in the late 1990s, for physical and economic safety. today, as they witness a war

that steals loved ones, they have decided to become immigrants again. >> ( translated ): how many young beautiful boys are now laying in the ground? i want peace to return to ukraine as soon as possible. for kids to be happy together with their parts. ( cries ) >> schifrin: this sanctuary is short-lived. it is time to load up. along with so many victims of this war, their destination is west, outside of ukraine. as of now, they have no plan to return. >> to be honest, i felt sad to leave my home, because i left a lot of my books, everything. but now, it's dangerous to go back. somebody has to stop the war.

>> reporter: the joy of being a child stolen by the war. the family tells me tonight they've entered poland without any problems and hope to head to germy where they have relatives. the war has forced them for the second time to leave countries with only what they can carry. judy, they will have to start all over again. >> woodruff: just simply heartbreaking. and nick, what are the authorities there in lviv where you are saying about the influx of displaced ukrainians growing even larger? >> reporter: a member of parliament here said that 30,000 displaced arrived last night, and the number tonight could be two to three times that and the lviv train station has an official capacity of only 5,000. if many of the displaced come into the city, the city could struggle to off enough for them to eat and ough places for them t stay, but most of them are expected to continue into poland and u.s. and ukrainian officials do say that those border crossings between

ukraine and poland are much more calm and orderly than they were earlier this week. but, judy, it is just remarkable, 1.2 million ukrainians, that is 3% of the country, have chosen toecome regees. that is just in one week. >> woodruff: and i just don't remember a human outnow like what we are watching right now. much less the misery. nick schifrin reporting from lviv in western ukraine. thank you, nick. and, now, let's turn to and now let's turn to moscow, where special correspondent ryan chilcote has been reporting for us. so we know that now russia has banned facebook and twitter. what does that mean for the russian people? >> well, you can still, obviously, access facebook and twitter if you use a vpn, and many russian knows how to use

vpns, it just makes it difficult and it means more russians will be accessing them. russia has its own social media, but some russians prefer to use facebook and twitter because they're concerned about their personal data. we're just getting a fragmentation of the social media world, and russians are going to be seeing more information that the russian government is comfortable with them seeing and less of the information that the u.s. is comfortable with people seeing. >> woodruff: and v.p.n., of course, being a more secure connection. ryan, the russians are also now just passing, today, a 15-years sentence for anyone wh intentionally spreads what they say is fake news about the military. what are the repercussions of that? >> reporter: well, all journalists are very concerned about this. obviously, the idea of spending 15 years in prison is very daunting, and, you know, many

russian journalists and international journalists, it applies to both, are very concerned about the russian government being the arbiter of truth in deciding what qualifies as fake news when it comes to the war in ukraine. you can tell you i've spoken with a number of russian and international journalists, and they are taking this very seriously. many have left the country at least for, you know, a couple of weeks, a month. they're getting out. they want to see how this plays out. is it going to be applied, is anyone going to be prosecuted? we've heard some russian politicians say it could be used retroactively to go after people in the government's eyes that are mischaracterizing or are misportraying what's going on in ukraine. so it's a huge concern amongst journalists here. >> woodruff: and separate issue, ryan, i know you follow the energy sector closely. we are learning the white house

is taking a serious look at banning the importation of russian oil. what would that mean for the united states in our economy? >> well, ultimately, it would mean that the oil price would rise and the price at the pump would likely rise. look, the united states is a huge oil producer, the world's largest, produces a lot of oil now on the back of shale oil. russia only provides about 8% in terms of all crude products of the imports into the u.s., behind canada and mexico. but the issue is that, if the u.s. ban cease imports, the expectation is the european union could, too, so you have less supply, hiring prices. the real concern for the biden administration might be that doesn't mean that would hurt the russian economy necessarily because the russians might be able to sell the oil they're selling to the united states elsewhere. judy. >> woodruff: movement on so many fronts and watching it all

from moscow, ryan chilcote, thank you very much. with russian military forces on the offensive in ukraine, countries in europe are on edge. one nation that shares an 800-mile border with russia is finland-- which has a stable and prosperous democracy. finland is not a member of nato, but it buys military equipment from the united states and is a member of the european union. finland's president, sauli niinistö, met with president biden this afternoon, and i spoke to him a short time ago. president ninistoö, thank you fr talking with us. you flew 4300 miles from helsinki to casualty r washington to talk to president biden. what can you tell us came out of that meeting? >> it was a very pleasant meeting with him, surely, because of what is taking place in ukraine, the russian attack, serity, defense, the issues we

discussed very much and we have a long-lasting cooperation with the united states, finland and sweden, all nordic countries, and that will be enhanced in the future. i'm very satisfied with our discussions. >> woodruff: when you say the relationship will be enhanced, how so? >> we are talking about the kind of process where we take issue by issue, not defining them yet, on the table and see what all we can do together and support each other. >> woodruff: and does part of that include finland seeking membership, now, in n.a.t.o.? >> that is certainly a different issue. it's up to finland. i understand that n.a.t.o. keeps its doors open, like the

principal has been for those who meet the criteria. and in finland, we have a very, very lively and important discussion going on about n.a.t.o. and n.a.t.o. membership and about applying it. but like i said, the discussion is ongoing, and our parliament is very active on that. in the end, it's a decision made by the parliament. >> woodruff: do you believe finland is as safe outside of n.a.t.o. as it would be inside n.a.t.o.? >> we have been totally safe, but surely things what we have now seen in europe, we have to consider. i do not doubt that russia would attack militarily to finland, but russia's demand to, like they say, keep out of n.a.t.o.

or they want n.a.t.o. to stop taking new members, it might lead to a situation where russia expects it has kind of a say around its neighborhood, and that is not at all a pleasant thing. >> woodruff: do you believe, after speaking today with president biden, that there is any way to stop vladimir putin from overtaking ukraine, this bloody invasion of ukraine, whether it involves at this -- diplomacy or any other method? >> it seems that putin, whether he's successful or not that is still open, but it is very, very difficult to get him back in. that is very obvious. at least not now. >> woodruff: you said it's not

clear if he will be successful. are you saying you think there's a good chance that the ukrainians could prevail? >> what we have seen so far is that the ukrainians have a very brave way of protecting, defending themselves, and russia's haven't gone forward in a speed they undoubtedly thought before that they could reach. so it's not going right the way russia had planned. >> woodruff: you also said, president ninistoö, that if russia succeeds, that it changes the security of the entire continent, that, clearly, russia poses a different kind of threat. what does that mean? >> what we see today is more

united european union and europeans than ever, and that means that europe will also develop its defense and take more and more -- much more responsibility of its own security. i think that's what german chancellor schultz said, that was a total change in germany politics. they gave arms to ukrainians, and they decided to increase with quite a lot of new money, and that is totally new position in germany, and that means that europe will be stronger. >> woodruff: europe may be stronger, may be more united, but if russia prevails, it still means the rest of the continent is standing by helplessly while

russia essentially gobbles up another country. >> here, we have heard, specifically n.a.t.o. countries and n.a.t., trying to avoid escalation so that we would see even more warfare in europe, maybe even something which reminds us of the world war. so it's the nature of escalation. but it has a meaning, if europe is stronger in the future, because it prevails, also. it is clear kind of obstacle to the one who might try something, and to russia. >> woodruff: it's almost as if ukraine is a sacrifi in this process.

>> european countries have helped the united states very much ukraine not only by money but sending arms and more and more arms, so ukraine is, from that aspect, not alone. it has been helped, at least. >> woodruff: one final question about vladimir putin himself -- do you believe he is acting in a rational way or not right now? >> it might be that this irrationality, what we have seen, the end is rationale. but he wantshings to look like irrational and that's the rationality. it's quite complex. >> woodruff: yes, it certainly

does appear to be. president sauli ninistoö, we thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, u.s. job growth surged in february, as the omicron wave of covid-19 faded. the labor department reports employers added a net of 678,000 jobs-- the most since july. the unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. that was the lowest since the pandemic began, two years ago. we'll take a closer look, after the news summary. the u.s. supreme court has reinstated the death sentence for boston marathon bomber dzhokharsarnaev. today's 6-to-3 decision held that a lower court was wrong to throw out the sentence over questions of excluded evidence

and jury selection. the 2013 bombing killed three people, and wounded more than 200. in pakistan, a suicide bombing today killed at least 56 people, and wounded more than 190, during friday prayers at a shiite mosque. it happened in the northwestern city of peshaw'ar, near pakistan's border with afghanistan. the mosque was in shambles after the bomber opened fire, then ran inside and blew himself up. ambulances rushed in, and survivors recalled moments of terror. >> ( translated ): panic spread among the worshippers when the firing started. i ran to save my life. suddenly, a man came in and started firing. he shot many people to death, then closed his eyes and blew himself up. after that, i have no idea what happened. my hand and leg are injured. >> woodruff: hours later, the islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attack. it came amid growing violence in pakistan in recent months.

back in this country, new york city mayor eric adams announced covid mandates for masks in public schools will end next week. so will requirements for proof of vaccination in various venues. in california, los angeles county also shifted away from indoor mask mandates today. masking in schools continues until march 12. florida is the latest republican-led state to adopt strict new limits on abortion. overnight, the legislature voted to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. governor ron desantis said today that he will sign it soon. it is similar to a mississippi law that the u.s. supreme court is expected to rule on this summer. thousands of retired black professional football players will have a new chance at payouts in a revised, billion-dollar concussion settlement with the national football league.

many were initially denied payments based on so-cled "race-norming," which assumes a lower baseline cognitive score for blacks. a federal judge in philadelphia approved the new plan today, allowing players to re-test or have their claims re-scored. and on wall street, worries about ukraine pushed oil prices above $115 a barrel, and sent stocks lower. the dow jones industrial average lost 180 points to close at 33,614. the nasdaq fell 224 points-- that's more than 1.5% the s&p 500 slipped 34. still to come on the newshour: david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the week's major news developments. coach mike krzyzewski leads the duke blue devils against north carolina for the last time. plus, much more.

>> woodruff: as we mentioned, a strong monthly jobs report has exceeded expectations, signaling that more americans are returning to the labor market this year as coronavirus cases continue to wane. geoff bennett has the story. >> reporter: judy, this job report is the second in a row to top economic forecasts. at the white house today, president biden spoke about the strong gains: >> we've learned that in february, our economy created 678,000 new jobs. 678,000 new jobs. over the course of my presidency, our economy has now created 7.4 million jobs, more jobs created in a 13-month period than any time ever before in our history. and we've learned that in february, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. down from 6.4% the day i took office. >> reporter: to unpack it all

for us, i'm joined by jared bernstein, who serves on the white house council of economic advisers. it's great to have you with us. and this jobs report is unambiguously good. it beat expectations, as we mentioned. what does it say about the state of the economic recovery? >> well, i think it says very clearly that this is one of the most welcoming job markets in generations for virtually any job seeker in industries across the economy, but there's also a very important policy message. the measures that the president took when he got here, particularly the american relief plan, by getting shots in arms and checks in pockets, not onlys and businesses to get to the other side of this dual health and economic crisis, but set this labor market up for the strongest growth we've seen in generations. when you're posting job gains that are adding over half a million jobs per month on average over the past thre months, you know you're into an

hhistorically strong labor market. >> reporter: a few challenges remain. wage growth appears to be leveling off, but many people's paychecks aren't keeping pace with the rising prices. how is the white house going to put downward pressure on prices to alleviate inflation? >> the job is to maintain the kind of superlative outcomes like we saw in job market today. there are key sectors -- warehousing, transportation, leisure and hospitality, i believe retail trade -- where wages are actually surpassing the rate of inflation. so it is something that we need to see, though, much more broadly across the wage scale, and the the way to do that is to implement the president's agenda, to keep the demand strong, keep the labor market churning while acting on the supply side. that means in the ports, making sure goods are getting from ship to shelf, that means over the longer term making sure there's

investment, you heard him talk about semion during the, infrastructure plan is already in the field and very importantly lowering colonels for american families, drug costs, the cost of child and elder care, of health insurance premiums, all of that is part of the president's agenda. >> reporter: let's talk about the economic consequences of russia's invasion of ukraine. how is the biden administration planning to mitigate the fallout on energy prices, business confidence and job growth? >> well, first of all, when it comes to energy, you know that the sanctions do not include energy. there are high-level conversations, discussions ongoing now regarding import bans that's happening in the congress, but also those discussions are ongoing here. but the key, when it comes to energy, is to make sure that the supply of oil, very much a global commodity, remains where

it is, so that we don't put further pressure on gas price now, you know that the president already released oil from the strategic reserve that had a pretty quick effect, a few months ago, taking down gas prices about 10 cents per gallon. as recent reports have confirmed, that's happening again, this time in tandem with many other of our partners to the tune of about 60 million barrels released from strategic reserves. the president has said more if necessary. >> it strikes me that a strong jobs report like the one we just saw, it gives cover for the feds to start raising interest rates toon, which is something they said they wanted to do. in the minute we have left, how might that add to the overall economic picture? what should americans brace for if anything? >> i thought it was important without getting into granular details to have the federal

reserve policy institution. chairman powell said something to the effect of hitting a strong landing, diminishing inflationary pressures without undermining the strong demand. that again is at the heart of the president's agenda. two goals -- maintain the strong labor market, 7.4 million jobs since this president got here, while doing all we can, let the fed do everything they can, to ease price pressures. that means that opportunities will stay in place for american workers and american consumers, but as inflation begins to ease, real incomes, real wages will grow higher. >> reporter: white house economic advisor jared bernstein, appreciate your time and insights this evening. >> my pleasure. >> woodruff: russia's ongoing assault against ukraine has kept the world on edge this week-- and it was a key focus of

president biden's state of the union address on tuesday. to discuss all of this, we turn now to brooks and capehart. that is "new york times" columnist david brooks, and jonathan capehart, columnist for the "washington post." it's very good to see poet -- both of you, but this has been a week, about the worst one we can remember. jonathan, as you watch the horrifying pictures, reports coming out of ukraine, the brutal -- increasingly brutal tactics being used by the russians, what do you think we're learning from seeing all of this? >> well, three things come to mind, judy. the first is that for a country as big as russia, as powerful as russia in terms of its armaments, it's a nuclear power, and the threatening rhetoric and language from president putin, i'm surprised by how slowly things are going for russia in its invasion and the war that it's inleashed on ukraine --

unleashed on ukraine. the pictures are horrifying, the stories heartbreaking, the lies coming out from the russian government about what it's doing and not doing is horrifying, but the fact that there is a 40-mile convoy that is trying to make its way to kyiv, the capitol city, and it's stalled, running out of fuel, being picked off by ukrainian forces, is something that is heartening. also what's heartening is just the strength and resolve and that we're not going to sit by and let you take over our country of the ukrainians, willing to fight back, whether they're in the ar armed servicer not. the oter is the strength of the western alliance, the fact you have countries like finland, sweden, switzerland doing things they've never done in their history and that is they've

broken free of their neutrality, what they're known for. also, i was corrected during an interview with deputy treasury secretary wally o odiaomo talkig about the western alliance and he reminded there are countries in the east, japan, korea, taiwan, that have joined in with the western alliance in sanctioning russia, and then the third and last thing, i promise, is the -- all of this, the strength of the alliances against russia in its war on ukraine could not have happened without the leadership of the united states, and we have to keep that in mind, that's something president biden said before he was president that what's happening in the world now is a battle between democracy and autocracy. it is playing out day by day through horrific pictures there

in ukraine, and the fact that the world has united against what -- most to have the world has united against what russia is doing is testament to the fact that the united states, in terms of standing up for democratic values, small d democratic values, says america is leading. >> woodruff: david, it is true the unity is stunning and yet the russians keep moving. >> yeah, both these things can be true. the russian military seems to be picking up speed. they are a learning organization like any first rate military and i assume they're going to correct their early mistakes and probably see some very disheartening successes over the next days and weeks. at the same time there's been a shift in consciousness. we have been living with a democratic recession in this year for years. we have become embarrassed about worried about our own democracy because of donald trump and

populism and ugly nationalism. i don't think we've changed in our belief but it's diminished faith. i want to say thanks to the heroism of the ukrainian people, we have been inspired to be convicted about our faith again. our faith has been restored, in zelensky, biden, german, finish, swedish leadership, faith in patriotism. we've seen patriotism look like ethnonationallism for a long time, but we see people connected to their country and ideas of freedom. and then as jonathan said, faith in unity that we around the world saw crueltiy gobbling you have another nation, which used to be normal in human societies, that was just accepted, but now we have been educated by ethos of normal democratic liberalism

to be appalled and the world is appalled. it's true internationally and domestically. if you look at the patrols, there's not a lot of difference between republicans and democrats on hashness of putin. it's not a partisan issue right now. morale is just super important and it's important in ukraine and it's important for us and, over the long run, there will be a lot more to say. and on that point, jonathan, as we listen to president biden at the state of the union, as we said, he spoke for 12, 15 minutes about ukraine, but the rt of the speech was abo the united states and what it's dealing with. we heard him -- you know, as he called for -- he said we're not going to send u.s. troops into ukraine, but we are going to be very tough in imping sanctions on russia, and our new poll with npr and marist is showing a huge percentage of support, 83% support those sanctions on

russia, and 69% say they'd support it even if it means higher energy costs. so americans prepared to, you know, have some sacrifice here. >> those poll numbers, judy, are incredibly encouraging because what it says to me is that the american public sees what's happening in russia's war on ukraine is bigger than themselves, that, in order to push back president putin, you have to put aside your own kitchen table worries, your own pocketbook issues and worries, and look at the bigger picture. and if, you know, higher gas prices is what it means, what the sacrifice americans have to make in order to push back an authoritarian regime like russia, to push back on an autocrat like putin, then that's a sacrifice they're willing to take. i'm very heartened by those poll numbers. >> woodruff: david, i mean, it is a recognition or an

acknowledgment that the american people are taking this seriously. >> yeah, like people in so many countries around the world, the crowds and the european streets today were astounding. when we spoke last friday, i thought the sanctions were kind of weak and they wouldn't do much. then on saturda the europe and the americans dropped the big bombs of taking over the russian central bank's assets, denying them swift. and the economic bombs have kept falling and the russian economy is in real trouble. so the interesting thing to me is, as this drags on and, frankly, as we see more horror and our blood gets up, can we keep this level of unity together, can we prevent ourselves from getting carried away and wanting to do things like a "no fly" zone which i think would be an act of war and no trouble, but can we keep up and help the ukrainian insurgents, can we keep up the economic pressure? the tools we have are slow, and, so, it will be -- -- you know, in a month, we'll see if these

numbers are still there. >> woodruff: and, jonathan, you mentioned approval of president biden, he did speak a great deal the other night at the state of the union about his domestic agenda. it was very interesting again the poll the "newshour" did with npr and marist shows his approval rating is up 8 points. it's 47% up from 38% just a couple of weeks ago, so there's something behind that. >> yes, there's something behind thatsh and that is what the american people wanted to hear from the president in addition to shong american leadership against putin and russia. but what they wanted to hear and i think they did hear it, a president who understood that, as well as the economy seems to be doing here in the united states, that they have kitchen table issues that they want the president to address. theyanted to hear that the president understood that inflation was eating away at

their paychecks, whether they got wage increases or not. they wanted to hear whether he was going to do something about childcare, healthcare, prescription drugs, all those things, those laundry list issues that the president got knocked for spending time talking about. the american people wanted to know what he was going to do about it. so, from the kitchen table perspective, i think voters heard what they wanted to hear, maybe not the entire solutions, but -- but they heard the president was serious about trying to address them. in this battle between democracy and autocracy, as candidate biden said and president biden has long said, democracy, in order to win against autocracy, has to show that it can work, and the way it shows it's working is by delivering for its people. and, so, if, you know, the president can get some headway, if congress can pass some of the things he's talking about,

including that unity agenda he outlined in the speech democracy can show it can work. >> woodruff: particularly because there's been so much focus on inflation, david. >> yeah, we'll see if other polls carry it. i assume our poll has something accurate to say and will be confirmed by other polls. i think it's covid easing, the job grow is fantastic, rally around t flag in a time of war, and i think biden is rediscovering the language of his campaign. one of the problems he had is independents, people sort of in the center, his approval rating among that community was down to about 30%. in the state of the union, he spoke a lot more to that group, he emphasized we're going to refund the police, try to keep gas prices dn. he talked about things that are not particularly ideological but broadly supported on mental health, cancer, opioid

addiction. so he's rediscovering a more centrist language, and if he wants to be reelected, he has to win over working-class voters in all race and creeds in pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan, addis ababa and georgia. so focusing on working-class voters in those five states is the key and i thought he did a breathe good job with that tuesday night. >> woodruff: jonathan, no question, the president did spend a lot of time talking about what he called the unity agenda. he does seem to be trying to reach across the aisle to get some republicans on board. >> right, he's trying to reach across the aisle and as president the american people want to hear him and see him reach across the aisle, which then puts the onus on the republicans. the president has reached out his hand in friendship, in let's work together. now the onus is on the republicans in the house and the senate to reach across the aisle and work with the president. time wl tell if they will

actually work with him. >> woodruff: jonathan capehart with those sunflowers at your side, the flower of ukraine. and david brooks, thank you both. we appreciate it. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: we'll be back shortly. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for those stations staying with us-- renowned singers robert plant and alison krauss recently teamed up for a new album, and plan to tour internationally this summer. jeffrey brown caught up with them in nashville.

here is an encore of their conversation, part of our arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: a visit to sound emporium, one of nashville's most renowned recording studios, where alison krauss and robert plant recorded their new album, "raise the roof"-- and, on this day, got to admire the cover for the first time. ♪ trouble with my lover i'm in ♪ trouble ♪ >> brown: it's a musical marriage of two legendary voices from two very different worlds. ♪ i'm in a world of trouble ♪ >> where i come from, the blend is what you're always going for. you know, you try to match how --one voice, is the goal. and this is the complete opposite. >> from a vocalist point of view, at the sharp end of the various kinds of adventures i've had, the whole thing is about, just, "go!" and we'll worry about it later.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: he, now 73, is rock 'n roll royalty. ♪ ♪ ♪ the quintessential howler and bare-chested british growler was lead singer for led zeppelin. he's long-since established a solo career, and in a 2017 >> brown: she, 50, has long been one of the biggest figures in bluegrass, known for her gorgeous voice and multiple-part harmonies. ♪ i'm gone, gone, gone really gone ♪ >> brown: in 2007, krauss and plant recorded together: an off-beat pairing that became an unexpected hit. their album "raising sand" sold more than a million copies and won five grammys, including album of the year. and it all began with four songs recorded right here, as a friendly experiment. i'm assuming it was a surprise? shock? >> in this very room, we were

shocked. >> brown: you were shocked? >> yeah. >> i mean, there wasn't any expectation about any of it, you know, like, "hey, if this is fun, let's do this." and, you know, if we enjoy it, let's keep going. >> we had to gto a place musically that would challenge me and would challenge alison. the two of us needed to find new paths, to something where it's a gamble and it's also incredibly stimulating, and quite frightening. >> brown: their musical collaborator and ultimate guide: t-bone burnett, producer extraordinaire, the man behind so many hit albums for numerous musical stars. >> when t-bone got involved, we knew that all bets were off, as far as what we were going to expect then. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ trouble, trouble turn off the light ♪ >> brown: krauss, plt, and burnett are together again, backed by a group of all-star musicians for "raise the roof." and again, they've found and

re-made songs across several genres. here, "can't let go", written by randy weeks, first recorded by lucinda williams. ♪ he won't take me back when i come around ♪ says he's sorry then he pulls me out ♪ i got a big chain around my neck ♪ and i'm broken down like a train wreck ♪ well, it's over i know, but i can't let go ♪ >> brown: you're coming from the close harmonies, right? where you sort of have to stick to the plan? >> yes. it's-- >> brown: but that's not him. >> no, that is not him. not him at all. >> brown: so how was that for you? >> painful! >> i mean, the way you grow up singing in bluegrass, it's very regimented and planned out, because you're always singing harmony. and i kind of always make a >> but when we play live, that kind of wandering, ♪ "waaa." then we get going, and we're standing side-by-side singing, and i'm looking at alison, she's looking at me, and she's going,

"where are you going to go?" and i, eyebrows up, "let's go!" and off we go somewhere that neither of us had planned. ♪ well, it's over i know, but i can't let go ♪ >> brown: plant says he enjoys that sense of danger. >> i'm singing alongside a singer who expresses herself in a totally differt way, and so for me, the adventure is everything, you know. to get it, and to be free to fail, and to able to walk away, is crucial. ♪ that's the price of love the price of love ♪ the debt you pay with tears and pain ♪ >> brown: the original version of the "price of love," written and recorded by the everly brothers in 1966, surrounds its painful lyrics with upbeat pop energy. ♪ that's the price of love the price of love ♪ the debt you pay with tears and pain ♪ >> brown: now, it's something else. >> you make it lustrous and perhaps a little more-- occasionally vague, sometimes

more dramatic. so, yeah, "the price of love" is a great pop song. but by the time these guys have finished with it, it was like, i'm frightened! >> brown: it's a haunting song. >> yeah, i'm really worried about falling in love again. >> oh, i loved how "price of love" turned out, too. i thought that was beautiful. you know, the everly brothers, especially, d that time-- such terrible, sad, heartbreaking lyrics, along with a really happy melody. and i think the way we presented that, it really uncovered the lyric... >> brown: "uncovered" means what? >> it kind of takes the-- it brings the focus out a little more, of that part of it. >>: caa diffent kind of harmony, from different styles, even in how they approach recording a song in the studio. >> i like to "wear it out" in the studio. i like to wear it out-- sing it a million times. >> you like to wear it out. i like to think that by track-- take three, it's all done. can't do any better than that, because i really mean it!

up till about, take four... >> brown: by take four, you've got it, and you-- and you... >> no, no, i haven't got it! i think i've got it. laughter ) >> brown: you think-- okay. ( laughter ) >> there you go. >> brown: and somehow, indeed, robert plant and alison krauss together have got it. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown at sound emporium in nashville. ♪ trouble with my lover i'm in a world of trouble ♪ >> woodruff: before we go, a closing note that's not objective, on college basketball. tomorrow night in durham, north carolina, at duke university, mike krzyzewski will coach his final home game for the blue devils. he is the most successful college men's basketball coach in american history, winning

1,123 games, five national championships and three-times coach of the gold medal u.s. olympic team. for 42 seasons, he has mentored countless young men, and of course, made duke fans proud. here he is with reporters yesterday. >> i've been coaching for 47 years, and five-- almost five decades, to coach at west point and duke. then, 11 years of coaching u.s. team. you can't get much luckier than that. it's been such an honor and a privilege to do it for two of the greatest schools in the world. and then obviously, for your own country's team. very lucky. >> woodruff: on a personal note, i graduated from duke, and coach k. has been very kind to our family, reaching out years ago when our son was badly injured.

as much as i try to keep personal views out of my reporting, i'm going to be glued to the television tomorrow night. with apologies to all of you carolina tar heel fans-- thank you, coach k., and go, duke! for more in-depth analysis of the war on ukraine and of president biden's first state of the union, don't forget to join moderator yamiche alcindor and the "washington week" panel. that is tonight on pbs. and join us tomorrow on pbs newshour weekend for the latest news on ukraine, and the international response to russia's invasion. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the landscape has changed, and not for the last time. the rules of business are being

reinveed, with a more flexible workforce, by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again, for whatever happens next. >> people who know, know b.d.o. >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> care.com. >> bnsf railway. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting soal entrepreneurs and eir solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> 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 productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. hello, everyone, ask welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> the ukrainians are very friendly. we don't want to have war. we don't want to have war. we want just peace. >> as russia intensifies its attack on ukrainian civilians, we hear from a resident in kherson, the first major city now occupied by russian forces. and the international criminal court begins an investigation into war crimes. the prosecutor karim khan joins us. also ahead, former russian foreign minister, andrei kozyrev calls on all moscow diplomats to resign in protest. he joins me with an de