captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the war grinds on-- russian forces strike an aircraft facility in western ukraine as civilians continue to come under attack and as western sanctions against russia hamstring its economy. then, imprisoned-- a russian court extends american basketball star brittney griner's detention, raising broader questions about politil prisoners. >> what is often termed as wrongful detention or unjust detention is really just foreign governments taking u.s. citizens hostage. >> woodruff: and it's friday, david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the united states' ongoing response to the war in ukraine and the congressional fight over covid funding.

all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding forhe pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> 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 made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: president biden spoke with china's xi jinping today for nearly two hours about the war in ukraine; mr. biden warned xi against any possible chinese support for the russian invasion. meantime, in ukraine, the

astounding carnage continues, with civilians the principal victims. russian airstrikes hit near the polish border and the rocket and artillery fire continued to target kyiv. that's where jane ferguson begins tonight's coverage. and a warning: images and accounts in this report may be upsetting. >> reporter: beyond the capital the war continues, relentless. the people of this community will never know why they are the target of russia's bombs today. a missile lobbed from miles away, thrown in anger by a thwarted army stuck outside the city. at least one person was killed and several wounded. this morning's attack hit a residential neighborhood. this building is just filled with civilian apartments, now completely ripped open on to the street. the bomb itself landed right here just feet away, levering

a -- leaving a huge crater now being cleaned up. this area is packe with civilians, and you can see, in the distance here, that building is a childhood nursery. the days have taken on a dark routine. attacks in the early morning, followed by the mournful cleanup. those returning to their homes hours later picked through the debris. we entered one building where residents were trying to salvage belongings. svetlana called us into her shattered apartment. look at me, i have cuts all over me, she tells us. she's a sine mother living re with her 12-year-old son. this morning, like any other, she was making coffee by the window in her kitchen. >> i was standing here and the explosion was there. my son was over there, and i screamed at him, go and hide. and he saw that something was burning and he hit behind the wall, and i turned around, and

this had happened. >> reporter: svetlana is not just in shock, she's angry. >> look at this. look at me. please show this on the news. i want everyone to see me and to see my apartment. look at me. these are deep wounds, not scratches. look at me. i am bleeding. am i a military target? this is the clear murder of people. he was counting on us being killed. >> reporter: a colleague bandaged a deeper wound on her arm. >> my son was very frightened. he was asking, mommy, are you alive? and i said, yes, but the blood was running all ovemy face. i tried to cover it with my hand, but he saw the blood. i'm afraid what if another bomb comes in. >> reporter: she sent her son away to the bomb center immediately. tonight, she will join him and the millions of others in ukraine forced from their homes, yet still defiant. i don't the capital, the war

continues relentless. near the polish border, russian missiles hit a facility used by ukrainian forces to repair soviet-era jets. it was the closest strike yet to lviv. the city had until now been largely spared from russian bombing. it has also been an important hub for relief efforts and civilians fleeing the worst attacks in the east. >> ( translated ): this strike is a confirmation that they are not at war with the ukrainian army but with civilians, children, women, displaced people. >> reporter: and further south, people still try to escape the besieged city of mariupol. where russian bombs this week destroyed a theater that sheltered women and children. today authorities said 130 have been rescued, but more than a thousand may still be trapped. elsewhere in the city today, residents buried loved ones near their damaged apartments. bodies scattered both above ground and in fresh graves. >> ( translated ): my mother-in- law was born in 1936. she had a russian passport.

russian citizenship. she is there. >> reporter: a senior u.s. defense official said today russian advances remain largely stalled, but the cities of chernihiv, sumy and mariupol are still encircled. to help ukraine, the us and allies have accelerated weapon shipments, which today russia again threatened to target. >> ( translated ): we clearly said that any cargo moving into ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game. >> reporter: but the u.s. has raised concerns that china would be the one sending weapons to russia. earlier today, president biden spoke with china's xi jingping for nearly two hours. in their first call since russia's invasion, xi reportedly called for peace, but did not condemn moscow. and in what the u.s. called a direct conversation, president biden said china would suffer consequences if it were to sen“" material support” to help the

russians. >> woodruff: and jane joins me now. we heard in your reporting that despite the missile strikes that the russian ground forces are largely stalled. the ukrainians have been able to hold them off. is there a sense that the ukrainians could continue to do this and push them back even farther? >> reporter: there is a hope for that here on the ground in kyiv, judy. there have been some counteroffensives actually launched outside kyiv to try to push the russians back. that could potentially tip things in this war. not only have the russians, of course, been fought to a standstill, but if they could actually push them back on the battlefield, then what that would do for morale here would be enormous. we know that some to have the more professional units to have the ukrainian forces have been pushing out to do that. we have not been able to find out any more information ability

how successful they have been, but in recent days, there has been that push. we have to remember, as well, that we're also getting increasing reports of more weaponry and more aid coming in, whether vehicles, also body armor, and potentially more of these anti-tank missile syste, which have been hugely impactful on the battlefield here. much has been said that "no fly" zones and whether or not that could help the ukrainian forces, but, really, it's these handheld missile systems that take out tanks and helicopters that have been most menacing to the russian forces. at the same time, you also have, on the other hand, the russian forces struggling, struggling with supplies, struggling even with food. we've spoken with villagers outside of kyiv who have just recently escaped areas under russian control, and they say russian soldiers are going to houses and asking for food. so it's not just about the momentum, but the ukrainians are facing, but it's the huge,

massive problems and logistical challenges that the russians are, too. >> woodruff: and, jane, you've also been talking to many of the ukrainian people who have stayed behind. they've stayed in their country. what are you hearing from them in terms of how committed they are to seeing this through? >> people here in kyiv have really pushed into getting involved in much more voluntary work. everyone you talk to who says that they've saved, they don't say they're just hunkering down, they say we've stayed to help with the war effort. everywhere we go we see people not just volunteers with orangizations but individuals, people who come down from the apartment blocks with a plate of sandwiches for those who have been evacuated from the fighting and areas where people have been held up. so there is this real sense here of solidarity that you can feel in kyiv, in other parts of the country, of course, there are areas like mariupol and kharkiv and other cities that are

massively under attack that are facing even more fees bombardments. it's clear that some to have the strategy behind those bombardments is to try to break that resolve of the ukrainian people, that sense that many ukrainians have that they very much have the moral high ground in this war, that they are the wronged party, that certainly what ukrainians say to us r evey time we've talked to them in an attack. so so far, we've seen a huge amount of unity and coherence here within the capitol and across the country. >> woodruff: it's a remarkable thing to watch. jane ferguson reporng for us again tonight from kyiv in ukraine. thank you, jane. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, wildfires are burning largely out of contr in central texas today, fueled by low humidity and gusty winds. in eastland, about 120 miles

west of dallas, four of those fires rged into one. hundreds of people were forced to evacuate, and a sheriff's deputy died trying to save people from the flames. some residents lost everything. >> i did grab my wedding ring and i couldn't find his. we didn't grab anything, i mean i got some coats and i'm still wearing what i had on. >> woodruff: the fires have burned nearly 63 square miles and are only two percent contained. the death toll from a string of chain-reaction crashes on a foggy interstate highway in southeast missouri rose to six people today. many more were injured. scores of vehicles were involved in yesterday's pileup in the charleston area, with wreckage spanning half a mile long. the interstate re-opened early this morning. moderna has asked the food and drug administration to approve a second covid-19 booster shot for all adults.

that comes as cases in asia and europe are surging, driven by a more contagious version of the omicron variant, known as ba-2. meanwhile, the world health organization warned the pandemic is "far from over." the u.s. house of representatives today passed a bill that would prohibit hair-related discrimination. they voted 235 to 189, largely along party lines. the bill's lead sponsor, democratic congresswoman bonnie watson coleman, insisted people shouldn't be denied employment or housing based on their hair texture or style. >> there are folks in this society who get to make those decisions who think because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots or it is not straightened, blonde, and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access to those issues.

well, that's discrimination. >> woodruff: the measure now heads to the senate where passage is uncertain. president biden has already pledged to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. a doctor's union in sudan today reported nearly 200 people were wounded in the latest protests against military rule. riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets yesterday as thousands gathered in khartoum to protest poor economic conditions. at least 87 people have been killed in the near-daily protests since the military coup last october. an australian government agency warned today that the great barrier reef is suffering its worst coral bleaching damage in two years. warmer ocean temperatures have caused severe and widespread bleaching in the north and central parts of the world heritage site. the reef provides essential food and shelter for marine life. volkswagen is recalling more

than 246,000 s.u.v.s in the u.s. and canada over faulty wiring that makes the vehicles brake unexpectedly, sometimes in traffic. many drivers also reported warning lights and alarms going off, and the driver's side windows rolling down. the recall impacts certain atlas and atlas cross sport s.u.v.s. and, on wall street, stocks notched their biggest weekly gains since november 2020. the dow jones industrial average climbed 274 points to close at 34,755. the nasdaq rose 279 points. the s&p 500 added 51. still to come on the newshour: a russian court extends american basketball star britney griner's detention. a new exhibit honors the influential career of often- overlooked video artist ulysses jenkins. health writer max lugavere gives his brief but spectacular take on preventative care. plus much more.

>> woodruff: the sanctions leveled against russia by the u.s. and its allies are the harshest ever handed down, and their effects are being felt widely in russia. special correspondent ryan chilcote has been in moscow for more than two weeks, and has been speaking to russians about how their lives are being affected. he sent us this dispatch. >> reporter: it's the eighth anniversary of russia's annexation of crimea and the kremlin is throwing a party. it's also three weeks since russia lawnedched what it calls its special military operation and as far as cremely is concerned, a lot of celebrate. the concert is free, most of the

181,000 seats taken. the main act appearing in front of signs that read for a world without naziism for russia. across town, little to celebrate. the max ease dues that began on february 24 is underway. this going out of business sale doesn't have many discounts, it doesn't need to. >> of course, people are losing their jobs and that's bad. i hope some other brands move into their niches. >> reporter: master card and visa work, so does cash, and that's good news. this is a russian chain but the cosmetics come from abroad but no one knows for how long. >> of course, we're a little nervous. all my favorite brands are from abroad and they can disappear. >> reporter: mcdonald's is also disappearing. when this one first opened, 30,000 people lined up.

in case you're wondering how popular mcdonald's is, it's is 1:15 at night and all these people have been standing out here to get inside. it's so full inside. tonight, it's last chance for a uph pi meal. this was the very first mcnald's to open in russia. it was in 1990, and it was, in fact, the still the soviet union. and it's extraordinary to think that after 32 years, they're all closing because of ukraine. all 847 manager doldz will be shut, putting more than 60,000 jobs at risk and for some a way of life. >> we go to the cinema or to the theater and then, after that, we go to mcdonald's and eat something, like order fries. i don't know what will happen next. >> reporter: some of what will happen next has happened before. in 1998, the ruble lost two-thirds of its value over a month, accelerating inflation to

80-plus percent, and boris yeltsin's resignation a year later. after a decade of economic both, the ruble fell again in 2014 after vladimir putin sent troops to an ex crimea. according to official statistics, russian prices rose by 2.1% last week. the kind banks hope to see over a year. the official annual rate is 12.5%. a chain with 300 supermarkets here is well stocked now. one russian economist said the country may be headed for soviet style inflation, where prizes don't rise, but goods disappear. russians are accustomed to an assortment and range of items, but now zero white sugar. this shows elderly soviet

russians remember shortages, swooping up sugar. the price rose 13% last week. now no shortage, sugar ex exports are banned. the war didn't pierce the facade but cutting off the bank's access to more than $300 billion did deprive it of more than half its reserves. weans e western sanctions have taken aim at the russian capital's monument to capitalismits financial school district called moscow city, freezing its commercial banks out to have the global financial system. russia's financial system remains in shock. the citibank customers wanting to pull their money out. this branch has run out of cash, come back after lunch. the sanctions have also made flying difficult. leaving russia isn't easy. russia's national carrier has suspended all international flights. options with other international

carriers are limited. you can still fly from moscow to israel, turkey, the united arab emirates and india, but u.s. and nearly all european airspace is closed to russian planes. where it is open, plenty of cancellationings. russia legals more than 500 of 800 planes from foreign companies. for fear they will be seized abroad, they have been rerouted to domestic destinations. in the next couple of years, russia's entire neat could have been grounded. sanctions blocked parts deliveries from boeing and airbus. and movchan believes sanctions on imported technologies could bring up to 62% of the russian industrial complex, the country's lifeblood to a halt. politically speaking, what do you think the sanctions will do? >> i don't think they'll do much. we see the remarkable examples

where both countries are under severe sanctions and lost much because to have the sanctions and the political situation didn't change and in some ways it strengthened. >> reporter: he's a moscow based political scientist and thinks the sanctions are an opportunity for russia to reform and build a more productive and equitable society. >> if you are able to do that, then russia will emerge from this crisis materially poorer, but spiritually stronger. if not, then you're in trouble. >> reporter: and what's trouble look like. >> you know, in this country, you should be very careful with the bulk of your people, and they may be with you for a very long time. they may be very patient, more patient than many, ybe any other people in the world. but at some point, this patience may snap, as it did in

february 1917, as it did in the final years of the soviet union. >> reporter: neither analyst thinks the so-called oligarchs are capable of pulling off a kremlin coup, the sanctions against them, while painful, they say won't change anything. most russians are reluctant to change their views about the conflict and sangs and here's why. on the city square above an underground mall on the day we visit the protestors unveils a sign that literally says two worsdz. then a woman who wants to voice her support for the russian military is taken away. the subsequent chill seemed to permeate below. we have been here a while and it's hard work to get people to talk to us in this mall. one reason, one couple said the further away you get from this square, more comfortable people will be talking. >> i don't want to talk about it. >> that's a good question to ask

me, in the rival area and another country. >> reporter: back at the concert the live broadcast of putin's speech abruptly cuts to a pre-recorded concert. th kremlin blamed the snafu on a server problem, a reminder perhaps that the kremlin's carefully choreographed p.r. campaign doesn't always go to plan. for the president biden "newshour", i'm ryan chilcote in moscow. >> woodruff: thank you, ryan, and a reminder that "newshour's" coverage of russia and ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center. >> woodruff: amid the much larger conflict between the u.s. and russia, there's mounting concern about the detention of brittney griner, a professional women's basketball star who plays in russia. she's been detained in russia since mid-february. and yesterday, a russian court extended her detention to late may.

amna nawaz has the story. >> nawaz: judy, brittney griner was arrested at a moscow airport, allegedly for possession of vape cartridges with cannibis oil, which is illegal in russia. griner plays for a russian team during the w.n.b.a.'s off-season to earn more money. her detention wasn't disclosed for weeks, and u.s. officials have not been allowed to see her. griner is one of dozens of americans held by other governments. even as this week saw the release of two british citizens from iran, charity worker nazanin zaghari-ratcliffe and retired civil engineer anoosheh ashoori, freed after five years of detention. joininus to examine this all, is jason rezaian, columnist for the "washington post." he was unjustly imprisoned in iran for 544 days before his release in 2016. jason, welcome to the "newshour". thank you so much for being have us. >> my pleasure, amna. >> reporter: so we should ask first about the case of these two british nationals, we have

been seeing pictures they're sharing of reunions with family. nazanin's reunion with her young daughter gabriella as well. what should we understand about why they were released and why now. >> first of all, neither of the people should have been arrested in the first place, they're completely innocent of crimes. the same goes for other u.k. citizens, american, german, french who are being held now by iron. the timing of their release is interesting because the u.s. and the u.k. have been trying to negotiate together to get their people being held hostage by iran released simultaneously. it appears that the u.k. broke away from that and decided to do this on their own, found a way to repay the historical debt to iran, which seems to have been the imp tules for arresting these people in the first place, even though they had nothing to do with it. >> reporter: seems unfreezing

involved millions of dollars that went to the iranian government. but there are different nations around circumstances here, but are there lessons the u.s. government should be pulling from what happened in that case with iran that the u.s. government could apply to help release brittney griner from russia? >> yeah, i have been arguing a long time that what is termed wrongful or unjust detention is reel just foreign governments taking u.s. citizens hostage. in the case of brittney griner, it's hard to know if the algations against her have merit, but even if they do, it's a major red flag that he's been denied consular access and in the last 48 hours or so her detention extended through may. thesare all ways authoritarian governments e to present a vie - a veneer of a judicial process while they unjustly hold americans or citizens of other liberal democracies as political

leverage against or governments here in the west. i'm worried that's the case here and i think that the approach that the u.s. government has taken to many of these similar cases, whether it's iran, russia, china, venezuela, these are the most common offenders of this particular kind of crime, has been rather a flat-footed approach and one that hasn't got us quick results of freeing americans who are imprisoned for no other crime than holding an american passport. >> reporter: jason, you have been among those calling attention to the timing of this. brittney was detained in moscow just days before the russian invasion of ukraine. now you have the u.s. and russia at a major point of tension and russia has in its custody a major wnba superstar. what about that? >> i'vheard a lot of people saying that this approach that the wnba and her family and her representatives are taking of trying to be quiet about it so

that this can be resolved quietly, how do you resolved quietly the apartment abuction of a major international celebrity by a foreign government that we're in a confrontation with, frankly? so i think that the circumstances around trying to get her out already very complicated, exacerbated by the fact that the u.s. has been putting sanctions on the russian government and officials close to it. and, so, you know, i think that this notion that we should keep this under wraps, i have been following cases of americans detained in other countries since the day that i was released, and i've never seen an instance where keeping it quiet was the way to go. once the russian state media presented a picture, a mug shot of brittney griner and announced the alleged allegations in her case, the cat's out of the bag.

this is a matter of public record and concern, at this point, and we should be talking about it and we should be shining a light on it for no other reason than her treatment will probably be much worse if we don't talk about her, and i think the fact is that the likelihood of a long detention, whether it's weeks or months seems pretty clear. >> reporter: jason, what shld we know about what kind of pressure, what kind of tactics the u.s. government is probably putting into place right now? i should mention among those sanctioned in russia are very rich men involved with this basketball team she plays for. could that be a way to apply pressure and get her freed? >> i think there are's always multiple ways of going about this. you know, hiring ago lawyer and going through the official judicial legal process of a country is one step that you have to take, but there are all sorts of other ways that the u.s. government has to reach out to brokers within the russian

regime to apply potential sanctions, pressure, as you indicated, and also to kind of seek out what it is that the russians might want, what kind of demands that they have. i'm not saying you necessarily give in to those but you should at least know what they are. >> reporter: what do you think is the best case scenario for brittney griner right now? >> the best case scenario is sometime in the coming days the charges are trapped, and she comes home. i would love nothing more than to see that happen. i think it's possible, but i don't think that that's at all likely. >> reporter: we'll certainly be folowing in the days ahead. jason rezaian fro"the washington post." thank you so much for your time. >> thank you, amna. >> woodruff: how the united

states should respond to two major global crises was a topic of major debate again this week. president biden announced a new round of military assistance for ukraine, while the administration's request that congress approve billions in emergency covid spending has met mostly republican opposition. that brings us to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's "new york times" columnist david brooks. and jonathan capehart, columnist for the "washington post." good to have you both back in studio. it is very good to see both of you within reaching distance. we're so glad to have you here. even if the subject that we start out with, again, david, is grim and difficult, and that's, of course, ukraine, the russian military grinds on. we heard jane ferguson say they're not making ground advance but they're still killing civilians. this week, you had zelenskyy's speech to congress, you had president biden announcing more military aid. today he talked to the chinese president. is any of this making a

difference? >> i think so, it's just tragically slow. even the footage we saw today from kyiv, it does not look like the ukrainian people are going to be backing down, and aerial bombardments of civilian partnerships is london in the blitz. zelenskyy asked for a "no fly" zone and that's not going to happen, he has to donor and the the u.s. governments and governments around the world are doing more. 800 million in aid. we do more especially in terms of anti-aircraft missiles, shoulder and you can lose long-range stuff and get a "no fly" in effect. so ramping that up is one thing they can do more. the central message is trust what we're doing. we're putting on severe pressure. we have to do more to have the shots of moscow suggest. we have to do more about making sure western goods are not on shelves in moscow. we have to do more economic sanctions on good-to-good transfers, but trust what we're

doing. we're putting on a lot of pressure, putin's in a very bad position. he still, i was told today, there was some hope there would be a negotiated settlement over the next few days but people have spoken to putin over the last 48 hours who suggest that's not going to happen i anytime soon. to we have to trust the strategy that it tightens things around him. we don't know when it ends, all we can do is press. >> woodruff: and is that pressing, do you see anything changing in coming days or weeks? >> all we can do is press but also pray because one of the things we keep heari about vladimir putin is, you know, folks are questioning his sanity, folks are questioning whether, you know, if we push him into a corner, will he lash out in ways that are unpredictable? there's all the talk about chemical weapons or biological weapons, would he actually do that in the way that was done in syria? and that would force the united states, n.a.t.o., the western

alliance, the allies around the world to do something i don't think they're really quite mentally prepared for, and that is to go toe to toe with a nuclear power that has unleashed hell on a neighbor. >> woodruff: and meantime, david, we hear pretty uniform opposition or criticism, i should say, of president biden, from republicans. i interviewed mitch mcconnell the senate minority leader this week who said biden not doing enough, he's doing it too late. is there some legitimacy in that chorus of criticism? >> they're gng to criticize because that's what we do here, but i'm glad the criticism is over the pace of what we're doing and not over whether we should be doing it. so there's an underlying unite and an american opinion, very few americans want troops on the ground, some do, but we want to increase the pressure. so if there's going to be criticism, i think biden is

moving moving in the more direction and if we're going to have a fight over how fast we move in the more direction, that's a useful argument to have, so i don't think major criticism sh a problem within what we're doing. jonathan says we have to psychologically read is this too much? are we doing anything that's risky in escalation? we're along way from that, i think. but it's in putin's interest to engage n.a.t.o. directly and spread this. he's bogged down now but if he could turn it into a bigger thing, that could be to his interest. but i think we have to be hard on him and no shrink back. he will do what he wants to anyway. >> woodruff: is it your sense, jonathan, that the u.s., that n.a.t.o. is prepared if putin goes off in a direction we don't want him to go? >> i want to believe that n.a.t.o. and the united states are prepared for that situation.

one of the things that -- one of the criticisms against the president that i think was valid was that he kept communicating what the united states would not do, communicating what he would not do and instead has gone mute on those things, won't talk about those things, would only talk about the things -- he's only now talking about the things he's doing and that is exactly what he should be doing. but i want to push back a little bit on this you said underlying unity. sure, there's some underlying unit but it's a little aggravating that certain republicans particularly in the is that this, especially if they're thinking of running for president, they're playing games at a time when the president of the united states and the western alliance are trying to contain putin, and you can't argue that the president has taken too long, he's not doing enough, when you just voted against the $1.5 trillion

omnibus bill that had millions of dollars of aid for ukraine in that bill. so this sort of domestic playing that republicans are bringing to foreign policy i think is regrettable, and i hope, going forward, especially if we get to that situation where the united states and the world is grappling with a chemca cal or biological attack on ukraine that, you know, folks think better about what they're saying about the president and the united states over what they're both trying to accomplish. >> i'm a glass half full kind of guy, so -- (laughter) -- you know, i rarely praise ted cruz but ted cruz for the last few years has been pretty much right on ukraine and russia and he's been very aggressive. a lot of republican senators have been very aggressive, we need to do this to prevent a war. so i find, in general, republicans have not followed trump in any soft on putin direction, quite the reverse. the one thing that i think we

need to think about, i read a good piece that this may be what korea was for the cold war, this may be for the next contest against the authoritarian regimes. now goes into korea with russian support and at the time people don't rlize what's happening. it's only over the years they realize, oh, korea is part of a larger cold war conflict. and, so, this could be seen as part of a larger contest which biden talks about between democracies and autocracies. if that's the case, we need to be using this moment, and i think we are using this moment, to really build a very practical set of alliances with japan and the west to prepare for a long contest and to see this war in the context of that larger rivalry. >> woodruff: but you're in a way suggesting it's harder to do that when you've got the parties, as you put it, playing games? >> right. you know, constantly criticizing the party and the president who's not in your party simply

because, you know, he's a democrat. i just also want to point out that despite your nice words about senator cruz, he was one of those senators who voted against the omnibus bill which had aid to ukraine in it. so just, you know -- >> we played games during the cold war. >> woodruff: setting the record straight. >> right. >> woodruff: speaking of this omnibus bill, david, there was money originally in there for covid funding, prevention, for treatment, 22 billion, down from an earlier number. it ended up being taken out, mostly because of republican opposition but also some liberal democrats had problems with it. now the administration is scrambling, trying to get this passed. i talked to anthony fauci yesterday who said we need thi common. who's making the right argument here? >> i'm going to disappoint jonathan and be on both sides. (laughter) the democrats are right, we need the money, we need to spend the money on the medicines, on the

coverage, all the stuff that is in there, but i think we need to get back to a normal situation where we pay for what we spend. if we just spend money without raising taxes, a, we fuel inflation -- not big in this case -- but we fuel inflation and run up our debt at a time when interest rates are rising. so we need to get back to normal life where if we spend money, we pay for the spending, and it should not be hard to raise $22 billion in taxes. we're a gigantic country. that's what we spend every ten minutes. so i think the republicans are right to make that point that we need to pay for this money, but the democrats are right that we need the money. >> woodruff: did you say raise taxes? >> yeah, i want them to raise taxes on jonathan. (laughter) >> thanks, david. (laughter) it is interesting that republicans always, when it comes to domestic programs, we have to pay for what we spend,

and, yet, we're talking about the same group of republicans who are lashing out at the president of the united states because he won't do as much as they think he should do in support of ukraine. that's not free. that's not, you know, a rounding error. we're talking billions, maybe even trillions of dollars. and, so, there are americans who look at what's happening with ukraine and they're all for it -- we should support them, we should do whatever it takes to defend -- help the ukrainians defend their country. but then they look at, wait, wait, we can't get covid funding, we can't get these other things because people are now worried about the checkbook. i'm with david, on the other part, you know, you had a report earlier about the strain of, you know, coronavirus cases going up in europe and in asia. we know, in a couple of weeks, it's going to be here, and we're not going to have any money to

protect the american people? >> woodruff: what about the inconsistency he's pointing out, though, david? >> i'm trying to point to the right policy, and jonathan is saying, well, they're a bunch of hypocres, that's true but i'm still trying to put it to the right policy. >> woodruff: this is what happens when i bring the two of you back together in person. >> we have more fun. >> woodruff: we do have more fun. thank you both very much. david brooks, jonathan capehart, thank you. >> woodruff: an exhibition in los angeles is bringing the work of a groundbreaking video artist to the attenti of a new generation. jeffrey brown has the story for our arts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: it's bright and electric. a swirl of movement. a whirlwind of images.

and it's the first major retrospective for 75 year old artist ulysses jenkins. how does it feel to get this recognition? >> well, mr. brown, it is amazing. it's just it's something in a lot of ways it's a bit overwhelming. >> brown: jenkins is considered a pioneer in the world of video art, which emerged as artists in the 1960s and '70s began using lighter and more affordable video cameras to create work and tell stories. one of the first black artists in the field, jenkins focused on stereotypes he saw in the media and popular culture, the “mass of images,” as he titled a 1978 video. >> you're just a mass of images you've gotten to know from years and years of tv shows. >> brown: now, that work can be seen in the exhibition, ulysses

jenkins: without your interpretation at u.c.l.a.'s hammer museum, co-curated by meg onli and erin christovale. >> he, in my mind he has always sort of been the godfather of experimental video, especially for black artists and curators and scholars. >> for me, thinking about his work as ahead of its time. he was picking up a lot of tools that we use today, like literally using this tool right now of skype for us to have this conversation. >> brown: jenkins was born and raised in los angeles, close enough to feel the excitement of hollywood studios while also experiencing the reality of the racial exclusion and tensions of the time. he became interested in art in high school and went on to get a degree in painting and drawing from southern university in louisiana. but it wasn't until his return to l.a. that he became interested in video work. >> he's thinking in ways that are not necessarily part of traditional filmmaking. he's producing kind of weird and

odd videos, he's often out shooting with his friends. and it just has this kind of psychedelic california vibe to it. and you really get this sense that they're at the edge of america producing work together as a band of people really thinking outside of, let's say, art world norms at the time. >> brown: one approach jenkins adopted: turning himself into a kind of actor or storyteller, taking on a performance role of the african griot. >> the griot tells the story of the culture. through music, through song. people on the outside did not want to necessarily understand what we as african-americans and for that matter were trying to express. taking on the character of a griot stayed very succinctly with my heritage and to that

degree, the artistic notions that i wanted to present. >> brown: the work is experimental, sometimes wildly so. sometimes more straightforward documentary style. as in 1972's remnants of the watts festival, his take on an annual event commemorating the 1965 watts uprising. >> the goal for ulysses for that sort of experimental documentary was to capture a community and particularly a festival that was really being attacked by the mainstream media. and so his goal for that documentary was really to show black people feeling empowered, black people feeling excellent and black art being valued.

>> brown: as a graduate student at what was then called otis art institute, he made two zone transfer, a film that furthered his examination of black representation in media. >> it's really presented as a fever dream. ulysses wakes up and he suddenly is confronted with the history of minstrel performance. you see him at one point becoming a preacher. he then jumps into a performance as james brown and his dancing. he's thinking about the trappings of black masculinity in the sense of the roles that you can play within society. >> brown: jenkins eventually turned his focus to teaching, he's been a professor of studio art at the university of california, irvine since 1993. what is it you most want to convey to young artists today? >> if they can free themselves from the notion of the stereotypical concepts that

they're embedded in the culture, then in terms of their usage, that's what i'm trying to get them to recognize. >> brown: for the curators of the show, the work is as relevant now as ever, especially for younger audiences. >> it's really important, it's questions of representation, multiculturalism, digital technologies, connectivity, you know, questions of colonialism and critique, ulysses was having all of these conversations really starting in the 1970s, and i think it's really important for us as a younger generation to understand our roots. >> brown: do you feel like it's been a long time coming? >> oh yeah. with all the work that i have created, you're just wondering when would i get the recognition at the work deserved? and this is it. i've been waiting for y'all. >> brown: "without your interpretation" is at the hammer museum through the middle of

may. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: when healthcare journalist and podcaster max lugavere's mother was diagnosis with a form of parkinson's, he immediately began researching best practices for improving brain health, through food. he is now releasing a cookbook of brain-healthy recipes, entitled "genius kitchen." and tonight he shares some of what he learned. >> preventative medicine is everything. by the time you show up to your doctor's office, what you're looking for in most cases is sick care, not healthcare. healthcare, to me happens when you are pushing your shopping cart through the supermarket. when you're sitting on a couch debating, whether or not to get up and go to the gym. that to me is a healthcare

opportunity. i've always been incredibly close with my mother. and it was in the year 2011, that my mom started to complain of brain fog. that was not something that i was used to hearing, coming from my mom. my mom was a fast walking, fast- talking new yorker. i would be in the kitchen with her cooking and i would ask my mom to pass me something, a spoon or a spice. and it would, it would take her just a few extra beats to register. we booked a battery of appointments and my mother received a diagnosis of a parkinson's plus condition. and i stted to read phrases like "no disease modifying effect." "parkinson's disease ia, is ultimately a terminal condition." and for the first time in life, i, i had a panic attack. i felt like the, the walls were closing in on me. from that point on, it was all

about trying to understand to the best of my ability, why this would've happened to my mom. what, if anything could be done to help her and what could be done to prevent this from ever happening to me? dementia often begins in the brain decades before the first symptom of memory loss. we know that a healthy dietary pattern can be very protective of the brain. we know that exercise is medicine when it comes to the brain. every day, i try to find new ways of communicating these ideas. i really transitioned into that role of being the head chef of my household. and so i ended up cooking for my mom and cooking for my brothers, and infusing all kinds of brain healthy ingredients into the meals that i was making. health literacy is something that i think we are all lacking in. the same way that we are all lacking in financial literacy. i think that the advantage that i get is that i'm able to see all of these different topics from 30,000 feet. and the fact that i'm a creative allows me to connect the dots in

a way that i don't think many scientists or medical doctors are able to. that's a journey that began about a decade ago at this point. and will probably continue on until the day that i die. my mom passed away in 2018. i feel that if, if there's a, a stranger on the other side of the world, that gravitates to my content, integrates the recommendations that i make, and is able to then by themselves an additional month or year or decade of healthy life, what it was that my mom and my family suffered wouldn't have been in vain. i'm max lugavere, and this is my brief, but spectacular take on how to eat like a genius. >> woodruff: you can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at: pbs.org/newshour/brief.

for more on the war in ukraine, and analysis of ukrainian president zelensky's speech to congress this week, join moderator yamiche alcindor and the "washington week" panel. that's tonight on pbs. tune into pbs newshour weekend for the latest developments on the war in ukraine and a look at how people in alabama could soon get a chance to vote for a new state constitution that removes outdated and racist language. and join us on monday morning for live coverage of the senate confirmation hearings for president biden's supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson. that begins at 11:00 a.m. eastern at pbs.org/newshour and right here on pbs. check your local listings. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs

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hello, everyone and welcome to ""amanpour and company,". anita anan joins us, plus. >> we will never surrender, not to putin, not to russia, >> former ukraine president tells me putin is the whole world's problem. not just ukraine's. and >> we're not using u.s. or nato troops over or in ukraine. >> reporter: senator kaine tells michel martin about the u.s. response to the crisis there and he talks about his own struggle with long