amna: good evening, i'm on no nowise. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, russia shuts off the natural gas supplied to poland and bulgaria, escalating the standoff between russia and the west. volunteer humanitarians risk safety to provide food, supplies, and shelter to fellow ukrainians on the front lines. >> they start feeling better when they have warm food, tea. they are scared and want to go home. amna: the biden administration point person on immigration defense border policies in hearings on capitol hill. l that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: more than two months into russia's war in ukraine, vladimir putin trained his sights on another front, europe's reliance on russian energy. moscow cut off supplies of natural gas to poland and bulgaria, two of the many european countries that rely on russian fuel and gas. the move comes a day after the u.s. and european allies agreed to step up military aid to ukraine as it holds off a furious russian offensive in the south and east of the country. and that's where nick schifrin again begins our coverage. >> [chanting] nick: in an occupied city, ukrainians are rubbed in protest against the russian appointed mayor. please met with tear gas, ukrainian demonstrators run from

russian soldiers. even against peaceful protesters, russia punishes critics. russia today tried to punish poland and bulgaria by cutting off their natural gas supply. for years russia has been an energy superpower, providing 40% of europe's natural gas through pipelines that run through poland, belarus, ukraine, germany, and through the black sea to italy. historically half of poland's natural gas was imported from russia, but warsaw and other countries near russia have been preparing for this for years. >> these countries have been moving to insulate tmselves from russian energy pressure or blackmail. nick: daniel is the vice chairman of s&p global. >> it is an effort by the russians to put pressure. they still believe they can disrupt europe by playing the

energy card and the russians are saying that is not going to happen. nick: russia is building a pipeline to import norwegian national gas and have built receiving stations that can accept north american liquefied gas. they called today's announcement unsuccessful blackmail. >> the kremlin failed once again in his attempt to sew divisions among member states. the era of russian fossil fuel in europe is coming to an end. nick: the main holdout has been germany, europe's largest importer of russian natural gas, with a pipeline to russia. some of germany's oil refineries are also owned by russia and until recentl more than 80% of the gasoline in planes and cars in berlin has been russian. the ukraine invasion lit a fire under germany's government. >> gmany decided in a matter

of a few weeks as they watched this horror show that russian energy is not a reliable supplied, it is an unwanted supply. even a few weeks ago, they said maybe we can do it by the end of the year. now the economics minister is saying we could do it in days. nick: russia still sells $250 billion of fossil fuels every year, but europe reducing dependence on russian energy is the beginning of a long-term shift. >> until the invasion, we would have described russia as an energy superpower. it stays as an energy superpower and ability to use energy for political clout are endg. nick: the war in ukraine is not ending and today putin reiterated his goals go beyond the self-declared russian territory in eastern ukraine. >> [translated] all the tasks of

the special military operation will be fulfilled to guarantee peace and security in a historical perspective for the residents of russian crimea and the entirety of our country. nick: today russia set its sights on western rapids in ukraine and yesterday destroyed a key bridge on odessa's outskirts. in mariupol, today they showed off their bloody handiwork. there are also explosions inside russia. an ammunition depot near the border and two other sites flared up in fireballs, but it's unclear why. even as the war rages, the u.s. and russia managed to agreed to a prisoner exchange. russian state tv showed former us marine trevor reed boarding a plane back home. he was sentenc to jail for

ripping a logo off a russian police officer's uniform. he has been sick after being exposed to tuberculosis in prison. he was traded for konstatin yaroshenko, a russian pilot convicted in a u.s. court of drug trafficking, who landed back in russia today. president biden called his release a difficult decision. senior administration officials say the diplomacy with russia was restricted to the swap and unrelated to the war. this video today of a ukrainian hospital bombed by russia, while full of patients. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin nick: now for more -- amna: now for more on that prisoner swap, and other americans held in russia, i'm joined by state department spokesperson ned price. welcome back to the newshour. i want to ask you about the timing of that swap because trevor reed had been held by the russians for almost three years. era sanko had been in the u.s. for many years, so wide today?

ned: ever since this administration came into office, we have had a commitment to secure the release of americans unjustly detained around the world. we have done it in haiti, burma, and now russia. because of months of discussions, trevor reed is on route to see his family in the united states after nearly three years of separation. this is something we have worked on for quite some time. the president was presented with a difficult decision but it is a decision he decided to make because trevor has been held apart from his family for far too long. his deteriorating health was of concern for us so as a result of what the president decided, trevor reed is headed home. amna: other americans in custody include paul whelan, who has been accused of spying, brittney griner, the ba star, also

vladimira, a russian citizen but a een card holder in the u.s.. his wife and kids are americans. did any of their names come up in these talks? ned: we are always working to secure the release of americans held unjustly around the world and that includes russia. today we had a successful outcome but our work isn't finished. we are continuing to do everything we can to see the prompt release of paul whelan. it is something we have called for for months. we are doing everything we can to support brittney griner to see to it we have regular access to her. a senior official was able to visit her in recent weeks. we are working with the russian government on her case to see to it we have regular access to her and she is being treated fairly and afforded due process. amna: could this be a model for her release? ned: each case is unique so i

don't want to compare one individual to the case of someone else, but we are always working around-the-clock to see the release of americans were unjustly detained. amna: let me ask you about another american detained in afghanistan since 2020. the u.s. withdrew without negotiating his release and the taliban want a swap, the release of an afghan drug trafficker in u.s. custody. the family says they want that. senator tammy duckworth says they should do the dl. why hasn't the u.s. done that deal? ned: we are speaking regularly with the family and the lawmakers. the message we are sending to the taliban is a simple one. you cannot have improved relations with the united stes as long as you hold an american hostage. that's what they are doing. every engagement we have with the taliban, we make that message clear. amna: you are saying that deal

won't be done to free him, the u.s. will not do the deal with the drug trafficker. ned: i'm saying we are working on his case around-the-clock, just as we are with other americans unjustly detained. the same ambassador carson's who today was instrumental in the successful release of trevor reed is working this case. tom west, our special envoy for afghanistan, is working this case. we are going to do everything we can to see to it that mark is promptly reunited with his family. amna: we are talking at an time that there has been an increase in wrongful detention of americans by other nations. there are more than 40 americans wrongfully detained overseas. are you concerned any of these swaps encourages other nations to detain americans more, knowing they can hold onto them for leverage? ned: you have to evaluate each case for its merits and the

merits of this case were compelling. an american unjustly detained for nearly three years who was not receiving the medical attention he needed at the time. the president was confronted with a difficult decision and because of that trevor reed is on his way home. what we are doing with our partners and allies is trying to establish and reinforce a norm against taking private, foreign citizens hostage as political pawns. we have seen states do this, russia, iran, venezuela, other countries. we are clear there are consequences for this, that nothing can be gained from the taking of individuals, of third country nationals, and trying to use them as pawns. the canadian government has been instrumental but it is something we are working with partners around the world to reinforce. amna: thank you for your time.

nick schifrin has just learned from senior administration officials that trevor reads cellmate died of tuberculosis and reed was coughing blood before his release. paul whelan's captors reportedly awakened him every few hours. the case of brittney griner is moving very slowly. in other news, house minority leader kevin mccarthy faced new disclosures that he criticized far right republicans after january 6 of last year. the new york times released another reported conversation with mccarthy following the attack on the u.s. capitol. he warned some lawmakers could incite fresh violence with their fiery statements. >> tension is too high, the country is too crazy.

i don't want to look back to think we caused something or missed something and someone was hurt. amna: in public mccarthy made no criticism of the lawmakers or of foer president trump. today he met with house republicans and received a standing ovation. lawyers for mr. trump appealed a contempt finding today and fines of $10,000 a day. state judge in new york cited him for failing to hand over documents in a civil investigation. that centers on allegations that the trump organization misled bankers and tax officials about the value of its properties. it's unclear whether the appeal puts the fines on hold. a battle over native american rights has returned to the u.s. supreme court. a 2020 decision had barred oklahoma from prosecuting crimes against native americans on reservations. today the state argued that's led to chaos because federal and tribal prosecutors are overworked. tribal leaders said republican governor kevin stitt wants to undermine their sovereignty. a scathing report released today

finds police in minneapolis have shown a stark pattern of racial discrimination against black residents. the investigation was ordered after george floyd's murder by a white officer in 2020. today the minnesota human rights commissioner said the problems go back at least a decade. >> mpd's data shows that officers are more likely to stop black community members for longer, they're more likely to search black community members or their vehicles, they're more likely to citelack community members, use force against black community members, and arrest black community members during a traffic stop. amna: the report says the state and the city will negotiate an agreement on better training and communications. in china, authorities in shanghai will begin new rounds of covid testing to decide which areas can reopen. a lockdown nesting -- lasting nearly a month confined most of the city's 25 million residents to their homes, sparking widespread anger.

meanwhile in beijing, millions have been tested for a second time this week as the capital battles its own outbreak. a court in myanmar has sentenced the ousted leader aung san suu kyi to 5 years in jail -- in the first of 11 corruption cases against her. suu kyi had denied taking bribes of cash and gold from a political colleague. she has been held in an undisclosed location since last year's military coup. india's capital, new delhi, was under an acrid haze today after a giant landfill caught fire. ws btled the flames overnight, but the garbage heap , 17 stories tall, continued to spew fumes and smoke today. people living nearby said they fear for their health. >> [translated] we are very scared. we inhale these gases, causing diseases. i feel pain while breathing. there are many people like this. what to do? >> there is a fire every year. it's not new. there is risk to life and

livelihood. many slum dwellings caught fire, people left, but what do we do?" amna: officials say record heat caused decaying garbage to ignite. overall, march was india's hottest month in more than a century, and april has been nearly as bad with temperatures near 110 degrees. in this country, extreme drought has some 6 million southern californians facing mandatory cuts in water usage. the region's major supplier has ordered cities and public utilities to limit outdoor watering to once a week, or pay hefty fines. the first three months of this year were the driest on record in california. new york state's highest court today rejected congressional districts drawn by democratic state legislators. the court found the boundaries were gerrymandered to favor democrats. it also ruled the legislature lacked authority to draw maps in the first place. instead, a special master will make new maps. u.s. supreme court justices and federal judges will be held to stricter standards of financial disclosure.

the house of representatives gave final approval to a report that cleared the senate, following ports of federal judges who heard cases involving companies in which they were family members held stock. pres. biden: is expected to sign the measure. spacex has launched four astronauts to the international space station. the team includes jessica watkins, the first black woman making a long spaceflight. the three americans and one italian blasted off in a falcon rocket early this morning. plans call for them to spend six months on the station. on wall street today, stocks had little to show after a midday rally stalled. the dow jones gained 61 points to close at 33,003 l1. the nasdaq fell two points, the s&p 500 added eight. still to come, how syrians in idlib view the war in ukraine while trying to defend their

province against vladimir putin. harvick details its ties to slavery and promises a reckoning. remembering madeleine albright. the first female u.s. secretary of state is celebrated at her funeral. and much me. >> this is the pbs newshour from w eta news and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at -- journalism. amna: an increase of migrants at the u.s. southern border is reaching record levels and the biden administration is facing questions about plans to rollback title 42, the policy that has kept many migrants out of the country. lisa: routine budget hearings, but at a turbulent moment, putting homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas in the hot seat. >> we're dealing with a broken immigration system that was dismantled in its entirety in

the prior administration lisa: at issue, the biden administration's plan to end title 42. >> the crisis at the border continues to dominate the headlines in part because of the administration'slans to repeal title 42. lisa: the pandemic border powers are due to end may 20 three. they stem from title 42 of u.s. law, allowing emergency action in a health crisis. the trump administration first invoked title 42 and it's been used more than 2 million times to expel migrants, without chance for asylum. this month the cdc ccluded current health conditions make it unnecessary and that block should end. but there are court issues. a federal judge said he would temporarily force the program to keep going. and political issues. house speaker nancy pelosi and other house leaders are openly unhappy with the biden administration's handling. mayorkas today replied to the scrutiny with a plan for when title 42 is lifted.

>> we are leading the execution of a whole of government strategy that stands on six pillars. lisa: dhs will send 600 additional personnel to assist customs and border protection, open new temporary facilities to hold 5000 additional migrants, and step up enforcement with more expedited removals or detentions. >> this plan that was supposed to define that for us is not a plan at all. it's basically how ey are going to move people into the country faster. lisa: senate republicans, including james lankford, blasted the bluepnt. >> this is not a plan to stop illegal immigration. this is a plan to accelerate illegal immigration. and they even admit it. lisa: last month u.s. border agents encountered 221,000 migrants near the southern border, a 20 year record. and dhs projects that will increase when title 42 ends. >> the border is not secure, the border is wide open. this is the worst immigration crisis that our nation has ever

seen. lisa: in the hearing, some skepticism from republicans and some democrats too. >> the surge started on jan 20 when president biden took office. why did you wait for 14 or 16 months to implement these things? >> my question has to do with how you will process 18,000 migrants per day while keeping time in custody below the 72 hours and still be able to ensure due process without compromising necessary vetting? >> there is no question that if we encounter 18,000 people in a single day, that will seriously strain our capabilities. lisa: mayorkas said if congress is concerned, lawmakers should work for a more comprehensive solution. >> only congress can fix this. what we fundamentally need is legislation to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system. lisa: today's hearing came just

a day after the biden administration argued at the supreme court to be able to end the remain in mexico policy, which requires that asylum seekers stay in mexico, until they have a court hearing. the court will decide the fate of that program by the end of june. amna: for more on how the immigration debates are playing out at the capitol, our congressional correspondent lisa sjardins joins me now. how is the plan from the biden administration going over with democrats and republicans? lisa: talking to a lot of lawmakers and top democratic sources who had a problem with title 42, there is a lot of silence today. that doesn't register well for the dhs secretary, the biden administration, which was hoping to say we have a comprehensive plan. it is a 10 page plan, not very long. some lawmakers told me, i'm not

sure this is comprehensive. this is something democrats have been saying. here is an example from senator joe manchin. >> 42 should not be done away with until we have an immigration policy or until the cdc says we don't have a health crisis. lisa: in the senate, there are 10 or 11 other democrats who have said we don't think it is time to end title 42. some said we need a better plan, we need two months, but they think it is not time, may 23. there are democrats who say it is time, including congressional democrats in the hispanic caucus , who say this is a policy that is xenophobic, implying immigrants bring diseases. these are difficult debates going on. it is confusing on capitol hill. amna: they have concerns, but walk us through the substantive concerns and what the white house says. lisa: democrats and republicans

are worried about it. there is a clear surge at the border straining resources to a dangerous level for some who are in border control, like the national guardsmen who died this week trying to rescue migrants. care is concerned about traffickers, smugglers, an increase in fentanyl seizures. there is concern about drug trafficking and whether there is enough control over an expected search. amna: what about the court's role? lisa: as we were about to start, we did get the order from the judge who has said there needs to be a cause. this judge is saying the biden administration for the next 14 days cannot lift this order. there will be a hearing in mid-march. the judge says these states who have a problem lifting the order could succeed in their lawsuit but as of yet the may 23 date

hasn't been changed but mid-may will tell us a lot. as if that wasn't enough, all of this is tying up potential covid medical funding. where does that stand? lisa: all these things are intersecting. let's talk about covid money. there has been a bipartisan framework for a $10 billion covid deal in the senate. that does seem to have enough support to potentially pass. however, republicans led by mitch mcconnell have said we will not vote on that covid deal until we get a vote on title 42, some kind of measure to keep it in place. why wouldn't schumer agree to that boat? because it probably would pass. there probably are 10 democrats who would vote with republicans to keep title 42 inlace. that would be an embarrassment

for the biden administration, o wants to control the narrative. it is a confusing time. there are strong allies of the biden administration, like tim kaine. he was very clear. he said, we are simply confused. we don't understand the messages from the biden administration, don't understand their plan. until there is clear communication, there will be a problem. this is a big picture problem for congress in general. underneath this is a broken immiation system. congress needs to be discussing that, figuring out a plan. are they doing that? no. that has to deal with broken politics as well. hopefully we will see some discussion. amna: two huge issues that are inextricably linked. lisa covering them from both ends. thanks, lisa.

as the war in ukraine has shifted east, so too have the efforts to aid millions of civilians stuck between warring armies with nowhere to hide. they lack the basics, but some of their fellow ukrainians are risking everything to help them. homegrown heroes delivering food, formula, and sometimes, a ride out of the warzone. special correspondent willem marx and videographer ed kiernan traveled the fraught life lines in eastern ukraine. willem: the grocery stores in dnipro, just two hours from the frontline, remain full of food. and karina bakholdina may well be their best customer. every day she fills carts with baby formula, diapers, and yogurt, yet not for her own family -- for total strangers. on this monday, the bill around $750, just a fraction of what this real estate developer's

spent in the past two months. working with other local volunteers to load up vans and cars with crucial supplies, be start of a long, difficult and complex journey. >> [translated] this is done by a large number of people who got word that help is needed. this is not done by one person. this is done by a huge team. lisa: among them, kyrylo chemizov, a former furniture maker, driving north the next morning toward the city of kharkiv. >> very dangerous. lisa: with a brief pit stop to put on his protective equipment. a courageous courier on the road to frontline fighting some 40 hours each week. today in a city center wre many stores are shuttered or shut up -- shot up, delivering a payload that earns him no pay. it is transferred once more

before coming to a stop inside this shed. so the products that we saw being purchased in dnipro are now being sorted for families in a small village on the outskirts of kharkiv, called buda, where 600 refugees are in desperate need of ese supplies. back in kharkiv, a more precious cargo picked up for the journey home, including liubov, aged 73, and 76 year old aksayneeya. for the past month, they've been sleeping rough in a city metro station. >> our house essentially was ruined. lisa: liubov's younger son died recently, revisiting his abandoned apartment. she's been told she can bury him one day after the war. >> they cremated him. nobody was allowed in the cemetery because of the shelling that started everywhere. his brother left his urn in the garage. willem: as shel kept falling on the city's outskirts, a

handful more hitched a ride to relative safety in dnipro, where karina established a refugee shelter earlier this month in just two days. >> they don't want to leave their homes. they are afraid they will not return. they fear their apartment will be looted. they are very afraid of this. willem: toddlers, tween's, worried women, calling friends and family watching news of the war. >> [translated] they only start feeling better when they have some warm food, some tea. they all are scared and they all want to go home. willem: this converted office block now houses almost 200 hundred, ukrainians helping ukrainians. but there's only so much one person can do, and burning through funds, karina needed cash to continue. it came from chicago and daniil cherkasskiy. >> when you meet karina, i don't

think yohave any doubts about supporting her and seeing the work that she does so selflessly. willem: he founded a group, ukraine trustchain, that's deployed more than half a million dollars, he told us, thanks to thousands of donors. >> i think people that are generous and have resources have responsibility to help ukrainians right now. governments direct help in a very specific way. and i think it'important for private citizens to use their networks to find the vacuum and the gaps where help is needed. willem: baby sasha seems to need no help sleeping, but his mother does feeding him and karina has stepped in. >> [translated] this is the most excruciating, the most difficult , because you talk to every person. you talk to every one of them

and each person has their own story. willem: karina has told us that each story has been difficult for her to hear. yesterday she welcomed another dozen people into her shelter, all of them no doubt with tales to tell of shattered homes and destroyed lives in towns to the north, east, and south of dnipro , currently darkened by a 19 -- a nighttime curfew. don't forget the other people displaced around the country with around 5 million now outside uaine's borders too. amna: that is willem mark reporting. thank you. and the newshour's coverage of the war in ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center.

ukrainians have been living, suffering, and dying under withering russian air, artillery, and missile strikes. their plight, and resistance, is perhaps nowhere better understood than in syria's idlib province. there, syrians who oppose president bashar al-assad are in their 11th year of resistance against him and his closest ally, russia's vladimir putin. producer and videographer abdel razaq el shami calls idlib home, and he worked with our own ali rogin to bring us th report. ali: i thousand miles from ukraine, syrians in idlib province commemorated 11 years of war, perpetuated by a common enemy, vladimir putin. for much of the last decade, putin's punishing air campaign has propped up syrian president bashar al-assad, and his murderous campaign against his own people. >> of course there is one criminal, whether in russia, ukraine or syria, and that is

putin. it was putin himself that targeted hospitals and schools, infrastructure and educational buildings in syria and in ukraine. ali: idlib's people are under constant threat of russian airstrikes. but their province is the only one still controlled by anti-assad rebels and islamist insurgents. after 11 years of war, sparked by peaceful protests against the arrest of teenage graffiti artists who were inspired by the arab spring. the demonstrations began in march 2011 and were met with vicious force. the crackdown grew into a full-on civil war, pitting levels, including military defectors, against the regime. putin began airstrikes to support assad in late 2015, and they continued today. so does their close relationship. syrians in idlib fear history is repeating itself in ukraine. >> because the world was ignoring what's happening in syria and this is repeated in

ukraine and this is will be repeated everywhere. ali: almost half a million people have been killed, including more than 40,000 women and children. it's also the source of the world's largest refugee crisis. almost 7 million syrians fled their country. an additional 6.7 million are internally displaced. they've ended up in places like the kafr lusin camp, just north of idlib city on the syrian-turkish border. here, a spring snowfall brings disaster and must be cleared from tents to avoid collapse. and tiny hands have no way to stay warm. many of the residents here are from cities long ago captured by assad. ahmed al-khalif, from the northern city of hama, has been here 11 years. >> [translated] to this day we live in camps because of the bombings by the russian planes. this is our reality now, snow, bitter cold. we just want to go home. ali: but as long as these camps remain home, residents look for ways to pass the time.

lately, they've been following news of the war in ukraine. abdul salam yusuf is among them. he supports the ukrainian people but resents how the world seems to classify putin's victims by race. >> [translated] we wish to stand in solidarity with the ukrainian people who share the same sad fate as us because of this criminal. but at the beginning of the russian war against ukraine, we got a sense of some of the attitudes of world leaders. they call ukrainians "ukrainian citizens," while syrian migrants are called beggars and rugees. ali: but that anger is for heads of state, not the ukrainian people. fothem, there are messages of support, spoken in the universal language of art. painter aziz al-azmar takes homes destroyed by russian bombs and turns them into canvases. >> [translated] with the russian invasion of ukrae, we have felt that this scene is very similar to what happened to us in syria. we also saw ukrainian children and ukrainian citizens fleeing from their villages and homes, just like what happened in

syria. if wdon't put a stop to this , russia will go further and invade all the weaker states it can. this is why we have come to paint on the walls of our destroyed homes, pictures of russian jets, a russian bear invading ukraine, to send a message to the world that this killer is uniting us, in syria, and now in ukraine. ali: as war in syria surpasses a decade, its people still pray for peace and for ukraine's war to be measured in months, not years. for the pbs newshour, i'm ali rogin. amna: america's oldest university, harvard, is beginning to come to terms with its own history and role in slavery. the school is out with a new report detailing its extensive entanglement and legacy. jeffrey brown has the details as

part of our ongoing reporting, race matters. >> the ties to slavery were deep , these signs in some cases hiding in plain sight. among the findings in the report conducted by harvard faculty, harvard presidents, faculty, and staff enslaved more than 70 people in the 17th and 18th centuries, some of whom labored on campus. harvard benefited from donations from plantation owners and other trade involving slave labor. it also details how harvard's longest-serving president, charles william elliott, and other prominent faculty promoted eugenics, the racist idea that selective breeding is needed to purify the human race. in response to these and other findings, the university has pledged $100 million to create an endowed legacy of slavery fund. for more, i am joined by the

dean of the harvard radcliffe institute for advanced study, and she chaired the committee report. there are many specifics in this report, but what is key for you? is it how integral slavery was to the history of harvard? >> i would say so. we documented direct ownership and enslavement of human beings. we documented financial ties to the slave trade and slave economies. finally, the intellectual production of ideologies that supported slavery, segregation, and white supremacy. i would say the breadth and depth of the findings are significant and in particular the direct ownership of more than 70 human beings was more than i would have anticipated. jeffrey: is there any one

specific example that surprised or shocked you? tomiko: i wouldn't say shocked or surprised. i would say the reality of enslaved people being on campus, feeding our students, serving harvard presidents, is quite remarkable. jeffrey: what was an important theme for you that came from this report? tomiko: i am a historian of the civil rights movement and it was important to me and the committee to lift up the history of resistance to inequality that is personified by graduates of harvard, such as w.e.b. dubois, who helped found the niagara movement and the naacp and was a towering intellectual figure. another is charles hamilton houston, known as the man who killed jim crow, because of his

civil rights lawyering that laid the groundwork for brown v board of education. those figures are vitally important to understand as representatives of harvard. jeffrey: this new fund of $100 million is a lot, but what exactly is it for? tomiko: it is a significant financial commitment and we are pleased the university has established this fund that is meant to address the harms of slavery locally, nationally, and in the caribbean through leveraging its expertise and education, of course access to educational opportunities is a known driver of social mobility, which explains our leading there and is consistent with our mission. we will seek to establish a public memorial to allow people on and off campus to engage with

this history. we have committed to supporting new and sustained partnerships with historically black colleges and trib colleges, and also we recommended as a committee and the university will hold itself accountable by establishing reporting procedures and an implementation committee led by one of the world'suthorities on human rights and seeking justice, martha menno. jeffrey: it is not going toward individual reparations, although that continues to be a hot topic. why not? tomiko: i think it's important to focus on the remedies that the committee did endorse. there are a lot o ways to characterize these remedies. i think where we have landed are on very meaningful ways of

seeking to address the harms of slavery with financial support established in perpetuity. jeffrey: where do you see now harvard and american universities more generally in addressing and redressing this past? tomiko: a number of universities have documented ties to slavery and established scholarships, memorials, and in many other ways have begun to address ties to slavery. there are thousands of american universities north and south, so there is the opportunity for other universities to engage their entanglements with slavery as well, and also the lingering effects of slavery into the 20th century. jeffrey: thank you very much.

amna: a new exhibit in new bedford, massachusetts, at the whaling museum is connecting today's environmental conditions to our historical and literary past. painter christopher volpe has created works that take on an apocalyptic tone, pointing to today's reliance on fossil fuel, the modern-day whale oil. special correspondent jared bowen of gbh boston reports as part of our arts and culture series, canvas. jared: the cobblestone streets stillinvite clatter. lamps continue to light the way, and clapboard buildings beckon as they always have. this is the new bedford from whence hermann melville launched moby dick. >> it's a new england tale. he talks about the damp, drizzly november of his soul. there's always been a darker side to american art and literature, particularly in new england. jared: people still gather here every year in person or

virtually for a reading of the novel. this year actor sam waterston was ishmael. >> y, upon your first voyage as a passenger, did you feel yourself such a mystical vibration when first told that you and your ship are now out of sight of land? >> i think you can see moby dick as a portrait of america and our worst impulses and where they will take us we don't in them in. jared: artist christopher volpe has painted a series of works that smingly tear out of the novel's pages. they are now on view at the new bedford aling museum. >> the title is "loomings," and it seemed appropriate for what is looming on the horizon, a sense of foreboding.

hence of apocalypse. jared:pocalyptic darkness swirls in these paintings as volpe charts melville's course from the 19th century to the 21st, when reliance on whale oil gave way to petroleum. >> i saw the parallel between the hubris of ahab and the peril of america and the globe as we are attempting the gods with continued fossil fuel extraction. jared: what we find here, these ghostly images of ship, storm, and smoke, are rendered not in black paint, but are. >> both paintings started as fields of tar. there are a couple ways i can approach a painting. one way is grab a big brush and begin making lines, gestures. the other is a subtractive method, coding a canvas with tar and removing tar with rags and

looking for the shapes within. jared: all while wearing a gas mask. >> it is pretty toxic. jared: pretty great symbolism that you have to wear a mask as you are painting. >> there is a great quote. art recycles the culture's toxins. literally i am doing that, taking poisonous gunk which wants to pull us into dissolution and death, and i'm trying to invest it with beauty. jared: in college, volpe was a poetry majorwho arrived at painting by way of his love for 19th century landscapes for their beauty. >> that became problematic when i realized that nature is on the run. i fell into what the poet shelley said, that poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. >> these paintings are like poetry. they have a meter that you can move through and interpret.

jared: naomi slipp is the chief curator. she says by design we find volpe's paintings in a gallery that looks out beyond the historic streets to a waterfront that once floated a whaling industry and now a thriving fishing one. >> ucd ships and the activity on the waterfront, and then you can find the exhibits like christopher's that speak to the larger challenges of addressing global warming and marine health health. jared: it's a conversation that hermann melville launched in 1851. and, says christopher volpe, in his work, he's realized it's time to shape up or ship out. >> maybe it's time for a new kind of beauty that doesn't sugarcoat the darker side of reality, but redeems it by making it visible and yet not repugnant and allows us to see things we wouldn't ordinarily

see and deal with them in ways we haven't yet. jared: i am jared bowen in new bedford, massachusetts. amna: today at washington's national cathedral, nearly 1500 people gathered to remember former secretary of state madeleine albright, who died late last month at the age of 80 the first woman to hold that post was memorialized by two presidents, one of her successors, and her three daughters, all through laughter, tears, and memories of a quintessential american. pres. biden: for decades she was the nexus of the foreign policy community, always, and i mean always, on top of the latest developments, always speaking out for democracy, and always the first to sound the alarm about fascism.

presidents and leaders around the world continued to solicit her advice, including me. she could go toe-to-toe with the toughest dictators, then turn around and literally teach a fellow ambassador how to do the macarena on the floor of the u.n. security council. she came to america -- mr. clinton: she came still not knowing the true story of her family and what they had done to survive. after she was secretary of state she finally learned she was actually raised jewish, and had three of her four grandchildren, i mean grandparents, died in the holocaust. but she had a full, hopeful life because she knew what she believed in, she knew what she was for, she knew what she was against. ms. clinton: she didn't just help other women, she spent her entire life counseling, cajoling

inspiring and lifting up so many of us who are here today. so the angels better be wearing their best pins and putting on their dancing shoes because if, as madeleine believed, there's a special place in hell for women who don't support other women, they haven't seen anyone like her yet. >> she would always pick up the phone when we called. but i still remember this one day she didn't. when i called her offi, i was told, your mother can't come to the phone right now becau she is on the floor with senator muskie. i had no clue what that meant. [laughter] she then aptly explained to her

young daughter how the legislative business of our country is conducted on the senate floor. >> dying was never on mom's schedule. a whole is open in our hearts that we lack the power to close. but the memory of her love and the resilience of her example will remain with us and with many of you until the end of our days. amna: you can watch the newshour's complete coverage of madeleine albright's funeral online. all that and more is on our website, pbs.org/newshour. before we go, a brief correction to something i said earlier.

harvard university is the country's oldest institution of higher education, but the first university that offered graduate and undergraduate studies is the university of pennsylvania, which as an alumna i must clarify. that is the newshour tonight. join us online and again back here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the newshour, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people connect. we offer no contract plans and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of sial change worldwide.

and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation of public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> i want every child in this state to feel seen, heard, and supported. not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white, and christian. >> a republican colleague smeared her in an attack, so she responded in a fiery speech that's invigorated democrats. now she tells me whether her viral moment will spark a turning point in the the cultural wars. and the brave volunteer working on the front lines of the war in ukraine. can she convince reluctant families to flee forheir safety? plus -- >> soy