>> tonight on pbs news weekend, we dig into a new study that links the use of a popular artificial sweetener to greater risk of blood clots. then a look at the state of the movie industry as it adjusts to changing viewing habits. and a brief but spectacular take on memory loss and healthy aging. >> i think people think being old is frail, weak, isolated, lonely. at the end of the day it's just a mindset. ♪ >> major funding for pbs news

weekend has been provided by. >> for 25 years, communion -- consumer cellular can help you find a plan that fits you. visit consumer cellular.tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasti and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. >> good evening. i'm john yang. in the mountains of southern california, some communities are still buried beneath a mounds of snow after an unprecedented blizzard looked people trapped in their homes for days. officials warned some residents could benowed in for another week. some say they are running out of food, medicine, water and propane for heating. more snow is on the way for northern california. the sierras could see four to 5 feet. recovery efforts carried on in east palestine, ohio after that toxic train derailment last month. the epa will test the air for contamination as health concerns mount. self-help author marianne

williamson is running for president again. she announced her longshot democratic primary challenge to president biden today in washington. williamson ran in 2020 despite some debate performances that went viral. she dropped out before the iowa caucuses. tough guy actor tom sizemore has died. he was as well known for his problems with the law as he was for his roles in films like saving private ryan, black hawk down and natural born killers. he twice went to prison, once for abusing an ex-girlfriend and one for drugs. he suffered a brain aneurysm two weeks ago and died last night. he was 61 years old. still to come on pbs news weekend, the link between the use of a popular artificial sweetener and greater risk of blood clots and a brief but spectacular take on improving alzheimer's patients quality of life.

>> this is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour on pbs. >>or decades, americans have been consuming sugar substitutes in their morning coffee, their desserts and diet drinks. from the early days of artificial sweeteners, questions have been raised about their safety. a popular artificial sweetener has been linked to greater risk of blood clots that could lead to heart attacks or strokes. it's used in sugar substitutes like splenda and truvia. i spoke to a doctor of the cleveland clinic. >> we were looking for new pathways that contribute to cardiac disease risk. we are measuring inpatient blood samples different compounds to see whether or not they predicted the future risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

what we found is at the very top of the list turned out to be a compound that once we discovered its structure it turned out to be erythritol. we added erythritol to animals and they developed thrombotic events like a heart attack or stroke. that's a clot in the vessel that feeds the brain or heart. when you add erythritol to blood, it increases the likelihood of clotting. >> what products that might be on people's shelves or in the refrigators would have erythritol? >> you find it in keto foods, highly processed foods where it replaces sugar and provides the same sweetness as sugar but zero calories. it has become very common to find it in highly processed foods. it's also in things like

condiments and even oral care products. like cholesterol, we make it ourselves. and the natural variation, some people have higher levels, others have lower levels. when you eat erythritol in keto friendly ice cream, it became super physiologic outside the normal range and it took days for it to come down below the threshold. >> erythritol has been approved by the fda. do you think that should be reconsidered? >> i don't know as far as being reconsidered. i think for their safety studies are definitely being called for. this was unexpected.

is there a compound or chemical in blood that predicts future risk of disease, it just so happened that erythritol just showed up at the top of the pile as being a predictor of future events and it may be that it's only more important for people who are more vulnerable to experiencing heart attack or stroke. of coursehose are the sweetenerd do something that's beneficial for their health with lower calories and weight reduction or tter control of their diabetes and blood sugar. >> researchers not involved in this study have noted while they agree that it's not proved to be safe, they do say that the fact that most of your studies -- udy subjects either had cardiovascular disease or had

risk factors for cardiovascular disease. might have skewed some of the numbers. you are saying those are the very people who would be using these products? >> if you look at who uses artificial sweeteners, it's more common in people who are obese or have diabetes or other conditions where they are trying to limit their calories and limit the blood sugar increases. it is clear that erythritol when ingested does not make your blood sugar gr up. -- go up. there have been a couple randomized trials looking at artificial sweeteners including erythritol for weight reduction or improvement in blood sugar and many times they have not shown beneficial effects. it certainly deserves further attention and study. >> what would be your advice to people who are watching and maybe eating and drinking these products? should they be concerned?

>> i do think there is reason to try and avoid the use of erythritol. i'm recommending to my patients that they try natural sweeteners and just watch the calories. make sure that they use moderation so they don't gain weight. use a little bit of honey or sugar. those in moderation are not going to be increasing their risk over the next couple days. i hope people understand that a compound like a erythritol, everything is not all black and white. it may be that it is beneficial in terms of an alternative to sugar and being a low-calorie alternative from a diabetes standpoint or obesity standpoint. i think the exciting thing about this actually is we now recognize this as a pathway just

like cholesterol that is linked to causing heart disease that's in every one of us. so in the future there may be therapeutic approaches to help modify this pathway. and contribute to better treatments for heart disease. that's where i am most excited and enthusiastic about this. >> dr. stanley hayes and of the cleland clinic, thank you. >> thank you for having me. ♪ >> the academy awards are just around the corner and hollywood's big night this year comes as what it meanso watch a movie is changing theater box office receipts have bounced back from the darkest days of the pandemic, but they are still below what they were before the fear of covid emptied theaters. add more people say they prefer seeing a movie for the first

time at home than in the theater. matthew bellamy is host of the town podcast which looks at the inner workings of hollywood. everyone talks about box office theater business getting back to pre-pandemic numbers. but has so much changed in viewing habits and technology that the wle industry is going to look different? >> even when people say we are back, we are not really bad. the gross receipts for 2022 were down about 35% from 2019 pre-pandemic. that came with a 35% reduction in the number of movies that went to the theaters that year. it's going to be a little bit better this year. the hope is that the box office will bounce back a little bit more. we are not in pre-pandemic levels and the question is will we ever go back to that. because it's pretty clear that

audience habits and preferences have changed and they want to watch more at home. >> movies going to theaters has declined. our movies being produced, has that changed? >> it's funny, there have actually never been more original movies produced in a year than there are right now. it's just that the majority of them are going to streaming. if you look at what netflix is doing, they are producing dozens of original movies every year. other streaming services are doing the same. and then you have all the movies that go directly to theaters and go through different windows on paid tv and streaming. it's a pretty significant number of movies. it's just that the entire business of hollywood for more than 100 years has been based on the theatrical model horror movies go to theaters first primarily and then they hit all the different windows and that is changing. >> is there a type of movie that still draws people to theaters?

>> tre are some obvious ones like the big budget intellectual property driven movies like the superhero movies or a movie like top gun maverick or avatar that are big budget spectacle type movies. and then there are genres like horror, it can still draw an opening weekend audience. action movies. for certain types of stars, they control moviegoers. but other genres like adult dramas, romantic comedies, comedies in general. those movies have really struggled in theaters and increasingly they are going direct to streaming. >> steven spielberg has said that after the disappointing performance of his movie the fabled and that he worries about the audience for adult dramas. is it just shifting to streaming away from theaters? >> spielberg is a big proponent of the theatrical experience and he had a meet up with tom cruise at an event a couple weeks ago where he basically told him, you

saved the theatrical business by getting adults in general moviegoerso come back top gun maverick. spielberg sees the writing on the wall. his movie which is an adult drama, the movies that you want to see too well in the run-up to the oscars before they are nominated, best picture contenders like wome talking or even something in prior years like the banshees of inisherin which would have been a slow burn oscar movie that became a hit, those movies are not catching on in theaters because people are saying to themselves, i can just wait a little bit, it will be on my streaming service. i've got a giant tv in my living room. it's ok. i don't need to go out. that is where the industry is really having problems. >> theater owners are talking about trying to compete with streaming. amc is going to the prices for

differenteats in different areas. are they just missing the point that habits have changed? >> the theaters are in a really tough spot right now. if this 30% decline in business is a permant thing, the theaters are going to have to downsize, close theaters. perhaps some will go out of business entirely. the second largest cinema chain has already declared bankruptcy. amc has tried to do this dynamic pricing with different seats cost different amounts of money. that's probably a good idea. they should try to do dynamic pricing or certain movies cost more than others. but that is a temporary or kind of cosmetic solve for the more fundental problem they have, which is that they have to innovate and improve the quality of the theater going expience to make it morof an event where they can then charge more and people will be willing to

pay because for movies that people deemed worthy of the theaters, they are willing to pay more for the experience and they are willing to pay more for these premium events like imax or the premium fort or extra sound or reclining seats. these things that give added value to people. they are willing to pay for. but the old days of just packing the multiplex in the mall i think are numbered. >> have these changes affected the studios? >> the studios are positioned a little bit better because they make more money when they put these movies on premium video-on-demand where you pay a fee to watch it at home. they are increasingly doing that at earlier times for these movies that used to just go in theaters. it is sort of chaotic now in the movie business. streaming for free, streaming for an up charge, putting it out

at the same time as it's in theaters -- there's all these different strategies you can take and no one quite knows what the magic formula is. >> matthew bellamy, thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ >> the founder of alzheimer's indonesia and the regional director of alzheimer's disease international for the asia-pacific region. when her mother was diagnosed with dementia, she became her caregiver. today she's raising awareness for dementia and improving quality of life for both patients and their caregivers. tonight she shares her brief but spectacular take on memory loss and healthy aging. >> my mom's favorite song is "you are my sunshine."

[singing] my mom was diagnosed with dementia, but whenever we sang that song, she will clap her hands, her body will move and she's alive. i grew up in jakarta indonesia. i'm the youngest in the family and i have a very strong bonding with my mom. when my mom was diagnosed with dementia, my dad called me. i was pursuing my phd in australia and i had to choose between pursuing a phd or my mom. i went back home. i became a full-time caregiver. i felt so lucky to have the opportunity to take care of her before she passed away. i think it was an early grieving

without knowing that that's grieving. the misconception is dementia is a normal part of aging. it is not a normal part of aging at all. dementia is a neurodegenerative disease affecting memory, executive decisis and other brain function. there is no cure yet, so we need to focus on providing high-quality care. when i decided to take up the role as a caregiver in my family together with my dad, it's a full-time job affecting not only the person with dementia but also the entire family. burnout is one of the highest problem on caregivers, which led me to establish alzheimer's indonesia. it aims to impro quality of life of people with dementia and family caregivers. the focus is on living positively, not focusing on what they cannot do.

focusing on what they can do. ask them for -- to participate. be part of a community. i would like to see a dementia and aging friendly society. people in general might think that being old is frail, weak, isolated, lonely. but at the end of the day it' just a mindset. i don't think of growing old. i think of evolving and contributing and i think of my mom for giving me this opportunity through her disease to help other families so they can navigate their journey of caring. this is my brief but spectacular take on memory loss and healthy aging. ♪

>> we want to leave you with some spectacular sites from the night skies. thanks to some unusual sons but i have a date, the northern lights are putting on a show much further south than usual that's giving more people more chances to catch a glimpse. >> they are everywhere. >> they put on a dazzling display this week. these time lapses taken by amateur photographers of the aurora borealis are stunning. from the deck of the cruise ship in norway to the isle of skye in scotland to the skies over anchorage, alaska. the dancing shimmer across the sky originates on the sun in a solar storm. the colors and patterns come from ions and atoms being energized as they collide with the earth's atmosphere and magnetic force. different altitudes result in different colors. below 60 miles, violet and red. between 60 and 150 miles, bright

green. higher than that, ruby red. in space, the colors were on display for astronaut josh casadei who had one of the best seats in the house on board the international space station. >> what's behind the growing number of americans over the age of 50 experiencing homelessness and why is it about to get worse. that's on pbs.org/news hour. that is pbs news weekend for this saturday. on tomorrow's pbs news weekend, worries about the availability of a type of breast reconstruction surgery because of insurance billing change. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding for pbs news weekend have been provided by. >> consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans. our u.s.-based customer service

team can help find the plan that fits you. visit consumer cellular.tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for broadcasting. and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you.

narrator: before elvis, there was nothing ♪ ♪ ♪ narrator: there had never been anything like him before. some say, there never will be again. norbert: up here we had elvis presley ♪ and down here we had everyone else. ♪ although it'salways crowded ♪ ♪ you still can find some room ♪ mac: girls were just going totally crazy and the guys were like, wow. ♪ well ju take a walk down lonely street ♪ ♪ to heartbreak hotel jerry: elvis was a love affair, man. (crowd cheering) ♪ larry: he's the biggest star that ever lived.

(crowd cheering)