♪ amna: good evening and welcome. geoff: on the "newshour" tonight, another school shooting leaves three children and three adults dead, this time at a private school in nashville, tennessee. >> how is this still happening? how are our children still dying? and why are we failing them? amna: the israeli prime minister delays plans to overhaul the nation's court system amid widespread protests. geoff: and a new poll reveals what americans think about the former president's legal troubles and highlights a sharp divide between the base of donald trump and other voters. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by --

♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including leonard and norma klorfine and koo and patricia yuen. >> it was li an aha moment, this is what i love doing. early stage companies have an energy that energizes me and these are people that are trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs it is the same thing. i'm helping people reach their dreams. i'm thriving by helping others every day. people who know know bdo. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org.

and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: good evening a welcome to the "newshour." as we come on the air we are tracking developments in different stories. two americans witnessing the horror of another mass shooting, a deadly assault on a school. and israelis witnessing a day

unlike any before it. an up people -- upheaval that is paralyzing the country. amna: >> an attack left the shooter and six people dead including three children at a church run school. the police chief was moved to tears by the tragedy. stephanie sy begins our coverage. stephanie: in a scene that has become all too familiar in the country, first responders rushed to respond to reports of an active school shooter this time of the covenant school, a private christian elementary school of about 200 students. tennessee police initially said a female suspect entered the school and killed three children and three staff members before being shot and killed by responding officers. the children were identified, and the adult victims were all in their the shooter was later 60's. identified as audrey hale,

transgender, 28 years old and a former student at the school. don aaron with the national police department described the weapons used. >> we know she was armed with at least two assault type rifles and a handgun. she entered the school through a side entrance and traversed her way from the first floor to the second floor firing multiple shots. stephanie nashville police say : it took less than 15 minutes from the first emergency call to when police officers stopped the shooter. nashville police chief described the goal of their response. >> i hoped we would never have this situation and if we ever , did we would not wait, we would immediately go in and would immediately engage the person perpetrating this horrible crime. stephanie: shortly after the shooting first responders escorted the surviving students from the covenant school buses where they were reunit with their families gathered at a

nearby church. today at the white house president biden called for more action. pres. biden: we have to do more to stop gun violence. it is ripping our communities apart. ripping at the very soul of the nation. we have to do more to protect our schools sohey are not turned into prisons. i call on congress again to pass my assault weapons ban. it is time we make more progress. stephanie 74 people have died or : been wounded by shootings on 12 campuses since the start of the year. last year, 273 people were injured or killed in school shootings. the highest on record. last year, gun violence overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death for children in the united states. ashby beasley and her than six-year-old son survived the highland park shooting in chicago last fourth of july. they happened to be in nashville on a family vacation.

she attended the police briefing. >> i have met with over 130 lawmakers. how is this still happening? how are children still dying, and why are we failing them? stephanie those are questions : that many americans are asking as well. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. geoff: police also said that two of the three weapons used up -- appeared to have been obtained legally. to help us understand what transpired we turned to gillian peterson, the cofounder of the violence project dedicated to data-driven violence prevention. she is also an associate professor at hamblen university in st. paul, minnesota. thank you for being with us. the terror ogun violence once again visited upon what are supposed to be places of refuge, a school, a school on church grounds. what about this case stands out to you?

>> a number of things stand out to me about the case. the first being that it was an elementary school. those are rare. and a small, private elementary school. we tend to see school mass shootings at large, typically suburban high schools. this is unique in terms of the location. what is coming out about the perpetrator, some of the facts are unique as well. the perpetrator identified as transgender is unique in our database where we look at k-12 mass shooters. they are 100% identified as male. geoff: police say the shooter was armed with two assault type rifles and a handgun. president biden is reviving his push for a federal assault rifle ban in the aftermath of this tragedy. how often are assault weapons used in mass shootings? >> that number has been

increasing, asked -- actually. the most common guns used is still a handgun when it comes through k-12 school shootings shooters tend to use handguns because they are often students of the school so they are not old enough to purchase guns. so they are stealing guns at home from their parents or grandparents. however, we have seen a real marked increase in the number of perpetrators using ar-15 style weapons participating in the last 3-4 years. the numbers have just skyrocketed. geoff: there have been more than 100 mass shootings this year so far, a disturbing milestone highlighting the uniquely american problem with gun violence. school shootings are on the rise. you have led large-scale research studies on preventing gun violence. what more needs to be done? >> with our research, we coded about 200 perpetrators on nearly 200 variables. we talked to perpetrators and talked to people that know them.

and try to understand what is that pathway to violence, what does it look like? in our book called the violence project we identified over 30 different prevention strategies we could be using like suicide prevention. so many of these are suicides. crisis intervention teams. anonymous reporting systems. and anything that makes it harder for someone in a crisis at risk of hurting themselves or someone else, anything we can do to make it harder for them to get their hands on a gun. geoff: tennessee recently enacted a law allowing most people over 21 to conceal carry and now half of america's 50 states now allow people to carry guns without first seeking a permit. in your research, is there any connection between the passage of these kinds of laws and an increase in gun violence? >> that law in particular is very difficult to study and in general mass shootings, while

they are happening with alarming frequency, they are still relatively rare events so it is hard to know when different laws are passed what contributed and why research wise. what we do know is that it is very easy for people who aren crisis who are telling people they are thinking about violence, who are wanting to die themselves, it is easy for them to get their hands on a firearm legally in the country and we know that is having a contributing affect. geoff: what will you be watching for as this investigation continues? >> it is always a discussion of motive. perpetrators typically target something that represents their grievance with the world or their anger. often they want to get a message out to the world to show people their anger and to be known for doing this. we will see if a manifesto comes out or more information emerges about motive. it is important to look at the

warning signs leading up to this. did this person tell other people? did they leak their plans? were they in a known crisis? is there something we can learn from the shooting that would allow us to prevent the ? geoff: jillian peterson, thank you for your insights. we appreciate them. amna: our other lead story. unprecedented upheaval in israel. after weeks of protests against the prime minister and has fragile far right coalition this evening he said he would delay but not cancel proposed changes to take power from the judiciary. his supporters say the legislation would rein in an out-of-control bench while opponents called it a fundamental attack on israeli democracy. jerusalem for us tonight. isn reporter: three months into historic mass protests across the country rocking the nation to the core, scrambled its economy and military and why

-- widened a deepening rift in is really society, the israeli prime minister announced tonight a temporary pause to his proposed judicial overhaul at the heart of it. >> from the will to oid the rift within the people, i've decided to suspend the second and third reading from the law in order to give time to get it -- to a broad consensus. to pass the legislation during the next knesset. reporter: his primetime statement came after a 10 hour delay locked in negotiations with far right members of his coalition. the result a deal not likely to satisfy all opponents of the overhaul. legislation will be paused until the next knesset session in early may and in exchange a green light for the minister of internal security to form his civil national guard. leading up to it all today, a

thunderous sound of chants and drums filling israeli cities across the country for the 13th week in a row. protesters making their way to jerusalem where over 100,000 people gathered outside the supreme court and parliament. >> we won't let our judicial system be trampled on. we care about the judicial system and the fact that it has no political agenda. neither left or right. reporter: and an unprecedented general strike since called off. the head of israel's largest labor union side-by-side with top private sector leaders announcing a shutdown with planes grounded and schools and universities closed. it all came hours after a chaotic night across the country. hundreds of thousands of israelis quite literally leaving their beds to join unplanned protests. after netanyahu fired his defense minister for calling to pause the legislation.

that decision to oust him could not have come at a more sensitive time where hundreds have withdrawn from military duty. steps from the supreme court in jerusalem the anger and energy were palpable. >> i came from london from a good democracy to a good democracy. israel feels like it has been hijacked by a group of extremist trying to derail the country. i am here for my children. to our soldiers. my grandparents came from armenia after the holocaust and they built the country. and i am here for them also. reporter: it is tough to overstate what a decisive moment this is for israel's future as a country. for its society, security and economy. the masses of protesters say they are fighting for no less than democracy itself just before what they fear is the

point of no return. >> it is a moment where the pilots and doctors and high tech entrepreneurs and the students and the small business owners and the nurses and everyone are coming out and saying, you will not derail our democracy. reporter: tonight the collision course between sectors of israeli society may begin to slow down but the weeks ahead will reveal if a true new path forward can be found or if it is just a moment of calm before the next storm. ♪ stephanie: here are the latest headlines. updating our top story, police in asheville have released more details tonight about the deadly shooting at covenant school. they say they are examining a

manifesto, a map, and other writings left by the shooter. they also said the shooter gained entry to the building by firing through glass doors. the head of the school was among those killed. the confirmed death toll from friday's powerful tornado in mississippi was revised down to 21 from that word came as 25. volunteers poured into the hard-hit delta flatlands. drone footage showed two small towns all but leveled. officials say the twister damaged or destroyed more than 1600 homes and a full recovery could take years. in ukraine the head of the u.n. nuclear agency warned that europe's largest nuclear power plant is under threat. he told the ukrainian president that the conditions are not improving. it is held by the russians and has suffered blackouts. germany confirmed that 18 of its leopard two battle tanks and other armored vehicles have arrived in ukraine.

trains, planes and public transit in germany stood still today as labor unions called a one-day strike for higher pay. it was the latest major labor protest across europe as inflation hits workers hard. in munich thousands of flights were canceled at the airport where checking counters were empty and train stations were also ghost towns. >> right now i can honestly just cry because i am terribly upset by it. i mean, i understand this. it is good to be on strike. but i've had a lot of bad luck lately because of the strikes and that really sucks. stephanie: a u.s. aircraft carrier and it's about a group began naval exercises today with south korean warships. the joint maneuvers included air defense and other drills. they opened hours after north korea fired two more short range missiles into e sea. the seventh test this month. back in this country, silicon

valley bank has a new owner after its collapse sent ripples across the financial sector. first citizens in north carolina will buy its deposits and loans. it will also share the other assets with the fbi sea. california's legislature approved the first penalty for price gouging at the gas pump. the bill requires oil companies to disclose information about pricing to state regulators, which could lead to fines. governor newsom initiallcalled for a new tax on oil company profits. still, a new paul highlights a sharp divide between trump's base and other rotors. comedian margaret cho discusses her career and the role of comedy in mental health. march madness lives up to its name witan unexpected final four in the men's tournament. ♪ announcer: this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in

washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: we return now to the politicaturmoil in israel and what by many accounts is an existential moment for the nation. has the crisis created by the prime minister's government been averted or postponed? what is the state of the now 75-year-old democracy? ambassador daniel schapiro was the american envoy to israel during the obama administration. ambassador schapiro, thank you for joining us. the plan to overhaul the judiciary set up one of the deepest domestic crises in israel's history. does the decision to delay the plan end the crisis? >> it does not. it buys some time. the last 12 weeks have been utterly dominated by the issue. hundreds of thousands have come into the streets to protest against it. it was the source of nearly all news coverage. and heading into what is

normally a happy time of year with the passover holiday, the is really a lot of unity, the rarely been. the announcement today that the prime minister is postponing work on the legislate package buys time. people are going to enjoy the holidays. he has said he will come back to the issue when the is really -- when the knesset, the israeli parliament, resumes session in and by the end of the session in may. july he intends to pass a version of it. he has said he wants to engage in dialogue and seek a more consensual type of overhaul of the judiciary that could gain the support of some opposition parties but he is also said that if the dialogue does not produce consensus he is prepared to go back to his more narrow coalition and ram through the same package he just put on the back burner. the crisis is not over.

bu some time has been bought and there is a pathway to try to get to a more peaceful outcome. amna: why do you think you took this approach at this moment given the political landscape and how dependent he is on his coalition? was there any other option? >> he is dependent on some parties and his coalition that are deeply hostile to the supreme court and want to weaken it. for different reasons. some because of positions on west bank ttlements or the military exemptions for religious students. that is a coalition he has and the only one that will keep him in power. he has worked hard to deliver for them. at the same time hsaw the incredible outpouring of opposition and clearly most polls in israel showed that more than 50% of the country was not comfortable and felt this was an overreach that would so weaken the supreme court that there would be no check and islands on -- check and balance on the

governments power and decisions that might make or laws it might pass. the tipping point was yesterday when his own defense minister from his own party a supporter of the judicial overhaul says this was not the way to pass it and the reason was it posed a risk to security. security is the coin of the realm in israel, and israelis took the warning seriously but the prime minister was so troubled by the lack of support from his own defense minister that he fired hiand that produced this spontaneous explosion of protests that brought a higher level of intensity and emotion. it's so spooked members of his own party that they came to him overnight and said we cannot push this through right now. we need to pause which is why i think he had to take this decision. amna: the fired defense minister said he welcomed the delay as did the head of the main labor union who called off the general strike.

but the protests continue tonight. some organizers say there will be another mass protest in tel aviv. do you see any those protesters go home? they don't continue the protests unless the plan is completely pulled. >> i think there will be a break. i hope people will allow themselves to break over the holidays but that does not mean the issue is over. it would not surprise me that if saturday night there was not a largprotest. people will think that it is precisely because they rallied that they prevented something dangerous from hapning. which would have done great damage to israel's democracy, it's economy and security. they don't want to give up that energy. and they don't want to let down their guard. probably after the holidays, when the knesset resumes and they start trying to see if there is a way past this, the protests will still be there and many citizens will feel they put

their time and bodies on the line and democracy and independence will be back out there. israelis care deeply about the fact that israel never missed an election. in the idea that israel will be at risk will bring people back to the streets. amna: what position does this put the u.s. and white house officials in? they welcomed the delay yesterday. they israeli leaders to work towards compromise. they noted the hallmark of the relationship was democratic principles. when you look at this plan to overhaul the judiciary, is that consistent with democratic principles? >> the president made it clear that they had some concerns about it. they did it somewhat gently and broadly but in public they were

more direct and specific in private. the president is a great believer in israel and in its legitimacy and the security in our relationship bute has always said that what is at the core is the common values of the democratic countries. if at some point israel was on a path that would take away some of those features of checks and balances and a separation of powers and if it were to ram through changes to a system of government that don't embody consensus or transparency or taking time to allow a discussion, that would cause damageo israel's democratic character and also to the partnership that both countries benefit from. he made that point and made it clearly. i think he is relieved by the

decision to postpone the legislation today but i'm sure the president would be willing to come back and make the points again even more directly if necessary. amna: that is daniel schapiro, former american envoy to israel. now distinguished fellow at the atlantic council. thank you for joining us. ♪ geoff: democratic lawmakers are calling out former president donald trump for insightful rhetoric against federal officials and prosecutors. new polling shows he is losing support among swing voters. lisa desjardins has more on what this means for his bid for the republican presidential nomination. lisa: in new york city strong words and pushback at former local and former president donald trump. >> you are not bringing that insurrection here.

lisa: a group of lawmakers pushed back. manhattan district attorney alvin bragg heads an investigation that could lead to charges against donald trump. last week donald trump warned that charges could mean death and destruction and in a later , deleted post he shared an image of himself with a baseball bat next to alvin bragg. since then alvin bragg received death threats. >> we will not be intimidated as a community by threats and we are here to watch our da's back. reporter: in texas over the weekend, donald trump support is crowded by the thousands to support him as he railed against alvin bragg and anyone investigating him. >> from the beginning it has been one phony investigation after another. reporter: he stirred up more

controversy with his first campaign rally of his 2024 run simply with his location. waco. in 1993 the nation watched as a standoff between officials and religious cult led to 86 deaths. the event has become a touchstone for some, including violent extremists groups. the week long siege happened exactly 30 years ago. during his speech he seized on antigovernment fears with vivid imagery referencing violence. >> the only way to stop the arsonists is to reject those people persecution by sending us back to the white house. reporter: the rally included a recording of the national anthem by people incarcerated for rioting on january 6. donald trump himself disparaged prosecutors and the biden administration telling supporters -- >> you will be vindicated and crowd and the criminals corrupting our justice system

will be defeated and discredited. reporter: as he continues to rile up his loyal base new polling shows he has convinced roughly four in 10 americans that he is the victim of a witchhunt. while the majority of those asked in the latest pbs newshour poll say investigations of him are fair. that figure is smaller. less than one in five for republicans. there is also a divide over his guilt or innocence. nearly half of americans say he has done something illegal. less than a quarter say he has done nothing wrong at all. the sentiment reverses for republicans with just 10% saying he has broken the law and nearly half believing he has committed no wrongdoing, legal or ethical. it adds up to a donald trump grip on gop loyalty. three quarters of republicans would like to see him be president again but critical independent voters, nearly two thirds of them don't want him

back setting up a dilemma for , the gop. >> for donald trump it remains about his base. >> if you are going to be elected you need to have your core intact and it is largely intact for him. but you also need to get a good swipe of independents and that seems in doubt because of the concerns over what he is going through right now in terms of the investigations and how that might play out. reporter: but for trump supporters at the waco rally, there is only one choice -- >> if he were to be arrested with the charges they are talking about now i would vote for him 10 times over. i don't believe there is anything to it. and even if there is, so what? it's his own private life, so what. >> donald trump is for america and he fights for americans. the far left does not like that and that is why they keep attacking. reporter: supporters show few doubts but a host of questions remain over donald trump's

legal and political future. amna: >> former president trump speech sparked conrns over the signal it sends to right-wing extremists and a base that continues to believe that the 2020 election was stolen. we take a deeper look at how the former president's 2024 message is dominated by extremist rhetoric. reporter: donald trump's antigovernment rhetoric as part of a larger pattern by the former president and his allies to discredit and attack federal law enforcement and government institutions. such threats could again and and -- result in violence. barbara is our professor and an expert in violent extremism. and adrian, the executive editor of the atlantic. her latest piece delves into the history of political violence in america. thank you so much for joining us. barbara, i want to start with you. donald trump held his first rally in waco, texas.

what is the significance? >> this is the 30 year anniversary of the big siege that happened there which for many in the far right especially those groups that are anti-federal government, they see this as a perfect example of government overreach. everything that is wrong with the federal government. donald trump is facing an indictment by the federal government which to him is the biggest threat to his future presidency and his candidacy and to his life in some ways. he is in a fight for his life and the federal government is his enemy and waco, texas is the symbol to the far right of government overreach. reporter: your piece titled new anarchy you explore years of political violence. some from militia groups in america and abroad. you focused heavily on violent clashes in portland in 2020 and

you report they were instigated by right-wing extremists. do you believe those clashes in 2020 portland are a warning that they could potentially happen on a larger scale nationally? >> i thinkhen you talk to people in portland you hear some that would say that what happened there was unique to portland and not repeatable but if you look at it broadly the sense that right-wing extremists could find a steady that may be -- a city that may be left-leaning or disproportionately represented by left-leaning folks and go there and draw them out into violence which is what happened in portland, you could imagine that happening in other blue cities surrounded by red areas. more than that though it is less about replicating what happened in portland and more the sense that political violence is by every measure worsening in america and paying attentiono

how that trendline is going and what we should be doing about it. reporter: barbara, talking about the potential ideologies underneath and what is pushing the political violence. donald trump's rhetoric was seen by some as a dog whistle to white nationalists. >> we will build more monuments to our great american heroes. we will not tear them down. we will clean out homeless camps from our inner cities and get rid of ugly buildings hurting those cities and other places and return to the magnificent classical style of western civilization. we will support baby bonuses, so many people like that, for the new baby boom that will be coming. we need babies. reporter: what is the message they are who is out for? >> the message is that america is a country of white christians and they could go further that

it is for white male christians. he will talk about how that is the america that has been and should always be. talking about the baby boom he is talking about white babies that need to be born to ensure that whites will remain the majority in the country which as of today they willot. the only way to prevent whites from becoming a minority in the country is for white people to have more babies and that is what he is calling for. reporter: your piece as well as barbara's work talks about how rhetoric like political violence and you explore political violence in italy across the 1970's and 80's known as the years of lead. you also mentioned lynchings of black people in response to reconstruction. one of the conclusions you write is sometimes violence ends not because it is overcome but because it has achieved its goal. you appear to be saying that

some cataclysmic event like a -- and assassination of a politician is what could ultimately end this political violence. why? >> something i heard from people in my reporting was that in fact we have not reached a point that is led to enough americans to take the problem seriously and that perhaps, as horrific as it is to contemplate, that it will take something worse. some examples included the oklahoma city bombing which was one of the events that pushed underground some of the militia movements of the 1990's. but again, we would never wish for such an event anyway. there is some question of what sort of person -- what sort of event would work. after january 6 some people said this will bring the decent

republicans to their senses and they will stand up and write the chip and say what their party stands for and condemned the violence. on that is not happened. there is a question about what it might take for the country to come to its senses. lisa on attacks on law : enforcement officials, we have seen donald trump attacking the manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg and some house republicans have also been attacked the district attorney saying they will investigate him. this is the district attorney investigating the hush money payments. he has been subject to dth threats. are you concerned about the potential for political violence? >> i am actually feeling a bit optimistic right now but this could change quickly and i will tell you why. i am optimistic because in the

months and weeks leading up to january 6, donald trump was on twitter aggressively tweeting. he had almost 90 million followers. he had a bullhorn from which he could get his message out. he could foment anger. he could play to the fears and anger that were out there with a subset of americans. today he has only about 2 million active users of his own social media platform. that is a significantly smaller reach. bullies and wannabe autocrats need a bullhorn, big social media platforms like twitter and facebook provide a great tool for them. donald trump has not had that and he doesn't have it now and he has not been willing to move over to twitter though elon musk has allowed him to go back there. he has not done it because he does not want to lose the revenue is getting from subscribers to his own platform.

but he will realize that having the smaller reach is hurting him and he will move over there and when he does, he suddenly is going to have his bullhorn back. reporter: you tried to diagnose a solution potentially for the political violence in your piece saying that the solution to avoid the constant violence is that americans have to confront their underlying ideologies and confront where it first takes root which is in the minds of citizens. how does it happen when across red states there is an effort to censor black history, lgbtq history? >> two things we see different today relative to other times in american history where we have had political violence include this incredible scale of these platforms where you can have extremist thoughts spread in an instant and the other as the

success of the election denial movements. addressing both of those things is crucial and that requires the american people to prioritize ending political violence and vote accordingly. that goes to your question about this active attempt in many states and among many leaders to suppress the teaching of history and to fight that as well. reporter: thank you so much for your time. ♪ geoff: margaret cho is a trailblazer in the world of standup comedy and a bold and brash and unapologetic voice. she is celebrating 40 years of making people laugh and pay attention to the issues of the day. i met up with her recently at

the warner theatre for our alts and culture series. live and limited is the name of her big tour since the pandemic. you take your dog everywhere. her loyal chihuahua mix rescue dog is along for the ride. at 54 and performing for -- professionally since 16 she has woven comedy through her standup and acting and lgbtq activism. >> we need to recognize that a government that would deny a gay man the right to bridal registry is a fascist state. geoff: from standup specials like notorious cho, 2002 to psycho in 2015 for starring in the groundbreaking 90's tv comedy all american girl inspired by her standup routines about the culture clashes between her traditional korean mother and herself, fully americanized daughter. >> he is a doctor. and from a good traditional

family. >> check out their frequent flyer mileage. reporter: two appearances such as her role in 30 rock. >> finally, my girls have arrived. geoff: and recently fire island. she knew from an early age growing up in san francisco that comedy was her calling. >> i love the art form. it was a recognition more than anything that it was what i uld grow up to be. i think a lot of people have those feelings when you're playing as a kid, i want to be a fireman or a lawyer. i had those kinds of childhood aspirations to be a comedienne but it was a visceral knowledge of this is my job. oddly because i was not a class

clown. geoff: who were your earlier influences? margaret: joan rivers. ultimately because she was so , incredibly elegant but also crass. she was finding a way to be crass which is pretty incredible in the 70's for women and in comedy and for television the way it was. geoff: she was one of your mentors. you said some of her advice was we are the type of girls that don't find our place when young. the funny ones, the weirdos, we are seeing a little later. >> she was very right about how we become more visible the older we get and she would say to me, you know, we are like the girls that were ugly in high school and i was like you know, watch your mouth. [laughter] it is a funny thing when you

realize that we actually grow in value as we age. it is a powerful thought that we can embrace that power. i think she was very right about that. geoff: do you view your standup act as part of your activism? >> my standup comedy is the main channel for my activism. it is the way i am an activist. bob hope was lending his sense of humor to the cause. >> when i was a boy i had such a high voice that the teacher made me sit with the girls. >> my cause is not that different. it is about boosting morale. it is about a call to action and a call for unity for americans. geoff: the language she uses is nothing like bob hope. >> sometimes you see the most beautiful asian woman and she is

with broken down white man. geoff: crass and vulgar are some of the words used to describe her humor. >> i think what i have been trying to do is hit highs and lows. high-minded is like looking towards fighting for equality and fighting for rights for the queer community and for trans lives and for drag. fighting for all of these things in a noble effort but undercutting it with the most crass, explicit, foul joke that you can have at its center of the very high-minded idea. it is like a sundae, you want the cherry on top to be a noble effort but underneath it is just

filth. when you live together sex takes on a whole new dimension. i feel like a prostitute that works for really low rates. geoff: you have been open about your past addiction and mental health issues. how does that journey show up in your work? >> it is important to talk about mental health as a subject matter because it is inherently very funny because it is full of mystery d terrifying. geoff: in what ways? margaret: the closer we are to death the more we can laugh in the face of that the more strength we have to carry on living. the humor is really the coping mechanism of the spirit. i never saw asian people on television or in movies so my dreams were somewhat limited. i would dream -- maybe someday i

could be an extra on mash. [laughter] geoff: when you were a child and you knew this was the life you wanted for yourself, did you ever allow yourself think it would be this big? >> no, i never knew what it would be. i never thought about what my career would look like because i did not have any examples to draw from. but dancing with the stars is old people's jam. geoff: her mom is often a foil for her humor and the butt of her jokes. >> she would sit in the front row and i could not look at her because she would emit this low pitch moaned that only i could hear. she is 88 now so this is a very special time. you treasure everything she says. that is a big part of my work.

i talk about her. everyone loves to hear her voice through that. whether that is like -- she sees my haircuts and says, the haircut is very gay. and she is right. but that kind of voice -- the thing that people are familiar with because it is talking about the immigrant experience that is also when it becomes right on. geoff: you have been doing this for 40 years. what is your greatest accomplishment? >> inspiring comediennes to further greatness. they were able to see me and recognize that this is what they wanted to do. the reason allie wong exists and

other comediennes were inspired by me and that is my greatest achievement. ♪ amna: if there was ever an ncaa tournament that earned the name march madness this is it especially on the men's side. for the first time all four number one seeds failed to reach the elite eight or the final four. for the first time since 1979 there is neither a 1, 2, or three seed. miami and san diego state and the university of connecticut and florida atlantic. the florida atntic owls never even won an ncaa tournament game before this run. let's talk about the tournament so far and what might explain the results so far. nicole joins me now.

welcome. i have to ask you out of curiosity is how is your bracket doing because mine is terrible but you do this for a living. how is it going? >> probably worse than yours. i'd like to pick a couple upsets but i picked the wrong ones. i have no final four teams alive as of last weekend. i like to root for the underdog. >> help us understand what is going on. we saw a 16 seed knockoff number one seed for the first time since 2018 with dickinson beating perdue. that was in the first round. what explains the chaos? >> it is a great question. depending on which coaches or athletic directors you talk to they will come up with different answers but we have seen a lot more double-digit seeds pulling off upsets.

you can look at the parity in the sport and transfer portal. one player can make a big difference in the sports. you see coach has turned over rosters when they make changes. jerome and kansas state had only two players and brought in everyone else that ultimately built an elite eight run. it is part of that if you are having tent dispersed to more places because guys don't want to sit on the bench and maybe they will move up or down a level or laterally. it is creating interesting teams and interesting places. as well as more opportunities at schools outside the bluebloods. you can have in your pocket. >> tell me more about the nil rules and how they have impacted the game. there were a lot of questions about how that could change a tournament.

where have we seen that make a difference? >> the rich are getting richer in certain places for sure. but if you are a hometown kid and there is a school closer to home that have nil opportunities you could be the biggest deal in town. some programs including miami art a poster child for nil. we know there were deals made for the men's and women's basketball teams. you know these players are being compensated for their deals while also playing and people worry it would tear and locker rooms apart but we have seen what's miami they have been able to get to their first final four. >> you have florida atlantic playing san diego state in miami playing uconn. what do you expect from these games? >> anyone that says they know how it will go are probably wrong. we have seen that repeatedly.

but i do tnk uconn will be the heavy favorite. this is the one program of the four that has been to the stage before and last time they made it to the fnal four they won it all. they have been playing well steamrolling their opponents. but it is hard to count out a team like fau or san diego state with their defense and style of play. they have presented unique matchup problems for their opponents so far. i would say it is uconn's tournament to lose but i've said that about a few different teams at different points during the tournament. >> big picture, when you look at how the tournament is unfolding, is the reign of the blueblood teams over? >> probably not because we had an all blueblood final four last year so it is hard to say that one year is a trend or an aberration. but i do think the tournament has reminded us why we love the

tournament so much. we have seen the early roundups where you don't always get a team like florida atlantic get this far. they had never won a tournament game until a week ago. to see them on this stage is unprecedented. it is one of the collections of a final four without a 1, 2, 3 seed. the butler and uconn made the final four before but you don't usually get this much chaos. you could make an argument based on the 15 seed getting to a high level that this is one of the greatest tournaments ever. amna: a lot of great games and they have been a lot of fun to watch. it is nicole, senior writer for the athletic joining us tonight. later this week we will have much more on the women's ncaa tournament in which history was made last night.

caitlin clark propelled the nash iowa -- propelled iowa to the final four with 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, the first 40 point triple-double in any ncaa tournament game men's or women's. the rest of the women's final four will be decided in tonight's games. no maryland. join us tomorrow night when top financial officials are set to testify on capitol hill about what led to recent bank failures. that is the newshour for tonight. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. have a great evening. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendeda fund.org. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more

just and peaceful world. more information amac found.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >>

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -todayn "america's test kitchen"... lan and bridget bake breton kouign amann, adam reveals his top pick for bannetons, and elle bakes julia perfect madeleines. it's all coming up right here on "america's test kitch."