♪ lisa: tonight on pbs news weekend, a federal judge blocks an iowa law that would ban some library books and forbid many teachers from raising lgbtq issues. then, from sold-out tours to the rise of new artists, we take a look back at the booming year in music. and the story of a former police officer who saw the chaos on january sixth but found peace and direction rescuing horses. kirwan: a lot of people say, oh,

it's great what you're doing , you're rescuing these animals. but they actually rescued me from a career in law enforcement to covid to not knowing where i was going. these these animals brought it all home to me and grounded me. ♪ li>> weekend has been provided , and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program to your pbs station

from viewers like you -- >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. hn yang is away., i'lisa israeli tanks pushed deeper into the 25-mile-long gaza strip today, with residents saying air strikes hit two urban refugee camps. the hamas-run health ministry in gaza reports at least 165 palestinians have been killed since yesterday. israel has not responded to reporting that it attacked refugee areas. this comes after u.s. secretary of state antony blinken approved a $147 million emergency weapons sale to israel, bypassing congress for the second time this month. russia says at least 14 people were killed today, including two children, and more than 100 wounded after ukraine shelled the border city of belgorod. a car dashcam caught one of the strikes. plumes of black smoke were scattered throughout the city

center. this after russian bombardments yesterday killed at least 39 civilians in ukraine. tonight, russia struck the northern ukrainian city of kharkiv, where the governor says apartment buildings were hit. several were wounded, but no deaths are currently reported. a rare break in a key passage from great britain to europe. flooding has forced the closure of a rail tunnel between london and france, this after unprecedented flooding around the british capital. eurostar, which operates trains from london to paris, brussels and amsterdam, cancelled all of its services in and out of the city, leaving hundreds stranded in railway stations. more travel chaos is expected as storm gerrit continues to batter the u.k. with high winds and heavy rain. and in south africa, the small town of ladysmith is still reeling from the flash floods that hit on christmas day. the water destroyed 1400 homes and killed 21 people. the death toll is expected to rise as the search continues throughout the weekend.

and a passing of note, british actor tom wilkinson died in his u.k. home today. he is best known for films like "the full monty," "michael clayton," and "the best exotic marigold hotel." wilkinson's career spanned film, tv and theatre, earning him two oscar nominations and six bafta nominations. tom wilkinson was 75 years old. still to come on pbs news weekend, a look a back at the epic year in music, and the story of a former police officer rescuing abused and unwanted hoes. ♪ >> this is pbs news weekend, from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs. ♪ lisa: in iowa, a federal judge has temporarily blocked key parts of a law, due to go into effect monday, that would ban books from school libraries if they depicted a quote, "sex

act." the law, signed by republican governor kim reynolds, also bars teachers from discussing gender identity and sexuality before seventh grade. judge stephen locher agreed with those suing, writing that the law was "incredibly broad," banning crucial history books, classic fiction, and even guides to help studts avoid sexual assault. to understand more, i'm joined by derek black, a professor of law at the university of south carolina, and erin murphy, des moines bureau chief at the gazette. derek, this is a temporary decision, but how much does this tell us about the court fight ahead? >> to land a lawsuit like this, you have to establish if there is a likelihood of irreparable harm and if you are likely to win. this is quite common in these type of lawsuits, so the judge said, look, you are likely to win if you go to trial and cannot allow the slot to go into effect because we cannot unwind the problem once it starts, so there will not be much

second-guessing. and you could appeal a temporary injunction to the higher court, but right now, plaintiffs are not going to. lisa: a lot of issues, including first amendment speech, but what do younow about covering this from how widespread the effects might have been? was there expected to be many books pulled from the shelves in iowa, the widespread stilling of teacher speech? >> there already has been, and that was part of the case made by the plaintiffs in the hearing previously held. they had a list of districts across the state and had to combine roughly 500 books that have already been pulled from library shelves. it will be interesting moving forward, the state counter argue to that that some districts may be over applying the law and misinterpreting it. i think that will be an interesting argument as this legal process continues, whether

the laws being interpreted properly by the schools. lisa: there has been in the past four cases on sex ed, but this hits on identity, transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual's questions in the classroom. what can schools regulate and what is free speech? >> the real problem here is that when this law said no discussion of sexual identity or sexual orientation, the court say on the face, it is saying you cannot discuss maleness, femaleness, heterosexualness. it may have been the intent to the language, you are barring every single book known to men, women, and whatever pronoun you would like to apply, that there is always a character of some sexual identity or in some form

of relationship, and this law banned it all by its language, so the court struck it down on that basis. lisa: where their school saying we cannot talk about husbands and wives, those kinds of things? >> that was an argument made all the way back to the legislative debate when the bill was considered, and that gets to what the judge was talking about when he used terms like wildly overbroad, and the state argued that, no, it is very clear. it is seeking to regulate very specific things, but the plaintiffs have been arguing, and opponents of the law have been saying ever since its legislative debate throughout its implementation here, that it is confusing, and that it leaves so much gray area. educators say it paralyzes them in decisions they have to make and not knowing how to make those decisions on what books

they can and cannot keep in their libraries and what discussions they can cannot have. lisa: how hot do you think this will be in the politics of 2024? what is culturally at stake? e -- erin first. >> we have already republican candidates come in, and they are talking about this. ron desantis is one of the leading candidates and passed a similar bill in florida, so he talks about this issue. former president -- former vice president mike pence talked about this issue when he was in, so it has already been in play in 2023 in iowa, so it would not be surprised, based on that, to see it as part of the election discussion in tied 24 -- in 2024. >> there has been a playbook for two years now to get people excited about local schools, so they will come out and vote in

the next presidential election. the irony of what is being taught and not taught at public schools has nothing to do with federal policy, yet, this is a tool to get people excited and use overoad terms that are undefined. i think the real fallout that bothers me the most is that our public schools themselves, this is the one place where we hope to find common ground, and our schools are not supposed to be political, but ultimately they are injecting politics into the last bastion of sanity by the pillar of american democracy. lisa: derek black and erin murphy, thank you so much. ♪ 2023 had it all when it came to music, record-breaking tours, unique songwriting and new artists on the rise. stephanie sy looks back at the music that made 2023.

stephanie: 2023 was the year that gave us the post-pandemic rebirth of sold out stadium concerts by artists like taylor swift and beyonce, as well as the meteoric rise of new artists like noah kahan and ice spice. the year also shined a spotlight on more controversial issues in music, from using a.i. technology to write songs to artists continued battle for fair pay with music streaming services. to unpack thyear in music we have got maura johnston, freelance music writer and critic, and candace mcduffie, a senior writer at "the root." the first question i want to start with you, candace, which is, did you see any themes that stick out in the music of 2023? candace: i think for 2023 there was a big shift that really highlighted the complexity and the fullness of the black experience. you have artists like janelle monae exploring sexuality and queerness and a really visual and bold way. >> ♪ looking in the mirror at me

like who that? ♪ ♪ candace: andre 3000 stepped away from the mic to make a retro replay just a flute. and then artists like killer mike, who explored his identity as a black man in america who deals with struggles and, you know, losing his mother, losing his grandmother. ♪ killer mike: ♪ my mamma did, my grandmama did, they keep it honest and depressed, i be feeling scared ♪ ♪ candace: we heard these stories before, but i feel like this year it was really just much more unapologetic and much more, uhm, attention grabbing from these artists. maura: i think there was a l of push for connection between people. certainly the increased visibility and popularity of large scale concerts and even smaller scale ones really help that. and also i think that there were just a lot more songs that were coming from unexpected places, whether it was places outside of the u.s. or even the past. miguel is a great artist, super innovative, melding genres

together. his four albums are some of my favorites last 15 years. tiktok picked up his song "sure thing" and sped it up and turned it into a sensation and got him kind of back making music again. so that's great. it's a nice success story. stephanie: candace, i'm curious, were there any breakout artists that you would note and any favorite new artists of 2023? candace: i feel like sexy red. she's a female hip hop artist, had a ridiculous year. the succesof "pound town," the success of "skee" and her receiving backlash for being so lewd, even though male artists in her genre have been doing that for decades. it was a problem as she did it. so it's interesting to see her represent her sexual agency with her platform and receive the reception the way that she did. stephanie: maura, what about you? any breakout artists that you want to note? maura: noah kahan is one for sure. noah kahan: ♪ and i'll dream each night of some version of

you ♪ ♪ maura: he's a vermont singer songwriter. he's been around for a while, but he had a huge year. also, peso pluma was a big breakthrough artist. he's from mexico and he was on the first musica mexicana single to crack the top ten ever. and it's really, you know, bringing together traditional mexican sounds with ideas borrowed from hip hop and modern r&b. stephanie: were there any other unusual trends that stuck out to either of you in this year's music? maura: i guess for me, seeing the american charts kind of becoming more globally influenced. you had jungkook and other members of bts having a lot of success via streaming. you had tyla from south africa having a hit with the song "water," and those are just a few of the artists that, you know, weren't just from other countries, but were ing the music inspired by where they're from to make the top ten. and i feel like that's part of the function of the loss of gatekeepers and people kind of elevating songs from the bottom up via streaming. candace: i think it was great to

see black women kind of explore, you know, darker themes in the music. sza's biggest hit this year was about a revenge fantasy. "kill bill," killing her ex-boyfriend. sza: ♪ don't you know i did it all for us, ahh, i just killed my ex ♪ ♪ candace: doja cat is dressing up as devil and enjoying her shows in "painting the town red." just seeing this different kind of image, obviously, for for black women who aren't instantly who aren't afraid to kind of go to those places other artists have gone. stephanie: when you listen to a song like "kill bill" by sza or, you know, when you see the sort of sexual brazenness of some of the music videos that came out this year, what is how does that land with you as a black woman consuming the content? candace: i love it. i feel like we need to see that representation. we need to kind of explore these places we haven't previously , need to embrace our fullness. and you take risks. if lady gaga can wear a meat dress, i need sza to be character as well.

so -- and the dialog that comes from it that making people uncomfortable. let's talk about it. let's get into why this resonates. stephanie: maura, what were some of the most interesting music releases you heard? maura: i'd say chapel rowan, who released an album called "the rise and fall of midwest princess," which is probably the most fun pop album of the year. and it's really audacious and daring and very sexual. and it sort of follows her on her journey, discovering her sexuality. i really loved kali uchis, red -- "red moon and venus," which is just this really gorgeous sounding, thoughtful meditation on love and what it means. zak bryan is another artist who had a big year, and i thought his self-titled album was great. he kind of brings together heartland rock and americana and country with a little bit of just like indie rock scrappiness in this really fun way. and i really love the paramore album. super spiky, super confrontational, you know, sort of shaving off all of the poppier parts of their last couple of records and just getting really post-punky almost.

candace: i think victoria monet's debut album, "jaguar," are two very powerful, very popular all over social media on "my momma," you cannot escape that song. -- on my momma, you will cannot escape that song. and to see her transition from a songwriter writing for artists like ariana grande day and blackpink to kind of having her own spotlight is shong that she can do this. victoria monet: ♪ lie lie, lie , i put that on my mama, on my head, i fly, i look good ♪ ♪ candace: she can dance and sing and write songs and and have this stage presence that is just really impressive. i think, too, "boygenius" the record, i got to see them earlier this year at reset and there was so much acclaim around the record and i was like, i'm not going to listen to it like whatever. and i saw them and i was like, oh, i get it now. like, you have these three women, you know, just so brilliant and what they do writing songs, writing these ally tight fighting melodies. boy genius: ♪ i can't stop

staring at the ceiling fan and spinning out and about ♪ ♪ candace: just it was a great record overall. stephanie: last question. what was your favorite song of year, candace? candace: i like killer mike's album "michael" a lot this year. there's a song on it called "down by law" with ceelo green, and "it's very powerful" opens the record. killer mike: ♪ my name is michael i'm down by law, i'm down by law ♪ ♪ ceelo: ♪ will you help us oh holy father ♪ ♪ candace: it just catches your attention. it's very grounded. his baritone is just it just embraces you, and it kind of set the tone for this exploration of his identity on that project. stephanie: good answer, maura. maura: i think it has to be "bad idea right" by olivia rodrigo. olivia rodrigo: yes i know that -- olivia rodrigo: ♪ yes i know

that he's my ex, but c't two people reconnect. i only see him as a friend. the biggest lie i ever said ♪ ♪ maura: i love how she uses the gnarly textures of nineties alt rock to kind of. musically encapsulate the sticky feelings she gets from seeing an ex after a long time, and i just think that she's a really great artist that's, you know, obviously hitting my nostalgia swt spot. but at the same time, she's doing it in a way that feels very natural. stephanie: candace mcduffie and maura johnston, what a pleasure to have you. maura: thank you. candace: thanks for hanging out with us. it's so much fun. lisa: for more than two decades, mark kirwan served the people of washington, d.c., as a city police officer. but a few years ago, feeling lost amid covid and after the made an unusual choice, moving from fighting crime to rescuing horses, with a mix of purpose and poetry, he told us his story. ♪ mark: i shall gather up all the

lost souls that wonder this earth, all the ones that are alone and broke, all the ones that never really fitted in, i shall gather them all up, and, together, we shall find a new home. so we have already fed our barren horses. we start feeding them around 5:30, 6:00 in the morning. i am mark kirwan, from a very small town. i came to the states and initially in the early 1990's, worked on a horse farm here in virginia, ended up getting involved in law enforcement, working in law enforcement for 21 years. i always kept my foot in the door with horses and the echoing business -- equine business. three years ago, i bought this place in upper county in the

foothills of the shenandoah. it is beautiful, little slice of heaven. i filled it with rescues that have rescued over the last three years. he was electrocuted, but when he would not pull the equipment, what they used to do as they would -- they would tie a wire from a car battery into his mouth and they would shock him, so they damaged all of his nervous system. we also have donkeys, alpacas, a menagerie of animals here at the farm. you know, there is great solace here. it is beautiful. peaceful. qut. it allows the animals to enjoy their last years of life after losing trust in humans who have neglected them and mistreated them for so many years. 36-41. 9/11 triggered the law-enforcement thing after being here in the states and witnessing such a catastrophic event, so i decided to join up the metropolitan police department in washington, d.c. january 6 was instrumental in me

deciding that i was going to leave the police department. when a group of extremists rate and -- raid and attacked ahead of democracy, the building that represents the united states, it is a very sad day. it certainly had a huge effect on everyone, for everyone who was there that day. covid is the reason why i bought this farm. i had restaurant in washington, d.c., and in arlington, virginia, and i thought i would lose everything. it was this tsunami that hit the world and shocked us. head was not in the right place, and i think, what can i do? luckily, my dad is a great sounding board for me in ireland. i called him up, and he said, go back to what you are used to and what you love, horses, farming. test that there is quinn -- the

chestnut there is quinn. he was beaten severely, and they damaged his eye. he is almost blind in his left eye. unfortunately, that affects him, coming up on him, and you have to make sure you are on his right side so that he can see you and is comfortable because otherwise, he gets a bit nervous. most of the animals i have rescued, specifically the draft horses, come from pennsylvania. so what we do is rescue -- as rescue people as we go and outbid the meat buyers. and there we will just go above it and bring that horse back in the trailer. every week then, they get a special treat. each one gets a bottle of guinness and mash. that is an irish trait because

guinness is known to give horses a great sheen on their coat. it is like a friday treat for the animals. they love it. it is really good. i enjoy a bottle myself, as well. it is just me and my girlfriend abby. we vantage, so -- we bandage, soak, we do everything. it is hard work, seven days a week, 365, but we love it. a lot of people say it is great when you were doing, rescuing these animals, but they actually rescued me. from a career in law enforcement, the covid, to not knowing where i was going, these animals brought it all home to me, grounded me. seeing the condition they are in now, and know that they never have to pull a plow again, that they don't have to be beaten, that is it, nobody leaves here

once they are here, we rehome them. it is important for them to that when they are in the green pastures here, the next pastor they are going into his god's. all they do is just rest their head on your shoulder and give you great joy. it is fantastic, lovely. it makes getting up in the morning better, and it makes any negativity that comes into your life, it is like voiding it and making things positive again. ♪ lisa: an update before we go, a federal appeals court cleared the way for california's ban on carrying guns in most public cases to take effect on monday. earlier, a lower court judge ruled the law was unconstitutional. that is it for our program tonight. i'm lisa desjardins. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow.

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