amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: i'm geoff bennett. tonight, it passenger jet collides with a military helicopter near washington, d.c. leaving no survivors. the recovery effort and the search for answers. >> i understand how critical our

national security is -- >> apparently you don't. amna: president trump's picks to lead the fbi, national intelligence and health department all face tough questions in their confirmation hearings. geoff: and the democratic republic of congo fights against rwanda-backed rebels seizing territory in the country's east. the foreign minister discusses the increasingly unstable situation. announcer: major funding for the "pbs news hour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor. diverse destinations. and immersive experiences. the world of leisure and british style.

all with cunard's white star service. >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political -- more information at carnegie.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: welcome to the news hour. we are following two major stories tonight. more of president trump's cabinet picks tough questions during confirmation hearings today. but first, investigators are trying to determine why a u.s. military helicopter collided in mid-air with an american airlines passenger jet as the plane was trying to land at reagan national airport in washington, d.c. officials say they believe everyone on board both aircraft were killed. amna: the plane, which was flying from wichita, kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and a crew of four. three soldiers were aboard the blackhawk helicopter. it's the deadliest air crash in the u.s. in more than two decades. john yang begins our coverage with this report. reporter: this is the terrifying moment of impact when an american airlines flight with 64 people on board collided with an army helicopter as the passenger

jet was landing at washington reagan national airport. >> did you see that? reporter: the fiery crash came before 9:00 wednesday night triggering a massive search-and-rescue effort. hundreds of first responders frantically search through the icy potomac river, a day where washington dc fire chief john donnelly said they recovered dozens of bodies but no one still alive. >> despite those efforts, we are at a point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation. at this point we don't believe there are any survivors. reporter: today, the wreckage of the bone bardi acr j 700, a popular regional jet, set in waist deep water split into three pieces as first responders continued their work, questions swirled about how this could have happen on a clear night in the nation's capital. president trump blamed the three soldiers flying the helicopter. >> the people in the helicopter should have seen where they were going. i can't imagine people with 2020

vision not seeing what's happening up there. again, they should not have been at the same height. reporter: he also blamed, without offering proof, d.e.i. policies that he said had been set in motion by former president obama and biden and former transportation secretary pete buttigieg. >> the faa is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website. >> i'm trying to figure out how you can come to the conclusion right now that diversity had something to do with this crash? >> because i have common sense. ok and unfortunately a lot of people don't. we want brilliant people doing this. this is a major chess game at the highest level.

reporter: the chair of the national transportation safety board said investigators will consider all factors. >> as part of any investigation, we look at the human, the machine, and the environment. we will look at all the humans that were involved in this accident. again, we will look at the aircraft, the helicopter, the environment in which they were operating in. that is standard in any part of our investigation. reporter: buttigieg called trump's response despicable. "as families read, trump should be leading, not lying. time for trump to show actual leadership and explain what he will do to prevent this from happening again."this was in the country's busiest and most sensitive airspace within sight of the capitol and the white house. flight tracking showing that it was headed south along the river's path at an altitude of around 400 feet. defense secretary pete hegseth. >> on a routine annual retraining of night flights on the standard corridor for

continuity of government mission. the military does dangerous things. it does routine things on a regular basis. tragically last night, a mistake was made and i think the president is right. there was some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating at the dod and army level. reporter: the flight originated in wichita, kansas, a nonstop route introduced last year. today there were attributes for the dead including sam lily, the 28-year-old first officer on the passenger jet. among the passengers were several u.s. american figure skaters and two former world champion russian skaters, now coaches, returning from a training camp for elite skaters that followed last week's u.s. figure skating championships in wichita. >> much like everyone here has been saying, not sure how to process it. i'm sorry.

which is why i'm here. reporter: olympic figure skater nancy carrigan is a former member of the skating club of boston, which said six members were on the flight, including young spencer lane and his mother, christine. >> we just wish them well and the families, the courage and the strength to make the next steps. i don't know how you look at people go through tragedies and you wonder how they do it. i don't know, but somehow we have a reservoir to dig from. each one of them are strong enough to get through this somehow. reporter: doug is the club's ceo. >> skating is a very close and tight knit community. these kids and their parents, they are here at our facility in norwood six, sometimes seven days a week. it is a close, tight bond. i think for all of us, we have lost family. reporter: the ntsb says they will have a preliminary report

in 30 days, but the final report won't come until the final conclusions are reached. they are still scouring the debris field at the bottom of the potomac for evidence to help in that investigation. of course, the key will be the flight data recorders, so-called black boxes from the helicopter and passenger jet. and officials say a priority now is recovering the remaining bodies so that families can be reunited. amna: as he reported, even as the recovery mission was underway looking for those bodies, the investigation had just gotten underway. we saw president trump take to the briefing room and offer that analysis and start to attack the democratic administration and diversity. what has been the reaction to those remarks from the president? john: there have been very strong reactions from people who work in the transformation safety field particularly the fact that he drew conclusions less than 24 hours after the

incident. i spoke with the former managing director of the ntsb and said he was appalled by the president's performance. he said in one hour, president trump did more to damage the impeccable reputation of the u.s. safety system than anyone has done in the past 40 years. amna: meanwhile, dozens of families are mourning the loss of loved ones. what is being done to help support them at this moment? john: some families are still on their way to washington. american airlines has set up an assistance center in bethesda. the ntsb says they will greet family members and try to answer what questions they have. as is common in places -- cases like this, many family members will want to visit the crash as soon as they can do itngethe with the proper modesty and dignity. amna: john yang at reagan

national airport for us tonight. thank you. geoff: and for more on the many questions surrounding this accident, we turn to our own aviation correspondent, miles o'brien. officials said initial information showed nothing unusual about the moments leading up to this midair collision. it was a clear night, both aircraft in their standard flight paths. you are a pilot. what questions does this raise for you? miles: what was happening in the cockpit of that black hawk helicopter? you are correct. both of them were on the horizontal path that was prescribed. the airliner was making that left-hand turn and mining up for runway 33 right where it should have been at the altitude it should have been. the helicopter was on a helicopter corridor directly beneath that flight path, by only about 200 feet difference

on a good day. in this case however, they were at the same altitude and the same spot. the question is why was that black hawk helicopter not where it should have been? air traffic control did radio them and tell them there was traffic to look out for. they acknowledged they saw it. the important point everyone should understand is that all those helicopters that buzz up and down the river at 200 feet or thereabouts are flying under visual flight rules. meaning it is see and avoid. the pilot looks out the window and is responsible for avoiding a collision. it is not under direct control of air traffic control. in this case, air traffic control gave a warning. they acknowledged the warning. almost immediately, there was a collision. geoff: a question about that. as you say, the passenger jet and military helicopters were under the control of traffic control at reagan national.

an internal report suggests the controller on duty last night was effectively doing the job of two people, that it was "not normal," the staffing was not normal for the time of day and traffic. how has the faa grappled with this air traffic controller problem? miles: they have been behind the power curve on this for years. this is a direct outgrowth of the pandemic during which time a lot of air traffic controllers retired or there was attrition. coincidentally a lot of cockpits changed. if you were gray hairs, many pilots retired. the system has still been trying to recover from all of that, but air traffic control in particular, the air -- the faa recently has hired about 1800 individuals. they are still 3000 short i believe. but you don't hire them off the street and put them in the tower cab at reagan national airport.

it takes quite some time to train these individuals and make them safe for duty. having looked at this accident so far, there's nothing i see that points to air traffic control failure, however. the warning was issued by the tower when it's on the radar a potential collision. the helicopter which was under visual flight rules, supposed to avoid traffic and acknowledged the traffic was there. right now i don't see an air traffic control problem in this instance, but writ large this is a big problem. geoff: we saw president trump take to the white house briefing room and blame diversity initiatives for this collision with no basis beyond the fact that we know this is a familiar and favored attack line of his. how does that sit with you? miles: for one thing, to have anybody outside of this investigation coming to conclusions while there are still literally bodies strapped into seats underneath the river

is a little bit shocking, and it does undermine the integrity of the investigation and it impugns a body of -- a group of individuals who are committed to aviation safety and getting the facts straight. so we can learn from these incidents and perhaps make things safer the next time. and i will tell you, i am a pilot. i'm also an amputee. i have one arm. in order to be recertified as a pilot, i had to go through huge hurdles and hoops, and they don't grade on a curve because i have one arm. i met every safety standard and able-bodied person would. that goes all across the faa, safety is number one. there is no factual basis to say there are individuals in jobs with disabilities who cannot

perform at the same level and able-bodied individual would. it is unfortunate to have that kind of distraction and i think frankly for the families of loved ones, it is just further piece of the tragedy at this point. geoff: d.c. is a unique place when it comes to aviation, as you all know. we have military aircraft and civilian aircraft sharing space. it's not uncommon to see military helicopters around. complex, complicated, crowded airspace. i guess the question now is, is it too crowded and too complex? miles: it is. it is an accident that's been waiting to happen, but it can be fixed. these helicopters at certain points need to stay along the river. they don't want to be flying over downtown washington. right across from reagan airport is a military facility in anacostia. there's no reason that route cannot be bent a little bit to

extend over land and a little further away from reagan national airport so you can increase the distance between approaching aircraft overhead and the helicopters. i am hopeful that at long last this will happen. geoff: miles o'brien, grateful as always to draw on your insights. thank you. amna: two of the president's top intelligence community picks faced sharp questioning today. geoff: appearing before a senate committees on capitol hill, cash patel, president trump's choice to lead fbi, and tulsi gabbard nominated for director of national intelligence. nick schifrin and lara perrone lopez have covered this and nick begins coverage with tulsi gabbard. reporter: today in the senate

intelligence committee, the name used more than any other was not the plumbing nominated to lead the intelligence committee but the man responsible for its largest breach. edward snowden was a national security agency contractor who leaked more than one million classified documents. in 2020, tulsi gabbard wanted him pardoned. >> i have introduced legislation to stand up for and protect whistleblowers. reporter: today, her past comments drew bipartisan concern beginning with vice chairman virginia democrat mark warner. >> edward snowden broke the law. i do not agree with or support all the intelligence he released nor the way he which he did it. reporter: oklahoma republican james lankford. >> was he a traitor at the time he ran to china and became a russian citizen? >> senator and focused on the future and how to prevent something like this from happening again. reporter: colorado democrat michael bennet.

>> is edward snowden a traitor to the united states of america? that is not a hard question to answer when the stakes are this high. >> senator as someone who has served in the -- >> the answer is yes or no. it edward snowden a traitor to the united states of america? >> as someone who will -- in combat, i understand how critical our national security is. >> apparently you don't. reporter: senators also questioned her judgment on russia and the war in ukraine. >> the united states and some european nato countries are fueling this war. reporter: which she blamed in part on the u.s.. >> who is responsible for the war in ukraine? >> putin started the war in ukraine. reporter: that conversion doubted by kansas republican jerry moran. >> i want to make certain that in no way does russia get a pass in either your mind or your

heart, or in any policy recommendation you would make or not make. >> senator, i am offended by the question because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation, our own security and the interests of the american people. reporter: senators also expects skepticism in her conversion of warrantless surveillance which she used repose. and on syria -- >> the united states has been waging this regime change war. reporter: gabbard visited in 2016 and dismissed u.s. and you and conclusions that assad launched a chemical weapons attack in april 2017. >> that evidence was never presented and it's clear as time has gone on that there was a cover-up. reporter: today for the first time, she said she pushed assad on chemical weapons.

>> i asked him tough questions about his own regime actions, the use of chemical weapons and brutal tactics used against his own people. reporter: but democrats fear gabbard's prior positions could prevent allies from sharing intelligence. >> i just don't believe on your judgment and credibility issues if this is the appropriate role for you to take. gabbard was elected to reporter: hawaii's legislature in 2002 at the age of 21 as a democrat and served in congress for eight years, deployed twice to the middle east and is a serving lt. col. in the army reserve. but she became a republican and endorsed donald trump over their shared questioning of the intelligence community. >> the american people elected donald trump not once but twice and yet the fbi and intelligence agencies were politicized by opponents to undermine his presidency and falsely portray him as a puppet of putin. unconventional oil to here, her critics, she is dangerous.

reporter: in another hearing room this morning, the fate of another controversial picked, cash patel, president trump's nominee to head the fbi. >> i have no interest, no desire, and there will be no politicization at the fbi. reporter: committee chairman chuck grassley says this needs revival. >> i know you know this but it is your job to restore the public trust and determine the fbi to its core mission of fighting crime. reporter: patel opened his hearing with a pledge. >> i remain focused on the fbi's core mission, to investigate fully wherever there is a constitutional factual basis to do so. reporter: patel who served in trump's fourth -- first in in ministration, and conspiracy theories.

>> i would shut down the fbi hoover building on day on. reporter: his false claims and staunch loyalty to the president have raised concerns about democrats, a number of former trump officials and some in law enforcement. under oath today, patel claimed to not know a far-right conspiracy theorist who made anti-semitic remarks. despite appearing on his podcast multiple times. and he broke from trump when asked about the sweeping pardons trump granted to january 6 rioters. >> i do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement. reporter: patel has a history of glorifying the january 6 the rioters. he helped produce what is known as the j six prison choir, a recording played often at trump's campaign rallies. in it, defendants in the capitol attacked singing the star-spangled banner from inside their jail cells >> >>.

it is not my acquire. >> who sings on this recording? >> i don't know. reporter: at least six men on the recording pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. on the other flashpoint, his so-called enemies list. is 20 23 book government gangsters ends with a glossary of "members of the executive branch deep state." 60 plus names including former fbi director's james comey and christopher wray. democratic senator amy klobuchar and pressed him about one name in particular. trump's former attorney general, bill barr. >> is it because of a personal vendetta that he's under the list that you are under oath? reporter: when patel was floated to serve as deputy fbi director during trump's first term, bill barr, a republican, said, "over my dead body."

adding later, that patel had virtually no experience to serve in the role. despite his history, republicans on the committee praised his nomination. >> the rot is deep and the time for you is now and i'm glad because reform is needed. reporter: asked who he ultimately answers to, he recited the chain of command. > the fbi is a member of the department of justice and has been the long-standing -- >> and who does the department of justice were for? >> in the executive branch as all members do in the white house. >> attorney general bondi gave a different answer when i asked the same question that they work for the constitution and american people. reporter: for the pbs news hour, i'm laura barron lopez. geoff: there was one more make or break committee hearing today. robert f. kennedy, jr. went for a first committee hearing yesterday and for the first time we heard republicans expressed doubt about him. lisa desjardins joins us now. what were the major differences?

lisa: this was a much sharper hearing and potentially more impactful. this was the health committee chaired by a potential swing vote, senator bill cassidy of louisiana who also happens to be a trained physician. right at the top of the hearing he said something we had not heard yesterday. he said he has real concerns as a republican of past misleading and unfounded statements by kennedy about vaccines. then he asked a direct question to kennedy. sen. cassidy: will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification that the measles and hep b vaccines do not cause autism? >> senator, i am not going into the agency with any -- sen. cassidy: kind of a yes or no question, because the data is there. that's kind of a yes or no. and i, i don't mean to cut you off, but that really is a yes or no. >> if the data is there, i will absolutely do that. lisa: this is what kennedy says,

that he's open to arguments but democrats and cassidy say it's not a question of with her the data is there. we know the date is there. there's a 2022 study looking at 19 different studies showing there is no link between autism and vaccines. there's also studies looking at kids who were not vaccinated and say no different this significant and how they were diagnosed with autism. there is something notable, three republican senators in the hearing backed u's refusal to deny that link between autism and vaccines. they said why not be open to it? one of them said there probably is a link, tommy tuberville. that is not scientific. in the hearing where kennedy was questioning science, he says is people acting in bad faith, the truth is kennedy who has written books on health himself is not really sticking to the science here. on vaccines, public health folks

say that is dangerous. geoff: there was another controversial moment on 9/11 and conspiracy theories. lisa: this was back on past things he said including a post he put on x last summer. this is what it said when he was running for president. he wrote that it's hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and he won't take sides on 9/11. virginia senator tim kaine, a democrat, asked about that. sen. kaine: you wouldn't take sides on 9/11 and you're admitting, you know, i have a hard time telling what is a conspiracy theory and what isn't. >> senator, i haven't investigated it. if the things that i investigate i take sides on. people are allowed to hold that opinion. i'm not gonna tell them they're crazy for holding that opinion. i'm gonna say, what is your evidence? lisa: know when i spoke to afterwards could defend that. geoff: these three nominees, tulsi gabbard, rfk junior, kash patel.

controversial under normal standards. but we are not in normal times. will they have the votes? it looks lisa: like patel is doing well and he's on track. gabbard had a tough day. especially from republicans, i'm hearing there's some talk of trying to convince president wn to a pressure of trump and how much he's committed to the nominees. geoff: lisa desjardins, thank you as always. amna: for more on the confirmation hearings of tulsi gabbard and kash patel, i'm joined by two leading voices in the intelligence community. frank montoya jr., national security analyst and retired senior fbi official and jamil jaffer, executive director of national security institute at george mason university. welcome and thanks for joining us. let's begin with tulsi gabbard here. what concerns did you have about her potentially occupying this role as the nation's top ranking intelligence official going into the hearing and you wear those concerns answered after the hearing? >> i think there are some

challenges with things tulsi gabbard said in the past. we know about her meetings with bashar assad and what she said about the invasion of ukraine by russia. obviously we thought today tough questions about edward snowden and her views on him and whether he's is a traitor or whistleblower. she did not affirmatively say he was a traitor, even though a number of members of the senate asked that question. i think those were open questions going in. she punted on some of those but on the toughest questions on snowden, she did not do what i think e is to say affirmatively what the vast majority committee members believe, that he in fact is a traitor of the united states by disclosing classified information publicly, along a variety of programs, many of which have nothing to do about the privacy of united states citizens. amna: the meeting with bashar assad and comments about

snowden, why do those sound alarm bells in the intelligence community? >> if you want to be representing all of the 17 intelligence agencies and coordinate them, and be the president's chief national television -- national advisor, it's hard to say that the single most significant disclosure of classified input -- info in history is not a traitor. he disclosed it to the public, took a lot of it back to moscow where he now lives as a russian citizen under vladimir putin. it is hard to be the chief spokesperson and chief coordinator of the intelligence committee if that is your point of view. amna:amna: let's go to kash patel. he faced a lot of tough questions in that hearing and i want to bring a piece of news. cnn is reporting that at least six senior fbi officials have been ordered to retire, resign or be fired from the agency by monday. some of them were notified of that while mr. patel was in his

confirmation hearing. you saw him face questions about a potential campaign of political retribution here. do you have concerns after watching his hearing performance? >> to me this is more evidence that will happen. it will not stop with his nomination. he will do what he told the senators he would do which is to act in accordance with the law. the white house will call the shots here. they will continue to take aim at who they consider not just political enemies but personal enemies. you look at the book that he wrote and the things he has said on these podcasts, he's targeting individuals because of personal disagreement. it has nothing to do with politics in the sense that they were just doing their job. they were living up to their oath. he says that's what i'm going to do, and yet these guys are getting moved around for what reason? they don't agree with a

particular agenda? they did not take an oath of office to a person, they took an oath to the constitution and they are being punished for doing that. amna: in terms of specific steps he proposed, he talked about decreasing the size of the agency, sending fbi agent across the country to go be cops as he put it. how do you look at those steps? how were they impact the fbi's ability to carry out its job? >> if the effort is to make the organization more efficient in the execution of its duties, that's fine. but that's not what this is about. these individuals have been told to retire, resign or quit. that is case in point. the reality of the situation is the fbi is not broken. it is not corrupt. the narrative in which these individuals are basing all of their actions, with patel or even the folks in congress and the senate, the narrative they

are basing decision-making on is focused -- bogus. it is based in lies. if it were, how come the bureau is able to do the job as effectively? does it not participate with the rest of the intelligence committee in stopping an iranian plot to assassinate donald trump? the work goes on. yet all the focus seems to be on settling scores. if he is focused on settling scores, there's no way patel will be able to lead. amna: let me ask you to take a step back here. when you look at the nominees, the rules they would fill in the trump administration, or qualifications, their evolution of thought and relationship to president trump, what do you think the confirmations would mean for the larger intelligence community? how it works and the work together. >> these are nominees the president believes in and supports as of today. whether he maintained support under someone like tulsi gabbard

under pressure from the senate, we will see. but i think you will see concerns amongst the intelligence committee about whether they can trust somebody in that position who has defended a thief of information, a traitor like edward snowden. someone who set the single most incredible -- critical intelligence tool should not be reauthorized. she changed her position in the last few weeks. someone who cozied up to a dictator like bashar assad who used chemical weapons against his own people. she questioned the credibility of the intelligence he demonstrates, which gassed against his own people. kash patel, someone who served in the justice department. he knows the space. the same time he wrote a book and tired -- entitled government gangster and wrote about a deep state including nearly a dozen members of the trump administration itself, bill barr

, alyssa farah, pat cipollone who rhino. these are people served in the bush administration and the white house, elsewhere. are these the right kind of people that president trump wants to put in place? he said they are. we will see if the senate does anything about it. particularly with gabbard, they will have significant pressure. amna: less than a minute left, what is your take? more or less the same. >> yes he's president of the united states, he has the right to pick who he wants. but let's talk about qualifications and a person like kash patel. i served under for -- four different directors. they had the experience. this is a guy who did work for the doj for about three years but he was a junior prosecutor at best. the challenge is, what kind of experiences does he have to lead in organizations where it's not just about criminal

investigations, but critical national security functions the bureau is responsible for? it's a challenge. amna: thank you to you both. we appreciate your time. geoff: the days other headlines start in the middle east where hamas freed eight hostages and israel handed over more than 100 palestinian prisoners in a third round of exchanges. israel briefly held up its side of the swap after a chaotic handover in gaza. video shows a crowd surrounding the van carrying several of the hostages. one of them was visibly shaken as she was escorted through the mass of people. later, buses of palestinians set to be released were seen leaving an israeli prison. israel's prime minister said he secured a guarantee from mediators that future handovers would be done safely.

during the release of our hostages today, we all saw shocking scenes. we made it clear to the mediators that we do not intend to accept any risk to our hostages. and i will add, whoever dares to harm them will pay the price. geoff: the hostages released today included agam berger, plus the german-israeli nationals arebel yehoud, and gadi moses. five thai farm workers were also released. they had been working in southern israel when they were kidnapped by hamas. israel's ban on the u.n. palestinian aid agency unrwa took effect today. in east jerusalem, outside of unrwa's headquarters, far-right israeli activists celebrated with champagne toasts. in october, israel banned unrwa from operating inside the country, saying the group had been infiltrated by hamas, which it denies. humanitarian officials say the move could have a devastating impact on aid deliveries in the region. a u.n. spokesperson says unrwa

was still delivering aid today, despite the ban. officials in ukraine say a russian drone attack killed at least six people in the northeastern city of sumy overnight. nine others were injured. regional authorities say a drone slammed into an apartment building, blowing out a wall and windows. following the deaths, the city announced two days of mourning. ukraine's air force says russia launched more than 80 drones overnight, but most were shot down or otherwise missed their targets. back in this country, a u.s. appeals court ruled today that a decades-old federal ban on handgun sales to adults under 21 violates the second amendment. the court found that the ban is inconsistent with a 2022 supreme court ruling that established a more conservative test for assessing firearm laws. the original measure was adopted by congress in 1968. a group of individuals aged

between 18 and 20 joined a guns rights group in challenging the ban in 2020. today's ruling comes from the same court that had upheld the ban as recently as 2012. on wall street today, stocks posted modest gains after the latest reading on america's gdp showed solid gains last quarter. the dow jones industrial average added nearly 170 points on the day. the nasdaq tacked on about 50 points. the s&p 500 also ended in positive territory. nasa's two stuck astronauts were able to stretch their legs a bit today, taking their first spacewalk together. >> thank you. >> you bet. geoff: sunny williams and butch wilmore floated outside the international space station to perform maintenance work about 260 miles above the earth. it's the 2nd spacewalk for williams this mission, but the first for wilmore, though he has done such walks on prior trips to space. the pair were only supposed to be aboard the iss for about a week when they arrived last june but technical problems extended their stay. they're now due back on earth in late march or early april. and, british singer and actress

marianne faithfull has died. considered a so-called it girl of the swingin' 60's', she was once the girlfriend of rolling stones frontman mick jagger. jagger and keith richards penned her breakthrough hit, 1964's “as tears go by.” she in turn became their muse, inspiring -- and even helping to write some of their greatest songs. faithfull also acted on the stage, and on screens big and small. her life was marked by the highs of fame, and the lows of drug addiction and even homelessness. that journey was the focus of her memoir, released in 1994. marianne faithfull was 78 years old. still to come on the news hour. congo's foreign minister discusses the growing war in the country's east and musician neko case reveals her difficult journey to indie stardom in a new memoir.

amna: parts of the democratic republic of the congo are under siege by a rwanda backed rebel group and yesterday congo's , president sent a clear message -- vowing to fight back. the m23 rebel group took control of congo's eastern city of goma, along the rwandan border, in an offensive launched last week, intensifying decades-long tensions and conflict between the two nations. the latest violence has killed u.n. peacekeepers, overwhelmed hospitals, displaced hundreds of thousands, and sparked fears of a wider regional conflict. for more now, i am joined by therese kayikwamba wagner, the congolese minister of foreign affairs. madame minister, welcome and thank you for being here. can you share with us the latest from the reports he received on

the ground about the situation in goma? has there been any change in the pace or ferocity of the fighting? >> as you mentioned, we are faced with a dramatic situation. a very dire humanitarian situation that we have been observing for the past month has been exacerbated by the defect occupation of sovereign democratic congo territory are wanted defense forces. this has led to the breakdown of all health infrastructures. it has led also to the suppression of water and electricity supply and access routes. congolese citizens do not have access to hospitals. when they do, they face a risk hospitals are being shelved. we have a troubling fact that within less than a week, 17 peacekeepers were killed in fighting with the rwandan defense forces and their militia. it is an extremely preoccupying

situation when it comes than the humanitarian aspect but also the regional peace that is at stake. amna: you should point out rwanda says they are not backing this rebel group. do you have verifiable proof they are behind this? >> of course. i want to refer to the united nations group of experts. this was not drafted by the congolese government. this is a group of experts appointed by the united nations security council. in december, they spoke of about 4000 rwandan defense troops present in the drc. we believe in the last spurt of attacks against the drc, even more troops crossed over. i also want to refer to the last emergency meetings of the united nations security council in which all of the members of the united security council denounced the presence of her london troops on the ground so we find ourselves in a situation where all the world is cognizant of the fact that rwandan defense troops are on the ground,

everyone is saying it, the media is saying it, too. and the only voice that claims this is not true is the rwandan voice. amna: for anyone unfamiliar, can you briefly explain why this area is of such strategic importance? >> there wanted defense forces have been occupying strategic areas in eastern drc. i want to speak about room via. it is mined in the region. according to experts, rwandan defense forces have used forced labor to force children, women and men to mind artisanal mines to get this. in a month, the defense forces exploited and transferred over 150 million tons. it is shipped and exported to global markets under the label of rwandan minerals. we see this is an endeavor that is economically driven and has no compunction whatsoever to violate human rights, to

displace thousands if not millions of civilians, and also to kill peacekeepers that have been sent by the united nations to bring peace and not to be killed. amna: you mentioned the united nations security council. you said just this week that congo has been raising the alarm about this am 23 group for the past three years. what do you think the u.n. or international committee -- community could have done that would have prevented the situation from escalating today, and what could they do now? >> it is important to highlight this situation we are facing, the imminence m 23 crisis as part of a larger crisis, of the president being unpunished and uncontrolled by the international community. this is not the first iteration of the m 23. i worked as a humanitarian when they took over goma, co-piloted by the rwandan defense forces.

looking at what could have been done, the first point was calling out rwanda. it took a very long time and we welcome the fact that it was the united states that were the first country to explicitly name rwanda as the stakeholder where the country occupying parts of the drc. it took a while but gradually we saw other members of the council took on. action could have been taken earlier but action can also be taken now. first of all, demanding the full withdrawal of rwandan defense troops from the drc. technical imposing an embargo on all minerals rwanda is exporting to the global market under the label of rwanda while knowing they are mined illegally in the drc. third of all, rwanda no longer deserves to contribute troops to united nations keeps -- peacekeeping missions. wanda has been depicting itself as a true contributing country bringing peace to other countries but we see in the drc

rwanda is a warmonger. this should no longer be tolerated. amna: if those actions aren't taken, what happens on the ground? >> if those actions aren't taken, what happens on the ground is the objective keeps taking shape. we are seeing now that the m 23, this propped up rebel group, is now claiming to want to march all the way to kinshasa and topple a sovereignly elected government. rwanda is engaging in state-sponsored regime change. it is important to highlight this would be throwing the entire region, if not the whole continent decades back. all the investments of the united nations and partner countries like the usa risk to have been for not because the region could be plunged into chaos. amna: that is the congolese minister of foreign affairs therese kayikwamba wagner, the thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me.

geoff: neko case has won acclaim as both a singer and songwriter. this month she's out with a memoir that reveals her difficult journey to indie stardom. special correspondent tom casciato spent time with case for our arts and culture series, canvas. reporter: neko case's new memoir is called the harder i fight, the more i love you. a big part of her story is right on the cover. the cover of your book is you as a little kid hugging a cat and then there is a scary monster drawn behind you. >> the monster was kind of my buddy who protected me. that was my rage. i'm not supposed to have that rage but it has saved my life so many times. i'm not getting rid of it. reporter: the roots are explored in painful detail in the book. >> my parents were both dealing with incredible trauma. there was a part of them that was numb and turned off, and they had a kid.

reporter: and that was you. >> that was me. reporter: and you spent a lot of time literally by yourself. a great deal of >> time by myself. >>reporter: she describes a childhood of neglect. her father barely spoke to her. >> if i was with my mom and my stepdad, they would leave around 6:00 or 7:00 and be gone until 6:00. reporter: here's how she tells it in her book. >> at the river there was a fabulous swimming hole big enough or three people but there was almost always only me. i would go to the folder and look for bugs and animals. i was only spending about three hours a day with other human beings and then only my parents. reporter: there are stretches of time, she writes, that add up to literally years i don't remember just because i was so sad. add to the mix uncertainty about who she really was. >> i've never felt like a girl but i was raised as one, loosely. reporter: sounds like you were

loosely raised. >> i was loosely raised. i did try out being a girl. i really resented it. i hate dresses, i don't want to wear dresses. i will get the dress off of me if you don't. reporter: adolescence brought violence that would scar her. young adulthood brought traumas of its own. but it turns out there is beauty in the story if you just hold on a bit. if you could give a message to that little kid who was lonely and neglected, what would you say? >> i would say don't worry, you are going to play rock 'n' roll. reporter: play rock 'n' roll she does but neko case has a voice that could easily lay the lonesome hank williams cover. rolling stone once called her a

punk dropout who became india's greatest singer -- indie's greatest singer. she talks about punk acts that inspired her like the flag do objects. >> they are everything to me. whatever the yearning was now had a face and a sound. reporter: but she was influenced by a lot more than punk. >> i was helped very much by three women who are bulgarian hussein harmonies and use a lot of drones. that sound is really deep. it's very beautiful but also alarming almost. reporter: when you are performing, do you ever want to be or strive to be alarming? >> i'm actually really glad you asked that. in our society and our culture,

women tend to go for beautiful sounds. i'm working on a new record right now and i'm definitely trying to not be so worried about hitting a really good notes or sounding lovely. reporter: her memoir as well sometimes it seems to be lovely. it occasionally fails, especially in the parts about her lifelong antidote to loneliness. remember she mentioned seeking out animals? i found myself making a list of the animals we meet in your book. but the dog. but be the dog. stony other dog. the cat -- can be the cat. frank the turkey. reporter: this is just a partial list. norman the horse. >> norman sadly, we had to put him down last month. he was my first horse and he kind of taught me how to let my guard down. he had a great sense of humor. he loved to do the thing where

he wouldn't let me catch him. he thought that was hilarious. and then the second i would put my hand on him, he was like ok. he was the smartest, one of the smartest persons. he was a person. reporter: animals, and you might include the monster on the book cover, haven't helped neko case figure all of it out, just some of it. >> the older i get, the less i know, and i can't prove anything. but knowing who you are is a really big deal. i am a gender fluid person for sure. i do know that i'm part of the earth and i am literally a mammal. and that is so comforting. not everything is so dire. we are all animals. reporter: toward the end of the book, she makes a list of some of the things she is seen on the

road, some inspiring. >> pelicans suddenly rising like a swarm of army choppers over a sea cliff in santa cruz. reporter: some she found hurtful. >> hate speech billboards put up by christians in missouri. >> acres of migrating endangered cranes and wetlands. reporter: some not exactly applicable. >> signs telling me to reverse my vasectomy. reporter: and considering the trauma she is endured, she comes to her not entirely expected conclusion. >> what a staggeringly beautiful world. reporter: for the pbs news hour, i am tom casado. amna: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. announcer: major funding has been provided by. >> on that american cruise lines journeying along the columbia and snake rivers, travelers re-forged the root forged by lewis and clark more than 200

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hello, everyone and welcome to amanpour & co. here's what's coming up. >> donald trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions of dollars. flooding the zone, testing