♪ >> good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. officials stop most helicopters from flying near the washington airport while they search for clues into what caused the deadly collision with a passenger jet

jeff: a united nation's agency continues aid to gaza. amna: inducer yeah, rebuilding after 13 years of war. how one revolutionary envisions their future. >> i feel like i am free again. all of us believe that we were born just now. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- friends of the "newshour" including jim and nancy bildner and the robert and virginia shiller foundation, the judy and peter bloom kovler foundation upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> qnod is a proud supporter of

public television. on a voyage with qnod, the world awaits. diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style, all with qnod's white star service. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation fostering informed an engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour."

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the "newshour." the black box from the army helicopter that collided with a passenger jet near washington's reagan national airport has been recovered. >> investigators hope to gather valuable data as they try to understand what led to the dea deadly midair crash. as john yang reports, families were briefed and met with the medical examiner. >> police boats were back on the potomac river as diverse search for the remaining bodies of the 67 who died in a collision. and the first major change since the crash. the f.a.a. shut down most low

altitude flights near the washington national airport one of the most congested air spaces shared by commercial jets and government helicopters. meanwhile ntsb began to analyze the cockpit data recorder, the so box black boxes. defense secretary pete hegseth said they're trying to find out if they were using night goggles. >> it could have been used. you have a lot of ambient light. there could be depth perception problems. that's speculation. our investigation will tell us more. >> several news outlets say that at the time of the crash, one to controllers were handling both planes and helicopters, tasks normally per formed by two individuals. that practice is allowed typically later in the evening when traffic is slower.

at the white house reporters asked where the public should be concerned about f.a.a. staffing levels in response carol karolie leavitt doubles donned on his controversial comments on diversity and inclusion. >> do you pray that your plane lands safely and gets you to your destination? or do you pray that your pilot has a certain skin color. as president trump said yesterday, it's common sense. >> more than 40 bodies of the 67 victims have been recovered and we're learning more about the victims. >> ian epstein and daniss danissia alder were the flight attendants. and civil rights attorney kia dug begins had been in wichita for her mother's recovery. michael stovall was one of seven

friends returning from a duck hunting trip. and chief warren officer an degree eaves and staff sergeant ryan o'hara both husbands an fathers were two of the soldiers on the helicopter. for the pbs newshour i'm john yang. jeff: and there are many more questions about the safety of the u.s. aviation system and whether other changes might be needed. for a pilot's perspective we're joined by les abend. he's a contributing editor to flying magazine. thank you for being was. >> glad to be here. geoff: the altitude is coming under scrutiny. the "new york times" is reporting today that the helicopter that collided with the passenger jet appears to have been flying too high and outside of its approved flight path at the time of the crash. add to that president trump posted on social media the helicopter was flying too high by a lot. as we await the findings of this

investigation based on your experience and your review of the new videos of the crash, what's your best assessment of what transpired? >> well, listen, everything is pure speculation at this point. none of us should be making conjectures or anything of that nature with referenced to what happened. the altitude that is this helicopter might have been flying is being reported by data networks like flight aware and so on and so forth. that's usually g.p.s. altitude which could be different than regular altitude. indeed, it's possible. my gut feel when i first saw this accident was that these pilots of the blackhawk might have identified the wrong aircraft and didn't realize it until the last minute. now if they were using n.v.g. goggles -- geoff: night vision goggles. >> night vision goggles, correct. if you use those goggles, ambient light especially coming

from the landing light of another aircraft can potentially blind you. so that's a possibility as well. this is what the ntsb is doing. we will find there are a number of contributing factors to this terrible, terrible tragedy. >> geoff: meantime the f.a.a. has shut down the low altitude helicopter corridor that was in use at the time of the collision. in your view, is the air space around reagan national is it too crowded? what other changes need to be made? >> well, it's crowd. and it's been that way for decades. and we've managed to get through decades with no midair collisions of any consequence that have actually had fatalities. so yes, it's busy, busy air space. we've got military operations. we've got civilian operations. we have restrictive air space.

i think what we could do is let's take a look what we have now, what sit that potentially caused this problem -- what is it that potentially caused this problem and evaluate that first. where could we make changes? is it possible that we could have more restrictions on what we call airplane and trail, in other words the distance between the airplane ahead of us and the airplane behind. -- behind us. airplanes have to config early when they don't see the ground -- con fight your the ground early when they don't see the grown. other times there are visual approaches which follow the potomac river right to the particular runway especially if they're coming from the north. geoff: it's raised questions about the air traffic controller

service. we don't know if that played a factor. you have many air traffic controllers working six days a week, big picture. what danger does that present to the flying public? >> no doubt that this could be a potential issue. but it could be a potential issue in any facility. this is a very big facility. there are really, really sharp controller that is work for this particular facility. if indeed, it's a staff shortage issues, it could be related to this accident. once again, we don't know. but anybody working on a job that's as intense and stressful as this one is -- has the potential to be fatigued just as pilots have the potential to be fatigued, so there are regulation that is restrict pilots and air traffic controllers on how long they could work. controllers how long they can be on a console at one particular time. are they stretching it and

pushing it to the limit? it's possible. we don't know yet. geoff: thanks again for joining us with your insights. we appreciate it. ♪ geoff: president trump said he's moving forward with his plans to slap tariffs on three u.s. major partners. >> he confirmed 25% tariffs from goods from mexico and canada and 10% on those coming from china with many to go into effect as soon as saturday. the president also said that tariffs on the european union are to be expected. >> the tariffs are going to make us very rich and very strong. and we're going treat other countries very fairly. if you think about it, other countries charge us tariffs. we don't charge them tariffs. it's about time that that

changes. amna: laura barron-lopez joins us now. what are the potential impacts of the tariffs? how sweeping are they? >> they're unprecedented according to the economist that we talk to. nothing like we've seen in our lifetime in terms of the scope of the tariffs especially being exacted on mexico and canada. i spoke to erica york the v.p. of federal tax policy at the tax foundation and she said that these will be extremely disruptive because of the fact that these tariffs are on all goods -- to mexico and canada. and she and other economists say they could upend the supply chain relationship that is the united states has and that ultimately this is going to have a lot of impact on the american consumer. i should note that trump also said there will be future tariffs on the european union. some exists say that started tariffs are good. president biden kept in place a

number of president trump's first term tariffs. but erica york said that she and her team crunched the numbers at tax foundation and this exact percentage of tariffs on mexico, canada and china, could cost the average american household an extra $830 a year. amna: mr. president said he was going to do this. what's been the reaction to these threats? >> justin trudeau said that canada will be forceful but reasonable and have about immediate response. they're prepared to implement and another canadian official told the "newshour," that they're in d.c. and prepared to negotiate with president trump up until the last minute to avoid tariffs. but they don't see a single american official that's willing to negotiate with them tonight. amna: the a.p. is reporting that a top department of justice official has ordered the firing of some prosecutors who worked on january 6 rioter case. there are a.p. reporting that a

number of f.b.i. officials including some who investigated the federal cases against president trump are at risk of being fired. what do we know? what we know so far is that the trump administration is expected to fire dozens of f.b.i. agents. some reporting by our own stephanie sy. but the president was asked about this today, and he essentially said that he wasn't aware of the potential of these firings. and he said that there are some very bad people over at the f.b.i. and that he thinks that this is a good idea. but it was frankly stunning, amna, because he didn't appear to be aware of these coming firings. amna: laura barron-lopez, thank you very much. lara: thank you. ♪ stephanie: here are the latest headlines. we have more to report on the reported firings at the f.b.i. the acting director of the agency confirmed in a memo this evening that eight senior f.b.i.

executives have been ordered to resign or face termination. acting deputy attorney emile bove ordered the acting director brian driscoll to turn over a list of former personnel who worked on the january 6 investigation to the department of justice. driscoll wrote in a memo to f.b.i. employee that is the request encompasses thousands of employees across the country including himself. in the days other headlines the trump administration's efforts to freeze trillions of dollars in grants and lones has met another -- loans has met another road block. a judge in rhode island have requested a temporary restraining order to pause the measure. that's after a judge in washington halted the plan but only until month. earlier this week, a government memo called on agencies to freeze funding to make sure it's in line with president trump's agenda. that memo was then rescind after it caused widespread confusion.

though the white house press secretary has insisted that a funding freeze is still in the works. breaking tonight, a senior trump administration official has secured the release of six americans held in venezuela. president trump announced on social media that they are en route to the u.s. with envoy for special missions richard again tell in. venezuela state tv shogren tell in meeting with venezuelan president maduro in caracas earlier i in the day. he urged them to take back migrant who is committed crimes and pushed for the release of americans. and some lending legitimacy to maduro's rule after the disputed election last year. a medical plane crashed in philadelphia. and no survivors have been confirmed. the private leer jet fell from the sky shortly after take-off into a busy intersection ignite ago fiery scene.

six people were onboard. it crashed near a mall scattering debris and setting ablaze structure including homes. israeli officials have confirmed the names of three hostages set to be released tomorrow by hamas. they include american israeli keith seigel, french israeli, olfers er calderon and yamma bibas. israel has agreed to release 90 prisoners as part of the fourth such exchange between the two sides. the united nations said that rwandan backed rebels took the major eastern city of goma earlier this week and has advanced into south kivu have prince. they were able to repel an attack. but the rebels have marched to the capital about 1,000 miles away. the rebel controlled goma remains without water and electricity. the city has been a humanitarian

hub for more than six million people in the region who has been displaced by the conflict. >> we no longer have people to protect us when fighting broke out. i hope they have pity on us. may they bring us peace. what we are going through is not meant for children of god. we live like animalsing we are suffering. >> the u.n. are concerned about growing human right violations stemming from the conflict. this includes reports from executions at the hands of the rebels as well as sexual violence carried out by congolese forces. a new york doctor was indicted for prescribing an abortion pill online to a teenager in louisiana where the procedure is banned with few exceptions. a grand jury charged dr. margaret car personality and her company with criminal abortion by means of aborti abortion-inducing drug, a fel

felony. louisiana classify the drugs -- classifies the drugs as dangerous substances. this is the first time since roe v. wade was overturned. jonathan and david talk to us relations between the u.s. an cuba. -- and cuba. >> from the walter cronkite school of journalism from arizona state university. geoff: today the u.n. palestinian agency says it is providing humanitarian aid in gaza as well as the occupied west bank and east jerusalem despite a ban that went into effect yesterday. an israeli law passed in october

forbids them from operating on israeli land and forbids contact with israeli authorities. nick shiffrin has more. nick: amra was established after the creation of the state of israel to serve the palestinian population. it has come to provide some six million palestinians in gaza and the occupied territories not only humanitarian assistance but education and healthcare. they help commit the hamas terror attacks israel says. the u.n. has said nine amra staff may have been involved and were fired. to understand the future, we get two views. the director of amra's washington, d.c. office and asa farayem with the israeli defense forces now a fellow with the washington institute for middle east policies. welcome to the news hour let me start with you. what is going on with amra as we said earlier there is an

official ban that has gone in effect but you're still operating. what's the status? >> all amra facilities remained open. save our field headquarters in jerusalem. in fact, we had 400 medical consultations in east jerusalem alone. school is going to reopen again on sunday. in gaza, we are -- our international staff remain. and we continue to stay and deliver. we are a major part of the humanitarian assistance effort particularly since the cease-fire. >> what should we make of that in your opinion that there is an official ban on this organization yet, it continues to operate? >> i think it is important to understand the israeli view of amra. and to put it shortly, it's a poisoned apple. the apple part is the -- the services that we heard, education, food, and health

which are a necessity and everybody recognizes the need to do so. the poison part is connected to negative aspects of -- of amra, the involvement and actually the repurposing and overtake of hamas of parts of amra operations in gaza. so involvement in terror participation in the october 7th massacre in hostage-take. we have a hostage who said i was held inside an amra sight. >> so take those arguments on. israel says that amra has been infiltrated by hamas and then we have seen things like tunnel that is hamas has used underneath. >> the u.n. nor amra want hamas members as part of the organization. when israel in january of last year brought us the initial

names, the first thing that our commissioner general said was, this is a betrayal of the united nations. this is a betrayal of the work that we do for palestinian refugees. as a result, we move swiftly and decisively both us and the secretary general. secretary general ordered his equivalent of an expect or general to look at this. the secretary general also commissioned an outside review of neutrality operations. the record is clear, when we find for example a tunnel under one of our facilities and let's be honest, these tunnels are everywhere, what we do is we notify the israeli government of what we found. we notify the united states and all the major doe no, sir. we demarsh the palestinian or the defacto authority. and frankly at some personal risk we inject cement into those

ton else in an such. >> have the steps been sufficient -- and again -- does the fact that they are still operating, the israeli government allows them to operate meaning that the israeli government needs amra. >> i think we need to address two issues. the tactical issues of involvement or the use of u.n. sights for terror and military purposes. the second pertains to the strategic aspects. when this agency unlike the high commissioner for refugees, sister agency in the u.n. is not about finding long-term solutions for the palestinian refugees, it's inher taps or hereditary status given to palestinians just by the fact that their ancestors were among the refugees in 48 and 67. no other refugee population is

still around. there are some positive services which were mentioned. but it comes with a problematic load of strategic issues which actually impede the -- the peace process or peace-making and instead, it's -- it i is per pih rating the right of return. >> is there an alternative to amra that exists? >> no. amra performs a unique function in the u.n. system. we are a direct service provi provider. we run an education system. we provide relief in social services. nick, every amra commissioner general wants to be the last amra commissioner general. this was established as a temporary agency until this was

a permanent solution. the member states of the u.n. across 75 years have failed to come to that permanent solution. in fact, amra is -- by design built to be turned over to a palestinian intuitions. it's why we pay, for example, local comparative wages. we don't want to be there forever. and in fact, we see our role in gaza as hopefully being a bridge to whatever emerges as the governance there. >> all u.n. officials say you cannot replace amra. >> sure you can. of course, you can. these services can be provided in the west bank by the p.a. in jordan by the jordanian government in lebanon by the lebanese government. in gaza when there will be an alternative government, it will be this government. it can be alternative. u.n. agencies like the food programs,

health programs or refugee programs, the same thing. and the main thing that they -- that am are should do to make it possible for -- amra should do to make it possible to solve the problem is to stopper pitch waiting the problem by printing more and more refugee certificates for the sons, grand daughters, grand, grandchildren of the original ones. nick: thank you very much to you both. >> thank you. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: as syria recovers from 13 years of civil war and decadessed for brutal assad regime, its people must rebuild their nation. amna: one of those facing that tax is a syrian li lit a cure

profess whoever who the "newshour" has spoken many times since. we spoke with him reclint in the new free syria. >> a free syria for all its people. in 2012, salah was an idealistic young father and protestor with high hopes for a future for his country. >> we're singing and chanting in the streets peacefully without carrying any weapons. every day the assad regime killed people on a daily basis. >> what he saw in the 12 years since left hi deejected and hopeless. his hometown devastated by russian air strikes and hundreds of his friends and colleagues killed and displaced. this was once salah's home where he raised his children and dreamed of a bright future for them. now his community like thousands across the country lies in

pieces. the earthquake two years ago took much of what the war planes and artillery shells haven't destroyed. salah think that is much death and destruction cold have been avoided if they were given the help they needed in the early days of the revolution. >> nobody needs to blame them for being militants because what they saw pushes everybody to be militant. when you see that all the people around you are bombed every day and nobody is trying to help, we do not deny that we got good support from western governments and western organization. but everything they gave was food, some blanket -- but what we needed at that time was some kind of weaponry. if the u.s. at that time had supported us militarily, we would have prevented iran from smuggling weapons to hezbollah. >> salah who once believed the world and especially the u.s. would stand behind syrian

protestors spoke multiple times to the "newshour" as the civil war spider telling us his country had been abandoned to horror. but, he says, now is their chance to make amends. he says if there's a power vacuum, iran and russia could come back to fill it. >> particularly the west. particularly america, right now have let me say a very good chance to start a new page with the syrian people to atone for their sins with the syrian people. they let us down in the past. i believe that pro assad forces are still waiting. they're still weaponnized and the iranians are still in syria, by the way. this means that right now the west must include this chance. >> after the sudden fall of the dictator who he says destroyed his country, now salah's hope is back. rejoicing alongside millions of syrians at home and displaced abroad who now hope to return.

but so many like him have been left homeless and penniless by this war. and his family is luckier than most. they've been living in this small house in azaz that the whole extended family shares. rebuilding will be an almighty task in a country where the economy is in ruins too. >> 80% of our houses have been destroyed by the russian air planes. i cannot rebuild my house because it needs thousands of dollars. and, you know, this is impossible now a days because we do not have salaries. the economic cycle right now has broken down. the economic situation needs to be reactivated, needs to be starting new businesses, starting factories because we have lots of young men here are unemployed. >> when they faced extermination in 2020, salah begged then president trump for help. >> i'm calling for president,

mr. donald trump, please do something. please, i beg you. now he has high hopes that a trump presidency will be in syria's favor mostly because of his firm stance against iran. >> nuclear agreement was under the obama administration. and mr. trump stopped all that agreement. that's why we as syrians believe that if we think of who is better for syria in terms of the relationship with iran, it's definitely it's president trump. even if we were not his friends, at least he is an enemy of our enemy. >> who did this action? >> since 2016, salah has been teaching at what people in rebel held territory call the university of free aleppo, a literature profess or now he hopes his future will be dominated by books not war. >> i feel that i am still in a dream. the tyrannical regime, the

dictator whom we worked hard to topple down for 13 years right now is erased from syria in 13 days. that was miraculous. i believe that this is the first time we as syrian people and personally, i feel that i am a human being again. i am free again. all of us believe that we -- we were born just now. we have been born maybe for the first time in our life. we can speak freely. >> there's so much work to be done. but when and if you get there, what does life in a free syria look like for you? >> as revolutionaries, we don't think of ourself. we think about our society, about the benefits of our society, the welfare of our society. and that's why we started the revolution because we wanted to liberate our society. to have new horizons for generations to come. imagine, you know, after 13 years of being chased from one

place to the other, displaced outside my home, and living under bombardment waiting for the russian planes to come and attack us, the idea, the feelings, the emotions are crowded in our heads and not knowing what to do, what to say, how to feel even, so i cannot imagine how my future life will be. >> and how about for your kids? you grew up under the assads. what do you want for them? >> at least we got rid of the assad regime and we led them to live freely now. they can -- they can say what they want. they can feel what they want. they can speak freely. now they are not afraid of any oppression. they are not afraid to be detained any more. and i believe that the future is ahead of them. >> a future he never thought they would see. now he hopes he and his countrymen can build the nation they promised. for the pbs news00 i'm

layla mila na allen in aleppo, syria. amna: contentious confirmation hearings mark the second week of this trump administration. for insights into it all, we're joined by brooks and capehart that's david brooks and jonathan capehart associate editor of the "washington post." a lot happened this week. the week began for those of you who are following alone with this introduction of o.m.b. memo rescinding rather saying that some federal funds and georgia grants had to be frozen. it was rescinded within 48 hours after being issued after mass confusion about what was impa impacting. the week was ending with a lot ocon fusion with president trump easter >> threats with tariffs. this is the second week of the

trump administration. what are you taking away with the scope of how things have been messaged this week? >> we have peak in confidence. say they want to defund it. they can try to do that. you find the d.e.i. programs or any programs you don't like and you target them and we're going try to get rid of these programs. but instead they have a two-page memo to eliminate allegedly what they call $3 trillion in federal spending. this is like trying to cure acne with decapitation. it's massive. and it turned the country, university and government officials into total chaos. nobody had the sense to say what would happen next ifer threw out with no clarity what's about to happen? well, of course the world is going to up. and then he pulls it back. then they end just today with tariffs.

the british writer said that civil zations decline when they forget the obvious things. one of the obvious things are tariffs are bad for our country. in 1930, we had this food tariff which turned the financial crisis into a global recession. this won't be that bad. bit will have defect of a financial crisis on canada and mexico. all the things you want in an economy that are good get worse. you get lower wages. you get lower productivity. you get lower supply chain flows. so to me it's another self destructive policy. we've seen these two cases of bakes reasonle confidence not being able to be fold. >> we're 11 days in, and i'm resisting calling this chaos or confusion because what this really is this is what he ran on, taking a wrecking ball to the government. this is what happens when you -- when you believe that the government is completely woke, however they're defining it. so you put out a memo saying

we're freezing funding. we're doing all these things that will hurt people. that press conference yesterday -- let's just zero in on the press conference the president did yesterday talking about a tragedy in the poe to -- potoma. 67 souls gone and he gives lip service -- fine. he does a moment of silence. and then spends the next 25 minutes saying some of the racist things i've ever heard come out of the white house, come out of the white house press briefing room come out of the mouth of the president of the united states scapegoating anyone who isn't white christian male, straight for problems in the country. and then deflecting blame on to past presidents, democratic presidents. this is all he wa ran this way. he can do these things.

right now we have to sit back and pray that the wrecking ball doesn't destroy us. >> a number of their key nominees had their confirmation hearings on the hill including robert f. kennedy jr., cash patel to lead the f.b.i. and tulsi gabbard as a d.n.i. there were a couple of moments i want to get your take that seems to revto reveal some republican concern. >> will you reassure mothers unequivocally that the measles and hepatitis vaccines doesn't cause autism? >> i'm not going into the agency with any -- >> that's kind of a yes or no question because the data is there. and that's kind of a yes or no. 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 i >> i want -- i will absolutely do. that >> i want to get a yes that in

your policy recommendation you would make or not make? >> senator, i'm offended by the question because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation. >> just as a reminder, the overwhelming data shows no link between vehicles seen and awe thautism. -- vaccines an autism. >> do you think these senators still back the nominees despite the concerns? what are i heard in these two cases in particular, republican senatorses saying to the nominees that crazy thing you believe, you don't really believe that, right? would you make it easier for me to vote for you by telling me you don't believe. that >> i'm not going to tell you i believe it but i'm not going to tell you i don't believe it. tulsi gabbard is in a heard place because there are

republicans who are skeptical about her. second the intelligence committee is a serious committee. that's a committee that usually meets in private. so that's not usually a committee filled with histrionic behavior. there are parts of the intelligence effort that is she really is a threat to, a potential threat to, the 702 fisa thing which is a way that we have to look at -- look at foreign terrorist and she wants to raise the bar allowing us to use that abilities. so that is a serious threat to people who care about intelligence. and so i think she's in a little more danger. kennedy looks to me he may go through unless you get someone like mitch mcconnell come in and do something. >> you think republican senators made may vote against tulsi gabbard? >> what do i know. 60-40, they vote for her which is low by republican standards, that's pretty low odds for her. >> jonathan? >> look, if one of the three is

-- could go down, cash patel for f.b.i. which i don't think given the hearings he might not -- he probably might get through. tulsa gabbard, she's the one we've consistently talked about being on the edge. r.f.k. jr. but look, i remember when pete hegseth was named as donald trump's pick for donald trump's secretary. and ernst expressed valid concerns. he's now secretary of defense and she voted for him. so i would love to be -- >> three republicans did vote against him. collins, murkowski and mcconnell. >> correct and he is still secretary of defense. >> vice president vance broke the tie. >> right, right, right. i hope i'm proven wrong that nobody is going to vote against any of these people. but you know, we'll see. >> i need to ask you about the

democrats because they are choosing really their direction forward tomorrow. they will vote for their d.n.c. chair. jonathan, you and your colleagues just hosted the forum for the candidates last night. what's your takeaway? does this party have a direction? >> the party has a direction. let me say this. i hesitated a bit. they are not unclear on what they stand for. what they are struggling with is how do they convince the american people that they are where the american people said in the election they didn't think they were, that somehow the republicans are now the party of the working class and care about the american people and the democrats are the one who are in league with -- with billionaires and the elites. what i took away from that forum last night is that they're more concerned about misinformation, disinformation getting the message -- message out and how do they catch-up with the

incredible infrastructure that is there on the right? and so one thing i noticed is that as each candidate was talk about what they wanted to do or what they thought or the direction of the party, you saw heads nodding all over the stage. and so while there are eight people maybe half of them are actually -- stabbed a chance. maybe half of the half stand a chance. we'll see. but the democrats -- trust me, the democrats aren't in trouble. >> i want to give david 30 seconds to respond. >> they're in big trouble. the whole world view have been blown apart. they're now the party of the college educated on the coast. they didn't think a lot about would vote for donald trump. they should take a year off. do some serious thinking becauses a lot of your mental categories have to be reimagined. >> they don't have year. >> we'll come back to talk about this. david brooks and jonathan capehart, always good to see you. >> thanks, amna.

geoff: the future path of cuba has been in the headlines lately. can music by the gateway to closer relationship with americans and cubans? that's the hope of a group of high profile musicians who have been forge ago bond between young students on and off the island. jeffery brown has the first of three reports from havana for our canvas coverage and art in action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy. ♪ >> on a roof top turned stars in havana, the stars of a youthful new orleans brass band. >> followed by those of cuban teens, members of a group called primera linea, means first line.

a battle of the bands, not really. more a blast of joy an connections. [speaking in spanish] >> every time we hear about them we hear their music and it helps us teach them about what we do, so they can learn as well. are they're so energetic and passionate about it. that's what i love. i love to see people who are passionate about what they do, like what they love. like how i do. >> troy anders better known as trombone shorey who uses jazz, funk and more. >> some of these kids, music is life. when i come here, it's the same thing as new orleans. what they play is life here. you know, you can hear the culture. you can hear the struggle. you can hear the pain and the happiness through that music. >> we first met andrews seven

years ago in new orleans new orleans to learn how he got his nickname anded out as a child, a shorty playing in the streets of his neighborhood of his commitment to music and to his trombone shorty foundation, an after school program offering students music and lifeless sons. as 12 year-old himself, he had had the opportunity to come to cuba as part of a cultural exchange program, a formative experience. >> this place and the music has never left me since that day. in 1998, since that trip. and my goal was to always be able to come back because it had that major of an impact on me at that young age, very impressionable age that it never left me. >> five years ago, he began bringing student musicians from the foundation to havana to play and interact with students here. that's now grown into an event called getting funky in havana, an exchange in music and broader culture for the young musician for a group of american music

lovers attend ago series of outdoors concert. participating all along the way, stars like legendary blues man taj mahal soaking in the performances of the young cubans. ♪ and later performing at an old havana church. before join ago panel discussion that included the funk dellic master himself, george clipton. >> as a songwriter, you started employ all the different culture and tones, and the way we converse with each other -- >> also serving as one of the leaders of this gathering, the rising cuban superstar, sima funk who is everywhere performing with young musician, playing in a local school and even performing in a local

fashion show. he has mixed the sound of cuban salsa and funk. he sees this as crucial for young people here. >> imagine that you're a young kid in cuba for example or a country that doesn't have a lot of resources and you start to feel that after so many years without connection, with all the musician, nothing about connection. you can see how kids are saying yeah, we're par of the world. -- part of the world. and we can do it because people believe in us. >> it has to be balanced against the realities of cuba, a deeply depressed economy where electrical power shortages have crippled the country. in lines to get gas, money from the bank and czyzed bread the norm. more than a million has left. official data show a stunning 10% drop in population in recreant years. actual numbers are likely

higher. and the one-party government is led by the heirs of fidel castro. his image prominently displayed around havana. mass demonstrations in 2021 protesting the power and other shortages were quickly put down. there's the continuing whip saw of u.s.-cuban relation. i last visited 10 years ago soon after president obama restored diplomatic relations and a restriction that kept most americans from visiting the island. it was alive with tourists spending much needed money. cuban officials say two million tourists visited in 2024 down from some four million in 2015. >> there's not a lot of tourism. there's less tourism with the problems you know already exist. but we're here. the problem is getting by. and supporting ones self.

>> streets are quieter. cruise ships are mostly gone. they're not doing much cruising. he's been driving for 20 years. >> in comparison since when i start, it's down, it's on the floor. >> it's on the floor? >> yeah, tourists, it's not a lot of visit. the people complain. i hope it changes. >> since president trump reversed course on diploe make it ties in thanks in his first term, strict travel restrictions have applied and the back and forth continued in recent days with outgoing president biden ending cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terror only to have incoming president trump immediately restore it. >> everybody's afraid of what donald trump can do in his presidential time because the people who suffer those political issues. >> against this backdrop, the

cultural exchange program foc focuses on smaller more manageable goals including bringing more instruments to cuban students at a leading music school on havana's outskirts. >> some of the instruments are beat-up and they're making the best of it. but i'm no stranger to. that as they're continuing to play and grow, every year we come back, those kids are phenomenal. >> er definitely hear the difference. >> new orleans student musicians led a second line parade through the crowd. and players from both countries join in to perform and dance inside and out. >> 15 year-old trouble bonist daniela hernandez lives nearby with her very proud extended family. >> he's also a member of the band that per formed for the visitors and low cals alike. >> when they listen us to, i want them to be like wow, how

delightful and they start dancing and enjoy what we do to the fullest because in the end, i do this so they can have fun was. >> also in the band, 14 year- year-old, ortiz. >> it has been my passion since was small. i dream with the musicable i dream with everything i can create when i have a few more years in. i dream of continuing with my knew music with other band mates with being a great musician. >> that's a universal dream, of course, and 17 year-old norah and jarmel brought along a personal dream of seeing the homeland of his father's family. also getting a taste of being a role model. >> you can tell they love what they do. they love -- they play their horn. they love to interact with music with other people. that's inspiring because if they can look up to me like that at my age now i can just imagine when i grow up how people will look up to me then and how i can give back to the community.

♪ >> that's what it's all about for trombone shorty as well who could be found throughout interacting with young musicians including them in super jam performance at major havana men use. >> this kind of cultural exchange, what can it actually accomplish? we can all have a good time and we are. but what does it accomplish in the end? >> we've been able to have a great impact on some of the kids and some of the kids that we brought here from new orleans, they won't forget this experience and hopefully accomplishment that is we're trying to get out of here is helping these kids go to be professional musicians and they can come back and also have an impact on the next generation that do the same thing and we can save lives through music. ♪ >> trombone shorty says he done know what the future will bring for u.s.-cuba relation or its impacts on the work of his foundation.

but he vows to return as often as he can. for the pbs news00 i'm jeffery brown in havana, cuba. ♪ amna: terrific story. a reminder, be sure to washington "washington week" right here on pbs. jeffery goldberg discuss president trump's handling of the first real test of his second term. geoff: and that is the "newshour" for tonight. i'm geoff bennet. amna: i'm amna nawaz. thank you for joining us. and have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the "newshour" including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. >> 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 and friends of the "newshour." ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs news station from viewers like you. thank you. >> this is pbs newshour west from the david m. rubinstein studio at weta in washington and from our bureau at the walter

cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2025] ♪

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