>> tonight on pbs news weekend, the war in ukraine dominates the munich security conference as ukrainian president zen ski says his country likely won't survive its war with russia without u.s.

support. then the untold stories of millions of africans lost at sea on the journey to the americas and one woman's epic quest to document those lost slave ships. and the benefits of icy plunge as it gains a following. >> it's an experience that every single person has to have once in their lifetime. >> here in winter. >> yes, in winter. and i love it. it's really cold but we love it. >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- >> in 1995 two friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all. with no long-term contracts, nationwide coverage, and 100% u.s. based support, consumer

cell u lar, freedom calls. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> good evening. john is away. the war in ukraine has taken center stage at the munich security conference as the trump administration's lead ukraine envoy said today there are no plans for europeans to be

included in any talks to end the war. on the sidelines of the conference the republican chairman of the house foreign affairs committee said that national security advisor mike waltz, secretary of state marco rubio, and middle east enjoy steve whit kov will travel to saudi arabia in the coming days to begin the negotiations with ukrainian and russian if i recalls. ukraine's president suggested that the days of the u.s. defending europe may be over. our foreign affairs and defense correspondent spoke with chief of staff and asked him what message he has for europe and the united states? >> first of all, i think that president zelenskyy brings hope. the hope that just the new reality europe has to be united, europe has to be strong. >> is that because the u.s.

isn't a reliable partner? >> in life it's necessary to be ready for everything. and if you ask my opinion, i think that the new administration president trump, he wants to be a strong leader and dealing with europe, ukraine, is a part of europe. ukraine is a future member of the european union. and we need to be ready for any challenges. >> what message did you receive from vice president vance? did he commit to providing you security guarantees and negotiating with you rather than over you? >> first of all, we received this message directly from president trump and we received from vice president another american official. commitment to continue to support ukraine, understanding

what is this war. and political will to end this war by just and lasting peace. the president was very clear, any plans which will not prepare with ukraine, we can't accept. >> but did vice president vance commit to providing security guarantees and negotiating with you? >> look, please understand, nobody can say yet exactly this security guarantee. we definitely know that this security guarantee have to be effective, strong, and real. >> and it has to include the united states? >> absolutely. and the people recognize that this president, it's impossible that he accepted something which

will be against ukrainian interests, which will be against the principles of our independence, sovereignty and integrity. >> but we've heard different messages from different u.s. officials. what's the impact on ukraine on those mixed messages? >> of course sometimes as many people you have the questions when you listen some not clear understanding messages. but our president is a very smart person and a very honest person. and there his relations with president trump, personal relations very good, very honest. >> officials tell me that the u.s. has offered a deal to ukraine in which the u.s. would own 50% of ukraine's rare earth and that kyiv has rejected that offer. why?

>> i can say that for this moment we have not signed any documents. the united states is our biggest strategic partner. we want to be strategic partners for long periods of time. we want that in ukraine will be a lot of american investment including development of our strategic minerals, strategic area of our industry like energy and others, our partners and friends understand our positions. we will continue. >> it sounds like you haven't rejected anything, the negotiations continue? >> negotiations continue. >> president zelenskyy today confirmed i think for the first time that ukraine had lost more than 4,000 square kilometers, more than 1500 square miles.

how difficult is the front line and is ukraine continuing to lose territory? >> of course the difficulty situation. wars continue. i think it's time to be together, to be strong, and as i said president yesterday talked to vice president, we don't need and we want that united states will be between us and russia. we want the united states will be in our side. and this is not because just our, it's the side of international law, it's the side of truth, and it's the side of good. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> in the days other news three israeli hostages are back with their families after hamas released them. all three men were taken hostage during the october 7th attack nearly 500 days ago. among the released hostages, american israeli. during the reunion the

36-year-old finally learned the name of his baby girl. she was born while he was held in captivity. it's believed 73 hostages remain in a and possibly half of them are not alive. following the release of the hostages, israel sent bus loads of free prisoners and detainees to the gaza strip, nearly 400 were allowed to return to the territory. but there is uncertainty in the region. the first phase of the ceasefire ends in two weeks and there has been little progress in negotiations about what happens next. the internal revenue service could soon be the latest agency to see a slash in its employee head count. it is now being widely reported that the i.r.s. will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season. it's not known exactly how many will be affected but the cuts could happen as soon as next week. elon musk and his so-called department of government efficiency have called for the u.s. to delete entire agencies

as part of its cost cutting measures. five people in upstate new york are charged with torturing and killing a transgender man. sam norred kwit moves to the area but lost contact with family members. after they reported him missing, an investigation led police to the suspects and the motel where he was last seen. police later found the body in a field where they say he was left in an attempt to cover up the crime after he endured months of torture. while the investigation continues police have not ruled out labelling this a hate crime. state health officials in texas are warning of a growing number of measle cases. the texas department of health said there are 48 cases of the infection with most of those in children and teens who are unvaccinated. mostly contained to a tight nikt religious community. the untold stories of captive

africans lost at sea. and how work life has changed post pandemic as more employers tell workers they must return to the office. >> from the david m. ruben stien studio, home of the pbs news hour week nights on pbs. >> between the 16th and 19th centuries millions of captive africans were forced on to slave ships and trafficked across the atlantic ocean. as many as a thousand ships sank and fewer than 20 of them have been found and properly documented. for our series race matters, i sat down with national geographic explorer and writer tarra roberts who has been travelling the world documenting these underwater wrecks and the intrepid group of primarily black divers working to uncover them. she tells these untold stories.

in her memoir written in the waters. ng us. your journey took you across four continents but you got the idea for the project that became the book here in washington, d.c. tell us about that. >> this was in 2016 and i got offered tickets to go and visit the national museum of african american history and culture, and it was there that my life completely changed. i saw a picture of a group of primarily black women in wet suits on a boat. i had never seen a picture of black women in wet suits on a boat before. i discovered that they were part of this group called diving with a purpose and that they spend their time searching for and documenting slave ship wrecks around the world. and that just, it floored me. it made me want to be a part of that work in some kind of way. >> when did you realize that your story and the histories

that you were telling were all intertwined and could be part of this narrative? >> it wasn't until i started to meet descendnts of people who were on the ships that i started to think about my own ancestry which is something that i didn't think about from the start. which maybe is a little surprising. i mean, i am a black woman and it is the slave trade but i just didn't think about it personally. and then travelling around the world and encountering so many different people from the african diaspora who had different understandings and perspectives of the history, it just had me question a lot of things. >> you began your journey talking about how you were kind of trepd ashs about going down this road but you ended in this place of empowerment writing, i feel agency instead of sorrow. how has this empowered you? >> i think that there's

something about actually encountering real pieces of the past that makes the past clear and undeniable. but then there's something about the fact that i'm taking on this work, these other divers are taking on this work,s historians, ooshgologies, all of these people are saying that we're not going to wait for anyone else to prioritize this history, that we are raising our hands and we're volunteering our time to bring this history back into memory. the like that is not bad work. that is powerful work. i can say to the ancestors that i see you, i honor you, i remember you. i haven't forgotten. and that is really something for me to feel empowered around. >> what were some of the most surprising facts that you learned about this history?

>> there were about 12,000 ships that participated in the slave trade. what i realized is that when i was growing up, i couldn't tell you the name of a single one of them but yet i could tell you the name of the may flower, i could tell you about the titanic but i couldn't tell you the name of a single one of these 12,000 ships. that didn't feel right to me. the other stats that just like it sits on my heart is the fact that approximately 1.8 million africans died in the crossing from africa to the americas. i thought to myself who is mourning that loss, that enormous amount of loss? who even knows that? i didn't know that that many people had died in the crossing. it helped me see that there is a whole chapter of history that we just don't know. >> we learn in the book that

fewer than 1% of archeologies are black. that seems to have informed what parts of history get covered. was that something that you learned more about on this journey? >> yes, absolutely. as i talked to and met more and more archeologists, i actually asked them the same question. i was like what difference does it make if there are more black archeologists or not? and what they said was really interesting. they said we ask different questions. we see different things. we're interested in different parts of the story. so to really get a complex full story you need all of these pieces. the other parts are just as important but this part has really been the thing. so i think it's really important to have representation from a variety of people that are involved with this. >> the book is written in the

waters a memoir of history, home, and belongs. tarra roberts, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> the era of the remote worker is winding down. before a mandate for federal workers to return to the office made national headlines, dozens of major private sector companies across the u.s. like amazon, starbucks, even zoom asked their workers to return to the office at least half of the week. it's a big shift for millions across the country many of who have come to prefer the flexibility of working from home. i sat down to learn why back to the office may not immediately mean back to normal. pamela thank you so much for joining us. private sector leaders have said that it's important to go back to work in the office because it increases prod ductivity. what do you make of that?

>> i believe that there are some merits of going back to work in person. i mean, think about the benefits of collaborating with your teammates and colleagues for the leaders and your supervisor to see you working actually working and being able to go to that supervisor and say hey i have this great idea. or brainstorming with colleagues. >> what's your advice to employers? it's been almost five years since we started dealing with remote work and now workers are in some cases going back to an entirely unfamiliar working environment. how do you advise employers to navigate this space? >> i think they need to be encouraging and be not so firm and hard core about it. get them excited, use the psychology of understanding what they've been through. so psychologically how do we make it easier for them? and i think one way is to have a good working environment. make sure that they have their desk or a desk or somewhere to work that's theirs. make sure all the computers are

updated and they have their monitors and they have a set-up so it's just like when you're on boarding a new employee that you're ready for them, you're welcoming them. maybe even have some fun, maybe some lunch and learns or even having some team time to make it more fun to be back. >> what are some of the challenges that employers are telling you that they're having when welcoming employees back? >> well the first one i've been getting a lot of, we've had an increase for need for training is business attire because they've been behind the screen for now five years and they don't really know how to dress appropriately in that work space. and we want to showcase our professionalism, whether we're on a zoom call or in person. they can't wear their jammies, you have to wear shoes. not that it's that bad but i think it's been a long time and so they need to refresh, what is business casual today? >> and to that end we're navigating a number of generations here. spanning from genz to baby

boomers. how do you navigate that when people have different generational approaches, different cultural touchpoints? how does that work? >> especially boomer biases, don't have any biases. it really comes down to communicating expectations, and in sharing what is professionalism. so i think with a generation, i think the young generation should listen and observe and watch the behaviors of their maybe older generation of colleagues, and then also they should be listening to them and understand like have dialogue. what's the best way to communicate with you? i'm not a slack person. i know you slack. so is there another way we can communicate professionally? perhaps i like emails. or maybe i like text messages. and then collaborate on that and have that discussion, what works for you. and then come to a compromise. >> there was a recent pew research center survey that said

half of hybrid workers wouldn't want to work where they work any more if they have to come into the office. what can managers and employers do to help adjust? >> ask them. we think that we know what they want and we don't. i think by going to them and maybe doing a quick survey, having some discussion about it and what can we do to make it more comfortable for you? perhaps they're concerned about the drive, the commute now. i can't get to the office on time and maybe flex hours are needed. now they have a child in school and they need to drop them off. compromise a little bit and help those individuals that now have different needs. and ask them. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you.

>> it's the middle of o winter in the northern hemisphere and it might not feel like the season for jumping in the water but more and more people are finding an icy plunge is invigorating. the world of winter swimming and its potential benefits and risks. >> even though the temperatures are plunging, so are these swimmers, a brave group in the northern chinese city of har bin taking a subzero jump one by one into the icy water. >> i felt prickling all over my body. the water here is about 10 degrees celsius lower than it is in my hometown but it still made me feel blisful. >> these hearty souls are part of the city's winter swimming team which boasts hundreds of members. they say they train throughout the year to develop the physical strength and mental fortitude needed to dive into pools carved from ice during the city's annual winter festival. >> once these challenges are

overcome you will feel the endless joy brought by winter swimming. >> endless joy or crazy obsession? in the czech republic, locals there take to the cold waters of the river in early january to mark the end of the christmas season. >> well, i've stuck with it. it's a bit of an addiction now. >> once you've tried it you have to keep doing it. >> in the danish capital copenhagen, it's a tourist draw to brave the icy water. >> it's crazy. it's really refreshing. i think it's an experience that every single person has to have once in their lifetime. >> here in winter. >> yes, in winter. and i love it. it's really cold but we love it. >> they're convinced these bone-chilling dips boost their health and happiness. >> back in the day i used to get leg cramps and ever since i started winter swimming it has

stopped. >> i'm 76 years old but i've never got a cold because i swim in winter and i feel very well. it brings me good health. >> online, advocates say the benefits are many, helping with everything from migraines to arthritis and even weight loss. >> it improves your mental health. >> great blood circulation. >> but not everyone is convinced. >> some of the claims that you're seeing splashed over the web we don't actually have good robust evidence to be able to support those claims at the moment. >> heather studies cold water immersion and swimming at the university of portsworth in england. says the initial plunge into icy water is shocking. and the body reacts instantly.

shortness of breath, higher blood pressure, even impaired cognitive function. >> definitely make sure your healthy before you go in. if you've got any underlying health problems or you're not feeling great, going in cold water is not going to help. >> even healthy people should proceed with caution. there can be very real risks of hypothermia and heart attacks. but she is quick to add there could be health benefits and she and other scientists are looking into what they might be. >> it may be that it's a placebo effect but if it's a placebo effect and it works, well, it's still an effect. >> evidence or not, these swimmers can't seem to stay away from their icy plunges and the thrills that come with it. >> it's so cold, i will freeze. but i can do this, i can do anything in the whole world.

>> and there's more online. this week's edition of pbs news weekly takes a look at president trump's government shake-up and what the implications are on a wide ranges of topics. that's available on the pbs news you tube page. and that's our program for tonight. for all of mie colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by: the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation of public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs

station from viewers like you. thank you.

gates: i'm henry louis gates jr. welcome to "finding your roots." in this episode, we'll meet musician rubén blades and journalist, natalie morales.