♪ amna: good evening. geoff: on the news hour tonight, the potential impact of president trump's report a plan to take control of the u.s. postal service. amna: a fired park ranger weighs in on the impacts other presidents cuts to government

services. >> these will have a direct safety impact on national parks around the country. geoff: and a preview of national elections in germany on sunday where immigration has been the key issue. announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by friends of the news hour including jim and nancy build their and the robber and virginia schiller foundation. the judy and peter bluhm kohler foundation. >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the boy -- the world awaits.

the world of flavor, diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure and british style all with cunard's white star service. >> the john s and james l knight foundation fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ announcer: and friends of the news hour -- ♪ announcer: this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs

station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the news hour. president trump levied new shots against ukrainian president zelenskyy today. geoff: he told a radio interviewer that he did not think it was important that zelenskyy attend meetings that could bring the war to an end and then he stepped up his criticism while speaking to a group of governors gathered at the white house. >> i have had very good talks with putin and not such good talks with ukraine. they don't have any cards but they are playing tough. we will not let this continue. the war is terrible. geoff: these comments follow a week of escalating tensions between donald trump and zelenskyy which has seen the president referred to zelenskyy as a dictator. a federal judge in manhattan adjourned the corruption case against eric adams today but the

judge left the charges against him in place for now. the judge also appointed an outside lawyer, paul clement to present independent arguments on the doj's motion to drop the case. he was solicitor general under george w. bush. the push to dismiss adam's to a wave of resignations by federal prosecutors. the governor said she would not use her legal authority to remove him from office for now. also in new york, luigi mangione, the man accused of killing brian thompson, appeared in court today for the first time. his attorney said there were search and seizure issues touring his arrest. outside the courthouse she said a number of factors are complement -- making difficult his right to a fair trial. >> he is being publicly treated as guilty and having the

presumption of guilt as opposed to innocence which is what he is entitled to. geoff: he has pleaded not guilty to the charges. he faces a separate federal case that could carry the death penalty. a jury and western new york found the man who stabbed an author, salman rushdie, guilty of attempted murder today. the 27-year-old from new jersey gave no obvious reaction as he heard the verdict. jurors deliberated for less than two hours. in 2022 he ran onto the stage where the author was sitting. the 77-year-old award-winning novelist served as the key witness in the trial. he faces up to 25 years in prison. the mayor of los angeles, karen bass dismissed the cities fire chief over her handling of last month's deadly wildfires. in a statement karen bass that she is removing the chief effective immediately adding

that 1000 firefighters that could have been on duty the morning of the fires were instead sent home under the chief swatch. the palisades fire erupted in early january and damaged 8000 homes and other structures and at least 12 people were killed. in the middle east, said it released another body to israeli officials after confusion yesterday with the hostage of -- the transfer of hostage remains. one of the four bodies transferred yesterday was not that of bibbas as was promised. hamas claims they were all killed during an israeli airstrike. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said hamas is to blame for their deaths. >> who condemns a little boy and a baby and burns them, monsters that is who.

i vow i will not rest until the savages that executed our hostages are brought to justice. geoff: both sides say the release of six living hostages ranging from 22 to 40 years old will proceed tomorrow as planned. they are expected to be exchanged for hundreds of palestinian prisoners. israel also said it is surging troops to the west bank after three empty buses exploded near tel aviv yesterday in an apparent terrorist attempt. -- terrorist attack. doctors in rome say the pope is not out of danger. that assessment came in there first in person update since the 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to the hospital a week ago with bronchitis. the popes continued stay have raised questions about whether he will resign. doctors say he will remain hospitalized through next week. markets plunged on wall street.

the dow jones industrial average sank nearly 750 points for its worse follow the gear. the nasdaq dropped more than 400 points on the s&p i've hundred ended sharply on the sharp -- sharply lower on the day. last night revenge was served on ice. canada beat the u.s. 3-2 in an to win the inaugural four nations tournament. relations between the two caught -- between the two countries remain frosty. the canadian prime minister justin trudeau after the game said you cannot take our country and you cannot take our game. team usa has not beaten canada in an international final or championship series since 1996. the yankees are ditching a facial role -- are ditching a

rule on facial hair. the son of george steinbrenner band long hair and beards. the younger steinbrenner admitted the policy for today's generation is outdated adding he would hate to lose out on good players because they did not want to play under such restrictions. still to come on fired park ranger weighs in on the president's cuts to park services. a discussion of the weeks headlines and idc exhibit showcases the history, struggles and trams of black travel in the u.s. announcer: this is the pbs news hour from the david rubenstein studio in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: president trump reportedly plans to fire the governing board of the u.s. postal service and plays the

independent agency under the commerce department. a move that could be the first step in privatizing a service has doubtless to 250 years ago. the white house initially denied that an executive order to make that changes in the works but late today the president admitted he is considering it. jacob broke the story for the washington post enjoins us now. thank you for being with us. what are your sources telling you about what the administration is planning and what it could ultimately mean for the u.s. postal service? reporter: step one would be to place the postal service and take it out of independent status and embed inside the commerce department. the commerce secretary was just sworn in today and we have reported that he has been engaging with then president-elect and now president trump about privatizing this agency. so taking it out of independence

would be step one and step two would be leadership changes. the postmaster general and announced he plans to read tire soon and the board of governors be fired for cause by the president which could be another step. geoff: this will certainly lead to legal challenges. what have experts been telling you about the authority the president would have to dissolve postal service leadership and move it to the commerce department? reporter: the postal service has to have a board of governors. these are bipartisan individuals appointed by the president, confirmed by the senate and then they together select or can remove the postmaster general. there are powers the postal service has on things like service, on things like rates and prices, on major investments that can only be made by the governors. so you have to have a board in

place. i'm not is what is complicating this for the white house a little bit -- and that is what is complicating this for the white house. how can you take these individuals from an agency that is by law independent and bring it under control of the white house? that is a legally dubious question. geoff: president trump has long used about privatizing the postal service. the commerce secretary was sworn in today and this is what the president had to say about usps during that ceremony. >> we want a post office that works well and doesn't lose massive amounts of money and we are thinking about doing that. it will be in the form of a merger. it will remain the postal service and i think it will operate a lot better than it has over the years. it it -- it has been a tremendous loser for this country. geoff: it is undeniable that the postal service has been losing

money and a lot of it has to do with how their work -- how its pensions have been organized. does that strengthen the case for privatization? reporter: god is a difficult question, because -- that is a difficult question because it is an ideological question. the u.s. has had a postal service longer than we have had a country. founded in 1775. until 1970 the postal service did not have a profit motive. it's motive was to serve people across the country with equal and reliable service. we changed that in 1970 -- a long story we don't need to get into but we changed it to be a government sponsored organization or like one. so what do we lose without an independent postal service? this is an agency that belongs to all of us, not to the white

house. it is independent and has an obligation to serve all of us equally and reach everyone's address with the same service and privacy -- and pricing. a service where mail delivery becomes political will not have the same motivations. geoff: in many cases and parts of the country it is the only male service and e-commerce giants like amazon rely on the postal service for the last mile delivery. how could that affect the mail and packages that americans get? reporter: this is a story that is not going to go away. we know that well from having covered it for so long. there is a term that folks should get to know right now and that is -- cooperation and competition. private express carriers like amazon, fedex and ups use the postal service to carry their least profitable packages.

the postal service has to go to everyone's address six or sometimes seven days a week. have to go over the hill even if it doesn't make money. amazon and fedex and ups do not have to do that so they get the packages to the u.s. postal service. that is extremely profitable for the postal service. they cannot survive without that. geoff: you mentioned the postmaster general stepping down . he is halfway into his 10 year term. why is he stepping down now based on your reporting? reporter: we look at the last fiscal quarter, the first time the postal service has been in the black except for some mandatory paned -- pension and health care costs, since the covid. a lot of the things he has in the works have been moving

rather successfully. a bumpy rollout but rolling out nonetheless and being implemented. you know, louis dejoy, and i've spoken to him numerous times, he is a really successful businessman. he is in his late 60's with adult children. he is retired from businesses that he ran or helped lead multiple times and running the postal service was a retirement gig for him. he is five years into this job and that is the timeframe he promised when he took it. look, is there more to the story about why he is stepping down? i would be willing to bet on that and i do something i will keep reporting on. i also know this was around the timeframe he was looking to leave anyway. geoff: thank you for being with us.

>> thank you. ♪ amna: at the direction of president trump, elon musk and his team are firing workers across the federal government had a break neck piece. this week some 6000 employees are expecting termination notices at the irs and 5000 across the department of health and human services. already more than 200 have been fired from fema and 400 from the federal aviation administration and more than 1000 from the department of veterans affairs. lara perrone bloke has spoke with one federal worker among those recently lico. reporter: but trump administration has fired more than 20,000 federal workers and contractors. the effort to cut the federal workforce has been chaotic and

sweeping and in some instances the administration has scrambled to reverse the firings. the terminations are ongoing and include 1000 park employees including lydia jones who worked at badlands national park in south dakota. she joins us now. you were fired on valentine's day. what went through your mind when you got the news? >> i was heartbroken when i got the news. it was unexpected. it was something i was planning on potentially making a lifelong career so it was quite the surprise. reporter: you were one of three emts at your park which stretches over 244,000 acres. you welcomed more than one what did jerry job require and why did you become any empty? >> my official job was as an interpretive park ranger and my duties were related to visitor services including providing

information and directions and doing educational programs. but i was also one of the three emts and the park and was a member of the search-and-rescue team and responded to emergencies throughout the park. i was something i chose on my own to pursue because being in such a rural area with a lack of first responders and increased incidence i thought there was a need for more emts in the park. reporter: do you think you're firing could make the park less safe? >> all of the large-scale terminations will have a direct safety impact on national parks around the country including badlands national park. we are talking about rural areas that are far away from major hospitals or trauma centers. and a lot of times the park staff there will be the first people to be you scene to provide sometimes lifesaving care to these visitors. i do think this will have an impact. reporter: you have talked about

some of the sacrifices that you have to make to become a park ranger. can you tell us more about that? >> when you start out you have to start out as a seasonal employee. i generally worked at badlands national park every season for six months and then i went to two other national parks during the winter seasons. you are constantly moving around and typically away from loved ones and it can be hard. a lot of people including myself are willing to make those sacrifices with the hope of getting a permanent position mostly because we truly care about our jobs and believe in providing that service to the american people. reporter: do you plan on joining any of the lawsuits in hopes of getting your job back? and if not, what is next? >> i would absolutely love to go back to my job. i would go back in a heartbeat if i had the opportunity.

but if not, i will pursue other options. i do plan on joining the local volunteer fire department so i can still provide service as an emt to the local community. i may not be in the park service anymore for right now, i still believe in service and want to make it a part of my life. reporter: lydia jones, thank you so much for your time. ♪ geoff: in the german capital of berlin a man was critically wounded in a knife attack at the sadie's holocaust memorial. the suspected attacker was arrested near the scene. all of this two days before voters go to the polls in an election dominated about concerns about immigration. the country is expected to reject olaf scholz in favor of a

center-right candidate followed closely by an anti-immigration policy that has the backing of the trump administration. our special correspondent reports from germany. reporter: informer used germany, two months has passed since the terrorist attack by a saudi arabia doctor that drove his car into a packed christmas market killing a nine-year-old boy, five women and injuring 300. the tributes have diminished but not the grief. >> i am so sad. this should never have happened. absolutely not. never. for anyone. reporter: there have since been to mort's limo -- islamic attacks in southern germany that has claimed four lives. >> one attack after another happens. how far does it have to go? reporter: the attacks have

galvanize support for the alternative for germany party. now is the time for our security says its leaders. now is the time for new beginnings. while the afd has doubled its popularity it is expected to come second but far from joining the next governing coalition. all of the opinion polls suggest the central right christian democrats will win the election and lead germany's next government. they have accused the outgoing coalition as being soft on coalition -- on immigration. the cdu promises to restore law and order and make the country safe again. unless there is a major upset, germany's next chancellor will be a pro-business lawyer. during a debae with the social democrat rival olaf scholz he warned of the consequences of

failing to tackle migration and germany's flagging economy. >> then we will finally slide into right-wing populism. i'm standing here to avoid that. i will only sign a coalition agreement that includes a turnaround on the immigration and the economy. reporter: the outgoing chancellor signaled his willingness to get tough on immigration. >> perpetrators must be severely punished and if they have committed such offenses and don't have german citizenship, they must expect us to return them to their country of origin. reporter: the mainstream parties and they have agreed to keep the far-right out of office. but can they create a stable coalition government without the support of the afd? catherine is a german-american political scientist. >> if the coalition holds then

he can absolutely sidelined the afd. is the majority going to be stable enough for the afd to not hit the coalition with a lot of obstructionism and make their life hard? those are what the numbers on sunday will show. right now those numbers are very tight. reporter: helped controversially by elon musk who declared his support for the afd. >> only afd can save germany. end of story. >> there is a difference between making a law and enforcing it. reporter: and then the vice president entered the fray. >> what no democracy will survive is telling millions of voters that their thoughts, concerns, aspirations and pleas for relief are invalid or unworthy of even being considered. reporter: the vice president's

intervention played well in mecklenburg. >> we want to be heard but we are not being listened to. the politicians do whatever they want. they lie to us and serve only themselves instead of serving the people. >> they call themselves democrats but behave in a way that is far from democratic and my eyes especially because he always referred a german history. this exclusion marginalization -- we have seen it before and it must never happen again to anyone, not even the afd. reporter: there was outrage elsewhere. >> we respect the presidential elections and congressional elections in the u.s. nd we expect u.s. to do the same here. >> whether it is the defense minister or chancellor or president but even average people feel highly offended that someone would officially meddle

in the way they perceive the functionality of their democracy. reporter: but the afd's leader could not be happier. how important is the endorsement of the american vice president? >> i don't think it shifts numbers but it shows to our enemies that they should be a bit careful and that we have got strong allies and strong connections towards the united states and towards russia. >> show me what democracy looks like! reporter: in recent weeks there have been large protests and germany's leaning to the right. >> our democracy is under fierce attack be it under fake news or enemies of democracy. they do not want just to jeopardize our peaceful coexistence but does -- but destroy it. reporter: growing anti-immigrant

sentiment -- this syrian migrant fled syria 10 years ago to avoid --. >> i might be sent back to syria at a time. reporter: he was one of the million of syrians that followed the migrant trail to germany nearly 10 years ago. angela merkel threw open the borough -- the borders. he is full in german but unemployed and looking for work to try to secure his future. >> i'm very scared to go back to syria because learning is my home. i love it here and i blend in. reporter: but that is no longer guaranteed. the election has an agenda driven by -- >> there is a trust chasm between the two sides of the atlantic that is as deep as it

ever was. reporter: on sunday victory may taste sweet but given the current climate could ultimately be a poisoned chalice. for the pbs news hour, in berlin. ♪ amna: when the sunni rebels toppled the regime of assad last summer they vowed to think -- form an inclusive government by march. as the deadline inches closer there is growing pressure. sunnis comprise about 75% of syrians but the remaining 25% is made up of minorities like christians, shiite muslims and kurds. we met with members of some of these communities and have this report from damascus. reporter: on the outskirts of

damascus lies one of the holiest sites of shieh islam. the shrine is said to be the burial site of the prophet muhammad is grandfather. when the sunni opposition toppled assad's government in december, some of syria's tiny shiite minority feared that they and their places of worship would come under attack. he was here when the rebels took over. >> when they advanced on damascus, there was chaos and some people through their individual behavior threatened some of the sects and fear followed. reporter: a video showing an attempt to approach the shrine prompted him to flee to lebanon. >> we did not know what their agenda was or thinking would be. people were afraid. reporter: syria's new president has since made reassuring statements. >> we are working on protecting

minorities from any attacks. syria is a country for all and we can coexist and we have a close relationship with all segments of syrian society. reporter: and an uneasy calm has for come over the shrine but visitors are few and far between. stability appears to have return for now but there is a question about the role of minorities in the future of syria. religious leaders hope for an end to sectarian strife. >> god willing it is in anyone's interest to sabotage this country. groups should extend their hands to each other and rebuild to live in peace of the country can return to the way we were before. reporter: but the way things were before is a controversial topic. touring the war this area saw an influx in shieh inhabitants. they think it is only right that

these demographic changes be reversed. >> the original inhabitants of these ureas are -- of these areas are sunni. they brought shieh from other countries that came to our area had kill our people. reporter: the military commander responsible for the area denied that shiite civilians have fled in the wake of the rebels arrival. >> some people have fled the area because they are war criminals. the people that did not bear weapons are here and we are living with them and the situation is excellent. reporter: the shrine used to be guarded by hezbollah which came to syria in 2012 to fight alongside assad's government. for local sunnis hezbollah followed was not shrines protector but an invading force. a checkpoint has bought a lot manned with syria and troupe stands deserted. and posters of its late leader

have been torn down. local sunni men have joined the local army to fill the security vacuum. >> i joined to protect the area until stability returns god willing. reporter: the fighters say these forces are curator protect all syrians. >> there are rumors that we are killing shieh but those are all lies. the only thing we did is to finish the criminal regime. reporter: with assad overthrown syria is under shieh majority rule. the all the whites are at offshoot of shieh islam and comprise 10% of the country's population. many who joined assad's security forces did so for the sake of survival rather than fierce loyalty. they got little in return.

in this dilapidated neighborhood of damascus, i sit down with a group of young men who were happy to see assad gone. >> many people misunderstood this matter. that is because we were from the same sect as a former president. this area was better off. we lived in great poverty. reporter: under assad's role they scraped by to make a living. >> we lived from day to day and from hour to hour to get work so you can eat. reporter: poverty left them with little choice but to join the army. the options were known. it was the army. they did not give us opportunities to study or become anything else. the instructions were that the sect should go to the army. reporter: this has sparked calls for the revenge. >> who do you want to take revenge on?

those that lived in poverty? the revenge should be against a certain sect. all of them were involved in herding the syrian people. reporter: the new government has offered a general amnesty to soldiers and has promised to protect minorities. but ensuring the protection of minorities is not quite the same as granting them equal rights. in a christian neighborhood, some worry that christians could be relegated to second-class citizens. he is a member of the syria orthodox church. >> we aspire to be equal in our rights and our duties. we will not accept for the media or the new government to refer to us as minorities. reporter: in a bid to bridge the divide he met with church leaders. these gatherings though are more

show than substance. the transitional government has made unilateral decisions on vital issues. though school curriculum has been revised from a largely secular to a more islamic one raising worries that planned amendments to the constitution will also take on an islamic slant. christians and other segments of syrian society are sounding the alarm over not being included. >> i want to play a greater role in the political process. we want a clearer voice in building modern syria. we want to work on the constitution which shall be done in cooperation of all of the groups in syrian society and not limited to one group. reporter: on the face of it, syria's rulers have said the right thing but to earn the trust of syrians people including as many minorities, actions must follow suit. for the pbs news hour, from

damascus, syria. ♪ geoff: from fresh tensions between the u.s. and ukraine to town how -- town hall backlash we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. david brooks and jonathan capehart. great to have you here as always. let's start with ukraine. no one expected donald trump to handle global affairs like his predecessors but he has adopted russia's false propaganda on ukraine calling zelenskyy a dictator saying that ukraine started the war and rhetorically turning against the democracy that was invaded in favor of the invader. >> this is pretty revolutionary. you can say goodbye to nato built around article five are we promised to defend each other.

i think the bigger story is a shift in values. american foreign policy in western foreign policy has been about human dignity and human rights. we banded together to promote those causes. donald trump does not see the world that way. he sees the world as a way where ruthless mafioso's can do what they want. i think in donald trump's world there are three ruthless countries, russia will have had gemini over its region and we will have had gemini over our region on china will have had gemini over its region. anything that gets in the way as being eliminated. some of that is international alliances but some of it is the idea that you should not interfere in others'elections or neighboring countries. the rules are being rewritten by someone that wants to turn local affairs into a survival of the fitness. geoff: are we on the precipice

of the end of the alliance? >> there is nothing that david said that i disagree with. the language we heard from donald trump in the first turn was already alarming. i'm thinking specifically of the helsinki press conference when he said -- vladimir putin told me he did not do anything to our elections. now he has ratcheted that up with calling zelenskyy a dictator. if you are the leader of a baltic nation, the leader of poland, of germany, france, you must be scared out of your mind about what this means. about what the redbrick of ukraine means for europe. and if you are in taiwan, you better be prepared for what china can do. geoff: what about this idea that it is high time we had an american leader that acted in

such a way that effectively forces europe to take control of their own security? you can point to dwight eisenhower who raised concerns about europe's lackadaisical approach to its own security? >> it is a valid point. as long as the cold war was going on, they did not have to pay their dues. now they have to because the cold war is over. but they have increased their spending. the amount of spending donald trump wants to spend as a percentage of gdp, not even we pay that. look at what donald trump has said about ukraine over the last week. he sends in the treasury secretary and says hand us over 50% of your mineral rights. i'm making you an offer you cannot refuse. in ancient rome they would go to a little country and say give us all your money or we will kill your women. that is like an imperial power

staying -- give us tribute. initially putin said no but now it could be an offer he cannot refuse. he needs the americans. coming close to a deal because we are taking an invaded country that gravely resisted saying -- pay up. >> i want to jump in on defense expenditures. donald trump says these countries are ripping us off as if they are paying the united states money to protect. that is not what is happening at all spend more of your gdp on your own defense and rise up to the level of where the united states is relatively speaking so the burden is more fairly shared. way the president talks about it, it is not the real world. but to your point where people

are saying maybe we should start to care about america, those folks i don't think fully understand what a peaceful world, what the nato alliance and american leadership on the global stage has met for their own peace and prosperity here at home. geoff: president trump's poll numbers appear to be falling. you number show the majority of americans say he has overstepped his presidential authority and hasn't done enough to address high prices. when you look at these numbers more closely, what do use -- what do you see? >> people do not like chaos. and second, people do rely on government. postal service, snap benefits, getting a passport renewed. if there is no one in the office, you will be upset. and the big thing is the inflation. it has begun to take -- tick up again.

the very thing that took down the biden administration could in turn dragged down the trump administration if inflation kicks up after his explicit promise he would bring it down. he swore to us that interest rates would come down immediately. geoff: it seems to have come to a head last night. rich mccormick held a town hall and faced an angry crowd. his constituents were upset over the steep cuts to the federal workforce instituted by elon musk and his doge aids. >> i would like to know or rather the people would like to know what you, congressman, and your fellow congressmen, are going to do to rein in the megalomaniac in the white house. [cheering] >> when you talk about tierney

and presidential power, i remember having the same discussion with republicans when biden was elected. geoff: this is a deep red district. donald trump won this district by more than 20 points. what do you see happening? >> to me you have people in a district who voted -- as you say, a deep republican district but they did not vote for elon musk or the chaos. they don't like the fact that someone who is unelected and unaccountable is wreaking havoc on the federal government. more importantly, the congressman is from a coequal branch of government. the woman asking the question --what are you going to do? why are you not stepping in to push back against the president? and what we saw there is they are not willing. you cannot have guardrails if

the guard were up want to guard. if congress does not want to step in. geoff: you wrote about this this last week saying it is the working class communities that will languish because donald trump ignores their main challenges and focuses on cultural war distractions. people want to see change. >> high school educated people die eight years sooner than college-educated people. high school educated people -- they are much more likely to live in devastated communities without social capital. if you had a populist government, they would have policies to address the serious issues. the trump administration is not leading what that and have no plans for this. the president and elon musk are university of pennsylvania graduates and billionaires. pete hegseth went to princeton

and yell. -- and yale. these are highly educated right-wingers. i've been among these people although my life. there are two types. one believes in conservative government and the other is anti-left. they want to tear down the institutions they believe the left controls. it is what they are doing. trump goes after usaid and the department of education -- it is all tearing down the institutions they believe the left controls. the problem with that is the pain is born by the woman in new bibby -- in new med be that will die of aids. rich people are careless and break things. geoff: the other thing that was clear in the town hall last night is that it is one thing to

campaign against a faceless bureaucracy but it is very different when someone's friends and neighbors lose jobs with little warning as well as the veterans. >> there is that there is also -- let's not forget the funding freeze. you have farmers who were depending on funding coming from the federal government. they took out loans to buy equipment, to get their products from the farm, some are sitting in silos rotting that were due to go overseas to feed people as part of usaid. this is not just faceless bureaucrats being fired in washington. and that is that chaos that people are seeing. the federal government just isn't in washington? it is my neighbor, the clinic down the street where my child gets treatment? we are just one month in to this administration and we have yet to see just how damaging this

one month has been. there is still more time to go. geoff: jonathan cape and david brooks, thank you. ♪ amna: a once valuable resource for black travelers is now the subject of an exhibit in washington, d.c. our correspondent has the story as part of our ongoing series, race matters. >> those were all in the green book. reporter: a guide for african-americans. it was a valued resource at a time when travel held the promise of adventure. but it was also perilous. it is now the subject of an exhibit at the martin luther king junior memorial library in washington, d.c. taylor wrote the green book and

the route of black travel in america helped pull the exhibit together with the smithsonian institution traveling exhibition service and the d.c. public library service. the exhibit towels the story of the guide and its creators. >> we wanted to show people who were living there best lives in spite of what was happening around them. reporter: it served as a catalog of hotels, restaurants and other businesses would serve lack people when racial segregation was legal. it was published annually until 1960 seven. at the exhibit center, a compass. >> it helps to orient you because it was not just the south that had racism and jack crow orders. reporter: communities that excluded nonwhite residents by law, intimidation or violence after law -- after dark, were

especially dangerous. >> for black americans that used it, going in the wrong direction could mean life or death. some towns would have a bell that would bring after 6:00 and it was the queue to get out of town. the consequences of being in a sound downtown were everything from harassment to death to lynchings. for travelers you would not know where the minefields were. reporter: taylor, photographer spent years researching sites in the guide driving more than 100 10,000 miles on photographing nearly 300 sites in 48 states. >> this guide was a license to leave. it was a way for people to find sanctuary and safety on the road. reporter: some of what she found surprised her including hundreds of women in businesses from hair salons to boarding houses. >> we are talking about times

when women could not have bank accounts of their own but we see them listed in this book which is powerful. >> i thought i knew a lot about black history and i came across all of these women-owned businesses. most of these tourist homes were run by widowed women that had an extra bedroom and knew how to cook. and then i found the personalities of some of these women and interviewed the relatives of these women and they were fierce and not just independent. they had real courage and skills. reporter: through her research taylor found some family history. it was remembered by her stepfather. >> now we are in front of ron's chauffeur hut.

reporter: it was safer to claim that you worked for a white family than to be driving your own family anywhere. >> when the sheriff was walking towards the passenger door his father turned around and said, don't say anything. and the sheriff said, where are you going and whose car is this? and who are these people with you? and his father said, i am -- this is my employer's car. he looked at his wife and pretended he did not know her. he said this is the mate. and that is her son in the back and i'm driving them home. and the police officer said, where is your hat? and his father said, it is hanging in the back. and there was a chauffeurs hat hanging there and it had always been there. reporter: sharing his stories brought them closer. >> it was almost as if when i

did this project he could trust me with his trauma. and it really gave me a different perspective and a lens to look at our history as lack people but as his particular history as a dark skinned black man growing up in the south. reporter: even though the days of the green book are long past, taylor: the struggle for justice is far from over. >> the idea that just because time moves on that we get better as a country is not true. when people say it is 2025, why are we still dealing with this and how can this be happening now? and when you learn about history, you will see that things do not just march forward. reporter: but she points to what victor greene accomplished. >> it doesn't take a lot to make change. he did a simple thing. he was a postal worker. he did not have up to an eighth

grade education. he had no resources, no computers and all of this happened with an idea that you don't need to be rich or have a business degree to make change. reporter: the exhibit is on display through march 2 and also online. the pbs news hour, from washington. ♪ amna: there is always a lot more online including our digital weekly show. this week we go behind the scenes with some of this year's top oscar contenders. geoff: and be sure to watch washington week with the atlantic later this evening. the moderator and his panel discussed president trump pivot towards russia and america's role in the world. amna: on pbs news weekend we examine which parts of the

project 2025 blueprint the trump administration is already implementing. that is the news hour for tonight. geoff: for all of us here at the pbs news hour, thank you for spending part of your weekend -- evening with us. announcer: major funding has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water roaring 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. >> it really matters when you have an opportunity to give back. ♪ >> being part of something that

is bigger than myself brings me happiness. >> being able to integrate your professional career with the things that are important to you are critical to being happy at the end of the day. >> people want those opportunities to make an impact. ♪ ♪ >> and with 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. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >>

hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here is what is coming up. putin's talking points from >> umpire:. what do russians make of all of this? i asked diplomat and turned kremlin critic boris bondarev. then back on here in america, what will congressman