♪ ♪ amna: good evening. on the news hour tonight european allies forge ahead with their own plans to bring about peace in ukraine after president trump's public dispute with ukrainian president zelenskyy.

on the eve of president trump's first address to congress since returning to the white house, our newest poll reveals most americans believe he is rushing change with little regard for the consequences. and a journalist discusses the state of democracy in the u.s. and lessons learned from the autocratic dutarte regime in the philippines. >> you have to decide the world you want to live in, whether rule of law exists and you cannot normalize impunity. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> on an american cruise line's journey, along the legendary mississippi river travelers and explore civil war battlefields and historic riverside towns

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♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the news hour. president trump continued has pressure campaign on ukraine insinuating that president zelenskyy should step down if he does not want a peace deal. that follows their unprecedented clash in the friday oval office meeting. western leaders have been scrambling to mend the relationship but make plans to support ukraine if the u.s. walks away. nick schifrin reports. reporter: in the white house

today president trump kept up pressure on ukraine's and bottled president. >> i think you be more appreciative because this country has stuck with him. reporter: and was even harsher on truth social saying america will not put up with it for much longer. a response to this statement -- >> an agreement to end the war is still far away and no one has started the steps. >> maybe someone doesn't want to make a deal and if someone doesn't, i don't think they will be around very long. you are gambling with world war iii. reporter: today's rhetorical criticism highlights the substantive divide during the oval office meltdown. ukraine doubts the very diplomacy with putin that the u.s. is supporting. >> what kind of diplomacy are you talking about? reporter: tonight zelenskyy

stuck with his guns got diplomacy requires security guarantees. >> the baseline scenario is to hold position and create conditions for proper diplomacy. we need peace, real and fair peace and not endless war and we need security guarantees. reporter: and the war stops for no politics. this weekend russian drones struck a residential apartment building and there have been countless russian attacks on ukrainian civil -- civilian attacks. in london keira starmer led zelenskyy and european leaders in an emergency summit that in his words of a coalition of the million. europe is developing plans to deploy french, british into -- french and british troops into ukraine to support a cease-fire that could be for one month and may not include ground combat.

>> the cease-fire in the air and at sea and on energy infrastructure will be able stash will enable us to put to test the goodwill of putin. reporter: that is one possibility but european forces could not deploy without u.s. support. >> today's discussions particularly the coalition of the willing is on the basis that this is a plan we will work with the u.s. and it will have u.s. backing. reporter: it is also not clear ukraine would support a cease fire before agreed security guarantees. >> zelenskyy's point was that unless there are enforceable security guarantees backed by a credible force on the ground, putin and russia cannot be trusted. reporter: bob hamilton as at the foreign policy research institute visiting ukraine this week. >> when the survivor -- survival

of your nation is at stake it is not unreasonable for president zelenskyy to insist on some assurances of security guarantees before he signs up to a cease fire agreement, particularly one he is not involved in negotiating. ukraine and europe must also facebook house -- face the possibility of losing american logistics. but with more funding he could rely more on domestically produced drones already causing the most -- the majority of russian casualties. >> ukraine could of skill its production fairly quickly to double or triple it if it had the money. reporter: for all of the pressure president trump and -- and his allies are maintaining on zelenskyy, the president said the economic deal that he was supposed to sign on friday is still alive depending on what zelenskyy says. geoff: what are you learning

about what zelenskyy is discussing in europe with his fellow leaders? reporter: he spoke with baltic leaders this afternoon and an official told me that zelenskyy sounded contrite about what happened on friday and he understood he needed amend the relationship with donald trump. from the western european perspective, european troops could not deploy into ukraine without u.s. support, intelligence and logistics. the u.s. officials in favor of maintaining support for ukraine had hoped that the economic deal would be signed on friday as a way to convince the skeptical president trump to support ukraine but to invest in ukraine's drone industry which is super important. whether he is willing to do that and keep the same number of u.s. troops in europe, it all lies in the balance. geoff: nick schifrin, thank you.

♪ geoff: we start the other headlines with wildfires in north and south carolina. lighter winds are helping crews fight the blazes that caused evacuations over the weekend. south carolina officials banned almost all outdoor fires including campfires after the state's governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. in north carolina the forest service reported more than 200 wildfires today though most of them were small. officials across the region warned of poor air quality because of smoke. authorities have not said what caused the fires and there have been no reported injuries. in illinois the man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a july 4 parade in 2022 today. robert crimo the third withdrew

his earlier plea of not guilty. he faced 21 counts of first-degree murder. survivors of the mass shooting in the chicago suburb of highland park said they were stunned by today's developments. >> it was a shock to hear the words that he was changing his plea. every time i see him it is stressful. it is upsetting for everyone in our community. just knowing this plea has been entered and we will not have to see him again is what we all need to move on. geoff: a law firm representing dozens of survivors say efforts to prude -- pursue civil justice continue including pursuing the gun maker. sentencing was scheduled for late april and he is almost certain to spend life behind bars. pope francis suffered a new breathing crisis today. the vatican said he was put act on non-invasive mechanical

ventilation after suffering two new episodes of respiratory failure. he has been in a rome hospital since you're a 14th with a complex infection and pneumonia. the vatican says he remains alert and cooperated with medical personnel today but his outlook remains guarded. this has been his longest absence from public life in his 12 year papacy. in the middle east paper -- cease-fire negotiations are at a standstill after phase one of the truce expired over the weekend. israeli prime minister netanyahu is pushing for what he says is a u.s.-backed plan that would extend the cease-fire through past four -- passover and ramadan. hamas accused -- other aid into gaza. humanitarian groups and cutter and egypt condemned the move. in israel one man was killed and four others injured in a

stabbing attack in haifa. police say the suspected assailant was an arab citizen of israel who was later killed by a security guard. police in germany say to people are dead after a car rammed into a crowd of people in mannheim, 400 miles southwest of berlin. emergency crews rushed to a pedestrian street and the city center around noon but many workers were on their lunch breaks. authorities say a 40-year-old citizen is in custody. they did not call the ramming an attack though cars have been used as weapons in germany several times in recent months. on wall street stocks sank after president trump said 25% tariffs on canada and mexico will take effect tomorrow declaring there is "no room for a delay." the dow jones industrial average lost 650 points. the nasdaq dropped 50 points. and the s&p posted its biggest

loss since december. in washington, d.c., teammates, family members and u.s. figure skating stars have been honoring the victims of january's midair collision near reagan international airport. among the performers that yesterday's event was maxime who wept on his knees following a moving tribute to his parents who died in the crash. others included men's world champion and national women's champion amber glenn who also broke down after her performance. 28 of the crash victims where members of the figure skating community. the events -- the host of the event said the event raised money to support families of those lost. still to come, amy walter and tamara keith break down the latest political headlines. a lunar lander successfully touches down in a new feature for privatized base exploration.

and the notable moments from last nights academy awards. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from the david rubenstein studio at weta in washington and from the west at the walter cronkite school of journalism from arizona state university. geoff: as president trump gets ready to address congress for the first time since reentering the oval office, our latest poll offers a new look at what the american public thinks about the actions his administration has taken in these first 43 days. lisa desjardins is out those super scream to walk us through the numbers. big picture, what do the american people think about president and the changes he is making? reporter: the approval rating -- 45% approve of the job done by donald trump as president. i want you to remember that 45%. more americans disapprove but

just barely. why is this 45 so significant? this is his approval rating up and down over time. here we are right now. the largest approval rating he has experienced in office as president and higher than where he ended during his first term. another thing we asked about, all of the actions he has taken, you think they are for the good mostly or not for the the good of the country? when we asked that question, 45%, the same number, said we think the actions make things better in this country. it is not a coincidence the numbers are the same. 45% like the job he is doing and what is driving that is a single force. republicans. when we ask people if he is doing a better job, 88% of republicans think what he is doing is for the better of the country. versus 12% of democrats.

these groups live in different worlds and almost different planets. independence, the minority of them believe he is doing a better job. it is republicans pushing his numbers to go higher right now. at the same time this poll was taken before the confrontation in the oval office with zelenskyy but the poll says what he is doing is flooding the zone with controversial actions. >> we see a lot of things happening with little time for the public to digest. there is a sense on the part of the public that some things are moving too fast and they are not totally convinced that things are moving in the right direction. geoff: let's talk about the pace of change. the president has signed 76 executive orders, fired federal workers -- what are people saying about that?

deeper into the unprecedented actions and we ask, do you think president trump is rushing things or are his actions something that need to happen? here is how people answered that question. most people, 56%, think trump is rushing and is in considering the impact of his actions. but it is a significant group, 43%, think that what he is doing is necessary to keep the government on track. our producer called some of the people that answered our poll and one was a republican in texas who said he does like what trump is doing on immigration but also in general. >> he is trying to keep his promises. we have to correct the destruction of our country that happened in the last four years. it is much easier to destroy things than to build things. reporter: what about the cuts to federal funding and the mass layoffs?

we saw a similar figure. 55% said all of the cuts are doing more harm than good. this is a number he has to watch as far as the future. we spoke with an independent voter in michigan who works and general contracting for the government and says what he has experienced in the first month is chaos. >> everything is going at brick next speed to dismantle a system -- breakneck speed to dismantle a system that has worked for the american people for decades. they are performing surgery with a sword and a blindfold. and they are moving at this breakneck, chaotic speed. and it is unnecessary. geoff: how do those polled view elon musk who is the face of the trump administration's effort to scale back the size of

government and fire federal workers? reporter: holding the sword. 39% rating for him lower than trump's approval rate of 45. what we have seen as republicans are warming up to him but not democrats or independents. geoff: some republican members of congress based an onslaught of anger from their constituents. how do they view congress and our system of checks and balances? reporter: this is a question at american dinner tables, how is the constitution holding up? today 56% in the last week believe our checks and balance system is not working but what is dramatic is what a change this is from december when we asked the same question. in december 66%, two thirds said checks and balances are holding up but that is a flip where the

majority of americans say we don't think the checks and balances are holding up. we spoke to an independent voter in texas who said she had a message for her congressmen on how they should handle donald trump. >> they should be taking him to task and calling amongst themselves and start voting on things and start taking control of the things they have control of. everyone is too afraid of offending him. they are letting him run amok because they are afraid of him and they won't get voted in again. reporter: one last unusual question, do you think donald trump will abide i court orders, will he follow the law? a majority of americans, 58%, incredibly believe the current president of the united states will not follow the law. geoff: lisa desjardins, our thanks to you as always. you can read more details from our poll at pbs.org/news hour. ♪

geoff: for more on the latest political news including the fallout from president trump's reading with the ukrainian president, and in -- and an analysis of that news poll we have our correspondence. according to this pbs news and npr poll, americans are divided by president trump's job performance and 56% of americans say he is rushing to make change without considering the impact of his decisions and that includes two thirds of independence and 11% of trump voters. what stood out? reporter: the two thirds of the independents. they are the canary in the coal mine for what the president is doing. and you are winning independence, you are doing

well. when they are moving away from you, that is an indication. partisan views are so set in stone that republicans will automatically say that trump is doing great and democrats will automatically say he is doing terrible. so you look to the independents. and two thirds of them say their president is rushing too much to make change. that is a yellow flashing light for the white house. geoff: on his handling of the economy our poll found 42% think president trump is changing the economy for the better. perhaps more telling, 56% of people expect grocery prices to go up over the next six months and that is with the extensive tariffs set to take place tomorrow. you wrote about the warning signs for republicans on the economy. what are you seeing? reporter: i use the same term that tamra does which is the yellow flashing light. we have seen a couple things the

last few weeks. a drop in consumer confidence which is captured in a number of different surveys. and then we see like this meretz poll that the president's overall approval rating on the economy is in more negative territory than positive. and that is not usually where donald trump is. if you look back at the marist poll from the summer of 2018 which was the last time this poll asked about these issues while trump was in office, so there wasn't data from 2017 but at this point in 2018 opinions about donald trump overall were lower on economy then immigration and foreign policy. his -- how well he was handling the economy was higher in 2018 than it is today. a lot of it is driven by the fact that there are so many

voters out there especially independence who voted for donald trump with the emphasis on his ability to lower prices and to focus on the economy. and that is another number that has been showing up. a cbs poll from this weekend, 80% of voters say the inflation is that top issue but only 29% think donald trump is focused on that issue. geoff: it would appear the fallout from president zelenskyy 's calamitous visit to washington, the friday oval office meeting, the fallout continues to grow. the president and his advisers continue to criticize him, his outlook, his demeanor, saying he white need to resign. the rhetoric from the white house mirrors the rhetoric from the kremlin trying to paint zelenskyy as the warmonger. reporter: president trump was asked about that and did not

engage on the question despite being asked and hearing the question. he does not seem to be concerned about moscow being happy with the rhetoric coming out of the white house. the white house was clearly happy with how the meeting meant -- went. if they weren't we would see president trump -- we would have seen president trump over the weekend. allies going out and backing him. there is a reason for this. the public has gradually, in part because of president trump and other republicans and because russia has done a decent job of getting its views into the american bloodstream, the american public has soured on

ukraine in the war. geoff: on that point, the same partisan attacks not sought to rehabilitate the january 6 rioters could also tear down president zelenskyy. how fixed are american views on the war in ukraine? reporter: well, they are really driven bipartisanship more than anything else. they are fluid in the sense got where partisans will go with wherever their leaders are going. in 2022 for example an equal number of democrats, republicans and independents supported ukraine as the war was breaking out. as we moved into 2023 and 2024, especially as trump was critical of ukraine and more supportive of putin and as then president biden going to ukraine, increasing aid to ukraine, you

saw democrats support pretty much stay where it was at the beginning but republican support cratered. and independents going down as well. i do think -- the challenge with foreign policy in general when it comes to american voters -- some do but most don't have hard and fixed opinions as specially about the state of where the european line should be drawn or not. and so they are really following the folks they trust with -- within a party or in many cases whatever information source they are getting -- they are using to get their information. and when that side shifts, they shift with it. geoff: should we expect to hear more from president trump tomorrow? reporter: i asked that the white house for a preview and they sent me a fox news exclusive.

peace around the globe is on the agenda, pushing congress to pass border security and talking about the economy and what he has done. and we can expect them to talk about his accomplishments in the first month and a half in office. i talked to a former white house have his whole from the first administration who said he expects the president's message to be get on board or get out of the way. reporter: thank you is always. -- as always. ♪ geoff: the nobel peace prize laureate and journalist maria russa has long fought for global press freedom. her book detailed her experience running a new site under the increasingly autocratic regime

of president dutere in the philippines. she sat down to discuss parallels she sees between the philippines and the u.s. run under president trump. reporter: welcome back to the news hour and thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. amna: there has been a lot of concerns about president trump's attacks on the press and concerns about a loss of press freedom. compare what you lived through, documented and covered with what we have seen in the first several weeks of the second trump administration so far. reporter: it is what we have lived through but accelerated. it is incredible how fast it is going and part of it is organization. in the philippines, within six months, the constitution is

patterned after the united states, we have three branches of government and a powerful executor. within six months of the filipino president taking office, the checks and balances had collapsed. he was the most powerful leader of the country had ever known. and crucial to that is silencing the press and the justice system, the court system. and i think that is what we are beginning to see right now. amna: let me ask you about individual things. we've seen the president go after specific news networks. he has blocked access for the associated press known as the ap for their refusal the call it just the gulf of america as he wants. they call it the gulf of mexico and say he wants to change the name. the ap serves thousands of news organizations. they have over 100 countries

across the world. what does it say to you that they -- that he is going after the ap? reporter: it is not just press freedom at stake. let me ground it first and what happened in the philippines. our president went after the largest newspaper, the largest television station and online, we were number three. go big, go fast and take them down quickly and make an example. i was the example of a journalist. i had had a long career. i had headed the largest network in the philippines after almost 20 years with cnn. first social media, attacks came bottom up. the lie was that journalist equals criminal. two years before i was arrested they trended that, the network created online.

propaganda. a year later we had the first criminal charges, 21. two years later, 2019, i was arrested and then it was 10 criminal charges in a year. what we are seeing is death by a thousand cuts of democracy. this is what i wrote about in the book. originally i was speaking to filipinos but it is a cautionary tale for every democracy where technology is the spark that allows populism to become authoritarianism undoes shift over. i think we are seeing this now. amna: if the press is under attack, as an observer, what do you make of how the press has responded? there has been a major news organization in abc that has settled a lawsuit with the president and it is reported that cps will likely do the same. reporter: do not voluntarily give up your rights. i will give you our example in the philippine. the first newspaper gave up the

television -- the first newspaper gave up, the television station gave up. and guess what? it never regained its license. little rattler with about 120 people stood up. it was difficult. it was frightening. we are still here. a point in time when i faced over a century in jail but i'm still here. after 2021 i had lost some of my rights, i wasn't allowed to travel for example. but now i am in new york city teaching at columbia university. i guess what i'm saying is hold the line, that is the phrase we use because it is connected to the rights that you deserve as a citizen. and if you do not hold the line, at this crucial moment, this is the moment when you are

strongest. you will only get weaker over time. it is not just journalists, the frontline. the question is to every single citizen in america. it is the question i threw in the book -- how to stand up to a dictator? what are you willing to sacrifice for the truth? if you do not have facts, you cannot -- and i've said this over and over since 2016, without facts you cannot have truth and without truth you cannot have trust. without these we have no shared reality and you cannot solve any problem let alone existential ones like climate change. you cannot have democracy or journalism. and in a system like that, only a dictatorship wins. amna: you are drawing comparisons because of your experience but there are those that say the philippines is not

the united states. what do you say to that -- the idea that our system is immune to the same things that the philippines fell prey to? reporter: i have two ways to respond -- it is not just the philippines. there is a dictator playbook. you can look at turkey, hungary, a pressure it -- russia with putin taking over. the first step is to get elected. once elected, to crush the system of checks and balances and replace them with what we call the rolligarchy. you have to decide the world you want to live in. you have to decide whether rule of law exists. you cannot normalize impunity. and if you don't, over time, we normalize that and you lose more and more of your rights.

here is a positive note. rodrigo duterte's term ended. he tried to extend and if the military had supported them -- him, perhaps i would not be here. but we now have another president. and the 10 criminal cases i've had, i've won eight of the tent. i still have to ask the supreme court for approval to travel but we are here. it is alarming to see it happening all over again. amna: we should point out that the majority of americans say they do not trust the media right now. we have seen a decline in that trust over years and many like to see the president go after the press in the way that he does. they will hear this conversation and say good, i'm glad he is doing what he is doing. reporter: it is the role of journalists in a democracy like the philippines and the united states -- to hold power to

account. i believe that is why -- i mean, you will not have an insert or a content creator stand up to a dictator. you are not going to have someone have a set of principles of standards and ethics that actually pushes against their own self-interest. we are seeing all of these begin default. here is that thing -- heart of what triggered that is the technology and the ecosystem we live in. journalists and news organizations have been under attack from the beginning so your lack of faith in that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. you learned your -- you lose journalism. the way we practice it and you lose democracy. amna: maria russa, always a pleasure to speak with you. thank you for taking the time. ♪

geoff: nasa's partnership with the private sector took another key step forward this weekend with a successful moon landing. >> we are on the moon. geoff: the blue ghost lunar lander measuring six by 11 feet stuck the landing safely early sunday making it the first commercial spacecraft to do so after others tried but crashed or tipped over once they got to the moon. blue ghost is built by the private company firefly aerospace. it is carrying a number of experience for nasa and is part of a larger effort to have private companies make liveries for larger missions. miles o'brien joins us now. what is the significance of this blue ghost landing? reporter: it is a big accomplishment for a small private enterprise to land on the moon. not easy stuff. rocket science is hard.

this is part of the overall artemis program and is a highlight of our program that is facing a lot of trouble. artemis is the return to the moon campaign over several years. these missions and this is one of about 11 or so in the coming years are designed to scout out the surface, determine the radiation environment and figure out what to do about the difficult lunar dust which can be very sticky and sharp and also learn how to navigate and land successfully. interestingly, they were able to use the earth-based gps system to get a fix which portends well for navigating in the future. a glimmer of hope in an otherwise troubled program. geoff: how much of a boost is this for artemis? reporter: it helps and puts artemis in people's minds. at the center of artemis is a

giant what some might call white elephant of a rocket. it is coming in at about $90 billion, the space launch system. and it has had a very long and slow and continually delayed effort to get into space. at this point nasa is predicting a moon landing in 2027 but that is pretty optimistic probably. this is a program that is looking like it is a riep target for the doge world. geoff: it raises the question, what is elon musk's standing on artemis? >> he is not a big fan. interestingly, he does have a key part to play and artemis. his starship would be modified and used to do the last it and used it land on the surface. the space launch system and self he has described as an

inefficient jobs program and he wants to go straight to mars and the moon is a distraction. that lends itself to a lot of speculation that artemis could very well be on the chopping block. we will have to wait and see. the future administrator, the potential administrator, we would expect them to be the administrator, the billionaire who is slated to do that has hearings and at that time we will hear more about his thoughts on it but he also calls it a very expensive way to go we will see what happens but these missions, these missions could be the real highlight of artemis when all is said and done. geoff: is that a widely held view that artemis is inefficient? >> when you look at a rocket that is not far over budget and that far delayed -- and the key point is that the rocket they

are building is based on old shuttle and basically saturn five technology going back many decades. it was supposed to be faster and cheaper. what they are building is turning out to be very expensive and it is single use. what spacex and elon musk have been focused on his reusable rockets. and over time it drives down the cost tremendously of getting to space. starship, though it is not yet flown a perfect mission, has flown a half a dozen times and it flies a lot cheaper then the space launch system which right now is unclear when it will fly next. geoff: miles o'brien, our thanks to you as always. ♪ geoff: we will be back shortly with a look at last night's

oscars but first take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. it is a chance to offer your support which helps to keep programs like this one on the air. ♪ ♪ geoff: for those of you stating with us, we take a second look at efforts to fill millions of manufacturing jobs expected to open up in the next decade as workers read. the sector is supposed to add more jobs with help from federal subsidies. where will the needed workers come from? how about some two-year colleges like cincinnati states. our economic correspondent paid a visit and hopes for the future. >> it had to have three wheels, a gas motor and a wheelie bar. >> we used to say when i was a kid, cool as a moose. reporter: not exactly your grandparents shop class. >> students have two semesters

to design and build this. in semester one they design everything you are sitting on. reporter: zane decker designed the program, teaching skills much in demand these days. schools like cincinnati state arche training grounds to prepare students for manufacturing jobs for which there are not enough workers at these days like ge aviation that partnered the program. this is especially important in ohio, america's third most manufacturing stage. >> if you went back 20 years, there wasn't as much demand as there is today. reporter: demand for the likes of this 20-year-old, andrew lakes. >> it turns the software into g code. it is reading all of the lines of code and it tells us what the tool will do. reporter: which is -- >> i'm building a pocket knife

handle. as you can see i have a few prototypes. i'm working on my finished product. reporter: your finger goes there -- his first foray was a flop. >> i went a little too deep. reporter: you broke the tool. is that humiliating? >> a little but you learn from your mistakes and move on. reporter: a working race buggy was more challenging. this was last year's model. >> next year's car is what i'm designing and it will be so small that it can fit inside this card. reporter: amy, another student -- and you are going to build the whole thing? and then what? >> we will raise it. reporter: in the spring there are college competitions like this one. what will you do with this in the spring? >> we are one of two or three

community colleges that compete alongside these major universities with huge budgets and we have done pretty well. i think this new car will be like the best. reporter: baja braces and -- baja erasers and knife handles are just one aspect of the program. >> we are going to launch a historic buildup of american manufacturing muscle and mike. reporter: there is a big problem -- we see a real shortage of people going into manufacturing while lots of people are retiring from manufacturing. >> that is absolutely the case. we have all these people retiring that have the skills. we have a younger generation and there is a skills gap. reporter: where better to get the skilled then at america's

community colleges where nearly 9 million students take a tiny fraction of the cost of a four-year degree. >> for me this cost about $3000 a semester. reporter: for a job that pays -- >> you expect to make about $27 on the hour. reporter: $26 an hour, $50,000 a year. >> roughly. reporter: that is good money around here? >> especially for someone my age. reporter: especially for starting pay in ohio. >> we emphasize preparing students because our job is to meet the needs of the local economy. reporter: the president of cincinnati state -- >> 85 to 90% of our students stay in this area and work and we have great partnerships with employers and they tell us what they need, what we should be investing in and what we should do. reporter: but in here is the

crux of the story, zane's classes are under subscribed. lack of workers nationwide and yet not enough young people in the pipeline. how many of you think that people like yourselves are not here because manufacturing is uncool? uncool? no? because it is too hard? really? almost everybody. because they just don't know about it? that also. i put the same question to the teacher. >> we have to work on changing and having people realize that if you look around the shop, it isn't that dirty. people are challenging themselves. they are spending time on the computer and on the shop floor. if we can show young people that this is a viable career and training is available, we can fill the gap. reporter: we are nowhere near that yet? >> we are not there yet.

a lot is the stigma around the field. it is a much nicer job than it used to be. reporter: and the president says cincinnati state gets federal and state funding to do so. >> we are recruiting and doing everything we can to invest in it but we also know we need to recast manufacturing in terms of student and families, the attitude about the industry. reporter: but still not an easy sell even with incentives like this one which literally anyone can drive. and if you spend four semesters here while preparing to propel america's proposed manufacturing future, you can even build. for the pbs news hour, paul, risking my neck to amuse you in cincinnati, ohio. ♪

♪ geoff: the small budget indie flick anora was the lap -- was the big winner winning five oscars. mikey madison won for her portrayal of the title character becoming one of the youngest to win in the latter category. stephanie sy has more on our culture series. reporter: anora tells the story of a new york sex worker who falls in love with the son of a russian all the guard. the film was directed, written, edited and produced by sean baker who swept the categories and is tied with mold disney for the most oscars won in a single night. for more on sean baker's sweep and other highlights on joined by justin chang, a film critic

at the new yorker who reviews movies for npr's fresh air. welcome back to the news hour. what did you think of the oscars this year and in particular the success of anora which takes on a marginalized community and i've read d stigmatizes and humanizes sex work. >> it does that and this has been meaningful to sean baker throughout his career. he has repeatedly and consistently made interesting and smart movies about sex worker characters. starlet, tangerine and red rocket. he is not a filmmaker many of us critics who have been championing his great work for many years who necessarily was inevitably in line for an oscar. it is really gratifying he won.

anora won five oscars. it is pretty remarkable. i think many of us feel this is one of the better outcomes to a very long, fraught and controversy plagued season that we are all happy is over. reporter: this is not the first time in recent years we have seen a small budget film win best picture. we also -- what has changed in the academy to bring these films to the forefront? >> i think the academy is becoming more diverse, more international membership. it is a younger group, a more globally minded group. many members live outside the u.s. and i think their taste has become more sophisticated. this is not the first time an independent and low-budget film

has won dust picture. anora and the brutalist speed to the high regard of these movies. they each made $10 million or less. both have grossed $40 million worldwide. it is a good thing that the academy can separate big hits from excellent movies. that is why i'm grateful we could not win best picture last night. reporter: that would have been a more traditional choice. speaking of that, i want to talk about best documentary feature is that when to "no other land" that chronicles is really demolition of palestinian -- israeli demolition of palestinian homes. this film does not have a u.s. distributor. what statement did the academy send with this award? >> it was a brilliant choice for a brilliant movie for this.

i hope it speaks to hollywood and not just hollywood but throughout the industry, the country, a willingness to look as certain realities of this conflict in the face which is what this movie bravely does. i really applaud the choice. i think they gave the best and most important and most searingly political speech of the night and i hope "no other land" is as widely seen as it deserves to be. reporter: justin, thank you for sharing your take with us. >> always a pleasure. ♪ geoff: be sure to join us

tomorrow night. we will be here with live coverage and analysis of president trump's address to a joint session of congress that starts at 9:00 p.m. used term. that is the news hour for tonight. for all of us, thank you for spending part of your weekend -- part of your evening with us. announcer: major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by friends of the news hour including robert kaplan and kathy and polly anderson. >> i successful business owner sells his company and restores his father's historic has club with his son. a rate -- a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you bring people together. life well-planned. >> at bdl i feel like a true individual. people value me for me and they care about my needs and career path. >> in 1990 52 friends set out to make wireless coverage

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hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. >> it's not just a departure from where the biden administration is that it is a stark departure from the first trump administration. looking at the trump white