amna: good evening, i'm jeff. 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 think 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, whther 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 lines journey, along the legendary mississippi river travelers and explore civil war battlefields and historic riverside towns aboard our fleet of american riverboats.

you can experience local culture and cuisine and discover the music and history of the mighty mississippi. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the news hour including leonard and norma klorfine and the judy and peter blum kovler foundation. the william and flora hewlett foundation, the more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪

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 today continued his pressure campaign on ukraine, insinuating that president volodymyr zelenskyy should step down if he doesn't want a peace deal. that follows their unprecedented clash in that friday oval office meeting. western leaders have been scrambling to help mend the relationship, but also make plans to maintain support for ukraine if the u.s. walks away. nick schifrin reports. nick: in the white house today, president trump kept up pressure on ukraine's embattled

president. pres. trump: i just think you should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin. nick: he was even harsher on truth social, writing: "america will not put up with it for much longer," a response to this statement by president volodymyr zelenskyy yesterday. >> an agreement to end the war is still very, very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet. pres. trump: maybe somebody doesn't want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn't want to make a deal, i think that person won't be around very long. that person will not be listened to very long. you're gambling with the lives of millions of people. you're gambling with world war iii. nick: today's rhetorical criticism highlights the substantive divide during friday's oval office meltdown. ukraine doubts the very diplomacy with putin the u.s. is prioritizing. pres. zelenskyy: what kind of diplomacy, j.d., you are speaking about? vp vance: i'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country. nick: tonight, zelenskyy stuck

to his guns that diplomacy requires security guarantees. >> the baseline scenario is to hold positions and create conditions for proper diplomacy. we need peace, real, fair peace, not endless war. and we need security guarantees. nick: and the war stops for no politics. this weekend, a russian drone struck a residential apartment building in kharkiv, one of countless russian attacks on ukrainian civilian targets. p.m. starmer: we are at a crossroads in history today. nick: in london this weekend, prime minister keir starmer led zelenskyy and european leaders in an emergency summit that, in starmer's words, assembled a coalition of the willing. europe is developing plans to deploy french, british and perhaps eastern european troops into ukraine to help enforce a cease-fire that french foreign minister jean-noel barrot today said could be for one month and not include ground combat. >> this cease-fire in the air

and at sea and on energy infrastructure will enable us to attest to the good faith of vladimir putin when he commits to the cease-fire. nick: but that's just one possibility, and european forces could not deploy without u.s. logistical and intelligence support. keir starmer: the discussions we have had today, particularly the coalition of the willing, is on the basis that this is a plan that we will work with, with the u.s. and that it will have u.s. backings. nick: it's 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 deterrent force on the ground in ukraine, putin and russia cannot be trusted. nick: bob hamilton is the head of eurasia research at the foreign policy research institute, who's visiting ukraine this week. what >> when the survival of your nation is at stake, it's not unreasonable for president zelenskyy to insist on at least

some assurances of security guarantees before he signs up to a cease-fire agreement, particularly one that he's not involved in negotiating. nick: ukraine and europe must great also confront the possibility of losing u.s. military assistance. ukraine would struggle to replace american air defense and western artillery. one but with more funding, it could rely more on domestically produced drones that are already causing the majority of russian casualties. col. hamilton: if those funds were provided by foreign countries, ukraine could upscale its defense industrial production fairly quickly to double or triple it if it had the money. nick: for all the pressure that president trump and his allies are maintaining on zelenskyy, today, the president said the economic deal that zelenskyy was supposed to sign on friday before the meeting in the oval office went off the rails is still alive, depending, geoff, on what zelenskyy says and does. geoff: meantime, nick, what are you learning about what zelenskyy is discussing with his fellow leaders in europe?

nick: zelenskyy spoke to baltic leaders this afternoon. and a senior european official who was on that call told me that zelenskyy sounded contrite about what had happened on friday, and that he understood he needed to mend the relationship with donald trump. from the western, european perspective, we heard why in our story right there from prime minister starmer, that european troops could not deploy into ukraine without u.s. support, intelligence, and logistics. the u.s. officials who are in favor of maintaining support for ukraine had hoped that that economic deal would be signed on friday as a way to convince the skeptical president trump not only to continue support for ukraine, but even invest in ukraine's drone industry, which, as we said, is super important. so whether he's willing to do that, whether, frankly, president trump is willing to keep the same number of u.s. troops in europe, well, all of that tonight, geoff, lies in the balance. geoff: nick schifrin, thank you. nick: thank you. ♪

stephanie: an update on our top story, the news has learned tonight that trump administration is pausing all future deliveries of military assistance to ukraine. a white house official said the u.s. was reviewing its aid to ensure it is, quote, contribute into a solution. in other news, lighter winds are helping crews fight the blazes that caused evacuations over the weekend. officials in south carolina banned almost all outdoor fires today, including campfires, after the state's governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. in north carolina, the state's 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 from the blazes. in illinois, the man accused of

killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a july 4 parade in 2022 pleaded guilty today. 24-year-old robert crimo iii withdrew his earlier plea of not guilty just minutes before his trial was set to start. 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. ashbey beasley, shooting survivor: it was a shock to hear the words that he was changing his plea. i think, every single time i see him, it's stressful. i think it's upsetting for everyone in our community. and i think just knowing that this is this plea has been entered and we will not have to see him again is what we all need to move on. stephanie: a law firm representing dozens of survivors says efforts to pursue civil justice continue. that includes suing the gunmaker of the semiautomatic rifle used in the shooting. sentencing for crimo is

scheduled for late april. the senate this evening confirmed former pro wrestling executive linda mcmahon to lead the department of education. it was a 51-45 vote along party lines. she was small business administrator during donald trump's first term. in this new role she is expected to dismantle the department itself. the education secretary post was one of the final cabinet positions left to fill. pope francis suffered a new breathing crisis today. the vatican says the 88-year-old pontiff was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation after suffering two new episodes of acute respiratory failure. pope francis has been in a rome hospital since february 14. the vatican says he remained alert and cooperated with medical personnel today, but that his outlook remains guarded. this has been his longest absence from public life in his 12-year papacy. in the middle east, cease-fire negotiations between israel and hamas are at a standstill after

phase one of the truce expired over the weekend. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is pushing for what he says is a u.s.backed plan that would extend the cease-fire through ramadan and passover. but hamas accused israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement after it halted all food, fuel, and other aid into gaza. meantime in israel, one man was killed and four others injured in a stabbing attack in the northern city of haifa. police say the suspected assailant was an arab citizen of israel who was later killed by a security guard. police in germany say at least two people are dead after a driver rammed a car into a crowd of people today in the city of mannheim. that is in southern germany. emergency crews rushed to a pedestrian street in the city center around noon, when many workers were on their lunch breaks. authorities say a 40-year-old german citizen is in custody. they did not immediately call the ramming an attack, though

cars have been used as weapons in germany several times in recent months. and 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 national airport. among the performers at yesterday's event was maxim naumov, who wept on his knees following a moving tribute to his parents, who died in the crash. others included men's world champion ilia malinin and national women's champion amber glenn, who also broke down after her performance. 28 of the crash victims were members of the figure skating community. the event's host says the benefit raised nearly $1.2 million to support families of those lost. still to come on the "news hour": amy walter and tamara keith break down the latest political headlines. a lunar lander successfully touches down, in a new feat for

privatized space exploration; and the notable moments from last night's academy awards. >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: as president trump gets ready to address congress for the first time since reentering the oval office, our latest pbs news/npr/marist 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 at the super screen to walk us through the numbers. hey there, lisa. lisa: hi. geoff: all right, so, big picture. what do the american people think about the president and the changes he's making? lisa: let's start with that top figure, the approval rating. where are americans that we asked about that right now?

45% approve of the job donald trump is doing as president so far. i'm going to write that number down. i want you to remember that 45 percent. now, more americans disapprove, but just barely. why is this 45 number significant? this is trump's approval rating up and down over time. here we are right now at 45 percent. this is the largest approval rating he has experienced in office as president, much higher than where he ended during his first term. now, another thing we asked folks about, all of these actions that trump is taking, do you think that they are for the good mostly or not for the good, for the bad, for this country? did they make things better or worse? when we asked that question, 45%, that same number, said, we think these actions make things better in this country. now, it's not a coincidence that those numbers are the same; 45 percent generally like the job he's doing, think it's for the better. what's being driven -- what's driving that is a single force, republicans. of those who -- when we ask people who they think -- if trump is doing a better job, 88

percent of republicans think what trump is doing is for the better for this country, versus just 12 percent of democrats. these two groups live in completely different worlds, almost different planets. independents, a minority of them also believe trump is doing a better job. it is republicans who are really pushing trump's numbers to go higher right now. now, at the same time, this poll was taken before the confrontation in the oval office with volodymyr zelenskyy, but lee miringoff with the marist poll says what trump is doing is he's flooding the zone with controversial action. >> we're just seeing a lot of things happening with little time for the public to digest. the net effect of it all is there's a sense on the part of the public that some things are moving just a little too fast and they're not totally convinced that things are moving in the right direction. geoff: well, let's talk about the pace of change because the president has signed something like 76 executive orders. he's fired thousands of federal workers, slashed and frozen

government spending. what are people saying about that? lisa: right. we wanted to get deeper into these unprecedented actions. and we asked, do you think president trump is rushing things, not considering the consequences, or are his actions something that need to happen in order to get government on track? here's how people answered that question. most people, 56%, said they think trump is rushing, he's not considering the impact of his actions. that's the majority. however, it is a significant group, 43 percent in our poll, who said they think what trump is doing is necessary to keeping government on track. our producer matt loffman called some of the people who answered our poll. one of them was a republican in texas who told us he does think he likes what trump is doing on immigration, but also in general. gilbert, republican from texas: he's trying to keep his promises. we have to correct the destruction that has happened to our country and society over the last four years. you cannot turn all the years of damage in one or two or three or four months. it takes -- it's much easier to destroy things than build them.

lisa: what about all those cuts, the cuts to federal funding and all the mass layoffs? we asked people about that as well. we saw a similar figure here. most people, 55%, said all of these cuts are doing more harm than good. now, this is the number trump really has to watch as far as the future goes and republicans. we spoke to an independent voter in michigan who said -- and he works in general contracting for the government, said what he's experienced in this first month, he's seen just chaos. j.k., independent from michigan: everything is going at breakneck speed to dismantle a system that's been standing tall and working for the american people for decades. they're performing surgery with a sword and a blindfold. and they're just moving at this breakneck, chaotic speed. and it's unnecessary. geoff: well, how do those polled

view elon musk, who is in many ways the face of the trump administration effort to scale back the size of government and fire federal workers? lisa: right, holding the sword. now, how -- what's the approval rating look like for him? 39%. of course, that is lower than trump's approval rating of 45. but what we have seen in the past month or so, two months, republicans are warming up to him more, not democrats or independents. geoff: and, lisa, we saw some republican members of congress in recent weeks face a real onslaught of anger from their constituents in those town hall meetings. how are those polled? how do they view congress and our system of checks and balances? lisa: this is now a question at american dinner tables. how is the constitution holding up? so we did ask, do you think checks and balances, that system, is working now? today, and -- 56% in the last week or so believe, no, our checks and balances system is not working. but what is dramatic here is what a change this is from december, when we asked the same question.

look at this. in december, 66%, two-thirds, said, yes, checks and balances, it's holding up. but that is a complete flip now, where a majority of americans say, no, we don't think checks and balances are holding up. we spoke to an independent voter in texas, who told us she has a message for her republican congressman on how they should handle and work with donald trump. tanya, independent from texas: they should be taking him to task and they should be calling amongst themselves and start voting on things and start taking control of the things they actually have control of. but everybody's too afraid of offending a constituent that they're just letting him run amok, because they're also afraid of him and that they won't get voted in again. lisa: one last important and unusual question that we asked, do you think donald trump will abide by court orders? will he follow the law? right now, geoff, a majority of americans, 58 percent, incredibly, believe that the current president of the united states will not follow the law and abide by court rulings -- geoff. geoff: lisa desjardins, our thanks to you, as always. lisa: you're welcome. geoff: and you can read more

details from our poll. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and for more on the latest political news, including the fallout from president trump's meeting with ukrainian president zelenskyy and analysis of that pbs news poll, we're joined now by amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter, and tamara keith, npr senior white house correspondent. with a welcome to you both. all right, tam, so according to this pbs news/npr/marist poll, americans are divided about president trump's job performance. and in this latest poll, 56 percent of americans say the president is rushing to make change without considering the impact of his decisions. that includes two-thirds of independents and 11 percent of trump voters. what stands out to you about this? tamara keith, national public radio: the two-thirds of independents, because independent voters are sort of the canary in the coal mine for approval of what the president is doing. and when you are winning

independents as president, you're doing well. when independents are moving away from you, that's an indication, because, at this point, partisan views are so set in stone that republicans will automatically say that trump is doing great and democrats will automatically say that he is doing terrible. so you look to the independents. and in this case, two-thirds of independents say that the president and doge are rushing too much to make change. that is certainly like a yellow flashing light for the white house. geoff: and, amy, on his handling of the economy, our poll found that 42% think president trump is changing the economy for the better, 46% think for the worse. but perhaps more telling, 56 percent of people expect grocery prices to actually go up over the next six months. and that's with those extensive tariffs that take effect tomorrow. you wrote recently about the warning signs for republicans on the economy. what are you seeing?

amy walter, the cook political report: yes, i used the same term that tam did, which is sort of the flashing yellow lights here for trump and for republicans. look, we have seen a couple of things in these last few weeks. the first is a drop in consumer confidence that's being captured in a number of different surveys. and then we see, like this marist poll, that the president's overall approval rating on the economy is in more negative territory than positive territory. and that's not usually where donald trump is. if you go back and you look at the marist poll from the summer of 2018, which was the last time that this poll asked about these issues while trump was in office, so there wasn't any data from 2017, but, at this point in 2018, opinions about trump overall were much lower, opinions about his handling of immigration, his handling of foreign policy much lower than they are now. but his opinion the economy, how well he was handling the economy, much higher back in

2018 than it is today. and i think a lot of it is driven by the fact that there are so many voters out there, especially independent voters, who voted for donald trump with the really emphasis on his ability to lower prices and to focus on the economy. and that's one other number that has been showing up. this one was a cbs poll from this weekend, 80% of voters saying inflation is the top issue for me. and yet only 29% think that donald trump is focused on that issue. geoff: tam, meantime, it would appear that the fallout from president zelenskyy's calamitous visit to washington, that friday oval office meeting, the fallout from that continues to grow. president trump and his top advisers continue to criticize zelenskyy, his outlook on the war, his demeanor. they're suggesting that he might need to resign. they're also saying that he doesn't necessarily want peace. the rhetoric from the white house in many ways mirrors the rhetoric from the kremlin,

trying to paint zelenskyy, not putin, as the warmonger. tamara: yes. and president trump was asked about that today and didn't really engage on the question, despite being asked and hearing the question. he does not seem to be concerned about moscow being very happy with the rhetoric coming out of the white house. but the white house was clearly very happy with how that meeting went, with the blowup, with all of the attention that it generated, because, if they weren't happy with it, we would have seen president trump. we would have seen him over the weekend. we would have seen him today. but, instead, he has been quiet. he has not wanted to step on that news cycle. and then what you have seen is republican allies of the president going on sunday shows, otherwise going out and backing him. and there's a reason for this in part. the public has gradually over the last several years, in part because of trump and other republicans, and in part because russia has done a decent job of getting its views into the

american bloodstream, the american public has really soured on ukraine in this war. geoff: amy, on that point, i mean, the same partisan attacks that sought to rehabilitate the january 6 rioters, you could argue, could also tear down president zelenskyy. how fixed are americans' views on the war in ukraine? amy: well, i agree with tam that they are really driven by partisanship more than anything else. so they're fluid in the sense that where partisans go -- partisans will go with wherever their leaders are going. so, back in 2022, for example, an equal number of democrats, republicans, independents supported ukraine as the war was breaking out. but as we moved into 2023 and 2024, especially as trump was critical of ukraine, was more supportive of putin, and as

then-president biden going to ukraine, increasing aid to ukraine, you saw democrat support pretty much stay where it was at the beginning, but republican support crater and independents going down as well. and so i do think, look, the challenge with foreign policy in general, when it comes to american voters, american voters, some do, but most don't have hard and fixed opinions, especially about the state of the -- where the european line should be drawn or not. and so they are really following the folks that they trust with -- either within a party or, in many cases, whatever information source they're using to get most of the information and they just will go along with that. and when that side shifts, they shift with it. geoff: should we expect to hear more from president trump on this when he addresses the joint session of congress tomorrow? what are you watching for? tamara: yes.

so i asked the white house for a preview. they sent me a fox news exclusive that they had given to fox. but, yes, peace around the globe is on the agenda, pushing congress to pass border security funding and generally pushing congress to do his agenda, talking about the economy and what he's done. and also we can expect him to talk about his accomplishments in the first month-and-a-half in office. this is the way the white house has described it. you know, i talked to a former white house official from the first administration who said he expects president trump's message to be, get on board or get out of the way. geoff: ok. tamara keith and amy walter, thanks, as always. ♪ geoff: nobel peace prize laureate and investigative journalist maria ressa has long fought for global press freedom. her book "how to stand up to a dictator" detailed her

experience running the news site rappler under the increasingly autocratic regime of president rodrigo duterte in the philippines. she recently sat down with amna nawaz to discuss parallels she's seeing between the philippines and the u.s. under president trump. it's part of our new series on democracy, which focuses on the laws, institutions and norms that have shaped this country and the challenges they face today. amna: maria, welcome back to the "news hour." thank you so much for joining us. maria ressa, ceo, rappler: thanks for having me. amna: so there's been a lot of concerns you have seen about president trump's continuing attacks on the press and concerns about a loss of press freedom. i want you to start by just comparing what you lived through, what you documented, what you covered under duterte with what we have seen in the first several weeks of this second trump administration so far. maria: it's exactly what we have lived through, except accelerated. it's incredible how fast it's going. and part of that is

organization, right? but what we did in the philippines is, within six months -- the constitution of the philippines is patterned after the united states. we have three branches of government and a powerful executive. but within six months of the election of rodrigo duterte, of him taking office, all of the checks and balances had collapsed. he was an all-powerful -- the most powerful leader the country had ever known. and critical to that, crucial to that is silencing the press and the justice system, the court system, right, because -- and i think that's what we're beginning to see right now. amna: let me ask you about a few individual things we have seen. you have obviously seen the president go after specific news networks. he's also opened a probe into pbs, we should note. he's also blocked access for the associated press, known as the ap, for their refusal to 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. now, the ap, we should note, serves thousands of news organizations.

they have a reporter in every single statehouse in america, hundreds of countries -- rather, over 100 countries across the world. what does it say to you that he's going after the ap? what's at stake in their lawsuit against the president here? maria: it's not just press freedom that's at stake, right? and, again, let me ground it first in what happened in the philippines. our president then went after the largest newspaper, the largest television station, and then online. we were the largest. we were number three. but go big, go fast, take them down quickly, make an example. i was the example of a journalist. i had had, oh, my gosh, a long career. i had headed the largest network in the philippines after almost 20 years with cnn. and then, when the charges came -- so first social media, the attacks came bottom up. you say a lie a million times, it becomes a fact. and it was that journalist equals criminal. two years before i was actually

arrested, they trended that, the network that was created online, so the propaganda. then, a year later, we had the first criminal charges, 21 of them, and then, by two years later, by 2019, i was arrested. and then it was 10 criminal charges in a little over a year. look, what you're seeing is death by 1,000 cuts of democracy. this is exactly what i had written about in the book. and, 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 and to shift over. i think we're seeing this now. amna: so, if the press is under attack here, maria, as an observer watching this all unfold, what do you make of the way that the press has responded, in particular, the fact that there's been a major news organization in abc that's already settled a lawsuit with the president? it's reported that cbs would likely do the same. what do you make of that? maria: don't voluntarily give up your rights, right? i mean, again, in -- i will give

you our example in the philippines, where the first newspaper gave up -- the television station gave up largest -- it lost its franchise or license to operate. and guess what? it never regained it even after the time of duterte. little rappler with, about 100, 120 people, we stood up. and it was difficult. it was frightening, but we're still here, right? a point in time when i faced over a century in jail, but i'm still here. and, after 2021, i had lost some of my rights. i wasn't allowed to travel, for example, but now here i am. i'm in new york city teaching at colombia university, right? so i guess what i'm saying is, hold the line is the phrase we use, because it's 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 -- it will only -- you will only get weaker over time. and it isn't just the journalists, because journalists are the front lines in this, but the question is to every single citizen in america. it's the question i threw in the book, how to stand up to a dictator. and that question is simple. what are you willing to sacrifice for the truth? because if you don't have facts, you cannot -- and i have said this over and over since 2016. without facts, you can't have truth. without truth, you can't have trust. without these, we have no shared reality. you can't solve any problem, let alone existential ones like climate change. you can't have journalism. you can't have democracy. and in a system like that, only a dictatorship wins. amna: maria, you're drawing the comparisons here based on your lived experience, of course, but there are folks who will say, look, the u.s. is not the

philippines. trump is not duterte. our democracy is not the same as the one that you lived in. what do you say to that, the idea that this is somehow immune, our system, from the same things that the philippines fell prey to? maria: i think i have two -- two ways to respond to that. the first is, it isn't just the philippines. there is a dictator's playbook, and you can look first at russia, actually, even before that, turkey, hungary, russia, right, with putin taking office. and the first step is really to get elected, once you're elected, to crush the systems of checks and balances, and then replace them with your own -- we're starting to call them the broligarchy, because it's far more potent, the tech guys are more potent than just normal oligarchies. this is political largess, political patronage. 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. but here's a positive note. rodrigo duterte's term ended. he had one six-year term. he did try to extend. and perhaps if the military had supported him, i wouldn't be here. but we now have another president and those 10 criminal cases that i have had, i have now won eight of those 10 and two left. i still have to ask the supreme court for approval to travel, but we're here. it's alarming to see it happening all over again. amna: we should point out, maria, that the majority of americans say they don't even trust the media right now, that we have seen a decline in that trust over years. and many people 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's doing what he's doing. what has the independent press ever done for me? what would you say to them? maria: the role of journalists

in a country, in a democracy like the philippines, like the united states is to hold power to account. and i believe that is why -- i mean, you're not going to have an influencer or a content creator stand up to a dictator. you're not going to have someone have a set of principles, of standards and ethics that actually pushes against their own self-interest. we're seeing all of these begin to fall. but here's the thing. part of what triggered that is the technology, the public information ecosystem we live in. journalists and news organizations have been under attack from the very beginning. so your lack of faith in that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. you lose journalism the way we practice it, you lose democracy. amna: maria ressa, always such a pleasure to speak with you. thank you so much for making the time.

♪ geoff: nasa's partnership with the private sector took another key step forward this weekend with a successful moon landing. man: we're on the moon. geoff: the blue ghost lunar lander measuring only about 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's carrying a number of experiments for nasa and is part of a larger effort to have private companies make deliveries for larger missions. miles o'brien joins us now. miles, it's always great to see you. so what is the significance of this blue ghost landing? miles: well, geoff, it's a big accomplishment for a small private enterprise to land on

the moon. this is not easy stuff. as they say, rocket science is hard. this is part of the overall artemis program and is truly a highlight in a program which is facing a lot of trouble. artemis, of course, 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, try to figure out what to do about that difficult lunar dust, which can be very sticky and sharp, and also learn how to navigate and land successfully. they were able, interestingly, to use the earth-based gps system to get a fix. so that actually portends well for navigating in the future, so a glimmer of hope in an otherwise troubled program. geoff: a glimmer of hope indeed. how much of a boost is this for artemis? miles: well, it helps. and it puts artemis in people's minds.

but at the center of artemis is a giant what some might call white elephant of a rocket. it's now coming in at about $90 billion. i'm talking about the space launch system. and it's had a very long and slow and continually delayed effort to get into space. at this point, nasa is projecting a moon landing in 2027. but that's probably pretty optimistic. so this is a program that is looking like it is a ripe target for the doge world. geoff: well, it raises the question, what is elon musk's stance on artemis, especially since he has his own private spaceflight company, spacex? miles: he's not a big fan. but, interestingly, he does have a key part to play in artemis. his starship is -- would be modified and used to actually do the last bit and land on the

lunar surface. but the space launch system itself, he's described as inefficient, a jobs program, not a results program. and he said he wants to go straight to mars,the moon is a distraction. so that lends itself to a lot of speculation right now that artemis could very well be on the chopping block. but we will have to wait and see. the future administrator, the potential administrator, i guess we would expect him to be the administrator, jared isaacman, the billionaire who is slated to do that, has hearings. and at that time, we will hear a little bit more about his thoughts on it. but he also calls it a very expensive way to go. so we will see what happens. but this could be -- these missions, these clps missions, could be the real highlight of artemis when all is said and done. geoff: miles, is that a widely held view that artemis is inefficient? i mean, is this program really in trouble? miles: well, when you look at a

rocket that is that far over budget and that delayed, and the key point here, geoff, is that the rocket they're building is based on old shuttle and basically saturn v technology. it goes back many decades. it was supposed to be faster and cheaper. but what they're building is turning out to be very expensive, and it is single-use. and of course, what spacex and elon musk have been focused on all this time are reusable rockets. and that obviously over time drives down the cost tremendously of getting to space. and that starship, although it's not flown a perfect mission yet, has flown about a half-a-dozen times. and it flies a lot cheaper than the space launch system, which right now is -- it's unclear when it will fly next. geoff: miles o'brien, our thanks to you, as always. miles: you're welcome, geoff.

geoff: >> first, we take a second look at efforts to fill movements of manufacturing jobs that are expected to open up in the next decade as workers require -- retire. the sectors also supposed to and more jobs with help from federal subsidies. so where will the needed workers come from? well, how about some two-year colleges like cincinnati state. our economics correspondent paid a visit. >> it had to have three wheels. it had to have a gas motor and a wheelie bar so it can do wheelies. >> not exactly your grandparents

shop class here at the community college. quick semester one, they design everything you are sitting on. >> teaching skills much in demand these days. quick's let's go ahead and look at the simulation. quick schools like cincinnati state are key 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. the job gap is especially important in ohio, america's third most manufacturing heavy state. >> 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. and what to do better time. >> rather more challenging, a working race buggy. 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 race 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. >> baja racers and knife handles are just one aspect of the program. >> we are going to launch a historic buildup of american manufacturing muscle and my. -- and might. 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.

we need to get this younger generation to replace these people that are retiring. 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 -- >> after i graduate, i 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 for the work of the future -- for the workforce of the future, 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. cutting edge skills, good jobs, 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, too. 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 biggest winner at last night's academy awards. it won five oscars, including for best picture, best director, and best actress. mikey madison won for her portrayal of the title character, becoming one of the youngest to win in that latter category. stephanie sy has more for our arts and culture series, canvas. stephanie: "anora" tells the story of a new york sex worker who falls in love with the son of a wealthy russian oligarch. produced with just $6 million, the film was directed, written, edited and produced by sean baker, who swept those categories and is now tied with walt disney for the most oscars won in a single night.

for more on sean baker's sweep and other highlights from the oscars, i'm joined by justin chang, a film critic at "the new yorker" who also reviews movies for npr's "fresh air.” justin, welcome back to the "news hour.” so what did you think of the oscars this year, and, in particular, the success of "anora," which, as i understand it, takes on a marginalized community, and at least i have read destigmatizes and humanizes sex work? justin chang, "the new yorker": yes, thank you, stephanie. it absolutely does that. and this is something that has been very meaningful to sean baker throughout his career. he has repeatedly and consistently made really interesting, smart movies about sex worker characters, "starlet," "tangerine," "red rocket.” and so 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 win. so it's really gratifying that

he won, that a movie as strong as "anora" winning five oscars, and in all those categories that you mentioned, winning four oscars for baker alone and best actress for mikey madison, it's pretty remarkable. i also think that many of us feel this is one of the better outcomes to a very long, fraught and controversy-plagued season that we are all extremely happy is over. stephanie: justin, this isn't the first time in recent years we have seen a small-budget indie film win best picture. and we also saw multiple wins, including best actor, go to "the brutalist" starring adrien brody. what has changed in the academy to bring these films to the forefront? justin: i think that the academy is becoming a more diverse membership, a more international membership, due to concerted efforts to diversify its ranks. it's a younger group, a more globally minded group. many members now live outside

the u.s. and i think their taste has actually become more sophisticated. this is not the first time, as you say, stephanie, that an independent low-budget film has won best picture. and i think that both "anora" and "the brutalist" speak to the high regard for these movies, even if they aren't setting the box office on fire. both movies made for $10 million or less, as the filmmakers have been drawing attention to. both movies have grossed about $40 million worldwide. it's a very good thing that the academy is able to separate big hits from excellent movies. and that's why i'm very grateful that "wicked" did not win best picture last night, one of a few reasons, actually. stephanie: that would have been a much more traditional choice, in a sense. speaking of that, i want to talk about best documentary feature, which went to "no other land." that chronicles israeli demolitions of palestinian homes in the west bank. even in hollywood, the israeli-palestinian conflict has been a third rail. and this film doesn't even have a u.s. distributor. what statement did the academy send with this award?

justin: i think it was a brilliant choice of a brilliant movie for this award. it is pretty unheard of for a movie that has had trouble securing u.s. distribution to be even in contention, serious contention, for an oscar. and i hope it speaks to hollywood, and not just hollywood, but just the -- throughout the industry, throughout the country a willingness to look certain realities of the palestinian-israeli conflict in the face, which is what this movie bravely does. and so i really applaud the choice. i think yuval abraham and basel adra gave the best, most important, most searingly political speech of the night. and i hope that "no other land" is as widely seen as it deserves to be. stephanie: justin chang, the film critic at "the new yorker”" thanks so much for sharing your take with us, justin. justin: thank you for having me, stephanie. 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. -- eastern. 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. >> a 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 1995 2 friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all. with no long-term contracts, nationwide coverage and 100% u.s.-based customer support, consumer cellular, for your calls. ♪ >> the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accura

♪ ♪ ♪