♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight. the u.s. economy added jobs at a solid pace last month but massive federal layoffs and rising unemployment paint an uncertain picture of the near future. amna: a convicted murderer in south carolina chooses to be executed by firing squad, the

first such execution in 15 years, raising legal and ethical questions. geoff: and what science tells us about transgender athletes as republicans seek to block them from playing in women's sports. >> there going to be inherent inequalities between people. and how do we limit those inequalities and yet allow everybody to play? ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by friends of the newshour including the robert and virginia schiller foundation. upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. ♪

>> moving our economy from 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> john s and l knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged communities. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the "newshour." ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour." the u.s. labor market made solid gains again last month, adding 151,000 more jobs, just before the biggest federal layoffs began to hit. amna: unemployment crept up to 4.1%. more than 7 million americans are unemployed. manufacturing had its best report in months with 10,000 new jobs, which president trump hailed at the white house. pres. trump: we've not only stopped that manufacturing collapse, but we've begun to rapidly reverse it and get major gains. we created 10,000 manufacturing jobs in february alone. that hasn't happened in a long time. and these aren't government jobs, which actually we cut.

these are private sector manufacturing jobs. so we gained all of those jobs, 10,000 jobs, and we barely started yet. geoff: the economy actually last added more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs just a few months ago, in november 2024. but there are other warning signs of what could be ahead, not yet fully captured in this report. amna: the outplacement firm challenger gray reported more than 170,000 layoffs last month, more than 62,000 of those from the federal government. that's the highest monthly total it has reported since 2009. -- since julia coronado is an 2020. economist at the university of texas-austin who runs her own firm, macropolicy perspectives. welcome back to the "newshour." thank you for joining us julia: thank you. amna: 151,000 jobs added, that is up from 143,000 in january. julia: it was a solid report.

that is a respectable job again. under the hood there were some signs of cooling. as you noted, the biggest federal layoffs that have been announced and followed through on really hit after the data was collected. the data was collected for this report through mid february. most of the layouts have happened since then. we expect something like 30,000 lost jobs in the march report, or possibly greater. we also saw the unemployment rate creep up. that is still a very low 4.1 percent, a very low unemployment rate. in and of itself it is not a warning sign. we had almost 500,000 people take part-time jobs who wanted full-time jobs. that is something we track as a leading indicator of cooling conditions. amna: you saw president trump

emphasizing the 10,000 jobs added in manufacturing in particular. the ads were dwarfed by jobs added in other sectors where we saw 73,000 jobs added. . beside 19,000 jobs added in construction. the president noted manufacturing has been struggling. does he have a point in pulling that out? is that notable to you? julia: not really. 10,000 is a small number in the grand scheme of about 150,000. it bounces around from month to month. i think you noted there was a greater than 10,000 job gain in november. it has been bouncing around. the manufacturing sector in general has been subdued after a surge in spending during the pandemic. consumers have shifted their spending to services. most recently, some sentiment

indicators suggested warning signs. manufacturing will be the epicenter of any trade wars. we hear anecdotes of a lot of uncertainty just in terms of making plans, making capital, spending plans or hiring plans when you just don't know what the landscape will look like. amna: what about the concerns about on-again and off-again tariffs from the trump administration? they could be inflationary or lead to a recession? do you share those concerns? julia: it is too early to say the u.s. is heading toward a recession. we have seen the u.s. be more resilient than people expect. year after year, quarter after quarter. one thing that u.s. has going in its favor is it is the most diversified economy. we have manufacturing, construction, professional services jobs, leisure and hospitality, government jobs, health care has been a big

contributor to job gains. we have a robust, diversified economy. we do worry not just about the federal job losses -- the federal sector is less than 2% of the workforce -- but there have been a lot of cuts in contract payments to contractors with the federal government. that is probably twice as big as the actual loss of federal jobs directly. we are really watching that carefully, who contracts with the federal government? pretty much everybody. farmers to hospitals to universities to primary schools. those are areas where job gains had been strong over the last year or two. we are watching for signs of those sectors that have driven the gains feel the squeeze of both reduced payments, as well as the uncertainty that hangs over the environment right now. amna: meanwhile in the minute or so i have left i know you were

at a conference in new york where fed chair jay powell spoke. do you get a sense of how the fed plans to navigate this? julia: the message today was very clear that they are not in a rush to judgment. the plan has been to lower interest rates further. that is very complicated if they are facing a burst of inflation from tariffs. the message from chair powell was with a still solid labor market we can afford to take our time and see how this combination of policies, trade wars, tariffs, restricted immigration and fiscal policy potential the regulation, how does that all fit together and affect the overall economy? they are taking a wait and see approach. amna: julia coronado, macro policy perspectives, thank you for your time and insights. we appreciate it. julia: my pleasure. ♪

geoff: the day's other headline started western texas were health officials say an ongoing measles outbreak is affected nearly 200 people. the extremely contagious virus has spread to other parts of the u.s. the cdc says it has confirmed cases in 12 different states. the vast majority infected have been under the age of 18 and people unvaccinated. at least one person has died and authorities are looking into a second measles related death. the cdc said the risk of a broader measles outbreak remains low. the trump administration is canceling four hundred million dollars worth of grants and contracts for columbia university. officials cited what they said was columbia's failure to stop antisemitism on campus. the ivy league school was at the forefront of student protests last spring over the war in gaza.

in a statement, education secretary linda mcmahon said to receive federal funds, "universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws," adding that "columbia has abandoned that obligation to jewish students." columbia has vowed to work with the government, saying it is "fully committed to combatting antisemitism." russia launched dozens of missiles and drones toward ukraine overnight in the first major attack since the u.s. paused intelligence sharing with ukrainian officials. in kharkiv, emergency crews cleaned up after a strike that targeted energy facilities and other infrastructure. at least 10 people were injured across the country. on social media today, president trump said he is "strongly considering" putting sanctions and tariffs on russia, and urged both russia and ukraine to "get to the table right now, before it is too late." but later speaking to reporters , in the oval office, mr. trump said he's actually finding it easier to deal with russia than

ukraine. pres. trump: we're doing very well with russia, but right now they're bombing the hell out of ukraine, and ukraine. i'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with ukraine. geoff: u.s. and ukrainian officials are expected to meet in saudi arabia next week to discuss peace talks. in france, trains are starting to roll at paris's busiest train station once again after the discovery of an unexploded world war ii-era bomb halted rail travel. police released this photo of the device, which contains more than 400 pounds of explosive material. workers stumbled upon it overnight while working near tracks north of the station. as crews worked to defuse the bomb, passengers for high-speed and commuter services were stranded for hours. officials say it's not uncommon to come across such "vestiges" of the war, though this one was bigger than most. >> finding bombs around the railway network is something that happens. but in a proportion like the one today with a bomb of this size, it's really quite exceptional.

geoff: bomb disposal officials said the device was british-made. it's the fourth one they've found in the paris region since 2019. back here in the u.s., officials in new mexico say that actor gene hackman died of heart disease and showed severe signs of alzheimer's. in a press conference today, authorities said the 95-year-old passed away a full week after his wife, who died from hantavirus. the bodies of hackman and his wife, betsy arakawa, were discovered last month in their santa fe home. hackman won two oscars during his storied film career, and was honored at last sunday's academy awards ceremony. the nation's largest army installation officially returned to its former name today -- fort bragg. ♪ count the brave, count the true, who have fought to victory ♪ geoff: the new sign was unveiled to the tune of 'the army song'. this time, the name "bragg" honors army private first-class roland bragg, a world war ii

paratrooper. the base had originally been named for confederate general braxton bragg. so ends the short time that the base was called "fort liberty" after a push to remove all references of the confederacy from military installations and other public spaces. the mission of a lunar lander that touched down sideways yesterday has come to an early end. athena sent this picture just before the spacecraft went silent today. it ended up in a crater more than 800 feet from its planned landing site near the moon's south pole. this was the second attempt by texas-based company intuitive machines to land on the moon. last year its lander 'odysseus' also ended up on its side. there are contract for two more deliveries but they have to figure out what went wrong before launching another mission. stocks clawed back some ground after a rough week for the markets. the dow jones industrial average added more than 200 points.

the nasdaq had more than 120 points. the s&p 500 ended higher overall but suffered its worst week since september. dolly parton has paid tribute to her late husband of nearly 60 years, fittingly enough through song. ♪ ♪ i wouldn't be here if you hadn't been there ♪ geoff: the music legend released the song. she met carl outside of a laundromat the day she moved to nashville at the age of 18. they got married two years later. he aborted the spotlight. he died on monday at the age of 82. on social media dolly parton made clear he has always been her inspiration, writing like all great love stories, they never end.

they live on in memory and song. he will always be the star of my story. still, jonathan to part ways and on the political headlines. a look at the influence of black musicians and the history of music. ♪ >> this is the pbs "newshour," from the david m rubenstein studio in weta washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: back in december ncaa president charlie baker testified that out of the more than 500,000 total college student athletes he believed fewer than 10 were transgender. amna: last month president trump signed an executive order to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women sports. our white house correspondent has a closer look at the debate around this issue. >> the president's order was part of a series of moves

targeting the rights of trans people. it directed federal agencies to withhold funding from schools but allow transgender athletes to compete. pete ncaa changed rules limiting participation to those assigned female at birth. marco rubio told to deny visas to transgender athletes coming to the u.s. for competition. california democratic governor gavin newsom broke with his party when he said fairness is an issue but it is important for vulnerable communities to be treated with care. an andro canal exist and professor at the university of washington. i spoke with him earlier. >> in sports we like to have a sense that the playing field is level. there is fairness in competition. another important value in sports is we want everyone to have an opportunity to play, particularly when talking about young people. as a result with this particular

topic, there is apparent conflict between those two values. >> when signing his executive action banning trans athletes, president trump said this. pres. trump: we will defend the proud tradition of female athletes and not allow men to beat up, injure and cheat are women and girls. from now on, women's sports will only be for women. >> what does the science say about a competitive advantage or lack thereof among transgender girls competing in sports? >> the evidence is incomplete on that particular question. the closest thing we have is from military recruits. people enlisting in the army or air force. a 2023 study, they have a test for the undergo a 1.5-mile time drawn, do as many sit ups and push ups. the data from individuals before they started gender affirming

hormone therapy and each year after that for up to four years. >> he said even though the performance of trans women dropped after starting gender affirming hormones it took two years for their running times to fall in line with women assigned female at birth. the set up scores of trans women stand higher until four years after they started hormones. push up scores remained higher the entire time. >> what we don't know is what are the effects and elite athletes? most of the data is from people who are not elite athletes. also, how long and how significant are these changes over time? >> this ban appears to include k-12 children. >> most experts, there is a general consensus that before the age of puberty for boys and there is not a significant competitive advantage between the two sexes. there is some data suggesting

there could be subtle differences between boys and girls club. what is unknown if that is due to biological factors or societal factors and expectations. boys being encouraged to participate more in sports and getting more opportunities to increase their strength and speed and power. >> he has advised major athletic associations on hormone use in sports, including among trans athletes. he said there are many examples of genetic differences that can lead to competitive advantages in sports. height in basketball, bigger hands and feet and swimming. he points to a finnish cross-country skier that had a rare genetic mutation that ramped up his production of red blood cells. he won three olympic gold medals in the 1960's. >> none of these variations are mutations have created the uproar that we are facing with the current controversy we have

around transgender athletes and participation in sports. >> you have said we will never be able to answer the fundamental question about fairness. why exactly do you say that? >> it comes back to the conflict between these two important values -- fairness and the desire to allow everybody to participate in sports. whenever you do that there will be inherent inequalities between people. how do we limit those inequalities and yet allow everyone to play? i do not think science will give us a perfect answer on this. we can get better and better evidence about gender affirming hormone therapy and athletic performance. ultimately, this will be a question for the general public to try to balance out those two very important issues. it will be an opportunity for us to ask the question how important are sports at the very highest level in our society.

this whole debate rages around sports because of how much -- at this point in time when an economic engine it has become. >> we really appreciate your insights on this. thank you. >> thank you for having me. ♪ amna: moments ago a south carolina man was put to death by a firing squad after being convicted in a 2001 double homicide to which she pled guilty. the execution of the 67-year-old marked the first time since 2010 but a firing squad has been used in this country and comes as the trump administration works to expand capital punishment. for more on all of this i am joined by robin marr, executive. welcome back to the program. >> it is a pleasure.

amna: i should share we got his last statement. he quoted several bible passages and said i want my closing statement to be one of love and a call to my fellow christians to help us to end the death penalty. it is worth reminding people he chose this method, firing squad, and south carolina. this is part of what his lawyer told us about why he chose the method. >> we know there is something wrong with how south carolina is carrying out lethal injections and he has asked for the information to know why. he has been denied that at every turn. even though the firing squad has not been used ever in south carolina and has not been used in the u.s. in 15 years, he chose that. it was the best choice he could

make, given all the information being kept from him. amna: what do we know about how executions have been carried out in south carolina? robin: south carolina carried out its last two executions using lethal injection. the problem is the autopsies of the men executed said they received more than double the dose of the protocol used. for unknown reasons. the autopsies also showed one of these men had blood and fluid in his lungs, which indicated he experienced painful symptoms akin to drowning. pulmonary edema. it prompted reasonable questions from mr. sigmon's lawyer. how could they explain these anomalies? as mr. king said they never received the information. mr. sigmon was forced to make a

difficult choice. to choose from -- to choose a method he knew almost nothing about and chose instead to use the firing squad, which at the most information available. another option would be electrocuted in a 110-your old electric chair. amna: the firing squad method, how common is this nationally? robin: it is not allowed in many places. all three executions have taken place in the modern death penalty era and they have all taken place in utah. five states authorized firing squad. idaho is considering making it its primary method. amna: the couple that mr. sigmon killed were named gladys and david, his ex girlfriend's parents peered their adult children were split on what kind of penalty they wanted to see.

when you look at where the american people are on this issue right now, according to gallup, support for the death penalty for people convicted of murder has been falling. 53% of people today are in favor of it. 43% of people are not in favor of it. what does that say to you? robin: there is a diversity of opinion about the death penalty, even among family members of people who have lost loved ones to violence. that is a big change from what we were previously told. many family members now say the death penalty does not bring them any piece or closure. as you said public support is at 53%, a five-decade low. when you dig into those numbers you see interesting facts. younger generations, people age 18-43, the majority now oppose the death penalty.

even among people who support the death penalty, that 53%, i think there is growing discomfort with the execution of people with severe mental impairments or suffering from brain damage and the long-term effects of trauma and violence, like mr. sigmon. amna: president trump directed the u.s. attorney general to pursue the death penalty for all crimes of severity demanding its use. he has encouraged more uses of capital punishment at the state level. is that guidance having an impact? robin: i think president trump has made no secret of his enthusiasm for the death penalty. his influence in the states will be limited. decisions will be made by local juries that have been reluctant to sentence people to death. also by local elected officials who may schedule executions for their own reasons.

i do not think even president trump's enthusiasm will reverse the decades of trends that show a dramatic reduction of support of the death penalty. amna: robin maher, thank you for joining us tonight. robin: thank you. ♪ geoff: president trump's trade war is in the spotlight this week with the back and forth causing tension for global markets. we turn now to the analysis of our guests. david brooks is away this evening. good to see you, gentlemen. from the indiscriminate firing of federal workers to the

on-again, off-again tariff plan, confusion has been around. us talk about the tariffs first. what stands out to you about the degree to which the tariff reversals and delays have injected chaos into the economy and financial markets? >> this on-again off-again, yes, no -- i don't cover business but i have been following business for a long time and i have long heard business loves certainty. what the president has done since his inauguration indefinitely this week is inject an amount of uncertainty into the economy, into business that we have seen wild gyrations of the stock market. one of the reasons i think the president backed away a couple times from these tariffs is the market was tanking. even though he said he was not paying attention to the markets, we have been covering him long

enough to know he absolutely watches the market and take phone calls from fortune 500 and wall street leaders, telling him you have to do something about this. until the president decides he will actually pull the trigger on these tariffs, i think we will go through weeks like this for a while. geoff: donald trump has been a fan of tariffs going back to the 1980's. why not have a concrete plan? why this hasty rollout when things have to be reversed? four is the chaos the point? >> to a certain degree the impulse of this may be more central to trump the 90 particular conviction. even one as deep-rooted as his love for tariffs. over the last six weeks i have read dozens of references in the commentary to how energetic the new administration is. it is a phrase that comes from hamilton, federalist papers number 70.

he said it is essential for the steady administration of the laws. i think we are seeing the very opposite of that. geoff: president trump said yesterday the next phase of the plan to cut the federal workforce would be conducted with a scalpel rather than a hatchet in what appears to be a step at retaining elon musk. the new york times has incredible reporting on a cabinet meeting where the secretary's frustration boiled over and included an exchange with the secretary. mr. duffy said the young staff of mr. musk's team was trying to lay off air traffic controllers. what am i supposed to do? i have multiple plane crashes to deal with and your people want me to fire air traffic controller? this suggests it is not just democrats who are concerned about the speed and intensity of the cuts. >> what is interesting about

this story is in some ways it gives me a level of relief that on the surface they seem to be lockstep with the president and elon musk but behind the scenes they are doing the business of governing. elon musk is an unelected person who is reeling a work wrecking ball. researching bird flu. there is no nuance. no scalpel. it is too late for the president to say, please go with the scalpel. how can you use a scalpel on an organization that has been ripped to shreds? geoff: here is what does not make sense to me. we know donald trump seems to relish punishing people who do not support him. with these cuts, he is targeting supporters. he wants to slash the workforce

at the v.a. he wants to get rid of the education department, which would hurt red states because red states get far more education funding from the federal government. these actions do not seem politically aligned in many ways. >> i also think some of it is government cutting theater. if you look at the department of education proposals republicans have talked about, they do not actually get rid of the programs , they just shuffle them to different parts of the federal bureaucracy. we no longer have a department or a building called the department of education but everything is still there. in some ways doge is a way to pretend you are cutting government while not actually doing any think it would take to cut the deficit. you are seeing pushback from congress. congress wants to be in on the action. they said these cuts have to go through congress first.

they have to have a constitutional forum. that is the only way they will make any lasting change. the chasm right now is between what they can accomplish and what musk and trump keep talking about. >> pretending to cut the government, tell that to the thousands of government workers who have lost their jobs or have lost their jobs and told they were reinstated because someone realizes this person who we thought was not essential is essential. this theater is having every life impact. >> absolutely. you will have the most disruption for the least in savings. some people will lose their jobs. some will get reinstated in the legal process. even if they do we will not see a balanced budget. geoff: if you look internationally as donald trump seeks to downgrade the transatlantic alliance that cap the world safe for the last 80

years, he has set off an unprecedented rearmament among nato allies. something a number of other presidents have tried. did the chaos in that sense work? >> sure appeared and worked. they will spend more money on their own defense. why? they can no longer depend on the united states to protect them if russia rolls over into the baltic states or over into poland. if the united states does not satisfy article 5, which is an attack on one nato member is an attack on all, i view their comments as we do not know the united states anymore, we do not know the united states under president trump and we need to safeguard our own security from him. >> i think the u.s. security guarantee has been something europeans have relied on. unfortunately that has led them

to underinvest in their own defense. i understand the impulse from americans to get the u.s. and europe to rebalance these commitments. what i do not see from the administration or trump is any acknowledgment that nato is the most successful alliance in history and it still serves an important role in keeping the peace in europe and around the globe. >> and the time that remains, let's talk about gavin newsom. the california governor has broken with many elected democrats by saying it is deeply unfair to allow transgender women and girls to compete in female sports. >> would you say no man in female sports? >> i think it is an issue of fairness. i completely agree with you. it is deeply unfair. >> this is coming amid a debate among democrats about how much do cultural factors play a role in their huge defeat in november and how do they address it? how does this strike you? >> governor newsom is someone

whose credentials with lgbt rights were cemented 20 years ago when he, against the advice of everyone of the country, issued licenses to same-sex couples. it is not an issue if he threw the community under the bus. what i wished he had done -- i actually listened to the podcast and this entire section -- he kept talking about fairness but he did not talk more fully about what exactly do you mean? the conversation with charlie kirk, the way he says no men in female sports, just the way he talks about that, we are not talking about men in drag pretending to be women, we are talking about trans men and trans girls. what i loved about the segment with trans athletes, he puts it perfectly -- there is a tension between fairness and allowing

people who want to play sports to play sports. what we need to do as americans, and certainly elected officials, have a more nuanced and thoughtful conversation. this is not a black-and-white issue. it requires a lot of thoughtful conversation led by scientists, doctors, people who actually know something about this. i am an out gay man, i came up during the 1980's during the aids epidemic and people were in the straits saying we are here. "will and grace" comes along and there was a change in the country on how lgbtq folks were viewed. we need to have the same conversation when it comes to the "t," one that is nuanced and thoughtful. geoff: we will have to leave it there. we are out of time. thank you for your time. ♪

amna: punk music is known for its raw, aggressive sound, edgy fashion and mosh pits. it has long been known for being predominantly white. that has changed a lot in recent years. resurfaced music from its earliest days underscores punk has always been influenced and shaped by black artists, as well. we have this story. >> 1, 2, 3. ♪ >> we were all convinced we had a sound that no other rock 'n' roll band had at that time. >> that time was 1971. three brothers from detroit started playing rock 'n' roll. they were inspired by bands like the who and alice cooper. there sound had a different edge

and reason behind it. >> in rock 'n' roll, the more times people laugh at you, reject you, it builds up in anger. >> he played the drums. >> the only way we would take out our anger was through the music. that made the music louder and faster. ♪ >> the rejection they say came from an industry that did not like the name of their band. even though later punk bands had names like the dead boys and the dammed, the name death turned off major record labels. >> he said why not call it death? he had conviction about it. when we got on board we were all in. >> bobby was the lead singer. >> we had death shirts printed up. >> in more recent years musicians, writers and critics have recognized the music death was playing as the predecessor to punk.

>> in those days if you called somebody punk, you got punched in the mouth or it started a fight. >> deaths recorded a seven song album in 1975 but were unable to secure a record deal and the band never played live. they eventually dissolved in the late 1970's. >> that is the problem of being ahead of your time. >> bobby's youngest son grew up listening to punk rock. >> no one really accepted them for what they were trying to do. i understand what he would not tell us about it. it was like a moment of them coming so close and not grabbing the ball. >> a small number of promo records with two death songs made their way into hands of record collectors and djs and death's music found a receptive new audience. their album was finally released in 2009 on drag city records, 34

years after it was recorded. >> there were black punk rockers and the story of punk rock at every turn. >> she has been listening to punk music since she was a kid. she began playing in her early 20's but sometimes felt alienated as a black artist on the mostly white punk scene. ♪ >> the better-known black punk band was already in her rotation. it was years before she learned about the more obscure black artists that developed the genre. ♪ >> when i found out about pure hell, i was upset and angry. . this was a band nobody ever mention to me and i had never heard. how could this have never come up? >> we were musicians in philadelphia, from the same neighborhood, and we basically send have the -- we basically

have the same interests in music. >> around the time death formed in detroit, kenny moved with his friends to new york city. >> younger people just starting to want to create their own style of music. and in new york, people like to talk. >> while those bands released albums and became the face of punk, pure hell faded after a dispute their manager refused to release their only album, recorded in 1978. >> a lot of people said they got ripped off. the original guys who had gotten written off. they did not have an album or a record that was out there, that was on the main seem. >> that was until the music and photos of their classic punk aesthetic resurfaced online. >> people found out who we were.

>> legendary punk musician henry rollins released a pure hell single on his label in 2017. buchanan works as an illustrator, discovering pure hell was only the beginning. >> it pushed me to start really searching for other bands that i would like that were black. i just kept finding so many. this is pure hell. > her discoveries culminated in the secret history of black punk, a comic she created profiling black punk artists. pat of the germs and musician and filmmaker. she started a festival, one of a dozen across the world celebrating newer black and brown punk artists. like this hard-core punk band from philadelphia.

and special interests. a charismatic black led band from new orleans. >> there has been such a big shift in the last decade. >> the lead singer of special interest. >> now i see so many young black and brown people at punk shows. it has really crossed over and is speaking to people in a different way. >> of these new bands there is one that harkens back to punk's earliest days. >> we wanted to show people that this music exists. >> bobby's sons, musicians of their own right, formed a band to play death's catalog front to back. they say renewed interest is exciting, for a bobby and his brother, death was never just about the same. >> even though we never made it

or had a hit record, i would cherish between 1973 in 1976 as the best rock 'n' roll years of our lives. >> david, who founded death, died in 2000. but bobby is still making music. for the pbs "newshour," i am stephanie sy. ♪ amna: we will be back shortly, but first take a moment to hear from your local pbs stations. geoff: it is a chance to offer your support to keep programs like this on the air. ♪ amna: for those of you staying

with us, an encore report about the power of determination and turning grief into a force for good. 19 female university students from afghanistan whose educations were cut short by the tele-band have been given the chance to fulfill their dreams in scotland. geoff: they are all aiming to be doctors and they have been given places in scottish medical schools. the program is the legacy of a young scottish aid worker killed in tragic circumstances in afghanistan 14 years ago. >> the home of scotland's most prestigious university. a trainee doctor, it is worlds away from the taliban. >> i love scotland. the people are so friendly. i love the people. they are open minded. >> how do you feel about the freedom you have? the freedom to be a woman? >> actually, the freedom is something that exists in the

soul of everyone. here is that opportunity. we can use from the freedom that every human has. here is the place i can use it. >> 15 miles north, and medical school has given her a second chance to become a doctor. she was two years away from qualifying when the taliban canceled her studies. >> of course it is heartbreaking and said that you are stopped from going to university or give your exams. a basic human right is being taken from someone. just like someone is breathing. someone is eating something. you are taking that from them. how can they be surviving in that environment? >> i am on a ferry from the northwestern scottish mainland going to an island. one of the most remote places in the united kingdom. my journey is nothing compared

to that of the afghan students. >> after their daughter was killed in afghanistan in 2010, they channeled their grief into a force for good by creating a nonprofit in her name. linda was kidnapped by the taliban and died in a grenade blast during a rescue attempt by american special forces. she lives in a simple grave overlooking a bay where as a child she rode horses with her younger sister. >> it was not our daughter that the taliban were looking for that day. it was her boss. linda was in the wrong place at the wrong time. you have to forgive. it would not have done us any good to blame and to go down that route. it was much better for us to do something positive inst -- and

tried to do something she would have approved of that would help people in afghanistan. >> do you think you will ever be able to go back to afghanistan to practice medicine? do you think you will forever be in exile because you are a woman? >> we all have a hope because that is something i believe in. we all hope for the better. of course, i want to go back and serve my people. >> under pressure from the foundation, the scottish government amended education legislation to enable the afghan students to receive free tuition and cost-of-living support. the head of undergraduate medicine. how much do you hope the taliban is actually watching what is happening here to perhaps learn that women are worth educating? >> i really hope that they see

the value in educating women. i think to undermine that value is so counterproductive, and will lead to everybody suffering. you need inequality and education and health care to look after everybody. >> the senior lecturer in clinical mentor at st. andrews medical school. she said the taliban's interpretation of islam is wrong. >> it is vital for education. islam has taught a woman should be highly educated because she effectively is taking care of the next generation, with her husband of course but she placed the primary role. to have an uneducated woman in the household is not through the interpretation of the taliban. >> how determined are you to become a doctor? what sort of drive and ambition to you have? >> actually, we are always asked

that. when you finish medicine do you go to your own country or be here? i want to say, my aim is to serve the world or the humanity, not specific people in afghanistan or another country. >> they are fueled by the injustice of the taliban regime. >> i am angry because i cannot understand their way of thinking. i just feel the taliban need women doctors. they do not want their women seen by male doctors so perhaps a lot of women are going untreated. there are not any women doctors. why don't they let women study to become doctors? i cannot get my head around that. >> that is a big thing in afghanistan.

that is what it comes down to at the end of the day. >> the love they have extended has created an unbreakable bond. >> i really think them and i hope to compensate them. they are so kind. we are having a special connection. we are far from our fathers and mothers. we have another father and mother here. >> the 19 afghan students will continue to enjoy the support of the noor grove foundation but the nonprofit's main focus remains women and children facing draconian restrictions far across the water in afghanistan. ♪ geoff: an update now to a story we broadcast last summer. a special correspondent and a videographer reported from the remote pacific island nation of papa new guinea on a new

industry -- deep-sea mining. a vessel had begun an industrial scale test of a new mining technology a mile beneath the surface but local communities told the "newshour" of their concerns about its potential impact on local fisheries. government officials in papa confirmed the three reports have in large part prompted authorities to rethink the country's approach to this controversial industry. late last month the government introduced new legislation to formally regulate deep-sea mining and its waters for the first time. amna: you can find those three stories from papa new guinea and much more online, including our digital weekly show with analysis of president trump's marathon address to congress and a deeper look into elon musk's role in the trump administration. that is on our youtube page. geoff: watch washington week for analysis of the fallout from president trump's extreme shifts

on policy. amna: how fears of arrest by ice agents are forcing some immigrant parents to keep their kids home from school. that is the "newshour" for tonight. i am amna nawaz. geoff: i am geoff bennett. thank you for spending part of your evening with us and have a great evening. >> major funding has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the "newshour," including kathy and paul anderson. the walton family foundation. working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. >> it really matters when you have an opportunity to give back. ♪ >> being part of something that

is bigger than myself is what brings me happiness. >> being able to integrate your professional career with other things that are important to me. it is critical to be 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 "newshour." ♪ 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.] ♪ >>

hello, everyone. and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. when friends become foes. canadians are fuming after being hit by trump tariffs. i speak to foreign minister, and ukrainians are worried about survival. after trump cuts them loose.