dr. robert cantu and john branch, thank you very much. congratulations, john, on that series. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> ifill: finally tonight, they're big, they're scary-- and, lucky for us, they're about 300 million light years away. we're talking about the largest black holes in the universe, and nothing-- not even light-- can escape their gravitational pull. astronomers recently discovered two black holes, each about 10 billion times the size of our sun. their findings are being reported this week in the journal "nature." joining me now is chung-pei ma. she is a professor of astronomy at the university of california, berkeley, and led the team that published the study. welcome to the program. describe for us how massive really these holes are that we're talking about. >> each one has the mass of about 10 billion times that of the sun. we can also think about their sizes, that is to say, the region of space within which light cannot even escape. that size for these black holes are about five times that of our solar system. w

dr. robert cantu and john branch, thank you very much. congratulations, john, on that series. >> thank you. >> congratulations.p between puo and television stations across the gulf.thporter is sue lincol. ♪ >> if you ever have the opportunity to speak french or the chance to, you need to take it. >> reporter: that's rachael judson, a fifth grader from lake charles. she's starting her sixth year in the french immersion program. rachael's family is not of french descent so her first contact with the language was, like these kindergarteners, singing songs. ♪ french immersion students taking their reading and writing classes in english but learn math, science and social studies in french. for example, it's a geography lesson for julie's second the history of the french language in louisiana runs deep. it was introduced to this land at the end of the 17th century. then, as europeans immigrated from france, africa and kurri olz came from the west independent ease and the canadians refugees from canada, french was louisiana's language but the st

dr. robert cantu and john branch, thank you very much. congratulations, john, on that series. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> woodruff: we'll be back shortly with a look at the discovery of monster black holes. >> ifill: now, for those stations not taking a pledge break, we look at language immersion classes in louisiana, where the state's french heritage is taught as more than just history. our story comes from louisiana public broadcasting and the southern education desk, a partnership between public radio and television stations across the gulf. the reporter is sue lincoln. ♪ >> if you ever have the opportunity to speak french or the chance to, you need to take it. >> reporter: that's rachael judson, a fifth grader from lake charles. she's starting her sixth year in the french immersion program. rachael's family is not of french descent so her first contact with the language was, like these kindergarteners, singing songs. ♪ french immersion students taking their reading and writing classes in english but learn math, science and so

dr. robert cantu and john branch, thank you very much. congratulations, john, on that series. >> thank you. >> congratulations. >> good evening, and thank you for joining us for another edition of "the "pbs newshour." i'm paul anthony with kimberly suitors. >> nice to see you, paul. >> as you may know, we take these opportunities a few times a year to ask for viewer support. each time, we count on new contributions from a few more people like you. and if you haven't made a gift yet, we're hoping that tonight will be your night! take a minute to consider everything weta has to offer. the "pbs newshour," of course, along with programs like "antiques roadshow," "great performances," "frontline," "nature," "masterpiece," and our many children's shows. no matter what the subject, your pledge funds an amazing array of enlightening programs. but we've always relied on viewer support. that's viewer support from you. and your pledge in any amount: it could be $50, or $75 or $150 for the year. but don't delay. call us now and join us. kimberly? >>