ioonomics reporter paul solman looks at the queof reparations, what america might owe to the descendentse enslaved people. the subject has been gaining increased attention, even coming up in this week's demoatic presidential debates. it's the latest in our regular economics series "making sense" and also part of our "chasing the dream" series on poverty and opportuny in america. >> i live alon >> reporter: as a little girl growing up in new orleans, melisande colomb was taught that she'd descend from people enslaved by an irish catholic family in maryland. >> and that we were very important people here in maryland, having been anpresented by none other francis scott key in a court case. >> reporter: yes, that francis scott key. ♪ ♪ before the u.s. supreme court, the fabled lawyer/lyricist represented colomb's ancestors, suing for their freedom.t. >> the finding of the supremeur was that black people could not use hearsay to defend their right to freedom in american courts. >> reporter: end of story. until she learned recently that "ownership" of those ancestors had been transferred tthe

>>ight. >> reporter: this is economics correspondent paul solman, reporting from washington.druff: ton brief but spectacular comes from english actor aml ameen. he describes how a cha encounter with movie star idris elr set him on a path to ho his jamaican roots. tonight's interview is part of our ongoing coverage of arts and culture, "caas." >> the story is, i kind of went to my dad at like six years old and i sa, "dad, dad, i want to be an actor." and he was like, "you're sure, son?" i said, "yeah." he said, "all right." and say, sent me to a stage school. and from six to 16, i learned to tap, ballet, dancing. i just knew instinctively that i wanted to be an entertainer all around. >>here's an old saying, lu i when preparation meets opportunity. and so i think that's quite true.i s on my way from london to l.a. i just heard from the gods, right, "aml!" and i was like turned around and it was idris. and i had not seen idris in years. he was going to l.a. and i was going to l.a. and we both got on the same flight for 11 hours. we spoke about "yardi," this n this book that he

for the pbs newshour, business and economics correspondent paul solman. >> woodruff: you can see iakyour own city the list of potential new technology hubs on the website, http://jumpstartingamerica.com. >> woodruff: photographer >> woodruff: onl hten democratefuls will be on stage because of new democratic criteria for thedebate. learn how candidates who won't get online are chaing their campaign strategy. that's online at pbs.org/newshour. that is the newshour for tonight. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorr evening with mark shields and david brooks on a republican challenging the debate narrows theratice next field. for all of us at the ord see you soon..k you >> major fundinghe pbs newshour has been provided by: >> babbel. a language learning app that uses speech recognition technology and teaches real-lifa convons.ag in a new lan like spanish, french, german, italian, and more. babbel's are available as an app, or online. more informati on babbel.com. >> consumer cellular. financial services firm raymond james. >> and with th

business and economics correspondent paul solman has the story. ."' part of our series, "making sense >> we've got to go to swim. yeah, we do. ( toddler screams ) >> reporter: raising kids, as every parent knows, is a constant conundrum. >> yum yum yum! ( toddler cries ) >> reporter: putish! no, be t! the advice out there is more abundt than ever. ( toddler cries ) >> reporter: but each parenting onp seems to get turned on its head by the nex how many of you have been conflicted about-- seriously conflicted-- abouuinformation e gotten about raising your kids? every single one. >> people will just come up to you on the street and tell you ways .that you're doing it wro >> reporter: health economist emily oster has taken a more scientific approach. once heshe became pregnant, began applying her statistical skills to the data. the result was the bestseller, "expecting better." now a mom of two, in the book "cribiesheet," she apher economics training to everything from breast-feeding to discipline, to help parents make data-driven choices. >> the e skills