>>> coming up, lucky severson on the insular world of the ultra-orthodox hasidic jews. leaving that world is not easy, and some of those who do risk being ostracized, even by their own families. >>> also, kate olson on turning violent criminals at san quentin prison into peacemakers, through therapy and meditation. >> major funding for "religion and ethics weekly" is provided by the lillian endowment, dedicated to its founder's interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. >>> and the corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome, i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. as the senate judiciary committee began debate on immigration legislation this week, many religious groups intensified their ongoing calls for comprehensive reform. evangelical leaders, who have lobbied for new immigration policy, launched a prayer campaign urging congress to pass a law in 92 days, which they said reflec

>>> coming up -- lucky severson reports on a familiar conflict in developed countries now dividing buddhists in thailand. how do you stay religious in a consumer society. ♪ >>> and kim lawton speaks with grammy-award winning artist bobby mcferrin about faith and the transcendent power of music. >>> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us, this memorial day weekend. in a major speech this week, president obama addressed growing moral concerns about america's use of weaponized drones in the war against terror. he announced new guidelines to provide more transparency and oversight for drone strikes and a new standard for when they are deployed. admitting that he is haunted by the deaths of civilians killed in drone attacks against al qaeda terrorists, the president said nonetheless, he believes drone use is moral. >> we are at war with an organization that right now would kill as many americans as they could if we did not stop them first. so this is a just war, a war waged proportionally, in last resort and in self-defense. >> on wednesday, the administration acknowledged for

>>> plus, lucky severson examines how the government's sequester is affecting the very poor. >>> also, an old washington hand with a new seminary degree who wants to change how washington works. >>> and sikhs enjoying a turban showdown. how to wrap a turban and what it means to wear one. >>> major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lilly endowment, an indianapolis based private family foundation, dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement product. th's why we're your retirement compan and the corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. some conservative christian groups said they were among those targeted by the irs, amid the growing controversy over reports the agency discriminated against politically conservative groups. franklin graham, son of billy graham, said his relief organization, samaritans purse and the billy graham evangelistic association were bo

. >>> also, lucky severson on the amazing success of one american social entrepreneur who has supplied 12 million school books for children in ten countries. >> our religion is literacy. our religion is gender equality and education. >>> major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lily endowment dedicated to its founders' interests in religion, community development and education. additional funding provided by mutual of america, dsigni customized individual group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. and the corporation for public broadcasting. >>> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. amid the continuing investigation into the boston marathon bombing, president obama this week spoke of the threat of self-radicalized individuals here in the u.s. and the difficulty of identifying them. he said his counterteorism team has discussed ways it can engage communities where such radicalization can occur. in recent years, american muslim groups have launched their own efforts to combat extremism. for more on this, i'm joined

chuck severson, abc news, new york. >> been to zephyrhills, diana? >> no. unfortunately. i wasn't there to buy that ticket. >> no kidding. >>> still to come, yahoo! invests more than $1 billion to court a younger audience. >>> plus, some strong words ahead of the associated press, as the government's seizure of phone records has had a chilling effect on journalism. >>> first, trying to ease the pain of student loans. what one senator wants to do to make that debt more manageable. >>> web giant yahoo! announcing its latest in a series of major deals today in new york. "the wall street journal" reports yahoo! is buying the online content sharing site tumblr, in a purchase worth more than $1 billion. there's reports it's an all-cash deal. this is the biggest transaction since yahoo! hired a new ceo who was working to drive up revenue and web traffic. >>> the popular website pinterest is getting an upgrade. pins from certain brands will display information such as recipe, reviews and prices. now, if you click on a product, it will take you to the original source. the changes

. >>> we have a lucky severson story today on the impact on the poor in the u.s. of the federal government's so-called "sequestration." congress and the president last year approved the program's severe, across-the-board cuts as a way to force reductions in overall spending. but now, especially in big cities, the social costs of sequestration are becoming more and more clear. >> reporter: head start kids, 3 and 4 years old in baltimore. they're singing now, but will they be singing when the much-ballyhooed sequestration fully kicks in? come july, this particular head start program will lose over $100,000 in government funding. >> it's an enormous setback and i think a lot of what we're seeing now is that sequestration is real. >> reporter: eric stegman is an analyst for the center for american progress and an expert on sequestration and poverty. >> you've got so many different cuts hitting families from so many different directions it's going to be really hard for families to stay on their feet especially if they have trouble finding employment and other things th

>>> plus, lucky severson examines how the government's sequester is affecting the very poor. >>> also, an old washington hand with a new seminary degree who wants to change how washington works. >>> and sikhs enjoying a turban showdown. how to wrap a turban and what it means to wear one. >>> major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lilly endowment, an indianapolis based private family foundation, dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement product. that's why we're your retirement company. and the corporation for p

>>> plus, lucky severson examines how the government's sequester is affecting the very poor. >>> also, an old washington hand with a new seminary degree who wants to change how washington works. >>> and sikhs enjoying a turban showdown. how to wrap a turban and what it means to wear one. >>> major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lilly endowment, an indianapolis based private family foundation, dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement product. that's why we're your retirement company. d the corporation for public broadcasting.