PBS NewsHour full episode, Feb. 22, 2024 - VoiceTube: Learn English through videos!

Subtitles section Play video

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening. I'm Geoff Bennett.
AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: Continued Israeli airstrikes flatten parts of Rafah,
as negotiators make progress for a cease-fire in Gaza.
GEOFF BENNETT: The fight over spending on Capitol
Hill intensifies, pushing the country ever closer to a government shutdown.
AMNA NAWAZ: And the state of the war in Ukraine nearly two years into Russia's invasion.
MICHAEL KOFMAN, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: This year is clearly
looking like a year during which Ukraine is going to focus most likely much more on holding,
defending, trying to rebuild and reconstitute the force,
and maybe creating challenges for the Russian armed forces with expanded strike campaigns.
(BREAK)
AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "NewsHour."
As Israel's bombing of Gaza continues, some progress tonight towards a resumption of
talks to both release hostages held by Hamas and reach a cease-fire agreement.
GEOFF BENNETT: Israel's Army Radio said the country's war cabinet,
made up of the prime minister, the defense minister, and opposition leader,
approved sending emissaries to truce talks to be held in Paris.
But that slow progress toward a deal did nothing to stop the bombing and killing in Gaza.
In Rafah this morning, the sun rose over fresh rubble. Gazan health officials said
close to four dozen Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Dina Al-Shaer lost three members of her family last night.
DINA AL-SHAER, Gaza Strip Resident (through translator): In 2014, they took three of my
siblings, and in the 2024 war they took the people I love. They took a piece of my heart.
GEOFF BENNETT: In Rafah, the Al-Farouk Mosque is in ruins
as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches.
KHAIRY ABU SINJEL, Gaza Strip Resident (through translator): Listen, good people. Let the whole
world to listen. We are nearing the blessed month of Ramadan. Where shall we pray?
GEOFF BENNETT: But Israeli officials say, without a new hostage deal,
their offensive won't wait for Ramadan. Still, there are small signs of progress.
Israel's defense minister said today that Israel would expand the authority of its hostage
negotiators. At the same time, violence nearby threatens the chance for peace. In the West Bank,
three Palestinian gunman opened fire at an Israeli checkpoint, killing one and wounding
at least five others. Two of the attackers were killed by Israeli forces and the third captured.
Israel's far right national security minister,
Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for arming more Israeli citizens and said their right to
safety was more important than the Palestinian right to move freely.
ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, Israeli National Security Minister (through translator): I expect to
have here more and more checkpoints, to have restrictions. We need to finally come to the
understanding that our enemies are not looking for excuses. Our enemies only want to harm.
GEOFF BENNETT: But, internationally, the spotlight is on Israel. The United Nations'
top court continues to hear arguments over the occupation of Palestinian territories.
At the G20 meeting in Brazil, a European Union diplomat told reporters -- quote -- "There
was a strong request for a two-state solution. It is a consensus among us."
In the region, Houthi militants vowed again to continue their attacks on Red
Sea shipping lanes. Today, U.S. forces said they shot down six Houthi drones. Meantime,
two Houthi missiles hit a British cargo carrier. And in the Gulf of Aden,
suspected Houthi missiles set a Liberian-owned ship on fire.
In the Israeli port city of Eilat, a suspected Houthi ballistic missile
was intercepted by Israel's Arrow missile defense system.
ABDEL-MALEK AL-HOUTHI, Houthi Leader (through translator): In the Yemen front,
as we mentioned last week, we have shifted towards an escalation in our operations,
as the enemy continues to escalate further in the Gaza Strip and persists in committing
genocide by all means against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
GEOFF BENNETT: The situation inside Gaza only grows worse closer to catastrophe. Beyond
airstrikes and ground offensives, Palestinians are fighting off starvation.
FATHIA JOUMAA AL NAJJAR, Gaza Strip Resident (through translator): We're trying to get
food for our girls. We have girls and a boy. I don't have anything to feed them, nothing.
GEOFF BENNETT: Cooks in Deir al Balah work in makeshift kitchens,
trying to feed as many as they can.
Mahmoud Abu Khalifa is a volunteer from Northern Gaza.
MAHMOUD ABU KHALIFA, Volunteer Cook (through translator): We have a lot of people we're
feeding. We have about 30,000 to 40,000 people. And it's not enough.
GEOFF BENNETT: Palestinians wait in long lines for a chance to fill of a bowl with rice,
anything that will get them to the next day.
In the day's other headlines: The mother of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei
Navalny says she's finally been able to see her sons body. But in a video statement today,
she said Russian authorities won't hand over his remains unless she agrees to a secret burial.
LYUDMILA NAVALNAYA, Mother of Alexei Navalny (through translator): According to the law,
they should have given me Alexei's body immediately,
but they didn't. Instead, they blackmail me, they put conditions where, when,
and how Alexei should be buried. They want it done secretly, without a memorial service.
They want to take me to the edge of the cemetery,
to a fresh grave and say, here lies your son. I don't agree with that.
GEOFF BENNETT: She's filed a lawsuit demanding her son's body be released,
but there won't be a hearing until next month.
Meantime, President Biden met with Navalny's widow, Yulia,
and daughter today in San Francisco. A White House photo showed their embrace and,
in a statement, the president praised her husband's courage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chided President Biden today for calling him quote "a crazy SOB."
Mr. Biden said it during a campaign fund-raiser last night in San Francisco in the context of the
threat that Putin poses, given Russia's nuclear arsenal. Today, on Russian state TV, Putin said it
was rude, but he suggested with a hint of sarcasm that it shows why he supports a Biden reelection.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): You asked me
who we prefer as the future president of the United States. I said that we
would work with any president. But I believe that, for us, for Russia,
Biden is a more preferable president. And judging by what he just said, I am absolutely right.
GEOFF BENNETT: The White House had no immediate response to Putin's remarks.
In Albania, lawmakers approved a deal today to temporarily hold thousands of migrants seeking
asylum in Italy. Under the five-year agreement, Italy will build two processing centers on
Albania's coast to house up to 36,000 people per year. Opposition members of Parliament tried to
disrupt the vote today with whistles. That's as demonstrators gathered to condemn the plan.
ARILDA LLESHI, Albanian Activist (through translator): These tourist areas will not
be the same after the migrant processing centers are built there. They will all
be sent to a closed jail. And from what we have seen in other countries,
we have reasons to believe that this will be a security problem for the whole area.
GEOFF BENNETT: Italy has asked other European nations for help after
migrant arrivals jumped 50 percent last year from the previous year.
Here at home, a second fertility clinic in Alabama is putting a hold on in vitro
fertilization. It comes after the state Supreme Court declared that frozen embryos are legally
considered to be children. President Biden today called that decision outrageous and unacceptable.
A federal judge in California has blocked a state law that targets guns designated
as abnormally dangerous. The 2022 statute allows private citizens and state and local governments
to sue gun makers. But the judge found it reaches beyond California's borders and directly regulates
out-of-state commercial transactions, and violates the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause.
A Texas judge ruled today that a high school acted legally when it suspended a
Black student over his hairstyle. Darryl George's lawyer argued his monthslong
punishment violated a state ban on race-based hair discrimination. The
judge sided with the district, which cited its policy limiting hair length for boys.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied as shares in chipmaker Nvidia jumped
16 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 457 points to
close above 39000 for the first time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 460 points,
or 3 percent. The S&P 500 added 105 points and also reached a record high.
And Hydeia Broadbent, a leading voice in AIDS awareness, has died at her home
in Las Vegas. She was born with HIV and had full-blown AIDS by age 5. But as a young girl,
she gained national attention, appealing for support of those with the virus. In 1996,
she addressed the Republican National Convention
and later starred in a TV special with Magic Johnson. Hydeia Broadbent was 39 years old.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": the search for answers after a nonbinary student dies
after a fight at an Oklahoma high school; a respected geneticist and world-famous
opera singer partner on research on music's potential to improve health;
and a private spacecraft attempts the first U.S. lunar landing since the Apollo missions.
AMNA NAWAZ: Some news from Capitol Hill even as Congress is out of town.
"NewsHour" has learned that bipartisan negotiators may reach a spending deal
in the next few days. But that may not be soon enough to avert a partial government
shutdown just a few days after that. This has been a familiar plotline in recent years.
But Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins joins us now to
explain that this spending showdown has some unique features to it.
So, Lisa, let's start with the timeline. And forgive me. I feel like I have asked
you this before, but when would a government shutdown begin? And what,
if anything, makes this showdown unique?
LISA DESJARDINS: This has been as kind of repetitive as sort of the
sunset and sunrise in American politics, but this time is a little bit different.
And I'm going to show you why looking at the timeline. It is shorter than
even you might imagine. So let's look at the calendar. When you talk about today,
here we are, February 22. Congress is out of town. Now,
the first deadline comes next Friday. And that's the first different feature.
These spending deadlines are split in two. Four different kinds of appropriation bills
have their deadlines end next Friday, must be passed by that or those kinds
of agencies will shut down. Then there's a second deadline on March 8 after that.
Now, here's what makes it really very difficult to imagine them reaching that
first deadline without some short-term deal, because Congress doesn't return, as I said,
until next week, the Senate on Monday, but the House, Amna,
does not return to Washington until next Wednesday afternoon. That will give them a day-and-a-half,
two days to come up with some kind of solution to meet that first March deadline.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, walk us through what agencies and programs would be impacted,
who would be affected and when, according to those deadlines.
LISA DESJARDINS: Right. We wanted to start talking about this now because we think next week is going to be busy. It's going
to feel more like a crisis. We wanted to just calmly explain what could happen here.
That March 1 deadline, these are the kinds of agencies we're talking about agriculture,
energy, transportation, housing, and veterans, the VA. Now, that includes in those agencies,
WIC, the program for food for mothers and infants, as well as the FDA itself.
Now, the March 8 deadline, that is all of the remaining agencies. Where is the bigger portion
of government at risk? It's March 8. That's about 80 percent of what government does or
about -- what federal agencies do. So that's the biggest, bigger chunk, the bigger concern.
But that in a way, Amna, makes that March 1 deadline more precarious. Some in the
House will say, well, listen, it's not all of government. It's not even most
of government. So perhaps we can afford to have a short shutdown after March 1.
Now, let's also talk about some bigger-picture issues here to help people understand. There
is a possible spending deal this weekend. I have that reporting from multiple sources involved in
the House and Senate. But even if they have the outlines of a deal from appropriators,
it is hard to see how that full deal for all of the spending that they need
to pass can actually get through the House and Senate by March 1.
Now, if there is no long-term deal at all passed by April 30, there will be a 1 percent cut for
federal agencies. That is part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, that debt deal, remember,
led by Kevin McCarthy and with Chuck Schumer last year and President Biden. That was trying
to motivate members of the House and Senate to get all of these spending bills passed on time.
They said, if you don't pass these spending bills,
there will be a cut. It's having a bit of the opposite effect. Some conservatives say, great,
let's not spend them, and let's, in fact, do have a 1 percent cut.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, take us behind the scenes to some of the politics unfolding here.
As you talk to lawmakers,
what's your sense of what the chances are of a shutdown happening next week?
LISA DESJARDINS: We're watching the House Freedom Caucus. And I
spoke to several members of that group today.
They sent out a letter yesterday, really a warning shot to Speaker Johnson, saying they wanted an
update on this whole thing. But when you dig beneath the surface, what's really happening here,
while it was a politely worded letter, is, there are conservatives, and they're connected to Donald
Trump, in fact, including from his son, who sent out this e-mail today, saying what he
got from that letter was that Republicans in the Freedom Caucus were ready to trigger a shutdown.
And, indeed, Amna, I did talk to at least one member of the Freedom Caucus who said,
yes, I think it's worth a shutdown, and we should try and head that direction
if we can't get spending cuts, which no one thinks is possible in the next week.
AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, Lisa, Speaker Johnson is overseeing
one of the narrowest House majorities in history. What does all this mean for him?
LISA DESJARDINS: This is his biggest test.
He's been able to put off these huge decisions where his own conference is split. He will have
to decide in the next few days if he wants to put forth a short-term resolution or not. And,
of course, after that, he's got a major, very difficult decision on Ukraine funding as well.
AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that is Lisa Desjardins with the latest twists and turns from Congress.
Lisa, thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: This Saturday marks two years since Russia's
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a war that started nearly 10 years ago.
With the conflict at a frozen and brutal stalemate,
Nick Schifrin now takes stock of what's been gained and all that's been lost.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In two years, countless wives now widows, sons now orphans,
the dead stolen of their dignity and 10 million forced to flee their homes,
the largest refugee crisis since World War II. Everyone everywhere carries the war's scars.
And so Ukraine fights; 300,000 soldiers are determined, but exhausted, outmanned
and increasingly outgunned. In some areas, for every artillery shell that they fire,
Russian soldiers fire 10. Two years ago today, before the full-scale invasion,
Russia occupied 7 percent of Ukraine. On March 22, 2022, Moscow expanded control to 27 percent.
Ukraine has won back about half that newly captured territory,
but Russia still occupies 18 percent. Recently,
Ukraine pushed the Russian navy further back into the Black Sea, increased exports,
and now increasingly threatens occupied Crimea. But it recently lost the eastern city of Avdiivka.
The Russian military has momentum as Ukraine waits for U.S. aid,
without which senior U.S. officials fear Ukraine will lose.
We now take a look at where the war is, where it could go,
and U.S. policy toward Ukraine with three views.
Michael Kofman is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace. John Mearsheimer is a political science professor at
the University of Chicago. And Rebeccah Heinrichs is senior fellow and director
of the Keystone Defense Initiative at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.
Thanks so much. All of you, welcome back to the "NewsHour."
Michael Kofman, let me start with you.
As we just said, Ukraine has lost Avdiivka. They're
increasingly outgunned, outmanned. How bad is it?
MICHAEL KOFMAN, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Look, Ukraine
starts 2024 in a very difficult position. That is very clear. Ukraine has a deficit
in terms of artillery ammunition. Part of that is because it depends
on Western support for munitions, and it has a deficit of manpower.
It needs to replenish the force, particularly the infantry component of the force. Now,
while it's true that Russia is materially advantaged in this war, that much is clear,
if we look at manpower, particularly if we look at artillery, to a lesser extent,
equipment, that advantage at this stage is not decisive either.
The battle for Avdiivka, which was a five-month grinding fight, tells us about the challenges
both militaries face. Ukraine was forced to retreat after fighting a defensive battle,
but it inflicted very high costs on the Russian military. It cost the Russian military
almost an entire army's worth of equipment, and equipment remains the limiting factor for them.
So, that being said, this year is clearly looking like a year during which Ukraine is going to focus
most likely much more on holding, defending, trying to rebuild and reconstitute the force,
and maybe creating challenges for the Russian armed forces with expanded strike campaigns.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Rebeccah Heinrichs, do you agree with that assessment? And do you
think the U.S. needs to go further than it has so far in its support?
REBECCAH HEINRICHS, Hudson Institute: I do agree with Mike's assessment.
You can look at all of the things that have not been going well for Ukraine.
Ukraine has clearly demonstrated an amazing ability to make gains and Retake territory,
strong will to fight, strong and greater sense of national identity. And so what Ukraine needs
now into the next year, agree with Michael, it needs to be resupplied, but also longer-range
strike systems, drones, bigger drones that can carry longer-range strike systems in order to
reach Russian targets, not just in Ukraine, but outside Ukraine into Russian territory.
NICK SCHIFRIN: So, John Mearsheimer, what do you think about that, that all
that Ukraine needs to do is hold the line and that the U.S. should increase its support for
Ukraine over the coming years in order for Ukraine to be able to achieve what it needs?
JOHN MEARSHEIMER, University of Chicago: Well, I disagree.
I think that Ukraine has already lost the war. It's lost 20 percent of its territory,
according to my calculations. And it's not going to conquer that territory and get it back,
as was demonstrated in the failed counteroffensive of last year.
The key to understanding where this war is headed is to know that it is a war
of attrition. This is two armies that are standing toe-to-toe and beating the
living daylights out of each other. And the question is, which army bleeds which
army first? And it's quite clear that the Russians are bleeding the Ukrainians white.
As the setup piece made clear, the Russians have about a 10-1 advantage
in artillery. And there's nothing we can do to fix that in the foreseeable future,
because we don't have artillery on the shelf that we can give them.
Furthermore, in terms of manpower, they are in absolutely terrible shape. They say they need
a mobilization and will bring into the force 500,000 troops. They are not going to be able
to mobilize 500,000 troops. In my opinion, they will be lucky if they can mobilize 150,000 troops.
And they're already greatly outnumbered by the Russians,
because the Russian population is five times bigger than the Ukrainian
population. So when you look at the metrics that really matter in a war of attrition,
the Ukrainians are in a terrible situation, and this situation only gets worse with time.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Michael Kofman, take on those points, that there's not enough artillery to send
them, that they will not have enough manpower, and -- quote -- "Ukraine has already lost."
MICHAEL KOFMAN: OK, first of all, I just have to disagree on the facts.
The United States has plenty of artillery. It just doesn't have
the money. And artillery production both in the United States and European Union
is increasing significantly. We will be in a much better position by 2025 than we are now.
Second, Russia's fires advantage right now is about 5-1. It's not the size of fires advantage,
given the main constraints the force has. Third, when it comes to manpower, there's a lot more to
military analysis than basic algebra. It's much more about how you use the forces you
have and your ability to convert your resources into combat-capable and effective formations.
Russia has a lot more people on paper. That is true, but the Russian forces in
Ukraine don't actually outnumber the Ukrainian troops on the front line by that much at all.
Russia is feeding off of Soviet legacy, pulling equipment from its warehouses.
It lost a ton of it over the battle of Avdiivka. It can't keep doing that too many times, all
right? And if Russia is not on track and doesn't look like they're actually really winning this war
by the time we get into 2025, their negotiating position becomes actually very uncertain.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Rebeccah Heinrichs,
is Ukraine already losing? And is it a rump state, as John Mearsheimer said?
REBECCAH HEINRICHS: No, of course not.
The United States currently has ready to send Ukraine as soon as Congress gives a
go-ahead and passes this national security supplemental. We have also seen the United
States and other Western companies be able to adapt actually very quickly,
increase the production of key munitions, and tick them over to the battlefield very, very quickly.
So, for the medium and long term, it does have the ability to produce these weapons
to get them to Ukraine if there is the will to do so. And so this isn't just
all good and positive things going for Russia. It does have to look elsewhere
also. And so the same situation is for Ukraine. It's going to look to the West.
NICK SCHIFRIN: John Mearsheimer, take on those points, one, that the U.S. and
Europe are increasing their production to be able to send to Ukraine, and, two,
that, in general, Russia does not have the decisive advantage that you think it does.
JOHN MEARSHEIMER: It's clear from almost all the accounts in the media
that the Russians have roughly a 10-to-1 advantage in artillery.
If Michael's correct that the artillery is on the shelf,
why don't we give it or why haven't we given it to the Ukrainians? And the fact is,
it's not on the shelf. We don't have the artillery tubes or shells to give to them.
And he says that we will make a substantial improvement in that regard by 2025. I would
remind him that this is February 2024. And we have a lot of months to go before we get to
2025. And if you look at the Russians, they have a significant industrial base that can pump out lots
of weapons. And they're doing exactly that, which is why they have a 10-to-1 advantage.
Furthermore, if you look at manpower,
there are some reports that the average age of Ukrainian forces is 43 years old. They're
having a significant problem with draft dodgers back in Kyiv and other places in
Ukraine. This mobilization is not going to be able to produce 500,000 troops.
And Zaluzhnyi and other generals have said they need 500,000 troops because the Russians have
much larger numbers of troops. So in a war of attrition, if you're outnumbered in terms of
artillery and you're outnumbered in terms of manpower, you're really in big trouble.
And you saw this in Avdiivka, where the Ukrainians just suffered a humiliating defeat.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Michael Kofman, what is victory for Ukraine and can it achieve it?
MICHAEL KOFMAN: Yes, what does victory look like? Ukraine is able to achieve an end to the
war on terms favorable to itself that does not involve it sacrificing any significant
amount of sovereignty or compromising its economic viability as a state.
And, ideally and most importantly, Ukraine avoids having to negotiate from a position of weakness,
where Russia achieves a victor's peace. And I think that's possible and it's still feasible
at this point, but I won't argue that Ukraine does not have a difficult path ahead of it.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Rebeccah Heinrichs, you talk about attacking inside Russia. Some U.S.
officials, as you know, are worried about escalation. Do you think they should be?
REBECCAH HEINRICHS: To end this war on terms that favored Ukraine, to give Ukraine the strongest
hand to play to end this conflict that leaves itself with a strong hand to protect itself
from further incursions is to make sure that Ukraine can inflict pain on Russia so that
Russia decides that it's no longer worth the risk and the cost to continue moving forward.
To do that, you have to inflict pain. And Russia can no longer be
a sanctuary for where it is launching its attacks and where its logistics are. So,
Ukraine has already been hitting some of those targets. It's just not been permitted to do so
with Western weapons. And that needs to change if we're going to actually change the tide of
the war and enable Ukraine, as Michael said, to have a strong hand to play to end this war.
NICK SCHIFRIN: John Mearsheimer, final word.
JOHN MEARSHEIMER: And I just want to point out that you want to understand that we armed up
and we trained the Ukrainians for a major counteroffensive last summer.
And that counteroffensive was a colossal failure. And given what's happened since then, there is no
reason to think that the Ukrainians can go on the offensive and win a war against the Russians. And,
if anything, it's quite clear that the balance of power over time has shifted in the Russians'
favor, and it's likely to continue to shift further in the Russians' favor moving forward.
So we are in deep trouble in Ukraine.
NICK SCHIFRIN: John Mearsheimer,
Rebeccah Heinrichs, Michael Kofman, thank you very much to all of you.
AMNA NAWAZ: There are new details today about the death of an Oklahoma
teenager the day after a physical altercation in a school restroom.
Nex Benedict, who was nonbinary, attended high school in Owasso,
a suburb of Tulsa. Police say that investigation is ongoing. But Nex's death is raising concerns
in LGBTQ+ communities and igniting fear in some families and among students who identify as queer.
For a closer look, I'm joined now by our communities correspondent,
Adam Kemp, who's been reporting on this story from Oklahoma.
So, Adam, let's begin, please, if you can just tell us a little bit more about Nex, about who
this teenager was, and also what we know about the events that unfolded the day before Nex's death.
ADAM KEMP: Yes, it's important to start the story that we don't know
how Nex identified. What we do know is, the teen was gender-expansive.
Nex was a 16-year-old sophomore student at Owasso High School. On February 7,
they were involved in an altercation with three other students in a school bathroom.
Early indications -- or early reports actually indicate that Nex had their
head hit against the bathroom ground several times during that altercation,
which lasted around two minutes, before it was broken up by other students.
All the students involved were then checked out by a school nurse. Nex was then taken by
a family member to the hospital. Nex went home that evening. And the next day, medics responded
to a medical emergency involving Nex, who was then later declared dead at a local hospital.
Family and friends have described Nex as a gamer who loved to play Minecraft,
a straight-A student, and a lover of animals, including a pet cat named Zeus.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Adam, what about from authorities
and from the school district? What are we hearing from them about Nex's death?
ADAM KEMP: Right.
Police did say that Nex's death, preliminary reports indicate that it was not the result of
trauma. School officials have been tight-lipped so far on this, mostly because this case does
involve juveniles. The Owasso police did say that an investigation is ongoing.
It is important context to note for the story that, in 2022,
Oklahoma did pass a transgender and nonbinary bathroom ban, so that students are not allowed
to use the bathroom that their gender identity aligns with. State Superintendent Ryan Walters,
it should be noted, is a very big critic of LGBTQ+ issues in this state.
But he has offered Owasso Public Schools his support and the support of the state for
counseling services. Governor Kevin Stitt actually released a statement saying -- quote -- "The
death of any child in an Oklahoma school is a tragedy, and bullies must be held accountable."
Again, there's just still a lot of questions at this time without a lot of answers.
AMNA NAWAZ: Adam, I know you have been speaking with families in the area,
with LGBTQ+ advocates. What are you hearing from them?
ADAM KEMP: Yes, right now, it's a lot of fear from families that I'm hearing.
Right now, in the Oklahoma state legislature, more than 50 plus anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been
introduced so far this session. That's the most of any state, according to the
ACLU. I spoke with Freedom Oklahoma, which is a LGBTQ+ advocacy group, who has been doing their
own investigation into this case and has found that Nex had been bullied for more than a year.
Speaking with Nicole McAfee, their executive director,
she had this to say about kind of the mood of their community right now.
NICOLE MCAFEE, Executive Director, Freedom Oklahoma: It feels incredibly
overwhelming to not know how we can keep kids in our community alive as they are
being bullied and targeted not only by fellow students, but by the state.
We have a lot of teachers in that space who they themselves are queer or trans
and nonbinary and are grappling with whether they can keep doing
this work or if they feel like their only option is to leave.
ADAM KEMP: I have also spoken to many nonbinary and trans parents here in the
state who just say the atmosphere is that of despair right now.
One mother, in particular, talked about just the hateful rhetoric directed at her son
that she's seen ramped up in the past couple years alone. Right now, she's grappling with
the idea of moving out of state and whether that's the best option to keep her son safe.
AMNA NAWAZ: So, Adam, given all the questions, what can we expect to happen next?
ADAM KEMP: Yes, Owasso police say an autopsy and toxicology report are forthcoming. We know that --
we don't know yet what the consequences could be for the students that were involved in the fight.
We do know that Nex's family has hired an attorney and that
vigils are being planned around the state for later this month.
AMNA NAWAZ: Of course, our thoughts are with Nex Benedict's family tonight.
Adam Kemp, our communities reporter joining us from Oklahoma.
Adam, thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: We have long known about racial and ethnic bias in health care,
but now we're getting some firsthand knowledge of how pervasive it is from
people within that system through the largest study of its kind. The
report was based on interviews with doctors, nurses, dentists and mental health workers.
William Brangham breaks down the study's findings, part of our ongoing coverage of Race Matters.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In this study from The Commonwealth Fund, nearly half of health care
workers in the U.S. say racism against patients is a major problem, and equal numbers report that
they have personally witnessed discrimination against patients in their workplace.
Employees at facilities that mostly serve Black or
Latino patients reported higher instances of discrimination.
To expand on the study's findings and why it matters, I'm joined by one of its co-authors.
Dr. Laurie Zephyrin is senior vice president for advancing health equity at The Commonwealth Fund.
Dr. Zephyrin, so good to have you on the "NewsHour."
So half of health care workers say racism is a major problem, they have seen it in their own
workplaces. I'm curious why you chose to look at this issue from this perspective.
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN, The Commonwealth Fund: Thank you, and thanks for having me.
Previous research really tells us that racism and discrimination impact health care outcomes,
especially for people of color. This study goes a step further, really spotlighting the voice of
health care workers who have witnessed racism and discrimination and also experienced it themselves.
In terms of why health workers, health care workers, understanding what health
care workers are experiencing and what they need from their employers and colleagues
to address discrimination is really critical to successful and sustainable change. Health
care workers are a key part of the health care system, and they can be a part of the solution.
We do know that the perspective of patients and providers are incredibly important,
but for this study, we decided to focus on health care workers because they're
on the ground. They impact the day-to-day care of people. And health care workers
are living and breathing in the health care system every day.
They really experience the realities of what it is to provide health care firsthand.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the more striking disparities in this was the perspective
of Black health care workers. And I'm going to put this graphic up.
While half of all health care workers said doctors are more accepting of white patients
advocating for themselves compared to Black patients, it was 70 percent of
Black workers who said this. I mean, that kind of perspective just has to really leap out at you.
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN: Yes, it does. It does leap out at you.
Where you come from is important. Diverse experiences are incredibly important. The
data are clear just in general on the importance of a culturally diverse work
force. It has a really profound impact on the health care system, on the patients served. I'm
sure you have seen the data about diverse work force. It can address cultural needs,
language needs, improve communication, improve patient status satisfaction.
And there also may be more awareness of
the impacts of discrimination and bias because of lived experience.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There was also similar disparities when it came to language
differences, with over 70 percent of Latino workers saying that non-English-speaking
patients just don't get the same kind of care as English-speaking patients.
Do these disparities, do you believe, actually impact patient outcomes?
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN: There are data that support the
linkage between discrimination and impact on quality of care.
So we do know that there are significant disparities and inequities and outcomes,
whether we're talking about maternal mortality and the crisis we're experiencing in this country
or we're talking about inequities in life expectancy. We do know that where you live,
work, play impacts your outcomes, right?
And there's impacts of discrimination and racism on the social determinants of health.
So we certainly have data that support this linkage. And to your point earlier,
for people that have lived experience, whether it's race, ethnicity, language,
other aspects of culture, there just may be more of an understanding, more of a recognition,
more of a sensitivity to witnessing and discrimination within the health care system.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There was also an interesting generational divide,
with older health care workers not seeing quite as striking a level of crisis as younger workers did.
What do you attribute that to?
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN: Yes, we didn't ask why in the study. And so you don't know what you don't know.
But a few things come to mind in terms of why younger people, younger health care workers are
seeing more. This could reflect a generational shift in health care workers being more
equity-oriented and younger workers who recognize equity as a key component of health care outcomes.
So we need more research to clarify these generational differences. And
more research could be potentially important to inform efforts to
really prevent younger health care workers from leaving the profession.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On that issue, you talked with workers about what they would like to
see done to make things better. What were the sort of general principles they articulated?
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN: Creating a safe reporting environment was one that came up as crucial.
So, the study found that witnessing discrimination creates stress and also
that helped care workers fear retaliation. So having a safe reporting environment that not
only supports reporting, but also helps with reconciliation, is really important as well.
I think education also remains crucial to engendering reform,
and training is going to be very critical, not just anti-bias training,
but also training recognizing that discrimination can be a game changer in health care, that it can
impact quality of health care outcomes, and also be able to recognize the signs of discrimination.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Dr. Laurie Zephyrin at The Commonwealth Fund,
thank you so much for being here.
DR. LAURIE ZEPHYRIN: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.
AMNA NAWAZ: Two giants of music and science are merging their
knowledge to propel advancements in body and mind.
Researchers, therapists, and artists from around the world
gathered to explore what is known and what is yet to be discovered.
Jeffrey Brown takes a look and a listen for our ongoing arts and health coverage on Canvas.
JEFFREY BROWN: She is a singer, one of the world's most beloved sopranos. But at times
in her remarkable career, Renee Fleming has experienced terrible bouts of somatic pain,
the body's way of distracting her from the mental anxiety brought from performance.
RENEE FLEMING, Singer: I was never a natural performer. And so I just kept reading and
reading about the mind-body connection, trying to understand more about what was causing this,
et cetera. And I discovered that the medical profession and neuroscientists
were studying music. And I asked him why one day.
JEFFREY BROWN: He is the renowned physician-geneticist best known for
his landmark discoveries of disease genes and leadership of the Human Genome Project.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, Former Director, National Institutes of Health: Today, we
celebrate the revelation of the first draft of the human book on life.
JEFFREY BROWN: Francis Collins headed the National Institutes of Health,
the world's largest supporter of biomedical research, for 12 years until 2021.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: I'm a doctor. I want to find every possible way to
help people who are suffering from illnesses or other kinds of life experiences that are
limiting their ability to flourish. I want to make everybody flourish,
and music is such a powerful source of that kind of influence.
JEFFREY BROWN: Together, they are leading proponents of a marriage of arts and health,
advocates for research, understanding, and practice in the nexus of music and the brain.
We talked recently on the NIH campus about their music and
health initiative, now in its seventh year.
RENEE FLEMING: I believe the arts should be embedded in health care across the boards.
JEFFREY BROWN: Embedded meaning?
RENEE FLEMING: Meaning, we already have it in many, many places. Many hospitals
have discovered just how beneficial it is to have creative arts therapists on staff.
Children's hospitals should have a creative arts studio, I think, available to parents
and their children and families. So, I just think it should be everywhere in health care.
JEFFREY BROWN: It's a growing movement, one we have been reporting on around the country,
including neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins studying music's impact on dementia patients,
a hospital at the University of Florida incorporating arts into its care, individuals
who've suffered traumatic brain injuries, like former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords,
playing the French horn to help rewire her brain and rebuild her ability to speak.
Our understanding of the brain's connections and responses is still in early stages,
Francis Collins says, with projects like the NIH-funded BRAIN Initiative helping
show how individual circuits connect and respond. We do know some basics, however.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: I think you can say the acoustic cortex,
which is where your brain processes incoming sound, and particularly musical sound,
does have some pretty interesting circuits. It's also plastic. It responds to training.
If you look at the brain of somebody who had intense musical training before age 7,
you can actually see that part of the cortex is a little larger than in somebody who did
not have that. So, our brains are responding to the environment very clearly in that way.
And then you can say, OK, if you have a musical experience that affects you, you can see how that
signal that starts out in the acoustic cortex spreads to many other parts of the brain.
JEFFREY BROWN: Maybe you have had an MRI? Renee Fleming got in and sang for two hours.
(SINGING)
RENEE FLEMING: When I show this video to people, I always say, well, no Grammys for this performance.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: One interesting finding, that for an experienced singer like Fleming, her brain
circuits were more active while she thought about or imagined singing than when she actually sang.
Did that surprise you?
RENEE FLEMING: It surprised me a great deal. It's also -- I think what's even
more surprising to me is that music actually is in every known mapped part of the brain. So it's
extraordinarily diverse and throughout the entire brain, as we know, as we currently understand it.
JEFFREY BROWN: The research so far has a wide range of implications for child development,
Alzheimer's, and other forms of dementia, Parkinson's,
and other conditions and interventions.
Some research goes on in labs, some in the world, as in a study in which individuals were offered
singing lessons. One group was given individual training, the other as part of a chorus.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: For 12 weeks, and to just see what happens as far as their health,
the people that had individual singing, they did OK. The people in the choir,
by all kinds of measures, were actually affected in a very positive way.
Many of them had chronic pain. Their chronic pain was noticeably reduced. They had various measures
of personal attitudes. Their attitude toward generosity went straight up, and their oxytocin
levels went up too, as another sort of hormonal measure of good will, good sense of health.
RENEE FLEMING: My favorite is, postpartum depression is tremendously benefited by
singing in a choir. I would never have -- I wouldn't have guessed that.
NARRATOR: Having even one risk factor...
JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, you know those advertisements for drugs we're all bombarded with?
NARRATOR: Ask your doctor or pharmacist if Paxlovid is right for you.
JEFFREY BROWN: Renee Fleming has one she'd like to see.
RENEE FLEMING: Ask your doctor if music therapy is right for you.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFREY BROWN: As a kind of prescription.
RENEE FLEMING: Exactly. Exactly.
(CROSSTALK) DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: The prescription. Why not?
JEFFREY BROWN: Yes, but you have to -- you're saying it still has
to be shown exactly in a scientific method...
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: Yes.
JEFFREY BROWN: ... for a doctor to be willing to prescribe it.
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: Sure. That's our system, and I'm totally behind it. You
need evidence that this actually isn't just a nice thing; it actually improves outcomes.
I'm pretty convinced from the data we have that's the case for various places, but
let's tighten that up. Let's make it absolutely incontrovertible. And then you will have a better
chance with the insurance companies saying OK, because that may save them money in the long run.
MAN: Let's listen to this melody line as it floats all the way up.
JEFFREY BROWN: At this recent gathering and others, Fleming and Collins are advancing new
findings through a variety of collaborations, including NIH Music and Health with 20 NIH
institutes, the Kennedy Center's Sound Health partnership, and the Renee Fleming Foundation.
Everything you're talking about requires a kind of buy-in from your communities,
the arts world and the science world. But is there still pushback?
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS: There's a bit, but I think were getting some real momentum
going. It doesn't hurt that scientists are also musicians. At least, many of them are.
This workshop, we invited multiple leadership at NIH to come and take part, and they all
said pretty much yes, and they went away saying, that was even more interesting than I thought.
JEFFREY BROWN: A young person now goes to the music conservatory,
you want them to study therapy, science, health?
RENEE FLEMING: Well, these would be divisions within a conservatory or university.
But there's definite buy-in now. But when I started, people were saying
exactly what you're saying, is, well, we have too much to do already with what were doing,
in terms of presenting, and we're strapped, and the funding is difficult, et cetera, et cetera.
But I think pretty much everyone is on board now,
because we're community service providers. So, I think people who run performing arts
organizations and conservatories are starting to see the benefit of it.
JEFFREY BROWN: And these two don't just talk about
bringing their disciplines together. They have been known to give it literal form,
as amateur musician Francis Collins accompanies science-fascinated Renee Fleming.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown
at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
(MUSIC)
(APPLAUSE)
AMNA NAWAZ: And Fleming has edited a collection of essays from scientists, artists, and therapists
called "Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness." That's due out this spring.
GEOFF BENNETT: Its the first U.S.-built spacecraft to land on the moon in more
than 50 years and the first ever by a private company. The lander,
known as Odysseus, was cause for celebration a short time ago.
MAN: We are on the surface and we are transmitting. And welcome to the moon.
MAN: Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.
GEOFF BENNETT: The mission is not expected to last about seven days
until the sun sets on the landing site and a frigid lunar night begins.
Odysseus took off from Cape Canaveral last week. While the Houston-based
company Intuitive Machines created the spacecraft,
this trip is key to NASA's goal of returning to the moon with a manned mission.
Miles O'Brien joins us now.
So, Miles, I got to tell you the suspense in the studio here has been palpable over this last hour.
Help us understand why this successful landing is so significant. What all went into this?
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, no matter what the condition of the craft, Geoff,
the fact that they have gotten this far with the relatively small budget and tiny team
that they have operating on this different structure, where NASA is more of a customer,
a client than it is in charge, all of that speaks well to the direction they're headed.
How successful was this landing? Well, I think we can say it's a
success by virtue of the fact that it's on the surface and maybe transmitting
faint signals. Is it toppled over? Is there damage to it? We don't know yet.
But I think, in the grand scheme here, proving that this can be done,
and done for essentially pennies on the dollar,
is very important when you look at the larger ambition that NASA has with the Artemis program.
GEOFF BENNETT: In preparing to speak with you, I learned that all -- or, rather,
over half of all lunar landing attempts have ended in failure.
Why is this so challenging, especially when we did this more than 50 years ago?
MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, I have been thinking a lot about that, Geoff.
Of course, half, 50 percent of the time will get you into the Major League Hall of Fame,
but that's not very good for space travel. What happened 55 years ago or so, Neil Armstrong,
Apollo 11 lunar module, the guidance system was headed straight for a big boulder.
And if he'd not intervened, that would not have been a success. So trying to
replicate the neural network that is the human brain with 80 billion neurons and human eyes
with computers that are going to a place we don't know much about is a real challenge.
And, of course, the moon is tough anyway, because there's no atmosphere. You can't use parachutes.
You have to have a powered descent all the way down. And they're going to the south pole,
which is much more rugged than any of the Apollo destinations.
So a lot of people say, well, if we did that so easily back then,
why can't we do it now? There's all that and the fact that it cost us,
inflation-adjusted, about a trillion dollars to do it.
GEOFF BENNETT: Wow.
Well, this lander, as I understand it,
has left behind six instruments on the moon's surface. What exactly do they do?
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, they're going to be trying to characterize the surface of the
moon. There was a lot of technology involved in just the landing itself.
There was a failure on the way down of one of the laser guidance systems. The team was able
to piggyback off of an experimental system that NASA was flying. And there actually are
some space sculptures on board as well. The idea was to create this public-private partnership so
that the company, Intuitive Machines, could sell payloads like a cross-country trucker,
NASA doing most of it, filling up most of the truck as it were.
But other commercial players are there, including Embry-Riddle University,
which had a tiny little CubeSat with cameras on it designed to capture the
landing itself. We will see if we see those pictures. It would be great if we could.
GEOFF BENNETT: Well, tell us more about this Houston-based company behind the spacecraft.
MILES O'BRIEN: It's a lot of former NASA people, a lot of steely-eyed rocket scientists.
Steve Altemus is a legendary flight director from NASA in the shuttle days
and senior manager at NASA. There's some experience here, but it's worth pointing
out it's been two generations since anybody actually lived through this in the United
States and landed a craft on the moon. And so the institutional memory is gone.
We're -- in a way, we're having to relearn all of this with new
technology and without humans in the loop at the surface. So it's a different game
right now with a different set of experience that's required.
GEOFF BENNETT: And, Miles, in the 30 seconds we have left,
what is NASA hoping to glean with another manned mission to the moon?
MILES O'BRIEN: Well, I think they want to prove they can stay there.
Building an outpost in space, as much as anything,
is to prove human beings can live in these environments because the long-range goal for
NASA remains putting human beings on Mars. The idea is, if you can do it at the moon,
which is much closer, much faster radio signals, you have got a better shot on Mars.
GEOFF BENNETT: That is Miles O'Brien, our man on all things space and aviation.
Always a pleasure, Miles. Thanks.
MILES O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Geoff.
GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm Geoff Bennett.
AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.
On behalf of the entire "NewsHour" team, thank you for joining us.