PBS NewsHour : KQED : June 10, 2024 6:00pm-7:01pm PDT : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive (2024)

wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett on the "newshour" tonight -- the un security council for the first time approves cease-fire in gaza as the u.s. pushes toward a deal after a blood the weekend. amna: former president trump

meets with a probation officer as dirt -- jury deliberations begin in the trial of hunter biden. geoff: a popular book sparks debate over the debate between the links among teen mental health, social media and smartphones. >> there are a lot of factors that are attributed to this rise in anxiety and depression, but this has accelerated it. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. ♪ >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- and friends of the newshour including the peter and judy blume covert foundation. >> two retiring executives turn their focus to greyhounds giving former race dogs a real chance

to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose and how you give back. life, well-planned. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪ >> this program was made ssible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

geoff: welcome to the "newshour." and welcome to our brand new studio in the weta headquarters. amna: we're excited to call it home and welcome you here, and looking forward to showing you more over the course of the program. and while the show may look different, the work we do here remains the same. geoff: the same committment to high-quality journalism -- the reliable reporting and strong storytelling you've come to expect from the "newshour." and with that, let's turn to the nose. amna: secretary of state antony blinken returned to the middle east today, with meetings in israel and egypt. he's pressing leaders to accept an israeli proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal - one that received a vote of confidence today in the united nations security council. but the fallout from an israeli hostage rescue that killed hundreds of palestinians continues. nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick: for the eighth time since october 7 secretary of state

antony blinken landed in israel today to meet with israeli prime minister netanyahu to pressure hamas to release hostages and end the war. >> my message to governments throughout the region and people throughout the region, if you want a cease-fire, press hamas to say yes. nick: on saturday israel took matters into its own hands and today. police and intelligence operatives storming into a hamas compound in gaza in the middle of the day. to rescue israeli hostages hebrew by then israeli cover was blown and they had to shoot their way out leading to this scene in a nearby hospital. hamas said more than 270 people

died but did not distinguish between civilians and militants. residents rushed away from the gunfight, dragging their children, including those with four legs. angry not just at israel, but fellow arabs. >> people in the arab world are eating our olives and olive oil, and people are dying in the streets. the world sold us out. my kids died in the streets. nick: but in israel, reunions 246 days later. noah back in the arms of her father. a kiss. >> thank you for bringing my son to me, to us. nick: today the pentagon denied what it called widespread disinformation and said israel did not use humanitarian aid trucks or the beach area that receives humanitarian aid over

the u.s. military built pier. families of the hostages still think -- still in hamas captivity tried to pressure the government to accept a cease-fire deal. pressure also from within as benny gantz resigned sunday. >> regrettably netanyahu is preventing us from true victory, which is the justification for the ongoing and painful cost of war. >> october 7, what benny gantz and others brought forward, was cover from the center. nick: the director of brookings middle east policy says it could increase public pressure but reduce private influence, pushing netanyahu to make a deal. >> he was a voice in favor of a hostage deal. diminished at a time when washington is trying to reach a deal in the short term. nick: until that deal can be delivered, the war has no end in

sight. for the pbs "newshour," i'm nick schifrin. amna: while the rescue of four hostages is great news for some, there are still about 120 hostages remaining in gaza. one is a 22-year-old omer neutra. he is an amerin and israeli citizen and was serving as a tank commander in the israel defense forces on october 7th, stationed on the gaza border, when he was taken captive by hamas. his parents orna and ronen neutra join me now. welcome and thank you for being here. tell us a bit about your son. i understand he was born and raised in long island and spent a gap year in israel deferring college and decided to join the idf. tell us why. >> omer was born in new york city one week after 9/11. on 9/11 i was working in the city, was nine months pregnant with him and remember walking over the queensboro bridge

thinking, i can't believe this is happening. he was born after that and into that climate in new york city. i remember a lot of people posting missing people. and now he is one of these pictures in this horrible terrorist attack. nothing in his childhood could've prepared us for this. he had a happy childhood on long island, very close community. he was accepted into university, but decided to spend a year in israel. we are both dual citizens of israel and the u.s. he said if i am going to spend a year in israel, i want to do with the way israeli kids would. he felt strongly he should not just go back to college, that he should serve as well, that it was his duty to serve. amna: we are speaking just after this raid in central gaza that did end up freeing four hostages

from captivity there. wonderful joyful news for their families. it was also reported that 270 palestinians were killed in that operation. i wonder, would you want an operation like that carried out if it meant her son could be freed? ronen: obviously, we want our son back. anyway they can get him healthy back, we will take it. but we also realize throughout the eight months, i believe only seven people were rescued in an operation by the idf, which means most people will get out of there with a deal, through negotiation. we encourage all parties to take it seriously and reach a deal, because that is the only and the safest way, both for our kids and the families, but also the people in gaza, to get to some

sustainable arrangement that will basically bring peace to the area. it is up to hamas to accept a deal. amna: do you think it is time the biden administration starts to negotiate on its own to release american hostages like your son? do you want to see them do that? ronen: we would like to see our son back, so anyway possible is something we would welcome. i would like to remind viewers that on october 7 45 americans were murdered brutally. 12 americans were taken hostage. four came back. eight americans are still kept hostage. three were murdered. it is not something a lot of americans know. amna: in this negotiation hamas has continuously asked for a permanent cease-fire deal as part of the plan. do you want the netanyahu government to accept that? orna: we are family members.

we cannot tell the government exactly what they need to do to get them out, but we expect all sides to stay at the table until they reach an agreement. whatever it is. amna: even if it means permanent cease-fire? orna: even if it means permanent cease-fire. amna: we just marked eight months of the war since the october 7 attack. i know you have marked those in days, days you wear across your chest every day, 248. i wonder if you can help us understand what the last eight months have been like for you watching this unfold, knowing that dozens and dozens, over 1100 israelis killed on that day and tens of thousands of palestinians since, and you just wanting your son home, what has that been like? orna: it has been a crazy roller coaster. you mentioned before the administration may be negotiating on behalf of americans. we woke up this morning to a

phone bombarded with messages, is this true, what is happening, is omer coming home? it is hard not to get excited by every proposition of a deal that may be happening, but again we have seen these deals collapse as quickly as they surface. it has been very difficult. for us specifically, we don't have proof of life from omer beyond the initial attack and video footage that hamas themselves put out on that day showing he was taken. he was alive when he was taken. for us it has been excruciating. the uncertainty and worry and concern. it has been very difficult. ronen: we wake up every morning

and are asking ourselves, what do we do today to try to promote a return of the hostages and our son included? the only way we are dealing with this is through activities -- activities and not emotions. we are pushing our emotions away. it is very long, a lot of ups and downs, a roller coaster. we are focusing just on telling omer's story, making sure people do not forget. orna: our life has completely changed. we have not worked since october 7. we are stuck with our last conversation with our son. i still have him in our head, anticipating a quiet weekend. amna: that was the last conversation you had? orna: we spoke with him in the afternoon in new york, which was nighttime in israel. ronen: just as we were about to

go to sleep we were checking our phones and saw a barrage of missiles going on, and attacking israel. we knew omer was there. we tried to call him. no response. we did not go to sleep, trying to call everyone we could to figure out what happened. orna: we still find it hard to believe. it is a surreal situation we are in. we try to keep up hope. we do not let our minds go anywhere that is too negative because otherwise we can't function. ronen: hope is mandatory. amna: i can't thank you enough for being here, for sharing omer's story with us. we hope he is back soon. ronen: thank you. ♪ geoff: in other headlines, the

jury in hunter biden's criminal trial has begun deliberating in delaware. prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments that no one is above the law. hunter biden's defense attorney counter the prosecution failed to prove its case yonder reasonable doubt. the president son faces three felony charges related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018. a number of hunter biden's family members showed up to support him today including his aunt valerie biden owens and uncle james biden. first lady jill biden has attended all but one day of the proceedings. the supreme court will take up an appeal from facebook parent company meta over a shareholder class action lawsuit. the case centers on facebook's handling of the cambridge analytica scandal, when the personal data of roughly 87 million users was improperly gathered in the lead-up to the 2016 election. the plaintiffs filed the case in 2018, after facebook's stock fell as the scandal came to light. they argue the company did not fully disclose the risks that users' information could be mishandled.

the court will hear the case during its next term, which starts in october. in france, public opinion polls predicted today that the far-right "national rally" party would win snap elections nexth -- met month. it's the first gauge of french sentiment since president emanuel macron dissolved the national assembly yesterday. that followed his party's defeat to the far-right in the european union parliamentary elections over the weekend. the french national assembly building was nearly empty today after its dissolution. the snap elections are scheduled for two rounds. 100 and 30 and the other on july 7. just a few weeks before the country hosts the olympic games. firefighters in miami have been battling a massive blaze that engulfed a four-story building this morning. plumes of smoke rose over the city's downtown area as responders used ladder trucks to drench flames, filling streets with water and foam. miami's mayor said three

firefighters were hospitalized for heat exhaustion and over 40 residents were evacuated. at the scene first responders found a man in critical condition with gunshot wounds. officials say the shooting was an isolated incident. a combined shot for covid-19 and the flu may be a step closer to hitting the market. vaccine maker moderna set in late stage trials involving adults over the age of 50, participants who took its combined shot had significantly stronger immune reactions than those who took two separate shots. side effects were reportedly minor, and similar to those seen when shots are administered separately. moderna says it hopes to launch the combined shot by the fall of 2025. indiana fever star guard caitlin clark is taking the high road, following news that she didn't make the cut for the summer olympics. the top overall pick in the wnba draft says she'll be rooting for team usa to win gold in paris. competition for a spot was fierce. at least seven players from the 2020 gold-medal-winning team are

returning this year. clark says she's already setting her sights on 2028. caitlin: honestly, no disappointment. it gives you something to work for. it's a dream. hopefully one day i can be there. its a little more motivation. hopefully when four years comes back around, i can be there. geoff: clark has helped draw countless new fans to women's basketball in her budding pro career, and the wnba is enjoying its best season in decades. the league is boasting its highest attendance in 26 years. more than half of the games have been sellouts. on tv, games are averaging 1.3 million viewers across all networks. that's nearly triple last season's average. apple rolled out its long-awaited artificial intelligence strategy as it works to keep pace with rival microsoft. ceo tim cook announced the new technology -- dubbed "apple intelligence" -- which will integrate ai across the company's suite of apps. that includes a partnership with open-ai to bring chatgpt to its

devices. ceo sam altman was in the crowd for the announcement. this is the second straight year that apple has used the event to announce its entry into an area of technology where others have already tread. last year was about the mixed-reality headset. shares of apple closed down nearly 2% following the announcement. as for the broader market -- wall street ended modestly higher, as investors look ahead to wednesday's inflation data and the next federal reserve meeting. the dow jones industrial average rose 69 points to close at 38,868. the nasdaq gained 59 points. closing at a new all-time high. the s&p 500 also ended in record territory. a passing of note this evening. the reverend james lawson junior has died. the civil rights leader, labor organizer and university professor was an early advocate for non-violent protests. and he was a close advisor to dr. martin luther king jr. the two met in 1957, and shared

an enthusism for ghandi's non-violent approach. his family said he died on sunday after a short illness in los angeles. lawson was 95 years old. still to come on the "newshour"-- tamara keith and leigh ann caldwell break down the latest political headlines. and a revival of sondheim's "merrily we roll along" gains rave reviews and tony nomintations. -- nominations. >> this is the "pbs newshour" from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: major developments today in two legal cases we're tracking -- first -- jurors started deliberations in hunter biden's gun trial in delaware. he is accused of lying on federal forms about his drug use to illegally purchase a gun in 2018. and today -- former president donald trump sat for a probation interview -- a critical step ahead of his sentencing on july 11th. it follows his historic conviction last month on 34

felony counts in his criminal hush money trial. renato mariotti is a former federal prosecutor and joins us now. thanks so much for being with us. hunter biden is facing a three count indictment. help us understand what jurors are weighing. what were takeaways from the prosecution's closing arguments? renato: the prosecution is trying to present a straightforward case. this is a case in which there is no question hunter biden owned a firearm for a period of time. not long, a matter of days. but he did own a firearm. in purchasing that firearm he indicated he was not at the time addicted to a controlled substance. the prosecution put on testimony that showed before that period of time he had been using that

-- using drugs and after that period of time. they also used excerpts from his memoirs saying he used drugs during that time period. they are presenting it as a straightforward matter. the defense is taking a different view because he had gone through rehab around that time. what mattered, what the case comes down to is, what his state of mind was when he filled out that form. was he knowingly and willfully making a false statement when he said he was not addicted to drugs, or was he essentially reflecting what he felt coming out of a rehab program where he said more or less, he felt he was clean at that point. geoff: tell me more about that. give your assessment of the case. they said hunter did not view himself as an addict when he filled out the federal form saying he was not abusing drugs. do you think a jury will find

that credible? renato: i think the question is whether one or more jurors will find it credible. in our system, you need to have a unanimous jury in order to reach a verdict of guilty. if even one juror disagrees, that is enough. the fact that we have already had deliberation and the jury has gone home for the day and have not reached a conclusion suggests at least one member of the jury thinks this is a more complicated case. hunter has a strong defense team. they have essentially teed this up using effectively a surrogate. his own daughter testified regarding how she appeared to him during the time, bking up the defense argument that he was not using drugs at that precise time he filled out the form. he himself did not take the stand, i think for obvious reasons.

he would have withering cross-examination if he did. what is going on is, the defense is putting this prosecution on trial. they are basically, there is a lot of atmospherics. the bidens are big names in delaware. you have the whole family there. the question is, is there a juror or two that feel whole thing is wrong, and they cannot feel right in their heart that hunter biden was trying to lie on that form? geoff: let's shift to donald trump. he sat for interview with a probation department official today. there are couple things that stand out as unusual. one, it was a virtual interview. two, his attorney todd blanche was present, which is not the case for convicted defendants typically. why was trump given those accommodations? renato: it is fair to say that judge one where sean -- merchan

does not view him as a typical defendant. when the former president breaking the gag order, the judge made clear he did not want to jail the former president, that he viewed consequences for the country as much broader than the consequences for trump himself. i think the judge is trying to go out of his way to be accommodating to the former president. the probation office as well. i personally think that is a mistake by the defense team. if i was todd blanche i would want my client personally interacting with the probation officer, trying to charm her, because it she will be the one neutral party presenting information to the judge for sentencing. geoff: how will the judge use this report once the report is conducted by the probation officer? renato: a lot of times when we

talk about sentences they say the maximum possible sentence is this and that. what judges try to do when they craft sentences is consider all the facts and circ*mstances surrounding the case, everything about that person, fashioning the proper sentence for conviction. here, the only neutral evidence the judge will give is from the probation officer. the prosecution will give their view, obviously against the former president. and of course trump's team will give their perspective. i think the judge will be looking to the probation officer's guidance on what an appropriate sentence will be. geoff: thanks for your insights. ♪ amna: the two leading

presidential candidates continue to highlight the stark differences between them in key policy issues. a perfect time for politics monday with tamara keith of npr and leigh ann caldwell of the washington post. amy walter is away. great to see you both. let's start with an issue we know democrats have been leaning into when we saw former president trump, abortion rights. he spoke of the dance per institute, and antiabortion rights conservative christian group that compared abortion to child sacrifice. this the same day as ted cruz and another introduced a bill to protect ivf access. but that is after they blocked access ensuring contraception. what is the republican position on reproductive rights? >> it is complicated. there is not a cohesive position. that has been a challenge going back to when dobbs overturned

roe v. wade. there are more conservative groups like the one former president trump delivered a video message to earlier today, that would like to go as far as you can go. and there are other republicans who say, how about a 15 week ban? that might be something we can sell to a broader range of americans. former president trump is trying to have it both ways. he has said the supreme court got it right, that it should be sent back to the states. he also says, may be some states have gone too far. but he does not proactively say what he wants because, it is up to the states. i don't know how long that will work for him, or if it is working for him now. certainly it will be an issue when it comes time for presidential debate in a couple weeks, where candidates will have to say where they stand. and presumably get into detail.

i know the biden campaign wants this to be an issue that gets discussed. amna: is it working for him, or to the democrats advantage? leigh ann: democrats think it is working to their advantage. they point to win after win, and credit abortion to that. in the senate last week you saw them put forward a contraception protection bill that republicans blocked. this week they will put forward an e -- ivf protection bill. democrats it is not only to shore up their base, but also to reach suburban independent voters they think will decide this election. amna: we also saw a stark split screen moment between the two major party candidates. remind folks about president biden speaking overseas. this was a french cemetery for

american sdiers killed in world war i. here he is. pres. biden: the idea we are able to avoid major battles in europe is not realistic. that is why it is important we continue to have the alliances we have, continue to beef up alliances, keep nato strong, continue to do what we have been able to do since the end of world war ii. amna: meanwhile former president trump was speaking in a scorching hot las vegas rally, where problems with the teleprompter led him to unscripted remarks that veered from topic to topic. mr. trump: secret service said we have to make everyone safe. what about me? they don't think about me, they never think of me. i am working my -- off. then before the debate, take a drug test. i'm willing to take one. countries are dumping other criminals into our country.

also some people that are not criminals but are not productive. i have no teleprompter. i pay all this money and 20% of the time they don't work. amna: all of those remarks were within 110 minute window. for all his calls to have president biden a cognitive test, mr. trump's remarks are not coherent. >> they have never been super coherent in his rallies. i am not sure i can weigh in on how much they have veered in the last couple months, but this split screen has always been there, will always be there. they are different people. the people stood in 110 weather to see that speech got what they paid for. they got the greatest hits, some surprising things they were not expecting because the teleprompter went out, and that is what they are there for.

i don't know how he is persuading persuadable voters with that messaging. in terms of biden, i was there with him in france. surprised i am still standing because i just got back. he went to that cemetery looking for the split screen because that world war i cemetery is notable because former president trump was supposed to go there to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of world war i and he did not go. the atlantic reported it was not just because of bad weather, but he did not want to be there and called over that time period people who died in wars "scukers -- suckers and losers." although the text of what he said throughout that trip was about turning away from isolationism, embracing allies, honoring the war dead, it was an implicit split screen for trump,

an effort by biden and his team to draw contrast with his opponent. amna: how do you look at that split screen, especially in nevada, where trump lost twice. >> that split screen is what biden wants. that is ultimately what his campaign is, to remind voters that is chaos, and he is commander-in-chief, the leader of the country. that does not bring that chaos. as far as nevada is concerned, trump lost that state twice, but according to polling, president biden is far behind trump in that state. amna: polling is a moment in time, we should say. leigh ann: that is why it is a battleground state. it is essential for them. trump knows he is doing better among hispanic voters,

especially hispanic men. while he does not need to win them, he needs to do better than he did in 2020 against joe biden where he only won 32%. that is why trump is in nevada. amna: you have made the segue forming. i wanted to point out a crucial voting bloc of latinos. when you compare the candidates, how they are doing today compared to 2020, there is a weakening of support for biden, the same increase in support for mr. trump. how do you look at that? what is the message resonating that is causing that increase for mr. trump? leigh ann: the things that seem to be most resonating with voters over and over again, the economy and the border. those are the issues voters have said, according to polling, over and over again, they trust republicans, they trust trump

overbite and on those two issues. that is where president biden is trying to make inroads and you saw this executive order. he is getting criticism on the left that it is too strict, shuts down the border for amnesty seekers, if there are more than 2500 people over a specific amount of time that reach the border. his team is aware, which is why they are trying to highlight his economic achievements and make inroads on the border. amna: what is the biden plan to reach those voters? tamara: they are working on it, trying to reach those voters. they are targeting them with ads, launching latino voters for biden efforts. all the things you do when running a campaign. i think they would say, we still have five months. but the numbers are not good for

biden, in terms of losing that support. i think there is an increasing realization that for multiple election cycles, democrats talk about demographics as destiny. they are not destiny. the idea that black and latino voters will automatically vote overwhelmingly democrat may not be the case this time. the demographics are shifting. it is more of a divide between working-class voters and college-educated voters. and trump is doing better with working-class voters. amna: tamera keith, leeann caldwell, thank you. -- tamara heath, leigh ann caldwell, thank you. geoff: a number of states are moving to regulate social media use among children and teens. new york state is the latest with a new law that would allow parents to block their children from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm.

about one in five american adolescents report having anxiety and depression. cdc data show teenage girls are facing record levels of sadness and suicide risk. it all comes amid a larger conversation about social media and smart phones. stephanie sy has more. stephanie: on a recent morning in durango, colorado, students file into mountain middle school. but before entering, 14-year-old julia fernandez shuts off her cell phone and puts it in her backpack. this school has a ban on cell phone use. how is that going? >> i personally agree with the cell phone band. we have a lot of people with anxiety and depression. i feel it gives it a pause. a day without a cell phone is just a pause. that is not the reason we have these issues, but it is a factor. stephanie: mountain middle school first enacted the policy in 2013 when shane voss became

head of the public charter school. stephanie: where did cell phone use rank in your mind in importance? >> it was at the top. we wanted to teach students to dedicate their full energy and be present, and it started with cell phones. stephanie: eighth grade teacher and a boon was on board with the policy after she observed how cell phones affected students at a former school she worked at. >> if they did not know where to start with an assignment, rather than turning to a friend or ask me for help, they would take out their phone and do something distracting to manage discomfort. stephanie: voss says the band has cut down distraction and improved achievement. when it comes to mental health -- >> it is not a panacea to look at phones and everything will be fine. i think there are a lot of factors attributed to this rise in anxiety and depression.

this has accelerated it, no question. stephanie: school cell phone bands are becoming more common across the nation. last year florida became the first to enact statewide phone bands during class of public schools. several other states are considering similar action. >> academic achievement, not since covid, but since 2012, as soon the kids had it in their pocket, they can't resist, have to be using it. stephanie: a social sake -- psychologist's book "anxious generation" has been at the top of the bestsellers, debating how social media are rewiring childhood, and largely to blame for the youth mental health crisis. >> this is the first time a generation has faced a threat entirely on social media. stephanie: while haidt declined an interview on this story, he spoke to "newshour" last year on the harms of social media. >> there is direct correlational

evidence that the more you use it, the more depressed you are. especially heavy users, more than four hours a day. those users are three more times likely to be depressed. also self-harm and suicide. all of those skyrocket after 2012. stephanie: haidt and his argument are in the spotlight and is facing pushback from other researchers, especially for two prescriptions he said are desperately needed for healthier childhoods. >> no smartphone before 2014. that should be the minimum national norm. and no social media behind 16. >> there was no data that says that is when it automatically becomes safe. stephanie: dr. michael rich from boston's children's hospital studies the impacts of online media on kids physical and mental health. >> he ignores a lot of the positives that have come with these technologies that kids have learned how to use in very positive ways to connect with

others over great distances, to understand other cultures and peoples. beyond not being able to get rid of them, we probably should not get rid of them. what we need to do is help our children of any age use these powerful tools in ways that are healthy, smart and kind. >> i don't think a quick fix of taking the technology away or blocking people will do a darn thing. that is about assuaging anxiety of upper-middle-class parents. stephanie: dana boyd is the author of "its complicated: the social lives of networked teams -- teens." she also works for microsoft research. what role do you think social media plays in anxiety and depression among teens? >> it magnifies the good, bad and ugly. it absolutely amplifies things. some people are genuinely struggling.

but trying to make the tools for which they are simultaneously exposed to the world and reaching out to people unavailable is not going to make the mental health crisis go away. stephanie: boyd, a mother of three, says restricting technology could backfire, disconnecting vulnerable teens from supportive communities, and make it more difficult for them to reach out for help during a mental health crisis. >> as a country we have very few mental health resources for young people. most of them require your parents insurance. if your parents are part of the problem, or you are afraid of telling them you are struggling, you will not ask them for therapy. i want to make sure young people have the tools to be able to get help when they needed. >> we are not suggesting everybody give up their smart foreign -- phone or social media, just kids and youngest teens. stephanie: she is a psychologist

at san diego state and frequently collaborates with jonathan haidt. she faced a similar criticism in 2017 when she published a book that also made the argument that spikes in teenage depression could be linked to smart phones and social media. >> it is seven years later. we have a lot more data. teen depression has continued to go up. still we need to wait? what for? teen depression is at 20%. should we wait until it is at half or a third? stephanie: 95% of american teenagers have access to smartphones and about 1/3 report being on social media almost constantly. several studies on the impact on mental health has mixed results. a report from the national academy of sciences in september said contrary to the current narrative that social media is universally harmful to adolescents, the reality is more

calm picketed. -- complicated. social media can offer connection and a safe space for young people, especially lgbtq+ teens. but it can also encourage harmful activities and take the place of sleep, exercise and social activities. also frequent use may lead to worse body image for some teen girls and make them more vulnerable to eating disorders. >> my number one fear is social media for teens. stephanie: back in durango will and amber blanchard's kids piper and ben are not allowed their own phones. >> we want to keep our kids engaged and active. a tired kid is a good kid. stephanie: they believe this is what childhood should look like. family bike rides to a nearby river where ben practices flyfishing.

an occasional selfie on a phone is called for. they are not antitechnology. but they say in the absence of a smartphone, ben has found an outlet in fishing and is gotten good at it. >> he likes being in the water. i cannot imagine him finding tranquility in a phone. stephanie: both ben and paper attend mountain middle school. even at the age of nine piper said she noticed tiktok use outside of school causing problems. >> i have seen kids in other classes in fourth grade that have been on social media trash talking each other, and not friends anymore. stephanie: ben says he has little interest in social media, but thinks he is close to being ready for a phone. >> for music, photos, texting, communication with your parents or friends or family. stephanie: have your parents talk to you through their

explanations for why you don't have phones and you trust them? >> yes, very much. i completely trust them. stephanie: and they did not pay you to say that. [laughter] >> money would be nice. stephanie: while the science on smart phones and social media is up for debate, they say they are only worried about what is right for their kids. >> what is best for one family, that is for them to judge. that is their choice. and we have hours. stephanie: it is a choice millions of american parents are now struggling to make for their own families. for the pbs "newshour," i'm stephanie sy in durango, colorado. ♪ amna: when stephen sondheim died in 2021 he was known as one of musical theater's all-time greats, creator of masterpieces

like sweeney todd and a little night music but one of his musicals, "merrily we roll along ," never achieved that success. now it has and the actors and director are all up for tony awards this sunday. jeffrey brown recently joined friedman on broadway for our arts and cultures series, canvas. jeffrey: its a musical about making friends and art. >> ♪ how did you get to be here ♪ jeffrey: and how life can go very wrong. maria has spent much of the last 12 years trying to make it right. is "obsession" the right word? maria: passion. and a deep love for the material and the man who wrote it. >> ♪ who says lonely at the top i say let it never stop ♪ jeffrey: the material is

“merrily we roll along,” now on broadway with rave reviews and star turns by jonathan groff as frank, a composer turned film producer. daniel radcliffe as "charley," a playwright. and lindsay mendez as "mary," a novelist turned theater critic. >> congratulations on the movie. your performance will stay with me for a long time. jeffrey: the man who wrote its music and lyrics -- theater legend stephen sondheim working with a story by george furth. but “merrily” has long been seen as sondheim's major flop. when it first arrived on broadway in 1981 it closed after just 16 performances. when we recently met at broadway's renowned sardi's restaurant, maria friedman spoke of first working directly with sondheim in 1992, when he and furth tried out a new version of the play for a production in england. friedman, then a young actress and singer, played the role of "mary."

maria: being in a room with stephen sondheim and george furth rewriting a piece, new songs, new dialog every day and stephen, everybody knows stephen sondheim, when you're working with him, is completely exacting. when you're working with him as an actor, you know, he just drills into your psychology and expects the world from you. jeffrey: how does he do that? maria: lots of questions, asking you about, you know, why? why would you be singing this? he would offer you the internal dialog that you need in order to sing the actual material. he had a reason for every single note and lyric he wrote. so i was full up as an actress. it just felt like this was like the greatest gift. jeffrey: she would go on to work with sondheim in other plays and regularly perform his music. when he died at age 91, they'd been friends for decades. in 2010 sondheim spoke to us of the intensity of his approach to

writing lyrics, put forth in his book, “finishing the hat." stephen: if you think of a lyric as a little one-act play, then each line is a scene. and a quatrain becomes an entire act. jeffrey: each line is a scene. stephen: each line is a scene. and you've got seven words in a line so let's say each word is a , speech. well, if you're writing a play and something's wrong with a speech, you cut or change the speech. the same you've got do it it, word by word. it is as focused as that. maria: what he always said to me, whenever i was working, he said: story, story, story! character, character, character! but story! story! you've got to be interested in the narrative where you put the anchor down at the beginning, keep the tension and make sure that you keep your audience with you all along. friedman says her biggest task, without changing words or notes, was to bring out the essence of “merrily we roll along” a story told backwards through several decades. >> ♪ look at us, charley

nothing's the way that it was i want it the way that it was ♪ jeffrey: with scenes and songs that take us through life's loves and betrayals, successes and failures back to the first , moments of friendship and sense of possibility. >> ♪ we have nothing to fear we haven't got time ♪ jeffrey: while others have attempted to revive “merrily”, friedman first took it on as a director some 12 years ago slowly developing it, production , by production, finally bringing it back to broadway last fall. maria: my job is to get the author's stephen's words and music and george's text 'the story, the story, the story, the characters', out to the audience in the most direct way. jeffrey: did you see yourself as kind of giving this a deserved new life? maria: well, every time you do anything you want to, you want

to give it a deserved life. whether it's, i never saw myself as saying, like, you know i'm going to run to victory with this thing. jeffrey: you're not "resurrecting." maria: no, that would be really arrogant of me. no, what i did is i had a point of view. and i think you need a point of view as a director. and i didn't know that point of view was not something that everybody had seen. i was very lucky. i had never seen a production. i'd been in one, but i'd never seen a production of “merrily we roll along.” so it was a clean sheet for me. jeffrey: in fact, sondheim had seen friedman's vision of the play in an earlier production and, friedman says, was thrilled it would come to broadway. soon after the announcement, however, he died. jeffrey: it must be bittersweet that he wasn't alive to see this success on broadway. maria: yeah. yeah. he meant -- i did not have a dad. he took that role for me. anyway, sorry.

that's why i don't talk about it. >> ♪ it's our time breathe it in ♪ maria: there was a wonderful line in the piece where he is standing on the rooftop looking , at the universe. and he says to these two frightened friends, he says, "you know, we could, we can have everything! look, look, at the possibilities!" >> ♪ years from now we'll remember and will come back ♪ maria: i know its a wonderful bubble of fantasy, but he changed my world with music and words. and i know that if he saw the commercial success that he is having his foundation is now having, thank you very much, for this money will be going, a lot of it will be going to future composers he would take me out for a very big drink. jeffrey: now maria friedman and her cast and, through them, stephen sondheim and george

furth may well find themselves having a very big night at the tony awards on sunday. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown on broadway. ♪ geoff: before we go we want to take a moment to thank all the people the "newshour" staff, weta engineers and outside designers and companies that help make this news studio possible. this is a brief time lapse video showing the construction of the studio, which took nearly four years, from planning to construction, of a new wing at our weta headquarters and build out of the new studio. we hope it serves both us and you well into the future. amna: and we hope you'll join us again back here tomorrow night for a look at the effort underway in north dakota to block people over the age of 80

from representing the state in congress. and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us. have a good night. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. ♪ >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. and british style. all with cunard's white star service. ♪ >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant

and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org . and with the ongoing support of these institutions -- this program made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and the 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.] ♪

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