♪ laura: tonight on "pbs news weekend." with trump's commanding win on super tuesday, we look at the present and future of the republican party. then, as the s.a.t. goes digital, what the change means for accessibility and the role of the test in college admissions.

>> by making it shorter, making it digital, even making it adaptive are all ways to make it more attractive to stunts. laura: and the daughter of somali immigrants gives her brief but spectacular take on caring for refugees and immigrants who have survived violence. ♪ >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. laura: good evening. i'm laura barron-lopez. john yang is away. tonight, on the eve of ramadan, the muslim holy month of fasting, hundreds of thousands of gazans are on the brink of famine, according to u.n. officials. gazans scrambled for food, air-dropped by the u.s. and jordan today, while hundreds of miles north, a ship loaded with 200 metric tons of food is set to sail from the island of cyprus. the voyage will test a new maritime corridor for aid, and should reach gaza in the next few days. meanwhile, attacks continued both inside gaza, and in the wider region. israel destroyed a large residential tower in rafah it says was being used by hamas, displang hundreds of palestinian civilians. and, the u.s. military and

coalition partners downed dozens of drones launched by houthi rebels in yemen that threatened u.s. destroyers and a cargo ship in the red sea and gulf of aden, the largest houthi attack in months. president biden signed six spending bills into law today that will fund less than half of the federal government through the fall. it averts the threat of a partial government shutdown, but only for two weeks the rest of the governme must be funded by march 22. as the general election fight begins, president biden and former president trump will hold dueling rallies tonight in georgia. two national guardsmen and a border patrol agent were killed in a helicopter crash in texas yesterday afternoon along the u.s.-mexico border. another soldier on board was injured. they were flying a border security mission when their uh-72 lakota helicopter went down near rio grande city, north of mcallen. the cause of the crash is under investigation. if you've ever spotted an unidentified object in the sky,

a new pentagon report says you can probably rule out aliens. the congressionally-mandated investigation examined reports of ufo sightings dating back to e end of world war ii. and, although it acknowledged a small number of cases with "potentially anomalous" or "concerning" characteristics, it found no evidence of extraterrestrial activity, and said there's no alien cover-up within the government. a second volume of the report is expected later this year. and, iowa's caitlin clark has added yet another record to her resume. this time, breaking the ncaa divison one record for three pointers made in a single season. she sunk her 163rd three-pointer during last night's big ten quarterfinal win over penn state. with the bucket, she passed liberty university's darius mcghee, and golden state warriors and former davidson star steph curry. still to come on "pbs news weekend." what the new s.a.t. means for

college admissions, and a brief but spectacular take on caring for survivors of violence. ♪ >> this is "pbs news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs. laura: starting today, the s.a.t., standardized college admissions test, is going fully digital. the test will no longer be offered on paper. it is part of a larger redesign meant to make the test more accessible and fr even as colleges and universities around the country have increasingly made the test optional for applicants. the change is renewing debate over the role the test should play in admissions. nadra nittle, education reporter for the 19th news, joins me to discuss. thank you so much for talking to us. what exactly is changing for

students taking the test today? nadra: as you mentioned, the s.a.t. is going digital in the u.s. for the first time. it actually went digitally internationally last year, but for u.s. students this will be a new experience. the test will also be about an hour shorter than the pencil and paper version. it will be adaptive, meaning the questions students get answered depend on how well they do at the outset. laura: why did the college board , the nonprofit that runs s.a.t. ograms, make this ■change nadra: i think one of the reasons is young people today, teenagers, they are digital natives. this will be very familiar to a lot of people. the paper version was considered outdated. so of my sources told me they also think this is a way to make the task more attractive as

colleges and universities increasingly make it an optional admissions requirement. by making it shorter, making additional, making it adaptive, working to make it more attractive to students. laura: do these changes to anything to address some of the long-standing complaints about the s.a.t. that it plays into inequities, especially for girls , students of color and low income students? nadra: i have heard some mixed responses from my sources about this topic. there really is nothing necessarily in the test in terms of the questions you would get asked that would make it, i gues, easier to narrow the gaps for some students in terms of their performance. some people think even by making a shorter it might help students with learning differences. even by making it adaptive, some of my sources think that can make students less anxious and i

can improve their scores. in terms of gender, race, some of the other gaps, we just do not know. my expert sources are waiting to get data, which they probably will not have enough of until next year to look at the subgroups and how subgroups perform on the test. laura: overall, are your sources telling you this digital test may give some students a leg up or may be a disadvantage to others? nadra: some say students with learning differences by making the test shorter or having adaptive questions, that could be helpful. some of my other sources who have been long-term critics of the s.a.t. do not think this test is going to do anything different. it is the same test, it is just a little shorter and now it is digital instead of on paper. laura: disadvantaged low income students may not be able to afford extracurriculars or

coaching on college essays, things that could help them boost the college admission applications. is there a concern that making the s.a.t. optional, which some universities have done, that that could hurt low income students? nadra: some of the s.a.t. supporters are arguing that if a student from a socioeconomically disadvantaged background happens to take the s.a.t. and does really well on it, that student might qualify for scholarships. they also might qualify for admission at an elite institution that maybe just by grades alone they would not have been admitted to. there is an attitude of, why not just take the test, see if you do well on it, and if you do, submit the scores. during the pandemic when the test optional movement started to gain ground, a lot of

students applying to ivy league institutions and other elite institutions were still turning in their test scores, anyway. by making it a requirement again, some of my sources believe they are leveling the playing field. laura: the s.a.t. used to be mandatory for first-year applications. that number dropped during the pandemic and now schools are returning to that requirement but others are not. is the s.a.t. still an important part of college admissions? nadra: i definitely think it is still an important part, especially for the top-tier students trying to get into the best schools in the country. at the same time, according to one advocacy group called fair test, only 20% of colleges are requiring the s.a.t. more than 80% of colleges and universities still do not have it as a requirement.

it is test optional. they think the test optional movement is here to stay. laura: nadra nittle of the 19th news, thank you for joining me. nadra: thank you for having me. ♪ laura: donald trump is the presumptive gop nominee for president. when his last major oonent standing, nikki haley, dropped out this week, she didn't throw her support behind trump. despite calling on haley voters to support him trump made clear , he doesn't want anyone critical of him in the party. mr. trump: the greatest movement in the history of our country. maga represents 48% of the republican party. no, it represents 96% or 100%. we are getting rid of the mitt romneys of the world. laura: exit polls tell a

slightly different story -- a third of republican primary voters in north carolina and virginia said they would not vote republican in november regardless of the nominee. tuesday's elections did more than just decide the republican nomination. they reflected a deep schism in the party, dividing some lifelong republicans from trump's maga faction. to discuss this, i'm joined today by two republicans: former congressman denver riggleman from virginia and strategist barrett marson, who's based in phoenix. thank you is the much for joining me. denver, i want to start with you. senate minority ader mitch mcconnell endorsed trump within 24 hours after his super tuesday wins. that is the same man, mitch mcconnell, who called from morally and practically responsible for the january 6 insurrection. does his attempt at unity reflect the reality for voters? mr. riggleman: i think it does.

if you look at mitch mcconnell, it is no different then he went to mar-a-lago after blaming trump for january 6. we see individuals coming home. a lot of that has to do with lee's politics. i will do what has to be done. it is unbelievable. what did trump get, about 70 5% of the vote? a lot of individual said they would not vote for trump. most people do come home. i remember in a convention in a church, everyone saying denver, we will never vote for this guy, he is awful but they did. laura: barrett, denver said republicans will come home but nikki haley voters that if trump is convicted of a crime that he is unfit to be president. as a lifelong republican, to y think the former president is unfit for office? mr. marson: it will be up to voters to decide if trump is unfit but he is certainly wrong.

he is wrong for this time. there is no doubt nikki haley would trounce joe biden, certainly in arizona. it would not be competitive. but because donald trump and his many faults will be presented to us, voters here in arizona and across the country, it will be a competitive race because of that. laura: why do you think he is long? mr. rson: he has so many faults. not for january 6, certainly this campaign and most of his time out of office has shown he is much more interested in settling scores and going after his political enemies than actually doing anything. i do not think that is where most americans are. i think they want a rosier outlook on life. they do not want grievance politics. that is truly what trump is all about for the last 3.5 years.

laura: denver, i would like to drill down to the state results in the super tuesday contests. in texas gop congressman tony , gonzales is facing a runoff from the right because he was supportive of bipartisan gun safety legislation. he was supportive of gay marriage. he may still very well win that contest in the general but what is your take away from that? mr. riggleman: you know what happened to me when i officiated a same-sex wedding, i was censored by the local republican party. the fact that i was pro-immigration, that pretty much -- the republican party ran away from me in this district as fast as they could based on those topics. when you heard trump talk about pushing out everyone that is

like mitt romney, he is pushing out people like me. you are talking about the moderate and the sane, people trying to compromise. i think what we have is the sane and the moderate being run out of the party. it is either trump's way or the highway. mr. marson: i want to echo something denver said. elections are about bringing in the biggest amount of voters you can, the biggest tent, and continually we hear from donald trump and people likkari lake that they do not want moderate republicans to vote for them. they want them out of the party. they are without a home. those voters, like myself and denver, are witht a home. it is it'd do not vote for trump and do not vote for biden or maybe cast your vote for biden because at least he wants my vote. laura: senator kyrsten sinema id she will not run for

reelection in arizona. establishment republican figures like john thune have thrown their support behind kari lake, who is running in the republican primary for that senate seat. kari lake is an elections and i are and was considered a more extreme candidate in 2022. how would you compare the state's republican party in evers on her republican party? >> there is no doubt we are a maga base. kari lake will do well in the primary. there is no doubt about that because this is a maga base what it will be very difficult for her to win over independents and moderate republicans who are needed to win a general election. probably the only thing she has going for her is her democratic opponent is a progressive liberal democrat.

he may be too liberal for a lot of independents and right-leaning republicans to actually fill in the ballot for. seven or eight months on till election day but kari lake will have a problem moderating her possessions compared to 2022. kari lake of 2020 for, her worst enemy is kari lake from two years ago. laura: in north carolina, trump endorsed mark robinson for the governors race. robinson has called lgbtq people "filth," has quoted hitler, cast doubt on holocaust and a recent huffpost report revealed that in 2020 robinson said he'd like to turn back time on women's rights. mr. riggleman: that is like john thune endorsing kari lake. it is like this crazy cat i north carolina. republicans are voting for people who believe lord of the

rings is a documentary. at some point you have to make a decision about how you will vote, whether it is for this country or for insanity. you look at mark robinson, you look at north carolina, the fact he got the votes that he did should shock anyone with an iq above moron. as the election gets closer, if joe biden were to win, i think women will come in hard on dobbs. it is people screaming and carrying the "rino" flag. . that might overcome the "maga" flag. i also believe independents and center-right the cannot stomach donald trump were kari lake. laura: denver riggleman and barrett marson, thank you you some much for your time. ♪

lul mohamud is the executive director of a nonprofit organization that supports survivors of domestic violence. the daughter of somali immigrants, her work focuses on helping those from the african immigrant and refugee community around washington, d.c. tonight, she shares her brief but spectacular take on the power and promise of person-centered care. lul: for our survivors who are often retelling stories of violence, of times that they don't want to reflect onthey don't want to repeat, it's already exhausting to do that. then imagine having to worry about the feelings of the one who is listening to you. it makes it that much harder to disclose violence. it makes it that much harder to reach for help. ♪ i was blessed to be born into the somali immigrant community

here in the d.c. area. my siblings and i, we were very service-oriented at a really young age. domestic violence is a long continuing global pandemic. i actually volunteered for the person center after my first year of college, and i met the founder and executive director then, amelia misti. the person center is a small community-based nonprofit that serves african immigrant survivors of domestic violence in the d.c. area. what she wanted for me to do was to learn a really important skill, which is the power of listening. we had to call the survivors and talk to them about their experience. and all she said was, your goal here is just to listen. and it was the hardest thing to do. we are too often judging, policing and dictating how others emote and live their lives instead of putting the responsibility on us to listen accurately and to listen empathetically. and if we're unable to listen, then we're unable to care for

the people who need us most. after having that summer, i knew that my focus needed to be on those who are the most desperate to be heard and who to deserve to be heard. and i tell our community all the time that as an organization made by them, our priority is to make sure that they're part of the process from beginning to the end. and in order to decolonize domestic violence response, we have to center and value and trust the voices of survivors from the very community that we say we want to serve. violence in the context of families and interpersonal relationships has existed since the dawn of time. the experiences that our survivors have had to hold onto, the challenges they experience in receiving care, are challenges that i recognize and i experience in my own life because i come from the same background, same community. when leaders, policymakers,

researchers don't come from that community and don't have a personal tie to the challenges that these survivors are experiencing, it's very unlikely that they'll be able to find the solution. my name is lul mohamud, and this is my brief but spectacular take on the power and promise of person-centered care. ♪ laura: and that is "pbs news weekend" for this i'm laura saturday. barron lopez. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. e you tomorrow. >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how can i help you? >> this is a pocket dial. >> with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing.

have a nice day. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by t corporation for public broadcasting and by 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.] ♪ >> you are

buongiorno. i'm rick steves. today, we're heading off on a very special adventure, traveling to some of my favorite corners of italy. this special is called the heart of italy, and you're about to see y. i'll be with you during each break, sharing special tips on traveling smartly as together we celebrate the value of public broadcasting in our communities. as you enjoy these travels, think of the value