When you tell them that things are getting cheaper but the rent is not getting cheaper and their food is not getting cheaper, of course theyre going to feel bad. Amna and hungarys farright Prime Minister viktor orban visits the united states, meeting former President Trump but not President Biden. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy milner, and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. Along the legendary mississippi read, travelers explore Civil War Battlefields and historic riverside towns. A board our fleet of american riverboats, you can experience local culture and cuisine, and discover the music and history of the mighty mississippi. American cruise lines. Proud sponsor of pbs newshour. The john s. And james l. Knight foundation, fostering engaged communities. More at kf. Org. 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. Geoff welcome to the newshour. President biden is on the road tonight, hoping to build momentum for his reelection after last nights state of the Union Address. Amna first stop this afternoon was philadelphia. His Campaign Said its the start of a sweep through the major swing states. The president told supporters hes ready to take the fight to former President Trump. Tomorrow, he heads south for a Campaign Appearance in atlanta. Former President Trump has posted a 92 million bond to cover a defamation judgment in new york. That filing today lets him put off actually paying the penalty while he appeals. A jury found he sexually abused the writer e. Jean carroll in 1996, and then falsely accused her of lying about it. The former president also consolidated his grip on the Republican Party as its National Committee approved his leadership team. North Carolina Party chair Michael Whatley was voted in as rnc chair. Mr. Trumps daughterinlaw, lara trump, will become the national cochair. The trump team has promised not to use rnc funds to pay his legal bills. The nations jobs market put up healthy numbers in february. The Labor Department reports employers added a net of 275,000 positions, up nearly 50,000 from january. At the same time, the Unemployment Rate hit 3. 9 as more people began looking for work. And hourly wages had their smallest gain in more than two years, which could help lower inflation further. Efforts to get humanitarian aid into gaza intensified today. The European Union announced a ship loaded with supplies could arrive this weekend. The vessel will sail from cyprus in a pilot operation for a maritime corridor extending more than 200 nautical miles. Today, the european commissions president ursula von der leyen inspected preparations at larnaca, in cyprus. She said its critical to act now. The humanitarian situation in cap gaza is dire, with innocent palestinian families and children desperate for basic needs. This is why europe is financing a major humanitarian aid effort for palestinians in gaza and in the region. Amna President Biden announced plans last night to build a temporary pier to move more aid into gaza. The pentagon said today it will take several weeks to get the facility up and running. A u. N. Report blamed iran today for crimes against humanity in the death of mahsa amini and the unrest it sparked in 2022. The investigation found physical violence led to aminis death for allegedly violating rules on wearing headscarves. Nationwide protests erupted as thousands surged into the streets. The report found the ensuing crackdown used everything from shotguns to sexual assaults. More than 500 people were killed. Todays International Womens day was marked by celebrations and calls to action. Supporters of womens rights in spain and across europe rallied for gender equality, and women in afghanistan staged a rare protest against taliban restrictions. Rallygoers in turkey demanded basic rights. The pressure on women is not just physical, it is psychological, economic, even digital. We are fighting against all kinds of violence. We still have not gained equal labor and wage rights. We do not have our freedom in this country. Amna in france, supporters marked the day by formally inscribing the right to abortion in its constitution after lawmakers approved it on monday. The Biden Administration won a round today in a legal fight over immigration. A federal judge in texas upheld a program to admit 30,000 migrants a month from cuba, haiti, nicaragua, and venezuela on humanitarian grounds. Texas and 20 other states argued its an economic burden on them. Theyre expected to appeal. A federal jury in new york has convicted the former president of honduras, juan orlando hernandez, of helping to funnel tons of cocaine into the u. S. The verdict came two years after hernandez was extradited to the u. S. Prosecutors said he took millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers. He could get life in prison when hes sentenced in june. The u. S. Military has cleared its workhorse osprey aircraft to return to duty. The entire fleet of several hundred ospreys was grounded in december after a fatal crash in japan. The osprey hovers like a helicoptor and flies like a plane, but its had a history of deadly crashes. Officials say theyre imposing new safety measures. On wall street, stocks pulled back as shares in the highflying chip maker nvidia took a tumble. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 68 points to close at 38,722. The nasdaq fell 188 points. The s p 500 dropped 33. And a passing of note. The japanese anime artist who created the hugely popular dragon ball has died after suffering a cerebral blood clot. Akira toriyama began the dragon ball manga, or comic, series in 1984. It grew into video games, films, and television adaptations, and heavily influenced japanese anime. Akira toriyama was 68 years old. Still to come on the newshour, david brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the weeks political headlines. The sound designer of the zone of interest discusses his oscarnominated work on the film. Plus, much more. 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 todays latest jobs report is proof again of a labor market that has been resilient and often stronger than expected. That was part of the president s message during the state of the union last night as well. But Many Americans dont feel the economy is strong overall, or helping them or their families. A number of polls have shown this, including one from the New York Times this week that found 51 of americans believe the countrys Economic Conditions are poor right now. So, why the disconnect . There seem to be quite a few reasons. Economics correspondent paul solman explains. I think if you talk to the average person on the street, they will say the economy is not doing well. And i tend to agree. Paul seth reed is a teacher in northern virginia. I am doing fine, but still living paychecktopaycheck. Paul Alyssa Gonzalez has the tree like lori in denver. Iave accepted more of a realistic view of the world where things are not going to get better. Paul nonprofit organizer ari hanks was mostly synced. I dont feel great. Paul but how can they say that if the economy has been doing so well . Low unemployment, inflation easing. There are social media videos every day. Paul kyla scanlon is a writer, social media personality, and demystify or of economics. I am getting hundreds of comments a day asking about how people are perceiving the economy because i will do a video like inflation is going down, the market is ok, and people are like, i feel really bad. Paul the word she coined for what she was hearing, vibecession. It is a disconnect between Consumer Sentiment and economic data, and why people feel bad about the economy despite the metrics telling them the economy is doing ok. Paul in fact, the Consumer Sentiment index has noticeably improved, says one economist. People seem more willing to admit that that long nightmare of the postpandemic recession and hard times and recovery behind us, and people seem more willing to accept that people are that things are doing ok. Paul but Many Americans say they are unhappy with the economy. Why the disconnect . The key reason for a lot of people, prices are still higher than they were precovid. Seth reed used to shop at safeway right next to his apartment. Now he drives to aldi for less expensive groceries. Everything is going up in price. Paul but lower inflation doesnt mean lower prices. It just means prices are rising more slowly than they were, scanlon explains. If you are thinking that inflation going down means prices are going down, youre going to be very confused when you go to the store and your box of cereal is not cheaper. But i heard on the media that inflation is going down. What is going on . Paul well, cereal prices barely budged this past year but rose more than 25 during the pandemic, and still are not back to where they were precovid. Same for eggs, which nearly tripled, but at todays average of 2. 50 a dozen, double what they were precovid. Alyssa gonzalez looks at cheaper items. Canned foods, boxed foods. 12 pack of ramen noodles because it gets the job done. Paul and food manufacturers themselves have pushed Prices Higher than their costs, says scanlon. They are out there raising prices and they are telling you that, in their earnings reports. We are going to expand our profits. Paul this is socalled greatflation, firms greedflation. Duh, they are going to do that. They are companies. That is their goal, to make a bunch of money. Paul then there is shrinkflation, firms charging the same for what is a lesser quantity. Here are recent examples flagged by consumer world. You are getting less and paying more. The debit at the bottom of sauce containers is becoming more so youre getting less sauce. It is ridiculous, to be honest. Paul there is one group especially sensitive to food prices, the least well off, who spend more of their budget on food. They are not able to make ends meet. Paul eric hicks runs a denver area food bank. There are members coming to services who are not able to pay for the rising prices in groceries and food and other resources. Paul get this cheaper food went up at twice the rate of Premium Foods during the pandemic. But to scanlon, the real killer is housing. House prices have gone up, mortgage rates, and peoples rents. When you tell them that things are getting cheaper but their rent is not getting cheaper and their food is not getting cheaper, of course they are going to feel that. It feels a little daunting to know i will be renting for a while and renting price is going up so much every year. Paul for Alyssa Gonzalez, home is out of the question. I dont believe i will be able to buy a house. It is something i have just accepted. Paul so many face a discharge additional stressors, with the end of covid checks and a higher cost of borrowing. Then, there is the renewal of student debt payments. Gonzalez has over 100,000 worth. If i factor that into my normal bills of close to 2000 a month for just rent, then groceries and all the other things, it is not feasible. Paul not feasible for gonzalez to pay back her student loans. It sucks because i am not ever going to be able to pay off that debt, and it is one of the things that impacts me with my credit and being a Business Owner and being able to apply for loans or get cars or it kind of feels unsolvable, but it is so big of a problem there is nothing i feel like i can do about it. Paul even yuppies feel worse than they did during covid. The yuppie lifestyle subsidy was in full force. Airbnb was cheap, food delivery apps were cheap. Paul but not anymore, so brett meads fellow yuppies feel worse off. I think they feel worse because th their costofliving has gone up. Paul but others think Something Else is driving the pessimism. The way people answer these Public Opinion poll questions has fundamentally changed. What they tend to say instead of, here are what i have read and what i have seen around me, they think, is my team winning right now . My team being republicans or democrats. Those who lean republican reliably now are more optimistic under trump and pessimistic hunter biden, and democrats are the opposite. What that tells us is less about the reality of the economy and more about how polarized views have become. Paul even so, the economic reality for seth reed, compared to that of his parents at his age, is kind of a bummer. They had a house, two cars, a stable income. They were definitely much more stable than i feel. Rising costs of childcare care are the number one reason why my fiance and i havent even thought about having kids in the near future. Paul so, maybe it should come as no surprise that statistically good economy for many, but for more than a few americans, bad economic vibe. Geoff funding the government is down to the wire. Senate lawmakers are cutting this close, running up to a midnight deadline to pass a major spending bill and prevent a partial government shutdown. Lisa desjardins has been following the latest. Lisa, here we are again on the brink of another federal government shutdown. The most pressing question, are they going to get this done . Lisa lets take a look at the u. S. Floor, shall we . Hear is what lawmakers are doing, who dont normally meet on friday. There they are taking a vote. If you are ours ago, it was not clear they would be doing this. They finally made a deal on how to vote for the spending package that would avoid a partial shutdown. To sum up where we are, it looks like we will get this spending package through the congress probably in the next couple hours or so, just barely in time for President Biden to sign it before midnight. Geoff walk us through this spending deal that the senate is debating today. Lisa it is significant in a few ways but let me give you the broad outline. It is 460 billion. It covers a c quarter of discretionary spending. Housing, interior, national parks, department of justice, veterans. One thing i want to point out, it fully funds wick, a program for m vents and women and children. Millions more will get benefits because of this deal. It holds most funding flat for federal government. That is one reason it is significant. We have seen huge increases in spending in recent years. We still have a deficit problem, but this cuts that down. One reason, spending cuts. Here is who is getting cut in this deal. The fbi, a 6 cut. The atf, 7 cut. The epa. Republicans have bragged about getting a 10 cut out of this deal. You know we like to do the math. At the truth is, it is a 4 cut for most of the apa once you take out the super funds. Geoff this bill has also received attention because of a provision about guns and veterans. What is the controversy there . Lisa this is a provision that has been hotly debated but was put in here as a compromise. Conservatives wanted it. Lets look at with the policy is for veterans when it comes to guns. Veterans who are declared mentally incompetent by the v. A. Are referred to the department of justice. The department of justice then puts them on the list where they will be blocked from gun ownership. That is the current policy. But this deal would reverse that. I have to tell you, of course this is very controversial. Veterans especially are a group that we know have higher rates of suicide, it has been rising, and they are more likely to use firearms if they do turn to suicide. This is an instance where we talked to advocates on both sides who see this provision differently. Well, veteran goes gets their benefits. They may or may not be having any Mental Health issues, but theyre put in a position where their guns can be taken away. And many times, that alone, the idea that that can happen is what stops veterans from either going to the va or stops them from asking for Mental Health from the va. This is a system that has been in place for 30 years already. Is it perfect . Absolutely not. No government system is perfect, but it is a system that has been working. And so, again, to the point that this was unnecessarily reckless. Were going to stand behind that because it just didnt need to be touched. And again, the fallacies that this is taking something away from veterans is not true. Lisa so, what you heard is on the one side people say, veterans are being dinged for minor financial incompetency and their rights taken away, but the other, youre hearing the danger from those gun control groups. One issue in particular that has been brought up is the shooting in lewiston, maine, in october. 18 people were killed by a veteran. It has been found just this week by boston university, they looked at his brain and they found damage consistent with grenade injuries, heavy impact. His job was being a grenade trainer. They have found, the conclusion was that impacted his symptoms. So, that was a veteran who was not flagged and was able to get a firearm. 18 people were killed. This is right in the middle of that debate. Right now, congress is deciding to release, take out this restraint on veterans, at least for the foreseeable future. Geoff meantime, it looks like we have another funding deadline just a few weeks away, and that is going to include more hard to agree upon issues like border security. How is this shaping up . Amna i dont love ending lisa i dont love e