(bright upbeat music) - [Rick] Coming up next on "NewsDepth" Twitter has a new owner.

What does that mean for social media?

Streaming platforms are reporting big losses, Ukrainians are ready to return home to rebuild, and an Ohio teacher receives national recognition.

"NewsDepth" is now.

(bright upbeat music) Big companies are facing some big challenges.

Hello everybody, I'm Rick Jackson.

Thank you for joining us.

One of the most influential social networks is set it to have a new owner, the billionaire investor, Elon Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, has reached a deal to buy Twitter.

But what does this actually mean for Twitter?

And can changes to Twitter affect other social media platforms after this takeover?

Jenn Sullivan takes a closer look.

- [Jenn] The world's richest man will soon be in charge of Twitter.

Elon Musk has reached a deal to buy the company for $44 billion.

- I think Musk is playing a pretty hefty price for Twitter.

And I think it's a head scratcher to many.

- [Jenn] The deal is raising widespread questions in concerns, from Twitter users to lawmakers on Capital Hill, all wondering what this takeover will mean for the platform and for society.

- [Jenn] Experts say several changes may be ahead, saying Musk is likely to move to modernize and monetize Twitter.

- It's probably turning into a subscription platform, two to three hours a month.

They'll lose significant amount of users, but probably those that would stay on, that would significantly increase revenue.

- [Jenn] Experts say one thing is very clear, Morgan Stanley could be the biggest winner.

The investment bank Musk chose to carry out the deal, expected to profit as much as 1.3 billion from financing Musk's law.

And what does this mean for the future of social media?

Experts say Musk has condemned Twitter's approach to content moderation censorship, but it's unclear how exactly he will approach freedom of speech on the platform.

- But does that mean that there's less constriction in terms of things that could be said on Twitter?

But that's a tight wire app.

- [Jenn] Meanwhile, the move has Tesla and SpaceX investors rattled, just as governmental regulators zero in on the Twitter deal.

- This is gonna get a lot of scrutiny, not ideal for Tesla and SpaceX investors.

(crowd cheering) - Thanks, Jenn.

Elon Musk is currently the richest person in the world.

His net worth about $219 billion, net worth is the total wealth of an individual or a company, but don't get confused.

That doesn't necessarily mean that's how much money they have sitting in their bank account right now.

The second richest person in the world is Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $171 billion.

Bezos is the founder of the E-commerce giant, Amazon.

During the pandemic, Amazon sales grew as much as 220%.

They had to hire hundreds of thousands of new employees to keep up with the demand and open several more of their fulfillment centers, including right here in Ohio.

But now, Amazon who's held the number four position among the biggest companies in the world, is having to reduce its 1.62 million employee workforce because online shopping has started a downward trend.

This is making some Amazon workers worry about losing their jobs, and some employees at Amazon warehouses were already unhappy with the company in part due to safety concerns and long work hours.

Amazon tried to improve the workplace by paying employees higher wages and adding new safety initiatives.

For one group of employees on Staten Island, those efforts were not enough.

They started the first labor union at an Amazon warehouse.

A labor union is an organized association of workers to help protect their rights within a company.

In order for a labor union to be started, it has to have support from at least 30% of the employees at a job site.

This is determined by holding an internal election at the company.

The goal of the ALU that stands for the Amazon Labor Union, is to be able to negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions for its members.

After their first successful campaign, they're now starting elections at a second warehouse, also in Staten island, New York.

Well, speaking of Amazon, its prime video is also one of the most used streaming platforms worldwide, it along with Netflix and Disney plus, have started to see major losses in subscriptions.

Netflix expects to lose millions of subscribers this year, and experts say it's a growing trend with more households cutting streaming services in a response to inflation.

Isabel Rosales has the details.

- [Isabel] American households are tightening their budgets, and streaming services are taking a hit.

- It's just a really messy moment in the market with changing consumer behaviors.

- [Isabel] Last week, Netflix announced it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and says it expects to lose a huge 2 million subscribers before July.

A new survey conducted by research firm Momentive and CNBC found 35% of Americans cut a monthly subscription to reign in their spending, while another 36% are considering it.

Another survey done in the UK by research firm Kantar, found some services like Disney plus are struggling to keep up with Netflix, which was still first choice for consumers to keep.

Experts say it's evidence that Disney plus is still trying to figure out what people want to watch.

♪Thunder ♪ The popular ABC show "Dancing With The Stars" will air exclusively on Disney plus starting in the fall.

- If the only thing that your library has is kids content or Marvel content or Pixar content, there's difficult question of, how do you keep audiences happy?

- [Isabel] And it's not just US households cutting back.

According to Kantar people in Britain canceled 1.5 million subscriptions this year.

- You have obviously inflation and the war and a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace.

- [Isabel] So what else is to blame?

Streaming services boomed during the pandemic, but that's changing with a return to normal and inflation rising.

Experts also point to a behavioral shift among younger generations.

- [Man] And YouTube is free and YouTube's usage ticked up in the US in March, 2022 more than Netflixes.

- Thank you.

Isabel.

Speaking of streaming, we're curious to know how you are watching us right now.

Head online to choose between, you're watching us on ideastream.org, on YouTube, on the PBS App or live on television.

And for last week's poll we ask, should some books not be allowed in school libraries?

And wow, looks like you got a lot of avid bookworms out there.

A very close poll this week, 51% of you think the book selection should be curated for kids and 49% of you said that all books should be allowed in libraries.

Well, you're also passionate about reading.

We even got this comment from Sophia Flick from Forest Hills School District in Cincinnati.

It says "All books should be allowed because some are good and you have your own type of books, like mystery and graphic novels and lots of others."

Sophia, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Now let's get back to the news.

It's been three months since Russia invaded the neighboring nation of Ukraine, and both sides are feeling effects of the conflict.

Russia has deployed troops from the far Eastern regions to the rest of Ukraine, in an attempt to regain momentum after sustaining some big losses.

Russia has also cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, which the west is viewed as a major escalation.

President Joe Biden's requesting Congress provide an additional $33 billion for Ukrainian aid.

And for the first time since the conflict started, the number of people crossing into Ukraine is larger than the number of people trying to flee.

According to the United Nations, more than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since February.

Scott McClain's in Poland, speaking to Ukrainians who are returning home.

- [Scott] In the early days of war, trains leaving Ukraine were standing room only, packed with terrified women and children, trains going the other way were virtually empty.

As the bombs fell and the tanks rolled, millions desperately tried to get out, most to Poland.

Almost two months later, there are now days when more people will go back into Ukraine from Poland, than come out.

Do you think that the mass Exodus is over?

- No, we can never say that, we cannot.

It's hard to predict actually, the direction of the crisis.

- In Przemysl, the first stop in Poland for many Ukrainians traveling by train, the mayor was once overwhelmed by the number of refugees showing up every day.

Not anymore.

- It looks better, we better organized as well after that two months of experience and we happy, we are so happy that situation on Ukraine looks better at this moment.

- [Scott] Inside the station, Natalia Bellchik and her family are headed back to their hometown in Southern Ukraine, about 50 miles from the contested city of Mykolaiv.

They fled to a small town in Northern Germany, where the government put them up in a nice hotel, but they say they had little help beyond that.

- [Translator] We didn't know what to do.

Nobody helped us to find jobs.

Well, we were told we needed to speak German.

- You're willing to take a small risk to get your life back.

- [Translator] Yes, we want to go back, after all home is home.

- [Scott] Down the hall, Natalia Vuhivska fled Kyiv just days into the war, while she stayed with friends in Germany, her neighborhood withstood Russian shelling.

Now that the Russians have retreated, she's going back.

- [Translator] It's a bit scary, but I've been looking forward to seeing my husband.

I never thought this would last a long time.

I thought it would be for a week or two, I don't wanna start a new life in Germany without my husband.

- [Scott] At the border, the lineup to get into Ukraine stretches for five miles.

And at the Polish side of the pedestrian crossing, there are more volunteers than refugees.

Oxana Darish is going back to see her parents in Lviv.

- But actually for Easter, because I want to meet my parents, I miss them very, very much.

- Thank you, Scott.

Although the war efforts seem to be slowing down, that doesn't mean the end is in sight just yet.

And there is concern that Russia could attempt to widen the attack into more countries.

Sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine is the self-declared country, Transnistria.

People there speak Russian and generally feel a kinship to Russia, so much so that many people want to be Russian citizens.

Karl Penhall gives us this inside Look.

(car engine rolling) - [Karl] Border to a breakaway state.

Welcome to Transnistria.

Well, not quite, as NATO worries this may be Moscow's next target for invasion, Pro-Russian officials here, are barring curious, foreign journalists.

Driving past all apartment blocks and rundown factories, it's clear Transnistria needs glamor.

(plays the accordion) Sad Russian song says, "I have no home to go to and nobody to love me."

(plays the accordion) That could be the Anthem of Transnistria.

It's a land in limbo, recognized by no sovereign nation, a land that still lives under the hammer and sickle.

Where this flea market still hanker off the glory days of the cold war.

- [Translator] Of course it was good with the Soviet union.

We wanted to be with Russia and still want to be with Russia.

- [Carl] It's a land where Lenenn rises like a guardian angel.

This is at the heart of one of Russia's so-called frozen conflicts.

Those run resolved political and territorial disputes that NATO chiefs fear Moscow could reignite in a bid to once again expand its influence across the region.

Even if Russian tanks do roll in, it wouldn't be much of an invasion.

Local say, they'd welcome it.

- [Translator] Here, people are all for it, if the Russian military comes, they'll all cry "Parade" - [Carl] When the Soviet union collapsed, Transnistria are waged a war to split from Moldova.

Russian soldier stepped in to stop the fighting.

They still man bases and checkpoints here.

In the countryside, Anna Ivana thinks closer ties with Russia will bring economic benefits, like cheaper energy and better pensions.

- [Translator] Why do we eat Europe?

It's good for us to be with Russia.

- [Carl] Transnistrians have repeatedly called to join the Russian Federation.

If Moscow now decides to welcome them, no need for an invasion like NATO warns, just read the writing on the wall.

Is this simply about star cross lovers or perhaps a sign of the political times?

"I love you so, but why I love you, I never know," a message to Russia with love.

(plays the accordion) Carl Penhall CNN, Tiraspol, Transnistia.

Thank you, Carl.

International experts are worried that if Russia did successfully invade Transnistria, that could leave Moldova exposed to an attack.

From Moldova, we now head west to one of our European allies, which just held a big election.

Bonjour and welcome to France, known for its wine and cheese, France is the most visited country in the world.

Many of the roughly dining million visitors last year, headed to its capital Paris, the city of love and home to the iconic Eiffel Tower, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world, when it was completed way back in 1889.

Like the United States, France is a democracy, and last week voters there reelected President Immanuel Macron, President Macron won convincing victory over the conservative opponent, Marie Le Pen, and the nationalist party that she represents.

A nationalist is a person who has an attachment to their own nation and strongly supports its interest, even when it negatively impacts other nations.

Because of these beliefs, the result of the election came as a relief to French allies, including the United States, who are determined to stay united, to save Ukraine from Russia's attacks.

Macron will now begin his second presidential term, which is five years in France.

It's one year more than the president gets in the United States.

Switching years again, the school year is almost over, and that means that high school seniors headed for college, are getting ready to pick a school to attend in the fall.

But for this Georgia student, the decision might just be a little tougher.

She has to pick from the 21 colleges who've accepted her.

Pan Peterson speaks to the rather excited student.

- Taylor Edward says you can't get somewhere, unless you know where you're going.

- You have to have your future to kind of planned out in your head, what you wanna do.

- [Peterson] What Taylor wants to do, is earn a college degree.

And so far, Clemson University, University of Kentucky Tennessee, LSU, Pittsburgh, and 17 other top schools have sent her acceptance letters.

- She had always had this appetite for learning.

- [Peterson] Her mom, Robin says it all started at pre-K, today, Taylor's about to graduate from Midtown High in Atlanta, academic excellence, sports, the arts she's done it all, which is why so many schools want her and why they've awarded lots of scholarship money.

- And she hit the 200,000 mark.

We're like, "all right."

And then it just kept coming.

- [Peterson] And coming, currently at $1,198,320.

- I'm really excited for these next four years.

I know God has a good plan for me.

And I know that I'm gonna be able to hold myself accountable.

- When it comes time for you to consider going college, maybe you might want to check out some schools right here in Ohio.

Ohio is home to two historically black colleges and universities, or HBCU for short, Mary shares the importance of these and why they're a point of pride for the African American community.

(upbeat music) - Can you imagine someone telling you, you can't go to a school just because of the way you look?

And I'm not talking about a dress code violation.

Before 1960, the United States was a very different place for African Americans.

In some parts of the country, they were segregated.

That means they were barred from many public spaces, movie theaters, restaurants, and buses, all had separate areas for black people and white people.

And they even had separate schools.

In many Southern states, African Americans were forced into separate schools until high school and higher education was mostly off limits.

Some colleges and universities, barred African Americans outright, others just made life very difficult for them.

Here in Ohio, some of our colleges were welcoming to all students.

In fact, Oberlin College was one of the first colleges in the country to educate black students and women, but getting a higher education, even in a desegregated state like Ohio, was often tricky for black students.

For instance, although Ohio state graduated its first African American student all the way back in 1892, black students were not allowed to live on campus until the 1940s and finding housing off campus was often impossible due to racism.

It's for these reasons, that schools dedicated to educating African Americans were created.

The first historically black colleges were established in Pennsylvania, but very soon afterward in 1856, Ohio's first black college was founded.

Wilberforce University was established in Xenia through a partnership of two churches, The African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a mostly white church from Cincinnati, Its first board of directors included several notable black ministers, along with then Ohio governor Salmon P Chase.

The university is named after William Wilberforce, a British leader of the movement to abolish slavery.

Many of its first students were free slaves from the south seeking a better life in Ohio.

They took classes in teaching, law, and religious studies.

During the civil war, the school was purchased by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, making it the first private black college, and the first to be owned and operated by African Americans.

In 1888, the state of Ohio recognized how important the school was and funded a sister school, Central State University to teach skills related to industry like manufacturing.

Both Central State University and Wilberforce, have educated generations of leaders, men and women who went on to become teachers, ministers, doctors, politicians, and entrepreneurs, and the schools continue their mission of educating student regardless of race, because although they were created specifically to educate black students, they admit students of all races.

Outside of Ohio, there are over 100 of these schools still in existence.

These historically black colleges and universities, hold a special place in American history and are a great source of pride for African Americans.

- Thanks, Mary.

Hey, did you know the national teacher of the year award went to an Ohio teacher this year?

The award went to Overland High School history teacher and basketball coach, Kurt Russell.

the council of chief state school officer said they liked Russell's emphasis on a cultural relevance and diverse representation in the different history classes he teaches.

This is what one of his students, Riley Stegal had to say about him.

- [Riley] Mr. Russell teaches us to be the next generation of world changers by teaching us the truth about the world we live in, about its history and about how we should learn from that history so we don't repeat it.

- While at the white house accepting his award, Russell's remarks included how he finds inspiration in his fellow teachers.

- When I look at you, I see your desire to improve the lives of your students.

I am humble and honored to represent you, along with the thousands of hardworking educators throughout this nation, who believe in a rich, fulfilling education for all students.

Especially during this past two years, I have personally witnessed teachers pour into their students, unwavering, kindness, love and hope.

- For teacher appreciation week, we now want you to tell us about a teacher who's made an impact in your life.

And last week we asked, what do you do to de-stress?

Let's check out some of your relaxation tips by opening up our inbox, (upbeat music) Inez from Portage Collaborative Montessori School in Canton, finds relaxation in the little things.

"When I get stressed, I go outside or read a book.

When I go outside, I listen to all the sounds of animals and that makes me calm down.

When I read, my mind forgets all my stress and just focuses on what I am reading."

Griffin from Wilson Elementary in Cincinnati, loves his pets.

He wrote, "I play with my dogs, they are so cute.

They love to sit next to me, and when I'm sad, my oldest dog will give me a hug.

No, really he does, and I even named one after my school, Wilson."

Malcolm from Chagrin Falls Intermediate School in Chagrin Falls, likes to get his body moving.

"What I do to de-stress play sports outside, sports make me happy, and they're fun too.

Also vitamin D, AKA the sun, helps your mood because if it's rainy, I feel tired, but when it's sunny, I feel good.

In summary, what I do to de-stress is to play outside."

Check out this letter from Jocelyn, from Jefferson Area Local Schools in Jefferson.

"What I do to de-stress is cosplay.

Cosplay is dressing up as fictional characters.

It helps me de-stress by helping me think that I'm in a different world of excitement.

It's like being a totally different person."

Hey, if she likes to cosplay, I wonder if Jocelyn went to the Fan Expo in Cleveland last weekend, some of the folks that work where I work did.

And Tristan from Bio-Med Science Academy in Portage County, shared his go-tos when he's feeling stressed, "I have Tourette Syndrome and I have a lot of stress lately.

It is really stressful to overpower my Tourette Syndrome, so I have fidgets when I am stressed, I use my fidgets or I take up to 10 deep breaths, if not, then I would build with my legos."

Thank you all for writing in.

I'm really glad to hear that you guys prioritize your mental health.

Even I have some days where I need to take a little break, when I don't, it can affect how I work or even how I treat the people around me, but I pledged to be kind on good days, bad days, and those days in between.

Does that sound familiar to you?

It does if you're a student at Marion Local Elementary and Maria Stein, Ohio.

The students at Marion Local start each day with a pledge to be kind and they put a priority on creating a culture of kindness because kindness is contagious.

This week's A Plus Award, goes to the students at Marion Local Elementary School, for always being ready to be a friend.

Mrs. Mesher told us that Marion Local has a program called "Be kind", and this year's focus is be ready, be responsible and be respectful.

Each month we have a different theme, and in February, we combined a few really important character traits and focused on being ready to be a kind friend, she explained, students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade, completed activities about friendship and what characteristics a good friend should have.

The students even wrote essays about being a good friend and each homeroom per grade level shows one peer most likely to be a kind friend.

We ask Luke, a fifth grader who is being recognized as most likely to be a kind friend, how we can be kind friends.

He told us that you shouldn't be a bystander, if you see someone who needs your help, you should always help people when you can.

Great advice, Luke, thanks.

His classmate, Alia added that, even if you can't help, you can always find somebody who can't help.

The students at Marion Local aren't just kind at school, they also patron around the community by donating to local food pantries in various other charities, collecting mittens and hats for community members in need, and recycling plastic bottle caps to turn into playground buddy benches, they call it "the Marion local way."

It's really important that you are considerate of others.

You need to be empathetic Dan A. told us, it sounds like the students at Marion Local have done a great job of creating a culture of kindness.

This week's A Plus Award goes to the students at Marion Local Elementary for making the world a kinder place, and remember kindness is contagious.

Okay, maybe I should give kindness a try with News Cat.

Okay, she's been working overtime lately, but let's see what she's caught up for us this week.

News Cat.

(drums rolling) (cat meows) I thought you were hard at work, not just lounging in the sun, get a move on.

Wow, wow.

Really typing fast this week, looks like she knows right where she's headed.

Ah, her story this week is about a real life mother goose.

And just in time for Mother's Day, find out how she's being taken care of by clicking the petting zoo button on our website.

Thank you.

News Cat.

Hey, leave the goose alone.

That's gonna do it for us for this week, but before I sign off, please let me remind you about our audience survey, because we want to know how we did this season, teachers and students.

You can fill out our audience survey by heading online to ideastream.org/@newsdepthsurvey.

Your input is what helps us improve the show each and every year.

And we always do want to hear from you, and there are ways to stay in touch, plenty of them, send a letter, we're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, that's Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 4415.

You can email us at newsdepthatideastream.org, or you can tweet us, our handle is at @newsdepthohio.

Plus you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough, so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Rick Jackson.

We'll see you right back here next week.

(upbeat music) - NewsDepth is made possible by grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

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