john: tonight on pbs news weekend, why millions of americans are using apps to get paid between paychecks. then, what motherhood means to people with children, without children and those somewhere in between. >> i think that the word mother is such a tiny word for such a

large job. and that there are many ways that we are mothered and that there are many different types of mothers out there. john: and a new film documents the toll the russian invasion has taken on animals in ukraine. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs news weekend" has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, how can i help you? >> thought i would let you know that with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. have a nice day. >> certified financial planner professionals are proud to support pbs news weekend. they are committed to acting in their clients best interest.

more information at let smakeaplan.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. john: good evening, i'm john yang. tonight, israeli forces are again fighting palestinian militants in northern gaza, an area the military sa it had cleared months ago. but israel's earlier operations left a security vacuum there, and hamas has taken advantage of

it to regroup. in southern gaza, israel further expanded operations. the military describes what it's doing now as targeted and precise, not the all-out offensive it's been promising. and today was memorial day in israel, the first official commemoration of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism since the october 7 attacks killed about 1,100 israelis, mostly civilians. in gaza, the hamas-run health ministry says 35,000 palestinians have died since the start of the war. they don't distinguish between civilians and fighters. russia says part of a 10-story apartment buildiing in the border city of belgorod collapsed under ukrainian shelling. at least eight people were killed, and 20 others were hurt. in the kharkiv region of northeastern ukraine, russia continues to gain ground, forcing thousands more civilians to flee. moscow says russia has taken four more villages surrounding kharkiv, a total of nine this weekend. ukraine says russian advances have forced the withdrawal of at least one battalion.

the first person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died nearly two months after undergoing the procedure. rick slayman's family said the ground-breaking animal-to-human transplant gave hope to thousands of people on the waiting list for a human organ transplant. every year, thousands die before an organ becomes available. doctors said they didn't have any indication that the 62-year-old slayman died as a result of the transplant. and filmmaker roger corman has died. you may not know the name, but you probably know the careers he helped launch. corman was known as "king of the b's," directing roughly 50 low-budget films and producing about 300 more, including the cult classics "little shop of horrors" and "attack of the crab monsters." he nurtured the early careers of jack nicholson, ellen burstyn, and robert de niro. he gave early opportunities to aspiring directors like martin scorsese, francis ford coppola and ron howard. some of them gave corman small roles in their later films, including "silence of the lambs"

and "apollo 13." corman received an honorary oscar in 2009. roger corman was 98. still to come on "pbs news weekend," what motherhood means to those with and without children. and how russia's invasion has affected ukraine's animals. >> this is pbs news weekend from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs. john: two years of high prices for everything from groceries to gasoline have left some people struggling to get by until their next payday. to help, some are turning to what are called earned wage access apps, which offer small short-term loans until the next paycheck. proponents say they help people with low incomes manage their finances. critics say they can lead to a cycle of overspending and borrowing and that the costs are not always clear. we spoke to people who use these apps.

>> my name is sherry wilkins. i was working as a home health aide and using the app daily pay. i we need something at the grocery store, trying to get food and trying to do that in this. and i have a pet. i have expenses that had to be taken care of immediately. >> my name is anna branch. honestly, i was like most americans working paycheck to paycheck, scrolling on the internet and to me, sounded like a no brainer. payday hasn't come. i need some money. they'll give me some money, and then i just have to pay it back. >> i probably spent $300 in something a month on transfer fees alone. >> every two weeks i just have to keep borrowing to pay back. borrowing to pay back. and it kind of just turned into one of those cycles. >> you become so dependent on that daily money. that you don't look at the broader picture of when you need

the money to pay your rent or utilities. >> once you start getting into that habit, it just it kind of feels like a trap and something that's never ending. this is not working the way that y'all said it was going to work. i'm still trying to pay y'all back and stop paying y'all at some point so i can have this money not keep coming out of my account. john: according to a financial services research firm, in the three years between 2018 and 2020, transactions on these apps went from $3.2 billion to $9.5 billion. cora lewis is a business reporter for the associated press corps. let's get the basics. how do these things work? cora: so if you're a worker who has an unexpected expense or you're not sure you can make rent that month, you might see an ad for one of these apps on youtube or instagram. and all you have to do is download the app and link it to a bank account and agree to whatever the fees might be. and then on payday, the app will debit the amount you borrowed, along with any fees or tips

you've agreed to. john: how are these different from payday loans? cora: so, payday loans typically have very high interesrates like these, loans do themselves. but a payday loan might have a balloon payment down the line. they might suer send a collector after an unpaid debt, which these apps don't do. so there are some key differences. john: the advertising for this is that you are getting many early reach in into your paycheck. is that is that rely what's going on? cora: the waters are a little muddied right now because some employers do offer earned wage access. that's linked directly to your paycheck. so walmart and amazon both offer earned wage access without any fees to their employees. which is very different from the direct to consumer model. in the direct to consumer model, a worker can simply tell the app what their expected wages will be, and that's enough information for these short term lenders to extend a couple hundred dollars to whoever's using the app. and there's no credit check, for

these types of loans as well. john: who are the typical users of these apps? cora: a lot of gig workers and hourly workers and retail and food service, use these apps. and a government study found that the average user makes less than $50,000 a year. so it's really people living paycheck to paycheck who are already having trouble meeting expenses, who are turning to these apps. john: what are some of the pitfalls? cora: if you use them for one unexpected expense, if your car has a flat, or you just need a couple hundred dollars one time a month, it might be a really good and safe option. but what ends up happening often is an employee will use the app one pay period, and then their paycheck will be much smaller in the following week or two weeks. and so to plug that hole, they may turn back to the app again, which leads to a cycle of borrowing as much as once or twice a month. in those fees can really add up. it makes it increasingly difficult to budget. some readers have found. where instead of having a reliable amount of money every

two weeks, you have this much smaller paycheck on payday that you then have to compensate for, perhaps by taking out another short term loan. john: and you're talking about the fees and the costs of this. what are the fees? cora: so the companies will say the fees are comparable to atm fees. so really just a couple of dollars per use case and cheaper than overdraft fees, which can be $25 to $36. so maybe cheaper than overdrawing an account. many apps do ask for monthly subscription fs or tips which increase the costs, and when you look at them proportionally, the fees are really very high for such small dollar loans. john: is there any federal or state regulation of these, like payday loans are regulated? cora: at the state level, connecticut has passed a law making sure that these apps abide by the state's usury limits for interest. and as a result, at least one company stopped operating there. california is looking at similar laws to cap the fees.

and at the federal level, there's an industry backed bill that would allow them to continue to continue operating, as they are now. john: wasn't there a recent opinion from the consumer protection finance bureau that said these are not loans, and so they do not fall under federal regulation? cora: that's part of what's contributing to the regulatory ay area right now. the question of whether these are loans or cash advances, and that will really determine how high the fees can be in the future. so there's a possibility that the consumer financial protection bureau will review that guidance and decide that these apps should be regulated the same way payday lenders are. which would have a considerable impact on the business as it as it stands right now. john: someone who's running low on cash before the next payday, they've got bills coming due. what should they consider? what should they think about before using these? cora: before downloading any app, make sure you have a sense of what the cost of that loan will be. so that means look for monthly subscription fees. think carefully about linking

your bank account. and then when u are asked for fees when it comes to an instant transfer, look for a 1 to 3 day transfer option, which is often cheaper or free. and then keep in mind that when these apps ask for tips, it may sound like they're going towards other vulnerable consumers and low income people who need to make ends meet. but in fact, many of those tips simply support the companies operations themselves. [36.4s] -- company's operations themselves. john: corlewis of the associated press, thank you very much. cora: thank you for having me. ♪ john: the war in ukraine has upended the lives of millions of people. it has also disrupted the lives of an untold number of animals, both pets and zoo animals. some were left for days without food or water, traumatized by the sounds war. next wednesday's episode of

pbs's nature is called "saving the animals of ukraine." it tells how war-torn ukrainians are reclaiming a bit of their humanity by rescuing animals. earlier i spoke with the director, anton ptushkin, about how the film came about. anton: it was february 2022 and it was just the beginning of the full scale invasion from russia side. and, you know, there was a vast majority of photos and videos with people from ukraine trying to save themselves and their animals. and we were so moved by this footage, you know, because it was some kind of light of hope amidst these dark times. so we decided to just develop this topic and eventually, you know, made this documentary. john: you show us a lot of stories about many animals. some of them, very tragic. some of them, happier. one of the happier ones is about the jack russell terrier named patron. started out as the pet for a young boy, and now, is actually serving his country in a way of enlisted into the, into the war effort. tell us about patreon and what

he's doing. anton: basically, he's sniffing the bombs. and for me, the stories like speak volumes because patron was just a regular dog. you know, he just wants to play and just to walk, but because his father, you know, dog parent michael, he's a colonel of engineer troops of ukraine. he's looking for the mines. so that's why patron start looking for the mines as well. eventually this dog become, like, a symbol of resilience of ukraine. and he become, i believe, for the first time in history of unicef, he becomes like a good real ambassadog. john: you also show us animals who have been severely traumatized. i think of the the lion named bretzel. you know, he lived through a russian missile barrage in kyiv. tell us a little bit about him. anton: it turned out that animals, they almost, share the

same suffering as people. and, the story of poor lion who was being kept in a cage in donetsk region, which is almost like a front line. and he was bombarded, you know, this area was bombarded many times. and this poor lion, he had like, severe symptoms of ptsd. he was trying to break away the cage, and he smashed his face against the cage. so eventually he was evacuated to spain come into the place that we can call, like, let's say animal rehabilitation center. and he completely recovered. you wouldn't believe. like, this is completely normal, lion right now. i remember him, like, a year ago, and he was just roaring. every time you came close to the cage. but right now, he's he's completely recovered. john: there were other powerful stories that you told about animals that went long periods of time without food or water. shafa, a cat that was stranded on the seventh floor of a building for 60 days. the rest of the building, had

been destroyed. and you spoke with producer kate porter nova, who was one of the first to spot shafa. anton: -- >> i came to them and said, look guys, i'm so grateful that's having so much disaster and misery around you right now with people. you find time to help animals in such cases. and he replied to me, we don't care if it's an animal or a human being, where rescue, -- we are a rescue service and every life matters to us. i mean, that was a point when you just start crying, you know? john: anton, earlier you talked about these stories illustrating hope in dark times. what do you think these stories say about the spirit and the character of the ukrainian people, in this dark time of war? anton: you know, for me, all these documentaries also about people, about resilience and about the moral aspect of ukrainians. because as one of the main talents of our documentary said, like, your attitude towards animals is basically your

attitude towards people. you start to save animals and then animals saved you because help you drastically. just to cope with the stress and those stories, i mean, they it really bring us some hope. john: as you may know, there was a there was a controversy in the united states about continued aid to ukraine in this war effort. are you hoping that this film will remind people in the united states, around the world that this is still going on, that ukraine still needs help and aid? anton: yes. that's my dream, actually. and i just came back from ukraine. a couple days ago, i lost my friend in this horrible war, unfortunately. you know, this these story is, we people of ukraine, we become kind of, get used to. i mean, it may sound cynical, but we get used to such stories, but i believe that people are

-- people of america, people in the world, after watching this documentary, yeah, they feel this idea that the war is still going. we don't need to forget about those horrible events that are going on in my country. john: filmmaker anton pushkin. we are very sorry for your loss and thank you for your time today. anton: thank you. thank you for having me. ♪ john: the american family has changed significantly since mother's day became a national holiday 110 years ago. families are smaller, more people are choosing not to have children and more are choosing to be single parents. still others want to have children, but aren't able to. on this mother's day, we asked people around the country for their views on what motherhood means to them. >> i did not set out to be a big

family mom, although i would say that i was open to it. one thing led to another and we decided to engage in this adventure of having a big family. >> mother's day is a very traditional holiday, and we have a very nontraditional family. i decided to ve a child solo. i was getting old. and i realized this thing inside me that wanted to be a parent was not going to go away. >> i decided i didn't want to be a mother pretty early on. i wasn't the type of person who wanted to play with a baby doll or play mother. i just didn't have that in me. >> i am a single dad to a two-year-old boy named theo, and i have been raising him alone since he was four months old when his mother passed away. >> the end of 2023, we decided to stop ivf treatment and walk away without a child because it was taking a huge emotional toll and was financially impossible for us to afford any longer.

traditionally, mother's day has been a little bit of a challenge for me. i enjoy spending it with my mother and honor it as a holiday for my mom, and have never had the chance to honor it for myself. >> when i was younger, my mother actually abandoned me. so my relationship with mother's day has always been fairly complicated. >> my mother's birthday actually falls right on the weekend of mother's day. so it is -- it always feels like a reminder of the fun and love and affection of my kids, but at the same time, there is always a feeling of missing my mom. >> think in the future as he becomes more aware of the fact that his mother passed away when he was very young, i definitely want to keep her memory and spirit alive. >> i think the notion of celebrating mothering is profound, and however mothering looks. i don't think that has a gender or an identity around it. i think it is a thing you do. >> i feel the way ian define

motherhood is like it is a bridge between being the child of your mother, and the mother of your children. as you are learning your part of mother, you are always lookin back at what your monster, and how your child -- what your mom's dead, and what your child it and yet is a new adventure every day. >> since miscarriage, i see motherhood differently. i still am a mother in a way because i did carry the two children that unfortunately i lost. i do see motherhood as a role that people take on and children's lives to support them, to help raise then commit to guide them, and to mentor them. >> have been many moments where it has seemed like perhaps i jumped in the deep end. perhaps i bit off more than i cod chew. >> when i married my husband, it

was very -- i was very delightful to have my stepdaughter come into my life. she has taken to calling me her bonus mom, which is super cool. >> the word mother is such a tiny word for such a large job, and that there are many ways that we are mothered, and there are many different types of mothers out there. >> all of these people who need you in different ways, at different times, and they help draw out virtues in you that you may not otherwise have been able to draw out of yourself. i think that is my favorite thing about motherhood. if it is something i can't wait until my kids are out of the house and i can look back and see all the ways in which they have transformed me. >> i have been whole -- been told i'm not really a woman because i didn't have kids, which i think is a ridiculous charge. i think in some ways, i have been able to be more of the woman i sought to be, and i think if my mother had known me, she would have proud of me. >> mother essence on many ways. it is not a biological thing at all. >> just want to wish everybody a

very happy mother's day, in whatever way they celebrate. i know it can be hard for people i just hope they find solace in memories. >> i think it is important people recognize there are so many different stories and it may not be the happiest day for everyone, but we all still deserve to be seen. ♪ john: finally tonight, for mother's day, an animated story from our partners at storycorps. yomi young was born with a rare genetic disorder that causes her bones to bre under the slightest pressure. she and her mother, sarah churchill, talked about the day she was born. >> your skull was fractured, your arms camille your ribs, your legs. and they said that you would probably die overnight.

the best thing would be to leave you at the hospital. but there was no way i was going to leave you there. they had a rocking chair, and i would sit there and hold you. i remember our hearts touched each other. used to always say, we have one heart, you and i. >> what was it like caring -- caring for me throughout the years? >> i remember giving you a bath, you turned your arm and i heard it. and you were crying, i'm crying. >> used to keep track of my fractures but then they got out of control. i would fall. or i remember one time, one of my sisters dropped an orange on the and that broke something. if you look at me too hard, i would break. i have my down periods. but i don't always have to articulate every single thing, because you get it. you undstand. one of my regrets as i didn't have my own children. and i think one of the biggest

desires for wanting to mother is to be able to carry on this legacy of love that you started with me. you tell me often that you believe i picked you. >> i think children come as a gift to their paren >> i don't know if i have ever told you this but i also feel like you picked me. if you had walked away and left me there when i was born, nobody would have looked askance. >> i felt you were part of me. i know i made the right decision. >> and i have always admired you for that. >> it is my honor. ♪ john: now online, why undocumented immigrants are worried a new bill in oklahoma, targeting illegal drugs, will also target them. all that and more is on our web

-- website, pbs.org/newshour. and that is pbs news weekend for this sunday. on monday's pbs newshourdonald trump's former lawyer, michael cohen, takes the stand in trump's hush-money trial. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. >> major funding for the "pbs news weekend" has been provided by -- >> certified planner professionals are proud to support pbs news weekend. they are committed to acting in their clients best interest. or information at letsmakeaplan.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the 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're watching pbs.

- [narrator] it's time to celebrate. after two years, friends and families are once again getting together over food. but some of us may have forgotten the basics. - oh, no, i've done this wrong. - [narrator] and if you can't co... - ah! - [narrator] a special dinner can be memorable. - i burnt the scones! yeah, all of them. oh, no! ah!