actress juliette binoche talks about some unusual turns in her career, and taking on greek tragedy. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these 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. >> ifill: a new front opened today in the war with no apparent end in sight. kurdish forces in iraq, with u.s. support, launched an assault on a key city that links islamic state holdings in two countries. american airstrikes hammered sinjar, on iraq's far northwestern border with syria, as the kurdish peshmerga ground force began its offensive. >> ( translated ): it started just now. the situation so far is good. there are continuous air strikes on them. we are bombing them also with artillery. >> ifill: the objective: to capture not only the city, but a key supply route: highway 47. it connects the islamic state's makeshift capital in raqqa, syria, to outposts in iraq, including mosul. we reached rukmini callimachi of "the new york times" late today, just after she returned from the frontlines at sinjar. >> within the first couple of hours of the battle this morning, the peshmerga were able to get down on the highway and cut it off. they were surprised at the lack of resistance. and we don't know if there's a surprise in store. one pesh commander, i stood with him on this hill overlooking the city, said that he could see through his binoculars isis fighters fleeing on foot. my impression of isis is that they're incredibly strong against local populations, against local forces; they're incredibly strong against the iraqi army. they're not so strong against u.s. airstrikes and a kurdish force that is being flanked by u.s. special forces. >> ifill: in washington, pentagon spokesma peter cook confirmed american troops are at sinjar in support of the kurdish offensive, but are not taking part in direct combat. >> the u.s. advisors there are working directly with the peshmerga forces to determine the most effective locations for those airstrikes. >> ifill: islamic state fighters conquered sinjar and surrounding areas in the summer of 2014. hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants - from the yazidi religious sect - fled, but many thousands were killed, raped and systematically enslaved. the attack and atrocities moved president obama to begin a bombing campaign in iraq that quickly extended into syria. >> whatever questions one might have about the content about our policy... there should be no doubt about ending this crisis. >> ifill: today, secretary of state kerry defended the syria strategy. he spoke at the u.s. institute of peace, ahead of renewed multi-national talks this saturday in vienna. those will include syrian president bashar assad's principle allies, russia and iran. his fate is a major point of division. >> asking the opposition to trust assad or accept assad's leadership is simply not a reasonable request. and it is literally, therefore, a nonstarter. i cannot say this afternoon that we are on the threshold of a comprehensive agreement, no. there remains a lot of work to be done. >> ifill: kerry said each party now has a responsibility "not to dig in our heels" but to make the bleeding stop. two suicide bombers killed at least 43 people and woulnded nearly 200 more in lebanon today. the blasts occurred just outside the capital, beirut, in a suburb considered a stronghold of hezbollah, which has had close ties to iran and syria. at the scene, people pulled victims from under wreckage and shattered glass strewn across the streets. the islamic state group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack. protests spread across afghanistan today, amid demands for greater security, galvanized by a brutal crime. demonstrators from multiple ethnic and sectarian groups turned out in three provinces to condemn the beheadings of seven shi-ite "hazaras." it came a day after 10,000 people protested the killings in kabul. meanwhile, in greece, nearly 35,000 striking public workers marched against new tax hikes and spending cuts mandated by the country's latest bailout. tensions boiled over in athens, where some in the crowd hurled molotov cocktails at police. officers fired back with tear gas and stun grenades, but the protesters insisted they're not going away. >> ( translated ): it might sound a little weird, but the international lenders are asking for blood. they're not asking to be reimbursed. they're seeking to destroy us, to make us disappear. why? we didn't bother anyone. i believe we're sending a message right now that we support the entire workers' movement. >> ifill: the general strike is the first since prime minister alexis tsipras and his left-wing government came to power in january. european leaders pledged nearly $2 billion to african nations today, to stem the flow of migrants, and take back those who don't qualify for asylum. the two sides wound up a meeting in malta, and agreed on emergency aid to address violence and food shortages. but, the president of niger argued it's just scratching the surface. >> ( translated ): it's not enough, $1.8 billion euros; it's far from being enough. the needs are enormous. that's why we're calling on other partners to participate in the setting up of trust funds. and beyond that, what we hope for, it's not only in the form of public development aid; we hope for reform in worldwide governance. >> ifill: talk of the aid plan came amid new moves by several nations to begin tightening their borders. we'll focus on the situation in one of those countries, sweden, later in the program. back in this country, the department of housing and urban development is calling for a ban on smoking in all public housing. a rule proposed today would affect more than 940,000 units. "hud" estimates it will protect the health of 760,000 children and save more than $150 million a year in medical costs, repairs and preventable fires. students at more than a hundred u.s. colleges and universities rallied today against mounting debt. there wre demonstrations from philadelphia to hawaii. protesters called for free tuition at public universities, and cancellation of student loan debt. it was part of an event dubbed the "million student march". and on wall street, a new slump in prices for oil and other commodities pushed stocks sharply lower. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 250 points to close below 17,450. the nasdaq fell nearly 62 points, and the s&p 500 dropped 29. still to come on the newshour: offensive speech versus free speech, the debate now consuming some college campuses; a culture clash for refugees in sweden; students learn without teachers, and much more. >> ifill: marches and demonstrations at missouri and other universities define a season of unrest on many college campuses. and the response to those protests has stirred fresh questions about how much speech is too much. protests against racial incidents drew the spotlight this week at the university of missouri, where the system president resigned under fire. celebrations erupted -- and university police called for reporting "hateful or hurtful speech", including descriptions and even pictures of the speakers. but conservatives and civil libertarians objected, and the system's new interim head -- who recalled his own days as a student protester -- addressed the issue today. >> but i think if you're asking in the context of the first amendment and free speech issues, that's a very delicate balance. both are essential to our way of life in this country. and the trick is to find that balance. that point at which you are accommodating both interests as much as you can. >> ifill: similar concerns were on display at yale, especially after a professor condemned a dean's warning against offensive halloween costumes. she complained that colleges are becoming "places of censure." >> be quiet! >> ifill: that led to a shouting match last week between a student and the professor's husband, a yale administrator. >> it is not about creating an >> ifill: a similar uproar broke out at californias claremont mckenna college over racially insensitive halloween apparel. and there were calls at vanderbilt in nashville to suspend a professor who wrote an op-ed deemed intolerant. balanced against the speech concerns are growing protests -- like this one yesterday at ithaca college, in upstate new york -- over the use of the word "savage" to describe a black speaker at a campus event. and students nationwide are now taking to social media, sharing their stories with the hashtag "black on campus." we explore what's the proper role of free speech, what goes too far, and how to strike that balance. greg lukianoff is the ceo of the foundation for individual right in education. he is also the co-author of the recent atlantic magazine cover story, titled "the coddling of the american mind." and jelani cobb is an associate professor of history at the university of connecticut, and a staff writer for the new yorker magazine. his most recent article is "race and the free speech diversion." jelani cobb, i want to start by asking you, what do you think is the fine line or is it a fine line at all between free speech and hate speech? >> well, it's interesting. my article wasn't even dealing with the question of hate speech. it was really dealing with free speech as a virtue, as an ideal, but it was sincall cynically den campus to avoid talking about race issues. we've seen missouri and yale and students who have been reacting to racial kre crises on their campuses and instead of talking about what's happening the conversation devolved into a conversation about the first amendment. i think that's what i was responding to. there is such a thing as hate speech and such a thing as free speech. there are probably a thousand different ways in which people differentiate that, but i don't think we should go to the kind of absurdest argument where anything that someone says that remotely, possibly is offensive can be deployed against actual legitimately, objectively things that are happening on college campuses. >> ifill: greg, do you agree this is a question of deflection? >> i think it's unfair to call ate diversion. if you look at the yale case, and i was on the campus last week. the two lecturers and professor that were involved, erika had sent an email to her students. in my opinion, very thoughtfully criticizing the idea the university should be telling students how they dress for halloween. the context is the university has been telling students for years not to wear offensive costumes. even syracuse said they would be brought up on judicial charges and forced to strip if they wear offensive clothes. so i thought this was a thoughtful email. what ended up happening, and i know this was a lot of focal point for other tension on campus, but i know dozens of students in the courtyard of the dormitory -- >> ifill: we saw the event, yeah. >> -- and it very much struck with erika. at the same time, people say it's a diversion, i am perfectly happy to move on to this case i don't thinaslong as i know the ' jobs are safe. but when they made a statement about free speech they mentioned nothing about the crisakases. >> ifill: you have been following the yale and missouri cases and talking to people on both campuses, jelani cobb. what do you think about that? how much of this is speaking to larger, ongoing problems and this question of free speech was just an example, an excuse to get to them? >> sure. when i talk to people, i've talked to people at missouri and yale and some people who are employed as yale university as well, and one of the commonalities there is people said these are simply last straw events. so the castakas event, outside of the context and people dealing with hostile, racial incidents there, they've seen it as an absurdest reaction by students who are hypersensitive. if i could make a point about mr. lukianoff's article, the col"thecoddling of the american" it brings a great deal of attention to way students engage in emotional reasoning which are tantamount to the psychological study of the offended, but nowhere in there do they actually talk about racism or do people actually experience racial incidents in which a rational response would be to be offended or believe that this institution is perhaps not the place for you or to believe that you are perhaps in a hostile environment. >> ifill: let me allow mr. lukianoff to respond. >> the catastrophe we were talking about was administrators catastrophizing. my memo was about how in k-12 and in college we have been teaching a generation of students that smart people overreact to relatively small slights. i talk about examples of a professor who was suspended because he posted a picture of his daughter wearing a certain t-shirt. >> ifill: there's an online site called yikyak and a woman was wearing a posting "i am confused about students without usc athletics backpacks." is she overreacting? >> i think. >> ifill: if the president of the college didn't respond in the way she wanted, jelani cobb, what then? >> what then happens is what we've seen on multiple campuses since then. i think one of the other dynamics that was also common in these places they felt the administration did not hear them, that the protests were kind of a last-ditch effort, the culmination of lots of attempts to get the attention of people who had official authority who had fallen short. one other thing i want to make clear about this is we can kind of take absurdest examples. there are plenty of them. for anything we want to talk about. we skew the perception of the legitimate issue by simply going, let's take the example of someone fired for saying something and people not being fired on yikyak for make horrible death threats. we need to talk about the entire spectrum of a sense of language and behavior occurring on college campuses. >> let's talk about a case where people might disagree in the last couple of hours. stephen was a pro palestinian professor. got a job at university of illinois where he dr. and was offered a job elsewhere and moved his family there and was fired for what were considered to be offensive tweets that were anti-israeli. he just settled this case for close to a million dollars just in the past couple of hours. to me, free speech, first amendment, i'm a first amendment lawyer, i deal with cases sometimes tough, and an awful lot of ridiculous cases, not a small number, but also ones dreadfully serious like this case where someone was fired for his unpopular opinion. >> ifill: was the university of missouri case not serious? >> the one i was concerned about was stopping the student press and particularly for a journalism professor herself to be one of the people trying to prevent it, who care about freedom of the press. >> ifill: we have timthe. >> ifill: jelani cobb and greg lukianoff, thank you both very much. the conversation continues t the conversation continues tomorrow night, with the latest in our race matters/solutions series. charlayne hunter-gault sits down with a professor who focuses on a form of every-day racism called "micro-aggressions." >> ifill: after declaring that its welfare system was collapsing under the strain of up to 200,000 refugees, sweden today became the latest european country to impose border controls. the nation has accepted more refugees per capita than any other country on the continent. but its appeals to other european nations to share the burden have been largely ignored. special correspondent malcolm brabant reports. >> lunchtime today, the first station in sweden across the bridge from denmark and police begin border controls over the concerns of the huge refugee influx is endangering law and order and the country's internal security. >> you don't have any i.d.? no. >> reporter: sweden's increased security put another nail in the coffin of a system which is supposed to guarantee a complete freedom of movement within most to have the e.u. the spokeswoman played down the significance. >> we have a little bit less how should we do it, a little less is it all right, and we think, yes, of course, because sweden would like to have human police so we are not going into the trains and saying, blah, blah, blah, we are going into the trains and being very polite. we are looking for people who will come to sweden and look for asylum. we are looking for people who have i.d. cards and they should be allowed to come here. >> who wants to seek asylum? >> reporter: the people escorted off the train were being hemmed seek asylum even though many didn't understand the word. this is only supposed to be a temporary measure lasting no more than ten days, but the government has the ability to extend it if it wants. it's bound to cause panic across refugees on the trail stretching back to turkey. is this the start of the donner effect? are other countries along the line now also going to institute border controls? in sweden's most ethnically diverse city, the new controls are being broken by retired police chief formerly in charge of criminal intelligence. >> we don't have the capacity to take that many people that we are at the moment. the public service is overloaded. we have the social workers that are down on their knees. we have the education system that is challenged. you have the opportunities that are very low. right now we don't know actually who is coming into the country. they just vanish, disappear. we don't have any control over the situation in that sense. what will happen to those people that are living here legally, they will have to support themselves one way or the other. the fear is we will have more criminality, more social disorder. >> reporter: refugees expecting to start their new lives in the bustles swedish metropolis face disappointment. for those, their first homes will be tents like these deep in the countryside of one of the coldest countries on earth and the swedes have delayed erecting heated and insulated tents because of planning commission concerns. in the last peer, anti-immigrant extremists have set fire to almost 20 places across sweden that either housed refugees or intended as temporary shelters. the country's migration board is now refusing to say where it will accommodate newcomers because of the fear of arson. despite ministers saying sweden is on the verge of collapse, larson who represents parliament remains upbeat about a nation generous toward refugees. >> i'm absolutely convinced we can do it because we have experiences from the '90s when we took many refugees in a short time, so we've learned from that, and now we have many, many old people, somebody has to support them, and now we have many refugees coming who are young, well-educated people, so i think they could really benefit the swedish economy. >> reporter: do you think sweden and germany have made a huge mistake is opening the doors wide open? because you've sent a signal to every disenfranchised people around the world that you're wide open and it can't cope. >> i think it's is the opposite. i think it sends a message to other countries that they also have to take responsibility. >> reporter: another station, another country, more refugees and migrants. this is the end of the line in germany on the baltic sea coast. a port city to sweden. this is one of dozens of volunteers helping to speed the passengers on their way north. >> many want to hurry. they are afraid they will close the doors totally to sweden. sometimes they are a little bit afraid that they won't make it in time because there are not too many places. >> reporter: fighting between the taliban and the national ins driven this family out. >> i feel good here and also our brother and family are also here. >> reporter: this was one of the last ferries to leave before the swedish government tightened the borders. the swedes told refugees they should consider staying in germany or elsewhere because they can't be guaranteed accommodation but the message is not further downer the line. keeping a keen watch on sweden's crisis, tightening rules about family reunification to make it less attractive to the refugees. >> sweden will be asking the other nations to take its migrants. will you take them? >> no, because we think sweden put themselves in the situation they're in. i think it's unfair to say come here and when their system collapse they say, we don't want them anyway, now other european countries need to take them. we've taken our fair share of the burden and we will continue to do so, but sweden has put itself in that situation. >> reporter: politicians from the danish people's party determine whether the minority government in copenhagen survives the falls. ease person and his party are angry the danish prime minister so far ruled out introducing border controls as well. >> i believe europe is in social chaos. germany, sweden, the two countries that's mainly caused this problem, and now sweden, of course, introducing border control, it will mean that we have to do the same, but unfortunately our prime minister behaves like an ostrich, like so many other political leaders in europe do at the moment. >> reporter: there is an acute awareness sweden could lead to more refugees -- >> that would be a european problem if sweden closed their borders. i'm sure we can solve this problem. not only in germany. but at least we could solve the problem if we could find a common way in europe and at least we have to find a common way and not only in europe, we have to find a common way with the united states, with russia, with china, and only in this nation, we could be like a future to every people, everybody has a right to live in a human world. >> reporter: this new video from the anti-immigrant sweden democrats opposition party shows their members on the refugees trail urging would-be asylum seekers to stay away. but these images send a more powerful message. to the pbs "newshour", malcom brabant, sweden. >> ifill: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: actress juliette binoche takes on greek tragedy; and honors for a soldier who tackled a suicide bomber, and saved his platoon. but first, how a simple experiment in india has turned into a radical idea about whether children can teach themselves-- by giving them a computer and stepping back. economics correspondent paul solman reports, part of our "making sense" series, which airs every thursday here on the pbs newshour. >> why do dogs chase cats? >> reporter: i have absolutely no idea! a public elementary school in harlem, new york, is adopting a radical idea that threatens the education industry as we know it: soles -- self organized learning environments. >> how can you make a computer? >> how come father seahorses have babies and females don't? >> reporter: the students come up with the questions, and then choose one to answer. the man behind the idea: sugata mitra, visiting from england. >> okay, so now here's what's going to happen-- listen carefully. you're going to work with these six computers; the question is "why do dogs chase cats?" and of course, you can talk as much as you like, you can walk around, you can move, you can look at other people's work. you can do whatever you like. >> reporter: a crowd of onlookers in a nearby room, waiting to know if, given six computers and just 20 minutes, these kids can really 'self- organize' and learn the answer on their own. >> do you have any idea? i've never actually thought about it! of course, everyone knows dogs chase cats. >> reporter: no. my guess is cats are a symbol of something they could eat but don't eat? i don't know...that's my best shot! >> mitra's first experiment in self-organized learning took place years ago and far away- at the turn of the 21st century here in delhi, where he worked for a huge indian software firm. worried about "information poverty" and the "digital divide" between those who can afford computers and those who can't, mitra simply cut a hole in the boundary wall between his firm and the fetid slum next door and put in a computer, connected to the internet, and watched. >> i put it there and we opened it and by the same evening vivek, who was doing the main observation, came back and said that the kids are browsing. and by the second day, a whole bunch of kids were browsing and doing various functions. >> reporter: so mitra built more holes in more walls -- a thousand more, in fact -- which led to more experiments, and more questions. >> the hole in the wall experiment showed that children can learn to use computers and the internet on their own. what else could they learn? >> reporter: meanwhile, back in harlem, the kids are hard at it. the clock, ticking. >> well, cats are small and even though they have nails, dogs are like the males. >> we should only try to get the most correct answer. >> he might injure the cat by biting it too hard. >> it says, "others preserve cats as prey." >> a dog / cat fight can be devastating! >> p-e-r-c-e-i-v-e! >> thank you! >> write it in your own words. and we need to hurry up, there's only seven minutes! >> this is c.n.n. the hole in the wall experiments made mitra famous: a star on the stage; a threat to the education industry as the world knows it. >> could it be that we don't need to go to school at all? could it be that at the point in time when you need to know something, you can find out in two minutes? could it be that we're headed towards, or may be in, a future where knowing is obsolete? >> reporter: "knowing obsolete?" we "don't need schools"? >> i think it's irresponsible to say we can do without teachers. >> reporter: mike trucano has worked on global education technology for the world bank for 20 years. >> the answer isn't technology; the answer is providing children with a rich learning environment, with a highly capable, competent, committed teacher there alongside them to help them, help guide their learning. thinking that technology alone and kids left to their own devices can educate themselves in the way that we hope and become the types of people we want them to be, i think, is ludicrous. >> reporter: in fact, mitra has adapted. two years ago, he began building "schools in the cloud." there are now seven - five in india, two in the u.k. - where a teacher gets groups of children to self-organize into learning environments and investigate almost anything. soles - or, you might say, soles - or, you might say, holes in the classroom. but this school's principal, natasha spann, was still a devout skeptic when she first heard of mitra's lab for "self- learning." >> so when i first heard that, i said, "get out of here." ( laughs ) i said, "no, really. get out of here!" we were already what was considered a focus school according to new york state - which was a failing school. so for me to pitch the idea to my superintendent that i'm going to completely get rid of all the desks and chairs in a classroom and have kids work together by themselves, absent of the teacher, on different levels, that was like, "i don't think so. that's not happening here." >> reporter: meanwhile, in this classroom, time was running out; the students finishing up their findings, prepping their conclusions. >> two minutes! >> reporter: it was time for the final presentations. >> why do dogs chase cats? who would you like to make the first presentation? >> a dog can grab and easily wound or kill the cat by crushing her in his jaws. >> he might injure a cat by biting too hard, even in play. >> like many things dogs do, chasing cats is instinctual. >> they are the first group who are trying to explain why! >> some want to play with the cat; others perceive it as prey and will harm a cat if they catch her. >> do you see that every group was adding to everybody else and building up a whole... whole picture? >> reporter: folowing the sole demonstration, we had our own question. >> reporter: but it's got to be scary to a lot of teachers, no? >> when i first did sole, so scary. >> reporter: suimani mills teaches at ps 197. >> they utilize the skills that we gave them without our assistance. >> reporter: leana borges also teaches here. >> those critical thinking skills are what students need teachers for. that's the coaching that we do. and then they apply those principles within the sole lab. >> this is the part where you test yourself as a teacher, and you have to walk away from your garden and let them flower and grow. >> reporter: as to the school's skeptical principal: >> once i got to see them actually in a session with the question and the learning that came out of it, i said, "we have to have this at my school." >> i was seriously surprised that there was not an adult saying "you go to this group or you go to this group." >> reporter: but did union rep zina burton-myrick, here to watch from the united federation of teachers, see a threat to her profession? >> i would have thought that it posed a threat. but after seeing it and looking at how useful a program like this would be, i think that it's something that i would love to see in other schools in the harlem community. >> reporter: so does sugata mitra disagree? doesn't this threaten to destroy one of the largest industries on earth? >> yes. if you're talking about the education industry, yes, they are under threat. they are under threat not of destruction but of imminent change. they'd better do it if they have to survive. >> reporter: so, is it the beginning of a revolution? >> i think the jury's still out. we see amazing things happen in technology use, but we also need to be a bit sober in what's actually possible and separating the hope from the hype. just because something is new and different doesn't necessarily make it better. >> reporter: but for this group of students -- more than a third classified as special needs, fully half living in shelters, all of them poor -- self-learning is new, different and perhaps better as well. >> sometimes when you're stuck, a group, your group can help you out. >> reporter: from ps 197 in harlem, new york, this is economics correspondent paul solman, reporting for the pbs newshour. the tenth living service member to receive the highest military honor for actionings in afghanistan or iraq. >> three years ago, the 12 led american and afghan soldiers as they escorted commanders to a meeting with local afghans. a journey the team had done many times before. a short walk on foot including passage over a narrow bridge. he noticed a man dressed in dark clothing walking backtowards ten feet away. the man spun around and turned toward them and that's when flo sprinted toward him. he pushed him away from the formation. and as he did, he noticed an object under the man's clothing: a bomb. the motorcycles had been a diversion. and at that moment, flo did something extraordinary. he grabbed the bomber by his vest and kept pushing him away. one of flo's comrades, sergeant andrew mahoney, had joined in too, and together they shoved the bomber again and again. they pushed him so hard he fell to the ground onto his chest and then the bomb detonated. ball bearings, debris, dust exploded everywhere. flo was thrown some 15 or 20 feet, and was knocked unconscious. moments later, he woke up in the middle of the road in shock. his eardrum was blown out, his leg was broken and bleeding badly. that blast by the bridge claimed four american heroes. four heroes flo wants us to remember today. one of his mentors, a 24-year army vet who always found time for flo and any other soldier who wanted to talk: command sergeant major kevin griffin. a west pointer who became a role model to cadets and troops because he always cared more about other people than himself: major tom kennedy. a popular air force leader known for smiling with his whole face, major david gray. and finally, a usaid foreign service officer, who had just volunteered for a second tour in afghanistan, a man who moved to the united states from egypt and reveled in everything american, rageh abdelfattah. today, we honor flo because his actions prevented an even greater catastrophe. you see, by pushing the bomber away from the formation, the explosion occurred farther from our forces and on the ground instead of in the open air. while flo didn't know it at the time, that explosion also caused a second unseen bomb to detonate before it was in place. the truth is, flo says that day was the worst day of his life. and that is the stark reality behind these medal of honor ceremonies. because on his very worst day, he managed to summon his very best. that's the nature of courage: not being unafraid, but confronting fear and danger and performing in a selfless fashion. he showed his guts, he showed his training, how he put it all on the line for his teammates. that's an american we can all be grateful for. that's why we honor captain florent groberg today. >> the president of the united states of america authorized by act of congress march 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to captain florent a. groberg, united states army. [applause] >> this medal is the greatest honor you could ever receive, and i am blessed and just grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve my country. but this medal belongs to the true heroes --- command sergeant griffin, major gray, major kennedy, rageh abdelfattah --- who made the ultimate sacrifice and didn't come home. it also belongs to their families, the true heroes who live with that day every day, missing one of the key members of their families. so i'm honored, i'm overwhelmed, but i hope to become the right carrier for them and to better myself as a human being for the rest of my life for them. >> ifill: she's one of the most well-known french actresses of her generation, and has carved an unusual and distinct career path. juliette binoche has appeared in more than 40 feature films; the latest of which, "the 33", opens tomorrow. it's about the 33 chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days in 2010. at the same time, binoche is focused on new stage work, taking on the role of a classical heroine in a greek tragedy. she sat down recently with jeffery brown. >> if a man puts family or friend ahead of fatherland, , i count him absolutely good for nothing. >> brown: a political leader, king creon, declares that the security of the state must take precedence over individual need, and orders that the body of a slain rebel not be given burial rites. >> you dared to disobey the law? >> what they call law did not begin today or yesterday. when they say "law," they do not mean a statute of today or yesterday. >> brown: the rebel's sister, named antigone, played here by juliette binoche, defies that order and buries her brother, leading to her own death. >> she has this need of remembering where we come from, the origin of where we come from, and where we're going back to. so the play is an immense, is reaching immense subjects of what we go through. >> brown: sophocles wrote "antigone" in athens, greece some 2,500 years ago, and it has resonated with audiences and actors ever since-- including binoche, one of today's leading international actresses. at the kennedy center in washington d.c., she recently wrapped up a tour of the play that took her to cities around europe and the u.s. so what is the attraction for you to do an ancient play like this? >> because the myths put you into a teaching of what is, what are we doing here on this earth. it's about transformation-- >> brown: that's a big question. >> it's a big question, but we here, all of us, we're trying to find out. and, of course, the outside world wants us to go here and there and spread ourselves. but somehow we have to make a relationship within ourselves. and plays and art are helping to make this link, to think, to feel, to reconnect. >> you're in love with him aren't you? >> not with him; i am in love with ghosts... >> brown: juliette binoche, now 51, is best known for her oscar-winning supporting actress role in the 1996 film, "the english patient." >> and these are for your husband. coca nips from guatemala... >> brown: and an oscar-nominated best actress performance in the 2000 comedy, "chocolat". she's had a prolific movie career, from big budget hits to obscure art house films, that continues, as strong as ever, to this day. but she's also regularly gone back to the theater. >> it's true, sometimes i say yes to a project and i don't really know why i said yes. >> brown: you don't know why? >> no. the intuition tells you. the intuition brings you into this unknown. but yet as you're going and you're discovering what you're doing, (snaps) -- this is it! this is why i said yes to it. and it suddenly becomes very meaningful. >> look at what is happening to me, and look at the men who are doing it. >> brown: the production of antigone, directed by ivo van hove, was a spare one-- in its language, its movement, its set. i asked binoche if she liked the quiet of this onstage world as a contrast to the noise of much of today's entertainment. >> i love everything. >> brown: you love everything? >> i don't put things aside. no, i think it's another-- it's like painting, you know, you love different styles, because it shows someone's need to express something. if i feel the need, that's beyond style. i don't care where it comes from, which country, what period, because it has truth. >> brown: the reference to painting is a personal one. binoche did her own paintings for a film in which she played an artist, and has even had exhibitions of her work. curious-- or restless-- she's thrown herself into all kinds of things, including performing onstage in contemporary dance. >> i like to confront myself with new perspectives and possibilities, because i think, we're alive, so let's do it now. and we have so many possibilities. so i don't like to stay in one, comfortable place. >> brown: you know there is much discussion again, especially about women actresses aging, not getting as many roles, what happens to them? do you even think about that? >> i think if you keep yourself creative-- i mean, i've aged, you know? i have experience. and so, it's not as if i'm not facing it. but it's not fear. because time's a tool to grow. if you don't have that tool, how can you grow, how can you transform? so you have to believe that time is your best friend. imagine if you have to die when you're young, imagine what i've learned with time is amazing. >> brown: juliette binoche, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> ifill: finally tonight, another installment in our series of newshour essays. essays are part of a long tradition on the newshour, and in the coming weeks and months, we hope to bring you a range of voices as varied as the ideas they will share with you. tonight, author yolanda gault shares her view on a particularly challenging personality: the bragging parent. >> it will start innocently. a chance run-in. i'll see a fellow mom at the grocery store or the park, maybe a coffee shop. i'll say, hey, girl! we'll hug -- at least i will, because i'm a hugger. i'll compliment her outfit. she may notice my new highlights. we'll trade innocent gossip. i'll ask about her work. then the family, to which she'll respond with a sigh, as though fatigued, because for soms every season -- for moms, tired is the new black. then begins the humble brag. feigning exasperation, half giggle and self-mocking, well, sophie scored 2200 on her sats despite this slacker mom who forgot new calculator batteries and zach's fourth grade teacher recommended him for new calculus and even though dad and i don't get any math! a wan smile washes over my face. one i reserve for my 8-year-olds regaling of superheros and powers. when she laughs and throws her head back, i do the same thing, on the outside. inside, i wince, and whisper to myself, bless her heart. for black people, those sweet nice little words are a nice way of saying "how pitiful." it's a gracious phrase and i mean it in the best possible way because a part of me aches to see a grown woman, smart and accomplishing in her own right boasting about her children as if they were prized heifers at the county fair. and it's odd to me, because growing up, momma always played down what my siblings and i did. it may be a black thing, but i think it's also an old school thing. no one wanted their kids to get too big-headed, i suppose. importantly, parenting was not an extreme sport back in the day. and remember, there was no facebook. social media posts are the lifeblood to have the humble bragert. i get it. they feel less secure in their own worth, so tethered are their own self image, their offspring's accomplishments become their own. most studies show mothers and fathers hell bent on perfection desperately need the world to take note of their kids' awesomeness. it's a way of saying my kids are great, therefore i am great! look at me! see? i'm a great parent! really, i am! do they believe it? sadly, i don't think so. it's not that these parents don't have good kids. i mean, all kids are good, right? just like all babies are -- um -- cute. see, all moms lie. as a humble bragert prattles on, i pretend to listen. and when she's done, i put on my best girlfriend face and try to sound super asoonshed and say, wow! go, you! many >> ifill: on the newshour online: earlier this week, we introduced you to a man who's walking around the world. paul salopek isn't trying to set a record-- he's doing it to tell the stories of the people and places he encounters along the way. and he's already logged about 4,000 miles. what's it like? you can ask him yourself, at 1:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow in our twitter chat, co-hosted with national geographic. details are on our home page. and sixty-five years after charles schulz introduced the world to charlie brown, the gang is reunited on the big screen in the form of "the peanuts movie." to celebrate, we've compiled eight things you didn't know about snoopy and the gang. that's on our home page: www.pbs.org/newshour. tune in later tonight. on charlie rose, more on the fight against isis in iraq, and efforts to reclaim a key city. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm gwen ifill. join us on-line, and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and michael gerson. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention. in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at lemelson.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these 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 sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ >> announcer: this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and sue herera. cisco skid. a slowdown in orders overshadows better than expected results putting pressure initially on shares of the dow component. dangerous darlings. amazon has a new title of most expensive stock. but is owning shares with sky-high valuations dangerous to your wealth? wrong track. why part of the economy that we don't really talk about very often may be flashing some warning signs. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for thursday november 12th. good evening, everyone. and welcome. this is getting repetitive. another nasty day on wall street. stocks suffered their worst session in over a month. the three major indexes fell more than 1% pressur

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